Ramnath Kovind and BJP: Politics first, always.

Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are clear about one thing – all major decisions are first and foremost, political. The latest example is the nomination of Ramnath Kovind as the National Democratic Alliance’s Presidential candidate.

In this government of “two and a half men” (as Arun Shourie called them), a Presidential candidate has to meet certain first-order criteria. They have to be people who nobody would have thought of as a hopeful, and it follows naturally that they are insignificant in national politics. They would thus be a candidate who would be beholden to the party and specifically, to the leader for being rewarded with this nomination. It goes without saying then, that such a candidate if elected President, would not pose the slightest threat to the Prime Minister’s personal authority by questioning or even asking for a review of any government decision.

These are the pre-requisites. (Yes, UPA and Sonia Gandhi did more or less exactly this with Pratibha Patil, but note that Pranab Mukherjee by no means fit that mould).

The facetious Dalit politics of it all

The choice of Presidential candidate needs to serve a political goal. Ramnath Kovind is Dalit, and as many have pointed out, his nomination is an effort by the BJP to varnish its pro-Dalit credentials. BJP has been under fire from the media and the Opposition over the anti-Dalit factions that have taken wing under their tutelage. The violence in Saharanpur and Una, and numerous lynch mobs later, this is how BJP responds. The electoral calculation is clear too. Those opposing Ramnath Kovind’s candidature are essentially anti-Dalit.

“This is an historic decision. The Opposition should support the NDA candidate, rising above politics. If they don’t support, it would mean they are anti-dalits,” 

Ram Vilas Paswan

On social media, BJP supporters are already asking why those agitated by Rohith Vemula’s suicide are now opposing Ramnath Kovind’s nomination.

Liberal politics and their pimp media:
Rohith Vemula (OBC) – "let's Dalitize him".
Ramnath Kovind (Dalit) – "Let's unDalitize him".

— Vivek Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) June 20, 2017

The silly season of false equivalence never ends in India. Rohith Vemula was a Dalit student who was driven to suicide by campus politics, where his rival faction, the ABVP had the active support of both the Hyderabad Central University authorities and their political patrons, the BJP. Rallying behind Vemula was natural – he was victimised, and the violence wreaked upon him was because of his caste identity. Remember his letter that should have shaken the collective conscience of this nation?

“May be I was wrong, all the while, in understanding world. In understanding love, pain, life, death. There was no urgency. But I always was rushing. Desperate to start a life. All the while, some people, for them, life itself is curse. My birth is my fatal accident. I can never recover from my childhood loneliness. The unappreciated child from my past.”

On the other hand, Ramnath Kovind’s contribution as a Dalit-warrior is marginal, which is entirely his personal choice at one level. Kovind’s decision to shun radical politics is his personal choice, and arguably, has been instrumental in his getting to the highest constitutional office in India. In his column, Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprastha  concludes:

…given Kovind’s views on social justice and empowerment, choosing a loyal, conformist leader like him was much more of a natural choice for the Sangh parivar than any radical shift in its traditional position on the caste system.

Dalit activists will not be satisfied, but it is hard to argue that everyone must be a radical activist. But when one sees the laughable efforts made by news channels who are ‘more loyal than the king himself’, one has to wonder about the kind of spin this government and its cheerleaders want to give to Ramnath Kovind’s track record.

Who is Ram Nath Kovind?
Ram Nath Kovind joined the movement of SC/ST employees against the Central Government (1/2) #KovindForPresident

— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) June 19, 2017

The numbers game

Finally, for BJP, losing is not an option. Their desire to expand their political footprint, and killer instinct in contests, is unmatched. In fact, the Opposition parties would do well to learn some lessons from the Modi-Shah duo. The BJP is well aware of how they are positioned in the electoral college that would vote for the President. This is where Ramnath Kovind’s final set of attributes come in handy. Kovind is the Governor of Bihar, and he hails from Uttar Pradesh. Prominent political parties of Uttar Pradesh (or whatever is left of them in any case) are unlikely to oppose a son of their soil. It would also have been very difficult for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to oppose his candidature. With Nitish Kumar’s declaration of support, the BJP’s calculations have been proven right. Breaking Nitish Kumar is particularly critical, since he is one of the few alternate poles around which there could have been a consensus candidate from the Opposition.

