Prof. Vibhuti Patel Food Price Volatility in India, Vidura July-September 2019

1July-September 2019 VIDURA
July-September 2019
Volume 11 Issue 3 Rs 60
ISSN 0042-5303
A JOURNAL OF THE PRESS INSTITUTE OF INDIA
CONTENTS
(Continued on page 3)
There’s the trillion-dollar India,
and then there is Bharat
As one more Independence Day is about to come by and
pass, these (in the story below) are the images around
Sakuntala Narasimhan in Bengaluru, the IT capital of India.
Education, health, even water for survival, are beyond the
reach of those who are not monied. And this group below the
poverty line constitutes a few millions in India
Next to my apartment is a vacant plot where a multi-storeyed block•
is coming up. Workers are busy erecting scaffolding and pouring
concrete and raising pillars. Every morning, these pillars are watered
generously with a hose pipe connected to a borewell outlet, while the
contractor stands by and supervises. At the entrance to the site is a
small structure put together with tarpaulin and corrugated tin sheets,
where a family of migrant workers working on the construction lives –
a husband and wife, with two children under six. They have no toilet,
no electricity, no water – in fact, the city is reeling under a severe water
shortage which is expected to get worse by next month due to erratic
monsoons. But the concrete pillars get a generous treatment with ample
water. The woman labourer tries to catch a couple of buckets of water
from the hose pipe (not directly, but from what spills over as the men
hose down the pillar) and this the family uses for drinking, cooking,
washing and bathing.
And we are talking of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwaas’
(together with all, everybody’s progress, everybody’s trust). The ‘sab’
does not include those who are disadvantaged and deprived. Like this
migrant family. I see photographs of politicians having meetings to
discuss the ‘drought situation’ in air-conditioned rooms at the legis-
lature, with a bottle of branded drinking water at each seat. Some of
the VIPs take a sip, the remaining is tossed out as trash along with the
plastic bottles. If you are a VIP, neither drought nor floods affect you.
Hail democracy, hail Bharat that is India. Free, independent, galloping
towards becoming one of the fastest growing economies of the world.
On the other side of the construction is the road leading to the Indian•
Institute of Science. The road is lined with bungalows with gardens,
where the upper economic strata live. A car is parked at the entrance
to many of these bungalows. As I walk towards the institute in the
Does the Budget take care of•
basic needs, weaker sections? /
Bharat Dogra
Research, analyse, substantiate•
with facts, be professional /
N. Bhaskara Rao
Print lags behind digital in•
gender-based news coverage /
Manjira Majumdar
Food price volatility wrecking•
havoc on the poor / Vibhuti Patel
A struggle that’s been on for 60•
years, and about press freedom /
Nava Thakuria
A brave publisher who fought•
on behalf of the people /
Mrinal Chatterjee
How PR functions as a•
responsible profession in the US /
C.V. Narasimha Reddi
Shades of conflict expressed •
well in recent Indian cinema /
Shoma A. Chatterji
Frustration, controversy aside,•
there was much to savour /
Partab Ramchand
A lineage that harks back to a•
moneylender, and to Tagore /
Madhura Dutta
A woman’s artistic expression •
and a symbol of an identity /
Ranjita Biswas
Remembering Pauline• Kael /
Vijaya Mulay / Ruma Guha
Thakurta / Girish Karnad

2 July-September 2019VIDURA
FROM THE EDITOR
As the haves wallow in ‘luxury’,
the have-nots continue to suffer
A
s I write this, India’s 72nd
Independence Day is just a
couple of days away. That
may be a short time in the life of a
nation but it is nevertheless quite
a distance to measure progress by.
There is no doubt that India has
made progress in various fields,
possibly the most in science and
technology and medical science.
Today, Mukesh Ambani launched
Jio Fiber, announced the Jio-Mi-
crosoft Cloud partnership and the
$75 billion deal with Saudi Aramco.
Jio Giga Fiber will be rolled out in
a few weeks from now, offering
free voice calls for life from land-
line phones, high speed broadband
of minimum speed of 100 mbps,
free high definition TV and dish
at minimum monthly subscription
of Rs 700. And, what’s more, from
mid-2020, premium Jio Giga Fiber
customers will also get to watch
new movies on the same day of its
release, meaning they can watch
movies at home the same day they
are released in theatres! Unimagi-
nable once, but reality now. So, this
is one side of India.
Theothersideis,howmanypeople
can afford such luxury? Yes, luxury.
When Rs 700 means a lot to them,
even when considered as monthly
expenditure. After all, food, cloth-
ing and shelter, the basics, matter
much more than being able to watch
a movie on the day of its release on
television. It is a story of extremes –
one side that can enjoy Jio Fiber and
the other that can only look forward
to its next meal. This is, of course, no
comment on the exceptional entre-
preneurship shown by Ambani as
well as his endeavour to bring such
facilities to the common person, but
it certainly is a comment about the
reality that stares us in the face 72
years after Independence.
And this sentiment is what Sakun-
tala Narasimhan echoes when she
writes about the trillion-dollar
India and a Bharat where dollars
are unheard of. Indeed, education,
health, even water for survival, are
beyond the reach of the margina-
lised in India, those who lives hinge
around the poverty line – millions.
Let’s spare a thought for the widow
(mentioned in Narasimhan’s article)
bringing up three daughters, who is
unable to procure her entitlement of
ration rice, sugar and dal, though
she has Aadhar and BPL cards. The
poor woman, month after month,
buys her requirements of rice in the
open market, paying prices that she
just cannot afford.
Speaking for the marginalised,
Bharat Dogra says there should be
much greater concern for the weaker
sections and their basic needs in
budgetary allocations. Basic needs
include access to health care ser-
vices. For the bulk of rural people,
the nearest source of health care is
the community health centre where
more than 70 per cent of the posts
of specialists (surgeons, physicians,
paediatricians) remain unfilled or
vacant, he points out. In another
article, Dogra cites the many efforts
that have been taken over the years
by trade unions to help workers
and how such efforts have been a
source of hope and inspiration even
though they can never be completely
successful. He points to the poor
conditions of service, the misery of
workers, insecurity of employment,
and rampant exploitation
Vibhuti Patel refers to a World
Bank report stating that 33 per cent
or 400 million of the world’s poor
are in India. An alarming statistic.
More than two-thirds of Indians
live in rural areas and nearly 50 per
cent of the workforce is employed
in agriculture. Most cultivators are
small, marginal farmers and poor
peasants who own less than three
acres of land. There are no other
opportunities for them to enhance
their income. It is very important,
therefore, for the decision-makers
in the agricultural sector to contain
food inflation, Patel says. Farm-
ers often resort to distress sale of
their products. It is a monopoly
market where corporate houses are
the price-makers and farmers are
the price-takers, she says. Patel is
convinced that it is the rapid and
unpredictable changes in food
prices that have wreaked havoc
on factory-labour and product
markets, politics and social stabil-
ity. She offers suggestions: To deal
with urban and rural hunger, com-
munity-managed food banks must
be created; restaurants can be told
not to destroy unsold food but to
deposit it in local food banks; and
farmers should be encouraged to
sell their products directly to cus-
tomers without any interference by
governments.
Sashi Nair
editorpiirind@gmail.com

Illustration:ArunRamkumar
mornings, each car is being
washed down with either hose
pipes or buckets of water, to
remove dust, leaving them
shiny. Facing the bungalows
are a row of slum dwellings,
small one-room shelters hous-
ing low-income families (no toi-
lets, no water pipes. of course).
Another example of the well-
off affording to spend water
on washing their cars when the
city has a massive water short-
age, with even borewells run-
ning dry. The economists call it
the “inequality divide” but the
slum dweller will not under-
stand such technical terms,
being mostly illiterate.
Revathi, a widow bringing•
up three daughters under
12, is unable to procure her
entitlement of ration rice, sugar
and dal, though she has Aadhar
and BPL (below poverty line)
cards. The ration shop owner
doesn’t provide a satisfactory
explanation and says there is a
large board put up at his shop
that gives information. She can-
not read. Month after month,
she buys her requirements of
rice in the open market, pay-
ing prices that she just cannot
afford. The children cannot go
hungry. She asked a memsahib
(lady) to help, the woman went
with Revathi to the ration shop
but the fellow was brusque and
abusive, and since he has her
mobile number on her Aadhar,
he calls her up and threatens
her for complaining about him.
The memsahib even wrote to
the minister for Food and Civil
Supplies and got a prompt
reply saying that he was giv-
ing instructions to his staff to
investigate the problem. You
can guess what happened
thereafter – the lower level staff
at the minister’s office phoned
the ration shop to say a com-
plaint had been sent against
him. Now Revathi is scared to
go anywhere near the shop and
is trying to get her name trans-
ferred to another ration shop
which is further away. “With
no male in the family, and three
daughters to raise and protect,
I cannot afford to cross swords
with goondas, amma,” she says
pathetically. Sabka vishwaas?
While I am in an autorick-•
shaw, the driver gets a call on
his mobile, and as he stops to
take the call, I hear him say-
ing repeatedly, “No, sir, I m
sorry sir, I shall try my best
(Continued from page 1)

