Happy New Year 2011

Happy New Year 2011

Nitish Kumar: runaway winner as person of the year !!

In the season of scams when political reputations are at their lowest ebb, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stands out as a remarkable exception. His emergence as a front-runner in a field crowded with seemingly redoubtable figures like Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Narendra Modi, Naveen Patnaik, Rahul Gandhi, et al, is all the more noteworthy because of his quiet, unassuming persona.

Yet, by winning a resounding electoral mandate, he has been unequivocally hailed by vox populi as their choice as the person of the year.

The extraordinariness of Nitish Kumar's feat is demonstrated by the unbelievable turnaround that he has brought about in Bihar's social and economic scene. Needless to say, his political success is based on this transformation.

The result is that he has proved beyond all doubt that if a politician uses the official and political power in his hands for the betterment of ordinary people's lives, he becomes virtually unbeatable.

India will be a much improved country if this simple lesson provided by Nitish Kumar is widely emulated. And at no time is there a greater need for such emphasis on the fundamental requirements of the people than in the present murky atmosphere when, as Sonia Gandhi has said, the country's 'moral universe' has shrunk.

Except, perhaps, in Bihar where the incarceration of 40,000 criminals and anti-socials, and the fall in the number of abductions from 1,390 to 315, have largely restored the common man's faith in the administration's clout and goodwill. In a country where the parties are not averse to employing goons as cadres, the chief minister has shown that he means business.

As a result, there has been a 45 percent surge in automobile sales because people are no longer afraid of travelling alone and with women and children. Besides, they can afford to remain out after nightfall unlike in the past when the roads became deserted and the haunts of criminals.

But it isn't the improved law and order situation alone which has encouraged greater outdoor excursions. There has also been a vast improvement in the condition of roads with the restoration and construction of nearly 7,000 km of highways and 1,500 bridges, including 300 elevated ones.

Much of this work was done by a public sector undertaking, which was able to overcome its earlier deficit of Rs.17 crore to contribute Rs.20 crore for relief to the Kosi flood victims. But no less noteworthy than its good work was the subsequent promotion of a young officer in its charge to a larger road construction department, which underlined the chief minister's ability to spot and reward talented bureaucrats.

At the same time, he has been ruthless in the matter of initiating action against officials found guilty of corrupt practices by fast-track courts and housing schools in their confiscated properties.

Since these measures have improved the investment climate, it is not surprising that Bihar's current growth rate of 11.3 percent has become comparable to Gujarat's. For the present, however, this upward trend can be ascribed to the fact that shops and commercial establishments can remain open till late at night, which was not possible during the days of the so-called 'jungle raj'.

The phrase was earlier derided as political hyperbole, but not after the return of normalcy in daily life.

Apart from law and order, Nitish Kumar has focussed on the education sector with the employment of 235,000 teachers at the primary and secondary levels to reduce the teacher-student ratio from the present dismal 1:73. The provision of uniforms and cycles to girls has also been an attractive feature of his policies.

The chief minister has now turned his attention to higher education with his proposal to set up the Nalanda university to recall its glorious heritage. For this purpose, he has selected Amartya Sen and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as patrons. His allocation of 250 acres to Aligarh Muslim University has been seen as a step to appease the minorities, but by now his reputation among the Muslims is secure enough to preclude such obvious palliatives.

His success in winning the support of the Muslims despite having the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a partner is based on a no-nonsense approach to communal relations where he hasn't allowed his ally any leeway at all. In this respect, Nitish Kumar has shown how stern he is compared to Naveen Patnaik, who looked on helplessly as the anti-Christian riots fuelled by the saffron camp raged in Orissa in 2008, compelling him to snap ties with the BJP.

In contrast, Nitish Kumar showed the firm, uncompromising side of his character when he refused to let Narendra Modi and Varun Gandhi, with their less than favourable image among the Muslims, to set foot in Bihar even to campaign for their own party, the BJP.

Nitish Kumar's success via these steps in weaning sizeable sections of the Muslims from Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress undoubtedly contributed to his electoral triumph, as did his reaching out to the so-called Mahadalits to undercut the support base of Ramvilas Paswan's Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) among the Dalits.

