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Journalism of Courage
Three years is a short time for national conscience to die. Still, the contrast in the public reaction to the devastating earthquakes in Gujarat of early 2002 and Kashmir in 2005 couldn’t have been starker. The Bhuj earthquake stirred people’s souls so much that managing the abundant relief materials became a task in itself. From government to industry, from Bollywood to voluntary donations by schools and colleges, it was a genuine outpouring of a nation to help earthquake victims. But that was three years ago.
Last week, an earthquake far more devastating than Bhuj’s struck Kashmir. However, our people are still too doused in the festive spirit to take cognizance of the tragedy that has befallen thousands of our own countrymen. Despite the fact that heart-rending pictures from the region have crowded the front pages of newspapers and bulletins of news channels, somehow the collective spirit of our people is yet to show.
To be fair, an extreme terrain combined with harsh weather and difficulty of access would forcibly ensure no parallels are drawn to Bhuj relief operations. Still, almost a week later, there are no signs of any voluntary organisation collecting donations in cash and kind, no declaration of aids by the big industrial houses. Industry lobbies themselves have gone quiet. The government alone has spearheaded the relief work and there are voices across the border lauding exemplary work by the Indian government. Only the Indian military is matching in efforts to reach relief and rehabilitation to our countrymen in Jammu and Kashmir.
Political parties are usually at the forefront of relief operations at times of disaster. This time, even they are missing in action. Apart from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi is among the first ones to have visited the worst-hit areas of Jammu and Kashmir. BJP President LK Advani too has visited the region, but his party is yet to announce any relief effort.
Even Hindu, Muslim and Christian religious organisations of India are conspicuous by their absence to either collect or distribute relief. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq of the Hurriyat laments the absence of Indian industry in the wake of J&K earthquake, but one could have asked what has his organisation done to hasten relief to the victims?
Forgetting JP
Amitabh Bachchan’s birthday on 11th October is a day of celebration for millions of his fans around the world. Several thousands fans even travelled all the way to Mumbai in the hope of wishing him in person. Bachchan is a superstar and he deserves all the love and adulation of his fans, not to say of nation’s media. However, in their universal zeal to give Bachchan special coverage on his birthday, our media completely overlooked the importance of the day in the Indian political establishment.
Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan, renowned freedom fighter and the father of the Socialist movement, was also born on 11th October. Save for some sparse functions organised by Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia supporters, nobody seemed willing to remember the great leader. Not even those socialist chief ministers who were once his proteges and whose positions of power are founded upon the movement launched by him. The Bihar elections proved just the light distraction needed to put Narayan completely on the shelf.
Electronic media has its own limitations, but even newspapers have had no remembrances to show. Led by the media, the nation it seems is wary of remembering its freedom fighters.
Fueling fares
The constant rise in prices of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) has forced a 10% hike across the board in domestic airfares in India. The hike has come at a time when the civil aviation revolution is just about to take off with the common man aboard for the first time. This fare hike will not only thwart first-time flyers, but will also hurt airlines and other stakeholders in the industry. What is even more agonising is the fact that with a little rationalization of taxes, the ATF could instead be made cheaper.
Taxes on ATF vary from state to state with some governments levying as much 40% sales tax on ATF. Industry is dying in most states and to cope up with a drastic fall in revenues, they are tempted to take the easy route out by taxing the next available article not consumed by the poor. Andhra Pradesh remains the only state with a miniscule 4% tax on ATF, but it is expensive for airlines to make their planes travel to Hyderabad each time they need to refuel. Oddly, the domestic airlines are the only ones bearing the brunt of ATF taxes in India; international airlines get cheaper ATF. This unfortunate bias is bleeding our domestic carriers even as they are forced to match cheaper airfares offered by international airlines.
It is imperative now that the finance ministry delve into a unilateral policy on taxing ATF. The taxes should not only be rationalized to a single level across the country, but the unflattering bias in favour of foreign airlines should also be corrected.
The writer is a Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha.Email him at shuklarajeev@gmail.com
