Wednesday, May 24, 2017



 Eleven--  Kashi Vishvanath Jyotir Lingam 

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Kashi Vishvanath is one of the most famous Shiva  temples   located in Varanasi or Benares. The temple stands on the western bank of the holy river Ganga and is considered to be  the holiest of Shiva  temples. The main deity is called  Vishvanatha or Vishveshvara -meaning Ruler of The Universe.

Benares is the oldest city of the World, for it is believed that it stands upon the first land that ever emerged from the primeval waters.Orthodox Hindus believe that to die in Benares is to attain instant salvation. It is the Mecca and Jerusalem of India and her Rome and Athens all rolled into one.

Since the holy place is situated between the two rivers Varana and Asi, the city is called Varanasi.

It is also one of the Sakthi-Peethas. Out of the various parts of Sati that were scattered it is said that the left hand had fallen in Benares and it is believed Goddess Visalkshi represents that Shakti Peetha.

The temple has been destroyed and re-constructed a number of times in history. The last structure was demolished by Aurangzeb  who constructed the Gyanvapi Mosque on its site. The present  structure was built on an adjacent site by  Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore in 1789. Two domes of the temple are covered by gold donated by Ranjit Singh but the third dome remained uncovered. The U.P. Government took a keen interest in the gold plating of the third dome of the temple.

 During the religious occasion of Shivaratri, Kashi Naresh the King of Kashi is the chief officiating priest and no other person or priest is allowed to enter the temple's sanctum sanctorum. It is only after he performs his religious functions that others are allowed to enter.  As per Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva married Goddess Parvati on Mahashivaratri and Gauna  was performed on Rangbhari Ekadashi.


The temple has been mentioned in the Skanda Purana. The original Vishwanath temple was destroyed by the army of Qutb-ud-din Aibak in 1194 . The temple was rebuilt by a Gujarati merchant during the reign of Delhi's Sultan Iltutmish ---1211-1266 . It was demolished again during  1447-1458. Raja Man Singh built the temple during Akbar’s 's rule . Raja Todar Mal further re-built in 1585.

 A 7-feet high stone statue of Nandi, gifted by the Raja of Nepal is in the east of the colonnade.

The temple complex consists of a series of smaller shrines, located in a small lane called the Vishwanatha Galli, near the river. The linga of the main deity at the shrine is 60 cm tall and 90 cm in circumference housed in a silver altar.

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 The venerable linga is made up of black coloured stone, and is enshrined in the sanctum, placed on a silver platform.

The main temple is quadrangle and is surrounded by shrines of other gods. There are small temples for Kalabhairava  , Dhandapani, Vishnu, Avimukteshwara, Vinayaka, Sanishwara, Virupaksha and Virupaksh Gauri in the complex.

 Structure of the temple is composed of three parts. The first compromises a spire on the temple of Lord Vishwanath or Mahadeva. The second is gold dome and the third is the gold spire atop the Vishwanath carrying a flag and a trident. In the year 1785 a Naubatkhana was built up in front of the Temple by the then Collector Mohd. Ibrahim Khan at the instance of Governor General Warren Hastings.

 There is a well in the campus of the temple called Jnana Vapi or wisdom well. There is a history behind the well. It is considered that the Jyotirlinga was concealed in the well in order to get protection from incursion. The main saint of the temple  jumped in to the well with the Jyotirlinga to protect it from the intruders.

Many leading saints, including Adi Sankara, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Vivekananda ,Guru Nanak have visited the  temple, Visit to the temple after  a bath in the river Ganges is one of many methods believed to lead one on a path to Moksha.

Shri Vishwanatha Temple is situated amidst the crowded lanes of Varanasi on the banks of the rive Ganga. The temple can be approached from a lane called Vishwanatha lane.


P.P.Ramachandran.
21 / 05 / 2017

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Book on Demonetisation
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Demonetisation and Black Money by Dr.Rammanohar  Reddy ; Published by Orient Blackswan ; Pages 244; Price Rs.295/-

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If America had its 9 / 11  India had its 8 /11.The  September 11attacks  were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda which  killed 2,996 people. India’s 8 /11 witnessed  Narendra Modi shaking  up the economy by announcing that currency denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 would no longer be deemed valid since that night. The announcement invalidated Rs 14.18 lakh crore of currency at one stroke. As much as 86 per cent pf the Rs 16.41 lakh crore of currency in circulation was deprived of its status as legal tender. The aim was to attack black money and defeat counterfeiting of currency. According to  R B I  as of 19 December 2016 as much as Rs.12.44 lakh crore had already been deposited in the banking system.

