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Kautilya’s Arthashastra: A Neglected Precursor to Classical Economics

B Shantanu — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:04:50 +0000

Thanks to Sanjeev for alerting me to this remarkable paper. It is actually more than 15 years old (!) and was published in the journal of the Delhi School of Economics. It is remarkable for it shows that Bharat was far ahead of its time in ancient days when it came to cutting-edge economic theory and Chanakya was perhaps the pioneer of classical economics, free trade and progressive taxation policies..Excerpts from the paper below (you can download the pdf created by Sanjeev here).

Kautilya’s Arthashastra: A Neglected Precursor to Classical Economics

CHARLES WALDAUER, WILLIAM J. ZAHKA AND SURENDRA PAL School of Management, Widener University Chester, PA 19013 USA, Indian Economic Review, Vol. XXXI, No. 1, 1996, pp. 101-108

ABSTRACT

This paper demonstrates that Kautilya, a great Indian philosopher-statesman and contemporary of Aristole, and whose work was lost for more than 1400 years, anticipated classical economic thought by some 2,000 years in the areas of international trade, taxation and a labor theory of value. This aspect of Kautilya’s philosophy of government has been overlooked by historians of economic thought and we believe that his contributions should receive appropriate and overdue recognition.

Kautilya, the great Indian philosopher-statesman and contemporary of Aristotle, wrote his ARTHASHASTRA as a primer for good rule by the king. The goal of this is treatise was to increase the monarch’s wealth and that of his realm – as was true of ancient and medieval philosophers, Kautilya did not distinguished between the wealth of the sovereign and that of his subjects. In this respect, Kautilya’s approach is akin to the seventeenth century German Cameralist School of Economic Thought (Dasgupta, ch. 3). Kautilya’s work continues a long-standing Indian tradition of inquiry into the creation of wealth, which goes at least as far back as the ARTHARVAVEDA, circa 1000 BC (Chand).

On International Trade

…In proposing rules and practices by which the king will rule successfully, Kautilya explicitly recognizes that international trade (trade among kingdoms) in goods and services is a major vehicle for increasing the sovereign’s wealth as well as that of his subjects. Kautilya also counsels his monarch that the wealth and well being of the realm can be most advanced by a fair and efficient system of taxation, one which will supply the king with tax revenue while not stifling economic growth. Finally Kautilya advocates a wage system which rewards workers for the economic value they have created and encouraged them to work harder and more efficiently.

The importance of international trade is emphasized by Kautilya in that he advises the sovereign that foreign relations should be guided strongly by trade considerations. He counsels that relationships with southern kingdoms are to be favored over those with northern kingdoms because the southern kingdoms possess greater mineral wealth. As he puts it “Possessing immense gold is better than a friend ruling over a vast population… for armies and other desired objects can be purchased with gold.” (Sen, p. 10) Kautilya also advantages attracting foreigners who possess good technical and other economic development of the realm.

Unlike the Mercantilists, Kautilya also explicitly recognizes that imports represent a very important way in which the wealth of the realm can be increased, in that imports can provide the kingdom with products which are either not available domestically (e.g., natural resources and agricultural commodities) or can be obtained more cheaply from foreign sources through trade than through domestic production.

Kautilya explicitly formulates a comparative advantage view of international trade patterns by stating that it is mutually beneficial to the various kingdoms when the products being imported are cheaper than those that can be obtained domestically and will fetch higher prices to the exporter than can be gotten in domestic markets (Sen, p. 29).

…

Kautilya urges the monarch to create trade missions to promote trade with other kingdoms and he especially supports bilateral trade arrangements in products. In fact, he counsels against unilateral trade, where products are exported or imported for money (bullion) only. He stresses the need to exchange commodities for commodities so that both kingdoms may be mutually enriched (Sen, p. 27). This stress on two-way trade in products is based on the desire to raise tax revenues for the monarch through both export and import duties.

