The situation calls for president’s rule and early elections

Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM

DR. MALAY CHAUDHURI, Chief Consulting Editor, The Sunday Indian

Looking at the television pictures of Khejuri, a block under the district of east Midnapore, West Bengal (situated next to Nandigram, made famous by the killing of 14 people in 14 March 2007), I can't help asking myself the question: Am I living in India or in some distant part of Africa, where killings happen every now and then, propelled by ex-colonial powers for neo-colonial interests of their own? It has been written in all leading papers of West Bengal that truckloads of people enter villages in Khejuri armed with weapons, primitive as well as modern, backed by ‘harmads’ (CPM goons hired by the party for specific purposes, brought from neighbouring states or districts). They are supported by the local police either actively or by remaining passive allowing them to destroy, burn down houses, kill people who oppose them. It is written in CPM's paper Ganashakti that these people actually lived in Khejuri before the Lok Sabha elections of 09.

In that election, Trinamool candidates won the majority of the seats and a Trinamool party member became the MP of Khejuri. In the post-election scenario, many cadres and active supporters of CPM were evicted from their respective villages as they had participated in various shenanigans organised by the "party" amounting to politico-social tyranny of villagers (for example, not allowing labourers to work in the fields of those boycotted by the party for one reason or the other). Apparently, these displaced persons are now returning to their respective villages, but led by CPM ‘cadres’ and ‘harmads’. Displaced villagers should of course come back to their houses, supported and guided by the local police to protect them from the onslaught of those who drove them away. These displaced people cannot however come back with the support of party cadres or harmads and that too with weapons of all kinds. What happened in the villages of Khejuri is a sort of a civil war. If this happens and continues to happen in different areas of West Bengal villages, then it certainly calls for intervention by the central government, which should consider imposing President's rule, if necessary, and setting up the stage for the upcoming elections, which is the root cause of the rise in the killings. When the local police cannot impose the rule of law, the Centre has the duty to uphold the Constitutional rights of the citizens. It seems various political calculations to perpetuate present administration at the Centre have prevented the Central government from imposing law and order in one or the other part of the country, throwing the citizens of those parts to wolves of various hues – sometimes Stalinists of West Bengal, sometimes semi-communal political forces in Mumbai and elsewhere.

If 60,000 central reserve forces can peacefully organise voting that is free of rigging in a state like Bihar now, and even in Bengal a year and a half back organising elections in five phases, it seems that a maximum of three lakh central reserve force will be required to maintain law and order in a state of the size of West Bengal or Bihar. Assuming an expenditure of Rs 2,50,000 per annum per person on wages and weapons, it will cost only Rs.7,500 crore per annum, which is only a little more than one per cent of central government's annual budget. This expenditure is a must and most necessary if rule of law is to be maintained whenever one part of India goes outside the purview of civilised democratic norms.


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How Marxists are creating killing fields in Bengal of the type never seen before in india... And why the centre must immediately call for elections.

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"Horror was the onset of Sanguinary Convulsions," said Winston Churchill while commenting of the Great Kolkata Riots before Independence. Today’s Bengal reminds one of Churchill's words. And it is the Marxists who are giving credence to his one-liner. The violence let loose all over state for the past many months, especially in the districts of south Bengal where the main state Opposition has established a strong foothold, can only be compared with that witnessed by the state in the early 70s.

In all probability, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front will lose the electoral battle in the forthcoming Assembly election in the coming summer. And, the dispensation and its leading partner can't seem to accept such an inglorious defeat with dignity after an uninterrupted rule of 34 years. As a last-ditch attempt, the Stalinist forces are trying to terrorise people into submission. The famous statement of Edvard Radzinsky on Joseph Stalin comes to mind: “Terror is the quickest way to new society”.

CPI(M) claims to have democratised the power structure to the grassroots level through the panchayat system. While this is true to some extent, the Stalinist party has spread two other things at the same time – corruption and armed cadres. While organised corruption has helped the party to amass huge wealth in terms of real estate, armed party cadres have helped to keep people’s mouths shut. In one way or the other, this has been admitted even by senior CPI(M) leaders themselves. Only a few days back, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, while addressing a party rally in the North 24 Parganas, called on his party cadres to keep distance from these two evils. One can remember the erstwhile chief minister Jyoti Basu openly admitting that Badshah Alam, who attacked Mamata Banerjee and fractured her head, was a CPM man. Only a year back, the then chief secretary, admitted that huge tracts of land were being grabbed in Rajarhat by the power of guns (in hands of CPI(M) cadres). Daylight action in Nandigram on March 14, 2007 by “chappal-wearing police” has established this fact beyond any doubt even in courts of law. The situation prompted the then Governor of the state and Mahatma’s grandson, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, to describe it as one of ‘cold horror’.

The recent spurt in violence started with a failed attack on Khejuri-Nandigram from Shunia Char (reclaimed land on river) on November 24, 2010. About 200 armed men (Harmads) entered Kamarda village and started hurling bombs. They burnt Trinamool Congress party offices and started indiscriminately firing in the air. Their motive was to terrorise Trinamool supporters and gain control over their lost ground. But spontaneous and united opposition from villagers forced them to flee. The villagers were led by chief of TMC youth wing and local MP Subhendu Adhikari. Armed cadres tried again and again. But they had to retreat each time leaving several people injured in the process. Both side used bombs and firearms. The attacks have taken place despite the MP and MLAs writing in advance to the police, the chief minister and the chief secretary apprehending such attacks.

Just after the chief minister's war cry at a party rally, “Hoi Bampantha, noi mrityu (Either Leftism or death),” trouble erupted in Raina and Mangalkot of Burdwan district. Purnima Majhi’s face is today unrecognisable after Harmads charged bombs on her face in Mangalkot. Her only offence was to stumble upon a group of bomb-makers in the middle of the night while she was on her way to the paddy field to relieve herself. Two other Trinamool activists, Hasmat Mollah and Kajal Mallick, succumbed to CPI(M) attacks. Since the Lok Sabha polls, in Burdwan district alone, about 26 Trinamool workers have been killed in political violence. Close on the heels of the Mangalkot incident, armed CPI(M) cadres attacked as many as three villages in the Khanakul, Arambagh and Purshura areas of Hooghly to ‘liberate these villages’ from Opposition hold. Trinamool activists had to flee in face of the waves of attacks surrounding their villages. Interestingly, in all the cases, the state police played either the role of a mute spectator or that of passive protector of the Harmad goons. The vernacular press carried reports of political clashes in Nadia, Murshidabad, North and South 24-Parganas. Trinamool Congress cadres were targeted at Sashan in North 24 Parganas, some of them died.

