Apex court's anti-corruption move is praiseworthy but not enough

The Supreme Court creates sensation every time it comes up with a new judgment. History repeated itself when the Supreme Court upheld a judgment of the Kerala High Court about sports officials being public servants and hence liable under the Prevention of Corruption Act. This definitely marks a strong commitment on part of the Indian judiciary irrespective of whether it will guarantee the end of corruption in sports or not.

Such a judgment is relevant in today’s context when corruption is rampant not only in sports bodies but also in other streams of life. Sports body officials handle huge public funds. They can’t resist the temptation of misappropriating money. Kerala Cricket Association officials are alleged to have misappropriated Rs 28.42 crore received from BCCI in 2004-08 and Rs 1.88 lakh received from the state for promotion of cricket. There are massive corruption charges on Commonwealth Games officials.

Corruption has also spread its tentacles to other fields like social work and microfinance. Unfortunately, social work is a sector with little accountability but huge responsibility and has exceeded the $1 trillion mark globally. Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) in the developing world have recourse to over $15 billion. The number of NGOs in India is estimated to be over 3.3 million with over 19.4 million people engaged. There is evidence of rampant corruption worldwide. Transparency International ranks NGOs in Kenya as the second most corrupted body in terms of taking bribes. The Council for the Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) in India has blacklisted 400 NGOs while another 3,000 NGOs have been blacklisted by the Central Social and Welfare Board (CSWB) on the ground of irregularities of fund allocation and misconduct. India’s microfinance sector has reached the $7 billion mark, with over 120 million homes having no access to banking. About 70 million people have benefitted from microfinance. As per a CRISIL research, there are over 3,000 MFIs and NGO-MFIs, out of which, about 400 have active lending programmes. There are often news of misuse of funds.

NGOs and MFIs handle huge funds, often the same as sports bodies. Under the new SC verdict, if sports officials are public servants chargeable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, social workers and MFIs should be equally chargeable under the same corruption act. This will be another way to push the lazy Indian government to act. To reiterate again, it will not guarantee the end of corruption but will show the commitment of the existing Indian judiciary.

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Manipur cops rub scribes the wrong way

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The arrest of a respected editor on an allegedly trumped up charge sees journalists cease work

No newspaper was published in Manipur for six consecutive days as scribes protested against the arrest of A. Mobi, editor of Sanaleibak. Mobi, who is also the vice-president cum spokesperson of the All Manipur Working Journalists' Union (AMWJU), was arrested on the charge of being an activist of the proscribed Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Tabungba Group.

Mobi, who is 55 years old, was picked up at around 9.30 am on December 29 by police commandos in civil dresses who came on a pedal rickshaw. The police claimed to have recovered “extorted” money amounting to Rs 50,000, two mobile handsets, a LML NV scooter bearing no registration number from Mobi's possession. Section 17 and 20 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act were slapped on him and the police filed a case under FIR No 575 (12) 10 IPS. He was remanded to police custody till January 5 and was produced in the court of the chief judicial magistrate, Imphal.

As news of the arrest spread, scribes gathered at Manipur Press Club and discussed the charges levelled against him. Standing firmly behind the editor, AMWJU labelled it as a frame-up. Setting the record straight, AMWJU said that Mobi was in his office room when police commandos arrived in a rickshaw under the guise of KCP members and arrested him.

Apart from being the vice-president of AMWJU, Mobi shouldered the additional responsibility of being its spokesperson to mitigate the various threats that the media in the state is routinely subjected to. With the state police unable to instil a sense of security amongst the media professionals and instances such as sending bombs to media offices, threats issued by armed groups or physical attacks on the offices of the newspaper on the rise, AMWJU turned to Mobi. As Mobi was the contact man of AMWJU, the banned KCP had contacted him some time back for a meeting between them and the Manipuri media outside the state. Since the matter was sensitive, it was kept a secret and not spelt out to all AMWJU members.

However, as AMWJU had no provision to bear the expenditure involved in the travel of journalists to meet the underground cadres, KCP agreed to foot the Rs 50,000 bill. They said the amount would be delivered to Mobi’s office at 9:30 am on December 29. Accordingly, Mobi waited for them at his office.

Mobi received a call in the morning that the sum of Rs 50, 000 meant for the travel expenditure of the media persons has been dispatched and that he may collect the same from two people in a pedal rickshaw parked outside his office.

However, when Mobi went out of his office to collect the money, the two people outside pulled out guns. He tried to fight them, he thought they were underground cadres. But the two identified themselves as police commandos. At that very moment, Mobi received a call from a KCP pointsman who called to enquire whether he had received the money. The police team forced him to say yes. When AMWJU representatives met him in police custody in the evening, Mobi told them that he had not even seen the amount which the police claimed to have seized from his possession. At the time of his arrest, he only had Rs 2000 in his pocket. That amount was seized along with two mobile phones and the keys of his scooter. AMWJU has refuted all charges levelled against Mobi as nothing but a blatant frame-up. The Rs 50,000 which the police claimed was seized from Mobi, was actually brought by the police commandos, AMWJU says.

To settle the matter, AMWJU representatives wanted to meet chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the evening of December 29. They were denied permission but nonetheless submitted a memorandum to the chief minister. It highlighted the fabricated charges levelled against Mobi and demanded his unconditional release. The same copy was also submitted to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, seeking his intervention in the matter. A memorandum went out to the Governor of Manipur Gurbachan Jagat too. A 10-member AMWJU team met with the chief minister on December 30. The CM said that the police had a different take on the matter and assured the delegation of needful action after consultation with the DGP and other top ranking police officers.

However, the words of assurance did not translate into real action. The journalists decided to strike to mark their protest. Rallies and sit-in demonstrations were part of the agitation that continued till January 4. No newspaper was published in the state of Manipur from December 31 to January 5. On January 5, Mobi was freed on bail at around 3.30 pm. Scribes resumed work from that very day.

Even though scribes resumed their duties, they decided on a media boycott of ministers and MLAs of Congress and CPI, partners in the SPF government, and all functions and events they were taking part in. Journalists also would not entertain press releases and statements of these two parties. Additionally, newspapers would not publish police statements including those highlighting their achievements till the demands of AMWJU was met by the government, said AMWJU president Khogendro Khomdram.

