Regulating the coasts..

Last week, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)  directed the states and Union Territories (UTs) to identify violations of the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification of 1991 (CRZ) and take action within four months. It also declared that the National Coastal Zone Management Authority would review the action taken by the state and UT Coastal Zone Management authorities and apprise it periodically. This ruling came in the backdrop of the MOEF recommending the demolition of the controversial Adarsh society in Mumbai, for violating the CRZ.

India’s coastline, which runs for 7,500kms, is inhabited by approximately 25% of our population. As a result, the MOEF had issued the CRZ Notification on 19.2.1991 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, with the aim to provide comprehensive measures for the protection and conservation of our coastal environment. However, over the last two decades many issues emerged while implementing the 1991 Notification:

1) There was no clear procedure for obtaining CRZ clearance and no time lines stipulated.

2) It also did not provide a post clearance monitoring mechanism or a clear cut enforcement mechanism to check violations.

3) It caused hardships to the persons/communities living in certain ecologically sensitive coastal stretches.

Thus, after 25 amendments to it, the CRZ Notification, 2011 was formally notified on the 7th January. This replaced the CRZ Notification, 1991. In addition, for the very first time an Island Protection Zone Notification, 2011 was published, covering Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. Both these new Notifications reconcile three objectives:

1) Protection of livelihoods of traditional fisherfolk communities;

2) Preservation of coastal ecology; and

3) Promotion of economic activity that have necessarily to be located in coastal regions.

The CRZ Notification has five classifications - CRZ-I (ecologically sensitive areas), CRZ-II (built up municipal areas), CRZ-III (rural areas), CRZ-IV (from the Low Tide Line to twelve nautical miles) and Areas requiring special consideration. The main features of the CRZ, 2011 are as follows -->

1) It has special provisions for Goa, Kerala, Greater Mumbai and critically vulnerable coastal areas (CVCAs) like Sunderban Mangrove Area, Chilka and Bhitarkanika (Orissa), Gulf of Khambat and Gulf of Kutchh (Gujarat), Gulf of Mannar (Tamil Nadu) etc.

2) Clear procedures for obtaining CRZ approval with time-lines have been stipulated along with post-clearance monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.

3) Water area upto 12 nautical miles in the sea and the entire water area of a tidal water body such as creek, river, estuary, etc would now be included in the CRZ areas, without imposing any restrictions of fishing activities.

4) Measures have been put in place to combat pollution in coastal areas/coastal waters.

5) The “no development zone” is being reduced from 200 metres from the high-tide line to 100 metres only to meet increased demands of housing of fishing and other traditional coastal communities.

The notification, relying on the recommendations made by the committee chaired by Dr. M S Swaminathan has not defined "other traditional coastal communities". Moreover, a serious quarrel is that in Mumbai, the new notification does not take into account the projected sea level rise due to global warming, while allowing development so close to the coast, thus increasing its density.

Also, while ports have been brought under the CRZ regime, the cumulative impacts of several ports on the coast has not been studied. This was one of the demands of the National Fisherworkers' Forum (NFF), along with cumulative impact studies of thermal and other power plants on the coast.

There are several other features of the bill which can be found at http://moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/CRZ-Notification-2011.pdf

While the notification has been attacked for providing leeway to builders, there are attempts to make them accountable. It provides that the Right to Information Act is applicable to redeveloping slums and dilapidated structures in Greater Mumbai. Central information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi, who was consulted in this process, said that permission will be given to builders to redevelop slums, provided they agree to be governed by the RTI Act and also agree to transparency and certain suo motu disclosures.

The CRZ Notification, 2011 is another feather in the cap of the MOEF which is conscious of the need to bring about modifications in laws to ensure a better balance between economic growth and environmental conservation. Hopefully, in the next few months with the active participation of state governments and civil society, India will rise up by few notches in its environment meter.

References:

http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=68936

http://www.hindu.com/2011/01/18/stories/2011011865151500.htm

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Indira Mukherjee feels that CRZ, 2011 is a positive development in India's environmental history. She would be happy to answer your "environmental" queries at indianpolicy2010@gmail.com

Overhauling the Judiciary

The Indian Judiciary witnessed numerous crests and trough in the last 12 months. It manufactured some quantitative progress in the crucial and "much talked about" cases like the Babri Masjid, Bhopal gas Tragedy, Jessica Lal etc, but is now facing a wave of protests for the verdict on Binayak Sen. On a slightly positive note, the Supreme Court recruited its fourth woman judge since its inception - Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra. It also played an over arching role when it opined to distribute stored grains among the poor [ raising quite a few eyebrows in the legislature ].

However, much of the establishment was perforated by the issues related to P D Dinakaran in a land scam case, charges of corruption against Calcutta High Court judge Soumitra Sen, the "Uncle Judge" syndrome and declaration of assets coming under the purview of RTI. The Law Commission's 230th Report presented to the Government in 2009 aims at tackling these issues in particular and has listed down some measures for the same. Subsequently, Bill no 136 of 2010 i.e. The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 1st December.

