When the looms fall silent!

As we walk through the tiny alleys of Banaras, leaving behind the sheer grandeur and the gentle echoes of the beautiful and divine river Ganges, we enter a completely different world, a world where dreams are woven and given a shape. However as we walk  through the narrow and filthy lanes of Bazardiha, it didn't bear witness to the same Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency which was once represented by former HRD Minister and senior BJP leader, Murli Manohar Joshi and in the 16th Lok Sabha represented by India’s Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. One of the oldest surviving cities on earth, the cosmopolitan part of Varanasi probably has everything, good roads, shopping centres, food joints, reflective of a growing urban city. But a few kilometres inside, if you wish to make a visit to Bazardiha, auto and cycle rickshaws refrain from taking you there. And this is a personal experience that we're sharing with you. Why such a stepmotherly attitude  towards that part of the city? The reason isn't that difficult to predict because they have to spend more time plying these areas as most of the roads leading to Bazardiha village in Sevapuri Tehsil of Varanasi district are broken and filled with water and mud. This area is home to more than two lakh people, 90 percent of them being Muslims, is known as a hub of weavers in Varanasi. But Bazardiha has multiple other identities as well. Sometimes these ‘other’ identities are more convincing for people who visit here from rest part of Varanasi to recall this place. They remember Bazardiha as an area which has power outage, filthy and broken streets and unemployed youths.  

All these weaver families depend on earning from handlooms but since the past decade though they've been working equally hard but what they earn is too little to sustain a livelihood. These workshops usually have unhealthy working environment, lack of basic resources and health services as a result it has led to a high number of diseases including Tuberculosis. Child labour is rampant and cases of drug consumption among youngsters are on the rising. Several cases of suicide and hunger death have also been reported during last couple of years. Millions of lovers of shinning and marvelous Banarasi saris across the globe may not know that these weavers who make such beautiful saris are in such a pitiable state. In May 2013, the plight of the local weaver community came into limelight when two children, Shabeena (14) and Murtuza (3.5) died due to malnutrition in Bazardiha. Their father Abdul Khaliq had died 10 months ago due to several diseases. After this incident members of civil society groups approached several government officials and then Nadira, mother of kids, got a Below Poverty Line Ration Card to get monthly grain supply from the government on subsidised rates. But is this enough?

Local weavers hoped that the then sitting MP, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi would visit the victim family but he didn’t show up. There is also a high level of tuberculosis, particularly Multi Drug Resistance Tuberculosis (MDTRB) reported in the area. Ghazala Qamar, an activist associated with People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, alleged that all governments have neglected the area. “People of Bazardiha are facing lots of problems. There is only one government health centre but it is too small and works only four hours a day. Child delivery mostly happened in homes or they have to go to hospitals far from their homes. No government is serious about problems of Bazardiha people,” said Qamar. She said some of nearby towns have better facilities than what they have in Bazardiha. Basic government services like banking and education are also a rare sight in the area and people have to depend on local moneylenders for loan. Several families have huge debts on them which lead to various other diseases like blood pressure and depression and sometimes it even leads to suicide. “There is neither a single bank nor an ATM. There is only one school which has only three teachers for 180 students,” Qamar substantiates. Because of huge poverty and lack of resources they are exploited by masters and owners, known as gaddidar, because these gaddidars set the market rate and pay less to the weavers. Abdul Qadir, a weaver, says he earns less than a daily wage labourer. 

"The level of market is declining day by day. Earlier we used to get Rs 900 for a set of work but now it is hard to get more than Rs 600,” said Qadir in helpless voice. " 

"Saris are not being sold and gaddidars are telling that you people should work on low price if you want to continue. They are telling that market of saris is very down. Even a daily wage labourer earn ₹300 every day but we don't even make that!" he explained.

He said that the government had issued Resham Card (Silk Card) like ration card but according to Qadir, for labourers like him it is almost impossible to use such facilities. He said that with this card one has to purchase at least four kg silk and our need is only about half kg. We can’t afford to purchase four kg silk at one time. According to Qadir four kg silk costs at least Rs 4500. He demanded the government to open Bunkar Haat in the locality where government should purchase their products directly.

 

Rahmatullah, another weaver who is in the business for last 26 years, is worried due to high rate of inflation and low income. “I am in this business for last 26 years but since last couple of years it seems that it is a dying business. Inflation is rising and income is declining,” Most of weavers like Qadir believe that due to rising power loom industry in Gujarat’s Surat district, Varanasi handloom industry is suffering. Power loom produces these saris at cheaper cost and faster rate and they also use synthetic rather than silk. “A sari which we weave in six days will be weaved in power loom within one day,” Qadir explained. A large number of weavers reportedly had migrated to Surat for job after power loom industry boomed up since last decade. They also accused industrialists in Surat for copying their design which are illegal.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who won Varanasi Lok Sabha seat by defeating Arvind Kejriwal with a huge margin in this general election hails  from Gujarat. It would be very interesting to see if he listens to the grievances of weavers of his new constituency and if he does something to make a balance between Surat and Varanasi. They argue that only six districts of Uttar Pradesh including Varanasi have Geographical Indication (GI) certificate which means only in these districts Banarasi sari can be produced. The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 which came into effect from 15 September 2003, is followed by World Trade Organization member nations including India. According to Geographical Indication Registry of Ministry of Commerce and Industry “Geographical Indications of Goods are defined as that aspect of industrial property which refer to the geographical indication referring to a country or to a place situated therein as being the country or place of origin of that product.” Weavers of Varanasi got the certificate of GI in 2009 but unfortunately Banarasi saris are being manufactured illegally in several parts of the country which is one of the main reasons behind such pathetic condition of weavers in Bazardiha.

