How is Democracy Supposed to Work?

The Right to Democracy

The word “Democracy” comes from the Greek word demokratia, from demos ‘the people’, and -kratia which means ‘power, rule.’

“Democracy” therefore means “power of the people.”

How is democracy supposed to work?  

People have simple wishes. They want a leader who will make these wishes come true. Through the voting process, the people elect individuals to the government’s top positions. Those who get the majority vote are given the power to run the country.

What should those elected to power in government do?

They should serve and keep their promises to the public, who voted for them and gave them power.

What are the people’s wishes?

They want peace on the streets, a good job that is earned on merit, no torture, no slavery, no corruption, freedom to express themselves, religious freedom and no discrimination. Simply stated, they want the 30 Human Rights.

These 30 Rights are the values of democracy.

These values should be practised in our daily lives, in our own homes and at our work places. This is how we set the foundation of the values of democracy in our society.

How do we judge those in power?

Did they do a good or bad job while they ruled? You can evaluate a government to be successful to the degree it ensures the Rights of People, without discrimination.

Gaining power through the method of democracy and then ruling as a dictator, does not in any way undermine the concept of democracy. It just reflects badly on those in power, who showed themselves to be self-indulgent, corrupt, motivated by greed and who therefore failed to serve the public.

The public want a government that will grant and protect the rights of individuals. They expect those elected to serve the people, by giving people their basic rights. The doors of democracy in Pakistan will be opened provided the public makes those in power accountable.

The people of Pakistan deserve the best.

Zardaris’ Hunger for Wealth is Insatiable

President Asif Ali Zardari is already one of the richest persons in Pakistan but his hunger for more wealth is insatiable. The new Bilawal House in Bahria Town Lahore worth more than Rs 5 billion, a bullet proof bungalow built on over 200 kanal of land, is yet another proof.

The house carries a runway for landing of private jets with capacity of over 10,000 people at a time. Completed at a cost of around Rs 5 billion, the house also has a helipad and airstrip for landing of small planes. The boundary wall, having thickness of 30 inches, has been built using concrete and steel material to make it bomb-proof.

A three-layer security system has been provided to ensure fool proof security for the residents.

A bunker and basement constructions are also there for security purposes.

The residential compartment comprises six bedrooms and an equal number of drawing rooms.

The house has been completed in a record period of eight months which is too short a time for such a big building perfect in all respects. Over 80 percent of the construction at the house has been completed so far.

Constructed under the supervision of able engineers of property tycoon, Malik Riaz, it is a fort-like purpose-built building with spacious lawns, conference rooms, staterooms, bed rooms and offices.

Some say that the house will be gift to Zardari from Malik Riaz,  the owner of Bahria Town. One does not know if it is true or not but a gift worth this much obviously will not be given without getting something in return.

It is a resident-cum office building also housing Secretariat of the party Chairman who would be using the building for his political activities.

It may be recalled here that immediately after his release in 2004, Asif Ali Zardari had announced to build a Bilawal House in Lahore on the pattern of one in Karachi. Initially, it was set up in a rented house near old airport (in 2005), but later shifted to another building in Model Town. The latter one did not exist after two years.

Neither Bilawal nor Benazir Bhutto ever visited the two houses as they were in exile during the period.

Such extravagant show of corrupt wealth hardly sets exemplary example of leadership and what could one expect from ordinary party workers when their leaders show their ill-gotten gains so openly and unabashedly.

Faryal Talpur Removed the KP Governor For His Refusal to Give Her Money

It is nothing short of shocking that President Zardari’s sister, Faryal Talpur, held a meeting with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Kausar a few days prior to his unceremonious removal and directed him to remove two political agents in the terrorist infested agencies of FATA, and replace them by two new persons. She also asked him to collect hundreds of millions in the Province and give them to her as she said she needed the money for the upcoming elections.

The Governor told her that political agents cannot be removed without consulting the military as it is conducting military opertions in those very agencies and it was thus not possible.

Regarding the collection of money, the Governor told Faryal Talpur that such practice would malign him and the Party and would not be in the interests of anybody.

When Faryal Talpur failed to convince the Governor, she told him in that very meeting that he should consider himself no longer a Governor. The same evening, she met the present Governor and appointed him.

One need not dwell too much about the fact that political agents in the tribal areas cannot be appointed without paying literally crores of rupees as these areas are the hub of drug and all other kinds of smuggling. It appears now that even the post of KP Governor is also sold to the highest bidder.

Thackeray Was a Plaint Goonda

Lest We Forget

The violent legacy of Thackeray that neither the crowds nor the TV adulation can hide

October 30, 1966 Thackeray’s first Dusshera rally. A mob leaves the rally later to attack and burn south Indian shops and restaurants. The rally was also addressed by Congress leader Ramrao Adik. Attacks on south Indians were with the backing of CM Vasantrao Naik.

Mumbai 1968 Hindi films brought out by south Indian producers are stopped by Thackeray’s Shiv Sainiks.

February 1969 Thackeray unleashes his goons against Kannadigas. 59 dead, 274 wounded, 151 cops injured in week of riots.

June 6, 1970 CPI MLA and trade unionist Krishna Desai murdered in first political assassination in the city since 1947.

January 1974 Dalit Panther leader Bhagwat Jadhav brutally killed by Thackeray’s men, sparks off war with Dalits.

1975-76 Thackeray shocks colleagues, praises Sanjay Gandhi during the Emergency. By 1977, changes tack.

Jan 1982 Thackeray supports Congress in Great Textile Strike. Breaks ties under duress, goes back three years later.

From 1984 Shiv Sena carries out attacks on Dalit farmers in Vidarbha and Marathwada, destroying crops, burning huts.

1985 Thackeray calls for expulsion of ‘outsiders’, proposes 1972 as cut-off date for having moved to Maharashtra.

1985 Cong CM Vasantdada Patil connives to help Shiv Sena win BMC polls with ‘Bombay part of Maharashtra’ issue.

March 1988 The wonderful “saviour of Sikhs” Thackeray calls for a boycott of Sikh businesses in Maharashtra.

