New directors with new touch capture the scene

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Kerala films: New Directions

Amid many crises in the Malayalam film industry, there are silver clouds on the “silver” screen. An energetic batch of new generation directors is busy giving Malayalam cinema a new direction. In 2010, more than 40 per cent of the films (37 out of 89) were directed by fresh, young directors, and the trend continues in 2011 also.

Vysakh, Thomson, Mamas, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Martin Prakkatt and Mohan Raghavan are some of the names to reckon with. “They try to break the ‘over-used’ pattern of the Malayalam films. They are tech savvy, have a grasp over world cinema and their approach is modern. This reflects in the content of their films,” says Rafeeq Ahamed, state award winner film lyricist and poet.

In both the commercial and the parallel cinema realms, the new entrants have embossed their mark. Mega stars like Mammootty, Mohanlal and super star Dileep are willing to work with them. The Mammotty starrer Pokkiriraja, directed by Vysakh, became a super hit in 2010. The blockbusters such as Karyasthan, Malarvadi Arts Club, Pappy Appachaa, and Best Actor were also the ventures of the new entrants. It will not be wrong to say that Dileep, after a series of flops, succeeded in re-capturing his status and market value through the films of new directors Thomson (Karyasthan) and Mamas (Pappy Appachaa).

The new directors made a drastic change in theme and the structure of the films. The old concepts of family stories gave way to new generation relationships and alienation of the city life. Chithrasoothram, the experimental film that was invited to many international film festivals, was directed by Vipin Vijay, a new face in the industry.

But the new entrants face some challenges also. It’s not easy for them to get screens since the cinema hall owners want to play safe most of the times and would go for only the so-called ‘hit makers’. “Most of the newcomers find it difficult to survive. Some commercially successful thrillers which are praised for novelty are just weak imitations of some well-known foreign movies,” says young director Varghese Antony.

Nevertheless, the commercial success of their films has convinced the theatre owners and they are now ready to accommodate their films too. The advent of multiplexes has also helped.

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An attempt at restoring the lost biodiversity of Delhi

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New Delhi ecology: Restoring lost glory

If you are interested in seeing how the Yamuna banks were like a few hundred years ago or what species of birds were found in Delhi, just visit Yamuna Biodiversity Park (YBP) at Wazirabad in Delhi.

Many varieties of plants that have already become extinct from Delhi can be seen here. One such examples is Asthma Bel plant that is no longer found in the city. However, one can see it at the park. There are many varieties of plants which are found at 8000 ft, but have been brought to YBP. The seven-year-old biodiversity park now harbours a wide range of ecosystems of river basin which support more than 1200 plant species. These include finest wetlands besides a unique butterfly conservatory, a conservatory of fruit yielding plants, grasslands, tropical moist and dry deciduous forest communities, Acacia woodlands and a herbal garden.

Birds that have either become extinct from Delhi or are rare, such as Red Crested Pochard or ‘Lalsar’, can also be seen at the park. Faiyaz Khudsar, wildlife biologist and scientist-in-charge of Yamuna Biodiversity Park shares with TSI, “Coming of Lalsar at the park is not a common event. This bird indicates how effective and functional the ecosystem of the wetland is. It shows that the energy flow in the wetland is proper. This is very important for scientists like us. At present there are more than 3000 migratory birds at the park.”

The creation of wetlands serves three important purposes. Firstly, it adds to the diversity of habitats. Secondly, it performs the much-needed ecological functions of water purification, groundwater recharge, and storage of rainwater. And thirdly, it provides the soil for raising the ground level to avoid flooding in the post-monsoon period so that the development of terrestrial ecosystems and plant communities can go ahead unhindered.

Creating the park, however, has not been an easy task. The salt content in the soil was very high and it was a daunting task for the scientists to recreate the proper ecosystem of the wetland. Biologists used more than 160 varieties of grass to convert it into functional ecosystem. “When we got these 157 acres of land we understood that our task was not going to be easy,” says Khudsar.

In the second phase of the project 300 acres more land would be developed. After that it will be habitat of Sarus Crane and Pelicans. At present only one-third of the park is open for the visitors. Such kind of parks is very important from the point of view of urban biodiversity.

Long ago, the Yamuna riverbed was full of biodiversity. It ranged from the foothills of Shivalik mountain to Aravalli hills in the north. However, the biodiversity was lost due to rapid urbanisation. But a little of it has been recreated in the YBP.

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RGV’s ‘zero-budget’ film plan does not impress many

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Andhra pradesh entertainment: Much ado about nothing

Ram Gopal Varma aka RGV had been a trend setter in Tollywood with his debut film “Siva” (1989). He called the shots in the Telugu film industry— called Tollywood — before he moved to Mumbai. Some film critics had called his advent a renaissance in Tollywood which is considered to be the second biggest industry after Bollywood with annual investment of Rs. 400 crores.

Recently, Ram Gopal Varma’s announcement of making a “zero-budget” film created a little flutter among the movie buffs. “When low budget or zero budget films are referred to, Satyajit Ray’s Apu trilogy flashes in the mind. I thought Ram Gopal Varma is also venturing to produce a life-snap to comply with his artistic urge,” well-known film critic S.V. Challa told The Sunday Indian.

Notwithstanding the fact that of late Ram Gopal Varma has succeeded in only churning out mediocre films with little substance which have utterly failed to impress even the average movie-goers let alone the critics, Challa feels that RGV is indeed a master filmmaker and that if he pursues serious cinema, it would be an intellectual treat and visual feast to the Telugu audience.

But contrary to the expectations, Varma announced the name of his zero-budget film to be “Dhongala Mutha” (A gang of thieves). According to him, it is another (read run-of-the-mill) “highly entertaining” action thriller and it should be completed in just five days.

However, not many people are impressed with Varma’s announcement and perceive it as just RGV’s marketing trick. “RGV is making much ado about nothing and it is his another trick to create sensation. When big stars like Ravi Teja, Chaarme, Laxmi Manchu, Brahmanandam are the main cast, how can it be termed a zero-budget film?” wondered an office-bearer of the Indian Documentary Producers Association, on condition of anonymity, while talking to TSI.