Thus, the nomination of Ramnath Kovind does not alter the template. The selection of Pratibha Patil set the precedent in recent years, and looked particularly bad as it followed the popular APJ Abdul Kalam. BJP, as is its wont, has carried forward some of the worst aspects of India’s ruling parties in the past, as demonstrated by it’s recent Chief Ministers and appointments to several important institutions (including the Reserve bank of India). BJP’s contribution to this trend has been to give primacy to political and electoral calculations. Ramnath Kovind is merely a manifestation of this phenomenon.

#Modi@3: Three years in, dark days ahead

In many ways, Narendra Modi’s celebration of three years in power represents what the man and his government stands for.

He inaugurated the Dhola-Sadiya bridge in Assam, which is immediately spun as a great achievement of his, with hints laid out in good measure, that it also means some sort of a challenge to China on our north-eastern borders. As he did at the inauguration of the Chenani – Nashri tunnel, this provided Modi with an opportunity to stride around alone purposefully on the bridge, looking down at the river below, beckoning people from afar, etc, while cameras clicked away. This bridge was someone else’s vision. You know what Modi’s vision is? To spin colourful expansions of the two letters – N and E – New Energy, New Economy, New Engine, New Empowerment, etc. The man can ramble, I will give him that.

Meanwhile, the full-page newspaper advertisements that greeted the nation today curiously do not have even a single woman, in spite of the Ujjwala Yojana (of providing new LPG connections to households) being one of this government’s most far-reaching achievements. Neither did it have a message dedicated to the poor who stood by Modi even after he had sucked out cash from their pockets. The messaging from the government was only about an astonishingly narcissistically named MODI Fest, where we are supposed to believe that MODI just stands for Making of Developed India.

Part of this MODI Fest seems to have taken place at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, where Modi’s monthly monologues were released as a book. I am willing to bet that soon, the book will pop up at a classroom near you as compulsory reading. Amidst all this, BJP President Amit Shah stepped in and explained to a befuddled nation that it was impossible to provide jobs for all, and hence, the government was creating self-employment opportunities – thus proving that even the ‘jobs promise’ was chunaavi jumla. Finally, as is its wont, the government ended the day with a bit of gau seva by declaring a ban on sale of cattle for slaughter.

These events marked three years of Narendra Modi’s prime ministership. At the end of three years, Demonetisation stands out as the symbol of the both the deceit and incompetence that this government represents – that it will inflict havoc on its own people in the pursuit of electoral advantage, and that schemes are spun from harebrained ideas that have no scientific basis. Propaganda trumps all, as concerns of minorities, and political, media and civil society opponents are brushed aside and labelled anti-national.

Meanwhile, the rest of it – lynchings, harassment of critics, crony capitalism, listing fake achievements, dodgy national statistics, using the military for propaganda – continues unabated, and should come as no surprise to supporters and critics alike. These three years have shown us yet again that our institutions are perhaps not capable of withstanding a determined attack by a populist demagogue. These institutions work reasonably effectively when there is a weak government, by propping up the basic structures and ensuring a level of service delivery. But faced with a Modi, our institutions are suddenly found helpless – the press is not free or frank, the Parliament does not function as it should, the investigative agencies are completely state-controlled, the judiciary is soft, the bureaucracy is terrified, the central bank has lost its autonomy, and so on…

Given the corroding institutional safeguards, a thoroughly propagandist government, and an incoherent and weakened opposition, it is hard to imagine that any #AccheDin are round the corner for India. Dark days ahead.

