Foreign feathers fill Gujarat coffers

'Thorns to Competition' - You can order your copy online from here

Farmers in the north of the state take to rearing Emus, the big Australian birds, banking on a business plan that promises average returns, reports Hitesh Ankleshwaria

Mathurbhai Amathabhai Patel used to grow potatoes at his village of Geritha in Mehsana. Apart from this, the farmer used to grow the odd vegetable or two. But since October, 2008, like some other farmers from his state, Mathurbhai started rearing the Emu, the faunal icon of Australia, in captivity. Till date, Mathurbhai has sold 150 Emu eggs for Rs 1500 each.

Two dedicated workers take care of the birds at this north Gujarat farm. They feed the gaggle, treat the birds in their sickness. When an Emu lays an egg, they enter it in the register before packing it in a box. But what did really prompt Mathurbhai to take to Emu rearing? He says, “In September, 2008, the Indian Emu Life Private Ltd had organised a seminar for farmers at Visnagar and informed them about this lucrative business. At this seminar, I came to know about the Australian bird and the good business potential it held. The company invited us to its head quarter in Nasik and we had an in-depth look into the business. This business promised good profits with less hard work. So I started.”

A lot of farmers like Mathurbhai in Gandhinagar, Mehsana and Banaskantha districts of Gujarat took to Emu rearing in 2008. Today more than 25 farmers are engaged in the business. An Emu help line centre has also started functioning at Visnagar town of Mehsana. The Gokul Kisangram Samiti is pre-booking Emus wanted by farmers. As per its trustee and chairman, Jigar Patel, in the last week, three new farmers have registered their names with the body. The organisation receives enquiries from more than ten farmers everyday. Patel was the first farmer who started this business in north Gujarat. He explains the business module.

“To start Emu rearing, 10 pairs of bird are required. It costs about Rs 1,50,000 and requires just half an acre land of land. Fencing, erecting the shed and arranging for water and buying a grass cutter account for another Rs 90,000. This brings the total project cost to around Rs 2,40,000. As per my estimate, total expenses for the Emus' food, medicine, maintenance, insurance (for the first year) and transportation will bring the net total to Rs 7,95,000 for five years. Income from the farm starts getting generated only after one year. Farmers get a market price of Rs 1500 per egg. An average pair of Emus (of the age of 3 years) lays 30 to 35 eggs every season over their 40-year life span. If one pair of Emus lays 15 eggs per year, the total for 10 pairs comes to 150 eggs which will earn a farmer Rs 2,25,000. If one pair lays 25 eggs in its third year and 35 eggs in the fourth and fifth years, the total income will be Rs 16,50,000 for first five years. Deduct the expenses and a farmer can earn Rs 8,55,000 from Emu farming in five years,” says Patel. Clearly, even at its optimistic best, the business model gives just above Rs.200,000 per year as income, with no guarantee that the eggs will get finally sold or not. That seems to be quite an average return when seen in the perspective of the infrastructure, money, and time investment. And the wonder of it is that it's not even clear what the egg is finally supposed to do, apart from giving birth to another Emu.

Yet, Emu rearers do not need to find a market for their products as a six-year contract exists between the Nasik-based Emu Life Private Limited (ELPL) and the Farmer which includes buying that all the bird's body parts, taking back of a live or dead Emu too. “Emu requires meticulous looking after till it becomes one year old. Thereafter things become relaxed as Emus have a robust immune system. However, ELPL provides us training and their doctors come here every three months for routine check-ups. Emus are voracious creatures. You have to feed them corns and green fodder. Apart from these, it is fond of black soil too. This bird can sustain temperature fluctuations ranging between -10 and 60 degree Celsius. To feed an Emu, it costs you Rs 20 per day which is one-third of what would take to feed a cow or a buffalo. Emus are not aggressive but can defend themselves. If a cat, a dog or a snake enters their territory, Emus gather in groups and chases away the encroaching animal and at times, even kill them,” Mathurbhai lets it all out in one breadth.

Patel sheds light on the future of Emu rearing in Gujarat. He draws the whole circle: “Emu rearing started in Maharashtra and spread to Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Right now, all the eggs produced here are sent to the Nasik-based company which processes these eggs for 50-60 days till they hatch. When the chicks grow up to three or four months, they sell them to the farmers. These farmers have to take care of them for one year and then, the female Emus start laying eggs.”

Apparently, every body part of the Emu has an international market. The oil extracted from a dead Emu fetches Rs 3,000 per litre and generally one adult Emu contains four to five litres of it. Each Emu weighs a minimum of 50 kg. Its skin, feathers and nails also have good markets. Farmers send the Emu's body parts to the committee office. Then the office, with ELPL help, sends them out to the market. Emu’s meat is protein-rich but has low fat. Its meat has a good demand in foreign markets. Patel thinks the future of Emu rearing in north Gujarat is bright. “Right now, farmers of north Gujarat have more than 1,000 pairs of Emus and as per our estimate, it will reach 5,000 pairs in one year,” he says.

Farmers of north Gujarat are dreaming of riding the Emus to make quick bucks. nly time will tell how much of it they actually manage to do. One just hopes this whole grandiose plan is not just a multi-level marketing setup in disguise.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranks No 1 in International Exposure in the 'Third Mail Today B-School Survey'
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
Kapil Sibal’s voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill

IIPM: What is E-PAT?
"Thorns to Competition" amongst the top 10 best sellers of the week.
IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS
IIPM Mumbai Campus

Since the BJD came to power in Orissa 10 years ago, nearly 2500 farmers have embraced death in the face of rising debt and failing crops.

"Thorns to Competition" amongst the top 10 best sellers of the week.

Last December's unseasonal rains have only made matters worse for the state's already badly battered farm sector

The unseasonal rains that lashed Orissa last December swept away not just 52-year-old farmer Ashok Khatua's standing paddy crop but also his will to live. The suicide was yet another 'living' proof of the worsening agricultural crisis in the state. But who would have imagined that Khatua's son, Sujit, a teacher in a nearby private school, would follow suit and hang himself from the very tree from which he brought down his father's body just hours ago?

It was the morning of December 27. Ashok, a resident of Dhirpur village in Bargarh district, had left for his 3.5-acre farm the previous night. When the father of three did not return until 9 AM, his family members, who were preparing for his daughter's impending wedding, and other villagers launched a search. They fanned out in different directions. Sujit found his father hanging from a tree. In a state of shock, the young man killed himself.

The police recovered the two bodies – the father was lying on the ground, the son was hanging from the tree. The family was intimated, autopsies conducted and the bodies were handed over for the last rites. Amid all this, government officials were conspicuous by their absence.

Harvest time was approaching and the paddy crop in Ashok's farm was ripe. The rains came down without warning and the entire crop was damaged, leaving the debt-ridden farmer completely devastated. Says Anil Khatua, brother of the deceased peasant: “He was so depressed that he stopped talking to us. We thought time would heal him. But it didn't.” Talking about his nephew, Anil says: “He was very attached to his father and could not bear the shock. It was awful. Within minutes, the entire family was destroyed.”

Documents revealed that Ashok had taken a loan of Rs 20,000 from the local co-operative society, besides borrowing Rs 50,000 from relatives. Says Kishori, his widow: “I am aware of the loan. Tell me, how can I ever repay the sum. I have a family to run and a marriageable daughter.” She appealed to the government for help.
In a similar incident in Gopeipali village of Bargarh district, a marginal farmer Shiba Bhoi, 42, committed suicide on December 27 by consuming pesticide in his field after the unseasonal rain damaged his crop. He was rushed to Bargarh Hospital but he died the next evening.

