The Elusive Bridge!

The Elusive Bridge!

By Zubair Ahmed

Boat journeys often bring out interesting moments and conversations. Though, it might be a little different if you are traveling between Chatham and Bambooflat with every conversation beginning or ending up discussing the elusive bridge.

Today, afternoon with the sun beaming its hottest rays, the little space with shade on the boat was brimming with passengers trying to evade the scorching sun. There was shade, but no escape from the humidity. Agitated with the delay in departure, a lady was seen shouting why the boat is not leaving. A guy answered the lady and also added a line about the relief the bridge would bring in.

This triggered a journey-long discussion between two friends, and I was a mute spectator to the conversation that started with a note on the bridge and finally ended up questioning our existence itself!

One of the guys said that the bridge is not economically viable, and raising his eyebrows enquired about the population of the Islands and the feasibility for such an expensive bridge. This hit the other guy so hard that he reeled out a list of questions that numbed my senses for a while.

"Do you think, the boat that you are traveling is economically viable? You pay eight rupees and the government spend more than a hundred rupees on your each trip."

"Do you think whether the water that you get through pipeline is any less expensive than the bottled water available in the market? Add the expenditure of the water section of APWD plus the hundreds of tankers carrying it from east to west and north to south, and finally landing up in your glass!"

"Do you know, when you go home, and switch on the fan, and the tariff that you pay for one unit of electricity that it consumes is nowhere economically viable."

"For that matter, you know your existence itself is not economically viable in the Islands!"

"Your every breath is maintained and sustained by Plan and Non-Plan fund from the Centre. The fresh oxygen that you inhale is no more free as all of us think. Do you have any idea about the expenditure incurred by the forest department in 'conserving' the forests?

"And, how does it matter, if the bridge is not economically viable?" he asked emphatically.

"You should also know that whether the elected representative, the state president of ruling party or for that matter, the Lieutenant Governor can't be very assertive about their demands, as what they have in their hands are nothing but begging bowls, of course, of different sizes and shapes."

So whom should you blame? he asked thumping on the fuel tank of his bike.

Yes, if you have to blame, you should blame Capt. Archibald Blair who surveyed the Islands in 1789 for finding the place suitable for penal settlement.

Yes, the blame should be on J P Walker, who landed on Chatham Island with the first batch of 200 mutineers on 10th March 1858! Had he not landed on Chatham, there would not have been a demand for bridge between Chatham and Bambooflat.

Yes, the blame should be on those British guys, who thought Chatham suitable for a saw mill, and the ones who were culpable for connecting the Island with Haddo by a causeway, which further raised hopes of the people living on the other side to have bridge connectivity.

How can you not blame the Andamanese tribe, who lost the Battle of Aberdeen fighting the Colonial forces? Had they won, there would not have the British and the settlement, and the demand for a bridge too!

How can you not blame Colonel Michael Lloyd Ferrar, Chief Commissioner, a man who lent his name to the largest Tehsil, Ferrargunj, in South Andaman? Had he not seen a vision for development of the place, there would not have so many villages contently living amidst their agricultural land and homesteads dreaming of a bridge between Bambooflat and Chatham.

Jarawas cannot be spared from the blame! Had they strongly resisted the Settlers and not remained content being pushed to one corner of the Island, the dream of Col Ferrar would have failed and there would not be a demand for a bridge later!

There was some hope still left till the Japanese occupied the Islands. The Allied Force pilots who bombed Chatham Island, failed to sink the Island keeping the hope for a bridge still alive!

After Independence, blame lies primarily on the Defence forces, who without take into account for a bridge built their harbour as well as the many ships of different sizes and heights!

How can you not blame the aircraft carriers to be built or inducted in the future? Though INS Vikrant did not come inside the harbour in 1980s, it raised the hope for INS Virat to enter the harbour later!  Blame is due for the hope of the aircraft carriers entering the harbour for the hopelessness of the bridge between Chatham and Bambooflat!

You should also blame the nuclear powered submarine, which once entered the harbour. Had it anchored on the mouth of Port Blair harbour near Ross Island, tunnel could have been a possibility.

When economics, history and geography have to be blamed for the elusive bridge, how can someone point finger at the ruling dispensation in the UT or at Centre?

Maybe, they are aware about the predicament and also ashamed of their position. That's why the Administration is not coming out with any conclusive answer to the queries raised by the public about the status of the bridge, promised by Gadkariji.

When the boat reached Bambooflat, the guy who questioned the viability of the bridge suddenly changed topic and emphatically said,

"Modi is very powerful. He will surely send Sonia and Rahul behind bars in the AgustaWestland chopper deal."

Indeed a respite in the otherwise hot weather!

Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Strategic Springboard for India

Andaman and Nicobar Islands:

Strategic Springboard for India

By Dhan Singh*, BTech, MBA

IIT Kanpur, India

It is imperative that our country has to craft its foreign policy in such a way so as to meet the numerous challenges of the twenty-first century. The challenges that the foreign policy has to contend with include inter-continental terrorism, piracy over high seas, global gun-running syndicates and the looming threat to disruption of sea lanes of communication (SLOCs) and illegal exploitation of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) critical for the growth of the economy of our country.

Strategic location of Andaman and Nicobar Islands:

India is strategically located in the centre of Asia and at the head of the Indian Ocean. By virtue of its geographical location, Andaman and Nicobar Islands enjoys a strategic location as the far south-easternmost part of India. Landfall Islands, the northern most island in the Andaman archipelago, is just about 20 km from Myanmar's Coco Island (which is reportedly under Chinese control) while Indira Point at the tip of Great Nicobar, the southernmost island in the Nicobar archipelago, lies about 80 km from the tip of Sumatra in Indonesia. Thus, Andaman and Nicobar Islands is located at the mouth of the Straits of Malacca which is a significant trade route through which majority of trade occurs amongst various countries over the seas.