1988 Thackeray’s ‘boycott of Sikhs businesses’ idea is quietly abandoned after extorting crores from Sikhs in Mumbai.

Post 1989 + Mandal riots Thackeray finds a more convenient target for his political purposes: Indian Muslims.

October 1991 Thackeray’s thugs attack journalists, fracturing one woman’s (Manimala) skull with a crowbar.

1991 Thackeray takes it one step further, threatens a local judge who had ruled against his goons with blinding.

1991 Thackeray’s Dopahar ka Saamna editorial very sweetly compares women journalists to prostitutes.

1995 Thackeray: “If they have their Dawood, then we have our Arun Gawli.” Because all politicos need a personal mafia.

July 1996 The Ramesh Kini murder after long term intimidation. SS-BJP state govt tries to bury investigation.

1997 Kini’s wife accuses Raj Thackeray of his murder. HC asked CBI to investigate but Mumbai police destroys evidence.

July 11, 1997 Ten Dalits are killed and over 30 wounded at the Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar massacre. None were armed.

Republic Day, 1997 Two adivasi youths murdered. Adivasi women sexually assaulted by police and SS workers at Talasari.

Late 1990s SS-BJP goverment summarily withdraws over 1,100 cases of atrocities against Dalits in Marathwada.

Muslims and Shiv Sena

“My 17-year-old son was shot dead. I don’t know how I should feel about Thackeray’s death,” says Tariq Wagle, 62.

My son was shot at point blank range by a policeman during the riots. He was just 17 years old. It’s too painful to talk about it. Even the Srikrishna Commission recommended investigation in the incident against the policemen. Since then, I don’t know how many complaints and reports I have filed to anyone and everyone who could help. We have been complaining but so far nothing has happened.

What if the cases don’t stand in court? End of the day, all this will be of any consequence only if the courts uphold it. What is the use of me narrating it before you? I am 62 now. But we are still trying. My wife is also with me in this. I don’t know how I feel about Thackeray’s death. I know one thing—that I will fight for justice for my son till I can. How can I give up? I can’t, I won’t.

Farooq Mapkar, 46, says that during the riots, we saw the police firing at Hari masjid. I was shot at too. People were inside the masjid when the police fired at Muslims and even arrested some (including me). When they were carrying me to the police station, the Sainiks were standing around abusing us. At the Srikrishna Commission, MLAs had given statements indicting Thackeray, saying he had called them and ordered them to get Muslims killed. Later on, even the Mahanagar newspaper office was attacked. But nothing came of those depositions and submissions. He was never tried. No one was punished. My grievance is that the government helped them. It’s this ‘you scratch my back and I will scratch yours’ thing. Although the Sena influence is waning, the government always takes them along because they don’t want trouble.

South Indians and Shiv Sena

K.K. Ganapathy had a leather business in the 1960s. The retired businessman was a victim of  the Sena’s ’60s anti-Madrasi campaign.

“They attacked me, ripped off my dhoti…it was part of the  ‘bhagao lungi’ campaign,” said Ganapathy, 85.

I had briefly known Thackeray when he was with the Free Press Journal. He was an ordinary man then. But I lost touch with him after that. I had even attended some of his speeches. He was very dogged on the issue of Marathi pride and Maharashtrians. Later on, people told him about how south Indians were occupying important positions in P&T, banking, BARC etc. Which is when he started his campaigns against us.

They didn’t factor in the fact that the south Indians were getting these jobs because they were well educated. Anyway, once I was walking to the Portuguese church in Dadar when some Sena activists attacked me and ripped off my dhoti. At the time they were running a campaign against south Indians wearing lungis/mundus.  (The Sena had launched a vicious campaign, “Bajao pungi, bhagao lungi”, basically targeting Tamilians, Malayalis and the Shetty community running the Udupi restaurants in Bombay.) A friend staying with me who didn’t know Marathi was also attacked near my residence in Worli. He wanted to file a police complaint, but I told him there was no point.

My next encounter with the Sena was in the late 1960s when I had started a leather business with an office at Nana Chowk. I had kept a north Indian as our office peon. A few days later, some Sena workers came and threatened me, asking why I was not employing Marathis. I told them my peon was a hard worker, and it wasn’t about where he was from. They asked me to keep two of their people. I tried to argue but eventually relented and kept one of them. He used to ask for increments every two months and even threatened me as well. Later, others from the party came around and threatened that they would shut down my office.

Eventually, I wrote a letter to Balasaheb explaining the situation to him. I asked that he stop his men from attacking and threatening me. I don’t know whether it was because of the letter but after a few days I got a call from some Sena people and they said they would not bother me anymore.

Dalits and Shiv Sena

Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s grandson was a first-hand witness to many Dalit-Shiv Sena clashes in ’70s-80s. “The Sena-Dalit Panthers fights were very violent,” says Prakash Ambedkar, 58.

Bal Thackeray opposed different people and communities at different stages—starting with writer and activist Acharya Atre (he drew a cartoon of a pig and called it Atre). That antagonism remained his plank till the end. In the 1970s, the fight was between the Dalit Panthers and Shiv Sena on issues like reservations and the atrocities on Dalits. In the early 1970s, incidents like Bhagwat Jadhav’s death, the Worli riots etc had a major impact on the city. The fights were violent with people using knives, stones etc. Thackeray openly said that Dalit houses should be burnt down. But one must understand that they were supported by the Congress. They took a stand that Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s book, Riddles in Hinduism, should not be published. It was a bad struggle and finally we had to reach some compromise. Mumbai was tense for almost four months and I met Thackeray during those days. We told him we have to end this; otherwise it would go out of control from our side. There was a risk of uncontrolled violence and thousands would have died. Chhagan Bhujbal was the main troublemaker. I don’t believe Thackeray left behind any legacy. He was always pro-capitalist. What did he do for the Marathi people when the Sena controlled the bmc? Contracts were always given to non-Marathis. In this country, the Hindutva vote will always count for something. The pseudo-Hindutva followers, unsure about themselves and feeling threatened by the other, will always support his sort of politics. Thackeray flourished because of this mentality.

