:: SPECTRUM ::

Articles

R K Pachauri: Carrying 6 billion hopes: Dr. RK Pachauri, the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is leading the international campaign against Climate Change for his services to the environment he has recently been awa......read more
India's Climate Change crusader: Mr. Jairam Ramesh: India is a fast developing nation but this development comes at a price, the environment. Our interview with him made us aware that Mr. Jairam Ramesh, the Union Minister of State for Environment and F......read more
He does not deserve the nobel: I have developed the art of using money in creative ways to a point where it has become scientific. The deeply unfortunate occupational hazard that accompanies this rather fulfilling pastime is that m......read more
US & Co: I have experienced three kinds of news. There is American news, which although accurate, skims past the destruction caused by their troops. There is PAkistani news, which tells us of their 'power' and......read more
Jaswant Singh on people, politics and partition: One of India's longest serving politicians, Jaswant Singh's controversial book on Jinnah and India's partition sparked both criticism and praise from people across India and Pakistan. His bold decisio......read more
Statue-tory warning: Your narcissism is injurious to national health: At a time when Maharashtra's notorious Vidarbha region witnesses one farmer suicide every 8 hours, when the entire state is frequented by power cuts as a result of the rains playing truant and the sta......read more
Try: I am 17 years old. I go to school. I come home. I eat, sleep, study.
I go out on the weekends, avoide my parents and am addicted to facebook.
By a broad standard, I am normal.
Can I c......read more
Theplas in Thailand & pickles in Paris: Say hello to the Indian tourist: The Indian tourist seems to have earned himself a global reputation. He may don many avatars, but the stereotype he has earned for himself remains like an unsightly splotch on Indians' reputation aboa......read more
Red tapism in India: "The Common Man walks into the Passport office for the fifth time in ten days. He is sick of standing in the heat. He is sweaty. He is tired of the never ending trips to try and procure his passport. ......read more
Naxalites - a burning problem: The Maoists-Naxalites have been in the news lately. These little understood, much maligned groups, with a common leftist ideology, have been the cause of long-standing violence, arson and disruption. ......read more
Unity in diversity?: With hundreds of different ethnicities, myriad religions, thousands of languages, and an infinite set of values, (some of which are diametrically opposite) India could easily be considered the most di......read more
Every One: India is a country that is progressing at an astoundingly rapid rate. It has proved itself to be a country to watch out for. Its economy is booming, and its people are continuing to prove their abilit......read more
The Indian Judiciary: Does the pillar of strength need to be strengthened?: Do judges in India need to be policed and to what extent? There has recently been focus on the Indian judiciary system. The question has arisen on whether Indian judges need to be policed. The Union C......read more
Defence, Development & the Indian Economy: India today occupies a unique position on the world stage. We are perhaps the only country trying to juggle a rapidly advancing economy, an extraordinary array of infrastructural develoments, an inher......read more
26/11: A year on, an overview of the city of Mumbai yields a result no different then what one would have expected. The city continues to be a bustling, shining beacon of India's ascent to global success, w......read more
Wake up and smell the carbon: Few years ago, there was only one problem the world had to deal with - the nuclear bomb. Today's youth are growing up in the shadows of three bombs any of which can go off any moment, leading to a rad......read more
Apocalypse - impossible? Think again!: 2050, India-a young boy stares at the barren landscape of his hometown, where rising tempartures and water scarcity have made living life a burden. The ganga river has dried up, the once snow capped p......read more
Congress ka 'raj' Thackeray: For anyone who doubts that politics is a dirty game, the recent Maharashtra State Assembly polls was an eye-opener. With cousins standing against each other in a family feud of epic proportions and th......read more
Change after 26/11: On 26^th November, 2008 a catastrophe stuck the city of Mumbai. While the elite class of South Mumbai was dining at 5 star hotels, The Taj Mahal Hotel and the Trident, and the commuters were......read more
The future of Mumbai: Milind Deora's victory for the second term in a row has silenced all his critics. In a candid discussion, Mr. Deora spoke to us about the Maharashtra elections, the MNS, chqanges since 26/11 and of hi......read more
VOTE INDIA: Over the last few weeks, the nation has been keenly observing the movements of a new found political scion, Varun Gandhi of the BJP. Gandhi's radical views, to say the least, have "shocked" some and "......read more
26/11: Are we so naive that we cannot see that some of the problems are from within our country? We don't see the greater good but act in our own selfish and devious ways......read more
Arun Jaitley-a candid discussion: An interview with the General Secretary of the Bhartiya Janta Party, Arun Jaitley gave us an insight into the mind of strategic planner and mast head of this election's opposition party. After years o......read more
The Criminalisation of Indian Politics: India boasts of being the largest democracy in the world; with an estimated 671 million eligible to vote for the 15th General elections to be held in April - May 2009. However, over the last 61 years ......read more
Democracy: As we are made to see it: What do you think about putting 1.147 billion puzzle pieces together? Indian democracy is just that. It is not as simple and sinless as a puzzle, but putting 1.147 billion thoughts together, fixing th......read more
Goolam Vahanvati - the youth's role in India's future: Mr. Goolam Vahanvati, one of the best lawyers in India, tells us we as the youth need to look beyond corruption, he tells us to a look at the larger picture. He says, "You must believe that this is a ......read more
Indian National Congress: The way forward?: We citizens of India are not in the mood to listen to comments like "Bade bade sheharo mein chotte chotte cheese hote rehte hain". The youth want to see some degree of accountability in the entire pol......read more
Jyotiraditya Scindia-India's tomorrow: We arrived at 27 Safdarjung Road, home to one of the most promising and visionary leaders in this country. Part of the Congress youth brigade Mr. Jyotiraditya Scindia, having studied at Harvard and St......read more
Omar Abdullah - our hope for change: Mr. Omar Abdullah one of the few leaders in this country who commands respect and does not demand respect, speaks to us about his vision for India. He is one of the most protected men in India with si......read more
PAKISTAN: at the brink of destruction?: Two twins, India and Pakistan separated at birth due to numerous complications, travelled through a long journey since partition. This difficult path took off in August 1947, when, after having surviv......read more
Third Front - an illusion?: We the youth of India desire change and to some the Third front is the only option to provide this change, which makes the Third Front seem as a serious contender. On the other side of the spectrum mo......read more