The text of the Bill says that it has been framed "to lay down judicial standards and provide for accountability of Judges, and establish credible and expedient mechanism for investigating into individual complaints for misbehaviour or incapacity of a Judge of Supreme Court or High Court, and to regulate the procedure for such investigation...”

In short, it sets judicial standards and makes judges accountable for their lapses. It will also mandate the judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court to declare their assets and liabilities, including those of their spouses and dependants.

The bill will replace The Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 which was enacted with a view to lay down a procedure for removal, for proved misbehavior or incapacity of Judges of the HC and the SC by way of address of the Houses of Parliament to the President.  There is, however, no legal provision at present for dealing with complaints filed by the public against Judges of the HC and the SC, who are governed by ‘Restatement of Values of Judicial Life' adopted by the judiciary as a code of conduct without any statutory sanction. 

It contemplates setting up of a national oversight committee with which the public can lodge complaints against erring judges, including the CJI. The proposed five-member committee will be headed by a retired Chief Justice of India, appointed by the President, and have a serving Judge of the Supreme Court and a serving High Court Judge, both nominated by the Chief Justice of India; the Attorney-General; and an eminent person nominated by the President.

On receiving a complaint, the committee will forward it to a system of scrutiny panels. The scrutiny panels will have the powers of a civil court. They will be required to give their report within three months to the oversight committee. After the report from the scrutiny panels is received, the oversight committee will set up a committee to further investigate the case. Like the scrutiny panels, the investigation committee will have the powers of a civil court; it will have the power to frame definite charges.

If the charges are not proved, the investigation committee can dismiss the case. Otherwise, it will give a report to the oversight committee, which can issue an advisory or warning if the charges are not too serious. If the charges are serious, the committee can request the judge concerned to resign. If the judge does not do so, the oversight committee will forward the case to the President with an advisory for his removal. In such an event, copies of all relevant documents will be laid in Parliament and an impeachment motion moved. In the Lok Sabha, not less than 100 members will be required to move the motion, and in the Rajya Sabha not less than 50 members will be needed.

The bill also makes it mandatory for judges to declare their assets. In addition, judges would be required to file an annual return of assets and liabilities. All the details would have to be put up on the websites of the Supreme Court and the High Courts. The bill also bars immediate family and close relatives of judges from practicing in their courts.

The need for a statutory mechanism to address complaints of the public has been felt to bring greater transparency in the judiciary. Union Law Minister Verappa Moily has said that the proposed bill would strengthen the institution of judiciary in India by making it more accountable thereby increasing the confidence of public in the institution.

In India, courts are equivalent to "procrastination" especially because of corruption, procedural technicalities and more than a crore pending cases. This bill definitely is a noble approach to tackle the first issue. As of now, the bill has been referred to the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, headed by Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan, Member, Rajya Sabha for examination and report.

Passing the bill might not be much of a problem but the effective implementation thereof will be the major challenge as the rot in the higher judiciary seems to be much deeper than what has surfaced.

References -

http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/rsweb.asp

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article814795.ece

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Indira Mukherjee believes that the Judiciary needs massive overhauling. If you feel the same, you can share your views with her at indianpolicy2010@gmail.com

Another Colour: this time it's Jasmine

from TIMESVIEW, Jan 29, 2011

Tunisia's 'Jasmine Revolution', which forced its president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali to end his 23-year-long rule and flee the country, has created a ripple effect through the Arab world. 

Popular protests demanding political and economic freedoms have broken out in Egypt and Yemen. Spread of the contagion to other places such as Algeria, Jordan and Morocco is being predicted in the days ahead. 

Taken together, there is reason to believe that the wave of popular demonstrations could lead to a fundamental churning in the region. 

Common structural deficiencies in these countries are a key feature propelling the protests. Unrest has taken place in the backdrop of rising unemployment, institutional corruption and lack of political liberty. 

As in Tunisia's case, Egypt, Yemen, Algeria and Syria are ruled by long-standing autocratic regimes that yield little or no political space to the opposition. Any sign of dissent is severely dealt with, creating a sense of frustration among the people. 

In such circumstances, successful regime change in Tunisia has served as a powerful trigger. The idea that the Tunisian experience can be replicated elsewhere seems to be gaining currency. Catalysed by modern technology such as social networking websites and mobile phones, people across the region seem to be realising the potential for change. 

True, change could usher in more conservative regimes. Nonetheless, it will mark the beginning of a debate for greater democratic rights. Some autocratic governments facing protests are known to have cordial relations with the West. 

This should not make the latter intervene in any manner. The expression of dissent slowly sweeping across the Arab world is rooted in the region, and that is how it should remain. 

Authoritarian regimes are limiting in terms of popular aspirations. That is why the present round of demonstrations holds the potential of a political reconfiguration in the Arab world.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Change-is-possible/articleshow/7380000.cms

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Kyrgyzstan did it last year. It seems to be Africa's turn this year,,,will Asia follow? Central Asia is a potential hotspot no doubt. 

