Canadian Parvasi Issue 22 November 2019

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Issue No : 118
Email: editor@canadianparvasi.com Contact Number : 905-673-0600 November 22, 2019 | Toronto | Pages 12
4 Indian-Origin Ministers In
Justin Trudeau's New Cabinet
Mr Trudeau unveiled his Cabinet with the induction of seven new faces, including Anita
Anand, a former law professor at the University of Toronto.
OTTAWA: For the first time,
a Hindu woman lawmaker has
been inducted into a Canadian
Cabinet as Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau unveiled his "strong
and skilled" team of 37 ministers
which also includes three Sikh
MPs.
Mr Trudeau unveiled his
Cabinet with the induction of
seven new faces, including Anita
Anand, a former law professor at
the University of Toronto.
The three other Indian-origin
MPs, all Sikhs, inducted into
the Cabinet are Navdeep Bains
(42), Bardish Chagger (39) and
Harjit Sajjan (49).
The Liberal's minority government
headed by 47-yearold
Trudeau was sworn-in on
Wednesday at the Rideau Hall in
Ottawa.
Ms Anand, who is in her
early 50s represents Oakville in
Ontario and is among the two
newly-elected ministers. She
was elected to the 338-seat House
of Commons for the first time in
the October federal elections.
She takes over the public
services and procurement portfolios,
which oversees billions
of dollars in public spending,
including the purchase of military
hardware, the Toronto Star
reported.
She will also assume responsibility
for Phoenix, the
computerised pay system that
has disrupted compensation for
thousands of federal civil servants,
it said.
Mr Sajjan, a former Vancouver
police detective and a
lieutenant-colonel in the Forces,
remains the minister of national
defence, the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation reported.
Mr Bains was named as the
minister of innovation, science
and industry. He represents Mississauga—Malton
district in Ontario
and retains the innovation
and science files but his ministry
has been restructured to include
industry, the report said.
Meanwhile, Ms Chagger,
who served as the government
House leader in the last Parliament,
will now not only take on
diversity and inclusion, but also
Mr Trudeau's responsibility for
the youth, it said.
However, Amarjeet Sohi
who was part of the 2015 Cabinet
is not returning this time after
his defeat in the election.
"The new strong and skilled
team. There's lots of work ahead,
and we're ready to keep moving
Canada forward," Mr Trudeau
tweeted.
"I''m very excited today to be
able to get down to work the way
Canadians asked us to in this
last election. To pull together
the country, focus on issues of
economic growth for the middle
class, to fight climate change,
and to keep Canadians and their
communities safe. That is our
focus, and this is the team to do
that," Mr Trudeau was quoted as
saying by the CTV news.
In the Canadian general election
held in October, the Liberal
Party bagged 157 seats, the opposition
Conservative 121, Bloc
Quebecois 32, Indian-origin Canadian
Jagmeet Singh-led New
Democratic Party (NDP) 24,
Green Party 3 and one Independent.
To reach the majority of 170
in the 338-seat House of Commons,
the Liberals are short of 13
members. This means that meaning
in order to pass votes and advance
their agenda, the Liberals
must gain the support of the opposition
MPs, the CTV reported.

The International News Weekly Canada
November 22, 2019 | Toronto 02
Slow economic growth bad for Canada’s
foreign policy goals: experts
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA : Canada’s slow economic
growth and competitiveness
is undercutting its global
interests, experts say, as the
post “sunny ways” version of the
Trudeau government’s foreign
policy emerges Wednesday with
the announcement of a new cabinet.
The key moving parts could
include a replacement for Foreign
Affairs Minister Chrystia
Freeland, who might be given a
new domestic portfolio, and the
Google Assistant Can Now Read Out
Personalised News Feed for You
Google said Tuesday its digital
assistant will serve as a “news
host” on its connected devices to
deliver stories from a variety of its
media partners.
The feature called Your News
Update will be activated by asking
the Google Assistant to read the
news.
The artificial intelligence program
will deliver “a mix of short
news stories chosen at that moment
based on your interests, location,
user history, and preferences,
as well as the top news stories out
there,” said product manager Liz
Gannes in a blog post.
The assistant will offer stories
from partners including CBS, Politico,
Fox News, and CNN based
on user preferences and other factors.
It can offer news, for example,
about the user’s favorite sports
fact that International Trade
Minister Jim Carr is fighting a
form of blood cancer that makes
him an unlikely candidate for a
heavy travel schedule.
Trevin Stratton, the chief
economist of the Canadian
Chamber of Commerce, says
Canada’s low-growth economy
is eroding its broader standing
on the world stage, even as managing
relations with both the
United States and China remains
a paramount priority.
He says Canada’s international
ranking in a series of
teams or specific local or business
events.
“In between stories, the Google
Assistant serves as your smart
news host that introduces which
publishers and updates are next,”
Gannes said.
The feature is available in English
in the United States and will
expand internationally next year,
for people with compatible smartphones
and connected speakers.
It is activated by saying, “Hey
Google, play me the news.”
Indian
Food
global surveys continued to decline
in recent months, including
during the federal election
campaign.
That includes a slide in the
World Economic Forum’s ranking
of the productivity of G20
countries, which saw Canada
drop two positions to 14th place.
Stratton says Canada also fell
to 23rd place among countries in
the World Bank’s “ease of doing
business” ranking and received
a lower mark in another index
that ranks the “soft power” of 30
leading countries.
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Keto Diet For Weight Loss: This Diet
May Help You Fight Flu As Well, Says
Study; Know Other Amazing Health
Benefits Of Keto Diet
A keto diet makes you eat less or no carbs. It is a highfat
diet that contributes to weight loss. According to a recent
study ketogenic diet may help combat the flu virus.
Here are other health benefits of following a keto diet.
A keto diet is a low carb diet and a high-fat diet which
contributes to weight loss. Keto diet for weight loss has
gained huge popularity in the past year. This diet restricts
your carb consumption. It makes you consume
no or very fewer carbs. Only healthy fats are a part of the
keto diet. Not just weight loss keto has shown improvement
in health in various ways. A recent study has also
highlighted the benefits of keto diet other than weight
loss. According to the study, keto can help you fight flu
effectively. During the winter season the chances of flu,
cold and infections increase. A ketogenic diet, which includes
meat, fish, poultry and non-starchy vegetables,
may help combat the flu virus, suggests new research.
This diet regimen activates a subset of T cells in the
lungs not previously associated with the immune system’s
response to influenza, enhancing mucus production
from airway cells that can effectively trap the virus,
said the study published in the journal Science Immunology.
