Brazil - Another Mourning

It was the most anticipated day in Brazil that year. On 16th July, 1950 Brazil was meeting Uruguay in the final group game of the football world cup (sometimes, this is incorrectly termed as the world cup final but there was no knock-out format in that tournament). Brazil led Uruguay by a single point coming into this match.

Thus, Uruguay had to win this match claim the world cup, where as a draw would have sufficed for Brazil.

For the match on that fateful day, 173,830 tickets were officially sold. Unooficial records indicate a crowd in excess of 200,000. This is even now the highest crowd ever recorded in the world for an event.

The match was scheduled at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Coming into this match, Brazil had been in an impeccable form. They had blown away heavyweights like Spain en route to this final group game. On the other hand, the performance of the Uruguan national could not have been more contrasting. After a draw in their first mathc, they scraped past Sweden to reach this stage.

A win for the Selecao was most definitely on the cards.

All preparations were done to celebrate a Brazilian victory. As the story goes, even the then FIFA president Mr. Jules Rimet had also prepared a post-match speech congratulating the Brazilian team.

Carnivals started days before the match on the streets of Rio de Janeiro to celebrate their national team's victory.

Local newspapers started publishing the photograph of the Brazilian national team with the caption 'These are the world champions.'

Brazilian football federation prepared winners medal for the entire Brazil squad.

On 16th July, the stadium was jampacked hours before the kick-off. The deafening noise percolated to the Uruguayan dressing room too. However, the Uruguayan captain Obdulio Varela was not intimidated.

However, the much respected Uruguyan coach Juan Lopez was quite diffident. He asked his players to sacrifice their attacking intents and defend so that they lose by a respectable margin.

Once Lopez exited the room, the legendary captain Varela stood up and said these immortal words - 'Juan is a good man, but today he is wrong..."

Varela, regarded as the best holding midfielder the world has ever seen, started imposing himself and went into the break with the match tied at 0-0.

However, just after the restart, Friaca scored to give Brazil the lead. The towering character of Obdulio Varela again came to the forefront. He just said 'It's time to win, boys.'

The rest, as the cliche goes, is history. 

Uruguay scored twice to lift the world cup in the biggest shock in football history.

The effect of this loss was unprecedented in the football-mad country of Brazil. In the stadium itself, two supporters committed suicide by jumping off the stands.

The next day was that of a day of mourning. The entire country stood standstill. The then white and blue jersey was changed to the now famous yellow one as it was believed that the earlier one was jinxed.

Moreover, "Maracanazo" became a slang in Brazil meaning the Maracana blow!

Subham Ghosh connects football with history !

DEBATE:New wave agitational politics is the right way forward?

Indira Mukherjee

Karl Marx in his “Theses on Feuerbach” said – “Philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point however, is to change it.” Now the moot question is - who will bring this change? Let’s try and answer.

Respected Director Ma’am, Judges, members of faculty and friends – a very good evening to all. I, Indira Mukherjee will be speaking for the motion.

We will answer our question for two different political regimes – one democratic, and the other non-democratic. Now democracy, as we all understand, revolves around the idea of periodic elections. Our representatives become our voice and they bring about changes. But what happens, when a simple, innocuous, harmless, vivacious, young girl is brutally raped and left to die on the streets? Now my worthy opponents, who are non-believers in agitation will answer this by falling in two categories – one group will say, that we should wait for the next elections!! And the second group members are clones of Narayan Shankar of the movie Mohabbatein who will say “I don’t like changes”.

But ladies and gentlemen, lets not forget that revolution is the indispensable midwife of social change. And a revolution, either violent or non-violent is inextricably entwined with the concept of agitation. Now some may ask – does and agitation really work? Well, appointment of the Justice Verma Committee and the 2013 criminal amendment act, says “Yes”. Again, it is not a one-off example. A simple Gandhian and few members of the civil society protested against the widening tentacles of corruption as they assembled at the Ramlila Maidan in favour of a strong Lokpal. Was it a total failure? The parliament proceedings on the Lokpal bill say “No”.

The entire concept of agitation has got a new meaning now – it is no longer restricted to sloganeering, it encompasses candle-light march, not-mere-scribbling over facebook, and intense marketing/advertising. And this phenomenon is not unique to India. Self-immolation of a brave-heart like Mohammad Bouazizi, a simple fruit seller on the streets of Tunisia, sparked off the Arab Spring. My friends from other side may say that this agitation was a failure much due to the Syrian crisis and Libyan quagmire. However, the fate of Hosni Mubarak, Zine Abedin Ben Ali, Gaddafi point to a different story.

Dictatorship, absolute monarchy, Human Rights violation, oppression, hegemony, tyranny, political corruption, economic decline, educated joblessness – you just can’t bring these issues to the forefront without a new wave agitation. In fact, not only the developing world but even the developed world believes in agitation. The biggest and recent most example in this regard is the Occupy Wall Street Movement – the reasons and results of which are well known.

So you see, Ladies and Gentlemen - a rape in India, a self-immolation in Tunisia, and a movement on economic grounds in the US, tickled the conscience of the common man and they agitated to bring about quick changes, showing that social, political and economic – all three genres of change can be brought by new wave agitation.

I ask this august gathering, tell me – why should a person not agitate? Even if we live in the kulags of Stalin, the rice fields of Polpot and hounded by Gestapo of Hitler, should we not protest? We might not get all that we aspire for via agitation but if we don’t, we get NOTHING at all.

