Sunday, January 1, 2017

Social Media and challenges of sharing contents

A bunch of old colleagues from a common cadre recently met over a batch party and thought of forming a What's App group initially with the understood objective of saying Hi and Hello to each other. .One of our colleagues with certain accomplishments by way of posts in social media chose to be the self appointed Group Administer (GA).

The group expectedly had some teething troubles as different participants looked towards each other with different colour shades.It also appeared that over the years people had developed different likes and dislikes.It also needed some efforts to impress upon the GA that personal prejudice should not come in way of adding group members.

In any organised line of service a bunch of individuals starts together on a common platform but things do not  stay as  such. A career in civil services offers myriad opportunities for interacting with high and mighty.Your growth over the years depends on your individual PR skills and in some cases ability to package you extra curricular achievements with attractive wrapping papers.With passage of time some figures come to present themselves through  such optical illusions as towering personalities and their shortcomings as men of substance tend to get concealed, the seniority or merit takes a backseat.

Like other segments of society our group also had fair share of  generous hearted souls who enjoy the habit of massaging the egos of such optically magnified caricatures while other group members frown upon such achievers and their admirers. When such people come together to form a social networking group situation expectedly did get a bit chaotic.

At the initial stage the Group appeared to be periodically dormant as well as hyperactive since participants in their anxiety to register their presence passed on whatever contents they could lay their hands on.While one colleague had great enchantment with ancient wisdom on medical science of highest order.In between the group post had sprinkling of Sanskrit poems with preachings in name of humanity.While I consider all such preachers on untested medical wisdom as cheats, some would be willing to wade through rivers of blood to support such homely  preachings on lifestyle techniques.

Sometimes a participants in the group  has  a tendency to project himself as  master of several languages and a person with literary achievements.  Therefore  his writing start from  exotic languages and are accompanied by  translations  in various other languages.  While the practice happens to be useless waste of time and energy also for the reason that  the passages posted  are sometimes not  self written but  apparently copied from  twitter or  other sources yet there are other who fall head over heels for such erudite renditions .

The first genuine difference cropped up when a colleague posted a joke on behaviour of college girls. The Pahlaj Nihlani of Group i.e. the Group Administrator was up with red flag with " Dignity of Women Violated"  boldly embossed.The Group Administrator a bit overwhelmed with his sense of responsibility and fearing the pitfalls of "irresponsible talk" even in a closed group appeared to be  exercised.Fires were quickly doused and in the name of of group unity and our love and affection for each other. The group continues to roll on.


Saturday, November 29, 2014

The 45th International Film Festival at Goa





A film festival has been likened to  a sort of gladiators' arena, where Directors and Actors have to be ready for criticism irrespective of their past performances and stature on the world stage . A somewhat similar is the fate of organisers of film festivals. While the organisors put their heart and soul into organisation and planning accompanied by brainstorming  on ways to innovate , there is always some scope for criticism at the hands of media. audience and also residents of the host city . International film festival at Goa (IFFI) is no exception.

The Opening Ceremony
The Chief Guests

The 45th edition of IFFI at Goa which opened with usual fanfare on 20th November this year in august presence of the two iconic  personalities of Indian cinema Amitabh Bachhan and Rajnikanth representing the cinema for Hindi and non Hindi films, at the very early stage appeared to be losing steam due to absence of celebrities specially from bollywood film industry. The opening ceremony dominated by  colourful imitation of dances from Indian films as well as the longish speech from chief guest Amitabh Bachhan liberally adorned with pieces of hindi poetry served to the konkani speaking and foreign audience  also had it's comic moments when one of the distinguished dignitaries had a memory loss while trying to recall the name of Rajniknth who was conferred with lifetime achievement award in the ceremony.The crowd predominately comprising of youngsters had waited patiently braving the overcrowded venue, to see their favourite star Rajnikanth on stage and the excitement reached it's fever pitch when Amitabh and Rajni embraced each other on stage.

the Macqueniz  Palace Complex 

THE ESG Office
The IFFI which is hosted jointly by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt of India and Entertainment Society of Goa ( ESG-an agency set up by Govt. of Goa) has come a long way since it was first hosted at Goa in 2004 under imaginative arrangements worked out by Moanohar Parrikar the then Chief Minister of Goa. It was a befitting farewell festival for Parrikar since after tireless struggle for seeking Goa as permanent venue the State finally succeeded in it's efforts.when the  festival Director announced in a grand manner that henceforth Goa shall be eternal home,eternal residence and eternal land for IFFI. 


