Scams, Frauds and The State

Not a single day passes off these days without the newspapers carrying some or the other sob stories of people robbed of lakhs or even sometimes crores of rupees from their bank accounts. Usually the stories how the victims receive calls from unknown callers with enticing news like a parcel for you awaiting  to be picked up from the Customs counter at the local airport after paying the duty into a bank account  mentioned or the news form a recently acquired friend  in a matrimonial site asking for a deposit in an account to clear his immigration obstacle or an SOS message from a friend stuck in a foreign land with his passport and purse stolen for an  immediate transfer to a  bank account so as to secure his release and return home. The victims are not the poor uneducated rural customers as one would think of anyone falling prey to such frauds or scams but highly educated city- bred professionals like advocates, doctors, business-executives, cinema actors and   society ladies. The stories end with victims filing complaints with the bank, or specially created cyber crime wings of police etc. and the usual warning to not respond to phone calls from unknown phone callers.

There are also types of cyber-crimes. With so much online use for buying, selling, enquiring, travel and entertainment booking and even medical appointment and data sources like Wikipedia, Google, the whereabouts of one’s lifestyles, food habits, health and hobbies choice preferences fora thousands of things of all of us are an open book for anyone to exploit our vulnerability. Many societies have therefore enacted laws and systems to prevent, detect and punish those committing crimes. This is not withstanding the State itself for security reasons using cyber technology to detect and punish terrorists, drug mafia, human trafficators.

With so much danger looming large on our right to privacy and the State’s duty to protect its citizens, a moot question arises “Are laws and intentions alone sufficient?  Apparently not as the following news item would suggest/

As per a news item “” Bank not liable for following orders sent via hacked email” in The Times of India Mumbai dated16th Sept, a compliant by a Bank customer alleging negligence and deficiency in service and due diligence has been kicked about like a football between the Bank, Ombudsman, the State Consumer Commission and the concerned govt agency for cyber-crime. The Bank maintained that the party most responsible for causing the payment to be misdirected must bear the loss. Th Ombudsman did not accept the complaint for lack of details. The State Consumer Protection Commission considered it not as a fraud arising out of negligence or deficiency of service or of due diligence and interpreted it more as a cyber -crime fit to be dealt with by the Government agency for cyber-crime under the relevant provisions of the cyber law.

 We poor citizens are not concerned with such hair-splitting whether the loss to us is because of fraud or scam or our vulnerability or negligence. We want immediate corrective action for compensation of loss and fixing responsibility on whosoever committing negligence.  

 Today one talks of One Nation, One Everything but no one talks talk about   One Window for Victims of Fraud...

Is anyone listening?

 

Maid and MaYed in Mumbai

 Maid and MaYed in Mumbai

I was talking to my Kerala friend about encouraging the MSMEs when he interrupted and asked if I was  talking about MaYde in India policy. It took me only a second to understand that he meant Made in India policy because the Malayalees pronounce Blade as BlaYde and Table as TaYble adding a nasal Y accent to these words.  As I was already thinking of writing a blog on the iconic institution of the Maids of Mumbai, I decided to extend the scope of the blog to include the goods  of MSMEs which are  MaYde in Mumbai. 

  Dharavi in Mumbai ,with an area of 535 acres and  a population of more than one million, is considered as one of  the world's largest slums and a highly diverse settlement religiously and ethnically.   It has also the distinction of being the Maximum city's MSME hub  of a 1 billion dollar economy  with its  5000 businesses in some 15000 single room factories. The products manufactured are primarily garments, rexin and leather goods , soaps and detergents, potteries, furniture and food items. Additionally there are units engaged in tannery, tailoring, plastic recycling . In the case of leather and rexin goods , there are units making  hand bags of international brands , belts, shoes and and their imitations at a lower price. its products are exported to USA , Europe and the Middle east.  The congestion and lack of infrastructure here  has necessitated a plan for its  redevelopment .

  The Maids of Mumbai are the thousands of Kaam Bais working as part time cooks,  house-keeping karmcahris , care providers for children and the old and the infirm and a score of other ad-hoc jobs.  . They are mostly second or third generation Mumbai  Maharashtrians and are known for their honesty , sincerity and worth ethos. They undertake the work on a jab by job basis like sweeping and dusting , washing, cleaning utensils , each considered as a job and a wage  rate specific  to each. Regularity and  punctuality is their hall mark ,  mansoon or no mansoon. 