Shiba had less than one acre of land and tilled other farms on a rental basis. He left behind two small daughters and a widow who reside in a dilapidated house in the village. The district administration sanctioned Rs 10,000 in both cases but did nothing more than that. “I have full sympathy for the bereaved families. I have asked my officers to find out how we can include their names in various government schemes,” Bhabagrahi Mishra, Bargarh collector, told TSI.

But the cases of Ashok and Shiba are just the tip of the iceberg. Farmer suicides have become alarmingly common in Orissa. Since no government effort is made to create awareness among farmers about the challenges posed by natural calamities, they are often driven to take desperate measures. Farmer leaders have pilloried the government for not taking prompt action to rescue the poor peasants from the situation created by unseasonal rainfall.

Farmers have rejected the relief package offered by the government – Rs 2000 per hectare. Says Ashok Pradhan, convenor, Western Orissa Farmers Coordination Committee: “We want proper compensation. Rs 2000 per hectare means Rs 800 per acre of land. What purpose can a meagre Rs 800 serve?”

Pradhan suggested that the government should provide a compensation of Rs 15,000 per acre to the affected farmers for both irrigated and non-irrigated land. The farmers' association recently organised demonstration and burnt copies of the relief package as a mark of protest.

Meanwhile, the Union government committee that visited the affected districts after the unseasonal rain is convinced that the damage was ‘extensive’. "The crop loss due to unseasonal rain in December is extensive as well as substantial. We will submit our report to the Centre shortly," Pankaj Kumar, joint secretary in the Union agriculture ministry, who is heading the team, told reporters in Bhubaneswar after meeting Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik and other senior state officials.
Experts attribute Orissa's worsening agrarian crisis to the state government's emphasis on rapid industrialisation at the expense of agriculture. The suicide rate among farmers is mounting in the face of increasing cost of cultivation and debt. “Industry and agriculture are equally important for the growth of the state. The government has to change its attitude if it is committed to the welfare of farmers,” says KC Panda, a retired professor.

Orissa agriculture minister Damodar Rout revealed in the state Assembly that 2,575 farmers have committed suicide during 2000-2008 – 345 in 2002, 365 in 2003, and 378 in 2004. The year-wise farmer suicide figures indicated that the number rose from 199 suicidal deaths in 2000 to 378 in 2004. Subsequently, 254 farmers committed suicide in 2005, 283 in 2006 and 235 in 2007. The figure in 2008 was 260. But the number of cases in 2009 and 2010 is higher because of constant crop loss. Though official figures aren't available, the farmers' body claims over 300 have committed suicide in the past two years.

Meanwhile, Opposition leaders allege the state government is deliberately trying to uproot farmers in order to please a few industrialists. “The government wants to divert agriculture land for industrial use. Farmers do not want to remain in agriculture in these circumstances. So we apprehend a drastic fall in farm output in the coming days,” says Gourahari Mishra, Bargarh district president of BJP. Although political arguments can keep continuing, the fact is that the value of a human life has degraded below what can be imagined. Can monetary support save these lives? The answer is unanimous - yes! The pity of it is - nobody's giving.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranks No 1 in International Exposure in the 'Third Mail Today B-School Survey'
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
Kapil Sibal’s voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill
IIPM: What is E-PAT?
IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS
'Thorns to Competition' - You can order your copy online from here
IIPM Mumbai Campus

Prakash Kaur, 60, began life as a foundling. Today she is mother to 60-odd abandoned girls in a unique shelter in Jalandhar, Punjab

IIPM Mumbai Campus

The woman behind the home is Prakash Kaur, who was herself left on the streets as a baby 60 years ago. Since 1993, she has dedicated her life to the noble but onerous mission of rescuing unwanted and unclaimed newborn girls and giving them a secure home and future.

Today, Unique Home for Girls has 60-odd residents who call Prakash Kaur mother. “They are my own children,” the lady says. “They are never made to feel like abandoned children.”

As we walk around the home, it is easy to see that her claim is quite well-founded. Even as her ‘family’ expands and her responsibilities grow, Prakash Kaur’s fount of maternal compassion shows no signs of drying up.

She has touched the lives of many who’ve been cruelly shunned by their own. Siya was only a few hours old when she was found in a drain, wrapped in a black polythene bag. Reva was a newborn when her parents decided to dump her near the highway off Kapurthala. Razia and Rabiya were just a few days old when they were discovered in the fields outside Jalandhar.

These girls have all found shelter in Unique Home, where they now enjoy the real family experience that their pitiless parents chose to deprive them of simply because of their gender. The girls who live here range from the age of four days to 19 years.

Unique Home is run by a trust named after Bhai Ghanayya Ji, a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh. The trust aims to raise these children as healthy individuals and arm them with all the social skills and educational qualifications that they need to face life on their own terms. The girls could not have found a better person than Prakash Kaur for the job of providing them with support and succour.

Most of Unique Home’s inmates arrive here as hapless, barely alive foundlings. So they have no recollections of how they are brought here. But those that have grown up in the life-affirming warmth of this home are proud that they belong here.

Under Prakash Kaur’s care and tutelage, these girls are all well adjusted individuals willing and able to take their rightful place in a society that still seems to harbour a strong aversion to children of their gender.

Prakash Kaur is acutely aware of the challenges that lie before her, but she has faith. “Yeh uparwaale ka kaam hai. Jab ussney yeh zimmedaari di hai to himmat bhi wohi dega. Jab aaj tak mujhe koi mushkil nahin aayee to aagey bhi nahin aayegi. Neki key kaam mein kabhi koi rukawat nahin aati,” she says. She is obviously getting on in years but she still retains the strength to make chapatis for all the inmates of the home three times a day and seven days a week.

The first thing that strikes one in Unique Home is a small hatched box near the entrance. It is called the “cradle”. Flip open the hatch and you see a shelf built into the wall. When a rescued child is placed on the shelf, it sets off an alarm that tells the staff that they have a new girl to take care of. When it comes to christening the new arrivals, names are drawn from all the religions of India. So at Unique Home, girls have Hindu, Muslim and Christian and Sikh names and faith has no restrictions.

Although we visited Unique Home without any prior notice, Prakash Kaur ensured that we were made to feel at home. Not surprising at all coming from a lady who has dedicated her life to dispelling a bit of the darkness that engulfs Punjab, indeed all of India. The girls brought to Unique Home grow up with a sense of belonging. This is the only home they know.

For a home that houses 60-odd girls, the place looks a bit too small. The rather cramped space has limited amenities for the girls, including three small rooms that serve as bedroom, dining area and playroom, in addition to a small kitchen and an office for visitors.

The room that is meant for infants has three big cradles. Each has four to five babies sleeping in them. Unique Home has now acquired a new site and expansion plans are in place.

But living space is the least of the home’s problems for the hearts here are big. This is like a huge family where the older girls take care of the younger ones. We are told by the founder that the girls go to good English medium schools like Saint Mary’s in Mussoorie. A few have since been married into suitable homes. But Prakash Kaur’s responsibility does not end there.

She continues to keep a watch over the girls even after they are married. She fights for their rights if the in-laws prove to be difficult. Take the case of former Unique Home inmate Alka. When her husband died prematurely, her in-laws grabbed all her property and threw her out of the house. Prakash Kaur intervened and fought tooth and nail. She eventually managed to secure for Alka her rightful share in the family property.

