Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and his views on Education and freedom

Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee was born on July 6, 1901 in Kolkata, the capital of British India.  A 1^st class graduate of English securing the first position in class he completed his Master degree in 1923 and Law degree in 1924. Dr Mukherjee, a brilliant student of English language and literature, took up his M.A degree in Bengali at the insistence of his father Sir Asutosh Mookerjee, who had been struggling to give Indian vernaculars including Bengali, their rightful place in the University curricula, for which there was no respectful place in the British period. He was elected fellow of the Senate Calcutta University at the age of 23. Subsequently, he left England in 1926 to study at Lincoln's Inn and became a barrister in 1927. At the age of 33, Mukherjee became the youngest Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta, and held the office till 1938.  He was the President, Post- graduate Councils in Arts and Science for successive years and also the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Member and then Chairman, Inter-University Board.

During the four years of his service as the Vice-Chancellor, he did not spare time, energy, health, convenience or anything worth having in life; which stood in the way of his duty, against the advice of his doctors. He initiated new departments and courses and developed and improved existing ones. His was a leader in true respect an had the highest regards for the Indian culture and its education system as was reflected by his speech delivered at Patna University Convocation on 27th November 1937.

       In his words, “In India also, for century, education imparted through the medium of a foreign language has unduly dominated its academic life and it has now produced a class of men who are unconsciously so denationalised that any far reaching proposal for the recognition of the Indian languages as the vehicle of teaching and examination up to the highest University stage is either ridiculed as impossible or branded as reactionary. But I plead earnestly for the acceptance of this fundamental principle not on account of any blind adherence to things that I claim as my own but out of a firm conviction that the fullest development of the mind of a learner is possible only by this natural approach and also that by this process alone can there be a great revival of the glory and richness of the Indian languages.”

Bihar is the epic center of all great nationalist movements in India. Democracy, Freedom and its values were understood and defined here from times immemorial.  Licchavis ruling from their Capital at Vaishali (Bihar) was the oldest democracy of the world and was a federation of democratic republics.  Anga, Magadha and Licchavis were the democracies existed in the state of Bihar. Mahatama Gandhi started his revolution of Freedom by holding his first satyagrah movements in Chauparan in Bihar. To restore democratic values and democracy in India, Jai Prakash Narayan started his  Sampurna Kranti revolution from Patna. True to the spirit and teachings of this great land when Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee visited this great land the thinking of  divine soul’s and the blessing of the land,  converted into words and that was delivered  in form of  his speech.

            “Freedom consists not only in the absence of restraint but also in the presence of opportunity. Liberty is not a single and simple conception. It has four elements – national, political, personal and economic. The man who is fully free is one who lives in a country which is independent; in a state which is democratic; in a society where laws are equal and restrictions at a minimum; in an economic system in which national interests are protected and the citizen has the scope of secure livelihood, an assured comfort and full opportunity to rise by merit.  This freedom, so truly and courageously defined, is not ours today and until this condition is reached, India will never achieve true greatness or happiness, based on the glorious features of her past civilisation.”

इसका मेरे द्वारा  किया गया हिंदी अनुवाद यहां वर्णित है :-

स्वतंत्रता केवल संयम के अभाव में ही नहीं बल्कि अवसर की उपलब्धता में भी निहित है। स्वतंत्रता कोई एकल और सरल अवधारणा नहीं है। इसके चार तत्व हैं - राष्ट्रीय, राजनीतिक, व्यक्तिगत और आर्थिक। वह व्यक्ति पूरी तरह से स्वतंत्र है जो एक ऐसे देश में रहता है जो स्वतंत्र है; एक ऐसे राज्य में जो लोकतांत्रिक है; ऐसे समाज में जहां कानून समान हों और कम से कम प्रतिबंध हों; एक ऐसी आर्थिक व्यवस्था में जिसमें राष्ट्रीय हितों की रक्षा हो और नागरिक के पास सुरक्षित आजीविका, एक सुनिश्चित सरल व्यवस्था जहां योग्यता के आधार पर उन्नति का पूरा अवसर मिले। यह स्वतंत्रता, जो सही मायने में यहां साहसपूर्वक परिभाषित है , आज हमारी नहीं है और जब तक यह स्थिति नहीं हो जाती, भारत अपनी पौराणिक गौरवशाली सभ्यता  पर आधारित अपनी भव्यता  या सौभाग्य कभी हासिल नहीं कर पाएगा।

Hindu society from the earliest times considered the education of its members as one of its primary obligation; this indeed was a system on which society was based. This system was known as Varnasama Dharma, meaning thereby life being regulated by different classes (Varanas) and stages (Ashrams). The disciples had his physical birth at home of his natural parents but his spiritual birth at the place of his preceptor, where he accepted brahmachaya, with strict discipline of life, regulation about diet, dress, study, social service and religious practices. The view of the education as a process of ones’ inner growth and self-fulfillment evolved its own technique, its rules, method and practices. It recognised that the making of man was primarily the training of mind as the instrument of acquiring knowledge so as to increase its intrinsic potency and creative capacity. As per Manu Shamriti a disciples gets rebirth only thought Sansakar (which is performed after attaining education and knowledge) and then attains the heights and place of his life.

