Sabarimala - Supreme court verdict allowing unrestricted entry for women

The Sabarimala Supreme court verdict to allow entry of women of age 10-50 has triggered violent rift between devotees (including women) backed by the right wing and the communist led left wing who are incidentally the ruling party of Kerala.  While devotees backed by RSS, BJP are adamant that they will not allow women of age 10-50 (categorized as child bearing age) into the temple at any cost, the state government are mandated (on the basis of the Supreme court verdict) that security is ensured to women of the restricted age if they chose to enter the temple.  Interestingly the left wing, who are ideologically atheists, and who submitted affidavit in favor of unrestricted entry for women, were delighted to welcome the Supreme court verdict. They argue that there is no place for age old traditions to continue in the modern age. After the recent Kerala flood, a new religious flood gate has opened and the Supreme court verdict has set a perfect backdrop for the believers and law makers which ironically consists of non-believers to clash.

Right after the Supreme court verdict, In October 2018, the temple was open for 5 days and attempt by several women of restricted age 10-50 to enter the temple was met with violent protest from the devotees and none of the women in the 10-50 age group were able to make it to the temple. Despite police escort all the way(6 km trek) from Pampa to the Sannidhanam, the women were stopped by devotees within the temple premises. Fearing statewide backlash from believers, the police and government decided to avoid a face-off with the devotees in a holy place and the women who attempted to enter the temple had to return without fulfilling their wish for darshan with the deity.

Is Judiciary the right entity to direct the change in traditions believed to be age old in religious places?  In 2016 the Bombay High Court issued a directive allowing entry of women into the inner sanctum of the sacred Haji Ali Daragh. Now women are entering there without restrictions. Article 25(1) of the constitution of India guarantees the right to freedom to profess, propagate and practice religion. Article 26(b) guarantees the rights of religious denominations to manage their own affairs in matters of religion and article 26(d) guarantees these denominations to administer property in accordance with law which demands the equality of all persons. Certainly, there is a grey area when we try to connect Article 25(1) and 26(d) which guarantees equality with 26(b) which guarantees the religious denomination to manage their own affairs.

While the Supreme court is to hear review petitions on 13^th November, the temple is due to re-open again on 16^th November, and the agitation by devotees (who has vowed to fight until the ban is reinstated) is likely to continue.  It will be an arduous task for the state government to maintain law and order if the review petitions are turned down by the Supreme court.

As for opposition political parties in the state such as Congress and BJP,  the whole commotion gives a perfect opportunity for diverting the vote banks.

Transport minister quits Kerala cabinet over phone sex scandal

 

The swift resignation of transport minister A.K Saseendran was unfortunate. The effect was as if Mangalam TV, a newly launched channel pulled an AK 47 gun on the minister. The coverage and the subsequent resignation of the minister will probably make Mangalam create media history to be the only channel that on the day of its launch struck a major blow to the ruling state government as a result of its coverage of a sleazy audio clip allegedly containing the voice of A.K. Saseendran obtained under a sting operation.

After a series of sexual offence cases unfolding each day in Kerala, this particular news stood different because no one came forward and registered a complaint against the minister. So it appears to be a private affair between two consenting adults. On one side supporters allege invasion of privacy of a citizen as there was no exploitation seen in the incident and they blame the media for unnecessary intrusion. On the other end one group of critics cry foul along moral lines.

LDF, with 91 MLAs under its kitty (only 71 required to maintain majority), is quick to take actions against ministers when credible allegations are leveled against them. Remember that National Congress Party(NCP) in which A.K Saseendran is a member has just 2 MLAs in the assembly. So LDF has nothing to worry about. But in the previous UDF government, this was not the case and the reason was clear that the Oommen Chandy government was hanging on with a thin majority.

The manner in which Mangalam telecast the sleazy audio is also a matter of concern. The audio was telecast almost unedited and the content in its original form was not suitable for a family audience. An analysis of the incident would throw suspicion that it is a possible honey trap or the lady on the receiving end has clearly motivated him to speak in a sexual tone and the phone was tapped by some one without the lady’s knowledge.