Evolution of the Defence Architecture in Andaman and Nicobar Islands:

The evolution of Andaman and Nicobar Islands from being simply an outpost in the Indian defence architecture to becoming an important strategic base has indeed been a long-drawn one. The Indian Union set up the Indian naval base named INS Jarawa in late 1960s which had primarily amphibious ships and to protect the Islands post the Sino-Indian war of 1962.The INS Jarawa was renamed Fortress Andaman (FORTRAN) in 1981.The naval air component in the form of INS Utkrosh was established near INS Jarawa in 1985.

The paradigm shift in the defence architecture of Andaman and Nicobar Islands occurred when the first integrated theatre command of the Indian Armed Forces was set up in the form of ‘Andaman Nicobar Command (ANC)’ at Port Blair in 2001.But with the limited joint capability among the three armed forces, ANC, hitherto, has had mixed results. ANC definitely is a step forward for the eventual reorganization of armed forces of our country into integrated theatre commands which will be better suited to deal with the security challenges decisively in a holistic manner.

With the nature of warfare changing from being manpower-intensive (as during the World war periods and some decades thereafter) to more technology-centric, there is an urgent need to institute a Force Structure Commission with an aim to improve the tooth-to-tail ratio resulting in an agile and responsive defence force.

Role of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in furthering the national interests of India:

Since the foreign policy is guided by the national interests of India,viz.,securing a peaceful and an amicable external environment to ensure the sustainable development of India so as to pull out the remaining millions from poverty and to ensure equitable development inside the country. In order to achieve a conducive external and internal environment for our country’s inclusive development, securing national borders is as significant as securing the exclusive economic zones which are repository of natural resources of various kinds and protecting the SLOCs from disruption in coordination with other countries both in immediate and extended neighborhood of India.

About 90% of India’s trade and oil imports are moved by sea lanes of communications (SLOCs), the prominent one passing through the Straits of Malacca to which Andaman & Nicobar Islands have geographical proximity. As our country’s economy becomes more globally integrated, it would become more dependent on the oceans.

The re-emergence of China has led to renewed interest in the Indian Ocean. Indian Ocean has acquired a great salience not only because of the various trade routes that pass through it but also as a bridge to connect the various countries located in the Indian Ocean region through initiatives like ‘Project Mausam’ and with the help of multilateral organizations like Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). ‘Project Mausam’ (being coordinated by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts IGNCA, New Delhi) aims to revive the historic maritime, cultural and economic ties with the 39 Indian Ocean countries including China and Pakistan.

In order to secure the maritime interest of India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands acquires a significant place because it hosts the first tri-services command of our country (Andaman Nicobar Command) which aims to provide a holistic security solution to strengthen the strategic position of India in the vicinity of the all-important Malacca Strait.

Evaluation of the Security & Strategic Policy in relation to Andaman & Nicobar Islands:

In present times, jointness amongst the various arms of the defence forces is the essential component of the military doctrine of any country. This is evident in the recent reduction in the size of the People’s Liberation Army of the People’s Republic of China which has gone in for organizational restructuring of its armed forces in favor of increasing jointness and has set up Theatre Commands (to have a holistic view of the war zone) in the place of separate commands of army, navy or air force.

Recently in March 2016, Indian Navy, Army and the Indian Air Force participated in joint war game named 'Jal Prahar' in Andaman & Nicobar Islands under the aegis of Andaman Nicobar Command (ANC) where joint exercises in amphibious battlefield scenarios was practiced. Though such joint exercises which are being carried out at tactical levels are a step forward but for a leap forward in enhancing jointness amongst the three wings of Armed Forces and also the Coast Guard will happen only when there is jointness at strategic level amongst the various armed forces of our country.

The present obsession of the security establishment of our country with Pakistan has to give way to a more balanced approach to future security scenarios in which China should be given due importance in the long-term since China, the economic power that it is already, is also asserting itself militarily both in the South China sea and also in the various islands of the Indian ocean region. Andaman & Nicobar Islands becomes important because the maritime approach to South China Sea is through the Malacca Strait. Apart from being the storehouse of natural resources underneath the South China Sea, South China Sea is also important because more than 50% of India’s trade comes through the South China Sea if crude oil is excluded. Indian oil exploration companies like ONGC-Videsh has won contracts to prospect petroleum in blocks in South China Sea under the territorial jurisdiction of Vietnam. So, it would be prudent for our country to conduct joint exercises with Vietnam in the region of South China Sea (under the territorial jurisdiction of Vietnam) to protect mutual interests. India has rightly decided to stay put in Vietnam despite Chinese protests because ONGC-Videsh is prospecting in territories under the sovereign control of Vietnam from whom ONGC-Videsh had won a competitive contract. ONGC-Videsh should remain in Vietnam despite poor prospects of oil in order to maintain India's strategic interest in the South China Sea.

With the ‘Pivot to Asia’ policy of United States coming into play, US has deployed a large number of its forces and military equipment in the Asia-Pacific region which includes the Indian Ocean region. Moreover, in April 2016 US and India have concluded the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) vide which respective militaries of each country can access each other’s military bases for repair and refueling purposes. LEMOA is a step forward because it has formalized the existing arrangements of sharing of repair and refueling facilities between the militaries of US and India that had been existing earlier also. For China, it is important that India does not become the ally of US. Thus, India can use its strategic closeness to US as a bargaining chip with China to secure its national interests including an amicable settlement of the boundary dispute.

