Thought for the day
“Know thyself.”
-
Ancient Greek aphorism
Word for the day
Antebellum (Adj)
Before or existing before a war; prewar
(Source: Dictionary.com)
Congress supports AAP which publically spits venom against
it; does not subscribe to its current favorite policies (like FDI in retail and
fiscal prudence); makes unconstitutional announcements (like electricity
subsidy without Assembly approving the budget); and makes seditious gestures
like “I want complete independence” and “Inquilab Zindabad”.
Is it just to keep BJP out or there is something
deeper running here?
Not
just the cap, we need more of Gandhi
Twelve village councils in Niyamgiri area of Odisha rejected the
proposal of Vedanta group to mine bauxite from the area for its Aluminum
project. Though the mining proposal certainly has other concerns such as
environmental degradation and impact on livelihood of local tribes, the primary
objection of these tribal village councils was primarily on religious grounds.
These tribes worship the Niyamgiri hills as Niyam Raja a sacred deity.
The Supreme Court upheld the supremacy of village council’s
decision and the government has accepted it as a rule. The environment minister
Vereappa Moily said a couple of days ago "I have rejected the Niyamgiri
because all the panchayats have rejected the proposal.....When the panchayats
reject, we cannot go ahead with it. We have made a rule that if the Panchayats
(reject), we cannot (grant clearance)."
Media has hailed the determination of local tribes and Rahul
Gandhi has come out in full support of the decision. Business community and professionals
have mostly refrained from expressing any opinion on this publically.
Now contrast this with (a) recent decisions of several village
panchyats in Bihar, UP, Rajasthan and Haryana to ban use of mobile phones by
unmarried girls; and (b) proposal of Delhi government to ban FDI in multi brand
retail trade. Both the proposals have met with outrage and termed regressive
and completely unwarranted. I personally do not support both these decisions.
Perhaps these examples are not comparable also.
But the question here is much wider – Should the elected local
bodies be given the right to decide what is good and what is bad for their
respective constituents? If an elected Panchayat with 50% female members takes
a decision which may appear regressive to many, should it be accepted as lawful
or not?
In my view if we deny the right of duly elected local bodies to
make rules or code of conduct for their constituents, the Parliaments’ right to
make legislation affecting personal or social life of people may also come
under question.
It is pertinent to note that many states in the USA have
different laws relating to abortions, same sex relationships, legal for smoking
and alcohol consumption, gambling, prostitution etc. Similarly, divergence
exists in many constituents of European Union also.
I am raking this issue, because to my mind herein lies the
sustainable solution to the India’s economic challenge. Mahatama Gandhi once
very rightly said “India lives in her villages”. In my view any socio-economic
model that does not begin with accepting village as the primary unit of
consideration is bound to fail in India.
Mahatama Gandhi may be out of favor with current crop of
politicians, but eventually we will have to go back to him for he only has
offered an economic model that can bring prosperity to India in a manner which
is equitable, just and sustainable. More on this tomorrow.
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