Amidst the euphoria of the French elections

The current crop of populist leaders who deploy the language of political aggression, mock their opponents, and show impatience with the time-consuming procedures of institutionalised democracy, cannot be typed as anti-democratic. But they have, as contemporary history shows us, revealed scant respect for the rights of minorities, for civil liberties, and for civil society. Democracy has been reduced in country after country to a system of transfer of power. The political party system is once again in crisis, and this time the alternative to the ‘crisis of representation’ is not a democratic civil society, but populist leaders. It is time that political parties suspend their preoccupation with winning elections and work towards building up a powerful support base for democracy. Reliance on a single leader truncates imaginations, cultivates dependence, and devalues solidarity. It is only when parties begin to instil, particularly in young people, the importance of participation, respect for civil liberties and rights of minorities, democratisation of social relationships, and the development of shared meaning through debate and dialogue, that the democratic spirit can be reignited and political parties rehabilitated in the public eye. At stake here is not only the continuation of the party system, but democracy itself.

This is Prof Neera Chandoke, writing in The Hindu. This is a really critical point

This is a really critical point – it may often seem that the only answer to a populist leader is to find a polar opposite. But eventually, this weakens the democratic framework.  The French election is good news, but only if it strengthens the democratic processes in France – not if it results in the emergence of another one-man messiah, irrespective of which side of the political divide one may be on.

Europeans, ‘cash’, and ‘choice’

There is one more major problem with the arguments for a cashless society: most people, at least in the eurozone, don’t want it. According to an as-yet-unpublished European Central Bank survey of 65,000 eurozone residents, almost 80% of all point-of-sale transactions are conducted in cash; and, in terms of value, more than half of payments are made in cash.

As is often the case in Europe, the differences among member states are pronounced: the share of cash transactions ranges from 42% in Finland to 92% in Malta. But, overall, the public’s commitment to cash remains strong – and is becoming stronger.

In fact, growth in overall demand for cash is outpacing nominal GDP growth. In the last five years, the average annual growth rate of euro banknotes was 4.9% by value and 6.2% by piece. This rise includes denominations that are predominantly used for transactions, rather than for savings.

Source: Project Syndicate

If, one day, cash is replaced by electronic means of payment, that decision should reflect the will of the people, not the force of lobby groups.

Need I say more?

The vigilantes are here. How do we fight them?

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath continues to inspire service-minded citizens to lead the fight against illegal slaughterhouses. Some other men have also ganged up to combat the menace of eve-teasing “Romeos,” but expanded their scope to harassing couples in consensual relationships.

Those accused of the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 defiantly declare that their actions are as pious as that of the brave men who fought for the country’s independence from the British.

India has finally got the vigilantes it always wanted – those who protect our honour, fight against corruption, and restore pride to the country. Cattle traders are thrashed in the heart of Delhi, even as the police vacillate between booking the culprits and charging the victims with ‘animal cruelty’. As expected, superstar vigilantes inspire several more in their mould, and we have at hand a spate of incidents. So we have videos surfacing on social media of a man threatening to kill Muslims while brandishing a gun, and public hoardings in Uttar Pradesh threatening Kashmiris with dire consequences unless they leave immediately. Meanwhile, a has-been Bollywood singer, Abhijit, raves and rants on TV and on Twitter, threatening violence against Muslims. Also, some men in our armed forces in Kashmir think its fun to slap around some young men and force them to shout “Pakistan murdabad” slogans.

And do not forget the events from the recent past:

Late last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi suddenly announced a decision to revoke the legal tender status of 86% of currency notes circulating in the economy.

And this year, finance minister Arun Jaitley’s Finance Bill 2017 sneakily included 33 (yes, thirty three) amendments that were hardly discussed in Parliament.

These are other forms of vigilantism, barely sanctioned by law (usually exploiting every possible loophole and a complete disregard for propriety). A government that will push through a faulty universal identification system and will amend political party financing rules with impunity to make them less transparent.

Tales are spun to justify these acts of vigilantism. The Uttar Pradesh assembly election threw up its own set of post-facto theories, most of which sought to assert that Modi’s demonetisation was a great success, that caste and religion-based voting was a thing of the past, that the voters in UP wanted Adityanath for better ‘law and order’. All of this happened just as Dalits and Muslims started being targeted across the state.