Since the trade routes converge in the Northern Indian Ocean, therefore China is primarily interested in the Northern Indian Ocean. The Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago located in the Northern Indian Ocean could thus be used as a ‘metal chain’ to block Chinese access to the Straits of Malacca, as argued by naval analyst Zhang Ming. While China is embarking on the grand plans of infrastructure development across the Indian Ocean region through its One Belt One Road (OBOR) that comprises the establishment of Maritime Silk Route through which it proposes to connect the various Indian ocean countries by developing ports (like Gwadar port in Pakistan, Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, Marau which is close to Male in Maldives), our country while being a part of the OBOR also needs to explore other strategic alternatives as it is attempting through Project Mausam by leveraging its core competencies, most notably its soft power and its age-old civilizational ties with the Indian Ocean countries. The Indian diaspora in Indian Ocean Region countries can be an added advantage that India enjoys unlike China, which is another important player in the Indian Ocean.

The way forward:

The stated policy of India is to become a net security provider in the Indian Ocean region. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands by virtue of its strategic location is well suited to become the springboard using which our country and its military, most notably its navy (which is steadily developing its blue water capability) can project power deep inside the Indian Ocean and protect India’s national interests which extends from the strait of Hormuz in West Asia to the strait of Malacca in the East. To realize India’s full strategic potential in the Indian Ocean, Indian Navy needs to fast track its efforts in building maritime capacity especially in island states that occupy critical locations in the Indian Ocean and in these efforts Andaman and Nicobar Islands can become the winning ace.

The writer from the Islands is a Research Scholar in Management Department in IIT Kanpur. He also had a seven year stint as a Commissioned Officer in Defence.

Power to the Native

 

The Jarawas in the Andamans need to be protected as well as empowered to choose their own modernity. A new, more imaginative policy framework might help.

 

By Zubair Ahmed

 

There are two thousands square miles of country teeming with food for the Jarawas and unoccupied by any human being. Why must they keep coming over to our hundred square mile settlements and keep killing our wretched convicts?

Lt. Col. Michael Lloyd Ferrar

Chief Commissioner (1921-33) Andaman Islands, writing in March 1926

The advent of the British colonialists in 1858 to set up a penal settlement in Andaman Islands posed a challenge to the tribals inhabiting the islands. The Jarawas resisted attempts to colonise their land and lives. Even after Independence, Jarawas were seen as a threat to settlers. To keep the tribe at bay, bush police forces were engaged until the Jarawas themselves realised their vulnerability and shed hostilities, and came out of the forests in 1998. The hand of friendship they extended towards the outside world has proved to be disastrous for the tribe, who lived in the forest for the last 50,000 years or more and now number around 400.

A policy of “isolation with minimal intervention” was brought into force in 2004, an important contemporary watershed. With the passage of time, and an ineffective implementation of the policy, the Jarawas remain caught between two worlds — and secure in neither.

While the murder of a Jarawa child by a fellow tribesman in Tirur and the associated legal conundrum is making headlines worldwide, one pertinent question not being dealt with is the ongoing sexual exploitation of the Jarawa women by outsiders. It obscures the fact that first, a crime has been committed by someone who breached the reserve and sexually exploited a Jarawa woman.

In all these years, the state has failed in securing the reserve against poachers, who exploit the tribe as well as prey on forest resources. More unfortunate has been the inability to sensitise the settlers living along the fringes of the Jarawa Tribal Reserve and even the islanders about the rich “human heritage” and the particular vulnerabilities of the Jarawa community. This has been an opportunity missed to rope in the large settler population of the islands as the protectors or at least well-wishers of the tribe.

In contrast, the level of illicit contact has increased manifold in all three sectors —  Middle Strait and Kadamtala in Middle Andaman and Tirur in South Andaman, where several cases of sexual exploitation of women have been reported. With poachers becoming the contact points for the Jarawas, alcohol and drugs have made inroads into the reserve. Several poachers have been charged with luring the Jarawas with alcohol and food to part with forest produce.

The changed realities and the bad press the Andaman and Nicobar administration got from across the world, particularly after a video of Jarawas dancing for tourists in lieu of food surfaced in 2012, did force a re-look into the policy. A committee of experts set up in 2011 went on to make the rules, regulations and laws governing the tribal reserve more stringent to ward off “undesirable” elements. An overenthusiastic administration tied itself up in knots in creating an unrealistic 5-km buffer zone for the tribal reserve. It turned the settlers firmly against the administration and also the Jarawa community.

The appointment of anthropologist Vishvajit Pandya as the director of the Port Blair-based Andaman and Nicobar Tribal Research Institute (ANTRI) in 2013 was a significant one. Pandya not only convinced the reluctant and over-cautious administration of the islands to look beyond the existing policy framework, but he also played an important role in bringing drastic changes in the tribal welfare agency, the Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti (AAJVS), and in empowering and re-orienting the grassroots workers who deal with the Jarawas on a daily basis.

Earlier, the trained social workers of AAJVS, fairly competent in special tribal languages, were only meant to do the bidding of bureaucrats. Under Pandya, they went back to listening to the Jarawas and implementing policies with their informed consent. For instance, though the Jarawas preferred to be in their “traditional attire, when they are assisted by the AAJVS to move from one place to other by jeep or boat, they are keen to cover their body. It is, perhaps, a way of resisting the tourist experience and expectation of the Jarawa as a “naked exotic” people.

An educational project, ang-katha, was also implemented inside the tribal reserve for Jarawa children, primarily aiming to prepare them for a bi-cultural future, where a Jarawa child could operate in the “mainstream” but also be able to retain her own identity with pride and dignity.

Two additional points also need to be made here. The first is about the Indian media, which in the case of the islands and the Jarawas, always seems to be taking a cue from what the foreign media publishes. It needs to play a far more pro-active role, including that of a watchdog. The second is the lacuna in the local education system where there is little, if anything, about the local geography and history of the indigenous people. When what is proximate is made so alien from the very beginning, a long-term and meaningful resolution is not going to be easy to come by.

