Over A Decade, Crime Rate Against Dalits Rose By 746%

April 5, 2018

Mumbai: Over the decade to 2016, the rate of crime against dalits rose more than eight times (746%); there were 2.4 crimes per 100,000 dalits in 2006, rising to 20.3 in 2016, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of 2016 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, the latest available.

Mathura: Protesters disrupt railway services at Mathura railway station to protest against the dilution of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, on April 2, 2018.

The rate of crime against adivasis or scheduled tribes grew by over 12 times (1,160%)–from 0.5 in 2006 to 6.3 in 2016.

However, cases pending police investigation for both marginalised groups has risen by 99% and 55% respectively, while the pendency in courts has risen by 50% and 28%, respectively. The conviction rates for crime against SCs and STs have fallen by 2 percentage points and 7 percentage points, respectively, to 26% and 21%, from 2006 to 2016.

On March 20, 2018, the Supreme Court expressing concern over the misuse of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, ruled there shall be no immediate arrest of a citizen or public servant without prior permissions for crimes registered under the Act. It also introduced the provision of anticipatory bail if the complaint was found to be malafide.

This triggered widespread protests by dalit and adivasi organisations across the country and the Bharat Bandh protests held on Monday, April 2, 2018, turned violent in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Odisha, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh, resulting in the death of 11 persons. During an urgent hearing of the Centre’s review petition on Tuesday, April 3, 2018, the SC refused to stay its order, asserting that it is only meant to protect the rights of innocent people without affecting those of the marginalised communities.

Dalits, or schedule castes, comprise 16.6% (201 million) of India’s population, up from 16.2% in 2001, according to Census 2011. Adivasis form 8.6% (104 million) of the country’s population, up from 8.2% over a decade.

As many as 422,799 crimes against dalits or scheduled castes (SCs) have been reported between 2006 and 2016. The highest increases in crimes were recorded in eight states–Goa, Kerala, Delhi, Gujarat, Bihar, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Sikkim–where rates rose over 10 times. Meanwhile 81,322 crimes against adivasis have been reported from 2006 to 2016, with the highest increases in crime rates recorded in Kerala, Karnataka and Bihar.

Source: National Crime Records Bureau

Delivery of justice decelerates in crimes against dalits, adivasis

While the reporting of crime against dalits and adivasis has risen over the decade, there has not been an equivalent rise in the rate of disposal of cases by the police and courts, as we said.

PENDING POLICE INVESTIGATION: Cases of crimes against SCs pending police investigation have nearly doubled (99%)–from 8,380 cases in 2006 to 16,654 cases in 2016. And Bihar, with 4,311 cases, fares worst among the 36 states and union territories (UTs).

In the case of crime against STs, pendency of investigation has risen 55%–from 1,679 cases in 2006 to 2,602 cases by the end of 2016, with Andhra Pradesh reporting the highest pendency (405 cases)

FALSE CASES: The number of crimes against dalits registered and found to be false at the investigation stage by police has remained the same (less than 6,000 cases) and has actually declined in the comparison to the rise in reporting. Of 5,347 cases found to be false across India, nearly half or 49% of false cases were recorded in Rajasthan alone (2,632 cases).

Crimes against STs registered and found to be false have further declined by over 27% from 1257 cases in 2006 to 912 cases in 2016.

PENDING TRIAL IN COURT: In courts, crimes against dalits pending trial have risen by 50% over the decade–from 85,264 to 129,831 as of 2016.

In 2016 alone, 40,801 new crimes against dalits were registered under the Prevention of Atrocities Act; less than 15,000 cases completed trial that year. The number of trials completed in court has dropped by 28%–from 20,495 in 2006 to 14,615 in 2016. UP with 33,455 such cases pending fared worst.

For adivasis, trials completed in a year has nearly halved (by 49%) since 2006–from 2,895 to 4,317 in 2016–while those pending trial has risen by 28%. Madhya Pradesh, with 4,839 pending trial cases, held the worst record.

Source: National Crime Records Bureau

Note: 2014 and 2015 data for pending trial not available.