The vigilantes are taking over everywhere, and the constitution is slowly taking a backseat. In the cacophony of a reactive news cycle, it is difficult to maintain a consistent battle against an increasingly communal and authoritarian government. In a country beset with serious socio-economic problems, where job creation is at a record low, and farm distress shows no signs of relenting, we are busy debating cows, statues, and couples in love. On the one hand, this reflects the absolute failure of the political opposition, which have lurched from poll to poll, failing to counter the government’s divisive narrative. On the other hand, this is an indictment of our own inability as citizens to hold on to values of morality and empathy. We have allowed lunatics to set the agenda, as we sat back to ‘consume’ (and occasionally react) via traditional and social media.

Some people are of the view that as a country we went too far with constitutional principles (especially secularism, welfare and equity) even as the masses were not ready for it. While that argument itself is elitist, they go on to argue that what the ‘intelligentsia’ (another derogatory label these days) see as progress has always been opposed by a voiceless majority who felt their glorious culture and traditions were being taken away from them. The moral voice on Kashmir, for instance, is now seen as a weakness and a failure to assert our territorial sovereignty. Progressive voices on protecting minorities is now widely derided as appeasement. Support for equity through affirmative action is brutally criticised as being anti-merit. A free press that questions those in power is suddenly anti-national. A kind of free-wheeling vigilantism is seen as the answer.

Last week though, former Delhi high court chief justice A.P Shah delivered a stinging indictment of the current state of affairs in India, asking what nationalism really meant and questioning whether the state’s tendency to interfere with people’s food habits, film censorship and the wider curbs on freedom of expression behoves a country that aspires to greatness. I quote:

At the end of the day, it is important to question, what is the defining characteristic of a nation – is it the territorial boundary or the collection of people that is a country’s defining feature. Our constitution starts with a solemn declaration of “We, the people of India…” In this context, is being anti-national equivalent to being anti-Government or is the hallmark of an anti-national that they are against the interest of the people, especially the minorities and the depressed classes? Can an entire University and its student body be branded “anti-national”?

It is heartening to read this in these depressing times – a voice of moral authority that is in contrast to our elected leaders and most public voices. If we are to win the battles against these vigilantes, it is moral voices like these that we have to amplify – not just from eminent jurists and other public figures, but from the ordinary man on the street.

A firm adherence to constitutional principles by elected leaders can set the tone for citizens. But it can also work the other way around. A country benefits from a large majority of its citizens adhering to a core moral code, and willing to rely on the constitution to iron out differences. Can a movement for change begin with them? This is not a case against the utility of political parties. But there is a need to mobilise people around issues that extend beyond immediate electoral cycles. Civil society has to lead this effort.

This might sound like asking for too much, but when you see the vigour with which this government has cracked down on dissent in academic institutions, it gives you a clue as to what they fear the most. Remember how vehemently artists and writers who opposed the government’s intolerance were attacked and even partly blamed for the BJP’s loss in the Bihar elections? Could the voices of students, farmers, artists, writers and army veterans come together and challenge the government’s narrative? Even if they don’t win, imagine how spectacular the fight would be.

I live in hope.

**

This column was first published on The Wire

Don’t laugh at this #NewIndia ‘gau-vernment’

Cow vigilantes are back in the news. Three cattle traders were beaten up in Kalkaji, in South Delhi, not too far from the Prime Minister’s residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. In the amazing #NewIndia, the question that seems to be moot to many is this – “were they actually transporting cows or buffalos?”  

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke out against “gau rakshaks” last year, he was careful enough to sympathise with only Dalit victims of such violence. Atrocities on Muslims, as is the norm, did not quite catch his attention. At that time, it was also quite evident that Modi had the Uttar Pradesh state elections in mind. Well, now that the BJP has registered a resounding win in the state, all bets are off. Chief vigilante, Yogi Adityanath, who also happens to be the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh has started a reign of terror that seems to extend well into the National Capital Region, Delhi.