Read more: Nitish Kumar: runaway winner as person of the year

Mono-Rail for Patna soon !!

In a press conference called by Urban Development minister Prem Kumar, he announced setting up of a project soon to begin work on mono-rail. In the beginning there will be four scuh routes- one from Patna Junction to Gandhi Maidan, second from Patne Junction to Partliputra colony, third from Patna Junction to Airport and fourth from Patna Junction to Kankarbagh.

The cost of metro per kilometer is Rs 225 crores while it is only Rs 31 crore for mono-rail. Also the time required for the completion of metro project is 10 years while it is mere 2.5 years in case of mono-rail.

It is expected to carry 32 thousand people in one round thus easing the grave situation of the traffic in Patna. Larsen and Tourbo has already submitted a proposal on which the state government has to take final call. The Minister assured that the work on the project will commence soon.

Source Mono-Rail for Patna soon

Trade associations to hold investmarts

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), Bihar Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and Bihar Industries Association (BIA) have decided to hold three investmarts in Patna in 2011, 2013 and 2015 in association with the state government to attract industrial investment of about Rs 4 lakh crore over the next five years.

While the investmart next year will aim at signing MoUs of about Rs 50,000 crore, the ones in 2013 and 2015 will target at facilitating investment MoUs of Rs 1.25 lakh crore and Rs 1.75 lakh crore, respectively.

The three associations have also proposed to partner for development of 14 new industrial clusters in the state on public-private partnership basis. With each cluster housing 1,800 to 2,000 industrial units, the proposed new clusters will house between 25,000 and 28,000 units, providing direct and indirect employment to six lakh people.

This was stated by Assocham national secretary general D S Rawat, BCC president P K Aggarwal and BIA vice-president S K Patwari while releasing an Assocham study on “Cluster Development for Inclusive Growth in Bihar” here on Sunday.

The 14 new clusters entail an investment of Rs 450 crore on basic infrastructure like roads, power etc. Land for these clusters would have to be provided by the state government, said Rawat.

He said these clusters have been proposed in Patna, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Barauni, Muzaffarpur, Katihar, Madhepura, Bhagalpur, Munger, Nawada, Supaul, Gaya, Bhojpur and Hajipur.

There is good scope for cluster-based development of agro and other industries in Bihar, Rawat said, as it is the largest producer of vegetables and second largest producer of fruits in the country. Maize, sugarcane, litchi, makhana, mango and aromatic rice are also grown in the state on a large scale.

Assocham has also suggested to the state government to set up a statutory Cluster Development Authority for proper utilization of funds.

Complimenting the state leadership on getting a massive mandate, Rawat said the government has sent a message that it has strong will power for the development of the state. Asked why earlier attempts to attract industries to the state had drawn a blank, Rawat said that the election has removed whatever misconceptions and apprehensions investors had about Bihar.

Stressing that investors put a premium on conducive environment, including good law and order and stability, he said the state government would now have to come out with new industrial, agricultural, food processing and biotechnology policies.

He hinted at the need for a change in bureaucratic mindset as well when he gave the example of principal secretaries receiving industrialists at the airport on the latter’s arrival at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh for an investors’ meet in September this year. MoUs worth Rs 2.53 lakh crore were signed by MP during the two-day investors’ summit, he said, adding “Prospective investors should be made to feel that the state needs them.”

Read more: Trade associations to hold investmarts

Sonalika tractors setting up manufacturing unit in Bihar !!

In order to meet the robust demand of tractors in the domestic and the international markets, Punjab-based International Tractors Ltd (ITL) makers of Sonalika brand tractors is planning to ramp up its production capacity. The company has plans to increase its capacity to 1,00,000 tractors per annum from 60,000 at present.

Speaking to Business Standard, ITL Vice Chairman A S Mittal said, “We are planning to increase the capacity of Hoshiarpur unit by 20,000 units. At present our manufacturing facility in Hoshiarpur (Punjab) manufactures 60,000 tractors a year. Another 20,000 units will be added to our new upcoming facility, which we are setting up in Bihar. Further, we will be infusing about Rs 100 crore in ramping up the capacity.”

