VOL. 9 NO. 11-12 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2012 www.civilsocietyonline.com `50 WWoorrKKIInnGG FFoorr IInnddIIaa Sanjay Sahni in Ratnauli village, Muzaffarpur, where he Invisible people makheas leod au carm pwaigno tor exlpdos e a happier, more inclusive place NREGA corruption KolKata sees arsenic ‘we want Pages 8-10 eqUal Pay Freedom From barriers For eqUal th Pages 12-13 9 Unilever’s trivial concerns Anniversary worK’ Pages 14-15 speciAl issue Veteran union leader best oF civil society D. Thankappan on Pages 36-42 Maruti, contract workers and unions ProdUcts Pages 6-7 Lead SponSor Pages 44-50 Over theyears,wehavemadeadifferencetolivesof prosperity forcommunities. weareendeavouringtoenergisethecircleof Together healthy life. This hasbeenmadepossiblebyour Public-People-Partnership) andthecommitmentofourteam. Public-People-Partnership) We 'Partner of Choice' by leading life sciences companies worldwide. across 75 countries with ground presence in India, North America, Europe and China. The Company is well recognised as a The Company provides Life Science Products and Services across the pharmaceutical value chain, serving customers customers serving chain, value pharmaceutical the across Services and Products Science Life provides Company The pharmaceutical industry (Source: UNCTAD). India. It has been ranked No. 6 amongst the Top 10 global contract manufacturing & services outsourcing players of the the of players outsourcing services & manufacturing contract global 10 Top the amongst 6 No. ranked been has It India. Manufacturing Services(CRAMS)playerandaleadingDrugDiscoveryDevelopment Solution(DDDS)provideroutof JubilantLife SciencesLimited, an integratedpharmaceutical and life sciencescompany, is the largest CustomResearch and right skillsforemploymentyouth&women,recognisingsocialentrepreneurs, areconstantlyengagedinproviding EMPOWERMENT and empoweringourneighbouringcommunities. 4P Model (Private- We areJubilant. We better basichealthcare,qualityprimaryeducation, We continueoureffortstomakesignificantimpacttowards We empowering our communities to be self-reliant andleada empowering ourcommunitiestobeself-reliant across 53villagesinIndia. reachoutto2,55,000people people wehavetouched.We EMPLOYMENT EDUCATION www.jubl.com Corporate Marketing & Communications, Jubilant Life Sciences - July 12 9th Annual Issue vOIcES IN THE LIGHT by SAMITA RATHOR daughter’s career as much as in their development of young minds and Lawyers should be as accountable as son’s future. Kudos to Gopi, Arif and keeps them out of the rat race. It judges. LetterS all her coaches who have helped also introduces them to the 3Rs Sheila Rai India’s most iconic badminton player seamlessly since they learn from become a world champion. their immediate environment. Sometimes there is so much antago - Sarla Lal Suresh Thapaliyal nism between warring parties that it is difficult for lawyers to suggest I bought your book on Saina Nehwal. The story on the Ashram Paryavaran mediation. Only a bitter court order It is really very well written and inter - vidyalaya was really inspiring. after a long drawn battle makes them esting. I could read the full book with - Teachers in the government school come to their senses. out putting it down. Not a single bor - also need to use these methodolo - Anil Dhawan ing moment. congratulations to TS gies. I salute Anand Mani Dwivedi, nuclear plant Sudhir and to Nimby Books for their the principal of the school. In response to Tanushree fine editing and display. Gokaran Bamrara Srikanth Reddy Gangopadhyay’s investigative piece on Mithi virdi, I would like to say Mediation nobody wants to live next to a natural learning nuclear plant. Safety is a big con - Thanks for the interview on the cern. People do not understand I am a Delhi-based Uttarakhandi Mediation centre being run in New nuclear technology and believe what associated with the development Delhi. What I most appreciate is they are vociferously told. There is Saina sector. As I was out of the country, I that lawyers have taken the lead. also a veil of secrecy surrounding Your cover story on Saina Nehwal, saw the July issue of your magazine Mostly, lawyers accumulate cases whatever happens in nuclear plants. ‘Homegrown champion’ was really recently. I really enjoyed the story, and hang on to them, though it may So issues concerning workers, safety inspiring. Her parents too are ‘Learning the Natural Way’ by not be necessary. They don’t gener - and operations should be openly dis - remarkable. The sacrifices they made Rakesh Agrawal on the unique and ally encourage mediation as a way cussed with villagers on an ongoing to ensure their young daughter holistic education being practised at out. As a result, courts get clogged basis. The villages must benefit and becomes an achiever is a lesson for Anjanisain by the SMBA. with cases that could be settled ami - they should have the first right to all parents. In most middle class We need this kind of holistic edu - cably without wasting the hon - electricity. homes, parents do not invest in their cation that focuses on the overall ourable judge’s valuable time. Asha Sachdeva 4 CIVIL SOCIETY, SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2012 9th Annual Issue cONTENTS neWS Kolkata sees arsenic in water . 