E D I T O R I A L   P A G E

EDITORIALS

Explosive situation
WHETHER or not sabotage is behind Sunday’s explosion at an ammunition dump near Pathankot, the incident is of utmost concern because it can affect security operations in Jammu and Kashmir as well as Punjab. Such major fires have started erupting a little too often of late. Earlier, Kargil witnessed similar destruction of ammunition worth crores, as did Bharatpur.

WiLL-fully whimsical
LIMITED mobility is the latest buzz word. It, however, has unlimited potential for a mega controversy. In the telecom lexicon, the term stands for a mobile phone within a limited range, better known as WiLL (wireless in local loop). This US-developed technology has been around for some time but sprang to sudden life a few days back when the government introduced a dramatic change in policy.

Preserving Punjab’s heritage
EVEN among the precious few heritage sites in Punjab, there is a pecking order. Those that fall under the list of protected monuments are several notches above those that do not. Lahori Gate of Sri Hargobindpur is in the later category. Sri Hargobindpur, the early 17th century city built by the sixth Sikh Guru, after whom it is named, is in Gurdaspur district. It is situated on a plateau defined by steep slopes with the Beas on three sides.

OPINION

Regression of the Indian polity
Opportunistic alliances deserve rebuke
S. Nihal Singh
THE bitter form of leave-taking of the parliamentary session was an appropriate setting for the election campaigns for four assemblies and a Union Territory. For if winning power or trying to gain it is the sole objective of the leaders and their parties, we have come to a sorry pass.

Nation on the brink of a volcano
Sudarshan Singh
I have observed that every time there is some sudden, unpleasant and tragic happening in the country, there is a lot of hue and cry everywhere, condemning and criticising the government machinery for its lapses or blaming each other and shifting the responsibilitiy. There are high-sounding speeches and slogans by leaders of various parties, warning the nation to be more vigilant and watchful, and to plan out its strategies for disaster management in advance, to meet these eventualities in future with more strength, courage and confidence.

MIDDLE

Clinton & the cameos of quake
Ram Varma
BILL CLINTON and I are birds of the same feather. We are both retired. We are free birds. We have time to roam about and see things. We are available. But I suppose there the similarity ends. For he likes Monica Lewinsky topless, I like Monaco Salted topped with cheese.

TRENDS AND POINTERS

Swearing not always rude
AN expert in the English language has backed appeal judges who ruled swearing at police officer was not an act of rudeness. Kenneth Kinnaird, 43, of Baillieston, Glasgow, was charged with breach of the peace and resisting arrest after he told two police officers to f**k off.

• New bra has a built-in gun holster

REALPOLITIK

Joshi’s designer purohit
P. Raman
‘‘WHO is he? A Punjabi? A Madrasi? A Bengali?’’ This is the routine query one encounters as soon as a body arrives at a big crematoria like Nigambodh. Every region is supposed to have a different panda or a purohit for the last rites. Often the mourners have to wait for a long time for the arrival of the right man. Once we had to wait for hours for a priest to arrive all the way from the UP hills when a journalist friend died.

ANALYSIS

India must have own National Labour Day
Dr Hasmukh D. Savlani
MAY Day is observed as International Labour Day. May Day is generally celebrated by professional trade unionists and Socialists. Some Socialist writers pleaded for the celebration of Labour Day on May 1. Rebert Owen is said to be the first man who described, in 1833, May Day as the “Millennium of workers”. And then, in 1889, the First Paris Congress of the Second International decided this day for their annual international celebrations. In the former USSR, this day was declared as a government holiday. All the industrially advanced countries celebrate May Day except the USA, Canada and Italy.

75 YEARS AGO

Sikh Gurdwaras Act
IN a weekly Diwan, held a few days ago, Sri Guru Singh Sabha, D.I. Khan, passed a resolution requesting the Siromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Amritsar, to arrange immediately for the extension of the "Sikh Gurdwara Shrines Act 1925" to the N.W.F.

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

Explosive situation

WHETHER or not sabotage is behind Sunday’s explosion at an ammunition dump near Pathankot, the incident is of utmost concern because it can affect security operations in Jammu and Kashmir as well as Punjab. Such major fires have started erupting a little too often of late. Earlier, Kargil witnessed similar destruction of ammunition worth crores, as did Bharatpur. Complete enquiry reports are not available, but these are clear cases of negligence. There is no reason to disbelieve the intelligence agencies when they allege involvement of the ISI or some Kashmir-based militants. That possibility makes the matter all the more serious. An undeclared war is on out there and targeting ammunition dumps is an easy way to lower the fighting strength of the Army. Most such dumps are located close to other military installations thereby enhancing the possibility of damage. Moreover, such successes by militants lead to demoralisation among the ranks. And yet, foolproof safety measures have not been put in place despite similar embarrassments earlier. Motions of action last only for a few days after such a disaster. Gradually, the situation goes back to a reactive mode. That is unfortunate, to say the least.

