Govt should meet distressed farmers if it's worried about food wastage: Shiv Visvanathan

Q1. It was originally started in 1940 and ran successfully till it was closed for a few years during the Indo-China War. Chen re-opened it, joining hands with a partner Tham Mouyiu, in 1968, and is actively involved in the day-to-day operations of running the restaurant. The restaurant runs solely on word-of-mouth publicity of its loyal patrons which include Bollywood royalty from Shashi Kapoor to Rekha and Kajol , to the who is who of politics including VK Krishna Menon. One of the most unusual gues was Deng Pufang the paraplegic first son of the Chinese premier Deng Xiaoping. Identify this legendary Mumbai establishment which recently shut shop. (Representative image)

(Shiv Visvanathan is an eminent sociologist. He is currently Professor, Vice Dean and Executive Director at the Centre for the Study of Science, Society and Sustainability at the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy. He spoke to Moneycontrol’s Gaurav Choudhury on the government’s plans to direct hotels and restaurants to fix the portion of food served to customers)

I do not think this is the right way of governance. From fixing food portions in restaurant meals, the government may later define purity and impurity in food. We need a different approach to governance.

It places the onus entirely on the citizens to prove themselves, including their patriotism. The government does not need to prove anything.

In many respects, what we are witnessing is an ugly manifestation of the Panopticon penitentiary model of surveillance, using fear as a tool for citizens to fall in line. Using fear as a tool is a way of cutting down on people’s choices.

Also read: After meat and liquor bans, is a curb on food portions on the plate?

The principle of Panopticon penitentiary or prison was theorized by Jeremy Bentham. (Bentham was an English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer. He is regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism).

The Panopticon penitentiary is an 'Inspection House' with the prisoners' cells arranged around the outer wall and the central point dominated by an inspection tower. From this building, the prison's omnipotent guard would keep a constant vigil over the inmates’ behaviour and conduct, although the inmates could not see the guard.

This overall of act of surveillance by the current government is devastating. More so because some of these, including making Aadhaar mandatory for many activities, are being carried out through legislative changes.

The pre-dominantly legislative way of implementation eliminates the option of choice for the citizens. Rules framed through laws force citizens to forego the right to agree or disagree. They have to accept the rules.

The government’s line of thinking seem to be: “If you are with us, it is fine. Otherwise, accept the rules”. This has covered security, morality, dress and now, food. Clearly, this is not an aberration. These are signs of para-totalitarianism. This is not the way to run a democracy.

If the government was so concerned about food and wastage, why don’t they meet distressed farmers?