Looking at the current incident in a larger context will also help to identify that which is more important and relevant. We have miserably failed in dealing with the honour killings by khap panchayats of Haryana and the Dalit killings in Tamil Nadu despite a whole gambit of laws and constitutional protection. So, instead of discussing the honour killing by a Jarawa, a tribe that occupies a very special position due to its geographical, historical, cultural and social condition, the focus should be on a policy framework, where the Jarawas are protected from the evils of “civilization” and be allowed the time and space to decide their own future.

The writer is a Port Blair-based journalist and researcher.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/andaman-islands-jarawas-power-to-the-native/

Out of Syllabus, Out of Mind!

Out of Syllabus, Out of Mind!

By Zubair Ahmed

Ask any student from Andaman and Nicobar Islands the location of Chowra or Teressa Island, and 90% would fail to answer the question. Ask them about Timbuktu or Congo, and it’s likely they will have all the details. The A&N islands are home to mountains, the sea, beaches, forests, plains and even tribal communities not found anywhere else, and yet, little of this is part of the school curriculum here.

This is not how it has always been. The British had, in fact, successfully introduced study of local geography in the islands in the early part of the 20th century itself: Jughrafia – Jazair Andaman o Nicobar, nicknamed Andaman ka Jughrafia, the geography text book written by Master Abdus Subhan in 1935 in Urdu for students of the 3rd standard.

Subhan explains in his preface of the book that the British had made the study of the geography of the islands compulsory in 1920 itself. There were no books available though there was no dearth of reports and data in English and teachers taught whatever they could, according to their own level of understanding. That was when Abdus Subhan embarked upon the onerous task of preparing a proper book for the students.

Though basically a book of geography, it gave quite a lucid idea of the state of affairs in those days. There is a short account of the history of the place - a few words about the aborted first settlement in 1789, the Battle of Aberdeen, assassination of Lord Mayo, and developmental works under various chief commissioners. The geography portion is quite exhaustive and covers both the Andaman and Nicobar group of islands. It covers all the aspects that a book on geography should cover including the land, people, communication, climate, rainfall, agricultural produce, occupation of the people, industrial establishment, trades, towns and villages. The efforts of Master Abdus Subhan, at a time when technological support was non-existent, and the initiative of the colonial administration were commendable to say the least.

In independent India, the idea kept germinating every now and then, but there has been no serious attempt even after 70 years to teach the Islanders about their own Islands. Though there are a number of books written for the tourists, no concerted effort has been made to prepare a curriculum to familiarize the children about their own surroundings. And whom then can we blame if the islanders are insensitive towards the vulnerable tribes or the fragile ecology?

And even if a few books are being prepared and finalized due to efforts of a few non-governmental organizations, the implementation remains entangled in bureaucratic red-tapism.

 Published in the latest issue of the Protected Area Update, April 2016

Jarawa Baby Killing: Open Letter to the Editor New York Times

Jarawa Baby Killing:

Open Letter to the Editor New York Times

From Prof. Vishvajit Pandya & Dr. Madhumita Mazumdar

We write this in response to the article titled “ Baby’s killing tests India’s protection of an Aboriginal Culture” written by Ellen Barry and Hari Kumar published in the NYT on March 13, 2016.

The article’s focus on the ethical and legal conundrum arising out of the case might have been well conceived had it been backed up by deeper research and understanding. Its conclusions based on comments from various ‘stakeholders’ too don’t shed any light on the complexities of the case. In fact what the article has done is to sensationalize the issue and stoke an uninformed debate about the Indian state’s policy of protection of its Particularly Vulnerable Tribal citizens.

To avert this needless debate the authors would have done well to focus not merely on the criminal investigation report and stoke the question of Jarawa culpability in the crime but ask more pressing questions relating to the series of immediate events and the larger conditions that led to it. In other words it should have probed deeper into the role of the non-tribal offenders in the case and asked why they should have entered the Tribal Reserve, supplied alcohol to the two young Jarawa men and instigate them to abduct the baby and kill it. If we assume that the practice of eliminating illegitimate children is still pervasive among the Jarawa community, then the question would be why the Jarawa would have needed the help of non-tribal intruders to carry  out the act this time? This question becomes particularly important if we go by tribal welfare records of the practice over the last decade. First of all it is clear that practice of killing illegitimate children among the Jarawas has dwindled and almost stopped as a result of relentless sensitization of the community by tribal welfare officers. Anup Kumar Mondol senior Tribal Welfare Officer in the Kadamtala region has been at the forefront of persuading Jarawas to end the practice and encourage adoption of such children by willing members of the community. His and his team’s efforts have borne heartening results and the practice of “shankhutayen” or the killing of illegitimate children has almost disappeared.

In this context the sudden ‘revival’ of “shankhutayen” in certain specific segments of the Jarawa reserve i.e. in the Tirur region (where this incident happened) has to be probed more carefully. Particularly because it has to be seen in the light of of the peculiar settler-Jarawas relations that have manifested here both in their ‘collusive’ and in their exploitative aspects. This is a troubling yet relevant question if one goes by the number of cases of poaching, illegal intrusion and sexual exploitation of Jarawa women that have been reported from this particular region over the years. There is ample reason to believe that habitual sexual offenders who are often the cause of unwanted pregnancies would have a vested interest in keeping alive a practice that has the potential to shield them from both legal and social censure. It also allows them to transfer blame onto a community that has no power to speak for itself in a court of law. In this case Subramani the prime accused was the father of the child and it is possible he instigated the killing in a cynical attempt to remove evidence of his sexual offences in the Reserve.

It would therefore be a grave mistake to make easy assumptions of culpability of the Jarawa man and bring him under the Indian state’s criminal justice system without addressing the insidious role of the offenders in this case.