The Inox Courtyard
Inox Booking Windows


The beautiful Inox Courtyard which is now the hub of all major activities connected with the Film Fest had come up with four screens the festival activities are also shared by Kala Academy theatre . Over the years Maqinez Palace Complex which houses IFFI Secretariat has developed two Mini auditoriums which cater to select categories like short films and student films. The available seats as of now are around 2500 although the demand per day may be twice or thrice of the availability.The venue for opening ceremony had been shifted Dr SP Mukherjee Stadium recently inaugrated for Lusofonia Games at Goa University.  But the huge stadium with seating capacity of  four thosand was soon bursting at seams due to usual tendency for generous  distribution of  of VIP Passes.




Decorated Court Yard at Kala Academy


The major intake for the festival is in the  Dinanath Mangeshkar theatre at Kala Academy which has capacity of around 1000 seats. The Kala Academy located on banks of Mandovi river has a theatre with unique features designed by Charles Correa in 1969. The surroundings and  colourful decorations add glamour to the International Festival .  A number of film fans get to see old popular indian films in open air theatre at adjoining Campal grounds.



Inside the KA Theatre



View of Mandovi River from Kala Academy


Delegates taking a break

Permanent venue for  the IFFI has been a regular bone of contention between Govt. of Goa and Govt. of India.  Govt. of Goa has been regularly asserting it's claim for the IFFI being assigned to Goa on permanent basis .The claim is based on the excellent infrastructure, locational advantage and keenness of Goa Govt. to develop a permanent venue for the festival. Other major international filmfests are also assigned to specific venues. The Directorate of Film Festival and Ministry of I & B have however been keen to maintain a state of uncertainty year after year. A positive development which took place in this festival was assignment of IFFI to Goa on permanent basis.

In the the initial stages of IFFI Goa the criticism centered around non availability of seats and cornering of large number of delegate passes by persons not truly involved with the film activities. Subsequent linkage of ticketing through computerised software has substantially mitigated criticism on that aspect. Every delegate card holder is entitled to book three tickets on each day of the festival. The delegate cards can be obtained online from ESG website against registration fees of three hundred rupees.

The Film Fest is held from 20th to 27 Nov. when the weather is at it's best in Goa. The  Panjim city is all decked up for festival with imaginative decorations and lightings . Goa a place connected with fun and frolick with cruise boats and casinos adds up to the feeling of festivities . 

 

Fans at DNM Theatre




Banks of River Mandovi


The IFFI has now added new activities such as " Master's class " for budding film makers and open forum where major achievers in the world of film making interact with film enthusiast to share knowledge and evaluate feed back on various aspects of film making. The festival also has a fair share of retrospectives on masters of Indian and world  Cinema.



Posters exhibition by National Film Archives Of India
 A number of allied activities like Film Bazar and exhibition organised by National Film Archives Pune show casing the film posters,  exibhition of cameras used in film making  add to the attractions in the festival.The exhibition organised by NFAI Pune this year added new display formats to include musical highlights of the films.


Exhibition OF Cameras

 The country focus in this festival was on China . The Festival provided an opportunity for witnessing the skills of some of the brightest Directors in China and showcasing brilliantly made films like Finding Mr. Right, Silent Witness and  American dreams in China.The opening film  The President too was a carefully selected work of art. The Director Mohsen Makhmalbaf from Iran who was present for interacting with audience explained as to how the film seeks to provide a way out from the present day political complexities which have gripped many nations after overthrowing of dictatorial regimes. Makhmalbakh's film reminded the audience about the need for finding a non violent and democratic way of governace and after watching his film and hearing about his own experience none could  disagree. 

