CORRUPTION IN SCIENCE-WHOM TO BLAME?

There are many virtues one expects from men and women aspiring to be leaders of scientific pursuits and the most critical one is integrity. Of course there are other qualities like knowledge, experience, good track record and leadership quality to inspire colleagues. It is known that many scientific and technical institutions in India are headed by "round holes in the square pegs" and these undeserving persons get to the top through political patronage with their Godfathers at Delhi standing behind them for necessary protection if they are caught at some time or the other! Scientists are supposed to pursue truth through their research and the very same people becoming corrupt in thoughts and action is a sad commentary on Indian science!

Close on the heels of some enlightened and eminent persons questioning the real worth of the faculty at IITs under the HRD Ministry and the quality of students gaining admission, comes the news about the damning of the Directors of two IITs in the country which caused some consternation among all sections of Indian society. It appears that these two Directors were indicted by the highest crime investigating agency in the country and despite this they continue to be supported by the government allowing them to function unhindered with no punishment of any nature. Millions of law abiding Indians, having faith in the constitution and believing in the philosophy that "retribution must follow wrong doers" are appalled by the indifference or support or condoning the wrong doings, by higher ups with clout and power base. As for the scientists who are found guilty of wrong doing, if they have even an iota of conscience and shame they should have put in their papers long ago. Unfortunately these values are no more important in to day's India with politicians and bureaucrats setting the example for violating all decent norms of life. Look at the corruption, financial scams, looting of public funds, criminal activities and other undesirable doings across the country with no political party above this shameful practices and naturally no Delhi-based or controlled administrator can be expected to be immune to this "gravy train"!

One is reminded of another Director in an established CSIR Laboratory specialized in food research who was recently "allowed" to go "Scot free" in spite of solid evidence of nepotism, corruption, financial misappropriation and literally "killing" the organization through brutal suppression of decent scientists, not towing his line! It is not that GOI did not know about his wrong doings because almost all investigating arms of the government had damned him for his dereliction of duty and unethical management of this great scientific institution for almost 17 years! His strength was his political muscle with almost all parties though what cost he had paid for their patronage is not known still. How such a person was allowed to go on "voluntary" retirement without even an admonition, is known only to the Director General of CSIR, Minister for Science and Technology and the Prime Minister who chairs the Governing Council of CSIR. Is it not callousness, indifference and insensitivity on the part of the GOI to allow this person to go without any accountability? Not only that CSIR was "magnanimous" in rewarding this person with "Distinguished Scientist" though no one knows what distinction he was able to bring to food science during his pedestrian career.

Can good Science survive in this country with a government bent on supporting mediocrity and corruption ridden scientists? There are hundreds of good honest scientists in the country with high technical and achievement credentials who are never allowed to come up due to this unfortunate phenomenon requiring people to be sycophants and "feet touching" champions if to be in power in government institutions. It is time that the main stream scientists rise against this deplorable situation and make research and technical institutions more democratic and upright. Leaders must be chosen based on acceptance by the scientific staff who are more tuned to the needs of the organization rather than through a charade involving pliable selectors with doubtful credentials. May be there is a need for the rise of an "Anna Hazare" from the scientific group to raise sane voice against corruption in science. Why not a special "scientists malpractice" punishing system where those caught practicing plagiarism, becoming corrupt and mismanaging science can be brought to book and deter others from indulging in such wrong doings? Of course this is possible only if sufficient honest scientist-cum administrators are still left in the country for doing this thankless job!

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

INDIAN PENCHANT FOR SCAMS -FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Recent utterances by a lawyer-cum cabinet minister in the union government defending the culprits who caused the nation a whopping revenue loss of Rs 1,76 crore is nothing but a national shame and no honest citizen can swallow this nauseating action. Is it a reflection of the deteriorating moral fiber of the Indian Society at large as condoning or assuming an attitude of "hear no evil, talk no evil, see no evil", lest it will affect one's peace and tranquility? Or is it a situation where honest citizen has become helpless against those who are powerful and corrupt to the core? What choice the Indians have, as a part of the democratic system, to elect people or parties most of whom are considered corrupt? A sorry situation indeed!,