In our opinion neither the assertion of cultural relativist positions on Jarawa practices, nor the mobilization of old stereotypes of the ‘savage primitive ‘ nor even the invocation of labels such as ‘human heritage’ help in making sense of the events that led to the killing of the infant. The authors should have focused not only the perceived crime but on the context behind it. To suggest that the killing of illegitimate children among Jarawas is a long held practice is not enough to assign blame on a community or assign equal culpability on the Jarawa man. Prudence dictates that such instances be understood in their own specific terms. The need of the hour therefore is to unravel the nexus and modus operandi of the prime accused in this case and to regulate further intrusions into the forest. In this context it may be useful to note that tribal welfare administration has already initiated a process of organizing young Jarawa men and sensitizing them to report cases of poaching and illegal intrusions in the Reserve Territory. But a more concerted, strong and sustained state effort must be in place for this to work effectively. The state is committed to the protection of the community and it is expected that offenders don’t get away with such impunity.

To conclude, the question of the Jarawa man’s culpability and the ethical and legal conundrum it has generated for the administration, remains a needless distraction in a case where the prime accused has still a lot to answer for. The authors of this piece would have done well if they chose to pose the problem in ways that would have shed greater light on the specificities of the case and the larger politics behind its slanted reportage in the media.

Prof Vishwajit Pandya is Professor of Anthropology at the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology and is also the Founder and Honorary Director of the Andaman and Nicobar Tribal Research Institute (ANTRI).

Madhumita Mazumdar is Associate Professor at DAIICT.

The Nation Must Know About Andamans!

The Nation Must Know About Andamans!

By Zubair Ahmed

I couldn't watch the Times Now Newshour debate on 28th Jan 2016 and 1st Feb 2016, as I don't watch television nowadays. I saw both the debates on youtube today morning. As an Andaman Islander, I am a little confused how to respond. Whether I should be happy that the tourist footfall is increasing or should be unhappy for the corporators and similar folks wasting taxpayers money shamelessly by paying visits to our Islands.

Undoubtedly, Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a dream tourism destination and also a place of pilgrimage. Even Baba Ramdev mesmerized by its beauty has imposed himself on us as our Brand Ambassador. Now, he will promote our Islands. Lighthouse tourism or Island-based Yog Tourism without Baba holding any stake in it might be the bottom-line. That's the entrepreneurial spirit!

I don't know about junkets, but I am quite sure that the parliamentarians, legislators, corporators, and even Panchayat representatives from our country know very well that October to March is the best season to study Andamans.  They all come, and mostly hold a meeting with the concerned department authorities, at Megapode Nest Conference Hall with a banner depicting the purpose of their visit and then they "also" pay visit to places of tourist interest, nay, historical importance.

Most important item on any itinerary of all these committees and study groups is a visit to Havelock Island, where a postal stamp, a toilet block, a changing room, or a mobile tower is dedicated to the nation by the visiting dignitary. And its ensured that they interact with the PRI members of the Island too. Last couple of months were chock-a-block with Ministers and other dignitaries of different hues.

What prompted me to pen down this blog is not the junkets that our elected members or the bureaucrats undertake to the Islands, but the way the panelists on the channel debate was referring to the Islands. One panelist Mr Shailesh Gandhi former CIC and an RTI activist was heard yelling on top of his voice that there is nothing to study in Andamans except fish! And that too if we take a glass bottom boat and see the corals.

Yes, I do agree that the Mumbai Corporators were on a junket and their itinerary was changed top to bottom the instant they landed in Port Bair to make it appear like a study tour. In fact, a loss to the travel agent who had chalked out a perfect tour programme for the visiting corporators. They were forced to attend a few meetings here and there as an eyewash.

But to say that there is nothing to learn in Andamans is a bit an arrogant statement. I would suggest all states to send study groups to see how the Islands apart from its natural bounties have nurtured a society with a cultural mix which is in many ways a role model for the country to follow.

Our parliamentarians and legislators should learn how peaceful and tranquil the Islands are.  Inspite of origins of different regions, the communal and linguistic harmony is something the Mumbai corporators need to learn from the Islands. No language or religion tries to dominate or smother others. Casteism in true sense is just a column in various forms that we get from mainland.

The day the corporators from Mumbai were in Port Blair, we heard that they filed complaint being left without any security. In fact, we felt the heat next day. While going towards Sinclairs, to have tea and vada from a small tea joint, next to the hotel, the stretch from Marina Park to Govt Press were barricaded with more policemen than joggers. When enquired a constable said that the bandobust is due to VIP movement.

One request the Islanders would like to make to these corporators is that the Islands, though located in a strategic location is the most safest and secure place in the country. Nobody cares, if a VIP takes a stroll on the road. No one will even notice them, forget harming them in any way. The sense of safety and security in the Islands is unparalleled. When you are on a visit to study, kindly don't teach us your sense of security and bandobast, which we are not used to.

Whatever, you have to learn, you may learn it from the nature here. Nature provides as well as takes care of the Islanders here. No city can afford the extent of rain that the Islands receive. And, it doesn't flood at many places not due to any artificial intervention. The topography of the Islands, and its hilly nature helps the water to drain into the sea. A few bottlenecks here and there are the contribution of mankind.

Though, the Islands faced one of the worst disasters in 2004, as of now, the level of disaster preparedness is quite high. It's a truth even acknowledged by a visiting "study team" from Japan. However, the nature of disasters the Islands probably face is still a challenge. Though, comparatively, loss of life in disasters is minimal in the Islands.

Apart from the Corporators, what the panelists can also learn from the Islands is the level of tolerance and patience of the Islanders. Their laid back lifestyle is not something which they have learned from the nature. It's gradually ingrained by the system of governance. In fact they are bureaucrat-resilient. The time they spend on jetties waiting for ferries or boats have made them patient and tolerant. Don't teach them the impatient and intolerant Mumbai local train culture.