Coming to the Indian context, let me remind you that democracy is not only about voting, it is about deliberation; democracy is not only about a party manifesto, it is about participation; democracy is not about remaining a mute spectator, it is about exercising one’s freedom of speech. And it is not only me, who believes in the potential of an agitator. Even the TIME magazine in its December 2011 issues, named “The Protestor” as the person of the year.

If we wish to see India as not only the largest but also the strongest democracy of the world, if we wish to stop an individual from becoming a mere intellectual, mummified mannequins and if we wish to prove that socio-economic-political inequity is nothing but a terminological in-exactitude, then we have to protest, we have to contest, we have to agitate because, at the end of the day Ladies and Gentlemen – New Wave agitational politics is the right way forward. Chaos, is sometimes; order.

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Indira Mukherjee is an IPS probationer currently undergoing training at  SVPNPA,Hyderabad. This post is her replication of the debate held there.

Election Duty-an Experience

 India, the largest democracy of the world had the mammoth voting task in 2014. As this year began, politicians started with their strategy as never before. 2013-end witnessed Assembly election of 5 states, which was the forerunner for the election to the House of People.

As the Model Code of Conduct came into force in the month of March, gradually the Ministries in Delhi observed a lull in the work. More so in Planning Commission (PC), which has job of coordinating with all the Central Government Ministries and the different states?

Being posted in PC, I heaved a sigh of relief in March. Being bogged down with Appraisal works related to 5-6 ministries, this was my party time-I felt. I was soon going to be proved wrong.

On 12th March, around 6:30 pm, a message came-"you are directed to report to Dayal Singh College at 2:30 pm on 14.03.2014. Failure to report is a cognizable offence under the Representation of People Act. My goodness-the thing that is dreaded by a govt. servant has happened-election duty!!!!!!!!!! Although Delhi witnessed Assembly election towards the end of 2013, I was exempted. But this time it was not the case.

14th march-I went to the college along with my batch mate-E. Renbi Jami, who is also posted in PC. It seemed 50% of PC was virtually present. Some people have worked as Presiding officer for 6-8 times. Their countless anecdotes, which were all of the negative flavour, did nothing to boost our courage. The machine seemed nothing better. How to seal it, use it, clear it after conducting a mock poll seemed to be the biggest puzzle I have faced in my life. More so because I was a first timer. With a heavy heart, I returned that day with an exceptionally fat "Presiding officer's handbook", which I was supposed to read. 

The next training was fixed at the same time and place-but on Saturday, 22nd March. So election training has already started interfering in our weekends, reminding us that we are 24X7 Government o value addition happened on this particular day is what I felt.

3rd training-Sunday, 30th March at 10 am-ITI Pusa. This day seemed a better one. We were divided into numerous compartments-all belonging to the Karol bagh Constituency of New Delhi. In this training, we met our team mates. I was glad to see that the team comprised of 3 gentlemen, all of whom have been on duty before and knew the election process in and out. I was assured by them that it is a team work and there is no point of being nervous or hyper. This assurance continued till the end of the polling day and I am grateful to each of them.

 In the 4th training, this time from 9am and again on Saturday-we were provided with our kit. My team mates shared their knowledge and requested me to complete all the envelopes. So we headed to the house of the person which was the nearest and completed the job-which took about an hour.

The training also seemed to make us ready for the D-Day. The final training began at 8am. As soon as it was over, we completed all the formalities relating to the forms which could be done before hand. It was just a day before the election. So we got to meet our Sector Officer also. He seemed to be a cool person and urged us not to panic unnecessarily and promised to be by our sides throughout. His only request was that we should make it to the booth at 4:45 am the following day.

10th April-the D-DAY. I had a cab booked at 4 am, although my team mate gave me the option to stay back at his place. Getting up at 2:45 am and getting ready by 4am seemed to take half of my energy. But this was just the beginning of the day. We reached the venue on time and were soon greeted by the Sector Officer. He handed us the Electronic Voting Machine, popularly known as EVM. We made all the set-up. Now this time the directive was to conduct 50 Mock Polls in front of the polling agent. But lo-the machine was not working. Keeping in mind the sector officer's directive, we gave him a call before putting our knowledge in it. He came and cleared the machine properly. The machine was now ready. We conducted the mock poll, cleared the machine and the day started. The machine is now ready for use.

The polling started at 7am sharp. The presiding officer has no work now. So I carried on with all the formalities that are needed at the end of the day. We have already got our incentive-cash for the day's ordeal. The sector officer made occasional visit-to boost us as well as to give directives so that at the day's end the submission at the reception counter becomes easier. The time flew quickly. Soon we heard the clock striking 6 pm. No one was waiting outside to vote. We closed the door and the post-election formalities started. Putting the forms in the respective envelopes, getting sign of the polling agents-sealing the machine-it took 1.5 hours to do everything. We finally boarded the bus at 7:35 pm. 

It was a great journey. The reception counter was at NPS School, popularly known as Bengali School at Gole Market. With police escort, it took hardly 15 minutes to reach there. We seemed the lucky few to have reached so early. Immediately, took a token number to submit the machine. Around 9:30, submitted the machine, with around 20 different forms. As we left, we found people finishing their last bit, sitting on the chairs or on the ground. We felt elated to have completed our part and let the submission happen in a hassle free way. This also needs the mention of the Sector Officer, who stood throughout during the submission process.

