Economic and Political Weekly: Table of Contents

When Elephants Join Hands

Vol - XLIX No. 46, November 15, 2014 

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The China-US carbon emissions deal may be disappointing but it could catalyse global efforts.

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Editorials Dangerous Games The resistible rise of communalism in West Bengal. Read more	Commentary Disciplining the Intimate The Kerala Model Meena T Pillai The recent furore over the "Kiss of Love" protest march in Kerala reveals the paradoxical nature of the state's polity and the link between discourses on morality and the maintenance of regimes of power. Read more
Commentary Returning without Solutions Manash Bhattacharjee This article argues that there is something intrinsically fascist about “solutions”; a word that has turned out to be a dangerous gift from scientific imagination. Drawing on the history of Jews and Palestine as well as the Partition... Read more	Commentary Creating 'Good Jobs' Assessing the Labour Market Regulation Debate Radhika Kapoor The current regime seeks to reform labour laws with the understanding that these reforms will improve industrial growth and expand the possibilities of enterprise. However, there is already ample evidence from within India that this obsession... Read more
Commentary Deregulation and the Fading Labour Agenda Evidence from Transnational Automobile Companies in India Sobin George The report of the International Commission for Labor Rights on the precarious workers in the automobile companies in Chennai reminds us of the inferior state of labour in Indian industry. While India is already in for a second round of labour law... Read more	Commentary The 'Smart City' Card Himanshu Burte The "smart city" idea is extremely attractive, especially to the middle and upper classes who experience Indian cities as being anything but smart. It is a concept frequently thrown about but lacking a clear defi nition - though at... Read more
Commentary India and the Sustainable Cities Goal Shipra Narang Suri, Eugenie Birch The Millennium Development Goals set world development targets to be achieved by 2015. The time has come to set a new development agenda for the world, one that builds on and learns from what the MDGs achieved and missed out on. It is argued that... Read more	Commentary A Déjà Vu Agenda or a Development Agenda? Bhumika Muchhala, Mitu Sengupta The official debate on the Sustainable Development Goals, which will replace the Millennium Development Goals when they expire in 2015, is moving very quickly at the United Nations. This article critically analyses the post-2015 development... Read more
Book Reviews Creation of an Imperial City Anish Vanaik From Ghalib's Dilli to Lutyens' New Delhi:A Documentary Record edited by Mushirul Hasan and Dinyar Patel (New Delhi: Oxford University Press/ National Archives of India), 2014; pp xliii + 296, Rs 1,395. Read more	Book Reviews Muslim Aspirations in Pakistan Sadia Saeed Muslim Becoming: Aspiration and Skepticism in Pakistan by Naveeda Khan (Durham, NC: Duke University Press), 2012; pp 280, $23.95. Read more
Book Reviews Postcards from Below Raj Sekhar Basu Life as a Dalit: Views from the Bottom on Caste in India edited by Subhadra Mitra Channa and Joan P Mencher (New Delhi: Sage Publications), 2013; pp 438, Rs 1,495. Read more	Book Reviews Challenging Received Wisdom Immanuel Ness India Migration Report 2013: Social Costs of Migration edited by S Irudaya Rajan (New Delhi: Routledge), 2013; pp vii + 339, Rs 795. Read more
Perspectives Minorities at the Crossroads Comments on Judicial Pronouncements F S Nariman The Constitution confers a fundamental right on India's minorities, giving them the freedom to conserve their religion, language, script and culture, and to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. Courts, including... Read more	Special Articles Women Participation and Rationing in the Employment Guarantee Scheme Sudha Narayanan, Upasak Das The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act that guarantees employment of every rural household for 100 days has different progressive provisions to incentivise participation of women in the programme. Official data suggest that 47... Read more
Special Articles "Who Says We Do Not Work?" Looking at Sex Work Sujata Gothoskar, Apoorva Kaiwar Sex workers' organisations have argued against trafficking and see it not only as a human rights violation, but also as a threat to their own work and credibility. Often the debate is couched in terms of anti-trafficking lobbying/campaigns.... Read more	Special Articles Has Odisha Become Less Poor in the Last Decade? Amaresh Samantaraya, Auro Kumar Sahoo, Arundhati Mallick,Biswabhusan Bhuyna Though there has been overall economic progress in India in the post-reform period, it has not been uniform across the country. This article points out that contrary to popular perception, Odisha gradually improved its relative economic position... Read more
Notes Cultivating Communal Hatred in Bengal Kumar Rana, Manabi Majumdar Blasts in Khagragarh in Bardhaman district in West Bengal on 2 October 2014 have led to growing anti-Muslim propaganda in the state. Such incidents related to political violence have their roots in the political-economic structure of central... Read more	Postscript From Tenderloin to Tandoorloin Zaheer Baber The notorious Tenderloin area of San Francisco, home to over 30,000 of America’s poor, has a vibrant South Asian connection. Read more
Postscript Gods’ Own Lepchas E K Santha Dzongu, the reserve in north Sikkim close to the Kanchenjunga, is meant to protect and preserve the cultural heritage and tradition of the Lepchas. Read more	Postscript To Read or Not to Read Tejas Harad It is easy to blame the internet for the death of the printed word but reading – deep or shallow – is less a function of the medium and more of the aptitude of a person. Read more
Postscript Race and Space Neha Sinha Ignorance, bolstered by stereotypes of external appearance, is a determinant in racism and is increasingly manifesting itself as hateful external aggression.