You need to be very sure what you learn from the Islands and what you don't teach the Islanders. Take a lesson of harmonious living without any kind of discrimination and please don't teach us the poisonous tirades that you practice.

By the way, did the  visiting dignitaries ever noticed, how indifferent the Islanders were about the purpose of their visit? In fact, when the Nation was busy trying to know the intention of the Mumbai corporators' visit to the Islands, the Islanders were as usual patiently waiting for ferry on the jetties totally unconcerned about the hullabaloo.

That's one thing the Nation may want to Know if they can find the time! 

Education: Quantity or Quality?

Education: Quantity or Quality?

Isn't it an irony that parents spend Rs 1000 per month for education in a private school, while government spends Rs 2000 per month on a child in a government school. The disintegration of education system in the Islands is directly proportional to the increase in investment in pay & perks, infrastructure, facilities, equipments and accessories. Is it systemic failure or lack of a system itself?

By Zubair Ahmed

An analysis of the three press meets by the heads of Electricity, Education and APWD would suffice to get a feel about our idea of development or achievements. When we talk about achievements, its more about quantity than quality in every sector.

Like any other department of the Admn, in education too, the number of school buildings, toilets, doors, windows, new recruitments, teaching and non-teaching staff, ayahs, peons and watchmen seems to be the focus. But, the dismal performance of govt schools in the board exams has now compelled the Administration to reflect on reasons behind the debacle.

The Administrator recently expressed concern over low pass percentage both in Class X and XII. Had we achieved 100% pass in Class X, we would have celebrated our success and started comparing it with states in Mainland conveniently overlooking the fact that even 100% is just quantity and not about quality. Will the Directorate tell us the overall average CGPA this year, even in the schools which achieved 100% results? It would be a shocking revelation!

In fact, if the Admn contemplates tweaking the system to make a turnaround, the change should begin from top to bottom. The Directorate needs an academic to run the show instead of a bureaucrat. A bureaucrat can be good in providing resources, but monitoring of academic performance is not their cup of tea. Mismanagement of resources including manpower is quite apparent everywhere. Schools with disproportionate pupil-teacher ratio is abundant in number.

 

The example of two schools in South Andaman District are glaring. One Govt secondary school at Jirkatang,  affiliated to CBSE, has 16 students on roll with five GTTs, two PSTs one Craft Instructor and one Librarian. Three students appeared for Class X Board examinations out of which two passed and one was placed under EIOP or compartment. The teacher-student ratio is 16:9! One teacher for every 1.5 student!

The CBSE-affiliated secondary school at Mile Tilak has 30 students and 8 teachers including a PET and a Librarian. Five students appeared for Class X examinations and secured 100% pass with an average result of 6.5 CGPA. The teacher-student ratio is 30:8! A teacher for every 3.5 student!

Why not buy a fully-air-conditioned 40-seater coach with home pickup for the children with lunch from a star-hotel and admit them in a premier school at Port Blair? The per capita cost would be less than what is spent on such schools, and a fortune can be saved too.

Isn't it sheer mismanagement or eternal indecisiveness to find a solution? These are not exceptional cases. There are many such examples throughout the territory. There was a school with 16 teachers and 9 students!

  

There are many schools in South Andaman District where enrolment is very low due to numerous private schools that have come up. But, the sanctioned strength of staff remains same with disproportionate teacher-student ratio. Many teachers can be seen loitering around or sitting around the headmaster gossiping.

In fact, there are approximately 300 surplus teaching staff including GTT and PST in the department, without taking into account those engaged under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). The recent recruitment might have earned a brownie point, but was it need-based? The haphazard placement of teachers throughout the territory exposes the sorry state of affairs in the department. Even the official Pupil Teacher Ratio claimed to be around 15:1 is highly debatable. The no. of students studying in govt schools as projected by the Directorate is 86460, and teachers under the Directorate is 5574 which is also susceptible. In fact, no developed country, even USA can beat the record of Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) in our Islands. It runs in single digit.

A large number of media of instruction also add to the miseries of the department. The same infrastructure and faculty are needed for a small number of students. Schools were provided for small number of students again on demand, without considering the logistics and practical difficulties. Rationalization of medium, as pinpointed by the Administrator, however politically incorrect it might be, needs to be implemented.

To bring quality in education, a robust monitoring system needs to be in place. However, the department is not devoid of saner voices. They do admit that there is no accountability, no proper, timely and effective inspection of schools. Inspection by peers is hardly meaningful unless sustained and evaluated periodically. 

But the question is how inspections can be carried out with the present dispensation? Principals, DEOs, Asst Directors and sometimes Directors are of same scale. The DEO acts as principal in charges of many schools in the absence of regular principals. If the climate is conducive, they may sit in Directorate as Asst Directors and in bad times may be sent back as Principals or DEOs. There is no well-defined hierarchy to bell the cat?

In 2009, the pass percentage of Class X was 57%. Thousands of students were thrown out of education system. Last year, when the results were 97%, instead of celebrating it, we rued the system saying that Class X is no more a benchmark. This year, the results seems to have rationalized. Its a wake up call to take CCE seriously in lower classes itself to prepare them for board exams, especially Class X. Dissection of average marks in different subjects will be a good way to start with to know what we were missing down the line.

Moreover, to get into the bottom of the disintegration, there needs to be a thorough understanding of the CCE pattern, which is often blamed by majority of teachers for poor performance.

Earlier, they rued that students weren't serious due to no-fail policy. Now, when the pass percentage have come down, they blame the CCE pattern itself.

In fact, CCE pattern is widely misconstrued by most of the stakeholders. It prepares the students for life rather than just higher studies. There has been no serious effort among teachers in implementing it in true spirit. Blaming it as paper-work intensive system, the focus is deflected from children failing the purpose itself.