Though he has weak linkage with Telugu land, noted film maker Shyam Benegal produced ‘Amaravathi Kathalu,’ famous short-stories in Telugu literature. “But how can one expect similar kind of literary depiction from mediocre and semi-literate RGV, who, for sure, has not even heard of literary giants including Gurazada Apparao, Gudipati Venkata Chalam, Viswanatha Satyanarayana,” he added.

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Young Tibetans in exile are educated, unemployed and fast running out of patience.

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Saurabh Kumar Shahi visits McLeodganj to check out the simmering powder keg that threatens the Dalai Lama's 'middle path'

The first thing that strikes you in McLeodganj is the absence of anarchy. Nattily dressed Tibetan youth go about their work. There is no apparent abject poverty, no running open drains. Why then were we looking for McLeodganj in the first place? Well, simply because it is the foremost phenomenon that defines a refugee settlement. I have seen scores of refugee camps of all types and sizes all over the world — Palestinians, Kashmiris, Bangaldeshi Biharis, Chakmas, Rohingyas and what not. There are of course a few similarities among these camps. However if there is one commonality: anarchy. But unlike them, McLeodganj does not fester. Or at least does not appear to fester. But does that mean all is well? We'll see.

Sometime in 2005, on a chilly Tibetan night, Jamyang and his best friend entered Lhasa after days of journeying from Ngari province. They were desperate to get to Dharamsala. Meeting the Dalai Lama was the only motive in their life. Jamyang and his friend covered the inhospitable terrain in 48 days and reached Nepal. A week later they were in Dharamsala to see their beloved spiritual leader. They were promptly enrolled in the classes and their spiritual and worldly studies began.

Half a decade on, sitting in a roadside tea joint near Bhagsu temple, Jamyang remembers the arduous journey that almost took his life. He has all the time in the world for me. He dropped out of school months ago and now lives by his wits. Jobs are extremely hard to come by in the absence of local language proficiency and a defined skill-set. And he can't go back to Tibet. For all practical purposes, he is stuck here.

Does he buy Dalai Lama's "middle path" solution? Yes, but only when he is sober enough. With Manali hash easy to find, chances of his being sober have diminished drastically. As it transpires, Mcleodganj too festers. You just need to scratch a tad.

A cursory survey is enough to reveal that the majority of the population here is made up of youth. With the advent of education, the birth rate has gone down drastically. But still the youth outnumber all other age segments quite easily. Literacy is close to 80 per cent and unemployment is 75 per cent. The place is a veritable powder keg. But it has not exploded. It appears that the Dalai Lama's "middle path" still has many takers. But does that mean that the movement will continue to be as it is? No. We have new voices.

Karma Yeshi, an MP in the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile who also runs the Voice of Tibet radio station, is one such voice. He abhors pity and speaks his mind too often for the comfort of others. "There is a lack of guidance as far as the job market is concerned. Only rallies won’t do." He suggests several ways to change the movement. Many of these are reasonable. "Do we have a single Tibetan expert here who has done higher studies in Chinese diplomacy or UN diplomacy? None. How do we expect to have our voices heard? Where is the intellectual capital?" he asks.

People like Yeshi and others worry about the future of the movement. While Tibetans idolise and revere the Dalai Lama, many worry that they have come to bank far too intemperately on the 75-year-old leader. They fear that his eventual death would profoundly hurt the cause of the Tibetans in exile. "The institution of the Dalai Lama is one of Tibet's big strengths," says monk Lobsang Chonzin. "At the same time, it's our weakness because all of us are dependent on him." What would happen to the movement when the Dalai Lama passes away?

Tibetans in exile widely anticipate that when the fourteenth Dalai Lama dies, the Chinese will push their own reincarnation. They see the instance of the Panchen Lama, Tibet's second highest-ranking religious name, as a prologue. In 1995, the Dalai Lama accepted a six-year-old boy in Tibet as the successor to the 10th Panchen Lama, who died in 1989. China confined the boy and chose another in his place. The Dalai Lama's choice and his family have not been seen since. The Dalai Lama's death will thus lead to two centres of power. The movement in its present form will end up losing its meaning.

When the Dalai Lama fled Tibet, he was accompanied by about 100,000 of Tibetans, most of whom did not doubt his determination to engage in a non-violent crusade. A few Tibetans took part in a guerrilla operation backed by the CIA until financial support dried up and they were booted out of Nepal in 1974.

Most Tibetan exiles today still revere the Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader but a section wants a more radical approach to be adopted. The latter group is turning increasingly vocal. Young Tibetan exiles — most of whom were born outside their homeland — openly vent their impatience with the Dalai Lama’s "middle way".

But this movement will need much more than enthusiasm to sustain it. And that is where Tsewang Rigzin and his Tibetan Youth Congress come in. The Tibetan Youth Congress, which was started in the early 1970s and claims close to 40,000 active members today, has suggested violence in the past, argues for hunger strikes and other forms of protestation not condoned by the Dalai Lama and reserves the right to use force in the future.

"We want to look at things that his Holiness has enforced, his policy called the Middle Way, and it's been in place for the last almost three decades now. There has been little interaction. We had dialogues with Chinese officials. But the bottomline is that nothing has come out of all this. We need to change that," says Rigzin, dressed in a primly cut suit. He advocates outright independence for Tibet.

Critics maintain that these groups play into the hands of the Chinese government but the radicals respond that Tibetans have little to lose. But how has it affected the relationship with the locals with whom they had little or no interaction for fear of getting assimilated? The Tibetan refugees live in relative isolation to conserve their distinct religion and culture.

Lately, they have been facing a degree of subterranean hostility, because local people have developed a certain antipathy. The demographic and cultural wallop of refugees has led to a sense of vulnerability among the indigenous populace here.

The strain could be seen everywhere. As one local restaurateur told me on seeing my camera and Dictaphone, "Purane log sab wadiya thhey. Ab nawe munde to kattar hain..." (The oldies were gentlemen, these new kids are fundamentalists.)

But the question is, are the Chinese feeling the heat? Oh yes. The Tibet protest prior to the Beijing Olympics caught them by surprise. Also, the global support that the movement got rattled them to the core. They came back with the iron hand, something they cannot afford to employ for too long in a globalised world.