In Birbhum district, the CPI(M)-backed Harmads not only targeted Trinamool activists but also supporters of Left Front ally RSP. The RSP has bitter relations with CPI(M) in South 24-Parganas too where a kin of a RSP minister was killed along with few more RSP activists and their houses were burnt during the last Panchayat elections. Similarly, another Left Front partner, CPI, is facing Harmad attacks in parts of Hooghly and East Medinipur districts. The Arambagh-Purshura-Khanakul area saw pitched battles between CPI and CPI(M), some CPI supporters fell to Harmad attacks.

What is beyond the realms of rationality is that senior leaders of the Stalinist party are themselves making provocative statements in public and inciting cadres. While the chief minister – who after the Red bloodshed in Nandigram had said that the people got “paid back in their own coin” – uttered “either Leftism or deaths”, state secretariat member of the party Gautam Deb, who is minister in-charge of public health engineering, challenged the Opposition several times in the open. Land and land reforms minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah is calling upon “black-haired well-built youths of villages” to manage polling booths during the forthcoming election. Addressing a rally, he said the party could return to power if these youths guaranteed at least 20 Assembly segments where the Left Front were likely to be defeated.

This, according to several commentators, is not only heating up the already charged atmosphere but also instigating youths to be more aggressive. The students’ wing of CPI(M), which is already facing routs in half of the colleges which they were used to grabbing without any contest, are getting engaged in verbal duels and beyond with rival students' bodies. The other side, the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad and Chhatra Parishad (NSUI’s state wing) are being dragged into the turmoil too. A student of Andul Jagajjanani College in Howrah has lost his life. Another student of Ashutosh College has lost one eye and is now undergoing treatment in Hyderabad. About 50 cases of students’ clashes over union elections have been reported. In many cases, clashes took place when senior party leaders were present. Professor Rajat Majumder says, “Whom do you blame when the hands of the politicians are blood-stained? They can try to wash those but will not be successful.”

“Now, the situation has become such that even government staff are not being spared,” says Dhruba Sen, leader of a Left-wing state government employees’ organisation. “The BDO of Itahar was manhandled by CPI(M) leaders. The injured BDO filed an FIR with the police and seven CPM leaders were arrested. Their offence was non-bailable but on the very next day, they got bail. And now the policemen are saying they did this for the BDO’s safety. The BDO rejoined duty and soon requested the district magistrate to transfer him somewhere else as he felt insecure in Itahar.”

Let's turn our attention to Lalgarh or the greater Jungle Mahal area where Harmads from several adjoining districts are active in the open and are being allegedly shielded by the police. A report few months back listed 52 camps and counted presence of 1620 Harmads in 7 blocks of Jhargram. A latest unofficial report claim about 90 Harmad camps (86 according to Union home minister P. Chidambaram) and more than 2,500 armed CPI(M) Harmads. Eminent novelist Jaya Mitra questions: “This is the CPI(M)'s version of the Salwa Judum. Salwa Judum has been banned by the Supreme Court but the CPI(M)'s Red Brigade continue to operate with impunity.” Local scribes of different newspapers claim that more than 100 people were killed by the CPI(M) in less than a decade before the Lalgarh revolt. And after the Joint Force entered the scene, killings have increased manifold, they hold. Now, CPI(M) and Maoists both are killing villagers. There was only a brief let up while the Police Santras Birodhi Janasadharaner Committee (Peoples’ Committee against Police Atrocities) was controlling the area.

Sources in the Union Home ministry say that as the joint paramilitary forces are in action, the Union home ministry has to keep a watch on the situation there. Central Intelligence agencies are reporting directly to Delhi on a daily basis. Governor M.K. Narayanan, an ex-IB sleuth and a former National Security Advisor, is also reportedly keeping eyes on developments. Being reported from several sources, Chidambaram wrote to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on December 21: “In an apparent effort to regain lost ground, a sizable number of armed cadres were recruited, trained and deployed in West Midnapore district. There is evidence to show that Harmad camps are mostly located in CPI(M) party offices and houses of local CPI(M) cadres. It is a matter of grave concern that these cadres have been provided with firearms...”

The Union home minister also mentioned, “Besides, in the run up to the elections, there has been a perceptible increase in clashes between supporters of the CPI(M) and the TMC (Trinamool Congress). According to our figures, up to December 15, 2010, TMC cadres who have been killed and injured number 96 and 1,237 respectively. Likewise, CPI(M) cadres, who have been killed and injured number 65 and 773 respectively. And Congress cadres who have been killed and injured number 15 and 221 respectively. These numbers present an alarming picture and point to a virtual collapse of law and order in parts of West Bengal.” He also raised the vital question which has been raised by the state Opposition over a year: What is the need of Joint Forces in Jungle Mahal if CPI(M) deploys armed cadres to maintain law and order?

An angered and cornered chief minister sent out more of a political and less of an administrator’s reply where he contradicted figures of Trinamool. Conspicuously, the chief minister remained silent on the issue of CPI(M)’s armed camps but objected to the use of the language ‘Harmad’. Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee also contradicts the casualty figures of her party, “I have the list of names of 246 party workers who have been killed since the parliamentary elections,” says the railway minister.

To get a proper picture, casualty figures among Maoists, Police Santras Birodhi Janasadharaner Committee (PCPA) and security forces also should be taken into account. Official figures say about 328 Maoists & PCPA supporters and 27 Jawans have lost their lives up to December 26 this year. In fact, West Bengal stands second to Chhattisgarh in inflicting damage on Maoists. Rights activists and intellectuals claim that most of those killed as ‘Maoists’ are innocent villagers. “CPI(M) is branding those non-CPI(M) youths as ‘Maoists’ to gain their political mileage,” says Prof. Sumit Chakraborty, convenor of the Lalgarh Mancha. The reason behind such violence is not too hard to find. The area returns 44 legislators to the state assembly. Majority of these seats elected CPI(M) and its allies even in the last polls. However, the result may turn against the ruling front this time if a free and fair election is held. Looking at the state of lawlessness in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee's call for early and immediate election seems more plausible today in light of the Union home minister P. Chidambaram's latest missive to Writer's Building.