The announcement sent the nation into a frenzy, with many queuing up outside banks and ATMs in a bid to get their hands on valid currency. There were reports of deaths of people waiting in the queue for withdrawals.

As pointed out by Dr.Y.V.Reddy, ex RBI Governor demonetisation was undoubtedly a historic and unprecedented event, There has perhaps been no other policy that has affected the lives of a billion people directly and all at once. It is difficult to find a parallel in terms of the range of economic activities that have been hit by an economic policy decision.

 The author Dr.C.Rammanohar Reddy is an economist who was Editor of the highly respected 'Economic and Political Weekly' for over a decade and presently of 'Scroll-n' . In a discussion when the book was released he declared that his aim in writing the book is to provide  a comprehensive understanding of  the reasons that led to demonetisation, its impact on economy and people and allowing the  readers to arrive at their own conclusions -- whether the measure is good or bad.He has written the book for the layman and not the economists  and specialists in banking. Reddy has enlightened us of its aspects as it related to people and left the  judgment to us as part of our  decision making .

The  volume focuses on aspects like, whether demonetisation was effective in curbing black money, whether Government could have adopted a less disruptive measure  to curb black money as also if the objectives of demonetisation have been fulfilled and an attempt to analyse what  the future portends.

Reddy believes that  to curb black money, a larger change is imperative in government policies, people’s habits and societal norms.

He holds the view that the  argument that demonetisation was implemented to promote digital transactions and make economy go cashless does not hold water for the simple reason that  the trend of digital transactions has increased over the past few years and in the last year digital payments were more than cheque payments.

All are aware 1991 is still considered the watershed moment in India’s economic policy regime. That time  the issue was much more pertinent. Views were polarized, and material and commentary was in abundance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation exercise of 8 November, which made 86% of the currency under circulation redundant in one shot, is certainly an economic event of as much significance as the 1991 reforms.

 Rammanohar Reddy has  written  ' Demonetisation And Black Money ' even before the Reserve Bank of India has finished counting the scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes that have been returned to banks. The book will clearly serve as an intelligent person’s guide to demonetisation. All connected issues related respect to demonetisation have been covered clearly and cogently. Reddy does raise pertinent questions, backed as he is by long standing  experience in journalism and academics.

He doubts whether  a shift from cash to digital payments would deal a body blow to corruption, as white-collar activities might be involved in tax evasion too. Likewise , he gives the common habit of women exchanging their inherited jewellery for new pieces (without proof of exchange) to illustrate how a hawkish tax collection policy post-demonetisation might lead to the harassment of innocent taxpayers.


The book is divided into four sections that deal with a general discussion on black money and demonetisation, the assessment of the design and implementation of demonetisation policy, its impact on the common people and polity, and its impact on India’s banking sector.

The economist strongly believes that demonetisation has inflicted significant costs on the economy, with the poor suffering the most. Its benefits could have been realised through  less hurtful policies.

The book implies that demonetisation decision would have been taken on  political calculations, not policy wisdom. The international experience of demonetisation, India’s own experiences of previous demonetisation exercises, and more recent documents on the issue of black money—which have been cited in the book—clearly suggest that it would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, to make a policy case for demonetisation. The discussion on the banking sector also shows that problems in implementation were inevitable, given the scale of the exercise.

There is limited discussion on the politics around demonetisation, given the overwhelmingly peaceful and protest-less three months post-demonetisation—despite the immense hardship people were put to. It is pertinent to quote Dr.Y.V.Reddy, ex Governor on this. “Demonetisation led to a virtual denial of freedom of movement, drying up of sources of livelihood and deprivation for no fault of theirs. Yet, people at large did not revolt. They went through not just inconvenience, but pain. While the agony was palpable, the patience of the masses was beyond belief. There was silent but eloquent demonstrations of some deep, shared intense feeling.That feeling, I believe is one of disgust with the state of affairs in recent years, and a belief that this maybe the only way in which they could express it.”

  The discussion stresses  complicity of all political parties in trying to preserve opacity in political funding at the policy level, and the nexus of black money and politics at the grass-root level Modi was selling to people to justify his decision.

The author  concludes : “If in the end Demonetisation 2016 turns out to have been a failure and if there is no follow-up action on black money, there is likely to be long-term damage. The colossal distress that Demonetisation 2016 caused will make it impossible for any future government to embark on a more serious war on black money. The government will be wary if there is even a small risk of pain being inflicted once again on the entire population. No society will be able to go through this suffering once again. The black economy will then remain in place.”