sir… please sir…”, pleading
most abjectly. I ask him what
the problem is, and he says he
had taken a loan of one lakh
rupees for buying his autorick-
shaw but has defaulted on two
instalments of monthly repay-
ment because his wife fell sick
and he had to spend money on
hospital bills. Now the bank is
abusing him and threatening to
confiscate his vehicle. Just that
morning, I have read a report
in the day’s papers about
former airline owner Vijay
Mallya, fleeing abroad after
defaulting on loan repayments
of over Rs 9000 crore. Banks
have instructions not to har-
ass small loan defaulters, but,
of course, it is easier to bully
and threaten an autorickshaw
driver than a liquor baron with
money enough to hire
the best and most
expensive of lawyers
to wriggle out of his
case. Have money,
will buy power and
protection – that’s the
current mantra in the
corridors of power.
Democracy? Not
according to the defi-
nition that I memo-
rised as a schoolgirl.
Vanita and Pushpa•
are the same age, and
both pregnant. Vanita is the
wife of a senior IT professional,
and Pushpa works as her maid
servant. When Pushpa devel-
oped complications, she went
to the nearest government
clinic (supposed to be free) but
the doctor was never there. “He
comes around 10, or 10.30 but
signs the register and locks up
and goes away to his own pri-
vate clinic,” says the vegetable
cart owner stationed opposite
the clinic. Pushpa had a mis-
carriage, which meant more
medical expenses. Vanita too
developed complications but
went to a posh 5-star private
hospital where she had surgery
and her premature baby was
put in an incubator for three
weeks and saved. Those who
need medical attention don’t
get it, and those who can afford
the best get it because they can
pay for it, although at election
time political parties release
full-page advertisements boast-
ing about how much they have
done for the poor. On paper.
The lives of the rich are more
precious than those of the indi-
gent. Democracy? Not really.
Pushpa’s sister-in-law Malas-•
weeps and cleans Vanita’s
neighbour Seetha’s flat; both
Mala and Seetha have teen-
age daughters entering pre-
university classes this year.
Seetha’s daughter has got into
a private college (considered
prestigious and one of the best
in the metropolis) by paying a
hefty donation of Rs one lakh,
while Mala’s couldn’t get into
the government college which
is supposed to be ‘free’ but
imposes a demand of Rs 50000
for admission. Her mother has
no idea where to complain, how
to expose such unfair practices.
A benefactor offered to pay
Rs 25000 to help out, but the
remaining half of the demand
is still way beyond what Mala
can afford.
Education, health, even basics like
water for survival, are beyond the
reach of those who are not monied.
And this group below the poverty
line constitutes a few millions in
our country (one of the largest in
the world). Let’s now raise the
national flag and celebrate 72 years
of ‘freedom’ and development, and
then listen to politicians making
grand speeches.
(The writer, based in Bengaluru, is
a recipient of the Media Foundation’s
Chameli Devi Award for Outstanding
Woman Journalist 1983. Her
fortnightly columns on gender issues
and consumer rights ran in the
Deccan Herald for 27 years. She had
earlier worked for The Times of India
Group in Mumbai.)
<
A picture that appeared in the Express in Bengaluru – for
the poor, such meals are more than a luxury.
A picture from Deccan Herald – the woes common citizens have to undergo daily.
Photos:SN

A
persisting trend of several
recent budgets has been
that while big announce-
ments regarding big gains to
weaker sections and common peo-
ple are repeatedly made, these are
frequently not backed by adequate
allocations. One way of examining
the trend is to broadly see the share
of important sectors as a part of the
overall budget or as a part of GDP.
A review of the final budget for
2019-20 titled Promises and Pri-
orities, prepared by the Centre for
Budget and Governance Account-
ability (CBGA), has calculated that
combining together all the employ-
ment generating and promoting
schemes, the total expenditure has
hovered around 0.4 per cent of GDP
and 3 per cent of total Union budget
expenditure. This is quite less, keep-
ing in view the widespread concern
over increasing unemployment.
The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal
Vikas Yojana has been much high-
lighted in the context of employ-
ment. However, its allocation has
been decreased in the final bud-
get compared to the interim. The
Mudra Yojana is also often publi-
cised. However, its actual expen-
diture peaked in 2016-17 and the
allocation has been much lower
since then.
The Union Government’s expen-
diture on health has been stag-
nant – around just 0.3 per cent of
the GDP since 2014-15 and as a
share of the total Union Budget
this has hovered around 2 per cent
during the past five years. This is
extremely low compared to the
standards of most countries, and
quite shocking keeping in view the
pressing health needs, particularly
in the context of the rural areas and
weaker sections.
For the bulk of rural people the
nearest source of health care is the
community health centre or CHC
and as many as 73 per cent of the
posts of specialists (surgeons, phy-
sicians, paediatricians ) remain
unfilled or vacant.
The share of the allocations for
the Department for Rural Develop-
ment in the total Union Budget has
declined from 4.7 per cent in 2018-19
(revised estimates) to 4.2 per cent in
the recently presented final budget
for 2019-20. In the allocations for
the department, the allocation for
the rural employment guarantee
scheme has also declined margin-
ally, although this should have seen
a big increase, keeping in view its
importance for water conservation
works which the government has
emphasised in several policy state-
ments and which are badly needed
at a bigger level.
Educational progress of disad-
vantaged communities is widely
seen as a preferred means of their
progress as well of increasing over-
all equality. Hence, it is to be wel-
comed that in the revised budget
for the previous year (2018-19), the
allocation for Schemes for Educa-
tional Development of Scheduled
Castes was raised from Rs 3650
crore (budget estimate) to Rs 6425
crore – a big increase indeed.
However, in the budget esti-
mate for 2019-20 we find that the
allocation has again been reduced
to Rs 3815 crore, which is margin-
ally lower than the actual expendi-
ture for 2017-18. In such a situation,
a question is bound to be asked
whether the sudden increase in the
revised budget last year was only
for the sake of electoral advantage.
Even if it was, the government
should have gracefully maintained
the increase after its great elec-
tion victory, instead of going back
immediately to the significantly
lower allocation made earlier.
The overall allocation of the Min-
istry of Social Justice and Empow-
erment, which is the nodal ministry
for the development of scheduled
castes , has also decreased in the
final budget for 2019-20 compared
to the revised estimate of the previ-
ous year’s budget. According to an
evaluation made by Equals -- Cen-
tre for Promotion of Social Justice,
there has been a decline in the allo-
cation for persons with disabilities
when seen as a share of the total
expenditure of the Union Govern-
ment. While in 2018-19 this share
amounted to 0.11 per cent, in the
final budget for 2019-20 this share
amounts to just 0.07 per cent.
Clearly, there should be much
higher concern for weaker sections
and their basic needs in budgetary
allocations.
(The writer is a senior freelance
journalist and author who has
been associated with several social
movements and initiatives.)
Does the Budget take care of
basic needs, weaker sections?
While the Union Budget is widely analysed from several different points of view, perhaps the most
relevant one is the extent to which it helps the weaker sections in meeting their basic needs, says
Bharat Dogra. This is reflected in allocations for various sections of social sector, he adds, stressing
that there should be far greater concern for weaker sections and their basic needs in budgetary
allocations
<

T
oday, journalists the world
over are under threat,
harassment and risk of life.
The trend is to mussel indepen-
dent journalism and investigative
reportage, which is already shrink-
ing anyway.
We are today at a point when
it is no longer the journalist who
matters for news media. Yes, that
profession itself may no longer be
a factor.
Yesterday’s schools of journalism
are today’s school of communica-
tion, which means more corporate
communication, which is what
public relations is all about. Jour-
nalists exist today only to the extent
they have adjusted and adopted to
changed priorities in the media and
alignments outside.
Nevertheless, it is time to intro-
spect. There are four areas to go
into. First, the context of journal-
ism and journalists. There are
three angles here. Freedom of the
press, what it means today and
Research, analyse, substantiate
with facts, be professional
News journalism is in the midst of a crisis. And yet we continue talk about symptoms rather than the
root causes. More than twenty years ago, N. Bhaskara Rao says, he had signalled the twist and shift
in the paradigm itself, even cautioned the unions and associations of working journalists that they were
going to be the worst affected as much as the people of the country were

who decides – it is the government
and the corporates who decide the
scope of press freedom today, not
so much the Constitution of India.
Second, is journalism just a job or
a profession? If it is a profession,
with what standards and self-reg-
ulations? Third, the human devel-
opment angle – unless this larger
context is understood, the deeper
malice troubling journalism cannot
be addressed.
A second factor for the para-
digm shift is conflict of interest
sweeping the nation. Of late, this
important aspect is ignored or
swept under carpet. This has to
do with the fundamental ques-
tion – is news media a service or
a business or both and with what
restrains or under what regulatory
jurisdiction? It’s a lobby of the
powerful that decides what mat-
ters in the news media. This is also
because journalists are cornered
and divided, hankering for indi-
vidual advantages more, without
substantiating facts and figures.
So much for counting journalism
as a community of professionals
or as critical stakeholders.
The third factor is the way jour-
nalists have slipped as a credible
force. Despite the Wage Board etc,
the issue was never taken up at a
macro level in a systematic way,
resulting in fake, planted news
and compulsions of new media
becoming routine. With objectivity
and independence giving way to
manipulation, influence and quick
profits, journalists have lost out.
Such a trend today is not limited
to journalists. That is the challenge
independent and objective voices
are facing world over.
A fourth factor is decay of
instruments and institutions of a
profession. For example, journal-
ism or communication schools are
no longer run by journalists but
by management and PR people.
The TRP mania further misleads
a nation. The school syllabus is
more about management and PR.
There are no longer magazines or
online sites like The Hoot, Vidura,
etc, with voice in support of the
profession. And then the research
is for the numbers – that relate to
those who have seen the matter,
not necessarily those who have
read. A good example for making
a difference is how AP Union of
Journalists had brought out paid
news phenomena to fore. The
need is for more such studies and
initiatives.
The task is without doubt chal-
lenging. It is a national task. Jour-
nalists themselves should come
forward, no one else can help
retrieve journalism. The unions and
associations should come together,
analyse the substantive issues in a
transparent and forthright manner.
Sadly, such bodies are dwindling,
getting isolated or limiting them-
selves to micro issues.
I have been a teacher, researcher,
analyst and policy advocate for
over 60 years with several studies
on different aspects of mass media,
journalism and communication.
I have a five-point agenda for the
journalist fraternity.
First, show of strength and soli-
darity. Thishas to be on larger issues
within once own organisation and
outside. Second, take to research
and analysis. Substantiate with facts
and figures what is being pursued;
avoid being viewed as allusive.
Third, professional objectivity
should be visible. Be cautious and
concerned while using words like
activism, conspiracy, Dalit, etc
and in covering the fake, false and
planted. Fourth, while reporting,
adopt to anecdotes, humour, analo-
gies (even while ‘bandwagoning’).
Bust and black out false and fake
plants. Fifth, cover citizen and civil
society and basic concerns relating
to the grassroots far more. Move
away from the TRP mindframe and
related priorities.
(The writer is founder, Centre
for Media Studies, New Delhi,
and the author of The TRP Trick,
Unleashing Power of News
Channels – An Indian Perspective,
and Poll Surveys in News Media.
He has pioneered applied social
research, including electoral studies,
in India over the past 50 years.)
<
Singapore, Nigeria editors head
World Editors Forum
Warren Fernandez, editor-in-chief of the Straits Times and SPH’s English,
Malay and Tamil publications in Singapore, was elected as the new
president of the World Editors Forum at the annual board meeting in
Glasgow, Scotland on 1 June. Nigerian-based Toyosi Ogunseye, who
heads language services for BBC World Service, West Africa, was elected
vice-president. They replace President Dave Callaway, formerly editor of
USA Today and CEO of TheStreet.com, and Marcelo Rech, vice-president
of Journalism, Groupo RBS, Brazil.
The World Editors Forum is the network for editors within WAN-IFRA.
Its board of 24 editors advise WAN-IFRA on matters affecting newsrooms,
quality journalism and press freedom.
<