"We have used Facebook and Twitter as our weapon. The potential of these sites is unlimited. It is so easy to connect with Tibetans these days. Our call for protest suddenly has a world audience," beams Rigzin. But will the ministry of external affairs like their involvement. It has tolerated the Dalai Lama because some way or other he has toed its official position of 'One China'. A reckless youth movement can slip out of its hands and might prove to be a headache. But Rigzin is not concerned. "Our slogan is 'Free Tibet, Safe India'. After all it was after the annexation of Tibet that the Chinese managed to invade India," argues Rigzin. Clearly, he knows how to play. If you believe him, he has had his share of successes too.

Rigzin and his group have started interacting with Non Resident Chinese and indulge in healthy debates. "Initially it is very difficult to break them. But slowly, they have started to see reason," he quips. This has helped enhance his optimism. Quiz him about taking on an emerging superpower and Rigzin comes across as an eternal optimist. He believes that China will get democratised one day and a democratic China will be more accommodating of Tibetan aspirations.

But difficult times lie ahead. After the Dalai Lama, the unanimous world support will waver. Many organisations and individuals who support the Dalai Lama's peaceful struggle might find Rigzin's methods too unorthodox. And, as it happens with many causes, the two wings of the movement — fundamentalist and pacifist — will begin to work at cross-purposes. It would be interesting to see how Rigzin takes his movement out of this dichotomy.

He also needs to take the movement out of the hands of the foreign flock that who merely pays lip service to the cause. People who really care are quietly doing their bit. There is no sight as revolting as an Israeli army conscript fresh from his barracks and high on Manali hashish, speaking about "oppression" and "human rights violations". Trust me.

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The sandy villages of Rajasthan were the battleground for Aruna Roy’s crusade for the Right to Information Act.

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Anil Sharma tells the story of a little woman’s big work

Undulating sand dunes, camels returning home against the setting sun, women in bright ghagra-odhni traversing the desert with vessels of water balanced on their heads, dancers wriggling in the exquisite Kalbeliya dance and the haunting strains of the sarangi and algoze travelling miles through the dark nights. These are some of the picturesque images that the mind conjures at the very mention of the sandy state of Rajasthan. Behind these picture postcard images, however, is the story of a hardy people struggling against geographical odds and a feudal past.

Every desert has its share of oasis and its human embodiment can well be found in Aruna Roy, the petite silver-haired woman of substance who worked hard for the enactment of the Right to Information Act in 2005. Roy, who received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership was recently described as one of the 50 most illustrious women of the modern India, is well known among the common people of the state. There are many who still recall the first jan sunwai, (public hearing) was held at Kot Kirana village in Rajsamand on December 1994. When the jan sunwai began at 9 am, the sarpanch, ward members and government officials, who were all invited, were conspicuously absent. Shankar Singh, Roy's associate in a long and intense struggle, wielded the microphone. With puppets in hands, he started singing: ‘I don’t want Campa Cola, neither pizza, Coca Cola nor liquor, I only seek accounts’. It set the mood. Villagers began to congregate. And then Roy came forward and began the post-mortem of work done using government funds. This was the first step towards the Right to Information Act. Living as the poor lived and eating as the poor ate, Aruna and her comrades began assisting villagers to assert themselves against the local power structures.

She made a choice to be a social activist when she had power and prestige for the asking. Born in Chennai and raised in Delhi, Aruna had joined the IAS in 1968 and after serving as a bureaucrat for six years, she took the first train from Delhi to join her one time classmate and husband Sanjit "Bunker" Roy at Tilonia in Rajasthan where he had set up the Social Welfare Research Centre (SWRC) and started working there with the villagers. Her experience at SWRC convinced her that poor people must be the agents of their own economic and social improvement and, moreover, that political action is fundamental to their success.

In late 80s Aruna and Shankar Singh founded the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathana (MKSS), when she found that people, particularly the rural folk, did not know about their rights and the idea of right to information was born. Using traditional forms of protest such as hunger strikes and sit-ins, MKSS-led villagers insisted that local people hired for state projects be paid the legal minimum wage. They held open-air public hearings at which official records of state development projects were exposed to the scrutiny of the intended beneficiaries. Shocking revelations followed: of toilets, schoolhouses, and health clinics recorded as paid for but never constructed; of improvements to wells, irrigation canals, and roads that remained noticeably unimproved; of famine and drought relief services never rendered; and of wages paid to workers who have been dead for many years.

Information was the key to every success: bills, vouchers, employment rolls. People have the right to audit their leaders, was what Roy said. Thus, its campaign of public hearings also became a campaign for transparency in government. "Our money, our records," chanted villagers. Why don’t villages develop despite panchayats getting sufficient funds? Where does this fund go? Who eats it up? Aruna Roy and her friends were posing these simple questions to villagers. This was the time when the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, had famously said the 1 rupee that the Centre sends becomes 15 paisa by the time it reaches villages. Where do the remaining 85 paisa go to?

Aruna, finally achievied her target of making the RTI an Act in 2005 and today her action point is to demystify the Right to Information Act for the layman. Much before her achievement on the RTI front, she was honoured with the Magasaysay award in 2000. Aruna decided to use the award money of US $ 50,000 to set up a trust to support the process of democratic struggles. It was her spirit and the commitment to the task that forced the Union government to recognise that people have a right to information.

"She organised a number of campaign educating the masses on their right to information and has been stressing that the government cannot distance itself from the people and should provide all the information relating to the government’s working. Now a common man can obtain the information by filing an application. The Right to Information Act is the biggest gift to the people and Aruna is trying to make people know what is RTI and how to get the information through this Act" says Nikhil Dey, her long-time associate.

"The right to information will not only help control corruption and the arbitrary exercise of power – it will also merge with and strengthen the aspirations of people for participatory democracy. The adopted process of implementation is not smooth and there is apathy of the bureaucrats in answering the questions raised by the applicant. However, it must be understood that this legislation will only be effectively used over time," says Roy, a crusader who does not believe in resting on her laurels.