Conviction rate remains less than 30% over a decade

Among the crimes that do get disposed of in court, about a quarter lead to convictions in crimes against dalits. As of 2016, this conviction rate–calculated by dividing the number of convictions in a year by number of cases completing trial in a year–stood at 26%, a 2 percentage point decline from the rate a decade ago (28%).

Accused persons in the rest 74% of cases completing trial in 2016 were acquitted, which again is a rise from 2006 when 72% of cases led to acquittals.

As of 2016, Madhya Pradesh (43.4), Goa (43.2), and Rajasthan (42), held the highest crime rates against dalits. Their conviction rates were 31%, 8% and 45% respectively.

Conviction rates in Sikkim, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, Telangana, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are particularly low–less than 10%. Delhi reported the highest rise (67%) in acquittals over the decade.

The conviction rate in cases of crime against adivasis, at 21% in 2016, is even worse, showing a 7-percentage-point decline from 2006 (28%) with the rest 79% acquitted.

Kerala reported the highest crime rate (37.5) against STs, followed by the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (21) and Andhra Pradesh (15.4). Their conviction rates were 8.2%, 0%, and 1.1% respectively.

A ‘zero’ conviction rate was reported in 2016, by the Andamans & Nicobar Islands and six states–Gujarat, Karnataka, Tripura, Uttaranchal Pradesh, West Bengal, and Delhi.

Late registration of complaints, delays in spot investigation, lack of protection for the victims and reluctance to register crimes under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Atrocities Act–these are some of the chief reasons for low conviction rates, according this 2017 study of reports by civil society organisations and parliamentary committees by the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, an NGO based in Mumbai.

Source: National Crime Records Bureau

With data inputs by Angel Mohan

(Saldanha is an assistant editor and Mallapur is an analyst with IndiaSpend.)

Mother appeals for Chandrashekhar Azad’s release

April 4, 2018

“My son is innocent. He fights for the rights of women, he fights for the rights of the society. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”

Chandrashekhar Azad’s mother has made an open appeal for his son.

Chandrashekhar Azad is the founder member of Bhim Army whose aim is to empower Dalits through the medium of education. This organisation runs around 300 schools for Dalit children.

He has been incarcerated in an unjust manner for about ten months now. He was arrested by the UP police on June 9, 2017 in connection with the Saharanpur violence of May 2017. Apart from multiple criminal cases, that were unjustly foist on him, the draconian National Security Act (NSA) has been also slapped on him since November 2017.

In the appeal, his mother urges people to support Azad and Bhim army asks them to call UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the number 08030456566 demanding for Azad’s release.

Pakistan’s activist Supreme Court endangers a fragile democracy

April 4, 2018

Pakistanis head to the polls to elect their next prime minister in July. Until then, though, the Supreme Court seems to be in charge of the country.

In July 2017, revelations from the Panama Papers leak spurred Pakistan’s high court to rule that then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had lied to the public about his family finances. Sharif, who maintained his innocence, was forced to resign as prime minister.

However, he continued to lead his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, or PML-N, effectively controlling Pakistan’s government. Then, in February 2018, the Supreme Court also removed him as party chairman.

Because Sharif was not “honest” or “righteous,” Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar additionally ruled, all “orders passed, directions given and documents issued” under his leadership were officially declared null.

Sharif and his supporters accuse Pakistan’s chief justice of interfering in politics and swaying the upcoming election. As a Pakistani political scientist, I fear they may be right.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court has twice removed former Prime Minister Sharif from office, for many recalling Sharif’s 1999 military overthrow. Fayaz Aziz/Reuters

Judicial overreach

Military coups used to be the biggest risk to Pakistani democracy. Thanks to coup d’etats in 1958, 1977 and 1999, my country has spent 33 years of its 71-year history under military rule.

To a people rightfully fearful of interference in their political system, then, the Supreme Court’s recent actions are alarming. By discrediting some politicians while seemingly overlooking corrupt public officials from other parties, the judiciary is effectively influencing the outcome of July’s election.
How do a nation’s top judges – people sworn to defend the Constitution – become a threat to democracy? That’s the focus of my research on judicial independence in Pakistan.

