Wakeup Seed, Gandhi is Again Coming

Mahatma Gandhi undoubtedly the most modern political thinker India has ever had. He imbibed the best from the East and the West and developed an organic a political philosophy that created miracles in India. Today, Indian politics enveloped in wide scale corruption, perhaps there is a need to rediscover Gandhi, and the support that the followers of Gandhi like Anna Hazare is getting in the country has their distinct dimension.

Mahatma Gandhi is still an integral part of Indian politics as his political philosophy encompasses an assortment of elements embedded with basic humanistic outlook.

As Gandhi opined in his famous journal, Harijan: "There are eternal principles which admit of no compromise, and one must be prepared to lay down one's life in the practice of them." 

He always remained attached to his principles in all walks of his life and even extended them in his attempt to create a resurgence of the nationalistic spirit among the common Indians.

Former West Bengal's Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya highlighted in his research work titled Evolution of the Political Philosophy of Gandhi: "Mahatma Gandhi can be credited for belonging to the most modern type of mass leader."

In the historical year 1919, when Gandhi took up the reins of the Indian National Congress, he introduced a new thinking and orientation in spirit to the struggle for the people of India. He advocated the concepts of nonviolence and non-cooperation, which not only suited the superior resources of the British Empire but also became the pragmatic process of protest by indian masses against the Government of India Act (1919) and the Rowlatt Act (1919). 

The Non-Cooperation Movement, taken a definite shape after the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, which compelled him to comment that "Cooperation in any shape or form with this satanic government is sinful." 

The spirit of nonviolence and non-cooperation  that Gandhi infused in Indian politics is equally relevant in modern times.The violent uprise, antipathy in addressing common issues and lack of a pragmatic dialogue among various political folks that characterise the Indian political system, emphasizes that a dedicated follow up  of Gandhian political doctrines have become the need of the nation.

The political ideology of Gandhi was a harmonious combination of western and eastern thoughts, did not accept this near totalitarian concept of the state. Inspired by western thinkers such as Thoreau, Tolstoy and so on, he declared that the political authority was not an end in itself. 

Several people have expressed that Gandhi regarded power to be "one of the means of enabling people to better their conditions in every department of life".

This gratitude speaks of his awareness of the reality that is firmly embossed on his political thought. His political proceedings were directed towards attaining power which, according to him, should not be concentrated in the hands of a few but disseminated among the masses.

This political ideal becomes more and more noteworthy in the present socio-political scenario, when there is an escalating tendency of power concentration in the hands of the privileged few.

Another aspect that is conspicuous in the Hindu political thought and has a significant impact on the psyche of the people is that revolt is one of the recognized rights of individuals and groups.

This concept is deeply imprinted in the mass psyche and played a significant role in the isolated uprisings that were a vital part of the Indian freedom struggle. 

The duty and accountability of the king is also clearly indicated. A king who did not abide by the dictates of ethics and justice was endangered with dire consequences in hell as well as revolt. 

In Mahabharata, Bhishma Pitamah goes to the extent of saying that the king who fails to protect his people should be slain by his subjects like a mad dog. Gandhi's clarion call for nonviolent revolt against the British is therefore a continuation of the Indian tradition. 

Fascinatingly, though Gandhi acknowledged the traditional injunction in country and the way Anna and Ramdev Movement is getting response from the common man it is going to be another Civil society movement and this time Gandhi’s philosophy is playing again a big role in India.

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BPSC-Topic Agriculture and Allied Sectors in Bihar

The average annual rainfall in Bihar for the last decade (2000-09) was estimated to be 1091.08 mms. But, in 2005, the rainfall was 897.40 mms and in 2009 it was 868.61 mms.This indicates severe drought situation in 2005 and 2009. Drought occurred due to shortfalln south west monsoon in both these years.

The area under net sown area has undergone a marginal change. In 2007-08, net sown area was 60.5 percent as compared to 59.4 percent in 2005-06. The increase in net sown area is 109 thousand hectares. The cropping intensity has also shown a marginal increase from 1.33 in 2005-06 to 1.37 in 2007-08. This implies an additional 368 thousand hectares under cultivation in 2007-08 over 2005-06. Land under both fallow and current fallow have registered a decrease in 2007-08. This indicates that, with growing population, the pressure on land is now even higher.

 Because of various levels of irrigation facility, the intensity of cropping across the districtsvaries considerably, from 1.10 at Jamui to 1.76 in Saharsa.