Our Chief Guest, 2011 Republic Day - Jai Hind

Indonesian President Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudoyono was the Chief Guest for India’s Republic Day today. The re-emergence of cordial ties in this new decade brings to both the countries some new opportunities. 

Bonded with trust and hope of two great leaders of the Independence era Sukarno, first president of Indonesia and Pandit Nehru, First PM of India, who laid down the foundation of Non Alignment Movement at Bandung Conference, 1955; the India-Indonesia ties have significant geo-political relevance in the present era too.

Historical background

The name Indonesia derives from the Latin Indus, meaning "India", and the Greek nesos, meaning "island". (due to the similarity of the culture in both regions). The name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia.

Indian cultural ties with the present Indian Ocean Region dates back to ancient times . The Brahmi scripts, text of Ramayana and ancient trade links were the foundation of Indian relations in the region. It can be termed more as people oriented contact as the traces can be seen even today .

The "Bali Jatra" event celebrated with fanfare in the eastern Indian state of Odisha where “Boita Bandano” (ship sailing festival) is organized on the month of November, when the monsoon wind changes direction. In ancient times, this wind marked the sailing of commercial ship to Bali. The festival is similar to the 'Masakapan Ke Tukad' festival of Bali, and to the 'Loi Krathong' festival of Thailand, both of which involve ritualistic floating of model boats around the same time of year.

Economic relations

Post 1991 crisis , India has adopted a ‘Look East Policy ‘ for reviving economic ties with the south asian region. The East Asian crisis had slowed down the pace of revival of economic relations with tiger economies at the dawn of the 21st century. The India –Indonesia relation has seen major downs in the recent past where,the two countries have been at loggerheads over differences pertaining to the India-ASEAN FTA.

Indonesia has been pushing for greater access of its palm oil exports to India while India wants a reworking of the negative list put forward by Indonesia. Further, at a bilateral level, there are also issues pertaining to the Indian demand for the removal of non-tariff barriers on its exports of meat and processed foods. Though India is one of the largest exporters of halal bovine meat in the world,Indonesia continues to ban India's bovine meat and milk products on the grounds that India is not free from Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).

Geo-Political Significance

India and Indonesia have a maritime boundary and together control the entry point from the Indian Ocean to the Bay of Bengal in the north and Malacca Straits to the east. Indonesia is the world’s most populous Islamic country and is committed to pluralism and democracy. In the context of India’s ‘Look East Policy’, it is the largest and most influential member of the ASEAN. As India prepares and works towards political and economic convergence with the region, Indonesia’s role is critical and its support is vital.

The major trade sea route connecting Indian –ocean region and pacific ocean region ,which occupies around 40% of total sea trade lies between the nations. Hence, security concerns of trade link captures a global relevance. Security forces of both nations have been coordinating for the safety and security of the trade route. China , USA ,Japan have all shown interest for combat exercise in the region in the past.

In the present global context of climate change, terrorism, economic –globalism, both India and Indonesia have to look beyond catapulting their natural and human resources. The major threats of political crisis, corrupt governance, separatist actions have been a road block in the relations. India’s Look East policy not only conforms to economic relations but also to cultural ties and there revival. Indian Industries like Aditya Birla group, TATA’s , Bajaj Auto , TVS –group ,ONGC,RITES have taken forward the economic initiative but an equal response is still awaited from Indonesia.

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Abhilash Mohapatra's timely piece hits the bull's eye. However, Republic Day Guests have become more of a symbolic nature than anything else. For instance, Kazakh President was also accorded a similar status. But what is India's present relations with the Central Asian states? 

El Nino/La Nina

Indian Policy intends to publish brief backgrounders on topics of current relevance. This is the first in the New Decade. 

Climate Change and Global warming are heavily discussed environmental buzzwords of current interest. An average citizen seems to be more aware of these terms now, than say ten years ago. Melting glaciers, increasing sea level, hotter summers and colder winters – all are in some way or the other related to these.

The recent phenomenon of massive floods in Australia, Srilanka and Brazil have been said to have occurred due to El-Nino. Let’s try and understand some key concepts related to it.

El Nino:

El Nino is the warming of water in the Pacific Ocean. El Niño is Spanish for "the boy" and refers to the Christ child, because periodic warming in the Pacific near South America is usually noticed around Christmas.

The Effects of El Niño:

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the El Niño part of the cycle involves warmer-than-usual sea temperatures, great amounts of rainfall (in the northern hemisphere) and low atmospheric pressure. The most extreme results of an El Niño event have included flooding from Ecuador to the Gulf of Mexico, massive marine life die-offs in the Pacific, hurricanes in Tahiti and Hawaii, and concurrent droughts in many other parts of the world from Southern India to Australia to Central America.

Southern Oscillation:

The Southern Oscillation is the atmospheric component of El Niño. This component is an oscillation in surface air pressure between the tropical eastern and the western Pacific Ocean waters. The strength of the Southern Oscillation is measured by the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). The SOI is computed from fluctuations in the surface air pressure difference between Tahiti and Darwin, Australia.