It is worth mentioning that in order to strengthen its presence in eastern India, the company has set up tractor manufacturing unit in Bihar, which would be fully operational by next year. He added, “We are hopeful the capacity addition in both the units will be completed by 2011.”

The company manufactures various tractors of Sonalika brand between 30 HP and 90 HP. Commenting upon the sales this year, he added, “This year has been very good for the industry. We have sold around 30,000 units during the period April-November 2010. Overall, we expect we will be able sell about 51,000 tractors, including exports, by the end of this financial year. So far performance is concerned, we have witnessed a growth of over 20-22 per cent over the corresponding period last year.”

ITL is among the top four tractor-selling companies in India. The company also export tractors to various countries, including South Africa, Australia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Canada, Bangladesh, Algeria, Zambia, Senegal, Ghana, etc. In order to cater to the African market, the company has set up an assembly plant in Nigeria with collaboration of a leading Nigerian company to expand export base in the African countries and has also launched tractors co-branding with leading Italian companies.

Recently, in order to stretch its wings in the south American markets for its Sonalika brand of tractors and farming solutions in several countries in south America, the company has tied up with Apache, a leading manufacturer of agricultural equipment in Argentina, to distribute its products in Argentina under the co-branding of Apache–Solis. According to the protocol signed between the two companies — Apache and Solis (ITL), all units will be assembled in Argentina.

Solis is another brand of the company and it is selling its tractors in the international market with the brand name ‘SOLIS’. Considering the wide potential of south American markets, the company plans to tap Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Surinam, Paraguay and Bolivia in a big way. The company has also tied up with Brazil’s major tractor and farm equipment manufacturers to sell their products in Brazil.
Read more: Sonalika tractors setting up manufacturing unit in Bihar

Bihar to appoint 45,000 more constables

The state government is to recruit 45,000 new constables. This will be in addition to the 13,000 cops already being appointed and whose process has been going on for last several months.
This was decided at a three-hour meeting the chief minister Nitish Kumar had with top officials of home and police on Saturday. The chief minister also inquired the status of the appointment of 13,000 constables.

Assocham to help Bihar develop 14 industrial clusters !!

To develop 14 industrial clusters for an estimated cost of Rs 450 crore for employment and revenue generation in Bihar the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India (Assocham) has proposed to partner with the Nitish Kumar government in the state.

According to Assocham general secretary D S Rawat the proposed clusters will, directly and indirectly, provide jobs to six lakh people.

Talking to reporters in Patna after releasing the Assocham’s Study Report on Cluster Development for Inclusive Growth in Bihar, on Sunday he said the 14 proposed industrial clusters have a capacity of about 25,000-28,000 units with each providing jobs to 8-10 people.
Rawat said Bihar would also benefit from the development of the industrial clusters in terms of both revenue and employment generation.

Read More: Assocham to help Bihar develop 14 industrial clusters

Law and order is top priority for Nitish !!

Listing priorities for further improvement in the law and order situation in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has said he would not tolerate crime in the state under any circumstances.

While reviewing the overall law and order situation in Bihar during a three-hour-long meeting with top police officials late on Saturday night, Kumar said more improvement on the law and order front, drive against Maoists, maintenance of communal harmony, tackling crimes on wheels and land disputes would be the priorities of his government.

Immediate steps should be taken for filling up around 8,800 vacant posts of State Armed Police personnel besides appointment of 10,000 constables, apart from continuing speedy trials, he told the meeting attended by Principal Secretary to State, Home Department, Amir Subhani, Director General of Police Neelmani, ADG (Headquarters) B K Thakur, ADG Law and Order B N Rai and ADG (special Branch) S Nimbram.

The chief minister said necessary equipment and resources would be made available for tackling extremism, setting up of
bomb and landmine disposal squads, and procuring GPS systems, bullet proof jackets, HF Manpacks and anti-landmine vehicles.

He also talked about monitoring all cases of land disputes and settling them on a priority basis. Kumar directed the officials to take steps to control railway crimes like loot, dacoity and molestation of women in running trains.
Read More: Law and order is top priority for Nitish

Nitish's Bihar has a million mutinies now !!