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Charms of Arunachal Opening up to the world


GANGA LAKE ITANAGAR


On getting posted to Arunachal  Pradesh one  starts wondering as to why the State does not have a Train link. As of now Guwahati is the last airport/railway station  and thereafter for reaching Itanagar the State Capital  it is a six hours journey by road or a bumpy ride in chopper which has to be booked sufficiently in advance. 




CHOPPER ARRIVING AT ITANAGAR HELIPORT IN DENSE CLOUDS


While both the modes of travel have a lot to offer by way of exposure to natural beauty and moments of excitement yet the traveller  has to spend extra time since one is normally required to make a halt at Guwahati guest house due to flight timings. Some of the pockets on road route from Assam are not meant for journey after dusk.Therefore a passenger from Delhi reaching Guwahati after 4 PM would start the road journey only in the next morning.


A WAY SIDE TEMPLE












Logistic difficulties have kept Arunachal beyond  access of regular travelers and tourist. The State besides natural beauty is home to several maonstries including Tawang Monastry which is the second largest monastry in the world.



VIEW OF ITANAGAR TOWN
ITANAGAR MONASTRY



VIEW AT SUNRISE AT TAWANG

Very little information about the natural beauty and flora and fauna of the place is available to average Indian. Spread over 6000 sq kms  Arunachal is home to 27 major tribes each having different anthropological history and cultural orientations.

It is considered to be among the top 10 biodiversity hotspots of the world being located at trijunction of three different climatic regions. I recall that while writing a review of the book Arunachal a Hidden Land authored by Mamang Dei an arunachalese authoress of repute, the legendary Khushwant Singh had observed  that before reading the book he himself knew only as much about Arunachal as could be written on back of a postage stamp.

VIEW OF TAWANG TOWNSHIP

The locals affectionately call their State land of " khusi khusi " since life was till sometimes back simple and everyone was happy.The tribal festivals and fairs which are unique to each tribe regularly follow in a chain. However even today the State which is home to thousands of flowering species,hundreds of varieties of orchids and medicinal plants and being gateway to exotic places like Tawang and Namdapha wild life sanctuary has by and large remained unexplored.



GUEST HOUSE AT NAMDAPHA NATIONAL PARK



However some recent developments were quite heart warming for all Arunachal lovers since it appeared that Arunachal was at long last giving up it's solitude. The first development of consequence was opening of Railway link from Assam to State capital Itanagar and second development concerns success  of a popular rock music festival at the town of Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh which saw participation of music lovers from all over the North East in a grand fashion.

The first development concerning connectivity was culmination of long drawn efforts by State  Govt and the Indian Railways. State has been considering various options for improving the accessibility including setting up of a green field Airport and establishing train link through hilly tracts from Guwahati. The railway link which got in full swing after a visit by former Prime Minister in 2009 has been under implementation for a long time . After overcoming the difficulties in land acquisition process and tackling the the natural obstacles involved in the 190 km route from Assam to Naharlagun located at 15 Kms from Itanagar in Arunachal the turning point was finally reached when the train link up to Naharlagun Itanagar was completed in April this year.




EXOTIC FLOWERING VARIETIES



STATUE OF PAHALWAN WHICH IS A LAND MARK OF NAHARLAGUN TOWN SHIP


 It was a happy development for all Arunachal lovers and for those who had been to Arunachal in course of call of duty, since while leaving the beautiful State every Govt employee had felt an emotional urge to return to the place some day to once again savour the delights of nature with which the State has been lavishly blessed.The train link was formally declared open in April this year. Indian Railways soon announced their intention to start operating Shatabdi and Rajdhani Trains up to Itanagar. 

However there have been certain teething troubles with the project. The State population needs to be given adequate safeguards against influx of outsiders to shield it against exploitation by unscrupulous traders and settlers. There is presently a system of permits to take care of unchecked inflow of outsiders. This system shall have to be reinforced in context of accessibility through rail route.While the train connectivity remains temporarily suspended it would be welcome if the difficulties are sorted out quickly in the best interest of the State.The charm of hidden land would then be for everyone to share.