…Kautilya recognized that trade based on the principle of comparative advantage would be to the material benefit of both exporting and importing nations.

On Taxation

…the Kautilyan tax system, which was remarkable for how extensive it was and how well it conformed to modern principles of good tax systems (Choudhary, pp. 128-130). In advising the ideal tax system, Kautilya enunciates a set of “principles of taxation” remarkably similar to the modern-day criteria first formulated by Adam Smith as “canons of taxation” in his Wealth of Nations, published in 1776. Thus, Kautilya’s views on the elements of a good tax system predate modern economic thought by some two thousand years:

“Kautilya’s discussion of taxation and expenditure, apparently in keeping with traditional doctrine, gave expression to three Indian principles: taxing power is limited; taxation should not be felt to be heavy or exclusive; tax increases should be graduated.” (Spengler, 1971, p. 72).

Kautilya recognized that a prosperous and stable kingdom had to be founded on a well-developed an administered tax system. The importance of public finance to the successful reign by a monarch is underscored by his succinct advice to his sovereign:

“All undertakings depend on finance. Hence foremost attention must be paid to the treasury…Thus, when both the receipts and expenditures are property earned for, the king will never find himself in financial or military difficultues.” (Gopal, p. 19).

“…the army is sometimes the means of securing the wealth acquired; but wealth is always the means of securing both the treasury and the army. Since all activities depend on finance, financial troubles are more serious.” (Gopal, P. 20)

In Kautilya’s view, finance was so important to the success and well being of the sovereign that it, along with the army, was under the direct control of the king. …

As presented in the Arthashastra, Kautilya’s advice to his monarch on the ideal tax system is based on achieving the following objectives: gaining as much tax revenue as possible for his king; promoting economic growth and development within the kingdom; ensuring that resources are used efficiently; and applying taxes that are “fair” and “just”.

…Kautilya recognizes that the “ideal” tax system should embody the following principles: it would be convenient to pay, easy to calculate, inexpensive to administer, fair (equitable) in its burden, non-distortive of economic behavior in its impact (neutral), and in general not inhibit economic growth and development. (Gopal, pp. 23- 26)

…Kautilya counsels that taxes should be collected only when people have the capacity to pay:

“Just as fruits are gathered from a garden as often as they became ripe, so revenue shall be collected as often as it becomes ripe. Collection of revenue or of fruits, when unripe, shall never be carried on, lest their source may be injured, causing immense trouble.” (Gopal, p. 23)

Further, Kautilya advises that taxation should not be raised to such a high degree that it destroys people’s economic incentives to engage in productive undertakings, thereby lowering the level of economic activity and the material wealth of the kingdom:

“Thus, a wise Collector-General shall conduct the work of revenue collection…that production and consumption should not be injuriously affected…financial prosperity depends on public prosperity, abundance of harvest, and prosperity of commerce among other things.” (Gopal, pp. 23-24)

According to Kautilya, the amount of tax liability should be certain and known, and convenient to pay:

“…collection of revenue at a season when people were unable to pay is forbidden because it injures the source and causes immense trouble.” (Gopal, p. 24)

…(A) system of graduated tax rates apply to the occupational privilege and income taxes levied on artisans and craftsmen, where the highest rates are levied on the most skilled workers and the lowest rates are assigned to the least skilled. (Sen, pp. 122-123)

…

Responsibility for gathering information on which the collection of tax revenue and its auditing is based resides in the Village Accountants (Gopas, each responsible for from five to ten villages), who in effect are the census takers. These Gopas are required to inventory all the real and personal property wealth in their domains for wealth tax purposes, the number of adult males for poll tax purposes, the annual income and expenditure of each household for income tax purposes, and the number and type of merchants and artisans (as well as volume of business done) for both sales and occupational license tax purposes. The breadth and detail of Mauryan census-taking revalled that of ancient Egypt under the Pharaohs, and was the most extensive census existing before the industrial revolution (Bandyopadhyaya, p. 138).