A very valuable contribution to the debate on India’s 8/11.

P.P.Ramachandran
21 / 05 / 2017

Tuesday, May 16, 2017



TENTH--BHIMASHANKAR  JYOTIRLINGA

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Bhīmāshankar Temple is a Jyotirlinga located 50 km northwest of Khed near Pune . Bhīmāshankar is also the source of the river Bhima  which flows southeast and merges with the Krishna river near Raichur.

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 Many decades ago, in the dense forests of Dakini, on the lofty ranges of the Sahaydris lived the evil Asura by the name Bhima with his mother Karkati. Gods and human beings were mortally afraid of this demon. However, he was bothered  by a number of  questions about himself which troubled him no end. When Bhima could no longer sustain his agony and curiosity, he asked his mother to unveil the mysteries of his life. He urged his mother to tell him who his father was and why had he abandoned them in the wilderness of the forest. After much hesitation and with a lingering fear Karkati, his mother revealed to him that he was the son of the mighty Kumbhakarna, the younger brother of the  mighty King Ravana. Lord Vishnu in his incarnation as Lord Rama annihilated Kumbhakarna. Karkati told Bhima, that her husband and his father was killed by Rama in the great war. This infuriated Bhima and he vowed to avenge Lord Vishnu. To achieve this he embarked on a severe penance to please Lord Brahma. The compassionate creator was pleased by the dedicated devotee and granted him immense powers. This was a horrible  mistake of  Brahma . The dreaded  tyrant created incalculable  havoc in all the three worlds. He defeated King Indra and conquered the heavens. He also defeated a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva - Kamarupeshwar and put him in jail. He regularly began  torturing all saints.  Gods requested  Lord Shiva to come to their rescue; he agreed . At the same time Bhima insisted  and orderered Kamarupeshwara to worship him instead of Lord Shiva. When Kamarupeshwara declined to do pooja to him,  Bhima raised his sword to strike the Shiva Linga which Kamarupeshwar was worshipping. Shiva appeared before him in all his magnificence and a war began. Narada  requested Lord Shiva to put an end to this war.  Lord Shiva reduced the evil demon to ashes .All the Gods and the  sages requested Lord Shiva to make this place his abode. Lord Shiva thus manifested himself in the form of the Bhīmāshankar Jyotirlingam.

It is believed that the sweat that poured forth from Lord Shiva's body after the battle formed the Bhīmārathi River. This temple is also closely associated with the legend of Shiva slaying the demon Tripurasura .

 The Bhīmāshankar temple is a composite of old and the new structures in the Nagara  style of architecture. It shows the excellent skills achieved by ancient sculptors. It is a modest yet graceful temple and it dates back to the 13th century . The sabha mandap was developed in the 18th century by Nana Phadnavis. The shikara was built by him. As with other Shiva temples in this area, the sanctum is at a lower level.

Although the structure here is fairly new, the shrine Bhīmāshankaram (and the Bhīmārathi river) have been referred to in literature dating back to the 13th century CE. Jnaneshwar  had visited Triamabakeshwar and Bhīmāshankar. A unique bell  in Roman style can be seen in front of the temple. This bell has an idol of Mother Mary with Jesus. This large bell was presented by Chimaji Appa who was brother of Bajirao Peshwa I and uncle of Nanasaheb Peshwa. On 16 May 1739,  Chimaji Appa collected five large bells after he won in war against the Portugese from Vasai Fort.

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Bhīmāshankar is a reserved forest area of 130.78 km2  was declared as wildlife sanctuary in 1985.This sanctuary is a part of Western Ghat, so it is rich in floral and faunal diversity. A variety of birds, animals, insects, plants can be seen. A rare animal Malabar Giant squirrel locally called as " Shekaru" can be found in deep woods. Bhīmāshankar is a trekker's delight and a traveller's sojourn.

Note—

1.There is another Bhimashankar in Guwahati. Legend says that there was a King named Kamarupa, a devotee of Shiva. A demon called Bhima was constantly troubling the devotees. One day he came to attack the King with his open sword, but the same fell on the Shivalinga. At this the Lord  came out of the linga at once and destroyed the demon.Since then legend has it that the Lord has been there in the form of Jyotirlinga.

2. The small village known as Ujjanaka near Kashipur in Nainital claims to have the temple of Bhimashankar. Local people say that this place was known as Dakkini country in the olden days, Bhima, the second Pandava was married to Hidimba and it is stated that Dakkini Hidimba belonged to this place. This temple contains a very big image of the Lord. On the east side of the temple is a tank known as Shivalinga.