El-Nino and Southern Oscillation are together known as ENSO.

El Nino Modoki:

El Niño "Modoki" and Central-Pacific El Niño The traditional Niño, also called Eastern Pacific (EP) El Niño, involves temperature anomalies in the Eastern Pacific. However, in the last two decades non-traditional El Niños were observed, in which the usual place of the temperature anomaly is not affected, but an anomaly arises in the central Pacific. The phenomenon is called Central Pacific (CP) El Niño, "dateline" El Niño (because the anomaly arises near the dateline), or El Niño "Modoki" (Modoki is Japanese for "similar, but different").

The effects of the CP El Niño are different from those of the traditional EP El Niño—e.g.,the new El Niño leads to more hurricanes more frequently making landfall in the Atlantic.

The strongest such Central Pacific El Niño event known occurred in 2009-2010.

La Nina:

La Nina is the cooling of water in the Pacific Ocean. The name La Niña originates from Spanish, meaning "the girl". It has also in the past been called anti-El Niño, and El Viejo (meaning "the old man").

The Effects of La Niña:

In contrast, cooler sea temperatures, high atmospheric pressure and drier air characterize the La Niña phase of the Southern Oscillation. During La Niña, currents bring nutrients up from the deep water, providing feast, rather than famine, for marine organisms. And accompanying strong winds blow moisture away, making for cloudless skies and dry conditions in equatorial countries from the International Date Line east to South America.

You may refer to the following for more research on this topic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Ni%C3%B1o-Southern_Oscillation

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/elnino/mainpage.html

http://www.elnino.noaa.gov/lanina.html

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Indira Mukherjee is keenly following issues related to environment at the moment. Share your views and concern on the same with her at indianpolicy2010@gmail.com 

Netaji?? Who?? INA?? What??

In fact, obfuscation of reality by GoI is the standard norm. It has done that pertaining to the 1962 Sino-India war too. Dhar, Ghose et al. are relentlessly pursuing a job which we all tend to forget because of our luxurious ventures and under the sheath of capitalist forces....

New Delhi, Jan 21 (PTI) 

The Defence Ministry has challenged in the Delhi High Court an order of the Central Information Commission asking it to provide an RTI applicant the 60-year old manuscript of a book chronicling the history of ''Azad Hind Fauj'' of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

While the country will be celebrating the 114th birth anniversary of the leader on Sunday, the unpublished book commissioned by government six decades ago to chronicle the history of Azad Hind Fauj or Indian National Army (INA) will remain under wraps till the matter is finally decided. 

The case relates to an RTI application filed by activists Anuj Dhar and Chandrachur Ghose who had sought a copy of the manuscript of the book by P C Gupta, written 60 years ago, from the Defence Ministry.

The Ministry refused to provide the copy saying it is "planning" to publish the manuscript submitted in 1950 and disclosure would hit the "economic interests" of the state.

Dhar and Ghose provided a written oath to the Central Information Commission that they would not extract any economic mileage out of the manuscript and it was only for research and personal reference.

Information Commissioner M L Sharma had ordered the disclosure of manuscript rejecting the argument put forth by the Defence Ministry. He said information sought by Ghose and Dhar is "disclosable (sic)" and the reasons provided by the ministry do not hold in the light of the oath by the duo.

But rather than providing the manuscript, the Ministry has challenged the decision in the Delhi High Court which has stayed the disclosure till final order.

"This instance is symptomatic of larger malaise. Our government wants to keep everything about Netaji secret for reasons known to them," Dhar told PTI.

Meanwhile, Ghose, Dhar and other like-minded people have started a drive to get all records concerning Netaji de-classified. A pamphlet released by them links the matter to transparency and wants "complete disclosure of all information on Netaji" held by the government.

"It is unfathomable why the Ministry is so bent on hiding information that is not classified. Even the CIC did not find merit in their arguments," Ghose said.

Please Do Not "Staple" It

The recent visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was understood to be in positive direction towards fortifying Indo- China relations to newer heights. The actions seem to be ambiguous as with the recent issue of stapled visa has become a thorn in Indo-China bilateral ties.

China with the issuance of stapled visa to two Indian sportsmen from Arunachal Pradesh, the region China claims to be a part of “South Tibet” and an integral part of its territory, has altered its earlier stand of “refusal of Visa” to people from Arunachal Pradesh to "issuance of stapled visa”, thus, somewhere negating its own claim on citizenship of people of Arunachal Pradesh which it avowed to be a part of Chinese population.

A stapled visa is issued on a separate paper rather than on the passport. Such paper visas stapled to the passport are not considered valid for travel out of the country.

India in 2009 declared as "invalid” the standalone paper visas given by the Chinese embassy and consulates for Indians from Jammu and Kashmir and issued a travel advisory asking those going to China to ensure their visas are pasted on their passports. Chinese refused to give visas to Indians domicile of Arunachal Pradesh, thus, keeping alive the Eastern region dispute.