Meanwhile, the death dance in the valley continues. There has been a spurt in violent actions during the past few days. The near-rejection by the All-Party Hurriyat Conference of the Centre’s peace offer seems to have further emboldened the militants who have been using the self-imposed restraint of the security agencies to regroup. The Centre’s confidence-building measures have been more or less rebuffed. The militants have replied through their weapons-building measures. Intelligence sources admit that the respite provided by the restraint imposed by security agencies has allowed the militants to recoup and regroup. Of late, militants have also become active in Srinagar proper, which used to be well protected till recently. Many of the recent attacks have occurred very close to the high-security areas where most politicians and senior bureaucrats live. The situation can become worse following the melting of the snow and the darbar move to Srinagar. In the light of the never-ending violence, a fresh look at the desirability of extending the ceasefire has become necessary. That does not mean it should be dispensed with altogether, but the pros and cons need to be weighed with an open mind yet again.

WiLL-fully whimsical

LIMITED mobility is the latest buzz word. It, however, has unlimited potential for a mega controversy. In the telecom lexicon, the term stands for a mobile phone within a limited range, better known as WiLL (wireless in local loop). This US-developed technology has been around for some time but sprang to sudden life a few days back when the government introduced a dramatic change in policy. It has thrown open this to those who are already offering fixed telephone service (called FSPs in departmental jargon). And so they do not have to pay any fees but share their revenue as cellular operators do. The latter raised a howl of protest and justifiably so. The WiLL will cost a fraction of the cellular phone charges and a bulk of the present cellphone users will switch over to the new service. One hurried survey has found that 90 per cent of mobile phone owners use it to make local calls and they can do it efficiently and economically in the WiLL system. They can also make long distance calls by tapping a fixed line, the good old fashioned telephone with a number and wire.

The cellular phone operators are upset, to put it mildly, because of two factors. One, their earnings will plummet and, two, the FSPs are getting this on a platter. They paid on an average of Rs 1684 crore for each of the six circles as entry fee while the FSPs have to pay only Rs 250 crore. Recently the department allotted the six circles to a fourth player ostensibly to encourage competition, and raked in a revenue of something like Rs 4700 crore. Gifting the WiLL services should cost at least this much. One cell operator from Chennai complicated the matter by offering a licence fee of Rs 2500 crore for 5 MHz out of the 20 MHz spectrum. He is not frivolous; he is offering mobile service at Rs 1.20 for an outgoing call and making a huge profit. These two developments are proof that the government has foregone a huge slice of revenue in the name of providing telephone facilities to rural people. Incidentally, everything is done in this country in the name of the villager. Many suspect that crores of rupees has changed hands and Congress leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi has called it a Rs 13,000 crore scam. The likely beneficiaries are six illustrious industrial houses, one of whom is a powerful business empire. Trade circles fear that given its intimate ties with the top layers of political leadership and its money power, this operator will come to monopolise the mobile segment and leave the public sector DoT to cater to basic telephone services. 

Preserving Punjab’s heritage

EVEN among the precious few heritage sites in Punjab, there is a pecking order. Those that fall under the list of protected monuments are several notches above those that do not. Lahori Gate of Sri Hargobindpur is in the later category. Sri Hargobindpur, the early 17th century city built by the sixth Sikh Guru, after whom it is named, is in Gurdaspur district. It is situated on a plateau defined by steep slopes with the Beas on three sides. Originally, it had five gates — Lahori Gate, Talwara Gate, Shahmana Gate, Maya di Gate and Mori Gate. Of these, only the first one remains today. Lahori Gate, a rectangular two-storeyed structure, has recently been in the news because the four shops that are housed in it at present may soon be sold by the municipal committee, thereby making the task of conservation of the monument all the more difficult. Despite its historical importance as the only surviving gate of a city built by Guru Hargobind, it is in a dilapidated condition. It is made of small bricks and lime, and loose bricks falling off is not an uncommon phenomenon. Since the gate is municipal property, it is literally nobody’s baby. In contrast, Guru ki Maseet has been restored as a result of community initiative and the work done by a Delhi-based NGO.

