Working with the media – Lessons from the Anna Hazare Campaign

In conversation with Bharathi Ghanashyam and Jasvinder Sehgal, both members of Journalists against TB, a group of committed health journalists.

Listen in:

Audio file courtesy: Journalists against TB

National Voters Day: Engaging in Democracy

India will be celebrating the Republic Day on the 26th of January. It was on this day in 1950 that we gave ourselves our Constitution and Republic. On the 25th of January, another day of significance will go by quietly. This day is irrevocably connected to our Republic Day and both are significant events symbolizing the vibrant nature of our democracy. Last year, the Government of India decided to celebrate this day as National Voters Day in order to make the voter feel proud of participating in the voting process. Democracy, as we all have been taught is the ‘will of the people’. The recent anti-corruption campaign that we saw in India was seen as an ‘expression of the will of the people’, but a few others saw it as an assault on the powers of the elected parliamentarians. This leaves us with the question of ‘what is the will of the people’. For this article, I would like to focus on the will of the people manifesting itself through the ballot box.

The present days when the citizens are getting increasingly engaged in civic issues could very well be the ‘now or never’ time to rescue Indian Democracy. Talking to people from different walks of life has led me to believe that they are now getting serious in this kind of engagement and they understand that it does not begin and end with elections. There is so much earnestness in people from all backgrounds in wanting to engage with the electoral process. People are keen to know how they can participate, what are the exact questions they need to ask the political class when they come to canvass, and what are the essentials to look for in the candidates that they should be voting for.

People also understand that one can no longer complain that money and caste equations decide ‘winnability’. This situation has arisen only because the voter has allowed it to be so. The common man is as much responsible for this state of affairs as the politician and the parties are. We now need to work together to redefine winnability. Performance and accountability need to be the yardsticks on which we decide on who represents us in our Legislature and Parliament.

The first step is to ensure that we are registered as voters. The next step is to study and analyze the list of people contesting for the elections at whatever level they are held. We need to make sure that we make our choice based on parameters other than money, inducements, caste and the party. We need to make our choice based on the competence of the person, the qualification, the skills he (or she) would bring to the office of being an elected representative, his financial and criminal records and his ability to engage with us – the common citizen of his constituency.

We also need to ensure that we do not relax after completing the voting formality. We need to keep track of our legislators and parliamentarians, their performance in the house, their knowledge and opinion on key issues and not reduce them to the role of merely helping us get transfers done or the potholes in our road repaired. We also need to continuously engage with them for their entire term and make sure that they are held accountable for their performance.

If we trace democracy back to its roots, we discover that neither its appearance nor its survival is inevitable. Voting helps safeguard our freedom and fundamental rights. A democratic community can only survive if its citizens see participation in the political process as a duty and a responsibility. Voting connects us to one another as citizens. By agreeing or disagreeing with our leaders through voting we show that the political system can accept differing points of view and can resolve them. By not voting, we break the connections between individual Indians and our community. Finally, voting connects citizens with our political process. It helps choose our leaders, determines the kind of government we will have, and ultimately the kind of country we will live in.

India is going through exciting and paradoxical times. On one side, we have so much and yet so little. We are seeing economic growth of nearly 8% over the last many years but still have 25% of the world’s burden of poverty. Nations who have made enormous social and economic progress have been able to do so only because they have had responsive and responsible governments. While we cannot wish away the role of the elected representatives in Governance today, we need to ensure that we hold them accountable to the performance that the situation demands. We need to engage with them on a continual basis and work with them in ushering in true participatory democracy where each one of us has a say in the development processes that affect us.

All this begins with the kind of people we chose to represent us. Mere complaining on what we get will not change the situation. We need to now involve ourselves constructively in understanding the people we will vote for, assess their capabilities, and give them a chance to explain their vision to us and interact and partner with them in making sure that they deliver on the promise of good governance.

Let each one of us take on our civic responsibility seriously and begin by making informed choices. Let us not forget that we will only get the leaders we deserve. We need to vote not because it is our fundamental right alone; we need to vote because it is the beginning of making India a vibrant and healthy democracy. Merely being the largest democracy is not enough anymore. We need to make Democracy every Indian’s business. For after all, we cannot let our country be led all the time. We should lead it by choosing the right leaders.

- Balu

Hosa Kanasu – 24

Here’s the 24th installment of ‘Hosa Kanasu’, my fortnightly column in Prajavani: 24 Jan 2012

- Balu

Remembering Swami Vivekananda…

My article in today’s Prajavani on Swami Vivekananda: Vivekanandara Nenapina Belaku

- Balu

The shortcomings of ‘Aadhaar’

In the article titled ‘An identity for Akkamma’, I had written about the hurdles faced by Akkamma, an elderly Jenukuruba tribal lady, in getting an official identity for herself. As one ponders on the plight of Akkamma and other similar persons, the Government seems to have a ready-made answer today. The Government is now going around proclaiming that Aadhaar, its unique identification scheme will do exactly that. As per the Government, Aadhaar will help provide an identity for all its citizenry. The recent controversies surrounding this process have indeed exposed the chinks in the logic and reasoning of the Government. Is Aadhaar truly what it is claimed to be? Will it genuinely help people like Akkamma in establishing her identity and making her rightful claims over the myriad Government schemes?

