Freedom First

Summary

Freedom First No. 472 (September 2006) is the monthly journal of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by S. V. Raju. This 12-page issue opens with Sharad Bailur’s critique of the proposed Indian Post Office Amendment Bill, arguing that the Department of Posts should adapt to new technology rather than expand its delivery monopoly and tax courier operators. Ashok Karnik’s recurring ‘Point Counter Point’ column stages both sides of six live controversies, from electronic-media censorship to the Volcker-report allegations against Natwar Singh. Sharad Joshi, founder of the Shetkari Sanghatana, indicts Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Vidarbha relief package as inadequate against the scale of farmer indebtedness and calls for scrapping the Maharashtra cotton monopoly scheme and creating a separate Vidarbha state. Other contributions cover the OBC reservation debate (V. N. Torgal), police reforms and post-terror-alert racial profiling (Firoze Hirjikaka’s ‘Cornucopia’), child welfare and education (Wipro chairman Azim H. Premji), the historical basis of Chinese claims over Tibet (C. A. Kallianpur), obituary tributes to Naguib Mahfouz and Pramoedya Ananta Toer (R. Srinivasan), a review of Frederick Forsyth’s novel The Afghan (Hirjikaka again), and closing editorial notes and a ‘Many Voices’ quotations column. All 12 pages of the issue were rendered and read in full.

Essays

Time and Technology Wait for None

By Sharad Bailur

Sharad Bailur traces the history of India’s postal system from the mail trains of the Raj through telegraph, fax, and email, arguing that the Department of Posts (DOP) has always survived by adapting to new technology. He criticizes the proposed Indian Post Office Amendment Bill, which would expand the DOP’s delivery monopoly to packages under 300 grams, impose registration and a 10% revenue levy on private courier and express operators, and cap foreign ownership of courier firms at 51%. Bailur contends couriers do not compete directly with ordinary mail, that the monopoly expansion may violate the constitutional freedom to practice any profession, and that the DOP should instead leverage its 155,000 post offices to offer internet and cyber-cafe services, eventually shifting its core business toward parcels and competing with couriers in the open market.

• Traces postal history from 1857 mail trains through telegraph, fax, and internet to argue the DOP has a track record of adapting to technology.
• Describes the proposed Indian Post Office Amendment Bill: expanded DOP monopoly on parcels under 300 grams, mandatory courier registration, and a 10% revenue levy on courier/express operators.
• Argues the monopoly expansion is a restriction on the fundamental right to practice a profession and could be struck down in court.
• Notes couriers offer guaranteed, tracked, overnight service at more than double DOP rates, so they don’t truly compete with ordinary letters.
• Points out the bill cannot address the large unorganised ‘angadia’ courier network, estimated at roughly 50% of postal traffic.
• Proposes the DOP use its 155,000-office network to offer cyber cafes and internet/email services for illiterate villagers, eventually shifting its business toward parcels.

Point Counter Point

By Ashok Karnik

Ashok Karnik’s ‘Point Counter Point’ presents six paired, opposing viewpoints on contemporary controversies: censorship of electronic media versus the danger of government overreach into private choice; the profiling and detention of 12 Indians in Amsterdam versus the difficulty of balancing security with dignity in a global terror climate; South Africa’s cricket withdrawal from Sri Lanka on security grounds versus the argument that no country is fully safe from terrorism; the credibility of Natwar Singh’s denials in the Iraq oil-for-food scandal versus the opposition’s apparent reluctance to pursue Sonia Gandhi; and the case for banning pesticide-tainted colas versus the argument that the government and MNCs are both obfuscating the real issue of contaminated water supply.