PPR
15 / 05 / 2017




                GUJARAT   AGRICULTURE              



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Estimated Marketing Surplus in Gujarat Agriculture by Munish Alagh ; Published by Academic Foundation ; Pages 120 ; Price Rs. 795/-

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Munish Alagh is the  author of two books on agricultural economics. He won the Chimanlal Patel Award for the best research paper among teachers of the Gujarat University. He has to his credit a number of valuable papers in reputed economic journals.

The book under review is a unique and thorough study of  the  profound parameter of  agricultural marketable surplus of food grains. He has selected Gujarat and brought out  clearly the impact of the expansion of irrigation and investment in modern technologies especially by large farmers and the crucial role played by stronger market agencies.
The author attempts to answer the question—Does agriculture in a market dominated business environment as in Gujarat base itself on government sponsored efforts?. Is there any scope for individual networking and has the networking and enterprise of individual farmers any role?

The study was sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.
Agriculture in Gujarat is market-dominated but the efficiency of the market and especially institutions and inputs is still debated. Alagh focuses on select variables and how effective agricultural institutions have been in transforming agricultural markets in the State. He examines the role of institutional infrastructure and socio-economic factors in influencing household marketable surplus decisions. The study encompassed 359 farmers and covered five districts—Vadodara, Panchmahals, Kheda , Junagadh and Banskantha. The food grains selected for study are wheat, bajra and tur.

The study revealed that  marketed surplus—output ratio was on the lower side as the farmer insured minimum amount of thirty per cent of the overall output for his own consumption. How does one go about to reduce this percentage?. There is a crying need to increase “ storage, seeds and pest removal”. This calls for more efficacious government machinery and active staff participation.

A lot of publicity is given for the impact of Sardar Sarovar but the author found that though large farmers having electric tube wells in catchment areas have become more prosperous, the actual impact of Narmada Project is limited to a few areas.

The farmer will not get a good return unless the Government marketing and storing facilities perform efficiently and the stocks are being purchased and sold and then used efficiently for domestic consumption as well as for exports. What is absolutely essential is a good marketing mechanism, a stocking mechanism and a storing mechanism that offer succour to the farmers. We ought to have institutions and institutional factors working in a manner that makes agriculture more efficiently networked and institutionally established.

The book has four chapters. Chapter One is an introduction which describes the methodology, concepts and also reviews the relevant literature. The study covers districts with maximum production of wheat, bajra and tur. The author explains concepts behind production choices, cost of production, trade possibilities and the factors determining them. Marketable surplus is a normative concept which represents the surplus which the farmer has available with himself once the genuine requirements of the farmer’s family consumption, payment of wages in kind, feed, seed and wastage have been met. Marketed surplus is that part of marketable surplus marketed by the producer.

The second chapter is a macro overview of agriculture in Gujarat—which comprises 33 districts. The growth performance for major crops reveals that the post-liberalisation phase—post 1991—was marked by  improvement in yield levels for all the major food crops, groundnut and cotton. Commercialisation process and crop diversification towards non-food crops—cotton, spices, horticulture are positive developments.

Chapter Three is an empirical analysis which describes some characteristic features of the sample households and facilitates greater understanding of the socio-economic backdrop of the population. To give two samples. Use of farm machines is constrained by considerations of profitability ; a large amount of expenditure on tractors, tube wells and threshing machines was seen by farmers indicating prosperity. A greater proportion ( 60 per cent ) of households sell in local market across farm sizes. However, about 40 per cent of households sell in distant markets. The farmers generally prefer local markets. Half of the medium farms and three quarters of large farms have access to credit. The advantage of co-operative credit is largely taken by medium and large farmers.

The fourth and final chapter offers the summary and conclusions. The message is loud and clear that if storage, seeds and pest-removal are stepped up and the farmer is given ever greater support by more enthusiastic government machinery and officers the food security of the farmers can increase.

The book is replete with information on all parameters. There is also a valuable bibliography.

This volume is a useful addition to the literature on the subject.

P.P.Ramachandran
14 / 05 / 2017

Wednesday, May 10, 2017


CORRUPTION& ECONOMIC GROWTH



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Corruption  and Economic Growth by B.K.Chaturvedi and Shekhar Chandra ; Published by Academic Foundation ; Pages 196 ; Price Rs 995/-

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B.K.Chaturvedi was a distinguished member of the Planning Commission for eight years as also a member of the Thirteenth Finance Commission. He had worked as Cabinet Secretary. His forty years of service with Government has invested him with immense experience. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan. The co-author Shekhar Chandra is an engineer who has tackled domestic energy challenges with an analysis of international negotiations.
 
