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Find
here some of the previous editorials which earlier appeared on our Home Page.
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Women in Civic Bodies
It’s good news for the women’s community of Odisha. The presence of women in civic bodies, otherwise also
known as panchayats has been further strengthened. The Govt. of Odisha
has declared that a minimum of 50 % of all the posts in the Panchayati Raj system would be reserved for women.
Incidentally, it was in Odisha for the first time in the country that the system of reservation of seats in the panchayats was introduced, when in 1991 the then chief minister Mr. Biju Patnaik declared
reservation of 33 % of seats for women. Afterwards some other states also followed
suit and increased presence of women in the civic bodies of their states. The present chief minister of Odisha, Mr. Naveen
Patnaik has provided another fillip in this direction by increasing the quota to 50 %.
The three tiers of Panchayati Raj system (the panchayats, panchayat samitis and zilla parishads)
serve as an ideal manifestation of local self government that is essential for improving the quality of our civic life. A
wide range of local services such as public sanitation, drainage, lane maintenance and illumination of roads call for considerable
improvement in standards and only an effective functioning of our Panchayati Raj system could ensure
the same. Now being at a better position to control our civic bodies women are in a position to demonstrate that when it comes
to meeting the responsibilities of a public office they do not lag behind in proving their mettle.
This being the theoretical expectation behind the government’s move to increase the presence of women in civic bodies,
the reality however remains pathetically otherwise. Ever since the provision of one-third seats in civic bodies was implemented
in Odisha it has been found that in certain instances women have allowed their name, signature and authority to be used by
their husbands, brothers or sons for exercising authority in local self government . In other words, male functionaries
in our society have been using the proxy of the female members in their families to gain entry into positions of power.
We of course do not mean to say that it is happening everywhere in all panchayats of Odisha. But this sorry state
of affairs exists in a considerable number of instances. This trend needs to be curbed effectively if the true spirit behind
handing over management of our civic bodies to the women’s community is to be realised.
The next panchayat election in Odisha is scheduled to be held in February 2012, when the new provision of
reservation of 50 % seats for women will be implemented for the first time. Now it is the duty of all the talented and efficient
women in our community with an inclination to serve the society to come forward and share the responsibilities of managing
our civic bodies and prove that we could discharge our duties in a better manner as compared with the report card of
the male functionaries so far in this regard.
(Published on 01 December 2011)
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Treatment Our Achievers Get
Imagine who is there in this picture lying on a hospital bed in Puri? She is the
one who once made us, all Oriyas, proud. Being the first person from Orissa to stand atop Mount Everest with the national
flag in one hand and the flag of Nilachakra of the Jagannath Mandir in the other, she earned high accolades from around
the world. It was a feat which was till then unachieved by even any of the men from Orissa.
Now visualise what sort of treatment such an accomplished daughter of Orissa should be receiving
from its people and the government. She has been sitting on ‘dharna’ in front the the Jagannath temple in Puri
begging alms from the passersby. She has been forced to resort to this form of protest following the state government’s
failure to provide her with the means of livelihood. She was promised a job by the government at a point when she brought
glory to the state by scaling Mt. Everest. But as time passed it was conveniently forgotten by the powers that be.
Kalpana started her dharna on 22nd May 2011 near the Lions Gate of the Jagannath temple. She
lay there in her mountaineer’s gear observing complete silence with a begging bowl in her front. She did not utter a
single word. Even when she had to speak to the govt. officials and newspersons she scribbled her words on a piece of paper.
When on behalf of Oriyanari.com we called her mobile number to enquire about her condition, a member of her family picked
the phone to say that since Kalpana was observing complete silence she wouldn’t be in a position to speak.
News reports say that her condition has worsened today, 28th May 2011 (when this write-up
is being published). Continuous 'dharna' in the open for a prolonged period has badly affected her health and she has been
hospitalised in the District Hospital, Puri.
Every Oriya should hang his or her face in shame for such a turn of events. We belong to a
state which does not bother to take care of even the few number of outstanding achievers it has.