While the political parties fight their never-ending bloody battles in quest for power, the Maoists continue their policy of annihilation and the State continues to militarily combat ‘Leftist Extremism.’ Only, the innocents become the victims of the game. Their blood flows. Their houses burn in the fire of revenge. Their children bear the burnt throughout their lives. May be Nabarun Bhattacharya’s famous poem of the 70s can help restore sanity: “Ei Mrityu Upatyaka Amar Desh Na / Ei Raktasnato Kasaikhana Amar Desh Na (This Valley of Death Is Not My Country / I Disown This Blood-Drenched Slaughterhouse As My Nation).”

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The new draft of the Seeds Bill has enough loopholes which can be exploited by multi-nationals

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Seeds of discontent

The third draft of the Seeds Bill has been presented in the Parliament for consideration. The bill was first drafted in 2004. Prior to this, after much criticism and protest from several farmer groups, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture (PSCA) had made a few amendments in the draft and had presented the new bill for consideration in 2008. However, it did not come to fruition as the 14th Lok Sabha was dissolved. Now its third draft is under deliberations. Sadly, this new draft too has ignored several recommendations by the PSCA. It appears that the Agriculture Ministry is unwilling to temper with the clauses which are in the interest of multinational seed firms.

When in 2004 the draft of Seeds Bill was being made to replace the old Seeds Act of 1996, the impression was given that the new bill would open the way for importing good quality high yield seeds. Slyly, a clause was inserted which allowed seeds to be exported too. The entire game plan was to utilise the cheap Indian labour for producing seeds in India and to export them, and then again import the same on much higher price. To make all this process hassle free for multinationals, the government had planned to recognise and permit any Seeds Standard Authority to carry it. It was to be done under the pretext of the recommendations by the PSCA.

The present bill has included horticulture, lumbering, medicinal plants etc under agriculture only. So any kind of seed or plant product that is manufactured for the market will need to be registered. For registration, the bill has the provision to set up a National Seeds Committee. The president and other members of the committee will mostly be drawn from among government employees. There will be token representation of farmers too, but in reality, bureaucrats will dominate the committee. Although agriculture is a state subject, the seeds committees of the states will only have advisory roles.

While the farmers will continue to buy and sell seeds traditionally and need not register, the branded seeds will have to go through multilevel tests. The brands that will conform to the standards set in the test can only be registered. The seeds for the types of crops that are annual and biannual will be registered for 10 years and those of multi-years use for 12 years.
In between these years, the seed can be tested only once to confirm the characters that it originally had. New standards have been set for labelling the seeds that will give details of the procedure through which these seeds can be utilised properly and optimally. For example, on the label of a particular wheat seed, it will be clearly mentioned that after watering it so many times, applying so much fertilizers and protecting it from weeds and pests, it will lead to so much yield.

The seed examiners will have the duty to enforce and implement all the laws and provisions of the Seeds Bill 2010. They will have the right to raid and confiscate the premises and stock of a particular seeds seller, with permission from the District Magistrate, if the particular seller is caught selling unregistered, adulterated seeds, or seeds that do not conform to the set standards. However, these are ideal situations. The reality is, every state in this country has sellers selling adulterated and sub-standard seeds, right under the nose of government officials. Nobody cares about complaints from the farmers and compensation to them in case of bad quality seeds is almost unheard of.

The biggest problem in this bill is the lack of transparency in the entire registration process. There is no provision under which one can know the name of the person who has developed a particular seed, the place where it has been developed or the current ownership of a particular variety. Numerous cases have come up where poor farmers are duped and the ownership is fraudulently taken away by someone else and a third person starts producing and selling it. For example, Bikaner Narma, a particular variety of cotton was developed by a farmer in Bikaner, Rajasthan, but was later used by somebody else for commercial purposes. Similarly, Mahico, the country’s biggest seed firm, started by selling sawani bhindi, a variety of ladyfinger grown by Pusa Institute. Mahico bought the seeds from Pusa and kept on producing and selling them year after year without giving Pusa the royalty or license fees. Today they have their own scientists, laboratories and other infrastructure and have partners like Monsento, and virtually rule the Indian seeds business.

The onus now lies on the Indian parliamentarians to take steps which are in the interests of the farmers. The MPs need to amend all the anti-farmer clauses before passing the bill. That’s the only way the exploiter multi-nationals and their bureaucrat henchmen can be stumped in their own game.

The views expressed by the author are personal

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Introspection on the 2010 journey reveals hidden lessons

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Was 2010 different?

Alice Bloch, a UK-based author, once said “We say we waste time, but that is impossible. We waste ourselves.” It is applicable to a nation as much as in the case of an individual. This is the 51st week of 2010 and our last issue of the year – this makes it all the more important for us to look back and introspect the rocky road that India traversed with high expectations and promises.

Revisiting the victories: Firstly, India secured the non-permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) after a gap of 19 years with an overwhelming majority. This was not a victory in the literal sense, as Japan is already serving as a non-permanent member, Kazakhstan withdrew itself and there were several weak contenders. However, India can use this win as a platform for strengthening diplomatic ties with other important nations as well as usher in the much needed reforms in the UNSC. Moreover, it can also clear some UN developmental loans. The second positive lesson was in snatching the 2nd position in medal tally in the 2010 Commonwealth Games with 101 medals. It boosted the confidence levels of Indian athletes and sports associations. Thirdly, India securing the top rank in test cricket was the icing on the cake. Indian history rarely has had such celebrations to boast of in one go. And most importantly, leaders of the world's most influential nations including US President Obama, French President Sarkozy, British PM David Cameron, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Russian President Medvedev have visited India in the same year. India's increasing pace of growth has finally managed to create a magnetic field attracting the who's who of the world.

And now the dark side: With 8.5 per cent expected growth rate, inflation remained an omnipresent problem. Both the general inflation rate of 10.16 per cent and food inflation of 16.49 per cent during June remained to be the highest among G20 nations. This continues to be a matter of great concern. But the biggest shocks of the year were the numerous corruption cases. From the Rs.1.76 lakh crore 2G scam, to the mammoth irregularities in the Commonwealth Games, 2010 proved to be the biggest shame year for the nation.

India also continues to rank first in terms of murders. The death in road accidents, sexual harassment, domestic violence, cyber-crime, crime against women too are on a rise. Separatist movements remained unstoppable and unresolved – Kashmir remains a burning example. More than 23 days of Parliamentary logjam cost the nation a whopping Rs.146 crore. The maximum number of citizens (above 250 million) in India's history remain undernourished. We have more poor and illiterate today (around 500 million) than ever in our history. India houses a third of the globe's poor people. Atrocious and abominable are the only words reserved for such an achievement by our successive governments. May 2011 be better...

