Fuel nuclear energy & Bt brinjal to drive India’s growth

Shun the thriving protest economy

Less than a year ago, in the context of Baba Ramdev seize of the Indian Capital, I had written how a mindless culture of protest economy was staring at India’s growth path and promising to derail it (http://www.rediff.com/news/column/ramdevs-capital-humiliation-serves-democracy-well/20110607.htm). Much to the consternation of many, my column ‘Ramdev’s capital humiliation serves democracy well’ had said, “Often taking the gullible and vulnerable by their side, these activists today run a thriving protest economy, flush with funds from lobbies within the country and other parts of the world.”

The Prime Minister’s latest statement on how NGOs from US and Scandinavian countries were behind whipping agitations against progressive technologies including nuclear power and genetic engineering (biotechnology). While the statement by the Prime Minister is welcome, it is a little late in the day.

In the name of democracy and freedom of expression, we have perhaps given too much liberty. As a result, in the heart of India’s capital people slam the Indian State. In India’s heart they create ripples of protest in the name of safety! The thriving protest economy corrupt and pollute the fabric of democracy even as we watch in dismay. While protest is alright, motivated campaigns fuelled by ‘external’ agendas are detrimental to the short and long term interests of the nation.

Protests against the nuclear energy and Bt brinjal – as rightly pointed out by the Prime Minister – are glaring examples of such destructive designs.

Look at the power scenario first. Coal, the key ingredients fuelling power plants, is scarce by all means. We have a shortfall for existing and future power plants – by 2015 this shortfall is estimated to be 150 million tonne (MT) out of which about 65 MT can be imported. According to International Energy Agency, India is the third-largest producer of hard coal after China and the United States. India imports around 1.4 million barrels of oil per day, 60% of its total needs. This dependency is projected to grow to over 90% by 2020. India’s crude oil imports are projected to reach 5 million barrels per day in 2020, which is more than 60% of current Saudi Arabian oil production.

Clearly there is a need to explore alternative sources of energy. Hydro power, despite its potential, contributes just about 22% of the total requirement of India’s power needs. On the other hand, hydro power supplies at least 50% of electricity production in 66 countries and at least 90% in 24 countries. Potential of other sources such as solar and wind is limited in Indian context.

Need for nuclear energy is more glaring than ever before. Dr Srikumar Banerjee, chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy early this week said that nuclear energy has large growth potential and any India-specific energy strategy must consider nuclear energy as a major alternative. “While our known uranium resources are low, we have extremely rich reserves of thorium,” he said, adding that this can be converted to generate nuclear energy.

The case for nuclear energy is clear and any protest stalling its progress is nothing but anti-India. Prime Minister has a case.

The other piece is Bt brinjal. A well-regulated mechanism in the form of GEAC or Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee under Ministry of Environment and Forest had given a clear go-ahead to the commercial release of Bt brinjal way back in 2009 (Report on http://moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/Report%20on%20Bt%20brinjal.pdf). However, relentless opposition by NGOs in the pretext of “saftey” and “health concerns” led to the then Environment Minister Mr Jairam Ramesh putting a moratorium on Bt brinjal’s commercial release. For the agri biotech industry which invests a fortune on R&D it was a severe blow. Little surprise the industry body Association of Biotech Led Enterprises-Agriculture Group (ABLE-AG) was prompt in its appreciation of the PM’s statements.

“ABLE-AG acknowledges the support extended by the Prime Minister for this articulation of the challenges facing the country and the solution that Dr. Singh has proposed. It has been our constant position that technology has a vital role to play in the future of agriculture in the country to feed, clothe and fuel the nation. We are emphatically of the opinion that the emotional opposition to technology-based solutions to agriculture in the country, which have been proven safe and effective, does not have a sound scientific basis. We encourage all stakeholders to come together to form a consensus on this subject to rapidly take Indian agriculture to the next stage of the Green Revolution,” it said in a release.

The industry has been making a strong plea for its role in ensuring the food security of the country. According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, in 2010 out of the 925 m undernourished people a whopping 578 m lived in Asia & the Pacific. There is immediate need to address this peril else we shall be gravitating towards an unhappy world, for as Nobel Prize Winner Norman Borloug famously said, “The first essential component of social justice is adequate food for all mankind.”