The cooks among them learn the different cuisines desired by the employer . Very presentable in  colourful sarees and well -fitting blouses or kameez and pajamas , oiled and groomed hairdos with some flowers tucked on the bun ,  they project a picture of good health and  hygiene . Some of them  look  even more sophisticated  and polished than perhaps their lady employers making some husbands leer at them.   They send their children to good schools, have the saving habit and not dreaded to discipline their men if  the need arises.  They may be servants in  others homes but they are certainly the  masters in  their own  homes. They are not shy of asking for a raise in their wages every year , a months salary as bonus on Diwali and 2 days leave with pay every month. Though not unionised, one can not sack them without their consent. 

What would life  be  in Mumbai without  Dharavi and the Kaam bais is hard to imagine.

 

Dr. A.V. Raman. Ph. D (Pune) B.A. (Hons), AICWA

Fulbright Post-Doctoral Fellow.

 

                                                       Board Barrier

 As one who has spent around three decades in the field of higher education, I was happy to read “Board Results don’t Impact one’s Larger Academic and Professional Journey Prof. Bijayalaxmi Nanda in Mumbai Times on May 18. She hits the nail on its head when she observes “It is the collective responsibility of society to stop judging children based on board examinations. Let me add some more thoughts.

The joint responsibility begins in the child’s home where more often than not the child is coerced   to believe that board results are the be all and end all through inducement or threat or even punishment. This should stop forthwith. The argument that in a highly competitive process of admission to professional education, board examination results coupled with an even more tough common entrance test score is counter-productive as the child may develop a morbid fear of examinations and tests. A student getting 98.9 % in Biology and comes within the first 100 ranks in NEET need not necessarily be suited for pursuing a curriculum of professional education in medicine unless an aptitude test to assess his/her capability to practice medicine is administered and evaluated. Similarly, within the MBA scene, a person somewhat shy and withdrawn may not be suitable for a sales job requiring an outgoing personality.

The second   entity involved in executing the joint responsibility is the print media who publish interviews of students scoring unbelievable high scores and the preparations they made for their high performance, with photographs of their parents to boot!  It is quite in order if the schools they passed out from recognize their merit in special functions and award them prizes but what good is the advertisements except the commercial interests of the Coaching Institutes. A recent film” All India Rank” highlights the travails of a student being subjected to unceasing pressure by his father to make it to admission for a private coaching institute in Kota for IIT entrance examination.

The third entity is appropriate policy for reducing competition faced by students due to demand- supply mis match particularly in undergraduate professional courses. The National Education Policy is sadly silent in this regard  except saying that the policy for college admission is “” based on the pillars of Access, Equity, Quality “, Affordability and Accountability”., As for professional course in Medicine it states “Given that people exercise pluralistic choices in healthcare, our health-care education system must be integrative meaning thereby that all students of allopathic medical education must have a basic understanding of Ayush and vice versa.”  ...

The fourth entity is the employer, both government and private. It is not clear how these agencies would redefine their qualification requirements for jobs.  With the graded system up to secondary school and curriculum designed to include knowledge and skills, the student now has the option to drop out at the end of the first and second years with certificate and diploma respectively, the employer should stipulate qualification/experience requirements. This may further include clarification on issues like the student dropping out will get preference to rejoin his employer .

 It is fervently hoped that issue raised here draws the attention of all concerned with children and their education

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Crowd Management  : An Alternative Perspective

 Huge crowd gatherings are  not new to  India. Any occasion is good enough ;  fairs and festivals,  religious discourses  pravachans , sporting events etc. Massive crowds from all over the country gather like  at Kumbh Melas. Political parties too gather huge crowds providing  free transport and other incentives. In recent times,  the national passion for cricket has also become  a big crowd puller.

Organisers of these events obtain permission form Local Administrations and the latter  provide facilities like   drinking water, toilet , temporary accommodation in tents, special buses and   trains to and from the site , first-aid,  general medical and sanitary services to control spread of diseases like cholera, etc. Managing Crowd at Events and Venues of Mass Gathering ,a 2014 publication of National Disaster Management Authority is replete with details of precautions and provisions for managing crowds.   These only represent the strategy  in crowd management from the ""Supply" side.  

