While fully supporting the anti-graft movement, it is important to have the caveat in place about challenges to democracy. This should not be construed as undermining the basic principles of the movement or people’s sentiments regarding their platform to express disgust with corruption. Rather this should be seen as recognizing inherent dangers and working out ways to correct the same, in the process, strengthening the movement. Basically, despite the knowledge about the involvement of the politicians in corruption, a fact that makes contempt against politicians a general feeling, the claim that the people are not represented by elected representatives is not a good sign for democracy. It is a symptom of malfunctioning of the very core of democracy that people do not trust the people they elect and are better represented by bodies that while taking a moral high-ground (and perhaps rightfully so) cannot really be said to be representative.

The larger question is – is the democracy we talk about so hollow?

The lack of faith in the political process is completely understandable and yet very disturbing. Let not the euphoria about the Jan Lokpal Bill take over the grim reality check about the state and functioning of the most important institution of the country- representative democracy.

-Ipsita Basu

The planning commission, which is presently in the process of drafting the XIIth five year plan has made an attempt to connect to the wider public by spreading out the consultation process with the stakeholders and using technology to connect to the people. It has, among other things, created a website (and linked it to facebook) wherein it has invited comments and suggestions from the citizenry on some of the important policy matters concerning India. This is in addition to consultations conducted across the country by organizations representing various citizens’ groups e.g., women, dalits and youth. The Planning Commission’s web-site list out the areas, explains the main challenges briefly and invites the citizens and the interested groups provide feedback and comments, which, it declares “will be read by a dedicated team of officers inside the Planning Commission”.

Is the Planning Commission (http://www.facebook.com/TwelfthPlan) just trying to a little ‘hip’ and ‘cool’? While it is easy to be cynical and reject the whole process as eyewash targeted only at the miniscule section of English speaking and internet-surfing Indians, it still marks an important first step in making the process participatory. At the same time, how participatory can a process like this be that reaches out to just 8.5 percent of the population (According to the Internet World Statistics, only 8.5 percent of Indians use the internet)

- Ipsita Basu

Whatever the debates on the Jan Lokpal Bill, there is a general agreement that the nation needs stronger institutions to combat corruption. It might need building a consensus, it might need sorting out issues pertaining to representation- but that strong and accountable institutions are the critical need of the day, is well understood. While it must be acknowledged that the issues are complex, it would be naïve to assume that people like Anna Hazare or Arvind Kejriwal are not aware of it. Having a strong institution headed by non elected representatives per se is not tantamount to undermining democratic processes. While acknowledging the centrality of the democratic means, one wonders if having a joint panel, consisting of government and civil society members, should be perceived as such a huge setback for democracy.

Think about it, what is it that we had through purely constitutional means? The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) set up in 1966 recommended the constitution of a two-tier machinery – of a Lokpal at the Centre, and Lokayukt(a)s in the states The first Lokpal Bill was passed in the 4th Lok Sabha in 1969 but could not get through in the Rajya Sabha, subsequently, Lokpal bills were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008, yet they were never passed. So that is what we have as far as constitutional processes in the name of parliamentary debates by our elected representatives is concerned.

Also, when one talks about democracy, does one not talk about vox populi? Will this mass support not serve as a wake-up call for the government to become more responsive to key issues that fan popular protest. In fact, penetration of democracy actually requires a strong civil society that makes the state accountable. The movement has shaken the middle class out of its indifference that perhaps stems from a feeling of powerlessness to rally around an issue.

Also implications for democracy, in this context is perhaps better understood by what is known as a functionalist approach to conflict wherein such conflicts of lower degrees, rather than being too disruptive, help to release the internal pressures of the society and helps it to perform better as a whole. So, in a way it is best to understand it not as subversion of democratic process but as mechanism of internal tension release. Finally, to think of a ‘jagrut janta’ or ‘aware citizenry’ as contradictory to democracy is perhaps going against the very principle of democracy.

Do you think that the recent anti-graft movement is a threat to the constitution?

-Ipsita Basu

Contrary to the Anna Hazare led anti-graft movement, a Mumbai based NGO, ‘Sanvidhan Bachao Manch’ has organised a protest rally arguing that the very concept behind the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill goes against the constitution (http://www.dnaindia.com/india/). The point of argument is the huge power vested in the Lokpal as it gives all rights of investigation, prosecution and punishment to the Lokpal. So, the Lokpal would be the ultimate authority if the bill is passed and would be actually above Parliament and the Judiciary.

