Pages

Free counters!
FollowLike Share It

Friday 28 September 2012

India: big bang, or parting shot? By Victor Mallet



FT
September 25, 2012
India: big bang, or parting shot?
By Victor Mallet
Manmohan Singh has rediscovered his zeal for reform but faces a test of strength
 
Local vendors sell tomatoes at a local market in Aminabad in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India,
Market forces: small traders, such as these vendors in Uttar Pradesh, dominate the Indian retail sector. Many fear that plans to welcome foreign investors into the country will damage their businesses  
Two weeks ago, frustrated business leaders and foreign investors had all but abandoned hope of any significant economic progress for India under Manmohan Singh, the supposedly reformist prime minister in power for the past eight years. Mr Singh, who turns 80 today, surprised them all. With the tacit backing of Sonia Gandhi, powerful leader of the Congress party, the coalition government has since September 14 unleashed a barrage of economic reforms described as a big bang by Indian commentators.
 
http://im.ft-static.com/content/images/14bb0282-072a-11e2-92b5-00144feabdc0.img?width=694&height=300&title=&desc=India%20data%20-%20GDP,%20fiscal%20balance,%20rupee%20v%20dollar,%20Sensex
 
First, the cabinet braved public anger with a sharp reduction in subsidies for diesel and cooking gas, pushing up the cost of diesel at the pump by about 14 per cent to curb a growing budget deficit. The following day, Mr Singh's government allowed foreign investors to build supermarkets and department stores and buy into local airlines, and announced the sale of shares in state companies in a re-launched privatization program.
Hardly a day now passes without some new initiative to promote investment and boost economic growth. On Monday – less than two months after an electricity grid failure that left 600m Indians without power in history's biggest power cut – the government unveiled a scheme to restructure over $35bn in debt owed by loss-making state electricity distribution companies. These will now be pressed to take the politically unpopular step of raising prices.
Markets reacted quickly. The rupee, after a steep decline this year, has recovered some lost ground. Foreign investors have welcomed Mr Singh's rediscovered enthusiasm for reform, while Indian business leaders are euphoric. From a famine of policy action we have moved to a feast, tweeted Anand Mahindra, the industrialist, after the first two days of announcements. "The government's got back its gumption! We cheer and urge that they stay the course."
Yet the reforms are not without risks for Mr Singh's government and for the investors who theoretically stand to benefit. The flurry of measures to bring order to the public finances and liberalize the economy has destabilized the Congress-led coalition, thereby increasing the chances of an early election in the world's largest democracy – and raising the possibility of a less business-friendly government in the future.
A general election is not due until the first half of 2014, but Mamata Banerjee, the populist chief minister of West Bengal and head of the Trinamool Congress party, has withdrawn her ministers and 19 members of parliament from the coalition in protest at Mr Singh's "anti-people" reforms, leaving him short of a guaranteed majority.
So why did Mr Singh, after years of inaction, take such risks so late in his second term as prime minister? The answer, according to senior Indian officials, is that he felt he had no choice. He believed that his own legacy to India – the modernization and economic expansion bequeathed when as finance minister in the 1990s he dismantled the corrupt "licence Raj" – was in grave danger of being lost.
Mr Singh, an economist who speaks so softly he can be hard to hear, repeatedly alluded to this legacy himself on television last Friday night in what was, for him, a passionate speech to the nation. He defended the economic rationale of the two most controversial decisions – to raise fuel prices and allow foreign retailers such as Walmart to own majority stakes in supermarkets and department stores – and said urgent action was needed so as not to deter investors and increase unemployment.
"The last time we faced this problem was in 1991. Nobody was willing to lend us even small amounts of money then," Mr Singh said. "We came out of that crisis by taking strong, resolute steps. You can see the positive results of those steps. We are not in that situation today, but we must act before people lose confidence in our economy."
Among the early signs that Mr Singh and Ms Gandhi were preparing to take action were the decisions last month to move the energetic Palaniappan Chidambaram back to the finance ministry, and to name Raghuram Rajan, the former chief economist of the IMF and an outspoken critic of Indian corruption and bureaucracy, as the government's senior economic adviser.
Foreign investors, Indian business groups and international economists and analysts had publicly expressed concern about the economy's downward path. In private, senior members of the government and the bureaucracy were equally worried. They said the coalition, and even the Congress party itself, was divided between old-fashioned leftists and those who favored economic liberalization and competition of the sort that had brought success to Indian mobile telephony and domestic aviation.
It was "politically convenient" to blame the sluggish world economy for India's troubles, a senior financial official noted in August. But the real problems were lack of reform, a failure to invest in power and transport infrastructure, corruption scams, the fractious federalism of the Indian political system and a divided cabinet – in short, a "combination of economic and governance failures, largely domestic and self-inflicted".
. . .
Particularly disturbing for the government was the sharp slowdown in economic growth – the year-on-year increase in gross domestic product dropped to 5.3 per cent in the first three months of this calendar year, compared with 9.2 per cent a year earlier and has since recovered to 5.5 per cent.
Then there is the fiscal deficit. With the rupee declining and world oil prices having risen, the government's fuel subsidy bill was set to exceed $35bn in the current financial year, contributing to a total public sector deficit of more than 8 per cent of GDP. Even after the latest price increases, Mr Singh told Indians in his speech, the government was spending more on fuel subsidies than on health and education combined.
Probably the last straw for Mr Singh was the threat that credit rating agencies would downgrade India's sovereign debt to "junk", or non-investment grade, over the country's inability to tackle its economic woes.
"We could tip if we are not careful into something more dramatic, so there is a sense of urgency," said another senior official in New Delhi who favors reform. "What is creating the space for doing these things is a growing sense of crisis."
The government's determination to take unpopular decisions less than two years before a general election suggests that India's economic fortunes could indeed be at a turning point as significant as the 1991 reforms. But there are two important caveats voiced by business leaders and analysts.
First, the reforms unveiled so far must be entrenched before Mr Singh can claim victory. It was only last year that he hurriedly reversed an earlier opening of the mass retail trade to foreign direct investment following protests from politicians and shopkeepers. Indian bureaucrats, furthermore, are exceptionally slow to provide environmental and other permits required for such investments.
"Just announcing 'Let us have FDI', let us have investment' is not going to be enough," says Sidharth Birla, chairman of Xpro India, a plastics producer, and vice-president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. "Unless we have good procedures, the investments are not just going to flow in, they are not going to be implemented or produce the desired results."
The second issue is that the latest reforms amount to only a fraction of what local and foreign investors insist they need to ensure robust economic growth. They say piecemeal concessions to foreign capital are hedged with onerous conditions – on sourcing goods from small Indian suppliers, for example – and need to be followed with broader reforms to facilitate land acquisition, improve infrastructure and simplify the tax system.
"We say, 'You have made a beginning by making these announcements. It is a signal. But it is not enough. If you have started the cycle, then please go ahead with many other things that are needed'," says Mr Birla.
. . .
A bruising political battle, or series of battles, lies ahead for Mr Singh. In his address to the nation, he tried to appeal over the heads of squabbling politicians to India's 1.2bn people, but it is hard for the studious prime minister to compete with the charismatic rivals he accused of "spreading fear and false information".
Subsidies and foreign retailing are the two most contested battlegrounds. The traditional Indian left, within the Congress party and outside it, reflexively supports state spending and opposes capitalism. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party, the main opposition, is beholden to some 50m small shopkeepers and has therefore found itself in an opportunistic and temporary alliance with the secular left against Mr Singh – even though BJP leaders pushed through their own reforms when they were in power a decade ago.
And the increasingly influential regional politicians from states such as Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are already in pre-election mode, contemplating their chances of joining a coalition led by Congress or the BJP, or of joining a left-leaning "third front" government.
The language used to attract India's often poorly educated voters is far from subtle. While every politician professes to be working for aam aadmi – the common man – and Mr Singh talks of the benefits to farmers and consumers of efficient shops and supply chains and sound fiscal policies, his opponents sometimes resort to xenophobia and overblown rhetoric.
Sitaram Yechury, leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), accused Mr Singh of worshipping the US.Congress wants Indians to be slaves, and foreigners to be our masters, he told a protest meeting of small traders last week.
Like the politicians, investors from India and abroad – including Walmart, which wants to identify sites for retail outlets within 18 months – are now bracing themselves for months of haggling and confusion. Years may pass before they can look back and say for certain whether 2012 was as important for the Indian economy as 1991.
"These measures do not fully resolve either policy or political uncertainty," says Eswar Prasad, economics professor at Cornell University, commenting on the reforms that were announced over the past two weeks. "But they are an important step in reorienting India's policies in the right direction.
"The Manmohan Singh government has drawn a line in the sand. It may end up with the government losing power and having to call elections in the next few months," Mr Prasad concludes.
"But at least it is been made clear that this is a government that will go down fighting. At least there is a prospect of reform."
 
