Mangoes or masala -- we are forced to eat poisons; now noodles. Is there anyone we can trust?

Whoever thought that noodles -- our friendly neighbourhood noodles -- would suddenly turn threatening? These are dangerous times: Mangoes are ripened with ammonia; vegetables are treated with carcinogenic pesticides; chicken is injected with overdoses of antibiotics; fish is preserved with formaldehyde, the chemical they use to embalm corpses; masala powders are adulterated with dung, sand, saw dust and more. Is it necessary for commerce to be so diabolic? Where can we turn for the simple decencies that ensure the simple safeties of life? Whom can we trust?

The sense of helplessness is the greater because the letdown over Maggi noodles has come from Nestle. This is not just another corporation. The world's largest food company, Nestle has products that are household names -- Nescafe, Nespresso, KitKat. In New York-based Reputation Institute's 2013 list of "global companies with the best reputation", it became ninth. (Others from the top were BMW, Walt Disney, Rolex, Google, Daimler, Sony, Microsoft and Canon.)

But then, Nestle has also figured in the list of "the world's least responsible companies" and "the world's most boycotted companies". It was the fourth most boycotted after CocaCola, McDonald's and Nike. That was the aftermath of what many considered a cardinal sin on the part of Nestle. To promote its processed cow's milk, it launched an overtly aggressive publicity campaign, claiming that its product was equal in goodness if not better than mother's breast milk. That was the time when health experts and international agencies were promoting breastfeeding, especially in poor countries where infant death rates were high. These experts considered Nestle's campaign as unethical, especially since the company often had its sales representatives dressed up as nurses. A "Nestle Boycott" spread across many countries in 1977, three years after a book had come out under the title Baby Killer.

There were no adverse findings against Nestle's milk itself; it was the marketing people's claim that it can be given to babies instead of breast milk that turned the tables against the company. In the case of Maggi noodles, the product itself has been found faulty. Despite some typical to-ing and fro-ing (Kerala first said it was harmful, then said it was not; the unseasonal election heat in the state must have disrupted the lab technicians' mood), it seems rather clear that the noodles had problems. The Delhi Government was precise when it said it had "found upto 4.49 parts per million of lead" in the noodles against the permitted 2.5 ppm. The Central Government formally lodged a written complaint with the Disputes Redressal Commission. More than 1000 army and navy canteens took Maggi off the shelves until further orders.Denying all charges, Nestle said several samples found defective were past the expiry date. (So what were they doing in the stores?)

The prime suspect in Maggi as in all fast food items is monosodium glutamate, although Nestle says it does not directly use MSG. Even traces of MSG, direct or indirect, should be suspect because this is a "flavour enhancer", a magical effect achieved by stimulating the nervous system. Any chemical that can produce such an impact on the nervous system cannot be considered good. To say that no harmful effects have been scientifically established against MSG is like Sharad Pawar saying that endosulfan causing horrible deformities in humans is not proved. (MSG is continuously stimulating the nervous system of those who go in for "Indian Chinese" food in our so-called Chinese restaurants. Perhaps it is deserved punishment for patronising a travesty that is neither Indian nor Chinese, yet denigrates both cuisines).

Late last week a countrywide ban on Maggi coincided with the company's formal withdrawal of the product. Arguing that India followed testing systems different from the company's, Nestle chairman said, "We'll return". When they do Maggi will be a most diligently prepared noodle, ready to stand any test. Nestle will do its best to sustain Maggi which accounts for 30 percent of its sales in India, translating to Rs 1500 crore in revenue.

But the fight for food safety cannot end. Unhealthy practices are rampant. Out of 49,290 food products sampled by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India in the first six months of 2014-15, 8469 were found adulterated. CocaCola was found to have pesticide residue in it leading to its ban even in Parliament premises. In Nestle's own baby milk powder a Coimbatore consumer alleges to have found worms. And there are our mango mafia and vegetables mafia. How do we live? Whom do we trust?

Our politicians shout, boast, do the rope trick. Luckily our anarchy is still functioning

Indian politics is becoming more and more like Indian news channels -- too loud, too self-obsessed and too deficient in substance. Channel culture is four people shouting at the same time and the anchor outshouting them all. Channels also claim "first on my channel" for items that are on half a dozen channels. Another claim is: "the most watched No. 1" and each channel quotes authoritative statistics to prove the claim. Only in India, the land of the rope trick, is it possible to have five channels each of which is No. 1.

