Happy New Year DK: triumphs overshadowed by communal undertones, infrastructure hiatus

 Newskarnataka link

Mangaluru: Mangaluru Taluk was in the eye of a communal storm at the start of the year and tragically so, at the end of the year too. The year began with clashes in Ullal and ended with clashes between two communities in Ulaibettu, ironically both locations beginning with the letter ‘U’. However, by and large the taluk was peaceful, with the communities living in what seems a contorted peace, with communal undertones, subtly created by an emboldened Sangh Parivar, post the saffron win the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, and the increasingly reactionary position taken by the fundamentalists in other communities.

The proposed ‘ Ghar Vapsi’ programs by the Hindutva outfits, moral policing incidents both physical and virtual, illegal cow transportation, and incidents arising out of the same, have scarred the communal landscape of the district and inflamed passions on both sides.  Mixed religion marriages have received undue publicity, approbation and have resulted in protests and police action.  

Electoral triumphs

The congress may have swept the assembly segments the previous year, but the BJP retained its Mangaluru Lok Sabha seat for the seventh consecutive term in the parliamentary elections in May. Nalin Kumar Kateel made it to the Lok Sabha for the second term by defeating Congress veteran B. Janardhana Poojary by a margin of 1.43 lakh votes, in a vote that that was spurred by the hope PM Modi promised riding on the back of what was perceived to be the dismal economic and moral performance of the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh. This was aided in part, by their inability to communicate with the masses or the media, and their rather inept political leadership at the central level in the form of the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi Dynasty.

Ivan D’Souza, the KPCC, general secretary, became the second Christian representative of the District in the legislature after J. R. Lobo, MLA,  when he was nominated by the Siddaramaiah Government to the Legislative council for a six year term in October, which led to allegations that the state government was favouring the minorities over the deserving  claims of aspirants from the majority community, a charge the government promptly refuted.

Protests galore

People continue to express disappointment and display their angst against the recommendations of the K. Kasturirangan Committee in declaring several villages as ecologically sensitive, the latest being the bandh in Sullia  on December 30th which brought the coastal district town to a complete standstill. 

There was also strong opposition to the Yetthinahole project or the as it is locally known – the proposed diversion of the river Nethravathi.   Heartening, however, is the ‘returning to the mainstream of society’, of two leaders of the Naxal movement from Chikmagalur district, as this has a bearing on the movement in Dakshina Kannada which has been quiet in recent times.

Then at the fag end of the year, there were protests, cases, claims, counter claims and finally an interim  stay order issued by the High Court of Karnataka,  albeit with conditions to prevent cruelty to the animals, on the District Administration’s banning of the Kambla the prestigious traditional sporting event of DK. Even as it was held after the interim go ahead, the Animal Welfare Board of India found fault with the events held and listed 21 non cognizable offence against the event held at Baradi where about 130 Buffaloes took part in the proceedings which resulted in the event organizers alleging that the AWBI having a hidden agenda of banning the sport.

No Corporation Commissioner, no development

The bureaucracy of the Mangaluru City Corporation continues to run under the stewardship of the Assistant commissioner, who holds charge of the Corporation Commissioner’s post. It’s been more than six months after the Mayoral elections in March, yet the Corporation has no full time commissioner, which hampers its progress on many fronts from garbage (for which the new single point system’s introduction has been postponed to January 2016) and infrastructure. The Mayoral election was itself delayed for more than a year after the elections to the City Council due to legal issues over reservation.

Sadly, there have been no visible major infrastructural projects - the roads, continue to be potholed and dug up, and the traffic worse. Innovative experiments in traffic management, by an understaffed and technologically backward District Police, which has seen two SP’s during the year, (with a third appointed on the cusp of the new year) backfired in many places, due to lack of citizen cooperation and systematic planning and implementation.  Flyovers, signal lights and such other modern traffic management systems seem lacking as is the will and the fund to improve matters.

Highway widening works between Talapady and Kundapur have almost come to a halt and bus travel operators whether KSRTC or private, continue to operate independently of the variation in fuel prices which have seen a dip due to the dropping prices of international crude.