Regarding the other happy development it may be added that Ziro is a town located at approximately 170 kilometers from the capital city Itanagar.It is one of the oldest towns in State and has been on list of contenders for world heritage site The place is accessible by road and chopper. The Ziro valley is home to colourful Apatani Tribe which follows a unique practise of making facial tatoos .Because of transportation difficulties  the beautiful Ziro valley with it's charming tribe has also remained a hidden piece of paradise. However winds of change have been creating some openings recently. 

For past several years based on the initiative taken by local music lovers a rock music concert known as Ziro Music Festival has blossomed into a major cultural event. Music lovers and performers reach the valley in motorbikes after travelling upto North Lakhimpur or Guwahati in Assam. Organised in September this year the Festival saw participation from more than 30 rock groups.



VIEW OF ZIRO TOWN

The town of Ziro has in a very short period set up several hotels with class facilities . The organizers also set up a camp city which offers interactive environ ment friendly option for stay.The rapidly growing popularity of the festival and the initiative taken by local enterpreneurs is another sign of hidden land opening up to the world.


Saturday, October 18, 2014

Elections : A unique institutional feature of Indian democracy



Elections for Assemblies of Maharashtra and Haryana and a host of bye elections have just concluded. The first few results have started pouring in. The opinion polls had projected BJP as the largest party in the two States of Maharshtra and Haryana The trends for incoming results by and large confirm to the picture projected in the opinion polls. The successful conduct of these Elections, which were keenly contested with rival parties indulging in strong war of words, is another tribute to the professional management of Election exercises by the Election Commission of India (ECI).


Electors queuing at A Polling Booth 

Enthusiastic Women Electors at a Polling Booth
For large number of serving and ex Civil Servants and others in Govt. jobs every election brings back nostalgic memories of numerous election related experiences. Officers of State and All India services get involved in the process of elections from early stage as Returning Officers and substantial number gradually climb up to the ranks of Addl. Chief Electoral Officers/ Chief Electoral Officer of respective States. In between there are several occasions when Election Commission of India

 (ECI) requires officers to perform observer duties during elections in other States for functioning as Observers.

On every such occasions there are fair number of instances when the electors express gratitude for the stringent setup under Election laws and instructions of ECI which ensures free and fair elections. At times there are also allegations of bias raised by stakeholders who feel that results of elections are not as per their expectations. The complaints arise due to lack of knowledge on procedural aspects covering process of conduct of Elections, which has seen a sea change in past three decades. 


My interaction with Election work  started as a Returning officer (RO) for Municipal / Legislative Council Elections in Delhi in early 80s . Thereafter several elections and observer duties followed. I also had opportunity to work as Chief Electoral officer for Goa. During these 30 odd years I got an opportunity to see evolution of this great system. In the earlier times the logistic arrangements for elections were mostly overseen solely by the District authorities. Resourcefulness of the RO in securing various logistic requirements from District Administration and the management abilities made substantial difference The tenure of TN Sheshan the 10th Chief Election Commissioner (1990-96) saw a complete turn around in Election management procedures by injecting discipline and professionalism in all aspects of management of Election process. In subsequent years the Election Commission has standardized every stage of this exercise. The security aspect is closely coordinated and monitored by ECI. In order to ensure free and fair polls. Role of local police has been minimized to obviate any chances of interference. All important security aspects especially those pertaining to sensitive polling stations, EVM storage and Counting of votes are looked after by Central Paramilitary Forces which are requisitioned and deployed in coordination with Ministry of Home affairs. 


The Elections to State Assemblies and Parliament are conducted under control and supervision of Election Commission of India under the statutory provisions of Representation of People Act and Conduct of Elections Rules besides other similar legislations enacted by the Parliament and State Assemblies. For ensuring free participation of all eligible voters the Election Commission conducts revision of Voters list periodically and through special revisions prior to Elections. In recent years many innovative strategic changes have been brought in to ensure filtering out the names of dead and shifted voters from the voter’s list and also to eliminate any duplicate entries through a standardized software. The concept of BLO (Booth Level Officer) has been evolved where a subordinate Govt official has been designated as permanently attached to every polling booth for ensuring preparation of electoral rolls with maximum refinement. Even Political parties have been encouraged to nominate their functionaries for coordinating with BLOs. After preparation of Electoral Rolls the ROs are required to take up  detailed statistical analysis of polling station wise details of voter statistics by sex ratio of electors, age profile of electors , voter population ratio etc. . The analysis helps in locating aberrations or inconsistencies  in the voter lists and facilitates removing of any possible shortcomings. For last few years maximum participation of electors is being ensured through initiative known as SVEEP  ( Systematic Voter Education and .Electoral Participation). All District Magistrates are under instructions to hold publicity campaigns in times of poll and also periodically during intervening periods for ensuring maximum voter participation.