In this context it will not be out of place to mention that last year when we spoke to Kalpana
to gather some information for writing an article on her achievements for our ‘Personality’ page, she
was under tremendous strain. After her success in scaling Mt. Everest she was then planning her next expedition to Mount McKinlay,
the highest mountain peak of North America. While she was doing all she could to train herself for the challenging task
(challenging, in the sense that none from India had so far scaled the mountain peak) mobilising the required funds for
the expedition was a major problem. All she needed was USD 12,000. She had approached government authorities, industrial
houses and resourceful individuals. But none was forthcoming with any help.
“What should I do?” she asked us “I am thinking of begging in the streets
of Bhubaneswar for the funds I require. If every person contributes one rupee each it will meet my budget. I haven’t
spoken to any one yet about this plan, not even to the press. What do you say?” She was damn serious.
We told her that if she carried this out it would be a great disgrace to the state and its
people and requested her to desist from doing it. We consequently tried to spread her appeal through the net. We sent
emails to the chief minister of Orissa, the sports department of the state and all members of parliament from Orissa. But
the response was null.
Then our main concern was to dissuade her from begging in the streets. Luckily she did
not have to resort to it because of the last-minute support received from certain organisations. But we are pained
that now Kalpana could not be prevented from taking recourse to begging as a measure of protest against the treatment
meted out to her by the government.
As we said, it is a disgrace. Let this sorry state of affairs be not prolonged further. Providng
a decent job to an outstanding sports talent is not beyond the means of our state government. Let it be done; and done soon.
(Published on 28 May 2011)
( UPDATES: News reports say that in view of Kalpana's worsening health conditions her family members have,
in the meanwhile, shifted her from Puri to their home in Dhenkanal. But Kalpana continues her protests there also,
observing complete silence, even as she is under medical treatment.
FURTHER UPDATES: We are glad to report that Kalpana has finally accepted a job offered to her by
the Lanco Babandh Power Limited (a private sector company). She joined the company on 4th july 2011 and has
also ended her agitation which she continued in Dhenkanal.)
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Women Against Alcoholism
Hundreds of women marched in the streets of Bhubaneswar recently raising slogans against the
growing menace of alcoholism in the state. The women hailing from all the 30 districts of Orissa gathered under the banner
of ‘Mada Mukti Abhiyan’ and staged a massive protest demonstration demanding abolition of the ‘Orissa
Excise Act’, and implementation of the ‘Orissa Liquor prohibition Act’
in its place.
Drunken husbands have brought turmoil in many a home in Orissa and it is the ladies in these
homes who have been at the receiving end of the disastrous addiction of their men. So, naturally, they are
the first and foremost ones in raising voice against the menace.
Protests by women’s groups in various parts of the state against liquor abuse have become
common news. In some instances they have even been bold enough to undertake destruction of liquor shops. A couple of months
back women from Jillinda, Regeda and Kamaladiha villages in Narasinghpur Tehsil fociblly closed down two liquor shops after
participating in a prolonged agitation organised by the ‘Binapani Mahila Mahasangha’. They also took a vow before Mahatma Gandhi's statue to make their area free from drug and liquor addiction.
Elsewhere at the Sanpur Manjurai village in Jagatsingpur area, hundereds of women organised
a rally against illicit liquor trade. They alleged that due to the existence of large number of liquor shops in their area
many people became victims of drunkenness and often misbehaved with the women creating unruly scenes, so much so that even
children feared to go to the school.
Some months back the anti-liquor agitators of Kandhamal district staged a ‘dharna’
continuously for 23 days in front of the district collector’s office. Prior to this an angry mob of women had destroyed
some newly opened liquor shops in the Daringibadi area.
These widespread agitations by women in various parts of the state indicate that the government’s
policy of encouraging liquor trade with the motive of earning more revenue is turning disastrous. What’s alarming
in this regard is the government’s role as a prime facilitator of the impending disaster. One is prompted to raise the
question: why should the government at all be in the business of liquor trade in the first place?