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Superstructure loses intellectual base

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Chandrasekhar Bhattacharjee talks to intellectuals from Kolkata who have been opposing the ruling Left Front right from the Singur-Nandigram days and tries to find out if they are veering towards the right

Professor Walden Bello, a fellow of the Transnational Institute and professor of sociology at the University of the Philippines Diliman, made a pertinent remark two years back on the dilemma of the public intellectual of today. It is especially valid when it comes to the Left circle of intellectuals in India. “The tension between truth and politics becomes greatest when the public intellectual is part of a political organisation. What happens when the demands of truth and the demands of the organisation begin to diverge? This has been the greatest fear of intellectuals of the left, for, as I said, our moral or political side is very demanding. In the interests of the bigger battle against the right, against reaction, and against imperialism, it is a very great temptation to ignore, rationalise and defend abuses committed by our side and close ranks.” Bello, president of the Freedom from Debt Coalition, said this at his speech at the 49th Annual Convention of the San Francisco-based Outstanding Public Scholar Award Panel, International Studies Association.

Bello’s words help us understand the clear divide among the Left towards the official Marxist parties, the CPI(M) in particular. The disillusionment about what is still the largest Leftist entity in the parliamentary arena was evident during the Kolkata Film Festival in 2007 when Argentine film maker Fernando Ezequiel 'Pino' Solanas said that he would never come again to the Film Festival of Kolkata. It was in November when the so-called ‘Operation Sunrise’ was on in Nandigram and a section of film-makers and theatre personalities such as Aparna Sen, Shaonli Mitra, Bibhas Chakraborty, Kaushik Sen, etc. boycotted the festival and came out in protest. Artistes and cultural activists, who went to demonstrate outside Nandan, the festival venue, were manhandled and arrested. Solanas was kept from watching TV news, daily newspapers were not delivered to his hotel room and even his movement was restricted. The chagrin was against the chief minister and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, projected as a cultural cognoscenti not only by CPI(M) but its allies as well.

The issue raises a controversy as to whether the dissenters are shifting towards the right? Bibhas Chakraborty, a leading light of the theatre movement in Bengal, contests this perception: “Who says we are turning against the Left? We are not. Our criticism is against a party that is pseudo-Left. And I won’t say this is something new in the global sphere. It happens at a time when several intellectuals all over the globe are brainstorming over the theory and practice of official Marxism and raising big questions. The authoritarian trend in the erstwhile socialist countries and even in China today is a fact of life. The protest from intellectuals and artists is a natural reaction.

Rabindranath Tagore warned against this in his Letter from Russia. Lenin sensed this before Tagore in his ending years. Mikhail Satrov’s play Blue Horse on the Red Grass, a day in Lenin's life set in 1921, is a vivid testimony of this.

Shaonli Mitra, one of the well-known stage artistes of Bengali theatre, is against the right-left dichotomy. She told TSI: “I don’t care about the Left or the Right. Our and my protest is always against injustice, oppression and trampling of freedom of expression. That is why we went to Singur, Nandigram and Lalgarh. That is why we braved the state’s autocratic threats and sided with the oppressed and poor people. We wrote to the chief minister thrice but he did not care to reply to our plea. But erstwhile Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi responded readily, gave us a patient hearing and assured us of conveying our resentment to the administration. Take the 26-day hunger strike by state Opposition leader Mamata Banerjee demanding return of land to unwilling farmers of Singur. We wrote to the chief minister and Mamata Banerjee, asking them to hold talks to try to break the deadlock. Kaushik Sen, Bratya Basu and I met with Mamata Banerjee to discuss the situation while the CM didn’t even care to reply to any of our letters. This attitude of the Left Front government and its captain has distanced those who are not involved in party politics. It’s not a question of who is Left or not." She adds, “People in the cultural field do not have a single way of assertion. There are several transitional layers.”

Chandan Sen is an eminent theatre personality of Bengal, who is a state committee member of the CPI and had once contested the Assembly election. He said, “Chilean President Salvador Allende regretted just before his death as to why the Left intellectuals did not help him by pointing out his failures or wrong steps. Of course, we pointed out the mistakes and wrong steps of our Left Front government but our suggestions went unheard. But we tried sincerely.” Sen had joined the massive rally of the civil society against the state and CPM-sponsored ‘Operation Sunrise’ in Nandigram on November 14, 2007, along with his like-minded comrades like Meghnad Bhattacharjee. Talking to TSI, he added, “I feel the intellectuals and the civil society’s response was justified. Their role is limited to just pointing out the wrongs. They did it and will continue to do so in future.” Shamik Bandopadhyay, another noted Left-minded intellectual of Bengal who is presently attached with JNU in Delhi, wrote an excellent piece in a vernacular publication by narrating the days of torture and execution of the greatest Russian theatre personality, Vsevolod Meyerhold, during Stalin's rule. The Left Front rule, at least in the last decade, has seen a spurt in injustice, oppression and trampling of freedom of expression, opposed even by Left intellectuals. One can remember the last minute intervention of Chinmohan Sehanabis, an intellectual leader of CPI, to thwart CPM's attempt to outlaw some of the novels of Samaresh Basu. “Had he not objected, the Left Front government could not take credit for organising the funeral procession of Samaresh Bose,” remarked poet Amitabha Dasgupta over a decade back. “Taslima Nasreen was thrown out of the city in a secret plot hatched by a section of CPM men, who triggered unprecedented violence in Kolkata,” said a leading poet of Bengal.

Mahasweta Devi is candid: “We cannot tolerate this. We will continue this even after the government changes.”

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Shahid Husain steals glimpses of the life in a taluka of the Sindh province in Pakistan that has considerable Hindu populace

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The Lone Doctor

When Dr. Mohammad Shafi Memon graduated from Liaquat Medical College (LMC), Jamshoro, Sindh on August 10, 1967, his father Hamid Ali Memon, a hakeem by profession, summoned him to his room.

“My father asked me to perform ablution and come along with the Holy Qur'an,” recalls Dr. Shafi Memon. “He asked me to take oath on the Holy Qur'an never to take bribe, never issue a fake certificate in medico-legal cases, never charge money for performing post-mortem, always respect community elders and serve the inhabitants of Diplo,” Dr. Memon told TSI. His father is now dead. In the meanwhile, almost every doctor from Diplo has migrated to greener pastures. But Dr. Memon still remembers his oath. He is the lone doctor in Diplo taluka, in district Tharparkar and caters to more than 70 per cent of the patients in the area. His face glows and he looks much younger than his years as he narrates his story.

Memon says people hailing from the district headquarter Diplo have been traditionally well off. They were traders and businessmen. Amazingly, Diplo headquarter has 100 per cent literacy rate.