As Prime Minister, Modi may want to keep a handle on this kind of cow vigilantism in order to protect his ‘image’. But he cannot escape the responsibility of having laid down the template. Modi used the ‘cow protection’ dog whistle to great effect not just as when he was the Gujarat Chief Minister, but also relentlessly campaigned on the issue of “Pink Revolution”. His well-measured policy on Muslims – ignoring them after becoming Prime Minister (under the garb of ‘India first’, ‘sabka saath, sabka vikaas’, etc) is just a follow-up act to demonising them when he was Chief Minister (for terrorism, population growth, etc). If Yogi Adityanath is now following in those footsteps, what can we expect from the Prime Minister?

When he spoke out last year, Modi also probably wanted to generate consensus on tricky reforms, such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Now that box too has been ticked with some creative Parliamentary manoeuvring. Modi can continue with his lofty talk about federalism, without worrying about the need to generate a consensus.

Meanwhile, the violence and the madness in the name of the cow will continue. Rajasthan already has a “cow cess”. A central minister wants to create ‘cow sanctuaries‘ for conservation (and tourism?). There is a talk of extending the unique identification database to include cows.

As a matter of fact, this has never been about the cow itself. All this cow-talk is merely a signalling device to the right-wing followers that the “other” can be harassed on any issue of their choosing. And the media has, well, been cowed into submission. So the vigilante criminals are now softly known as “gau rakshaks”, quite similar to the other set of criminals who are being mollycoddled as “anti-Romeo squads”.  Fair game I suppose, in an age where an independent media is supposed to be one that is funded by fat cat industrialists who are part of the government and positions itself firmly against anti-establishment forces.

Sanjaya Baru recently used the term ‘Developmental Hindutva‘ with reference to Prime Minister Modi and his party, and probably had a balancing act in mind. The message was that the RSS and its affiliate groups (a mix of social, cultural, vigilante, etc) could continue on their merry-gau-round as long as a semblance of development is delivered to the people. The rest of the work would be done by Photoshop experts working in the BJP IT cell sweatshops. This is the BJP model. And the electorate will keep falling for it until they find an alternative.

Can overhauling ‘teaching’ reform schools in Kenya?

Kenyan schools are not doing well. About a 120 of them were set alight in arson attacks last year alone which were largely blamed on fears arising from a government crackdown on cheating in national exams. Amid national schooling reforms, many pupils and parents continue to be unhappy about the changes. Where do the teachers figure within this period of heavy reform?

Both the best and worst performers in East Africa are in Kenya
Although school enrolment has gone up steadily, over a million children are still out of school. In terms of learning outcomes, Kenya performs relatively better than its neighbours, but results from internationally recognised competency test, Uwezo, shows that learning levels are poor, and have stagnated over time. For instance, in the 2014 Uwezo assessment, 39% of children aged 7-13 years passed a test that required them to demonstrate competence of Standard 2 level numeracy and literacy. This was not significantly different from the performance in previous years: 40% in 2011, 37% in 2012 and 41% in 2013. Looking at student learning levels, both the best and worst performing districts in East Africa are in Kenya. The extremities in quality within Kenyan education are huge. For instance, according to the same Uwezo data, “a child in the Central region is over seven times more likely to have attained a Standard 2 level of literacy and numeracy than a child in the North Eastern region”.

Fixing the education system in Kenya is an onerous task. The Government of Kenya has time and time again, reiterated its commitment to improving the state of education, and has outlined its vision in the National Education Sector Plan 2013- 2018. Alongside, a host of national and international development agencies in Kenya have over the years, financed numerous programmes, targeting various components of the education sector. These efforts have yielded a wealth of evidence. One should consider such evidence, while attempting to answer the question – how can we improve the quality of schooling in Kenya?