The original idea behind the government’s taking control of the liquor trade was to regulate
the sale of liquor and ensure that spurious and illegal liquor did not flow into the market. It was also envisaged that by
levying higher excise duties on alcoholic beverages its affordability could be curtailed. But
it appears that after tasting the blood of growing excise revenue from the liquor trade this route has now been grabbed by
the government as a lucrative revenue earning opportunity. Deviating from its original approach of making the availability
of liquor dearer, it is now rather encouraging opening of more number of liquor shops so that still higher revenue
could be earned.
It’s an irony that while the state machinery has faced failure in many of its avowed
missions, the astronomic growth in excise revenue remains as the only isle of success amid the vast ocean of its failures.
What else could explain the Orissa revenue minister’s boastful claim that the actual collection of excise revenue (from
liquor trade) exceeded the target by Rs. 46.13 crores in the fiscal year 2009-10? A poor state failing to achieve targets
in industrialisation, education and health care, has paradoxically registered success only in generating income by pushing
millions of its poor citizens into alcoholism. Nothing else could be more unfortunate.
It’s time the alert women of Orissa raised still stronger voice against this misplaced
policy of the government. Alcoholism must go. In the meanwhile, it won’t be a bad idea to continue treating the
errant husbands with the kind of “Patent Medicine” prescribed by the eminent writer Fakir Mohan Senapati
in his acclaimed story.
(Published on 25 March 2011)
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No Mobile Phones for Girls
This is the diktat issued by the leaders of a community in Orissa. It has
termed the use of mobile phone by unmarried girls as the primary reason for their ‘going astray’. This decision
has been sounded recently by the Paikal Khandayat Samaj of South Orissa.
Before commenting on the pros and cons of the edict let us take into consideration
the arguments on which such a decision is based. The community leaders feel: “The frequent use of the electronic
gadget by teenagers is the primary cause of many disturbed lives.” They say that unmarried girls don’t need to
be technology savvy as it invites problems not only for them, but also their family members.
About 10,000 families of Paikai Khandayats live in the Ganjam District
alone. The diktat applies to them all. Ironically this decision was taken by the community leaders on the day of Raja festival,
which celebrates the liberty of womanhood.
Clearly enough, it has been an attempt at social engineering. As can be
judged by fate of many such attempts made by various community leaders in the past, it is bound to end in failure.
Because every woman is entitled to the benefit of technological advancement (in communication, in the instant case) as much
as any man is. The revolution in communication has overtaken our society as a surging wave; nothing could ever stop it. Besides,
one fails to understand what makes the community leaders feel that a simple electronic gadget such as the mobile
phone would not ‘spoil’ its men also?
A study of the role of gender patterns in the use of mobile phones by Prof.
Dr. Hans Gaisar of the Institute of Sociology, University of Zurich, concludes, “More women than men have assimilated
the mobile phone as a central component of their personal existence: by integrating it into their life style or by becoming
so dependent on it that life without it has become unimaginable.”
In this perspective, there is no denying that girls need to be properly
counselled and educated on the rational and restrained use of mobile phones. It could save them the embarrassment of making
the mobile phone central to various emotional decision makings in their life.
But a complete ban on the use of mobile phones by girls is grossly outrageous.
The Indian public psychology has a tendency to get attracted to anything that is banned. One can see it in public parks where
people tend to pluck flowers more if there is a signboard nearby pleading not to pluck flowers.
What makes the community leaders of the Paikali Khandayat Samaj feel that
their command would not meet a similar fate? Do they have the wherewithal to implement their decision in a foolproof manner?
We think that there is no need to withdraw the diktat; because it is bound to fizzle out on its own.
However we appreciate another decision taken by the Samaj to
make education up to standard X compulsory for all the girls of the community. It would serve as an exemplary trend setter
if it succeeds in achieving this goal.
(Published on 30 July 2011)
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School Girls on Bicycle
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Maa Bhagabati Behind Locks
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