Hitting an air pocket
Your editorial (The Hindu Feb 19) reflects the confusion in public mind about the logic in hiking air fares in the face of sharp fall in fuel prices. It is known that the aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices constitute 40-45 per cent costs of air operations and with the sharp fall in ATF prices, the air fares should have been slashed in public interest. But the airlines did just the opposite. Your assumption that they are in a cartelisation mode lends credibility. If the fall in air traffic is about 14.65 per cent, the airlines are squarely to blame. Again, the tendency to flock the metro routes needs to reexamined in the light of traffic offerings available for smaller cities and holiday destinations. If Paramount Airways can muster 80 per cent seat occupancy rates, their marketing skills need to be replicated by other airlines for common good. Hiking airfares at this juncture is nothing short of fleecing the public.
A.R.K.Pillai
Feb 19-09
Friday, February 20, 2009
Pak Imbroglio
Pak Imbroglio
The surrender of the civilian Pak government conceding truce with Taliban on Swat area sets a serious precedent. The Pak President openly admitted helplessness of his government to contain terror outfits and the truce arrangement in Swat area comes as no surprise.The Pak army and the ISI seem to be powerless before Taliban. All these developments pose serious threat to India and the entire world. Pakistan is a nuclear state and the danger of terror outfits gaining control of the nuclear arsenal is an unthinkable tragedy. It is a wake-up call for the United nations and all the major world powers to come together and find quick solutions. Time is running out, delay is dangerous.
A.R.K.Pillai
Feb 19-09
The surrender of the civilian Pak government conceding truce with Taliban on Swat area sets a serious precedent. The Pak President openly admitted helplessness of his government to contain terror outfits and the truce arrangement in Swat area comes as no surprise.The Pak army and the ISI seem to be powerless before Taliban. All these developments pose serious threat to India and the entire world. Pakistan is a nuclear state and the danger of terror outfits gaining control of the nuclear arsenal is an unthinkable tragedy. It is a wake-up call for the United nations and all the major world powers to come together and find quick solutions. Time is running out, delay is dangerous.
A.R.K.Pillai
Feb 19-09
Judicial transparency and accountability
Judicial transparency and accountability
Justice V.R.Krishna Iyer's leading article (The Hindu Feb 19) is a brilliant analysis of the judicial system in India. As a reputed Supreme Court Judge for over seven years and writer par excellence on legal issues, Krishna Iyer decries the style and conduct of judicial system in India. There are no two opinions about the need for courts to be clean, run on the basis of straight, transparent and accountable code of conduct if a vibrant democracy is to function and flourish. He advocates the setting up of a performance commission to review judicial system and functioning. In our greedy age, culture has become commercial and the tendency of the judges to exhibit materialistic trade union tendencies for escalating privileges seems improper when millions of our countrymen are below the poverty line living under subhuman conditions. The judicial system needs revamping to expedite decisions and Justice Iyer cites behavioural impropriety leading to functional anarchy in the administration of justice. Justicing should uphold justice, social, economic and political and the great trust reposed by the people of India in Judiciary as their sacred hope and dearest right should be uphelad under all circumstances. This may mean a performance commission to review judicial process. In any case, the only hope for the people is an independent judiciary and people's confidence level must be kept in tact.
A.R.K.Pillai
Feb 20-09
Justice V.R.Krishna Iyer's leading article (The Hindu Feb 19) is a brilliant analysis of the judicial system in India. As a reputed Supreme Court Judge for over seven years and writer par excellence on legal issues, Krishna Iyer decries the style and conduct of judicial system in India. There are no two opinions about the need for courts to be clean, run on the basis of straight, transparent and accountable code of conduct if a vibrant democracy is to function and flourish. He advocates the setting up of a performance commission to review judicial system and functioning. In our greedy age, culture has become commercial and the tendency of the judges to exhibit materialistic trade union tendencies for escalating privileges seems improper when millions of our countrymen are below the poverty line living under subhuman conditions. The judicial system needs revamping to expedite decisions and Justice Iyer cites behavioural impropriety leading to functional anarchy in the administration of justice. Justicing should uphold justice, social, economic and political and the great trust reposed by the people of India in Judiciary as their sacred hope and dearest right should be uphelad under all circumstances. This may mean a performance commission to review judicial process. In any case, the only hope for the people is an independent judiciary and people's confidence level must be kept in tact.
