National Debates on Farmer Suicides: Live Broadcast of Farmer Suicides, Rallies and briefing by political leaders to nations

"A farmer hanged himself in front of 24 x 7 media in a political rally, while a state CM, national media TV and Print, police officials etc. had a decent watch of the process. Evening shows packaged with who should be responsible for the farmer live lost in front of everybody. An enquiry is being conducted and wittness gathered to prove that he committed suicide."

In the post independence India, this kind of incidents are not only shameful but criminal neglect by everybody. The ignorance and indifference of the leaders and political class is very hightned in this incident. The statements by hon. Home Minister and later by PM to condone the incidents may not be enough. The ownership of the people are taken over by them, have become masters to distribute the doles to the poor farmers. The systems have failed to respond in the natural disasters, whats the role of political class in realeasing the funds for the affected farmers. There was huge funds, and legal systems enacted to respond to the disasters, yet none of the state government reacted properly, the hypothetical assumption of the power by them raised concerns about the decisions to be taken by the political class.

The farmers who lost the crops must not be at the mercy of the political leaders, but the systems made to provided immediate relief have failed measirably, we are yet to get quick assessment despite the modern satellite technology to assess the damage. The numerable man power available at the disposal of the district governments could have been used to assess the losses and damages. Yet even after 45 days people have no idea how much compensation they can claim or get. The linkages of bank accounts, aadhar cards and other systems have also not helped in quick transfer of money /financial assistance. The issues are being rallied between the state and central government, who should act fast, why it takes months to assess.

While the nation watched the recent suicide of the farmer live 24 hours the pain of the citizen is very much in forefront. The politics of the national disasters must avoid the system to be enacted for the disaster management. We are so week that the political leaders take their own time and political situation to encash the dole transfer. We must not take these lightly, the world would look at us in peity.

I hope we must strengthen our systems to upgrade the disaster management in the manner as designed in the governance system. Empower the local bodies to take action, and provide necessary relief on time. 

DECENTRALISED PLANNING – RHETORIC VS. REALITY: ANIRBAN SHETH

Excellent article regarding the decentralised planning in West Bengal. The efforts are good to incorporate the policies as well as ground level realities in the state. The planning framework in the country must understake steps to realise the dreams for the success of grass root democracy.
Here is the link for you...

https://expldev.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/decentralised-planning-rhetoric-vs-reality-anirban-sheth/

Urban Development: India 5000 v/s 100 cities

The government of India with new leader in place looks for creating 100 cities down the line for the sake of investment. The projected growth of population for the urban India stands 500 million plus in next decade. The existing 5000 plus large, medium and small towns are vying for the investment. Except 68 JnNURM cities and 140 medium size town the country did not see much of investment in rest of the towns and cities. The current population of urban India has more than 70 percent population residing in little more than 150 one lac plus towns. These towns except the metropolitan cities have very shabby infrastructure and poor connectivity. There is lack of housing, infrastructure and transportation the key drivers for the city growth. The million plus cities are readied with metro, mass transit and expanded housing sector for the population, but the reality market has not picked up since most of the expected consumers in the cities vanished during last 5 years. The empty housing stock (mostly priced high) remains the concerns for the developers who are further looking to offer the houses to the needy at reasonable prices.

The thought for the new cities might have been emerged from the multi-national investors who may not be looking for the existing cities for the key investment in infrastructure but may offer investment in new destinations. These new areas are triggered by the industrial investments, express highways and rail/road corridors. The proposed 100 towns are expected to emerge from the thin air without any serious recommendation from the Urban Development ministry itself. The government so much guided by the industrial lobby (not known) that they have given go ahead with allocation of funds for looking at it. The existing towns though trying hard to improve did not find much support from the state governments often look for the central push for the reform (which did not come during first phase of renewal mission). The small and medium where the industrial have been trying to investment owing to its proximity to large urban centres needs serious look for the infrastructure investment often face poor treatment from the decision makers.

The oversized Delhi, Mumbai , Kolkata, Chennai and other select class I towns gets more funds since it remains the power centre in most of the states. Let it be but there is need to invest in second rug towns instead for looking at fresh 100 towns. Who is going to populate the towns, why do we need this approach and why neglect the existing town? etc would be questions asked. Even after six decades we still need a well guided urban policies, the lights emerging from the urban areas of China has been source of inspiration from many of our policy makers but they seldom see the neglect of hinterland and controlled population. The country needs a serious look on its approach at the cities.

The political differences, industrial investments and lobbying by the industrial houses have directed the recent policy shift towards the 100 new towns but we have to set the methodology to improve the delivery of services.  