So far Prakash Kaur has organised the marriages of 17 of the Unique Home inmates. While a few of these girls graduated from college before they got married, the remaining tied the knot after passing out of high school. However, several of the older girls here have decided not to marry and instead dedicate themselves, like Prakash Kaur, to the service of Unique Home.

April 24 is a very special day at Unique Home. It is the day when the children here collectively celebrate their birthday. A huge 100-kg cake is cut and the day is marked by much merriment. That apart, once every year, during the summer holidays, the inmates of Unique Home go on a trip to Darjeeling.

On our visit to the home, we ate lunch with the children. The food was simple but delicious: rice, chapatis and aloo gobhi. Prakash Kaur made fresh chapatis for all the 60 children.

“We don’t want to give our kids up for adoption. People come to us but we refuse,” says Prakash Kaur. Although she did not give us any specific details, she told us that she knows of many cases in which adopted girls have been ill treated.

Prakash Kaur herself has no idea who her parents were. She was found abandoned and grew up in a Nari Niketan. She describes the work she does today as “the lord’s work”.

Asked if she ever faced any mistreatment in the Nari Niketan where she grew up, she smiles and says: “I will never allow my daughters to work as maids anywhere.”

The most essential part of this home is that the children are aware of the fact that their real parents have abandoned them because they are obsessed with boys. But this poisonous truth has only strengthened their resolve to prove themselves. Sheeba, who studies in a convent school in Mussoorie, wants to be a successful neurosurgeon.

“I want my real mother to know that the daughter she threw out of her life is well established. I want to be very famous. I want to prove to her that girls are not a burden,” she says. Sheeba has always stood first in her class with A-plus grades. She is determined to make it to a good medical college.

Lucy is 19 years old. She wants to be a professor of English. “I believe that education is the only way forward in this society which discriminates against girl children,” she says.

Punjab has one of India’s most skewed sex ratios. The percentage of women in the state’s population keeps dipping every year. A growing shortage of marriageable girls has forced men here to find partners in different cultures and states.

“When French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni came to India, they prayed for a boy. I was shocked. I used to think that Westerners treat both genders equally. He could have asked for a girl. It would have sent out a message to the people of India. It’s rather sad,” says Prakash Kaur. The French first couple prayed for a son at the Fatehpur Sikri dargah of Sufi saint Salim Chishti.

Female foeticide is on the rise, especially among the educated class and in higher strata of society. It has assumed alarming proportions. According to NGOs working with issues related to women, every year, 10 lakh cases of female foeticide take place in the country with the help of gender determination tests. The death of young girls in India exceed those of young boys by over 300,000 each year and every 6th infant death is specifically due to gender discrimination.

According to Anjalee Shenoy of Sama Resource Centre for Women and Health, new techniques like PGD (pre-implant genetic diagnosis), a method that involves producing embryos through IVF, cannot just help you decide the gender of the child but the colour of skin and hair. And there is no effective law in place right now to stop this practice. “This falls under the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, but it is going undetected,” says Shenoy.

But there is hope yet. If only Prakash Kaur’s selfless spirit would rub off on society at large.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranks No 1 in International Exposure in the 'Third Mail Today B-School Survey'
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri

IIPM: What is E-PAT?
"Thorns to Competition" amongst the top 10 best sellers of the week.
IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS
'Thorns to Competition' - You can order your copy online from here

End this culture rightaway

Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM

The evil of violence extends beyond determining who gets to enjoy power, it destroys a society

The sporadic but widespread bloodshed in West Bengal today is causing genuine worries among commoners as most of the victims or casualties are youths, bubbling with energy and potential but nipped in the bud by a ruthlessly violent political machine. They are being killed in the villages and towns, on the top of the hills or in the middle of the jungles, inside colleges and immediate neighbourhoods. People play the role of onlookers as if the young people – killed or injured – do not belong to the society.

The malaise is deeper than the episodes where social conscience is in a semi-comatose state. The society is in grave jeopardy. The disease of inequality, corruption and misuse of power is ruling the roost. Both state and non-state actors have used violence like it will bring magic solution to all problems. The somewhat normal life and livelihood of people in the villages, whose lives have been caught up in this conflict, have been shattered.

The loss to the society has two dimensions that interpenetrate each other in terms of tragedy. Certainly, those who were killed for no fault of themselves cause a loss to the micro-society they lived in. But the damage is more penetrating for the youths that were not killed but related to the dead souls. The differential social impact on the extinguished and the combusting ones makes its unstable presence felt here. One pathos pierce another, along with avoidable escalation of mutual hatred that hampers the social texture of normal times. It’s not that just the academic milieu gets vitiated; the we-feeling among the youths is seriously fractured.

These acts of bloodsheds, in the guise of intra-party and inter-party rivalry or by any other name, are not natural as such violent episodes are aberrations in normal societal life. Lost are social assets in most of these deaths. Political parties are trying to cash in on these killings. The more the number of deaths, the more buoyant get their political and material benefits, albeit in the short term.

When those youths were alive, political leaders and the parties never knew them. After their deaths, political parties politicise the funerals of the victims, organise processions with dead bodies and make them martyrs in their political interests. Even if they do not openly preach and teach violence, they are not shy of reaping the profits of violence. In fact, all political parties have ‘blood on their hands’ today. They not only reap the harvest of deaths but instigate and pitch in their part. It is the political leaders who create malice among members of Gen-Next and make them kill one another.

They are engrossed in shameless ‘parliamentary cretinism’, seldom caring for the society of electorates or the well-being of the youths in general. These people did not matter so much when they were living than what their blood-stained bodies are worth. The society is at dangerous crossroads though the political class has already crossed it. The wounds are inflicted on the whole society and the entire society bleeds. And for that, we the elders, the parents, the common people – who are sometimes afraid to raise their voices in fear of state reprisal – want this to be stopped. We demand that all the political parties give patient hearings to what we have to say.

Use of violence as a means of grabbing power is not just true for West Bengal. It’s a global phenomenon. Violence is made into a culture. Now a large part of the world is looking back at the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, who never compromised with violence even at the cost of the country’s freedom. He once said, “I cannot teach you violence as I do not myself believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before any one, even at the cost of your life.”

Political consciousness today is a vague and misleading concept as the democratic polity is injured and social commitment is tragically scarce. Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the conscientious ex-Governor of West Bengal, stated very aptly: “Violence is crime’s signature. And that signature, in its many twists and loops, grows. And it often becomes oblique.” Violence is a hindrance to democratic life and normal social growth. It is time to disapprove of violence in every form. Violence is introduced by the state, we have learnt that from history and are witnessing the same in our daily lives. Anything that throttles the freedom of life – not just freedom of expression, association or the Press – is to be opposed. But that protest should have no room for violence but should be conducted in a benign and communicative way.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranks No 1 in International Exposure in the 'Third Mail Today B-School Survey'
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
Kapil Sibal’s voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill
IIPM: What is E-PAT?
"Thorns to Competition" amongst the top 10 best sellers of the week.
IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS
'Thorns to Competition' - You can order your copy online from here
IIPM Mumbai Campus

Male over female

'Thorns to Competition' - You can order your copy online from here

Tamil Nadu female foeticide: Many districts in Tamil Nadu show a skewed sex ratio

Secondary sex ratio (also called sex ratio at birth) in Tamil Nadu is declining at an alarming pace, reveals recent data. While the standard sex ratio at birth should be 952 females per 1000 males, it is 939:1000 in some rural parts of Tamil Nadu.