Recession and low earning are not the only problem here. Due to poverty, lack of education and work drug consumption is spreading among youngsters. According to Bunkar Ekta Manch, a local body of weavers in Bazardiha, 60 percent homes at least have one drug addicted youth. Usually they use cough syrups and pain killer medicines, which are easily available in the area. It is first time in history of Varanasi in Independent India that the Prime Minister himself will be representing it in the Lok Sabha. However, people of Bazardiha are not much hopeful that their good days will come soon. Qadir says that during this Lok Sabha election some candidates raised weavers’ issues. “Some candidates have raised our issues but I am not sure that problem will solve because these politicians often forget what they promise,” Qadir said. “Among the tall leaders only Arvind Kejriwal visited the area and I don’t have any hope that anyone will hear poor people,” Qamar said sadly.

 

The apathy however tends to continue and there is no end to the plight of these poor weavers who toil day and night to make our brides beautiful. Can't we make an effort to help them at least live a life and dignity and sustain a livelihood? There surely isn't asking for a lot. Our Prime Minister has promised to make Varanasi a smart city, a world class city. But can just infrastructural changes are enough when people residing in the interiors are dying out of malnutrition, hunger and poverty? Or are we waiting for some big Bollywood film to highlight the issue and then we'll start agitating? It is high time that the issue is dealt with urgency and seriousness otherwise a grave tragedy is on the calling and by then it would be too late. 

The Faults in Our Cabinet!

"Minimum Government, Maximum Governance", an idea popularised by our Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi after he took oath following his stellar performance in the Lok Sabha elections doesn't seemed to have found enough resonance when it came to actual governance. Initially lauded as a great idea and an efficient style of governing, now appears to have lost all its sheen in the power corridors of Lutyens Delhi as finally PM Modi expanded his cabinet and nearly 22 ministers took the oath of office and secrecy on a Sunday afternoon in the Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Cabinet reshuffles has always been an exercise of balancing caste equations and regional aspirations at the Centre and often led to tokenism winning over merit. Something similar seemed to have happened on Sunday when PM Modi expanded his cabinet. 

Out of the 22 new ministers inducted, four were of the cabinet rank, three MoS with Independent charge and rest 15 were of the MoS rank. In order to understand the politics behind the cabinet reshuffle, let us have a look at those inducted, their past track record and which portfolios they're allotted. Beginning with Shri Manohar Parrikar who has been given one of the most prized ministries in the North Block, Defence. The former Chief Minister of the state of Goa and an IITian, Parrikar is known as a clean man and for possessing the image of a tough and no nonsense guy. For a ministry such as Defence, he is considered to be the best choice. However, observers of Goa politics points towards resentment which was slowly brewing against Parrikar in the state for his multiple U turns and failure to control the mining mafias and bring in much needed reforms as promised during the elections. South Goa in particular felt most cheated. The very fact that Laxmikant Parsekar, a long time RSS aide has been made the new Chief Minster of Goa indicates that the change of guard has well been initiated from Nagpur itself. 

Among the other newly inducted Cabinet Ministers is Shri Suresh Prabhu. Prabhu is considered to be PM Modi's G20 Sherpa and is known and globally respected for his work. A long time Sena man, he quit the saffron party this morning and joined the BJP before taking oath. His induction is one of the major reason behind the rift between the BJP and the Shiv Sena which led to Sena calling it's nominee Anil Desai back from the airport hours before he was all set to take oath as one of the council of ministers. Prabhu has been allocated the Railways ministry and is the person to watch out for. Otherwise a clean man, he is also under scanner for owning a flat in the controversial Adarsh society. 

But what has surprised me the most is the induction of JP Nadda who has been allocated the Health Ministry. A behind the scenes person, Nadda has been recently accused of stopping all the corruption cases in the MCI and also behind the removal of the honest vigilance officer, Sanjiv Chaturvedi. This move clearly indicates that something is really wrong in the entire process and the removal of Dr. Harshvardhan and induction of Nadda reaffirms the point. Another surprise is allocating Shri Sadanand Gowda, the Law and Justice ministry at a time when his son is undergoing trial. This proves that the Modi government doesn't care about public resentment and considers these as petty allegations.