Whatever it may be, the question is where does the channel draw a line on boradcasting code of ethics? I think the relevant regulatory body needs to look into this matter and adequate measures need to be taken so that the program contents can be viewed by a family audience.

As for the septuagenarian minister , it is an ungraceful exit from his political career unless he can prove that he was innocent. One can’t help but feel pity for him. Never in his wildest dreams, would he have thought a night (or day?)of indulgence in his sexual fantasies would make himself land on every Keralite’s television screens.

Jayalalithaa – Farewell Puratchi Thalaivi Amma

Born into a Tamil Brahmin family in Mysuru, excelled in academics, pushed into film industry by mother at 16, excelled in movies, pushed into politics by mentor, excelled in politics, the Iron Lady of Tamil Nadu---whose own life was never in her control---controlled the lives of 7 crore humans of an ancient, conservative civilization. That is the life of Jayalalitha in a nutshell.

Entry into politics for women in India is tough. Let alone someone who comes from a family with no political legacy. The meteoric rise of Jayalalith more popularly known as “amma” for millions was nothing short of amazing.

Jayalalitha epitomized sheer determination, will power, boldness and rose to such exceptional heights, it will be an arduous task for any one to even come closer to the level where she had reached.

Among other things, Jayalalithaa’s legacy will be remembered in terms of what she did for the alleviation of the poor. Schemes such as cradles for babies, gold for girls getting married, subsidized meals at Rs 1, free water to households, subsidized bottled water, free power of 100 units per month and so on are introduced by her. An unique aspect of some of these schemes is the implementation which has been great like the mid-day meal programmes which has almost forced parents to send their children to schools for the meal and also thus ensuring that they get educated in the process.

While it all sounds inspiring, Jayalalitha’s rise didn’t come without her fair share of struggle.
At the age of 16 she was pushed to act in movies by her mother and then she goes on to become one of the biggest female stars in the Tamil film industry. The late MGR has been instrumental in her entry into politics in 1982 and her ascent in his party AIDMK.

On 25 March 1989, amidst heavy violence among the ruling DMK party members and the opposition. Jayalalitha was brutally attacked and visibly molested by the ruling DMK members. Jayalalitha left the Assembly with her torn saree -drawing a parallel with the shameful disrobing of Draupadi in the epic Mahabharata and vowed to not enter the house "until as a Chief Minister". True to her words in 1991 she became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu with the backing of Congress.

She became the ‘Iron Lady’ of Indian politics as a result of the setbacks she faced through out her political career. Every stumbling blocks along the way made her stronger and guarded.
Ever since 1969 Tamil Nadu has been ruled by Movie stars or movie script writers.Why? Because as in any big democracy, face recognition counts for a lot at the ballot box in India. But Jayalalitha stood out among them as a courageous woman and someone who had to find a foot hold in politics on her own after the demise of her mentor MGR.

Jayalalitha’s death can be termed as an end of an era for Indian politics. She has touched the hearts of millions with her charisma and leadership skills. For students of political science, Jayalalithaa’s life is a perfect study material to learn how a female leader from a humble background emerged as one of the top leaders of the country fighting all odds.

An ancient Tamil proverb avers that "The best place to store one's wealth is in the stomachs of the poor". Having gathered much good karma in the final decades of her life, Jayalalitha has left us for a better place where we hope that she finally finds the peace.

Kerala’s Co-operative banking system in crisis post demonitization

Kerala finance minister Dr TM Thomas Issac describes co-operative banks as the lifeline of Kerala economy and he is right. But with the recent turn of events, these banks stare at bleak future and will indeed bear the biggest brunt of demonitization.

The quantum of deposits in the cooperative banks has always been baffling because the 2012 credit survey showed a high level of indebtedness by people in rural areas. If the people in rural areas are in such debt, how can the banks, which serve the same areas, have so much in cash? Obviously, the inference is that the deposits are not by poor people, but by those with a lot of cash. Nobody, other than the banks, know the details of these deposits. No source of income is asked, no TDS filed, no PAN required and hence no reporting to the Income Tax Department. The interest that accrues from these accounts are also tax-free. Some, therefore call this the Swiss Banks of Kerala. There is certainly some merit in the argument that it’s a great mechanism for the rural moneybags to evade tax unless they come under the lens of the RBI.