Bihar’s long assembly election campaign are almost unanimous that Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) will be re-elected. Let me add my voice to the chorus. Nitish very much looks a winner and the opposition—led by the once-formidable Lalu Prasad —looks in bad shape.

Lalu can justly claim that, after decades of upper caste oppression, he provided dignity to backward castes on coming to power in 1990. He also provided security to Muslims threatened by the Babri Masjid agitation. Economic development does not win elections, he declared, caste and sectarian alliances do. He aimed not to replace Congress misgovernance with good governance, but to give his own caste supporters the spoils of misgovernance.

Every year, Lalu returned unspent hundreds of crores of central development funds. The roads, schools and power lines of Bihar collapsed, but Lalu won three successive elections. Yadavs and Muslims accounted for 28% of the population, and by attracting another 7% to 8% from other sections, he could get 35% of the vote, enough to win in Bihar’s fractured politics.

However, Yadavs soon emerged as a creamy layer among backward castes. In disgust, Nitish and other politicians of the most backward castes split away to form their own party.

Yadav and Muslim goons dominated the state with impunity. Anybody applying for a car or building permit received a kidnapping threat the same evening. Economic activity shrank, and nobody went out after 6 pm.

This ultimately sank Lalu. His platform of providing dignity for the lower castes had become obsolete. Voters were fed up with his "jungle raj". They now wanted personal safety, public order, schools, roads and other benefits of economic development.

These are what Nitish focused on after coming to power. Using the Arms Act imaginatively, he jailed more than 50,000 goons. This restored public confidence, spurring building and small business activity across the state. People now go shopping late into the evening, spurring the economy.

In the woeful absence of electricity, industrial revival proved very difficult. But road connectivity zoomed: 2,417 km were built in 2008-09 against just 415 km in 2005-06.

GDP growth averaged 10.4% in Nitish’s five years, against just 3.5% in the last five years of Lalu’s rule. Bihari migration to PunjabHaryana for harvesting fell dramatically, because of better economic opportunities within Bihar .

Development spending rose from Rs 2,000 crore per year to Rs 16,000 crore per year under Nitish. Construction was the biggest driving force, growing by a whopping 35.8% per year. Sunil Mittal of Bharti Airtel claimed Bihar was his fastest-growing territory. Telecom in the state grew by 17.68% per year. Trade, hotels and restaurants grew by 17.71%.

However, rapid economic growth in the state can be sustained only if power generation greatly increases and facilitates industrial growth. This will not happen if Lalu comes back. Bihar badly needs to give Nitish a second term.

Bihar remains pitifully poor and backward, yet most Biharis say Nitish has improved their lives, if only marginally. Once Biharis hid the fact they were from Bihar, but today Nitish has enabled them to take pride in their Bihari identity. Two decades ago, they happily tolerated gross misgovernance by Lalu in return for the dignity and security he provided lower castes. But today they clamour for better governance and development, something Nitish is providing.

This revolutionary change was predicted by Nobel Laureate VS Naipaul in his book "India: A Million Mutinies Now". Naipaul saw democracy as forcing huge changes in caste power relations, enabling those at the bottom to get to the political top. `When people start moving, their first loyalty, their first identity, is always a rather small one…. When the oppressed have the power to assert themselves, they will behave badly. It will need a couple of generations of security and knowledge of institutions…before people in that situation begin to behave well."

Naipaul was optimistic that the caste-based mayhem and misgovernance (typified by Lalu) would, in due course, give way to better governance (typified by Nitish). He was wrong in thinking the change would take two generations: it has taken only one.

What’s more, there are signs of similar change in Uttar Pradesh. Mayawati is no Nitish: her rule is replete with examples of corruption and misgovernance. Yet she has too has put Yadav goons in jail and improved road connectivity. GDP growth in UP in the last five years has accelerated to an average of 6.98%, well below Nitish’s achievement but only fractionally below the 7% benchmark for miracle economies.

