The distinction between nationalism and jingoism

Some years back I was speaking in Mangalore. It was at a time when the nation was hooked on to the magic of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Without even ascertaining the economic potential of these specially-carved out export zones, and without even evaluating the socio-economic costs involved, these SEZs were being pushed aggressively as the engines of economic growth.

Addressing a huge gathering of farmers, villagers and civil society activists I was trying to explain the irrelevance of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) given the extent of land grabbing and displacement of people. There was a huge social cost involved which often outweighs the gains that are projected, but rarely achieved. But after finishing my talk, when I walked out of the auditorium, I was greeted by posters labeling me as a ‘naxalite’ and ‘anti-national’.

Seven years later, the SEZs have turned out to be a big scam. A damming CAG report has however gone unnoticed. But in the meanwhile, there isn’t any word of sympathy expressed for those lakhs of poor who were forcibly evicted in the name of development. They are simply measured in numbers, as if the poor and marginalized are nothing more than a statistic.

I was reminded of this incident when I read a news report about Delhi High Court’s remark in a preliminary hearing on Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai’s well publicized case of being offloaded and denied permission to travel abroad. The court told the government representatives that holding a different opinion to the government does not constitute being ‘anti-national’. In a later hearing, the court told the government to distinguish between “nationalism and jingoism”.

At a time when the world is witnessing massive social and environmental fallout of economic growth, when the international community continues to grapple with global warming and warn of the disastrous consequences of climate change, I don’t see any effort being made to bring some amount of sagacity into the mainline discourse on achieving higher growth. The narrative of the popular discourse on the unfettered gains of economic growth measured in terms of rising GDP are often drummed up by the mainline media, backed by the academic curriculum. The popular narrative has reached such a level of jingoism wherein the moment you question or point to a negative repercussion, you face a loud and abusive tirade. This has become easy with the advent of social media.

Not that it didn’t happen earlier but twitter and facebook has made this much more easy, loud and aggressive. Let me share with you another incident. Some 20-years back, I was invited to address the 1^stworld Food and Farming Congress in London. This is an event of the international agribusiness industry.  I spoke in the inaugural session on why genetically-modified crops are not the answer to food security, highlighting the health and environmental consequences of cultivating GM crops. In one of the following sessions, a proponent of GM crops went to the extent of accusing of me of being linked to ‘Al-Qaeda’. It was only after a protest from some of the WTO Ambassadors who were in the invited audience that this particular scientist was made to apologize before he could proceed ahead.

Anyone opposing GM crops is also branded ‘anti-development’ . But because the narrative has been well-defined by the academic curriculum and the media, policy makers find it politically incorrect to question the risky technology. Moreover, knowing that the commercial interests are very powerful, it becomes easy to look the other way. All kinds of innuendoes are then thrown at those who talk of simple, cheap and effective alternatives available. In other words, when you run out of logic, and fail to provide any scientific reasoning, the best way to put an end to debate is to label your opponent as ‘leftist’, ‘anti-development’ and finally ‘anti-national’.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the other day critiquing requires a lot of research and analysis. I agree. In an age of mediocrity not many of us have the time and inclination to look beyond the obvious. A newspaper headline is all that we believe in, and helps form our opinion. Not many of us even care to go beyond the headlines. With the fundamentals laid out in the college/university, and with the mainline media buttressing the narrative, we refuse to look beyond. I have often faced this on TV debates where I confront panelists from only one school of thought. Alternate viewpoint is either suppressed or is ignored.

All those who raise questions and critique are also nationalist. These are the people who are working towards making the planet a better place to live in. They are for sustainable growth, wanting development to be pro-women, pro-people, and pro-environment. Growth is possible without ruthless exploitation and appropriation of the natural resources leading to wanton destruction of the environment, without acerbating climate change, and without creating inequality. That is what each one of us looks forward to. 

Let’s therefore make the distinction. Those who raise their voice are actually the conscious-keeper of a nation. And those who indulge in jingoism are not nationalists. They only push us towards fascism. #

Source:  The distinction between nationalism and jingoism. ABPLive.in Feb 11, 2015

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Maharashtra's nod for GM crop field trials: Problem is the falling farm incomes; and the solution being offered is the controversial GM crop technology.