In Pakistan, as in other former British colonies, the Supreme Court has the power to take what’s called “suo motu” action. That means judges can rule on issues of their own volition, without any motion or complaint filed in court.

For instance, Chief Justice Nisar recently ordered a hearing on the rape and murder of a young child in Lahore, because closing that case quickly was deemed to be in the public interest.

As it happens, in recent years he has also removed the prime minister from public office twice, conducted surprise inspections at government hospitals, lambasted the media for commenting on open cases and ordered investigations into police violence.

Such sweeping authority creates a clash of institutions between the judiciary and other branches of government. Such competition can be detrimental to democracy. My research in several countries has found that when supreme court justices venture into political affairs, they create conflict with lawmakers and heads of state.

It is unsurprising, then, that Chief Justice Nisar’s suo motu cases over the past few months have outraged many Pakistani politicians, who say the justice is guilty of judicial overreach.

Nisar responds that he is simply following the law, adding that the “courts are not the enemies of the government.”

Sharif takes his case to the ‘people’s court’

But to some, Nisar’s timing – the lead-up to a big national election – is suspicious. So, too, is his selection of suo motu hearings: The overwhelming majority of political cases added to the Supreme Court’s docket since 2015 have focused on Sharif’s party.

The toppled prime minister, for his part, claims that he is the victim of a “judicial coup.” At rallies across Pakistan, Sharif tells his supporters that since he cannot run for re-election this fall, he must ask them, the “people’s court,” to vote for his PML-N party.

The Supreme Court has already removed one PML-N senator, and two of its ministers are under investigation for alleged contempt of court. Sharif and the PLM-N leadership cite these cases as evidence that the party is under judicial attack.

Pakistani opposition leader Imran has praised the Supreme Court’s ouster of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at campaign events. AP Photo/K.M. ChaudaryI

In targeting Sharif and his party, Justice Nisar has allowed the ousted prime minister to paint themselves as the underdogs, even though the party is still in power. This has strengthened the PML-N’s position ahead of the upcoming election. Currently, it is polling above its closest rivals by about eight points.

Sharif also remains the most popular leader in the country, according to recent surveys.

Chief justice or general?

Suggestions that the Pakistani military was behind Sharif’s 2017 ouster have bolstered the former prime minister’s claim of victimhood.

Credible analysts assert that the prime minister challenged Pakistan’s generals’ authority when he was in power by taking relatively noncombative approach to neighboring India and Afghanistan. Normally, the Pakistani military – whose power is so enduring that Pakistanis often call it simply the “establishment” – directs regional security.

Sharif also butted heads with Pakistan’s armed forces during his 1997-1999 administration, ultimately leading to his overthrow by the military in 1999.

Since coups are no longer acceptable in Pakistan, the logic goes, this time the generals used legal action to remove Sharif.

Judicial overreach abroad

Pakistan is not the only place questioning the limits of judicial intervention in the democratic process.

Bangladeshi courts used their suo motu powers to prosecute and sideline a main opposition leader prior to elections in both 2008 and 2009.

In Brazil, Judge Sergio Moro faced accusations of staging a judicial coup in January when he convicted former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of corruption, likely disqualifying him from this year’s presidential election.

Brazilian courts don’t have suo motu power. But judges there have used the judicial discretion of their civil law system to dramatically expand the scope of a nationwide bribery inquiry. Upwards of 100 congressmen and senators are now under judicial investigation.

Judges in the United States, too, have the power expand the scope of a petition to the court. A classic example is the 2010 Supreme Court case Citizens United. Nominally, the nine justices were supposed to rule on what constituted political advertising. Instead, they issued a much broader verdict on free speech and corporate money in elections.

In those countries, as in Pakistan, judges contend they are simply doing their jobs, acting as a critical constitutional check on the political system.

But in a young democracy like Pakistan’s, the standoff between judges and the ruling party is fueling an unhealthy level of uncertainty during a campaign season. If the chief justice is not in fact staging a coup, I’m alarmed to say, it sure feels like he is.