    With a growing population , increased per capita income and improved transport services,  crowds swell in large numbers every year  posing enormous problems for Local authorities to provide these facilities adequately .   Further , there is the unpredictable risk of the crowd getting into a frenzy to rush to the temple, river or the spiritual guru to have darshan, the holy bath or blessings of the Guru. . If there is lack of any of the arrangements, heaven forbid,  the catastrophe of human misery of death and injury of hundreds of people.  Added to these is the problem of law and order when  anti-social elements get into the fray. 

    No matter how adequately or efficiently they are provided , there would always be a gap between what is required and what is provided. Therefore, it is time to address the crowd management problem from "Demand" side. .In a nutshell,  this would comprise policy initiatives to curb the crowd attendance in fairs and festivals. At best,  encouragement  by providing incentives for travel to the sites should be stopped forthwith.as some State governments announced  free  trains and buses to Ayodhya after the Ram Mandir consecration.  Instead,  some additional fare could have been levied to transport the devotees in safety and  comfort.  ..Another option could be to stagger the fairs in two or three segments spread over a month. For instance,  the Shahi Snan (Bath) in Kumbh Mela could be on two days of the   same Shukla/Krishna Paksha   "Thithis" occurring at monthly interval... 

    These ideas  may not be brushed aside even if they ruffle the feathers.in  some sections of the people  A dispassionate  understanding and cooperation of Heads of religious and social groups should dispel any objection if  they realise  the implication of an unrestricted  crowd   the limited resources for  provision of safety and comfort  and the grave risk of damage to life and property if  crowds are not restricted in number..

 

Make Haste Slowly.

 During the course of the recently concluded General Elections, the bureaucrats in the   ministries and departments were tasked to prepare action plans for the first 100 days after the formation of the new government which was said to be a usual practice prior to transition of governments. However, this time over, the outgoing government added that as it was sure of returning to power with a higher majority, these plans would provide continuity of action to fulfil its guarantees in the election rallies.

Contrary to its expectation, a new coalition government under the outgoing BJP Prime Minister has taken over with the support of two major and a few smaller regional parties. This will impact the tempo of continuity of old and new policies because the coalition partners with different priorities and agenda may not necessarily be on the same page as the BJP.

It is here that the caption of this piece and an old adage “Make Haste Slowly” should   come to guide the new government in its functioning.  “Look before leaping and take counsel of experience” are democratic axioms. In the past, there have been   instances of hasty decision and implementation of vital policy like demonetization, pandemic lockout, farm laws, the Agniveer project for induction of jawans in armed forces etc., resulting in untold human and economic suffering of the people. In retrospect, they proved to be hastily conceived plans, not well thought through and with little or no preparation or facilitation of the people to face the impact.   

Some coalition partners have already indicated the need to revisit some schemes like Agniveer and make it more responsive to the needs of people. As per newspaper reports, a Committee of Secretaries is on the job of including some changes. Similarly other areas of contention merit detailed debate and discussion in a free and fair manner. This is nothing unknown in Parliamentary democracy but was somehow not   followed in the recent past.   

Apart from political parties, there have also been groups of retired civil servants, armed forces personnel, judges, eminent industrialists etc who have now and then raised their voices on issues concerning civil rights, public good, governance etc. Due consideration of their accumulated wisdom and experience must be given. This does not in any mitigate the supremacy of Parliament or the Government.

 Aging Vs Maturing

 

Nowadays it is fashionable  for many old  persons like me ,when complemented on their agility and cheerful disposition and participation in  group activity such as Bollywood dancing, laughing aloud or practicing kapalabhati in public places like parks , reply  “ Age is just a number.”   We do not realize  that such complements are given more  out of deference for our age  than asking us to  be  our age.

At 85+, I thought I should evaluate myself against the two parameters of age and maturity. Thanks to my doctor’s diagnosis  of  my many complaints like diabetes,  hypertension, joint pains, shortness of breath and bouts of slumber during waking hours as all “Age Related”,  I am convinced  that I  score very high along the age axis. However, along the other maturity axis , I have to depend on other’s perceptions of my behaviour and attitude to get my score.

