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Journalism of Courage
When President Pratibha Patil delivered her address to the Upper House of the Brazilian Parliament, less than 20 MPs were present and the joke was that the size of the president8217;s entourage matched the strength of the audience. For her trip to South America, Patil included not just her husband, but also her son and daughter-in-law and sundry kith and kin. In addition, there were five doctors. Apart from the Rashtrapati Bhavan doctor, the medical team included a cardiologist and an ophthalmologist. The last seems to have been invited on the trip as the president needs to put drops in her eyes twice a day. There was even a representative from the Rashtrapati Bhavan accounts department on board.
Waiting their turn
Looking after their own
Since the IAS takes the decisions on pay revisions, the disparity between the IAS and other services like the IPS and the army keeps increasing. The pay scales of the IAS and the IPS may start around the same level, but the gap between the two at the top-end has widened over the years. IAS officers graduate to the joint secretary level in 14 to 16 years, while an IPS officer takes 20 to 22 years. The DIG scale is on par with a director and the IG equated with a mere joint secretary. Director Generals of Police are equated with additional secretaries and only half a dozen DGs manage to get a full secretary8217;s grade, though there are some 250 such slots for the IAS biradiri.
The IAS has got away with its discriminatory approach in the past.
But this time there is a powerful advocate for the police in the PM8217;s own family, his son-in-law Ashok Patnaik. Like other police officers, Patnaik even contemplated returning his medal for meritorious service to protest the anomalous pay structure. A committee of secretaries has been formed to review the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, and for the first time an IPS officer has been included in the cosy club of the IAS.
In search of a post
Shashi Tharoor met the prime minister last week, fuelling speculation in the corridors of power that he is a strong a contender for Sanjaya Baru8217;s job as media adviser to the prime minister. But this is surely a comedown for a man who once aspired to become Secretary-General to the UN. Perhaps the high-flying Tharoor has another job in the government in mind. In fact there are two high-profile journalists already running for the media advisor position, one of whom has also met the prime minister.
Refugee memories
At an orientation course for parliamentary correspondents, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee spoke on a wide range of issues concerning Parliament and foreign relations and laced his talk with anecdotes from the past. He recalled that when the Dalai Lama escaped to India after the Chinese crackdown on Buddhist monks, the Chinese media charged that the Dalai Lama had been kidnapped by then Defence Minister Krishna Menon. Asked about reports that King Gyanendra was seeking asylum in India because of his fear of a Maoist regime, Mukherjee recalled an unusual incident when King Gyanendra, as a tiny tot, was the only the member of the Nepali royal family to remain in Nepal when all his kin had fled to India fearing house arrest by the Ranas. Gyanendra, then a two-year-old infant, got left behind since his maid had taken him to a park.
