Shades of notorious Vyapam scam

N D Sharma

The Vyapam scam, which destroyed careers of thousands of young girls and boys over the years, having been pushed to the background by the combined efforts of the police, CBI, judiciary and opposition Congress party, a new scam appears to be developing on the pattern of Vyapam in Shivraj Singh Chouhan's Madhya Pradesh.

According to the Principal Medhavi Chhatra Samaroha of the School, Sunita Saxena, 38 students of the Subhash School of Excellence have cleared JEE-Mains this year. 'It is difficult to accept that candidates who can clear the Joint Examinations are unable to secure positions in merit list in Board examinations', she has been quoted as moaning in the local press.

Medhavi Chhatra Samaroha Deviating from the tradition, Chouhan decided to announce the results of Classes X and XII of Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) at the Chief Minister's residence on May 12. So far so good. What made the operation stink was that the students who had made it to the merit list, along with their parents Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) at the Chief Minister's residence on May 12. So far so good. What made the operation stink was that the students who had made it to the merit list, along with their parents and teachers, were also invited on the occasion. After formally declaring the results open, the Chief Minister felicitated these students at a function described as Medhavi Chhatra Samaroha. Apparently, secrecy of the results was thrown out the window.
Twelve students committed suicide across the State within 12 hours of the announcement of the MPBSE results. Ten of them were in Class XII, half of them girls. People in the State, particularly those concerned, have started seeing shades of Vyapam in the Board results. Staff and students of Subhash Higher Secondary School of Excellence, for instance, heard the results with utter disbelief. In 2012-13, the government had launched a 'Super-100' scheme for improving standards of education, particularly in the rural areas. Under the scheme, two toppers of Class X from each district, especially in mathematics and biology, are provided free education, lodging and private coaching. Subhash School of Excellence was chosen in Bhopal. None of the students under the scheme made it to the merit list this year.
According to the Principal of the School, Sunita Saxena, 38 students of the Subhash School of Excellence have cleared JEE-Mains this year. 'It is difficult to accept that candidates who can clear the Joint Examinations are unable to secure positions in merit list in Board examinations', she has been quoted as moaning in the local press. One Class XII student of Subhash School is also among those who committed suicide after the announcement of the result. He was dissatisfied with obtaining 'merely' 72 per cent marks in mathematics.
State Congress chief spokesperson K K Mishra, who has made it a hobby to monitor closely the functioning of the Chouhan government (in spite of the indifference of the party as a whole), sprang a surprise by claiming that as many as 20 students out of the 58 in the merit lists were from Saraswati Shishu Mandir run by RSS-affiliate Vidya Bharati. Not only that, Vidya Bharati organised a 'Pratibha Abhinandan Samaroha' (merit felicitation function) for these students at Bhopal's Pragyadeep Saraswati Vidya Pratishthan a few hours after the formal announcement of the results. Preparations for the function and printing of invitation cards were going on even as the results were being announced at the CM's residence.
It is not clear if it was deliberate or part of some design that Dev Prakash Manjhi was not invited to the CM's Medhavi Chhatra Samaroha. He secured 97.8 marks in Higher Secondary Certification Examination and lives in Dabra near Gwalior. It was said that he was not alone for having been ignored in spite of securing very high marks. Dubbed by a senior BJP leader as 'ghoshna-veer' (one who is always making new announcements), Chouhan said at the merit felicitation function that all students who had secured 85 per cent marks or above would be given free laptops. And those who did not do well could appear for a reexamination under the 'Ruk Jana Nahin' scheme in June to improve their marks.

Injustice leads to Naxalism

Sunderlal Patwa The first Naxalite presence in the Bastar region was noticed a quarter century ago. Chhattisgarh had not yet been carved out of Madhya Pradesh and Bastar was not yet divided into several districts. Bastar was the biggest district in the country, bigger than the State of Kerala in area, covered by thick forests and almost exclusively inhabited by tribals.
The BJP government of Sunderlal Patwa instituted a one-man inquiry committee headed by then Bastar Commissioner Sudeep Banerjee to find out the reasons behind illicit felling of trees in the forest lands of Bastar between April 1989 and May 15, 1990 and the emergence of Naxalism.
The finding of the committee was that the Naxalism had grown out of the endless exploitation of the tribals by the police and forest department personnel and the tribals in the Bastar district had greater confidence in the Naxalites than in the government officials. The report gave credit to the Naxalites for generating new self-confidence among the tribals of Bastar district. The Commissioner's report said that a total of 81,877 trees were illicitly felled in Bastar district in 1989-90 while as many as 15,716 trees were illicitly felled between April 1 and May 15, 1990. The total number of trees illicitly felled during the period of inquiry thus came to 97,593.
'The tribals have for ages been depending on the forests. The figures show that the forests have continuously been depleting and the laws enacted for management of forests have only been abridging the rights of the tribals over the forests. Though the tribals are the best friends of the forests even today, a feeling has been growing among them that the forest resources are being utilised by the administration or the non-tribals like traders and contractors. The tribals have b een seeing the traders, contractors and government officials prosper by the forest resources while their own condition has been deteriorating', the report pointed out.
The report said that the political parties had always adopted an equivocal attitude to the tribals' act of 'encroaching' upon the forestland. Only the Naxalites had been openly supporting the tribals on this issue. The Commissioner emphasised that it would be wrong to blame the Naxalites for the encroachments on the forestland. The Naxalites had only adopted a "more realistic approach" to the prevailing social and economic situation. The report, of course, mentioned that a feeling had grown among the people because of the support of the Naxalites that the forest officers or the police could do no harm to them.
Around the same time, two female workers belonging to an NGO in Dhar district were declared as Naxalites by the District administration and ordered to leave the district, simply because they had told the villagers, employed in the plantation work, that they were being grossly underpaid by the contractor. Vijay Singh, then Commissioner of Indore, had shown the guts and (ignoring the scowl on Patwa's face) rescinded the order of externment against the two girls.