A
s the tussle between print
and digital media rages
on in the world, and the
effects of the advertisement-reve-
nue model on the two sides is being
studied and debated on in India,
another picture has emerged. We
find that there is a clear distinction
between print media and web or
digital media as far as content is
concerned. Exclusive online con-
tent today scores higher in terms of
volume, and in sheer variety.
This was most evident during the
run up to the Lok Sabha Elections of
2019, considered one of the biggest
events of the country. Independent
research in this niche area revealed
that there was a great chasm in con-
tent dividing the print and digital
mediums.
In particular, gender-specific
news coverage and analysis demon-
strated that online content did not
always replicate the print medium;
rather it went beyond the boundar-
ies of print to include details such as
participation of women in electoral
politics, both state- and party-wise,
their profiles, women’s issues and
their voting patterns. Concerns and
achievements of women were bet-
ter represented in the web media.
Themicro-researchstudyrevealed
that the print media made hardly
any separate space for women
candidates, leave alone concerns
related to women, children and the
transgender community. Except for
a number of mandatory news items
on how the transgender community
can now vote under the category
of third gender, or on all-women
polling booths, one had to really
search for articles on the deeper
aspects of this broad subject in the
print media.
Gender-related expectations mat-
ter a great deal in electoral politics
and in government formation, too.
Veteran journalist Rami Chhabra
wrote in her opinion column in The
Indian Express (June 24, 2019) that
the new India as envisioned by our
leaders, needs to urgently put in
place measures to reverse the mas-
sive drop in women’s work partici-
pation and the threats to women’s
freedom of movement.
The plummeting workforce par-
ticipation in past years and the
#MeToo movement highlight the
growing insecurity women face on
the streets and in workplaces/ pub-
lic places, she pointed out. Besides
emphasising women’s fundamental
and constitutional rights to dignity
and security, bridging the gender
gapinworkparticipation,according
to a McKinsey estimate, would add
$770 billion to the Indian economy
by 2025. ‘Naya India’ (New India)
cannot be built unless women hold
up half the sky, Chhabra stressed.
Even though parties such as TMC
(West Bengal) and BJD (Orissa)
fielded a large number of women
candidates, the reports on this were
reduced to sheer data or names.
The human interest story behind
the women was definitely missing
in print coverage. Women made
up 41 per cent of the TMC’s candi-
dates but except for the two young
women who replaced some politi-
cal heavyweights of the past, even
the names of hardly any of the oth-
ers weren’t known.
And after winning the polls, their
primary brief, even the two publi-
cised candidates have now been
relegated from Page One, where
they belong, to Page 3, which was
where they belonged earlier. The
web media, on the other hand,
exploded with analyses, opinion
pieces and stories providing views
and counter-views.
Let us zero in on a few websites:
IndiaSpend, Feminism India, Scroll,
The Print, Quint and DailyO, News
Minute and News 18, all of which
gave us a variety of stories and
comprehensive research data the
print industry can access if it so
wishes.
A month before the elections,
Adrija Bose of News 18 travelled
across Uttar Pradesh to understand
how gender played a role in elec-
toral politics by interviewing 200
women, and filed a comprehensive
series of articles. Her stories ranged
from the expectations of the women
of the Musahar community (a
scheduled class community, origi-
nally known as rat catchers) to the
aspirations of Muslim women, who
want hate politics to make way for
real development. The reports were
from the ground and not through
party spokespersons.
Scroll.in had a series titled ‘Half
the vote’ devoted exclusively to
women and politics under its over-
all series The Election Fix.
Since the online media today can
accommodate videos and podcasts
in addition to text and photos, it
Print lags behind digital in
gender-based news coverage
Taking a close look at the dichotomy between print media and digital media in India in terms of content,
with particular reference to women-specific news coverage is Manjira Majumdar. News coverage and
analysis, she says, demonstrates that online content went beyond the boundaries of print to include
details such as participation of women. Will the print media make more space for it?

clearly has an advantage in terms
of multimedia presentation, which
is the current buzz.The Wire’s mul-
timedia presentations focused on
women’s expectations from the
elections. News Minute, another
independent website, did a wide-
ranging series from a gender per-
spective, covering the four southern
states.
From educating readers on
the Women’s Reservation Bill to
unique storytelling by two journal-
ists, Preethi Nagaraj and Vasan-
thi Hariprakash of Pickle Jar Poll
Express, who travelled through
rural Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and
Kerala, the website tried to include
as many women’s voices as pos-
sible from the length and breadth
of southern India. The transgender
angle was widely covered as well.
Under Gender Check, a sec-
tion titled Why India Needs More
Women To Contest 2019 Elections
on the IndiaSpend web portal that
specialises in data journalism,
was a complete dossier of facts
and figures. Likewise, Feminism
in India, a gender-based site, had
comprehensive figures on women
MLAs, MPs and panchayat office-
bearers and leaders to add to the
total picture. DailyO, true to its
name, offered a variety of opinions
related to the politics of gender,
going beyond conservative views.
Perhaps due to a number of bud-
getary controls and restraints, the
print media just could not match
the fast output of its digital coun-
terpart. It wasn’t that election news
was absent in print; it was just not
as detailed and nuanced. Being an
older institution, print just could
not keep pace. For its older follow-
ers, and millions outside the coun-
try still hooked to their favourite
newspapers virtually, it was a bit of
a letdown.
The print industry has its own jus-
tifications for the situation. In 2018,
digital media (including streaming
of films) grew by 42 per cent, with
advertising growing 34 per cent. In
that year, magazines contributed
about four per cent of
the total print segment
revenues. This num-
ber has been shrinking
due to falling adver-
tisement revenue and
subscriptions and the
growing popular-
ity of digital media.
(Source: FICCI Ernst &
Young (E & Y) report
on Media & Entertain-
ment (M&E) 2019).
The print sector
was projected to get a
boost in advertisement
revenue and increased
regional readership
during the time of the
general elections as
per an FICCI report.
While that is yet to be
calculated, the sector
still faces stiff com-
petition from digital
platforms which pro-
vide on-the-go and
on-demand content
for users even though some in the
latter category are reportedly strug-
gling to survive. Those platforms
which belong to large media groups
perhaps have greater chances of
survival. But the print segment is
facing a greater threat, with rising
costs affecting profitability.
For traditionalists, the print still
holds a mirror up to society and its
supportinhighlightingissuesiscru-
cial in bridging the gap between the
aspirations of the people, and the
efforts of policy makers and lead-
ers. Print in a way is more “reflec-
tive”. So even if online content did
have a wider coverage of women’s
issues, it is still not enough.
(The writer is a Kolkata-based
independent journalist and
lecturer in Print/ Journalism.)
<

S
upposing a letter addressed to
you was delivered open and
the contents had been exam-
ined. You would be indignant and
protest, right?
Supposing an intruder got inside
your dwelling in spite of your lock-
ing and bolting doors, and thrust
a sales spiel on you, you would be
indignant and protest, right?
Supposing you were sending a
query to your friend, and some-
one peeping over your shoulder
came up with suggestions on how
you should word your query, you
would be indignant and protest,
right?
Supposing someone --- an anony-
mous third party -- listened in on
your telephone conversations and
suggested suitable responses, you
would be indignant and protest,
right?
But that’s exactly what is hap-
pening with sophisticated new
technology that enables strangers
to monitor your interactions and
keep track of your correspondence.
I open my email account, and a
query pops up, against a message
that I had sent my brother three
days earlier; the query says, in red
letters: “Sent three days ago; want
to send a reminder?”
Which means that someone (the
computer?) has read my query and
kept track of whether I received
a response from my brother. If I
receive a message from a friend,
the computer adds, at the bottom,
three options for me to click on as
my reply – ‘No, thanks’, ‘All right,
I will’ or ‘Will think it over’. Which
means all I need to do is click on
one of the options. It also means
that my incoming message has
been read and contents examined,
to give me suitable responses.
Is the convenience of not having
to key in a reply (but merely click,
lazily, on one of the three options)
worth the inconvenience of having
my interactions – however harm-
less they may be, nothing to do
with terrorist activities -- moni-
tored and pried ? Is it any differ-
ent from having someone peeping
over your shoulder, to watch your
interactions?
Then there is spam -- promo-
tional messages sent in for any-
thing from life insurance to real
estate and dubious investment
opportunities: ‘Win up to 20 lakhs
in your account’ or ‘Create your
own Demat account for free…’
– that come in and clutter one’s
inbox, despite having registered
for DND (Do Not Disturb).
Via computer and mobile phones,
SMS texts, etc, these unwanted,
intrusive, promotional messages
keep coming in, despite the filter
and firewalls. Even the prime min-
ister’s office sends in messages,
whether I am interested or not. If
sophisticated technology did not
facilitate their outreach, would
they have mailed conventional
envelopes with the same messages,
before the advent of email?
How do I protect myself from
such unwanted intrusions, if even
filters and DND don’t help? Why
should I be vulnerable, for spiels,
just because I have technology
that I cannot do without (I cannot
even order cooking gas refills if I
surrender my mobile connection).
Are we becoming slaves to technol-
ogy, through the use of new media,
instead of technology making lives
easier for us?
I can delete unwanted messages
as spam, but this still involves my
spending time on deletion and is a
distraction. Thanks to ‘technology’.
It still means that advertisers have
my email ID. I am not sure I like
that.
There exists a Telecom Regula-
tory Authority of India (TRAI) that
is meant to oversee telecom service
providers. But TRAI does not enter-
tain individual complaints, and ser-
vice providers merrily break rules
despite ‘regulations’ and advisories
by TRAI. Where once there were
just print media, radio and hoard-
ings (and later, television), today a
plethora of media options ensnare
and entrap citizens (and earn prof-
its for themselves in the process of
harvesting email IDs and mobile
numbers). And everyone, includ-
ing the prime minister’s office, uses
this information, to flood unsus-
pecting citizens, with unsolicited
messages.
This is nothing short of intrusion
by other (sophisticated) means.
You can shut the door on intrusive
salesmen, switch off the radio or
TV, but you cannot avoid open-
ing your inbox to check for mes-
sages. Once upon a time (before
the advent of computers and smart
phones), I used to send my articles
to editors as hard, manually typed
copies. Today, even conference
papers have to be submitted only
online. You cannot survive without
The new media: co-opting
technology for trespass?
If autonomy, freedom and privacy are paramount basic human rights, how do we protect ourselves against intrusive,
snooping technology that stretches the reach of the new media, asks Sakuntala Narasimhan