Scores of buses from all part of South Delhi were now heading towards the counter. We saw heavy traffic from our way to CP from Gole Market. People, tired of the day's journey were now witnessing the last and most difficult part of the day. I reached home around 10:30 pm. My roommate had made food for me and was waiting for me. It seemed such a relief to see her and lie down on the bed after the long day.

Some lessons that I re-learnt:

1. It is always better to do a home work before such mammoth task.
2. Team work is always essential. Even more is to have better understanding among the team people. We had lunch one by one, without having any problem, thanks to this unity.
3. Public dealing should be done always without losing temper.
4. A little bit of flexibility doesn't cause harm.

This was an experience of a life time. I won't say that I would look forward to it, but I definitely cherished this arduous journey.
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Third in the series , the anonymous author spells out the ground realities which speak of the experiences of the official on poll duty.

Democratic Upsurge in India

Rajan Agarwal

“A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.”
― Theodore Roosevelt

One cannot probably think of a better time to narrate the democratic upsurge in India with a firsthand experience of the same. The general elections for the 16^th Lok Sabha are ongoing giving us a live demonstration of the democratic upsurge in India.

India adopted the principle of universal adult franchise when the present Constitution was implemented on 26 January, 1950, according to which if one is an Indian citizen of 18 years or above, he or she can vote. Unlike Western democracies, which granted the right to vote first to propertied men, later educated men, then all men and only after much debate and agitation to women, independent India granted all adult men and women regardless of their religion, caste, language, wealth or education the right to vote in one fell swoop. Thus started the sunrise of democracy in India which had till then been eclipsed by the imperialistic Britain.

Democracy is not new to India; it existed even during the ancient period. Ancient India is claimed to be the repository of the highest form of democracy. We find the people participating in urban councils with the power to instruct and direct the king according to their will. The multitude of ethnicities and people provided for the autonomy and self-determination of the villages, city-states, republics and constitutional kingdoms through the observance of Dharma. The villages ruled by their elected representatives and were, therefore, autonomous and self-governing administrative units having the power to manage their educational, economic social, administrative and other requirements. Their own assemblies and committees also governed townships. There were Mahajanapadas and Janapadas which represented a form of democracy.

Wikipedia defines Democracy as a form of government in which all eligible citizens participate equally—either directly or indirectly through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of laws. It encompasses social, religious, cultural, ethnic and racial equality, justice, liberty and fraternity. But democracy is not merely limited to electing one’s representative or voting but I essence it comprises of all the actives which ultimately lead to an elected representative. Democracy is about the freedom of speech through which ne puts forward one’s ideas, it is about the freedom to pen down one’s thoughts and debate about it, to form an opinion and sit back and analyze your vote for the next 5 years to start the process all over again.

Despite not having compulsory voting, the number of people voting keeps increasing the percentage remaining around 60%. Unlike the global trend which points to a steady decline in voting numbers, Indians vote in large numbers because they believe democracy brings about a change in their lives, a change for the better. Analysts have pointed out that if those at the lower end of the socio-economic hierarchy take the trouble to vote, defying threats and violence, it is because democracy is bringing change in their lives, however small these might be.

The first general election were held in 1951 and Indian National Congress emerged as the clear winners and the process continued till the 70’s when the first democratic upsurge occurred with the declaration of emergency and collapse of Congress rule. Politically, this led to a non-Congress coalition ruling India for the first time since independence. Socially, it led to the transfer of political power from the upper caste Hindus who had dominated the Congress since its inception to the intermediate peasant castes, today called the OBCs or the Other Backward Castes.

Democracy is not about a single dominant community enjoying all the privileges but about the uprising of the people in the lowest rung of the social ladder. The second democratic upsurge, which began in the late 80s, brought the Dalits into the political mainstream as an independent force. By 2007, the Dalit controlled BSP ruled India’s largest state. However, the economic and social transformation of the second democratic upsurge is far from complete, with the Dalits continuing to face marginalization and violence, mainly from the OBCs.

The democracy keeps on growing with the addition of every new voter to the electoral rolls, with the addition of cleaner candidates in the parliament and with the election moving away from caste based to issue based one. One such democratic upsurge could be the slow entry of the middle class and neo middle class into politics. These are the very people who made a conscious effort and stayed away from politics although criticizing and narrating its pitfalls every minute. But in the fag end of 2010 it appeared that the neo-middle class was ready to enter politics with its own voice. During the India Against Corruption agitation, it was noted that middle class India was now a mass and wanted to play a bigger role in the country’s politics through its media clout. The key intervention of the AAP has been to combine this new middle class clout with the numbers and anger of Delhi’s working class to produce a transparent, non-sectarian urban political coalition. Could this be the third democratic upsurge? Well people on both sides my argue in favor or against the motion but the rise of the neo-middle class is a new chapter in the book of democracy.

One cannot forget the most important institution which is responsible for conducting the elections, The Election Commision-The Election Commission (EC), which conducts the polls, goes the extra mile to ensure that voters can exercise their franchise. In some parts of the country, which are inaccessible by roads, officials trek for three to four days or ride on the backs of elephants to set up polling booths. In the western state of Gujarat, the EC has set up a polling booth for one voter - a priest in a temple in the heart of the Gir forest, which is home to the Asiatic lion. He will vote in the third phase of the election. Officials brave wild animals, scorching heat, long treks, militants and impatient voters to ensure that people can exercise their fundamental right to vote.