Politicians flatter the channels by imitation -- outshouting one another, each claiming to be first with reform ideas, each quoting statistics and polls to prove that it is No. 1. Irrespective of party labels, those in power have a tendency to see that they, and they alone, are right. Hence the decision by Sonia Gandhi's Congress to turn P.V.Narasimha Rao into a non-person. Hence also the BJP line that Indians were ashamed of India for 60 years and became proud only a year ago. That is a rude summing up of Indians. The fact is that Indians were proud of their country always. Even politically, they were proud of India during the highlight years of Jawaharlal Nehru and after victory in the Bangladesh war. They were proud, too, when they defeated the Emergency. These cannot be erased by mere microphone oratory.

Indians were terribly ashamed of the mega scams that destroyed much of the country's soul during the Manmohan Singh - Sonia Gandhi years. They were not just ashamed, but angry. It was this anger that turned into votes against the Congress, a major factor behind the BJP's landslide victory last year. The moral is obvious: The people of India are fully aware of what is what and who is who. If politicians use them as an item to be toyed with in their propaganda campaigns, the people will take it out on them some day.

So politicians from all sides will do well to review their channel-like habit of exaggerated claims, constant shouting and holier-than-thou attitudes. Aam Aadmi's Arvind Kejriwal shouts that Narendra Modi is establishing a dictatorship in the country. Maybe, but Kejriwal was not exactly democratic when he booted out senior members of his party who asked for inner-party democracy. BJP's president declares that Rs 12 lakh crore worth of scams occurred during the UPA period. Maybe, but what was the combined figure of the scams under BJP's Yeddiyurappa in Karnataka and the ongoing Vyapam corruption scandal in Madhya Pradesh? What national purpose was served by Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi saying that those who wanted to eat beef must go to Pakistan? It irritated even his own ministerial colleague, the Buddhist Kiren Rijiju. One of the coolest members of the Modi cabinet, Rijiju raised a question with an unstated parallel question that deserve attention: "Why", he asked, "do we need to say something against Hindus to become secular"? The parallel question is: "Why do we need to say something against non-Hindus to become Hindu"? If the commonsense behind these twin questions is absorbed by the politicians, our country will become mature enough to turn development from a slogan into an action programme.

But the chances are not very bright because the same people act as different animals in power and out of it. The BJP Government went into a wholesale ordinance regime, criticising the opposition for blocking the passage of bills. The party forgot that it had blocked entire sessions of Parliament when it was in the opposition. Even Arun Jaitley, one of the most brilliant minds in our country, does not, as a politician, want to see the iniquities of partisanship. Claiming that the Government had scored successes on all fronts, he asked the Congress to set aside political competition and back the Government. Just as the BJP, when in opposition, had set aside competition and backed the Congress Government? Do unto others as you want others do unto you.

Perhaps the problems lie with our kind of democracy. When a party is voted to power, it tends to believe that it has the right to do anything. They all ignore the spirit of the Constitution and the letter of the law to the extent they can. The judiciary itself is invaded, in crude powerplay as Indira Gandhi did, subtly as the present Government is doing. That we still have a functioning anarchy is a stroke of luck. Let's be grateful for small mercies.

Vice Chancellors & Education Ministers compete to keep India's standards among the lowest

This is a real-life story that should worry us all because it shows how qualified Indians are defeated by our astonishingly inefficient system, in this case a university. This young man (YM) completed his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) course. On the strength of his provisional certificate, he got a job in Bahrain, but he was told to produce the original quickly. That didn't worry him because he had already applied for the original certificate. However, the University didn't reply for months. Suspecting fraud, his Bahrain employers cancelled his appointment.

The YM went home and applied afresh for his original degree certificate. This time he got it without delay. But it was a certificate that awarded him the B.Com degree instead of the BBA for which he had qualified. He sent a new application for correcting the certificate, told his relatives to follow it up and flew to Qatar where he had applied for a job. He was appointed on condition that he would produce the BBA certificate without delay.

The relatives succeeded in getting a BBA certificate from the University and despatched it to Qatar where the YM presented it to his employers. It was then discovered that the University had merely struck out the term Bachelor of Commerce and scribbled Bachelor of Business Administration in its place; the title of the printed certificate remained Bachelor of Commerce. The Qatar company naturally concluded that its new recruit was a trickster and dismissed him. Two plum jobs lost because of clerical crimes by a university.

It was not an isolated misdemeanor at the University of Calicut in Kerala this year. (This was the only university in the country where the Vice Chancellor was openly boycotted by the students; when he rose to make a speech at any function held in the campus, students would walk out en masse and, when he finished, troop back into the hall). Students who had passed B.Sc (Nursing) were awarded MBBS degrees by the University last month. The authorities blamed computer software for the mess. But everyone knew that it was a "reform" introduced by the Vice Chancellor that caused the muddle; he had abolished a two-stage verification system that existed and put in place an arrangement where there would be no second verification after he had signed a certificate.