“Once a teacher in Diplo gave 110 marks out of 100 to a student,” Memon reminisces. “When asked how this could be possible, the teacher said that the student earned 100 marks on merit while he was given 10 marks out of admiration.”
He recalls that during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, almost every Muslim migrated from Diplo. “Only four Muslims stayed in Diplo but there was never a gap in prayer call from the local mosque,” he says. “There were only 1200 Rangers defending Diplo and an army major wrote me a letter that I should immediately leave Diplo,” he recalls. “During the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war everybody left Diplo.”

Memon recalls that the first person who acquired education in Diplo was Sain Haji Abu Talib, father of Professor Saleh Memon. Talib was the first teacher from Diplo and was paid five rupees a month as his salary. Today, about 200,000 people inhabit the taluka Diplo and about 70 per cent patients from the surrounding areas of its headquarter visit Memon when they are ill. “Tuberculosis is very common in Tharparkar,” says Memon. “People are also lacking in health education.”
After graduation, Memon got his first posting in district Sanghar in Sindh where he worked for about three years. His father passed away on Sept 24, 1971. In November that year Memon shifted to Diplo. After his retirement in Grade 20 from Taluka Hospital Diplo, he is serving patients in accordance with his father’s wish. He also treats women since all female doctors hailing from Diplo prefer to have relatively lucrative jobs outside Diplo.

“Prof Saleh Memon, who was also personal physician to President Ziaul Haq and the King of Saudia Arabia, was the first doctor from Diplo. He died two years ago,” says Memon.

During the month of Ramadan Memon write letters to all his acquaintances to collect donations. “Snake bite is very common in Tharparkar and I have never been short of anti-venom vaccine,” he says with a sense of pride.

“During the last 40 years I have performed only seven post-mortems, four pertaining to murder while three were suicide cases,” he says indicating extremely low crime rate in Tharparkar where 40 per cent population comprises of Hindus and schedule castes.

A visit to two villages in taluka Diplo was equally fascinating. Moolan, 35, a woman in Khari Bheel village in taluka Diplo, some 48 kilometre from Tharparkar’s district headquarter Mithi, has eight children. She works in the fields and makes handmade rillis (hand-made colourful bed sheets) at home besides doing embroidery work. “A new rilli costs me 1,000 rupees. I don’t sell them. I make them for my daughters’ dowry,” she says.

Her husband Anopo, 37, has acquired education till Intermediate from Diplo and is a bookkeeper at Union Council-based Poverty Reduction Programme. Interestingly he has been nominated for this job by women’s voluntary organisation called Sojhro. He is also involved in construction work as a contractor. The Poverty Reduction Programme is being run with the support of a non-governmental organisation, Thardeep Rural Support Programme (TRDP).

Anopo told TSI that eight out of the 70 families of the small village have availed a loan of 12,000 rupees each as their income generation activity and purchased goats.

“I availed a loan of 12,000 rupees and bought three goats. I am sure I will benefit from the deal. They will give birth to new ones and I will be able to give milk to my children,” says Seeji. She has already paid two installments of her loan.
TRDP through funding from Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund has installed solar panel in the village that has been a boon for the impoverished people. Freshwater is available in the village at a depth of 120 feet since it is near the coastal area.
Anopo’s daughter Teejan studies in grade II and goes to school all by herself that is about three kilometre away. “Give us a school, here” pleads Anopo.

Jey Ram, 27, a young man from Meghwar community lives in Bitri village, about 60 km from Tharparkar’s district headquarter, Mithi. He passed his high school examination from Naukot and Intermediate from Degree College Tando Jam. Unlike the Bheel community that migrates to barrage areas during drought and harvesting, people from the Meghwar community do not migrate.

“I worked for seven years in a garment factory in Karachi and earned about 7,000 rupees a month,” says Jey Ram. “Then I got a job at National Commission for Human Development in my village. Here I am paid 3,000 rupees but I enjoy living with my family. I make 800 rupees every month through stitching clothes. I also work in my field and look after my cattle. When there are rains I fetch 10,000 to 12,000 rupees in a season through my Guar and Bajra field,” says Ram.

“The problem of availability of fresh water has been solved,” he continues. “Thardeep has given us a hand pump and a well. We also have a rain water harvesting pond,” he says.

But many problems persist in the village. “The road is seven kilometre away from here. If a snake bites somebody, the person has to be carried on shoulders. There are lots of snake biting cases in our village,” says Kanoon, 40, who works in a field and is also involved in household chores such as cooking.

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Kerala health: Medical facilities in doldrums

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Low awareness acts as the biggest bane

The health awareness in Malappuram district of Kerala is not at par with the rest of the state. The district, with a large Muslim population, is considered to be backward. Though the people in this district are generally well off, the district records a low rate of immunisation for new born babies in comparison with the other districts of the state. In fact, the statistics of immunisation in this district, which is one of the basic features of general health, match with those in Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. This is because of the lack of health awareness in the rural areas of the district and the religious-archaic beliefs of the old generation. Although the government is spending crores of rupees annually on health in Malappuram, but still child deaths are reported from here due to the lack of proper immunisation. During the last two years, two children have died because of diphtheria and four each died of tetanus and measles in the district.

As such there are five super speciality private hospitals in the district and still people have to go to nearby districts because of heavy rush in these hospitals. That shows the health standard of the people here. Dr. K.H.H. Das, a senior pathologist, says about the trend in the district, “The general health awareness among the people is high here. They regularly come to hospitals for health check up. Mortality due to breast cancer, uterus cancer and other ailments has come down drastically because of the diseases' early detection. But this awareness is only among the urban population and that is a cause of concern.”

According to the child immunisation data collected in January 1996 by the Central Government, 52 per cent of children were fully vaccinated in Kerala and that was a national record. The data shows the percentage of non-vaccinated children has come down from 11 per cent to two per cent in the state in NFHS-2. During 2007-08, the immunisation rate in Malappuram was 38 per cent that went up to 57 per cent in 2009-10. But during the same period, the districts of Kasaragod, Kannur, Wynad and Trissur registered 100 per cent child immunisation. Siddique, a social worker, says that it is necessary to educate the elder people to get rid of their decades old misconceptions about child immunisation.