While India gears up for the month long 16^th Lok sabha elections, democracy is getting redefined. Every election is termed as a historical one because it brings out new dimensions of the word democracy. Following are some of the key areas:

Social Media:  The educated urban youth, in the near past  had completely alienated themselves from mainstream political activism. For a long time, associating with politics or political activism was a taboo and was considered a major negative in the path of a bright young Indian's professional career growth. But things are changing fast. The signs were all there for the last two-three years when the rapid popularity of the social media was making things undergo fast metamorphosis. Twitter and Facebook became great tools for the reluctant young Indian to actively engage at least in discussions on political, economic, military as well as social issues. What started as discussions eventually became powerful groups for not just mere discussions but criticism and dissemination of opinion on several issues..

 How much the social media and active engagement of educated youth of India would make a real difference in the election outcomes, only time can say that. But no one can deny the fact that social media is here to stay and it is increasingly becoming an indispensable tool for political democracy. With India's internet penetration moving steadily upward, the reach would eventually extend to not just the educated mass of cities but also perhaps one day become a tool to connect with every Indian, be it urban or rural, be it the skilled or unskilled workforce, be it the elite or the rustic. Social Media is here to stay and is now an extended army of democracy of India from which nothing can be hidden and which is now a major pressure group to reckon with, which no one can ignore. Social media has perhaps made India's democracy more inclusive.

Citizen’s participation: The mechanisms for citizens’ participation in governance have been conceptualized in the form of citizens seeking information, citizens giving suggestions, citizens demanding better services, citizens holding service providers and other government agencies accountable and citizens actively participating in administration and decision making processes. Access to information is a fundamental requirement for ensuring citizens’ participation in governance. In this context, the Right to Information Act 2005 has laid down adequate ground-work for the same. Its functionality and utility depends on greater awareness on part of the citizens. The process of including people in decision making processes necessarily needs to start small and with direct interaction with the citizens, asking for their suggestion through surveys, referenda, public hearings, suggestion boxes etc.

Grievance redressal : An effective public grievance redressal system includes identification and analysis of grievance prone areas, setting up of a consumer protection system in the form of lok adalats and consumer forums for rapidly dealing with consumer complaints, and setting up of a well-functioning consumer feedback system. These mechanisms must necessarily be inclusive of marginalised sections of the society- women, physically challenged, lower castes, remotely located and such like. The Citizen's Charter and Grievance Redressal Bill 2011 also known as The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011 is a manifestation of it.

Civil Society:  India is the largest democracy in the world. But without its lively NGO scene, many ills in society would continue unchallenged. Civil society derives its strength from the Gandhian tradition of volunteerism, but today, it expresses itself in many different forms of activism. Recently, Anna Hazare – a modern Gandhian and his team struggled hard to pressurize the union government to pass a strong Jan Lokpal Bill so that bureaucracy, courts and ministry including Prime Minister could be brought within the purview of such a strong law to check corruption in India. it was successful to large extent when the The Lokpal Act,2013 was made.

Public Delivery System: “Democracy eventually gives everyone a promise and a hope to be included in citizen entitlements. Within the international community, democracy and governance are widely advocated as intrinsically desirable and important goals. The challenge for democracies is, therefore, not simply to strengthen downward electoral accountability so that politicians have an incentive to pay attention to citizen needs.  The need for democracy and development and the challenge of developing societies like India is to make democratic governance work in terms of good public delivery systems which truly impact the lives of citizens.” -Najeeb Jung, current Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. Effective public service delivery implies involvement of citizens at all stages of a programme, that is, planning, implementation and monitoring.

Placing citizens at the centre of administrative and decision making processes of the government is the hallmark of a living and thriving democracy. The great churning process has begun once more and after several round we have made a remarkable progress but lot is left to be done. There might be a democratic upsurge in India but several reforms still await to see the light of the day. The Supreme Court struck down Section 8 (4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which protects convicted MPs and MLAs from disqualification if they appeal before a higher court within three months, on the ground of pendency of appeal. This was indeed a landmark judgement but the final call lies with the voters who exercise their right to flush out the criminal background candidates, they have even been bestowed the NOTA option i.e. to reject all the candidates incase none appears a clean candidate. The media has never been so lively before bringing out the intricacies of candidates, parties, manifestos and all involved in the election. But ultimately it’s the voter whose level of literacy and understanding of the candidate he votes for which will decide the future of Indian democracy and not the ‘tainted neta’ or the ‘mafia’ lord or the ‘empty dream weaver’. 

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Rajan Agarwal is a civil service aspirant. This essay is a replica of the  entry for the essay competition at www.upscportal.com securing 4^th position.

India of my Dreams

 

Rajan Agarwal

‘Mera Bharat Mahan’, we so often hear people say more in a sarcastic tone than as a praiseworthy gesture, although deep within everyone dreams of it becoming true. The reality is that more than 60% people of India are not developing with India. People are unemployed, poor and dying with hunger. And, such conditions are increasing corruption, terrorism and giving the birth to dirty politics. We need an India which we see in our dreams. Dreams, defined by Wikipedia as, a series of thoughts, images, sensation occurring in our mid during sleep, do they hold significance? Indeed if we were to believe the words of our former president Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam ,”Dreams are not those which comes while you are sleeping, but dreams are those when you don’t sleep before fulfilling them.” So dreams indeed become reality if we work towards it dedicatedly. It is in many ways necessary for a country like India to be insane and dream as it is a bigger crime not to dream than to dare to dream. I dream of such India, when people coming in India say, ’Tumhara Bharat Mahan’. Every person dreams of India in his/her own beneficial way:

I as a poor sick person dream of India where Healthcare facilities are within the reach of the poorest of the poor, not because of any subsidy but because of my being empowered enough to claim it. I wish to reside in a country where people can afford to get sick. Quality healthcare is available to every section of society.