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The Importance of being Bant Singh

IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri

The past decade has seen an upsurge of Dalit resistance in Punjab and the struggle of Bant Singh has brought fresh hope for exposing the ‘hidden apartheid’ in the state. Nirupama Dutt travels to his village of Burj Jhabbar in the cotton belt of Punjab to know the man and the movement

Film actor Ajay Devgan presents his story on a popular television channel. Musicians like Chris Mcguiness and Taru Dalmia travel to do a music project with him. Recording companies from Mumbai want to bring out his album. He is also slated to participate in the Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2011.

Who after all is Bant Singh? He was just another leader of agrarian workers who also sang revolutionary songs and struggled to make ends meet for his wife and eight children in the past decade. What happened to make him a heroic symbol of Dalit resistance in Punjab? Bant was born in a Mazhabi Sikh family. Mazhabis were former ‘untouchables’ who were inducted into the fold by the Gurus as Sikhism rejected the Hindu caste hierarchy. Yet the malaise of caste was to permeate the fabric of Sikh society with the hierarchical shift as the Jats were the landlords and the Dalits the agrarian labourers.

Bant could hold his own as he was politically aware, choosing not to work as an attached labourer. He instead sold cosmetics and toys besides rearing hens and pigs. He continued to be politically active, organising labour, helping them come out of never-ending debts through court cases and demanding fair wages. As vice-president of Mazdoor Mukti Morcha, a wing of the All India Agricultural Labour Association (AIALA), he irked landlords who were used to undisputed serfdom. He sent all his children to school and did not allow them to work in the Jat fields.

The turning point came in 2002 when his minor daughter Baljit Kaur, a student of Class IX, was gang-raped. He did not let it pass as is the custom because the rape of a Dalit girl by a Jat boy is common. Bant decided to fight for justice and three persons, including a woman accomplice, were sentenced to life imprisonment. “I was offered money to withdraw the case but I did not want to compromise on the honour of my daughter. We struggled for justice and got it.” However, he had to pay a heavy price for taking on the Jats. He was physically attacked several times. Then on the evening of January 5, 2006, seven Jat boys brutally beat him up with iron roads. His arms and legs were pounded to pulp. He lay for several hours in the fields till he was taken to Mansa Civil Hospital where the doctors were indifferent to him. After 36 hours, once gangrene had set in, they said they could not treat him. Bant’s comrades raised money and moved him to the PGIMS in Chandigarh.

The doctors had to amputate his two arms and a leg. When Bant was given this news, he said bravely: “I still have a tongue and I will continue to sing against oppression”. Indeed, he did surprise the doctors as well as the patients by singing out loud and clear the revolutionary songs of Punjabi poet, late Sant Ram Udasi, from his bed. Two months later, he came out of the hospital to address a public rally in Chandigarh. In different hospitals for over two years, he continued to sing.

His great courage brought attention to his spirit of resistance. The media came to him, the police upgraded the case to Section 308 of the IPC and the accused were arrested. Relevant sections under the SC/ST Act were added to the case. The attack on Bant was aimed at terrorising him and all other Dalit labourers but the outrage was such that thousands of them started coming to the rallies held in his support all over Punjab. His courage and songs gave hope to others. The culprits were jailed for seven years.

Sanjay Kak, who was asked by Bant’s comrades to make a film on the man, says: “I had not gone to make a film but it was Bant who made it by the sincerity of his emotions and the angst against the oppression of centuries.” The seven-minute film called Bant Can Still Sing is counted among one of the most eloquent films made by Kak. When I got to meet Bant at his home in Burj Jhabbar, I found him resting on a charpai under a kikar tree in his courtyard. He was quick to greet me with a broad smile. Raising his amputated arm, he hailed me with a Laal Salaam. Soon he was singing inspiring songs and telling me about his campaigns for farm labourers. “They wanted to silence me but I have been able to give out the message far louder than before,” he says. The strength to fight back, he says, came from his ideals, Guru Gobind Singh and Shaheed Bhagat Singh. True, the Dalits had been terrorised when Bant was beaten to pulp but now the Jats too are wary about the excesses for there could be other Bants who will fight back. This is what makes him the hero of Dalit resistance in Punjab.

A Laal Salaam indeed to this man who has turned the tide after centuries and about whom journalist Amit Sengupta says: “In a tangential sense, the ideology of upper caste domination has been pushed to the wall by Bant Singh’s sacrifice and valour. He has become a revolutionary icon, a catalyst for change, a protector of human and fundamental rights, a symbol of defiance against archaic symbols of feudalism and slavery, a physical reality of a dream which is not so impossible.”

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The local media in Kashmir is expanding at a staggering pace though the sailing has not been smooth for local journalists and media organisations

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Assertion amid restrictions

Till the late 1980s, J&K had such less newspapers and magazines that they could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Of these, only Aftab and Srinagar Times, both Urdu dailies, were popular among the masses. When insurgency erupted in the Valley, people needed their daily fix of news. They were eager to remain abreast of developments around them.

State-run Doordarshan and Radio Kashmir were the only accessible sources of news but excessive government control on these media institutions undermined their credibility. People turned to international media, primarily BBC, to get a clear picture of the situation in Kashmir. The then correspondent of BBC World Service, Yusuf Jameel, became a household name in the Valley. Every household would tune into the early morning and evening BBC bulletins.

“People would trust every word the BBC would broadcast. It was too demanding. I could hardly afford any off-the-mark coverage. But my reporting things as they were won me more foes than friends,” recalls Jameel.

Now, two decades later, more than a hundred newspapers, including 25 English dailies, hit the stalls every morning in Srinagar. There are 81weeklies, both offset and litho printed, and 12 monthly and fortnightly English and Urdu news magazines too being published from the Valley alone. About 80 dailies and 132 periodicals are published from Jammu.

The buck does not stop there. According to officials, hundreds of applications for new registrations are pending in the offices concerned in both Jammu and Srinagar. Almost every second month sees the launch of new publications. Most of these newspapers, priced at two to three rupees, survive mainly on government advertisements.
The growing literacy rate, which at present hovers a little above 65 per cent in J&K, has also widened the readership base during the last two decades. At the same time, new technologies like the Internet, networked computers and other hardware and software applications have also helped in producing newspapers in large number with better print quality. Apart from that, more than 20 cable news channels have been launched across the state in the past few years. All of the news channels — more than a dozen — are off the air in the Valley though after the state authorities announced a temporary ban on them four months ago.