Mobi was granted bail in consideration of the fact that Sanaleibak daily might remain out of print if its editor continued to remain under police custody. It would amount to denial of information to the people. The health condition of Mobi was taken into account as well. Mobi was released with a surety bond of Rs 50,000 along with a directive that he should report to the investigative officer every Sunday.

After he was released, Mobi called his arrest a sign of danger for media persons. He said, while in police custody, he was forced to sign papers admitting to the charges levelled against him. Apart from this, he was subjected to harassment. No food was provided to him on his release day. He further added that scribes in the state were working under pressure from both the state government and the underground groups and that the police was doing nothing to protect the journalists. He also said that he would give up journalism if the charges were found to be true.

The Ethno Heritage Council (HERICOUN), the All Communities United Front, Manipur (ACUF), National Federation of Newspaper Employees and other civil society bodies strongly condemned the editor's arrest.

One of the oldest regional political parties, the Manipur People's Party (MPP), has also stood by the editor. Party chief Y.Mangi told TSI that the arrest was an attempt to blot the image of journalists working in the state. “Such conduct of the police has raised suspicion as to whether the state government is trying to gag the media,” he said.

Recalling the instances of underground elements being arrested along with arms from the quarters of ministers and MLAs some years back and the killing of SDO Dr Thingnam Kishan and Imphal Free Press' Rishikanta, Mangi demanded to know what steps the government has taken in these cases.

In the memorandum submitted to the Manipur Governor, AMWJU stated that the media was being targeted by the state police for its role in exposing the alleged fake encounter at BT Road on July 23, 2009, which is under CBI investigation. Several police officers were allegedly involved in the incident. So far four scribes have been gunned down by police and underground groups. There have been countless attempts on their lives, numerous arrests, many instances of harassment. Some journalists survive with bullet holes.

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Prakash Kaur, 60, began life as a foundling. Today she is mother to 60-odd abandoned girls in a unique shelter in Jalandhar, Punjab

The woman behind the home is Prakash Kaur, who was herself left on the streets as a baby 60 years ago. Since 1993, she has dedicated her life to the noble but onerous mission of rescuing unwanted and unclaimed newborn girls and giving them a secure home and future.

Today, Unique Home for Girls has 60-odd residents who call Prakash Kaur mother. “They are my own children,” the lady says. “They are never made to feel like abandoned children.”

As we walk around the home, it is easy to see that her claim is quite well-founded. Even as her ‘family’ expands and her responsibilities grow, Prakash Kaur’s fount of maternal compassion shows no signs of drying up.

She has touched the lives of many who’ve been cruelly shunned by their own. Siya was only a few hours old when she was found in a drain, wrapped in a black polythene bag. Reva was a newborn when her parents decided to dump her near the highway off Kapurthala. Razia and Rabiya were just a few days old when they were discovered in the fields outside Jalandhar.

These girls have all found shelter in Unique Home, where they now enjoy the real family experience that their pitiless parents chose to deprive them of simply because of their gender. The girls who live here range from the age of four days to 19 years.

Unique Home is run by a trust named after Bhai Ghanayya Ji, a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh. The trust aims to raise these children as healthy individuals and arm them with all the social skills and educational qualifications that they need to face life on their own terms. The girls could not have found a better person than Prakash Kaur for the job of providing them with support and succour.

Most of Unique Home’s inmates arrive here as hapless, barely alive foundlings. So they have no recollections of how they are brought here. But those that have grown up in the life-affirming warmth of this home are proud that they belong here.

Under Prakash Kaur’s care and tutelage, these girls are all well adjusted individuals willing and able to take their rightful place in a society that still seems to harbour a strong aversion to children of their gender.

Prakash Kaur is acutely aware of the challenges that lie before her, but she has faith. “Yeh uparwaale ka kaam hai. Jab ussney yeh zimmedaari di hai to himmat bhi wohi dega. Jab aaj tak mujhe koi mushkil nahin aayee to aagey bhi nahin aayegi. Neki key kaam mein kabhi koi rukawat nahin aati,” she says. She is obviously getting on in years but she still retains the strength to make chapatis for all the inmates of the home three times a day and seven days a week.

The first thing that strikes one in Unique Home is a small hatched box near the entrance. It is called the “cradle”. Flip open the hatch and you see a shelf built into the wall. When a rescued child is placed on the shelf, it sets off an alarm that tells the staff that they have a new girl to take care of. When it comes to christening the new arrivals, names are drawn from all the religions of India. So at Unique Home, girls have Hindu, Muslim and Christian and Sikh names and faith has no restrictions.

Although we visited Unique Home without any prior notice, Prakash Kaur ensured that we were made to feel at home. Not surprising at all coming from a lady who has dedicated her life to dispelling a bit of the darkness that engulfs Punjab, indeed all of India. The girls brought to Unique Home grow up with a sense of belonging. This is the only home they know.

For a home that houses 60-odd girls, the place looks a bit too small. The rather cramped space has limited amenities for the girls, including three small rooms that serve as bedroom, dining area and playroom, in addition to a small kitchen and an office for visitors.

The room that is meant for infants has three big cradles. Each has four to five babies sleeping in them. Unique Home has now acquired a new site and expansion plans are in place.

But living space is the least of the home’s problems for the hearts here are big. This is like a huge family where the older girls take care of the younger ones. We are told by the founder that the girls go to good English medium schools like Saint Mary’s in Mussoorie. A few have since been married into suitable homes. But Prakash Kaur’s responsibility does not end there.

She continues to keep a watch over the girls even after they are married. She fights for their rights if the in-laws prove to be difficult. Take the case of former Unique Home inmate Alka. When her husband died prematurely, her in-laws grabbed all her property and threw her out of the house. Prakash Kaur intervened and fought tooth and nail. She eventually managed to secure for Alka her rightful share in the family property.

So far Prakash Kaur has organised the marriages of 17 of the Unique Home inmates. While a few of these girls graduated from college before they got married, the remaining tied the knot after passing out of high school. However, several of the older girls here have decided not to marry and instead dedicate themselves, like Prakash Kaur, to the service of Unique Home.

April 24 is a very special day at Unique Home. It is the day when the children here collectively celebrate their birthday. A huge 100-kg cake is cut and the day is marked by much merriment. That apart, once every year, during the summer holidays, the inmates of Unique Home go on a trip to Darjeeling.

On our visit to the home, we ate lunch with the children. The food was simple but delicious: rice, chapatis and aloo gobhi. Prakash Kaur made fresh chapatis for all the 60 children.

