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The latest World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Malaria Report 2016 has said that children and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa have greater access to effective malaria control but in many countries in the region, substantial gaps in programme coverage remain. The report says across the region, a steep increase in diagnostic testing for children and preventive treatment for pregnant women has been reported over the last five years. Among all populations at risk of malaria, the use of insecticide-treated nets has expanded rapidly.

Funding shortfalls and fragile health systems are undermining overall progress, jeopardizing the attainment of global targets. Scale-up in malaria control Sub-Saharan Africa carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden, the report says.

In 2015, the region was home to 90% of malaria cases and 92% of malaria deaths. Children under five are particularly vulnerable, accounting for an estimated 70% of all malaria deaths. Diagnostic testing enables health providers to rapidly detect malaria and prescribe life-saving treatment. New findings presented in the report show that, in 2015, approximately half (51%) of children with a fever seeking care at a public health facility in 22 African countries received a diagnostic test for malaria compared to 29% in 2010.

To protect women in areas of moderate and high malaria transmission in Africa, WHO recommends “intermittent preventive treatmentin pregnancy” (ITPp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. The treatment, administered at each scheduled antenatal care visit after the first trimester, can prevent maternal and infant mortality, anaemia and the other adverse effects of malaria in pregnancy. According to available data, there was a five-fold increase in the percentage of women receiving the recommended three or more doses of this preventive treatment in 20 African countries. Coverage reached 31% in 2015, up from 6% in 2010. Insecticide-treated nets are the cornerstone of malaria prevention efforts in Africa. The report found that more than half (53%) of the population at risk in sub-Saharan Africa slept under a treated net in 2015 compared to 30% in 2010.

An unfinished agenda Malaria remains an acute public health problem, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the report, there were 212 million new cases of malaria and 429 000 deaths worldwide in 2015. There are still substantial gaps in the coverage of core malaria control tools. In 2015, an estimated 43% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa was not protected by treated nets or indoor spraying with insecticides, the primary methods of malaria vector control. In many countries, health systems are under-resourced and poorly accessible to those most at risk of malaria. In 2015, a large proportion (36%) of children with a fever were not taken to a health facility for care in 23 African countries.

 Ã¢Â€ÂœWe are definitely seeing progress,” notes Dr Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme. “But the world is still struggling to achieve the high levels of programme coverage that are needed to beat this disease.” Global targets At the 2015 World Health Assembly, Member States adopted the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030. The Strategy set ambitious targets for 2030 with milestones every five years to track progress. Eliminating malaria in at least 10 countries is a milestone for 2020. The report shows that prospects for reaching this target are bright: In 2015, 10 countries and territories reported fewer than 150 indigenous cases of malaria, and a further 9 countries reported between 150 and 1000 cases. Countries that have achieved at least 3 consecutive years of zero indigenous cases of malaria are eligible to apply for the WHO certification of malaria elimination.

In recent months, the WHO Director-General certified that Kyrgyzstan and Sri Lanka had eliminated malaria. But progress towards other key targets must be accelerated. The Strategy calls for a 40% reduction in malaria case incidence by the year 2020, compared to a 2015 baseline. According to the report, less than half (40) of the 91 countries and territories with malaria are on track to achieve this milestone. Progress has been particularly slow in countries with a high malaria burden. An urgent need for more funding sustained and sufficient funding for malaria control is a serious challenge. Despite a steep increase in global investment for malaria between 2000 and 2010, funding has since flat-lined. In 2015, malaria funding totalled US$ 2.9 billion, representing only 45% of the funding milestone for 2020 (US$6.4 billion). 

Governments of malaria-endemic countries provided about 32% of total malaria funding in 2015. The United States of America is the largest international malaria funder, accounting for about 35% of total funding in 2015, followed by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (16%). If global targets are to be met, funding from both domestic and international sources must increase substantially.”

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Rajya Sabha has passed The Right of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014 which will replace the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 when passed by Lok Sabha. The Bill was passed with amendments which seek to include disabilities caused by Parkinsons’s Disease and acid attack under the purview of the proposed law.

According to the 2011 Census, the number of disabled in India stands at 2.68 crore, or 2.21 per cent of the population. The Bill will bring a larger number of differently abled people under its purview as it recognises more disablities as compared to the 1995 Act. Apart from this, the Bill also complies with the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The legislation  has been pending in Rajya Sabha since 2014, and was piloted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on the recommendations of the Sudha Kaul Committee. 