I as a farmer dream of Bharat as a place where opportunities are not sold but grabbed to rise up the ladder. A place where grains are not allowed to rot in the open rather market exists for  selling them in the open. I don’t wish to claim subsidies and be looked down upon rather empowered to buy my requirements through my own earnings.

I as a citizen stung by the needle of corruption would dream of India as a minimal corrupt country where I have a voice to raise. I feel corruption has  lead to the downfall of my country’s GDP from a double digit growth figure to the below 5 status.

I as a business oriented person dream of India with which U.S. competes, not just in terms of development but ‘sustainable’ development, a concept wherein we take care for our future generations. India where economic development reaches the level of Rupees 1=1$. The economy has the potential to reach this height if everyone works towards it.

I as Indian researcher dream of India as knowledge hub where its scientists, engineers doctors research and work in collaboration with people from other country. A situation where the concept of brain drain is reversed, and live in a place where the number of renowned institutes(IITs, IIMs, ISRO etc.) are sufficient in number to encourage healthy competition without arbitrary reservation. Reservations exist, but not for a particular caste or community but for the one deserving it on merit.

I as Indian athlete, dream of the establishment of world class infrastructure to train myself, funds to keep the infrastructure in place and change in looking perspective to sports other than cricket. I dream of getting the same reception on winning an Olympic medal as one gets for winning a cricket world cup. I as a hockey player want to relieve the golden history and restore the importance given to national sports. A country where talent is brought up the ladder from the least accessible corner of my India and given world class training. 

I as a literate person dream of 100% literate India, literacy of not  just being able to put a signature but the one which enables a neo-literate to access his required needs and claim his wants, one which prevents you from getting duped by literate people. A country where no one puts his/her thumbs on a paper but proudly signs after understanding and verifying its contents.

I as a rural India resident dream of having a bank branch in every village with all having access to it. An India where money lenders don’t find enough people to cheat because of the number of banking options available with people.

I as Indian Foreign Service officer dream of my India as a country which commands respect in the world forum not only because of its peace endeavours but also because of its power to tackle the strongest of the nations and its rate of development.

I as a resident of Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh dream of India where my border issue has been successfully resolved once and for all, thereby ending years of aggression, suffering, terrorism and conflict.

I as a resident of Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand Andhra Pradesh Maoist infected areas dream of my India where the need to drift to Maoist activities is over. Those gone deep into the maze have returned and an environment of peace and mutual trust has developed.

I as a part of Army, Navy, Air Force, dream of India having well-equipped forces with access to latest weapons and technology that too developed indigenously by DRDO and ISRO.

I as a scientist at ISRO dream of India launching space missions, like Mars mission launched recently, every year on our own without thinking of the paucity of funds.

I as an environmentalist dream of India as a country where environment safe guards are adhered to and most of the flora and fauna come out of the endangered and threatened categories and rights of Tribal people to the forest and forest products are recognized and granted. I dream of India as a country greener than ever before where every person plants and cares for a minimum of 10 to 20 trees in his life time, where wild life is safe from poachers, where Man lives in harmony with Nature,

I as the finance minister of India dream of the country in a situation when there is no need to import ay petroleum products rather vehicles run on 'Gobar gas' produced all around the country at a very low cost and which emits little or no polluting gases. I dream of solar fixation of vast stretches of waste and barren land to produce the maximum potential of solar energy which can electrify the farthest and the distant village in India and also take care of the climbing fiscal deficit. I dream of India where export if not exceeds definitely equals import.

I as traveller and IT professional dream of India as a country 100% connected not only by railways, airways, roadways but also by internet, mobile, bank. The railways, airways, roadways might connect you physically but the internet mobile and bank will connect you permanently.

I as a cleanliness administering citizen dreams of India as a clean country in which I am ready to play my role a supportive citizen.

‘Justice delayed is Justice denied’ I as a law abiding citizen dream of India where Justice is meted out to each and everyone who seeks it within  a fixed time- period and no case be dragged o for more than 6 months, if need be more courts be set up and all should function like the fast track courts.

I as a rural migrant, dream of India where the rural and urban standard of living achieves a common platform. Our lifestyles may differ but both sides are able to access all the facilities. People like me will be forced to migrate to the urban side. 70% of our population lives in rural areas.  Rural unemployment is a massive problem.  This is resulting in exodus to the cities, which our cities are not able to absorb properly.  For those who stay in rural India, their potential is underutilized leading to social problems.  We need to develop new, progressive models for rejuvenating rural India.  We should not do this through dole oriented schemes like NREGA that breed inefficiencies and complacency.  We have to do this by rejuvenating agriculture, so that we are able to raise its productivity and economic opportunity. 

I as a regular voter dream of my India where close to 100% voting takes place and everyone expect for those having serious ailments come out and raise the bar for democracy. I as a voter also dream of India where candidates don’t dole out bribes to the voters for immediate gains and vanish after that rather understand grass root level issues and deal with them.