With a little bit of tweaking here and there, its one system, which gives sufficient emphasis on overall development of the child. It is observed that there has been a drop in the capability of writing among the children due to irrational mark allocation in different tools in formative assessments in lower classes, which can be easily overcome by following a rational system giving an extra edge for pen-paper test, preparing the students for summative assessments. Problem Solving Assessment (PSA) introduced by CBSE a couple of years back seems to be far beyond the comprehension of our teachers.

There has been wide discussion of inclusion of soft skills in school curriculum, but how many teachers in our Islands have ever seen the well-researched Life Skill manuals prepared by CBSE? Do they use it in schools? How many periods are earmarked for the same? Instead of blaming the system and looking out for solutions, there is a serious need to get acquainted with the materials provided by CBSE as well as NCERT, and implement it in true sense.

The state of evidences of assessment by government schools will tell another sordid tale of affairs how much they are concerned about the students. If the Administration is serious about improving the quality of education in the govt run schools, they need to check the quality of evidences of assessment of each school. To make CCE work, periodic internal assessment of evidences need to be carried out.

A one time quality assessment test at two levels can help in getting a clear picture about the ground reality.  To assess the quality of language and mathematics up to Class V and Maths and Science upto Class VIII would help in assessing the teachers, schools as well as students. Necessary inputs and outputs from the review can help in taking remedial measures.

On making the teachers responsive and accountable, the Secretary recently made a remark about carrot and stick approach. Only reward and punishment can bring meaningful change in the system. Transfers are very lucrative in the department. A lot of political as well as bureaucratic pressures are exerted on the Directorate to accommodate the ‘well connected’ teachers in the headquarters. Others manage on medical ground; true or false. Yet others come up with excuses of ailing old parents, and close relatives; some actual, some cooked up to stay in South Andaman Main Island, not even Neil, Havelock and Little Andaman. If the warning from Secretary-cum-Director that non-performers will be shown the door makes an impact, well and good. Moreover, there are no incentives for performers, who gradually feel let down by the Directorate.

While the private schools with minimal infrastructure and manpower delivers, the over pampered government schools with experienced teachers and quality infrastructure fails miserably. The govt spends around Rs 20 crores on just salary of teachers, and per head expenditure on a child comes to more than Rs 40,000/- but the output is dismal. The irony is that when a parent spends Rs 1000/- per month for education in a private school, government spends Rs 2000/- per month on a child in government school. 

Sixth Pay Commission brought a windfall for the government teachers beyond their wildest dream. But in terms of output, there is hardly anything to write home about. The teaching fraternity instead of discussing the debacle in board exams would be more keener to discuss threadbare about Seventh Pay Commission and its nitty-gritty.

 

Its a fact that educated parents including govt teachers admit their children in private schools despite knowing that the teachers are not experienced and are not paid at par with those in govt service, but they are confident that the schools will deliver.

Its an enigma why govt schools in outer Islands, where there are no private schools too fail to perform. The enrolment is not bad. The community as stakeholders too needs to give a thought about it.

If ten percent of the time teachers spent on gossiping about their pay scale, DA and pay band is utilized to discuss about education and their students, the Administrator wouldn't have to worry about the declining quality of education in the Islands.

BSNL: A Love Story

BSNL: A Love Story

By Zubair Ahmed

On 28th April, when I checked my BSNL broadband, I found it not working. I thought it might come back in a while. But it didn't. So like any typical Indian, I looked out, but it wasn't a power failure to see whether lights are on in my neighbour's house. So, I called one of my friends. He told me that he too had same issue with broadband. I had that sadistic satisfaction like any typical Indian. On 31st April, I thought of reporting it at the local exchange. I carried my modem too, to make sure that the issue is resolved without wasting much time. And, the TTA at the exchange was very sympathetic and got busy checking the ports and when he failed, he called his counterpart at Telephone Exchange at Port Blair, Incharge of Broadband. They did speak something and he handed over the phone to me. In a layman's language I told him all the symptoms and about the different lights blinking on my modem when there is connection and when it doesn't work.

The guy at Port Blair said something about authentication issue and 'assured' that he will resolve it. I waited for a couple of days. And finally, one day suddenly the net came and it went too suddenly, before I could even smile with satisfaction. In fact, I wanted to thank the TTA at the local exchange for resolving the issue within a week. But, before his mobile rang, my internet LED on the modem had gone. I left the issue then and there and got busy in other mundane activities.

Meanwhile, whenever I met my friends during that week, like any typical Indian, after enquiring about their wellbeing, I made it a point to ask about their broadband connection too. A few of them said, they had constipation issues, which was resolved after taking Kayam Chooran, but the broadband connection issue continued. A few of them said that connection was made, but no use without any data transfer. A few of them had authentication error, and a few of them had forgotten which LED on the modem meant what! Finally, I too resigned to my fate and looked outside for my internet needs. Fortunately, an alternate connection at my workplace was working.

Thanks to the guys at the local exchange, I could spend quality time with my family and kids without the broadband connection. Now it was the turn of my friends, who kept calling me and checking the status of my connection. They were concerned. My heart goes out for them. I had almost spend 20 days now without seeing the internet LED blink on my modem. I wasn't that emotionally attached to my modem, but that green light sometimes started blinking in my dreams too. Some connection it wanted to make.

On 25th day, I decided to give it a try again. And, my ordeal started, an emotional one.

I went to the local exchange and met the TTA. He had two pairs of cable in one hand a list of phone nos. in other hand. He looked tired. I felt bad, and in a withdrawn mood, he showed the list, and there were more than 20 phone numbers which had same problem. Was I shocked? No. The issue was getting bigger now. It was not just about my connection now. I kept wondering, why is it not getting resolved. I took my phone with an Airtel sim and made a call to DGM, BSNL.