Minimum government, Maximum Governance

The concept of  'good governance' has reached to a political tone lead by a political party since last 5 years, after 2008 when they realized the importance of unnecessary expenditure by government. The smart governance does not mean doing away with conventional method of governance. The structure remain same, whereas the networks between the offices are improved in order to increase the efficiency. This may not limited to any one state in India, the e-governance change lead by the Government of India, with National Informatics Centre helping the state to have 'e' ready infrastructure in place to have minimum goverment, for the people. The setting up of information kiosks, information centres, service centers by the authorities for the citizens in an approach not limited to a state. There are many state who has pioneering the idea of minimum government including, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. The learning from each other is done by the central departments, state departments and e ready organisations to provide the necessary service. There is nothing new in the ideas however the implementation in the smaller states have been better with quick outreach to the maximum citizens. The larger states where the internet penetration is low, the idea of minimum government and maximum governance has not yeilded the desired result.

The citizens needs to take the services with the new hope when the government reaches to them via their mobile phones, where e-services in at the door steps of the people. The governments through their efforts can reach to the citizens, and no state in India is left in these approach, only the time and money required to understake the project varies. The national agencies like NRSC, BSNL & DOT, revenue departments, NIC etc has done tremendous job to reach to the citizens, however the lack of interest at the grass roots have hamphered the programs. These might be due to lack of e-readiness of the people and often lack of trained manpower at the village levels. There are many changes required at the grass root level which are already covered under the national programs but poorly implemented at the state to make effective governance.

The lack of understanding of the concept by people who might tag themselves to an activity in a state is not always right, the national policy are in place since 2006, to workout a reform in the governments to improve the governance across the nation. Some states have lead the change in one sector, while others may have done better in another, but there is no doubt the people needs to be connected to the information segment and to be made available with required information. The technology penetration is weak in the governments decision making where the changes in information technologies are not treated well because of the politicians and persons loosing power to control the same. The easy access to information and rights would bring significant change at grassroots often bringing true era of 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance'. 

When Development is tagged to political parties...

Its good that development as a topic of discussion  takes a central stage in political discourses. But the most important thing which can be noted that the governments in its nomenclature is also termed out to be X parties government. When in democracy we adopted by naming a central and state govt. by parties. The political parties have a limited role to play in decision making exercise, which are supposed to be outcome of extensive research on the policy research, its impact and monitoring. 'Development' which till recently world over is thought about a serious exercise which does not mean going by party line (which often is not an outcome of well researched agenda) but by analysis of the data given through national or state level surveys. During the discourse we are into the position of easily projecting an development ideologies which stands on the political ideology and of course which totally differs from the theoretical bases. The schemes which can be objectively targeted at the development needs of the people emerges to be treating to the political needs of the parties.

The good research output suggestive of a policy which might be emerging from the burning of night oil by the numerous support staff (you may call them researches) often turning to be night mare to convince the political bosses. How on earth development issues can be limited to political parties without institutional backup. Are parties suppose to run a parallel institutional network? Or the institutions also become politicised to give feed accordingly to the political class. The individuals in the recent political arena tries to make the policies based on the their believes which in most of the cases are poorly analysed by themselves. The polarisation of the parties in the national issues is also resulting in the policy polarisaiton on the party lines. To some extent these are good to understand the good and bad outcome expected of the decisions taken by a political leaders. But do we essentially mean to say that the system is not in place to find the problems, discuss with people for verification and solutions. Development to wide spectrum of people means illusion created by the political masters. The populism of the policy depends more on the freebies which in long run may not be fruitful.

There is little doubt about the political parties in asserting their wish to the policy makers, when they themselves become the policy makers by not just discussing it among themselves also creating a no question mode for the people, the problem of acceptance arises. The serious development analysis in these scenarios take a back seat. The state governments now if seen from the political perspectives may stand in front of central governments in accepting the major political decisions or even rediculing the central decisions. Same in the case of the grass root democratic setup a situation of distress arises when the basic policy intentions and guidelines are violated. We are in a situation when more we look into the problems we try to find the quick answers which are of course short lived. Certain conflict in the policy approach or infighting between the political class has seen as loss of good opportunity in sharing the best of all. 

A tale of two cities by CSE, New Delhi

I could not resist to relay story by CSE, New Delhi worth reading by fellow planners, Thanks to them..