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The International News Weekly Canada
November 22, 2019 | Toronto
03
Garneau says negotiated deal in CN strike
would be fastest way to end dispute
THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL: For the first time,
a Hindu woman lawmaker has
been inducted into a Canadian
Cabinet as Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau unveiled his "strong
and skilled" team of 37 ministers
which also includes three Sikh
MPs.
The federal government
urged Canadian National Railway
Co. and its striking workers
to continue talks in what it believes
would be the fastest way to
resolve their dispute which has
stopped freight trains across the
country.
"We believe that mediation,
collective bargaining, is the right
way to do this, we've looked at the
situation and we feel that the two
sides need to be talking to each
other," Federal Transport Minister
Marc Garneau told reporters
on Friday.
"We believe that this is not
only the most probable, but also
the fastest way to resolve this issue
so that we can find a solution
and get CN back operating as it
has before, delivering products
across the country." The strike at
the country's biggest railway entered
its fourth day with no resolution
in sight as round-the-clock
negotiations continue under the
watch of federal mediators.
The Teamsters union said
Friday that "no substantive progress
has been made" since 3,200
workers hit the picket lines early
Tuesday morning.
The union claims Quebec's
propane shortage "appears to be
largely manufactured" by Canadian
National Railway Co. amid
rising pressure from industry
and Prairie premiers to reconvene
Parliament ahead of schedule
and pass back-to-work legislation.
Premier Francois Legault
said Thursday that the province
is days away from running out
of propane, which heats hospitals
and nursing homes and fuels
operations in agriculture and
mining. Tensions rose between
CN Rail and the Teamsters Canada
Rail Conference as progress
stalled in Montreal late in the
week.
The union framed CN's decision
to transport freight other
than propane as "a business decision."
The Montreal-based railway
continues to run some trains
using locomotive engineers and
supervisors, who remain on the
job.
CN Rail rejected the union's
claim that the strike concerns
workplace health and safety, suggesting
instead that it revolves
around worker compensation.
"While the current average
salary of a Canadian conductor is
$114,000 plus benefits, including a
defined benefits pension plan, the
union is seeking wage and benefit
improvements beyond those
negotiated this year with Unifor
and another bargaining unit of
the TCRC," CN said in a release.
CN said it has offered to enter
into binding arbitration, with a
neutral arbitrator chosen by the
parties or appointed by the federal
government.
A prolonged disruption to
CN Rail -- a critical artery for
imported consumer goods and a
key export channel for commodities
ranging from grain to fertilizer
and forestry products -- could
dent the country's economy.
The strike could cost the Canadian
economy up to $2.2 billion
if it lasts through the end of the
month, and up to $3.1 billion if it
continues until Dec. 5, according
to TD senior economist Brian De-
Pratto.
A nine-day strike at Canadian
Pacific Railway Ltd. in 2012 drove
a nearly seven per cent drop in
the goods sector that month, De-
Pratto said. Federal back-to-work
legislation ended the labour disruption.
"Should this strike drag on,
it would clearly be disruptive to
the Canadian economy and to the
company in question," said Avery
Shenfeld, chief economist at
CIBC Capital Markets.
"An extended strike risks seeing
a near flattening in economic
activity to finish the year," he
said in an email, noting fourthquarter
GDP growth had been expected
to hit one per cent.
Nearly two-thirds of propane
travels along the tracks at some
point -- in Quebec, about 85 per
cent arrives by rail -- with the
rest shipped by truck, according
to the Canadian Propane Association.
As of Sept. 30, CN had shipped
in 2019 some $11.33 billion in total
freight along its 22,000 kilometres
of track, which stretches from
Vancouver to Halifax to the U.S.
Gulf Coast.
Ontario To Reward Safe Employers
WSIB To Provide an Estimated $140 Million in Financial Incentives
TORONTO: Ontario will
reward its safest employers
with an estimated $140 million
for excellence in occupational
health and safety
as part of a first-of-its-kind
in Canada program unveiled
today.
The program, Supporting
Ontario's Safe Employers,
will formally recognize
employers who successfully
implement health and
safety programs in their
workplaces. The financial
rewards will come in the
form of Workplace Safety
and Insurance Board
(WSIB) rebates over a
three-year period.
"We know that good
health and safety practices
save lives," said Monte
McNaughton, Minister
of Labour, Training and
Skills Development. "But
they also save money. This
program is a reflection of
that fact. Our government
wants to do everything it
can to make workers safer
and help businesses save
money."
Research has shown
that organized, systematic
approaches to health and
safety increase worker
participation in health and
safety practices, encourage
ongoing improvement and
help reduce workplace injuries
and illness. Similar
programs in Europe and
Japan have resulted in a
decline in workplace accidents.
"This is a big step for
Ontario's health and safety
community as we continue
to move forward in protecting
workers," said Ron
Kelusky, Ontario's Chief
Prevention Officer (CPO).
"We're adopting innovative
approaches to become a
modern regulator. Industry
has long asked for rewards
for employers who successfully
promote health and
safety in their workplace."
The program is open to
any employer in Ontario,
regardless of size or sector.
Led by the Office of
the CPO, this ministry program
was developed based
on feedback from labour,
employers and other stakeholders.
The WSIB is also
building on the program
by launching Health and
Safety Excellence, a new
program that will promote
continual health and safety
improvement in Ontario
workplaces.
While the provincial
program recognizes employers
who have already
implemented a health and
safety management system,
the WSIB's program
will encourage employers
without an existing program
to develop one.
"We know that businesses
across the province
strive to make their
workplaces as healthy and
safe as possible for their
employees," said Elizabeth
Witmer, WSIB Chair. "Our
new Health and Safety Excellence
program gives
them a roadmap to improve
health and safety, whether
they're just getting started
or want to optimize processes
they already have in
place."
These initiatives are
part of the government's
commitment to encouraging
a culture of health and
safety to protect workers
on the job and build a prosperous
province.
Quick Facts
Supporting Ontario’s
Safe Employers is the first
program of its kind in Canada.
The names of recognized
employers will be
posted on the Ministry
of Labour, Training and
Skills Development’s website.
These employers will
be able to brand themselves
as CPO-recognized.
An occupational health
and safety management
system (OHSMS) is a tool
that provides an employer
with a systematic approach
to managing health and
safety in the workplace.
Employers may use
one of the existing OHSMS
standards accredited by the
Chief Prevention Officer or
they may develop their own
system and apply to have it
accredited by the province.
For more information,
employers can contact the
Ontario Ministry of Labour,
Training and Skills
Development’s Prevention
Office at SOSE@ontario.ca.