The Calicut University scandal surfaced within days of a more astonishing SSLC (class 10) scandal in Kerala that showed how irresponsible a government could get. The Education Minister announced the results -- then quickly admitted that grave mistakes had taken place in formulating them. For the first time in the state's history, the announced results were withdrawn and new results declared. Half a lakh students had their budding careers messed up in the process.

The Minister of course blamed computer software. But, as in the case of Calicut University, the authorities were the ones who malfunctioned, not the machines. The Minister was after two records -- in evaluation speed and in pass percentage. He announced the results 18 days after the exams. That meant teachers evaluating tens of thousands of answer papers in a rush -- estimated at about five minutes per answer paper. The Minister also achieved 97.99 percent passes. Among the tricks employed were out-of-syllabus questions and marks on the basis of "other abilities".

Why did he promote such manipulations? Corruption, said published reports. One report explained that the Government had allowed 700 new Plus Two batches in the new academic year and high SSLC pass rates were necessary to fill these seats. So where is the corruption? Admissions to schools, said the report, involved capitation fees. The Government also opened up avenues for 1500 new teacher jobs, each carrying attractive commission prospects. The system ensures distribution of loot equitably among school managers, ministers and party leaders.

This is happening in Kerala, the state with the country's most enviable educational traditions. In Karnataka, another educationally advanced state, students and parents took to the streets last week over poor scores in PUC results which they attributed to "shoddy evaluation" and "glaring errors". And don't forget the publicly practised art of copying in Bihar. Is it any wonder that not a single Indian university figures in the list of the world's top 200? Expect no improvement in the near future. The overall education budget is down by nearly Rs 14,400 crore. And autonomy, the lifeblood of quality education, is steadily melting away. Development? Make in India? Not a chance if education standards fall this low.

Do our leaders follow the 6 qualities of Kings? Do they avoid the 14 Vices? Are priests pure?

These are frustrating times. True, there are big things that put India on centre stage, such as the Prime Minister's visit to China. But there are also petty things that shame us. We have farmers whose sense of honour makes them commit suicide when they are unable to repay their debts -- and we have a minister in Haryana who calls them "cowards". We have a film star who runs his car over destitutes sleeping on footpaths, killing one -- and his friend condemns footpath sleepers as irresponsible law-breakers. We have a police officer in Delhi who throws a brick at a scooterist because she wouldn't quietly pay him a bribe. He was punished because he was caught on camera. Hundreds of others who see bribe-taking as their birthright escape because their superiors do not care.

It would be a fatal mistake to dismiss these as stray incidents as those in power tend to do. In fact this has nothing to do with who is in power. It is the culture of our times. It is so deeply rooted that even Narendra Modi, for all his determination and iron will, is unable to bring it under control. Consider the case of the IAS whistleblower Ashok Khemka. He was hounded by the Congress Government -- and then, inexplicably, by the BJP Government as well. Obviously things happen behind the scenes, and obviously they cannot be clean things.

For those of us who are mere tax-payers not entitled to know the goings-on behind the scenes, perhaps the only way forward is to dream of the values that once lent glory to our culture -- and hope that one day those values will return to give meaning to our lives. Everyone talks of the greatness of our Vedic past but how many take the trouble to understand the principles that sustained that greatness? Actually it is not difficult to understand those principles and values because they have been spelt out in simple terms by Vyasa in a scene featuring Narada, the sage of the gods. As Narada entered, Yudhishtira and his brothers stood up and bowed low. Then,

"How are you, Yudhishtira?" enquired Narada. "Do you put the six kingly qualities of cleverness, readiness, intelligence in dealing with enemies, memory, knowledge of politics, and devotion to ethics to good use? Are your seven principal officers, the governor of the fort, the commander-in-chief, the chief justice, the chief of police, the royal physician, the political advisor and the chief astrologer loyal to you? Is it your policy to be neutral to strangers and to kings who are neutral to you? Have you good teachers to instruct the princes and army officers in dharma and the various sciences? Is the priest you honour humble, pure, respected, charitable and forgiving?"(P. Lal's translation).

The emphasis, clearly placed by the sage, was on devotion to ethics, loyalty, dharma and familiarity with various sciences. Above all, he underlined the importance of "the priest" being pure and forgiving, as well as humble and respected. How many of our robed priests today -- whatever be the religion they profess -- are humble and respected and forgiving? How many are pure?