It is not a coincidence. The State-level expert committee headed by nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar, which gave clearance for field testing five genetically modified (GM) crops in Maharashtra, did so while releasing a report on ‘Global Status of Biotech Crops’ by the international GM industry lobby group, ISAAA. 

I don’t see any reason why an expert committee should be releasing a publication of the GM industry. Unless it is representing the biotech industry’s commercial interests, the Anil Kakodkar committee has no business to be officially releasing an industry annual report. I wonder if the expert committee will also release an excellent report by Coalition for GM Free India, which has a foreword from the eminent agricultural scientist Dr M S Swaminathan, entitled: “Compilation of scientific studies on the adverse impacts of GM crops on human health and environment.” This report is a compilation of more than 400 scientific studies.

Maharashtra has given a ‘no-objection certificate’ for field trials of GM varieties of five crops – rice, brinjal, maize, chickpea and cotton. This approval comes at a time when most States have refused to permit field trails.

The ISAAA report states that in 2014 the total area globally under GM crops was 181.5 million hectares. But what it doesn’t say is that area under GM crops is hardly 3.5 per cent of the total global cultivable area. 

Nevertheless, what surprises me is the urgency to push for field trials of the controversial GM crops in Maharashtra at a time when the serial death dance on the farm continues unabated in the Vidharbha and Marathwada regions. Farmers are dying not because of any lack of technology or improved farming practices but because of the declining farm incomes. This year alone, some studies estimate that the crash in global commodity prices has resulted in a loss of Rs 12,000-crores to cotton and soybean farmers, much of it in Maharashtra. With States failing to provide a bailout package, what do you expect the farmers to do?

A study by the Mahatma Phule Agricultural University, Rahuri in Maharashtra clearly shows that between 1996 and 2013, farmers cultivating sorghum, green gram, wheat, and sunflower were paid 35 to 70 per cent less than the cost of cultivation. Accordingly, the Minimum Support Price (MSP) at which the State government procures has only enabled cotton, soybean, paddy, groundnut, pigeon pea and chickpea farmers to recover 45 to 72 per cent of the cost they had incurred. Agriculture continues to be a loss making proposition.

Maharashtra’s agricultural crisis therefore pertains to falling farm incomes. But Maharashtra appears more interested instead in adding on to the profits of the agribusiness and seed companies. Agribusiness giant Monsanto’s stocks jumped 18 per cent on Monday after reports of GM crops possible introduction sunk in.  

Interestingly, the reason being given for approving the field trials of GM rice is testing for drought tolerance and nitrogen availability. What is not being told is that no GM crop variety has been able to withstand the epic drought that has hit California and Texas provinces in USA. Farmers have abandoned farming in these two provinces, and water smuggling is on the rise. Only traditional crop varieties have survived the US drought.

Similarly, the general argument that I hear very often is that the world needs to produce more for the growing population by the year 2050, and therefore it needs GM crops. But let’s look at it. Is there a shortage of food? In India, which has close to 250 million people going to bed empty stomach, appalling hunger is not because of any shortfall in food production. In June 2013, India had a record food surplus of 82.3 million tones. It exported close to 42 million tonnes in the two years 2012-13 and 2013-14. The entire effort now is to reduce the quantity of grain in storage and thereby reduce the carrying cost of stored food. Instead of increasing food production, the Food Ministry is planning to reduce food procurement and also use the huge stocks with the Food Corporation of India for commodity trading.

The promise of reduction in pesticides usage has also fallen flat. Maharashtra’s approval for GM crops is primarily justified on the need to reduce pesticides usage. It quotes the success of Bt cotton, which occupies 95 per cent of the area under cotton, as an example. But what is kept hidden is that despite almost the total cotton area being under Bt varieties in India, the Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) estimates show that the pesticides usage has also gone up. Between 2008 and 2010, pesticides use had gone up from almost Rs 600-crore to Rs 800 crore.

It is therefore high time to rethink whether GM crops will be of any help or end up aggravating the present crisis. Maharashtra needs to revisit the approval for GM crop field trails. It also needs to disband (and reconstitute the expert committee) whose interests clearly align with the commercial interests of the GM companies. 