The International News Weekly November 22, 2019 | Toronto 04

The International News Weekly November 22, 2019 | Toronto
05
In final lap, NCP-Cong to talk
power-sharing with Shiv Sena
New Delhi/Mumbai:
With NCP and Congress
scheduled to hold talks
with Shiv Sena on Friday,
permutations of the likely
power-sharing arrangement
are being keenly
discussed with regard to a
“rotational” chief ministership—shared
between
Sena and NCP—as well as
deputy CMs and portfolio
distribution.
The issue of a split term
for the CM’s post is expected
to be taken up with the
Sena, which might not be
keen on the idea, seeking
an unencumbered tenure
for its chief Uddhav Thackeray.
But the demand will
be taken up with Congress
backing NCP’s claim for
the second shot at the top
job in Mantralaya on the
ground that with 54 MLAs,
Sharad Pawar’s party is almost
on a par with Sena’s
56. NCP and Congress are
also likely to insist that
Uddhav himself takes the
helm, rather than replicating
the arrangement where
his father and founderchief
of Sena, Balasaheb,
preferred to run the affairs
through remotecontrolled
proxies Manohar Joshi
and Narayan Rane. “Uddhav’s
leadership will help
stabilise the coalition,”
said a source familiar with
the deliberations in Delhi.
An NCP leader told
media the three-party coalition,
which has been
named Maharashtra Vikas
Aghadi, is likely to
stake claim for formation
of government on Friday
or Saturday and would
like the new government
to be sworn in on Monday.
Sources said if NCP does
not insist on sharing the
CM’s post, Congress and
NCP will each get their
own DCM. NCP has its own
inner dynamics to sort out,
considering that its deputy
CM nominee will be the putative
CM too. By current
indications, Sharad Pawar
is likely to nominate nephew
Ajit Pawar for the pecking
order. Pawar’s daughter
Supriya Sule is seen as
a contender for her father’s
political mantle too, having
won three Lok Sabha
elections.
Yet marathon discussions
over last two days
were not limited to hammering
out a “common
minimum programme”
to steer the coalition government
but also the modalities
of power-sharing,
including distribution,
among allies, of portfolios
and corporations falling
under various departments.
The formula seems
to be a 16-15-12 split of ministerial
berths among Sena,
NCP and Congress.
Pb in ‘difficult financial
position’, FM calls for
urgent review by CM
Arson, threatening
posters shut down
Srinagar again
Chandigarh: Facing
‘difficult financial position’,
mainly due to the delay
in release of around Rs
4,100 crore GST compensation
by the central government,
Punjab finance minister
Manpreet Badal has
called for an urgent review
meeting by chief minister
Amarinder Singh on his
return from abroad. While
Punjab is yet to receive the
GST compensation even for
the months of August and
September, the poor collection
of tax as well as nontax
revenue in the state is
also a serious concern for
the state.
The chief minister is
scheduled to return on
November 28. “CMO may
quickly organise an urgent
review with the CM (on his
return) with all concerned
to take stock of the situation
and decide on steps needed
to tide over the problems of
deteriorating revenues, as
the present delay in GST
compensation may not be
a one-off matter,” Manpreet
has communicated.
In order to tide over the
financial stress, the minister
has also advised the
financial commissioner
(taxation) to take all other
steps “to improve the revenue
collections persuading
willing tax-payers to
deposit non-GST taxes in
advances”.
Manpreet has also directed
the principal secretary
of his department to
advise all administrative
secretaries to take urgent
steps to boost revenue collections
and realise any tax
dues or arrears or non-tax
revenue that may be lying
unrealised at any stage.
The state government
is witnessing low collection
of its non-tax revenue.
Punjab has been able to collect
just 13.98% (Rs 1,325
crore) of the total estimated
yearly nontax revenue (Rs
9,477 crore) till September
end. At the same time, the
Punjab government has
collected 35.84% (Rs 18,276
crore) of the tax revenue in
the first six months of this
fiscal year out of the total
estimated collection of Rs
50,993 crore.
The financial commissioner
of the taxation department
has been directed
to ascertain the reasons for
delay and take immediate
steps to get the GST compensation
released without
any further delay. He has
also been directed by the finance
minister to meet the
Union revenue secretary to
take up the matter.
Manpreet has mentioned
“no worthwhile explanation
is forthcoming
from the central government
for the delay” in the
release of GST compensation.
Also, there is no
indication as to when the
compensation is likely to
be released. Manpreet and
finance ministers of other
states during the Wednesday’s
meeting of the empowered
committee on
GST, had urged the Union
finance minister Nirmala
Sitharaman to immediately
release GST component
to states.
As compared to the corresponding
period of the
previous financial year,
the state government has
been able to make less collection
of its targeted revenue
this year from sales
tax (42% of Rs 6,353 crore),
land revenue (31% of Rs 111
crore) and state excise duties
(37% of Rs 6,201 crore)
till September end.
Srinagar: Shops remained closed and public
transport, including state-run buses, stayed off
roads in parts of Srinagar and south Kashmir on
Thursday following the previous night’s arson
and appearance of threatening posters in the city’s
downtown areas. On Wednesday night, miscreants
had set on fire four shops, as many street carts and
a cab.
Srinagar district magistrate Shahid Iqbal
Choudhary on Thursday issued a strict warning to
miscreants and urged people to report instances of
intimidation to the police.
Police said cases had been registered and those
involved in arson would be arrested soon.
The incidents betrayed the ‘frustration’ of
those who wanted to prolong the shutdown, they
said.
Shops and public transport, however, plied
normally in north Kashmir.
All shops, business establishments and public
transport, including cabs, in south Kashmir had
started functioning normally since November 16
after almost 100 days of shutdown starting August
5 when Parliament took the decision to nullify
Article 370 and reorganise the state of Jammu &
Kashmir into two Union Territories.
However, problem resurfaced after Union
home minister Amit Shah announced in Rajya
Sabha on Wednesday that the situation in Kashmir
had become normal.

The International News Weekly Edit
06
November 22, 2019 | Toronto
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Tread Carefully
The NRC mess in Assam should
serve as a cautionary tale for a
nationwide exercise
The government needs to carefully weigh
the pros and cons of extending the National
Register of Citizens (NRC) across the country.
The NRC mess in Assam should serve
as a cautionary tale. The exercise caused
tremendous hardship in the state and reportedly
forced some people to commit
suicide. A nationwide NRC could result in
large-scale disruptions to everyday life as
well as to the economy – and that the nation
can ill-afford at the moment.
Besides, there is a history to NRC in
Assam. It was a way of implementing the
1985 Assam Accord which followed a massive
influx of illegal immigrants in the
state that triggered a mass movement, and
fixed March 25, 1971, as the cut-off date after
which foreigners would be detected and
expelled. Plus, the latest NRC in Assam was
a Supreme Court mandated and monitored
process. Other states lack such a history.