While various socio-economic factors can be attributed to this decline in the secondary sex ratio, activists point out that advancement in technology has facilitated this decline. It is very easy now to determine the sex of the foetus through ultrasonography. The mushrooming scan centres in the state bear testimony to the fact that the business is flourishing. Jeeva, a member of the core committee of the Campaign Against Sex Selective Abortion (CASSA) points out while talking to TSI that there are 3560 pre-natal scan centres in Tamil Nadu, and though they all claim that they do not reveal the sex of the foetus to anybody, the declining sex ratio at birth tells another story.

“There are 1530 primary health centres (PHC) in Tamil Nadu run by the government. According to the data available in 2008, at 689 PHCs the sex ratio is below normal,” adds Jeeva. Besides, as many as 434 primary health centres recorded a shocking sex ratio at birth below 900 female children per 1000 males.

“Earlier it was female infanticide. The districts of Madurai, Theni, Salem and Dharmapuri were particularly notorious for this. But now with the advent of scan centres it has transformed into female foeticide. This practice is prevalent in other districts also. This inhuman trend is being noted in about a dozen districts in Tamil Nadu,” says Balasundari, state convenor, CASSA.

The preference for male children over female has resulted in skewed sex ratio. Although determination of sex before birth through pre-natal diagnostic techniques is illegal, not many diagnostic centres abide by the rules it seems. Nevertheless, there are monitoring authorities at various levels.

“I feel the government should be more assertive and strict when monitoring the scan centres,” says Kavitha Ganesh, editor of the magazine Penne nee, adding, “The menace of dowry in society is still haunting the female child. It affects her even when she is in the womb of her mother. On the other hand I see that more girl students are being sent to schools and colleges, which is a positive trend. More awareness should be created in the society about the opportunities created for girls.”

S.P. Sarguna Pandian, chairperson of the state women commission, stresses the need of the society to be aware of the value of a female child. “When we kill a female child, whether in the womb or outside, we kill a mother who can give birth to many boys. Those who run scan centres should take a pledge that they would never disclose the sex of the child,” she says while talking to TSI.

She also highlights the steps the state government is taking to discourage people from killing girls in the womb. “Now Tamil Nadu government gives more economic help to girls from their education to marriage. Besides, it has brought law to make female children to be the legal heir of the family,” informs Pandian.

The statistics show a healthy sex ratio among the educated sections. So probably the answer to the problem lies in education and awareness.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranks No 1 in International Exposure in the 'Third Mail Today B-School Survey'
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
Kapil Sibal’s voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill
IIPM: What is E-PAT?
"Thorns to Competition" amongst the top 10 best sellers of the week.
IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS
IIPM Mumbai Campus

Former Andhra CM suddenly talks of farmer welfare

IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS

Andhra pradesh politics: Naidu's changed tone

When Nara Chandrababu Naidu sat on an indefinite fast for the sake of forlorn farmers of the calamity-hit coastal Andhra, taking the public amnesia for granted, the farmers were happy to see a changed Naidu. The former CM's eight-day hunger strike is nonetheless a medical miracle as he is a severe diabetic.

“How could anyone believe that Naidu’s indefinite fast was meant for welfare of farmers,” housing minister Kanna Laxminarayana wondered while talking to The Sunday Indian, taking a dig on Naidu's allegedly anti-farmer policies. “Naidu’s much hyped Vision 2020 programme did not have any significant provision to rehabilitate the farmers,” says PCC Kisan cell chairman, Kodanda Reddy.

Naidu received flak from all quarters for neglecting farmers and labourers during his tenure. Farmers were asked not to produce more rice as the state had no place to stock it. They were encouraged to shift to commercial crops such as tobacco, cotton, chillies and castor seed. This forced shift led to more suicides as the ill-equipped small farmers were no match for the big players ruling the market. The commercial crops required huge investments which the small farmers could not make.

Naidu became more unpopular among the farmers and labourers when his government refused to sanction ex-gratia to the bereaved families arguing that it would induce farmers into a suicide spree. Owing to his lopsided views on agriculture, he paid heavy price during the 2004 general elections.

Now, Naidu, who paid little attention to agriculture and irrigation facilities and turned a deaf ear to the plight of farmers when they were struck by, is ironically projecting himself as a messiah of farmers. “I feel the criticism on our leader’s views about agriculture is biased and unilateral. Even if that criticism on his past actions was valid, will it take away his right to voice for the welfare of farmers now? Don’t you allow any revision and re-examining of thoughts and views?” Nannapaneni Raja Kumari, a Telugu Desam MLC told TSI when contacted.

According to the senior political analyst, B.C. Sekhar, Naidu is not a changed soul. “His consistent objective is to promote the commercial interests of the agribusiness companies, foreign financial institutes, international bankers and the IT hardware units. When there has been a drastic change in the world scenario and when agriculture has again come into the centre stage, Naidu has tuned himself accordingly,” says Sekhar. According to him, Naidu developed sudden affection for agriculture when World Development Report 2008 called for greater investment in agriculture in developing countries. Thus, Naidu consistently dances to obvious tunes, this time around it's in the name of farmers!

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranks No 1 in International Exposure in the 'Third Mail Today B-School Survey'
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
Kapil Sibal’s voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill

IIPM: What is E-PAT?
"Thorns to Competition" amongst the top 10 best sellers of the week.
'Thorns to Competition' - You can order your copy online from here
IIPM Mumbai Campus

Manipur cops rub scribes the wrong way

The arrest of a respected editor on an allegedly trumped up charge sees journalists cease work

No newspaper was published in Manipur for six consecutive days as scribes protested against the arrest of A. Mobi, editor of Sanaleibak. Mobi, who is also the vice-president cum spokesperson of the All Manipur Working Journalists' Union (AMWJU), was arrested on the charge of being an activist of the proscribed Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Tabungba Group.

Mobi, who is 55 years old, was picked up at around 9.30 am on December 29 by police commandos in civil dresses who came on a pedal rickshaw. The police claimed to have recovered “extorted” money amounting to Rs 50,000, two mobile handsets, a LML NV scooter bearing no registration number from Mobi's possession. Section 17 and 20 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act were slapped on him and the police filed a case under FIR No 575 (12) 10 IPS. He was remanded to police custody till January 5 and was produced in the court of the chief judicial magistrate, Imphal.

As news of the arrest spread, scribes gathered at Manipur Press Club and discussed the charges levelled against him. Standing firmly behind the editor, AMWJU labelled it as a frame-up. Setting the record straight, AMWJU said that Mobi was in his office room when police commandos arrived in a rickshaw under the guise of KCP members and arrested him.

Apart from being the vice-president of AMWJU, Mobi shouldered the additional responsibility of being its spokesperson to mitigate the various threats that the media in the state is routinely subjected to. With the state police unable to instil a sense of security amongst the media professionals and instances such as sending bombs to media offices, threats issued by armed groups or physical attacks on the offices of the newspaper on the rise, AMWJU turned to Mobi. As Mobi was the contact man of AMWJU, the banned KCP had contacted him some time back for a meeting between them and the Manipuri media outside the state. Since the matter was sensitive, it was kept a secret and not spelt out to all AMWJU members.

However, as AMWJU had no provision to bear the expenditure involved in the travel of journalists to meet the underground cadres, KCP agreed to foot the Rs 50,000 bill. They said the amount would be delivered to Mobi’s office at 9:30 am on December 29. Accordingly, Mobi waited for them at his office.

Mobi received a call in the morning that the sum of Rs 50, 000 meant for the travel expenditure of the media persons has been dispatched and that he may collect the same from two people in a pedal rickshaw parked outside his office.