Source: Maharashtra’s nod for GM crops field trails: Is the expert committee toeing industry line?
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Nuclear Energy is past its expiry date, renewal energy is the future

US President Barack Obama, left and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake their hands after they jointly addressed the media after their talks, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015. Seizing on their personal bond, Obama and Modi said Sunday they had made progress on nuclear cooperation and climate change, with Obama declaring a "breakthrough understanding" in efforts to free U.S. investment in nuclear energy development in India. (AP Photo /Manish Swarup)

Channuwala used to be a non-descript village in Moga district of Punjab. Like every other village in prosperous Punjab, Channuwala too suffered long power cuts, with electricity available for not more than 12 hours a day. But after the installation of two biogas plants having a capacity of 150-200 cubic metres, and with many villagers setting up their own biogas plants, more than 4,000 residents of Channuwala village today have the benefit of uninterrupted supply of electricity.

In a country which has the largest population of cattle in the world – roughly 300 million cows and buffaloes as per the 2012 Livestock census – harnessing alternate sources of energy from cowdung and biomass should have been accorded topmost priority. In addition, in a country endowed with abundant sunlight and a vast coastline, solar and wind power should have reduced the dependence on coal-based energy installations.  But it didn’t happen.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now laying stress on renewal and clean sources of energy, and has promised to generate 100,000 MW from solar power in next few years. This is heartening by all standards.  

This brings me to the media excitement that I see all around from the so-called ‘breakthrough’ that has been achieved in Indo-US nuclear deal. With India accepting to shoulder the liability, with the assurance of putting together an insurance pool and thereby allowing the suppliers of nuclear equipment to go Scott free in case of a nuclear mishap, the question that nuclear energy is safe and clean is itself being defeated. Why should nuclear suppliers insist on not being held responsible in case of a nuclear accident if the technology is safe?

I don’t understand why and how nuclear energy is being called safe and clean. If it was so safe and clean I see no reason why the world should be increasingly moving away from nuclear energy.  After the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, Germany has vowed to shut down all operating nuclear plants by 2022. In Italy, after a 94 per cent vote against nuclear power in a 2011 referendum, nuclear energy has been banned. France, which produces much of its power from nuclear reactors, too has promised to move away to safer resources by 2050. Even in the US, which has been aggressively pushing for the construction of nuclear plants in India, the entire focus of energy generation has been on shale gas.

Let’s look at the cost involved. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists: “Between 2002 and 2008, cost estimates for new nuclear power plant construction rose from between $ 2 billion and $ 4 billion per unit to $9 billion per unit, while experience with new construction has seen costs continue to soar.” With the costs rising, the nuclear suppliers have been seeking government subsidies, including loan guarantees, tax credits.  Interestingly, some estimates point to the huge burden on taxpayers, stating that the plants cost more to taxpayers than the market value of power generated.

Nuclear energy today is the most expensive. 

With such an expensive source of energy, I don’t think Indian industry can be viable and competitive unless of course massive subsidies are provided to keep the nuclear plants running. If India can provide for massive subsidy support, I wonder why the same investment can’t be made for harnessing solar and wind energy. Let us not forget that way back in 1985 Forbes magazine had categorically termed the US nuclear industry “the largest managerial disaster in business history.” And this also points to the managerial failure to find a safe burial for the nuclear waste generated.

Notwithstanding the excitement and hype, many strategic analysts have said that even if India was to witness a rush for setting up nuclear plants, it would be at least 10 years before any additional energy production is possible. From the present contribution of 2 per cent, the availability of power is not expected to increase beyond 10 per cent of the total requirement from the new installation. 

This brings me back to the huge potential that exists in non-conventional energy resources. In solar alone, India is presently producing only 0.5 per cent of the estimated potential of 750 GW. This estimate is based on the wastelands that can be used for solar power generation. But I see no reason why rooftop solar power generation cannot replace the household (as well as commercial establishments like hotels/hospitals/malls) use of electricity.

In case of wind, Energy Minister Piyush Goyal has already given a green signal for stepping up the existing capacity, by promising to put up 10,000 MW of wind power installations every year. Add to this the massive potential that exists in biogas and biomass, India can easily chart a new pathway in meeting its growing energy needs. Given that the crude oil prices have fallen drastically, and are expected to stay low, the challenge to build up the country’s energy needs from clean, safe and non-conventional resources is immense and untapped. #

Source:  Nuclear Energy is past its expiry date, renewal energy is the future. 

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