By 2020 India would need 280 million tonnes of food grains and to achieve this in light of shrinking land mass, depleting water tables and challenges of climate change, we shall require to embrace technologies like biotech which substantially enhances yields, as shown by experiences of 29 countries the world over.

It is sad we have to defend the deserving. Nuclear energy and biotechnology are two vital technologies that India needs going ahead. Strong statements from an otherwise quiet Prime Minister are ample proof of the urgency.

Time to shun thriving protest economy and its proponents!

PR is no magic!

Travesty of being a service provider...

“We in PR are professionals and not magicians” is my trademark dialogue that my colleagues are by now very familiar with. They did not realize how true this caveat can turn unless they were confronted with this self-obsessed academic the other day in a business pitch. On persistence of an old acquaintance in the advertising industry I squeezed in some time on a hectic day, at an hour’s notice, to meet this gentleman, an advisory board member of a management institute, anonymous, and tucked far away in NCR in an area which once took pride in being the farm house of a former Prime Minister.

Running short of time we were first made to wait for 20 minutes and then were taken to a tiny conference room where this gentleman was sitting. Wanting to desperately convey how busy (or big) he was, he kept fiddling with his BlackBerry for another 7-8 minutes and then with a frown glanced at us. “Hmmm, so tell us about yourself,” he asked in a patronizing tone, smacking of hollow arrogance. As is customary, I gave the spiel on my background, trying still my best to impress him. Seemingly unimpressed by my years in journalism, academics, corporate and handling assignments from some of the top national and multinational companies, he stared in my eyes and posed a “candid” question. “How can you ensure I get printed in Times of India and Hindustan Times and Economic Times and Business Standard….” “Sir, but that depends on a variety of factors and our expertise lies in helping you navigate that process which will ensure good media presence,” was my instant reply.

“Ah, everyone says this. How are you different.” “I am like one of these Sir,” I politely submitted. “However, we do have some special qualities by way of better understanding of the DNA of media as well as advising you on events that would ensure good media eyeballs.” I said. “Nothing doing, I want a first page interview in TOI for my chairman, a half-page spread in a business daily, and a quarter page coverage of a Switzerland Prime Minister speaking to our students,” he blurted out leaving me gasping and hugely suspect of his claimed antecedents of “London School of Economics” and knowing “all the top editors and owners of newspapers of the country by their first names.”

“Sir with such good contacts and understanding of media I guess I have to learn a great deal from you,” I politely said. “Ah, I no longer enjoy calling my friends for small favours though there was a time when they would call me 4 times in a day begging for my quotes,” he said with utter disregard to my journalistic understanding.

“I shall soon come back to you with a proposal,” I said wanting to leave soonest. “What proposal. Tell me if you can get these things fixed for me or not,” he almost shouted at me.

“We are professionals and not magicians Sir,” was all I could say before I made a quiet, yet hurried, exit from this suffocating environment.

Oh, this poor, befuddled Indian middle class

The desperation of the middle class in heralding Anna Hazare as the Second Gandhi is symptomatic of a typical Indian mindset

While it may be flaunted by many as an historic August Uprising, the Anna Hazare movement will be remembered in the history of modern India as one of the most aimless expressions of exasperation by an equally adrift urban Indian middle class.

The surge of enthusiastic support for the Jan Lokpal messiah notwithstanding, the mass exuberance clearly reflects the compelling desire of Indians to create, and worship real-life heroes. Devoid of one -- thanks to the unprecedented degeneration of Indian politics and decline in the level of quality of the political class -- the anxious middle class has desperately clung on to Hazare, a regional social worker sans a pan-India vision, and turned him into a national hero.

What is perplexing, unlike two of the most notable uprisings of modern times -- most notably the Mandal Agitation and the JP movement which had clear targets and demands -- the Anna revolt lacks a clear definition of what the agitators are aiming at. While it is understandable the sentiments are largely directed against rising cases of corruption and lack of firmness of the government in dealing with these, the exhortation of the Jan Lokpal Bill as the panacea of the ills is perplexing.

Corruption in the Indian context is systemic and endemic, and uprooting it requires much more than another piece of legislation -- already there are a dime and a dozen -- and a much sharper debate and collective action by communities. Clinging on to the Bill, and in turn to Anna, does little than expose the Indian middle class's lack of conviction in dealing with corruption. 