Moreover, even in Assam’s limited context
it has hardly proven successful. BJP in Assam
is itself up in arms against it, and wants
it done all over again. What’s the guarantee
that we won’t see a repeat on a much larger
scale?
It’s worth keeping in mind that NRC verification
isn’t as simple as producing a voter
ID card or a passport. In the Assam NRC,
one first had to produce documentary proof
issued before March 24, 1971 – like the 1951
NRC or electoral rolls up to March 24, 1971 –
to prove that one’s ancestors were residing
in India before that date. The next step was
producing documents for oneself to establish
relationship with those ancestors. In a
country with a poor documentation culture
and crores of people with meagre financial
resources, such onerous requirements are
often beyond one’s means.
One needs to take a step back and think
through what the move entails conceptually.
It is akin to asking 125 crore Indians
reapply citizenship. This is unprecedented
anywhere in the world. Moreover, what happens
to the lakhs if not crores of people who
might be excluded by the arduous process of
NRC proof ? We could have a humanitarian
crisis. The government needs to tread with
great caution on this one. TNN
How To Help Small
Businesses
Cut heavy costs of regulatory and tax compliance,
make credit available
Ritesh Kumar Singh
Smaller business entities are
often associated with the informal
sector and widely believed to dodge
taxes and bypass tough labour regulations.
However, an increasing number
of firms engaged in consultancy,
research and advisory, and other
knowledge intensive services – often
with substantial portion of their sales
as exports – are part of the country’s
formal sector.
Though such firms have fewer employees
compared to large firms, they
are registered with registrar of companies
(RoC) and GSTIN network, and
are usually tax compliant. Yet, they
are subject to several disadvantages
that big businesses don’t have to face
and that affect their cost competitiveness
and growth prospects. The result
is lower investment and loss of thousands
of potential jobs.
Nurturing this sub-segment of
the formal sector will aid economic
growth, improve tax to GDP ratio and
create good jobs that the government
has been trying to achieve through its
formalisation attempts. While demonetisation
jolted the informal sector
dependent on cash, heavy indebtedness
has been troubling large corporations,
while the compliance burden is
suffocating the smaller business subsegment
of the formal economy.
Reducing compliance burden and
associated costs for small businesses
is a low hanging fruit that need not
be postponed for the future, if we’re
serious about achieving our $5 trillion
dream by 2024. While low interest
rates or low cost credit won’t hurt
small business entities, it’s not the
‘cost of credit’ but availability of institutional
credit that is hampering their
growth prospects. While investors insist
on their incorporation as private
limited companies, banks don’t like
the idea of limited liability set ups.
A large number of firms in this
sub-segment deal in services, but the
banks’ credit appraisal and disbursal
system is more suited to manufacturing
firms. Thus, when a newly incorporated
consultancy services company
approached the country’s second
largest public sector bank by market
cap for a loan, the bank refused to
oblige saying that the value of company’s
tangible assets should be at least
ten times the loan value.
Personal guarantee of the company’s
directors with Cibil scores of
800 was no help either. Banks look
for ownership of land, factory sites or
stock in trade as collaterals that small
service companies with few assets
may not be able to furnish, and thus
are denied bank credit.
Delayed payment from larger private
and public sector companies is
a common irritant for smaller firms
supplying goods and services to them.
Many smaller firms do export but our
banks have been fleecing them by
extracting exorbitant forex conversion
charges that could be as much as
3%. No wonder, India’s global export
share is so low compared to its size
and potential.
For getting export incentives, a
company small or big must have Import-Export
Code (IEC) from DGFT
and RCMC (Registration Cum Membership
Certificate) from a relevant
export promotion council. However,
many of our export promotion councils
don’t distinguish between large
companies and small companies when
it comes to their membership charges.
The more complex the regulations
and compliance requirements,
the greater is the disadvantage small
business entities which don’t have
dedicated regulatory affairs teams or
financial muscle to deal with them.
The badly designed and poorly implemented
GST regime is a big pain for
smaller business entities and that
may be the reason why so many of
them have been avoiding it for long.
Irrespective of its turnover a small
business entity has to file monthly,
then quarterly, and if its revenue
crosses Rs 2 crore annual GST as well.
It has to file quarterly TDS returns.
Then there is director’s e-KYC, audit
and multiple financial reportings
and filings with scary names such
as AoC4, ADT1 and MGT7 that overwhelm
smaller companies.
More rules mean more inspectors
to deal with. All these filings and reportings
shouldn’t be discouraging
small entrepreneurs and professionals
from starting their own ventures if
we’re serious about expanding the formal
economy, good jobs and tax base.
So far it seems the major beneficiary
of the GST regime are chartered accountants
who are getting lots of work
to do and make money in the process.
Regulatory experts say our complex
rules induce small firms to remain
small. It’s compliance burden
and not high interest or tax rates that
are choking smaller business entities.
Hence, the solution doesn’t lie
in reducing interest and tax rates or
increasing subsidies that mostly benefit
large corporates. Second, with
banks in general preferring established
big companies to lend to, small
business entities – especially those in
the services sector – are often denied
bank credit. Given this backdrop, two
things – rationalising regulatory requirements
and easy (not necessarily
cheap) credit – will help small businesses.
Reducing compliance burden
will help small firms save a lot of time
and money that could be used for marketing
their products and services. To
ease access to bank credit, the government
should further strengthen its
flagship programme, PSB Loan in 59
minutes portal by encouraging private
banks to join it or have their own
loan portals.
Instead of monthly and quarterly
GST, and quarterly TDS filings, we
should adopt annual filings, say for
entities with turnover of less than Rs
2 crore per annum, though payment of
GST and TDS can continue as usual so
that government finances are not affected.
This is the minimum that the
government could do to really help
small businesses. Implementing these
suggestions won’t require much money
but only intent.
Source Credit: This article was first published
in The Times of India. The writer is
a business economist with Indonomics Consulting
Parvasi weekly & people associated with it are not responsible for any claims made by the advertisement & do not endorse any product or service advertised in Canadian Parvasi. Please consult your lawyer before buying/hiring/contracting through the
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The International News Weekly November 22, 2019 | Toronto
07

The International News Weekly November 22, 2019 | Toronto 08
Jagmel’s murder a reminder of
Malwa’s brutal caste oppression
Bathinda: The gruesome,
near unbelievable
murder of Jagmel Singh,
a Dalit from Changaliwala
village in Sangrur, is
a sordid reminder of the
brutality of caste oppression
in Punjab’s Malwa
region.