At its core is the pretense that giving a unique 12-digit number to each underprivileged citizen will achieve what hundreds of welfare schemes and numerous efforts to control corruption have failed to accomplish: pilferage-free delivery of services to the poor. Aadhaar (meaning support, foundation or sustenance) is being projected as a magic wand, just what the poor need from a benevolent State.

Aadhaar‘s legitimacy is pinned on benefiting the underprivileged. But as with all magic wands, this could prove illusory. This is to be achieved by collecting basic information (name, address, parents’ names, date of birth, etc) and biometric data (photographs, all ten fingerprints, iris scans) for each resident. This will be used to generate a Unique Identification number (UID) that can be used to conduct all manner of transactions – from buying rations on BPL cards, to NREGA enrollment, to opening a bank account. It’s claimed that the UID will ensure non-duplication and hence eliminate leakage. As we see below, this claim is excessive, if not false.

Aadhaar‘s origin and real purpose are rooted in ‘national security’, including surveillance, profiling and tracking of citizens. The UIDs will be fed into a database and shared with Natgrid (National Intelligence Grid), which includes 11 security and intelligence agencies (Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing, CBI, Central Boards of Excise and Direct Taxes, etc). Natgrid, to be created by next May, will provide real-time access into 21 databases – including bank account details, credit card transactions, driving licences, and travel records.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) starts with the premise that ‘in many areas NREGA wages continue to be paid in cash’ and there is massive duplication of job cards. This is factually wrong. Three ways of siphoning off money remain – extortion, collusion and fraud. Extortion means that when ‘inflated’ wages are withdrawn by labourers from their account, the middleman turns extortionist and takes a share. Collusion occurs when the labourer and the middleman agree to share the inflated wages. Fraud means that middlemen open and operate accounts on behalf of labourers. UID can at best help prevent fraud, not collusion or extortion, which are far more common. A great deal of corruption is not wage-related, but materials-related. Aadhaar cannot tackle this. Only transparent accounting and supervision and verification can.

Similarly, the UIDAI attributes PDS leakages only to duplicate ration cards. But duplication has dropped significantly after computerization of records and hologrammed cards. Unike Karnataka, it is only two percent in Tamil Nadu and eight percent in Chhattisgarh. There are two major sources of leakage within the PDS. One, diversion of grain en route to the village ration shop. Dealers then appear helpless saying that they have been issued less. Two, dealers undersell (for example, only 25 kg out of the 35 kg entitlement) and yet make people testify on official records that they got their full quota.

Neither leakage can be tackled by Aadhaar. In fact, by making Aadhaar a condition for delivering services, the Government will exclude those who don’t have it. This is perverse and contradictory. On one hand, UIDAI officials claim Aadhaar will accurately target the poor and break the barriers that prevent them from accessing services. On the other, UIDAI openly says that it is in the identity business. The responsibility of tracking beneficiaries and service delivery will continue to remain with the respective agencies. The UID number will only guarantee identity, not rights, benefits or entitlements.

This project also has grave civil liberty implications. It will enable the Government to profile citizens and track their movements and transactions. There is no guarantee that intimately personal details won’t be shared with other agencies.

Excessive reliance on technology, especially to tackle special problems like corruption, can be disastrous. Technologies can fail. Biometric readings can go wrong if power supply fails – as happens virtually daily in most of India. People with low-quality fingerprints (construction workers) and with cataract/corneal problems can pose problems for fingerprints and iris scans. Between 10 and 60 million people could be excluded from UID due to such errors. Aadhaar poses serious data security problems. ID card schemes, says a London School of Economics study, are too complex, technically unproven and unsafe. All kinds of supposedly secure databases/websites, including those of India’s defense ministry and the Pentagon, have been hacked. Data theft and transfer to intelligence agencies or corporations have potentially horrendous consequences. This and the high cost are the reasons why many countries including the UK, US and Australia have abandoned National ID cards.

According to reports, UID’s per person cost is estimated to have jumped from Rs 31 to between Rs 450 and 500. Aadhaar will therefore probably cost something like Rs 150,000 crore. Yet, the project is being pushed through without a legal basis, and without public or parliamentary debate. Only recently, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has raised strong objections to continuing Aadhaar in its present form. What people like Akkamma need is not some expensive and questionable system but a more responsive public service delivery system which is efficient and corruption free to make her life as an Indian citizen fulfilling and meaningful.

- Balu