Here is a minister who disingenuously argues that the 2G scam did not cause any loss to the country while the matter is under judicial consideration and Parliament is paralyzed on the issue of forming a Joint Parliamentary Committee ( JPC) to probe the matter in its entirety! Besides the Parliament Accounts Committee is also seized of the matter. This raises the inevitable question as to what one understands by the term Loss or Profit in English Language. Typically loss means loss of money when some thing is sold at lesser than the real cost. But who decides about the real cost of the 2G Spectrum? That can be clear only when there is an open auction and highest bid will naturally coincide with the market value of the material. Since Comptroller And Auditor General (CAG) has made a computation based on certain criteria the value of loss must be reckoned as a reality and a minister with gift of the gab has no right to fool the people of this country by deft use of the beautiful language that is English. If this gentleman's view represents that of the GOI it raises many questions about the integrity of the very government supposed to be headed by a "clean" man!

Same applies to other scams and corruption cases involving purchase of Bofors Guns, organization of Common Wealth Games, Adarsh Kargilgate etc. Corruption is a dirty word used to describe extra payments to seek a favor and such favors can be conferred by only those enjoying power or a position to cause delay or to destruction of evidence or do some thing considered improper. Even an attender in a government office can earn an extra buck by denying entry to the office and the value of bribe grows exponentially with the extent of power the "babus" enjoy in creating inconvenience and road blocks to get some thing to be done for the citizen.

Think about the PDS which is supposed to provide the minimum food grain needs of the BPL population at heavily subsidized rates but the grains are hijacked to the open market, the pilferage being as high as 75% in some states. It is not that the GOI is not aware of this massive scam but very little has been done during the last 35 years, the merry go-around going on and on resulting in continuous loot of the national resources. While the states blame the Central government, the onus is put on the states for the mismanagement of the food gain distribution. Probably this scam also wil be justified saying that after all the food is not wasted, being consumed by Indians, though they may not be BPL category.

What about the Onion scam? Knowing pretty well that there could be some shortage of this crop because of untimely rains, the exporters were allowed to sell the material abroad while traders were allowed to hoard to create an artificial shortage! The result is there for all to see as the onion prices shot up by 400% suddenly on a "tearful" Monday in many places across the country, sending shock waves amongst the consumers who depend on onion for their day to day cooking of food preparations. Whether it is the food ministry or the commerce ministry or the consumer affairs ministry or the PM's Office, all were trying to pass the buck around without taking any responsibility for the heinous crime against the country. A senile ex-minister even had the temerity to comment that consumers should not raise too much noise if price of onion goes up by a few rupees! Under all these manipulations who made how much money has been forgotten under this scam.

Look at the systematic efforts going on during the last few years to undermine public sector enterprises in food production, processing and marketing like agro-industries corporations, cooperative industrial enterprises, the erstwhile Modern Foods and a score of others whose existence was justified for decades as social ventures. But under the economic liberalization regime many of them have been sold to private sector at low prices while many others were allowed to wither away slowly while serving the needs of a few politicians and bureaucrats for power and perks at the expense of the exchequer. It was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who pioneered the policy of creating public enterprises as a part of the socialistic pattern of government so that these would provide employment to millions of people and serve as a counter balance against uncontrolled profiteering by the private industry. Whether such transformation with too much emphasis on role of private sector in providing services to the citizen is driven by the large industrial giants and if so what was the quid pro in this change will never be known.

Nepotism is another form of corruption though the economic value of such activities is difficult to estimate. When some one who does not deserve some thing, gets the same because of some body's benevolence it is a case of nepotism and whether it is benevolence or a "business" involving financial considerations there cannot be any justification. Look at the recent appointment of CVC where a" tainted" bureaucrat was favored to act as a referee on corruption and since it is still under the judicial scrutiny of the Supreme Court, a value judgment is difficult to make. Similarly there are hundreds of such appointments made by the governments where those not qualified are catapulted into positions requiring special knowledge and sills. Take the case of FSSAI, a body vested with the power to protect the quality of food and ensure safety of the citizens from health hazards and can the GOI vouchsafe the suitability of the present incumbent to head the Authority? What are the considerations in choosing such an individual who does not know even the basics of food science or technology? One will never know!