The Bill covers 19 conditions, instead of seven disabilities specified in the Act. While the 1995 Act recognised 7 disabilities — blindness, low vision, leprosy-cured, hearing impairment, locomotor disability, mental retardation and mental illness, the 2014 Bill was expanded to cover 19 conditions– including cerebral palsy, haemophilia, multiple sclerosis, autism and thalassaemia among others. Apart from listing these disabilities, the Bill has also laid down provisions to allow the central government to notify any other condition as a disability.

The Bill also entitles individuals with at least 40 per cent of a disability to benefits like reservations in education and employment, preference in government schemes and others. While the 1995 law had 3 per cent reservation for the disabled in higher education institutions and government, the 2014 Bill raised the ceiling to 5 per cent, adding 1 per cent each for mental illnesses and multiple disabilities.

Several rights and entitlements — including disabled friendly access to all public buildings Ã¢Â€Â” are conferred on the disabled individuals. All establishments, private and government, have to ensure that persons with disabilities are provided with barrier-free access in buildings, transport systems and all kinds of public infrastructure, and are not discriminated against in matters of employment.

According to the Bill, the District courts may award two types of guardianship in the case of mentally ill person. While a limited guardian is to take joint decisions with the mentally ill person, the plenary guardian takes decisions on behalf of the mentally ill person, without consulting them.

While the 1995 Act has no penal provision, the 2014 Bill had made violation of any provision of the Act punishable with a jail term of up to 6 months, and/or a fine of Rs 10,000. Subsequent violations could attract a jail term of up to 2 years and/or a fine of Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh.

Meanwhile, the disability groups have welcomed the passage of the Bill with the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled that they had undertaken a countrywide campaign ever since the Standing Committee had submitted its recommendations in May 2015.

“”We welcome the fact that some of the major concerns we had raised with regard to certain provisions contained in the Bill have been addressed through official amendments. One of the major amendments concern bringing private entities within the purview of the definition of “”establishment.”” Another glaring inadequacy in the Bill was the definition of “”discrimination””, which has now been passed as an official amendments. The definition with regard to communication has been changed ti include sign language as well as video and visual displays,’’ the Platform said in a statement.”

“Both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition party Congress continued their war of words over demonetisation. If the latest verbal duel between Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Congress leader P. Chidambaram, a former Finance and Home minister in UPA regime, is any indication, there is likelihood that both sides will remain adamant in their approach and the last three days of Parliament’s winter session are well heading towards a total washout. Mr. Jaitley hit out at the Congress on Tuesday, alleging that the party did not take a single step against corruption or black money in its 10 years of rule at the Centre when the Congress-led UPA government was in power. Talking to media, the Finance Minister said, corruption peaked during Congress regime. He said, it is not surprising that Congress is uncomfortable with NDA campaign against black money.

The Finance Minister said the government is now rapidly completing the demonetisation scheme, and substantial amounts of new currency will be injected in next three weeks. The Minister urged the Opposition to rise above slogans and join the campaign against black money, saying government is ready to debate this issue in Parliament.He said that high denomination notes, as percentage of total currency in circulation, increased from a mere 36 per cent to over 80 per cent during UPA regime. “”There are economic costs of dealing in cash, there are social costs of dealing in cash. These are the costs which system has to bear,”” he said. Demonetisation, he said, is part of the system overhaul by the NDA government. Ã¢Â€ÂœIt is our strategy that from high cash-dominated economy we should become a less cash economy where the amount of paper currency comes down,” he said. Cash will exist but there would be greater digital payments.
The provocation for Mr. Jaitley to respond came when earlier former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram termed the demonetisation move as the biggest scam of the year. He questioned how new notes of 2000 rupees were hoarded by several people despite cap on withdrawal.”

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Nearly two weeks after Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa died, her close confidant of past several decades Sasikala Natarajan is all set to take over as chief of the AIADMK party. 

The decision to appoint Sasikala as AIADMK General Secretary was taken after a wide cross section of the party expressed the desire for her to lead the party, seeing in her a look-alike image of Jayalalithaa “”Amma”” and also as one who was her conscience keeper despite several highs and lows. 

Once considered a rank outsider, Sasikala, fondly called Chinamma (Amma’s younger sister) is the right choice to step into Amma’s shoes. She will first be made the all powerful general secretary of the party before displacing incumbent chief minister O Paneerselvam. It is seen as a masterstroke of political manoeuvring.