However, when Mobi went out of his office to collect the money, the two people outside pulled out guns. He tried to fight them, he thought they were underground cadres. But the two identified themselves as police commandos. At that very moment, Mobi received a call from a KCP pointsman who called to enquire whether he had received the money. The police team forced him to say yes. When AMWJU representatives met him in police custody in the evening, Mobi told them that he had not even seen the amount which the police claimed to have seized from his possession. At the time of his arrest, he only had Rs 2000 in his pocket. That amount was seized along with two mobile phones and the keys of his scooter. AMWJU has refuted all charges levelled against Mobi as nothing but a blatant frame-up. The Rs 50,000 which the police claimed was seized from Mobi, was actually brought by the police commandos, AMWJU says.

To settle the matter, AMWJU representatives wanted to meet chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the evening of December 29. They were denied permission but nonetheless submitted a memorandum to the chief minister. It highlighted the fabricated charges levelled against Mobi and demanded his unconditional release. The same copy was also submitted to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, seeking his intervention in the matter. A memorandum went out to the Governor of Manipur Gurbachan Jagat too. A 10-member AMWJU team met with the chief minister on December 30. The CM said that the police had a different take on the matter and assured the delegation of needful action after consultation with the DGP and other top ranking police officers.

However, the words of assurance did not translate into real action. The journalists decided to strike to mark their protest. Rallies and sit-in demonstrations were part of the agitation that continued till January 4. No newspaper was published in the state of Manipur from December 31 to January 5. On January 5, Mobi was freed on bail at around 3.30 pm. Scribes resumed work from that very day.

Even though scribes resumed their duties, they decided on a media boycott of ministers and MLAs of Congress and CPI, partners in the SPF government, and all functions and events they were taking part in. Journalists also would not entertain press releases and statements of these two parties. Additionally, newspapers would not publish police statements including those highlighting their achievements till the demands of AMWJU was met by the government, said AMWJU president Khogendro Khomdram.

Mobi was granted bail in consideration of the fact that Sanaleibak daily might remain out of print if its editor continued to remain under police custody. It would amount to denial of information to the people. The health condition of Mobi was taken into account as well. Mobi was released with a surety bond of Rs 50,000 along with a directive that he should report to the investigative officer every Sunday.

After he was released, Mobi called his arrest a sign of danger for media persons. He said, while in police custody, he was forced to sign papers admitting to the charges levelled against him. Apart from this, he was subjected to harassment. No food was provided to him on his release day. He further added that scribes in the state were working under pressure from both the state government and the underground groups and that the police was doing nothing to protect the journalists. He also said that he would give up journalism if the charges were found to be true.

The Ethno Heritage Council (HERICOUN), the All Communities United Front, Manipur (ACUF), National Federation of Newspaper Employees and other civil society bodies strongly condemned the editor's arrest.

One of the oldest regional political parties, the Manipur People's Party (MPP), has also stood by the editor. Party chief Y.Mangi told TSI that the arrest was an attempt to blot the image of journalists working in the state. “Such conduct of the police has raised suspicion as to whether the state government is trying to gag the media,” he said.

Recalling the instances of underground elements being arrested along with arms from the quarters of ministers and MLAs some years back and the killing of SDO Dr Thingnam Kishan and Imphal Free Press' Rishikanta, Mangi demanded to know what steps the government has taken in these cases.

In the memorandum submitted to the Manipur Governor, AMWJU stated that the media was being targeted by the state police for its role in exposing the alleged fake encounter at BT Road on July 23, 2009, which is under CBI investigation. Several police officers were allegedly involved in the incident. So far four scribes have been gunned down by police and underground groups. There have been countless attempts on their lives, numerous arrests, many instances of harassment. Some journalists survive with bullet holes.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranks No 1 in International Exposure in the 'Third Mail Today B-School Survey'
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
Kapil Sibal’s voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill
IIPM: What is E-PAT?
"Thorns to Competition" amongst the top 10 best sellers of the week.
IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS
'Thorns to Competition' - You can order your copy online from here
IIPM Mumbai Campus

MLAs' demand for pay and perks hike faces legal hurdles

IIPM: What is E-PAT?

Orissa legislators' salary: Time for a hike?

“Our salary is less than that of a class-IV employee of the state government,” said Pratap Sarangi, an independent member of Orissa Legislative Assembly, during a discussion on the hike of salary and allowances of the lawmakers. Sarangi was not a lone voice. Ruling Biju Janata Dal's Pradip Maharathy and Congress’s Santosh Singh Saluja also expressed similar views on the floor of the house. Cutting across the party lines, a majority of the legislators demanded a pay hike for themselves. An Orissa MLA at present takes home Rs 21,725 per month with the salary band at Rs 5,000.

Leader of BJP legislative party K.B. Singhdeo says, “Our counterparts in other states are getting much more than what we get. The amount given as constituency allowance, too, is very nominal. How could an MLA manage his public life with such a meagre amount?”

Subrat Tarai, a BJD MLA, expresses similar views. “Apart from their personal needs, a public representative has to meet public expectations too in day to day life. Poor people from our constituency frequently visit us for financial help for school admission fees of their children or treatment of any person or donations for social and religious functions. It is difficult for us to meet those demands with this pay,” he says.

A cabinet committee comprising of ministers for finance, law and parliamentary affairs was formed to look into the issue which has recommended to hike MLAs salary to Rs 90,000 per month. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had also given his nod to the recommendation, and had instructed the finance department to give final shape to the proposal, but a legal hurdle has come in its way. A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed by lawyer activist Nishikant Mishra in the Orissa High Court against the proposed salary hike. Making all the major parties a respondent, the petitioner has pleaded that the proposed hike is against public interest and will have cascading effects on the state's fragile economy.

Prasad Harichandan, chief whip of Congress legislative party, holds a different view. “Since the MLAs are lawmakers, they should not be given a free hand to increase their salary by passing a bill themselves. An independent commission consisting of non-political persons and intellectuals should be formed to review our demand. This, I think, will be a transparent process,” he suggests.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranks No 1 in International Exposure in the 'Third Mail Today B-School Survey'
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
Kapil Sibal’s voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill

"Thorns to Competition" amongst the top 10 best sellers of the week.
IIPM RANKED NO.1 in MAIL TODAY B-SCHOOL RANKINGS
'Thorns to Competition' - You can order your copy online from here
IIPM Mumbai Campus

Maintenance of updated data is not a national priority yet

IIPM Mumbai Campus

India : Data Maintenance
Sorry Dr. Rangarajan...

The latest data that the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology can provide of investment on R&D is of 2002-03. Investment in R&D is one of the most imperative areas for policymakers. Imagine the ministry forming policies based on the 2002-03 data that is undoubtedly outdated; and a lot has changed since then on the investment front. A big challenge before policymakers today is availability of timely and reliable data. But unfortunately, gathering and maintenance of relevant statistics has not become a national priority yet.

India has many agencies including CSO, NSSO, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation for collecting and presenting data. There is extensive incongruity in statistics provided by them. One example relates to the poverty level calculation measures used in India by different agencies. As per the Arjun Sengupta Committee report submitted in 2007, 77 per cent Indians were living in poverty. In contrast, a Planning Commission report said that around 27.5 per cent people live below the poverty line. Another report by an expert group led by Dr.Suresh Tendulkar said the poverty rate in India was 37.2 per cent during the same period. Three different agencies and three different contrasting figures!