Motilal Vora A journalist based in Kanker (then part of Bastar but now a separate district) wrote about the reprobate behaviour of the police in the Naxalite areas and the Superintendent of Police of Bastar booked him under TADA for "harbouring and helping" the Naxalites. Many senior journalists who knew the Kanker man closely vouchsafed for his integrity and even Congress leader Motilal Vora (who knew the Kanker journalist intimately) spoke in his favour but Patwa remained adamant.

Digvijaya Singh After the dismissal of the Patwa government in December 1992, the Bastar district police chief submitted to the designated court an affidavit saying that he had falsely booked the Kanker journalist to please the Chief Minister. The IPS officer continued to flourish in the Congress regime of Digvijaya Singh and continued to indulge in excesses against the people (so much so that he was indicted by a committee of the State Assembly). If Patwa could make use of him in an attempt to silence his adversaries and critics, why shouldn't Digvijaya Singh do the same? The officer retired as Additional Direction General of Police.



		EDITOR'S MAIL MATTERS OF PUBLIC POLICY FRANKLY SPEAKING FARMERS' SUICIDES REALPOLITIK WHITHER AAP MODI'S FOREIGN POLICY CHINA'S NEW SILK ROAD DALAI LAMA ARUNACHAL VISIT ISLAMISTS IN CHINA STATE OF EDUCATION STATE OF EDUCATION BHOPAL NOTEBOOK BENGAL POINTERS TELUGU STATES BJP IN KERALA CHANDIGARH DIARY HITS & MISSES OLYMPIC SPIRIT AMERICA WATCH PAKISTAN WATCH SIGNS OF THE TIMES INTERVIEW OBITUARY BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR CRIME AGAINST WOMEN SECULARISM IN INDIA ART OF LIVING Issue:June' 2017 Subscribe Now	BHOPAL NOTEBOOK Shades of notorious Vyapam scam N D Sharma The Vyapam scam, which destroyed careers of thousands of young girls and boys over the years, having been pushed to the background by the combined efforts of the police, CBI, judiciary and opposition Congress party, a new scam appears to be developing on the pattern of Vyapam in Shivraj Singh Chouhan's Madhya Pradesh. According to the Principal Medhavi Chhatra Samaroha of the School, Sunita Saxena, 38 students of the Subhash School of Excellence have cleared JEE-Mains this year. 'It is difficult to accept that candidates who can clear the Joint Examinations are unable to secure positions in merit list in Board examinations', she has been quoted as moaning in the local press. Medhavi Chhatra Samaroha Deviating from the tradition, Chouhan decided to announce the results of Classes X and XII of Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) at the Chief Minister's residence on May 12. So far so good. What made the operation stink was that the students who had made it to the merit list, along with their parents Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) at the Chief Minister's residence on May 12. So far so good. What made the operation stink was that the students who had made it to the merit list, along with their parents and teachers, were also invited on the occasion. After formally declaring the results open, the Chief Minister felicitated these students at a function described as Medhavi Chhatra Samaroha. Apparently, secrecy of the results was thrown out the window. Twelve students committed suicide across the State within 12 hours of the announcement of the MPBSE results. Ten of them were in Class XII, half of them girls. People in the State, particularly those concerned, have started seeing shades of Vyapam in the Board results. Staff and students of Subhash Higher Secondary School of Excellence, for instance, heard the results with utter disbelief. In 2012-13, the government had launched a 'Super-100' scheme for improving standards of education, particularly in the rural areas. Under the scheme, two toppers of Class X from each district, especially in mathematics and biology, are provided free education, lodging and private coaching. Subhash School of Excellence was chosen in Bhopal. None of the students under the scheme made it to the merit list this year. According to the Principal of the School, Sunita Saxena, 38 students of the Subhash School of Excellence have cleared JEE-Mains this year. 'It is difficult to accept that candidates who can clear the Joint Examinations are unable to secure positions in merit list in Board examinations', she has been quoted as moaning in the local press. One Class XII student of Subhash School is also among those who committed suicide after the announcement of the result. He was dissatisfied with obtaining 'merely' 72 per cent marks in mathematics. State Congress chief spokesperson K K Mishra, who has made it a hobby to monitor closely the functioning of the Chouhan government (in spite of the indifference of the party as a whole), sprang a surprise by claiming that as many as 20 students out of the 58 in the merit lists were from Saraswati Shishu Mandir run by RSS-affiliate Vidya Bharati. Not only that, Vidya Bharati organised a 'Pratibha Abhinandan Samaroha' (merit felicitation function) for these students at Bhopal's Pragyadeep Saraswati Vidya Pratishthan