A fitting response
THE shooting down of a Pakistani anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the Kori Creek area of Kutch was an unavoidable act.

A votary of instability
IDEALISM has been banished by most mainstream centrist political parties. They periodically invent issues to hide their naked hunger for power and manipulative skill.

Renaming game
POLITICS has got vitiated to such an extent that no gimmick is considered too low-brow or dirty as long as it catches a few votes.

TOWARDS PRE-POLL ALLIANCES
Emerging political contours
by T. V. Rejeswar
THE electoral scene before the extended poll for the 13th Lok Sabha is quite confused. The various party alliances are yet to take a final shape though the contours are becoming clear.

Distinguished role of two regiments
by Satish K. Issar
WE grow up in our Army to conserve the lives of our valuable trained manpower because the sum-total of all infantry training has always been, “Shoot to kill” and every infantryman’s motto is “to make the enemy die for his country” while fighting for the honour and safety of our own country.

Can the law on foetal scan help?
By Anjali Deshpande
DR MANIMEGALAI and Dr Ghouse Khan are well on their way to proving how effective the law against sex determination before birth is. Both are medical practitioners in Dharmapuri district Tamil Nadu, and are facing charges of contravening the provisions of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique (Regulation And Prevention Of Misuse) Act. This is the first case registered under the Act in Tamil Nadu.

Fragrance of Minjar
by Jayanti Roy
FRAGRANCE, smells and odours are great retrievers of nostalgic memories. The perfume that you wore on your first date, the whiff of pine resin on that trip to hills years ago or the smell of sun-dried clothes all remain there in some remote corner of our minds to be raised again and bring with them a rushing army of memories — good or bad, half forgotten, half remembered.

75 Years Ago

Reconciliation of Sikhs
IN the course of a leading article discussing the announcement of the Punjab Government to appoint a committee to solve the vexed problem of Sikh Gurdwaras, The Hindu of Madras says that the powers and scope of the proposed committee are too limited to be of any real value either to the Government or the Sikh community.

A fitting response

THE shooting down of a Pakistani anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the Kori Creek area of Kutch was an unavoidable act. The alien Atlantique maritime plane was doubtlessly on an espionage mission. It was promptly spotted by the Indian ground radars, escorted and told to land at an Indian airbase. But it chose to take a hostile path and turned into the two Indian MiG-21 planes which had taken off from the Naliya air station, 10 km south of the international border in Indian territory, to identify the intruder. The IAF fighter planes had no option. They fired an air-to-air missile at the spying Atlantique. The result was its fall in a big blaze. Before this unfortunate incident, at least eight violations of India's airspace by Pakistani defence planes had been noticed. There is a limit even to defence tolerance in a sensitive area like the Rann of Kutch. Obviously, the Pakistani Atlantique was not carrying 16 military men on a holiday trip. Its behaviour in the sky after clear counselling by Indian pilots to come to the ground invited the inevitable response. Here is yet another indication of Pakistani belligerent designs. Remember the shooting down of two Indian MiG jets on May 27 in the Kargil sector? One pilot, Flt Lt K.Nachiketa, was captured alive and mentally tortured. The other flier, Sqn Ldr Ajay Ahuja, was brutally murdered. Besides, a helicopter was sabotaged during the same period. Now the Indian Navy and the IAF are fully alert and it is not easy for Pakistani warplanes to enter Indian airspace to accomplish their nefarious tasks of intelligence-gathering and offensive-planning, whatever the Pakistani Foreign Minister, Mr Sartaj Aziz, may say in the intimidatory tone of his Prime Minister, threatening to create "many more Kargils". The wreckage of the spying plane seen by the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister has revealed that inimically virulent intentions of Pakistan are beyond doubt. The area in question has been in the news for its oil reserves and Pakistani subversive activities earlier too. The latest provocation has made two points clear: India is not slumbering at the vital spots and Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price for its misadventures. The entire South-West Air Command is on high alert and strict vigil is being maintained by the Navy. Those familiar with the Atlantiques know that they have AM-39 Exocet missiles on board and can strike at ships as well as at high-value targets with deadly accuracy. They can also deliver torpedo blows to submarines. It is necessary to remember that the Dras-Kargil-Batalik mountainous features are not quite quiet. Islamabad's military build-up in Skardu in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir signifies a major and immediate threat. The Indian forces have yet to capture Point 5353 in the Mushkoh valley and Point 5468, north-east of Muntho Dalo in the Batalik area. The entire warlike situation on the long border and the Line of Control has to be viewed as a grave threat to our security. The defence forces have shown exemplary foresight and dealt with the unexpectedly treacherous conduct of Mr Nawaz Sharif's fundamentalist advisers. Constant vigilance has to be maintained from Kashmir to Assam. Gestures of friendship have paid no dividend to us. Our military set-up is impregnably strong and an effective reply should be expected by Pakistan to every act of its aggression. The nation has been reassured that its security concerns are getting adequate attention.

