Monday, July 22, 2013

Corruption a way of life at TTD?


G.Arun Kumar in TOI Chennai dated March 29, 2012 reports that the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams (TTD) is a mini state itself giving rise to corruption at every level quoting a senior official. Right from the time a pilgrim gets down at Tirupati to catch a bus to the Tirumala Hills for a darshan, has his head tonsured, gets an appointment with the Joint Executive Officer for accommodation, buys laddu prasadam, he has to grease the palms of employees and agents.
What kind of a system prevalent in this country even in places of worship? All the decency and decorum is lost in the process. It badly reflects on the mentality of the people manning the organisation which is no different from others in this regard. God Balaji only knows how to instil the principle of honesty in such sacred places.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

A Night in the Forest Lodge

The most interesting aspect of an administrator's job in India is the chance to frequent  many places in the interior parts of the country. Many lodges in the form of resting places like inspection huts, rest houses, watch towers etc are available throughout the length and breadth of many states in Central India.  A fascinating and enjoyable place used to be the forest department buildings deep in the reserve forests  - a lone structure standing in the midst of woods with tall trees and bushes, mountains, valleys, pastures, rivers,high plateaus. Some of them were used by the erstwhile rulers for their hunting and entertaining their guests - both domestic and foreign. 

A night or two in such surroundings was indeed a memorable stay for a person like me. I definitely enjoyed the tour of interior habitations, tried to solve their local problems and issues, finished the work of revenue and land records as well as developmental works and returned to the lodges for rest and stay for the night.

Many of those lodges were not blessed with electric lighting with the result one had to manage with lanterns, petromax and batteries or the natural moon light. As the magnificent Sun was down on the western sky and the night arrived, the entourage would start enjoying the hospitality of the staff posted there or that of the lady of my home  with a few things brought from the Headquarters.

The menu used to consist of a dish made of chicken because that was the easily-available stuff in the interior villages and forests. The typical aroma and flavour of chicken curry I used to enjoy then I am unable to get even in Five-star Hotels of these days.

During the evening hours depending on the interest and the time at one's disposal the forest staff used to take us to those spots where wild-life was normally found. If one was lucky he / we used to watch the tigers, leopards, nielgais, sambhars, deers, elephants, peacocks, bears, cheetahs, etc. wandering or resting at several places to our heart's and eyes' content.

Back in the lodge one could enjoy dinner with chicken, fish or mutton curries, potato, tomato, pappad, salad etc. Of course being a teetotaller I didn't have the luxury of consuming hot drinks which some my colleagues invariably toasted and enjoyed during such sojourns.      

During the night hours one could hear the roars or screaming of animals roaming in the vicinity. Early morning the waiter used to offer a hot cup of tea with some biscuits. The joy one had while sipping the tea in the verandah of the lodge is unimaginable indeed. I keep wondering whether a person can get or repeat such a luxury again in his lifetime. 

Such tours and stays - I had the privilege of availing when I was working as the Sub-Divisional officer of Jashpur Nagar in erstwhile Raigarh District of Madhya Pradesh State(1973-75  -- the very beginning and the most productive period of my official life - I used to spend most of the time in tours, say, roughly 20 days in a Month - visited at least 300 out of 400 and odd villages in that subdivision during this period),  Additional Collector of the then composite Raipur District(1975-77), Collector of Betul and Sagar Districts (1977-82) & Commissioner of Sagar and Ujjain Revenue Divisions (1990-92 & 2000) in Madhya Pradesh State.  

Hail those days of memorable part of my eventful life and career in Nineteen Seventies and early Eighties!