Like Jagmel’s case,
which hit the headlines
a week ago just out of the
sheer violence involved,
four incidents rocked
the state over the past 12
years — of Gurdev Kaur
and Sukhchain Singh in
2016, Bhim Tank
in 2015, and Bant
Singh in 2006. Only Bant
continues to live to tell
the tale of how his seven
upper-caste men pinned
him down in a field, and
kept dropping a handpump
on his legs to reduce
them to pulp, so he
could never walk again.
He was rushed from Burj
Jabbar in Mansa to 200km
away to PGIMER, Chandigarh,
where his arms and
a leg were amputated.
Cut to Jagmel, the attack
was no different, at
least in its mindlessness.
To avenge a spat they
had with him on October
23, four upper-caste men
from Jagmel’s village
took him to the house of
main accused Rinku and
his father Amarjeet Singh
on November 7 by promising
to get him a medicine
he needed. They tied their
victim to a pole, rained
lathi blows on his legs,
poured acid on them, and
left him for the dead by a
roadside.
He died due to multiple
organ failure on November
16.
An academician at
Panjab Universit says
even today, many people
from upper caste communities
feel Dalits are
not equal to them. “When
Dalits try to assert their
rights, members of upper
castes feel their authority
is being challenged,”
says Prof Ronki Ram of
PU’s political science department.
He says though
the highest concentration
of Dalits in Punjab is in
Doaba, fewer attacks take
place there as the community
is more united in
that region of the state.
Lachhman Singh
Sewewala, the general
secretary of Punjab Khet
Mazdoor Union who continues
to fight for Dalit
rights, says there is an attempt
by some people in
upper caste communities
to ensure Dalits’ social
status was never equal to
theirs.
Bant (50), now an icon
of the Dalit struggle, says
members of the community
were still treated like
second-class citizens.
He is now getting a
disablility pension of Rs
750 per month. “They
have not even provided
me a wheelchair,” he
says. “Politicians look to
us only during elections.
It is only an illusion that
society’s perception has
changed. Look at Jagmel’s
case.”
All in a day: Farm fires in Pb
dip from 1,036 to 151
New Delhi: With increase
in paddy stubble
burning incidents in last
three days in Muktsar, the
district administration officials
visited various villages
with fire tenders and
claim to have doused farm
fires at couple of places.
The officials also recommended
registration of
cases where farmers were
burning stubble.
The Muktsar district,
which till November 18,
had recorded much less
stubble burning incidents
as compared with previous
year, saw a surge in
stubble burning incidents
in the last three days. The
stubble burning incidents
remained high in Muktsar
on November 19, 20 and 21.
On November 19, it recorded
343 incidents of 1,036
incidents in Punjab. On
November 20, 380 incidents
of 1,036 and on November
21, it recorded 42 incidents
of the total 151 recorded in
Punjab. Last year, Muktsar had recorded 31 incidents on November 19 and 71 on November 20. However, in Muktsar the burning incidents
as compared with
previous year is still less
(4,271 recorded till November
21 whereas there were
5,381 stubble burning incidents
till November 21,
2018).
However, Punjab recorded
52,154 stubble burning
incidents till November
21 up from 50,829 in the
previous year. Combined
with wheat stubble burning,
Punjab recorded 63,852
burning incidents till November
20, up from 61,497
in the previous year.
Muktsar deputy commissioner
M K Aravind Kumar
said, “Action is being
taken against the farmers
burning stubble which include
registration of cases
and imposing of fines apart
from making red entries in
the land records.
The farmers who have
not burnt stubble will be
provided compensation of
Rs 2,500 per acre after verifying
the facts from panchayats.”

The International News Weekly November 22, 2019 | Toronto
09
NRC will be conducted across
India, repeated in Assam: Shah
New Delhi: A National
Register of Citizens (NRC)
would be implemented
across the country which
would require replicating
the justconcluded exercise
in Assam, home minister
Amit Shah said in Rajya
Sabha on Wednesday while
assuring that no discrimination
would be made on
the basis of religion.
Stating that government
was sticking to BJP’s
poll promise to catalogue all
citizens, Shah said, “NRC
process in Assam was conducted
under Supreme
Court order and under a
separate law. When NRC
will be launched across the
country then, naturally, the
exercise will be repeated in
Assam.”
Official sources said a
nationwide NRC can only
happen after the National
Population Register (NPR)
is updated, which will be
done alongside Census 2021.
After NPR’s verification
process is over, the process
of NRIC (National Register
of Indian Citizens) can
begin. As of now, the NPR
exercise is not being taken
up in Assam and the final
NRC published recently
will be updated along with
the NRIC.
Shah’s reply to questions
from members came
against the backdrop of criticism
over the manner of
implementation of NRC in
Assam and claims that the
exercise did not distinguish
between illegal immigrants
and those who, while not
being citizens, were eligible
for refugee status.
Shah strongly stood by
the Citizenship Amendment
Bill which aims to
provide citizenship to
Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists,
Christians and Parsis from
Bangladesh, Pakistan and
Afghanistan who have fled
to India to avoid religious
persecution. “Hindu, Buddhist,
Sikh, Jain, Christian,
Parsi refugees should get
citizenship and that is why
the Citizenship Amendment
Bill is needed so that
these refugees, who are being
discriminated on basis
of religion in Pakistan, Bangladesh
or Afghanistan, get
Indian citizenship,” he said.
The proposal has been
criticised for excluding
Muslims. Shah’s reply was
a clear indication that the
Citizenship Amendment
Bill, which lapsed because
the term of Lok Sabha ended,
is set to be brought to
Parliament.
While the opposition
benches continued to accuse
the government of
discrimination against
Muslims, Shah said the
government accepted that
Hindu, Buddhist, Jain,
Christian, Sikh and Parsi
refugees should get citizenship
on specific grounds
and this is why the Citizenship
Amendment Bill was
being considered.
Once enacted, Hindu
refugees will be saved from
being treated as illegal immigrants.
Shah emphasised
that unlike CAB, NRC
didn’t provide for faithbased
exclusions. “The
NRC has no such provision
that says certain religions
will be excluded from it. All
citizens of India, irrespective
of religion, will figure
in the NRC list. The NRC is
different from the Citizenship
Amendment Bill.”
Shah said those who
don’t figure in the NRC list
for Assam have the right to
go to the tribunal. “If any
person doesn’t have the
money to approach tribunals,
then the Assam government
will bear the cost
to hire a lawyer,” he said.
Some BJPruled states such
as Uttarakhand, Haryana
and UP have indicated that
they are willing to conduct
Assam-like NRC exercises.