FT
September 25, 2012
Retail: Mom and pop's gloomy prospects
By Amy Kazmin in New Delhi
Delhi's decision to allow FDI in retail has provoked protest
It is mid-afternoon and Simrat Kaur, a 25-year-old housewife in New Delhi's middle-class Kirti Nagar neighborhood, is pushing a trolley through the well-stocked aisles of the local Easy Day store, part of a retail chain owned by India's Bharti group and operated with Walmart of the US.
"Find a lower price, and we will match it," the signs say. As Bollywood songs boom over the sound system, a male voice declares: "More music and more fun at Easy Day."
Ms Kaur is a regular at the brightly lit, air-conditioned convenience store, having abandoned old-fashioned, family-owned-and-run shops where workers climb ladders to pluck down goods piled high out of customers' reach. "There, we have to shout, 'Give me this, give me that'," she says. "Here, you roam around and take what you want. You can see the price and check the expiry date, which is very important."
New Delhi's recent decision to allow foreign direct investment in retail has provoked protest from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party, and from leftwing parties warning that the reform will harm India's estimated 50m shopkeepers. Entrants are likely to include big international operators such as the UK's Tesco, and Carrefour and Auchan of France.
But traditional shops are already under pressure from a nascent – and homegrown – retail revolution. Conglomerates such as Bharti Enterprises, Reliance Industries, Tata and RPG Enterprises, and more focused companies such as Kishore Biyani's Future Group, are running and expanding, modern retail formats. Some, including Bharti and Tata, are working with global companies.
Organized retail still accounts for just 5 to 6 per cent of India's total retail industry. But with sales from these formats growing at about 20 per cent a year – compared with overall sales growth of 7 to 8 per cent a year – modern stores are already threatening family-run shops.
Down the road from Kirti Nagar's Easy Day, business at the Green Bakery has collapsed. Founded half a century ago, it once provided a comfortable living for its owners, the Bangia family. But today it is dark, with the lights turned off to save electricity, and its stock low.
"It is just hand to mouth," says Shivani Bangia, the 27-year-old great-grand-daughter of the founder, who uses her salary as a private schoolteacher to prop up the shop.
She complains that wholesale distributors favor modern retail stores with deep discounts, allowing them to undercut older rivals. Such competition means a gloomy future for many family-owned shops, even without foreign investment. But Green Bakery's owners are reluctant to give up. "It is a family business and our sentiments are attached to it," says Ms Bangia. "People know us here."


Outrage at CIA's deadly 'double tap' drone attacks Report claims just one in fifty victims of 'surgical' US strikes in Pakistan are known militants. Jerome Taylor reports on a deadly new strategy Jerome Taylor



Outrage at CIA's deadly 'double tap' drone attacks
Report claims just one in fifty victims of 'surgical' US strikes in Pakistan are known militants. Jerome Taylor reports on a deadly new strategy
Jerome Taylor
Tuesday 25 September 2012
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/outrage-at-cias-deadly-double-tap-drone-attacks-8174771.html


Late in the evening on 6 June this year an unmanned drone was flying high above the Pakistani village of Datta Khel in north Waziristan.


The buzz emitted by America's fleet of Predators and Reapers are a familiar sound for the inhabitants of the dusty hamlet, which lies next to a riverbed close to Pakistan's border with Afghanistan and is a stronghold for the Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur.


As the drone circled it let off the first of its Hellfire missiles, slamming into a small house and reducing it to rubble. When residents rushed to the scene of the attack to see if they could help they were struck again.


According to reports at the time, three local rescuers were killed by a second missile whilst a further strike killed another three people five minutes later. In all, somewhere between 17 and 24 people are thought to have been killed in the attack.


The Datta Khel assault was just one of the more than 345 strikes that have hit Pakistan's tribal areas in the past eight years but it reveals an increasingly common tactic now being used in America's covert drone wars the "double-tap" strike.


More and more, while the overall frequency of strikes has fallen since a Nato attack in 2011 killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and strained US-Pakistan relations, initial strikes are now followed up by further missiles in a tactic which lawyers and campaigners say is killing an even greater number of civilians. The tactic has cast such a shadow of fear over strike zones that rescuers often wait for hours before daring to visit the scene of an attack.


"These strikes are becoming much more common," Mirza Shahzad Akbar, a Pakistani lawyer who represents victims of drone strikes, told The Independent. "In the past it used to be a one-off, every now and then. Now almost every other attack is a double tap. There is no justification for it."


The expansive use of "double-tap" drone strikes is just one of a number of more recent phenomena in the covert war run by the US against violent Islamists that has been documented in a new report by legal experts at Stanford and New York University.


The product of nine months' research and more than 130 interviews, it is one of the most exhaustive attempts by academics to understand and evaluate Washington's drone wars. And their verdict is damning.


Throughout the 146-page report, which is released today, the authors condemn drone strikes for their ineffectiveness.


Despite assurances the attacks are "surgical", researchers found barely 2 per cent of their victims are known militants and that the idea that the strikes make the world a safer place for the US is "ambiguous at best."


Researchers added that traumatic effects of the strikes go far beyond fatalities, psychologically battering a population which lives under the daily threat of annihilation from the air, and ruining the local economy.


They conclude by calling on Washington completely to reassess its drone-strike programme or risk alienating the very people they hope to win over. They also observe that the strikes set worrying precedents for extra-judicial killings at a time when many nations are building up their unmanned weapon arsenals.


The Obama administration is unlikely to heed their demands given the zeal with which America has expanded its drone programme over the past two years. Reapers and Predators are now active over the skies of Somalia and Yemen as well as Pakistan and less covertly Afghanistan.


But campaigners like Mr Akbar hope the Stanford/New York University research may start to make an impact on the American public.


"It's an important piece of work," he said. "No one in the US wants to listen to a Pakistani lawyer saying these strikes are wrong. But they might listen to American academics."


Reprieve, the charity which is trying to challenge drone strikes in the British, Pakistani and American courts, said the report detailed how the fallout from the extra-judicial strikes must be measured in terms of more than deaths and injuries alone.


"An entire region is being terrorised by the constant threat of death from the skies," said Reprieve's director, Clive Stafford Smith.


"Their way of life is collapsing: kids are too terrified to go to school, adults are afraid to attend weddings, funerals, business meeting or anything that involves gathering in groups."


Some of the most harrowing personal testimonies involve those who have witnessed "double-tap" strikes.


Researchers said people in Waziristan the tribal area where most of the strikes take place are "acutely aware of reports of the practice of follow-up strikes", and explained that the secondary strikes have discouraged ordinary civilians from coming to one another's rescue.


One interviewee, describing a strike on his in-laws' home, said a follow-up missile killed would-be rescuers. "Other people came to check what had happened; they were looking for the children in the beds and then a second drone strike hit those people."


A father of four, who lost one of his legs in a drone strike, admitted: "We and other people are so scared of drone attacks now that when there is a drone strike, for two or three hours nobody goes close to [the location of the strike]. We don't know who [the victims] are, whether they are young or old, because we try to be safe."

Testimonies

"The villagers brought us the news."


Khairullah Jan, whose brother was killed in a drone attack.


"I was ... going to my house. That's when I heard a drone strike and I felt something in my heart. I thought something had happened, but we didn't get to know until the next day. That's when all the villagers came and brought us news that [my brother] had been [killed]... I was drinking tea when I found out. [My] entire family was there."


"My father's body was scattered in pieces."


Waleed Shiraz, who was studying for a BA before he was injured by a strike.


"My father was asleep and I was studying near by [When we got hit], [my] father's body was scattered in pieces and he died immediately, but I was unconscious for three to four days [Since then], I am disabled. My legs have become so weak and skinny that I am not able to walk."


"Children, women, they are all affected."


Firoz Ali Khan, a shopkeeper in the town of Miranshah.


"I have been seeing drones since the first one appeared about four to five years ago [We see drones] hovering [24 hours a day but] we don't know when they will strike People are afraid of dying Children, women, they are all psychologically affected. They look at the sky to see if there are drones [They] make such a noise that everyone is scared."


How to kill the Haqqanis? Work with Iranian terrorists! By removing the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq from its terrorism list, America has signalled that it isn't interested in any meaningful negotiations with Iran.



How to kill the Haqqanis? Work with Iranian terrorists!
By removing the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq from its terrorism list, America has signalled that it isn't interested in any meaningful negotiations with Iran.
September 24, 2012
M K Bhadrakumar
http://indrus.in/articles/2012/09/24/how_to_kill_the_haqqanis_work_with_iranian_terrorists_17853.html


Prima facie, the Barack Obama administration has probably done one of the stupidest things in the bizarre chronicle of United States Iran relations when it reportedly decided last week to remove the virulently anti-Iranian regime group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq [MEK] from the State Department's terrorism list. A formal announcement is expected coming Monday.


The MEK has a bloody history of perpetrating terrorist acts against the Iranian regime. Although it is today a pale shadow of what it used to be in the 1980s and commands hardly any support within Iran, MEK evokes strong feelings in Tehran.


One of the most revered figures in the pantheon of heroes of the Islamic revolution, Mohammad Beheshti, fell victim on June 28, 1981 along with more than 70 revolutionary figures in an MEK terrorist strike in Tehran. The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who was present at the conclave narrowly escaped with debilitating injuries. So did former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The MEK plan was to decimate the entire Iranian revolutionary leadership at one stroke. This was at the height of the US-Iranian hostilities soon after the hostage crisis ended. The forces behind the MEK in planning that incident are not yet identified.


With this one move to rehabilitate the MEK, Washington has signalled that it isn't interested in any meaningful negotiations with Iran. It is inconceivable that Tehran will easily overlook Obama's provocative decision. (Curiously, the US decision coincides with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad's arrival in New York to attend the UN General Assembly session.)


Without doubt, Israel will be mighty thrilled. But what is surprising is that the US cannot have any sort of ideological or political affinities with the MEK. The MEK had Marxist leanings at one time; it also used to be "anti-imperialist" and "anti-Shah"; and, later it aligned with the Islamic revolution and finally it turned against the religious establishment and ended taking refuge under Saddam Hussein until the dictator's rule ended in Iraq. Saddam provided sanctuaries to the MEK and used it as an instrument of policy to destabilize the Iranian regime.


With Saddam's tragic departure, MEK ended up in American hands. Obama's latest decision is part of a concerted western design to rehabilitate the MEK on the specious plea that it has become a toothless, harmless organisation anyway. Other European countries have also taken similar steps. This is double standard bordering on rank hypocrisy.