GK Communications, with two of its largest circulated daily newspapers, Greater Kashmir (English) and Kashmir Uzma (Urdu) is considered to be one of the biggest media organisations in the state. Both of its newspapers are simultaneously published from Jammu and Srinagar. GK also has a vibrant online edition, which has a large number of visitors across the globe. Similarly, Kashmir Media Group (KMG), which publishes Rising Kashmir (English), Buland Kashmir (Urdu) and Sangarmal (Kashmiri), is also taking shape as a large media group in the Valley. English papers such as Greater Kashmir, Rising Kashmir and Kashmir Times and Urdu language ones like Kashmir Uzma, Srinagar Times, Aftab and Buland are being extensively read.

Mass communication graduates from Kashmir University are being hired by local newspapers on good wages. “Kashmir University’s mass communication department was established in 1985. Since then, we have produced more than 600 journalists and most of them are well placed in local, national and international media organisations,” informs Nasir Mirza, a senior lecturer.

However, it has not been easy for media organisations and journalists to survive in an atmosphere of hostility and conflict. During the last 20 years, more than a dozen mediapersons have been killed in the line of duty.

Apart from such tragedies, Kashmiri journalists have seen the worst kind of aggression by security forces. This summer more than two dozen mediapersons were ruthlessly beaten up by police and security forces at different times while they were performing their duty. Srinagar-based newspapers have frequently been forced to stop publication by the government. During the civil unrest earlier this year, beating up and harassment of newspaper staff and repeated cancellation of curfew passes made their operations impossible. The newspapers have been stopped for an estimated total of thirty days since June this year.

The channel operators believe that they were targetted only for showing the facts. “The channels were screening only what was happening around. People were being killed and injured by the security forces. How could we have not reported such things?” asks Sanam Aijaz, managing director, J.K. channel.

The popularity of social networking sites has also increased during the last few years, especially among the youth. Many Kashmiris, including those living abroad, have created groups on facebook and Twitter to express their political opinions. During the recent unrest, tech-savvy youngsters used these sites to vent their anger. This attracted the attention of security agencies. Police arrested many young boys for posting “objectionable” remarks on Internet.

But the local media in Kashmir lacks in quality. “During past two decades the Kashmir media has grown enormously but quality is missing,” says Pervez Majeed, a correspondent with Delhi-based news magazine Sahara Time. “The conflict provided a breeding ground for non-professionals who are pursuing varied interests and are indulging in activities which can't be called journalism,” he rues.

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International: Karachi undergoing Metamorphosis

IIPM Mumbai Campus

The glittering city of dreams that once Karachi was, is now writhing in the clutches of mafia which also weild considerable political influence, laments Shahid Husain

Karachi is undergoing metamorphosis. The “city of lights” of yesteryears has been brutalised and target killings have become the order of the day. With an estimated population of 18 million, the megalopolis of Karachi is now controlled by mafia.

There was a time when burqa-clad women with all their jewellery would return from marriages late in the night all alone without any fear, and children would play in lanes till 2 am and the doors would remain open for them. The boundary walls of bungalows were also not more than four feet high and one could have a glimpse of the lawns inside while walking on the pavements. Then things started changing. But these changes have a history. As the capital of Pakistan, Karachi witnessed a great upheaval in 1953 when students staging peaceful demonstration demanding better education facilities were fired at. Seven students and a passerby had lost their lives. However, the establishment was forced to accept the students' demands.

In fact, the 1953 movement led by left-wing Democratic Students Federation (DSF) was a turning point in Pakistan’s chequered history. The establishment decided to shift the capital to Islamabad.

Again in 1964, it was Karachi and Dhaka from where the opposition leader Fatima Jinnah won the elections despite notorious “Basic Democracy” system in which only 80,000 BD members were allowed to cast their votes in presidential elections.

The democratic upsurge of 1968-69 that forced military dictator General Ayub Khan to announce that he would not take part in next elections shook the corridors of power. There was a euphoria in the air and students, industrial workers, teachers, doctors, lawyers and intellectuals and writers felt as if a revolution was in
the making.

However, another military dictator General Yahya Khan staged a coup and took hold of the reins of power. Perhaps it was in 1968-69 that the civil and military establishment decided to break the will of Karachiites. The break-away of eastern wing in 1971 and establishment of Bangladesh as an independent state too weakened the democratic movement in the financial hub of Pakistan because the politically conscious leadership of Pakistan’s eastern wing always gave a lead to the rest of Pakistan, including Karachi.

Thus began a process of de-politicising of Karachiites. Ethnicity and parochialism was deliberately promoted by the government. Political activists were disillusioned. What they thought was a revolution was only a mirage.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who reached the corridors of power through catchy slogans of "Islamic socialism" and roti, kapra aur makaan (bread, cloth and housing) stated publicly that he had done more to halt communism than the Americans and his "socialism" was like that of Germany. In fact, Bhutto used fascist methodology to woo the masses and promoted jingoism. On the top of that it was Bhutto who succumbed to the pressures of mullahs and declared the minority Ahmedi community as non-Muslims and banned liquor although he himself was a heavy alcoholic. Ban on liquor paved the way for deadly drugs, including heroin and drug mafia came to the fore with a big bang. While the affluent had an easy access to liquor, the downtrodden in slum areas such as Lyari started consuming heroin. Drug and arms mafia penetrated in Pakistan and gangsters started playing a vital role.

The brutalisation of society reached its peak when the democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was overthrown in July 1977 by despot General Zia-ul-Haq and Bhutto was sent to gallows. In the wake of previous Afghan War, drug and arms culture was introduced in Karachi. The drug mafia entered Lyari that happened to be the most vibrant area of yesteryears, both politically and culturally.
Gradually the land mafia, transport mafia and drug mafia became so powerful that political activism retreated and was replaced by the guns. With the increasing activities of drug mafia and bureaucratic capital, the social fabric of Pakistan society in general and Karachi in particular deteriorated and sectarian killings became the order of the day. Class contradictions also came into existence and were quiet sharpened. On one hand, there were limousines worth tens of millions of rupees plying on the streets of Karachi, on the other, there were hordes of jobless youth roaming directionless on the streets of Karachi.

