In a huge move, Home Minister Amit Shah on August 5, 2019, announced scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution that provides special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. With it was also laid to rest the highly discriminatory provision of the state that penalized a woman for marrying an outsider but protected a male in similar circumstances.
Article 370 and 35A – as introduced in the Indian Constitution for granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir, were a fundamental breach of women’s fundamental rights as Indian citizens. A glorious tradition that believes in

Yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra Devata,
yatraitaastu na pujyante sarvaastatrafalaah kriyaah

“Where Women are honoured, divinity blossoms there, and where women are dishonored, all action no matter how noble it may be, remains unfruitful”,

the state of J&K deprived its daughters their basic right if they married an outsider. In Jammu and Kashmir, citizenship was unequal among men and women. The irony was never lost on the daughters when the entire country thronged to the most revered shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi, yet the same state displayed an unsavory bias against its girls.

What an anomaly. If a woman from J&K married a foreigner she would lose her right to inherit, own or buy immovable property in the state, whereas no such law affected a male in a similar situation. Consider this, if a boy from the state married a girl from outside, his wife not only became a state-subject (the certificate that confers special privileges on the state residents), but their children enjoyed the status by default. Whereas, if that boy had a sister and she also chose to marry an outsider, she stood to lose her state-subject and all the related rights. Her husband would never be welcomed as a traditional ‘Jamai’ in the state. Their children were aliens. All because of her gender!

You might exclaim, “Are you joking!” Yet, that’s exactly what it was. A poor joke played by the state on its own daughters.

An interesting example is the well-known family of Farooq Abdullah himself. Farooq Abdullah married a British woman and their son Omar Abdullah got to become the Chief Minister of the state. Omar’s wife was also not from the state, yet it did not impact his rights. On the other hand, Omar’s sister when she married an outsider she lost all rights as a state subject.

On October 7, 2002, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court overturned the established legal position. The court ruled that by marrying an outsider, a J&K woman did not lose her permanent-resident status. The decision was contested by the state’s political parties, who drafted a bill known as the Daughters Bill or the Permanent

Residents’ (Disqualification) Bill stripping a woman of permanent resident-status if she married a foreigner. Although the bill was not passed, a similar bill was introduced in March 2010. This bill was also not passed. It, however, had considerable political support

The 2002 ruling came after a bunch of women went to court to fight against the discriminatory nature of the law. The battle, however, was only partially won. Women marrying outside the state could inherit their parental property, but the rider was they still could not pass it on to their children.

Women have had to fight for their rights through history. However, in a modern India that enshrines equal rights to its women in the Constitution, the state of Jammu and Kashmir continued to practice the anachronistic denial of fundamental rights on the basis of gender.

August 5, 2019, spelt a historic victory for the women of the state. August 15 is India’s Independence Day, but in my opinion women of J&K could herald their independence 10 days in advance. By one fell well-deliberated swoop, Home Minister Amit Shah set the anomaly right. The Damocles sword was lifted from the neck of many a woman of the state who had inherited property, but by virtue of having married an outsider could not pass it on to her children. They always feared losing the property.

Besides other political and geographical implications of the August 5, 2019 move by the Home Minister under the aegis of PM Narendra Modi, it is a big day for the women of the state who now feel on par with men in their citizenship rights.

“I am a woman with thoughts and questions and shit to say. I say if I’m beautiful. I say if I’m strong. You will not determine my story–I will.” -Amy Schumer

As reported by Hindu, Prasar Bharati Chairman Dr. A. Surya Prakash said that Vinod K. Jose, Executive Editor of The Caravan magazine, made a “blatant” anti-India presentation during a session on ‘Religion and the Media’ at the Global Conference for Media Freedom, calling many of his statements “false” and “inaccurate”.

What was really shocking were many a blatant lies by Mr. Jose. Believe it or not he said that “a hundred Christians were murdered in India” and “the RSS engineered the pogrom against the Sikhs in 1984”.

After Jose’s presentation, when the discussion was thrown open to the floor, Mr. Prakash rose to the occasion and said many of the statements made by The Caravan editor were “false” and that there were “inaccuracies” in the presentation.

India was not only the world’s largest democracy, but also the most vibrant. It was also the most diverse society in the world, he added.

Explaining his intervention, Dr. Surya Prakash said that if the audience left the hall believing Mr. Jose, democracy across the world would be in jeopardy. The video below, which documents his intervention is a must watch

India’s 350,000 well-trained postmen have turned bankers, offering doorstep financial services to even the last man standing in the remotest parts of the country.

Till recently, the ubiquitous men in brown serving in the country’s 155,000 post offices located in every nook and cranny had been only delivering letters and parcels.

But now they are making banking easy for even ordinary citizens by going round homes carrying a trendy mobile phone and a hand-held biometric scanner to open savings accounts, transfer money, pay utility bills, accept cash deposits, facilitate withdrawals and what have you.

Read more on the link below…

https://www.connectedtoindia.com/india-turns-350000-postmen-into-bankers-for-doorstep-financial-services-5834.html

It is beyond the shadow of a doubt that a healthy environment is the crucible in which human life and activity blossoms. Yet we all know that human activity is mauling and mutilating this crucible just like the woodcutter who is cutting the branch on which he is perched.

most vulnerable country to climate change.

It is election season and the manifestoes of political parties reflect their perceptions of the concerns of society at large. The manifestoes are drawn up carefully after large scale feedback. Yet inspite of the looming environmental crisis this critical concern is all but absent from manifestoes. That being the case it would be too much to expect drastic proactive action in favour of environmental conservation from the next government.

Just last week Iceland elected Ms.Katrin Jakobsdottir, a 41 year old environmentalist who is committed to clean energy, as Prime Minister. “As Chairwoman of the Left-Green Movement, a grass-roots organization that focuses on democratic socialist values, feminism, and environmentalism, Katrin has already taken big steps to move towards clean energy in Iceland.”

To expect a green manifesto is a cry in the wilderness. But if a political party were to devote a section of its manifesto to a green action plan then they could draw upon the following draft.

“On coming to power our party promises to the people of India that

The budgetary allocation of the Ministry of Environment would be raised from current 7% to 15% of the annual budget of the Central Govt. The enhanced budgets would not only increase the scope and depth of work undertaken but also vastly increase the monitoring and knowledge gathering and knowledge creation activity of the Ministry and its agencies

The legal and institutional framework for environmental protection and regulation would be strengthened. Specifically :

appointment and terms of service of members/Chairman of the National Green Tribunal leaving the original rules of appointment undisturbed

benches of the National Green Tribunal would be doubled progressively over 5 years

dilution of EIA notifications would be withdrawn. The quality of EIAs would be raised by rigourous scrutiny, rejection of shoddy EIAs, blacklisting of conniving EIA consultants

Forest Rights Act would be enforced without dilution and the pace implementation of forest dweller rights would be quickened while ensuring sympathetic hearing to their claims – strengthening the law – new laws – forest rights act, wetland rules, coastal zone management, rigorous implementation of existing rules

Dilutions to the Coastal Regulation Zone would be examined afresh as also the development oriented approach of the Island Development Agency which appears to have overridden environmental concerns of the several island territories.

strengthen the independence of institutions such as NBWL, FAC, WII and all regulatory and advisory agencies under the MoEF

implementation of existing rules would be done with greater rigour than ever before. For eg. the capacities and performance of CPCB and State Pollution Control Boards would be greatly strengthened

Carbon neutrality : The Govt. would aim to achieve carbon neutrality by progressively reducing carbon intensity of the economy. The Govt. would aim to outdo its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and attain carbon neutrality by 2050

Coal fired plants will be gradually phased out so that our virgin forests can be protected as no go areas

dispersed green cover. The spatial dimensions of this cover would follow earlier distribution of forests so as to maintain a continuity in climatic and weather patterns

tree cover on private lands. Presently, other than commercial tree plantations there are several disincentives to grow a diverse tree cover on private lands. This would also include emphasis on promoting agro-forestry.

Rain is the only source of water on the subcontinent. The winter monsoon has almost disappeared whereas the reliability of the summer monsoon does not have the same certainity as before with more frequent El Nino events. The Govt. will promote urgent research on the monsoon phenomena, not merely about forecasting, but about increasing its reliability

Rivers are the life-giving arteries of the country. Yet they are becoming anaemic before our very eyes. The present focus on pollution is a comparatively smaller problem which has a technological fix and can be resolved can be resolved by appropriate capital expenditures. The revival of flows in rivers and streams is a far more complex issue amenable to appropriate stern remedies and only in the long term. Here the Govt. would :

Promote basin management at all orders of streams. The basin approach would optimize the use of intra basin resources such as rainfall, surface and subsurface resources, recycled waters on the supply side while the demand side management would enhance efficiencies in water use in agriculture, industry and domestic sectors

floodplain protection the Ganga Authorities Notification, 2016 would be extended to all rivers upto 2^nd order streams

v All relevant social statistics, economic statistics, scientific data, natural resource data would be collected at least at the level of 3^rd and perhaps 2^nd order streams

Irrigation is the sector where 80% of India’s water is used. If this can be significantly curtailed water diversion from rivers can be substantially reduced as also ground water extraction. Several technological and agronomic practices can increase crop productivity while reducing water input. The Govt. will take up this thrust on a war footing

free flowing rivers and, as efficiencies increase, would examine decommissioning of various dams and barrages

Urban water efficiencies would be enhanced and the individual water supply norm per capita would be brought down progressively to below 100 lpcd over next 5 years. Recycling and demand management practices would be given preference over fresh water supply side solutions. Ultimately smart cities would sustain themselves on an almost closed loop of local water resources

v Research would be promoted to incorporate dry toilet systems to almost eliminate the requirement of flushing water and eliminate sewage and centralized sewage treatment plants. Decentralized sewage treatment plants having nature based solutions would be promoted

Wetlands provide several critical eco-system services. Yet the loss of wetlands to encroachments and reclamation continues unabated. The countries network of wetlands will be protected by :

o Strengthening the Wetland [Conservation and Management] Rules 2010 enhancing their applicability to all wetlands noted in National Wetland Atlas as required by Supreme Court ruling of February, 2017

o Wetlands not included in the National Wetland Atlas would also be given a legal protection

o A sub-continent sized country can have thousands of Ramsar sites. India has only 27. Work in identifying and notifying more sites would be expedited. Pragmatic management plans would be drawn up for these sites which would have Lake Management Authorities with overriding powers on the lines of Chilika Lake Development Authority.

v wetlands – aquifers sanctuaries– traditional water management openness of data wetlands

Groundwater meets a majority of irrigation and domestic consumption needs. India has the dubious distinction of being the largest user of groundwater in the world racing to exhaust its aquifers. Management and sustainability of aquifers and springs would now on be considered in conjunction with surface water as advised in the Mihir Shah report. Groundwater sanctuaries and good recharge zones would be protected from contrarian landuse especially in the course of urbanization and infrastructure development. The budget for groundwater monitoring and management would be stepped up

Agriculture Sector – here it is proposed to shift MSP support towards the lesser grains and millets which consume less water. Water saving technology and agronomic practices would be supported vigourously. The use of traditional seeds, crop diversity, organic inputs, improvement of exhausted soils, enhancement of pollinator diversity and populations, increased acreage under agro-forestry, elimination of chemical inputs would be thrust areas. Sikkim’s success in becoming 100% organic would be a bench mark for other states.