The heart of the matter is that the MEK works closely with the Israeli intelligence and has proved its usefulness by undertaking dangerous operations inside Iran, especially for subverting Iran's nuclear program by assassinating nuclear scientists in that country. Iran has apprehended several MEK agents working for Israeli (and US) intelligence.


Now, if the MEK continues to be listed as a terrorist organisation by the state department, CIA will be violating the law of the land by working with it. Also, Israel will be seen as collaborating with an organisation that has been listed as a terrorist organisation under American law and that has dire consequences, too.


So, how to circumvent the law? That was the big question that Obama administration faced. The only expedient way is to remove the MEK from the terrorist list. Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are not only gifted politicians but also are lawyers trained in the best law school in the US (Yale). They know how to be on the right side of the law although they may often not always be on the "right side of history".


By the way, the recent induction of the Haqqani group into the US' terrorist list is actually in the very same spirit of expediency to be on the right side of law. Since the Haqqanis are supposed to be holed up in North Waziristan and since they are now deemed "terrorists", the drone attacks, which Obama personally clears, no more become the stuff of war crimes, which they otherwise could be, because the US and Pakistan are, technically speaking, not at war.


The US law gives a free hand to Obama to go for terrorists anywhere on the planet in the supreme national security interests of the US. So, he can't be seen as ordering the drone attacks to assassinate foreigners, which, by the way, is also prohibited under U.S. law.


Simply put, as a law-abiding civilised nation, the US cannot afford to do unlawful things. And, therefore, Haqqanis are "in", and MEK is "out". That makes things perfectly legal if the US assassinates the Haqqanis and consorts with the MEK terrorists.


Kenya and its coastal discontents Kenya must make serious commitments to unravel the economic grievances upon which the secessionist argument is based.



Kenya and its coastal discontents
Kenya must make serious commitments to unravel the economic grievances upon which the secessionist argument is based.
Last Modified: 25 Sep 2012 08:24

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/09/20129238293700321.html


Mombasa is peaceful but tensions are simmering beneath the surface. Late last month, the coastal city was wracked by a wave of riots and violence after the Islamist cleric Aboud Rogo was assassinated in a drive-by shooting. Gunmen shot at Aboud Rogo's car as he was driving along the Malindi Road towards Mombasa, with his wife and child inside. Rogo was a suspected fundraiser and recruiter for al-Shabab and was due in court in October where he was to face weapons charges.


The assailants are unknown but there are many theories as to their identities. Followers of Rogo claim that he was the victim of an extrajudicial murder at the hands of Kenyan security forces. That theory, though dismissed by the authorities, seems to hold water for many who suspect government involvement.


In response to the killing, local Mombasan youth and Kenyan police forces engaged in deadly clashes in the streets, which left several dead. Since the incident, anti-government and anti-Western sentiments have continued to grow creating a potentially serious situation as the nation prepares for another ballot test.


At the root of the violence is an overriding suspicion of the state that has been simmering for a while now. Rogo's killing simply brought these tensions to the fore. For the past several years, security forces have been implicated in a litany of extrajudicial killings and illegal renditions.


In the past year alone, there have been reports of individuals disappearing under suspicious circumstances. Witnesses have come forward alleging that plain-clothes officers apprehended suspected al-Shabab members, never to be seen again. Samir Khan, a fellow hardliner associate of Rogo, was in fact seen again, but not alive. Days after being abducted in the Likoni area of Mombasa in April, his mutilated body was found in Tsavo National Park.


In fact, with a history of being implicated in extrajudicial killings and disappearances, the credibility of the state with regard to this issue is low. The civil society group, Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI), claims that four individuals have disappeared in Mombasa after being arrested in 2012. Also, according to the chair of the Muslim Human Rights Forum, another group in Mombasa, previous inquiries into disappearances have yielded little in the way of justice.


The suspicion and resentment that coastal communities have towards the government in Nairobi is indeed rooted in other serious grievances. Among them are a few important charges.


First, coastal Kenyans charge that the Coast is deliberately underdeveloped in comparison with other regions. It is a known fact that there are not sufficient employment opportunities in their region, with a perception among locals that many of the few jobs are taken by politically connected outsiders.


Subsequently, the Coast region is well known to be one of the least developed regions in Kenya with a large population of disaffected youth and an increasing heroin abuse problem. Some even charge that the government in Nairobi deliberately flooded the region with heroin to weaken their communities.


Additionally, coastal Kenyans charge that the system of land tenure in the Coast region favours individuals from the interior of the country. Between this incursion of "upcountry" settlers and the tourist trade - which is intertwined with Mombasa lucrative sex trade industry - many coastal Kenyans feel exploited.


These issues were at the heart of the riots that struck the Likoni area in 1997 where violent gangs targeted upcountry immigrants leaving dozens dead. Tensions have also been raised in response to the recently announced port project in Lamu, which is seen by some as another exploitative project designed to enrich outsiders.


Since the riots in 1997, coastal-state relations have hinged largely on the escalation of anti-terror efforts in the region. Al-Shabab has increased its recruitment of young men in the coast, including Somalis as well as members of other ethnic groups.


Kenya is under heavy pressure from the United States to tighten its anti-terror measures, however, since 2003, security forces have been criticised for discriminatory policies towards the Muslim community.


The entirety of these claims has created an ethos of victimhood and marginalisation in the Coast region. In response, a number of active politically-oriented organisations have emerged in the coastal region that advocate on behalf of the largely Muslim communities of the coast. Organisations such as the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya, MUHURI and the Muslim Human Rights Forum have created a robust civil society.


However, in this contested space, there remain secessionist demands. The main proponent of the secessionist agenda is the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC), whose slogan "Pwani si Kenya" roughly translated to "The Coast is not part of Kenya", articulates their guiding principle. They contend that the cultural differences between the coast and interior, as well as the grievances of the coastal communities, are sufficient to warrant creating a separate state.


The MRC also points to a historical moment to justify the secession. During the 1963 Lancaster House Conference that charted Kenya's independence, Zanzibari, Kenyan and British authorities negotiated that the coastal strip, then controlled by Zanzibar, would be integrated into Kenya. This negotiation, to the MRC, is used as evidence that the coast was never truly a legitimate part of Kenya.


The Kenyan government has been engaged in a standoff with the MRC since even before the recent turbulence in Mombasa. The MRC was created in 1999 and was subsequently designated as an organised criminal group by the Kenyan government in 2010. However, the High Court in Mombasa ruled that the MRC's ban was unconstitutional. The Kenyan government flatly rejects their claims for secession out of hand and President Kibaki declined to negotiate.


In the run up to the March elections, the MRC has openly threatened to boycott the election and thwart it from happening on the coast. MRC chairman Omar Mwamnwadzi told Reuters recently, "There will be no peace, this I cannot hide from you. The coast will have no peace at all. Voting in the coast will not happen if there is no secession We will not allow elections here. It will be mob justice using rocks. Many will die."


Already, MRC members have been able to disrupt poll exercises in Malindi, north of Mombasa.


The Kenyan government has much to do in order to stave off this threat to its stability and peace. The recent events in the coastal region point to specific steps that must be taken.


First, the government must convene an independent inquiry into the killing of Aboud Rogo and other terror suspects who have been murdered or otherwise disappeared. The Kenyan state must also rethink its role in the coastal region vis--vis its anti-terror objectives. It can no longer antagonise the communities of the coast through heavy-handed anti-terror policies.


Additionally, the government must make serious commitments to unravel the economic grievances upon which the secessionist argument is based. That means investing in the Coast region and creating jobs, increasing access to land for locals, creating more opportunities to the local entrepreneurs and ensuring a more responsive Kenyan state where concerns of the region can be sufficiently and reliably addressed.


This approach may also include engaging with MRC's leadership. The broader Coast region outside of the Mombasa district is indeed diverse, and the communities are not a cohesive whole. The recent wave of violence between the Pokoma and Orma in Tana River district demonstrates this inter-ethnic tension of indigenous groups of the Coast region.


Although it is likely that the MRC does not have the broad support to push forward a legitimate secessionist movement, they certainly are capable of stirring animosity and tension that could result in violence and weaken the states' position. The longer the Coast region lags behind the rest of Kenya, the more legitimacy secessionist demands will have.


In 2013, the world will be watching as Kenya heads to the polls, wondering if the country can avoid the violence that plagued the last one. When combined with continued security threats in the region, the recent events in the Coast demonstrate that more must be done to ensure peace and stability in the region.


Wossen Ayele is a researcher focused on East Africa and currently based at the Forum for Social Studies (FSS) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He is a graduate of Yale University.


Ethnic politics: Baloch, Sindhi and Mohajir movements Ishtiaq Ahmed



Sunday, September 23, 2012
Ethnic politics: Baloch, Sindhi and Mohajir movements
Ishtiaq Ahmed
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012
\09\23\story_23-9-2012_pg3_3

Post-colonial states are susceptible to ethnic conflict because the `nationalism' that bound their disparate ethnic groups together to establish the state proves brittle after independence as they assert their specific sectional interests vis--vis the central government. In the case of Pakistan, its identity crisis has compounded such tensions and in the absence of an agreed federal structure and rules of the game, such tensions have exacerbated over time. Thus ethnicity, rather than class, has served as the basis for the re-alignment of forces in the independent Pakistan.


