Ban Endosulfan – Save Generations

Profit motive is the driving force of free market economy. However profit motive should not be the preferred choice if there is a trade off between making profit and saving the lives of human beings. The Indian government is doing the unthinkable by preferring profit motive over the lives of its citizens in the subject of banning Endosulfan as government companies are in the forefront of producing the pesticide. When the whole world is shouting in one voice to ban the dangerous pesticide, Indian Government is trying to sabotage all efforts by the international community by voting against banning Endosulfan. The Stockholm Convention meet in Geneva on 25 April will discuss a global ban on the deadly pesticide.

India made a shocking decision by taking stand against the ban at the Sixth Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to the convention that recommended the ban last year. At present 81 countries of the world have either banned or decided to phase out Endosulfan while 27 countries are still using the pesticide. India exports about 50% of its production of Endosulfan and hence the manufacturers are pressing the Union Government to act against banning the dangerous pesticide. The Government of India feigns as if it is oblivious of the grave dangers that Endosulfan creates. Studies have shown that Endosulfan causes more than 150 diseases and abnormalities, many of them severe in nature. Many health surveys done in Kasaragod district of Kerala have identified more than 4000 victims in the district alone, and their number is growing.

Several studies done in various parts of the world have shown that it can adversely affect human development. The exposure to Endosulfan delays sexual maturity among boys and interferes with sex hormone synthesis. Pregnant women who are exposed to the pesticide during the first eight weeks are several times more likely to give birth with children with autism. Endosulfan will contaminate ground water and will remain in the environment for years on end, causing danger to several generations. The fate of several affected people in the state bears testimony to the serious implications of the continuous use of the pesticide.

It has become extremely difficult to comprehend why the India Government is acting against the ban on Endosulfan. This will make one wonder whether the bosses of the government are colluding with the pesticides lobby to make sure that there is no global ban on Endosulfan. The indifference and callousness of the government on the plight of those poor people affected with the harmful effects of Endosulfan is outrageous. We should press on the Indian Government to support the global ban on Endosulfan in the Stockholm Convention. If the government fails to do so we should all get ready to a final revolution against this apathetic government and make them heed to the voice of the people.

Dear UN Secretary-General, Tell Us What You Know about Sri Lanka

(For Amnesty International)

Dear UNSG Ban Ki-Moon,

First of all let me thank you for taking the important decision to set up a Panel of Experts to advise your office on accountability issues in Sri Lanka. When the war between the LTTE and Government forces in Sri Lanka ended there was a glimmer of hope for the Tamil people of the northern parts of the country. However such hopes were shattered when it came to the fore that war crimes and gross human rights violations were committed against the victims of the civil war by both the government forces and the LTTE.

Almost two years after the end of the conflict the true extent of the violations remains hidden and justice is being denied. The Panel of Experts must have the support of the international community to perform its work towards ensuring accountability and delivering justice to the victims. It is therefore imperative for the United Nations to make the report public. Amnesty International has called for the United Nations to conduct an independent investigation in response to the compelling evidence of human rights violation committed against the victims of the war. It is particularly important as the government obstructed independent monitoring and reporting in the latter stages of the conflict.

We urge you to fulfil your commitment to accountability issues in Sri Lanka.

Please make the UN Panel report, scheduled for handover to your office on 13 April, public without delay.

Yours Sincerely,
Aravind Ramesh

Where do we have a refuge?

Cricket which unites us is over; now elections, which divide us, are on. Kerala goes for the State Assembly elections on 13 April. This election, like many elections held before, asks us a question that is quite difficult to find an answer to – are we destined only to elect the one that is less evil than the other? The Left Democratic Front (LDF) under the leadership of CPI (M) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) under the leadership of Indian National Congress are the two main fronts competing in the election. BJP is also contesting in the elections, but is of only an academic interest as the party has failed to win even a single seat in the 140 seats State Assembly till now. There is little to choose between the LDF and the UDF as both fronts have failed in meeting the aspirations of the people of Kerala all these 55 years since the formation of the state. So the capital question in the face of the Keralites is - who would we vote for?