A votary of instability

IDEALISM has been banished by most mainstream centrist political parties. They periodically invent issues to hide their naked hunger for power and manipulative skill. Yet, nihilism has not come to occupy the centre-stage. Not in every case. The BSP is an exception. Ms Mayawati, the Jayalalitha of the UP-centred party, asserted on Tuesday that her party would work to secure a hung Lok Sabha, in which no party or combination of parties would have the numbers to form a government. Her vote, therefore, is for instability. And her party’s battle cry will be to take on and defeat those forces which can promise, if not deliver, orderly development. This is advanced negativism, and is the closest approximation to the dog-in-the-manger policy in politics. On the face of it, this sounds perverse, menacingly anti-democratic and a short-cut to anarchy. And the BSP, it would seem, invites withering criticism. And the country’s nirvana lies in the party’s early eclipse and demise. Right? Not exactly.

The BSP has political logic on its side, convoluted and polluted but logic of sorts all the same. In popular perception it is a Dalit-only party, though this time it has fielded a good number of middle class Muslims and OBC and middle caste candidates for all the 85 seats in UP. The term “bahujan” in its name stands for majority, meaning a united front of all deprived segments of society under the leadership of the dalits, the first oppressed caste to wage war for social justice. This is never likely to happen, the other castes are already rigidly polarised around their own axis. The BSP’s game plan will remain a non-starter as long as this fragmentation continues and so it wants to break it and rearrange the caste groups in a more favourable configuration. Right now, Ms Mayawati with reluctant support from her mentor, Mr Kanshi Ram, is busy with the first part of her grand plan — the demolition part.

The BSP’s strategy is faulty, apart from being nearly impractical. But Ms Mayawati has one advantage : age. She is convinced that in another 15 or 20 years, the purely caste basis of political parties in UP and Bihar will give way to a class-based one, and then the sheer number of the long suffering masses will melt with the one-man one-vote principle to redraw the political map. It is a long shot, and she is ready to wait. And it is a dangerous shot — the necessary first act of further sharpening the caste polarities; but do the major parties realise the implications of her plan and have it in them to fight it right now? Perhaps they do not; they cannot too. Mainstream parties themselves practise their own brand of negative politics, seeking incompatible allies and creating suicidal rivals. It is no secret either that the two leading formations will be happy to see a hung House if they cannot return with a majority. They do not say it; the BSP shouts it from the house-top.

Renaming game

POLITICS has got vitiated to such an extent that no gimmick is considered too low-brow or dirty as long as it catches a few votes. But when things degenerate to the level where a ploy can drag the greatest institutions and personalities into the electoral mud, it becomes imperative to cry halt. The proposal to rename Kurukshetra University after Guru Gobind Singh falls in that category. The unabashed motive of pandering to vote-banks is writ large over this announcement, made by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala at a political rally in Ludhiana, which was addressed by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The exercise does a disservice not only to the city which is considered to be "the birthplace of the universe" by many but also to the great Guru revered by Hindus and Sikhs alike. At a time when universities are being named after sundry politicians and community leaders, the Guru should have been considered too far above everyday politics. Apparently, Mr Chautala is no student of history. He appreciates neither the historical antiquity, culture and legacy of Kurukshetra nor the recent controversy over the renaming of the same university after the late B.N. Chakravorty, a former Haryana Governor and Chancellor of the university. As was quite expected, the move has been opposed by academics and common men alike with as much vehemence as the earlier attempt made in 1976 generated. Mr Chautala should do some soul-searching and follow the teachings of the great Gurus instead of indulging in a renaming game. One hopes that better sense will prevail and Kurukshetra University will continue to remain associated with the ancient city. That is the least the government can do for preserving its holy status.