…

As would be expected in a pre-industrial economy, real property and excise taxes were major sources of tax revenue. Because of the detailed census conducted by the Mauryan kingdom, however, considerable revenue was derived from personal property and poll (head) taxes, as well taxation in the form of occupational licenses.Even income taxation was employed. Thus, Kautilya clearly enunciated-well before the rise of classical economic thought-a detailed, all-inclusive and effective tax system.

On Labour Theory of Value

Two millennia before Adam Smith enunciated has labor theory of value, Kautilya in the Arthshatra held that a “just” wage to be paid to workers should be based on the amount of time spent on the job, the amount of output created, and the skills necessary to perform the required tasks. Kautilya explicitly recognizes three distinct components for determining the market value of labor: the level of skill required (the human capital element), labor hours worked and units of output produced (the labor productivity element).

…R. Shamasastry in his translation, Kautilya’s Arthshastra, cites that among the duties of the Superintendent of Weaving shall be the setting of wages paid to weavers (pp. 125- 126):

Wages shall be fixed according as the threads spun are fine, coarse or of middle quality, and in proportion to a greater or less quantity manufactured, and in consideration of the quantity of thread spun…Wages shall be cut short, if, making allowance of the quality of raw material, the quantity of the thread spun out is found to fall short.

In determining wages for labor in general, Shamasastry quotes Kautilya in establishing the following procedure (p. 208):

As to wages not previously settled, the amount shall be fixed in proportion to the work done and the time spent in doing it. Wages being previously unsettled, a cultivator shall obtain 1/10th of the crops grown, a herdsman 1/ 10th of the butter clarified, a trader 1/10th of the sale proceeds. Wages previously settled shall be paid and received as agreed upon.

Summary

…

Writing more than two thousand years before Hume, Smith, Ricardo and J.S. Mill, Kautilya anticipated their thoughts on the importance of conducting trade in accordance with the principle of comparative advantage, that imports are as important as exports in promoting a nation’s economic development and growth, and that reciprocal demand will determine the value of commodities in bilateral and multilateral trade.

He also clearly anticipated Smith and Ricardo on the principles of effective taxation that will result in an ideal system of taxation: one which will promote economic growth and development, ensure that resources are used efficiently, whose burden is borne fairly, and which distorts economic decision-making as little as possible.

Kautilya was also far ahead of his time in developing a labor theory of value in trying to determine what was a “just” wage for workers.

…

One can only conjecture that trade theory, principles of taxation, and the labor theory of value associated with classical economic thought might have evolved much earlier (perhaps in the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries) if Kautilya’s views had been known to scholars such as St. Thomas Acquinas in the late middle ages or early Mercantilists in the Renaissance. This is another example of occidental philosophical thought suffering from not having access to oriental philosophical thought.

*** End of Excerpts ***

Must read: Greek Thoughts, Indian Roots? and An 1100 years-old Constitution

“How ancient India upheld democracy, kept corruption at bay” – Excerpts

B Shantanu — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:50:15 +0000

Thanks to Dr Kalyanaraman-ji for alerting me to this article: “How ancient India upheld democracy, kept corruption at bay“, by Brij Khandelwal, published in DNA. Excerpts below (emphasis mine):

Aligarh Muslim University historian S Chandni Bi, who has specialised in epigraphy, the study of inscriptions, says around 1,000 years ago there was zero tolerance towards financial bungling. According to him, inscriptions in the southern state of Tamil Nadu clearly indicate how intolerant civil society was against corrupt practices and the violators of ethical framework.

Chandni told IANS in an interview: “A well-evolved democratic system was functional, starting at the Saba level, between the eighth and the 16th century in South India, irrespective of the ruling dynasties: the Cheras, Cholas, Pallavas, Pandyas and Vijaynagar. The members of a Saba were elected by the whole community of the village by a system peculiarly known as ‘Kuda Olai’ system (Kudam-Pot and Olai-Palm leaf). The village was divided into wards called ‘Kudumbus’, and every ward had to write the eligible person’s names on the palm leaves. The bundle of palm leaves was emptied in a pot. The member was chosen by draw of lots.”