With the migration of large number of people to Karachi in search of jobs, the demography of the largest city of Pakistan started changing drastically. No wonder Karachi now harbours the biggest Pushtoon population in Pakistan. As a matter of fact, had it not been for the philanthropists in Karachi, tens of thousands of people would have died of hunger. Social workers such as Abdul Sattar Edhi are not only feeding millions of people in Karachi, they are also running the world’s largest ambulance service in the private sector.

But sadly enough, the fate of Karachi is decided by the land mafia whose agents have entered almost every political party. The powerful mafia can trigger gang wars and ethnic tension in any part of the city. Clifton, Hawkesbay and Sandspit beaches that once provided solace are now eyed by the notorious land mafia. Similarly, several heritage buildings too are in danger because the greedy want to build sky scrapers in their place.

However, there is a silver lining! Despite threats the civil society and the intelligentsia in the financial hub of Pakistan is adamant to resist mafias and save beaches and expose the vested interests. Nobody knows how many years it would take to undo the wrongs of General Zia-ul-Haq, but one could still find an oasis in Karachi in the midst of anarchy, lawlessness and chaos.

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Prof. P. N. Sharma persuaded The Dalai Lama to abandon his plans of leaving Dharamshala

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Tibetan diary: Tale of a close encounter

It was almost 40 years back that I had my first audience with His Holiness. He had known about my books and writings. He asked me if I knew Sanskrit. I said I did. Then he asked his secretary to bring a book and asked me to translate the same into English. It was one of the most famous 9th Century classics. In due course of time, I translated the book. Earlier, I had written a book on Tibet – its religion, culture and history. I presented a copy to His Holiness and he obliged me with a small foreword. After it was published, we became closer. In a meeting sometime later, he gave me another book, a 10th Century classic. The book had three chapters and he asked me, “Do you think those three chapters were written in three different time periods or at one go?” I was puzzled but guessed that since the three chapters dealt with the same subject and there were repetitions of certain arguments, they must have been written at different time periods. He agreed with me and I was elated. Later, he nominated me to the governing body of the prestigious Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.

There was yet another occasion I recall, a seminar where scholars from Varanasi and Sarnath had come. They wanted to have an audience with His Holiness. We sent a message, and instead of us having to travel to McLeod Ganj, he offered to come and meet us. When he came, he asked me to take the next seat. He held my right hand, raised it and said, “Look, this man helped us, Tibetans, through great difficulty without any selfish motive.” He was referring to the incident when I was able to convince him to stay back in Dharamshala.

Back then, some Tibetan youth had a fight with the Gaddi tribesmen and a Gaddi was killed. The Tibetan was acquitted of the murder charge, but the incident incited the Gaddi community and soon there started major violence against the Tibetan people. They beat up the lamas and broke window panes. His Holiness was then in California. When he came back to India, a lot of journalists, Indian and foreign, had thronged to McLeod Ganj. One of my friends, Naoroji, who is no more, rang me up and informed that His Holiness had decided to leave Dharamshala and settle somewhere in Faridabad near Delhi. I was worried throughout the night and called a meeting with a few people in the morning to appeal to His Holiness not to leave Dharamshala. Naoroji, myself and another friend of mine went to meet His Holiness at 3.30 pm and sent a word through his security in-charge, who happened to know me, for an audience with him. He, however, conveyed that His Holiness was busy and would not be able to meet us. I then told the chief of security that we would sit in dharna and not budge until we got an audience. At about 5.30 pm, we received a message that His Holiness would meet us at 5.45 pm.

As usual with His Holiness, whenever you have an appointment with him, he will be waiting to receive you at the doorstep. As we crossed the threshold, he looked into my eyes and said, “So, we are being kicked out.” That was awful. I said, “That’s not true” and asked him if we could sit down and talk. We spoke for about half an hour. His Holiness was really shocked about what had happened in his absence. The talk was so emotional that I started crying. Finally when all of us got up, he embraced me tightly and said, “No, I will not go.” The next day I gathered a big crowd of about 1,000 people and took them to McLeod Ganj to seek the blessings of His Holiness. This was supposed to be a show of solidarity with him. The mood was one of joy and peace.
His Holiness never shows anger. We may abuse China and revile against the Chinese but he will never do the same. His Holiness likes frank people. He has a great sense of humour. The most impressive thing about him is when he laughs, if you are not looking at him, you would think it’s a six year old. His presence conquers you. You feel absolutely at peace with yourself and the world. He is the greatest living human being on this earth.

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Festivals sans jumbos likely to lose their charm

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Kerala Elephant: Tuskers Unshackled

Elephants are part and parcel of Kerala's cultural life. Festivals sans caparisoned elephants are unimaginable. Thrissur Pooram, the famous annual cultural event is famous for the grand gala show of 30 decorated elephants. The temples show off their grandeur by arraying elephants in festivals. The greater the number of elephants on such occasions, the better. People too take pride in owning elephants.

But the Union Government's recent decision to declare elephants as the national heritage animal is going to change all that. Once the law comes into effect, elephants won't be allowed to be used as beasts of burden in the forest where the tuskers move heavy logs of woods. Neither can they be deployed for entertainment such as in circus, demonstrations and at receptions. It also means that during temple festivals, percussion instruments like chenda and ensemble panchavadyam (playing of five instruments) will lose its charm in the absence of the decorated elephants. While the environmentalists are all praise for Environment and Forests Minister Jayaram Ramesh, elephant fans are worried about the law's fallout. The Mahesh Rengarajan Committee report rules out deploying of elephants during festivals and celebrations. Kerala State Festival Protection Committee is spearheading the protest against the report. They lined up elephants in a temple near Thrikkariyoor, off Kochi, and marched them to the District Forest Officer’s office as a token of protest.

Later, Leader of Opposition Oommen Chandy met Jayaram Ramesh and requested to relax the festival regulations. Jayaram Ramesh assured him that the move will not affect festivals.

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Uttar Pradesh Overcrowded Jails: Prisons in U.P. burst at the seams

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Those having completed their term still languishing in jails

Prisoners who have long completed their terms but have not been released as yet form a considerable chunk of the total prisoners in Uttar Pradesh's jails. This is one of the reasons behind overcrowding of the state's jails, reveals an RTI query filed by Lucknow based activist Urvashi Sharma.

Sharma, on October 4, 2009, had asked for the following information: A list of all the jails in UP with their designated capacity and the actual number of prisoners housed in each jail; jail-wise lists of the names of all convicts who are serving time in spite of having completed their terms; and details of the steps taken by the state government in the last five years to scrutinise the status of all the prisoners in UP jails, apart from certain other details.