The flight service between Mangaluru and Kuwait was suspended for some time, but returned with a bang after six months and a lot of political pressure. Works on constructing a parallel taxi-way, however, began at the Mangaluru International Airport and n national cargo facility is set to open its doors in April 2016.

Cultural and sports resurgence

Towards the end of the year, Tulu-speaking people came together to celebrate the Vishwa Tuluvere Parba amidst controversy surrounding the land on which it was celebrated – There were allegations of it  being appropriated from the river bed by back filling - but it wasn’t the success it was expected to be with many important personalities including the CM  shying away from participating in the festivities.

The Tulu film industry however, was on a high, after the release of a flurry of  tulu movies,  which did well both in the district and abroad, especially in the Middle East, giving a big fillip to the industry, generating employment and stars for the region and boosting the language in a big way.  

Sports gave ‘Kudla’ as Mangaluru is known in Tulu, something to cheer about – KL Rahul made it to the Indian cricket test team at Melbourne in the current series, and though he threw his wicket away with atrocious shots in both the innings, without troubling the score keepers much,  he become the first Mangalorean to represent India in the sport. Poovamma and Mamatha Poojary brought glory to the city with their achievements in athletics and Kabaddi respectively.

Railway infrastructure hopes dashed

In the meanhwhile, local railway infrastructure got a brief boost, when D. V. Sadananda Gowda, as Minister for railways made sincere efforts to improve it.  He set a March 2016 deadline for the completion of Bengaluru-Hassan new line, made a proposal to introduce one more express train between Bengaluru and Mangaluru, and also a proposal for a passenger train between Kasaragod and Byndoor via Mangaluru, The nascent proposal for the creation of a Mangalore division after merging a part of the Palakkad division with the Konkan railway corporation, however came a cropper when he was shifted out to the law ministry after a brief tenure at the railway HQ.  

The year in retrospect, has been simultaneously one of hope and despair, like the years before it. We do hope that 2015 is different, and DK emerges as the preferred destination for travelers, industry and its very own citizens.

Happy new year DK!

It's Christmas time!

Its Christmas Time! - Newskarnataka.com

Mangaluru: “The two most joyous times of the year are Christmas morning and the end of school”, said Alice Cooper, the American rock singer. 

Yes indeed, it’s that time of the year, when, the air smells of cakes and bakes, the climate is cool and there is love and joy everywhere, not just under the mistletoe of the Christmas tree.  It’s that time of the year when the evenings are pleasant and every home is lit-up and radiant. Yes, it’s that time of the year again.

It's Christmas time

It’s that time of the year
Christmas, coming so close as it does to the dawn of a new year, is for many, a time to celebrate - to party, to marry, to network, to fine dine and generally be merry.  And that’s how the ubiquitous greeting – ‘Merry Christmas’ came to be.  But is that all what Christmas is about?

No, it’s also about quality family time, when families split by geography, become whole again as they come together out of affection and coinciding holidays. They get the opportunity to again eat and pray together. They love, they care and they share, in the true spirit of Christmas.  

It’s that time of the year when memories are created that sustains life till death.

It’s Christmas time

The Christmas Spirit
Childhood memories of Christmas are the most cherished ones. An 84-year-old woman Ms Pinto (name changed) says, “Christmas was great during childhood here in Mangalore (then) our family had a traditional lunch on the 25th of December every year, with lavish food and roasted turkey. She says children would play around and sweets were of so many varieties and all made at home”

However today things are different –  her family still does have a traditional lunch,  but she is no more invited - . She resides at Ave Maria Palliative Care in Vamanjoor. She has a kidney disorder and is bound to bed care, even as her family celebrates the grand event elsewhere – Perhaps, she is in their hearts and in their prayers however she is not with them. 

She feels the Christmas in the air, every day, as her every physical, emotional and mental need is cared for, by the Institution’s staff.  She says, “There are so many people who have terrible lives – I am blessed to be in this home – loved and cared for so much. I would rather be here and live, than die at home”

Ave Maria Palliative Care, founded by Dr. Lavina Noronha is one among the many Christian organizations living the word of God and spreading the true meaning of Christmas. As the carols play softly in the background at the Palliative Care centre, patients gather around, cheerful, playing games and talking to each other.