Under the law, no building that is over 100 years old can be defaced. However, even protected monuments are in a state of neglect, or worse. Punjab has suffered at the hands of invaders down the ages and as a result it does not have many heritage buildings. It is obvious that the government has not been able to handle the burden of preserving heritage buildings and monuments, though some commendable work has been done from time to time. The government must, therefore, make efforts to either get funds from alternative sources or allow non-governmental agencies to take up conservation work. Heritage has to be saved at all cost. Perhaps a public-funded effort, possibly modelled on the lines of the National Trust in Great Britain, is needed. The British trust is an independent effort initiated by three philanthropists in 1895. It is now supported by 27 lakh subscribers and takes care of more than 200 buildings, gardens and much more. An NGO initiative that involves non-resident Punjabis should also be considered. As far as the Lahori Gate is concerned, efforts have to be redoubled to ensure the preservation of this important heritage building with minimal hardship to those whose shops are located in it. 

Regression of the Indian polity
Opportunistic alliances deserve rebuke
S. Nihal Singh

THE bitter form of leave-taking of the parliamentary session was an appropriate setting for the election campaigns for four assemblies and a Union Territory. For if winning power or trying to gain it is the sole objective of the leaders and their parties, we have come to a sorry pass.

Although the results of these elections are not likely to determine the immediate fate of the ruling National Democratic Alliance at the Centre, they are a seminal event in the regression — of the Indian polity. There was a time when politicians and pundits in Delhi made fun of the opportunistic politicians of Haryana. Now no longer, because national politicians are emulating the pioneers of Haryana in switching loyalties and national parties are forming the unlikeliest of alliances.

Indeed, the political developments lend themselves to comic opera, or more aptly operetta, treatment were the almost comic actions of the principal actors and parties not so tragic in their consequences. The only hope is that the voters will perhaps give these characters the coup de grace to upset their apple-carts.

Take the four states and Pondicherry. In West Bengal, Ms Mamata Banerjee’s sole objective is to wrest power from the Marxists who have been ruling the state for 24 years. When the Trinamool Congress’ links with the Bharatiya Janata Party became too much of a liability, she cleverly used the Tehelka exposure to bail herself out, linking up with her once parent Congress. Many egos of local leaders of the two parties were bruised, with Mr Ajit Panja trying to perform the extraordinary feat of sitting on two stools at the same time.

Some of the bloom of Mamata’s shining armour has already worn off. The Marxists have been cultivating the Bengal countryside for almost a generation and although voters prefer a change after one party’s long dominance, they must be reasonably certain of the competence and commitment of a successor regime. Mr Jyoti Basu is no longer at the helm in West Bengal but the Marxist networking is still very much in place in the countryside. Ms Mamata Banerjee has shown flashes of being a people’s leader on occasion but might be disappointed in the results, which could dent, but not displace, the Marxists this time around.

Tamil Nadu has been a stellar attraction in elections in recent decades. No other state can match the devotion the state’s voters show their leaders, a stellar cast of actors, actresses and film script writers. The people’s love for those associated with the cinema is unrivalled elsewhere in the world. M.G. Ramachandran (MGR to one and all) set the trend. His leading lady of those days has controversially graced the Chief Minister’s chair and remains in the fray despite her election papers having been rejected.

It had seemed that the voters of Tamil Nadu could not decide whether to favour the one-time actress or the script writer and compromised on alternating power between Mr M. Karunanidhi of the DMK and Ms Jayalalitha of the AIADMK. On past form, it would seem to be the turn of the latter, but the waters have been muddied by her disqualification and the clutch of smaller parties each Dravidian party has gathered. Surely, it is ironic that the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), whose raison d’etre was its protest against the parent Congress’ alignment with Ms Jayalalitha, should root for her. The Congress has had to be content with being the juniormost partner, making peace in a fashion with a pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam faction while going to great lengths to justify its ostensibly different stance in Pondicherry.

Mr Karunanidhi faces a different kind of problem. He has spurned one junior ally and has made some of his senior colleagues unhappy by the grooming of his son who bears the unlikely name of Stalin to succeed him. Others in the party have made peace with the new dispensation. Tamil Nadu is merely following a frequent political phenomenon in India. In the present instance, the father is vicariously bestowing some of his own prowess in writing film scripts to his son, at least in poster depictions. Stalin must have a cinematic connection to be worthy of Tamil Nadu’s cinema-worshipping voters.

Kerala decided long ago that two conglomerates, the Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front, must alternate in the seat of power. Each of these groupings carries with it factions of the state’s unique brand of caste and religious politics. The UDF thus should get its chance to govern this time around, a prospect that sent ambitious faction leaders of the Congress pitching their separate tents. The Congress leadership in Delhi did finally mollify one faction leader, Mr K. Karunakaran, at the expense of followers of his rival A.K. Anthony. Will the intra-party struggle queer the pitch for the UDF? Perhaps not.