Farhan Hanif Siddiqi's book, The Politics of Ethnicity in Pakistan: The Baloch, Sindhi and Mohajir ethnic movements (Routledge, 2011), based on his doctoral dissertation, is a timely contribution. The author argues that the Punjabis represent majoritarian centripetal forces, the Baloch and Sindhi centrifugal forces, and the Mohajir both, depending on the situation and context. He correctly emphasises that ethnicity is not something fixed; rather, it is situational and contextual and therefore, amenable to manoeuvre externally and internally. Typically, Pakistani central governments have been successful in exploiting the differences within these groups as the shared ethnicity of such groups itself is a construction rather than a given. He traces chronologically the conflict between the central government and the Baloch, Sindhi and Mohajir ethno-nationalists. Each case study culminates with military interventions in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s respectively.


The most interesting is the Balochistan case study. Balochistan is Pakistan's largest province but with the smallest population, comprising only about five percent of Pakistan's total population. Since 1970, Balochistan includes the Kalat State and other princely states and British Balochistan. Roughly three ethno-linguistic groups are `indigenous' to Balochistan, the Baloch and the Brahui, who speak a Dravidian tongue, and the Pukhtuns. The Baloch and Brahui are politically considered as one ethnic group: the Baloch. Alliances with the Pukhtuns have come and gone.


The Khanate of Kalat was founded in 1666 by Mir Ahmad (Brahui-speaking). The British sent Captain Sandeman to that region, who used his influence to establish an hierarchical structure among the various tribes, which previously did not have all-powerful sardars at the helm of their affairs. When the freedom struggle started in the subcontinent, the Khan of Kalat preferred the Muslim League and funded it. Some educated middle class Baloch were sympathetic to the Congress Party while some others harboured pro-Soviet sympathies. Mohammad Ali Jinnah was hired by the Khan of Kalat `in his quest to achieve independence for his princely state' (page 58), says the author. Jinnah argued before the Cabinet Mission that, "With the termination of the treaty with the British Government, the Kalat State will revert to its pre-treaty position of complete independence, and will be free to choose its own course in future" (Ibid).


However, "This courtship between Jinnah and the Khan of Kalat was bound to be paradoxical for Jinnah, the Legal Adviser to Kalat, was advocating independence for the princely state while Jinnah, the future head of the Pakistani state, would not agree to anything less than the integration of Kalat within the territorial confines of the future Pakistani state (Ibid)," observes Siddiqi.


After independence, the central government from the outset employed highhanded tactics with the Baloch. From the forced annexation of Kalat, which had declared itself independent on August 15 (August 11 according to some sources) to the amalgamation of Kalat and minor states such as Lasbela, Makran and Kharan in 1952 into the Balochistan States Union, and then the amalgamation of the former British Balochistan and the princely states through One Unit, all contributed to the alienation of the Baloch from the Centre. Armed conflicts between the Baloch and Pakistani forces occurred many times. The author especially mentions Z A Bhutto's confrontational approach in the 1970s, which made a mockery of the federal system that had been agreed in the 1973 constitution. He writes, "In fact, Bhutto was responsible for the civil war in Balochistan, which lasted four years" (Ibid: 64). The notorious arms cache that the Pakistan government detected in the Iraqi embassy in Islamabad was meant for Iranian Balochistan and not Pakistani Balochistan, argues the author. At that time, Akbar Bugti was not part of the Baloch nationalist struggle, having sided with Bhutto during that conflict and even the Khan of Kalat was supportive of Bhutto. Such evidence suggests the shifting nature of internal Baloch politics.


The coverage of the Sindhi and Mohajir ethnic movements is useful, though the story Siddiqi tells is a familiar one and several scholars have shed light on it. I was surprised that he did not consult some relevant literature that both theoretically and empirically covers the same issues and problems. He, however, makes useful additions with regard to differences between G M Syed (separatist) and Rasool Bux Palejo (emphasising autonomy). What is missing in the story is the role that the Pakistan People's Party played in modifying Sindhi nationalism. It is noted but not elaborated. With regard to the Mohajir ethnic movement, we learn more about the violent conflict between the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and MQM (Haqiqi). The military was able to exploit dissensions within the Urdu-speaking community.


I would like to encourage the author to focus in his future research just on the Baloch case. From the vantage point of having traced the origins of that conflict, he is in a privileged position to shed light on its contemporaneous dynamics. A leftist friend of mine who recently attended a wedding in Balochistan came back wringing his hands at the absolute power and authority the sardars enjoys over ordinary members of their tribes. What goes on within Baloch society is also worth probing.


The writer has a PhD from Stockholm University. He is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Stockholm University. He is also Honorary Senior Fellow of the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. His latest publication is The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed: Unravelling the 1947 Tragedy through Secret British Reports and First-Person Accounts (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2012; New Delhi: Rupa Books, 2011). He can be reached at
billumian@gmail.com


Iraq's Dawa Party Returning To Their Islamist Roots Or Just Trying To Shore Up Their Base? Attempts To Ban Alcohol, Set Public Dress Codes, And Attack Emos And Gays Raise The Question



Monday, September 24, 2012
Is Iraq's Dawa Party Returning To Their Islamist Roots Or Just Trying To Shore Up Their Base? Attempts To Ban Alcohol, Set Public Dress Codes, And Attack Emos And Gays Raise The Question
http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.dk/2012/09/is-iraqs-dawa-party-returning-to-their.html


Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa Party was the first modern Islamist organization formed in Iraq. Dawa was created by laypersons and clerics in the 1950s, advocating the formation of an Islamic state run by technocrats, which would rely upon the opinions of the country's religious establishment. Since Maliki assumed power in 2006, he has emphasized other issues such as Iraqi nationalism and security with the creation of the State of Law list. That doesn't mean that he and his party have given up their Islamist roots. In recent years, Dawa members have taken certain actions in Baghdad that reveal their continued adherence to their history.


One example was attempts to ban alcohol in the capital. In 2010, the Baghdad provincial council issued an order against the sale of alcoholic beverages. This followed a similar action in Basra in August 2009 after Dawa took power there in provincial elections. Iraqi law only allows Christians and Yazidis to sell alcohol. In November 2010, security forces began shutting down bars, nightclubs, and shops selling liquor, claiming that they were unlicensed businesses. In January 2011, the head of the provincial council introduced a new ordinance on alcohol citing Islamic Law. That led to a new wave of raids on bars and clubs, including the Iraqi Writers Union, showing that the security forces were not just going after regular alcohol sellers, but intellectual organizations as well. Those moves eventually ended. Then in September 2012, they began all over again. Just like before, local authorities claimed they were targeting those selling alcohol without a license. This included the Cinema Club, the Ashurbanipal Cultural Association,the Iraqi Writers Union, and the pharmacist club. The Baghdad Brigade carried out the strikes in the Karrada and Arasat neighborhoods of the capital. The Office of the Commander and Chief, which Premier Maliki is the head of, claimed the action was taken because of a court ruling. A spokesman for the judiciary however, denied any such order had been issued. A security official claimed the real person behind the raids was General Farouk al-Araji, who is the director of the Office of the Commander in Chief. Right afterward, a parliamentarian from State of Law said he was going to introduce legislation to ban alcohol sales in all of Iraq. It's hard to believe that the Baghdad Brigade, General Araji or the Office of the Commander in Chief were not working for Maliki in this situation. Some critics saw these actions as a sign that the prime minister was trying to impose the Islamic norms of his Dawa Party on society. While there are many Muslims that have no problem with liquor, the more religious believe it to be forbidden. The fact that many of the establishments that were hit from 2010-2012 had licenses to sell alcohol also showed that Maliki was not shy about using the security forces for his own personal agenda, and that he was willing to ignore the rule of law.

A club after a raid by security forces, Sep. 2012 (Al-Arabiya)
In 2011, the Women's Affairs Ministry attempted to institute a dress code for female public workers. The order came from the Higher National Committee for the Advancement of Iraqi Women who demanded that women working for the government wear "moderate dress" in September 2011. The committee was under the Women's Affairs Minister Ibtihal al-Zaidi of the Dawa Party. One committee member said that the ruling came as a result of public workers not dressing according to Islamic traditions. The Planning and the Higher Education Ministries, which were run by the Sadrists and State of Law respectively read the rules to all their female employees. Other ministries run by other parties did not comply. Again, this was an instance where Dawa members were acting against what they saw as violations of their interpretation of religion. Iraqi public workers wear all types of dress from traditional to Western. Some members of the Women's Affairs Ministry were getting offended by the latter, and attempted to put an end to it. The fact that Iraq has a divided government with different parties controlling different ministries also showed the limited power the Dawa actually had over the matter. Those ministers with Islamist leanings attempted to enforce the ruling, but others who were either non-religious or opposed to Maliki, ignored it. That highlighted the unwillingness of Maliki and Dawa to go beyond those jurisdictions that they had direct control over.

The latest example of Islamist inspired action was far more violent. In 2012, there were reports that anywhere from six to forty emos and gays were murdered in Baghdad. This came after the Interior Ministry posted a statement on its website calling emos Devil worshippers in February. The Ministry then called for a police crackdown, while at the same time claiming that any deaths were being made up by the media. Stories emerged that Shiite militants were handing out lists of people they were going to kill. In March, Human Rights Watch blamed the government for the attacks, which was later substantiated by a BBC investigation. The BBC found that the Interior Ministry statement about emos being Satanists led to a concerted and covert campaign to murder gays and emos in the capital by members of the security forces. While Adnan Asadi is the deputy Interior Minister, he was appointed by Prime Minister Maliki in 2011, who is still the acting Interior Minister. Like the alcohol banning, this appears to be an instance where the premier has used the security forces to go after those he feels are in violation of his image of what an Islamic society should be like. Unlike those earlier events however, this one has led to several deaths, which will go unpunished since they are at the behest of the central government. At the same time, this again shows that Maliki and Dawa have only felt comfortable imposing their views on a limited scale, only going after emos and homosexuals in certain districts of Baghdad, rather than the whole city, other provinces or the entire country.