TOWARDS PRE-POLL ALLIANCES
Emerging political contours
by T. V. Rejeswar

THE electoral scene before the extended poll for the 13th Lok Sabha is quite confused. The various party alliances are yet to take a final shape though the contours are becoming clear.

The leading alliance is led by the BJP with several parties forming a rainbow coalition under the label of National Democratic Alliance. One group is led by the Samata Party of Mr George Fernandes and Mr Nitish Kumar, and its principal ally is the Lok Shakti of Mr R. K. Hegde. A splinter group of the Janata Dal led by Mr Sharad Yadav has joined the NDA though his group is yet to be formally admitted by the BJP.

The Karnataka state BJP strongly objects to Mr J.H. Patel and his men being allowed into the NDA since they voted against the BJP government on the confidence motion and they are opponents in the state assembly elections. However, it is likely that the BJP leadership will eventually admit the JD faction of Mr J. H. Patel since the principal aim is to form a government at the Centre, and every additional seat counts.

The other principal alliance from the South is led by the DMK’s leader Karunanidhi and his own alliance includes the MDMK of Mr Vaiko, the PMK of Dr Ramadas, the Rajiv Congress of Mr V. Ramamurthy and a couple of small Dravidian factions. Their joining hands with the BJP is contrary to the basic beliefs and principles of the Dravidian movement founded by Perivar E.V. Ramaswamy in the 1930s. The principal Dravidian party of the DMK joining hands with the BJP is a total repudiation of everything that the Dravidian movement stood for. The devotees of Ravana have now joined hands with the devotees of Rama and it remains to be seen how Tamil Nadu voters will view these political transformations. The political formula in Tamil Nadu is such that both the AIADMK and the DMK cannot be in the same tent. The two other principal allies of the BJP are the Biju Janata Dal of Orissa and the Trinamool Congress led by Ms Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal.

The Congress has tied up with the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and with the Shankersinh Vaghela faction in Gujarat which has, in fact, merged with the Congress. The main battle for the Congress is in the Hindi heartland represented by UP, Bihar, MP, Rajasthan and Haryana. In Bihar an alliance with Mr Laloo Yadav’s RJD is on the anvil while in UP, the party’s main hope revolves around an alliance with the BSP, and this may also extend to MP. The reported return of the Muslim vote to the Congress in the Hindi belt is an important factor.

There are three other major groups in the field led by the Leftists, the Samajwadi Party of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and the BSP of Mr Kanshi Ram and Ms Mayawati. The Leftists have tied up with several regional parties who are opposed to the BJP and they are quite clear on the objective. Both the SP and the BSP assert that they are fighting on their own in UP, though they have tied up with several regional parties in other states. Their main strength is in UP while they have only a marginal following elsewhere. A significant development during the past 10 years of the Mandal era is the consolidation of the Dalit vote as a bargaining counter.

There are two other groups: the Nationalist Congress Party of Mr Sharad Pawar and the splintered Janata Dal of Mr Deve Gowda. The NCP was born out of frustration of Mr Pawar. Whatever he may say to give it a political orientation, the truth cannot be denied. Mr Pawar’s influence is mostly confined to the sugar belt of southern Maharashtra, but he will try his best to get a majority in the assembly elections in Maharashtra. He has to contend with the Shiv Sena, the BJP and the Congress which are all long-established organisation. Now comes the report that Mr Pawar may not be unwilling to align with the BJP at the Centre and the Shiv Sena-BJP arrangement in Maharashtra and the pay-off for the deal is Deputy Prime Ministership. Though Mr Pawar has refuted the report nothing can be ruled out in Indian politics. But will Mr Pawar’s Christian and Muslim colleagues, whom he cleverly roped in before he broke away from the Congress, reconcile themselves to such a deal with the BJP?

Mr Deve Gowda’s rump Janata Dal will be confined only to Karnataka though there is some pretence of tie-ups with regional parties. Mr Gowda’s whole objective will be to defeat the candidates of Mr J.H. Patel and his faction of the Janata Dal as well as the Lok Shakti and the BJP in Karnataka. In the process, the Congress might emerge as the principal beneficiary in the state.