Read More: Nitish's Bihar has a million mutinies now

Nitish Kumar sworn in as Bihar CM !!

Nitish Kumar, who led the NDA to a landslide victory in the Bihar elections, was today sworn in as chief minister for a second consecutive term heading a 30-member ministry. Sushil Kumar Modi of BJP was sworn in as a cabinet minister. He will be the deputy chief minister. Besides, 18 MLAs from

JD(U) and 10 from BJP took oath as ministers.

No leader from the opposition parties, which were decimated in the polls, was present at the swearing-in ceremony. Governor Devanand Konwar administered the oath of office and secrecy to them at a function held at the sprawling Gandhi Maidan.

The swearing-in was conducted under tight security as the function coincided with the 26/11 terror strike in Mumbai. Among the ministers 11 are from upper castes, nine from backward castes and four each from Extremely Backward Castes and Schedule Castes. Two are Muslims.

59-year-old Kumar inducted his close confidante and state JD(U) president Vijay Kumar Choudhary and gave cabinet berths as reward to Ramai Ram and Shyam Rajak, who had parted ways with RJD chief Lalu Prasad and joined JD(U).

He retained Vijendra Prasad Yadav, Narendra Narayan Yadav, Narendra Singh, Brishen Patel, Renu Kumari, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Gautam Singh, Damodar Raut, Sahid Ali Khan and Hariprasad Sah, who were ministers during his previous tenure.

Among the new entrants in the ministry from JD(U) are Praveen Amanullah from the Sahebpur Kamal constituency in Begusarai district. She is wife of Principal Secretary to state cabinet coordination department Afzal Amanullah.

Nitish Mishra, son of former chief minister Jagannath Mishra, senior MLC Bhim Singh, Awadhesh Kushwaha and legal expert and former advocate general P K Sahi took oath as ministers. Mishra was state minister for disaster management in the previous NDA government.

Besides 58-year-old Modi, others from BJP who took oath are Nand Kishore Yadav, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Prem Kumar, Giriraj Singh and Janardan Sigriwal, who were ministers in the previous government.

Read More: Nitish Kumar sworn in as Bihar CM

Counting for Bihar assembly elections 2010 begins !!

Counting of votes for all 243 Assembly constituencies in Bihar began this morning amidst tight security. Counting for the Banka parliamentary constituency, where a by-election was held, began simultaneously at 8 AM, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Kumar Anshumali told PTI here.

Counting has been taken up in 42 centres, mostly in the district headquarters towns, where central para-military forces have been deployed, he said. For each of the 243 constituencies, there are 14 tables each manned by two counting staff and a special counting micro observer.

The EC''s official website will update the trends and results. The first result is expected around noon.

In the outgoing House, the ruling parties JD(U) and BJP have 88 and 55 seats respectively. RJD and Ram Vilas Paswan''s LJP have 54 and 10 respectively.

Congress has nine seats. 122 is the magic mark required for any coalition or party to form a government.

The electoral fate of former chief minister and RJD candidate Rabri Devi, who contested from Raghopur and Sonepur, besides 25 ministers belonging to the BJP and JD(U) will be decided. The outgoing cabinet has a total of 34 ministers.

One of them has died. The others are MLCs and did not contest.

Outgoing Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is a MLC and has not contested the elections. He has another year to go as MLC. His deputy Sushil Modi has also not contested the elections.

He is a MLC. RJD chief Lalu Prasad and LJP chief Ramvilas Paswan have also not contested. They are Lok Sabha members from the Saran and Hajipur seats respectively.

The Congress is the only party which fielded candidates in all 243 constituencies followed by the BSP which contested 239 seats. The JD(U) contested 141 seats and its ally BJP 102.

Read more: Counting for Bihar assembly elections 2010 begins

Lalu's worries will increase after Bihar poll results: Nitish Kumar !!

With the counting of votes for 243 Bihar Assembly seats scheduled for tomorrow, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday asserted that the poll results would add to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's troubles.

"Lalu has been a poster boy of the media. No other politician has garnered so much mileage from the media as Lalu has. However, he has done nothing for the people of Bihar, and tomorrow's result will speak volumes. Lalu's worries will only increase after the results are declared," Kumar told reporters.