Its Christmas time

White Doves, run by Corrine Rasquinha is another organization run by a lay Christian that spreads the true essence of Christmas every day – it caters to approximately 120 destitutes, irrespective of caste or creed in two homes and runs purely on the generosity of people.

The apostle Paul said, “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”. 

These principles are echoed in the activities of many institutions and personalities caring and sharing their love, time, resources with those who most need them not just during Christmas, but everyday of every year.

 Its Christmas time
 
What will you ask of Santa?
Another organization, that breathes the Christmas air, is the Samavedhana Aids Home for Children at Adu Maroli for girls and at Pumpwell for boys. Run by individuals under the mentorship of the Citizen Alliance for Rural Development and Training Society (CARDTS), the Home is a center for HIV positive children imbued with the essence of Christmas – for years. Around 56 children are accommodated in these two homes.

During a recent visit, when I asked a child her name she sang to me, “Saa-wiii-triii” - Savithri is in her early teens and wants to be a singer, and when I asked her the one wish, she would like granted by Santa Claus this Christmas, the ever cheerful and confident girl said “Dairy milk Chocolate” – she did not want anything more.  It surprised me that this young girl, who was HIV positive since birth, who had lost her parents and has been living in the house for over a period of five years now, did not want anything more.

I also noticed a 12-year-old boy, sitting isolated in a corner. I learnt from Jayalatha, the caretaker, that he was brought to the house just a few months ago, after he was burnt with hot water by his uncle following the death of his parents from AIDS. When I asked him what he would desire when Santa came visiting on Christmas eve,  the child said he would just like to play with him as no one plays with him. Incredible, the simple things that children desire.

The stories of the children of the home and how their lives have changed bring out the true meaning of Christmas – the day, that God sent his only son to earth, so that the people he created in his image -  but went astray -  may be saved from eternal damnation. A greater sacrifice that embodies love, caring and sharing has never been found.

Jayalatha says that one of the inmates, a girl,  was thrown in the dustbin, one girl was abandoned under a tree, a few children have a single parent, who are themselves ill, and  thus can’t take care of their child and a few just dumped by the their relatives or someone who found them.

And in true Christmas spirit – some of these stories that begin with a tragedy have a happy ending as well. Two young women inmates of the house have been married and settled – they are married to men who are HIV positive,  but now they have a family, togetherness, love and compassion towards each other. One of these girls is even expecting a child and the due date is near.

Its Christmas time

The true meaning of Christmas 
As Thomas Monson said “Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values”. This in essence, is the true meaning of Christmas and this thought was echoed by Roy L. Smith, the American minister, when he said, “He who does not have Christmas in his heart, will never find it under a tree.”

He was referring to the Christmas tree that all who celebrate Christmas enjoy making and displaying – it’s a part of Christmas folklore and merriment. However, Christmas resides in the heart is what he said, and rightly so.

Yes, it’s Christmas time, but this year, lets reframe our view of it….

Newskarnataka wishes its readers a very merry but giving and forgiving Christmas!!!

The Mangalorean Christmas Spirit – Then and Now.

(Published as a Cover Story in Daijiworld Weekly dated 26th December 2014)

I feel so fortunate to have my family with me throughout the year, but especially, at Christmas time. Coz’, the Christmas season has always produced butterflies in my belly, that is, until I met my wife, and then they came with compliments of the season. A double whammy, so to say.  Christmas, rather than Easter was always special in terms of the spirit it generated, the decorations it invented, the clothes it demanded to be stitched (there were few ready-mades then) and the fun at family reunions it promised.

In the days of yore, Jesus was born at midnight, carols were sung or played at the church as a precursor to the Holy mass and going for midnight mass, as it was called then, required a lot of planning and forethought – transport was dependent on the feet at the end one’s legs, or pooling with a neighbor, a cousin etc. -  easier to come by  in those days than now,  despite the options having quadrupled!