Another example is the population census. Ministries use the 2001 census for policy making. With 1.38 per cent population growth rate, the 2001 figure is surely not the one policymakers should be using to create policies. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is another example. WPI continue to consider certain factors which are no more in people’s regular consumption baskets while it continues to ignore certain new consumption factors like transportation, electricity, rent, medical expenses etc. that have become common today. That is why, while the official rate of general inflation was going down during the last few months; with roaring price of sugar, pulses, vegetables and fruits, food inflation was going sky high. The case is similar in IIP or GDP; it often gives misleading statistics.

Moreover, there is a huge time lag between collection of data and their propagation (which is a minimum of two years). There is also very little harmony between state and central agencies in gathering and disseminating data. The country has also not been successful in implementing the basic recommendations by the National Statistical Commission headed by of Dr. C. Rangarajan. Lessons can be learnt from US and China. Different departments in the US give special importance to data gathering and compilation for sensible conclusions. China is doing a record breaking comprehensive census covering 90 per cent of the population and 18 different areas including age, sex, education, employment etc. On a positive note, the World Bank has approved the financing of 80 per cent of the Rs.650.43 crore Statistical Strengthening Project and the ongoing Census 2011; UID system can be very effective too. Hope lives...

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
Kapil Sibal's voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on For Salman Khurshid, it is a big challenge ahead; and I personally look forward to a revolutionary couple of years ahead!

IIPM Adds Another Feather to Its Cap: This Time Gets the Best Business School of Asia Award
Item Numbers Are The New Mantras of Bollywood
Noida CEO rules out hike in land compensation
IIPM, GURGAON
Noida Extn dreams breaks as court scraps new acquisition

The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

IIPM Mumbai Campus

A fun adventure crafted from the body of a fine tale

Anyone with a bit of an imagination would be immediately drawn into CS Lewis’s “Chronicles of Narnia” series of books where Lewis creates the fantasy world of Narnia, that via their wardrobe the Pevensie family children land up in. The third movie in the popular franchise does decent justice to visually build an exciting canvas on which the adventures are showcased and also does a fair job of weaving the story well enough for both new and old fans. The Pevensie children – Lucy and Edmund and their cousin Eustace land up on the ‘Dawn Treader’, the ship being captained by Prince Caspian (technically King Caspian, since the Prince they met in the last installment of the story had overthrown the evil King Miraz who was ruling Narnia). Caspian embarks on a voyage across the sea to the edge of the world, one that brings in the usual elements of adventure as the crew meets dragons, warriors and other oddities along the way.The action is nicely done, peppered with good natured humour which makes the film a pleasant watch. The depth of the messages, which ostensibly are embedded in Lewis’ books, do not have much role here in what is brazenly executed as a family entertainer. But that doesn’t demean the source material and the actors – Georgie Henley (Lucy), Skandar Keynes (Edmund) and Ben Barnes (Caspian) seem to be enjoying the outing. Simon Pegg as the voice of the little mouse Reepicheep is a hoot as usual and injects an extra dash of energy. “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” is a nice trip made worthwhile by the good CGI background work in creating the wondrous world of Lewis’ fabulous imagination.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
Kapil Sibal's voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on For Salman Khurshid, it is a big challenge ahead; and I personally look forward to a revolutionary couple of years ahead!

IIPM Adds Another Feather to Its Cap: This Time Gets the Best Business School of Asia Award
Item Numbers Are The New Mantras of Bollywood
Noida CEO rules out hike in land compensation
IIPM, GURGAON
Noida Extn dreams breaks as court scraps new acquisition

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey: A historic waste of effort

Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM

There is a scene in the movie “Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey” (KHJJS) where the teenage kids try to load bullets into their rifles and they do that painstakingly one bullet at a time. Those were the 1930s, before the era of automatic weapons. True to the spirit of the times, Ashutosh Gowarikar creates a world that transports us to a bygone era in an attempt to tell us a long forgotten story. Unfortunately, his assumption that not just the content but the speed and format of storytelling from the 1930s would work for the current generation with an attention span shorter than the speed of a machine gun totally misfires.

KHJJS tells the story of the revolutionary leader Surjya Sen (Abhishek Bachchan), who along with his comrades inspires a bunch of teenage kids to take up arms against the British in the Chittagong region. Sadly, the mission doesn’t succeed as planned and the gang is forced to beat a hasty retreat into the jungles only to be chased by an unrelenting British army. The way the story pans out, the revolutionaries seem to have achieved very little at the end and the same holds true for the people who made this film too.

KHJJS ends up looking more like a documentary rather than a piece of cinema, the main culprits being the linear characterisation which leaves no scope for any conflict or drama within the characters and the second is the unimaginative use of camera and background music. Barring the Vande Mataram track that plays at the end of the film, no other scene leaves an impact. One can only feel sad for the massive effort the team has put in because the same film in the hands of a more stingy editor and imaginative dialogue writer could have become an instant masterpiece.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Mumbai Campus
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
Kapil Sibal's voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on For Salman Khurshid, it is a big challenge ahead; and I personally look forward to a revolutionary couple of years ahead!

IIPM Adds Another Feather to Its Cap: This Time Gets the Best Business School of Asia Award
Item Numbers Are The New Mantras of Bollywood
Noida CEO rules out hike in land compensation
IIPM, GURGAON
Noida Extn dreams breaks as court scraps new acquisition

I would love to remake Amar Akbar Anthony

IIPM Mumbai Campus

The maker of "Lagaan", "Jodhaa Akbar", and now "khelein hum jee jaan sey", Ashutosh Gowariker has his eyes trained on history. in an interview with Neha Sarin, Ashutosh comes clean on his penchant for patriotic themes, and his sensitivity to criticism.

How did you as an actor decide to become a director? Did you always want to become one?

No. First of all, I never thought I would be an actor. I became an actor by accident. In college, I was a part of plays and I got picked up for one of those parts in Ketan Mehta's "Holi". That’s how I became an actor. I have not trained as an actor or director. My only thing was intention. I realised, even as an actor, when I was on sets, I would keenly observe everything going around even if I was not in the shot. I would observe the director. I was like Eklavya, where I was watching and learning by proxy. Luck favoured me when I got my first opportunity in the form of "Pehla Nasha"; it was by Deepak Tijori. Aamir and Shah Rukh knew that I had an inclination and they also felt very strongly that I (Ashutosh Gowariker) should become a director.

How did you stumble upon the story of "Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey"?

I stumbled upon the book “Do and Die” by Manini Chatterjee about the uprising of the 1930s. I initially thought the book was called “Do or Die” but it was actually called “Do and Die,” meaning there was no option; I found that intriguing. It was about a massive uprising which consisted of 64 people attacking five different sects of the British power one night. It was led by Surjya Sen who was a school teacher and 55 of the 64 people were teenagers. I was absolutely embarrassed that I did not know anything about it except the little in the school books. After I read the account, I was fascinated with the book. You have so many attempts at achieving freedom and revolutions – some of which have been violent, some non-violent, some known and some unknown. I think this was one of those on the path of violence but in a manner that the mercenaries felt strongly in their hearts. The emotion I felt while reading it, I want the nation to discover the same thing. The teenagers’ involvement had a sense of daring because in a way, they are playing with their lives. And to reflect that aspect, I chose the title “Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey”.

You have worked with some of the finest actors in the industry including Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan. How was it working with Abhishek Bachchan?