Now, are we again not creating a system that will be driven by personalities- power, charisma , ability to negotiate with high-profile politicians? Even the movement was oriented around personalities and driven by personalities often people with ‘clean images’ as a direct challenge to politicians. The media played its part by faithfully engaging in some kind of a ’spot the celebrity’ contest. Personalities were discussed even while the joint committee members were being formed? This kind of personality orientation takes the attention away from systemic mechanisms. The first casualty in such cases are the issues as the battle is more between people and less about issues. It is a dangerous sign and the efforts on systems need to be put and kept in focused.

- Ipsita Basu

Talking about the ICDS program, we often talk about such aspects as coverage and access. However, it seems that we need to ask further – what about quality? What about impact? Clearly, having an ICDS centre is not an achievement in itself unless it produces results and results unfortunately are anything but encouraging.

A report by the World bank titled “India’s Undernourished Children: A Call for Reform and Action” point out that three recent studies estimate the association between having an anganwadi center in a village and the likelihood that a child is underweight, found little or no association between the presence of an ICDS center and child nutritional status. The World Bank also estimates that, for boys, having a local ICDS center is associated with a 5% reduction in the likelihood of being underweight, but that there is no significant association for girls. Similar studies also found little significant effect when children in ICDS villages are compared with children with similar demographic, household and village characteristics in non-ICDS villages except in Kerala. There is also not much evidence that ICDS has been successful in attaining its goal of improving the coverage of specific child health interventions such as de-worming and Vitamin A supplementation, and encouraging mothers to adopt appropriate child care and feeding behaviors (including practices related to breastfeeding, weaning and diet) that have the potential to improve child growth and health outcomes.

There can be various explanations for the gaps from ineffective communication to the challenges to behavior change. However, at the crux is poor accountability to the people services, especially because the main beneficiaries are poor. As the saying goes, the services for the poor end up as being poor services. Where does the buck stop?

For more of such articles visit http://www.csopartners.org.in

- Ipsita Basu

• One teaspoon of iodine – consumed in tiny amounts on a regular basis over a lifetime – is sufficient to prevent the conditions known collectively as iodine deficiency disorders (IDD).

• Inexpensive iron/folate supplements can prevent maternal and infant deaths. Even when iron-rich foods – liver, red meats, eggs, fish, whole-grain bread, legumes – are not affordable, fortifying staple foods such as wheat and rice, the staple for most Indians can reach a large portion of the population.

• In malaria-endemic countries, anti-malarial interventions such as bed nets are critical for preventing anaemia because malaria is often a major underlying factor.

• Vitamin A supplementation is the fastest and most cost-effective approach to improving the vitamin A status of the population. Supplementation using vitamin A capsules can begin at six months old in areas where children do not get enough vitamin A in their diets. Capsules are very inexpensive and can be distributed through expanded programmes on routine immunization.

• Breastfeeding support is key to reducing VAD among young children. New mothers should receive high-dose vitamin A supplementation within eight weeks of delivery in areas where deficiency exists.

It sometimes appears that we are so obsessed with problems that we fail to look at the solutions even if they are simple and well within reach. Maybe we need to get out of problem orientation to solution orientation and look at ways to implement these efficiently and effectively.

For more such discussions visit http://www.csopartners.org.in

Ipsita Basu

The season of scams has exposed the power of the business corporations over the state?

In such a situation how can the common people find the voice to demand accountability from the corporate? After all, corporate actually enjoy state power. Don’t we know that whistle blowers have very little protection in India? Don’t we know the way Rights Activities, especially those working on the Right to Information are targeted and persecuted?

The Collective Report on Business and Human Rights, published by the International Network of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2008 points out that firms harm rights by colluding with repressive governments, refusing to release key information. It says “Businesses have been reported to interfere with access to justice in a variety of ways, including through influence over domestic judicial proceedings, intimidation and prosecution of claimants, refusal to respect and abide by domestic judgments, refusal to provide compensation, and through negotiation of special host government agreements. In the context of business activity, governments directly violated human rights. Governments across regions and “governance zones” also continue to fail in—or are obstructed from—discharging their core obligation to protect against company abuse or to provide effective redress and accountability where such abuses occur”. (http://www.escr-net.org/usr_doc/BHRCollectiveReport_ESCR-Net.pdf)

This is a grim picture indeed. How can business accountability be demanded in a situation where those in charge of holding the business responsible are bought in? Can the civil society address the serious lack of effective redress and accountability mechanisms for the people suffering from business-related abuses and hold perpetrators to account?

- Ipsita Basu

Youth persons with Disabilities (YWD) are often the most neglected sections of society. While the disability discourse has generated some material on the children and on the adults with disability and the literature on gender has highlighted the cross-cutting impact of disability on women, there is really Not much of a body of literature on the YWD.