The parish church or the firguz,  was the favored location for the midnight mass, for a variety of reasons - out of a sense of  loyalty, devotion, proximity and the fancy fete following the mass which lasted until the wee hours of the Christmas morning. While the teens stayed back on the pretext of volunteering or participating, the parents hurried home – In anticipation of a busy Christmas morning getting the family lunch ready.  

The St. Aloysius College, too was a focal point of many a Mangalorean Catholic  who were drawn to its crisp services and its open air ambience,  especially those who had the wherewithal  to traverse the distance at the dead of night. Here the line blurred between the outstanding, the understanding and the devout Catholics all standing together for a common cause – the celebration of the birth of our savior.

Among the spiritual treats, there were confessions, retreats and the mass itself. Being an altar server,  member of the choir, a  volunteer,  or a member of a carol singing group was a matter of pride for the participants and their parents. It was often the subject of tittle-tattle during ward tete- a-tetes.

The Sprit of youth and Christmas was found in the many carol singing groups that went around.  Parents couldn’t say no to their teens, going out late at night during the season – after all it was a for a good cause and being a part of a group gave them the sense of affiliation, affection and acceptance, and by extension, the parents too. And it was fun, it really was. 

New clothes for the midnight mass and the Christmas get-togethers that  followed, whether they were family weddings or otherwise,  were an early  talking point between parents, but always away from the keen ears of the children, who egged their mothers on to win the battle for them.   Fathers were the ones who were at the receiving end of a two pronged attack.  As the date for the shopping expedition approached, the excitement mounted. The family shopping for clothes was a much anticipated event among textile shop owners too.  Cloth was bought whole sale -  one set for the girls and one set for the boys, the colors the same, the patterns the same and often stitched to fit by the senior members of the family itself (especially for the girls in the family), the exercise going on till half an hour before departure for midnight mass.  Men’s Tailors, Adarsh Tailors, Star tailors to name a few, were a much sought after commodity. Their dates were precious and regular customers always got preference over pure Christmas customers…. Though they were never turned away – that would be bad for business!

Those were the days of long hair, bell bottoms, broad belts and platform shoes for the gents.  And for the ladies, the gowns which as the years went by had less and less cloth attached to them – the ankle length gown gradually became the midi (which was indeed music to the male) and then the mini. It never reached the nano, at least then.

The Butterflies returned  as I woke up late on a Christmas morning – I’ve always had a belly full of them to feed off the pork sorpathel, roast chicken, the sannas and appams.   In Mangalore, come Christmas,  the pigs  fed well and with affection until then, suffered the most, but they were committed to our enjoyment.  I don’t hold any brief for them, for if I did, I would be vegetarian.

The Christmas cake was rarely baked at home, for want of an oven, or the lack of knowledge of the right proportions of its mix, though attempts were made in some homes, with comical results.  Kuswar,  the Christmas sweets, on the other hand, often was.  Of the Kuswar, I liked the non sugared kidio the best and walloped a quite a few in the making itself.  That was another part of the joy – the making of kuswar, sitting cross legged on the ground using combs not for the long hair that used to add beauty to a woman, but  for embossing a flat piece of dough. Oh the simple joys.  

The beauty of Christmas was that,  where two or more Mangalorean Catholics gathered, the spirit was in their midst. The spirit was so dense, that they often began to speak in tongues.  Orators became singers and vice versa.  Laughter was plentiful, spontaneous and ostentatious. It was the time for late nights and late mornings - No worms were ever caught during the Christmas season.  But it was always good fun.

Those were the days of large families, and the larger the family, greater was the joy.   Extended Family weddings were generally arranged during the week prior to,  and the week following Christmas and these were, like the Christmas lunch itself, an occasion to  reunite, laugh with, and at each other and share presents, love and the difficult moments during the year. Large families like the one my wife was from, was the norm.  My marriage introduced me to the joys of a large family and a culture shock of immense proportions. After all,  I was a small family boy. I soon got lost, before I found myself again.

Times were financially limited, but spiritually abundant.  In families, big or small, Prayer was compulsory, obligations were meant to be fulfilled, and duties were imperative.  And the true spirit of Christmas always prevailed.