Signs of ambiguity?

China considers the region of Jammu and Kashmir (J & K) a disputed area and hence has a firm stand on issuance of stapled visas to people of that region. Such action might be regarded to the strong ties of China- Pak relation and a geopolitical strategy of Chinese where disputed region controversy is no more bilateral but an International issue.

If the recent action of issuing stapled visas to people of Arunachal Pradesh is in line with people of J & K, then, it might be termed as “disputed region controversy” waiting to become an international issue. It would be unwise to jump to a conclusion and protest for such action but India should call against such practices of stapled visas as a mode of immigration or emigration as

an international issue.

In 2007 a trip of 107 IAS officers to Beijing for higher management program was cancelled on Indian PM’s call as Chinese refused to provide visa to an IAS officer who belonged to Arunachal Pradesh.

Historical dispute

In 1913-14 British administrator, Sir Henry McMahon drew up the 550 mile McMahon line as the border between British India and Tibet as a result of Simla conference. Tibetan representatives agreed but their Chinese counterparts refused to accept it then. Post -1947, Chinese further refused to obey the agreement claiming Tibet as a local government under Chinese sovereignty. It was only after 1962 Chinese aggression and Tawang occupancy, the border dispute rose to a bilateral issue. Since then geo-political debate over western (Aksai-Chin) and Eastern (Tawang and Arunachal Pradesh) region have been a livewire in Indo-China relations.

The present economic contest between the two largest populated countries has given the border dispute an international perspective. While India has largely tried to keep it as a bilateral issue but Chinese have misused the issue to strengthen anti-India club. The Chinese with an intention to claim economic dominance in the region have time and again utilized border dispute to garner

international attention.

The November-December power trail by the superpowers (post Obama’s visit), has been significant not only in economic perspective but also as a geo political contention. China has utilized Indian support only for its own benefit. May it is for climate change talks or WTO conference. China needs to be clear in its intent and actions. Indian diplomacy definitely needs to be more robust while countering such moves.

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Abhilash Mohapatra has tendered his own views regarding the recent issue on stapled visas. Comments are welcome.

Money as Commodity, and its Political Career: A Theoretical Abstraction

It is sometimes advisable, and I follow it by starting with a negation. 

Money is, of course not a commodity; it has no intrinsic or essential value. 

It is a promissory entity, it promises value which is not ‘contained within it’ but to be realized through transactions, usually in the realization/obtainment of a commodity. However money could also be exchanged for other promissory entities, namely cheques, drafts, etc. At this point it would be wrong to say that ‘money’ has never been a commodity. Money, as we know it, is promissory, but there has been other ‘moneys’. Commodities were considered mediums of exchanges for an unbelievably long period of time; and the value of commodity money came from the value of the commodity from which it was made, namely gold, silver, copper, salt, peppercorns, livestock, conch shells (in India) etc. Together with the advent of industry, and the cultures of modernity came the desire and the need to ‘manage’ money properly and effectively and hence we graduated to paper money, or promissory money; money as we know it.

But how did money come to become commoditised? What is a commodity in the first place? A cursory and general understanding will presume that commodities are consumable; things that we consume, like tea, beverages, like even capital management schemes (namely Mutual Funds, and though we do not consume it, money market instruments are particularly ‘packaged’ to ‘manage’ our money better, which certifies and guarantees its subsequent consumption/sale/business) etc. On the other hand, air, that we breathe every moment of our life, cannot be considered a commodity. Subsequent stages of value addition, like air in a pressurized scuba tank, like air in a mountaineering gear, like flavoured air in beauty/skin treatment saloons however certifies it as a commodity. A ‘thing’ (for want of a better word) need not always be packaged to become a commodity. The ‘value addition’ (as understood in financial parlance) is something that we call ‘affect’.

A commodity is not a product (it is important to remember!), commodity is a process. Commoditisation, and decommoditisation depends on how affect works. I will give a particularly interesting example, that of water. Water (consumable water; here understood as non-salty water) occurred naturally and geographically depending on various factors like groundwater reserves, precipitation levels, slope of terrain, general climactic humidity as was found first in various forms like lakes, rivers etc. Then, value addition in the form of ‘affect’ worked by ascribing extra elemental qualities; like finding ‘holiness’ in water (declaring this particular well, that pond as ‘holy’), like slowly developing anecdotal material on water (that for example, the Ganga absolves one of all the sin committed in one’s life, the particular performance of which we are witnessing in the observance of Gangasagar Mela presently). Water was also made ‘scarce’, for example by denying the dalits the right to use water from a common village well. 

Myths have developed around water, battles have been fought, relics were immersed, World Bank funding were sanctioned and denied, nations found identities, boundaries were drawn and redrawn, until water not merely remained water. Subsequently it was understood that water is really scarce, and essential, until finally a new body of litigation developed to make it universally accessible, for everyone, so to speak. Today again, water is commoditised, albeit in a secular way, and we realise that whenever we reach for a bottle of packaged Alpine water (sometimes costing to the extent of Rs. 40), or an expat in New York buys a bottle of muddy Gangajaal for five dollars.