The most important point to note here was the issuance of strict guidelines by the rulers, inscriptions give fair indication of the clarity of thought and zero tolerance towards financial bungling.

…“The crimes committed by the members of the Saba are divided into three categories. The swindling of funds or public property and those who failed to submit their accounts have been considered as crime number two. Such members were not eligible to contest the Saba election for life long. Not only they but their relatives too could not contest elections, like children, in-laws, brothers and their children, grand -parents, grand- children, relations through wife etc, nearly for three generations. They were called as ‘Grama Dhurogis‘.

“While murder of even Brahmins was considered pardonable, crimes like cheating or swindling public funds were unpardonable even by gods. Political crime was not pardonable but other crimes could be punished with penalties or performance of penance and charitable deeds, to become eligible for elections again.”

…To prevent political power getting concentrated in one family leading to dynastic tendencies, rules were framed. “According to this rule, the present members of the Saba cannot contest the election for next 2 to 10 years. In the same way none of their relatives should have contested for the past five years if one wanted to contest for membership of Saba. There is also a sub-rule to provide equal opportunity for everybody stipulating induction of two new members without any previous experience as members of the Saba.”

…They also actively practised the right to recall. “In those days if an elected member of the Saba committed a crime or violated law, he was immediately sacked. Such has been our rich and exemplary past. Let us bring it back instead of looking to the west for solutions,” said Chandni who is teaching South Indian History in AMU.

Related Posts: “Corruption” – as mentioned in the Vedas, Greek Thoughts, Indian Roots? and the utterly fascinating and extensively researched, “Democracy in Ancient India…“

“Sukhasya moolam Dharmah”

B Shantanu — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:16:12 +0000

Many of you must have come across this well-known sutra before. Some days back, I got curious to know more about it…and I turned to Radhakrishnan Pillai and Ranjit Shetty, co-Founders and Directors of the Chanakya Institute of Public Leadership in Mumbai. Radhakrishnan and Ranjit put me in touch with CIPL’s course-coordinator, Malathi..who sent me this very helpful email (thanks also to Rahul and Pravin – both participants at CIPL, who helped Malathi locate the sutras):

The sutras which you have asked the reference for comes in Chanakya Pranita Sutra which is also called Chanakya Sutra. It doesn’t come under Arthashastra. There are works by Chanakya other than Arthashastra like Laghu Chanakya, Rajneeti Shastra, Chanakya Neeti, Chanakya Sutra etc. Chanakya Sutra has 572 sutras. These are the first 10 sutras from Chanakya Sutra:

1. Sukhasya moolam Dharmah

Meaning – The basis of “sukha” or all true pleasantness is “dharma” or righteous conduct.

2. Dharmasya moolam Arthah

Meaning- The basis of all “dharma” is “artha” or wealth.

3. Arthasya moolam Rajyam

Meaning – The basis of all “artha” is “rajya” or the State.

4. Rajyasya moolam Indriya Jayah

Meaning – The basis for the stability of the State lies in control over the “indriya“ or sense faculties providing pleasure.

5. Indriyajayasya moolam Vinayah

Meaning – The basis for control over the sensual faculties is in “vinay” or humility.

6. Vinayasya moolam Vruddhopasevah

Meaning – The basis for humility is devotion to those grown old through wisdom.

7. Vruddhopasevaya Vijnanam

Meaning – Through devotion to the wise, one attains proficiency with the maximum efficiency.

8. Vijnanena atmaanam Sampadyet

Meaning – It is imperative for all the functionaries of the State to perform their duties with the maximum efficiency.