In all these exercises of forming an alliance there is nothing like adherence to principles, much less any standards and fairplay. The Janata Dal has been struggling to survive after having split nine times in a little over nine years. The trouble with the party is due to the fact that there are too many leaders, and all of them aspire to become Prime Minister sometime or other. After the latest split in the Janata Dal the party has virtually ceased to exist either in the North or the South. The strange part of it is that Mr V.P. Singh, who is never reluctant to give his views on various issues, has so far chosen to keep quiet. As the author of Mandalism, he should have something to say about “Mandalites joining hands with Mandirites”.

Electioneering is now in full swing. The BJP has conveniently set aside its basic adherence to the programmes like building a Ram Mandir, the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and the repatriation of Bangladeshis. Kargil is the principal mantra and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is their “oxygen” as a commentator put it. The Kargil crisis was first brought in as an election issue by the BJP and in any case it was bound to be used in the election campaign by the various contending parties. How things went wrong in Kargil is being looked into by the Subramaniam Committee.

A careful analysis would show that but for the strong intervention of America, which was soon followed by Western allies, the equidistant but correct stance was taken by China. Notwithstanding the long-term close relationship between China and Pakistan, the Kargil war would have dragged on and followed by “many more Kargils” as threatened by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. In fact several mini Kargils are being enacted by Pakistani militants in the valley causing a large number of casualties. But all this is beyond the masses exposed to electioneering and nothing prevents the BJP from claiming credit for the Kargil outcome, or the Congress berating the BJP for the death of so many precious lives.

There are some poll forecasts already. The pollsters will never learn that making forecasts even before the electoral alliances have been completed and the candidates announced cannot be reliable. The broad contours are slowly emerging and this will take time. Let us wait for the forecasts by the end of August.

(The author is a former Governor of West Bengal and Sikkim).

Distinguished role of two regiments
by Satish K. Issar

WE grow up in our Army to conserve the lives of our valuable trained manpower because the sum-total of all infantry training has always been, “Shoot to kill” and every infantryman’s motto is “to make the enemy die for his country” while fighting for the honour and safety of our own country. But unwittingly the operations in the Dras-Kargil sector have conveyed a somewhat different message about a soldier’s attitude: seeking death in a rash manner! This is due to the media’s exposure of the battle area, making every death highly glorified, regardless of the actual circumstances. The indiscriminate mixing of media reporters with troops showed a desire for aping the Western alliance’s telecasting of the Gulf War against Iraq — which exhibited the entire operation as a fire-power demonstration for people to watch in their bedrooms or drawing rooms. The appetite for more blood was also visible in the country as the daily practice of despatching and receiving coffins drove people to an emotional frenzy. Admittedly, this has left a deep impact on an average Indian, residing in remote corners of the country. His respect for our armed forces in general and the Army in particular has gone up tremendously. Our heart swells with pride over the sterling performance of our Army and Air Force, the exemplary devotion and supreme sacrifice of so many flowers of our Army, whose lives have been snuffed out before they could even bloom. But I marvel if this saga of sacrifice has permanently galvanised the nation to honour and support them on all occasions. We must respect our martyrs and look after their families if we are a nation worth the name.

While the focus of the country now shifts naturally from the bullet to the ballot. I am sure commanders at every level are trying to identify the weaknesses that need to be eradicated for making our tasks more economical in terms of casualties, and sharpen their capability further for more effective performance so as to frustrate the evil designs of the enemy. This glorious ideal shall be realised if the political parties rise as one man to give strength and stability to our motherland!

The over-Kargilisation by the media is natural, but the nation must not neglect our units and formations who are deployed along the Indo-Tibet border or are engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the North-East or elsewhere. All-round vigilance is the need of the hour.

On a personal note I find it a matter of great satisfaction to learn of the superb performance of two regiments with whom I had a significant association during my active service in their formative years. The Ladakh Scouts (1963-66) and the Naga Regiment (1978-80). It is gratifying to know that these two regiments have given an exemplary account of valour and triumph, and brought glory to our great Army.

In my view the Army would benefit greatly if another wing of the Ladakh Scouts is raised for deployment as “Eyes and Ears” in the Kargil-Dras sector. It is also the time to correct an administrative blunder of taking away the status of a full-fledged regiment of this elite special force, which at the time of its raising had not only its own training centre as part of HQ Ladakh Scouts but also own Records, PAO and Depot. The Commandant of the Ladakh Scouts should be upgraded to the rank of Brigadier and also given operational responsibility of a sub-sector.