We therefore come to the realization that 'affect' makes and unmakes a commodity in a process that is continual and unmistakable. Some things/items (again, for want of a better word) gets commoditised easily while others resist commoditization. But why do people reach out for commodities? The answer is to be sought in two directions; a commodity has a use value (for example I need a toothbrush every morning though in winter I abhor its sight!), and a commodity has an exhibitional value, (for example, nobody otherwise would buy a pair of shoes used by Salman Khan in a particularly successful Bollywood movie for a fortune!). 

Now, coming back to our original topic of discussion, money, of course, though not a commodity per se, has use value as well as exhibitional value. In a globalised economy of money dependency, money perhaps has more exhibitional value than use value. Money creates commodity fetishism; the more the exhibitional value of money increases, the more people crave for money, the more people who don’t have enough money are rendered failed consumers. 

I am, however going to argue from a very different point of view altogether. Money, as I have argued before is primarily a promissory entity, it does not contain value; it however promises value through exchange. I am going to pursue the fate of money when it is not in circulation, when it cannot be circulated, and when it is poorly managed.

Recent studies conclude that the estimation of Indian money (black/illicit of course) stashed in the coffers of Swiss Banks go to the extent of 1.71 trillion Dollars. In another recent report it has been found that ‘over the last two decades, overseas development assistance from the rich to poor countries has totalled $50-80 billion per year. In the same period, every year, $500-800 billion of illegal funds have been sent from the poor to rich countries. 

To the best of my knowledge, Madhu Koda's (illegal mining case-wala), involving illicit monetary transactions to the extent of 600 crores could not have been investigated because of insufficiency of data regarding the Swiss bank accounts of Mr. Koda. My point is, is money like these, i.e., illicit money, a commodity. This money is out of circulation, stashed offshore as it is, and this is a money that does not have any use value for sure. Huge black money cannot usually buy huge property/commodity because it renders things disproportionate at it were. Why is therefore it valued, and how does the culture of valuation, or affect work?

My thesis is, black/illicit money is valued for its exhibitional value. One cannot exhibit illicit money per se, but there are almost innumerable subterranean ways through which this culture of illicit money and corruption find publicity, acquire exhibitional status, is craved for and finally finds a liminal acceptance in the public culture. The news of a scam is both a shock, and a pleasurable sensation. It leads to desire and craving, and without jargonizing the arena with psychoanalytic theories, I can simply say; it leads to a circulation in the public realm of a desire of more scams and more money.

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Rajarshi Mitra asked me to edit this piece; which of course, at the outset, I was reluctant to engage in: definitely, due to the futility of doing so. As I proceeded with it, that is, while reading it and then posting it for everybody's perusal, I could feel the eerie sensation of being overwhelmed by a zombie; called "Money".

Random Walk: Cryogenic and IPC

Dear All,

So, we are meeting for the first time in the New Year, I mean in the new decade. Though we are late in greeting each other, still, never mind. Let me re-iterate the hackneyed : Happy New Year and may the new year bring all the prosperities ……….well…….

Such well-intentioned phrases may not be apt if one is living (?) in India. I know, you are cursing me to be a pessimist, if not an anti-national. But let me assure you that I am not of those varieties. I have passed no seditious speech in the last one month and neither plan to utter anything of that genre in the coming one month, no, I mean one year. No, no, I guarantee, in the coming one decade at least.

I know about Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code and I know that IPC was framed by our Angrez brothers, no masters, in the year 1860. So, how do you believe that I can be an anti-national?

And you see that I am staying in this land of Rishis and Munis for over thirty years now. Even if you never liked me, I never planned to leave this land of Himalayas. Every time you disowned me, I somehow squeezed in. And still, I am among you, sermonising, being rejected, but nevertheless hopeful. Hence, from no angle, you can call me a pessimist.  

But here I am, not professing but yelling at you the ‘truth’. The truth is that, a few days back, the Times of India, aare baba our National Daily Newspaper, in its front page claimed that prices are going up and up and up. Most essentially, prices of food items are skyrocketing. Let us not go into the inflation percentages. I feel they are of no use. 

Why? For a simple reason. I do not go to the bazaar myself and thus am not paying the money from my pocket. My father still takes that pain. Don’t mock at me please. I do not have the time and my father enjoys going to the market. That’s the actual reason and nothing else.

However, I know the prices of few commodities. Let me spill out those here. One, my favourite dish:  Biriyani. In 2000, one plate of that Central Asian importation cost 36 INR. I am sure about the price since I used to have a dish almost daily at the roadside restaurant near my old house in North Kolkata. Now, in 2010-11, it costs 80 to 90 INR. So, two and a half times or about 100 to 125 per cent increase in ten years. Aah, I know your answer. You shall say ke Bhaiya, our salaries have also increased by that similar percentage. But my immediate reply to you is ke Bhaiya, your and my salaries may have increased, however, what percentage of the population do we comprise?