“We don’t want to give our kids up for adoption. People come to us but we refuse,” says Prakash Kaur. Although she did not give us any specific details, she told us that she knows of many cases in which adopted girls have been ill treated.

Prakash Kaur herself has no idea who her parents were. She was found abandoned and grew up in a Nari Niketan. She describes the work she does today as “the lord’s work”.

Asked if she ever faced any mistreatment in the Nari Niketan where she grew up, she smiles and says: “I will never allow my daughters to work as maids anywhere.”

The most essential part of this home is that the children are aware of the fact that their real parents have abandoned them because they are obsessed with boys. But this poisonous truth has only strengthened their resolve to prove themselves. Sheeba, who studies in a convent school in Mussoorie, wants to be a successful neurosurgeon.

“I want my real mother to know that the daughter she threw out of her life is well established. I want to be very famous. I want to prove to her that girls are not a burden,” she says. Sheeba has always stood first in her class with A-plus grades. She is determined to make it to a good medical college.

Lucy is 19 years old. She wants to be a professor of English. “I believe that education is the only way forward in this society which discriminates against girl children,” she says.

Punjab has one of India’s most skewed sex ratios. The percentage of women in the state’s population keeps dipping every year. A growing shortage of marriageable girls has forced men here to find partners in different cultures and states.

“When French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni came to India, they prayed for a boy. I was shocked. I used to think that Westerners treat both genders equally. He could have asked for a girl. It would have sent out a message to the people of India. It’s rather sad,” says Prakash Kaur. The French first couple prayed for a son at the Fatehpur Sikri dargah of Sufi saint Salim Chishti.

Female foeticide is on the rise, especially among the educated class and in higher strata of society. It has assumed alarming proportions. According to NGOs working with issues related to women, every year, 10 lakh cases of female foeticide take place in the country with the help of gender determination tests. The death of young girls in India exceed those of young boys by over 300,000 each year and every 6th infant death is specifically due to gender discrimination.

According to Anjalee Shenoy of Sama Resource Centre for Women and Health, new techniques like PGD (pre-implant genetic diagnosis), a method that involves producing embryos through IVF, cannot just help you decide the gender of the child but the colour of skin and hair. And there is no effective law in place right now to stop this practice. “This falls under the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, but it is going undetected,” says Shenoy.

But there is hope yet. If only Prakash Kaur’s selfless spirit would rub off on society at large.

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Salman Taseer, the late Governor of Pakistan's Punjab

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On his Twitter page hours before his assassination, Salman Taseer, the late Governor of Pakistan's Punjab, wrote:

Mera azm itna bulund hai, Mujhe paraye sholon se dar nahin. Mujhe khauf atish e gul se hai, Yeh kahin chaman ko jala na dein//

An outspoken critic of Pakistan's blasphemy laws, most people with humanity and sanity in the country say, is often set upon by extremists and commoners in equal measure to settle personal scores. Salman Taseer infuriated the right-wingers after he called the laws “a slur on the constitution.”

The barefaced broad daylight shooting took place at the Kohsar Shopping Centre in Islamabad’s posh F6 Sector, minutes from where Taseer had a home in the capital city. The culprit, his bodyguard, emptied two full magazines of LMG from a very close range.

Qadri, the bodyguard, told investigators that he had planned the assassination after Taseer sided with Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman on death row for blasphemy, and spoke against the blasphemy laws. Recently, Taseer visited Aasia Bibi in prison in a campaign for her release. He wrote on his Twitter page just last Friday: “I was under huge pressure sure 2 cow down b4 rightist pressure on blasphemy. Refused. Even if I’m the last man standing.”

It will be a shame for Jinnah's Pakistan if he turns out to be really the last man standing.

Taseer, a liberal and magnetic politician, was one of the most moderate voices in the ruling PPP. A natty dresser with jet black hair, Taseer was a pleasant sight to see. He was a thorough up-to-date politician and was very active and prolific user of Twitter as a medium for his courageous views.

I still remember my meeting with Taseer at the Governor's house in Lahore just a year back, along with a few other Indian journalists. He was bang on time to meet us. Draped in a spotless white salwar-kameez and a black galaband, he smelt of 'Davidoff Cool Water' from a distance. With his prominent Indo-Nordic features and a clean-shaven face, he could have made any women-of-taste weak in her knees.

Journalists of '70s and '80s still remember how Taseer wooed Indian scribe Tavleen Singh while the former was touring India to promote his biography of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Their marriage didn't last long and left much bitterness, but journos still remember how he swept hard-nut Tavleen off her feet.

I remember his secretary, a dashing Pakistani beauty in the most modern but dignified of dresses, asking us to choose one journalist among us to represent us. The Hindu's Sandeep Dikshit was unanimously chosen to represent us. Dikshit, an extremely well-read and level-minded journalist, was also dressed to the occasion in his white kurta-pyjama. We wanted to put our best in front of our Pakistani host. While Dikshit took the glory, rest of us, me, NDTV's Umashankar Singh and Kashmir Times' Iftikhar Gilani, busied ourselves in admiring the décor of the Governor's house. The jury is still out if that décor included the devastatingly beautiful secretary or not.

But when he entered the hall all of us were spellbound by his personality. Sorry, Sandeep Dikshit, he beat you hands down in the appearance department.

After firm handshakes and bear-hugs we started talking. He had very liberal views on most issues and was a great supporter of the normalisation of relations with India. We cracked some jokes and my my, what an infectious laugh he had. Umashankar Singh wanted a one-on-one interview with him. He was in a tearing hurry, but agreed. While we fumbled with cables, lights and mikes, he waited patiently. In the entire meeting the only whiff of irritation that flashed on his face was when NewsX's Vishal Thapar kept addressing him as “Salman Basheer”. “It's Taseer,” he had hissed.

When he was about to leave he replaced his Gucci reading glasses with the Police Sunglasses. Taseer was a man of taste. I still remember mentioning our meeting to Talat Hussain, Pakistan's most famous TV journalist and anchor. The first question he asked jokingly was, “Did Taseer dazzle you with his sunglasses?” Taseer was a flamboyant man and people loved and hated him for this in equal measure.