Indian people have got their Political independence on 15^th August 1947, but other freedom as economical, personal, social and national still elude them. Over 70 Crores people in India have an average income of less than Rs. 20 per day. World Bank's latest estimate on global poverty states had 456 million people or about 42% of the population living below the new international poverty line of $1.25 per day. The number of Indian poor also constitutes 33% of the global poor, which is pegged at 1.4 billion people.  India is home to roughly one-third of all poor people in the world. The gap between common man and Capitalist’s has widened. In the list of top 50 capitalist of the world there are as many as 7 Indian’s. According to the World Wealth Report recently released by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, while most countries in the world have increased their High Net-Worth Individuals Count, India has more than doubled it – maximum compared to any other country in the world. India has more black money than rest of the world combined. India tops the list for black money in the entire world with almost $1,456 billion in Swiss banks, followed by Russia $470 billion, the UK $390 billion, Ukraine $100 billion and China, with $96 billion. Indian Swiss bank account assets are worth 13 times the country’s national debt. Most of this money has been stashed away in banks in ‘tax havens' abroad over the last 60 years by corrupt  politicians, industrialists, bureaucrats and middle-men. If the estimates of Rs 70 lakh Crore of Indian black money parked abroad are brought back, this can give economic freedom to the people and can surely lift the 40 crore Indians living below poverty line out of poverty, or it can fund entire infrastructure building for the next 15-20 years. It can also educate all Indian children for next 50 years. Personal, social and national freedom still eludes the people of India. The recent police atrocity on Baba Ramdev and his disciples in Delhi and the treatment received by the Government to Anna Hazare and Civic Society members has clearly revealed the same and too much is desired in this direction.
The writer is Executive Member to BJP’s National Trade Cell N.Delhi                                                           

Corruption In India

India tops the list for black money in the entire world.While there is no official estimate available for the magnitude of India's black money, unofficial estimates put the figure at around $1.4 trillion (over Rs 70 lakh crore). This amount is more than one year's GDP of India. Most of this money has been stashed away in banks in ‘tax havens' abroad over the last 60 years by corrupt  politicians, industrialists, bureaucrats and middle-men.

The bulk of India's black money is stashed away in secret bank accounts in Switzerland, according to data provided by the Swiss Bankers Association. India has more black money than rest of the world combined. India tops the list with almost $1,456 billion in Swiss banks, followed by Russia $470 billion, the UK $390 billion, Ukraine $100 billion and China, with $96 billion. Indian Swiss bank account assets are worth 13 times the country’s national debt.

               India is ranked 6th on the black money top ten countdown for illicit outflows monitored during 2002-2006. The estimated average amount stashed away annually from India during 2002-2006 is $27.3 billion US dollars. Switzerland is the top destination for illegal funds because of its strict secrecy laws. Also, Swiss banks sell additional masks to hide the identity of their rich clients, like trusts in the Cayman islands, shell companies in Panama, or foundations in Liechtenstein, all run by nominees

    Political and bureaucratic corruptions in India are major concerns. Transparency International, an international organisation that ranks countries on a Corruption Perception Index (CPI), ranked India 86th out of the 180 countries ranked by it in 2009. The CPI rates countries on a scale of zero to 10, with zero indicating high levels of corruption and 10, low. India's CPI score was a measly 3.4 out of 10, indicating fairly large levels of corruption. A 2005 study conducted by the organisation found that more than 15% of Indians had first-hand experience of paying bribes or influence peddling to successfully complete jobs in public office. Taxes and bribes are a fact of daily life and common between state borders. Transparency International estimates that truckers pay US$5 billion in bribes annually. According to Transparency International, judicial corruption in India is attributable to factors such as "delays in the disposal of cases, shortage of judges and complex procedures, all of which are exacerbated by a preponderance of new laws".

A 2009 survey of the leading economies of Asia, revealed Indian bureaucracy to be not just least efficient out of Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, Philippines and Indonesia; further it was also found that working with India's civil servants was a "slow and painful" process.