The UPA government at the centre, under the leadership of Congress, is steeped in corruption and not to be left far behind the UDF in Kerala is also doing all that it could to catch up with the UPA in the practice of corruption. A barrage of corruption charges has come up against the leaders of the UDF. Balakrishna Pilla, the leader of Kerala Congress (B), one constituent party of the UDF, is already in the jail on corruption charges in the Idamalayar graft case. There are also corruption charges levied against Oommen Chandy, the leader of the opposition and TM Jacob, leader of the Kerala Congress (Jacob) party (only charges, but not proven yet). To make things worse there are charges against one of the leaders of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), another party in the UDF, Kunhalikutty on the icecream parlour sexual exploitation case. Lots of other corruption cases against various leaders of the UDF are also sub judice in the various courts in the country. At the same time Sonia Gandhi who made an appearance in Kerala for the election campaign made a frivolous comment that the LDF government in Kerala is consumed by corruption, as if her government at the centre is devoid of any corruption.

If the name of UDF is tantamount to corruption, LDF and the party that leads it, CPI (M) is synonymous with arrogance, intolerance and callousness. The way in which they use force and violence to decimate their rivals in the northern parts of Kerala is vile and contemptible. It was only recently that the news editor of Asianet Shahjahan manhandled, beaten and then threatened by P Jayarajan, District Secretary of CPI (M) in Kannur for bringing up an issue that the party hates to discuss (this writer had himself received threats on criticising the party and he expect to receive more threat as a result of this essay). Many leaders from the LDF are facing different types of corruption charges in the country. CPI (M) party state secretary is facing trial in the SNC Lavalin graft case (trial is going on, he is not proven guilty yet); another leader MV Jayarajan is facing the trial for defaming the court as he called the judges of the Supreme Court ‘fools’. VS Achuthanandan, considered by the majority in the state as an upright leader, has recently come under serious criticisms on various corruption charges against his son, Arun Kumar. He is also criticised for not doing enough on the corruption charges against his party Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, when he himself had written a letter with proofs to the party General Secretary, Prakash Karat on what he think were serious charges against Mr. Vijayan. VS was once hailed as the saviour of women under many physical and mental assaults in Kerala. His image as one who stands for women was reassured when he took up the case against IUML leader Kunhalikutty on the icecream parlour case. But this image received a serious blow because of his recent derogatory comments against many women political personalities in the state, not any less on his recent comment on his rival Mrs. Lathika Subhash in his assembly constituency. He is also criticised for not doing enough on the molestation charges against one of his party colleagues P. Sasi, where the police hasn’t even registered a case against him hitherto.

Politicians epitomise all the vices that human ingenuity could invent. Many of the words and deeds of LDF leaders prove this point beyond any doubt. When the court took cognisance of the fact that CPI (M) leader MV Jayarajan defamed court by calling judges as ‘fools’, he came up with the ridiculous answer that the Malayalam word he used to criticise judges, “shumbhan” or fool has another meaning ‘the one who shines” and that is the meaning that he meant when he used the word. When molestation charges against P Sasi came up, the party said that the party committee is enquiring the matter and would take actions against him if found guilty, as if this is not a criminal case, but some party matter. Then LDF came up with the announcement that Rs.2 per kg rice will be given to every family in Kerala after the Election Commission declared the code of conduct for the elections, when such announcements are not allowed. When election commission took notice of this, LDF argued that the announcement was a not a new one but had this in their budget for the year 2011-2012. But on perusing the budget proposal one could find that though the announcement was made, there was no money allocated in the budget for the purpose, which shows that the LDF government was not sincere about implementing it, but was just an election stunt.

BJP has not tasted any success in the state till now and it is highly unlikely that they will break the jinx this time around. In the matter of corruption or callousness, the BJP is not better than the UDF or the LDF. BJP governments at Karnataka and Gujarat are good examples of how BJP would behave once in power. BJP government that had once ruled India at the centre had their share of corruption cases as well.

As there is little difference between the different parties and fronts in the state, it would be prudent for the people to look at the individuals who are standing for the election and vote. In this regard too this writer is again under great confusion as the two individuals standing in the election at his constituency are K Muraleedharan for UDF and Cherian Philip for the LDF. Both persons are not known for their integrity or honesty. Both have jettisoned their parties once and have gone against their ideology only for personal gains. K Muraleedharan once left Congress, created another party called Democratic Indira Congress (DIC), merged into NCP and then joined LDF. Now he has done a volte face and re-joined the Congress and is standing as the candidate for the UDF. Cherian Philip, once a firebrand Congress leader, abandoned his party many years ago and joined the LDF for personal gains. That would mean that there is nothing much to choose between the two.