Adnan Rasool, Ph.D. Candidate/ Student Innovation Fellow, Georgia State University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Saffron Colour to the Disaster Response Forces: UP

April 4, 2018

The uniform of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has been given a saffron colour in Adityanath-ruled Uttar Pradesh. The DGP Om Prakash Singh mentioned SDRF in his address while attending the Raitik Parade that started in Lucknow on Tuesday with the commencement of Police week.

raitak Parade
Image: Amar Ujala

An officer who was involved in deciding the colour of the uniform, justified the move saying that they did not want to imitate other states for the uniform. He clarified that the uniform did not just have saffron color but also black. Reportedly he said that this has been done so that the Jawans “look different”. Behind the uniform, SDRF is written in yellow.

SDRF was formed last year on the lines of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on a priority basis for carrying out relief and rescue operations in the event of a natural calamity. Last month, vehicles were also provided to the SDRF. Right now three battalions of SDRF are being made ready which includes earthquake response dal, major accident force and flood relief forces.

A yatra in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli for insaaf

April 4, 2018

Activists’ campaign against Yogi government’s bid to close criminal cases of 2013, fake encounters

An Insaaf Yatra was organized by ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy) on 31^st March 2018 to Muzaffarnagar and Shamli to:

Express solidarity with the families and children in Khatauli who had been arrested and jailed unlawfully.
Protest the state government’s move to erase 131 cases against those accused of 2003 Muzaffarnagar pogrom.
And to protest the spate of extra judicial killings in the State.

The delegation first met with multiple Muslim residents of Khatauli and heard about incidents to provoke lawlessness. The residents narrated that processions with weapons were being taken out on Hindu religious holidays to intimidate them and provoke riots. The residents also complained of an indifferent administration which turned a blind eye to such provocation, and the arrest of many Muslim including journalists had been arrested by the police on flimsy charges. The members also discussed detailed facts on the case of 4 minor children being arrested and jailed with adults since December 2017.

The Insaaf Yatra went on to Muzaffarnagar to express solidarity with the protests being organized by the Uttar Pradesh National Alliance for People’s Movements and other civil society organizations against erasure of the criminal cases of Muzaffarnagar pogrom accused. They also met residents of Muzaffarnagar and discussed the local law and order issues. The members of the Insaaf Yatra gave the representatives of the government a memorandum and went on to Kandhla to meet the residents and evaluate the situation post the 2013 pogrom.

The delegation was shocked by the tales of lawlessness, intimidation of Muslim residents, and shocking flouting of law and order by the police. The Insaaf Yatra strongly condemns the arrest of the minor children in Khatauli and being jailed with adults instead of juvenile homes and calls for strict action to be taken against the police and the judge who has abused the rights of children.

The delegation also expressed a strong protest on the state government’s move of withdrawing 131 criminal cases against those accused of riots, murders and dacoity. These are heinous crimes and the guilt, or the innocence of the accused should be decided by the judicial process only. Letting them free without the due process of law is an insult to the Indian judiciary and Constitution as well as the rights of the victims. The members of the delegation have decided to further carry out rallies, protests at local and national level too.

It was specially horrifying hearing about the fake encounters and that pressure being exerted by the police on the families of the victims to withdraw their demands for judicial inquiry. Extra judicial murders have no space in a lawful democracy and we demand independent judicial inquiries into all such encounters. In case of them being proved as murders, the policemen who have been involved in such encounters should be arrested and punished by a court of law. The delegation calls for a strong civil society response against these illegal acts by the police and a national and international campaign to stop the misuse of the law and order machinery.

The Insaaf Yatra included Ovais Sultan Khan, human rights activist and the Managing Trustee of ANHAD, AC Michael, former member Delhi Minorities Commission, Md. Faizan Alam, social activist, Meha Khanduri, human rights activist, Syed Ravish Alam and other social and human rights activists from Delhi, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli.

Bangladesh: No country for women

April 4, 2018

Bangladesh needs to ensure women’s safety in every sphere of life

Where can women be safe in this country? DHAKA TRIBUNE

Bangla Tribune, one of the country’s leading online news portals, published one of my articles on Wednesday on violation against women in Bangladesh. In the piece, I thanked actor Mosharraf Karim for raising an issue of “decent and indecent attire of women” on a television program.

