दृष्टिकोण – Indra's Viewpoint

Why should a set of politicians decide the definitions as well as restrictions on immigrants?We all know that the present boundaries of the countries have evolved over the centuries and the immigrations have been the natural phenomena since the beginning of human race. It will continue to go on like that unless obstructed. Many factors and situations beyond the control of the politicians of today and those of tomorrow will decide the legal and illegal immigration.

But inthis era of free market and globalization, restricting the immigration is a contradictory policy. Days are gone when only the western countries were in business of setting up business in underdeveloped countries. Today the developed world is having so much trade and business interactions with the emerging economies that free movement of the people between the different countries will be natural phenomenon.

According to a study conducted by the India-US World Affairs Institute of Washington, the Robert H Smith School of Business of the University of Maryland, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, 90 Indian companies made 127 greenfield investments worth $5.5 billion between 2004 and 2009, and created 16,576 jobs in the US. During the same period, 239 Indian companies made 372 acquisitions in the US, creating more than 40,000 jobs. And these number will keep on increasing if the Indian economy keeps moving ahead. How should not there be a consensus in US on accepting the graduates of its first class universities coming from any country in the world if employed for five years with good records as citizens?

While there are about 25 million Indians spread across 189 countries, but interestingly, some 20 million foreigners are also living and working in India.

Sometimes, the political steps to bar the immigration from unfriendly country may not even work. Here is an example from India itself.

It is the same story in internal migration. Workers do come to Punjab for various menial jobs from Bihar. But when the enterprising farmers of Bihar bought harvesters from Punjab, a group of three Punjabi workers travel every season to Bihar to run the harvesters.

In West Bengal, it was difficult to find people to manual work and particularly for sanitation jobs, and the migrants even from as far as Rajasthan were engaged. However, things have changed today to a great extent. Perhaps that was the reason that UK allowed immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and even India for such work in the country.

As the countries such as US and UK have restrictions for workers from other part of the world through different acts, India does have also created some:

India doesn’t allow more than 1 per cent of a company’s workforce to be foreign, nor does it allow employment to people making less than $25,000 a year. It may appear silly to many but are politically sellable.

It will be interesting to hear a Colombian immigrant’s recent lament in London, when he was about to be deported. “The reason for me being here is not just because I want to become rich or because I want to come and take your jobs. Imdoing the job that most English people wouldn’t do. I think I have never seen an English person cleaning a toilet. I don’t want to harm anyone … it’s hard to be judged as a criminal when all you are doing is what you think is best for your family. WhatI’m doing, cleaning toilets – is that a crime?”

And still a person such as Obama or someone else somewhere such as Cameroon will keep on instructing federal agents to go through rolls of companies and businesses to weed out the illegal immigrants. It will remain the political whipfor the poor immigrants.

It was 9.30 PM yesterday. Alok was on the other side on phone from my village Pipra in Bihar. He was really concerned about the rain god who is almost deceiving the region after initial showers. The paddy seedlings are ready for transplantation. The canal that serves the village is not having water as the villages up the canal are not allowing the water to come down. Till few days back even the canal was not having any water, as the Sone barrage didn’t have water in its reservoir that serves the canal network in the region. Alok has deep bored tube wells in his fields to irrigate the plots and can use diesel pump. But the water level has gone down too much. It has no water. Perhaps last year also the rain was not good enough to replenish the water in mother earth down below.

• I talked to Madhukarpur the village about 20 kms away from Pipra. Satyabhama, my sister-in-law, informed that the villagers are organizing prayers for the goddess Sati Mai to bestow on it the rain. They can transplant their paddy fields only on the eastern side that are fed by a bigger irrigation canal. There is a fear of draught for the other field.

Alok and Satyabhama both are scared of the tough time ahead.

