10-year-old's RTI posers stump PMO

Aishwarya Parashar. Photo: Special Arrangement The Hindu Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI, May 25, 2012
When some simple questions came to the mind of Aishwarya Parashar, a Class-VI student of the City Montessori School, Lucknow, she did not let them languish unasked. She went seeking out answers through the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Aishwarya's inquisitiveness and willingness to pursue the source of information has yielded, till date, the establishment of a public library on the site of a garbage dump and the nation being better enlightened about the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
All of just 10 years, Aishwarya is a confident little girl, who herself answers a mobile phone and urges those wanting some written information from her to send her an SMS giving their e-mail ID and even forwards e-mail and communicates about her work on her own.
“I have so far filed three RTIs with the Prime Minister's Office,'' she says, adding that “the first one was [a query] about who gave the order for printing Mahatma Gandhi's image on currency notes. I was told in a reply that it was in 1993 following a meeting of the Reserve Bank of India.”
But it was her subsequent RTI asking the PMO to tell her who conferred the title of Father of the Nation on Mahatma Gandhi, which confounded the government. From the PMO, the query went to the Ministry of Home Affairs and to the National Archives of India, before Aishwarya was told that “there are no specific documents on the information sought” by her.
‘Surprising'
“That was really surprising because I never thought it was such a difficult question since even our history books taught us that Mahatma Gandhi was the Father of the Nation.”
The first reference to Mahatma Gandhi as Father of the Nation goes back nearly 70 years when Subhas Chandra Bose referred to Gandhi thus in a radio address from Singapore in 1944.
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru too had, in his address to the nation upon Mahatma Gandhi's death, referred to him as Father of the Nation: “Friends and comrades, the light has gone out of our lives, and there is darkness everywhere, and I do not quite know what to tell you or how to say it. Our beloved leader, Bapu as we called him, the Father of the Nation, is no more.”
After getting an unsatisfactory answer to her query on this issue in March this year, Aishwarya on April 24 asked the PMO who had declared Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary on October 2 as also Republic Day and Independent Day national holidays. To her surprise, she got a reply dated May 17 that such orders were never issued.
Favourite query
The question most dear to Aishwarya's heart was posed by her in 2009. “That was the time when Lucknow was in the grip of swine flu. There was a big garbage dump near my school, but I only got to see it one day when my mother came to pick me up as my cycle-rickshaw had not come. For the parents there was a separate entrance, and on the way back home I spotted this dump.” With the help of her mother, Urvashi Sharma, who is a social worker and RTI activist, Aishwarya penned an application in her own handwriting. “I had marked that query on the garbage dump to the Chief Minister and thereafter the Uttar Pradesh government got the dump removed, and our school constructed a public library on the site.”
Her father, Sanjay Sharma, is a lecturer.
Ambition
Aishwarya wants to become a doctor. Asked why, she quips: “Whenever I go to a hospital, I see that the poor patients have to first shell out money in order to get treated. I will, on becoming a doctor, go to the slums at least once every week and provide free treatment to such poor people.”
10-year-old's RTI posers stump PMO, Government

Transforming India

Ministry of Rural Development 21-February, 2012 18:43 IST
ASHA workers will be roped in to create awareness on sanitation, says Jairam
The Union Minister of Rural Development Sh Jairam Ramesh has said that issues like Sanitation and Drinking water should become the main national agenda to ensure a healthy national outlook. Addressing the second meeting of National Drinking Water and Sanitation Council here, the Minister said, he is hopeful of 40 to 60 percent increase in the budgetary allocation for drinking water and Sanitation, which stands at Rs 10,000 crore at present. He said, health, sanitation and water supply should not be treated as separate issues, as they impact on each other and should be seen in a holistic framework. Shri Ramesh said that nearly eight lakh ASHA workers working in the health sector will be roped in for creating awareness about sanitation issues in rural areas and appropriate incentives will be given to them. He also informed that the allocation of Rs 3,000 for creating individual toilets will be increased to about Rs 7,000, but at the same time added that the focus will shift from individual toilets to community ones, where the Gram Panchayats will be the sheet anchor of the programme. SNC (Release ID :80441)
Create awareness of Hygiene and Sanitation

Comment: We need to applaud Jairam for his vision and bold initiative in transforming India of garbage, open defecation, public urination, filth, open sewers, contaminated drinking water and abysmal sanitation. A small step in the direction of a major and a gigantic challenge. The funds allotted is peanuts- Civic sense must be imparted, administered and cultivated in the schools and colleges. A great opportunity for all veteran organisations to get into the act of nation building instead of withering away our organisational assets.

Gandhian Veteran being Victimised

Govt checking records in Army, trying to dig out information about me: Hazare

Mumbai: Anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare today alleged that the Government was trying to dig out information about his past by checking his records in the Army and sending people to his village in Maharashtra to check on his organisation.

"They (Government) have sent people to check my records in the Army. They want to see if they can find something during my service years. I have not done anything wrong throughout my life," Hazare, who served as a jawan in the Army for 15 years, told reporters at the Mumbai Press Club.

"They have put people after me. They have sent people to my village to check on my organisation. I have no bank balance, so what will you find? I live in a temple in an eight feet by ten feet room. I just have a plate to eat and a bed to sleep on. What will you find?" Hazare, who hails from Ralegan Sidhi village in Ahmednagar district, said.

Alleging that the Government's intentions are not right and that is the reason why they are trying to defame the civil society spearheading the anti-graft campaign, Hazare said, "I haven't allowed a single blot on my character in my entire life."

The 74-year-old Gandhian said he was firm on his decision to go on an indefinite fast in Delhi from August 16 for a strong Lokpal Bill to tackle corruption.

"Mumbaikars should come and support the agitation against corruption," he added.

Criticising the government's draft of the Lokpal Bill that was presented in the Lok Sabha recently, he said it was a betrayal of the people.

"The Government said they would present their draft as well as our draft before the Union Cabinet but they betrayed the people by presenting only their draft," he said, adding that the government should withdraw their Lokpal Bill and either bring a new Bill afresh or make amendments in it."
Read more at: Govt checking records in Army, trying to dig out information about me: Hazare