Panchkula violence case:
Charges framed against
Honeypreet, 39 others
Woman accuses
cops of inaction,
attempts suicide
Panchkula: Panchkula
chief judicial magistrate
(CJM) Rohit Wattas on
Wednesday framed charges
against
Honeypreet alias Priyanka
Taneja, the adopted
daughter of rape convict
Dera Sacha Sauda head
Gurmeet Ram Rahim, and
39 others in Panchkula violence
case in Haryana.
Recently, additional district
and sessions judge Sanjay
Sandhir had dropped
sedition charges against
Honeypreet and the other
accused. Thereafter on November
6, bail was granted
to Honeypreet in FIR registered
at Panchkula’s Sector
5 police station in August
2017. In the said FIR, apart
from Honeypreet, Dera
chief’s top aides Surinder
Dhiman, Chamkaur Singh,
Daan Singh, Dilawar Singh,
Rakesh Kumar, Khairati
Lal and Govind Ram were
also mentioned as accused.
The CJM court framed
charges under sections 145
(joining or continuing in
unlawful assembly, knowing
it has been commanded
to disperse), 146 (rioting),
150 (hiring or conniving
at hiring, of persons to
join unlawful assembly),
151 (knowingly joining or
continuing in assembly of
five or more persons after
it has been commanded to
disperse), 152 (assaulting or
obstructing public servant
when suppressing riot), 153
(promoting enmity between
different groups on grounds
of religion, race, place of
birth, residence, language,
and doing acts prejudicial to
maintenance of harmony)
and 120B (criminal conspiracy)
of the Indial Penal Code
(IPC).
Defence counsel R S
Chauhan said the court had
also framed charges under
section 216 (harbouring offender)
of IPC against Gurmeet,
Sharanjeet, another
Gurmeet and Pargat Singh.
The case would come up for
hearing next on December
13, he added.
The police had arrested
41 accused mentioned in
the FIR and the remaining
five, including dera spokesperson
Aditya Insan, were
declared proclaimed offenders
by the Panchkula
court. This was the only
FIR in which Honeypreet
was named as an accused.
According to the police
chargesheet, the conspiracy
to spread violence in Panchkula
was hatched at dera
headquarters by Honeypreet
and the 45-member dera
management committee.
Honeypreet was charged
with criminal conspiracy
and sedition and is the
prime accused in the Panchkula
violence that broke out
after the conviction of the
dera chief. Notably, Honeypreet
had travelled with the
dera chief in a helicopter
when he was airlifted from
Panchkula to Rohtak’s Sunaria
jail after his conviction.
Honeypreet had gone
into into hiding for 38 days
before her arrest on October
4, 2017, from the Zirakpur-
Patiala highway.
As many as 36 people
were killed and more than
200 were injured in the violence
on August 25, 2017.
Batala: A middle-aged woman created a stir by
going live on a social media platform to vent her
ire against the local police before attempting suicide
near the Civil Hospital.
The entire force was taken aback after the
news spread like wildfire that the woman had attempted
to take her life after pinning the blame on
a senior officer.
Junior officers contacted SSP Opinderjit Singh
Ghuman who was away to Chandigarh to attend
an official meeting. The woman, Manisha, went
live on Facebook on Thursday afternoon and said
that her boyfriend had reneged on his promise to
marry her. “I took the matter to the police, who
refused to listen to me. I am committing suicide because
of the police inaction on my complaint. The
police are not taking action against my boyfriend
Amandeep Singh Deepu. I belong to a poor family
and hence, the police are not listening to me,” she
said.
An officer confirmed that Manisha had met him
on Thursday. “It was just a routine meeting. Actually,
she had submitted a complaint against a Tarn
Taran-based boy about two months ago in which
she claimed that he was maintaining physical relations
with her but had refused to marry her. We
are in the process of taking that grievance of hers
to its logical conclusion. Today, I had assured her
that we were on the job and things will be sorted
out soon, to which she agreed. However, 30 minutes
later somebody gave us the news that she had
attempted suicide by consuming poison in front of
the Civil Hospital,” the officer said.

The International News Weekly November 22, 2019 | Toronto 10
When dreams become a nightmare
New Delhi: Having
held a phone after almost
a year, 21-year-old Sukhvinder
Singh broke down
as he informed his father
that he would reach home
in around six hours.
Shocked, his father asked
him if things were all
right in the United States.
Singh was too embarrassed
to tell his family in
Haryana that he had arrived
in Delhi after being
deported from Arizona.
One after another,
the 145 deportees, among
them three women,
walked out at the arrival
terminal at IGI Airport
on Wednesday, standing
out among the crowd with
their ragged clothes and
shoes sans laces. Having
suffered restrictive
schedules for eating and
sleeping at the camps for
illegal migrants in the
US, Singh had decided to
spend a few hours living
it up in Delhi with friends
he had made at the camp
before venturing home.
Some of the men, qualified
engineers but unemployed
at home, had paid
agents Rs 25 lakh each
to reach America, where
they hoped to find jobs.
Instead for the past five
months, they were held in
poorly appointed detention
centres. “It’s been a
long time since someone
called me by my name,”
said Ramandeep Singh
Gada. “At the immigration
camps, we were
called by the numbers assigned
to us.” He claimed
to have been treated like
a common criminal and
given basic food. There
were days when, for a
change, they were given
beef, but Gada said they
had to shun it for religious
reasons and remain
hungry for the day.
Despite their humiliating
experience, there
are many who want to
go back to the country of
their dreams. “My cousins
went there a decade
ago and are today living
a great life,” said Jasweer
Singh. “Seeing their
pictures on Facebook, I
had made up my mind to
also migrate to America.
High Court notice to Centre on Simranjit Mann’s plea
Now I don’t have the face
to show my family and
haven’t yet informed my
parents of my deportation.
I have spent their
life savings on my misadventure.”
Gurpreet Singh of
Punjab, a mechanical engineer,
left home a year
ago. His fond dreams were
shattered the moment he
stepped on American soil.
“Along with several other
Indians, I was put in a detention
centre and for the
first few weeks we weren’t
even told why we were being
held,” he claimed. “It
was only later that we
were told we did not have
proper documents to either
enter America or be
able to stay on there.”
When the detainees
asked for help, Jubarjug
Singh said that the camp
authorities informed
them about the legal procedures,
basically that
after having paid around
Rs 25 lakh to get there,
the detainee would have
to spend a similar sum to
be free.
“Despite repeated requests,
our living conditions
were not bettered in
any way and the only way
out for us was to blindly
agree to whatever the
people there asked of us,”
he added.