them, and you can’t protect your-
self against unwanted intrusions
despite instructions to block them.
What is scary is the addition of
‘reply options’, meaning that my
message has been read and sifted,
for ‘appropriate responses’. Am I
supposed to be ‘too busy’ to key in
my own replies? But isn’t that what
we are all bemoaning -- that life is
too rushed?
If opening a personal letter is not
doneanddenouncedasbadmanners,
why is scrutinising a personal mes-
sage (albeit by a computer) accept-
able? How many of us have thought
of protesting? Frankenstein used to
be in the realms of fiction; today, are
we seeing the media expand into
areas that were undreamt of, just a
few decades ago?
The World Health Organisation
(WHO) recently came up with a
report condemning ‘screen addic-
tion’, so it is not just adults who are
victimised but also young impres-
sionable minds that become ready-
madetargetsforpromotionsvianew
media. One report even says that the
spread of social media was respon-
sible for the victory of the BJP in the
recent national elections. Unlike
conventional media, social media
do not get controlled by monitoring
mechanisms, and anyone is free to
send messages to hundreds, indeed
tens of thousands, of individuals,
known and unknown.
Supriya Sule, member of Parlia-
ment, has put up a petition (on
change.org), seeking the right to
‘switch off’. I can switch off my
mobile or computer, but when I
switch on, for legitimate work, the
unwanted, intrusive messages, still
pop up. We are trapped.
While composing a report on my
laptop, a box suddenly pops up.
‘Something I can do for you?’ it
says; I presume my hand acciden-
tally brushed against some key, for
that to happen. Itirritating and dis-
tracting, nonetheless.
<

D
emocracy opens up win-
dows of opportunities for
initiativestofacilitatework-
ers to attain their rights, as well as
the possibility of the spread of such
initiatives. This, in turn, strengthens
democracy and justice. In India,
several such efforts to help workers
(including porters, dock and port
workers, coal and iron ore miners)
have been a source of hope and
inspiration even though they can
never be completely successful, and
some problems persist while new
ones arise. One such effort is the
National Campaign Committee for
Construction Labour (NCC-CL).
Construction labour is the second
biggest segment of workers in India.
Some of the key activists involved
in the effort subsequently also took
up issues relating to other sections
of unorganised labour, including
domestic workers.
Almost 90 per cent of India’s
workforce does not have the benefit
of well-organised unions. While it
is important for trade unions to use
innovative methods to strengthen
the solidarity of unorganised
workers, it is equally important
for other civil society members,
such as lawyers, social activists,
voluntary organisations and con-
cerned citizens, to get together for
broad-based efforts to help various
sections of unorganised workers
obtain legal protection and rights.
Since 1985, NCC-CL has been
active in this regard. It started as a
loosely structured but determined
group of workers, social and legal
activists. Over the years, it has suc-
ceeded in obtaining the support,
and barring a few exceptions, active
participation of almost all national-
level trade unions as well as several
local unions, on crucial issues con-
cerning the welfare of construction
workers.
Before the creation of NCC-CL,
some localised efforts to assert
construction workers’ rights had
achieved reasonable success in
Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In Tamil
Nadu, the efforts were led by the
Tamil Manila Kattida Thozhila-
lar Sangam (TMKTS - The Tamil
Nadu State Construction Workers’
Union).
This was an independent trade
union not affiliated to any politi-
cal party or national trade union.
It consisted of local, district and
state-level units with elected rep-
resentatives at each level. Its efforts
played a notable role in the passing
of the Tamil Nadu Manual Workers
Act in 1982. In 1983 the Tamil Nadu
Government sought to introduce a
new legislation for construction
workers which fell much below the
expectation of the TMKTS and had
some undesirable features as well.
The TMKTS launched a state-wide
campaign against this legislation.
The experience gained at the state
level encouraged the TMKTS lead-
ership to make wider efforts at the
national level for legislation to meet
the needs of construction workers.
Earlier, the First National Commis-
sion of Labour as well as the Labour
Ministry’s Industrial Committee on
Building and Construction Industry
had emphasised the need for com-
prehensive legislation.
In1981, M. Kalyansundaram and
George Fernandes, two members
Rights of workers – huge gains
from small beginnings
Almost 90 per cent of India’s workforce does not have the benefit of well-organised unions. Bharat Dogra details the
tireless efforts of the National Campaign Committee for Construction Labour over the past 30-odd years to protect
the rights of the huge segment of construction workers
Photos:BD
On 7th February this year – a rally in Delhi protesting against the proposed labour
code.

of Parliament, introduced private
member bills relating to the wel-
fare of construction workers. The
former bill was withdrawn on an
assurance by the government that
it was contemplating a comprehen-
sive legislation on the subject. In
February 1985, the Labour Minis-
try constituted a Tripartite Working
Group (TWG) for the Building and
Construction Industry, consisting
of representatives of the Govern-
ment, builders’ associations and
trade unions.
In November 1985, thanks to
the initiative taken by the TMKTS
(particularly its leading activist
R. Geetha) and some other labour
and legal activists, a national semi-
nar on construction labour (with
special emphasis on legal protec-
tion) was organised at Delhi. PRIA,
CILAS and Legal Aid and Advice
Centre were among the bodies
which supported this effort. The
seminar brought together about 250
construction workers, trade union
activists, lawyers and jurists, vol-
untary organisations and govern-
ment officials to consider various
aspects of protective legislation for
construction labour.
The seminar concluded that the
existing legislations were both
inappropriate and inadequate to
meet the real needs of construc-
tion workers. It recommended that
a comprehensive draft legislation
be prepared, keeping in view the
real situation of the industry and
the real needs of the workers. It
was also agreed that a nationwide
campaign should be launched to
make this comprehensive legisla-
tion a reality and to mobilise con-
struction workers on this issue. The
realisation of the need for such a
campaign led to the immediate for-
mation of NCC-CL.
The committee was fortunate to
have from the outset as its chair-
person an outstanding public fig-
ure associated with many reforms
and campaign - Justice V.R. Krishna
Iyer, a retired Supreme Court judge.
Its convenor was R. Venkatramani,
a public-spirited lawyer, and Sub-
hash Bhatnagar, a leading trade
union and social activist, was the
coordinator.
Others in the core group who
played an important role for several
years included Justice P.S. Potti,
former chief justice of the Gujarat
High Court, T.S. Sankaran, former
additional secretary in the Ministry
of Labour, and well-known trade
union activists like D. Thankap-
pan, N.P. Swamy and R. Geetha. In
the next few years an increasingly
important co-ordinating role was
played by Nirmala Sundaram, who
left a deep and lasting impression
on the entire movement within a
short period till her she met an
untimely end in 1996, aged just 40
years.
NCC-CL’s first task was to pre-
pare a draft comprehensive legisla-
tion that would ensure the welfare
and social security of construction
workers. Construction workers
were closely involved in the draft-
ing of the legislation. Several work-
shops and seminars were organised
in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and
Bangalore. This effort benefited
from the experience relating to the
enactment of legislations for dock-
workers and headload workers.
Special care was taken to keep in
view the production process which
operates through a long chain of
contractors and subcontractors,
creating a lot of instability. As the
NCC-CL states in a summary, “The
NCC-CL bill asserts that construc-
tion workers can only be assured
social security and labour wel-
fare by substituting the existing
instability by a Tripartite Construc-
tion Labour Board consisting of
workers, employers and govern-
ment representatives. It would pro-
vide a minimum guaranteed wage
per month as well as determine and
provide appropriate conditions of
service, thus alleviating the mis-
ery of workers, which stems from
insecurity of employment and ram-
pant exploitation. The board would
collect a cess for its administrative
expenses and a welfare levy from
employers to fund social security
and labour welfare schemes. It
would also resolve relevant indus-
trial disputes.”
NCC-CL also made concerted
efforts to create a consensus on
main features of legislation among
representatives of various national
trade unions, using the forum of
TWG for the purpose.
On 5th December 1986, the draft
bill and scheme, signed by over four
lakh workers from all over the coun-
try, were submitted to the Petition
Committee of the Lok Sabha. Thou-
sands of workers wrote postcards
to the Prime Minister requesting an
early hearing. Finally, NCC-CL was
invited to present its demands and
evidence before the Petition Com-
mittee on 30th September, 1988.
Along with oral evidence, a num-
ber of significant documents were
also submitted.
Meanwhile, the government
introduced a bill in the Rajya Sabha
which had a title similar to the one
submitted by NCC-CL but which
fell woefully short of workers’
aspirations. NCC-CL now had a
new task on its hands. The serious
Pictures from earlier protests – the Nirman Mazdoor Panchayat Sangam organised a
one-day demonstration at the Main Labour Chowk of Haiderpur, North-West Delhi last
year to support the the Central Trade Union national strike.