I as a sweeper dream of my India where my work will be respected and not looked down upon because I fend for myself and not beg from anyone.

I as a prisoner dream of my India where I am not only stuffed in jail with a bleak future but where people like me get transformed into law abiding citizens having a skill set which ensures me and my jail mates a standard source of income.

I as a tsunami or a natural calamity affected person dream of an India having the latest technology in terms of warning systems so that I will not have to become homeless once again. I dream of  country where aid reaches the person in need before he clamours for it, aid not in terms of cash but in terms of support to rebuild himself/herself.

I as student who struggled to get myself educated dreams of India where free education is provided to all the deserving candidates instead to subsidies and reservations so that I become educated enough to fend for myself and my family.

I as a woman of India dream of my country as a place where I can raise my voice and it is heard, where justice is meted out for the minutest crime against me, where I am empowered to take decisions in my favor, where I am no longer looked down upon as an entity to be overpowered but as a person stronger than of the opposite sex.

I as a news follower dream of India where media houses have more positive news to show rather than the current stuff they show repeatedly.

Finally I as a fellow dream that the above dreams of the citizens of India for various backgrounds become a reality. It is not for the fact that I have a dream hidden within these dreams but because when several individual dreams are fulfilled, the spirit of unity ensures that everyone lives a single collective dream towards which they start working whole heartedly. I don’t dream of people asking for more subsidies or reservation because these are selfish dreams, I dream of people asking for more opportunities and chances to prove their worth.

I would like to quote Mahatma Gandhiji in this regard,” I shall work for an India, in which the poorest shall feel it is their country in whose making they have an effective voice; an India in which there shall be no high class and low class of people; an India in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony. There can be no room in such an India for the curse of untouchability or the curse of the intoxicating drinks and drugs. Women will enjoy the same rights as men. Since we shall not be at peace with all the rest of the world, exploiting, nor being exploited, we should have the smallest army imaginable. This is the India of my dreams….I shall be satisfied with nothing less.”

India of my dreams is not entirely of my dreams alone because I am not its only resident, within India of my dream lies the India of everyone’s dream which is not perfect neither 100% problem free but an India which strives towards being perfect, an India where people think of solutions before seeing the problem itself, an India where dreams are turned into reality. I dream of a shining India, a vibrant democracy and a secular nation taking centre-stage in the comity of nations. I dream to see ‘INDIA  DREAMS’

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Rajan Agarwal is a civil service aspirant. This essay is a replica of the short-listed entry for the essay competition at www.upscportal.com

Participatory Policing

Subham Ghosh

The famous community-based and welfare policing scheme, popularly referred to as the "beat box" system, was implemented in Delhi (West). It was the brainchild of Dr. Kiran Bedi, India's first lady IPS officer. She believed entirely in reformative policing, in which the criminals are to be reformed rather than treated inhumanely in some putrid prison cells. This aspect of Mrs. Bedi was vividly displayed in her renowned reform measures initiated in the infamous Tihar jail.

In the "beat box" system of policing, the local beat constables were made to swear to help people in need within his/her designated area.However, the most interesting and game-changing aspect of this system was that the 'blue' or 'white' boxes were funded from neighbourhood donations. This not only excluded any additional financial burden on the police force, but also actively involved the community members.Each of these beats was manned for three hours daily by the assigned local beat constable. On top of this, an effective system of monitoring was also implemented. The SHO (Station House Officer) briefed the local beat constables daily.

The crime rates in these areas dropped conspicuously during her tenure. This also highlighted the fact that a community-driven policing approach, with the role of police personnel limited to that of facilitators, is the most effective one.The morale of the police constables was extremely low when Dr. Bedi took charge. This was due to multifarious reasons. Most prominent among them were low salaries and extraneous interferences.

Once this system was initiated, the constables' sagging morale was lifted due to the importance attached to his new role. The constables started to treat the beat under his purview as his home. The local beat constable, in effect, acted like a peace counsellor and an arbiter. Petty disputes, which would have entailed lengthy and cumbersome processes within the legal procedures, were settled mostly in an amicable manner and that too in no time.

The common people in the community too felt empowered as they were heard readily. The beats became mini police stations in effect.

A list containing the details of the persons with a criminal antecedent was also distributed. This list was circulated among the police stations and local leaders. This also helped the people in general as they could verify the background of a person. This is to say that a person can check whether the other person is in that 'ready reckoner' list or not.

Inspired by this ingenious method of policing, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir have also started this participatory policing process in their own state. In fact, Mahbubnagar district in Andhra Pradesh  has introduced a beat tracking system, software which tracks the movements of beat constables.

So inspiring and innovative this method was that it even got a mention in the citation of the Ramon Magsaysay award Mrs. Bedi received in 1994 in Manila.

To quote Dr. Bedi herself, 'We have found that if the police take one step forward, the public responds by taking five steps forward.'

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Subham ghosh has a keen interest in participatory policing.You may write to him at indianpolicy2010@gmail.com

THE AFGHANISTAN EQUATION

               What will the post-2014 Afghanistan look like? The foreign forces are leaving Afghanistan by 2014 without stabilizing it. This will open up the possibility for the return of Taliban. The prospect of national reconciliation is not also bright. In this situation what should Afghanistan do? What are the challenges India will have to face in post 2014? Those are the million dollar questions. Before entering in those topics, we should briefly recapitulate the most important past incidents of Afghanistan.