Article of the month

India's Climate Change crusader: Mr. Jairam Ramesh

India is a fast developing nation but this development comes at a price, the environment. Our interview with him made us aware that Mr. Jairam Ramesh, the Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests has big plans for the country as well as its foriegn policy in the coming Copenhagen Conference. India's ministry of environment and forests, is a department which had been neglected for quite some while but now with India's climate change policy having International significance and with the appointment of Mr. Jairam Ramesh there has been a new thrust in the ministry and having studied at IIT, MIT and Carnegie Mellon he has promised drastic changes it remains to be seen whether he will deliver. In our interview with the minister, discusses climate change, India's policy at Copenhagen, the future of the Congress and Mr. Rahul Gandhi.
Interview by Akhil Mittal, Jeh Tirodkar and Mazhar Kadwalwala.

Sir, having studied at prestigious institutions like IIT, MIT and Carnegie Mellon, what inspired you to get into politics?
It was Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, whom I was directly associated with; Mr. Sam Pitroda, whom I was directly associated with in 1987-1989. So one thing led to another and when Mr. Rajiv Gandhi was out of power, he once asked me if I would like to work with him. So I started working with him and since 1991 events took their own course. It wasn�t my decision, it just happened over a period of time.

Sir, having taken over as Minister of Environment and Forests, a ministry which had not been given much importance in the past but now your decisions are significant the world over. What are your immediate priorities?
We have a huge backlog of work to be done. The foundations of ecological security have to be strengthened; the forests have to be protected as they have social value, economical value and ecological value. Our economic growth has to expand and new industries have to come up, however, they have to come up according to the laws of the land, example The Environment Protection Act of 1986. So we have a big challenge of reconciling the objectives of faster economic growth and also to ensure this growth takes place within the framework of laws being honoured. Ensuring the pollution levels are at sustainable levels, pollution control technologies are being used. We have a challenge on the environmental front by making sure that growth takes place by meeting certain minimum environment protection norms which means land, soil and water pollution are checked. The other side is the forest issue; as you all know forests are integral to our ecological security and we have to manage our forests better, we have to improve the quality of our forest cover. Thus we have to ensure that all these requirements of forests are fulfilled in adequate measures.

Sir how do you evaluate industrial development vis-a-vis environmental conservation?
The general principle is we should reconcile them. It depends as in 25-26 years ago Mrs. Indira Gandhi said no to a plant as she wanted to protect the rainforest area in Kerala. She refused to build a huge hydel power plant and she was criticised, but she thought protecting the environment was more important. So you can�t say blanket the environment or blanket development. So it depends upon the type of projects you are talking about. One thing that is clear is that we need to integrate environmental concerns into the mainstream of planning. Thus I have been saying that we must redefine GDP. It is not Gross Domestic Product, but it is Green Domestic Product and we must do it in a manner that protects the environment.

Sir, the Copenhagen Conference is upon us and with the hype and buzz surrounding this conference; what can we expect from it?
Things are still very uncertain right now, because the primary requirement in Copenhagen for a successful outcome is that the responsibility has to be taken by those countries which are responsible for the CO 2 and greenhouse gases build up. Like U.S.A., Japan, Europe need to take on significant emission cuts by the year 2020 or 2030. However the developed world wants to pass on this responsibility to the newly emerging countries like India and China. Thus there is a conflict. So we are still negotiating. Who will pay for adaptation? Who will pay for mitigation? If developing countries are to take large scale action somebody has to pay for it and provide the technology for it. These are the issues being discussed.