EDITORIAL: A tale of two cities 
by Sunita Narain
======================================================
I travelled to two different cities in two different states last week—Indore and Guwahati. I came back with images identified by common distinctions: piles of garbage and glitzy new shopping malls. Is this our vision of urban development? There is no question that cities are imploding; growth is happening faster than we ever imagined. Construction is booming and expansion is gobbling agricultural land.

But the quality of life is no better. In most parts there is traffic, dust, air pollution and most of all the chaos of unplanned growth. Road expansion is eating up lines of shady trees—in Guwahati I saw the most majestic trees hacked down mercilessly. The city’s lungs are going, and so are its sponges, as waterbodies are making way for buildings. In Indore its residents will tell you that the names of the colonies are the names of the lakes they are built on. In Guwahati, the airport has been built by killing the grand Deepor beel. First a road was built (obviously without culverts to channelise the water), then as the waterbody died, it was filled to undertake new construction. This year, as always, Guwahati airport was flooded and air traffic disrupted.

The two cities are different ecosystems, so they should have had different water and waste issues. One is located in the relatively dry Malwa plateau and the other in the high-rainfall region on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra. But both cities have acute water stress, even as rain leads to swamping of cities, disrupting life and destroying property. Both cities have no water culture. Both are drowning in their waste.

Indore, because of its location, had a rich tradition of lakes. Rain water was harvested and stored in structures, which recharged groundwater. Then, in 1977, the city brought Narmada water from some 110 km to the city. Indore should have had enough to drink and to swim. But 35 years later, the water has still not reached all distribution pipelines. Over 50 per cent of the 172 million litres per day of water it sources is lost in distribution, which means there is far more costs but far less water to supply. The city water utility has no money to repair and extend its water system. It spends all it has and more in just electricity costs of bringing the water. Politicians are vying with each other to bring the water from the Maheshwar dam. The recent jal samadhi by the Maheshwar dam-displaced has met with enormous anger from Indore’s power elite. They say they need the dam’s water at all costs. They do not care if the people, whose land has been submerged by the dam, have not received compensation or been resettled.

The same power elite never demand systems to deal with the sewage they flush out of their homes. In Indore, the sewage system was constructed in 1936 at the time of the Holkars. Independent Indore has added to it insignificantly. The bulk of the sewage pours into its rivers, Khan and Saraswati, and Piliyakhal Nullah, untreated. It forgets that the Khan pollutes the Kshipra; the main water source of the neighbour, Ujjain.

Guwahati is no different. When I went in early October, floods were still ravaging the city. This was the third pulse of flooding, which began in early June. Residents explained that the intensity and duration of floods had made life impossibly difficult. They also spoke of desperate water shortages in this region of plenty. Worse, life-giving water is now the cause of diseases—death by dengue fever was top news in Guwahati.

This is when both cities have options to do things differently. They are yet to build all their homes, roads and water and sewage systems. They can execute a plan, which allows them to modernise but with quality of life intact and even better. This requires not to want to grow in the way Delhi, Mumbai or any other “old-growth” city has.

For instance, they should not repeat the mistake of allowing fleets of cars to take over their roads. Indore was an enlightened city to plan for a bus-based future. Some years ago it invested in new buses, rationalised routes, created systems for efficient operation and put GPS in place to track and inform customers. Now cost of bus fuel is up, fares have not been revised and buses are losers. Still the majority of the city population rides or walks, even though the city’s footpaths are long gone. Indore is now building a bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor. It has a many foreign and Indian consultants to design the system but the people of Indore have no idea what is being proposed and why BRT is important. So they already hate it.

Guwahati’s footpaths are gone as well, taken over by mounds of garbage. The city has taken the route of its bigger cousins. It has put the task of garbage disposal out to a concessionaire, who, it hopes, will sweep the city clean. It does not. Instead, Guwahati could collect, segregate and compost garbage at the household level. It could reserve areas in colonies for environmental services. This way it would not have to first collect and then transport the waste. It would not have to live in filth.

In the end Indore and Guwahati will be the creations of their people. The only question is whether they will be dreams or nightmares. 

You can post your comments on this editorial online at http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/tale-two-cities

Politics of Decentralization and Center

The nature of citizenship offered by India is universal and sub-nationalism was in background when India  adopted new constitution and emerged as a nation state decades ago. The nationalism was fueled by the then freedom fighters and decision makers at the national and state level politics. What ever may be their party affiliation  the concern for nation for the priority, the states were not developed to have become an independent economic strength. The national priorities were together and distributed across the nation with clear mandate to provide boost to economy- including agriculture and industry dedicated to the nation. The national goals are set by the then leaders and obidiantly being followed till the rise of new India post 1991.