I've been waiting to work with Abhishek for quite some time but never found the right script. The first impression I got of Surjya Sen, Abhishek's face came to my mind right away and I thought here is an opportunity to work with him and have him play this particular part. What attracted me the most was that he was a school teacher who planned the entire revolution. On one hand is this act of rebellion, but along with that is this purity and innocence. He is a man with a dream in his eyes. I felt Abhishek has these qualities. In his persona there is strength and rebelliousness but at the same time there is a certain degree of purity. It has been tremendous working with Abhishek in this film.

Deepika is such a generation Y girl. What made you select her for the role of Kalpana Dutta in KHJJS?

Kalpana was part of the Congress, but around those times, women couldn’t get into the revolution in a big way. She was someone who had a very rich background; she was a land owner's daughter. Still she wanted to give it away and participate in the revolution. I found an uncanny resemblance between Deepika and the original Kalpana Dutta.
How did you get around to casting Shah Rukh Khan in "Swades", a movie that did touch many a heart, but somehow didn’t set the Bollywood cash registers ringing?
There has been a lot of exchange of ideas and likes and dislikes with Shah Rukh through the acting years, and then during "Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa" and "Chamatkar". When I discussed the idea of "Swades" with him, his immediate reaction was, “I want to be Mohan Bhargav”. For me Mohan Bhargav had to be someone who did not belong. You don't often see Shah Rukh sitting with a book or in a train. I felt the contrast between someone qualified and someone re-entering the world at the grassroots to rediscover. I thought those two opposites helped make Shah Rukh Khan as Mohan Bhargav convincing.

Out of all the films ever made, if you had to remake one film, which one would it be?
I would love to remake “Amar Akbar Anthony” because it’s absolutely escapist entertainment. It’s something that I have never done. I have done more of realistic cinema. What inspires me is the (concept of) three religions. It’s about tolerance and coming together and living in harmony. I like the theme of the film.

Does it bother you when you get negative feedback or comments on your films?

It saddens me but it does not bother me, if you know what I mean. I like constructive criticism; I definitely like to know why it wasn't liked so that I can understand that and see whether I agree or disagree with it. It helps me in taking a step ahead. Opinions and criticisms do matter to me and I try to turn it into something positive.

From where do you draw inspiration for films like "Lagaan" and "Swades"?

One of the things that attract me is that there are people who can come together and make something happen if they want it. We can have different backgrounds and we might have divergent opinions like in the case of “Lagaan” but they decide to come together to fight a common enemy. Even in the case of “Swades”, the way the villagers come together and put their mind to it to improve their way of life. KHJJS too reflects that because there is a revolution led by Surjya Sen with 64 key members; all of them came together for the freedom of the country. If we can come together, we can do it. That is a theme that has an element of patriotism and that subconsciously interests me.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
Kapil Sibal's voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on For Salman Khurshid, it is a big challenge ahead; and I personally look forward to a revolutionary couple of years ahead!

IIPM Adds Another Feather to Its Cap: This Time Gets the Best Business School of Asia Award
Item Numbers Are The New Mantras of Bollywood
Noida CEO rules out hike in land compensation
IIPM, GURGAON
Noida Extn dreams breaks as court scraps new acquisition

The mushrooming of unapproved private schools in Tamil Nadu is a symptom of a larger rot in the education system

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Anybody's playground

It was perhaps a slip of the tongue. K. Devarajan, director of matriculation schools in Tamil Nadu, may not have expected newspapers to pick up the verbal gaffe. He was reported as saying that anybody can open a school in Tamil Nadu. Even a carpenter can start a school without an official licence. He was probably right.

This statement was made in the course of a public hearing held by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in Chennai recently. The event was attended by parents, educationists, students, activists and officials from the education department.

''As far as school education is concerned, what Mr Devarajan said is true in TN,” says Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary, State Platform for a Common School System. “If you have some land, some chairs and some investment, anybody can start a matriculation school in TN. Getting official approval is only a formality and a matter of time. There is a huge demand for elementary schools here. More than 4000 matriculation schools are currently functioning in the state. Around 1,000 of them are awaiting approval for many years but are operational nonetheless,” he says. As there is no monitoring of these schools, their standards are abysmal, he points out.
The fire accident a few years ago at a primary school at Kumbakonam in which 96 children died stands out as a telling example of the conditions that prevail in private educational institutions in TN. After the mishap the state seemed to take action to stem the mushrooming of private schools with inadequate infrastructural facilities.

Senior educationist and former vice-chancellor of MS University Dr Vasanthi Devi points out that 75 per cent of private schools in TN are unfit for continuation. ''As per the guidelines laid down in the Right to Education Act, if we rightly examine the educational standards of the teaching staff, infrastructure of the schools, 75 per cent of schools here are fit to be closed. This is the reality. Many of the private schools here are like petty shops. They don’t even have playgrounds. In every village, private schools have been started indiscriminately. Only when they ask for approval does the government give them approval. Otherwise they can continue as long as they wish without approval. As these schools have very poor infrastructure, it is doubtful whether we can avoid a disaster like Kumbakonam in the future,” she laments.

Her concerns can be understood in the context of a simple case that was discussed at the public hearing. There was a private school in which nine students died when the school van fell into a pond. The school still functions with a changed name. Needless to say, it does so without government approval.

When TSI met Devarajan and requested him to explain his reported statement, he said he was misunderstood by the media. “According to the prevailing law, one can start a school only after showing the necessary land, infrastructure and approval from the school education department. There is an exception only for minority institutions. But in fast developing states like TN, there is huge demand for school education. When a private institution imparts quality education, more students go and join it. When somebody approaches us after starting a school, we grant them recognition only after a thorough direct inspection,” he said.

The lack of infrastructure in TN schools came in for severe criticism at the NCPCR hearing. Statistics revealed that many schools are run from rented buildings. Many were reported for not having toilets and playgrounds. Members of NCPCR expressed their displeasure about the tardy implementation of the Right to Education Act in the state.
Dr Shantha Sinha said the state was yet to frame guidelines for the functioning of the school management committee. The fact that the mandatory state commission for students’ rights was yet to be formed in the state was also pointed out during the hearing.

Incidents of abuse of students in schools and hostels by the authorities, well documented already in news reports, were reiterated during the hearing. Many victims turned up to share their woes. When explanations were sought regarding these complaints, the district education officers failed to provide proper status reports. Some claimed that the areas in question were not under their purview.
In TN, education has been a controversial subject for several years. The Equitable Education Act and regulation of the fee structure for private schools are two key issues. Under the Equitable Education Act the state government formulated uniform syllabi for all schools across various streams of education. The move was challenged in the court of law. After a prolonged struggle the issue is now settled.

But the regulation of fees for private schools has run into rough weather. A commission headed by retired judge Govindarajan first determined a fee for matriculation schools. While the Matriculation School Association has gone to court, the judge has resigned citing poor health. Now another retired judge, Raviraja Pandian, has assumed charge.

The TN school education department has won laurels for its implementation of activity-based learning in government schools. But there are areas in which they still have miles to go. Perhaps it needs many more public hearings to debate the anomalies that have crept into the school education system here.


For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
Kapil Sibal's voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on For Salman Khurshid, it is a big challenge ahead; and I personally look forward to a revolutionary couple of years ahead!

IIPM Adds Another Feather to Its Cap: This Time Gets the Best Business School of Asia Award
Item Numbers Are The New Mantras of Bollywood

Noida CEO rules out hike in land compensation
IIPM, GURGAON
Rajita Chaudhuri on ‘The Magic of Number 3 in Marketing’
Noida Extn dreams breaks as court scraps new acquisition
IIPM Marches Ahead in B-School Rankings...