While discussing rape in Bangladesh, the issue of women’s attire came up and he questioned: “If indecent attire is the reason for rape, why was then a seven-year-old child and a burqa-clad woman raped?”

The audience didn’t understand Mosharraf’s question and thought he had attacked religion. Later, he apologized for asking that question regarding women’s attire.

My subject of today’s article is not Mosharraf, but the psyche of the male population in Bangladesh. When my Bangla Tribune piece was posted on its official Facebook page, the followers called me names and tried to brand me an atheist. More importantly (and surprisingly), some of the comments clearly stated that it was logical to violate a woman, if she allures men by wearing indecent attire.

For a moment, I felt sad about the shower of attacks against me, but later I was simply depressed realizing the Bangladeshi male psychology’s take on abuse and harassment of women.

Although most of the men who commented in the thread don’t represent the entire male population of Bangladesh, yet it was enough for me to fathom the partial picture. Most of them thought it is okay to rape a woman, if she wears “indecent” attire.

Appalling.

These people lack the basic understanding of what is abuse or harassment; at the same time, they also don’t have any idea about what religions say about the violence and harassment of women. As a man, I felt belittled by their attitude towards women.

This brings me to the overall picture of how men behave with the women of the country. According to a BBC Bangla report, citing research by ActionAid, about 50% of women have said they have experienced “uninvited touches” while they shopped in the market places. More than 42% of women have said that they encountered bad behaviour while seeking medical services in the hospitals.

The women who responded to the research survey also said they suffer from various kinds of physical harassment in their daily life which they don’t talk about. They don’t talk about it because they know there won’t be any action taken against such harassment.

Ask the women who commute on public transport every day. From bus conductors to other male passengers — everyone, irrespective of age, tries to take advantage of congested spaces within the vehicle and inappropriately “touch” female passengers, every chance they get. And there are plenty of chances, every day and in every bus.

Ask the woman who travels alone on rickshaws: How do the men driving the vehicle behave with them?

The roads, the schools, the workplaces, even their own homes are not safe from abuse and harassment

One time, a friend of mine experienced sexual assault inside a bus. When she protested and sought justice from the passengers sitting in the bus, no one said anything — as if nothing has happened, as if it was normal for the abuser to do what he did; and shockingly, in response, everyone told her to shut up.
On the other hand, the male-dominated media only talks about abuse of women on March 8, very year — on International Women’s Day. Otherwise, we keep silent regarding the gravity of this epidemic issue during the rest of the year.

The period reports of rape do surface in the media, but the follow-ups are never enough to address the issue effectively and thoroughly. At the state level, the issue of sexual violence against women is not addressed properly either.

A female colleague of mine was telling us that as women, they live in constant fear about being physically abused by men. The roads, the schools, the workplaces, even their own homes are not safe from abuse and harassment. Men utilize every opportunity to harass them. She also explained to us how women have developed their individual defense mechanisms. Some succeed, but most do not; and in either case, living a life like this is a constant trauma for them.

This condition doesn’t seem like healthy atmosphere to live in. Formulating laws haven’t helped much — women are still being physically abused when they step out of their homes, they are still deemed sexual objects by men, and they are still being battered in their own homes.

We couldn’t bring about any positive change among the men of the country. Well, some men say they are ashamed to observe other men’s attitude towards women. I guess that’s a change — at least, some feel, rightfully, ashamed.

Ekram Kabir is a story-teller and a columnist.

First published on Dhaka Tribune

India Is Ageing, But States Use Just 7% Of Central Funds For Elderly Healthcare

April 4, 2018

Mumbai: Over the last two years, states and union territories have utilised no more than 7% of the funds released to them for the National Programme for the Healthcare of the Elderly (NPHCE), the government told parliament in this December 29, 2017, response to a question.