9. Samapaditatma jitatmama Bhavati

Meaning – To perform State duties with the maximum efficiency, the functionaries of the State must learn to control their sensual needs, and maximise their internal potential.

10. Jitatma sarvarthe Sanyujyate

Meaning – Those who have vanquished their baser selves will become prosperous naturally, can retain their prosperity, and (will) be successful in their endeavours.

Here are the sutras in Devanagari script:

सुखस्य मूलं धर्मः , धर्मस्य मूलं अर्थः

अर्थस्य मूलं राज्यं , राज्यस्य मूलं इन्द्रिय जयः

इन्द्रियाजयस्य मूलं विनयः, विनयस्य मूलं वृद्धोपसेवः

वृद्धोपसेवाय विग्न्यानं , विग्न्यानेनं आत्मानं सम्पद्येत

समपदितात्म जितात्मम भवति, जितात्मा सर्वार्थे संयुज्यते

Related Posts: Understanding Raj-Dharma – Part I and Part II

Understanding Raj-Dharma, Part 2

B Shantanu — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 18:33:32 +0000

Several months ago, while idly surfing the web, I stumbled on a somewhat oddly titled monograph*. It read: “Passage to Hindu State: DharmaRajya and RajaDharma” – A Socio-Political Study of the Mahabharata”

It was a serendipitious discovery. I can hardly claim to be an authority on ancient history or the socio-political traditions of the Vedic period but I feel that Dr Nagarajan‘s work deserves serious study – and wider dissemination. The main focus of his research has been to develop a socio-political constitution for this sub-continent from the point of view of “Dharma” and “Artha”. I started reading his monograph on “RajaDharma and DharmaRajya” a while ago. Today I would like to publish some excerpts that refer to Raja-Dharma – to continue the “Understanding Dharma” series. I intend to read a lot more of his work in the days to come . Pl read on (emphasis mine, throughout):

From Pg 39

The greatest duty (dharma) of the king was to take action against the impious and guilty and protect the pious and innocent. He should never flee from battle. Those who knew dharma expected the king to exhibit both forbearance (kshama) and rage (krodha), be generous (dana) and be ungenerous, cause fear (bhaya) and remove fear, extend aid (anugraha) and impose penalty (nigraha), depending on the circumstances. (14-14 to 17)

Pg 43

(- Draupadi again): This spokesperson of the Isvara school of thought pointed out that Dandaniti warned the king not to use coercive power, danda, in an arbitrary manner and without giving thought to its implications. If he did mot exercise the power given by it against the guilty because of indolence or complacency, like the fish, the mighty in the world of commoners would swallow the weaker. Dandaniti required state power to be used to protect the weak against coercion and exploitation by the mighty. If its provisions were not used, social hierarchies would be upset and there would be no good and honest men left in the world, this school warned.

Pg 44

“Danda” became operative when the king was intelligent and wise and could distinguish correctly among the three values, dharma, artha and kama and spoke only the truth, that is, when he upheld the Vedic laws based on truth (satya). Dandaniti in its origin was a severe deterrent.

Pg 45

It (Dandaniti) controlled the king too and penalized him if he was given to lust and deviated from social (and state) laws, dharma. It had provisions by which the king and his clan could be executed for violation of the laws. Dandaniti could harass his fort and kingdom (that covered the rural areas) and his settled as well as mobile populations and also the sages who lived in the open space (akasa) and the nobles (devas) who refused to accept it.
It had inter-state jurisdiction and could not be challenged by any state. When it was proclaimed kings were stationed in forts and had jurisdiction over the adjoining rural areas. Dandaniti extended their authority to the urban areas where the nobles resided and the open areas where the sages had their abodes. This took away the immunities and privileges the two cadres enjoyed. Draupadi was referring to the pre-varna socio-political order as it prevailed during the Upanishadic times.
Dandaniti could not be invoked by a foolish or lustful king or by one who had no approved associates. It was to be invoked only by kings who functioned under politico-economic constitutions and not by despots and autocrats. Only one who was pure and followed the policy science (nitisastra) and had good companions and was wise could implement its provisions. He should be just to the people of his state and harsh with his enemies and keep his friends disciplined. He should be patient with the jurists (Brahmans) who freely and fearlessly expressed their views. Such a king would be popular even if he was poor.