Assam is a state where the BJP particularly distinguished itself in its opportunism. It is the only state other than Kerala going to the polls where Gallup polls indicated that the winds were blowing the Congress way. Apparently, many electors had had enough of the Asom Gana Parishad whose record in the state’s economic development has left a lot to be desired. For the AGP, therefore, the BJP’s interest in an alliance with it was a godsend. The sticking point, of course, was that the BJP had been calling it names every so often, but the main ruling party in the coalition in Delhi set AGP doubts at rest; it had enthusiastically entered the lists of parties seeking power at almost any price.

The Congress lost the sympathy of the intelligentsia and the middle classes by its tactic of disrupting parliamentary proceedings for a long spell. Surely, the rationale of a parliamentary system is that the greater the political crisis facing the country, the greater is the need to debate the issues of the day in a parliamentary forum. Once before in the history of the Congress, its leader let Sanjay Gandhi play politics with his goon brigade, but Indira Gandhi had a political agenda, however, distasteful it might have been. The impression the Congress gives under Mrs Sonia Gandhi is that the party’s excesses have no coherent plan and, in the end, she merely succeeded in letting the Vajpayee government off the hook.

It would be a salutary lesson for the politicians if the voters in the states were to administer a well-deserved rebuke by voting down the most opportunistic of the opportunistic alliances.

The writer is a former Editor of The Statesman. 

Nation on the brink of a volcano
Sudarshan Singh

I have observed that every time there is some sudden, unpleasant and tragic happening in the country, there is a lot of hue and cry everywhere, condemning and criticising the government machinery for its lapses or blaming each other and shifting the responsibilitiy. There are high-sounding speeches and slogans by leaders of various parties, warning the nation to be more vigilant and watchful, and to plan out its strategies for disaster management in advance, to meet these eventualities in future with more strength, courage and confidence.

However, the tempo soon comes down and the shole setup again starts moving in the old routine. Why is it so? Is it due to the lack of political will or insensitivity of the people to the dangers which lie ahead, by ignoring such serious matters as are of primal importance for the country? The answer is probably yes. We have to bear in mind that gone are the days of role models in various walks of life, who with their clean conduct, high sense of duty and personal example, created a deep impact on the minds of the people and motivated them for nobler objectives.

The present situation in the country is grave and disturbing and needs our serious attention. Ever increasing population, poverty, ignorance, lawlessness, caste and class divisions, fanaticism, regionalism, unemployment, consumerism, corruption, smuggling, the rising tide of terrorism, lapses in the internal security of the country, etc, have created great instability and a critical situation in the country.

There is a steep fall in the values of life, and great restlessness and frustration among the youth. Despite a tremendous increase in the number of educational institutions in the country and big strides in science and technology, education has failed in its objective of all-round development of human personality. It has become today, more or less, an industry. In the present system of hard competition for admissions to various professional courses and paid seats, the youth especially with a rural background stand no where. Their intakes for such specialised courses is very low due to their lack of awareness, specialised training and resources. So is the case with recruitments for various jobs, both in the public and private sectors. The tragedy is that whereas every young man aspires for a job with allurements of perks and status attached to it, such jobs are very few and are not easily available on merit. A very few young men who are interested or motivated to start their independent ventures, generally fail due to the lack of proper encouragement, training and resources.

The youth are the real assets of a nation, and their proper care and training should form the foremost duty of parents as well as the state. They are the future leaders of the country, and we cannot afford to ignore their genuine problems. We must keep them happy, cheerful and satisfied, and ensure that their energies are properly channelised. They have to be kept away from the hands of anti-social elements, who are raising their heads high and alluring them to the underworld and antinational activities.

The majority of the people in India still live in the villages. There is urgent need to motivate them and create awareness among them to live in peace and harmony, work hard and unitedly for village development, form village cooperatives to increase their output, avoid litigation and solve all their differences through panchayats. They should be motivated to avoid drugs and drinking to enable the common people to live in peace and prosperity. The situation demands, rising above party-lines, inter-personal and inter-regional rivalries and to think in terms of one people, one nation. There is also need to revive the true spirit of religion which stands for love and brotherhood of mankind, by dismantling all man-made barriers of caste, tribe, etc.

There has been continuous and serious lapses in the security of the country. Despite repeated warnings, nothing concrete has been done to plug the loopholes in the system. This is a very serious matter and needs immediate attention to make the system strong and foolproof.