shortcomings of the bill had to be
explained at many fora to many
people within a short time. It man-
aged to submit a well-argued cri-
tique of the government bill to the
Petition Committee.
On 25th July 1989, the Petition
Committee submitted its report to
the Lok Sabha. The report upheld
the stand of the NCC-CL and said:
“The committee recommends that
the bill pending in the Rajya Sabha
be withdrawn and a fresh compre-
hensive bill be introduced so as to
cater to the long felt demands of a
hitherto neglected segment of the
working class.”
What is more, the committee
expressed strong appreciation of
the work done by the NCC-CL,
saying it had “done considerable
useful work at the grassroots level
to organise the construction work-
ers with a view to enabling them
to demand central legislation as a
right to provide security of employ-
ment and other social welfare
measures.”
The Petitions Committee also
noted that “it would have been
appropriate if (NCC-CL) had also
been invited by the Ministry for
consultation and discussion on the
proposed legislation... Even now
the representatives of (NCC-CL)
which is headed by an eminent per-
son like Justice Krishna Iyer, may be
invited for an exchange of views on
the scope and objects of the Bill and
how these can be best attained.”
It went so far as to say that “it is
for the Government to ensure that
the legislation which is finally cre-
ated encompassed all the above
features to the extent practicable.”
Meanwhile, a new government
assumed power at the Centre and
agreed to withdraw the highly
inadequate government bill.
In March 1989 nearly one mil-
lion signatures had been collected
in support of NCC-CL’s demand
for comprehensive legislation. In
December 1991 a National Federa-
tion of Construction Labour was set
up, headquartered in Bangalore.
NCC-CL continued its efforts for
central legislation by organising
meetings and dharnas (protests), and
supporting organisations working
for legislation with the same spirit
in States like Kerala, Karnataka,
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and
Maharashtra.
In November 1995, two ordi-
nances on construction labour were
issued by the government. As these
fell short of the model draft bill pre-
pared by NCC-CL, the committee
once again had to take urgent steps
to prevent retrograde legislation.
NCC-CL worked hard to spread
awareness, particularly among MPs
and trade unions, about the gross
inadequacy of these ordinances to
meet the aspirations of construction
workers. This campaign helped
construction workers’ demands
find a place in the election manifes-
tos and programmes of some politi-
cal parties, including the Common
Minimum Programme of the United
Front.
On 26th February 1996, construc-
tion workers observed a nation-
wide Protest Day. In Delhi, the
day-long dharna organised by Nir-
man Mazdoor Panchayat Sangam
was joined by over 50 delegations
of construction workers (supported
by fish workers and other labour
groups) from various parts of the
country.
In July 1996, two bills on con-
struction workers were introduced
in Parliament. NCC-CL worked
hard to take the message of bet-
ter legislation to more and more
MPs and some of them supported
the suggestions in Parliamentary
debate. Some important amend-
ments were adopted, such as the
provision relating to cess collection
for the welfare of workers being
deposited with the Boards and not
with the Consolidated Fund. The
legislation which was eventually
passed was much better than the
originally introduced one, although
it still fell short of the aspirations
of the NCC-CL as reflected in its
model draft bill.
Two important pieces of central
legislation were then applicable
all over India – the Building and
Construction Workers (Regulation
of Employment and Conditions of
Service) Act, 1996 and the Building
and Other Construction Workers
Welfare Cess Act, 1996.
NCC-CL was of course quite
emphatic about the shortcomings of
this legislation. As Justice Krishna
Iyer wrote to the then Prime Min-
ister Deva Gowda, “...the construc-
tion welfare board has no powers of
enforcement. The bill does not pro-
vide for compulsory registration of
both the workers and the employ-
ers through the mechanism of the
board. Consequently, while the Act
aims to ameliorate the conditions of
the construction workers, it would
fail to achieve the object by the
reason of the absence of a suitable
enforcing body with powers. That
is why we say that the construc-
tion workers welfare board should
be instead a property constituted
board with the requisite power and
authority, with appropriate func-
tions for the purposeful enforce-
ment of law.”
NCC-CL has been working cease-
lessly to ensure proper implemen-
tation of the laws. There were long
delays and unsatisfactory imple-
mentation. On several occasions
legal action initiated by the NCC-CL
with the help of public-spirited
lawyers resulted in favorable deci-
sions from various courts, including
the Supreme Court. This took the
struggle for the rights of construc-
tion workers a step further.
On the whole, the implementa-
tion of the legislation is still far
from complete, but on the plus side,
a protective legislative framework
which can potentially benefit mil-
lions of workers is now available.
However, some new threats to this
legislation are emerging due to new
labour reforms and even GST- and
cess-related changes. Therefore,
NCC-CL has to be alert to defend
achieved gains while taking its
efforts forward.
<

T
hough India embarked on
economic liberalisation in
1991, the agrarian sector was
liberalised only in 2004 when more
than 400 agrarian commodities
were exposed to global competi-
tion. Food price volatility became a
perennial problem after that.
During 2014-2017, food prices
rose to record highs. Futures trad-
ing by hedge fund speculators and
commercialisation and corporati-
sation of food markets were found
to be the major culprits. Free play
of market forces is hampered and
needs corrective measures. Many
poor nations in Africa, Latin Amer-
ica and Asia have experienced food
riots in the neo-liberal context; the
political systems have abandoned
responsibility to ensure food sov-
ereignty as an agrarian policy and
food security to its toiling masses
through the public distribution
system.
Corruption and cronyism at
micro-meso and macro levels does
not allow the bottom layer of the
pyramid to afford higher food
prices. Food and nutrition security
for the poor is at stake. Macroeco-
nomic policies and political deci-
sions serving the vested interests of
big players have created food price
volatility.
Food security concerns
AccordingtotheWorldBank,33per
cent or 400 million, of the world’s
poor are in India. If India is able to
address food price volatility, it will
have major implications for global
food security and fulfillthe com-
mitment to the First Sustainable
Development Goal (UN SDG-1),
namely, Eradication of Extreme
Hunger and Poverty.
According to the 2011 Census
of India, more than two-thirds of
Indians live in rural areas and their
expenditure on food consumption
constitutes nearly half of the total
food consumption expenditure of
the Indian. Nearly 50 per cent of the
workforce is employed in agricul-
ture. The majority of them are agri-
cultural workers. Most cultivators
are small, marginal farmers and
poor peasants who own 1-3 acres
of land. There are no other oppor-
tunities for them to enhance their
income.In this context, it is very
important for the decision-makers
in the agricultural sector to contain
food inflation.
Concerns for food sovereignty
Each time prices of grain, pulses,
vegetables and milk shoot up,
either floods or drought are
blamed, while at the grassroots
level, farmers report bumper
crops. Corporate houses buy vege-
tables – tomatoes, potatoes, onions
and pulses – at throwaway prices.
International pressure through
the World Trade Organisation and
the General Agreement on Trade
and Tariff force poor countries
not to give farm subsidies such as
support price and lets the market
reign supreme without accepting
the fact that there is no perfect
competition.
Farmers have to resort to dis-
tress sale of their products, as in
the monopoly market, corporate
houses are price makers and farm-
ers are price takers. Thus, even after
improvement in the food produc-
tion, the situation has not improved.
Occasional tightening of exports of
pulses and sugar and liberalising
import of onions and fruits remain
symbolic gestures.
The concentration of food infla-
tion in India in a few commodity
groups such as vegetables, fruits,
milk, pulses and cereals and eggs-
fish-meat is marked by production
shocks and the government failing
to play a facilitator’s role in terms
of improving storage facilities,
introducing a rational procurement
policy, augmenting buffer stocks
and adjusting trade policy with
the production scenario. Sensitiv-
ity to farmers’ needs is very impor-
tant to prevent de-motivation and
consequent production shortfalls.
Trend analysis of inflation between
2009 and 2013 reveals that increase
in demand for pulses, milk, edible
oils, eggs-meat-fish and in the cost
of production are the major fac-
tors behind food inflation. In other
words, both demand and supply
factors are responsible for food
price volatility.
Price fluctuations in essential
commodities
Annual trends of price fluctuation
in essential commodities show that
different commodities were hit by
inflation in different years and that
Food price volatility wrecking
havoc on the poor
At a time when hunger, food and nutrition security of the population and food sovereignty itself are at
stake, Vibhuti Patel looks at the effects of agricultural liberalisation in India, the dynamics of the food
market, the double standards of the developed nations, the failure of the Doha round of Trade Talks,
and possible remedies. Developing social safety nets for the socio-economically marginalised and poor
famers as well as urban, rural and tribal consumers needs the combined and concerted efforts of state
and non-state players, she says

no single commodity showed uni-
formly high inflation. Currently,
food inflation is marked by price
rise in milk, cereals, vegetables,
meat, eggs, and fish. Tur dal contrib-
uted majorly to food price inflation.
Prices of edible oils were stable.
Intra-year price volatility in fruits
and vegetables and commodities
that have greater weightage in the
national consumption basket is wor-
risome. Supply side factors such as
quantum of production, wages and
support price for cereals need fixing
and both supply and demand fac-
tors responsible for price fluctua-
tions in pulses need to be addressed.
The price of eggs, meat, fish, milk,
and fruits and vegetables appear to
be driven mainly by demand.
The food price challenge is about
price volatility. It is the rapid and
unpredictable changes in food
prices that wreak havoc on factory-
labour and product markets, poli-
tics and social stability, rather than
long-term structural trends in food
prices that we can prepare for and
adjust to. It is important to accept
that volatility cuts both ways –
prices go up and down. The only
reason food prices are going up
so much this year is because they
came down so fast after reaching
2008 peaks. Both rapid increases
and rapid declines in food prices
can create problems.
Dynamics of food markets
Characteristics of food markets
determine food price volatility.
Both supply and demand curves
of food markets are highly inelas-
tic, and in the short run none of
them respond much to price varia-
tion. Shelf life of food products is
limited and there is seasonality.
Hence, small shocks in either sup-
ply or demand will result in large
price changes.
Today, we have many shocks:
supply shocks in important food
producing regions due to extreme
weather (droughts in Maharash-
tra and floods Bihar) and higher
cost of inputs (water, electricity,
fertilizer, pesticides and transport
linked to oil prices). Policy deci-
sions to increase bio-fuel content in
gasoline have resulted is volatility
in food prices.
In this situation, speculators enter
futures markets in a big way. They
make money out of understanding
the market dynamics and provid-
ing insurance against volatility.
They do not create the volatility
themselves, except under extraordi-
nary conditions such as man-made
or natural disasters. The volatility
inherent in the food marketplace
causes speculation, not the other
way around.
Remedial measures
So what is the way out? Unless the
link between food prices and oil
prices is broken, not much can be