A.R.K.Pillai
Feb 20-09
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Pakistan admits plot at last
Pakistan Admits Plot At Last
Pakistan had to admit hatching of the 26/11 plot 'partly' on its soil at last. Faced with incontrovertible evidence, unrelenting international pressure, Obama regime's tough stand and mounting public opinion left Pakistan with no alternative to admit 'partial' hatching of the plot on its soil. India did the right thing to mount global pressure. Simultaneously Obama administration's heat on Pakistan for strict accountability in its war against terrorism and US FBI's findings put Pakistan on the mat. Pakistan's several round abouts to absolve in the face of undeniable evidence couldn't help either. Having reached so far, the pressure must be mounted to dismantle terror outfits in Pakistan, otherwise it can strike not only against india, but the destination can be anywhere in the world as the warlords decide.Pakistan has done the first step towards correction and this needs to be acknowledged.It takes time for hard mindsets to change.
A.R.K.Pillai
13 Feb 09
Pakistan had to admit hatching of the 26/11 plot 'partly' on its soil at last. Faced with incontrovertible evidence, unrelenting international pressure, Obama regime's tough stand and mounting public opinion left Pakistan with no alternative to admit 'partial' hatching of the plot on its soil. India did the right thing to mount global pressure. Simultaneously Obama administration's heat on Pakistan for strict accountability in its war against terrorism and US FBI's findings put Pakistan on the mat. Pakistan's several round abouts to absolve in the face of undeniable evidence couldn't help either. Having reached so far, the pressure must be mounted to dismantle terror outfits in Pakistan, otherwise it can strike not only against india, but the destination can be anywhere in the world as the warlords decide.Pakistan has done the first step towards correction and this needs to be acknowledged.It takes time for hard mindsets to change.
A.R.K.Pillai
13 Feb 09
Pakistan admission
Pak Admission
Pakistan had finally admitted its involvement in 26/11 terror attacks on innocents by saying that the plot was ?partially? hatched on Pakistan soil. "Partial" is an attempt for face saving, though the attempt is undeniable 'partially' or in full measure. Pakistan's complicity in creating cadres for heinous crimes against humanity is well known and documented for several years, but the wailing voice of India was feeble or discounted by the world community. Though the US had tasted the pangs of terror attacks on its soil, it is doubtful if the Bush administration would have taken a tough stand against its ally. Pakistan did its best to ward off its involvement by saying 'non-state players' for too long, but the hard evidence given by India in November blasts was too difficult to brush off. India did its best to place facts before the international community and the Obama administration put its foot straight against Pak with the evidence gathered by the FBI agents. Perpetrators of crime hardly admit their crimes and this is a universal weakness and Pakistan is no exception. There are also compulsions for the new civilian government in Pakistan to openly admit involvement. In any case, incontrovertible evidence both by India and the FBI and strong resentment of international community culminated in this ' partial' admission. India played its cards well and we must accept the outcome in a positive frame of mind in our effort to contain recurrence of such terror attacks.
A.R.K.Pillai
Feb 13:09
Pakistan had finally admitted its involvement in 26/11 terror attacks on innocents by saying that the plot was ?partially? hatched on Pakistan soil. "Partial" is an attempt for face saving, though the attempt is undeniable 'partially' or in full measure. Pakistan's complicity in creating cadres for heinous crimes against humanity is well known and documented for several years, but the wailing voice of India was feeble or discounted by the world community. Though the US had tasted the pangs of terror attacks on its soil, it is doubtful if the Bush administration would have taken a tough stand against its ally. Pakistan did its best to ward off its involvement by saying 'non-state players' for too long, but the hard evidence given by India in November blasts was too difficult to brush off. India did its best to place facts before the international community and the Obama administration put its foot straight against Pak with the evidence gathered by the FBI agents. Perpetrators of crime hardly admit their crimes and this is a universal weakness and Pakistan is no exception. There are also compulsions for the new civilian government in Pakistan to openly admit involvement. In any case, incontrovertible evidence both by India and the FBI and strong resentment of international community culminated in this ' partial' admission. India played its cards well and we must accept the outcome in a positive frame of mind in our effort to contain recurrence of such terror attacks.
A.R.K.Pillai
Feb 13:09
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Increasing custodial deaths
Increasing Custodial Deaths
Your Editorial on the topic is timely and appropriate. The figures furnished by the state of Punjab on custodial deaths indicate a sharp increase from 2 in 2004 to 80 in 2006 and 63 in 2007.. The police and the state government have ignored the previous directives of the Supreme Court and they go on doing what they like with impunity. Men in uniform are meant to uphold the rule of law and not break it. Though they have the power to detain suspects and interrogate them in custody, they are not allowed to use third degree methods to extract confessions or torture them in an inhuman manner. There is no check on police behaviour There could be tremendous pressure on the police from influential persons and government agencies to get confessions, making it difficult for the lower rung of policemen to follow the rules. In the current nationl scenario, corruption at every level cannot be ruled out. Despite stringent directions from the High Courts and Supreme Court, no action seems to have been taken against the erring men in uniform. It is difficult in the nature of things to fix responsibility on the policemen on excesses. Passage of years with inaction helps the system to continue without any regard to civility and court directives. The common man is afraid of a policestation, its image as a station to redress problems or a 'Help Centre' has not emerged despite passage of 6 decades of independent India. This sorry state of custodial deaths is not confined to Punjab but happens in all the states in India, though with varying degree.