Co-operative banks in Kerala enjoy a rich legacy; they provided credit for farmers since the 1950s and 1960s, years before commercial banks found a foothold in the state. With a customer base of more than 10 million, the four-tier banking system is one of the largest in the country. It has 20 state co-operative banks, 60 urban co-opeartive banks, 784 district co-operative banks and 1,611 primary co-operative banks under its umbrella. The primary banks have more than 2,500 branches. The state, urban and district banks follow the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s guidelines, while the primary banks come under the district banks and follow the directives of the Registrar of cooperative societies. Primary banks account for 80% of the estimated 1.27 lakh crore deposits. Primary cooperative banks deposit money with the RBI-monitored district banks.

The crisis in co-operative banking system began almost a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise announcement that made 1000 and 500 rupee banknotes illegal tender. On November 14, the RBI stopped primary co-operative banks and district co-operative banks from accepting and exchanging the demonetised banknotes.In the interim period that had passed, between November 9 and 14, Rs 280 crore worth of old notes had been collected as deposits from account holders, though banks did not give out new notes. These deposits are believed to have been registered as pre-dated fixed deposits.

It is believed that money-laundering suspicions forced the RBI to impose curbs on these financial transactions. The apex bank has not given any specific reasons for the decision so far, but its order paralysed the primary co-operatives. While the district banks are issuing new currency, primary banks can now neither accept scrapped notes nor issue new ones. They just have to do a balancing act with a meagre amount of Rs 24,000, provided by the district banks every week.

At the core of the current crisis lies the issue of transparency. It is alleged that primary co-operatives do not follow the KYC (Know Your Customer) process, thus making it easy to stash black money in benami accounts, i.e., accounts whose beneficiary is not the account holder on record. Successive state governments have objected to the RBI’s attempt to bring primary co-operatives under its ambit and make the system more transparent.

Both LDF and UDF state goverments have hugely contributed to the current predicament of these banks. They have always resisted move to make the system transparent obviously due to political reasons. And it is amusing to notice that both LDF and UDF hand in hand are now running from pillar to post for relief.

A task force set up for the revival of rural co-operatives in 2004, chaired by A Vaidyanathan, Emeritus Professor at Madras Institute of Development Studies, had suggested that “State governments need to make legislative amendments to enable the RBI to exercise its regulatory powers under the Banking Regulation Act directly, and not through the Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS), if the cooperative banks are to be regulated effectively”. It further noted: “The state governments should enter into an appropriate memorandum of understanding (MoU), agreeing to desist from interfering directly or indirectly in the management of the finances of these banks”.
Successive state governments have brushed these recommendations under the carpet and never acted on them.

The issue has taken a political turn with BJP state general secretary, K Surendran, alleging that the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the principal opposition Congress party stashed illegal money in cooperative banks, and this is why they are afraid of RBI intervention.

In a letter to Jaitley, he said that close to Rs 30,000 crore of black money had been deposited in cooperative banks in the state without paying income tax. “The depositors include politicians, real estate mafias, hawala dealers and terrorists. It will be for the benefit of the country if these deposits are verified and necessary action is taken,” he wrote. 

With the Centre adopting a tough stand on unaccounted black money, observers believe that the primary co-operative banks have to fall in line and commit themselves to follow RBI guidelines, if they wish to resume banking services.

However even if the regulations are eased these banks may face further issues. Firstly a potential exodus of investors to private and nationalised banks could wreak havoc. With a meagre Rs 40,000 crores currently in hand and an estimated Rs 80,000 crores currently in the market as loans, these banks will not be able to return the Rs 1.27 lakh crores deposits they have accumulated.

As for BJP, it is a political win. Not only did they choke the money flow of Congress led UDF and LDF in Kerala, they have also effectively managed to destroy the co-operative sectors controlled by these two alliances.

Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio to give incumbent telcos a run for their money

Mukesh Ambani has pulled off the biggest coup ever in the telecom sector in India with its launch of Reliance Jio giving brother Anil Ambani (Reliance communications), Airtel, idea  and Vodafone a run for their money. With an estimated investment of USD 20 billions (roughly Rs 13400 crores), the ambitious Jio project could make Reliance the most comprehensive provider of telecom and internet services across India.

Key points

1	Free voice calls
2	Zero roaming charges
3	45 plans at Rs.50 per GB
4	Students to get 25% more data
5	Free data services for the first four months after the launch
6	10 tariff plans starting at Rs 19 a day for occasional users
7	Rs 149 a month for light users, Rs 4,999 a month for heavy data users
8	To achieve 100 million customers in record time
9	"Super-affordable” handsets under the LYF brand starting at Rs 2999.
10	To be formally launched on September 5

On a closer introspection offering of free voice call appears to be a marketing gimmick. Voice calls appear to be routed through a technology known as VoLTE which will take a toll on your data charges.  In other words exhaustion of your data plan will also limit your ability to make voice calls.

Having said that Jio’s offer of cheaper data plans that cost one/10^th of the rate offered by competitors make a compelling reason to switch to R-Jio plans. More clarity on quality of services, nation wide coverage etc remain to be seen.

Kerala elections 2016 and the state's economic outlook

The fourteenth legislative assembly elections is on its way to elect  members of the 140 constituencies in Kerala.  In the past elections, with out fail we have seen the political bias of the people of Kerala swinging  between the  Congress led UDF and the Communist led LDF. So this year if we go by the past trend and supported by the plethora of media result predictions,  LDF is likely to rule the state. It is widely predicted that the BJP will create history and may open an account for the first time in Kerala.

This article is not an attempt to go into the merit of electing any particular front, rather it focuses on the current state of affairs of Kerala which lags way behind other states in India and how to make economic progress going forward.

Kerala is known around the world for its beautiful green landscapes, sandy beaches, and sublime backwaters. Kerala is different from any other state of India with comparatively fewer people below poverty line, and a very high human development index. That is not all, though. Kerala has the lowest infant mortality in India, highest life expectancy, and lowest school dropout rate in the country. These are all qualities par with that of a developed country. 

Yet, Kerala has a laggard economy which depends heavily on tourism and the money from the Gulf, sent in by 2 million of Malayalis who work abroad. Lack of job opportunities is a huge concern in the state. There is not much of a manufacturing base to this state thanks to the militant labor unions supported by political parties. So job opportunities in Kerala are far lesser compared to other states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tripura and Delhi—where there is a lot more manufacturing competitiveness.

People from Kerala are forced to migrate because there are no jobs at home. “Manufacturing in Kerala is a sector which is almost dead. This state is too focused on the service industry, such as tourism.

Some analysts say that the problem starts from the fact that Kerala is an overpoliticized and “over-extended state”. They debate that radical unions, encouraged by successive communist governments, have acted as “pressure groups advancing particular vested interests”. Amartya Sen, Nobel laureate economist says Kerala has to “learn from the world”. Its famed model of development, which is still hyped as the most inclusive one, appears to have hit the buffers. Economists say that the Kerala model is grinding to a halt because the social and political groups having fulfilled their original agenda now have no new agendas. Society has lost its capacity to set collective goals.

Having said that the ASSOCHAM (Associated chambers of commerce and Industry of India) economic research bureau has recently made the following recommendations to propel the economic growth of Kerala which the politicians taking the office need pay attention and set their focus on.

Agro-based and Food Processing

The food processing industry has been recognized as a potential area for development of enterprises in the state. Food processing industry can play a significant role in the Kerala economy. It not only would contribute to the food requirements of the state it has an employment orientation too as it is highly labor intensive.

Textile and Garments

The textile industry undoubtedly is also one of the important segments of the State economy. The need of the hour is to further strengthen this industry, enabling it to fully exploit available opportunities in the domestic & export markets, and realize its full potential.