achieved. The current global food
system worked well in a world of
cheap, stable energy prices which
allowed food to be grown in
concentrated locations and trans-
ported over huge distances to meet
demand. Volatility in oil-prices
results in volatility in food prices.
As a macro policy, the government
needs to promote more localised
and more diversified production
and consumption, less use of fertil-
izer, and less wastage (20 per cent
of all food gets spoiled in storage
and transport today).
To deal with urban and rural
hunger, community-managed food
banks must be created. Like France,
all nation states need to tell restau-
rants not to destroy unsold food
but deposit it in local food banks.
Farmers should be encouraged to
sell their products directly to cus-
tomers without any interference
by governments. At the same time,
investment in agricultural produc-
tion and infrastructure need to be
enhanced to address increasing
demand.
The technology to increase yields
is well-known but requires invest-
ments; large portions of agricultural
land in India are rain-fed and sub-
ject to the vagaries of the weather.
Mechanised tilling of the soil is
only done in green belt areas. India
needs a second Green Revolution.
Debt-ridden farmers’ suicides
have been a stark reality after lib-
eralisation of agriculture. Govern-
ments must make sure that rural
farmers get fair prices, while the
urban masses get affordable food.
Budgetary allocation for the pub-
lic distribution system must be
enhanced, and distribution chan-
nels must also be improved with
regard to quality of food, packaging
and storage. Local markets must be
protected against volatility in the
global price of food.
Rich countries are protecting the
interests of their farmers. America
subsidises almond farmers, Japan
subsidises rice farmers, France
subsidises grape farmers, Europe
subsidises dairy farmers, but at the
World Economic Forum the same
rich counties pressure poor nations
to withdraw farmers’ subsidies in
the name of stabilisation. India has
stood firm against these double
standards.
Global vs local economic realities
The current global economic sce-
nario does not give any single
country the incentive to liberalise
its agricultural trade so long as the
distortions of rich countries – and
the volatility in global markets
they encourage – remain. And this
brings us to the failure of the Doha
Round of Trade talks, even after
several years of negotiations. The
main bottleneck was the impasse
on agriculture policy. It shows that
the political will to take collective
action to reduce food price volatil-
ity is lacking; there is no trust that
the market will deliver access to
food better than a government.
Conclusion
Policy makers and politicians in
developing countries care more
about volatile food prices than
those in developed countries
because their citizens are more
directly affected by the ups-and-
downs of these costs. Hunger, food
and nutrition security of the popu-
lation and food sovereignty are at
stake. Today, affordable food is not
available for the poor. Studies have
shown that the poor are spending
more than 2/3rd of their income on
food. If food prices double, these
households will face the prospect
of starvation.
The solution? Safety nets of social
security and social protection for
the poor, to cushion the blow of
rapid changes in food prices. India
passed the Right to Food Act, 2013
that guarantees food and nutrition
security to all its citizens.
Good safety nets require effective
targeting. Who should be protected?
The children, especially the very
young, as there is ample evidence
that early childhood malnutrition
results in long-term deteriora-
tion of brain development. Hence,
India has universalised mid-day
meal schemes for children as well
as for pregnant and lactating moth-
ers. The Tamil Nadu Government
provides meals to destitute elderly
also. Building social safety nets in
India for sustained food security
for all is a worthy but long-term
project.
Major swings in food prices are
happening regularly and proving
to be highly destabilising for devel-
opment, poverty reduction and
social harmony. The solution lie in
three areas – improving food mar-
kets and agricultural production by
addressing demand and supply fac-
tors, building political will to inte-
grate food markets in such a way
that economic interests of famers
in poor countries are not compro-
mised, and judicious implementa-
tion of The National Food Security
Act, 2013 (also Right to Food Act),
which aims to provide subsidised
food grains to approximately two-
thirds of India’s 1.2 billion people.
Developing social safety nets in
India for the socio-economically
marginalised and poor famers as
well as urban, rural and tribal con-
sumers needs the combined and
concerted efforts of state and non-
state players.
(The writer is professor, Advanced
Centre for Women’s Studies, School of
Development Studies, Tata Institute
of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai.)
<
Photo:MSSRF
High time the government considered
farmers’ woes seriously.

I
ts 60 years now since Tibetans
started their struggle against
the communist regime of China
for their rights over language, tra-
dition and culture. On 10th March
1959, thousands of Tibetans came
out on to the streets in the pictur-
esque capital city of Lhasa, protest-
ing against Chinese occupation.
Tibetans barricaded the Potala
Palace, the iconic centre of Tibetan
Buddhism, where their supreme
leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, lived.
Soon, the uprising gained momen-
tum. The protesters demanded that
the Hun Chinese leave their land
but were met with harsh, repressive
measures by the People’s Libera-
tion Army of the Beijing adminis-
tration. The Dalai Lama, along with
thousands of his followers, left for
India and crossed into this country
in mid-April 1959. The then Indian
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
welcomed the Dalai Lama and over
90000 Tibetan exiles, offering them
political asylum. They were allowed
to stay in Dharamshala township of
Himachal Pradesh.
Soon after the Tibetan leader’s
arrival in India, an all-India Con-
vention on Tibet was held. Under
the leadership of legendary social-
ist Jayprakash Narayan, the con-
vention expressed unconditional
support, solidarity and friendship
to the Tibetan people. Today His
Holiness, the Dalai Lama, is only
the spiritual head of the Tibetan
people as he relinquished political
power in 2011. However, the Nobel
Laureate continues his non-violent
struggle for his people and hopes
for a dignified return to his seat in
Lhasa.
It may be recalled that the Bei-
jing Administration, which sees the
spiritual leader as a separatist agi-
tator, had rejected the demand for
genuine autonomy for the Tibet-
ans. Lobsang Sangay, president of
the Central Tibetan Administration
(formerly Tibetan Government-in-
exile), stresses that Tibet was never
a part of China. He said his organi-
sation is now pursuing a middle
approach to resolve the issue of
Tibet, with a view of minimising
the repression of Tibetans in their
own land.
Sikyong, as he is popularly
known, says that the middle path
was conceived by Parampawan
Dalai Lama. He feels it is a brilliant
strategy with the potential to bring
stability and peaceful co-existence
between the Tibetans and Hun
Chinese, based on equality, mutual
respect and co-operation.
A Hindi translation of Sangay’s
book titled, Tibet Was Never A
Part Of China But The Middle Way
Approach Remains A Visible Solu-
tion, was launched recently in
Dharamshala. Organised by Core
Group for Tibetan Cause (an apex
coordinating body of Tibet sup-
port groups in India) and facili-
tated by India Tibet Coordination
Office in New Delhi, the meeting
passed a Dharamshala Declara-
tion too.
In a recent interaction with the
author in Dharamshala, the Dalai
Lama he said: “Tibetans must get
their constitutional rights to safe-
guard and practise their language,
tradition and culture. The Beijing
administration should go for con-
stitutional amendments for pro-
viding genuine autonomy to the
Tibetan people.”
The 6th All India Tibet Support
Groups Conference held on June
15 and 16 proposed that the Dalai
Lama be given India’s highest
civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in
acknowledgement of his immense
contributions in creating goodwill
for the country and for being an
ambassador for the Indian values
of non-violence, compassion and
religious harmony in the world.
Rinchin Khandu Khrimey,
national convener of Core Group
for Tibetan Cause and a former
parliamentarian from Arunachal
Pradesh, said the Dalai Lama had
always considered India as the
land of his guru (spiritual guide)
as the country is steeped in the
Nalanda tradition of Buddhism. A
firm believer in the Gandhian phi-
losophy of non-violence, the Dalai
Lama has authored over 50 books
on different issues.
The Dharamshala Declaration,
read out to over 200 delegates,
called on New Delhi to prevail over
the People’s Republic of China for
a constructive negotiation with the
representatives of CTA for a sus-
tainable solutionto the Tibet issue.
It also appealed to the international
communitytosupporttheCTAinits
relentless quest for dignity, justice
VIEW FROM THE NORTHEAST
A struggle that’s been on for 60
years, and about press freedom
There is a view gaining ground that the Dalai Lama should be given the chance to return to his seat
in Potala with dignity during his lifetime, says Nava Thakuria. The people of the Northeastern States
would also like His Holiness to make his return journey to Lhasa along the same route across the
Arunachal border that he had chosen to enter the country 60 years back, he points out

and peace for millions of Tibetans
(inside and outside Tibet).
The declaration strongly con-
demned the Chinese Govern-
ment for its systematic violations
of human rights in Tibet and
expressed concern over the mili-
tarisation of the Tibetan Region,
as it threatens the peace of the
Sub-continent. It demanded that
the Tibetans be allowed complete
freedom in matters of language
and religion.
Various speakers at the meeting
also expressed grave concern over
the relentless exploitation of natu-
ral resources in Tibet, which is a
huge source of fresh water. They
apprehended that the disturbances
in the Tibetan plateau might have
severe ecological implications in
various neighbouring countries
like India, Bangladesh, Myanmar
and Thailand.
Meanwhile, there is a view gain-
ing ground that the Dalai Lama
should be given the chance to
return to his seat in Potala with
dignity during his lifetime. The
people of the Northeastern States
would also like His Holiness to
make his return journey to Lhasa
along the same route across the
Arunachal border that he had cho-
sen to enter the country 60 years
back.
India ranks 140 in World Media
Freedom Index
After years of poor showing in the
area of safety of journalists, India
has slightly improved its statistics,
with only two murders of scribes
being reported in the first six months
of this year, as against the six killed
last year.
Anand Narayan and Chakresh
Jain were the two journalists who
lost their lives so far in 2019. Both
fell to assailants in June. Narayan
(38) was murdered at his residence
in the Antop Hill locality of Mum-
bai on June 4, while Jain (40) was
burnt to death in Madhya Pradesh
on June 19.
In the latest World Media Free-
dom Index, published by the Paris-
based Reporters sans Frontieres/
Reporters without Borders, Norway
tops the list of countries with admi-
rable media freedom, followed by
Finland, Sweden, The Netherlands,
Denmark, Switzerland, New Zea-
land, Jamaica and Belgium. On the
other hand, Vietnam, China, North
Korea and Turkmenistan continue

to be at the bottom of the list, placed
at 176, 177, 179 and 180, respec-
tively. India is ranked 140.
RSF says the number of countries
regarded as safe, where journal-
ists can work in complete security,
continues to decline, as authoritar-
ian regimes have tightened their
grip on the media. Journalists have
to work against totalitarian propa-
ganda, censorship, intimidation,
physical violence and cyber-harass-
ment across the world.
With mainstream journalism
going increasingly online and the
advent of alternative media, newer
threats are rising up, observed
Daniel Bastard of the RSF. “We
are now seeing online harass-
ment of journalists by troll armies,
dissemination of false information,
and hate speeches calling for kill-
ing of journalists whose work dis-
pleases those in power and their
supporters”, he noted.
“Violence against journalists,
including police violence, attacks
by Maoist fighters and reprisals
by criminal groups or corrupt
politicians, is one of the most strik-
ing characteristics of the current
state of press freedom in India. Kill-
ing of journalists in connection with
their works indicates many dangers
that journalists often face, especially
those working for regional media
outlets in rural India,” Daniel said.
Speaking to this writer recently
from Paris, Daniel, who heads
RSF’s South Asian desk, added that
other worrying trends that need to
be addressed in the Indian sub-con-
tinent include the high level of cen-
sorship and self-censorship, lack of
pluralism in certain countries and
political affiliation of media group
owners.
(The author is a senior journalist
and political commentator based in
the Northeast. He is secretary of the
Guwahati Press Club.)
<
Programme to support local journalism in Europe
WAN-IFRA is launching a European news transformation and coaching programme for regional and local news
publishers, in partnership with the Google News Initiative. Publishers are invited to apply now.
Table Stakes Europe (www.tablestakes-europe.org) uses a performance challenge as the basis for participating
news publishers to identify and close shortfalls in their core digital capabilities (the so-called ‘table stakes’, an
expression for the money needed to have a seat at the take in a poker game).
The programme comes from the US where publishers like The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dallas Morning News,
Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, and Minneapolis Star Tribune were among the first news organisations
to experiment with the methodology. A year later, these organisations had learned and developed skills and
capabilities improved not only their journalism but also their economics. Since these first results, more than seventy
news organisations have now worked through the programme over three years.
“Most change efforts fail because they violate a core principle: Performance results are the primary objective
of change, not change activities. Instead of falling into the change-for-the-sake-of-change trap, participants will
identify and commit to success against a performance challenge that meets the Programme’s objectives” explains
Doug Smith, WAN-IFRA associate consultant and architect of the programme.
Announced in Glasgow, Scotland during the World News Media Congress, and funded by GNI in its first year
in Europe, the programme will provide an opportunity for a dozen or so local and regional news enterprises to
identify and make significant progress in addressing their biggest current challenges. The Table Stakes manual
is for local news organisations, identifying what’s required to play and win the game of news in the 21st Century.
The Programme builds upon the successful track record of an initiative funded initially by Knight Foundation
and the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, and developed with major metropolitan daily news organisations in
the US. It is meant to accelerate journalism’s shift to digital from print, help newsrooms evolve their practices,
reach new audiences and better engage their communities. Seven common themes have emerged to tie together
the granular, specific table stakes for core work, workflow, roles, skills, technology, tools, organisation and
culture. All are predicated on the belief that putting the audience at the center is the only and best way to deliver
value.
The deadline for application to the programme is 1st September 2019. The programme will begin in October
2019 and will run for about 12 months.
<