8-10 READ U S. WE READ YO U. Divisions in food security . 11 freedom from barriers . 12-13 Nine years and standing Youth Parliament’s10 years . .. 14 Unilever’s trivial concerns . 14-15 ITH this issue, civil Society completes nine years. It is a great feeling. Ours has been an exciting journey for the reasons that we cherish. It is wonderful to see the magazine reach remote parts of the country. It is also fulfilling to report on . W Why Bhutan is smiling 16 an India that gets overlooked. The zones we enter absorb us as journalists, making us eager to know and enthusiastic about telling. The high has only got better over Kashmir’s corruption crusader . 18 the years. In the starting-out years, we would often be referred to as niche. We still are some - times. But in our minds we have always been mainstream – the new mainstream. The fact that so many of the stories we do end up in the so-called ‘big press’ is per - Hall of fame haps the best evidence of our work being ahead of time. And of course there is a big thrill in having got there first. The Quiet & Courageous . 20-21 As in previous years, the focus of our anniversary issue is the cIvIL SOcIETY HALL OF FAME. It is an initiative we took up a long time ago to recognize those cit - izens among us who quietly make a difference. It is a simple mechanism for citizens . 22-24 Ratnauli’s wired hero to honour citizens without governments and other power centres piling on. The cIvIL SOcIETY HALL OF FAME is very matter of fact. There is no sentimen - Sarpanch with raw courage . 26-27 tality here, no moist eyes, no bleeding hearts. The people we honour are difficult to find and close to the ground. They aren’t seeking fame. But each of them is a won - derful example of how we can live in ways that strengthen society. They deserve to Healing hearts and minds . 28-29 be known so that they can inspire others and be emulated. The five individuals selected this time – Sanjay Sahni, Naurti Bai, Dr chiranjeeb The 24/7 barefoot vet . 30-31 Kakoty, Boya Pedda Rajanna and Dr Evita Fernandez – come from different corners of the country. They will be in Delhi on 11 October for a recognition ceremony. Our lead interview this month is with D. Thankappan, who is a veteran trade union every baby’s hospital . 32-33 leader. Thankappan has tried to cut a different path in the trade union movement, asking both workers and managements to change their thinking. So, his criticisms of industry and the breakdown of relations in Maruti are not just interesting but deserve to be taken seriously. Indian industry needs to invest in significantly more meaning - . 36-42 BeST of Civil SoCieTY ful ways in the workers it employs. It needs to train and integrate them with corpo - rate goals. The rampant use of contract workers is not only a sign of shortsightedness, but a slur on managements. It shows they lack in vision and haven’t come to terms with contemporary challenges. Maruti is clearly one such company and Suzuki is PRoDUCTS . 44-50 doing in India what it wouldn’t dare do in economies which are better regulated. cOvER PHOTOGRAPH: lAkSHmAn AnAnD We take great pleasure in introducing you to Dr Dipankar chakraborti an environ - mental scientist based in Kolkata. Dipankar is a very old friend and so in one sense annuaL doubLe ISSue you could say we are biased. But to him must go the credit of having done the first serious air pollution tests in India. He was also the first to raise an alarm over arsenic levels in West Bengal’s groundwater. It has taken more than 20 long years this September-october issue of Civil Society marks for the authorities in West Bengal to accept his findings. completion of nine years of the magazine. As we step into our tenth year as a small and independent media initiative, we the next issue will be in november. thank you for reading us. [email protected] [email protected] Publisher Layout & Design new Delhi-110017. umesh Anand Virender Chauhan printed at samrat offset pvt. Advisory Board Get your copy of Civil Society from ltd., B-88, okhla phase ii. Editor Cartoonist AnupAM MishrA Delhi: Bahri sons, Central Lucknow: ram Advani ArunA roy rita Anand samita rathor Postal Registration No. news Agency, stalls at green Bookseller at hazratganj. Dl(s)-01/3255/2012-14. nAsser Munjee park market, south extn part News Network Write to Civil Society at: Chandigarh: The Browser. registered to post without Arun MAirA ii, Aurobindo Market. Ts sudhir, shree padre, D-26 Basement, south extension pre-payment u(se)-10/2012-14 DArshAn shAnkAr Gurgaon: Music store at jehangir rashid, rakesh part 2, new Delhi-110049.