By Ayaan Khan

The inability of the Maoists to strike and disrupt the election process in the state has given a reason for the police to believe that the endgame of the naxalites is near, irrespective of which party or coalition comes to power in Andhra Pradesh. “The number of Maoists in the state is now down to 400. Even though they want everybody to believe that they are lying low and will strike at an opportune time, such a possibility is becoming remote,” an analyst said. “Occasional strikes in Vizag, Khammam and East Godavari are no cause for worry,” he added.

The police claim that it was a combination of political and tactical strategy that shut out the naxals from striking during the elections. Since the breakdown of talks with the naxals in August 2005, the ruling Congress did not show any sign of relenting its pressure on the naxalites.

But what really turned the tide against the naxals was the ambush on the police party in Balimela on Andhra-Orissa border in June last year in which 30 Greyhounds had lost their lives. Even before this incident, rural youth was weaned away from joining the Maoists by the lure of education, training and employment. It is claimed that the police too were restrained from wholesale harassment and torture of those villagers who were not involved in the movement directly.

But the hardcore naxals were not spared, and in a series of combing operations, men were flushed out, forcing the others to either flee the state or abandon the movement altogether. This multi-pronged policy paid good dividends with the majority of the districts particularly in Telangana and Rayalaseema reporting negligible number of Maoist-related violence.

Against this background, if the Congress retains power or forms the next government seeking support from some smaller political parties, it would ensure that the process it has consolidated against the Maoists should reach a logical conclusion of finishing off the movement.

The TDP too has been at the receiving end of Maoist violence with their president N Chandrababu Naidu having a close shave in 2003. Therefore, indications are that if the TDP emerges as a strong partner of the Grand Alliance and forms the government, it would continue with the policy pursued by the Congress and finish off the Maoists from the state soil. But if the Mahakutami partner TRS, which is known for its sympathetic disposition towards the naxalites, emerges stronger within the alliance, the TDP might not have such a free rein.

As against the Congress and Mahakutami, the newly emerging political force in the form of Prajarajyam Party demonstrated its softness towards the Maoists. It allowed many former extremists into its fold and is said to be maintaining good relations with several front organizations of the movement. Sensing the mood in the PRP, the Maoists wanted it to tie-up with the TRS so that they get a party in power that would allow them recover their lost ground. But somehow, this did not happen. Now in the post-election scenario, as predicted by many surveys, PRP on its own would not be in a position to form the next government. The chances are that in a hung assembly, the new party might go with the Congress in forming the government. In that case it would not be able to influence a change in the Maoist polity.

By Samiya Anwar

Like education, private health care has also become a purely commercial activity. As private hospitals were typically founded by physicians and were profit-making enterprises. They are privately funded by medical services through patients in the form of payments are preying patients for profits.

After independence, it is said that 15% of the people used to go to the private sector, and now the World Bank has found that 80% of the people go to the private sector and not to the public sector. Amazingly, the private hospitals have shown tremendous success because of more environmentally sound and responsible compared to public hospitals who works dysfunctional and develops with a low pace. In a government hospital, for a blood test to determine if our condition is serious enough to be warded, we have to wait for hours, and then join a queue of hundreds waiting in line for dispensation of medicine and wait up for months to have further treatment. That is why it is observed that there are 70% of the patients who are very satisfied in private hospital. There are only 30% who are dissatisfied. And those 30 % are the poor and middle class masses who have either less or no money to spend on medical care.

Cost of medical spun higher
In the last few decades there has been a huge development in technology. Earlier there was great difficulty in diagnosing diseases. But not today, now we are able to treat most of the diseases, diagnose them very fast because of the diagnostic facilities available only because of advancement in technology. Therefore, when it comes to technology, the cost also has gone up tremendously, and this is one of the reasons put the light on most of the private hospitals charging too much. Moreover these days we have more of investigative facilities like ultrasound, CT scan, MRI and angiography, diagnoses have become easy but costly.

The bottom line of every private hospital is profit. They have no intention to treat those who cannot afford to pay. They feel that the government should bear the responsibility for health care of ordinary folks who cannot afford or are unwilling to pay (for instance, poor people if on death bed do not get a deceased’s body until a certain amount is paid by the family. The patients suffer, the family too is endured. The phrases “No money, no treatment and “No money, no body” are commonly heard in the hospitals. How could one diagnose an ailment that requires sophisticated medical equipment is the question? For detection of disease and scan when there is a need to undergo expensive machines and equipments the private hospitals covers that amount from the payments of patients. It is obvious, if the costly equipments are used into any operation the charge of surgery is likely to be highly expensive in lakhs.

Preying on patients
For just a talk with the doctors in clinics they take not less than Rs. 50. And if there are symptoms of fever and cold, number of tablets were given and alarm the patient to come for thrice in a week. The patients are not treated in a day or two for small illness. The doctors drag the patients with their words. People fall for their prey and keep going to doctors especially the patients of diabetes and high BP.

It is well-known. It is not surprising that private hospitals make money through many ways. It is not just with the fees of patients, the more income is from those who are admitted for prolonged illness say (surgeries). The non-surgical patients don’t make profit to the hospitals. The surgical patients say diagnosing for cancer requires long procedures, testing and medication. The hospital is likely to receive more money in the ailments of such patients suffering from life threatening diseases.

Vanita, complained of head pain and dizziness to the family members and rushed to hospital suddenly. She was admitted in a local private hospital in Hyderabad where she had undergone every test which they are aware and unaware of. But when the family had no money for further investigation of doctors she was moved to CARE Hospitals, Nampally where it was said that she is perfectly fine. It was just a prolong headache due to stroke. The doctors made money only for the pain the head due to the heat of summer.

Also another cash receiving road is insurance. If the people don’t have enough money right at the surgery period, the insurance companies pay the bills. The people are more impelled by the insurance companies as life is surprising. In times of hardship the insurance plays pivotal role. It is something that “a third party” does payments on your behalf. And in the case if patients stay for a shorter period of time generate more money for the hospital. Because, the insurance companies offer rewards for the hospitals that have shorter stay times for their patients which makes the hospital discharge the patient quickly. If the person has done insurance the hospitals has to go with the guidelines provided by the company. The length of time of patient’s stay counts for diagnosis in the hospital. Yet many people join the private hospitals to make money.