On average, only 5% of the Rs 1,414 crore released for NPHCE under the non-communicable diseases (NCD) flexible pool during 2015-16 and 2017-18 has been utilised. The NCD flexible pool is one of the six major financing components of the National Health Mission (NHM), the country’s largest public health programme. The flexible pool provides freedom to state governments to use funds for varying purposes and not restrict them to specific uses.

India’s elderly population increased by 26.8 million in the decade ending 2011, as IndiaSpend reported on October 7, 2017. At present, one in 10 Indians is aged above 60 years, but by 2050 a fifth (19%, nearly one in five) of all Indians will be aged 60 years or more.

“Health is a State subject and it is the basic responsibility of the State Government to ensure optimal utilization of funds, while implementing the scheme in the districts. It is also submitted that NPHCE is now a part of National Health Mission under its NCD Flexible Pool. NPHCE is also being monitored by the National Health Mission Division of the Ministry,” the government stated, citing this 2015 action-taken report of the department-related parliamentary standing committee of the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) on health and family welfare. “The Committee finds that the Department has been too slow in ensuring optimum utilization of funds which would adversely affect the actual implementation of the activities not to mention the cost overruns,” the report said.

In the following year, the committee made a similar observation on underutilisation of funds and urged the department to act. “The Committee feels that factual statements should be borne by results in form of healthy utilisation of funds allocated and recommends that the operational flexibility does not mean abnegation of responsibility. The Committee, therefore, exhorts the Department to ensure strict monitoring for optimum utilisation of allocated funds,” the 2016 report stated. It recommended that “’strict instructions’ instead of just ‘reminders’ should be issued to States to ensure proper utilization of funds.”

In a similar report presented in the Rajya Sabha on December 18, 2013, the committee had noted a lack of planning and improperly defined targets.

“Most state governments, overwhelmed with existing health care [responsibilities], do not have the appetite for a new programme,” Dr A.B. Dey, professor and head of geriatric medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, told IndiaSpend. “Apathy of state governments, bureaucratic attitude of ministry officials, poor selection of implementing centres, unwillingness to accept technical advice from experts are some of the reasons for the failure of the programme.”

A national programme

The NPHCE was launched in 2010-11 to provide separate, specialized and comprehensive healthcare to senior citizens (aged 60 years and above) at various levels of the state healthcare system.

The programme aims to set up geriatric departments in identified regional geriatric centres (RGCs), 10-bedded geriatric units at district hospitals, rehabilitation units at all community health centres, and weekly geriatric clinics by trained medical officers at primary health centres.

In 2015-16, NPHCE was moved under the NCD flexible pool.

During the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17), Rs 1,710.13 crore was approved for NPHCE. Two-thirds (67%) of this, Rs 1,147.56 crore, was earmarked for activities up to district level and Rs 562.57 crore for tertiary-level activities such as advanced consultative care and diagnosis.

States fail to spend funds

Uttar Pradesh has the largest population of the elderly (15 million) in India. But from 2015-16 to 2017-18, the most the state government spent was 13% of the released amount, in the year 2016-17. Since 2015, it has spent Rs 18 crore (8%) out of the Rs 220 crore released.

The state spent the amount allocated only once between 2012-13 and 2014-15–Rs 1.8 crore in 2013-14–according to this December 4, 2015, government response in the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament).

Similarly, Tamil Nadu has only once recorded any expenditure since 2012-13–it spent Rs 1.26 crore from a release of Rs 21.45 crore in 2016-17.

The project director of the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project had requested the state government to authorise the project’s non-communicable disease cell to implement the geriatric healthcare programme and waited until 2013 for approval. Such approval was unnecessary, according to a report by the government’s auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General, Scroll.in reported on September 5, 2017.

Kerala, which is planning to start a budget analysis for the elderly from next year, has only spent 14% of a total released amount of Rs 24.16 crore between 2015 and 2017 (as of December 2017). At 13%, Kerala has the highest proportion of senior citizens among all Indian states, IndiaSpend reported on October 7, 2017.