Retd Lt Col arrested for killing Dilshan

DD News 10th July 2011
A former Lt Colonel was on Sunday arrested for the killing of 13-year-old Dilshan a week back inside the army residential complex for plucking mangoes and almonds as he was annoyed with boys trespassing in the area.
With the police zeroing on him on the basis of its probe, 58-year-old retired Lt Col Kandaswamy Ramraj, a native of Madurai, confessed to having shot Dilshan with his rifle from a balcony.
Ramraj has been booked by the Tamil Nadu Police crime branch under Section 302 (murder) of IPC. He was produced before a special court which remanded him to judicial custody for 15 days.
"We have got a major breakthrough in the Dilshan murder case. We confronted the retired army officer with physical witnesses and evidences which made him to confess," CBCID ADGP R Sekar told reporters on the killing of Dilshan who fell to the bullet when he trespassed into the army residential quarters last Sunday.
Stating that the retired army officer got annoyed by the frequent trespassing of the boys to pluck mangoes and almonds, he said, "this lead him to shoot from his rifle from a balcony at the time of incident."
"He used to yell at the boys who trespassed frequently to pluck mangoes and chase them," Sekar said.
Ramraj, a former Assistant Engineer (Arms section), admitted that he threw the rifle in the Cooum river here along with the bullets after the incident, Sekar said.
"With the help of fire tenders we were able to recover the weapon imported from United States and efforts are on to locate the bullets," he said, adding that the car used for hiding the weapon was also seized.
Sekar said that though initially police came to know there were only three children at the time of incident it later came to light that there was a fourth boy who informed them about a senior army man who tried to erase the evidence, he said.
With the help of fourth boy, police could zero in on Ramraj who initially refused to admit that he owned a licensed weapon but later confessed that he had applied for renewal of license with the suburban police, he said.(ST-10/07)
Retd Lt Col arrested for Dilshan killing
Comment: A sad commentary on Military Leadership qualities being imbibed. Certainly there is a need to have a relook on the ACR loaded officer cadre! Veterans with weapons cannot run amuck and erase evidence- truly disgusting.

Jan Lokpal first step to revive and redeem Democracy

Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal Bill
Democracy is a form of government in which all citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal (and more or less direct) participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law. It can also encompass social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination. The term comes from the Greek: δημοκρατία – (dēmokratía) "rule of the people", which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos) "people" and κράτος (Kratos) "power", in the middle of the 5th- 4th century BC to denote the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states, notably Athens following a popular uprising in 508 BC. Sadly our Indian Political System stems from bygone Royalty and Dynastic Rulers. The present system is an apology and insult to Democracy- The Constitution is not worth the piece paper on which it is written- the founders have not visualised that Criminals can artfully run a fake Democracy and blind the citizens and attempt to make them criminals!

We salute Anna Hazare who is reviving Democracy and awakening the National Conscience. This is the defining moment in India's history where 1.2 billion people and the poor are crying out for Freedom from Corruption. Power emanates from Citizens!

Jawaharlal Nehru had made the freedom speech, Tryst with Destiny to the Indian Constituent Assembly at the stroke of midnight on 15th August, 1947 little did he know that the India they had claimed back from the British rule would again be captured and ruled this time, though by its own citizens. Perhaps it was his prescient nature or good understanding of the human psyche that failed Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar to visualize Political Criminals could thwart Democracy and usurp power for corrupt purposes. To that extent there is a permanent deficiency in the Constitution- and Politicians fear to revisit or amend it for fear that their criminal activities will seal their fate!

Our democracy is replete with instances where the conduct has been dictated by brute state power, not by its own power of reasoning. Today, after a traumatic transition to democracy it is the same vain lot that runs the affairs of the state. So there is hardly any difference in the style of governance or in its attitude.

We take pride in having an elected government but it is the same known corrupt people the tax evaders, the bank defaulters, the smugglers and the criminals who are foisted upon an illiterate, poor electorate unable to make an informed political choice. The elections under prevailing system throw up not necessarily the best, the noblest or the fittest but the scum of the society (cash for votes syndrome), because they are manipulative enough to grab power. It is thus axiomatic that elections alone, even if they are fair and impartial, do not make political democracy.

A modest proposal on AFSPA

The Hindu 05 Sep 2010 by Siddharth Varadarajan

Students of various organisations hold placards during a protest demonstration, demanding withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from northeast and Kashmir, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on August 21, 2010. File Photo: S. Subramanium

Change the blanket ban on trials without official sanction to one where the government has the power to bar prosecution in individual cases provided it satisfies the courts that its reasons for doing so are valid.

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act has come in for widespread criticism in Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur and other parts of the northeast because of the human rights abuses that have come to be associated with its operation. So strong is the sentiment against AFSPA in Kashmir that in recent months Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have all spoken of the need to re-examine the law. The Army, on the other hand, says this is unnecessary.

The Army Chief, General V.K. Singh, has gone so far as to say that the demand for the dilution of AFSPA is being made for “narrow political gains.” On his part, Lt. Gen. B.S. Jaswal, GOC-in-C, Northern Command, has compared the Act to scripture. “I would like to say that the provisions of AFSPA are very pious to me and I think to the entire Indian Army. We have religious books, there are certain guidelines which are given there, but all the members of the religion do not follow it, they break it also … does it imply that you remove the religious book …?”

On paper, AFSPA is a deceptively simple law. First passed in 1958, it comes into play when the government declares a particular part of the northeast (or Jammu and Kashmir under a parallel 1990 law) a “disturbed area.” Within that area, an officer of the armed forces has the power to “fire upon or otherwise use force, even to the causing of death, against any person who is acting in contravention of any law or order for the time being in force in the disturbed area prohibiting the assembly of five or more persons or the carrying of weapons or of things capable of being used as weapons or of fire-arms, ammunition or explosive substances.”

Even though activists have made this the focus of their criticism, giving soldiers the “right to kill” is not, in my opinion, AFSPA's principal flaw. After all, if a ‘law and order' situation has arisen which compels the government to deploy the Army, soldiers have to be allowed to use deadly force. Even a private citizen has the right to kill someone in self-defence, though the final word on the legality of her or his action belongs to the courts. Similarly, a civilised society expects that the use of deadly force by the Army must at all times be lawful, necessary and proportionate. Here, the Act suffers from two infirmities: the requirement of prior sanction for prosecution contained in Section 6 often comes in the way when questions arise about the lawfulness of particular actions. Second, AFSPA does not distinguish between a peaceful gathering of five or more persons (even if held in contravention of Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code) and a violent mob. Firing upon the latter may sometimes be justified by necessity; shooting into a peaceful assembly would surely fail any test of reasonableness. ...Read more click here

Tax Exemption Limit to go up to Rs 2 Lakhs

Outlook India New Delhi | Aug 26, 2010
In a move that could leave more money in the hands of people, the Government today proposed to raise exemption limit on income tax from the present Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.

The Cabinet approved the much-awaited Direct Taxes Code (DTC) Bill, which is likely to be tabled in Parliament during the ongoing Monsoon session and thereafter it may be referred to a select committee of members of both houses of Parliament.

The bill also seeks to remove surcharge and cesses on corporate tax, which could provide relief to business houses.

When asked what will be the limit of exemptions for income tax, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters after the Cabinet meeting that it is proposed to be raised to Rs 2 lakh from the current Rs 1.6 lakh.

"The whole objective is that a plethora of exemptions will be limited. (Income) tax slabs will be three. Rate of taxes will be taken in the schedule so that they need not be changed every year," he said.

On the corporate tax, he said it is sought to be retained at the present level of 30 per cent, but there will not be any surcharge or cesses on it.

According to sources, the DTC bill is likely to be tabled in Parliament on Monday. Thereafter, it will be referred to the select committee, they added.

When asked what the new income tax slabs would be, Mukherjee said, "that will be discussed in Parliament."

Sources, however, said income between Rs 2-5 lakh is likely to attract a rate of 10 per cent, 20 per cent for Rs 5 -10 lakh bracket and 30 per cent above Rs 10 lakh.