The Nagas have proved their fighting qualities more than adequately. Their valour and devotion to motherland should be recognised by raising another battalion to draw upon the aspiring youth of Nagaland, who are keenly waiting to prove their loyalty for their motherland — India. The existing composition with 50 per cent Nagas and 50 per cent OHTs (Garhwalis Kumaonis and Gurkhas) must not be disturbed, as it has proved a very useful combination in bringing up the Naga Regiment to its present standard of professional competence. This is the best example of assimilation of the Naga tribals into the national mainstream of India.

Ever since the dawn of freedom, India’s armed forces, by their resolute devotion to national unity, have been repeatedly thwarting attempts by our neighbours to violate the sacred soil of Mother India. Let all citizens of India show solidarity in returning to power a major political party. That is essential for a truly stable national government. Let minor regional parties blend with major national political parties as a team. The Union government should be like an awe-inspiring colossus, and not a house divided in itself. A strong and united India will be a sure deterrent for aggressors. The battle of the ballot is most decisive and epoch-making for the 21st century powerful India. A vote is a sacred prerogative.

The author, a retired Brigadier, is associated with certain NGOs in the central Himalayan region.

Fragrance of Minjar
by Jayanti Roy

FRAGRANCE, smells and odours are great retrievers of nostalgic memories. The perfume that you wore on your first date, the whiff of pine resin on that trip to hills years ago or the smell of sun-dried clothes all remain there in some remote corner of our minds to be raised again and bring with them a rushing army of memories — good or bad, half forgotten, half remembered.

Fragrances have strong associates with experiences. I discovered this a few days back when the first rain drops fell on the wet soil, raising a damp, warm smell of earth. I inhaled deeply and was transported back to the first day of “Minjar ka Mela”, as if by a time machine. This smell was invariably an indication that Minjar was round the corner.

The hill folks of Chamba, great lovers of all fine arts, knew the way of enjoying life. They started this wonderful ritual of celebrating the monsoon, the harvest and their king’s victory all through a seven-day fair — the “Minjar ka Mela” way back in the 16th century.

For us, children, these were full seven days of fun, frolic and a longer rope to freedom granted by our parents. I can recall a string of fragrances related to the fair indelibly stamped on my childhood psyche, which are freshened every time I come across them again, even after so many years.

The first few days were spent in watching the merry-go-round men assembling the grand swings. It was a joyous moment when the swings ran for the first time spreading the pungent smell of diesel used to run the merry-go-rounds. We puckered our small noses, still breathing deeply as if addicted to the smell till it bound itself to all of our smelling buds.

The food stalls selling all sorts of Indian snacks emanated delicious and mouth watering smell of ‘tikki’, ‘samosa’ or other deep fried snacks and sweets. Whenever we passed by these stalls, our olfactory senses were greatly stimulated and we automatically reached for the money in our pockets to enjoy the tasty fare.

Then there was the revolting odour of the circus tent, especially where the animals’ cages were placed. However, it was not strong enough to repulse us or keep us away from the cages of lions, tigers, monkeys or parrots. Even now whenever my nostrils are filled with this mixture of a smell of animal dung and bird droppings instead of feeling disgusted a sweet memory sways in front of my eyes.

A major attraction of the fair was a grand exhibition held by the government departments showing their annual achievements. The stalls were made of freshly cut wooden planks and were decorated with coloured saw dust. The air was thick with the smell of freshly cut wood and as we moved from stall to stall of different departments. of horticulture, agriculture, animal husbandry, health, etc., it clinged to our nostrils and lingered long after we had left the venue.

At that time I was not able to analyse some other fragrances also associated with the fair. But now when I look back I can recognise the sweet smell of religious harmony as different sects contributed and participated equally in the fair. I can inhale the innocent fragrance of the honest hardworking people who knew the value of work as well as fun and I can still smell the pure and unpolluted freshness that rejuvenated people to struggle for another long, hard year.

Can the law on foetal scan help?
By Anjali Deshpande

DR MANIMEGALAI and Dr Ghouse Khan are well on their way to proving how effective the law against sex determination before birth is. Both are medical practitioners in Dharmapuri district Tamil Nadu, and are facing charges of contravening the provisions of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique (Regulation And Prevention Of Misuse) Act. This is the first case registered under the Act in Tamil Nadu.