Trade Unions and Shiv Sena

Former trade union member Bajaj was in the front row as the Sena railroaded the labour movement. “I remember getting beaten up by them, but it was still us who landed up in jail,” says K.L. Bajaj, 75.

Frankly, when Thackeray started out, we never thought he would become so big. Most of the unions were left-oriented and each union had a four-tier democratic set-up. We used to get workers’ demands sorted through negotiations, strikes and talks. All that changed after the Shiv Sena came on the scene. Before Thackeray, there had been a Borkardada, who had tried to break the unions but he did not succeed. So we assumed it was just another one of those blackleg attempts. However, Thackeray came up with something no one had imagined before—the concept of the ‘Marathi Manoos’. He attracted the lower classes, uniting large sections of the Marathis, for he spoke their language, even had their mannerisms. Unemployment levels were anyway high, and the disgruntled youth joined Thackeray in droves. (The high class, upper-caste Marathi people anyway had their own allegiances.)

It was also a bad time for industries. If a worker loses confidence in the strike, then it is easy to break him or draw him to the other side. That is what the Shiv Sena succeeding in doing. But of the 2,75,000 people who lost their jobs when the factories shut down, 95 per cent were Marathi. What did the Sena do for them? And every time our workers lost jobs owing to the strikes, Sena men would be hired in their place. They were not good workers like ours, but they had the support of the managements.

Often, when we would be protesting or striking, the Shiv Sena men would come in vehicles, followed by a police vehicle, and disrupt the strike. I remember getting beaten up by them, but it was still us who ended up in jail. Often, we were detained randomly. As it is, the Communists were looked upon with suspicion those days, for it was after 1962, when we had lost the war against China. We were in jail for 2-4 months but the Sena workers always got away scot-free. The fights were always very violent, but that was how things were at that time.

Things changed for the worse after union leader and CPI MLA Krishna Desai’s murder. I knew him personally, he had a huge following. However, nothing came of the case, though the people who were arrested were said to be Sainiks. People think Balasaheb did all this single-handedly, which is not true. The party had the support of the state administration, police, the Congress party and the goondas. The managements provided money for the party activities. In fact, I remember him telling the workers, “Tata, Birla hamare anna data hai,” which proves that he was never once opposed to the management.

I agree that he caught the imagination of the Marathi people, that he came to be their representative but what did his campaign or party achieve? From thousands of mills and factories, now Mumbai has a handful of factories that employ some 1,000-plus workers. How did that help anyone?

Bhaiyyas and Shiv Sena
A north Indian bhelpuri seller, Manoj was a victim of Sena breakaway MNS’s goons. “I can still feel the shame and sting of that slap. Sometimes I think about it, and I feel humiliated,” says Manoj, 45.

If the attack on us bhaiyyas happens again, I am prepared. I will not run away from this city but I will also not be foolish enough not to hide. Last time, when the MNS decided to attack north Indians, I was out in the streets. I thought they wouldn’t attack me. I was in Borivili going towards my usual spot on the main road to set up my stall. Suddenly out of nowhere a big group of men arrived, asked me what I was doing there. One of them asked me, “You don’t know you are not supposed to be here? Aren’t you a bhaiyya?” Even before he had finished speaking, another man slapped me. I can still feel the sting of that slap. Sometimes when I think about it, I still feel humiliated. But I try not to think about it.

The past few years have been peaceful and I don’t think a thing like that can happen again. I just put my head down and do my work. There’s no point trying to prove anything. We have to feed our families. My parents, children, siblings are all dependent on me. There isn’t enough work back home to feed everyone. My brother has gone to Fatehpur (UP). He was beaten up twice during his stay here. He got scared and ran away. I told him that things would change in some time. But the second time he was beaten up even after paying protection money by boys from the same outfit. Once that happened, he was convinced nothing could save him. He took a train back home. There were no tickets available, yet he boarded one and went back for good. He’s scared of Mumbai and says he never coming back.

A lot of people I know went back home during that time. In Borivili, there were many from my state who pay money to the MNS to allow them to continue working in Mumbai. The whole air had been poisoned. There’s fear and it’s made us watchful and wary. I will not trust anything I am told here ever again. Last week, when Balasaheb passed away, I stayed at home. So did most of my friends. It’s better to be careful.

 

The People Need To Breathe

by Nandini Sundar

After the killing of 18 civilians in Korseguda, Bijapur, the SP there said: “It is difficult to differentiate between Naxals and villagers. They all have voter ID cards and ration cards. On regular days, they take part in farming activities and, at other times, they help the Naxals. In effect, they are also Naxals.”

The CRPF, the Chhattisgarh CM and senior ministers at the Centre also went on to talk of “human shields” and tried to obfuscate the killing of unarmed children attending a meeting in their own village by bringing in the Maoist recruitment of child soldiers. This, of course, needs to be condemned but there is a more pressing issue that needs to be discussed here.

For what is shocking in the Korseguda case is not only the massacre itself but the cover-up that followed—the refusal to observe the basic laws of war despite evidence that many of those killed were minors, all of them unarmed. Judicial inquiries ordered by the Chhattisgarh government are designed as eyewashes—the few that have been ordered so far, in response to public protests, have been pending for years. As for revising the standard operating procedures for the CRPF and police, the fruits are already before us. In response to the killing of a constable in Orchha on August 1, the police ransacked all the shops in the village.