Is this what Amma would have wanted following her death. That is anybody’s guess. The ministers and Amma’s legion of admirers have suddenly found in Sasikala or “”Chinamma or younger mother”” shades of Jayalalithaa. They believe she is the right choice to carry forward the legacy of Amma having run the AIADMK with an iron grip and taking all the decisions for no less than 27. 

No mean record this even though it appears to be a mere formality for the General Council of the AIADMK to formalise Sasikala’s status as the numero uno of the party which in turn ensures her elevation as chief ministership.

Given the cult status of Jayalalithaa in the AIADMK, there were questions initially about “”who after amma?”” The answer to that was hazy though an internal tussle for the leadership stakes was not entirely ruled out. For all practical intents and purposes the transition is expected to be a smooth affair as evidenced so far.

Certain sections of the party have suggested that the post of general secretary of the AIADMK held by Jayalalithaa should remain with the late Amma for all time to come. Deep down all AIADMK watchers have lingering doubts if Sasikala can ensure Amma’s vice like grip over the party. There is speculation that the general secretary’s post can be redesignated as “”Additional general secretary”” or what have you which again will be decided by the General Council of the party which is expected to meet soon.

AIADMK spokesperson C Ponnaiyan made it clear “”we will elect a person who takes care of the cadres and follows Amma’s footsteps.”” The party has made it clear that “”in terms of calibre Ms Natarajan fits that bill.”” 

With the political situation in Tamil Nadu undergoing some queer twists and turns, the Centre with the BJP in the vanguard is reportedly calling the shots in a determined bid to keep the AIADMK united. The lotus party’s strategists believe it has a great opportunity to enlarge its sphere of influence in the country’s south.  

Jayalalithaa was not only a shrewd politician but held sway over the masses. If she felt having an understanding with any party irrespective of the stature of the leader did not suit the interests of the southern state she just severed ties without batting an eyelid. 

A case in point is when BJP stalwart Atal Behari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister for the first time heading a 26-party disparate coalition, Jayalalithaa resolved to part ways in 1998 after being with them for 13 months as they failed to withdraw the corruption cases against her. 

The AIADMK is at the crossroads as never before hugely handicapped as it lacked a leader of Jayalalithaa’s eminence and charisma. The political vacuum in the AIADMK has virtually catapulted “”chinna Amma”” in replacing Amma. Saikala’s husband Natarajan has played his part in ensuring his wife becomes the chief minister. 

With Jayalalithaa securing a second consecutive term in office at Fort St George earlier this year in May, the DMK acknowledged “”Amma will never be forgotten in the state.”” The wily DMK patriarch and former chief minister M Karunanidhi and his aides are trying to induce defections of no less than twenty AIADMK MLAs so that the ruling party becomes a minority in the 234-member state assembly.

In a coup of sorts well past midnight on December fifth when Jayalalithaa was declared dead, Sasikala managed to secure the signature of all the 136 party MLAs on a blank sheet of paper. This paves the way for her becoming the general secretary of the AIADMK.

Being a personality based party thanks to former chief minister M G Ramachandran who broke away from the DMK and formed the AIADMK, it has deliberately ignored developing a second rung leadership. Appeal for votes during elections are made by the leader who is idolised by the party’s supporters. The AIADMK has four-and-a-half years remaining before completing its five year term in 2021. The die hard supporters of Amma insist there is no substitute or replacement for Jayalalithaa.

The Lotus party’s advantage stems from the AIADMK being rudderless. The Sasikala-Natarajan duo are hoping to cash in on the prevailing situation of flux. This has been bolstered with chief minister Paneerselvam and all the other ministers eating out of Sasikala’s hands.

The Lotus party’s presence in the Lok Sabha from the country’s south having a tally of 130 seats is dismal. The AIADMK’s combined strength in the two Houses of Parliament is an eye popping 50. It will be to the Centre’s advantage not to disturb the status quo in the AIADMK at least till the crucial election of the President is completed. The term of the incumbent Head of State Pranab Mukherjee ends in July next year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen that a ruling BJP stalwart is installed in Rashtrapati Bhawan for the first time. For this he needs to shore up the votes in the electoral college which elects the President. The BJP is nowhere in power in the south comprising Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana along with the lone union territory of Puducherry. 