Sometime in 1998, Gujjammal went to gynaecologist Dr Manimegalai, seeking to know the sex of the child she was carrying. Gujjammal was referred to Dr Khan for an ultrasound test. The foetus was found to be female and for that reason the family passed a death sentence on the unborn child. Dr Manimegalai performed surgery on the heavily pregnant woman to rid her of the unwanted foetus. Gujjammal died due to the surgery. A first information report (FIR) against the doctors was filed at the all-woman police station in Bargur on December 21, 1998.

“It sounds horrible to say we are lucky, because the poor woman died, but we came across some amazing evidence,” says Sheila Rani Chungath, Director, DANIDA, who is involved in the campaign against female infanticide and foeticide. “In her referral, Dr Manimegalai had actually written ‘scan for sex’. This is the first case under the law banning sex determination, and we have good evidence,” asserts Chungath.

The two doctors got anticipatory bail, and the case is still being investigated. Gujjammal’s body was exhumed, a spot post mortem was conducted and the results of a chemical analysis of her bones and other parts are awaited.

In this case the doctor was either ignorant of the provisions of the Act or overconfident. Had Gujjammal lived, there would probably have been no case against her at all. Foeticide is a crime that the doctor alone does not perpetrate; it is done in connivance with the family, and with the tacit approval of society at large.

Any medical geneticist, gynaecologist, registered medical practitioner, or any person who owns a genetic counselling centre, laboratory, clinic, or is employed there, and violates any of the provisions, “shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and with fine which may extend to Rs 10,000 in the case of a first offence, states the Act.

On any subsequent conviction, imprisonment upto five years and a fine upto Rs 50,000 is stipulated. Besides the practitioner’s name is struck off the register of the Medical Council for two years in the case of a first conviction and permanently if convicted again.

It has not only raised the hackles of the medical community, it has also placed activists in a quandary.

Gandhimathi, a member of the Madurai-based Society for Integrated Rural Development (SIRD), agrees that dragging a doctor to court is extremely difficult, if not impossible. “Where is the evidence? Even if we act as decoys, we can only go up to a certain point. We can discuss the possibilities. But short of actually getting pregnant and aborting the foetus, if found to be female, we can hardly get the evidence,” she points out.

Two activists of SIRD posed as patients to visit a clinic in Madurai, run by a microbiologist, Dr Chandrashekhar, who claimed to separate X and Y chromosomes, so that a woman could conceive the baby of her choice. After discussing the procedure and its efficacy they complained to the appropriate authority (in this case the Director of Medical Service at Chennai) to file a case against him. The complaint was made in November, 1998, and a case was finally registered in March, 1999.

“This is pre-conception sex selection and is not covered by the law on sex determination,” insists Dr Chandrashekhar, who got anticipatory bail from the High Court. Activists disagree. Says Rohini, member of SIRD, “After the conception, three months later a scan is done to confirm whether the foetus is of the desired sex. The doctor told us that there are 10 per cent chances of error. Suppose there is an error, after the scan it could lead to abortion. I have heard of a case in which a woman wishing to conceive a son actually conceived twin daughters and aborted.”

SIRD is consulting senior High Court and Supreme Court advocates for interpretation of the term ‘pre-natal’. “I interpret it to mean even pre-conception,” says Gandhimathi, who is a lawyer herself. Otherwise the purpose of the law would be defeated, if people could select the sex of a child before conception with impunity.

Interpretation and evidence apart the very strategy of targeting medical personnel may boomerang on women, say some activists. Taking this line, Chungath argues that large-scale prosecution of doctors may lead to a clampdown on medical termination of pregnancy (MTP), an inalienable extension of women’s right to their bodies.

MTP is widely used as a temporary family planning method, however, undesirable. “Government doctors seldom perform MTPs on demand. They are themselves engaged in private practice, and ask patients to report at private clinics, where the service is given at affordable prices,” asserts Chungath.

Most such MTPs have to be conducted in the second trimester, as the sex of the foetus is differentiated only in the 16th week of pregnancy. According to a leading genetic expert, Dr S. Suresh, claims of sex determination as early as in the 11th week, through ultrasound tests can only be dubious. The Chorion Villus Sampling, that involves scraping off the tissue of the foetal placenta for chromosomal analysis, can detect sex as early as the tenth week but is too complicated a procedure to be commonly available. Besides it carries a risk of spontaneous abortion.