No clear answers

The resultant facilities are sub-standard or non-existent, Anupama Datta, director of policy research and development at the non-profit HelpAge India, told IndiaSpend. “In rural areas, where most of the elderly population in India reside, there are no facilities,” she said, adding, “The state governments are often not keen on spending on programmes like the NPHCE as they find additional funds needed for qualified staff, training, salary, etc. unavailable. Once they embark on the programme they must source funds to cover the requirements.”

However, NPHCE is now under the flexible pool, and states are still not spending the funds. IndiaSpend reached out to the joint secretary and two directors at the health ministry, and the principal secretary of the health department as well as the director of NHM in Tamil Nadu to understand why funds lie unused. Only one officer at the health ministry agreed to talk, while preferring to remain anonymous; other officials did not respond despite repeated attempts.

Although central funding for salaries and administrative expenses are for a finite period, the centre front-loads these expenses to facilities state governments, Sujaya Krishnan, formerly a joint secretary at the central health ministry, told IndiaSpend. However, states still remain wary, or uninterested, she said.

A health ministry officer, who did not wish to have their identity revealed, said shortage of trained medical staff for geriatric care at the state level, and delays in release of funds from state treasuries to district administrations, lead to underutilisation of funds.

“Despite the flexibility provided at the state level by NHM,” said Sakhtivel Selvaraj, Director Health (Economics and Financing) at Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), “it is often observed that the lower level of the bureaucracy expect a norm or a guideline to be set for fund utilization. It adds to delays.”

Also, in some years, central and state treasuries direct that expenditure be cut back, especially during periods when they want to trim fiscal deficits, Selvaraj said.

Lack of training

Since the NPHCE is a clinical care programme, training of healthcare professionals is vital. “Only a handful of medical colleges have done anything visible,” Dey of AIIMS said, explaining that the Medical Council of India does not easily allow starting of new postgraduate programmes such as to train doctors in geriatric care. He said only AIIMS started a new MD (Medicinae Doctor) programme in Geriatric Medicine, and one medical college in Chennai had one already.

“The programme has no direction,” Dey said, adding that most healthcare professionals have no training in geriatric care, no specialised training programme has been created, and there is little IEC (information, education and communication) material to create awareness. “The programme needs technical support, and leadership from bureaucrats,” he said.

The government is supporting the development of two specialised national centres for ageing (NCAs) at AIIMS and Madras Medical College, Chennai. NCAs would provide healthcare services, train professionals, and conduct research, all focused on the elderly.

Additionally, there are 18 regional geriatric centres (RGCs) across India. These provide outpatient departments for the elderly and post-graduate courses in geriatrics.

As of December 29, 2017, Rs 40 crore had been utilised from a total release of Rs 175 crore for RGCs and NCAs between 2015-16 and 2017-18–23% of the total amount released.

“Social attitudes toward the elderly need to change to observe better results,” said Datta of HelpAge.

The government should focus on establishing more RGCs and NCAs across the country, particularly in rural and backward regions, recommended the 23rd report of the Committee on Estimates on Medical Education and Health Care in the Country presented in Lok Sabha on December 21, 2017. There should be greater emphasis on geriatric medicine courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels as well as in paramedical courses, it said.

As per data in the Lok Sabha response, in 2013-14, the states spent Rs 24 crore from a central release of Rs 1 crore, and close to 96% of the funds the year after.

(Paliath is an analyst with IndiaSpend)

Courtesy: India Spend

Reform in Muslim Community: Comprehensive Approach Needed

April 4, 2018

A debate regarding condition of Muslims in India and process of reform within Muslim community has been kindled by Harsh Mander’s article Sonia Sadly’ (IE March 7) and its response by Ramchandra Guha (Liberals O, IE)) While there are multiple factors influencing the process, broadly there are some within the community and some outside phenomenon which have positive-negative impact on the process of change. A complex combination of the two is what leads to social change over a period of time. While Mander is focusing on external negative influences on the Muslim community, in response Ramchandra Guha is focusing on practices within the Muslim community.

What has been happening to the Muslim community as a whole during last few decades is very important to understand as to why reformers like Hamid Dalwai and Arif Mohammad Khan could not cut ice. What is retarding the reform in the community is the increasing sense of insecurity. There are two major phenomena which have heightened this sense of security. At national level the rising communal violence has lead to loss of lives, home and means of livelihood. There is also a great amount of overall economic marginalization of the community for various reasons. These two have impacted on the community to stick to retrograde norms with the conservative Maulanas calling the shots.