A very compassionate voice answered me. I was happy. He was not arrogant. Explained him in detail about the problem, 25 days and 25 broadband connections. He gave a sensitive hearing and asked me to SMS my landline no. and he assured that he will look into it. And I didn't want to be selfish, so asked the guy sitting next to me and enquired about his wellbeing as well as his broadband connection. He said he faced same problem. So I messaged the DGM two numbers.

I waited till evening. There was no reply. I called the DGM and asked if I can meet him. He assured me that he has conveyed my complaint to the concerned SDE as well as JTO.

On 26th day after my first formal complaint, I made up my mind and directly reached the Telephone Bhawan opposite Bengali Club. The building bore a deserted look. I went inside and I was directed to one SDE. Very politely, he heard my complaint and when he learnt that it was about broadband, I could see a sigh of relief on his face. It was not under his jurisdiction. But as a human being, he listened and even spoke to me for a while. I didn't know I had become so confident that I could convey my technical as well as emotional issue with him. Slowly I was falling in love.

As directed by him, I reached the Telephone Exchange near Central School. It was lunch hour. I just walked in and enquired about the guy who handles broadband. After a few queries here and there, I met one guy who asked me about the issue. I enquired whether he is handling Broadband. He nodded but with a caveat. The concerned SDO had proceeded to mainland to bring his family. So he just took over that morning. I asked him if he was aware about the broadband issue in one of the exchanges. He nodded negative. I named the exchange. He couldn't place it anywhere. I knew if he can't even pronounce the name of the exchange, there is no chance he would be acquainted with the broadband problem in that exchange. So, politely I asked him, whom I should meet. He asked me to wait in the chamber next door. Some SDE will come and meet me.

Whiling away my time waiting for the SDE, I looked around. I could see a few very motivating quotes pasted on the glass partition. And, one quote which grabbed my attention defied all my sympathy and emotions for the TTA of my exchange. I had high regards for him, for whenever I visited him, I saw him working very hard meddling with cables, checking this port and that port and not even wiping sweat from his forehead.

The quote was "CUSTOMERS DON'T MEASURE YOU ON HOW HARD YOU TRIED, THEY MEASURE YOU ON WHAT YOU DELIVER."

I saw a very normal, humble looking gentleman coming out from the equipment room. I smiled and just followed him into his chamber. He too gave a patient hearing and told me that the DGM had called him. When I enquired about the progress, he gave a blank look. I was confused. I asked him if he is aware of the issue. I liked his honesty. He said he is unable to diagnose the problem.

I was nobody to suggest a solution. But as a common man, I asked if he tried replacing the ports from the faulty equipment to a functioning one, he said, he is scared that it might spoil the working one too. He then told me that he can't find any fault with the equipment. So no blaming the equipment. I asked if they tried the Electricity Dept way. He looked perplexed. I made him relaxed and told him, if they could switch off another equipment and shift the faulty ports and check it. He said no. I couldn't find any breakthrough coming from this guy. I just asked him why is the whole department so sober and demotivated. He just smiled. I wished him well and came out.

Next what? I took an auto and went straight to the new building of BSNL opposite the Fire Station. Had planned to visit the DGM, but couldn't meet him, and finally went upstairs to meet the CGM.

Another personality that impressed me. Had a bollywoodwala Bihari look. The CGM was in a relaxed mood, who appeared to be the kind whom stress can't takeover.

When he learnt that I am going to write about it, he called the DGM. One guy came with a bunch of files. Serious looks. He just sat through. All the talking was done by the CGM.

I asked why nobody gets shocked to know that the problem is 25 days old. I even asked why they are not shocked that around 25 nos. in one exchange is not working.

Looking at my face, he might have gauged the emotional trauma.

"Don't be so emotional, it happens in India. Hamare desh mein shishtem aise hee kaam karta hai." he said munching something.

When I explained my predicament, quietly he asked for my landline no. I gave it. He dialed someone and spoke for a while and said, " There is some problem with the DSLAM."

I felt relieved. Here is someone who finally cracked the mysterious puzzle. But, the relief was short lived.

Then he took me on a long ride about the origin of internet and the nascent stage of internet in the Islands, lack of bandwidth, the issues with the satellites, the OFC between Kolkata and Patna and Mumbai, Delay in transportation of equipments, and about his concern for the 5000 broadband connections. Finally, hammering the final nail, he took a huge file and started flipping it and said, "These are the proof of correspondences we are making with the ministries to solve the problem."

I just felt ashamed. What a fool I was to take such a frivolous issue of just 25 connections in one exchange for just a small delay of 29 days, not even one month. I felt that instead of becoming part of the problem, I was gradually becoming a problem, and should desist from demanding anything more.

"Sir, please delete my no. I won't mind if my problem is not resolved, but I was concerned about the other 24 nos." I told him.

"You should become a minister or a politician," he said. "If you have any problem, please come and meet me," he continued.

What a bunch of nice guys, whose doors are always open for anyone. Yes, of course, what if net is not working, you may pay a visit and chat with them, of course, offline.

An awesome experience it was. If you are too motivated, to get grounded kindly pay a visit to BSNL office and meet them from bottom to top. Any spark of motivation left in you will extinguish in no time. And if you find time do pay a visit to the CGM. Though he may not be able to help you about your connections, his sermon would be a blessing in disguise.

What I had heard about BSNL was lack of bandwidth, but the way people from top to bottom in the hierarchy functioned strengthened my conviction about their lack of motivation and zeal to redress the complaints. They are revered for their services stretching from Campbell Bay to Diglipur, but can’t say much about the quality over quantity. How can you not love such a lot?

I looked at the signal on my mobile phone, and pressed the FB app to check the notifications if I could get through, knowing well that my phone was not ten times faster than my dad's phone, and my dad's phone is neither.

After 30 days, I may be still waiting for that green LED to blink, but I am still alive, because I have never considered internet to be a lifeline.