Wildlife – improvement of habitat and prey base in existing Protected Areas would be stressed. The growing man-animal conflict would have to be addressed even as humans and wildlife adapt to being at closer quarters. More protected areas and corridor connectivity would be given priority in the landscape as well as the urbanscape

urban areas would stress on more humane character with greater play of natural elements such as habitats, urban forests, urban agriculture, groundwater recharge, conservation of waterbodies, macro-water harvesting, larger percentage of area under green cover.

Tree Cover – current norms allow tree cutting by replacement with larger numbers of trees. In actual practice this encourages small canopy trees in order to meet the number requirement. This would be revised to replace the canopy cover lost by a greater extent of canopy cover. In Himalayas the tree cover would be densified to promote cooler temperatures especially close to the tree line

XVI. Achievement of Indian National Biodiversity Targets, SDGs, Aichi Targets would be biodiversity targets would be pushed vigourously. Towards this end ecologists would be attached to various decision making bodies on a regular basis such as in Ministries, Departments, Boards, PSUs, Planning Departments, District Planning Committees, urban development authorities, local bodies and panchayats

air emissions is already being addressed by a variety of techniques and technologies including promoting mass transport, NMVs, electrical vehicles. The Govt. would energize these efforts

If political parties could include the above statement of intentions in their manifestoes they would emerge as being truly sensitive to the well being of India.

 

The drawing of the Banyan tree currently showing in Sangeeta Gupta Prithvi fine art and cultural centre was drawn by Kate Bowen in response to the daily struggle of the Trees of Delhi to absorb the CO2 . There were many more drawings which were on display at the Gallery and all her work can be seen on the following link:

www.katebowen.co.uk.

Kate’s work is highly intricate with painstakingly drawn details of branches and leaves of each type of tree. While discussing her work with her, I confessed to her that, when I was posted in Khadakwasla, I had developed a relationship with a tree, and used to talk to it. She was in totally synergy with that idea. “Yes they are like living beings with feelings and emotions.” She said. A resident of Great Britain, she’s in India because of her husband’s posting. “How do you know so much about the local trees?” One asked

“Inspired by the immense varieties of trees and with The Trees of Delhi by Pradip Krishen as my guide, I have started a series of Tree studies drawn with squirrel brush in Indian Ink on Banana leaf paper”, explains Kate. The Banyan Tree is at Sanskriti Museums The Ficus Virens at Italian Institute of Culture and the Peelu and Firangipani are in the Sundar Nursery “I plan to develop some of the tree studies using the miniature painting technique with stone pigments. I am also now studying miniature painting with Banwari Lal Rajput. A very huge privilege and feel blessed to learn about this incredible tradition,” she adds.

We get so overwhelmed by the bad news being bombarded on us daily that we never see the equally overwhelming good news stories simmering quietly in the background. In fact we live in an age of scientific renaissance, but don’t realize it.

https://www.facebook.com/ScienceNaturePage/videos/2121347928195717/

Study on Water Management of the Indus River System
and its Implications for India’s Foreign Policy by Prof. Manohar Khushalani

Background

Two-thirds of India’s water resources potential come from only two river basins namely, the Indus and Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM). India occupies a unique position in this respect. There is abundance of Water and Hydro Power potential within the country and in its neighbouring states. The potential can be used both constructively as well as destructively.

India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Tibet, all share the Ganga- Brahmaputra- Meghna River basin. The Indus River Basin is shared by Tibet, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan

Pakistanis complain that numerous new Indian projects on the Jhelum and Chenab will create substantial live storage even in run-of-the-river hydel dams. This will empower India to reduce flows to Pakistan during the crucial sowing season, something that actually happened for a couple of days when the Baglihar reservoir was filled by India after dam completion. If as a result of better coordination between the two countries the dam had been filled up during monsoons it would have actually helped Pakistan . Understanding each other’s needs and constraints the key.

The average supply of water that reaches Pakistan is 104 million acre feet while the water that is consumed is 70 million acre feet. “The mismanagement in Pakistan was resulting in the loss of 34 million acre feet of water”, informed Mr. Qureshi when asked by Pak media as to whether Pakistan had taken up the issue, in Thimphu , of India trying to block the flow of rivers.

The total area of the Indus Basin, the area draining the, Himalayan water into the Arabian Sea, is about 365,000 square miles (934,000 sq.km), larger than Pakistan’s total area. The Indus River system consists mainly of the Indus River and its major eastern tributaries, the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej Rivers. A number of rivers join the Indus on its west side. The largest is Kabul with its main tributary, the Swat River

The Indus Water Treaty is well known. The Treaty gave India exclusive use of waters of the eastern rivers, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. Pakistan was given those of the western rivers – the Indus, Jehlum and Chenab. The division of the Indus river waters is a parallel of the partition of land between India and Pakistan.

Signed in 1960 by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the then Pakistan President Ayub Khan, the Indus Water Treaty was brokered by World Bank. It is an surprisingly over generous water-sharing treaty, and is the only pact in the world that compels the upper riparian state to defer unequally to the interests of the lower riparian state.

The treaty gives Pakistan control over the three so-called “western” rivers – that flow from Jammu and Kashmir before entering Pakistan. On the other hand, India gets to control the three eastern rivers – Ravi, Beas and Sutlej that flow from Punjab.

This so called parity in the number of rivers is, however, quite misleading. It was what would constitute a himalyan blunder. The three rivers that India gets to control have an awfully low volume of waters compared to the other three. In all, Pakistan gets a whopping 80 MAF of water every year which is a massive 84 per cent share of the total waters, while India gets to use only 16 per cent. (Source: Wikipedia)

However it contained provisions for India to establish run-of- the-river power projects with limited reservoir capacity and flow control needed for feasible power generation. Availing the provision, India established several run-of-the-river projects most of which were not objected to by Pakistan. However, in case of Baglihar and Kishan-Ganga projects, Pakistan claimed that some design parameters were more lax than needed for power generation and provided India with excessive ability to accelerate, decelerate or block flow of river. This, it was felt, may give India a strategic leverage in times of tension or war.

During 1999-2004 India and Pakistan held several rounds of talks on the design of projects, but could not reach an agreement. After failure of talks on January 18, 2005 Pakistan raised six objections and took up the matter with the World Bank, which was a broker and signatory of Indus Water Treaty. In April 2005 the World Bank determined Pakistani claim as a ‘Difference’, a classification between less serious ‘Question’ and more serious ‘Dispute’ and in May 2005 appointed Professor Raymond Lafitte, a Swiss civil engineer, to adjudicate the difference.

Lafitte declared his final verdict on February 12, 2007, in which he partially upheld some objections of Pakistan declaring that pondage capacity be reduced by 13.5%, height of dam structure be reduced by 1.5 meter and power intake tunnels be raised by 3 meters, thereby limiting some flow control capabilities of earlier design. However he rejected Pakistani objections on height and gated control of spillway declaring these were conforming to engineering norms of the day.
Both parties (India and Pakistan) have already agreed that they will abide by the final verdict. This peaceful settlement of the only major discord in nearly half a century is an even greater achievement, considering the fact that the two neighbors have gone to war thrice on other issues.

On the flip side, according to one estimate, the Kabul river accounts for 20 to 30 MAF of total annual flows, the main Indus 100 MAF and the Jhelum and Chenab 60, while the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej add another 40 MAF or so. Looking at it mathematically, India gave far more water to Pakistan than it got. Secondly China has built Senge-tsangpo hydropower station with cap of 6400 mw tributaries and upper reaches of Indus in the Ngari Prefuncture of Tibet, with no objections raised by Pakistan.

India has made large investments in water infrastructure, much of which brings water to previously water-scarce areas and some of it diverts water from flood prone areas. This has resulted in an economic shift, with once-arid areas or previously flood prone zones becoming the centers of economic growth, while the traditionally well-watered areas have seen comparatively sluggish growth. For the most part the results of this “hydraulic infrastructure platform” have been spectacular both nationally (through the production of food grains and electricity, for example) and regionally (where such projects have generated large direct and equally large indirect economic benefits). The poor have benefited hugely from such investments. The incidence of poverty in irrigated districts is one third of that in unirrigated districts .

The privatisation of Power has also contributed to this growth. The Mushrooming growth of large scale Hydro Power companies such as JP Hydro, Larsen and Toubro, GVK Power, Tata Power have contributed to greater availability of this clean source of power. Partial privatization of public sector companies such as NHPC and Power Grid Corporation has improved the climate for this source of power. Even the hitherto coal and gas based power generators such as NTPC have turned to Hydro Power. This augurs well for hydropower in India.