The decentralisation of power with centre leaving the development turf to the state, and state governments joining the free market economy to take charge of their development. It was so good to feel the new power of the state, but it also added downfall of the centre both economically and politically. As a nation state the control of centre is limited and state's are running for the money. But till this time all states were not ready for the freedom it has taken almost a decade for the poor states to rise from the ashes.

The states like UP, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan has increasingly being now prepared to join the league of developed states like Tamilnadu, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana etc. Much needs to be done in order to be attractive for the outsiders, instead the growth in these states would arrest the mass exodus of population to the developed state. In more cases, the developed state might loose some shine due to initial labour shocks.

The politics of nation is also allude the centre-state relationships with little over 10 states, leaders have no ambition to join national politics, its marred with difficulties, its now very tough to be raise a national party. Except, Congress and BJP to an extent has been successful in holding the turf, but badly challenged in their respective party ruled states.

Development policies of centre is more advisory then authentic show of nationalistic flavour, and states often do not offer centre favourable ground, central agencies across states find it difficult to work with state governments. Railways is best example to show the politics of decentralisation and hurdles both sets of government puts to one another.

A state leaders no matter how good they are in administrator or being popular in public finds very difficult to find acceptence at the national level. Its difficult to find national leaders acceptable at the state politics, take case of communist leaders (central and states) they are different roles and destinations.

Party politics for long has used the state has ground to work as national leaders, the nation logic has been used to promote the party ideologies, but in practice the state's across the nation had become laboratories of such ideologies such as Gujarat, Kerala, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Tamil Nadu. Most of the these ideologies ruled by different parties find it difficult to be adopted at the national level.

May be time has also come to review and research on the subject.

Development Planning: Repeating Mistakes

Many people on the media and elsewhere commented about failure of the 'wada na todo' abhiyan wherein Governement of India aka the Planning Commission took help of civil society in generating the mood of participatory process in planning for the 12th Plan. The activists, intellectuals and organisations who participated in the activities cried foul the way the approach paper dealt with the issues concerning serious for the effective and 'inclusive planning'. Given the election centric planning in India what more could have be apt to follow what politics of the nation dictates. We the people of India were repeatdly promised moon even though we fail to generate enough food and water for our people. India is going to urbanised and industrialised further in the coming periods, we fail to address the need for the food security except the pending bills, the spatial planning through the regional approach takes back seat, where in budgetory planning remains at the peak.

One can only assume the economist centric planning strategies has limitation even though they might claim to have reduced poverty which is statistically remains insignificant given the failure to reduce the income disparity. The HDI report suggest the improvement in the vital indicators but experts have suggested that we might miss most of the Millineum Development Goal (MDG) target set for 2015. The lagging states even though have steamed up their performance much needs to be done to eradicate abjuct state of apathy in many socio-economic indicators. Why developed states like Gujarat performs poorly in education and health where as the lagging state move faster to bridge the difference. The theory taking roots that economic development does not guarentee the social development, then what more the planning approach is going to acheive. The declining small and medium town through out country presents grim picture for the ever increasing urbanisation in the country. The lack of development for the improvement in the quality of life in these urban centres are bringing the investment elsewhere for creating new urban areas adding to the urban chaos.

Planning commission needs to leave certain planning to the state and local bodies let the spatial planning for the regions being made based on the scientific investigation before any investment plan being materialised for the region. The huge program investment in the way of MNREGA or the watershed development cannot happen without specific planning for the region, otherwise planned efforts would have negligible impact.

50 Reasons to Protect Infants from Vaccines - Jagannath Chatterjee

This is reproduction of article received by me from author (Needs serious thought from all of us..)

Note: I have been corresponding with the Union Health Minister and his department on this subject since 2006. Neither the Minister nor the Ministry have any answer to these points. Even when Dr Abdul Kalam, then President, raised the subject based on my inputs there was no sincere attempt to clarify the position. I have since then continuously educated the doctors on the subject. I have also written to the current President, Vice President, PM, Sonia, the NHRC, NCPCR, CM's of various states, MP's of various political parties and all the medical institutions I can think of. I have also written to the WHO, GAVI, UNICEF & PATH, premier institutions that promote this highly controversial medical intervention . Doctors sympathetic to the cause opine that unless the public realise the dangers from vaccines it will be very difficult to stop this industry sponsored menace. You will agree that there should be a public debate on vaccines, otherwise the unfortunate children do not stand a chance.