Although, Association of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes (APHNH) on Tuesday 5th denied recent media reports saying that the Private hospitals defaulted blood money and making large profits over selling of blood.

The allegation that the private hospitals earn large amount of money by selling blood for Rs 50,000 a pint which they receive free is unfounded. Despite the fact that the NBTS obtains blood free of charge from the public they charge the Private Hospitals for group matching, various laboratory tests, processing and for the blood bag depending on the blood product issued and these charges vary approximately from Rs.575/- for a normal unit of blood to Rs.18000/- for a pack of platelets prepared by apheresis process.

The statement that Private Hospitals sell blood which is given free by the NBTS was proved totally incorrect and misleading as Private Hospitals incur expenses to send their staff once to place the order, then again to collect, provide facilities for safe transportation, storage and transfusion by competent staff. Private Hospitals has to recover these costs from the patient depending on the blood product used .and certainly not Rs.50, 000/-for a pint of fresh blood as quoted.

Nevertheless ness it would be wrong to say that doctors make only profit out of patients. Yes they do prey. But for specific reasons;

- have to pay high rentals for clinics
- have to show budget in form of bills to authorities
- have to make a healthy profit for running their hospital successfully

However, it cannot be denied that the doctors in private hospitals work for profit; it is witnessed several times that the doctors in private clinics make rounds at different clinics for the sake of profits. For them, money matters most than the health of the patients as it is hard to pay attention because of the shuffle of timings at different locations. . They are unlike government doctors who work in rural and remote areas selflessly. The doctors take advantage of patients for their own goal in private hospitals really.

By Samiya Anwar

To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power.

A guardian angel gifted by god, one who takes care of everything from tree to pod, who taught speech when we could hardly speak with syrup of affection and love, she taught what life is. Her scolding, her chide, contained with love she could barely hide. In failure her faith makes us strong, she cannot be replaced, she is full of grace. She is next to God, really. She is the most precious gift given to us. She is mother.

With mother’s day (Sunday May 10th) right around the corner, there are billions of people wondering how to make it special because this is the day to celebrate, to show love and appreciation to mothers. It is not a festival but occasion, an opportunity to do something, something for the one who is reason of our smile, for our lives. She not only carries us in womb for nine months, but loves unconditionally. There is no limit to her love. Nothing there is in the world that gives you joy of mothers love, the grace of mothers care and a world in mother’s eyes.

What special thing can you give her? She is special indeed. Mothers have a special capacity to love and to give of themselves. They never expects, they only knows “to give” whether it is just a small hug or their precious time, they always gives off everything. Isn’t so? Yes. They are special and only the mothers have that special skill of making things special in life. They turn a sad day into happy. Our holidays and birthdays are made more memorable because of the things they plan and do. They know just the right presents to buy for us. They know how to make us happy. They add their touch of love to everything they do. So it is really hard for any child to give something in return to mothers who don’t expect anything. It is in their very nature. Still we want to show some appreciation in the form a gift to the most loving person on our lives. There is no better way to show mom that you care than giving her a memorable gift that she will cherish forever, we all think. Right!

And most of the countries have already started feeling the air of this special occasion. Billions of people are excited. But I am not. They must be thinking to buy a gift, to take mother on shopping, etc, not me. It is not that I am cutting down expenses with recession hit round the globe; I just want “to appreciate”, “to talk” and I wish “to spend time” with her. But I don’t really have it. In a quarter months I would fly to Australia living her behind in India. It is fortune and I have to be away from her. So it’s ok, I am not just happy for this event, I am sad too because it’s going to be my last Mothers Day with her celebrating in the family I am really gonna miss her and don’t really know how will I be leaving without her. Only a few hours with Mom is all it takes to make her feel loved and special. She will love it.

So don’t think of money or budget. Stop pondering what mom should I take for mom? What she will really like it? Is this good for her? She I take her to this place or that? Will this be she liking? Enough, you can give her something without purchase. Something which has in no shop, give her “your time”.

What you can do on Mother’s Day?

- Pray for your mother (if dead or alive, it is important)
- Surprise her with your visit (if not staying together)
- Send her an e-card or wall-paper of flowers (it doesn’t cost you)
- Switch of your cell-phones and shun all appointments with friends and colleagues
- Talk to your mother about your lives, dreams and goals
- Let the mother speak her mind
- Watch a favorite movie together or read a book (she will like it)
- Cook her favorite food instead of taking her outside (she will love it)
- Clean the house, help her in work.

These are the few ideas which moms will love and you don’t have to spend anything on expensive gifts from the markets. Money spent on your mother cannot replace time spent with her. At this time of economic slowdown, if you gift something pricy say chic cell phone, an electronic device, a diamond or gold jewelry, mothers aren’t gonna like it. They will never want there children to spend huge amounts on gifts. Mothers knows your financial bills, your use of credit cards, etc. “Mothers Day depresses me when I see my children spend money on gifts that I know they really can’t afford” said Asiya mother of two children who loves to gift mom on the day special. But if I am not wrong nobody will really put forgo to the thought of not celebrating it or not doing something different for their mothers including myself.

So all the more, it will be nice if you could spend some time with them – something they don’t “expect from their children now-a-days. Like Sheela Dixit, who didn’t see her son for last years when went US soon after studies and settled down there? Forget about the celebration, he doesn’t even greet his mothers on festivals. It is disappointing but true. The one gripe many moms share is that their kids don’t spend enough time with them.

For some “Mothers Day” is a big event, and for others it is morose, the children who lost their mothers at different ages of life miss them the most. It really touches me when my mother misses her mother (my grand mother) on seeing a movie of daughter-mother relationship or may be because the mother’s affection is in no other relation. Her love is countless and meaningful. Nobody can take her place. Her deep parental kindness in bringing us up and the hardships she has gone through will never be repaid as they are priceless. Her love is endless and indescribable!

Yet, what counts is you’re thought not any gift. If we spend few hours with our mother on this mother’s day it would the best thing we could give. The perfect idea of making a mom happy is “time with her”. Appreciate her and make her feel special. She needs our attention and love like we need hers. Happy Mothers Day all!