In fact, the desperation of the middle class in heralding Anna as the Second Gandhi is symptomatic of a typical Indian mindset, which has often been in the habit of looking up to their real-life heroes who have been drawn from politics, religious and social reformers, since time immemorial.

In ancient times, while the Buddha's philosophy provided a new trigger to social and religious awakening of Indian society, Chanakya's magical political powers and supreme wisdom gave Indian society a new vision whereby it embraced the ideals and ideas of nationhood and political solidarity. In medieval period, Akbar's overarching philosophy on governance and diplomacy added a new dimension to social cohesion of Indian society. He was revered for his immense political acumen -- his reforms of land revenue were especially lauded by people. The likes of Chhatrapati Shivaji encouraged the spirit of patriotism and Dara Shikoh's intense intellect -- he translated 50 Upanishads into Persian -- laid the foundation for religious pluralism and dynamism to Indian society.

Modern India is replete with social, religious and political leaders who were all imbued with an unparalleled pan-India vision of reform and welfare of the people, who spent their lives fighting for the right causes and were revered by the masses.

While Raja Rammohan Roy launched a meaningful discourse on purging the ailing Indian society of archaic customs like Sati and discrimination against widows, Vivekananda gave a new meaning to Indian religious plurality. Gandhi's relentless fight helped unite Indians against a visible enemy while Nehru's progressive liberalism and passion for democracy helped define for them a new vision of a modern nation. Jayaprakash Narayan took on the might of the State and waged a fearless, and systematic, campaign against it. Indira Gandhi was known for her sharp political acumen even as Bhimrao Ambedkar's crusade against untouchability earned him the respect of people of all castes and classes. All these real-life heroes were venerated across the country and they made their mark by their relentless pursuit of causes and ideals.

All these leaders were real-life heroes at a time when the mass media massively lacked mass appeal, unlike the present-day 24x7 television which often perpetuates misplaced ideas. All these leaders were also erudite scholars and built their credibility by combining political activism with scholarship. By stretching their imagination and likening Anna with Gandhi and others, the middle class has shown its sheer disconnect with history. It has also exposed itse anxiety to embrace short-cuts to change.

The angst of the middle class is nothing new, much like the prevalence of corruption. It has been a bane of Independent India. But rarely has this class shown any collective penchant to get rid of it -- we have seen them elect the same set of people (read politicians) to our assemblies and Parliament all over again. Tiny experiments such as Bharat Punarnirman Dal -- a political outfit floated by a group of former IITians – was met with scorn and apathy by the middle class. A number of elected independents -- many of whom represent a desire to bring about systemic reforms -- have remained abysmally low over the years.

In the 15th Lok Sabha there were a mere eight out of a total of over 2300 who contested! Many of those contesting elections as independents do represent a desire to change. Not only this, the middle class has always been shy of even voting. It is no secret that urban areas comprising middle classes have consistently reported a lower voter turnout than the rural areas. We do not hear anything on the Right to Recall -- there are some experiments that need to spoken about and discussed, but why doesn't the Middle Class take a lead in it?

A powerful tool like the RTI has been reduced to irrelevance by the middle class -- it has remained confined to the hands of a few select activists who make good use of it though. When it was conceived, it was aimed at empowering the middle class and creating an enabling environment for fighting systemic corruption. The preamble to the Act makes it amply clear: 'An Act to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority...' However, it has failed to live up to expectations.

To rinse deep-rooted corruption we require much more than camera-trigger screaming. The vocal Indian middle class has been the forerunners of change in society -- they were the first to embrace technology, exulted at economic liberalisation, propelled the process of globalisation, and fuelled the ideas embedded in the notions of modernisation. But they are poor when it comes to systemic reforms -- they surrender rather than question. They pay bribes rather than challenge those who ask for it. A website, ipaidabribe.com, which captures first-hand accounts of bribe-givers has estimated that since it started about a year ago it has recorded a whopping Rs 321 million payments in bribery.

The Anna embrace is a reflection of the middle class's desperation to clutch at a straw of hope, not knowing that even a small blow can smear it. They don't realise there are more powerful anti-corruption legislations that are relegated to the confines of nothingness and can be made good use of, along with the RTI.