• Debates electronic media censorship: irresponsible content versus the risk of government overreach into what citizens may see, drink, or enjoy.
• Weighs the detention of 12 Indians in Amsterdam on suspicion against the argument that global terror concerns make profiling hard to avoid entirely.
• Covers South Africa’s cricket team withdrawing from Sri Lanka over a bomb blast, and asks whether any country can be called fully safe today, raising the Commonwealth Games in Delhi as a future target.
• Presents dueling views on Natwar Singh’s denials in the Volcker/Iraq oil scandal and the opposition’s seeming reluctance to press Sonia Gandhi on it.
• Debates whether colas found with pesticides should be banned, and whether the Centre for Science and Environment’s findings are being obfuscated by both companies and government.

The Prime Minister’s Cruel Deception / The Rural Perspective

By Sharad Joshi

Sharad Joshi, founder of the Shetkari Sanghatana, argues that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s fact-finding visit to Vidarbha told the government nothing it did not already know from prior studies (Maharashtra government, the M. S. Swaminathan committee, NGOs), all of which trace farmer suicides to indebtedness rather than crop failure. He gives a historical account of how Vidarbha, once prosperous and rich in cotton, iron, coal, and electricity, was folded into Maharashtra for Congress political reasons and then squeezed by the Maharashtra State Cotton Monopoly Procurement Scheme (MSCMPS), which paid Vidarbha farmers roughly half the price received by cotton growers elsewhere, costing them an estimated Rs. 30,000 crore. In the continuation on page 11, Joshi lays out the Shetkari Sanghatana’s five-point rescue plan (a 24-hour farmer helpline, scrapping the MSCMPS, ending coercive loan recoveries, an exit option to sell land, and fast-tracking a separate Vidarbha state) and criticizes the Rs. 3,500 crore relief package announced in December 2005 as financially inadequate and possibly counterproductive, noting it may have accelerated the pace of suicides.

• Argues fact-finding visits are redundant because prior studies already agree indebtedness, not crop failure, drives Vidarbha’s farmer suicides.
• Explains the historical annexation of a prosperous, resource-rich Vidarbha into Maharashtra for Congress party political reasons after the Samyukta Maharashtra agitation.
• Blames the Maharashtra State Cotton Monopoly Procurement Scheme for paying Vidarbha cotton farmers about half the price received in other states, an estimated Rs. 30,000 crore loss.
• Lays out a five-point Shetkari Sanghatana rescue plan: 24-hour helpline, scrapping the MSCMPS, ending coercive loan recovery, land-sale exit option, and fast-tracking a separate Vidarbha state.
• Criticizes the Rs. 3,500 crore PM relief package as barely 10% of farmers’ outstanding cooperative bank loans and suggests it accelerated the tempo of suicides.
• Notes that as Narasimha Rao’s finance minister, Manmohan Singh had kept agriculture outside his economic reforms, which Joshi calls the root of today’s rural distress.

Need for a Healthy Debate (The Reservation Conundrum)

By V. N. Torgal

V. N. Torgal, a retired schoolteacher from Gulbarga, reflects on the reservation controversy by revisiting the 1932 Gandhi-Ambedkar disagreement over separate electorates for Dalits, framing Gandhi’s social approach against Ambedkar’s political one. He argues OBCs still need reservation given their poor post-independence progress, questions whether the ‘creamy layer’ filtration theory Ambedkar envisioned has worked, and calls for turning the current bitter political controversy into a sociological debate aimed at consensus rather than perpetuating unhealthy rivalry between advantaged and non-advantaged groups.

• Revisits the 1932 Gandhi-Ambedkar exchange over reserved seats for Scheduled Castes as a lens on today’s reservation debate.
• Contrasts Ambedkar’s political framing of caste with Gandhi’s social/moral framing.
• Argues the ‘creamy layer filtering down’ theory has proven false, since advantages haven’t trickled down to lower layers.
• Notes President Kalam’s proposal that reservations not compromise merit in higher education has been broadly accepted.
• Calls for converting the reservation controversy into a sociological debate aimed at consensus rather than continued political conflict.