The average productivity of three important cereals are — 1454 kgs/ha for rice, 2126 kgs/ha for wheat and 2746 kgs/ha for maize. Of the two pulses groups, the average productivity in Bihar is 984 kgs/ha (kharif pulses) and 753 kgs/ha (rabi pulses). These productivity figures relate to triennium average ending 2008-09. In 2007-08, taking into account the productivity of rice, three districts with the highest productivity levels were Buxar (2731 kgs/ha), Aurangabad (2472 kgs/ha) and Lakhisarai (2472 kgs/ha). For wheat, West Champaran tops with 3150 kgs/ha and for maize, Samastipur heads the list with 6287 kgs/ha.

Bihar has a prime position in the production of several vegetable crops. In 2008-09, Bihar’sproduction levels were potato (50.34 lakh tonnes), onion (9.47 lakh tonnes), tomato (10.37 lakh tonnes), cauliflower (10.44 lakh tonnes) and brinjal (11.86 lakh tonnes). For fruits production four important crops are mango, guava, litchi and banana. In 2008-09 Bihar could produce 13.30 lakh tonnes of mango, 2.29 lakh tonnes of guava, 2.17 lakh tonnes of litchi and 13.74 lakh tonnes of banana.

The commercial production of flowers is taking place on large scale in the state in view of rising demand. Important flower crops are rose, gladiolus, jasmine (bela), marigold and tuberose. In 2008-09, the production level of these flowers were – 67 tonnes of rose, 4429 tonnes of marigold, 270 tonnes of jasmine and 365 tonnes of tuberose. Major flower producing districts are Patna, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Samastipur and Gaya.

During the period 2000-01 to 2008-09, the total irrigated area has increased from 44.6 lakh hectares to 49.2 lakh hectares. In 2008-09, about 55.3 percent of the total irrigated area in Bihar came from tubewells (both private and state). These tubewells are often run on diesels which is expensive, in the absence of adequate supply of power. Irrigation from surface canals, both major & minor, is important in 8 districts – Rohtas, Kaimur, Bhojpur, Buxar, Aurangabad, Banka, Munger and Lakhisarai. These are rice producing districts of Bihar

The roadmap of agriculture drawn up by the present state government puts emphasis on the use of certified seeds. Because of this initiative, the SRR for major crops like rice, wheat and maize has increased significantly in the state during the last five years. Amoung kharif crops SRR has increase from 14 percent in 2007-08 to 31.0 percent in 2010-11 for paddy. For reabi crops SRR has increase from 15 percent in 2007-08 to 25.3 percent in 2009-10 for wheat.

The total consumption of fertilizer in Bihar was 32.25 lakh tonnes in 2006-07. In 2007-08, it increased to 36.49 lakh tonnes with a growth rate of 13.1 percent. In 2008-09, it increased further by 10.9 percent to reach a level of 40.46 lakh tonnes.The per hectare consumption of fertilizer went upto 181.11 kgs in 2009-10 from a level of 141.7 kgs three years ago.

Farmer's training through Farmers Field Schools (Kisan Pathsala) has gained prominence in recent times. Krishi Vikash Shivir, programme for interaction between agricultural scientists and farmers, is providing a platform for technology-transfer. One of the major initiative in this regard is to arrange for minikit distributions at the Panchayat or village level. This minikit programme covers as many as seven crops in kharif- paddy, maize, arhar, urad,moong, castor and sesamum. For rabi cultivation, the demonstration again include seven crops-wheat, maize, gram, masoor, pea, mustard and rajmah.

In 2008-09, 3028 power tillers were provided to farmer on subsidy. The number of power tillers given to farmer rose to 4041 in 2009-10.In last two years (2008-09 and 2009-10) a toal number of 7069 power tillers were given to farmer on subsidy. As a part of the process of modernization of agriculture in Bihar, the state government is providing subsidies to farmers over and above the subsidy admissible under the centrally sponsored schemes for acquisition of tractors, harvesters etc.

In 2009-10, around 13.40 lakh farmers of Bihar had access to facility of Kisan Credit Card.For the years 2004-05 to 2009-10, in might be noted that actual credit flow as percentage of annual targets has been around 80 percent. In absolute terms, total credit flow to agriculture has increased by 273 percent between 2004-05 and 2009-10.

Fish production in the state has been showing a steady growth. In 2004-05, the total production of fish in Bihar was 2.67 lakh tonnes. There was steady increase of fish production thereafter and it reached to a level of 3.06 lakh tonnes in 2008-09.

BPSC -Mains Topic Bihar Economy at a Glance

In 2009-10, the total GSDP at 2004-05 prices was Rs. 1, 35,900.23 crore, yielding a per capita income of Rs.13, 983. For total GSDP, the estimated growth rate was 11.70 percent over 2008-09. At current prices, the GSDP for Bihar in 2009-10 was estimated to be to Rs. 1, 72,138.46 crore with a per capita income of Rs. 17,959.