By M H Ahssan

Ace Director Geetha Krishna, known for making some of the meaningful and trendsetting movies like Sankeerthana, Kokila, Keechurallu and Time, is directing another movie after a long gap. He has started his own production house – Blue Fox – and under this banner he is producing and directing a new flick titled Koffi Bar (aka Coffee Bar). Geeta Krishna’s Koffi Bar, starring Shashank and Biyanka Desai in lead roles, has completed its 50 per cent of the shooting in different locales in India. Geeta Krishna of Sankeerthana, Kokila, Keechurallu and Time fame is directing and producing the film under his new banner Blue Fox Cinema.

Speaking about his film, Geetha Krishna told HNN that he believes in five elements for the success of the film. They are, a good story, good screenplay, good music, good lyrics and good cinematography. With all these elements the film gives a good feeling to the audience. Regarding his film, he does not want to reveal the story and the artists because they are the most prominent ones which would also be the main attraction of the film.

Lyrics: Vanamali; Cinematography: Prakash; Music, dialogues, screenplay, production and direction by Geetha Krishna.

Directed and produced by Geeta Krishna on the banner of Blue Fox Cinema, ‘ Gita Krishna Koffi Bar’ is presently busy in regular shooting.

AdLabs of Anil Ambani group of Reliance, signed an agreement with the banner for distribution of the film overseas (US). Gita Krishna says, ‘We are shooting the film with digital camera. Almost 50 per cent shooting was complete and it would be wrapped up by the end of April. It is a complete youthful film. At the same time, we touched several problems faced by the present day society and there will be several thrilling scenes in our movie.’

AdLabs head of operations Udaykumar says, ‘AdLabs has over 390 screens in India, the US and Malaysia. We had distributed several Telugu films across the globe in the past six months. As part of promoting the Telugu films across the world, we signed an agreement with Gita Krishna to distribute ‘Koffi Bar’ in the US.

DigiQuest CEO Kishori Basireddy says, ‘We are providing the entire digital work of the movie.’ Murali, who is making his debut as cinematographer through this movie says, ‘I was trained in the New York University in cinematography and I am very happy to work for this movie.’

Geetha Krishna stated that he believes in five elements for the success of the film. They are, a good story, good screenplay, good music, good lyrics and good cinematography. With all these elements the film gives a good feeling to the audience. Regarding his film, he does not want to reveal the story and the artists because they are the most prominent ones which would also be the main attraction of the film.

By M H Ahssan

The structure and economics of the Indian bottled water industry.

At the fourth World Water Forum held in Mexico City in March, the 120-nation assembly could not reach a consensus on declaring the right to safe and clean drinking water a human right. Millions of people the world over do not have access to potable water supply. But it is good times for the bottled-water industry, which is cashing in on the need for clean drinking water and the ability of the urban elite to pay an exorbitant price for this very basic human need.

The fortunes of this more-than-$100-billion global industry are directly related to the human apathy towards the environment – the more we pollute our waterbodies, the more the sales of bottled water. It is estimated that the global consumption of bottled water is nearing 200 billion litres – sufficient to satisfy the daily drinking water need of one-fourth of the Indian population or about 4.5 per cent of the global population.

In India, the per capita bottled water consumption is still quite low – less than five litres a year as compared to the global average of 24 litres. However, the total annual bottled water consumption has risen rapidly in recent times – it has tripled between 1999 and 2004 – from about 1.5 billion litres to five billion litres. These are boom times for the Indian bottled water industry – more so because the economics are sound, the bottom line is fat and the Indian government hardly cares for what happens to the nation’s water resources.

India is the tenth largest bottled water consumer in the world. In 2002, the industry had an estimated turnover of Rs.10 billion (Rs.1,000 crores). Today it is one of India’s fastest growing industrial sectors. Between 1999 and 2004, the Indian bottled water market grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 per cent – the highest in the world.

With over a thousand bottled water producers, the Indian bottled water industry is big by even international standards. There are more than 200 brands, nearly 80 per cent of which are local. Most of the small-scale producers sell non-branded products and serve small markets. In fact, making bottled water is today a cottage industry in the country. Leave alone the metros, where a bottled-water manufacturer can be found even in a one-room shop, in every medium and small city and even some prosperous rural areas there are bottled water manufacturers.

Despite the large number of small producers, this industry is dominated by the big players – Parle Bisleri, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Parle Agro, Mohan Meakins, SKN Breweries and so on. Parle was the first major Indian company to enter the bottled water market in the country when it introduced Bisleri in India 25 years ago.

The rise of the Indian bottled water industry began with the economic liberalisation process in 1991. The market was virtually stagnant until 1991, when the demand for bottled water was less than two million cases a year. However, since 1991-1992 it has not looked back, and the demand in 2004-05 was a staggering 82 million cases.

Bottled water is sold in a variety of packages: pouches and glasses, 330 ml bottles, 500 ml bottles, one-litre bottles and even 20- to 50-litre bulk water packs. The formal bottled water business in India can be divided broadly into three segments in terms of cost: premium natural mineral water, natural mineral water and packaged drinking water.

Premium natural mineral water includes brands such as Evian, San Pelligrino and Perrier, which are imported and priced between Rs.80 and Rs.110 a litre. Natural mineral water, with brands such as Himalayan and Catch, is priced around Rs.20 a litre. Packaged drinking water, which is nothing but treated water, is the biggest segment and includes brands such as Parle Bisleri, Coca-Cola’s Kinley and PepsiCo’s Aquafina. They are priced in the range of Rs.10-12 a litre.

Attracted by the huge potential that India’s vast middle class offers, multinational players such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have been trying for the past decade to capture the Indian bottled water market.

Today they have captured a significant portion of it. However, Parle Bisleri continues to hold 40 per cent of the market share. Kinley and Aquafina are fast catching up, with Kinley holding 20-25 per cent of the market and Aquafina approximately 10 per cent. The rest, including the smaller players, have 20-25 per cent of the market share.

Consumption of bottled water in India is linked to the level of prosperity in the different regions. The western region accounts for 40 per cent of the market and the eastern region just 10. However, the bottling plants are concentrated in the southern region – of the approximately 1,200 bottling water plants in India, 600 are in Tamil Nadu. This is a major problem because southern India, especially Tamil Nadu, is water starved.