Increasing reports of catching Amur falcon in Manipur

Amur falcon is one of the migratory birds which come from Siberia to the northeastern states for a few days. However wildlife wing officials of the forest department and bird lovers are not happy with the large scale trappings of these winged friends.

There are photographic evidence to show that these birds are caught in concealed traps. Besides guns and slingshots are widely used to kill them. The live birds, roasted and curried delicacies are on sale in many shanty towns of some northeastern states.

To create awareness among the people a one day literacy camp was organised in Tamenglong district of Manipur on Saturday by the People for Animals and the forest department.

District collector R.H. Golmei deplored the practice among the people of the district to kill the migratory birds at sight. These winged friends are taking shelter in Manipur for a few days only. Officials and activists underlined the need to protect the migratory birds.

However, the bitter fact is that many species of migratory birds are caught and killed in terms of hundreds everyday. While coming to the Loktak lake in Manipur the migratory birds which come from Siberia mostly have to cross some NE states and Tamenglong district has been one of the death traps for them.

Meanwhile, there are increasing reports of catchings of such migratory birds at other lakes including the Loktak which is the largest lake in eastern India.

Keywords: Amur Falcon, migratory birds, Manipur, Loktak lake

Nov 17 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Sky is the limit

--Swati Khanwalkar





The new generation is breaking out of the traditional mold and is ready to take risk and opt for offbeat careers

Think out of the box and achieve new heights. Question conventional wisdom and live your dreams this seems to be the mantra of the new generation, who are breaking out of the traditional molds and exploring totally unchartered territories. Yes, we are talking about pursuing careers requiring creative inputs and not confining to run-of-the-mill options.The generation of today is ready to take risks and opts for offbeat careers to become successful. More students are choosing offbeat careers for themselves like graphic designing, sculpting, fashion designing, film making, tourism and travel and much more. Gone are the days when children were forced to crack engineering or medical entrance tests to bag a plum job.With increasing competition, a good degree from a good institute does not guarantee a good job.Then there are some students who have a creative bent of mind.Take the case of Anirudha Thorat, a mechanical engineer, who completed his course but then chose to chart his career in photography. He says, “The mechanical engineering course was simply out of family pressure. I would like to see myself as a famous photographer rather than a good mechanical engineer.“
The world of fashion offers opportunities as fashion designers, textile designers, jewellery designers, etc. A creative person can certainly succeed as a creative artist, commercial artist, animation expert, film maker, graphic artist, professional photographer, copywriter, to name a few. In case a student has taken up graphic designing, he can easily find a place in advertising, animation, printing technology. Apart from providing a different career option, the course also brings out the creative side of the students and develops an aesthetic sense among them. It also increases the sense of participation among students.
Says Chavi Swaroop, a career counsellor, “As the world globalises, the need for a formal degree or certificate is no longer considered the basic requirement for success. What is needed is an inherent talent, liking for the job, motivation and commitment.“ No other industry exemplifies this better than the media industry. One could work and succeed as an illustrator if one is good at art, sketching or cartooning.
Since creativity knows no boundaries, a youngster can excel in fields as wide ranging and diverse as being a cartoonist, tattoo artist, or beauty professional. Says Shyamali Bansal, a beauty professional, “People of all ages are keen to look good and we beauty professionals sat isfy them. There is also a need for specialization and there is immense demand for good hair stylists and bridal make up.“
One area that will never go out of fashion is the footwear market, which is all set to boom. Explains Siraj, a student of footwear designing, “Because of the current trend of footwear not being just a commodity, the need for designers and trained professionals is rising. Shoes are becoming a fashion statement. This is where footwear designers come in with their creative ideas both for comfort as well as a distinctive transformation to one's personality.“
Says Purvesha Pitale, a placement coordinator, “Globalisation is bringing a lot of opportunities to India and has made youngsters opt for a career as per their interests. Careers in PR and event management firms, creative writing, advertising and fashion journalism are attracting bright talented youngsters. Bold attitude, courage to accept chal lenges, and risk-taking are some of the features of the youth of today who are moving to off beat careers.“
--Swati Khanwalkar