1. There is no scientific study to determine whether vaccines have really prevented diseases. Rather disease graphs show vaccines have been introduced at the fag end of epidemics when the disease was already in its last stages. In case of Small Pox the vaccine actually caused a great spurt in the incidence of disease before public outcry led to its withdrawal.
2. There are no long-term studies on vaccine safety. Very short-term tests are carried out where the vaccinated subjects are checked against another group who are given another vaccine. Technically the tests should be carried out against a non-vaccinated group. No one really knows what protocols are followed at such industry-sponsored trials.
3. There has never been any official attempt to compare a vaccinated population against a non vaccinated population to know what vaccines are doing to the children and the society. Independent private studies (Dutch & German) have revealed that vaccinated children suffer much more than their un-vaccinated counterparts.
4. The child receives not one but many vaccines. There are no tests to determine the effects of multiple vaccines.
5. There is no scientific basis for vaccinating infants. As per senior doctors quoted by the Times of India, "Children suffer from less that 2% of vaccine preventable illnesses but 98% of the vaccines are targeted towards them." The vaccine pioneers who have recommended abundant caution before vaccinating the population have never advocated mass vaccinations.
6. Children are vaccinated simply because parents can be frightened to forcefully vaccinate their children. Vaccinating infants is the most profitable business both for the manufacturers as well as the doctors.
7. Infants, who are advised ONLY mothers milk till the age of six months and beyond because their fragile system will not tolerate anything else are given 30 extremely toxic vaccine shots, including booster doses, an act that defies both logic and science.
8. The Government of India has come out with a quarter page advertisement in The Hindu warning parents not to vaccinate beyond the Government approved vaccines. Parents have been advised against vaccinating in private clinics and hospitals.
9. The Orissa Chapter of the Indian Association of Pediatricians has admitted in a letter to the CM, Orissa, that private clinics and hospitals are ill equipped to store vaccines and warned parents not to vaccinate upon the advise of private practitioners and hospitals.
10. ALL THE VACCINE INGREDIENTS ARE EXTREMELY TOXIC IN NATURE.
11. Vaccines contain heavy metals, cancer causing substances, toxic chemicals, live and genetically modified viruses, contaminated serum containing animal viruses and foreign genetic material, extremely toxic de-contaminants and adjuvants, untested antibiotics, none of which can be injected without causing any harm.
12. The mercury, aluminum and live viruses in vaccines may be behind the huge epidemic of autism (1 in 10 worldwide as per doctors in the USA, 1 in 37 as per a private study by doctors in New Delhi), a fact that (vaccines cause autism) has been admitted by the US Vaccine Court.
13. The CDC of USA, the vaccine watchdog, has publicly admitted that its much-publicized 2003 study denying any link between vaccines and autism, is flawed. The Chief of CDC Dr Gerberding has confessed to the media (CNN) that vaccines can cause "autism like symptoms". The Autism epidemic is found only in those countries that have allowed mass vaccinations.
14. In the year 1999, the US Government instructed vaccine manufacturers to remove mercury from vaccines "with immediate effect". But mercury still remains a part of many vaccines. The vaccines with mercury were never recalled and were given to children up to the year 2006. "Mercury free" vaccines contain 0.05mcg of mercury, enough to permanently damage a infant. As per an American Academy of Pediatricians study: "Mercury in all of its forms is toxic to the fetus and children and efforts should be made to reduce exposure to the extent possible to pregnant women and children as well as the general population."
15. IN INDIA NO ATTEMPT HAS BEEN MADE TO ENSURE THAT MERCURY AND OTHER HEAVY METALS ARE REMOVED FROM VACCINES SIMPLY BECAUSE IT WOULD MAKE VACCINES COSTLIER.
16. In a reply to then President Sri Abdul Kalam, the Health Ministry informed, "mercury is required to make the vaccines safe". To the author's query that "what are these vaccines that it requires the second most dangerous neurotoxin, mercury, to make them safe?", there was no reply.
17. Mercury used in vaccines is second in toxicity only to the radioactive substance, Uranium. It is a neurotoxin that can damage the entire nervous system of the infant in no time.
18. Mercury accumulates in fat. The brain being made mostly of fat cells, most of the mercury accumulates there giving rise to the peculiar symptoms of the autistic children.
19. The mercury used in vaccines is ethyl mercury. According to Indian doctors this is an industrial toxin and is 1000 times more toxic than the usual methyl mercury.