The first decade of the millennium has been marked by what has often been described as oil wars – confrontation over dwindling hydrocarbon fuel resources. Will the next decade be marked by confrontation over water and hydro energy, or will it be known for cooperation over sharing the natural resources?

How India manages its relations with its neighbours is going to be a key to the kind of economic progress it can make along its borders. Water is a key issue in its relationship with its neighbours. Even though it is a renewable resource it cannot be denied that fresh water is a dwindling resource. The key to India’s relationship with Pakistan, which have been largely conflict ridden, is a sharing of the waters of the Indus Basin, which could in fact be considered to be one of the success stories and perhaps an example for the rest of the world about how seemingly intractable bones of contention can be resolved through a rational and conciliatory approach.

Instead of going through the complications of assessing water requirement downstream of each of the rivers, a metaphorical knife was used to cut off and hand over three rivers to Pakistan and three to India. On the face of it, since all the six rivers of the Indus Basin run first through India and then go to Pakistan it seemed to be a brilliant stroke of statesmanship – an apparently visionary approach which made India willingly part with three of the six rivers even while it retained the right to draw power through run of the river schemes on those three rivers. Has the policy worked successfully only because India might have given more than it got? Out of the three bilateral issues, namely one in Baglihar, a conflict of interest arose which was resolved amicably. What about the other pending bones of contention namely the Tulbul Navigation Project and the 330MW Kishenganga Project? The negotiations stalled for long.
The unprecedented 2010 floods in Pakistan may have abated but the havoc caused by them have cast an unimaginable havoc on its economy. Conservative September estimates suggested that over 2000 persons had died and 21 million became refugees in their own country. Secondary damages to agricultural land and animal husbandry will take years to recoup. At one point about one-fifth of Pakistan’s total land area had gone under water. Flood waters had destroyed crops; an estimated 700,000 acres of cotton, 200,000 acres each of rice and sugar cane and 300,000 acres of wheat. This heavily impacted the agricultural economy which contributed 20.4% of Pakistan’s GDP in the earlier year. The cascading effect into industry and trade is has added to its economic woes.
Scientists have described this catastrophe as a once-in-a-century flood. Out of a Population of 168 million nearly 21 milion people have been affected by floods out of a total area of Pakistan of 796 095 square kilometers, the Flood-affected area is 160 000 square kilometers. In a country where already a large percentage of the population is living as refugees, an additional 1.85 million homes have been destroyed or damaged due to floods.
Pakistan is, thus at a fork in the road. It can either continue confrontationist policies which underlie present arrangements (or lack thereof) and face similar or perhaps bigger flood disasters in future, if anticipated climate change effects do materialise. Or it can chose to cooperate with countries in the Indus basin with a view to building an integrated system of storage dams, flood control installations and power generation stations which will help to modulate flows and avert floods, thereby benefitting Pakistan’s agriculture particularly its struggling farmers. The attendant hydropower potential is also huge and can be tapped for the energy-hungry Pakistani economy, as well as cross-border sales to India. The big question is whether the Pakistan’s rulers can change their confrontationist mindset to make this possible. If there was no deficit of trust India could have stored water even in the eastern rivers of the Indus basin to be used as a kind of buffer during floods. But, for that an integrated basin management is required, because the mighty rivers, follow their own course, they do not recognize man made political boundaries

For that a reality check is required in both the countries. A recent example of this was a very honest admission in 2010 by the former Pakistan Foreign Minister. While it is this kind of statesmanship and honesty that will help in getting a fresh look at this issue, on the other hand the sacking of the Pakistan’s Indus Commissioner, Syed Jamaat Ali Shah, who amongst other reasons was also discredited for making a similar pragmatic observation and the departure from Government of the pragmatic Shah Mehmood Qureshi, perhaps, indicates that moderates in Pakistan may not be able to mellow the debate.

There is a very good logic in understanding the socio-economic needs of the entire region namely Kashmir, Punjab in India and Pakistan, Pakhtoonkhwa, Sindh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Assessing the genuine needs of populace in the two countries and trying to involve a cross border management plan for the entire region could perhaps become a key to breaking down the borders between the two countries and expanding the scope of cooperation in the region. Is it possible to achieve the impossible? But this is what all dreams are made of.

Of late, Pakistani militants, for lack of issues which could build up anti India sentiment, have started to focus on the Water as a contentious issue. It is therefore important to bring down the rhetoric by using an objective approach.

It will research long term implications for Indus basin countries (India, Pakistan and Afghanistan) in terms of water availability (for agriculture and individual consumption), hydropower, downstream economic impact , and social, political & security effects under (a) the present dispensation and (b) an optimally integrated river management along the lines of the Tennessee Valley Authority .

 

 

Background

 

Sanitation is a key issue for women, consistent with their need for privacy, dignity, safety and self respect. Lack of basic sanitation and safe water significantly impacts the health and safety of women and leads to low enrollment and high drop out particularly for adolescent girls at puberty in schools. Menstruation, pregnancy, and postnatal recovery also become problematic if there are not adequate sanitation facilities to properly manage them.

 

The issue of poor sanitation and hygiene impacting women becomes even more critical when we look at the alarming status of sanitation facilities in the world. It has been estimated that 2.6 Billion worldwide out of which 1 billion women have no access to sanitation facilities. With around 60% of all open defecation in the world being in India and manual scavenging still prevalent in about 8 lakh insanitary latrines out of which around 5 lakh are in rural areas and around 3 lakh in urban areas alone as per census 2011 the sanitation scenario in India is rather poor.

 

Clearly we must pay greater heed to women’s voices in our development thinking, planning and action and give sanitation higher priority. There are many examples of the key role which women have played in bringing about better environmental awareness and health in different parts of the world. This issue is not of resources alone but of purposeful and genuine community participation and management in which the central role of women is recognized.

 

The importance of involving both women and men in the management of water and sanitation has been recognized at the global level, starting from the 1977 United Nations Water Conference at Mardel Plata, the International Drinking Water and Sanitation Decade (1981-90) and the International Conference on Water and the Environment in Dublin (January 1992), which explicitly recognizes the central role of women in the provision, management and safeguarding of water and sanitation. The close interlinkages between gender equality and women’s empowerment (goal 3), and target 10 on access to water and sanitation are illustrated in the table below:

MDG relevant targets	Ensure environmental sustainability (Goal 7 ) Halve by 215 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation (target 10)
	Contribution of domestic water supply and sanitation	Contribution of sound water resources management and development
Promote gender equality and empower  women ( Goal 3)	Reduced time, health and care –giving burdens from improved water services give women more time for productive endeavors, adult education, empowerment activities, leisure Convenient access to water and sanitation facilities increase privacy and reduce risk to women and girls of sexual harassment/assault while gathering water. Higher rates of child survival are a precursor to other demographic transition to lower fertility rates; having fewer children reduces women’s households responsibilities and increases their opportunities for personal development.	Community based organizations for water and sanitation management can improve social capital of women by giving them leadership and networking opportunities and building solidarity among them.

1. Source: Millennium Project Task Force on Water and Sanitation, Health, Dignity and Development: What will it take? Stockholm, Stockholm International Water Institute, 2005.

The sanitation challenge that rural India, with its large population size & different hydro-geological regions faces and traditional cultural practices in the area of sanitation is unique and unparalleled in the world. To address this challenge, for over a decade, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India has been running a Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC). TSC seeks to provide access to individual toilets to all rural households, toilet units in all Schools and Day care Centres “Anganwadis” and waste management to ensure clean environment in the villages. To give a fillip to the TSC, Government of India also launched the Nirmal Gram Puraskar (NGP) that sought to recognise the achievements and efforts made by Gram Panchayats in ensuring full sanitation coverage.

 

The TSC has been recently revamped as the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan(NBA), “Clean India Campaign”.    The NBA has key objectives as the acronym suggests- First it aims at making Gram Panchayats (GPs) “Nirmal” which means each and every individual in the village has a good quality toilet which is usable and sustainable, all people have access to water and each village has a self sustainable solid and liquid waste management system so as to ensure clean and healthy living environment. The second is that it sets time bound targets to ensure that “Bharat” becomes Nirmal which means that NBA entails creation of awareness and provision of sanitary facilities to entire communities in a phased, saturation mode with creation of ‘Nirmal Grams’ as outcomes. Under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan women have been given a central role in planning and implementing of the sanitation programme.

 

Role of women in Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan

 

The Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) gives a special focus to address the sanitation needs of women who play a key role in planning, implementation, monitoring of the programme. Women as change agents in the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) have had a tremendous impact in many Panchayats. They have been involved not only in mobilizing communities to create a demand for sanitation facilities but also actual construction of toilets and managing production centers and rural sanitary marts for provision of affordable sanitary ware.

 

Women as change agents for promoting sanitation

 

Women play a crucial role in taking up community mobilization and awareness generation in rural sanitation programme. The major themes have been women’s dignity, comfort, status, operation and maintenance, cost effectiveness, technological options etc. which are being used. Women as mothers can influence the practice of using sanitation facility among young girls and boys. The awareness building covers the entire community but is targeted more specifically at women since the absence of water and sanitation affects them more dramatically and more immediately. Sustained discussions compel women to examine the hardships in their lives and lead them to understand that most can be directly linked to the lack of access to convenient safe water sources, sanitation systems and hygiene. Once women become powerful stakeholders they are powerful advocates within the family to push for implementation of Water and sanitation (WATSAN) projects in the village.   IEC strategies need to be more gender sensitive keeping in view that women are less mobile and literate than men and use different communication strategies.