Ensuring smooth process flow for filing of nominations after notification of elections is the next stage. For nominations ECI has elaborate formats for affidavits and furnishing of details ensures that all essential information which can help the elector in selection of candidates is captured and publicized. The returning officers have also to ensure that all affidavits and nominations are promptly uploaded on ECI website to ensure wider dissemination of information. Instructions of ECI also ensure that process of nominations is completed with decorum. A candidate cannot bring more than prescribed number of persons along with him. When the nomination process is over the Elections move to campaigning stage.

A campaign party with campaign Vehicles 
Campaigning phase is to be handled by Returning Officers with utmost precaution and elaborate observance of all instructions regarding restrictions on campaign vehicles, sharing of expenditure for rallies, use and landing of helicopters etc. are to be strictly ensured. There have been instances where VIP campaigners had to cut short or cancel  campaigns on instructions of election authorities. Model Code of Conduct which is a much cited document is a non statutory document which ensures level playing field during elections. It provides instructions regarding precautions to be taken by Political parties during campaign period. Generally instances of violations do not lead to prosecution or disqualifications but even senior politicians and occasionally ruling party have to face admonition of ECI for violations. Despite of absence of stringent punishments this is not a toothless mechanism. Model Code of Conduct has over the years acquired a moral sanctity, which ensures that the language of campaigning and actions of ruling party do not vitiate the political atmosphere. It is this unique document, which restrains the party in power from bribing the voters by offering allurements or making misuse of official machinery.The rules lay down specifications for number and size of campaign vehicles and movement of convoys for campaigning.

The system of Observers deployed by ECI who are picked up from IAS /IPS and host of allied services from other States provide another mechanism for ensuring fairness of the whole process. While General Observers look after the procedural and statutory aspects, the Police Observers are concerned with deployment of forces and training of Police Personnel. Expenditure observers drawn from Revenue Services keep track of all election related expenses in order to ensure that candidates with money power do not hijack campaigning. 


Training Of Staff by ARO
The General observers arrive in the Constituency on the last date of nominations. They have to oversee all aspects of electoral process till announcement of Election results. Overseeing  training of all categories of staff and preparation of EVMs is the task to be attended to most sincerely since any laxity at this stage can have repercussions during Polling and Counting. The tenure of Expenditure observers is further extended after elections since candidates need time to complete the accounts. Expenditure observer's job has become more challenging in recent times due to involvement of social media and adoption of innovative covert procedure for publicity .The institution of observers has evolved over the years as the strongest bulwark against attempts to circumvent the process of law during elections. All observers work in close coordination periodically reporting to ECI.


 The job of observers is quite tough. Right from the day of arrival in the Constituency the observers are under scanner and each action is watched by Political Parties. The stay in constituency for 30 odd days is challenging since odd situations keep cropping up due to complaints and cross complaints and the observers have to take spot decisions for ensuring fairness of Poll process. Sometimes these upright actions also involve reporting laxities on part of local administration and local politicians of influence. Observers are expected to not to accept any undue lavishness in hospitality. There have been instances where officers utilizing the opportunity for site seeing or other favours by the District Administration had to be shifted in mid course since ECI maintains strict watch on conduct of observers through it’s independent channels also.

Election  staff Training of Staff
Training for counting Staff 
An interesting feature of Election related responsibilities is process of randomization followed at every stage. The Polling parties i.e. the team of officials assigned to Polling Stations are constituted by picking up employees from database of employees prepared in advance by randomized draw in presence of all Observers and Political Parties. This ensures that employees comprising a team are from different background. The allotment of Polling Stations to Polling Parties is done again by similar randomization process. This exercise is done just on day of Poll or one day in advance before the Polls in order to maintain secrecy about identity of officials assigned to a locality. Similar process of randomization is followed for deployment of Police personnel at various Polling Stations . 