The reply from the Jail Administration and Reforms Services was enough to give Sharma a shock as she came to know that against the designated capacity of 42,176 inmates, UP’s 62 jails actually had 83,805 prisoners. According to a National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB) report on prisons, 2008, the state's jails have 191.6 per cent occupancy, second only to Chattisgarh where the jail occupancy is 215.2 per cent. According to the report, only 32 per cent of all the inmates in India's jails are convicts while a whopping 67 per cent of them are undertrials. There is just one jail official per eight inmates.

Two appeals and a rejoinder later, Sharma received information from only two jails— Meerut and Ghaziabad— that two prisoners, one male and one female, were languishing in Ghaziabad jail even after completion of their terms. As for the query about the scrutiny of the prisoners the response was “Nil”. “It is indeed ironical that the department meant to bring reforms in jails has not even scrutinised the status of the prisoners during the last five years. I am writing to the CM and the Governor to take action and ensure that either the department should prove worthy of its name or it should drop the words ‘administration and reforms’ from its name,” says Sharma.
Earlier this year, Law Minister Veerappa Moily launched a drive for the speedy conclusion of the cases of undertrials and to ensure their release. Till July this year, UP had topped the list in that mission by releasing 52,843 undertrials and settling the cases of 4,203 more. But certainly more steps are needed in this direction.

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Tamilnadu Containing HIV: Needles Of Danger

IIPM Mumbai Campus

State Aids control society has a challenge in tackling IDUs

Although Tamilnadu has shown a decline in the number of HIV-affected persons (in 2001 the prevalence rate was one per cent that has come down to 0.23 per cent in the state), the challenges are not over as yet.

The growing number of intravenous drug users (IDUs) is a matter of concern for Tamilnadu Aids Control Society (TANSAC). Talking to TSI, Amutha, project director of TANSAC points out that the spreading of HIV through the needles is faster than through other modes. Indian Market Research Bureau has identified around 400 intravenous drug users in Tamilnadu and found that 96 (92 in Chennai and four in Madurai) of them were infected with HIV. According to estimates, the actual figure may be higher than that.
“We are taking immediate steps to contain this number. Apart from creating awareness regarding the spread of HIV among the people, we make the identified IDUs undergo regular medical check ups. Most of the drug users are youths. They usually take drugs in groups. Often they share a single needle which increases the chances of the transmission of HIV from an infected person to a healthy one. This way it spreads very rapidly,” says Amutha. As these persons carry out these activities in the dark or at secluded places, and since many of them keep moving from one place to another, it is not easy to identify and treat them, she adds. Most of the IDUs are college students, construction workers and migrant labourers.

“Some NGOs have been entrusted with the task of identifying the IDUs. These NGOs have been given certain targets in numbers. Once the victims are identified, we take them into our control and treat them,” says Vendher Vendan, joint director, Target Intervention, TANSAC. There are four core groups which are given priority and are regularly monitored by TANSAC to control the spreading of HIV. They are, female sex workers, IDUs, homosexuals and migrant truckers.

Rakesh, who contracted HIV through intravenous drug usage, tells TSI, “I started using drug injections for fun, but after some days it became a regular habit. A friend of mine was HIV positive. Ignorant of his health status, I shared a needle with him and ended up as HIV positive.” It should also be noted that not only HIV, many other diseases also spread through sharing needles and syringes which can be very dangerous.

TANSAC has also started a new project of fixing up automatic condom vending machines. The machines are especially installed near liquor shops and in red light areas. Nearly 1000 automatic condom vending machines have already been fixed near liquor shops in the capital city, according to officials. As World AIDS Day is observed on December 1, TANSAC has fixed an ambitious target for itself— that by 2012 there should be no new HIV patient in the state.

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Global warming brings investment opportunities for investors

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Opportunities Global Warming: Bright side of warming

There is a growing tussle going on – especially in the US on whether global warming is actually a fact or a myth – and how adversely it can affect an economy. A host of cynics in the US have discarded warming as sham propaganda by scientists, political leaders with their own vested interests, activist groups and other recipients of funds to leverage on this supposed hoax! The critics comment that the proposed regulations to control warming can slow down a country’s economic growth – terribly so, especially if it is a developing country which needs to grow fast and catch up with the developed ones. However, on a closer look, it seems that global warming, despite criticism, offers new avenues of lucrative investment options. Renewable energy is an example. Solar energy for instance, is a high growth investment option; which is growing globally at 33 per cent annually. In 2009, in spite of downward trend in most economies, a total of 80GW of renewable energy and 32 GW of solar energy was set up worldwide; while total investment (in clean energy) was $162 billion. China leads the table surpassing United States as the leading investor in renewable energy with a production of 37 GW. The private investors are increasingly participating in this venture; especially in Oceania and Asia with an investment of $40.8 billion overtaking US with $32.3 billion in 2009.

Insurance industry too is set to gain from the global warming dynamics. The clean energy products are increasingly being covered by insurance companies and leading the pack is Munich Re – the world’s largest insurer who covers products like wind farms and solar panels – giving guarantees for their performance, failing which, compensation is provided to the investor! Another insurance firm called Travelers is covering green cars in 41 states in US at discount of 10%; while Allianz has published a testimony where they have described in detail the contribution of Insurance firms to mitigate the ills of global warming.

Even banks and funding institutes who lend money to finance projects are now falling on to carbon credits as a new means of investment. The Chinese government recently has shown keen interest in trading carbon credits and has raised a fund of $100 million for that. Dealings in carbon credits are happening in thick across the world; a notable example is Lanxass, a German company, which has put in $9.67 million in an Indian fuel company to access post-2012 credits; while a French company has amassed €60 million for gaining carbon credits after 2012. Even Al Gore, who is seen as a stooge of global warming advocates and is often accused by corporations and media of spreading lies in favour of climate change, is a partner in two funding companies specifically trading carbon credits. Interestingly, championing for climate change has earned him $100 million through the hedge fund companies!

In agriculture too, GM crops are being produced that are touted as ‘environment ready’ by big firms like Monsanto, which mint big money. If we really needed to dig holes and fill them up to get the world out of recession, global warming is showing new options!

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Can India trust China when it comes to border disputes?

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Self-introspection: India, China at war in 2011?