 

Recently a national communication strategy framework under NBA has been developed by Government of India in coordination with UNICEF giving emphasis on Inter Personal Communication (IPC) at the grassroots level. Women are envisaged to play a key role in rolling out this communication strategy at the grassroots.  In order to strengthen communication machinery at the village level with participatory social mobilization, guidelines for engagement of village level motivators (Swachchhata Doot / Sanitation Messengers) have been issued separately. As part of this strategy, in addition to Swachchhata Doots, field functionaries like Bharat Nirman Volunteers, ASHA, Anganwadi workers, School Teachers, majority of whom are women are being engaged at the village level for demand creation and taking up behaviour change communication. The motivator can be given suitable incentive from the funds earmarked for IEC.  The incentive will be performance based i.e. in terms of motivating the number of households and Schools/ Anganwadis to construct latrines and use them. Even in a patriarchal State like Haryana, an innovative IEC tool of taunting the male chauvinism that if they do not provide for a toilet how can their women be safe and healthy. Women also have formed Vigilance Committees to monitor sanitation promotion. Slogans like “No toilet No bride” has become the launching pad for the IEC campaign there.

 

Women sanitary complexes

To address the sanitation needs of women NBA has the provision of setting up Women’s Sanitary complexes comprising an appropriate number of toilet seats, bathing cubicals, washing platforms, wash basins in a place in the village acceptable to women and accessible to them. These Complexes apart from providing easy access to sanitation and bathing facilities but also provide spaces for women to discuss their problems and organize themselves to undertake several of their common issues.  The operation and maintenance of these facilities may be undertaken by Women’s Self Help groups/Village Panchayats. User families may be asked to contribute a reasonable monthly user charge for cleaning & maintenance. Maximum unit cost prescribed for a community sanitary complex under NBA is up to Rs.2 lakh. Tamil Nadu has pioneered in setting up Women’s Sanitary Complexes. However issues of operation and maintenance of these facilities has limited its expansion in other States where women’s SHG are not playing a key role

School sanitation and hygiene education (SSHE)

Considering the debilitating impacts of poor water and sanitation facilities on children’s health and learning ability, particularly for girls, SSHE component is an integral component of the NB A. The programme provides incentive of Rs. 35,000/- (Rs. 38,500 in case of hilly and difficult areas) for provision of child friendly toilets, urinals, handwashing facilities and health hygiene Education in all Government and Government aided schools. In this component separate toilet units for girls and boys are to be provided in all Co-educational schools, which are to be treated as two separate units. Under NBA 12,48,771 school toilets have been constructed out of which

The challenge now is to make SSHE component a gender sensitive programme, the key features of the which  are given below:

Gender Sensitive School Sanitation Programme

• A minimum package of water and sanitation facilities with appropriate , child friendly and gender – sensitive designs are available in all schools.
• Provision of separate toilet and urinal facilities for girls: Safe location and lock
• Appropriate location of toilets for girls to ensure security and access
• Adequate ratio of toilets and urinals with more facilities for girls to reduce waiting time
• Privacy and security: Every cubical with doors and latches, walls at least 6 feet high
• Education on use and maintenance of facilities in schools : students clubs /committees. All children , all ages , all groups , are actively involved in school sanitation and hygiene education and both boys and girls share the responsibility of maintenance
• Urinals with foot rests to support squatting
• Sanitary napkin vending machines
• Safe disposal of sanitary napkins by setting up incinerators
• Menstrual hygiene and health education programmes.

Role of Women’s Self Help Groups (SHG) – Sanitation for Education, Health and Economic Empowerment

Women Self Help Groups are at the fore front of NBA. They are not only involved in  construction of toilets as masons but also utilize group savings / bank linked finance as revolving fund for toilet construction. They act as a channel of communication at village level by becoming  behavior change leaders through education and motivation to other women and by living within community, generating demand for sanitation facilities through communication and peer pressure, organizing  discussions on sanitation related issues within their groups. SHGs operate Production Centres and Rural Sanitary Marts and provide both an alternative delivery mechanism for low cost, sustainable and easily available sanitary ware facilities in rural areas and create a sense of economic and social empowerment for the women. The sanitary napkin production units set up in some of the States of Tamil Nadu and Haryana not only address the special sanitation and health needs of women but also are providing employment. Recently NBA is being converged with the social development scheme of National Rural Livelihood Mission,  implemented by Ministry of Rural Development wherein SHGs are being involved in undertaking sanitation promotion activities.

The making of a Nirmal village by Womens SHG

A unique public- private- community partnership between the SSHE programme of the NBA undertaken by the Panchayati Raj Members and the State Government, Tamil Nadu, TVS Motors a local Corporate company and the dynamic youth, children, girls, women SHGs and village community of Thiruvidandai Panchayat and Nemmeli Village Panchayat of Kancheepuram District of Tamil Nadu. The Tiruvidenthai Sanitary Napkin Unit was set up as a joint venture Unit with tripartite investments from Shri Cheema Foundation the Corporate Social Responsibility of a local company- TVS Electronics with the Government of India and women SHG .  The unit was started with a twin objective of providing low cost high quality napkins to the rural women and adolescent girls in their vicinity itself and providing livelihood and income generation opportunities for women.  The basic training for the unit was provided by Ms. Nagalakshmi of the Mother Teresa Group while the support for setting up unit, managerial and production facilitation is by TVS electronics. The unit has also innovated in producing a variety of models ranging from beltless, belt model, maternity special wings model, baby diapers, adult diapers all made from simple locally available materials like cotton, cloth etc.

To make these napkins easily available in schools and enhance their usage an innovative concept of vending machines was developed and these were set up in secondary and higher secondary schools wherein girls can purchase napkins by dropping a two rupee coin in an automatic vending machine as easily as they purchase a toffee or a snack!  For safe disposal of the napkin a cost effective user friendly, simple manually operated technology of incinerators was developed and installed for composite waste disposal of sanitary waste in schools and women’s sanitary complexes. A comprehensive Menstrual Health Hygiene Education programme is also being undertaken in not only the schools of this village but several other villages of Tamil Nadu.

In just a year this innovative and successful women’s enterprise for addressing women’s sanitation needs and integrated menstrual health hygiene Education programme has not only transformed this small temple village of Tiruvidenthai into a women led Total sanitation Village “Nirmal Gram” but also become a role model for many other villages across several states in India to upscale SSHE programme for addressing the  women’s sanitation needs during menstruation  through public private partnership.  As Amrita, a young college girl who has been at the forefront of the programme since her school days sums up “ My dream is to become  doctor and to take care of the health of my village women . These simple sanitary napkins made by the self help group women has made me feel confident and helped many girls in my village to continue with their studies without being shy.   I wish that all girls in India are able to use these napkins and feel confident both socially and economically.”

Woman Panchayat leader leads sanitation movement

 

Women Panchayat leaders have played a significant role in giving impetus to the NBA primarily because they are the ones who are primarily  responsible for addressing the water and sanitation needs of their family specially the young children and understand both the problems and the practical solutions to providing safe sanitation in their home and village community.  Smt. Varalakshmi Vijayakumar the President of the Thirukalukundram Panchayat Union is one such dynamic woman leader of Tamil Nadu and who has made a lifelong commitment to make her village and Panchayat Union a role model of best sanitation technology and practices in the country.

The sanitation journey for this young 35 year old woman, a mother of 10 year old daughter started when she left the comforts of a larger town at the age of 22 to get married and come and settle down in this small and remote village of Periakattupakkam. The village had almost nonexistent sanitation facilities and most people were defecating in the open. Women specially pregnant and older people faced special difficulties when they had to go far away to the field in the darkness of the night or early morning to defecate.

 

Realizing that many of the funds for development of her village lie with the Panchayat she decided to stand for elections for the post of President and got elected for her commendable work with the community and specially women.

 

When the incentive scheme of Nirmal Gram Puruskar (Clean Village Award) was announced she took up the challenge of motivating and mobilizing all the women’s groups, village community members, elders, Principal, teachers, youth, Health workers, anganwadi workers and other Panchayat members to  take up the construction of toilets every individual households and Schools and Anganwadis. With door-to-door meetings and intensive and sustained awareness programmes on importance of toilet construction and use, within a short period of two years not only were all the households, Schools and Anganwadis were provided toilet but other environment friendly measures alike rain water harvesting, segregation of garbage, were also provided in the village. Another significant aspect was the huge amount of community contribution a total of Rs. 49,400 through individual contribution and Panchayat and SHG funds that was generated in construction of toilets Viz. Rs. 26400/ for household construction, Rs. 2000/ for schools and Rs. 1000 for anganwdis, Rs. 20,000 for Mini Power Pump.  Her Panchayat also initiated 10 Solid and liquid waste management initiatives and 3 liquid waste management projects. The village also has a Womens Sanitary Complex built with a Government grant of Rs. 2,40,000 the operation and maintenance of which is done by the Women’s Self Help group. Proudly displaying the Momento she received from the President of India last year in the awards function held in Delhi she says she has announced that apart from this rain water harvesting systems have been provided in houses and the village also segregates its waste into biodegradable and non-biodegradable.

 

Woman presidents like Varalakshmi have proved that as long when Panchayats specially led by aware and empowered women work with commitment and passion they can transform the NBA into a mass movement and lead India far ahead on its march toward a Open defecation and disease free country.

Women in solid and liquid waste management projects 

Women’s Self Help Groups have been actively involved in setting up Solid Liquid Waste Management initiatives in the village.  Under NBA upto 10% of the project cost can be utilized for meeting capital costs incurred under this component. The activities include construction of common compost pits, low cost drainage, soakage channels/pits , reuse of waste water system for collection , segregation and disposal of household garbage, Biogas generation  etc

Conclusion

 

I Building a gender sensitive sanitation policy and environment

 

• Any change in the appalling statistics of access to sanitation in India, particularly by the poor will depend on brining women in the Centre of planning and decision making. Women as managers of family health are the most important influence for change. Yet their voice is often suppressed and their role in planning and implementing sanitation programmes is thus by-passed. Efforts may be made to evolve policies that focus on women’s equal access to and full participation in decision-making at all levels. The Women leaders for Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) are championing the role of women in decision-making, capacity building, educating children on sanitation and hygiene, and mobilizing political will around other priorities such as the linkages between water, sanitation, hygiene and HIV/AIDS. These leaders constitute the critical mass needed to get gender integrated into water and sanitation policies and programmes.