What about Defense food purchases? Though it is well known that millions of rupees worth of foods are bought year after year obviously to feed the jawans fighting for the country and the quality is often compromised for financial considerations, no one seems to be unduly concerned. It is a lethal alliance between the favored supplier industry and the Defense purchase authorities that deprives the jawans of the much needed safe and healthy foods while guarding the borders from terrorists and foreign enemies. Though this is going on for decades no one seems to be too much bothered. It is refreshing to see the Defense authorities being summoned by the CAG recently to fix the responsibility and one can only hope that the CAG report on these irregularities in Defense purchases as and when it comes will not suffer the same fate as that on 2G scam. The present turbulence regarding black illegal money hoardings in foreign countries, about which the Supreme court is considering action, involves billions of rupees being slashed away in tax havens and secret bank accounts by those cheating the government of rightful taxes does not seem to be serious in prosecuting the fraudsters and traitors and recover the money lost due to tax evasion.

Is the corruption a monopoly of any political party? Close on the heels of the 2G loot comes the scams related to land and mining in Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Jharkand and other states costing billions of rupees to the exchequer. Obviously corruption is a trans-political phenomenon, spread across the entire political spectrum in the country. The old saying that one who puts his finger in a honey pot would always be tempted to lick the hand is apt to describe the behavior of those enjoying power to day. It is unfortunate that a few patriotic persons with public service motto who espouse the cause of the country are sidelined, harassed and humiliated when public campaigns are organized against those responsible for these scams. Is it the end of the tunnel for Indians who aspire to be part of a country with pride and decency amongst the comity of nations with financial scams, one after the other, making themselves a laughing stock of the world? Is there no hope that there could be a reversal of fortunes one day? Unless there are stringent systems to punish such scamsters expeditiously with onus to prove innocence on the accused under jurisprudence and exemplary punishment awarded to the guilty people and their families including capital punishment, not much can be expected under the present dispensation.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

HONESTY INCULCATION THROUGH FOOD!

Honesty and sincerity form the basis of the character in a person and sacrificing these traits for limited immediate gains will be foolhardy in the long run. A person is remembered after his life time for his good deeds and actions, not for the amount of wealth amassed as many seem to think. Psychologists and sociologists always stress on 'character building" amongst children before they become full grown adults. It is not that character development does not continue during adolescence but what is achievable is incremental improvements. If proper parenting and schooling benefits are denied to children at their impressionable year, it is more likely that they may fail to become honest citizens later.

In the ladder of corruption India has the enviable position some where at the mid-point and one often wonders why this nation got itself into this sorry pass, in spite of the glorious history behind it and superior intelligence and capabilities which can be the envy of any country. There may be many excuses but fundamentally it is due to disintegration of the old joint family system yielding to nuclear families where neither the parents nor the education system could replace the wisdom and restraining hands of the elders in large families. With both the parents working and the education system we have currently in shambles, the chances of the children imbibing all wrong values are very high. It is good to hear the new HRD Minister at Delhi talking about overhauling the system to make it more transparent and value-based. According to Transparency International, India occupies 72 nd position while top 3 countries with least corruption include New Zealand, Singapore and Sweden. Bottom 3 positions are held by Somalia, Myanmar and Iraq. It is no consolation that there are more than 100 countries more corrupt than us in the corruption scale!

Indonesia, which scores 143 in the corruption scale is notorious for its wide spread bribery and corruption, seems to have realized the need for setting their house in order for the sake of the security of their future generation and is reported to be trying to reverse the trend through voluntary efforts. Since students are the future citizens destined to shoulder responsibility to hold the country's flag high, the government there is trying out a novel approach involving them. A series of "Honesty Cafes" have been conceived where students and other customers are expected to pay for the food service voluntarily and more than 10000 such establishments in private and public sectors are expected to be established through out the country by the end of this year. This is a 'managerless' system with high degree of transparency and the hope is that participants will feel the pleasure of being honest, to begin with in these cafes and later practice the same in their lives. Their experience so far in its 6 months of operation, indicates that these honesty cafes are doing very well in locations like schools while some resistance was discerned in other places. Though it is too early to predict the outcome of this venture, if found effective can be a model for other countries to try out.