Salman Taseer was the son of Muhammad Din Taseer, popularly known as MD Taseer, who was the first Ph.D degree holder in the subcontinent. He got his Ph.D in English Literature from Cambridge University. His thesis was a critical and analytical study of five hundred years of English literature. But what most people don't know is that MD Taseer, as a education inspector in Kashmir, was instrumental in the formation of Sheikh Abdullah's Muslim Conference. He assisted Abdullah in resisting the Dogra rule in the valley. But MD Taseer was also a first rank Urdu poet, a distinguished essayist and a respected English literature critic of his time. But he died with humble belongings.

Salman was a self-made businessman. He began his business career by successfully setting up two chartered accountancy consultancy firms KPMG, United Arab Emirates and Taseer Hadi Khalid and Co, Pakistan. Under him, his group grew remarkably. Taseer also owned the Daily Times newspaper, Business Plus TV channel, Pace shopping malls and the Hyatt hotel range in Pakistan.

But he was never a politically correct politician. He had a long history of struggle against Zia’s dictatorship. After pulling out of politics for years, he returned as the PPP’s voice of reason. He was an avid supporter of the Ahmadi community, which has been persecuted for long in Pakistan and India. His political enmity with the Sharif brothers in Punjab put him in an uncomfortable position as a Governor. But he never let anything affect him.

The Sharifs, on their part, used unfair and untenable ways to discredit him. More often than not, the Sharifs targetted his flamboyant personality, and his and his kin's munificent and reasonably sybaritic—read ‘un-Islamic’— modus vivendi. Photographs of his family enjoying in the privacy of their home were placed under media scrutiny. But Taseer had the old world grace not to get affected by such below-the-belt antics.

While it gives heart that liberal and moderate elements in Pakistan have so strongly reacted to this despicable act of cowardice, it's painful to see the right-wing celebrating his death. I can only remember this line from Punjabi.

Dushman mare te khushi na kariye, sajna vi mar jaana

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Many districts in Tamil Nadu show a skewed sex ratio

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Tamil Nadu female foeticide: Male over female

Secondary sex ratio (also called sex ratio at birth) in Tamil Nadu is declining at an alarming pace, reveals recent data. While the standard sex ratio at birth should be 952 females per 1000 males, it is 939:1000 in some rural parts of Tamil Nadu.

While various socio-economic factors can be attributed to this decline in the secondary sex ratio, activists point out that advancement in technology has facilitated this decline. It is very easy now to determine the sex of the foetus through ultrasonography. The mushrooming scan centres in the state bear testimony to the fact that the business is flourishing. Jeeva, a member of the core committee of the Campaign Against Sex Selective Abortion (CASSA) points out while talking to TSI that there are 3560 pre-natal scan centres in Tamil Nadu, and though they all claim that they do not reveal the sex of the foetus to anybody, the declining sex ratio at birth tells another story.

“There are 1530 primary health centres (PHC) in Tamil Nadu run by the government. According to the data available in 2008, at 689 PHCs the sex ratio is below normal,” adds Jeeva. Besides, as many as 434 primary health centres recorded a shocking sex ratio at birth below 900 female children per 1000 males.

“Earlier it was female infanticide. The districts of Madurai, Theni, Salem and Dharmapuri were particularly notorious for this. But now with the advent of scan centres it has transformed into female foeticide. This practice is prevalent in other districts also. This inhuman trend is being noted in about a dozen districts in Tamil Nadu,” says Balasundari, state convenor, CASSA.

The preference for male children over female has resulted in skewed sex ratio. Although determination of sex before birth through pre-natal diagnostic techniques is illegal, not many diagnostic centres abide by the rules it seems. Nevertheless, there are monitoring authorities at various levels.

“I feel the government should be more assertive and strict when monitoring the scan centres,” says Kavitha Ganesh, editor of the magazine Penne nee, adding, “The menace of dowry in society is still haunting the female child. It affects her even when she is in the womb of her mother. On the other hand I see that more girl students are being sent to schools and colleges, which is a positive trend. More awareness should be created in the society about the opportunities created for girls.”

S.P. Sarguna Pandian, chairperson of the state women commission, stresses the need of the society to be aware of the value of a female child. “When we kill a female child, whether in the womb or outside, we kill a mother who can give birth to many boys. Those who run scan centres should take a pledge that they would never disclose the sex of the child,” she says while talking to TSI.

She also highlights the steps the state government is taking to discourage people from killing girls in the womb. “Now Tamil Nadu government gives more economic help to girls from their education to marriage. Besides, it has brought law to make female children to be the legal heir of the family,” informs Pandian.

The statistics show a healthy sex ratio among the educated sections. So probably the answer to the problem lies in education and awareness.

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Former Andhra CM suddenly talks of farmer welfare

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Andhra pradesh politics: Naidu's changed tone

When Nara Chandrababu Naidu sat on an indefinite fast for the sake of forlorn farmers of the calamity-hit coastal Andhra, taking the public amnesia for granted, the farmers were happy to see a changed Naidu. The former CM's eight-day hunger strike is nonetheless a medical miracle as he is a severe diabetic.

“How could anyone believe that Naidu’s indefinite fast was meant for welfare of farmers,” housing minister Kanna Laxminarayana wondered while talking to The Sunday Indian, taking a dig on Naidu's allegedly anti-farmer policies. “Naidu’s much hyped Vision 2020 programme did not have any significant provision to rehabilitate the farmers,” says PCC Kisan cell chairman, Kodanda Reddy.

Naidu received flak from all quarters for neglecting farmers and labourers during his tenure. Farmers were asked not to produce more rice as the state had no place to stock it. They were encouraged to shift to commercial crops such as tobacco, cotton, chillies and castor seed. This forced shift led to more suicides as the ill-equipped small farmers were no match for the big players ruling the market. The commercial crops required huge investments which the small farmers could not make.

Naidu became more unpopular among the farmers and labourers when his government refused to sanction ex-gratia to the bereaved families arguing that it would induce farmers into a suicide spree. Owing to his lopsided views on agriculture, he paid heavy price during the 2004 general elections.

Now, Naidu, who paid little attention to agriculture and irrigation facilities and turned a deaf ear to the plight of farmers when they were struck by, is ironically projecting himself as a messiah of farmers. “I feel the criticism on our leader’s views about agriculture is biased and unilateral. Even if that criticism on his past actions was valid, will it take away his right to voice for the welfare of farmers now? Don’t you allow any revision and re-examining of thoughts and views?” Nannapaneni Raja Kumari, a Telugu Desam MLC told TSI when contacted.