What is the solution to the present stalemate in the country? To my mind, whereas healthy criticism and wise suggestions should always be welcome, mere criticism or finding faults will not solve any problem. The answer lies in serious introspection, proper planning, rising above our narrow outlook, personal interests and prejudices and in working unitedly with a high sense of duty, discipline and dedication for the betterment of the country. 

Clinton & the cameos of quake
Ram Varma

BILL CLINTON and I are birds of the same feather. We are both retired. We are free birds. We have time to roam about and see things. We are available. But I suppose there the similarity ends. For he likes Monica Lewinsky topless, I like Monaco Salted topped with cheese.

He came to see the devastation caused by the earthquake as head of the American Indian Foundation to propose long-term assistance, I went there as part of the Haryana government team to provide immediate succour.

Bhuj, Anjar, Bhachau, Rapar, Gandhidham, Ahmedabad - the reach and the rage of the killer quake was unimaginable and incredible. Without warning, ominous rumbles came from the bowels of the earth, dark clouds of dust enveloped the crumbling and crashing walls and multitudinous shrieks went up searing a stunned, speechless sky - and in a few seconds homes and hospitals, schools and temples became rubble-turned-graveyards.

The Gujarat earthquake was a great leveller. High-rise buildings and one-storey tenements were humbled with equal fury. I noticed that even field boundary walls came down. “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,/That wants it down/Robert Frost had said. Ornate temple shikharas crafted with care and ingenuity were rudely thrown off and the deities reigning in the splendour of the sanctum sanctorum were exposed to raw elements. It was as if innumerable invisible Godzillas springing from the bowels of the earth had gone on a demolition spree.

I see that now there are people greeting Bill Clinton showing him round; we were greeted by an eerie silence, and stares of the survivors who vacantly surveyed their broken homes as if looking for lost dreams, and dazed dogs too traumatised to bark.

Now people are complaining, clamouring for help, demanding this and that. What we had witnessed was quite contrary: the proud Patels of villages in Rapar taluqa refusing to touch foodstuffs or blankets although all they had was gone, their houses flattened, their kith and kin buried under rubble-heaps - and not a sob or a sigh, let alone a tear, escaping their dour visage.

We had also met an old, wizened sanyasini who was offended when I asked her what we could do for her. “Sala, Behen —-, tu kya karega hamare liye?” she had exploded like a volcano. Coming from a saintly figure clad in saffron, it hit me like a bolt. But looking at my crushed, crestfallen face she had melted and went into defensive. “You see, we are Naga sadhus. We are foul-mouthed. My guru was even more vitriolic. It is a sort of shield against undue intrusion.

We had discovered her in a cave on a hillock near Rapar. Exhibited in the cave were her photographs as a graduate receiving a degree, her initiation as a sanyasini, her guru sitting cross-legged in samadhi’ she discoursing with fellow sadhus and so on. She was fair and pretty, and now at eighty plus had a regal mien.

As we took her leave, I noticed that her shoe had worn off and was hurting her. We bought a new pair from Rapar market in the evening, and went to her cave again next morning. She was still asleep and when I spoke “Mataji” she opened her beady eyes. They shone with unconcealed joy. “Are tu aya, Beta?” she said getting up. “Yeh Behen—mohabbat badi bekar cheez hai.” This time I chuckled at her expletives. She clarified: “Yesterday morning you had woken me up. This morning I kept thinking of you, and now you have come!” I never knew elixir could flow from expletives.

Did she like the shoes? She was in raptures and went strutting about in them in front of her cave — like Cinderella going to dance in the Prince’s palace.

Swearing not always rude

AN expert in the English language has backed appeal judges who ruled swearing at police officer was not an act of rudeness.

Kenneth Kinnaird, 43, of Baillieston, Glasgow, was charged with breach of the peace and resisting arrest after he told two police officers to f**k off.

Kinnaird was later fined £100 at Glasgow District Court for resisting arrest, but on Tuesday his conviction was overturned at Edinburgh’s Appeal Court.

Lord Prosser, sitting with Lord Kingarth and Lord Eassie, said the words he used were not shouted and did not appear to be anything other than a conversation.

The judge added: “Anyway, he uses the language of his generation.”

English Language Professor, Charles Jones, of the University of Edinburgh, says people often do not mean offence when they swear.

He said: “These terms are often used as adjectives and are meaningless, particularly when two people talk to each other.”

“You swear and I swear, especially when I’m on the golf course, but we are not insulting anyone.”

However, Professor Jones says he would have expected people to mind their language when confronted with authority. The officers had told Kinnaird to wait while they checked whether a warrant was out for his arrest.

“It certainly is in common usage, but you expect people to tailor their language to the situation and to their advantage,” he added.