For senior citizens and females, the tax slabs are likely to be relaxed further, they added

When contacted, senior officials in the Finance Ministry declined to comment on the slabs.

At present, income between Rs 1.65 lakh and Rs 5 lakh attracts 10 per cent tax, while the rate is 20 per cent for the Rs 5-8 lakh bracket and 30 per cent for income above Rs 8 lakh.

The first draft of the bill had suggested 10 per cent tax on income between Rs 1.60 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, 20 per cent on income between Rs 10 and Rs 25 lakh and 30 per cent beyond that.

However, finance ministry officials had later said those slabs were just illustrative.

The Bill, approved by Cabinet today, also seeks to impose minimum alternate tax (MAT) at 20 per cent of the book profit, compared to 18 per cent at present.

The first draft had proposed to impose MAT on assets, which drew strong criticism from the industry. The MAT on book profit has been maintained in the revised draft as well.

The first draft had also proposed to tax long-term savings like provident funds at the time of withdrawal. However, the revised draft exempted them, after the first draft drew flak.

"Concerns were expressed for shifting from EEE (exempt, exempt, exempt) to EET (exempt, exempt, tax)," the Finance Minister said.

This would also address the issue of taxing surplus funds of charitable institutions, he added.

When enacted, the DTC will replace the archaic Income Tax Act and simplify the direct tax regime in the country.

Finance Ministry officials exuded confidence that the Bill will come into force by the deadline of April 1, 2011.

The code aims at reducing tax rates, but expanding the tax base by minimising exemptions.

"DTC will help in streamlining various tax exemptions, deductions and thereby bring in moderate tax rates. DTC would address most of the issues raised by corporate India, like, not imposing tax on gross assets, clarifying EEE, introducing graded deduction for capital gains among others," Ernst & Young Tax Market Leader Sudhir Kapadia said.
Tax Exemption Limit to go up to Rs 2 Lakhs

Is India a shining example of Democracy?

The Panchayati Raj
Democracy thrives in India today largely because it has always existed in some form at the micro level even during the long feudal era. The village council, Panchayat, consisting of village elders played a key role in this long survival of grass root democracy.

The Panchayati Raj (rule) now enjoys constitutional status with built-in mechanism for regular elections and minimum representation of women and members of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. There are over three million elected local representatives, making this the widest democratic base in the world.

The Panchayati Raj helps in purposeful understanding of the masses and articulation of their responses. The Panchayati Raj is perhaps the best means of spreading democracy at the grassroots. Mahatma Gandhi called the Panchayats ‘village republics'; these village republics contribute to making India a shining example of democracy in the world.

What is killing Democracy in India
First is the bureaucracy.
Second is the great Indian Fakes starting from Politicians who are on top of the rung and mulitude of all other Indian fakes from passports to currency.
Third being the state sponsored criminalisation of citizens with a heavy dose of freebies. Some samples- Free TV, free saris, free gas stove, free electricity, free marriages coupled with bribes, money laundering, hawala operations, smuggling, black money, Swiss bank accounts, illegal mining, commissions for contract, terrorists, cash for votes... and you name it... it varies from state to state notwithstanding the scams surfacing at regular intervals at every level of governance. The disparity between the haves and have-nots galloping at a faster rate than growth of population or the GDP!

Mangalore Air Crash Tragic Fallout of Criminal Negligence of Planning and Regulatory Authorities

Press Release : 22 May 2010
Mangalore Air Crash Tragic Fallout of Criminal Negligence of Planning and Regulatory Authorities by Leo F. Saldanha
Environment Support Group
An Air India Express Boeing 737-800 aircraft arriving from Dubai with 167 on board 2010 tragically crashed at Mangalore International Airport at 6.30 am today (22 May 2010). It is reported that the plane overshot the runway while landing and fell over a cliff resulting in this disastrous crash. Very few are known to have survived this horrific crash.
This was no accident, but the direct result of deliberate failure of officials at the highest level in the Director General of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Government of Karnataka for allowing this 2nd runway to be built in criminal negligence of applicable norms and standards. Such a strong charge is being made as the likelihood of this kind of a crash (the worst case scenario) was predicted. A series of Public Interest Litigations were fought by the undersigned to stop the construction of this 2nd runway in Mangalore airport on grounds that the design simply did not conform to the most basic national and international standards of airport design. The PILs also highlighted that the airport does not conform with the most minimum safeguards for emergency situations – particularly during landings and takeoffs, and could not have emergency approach roads within a kilometre on all sides of the airport as required.

No one in authority cared to listen to our fervent pleas. This even when we demonstrated through a variety of representations that that the site chosen for expansion at Bajpe was surrounded by deep valleys on three sides of the runway and did not provide for emergency landing areas as required.

This neglect of our legitimate concerns forced us to move the High Court of Karnataka in a PIL in 1997 (Arthur Pereira and ors. vs. Union of India and ors., WP No. 37681/1997). A key concern raised was that the 2nd runway in Mangalore could not meet the standards required in dealing with an emergency, particularly during landings and takeoffs – a time when air crashes are most likely to happen.

The Airports Authority of India filed an affidavit in Court dismissing all our concerns and stated this, amongst other things:
"It is submitted that as regards the apprehensions of the petitioner that the Length and width of the runway is insufficient for a plane making an emergency landing, the same is without any basis. It is respectfully submitted that all the requirements as per the ICAO recommendation will be met and that there has been no infringement of any of the recommendation and limitation therein." (Copy of this affidavit dated 14 October 1998 is accessible here.)
1 That such a crash has occurred at the Mangalore airport is unpardonable as a similar crash had occurred at this airport over a decade ago. Fortunately the plane did not tip over into the valley and all passengers, including Union Law Minister Mr. Veerappa Moily, were fortunate to escape..
2 This safety standard of ICAO also applies to air crafts when landing. It is truly sad that today's tragic air crash could be a consequence of the lack of conformance with this standard.
For further details, contact:
Environment, Social Justice and Governance Initiatives, Environment Support Group - Trust, 1572, 36th Cross, Banashankari II Stage Bangalore 560070
Tel: 91-80-26713559-61 Voice/Fax: 91-80-26713316 Email: leo@esgindia.org Web: www.esgindia.org
Read the full text of Press Release
Press release: Mangalore Air Crash

Scams and Naxalite Terror: The Tribune India

Silence over scams
The intelligentsia avoids risks by Kuldip Nayar
THE Indian democratic system, however wanting, has come to have enough openness to ensure that scams and scandals tumble out of the cupboard sooner or later. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s purchase of Bofors guns, the manipulations in the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket or the sale by central minister A Raja of 2G spectrum, the mobile band, are some recent stories of corruption.
The public is aghast over the disclosures. The media has criticised them endlessly. Parliament has registered its protest through walkouts or long debates. Yet no head has rolled. No minister has ever been prosecuted. It is business as usual after a scam has hit the headlines.