In India, it is doubtful whether such experiments will succeed though there is nothing wrong to try it out in some of the metros. More effective will be to evolve teaching techniques at the kindergarten and primary school levels that will reward children for being truthful and honest. There could even be honesty courses, to be compulsory for all, in order to pass out to the next class. Moral lessons should be part of the curriculum of every school though pessimists may baulk at such schemes as sheer waste. The idiom "catch them young" is highly relevant when it comes to inculcating honesty amongst youngsters.


V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/

AUTHOR, AUTHORITY AND AUTHORITARIAN!

English is a wonderful language with excellent expressive power, though it can be non-sensical in terms of spelling and pronunciations. Its ability to assimilate words and ideas from other cultures and languages has made it still more expressive and loved by people in all the continents. No wonder parents rush to English medium schools to get their children admitted and this desire is widespread even amongst low income groups. Probably their preference for such schools is more driven by the hope that higher quality education is imparted only in such schools with a better chance for a better quality of life for their children after growing up. Vernacular fanatics are forgetting that if the country and its people have to be benefited from knowledge developments around the world, familiarity in English is a prerequisite while proficiency in native languages can go side by side.

The word 'author' refers to one who is a writer of an article or book but it can also apply to a person who creates or begins an idea or a plan. Either way an author has to be a creative person with brains, experience and vision. An 'authority', on the other hand, need not be an author though reverse could be true some times. The power to give orders confers on a person the authority and these orders are meant to be obeyed. Delegated responsibilities for specific function to specific people also come under the expression 'authority'. Authority can also mean a learned person with special knowledge gained over years of learning and experience and at times of doubts and indecision, people generally turn to wiser peers who can be the 'authority' on the subject. It is a different matter that so called 'authority' misuses the power some time for considerations other than what is intended for.

'Authoritarian' is an adjective word used to persons who demand absolute obedience to his orders or commands. In the common parlor it is also used to reflect the good intention of a well meaning parent or a teacher who has the well being of those ordered about while being authoritarian. Of course authoritarian streak is anathema in a democracy where decisions are made by the majority, not by one person or a coterie of persons. In contrast 'authoritative' persons derive their strength from the power enjoyed by them by virtue of their strength in skills or knowledge. A person can also be designated as an authoritative spokesman by a body or group of persons vested with authority.

Indians seem to be fond of the expression 'authority' which is often a prerogative of the government which rules the country. The power of an authority can be executive, financial, judicial or management. All government 'babus' have power in one form or the other that enables them to have extra ordinary influence on the citizens as their decisions can affect their lives to varying extent. Power in any form can be the drive engine for corruption as is being witnessed in the country and more the power, higher will be the temptation to be corrupt. It is said that "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". Country's bureaucratic system is so structured that, with power and pelm distributed amongst the 'babus' beginning at the bottom to the top with few exceptions, corruption is in-built and probably nothing can come in the way of the ever growing corruption faced by the citizens whose daily lives are intertwined with the actions (or non-actions?) of the administrative lords of the country.

It is not a coincidence that government culture in India, inherited from the Britishers, continues to use the word 'Authority' to designate administrative bodies affixing the word after the functions assigned to them. We have "Authority" set ups, for food safety and standards (FSSTA), food exports (APEDA) and marine products exports (MPEDA) in the food area but there are several such bodies conferred with the coveted affix 'authority', We have separate 'authority' for airports, high ways, steel. inland waterways, gas, insurance regulation, sports, zoo development, urban development, telecom regulation, electricity, coastal aquaculture etc most of them with umbilical chords to the government at Delhi. While UK has practically replaced these authorities with boards, directorates, agencies, commissions etc, India revels in creating more authorities, many of them toothless tigers with very little independence from the government ministries, lorded over by politicians and bureaucrats. Citizens of this country are, by now, familiar with the 'authority' syndrome and probably have taken them as another aberration in our democratic society.


V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/