Few days back, one critic lambasted me left and right for having written that India has lots of poor people. He said that he would never read my pieces since I exploit my country to exalt myself. I tried to act in a professorial manner by indulging in a short lecture, but he was old enough not to be persuaded into a different track. To the contrary, he cited a nice example.

When he used to be in India (he, at present, stays in the Land of Washington), he had seen a lot of poor people, I mean penniless, rag-tag guys in his village in Uttarakhand. Now recently, when he visited India for a few days, he had gone to his village to inspect the poverty, with the hope that he might get hold of some more starving and distended belly-walas, by virtue of the expectation that those rag-tag walas had somehow procreated under the tremendous pressure of the legacy of Kamasutra.

To his utter disappointment though, he found that the sons of those rag-tag walas, had somehow gone to school, when “his” kids were having a brawl at the city discotheque, and now were planning to join the Indian Army; when “his” kids were slowly into marijuana, among others.

His conjecture, thus, was that India has become a rich country and poverty is on the decline, pretty fast.

Do you agree with him?

When I cited the official statistics (which are in any case, if not doctored, then at least partially engineered) to him, he was reluctant to go into any sort of conversation with me and stopped further discussion.

But I guess, you are ready to go ahead with this discussion? After all, we are meeting for the first time in this new decade.

I will briefly update you about some fascinating topics because I know that you were terribly busy in your office in the last couple of weeks while I was on vacation. That made me privy to: 

First, RBI has created hurdles for the Indian Oil Companies. Its most recent diktat as released on 27 December 2010 exhorted the private and public sector companies to stay away from the Asian Clearing Union while paying for oil imports from Iran.

Second, the JPC-PAC debate has not yet subsided.

Third, some villagers, whether innocent or not, have been gunned down by miscreants (Marxists or not) at a place called Netai near Lalgarh.

Fourth, ISRO’s GSLV flight nosedived, dashing all the hopes of India being quickly elevated into the elite club of countries having the ICBMs, geo-stationary satellites et al. Now, we have only one cryogenic engine left with us, as given by the Russian friends.

Fifth,……….

Fine. So I should stop here. However, before we disperse for today, I will tell you a short story.

I was privy to a sight, even a few months back; when I used to get down at the Dum Dum Metro station, one of the terminals in Kolkata. Three geriatric women stood by each other and begged in front of the passers-by. Since I somehow possess a car these days, and do not travel by the Metro, I have not seen them anymore. However, I firmly believe that they do not stand there any longer. The reason is simple. They are not extant. Why? Again, the reason is simple. In a market economy, the rule is: perform or perish.

The people did not give them any alms because they had to exist in this ‘inflation-al’ world. Hence, their cash assets must have gone down pretty fast as the ‘people’ were preserving their own. Thus, as the people were somehow performing, those three women must have perished in the process as they could not perform.

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Uddipan Mukherjee is a late riser. Still, he works 'very hard' to edit Indian Policy. By the way, he writes in diplostratics  

China and its "Black Jails"

The Qing dynasty, which ruled China from 1644 to 1911, had a system in place whereby an aggrieved person could seek redress of his/her grievances against the local government officials at the respective provincial capital or, as the case may permit, in Beijing. This monarchical rule was aimed to dispense justice to the rural and sub-urban masses, who were staying away from the capital city.

After the revolution in 1949, The communist party too retained this system more or less with little alterations. This system is called the "Petitioning".

From 1982 to 2003, the "Custody and Repatriation system" was in place. Under this system, the police could detain people if they did not have the residence permit (hukou) or temporary living permit (zanzhuzheng). They were later repatriated to the place where they could legally stay and work.

However, this law led to severe misuse whereby police started detaining indiscriminately and also resorted to torture. However, the notorious Sun Zhigang incident led the Chinese government to abolish this system in 2003.

The abolition of the erstwhile "Custody and Repatriation system" led the local government officials to think of other ways to arrest people who were flooding the cities to petition against the atrocious abuses of power by the local government officials to the higher levels of government. The victims were generally seeking justice for illegal land grabs, police torture, government corruption et al.

The setup in China imposes bureaucratic penalties on local officials when there is a vast inflow of petitions from their areas. To check these complaints reaching the top officials, the provincial leaders, colluding with some hired agents (called jiefang renyuan) had people coming to cities arrested under the "Custody and Repatriation system". However, as this system was subsequently abolished in 2003, the local government did not possess any garb to detain the petitioners (called shangfangzhe).

Continuous inflow of petitioners from an area leads to demerit the career of the concerned provincial official and moreover, the fangs of the omnipresent devil called 'Corruption' has beset the lives of the rural people, who are also more willing to petition as they find this as the only way to redress these issues. Violations of basic human rights are commonplace in several provinces. Justice is hard to come by as the local courts, the so-called dispenser of justice, are under the control of the very officials the complaints are made against. The legal system is also quite expensive for the common rural Chinese people. Thus, petitioning has become the only way for redressal for the masses.