“Given that, one might expect people confronted by the police not to use swear words, but they are so endemic and the judge could be correct that no offence was intended.”

He added: “But I suppose it’s worth considering what the judge would have felt in court if he had asked a person a question and that person told him to f... off.” Guardian

New bra has a built-in gun holster

An American inventor has produced a bra with a built-in gun holster.

The underwear is designed to hold a .38 calibre snub-nose revolver and pepper spray.

The $ 30 bra is the brainchild of Beverly Hills security consultant Paxton Quigley.

“Women like the idea of comfort and its ease of access,” she told the Washington Times newspaper.

Many states in America allow people to carry “concealed” handguns as protection, although Miss Quigley’s device is probably the first to use women’s underwear as a holster.

“If a woman is attacked, the purse is the first thing taken from her,” she said. “A good place to conceal a weapon is in the chest area.”

Described as “equal parts Victoria’s Secret and Guns & Ammo magazine”, in reference to the American lingerie chain and top-selling firearms magazine, the bra is available in utilitarian black or white.

It is strictly functional though — no lace, no underwiring and the only choice other than size is whether women fire with their left or right hands.

Designed to hold a gun on one side and a pepper spray on the other, its dual-capability makes it legal virtually everywhere in America, where pepper spray can be carried by civilians as well as the police.

Miss Quigley, who has written two books on gun safety and self-defence for women and trained actress Geena Davis for her role in the film Thelma and Louise, has dubbed her invention the Super Bra. Annanova

Joshi’s designer purohit
P. Raman

‘‘WHO is he? A Punjabi? A Madrasi? A Bengali?’’ This is the routine query one encounters as soon as a body arrives at a big crematoria like Nigambodh. Every region is supposed to have a different panda or a purohit for the last rites. Often the mourners have to wait for a long time for the arrival of the right man. Once we had to wait for hours for a priest to arrive all the way from the UP hills when a journalist friend died.

This illustrates the complexity of the priest-jajman (client) relationship which the Human Resource Development Ministry now seeks to change by mass-producing purohits in universities.

Some universities have already advertised for readers in dharmashastra and mimamsa for the course that is scheduled to begin from July next. But neither the universities nor the UGC gives out much on the curriculum, eligibility of admission for non-Hindus and women and such details as practicals which are essential for highly ritual-based studies. Each of these will add to the UGC's controversial decision.

For a traditional family, a purohit, pujari or deity is not like an MBA who could be campus-recruited to man executive posts in business firms. In every Brahmanical rite — call it Vedic if you please — the purohit has a sacred role. He is not just another service provider.

When pilgrims go to Kashi to wash off sins, most of them seek services from their region and caste-specific pandas. Old Punjabi householders visiting pilgrim centres like Hardwar after a death in the family, we are told, go straight go to their own panda. The man consults his red-cloth-covered khata, and within minutes traces the names, star, dates etc of the earlier visitors from the family.

Each of those tufted south Indian priests you find in the metros has his own caste and sub-caste clients. It has been a special relationship. Satapatha Brahmana equates oblations to the gods with gifts to the purohit. Brahmana literature, next after the Vedas, calls purohits hotr, adhwaryu, udgatr etc signifying their divine status. The UGC graduates will find it tough to match their well entrenched dhoti-clad rivals. Delhi University's Sanskrit professor tells us that it is better to have a ‘‘properly trained’’ purohit rather than a half-baked traditional man.

However, in the kind of brahmanical rituals ‘‘properly trained’’ is a misnomer. All Hindu rituals have their origin in Brahmanas which call it Vedangas (limbs of the Vedas). They are sub-divided into Shrautsutras, Grihyasutras and Dharmasutras. The first is for the fulfilment of wishes and performed on special occasions with three to five fires — as in a soma yagna. The other two concern the traditional rules for the religious life of the household — from birth to death.

‘‘Proper training’’ hardly matters because these days no jajman can observe the prescribed rigorous norms in toto. Dilution and simplification and abridgement of the mantras to suit the changing situations have been taking place for centuries. This covers even substitution of samagris. In soma yagna, a tasteless creeper is passed as the Vedic soma. So the question of ‘‘better training’’ or the original form does not arise.

Also, shrutis, smritis and sutras are not one compact book. There are at least four dozen important surviving works. Among them about 20 have identifiable adherents. Like Brahmanas and Upanishads, these are also attached to one of the four Vedas.

Codes of daily and special kind of rituals with their mantras are attributed to different saints like Kaushitaki and Angiras. Often diversity and multiformity are so stunning both in form and content. There is little in common between the kind of yagnas performed here and the meticulously observed soma yagna of the Namboodiris in Kerala.