Nov 17 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi) Brand India ranks a poor 31st out of 50 nations, Germany is No. 1 Chidanand Rajghatta Washington:   Washington: “Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind,“ consumer research pioneer Walter Landor observed. By that token, India still has a long way to go in terms of international image in which manufacturing prowess -PM Modi's current passion — plays only a small role.An annual nation branding survey by research firm Anholt-GfK, ranks India 31st among 50 countries, with Germany overtaking the US for top spot in 2014. The study measures global perceptions based on 23 factors that make up six dimensions on which national image is based: exports, governance, culture, people, tourism and immigrationinvestment. lthough manufacturA sured ing is part of the ex port metric, it is mea in terms of perception, not volume: whether a country's manufacturing makes an important contribution to science and technology; whether it involves innovation and creativity; and whether it makes one feel good to buy things from that country . Which is why China ranks 12th in exports even though it is a low-cost manu facturing superpower; India is 26th. “China ranks very low in terms of exports; the goodwill garnered with culture, where it ranks a high 8th, has not caught up,“ Xiaoyan Zhao, senior vice-president and director of Nation Branding Index at GfK, said. India, at 23rd, also ranks higher with respect to its culture than its overall 31st ranking. Cultural metric includes heritage, tourist landmarks etc. Where both China and India lose out is in terms of governance, where they stand 46th and 42nd, respectively , with India faring marginally better than China. But India's overall 31st rating ­­ between Czech Republic at 30 and Turkey at 32 ­­ is the worst among BRICS nations. Brazil tops at 21, China at 23, and Russia at 25. Whatever the reality is, the top ten nation brands are all OECD countries, with the US ceding ground to Germany for the first time since the survey began in 2009. “Germany benefited not only from the sports prowess at the FIFA World Cup, but also by solidifying its leadership in Europe through a robust economy and political stewardship,“ the survey said. Germany's score gains in the areas of `honest and competent government', `investment climate', and `social equality' are among the largest it achieved across all the aspects covered by the NBI 2014 survey ., The US, however, has , shown the least impressive NBI gain among developed t nations. While it is still No. 1 in several areas, including . creativity , contemporary s culture, and educational institutions, its role in global t peace and security only ranks 19th out of 50 nations.t “In a year of international confrontations, US lost ground where tension was felt most acutely . Both Russia and Egypt have downgraded the US in an unprecedented way , particularly in their pert ception of US commitment to global peace and security , and in their assessment of the competence of the US govern, ment,“ Zhao.

Nov 15 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi) How Swachh Bharat Can Succeed Arvind Panagariya   It must pass through the thickets of reform and attention to public health Of the numerous initiatives that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, which would give Mahatma Gandhi the gift of a clean India on his 150th birth anniversary on October 2, 2019, has the greatest potential to transform the lives of all Indians ­ rich and poor. Sanitation has been the theme of virtually every government in recent times. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had launched the Central Rural Sanitation Programme in 1986 and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee the Complete Sanitation Campaign in 1999. But no previous government has shown the resolve and commitment exhibited by Modi. This time it feels real.Till date, sweeping streets and ending open defecation have occupied media centre stage. But equally critical to Swachh Bharat are access to piped water; well-functioning drainage, sewage and solid waste management in all cities and villages; elimination of ponds in which stagnant water collects and serves as host to bacteria and mosquitoes; instilling greater appreciation of cleanliness in all its aspects among the masses. Indeed, taking the campaign to its logical conclusion would require replacing slums with more spacious housing having piped water delivery and modern sewage facilities. The campaign faces formidable financial and implementation challenges.Financially , the government will easily need 2-3% of GDP annually till the target date. There are only four avenues to mobilising such vast resources: increases in revenues made possible by accelerated growth; cuts in middle-class subsidies such as for cooking gas; elimination of enormous leakages in the myriad social schemes by replacing them with cash transfers; and accelerated disinvestment including outright privatisation.All roads to Swachh Bharat pass through the thicket of reforms. Ending open defecation requires multiplication of toilets at mega speed while also persuading households to actually use them. The latter has proved a challenge not just because old habits die hard but also because often the toilets we provide are not nice places to visit. Mahatma Gandhi got it precisely right when he wrote in 1925, “I learnt 35 years ago that a lavatory must be as clean as a drawing room. I learnt this in the West. I believe that many rules about cleanliness in lavatories are observed more scrupulously in the West than in the East.“ Having experienced not-so-swachh toilets as well as open defecation during childhood visits to my ancestral village and the town next door, i fully appreciate why many prefer to go for open despite access to a toilet. Educating citizens on the hazards of open defecation is not enough; we must also build toilets that do not repel. Unfortunately that would require larger expenditure per toilet and reliable supply of water in homes. Pursuit of Swachh Bharat also requires strengthening public health services. Services such as good drainage systems, absence of swamps and ponds that are home to stagnant water, and the supply of safe drinking water ­ all of which reduce exposure to and spread of diseases ­ are classic examples of public goods and require effective government intervention. Yet, as even a casual visit to any city or village makes obvious, drainage systems and general standards of hygiene in India remain poor. A bout of mon soon rains is often enough to clog the drains and create swampy conditions conducive to quick spread of communicable diseases. As sociologist Monica Das Gupta and co-authors point out, this situation is to be substantially attributed to the merger of medical and public health departments in all states except Tamil Nadu in the immediate post-Independence era. These authors note that the merger “opened the way for the public health services to be gradually eclipsed by the medical services, which attract far more political and public attention“. Only Tamil Nadu kept an independent public health department, which has allowed it to supply generally superior public health services. Swachh Bharat would do well to encourage each state to restart a separate public health department, accountable for the delivery of public health services.The department should have an independent budget and the charge of public health engineering services that are critical to managing subsoil water drainage to control vector breeding, safe disposal of solid waste, water supply and sewage. As a final thought, let me state that it is of utmost importance that Modi sustains the public awareness campaign at the high level he has begun until the objective is achieved. Through speeches and commercials on television and radio, he must continually exhort citizens to change their habits. He must also cajole state chief ministers, prominent politicians from all parties and film and sports stars to do the same. All TV channels must be encouraged to broadcast programmes featuring experts from medical and related fields who can credibly explain the damage that poor personal hygiene, littering and open defecation do to the health of all citizens.Rural folk must also be made aware of the health hazard posed by cohabitation with livestock, which naturally defecates in the open. If we wage this campaign on a war footing as we once did to eradicate polio, we can surely make the 150th birthday of the Mahatma a memorable day for every citizen of India. The writer is professor of Indian political economy at Columbia University.