Explaining his bedraggled
appearance, Paramjeet
Singh said, “The
track pants that we are
wearing were provided
to us at the immigration
camps after the clothes
that we were carrying
were stolen or confiscated.
Even the shoelaces
were taken away.” He
also alleged that if anyone
fell asleep and missed
the camp meal, they
would not get any food
through the day and other
inmates were warned
against sharing their
food with such people.
Chandigarh : The Punjab and Haryana
High Court today issued notice of motion to
the Union of India, the SGPC and other respondents
on the petition filed by former IPS officer
and two times MP Simranjit Singh Mann
seeking directions for registration of a case
for demolishing Darshani Deori of Gurdwara
Darbar Sahib in Tarn Taran.
Appearing before the Bench of Justice
Harnaresh Singh Gill, Mann’s counsel Ranjan
Lakhanpal submitted that Darshani Deori
was built by the grandson of Maharaja Ranjit
Singh about 200 years ago. The SGPC entrusted
its care to Baba Jagtar Singh. But he and
other have destroyed Darbar Sahib, he alleged.
Lakhanpal added the Shiromani Akali
Dal, Amritsar, headed by Mann, and other
Sikh leaders sat on a dharna for over a week.
But action was not taken by the SGPC against
the demolition or against the persons who
committed the crime. Referring to a report on
the issue in The Tribune, Lakhanpal added
the building which was partially demolished
was a heritage site and of immense religious
importance for the Sikh community. The case
will now come up on November 26.

The International News Weekly November 22, 2019 | Toronto
11
2-hr drama precedes panel
debate on WhatsApp row
New Delhi: A two-hour-long
drama unfurled at the meeting
of a parliamentary committee,
headed by Congress leader
Shashi Tharoor, on Wednesday
as it was marked by sharp
differences between MPs from
BJP and opposition parties on
whether the WhatsApp snooping
issue be taken up for discussion.
The panel finally discussed
the matter after a vote in favour
of it being taken up. Of the
30-member panel, only 24 members,
including Tharoor, were
present and 12 votes were cast
on either side. Tharoor as chair
cast his deciding vote to enable
the discussion.
Sources said the casting
vote on the WhatsApp-Pegasus
controversy, which has become
a political row with opposition
members raising the matter in
Parliament, sealed a long and
heated discussion, with secretaries
to home and electronics &
IT ministries being kept waiting
for over two hours.
Shiv Sena and NDA partner
Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok
Janshakti Party voted with the
opposition, in favour of the discussion
being taken up. LJP MP
Choudhury Mehboob Ali Kaiser
represented his party at the
meeting.
Tharoor had earlier written
to members of the parliamentary
standing committee on information
technology, saying
the alleged use of technology
for snooping on Indian citizens
was a matter of “grave concern”
and it would be discussed at its
meeting on Wednesday.
BJP MPs were overruled on
their argument that the speaker
should decide on whether
Appointment of
ex-Major as DSP
set for cabinet nod
the matter could be discussed
at all, by other members who
pointed out that it was not being
taken up for the first time
on Wednesday, but the topic
had earlier been discussed by
the same panel which was then
headed by BJP MP Anurag
Thakur. Wednesday’s meeting
was inconclusive and the next
meeting will be held on November
27.
Earlier, WhatsApp had let
out that 121 Indian journalists
and human rights activists
were among those globally
spied upon by unidentified entities,
using Israeli spyware Pegasus.
Top sources had earlier
said WhatsApp had written to
the government expressing
“regret” over the row, and had
assured that it was taking all
security measures to address
concerns. Separately, communications
and IT minister Ravi
Shankar Prasad told Parliament
that “some statements
have appeared, based on reports
in media regarding this. These
attempts to malign the government
for the reported breach
are completely misleading”.
Prasad added that the “government
is committed to protect the
fundamental rights of citizens,
including the right to privacy”.
Chandigarh: Punjab
government is set to take
the cabinet route for appointment
of a retired
Army officer as deputy
superintendent of police
(DSP) by relaxing the
height parameter in the
recruitment rules. He is
at present an excise and
taxation officer (ETO) in
Punjab.
The state government
proposes to appoint Major
Sumer Singh as a DSP by
taking out one post from
the purview of Punjab
Public Service Commission
(PPSC) so that the
council of ministers can
relax the rules. The minimum
height required for
the post of DSP is five feet
and seven inches. But the
former Army officer, who
is one inch shorter than
required to be eligible for
the post, had sought relaxation
of this criterion.
A senior government
officer confirmed that the
case would be put up for
final approval of the council
of ministers in the
next cabinet meeting.
It is learnt that former
Army officer’s case is being
pushed by an adviser
of chief minister Captain
Amarinder Singh on
the plea that the Major’s
unique experience in the
Army would help him
serve better in the police
force.
Major Sumer was selected
in the 2015 ex-servicemen
category quota
as excise and taxation officer,
which comes under
the state’s allied services.
His efforts to get appointed
as DSP have also
delayed the appointment
of others selected for the
Punjab civil services and
allied services in the exservicemen
category.
The personnel department
as well as the legal
department had opined
that rules cannot be relaxed
in his case as the
selection process is over
and had cited numerous
high court judgments
that make it clear that no
change of criteria is permitted
once the recruitment
process has commenced.
Therefore, the state
government has decided
to get the appointment
cleared from the state
cabinet.

The International News Weekly November 22, 2019 | Toronto 12
Making MGNREGS More Useful
The programme has been overhauled in the last five years to deliver better results
Amarjeet Sinha
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGN-
REGS) has been in the news recently.
While the MGNREGA was passed in 2005,
independent studies by Niehaus and Sukthankar
in 2013 and Imbert Clement and
John Papp (2014) had found the scheme
plagued by corruption. Nobel laureate Abhijit
Banerjee recently acknowledged the
plugging of leakages in MGNREGS over
the last five years. Clearly the efforts to
clean up MGNREGS through use of technology
have been effective.
The Institute of Economic Growth,
Delhi study on MGNREGS, headed by
Manoj Panda in 2018, found only 0.5%
Natural Resource Management (NRM) assets
to be unsatisfactory. This is a proxy
indicating sharp reduction in leakages.
This has been possible on account of a
range of reforms in MGNREGS, some of
which were acknowledged in Chapter X of
the Economic Survey 2019. What are these
reforms that have made a difference?
First, in the true spirit of the MGN-
REGA, it was seen as an opportunity to
enhance the livelihood security of rural
households. There was a thrust on durable
assets like farm ponds and dug wells
that increase incomes. Animal sheds for
marginal and small farmers were taken
up along with 90/95 day wage labour support
to landless manual casual labour who
were provided housing under Pradhan
Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G).