Rubber Industry

Rubber is another key industry providing employment opportunities for the farming community. The State must act as a facilitator towards their better growth prospects. A few possible ways to help them could be the following:

Given the nature of rubber plantations, institutional credit is scarcely available to rubber plantation sector. As rubber plantation requires large capital in the first year of plantation itself, the growers face lot of hardship in generating their own capital. Greater availability of finance will encourage more farmers to take up rubber plantation, who are otherwise not able to do so due to inability to self-finance the activity.

Rubber prices are subject to wild fluctuations owing to both domestic and international factors. The State government must try to provide some sort of stability to this.

Rubber plantation farmers often do not realize fair selling price. The middlemen marketing chains affect the profitability of small holders. Rising labor costs, volatile fertilizer prices are the two other severe challenges faced by rubber farmers. The price instability is driving the small farmers to indebtedness. Promoting farmer producer societies that function as self help group and empowers the farmers economically needs to be encouraged.

Tourism

Tourism sector plays significant role in the social-economic development of Kerala. As we have seen significant growth has been recorded in terms of tourist arrival and foreign exchange earning of the state. State should ensure upon providing adequate infrastructure facility and encourage private sector participation for the tourism sector development.

In conclusion, a stable and reliable government are key to achieving the above goals. If the incumbent government focuses on the development of the state their primary goal, the result will speak for itself and political stability can be assured. Policies that do work need to be cemented rather than overturned by the next government taking the office. The people of Kerala will thank them and keep them voting back to power.

Politicians need to realize that outdated ideologies or rather bankrupt ideologies have no place in the present scenario.

The great Indian beef politics

In a Hindu dominated country, appeasing the Hindu community is the only way to grab maximum vote banks. How do politicians go about it? Bring in the holy cows for Hindus believe that the cow is the embodiment of divine virtues like love, compassion, benevolence, tolerance and non-violence.

To gain political mileage state governments started implementing animal preservation acts as early as the 1950s. On October 26, 2005, the Supreme court of India, in a landmark judgement upheld the constitutional validity of anti-cow slaughter laws enacted by different state governments in India.

Today 24 out of 29 states in India have various regulations prohibiting slaughter of cow.  Kerala, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim are the states where there is no restrictions on cow slaughter. Why? Because majority of the people in these states eat beef for economic reasons. Politicians understood that prohibition of cow slaughter in these states will definitely back fire.

Here is a great example of how politics play a big role in deciding the food habits of the Indian people.

There is yet another economic angle to cow slaughter. Beef in India costs less than half the price of lamb or chicken. It is the preferred source of first-class protein for the poor, who constitute a majority of India's population. The absence of beef will raise the food bill for the underprivileged. 

Having said that law can not be taken by mobs in their own hands pretending to uphold the ban. If there are breaches, let the law take its own course. In a secular country there is no place for intolerance towards the sentiments of other religion.

Moving away from beef, before leaving India, one most important lesson the British taught the Indians and the Indians learned very well is ‘divide and rule’.

Everything that politician does is based on this concept. Politicians thrive on spreading hatred. They teach us to divide and hate for their political gains. Nowadays media also plays a big role in exaggerating trivial matters. Endless debates on petty issues are norms on national TV these days.

Come to think of it, aren’t we paying a big prize for upholding democracy? Can we ever envisage a time when we can all co-exist united rather than divided? Is democracy a hindrance for secularism given the size of the nation consist of various religion and caste? How can we not let the politicians take us for a ride?  These are all pertinent questions we must all ask ourselves.

When will we open our eyes to identify religious outfits camouflaged as political parties? When will we stop accepting political agendas forced upon ourselves?

Ignorance is the sole reason people fail to understand the motives of communal politics. It is high time we understand that democracy, secularism and ideologies don’t go hand in hand.

Sadly in India and similarly in several other countries, religious fundamentalism has spread like cancerous cells and we are at a point of no return. Various conflicts in the world are testimonial to this fact.

In a broader sense the truth is secularism is a myth. Don’t believe if any politicians or government state we are secular. They are a bunch of liars.

If today beef is off the menu, what will be off the menu tomorrow? Let us wait and watch.