Economics and the law
The majority of the bottling plants – whether they produce bottled water or soft drinks – are dependent on groundwater. They create huge water stress in the areas where they operate because groundwater is also the main source – in most places the only source – of drinking water in India. This has created huge conflict between the community and the bottling plants.

Private companies in India can siphon out, exhaust and export groundwater free because the groundwater law in the country is archaic and not in tune with the realities of modern capitalist societies.

The existing law says that “the person who owns the land owns the groundwater beneath”. This means that, theoretically, a person can buy one square metre of land and take all the groundwater of the surrounding areas and the law of land cannot object to it. This law is the core of the conflict between the community and the companies and the major reason for making the business of bottled water in the country highly lucrative.

Take for instance the case of Coca-Cola’s bottling plant in drought-prone Kala Dera near Jaipur. Coca-Cola gets its water free except for a tiny cess (for discharging the wastewater) it pays to the State Pollution Control Board – a little over Rs.5,000 a year during 2000-02 and Rs.24,246 in 2003. It extracts half a million litres of water every day – at a cost of 14 paise per 1,000 litres. So, a Rs.10 per litre Kinley water has a raw material cost of just 0.02-0.03 paise. (It takes about two to three litres of groundwater to make one litre of bottled water.)

However, water is not that cheap in the United States, home to Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The average cost of industrial water in the U.S. was Rs.21 per 1,000 litres in the late 1990s. It was Rs.90/1,000 litres in the United Kingdom and Rs.76/1,000 litres in Canada.

Treatment and purification accounts for the next major cost. Even with the state-of-the-art treatment system with reverse osmosis and membranes, the cost of treatment is a maximum of 25 paise a litre (Rs.0.25/litre). Therefore, the cost of producing 1 litre of packaged drinking water in India, without including the labour cost, is just Rs.0.25. In a nutshell, in manufacturing bottled water, the major costs are not in the production of treated and purified water but in the packaging and marketing of it.

The cost of a bottle, along with the cap and the carton, is the single biggest cost – between Rs.2.50 and Rs.3.75 for a one-litre bottle. For water sold in big plastic jars (20-50 litres), which are also reused, or in pouches, this cost is much lower. It is precisely owing to this that companies sell water at even Re.1 a litre in a 20-50 litre jar and still make profits. Labour and establishment and marketing costs are highly variable and depend on the location and size of companies. Informal discussions with industry members reveal that the gross profit of this industry can be as much as between 25 and 50 per cent.

Huge real costs
The reason that companies do not have to bear the cost of the main raw material – water – has made this industry highly profitable. But the real cost of the industry is huge.

The cost of fast-depleting groundwater is incalculable and so is the cost of disposal of plastic bottles and pouches. These are hidden costs that society and the environment pay and will pay in the future. The sale of bottled water is therefore not environmentally sound by any stretch of the imagination.

There are much cleaner ways to access clean and healthy water and for this we will have to rethink our water paradigm.

Groundwater is the cleanest and cheapest source for all, but we have over-extracted and polluted it with natural contaminants, agro-chemicals and industrial waste. We will have to recharge and revive our groundwater bodies and for this the existing archaic law must change.

Our surface water bodies are in a deplorable condition. We dump our sewage and industrial waste in rivers and ponds, try to clean them in massive centralised treatment plants and then supply the water to urban households – to be discharged again as wastewater into the same waterbody. This vicious cycle must be cut and stopped. The cost of dirty water is just too great for society to bear. Bottled water and domestic treatment systems are a cheap as well as fill-and-forget solution for 30 per cent of the population, but in doing so we have not left any solution for the 70 per cent of the poor and the marginalised.

By Siddharth Reddy

Is packaged/mineral water safe for drinking?
A study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment says that most of the brands of packaged/mineral water available in the country contain pesticides — several of them banned — significantly higher than permissible limits, which can cause serious physical impairment ranging from damage to the central nervous system to lung cancer.

Unveiled on Tuesday, the study says that while packaged water brands in Delhi have 36.4 times higher total pesticide content than the permissible limits, Mumbai brands have 7.2 times the standard content.

Evian, which is imported from France and not bottled in India, is the only brand in which no traces of pesticides were found.

The European Economic Commission directs that the maximum residue limit for total pesticides is 0.0005 mg per litre and 0.0001 mg per litre for a single pesticide.

The pesticides which were tested for include organochlorines, organophosphorous, chlorpyrifos, malathion and DDT.

The bottled water industry is India is estimated at about Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) and is growing at a rate of 40 per cent.

The CSE list contains the country’s leading packaged/mineral water brands.

Ramesh Chauhan’s Bisleri, the market leader, ranks 15th amongst 17 water brands studied in Delhi with the total pesticide content being 79 times more than the prescribed limits and seventh amongst 13 brands studied in Mumbai.

Neither Chauhan nor his legal counsel were available for comment.

Coca-Cola’s Kinley has been ranked 8th in Delhi with 14.6 times more than the prescribed limits of pesticides, while it is on the 5th spot in the Mumbai list.

“We are meeting all the norms which have been prescribed by the government. Pesticide residue is a national problem but we are maintaining high quality standards in all our plants,” a Coca-Cola India spokesperson said.

Other brands that find a mention in the Delhi list include No.1 McDowell and Kingfisher from the UB stables, Pepsi’s Aquafina, Nestle India’s Pure Life and DS Foods’ mineral water Catch amongst others.

“All No.1 McDowell products comply with BIS standards,” UB sources said.

The Mumbai list includes Prakash Chauhan’s Bailley. Responding to the study’s findings, a Pepsi spokesperson said: “Aquafina bottled water is produced to meet WHO-prescribed standard and follows a stringent seven-step process of purification.”

The study says that the pesticide content varied in bottled water brands because of the source of raw water.

In Delhi, most of the companies depend on borewell water and are located in industrial or agricultural areas which is the reason behind an increased pesticide content.

In Mumbai, however, the companies use water supplied by the municipal corporation. The water companies clean 20-80 per cent of the pesticides in the source water, CSE said.