While Dawa no longer seems to publicly campaign on their Islamist agenda, it appears to still be committed to it. From 2010 to the present there have been several examples of Dawa members ranging from Prime Minister Maliki to ministers to members of the security forces using extrajudicial and official means to impose their Islamist ideas on certain sectors of society. At the same time, these efforts have been largely limited to the capital, and only affected specific and limited groups such as certain clubs, stores, female workers in certain ministries, emos, and gays. These actions have led to increasing yet ineffective criticism, which might be the reason why they were taken. Maliki and his fellow party members may be unwilling at this time to take more far reaching acts that could lead to a wider public outcry. Dawa doesn't have the ability to act on a larger scale at this time either since the different ministries and provinces are run by other parties. At the same time, it can point to these events to their followers, and other like-minded citizens to shore up their base. That might be their goal at this time to show their brethren that they have not abandoned their Islamist past, and that they still want an Islamic society, while not going that far to actually push for one.


SOURCES


Arango, Tim, "In Iraq, Bottoms Up for Democracy," New York Times, 4/16/11


BBC, "BBC investigation reveals police persecution of gays in Iraq," 9/12/12


Decamme, Guillaume, "Iraq forces raid Baghdad nightclubs: officials," Agence France Presse, 9/5/12


Habib, Musafa, "baghdad bans beer: why new Iraqi prohibition is an ominous sign," Niqash, 9/13/12


Al-Haidari, Moyad, Rechnagel, Charles, "Raid On Nightclubs Raises Fears Of Islamic State," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 9/11/12


Ibrahim, Haidar, "Baghdad council demands harsher sentences for alcohol salesmen," AK News, 7/23/11


Khallat, Khudr, "Baghdad liquor stores shut down by provincial council," AK News, 3/9/11


Leland, John, "Baghdad Raids on Alcohol Sellers Stir Fears," New York Times, 1/15/11


Mohammed, Abeer, al-Sharaa, Hazim, "Minority Businesses Fear Alcohol Bans," Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 3/17/11


Musings On Iraq, "A History of Iraq's Islamic Dawa Party, Interview With Dr. Rodger Shanahan," 8/13/12


Muwafaq, Loay, "religious instruction: iraqi students drop out due to sectarian lessons," Niqash, 3/8/12


Ramzi, Kholoud, "not short, tight or shiny: new dress code could see women forced into veils," Niqash, 1/26/12


Rasheed, Ahmed and Ameer, Mohammed, "Iraq militia stone youths to death for "emo" style," Reuters, 3/10/12


Al-Rasheed, Muntathar and al-Shibeeb, Dina, "Crackdown on Iraq nightclubs upsets rights activists, sparks mystery," Al Arabiya, 9/22/12


Al-Saray, Ali, "Iraqi Nightclub Crackdown Fuels `Islamization' Fears," Al-Hayat, 9/11/12


Al-Shummari, Yazn, "Education ministry requires students to wear uniform in schools because of "emo" culture," 3/18/12


Stork, Joe, "Iraq: Investigate `Emo' Attacks," Human Rights Watch, 3/16/12


United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, "Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom," March 2012


Thursday 27 September 2012

Single child migration to Mumbai - illegally detained, tortured & falsely implicated by police

Particulars of the victim:- Saleman Sardar, son of late Salim Sarder, aged about- 17 years, by faith-Muslim, by occupation- unemployed, residing at village – Dakhin Kachdaha , Post Office – Kachdaha, Police Station-Sawrapnagar, District-24 Parganas (North), West Bengal, India.

Particulars of the perpetrators: - The police personnel of Nerul Police Station (Police Chowki), Nabi-Mumbai, Maharastra, India.

Date & time of incident: - On 20.11.2011 at 7 p.m. in the evening and subsequently thereafter.

Place of incident: - In front of Fry Shop at Narul, Navi Mumbai at Mumbai.

Case Details:-

It is revealed during the fact finding that Saleman Sardar, aged about 17 years, a minor boy belongs from a poor family of Village Dakhin Kachdha, Police Station – Swrapnahgar, District – 24 Parganas (South). The said Salaman Sardar went to Mumbai with his 8 -10 friends for finding a job for them. On 20.11.2011 at 7 p.m. in the evening when they were returning, some on-duty police personnel of Nerul Police Station apprehended them and demanded Rs.30,000/- from them on the condition of releasing them. Except Saleman Sardar, others gave the money to said police personnel. Then police took him (Saleman Sardar) in their custody and subjected him to torture both physically and mentally. At the time of arrest all the personal belongings of the victim such as two mobile phones and Cash of Rs 3,000/-, two pant pieces, one sari, a school bag and a mobile-charger were forcibly snatched away by the perpetrator police personnel. They hit his foot by the sticks and punch at his left eyes and left side of the chest badly. On 23.11.2011 he was sent to a hospital by the police personal for medical test giving him threats that he would be permanently disabled by them if he discloses anything of the incident of torture to medical officer. On 24.11.2011 he was produced before the concerned court of Judicial Magistrate by the police by charging him as an accused in connection with Nerul Police Station Case no.287/2011 dated 28.7.2011 under sections 457/380/34 of Indian Penal Code. In connection with the said criminal case the police manufactured records by claiming him being a major (above 18 years of age) without any enquiry as to his actual age. Subsequently the police submitted charge sheet against him in connection with the said criminal case and in the charge sheet the police claimed his age as 21 years. The fact remain that the police from the date of arrest of the victim till submission of charge sheet did not inform anything about his arrest to his family members and the police also did nothing to verify the age of the victim.  

Ultimately the concerned judicial magistrate (3rd J.M.F.C., Vashi, Navi Mumbai) vide order dated 3.1.2012 passed direction to produce the victim before the Juvenile Justice Board as the ossification test of the victim reported his age as 17 years and more or less 6 months. 

Thereafter the victim abled to return to his home and he disclosed the whole incident to his family members. The family of the victim is economically poor and they do not have any property or any source of income. They even do not have any B. P. L. (Below Poverty Line) card too. In that situation he again went to Mumbai for a suitable job and at present resides there to earn some livelihood for his family. It is a known saga of every Indian citizen living in the international border area. 

--
Kirity Roy
Secretary
Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha
(MASUM)
&
National Convenor (PACTI)
Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity
40A, Barabagan Lane (4th Floor)
Balaji Place
Shibtala
Srirampur
Hooghly
PIN- 712203
Tele-Fax - +91-33-26220843
Phone- +91-33-26220844 / 0845
e. mail : kirityroy@gmail.com
Web: www.masum.org.in

अब बिजली गिरेगी आम आदमी पर​! बिजली ग्रिड फेल होने का हादसा याद है?



अब बिजली गिरेगी आम आदमी पर​! बिजली ग्रिड फेल होने का हादसा याद है?

एक्सकैलिबर स्टीवेंस विश्वास

लगभग पूरे देश में बिजली ग्रिड फेल होने का हादसा याद है? इसका मतलब अब समझ में आयेगा। दुनियाभर में निजी बिजली कंपलियां इसी ङथकंडे के सहारे बिजली की कीमत बढ़ाने का लक्ष्य हासिल करती हैं।राज्यों की पॉवर डिस्ट्रिब्यूशन कंपनियों को कर्ज से उबारने के लिए सरकार ने जो नई योजना तैयार की है उसका एक अहम हिस्सा राज्य स्तर पर बिजली की दरों में हर साल बढ़ोतरी करना है।राज्यों की बिजली वितरण कंपनियों को बकाया कर्ज के भुगतान के लिए राहत पैकेज दे कर केंद्र सरकार भले ही अपनी पीठ थपथपा रही हो, लेकिन इसका बोझ उपभोक्ताओं पर पड़ेगा। इस पैकेज की शर्तो के तहत उत्तर प्रदेश, पंजाब, हरियाणा सहित सात राज्यों को बिजली की दरों में सालाना 15 से 17 फीसद तक की बढ़ोतरी करनी पड़ेगी। केंद्रीय ऊर्जा मंत्री वीरप्पा मोइली ने इस बात की पुष्टि की है। उन्होंने कहा कि जो राज्य पैकेज का फायदा उठाएंगे उन्हें हर वर्ष बिजली दरों को समायोजित करना पड़ेगा।देश में निवेश को आकर्षित करने और कई सुधारवादी कदम उठाने के बाद सरकार ने बिजली वितरण कंपनियों के कर्ज पुनर्गठन प्रस्ताव को हरी झंडी दिखा इस क्षेत्र को बड़ी राहत दी है। करीब एक दशक पहले भी केंद्र सरकार इसी तरह की पहल करते हुए राज्य बिजली बोर्डों के बकाया के लिए एक बारगी निपटान योजना लाई थी। आर्थिक मामलों की कैबिनेट समिति ने बिजली वितरण कंपनियों (डिस्कॉम) के कर्ज पुनर्गठन प्रस्ताव को मंजूरी दे दी। इसके तहत वितरण कंपनियों का आधा कर्ज राज्य सरकार को लघु अवधि ऋण के तहत वहन करना होगा जबकि कर्जदाता शेष ऋण का पुनर्गठन करेंगे। इस पुनर्गठन का हिस्सा बनने के लिए राज्यों को कुछ अनिवार्य शर्तों का पालन करना होगा मसलन बिजली दरों में सालाना बढ़ोतरी, ऋण को इक्विटी में तब्दील करना और निजी क्षेत्र की हिस्सेदारी को बढ़ावा देना। इसके बदले केंद्र, राज्यों को वित्तीय प्रोत्साहन देगा। विभिन्न केंद्रीय मंत्रालयों और राज्यों के साथ करीब एक साल तक चले विचार-विमर्श के बाद पुनर्गठन योजना तैयार की गई है। सरकारी नियंत्रण वाली वितरण कंपनियों के 1.9 लाख करोड़ रुपये मूल्य के ऋण पुनर्गठन करने की दिशा में इसे बड़ा कदम माना जा रहा है।
​​
​जल जंगल जमीन से बेदखल हो गये। खेती चौपट कर दिया।आजीविका छीन ली। ईंधन का मोहताज बना दिया। मिठास की किल्लत कर​ ​ दी।उपभोक्ता संस्कृति में निष्मात कर दिया।उपभोक्ता बाजार के विस्तार के लिए सामाजिक योजनाओं में सरकारी खर्च बढ़ा दिया।कृषि ​​संकट से निपटने के बजाय खाद्य सुरक्षा बिल का गाजर दे दिया। अब गांव हो या महानगर, खाना पीना न हो तो चलेगा, पर बिजली तो ​​चाहिए ही। आर्थिक सुधारों के दूसरे चरण में इसीलिए आम आदमी पर बिजली गिराने की पूरी तैयारी है। यह ऊर्जा सुधार है।डीजल की कीमतों ने तो देश को झटका दे दिया है और अब बिजली भी झटका देने की तैयारी में है।