Narada did give expression to some values that would shock us today. After asking whether women are protected in Yudhishtira's kingdom, he says, "I hope you trust them with no state secret". There are also the usual paeans to Brahmins as in, "Are wise men and Brahmins respected? You know such respect brings rewards?". Many scholars have argued that sexist and brahminic axioms in the epics are interpolations. But that debate should not divert attention from Narada's projection of kingly duties as an extension of ethics. In the wisest and most important part of his interaction with the Pandavas, he asked: "Do you stay away from all the 14 vices of kings -- hedonism, atheism, anger, rashness, procrastination, not consulting the learned, laziness, nervousness, following only one man's counsel, taking the advice of mercenary friends, abandoning a settled plan, revealing state secrets, financing unproductive projects, and acting on sudden impulses?".

That question encapsulates a vision of politics and civic life at its noblest, a projection of dharmic values no one can disagree with. But how many of those who claim to promote Vedic virtues can face the queries of Narada? How many of our politicians know that they are in fact negating the values they profess? The praja can only hope that our heritage will survive the opportunists who abuse it.

Media is attacked -- by Nepalese for just reasons, by our netas to hide their own iniquities

Cheap sensationalised news handling by television has brought shame to India. Not a new development, it was left to Nepal to expose this internationally. Ironically, and in entirely different contexts, many Indian netas also have suddenly found it convenient to blame the media for the problems they face. Aam Aadmi's Arvind Kejriwal has gone to the extent of calling for a public trial of the media. That would be nice. A public trial will bring out the double-standards of selfish politicians as well.

We cannot blame the Nepalese who created a special GoHomeIndianMedia platform to bring unpleasant truths to light. From the time Narendra Modi said that it was from his tweet that Nepal's Prime Minister first knew about the earthquake, our media has been focussing on India and Indian humanitarianism rather than on the catastrophe that had struck the Nepalese people. Locals resented Indian aircraft blocking the Kathmandu airport, Indian journalists taking up helicopter space that could have been better used for relief material, Indian medical teams getting bogged down in their own bureaucracy even as countries like Israel set up field hospitals in no time. They talked of Indian media's "aggressive presence" and its tendency to treat the human tragedy as a public relations exercise for Delhi.

These impressions aired by Nepalese people would not surprise Indian viewers who are continuously appalled by the jingoistic posturings of several of our news channels, especially those noted for their loudness. Shouting is the weapon of the loser, yet some of our channels have shouted themselves into a culture of pre-judgment and opinionated arrogations, giving their targets no chance to put in a world, let alone explain their positions. Perhaps India's social media activists must tell their counterparts in Nepal that Indians too are disgusted with the self-righteous screamings of the channel masters.

While Nepalese displeasure with Indian media is sustainable, India's political leaders suddenly charging the media with all kinds of sins is a very different matter. They attack the media in order to hide their own iniquities.Let us get a basic point clarified. The standards of journalism have gone down in recent years. The media no longer commands the credibility it once did. Journalism also has been eroded by corruption. Some of the big names in the profession have been caught lobbying for vested interests. These are legitimate grounds for attacking the media. But that is not what our politicians are doing. They are attacking because the media does not act as their megaphones, because the media reports things which are inconvenient to this neta or that.

Recall policemen in West Bengal's secretariat telling journalists, "don't loiter around or you will be arrested". It is the duty of journalists to loiter around government offices. But Mamata Bannerji was not interested in people knowing anything about the Saradha scam which the media was reporting. Journalists were barred from courts where the case was being heard and also from CBI and Enforcement Directorate offices. Mamata justified it all by saying that her government was the best in the world (yes, she said that) and that the media was merely indulging in "news pollution".

Prime Minister Modi himself, the recipient of unprecedented, even fawning, media coverage ( no national leader in the past has had his speeches and mega events like the Madison Square Garden spectacle broadcast in full by the channels) said the other day that "the media has taken upon itself the responsibility of spreading lies against me". That's an unkind cut, especially when armies of cyber activists are ever present to demolish Modi critics in various sites.

If there is a prize for intolerance, it must go to Arvind Kejriwal. He and the Aam Aadmi movement were in fact the creation of the media in the early days. But for the enthusiasm with which the media projected his ideas and goals, even condoned his early mistakes, he would never have scored the victory he did in the last elections. But power changed him overnight into just another politician, the party getting splintered by infighting. His chosen faithfuls are now facing charges on their own, ranging from fake university qualifications to misconduct with women associates. Big leader Kejriwal's response to it all is that news channels are biased towards BJP, that opinion polls are rigged, that media outlets take money to peddle news. There is nothing one can say to a man given to such hypocritical imaginations. The only consolation is that he will never again taste another popular victory.