Thursday, July 4, 2013

Unity of India


India is a union of States as declared by the Constituent Assembly on 26th of November 1949. As history of India reveals, its territorial jurisdiction kept on changing from time to time according to the strength and the weakness of the rulers who ruled this land over the centuries and the ages. Unity of India similarly depended very much on the strength of the rulers. It suffered set-backs whenever the provinces or local chieftains questioned the central authority and established their independence. Unity and integration could be ensured in two ways. One was by way of ascertaining the central authority with the help of an organised military force. The other was by purely a moral force based on religion. India has had the opportunity of availing both these ways or methods. Indian history is an unfailing witness to this fact. Although unity of India based on military power was threatened on several occasions, its unity based on Hindu religion continued till date thanks to the selfless efforts and sacrifices made by great Acharyas, moralists and reformers.
2. Modern India is truly famous for its unity in diversity. This astonishing fact has really baffled many social scientists of the day. Normally unity is based on language, natural boundaries, religion, culture, race, colour or civilisation. Not a single factor of this type is common throughout India. We have several languages scheduled in our Constitution. We have different and varied climatic regions in the country.
We have almost all known religions of the world being practiced and protected by the Constitution. Every part of the Country has its peculiar culture entirely different from one another. Many races of the world found shelter on this soil. Similarly colour and civilisation also conform to this phenomenon unmistakably. The British, the last conqueror of this country, had also contributed to the unity of India in no small measure albeit their exit led to the partition of the country. India's freedom struggle was yet another excellent opportunity to nurture its unity. Its leaders, known for their national feeling and vow of independence, formed a strong and united force in advocating national unity.

3. Unfortunately with the passage of time, India is becoming a faction-ridden society day by day and turning out to be a mere conglomeration of warring groups fighting for their so-called independence based on language and religion. This is in no way a good sign of the progress we are making since our Independence in 1947. The divisive forces which were publicly condemned and suppressed by national leaders of the past have suddenly shown their ugly heads and are getting prominence and sustenance in the hands of the anti-social and anti-national characters. A sectarian feeling in the man makes him dance before the emotional appeal of divisive forces and converts him into a non-Indian. Even the intellectuals and highly-placed persons of these days unwittingly or instinctively fall a prey to this destructive thinking. Though 'man' is proverbially declared to be social in nature his individualistic characteristic does hardly allow him to cross boundaries of race, religion, caste, colour, culture and civilisation so easily as one would expect. It is only the true reformers, true liberators and true leaders in various walks of life who are capable of rising above all these factors and limitations and providing a national out-look both in word and deed. A nation is bound to have some crisis or other at different stages of its history on issues concerning politics or economics. But it would certainly steer clear of all such crisis provided those who preside over its destiny are cool-headed nationalists and powerful pragmatists.
4. India is passing through a stage now wherein everything looks topsy turvy. Immoral forces are getting prominence in every walk of life. The dishonesty seems to be the only guiding principle of many Indians in politics, education and economics. Laws and morals have become the exclusive concern of the downtrodden, the poor and the helpless. Man leads two different types of life - one for private and another for public. The good and the honest seem to be the most unwanted ones in the scheme of life meant for the latter half of 20th Century. And the trend continues even today. One simply doesn't know whether this trend will be reversed at least in the middle of 21st Century. Man's ideals and the desired means to achieve such ideals are the less said the better. Under these circumstances it is really a difficult task for the leaders to project a clean image before the public and instil a confidence about their teachings and doings. It is natural, therefore, that every small issue is blown out of proportions and allowed to grow into a gigantic size before it could be timely nipped in the bud. Recent incidents in Assam and Punjab indicate clearly the fact that a State or its leaders cannot control the divisive forces successfully with its police and Para-military force. Such elements and forces can only be controlled by one or more moral leaders known for their self-less conduct and sacrifices.

5. India's unity is really at stake. Every sectarian group is becoming active and promoting its own welfare at the cost of national welfare either on its own economic strength or with the patronage of power-hungry politicians. Open and indecent display or demonstration of a sectarian interest by top leaders in the country has resulted in a terrific set-back to national feeling and out-look. Their foremost and constant concern seems to satisfy every group or section somehow or other with the result they drag not only themselves but also the nation into a vicious circle. The brute force takes precedence over moral force. The meek and the weak continue to be exploited. No one has the ability or the desire to rise above the sectoral interest and ensure national interest. When a majority of individuals from the rulers to the ruled become self-centred and narrow-minded, it would be difficult to protect and preserve the national interest.

6. If India is to remain a strong and united nation and its unity in diversity is to last forever, every Indian should strive for the following :

India is a land of Indians and not of Gujaratis, Bengalis, Punjabis and Madrasis. Every citizen of this country has an obligation to this goal.
b) All public functions based on religion, language and caste should never be encouraged by the State or its functionaries. State patronage to such activities should be viewed seriously;
c) Esteemed and selfless conduct by the top leaders in every walk of life. Sacrifice in national interest to be admired and the selfishness in private interest to be admonished; and
d) Public boycott of all such groups and their activities based or sectional interest.
E) Complete ban on such anti-social groups by the State.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++