Now that the case has come before the Supreme court, it is for the state to punish all those guilty policemen who exceeded their brief and set standards and limits to interrogation procedure. The action taken must be widely published in the media to instill people's faith in the ongoing system.
Failure must be rewarded with peremptory and exemplary punishment. No civilised society can tolerate such inhuman excesses by the men in uniform.
Dr A.R.K.Pillai
Feb 11 09
Your Editorial on the topic is timely and appropriate. The figures furnished by the state of Punjab on custodial deaths indicate a sharp increase from 2 in 2004 to 80 in 2006 and 63 in 2007.. The police and the state government have ignored the previous directives of the Supreme Court and they go on doing what they like with impunity. Men in uniform are meant to uphold the rule of law and not break it. Though they have the power to detain suspects and interrogate them in custody, they are not allowed to use third degree methods to extract confessions or torture them in an inhuman manner. There is no check on police behaviour There could be tremendous pressure on the police from influential persons and government agencies to get confessions, making it difficult for the lower rung of policemen to follow the rules. In the current nationl scenario, corruption at every level cannot be ruled out. Despite stringent directions from the High Courts and Supreme Court, no action seems to have been taken against the erring men in uniform. It is difficult in the nature of things to fix responsibility on the policemen on excesses. Passage of years with inaction helps the system to continue without any regard to civility and court directives. The common man is afraid of a policestation, its image as a station to redress problems or a 'Help Centre' has not emerged despite passage of 6 decades of independent India. This sorry state of custodial deaths is not confined to Punjab but happens in all the states in India, though with varying degree.
Now that the case has come before the Supreme court, it is for the state to punish all those guilty policemen who exceeded their brief and set standards and limits to interrogation procedure. The action taken must be widely published in the media to instill people's faith in the ongoing system.
Failure must be rewarded with peremptory and exemplary punishment. No civilised society can tolerate such inhuman excesses by the men in uniform.
Dr A.R.K.Pillai
Feb 11 09
GDP measure has limitations
GDP measure has limitations
Sanjeev Sanyal's article 'Go Beyond Statistics' is pertinent and timely (TOI-Feb 10 ). In his brilliant analysis, he advocates going beyond the realm of GDP as it has severe limitations. It is accepted by the governments the world over, that GDP is the most commonly used paradigm for measuring the state of economy and human progress. The creators of GDP were well aware that the three pillars on which analysis of society ought to rest are studies of economic, socio-demographic and environmental phenomena. Their thrust and framework was essentially 'industrial' in essence without space for niceties like environmental degradation and socio-demographic concerns. Total reliance on GDP as practised now leads us to a wrong analysis and status of society.The alternative is to recalibrate GDP by inclusion of value generation by assigning values to areas like water pollution, deforestation, land degradation, human capital stock like health and education. Such a recalibrated GDP is more reliable to reflect the status of the overall economy and quality of life of the citizens. Addtional matrices for measuring progress must find place in the calibration of a revised GDP formula as the present formula has limitations.
A.R.K.Pillai
Feb-11-09
Sanjeev Sanyal's article 'Go Beyond Statistics' is pertinent and timely (TOI-Feb 10 ). In his brilliant analysis, he advocates going beyond the realm of GDP as it has severe limitations. It is accepted by the governments the world over, that GDP is the most commonly used paradigm for measuring the state of economy and human progress. The creators of GDP were well aware that the three pillars on which analysis of society ought to rest are studies of economic, socio-demographic and environmental phenomena. Their thrust and framework was essentially 'industrial' in essence without space for niceties like environmental degradation and socio-demographic concerns. Total reliance on GDP as practised now leads us to a wrong analysis and status of society.The alternative is to recalibrate GDP by inclusion of value generation by assigning values to areas like water pollution, deforestation, land degradation, human capital stock like health and education. Such a recalibrated GDP is more reliable to reflect the status of the overall economy and quality of life of the citizens. Addtional matrices for measuring progress must find place in the calibration of a revised GDP formula as the present formula has limitations.
A.R.K.Pillai
Feb-11-09
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