The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Reporter's Diary

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
ePaper

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Reporter's Diary

Wanted: history lesson, geography too

FOR ANYONE who cared to remember, Sunday was the 44th death anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. But Congress leaders and workers gathered at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office in the city to listen to tributes paid to India's first Prime Minister. A former senior member of the Legislative Council, who took the mike, waxed eloquent on the "fearless" nature of the Congress stalwarts such as Panditji, the late Indira Gandhi, et al.

Warming to the theme, he described Panditji as a rabble-rouser who came from an aristocratic family.

Party workers, swelling with pride over such golden reminiscences, were suddenly jolted back to reality when the leader darkly pointed out that the democratic foundations in other countries were also weakening. Indonesia, he thundered, had broken into three states, namely Indonesia, Java and Sumatra.

Bewildered reporters who looked at each other were silenced by the sheepish, imploring look from a party functionary.

Clean sweep

POURAKARMIKAS CLEANING our streets, who earn meagre salaries, often find it difficult to make both ends meet. But their so-called union leaders seem to get by just fine, with a little help from swish cars and sleek cellphones.

This was realised at a recent convention of pourakarmikas, which was organised to demand higher wages, bus passes and other facilities for them. Hundreds of them rushed to the meeting venue soon after completing their work with the only hope that their attendance may help them in future. While most trekked from their work places to the venue, several others took the bus.

But their leaders of the workers' unions royally drove in fancy cars. This reporter, who saw a Bolero, a Scorpio and a Ford Ikon parked in the basement of the convention hall, assumed they belonged to the chief guests. She was left open-mouthed when the parking attendant helpfully informed her they were owned by the union leaders. Moreover, she also learned that each of the pourakarmikas, who attended the convention, had contributed their humble mite for the function.

Exclusive membership?

SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT Monitoring Committees (SDMCs) are in the news for all the wrong reasons these days. The suicide of a young teacher, Prema, in Gadag district because of alleged harassment by the SDMC member, has triggered a debate on the relevance of this administrative body.

There is a strict norm which stipulates that only those whose children are studying in the school can become members of the SDMC of that particular school. But SDMCs are becoming so prestigious and influential that there is competition, especially in the northern districts, for parents to become members of these panels. It has reached such a level that there are instances of adopting children in these schools only to become SDMC members, MLC Hanumanthaiah told reporters on Monday.

Which begs the question: where do children figure in all this?

Afshan Yasmeen,

B.S. Satish Kumar

T.S. Ranganna, Afshan Yasmeen, B.S. Satish Kumar

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