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Police catch top Maoists without exchange of fire

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West bengal maoists: Big questions over ‘big catch’

The recent ‘big catch’ of the Kolkata Police, that is the arrest of four top ranking CPI (Maoist) leaders, comes with several questions.

The police have arrested CPI (Maoist) state secretary Sudip Chongdar alias Kanchan, state committee members Barun Sur alias Bidyut and Akhil Ghosh alias Ajay and Bimal Mallick alias Shankar. The police claim that the Maoists, including Kanchan, were arrested from the Maidan area of Kolkata in the wee hours of December 3. The police also arrested Maoist Kalpana Maity alias Anu, the wife of party’s state committee member Asim Mondal alias Akash.

The interesting thing is that the arrests were totally peaceful. The Maidan area remains very dark during the night and has lots of small and medium bushes. The proximity of the area with football grounds and Army Headquarters is another topographical advantage for the terrorists as they can easily hide behind the bushes in the dark. How the police traced the Maoists in such an area remains unanswered. Usually, top Maoist leaders move around with a few of their armed activists covering them. There are always two to three armed guards with every leader. However, in the case of the recent arrests, not a single bullet was fired from either side. People are finding it hard to believe that the Maoists did not fire a single shot when they were apprehended and just fell into the police net like ripe plums!

Another interesting aspect is that none of the arrested leaders is from tribal community or from the Junglemahal area. Kanchan is from Garbeta, the den of controversial CPI(M) leader and minister Sushanta Ghosh. Bidyut is a resident of another CPM stronghold Jangipara, presently represented by the Higher Education Minister of the state. Ajay is from Banshdroni of Kolkata itself and Shankar is from Sodepur in North 24-Parganas. Some of the insiders indicate that Kanchan was under the scanner on several issues including his anti-tribal approach. He reportedly ordered several Adivasis to be killed on the slightest suspicion of them being police informers or pro-CPM. “His activities have lessened the Maoists' influence among the Adivasis in the Junglemahal area,” said a source.

Kanchan, who become the state secretary in 2008 after the arrest of Himadri Basu Roy alias Soumen in 2008, started his political career as an SFI leader at Kamarpukur. His elder brothers are active members of CPM and one of them, Prof. Rabindra Chongdar, is a member of the CPI(M) West Midnapore district committee. However, people believe that the recent arrests may well be a case of surrender against several assurances.

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No proper irrigation and drainage facilities in place

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Tamil nadu flood: Flood ravages Cauvery Delta

The heavy rains have once again caused flood in Tamil Nadu's Cauvery Delta region. This year round, the damage caused to the agricultural sector alone is in the tune of Rs. 1000 crore as thousands of acres of the cultivated land lie submerged. It may also result in steep shortage of rice in the near future.

This is a problem that haunts this region every year but the state government has not come up with a comprehensive solution to it so far. The flood is caused due to improper drainage and irrigation system. Sami. Natarajan, Thanjavur district secretary, Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, told TSI, “Rain water drainage system in the delta region is 150 years old and there is an immediate need to revamp it. Our requirement of water from the Cauvery is 250 TMC ft, but due to improper irrigation system 120 TMC ft of water flows unused into the sea every year.” He added that there are about 3,000 ponds in the delta region but they are either have been encroached upon or are not properly cleaned up at regular intervals. Thus the river water that should reach these ponds gets diverted to the agricultural lands. The total area of cultivated land in the delta region has also come down during the last few years. The Cauvery delta region consists of Trichy, Tanjore, Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts and has three important rivers viz Cauvery and its tributaries Kollidam and Vennaru. But this region has very few dams, namely Kalanai in the east, Anaikarai in the west, and Mukkombu in the north. “More dams need to be constructed urgently in this region,” conceded Tamil Nadu Health Secretary V. K. Subburaj, who is assessing the quantum of damage caused by the flood, while talking to TSI. He informed that 12.5 lakh acres of the cultivated land has been affected by the flood.

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Medicine to drastically affect Dental seats

The opening up of new medical colleges and the addition of seats in existing colleges may hit admissions to dentistry courses .

Last year 172 seats in dental colleges were vacant because of lower cutoffs for medical courses . And this year , with the increase of 450 seats , the officials of the joint admission committee for medical and para-medical courses (JACMPC ) fear that as many as 400 dental college seats could be wasted .

According to JACMPC officials , the reason for dental seats falling vacant was high fees. Moreover , dentistry had lost its shine as a career option , they said .

"Annual fees for a self-financed medical college is nearly Rs 3 lakh , while a self-financed dental college would charge over Rs 2 lakh a year . A student who can afford Rs 2 lakh will be willing to spend a lakh more for medicine ," an official said .

Officials say that the state has 2,405 seats for MBBS and 900 for bachelor of dental surgery . At least 4,857 students qualify for these 3,305 seats . Looking at initial trends , there is a possibility that because of the increase in medical seats , not many students would opt for dental courses .

The official said that of the 4,857 students , around 15% would seek admission only in government-run grant-in-aid colleges where fees are much lower . An official calculated that around 20% of students are from the middle-income group who cannot afford high fees and hence would opt for pharmacy or other para-medical courses where the fees are lower . In all , 11,746 students who cleared Class XII exams from the GSHEB had applied for admission in para-medical and medical courses .


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Exclusive opinion poll: State of the nation

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Will your living standards improve in the next one year?

As far as the next Financial Year is concerned, respondents appear more optimistic. There is a drastic decrease in the number of people who have opted for the status quo option. This data has shifted to the “Can't Say” section, which indicates a level of indecision. Surprisingly, less and less people believe that things will deteriorate. This has to do with general “feel good” mood among consumers buoyed by predictions of strong growth by several agencies. The RBI as well as World Bank has predicted robust growth in the next Financial Year and maintain that it will continue in the coming years. Here too, like the previous question, respondents have shown greater optimism towards the latter part of the year. However, this has also led to increasing polarisation.

Have your living standards improved?

Most respondents believe that in 2010, their living standards have actually gone up. However, the ratings had gone down significantly in mid-2010, as well as the post monsoon months. This can be attributed to the sudden surge in inflation in these months. It has continued to increase till November. However, since the end of the year, as inflation was scaled down to around 10 per cent and below, the approval ratings have improved remarkably. However, the one noticeable factor has been the sudden jump in December in the number of those respondents who said that their conditions has actually deteriorated. This shift is visible in people who maintained the status quo in the earlier months. The possible explanation can be the sudden as well as the steep rise in commodity prices in the same month.