As armed conflict spreads to more parts of the country and the frontlines are drawn through homes and fields, it is imperative that the security forces and politicians are trained in basic humanitarian law. Noting the growing problem of ‘farmers by day turning fighters by night’ on the one hand, as well as the increasing use of state-sponsored vigilantism on the other (whereby civilians are brought in to fight the government’s war), the Red Cross has come out with a useful advisory on when a civilian is entitled to protection under the Geneva conventions, especially Common Article 3 to which India is a signatory (see http://www.icrc.org/eng/ resources/documents/feature/2009/direct-participation-ihl-feature-020609.htm). All those who are not members of the state armed forces or the organised armed groups are entitled to protection “unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities”. And only those persons will be considered members of an organised armed group who have “continuous combat functions”. Providing information or supplies to Maoists, or attending village meetings with Maoists present, does not in any sense constitute direct participation in hostilities or justify killing unarmed villagers.

But the level of impunity is such in this country that we will go on, with the state becoming ever more lawless with its use of drones and Israeli-style decapitation policies where leaders are targeted, and the Maoists resorting to desperate measures like kidnapping. In the meantime, citizens are reduced to ciphers, with even their status as such questioned. Is there a way out and is there any hope that the political class will seek it? Currently, the scenario for peace talks appears bleak but it is the only possible and lasting solution and one that civil society must struggle for.

The security establishment is against talks on the grounds that it will provide time for Maoists to regroup. They argue that talks are only possible if the Maoists give up arms. At the same time, however, no politician can afford to be seen as closed to peace talks. Hence, the cover-up of the Azad killing as an ‘encounter’, since shooting the messenger would directly implicate the home ministry.  For the government, nothing hinges on peace talks—it has endless money and time so it can continue with its repressive holding operations, as the experience of Kashmir and the Northeast has shown us. Some amount of ‘development’ will also give a veneer of concern and legitimacy, and the government is hoping the expansion of jobs in the paramilitary and reserve battalions—the only sphere where public employment is expanding—will buy it support among the youth. And finally, since all political parties are united on the militarist approach, there is no political pressure to act, and no one to challenge the government to “abjure” its own violence.

The Maoists are sceptical about peace talks since both in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal it has proved fatal for their presence and the organisation. It has led to police infiltration in their ranks, and in West Bengal, the major PCPA leaders have either been arrested or have joined the TMC to save themselves. The Maoists also feel that talks will lead to no basic change, since there is no way the government will either give up trying to capture all the adivasi areas for mining, or give the people land rights. The experience of the AP peace talks where they gave a list of areas around Hyderabad given illegally to corporates is one indicator, as is the failure of the government to keep any of its promises in the recent hostage cases. Also, the Bihar cpi(ml) Liberation experience shows that revolutionary parties find it hard to compete with the money of bourgeois parliamentary parties when it comes to elections. But at the same time, the Maoists are more likely to engage in peace talks than the government because the adivasis are their main constituency and they need respite.

Even though rights activists say they want peace, in fact, many of them are ambivalent. One view is that since non-violent activism has been unable to prevent mass arrests or mining in other areas of the country, why stop the Maoists from continuing their fight? The parcelling out of north Chhattisgarh and now, potentially, Saranda in Jharkhand, to mining companies reinforces the notion that the Maoists are the only bulwark against the wholescale decimation of adivasis for corporate loot. After the killings of Kishenji and Azad, potential mediators are worried about being implicated in endangering the lives of Maoist leaders. The long-drawn ennui of the Naga peace talks—where people’s aspirations are being coopted or ground into internecine conflict—also does little to inspire faith in talks as a political tool. In the absence of a strong movement for justice, there is a sad tendency among activists to get diverted in personalised campaigns for the release of certain individuals while thousands of others languish in jail on false charges, and to play to the radical gallery from the comfort of their urban spaces.

Contrary to all three positions, there is a need for peace in and of itself. After such prolonged conflict, people need breathing space, and so does the government in order to assess where its policies have been going. For the last seven years, villagers across central India—especially (but not only) in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa—have lived in fear of sudden attacks by the police and combing operations, and thousands have been jailed. The government has been hoping that the more difficult life gets for them, the less they will support the Maoists, but the experience of the Salwa Judum shows that this has boomeranged into having just the opposite effect. While people need respite, they also need justice. Urban India, on the other hand, is fed with almost daily news of Maoist attacks on police, informers and infrastructure. The government is hoping that in this kind of situation any attack on civil liberties and activists will be seen as justified, but as the Maruti incident shows us, urban India is also waiting to explode.

The current policy of killing Maoist leaders is likely to lead to an increasing number of fake Maoist groups, some of which are already IB-supported. While long-term conflict may suit the police and paramilitary forces who gain in unaccounted-for, security-related expenditure, it means disaster for everyone else. The proliferation of underground groups in the Northeast and their extortion demands are clearly before us. In the absence of experienced leaders, it is also harder to keep control of the cadre.

Above all, the country must have a democratic space to reimagine its future—precisely what the Concerned Citizens Committee was struggling to  achieve in the run-up to peace talks in Andhra in ’04. Many claimed those talks were a failure, but on the contrary they showed what determined citizens can and should do. Because for peace to last, it must be a just peace—it cannot be a peace on the government’s terms alone or the Maoist terms alone (such as election boycotts). It must be a peace that takes into account people’s need for basic rights, control over their own resources, and the need for democracy at both the village level and up the political chain to Delhi.

In the interim, many steps can be taken. Like an all-party team that visits ‘Maoist areas’ and talks to ordinary people and not just CMs and DGPs, and a semi-permanent group of interlocutors to have sustained discussions on peace talks, as against the knee-jerk use of mediators in times of hostage crises. Second, a just peace would recognise the violence inflicted on people, and rest upon both a political and material apology by the government. Maybe central India can serve as a model for a truth and reconciliation commission, followed by a judicial commission to grant amnesty to all those arrested on political charges. And third, there are all kinds of potential political/administrative steps that could be taken—such as the creation of adivasi-dominated states like Gondwana (Dandakaranya), Bhilistan, a redrawn Jharkhand, greater cultural and economic autonomy to these states, including the right of local communities to decide how their land should be used and whether and on what terms they want to lease it to private firms. We have two years left till 2014—we can either waste it and sink further into civil war or rise above ourselves, forge a new future.