 

• It is crucial, first, to involve both women and men in water resource management and sanitation policies and to ensure that the specific needs and concerns of women and men from all social groups are taken into account. Second, it is vitally important to determine what people (consumers of water and sanitation) want, what they can and will contribute and how they will participate in making decisions on the types and levels of service, location of facilities and operation and maintenance. For reaching this second goal, it is indispensable to analyse a given target group from a gender perspective. Only then can efforts be truly effective and sustainable.

 

• As highlighted above some of the key components under NBA have specific and focused components for involvement of women and in the planning, and implementation of the sanitation programme. However the policy and implementation framework currently does not have a specific and detailed guidelines for including the gender perspective. A focus on gender differences is of particular importance with regard to sanitation initiatives, and gender-balanced approaches should be encouraged in plans and structures for implementation. Some of the simple measures that may be included are detailed guidelines on providing schools with water and gender sensitive latrines, and promoting hygiene education particularly menstrual hygiene in the classroom, design and the location of latrines to be decided by women close to home may reduce violence against women. Desegregated data on gender with respect to sanitation facilities also needs to be developed.

 

II Capacity development

 

• Building capacity means bringing together more resources, more people (both women and men) and more skills. Yet, when looking closely at capacity building in water supply and sanitation in developing countries, it becomes clear that most of the training is aimed at water resources and water supply specialists. Very few programmes and projects are aimed at expertise in social development, sanitation, or hygiene education that emphasizes a gradual scaling down to those responsible for operation and maintenance of water supply and sanitation, who are primarily women. Targeting women for training and capacity building is critical to the sustainability of water and sanitation initiatives, particularly in technical and managerial roles to ensure their presence in the decision-making process.

 

• NBA has revamped the communication and human resource development strategy. Several new institutions like Key Resource Centres, State Resource Centres, Block Resource Centres are being engaged to provide training of Village Water Sanitation Committee (VWSC) and Panchayati Raj Institutions(PRIs) members, block and district functionaries and grass root workers.

 

• The crucial aspect now is to build in a gender perspective in these institutions both in terms of number and level of participation of women in decision making positions of these institutions and developing a gender focused training programmes for specific targets groups.

 

• Capacity building may be undertaken at the level of policy makers, among institutions, local communities and women. These would include development of gender sensitive tools for the national sanitation programmes, generate gender disaggregated data, gender analysis, gender sensitive indicators, gender budget initiatives and training. Capacity building programmes may be designed for Women Panchayat leaders, SHG members, Women’s groups, NGOs, and other stakeholders in the areas of policy making, sustainable sanitation technologies, management and financial skills, monitoring and evaluation.

 

III Participation and equity in decision-making

 

Women are under-represented in the ‘water and sanitation world’, with careers and training in water and sanitation management dominated by men. Many women are leading efforts in their communities to gain access to adequate sanitation. The recent increase in the number of women appointed as water and environment ministers is an exciting trend which may provide an impetus to gender and water programmes. In late-2005, there were 40 women ministers of water or environment, representing every region and level of development in the world.  As women get involved in the technical operations and management of water and sanitation services, they are increasingly seen as skilled workers capable of achieving high levels of training and expertise. Along with increased status, many women find themselves in a position to generate income as either a direct or indirect effect of improved sanitation. The International Water and Sanitation Centre studied 88 water and sanitation projects in 15 countries and found that

projects designed to run with the full participation of women are more effective and sustainable than those that are not. (2)

 

The service delivery institutions implementing various component of NBA must have equal if not more representation of women. The State Water and Sanitation Mission(SWSM),  State Water and Sanitation Committees(SWSC), District Water and Sanitation committees, (DWSC) and importantly the cutting edge at the grassroots level the Village Health  Water and Sanitation and Nutrition Committees. (VHWSNC) must have reservation for women who can play a very active role in giving focus on the gender perspective of the policy.

 

In many cases, showing that water  and sanitation projects work better when women are involved has a greater impact on mobilizing finance for gender-biased projects than showing that access to water has an impact on gender equality. A study by the International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) of community water and sanitation projects in 88 communities in 15 countries found that projects designed and run with the full participation of women are more sustainable and effective than those that do not. This supports an earlier World Bank study that found that women’s participation was strongly associated with water and sanitation project effectiveness.

 

1. Resource mobilization

 

• Considering the limited external financial assistance for sanitation Governments will have to continue to be primarily responsible for raising and using public funds for sanitation infrastructure needs. Formal and informal women’s organizations and networks can play important and stimulating roles in mobilizing resources for sustainable and equitable sanitation projects. The Women’s Self Help Groups in Tamil Nadu and Kudumbshree in the southern State of Kerela, in India are vibrant and self sufficient women’s institutions which are mobilizing financial, and technical resources for not only sanitation promotion but al so linking this with women’s empowerment.  While their potential contributions are considerable, women in developing countries often lack access to tools such as computers and Internet to disseminate their ideas and apply for funds. Instructing women in project management and fund raising may empower them to launch new projects and to contribute to poverty alleviation independently. Ensuring that women are heard and are able to lead a sanitation movement will require institutionalizing women’s’ role and authority by identifying agents of change within communities. The experience on the ground (such as the Self Groups now operating in Tamil Nadu that offer experience that can be taken to scale, provided the capacity – building supports are made available to women leaders.

 

• Prioritizing women’s need will also mean changing the top-down models rather than a range of models that can respond to a variety of demands, requirement and financial capacities. Dignity , privacy and the importance of spaces for bathing and washing are all demand elements that need to be utilized . Technology and financial backups for a menu of options are therefore essential. Women’s knowledge and perspective must be central while drawing on local knowledge in choosing technologies that are suitable from both an environmental and cultural perspective. It is also important to training women in the new technologies like Ecosantiation, Solid Liquid Waste Management use of Non Conventional Energy sources in sanitation.

 

• Entrepreneurship opportunities to women’s Groups – Engagement and training of women and their federations to provide sanitation products and services are growing not just in numbers but is system of management and accountability. There are many business opportunities coming up in sanitation programmes like vermin composting and solid waste management, construction of public and school latrines, management of public latrines, production of sanitary napkins, managing Rural Sanitary Marts and production units.

 

 

1. Convergence of programmes that work through women.

 

Most of the development programmes work through institutions and organizations and trained women volunteers. If these are converged at appropriate manner and level resources would not be wasted and impact would be greater. The coordinated approach from such functional units would help avoid duplication, greater value for investments. Public Private Partnership and Networking with Resource institutions and external support agencies like UNICEF, World Bank NABARD is crucial in the context. Recently NBA is being converged with the social development scheme of National Rural Livelihood Mission, implemented by Ministry of Rural Development wherein SHGs are being involved in undertaking sanitation promotion activities. Under NBA funds and technical support is being leveraged through convergence initiatives with the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and ‘Kishori Shakti Yojana’ (Women’s Empowerment Scheme) implemented by  Ministry of Women and Child Development, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, (Education for All),

 

Way Forward -Building a gender sensitive Policy Framework

 

To ensure that the gender perspective is successfully incorporated into the global and national sanitation agenda, it is essential to advocate for the direct involvement of both women and men at all levels: national governments; regional/local governments; communities and civil society organizations; donors; and international organizations.

National Governments

• Mobilize resources to improve access to safe water and sanitation
• Strengthen legislation
• Promote access to sanitation
• Develop capacity and encourage participation

Regional/Local Governments

• Encourage gender mainstreaming in local Government and community levels including indicating gender sensitive budgets;
• Promote hygiene education messages through women’s groups, schools and health clinics;
• Design and implement capacity building to consider the needs of women and men in the design of
• Sanitation and hygiene education programmes;

 Communities and Civil Society

• Lobby for better services targeted towards women and children;
• Assist in collecting information on men and women’s roles, access, needs, priorities and perspective on sanitation issues;
• Support equality for women in decision-making process at a local level;
• Enable women and girls to acquire access to information, training and resources related to sanitation initiatives.

Donors and International Organizations

• Engage women leaders, to serve as role models in the effort to mainstream gender into sanitation management at all levels;
• Promote gender mainstreaming in water and sanitation through linking with MDG 3: ‘Promote gender and empower women’.
• Compile and disseminate examples of good practices and develop norms and guidelines for gender mainstreaming;
• Invest in the capacity building of the sanitation sector, with emphasis on empowering disadvantaged women and men;

 

Urvashi Prasad,   is a former Consultant, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

 

A HOMAGE  TO  KIMATRAI BAHARMAL KHUSHALANI

 Bringing to you the Late Shri Kimatrai Baharmal  Khushalani’s  essay UTILITY OF HONESTY IN TRADE. Priced two annas, published in 1936, this essay was awarded a Gold Medal  based on an All India competition held in 1934. Readers will find that the essay is as relevant today as it was then. We begin with a foreword which was published along with the essay – Editor

A  Foreword  by
S. G.  Sastry Esq.,  B. A.t  M. Sc.  (Lond),  F. C. S.,
Director of Industries  and  Commerce  in  Mysore.
THE DHARMA  SAMAJA
BANGALORE   CITY., 1936.
Price: Annas 2
[All Rights  Reserved.]

FOREWORD

I welcome the opportunity afforded to me by. the Secretary of the Dharma Samaja, Chickpet, Bangalore City, to write a foreword to the Prize Essay on the subject of “Utility of Honesty in Trade”  by Mr. K. B. Khushalani. BE

The Dharma Samaja is being conducted by an enthusiastic group of young men who feel that there is an ever growing need for conducting trade and commerce of the country in the true and ancient spirit of the “Vanik Dharma.” This harkening back to the old traditions and ideals is a good sign amongst the youth of the country and should be welcomed and encouraged in all ways

Owing to changes in the political and economic conditions of the people, traditional and time-honoured ways of carrying on trade and commerce of the country  have   undergone many changes, alas, for the worse.