Insiders say the congress faces rebellions and defections because of the lack of communication between the high command and the party leaders

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Rebels with a pause

In political circles, the Congress party is often referred to as “the big house”. This is because politicians and workers who leave tend to return to its fold in due course after testing the waters outside. It is not that other parties don't have such examples. They do. But they are few and far between. People like Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti, Madan Lal Khurana and Amar Singh have learned at their own expense that individuals are never bigger than an organisation. But as far as exceptions are concerned, there are a few in the Congress too. People like Chandrashekhar, Morarji Desai and Charan Singh in the past and Maninderjeet Singh Bitta in more recent times never returned to the party after deserting it.

There are some interesting names on this list. Ajit Jogi and K Karunakaran were expelled from the party, but were taken back to the fold. People like S Bangarappa has been in and out of the party so many times that he himself might have lost count.
So what is the reason behind this phenomenon? To start with, it appears that people lose their political standing when the defect from a big party. Congress, technically, means congregation of people, and that is what it has always proved to be. Now not everybody is like Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee, who have the money power and the political base respectively to launch and sustain an independent party. In fact, without these two factors, it is impossible to run a regional outfit. To put it in perspective, in 2007 alone, as many as six such regional outfits merged with the Congress because of “lack of funds”. Being foregone conclusions, these mergers did not make news.

The Congress budget runs into crores of rupees. At election time individual candidates are allocated huge sums. Election Commission guidelines are often flouted in ingenious ways. In fact, many candidates save money from this poll fund for completely private use. But look at the condition of regional parties. Their musclemen and local middlemen ask for exorbitant sums to manage votes. Failing to secure what they want, they threaten to transfer the votes to the official Congress candidate in lieu of money. The exasperated rebel candidate realises that life is easier under the umbrella of a big party.

Talk to any politician about this and they will pour their hearts out. Subramaniam Swamy still holds the post of the president of the Janata Party, but the party itself is now in a mummified state. Swamy has lost his status as a political leader of import; he is at best an “anarchist” with some nuisance value. People like P Chidambaram and K Karunakaran were smart enough to return to the party fold before things got out of hand.

Another question that intrigues all is, why does the Congress face so many rebellions and defections? Insiders say the primary reason is the lack of communication between the high command and the leaders. People like Natwar Singh, Arjun Singh, Sheila Dikshit and Kedar Nath Singh had differences over the election of PV Narasimha Rao as party president. They supported the one-man one-post norm, which didn't go down well with the then PM. The Gandhi family was out of politics at that juncture and Rao was at the helm of affairs. Well-wishers wanted Sonia Gandhi to come into active politics and thus raised the one-man one-post issue. They wanted Sonia to be president of the party if Rao was to keep the post of the Prime Minister. The above-mentioned quartet rebelled during the Surajkund general meeting and just after that the 'Tiwari Congress' came into being.

Tiwari Congress was an interesting case. Sonia had started giving signals that she might join active politics after all. At the Tiwari Congress's office adjoining New Delhi's Le Meridien Hotel, Narain Dutt Tiwari used to discreetly keep tabs on Sonia's plans. Even veteran journalists covering the Congress were unaware of the real reason behind this outfit. They only got wind of it when they saw Janardhan Dwivedi, considered close to Sonia, coming out of Arjun Singh's house though the latter had left the party. This rebellion was clearly not against the Gandhi-Nehru family. Not surprisingly, this outfit merged with the mother party following Sonia's entry into active politics.

It was much later that Arjun Singh and Natwar Singh fell out with the party high command. Arjun Singh is an outspoken man. Insiders say he was too forthright a leader to remain subdued for too long. Natwar Singh, on the other hand, was let down by his son's involvement in the Volcker oil-for-food scandal.

Old timers will tell you that as far as rebellions in the Congress are concerned, it was never against the high command. Talking to TSI, Bhishm Narain Singh says, “From Debkanta Barooah to Siddhartha Shankar Ray, each one of them advised Indiraji to proclaim Emergency. Because of this wrong advice, a lot of people left the Congress. This weakened the party. Our biggest enemy is in-fighting and back-stabbing.”
Had conflict with the high command been the reason for desertion, many of the rebels would not have returned to the Congress. People like Ambika Soni, Pranab Mukherjee, AK Antony and Chidambaram would have severed all links with the party once they had turned their backs on it. The fact that Agatha Sangma is a junior minister in the Cabinet also confirms that the high command doesn't keep grudges. The party's problem is that the "coterie" gives dubious advice to the high command. For example, Natwar Singh was done in by Sonia's political adviser Ahmad Patel. The latter was reportedly unhappy with Natwar's direct access to Sonia.

Take the case of Jagan. A party bigwig from Andhra Pradesh who was promoting his aides convinced the party that Jagan's defection would not harm the party's prospects. Rahul Gandhi was not sure. So he sent a young general secretary to analyse the situation. That office-bearer was coerced by the big gun to give the same input. However, he gave the actual report saying that Jagan's departure would hurt the party in the next polls and that Jagan is of the same temperament as his father.
The list of people who left the Congress because of “neglect”, “insult”, “ego clashes” and otherwise is long. The first big name is that of K Kamraj, who was the original kingmaker. Kamraj was instrumental in getting Lal Bahadur Shastri the post of PM. It was only after his death that Indira Gandhi overcame the so-called Syndicate to become PM. Around the same time and after, Chandrashekhar, Morarji Desai and Charan Singh left the party never to return. They formed their own outfits and became political heavyweights in their own right.

Analysts might add here that since the aforementioned did not strictly adhere to the “Congress ideology”, they left the party. Similarly in February 1977, Babu Jagjivan Ram left the Congress and formed Congress for Democracy. Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna and erstwhile Orissa CM Nandani Satpathy joined his ranks. The same year, Karnataka's Devraj Urs tried to split the Congress. He was initially backed by AK Antony, Sharad Pawar, Ambika Soni, Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, Oomen Chandi and PC Chako, but all of them returned to the Congress soon enough.
Antony, meanwhile, formed the Regional Congress (A), which was rechristened Indian Congress (S) with the inclusion of Sharad Pawar. However, the party merged with the Congress in 1981. In 1994, Tiwari Congress and Bangarappa's Karnataka Congress merged with the Congress. Bangarappa, to give him his due, revolted again and formed Karnataka Vikas Party but rejoined after much cajoling. But he again upped and quit and joined Samajwadi Party only to return when reality sunk in.

It was during the same year that GK Moopanar's Tamil Manila Congress, Madhavrao Scindhia's Madhya Pradesh Vikas Party and Gegong Apang's Regional Arunachal Congress also merged with the Congress.

Following an analysis of the defeats the party has faced in recent elections, a high-power committee of the Congress has recommended that it should actively try to woo back the sidelined old warhorses in a bid to reclaim its lost impetus. After all, as recent political history has repeatedly shown, Congress rebels are pretty prone to changing their anti-party stance with just a bit of coaxing.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM
IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri
Kapil Sibal's voters want Jan Lokpal, not Government-proposed Lokpal Bill
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on For Salman Khurshid, it is a big challenge ahead; and I personally look forward to a revolutionary couple of years ahead!

IIPM Adds Another Feather to Its Cap: This Time Gets the Best Business School of Asia Award
Item Numbers Are The New Mantras of Bollywood

Noida CEO rules out hike in land compensation
IIPM, GURGAON
Rajita Chaudhuri on ‘The Magic of Number 3 in Marketing’
Noida Extn dreams breaks as court scraps new acquisition
IIPM Marches Ahead in B-School Rankings...