According to the senior political analyst, B.C. Sekhar, Naidu is not a changed soul. “His consistent objective is to promote the commercial interests of the agribusiness companies, foreign financial institutes, international bankers and the IT hardware units. When there has been a drastic change in the world scenario and when agriculture has again come into the centre stage, Naidu has tuned himself accordingly,” says Sekhar. According to him, Naidu developed sudden affection for agriculture when World Development Report 2008 called for greater investment in agriculture in developing countries. Thus, Naidu consistently dances to obvious tunes, this time around it's in the name of farmers!

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MLAs' demand for pay and perks hike faces legal hurdles

IIPM Excom Prof Rajita Chaudhuri

Orissa: legislators' salary

“Our salary is less than that of a class-IV employee of the state government,” said Pratap Sarangi, an independent member of Orissa Legislative Assembly, during a discussion on the hike of salary and allowances of the lawmakers. Sarangi was not a lone voice. Ruling Biju Janata Dal's Pradip Maharathy and Congress’s Santosh Singh Saluja also expressed similar views on the floor of the house. Cutting across the party lines, a majority of the legislators demanded a pay hike for themselves. An Orissa MLA at present takes home Rs 21,725 per month with the salary band at Rs 5,000.

Leader of BJP legislative party K.B. Singhdeo says, “Our counterparts in other states are getting much more than what we get. The amount given as constituency allowance, too, is very nominal. How could an MLA manage his public life with such a meagre amount?”
Subrat Tarai, a BJD MLA, expresses similar views. “Apart from their personal needs, a public representative has to meet public expectations too in day to day life. Poor people from our constituency frequently visit us for financial help for school admission fees of their children or treatment of any person or donations for social and religious functions. It is difficult for us to meet those demands with this pay,” he says.

A cabinet committee comprising of ministers for finance, law and parliamentary affairs was formed to look into the issue which has recommended to hike MLAs salary to Rs 90,000 per month. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had also given his nod to the recommendation, and had instructed the finance department to give final shape to the proposal, but a legal hurdle has come in its way. A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed by lawyer activist Nishikant Mishra in the Orissa High Court against the proposed salary hike. Making all the major parties a respondent, the petitioner has pleaded that the proposed hike is against public interest and will have cascading effects on the state's fragile economy.

Prasad Harichandan, chief whip of Congress legislative party, holds a different view. “Since the MLAs are lawmakers, they should not be given a free hand to increase their salary by passing a bill themselves. An independent commission consisting of non-political persons and intellectuals should be formed to review our demand. This, I think, will be a transparent process,” he suggests.

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The evil of violence extends beyond determining who gets to enjoy power, it destroys a society

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The sporadic but widespread bloodshed in West Bengal today is causing genuine worries among commoners as most of the victims or casualties are youths, bubbling with energy and potential but nipped in the bud by a ruthlessly violent political machine. They are being killed in the villages and towns, on the top of the hills or in the middle of the jungles, inside colleges and immediate neighbourhoods. People play the role of onlookers as if the young people – killed or injured – do not belong to the society.

The malaise is deeper than the episodes where social conscience is in a semi-comatose state. The society is in grave jeopardy. The disease of inequality, corruption and misuse of power is ruling the roost. Both state and non-state actors have used violence like it will bring magic solution to all problems. The somewhat normal life and livelihood of people in the villages, whose lives have been caught up in this conflict, have been shattered.

The loss to the society has two dimensions that interpenetrate each other in terms of tragedy. Certainly, those who were killed for no fault of themselves cause a loss to the micro-society they lived in. But the damage is more penetrating for the youths that were not killed but related to the dead souls. The differential social impact on the extinguished and the combusting ones makes its unstable presence felt here. One pathos pierce another, along with avoidable escalation of mutual hatred that hampers the social texture of normal times. It’s not that just the academic milieu gets vitiated; the we-feeling among the youths is seriously fractured.

These acts of bloodsheds, in the guise of intra-party and inter-party rivalry or by any other name, are not natural as such violent episodes are aberrations in normal societal life. Lost are social assets in most of these deaths. Political parties are trying to cash in on these killings. The more the number of deaths, the more buoyant get their political and material benefits, albeit in the short term.

When those youths were alive, political leaders and the parties never knew them. After their deaths, political parties politicise the funerals of the victims, organise processions with dead bodies and make them martyrs in their political interests. Even if they do not openly preach and teach violence, they are not shy of reaping the profits of violence. In fact, all political parties have ‘blood on their hands’ today. They not only reap the harvest of deaths but instigate and pitch in their part. It is the political leaders who create malice among members of Gen-Next and make them kill one another.

They are engrossed in shameless ‘parliamentary cretinism’, seldom caring for the society of electorates or the well-being of the youths in general. These people did not matter so much when they were living than what their blood-stained bodies are worth. The society is at dangerous crossroads though the political class has already crossed it. The wounds are inflicted on the whole society and the entire society bleeds. And for that, we the elders, the parents, the common people – who are sometimes afraid to raise their voices in fear of state reprisal – want this to be stopped. We demand that all the political parties give patient hearings to what we have to say.

Use of violence as a means of grabbing power is not just true for West Bengal. It’s a global phenomenon. Violence is made into a culture. Now a large part of the world is looking back at the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, who never compromised with violence even at the cost of the country’s freedom. He once said, “I cannot teach you violence as I do not myself believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before any one, even at the cost of your life.”

Political consciousness today is a vague and misleading concept as the democratic polity is injured and social commitment is tragically scarce. Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the conscientious ex-Governor of West Bengal, stated very aptly: “Violence is crime’s signature. And that signature, in its many twists and loops, grows. And it often becomes oblique.” Violence is a hindrance to democratic life and normal social growth. It is time to disapprove of violence in every form. Violence is introduced by the state, we have learnt that from history and are witnessing the same in our daily lives. Anything that throttles the freedom of life – not just freedom of expression, association or the Press – is to be opposed. But that protest should have no room for violence but should be conducted in a benign and communicative way.

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Karnataka heritage vs livelihood: Anxiety in Coffee Land

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Will the Western ghats find a place in World Heritage list?