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(Nandini Sundar teaches sociology at Delhi University.)

 

The Parasites Supported Obama

In 1887 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic, some 2,000 years ago:

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship.” 

“The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

From bondage to spiritual faith;

From spiritual faith to great courage;

From courage to liberty;

From liberty to abundance;

From abundance to complacency;

From complacency to apathy;

From apathy to dependence;

From dependence back into bondage.”

The Obituary: Born 1776, Died 2012.

It doesn’t hurt to read this several times.

Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the last Presidential election:

Number of States won by: Obama: 19 McCain: 29

Square miles of land won by: Obama: 580,000 McCain: 2,427,000

Population of counties won by: Obama: 127 million McCain: 143 million

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Obama: 13.2 McCain: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: “In aggregate, the map of the territory McCain won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country.

Obama territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in low income tenements and living off various forms of government welfare…”

Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the ”complacency and apathy” phase of Professor Tyler’s definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation’s population already having reached the “governmental dependency” phase.

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegal’s – and they vote – then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.

Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalitha’s Residence آ– Sirudhavur: Democracy at its Best

South Asian People’s Declaration

The Peoples Vision

We, the South Asian Peoples Forum, desiring that SAARC embodies the aspirations of the People, aver the need for greater efforts for promoting the sovereignty of the People through democratic values and structures.

We envision a SAARC that encompasses all people living in South Asia and promotes greater understanding and equal respect of all people to eliminate discriminations based on gender, creed, caste, ethnicity and color.

We believe in peace and promote understanding of disputes, and efforts for settling disputes amicably at the popular level.

We uphold social democracy and economic equity and envision sustainable development.

We advocate optimum and equitable utilization of resources for the benefit of the people, providing them adequate space to influence and participate in decisions on resource use and management.

We endorse the inalienable right of the People of South Asia to basic needs including food, clothing, shelter, health, education, social security and productive work.

Democracy
We cherish and uphold the Rule of Law, sovereignty of the people, a system of governance that ensures devolution of power, Peoples right to self rule and control over resources.

We advocate full independence of the judiciary, adhering to internationally recognized values and principles. Pro-people lawmaking has to be participatory, representative and fully transparent.

We believe that People have sovereign rights to take decisions on matters concerning their lives, and urge periodic review of all international commitments and national laws to enable people to exercise sovereignty.

We maintain that governance improvements have to begin and end with the People and that empowerment can result only when power is devolved through effective structural changes.

We also maintain that existing social, economic and political imbalances hinder nation-building and that the legislature, executive and the judiciary must be fully inclusive and accountable to the People.

We believe People are the real owners of resources and support mechanisms to make them rightful owners of resources through systems that ensure collective ownership and responsibility.

We uphold the People’s right to information through participation in decision-making and governance.

We believe that internal and external displacement is caused by political, social and developmental factors and any attempt to end displacement should begin with addressing the root causes.

We assert that refugees are sovereign people with sovereign identities and they need to be provided guarantees of protection, dignity and access to basic services until final resolution and/ or repatriation.

Discrimination
We affirm that discrimination based on gender, caste, creed, ethnicity and disability is a major obstacle to meaningful participation of People.

We endorse patriarchy-free South Asia, and support the individuals right to self-determination and development and uphold their duty to national integration.

We resolve for an immediate and effective end to untouchability, the worst form of  discrimination and demand interventions as follows:

1 Programs for the uplift of the Dalits and mechanisms to empower them for their rights.

2 Reservations, in public as well as the private sector, to ensure participation of all at all levels
starting from primary schooling and across all spheres of life.

3 Reservations to enable at least 33% representation of women in all spheres of private and public life.

4 Discrimination to be considered a real life problem.

5 Review of existing laws and modifications to incorporate the implementation of international instruments.

Food sovereignty

We believe the right to food is a fundamental right and must be assured through guarantees to equality in work, justice and uniform minimum wages.

Globalization and International Finance and Trade
We believe the existing policies of multilateral aid and trade organizations are anti-people and perpetuate unemployment, poverty and inequalities.

We advocate that all aid and trade agreements and instruments be subject to public scrutiny to ensure transparency and accountability.

We uphold the need for collective SAARC representation and uniform standards for negotiations on aid and trade instruments and the formulation of a common social responsibility standard to govern FDI.

We oppose privatization, particularly that of social infrastructure.

We oppose to Foreign Direct Investment without effective social controls and strongly endorse the promotion of small and medium enterprises through national capital markets.

We believe the World Trade Organization is not ratified by the people and advocates only freedom of capital and ask SAARC to work towards the democratization of the WTO through inclusion of civil society organizations in negotiations.

We ask SAARC to move towards the creation of an economic community and step back from free trade envisaged under the SAFTA, which is an extension of the WTO model.

We believe that the existing ownership of intellectual property and laws governing violations are flawed and advocate stiff penalties for those infringing into the traditional knowledge and services belonging to developing countries.

Pakistan is Controlled and Ruled by the Elites

by Dr Ikramul Haq

Pakistan is controlled and ruled by ashrafiya (elites)—comprising indomitable military complex, civil bureaucracy, higher judiciary, landed aristocracy and its cronies, industrialist-turned politicians, religious and spiritual leaders (sic), media tycoons and some of their powerful employees, and unscrupulous businessmen.

Flouting the rule of law with shameless impunity is the hallmark of present day’s Pakistani ashrafiya.

The spoiled brats of ashrafiya join different nefarious circles for all kinds of unlawful and undesirable activities—for them vulgar ostentation of money and power is essential to prove that they are closely associated with the most powerful of the State. In good old days, ashrafiya was respected as a class of nobles and highly revered. In post-colonial Pakistan, the term represents the money-power-hungry classes posing as if the country is their personal jagir (property) and all their acts are above law.

The economy of ashrafiya-controlled-Pakistan, thus, serves the interests of the privileged classes.