It almost always began with the Christmas cards which were hand written and posted – an elaborate exercise, followed by  putting up the  Christmas decorations - the buntings, the balloons, the bulbs, the tree and the star to give direction to our celebrations  - all in a day’s work for the entire family,  bar the teenager in the family J who had other things to think about.  Thank God there were no mobiles or whats app then.  The Christmas star at home, attracted Santa until I was about 13 or 14. Legends were sustained, maybe with difficulty, but with joy….

And last but not the least, there was no mistaking the twitter and the glitter among the twitterati and the glitterati – the one and only New Year’s ball at the Ladies Club which was debated from the 24th onwards.

What has changed?

For one, Mangalorean society has transited from Gen X (those born between 1960 and 1980) to Gen Y (those born between 1980 and 2000) to Gen Z (those born between 2000 and 2010).  It has moved along from being a municipality to a corporation, from a one street town to a multi street one,  yearning for a ring road.  Along the way, it has picked up a lot of entrepreneurs from itself converting a conservative banking town into an education, medical, manufacturing and IT hub.

While Mangalore is connected to the world through its newly christened International Airport, families in our city of Mangalore have separated, some from within, some from their extended families and some from their roots and migrated around the world.  Christmas is still the time for reunions, and the joy of these reunions is still palpable.

The Midnight mass has advanced, both in its time window and its duration,  much to the delight of Gen Y and Z.  It is now called the Christmas celebration, and held between 7.30 PM and 9 PM, culminating in time for the commencement of the various dances that follow, to usher in the birth of our Lord in the city. The spirit of going for  a midnight mass seems to have dimmed as the neons' grow brighter…. Conversely, spirituality has grown in leaps and bounds. This is evident in the devoted crowds seen at every religious event pre Christmas, from retreats to confessions and the Christmas celebrations itself in the increased locations around the city.

Gen Y and Gen Z, by the very nature of their personalities, need to be constantly engaged,  and our parishes conduct numerous activities to keep them so, from carol singing competitions to crib making competitions and the fancy fete in between. But are they really? Is there any motivation in them or are they going through the motions? Hard to tell. Carol Singing groups do still go around but the anticipation of their arrival is muted,  and their motivation seems questionable. It’s probably still fun though.

The fun has gone out of shopping though  – there are no joint expeditions like before, just a couple at a time and sometimes single journeys into the pre-determined – everything is available on line and delivered at home – No sweat, no joy, except when they are worn.  And Kuswar, there are no hands, and the volumes are too small to make it economically viable to make at home - Why keep a cow, when milk is available in sachets?  Oh, are we missing something here?

Christmas Decorations?  Now, if at all, are restricted to a readymade tree and crib. Easily set up, pleasing to the eye, and most of all, easy to put away post Christmas. Construction has given way to convenience. In these busy days, not a bad thing at all, but it does seem that our children are losing touch with the simple joys that Christmas brings.   There are no Christmas cards to write and post, and none to hang on the tree – You can’t hang Emails and whatsapp messages can you? 

Family reunions at family weddings / functions are scheduled at Christmas time to bring far flung families together. These seem to be the only remnant of times of yore, but the reunions themselves are getting smaller and smaller as the city goes nuclear – Hopefully there is no melt down soon.  Santa Claus does come around and is present at most of our functions, but he does seem a little tired of the modernity perhaps?

The Christmas spirit in all its forms still spreads cheer around the city bringing different communities and different generations of Mangalorean Catholics together, but somewhere along the line; it has metamorphosed from a family genie into a much larger, more amorphous  form. The illusion of cheer does remain.  Everything is the same, yet different… times change and our lovely city’s Christmas is changing with it.

We must at this point pause to reflect on why Christmas is a time to celebrate.

If we ponder enough, we will realize how difficult it is give someone you love to someone else (it happens only in Bollywood films), even if you are divine.  For us human beings, it’s virtually impossible to think on those lines.  But God in his magnanimity did just that, making Jesus in our image, not his, because he loved us.  And because he loved us, he cared. And because He cared, he shared - His only son with us through  an event we call Christmas.  What do we learn from this? – When you love, you care, and when you care you share. God didn’t give his only son to us here on earth,  only so that we could wine, dine, dance, shop and sing His praises at His birth, till our knees collapsed.  He sent his only precious son to teach us the meaning of love, of care and to create the will to share so that we may grow closer to Him. It’s a celebration of family life that tells us our children our precious, as is our neighbor.  It’s for us to learn the lessons He taught us and pass them on to future generations.