The BJP is also handicapped because of being in a minority in the Rajya Sabha. What is of significance is that the saffron brigade needs to win big in the most crucial assembly elections in UP early next year. 

They appear to be on shaky ground for the moment because of the problems connected with the big ticket demonetisation on the night of eighth December. Sasikala is hoping to contest from Amma’s constituency of R K Nagar in the state capital. This will be her real test. The imponderables in this daring and brazen gambit can also dash Sasikala’s hopes. That is when the chances of all hell breaking lose and the AIADMK splitting cannot be ruled out. 

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha M Thambi Durai has lost out to Sasikala in becoming the general secretary of the AIADMK. They want him to continue in the national capital because of his contacts with the central leadership. The prospects of his induction in Modi’s cabinet cannot be ruled out as it will send an unambiguous signal that the Centre will protect the interests of Tamil Nadu.

During her reign, Jayalalithaa preferred the dominant Gounder community members as ministers in her cabinet. They hail from western Tamil Nadu and have taken a march over the others like the Thevars, Nadars, Vanniyars and Dalits.

(T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator. Views are personal.)”

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Chronic kidney disease is now recognized as a major medical problem worldwide. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2015 ranked chronic kidney disease 17th among the causes of deaths globally (age-standardized annual death rate of 19.2 deaths per 100 000 population). In many countries, chronic kidney disease is now among the top five causes of death. In India, GBD 2015 ranks chronic kidney disease as the eighth leading cause of death.

In the Lancet Global Health, Dare and colleagues present data on the number of deaths due to renal failure in India. These figures come from the Million Deaths Study (MDS), which ascribed cause to all deaths in a nationally representative sample of 1.1 million households using an enhanced verbal autopsy tool between 2001 and 2013. Deaths due to renal failure constituted 2.9% of all deaths in 2010–13 among 15–69-year-olds, an increase of 50% from 2001–03. Diabetes was the largest contributor to renal failure deaths. Substantial regional differences were noted in renal failure death rates. The reported proportion of renal failure deaths is close to the GBD 2015 estimate of 3.04%, up from 1.94% in 2000.

These data provide strong evidence of the rising contribution of kidney failure to premature deaths in India, which has one sixth of the world’s population, accounts for about 19% of all global deaths, but has dismal cause of death reporting systems. The GBD 2013 report specifically highlighted this situation by observing that “Important gaps exist in empirical data for cause of death estimates for some countries; for example, no national data for India is available for the past decade.” Because of the large population and ongoing demographic transitions, data from India are important to understand health-care dynamics for the world at large. Absence of such information creates a void in global estimates.

The strengths of the MDS are the ability to provide population-based, disease-specific death data from a nationally representative sample, the large number of deaths profiled, and the use of a validated tool administered by trained personnel.

The reported regional differences in renal failure deaths are intriguing, because regional differences have not been established for the prevalence of known kidney disease risk factors, including diabetes. Kidney disease hot spots have been reported in some parts of India, especially in Andhra Pradesh, central Odisha, Puducherry and Maharashtra, but these have not yet been substantiated by systematic studies. The distinction between acute and chronic kidney diseases is relevant for India because the two conditions require different public health responses. This distinction was not possible in the current study.

Similar to most emerging economies, a majority of deaths in India occur at home, and about half are not assigned a certified cause. Although verbal autopsy is valuable in such an environment, it can be problematic for conditions with non-specific symptoms, and for the elderly with multiple morbidities, both of which apply to kidney failure. Verbal autopsy is also not suited to teasing out the role that kidney disease plays in initiating, accelerating, and multiplying pathophysiologic processes that culminate in mortality. For example, sudden cardiac death, which is common in patients with kidney disease, can get classified as non-renal death. Finally, verbal autopsy is constrained by the primary filtering question used for a disease condition. Reduction in urine output for 24 h might not be sensitive enough, leading to an underestimate of kidney failure deaths.

The analysis of dialysis facilities and transplant numbers in this study are impacted by the poor quality of source data. One hopes that the Indian government will mandate establishment of dialysis and transplant registries alongside the existing National Dialysis Service to allow a more accurate estimate of kidney disease burden.

Despite its growing importance, kidney disease lacks visibility. Knowledge of renal failure deaths and their correlates are crucial for development of appropriate public health responses.