What are your views about today's India?

A majority of people believe that their lives and thecountry, both are growing. It essentially means that steps taken by the government in the social sector like introduction of flagship social welfare programmes, have started showing effects, and more people believe today that the trickling down in the economy is finally taking place. Not surprisingly, there is also a section of respondents who believe that neither their life nor the country as a whole, is improving. Their number surpasses those who believe that while the country is improving, their life is not. A possible explanation is that there still remains a section of society which has remained out of the ambit of the development cycle.



Who is most responsible for the ills?centre, state or local governments

People appear to be unhappy with their respective state governments, rather than the Centre. Thelocal government figures at the bottom. A possible explanation is that people appear to be closer to their respective state governments and have put the onus of development on them rather than the Central government which is comparatively more distant. This may sound a warning bell for regional outfits whom people appear to blame more for their problems. Also, law and order, policing and food supply, factors which directly impact daily life, come under the state list, thus making state governments more accountable. Defence and foreign affairs which come under the Centre do not affect a common man's life on a daily basis and hence the apathy. People also seem to have given local governments the benefit of doubt, considering they are not adequately empowered

What is the most important issue today?

What might sound like warning bells for theCongress is that respondents consider inflation and corruption as the two central issues affecting their lives. Since the Congress seems to have been cornered on these two issues, it faces the prospects of immediate reverses. Surprisingly, infrastructure, the sector which is top priority area as far as the government is concerned, is pegged as something that least affects peoples' lives. On the other hand, terrorism, BJP's main political plank, also has few takers. This phenomenon can also be attributed to the media blitz on corruption and inflation. Saturation media coverage sets the agenda and affect the mood of the electorate. The UPA government's social sector flagship programme NREGS seems to have impacted the lives of common people the most. Notwithstanding the UPA government's thrust on employment and infrastructure, these two critical issues figure at the bottom of peoples' priorities. The issue of corruption will also affect the BJP as one of its CMs is seen as corrupt and unlike the UPA, it has failed to get him to resign.


Which party is best suited to manage these issues?

In spite of receiving a hammering on inflation andcorruption, the Congress appears to have managed to hold on to its popular support. Their has been a marginal decline in its popularity. On the other hand, the BJP has managed to garner sizable votes since 2009 but it still falls short of the Congress. The Left parties' support has remained static. Clear beneficiaries include the regional outfits. With an increase of four per cent in approval ratings, these parties are expected to play a crucial role in the subsequent polls. The general explanation is that the TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor is playing out and in spite of all of its drawbacks, people will back the Congress in the absence of a constructive and strong Opposition. The BJP may garner additional votes on account of anti-incumbency.


Who leads overall?

The approval rating of the NDA is marginally behind that of the UPA. The UPA seems to have lost support down the months. But considering that the Congress' approval rating has not gone down drastically, it would appear that respondents hold coalition partners and not the Congress responsible for the mess. On the other hand, the NDA's ratings have been propped up by coalition partners like Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar who heads the NDA alliance in Bihar. Overall, the competition appears too close. However, this equation can change since there will be realignment of political forces as and when elections take place. However, it is very clear that DMK's loss of popularity will affect the UPA's performance. On the other hand, the NDA has been suffering from loss of partners and will try hard to woo a few.



Who is the most popular leader?

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and PrimeMinister Dr Manmohan Singh continue to enjoy huge popularity, recent corruption charges notwithstanding. Sonia Gandhi has more support than the PM himself. There has been a minor fluctuation in their popularity graph down the months though. On the other hand, the government seems to have lost considerable sheen and its approval ratings have gone down. It is also significant that the individual personalities of Sonia and the PM overshadow the performance of the government. Obliquely, it means that people hold the DMK and not Sonia or the PM responsible for the corruption. On the Opposition benches, L.K. Advani and Sushma Swaraj appear to enjoy almost similar levels of popularity but are clearly overshadowed by Sonia and the PM. Against all odds, Sushma has edged past Advani as the BJP's new face.

What do you see Rahul gandhi as?

The scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty is credited with turning around the party's image in the Hindi heartland and making it more youth-centric. Equally at ease in a Dalit hamlet in Uttar Pradesh as well as a reputed Delhi college, the Congress' Prince charming has surely left a lasting impression on the minds of his countrymen as is evident from this poll.




Who do you think is responsible for price rise?

The Central government has been held widely responsible but more people have still held black marketing and hoarding as the principal reason. Rising prices of essential goods including foodstuff and fuel has hit both low and middle income groups. It is widely believed that the Union agriculture ministry and the state governments did not play any proactive role to alleviate people's hardship. The Opposition BJP has also accused the Prime Minister of turning a blind eye to the problem for the sake of coalition politics.


In spite of the price rise blot, the Congress won. Why?

The overwhelming opinion seems to be the Opposition's lack of trustworthiness and its failure to turn this into a major election issue. A sizeable percentage also believes that it was not just the Congress' fault.












What is the reason behind the failure of BJP in acting as a good Opposition Party?

The BJP prospects have been marred by internal squabbling. Nitin Gadkari has been brought in to unify the party's rank and file but he is widely perceived to be the RSS' man in the party. It is yet to recover from the shock of the LS polls.





Are you satisfied with the performance of your Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh? How would you rate Dr Singh's performance?


The economist seems to be going from strength to strength. The soft-spoken, mild-mannered Sikh gentleman has a picture-perfect clean image. Though perceived to be pro-reforms, he has maintained a balance between sweeping economic reforms and populist, pro-poor measures. Not the proverbial Indian politician, Dr Singh keeps away from party matters as far as possible and concentrates on running the government. Having faced a lot of flak for his non-interference in the manner in which the Union agriculture ministry has handled the price rise issue, his government has been crucially undecisive about ways to tackle the growing Maoist influence. However, a weak Opposition has been God-sent for this man of few words.


Satisfied with the performance of Sushma Swaraj?