The ruling classes, representing only 2% of entire population, own 95% of national resources.

They exploit labour of landless tillers, poor urban workers and white-coloured to amass more and more wealth.

Additionally, they create artificial hike in prices of essential items to snatch back whatever little is earned or saved by 98% ordinary people.

The evolution of this kind of State (land of the Pure) is elaborated in detail by former Governor of State Bank, Dr. Ishrat Hussain, in his book Pakistan: Economy of an Elitist State.

In his book, Dr. Ishrat has observed that in sharp contrast to the East Asian model of ‘shared growth’, based on rapid economic development coupled with a rapid reduction in poverty and more equitable distribution of the benefits of development in Pakistan, the elitist model confers political and economic powers to a small coterie of elite (parasites). While commenting upon Dr. Ishrat’s work, Dr. Khalil Ahmad of Alternate Solutions Institute, in his recent book, Pakistan Main Riasti Ashrafiya ka Urooj (Rise of State Elitism in Pakistan), published in February 2012, has also concluded that Pakistan is presently owned and exploited by  ‘state elites’ whereas it should belong to all.

There are no two opinions that the ruling trio—mighty military complex and its civilian cronies, corrupt politicians and unscrupulous businessmen—imposes its will on members of parliament in all matters. The entire budget making process is an epitome of apathy of parliamentarians towards the masses of this country, who vote them into power with the hope that they would do something for their socio-economic uplifting or at least provide them basic essential services—housing, transport, education and health, to say the least.

Democracy is not electioneering per se. Establishment of a responsible government caring for the needs of its people is a prerequisite for true democratic dispensation which is only possible if the Parliament performs its Constitutional role, implements flawless process of accountability and ensures good governance. Theoretically, the Cabinet is answerable to the Parliament! But the stark reality is that MNAs merely run after ministers for personal favours and gains.

Reliance on indirect taxes that constitute 75% of total collection proves beyond any doubt that the tax system is emphatically contributing to rising poverty as people who earn enormous income and possess immense wealth are not being subjected to income taxation in Pakistan. Thus the very purpose of redistribution of wealth as the main object of taxation is being defeated and nullified. Not only that Pakistan has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in the world, the burden of taxes is overwhelming borne by the poor rather than by the rich. Income inequalities are one of the worst aspect of the entire problem. In South Asia, except Afghanistan, all other countries have better tax-to-GDP ratio than Pakistan: India 17%, Sri Lanka 16%, and Nepal 11%.  It is pertinent to mention that in 2011, the government of Sweden collected taxes at 53% of GDP, almost twice as high as the total tax revenue of America and Japan, with both collecting around 25% of GDP. In the Euro area, tax revenue, on average, reaches 40% of GDP.

The present tax policies of the government are detrimental for economy, social justice, business and industry. Those who possess more economic power (income and wealth) should contribute more to the public exchequer and vice versa. The ability-to-pay principle is regarded as the most equitable and just method of taxation and emphasized upon primarily for its redistributive role. In Pakistan, our rulers have completely deviated from this principle, which is in fact, a constitutional obligation of the government. The existing tax system protects the establishment and exploitative elements that have complete monopoly over economic resources. There is no political will to tax the privileged classes.  Pakistan has been facing a variety of crises specifically in areas of: resources for its developmental policies, meeting trade deficits, fiscal deficits and balance of payments, in addition to numerous others. One of the factors responsible for the present situation is the accelerating speed with which black money is being generated.

FBR is directly responsible for this phenomenon as its mafia-like operations has helped the people to avoid tax on incomes by paying it “due share”. Through the infamous system of SROs [Statutory Regulator Orders], FBR’s top officials provide “legal” ways and means to mighty sections of the society (ashrafiya) to amass huge wealth that is now threatening the State’s very survival.  It is worth mentioning that even before presenting the Finance Bill, 2012, FBR issued notification 569(I)/2012 on  26 May 2012 saying that government officials in Grade 20-22 will pay just 5% tax on monetized transport allowance. This benefit of reduced rate taxation, blatantly bypassing the Parliament, portrays how bureaucrats hoodwink the nation and cause exchequer loss of revenue through SROs. Needless to say it is discriminatory and violative of Article 25 of the Constitution as private sectors employees for the same allowance are subjected to normal rate of taxation.

Reduction of duties for cartels possessing enormous money has been extended by using executive authority in the form of SROs. Pakistan is a unique country where the executive authority can conveniently undo laws made by the Parliament under so-called delegated powers which gross violation of Article 162 of the Constitution of Pakistan, which reads as under:

“162.   Prior sanction of President required to Bills affecting taxation in which Provinces are interested: – No Bill or amendment which imposes or varies a tax or duty the whole or part of the net proceeds whereof is assigned to any Province, or which varies the meaning of the expression “agricultural income” as defined for the purposes of the enactments relating to income-tax, or which affects the principles on which under any of the foregoing provisions of this Chapter, moneys are or may be distributable to Provinces, shall be introduced or moved in the National Assembly except with the previous sanction of the President.”

Article 162 debars even the National Assembly to grant exemptions without the prior approval of the President but interestingly, this power has been delegated unconstitutionally to an executive authority by the Parliament. How can Parliament delegate a power which it cannot exercise itself without the prior sanction of the President?

By delegating powers under tax codes, the Legislature has violated Article 162 of the Constitution.

The common man is subjected to exorbitant sales tax and federal excise duty of 16% (tax incidence is 35% on finished imported goods after applicable customs duty, sales tax, federal excise, mandatory value addition and income tax) on essential commodities [even salt sold under brand names is subjected to 16% sales tax] but the mighty sections of society such as generals, high-raking bureaucrats, judges getting plots from the State are  not paying any wealth tax/income tax on their colossal assets/incomes. The same is the case with big industrialists and landed classes that get concessions and exemption through SROs.