India has built democratic institutions with great diligence and deliberation. While it is absolutely democratic to protest and raise questions on accountability, its momentary exuberance, as reflected now, is antithetical to that spirit. To rinse our country of corruption requires a more structured, sustained and solemn design. Latching on to a social worker, surrounded by power-seeking bureaucrats and lawyers, may not be a great idea.

The momentary exuberance and its tamasha only weaken the social fabric of India and make a mockery of the country in front of the world. The middle class will have to take the blame.

Rediff ran it on August 24, 2011, at the peak of the Anna drama

http://www.rediff.com/news/column/anna-hazare-column-oh-this-poor-befuddled-indian-middle-class/20110824.htm

Ooops!

I suddenly realised it has been over two months that I have not put up a post here.


Such a shame!

In remorse I am pulling out a column I put on Rediff a while ago, and placing it.

Irrelevance of cacophony by anti-GM pranksters!

This is a well-written piece and brings out the irrelevance of the reckless brouhaha over safety of biotech seeds. A must read for all concerned.

To Abolish Starvation Africa Needs GM Crops

The Times (UK) /  7/5/2011

By Mark Lynas

I used to trample them in the fields. Now I see anti-science hysteria for what it is

Once again drought is menacing the Horn of Africa. Britain's pledge this week to increase food aid for 1.3 million Ethiopians facing starvation to help them to reach the next harvest can be the only right response.

But how do we ensure that African farmers produce enough food to feed themselves? The solution must be a radical change to agriculture on the continent. It is promising, therefore that a few days ago, on July 1, the Government of Kenya, which is also affected by drought, announced plans to open its borders to genetically modified crops for the first time.

For more than a decade Africa following the lead set by European environmental campaigners has shuttered its windows against GM, fearing terrible damage to its people's health and its ecosystems. Instead, as more of the world's agricultural land now totalling more than a billion hectares is successfully given over to GM crops, African rulers are realising that banning biotech was a costly mistake for which their own people are paying.

As a former anti-GM campaigner, I used to join "decontamination" actions in the middle of the night, trampling and slashing down crop trials in the UK in the late 1990s. Looking back, I realise I was caught up in something more resembling anti-scientific mass hysteria rather than any rational response to a new technology.

We were concerned, perhaps legitimately, that GM could be dangerous. But in the ensuing ten years, the science is pretty conclusive: I am not aware of a single substantiated case of GM foods having had any negative effects on health or the environment anywhere in the world.

Instead, the impact has been almost entirely positive. Importantly for Africa, GM crops have substantially increased yields, meaning more food for the hungry and a greater harvest per acre or gallon of water.

Herbicide-tolerant crops have been designed to work with more benign weedkillers than the toxic brew sprayed on conventional crops. Some biotech crops such as insect-resistant "Bt cotton" and corn have anti-pest traits engineered into the plant itself so they require much less insecticide.

The great tragedy of the biotech revolution has been that Africa has missed out, just as it missed out on the original Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s that allowed India and China vastly to increase agricultural productivity and abolish famine while their populations soared.

One of the most pervasive myths about biotech crops is that they only benefit big corporations and are part of a nefarious plot by multinational seed companies such as Monsanto to dominate the world food chain. Actually Indian and Brazilian farmers were initially so desperate to adopt Monsanto's GM technologies, against the wishes of their governments, that they smuggled the new seeds across borders. Now 90 per cent of the growers of GM crops are small farmers in developing countries such as China, India, Pakistan and the Philippines.

African farmers desperately need to raise their productivity, to increase their incomes and to better feed their families. GM is no silver bullet affordable fertilisers, land rights and decent irrigation matter greatly but genetically improved African crops could be vital. All over Africa and Asia there are publicly funded efforts to create transgenic varieties of subsistence crops that will be available to poorer farmers and licensed without patent protection. Current initiatives include salt-tolerant rice for use in degraded land where salinisation has reduced yields, a disease-resistant rice being developed in Uganda, so-called "iron beans" in Rwanda to tackle anaemia and an African banana resistant to a devastating wilt disease.