By Sheena Shafia

Hyderabad, the royal city is a blend of the old and the new, having an inherent style and age-old culture, it is a delight to visit. From the magnificent food to the majestic monuments, from its terrific landscapes to a populace steeped in respect and tradition, the city is just full of surprises. One can explore her by lanes, taste the roadside foodstuff, feel the entrepreneurial excitement in the air and get a whiff of the nostalgia as well. It is also the capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh and the only city in the south, where the major language spoken is Urdu. Inhibited by the world’s richest royals, the Nizams, it is also the centre of folk arts like shadow puppetry and kuchipudi, which is an ancient dance form.

One of the largest and wealthiest of India’s former princely states, the city built its fortune on the trade of pearls, gold, steel, fabric and, above all, diamonds, which some believe remain hidden beneath the foundations of Golconda Fort, precursor to the city some 10km away. Once the most famous diamond kingdom in the world, Golconda was home to the Kohinoor, the worlds most sought after diamond as well as the Orloff, Regent, and Hope, famous for their typically bloody histories. From nawabs and pearls to the world’s hi-tech happening point, the city’s journey is fascinating. The sprawling metropolis is finally coming to terms with itself.

Hyderabad is more than 400 years old but is today as famous for its burgeoning information technology and biotech research industries, as it is for its minarets. It is one of India’s fastest-growing cities, with a projected population of 7.5 million by 2015, but unlike most, Hyderabad is actually getting greener and cleaner. A substantial part of the city is the suburb of ‘Cyberabad’, where Microsoft and Oracle are but two major players in the development known as Hi-Tech City, responsible for the city’s much-needed economic upswing. Despite its newfound attractiveness as a business destination, the city remains steeped in history, and you’re just as likely to share the road with camels and bullock carts, and haggle alongside Muslim women covered from head to toe in black burkhas, as you are to converse with cell phone-wielding yuppies. It’s a pleasantly manageable city with a vibrant culture, excellent-value luxury hotels, and a heavenly cuisine — perhaps the most enduring legacy of the decadent tastes and patronage of the cultured Nizams who first put the city on the map.

A Glimpse in the Past
Historically, Hyderabad owes its existence to a water shortage. It was founded in the late 16th century by the Qutab Shahi dynasty, a line of rulers known for their beautiful “monuments, mosques and mistresses”. In 1589, Mohammed Quli Qutab Shah decided to shift his capital from Golconda to the banks of river Musi. Consequently, a city adorned with magnificent palaces and mosques, embodying a style of architecture that was unique to the place – was born .In 1724 taking advantage of the waning Mughal Empire the viceroy of Hyderabad Asaf Jah, declared Hyderabad as an independent State and founded his own dynasty. So begun the dynasty of the Nizams of Hyderabad, a dynasty that would, for seven generations, rule the kingdom, a dynasty whose scions would be included among the “richest men in the world”, a dynasty under which traditions and customs of Islam flourished and a dynasty under whom Hyderabad developed into a focus for arts, culture and learning and the centre of Muslim India. The Nizams held sway over Hyderabad until 1948, when the State was merged with the Indian Union.

The Legacy Of The Nizams
The Nizams, who ruled from Golconda Fort, have endowed Hyderabad with many landmark buildings, including the Charminar, the Salarjung Museum, the Falaknuma Palace and the Qutab Shahi Tombs. Even for a city that has modernized tremendously in the last decade Hyderabad’s rich legacy of Nizams, makes it one of the most fascinating historical places in India.

The Charminar
The Charminar, a symmetrical edifice which was built by Muhammed Quli Qutab Shah in 1591 to commemorate the cessation of plague in the city, has now become the landmark of the city of Hyderabad. The four minarets carved with lotus buds and petals and the central structure, soaring to a height of 180 feet makes it an architectural jewel of the city.

The Golconda Fort
The Golconda Fort is one of the most famous Forts in the south of India. The origins of the Fort can be traced to the Yadava dynasty of Deogiri, and the Kakatiyas of Warangal. The first three Qutb Shahi kings rebuilt Golconda, over a span of 62 years. The fort is famous for its acoustics, palaces, factories and ingenious water supply system. It was also famous for diamond trade and the Kohinoor diamond is said to have come from here.

The Qutub Shahi Tombs
The Qutub Shahi Tombs are situated at a distance of a kilometre from Golconda Fort, these tombs and monuments of the Qutb Shahi Kings are proof of unique architectural excellence, which is a blend of Persian, Pathan and Hindu forms.

Salarjung Museum
Salarjung Museum the single largest one-man collections of the world. If this one-man had not chosen to remain a bachelor the world would have been bereft of one of the greatest collection of antiques. I am talking about art objects collected by Yusuf Ali Salar Jung, the prime minister to the Nizam. Though Salar Jung III is credited with these fantastic collections, it all started with his father and grandfather.

The Mecca Masjid
The Mecca Masjid, whose construction started by Muhammad Qutb Shah in 1617 and completed by Aurangzeb in 1694, is very close to the Charminar. It is majestic figure with a huge courtyard can accommodate nearly ten thousand men at prayer.

The Jami Masjid and the Toli Masjid-are the other two mosques, having small and modest structure.

Other popular places of interest are The Falakuma palace, the Chowmukha palace and the Regency Mansion, built in 1803. The Husain Sagar Lake, Naubat Pahad, the Birla temple, Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar, and the Nehru Zoological Park.

The City of Pearls
The storied wealth amassed under the 200-year reign of Hyderabad’s Nizams naturally called forth a precious-jewellery industry. From the year 1724, when the Mughal governor Asaf Jah titled himself Nizam al-Mulk and established his rule over central India’s Deccan plateau, until 1948, when the Nizam VII Osman Ali Khan’s authority was forcibly superseded by the Indian Army, untold quantities of gems and pearls passed through the Hyderabad’s jewel shops on Patthargatti Road. Under the Nizams there was always peace and always a strong demand for gems. The mines close to the Golconda fort gave the world the Hope and Kohinoor diamonds, now in the Smithsonian Institution and the British coronation crown respectively. Diamonds aplenty there once were, but it is pearls that have, over time, left the boldest mark on Hyderabadi culture and trade, and today it is the city’s pearl dealers who are champions of the jewellery market. According to Sanskrit texts on Gemmology, a metaphysical genre known as ratnapariksa, or “appreciation of gems”, pearls join diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires as the five “god-given” stones, or maharatni. The millennia-old Vedic prayer of Atharvan invokes their special power: “Born of the wind and the air / Born of flashing lightning and starlight / May this shell and in it this pearl protect us from danger.”