Now-a-days the spirit of fair-play in commercial transactions is lacking. The mutual trust that ought to exist between the buyer and seller is absent. As of old, the buyer and seller make offers and counter-offers but in many instances bargaining degenerates into cheating. Either the buyer or the seller always tries to take a mean advantage over the other. Once upon a time, the motto of commercial transactions used to be ‘ Good value for money – This is no longer the rule.

One often finds in transactions between two countries especially if one of them is more advanced than the other the former country exploits the ignorance and helplessness of the latter country to the utmost and charges unconscionably high rates for goods supplied. Importers of machinery and other equipment in India know this too well.

One of the most regrettable forms that this cheating has assumed is the adulteration of goods offered for sale. I do not state that this is peculiar to India only but so long as it does exist in this country, it must be taken note of and attempts made to eradicate the evil. Once upon a time this evil was rampant in all our staple exports to foreign countries but it is gradually on the decline owing to legislation in some cases, owing to the realisation on the part of the exporters that it does not pay to adulterate commodities, and also owing to inferior position allotted to such commodities in International markets along side with similar commodities from other countries. There is also an increasing moral pressure being exercised by those who believe in a fair deal.

But nearer home, in all our markets – small or great – the evil of adulteration of foodstuffs is on the increase. This is nothing short of a criminal practice and ought to be put down ruthlessly by legal and other methods. Whereas the mixing of cotton with woollen goods or cotton with silk goods or mixing silk and Rayon and pass off the articles as real 100 per cent woollen, real 100 per cent silk, etc. may not have such consequences, the adulteration of foodstuffs  strikes  at

the  health  of the community itself.  Whatever may  have been the genesis of this situation, so long as it exists it is high time that the Government took early steps to put down the evil-   It  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate  cases  of  such adulteration as every householder will  be able  to prepare a long list.

One special field in which adulteration becomes a positive sin should be mentioned. This relates to drugs and medicines. Anybody who is inclined to go through the Drug Enquiry Committee Report will find ample recorded evidence of so called medicines sold in the markets not being medicines at all. It is regrettable that scientists have abused their knowledge in some instances and are committing the unforgivable sin of tampering with and adulterating medicines which are meant to alleviate human distress and save human lives. Such deceit could be, to some extent, controlled by drastic legislation but that cannot be expected to prevent fraud in trade for ever as man-made laws cannot be fool proof. But even here, unfortunately, India is lagging behind the other countries which have enacted stringent legislative measures to punish such people by award of deterrent sentences. Unscrupulous foreign merchants knowing full well that their crime goes undetected in India for lack of laboratories and further goes unpunished for lack of legislation in the matter have been running “amock” as it were, in Indian markets and label all sorts of fraudulent preparations as potent medicines which not only do not cure the disease but impoverish the poor and ignorant public.

The best security against such practices is a high sense of morality among the manufacturers and traders themselves. If “Honesty as a faith” does not appeal to one and all, at least “Honesty as a policy” ought to be the guiding factor in all our economic transactions. The Trade Guilds of our country and the Graff and Merchant Guilds of mediaeval Europe exercised a powerful influence on their members dealings and one would wish for the revival of this “Guild’ Spirit” through the modern trade organisations. Enlightened public opinion based on a high sense of morality is the best guarantee for the protection of the public against commercial frauds. The members of the Dharma Samaja have in this direction a rich field for effective and enduring social service.

I do not want the foreword to be longer than the text itself and I should draw a line at this point. I wish the Dharma Samaja and all the enthusiastic workers connected with it every luck and success in their endeavours. Their work is not easy but they must carry on with a missionary spirit and try their level best to see that the trade and commerce of the country are carried on in the true spirit of ancient “Vanik Dharma“.

S. G. SASTRY,
Director Of Industries And Commerce In Mysore.
Bangalore, (21st September 1956)          

UTILITY OF HONESTY IN TRADE
HONESTY THE BEDROCK OF SUCCESS
An award winning essay by K.B. Khushalani

1. Honesty, more natural than dishonesty

The fundamental principles of Human Existence are Truth and Honesty, for, everybody is more honest than dishonest; the   greatest liar utters more truths than lies. This is part of the general fact that there is more goodness in the World than badness or Evil, though occasionally we find appalling crimes, which are rather aberrations or freaks and do not proceed from the intrinsic nature of the World. In fact, a perfect liar is really a ‘ truthful man”, for, we can then always. say that truth must be other than what he speaks. By a liar we mean an occasional liar, and he is really a dangerous man. So is it in the case of Honesty- By a dishonest man we al­ways understand one who is occasionally dishonest. Thus honesty is more natural than dishonesty, and that is why it betrays its nature from beneath the darkest cloaks, and we can’t once suspect that the man is dishonest. It is exactly because of the same reason that crimes are detected, for, every hap­pening leaves its traces, and, try as we may, we will not be able to hide them. Again that which is natural is beneficial, for it works in a graceful manner; and honesty, when allowed its free play, works wonders, specially in the long run. In trade; one has to depend on the good-will of many, and honesty is the best means to the end. Honesty should be practised in all walks of life; it is a strength and a support in all matters of routine; it has all advantages and only one apparent dis­advantage, that sometimes one feels that there is loss, but really that  is temporary and   in   many cases only apparent.

There are often trials and, when one successfully stands them, he comes out nobler and brighter. Every trouble means a fur­ther rise, and the greater the opposition it offers in surmounting, the better are its results. The fruit is simply delayed, but never denied, and if and when withheld longer, it is paid with in­terest. One has only to be patient and watching; he should muster up courage and should never be disheartened. All obstacles are meant for training; they are cleverly designed and intentionally set, each for its purpose, and each variant in design, and different in colour to suit the particular case. All this is for Honesty generally; in trade, its results are direct, cheap and comparatively earlier than elsewhere.

2. Trade differentiated from other occupations as regards honesty.

Trade is different from other occupations, in that its, adherent is independent. It is his merit alone that counts; he is the master of the situation, controlled only by market rates. It is a profession peculiar in it­self. In spite of the trader’s dealings with many people of different temperaments, for whose pleasure and custom he has to strive constantly which he can do better by honesty rather than by dishonesty, he can remain independent and can main­tain his self-respect fully well. Of course, there are some people always and everywhere, who can never be pleased by any means, honest or dishonest. As they are few and far between, they should never be bothered about, and it is always preferable to ignore their custom rather than hanker after them.

 

3. Businessman   should fulfill   his part of   duty

The relationship of the customer and the merchant is one in which are involved  the interests of   both.   The  former wants   supply of good articles  at a reasonable price,   while the latter is after the custom  of the former; and the maintenance of the tie depends upon both   the reasonableness of the one and the honesty   of the   other.    The   businessman, who   wants to establish himself well, should fulfil his   duty and the customer will automatically do his.    Granting that men are   unreasona­ble,  yet it in no  way   pays   the   dealer to   be   dishonest with them, though  we   should   consider the   average   buyer who is seldom unreasonable in his demands.    In case a purchaser ex­pects too much concession,   it should be explained to him for an amicable deal, as few would grudge the fair profits of a dealer. It is only when a dealer   sets   his   prices unreasonably   high that he does not like to explain his   position.    Explaining the position is not disposing   trade   secrets, which   are as dear to  any  one else, and principles of honesty  do not their  revelition.    The   position of the buyer is slightly superiot to that of the   seller in the respect   that the choice of choosing his suppliers is in his hands; and this is a further rea­son for the seller to   adapt his behaviour in accordance with the likes and dislikes of the buyer.    None will or can say that any purchaser ever wants his supplier to be dishonest to him. From the time he enters the   shop or   negotiates by   corres­pondence, his pleasure   is to be considered   supreme, and it is the duty of the dealer to see that   he gives no   cause for any suspicion.    But, as the face is the index to the mind, he can­not successfully do it unless he practises honesty.   Customers are free birds, they cannot be tied down to one shop unless-there is something to attract them, and the best that the-owner of the shop can offer is his sincerity.

4. Dishonest tricks practised by the Seller and their detrimental effects.

The kind of honesty  expected  from   the trader is :—

                     (i) Honesty in talk

(a) While recommending his articles to his customer he should neither exaggerate their qualities, nor assign to them any­more qualities than they possess, and

(b)    He should   not at   the   same time,   speak low of others’ articles,  but   should restrict  himself only to praising his own.

                     (ii) Honesty in rate

He should keep his rates fixed   once and for all.    The tendency to snatch   as much from the other party as possible is counterproductive and creates suspicion in the mind of the customer

A prudent businessman should avoid flexible rates, he should  see that the rates are in fair  level with the market price. Of course no two traders can keep the rates of all articles the same; it is just like saying, that no two watches tally exactly, and if they do at all, they cannot continue to do so for long; yet as much of standardization as can possibly be attained should be aimed at.

                       (iii) Honesty in samples.

Dishonesty- in this   can   be of   two kinds. Some dealers show samples from the best lot, they want to sell but quote prices   for   the    inferior  articles;   others choose as their sample  the best of the  lot they want to  sell,

but the sample does not represent the average of the stock. Both practices are decidedly not good and should be discouraged; it is only a question of  degree as between them, the former being worse, and the latter bad.

                       (iv) Honesty in Supply

(a)     It is a practice   with   many   dealers   to   show one article as a sample and supply   another an inferior one. Some of them maintain great differences in the qualities and some keep less. The former are ruled out at the first stroke by the purchaser in his choice and they seldom continue as traders for long, whereas the latter carry on, but cut no good figure. Thus, the latter class of people exist for exigencies only.

{ b ) Some of the dealers again put in a few bad things in the lot; they either take undue advantage of the purchaser’s weakness, or think that he would not take the trouble of returning the articles. If at all he does try to return, they reserve to themselves the choice of accepting them, and, in almost all cases, refuse to take back. This audacious abuse of confidence is very bad and detrimental to the interests of the dealer.