 Independent reports have recently calculated India's traditionally ruling family's (Gandhi's) financial net worth to be anywhere between $9.41 billion (Rs 42,345 crore) to $18.66 billion (Rs 83,900 crore), most of it in the form of illegal monies. Harvard scholar Yevgenia Albats cited KGB correspondence about payments to Rajiv Gandhi and his family, which had been arranged by Viktor Chebrikov, which shows that KGB chief Viktor Chebrikov sought in writing an "authorization to make payments in US dollars to the family members of Rajiv Gandhi, namely Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Paola Maino, mother of Sonia Gandhi" from the CPSU in December 1985.  In November 1991 the respected Swiss magazine, Schweitzer Illustrate, published a report alleging that Rajiv Gandhi had 2.5 billion Swiss francs, equivalent roughly to two billion US dollars, in numbered Swiss bank accounts.  Dr. Yevgenia Albats a Soviet journalist who officially investigated the KGB when the communist regime was still in control. She was also a member of the official KGB Commission set up by President Yeltsin in 1991. She had full access to secret files of the KGB. She authored a book, The State within a State: KGB and Its Hold on Russia. In 1989, she had received the Golden Pen Award, the highest journalism honor in the then-Soviet Union. After translating official KGB documents Dr. Albats disclosed in her book that KGB chief Victor Chebrikov in December 1985 had sought in writing from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), "authorization to make payments in US dollars to the family members of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, namely Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Ms Paola Maino, mother of Sonia Gandhi." CPSU payments were authorized by a resolution, CPSU/CC/No 11228/3 dated 20/12/1985; and endorsed by the USSR Council of Ministers in Directive No 2633/Rs dated 20/12/1985. These payments had been coming since 1971, as payments received by Sonia Gandhi's family and "have been audited in CPSU/CC resolution No 11187/22 OP dated 10/12/1984.' In 1992 the media confronted the Russian government with the Albats disclosure. The Russian government confirmed the veracity of the disclosure and defended it as necessary for 'Soviet ideological interest'. The Hindu of July 4, 1992 carried this report.

            The black money that was stashed away abroad in the 1970s and 1980s by money laundering has now multiplied manifold due to rupee depreciation and the interest earned on such funds. Now the same black money is being round-tripped for investment in India by some quarters, through FDI by shell companies, investment in the stock market through participatory notes (PNs), etc. Participatory notes are instruments issued by FIIs to investors whose identity is not revealed even to SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India). However, this is only a small part of the black money stored abroad, that is flowing back to India, mostly through Mauritius. Mauritius is the single biggest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India - amounting to $534 million in 2002-03 (about one-third of all FDI). But that is not all. Mauritius-based foreign institutional investors (FII) are also believed to be major players in the Indian bourses. FII investment in Indian stock markets between April and October 2003 year amounted to almost $5 billion - almost ten times what they invested in the whole of the financial year 2003-003. Indeed, they are believed to be the ones leading the boom in the stock markets. But the Mauritius angle does not end there. Reports in the financial media indicate that a substantial part of FII investment is believed to be coming from Non-resident Indians (NRIs) bringing back funds to participate in the ongoing speculative trade in the Indian stock markets, much of which is said to be routed through Mauritius-based paper companies. Black money stashed by Indian abroad has found way in India through this route. The Capital Gains Tax exemption giving to this Tax Haven has given the national  exchequer on account of lost capital gains tax in the last decade would amount to a whopping Rs.28,139 crores. Even if it is an admitted policy of the state to woo foreign capital at any cost, the question is whether losses of this kind are acceptable to the polity at large.

 In a most recent example of corruption, even as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probes US$8 billion worth transactions allegedly involving suspected money launderer Hasan Ali Khan, evidence available with a news source in India shows that he had transactions of over 12,000 crore (US$24.86 billion)between years 2005 and 2006. This amount is enough to fund the national drinking water project in all the six lakh (600,000) villages in India for the next 10 years. Even as the Hasan Ali case has hit the headlines and the Enforcement Directorate claims that India's biggest tax offender has as much as eight billion dollars stashed away abroad, he is only one of the big tax offenders and this stash is only a part of the huge illicit outflow from India. Documents seized by ED reveal that Hasan Ali transferred $700,000 from Sarasin Bank, Switzerland to the account of S K Financial services UK maintained with Barclays Bank, London through Citibank, N.Y.

If the estimates of Rs 70 lakh crore of Indian black money parked abroad are brought back this money can surely lift the 40 crore Indians living below poverty line out of poverty, or it can fund entire infrastructure building for the next 15-20 years. It can also educate all Indian children for next 50 years.

Published in Organiser weekly 

the RSS mouth piece magazine on 14 August 2011 

BY V.K.Singh Executive Member to BJP National Trade Cell, Prabhari  Assam 

www.bing.comwww.yahoo.com

Mauritius as a tax haven

This is How The Stock Exchange Boom of India was Manipulated



Mauritius as a tax haven