Pg 88

For kings nothing except this adherence to truth could become the cause (karanam) for the trust placed in them. A king who had good character (sheela), and had conquered his sense organs (jitendriya) and was generous and soft and a good guide (sudarsha) with a large objective (and wide outlook) (sthula-lakshya) would never become corrupt by possession of wealth, Bhishma opined. He asked Yudhishtira to be upright in all projects (karya) and reexamine his views with reference to state policy (naya) (that was determined by the nobles) and the bounds prescribed by the three Vedas (trayi). (56-17 to 20)

*** End of Excerpts ***

Looking at our present-day polity, it is hard to believe that this is the very same Punya-Bhumi that nurtured such an amazing flowering of intellectual thought and nourished such extraordinary minds…

K Harapriya’s series on What is “Dharma?” (concluding part with all previous links)

Understanding Raj-Dharma

Reading the Bhagavad Gita…

* Part of this book, including “Bhishma on Raja Dharma” are here

On sanitary napkins and innovation…

B Shantanu — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:32:19 +0000

OR how the politics of subsidies kills the spirit of entrepreneurship…

From NextBillion, comes this story by Rishabh Kaul of an extra-ordinary innovation that is being threatened by the politics of subsidies.

…Last month, the Indian Newspapers were all ablaze with stories of Indian Government rolling out a massive national scheme under which they will provide the women in rural areas with sanitary napkins. While the exact details are unclear, women below the poverty line will be provided with the napkins free of charge where as the rest of the rural women will be charged Re 1 (.02 USD).

This is clearly a great step towards the end goal. However, there’s a 48 year old Coimbatore resident, A. Muruganatham, who isn’t smiling.

A. Muruganatham and his invention, a machine that can churn out 120 sanitary napkins an hour, has been creating a lot of waves in the developmental sector. A high school drop out, Muruganatham created his machine after realizing that there was an immense need for low cost sanitary napkin at the base of the pyramid. According to him, it costs just about 1 rupee (0.02 USD) to produce these napkins and the machine itself costs Rs 66000 (approx USD 1500).

India’s National Innovation Foundation came to Muruganatham’s aid and helped him scale his idea by inviting more and more SHGs to buy his machine as well as spreading the word. He has also obtained a patent for his invention, something which he is really proud of.

A. Muruganatham’s invention; Image courtesy: NIF

Sadly, Muruganathan innovation is now at risk of being derailed by a massive government sponsored subsidy programme that is unlikely to boost such home-grown innovation.

Muruganathan spent close to 4 years researching sanitary napkins and has worked on the nitty gritty details to make his product adhere to the world standards.

He has sold over a hundred of his machines to women entrepreneurs all over India. Further more he emphasizes that using his machine, the napkins can be customized to the size of heavier women as well, a service that the major corporations don’t offer since they deal in bulk quantities. State Governments of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh have also struk a deal with him. He’s also started getting offers from Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, and Kenya. The US-based Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT) has placed orders for his machine, which they plan to use in Bangladesh.

Assuming the napkins are sold at Rs. 1, the project will cost the government a minimum of Rs. 2000 crore (USD $400M) and cater to 200 million rural women. Muruganatham argues that 100,000 units of his machine can be bought for less than half the cost (approx USD $140M) and as a result provide employment to over 1 million women. He further adds that if the government would sign an undertaking saying that they would buy the napkins churned out by his machine, the banks wouldn’t hesitate to give loans to SHGs to buy his machines. This way the government wouldn’t incur any capital costs.