Sir, What will be India�s stand at the Copenhagen Conference?
India�s stand is very clear, we have articulated it time and time again that the primary responsibility is that the developed countries have to take on emission cuts. But India is a country that is profoundly affected by climate change, our agriculture is vulnerable to the vagaries of the monsoon, our Himalayan glaciers are retreating biodiversity in the Western Ghats and the north east are under great threat. Many of our coal reserves are in forest areas, so if you want to use more coal for more power you end up deforesting the areas. We are a country which is in the front rank of the countries which is going to be adversely effected by climate change, we have a responsibility to our own people so we must be aggressive domestically, International commitments is a separate issue but domestically we should not only adapt but we should be introducing new technologies in order to ensure that our own emissions are kept in check. As we grow richer I am sure our emissions are also going to increase but you have to keep them in check as an obligation to our own domestic people. Where international commitments are concerned our primary concern is of the developed countries.

Will India�s domestic mitigation action be linked to finance and technology from developed countries?
Well as I said I am trying to propagate the view that we have a responsibility to our own people, to take mitigation actions so we should not hold our mitigation actions hostage to international negotiations. But if you want our domestic actions to be reflected as a legally binding international commitment then it should be supported by international finance and technology. But I think India should be in the forefront of taking measures to mitigate its own green house gas emissions. This offers us a great opportunity to leapfrog. We don�t have to repeat the mistakes of the west we don�t have to go through the pollution route in order to become prosperous and I think India can show to the world that we can break the link between prosperity and pollution.

Mining laws in India state that you have to be 15 km away from the forests but in places like Tiroda or Goa there is no such buffer zone so then why is there such a dichotomy?
The buffer zone is usually set up by the state governments unfortunately some of the state governments do not conform to the laws. One of the problems in environment and forest is that the laws are all national laws but the implementation is in the hands of the state and local governments. Unless we bridge this gap and address this dichotomy between the two, we will be passing progressive laws but we will not be seeing their proper implementation at the level of the state and local administration.

Sir you had proposed the setting up of a Neutrino Research facility in Mudumalai in the Nilgiri Hills region which is a wildlife sanctuary, as a nuclear research facility wouldn�t it produce a facility produce a large amount of radioactive waste?
No, I did not propose it; this is a proposal from a bunch of scientist at the Tata Institute of fundamental research. It�s a laboratory meant for experiments in physics. It is a difficult issue because it�s right in the middle of a tiger sanctuary. It is an underground observatory. This is being looked at by the experts. There are people who believe that this is not going to be detrimental in the tiger sanctuary. On the other hand, there are many NGOs that feel that this will be disturbance and an unnecessary and unwanted disturbance. So we are examining all sides of the issue before we can consider a decision. But wherever we have projects that are in the middle of critical wildlife habitats, our position has always been to discourage them.

There have also very recently been reports that the Himalayan glaciers are melting under the effect of global warming and this has also been cited by many as the cause of the Bihar floods last month. What is being done to conserve the Himalayan glaciers? Are any efforts being taken?
We have just announced the National Mission of Sustainable Himalayan Ecosystems. We have to measure, monitor, and model what is happening to the Himalayan glaciers. The flooding issue in India is linked with the deforestation in the upstream areas which happen to be in Nepal. So we cannot look at the Himalayan Glaciers Issue only as an Indian issue, it involves Pakistan, Bhutan, and Nepal and of course it involves China as well. All this science of why this retreat is taking place , there are still 2 views � some scientists believe it is because of global warming; while some scientists- most Indian scientists believe it�s a natural cyclical process- a process that is bound to happen. So these scientific issues will have to get resolved. But parallel to that we have to carry out a series of interventions to ensure that the people living in these areas are not adversely affected.

Moving away from the environment. Being a Congress leader, what are your views on the youth brigade of the party? And given the BJP�s recent decline, isn�t it important to have a major national party in the opposition?
Absolutely there is no doubt that the Indian democracy requires a stable two party system. It requires parties to be strong, parties to be progressive in their agendas, parties to represent people�s interests and aspirations. As far as the Congress is concerned there is no doubt in my mind that the entry of Mr.Rahul Gandhi has brought a completely new political culture. He is stressing internal democracy; he is stressing elections within the organisation by remaining outside the government. He could have had any position he wanted. By remaining outside the government he is sending a signal that building the organisation is more important for him than being a minister. I think these are very important issues and after a long time these issues have come onto the centre stage, the core of the party building agenda. The Indian democracy is a parliamentary democracy, it depends on strong parties. Individuals are important, but ultimately you require party systems, party funding, party elections, party accountability and these are very important issues that Mr.Rahul Gandhi has been stressing. I am hoping that as result of this you will have a younger Congress; you will have a more accountable, more responsible Congress and certainly a Congress that fulfils the aspirations of all sections of society.
We are a diverse society; political parties must ensure that they represent this diversity. I think if you want a good functioning democracy we need political parties that go beyond these differences of region, religion, caste, language and mirror the diversity of India and include all economic and social issues as part of their agenda.
Finally sir what can we as the youth and the next generation of this country do, to tackle the issue of Climate Change?
Be austere in your lifestyle. Lifestyle is ultimately what climate change is all about. Austerity in lifestyles is very important.