A vast proportion of kidney failure patients in the developing world, including India, die without receiving renal replacement therapy. The increasing demand for renal replacement therapy is visible throughout the country. Health-economic analysis of the consequences of untreated chronic kidney disease is needed. The answer for the population at large should be prevention, rather than resource intensive tertiary care. For this, the study by Dare and colleagues has both good and bad news. That diabetes is the main cause of kidney failure is in a way a relief, because how to prevent and slow the progression of diabetes and its complications is already known. The high rates of renal failure deaths in those with diabetes born in the 1970s, when they have barely entered their forties, suggests missed opportunities for prevention that can be fixed through implementation of guideline-based care. The bad news is that a sizeable proportion of kidney failure is not due to diabetes, which needs more work for identification and prevention, indicating an unfinished research agenda.”

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that cleaning the system of black money and corruption is presently “”very high”” on his agenda. He was speaking on Wednesday after jointly inaugurating via video conferencing the Economic Times Asian Business Leaders Conclave in Kuala Lumpur along with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Prime Minister said the country is moving towards a digital and cashless economy. He said India is currently witnessing an economic transformation and the outcomes are visible from India’s global rankings on various indicators. He expressed happiness that the constitutional amendment for Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been passed and it is expected to be implemented from next year.Mr Modi said concerted efforts continued on major FDI policy reforms and conditions for investments have been simplified.

He said total FDI inflows in the last two and a half years have touched 130 billion dollars. Mr Modi also said, licensing regime has been rationalised greatly and investor facilitation cells have been set up to guide prospective investors. He said, India has now become the 6th largest manufacturing country in the world.

Prime Minister Modi said India is not only one of the fastest growing large economies in the world. It is also marked by initiatives centered around ease of doing business, making governance transparent and efficient and reducing regulatory overburden.”

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images”” alt=””images”” />The late M G Ramachandran who was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for eleven years from 1977-87 was a modern day political myth. He was eulogised as the undisputed patron saint of the poor in the southern state and lampooned by his opponents. MGR as he was popularly known was not merely a political personality but also a film star at the same time. His early popularity rested substantially on his successful roles in films. 

Author M S S Pandian, Professor at the School of Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, draws attention to his book — THE IMAGE TRAP:M G Ramachandran in films and Politics — being an essay written primarily as an exercise in self clarification. He has been puzzled and pained by MGR’s unparalleled success. 

Under his dispensation profiteers of different kinds like liquor barons, real estate magnates and ubiquitous ruling party politicians prospered greatly. On the other hand the poor who constituted the mainstay of MGR’s support suffered unbearable misery. The well honed police machinery in Tamil Nadu with its characteristic ruthlessness and MGR’s open blessings snuffed out even the mildest of dissent from subalterns whether they were workers, poor peasants or professionals, such as school teachers and government servants. 

His rule also witnessed a considerable dilution of the cultural gains due to the relentless struggles waged by the Dravidian movement during its early progressive phase. In place of the earlier rationalism, religious revivalism now reigned supreme. Only his death in 1987 could dislodge him from the centrestage of Tamil politics and give a fresh lease of life to his political rivals. 

Even death could not undo him fully. This book seeks to unravel the complex terrain of Tamil politics. The politics of hegemony thrived in the wake of proliferating body of literature on MGR’s hegemonic sway. This has proved an important source of data to explore how MGR was popularly represented among the common people. 

These constructed biographies are carefully constituted popular narratives which dovetail his real life with his screen image, as if there were no difference between the two. Finally it traces the relationship between the material/economic conditions of the subaltern classes and the rise of the MGR phenomenon. 

When he died on October 24, 1987 Madras city witnessed one of the world’s largest funerals. No less than two million people travelled long distances from villages formed the funeral procession. 

In other places those who could not attend the actual funeral organised mock funerals in which images of MGR were taken out and buried with full rituals. Thousands of young men even tonsured their heads, 31 of his desolate followers, unable to contain their grief committed suicide. 

The political devotion of the subaltern classes was not because he had pursued radical economic policies during his rule. There were no major structural changes in the economy which only increased the suffering of the poor. The AIADMK government of MGR thrived on taxing the poor and the middle classes to profit the rich, especially the rural rich. The wealthier classes remained more or less untaxed. 

The lopsided economic interventions were glaring. There was economic misery all round in Tamil Nadu. Well over 40 per cent of the people in the state continued to languish below the officially defined poverty line and over time the situation did not improve. 