There are other aspects of the law that need looking into. The mandatory registration of pre-natal diagnostic centres requires establishments to specify floor area and other such dimensions. In this age of portable ultrasound machines sonographists are flummoxed by it: what do they give dimensions of? The table they use or the machine?

“The law is a waste of time,” declares Dr Suresh, who runs the famous Ambal’s Hospital, a private clinic in Chennai. After months of having applied for registration he has still not received any response from the government. “There is absolutely nothing to prevent any sonographist from scanning for sex without putting a single word on record. It can all be verbal, totally off the record,” he says.

Most sonographists at Chennai and Madurai claim to be unaware of the provisions of the Act even though they know that scanning for sex is banned by law. Among other things the Act stipulates that all establishments engaged in any natal diagnostic tests be registered.

Passed in 1994, the Act came into force in Tamil Nadu only on January 1, 1996. Eighteen months later, not a single clinic or lab conducting such test has been registered. After several notifications in the press, the health department managed to sell a total of 531 application forms throughout the state for registration. Chennai alone has over 200 scan centres, Madurai city has 56 and even a small taluka (sub-district) town like Usilampatti boasts of three scan centres.

“Only 240 applications have been returned, and we are still processing them,” says Dr Ramasubbu, Director, Medical Services. The deadline for registration has been extended at least thrice and may be extended even further. “We have other things to do besides registering these clinics,” says Dr Ramasubbu, when asked why the implementation had been held up for so long.

The Act also prescribes a consent form, in the local language explaining all the risks of the test, to be filled up, to be signed by the pregnant woman, before undertaking any test on the foetus. Tests are allowed only if there is a history of congenital abnormality in the pregnant woman’s family, or if she has been exposed to drugs, radiation infection etc known to have some effect on the foetus, and other medically necessary conditions.

“What forms? I have never heard of any form,” says Dr M.S. Mani, a radiologist, who runs the Sri Kumaran Scan Ltd. at Madurai. Both Dr Mani and his sonography technician, Ms Bala, admit that they do scan for the sex of a foetus “if the gynaecologist referring the patient asks for it.” Bala says that the request “is always verbal, made on the phone. We also inform the doctor on the phone, never write it down, and never tell the patient.”

“I don’t know what they do if the foetus is female. We do the test, get our fees, and that is the end of it for us,” says Dr Mani.

Dr Anusha Kumari, a physician specialising in obstetrics, is a more alert doctor. She honestly admits that before the ban many patients came to her for sex determination. “Then we used to find out the sex of the foetus. But we only told the patient about it at full term,” she adds realising the trap she has got herself into. Dr Anusha has ultrasound machine at her clinic. Even she has not heard of any consent form. “Separate form? Separate registration of the sonography lab? I am not aware of it.”

“It is our failure. We agitated for state intervention for years. Finally it intervened. It passed a law. Then the activists slept. We should have gone to town with it, talked to professional bodies, put the fear of the law in them,” admits Sabu George, activist researcher, who played a pivotal role in blasting the myth that the south did not practice female infanticide.

After all no regulation is as effective as self regulation. With the sex ratio continuing to be unfavourable to the girl child, it has become all the more important for doctors to make some attempts to check this foetal genocide, but instances of conscience prevailing over commerce are so rare they sound like fables. — Women’s Feature Service

75 YEARS AGO

Reconciliation of Sikhs

IN the course of a leading article discussing the announcement of the Punjab Government to appoint a committee to solve the vexed problem of Sikh Gurdwaras, The Hindu of Madras says that the powers and scope of the proposed committee are too limited to be of any real value either to the Government or the Sikh community.

Our contemporary says:— “The Nankana tragedy, the Keys affair, the Guruka Bagh, the Nabha episode and the latest instance, the struggle and shooting tragedies at Jaito, are all important episodes in the progress of the Sikh agitation , which have each left an indelible mark and resentment in the sensitive mind of the community.”

Our contemporary suggests that each and all of these should be duly enquired into by the committee before the Sikh problem can be really solved and that the release of Sikh prisoners and the withdrawal of the proclamation against the SGPC must be effected first. The mere settlement of the Gurdwara question will not, it is feared, reconcile the Sikh community, who have suffered greatly from a series of unfortunate events subsequent to the Gurdwara struggle.