The Karnataka government and several environmentalists might have long been striving to get a World Heritage Site tag for some ecological hotspots in the Western Ghats, but the coffee planters and some local politicians are against the move. The tug-of war has been on since 2003 when the environmentalists urged the state government to approach the UNESCO to get the World Heritage Site tag for Pushpagiri, Talacauvery and Brahmagiri forests. Recently when a two-member UNESCO team visited Coorg for the final study of the proposed areas, the planters staged demonstrations in protest. The reason behind the resentment is said to be the notion that the heritage tag would eventually snatch their means of livelihood. The operational guidelines for the implementation of World Heritage Convention deem human use of some properties inappropriate. The local people, especially in the planters, fear that it could mean the snatching away of thousands of acres of coffee plantations from them.

The central government too in 2003 submitted a proposal to UNESCO requesting for the heritage tag for nine regions in Karnataka including 39 hotspots in the Western Ghats. The UNESCO subsequently constituted a team for studying the proposed areas that visited the areas several times and the recent one was the last round of the procedure. The previous visits did not face any protest as they were kept secret.

However, a section of people thinks that the World Heritage site tag would not harm the interests of the locals. K.M. Chinnappa, a retired forest ranger tells TSI, “The timber mafia is behind these protests as the heritage tag would force the government to protect the forest and it would affect their illegal timber business.” He added, “Rather, the World Heritage tag would help protect our rich ecology.”

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The govt. fails to provide reliable modes of transport

IIPM Mumbai Campus

West bengal transport : Waiting for more tragedies?

The boat capsize on Muriganga near Kakdwip a few weeks back that left about 83 people dead and about 70 missing, has once again brought forth the state government's failure to provide dependable means of transport in the Sundarban and the adjoining areas. The mechanised country boat was ferrying nearly 300 people from Hijli at East Medinipur to Kakdwip when it sank. Ministers and politicians, including Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, made a beeline to meet the bereaved families, but did not promise to nail the guilty of the crime of such magnitude. It is largely the state administration's negligence and apathy that led to this accident.

Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity (PBKMS), a non-partisan organisation of agricultural workers, has done a quick survey on transport facilities in 10 blocks of South 24 Parganas — Mathurapur I and II, Canning II, Gosaba, Mandirbazar, Kulpi, Kakdwip, Namkhana, Sagar, Pathar Pratima and Kultali. According to its report, (that was also sent to the Divisional Commissioner of the Presidency range, who is spearheading the enquiry commission), there is only 42 km. railway line and about 300 km. pucca road network for 4500 sq. km. of inhabited areas in Sundarban. The principal mode of travelling to the 37 islands is motorised country boats. Another option is small wooden boats called dinga. The state river transport exists only at Canning and Sagar. (See the table).

In the absence of permanent jetties at most of the stoppages and terminals, passengers are forced to wade through knee-deep water in the crocodile infested rivers to board the boats. The district administration has no system in place to monitor the licenses and transport safety norms for the boats. In the absence of strict norms, the boat owners almost always overload the boats, sometimes upto double the capacity of the boat.

Ditto for the buses. The state run buses ply only on long distance routes. Mijanur Rehman, the general secretary of the PBKMS, told TSI, “Overcrowding, carrying of passengers on the roof and overloading of goods are the common practises with bus operators. It makes travelling dangerous.” Most of the local buses are too old to run even on metalled roads. But they carry passengers on kachcha roads and are often overcrowded. No transport is usually available at night. Interestingly, even the police face shortage of boats, river-ambulances and mobile vans to guard the area or provide emergency services to the people. This has given a free hand to the criminals and the Bangladeshi smugglers and pirates.

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A Kerala architect finds an admirer in Rahul Gandhi

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Kerala Personality :From mud to cloud nine

Gopal Sankar, the internationally acclaimed architect, relaxing after a hard day's work could not believe his ears when the person at the other end of the telephone said that he was Rahul Gandhi. It took some time for the fact to sink in that it was nobody else other than the scion of the Gandhi family, Rahul Gandhi. And Sankar was more surprised when Rahul said that he wanted the architect’s help in designing a handicrafts centre— a Rajiv Gandhi Foundation project— for training women. That was music to Shankar’s ears, for his heart was always there where his creative urge could work in tandem with his philanthropic quest. This was two years ago. Today Rahul’s dream has flowered into an architectural beauty at Mushir Ganj in Amethi. Sankar is no run-of-the-mill architect, but more a poet creating marvels out of his pet medium, mud. His creations in mud have won him international accolades. Rahul Gandhi chanced upon these marvels during one of his whirlwind tours through the villages of Orissa. Struck by the sheer simplicity and the elegance of these constructions, Rahul decided that Amethi, his parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh, should also have some of these wonderful creations.

Sankar decided to do it in a different way. He incorporated hues of Kerala's traditional architecture in his creations for Amethi. The result is a simple yet beautiful cosy building that radiates an aura of 'good old days'. The building constructed with mud has for its roof traditional tiles commonly used in Kerala. A fascinating feature of this construction is its ability to shield the occupants from the vagaries of extreme climate. The houses made of mud are warm in winter and cooler in summer.

Sankar’s tryst with Amethi is not yet over. He will soon be back, for Rahul Gandhi has simply fell in love with his creations.

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India expensive healthcare: The cost of life

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Expensive healthcare will drive more people into poverty

Expensive healthcare is a common problem, be it a developed or a developing nation. And India is certainly not an exception. The National Health Policy formed in 1983 during Indira Gandhi’s regime had committed to make health services available to all by 2000. But a successful healthcare system remains a distant dream even in 2010. This not only shows how poor India is when it comes to implementing policies, but also proves that India lacks commitments towards such issues. Ironically, our nation's failure in healthcare is becoming a costly affair for India's poor.

The World Health Organisation in a recent report revealed that “over 100 million people worldwide are plunged into poverty every year by illness or expensive medical bills.” With poor public healthcare system in 33 low or middle income nations, individuals pay 50 per cent of their total healthcare expenditure from their own income. However, it is the worst in India where individuals pay 75 per cent of the health spending from their own pockets. The rise in expenditure is creating more problems for the poor. As per a Planning Commission paper, the rising healthcare expense is a major reason behind driving people into poverty. As per the latest available data, around 39 million people plunged into poverty due to out-of-pocket payments for the expensive health care in 2004-05. Moreover, 20-40 per cent of money is spent on expensive but unnecessary drugs, hospital-related inefficiency and poor use of skilled professionals’ time.