Cornucopia: Are Terrorists Stupid? / Curbing Politicians’ Powers

By Firoze Hirjikaka

In ‘Cornucopia’, Firoze Hirjikaka writes two short pieces. ‘Are Terrorists Stupid?’ questions the profiling logic behind detaining Indian passengers for ‘unsophisticated’ behaviour on a flight, arguing genuine terrorists would be smart enough to appear unremarkable, and warns that suspicion falling on Muslim-sounding names risks eroding India’s secular self-image. ‘Curbing Politicians’ Powers’ welcomes the Soli Sorabjee committee’s police reform proposals to insulate the force from political interference as a potentially major milestone, while noting the proposed oversight board would still include political figures like state home ministers, and predicts Parliament will water down any amendment to the Police Act 1861.

• Argues profiling passengers for ‘looking different’ is misguided, since real terrorists would be smart enough to blend in.
• Warns that assuming Muslim-sounding names imply guilt marks a retreat from India’s claim to religious tolerance.
• Welcomes the Soli Sorabjee committee’s proposals to professionalize the police and insulate it from political interference.
• Notes the proposed oversight board would still include politically appointed figures like the state home minister, undercutting its independence.
• Predicts Parliament, populated by beneficiaries of the status quo, will strip real teeth from any Police Act 1861 amendment.

A Land of Children Dancing in the Rain

By Azim H. Premji

Wipro chairman Azim H. Premji argues that India’s children, whether in zari factories or elite Bangalore schools driven by relentless tuition and exam pressure, are equally stripped of the freedom of childhood. He contends that true national development requires empowering children to explore, play, and follow curiosity rather than being moulded into adult likeness, invoking Gandhi’s view that adults learn their greatest lessons from children, and calls for turning schools into laboratories of exploration and homes into playgrounds of art and sport.

• Compares the condition of a child labourer in a zari factory to that of an elite-school child crushed by IIT coaching and tuitions, finding both robbed of childhood.
• Argues India’s societal aspirations, poverty, and apathy jointly straitjacket children’s natural growth across class lines.
• Invokes Gandhi’s belief that adults learn their greatest lessons from children, not from learned men.
• Calls for teachers and parents to become joint learners with children rather than imposing knowledge top-down.
• Concludes that national development requires empowering children as the group most vulnerable to social diktat.

What the Tibetan Issue Is All About

By C. A. Kallianpur

C. A. Kallianpur, National Coordinator of Friends of Tibet (India), explains the historical basis of the Tibet issue by comparing Manchu China’s expansion to British India’s. He argues Tibet was a protectorate of Manchu China, not of the Han-majority modern Chinese state that overthrew the Manchus in 1911-12, so modern China’s claim to Tibet is as questionable as an Indian claim to Burma would be. He recounts the 13th Dalai Lama’s 1912-13 declaration of Tibetan independence, the Simla Conference and McMahon Line, and argues Tibetans and Chinese differ sharply in language, religion, and race, undercutting Beijing’s claim of a shared heritage.

• Draws a parallel between Manchu China’s conquest of Tibet, Mongolia, and Turkic lands and British India’s absorption of Burma, Nepal, and Bhutan.
• Argues Tibet’s relationship was with Manchu China specifically, not with the Han-majority modern China that emerged from the 1911-12 revolution.
• Notes Nepal and Bhutan, also former protectorates, are independent UN members today, questioning why Tibet is treated differently.
• Describes the 13th Dalai Lama’s return from exile to proclaim Tibetan independence and the Simla Conference (1913-19) that produced the McMahon Line.
• Argues Tibetan and Chinese languages, religions (Buddhism vs. Confucianism/Taoism), and racial stock (Mongoloid vs. Han) differ fundamentally, undermining shared-heritage claims.

”Suffering is the Badge of Our Tribe”

By R. Srinivasan

R. Srinivasan, Associate Editor of Freedom First, memorializes two literary figures who died within weeks of each other in 2006: Naguib Mahfouz, the Egyptian Nobel laureate who survived a 1994 stabbing over his allegorical novel ‘Children of Our Alley’ and witnessed Egypt’s turbulent modern history, and Pramoedya Ananta Toer, the Indonesian novelist imprisoned for fourteen years on Buru island, where he composed his celebrated ‘Buru Quartet’ orally before being allowed to write, only for it to be banned again after publication. Srinivasan also notes Pramoedya’s earlier role suppressing dissenting writers as a Communist-aligned cultural commissar, closing with a reflection on the harsh fate of writers under authoritarian regimes across the developing world.