Furthermore, MFI linkages could also be used to market this product and deliver it at doorsteps. This would effectively reduce the number of supply chains, decrease middle men and bring the overall costs further down.

…”What really ticked me off was when I heard that the Government was providing these napkins at a highly subsidized rate. This would mean that it would buy those napkins at a higher cost from elsewhere. What is the need of that, when my technology provides with a similar product at a cheaper price and at the same time generates a lot of rural employment,” says Muruganatham.

Unfortunately no one appears to be listening…and so an innovation that has the potential to transform the lives of millions of poor women – and provide employment to hundreds more, will languish in a small workshop/factory somewhere while crores of rupees are pumped in the next government subsidy scheme.

If anyone has any links/contacts in the Ministry of Women and Child Development at the centre, please pass this email on to them…and please try and spread awareness about this issue amongst mainstream media and native language journals/ newspapers. Thank you.

Related Post: “A plea for sanitation” – excerpts

***

Please note I am travelling until the middle of May and there may be some delay in moderation and in responding to your comments. Thank you for your patience and support, as always. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!

raveen Swami’s Not So Fabulous Fables

http://www.countercurrents.org/jtsa250410.htm

By Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association

25 April, 2010
Teacherssolidarity.org

If there is one infallible indicator of what the top Indian Intelligence agencies are thinking or cooking up, it is this: Praveen Swami’s articles. Each time the security establishment wishes to push a certain angle to this bomb blast or that, Swami’s articles appear magically, faithfully reflecting the Intelligence reports. After the Batla House ‘encounter’, he launched a tirade against all those who were questioning the police account of the shootout labeling them all ‘Alices in wonderland’. He went so far as to identify ‘precisely’ how Inspector Sharma was shot by claiming that “abdomen wound was inflicted with [Atif] Amin’s weapon and the shoulder hit, by Mohammad Sajid”.

And no sir, Swami’s conclusion was not based on post mortem reports of the killed, fire arm examination report or ballistic report but on this innocent fact: “the investigators believe that…” He certainly brings in a whole new meaning to ‘investigative journalism’. Swami however felt no need to pen an article when the postmortem reports of Atif and Sajid revealed that they had been shot from close range and that neither of them sustained gunshot wounds in the frontal region of the body—an impossibility in the case of a genuine encounter. Was it because the police and the Home Ministry chose to remain quite after the revelations—hoping that the storm would quietly blow over.?

Flip Flops on German Bakery Blasts

And meanwhile there was the German Bakery blast in Pune. Writing less than a week after the blasts, Swami hinted at the possible involvement of the Hindutva groups, namely Abhinav Bharat (“Hindutva Terror Probe Haunts Pune Investigation”, 19th February 2010). Indeed, this was mood in the ATS (though this was no deterrent to the large scale illegal detention and brutal interrogation often at private premises, of scores of Muslim youth in Pune.) Even the following week, the Home Department officials were not ruling out the possibility of the involvement of the Right wing Hindutva groups. But that was February. By March, political impatience at the probe taking such a turn was palpable. Responding to a riled Shiv Sena in the legislative assembly, the Maharashtra Home Minister, R.R. Patil thundered: “I will inquire if Raghuvanshi really indicated to the media about involvement of Hindu organisations in the Pune blast and if he did, action will be taken (against him).” As if on cue, two days later, Rakesh Maria was installed as the new ATS chief. This was of course only after a few months when Vinita Kamte, widow of the slain ATS officer Ashok Kamte, made serious allegations casting aspersions on Maria’s role in responding to the then ATS chief Hemant Karkare’s call for reinforcements during 26/11.

CCTV Footage:

Since its start, the probe had little to go on by way of leads except for the CCTV footage. While the Pune police commissioned experts to draw sketches of the suspects based on this footage, ATS dismissed this exercise as “anything but useful”, as their source, the CCTV footage, was itself grainy. (Siasat, April 12). Where does Swami stand on this? He wrote in his 19th February piece: “All that investigators have by way of suspects are three men recorded holding brief meetings before the blast by a poor-quality closed-circuit television camera. From the videotape, it is unclear if the men had anything to do with the attack.”