It will be really bad if the monsoon doesn’t oblige the region very soon. Surprisingly, Alok only few days ago had told me that it rained in Sasaram but not in Pipra. Today during my morning walk I happened to meet Mr. AK Singh who is from Motihari in Bihar. When I asked if it has rained in his village, he said that yesterday it had rained heavily. Why should not the region mentioned above get the rain? Yamuna says it’s normal. I can agree, as many a times it rains in Delhi but not in Noida. Only three days ago it rained heavily in Delhi new airport region in a short span of time delaying the maiden landing of the largest aeroplane, but neither New Delhi nor Noida got rain. Why does it happen? Is it because of the lack of balanced green cover in the region? In the last few decades, the villagers got rid of trees for increasing the land for cultivation. All the mango orchards around the villages have disappeared.

But what is there in fate of people in the area of Alok and Satyabhama this season? Will the monsoon bestow its generosity?
Surprisingly, as reported, the agriculture minister Renu Kumari of Bihar is satisfied. ‘‘There’s nothing to worry as the worst is over,’’ she said, adding, the farmers are happy and geared to carry seedling transplant. Has she not been informed about the region of Alok?

Even the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has not come out with any positive indication. It did not expect any possibility of ‘cyclogenesis’ (birth of a weather system) in the Bay of Bengal for another five days. Further, the all-India agro-met advisory issued by the IMD says, ‘though the rainfall has been deficient in some districts of the country, it has been largely well-distributed over the last fortnight’.

I don’t know if one can believe it. And who knows even these statements may be coming to keep the ruling political leaders happy? It is surprising that none of the major political parties and their leaders have talked about this climatic disaster hovering on the rice bowl of Bihar. Perhaps they are too busy in the battle of words meant to serve them in coming assembly election.

However, as per another prediction, the east and northeast India may get another round of rain over the next few days.

I wish it happens and brings cheers on the faces of millions of people in the region.

But can the scientists and technocrats of the country focus on seeing the vision of Tulsidas (मांगे बारिद देहीं जल रामचंद्र के राज) realized along with their researches on cloning human beings that are already in plenty and visiting moon?

रामायण एक लंबा गाथा काब्य है| काफी समय लगा होगा उसकी रचना में| मैं दादाजी के रास्ते चलते हुए उसका मासपारायण करता हूँ| समय समय पर कुछ प्रश्न उभर उठते हैं |

लगता है तुलसीदास जी रामायण ख़त्म करने के बाद उसे फिर से सरसरी निगाह से नहीं देखे | कुछ कथा की असंगतियाँ दिखती हैं| मैं केवल दो उदहारण दे रहा हूँ|

बालकाण्ड में पार्वती शिव से कथा सुनाने को कहती हैं और कुछ घटनाओं का जिक्र करती हैं :
बहुरि कहहु करुनायतन कीन्ह जो अचरज राम|
प्रजा सहित रघुबंसमनि किमि गवाने निज धाम ||
तुलसीदास को जब राम कैसे अपने धाम गए नहीं बताना था तो पार्वती से यह प्रश्न नहीं करवाना चाहिए था| शायद रामायण लिखने का अंत आते आते वे भूल गए पार्वती का अनुरोध|

इसीतरह लंकाकांड के आखिरी में राम विमान से लौट रहे हैं| प्रयाग में त्रिवेणी पर दान देते हैं:
पुनि प्रभु आई त्रिबेनी हरषित मज्जनु कीन्ह |
कपिन्ह सहित बिप्रन्ह कहुं दान बिबिध बिधि दीन्ह ||

कहाँ से ? बिभीषण का कोई धन तो वे लिए ही नहीं थे| बिभीषण से उसे सभी बानरों में बंटवा दिए थे | मैं तुलसीदास जी की आलोचना नहीं करता हूँ | चाहता हूँ अपने अज्ञान का अंत करना | कोई इसका समाधान करे तो अच्छा लगेगा, पर उत्तर तर्कसंगत होना चाहिए | नहीं तो मैं यह माँ लूँगा कि संपादन का समय ही नहीं मिला|

And finally they left us today early in the morning for US. With a duty to wake them up at 2.30 AM, I could hardly sleep for an hour. For me, it’s pretty usual and doesn’t cause any problem still. As such also, many a times I get up at very early hours.