Barring rare cases, the experts of yore had accepted the divergence and plurality as strength. Incidentally, certain rituals have to be performed by those following different schools of ritual code. Without the ‘‘others’’, the rite would not be complete. Murli Manohar Joshi's move to standardise the innumerable ritual codes through his designer purohits will mean the elimination of the diversity and the plurality of the dharmashashtras.

This is not an accident. It is part of the RSS parivar's programme of converting Hinduism into a command religion. The whole philosophy of a centralised religion entails elimination of every kind of heterogeneity. If what we hear about the paurohitya curriculum are any indication, it is going to be an imposition of an unnatural mix of ritualistic practices now prevalent in the Gangetic valley on the rest of India. The more elaborate and closer to the original code still surviving in the South, Maharashtra and Gujarat are going to be the worst victim of this mindlessly imposed pan Hinduism.

Similar is the case with the temples and their worship practices. In this case, the learned VHP professors claim that the paurohitya graduates have ready jobs aboard. True, a Hindu website gives the names of about 120 temples in the USA alone. However, most of them are not our kind of daily worship centre.

Instead, their main function is Sunday ‘‘service’’ — a term borrowed from the Judeo-Christian tradition. Very few have time to visit temples on weekdays. So such temples hardly need full-time pujaris. The part-time ones can easily pick up a few cheaply printed booklets from one of those selling Hanuman Chalisa on our footpaths. After all, a puja is a puja, and Joshi's pujari is also not expected to do more than this.

Two side effects of this forced pan Hinduisation of rituals will be on our ‘‘shudras’’ and women — the two groups traditionally kept out of brahmanical rituals. Will women be enrolled for the degree course in paurohitya and puja? Even if they are allowed to join the courses, will they be acceptable to tradition-bound society? Joshi's Sanskrit professors avoid a direct answer to this query.

What about the ‘‘Shudras’’? In Bhagwat Gita, Lord Krishna himself reveals (chapter IV, 13) that the four varnas were created by ‘‘Me’’ (chaaturvarnyam mayaa srishtam). The theme is further expanded in chapter XVIII. Brahmana literature asserts that the only ritual permitted to those other than a Brahmin is Ashwamedh which is essentially a fertility rite by the Kshatriya.

This baggage from the past could be shed only by interpreting a Brahmin as the one following brahmanical karma. But in this kaliyug, even the most pious cannot claim to follow the old, rigorous brahmanical code. Certain cases in Tamil Nadu and Kerala shed some light on this bitter truth.

The Supreme Court has begun hearing a Kerala case where a qualified non-Brahmin was appointed a pujari in a board-controlled temple. Apparently, this was not found acceptance by sections of devotees who gradually began keeping off the temple. If this can happen in literate Kerala, one can well imagine the responses from the more conservative parts of the subcontinent.

State funding for training the priests and ministers of a particular religion can also provoke similar demands from other religious groups. At present, the two other visible communities run their own institutions to train their clergy. Different sects of Hindus having their own priesthood and distinct practices. They can also demand exclusive graduate and post-graduate courses for their sect. No one can stop if this leads to a fresh faith-driven controversy.

India must have own National Labour Day
Dr Hasmukh D. Savlani

MAY Day is observed as International Labour Day. May Day is generally celebrated by professional trade unionists and Socialists. Some Socialist writers pleaded for the celebration of Labour Day on May 1. Rebert Owen is said to be the first man who described, in 1833, May Day as the “Millennium of workers”. And then, in 1889, the First Paris Congress of the Second International decided this day for their annual international celebrations. In the former USSR, this day was declared as a government holiday. All the industrially advanced countries celebrate May Day except the USA, Canada and Italy.

It should be noted that it is prohibited to celebrate May 1 as Labour Day in those countries, where they have their own National Labour Day. In Britain, however, this day is celebrated on the first Sunday following May 1, and Hyde Park in London is the well-known traditional place for the celebration of this day. May Day was not observed in Britain until 1892. The Socialists wanted compulsory cessation of work and closure of factories on this day. Such an approach caused many bloody clashes in several European countries.

In many of the states of America and Canada, the first Monday in the month of September is observed as “Labour Day”. The movement of observing this day was initiated by the “Knights of Labour” during 1882-84, who used to parade in New York on this day. The “Knights of Labour” resolved, in 1884, to celebrate the first Monday of September as Labour Day and urged the government to observe that day as a holiday.

Consequently, Oregon state legislated an Act on February 26, 1887, for the recognition of the first Monday of September as Labour Day. Soon after that, New York, New Jersey and Colorado states also declared this day as their Labour Day. The method of celebrating this day in America is, of course, different from that in Europe.