बीस साल झेलते रहे हैं। सरकारें बदलती रहीं और महंगाई,मुद्रास्फीति बढ़ती रही। वित्तीय घाटा कम करने के बहाने हर बार गरीबों की गर्दन ​​रेंती गयीं।मंदी के बहाने पूंजीपतियों को लाखों करोड़ की छूट, सहूलियतें दी जाती रहीं।विदेशी पींजी के अबाध प्रवाह की आड़ में बिल्डर प्रोमोटर राज कायम हो गया। विकास के लिए आर्थिक सुधारों के बहाने सर्वदलीय सहमति से नरसंहार का दौर थमता नजर नहीं आता। केंद्र हो या राज्य,​​ घोटालों की काली कोठरी में हर चेहरा काला। पर लीपापोती एकदम संसदीय, लोकतांत्रिक। जनता को भूलते देरी नहीं लगती। कोलगेट और ​​स्पेक्ट्रम का नाटक का पटाक्षेप नहीं हुआ,तो लवासा और आदर्श हाउसिंग वाले महाराष्ट्र में नये घोटाले के बहाने हिंदुत्व की जयजयकार है।विकास का मडल जस का तस रखते हुए, सुधारों की बेशर्म पैरवी करते हुए अब मुख्य विपक्षी दल कह रहा है कि वोट उसे दिया जाये, तो पांच करोड़ व्यापारी परिवारों की जान बच सकती है।भाजपा सत्ता में आयी तो वापस होगा रिटेल एफडीआई।जो व्यापारी नहीं हैं, वे अपनी जान की खैर मनायें।हजारों करोड़ रुपये के सिंचाई घोटाले के आरोपों में घिरे महाराष्ट्र के उप मुख्यमंत्री अजीत पवार ने मंगलवार को पद से इस्तीफा दे दिया। इसके बाद राज्य में सियासत गरमा गई है। एनसीपी के विधायकों ने एक सुर में पार्टी नेतृत्व से कहा है कि वह सरकार से हट जाए और उसे बाहर से समर्थन दे।एनसीपी अध्यक्ष शरद पवार के भतीजे अजीत पवार ने मंगलवार को कहा कि मैंने अपना इस्तीफा मुख्यमंत्री कार्यालय को भेज दिया है। वह इसे राज्यपाल को भेज देंगे। हालांकि उन्होंने कहा कि जब तक एनसीपी विधायकों का समर्थन उन्हें हासिल है, वह पार्टी के विधायक दल के नेता बने रहेंगे।

केन्द्रीय ऊर्जा मंत्री वीरप्पा मोइली ने कहा कि केन्द्र द्वारा वित्तीय घाटे से जूझ रहे राज्य बिजली बोर्डों को घाटे से उबारने के लिये दिया जाने वाला वेलआउट पैकेज उनके प्रदर्शन पर निर्भर करेगा। उन्होने कहा कि अब तक के घाटे को पाटने के लिये केन्द्र ने यह पैकेज दिया है लेकिन आगे से राज्य बिजली बोर्डों को प्रतिवर्ष 20 प्रतिशत घाटे को कम करना होगा। मतलब साफ है कि आने वाले दिनों में लोगों को बिजली के जोरदार झटके के लिये तैयार रहना चाहिये। इतना ही नहीं उन्होंने कहा कि राज्य बिजली बोर्डों की जवाबदेही तय करने के लिये केन्द्र सरकार आने वाले दिनों में राज्य बिजली वितरण जवाबदेही बिल लायेगी। उन्होने कहा कि राज्य के ऊर्जा मंत्रियों के साथ सलाह मशविरा कर इस बिल को अंतिम रूप दिया जायेगा. राज्यों को  बिल को एक साल के भीतर लागू करना होगा।अचानक यह तथ्य जब बम की तरह फूटता है कि सभी राज्य बिजली बोर्डों को मिलाकर कुल चार लाख करोड़ का लोचा सरकारी खजाने पर आ रहा है, तो हैरानी से एक-दूसरे का मुंह ताकने के सिवा कोई चारा नहीं बचता। ब्यौरे में जाएं तो सारे बोर्ड अभी एक लाख करोड़ के घाटे में हैं और सरकारी बैंकों व नॉन-बैंकिंग वित्तीय संस्थाओं का तीन लाख करोड़ रुपया कर्ज भी उन्हें चुकता करना है। मौजूदा ढर्रे पर चलते हुए कर्जे की अदायगी तो दूर, अपने रनिंग घाटे की भरपाई वे कर ले जाएं, इसका भी कोई चांस नहीं है। ऐसे में बोर्डों की तरफ से लगातार एसओएस आने के बावजूद उन्हें बचाने के लिए कोई एक चवन्नी भी अपनी जेब से देने को तैयार नहीं है।

पिछले एक साल में हरियाणा ने बिजली दरों में 19 फीसद, पंजाब ने 11 फीसद, राजस्थान ने 7.2 फीसद, तमिलनाडु ने 37 फीसद और आंध्र प्रदेश ने 20 फीसद की वृद्धि की है। उत्तर प्रदेश में भी अधिकांश वर्ग में बिजली की दरें बढ़ाई गई हैं। इसके बावजूद इनकी माली स्थिति नहीं सुधर पाई है। इसकी मुख्य वजह यह है कि इनके राजस्व का एक बड़ा हिस्सा (25 से 40 फीसद) कर्ज का ब्याज चुकाने में चला जाता है।केंद्र सरकार के पैकेज के मुताबिक राज्यों की बिजली वितरण कंपनियों पर बकाया कर्ज के आधे हिस्से के बराबर बांड राज्यों को जारी करने होंगे। इस बांड पर जो ब्याज दिया जाएगा उसका भुगतान राज्य सरकारें करेंगी। इस हिसाब से राज्यों को ब्याज भुगतान के लिए दरों में वृद्धि करनी पड़ सकती है।

केंद्रीय ऊर्जा मंत्री वीरप्पा मोइली ने इस बात की पुष्टि की है। उन्होंने कहा कि जो राज्य पैकेज का फायदा उठाएंगे उन्हें हर वर्ष बिजली दरों को समायोजित करना पड़ेगा। बिजली मंत्रालय के अधिकारियों के मुताबिक उत्तर प्रदेश, पंजाब, हरियाणा, मध्य प्रदेश, राजस्थान, तमिलनाडु व आंध्र प्रदेश को हर वर्ष बिजली कीमतों में वृद्धि करनी ही पड़ेगी। दरअसल, देश की तमाम बिजली वितरण कंपनियों पर बकाया 1.90 लाख करोड़ रुपये का 70 फीसद इन सात राज्यों से संबंधित है।अधिकारियों के मुताबिक इन राज्यों के पास इस पैकेज को स्वीकार करने के अलावा और कोई चारा नहीं है। अगर ये पैकेज को स्वीकार नहीं करेंगे तो इन राज्यों में बिजली की स्थिति और खराब होगी। बिजली वितरण कंपनियों पर बकाया राशि का बोझ बढ़ता जाएगा और आमदनी का बहुत बड़ा हिस्सा बकाया कर्ज का ब्याज चुकाने में ही चला जाएगा। पैकेज स्वीकार करने की प्रमुख शर्त यही है कि राज्यों को हर साल बिजली दरों को बिजली की लागत के मुताबिक बदलना होगा।

राज्य बिजली बोर्डों पर शिंकजा कसते हुये केन्द्र सरकार ने यह भी निर्णय लिया है कि वेलआऊट पैकेज की शर्तों के क्रियान्वयन पर निगरानी के लिये ऊर्जा मंत्रालय दो निगरानी समिति का भी गठन करेगा।राज्यों के लिये केन्द्र के पैकेज को स्वीकार करने की अंतिम तिथि 31 दिसंबर तक है। मोइली ने बताया कि सात राज्यों मध्यप्रदेश, आंध्र प्रदेश, राजस्थान, उत्तर प्रदेश, पंजाब , हरियाणा और तमिलनाडु अभी आगे आये हैं।इन राज्यों को बिजली के वितरण के लिये दिये गये अल्पकालिक ऋण से 1.9 लाख करोड़ रुपये ले लिये। राज्यों को सस्ती दर पर बिजली देने के लिये मना किया गया है। मोइली का मानना है कि राजनीतिक लाभ के लिये कुछ राज्यों द्वारा कम कीमत पर बिजली देने के चलते भी बिजली बोर्डों का घाटा बढ़ा है. पैकेज की शर्तों में एक शर्त यह भी है।इसके अलावा राज्य बिजली बोर्डों से कहा गया है कि वे अपने यहां पारेषण और वितरण में हो रहे नुकसान को कम करने के लिये प्रभावी उपाय करें।कुल मिलाकर केन्द्र सरकार इस बार पैकेज के मामलें में रियायत बरतने को तैयार नहीं है। 31 मार्च, 2012 तक राज्य बिजली बोर्डों का घाटा 2.46 लाख करोड़ का है, जबकि 31 मार्च, 2011 को यह राशि 1.9 लाख करोड़ थी।