 

The kind of honesty  expected  from   the trader is :—

5. Honesty in maintaining books

 

It is a habit with many merchants to maintain duplicate books, vouchers, bills etc. Duplicate books vouchers are maintained to cheat either the Income Tax Authorities or debtors and creditors, the debtors when they are illiterate and the creditors at the time of insolvency; whereas duplicate bills are shown to customers as a proof of quoted cost prices. These’ bills are prepared either by the merchant or his supplier who-is requested to show higher prices than actual. Another trick is sometimes played, the supplier being asked to show true prices but not the commission on the bill. This is justified by some people on the ground that commission is meant solely and entirely for the trader, and the purchaser has no-business with it. But in the true sense of the word it can be justified only when the trader plainly tells his customer that he receives a certain commission, the extent of which he cannot disclose. -The act of cheating the Income Tax Department puts Government to heavy loss, which is usually counteracted by revision of rates by Government, and the burden is. borne ultimately by these who do not, or by both. Besides, if once caught, they are heavily penalised.

The fact of anybody declaring himself insolvent, after setting aside certain properties for himself and having prepared false books for submission to Court, never remains a secret. and is often proved in the Courts of Law. In those cases, however, where sufficient evidence is not available to pin the dishonesty, there is a definite judgment against him in the business world, where each individual weighs his action the balance and finds himself wanting. Such a man  loses the confidence of the mercantile class, and everybody tries to keep him at a distance and hesitates to deal with him.

6. Honesty in general not covered by the above five cases

All these practices are bad; they are enumerated in the order of increasing importance and should be avoided by every businessman who .wants to expand his business. The traders who practise them are shortsighted, for they look to the immediate and not to the

 permanent gain. They do not understand that it is not a day’s business. If the public are  prejudiced against any dealer, the prejudice lasts for years, and may stand as a permanent  and indelible stain against his firm even though he be dead, and his posterity have to drudge heavily to wipe it off.

Remember: Dishonesty is detected always

All malpractices, deceitful tricks and other acts of dishonesty are bound to come to light some time; some are known on the very day and others later on. If one has praised his article too much and given it fictitious qualities, the truth will be known after use, when it will not stand the test. Dishonesty in the quality of materials, in samples, and in quantity is known the very moment the goods are received by the purchaser. One can

Befool one at all times

Or all at one time

But not all at all times.

Now-a-days the World has advanced considerably. Scientists are after speed; and are  providing all kinds of facilities with the result that the entire world is connected by Telegraph, Telephone and Wireless systems. Telepathy, and Television are abstract subjects no more. Every merchant worth the name keeps a Telephone instrument in his office, and market prices are being communicated to him every moment; therefore the chances of a big dealer’s cheating and being cheated in rates are remote. Besides, the present age is the age of specialization, and everybody knows the ins and outs of his field. He keeps up a thorough acquaintance with the rates and other information connected with  the commodities he deals in, and seldom allows himself to be cheated, if at all, and much  less by the same man twice. People do not hesitate to form opinions from a single instance, and that is what is being done. They do not want even to wait and defer judgment until a repetition occurs. If even from a distance they smell dishonesty, they would cut off their connection at once.

6. Efficacy of Low Profits

Every dealer should believe in low charges, ie. less profit and more custom (small profits and quick returns) and never in high profit which is bound to result in the long run in less custom – But whatever be his rates, they should be uniform, and then only can he be said to be honest.

7. Dealer should not play in quality

No dealer should play with quality; neither in toto nor in part, as the opposite party, failing to understand the dishonest intentions of the sender, forms an opinion, wrong though, that the general quality of his entire stock is bad.  This is detrimental to the reputation also of the manufacturer, who should see that no bad stuff leaves his factory. All the inferior output- should be forthwith sorted out and sold definitely at a low rate, not to the big merchants, but to the retail sellers. Better still would it be if each factory should create one or more shops, according to need, for the  purpose of selling such stuff under its direct guidance, so as to reduce the chances of  marring-its reputation-

8. In regard to the purchaser, the following are the acts
           of dishonesty performed by him.

(i)       If he sends for goods from two people dealing in the    same commodity, and perchance gets bad stuff from one who refuses to take it back, he tries to dump it on the other. This is a mean practice and is simply taking advantage of somebody’s goodness and reliance. In case the fact becomes known to him through the concerned supplier, as it generally happens, he is pained  at the trick of his customer, which naturally deters him from affording such facilities thereafter.

  (ii)      In the process of bargaining with a dealer he may falsely state that he is getting the same stuff cheaper, or better stuff at the same price from some other dealer, in order to compel him to reduce his rates. It is evident that the same trick cannot be repeated, and that it breaks the faith of his supplier.

(iii)    When the sample shown to him is really good, he generally disapproves of it or approves of it after higgle haggle, this is unfair. If he does not want to praise the article lest he should hear a high bid from him, he should keep silent. Such lies, like many other ones, can be avoided without any disadvantage, and, when one does not do so, he simply burdens his conscience for no gain.

9. Do as you wish to be done by.

Every trader is a purchaser and a seller at the same time, and should observe honesty in both the capacities. Unless he is an honest seller, he cannot be an honest buyer and vice versa. He should always keep in mind the maxim ‘Do as you wish to be done by ‘. This will guide him in both the lines, and when he feels that he has satisfied himself accord­ing to this test in both the ways, then only can he be called a successfully honest trader.

10. Quick rectification of bonafide mistakes increase confidence.

The trader should be honest in his accounts; if he has perchance committed a mistake in dispatching goods or preparing a bill,he should ,immediately he comes to know of it, correct it without waiting for its being   pointed out by   the other party.    Similarly, if   he   receives   any article   extra   or discovers a mistake in   account to   his   advantage,   he should forthwith point it out to his supplier.   Again, if perchance and through mistake, i.e. he has unintentionally charged some one higher rates, he should communicate the fact to that customer and credit the balance to his account or be prepared   to remit in   cash.       All    these    acts,    and    specially   the     last,   in­crease the   confidence   of his    supplier and   purchaser,   who-repay his goodness by advertising him among others.    This-evidently   brings him greater profit than he   would   otherwise have realized, for, in many cases, if he does not himself point it out , the other party does it, and claims the balance as a right..

11. The manufacturer and the consumer

There are two more classes of people who have dealings in trade, but are not traders. A trader necessarily is one who purchases certain goods and sells them at a profit. He is the middle man between the manufacturer and the con­sumer, the two classes of people under consideration. Both these have one sided dealings, the one sells and the other only purchases, and, because of their restricted dealings, they are not so tactful as the trader

The manufacturing class includes the artisan who prepares articles with his own hands on a small scale.  He is generally poor, and his business, like that of the manufacturer, depends upon the quality of the manu­factured articles.   He can retain his customers only if he continues using good raw materials and producing good stuff.

12. Psychology of the consumer

The consumer is a purchaser on a very small scale, but because of his existence in large numbers, he is the most important member of the trading circle, and, because every article has ultimately to go to him, his pleasure, and, choice is considered supreme. Both the manufacturer and the trader try to adopt their policy according to his taste. He purchases articles for his or his friends’ and relatives’ use. He wants good stuff and at a reasonable price; he frequents only those places where both these conditions are satisfied; and thus he always prefers an honest shopkeeper. He is reliant and will continue attending the same as long as nothing happens to break his faith which, if once broken, requires a very great effort to restore.  To make new customers, they say, is difficult, but to retain them is still more difficult.

Thus perpetual honesty is required to attract new customers and to retain old ones. Carelessness in this matter never pays the dealer, but will rather harm him. One may give away anything of one’s own accord or on demand, but never when he knows he is being cheated; he then feels much pain and many are actuated to revenge, when they know that they have been cheated. Further the consumer likes to make purchases from such shops as maintain fixed rates, for he is not a trader and naturally not so well versed in the line. Therefore be may not know the current prices of articles, especially of those that he occa­sionally requires. In a fixed-rate-shop he may have to pay a slightly higher price, but he feels sure that lie will not be cheated for a big sum, which is generally the case in shops where no uniform rates are charged, and where the shop-keeper tries to snatch as much as he can from the customer, the more so when he gets the clue that he has no definite knowledge of prices of the article.

The shopkeepers are usually clever enough to understand this at once from the manner of his enquiring. From what has been said above, it is absolutely clear that the shopkeeper can cheat the same man only once. A dishonest dealer can make successful business, when he gets every day new faces to deceive, and has to deal daily with different men not known to one another and not expected to meet one Another; or, if at all they meet’ they should not speak about the purchases made by them on that day or any of the previous days, so that everybody else remains in the dark and never knows about the dishonesty of the man unless he gets a chance to be cheated himself. This however, is an utterly impossible condition to realize. Or dishonesty may pay, where people are suppressed due to pres­sure of one’s superiority or where heads are corrupt; but such conditions do not exist in the business world, and where they exist, they never last long.

13. Honesty the best of all Qualities of a trader

As in other fields it is hard work and intelligence that establish a recruit, so in trade it is Honesty that can establish him. Cheerful temperament, a tendency to accommodate the customer in his choice and demand, agreeable manners, respect for the customer, self-respect and, last but not least. honesty in dealing are some of the qualities required for successful business, and, among them all, honesty stands Supreme, and makes up for all the deficiencies and defects of the trader. One needs to realize how difficult it would be if all people were dishonest; one could not then move an inch. One cannot then trust anyone with anything even for a  moment, nor can he pay him anything in advance.