Solutions? There is enough scope to increase public expenditure. Budget outlay for health care in the Union Budget 2010-11 has increased to $4.82 billion. UPA-1 promised to increase the public health spending up to 3 per cent of the GDP under the Common Minimum Programme. It remained abysmally low with 0.9 per cent compared to America’s 15.3 per cent. Not much has been achieved on this front. WHO ranked India 171 out of 175 in terms of public health spending in 2007-08. Moreover, the annual per capita health spending is as low as Rs.320 which is nothing compared to $7,290 of US, followed by Canada with $3,895; France $3,601; UK $2,992; Japan $2,581. The insurance industry is growing in double digits at 20 per cent but the proportion of people insured is very low. Though private hospitals and drug patents are increasing, a stable and easily accessible healthcare system is impossible unless the public sector comes forward more boldly! Isn't it simple enough for the government to see?

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The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Life: The great indian trivial pursuit

It may have killed the proverbial cat, but curiosity fuels the life of many a quizzer and trivia buff. Tareque Laskar explores the great democratisation of quizzing in India

In the climax of “Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull”, when Irina Spalko, the Soviet agent, finally grabs hold of the Crystal Skull with the help of Indiana Jones, she demands to ‘know everything’. As the crystal starts transferring knowledge into Irina, it becomes too much to take for Co. Spalko who spontaneously combusts.

Knowledge can be an overwhelming experience, but somehow even the most intellectually disinclined among us never stop pursuing it. Nowhere is it more evident than the simple act of quizzing – of coming up with an answer to a question, whether on a game show playing for millions or in an informal parlour game playing for pride. Answering a question is a strange kind of rush, experienced by seasoned quizzers and amateurs alike. And lately, it would seem that India is being swept by a quizzing revolution and the sport (yes, it is a mindsport) has gone mainstream in a big way. No longer is being a quiz master just a hobby; it is a career, no longer is quizzing the lone bastion of the nerds; it’s a game everyone can play.

But just how did this revolution happen? Giri Balasubramium, CEO of Greycaps, a quizzing company, and a popular quizmaster nationwide told TSI, “Quizzing has changed completely in the last two decades especially because the world we live in is a different one today. For starters, information is today available to all at the click of a mouse, hence quizzing has moved on from recall of facts to application of knowledge.” The old school quizzers may have played mostly for bragging rights, but now the medium, says Giri, is “an alternative platform for learning in schools and colleges and a high stakes event on TV.”

Most pre-liberalisation Indians perhaps remember quizzing from the days of a certain Siddhartha Basu hosting ‘Quiz Time’ on DD. And most post liberalisation ones would have had the ‘Bournvita Quiz Contest’ hosted by Derek O’Brien as a fixture on their Sunday viewing list. Arun Varma, an ex Google employee and an ardent quizzer who currently is trying to make quizzing more accessible to a larger audience through his venture ‘Brandgyan’ puts things into perspective, “Quizzing was unfortunately seen as a niche exclusive interest of a select intellectually elite during the times of 'Quiz Time' in the late eighties.” But things changed dramatically as the likes of O’Brien took on the mantle. Says Varma, “I personally credit Derek O Brien as a change maker who with his charismatic, youthful persona and creative content changed perceptions of quizzing. His shows like 'Bournvita Quiz Contest', played a humongous role in the gradual change. This change got reflected at the grass root level at colleges, B-Schools, corporates and quizzing moved out of the confines of quizzing clubs.”

The phenomenon of the everyday quizzer came to a head with the advent of “Kaun Banega Crorepati” the Indianized version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” hosted by Amitabh Bachchan. In one fell swoop, a simple game of questions and answers revived the flagging fortunes of a megastar and a TV channel. And the mastermind behind it was a man who had hosted the Indian version of BBC’s iconic ‘Mastermind’, Siddartha Basu. When asked by TSI what led him to institutionalise a hobby through the landmark TV show, Basu explains (see full interview on page), “In mainstream education, I'd resisted the whole Q&A format as school textbooks for more than 20 years, because I couldn't countenance burdening kids with a whole lot of additional facts to get by rote, till we developed a set of imaginative general knowledge workbooks with Encyclopedia Britannica, which took over a year in the making.”

The imagination and the creativity in the formats and the media in which it is being delivered makes quizzing a powerful medium today. On one end of the spectrum are the shows that appeal to purists (like ‘Mastermind’) while on the other, there are formats of what Varma calls ‘junta quizzing’ (like KBC). This great democratisation of knowledge is a culmination of three big social shifts – the rising importance of education, the ubiquity of technology and the ease of access to information. Rahat Taslim, the first crorepati in the current season of KBC, would have remained an obscure name but her stupendous feat now becomes a beacon for those who seek redemption in life through knowledge.
Says Giri, “Fundamentally mankind draws a lot of satisfaction and experiences a feel good factor while being in a position where "you know something that the others don’t" - this coupled with the innate curiosity in a human to know more things beyond his life (from quizzing pros to gossip mongers) creates a fascinating setting to see 'who knows how much'. It automatically forms a great mind sport bringing knowledge, suspense and entertainment value together within a time frame.”

We all are here seeking answers, whether to the big questions like philosophers or to smaller ones. And perhaps every answer that we get to know or every question at a quiz we get to answer takes us symbolically closer to some kind of enlightenment. That path to enlightenment being lit by the spotlights of entertainment makes it an irresistible one. Perhaps that is why everyone sympathised and identified with Jamal’s journey in Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire”. As Giri so aptly puts it, “The key change is quizzing has come a long way from what you ask to how you ask it.”

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Policy birth control: Even in God's own land...