a few hours after the formal announcement of the results. Preparations for the function and printing of invitation cards were going on even as the results were being announced at the CM's residence. It is not clear if it was deliberate or part of some design that Dev Prakash Manjhi was not invited to the CM's Medhavi Chhatra Samaroha. He secured 97.8 marks in Higher Secondary Certification Examination and lives in Dabra near Gwalior. It was said that he was not alone for having been ignored in spite of securing very high marks. Dubbed by a senior BJP leader as 'ghoshna-veer' (one who is always making new announcements), Chouhan said at the merit felicitation function that all students who had secured 85 per cent marks or above would be given free laptops. And those who did not do well could appear for a reexamination under the 'Ruk Jana Nahin' scheme in June to improve their marks. Injustice leads to Naxalism Sunderlal Patwa The first Naxalite presence in the Bastar region was noticed a quarter century ago. Chhattisgarh had not yet been carved out of Madhya Pradesh and Bastar was not yet divided into several districts. Bastar was the biggest district in the country, bigger than the State of Kerala in area, covered by thick forests and almost exclusively inhabited by tribals. The BJP government of Sunderlal Patwa instituted a one-man inquiry committee headed by then Bastar Commissioner Sudeep Banerjee to find out the reasons behind illicit felling of trees in the forest lands of Bastar between April 1989 and May 15, 1990 and the emergence of Naxalism. The finding of the committee was that the Naxalism had grown out of the endless exploitation of the tribals by the police and forest department personnel and the tribals in the Bastar district had greater confidence in the Naxalites than in the government officials. The report gave credit to the Naxalites for generating new self-confidence among the tribals of Bastar district. The Commissioner's report said that a total of 81,877 trees were illicitly felled in Bastar district in 1989-90 while as many as 15,716 trees were illicitly felled between April 1 and May 15, 1990. The total number of trees illicitly felled during the period of inquiry thus came to 97,593. 'The tribals have for ages been depending on the forests. The figures show that the forests have continuously been depleting and the laws enacted for management of forests have only been abridging the rights of the tribals over the forests. Though the tribals are the best friends of the forests even today, a feeling has been growing among them that the forest resources are being utilised by the administration or the non-tribals like traders and contractors. The tribals have b een seeing the traders, contractors and government officials prosper by the forest resources while their own condition has been deteriorating', the report pointed out. The report said that the political parties had always adopted an equivocal attitude to the tribals' act of 'encroaching' upon the forestland. Only the Naxalites had been openly supporting the tribals on this issue. The Commissioner emphasised that it would be wrong to blame the Naxalites for the encroachments on the forestland. The Naxalites had only adopted a "more realistic approach" to the prevailing social and economic situation. The report, of course, mentioned that a feeling had grown among the people because of the support of the Naxalites that the forest officers or the police could do no harm to them. Around the same time, two female workers belonging to an NGO in Dhar district were declared as Naxalites by the District administration and ordered to leave the district, simply because they had told the villagers, employed in the plantation work, that they were being grossly underpaid by the contractor. Vijay Singh, then Commissioner of Indore, had shown the guts and (ignoring the scowl on Patwa's face) rescinded the order of externment against the two girls. Motilal Vora A journalist based in Kanker (then part of Bastar but now a separate district) wrote about the reprobate behaviour of the police in the Naxalite areas and the Superintendent of Police of Bastar booked him under TADA for "harbouring and helping" the Naxalites. Many senior journalists who knew the Kanker man closely vouchsafed for his integrity and even Congress leader Motilal Vora (who knew the Kanker journalist intimately) spoke in his favour but Patwa remained adamant. Digvijaya Singh After the dismissal of the Patwa government in December 1992, the Bastar district police chief submitted to the designated court an affidavit saying that he had falsely booked the Kanker journalist to please the Chief Minister. The IPS officer continued to flourish in the Congress regime of Digvijaya Singh and continued to indulge in excesses against the people (so much so that he was indicted by a committee of the State Assembly). If Patwa could make use of him in an attempt to silence his adversaries and critics, why shouldn't Digvijaya Singh do the same? The officer retired as Additional Direction General of Police.