14. False fears due to lack of self-confidence & experience

There is a general cry that the time for honesty is over, and that it is not valued now-a-days. There may be a grain of truth in the .statement, which amounts but to an acknowledgement of the struggle between honesty and dishonesty, or between truth and untruth which appears eternal, though. victory in the long run is never in doubt for honesty and truth. Under no case can dishonesty over-power honesty. Our fears against honesty are often merely theoretical, un- grounded, baseless and false. Our troubles are either; imaginary, self-created or self-invited. None of them that grumble against honesty has ever practised it, and never has he tasted the sweetness arising from it. His opinion is the opinion of others, who in turn cannot claim it as their own. Thus an idea, emanating from a few unworthy individuals, is passed on by several lips to several ears and obtains a strong grip over a large majority. A votary of dishonesty, when asked to state if he has put in serious efforts to follow up his trade by honesty or given a fair trial to it would certainly answer in the negative. People adopt the easiest course, they would like to go by the shortest route, they want to be rich in a day, and that is why they adopt dishonest means. The path of the honest dealer is weary in the beginning but joyful in the end, troublesome at the outset but easy in the long run, and tedious at the start but sure in due course. It is, of course, certain that he who starts his business on the lines of honest dealing will meet with opposition, but he should stand it bravely and every difficulty will melt away in due course leaving the way-clear for him. Generally every one who starts a new business meets with certain difficulties and obstacles: the success in the enterprise depends on the grit and tact of the actor. It is said that an honest man is offered more difficulties, but we should not at the same time forget that he has behind him, as an outcome of his honesty, a greater force to support him. This force is sure to succeed. The honest dealer may take long to establish, but when once established none can dislodge him. His success is lasting; the customers secured by him are permanent, and his profits regular, sure and more definite.

15. Honesty promotes, dishonesty impedes all business

Never can anyone lose in business because of his honesty, and when such a report is received, one can take it for certain that there must be some other defect or defects in the organization, and that were it not for honesty, the concerned party would have incurred greater loss and at a much -earlier date than otherwise, for, as said above, that which takes long to establish takes long to dwindle. Honesty in fact makes up for many defects in staff, in management, in organization and individual abilities; it protects from grave fears. Weak administration, careless management, deficient organization, expenditure disproportionate to income incurred for unnecessary show, squandering of money by responsible persons connected with the concern, improper investment, defective accounts and dishonesty on the part of some one or other are the salient causes of failures of business, heavy losses and bankruptcy. A majority of failures occuring in petty concerns are due to defective accounts, but a still higher proportion of failures in both petty and big concerns can be attributed to dishonesty. Dishonesty is a termite, a canker, a pest that can eat up the very tissue of any undertaking, retard its growth and finally destroy it in toto. It needs to be guarded against from the beginning to the end

 

16. Dishonesty – its effects on the employees

Dishonesty of the master induces the servant to be dishonest: it becomes a vicious circle ever widening itself by absorbing freshmen every day, and like an infectious disease catching hold of every one coming in contact- Every act of cheating by the employer produces a reflex effect on the employee, who, by his intimate contact with the former, is enamoured of the alluring gains easily got by the cut-short methods, and is tempted to adopt them for his personal benefit. He has none else to rob except his master; and he starts with double vengeance to make up for the time ‘uselessly passed in honesty’, he feels least for his master whose profession is cheating; and he knows that he has his share in the earnings of his master, which he wants to have over and above his pay as a reward; for sharing his sins and consequent smothering of his own conscience. The poor employer is doubly affected: his tricks-being sufficiently known by this time, his customers have started leaving him, and he finds his business on the wane on one hand, and on the other he is being robbed at home. He realizes his folly too late, or he may not realize it at all throughout his life. The vice invented by him has caught and entangled him. Similarly many partnerships have been ruined by dishonesty, If the same trader had put in all his efforts to prosper by honest means, he would surely have done better.

17. Causes of Occasional Thriving of Dishonest Men and Losing of Honest Men

 We have often seen a dishonest man thriving and honest man   losing.    We then   get   perplexed.  But let it be clear, that under such circumstances the dishonest man flourishes for his ability and skill and never for his dishonesty, while the honest man loses not for his professing honesty but for his incapacity, inefficiency and general weakness. If the former were to adopt honesty, in addition to his other qualities, he would thrive still more, and if the latter takes to dishonesty he would fall further. For fair comparison, either the same man or two equally competent men, or say nearly equal in qualities, should be made to start similar business under similar circumstances, but by different means, honest and dishonest, and it needs no prophet to say that honesty will bring betterprofits. Unfortunately the capable men are not. guided and trained in the honest methods with the result that they adopt the unnatural ones – which by its usage has become natural and easy or so-called easy course while weaklings who are really unfit to adopt any method, adhere to honesty for fear of being exposed, caught, or sent to gaol.

18. Honesty in Trade compared with Honesty outside

There is a vast difference in professing honesty in trade and elsewhere.  In trade it is easy. without complications, never harmful but always beneficial, whereas when followed outside trade, it invites opposition, entails trouble and requires greater nerve on the part of its adherent to stick to it. Though, even in the latter case, it is bound to lead to pros­perity, it may be a little later than expected. In trade it is in the interests of all those who have dealings with one another that everybody should be honest. Those who practise dishonesty do it for their sole personal gain which they wrongly think results from dishonesty. But, outside trade, there are certain spheres in which those having dealings with each other want one or the other party to be dishonest for their own personal and selfish benefit, and because of their pressure, some people are led into dishonesty. In trade it is entirely different, for, all the customers without a single exception will undoubtedly be pleased by their supplier’s honesty.

19. Extent of probable saving to the business world from wholesale honesty

To realize the utility of honesty it will be worth while to consider, what an amount of misery would be saved to the World, if dishonest men were removed from it. Of course, it is an Utopian idea, but is taken up here simply for argument’s sake. All auditing would then be unnecessary; accountants may remain, but auditors as a class would cease to exist. All watch and pro­tection against theft would be unnecessary. The World is spending millions merely and solely on watchmen and guards. Every individual has to adopt means to protect his property, and this too would be unnecessary. Dishonest men are a drag on the world, they are a drag on individuals and a drag on the merchant class as a whole.

20. Honesty the best policy

It is said that honesty is the best policy, and no­where is the significance of the saying so fully realized as in trade The Proverb is very expressive and important in the respect that it treats with the material side of honesty and lays no stress on its moral aspect. The enunciator of the proverb has made honesty stand on the merits of its use­fulness, and states it as a profitable policy, and all that has hitherto been stated is simply in expounding this maxim. Besides, all great men have emphasised its usefulness and they cannot all be wrong.

21.Scope of Honesty in moulding the future

Viewing things broadly we cannot help coming to the conclusion that our World is connected-with other lokas or worlds and that lives do not terminate here.  Each individual leads an eternal life of which the present one is but one out of many phases; its length or duration is but a tiny part of the Infinite whole. This is the scientific view of life and is not only accepted but propagated by great Scientists like Sir Oliver Lodge, the late President of the Royal Society of Science. That being so, it is but a logical conclusion that our actions will not only bear fruit here, but will mould our career in future births and effect our economic life there, as is the present moulded by the past Thus, even with a view to improve our future business career, we are required to be honest.

 

22. Honesty enhances social status and expands business

A dishonest man is held very low in the esteem of the society, and intimately connected as human beings are, we cannot for a moment disregard its opinion. Society can set aside any individual, it can non-co-operate with or do away with any undesirable fellow, but an individual cannot do so even though he may not like a particular society. Has not everybody seen the effect of social pressure in bringing round and moulding the worst type of people? Individuals have to submit to the social will, even though it be wrong; much more so, when it is right.  An honest man, who has established himself in the opinion of the public by his honest methods, finds himself safe in the hands of society, and his customers increase day by day. Every man attending his shop will bring a few more. Every trader has to depend upon the goodwill of his class and the general public, for the very word ‘trade’ means free transaction in commodities for mutual benefit. Thus honesty raises social status, which in turn expands one’s circle of acquaintance and increases his business.

23. National reputation affected by dishonesty

As individuals have to care for public opinion, for gaining which they put forth the most strenuous enorts that sometimes cost them their lives, so do nations have to care for and establish international reputation. Observance of honesty in international trade dealings is one of the most efficacious methods for maintaining such a reputation. A few fraudulent merchants are a blot on the nation ; they not only spoil their own case but prejudice all those who have dealings with them against the entire trading community of the nation they belong to. Besides, they create wrong impressions and false notions about their people, which, apart from affecting the international reputation of the country, gives a definite set-back to its trade with the consequent loss of revenue to Government and income to the people.  It is beyond the scope of this essay to suggest the methods necessary to be devised to guard against such dangerous people, but it will be sufficient to state here that all possible means should beadopted to prevent successfully any kind of dishonest tricks with outside merchants, and specially the habit of cheating in quantity or quality.

24. We should extend our vision to other classes of trading circles

The merchant or the shop-keeper spoken of so far is but typical of the business world. From wholesale dealers to the hawkers and pedlars, there are all grades and sorts included in this class. We have to think not only of him but extend our vision so as to include all business men from frequenters of stock exchanges to agents, brokers, touts, contractors and canvassers of every description, and from big hawkers on to the village ryot^[1] who is also seller and buyer.

 

25. Divine punishment^[1]

Folk stories about honesty and its benefits are told in every language. Poets and prose writers have eulogized on the one hand its charming effects and, on the other, censured dishonesty. The average man believes in them, but forgets them when the time for action comes. Nature adopts its usual methods and reminds him by some punishment; she has no power of speech, but has greater power to act, and so she teaches man by action and never by words. Every one of us must have heard of several cases of sudden fires, thefts, earthquakes and such other heavy calamities to individuals or classes or locali­ties. Sometimes one fails to unearth the cause, but often it is so apparent, manifest and definite that none can ever mistake it, and it is from such instances alone that men understand. Dishonesty, like all other bad qualities, brings its results and the punishment is as sure as Death. Man may for the time being rob others, and amass many treasures by thousands of tricks and dishonest methods, but nature snatches them with one stroke in a moment, exposing him and his acts mercilessly. The reason that honest dealers are also sometimes subject to such calamities deprives in no way honesty of its beneficial blessings, for it may be that they may have been penalized for some other crime of theirs, belonging to the past. It may also be that the punishment has been lightened, because of his professing honesty. lt should then be taken as. an admonition.

26. Religious injunction

Besides, there are commandments in every religion prohibiting cheating of others. Honesty talked of by all. religious books is really speaking honesty in trade, for all dealings in money and goods come under trade and we will not be far wrong in saying that general honesty means honesty in trade.

Summary

In a few words, honesty establishes business, helps in maintaining and expanding it; it leads to prosperity and peace of mind, enhances social status, international reputation and is sure in its effects though seemingly slow

THE END