Among another MoS inducted is Shri Ram Shanker Katheria, a two time MP from Agra and a professor by profession. Katheria has 23 criminal cases registered against him, including one in which he has been accused of attempt to murder and in another cheating according to his election affidavit. Apart from cases like obstructing public servants and rioting, he also faces cases of serious nature, in which he is accused of cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, forgery, forgery for purpose of cheating, attempt to murder and promoting enmity between different groups on grounds including religion. Well in terms of criminal record, the list doesn't end here. How can we forget to mention Shri Giriraj Singh who infamously said during the Lok Sabha election campaign that all those who doesn't vote for Modi should be sent away to Pakistan. He is currently out on bail while a case is running against him for keeping unaccounted money to the tune of ₹1 crore which was recovered from his residence during the Lok Sabha elections. Looks like our honourable PM has finally rewarded him with an MoS post in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises ministry.

With an eye on future assembly elections, PM Modi has played the caste cards quite well and  is the prime reason for the induction of Agra MP Ram Shankar Katheria and Fatehpur MP Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, one a Dalit and the other belonging to the electorally powerful Nishad community. From West Bengal, Modi did not choose old party hand S S Ahluwalia but went for Babul Supriyo, a singer-turned politician with an eye to the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections in 2016. Similarly are the choices of Sanwar Lal Jat and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (a Rajput) as ministers from Rajasthan, which continues to be without a Cabinet-rank representation at the Centre despite the fact that all 25 seats went to the BJP. The induction of Hoshiarpur MP Vijay Sampla as MoS also came as another surprise. Sampla, a Dalit, is expected to be part of the BJP’s efforts to become a major anti-SAD, anti-Congress force in the state which has the nation’s highest percentage of Dalits which is around 32 per cent. 

Even party turncoats have been well rewarded in the recent cabinet reshuffle. Case in point is Choudhury Birendra Singh and Ram Kripal Yadav. Singh, who has been a Congressman for 42 years recently switched sides to the BJP and has been inducted to placate the Jat community since the BJP decided on a non-Jat Punjabi as Haryana’s Chief Minister. He is now a Cabinet Minister with varied portfolios such as Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water and Sanitation. While  Yadav, an erstwhile loyalist of Laloo Prasad Yadav, has been made an MoS in the low profile Drinking Water and Sanitation ministry. His induction again is seen to be made with an eye on the upcoming Bihar assembly polls to consolidate the Yadav votes. 

And how come a cabinet expansion can take place without the Midas touch of its ideological parent, the RSS. Hansraj Gangaram Ahir (Maharashtra), the four-time MP from Chandrapur, the whistle blower in the coal block allocation scam is considered to be close to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. Gautam Budh Nagar MP Mahesh Sharma, considered close to the RSS, was made Minister of State (Independent charge), Culture and Tourism as well as MoS, Civil Aviation. The Sangh is believed to have strongly batted for Manohar Parrikar, JP Nadda, Giriraj Singh, Bandaru Dattatreya, the sole MP from Telangana, Mahesh Sharma and Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti. 

On a lighter note, while Shri Arun Jaitely have been relieved of the Defence portfolio, he has now been given the key I&B Ministry. Popularly known as Bureau Chief in the Lutyens  zone, the twitteratti was flooded with jokes that he finally got the prized possession of a ministry which is reflective of his connections in the media. What I find more funny is the induction of his deputy in the Finance Ministry, Shri Jayant Sinha, an MP from Hazaribagh and the son of senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha. Funny because it makes two of PM Modi's own statements fall flat in his face. One, where he famously said "We don't want Harvard educated but Hardworking people" in order to take a dig on the then Finance Minister, Shri P Chidambaram. Sinha is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School. Second, his promise that his cabinet will not give any space to dynasts and would be purely on the basis of merit. Certainly Mr. Sinha has got his appointment owing to his merit and not because of the fact that he is the son of Yashwant Sinha. 

Other ministers inducted include party loyalists such as Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya and Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary, both from Gujarat, have been Modi loyalists for long. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a pilot by profession who defeated former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi in Saran, has been made an MoS with independant charge for Skills and Development and also an MoS for Parliamentary Affairs. Also in the list is party Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who is seen as the token Muslim face and has been stashed in the Minority affairs ministry  with an additional charge of Parliamentary Affairs. It is also interesting to note that all those ministries which had non-BJP ministers at the helm of affairs now have a deputy in the form of an MoS in the ministry belonging to the BJP.

It is not for the first time that caste equations and regional aspirations has played such a key role in the cabinet expansion. However what is important is the fact that the way the cabinet is expanded defies what PM Modi said months ago when he emphasised that political compulsions, caste equations, dynastic politics and regional political ambitions will not dictate the selection of his cabinet. It's a complete detour from what he said. For those who don't remember, he is yet to also appoint an alternative to the Planning Commission which he abolished during his maiden Independence Day speech and was supposed to be functional within three weeks from then.

This cabinet expansion holds big gaps and is skewed in gender, religion and regional representation and has more of a Male, Hindu and North dominance defining the political and ideological limitations that the current government holds. It also destroys the argument of having a lean government as for your information, UPA had about 70 ministers and the NDA count is around 67. Also the PMO staff count under Dr. Manmohan Singh was 112 while under Shri Narendra Modi it is a whopping 356. In Twitter star Ramesh Srivats words, it's no longer a cabinet but a walk-in wardrobe. So now that minimum government is longer a reality, can we have at least effective governance if not maximum governance, Mr. Prime Minister?