Petitioners are required to submit their complaints to the "Office of Letters and calls" in Beijing or in other branches in the provinces. However, the agencies contracted by the provincial officials to arrest these people, have their agents all over the city & arrest any person who has come to submit his/her petition. The rural plaintiffs are generally easy to identify from the local residents as they always remain in distinctive groups. They are then arrested and sent to the "Black Jails."

The word "black" here does not signify darkness, but the illicit nature of this whole business. The local officials, with the connivance of the security authorities in cities, establish the black jails to ensure that the petitioners are arrested, tortured and sent back to their respective places so that they can go and narrate the experience they had. This should stop further coming of other aggrieved petitioners, or at least restrict the deluge to a minute trickle.

Thus, these jails are there to protect the incumbent officials at the county, municipal, and provincial levels from career degradation.

The black jails are quite unassuming too. They are established in schools, hostels, nursing homes, government mental hospitals and the like. The detainees are arrested, stripped of all belongings and then put through extreme physical torture. Depriving the detainees of sleep and food is the most common technique adopted by the abductors. Neither legal justification of the arrest is provided, nor is the duration for which they will be held incommunicado in these jails is informed.

20-30 people are generally made to stay in a single room. Black jail detainees are subjected to psychological abuses too. In a flagrant violation to child rights, a 15-year old girl was locked up in a black jail (ostensibly a nursing home) for petitioning for his crippled father.

Basic medical facilities are also not provided. As per Human Rights Watch, 

"A 70-year-old former detainee from Hubei province resorted to a three-day hunger strike to compel her captors to allow her access to a doctor." Force-feeding drugs to petitioners is also employed.

The most well known black jail is the Beijing Ma Jialou, the official name being 'Ma Jialou Beijing Petitioners Aid Centre'.

A spike in the number of petitioners was observed during the Beijing Olympics, 2008 (as was observed for the Tibetan protestors). However, the black jail authorities curbed these flows successfully.

These extralegal black jails possess a strong organizational structure too. Once a detainee is abducted and brought in, the black jail for the particular province to which this person belonged to, is informed and the abductee is subsequently transferred to that jail.

Operators of these black jails receive 150 yuan (US$22) to 200 yuan (US$29) per person they abduct from the provincial-level official. This provides another reason among the other multifarious ones to employ this form of illegal detention methods. The payment criterion also engenders the rather obvious temptation to abduct much more rural personnel in the cities, though many may even turn out to be non-petitioners.

The black jail guards also do their part with impunity. They steal the detainees personal belongings, demand for suitable payments for the food and lodging in the black jails, and to top it all, ask for payments as high as 15,000 yuan (US$2,205) as a condition of release from these jails.

The hypocritical stance of the Chinese government becomes conspicuous once we go through their basic commitments to human rights.

In 2004, the Chinese government amended the constitution to read that, "The state respects and preserves human rights." In 2009, China presented the National Human Rights Action Plan, which among many others state that 

"The Chinese government unswervingly pushes forward the cause of human rights in China."

Though information regarding these jails were published by Human Rights Watch in its 53-page report aptly titled "An alleyway in hell" in 2009, and also by some newspapers published in HongKong, the Chinese government has never acknowledged its presence. 

In June 2009, the Chinese government asserted in the Outcome Report of the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review of China's human rights record that, "There are no black jails in the country." Chinese officials also assertively denied the presence of any Black jails, when asked by Al-Jazeera reporters.

Why did China never acted strongly against these jails, leave along acknowledging it in the international forum? 

One reason may be is as the public discontent in China being at an all-time high, an act against these jails might alienate the county, municipal, provincial government officials. The communist party requires these lower level officials to curb the sprouting dissensions.

However, China has to do some face-saving act after the publication of the reports about the black jails and even more so after the Liu Xiaobo saga (even though China managed to persuade around 20 countries to not attend the ceremony) & China has of late paid heed to the black jails & has ordered 582 of these to be stopped, although not acknowledging their presence in anyhow official manner. 

In 2010, Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau officials detained Zhang Jun, chairman of "Anyuanding Security Service Company", and Zhang Jie, general manager of this company, for "illegally detaining people and illegal business operation.

In 2010 again, a guard of a black jail located in a hotel in Beijing, got 8 years of imprisonment for raping a female petitioner who had been illegally held in custody.

In order to sort out this problem of these illicit; nay, gruesome detention centres, Chinese government has to show a strong political will as this system involves a cobweb of officials, security personnel, hired goons etc. This high-money 'business' has grown even bigger and to curb it completely, some stringent actions are required.

Interestingly, a strong political will and stringent actions are the things which were never wanting in the Land of the Dragon. 

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Subham Ghosh is writing after a hiatus. Nevertheless, he is our first author of the new decade. And we all shower praise on him for such an enterprising piece in which he unravels something of the many things we all want and wanted to know about the mysterious and belligerent neighbour of ours.