We must move beyond anti-GM prejudice based on pastoral myths and increase assistance for biotechnology for African farmers. To its credit, Oxfam is beginning to recognise the opportunities for what it calls "pro-poor GM organisms" in tackling hunger in Africa. Unfortunately, many environmental groups remain steadfastly opposed to any use of biotechnology. This kind of neo-Luddism is damaging. With 800 million people still constantly malnourished, we must use every tool available to feed the world while also protecting the planet.

Mark Lynas is the author of The God Species: How the Planet Can Survive the Age of Humans (Fourth Estate), to be published on Thursday. It's a pervasive myth that biotech only benefits corporations

When Juhi took that long walk

Capital humiliation serves democracy well

After a warm welcome, a stern send-off.

The curiously red carpet welcome by the Indian government to Yoga expert Baba Ramdev on June 2 ahead of his agitation at New Delhi’s Ramlila Ground was both perplexing and shocking. It exhibited in no uncertain terms government’s anxiety to ward off any upsurge of mass sentiments, which could lead to uncoordinated and irritating noise on corruption from a vocal middle class, as was evident during the Anna Hazare’s rendezvous at New Delhi’s historic Jantar Mantar not too long ago.

Changing Colours

It was perhaps also an attempt to convey to Baba Ramdev that he should not flirt with what is not his domain – politics – and confine himself within the domain he has excelled in so far – Yoga. By all means the Indian government excelled in their display of humility to cajole and convince the Yoga leader not to put in a different robe of a modern messiah. It also knew the overt political overtures of the Baba were pregnant with unpleasant possibilities, and it was in the interest of the government to foist it even before it erected its monstrous face.

End of Ram-Lila at Ramlila Grounds

Up in Arms!

Two days later, in a curious turnaround of stance the same government took little time in responding with a stern, and effective, action plan when the Baba reportedly started to waver on his commitments – the government says it had acceded to most of the demand of the Baba and there was no reason why he in turn should not have honoured his commitments.

Notwithstanding the tug-of-war on who promised what and who acceded how much ground, the eviction of Baba and his thousands of supporters on solid law and order grounds is welcome move for a variety of reasons.

Even as TV channels cry foul over the “indiscriminate use of force” to evict Baba and his supporters, the act by the Union government will go a long way in reinforcing the credibility of the state - state as the custodian of law and order and guardian of peace. During the Anna Hazare’s fast in April the government had appeared meek, desperate, and clueless on how to handle the sudden surge of emotions, and an inexplicable assertiveness by the civil society. The glittering candle lights emanating from feeble hands of young “activists” wearing a big blankness on their faces seemed to put huge question marks over the locus standi of a democratically elected government.

  

Thriving protest economy

The Jantar Mantar incident, even though it may not have been designed that way, suddenly became a symbol representing the rot in Indian political system. It led many part-time, globe-trotting activists into indulging in the fanciful idea that the civil society would supplant the large democratic space occupied by the politics and political class. It was a scary flirtation of the civil society fuelled by the mindless display of support by the young, restless and non-conformists.

The government’s early morning clampdown on Ramlila Ground is also lesson to the many fringe agents in society, who in the name of activism, have begun taking government agencies on a ransom. Encouraged by the eroding faith of people in the political agents, social activists have begun to thrive and are out there opposing everything under the sun - from sands to sea and steel, water, river, agriculture, jungles. Often taking the gullible and vulnerable by their side, these activists today run a thriving protest economy, flush with funds from lobbies within the country and other parts of the world.

Message to modern activism

The stern action against Baba also sends a strong message to such agents – do not coat your vested interest with an ideology; do not take the pretense of ‘satyagraha’ to meet overt political and economic gains; do not blackmail and challenge constitutional and democratic institutions at your whims and fancy.

At a time when decay in public morality is at its lowest ebb and many political institutions are faced with unprecedented crisis, allowing Baba Ramdev to run a smear campaign and throw challenges to government under live television from the heart of Indian capital would have meant deepening the mock. It would have made the government look toothless, dumb and spineless.

Days ahead will see countless, and often reckless debates on use of “force” on a “sanyasis” and will give fuel to Baba to capitalize on this capital humiliation, but in the annals of Indian history, I would tick this date as a decisive one, one which was marked to reassert the values and virtues of democracy, and a democratically elected government.