 I know their politeness prevents them from expressing an honest opinion about my maturity.   However,  on one occasion  the  opinion  of my superior about me  during my  career resulted in difficulty to get a scholarship to go abroad for higher studies. The other assessment about this attribute of my character must have been presumably favourable since in government offices the dictum is only adverse remarks are communicated.

I don’t understand why opinions about one’s maturity are treated confidential and ,if ever aired , are always behind one’s back. This hidden aspect of my persona leads me to wildly guess how others would have seen me and to indulge in  a new pastime  during  my sleepless hours of  nights when I compose  in the third person singular what I crave  to hear about myself  from others.  For instance, I would imagine that my wife would tell others that but for me she would not have learned the use of correct prepositions and other English grammatical niceties or praise me for my immaculate and cultivated dignity, respect, elan and politeness in my conversations with others, especially with those from her side of the family.

The regret is assessment of maturity is external and subjective and depends on the assessee’s sense of discretion, tolerance, timing and even choice of words when speaking and using a preconceived notion of right or wrong, moral or ethical or an indeterminate consistence with physical age.

 Both aging and maturing are natural phases in everyone’s life . They connote  growth- the former in a biological/physical sense while the latter with reference to behaviour and attitudes. They are mostly  corelated positively i.e., the higher the age , the greater the maturity. The difference between them however is the units of their measurement, age is measured in units of time like years and months , while maturity relies on external perceptions of others judging a person’s behaviour / attitude vis a vis a given situation.   

There can also be sometimes negative correlation  between age and the degree of maturity. Some children are precocious showing extraordinary intelligence at a level expected of a seasoned elder person. If it is exhibited by interruption when elders are discussing some issue, they are dubbed premature or even more crudely as in Tamil “pijile pazuthathu”( ripen when still a bud) or “mundri kottai”( the jetting out nut in a cashew fruit) or “adhika prasangi”( over ripe) . There was one such child known to us in Delhi?/Shimla years ago whose father began his conversation with others first by asking the child to keep shut. Similarly, if an aged person says or does something or opines out of turn in a conversation or discussion , he is said to exhibit “Vayadhana alavukku arivu valara villai” (Showing a low degree of maturity not  consistent with his age) or “padicha muttal”( educated fool)

The difference between these items  is the units of their measurement, age is measured in units of time like years and months , as well as other external body - signs  like height, weight hair and its colour, skin and its wrinkles  and many mental signs like gender aspirations, aptitude for learning etc. On the other hand, maturity relies on external perceptions of others judging a person’s behaviour / attitude vis a vis a given situation with  the assessor using  a preconceived notion of right or wrong, moral or ethical  or the indeterminate  consistence with physical age.

Can I now expect some dispassionate assessment of my maturity  and its compatibility with my age?

 

 

   

 I am republishing hereunder my earlier post dated 1st October 2016 where I  lamented the difficulty when newspapers bring out their daily editions without ever thinking about the problems faced by the readers.  Things have only worsened since then. In the present festive season, there are more pages carrying advertisements for items ranging from designer watches to jewelry to shoes to pressure cookers.  Then there are of course full-page advertisements about the great advancements made by  States preparing for elections with beaming photos of  CMs and national leaders. There is no definite page carrying the crossword puzzle, it is on the last page some days or elsewhere on others. The most annoying thing is the one-third-width pages, two or three of them carrying even important news on Ukraine- Russia or Israel - Hamas war.

I even wonder if the newspaper owners are like the Raakhchashas of yore  deriving sadistic  pleasure from readers' difficulties

"I have been a newspaper reader since my teens. I was very particular in turning the pages properly along the central fold and keeping the page I was reading properly aligned. I would fold the page in the middle while reading the upper / lower section and even fold to a quarter-size page when doing crossword.

All this disciplined manner is now threatened ever since the newspapers have changed their page presentation. For instance, The Times of India, Mumbai increases the width of some pages by an inch or so which jets out like a dog's tongue after a brisk run. In some editions, the first page is entirely devoted to a full-page advertisement, and the page is slit in the middle vertically and opens like a two-door window. Worse is the single page in the central section which falls on the floor often.

All these are irritants to a septuagenarian newspaper addict like me. Will I see my newspaper presented like in the good old days before I fold and close myself and am not there to open it"