K
eshav Gangadhar Tilak,
popularly known as Bal
Gangadhar Tilak co-
founded two of the most prominent
newspapers in Maharashtra – the
Kesari (The Lion) in Marathi and
The Mahratta in English – in asso-
ciation with Gopal Agarkar and
Vishnushastri Chiplunkar, both
noted figures in the Indian Free-
dom Movement. Agarkar left Kes-
ari in 1887 to start his own news
paper, Sudharak (The Reformer),
after which Tilak continued to run
the paper on his own.
Tilak used his newspapers for
three main purposes other than dis-
semination of news. First, to bring
to light the injustices meted out
by the alien rulers and insensitive
administration. In the first issue of
Kesari, the Marathi weekly, which
was founded in 1881, he wrote:
“Just as street lights and rounds of
police constables bring to light any-
thing wrong or unjust happening
on the roads in the dark, the edito-
rial pen brings to light the injustices
and wrongs of the administra-
tion.” In fact the editorials of Kesari
were generally about the suffer-
ing of the people under the British
administration.
Second, to form public opinion.
During the trial of a sedition case
against him in 1908 for the strong
articles that he wrote in Kesari, he
argued in the court that it is the
duty of a newspaper to form pub-
lic opinion.Tilak as an editor often
used to call people to fight for his
or her rights.
Third, to propagate rational
thought. Often, his thoughts were
not in sync with the popular sen-
timent. He believed newspapers
should follow rational thinking.
In 1908, Khudiram Bose, a young
revolutionary from Medinipur,
Bengal, threw a bomb on an English
officer but it missed the target and
fell on the car in which two English
women were travelling and killed
them in the blast. The government
was enraged and took recource to
severe suppressive measures.
In his editorial published in
Kesari, Tilak expressed his dislike
towards such terrorist activity but
argued that the government’s sup-
pression policy was responsible for
building up such radical attitudes.
Five strong articles against the gov-
ernment were published in Kesari in
connection with the bomb blast and
Tilak was arrested on 24 June 1908
for sedition.
Tilak, however, was a fearless edi-
tor. He continued writing what he
thought was right despite severe
coercive action by the alien rulers.
He constantly wrote against the
malpractices of the administration,
their omissions and commissions.
In 1896-97, there was a severe fam-
ine in Maharashtra and people had
no food to eat. Tilak wrote an article
in Kesari and brought it to the notice
of the British Government what its
duties were under the Famine Relief
Code. He also warned the officers
who were trying to throttle the rights
of the citizens and made an appeal
to the people to fight for justice.
Tilak argued and advocated for
greater power in the hands of the
Indians. He always backed his
arguments against British rule with
information from important gov-
ernment reports or parliamentary
debates in London. As an editor, he
had on several occasions difference
of opinions with the senior Con-
gress leaders and social thinkers
and reformers. But he stuck to his
line of thinking.
Tilak was born in the Ratnagiri
District in Maharashtra on July 22,
1856. His father Gangadhar Shastri
was a Sanskrit scholar of repute and
a school teacher. His family soon
moved to Pune, where Tilak pur-
sued most of his education.
Tilak was amongst one of the first
generations of Indians to receive a
college education. He obtained his
matriculation in 1872. He was a bril-
liant student, with a special interest
in Mathematics, which he eventu-
ally taught as a schoolteacher. He
continued his higher education at
Deccan College in Pune where, in
1877, he earned first class Bachelor
of Arts degrees in Mathematics and
Sanskrit. In 1879, he obtained his
LLB degree from Government Law
College, University of Mumbai.
Despite being a vocal critic of the
English education system, Tilak
emphasised the importance of
good education and higher studies
among the youth of India. After his
studies, he turned down lucrative
job offers in the colonial govern-
ment and started out as a school-
teacher and gradually became an
GREAT INDIAN EDITORS
A brave publisher who fought
on behalf of the people
The British administrators used to call him ‘Father of Indian unrest’. Jawaharlal Nehru called him
‘Father of the Indian revolution.’ It was Bal Gangadhar Tilak who for the first time used the newspapers
consistently for the cause of social and political uprising in India, a feat ably carried forward by Mahatma
Gandhi later. Mrinal Chatterjee on Tilak’s life and times

advocate of modern education
among Indians. With this purpose,
he founded the Deccan Education
Society in 1884, along with other
like-minded Marathi educationists.
The Society established the Fergus-
son College (1885) and the New
English School in Pune.
Tilak chose to devote himself
to the larger cause of India’s free-
dom struggle and national awak-
ening. He realised the importance
of women education and women
empowerment in society and
worked throughout his life to pop-
ularise these ideas, both as a social
activist and journalist. Although
Tilak personally disapproved early
marriage, he opposed the 1891
Age of Consent Bill and termed it
a dangerous precedent, interfering
with Hinduism. The act proposed
to raise the minimum legal age for
girl’s marriage from 10 to 12 years.
One of the tools Tilak used to
propagate the cause of social
reform was the press. Like many
of his predecessors like Raja Ram
Mohun Roy, Tilak used the news-
paper to criticise the existing social
evils and the tyranny of the Brit-
ish Raj. Thanks to the publications,
Tilak became immensely popular
for his bitter criticisms of the colo-
nial rulers. He was also critical of
many moderate nationalists who
favoured social reforms along
Western lines and political reforms
along constitutional lines.
Gokhale had started to present his
views that the movement started by
the Congress should be as per the
charter. Tilak did not agree with
his views. In an article ‘Sanadshir
or Kayadeshir (As per the charter or
legal)’, he refuted Gokhale’s views
as follows: “Britain has not set any
charter of rights to Hindustan;
therefore, it would be ridiculous to
say that the movement should be
conducted as per the charter. Hin-
dustan is governed as per the laws
made by the British. The question,
therefore, remains is whether the
movement is legal or not. When
there is alienation of law and mor-
als, if need be, one should break the
laws to follow the morals and qui-
etly accept whatever punishment is
given for the same.”
In1896,whentheentirenationwas
gripped by the famine and plague,
the British Government declared
that there was no cause for anxiety.
The government also rejected the
need to start a famine relief fund.
The attitude of the government was
severely criticised by both the news-
papers. Tilak ruthlessly published
reports about the devastation caused
by starvation and plague and gov-
ernment’s absolute utter irresponsi-
bility and lack of concern.
Meanwhile, a British officer was
murdered by some miscreants and
the administration blamed Tilak’s
“provoking writings” for it. Tilak
was accused of prompting to mur-
der and sentenced to a year and a
half imprisonment. The trial and
sentence made him quite popu-
lar among the Indian mass which
started calling him Lokamanya
(beloved leader of the people).
After being released from prison
in present-day Mumbai, Tilak
was adored as a national hero. He
adopted a new slogan to convey
his message to the common people,
“Swaraj (self-rule) is my birthright
and I shall have it.” Gradually, Tilak
devoted more time and energy in
political activities than in journal-
ism. But he continued to write and
propagate his views.
Tilak began his political career
by joining the Indian National
Congress in 1890. During the time,
he was at loggerheads with many
moderate leaders of the party. He
considered the constitutional agita-
tion against the British futile, thus
making him stand against promi-
nent moderate leaders like Gopal
Krishna Gokhale. Gokhale believed
that the right course for India for
self-government was to adopt con-
stitutional means and cooperate
with the British Government.
On the contrary, Tilak’s messages
were protest, boycott and agitation.
Tilak found his own share of allies
in fellow extremist leaders like
Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal and
Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab. The trio
was referred to as the Lal-Bal-Pal.
Meanwhile, in the 1907 session of
the Indian National Congress, a
massive conflict broke out between
the moderate and extremist fac-
tions of the party, splitting it into
two factions. Though Gokhale and
Tilak differed in their ideologies for
attaining freedom, they had great
respect for each other’s patriotism,
intelligence, work and sacrifice.
When Gokhale died, Tilak wrote an
editorial in Kesari and paid a glow-
ing tribute to Gokhale.
In 1908, an assassination attempt of
a British officer went awry, leading
Tilak’s editorials in Kesari were blunt
and bold.
Photos:MC
No better recognition than appearing on
an Indian postage stamp.