Two main reasons for lack of action are the absence of morality in politics and the government’s control over the investigating and prosecuting agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The shame for having been caught with the hand in tiller is no more deterring. The truth is the casualty. The guilty goes scot-free.
Read more: Silence over Scams

Medical Council Of India Scam
Ketan Desai was exposed the second time over and his deputy was seen as a protégé of his who had kept the President’s chair warm for him when Dr Desai was first arrested in 2001 on corruption charges and later acquitted for lack of evidence. That Dr Desai returned to head the MCI again is a telling commentary on how the vast body of medical doctors surrendered their right to be governed by a person of the right moral standards apparently through sheer apathy.

Dr Ketan Desai has indeed brought the whole medical profession under disrepute. The criminal cases registered against him must be pursued with vigour and he must be brought to book. As for the Medical Council of India, the Government must nurse it back to health and then restore to it a measure of autonomy that is the need of every professional body. The doctors on their part must draw the right lessons — never to let the council be hijacked by unscrupulous elements.
Read more: A new medical council- Nurse it back to health

Dangers of Dantewada
Groping in the dark proving costly by Lt-Gen Harwant Singh (retd)
THE massacre at Dantewada was not only a great tragedy but possibly an event of far-reaching consequences. The scale of the tragedy is dismaying. The fact that the police party was ill trained, lacked coordination with local police and poorly led is an issue which needs no elaboration, but the larger issue is the state of Central Police Organisations (CPOs).
Read more: Dangers of Dantewada: Groping in the Dark

Col Caveeshar Shaping Young Minds

Dear Friends,
Here is another write up on our course mate KS Caveeshar's activities for the under privileged.
Well done dear Caveeshar and Gifty.
Lt Gen Harbhajan Singh (Retd)

click on image for reading the text
Caveeshar educates underprivileged students
Education is very important in the present day life. Only a literate person can now adjust with the development of society. Especially girls or women must be educated as they play a vital role in the development of society.
With this vision KS Caveeshar, a retired Colonel and a resident of Noida Sector 37 has taken a unique step to educate underprivileged students that reside in his neighbourhood. He is not only giving them education, but also looking for their overall development. He is doing all this on his own without taking support from the government or any NGO.
Caveeshar said, "I retired from the army in 1984 and then served with RAW for a couple of years and then migrated to the USA. Stayed there for almost two decades and served in the education department of Los Angeles Unified School District (teaching Americans good English). Returned and settled in Sector 37, Noida, towards the end of 2005.
Have about 30 students
"I saw that there were a lot of students who go to school, but they were not getting proper education as nobody in their family was uneducated. Hence, I started helping those underprivileged schoolchildren with their studies at my apartment. When the number became too big for my apartment, I rented a garage, furnished it and moved the children there. When the landlady asked for more money, I got a sort of a classroom constructed at my apartment and moved the children there. I have about 30 students from class I to class X and I help them in two shifts between 3pm and 8pm."
Gives financial help for books
Caveeshar said, "Besides this, I have also helped these children in many other ways. I contacted the president of ICARE Eye Hospital and got a team to come to my place and check the eyes of all children. After that I contacted the high-ups of the amusement park at The Great India Place who, later, invited all children to a Drama 'Jallianwala Bagh' being staged there by a prominent group. Apart from educating them, I have also given financial help for books and school fees to the needy children."
Caveeshar opened his own school
After seeing Caveeshar's hardwork, Retired Colonel Dr Usha Bora and Retired Brigadier Tejender Singh have also started helping him. With their support now, Caveeshar has opened his own school on the name of his father, where some handicapped students are also getting education.
Nobody came for help initially
Caveeshar said, "I had gone through difficult time during the early stage of my mission. Nobody came for help initially, while it was strongly required. I have also lost some of my very good friends, when I asked them for a favour. Despite of all critics, I followed my vision with honesty and ultimately I achieved success."
—Rohit Babbar
Caveeshar educates underprivileged students

RTI: The first four years

Dear Mr Alasdair S. Roberts
This refers to the report click here
While the overall thrust of the report is correct I am writing to highlight two misplaced priorities.
The first reason you have given for the non-effective implementation of the RTI Act is the ignorance you have attributed to the majority of the citizens. But by your own admission a good 15 percent of the population is aware of the Act. And that is a pretty 150 million people! The number of applications filed under the Act in the first two and half years is also an impressive two million! The beauty of this country is that if something works people, irrespective of their literacy or lack of it, will surely line up to use it. Unfortunately, when things do not work, instead of making determined efforts to make it work they just give up. This is the problem with the implementation of the RTI Act in India. It has already been put on the ventilator by the two institutions that could have really helped to use this Act for ushering in real democracy in the country. The first is the office of the information commissioners (ICs) who have been given the tooth and nail to enforce the Act. But activists in this area believe that there is blatant misuse of office and corruption when the commissioners who are required to mandatorily impose penalties on public information officers (PIOs) for as much as not sticking to deadlines for providing information, fail to do so. It is easily argued that where the IC is required to impose a penalty of Rs 25,000/- he/she can 'fail' to do so by accepting, say Rs 15,000/- as grease money. And there may be PIOs who are willing to pay even the whole Rs 25,000/- or more as bribe than pay it as penalty! The second instituion that has contributed to the failure of the RTI Act is the judiciary. The claim of the Chief Justice of India that his office is out of purview of the transparency law speaks volumes by itself.
The second wrong premise I have noted in the report is the assertion that the lower level staff do not have the training, authority or the resources needed to respond to the requests properly. The fact is otherwise. What is appalling is the mindset of the people- starting with the lowest office attendant to the highest, who ever it is- in public authorities which is still to come to terms with the needs of a democratic society. Even here the best example is from the judiciary which has many orders to its credit asserting the right to information as part of the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression. But I can vouch from my own experience that the courts have even refused to give copies of even its earlier orders under the Right to Information Act! It has also refused to provide information on the facilites available to a citizen in a court when he/she is appearing as a litigant in person! The effort to deny information by the judiciary is also evident in the fact that it is only the judiciary that has exhorbitantly fixed the various fees/cost for seeking/providing information. Against the nominal Rs 10/- fixed as application fee by other public authorities the Delhi High Court had fixed the application fees as Rs 500/- but reduced it to Rs 50/- with the intervention of the Central Information Commission! The courts have also introduced a totally unwarranted fee of Rs 50/- for the first appeal which is just an opportunity given to the public authority to correct any mistakes/shortcomings in the response of its PIO. The cost of providing information is also similarly very high, if not exhorbitant. For example, Rs 5/- for an A4 size page of information against Rs 2/- for other public authorities!

The RTI Act is a very simple and unambiguous law that can be read and understood by even an upper primary school kid. But the way it has been wilfully misinterpreted and abused by the ICs and the judiciary has highlighted the need for certain amendments. The suggestions I had given to a parliamentary committee on the subject is attached. But today the activists in this area are so wary that their only demand is 'No amendments, implement it right!'. This is because they expect the law makers to bring in all amendments that would dilute the Act rather than strengthen it. For example, denying file notings and also making it necessary to disclose the reason for which the information is being sought etc. The only silver lining available now is the freedom and ability to communicate with like minded people and that is no mercy of those in offices of authority. The civil society does have a chance to make its presence felt. And they need to succeed if real democracy has to take roots here.
Your's truly,
Veteran Major P M Ravindran

Indian Democracy is Cancer of Corruption which needs to be stamped out by Citizens

December 17, 2009
Dear Compatriot,
We are contacting you for a noble purpose. Every major problem we face today– individually or nationally– is rooted in CORRUPTION. We reconcile and adjust to it from time. We have launched a campaign against this malaise where awakened Indians like you can help in building up the momentum.