Once retrieved from the fastness of the sea, pearls in historic days, reached India in two ways: from the Gulf of Mannar in Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka) via the south Indian city of Madurai, and from the Arabian Gulf via the port of Goa. Then, the finest quality pearls were said to be Ceylonese; they were uniformly white, and they were rare. Today, Ceylonese pearls are unknown in Hyderabad, but the slightly yellowish ones from the Arabian Gulf, known as Basra pearls, are readily available both in newly restrung necklaces and in precious old settings. In Patthargatti’s shops—some open to the hot city breeze, others crisply air-conditioned—the pearls most commonly sold today are the freshwater variety from China.

Emeralds and rubies aside, however, Hyderabad does seem an odd city to be at the top of the pearl trade. The ocean is some 325 kilometers distant, and, commercially speaking, the city is a relative backwater compared to booming Mumbai and Bangalore. But any expert will tell you that Hyderabad’s commercial position is due to “the high quality and low cost of labor.” A visit to his processing centre confirms that behind almost every door in Patthargatti there are pearl sorters, drillers and stringers, each with hundreds of years of family experience.

By M H Ahssan

In the aftermath of the Muslim incursions of the south by Khilji, two kingdoms emerged in the south, one Hindu and one Muslim. Hindu Vijayanagara was founded in the 1330’s and spearheaded the resistance to the influence of Islam in the peninsula. Ten years later, Hasan Shah, who was under the service of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, founded the Bahmani kingdom. He rose rapidly in the ranks in Deccan and at the end of Tughlaq rule, defied Delhi’s authority. Gujarat had done likewise and now Hasan was known as Bahman Shah and made Daulatabad as his headquarters.

However, Bahman Shah has different beginnings according to legend. He was said to have been a servant in the household of a Delhi Brahman (brahmin) called Gungu. Once while ploughing the fields he chanced upon a pot of gold buried in the ground. Gungu, who also could foretell the future predicted a glorious and rich future for Hasan and told him never to forget his master. Hasan headed south to Deccan to make his fortune and carved himself the Bahmanid kingdom when Tughlaqs were in decline in Delhi. Later Hasan assumed Gungu as one of his titles. Even the name Bahman is close enough to Brahman for some historians to think that the legend may have some merit though the Muslim historians believe that the word Bahman comes from the ancient Persian King Bahman.

Ferishta, the Muslim historian writing a century after the demise of the Bahmanid kingdom, makes particular reference of destructions of idols and temples carried on by the Bahmani Sultans. However, this may be more a dream or based on other biased Persian writers’ accounts. Continuous conflict with the neighboring Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagara ensued and subsided only when either of the kingdoms disintegrated. There were also skirmishes with the Malwa in the northern borders. A rich tract of land between the Krishna and Tungabhadra attracted the Bahmanids to change their capital first to Gulbarga and then later to Bidar. They expanded their kingdom to both coasts and became a true nation-state. Truce was also achieved with Vijayanagara and Malwa and peace was at hand, at last. Due to in fighting, in the 1490’s Bahmani kingdom suddenly collapsed and was divided into several smaller sultanates.

The sultanate of Gujarat lasted a long time. Ahmad Shah built his capital Ahmadabad and the long reigning sultan Mahmud Shah expanded territory into Saurashtra and created a sultanate that would last well until the seventeenth century. Sultan Mahmud Khilji ruled Malwa and made Mandu its capital. It is recorded that this sultan once had a harem with ten thousand women that needed their own city to live in. What eventually became of this city is unknown. Mandu later fell to Gujarat incursions.

During the last Bahmani sultan Mahmud Shah’s reign (1482-1518), four major power centers would emerge and become independent states. The capital of Bahmanids, Bidar would be one but more powerful were Bijapur (Karnataka), Golconda (later Hyderabad), and Ahmadnagar in the northwest. A fifth would have Berar as its capital. The Vijayanagara kings utilized the splintering of the Bahmanids, initially to their advantage. The rivalry between Bijapur and Golconda was exploited well by Rama Raja, the successor of Krishna Deva Raya. This exploitation led to the extent that the four sultanates finally feared for their own existence. They patched up their differences and joined together to defeat the Vijayanagara Empire in the battle of Talikot in the year 1565.

Golconda and Bijapur would continue to dominate the scene well into the Mughal rule in the north. Akbar finally annexed Ahmadnagar and Bijapur and Golconda became Mughal suzerainties during Jahangir and Shah Jahan’s rule. During this time, with the Mughal protection, the sultanates expanded their territories well into southern Karnataka and Tamil lands. Aurangzeb, in late seventeenth century, unhappy with the Shiite sultans and Hindu nobility in the south, went south and made both Bijapur and Golconda part of a vast Mughal empire.

Bijapur and Golconda thrived alongside the Mughal glory in the north. Many mosques and tombs were built as if to match those built by the aesthete Mughals. The Bijapur architecture climaxed in building of the great masculine tomb, the Gol Gumbaz. An engineering marvel that has a dome second in size only to the Basilica in St. Petersburg, Vatican, it was completed in 1659, just after Shah Jahan completed his Taj Mahal in Agra. It was built for Muhammad Adil Shah who had died in 1657. His father Ibrahim Adil Shah had ruled over the golden period of Bijapur but was drawn into war when Akbar invaded Ahamadnagar sultanate. Son Muhammad, however, expanded south into Mysore and Tamil Nadu with the help of Shahji, father of Shivaji. The Nayaks of Madurai and Tanjavur acknowledged Muhammad Adil Shah. During Shah Jahan’s rule, Aurangzeb who was the governor of Deccan took Hyderabad and besieged the Golconda fort. Taking advantage of the death of Muhammad Adil Shah he also defeated the Bijapur Sultan. Aurangzeb was asked to cease hostilities by Shah Jahan on the advice of his first and favorite son Dara Shikoh. This eventually led to a rift between the brothers and Aurangzeb marched on Delhi to depose his father and pursue his brothers. Rest is history.