to the death of two women. Two
Bengali youths were found guilty,
whom Tilak defended through his
papers. The British took advantage
of this and the rift in the INC, and
sentenced him to a six-year prison
sentence and deported him to Man-
dalay in Burma.
It was the time when Tilak set-
tled down to compose his mag-
num opus, the Śrīmad Bhagavadgitā
Rahasya (Secret of the Bhagavadg-
ita) — otherwise known as Bhaga-
vad Gita or Gita Rahasya, a unique
work of the most-hallowed book of
the Hindus. He also wrote The Arc-
tic Home in the Vedas in 1903, where
he argued that the Vedas could only
have been composed in the Arctic,
and the Aryans might have brought
them south after the beginning of
the last Ice Age.
After his release in 1914, on the
eve of the First World War, Tilak
once more plunged into politics. He
launched the All India Home Rule
League, along with Annie Besant
and Mohammed Ali Jinnah. After
years of trying to reunite the mod-
erate and radical factions, he gave
up and focused on the Home Rule
League, which sought self-rule.
In 1918, Tilak visited England
as leader of the Indian Home Rule
League. He realised that the Labour
Party was a growing force in Brit-
ish politics, and he established firm
relationships with its leaders. His
foresight was proved to be fruitful
when a Labour Government, led
by Clement Richard Attlee, granted
independence to India in 1947.
In 1919, the year of the Jallian-
wala Bagh genocide, his health had
declined a great deal. By mid-July
1920, his condition worsened and
on August 1, he breathed his last.
Tilak used to tell his collegues in
Kesari and Mahratta, “You are not
writing for the university students.
Imagine you are talking to a vil-
lager. Be sure of your facts. Let your
words be as clear as daylight.”After
almost hundred years of his death-
his words are still relevant.
(The author presently heads the
Eastern India campus of the Indian
Institute of Mass Communication
in Dhenkanal, Odisha. This is the
tenth in a series of profiles of great
Indian newspaper editors who have,
through the course of their work and
career, made a signal contribution
to India’s Freedom Movement, to
the development of society and to
the development of Journalism. This
article was written in association with
Hrusikesh Mishra.)
<
Gandhian Peace March to cover 17 countries in a
year before ending in Geneva
A Gandhian Peace March will start from Delhi on October 2 this year from Raj Ghat, Delhi. It will cover ten
thousand kms in 17 countries before ending at Geneva on 25 September, International Peace Day, in 2020. This
march called Jai Jagat is part of a wider movement of world peace of the same name, based on Gandhiji’s ideas
for bringing peace to a deeply troubled world.
Jai Jagat is a greeting regularly used by Gandhians and members of the Sarvodaya Movement. Literally, it
translates as Victory of All in the World, or more properly as Well-Being of All in the World. The message it
seeks to convey really is ‘peace to all in the world’. The greeting, and the movement built on it , emphasises the
universe as family principle and, hence, moves away from narrow nationalism. As the need for world cooperation
is increasing to resolve the survival problems which affect all people in the world, the importance of the Jai Jagat
thinking increases more than ever before.
The march and movement also commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba
Gandhi.
P.V. Rajagopal, who has led the various organisations of Ekta Parishad in India for several years, is the overall
coordinator of the Jai Jagat March and the wider movement. Ekta Parishad has been deeply involved in struggles
of landless people and small farmers, with a special focus on tribal communities.
As preparations are being made for the big march, the organisers have appealed for economic support and
volunteers. Several organisations and eminent persons in India, Europe, Canada and other countries have extended
support. As a part of the preparatory work, ahimsa or non-violence training sessions are also being organised in
several countries.
Bharat Dogra, New Delhi
<

I
t all began during Warren Hast-
ings’ second trip to Madras in
1769 to take up a job with the
East India Company. Aboard The
Duke of Grafton on which Hastings
was travelling, there was a young
couple, Baron Karl von Imhoff
and his wife, Maria Chapuset. The
Baron was a painter, and Maria,
an attractive 22-year-old, was a
woman of wit and intelligence. The
combination appealed to the wid-
ower, Hastings.
A poor sailor, Hastings became
progressively ill during the long
nine-month voyage. Maria nursed
him through it all. Her intelligent
conversation during the time led
to Maria Imhoff becoming Warren
Hastings’ official hostess aboard
the ship.
Once in Madras, Hastings not
only set up house for the Imhoffs
but also moved close to them. After
ten months in Madras and painting
half the settlement, Imhoff wanted
to try his luck in Calcutta – and
the Council agreed. But Imhoff
left his wife and son behind and
Hastings visited them regularly
till Maria sailed for Calcutta to join
her husband in October 1771. His
affair with Maria might have died
a natural death but for the develop-
ment that was to change his whole
life. He was appointed Governor of
Bengal.
By February 1772, Hastings
was installed in Council House,
Calcutta, to begin the most glori-
ous years of his career. He regu-
larly visited his small property in
Alipore, near which the Imhoffs
lived. It wasn’t long before the
Imhoffs were once again supported
by Hastings and all Calcutta was
not only agog at the goings-on but
also rife with rumours of bargains
that the Baron and Governor were
trying to strike. Whatever the truth
behind the rumours, Calcutta had
no doubt about the relationship
between the Governor-General-
designate, the first to hold that
post in India, and the fashionable
Baroness whose quaint English
was so charming
Official news finally reached Cal-
cutta in 1777 that the Baron, who
had been summoned to England
by the Company, had been granted
a divorce in June 1775 on grounds
of incompatibility and being “an
abandoned conjugal mate”. Then
Warren Hastings surprised all Cal-
cutta by marrying, on August 8,
1777, Anna Maria Appolonia Cha-
puset, the bride being given away
by his former schoolmate and the
then Chief Justice Sir Elijah Impey.
The Governor-General soon
presented to Calcutta society, at a
reception, Britain’s first First Lady
of India, whom all Calcutta thereaf-
ter called his ‘governess’. “Beloved
Marian” not only held his heart in
thrall, but also had a “fixed ascen-
dancy over his mind”. To please
Marian was to gain the favour of the
Governor-General. But the expres-
sion of favour on several occasions
bordered on gross misuse of office.
The rumours about the corruption
indulged in by Maria would have
remained behind closed doors but
for the crusading zeal of a man who
may be considered modern India’s
first journalist, a wild Irishman
seeking fame and fortune – James
Augustus Hicky, the founder of
India’s first newspaper, the Bengal
Gazette, in 1780.
This is the story of Hicky’s early
years, of the forces that he came up
against, how the corrupt authori-
ties determined to stop him and his
resourcefulness. The product of five
years of research by Andrew Otis in
the archives of India, UK and Ger-
many, Hicky’s Bengal Gazette: The
Untold Story of India’s First Newspa-
per is an essential and compelling
addition to the history of journal-
ism in the Subcontinent.
*************************
After tiring of several jobs in Eng-
land, Hicky decided to try his luck
in India. He reached Calcutta in
February 1773. His first job was
to prescribe medicines, attend
to bleeding patients and remov-
ing abscesses. Later, he borrowed
money to begin a business, pur-
chasing a small vessel to trade along
the coast of India between Calcutta
and Madras. Unfortunately, vessel
and cargo were badly damaged in
bad weather and he was in deep
trouble, unable to return the loan
taken from bankers. And on 20th
October, 1776, he entered jail as a
debtor.
The bankers had seized every-
thing Hickey had – his ship, his
James Augustus Hicky and the
romance of India’s first paper
James Augustus Hicky’s Bengal Gazette, the first newspaper in Asia, was first published on 29th
January, 1780. Hickey was aware of the dangers of printing a newspaper. In his early life in London’s
printing industry, he had seen journalists punished and jailed. He resolved to avoid party politics and
scandal that had spelt doom for so many journalists. He expressed a level of social consciousness that
was well ahead of his time. R.V. Rajan unravels a fascinating story

house, even his furniture. Fortu-
nately, an amount of Rs 2000 he had
given to a trusted friend helped him
put the skills in printing that he had
learned earlier to good use.
Hicky began working from his
hut in the jail, printing handbills,
advertisements, almanacs, docu-
ments for the Supreme Court and
even insurance forms. After many
long months, he scraped together
a few hundred rupees, enough to
order a set of printing supplies from
England. William Hicky, a law-
yer in the Supreme Court, helped
Hicky win his cases and get rid
of all his debts, setting him free to
begin a business that would launch
him into prosperity.
While still in jail, Hicky had
got a contract with the East India
Company to print bills for the
Army, etc. It was his first con-
tract with the Company. He was
the only printer in Calcutta at the
time. Armed with this experience,
he approached Sir Eyre Coote, the
commander-in chief of the Com-
pany Army, for printing the new
regulations which Coote hoped
would lay the foundation for the
Army’s Code of Conduct for years
to come.
For Hicky, it was a huge order.
He borrowed money for the proj-
ect, hired assistants for the print-
ing line, carpenters, blacksmiths
and brass men to make equip-
ment. But unfortunately, Coote
left Calcutta after giving him
the project. Since it was given to
him without the knowledge of
Governor General Warren Hast-
ings, he found himself in trouble.
Many officers were opposed to
the printing of new regulations.
They stymied him at every turn.
He began to think of other ways
to make money. He felt that he
could be much more than a job
printer, someone who could pro-
vide society with a useful service.
He thought he could do this by
bringing out a newspaper.
Hicky spent the next few days
posting notices all over the city
about the launch of his newspaper.
He promised to revolutionise news
reporting in India and act as a
community bulletin board, where
everyone could post and reply to
advertisements. His proposal came
at a perfect time as news was in
great demand in Calcutta because
of the ongoing wars in three conti-
nents which had disrupted trade.
As the first journalist in India, he
would have a monopoly over news
and he could expect many subscrib-
ers among hundreds of European
officers and thousands of British
soldiers.
Hicky was aware of the dangers
of printing a newspaper. In his early
life in London’s printing industry
he had seen journalists punished
and jailed for what they published.
He resolved to avoid party politics
and scandal that had spelt doom
for so many other journalists. In
his proposal for his newspaper he
promised “rigid adherence to truth
and facts” and a commitment to not
print anything that could “possibly
convey the smallest offence to any
single individual”.
Hicky’s Bengal Gazette, the first
newspaper in Asia, was first pub-
lished on 29th January, 1780. But
Hicky soon realised that his promise
to stay away from politics would be
harder to keep than to make.
*************************
Hicky’s Bengal Gazette became a
sensation within a few weeks of its
launch. “As a novelty every person
read it and was delighted,” wrote
the lawyer, William Hicky. People
were happy to have a newspaper.
Printed on Saturdays, each issue
had four pages and cost one rupee,
similar in price to newspapers in
England at the time. Hicky dedi-
cated the first two or three pages
to news and opinion letters, with
the remainder being for advertise-
ments. He saw his newspaper as a
forum where people of many back-
grounds could voice ideas for bet-
terment of society. As promised, he
avoided politics.
As Hicky ventured into more
topics, he touched upon the role
that women should fill in society.
He was also unusual for his times,
reporting on the poor and lower
classes. He expressed a level of
social consciousness that was well
ahead of his time. Sometimes, he
went a step further. His support of
the poor would turn into criticism
of the rich.
(The writer, former chairman,
Anugrah Madison Advertising, has
authored a few books post-retirement.
This is the first of a two-part series.)
<
L-r: Hicky’s Bengal Gazette, Warren Hastings, and Maria Chapuset.
Photos:MadrasMusings

Prof. Vibhuti Patel Food Price Volatility in India, Vidura July-September 2019

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