Today India is at crucial crossroads. On the one hand, we can boast of youthful reservoir of technological brainpower and a zooming industry; on the other, we have every component of governance crumbling. Chaos is creeping in. Let us have a look at our national scene:

1. It is no secret that there has been a steady degeneration in the quality of our politicians with every successive Lok Sabha becoming home to increasing number of criminals. In the previous Lok Sabha we had 123 tainted MPs; now we have 158 – 73 of them involved in serious crimes. They are steadily moving towards majority and the day is not far when they will gang-up to form a Government of ‘like-minded’ MPs/groups!

2. People have lost faith in police and civil Administration because remedies through these agencies have become too costly and unaffordable. Emergence of extra-constitutional power groups like Naxalites and Senas of various hues are replacing Administrative authority in various states. People at large find their dispensation of justice speedier and fairer. Little wonder, they have ‘liberated zones’ where the local Administration dare not venture! In other peaceful/progressive looking areas, the henchmen of local politicians rule the roost.

3. Basic amenities like health care are in no less pitiable state. While patients are left to languish and die in pathetically unhygienic conditions in government hospitals, there are doctors who are butchering people to trade kidneys, eyes and other human organs with impunity.

4. The option of judicial remedies is riddled with murkier complexities. We have it here straight from the horse’s mouth. Recording their own helplessness at the ‘collapse of criminal justice in the country’ during hearing of a high profile hit-and-run case of Delhi on 5th February 2009, the honourable Supreme Court went on to say, “What happened in the current case is the tip of the iceberg. This is a case of accident. We have seen cases involving smuggling of arms, RDX, narcotics where the accused get away. But we are helpless.” (TOI, 06 Feb 09).

5. We all have personal experiences where we have had to ‘negotiate and pay our way out’ of sinister traps of unscrupulous officers and stooges. Simple things like licenses, admissions, address verifications, medical certificates, FIR and so forth as nothing moves by rules. Money and/or ‘right contact’ can move everything that rules can’t.

It is time we woke up to the harsh realities that cannot be wished away. We have to act– and act now. For effective cleansing of the system, we have to start from the very top for which we have definite strategy and a time bound plan as explained in Shri Shambhu Dutta’s letter attached. Fortunately, in Shri Shambhu Dutta we have a Gandhian veteran, who, at the call of Mahatama Gandhi, courted imprisonment in the 1942 Quite India Movement by resigning his job as a young Civilian Gazetted Officer in the then IAOC. He met Gandhiji in 1944. In free India he again courted imprisonment by opposing the 1975 Emergency. For the last forty years he has been working from Delhi as a volunteer in the Servants of the People Society, founded by Lala Lajpat Rai and inaugurated by Gandhiji at Lahore in 1921. He is now the Hony. General Secretary of the Gandhian Satyagraha Brigade, Lajpat Bhawan, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi 110024. The honourable Prime Minister, Minister of Law (Mr. Veerappa Moily) and other government departments have acknowledged his communication with positive assurance that the needful actions are being taken. Although no concrete steps are yet in sight despite these assurances, momentum is building up in the right direction eg, informing colleagues, friends and sensitising them to lend us their support in whatever manner they choose.

I, therefore, exhort you to please come forward and join this pious struggle that is against none but evils in our system. This is every Indian citizen’s war where everyone’s effort counts. There is none too poor, too weak or too old to wage this noble war. For the pessimists who say ‘Corruption cannot go’ let me assure that our joint effort shall surely injure and weaken it, if not kill, and deny it the express way. Those who are not opposing CORRUPTION are supporting it – and, therefore, helping it to flourish.

Your contribution– whatever form you choose– is going to be valuable in this effort. From the three options, you are welcome to choose the way in which you wish to lend support to this noble Cause. Kindly also forward this mail with your endorsement to your friends for wider circulation.

It shall be my pleasure to furnish further details if desired. Looking forward to your kind response.
With regards,
Yours sincerely,
Col Karan Kharb (Retd)
Gandhian Satyagraha Brigade
An All India NGO of Gandhian Persuasion, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, Lajpat Bhavan, Lajpat Nagar– IV, New Delhi- 110024

The Bureaucracy and the Armed Forces in India

THE BUREAUCRACY AND THE ARMED FORCES IN INDIA– A CASE OF PENIS ENVY? (see the article below).

How very true! Do all States have a Lok Ayukth??

Karnataka Lok Ayukth is presently headed by an ex Chief Justice of the Supreme Court the Hon'ble Justice Santosh Hegde. Both he and his predecessor have investigated hundreds of cases of big corruption against babus running into, I dare say, thousands of crores of rupees. No actions whatsoever, except for suspension or transfer of the corrupt officials, have ever taken place!!! Not a single charge has been brought about against anyone, not a single case has reached any Court of Law.

Compare this with the completed court martial that have taken place against corrupt Officers of the Armed Forces in the last few decades. The Press goes ballistic over corrupt "Colonel Ketchups" and the like, but are not vocal against corrupt babus except when reported by the Lok Ayukth.

When my older grandchildren tell me of the distorted history that is being taught in schools of how the British and the Rajas looted the country for 200 years, I have to bring them up to date with the fact that the present day rajas (babus and politicians) continue to do so everyday with impunity and without any restraints!!

Col Cyrus Dalal (Retd)

THE BUREAUCRACY AND THE ARMED FORCES IN INDIA– A CASE OF PENIS ENVY?
Imagine two branches of service in the Government of India. The two branches are different in substance and in the perception of the citizens. One branch has its halo effect and is considered both glamorous and praiseworthy in public perception. The other branch is often pejoratively titled “babudom”.
Now consider the following points:

The armed forces have their uniforms and shiny medals. The bureaucrats have none.

Generals, Admirals and Air Marhsals sport three stars on their vehicles, and sometimes four stars. Even officers of the rank of Brigadier sport a star. The bureaucrats of similar seniority have to make do with just a red or blue light. Lest you consider this a trivial matter not worthy of the attention of a senior bureaucrat, consider this – when my brother, an Air Commodore, was posted as India’s Air Attache in Washington, he was entitled to put a single star – the US Army’s designated insignia for a brigadier level officer – on his vehicle. This gave him certain parking and other privileges in specified buildings. His administrative superior – an officer belonging to the Indian Foreign Service – actually urged my brother to remove the star from his car since he, the senior officer, was not entitled to it.