Anything between India and China creates massive media sensation. It did so when defence expert, Bharat Verma, editor of the Indian Defence Review said in 2009 that “China will launch an attack on India before 2012. There are multiple reasons for a desperate Beijing to teach India the final lesson, thereby ensuring Chinese supremacy in Asia in this century.” Later in the same year, India's Air Force Chief stressed that “India faces a greater threat from China than Pakistan because New Delhi knows little about Beijing's combat capabilities.” In this year too, opposition leaders in the Parliament have expressed they are wary against possible Chinese aggression. Chinese state-run media may have completely denied such allegations, but reports and actions from both the sides of India and China in strengthening the military establishment along the borders indicate that they're not silent about their slow progress and are making their border issue one of their priorities.

A Pentagon report presented to the US Congress during August, 2010 indicated that China has deployed new sophisticated ‘longer range CSS-5 missiles’ along the 4057 km long border with India. It has also developed contingency plans. China is continuously developing and upgrading the massive roads and rail infrastructure along the border. This infrastructural development will not only facilitate economic development in western China but also support the Chinese army in military operations.
India too does not seem to be silent. There have been some recent Indian military movements at our borders. India is sending more troops to the North-East. The Defence Ministry officials confirmed that two fresh infantry mountain divisions, with 1,260 officers and 35,011 soldiers, will be in operation by 2011. 56 new divisions are in place in Nagaland. The battalion of Arunachal and Sikkim Scouts too will be operational by 2011.

With growing economic inter-dependencies, there is less possibility of war between India and China but tension remains high on the 4,057 km long border they share. China continues to claim part of Arunachal and Aksai Chin region. It also tried to block India’s $2.9 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. There were also 270 recorded border violations and 2,300 cases of 'aggressive border patrolling' by Chinese soldiers in Indian territory during 2008. Moreover, the last sixty years of history show that China has been on an aggressive expansion spree while India has only managed to face losses. Thus, India should not take China lightly, like it did in 1962. Things may have changed since then, but not the aggressive interests!

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The best saffron in the world comes from Kashmir

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Political unrest apart, a slew of malpractices now threaten this premium spice. Haroon Reshi reports from Srinagar

A couple of weeks ago, Kurt Achin, the South Asia Bureau Chief of Voice of America, was in the Valley for some professional engagements. Before his departure for Delhi, he went to visit the floating market at the renowned Dal Lake in Srinagar in a Shikara (Water Taxi). On the way, the boatman offered him Kashmiri saffron for sale. Kurt purchased some for twenty dollars. Later, at the guest house a waiter informed the journalist that he has been cheated, for the boatman had foisted off fake saffron in the name of one of the most exclusive and expensive spices in the world. In the evening Kurt’s Facebook wall read: “Like a rube, I just spent about 12 bucks on fake saffron. Not the end of the world, but who likes being swindled?”

Early this year, the police held four persons for selling fake saffron to visitors in the Valley. They also recovered thirty five kilograms of saffron-like coloured material in their possession (worth about Rs 10 crore, if it had been original). It was revealed that the tip of corn fiber and the fiber of marigold flower is used to make fake saffron.

Such incidents have brought bad name to Kashmir, where farmers have been cultivating the world’s best quality saffron for the last thousand years. “This is unfortunate that some miscreants are defaming and ruining our industry which is already losing ground due to several other reasons,” Abdul Majid Wani, General Secretary, Saffron Growers Association told TSI. “Now our association has decided to open sales counters at every tourist spot in the Valley, so that visitors can buy pure and guaranteed saffron without being cheated,” Wani added.

Apart from the sale of fake saffron in and outside the state, drought, pollution and official corruption are other major threats to this Rs 400 crore domestic industry. Official figures prove that the production of saffron is reducing by the year owing to decline in agriculture acreage and poor harvests. “We had 5500 hectares of saffron land in 1996 and now there are only 4000 hectares left. Residential and commercial buildings are being constructed on agricultural land despite an official ban on it,” points out Prof. Firdous Ahmad Nehvi, a scientist at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Srinagar. “Similarly the production of the crop has dipped from four kg per hectare to two kg thanks to poor rains in the past few years, and lack of scientific irrigation facilities,” Nehvi added.

Mid-October to mid-November is flowering time for the saffron crop, when farmers spend their days in the fields collecting saffron flowers and slicing off the stigmas to get to this premium spice. According to official figures, more than sixteen thousand farm families from 226 villages in four districts (Srinagar, Budgam, Pulwama and Kashtiwar) of the state are directly affiliated with saffron cultivation. Most of the saffron growers, however, are not happy because of the price slide: rates have fallen from Rs 2.7 to 3 lakh per kg to Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh.

Traders say that the biggest hit has come from smuggling of Iranian saffron, which is exported from India after relabeling with the Kashmiri brand. Iran contributes 70
per cent of saffron production of the world but it is scientifically proven that Kashmir grows superior quality of saffron, and the rates are thus higher. “We grow better quality of saffron than Iran. We have a huge demand in the domestic market too, which explains why others sell their stuff in the name of Kashmir,” says Mehraj-u-Din, a farmer of Pampore, the central saffron producing area “Our problem is that our production rate is lower than that of Iran and Spain. They yield five to eight kg of crop per hectare because they don’t have to depend on rains for irrigation, and have access to plentiful scientific production facilities. To add to our woes, our crops have been affected by corm rot in the last few years,” Mehraj said.

Referring to Zafran (Urdu for saffron) Colony, a residential district in Pampore, Mehraj said that the land where the houses stood were originally earmarked for the cultivation of zafran. “This could be possible only with official corruption,” he laments. Less productivity, falling prices, and nature’s bugbears like poor rainfall and crop disease have caused many farmers to quit saffron production in the Valley. “This trade has lost its glory and has become less profitable. Even tomato cultivation turns out to be more profitable and less laborious than this,” Ayaz Lone, a former grower, who sold all his saffron agriculture land last year, told TSI.

In a last ditch attempt to salvage the industry, the government has announced a National Saffron Mission. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a Rs 375 crore project, to support drip irrigation, research, mechanization, processing and marketing of Indian zafran. Though experts like Professor Nehvi are heartened by the news, many still worry about the future of the saffron industry. A senior official told TSI that the civil unrest in the valley is a major factor for its dismal show. As part of efforts to boost saffron trade, the Saffron Growers Association has asked for customs duty on imported saffron to ensure that it is imported only through legal channels; they’ve also recommended exempting saffron from sales tax. It’s the least that can be done toward the preservation of a national treasure.

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