*Greetings of the Day!!!*NET Qualified can Apply for Public Sector Jobs: UGC 

Those candidates who have successfully passed their National Eligibility
Test (NET) would get chance to apply for various jobs offered by public
service undertakings. The announcement was made public by University Grants
Commission which conducts the NET every year. NET is carried by UGC every
year to appoint assistant professors at various higher education institutes
through research fellowships provided to students. UGC would now give
permission to various PSUs to use the NET result as database for any of the
recruitment process it would carry forward.

In disciplines like Science (Research & Development), Management, Corporate
Communications, Human resources, finance etc. there are positions of
executives that remain vacant. The announcement enabling PSUs to use the
UGC-NET scores would further strengthen the companies to recruit people of
caliber to these esteemed positions easily. This could open up floodgates
and more and more people are expected to take up the NET examinations in
the years to follow. The more the number of NET candidates would pass, the
better would be options getting better students for various PhD programmes
in universities.

After the proposal got the nod of its chairman, the UGC gave it a final go
last week. The implementation would be active very soon and keeping abreast
with the announcement Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. has already issued an
advertisement inviting candidates who have successfully cleared their NET
for lucrative posts. The selection of the candidates would depend upon the
marks obtained in the NET by the students and would provide a good
opportunity for them to get a job at a better company


http://www.jagranjosh.com/articles/net-qualified-can-apply-for-public-sector-jobs-ugc-1415861015-1

Use digital technology for dispensing education: President 

President Pranab Mukherjee called the nation to harness digital technology to usher changes in education and to bridge the gap between digital ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’.

Inaugurating the National Education Day celebration which was the birth anniversary of India’s great freedom movement leader Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the President said that it is education that can lead to the trinity of progress, which are greater political participation, social emancipation and upward economic mobility. “We have traversed a long distance from just one out of four children in school in the early fifties to a school accessible to every child today and almost universal enrolment with gender parity. In recent times, our expenditure on education has risen – from 2.9 percent of GDP in 2008-09 to 3.3 percent in 2013-14.”

President Mukherjee extolled the exemplary contributions of Maulana Azad in nation building, Institution-building and particularly his indelible imprints in the field of education.

Emphasising on the importance of teachers in the education, Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smriti Irani said that they are the fulcrum of the entire education system. “Teacher should not merely be concerned with ‘income’ but also the ‘outcome’ to help improve the quality of education.” According to Irani, “the Mission of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is to enable higher educational institutions to work with the people of rural India in identifying development challenges and evolving appropriate solutions for accelerating sustainable growth.”

Dr. Najma Heptullah, Minister of Minority Affairs said that there is a need to adopt a pragmatic view that blends modernity into tradition and synthesizes our inherent traditional strengths with modern day needs without losing our values.