Exactly a month later, Swami conveniently develops an amnesia about Abhinav Bharat and even about the poor quality of CCTV footage. What was earlier ‘unclear” and hazy has in one month segued into solid shape: in the form of top Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Mohammad Zarar Siddi Bawa ie., Yasin Bhatkal. Suddenly imparted with enlightenment, Swami writes dramatically of how a closed circuit television camera … “recorded evidence that Bawa had returned to India—just minutes before an improvised explosive device ripped through the popular restaurant killing seventeen people and injuring at least sixty.” The poor quality (by Swami’s own admission) and useless (by the ATS’s admission) visual evidence has morphed into precious footage of Bhatkal, “the fair, slight young man with a wispy beard” … “dressed in a loose-fitting blue shirt, a rucksack slung over his back.”

Clearly, Swami’s changing perceptions about the CCTV footage is in accord with the shifting attitude of the ATS itself. The ATS began by keeping the option of probing Abhinav Bharat open; developed cold feet, preferred to lapse into the usual Lashkar-IM litany, ‘rediscovered’ hitherto worthless footage and resurrected the IM. In an unequivocal reference to the manner in which innocent Muslim youths were arrested earlier by the ATS in its pre-Karkare days, a senior officer of the Pune Police admitted that “There have been some arrests in the Pune blast incident just as in the case of the 2006 Malegaon explosions. But we would never know whether those arrested were actually the men who triggered the blasts.” (Siasat, April 12, 2010). Rumours that the probe might be handed over the National Investigative Agency must have also pressured the Maharashtra ATS to show ‘results’—and viola, within two weeks of taking over, Maria submitted a preliminary report to the state government identifying the hand of Bhatkal and IM in the blasts. This was of course promptly and proudly relayed by R.R. Patil to the legislative assembly (surely to the relief also of the Shiv Sena legislators). Is it a coincidence that the Pune Police Commissioner has been transferred, ostensibly for the rising crime graph a couple of days ago? It seems improbable that the running battle between the Pune police and the ATS—whose current chief Maria had thrown a tantrum following Vinita Kamte’s accusation, demanding the support of the state Home Ministry—had no role to play in this.

The Bangalore Blasts:

When two crude bombs went off outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium ahead of the match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore on 17th April, the Karnataka Home Minister V.S. Acharya announced that the state Police were investigating the alleged involvement of the cricket betting lobby. He forcefully denied any link with the earlier blasts in the city in 2008.

But Yasin Bhatkal seems to have preoccupied Swami’s mind on 19th April for he evokes him again in connection with the stadium blasts (“Stadium Blasts herald new IM offensive”). Citing the ever cooperative ‘investigators, he says that the ‘similarity in design’ and the manner in which some bombs failed to explode are a sure indicator of the IM hand. Beyond this, he has nothing to link Bangalore bombs to Bhatkal. But good stories can always compensate for lack of facts. His piece, “To Bangalore with Hate” on 21st April (which has charming subtitles such as Jihad at ginger Plantation”), is no less crude then the two bombs at the stadium. Swami here details the biographies of SIMI activists in South India, making the link, ever so cleverly, between SIMI—and yes, IM—and the stadium blasts, without providing any evidence of their actual linkage. Life stories of these men are proof enough, he assumes.

It is quite clear that Mr. Swami has provided a (sometimes entertaining) dramatized version of the charge sheets files by the various police departments across the country. While it may make for a good script, we do hope that Mr. Swami understand what charge sheets are: a list of charges or allegations, which the police has still the burden to prove in a court of law–not irrefutable or established truth. Perhaps, Mr Swami fancies himself a literary genius who believes in narratives acquiring their own lives. In which case, he has manufactured a large corpus of mediocre short stories.