During the first five years since 1999-2000, the economy had grown at an annual rate of 3.50 percent and the economy had grown at an annual rate of 10.93 percent during 2004-05 to 2010-11 at constant prices. This is one of the highest among the growth rates of different Indian states.

With economic development, it is historically observed that structure of any economy also undergoes changes over time. This is true of Bihar also. In the beginning of the last decade, the share of different sector in total GSDP stood at 39.0 percent (primary) 10.5 percent (secondary) and 50.5 percent (tertiary). Since secondary and tertiary sectors have shown a much higher growth rate in the last decade, the composition of sectors is now substantially different; in 2009-10, the composition was — 21.74 percent (primary) 16.61 (secondary) and 61.65 percent (tertiary).

Bihar suffers from considerable economic disparities across the districts. Considering per capita estimates of GDDP, we find that Patna (Rs. 37,737), Munger (Rs. 12,370) and Begusarai (Rs. 10,409) are the most economically prosperous districts of Bihar. On the other end of the ranking, the three most economically underdeveloped districts are Jamui (Rs. 5516), Araria (Rs. 5245) and Sheohar (Rs. 4398).

For the consumer price index for rural workers, the rise in prices in Bihar has been lower than in India as a whole. For agricultural labourers, the index rose by 115 points between 2007-08 and October 2010 for Bihar, but for India as a whole, the rise was by 149 points during the same period. A similar pattern can be observed for rural labourers also. In case of industrial labourers, it is found that price rise has been higher in Bihar than in India as a whole. Between 2007-08 and October 2010, the index for industrial labouers rose by 53 points in Bihar, whereas it rose by 48 points for India during the same period.

As a result of improvement in law and order situation, resultant faith in the government, and other positive changes taking place in Bihar, a favourable environment for private companies, investors, entrepreneurs and tourists, etc. has been created in Bihar. The state has become a favourite destination for a large number of companies and private institutions.

Janta Ke Darbar Mein Mukhya Mantri' programme, organised at different places has attracted significant public participation. Vikas Yatra, undertaken by the Chief Minister to remotest places has ushered in new trend of dialogue between the rural population and the ministers and officials accompanying the Chief Minister in such yatras.

The state government has taken positive steps for increasing the common man’s faith in police. The 'Speedy Trial' mechanism has been effectively used to expedite convictions. With the introduction of 'speedy trials' and resultant quick convictions, the number of convictions is increasing. The total number of convictions rose from 6839 in 2006 to 13,146 in 2009 which means an increase of 92.46 percent during the period.

 In order to strengthen the training facility for police officers, the Bihar Police Academy has been established in the state. Work has begun on construction of a new campus of Bihar Police Academy at Rajgir at the proposed cost of Rs. 206 crore. Besides, under state plan, work has been completed for 14 model police stations and work for 26 more model police station are in progress. Another 40 model police station will be taken up in near future, apart from 49 Grade III police station, 8 Grade IV police stations and 69 police buildings.

 The state government has recently established a Fire Brigade Training Centre and a Home guards training centre at Bihta at the cost of Rs. 7.50 crore and Rs. 4.00 crore respectively.

Steps were taken to contain corruption in the state. A total of 66 persons were arrested in 60 trap cases in 2006, 126 in 108 trap cases in 2007, and 99 in trap cases in 2008. There has been a rise in registration of anticorruption cases. From 1996 to 2005, on an average, about 28 cases were registered annually. In 2006 alone, 99 cases were investigated. From 1996 to 2008, 396 gazetted officers, 332 non-gazetted government servants, and 215 nongovernment servants, were chargesheeted. Under the disproportionate asset case, wealth to the tune of Rs. 8 crore have been identified and trials are under progress.

The state government has initiated steps to strengthen the Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) on the guidelines of National Disaster Management Act, 2005. NDMA has set up a battalion of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) at Bihta in Patna district for various operations during the disasters.

During the drought, the lives and occupation of the lower income groups suffered enormously. The state government had to save the lives of sick people from starvation in drought hit districts, for which it sanctioned an amount of Rs. 973.63 lakh for providing dry foodgrains and Rs. 1839.75 lakh for drinking water. Thus, a total amount of Rs. 6691.64 lakh was sanctioned for fighting drought during 2010-11 (upto January 13, 2011).

There are 28 districts in the state, mostly in North Bihar, which are affected by floods almost every year. The state government is currently constructing 200 flood shelters in flood prone districts. In addition to this, there is also a proposal for creation of new post of Emergency Managers with Associates for 10 most flood prone districts of the state. Disaster Management Department has issued guidelines to Divisional Commissioners and District Magistrates for rehabilitations and reconstructions during the post-flood operations. To combat flood operations, cyclone / fire disaster in 2010, the state government had to incur an amount of Rs. 17345.35 lakh in non-plan head.