In short MGR’s regime was one which enjoyed massive support from the poor but served the interests of the rich. His government was also a brutal police raj. In the late 1980s the press throughout the country carried reports of how the police were combing the North Arcot and Dharmapuri districts in northern Tamil Nadu and hunting down activists of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninists). Nearly 15 activists were killed in cold blood for taking up the cause of farm labourers in these dry and backward districts, and for defying a few unruly and violent landlords. 

MGR defended his policemen in public without any compunction. When the Madras High Court passed strictures against the policemen for taking law into their own hands and killing CPI (ML) activists, MGR decorated the police officials with medals for ‘valour and distinguished service.’ 

Police brutality became part of everyday life  in Tamil Nadu. The data from 1977 to 1981 shows that once every ten days one undertrial died behind bars. MGR also constantly tried to browbeat the media which exposed the corruption, administrative lapses and police oppression that had come to characterise his rule. 

A few months before his death, the AIADMK government passed a bill to curb the screening of films critical of legislators and ministers. The bill was introduced in haste on the morning of 11 May 1987, the last day of assembly session, and was adopted that same evening relaxing the rules of notice. The Act armed the MGR government with powers to ban films which had been certified by the Central Board of Film Certification. 

The film scripted by M Karunanidhi was quite critical of the MGR rule. In actuality, however, MGR enjoyed a stable, if not growing, popularity among the poor in Tamil Nadu throughout his tenure in office and earlier as well. 

The party founded by him polled a third of the total votes in every election and his followers exhibited almost a personal bond with him. MGR successful film career spanned four decades and 136 films, earned him one of the largest fan following in the world. There has always been a symbiotic relationship between the medium of cinema and politics in the state. 

Driven by poverty MGR began his acting career as a child theatre artist. He acted during the late 1920s in nationalist plays. It was only in the 1950s that he was seen in social roles on the screen achieving recognition. A characteristic MGR role was that of a working man attempting to combat everyday oppression. 

Power is seen as all pervasive and undifferentiated while its victims are always meek, beaten and share their common suffering. MGR’s role as an independent dispenser of justice unfolds with regularity with emphasis on stunt sequences. This gives his starrers the flavour of action films which is an expression of his struggle against social evil, oppression. 

The authority that MGR appropriates on the screen relates to women. In MGR’s films the hero often starts off as a poor man but ends up marrying a rich woman, or as a lower caste man marrying an upper caste woman. If powerful villains come in his way it is the subaltern MGR who invariably succeeds. 

The language that MGR uses is not one of submission but of authority. At least with regard to three aspects he brings it to the fore in films encompassing his right to dispense justice, exercise control, education and access to women thereby appropriating the authority of the elite. 

The ubiquitous and overarching structure of patriarchy in Tamil Nadu is reaffirmed, time and again, through MGR films. Moments of freedom that these films offer women spectators are necessarily contained within this structure of patriarchy. While MGR was as successful in politics as in films, Sivaji Ganesan failed as a politician despite his political ambitions and indisputable star status. 

MGR’s supposed real life invincibility and eternal youth were, time and again, constructed by various kinds of media; so much so that a degree of immortality was conferred on him in real life as well as the screen. 

The DMK repeatedly brought charges of corruption against MGR but failed to gain any substantial political mileage. MGR thrived on unaccounted money and at one point admitted that he had disclosed Rs 80 lakhs of black money under the voluntary disclosure scheme. Pandian provides rare insight of MGR the actor and the crowd puller as a larger than life regional politicians.

TR

(T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator.)
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The winter session of Parliament is washed out thanks to the November 8`historic announcement by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on withdrawal of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 denomination notes from circulation and the adverse impact it triggered. 

The Government appears least bothered about how it has impacted the lives a billion plus Indians. Unmindful of all of it, it has given the dose of better days ahead to the common citizens in the medium and long terms.

Friday was the last day of the winter session but only on paper. It started on a stormy note and ended up on a stormy note. The last one day that is on Thursday, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha continued to witness deadlock that began with the start of the session on November 16 over the manner in which a debate should be held on demonetisation and related aspects.

The Rajya Sabha saw sharp exchanges between Treasury and Opposition members as they tried to outshout each other over different issues, throwing the House into pandemonium.