Christmas as annual  celebratory event in our packed calendars remains, but I believe, (I may be wrong)  its true spirit,  and its simple joys as we knew them, are missing; hopefully not forever. My earnest appeal - bring them back.

By,

Brian D. A. Fernandes

Two years after Nirbhaya, the rod is still a weapon of choice!

Two years after Nirbhaya, the rod is still a weapon of choice! - Newskarnakata.com

Nirbhaya, - the fearless one -  the name that stuck to the brave rape victim of this day two years ago,  departed this brutal and unforgiving world two weeks after the incident on a moving bus in Delhi. Five  men and a minor, raped and horribly brutalized her, without provocation and without subsequent remorse.  

She and a male friend, who was also beaten, were thrown off the bus in a nearly naked state and while the world watched and help arrived late, she suffered ignominy, humiliation, and pain that only a brutalized woman can understand and relate to.

Nirbhaya's father, Badrinath speaking to Betwa Sharma of the Huffington post had this to say, on the second anniversary of the gang rape that horrified the world. “People think it gets easier but not a minute goes by when she is not in my thoughts. But we continue living to honor her courage”. 

Badrinath, 55, an airport luggage loader, worked additional shifts to ensure his bright daughter pursue her physiotherapy studies. He was proud of her, perhaps even more than he was of his two sons, one who is studying engineering and one in school.  “I had pinned our family’s future on my daughter’s success,” he told the journal.

Post Nirbhaya’s death, Badrinath lives in a middle income flat allotted by the Delhi government in the suburb of Dwarka. The family received  Rs. 35 lakhs in compensation from the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, and his job is now less taxing. He has shifted from luggage loading to making security passes for airport entry.

A stringent law

In the wake of the full scale protests against the government of the day and the system, that erupted after her death, the then UPA government acted surprisingly swiftly, and  in late December 2012, set up the Justice JS Verma committee which included Justice Leila Seth, former judge of the High Court and Gopal Subramanian, former Solicitor General of India to recommend amendments to the Criminal Law so as to provide for quicker trial and enhanced punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault against women.  

The Committee worked night and day and made recommendations on laws related to rape, sexual harassment, trafficking, child sexual abuse, medical examination of victims, police, electoral and educational reforms in  February 2013.

These recommendations were accepted in part, and led to the enactment of stringent rape laws and the setting up of fast track courts to deal with cases of sexual assault.

However, it ignored many key suggestions of the commission, such as criminalizing marital rape, reviewing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and trying military personnel accused of sexual offences under criminal law, and barring politicians facing such cases from contesting elections.

Juvenile Justice

All the accused, Vinay Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Ram Singh, and the brothers, Mukesh and Pawan Gupta were arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder. One of the accused, Ram Singh, died in police custody on 11 March 2013 in the Tihar Jail.  The police say Ram Singh hanged himself, but defense lawyers and his family suspect he was murdered, though no foul play has been proved.

A fast track court, set up in the wake of the ordinance, on 10th September 2013, found the four adults guilty of rape and murder and  sentenced them to death by hanging. On 13 March 2014, the Delhi High Court upheld the sentences.

The juvenile was convicted of rape and murder and given the maximum sentence of three years' imprisonment in a reform facility, a decision that riled the family of the deceased braveheart. Badrinath was concerned that the juvenile was let off lightly, and he approached the Supreme Court to try him as an adult.

In March this year, the Supreme Court rejected Badrinath’s petition for prosecuting the juvenile convicted in the gang rape as an adult.  Meanwhile the Modi government decided to to amend the juvenile law to punish 16- to 18-year-old offenders in heinous crimes as adults (with the exception of the death penalty) - a move opposed by human rights groups.  Badrinath then refiled his petition in the Supreme Court.

“There was nothing child like about what that boy did,” he said. “They do these things because they know the law will protect them from harm."