While the Mughal Empire declined and the British slowly gained a foothold in India, the geography of the sultans of the south also changed. In the mid eighteenth century two prominent Muslim sultanates remained in the south, namely Hyderabad and Mysore. Marathas had taken control of most of the northern part of the Peninsula and the various Maratha households came into prominence. Thus the Gaikwads of Baroda, Scindias of Gwalior, Peshwas of Pune, Bhonsles of Nagpur and the Holkars of Indore came to power under the broad heading of Maratha states or confederacy. Shivaji’s protégés would eventually settle in Kolhapur and outlive the Mughals and the British to finally surrender its autonomy after independence of India from the British. In the 1970’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi disestablished the long surviving Shivaji’s Bhonsles of Kolhapur.

By M H Ahssan

During the rule of Aurangzeb’s great grandson Muhammad Shah (1719-1748), the governor of Deccan was one Nizam-ul-Mulk. In 1723 he decided to carve himself a kingdom. Another Mughal functionary, Mubariz Khan had created a near independent state in Hyderabad, which was attacked by the Nizam in 1724. After forsaking his capital in Aurangabad, the Nizam moved to Hyderabad and founded the strongest independent Muslim state of the South. After British power rose in and around Madras, Hyderabad played an important role, especially in the struggle between the British and the French of Pondicherry.

Nizam–ul-Mulk was ruling most of what today is the state of Andhra Pradesh whereas in the south the Nawab of Arcot was controlling parts of Tamil Nadu. Nawab-ul-Mulk died in 1748 and a succession battle ensued and spilled over to Arcot. The Anglo-French war intensified and puppet nawabs were placed in both Arcot and Hyderabad and played like pawns in a chess game by both the British and the French. Robert Clive a clerk and junior merchant of the East India Company fought the French and restored Muhammad Ali as Nawab of Arcot while the French controlled Hyderabad and seated Muzaffar Jang as the Nawab there. Later, when the French suffered defeat by the British, the Nizam of Hyderabad switched his allegiance to the British and promised them more land in the coastal Andhra Pradesh.

The Marathas had control of Tanjavur but with the help of Hyderabad both French under de Bussy and British under the command of their hero Robert Clive started their incursions deep into Maratha lands in the west. Eventually the French would lose to the British, who utilized to their advantage, the ‘farman’ (imperial directives, a sort of protection) they had obtained, using trickery, from the Mughal ruler, Farrukshayar, Aurangzeb’s grandson in 1716. Robert Clive sailed to Bengal when Siraj-ud-daula evicted the British from Calcutta and in what is known as ‘two hundred day war’ defeated the Nawab of Bengal (battle of Plassey) and installed a puppet nawab, just like in Arcot. Later the British, using the ‘farman’ as an excuse forced the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II to recognize Bengal as part of British territory. Later the Nizam of Hyderabad aided the British in their battles against the menacing Tipu of Mysore and consequently remained in their favor. Nizams of Hyderabad continued to rule their kingdom with British protection and would survive for another 150 years, until the independence of India in 1947.

The French in the face of defeat in Madras courted a Haidar Ali who was rising in power in Mysore. They had already lost the support of the Nizam of Hyderabad who had switched sides and was now a pawn of the British. Haidar Ali was in the service of the Wodeyars of Mysore, a little known kingdom of not much consequence in southern Karnataka. The Wodeyars were left over chieftan-nayaks from the Vijayanagara Empire and at various times had been overpowered by the Bijapur sultans as well as the Marathas. However, they remained inconspicuous and of little stature and escaped notice for a long time. The Wodeyars had lost their kingdom to two brothers in whose service a devout Muslim with ties to erstwhile Bijapur sultans through his ancestors, rose to prominence as an able soldier and leader. Haidar Ali learned by observing the power struggle between the French and the English and was fascinated with the European tactics of warfare. After protecting Mysore from invading Marathas in 1758, Haidar Ali deposed the brothers and became the undisputed ruler of Mysore in 1761.

Meanwhile Nizam Ali had deposed the nizam of Hyderabad who was his brother. Ali, in his quest to be seen with favoritism by his British overlords, proposed to attack Mysore. Haidar Ali was flexing his muscles and had gained considerable grounds in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The first Mysore war was fought in 1767, when the British-Hyderabad alliance suffered a crushing defeat. Haidar Ali’s reputation soared. The treaty and peace terms in favor of Haidar Ali were shamelessly reneged by the British and soon a second Mysore war ensued from 1780 to 1784. With his son Tipu as an able warrior, Haidar was winning the war when he died in 1783. He had captured Arcot from right under the nose of the British company. When troops from Bengal joined the fight, Tipu had to sue for peace and the Peace of Mangalore was drawn (which eventually proved to be meaningless).

Tipu was unhappy with the French support he had received. He then sent a delegation to Versailles as well to the Ottoman sultan in Constantinople. The delegation received a warm welcome in France but little military help. Tipu’s territories had included the Malabar Coast from where he was able to launch successful trade with Arabia and his kingdom became prosperous. He was also interested in agriculture and sought experimental seeds and new crops from all over Asia and France.

Srirangapatnam was a converted to an admirable botanical garden and he introduced silkworm cultivation to Mysore (for which the region is well known even today). Tipu’s rule became the envy of the neighboring states and this did not bode well for him in the long run. Educated, possessed with a curious mind and with the ability to rule his subjects well he gained the nickname ‘Tiger of Mysore’. This is not to say Tipu was not ruthless. He showed no mercy when it came to people he considered enemies of the state. The torture that Tipu inflicted on his enemies are legendary.

The Marathas aside, the British were very nervous about Tipu’s success and never ceased their complicity against him. A third Mysore war was fought from 1790 to 1792 with the pretext that Tipu had attacked Travancore. Lord Cornwallis pursued Tipu with vigor into Bangalore and Srirangapatnam with the help of Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad. Tipu was outnumbered and had to pay indemnity to release his two young sons, ages eight and ten, who had been taken into British custody as assurances.