इसी के मध्य बढ़े हुए बिजली बिलों की शिकायतों के बाद दिल्ली बिजली नियामक आयोग (डीईआरसी) ने बिजली दरों की संरचना में कुछ समायोजन करने का प्रस्ताव दिया है। इसे उपभोक्ताओं को काफी राहत मिल सकती है। डीईआरसी ने अब वास्तविक दर संरचना को पलटने का प्रस्ताव दिया है जिससेे 201-204 यूनिट खपत दायरा फिर प्रभाव में जाएगा। नियामक ने जून में घरेलू उपभोक्ताओं के लिए बिजली दरें बढ़ाने के समय यह दायरा समाप्त करने की घोषणा की थी। यह दायरा खत्मक रने और 0-400 यूनिट का दायरा बनाने से उन उपभोक्ताओं के बिजली बिलों में जबरदस्त बढ़ोतरी हुई थी जिनकी खपत 200 यूनिट पार कर गई थी।

परमाणु बिजली की सौगात से बिजली संकट से राहत देने का दिलासा दिया जा रहा है। जल सत्याग्रह के बावजूद कुड़नकुलम परियोजना ​​रुकी  नहीं।जैतापुर में परमाणु बिजलीघर संकुल बन रहा है। भारत ्मेरिकी परमाणु समझौते के बाद बिजली अब परमाणु बिजली है। अब ताजा खबर है किऑस्ट्रेलियाई प्रधानमंत्री जूलिया गिलार्ड के 15 अक्तूबर से शुरू हो रहे तीन दिवसीय भारत दौरे पर दोनों देशों के बीच परमाणु करार पर मुहर लग सकती है। पिछले साल दिसंबर में गिलार्ड के नेतृत्व वाली सत्तारूढ़ लेबर पार्टी ने भारत को यूरेनियम की आपूर्ति संबंधी रास्ता साफ कर दिया था।इस मुद्दे पर पार्टी की 46वीं नेशनल कांफ्रेंस के दौरान लंबी बहस हुई, जिसके बाद यह फैसला किया गया। ऑस्ट्रेलिया दुनियाभर में यूरेनियम के सबसे बड़े स्रोतों में से एक है। ऐसे में भारत लंबे समय से इस समझौते पर हस्ताक्षर होने की प्रतीक्षा कर रहा है। ऑस्ट्रेलियाई विदेश मंत्री बॉब केर ने भी अपने भारतीय समकक्ष एस. एम. कृष्णा को संदेश दे दिया था कि भारत को यूरेनियम की आपूर्ति में आने वाली रुकावटों को ऑस्ट्रेलिया दूर करने की कोशिश कर रहा है।

खुशी मनायें कि भारत को अपने परमाणु कार्यक्रम के लिए वर्ष 2020 तक 20,000 मेगावाट और 2032 तक 63,000 मेगावाट परमाणु क्षमता हासिल करने की उम्मीद है। देश को 2050 तक 25 प्रतिशत बिजली की सप्लाई न्यूक्लियर पावर के जरिए करने का भी भरोसा है। इसके लिए भारत को यूरेनियम की जरूरत होगी। परमाणु करार के साथ ही दोनों देशों के बीच द्विपक्षीय व्यापार और कई अन्य रणनीतिक समझौते भी हो सकते हैं।

आयातित कोयले से देश में बिजली कहीं और महंगी न हो जाए, यह डर बिजली कंपनियों के साथ राज्यों को भी खाए जा रहा है। यही वजह है कि केंद्र सरकार ने राज्यों को यह आश्वासन देने का फैसला किया है कि आयातित कोयले की वजह से उन्हें बिजली को बहुत ज्यादा महंगा नहीं करना पड़ेगा। केंद्र का आकलन है कि आयातित कोयले से घरेलू बिजली दरों में पांच से सात पैसे प्रति यूनिट से ज्यादा का फर्क नहीं पड़ेगा। मंगलवार को राज्यों के बिजली मंत्रियों के साथ होने वाली बैठक में इस मुद्दे पर फैसला होने के आसार हैं।

दरअसल, देश में कोयले के उत्पादन के मुकाबले बिजली क्षेत्र की मांग में तेजी से वृद्धि को देखते हुए केंद्र सरकार कोयला आयात करने की एक रणनीति बना रही है। इसके तहत आयातित और घरेलू स्तर पर उत्पादित कोयले का एक 'पूल' [स्टॉक] बनाया जाएगा। इस स्टॉक की कीमत तय की जाएगी, जिससे विभिन्न राज्य स्थिति बिजली संयंत्रों को कोयले की आपूर्ति की जाएगी। चूंकि विदेशी बाजारों में कोयला घरेलू बाजार से काफी महंगा है। इसलिए राज्य केंद्र के इस सुझाव का विरोध कर रहे हैं कि इससे राज्यों की बिजली बोर्डो पर बिजली की दरें बढ़ाने का दबाव बढ़ जाएगा। अधिकांश राज्यों के बिजली बोर्ड पहले से ही घाटे में चल रहे हैं।

कोयला मंत्री श्रीप्रकाश जायसवाल ने बताया, 'हम कोयला उत्पादन बढ़ाने की पूरी कोशिश कर रहे हैं, लेकिन बिजली क्षेत्र की जरूरत हमारे उत्पादन से काफी ज्यादा होने की संभावना है। ऐसे में आयातित कोयला ही आसरा है। कोयले का 'पूल' बनाने के केंद्र के प्रस्ताव का राज्यों को स्वागत करना चाहिए। केंद्र इस बात का पूरा ख्याल रखेगा कि राज्यों के बिजली बोर्डो पर अतिरिक्त बोझ न पड़े।' कोयला आपूर्ति पर प्रधानमंत्री कार्यालय की तरफ से पिछले हफ्ते हुई बैठक में भी इस प्रस्ताव पर विचार किया गया था। इस बैठक में कोयला मंत्रालय ने कोयला आयात करने को लेकर एक ठोस नीति बनाने का प्रस्ताव रखा। लेकिन साथ ही यह भी स्पष्ट कर दिया कि वह सरकारी कोयला कंपनियों की ओर से कोयला आयात के पक्ष में नहीं है। यह जिम्मेदारी एमएमटीसी और एसटीसी को दी जानी चाहिए। चालू वित्त वर्ष के दौरान बिजली संयंत्रों के लिए 4.5 करोड़ टन कोयला आयात करने की जरूरत है।

इसी बीच डीईआरसी ने 201-400 यूनिट के बीच प्रति यूनिट 5.70 रुपये शुल्क लेने का प्रस्ताव दिया है। इस बारे मेंं डीईआरसी के चेयरमैन पी डी सुधाकर ने कहा, 'हमने वास्तविक दायर फिर से लागू करने का प्रस्ताव दिया है जिसका मतलब है कि 201-400 यूनिट का दायर पुन: प्रभाव में आज जाएगा और 0-400 यूनिट का दायरा समाप्त हो जाएगा।' उन्होंने कहा कि डीईआरसी इस पर सभी पक्षों की राय लेने के लिए एक 8 अक्टूबर को सार्वजनिक सुनवाई करेगा जिसके बाद कोई अंतिम निर्णय लिया जाएगा। जब दरें बढ़ाई गईं तो नियामक ने इसे दायरे में बदलाव को 1 जुलाई से लागू करने का फैसला किया था।
मौजूदा स्लैब के अनुसार अगर कोई उपभोक्ता 200 यूनिट से अधिक बिजली का उपभोग करता है तो उन्हें पूरे उपभोग के लिए प्रति यूनिट 4.80 रुपये का भुगतान करता है जबकि पहले पहले 200 यूनिट के लिए अलग दर और अगली 200 यूनिट के लिए अलग दर ली जाती थी।  

अब घरेलू उपभोक्ता को पहले 200 यूनिट तक 3.70 रुपये प्रति यूनिट का भुगतान करना होगा, जबकि यह पहले 3 रुपये प्रति यूनिट था। जो उपभोक्ता 400 यूनिट से ज्यादा मासिक बिजली की खपत करते हैं उनसे 4.80 रुपये प्रति यूनिट शुल्क लिया जाएगा। अगर नया प्रस्ताव लागू हो जाता है तो पहले 200 यूनिट के लिए 3.70 रुपये प्रति यूनिट और 201 से 400 यूनिट तक के लिए 5.70 रुपये प्रति यूनिट वसूला जाएगा।