Perpetrators families suffer

The families of the four adult perpetrators, are suffering in silence, the misdeeds of their progeny. Vinay Sharma, has a diabetic sister, and the 3000 Rupees he earned helped pay for her medicine. His father also an airport loader, cannot sustain her costs on his income.  The rest of the families, remain ostracized in their neighbourhoods and the ultimate loss of their children to the death penalty weighs heavily on their minds.

Two years on….nothing has changed!

Meanwhile Delhi has not changed feels Badrinath.  “My pain increases every time I hear of another rape. Delhi has not changed,” Badrinath said.

Neither has the country, as everyday brings a new low in human brutality towards women.

At a memorial held in December 2013, the press interviewed a young woman who had taken part in the protests a year earlier. She said, "A welcome change is that the taboo on discussion of rape and sexual violence has been broken,"  however, she saw "absolutely no change in the rape culture and related brutality".

The Uber outrage: What the government can and needs to do...immediately

The Uber outrage: What the government can and needs to do...immediately - Newskarntaka.com

The tragic and shocking rape of a 25 year old MNC employee by an Uber taxi driver in north Delhi’s Sarai Rohilla area late on Friday night has created a storm in the country, as most professionals who work and party late in Metros and tier II cities across, use Uber and other radio taxi services like it,  to commute.

The victim, a woman who works for a finance company in Gurgaon, told police she boarded the Uber cab at 9.30pm from south Delhi’s Vasant Vihar, where she had gone for a party with friends.

She was raped at an isolated place between Sarai Rohilla and Inderlok, police said, adding the cabbie threatened to kill and sexually assault her with a rod if she resisted him. He dropped her home after the attack.

Madhur Verma, DCP (north), said a medical exam had confirmed rape and an FIR lodged,  and the perpetrator, Shiv Kumar Yadav arrested, and sent to judicial custody for three days  till Dec 11th.
Ban on Uber

In a knee jerk reaction to the incident, Uber has been banned in the capital, Hyderabad and as of yesterday, Bengaluru.

 Surprisingly, the Uber service continues to operate and thrive in the capital with the app still available, and the drivers blissfully unaware of the ban enforcement, as proved by a Headlines Today sting operation aired yesterday

Strangely, the Union Transport Minister said that a ban is not the solution. Gadkari must necessarily be conscious of the fact, that a  ban can affect  both commuters, who have grown to rely on these type of services in the absence of safe and effective public transport, and the many unemployed youth who have found a calling that enables them earn a livelihood with dignity.

Meanwhile Allan Penn, Uber’s  Asia  head, who is slated to join the probe at the request of the Delhi Police, confirmed that the app is still on in an interview to an Indian daily.

Uber’s modus operandi

Founded in 2009 and available in 212 cities and 45 countries, including 11 in India, Uber is a smartphone app that connects passengers to drivers with vehicles for hire. All hiring and payment goes through Uber and not the driver Drivers must have a valid license as well as the commercial licenses to drive professionally in whichever city they operate in.

Passengers choose which kind of car service they’d like to request on the app, then plug in their location and in some cases, destination addresses. The app then alerts the customer when a car has been confirmed, and shows the driver’s name and license plate number while also displaying the driver’s route and estimated time of arrival. Riders then tell the driver where to go if that info isn’t already in the system, and then a receipt is emailed to the customer after the trip has completed. Passengers and drivers rate each other, as an incentive to be both good customers and provide feedback on drivers.

Uber sets the fares for each service in each city based on its own formula calculated using either a per mile rate or a per minute rate, on top of a base fare. Passengers don’t need to tip, as the gratuity is included in the entire fare. When demand for a car is high — during inclement weather or rush hours — customers are alerted of “Surge Pricing,” which the company says is a way to incentivize more drivers to get on the streets to accommodate all those customers.
Passengers also have the option to split the fare with other riders they’re in the car with, by selecting a pool option in the app.