On Monday, Lalu Yadav alleged that exit polls projecting a landslide victory for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) were meant to influence the election authorities during the counting of votes.

He also slammed the media for projecting his loss even before the completion of the final phase of polls and the counting of votes.

"There was an attack by the media even before the counting of votes, and, I again say it with full confidence, that it is our victory. I repeat it, that it is our victory. We have won, we will form a government and our commitment towards all those people during the campaign sessions in building and developing Bihar would be fulfilled," said Lalu Yadav.

"I assure that we will work towards making a better State," he claimed.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for the counting of votes in the 243 Assembly seats and for the by-poll in the Banka Parliamentary seat tomorrow.

It has been reported that the Commission has deputed two special observers to oversee the counting process. One 'Micro Observer' will be deputed on every counting table.

"Forty-two counting centres have been set up through out the state. Counting will start at 8 in the morning and trends will be available after one hour. The whole counting process will be videographed.

Read More:- Lalu's worries will increase after Bihar poll results

Bihar verdict will decide high-stakes battle !!

Who will rule Bihar for the next five years? The answer will be known Wednesday when about 30 million votes will be counted following a six-phased election that was largely violence free and saw more women than men coming out to exercise their franchise.

The high stakes battle for power over one of India's poorest states, with a population of 83 million, pitted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Janata Dal-United (JD-U) in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) combine of Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan.

The Congress made up the third corner of the electoral contest with the Left parties, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also pitching for power in some seats of the 243.

The results would have ramifications for the political scenario in New Delhi where the opposition has trained its guns on the Congress-led UPA government over allegations of corruption.

Though exit polls predicted a landslide victory for Nitish Kumar's alliance, Lalu Prasad also exuded confidence that his combine would come to power. 'The exit polls are nothing, it is going to be proved wrong,' he told reporters, flashing the victory sign.

Nitish Kumar played the humble card.

'Whatever is the ruling of the public will be acceptable. We have tried to focus on making direct contact with the people during the campaigning and were not running after media like others,' the chief minister said Tuesday.

Counting day should set the record straight.

Officials said the results were expected to be declared by about 2 p.m. Counting of votes in the 243 assembly constituencies will begin at 8 a.m. and first trends would be available between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., sources in the Bihar chief electoral officer's office said.

'The electronic voting machines (EVMs) in all the constituencies will be opened for the counting amid tight security and under constant vigil of Election Commission officials,' an official told IANS here.

'We have made elaborate security arrangements to prevent any untoward incident,' Bihar police chief Neelmani said, adding that all six phases had passed peacefully except for stray incidents of violence.

According to the Election Commission, an estimated 52.43 percent votes were polled to decide the fate of 3,523 candidates who contested the elections that began Oct 21. Over 55 million voters were eligible to exercise their franchise.

Of the 3,523 contestants, 308 were women. National and regional parties fielded 1,225 candidates. While 1,342 contested as Independents, 956 candidates had been fielded by unrecognised registered parties.

The Congress was the only party to contest all 243 seats as it was fighting the elections on its own. The BSP contested 239 seats. In the ruling NDA, the BJP fought 102 seats and the JD-U 141. The RJD and its ally LJP contested 168 and 75 seats respectively.

In a remarkable development, Bihar witnessed record turnout of women in all the six phases. According to an Election Commission report, the overall percentage of women votes was 54.85 percent compared to 50.70 percent for men.

In nine of Bihar's 38 districts, the turnout of women voters was over 60 percent while women outnumbered men in the 23 remaining districts.

'This was a positive sign for democracy as well as for society because the high percentage of women votes suggest that they voted as per their choice,' said Prof Ajay Kumar Jha, a socio-political analyst of the A.N. Sinha Institute here.

According to political analysts, this was the first time that the development plank dominated. While Nitish Kumar appealed for another terms to finish the development work initiated by him, Lalu Prasad promised voters he would develop Bihar like the Indian Railways, a portfolio he once had as a cabinet minister in the first UPA government.

Read More: Bihar verdict will decide high-stakes battle