It is tragic that in a country where billions of rupees are being made in speculative transactions at stock exchanges and in the real estate sector, tax-to-GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the world [consistently below 10% for the last 10 years] and the government is least bothered to tax undocumented economy and benami (name-lender) transactions rather, generously give amnesties to tax evaders and looters of national wealth. The mighty sections of society are widely engaged in these transactions while rulers of the day, getting due share from them, are not at all inclined to tax them. The present tax policies of government are violative of Constitutional provisions that require the State to provide social justice to all.

The existing tax system protects the ashrafiya and exploitative elements that have monopoly over economic resources—those who own 95% of national resources are paying less than 2% of overall tax collection. This shows why there is no political will to tax the privileged classes.  Unfair taxation and inequitable distribution of resources is the root cause of our multiple socio-economic ills. State policies induce massive tax evasion (section 111(4) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 is a permanent tool for whitening of untaxed money).

Determination of a tax base capable of measuring an individual’s ability-to-pay is a major problem of our tax system.  This rule is incorporated in the form of progressive rate schedule for personal income tax, estate duty, and property tax worldwide. In Pakistan we have moved from this positive policy to unequal sacrificial rule where the mighty civil and military bureaucrats (now an integral part of our landed aristocracy by earning State lands as meritorious awards and rewards), rich industrialists and greedy businessmen are paying meagre personal taxes whereas the poor people are compelled to pay sales tax and federal excise duty of 16%. The incidence of regressive taxes on the poor is making their lives a misery beyond imagination.

Pakistan has about 118.5 million mobile users who pay both income tax and sales tax but even then only 1.3 million taxpayers file income tax returns—if statements filed for presumptive taxes are excluded, the actual number is below 750,000. Majority of mobile users may not have taxable income (Rs 350,000, raised to 400,000 from tax year 2013) yet they are burdened with undue liability. On the contrary, many rich people just pay a fraction of income tax (withheld at source) on their actual taxable incomes without bothering to file their income tax returns—in Pakistan less than 250,000 non-salaried return filers admitted that their annual income was more than Rs. one million!

If out of total population of 180 million, we have 10 million individuals having taxable income of Rs 1.5 million (a very conservative estimate), total income tax collection from them at the current rate for tax year 2012 should have been Rs 3750 billion. If we add income tax collected from corporate bodies, other non-individual taxpayers and individuals having income between Rs 400,000 to Rs 100,000, the gross figure would be nearly Rs 5000 billion. FBR collected only Rs 560 billion as income tax plus Rs. 20 billion as other direct taxes during fiscal year 2010-11 and figure for this year would be around Rs 665 billion. This shows a whopping tax gap of over 600 percent. Similarly, in sales tax, federal excise and custom duties, due to rampant corruption, the total collection is only 20% of actual potential. In fiscal year 2010-11, FBR collected Rs 633.4 billion under the head sales tax, Rs 137.4 billion under federal excise duty and Rs. 180.8 billion under custom duties. Total indirect collection of Rs 951.6 billion was pathetically low. It should have been at least Rs 3500 billion.

If tax gap is bridged, the total revenue collection of Pakistan would be Rs 8500 billion (Rs 5000 billion direct taxes and Rs 3500 billion indirect taxes) which would change the entire fiscal scene.

We would have enough money for current expenditure, development and public welfare outlays— government would retire debts in just a few years and we can easily become a self-reliant nation free from political subjugation.

However, this dream for Pakistan can never be realized unless the mighty sections of society (ashrafiya) are taxed according to their ability to pay.

Tax policy must be used as tool for rapid industrialization and creation of job opportunities.

It is imperative to tax the unproductive sectors to divert money to productive sectors and ensure redistributive charter of tax system—taxing the rich for the benefit of the poor.

At present, we are taxing the poor for the benefit of the rich. This trend must be reversed before it is too late.

The Government is not leaving any opportunity to screw the masses. Bizarrely, while the price of crude oil is falling in the international market, petroleum prices are on a constant rigmarole in Pakistan which is leaving the common man stripped of his earnings, increasing inflation to a non-receding position, and rendering the lives of the poor vulnerable. It goes without saying that this whole exercise is bringing in huge profits to the petroleum companies and revenues in trillions for the government (per Rana Bhagwandas Commission Report on Petroleum Prices dated July 9, 2009 submitted to Supreme Court of Pakistan).

It is incontrovertible fact that the main beneficiaries of price rises are a few oil companies and the FBR which in its latest report, has admitted that “the petroleum is the leading contributor of sales tax domestic collection. The overall collection of sales tax domestic depends on the collection of petroleum products as it contributes around 43pc of the sales tax domestic. The growth is mainly attributable to increased taxable sales of petroleum products by 37.6pc”.

This is the story of “exceptional growth” in revenue collection of FBR, about which Premier Gilani and his American national economic adviser Abdul Hafeez Shaikh are proud of. They seem to be least concerned if this move pushes millions of Pakistanis below the poverty line, destroys the economy and creates unrest in the society. The share of government taxes and levies in petroleum prices is more than 50pc from the stage of importation to final ex-refinery supply point.

Taxes constitute a major part of the price of every petroleum product — consumed by the public for personal and business purposes.

During the fiscal year 2010-2011, FBR collected total sales tax of Rs633 billion out of which share of POL products alone was Rs263.821 billion (on import Rs110.54 billion and on domestic supply Rs153.28 billion). The figure for July 2011 to December 2011 of the current fiscal year is Rs148.9 billion.

In the report submitted to Supreme Court by Rana Bhagwandas Commission dated July 10, 2009, it was revealed that from 2002 to 2009, the government made Rs10.23 trillion in taxes on petroleum products.

It is regrettable that we have failed to provide mass transit facility for at least 2 large cities — Karachi and Lahore — and bus service for every city and town despite burdening citizens with all kinds of taxes. On the contrary, consumer loans were vastly disbursed under Musharraf-Shaukat era, inducing purchase of vehicles resulting in enormous profits both for the petroleum companies and car manufacturers.