A history sheeter

The Uber taxi service driver Shiv Kumar Yadav, has a history of grave misconduct, that came to light, post the rape incident.  Hailing from Mathura in UP, he is the son of a retired Headmaster. After marrying his elder brother’s widow, he moved to Delhi. Earlier he was disowned by his family for a string of anti social activities in his village and surroundings where it is reported he has harassed nearly 11 women.

In 2003, he was booked for molestation and assault and charged under the Goonda act, in 2006 he was booked for carrying illegal firearms, in 2008 he was booked under the Goonda act, in 2009 he was again booked under the Goonda Act, while in 2011 in a case that was resolved through an out of court settlement, after he had spent 7 months in Tihar jail, he was booked for molestation and assault, while in 2013 he was again booked for molestation and assault and in 2014, now for rape and assault.

Allan Penn describes the limited safety orientation of the Uber service iin an interview to the Hindustan Times thus.

“We check drivers license, commercial vehicle registration and banking information. We get that for all the drivers. We have had frequent communication with the police and we hope justice is brought. We know the documents that are required. All payments to drivers are made electronically to their bank accounts. Banks have KYC for all account holders. We will see what else can we do. We will continue to improve” 

Deval Delivala from Uber’s delhi operations added, “We check vehicles and its condition. We check all documents and have an entire checklist that is followed”.

They however do not comment on a complaint received earlier in the year by email  from a US based lady, regarding the same driver when she had travelled by his cab. No action was taken on the complaint which points to a fault in their feedback and corrective systems, something they seem to be proud of without a reality check.

The solution, if there is one…

The incident, the confused reaction on the part of the government and staunch defense by the company of its practices raises several questions, the various legal challenges, the company is facing around the world notwithstanding 

Is Uber a taxi company or a taxi aggregator?

The company says it’s a technology based company that brings drivers who own taxis in touch with commuters, – something which was happening earlier, through previous and networked contacts.  They are now brought together through technology, through an app which makes the relationship transparent, public and benefits both the unemployed youth and the commuter.  It’s analogous to Amul! Which brings dairy farmers together under one brand and adds value in a similar manner.

Fine so far… however there is no regulatory framework for this new fangled idea, and there are  no built in safe guards for the behavior of the drivers who ferry people around.   As Gadkari says, and this is reiterated by Allan Penn, banning is not a solution as the service has more benefits for its stake holders than downsides. However, a regulatory framework and safety guards must be built in into the system.

 A second question that arises is who is responsible for the behavior of the drivers of its taxi services? And can the police provide companies with a fool proof real time background check?

Police and government cannot shrug their shoulders and shift the entire blame for verification of the driver’s antecedents on to a private company, especially in a country, where private investigators, are not licensed to operate.  They have to rely on the police for back ground checks.

The Company can apply for police background checks to the only agency empowered to do so in India, but the problem is two fold.  The police information system is inept and not networked through out the country and within itself among different departments.  Consequently, if FIR’s are registered, a person arrested, convicted, has served time etc  in different states, the police are not in a position to collate this information instantly and provide feed back to households seeking to verify antecedents of domestic maids,  tenants or for that matter a company seeking to verify the background of employees.   

In the wake of the 26/11 attacks the then UPA government, with Chidambaram as the home minister had proposed two bodies,  the NATGRID and the NCTC,  with the intention of collating information into  a central database for instant retrieval, albeit with the objective to control terror activities.  While the former has partially taken off, the second was stillborn with politically motivated opposition of the states. It however points the way forward.

What the government needs to do… immediately
Law and order is a state subject and with the lack of last mile connectivity, language differentials, and power deficiencies, creating a national police grid, while the need of the hour, is a major challenge, in terms of logistics, legalese and privacy issues. In the absence of this grid, it is very difficult for the police force to provide immediate feedback on such requests.

While this does not absolve of the company of responsibility of its driver’s behavior on the road, it does throw a spanner in the works of those who  seek to shift the blame entirely on the taxi aggregator.

I believe that efforts must be made to take the states on board and build a national police grid to improve policing and to facilitate prevention and control of crime. This is the immediate responsibility of the government.

Technology, effective implementation of a yet to be framed regulatory network and of course, a change in the male mindset is the key to avoiding a tragedy such as the one that occurred on the roads of Delhi on Friday.