20. The aluminum present in vaccines makes the mercury, in any form, 100 times more toxic.
21. As per an independent study aluminum and formaldehyde present in vaccines can increase the toxicity of mercury, in any form, by 1000 times.
22. As per a Tehelka article on Autism, if one considers the WHO limit for mercury in water, they are receiving 50,000 times the limit. The limits set, incidentally, are for adults and not infants.
23. Autism in India has emerged as the most rapidly growing epidemic amongst children. As per a private study done by doctors in New Delhi, from 1 in 500 it has steadily climbed to 1 in 37 today. As per Indian doctors, "You can go to any class of any school today and find an autistic child."
24. Autism is a permanent disability that affects the child physically, mentally and emotionally. It makes the child loose social contact. It impedes both the physical and mental growth of the child. It destroys the brain causing severe memory and attention problems.The majority of symptoms displayed by autistic children match symptoms of heavy metal poisoning.
25. According to vaccine researcher Dr Harris Coulter, vaccines cause children to become pervert and criminal. Majority of the school shootings by the children in the USA have been committed by autistic children. Vaccines can cause more harm that even the medical community privately acknowledges.
26. Autistic children also suffer from severe bowel disorders. As per Dr Andrew Wakefield, this is due to the vaccine strain live measles virus in the MMR vaccine. Nearly all children become fully autistic after the MMR shot. As per a recent study the MMR vaccine has an adverse effect on the vital mucosal immune system. The very basis of trying to prevent childhood Mumps and Measles has been questioned in this study.
27. The DPT also causes children to regress giving rise to fears that multiple live virus vaccines are an important cause behind autism. If three live viruses can cause so much harm we can well imagine what today’s five and seven viruses vaccines will do to children.
28. Before the autism epidemic, it was already well known that vaccines have caused the cancer epidemic in today’s society. Both the Small Pox and the Oral Polio Vaccine are made from monkey serum. This serum has helped many cancer causing monkey viruses, 60 found so far (SV 1 to SV60), to enter the human blood stream. As per recent revelations these viruses continue to be in the vaccines.
29. It is also known that it is the use of green monkey serum in vaccines that has led to the transfer of the Simian Immune deficiency Virus (SIV) from monkeys into humans. The SIV and the HIV that causes AIDS are very similar.
30. Not only AIDS, a blood cancer in infants (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) that is affecting children in thousands may also be primarily due to the extremely toxic nature of vaccine ingredients injected directly into the blood stream.
31. Infantile jaundice and also infantile diabetes is also scientifically connected to the toxic vaccines.
32. The live polio viruses used in the Oral Polio Vaccine has caused Vaccine Attributed Paralytic Polio in more than 1,25,000 children (up to the year 2006) as per doctors of the Indian Medical Association and the Jana Swasthya Abhiyan. The OPV has also let loose a new strain of polio in both India and Africa. The OPV is banned in the USA & European countries.
33. Vaccines contain serum from not only chimpanzees and monkeys but also from cows, pigs, chickens, eggs, horses, and even human serum and tissues extracted from aborted fetuses.
34. Deaths and permanent disability from vaccines is very common and known by the medical community. They are instructed by the Government to keep quiet and not to associate such cases with vaccines.
35. Many doctors argue that diseases during childhood are due to the body exercising its immune system. Suppressing these diseases causes the immune system to remain undeveloped causing the various autoimmune disorders like diabetes and arthritis that have become epidemics today.
36. Vaccines suppress the natural immunity and the body does not have natural antibodies anymore. The mothers milk therefore does not contain natural antibodies and can no longer protect the child against illnesses.
37. By stimulating humoral (blood related) immunity alone vaccines have caused an imbalance in the whole immune set up leading to an alarming increase in auto immune disorders. This is acknowledged by the immunologists themselves.
38. In the USA vaccine adverse effects are recorded and the Government offers compensation of millions of dollars to victims (the most recent case in its Vaccine Court may have received upto $200 million in damages). The Indian Government simply refuses to acknowledge that vaccines can cause deaths and permanent disability.
39. It has been scientifically proven that vaccines cannot prevent disease. Vaccines try to create humoral (blood related immunity) whereas it has been found that immunity is developed at various levels, humoral as well as cellular. We still do not know enough about the human immune system and therefore should not interfere with it.