The volume is a sober assessment of the harm generated by corruption and its impact on our economy and  polity. This is a significant contribution to the debate on corruption in public life. The authors explore the reasons for large scale corruption as pointed out in the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General.( CAG).
 
The writers have identified various factors impacting corruption and economic growth. Their study was done on a cross-country basis. Data has been collected for 160 countries. They have studied how much economic growth would be impacted if  corruption levels were to be reduced to zero or to world average levels.
 
A distinguished event was the Anna Hazare movement which focused on creation of an independent institution for investigation of cases of corruption against the political executive and civil servants. The Second Administrative Reforms Commission also studied corruption and made several recommendations. There was no political will to pass the "Lokpal Bill.' No strategy to fight corruption could be prepared without including economic growth as a key driver for reducing corruption .The authors have adopted the measurement technology of Transparency  International and the World Bank.
 
Corruption signifies dishonest or fraudulent conduct by persons in positions of power. Corruption can be of various kinds--political, economic, social or moral. The most widely used and dominant sense of the word "Corruption" remains " misuse of public office for personal gain". Corrupt actions are morally undesirable. In all countries, laws make no distinction between a bribe giver and a person accepting bribe.
 
Measurement of corruption is a difficult task. The authors list 13 agencies which compile Indices of Corruption. Grand corruption occurs at the highest level of government and involves major government projects and programmes.
More than 70 per cent of the countries of the world have low values of CPI (Corruptions Perception Index).Corruption leads to slowdown of economic growth. It acts as a disincentive for investment in the economy. Bribes create uncertainty in viability of projects. It also leads to poor quality of project execution. The recent defence contacts of Agusta Westland Helicopters bought by India shows that there were no agents initially. Later on it was found that there was an agent and bribes were allegedly paid. The Government cancelled the contract and encashed the Bank Guarantee. The company landed in trouble due to payment of bribe. The U N Convention on Corruption has advised against such corrupt practices.
 
According to studies the G D P growth goes down by 0/9 % per annum and per capita incomes are lost to a considerable extent .Growth will emerge from increased efficiency of investments and possibly new investments.
 
What are the factors impacting corruption? These are analysed thoroughly in one chapter. The authors have chosen four variables—Income, Poverty and Income Inequality; Primary and Secondary Education; Investment and Government Expenditure and Governance. As incomes rise, corruption levels go down. The increase in per capita incomes leads to less incentive for cutting orders or undertaking petty corruption to meet the basic requirements of life. There is an analysis of relationship between corruption and poverty ratios.
 
Investment as a share of GDP is a factor impacting corruption. Rajiv Gandhi declared that leakages result in 85 per cent of Government assistance being siphoned off by government officials and politicians. Political instability breeds corruption. Political institutional building and an independent strong Press is a major bulwark against corruption. Education provides human values and leads to reduction in corruption. The social and economic conditions of the people, nature of society and education provide an eco-system in which forces arise to combat corruption.

Many countries have evolved anti-corruption laws. The  U N Convention against Corruption has been signed by almost 150 countries. The authors analyse the international experience in one chapter. Several countries have institutions and laws to address the problem. There is an in-depth analysis of Finland, USA,Singapore, Hongkong. Corruption fighting strategy must include strategy for rapid economic growth leading to improved standards of living, quick and fair investigation with fast track prosecution of accused. This will call for political  and administrative will and sustained peoples' support.
 
We are provided a full-fledged discussion of the Indian situation. Beginning with the times of Arthasastra, there is an analysis of developments such as the reports of the Santhanam Committee, the anti-corruption measures such as the setting up of the C V C, legislative enactments, the Lokpal Act have been discussed at length. Also covered are the recommendations of the Administrative Reforms Commission.
 
Anti-corruption strategy must be so framed as to ensure that by 2030 the level of corruption will go down drastically. We should accelerate economic growth, have a high quality of life and become a transparent and honest society in the next two decades. A distinguished economist wrote recently,  " Corruption is a long-standing sticky issue which needs sustained effort and well-thought out road map with timelines to control. It  is  impossible to have an island of honest financial society in an otherwise corrupt and compromising social framework". 
 
The book is packed with statistical tables providing a wealth of data. There is also an excellent bibliography.
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A very valuable contribution to a very important subject.
 
P.P.Ramachandran.
07--05--2017