The Opposition, led by Congress, said demonetisation along with vagaries of weather had hit the farmers and demanded farm loan waiver to give relief to them.

On the other hand, Bharatiya Janata Party members shouted slogans while displaying copies of a news report which claimed that some people in the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance regime had allegedly received money in the AgustaWestland helicopter deal. They wanted to know who was behind the chopper scam.

Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the ruling side was not allowing Parliament to function, which was”unprecedented”.

”It is the ruling party which is disrupting the House… in both Houses (of Parliament), it is the ruling party which is not allowing the Parliament to function. It is for the first time in the history of independent India that the ruling party is not allowing the House to function,” he said.

Azad, who had given a notice to raise the issue of distress among farmers after demonetisation, was called by the Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien to speak but he could hardly make his submission as ruling party members created uproar.

”I have given the floor to the Leader of the Opposition. It is the convention of the House that when Leader of the Opposition or Leader of the House wish to speak, they are heard in silence,” Kurien said but BJP members did not heed.

Union ministers too interjected as Azad rose to speak with Information & Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu wanting to know what he wanted to say and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi saying the members of the ruling side want a discussion on the corruption issue.

Kurien told Naidu that Azad had given a notice to raise farmers distress and even without a notice the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the House are allowed to speak whenever they wish to speak.

To Naqvi, he said the ruling side can give a notice to raise a discussion on the issue they want, and asked Azad to make his submission.

Alleging that the Centre was anti-farmer and its policies were ruining crops, Azad said farmers are dying, their vegetables rotting and crops welting and they are not sowing seeds. Farmers in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and other states are facing grave distress and the Centre should waive off their loan, he demanded.  

Later on Friday, a Congress delegation, led by Vice President Rahul Gandhi, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed concern over the plight of farmers in Punjab and U.P., demanding waiver of loans given to farmers. 

For the record, the tenth session of the Lok Sabha held 21 sittings over 19 hours before being adjourned sine die on Friday. Nearly 92 hours were lost due to disruptions and just four government bills were passed during the winter session.”

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Is a new trend being established in this country’s Parliamentary democracy with the government blocking the proceedings in the country’s highest legislature for the first time since independence. This has never happened before, claimed senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Dissent is vital in a democratic system which is sought to be stifled, allege opposition leaders. Parliament is essentially meant for political parties to debate and discuss aimed at finding solutions to issues of urgent national importance rather wasting time on petty quibbling and indulging in one-upmanship.

The frustration of seasoned leaders particularly like former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani says it all “”being saddened and feeling like resigning.”” Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi grabbed the opportunity thanking Advani fighting for democratic values. Union minister Venkaiah Naidu sought to underplay the issue maintaining the entire BJP was upset with repeated adjournments and disruptions in Parliament. 

Having expressed disgust last week about the logjam in Parliament, Advani observed in a resigned manner that Parliament should at least discuss demonetisation for a day. That was not to be as both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha adjourned sine die yesterday without a debate on demonetisation. He wanted the health of the Lok Sabha to be restored quickly so that important and pending business can be transacted. 

In the prevailing confusion Advani wondered aloud if he should resign from the Lok Sabha. While the opposition pressed for a debate on demonetisation, the treasury benches carrying placards demanded a discussion on the Agusta Westland chopper deal. Be that as it may, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s determination to introduce the GST from April Fools Day next year appears to be a non-starter. 

This winter session was the worst of all since the BJP-led NDA came to power in May 2014. Last week President Pranab Mukherjee took strong exception to the continuing logjam in Parliament. Being critical of the MPs he appealed to them “”For God’s sake, do your job. You are meant to transact business in Parliament. Disruption of Parliament is not acceptable at all.”” Impartial observers believe the President should have advised the government that it was their duty to listen to Parliament and be its part. The government is a creature of Parliament and is accountable to the Head of State. 

What is perturbing is that the Modi government remains nonchalant about the tremendous suffering of the people of this country since demonetisation last month which has so far claimed more than 70 lives. The President blamed the opposition for the deadlock. In all this the question doing the rounds in the country’s highest legislature is “”who is responsible for running Parliament”” as the Prime Minister claims he is not being allowed to speak in the House and is compelled to speak outside. 

Rahul Gandhi countered he is also not being allowed to speak in Parliament where he wants to expose the Modi government. Agitation and disturbances by the opposition are not new to Parliament as they feel this is their legitimate right to attract the government’s attention to the problems being faced by the people. 