In America, people from all sections of society join this function with joy. All factories and stores remain close and many programmes like picnics, parades, sports, seminars, conferences, etc are held. In 1894, Parliament in Canada also established the first Monday of September as their National Labour Day.

Very few trade unionists in India are aware of the fact that international churches seemed to be keenly concerned with the recognition of Labour Day. On May 1, 1955, the Pope declared that day as the festival of Saint Joseph. He added that May Day was accepted by the Christian workers, which would not excite them to indulge in violence and hatred. This indicates that the Catholic churches religiously coloured May Day and attempted to undermine the influence of communism in the name of Saint Joseph.

According to Indian culture and tradition, Labour Day has been the birth day of Lord Vishvakarma, who has been worshipped as the “God of labour and industry”. He is believed to be the first and most successful artisan, architect, engineer and armament manufacturer on the earth. He constructed many well-planned towns with magnificent palaces and buildings, produced wonderful defence armaments, invented a variety of machines and vehicles, manufactured several kinds of cloths, made various types of intricately designed ornaments and many articles of daily use. Thus he was the master of both manual and intellectual labour. Over and above, he was believed to be a great humanist. It was he, who prepared ‘Vajra’ from the bones of Saint ‘Dadhichi’ to kill ‘Vritasur’, a fierce demon, who was menacing the devine people at that time. It is, however, surprising to observe that Vishvakarma was the father of Vritasur and yet he did not try to protect his son and saved the lives of the ‘Devas’ (Gods).

Gifted with such a glorious culture of sacrifice, our people used to celebrate the birthday of Vishvakarma as “Labour Day”. Even now this day is observed by many of our traditional artisans, farmers, blacksmiths and others in different parts of the country. This day is being popularly known as ‘Vishvakarma Day’ also.

Would it not be better to celebrate ‘Vishvakarma Day’ as our National Labour Day instead of May Day? Vishvakarma Day is celebrated in our country by a majority of our working people like goldsmiths, blacksmiths, masons etc on the fifth day of the bright half of the month of Bhadra, while others perform it on the thirteenth day of the bright half of the month of Magha. A common day, for this purpose, may be jointly agreed upon by the experts, after necessary deliberation and discussions. And then our labour masses will be motivated in the real sense and sprit that Lord Vishvakarma practised.

What positive message the present International Labour Day cannot convey can be easily drawn from the traditional account of Vishvakarma Day, which can culturally inspire our labour force and manpower for hard work and qualitative endeavour accompanying a sense of sacrifice instead of unending personal or group greed and desires. This seems to be the guiding objective of celebrating our National Labour Day or even International Labour Day.

75 YEARS AGO

Sikh Gurdwaras Act

A similar request was made to the Hon'ble Chief Commissioner of the N.W.F. Province.

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

Q How long has there been death in the world?

A As long as there has been life.

Q What happens to the body at death?

A It begins to return to life again. The particles of which the body is composed dissolve, separate, and pass into their original elements water, lime, iron, phosphorus, etc. Thus disengaged, they mix with the sun and the air, and having renewed their youth, return to combine again in new bodies.

Q Do they always meet in the same body?

A No. If they did, the dead would rise again.

Q Is death a punishment?

A Not any more than life.

Q Why do people fear death?

A They have been taught to look upon it as the curse of God for the sins of man, and that it marks the beginning of an irrevocable doom; but people are rapidly outgrowing these fears.

Q But is always a misfortune?

A When it ends a useful career, separates lovers and makes orphans of children, it seems a calamity. But when it brings deliverance to the weary, the aged and the suffering, it is a blessing.

Q Could there be any progress in the world without death?

A As the old leaves must fall from the branches to make room for the new and greener ones, so must we die to make place for the better men and women of the future.

Q How may we learn to overcome the fear of death?

A 1) By trying to accommodate ourselves to those laws of nature which will not accommodate themselves to us. 2) By cultivating in us the same mind that was also in the bravest and noblest of our race. 3) By remembering that we are here to learn how to live, and not how to die.

Q How may we triumph over death?

A By loving and serving some noble cause, in which we may continue to live long after we have passed away.

— Excerpted from M. M. Mangasarian, A New Catechism, Chapter XIV.

Truth alone conquers; untruth never. It is the path of rectitude alone that men of learning and piety have followed; and it is by treading this path, that the great sages of righteous desire have reached the highest citadel of truth.

Verily there is no virtue higher than Truth; no sin greater than falsehood. Verily there is no knowledge higher than Truth; let a man therefore follow Truth.

— Manu smriti