40. In the USA parents are informed about vaccine after effects and their consent has to be taken before vaccinating their children. In India the Government assures the population through massive advertising campaigns that vaccines are extremely safe. Parents refusing to vaccinate are threatened by the administration.
41. THERE IS NO SYSTEM OF TREATMENT TO TREAT A VACCINE DAMAGED CHILD. The parents have to run from one hospital to another. The Government turns a blind eye and refuses to even acknowledge the vaccine connection. Attempts by private practitioners worldwide to treat vaccine damaged children by flushing out heavy metals and toxins from the body have been frowned upon and discouraged.
42. Senior medical doctors have challenged even the vaccines recommended by the Government of India. The BCG vaccine for tuberculosis has been extensively tested in India as long back as 1961 and found to be totally ineffective. The OPV is causing polio and other neurological and intestinal disorders in tens of thousands of Indian children. The Hep-B vaccine introduced recently is not meant for children at all, it is a vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease that should be targeted only at promiscuous adults. The tetanus vaccine contains both aluminum and mercury besides the tetanus toxoid. The doctors themselves avoid giving the DPT to their children and relatives as per a survey amongst US health care professionals. The measles vaccine is a vaccine that regularly causes severe adverse effects and the health workers I have interviewed want it out.
43. The pediatricians are introducing dubious vaccines in India, which are being opposed by the doctors, politicians, and public in American and European countries. The Rotavirus vaccine, Hib vaccine, HPV vaccine and the various multi virus vaccines being introduced without any kind of testing is only because the vaccine manufacturers and the doctors administering them want to ensure a good income from them. They care two hoots about medical ethics and the fate of the children who will receive these vaccines. Vaccines containing nano particles and viruses and also plant based genetically modified vaccines are being opposed by honest doctors worldwide.
44. Various independent studies, notably the Dutch and the more recent German study, comparing vaccinated with unvaccinated children have found that vaccinated children are prone to asthma, dermatitis, allergies, hyperactivity etc. According to the German study, the death rate amongst vaccinated children is much more than the unvaccinated ones.
45. Vaccines, being a mass medical program which is accepted without question, becomes the perfect launching pad for bioterrorism. The powerful countries can spread lethal epidemics by just polluting the vaccines with bio warfare agents. The USA has handed over vaccine research to a bioterrorism research unit called the BARDA which functions under the Pentagon. A warning to this effect has been sounded by the Vice President IAP in a letter to the DGHS.
46. Besides "investigating" into the small pox virus, it is reported that a "weapons grade" bird flu vaccine has already been devised by the Pentagon to be used as biowarfare agents.
47. Vaccines have also been used to ensure population control. A batch of the tetanus vaccine has been used in many Asian countries to make the female population sterile. This was done by introducing a hormone that by inducing antibodies would abort the foetus when it is formed. In India, Saheli, a NGO fighting for the rights of women filed a PIL against this when the fact surfaced.
48. Mercury, a part of vaccines, is known to interfere with the endocrine system and induce sterility in both males and females.
49. Through a new Public Health Bill that is being drafted the Government of India is planning to introduce forced vaccinations and threaten anti-vaccination activists with steep fines and jail terms. This is obviously at the instance of foreign (read US) vaccine giants who are shifting base to India reeling at the tremendous opposition to vaccines in US and European countries. The Govt of India is planning a "vaccine park" at Chennai where these vaccine MNCs will set up base. This itself is an act of bioterrorism which ironically the proposed bill seeks to oppose.
50. As per the IOM, USA, vaccine research for a probable link between vaccines and autism should not be conducted. The Institute of Medicine in its last report on vaccines and autism in 2004 said that more research on the vaccine question is counterproductive: Finding a susceptibility to this risk in some infants would call into question the universal vaccination strategy that is a bedrock of immunization programs and could lead to widespread rejection of vaccines. The IOM concluded that efforts to find a link between vaccines and autism "must be balanced against the broader benefit of the current vaccine program for all children". What does this add up to? Infants should be sacrificed in order to perpetuate an unscientific procedure?