  

 BACKGROUND

   The Taliban seized Kabul on 27 September, 1996 and established Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, being supported by Pakistan (military support) and Saudi Arabia. They imposed on the parts of Afghanistan under their control, their political and judicial interpretation of Islam issuing edicts especially targeting women. In this situation Massoud and Rashid Dostum created United Front to fight against Taliban. The Taliban defeated Dostum’s Jumbish military forces in 1998. According to a 55-page report of United Nations, the Taliban while trying to consolidate control over northern and western Afghanistan committed systematic massacres against civilians. Then Pakistan chief of army staff Pervez Musharraf was responsible for sending thousands of Pakistani to fight alongside the Taliban and Bin Laden against the forces of Massoud. From 1996-2001 the Al-Qaeda terrorist network of Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri became a state within Afghanistan. In early 2001, Massoud asked international community to provide humanitarian help to the people of Afghanistan. On 9th September, 2001 Massoud was assassinated by suicide attackers and two days later about 3,000 people were killed in U.S.A. The U.S. government identified Laden, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Al-Qaeda organization based in and allied to Taliban’s Emirate of Afghanistan as the perpetrators of the attacks as a result the U.S. lead forces attacked Afghanistan and Taliban government was toppled. New government under Hamid Karzai was formed. At the same time international security assistance force was established by U.N Security Council to assist Karzai administration and to provide security for the Afghan people.

   While Taliban began regrouping inside Pakistan, more coalition troops entered, escalating the U.S.-led war. Meanwhile the rebuilding of war torn Afghanistan kicked off in 2002. The Afghan nation was able to form some democratic structure over the years and some progress was made in key areas such as governance, economy, health, education, transport and agriculture. NATO is training Afghan armed forces as well its national police. ISAF and Afghan troops led many offensives against Taliban but failed to defeat them fully. By 2009 a Taliban-led shadow government began to form  in many parts of the country complete with their own version of mediation court.                

    In 2010 international conference of Afghanistan in London, Afghan president Hamid Karzai said that he intended to reach out to the Taliban leadership. Supported by NATO, Karzai called on group leadership to take part in a Loya Jirga (mass meeting usually prepared for major events) meeting to initiate peace talks. These steps have resulted in an intensification of bombing, assassination and ambushes. Some Afghan groups believe that Karzai plans to appease insurgents senior leadership at the cost of democratic constitution, democratic process and progress in the field of human rights especially women’s rights.                  

AF-PAK   RELATION

   Af-Pak relation began in August, 1947 after the partition of India which created the dominion of Pakistan (Now Islamic Republic of Pakistan).      

   Relation between two countries have been negatively affected by issues related to Durand line, the 1978- present war (i.e. Mujahidin, Afghan refugees, Taliban insurgencies and border skirmishes) including water and the growing influence of India in Afghanistan. 

THE EMERGING SITUATION                                                                                                                        

   The withdrawal of Western forces at the time when Afghanistan is far more destabilized and insecure since 2001 inevitably raises several issues of concern. After a decade long direct engagement and intervention, indifference and apathy are growing in Western approach and strategy towards the future of Afghanistan.

   The Pakistan politico-military stalemate, effectively maneuvered by the Pakistan-backed Taliban and their allies, has made the war increasingly unsustainable for the West. The Taliban guerrillas along with Haqqani network have quietly succeeded in raising the rate of attrition among the Western forces who may have been winning the battles but not the war. The Taliban and their allies despite not winning the battles appear to be gaining and upper hand in the war. While Western forces suffered from differing rules and perceptions about the war of terror, the Taliban and their allies have unsteadily consolidated their influence and made common cause against a vastly superior Western military. These have worked to the advantage of the Taliban and their Pakistani sponsors.

   The U.S. would like to maintain some form of military presence in Afghanistan for years, beyond 2014. However, it is doubtful whether it will stabilize the country. Meanwhile the three components of U.S. current strategy –reconciliation process with the top insurgent leadership operating from Pakistan, rebuilding of Afghan national forces (ANSF); and security transition to the ANSF by 2014-is least likely to give expected results. Presently Afghanistan appears to be on the verge of entering into the prolonged phase of anarchy and violence.

   The whole idea of negotiating ‘peace’ with Taliban is not very bright. It is opening up yet another opportunity for Pakistani establishment to re-engineer the politics of Afghanistan. The U.S. may temper Pakistani geo-political aspiration in Afghanistan.

   The U.S. and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement on May 2; 2012.The May agreement says that the countries would initiate, ‘negotiation on a Bilateral Security Agreement’ soon after signing the strategic partnership agreement. So, U.S. may retain its force in Afghanistan. Much would, therefore depend how effective the limited U.S. presence would be after 2014, and how the West would deal with Pakistan regarding the matter. However, the agreement is deemed necessary for the survival of the government in Kabul and strengthening the Afghan Army and police.