Tipu was in no position to renew his hostilities with the British as his power had been truncated by them. But the new governor Wellesley, sensing a weakened tiger attacked in 1799 with massive force from which there was no escape for Tipu. The pretext for the unprovoked attack was that it was thought that Tipu had made overtures to Napoleon to help him ward off the British. The siege of Srirangapatnam lasted for three months and Tipu’s body was found among the dead, cut with bayonets and shot twice. His prized and famous jeweled sword-belt had been stolen. This single victory paved the way for the British supremacy of India.

Mysore was tamed as well as its tiger. A child of the Wodeyar dynasty was installed as the ruler and was treated as a subordinate. The British now had control over coastal Karnataka and free access to the sea trade routes.

By Shivani Chaudhry

It is now over four years since the tsunami wreaked its havoc. For most people in India, the tsunami is a closed chapter. The national media no longer considers it important to talk about rehabilitation or the status of the tsunami survivors. After all, a four-year-old story is not ‘breaking news’, is it?

No news is good news, one assumes. Not in this case. Nothing can justify the current mess, nothing can pardon the government’s egregious lapses, nothing can condone the fact that survivors are still living in tin sheds, unsuitable for cattle habitation, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

On the one hand, is the sheer neglect and failure of the state to provide adequate rehabilitation and its direct role in abetting human rights violations of survivors. On the other, is a more planned political agenda of using the post-tsunami climate to maximize gains at the expense of the survivors – the rise of what Naomi Klein has termed “disaster capitalism”.

While survivors languish in tin shelters, sub-standard houses fall apart and coastal communities are being denied their customary rights and forced to relocate to distant sites, the government has refused to fund ‘in-situ’ housing reconstruction. Even the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 1991 faces threat of being replaced with the anti-people Coastal Management Zone Notification 2008. While multilateral development banks raise their post-disaster portfolios, funds are diverted towards infrastructure and other development, and houses being built for tsunami survivors shrink to a paltry 180 sq. ft. The ‘public-private partnership’ for profit maximization under the cloak of rehabilitation is slowly becoming evident.

Although the state claims to have developed a comprehensive rehabilitation package, Dalits and Irulas in Tamil Nadu find themselves being left out and women-headed households are being denied housing. Today, almost 95 per cent of the tsunami-hit in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands await permanent housing. The Supreme Court interim order calls for consultation with affected communities, but housing plans in the Islands fail to incorporate basic community needs and cultural preferences. While funds in India for tsunami rehabilitation amounted to a whopping Rs 1,19,070 million, the Public Accounts Committee and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) have highlighted diversion of funds and irregularities in spending.

The issue of the continued violation of human rights of tsunami survivors prompted several organizations and movements to hold a National Peoples’ Tribunal on Post-tsunami Rehabilitation: Housing, Land, Resources and Livelihoods in Chennai on December 18 and 19 last year. Survivors from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala came together to draw attention to their prolonged suffering and raise a collective voice against the government’s failed rehabilitation. The Tribunal’s jury, headed by former judge of Mumbai High Court, Justice Suresh, strongly condemned the government for its failure to meet its moral and legal responsibility. It also cited the absence of monitoring mechanisms and non-compliance with judicial orders which has resulted in not just debilitating delays but in grave violations of human rights to adequate housing, land, work, food, health, education, and security.

Disasters impact different communities disproportionately, and women always face the worse. In the case of the tsunami, too, their livelihood concerns have not been adequately addressed and they are not considered eligible for alternative housing. The aftermath of the tsunami has also deepened the feminization of poverty.

During the tribunal, Indravalli from Keechankuppam in Nagapattinam district, testified that she lost her husband in the tsunami, and now her livelihood was at stake. “Shifting us away from the sea and denying us access to the coast is like taking away our life. Our fishing activities are greatly affected,” she said. Swapna Sundari from Nochi Nagar, Chennai, talked about the plight of Dalit communities, lamenting that “even four years after the disaster, relief is still a dream for us.” Kalyani, an Irula tribal from near Mamallapuram, brought to light the fact that 13 Irula villages did not have electricity, sanitation, roads or drinking water. Several petitions were submitted to the government but no response was received.

Despite the fact that over 100,000 homes were destroyed or damaged in the tsunami, a comprehensive post-disaster national housing policy does not exist. Moreover, there has been no attempt to consult affected communities or to monitor housing. This has resulted in faulty designs and poor construction, with houses already showing signs of disrepair. Several housing sites are situated in low-lying flood-prone areas. Furthermore, families have not been given security of tenure over permanent housing. In Nagapattinam, people were given a conditional order stating that their houses could be taken by the government for a “public purpose” without any compensation.

In Andaman and Nicobar Islands, of the planned 9,565 permanent shelters only 250 have been allotted. The situation is horrifying as families have been living in minuscule sheds for over four years, and have to cope with overcrowding, leakages, excessive heat and humidity.

The absence of basic services in most resettlement sites has contributed to grossly inadequate living conditions. In Wandoor temporary shelter in Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar, people lived without electricity and water for a year. The distance of resettlement sites from schools and hospitals has caused dropout rate of children to rise and has adversely affected the health of residents. Instances of women giving birth in autorickshaws have been reported, as they were not able to reach hospital in time, have been reported.

Listening to the problems of the survivors, the great damage being done in the name of rehabilitation becomes obvious. The Tribunal’s jury called upon the central and concerned state governments to adequately restore livelihoods; halt evictions of coastal communities; implement the SC interim orders and CAG recommendations related to the tsunami; urgently provide basic facilities in all resettlement sites; develop a comprehensive post-disaster policy, based on international human rights standards; and develop effective accountability, monitoring and grievance redressal mechanisms.

K.N. Mahalingam from Hut Bay, Andaman, had travelled all the way to Chennai for the Peoples’ Tribunal. He wanted a chance to have his story heard, with the hope that it would make the authorities act. He wanted permanent housing, developed with people’s participation. Tragically, he passed away the day after the tribunal ended.

Mahalingam died waiting for a house. Let that not happen to anyone else. Rehabilitation is not merely about compensation but about fulfilling the right to live with dignity and peace. Rehabilitation is a human right.