The evening was really fulsome for me. I could come closer to Anvita. When I found her refusing to take any food to everyone, I tried my hand. It was a pleasure to see her jump from the bed every time I call her for taking the portion of puri and before that a piece of mango. Every child perhaps expects a personal care and loving approach. Kesav had taken his quota of Halwa prepared by his grandmother that he loves and asks for.

As an old man and a little emotional character I was trying to find out what all these kids have taken from their father, Rakesh. I was also watching Rakesh closely. Many of his ways and manners to behave in a particular situation have remained same.

I am amazed to find his love of books that’s almost similar to mine. For that matter, all the three have developed that trait. When I offered him some books from my collections that I finished reading, Rakesh picked up Gurucharan Das’s latest dealing with the Mahabharat’s characters, and Nandan Nilekani’s ‘Imagining India’. He wanted to take away one volume of the ‘Manufacturing Engineering Handbook’ too that dealt with manufacturing planning. I wish he would have done that. But the constraints of the limit of the weight of baggage prevented him to do that. His enterprise Zyom.com ‘reduces Total Product & Operations Cost for Hi-Tech electronics and Consumer goods companies, provides an innovative Lifecycle Cost approach that helps companies identify and minimize unaddressed costs,’ and works on the solutions of related problems. We all wish him success and pray for it.

Alpana as a good housewife had different tastes and priorities. But Yamuna and I loved her picking the black grams and peas that we got from Madhukarpur that would have gone waste as otherwise. We hardly take it as precaution advised by the doctor. Rakesh hardly gets involved into normal household tasks. Perhaps he has imbibed this from me. However, there is one difference and in Rakesh’s case, Alpana is working with an US company as Project Manager with a lot of responsibility and seriousness. And I am sure she will one day achieve what all I have been dreaming for years.

They left and we, two here in Noida will keep on waiting for a next visit from one of the three from US with eagerness and expectations of everything going on in ‘happy’ mode.

Rural India is undergoing a transformation. However, most of the changes are taking the people born and brought up there out of their traditional engagements. I don’t know how many of the urban intellectuals are aware of that.

Bullocks and buffaloes used for ploughing the field are disappearing. Tractors, harvesters, and now even rice tranplanters are entering rapidly due to the shortage of immigrant labour force who got engaged in their home states in NREGA scheme. It has certainly improved the productivity and loss of final produce compared to traditional harvesting.

I was amazed to learn about the use of special harvesters for potatoes and sugarcane in some states. And it’s happening even after the insane opposition of some political leaders such as Mulayam. No one can stop this from happening and neither should it happen at the cost of the improvement in productivity of farming. It improves the quality of life of the people in rural India too.
However, it will demand creation of jobs for the categories of workers, both male and female, in the rural India that used to get engaged in the traditionally manual processes of farming and other household activities. It requires a change in mindset of rural work force with certain amount of external input, as till now the offspring in the family used to go in for the family professions.

I was amazed yesterday when Alok, who manages the farming in village, expressed his desire about starting a poultry farm and plantation in big way. It’s a real welcome change in the mindset in a land where even the persons from landless rural community are no more interested in keeping cattle and making it a business.

The changing rural India requires a different type of assistance. As the landholding is getting reduced with every new generation, the farming as profession may not sustain the livelihood of the family engaged solely in it. The scientists and experts are expected to suggest ways and means for making a good living out of two-three acres of land. How long will it remain viable with new hybrid seeds and chemical fertilizers or with right combinations of commercial and traditional crops, be it floriculture or horticulture or even premium priced organically grown products with sufficient demand and market? I am sure no government can solve the problem by just increasing the subsidy on the inputs or the minimum support price of the produce.

Additional earnings by some of the members of the households can only make a difference.