The above points are not exhaustive. For a more detailed article please write to me at jagchat01@yahoo.com.

Development Suffers: Central and State conflicts

The planning machinery has become political scoring grounds for the leading parties in the country, since when we started listening to political agenda and started planning accordingly? Since earlier development policies were suggestives by various planning committiees, working groups, parliamentary commissions etc where voice of most of the sectors of economies are being listned and formulated in the plan documents. May be the institutional practices remain same. Why then states has to complain every year for differential judgements? Can a political party can be held solely responsible for any planning - funding decisions. To some extents its okay, but greater socio-economic decisions cannot be left totally on the political lineages but extensive analysis and public consultation. One decisions have been reached every stakeholder in government party to development should accept it. At present, the blame game between centre and states continues and people are made to believe differently in states.

Somewhere there is thin line is drawn clearly on our federal structure of country, no more states take in on their strides when investment is less in their regions then the competing states. More so if it belongs to different parties. After 60 years of democracy we still require central -state relations to be co-ordial to an extend to allow the room to one another. Its also true that, given the political situation in the country with multi-party democratic ruling, one regions or state suffers in development because of its political orientation. Why this feudal thought in great Indian democracy? The fight between the political ideologies should not become source of discontent in centre -state relations. There is fear this tendencies would tickle down to babudom, academicians, industries and people to take a distinct orientation from the centre or suppress the needs to state, in way to result in polarising the people by state.

There has to be mutual respect between head of states and head of nation, two cannot be on equal footing, and each to be respected individually. The current politics of hate has entered into functioning in all four tier of government, each trying to supress underneath and other below trying to force themselves. This social darwanism would lead to conflicts and loss of development strides country has taken. If require we may seriously implement the centre-state reforms suggested by various committees and commissions.

Breaking Free: Indian States in Motion

India being republic for the states it has carved out from time to time, are now feeling strangulated with an idea to bow down to central pressure on its action and of late has become vocal in demanding and asserting their share of funds. With the different political parties are at helm of affairs at the center and state, the situation has become too close to conflict. Its not only the developed states asking for more autonomy but also the developing states like Bihar, Odisha seeking attention. Brand 'India' is no more attractive to them anymore and most would like to establish their own brand image in world market.

Gujarat being one of the foremost state to look for branding and marketing Gujarat for outside world. There is hardly any presence of central or India centric rhetoric in states business agenda. Yes with competition, the exchange of goods and services between the state would be further monitored to safeguard their own interest.

With the states, libralising its own self has entered as an active business players from the 21st century and last decade might be for state activism for establishing industry and business. The central ministry through a long list of the legislative control over the natural resources is now thought to be barriers and stumbling block for the state control. May be decentralization also has a negative fall out for the country but good for state and community? Traditionally, the idea of nation in India has been limited to few pockets and post independent states has recently been able to challenge the governance by central rules.

Had it been a political fall out of the parties in power in the center and state it would have been an natural ally to the central or national causes. But central governments has increasingly becoming a fund managers and guaranteers without much control on the state autonomy. This was not so till state become financially sound and independent. The planning commission at the central level is making it self redundant by overlooking the expenditures in the sectors and schemes which it never seriously visualised during the planning phases.

Till the parties get majority in both central and state this situation is likely to be aggravated, or mandate to central and state rulers are more clear in terms of reviving national agenda and state participation. The state who are in great motion, would intend to break it self free from central governance. Till then keep tracking....

Mundra: Complex of Environmental Violations

Many would envy the speed with which M/s Adani and Company kept the state growth figures flying during last few years. Its fascinating to find the corporate utilizing 13000 ha of land although acquired and purchased through help, aspire to become a local lord in Mundra. A sting of violations of environmental laws makes it hoarding violations; lets take some sample;

(A) a dredging disposal pipeline has been laid in the inter tidal area carrying the dredged material to the landward side of the port to reclaim the land area on the West and

North port side and which pipeline has been obstructing the tidal flow due to which the mangroves stretches on the western and northern port side have been seriously affected and at several places the mangroves have dried up; and

(B) the creeks systems and the natural flow of seawater is being obstructed by reclamations along the creeks, with destruction of mangroves being observed at several stretches; and

(C) M/s Mundra Port & SEZ Limited have developed an airport the sign board at the site indicating “airport”, which is located close to the shore and it is noted that the clearance letter from Civil Aviation Department dated 30th October, 2008 provided by M/s Mundra Port & SEZ Limited interalia refers to development of a Mundra aerodrome while development of a aerodrome/airport requires prior environmental clearance under the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006; and

(D) a township named as “Samundra Township”, which has been accorded clearance under the EIA Notification, 2006 by Gujarat SEIAA on 20th February, 2010, is observed to be located in the Coastal Regulation Zone area of the creek and no clearance under the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 1991 has been obtained therefor; and

(E) a hospital named as “Sterling” has been constructed in the Coastal Regulation Zone area of the same creek thereby requiring a clearance under the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 1991, which clearance has not been obtained;

These string of violations and more as noticed by the MoEF asks for explanation and alternate mechanism from the violating partners. What would happen in next four weeks...there would not be an inch of recovery of environmental status in concern areas. At the best the corporates with the help from the state government might pay a lip service or penalty and get away...This is when more then 1000 such industrial zones are going to be developed in country. How does EIA takes a easy route to facilitate the large development with a blink of eye to enforcement agencies?