Congress has learnt from the BJP the methods of agitation crippling the functioning of Parliament as evidenced during the winter session in 2013 and the budget session in 2014 before the April-May general elections. It is high time the BJP finds effective means of countering the disturbances and tries to bring order in the two Houses of Parliament. 

It is apparent the failure to run Parliament smoothly must squarely lie at the door of the Modi government. The BJP-led NDA only wants to bash on regardless seeking to brush aside the opposition by blocking any meaningful discussions with them in Parliament. Congress leaders insist the Modi government considers the strength of the main opposition as inconsequential in their scheme of things. The trust deficit between the ruling party and the opposition is at an all time low and must be addressed especially after the demonetisation on the eighth of November. 

On her part, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan has failed to bridge the gap. The damage has been considerable. Out of the ten bills listed for discussion and passage only four were approved. The critical GST legislation continues to remain in limbo and will inevitably get delayed though union Finance minister Arun Jaitley wanted it implemented from All Fools Day or Apirl first next year.  

The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha has also suffered because of the upcoming assembly in five states including the critical Uttar Pradesh. The government cannot afford disruptions continuously dealing a severe blow to the institution of Parliament. Debate is the only democratic way of making the government accountable for its actions. That is eluding the opposition and the ruling coalition at the centre which does not seem to be unduly worried with the reputation of Parliament being eroded systematically.

( T R Ramachandran is senior journalist and commentator. Views are personal.)”

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The Reserve Bank of India, violating the basic norms of the Right to Information (RTI) Act is against supply of any information, even if it comes under the Section 4 of the RTI Act.

If you go to most of the websites of public authorities, you will find suo motu disclosures under Section 4 of the RTI Act, hardly being adhered too. This, despite, repeated directives from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), over the last few years.

The Reserve Bank of India, has audaciously declared on its website, that it cannot disclose most of its information, even that which comes under Section 4, explaining that, “being the Central Bank of the country, in its role as banker to the Government and banker to the banks, the RBI receives and holds a lot of sensitive information, the disclosure of which may not, at all times, be in the interest of the nation or serve public interest.’’

Giving a list of 26 areas where it cannot provide information, the preamble in the link, https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/bs_viewcontent.aspx?Id=2347, states, “A list of such information which cannot be disclosed either wholly or partially is furnished…While compiling the list, it has been the Bank’s endeavour to attain the objectives of the RTI Act, without jeopardizing the financial stability and economic interests of the State. It may also be noted that the list is only indicative and not exhaustive and is subject to review / revision. Each application received under the Act would be examined in the light of the provisions of the Act and any decision with respect to non-disclosure by the Bank will be supported by the relevant exemption provisions…”

The fact is, that even that information which is not in any way sensitive nor would it “jeopardize the financial interest of the State” and which in fact, is mandatory for public disclosure under Section 4 of the RTI Act has been put under arrest of Section 8 of the RTI Act by the supercilious Reserve Bank. A few examples being:

Transfer Request letters / representations / records and connected notings and correspondence received from officers

 List of employees of doubtful integrity

 Vigilance Audit Report

 Property statement and particulars of properties of employees

 Information regarding merger/ amalgamation proposal of banks.

 Information about annual branch expansion plan of banks during the currency of plan

 Correspondence with Government relating to proposed amendments to various Acts

 Information relating to appointment of directors on the boards of banks/ financial institutions, if it involves third party personal information

 Details of Superannuation benefits like Provident Fund, Gratuity, Encashment of leave, commuted value of pension paid to individuals (except to legal heirs in case of death). Also, information on compassionate package paid on behalf of individuals.

The 26 areas include even those ‘general’ areas where information comes under RT Act. For example, the Human Resources Management Department; Department of Banking Regulation and Department of Banking Supervision.

 This has prompted RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar and this author to file a complaint with the Central Information Commission (CIC). Kumbhar says, “Banks deal with public funds even if they are private ones. Reserve Bank of India is at the head of them all and it is scandalous that it should bring in information under Section 4, into Section 8 category. It has thus left no work for the Public Information Officer (PIO) who needs to just keep denying every kind of information.”

 In addition, under Section 8 of the RTI Act, a public authority is bound to provide partial information, even if the remaining comes under information that can be denied.

About the author: PCI Babai is a Delhi based practicing hack, a cynic to core.”