Another way of creating employment can come out of skill training and encouraging entrepreneurships. Unfortunately, even after the tremendous growths in the use of machines in farm and appliances at home, the rural kids are not ready to getting engaged into the business of servicing the equipment. The farmers mostly depend on someone in the nearby town for the repair and services. India Inc must encourage the setting up of the service centres and facilities in the rural areas to cater to the local requirements.

A lot of employment can also come from rural housing, if innovative entrepreneurs of private sector get into the business. It’s a myth that rural India can’t afford modern houses and business clusters. However, it requires a frugal engineering and construction processes suiting to the local requirements using the locally available raw material and manpower.

A special national drive is necessary to study in detail and report on creating job opportunities in rural India depending on the local strength and requirements. All management schools and agricultural universities may take up the task through summer projects to cover all the six lakh villages in India. And a team of teachers and experts can consolidate the final recommendations.

There are already successful models of the efforts made by some like Percy Burnevik, former non-executive Chairman of ABB Ltd, the power and automation giant company, through Do Bear Production Unit, where 50 dalit women produce teddy bear and earn about Rs 150 for a doll. Almost all the daughters-in-law coming in village can be the potential candidates who can participate in the drive. Some like Sulekha can easily become an entrepreneur herself for various types of activities after suitable training and engage many.

Let the policy makers and every one wishing to see a better rural India start planning on the line of successful models and create the engagement for the different categories of people living in the rural India. And that only can bring prosperity and banish the poverty.

Rakesh, my eldest son, came from US to attend a marriage in Patna and combined it with some his business related work in Hyderabad. The marriage was on July 9, and he was to leave Patna for Hyderabad on July 10 for business meetings that were fixed well before he left US.

He was to leave for Patna from Delhi in the evening on July 8 as per schedule. It was late on July 7 that he came to know of the July 10, strike. In Noida, I did not know about it. As the protesters these days go to any extent to stop the operation of flights, railway trains, and even the vehicles on roads, our relatives in Patna advised for changing the travel plan. Rakesh spent few hours in fixing up the changed plan and made us all worry too. Will Lalu, Ram Bilas or for that matter all the political leaders who very often call these strikes or Bandhs as they call it, appreciate the difficulties and mental agonies of people affected in many ways by the rogue followers who manage these bandhs? Who should take the responsibility of the incidents of violence? Will Lalu and Ram Bilas justify their bandh supporters raining lathis on vehicle owners and shopkeepers who defied the bandh?

And then Rakesh had to take a flight on July 9 itself for Hyderabad via New Delhi without attending the marriage of his sister-in-law. Rakesh reached Patna around 8PM on July 8 and returned to Patna airport by 12 noon on the next day without attending the marriage and any other function. He had to leave behind his wife and kids in Patna.

And all the mess was due to the strike called by Lalu=Paswan against the price rise in the country. Interestingly, he had already seen one on July 5, when he arrived in Delhi in early morning on July 5. Fortunately, as it was in Delhi, he could come to Noida without any problem.

Leaders of Bihar have learnt the nitty-gritty of managing the bandhs in effective manner so that no sane person dares to come out from his house in a bandh perhaps from the masters of the art in the neighbouring state. Democracy allows only willing participation in protests. It never gives a license to resort to violence and threat to make others participate in a protest. Why should not the party resorting to violence in the democratic protests be banned? Why should the students be stopped from going to their schools and the poor workers to their works and the patients even critical ones are not allowed to go to hospitals?
I don’t know what Lalu and Paswan would have advised his sons if they get involved in such a situation. I and many feel aghast against the riding prices. But has any bandh that caused inconveniences to millions of people and loss of many types yielded any result? Is a check on the price rise their intention? Are not they showing their strength in this election year to their vote banks and trying to embarrass the state government?

K Subramanayam has very rightly called these bandhs as acts of terror similar to one carried out by the Naxalites in the country.

Why should not the political leaders innovate a peaceful way of protest without causing the loss to individuals or the nation? If these leaders try to copy everything that US does, why can’t they follow the same for democratic protests too?