Globally, the politics of control over oil resources leading to the rise of terrorism in the name of Islam, has led to rise of global Islamophobia and demonization of Muslims. The very Muslim identity is being presented as a threat to the society. We saw the impact of both of these in rise in the hold of obscurantist leadership and practices within the country. Way back I did observe that my research scholars, in the aftermath of 1992-93 Mumbai violence, started visiting the mosque more often. My faculty colleague switched from a religion neutral surname to one which flaunted his Muslim identity. While, living in IIT Bombay campus also observed that young Muslim girls, wearing Shalwar Kameez or pants tee shirts took recourse to Burqa in the aftermath of Gujarat carnage of 2002.

In the wake of Makkah Masjid, Malegaon, Samjhauta and Ajmer blasts the immediate action from the police force was to arrest many Muslim young men, who were put behind the bars for years before the process of law rescued them. This again came as a great dampener to the process of reform, even education to which a section of Muslim community was avidly longing was put on the backburner in the aftermath of Batla House encounter and demonization of places like Azamgarh or Bhatkal.

How can the reform process succeed in the besieged community? By now, as Mander points out the political marginalization of the community are complete. The aftermath of communal violence came in the form of ghettoisation of Muslim community in places like Mumbra close to Mumbai (92-93 violence) and Juhapura (2002), how much reform can be brought in the intimidated, ghettoized communities. Surely there has been a great effort by many enlightened Muslims to promote education within the community. I did happen to meet successful Muslims professionals in a trip to US. Most of them came forward with a single minded devotion to encourage education among Indian Muslims by supporting educational institutions and by giving scholarship to young Muslim girls and boys, to boost what the reformers like J S Bandookwala in Gujarat and many a Muslim organization scattered all over the country are doing.

In the present political scenario the fulcrum of politics is shifting to the right and the politicos have to flaunt their Hinduism for electoral purpose. At the same time the assertion like ‘all those living here are Hindus’ (Mohan Bhagwat) do come as an intimidation to sections of the community. In this backdrop the likes of Asghar Ali Engineer, who presented a humane version of Islam and gave the foundation for social reform remained marginalized from the mainstream Muslim community. Muslim community is in the bind. Political marginalization is not an isolated process; it is founded on process of Hate constructed against the community. For this the popularization of communal history and the sense of persecution of Hindus at the hands of earlier Muslim rulers and current Hafiz Saeed’s is part of the popular perception.

One stands with Guha in appreciating the efforts of every Hamid Dalwai or Arif Mohammad Khan, but one also needs to understand the objective situation in which the Muslim community is being pushed into the corner. The ills of ‘two nation theory’, the thorny issue of Kashmir is even now acting as a tormentor of the Muslim community. From last over a decade Muslim friends, whom one never perceived for their religious identity, have started raising the question, ‘what it means to be a Muslim in India today? The whole liberal tradition of Muslims from Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Zakir Hussain to Ustad Bismillah Khan, Sahir Ludhianvi, Kaifi Azmi and Javed Akhtar are very much a part of Indian Muslim community. The point is why their acceptability is limited within the community.

Even currently the group of ‘Muslims for Secular Democracy’ and ‘Moderate Muslim’ groups is raising their voices against the Mullah version of Islam. The question which should come to the fore is as to why these voices of sanity are not able to make to necessary dent in the broader sections of society gripped by conservatism? Currently, interestingly it is the time where due to impact of Hindu nationalist ideology even faith based knowledge and most retrograde values are being encouraged by the dominant political tendency. In these times to work for progressive reforms among Muslims becomes much more difficult. One hopes a combination of Hamid Dalwais’ passion for reform, Asghar Ali Engineer’s humane interpretation of Islam carries the day from within the community. Outside, the necessary condition is blunting the sharpness of Hindu nationalism, which is creating Hate, Ghettoisation and marginalization of the community.

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