   The leadership question is also important here. It is still not clear if both presidential and parliamentary election could be held in 2014-15, and how credible the electoral exercise will be if ISAF pulls out or draws down from Southern and Eastern parts of the country which would inevitably fall under the direct control of Taliban. Finally if the election could not be held then what are the possible alternatives available in terms of political arrangement to ensure that there is no political vacuum in Kabul. This could be an opportunity to temporarily bring U.S. and Pakistan together if both reach a consensus on post Karzai leadership. This may subsequently lead to defection from the Taliban, with so called ‘moderate’ Taliban joining the government. But it is not very accepted theory to the vast section of Afghan people. In case of failed political transition in 2014, there is a possibility of greater tension between U.S. and Afghanistan, on one hand and between U.S. and Pakistan, on the other. This may lead to greater anarchy or even a new round of civil war in parts of the country. There could also be a special operation by U.S. commandos against Haqqani network and Taliban leadership based inside Pakistan (like operation Geronimo on May 2, 2001). 

 THE MOST LIKELY FUTURE SCENARIO

    Based on some broad historical determinants and political trends, an attempt can be made to build the most likely future scenario as the Afghan conflict and war enters the fourth decade. Afghanistan with virtually all state institutions destroyed with no single authority enjoying National legitimacy; and with people’s perception severely polarized along social and ideological lines, is likely to remain in a state of socio-political ferment for decades to come. Since the overthrow of monarchy in 1973 and subsequent destruction of old political order, no political system or affecting national institution could evolve in the country. The western attempt to create new political system after the overthrow of Taliban in 2001 has failed for various reasons. The perceptions about state, its orientation and authority, distribution of power, and forms of governance are often too divergent and vary from region to region and one ethnic group to another.

    As 2014 approaches and most of the American troops withdraw, the authority of Afghan government is further fragmented and diluted. Thousands of American troops and troops from NATO countries would be stationed in Kabul after the Kabul Washington strategic partnership agreement. The west sponsored reconciliation initiatives continue to be rebuffed by Taliban and Haqqani Network. America however continues to rely on drone strikes and conducts special operation against insurgent leadership operating from Pakistan. President Karzai is unable to hold the post beyond his term and presidential and parliamentary elections might get delayed. The relation between Washington and Islamabad remains tense. Hectic diplomatic efforts are on to build consensus on the composition of a caretaker transitional government. The Taliban continues to gain strength especially in the areas around Kabul; groups from the north build alliances to deal with growing insurgency.

     Despite differences between U.S. and Pakistan on post-Karzai arrangement, a caretaker transitional government which is recognized by the U.N is appointed in Kabul pending Presidential and Parliamentary elections. As election could not be held even after a prolonged delay due to lack of security and resources, the caretaker transitional government collapses and the Parliament is dysfunctional. By 2020, the joint Afghan-U.S. military facilities are constantly under attack from Taliban and Haqqani network. Defection from Afghan Army and police are frequent. However, West continues to fund Afghan Army. The U.S. carries out some special operation in Pakistan against the top Taliban leadership inside Pakistan and at the same time to build and support a coalition comprising mainly functions from the north and some Pasthun mitia from south and east, including few low and mid level former Taliban commanders. NATO and Russia are working closely to ensure supplies for the remaining American-led force fighting in Afghanistan. Groups from the north are asking for defacto partition of the country. The international community is engaged in a round of diplomatic initiatives to bring various Afghan factions together. Political uncertainty and violence continues.  

  INDIA’S POLICY OPTIONS

   As per official statements: “India considers extremist ideologies to be very dangerous and a national security threat. To that extent, India wants to utilize its development program in Afghanistan (deny such ideologies space to grow)to help Afghanistan stabilize and emerge as an economic hub linking south and central Asia through a network of trade and transit linkages that would benefit the people of entire region.”     

   However, India has limited leverages in Afghanistan. It has not nurtured the different section of East. The Pashtuns remains large indifferent towards India. For the non Pashtun groups, India is possible counter-force to the Pakistan sponsored Pashtun insurgent groups, especially Taliban.

    Also, India hardly figures in western straightly towards Afghanistan and Pakistan. India’s present and relatively huge contribution has often initiated skepticism and critics in view of her historically adversarial relations with Pakistan. It is generally believed that Afghan problem can’t be resolved until India and Pakistan resolve Kashmir issue.

 RECOMMENDATIONS

1. India should take long term policy towards Afghanistan. It may be increasingly difficult for India to maintain the momentum of the relationship with Afghanistan beyond 2014 due to lack of effective government in Kabul. The training and capacity building program, India is conducting for Afghans too may get disrupted. So, it is important for India to expand its engagement with various Afghan factions, including Taliban elements willing to work with India.

2. Since Pakistani establishment will always try to deny space for India in Afghanistan, it is important that India develops its leverages within Afghanistan and Pakistan.

3. Due to fractious nature of Afghan politics, India should firmly avoid direct military involvement in Afghanistan. However, as a follow-up to the strategic partnership agreement India signed with Afghanistan October 2011, institutionalizing its engagement with Afghan Army, police and the Afghan intelligences should be a constant endeavor.      

4. Lastly, India’s policy should be innovative. India needs to make people-to-people contact with Afghanistan and attract the young generation of Afghanistan through its various policy and schemes.

    References: 

1. Wikipedia :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan

2. I.D.S.A :http://www.idsa.in/policybrief/Post2014AfghanistanAndIndiasOptions_180712

3. ’The Islamic challenges in west Asia’ (book)
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Arghyadip Bhattacharya, M. Sc(Applied Mathematics, C.U.),K.V.P.Y scholar.Any opinion expressed herein is solely that of the author and Indian Policy takes no responsibility for the facts and opinion laid down in the article.