The armed forces, with their bemedalled heroes guarding our boundaries, and their fighter pilots, navy commanders etc. garner favourable publicity in the media and are viewed as services with an air of professionalism and macho. They carry an aura of glamour. The bureaucrats, on the other hand, do not have such an image – in fact, they are widely considered to be working in musty offices, surrounded by files and aided by often sloppy staff, who the average citizen encounters in his or her daily life.
If professions could be said to have sexes, the armed forces would definitely be considered masculine and the bureaucrats, their civilian counterpart, feminine. In saying this I do not mean to slight the feminine aspect. I am just stating the obvious – the aggressive, protective, outgoing principle vis a vis the protected, home-bound civilian bureaucrats.
This dichotomy between the two appears to have affected the bureaucratic wing adversely as far as their attitude towards the defence wing is concerned. The closest we can express this attitude in psychological terms is by saying that they suffer from penis-envy.
Sigmund Freud introduced the concept of a little girl's envy of the penis in his 1908 article "On the Sexual Theories of Children," and developed the idea later in his work “On Narcissism”. Subsequently, his theory has been overtaken by more accurate theories of female sexuality by psychologists such as Eric Ericson ad Jian Paget. It has also been criticised by feminists and others. However, here we are not dealing with the girl child’s psychological development. We are concerned with a similar emotion amongst India’s bureaucrats vis a vis our Armed Forces where this theory does appear to apply rather closely.
The bureaucrats subconsciously appear to wish that they had more glamour in their profession, that they had smart, uniformed assistants and starred vehicles and be-medalled uniforms. Acquiring these appears as difficult as the girl’s covert wish to acquire a penis. However, unlike the girl child, the bureaucrats can do something about it. They may not be able to acquire a penis for themselves, but they leave no occasion to try and castrate the armed forces.
The recent sixth pay commission controversy is only one factor in the ongoing struggle for supremacy which the bureaucrats have tried this castration. In pursuance of this effort, the bureaucrats have not permitted even a single representative of the armed forces – India’s largest employer – in the Pay Commission. An indicative incident of the feeling of animosity can be judged by he incident where the military attaché in one of our embassies overheard one of the senior-most bureaucrats visiting that country make a pejorative comment in reference to the noise being made by the armed forces about the Sixth Pay Commission award anomalies. The senior bureaucrats comment was that on his return to India “We will fix the bastards”.
Another indication of this castration is the order of precedence. This is the official order in which dignitaries are seated at formal functions and the ceremonial importance given to each relative to the others. At the time of independence, the senior most general was second in the Order of Precedence. Now the Army Chief is 12th in this list. The Cabinet Secretary is 11th, as is the Attorney General. At the 23rd position are “Officers of the rank of full General or equivalent rank” on par with Secretaries to the Government, Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities , Secretary, Minorities Commission, Secretary, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes , Members, Minorities Commission , Members, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Members, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and a host of others.
There are many other areas where no opportunity is missed by the bureaucrats to show the armed forces down.
The overt reason one hears for maintaining the supremacy of the bureaucrats over the armed forces is that we should adhere to the principle of “the civilian control of the army”. However, civilian control does not mean the Chief of India’s Army, who commands 1.3 million officers and soldiers, apart from 1.4 million reserve and territorial army personnel, waiting at the pleasure of the bureaucrats manning the Ministry of Defence. So long as he obeys the orders of a civilian Minister of Defence, it would ensure the principle of civilian control adequately. However, the bureaucrats will never agree to this because this argument will take away one more tool which facilitates the castration mentioned above.
These attempts at castration of the armed forces by the bureaucracy are resulting in the demoralisation of our armed forces at all levels. The retired officers speak about this openly and the serving ones in hushed tones. This complex of the bureaucrats needs to be recognised for what it is and, then, needs to be addressed firmly and fairly by the political masters, Unless this is done, we will continue devaluing the spear and shield of the country to satisfy the castrative instinct of the bureaucrats. If a further devaluation of the tools of India's defence happens, we should not be surprised that, when we need a steely response to danger on our borders, we will get a wooden one. Then, paradoxically, the bureaucrats will get one more reason to castrate the armed forces further and the vicious spiral will continue making holes in our national defence shield.

Kishore Asthana
asthana1@yahoo.com
THE BUREAUCRACY AND THE ARMED FORCES IN INDIA– A CASE OF PENIS ENVY?

Report My Signal Forum: We like to share our views with you

Thank you for visiting the Report My Signal (RMS) Blog

The RMS forum is a not for profit organization. It is free and there is no membership fees. We were formed to provide information to the Ex- Servicemen (ESM) who have served honourably in the Indian Armed Forces. The forum has been established to provide a strong sense of pride and mutual support for all who have served our nation in the armed forces. It will also promote a positive image of military veterans and champion their interests.

We are proud to be ex- servicemen comprising of all Sepoys, Non Commissioned Officers, Junior commissioned Officers and the Commissioned Officers of All three services. There are universal truths that inspire men. These truths are written in the histories of all great nations, and address directly the influence of the "Soldiers" on the traditions shaping the character of a nation. The ESM brotherhood is part of that tradition. We have served our nation and in many cases have risked our lives in it's defence. And in the tradition of soldiers around the world, we adhere to a different code, different customs, and different protocols. The love we have for our nation is very strong.

We are about 'pride' and 'unity' among our nation's ESM, their spouse and Next of Kin (NOK)/ ESM organisations and communities. It is our mission as a forum to focus attention both locally and nationally on the positive contributions made by military veterans. We believe our duty and our opportunity to support our fellow veterans did not end with military service alone. So through our actions, our community involvement, and our dedication to this cause, we hope to perpetuate the feeling of pride and belonging amongst our ESM community and we expect you all to do the same.

We are not alone in this endeavor. We recognize that no single organization can provide for the needs of all veterans. We are but one of many and in the spirit of our fraternity we support all ESM organizations, forums, and ESM groups, whose sole mission is to perpetrate, pride, and respect our nations Ex- Service Personnel their spouse and NOK. As proud Veterans we are bound by our honour, the military ethics, AND THE LAWS OF THIS ANCIENT NATION, to promote a positive image for all veterans. We welcome any Veteran of all ranks and all three Services, who has served our nation honourably and who believes in the RULE OF LAW.

WE ARE NON- TERRITORIAL, APOLITICAL AND NON- ATTITUDINAL. WE ARE NOT INTERESTED IN THE BUSINESS OF SPINNING MONEY, WE ARE MERE VOLUNTEERS WITH NO ULTERIOR MOTIVES.

Our forum consists of and is open to all veterans who have been honourably discharged from the Defence Forces. We do not lead. We do not follow. We are brothers from all ranks from all three Services in equal partnership.

Consumer Protection Law: Deficiency in Services

An average subscriber generally pays his bills regularly. If for any reason he defaults, he pays a surcharge for late payment. But what if he receives a hefty bill for calls that he has not made and which, he believes, are excessively high. To his utter dismay, the bill also contains a warning in red letters that if the bill is not paid by the prescribed date, the phone will be disconnected without any notice. And this threat is usually enforced. But he has no means to prove that he has not used his telephone to the extent indicated in the bill. For, one of the unique and, perhaps, the most unfortunate features of this service is that, unlike electricity or water meters that are installed in the premises of the consumer, the telephone meter is installed elsewhere away for the gaze or access of the consumer. So he has no means of knowing the mistake beforehand and he has to suffer for a mistake that he has not done. In such a case, then what are the remedies available to such a consumer? Whether he has rights to raise his voice against the exorbitant bill or he has no way except to pay the amount by any means and get ii done away with.