The real sufferer is the common man who cannot afford personal transport. More and more cars on the roads cause pollution, traffic mayhem and are the main source of increase in our oil import bill.

From July 2011 to February 2012, our crude oil imports surged to US$ 3.85 billion, compared with US$ 2.49 billion in the corresponding period of the preceding year.

In order to cut the import bill, we need improve public transport system that can solve all the prevalent problems. The challenge before us is to build good public transport system and a clean energy economy.

Today, we export billions of dollars each year to import the energy we need to power our country with. Our dependence on foreign oil threatens our national security, our environment and our economy. We must make investments in clean energy sources that will create millions of new jobs and lay the foundation for long-term economic security.

Our rulers follow United States in most of the matters, where their personal interests are involved, but not in areas where public welfare can be achieved. In recent months, the US made great strides toward changing energy future. The US Recovery Act constituted an unprecedented and historic investment in the clean energy economy. Our government must realise that investments in the development of renewable energy and clean technologies can lead to energy sources of the future.

We have destroyed our rail system — depriving the poor and business houses of cheap and efficient transportation mode — while other countries are making huge investments in high speed rail and advanced car batteries, considered as transportation systems of the future.

It is sad that the government is using higher taxes on petroleum products as means to reduce its fiscal deficit, without realising that price hikes in these items affect economy as a whole, retard growth in all sectors besides accelerating inflation.

Our tax system benefits the wealthy at the expense of the overwhelming majority of poor Pakistanis. The government, instead of restoring equity in the tax system — reducing corporate tax rates and increase taxes on the rich — is using price-hike in petroleum products as a means to collect more taxes, thus extending extraordinary benefits to a few powerful oil companies and making life of 95 percent of the people miserable. By plugging loopholes that prevent wealthy companies and individuals from paying a fair share of taxes, the government can generate enough revenues through levy of excess profit tax to build public transport system that would save billions that we mercilessly spend on import of crude oil.

We Are Responsible for Electing Corrupt Crorepati Politicians.

I was an MP not very long ago. I loved those six years.

Everyone called me sir, not because of my age but because I was an MP.

And even though I never travelled anywhere by train during those years, I reveled in the fact that I  could have gone anywhere I liked, on any train, first class with a bogey reserved for my family.

Whenever I flew, there were always people around to pick up my baggage, not because I was travelling business class but because I was an MP.

And yes, whenever I wrote to any Government officer to help someone in need, it was done. No, not because I was a journalist but because I was an MP.

The job had many perquisites, apart from the tax free wage of Rs 4,000. Then the wages were suddenly quadrupled to Rs 16,000, with office expenses of Rs 20,000 and a constituency allowance of Rs 20,000 thrown in. I could borrow interest free money to buy a car, get my petrol paid, make as many free phone calls as I wanted. My home came free. So did the furniture, the electricity, the water, the gardeners, the plants. There were also allowances to wash curtains and sofa covers and a rather funny allowance of Rs 1,000 per day to attend Parliament, which I always thought was an MP’s job in the first place! And, oh yes, we also got Rs 1 Crore a year (now enhanced to Rs 2 Crore) to spend on our constituencies. More enterprising MPs enjoyed many more perquisites best left to your imagination. While I was embarrassed at being vastly overpaid for the job I was doing, they kept demanding more.

Today, out of 543 MPs in Lok Sabha, 315 are Crorepatis. That’s 60%. 43 out of the 54 newly elected Rajya Sabha MPs are also millionaires. Their average declared assets are over Rs 25 Crore each. That’s an awfully wealthy lot of people in whose hands we have vested our destiny.

The assets of your average Lok Sabha MP have grown from Rs 1.86 Crore in the last house to Rs 5.33 Crore. That’s 200% more. And, as we all know, not all our MPs are known to always declare all their assets. Much of these exist in a colour not recognised by our tax laws. That’s fine, I guess. Being an MP gives you certain immunities, not all of them meant to be discussed in a public forum.

If you think it pays to be in the ruling party, you are dead right: 7 out of 10 MPs from the Congress are Crorepatis. The BJP have 5. MPs from some of the smaller parties like SAD, TRS and JD (Secular) are all Crorepatis while the NCP, DMK, RLD, BSP, Shiv Sena, National Conference and Samajwadi Party have more Crorepatis than the 60% average.

Only the CPM and the Trinamool, the two Bengal based parties, don’t field Crorepatis. The CPM has 1 correlate out of 16 MPs; the Trinamool has 7 out of 19. This shows in the state-wise average. West Bengal and Kerala have few correlate MPs while Punjab and Delhi have only correlate MPs and Haryana narrowly misses out on this distinction with one MP, poor guy, who’s not a correlate.

Do MPs become richer in office? Sure they do. Statistics show that the average assets of 304 MPs who contested in 2004 and then re-contested last year grew 300%. And, yes, we’re only talking about declared assets here.

But then, we can’t complain. We are the ones who vote for the rich. Over 33% of those with assets above Rs 5 Crore won the last elections while 99.5% of those with assets below Rs 10 lakhs lost! Apart from West Bengal and the North East, every other state voted for correlate MPs. Haryana grabbed first place with its average MP worth Rs 18 Crore. Andhra is not far behind at 16.

But no, this is not enough for our MPs. It’s not enough that they are rich, infinitely richer than those who they represent, and every term makes them even richer. It’s not enough that they openly perpetuate their families in power. It’s not enough that all their vulgar indulgences and more are paid for by you and me through backbreaking taxes. It’s not enough that the number of days they actually work in Parliament are barely 60 in a year.
The rest of the time goes in squabbling and ranting. Now they want a 500%pay hike and perquisites quadrupled. The Government, to buy peace, has already agreed to a 300% raise but that’s not good enough for our MPs. They want more, much more.

And no, I’m not even mentioning that 150 MPs elected last year have riminal cases against them, with 73 serious, very serious cases ranging from rape to murder.

Do you really think these people deserve to earn 104 times what the average Indian does.