Water conservation was given a focus by
notifying Mission Water Conservation
guidelines for MGNREGS in 2016 and following
up with adequate capacity building.
It was made clear that MGNREGS is
not a pension scheme but a programme
for livelihood security.
Second, Individual Beneficiary
Schemes which accounted for 21.4% of
the total works in 2014-15 now account for
67.29%. Over 18.17 lakh individual farm
ponds, 10.56 lakh Vermi/Nadep pits, 4.85
lakh soak pits, 5.16 lakh wells, support for
1.54 crore rural housing beneficiaries, 1.3
lakh goat sheds, 5.56 lakh cattle sheds have
been constructed over the last five years
on account of the thrust on livelihood security.
From 36.18 lakh works completed
in 2015-16, the total completed works rose
to 89.86 lakh in 2018-19 on account of better
monitoring of outcomes. Over 15 million
hectares benefited from the water conservation
thrust and 40–50,000 villages could
improve their water security.
Third, complete transparency was
given the highest priority with Aadhaar
linking of accounts, near 100% electronic
Fund Management System (eFMS), 100%
IT/DBT and geo-tagging of assets, improved
public record system, and most importantly
a strengthened system of Social
Audit to hold local government leaders
accountable to the community. Over 97%
wage payments are now generated within
15 days and over 75% actually credited in
the workers’ account within 15 days.
Fourth, changes were brought in the
programme by making 60:40 wages to
material ratio applicable at the district
level instead of at gram panchayat level.
This ensured evidence-based selection of
works. 60% works were earmarked for
agriculture and allied sectors and states
were encouraged to come up with state
specific water conservation and afforestation
efforts. By making 60:40 work at
district level, it was possible to take up
priority public infrastructure like anganwadi
buildings under MGNREGS and
42,716 have been completed in the last five
years. Each and every asset, right from
the inception of the programme, can be
seen on the public website.
Fifth, the labour budget of states was
drawn on the basis of manual casual labour
and deprivation counts, to ensure
that states with more manual casual
labour and deprivation got more of the
MGNREGS resources. The Socio Economic
and Caste Census (SECC) finalised
in July 2015 provided an opportunity to
ensure that MGNREGS funds went to the
poorest regions of the country. Linking
90/95 days of work with the rural housing
programme which also used SECC
based deprivation, it was possible to substantially
raise labour budgets in poorer
regions.
Sixth, seeing climate change impact
showing up in one-fifth of the districts every
year in the form of low or late rains,
aprovision was made to notify 150 days of
work in such regions that had a natural
calamity or drought. This too focussed on
work provision where it was required.
Seventh, efforts were made to continuously
improve the community connect and
partnership of panchayat leaders, women
self-help groups under the Livelihood Mission
and the frontline workers through a
People’s Plan Campaign. Each and every
gram panchayat of the country has been
ranked in 2018. The same process is happening
now for 2019 and all rankings are
in the public domain on www.gpdp.nic.in.
The Gram Swaraj Abhiyan for ensuring
seven benefits to every deprived/ eligible
household in 65,000 purposively selected
villages in mission mode in 2018-19, is an
excellent example of community connect.
While there is always room for improvement,
a lot has been achieved
through these reforms under MGNREGS.
Even during a period when prices of agriculture
commodities have not risen and
wage increase has been modest, it has
been possible to expand the asset base of
the poor and diversify and develop livelihoods
on a much larger scale.
It is true that assetisation and emerging
education, gas, electricity bills, and
health spend of households have altered
the basket of goods and services that poor
households consume and perhaps this
needs to reflect better in the Consumer
Price Index for agricultural labourers.
The Labour Bureau is working on it. MGN-
REGS durable assets, livelihood and water
conservation thrust and 90/95 days under
PMAY-G for the poor, have improved the
lives and livelihoods of the poor.
Source Credit: This article was first published
in The Times of India. The writer is Union Minister
for Law & Justice, Communications and
Electronics & IT
The Bhagwad Gita And Management Science
Swami Swaroopananda
Whether you are seeking enlightenment,
facing a moral dilemma
or you are the managing
director of a multinational corporation
working for success,
the Bhagwad Gita can guide you
effectively in achieving your
objectives. This article outlines
the role of the Gita in Management
Science.
Krishna gives many useful
suggestions on how an executive
could manage his company
successfully. The executive
must have the following qualifications:
Jnanam: This means
a complete vision of the entire
organisation, its aims and objectives,
its place in the country
and also in relation to other
countries. There may be many
functional divisions in the organisation,
but the head must
see unity in all of them. The
relationship between the parts
and the whole must be understood
well.
Buddhi: Discrimination and
discretion. The chief should
be capable of imparting his vision
to all his workers at their
own level of understanding and
field of work. This ability is
buddhi. While translating this
vision into reality, there will
arise many problems, difficulties
and obstacles that may be
objective or manmade as well.
At such moments what is required
is buddhi – the ability
to understand the very cause of
such problems and to remove it
effectively. Buddhi is required
to manage two kinds of people:
those who have difficulties and
those who are difficult people!
In order to do all this the executive
must have good knowledge
of the human mind.
Dhriti: This means patience
and fortitude. The ability to consistently
hold on to your goal is
called dhriti. No goal is achieved
easily and quickly. We meet
with many obstacles that try
our patience. Similar is the case
when all workers are not able to
see the vision and they frustrate
even an effective leader. On all
such occasions the leader must
have extreme patience to win
them over and achieve the goal.
The success of a project depends
on the appointment of
right persons for various jobs.
There will be diversity in jobs
and functions but there should
be unity in purpose and total
dedication to it. The greater the
goal and higher the inspiration,
the more spectacular the success
will be. The way Krishna
managed the crisis at Kurukshetra
on the battlefield, teaching
Arjuna and then leading the
Pandavas to victory, is proof of
this fact.
Worship and meditation:
The mind operates at two levels
– conscious and the subconscious.
The subconscious mind
is very powerful. By cleaning
up the mind and empowering it,
we can garner full energy of the
subconscious mind.
Worship helps us to meditate;
the mind takes the form
of the object of meditation.
Thus, while meditating on the
form, the mind develops and
manifests the qualities of the
deity. Krishna presents elaborate
details on the ‘why’, ‘how’
and ‘obstacles’ in the process of
meditation. Reflect and meditate
when you face obstacles and
challenges, when you are losing
your enthusiasm and when you
are unable to lead.
Leadership does not mean
that all have to become presidents
or CEOs. If you can be an
inspiration to any person, you
are a leader.
If you can help, motivate and
guide just one person, you are
a leader. (The writer is global
head, Chinmaya Mission)