• Mourns Naguib Mahfouz (d. Aug 30, 2006, age 95), the only Arab Nobel laureate in Literature, noting his 1994 stabbing over ‘Children of Our Alley’.
• Traces Mahfouz’s witness to Egyptian history from King Farouk through Nasser’s rise and fall.
• Recounts Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s (d. April 30, 2006) fourteen years of imprisonment on Buru island under Suharto’s anti-communist purge.
• Describes how Pramoedya composed the thousand-page ‘Buru Quartet’ orally to fellow prisoners before gaining access to paper, later smuggled out with help from a boat captain and Jean-Paul Sartre.
• Notes the irony that Pramoedya, once a Lekra cultural commissar who suppressed opposing writers, later suffered similar suppression himself.
• Closes on the broader theme that suffering is definitional to the writer’s fate across Bangladesh, Turkey, Indonesia, Iran, Burma, and similar states.

Book Review: The Afghan (by Frederick Forsyth)

By Firoze Hirjikaka

Firoze Hirjikaka reviews Frederick Forsyth’s novel ‘The Afghan’ (Transworld Publishers), praising Forsyth’s signature blend of real events (the July 2005 London bombings, Bin Laden, al-Zawahiri) with fiction. The plot follows a British ex-soldier substituted for a captured Taliban commander to infiltrate Al Qaeda and uncover a planned attack meant to eclipse September 11. The review highlights the novel’s nuanced treatment of the relationship between terrorism and Islam, quoting two passages verbatim on the true meaning of jihad and Islamic prohibitions against killing the innocent, hostages, and prisoners.

• Summarizes the plot: a British ex-soldier who speaks Arabic and knows Afghanistan is substituted for a captured senior Taliban commander to infiltrate Al Qaeda’s top tier.
• Notes Forsyth interweaves real events like the July 2005 London Underground attacks and figures like Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri into the fictional plot.
• Praises the novel’s insight into the relationship between terrorism and Islam via two quoted passages distinguishing true jihad from Al Qaeda’s version.
• Calls the novel worth the wait after a fairly long interval since Forsyth’s previous work.

Between Ourselves… / Many Voices

By Editor

The unsigned editorial ‘Between Ourselves…’ responds to reader feedback on the previous 12-page issue’s leaflet-like appearance, promising a cover design, and addresses the ‘distressingly useless’ Vande Mataram singing controversy, arguing that compelling any student to sing the anthem is as wrong as refusing to let willing students sing it, and that politicians keep divisive issues alive as a survival strategy. It notes the HRD Ministry misdated the anthem’s centenary. The accompanying ‘Many Voices’ column collects notable published quotations from the period, including remarks by Rekha, Arun Nehru, R. R. Patil, T.J.S. George, and an aide to PM Manmohan Singh, alongside the issue’s masthead listing founder Minoo Masani, editor S. V. Raju, and the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom as publisher.

• Responds to reader complaints that the 12-page monthly format looks like a leaflet, promising to add a cover.
• Argues compelling children to sing Vande Mataram is as wrong as preventing willing children from singing it, and that both refusal and compulsion have legitimate defenders.
• Attributes the persistence of divisive political controversies to politicians’ survival strategy of ‘keeping the pot boiling’.
• Notes the HRD Ministry got the anthem’s centenary date wrong (announced as September 7).
• The ‘Many Voices’ column compiles quotations from Rekha, Arun Nehru, R. R. Patil, T.J.S. George, S. Ramadorai, and others from August 2006 press coverage.
• Masthead confirms founder Minoo Masani, editor S. V. Raju, associate editor R. Srinivasan, and publisher Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (ICCF), Mumbai.

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