Now this is the impasse that we face. There is not a genuine, honest and sincere political front to vote for. Both fronts are interested only in trading charges against each other and to make ludicrous claims, not to mention their inherent interest in corruption. They both strongly believe that people are donkeys and genuinely think that people are malleable and hence can be made fool by making false promises. Both want power, but don’t want to take the responsibility of making lives of common people better. Both are corrupt and are insensitive at best, inimical at worst, to the needs of the people. Now that this is the truth about our state, the question to ask at this election, like even in ordinary times is, where do we have a refuge?

Dhoni’s Daredevils Do a Kapil’s Devils

Oh yes, India is the ICC Cricket World Champions 2011. It took more than a couple of days for this fact to sink in to this writer’s mind. But it is true and the euphoria that this country is witnessing after Dhoni’s Daredevils defeated Sri Lanka in the final hasn’t calmed down yet. When Kapil’s Devils defeated the mighty West Indies at Old Blighty in 1983 to win the world cup for the first time, Dhoni’s Daredevils did a Kapil’s Devils and won it defeating the Sri Lankans at home in Mumbai.

‘Do it for Sachin’ was the overwhelming theme of this world cup in India. This was the great Sachin Tendulkar’s sixth world cup and a title win was perhaps the only thing missing in his otherwise phenomenal resume. There were many opinions expressed by the so called experts, particularly from England and Australia, that such a theme would divert the attention of the players from the real goal, which is to win the world cup. One of Australia’s world cup winning captains Steve Waugh was the main proponent of such an opinion. Now that it has become clear that such opinions are expressed by people who are absolutely oblivious of the mental make up of the Indians. We are people who are mainly guided by emotional aspirations and most of our desires are often aimed at bringing happiness to our beloveds. It was magnificently expressed by the Indian team when they shouldered Tendulkar and did a victory lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the final win. All players unequivocally stated that they dedicate this win to their great team mate and made clear that they did this for Sachin Tendulkar.

Though he failed to fire in the final match Sachin Tendulkar was at his best in the whole tournament where he scored an aggregate of 482 runs, second only to Tilakaratne Dilshan who made 500. Being a senior in the team he has given all the support and encouragement for all his junior team members which have become evident from the responses of his team mates. It was his long term ambition to win the world cup and the whole nation as well as the cricketing fraternity is rejoicing at his world cup win. Now that he has won the world cup questions have risen on whether he is contemplating to quit from the limited overs cricket for longevity in his test career. Tendulkar has clarified that he is not going to quit now from limited overs cricket and said that he is enjoying playing more now after winning the world cup. The Tendulkar fans in the country, who consider him as a cricketing God, just don’t want the great man to retire from any form of cricket and are eagerly waiting to see him in IPL and then to score his 100th hundred in the international cricket at his next national duty. Now it is not the time to talk about his retirement but is a time to celebrate the great man’s achievements and his world cup triumph.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an inspirational captain and he proved it again by winning the ICC Cricket World Cup. Tendulkar has called him the best captain he has played under and all his team mates are lavishing praises on him. MSD made all the right decisions and in the final played a captain’s knock when the team was in dire need of an excellent batting display. He was criticised by all, including this writer, for his poor form with the bat in the tournament. But in the final he made the great decision to come at number 5 and played a magnificent role in the win by hitting a match winning 91 off 79 balls. With one master stroke the ‘captain courageous’ has silenced all his critics by winning the Man of the Match award in the world cup final.

If there is one unsung hero in this Indian world cup win then that is the Indian coach Gary Kirsten. During his playing days the southpaw was one of the finest batsmen who played with grit, courage and intent. As a coach he was one who liked to help his players silently without creating much fuss about his role, a welcome change from his predecessor Greg Chappell who was arrogant, fussy and even officious at times. The respect and affection with which the Indian players, including the great Sachin Tendulkar, speak about him show how great an inspiration he has been in this world cup win. The victory lap by the Indian players by carrying ‘Guru' Gary on their shoulders was a fitting and deserving show of gratitude. It is pretty sad to know that Gary Kirsten is leaving the team and returning to South Africa where he has a young family to take care of. In the annals of Indian cricketing history the name of Gary Kirsten will be written in golden scripts.

All the players in the team played their roles well in the Indian World Cup win. The names of Yuvraj Singh, the Man of the Series, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh deserve special mention. It was a complete team effort by the Indian players and they have made a name in the history of Indian cricket. I would like to congratulate the Indian team for this great show.

Congrats Team India – 2011 ICC World Cup Champions

A big congrats to the India team for winning the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. It was a great match that showed the real strength of Indian batting. The team won the World Cup for the great man Sachin Tendulkar. Its time to celebrate – HURRAY WE WON !!!

(Image Courtesy: AP)