सुधारों की मौजूदा लहर में यूपीए सरकार ने बिजली बोर्डों को, और उनसे ज्यादा उनके कर्जदाताओं को दिवालिया होने से बचाने के लिए एक बेलआउट पैकेज का प्रस्ताव रखा है। प्रस्ताव यह है कि उनके आधे कर्ज की अदायगी कुछ साल के लिए टाल दी जाए और बाकी आधे को संबंधित राज्य सरकारें अपने खाते में लेकर उसके एवज में आम जनता के लिए सरकारी बॉन्ड जारी कर दें। इस उपाय से बोर्डों की दिवालिया छवि जाती रहेगी और तात्कालिक खर्चे पूरे करने के लिए उन्हें नए कर्जे भी मिलने लगेंगे। इस पैकेज के साथ सरकार ने कुछ शर्तें जोड़ रखी हैं। मसलन, सभी बिजली बोर्ड बिजली के प्रॉडक्शन, ट्रांसमिशन और डिस्ट्रीब्यूशन को प्रफेशनल बनाएं। साथ ही बिजली की कीमत इस तरह तय करें कि उसमें ईंधन और मशीनरी जैसे लागत खर्चों के बढ़ते भाव की समाई हो जाए। दूसरे शब्दों में कहें तो बिजली क्षेत्र का ऊपर से नीचे तक निजीकरण करें और महंगी बिजली का बोझ सरकारी खजाने पर लेने के बजाय सीधे उपभोक्ताओं पर डालें।

ये शर्तें सुनने में ठीक लगती हैं, लेकिन इन्हें लागू करने में राज्य सरकारों का दम फूल जाता है। 2002-03 में एनडीए सरकार ने मोंटेक सिंह अहलूवालिया की देखरेख में ऐसे ही उपाय कमोबेश इन्हीं शर्तों के साथ लागू किए थे। लेकिन बीते दस सालों में हालात सुधरने के बजाए बिगड़ते ही चले गए। अभी हालत यह है कि एक भी नया बिजलीघर खड़ा करने में दस तरह के विरोध का सामना करना पड़ता है। ट्रांसमिशन और डिस्ट्रीब्यूशन के निजीकरण का जिक्र उठते ही कर्मचारी हंगामा कर देते हैं। सरकार बनाने से पहले ही राजनीतिक पार्टियां मुफ्त बिजली बांटने का वादा कर आती हैं, जैसे बिजली कोई इंडस्ट्रियल प्रॉडक्ट नहीं, धूप और हवा की तरह दुनिया को भगवान की देन हो।

योजना आयोग की चली तो अगली पंचवर्षीय योजना में राज्यों को पानी और बिजली की दरों में वृद्धि करनी पड़ सकती है। आयोग का मानना है कि राज्यों में भूमिगत जल के अंधाधुंध दोहन को रोकने के लिए ऐसा किया जाना जरूरी है। शनिवार को होने वाली राष्ट्रीय विकास परिषद [एनडीसी] की बैठक में आयोग राज्यों को इस बात के लिए राजी करने की कोशिश करेगा।

यह बैठक बारहवीं योजना के दृष्टिपत्र [एप्रोच पेपर] के मसौदे को मंजूरी देने के लिए बुलाई गई है। इसमें योजना आयोग का जोर राज्यों को यह समझाने पर होगा कि देश के सतत विकास में पानी जैसे प्राकृतिक संसाधनों का अहम स्थान है। लिहाजा इनके अंधाधुंध दोहन को रोका जाना बेहद जरूरी है। प्रधानमंत्री की अध्यक्षता में होने वाली एनडीसी की बैठक में 28 राज्य और सातों केंद्र शासित प्रदेशों के प्रतिनिधि हिस्सा लेंगे।

बैठक की पूर्व संध्या पर संवाददाताओं से बात करते हुए योजना आयोग के उपाध्यक्ष मोंटेक सिंह अहलूवालिया ने कहा कि पानी की बर्बादी एक बड़ी समस्या है। इसे रोकने के लिए पानी पर शुल्क बढ़ाना होगा। इसका योजनाबद्ध तरीके से वितरण बेहद जरूरी है। एप्रोच पेपर के मुताबिक पिछले दशक में भूमिगत जल दोहन में 70 प्रतिशत का इजाफा हुआ है। इसे रोकने के लिए आवश्यक है कि सभी राज्य सरकारें भूमिगत जल निकालने के लिए इस्तेमाल हो रही बिजली पर अतिरिक्त शुल्क लगाएं।

एनडीसी की बैठक में योजना आयोग के गरीबी रेखा के मानक पर भी चर्चा होने की संभावना है। आयोग सुप्रीम कोर्ट में दिए एक हलफनामे में गांवों में रहने वालों के लिए 26 रुपये प्रतिदिन और शहरी लोगों के लिए 32 रुपये प्रतिदिन खर्च की सीमा गरीबी रेखा के लिए तय की थी। योजना आयोग के इस मानक का चौतरफा विरोध हुआ है। माना जा रहा है कि राज्य भी बैठक में इस मुद्दे को उठाएंगे। बिहार समेत कई राज्य पहले ही यह आशंका व्यक्त कर चुके हैं कि गरीबी रेखा का यह मानक राज्यों को मिलने वाली केंद्रीय सहायता में कटौती कर देगा।

बैठक में अर्थव्यवस्था की धीमी होती रफ्तार पर भी बातचीत होने की उम्मीद है। महंगाई की दर पहले ही दहाई के अंक के आसपास घूम रही है। ऊपर से इसे काबू में करने के लिए रिजर्व बैंक के ब्याज दर बढ़ाने के कदम औद्योगिक उत्पादन की रफ्तार को प्रभावित कर रहे हैं। 12वीं योजना के दृष्टिपत्र के मसौदे में आर्थिक विकास का एक खाका खींचा गया है। इस मसौदे को प्रधानमंत्री की अध्यक्षता में पूर्ण योजना आयोग से 20 अगस्त को और कैबिनेट से 15 सितंबर को मंजूरी मिल चुकी है।


हिंदू और मुसलमानों के साथ भेदभाव!

भारत का राष्ट्रीय मानवाधिकार आयोग (National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)) एक स्वायत्त विधिक संस्था है । इसकी स्थापना 12 अक्टूबर, 1993 को हुई थी।पर इसके कामकाज में हिंदू राष्ट्रवाद हावी होता दिखायी दे रहा है।राष्ट्रीय मानवाधिकार आयोग एक न्यायाधिकरण या प्रशासनिक संस्था नहीं है। इसका काम न्यायालयों के काम को दोहराना नहीं है, न ही पुलिस तंत्र के कार्य को विस्थापित करना है। इसका काम तो मानवाधिकार उल्लंघन के उन मामलों को प्रकाश में लाना तथा राहत के उपाय करना है जो सामने आने से रह गए हों, किंतु इसके विपरीत आयोग का रिकार्ड देखकर लगता है कि इसने अपनी इच्छा और सुविधा से काम तय किए है।

मानवाधिकार जननिगरानी समिति की ओर से पेश इस केस स्टडी का अगर हम तुलनात्मक अध्ययन करें तो साफ देख सकते हैं कि किस प्रकार से राष्ट्रीय मानवाधिकार आयोग, नई दिल्ली ने एक ही प्रकार के केस में अलग अलग  कैसे दो तरफा कार्यवाही की है।

 इससे हिन्दू और मुस्लिम के बीच साफ साफ भेद भाव दिखाई देता है और माननीय आयोग के ऊपर ये प्रश्न खडा होता है कि आखिर क्या कारण है कि एक ही प्रकार के हिन्दू मामलों में सीधे कार्यवाही के निर्देश आयोग द्वारा दिये गये हैं जबकि दूसरी तरफ ठीक उसी प्रकार के मुस्लिम मामलों को सीधे राज्य मानवाधिकार आयोग, लखनऊ को भेज दिया गया है, यह कहते हुये कि मामला राज्य से जुड़ा है। लेकिन फिर वही प्रश्न खडा होता है कि फिर हिन्दू केस में वही मामला राज्य का न होकर सीधे आयोग अपने स्तर से कार्यवाही का आदेश दे रहा है।  हम देख सकते हैं कि पुलिस उत्पीडन के हिन्दू केस में राष्ट्रीय मानवाधिकार आयोग ने सीधे एस.एस.पी या सम्बन्धित अधिकारी को नोटिस दिया है और बिल्कुल ऐसा ही केस पुलिस उत्पीडन के मुस्लिम केस को राज्य मानवाधिकार आयोग को स्थानांतरित कर दिया है। साथ ही राज्य मानवाधिकार आयोग ने इन मामलों पर कोई कार्यवाही नही की है, केवल एक सूचना पत्र भेज दिया कि राष्ट्रीय मानवाधिकार आयोग द्वारा केस राज्य मानवाधिकार आयोग में दर्ज कर लिया गया है।

 मानव अधिकार एक व्यक्ति की राष्ट्रीयता, उसके निवास, लिंग, राष्ट्रीयता या जातीय मूल, रंग, धर्म या अन्य स्थिति पर ध्यान दिए बिना सभी मनुष्यों के लिए निहित अधिकार हैं। सभी समान रूप से भेदभाव के बिना मानव अधिकारों के हकदार हैं। ये अधिकार आपस में संबंधित, अन्योन्याश्रित और अविभाज्य हैं।भारत में, मानवाधिकारों की रक्षा के कई तरीके हैं। संसद और कार्यपालिका को देश में कानून का निर्माण और कार्यान्वयन सौंपा गया है जबकि न्यायपालिका इसके निष्पादन को सुरक्षित करती है।इन बुनियादी चीजों के अलावा संस्थानों के अन्य निकाय हैं जो मौजूदा तंत्र को मजबूत और समृद्ध बनाते हैं। वास्तव में समर्पित सरकारी एजेंसियां, सामाजिक रूप से समर्पित गैर सरकारी संगठन, स्थानीय सामुदायिक समूह और अंतरराष्ट्रीय सहयोग एजेंसियां दुनिया भर में मानव अधिकारों के संरक्षण के लिए कार्य करती हैं

SOURCE