In recent years the Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs) have become the backbone of Elections. EVMs were first deployed in one of the State Assembly Elections in Goa on trial basis in late eighties. (Goa was chosen as trial venue due to compact size of the State and Electors being educationally advanced). On successful performance in trial run these machines came to be deployed in all elections to State Assemblies and Parliamentary Elections. When the EVMs had not been introduced the ROs had to get the huge quantity of ballot papers printed at security press . Each of the ballots (total being in Lakhs) had to be checked before taking over from press . Large armies of Election staff remained stationed at Govt. Press for this exercise. Since there used to be large number of candidates in those (due to meager security deposit required from candidates in those days), sometimes the ballot paper was of the size of a newspaper. The traditional ballot boxes had become redundant over years  and special sized  tin containers came to be used as ballot boxes.The counting process was cumbersome since each ballot had to be individually counted after ensuring that the agents of polling parties seated on counting table have seen as to which candidate’s symbol had been cross marked by the voter. The counting normally continued till late night. In case there was a demand for recount then the whole exercise would be started afresh. There are instances where counting continued for forty eight hours at a strech. All that madness has been put to rest with introduction of EVMs.



The EVMs are comprised of two components .One is the balloting Unit and other is the Memory Unit. Each unit has a unique ids . Prior to Elections each
machine is subjected to thorough testing and thereafter machines are stored in strong room and sealed. For allocating machines to a particular Polling Station again a process of randomization is followed with help of computers . The process of allocating EVMs to different Polling Stations is witnessed by Observers and candidates. The transportation and storage of EVMs is done under heavy security. After the Elections are over and counting has been done the
Preparation Of EVMs for voting



EVMs are kept sealed and secured for six moths with Data intact in order to ensure that if any litigation crops up the data can be retrieved. There are elaborate protocols for tackling situations where data from a particular EVM cannot be retrieved during counting. Counting is concluded with remaining data if the votes in the particular EVM are less than the margin of votes between leading candidates. If the number is higher a repoll may be ordered for the Polling Station, which was covered by the defective EVM. When there is a problem during polling process due to malfunctioning of EVM then replacement EVM is used. A repoll can be ordered if there is substantial time lost in replacement. In a nutshell deployment of EVM and tackling the issues arising due to malfunction is also done in systematic manner through well laid down protocols

                                                                                                
Counting of Votes
For the day of Poll elaborate instruction are there for ensuring that the candidates do not indulge into campaigning in proximity of polling Stations. All campaigning comes to stop 48 hours before the Polls. For the poling day there are restrictions on entry of persons other than candidates and agents at the polling stations. All star campaigners i.e. the senior party functionaries coming for campaign period have to leave the constituency at the end of campaigning period. At the time of Polls every voter has to sign his name and id details in a register known as Register of Electors. This exercise ensures that there is no attempt for booth capturing and mass bogus voting. After the day of Polls detailed statistical information regarding voter turnout is prepared and analyzed. Wherever the percentage turnout of voters is not in line with the overall constituency average or if there are some serious complains pertaining to conduct of Polls , the various records pertaining to polling including voter’s Register (except for EVMs-which are stored separately) are analyzed to rule out chances of manipulations.
     
The counting data is transmitted   online . There are various formats relating to preparation of final results. The software after processing of data feed generates the final output. Under this arrangement  now there is a system of continuous update at the ECI website .Counting results start pouring in from midday and barring a few seats results are known by evening time. Results for all the Constituencies can be viewed continuously at the ECI website.The website shows trends as well as final results. The results are available party wise as well a State wise.

With so much of transparency and checks and balances being in place the stakeholders have little cause for any complaints. There are rare occasions of attempts by political masters for settling scores with unbending officers after the Electoral process is over but the silver lining is that the Senior Officers deployed for Election work are deemed to be on deputation to the ECI during Elections and every good performer is duly appreciated by ECI.