We have seen the evolution of law in the field of Deficiency in Service with respect to Telecom Services with a special emphasis on inflated billing. The purpose is that the citizens should not feel cheated and helpless when such a thing happens. He should know his rights and must use them against injustice done to him.

For the same purpose, the government has launched the Jago Grahak Jago Abhiyaan in order to sensitize the citizens specially the consumers of different goods and services of their rights. Such a move is highly appreciated and it is sincerely believed that it goes a long way in enlightening the citizens specially consumers.
Read more:
Deficiency in Telephone Services
Consumer Protection Law
How to file a consumer complaint?
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission

Military Welfare Organisations
Oftentimes products and items purchased form CSD (I), unit run canteens are defective, poor quality, shelf- life expired items. The consumers need protection against spurious, sub- standard and rejected products palmed off to the CSD (I) at reduced wholesale, bulk and retail rates. The aim of CSD (I) is to reap in greater volume of profits. Similarly AWHO palms off sub- standard housing to the Defence Personnel. The main culprits are the contractors who reduce the quality of work at every stage.
Defence personnel need protection against all such exploitation by profit generating organisations whose aim to "serve" has been replaced to "generate huge volume of profits". The Consumer Protection Law must be applicable to all Military Welfare Organisations. There should be provision for return of products and instant cash refund on products, in all CSD (I) unit run Canteens and similarly adequate compensation for poor quality houses delivered by AWHO.

PM addresses XVII Biennial Conference of CBI

27-Aug-2009
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today urged the CBI and state anti-corruption officials to go “aggressively” after “high level corruption” to change the perception that “petty cases get tackled quickly but the big fish escape punishment”. “Rapid, fair and accurate investigation of allegations of corruption in high places should remain your utmost priority. The nation expects you to act firmly, swiftly and without fear or favour. You have... constitutional protection... to do so,” Singh told officers from the CBI, Central Vigilance Commission and anti-corruption bureaus of all states and UTs at the inauguration of a two-day conference in the Capital.
The PM presented medals of outstanding service to 20 officers.
No fear, go after big fish, PM tells CBI at anti-corruption meet
Related reading:
PM addresses the XVII Biennial Conference of CBI and State Anti-Corruption Bureaux
PM’S KEY NOTE ADDRESS TO CONFERENCE OF CBI & STATE ANTI-CORRUPTION BUREAUS: GOVERNMENT TO BRING FORWARD PUBLIC SERVICES BILL

Comments
By: Dr Rekha Jagannath 27-Aug-2009
After such a impressive election win it is certainly time to pursue this greatest monster roaring against our Democracy and Economy. Our currency is not readily accepted in rest of the world due to this bane. Quality at all levels of governance is sacrificed to feed corruption. Education system is topsy turvy and scare of the genuine because of it. All infrastructural work is suffering controlled by it. Dr Singh did initiate a bit of anti corruption drive in 1991 when when he introduced delicensing and other versions of it attacking the lion's den of corruption. Corruption in high cadres is the biggest crime against the Nation(Late eminent Economist who remains obscure, Dr Venkatagiri Gowda of Karnataka who did his best to fight corruption at all levels till last days often said "Corrupt at the top have to be hanged!"). A significant proportion of GDP gain could be garnered if serious attempts are made. Hope it is a serious statement coming from our incorruptible PM!

Corruption in Defence Forces
The scale of corruption especially emanating from Services like ASC, Ordnance, MES, CSD (I) is escalating from PBORs to higher echelons of Command. The "commission" syndrome is sucking the quality of life in the Armed Forces. The clamour for commission for every kind of local purchase, tender process and so forth is galloping at an extraordinary pace! The Chief who heads the organisation is morally responsible for the declining standards.

MPs, young and elderly alike, keen to join territorial army

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

The Minister of State of Defence, Shri M.M. Pallam Raju addressing the Members of Parliament during a presentation on the Territorial Army, in New Delhi on August 04, 2009.
Members of Parliament, young and elderly alike, have evinced keen interest in joining the Territorial Army (TA), the voluntary force of the Indian army for civilians, part-time. Participating in a presentation here today on the aim, role, organization and functioning of the Citizen’s Army, as it is often called, about three dozen MPs enthusiastically inquired how they could contribute to popularize the movement and be a part of the volunteer force.

Addressing the gathering, the Minister of State for Defence Dr MM Pallam Raju said the overwhelming response of the MPs to the programme demonstrates the faith of the nation in the armed forces and their keenness to imbibe the sense of discipline and patriotism cultivated by the armed forces across their rank and file. Lok Sabha MPs including Shri Navin Jindal, Shri Deepender Singh Hooda and Shri Hemanand Biswal keenly participated in an interactive session following the presentation. Former cricketer Shri Kapil Dev, who has been inducted into the TA recently as Honorary Lt. Colonel, was also present during the deliberations.

Army chief General Deepak Kapoor said the Territorial Army has proved its merit both during war and peacetime. Men of the TA help maintain essential services during strikes and the force has contributed immensely in counter-terrorism operations in Jammu & Kashmir and the North-East. TA personnel are fully capable to undertake responsibilities in running essential services and the TA departmental units has six Regiments trained in Railways, seven Regiments to run General Hospital services, one for Oil & Natural Gas, one for Refineries and Pipelines, one for Marketing Battalion of Army Supply Corps and an infantry battalion for Ecological Task Force which has undertaken several aforestation drives across the country.

Major General KVS Lalotra, Additional Director-General of the Territorial Army, who heads the force, said a proposal to relax enrolment rules and training for civilian officers was under consideration. Government officers could be exempted from appearing before the Services Selection Board (SSBs) if the proposals are approved, he added.

Raised by Sir C. Rajagopalachari, the first Governor General of free India, on Oct.09, 1949, the Territorial Army would soon be entering its diamond jubilee year. Having won five Vir Chakras and three Shaurya Chakras, the TA has seen many eminent personalities including Malayalam film actor Mohan Lal (Honorary Lt. Col.), former ONGC CMD Shri Subir Raha (Major-Retired), Shri Doshehe Y Sema (Major), a member of the Nagaland state assembly and several others, donning uniform.
PK/RAJ
MPs, young and elderly alike, keen to join territorial army

E Governance- Will ESM Grieviences Get the C-in-C attention?

Now, your complaint will reach President at the click of a mouse by Smriti Kak Ramachandran: : The Hindu
Rashtrapati Bhavan gets over 400 mails every day
— Photo: PTI GOVERNANCE: President Pratibha Patil inaugurates the helpline portal at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Friday.

NEW DELHI: With the click of a few buttons, complaints, petitions and prayers will now swiftly reach the President’s Office, find their way to the departments concerned, get tracked as they are processed and the information stored for later use.

With the launch of a new website http://helpline.rb.nic.in on Friday, reaching out to the President has become easier. Launched by President Pratibha Patil at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the website has been designed to simplify the process of grievance redress.