A UNICEF (1999: 1) report stated that, “Adolescents and youth with disabilities are among the neediest and most overlooked of all the world’s children”. Consistently across the globe, especially in developing countries, mainstream policies and programmes working with young people seem to overlook the needs of those with disabilities, while efforts aimed at people with disabilities tend to focus either on children or adults. Thus the unique social, psychological and physiological concerns of young people with disabilities tend to go unaddressed and this situation is reflected in the more recent In working with young persons with disabilities it is important to and their significant others, this research will explore the local meanings that persons with disabilities and others around them attach to disability, poverty and education. It will focus on the role that education and other enabling factors play in helping young people with disabilities make transitions into adulthood and in some instances move out of poverty.

Given that WHO estimates suggest that there are between 120-150 million children, adolescents and youth with disabilities and UNICEF reports that “with half of the world’s population under 15 years old, the number of adolescents and youth with disabilities can be expected to rise markedly,” we are actually neglecting a significant section and undermining their capabilities.

The participation of this group remains hugely restricted- in education, in employment and they encounter social isolation and prejudice. This exclusion often has societal support, their marginalization is formally sanctioned. Very little is known about the lived experiences of these people- that area remains blurred. This is more so for the YWD in the rural areas as absence of schools/ facilities for special education mean that as children, most are denied access to education. This further impedes their access to decent livelihood entrenching them in poverty and deprivation.

Needless to say, more qualitative studies need to be undertaken to capture the experiences of the youth and find ways to mainstream the same. The existing studies point how marginalization of the YWD results in a situation where even when the YWD contribute to family kitty, such contributions are not recognized or acknowledged, partly because they are not given work directly but are passed on work by relatives and family members. Neither is their contribution towards undertaking household chores recognized, even though their participation means that the other members of the family are freed on the responsibility and can take up other work.

What is the way ahead? Documenting and recording experiences and a focus on the strengths and capabilities of the YWD, an engagement with the process of identifying and removing barriers and constraints to participation- these are the first steps. Really these are not unachievable – time consuming yes, but impossible, no.

What can be done to tap the potential of the YWD in India?

-Ipsita Basu

Disability as a long-term social state is often not treatable and is certainly not curable. And yet, doctors are accorded so much importance in the programs on disability- starting from fixing a quantitative measure on the extent of disability.

According to Mike Oliver, a leading disability rights adovocate, “The problem is that doctors are socialised by their own training into believing that they are ‘experts’ and accorded that role by society. When confronted with the social problems of disability as experts,… they feel threatened and fall back on their medical skills and training, inappropriate as they are, and impose them on disabled people….Doctors are trained to diagnose, treat and cure illnesses, not to alleviate social conditions or circumstances”.

He further says about the doctors that “As society’s experts they have a great deal of power and this gives them control over fundamental aspects of people’s lives and they have not been noticeably reticent about using this power to make decisions about disabled people’s lives; where they should live, whether they should work or not, what kind of school they should go to, what kinds of benefits and services they should receive and in the case of unborn disabled children, whether they should live or not”.

Now these are very strong words and while he clarifies that he has nothing against the medical profession, we, as a society, need to introspect about our own perceptions about the role of doctors and other experts in the disability discourse. The danger is that in attaching a lot of importance to trained expertise, we somehow lose sight of lived experiences – of the people with disabilities.

While it seems logical that that experts and people with disabilities must somehow find ways to work together –it is easier said than done. To begin with, are the experts willing to understand why and how disabled people experience disability? Is there recognition of the way power shapes the experience of disability? Are they willing to question how they are socialized into thinking about disability in particular ways- ways that have put them in positions of power vis a vis people with disabilities?

These are tough questions and need a lot of introspection. However, answers to these questions would determine the course and quality that disability action would take in future.
What should be the role of experts in disability action and discourse?

- Ipsita Basu

It is indeed heartening to know that the Census 2011 has made changes to better capture the disability figure and profile of the population. Collaborating with the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) is indeed a good idea and they seem to have added good value to the process based on their expertise and experience.

While the expansion of the categories of disabilities from five to eight bringing in people with mental illness, multiple disabilities and “other disabilities” and the improvement made to the census questionnaire will definitely improve the quality of informational output, what is really very critical is the training of the enumerators. The NCPEDP developed a 45-minute module to explain disability, conditions of disability and the sensitivities involved in asking questions about disability. In addition, 90 national trainers were identified by the Census Commission who were trained by NCPEDP who in turn trained the other enumerators. A series of workshops for were organized for the volunteers interacting at the grassroots level to create awareness about the importance of census and convince people with disability and their families to ensure the question is asked and accurately answered. http://www.hindu.com/2011/01/10/stories/2011011051211100.htm.

These critical steps prove once again that the demand of the disability rights organization that say ‘nothing about us, without us’ is not just a rightful demand but that there is a lot to learn and gain by inclusion.

For more such articles visit www.csopartners.org.in

- Ipsita Basu