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Violating
the Vote The EC has to ask itself why it failed in Bihar
However one looks at it, the point is the EC has ended up with egg on its face thanks to Bihar. Nirvachan Sadan's intentions may not be in doubt but its efficacy certainly is. When the Bihar governor sent a report questioning the integrity of certain officials, the EC's instant response was that only it could transfer them. Its penchant for form notwithstanding, did the EC show care in making appointments? The district magistrate of Jehanabad was accused of rigging in 1998. This year he is in charge of Nalanda and Barh -- the constituencies of George Fernandes and Nitish Kumar, arch-foes of the ruling RJD. The poll observer and local civil servants in Dhanbad are trading charges of inflated liquor bills and sexual misconduct. In neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, the initial observer for Amethi was an IAS officer implicated along with a Congress leader in the tandoor murder case. The EC is not responsible for every officer's moral character. What it is responsible for is a thorough job, with a special eye on sensitive seats. With practically no restrictions on it, the EC has to be its own watchdog. That is the lesson from Bihar. Fight the Caste System Why a mediocre cricket team is news and SAF winners are not.
This is not to suggest that every medal winner at Kathmandu is a probable Olympian. Given India's dominance of the region it ends up taking home an overwhelming number of the medals from any SAF meet. It is necessary therefore to separate the athletes with potential from those whose aspirations and abilities can't take them beyond the SAF winners' podium. Is India even beginning to do this? Other countries have sports centres, training programmes and university scholarships that harness talent. Whether it is China or Australia or the US, no society leaves sportsmen with promise to their own devices. India does and, SAF games or no SAF games, suffers. The differential in attention paid to cricket and to lesser sports has created a new caste system. The old one is being fought with reservations. Cricket's Brahminical status, however, is undisturbed. |
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After announcing the most prolonged poll process
in recent memory, the Election Commission (EC) justified it as being necessary to ensure a
foolproof mandate. The message, implicit or otherwise, was directed at Bihar, a state that
has become a byword for lawlessness. As election '99 approaches its climax Bihar's
reputation, if that be the word, remains untouched. In the first round in the state, 19
constituencies voted. Repoll was ordered in 12 of them, across 201 polling booths. There
was mayhem and murder. Later came allegations of bogus ballot papers, bolstered by over
100 per cent voting being reported in certain constituencies. Now elections in four north
Bihar constituencies have been postponed due to floods. The fate of rain-ravaged voters
apart, the EC must have been influenced by accounts that river pirates had made elaborate
plans to capture booths. 
Reaction to India's sweeping success at the South
Asian Federation (SAF) Games in Kathmandu has been predictable. Congenital pessimists have
dismissed the performances as inconsequential. South Asia is not exactly a sporting
powerhouse. Part of the scornful attitude is, therefore, understandable. Yet consider the
ridiculous euphoria that has greeted the cricket team's victorious start to a patently
B-grade tournament in Nairobi. It takes one tight spell and a couple of good shots against
lowly Kenya for a middling tyro to be hailed as the new match-winner. On the other hand,
Sunita Rani may have won races as far apart as the 1,500 m and the 10,000 m and may be
only 19 but nobody seems bothered about sharpening her obvious talent. Likewise with
swimmer Nisha Millet, karateka Damang Syngkon, the list can go on. Those who scoff at the
SAF medals would do well to note that Sri Lanka's world-class female track stars began
their long journey at South Asian championships.