IIPM Mumbai Campus

...Birth control is imperative for sustainable development

Birth control measures and religious beliefs are often in contradiction as most of the religious scriptures edify against taking such measures. It is exemplified in the Vatican City’s repeated pronouncements against birth control, which are not followed by the majority of population even in the Christianity dominated countries! Way back in 1968, when Pope Paul VI denounced the use of all forms of contraceptives – as apparently being against the will of God – it caused wide spread protests and defiance from the Christians all over the world, especially from the West. But the rise of birth control policy measures in the 21st century cannot be undermined; as the population worldwide is bursting at the seam and is expected to touch 10.7 billion by 2050, from 6 billion today! It will probably result in an environmental disaster, apart from almost 5 billion more mouths to feed! According to a World Bank report, non usage of contraceptives has resulted in 51 million unplanned pregnancies every year in developing countries. The solution to the problem of birth control (in 35 countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, according to World Bank report, the fertility rate is more than 5 children per mother) is an integrated approach where, apart from contraceptives, better education, knowledge, healthcare and nutrition are needed to stabilise the population growth. It will also reduce maternal mortality and newborn mortality. Abortion is another means of birth control – but it has been found out that 24 million of 42 million abortions that take place annually are dangerous operations resulting in 68,000 fatalities every year along with 5.3 million disabilities.
In spite of religious pressures, some countries set a fine example of birth control policy. In Indonesia, (despite being a Muslim dominated country) the population stabilisation program has been successful as the government and the religious leaders worked in tandem for national interest. The Ulama passed a resolution in October 1983 approving birth control; even interpreted that their religious scripture endorses it too because all of us have the right to be hale and hearty, able and religious. Iran is another example where family planning has been successful! After realising that the population was rising exponentially at 40 per cent per decade, the authorities of Iran initiated birth control measures like use of condoms, pills; and later, sterilisation as well. Indeed, it is one of the most successful nations in terms of population control in the world! The other success stories are Bangladesh, Turkey and Egypt. Although China too has been able to successfully curb high population growth but their one child policy and advocacy of delayed marriage are riddled with increased female infanticide!

Another example is Philippines, for instance, where – with a population growth of 2.4 per cent – populations is likely to double it in the next 30 years! But when the government brought in its birth control program, it infuriated the Church. All in all, the virtues of contraceptives are many; and most relevant in today’s circumstances. That is why perhaps Vatican has gone soft on it, as Pope Benedict XVI stated recently, that in certain circumstances the usage has got merit. Or perhaps, national interest has finally got priority over religious commitments!

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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: Family is very precious to me

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan speaks about her plans of taking time off, in a candid conversation with Subhash K Jha

What are your plans for the coming year?
I don’t think too far ahead. Every time I plan I end up not implementing it. When I did "Devdas" in 2002, I had promised myself I’d work in a more phased manner. I am still to live up to that promise. If you remember, when I married in the middle of my career, I took time off for my family. I had technically kept three months off. It turned out to be six months of no movies. Lately I’ve just been travelling and shooting. Now I’m taking time off from the end of November to be with my sister-in-law who is expecting a baby. We’re all very excited.

Why have you not signed any more films?
I’ve kept December off to be with the family. Not that I’ll be holidaying. I’ll be there with family and dealing with work other than shooting movies. Ours is a busy family. And we try to be there for every family event. When it’s Diwali and Karva Chauth, I don’t just arrive as a guest. So all in all it’s a very full schedule. Family is very precious to me. I embrace my work commitments and make space for my family. I’ve a super-hectic schedule and a super family. You had four releases in 2010.

All my four releases this year have been very challenging in terms of schedules and diversity. People say I played a huge hand in "Robot". When even Rajinikanth sir says that himself, what can I say? What could be more rewarding than a compliment like this from an icon like Rajni sir?

How do you explain the fact that in public you and Abhishek look like a couple that’s recently fallen in love even after so many years of togetherness?
It comes naturally to us. We’re very real as individuals. At the same time we make sure we maintain our decorum in public. There’s no formula for our togetherness.

Any regrets that your films with Abhishek, besides "Guru," have not worked? I’ve enjoyed every film that we’ve done together. Even "Raavan" we’ll cherish in times to come. "Sarkar Raj" too worked at the box-office. We don’t choose conventional subjects together. I guess there’s a whole lot of expectation riding on a film when we’re in it. We didn’t do films to broadcast our real relationship.

After the "Raavan" debacle do you feel vindicated when people say they like your performance in "Guzaarish"? I got the same kind of reactions for "Raavan" and "Guzaarish". The amount of SMSes I received was gratifying, especially since "Raavan" did not get the acceptance that the team had aspired to. Either people got "Raavan" or they did not. Mani Ratnam was very confused by the contradictory reactions. He isn’t the kind of artiste to get swayed by either criticism or praise. I’d always love to work with Mani. It’s such a pleasure working with creative masters like Mani Ratnam and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. You’d like your efforts with these filmmakers to work. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t change my relationship with them. Our relationship is not a business deal. There are no expectations of another film after the last. This in an industry where a relationship is always about the next film together.

Apparently Mani Ratnam wants you and Abhishek in all his films?
How sweet! What can I say? When an actor gets this kind of approval it’s like a teacher giving a report-card. I’ve such special people in my life. Nothing could be more rewarding.
Abhishek Bachchan flew into Mumbai just to see your film "Guzaarish".

I do this kind of a thing all the time for him.

What’s the truth about you asking Abhishek to not work with certain heroines?
It’s too ridiculous and lowdown to even react. We discuss the casting of his films and I often recommend his co-stars. Putting my name into articles makes for a sound Google alert.
Today you are in an enviable position in Hindi cinema. Where do you go from here?
I think what people are trying to tell me is I should stick to character-driven roles. Fortunately, the roles are still coming. What happens usually is that after a point actresses don’t have the conventional roles coming their way. That’s when they usually change to character-driven parts. In my case I’ve been doing character-driven parts from the time I did "Iruvar". I’ve taken risks from the start. Every year I’ve at least one character-driven role. God willing, that would remain the pattern throughout my career. Filmmakers are coming to me with the work that inspires me. Unfortunately, I can’t accept them all due to time constraints.

Your chemistry with Hrithik Roshan is incredible…

We’ve done three films in three very different genres. So we had the advantage of being innovative. In "Dhoom 2" you could say I was a decorative doll. But that’s what the film was about. Everyone was decorative in it. It was about outrageously flirting with the camera. When Hrithik and I came to "Jodhaa Akbar," it was important for us to remain true to history and yet make it accessible to today’s generation. Now there’s "Guzaarish" where we play a completely different couple. But tomorrow if we do a film where the script fails us, we’ll be criticised for doing so many films together. We’re both very committed passionate actors.

"Guzaarish" is your third film with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. But it was Hrithik’s first film with the director. How were the dynamics on the sets? Was I the outsider in "Action Replayy," just because Vipul Shah and Akshay Kumar have worked earlier? Don’t forget, "Guzaarish" was also my third film with Hrithik. Initially, I was the common link between them. Sanjay and I are both passionate about our work. We can also communicate through our silences. I don’t just work on my character. I try to be part of the entire filmmaking process. Hrithik appreciates that.

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