The current Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha has failed to take the Congress to task in the Lower House. Factionalism within the party as well as a lack of charisma on part of the tallest leaders have made Swaraj's task harder. She will need to make a deep impression if the BJP's image and future poll prospects are to brighten.





Satisfied with the performance of NDA Chief L.K. Advani?

The BJP's Man of Iron, the former Deputy Prime Minister and one of the talismans of the Ram Mandir movement seems to have lost all steam. BJP insiders have repeatedly blamed him for failing to re-invent the BJP's image in the post-Mandir agitation political scenario. While his role is now more symbolic, the party patriarch has also had major differences with the various outfits of the Sangh Parivar.



Satisfied with the performance of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi?

The lady from Italy has proved to be the BJP's ultimate nemesis. By maintaining a dignified distance from running the government and by astute handling of allies and party members, the UPA supremo has approval ratings double than that of L.K. Advani. Never in the forefront, she has been ably assisted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee among others.




Are you satisfied with the performance of the sitting MP of your area?








Do you agree with incorporation of caste in THE census ?

Apparently trying to play it safe for the time being and buy some time, the UPA government, towards the end of May 2010, deferred a decision on inclusion of caste in Census but the Cabinet is overwhelmingly in support of the inclusion with the exceptions of Kapil Sibal, Anand Sharma and MS Gill. Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has been entrusted to lead a group of ministers who will thrash out the modalities of enumerating caste in the ongoing decennial Census operations.

BJP has alleged that Congress is using CBI against its political rivals. Do you agree with this?

The CBI has turned into the Congress Bureau of Investigation, allege Opposition leaders. They say the CBI is making little headway on the bomb blast cases but is feverishly probing into disproportionate asset cases against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati. Even the Left is miffed about enquiries in Kerala.



What are your views about Today’s India?

While most respondents from the middle and higher
income groups climb India's rocket growth curve, people from lower income groups, specially in the rural parts, have been hard done in by inflation and crop failure. Well, India is not really shining, it seems.


Performance of the Central Government?

The UPA does not have much to rejoice. Most people feel its performance has been average. The numbers of people who feel it has fared well and poor are pretty much the same. If the government does not take the price rise issue seriously and take steps to control inflation, the public opinion may change drastically.


There are many problems facing our country today. The Most Important issue : First Choice

Most of the respondents feel that terror strikes, rising unemployment, escalating prices, lack of facilities and basic infrastructure and, of course, the perennial problem of corruption need to be tackled. Surprisingly the Maoist problem found no takers. Even the education system drew minimal flak.















In last one year your living standard

The urban middle class and higher income group people thought their living standard has improved. This can, of course, be attributed to higher consumer spending and a good growth rate rather than generation of jobs or rise in salaries.

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It was eventually a convergence of their mutual interests that helped seal the seat alliance between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal. Both sides appreciate the seminal importance of the West Bengal Assembly election. The outcome of the 2011 polls in Bengal and Kerala would have national significance. For the TMC, a defeat at the hustings would raise questions about its very survival.

Congress insiders maintain that these elections would influence the trend of national politics in the years ahead, assuming that the ruling Left Front is defeated. The opening shots of the bitter battle between the Congress and the CPI(M) in particular were fired by the latter. Led by party general secretary Prakash Karat, the CPI(M) withdrew its support to UPA-I on the Indo-US nuclear deal and sought to defeat it in a Lok Sabha vote. The rest is history.

Congress leaders acknowledge that party president Sonia Gandhi, who along with the Prime Minister, walked the extra mile to retain Left support for the UPA, has not forgotten the snub. For both, marginalising the CPI(M) is priority number one — a task which the disastrous outcome of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls for the Left made easier for them.

Despite game efforts made by the CPI(M)' suave man– for-all-seasons Sitaram Yechury and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who made occasional soothing noises about the Congress, there has been no softening in the hard stance adopted by the ruling Congress. Unlike in the past, Bengal has not been accommodated much in its acute self-made financial crisis by Delhi of late. Even if defeating the CPI(M) involves tolerating the whimsical and populist ways of the TMC's leader, on land acquisition, price rise or its ambivalence on Maoists, so be it.

Once the Left is cut to size, its very existence would be open to question. Winning consistently in West Bengal is the bedrock that supports and sustains the CPI(M). Already marginalised at the Centre, the CPI(M) now struggles to survive in the one state which helps it maintain its identity. Its power to dictate terms to ruling formations in Delhi is in question.

This would spawn a rightist shift in national politics, post May 2011. The weakened Left would be forced to rediscover its lost relevance. Its dependence on secular, democratic parties like the Congress would increase. The late S.A. Dange's arguments favouring closer ties with secular democratic forces led by the Congress would then come true.

As for the TMC, its urgency to win is more acute than that of the Congress. Although the TMC runs the railway ministry, its increasing mass following from Darjeeling to Digha remains the foundation of its present national eminence and power, something that had served the CPI(M) earlier.

For the CPI(M), the unfolding political script in West Bengal carries an element of déjà vu. In 1977, what had helped the Left Front to come to power was the total consolidation of all parties and forces, right or left, on a pro-democracy anti-emergency platform, against the Congress. And in 2011, it is a similar consolidation of forces, from the Maoists to the Matuas, that confronts the ruling Left on an anti-CPI(M) agenda. Already, this has ensured a 3 to 8 per cent anti-Left vote swing in different parts of West Bengal since 2009.

CPI(M) leader Gautam Deb talks about only 11,00,000 votes separating the Left Front from the Congress-TMC vote bank in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls (the latter polled 1.96 crore votes, the Left 1.85 crore). This means, the Left Front needs to win back only 10 votes in each of the state's 56,000-plus polling booths.

Simple? Time will tell. But what of the nearly 50,00,000 new voters enrolled for the Assembly polls, mostly youths with no evocative memories of Vietnam, Che or the Emergency? The struggle to win back the hearts and minds of the disillusioned is harder than Gautam Deb lets on.

However, the Left is fighting back hard, doing its best to regroup. And it is a travesty of truth to say that in 34 years the Left Front had ”done nothing for the state”. The state's administration functioned fairly well until the early 1990s. Older voters remember that quite clearly. The fight is not easy for either side. For all their determination and unity of purpose, the Congress-TMC alliance will court their own peril if they underestimate the power of the Left to hit back.

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