“The Rashtrapati Bhavan mail box receives over 400 mails every day. The portal is expected to reduce the time taken to dispatch the mail to the Central and State government departments concerned, following up on the action taken and finally maintaining the record,” said Secretary to the President Cristy Fernandes.

“We hope to process the applications within seven days of receiving them. And everybody who sends us a mail will be provided a unique registration number (URN), which will help them keep track of their application,” he said.

The portal, Mr. Fernandes said, was the President’s idea. “On assuming office, the President expressed the wish to modernise everything possible, from infrastructure to the style of working.”

The portal offers citizens a platform to voice their grievances. Of the total applications that the President’s Office receives, 70 per cent are through snail mail and the rest electronically.

“People who are left with no options write to the President. There are some limitations that the office faces as far as keeping track of these applications, updating their status and preserving these applications is concerned. But with the launch of this portal, we hope to address these issues,” said Mr. Fernandes.

The new system is being integrated with the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System which will monitor the progress of the petition.

The portal, currently available in English, will gradually be available in Indian languages as well. It will allow lodging of lengthy e-petitions and enable supplementary attachment of scanned documents.
Now, your complaint will reach President at the click of a mouse
President Helpline: click me

Veterans organisations: Is OROP the only Goal?

Date: Monday, 13 July, 2009, 12:10 PM
Sir,
May I congratulate Satish Kumar Bahri on making a beginning in trying to bring the warring ESMs together?

While on the subject may I, veteran of 69 years of age and who retired in 1986, make a suggestion? In those times a retired person was left to fend for himself. At least now we have some active veterans organisations spurred in by the injustice meted out by the 6thCPC and the politicians/babu combine.

All ESMs are now concentrating on the OROP goal. And nobody would have any objection to that. But at the same time shouldn't the ESMs also make a beginning to work on other matters too? I have pointed this out to IESM but my views have been ignored. And IESL, too, is not at all visible in cities like Mumbai. Isn't it a strategy of the Armed Forces to launch an attack from all sides to achieve your goal? If an impression is given to the public that the Armed Forces are fighting only for "money" how much sympathy and support can we expect? We must also show that we are fighting for our 'Dignity'.

What I want to say is that there is very little or no exposure to the general public for Armed Forces and the services they render to the nation, their tough life, difficulties, sacrifices, neglect of their families, affecting the education of their offspring etc. Only in times of war/border conflicts do the media take notice of the Armed Forces when they are glorified. But public memory being short, they are forgotten till something like 26/11 jolts them into realising that it is the Armed Forces (NSG, MARCOS) who come to their aid and not the Police/babus/politicians. It is essential to put pressure on the government/ politicians not only at the Centre but also government/politicians at the states also, who, too, desire to come to power and rule. This is true of local administrations also like Municipalities. Unless they feel that their rule is threatened at all levels, the politicians will not take notice of any protest. The protest at Jantar Mantar by IESM did make the Congress party sit up and take notice. But this had no effect in the other areas/states. In most of India, the agitation went un- noticed by the public as it was Delhi-centric. Moreover, the fight must continue whether we get OROP or no OROP.

Therefore, I feel it is necessary that the Armed Forces and veterans remain in the public eye all the time like in countries like the UK, the USA. where the veterans are revered and get exceptional treatment in all walks of life. In India, they are not only ignored but denigrated. Perhaps this is not the case in Northern states which are close to the border,where the Armed Forces are omnipresent.

In states like Maharashtra, Gujarat the lay public have the vaguest idea about the Military because they rarely see uniformed personnel who are confined to the cantonment (Colaba) area. They feel Air Force and Air India are the same organisations! The other day I was introduced to a retired Dy. Dir. of Doordarshan in Mumbai, an engineer, who when told that I am a Wing Commander (Retd of course), looked blank and was frank enough to admit that he has no idea of the rank structure of the Defence Services and that this was because of the fact that there is hardly any exposure for them. I do not blame him.

So it is time we veterans made ourselves visible by wearing something distinctive attire, like a side cap and preferably T shirts etc displaying slogans like " Do not Forget Kargil martyrs", "Army/Air Force/Navy to the Rescue", "Remember the Jawan" etc. Also it is necessary to have a constant contact with the Defence establishments in the local areas and the serving personnel to instill confidence in the minds of veterans that they are not left to their own fate and will get all help and support from the Army/Navy/Air Force Commanders in their area. There should be more functions apart from Army Day or Air Force Day or Navy day which come once a year. The agitation and visibility should encompass whole of India and not only Delhi and al year round. The task is a big one.
How to go about is a challenge for people like you and your organisations.
Regards,
Wg Cdr Shashank Bendre (Retd)

Memorandum of Association: INDIAN EX SERVICEMEN MOVEMENT
Aims & Objectives. In general the IESM will aim to bind the ESM fraternity together and use the talent and experience of the ESM towards nation building. In specific the aims and objectives will be, but not limited to, as follows:-

(a) To promote, support and organize suitable occupational opportunities for ESM.
(b) To provide assistance to ESM and their widows in their resettlement.
(c) To provide assistance to ESM in setting up own small scale ventures for livelihood.
(d) To provide assistance to all ESM in matters concerning medical, pension, grants etc.
(e) To organize social, cultural, educational and recreational events for the benefit of ESM and their wards.
(f) To periodically hold conferences, meetings, seminars, lectures and visual shows on topics of interest to the ESM.
(g) To pursue with the Centre and State governments for removal of any discriminatory rules and provisions adversely affecting the interests of ESM.
(h) To pursue establishment of Just & Fair place of Defence services in the country i.e. functioning of Defence services in a democracy.
(j) To undertake any other task considered appropriate by the Governing Body.

Areas of Immediate Concern. To strongly take up important issues/ problems affecting the ESM like:

Constitution of Ex Servicemen Commission at the National level to look after welfare measures of the ESM. The ESM commission should be headed by an ESM and to have members from the ESM including ESM Widows.

Guaranteed Re-settlement/ Reemployment of servicemen on retirement until the age of 60 years or in the alternative, suitable enhanced compensation till attainment of 60 years of age.

To restore status, respect and self esteem which has been eroded in the past 60 years.

Revamping of ECHS Scheme so as to make it user friendly for all types of medical care, including super specialized care thereby improving the health care of ESM.

Representation of the ESM on all committees and other such bodies constituted for the purpose of looking into matters affecting the interests of the ESM.

Single window service to be established in all Civil/Govt. offices to avoid difficulty and delay of ESM problems.

Once a year a free railway warrant of the class authorized to be given to every ESM and his/her spouse of the life time.

Taking up case for Defence Constituency like graduate constituency for the serving & retired defence personnel to safeguard their interests in the Parliament & state legislatures. Till this is accepted asking for nominated members?

Taking up with state governments for allotment of residential plots & industrial sheds for the ESM’s.

Taking up cases collectively for removal of injustice through legal means

Building up funds by voluntary contributions as prescribed to have resources for building, office & legal aid.

To liaise with the services to help the PBOR’s in resettlement..
Memorandum of Association: INDIAN EX SERVICEMEN MOVEMENT(IESM)