A good teacher is a good solution
Instead of looking at angry pupils, why not start with overwhelmed teachers instead? Teachers in Kenyan schools face a wide range of constraints. Most importantly, they are often not adequately prepared to deliver the curriculum in the classroom, thus suffering from poor motivation. While the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) recently introduced a more rigorous teacher performance and appraisal system, it is important to think of teacher performance holistically. A workman can only be as good as his tools.

But teachers are constrained by the system they function within
Let’s take each one in turn. The system of pre-service training of teachers has faced significant scrutiny across the globe. Even where teacher training is of acceptable quality, there isn’t enough support for teachers to stay up-to-date with contemporary teaching and learning methods. Teachers are therefore often poorly equipped to handle children in the classroom, avoiding the use of conventional rote learning methods, and focusing equitably on those who may not be performing well. Research indicates that lower performing children are more likely to drop out of school, as they spend more time in the classroom without being able to comprehend what is being taught.

The other constraint – that of poor motivation – has several dimensions. An evident one is ‘pay’, and there have been recent efforts to meet teachers’ demands with the approval for a pay hike for teachers, which will cost the state exchequer an additional KSh 54 billion over the next 4 years beginning July 2017. One manifestation of poor teacher motivation is the observation by the UN’s Education Commission that nearly a half of primary schools teachers in Kenya did not attend classes. Further, teachers face significant challenges of poor infrastructure and insecurity in remote counties of Kenya. Moreover, teachers suffer from lack of professional development opportunities during their teaching careers.

The constraints described above translate into a poor learning experience for children in the classrooms in Kenyan schools. But there is now a strong body of evidence that can be tapped in designing interventions that are politically feasible, and have the potential to deliver concrete results.

Overhauling the classroom pedagogy
So how can teachers be supported better in delivering the curriculum more effectively? For instance, a study conducted in coastal region of Kenya tested the impact of additional support such as training, semi-scripted lesson plans, and weekly SMS-based support for teachers. They found that a combination of these inputs resulted in significant improvement in not only student learning outcomes, but also in student retention drop-out rates. This approach is quite similar to Tusome, a model adopted nationally by the Ministry of Education to improve early-grade reading and literacy in the country. Such support can be complemented by pedagogical interventions, such as separating students into groups by ability (determined through a simple initial test) so that teachers can ensure that low-performing students get the same attention as the high-performing ones. Testing regularly, and ensuring consistency in testing methods will be critical.

Enhancing teacher motivation
A teacher’s motivation and enthusiasm is critical, pay is only one element to their role. While experiments involving performance contracting appear promising for impact on learning outcomes, the political economy of the education sector makes this an unlikely sell in the short-term. In the meanwhile, tightening accountability systems within the education sector, by using a combination of compassionate monitoring arrangements, and career development opportunities for teachers appear to be feasible interventions. Technological applications that can capture and transmit data upwards can help enhance accountability in schools, and contribute towards the creation of a data-driven, responsive schooling system. Modernising the system should modernise the teacher’s outlook in their career. This should be accompanied by a strong emphasis on an in-service teacher development module, supporting them to continuously upgrade their skills to match the evolving requirements in a 21st-century classroom.

Fostering localised solutions
While enhancing accountability mechanisms might be a top-down reform, it is critical to recognise that a pure command-and-control model no longer works for school education. Since the tremendous expansion in enrolment brought about by Universal/Free Primary Education drives, the schooling system in Kenya (and other sub-Saharan African countries) have struggled to deliver quality education at scale. Schools operating in far-flung areas face a set of challenges that are often unique to their context. But schools usually do not possess the autonomy, or the resources to find local contextual solutions. Therefore, empowering school administrations – teachers, students, and parents – to have greater autonomy through control over resources and functions at their level is another reform worth initiating. There are several possibilities here: starting from schools making decisions on the types of infrastructure they need, to teachers innovating pedagogical methods to be used in the classrooms.

There are no simple solutions to the problems with the education sector in Kenya. But we do have more than one entry point that would initiate reforms necessary to ready the sector to meet the needs of children in the twenty-first century. Working with teachers is one such area.