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Saturday,
May 5, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Special
status The
politics of "ban" |
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Burden
of the PSUs OF all the fields where well-thought policy is yet to enter, disinvestment is about the biggest and the most vexatious. In yet another experiment, the Centre is recasting its programme without knowing what the outcome will be. Of course it is reacting to the Balco controversy which can be split into two parts. One is the sale of majority holding to one company at a price which is bound to be suspect.
Elections
in Tamil Nadu turn into a farce
Hell in
a helicopter
Issue of
High Court’s “biased” judges
How
serious is the crisis in Indian film industry
Should US aid be
linked to religious freedom?
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Special status THE immediate beneficiary of the grant of special category status to Uttaranchal will be Chief Minister Nityanand Swami. The delay was being used by his opponents to fuel a campaign that he was unable to safeguard the interests of the newly created state. His Cabinet colleagues were telling all those who cared to listen that it was not possible to get the coveted status in the near future because the Gujarat earthquake had shaken the economy of the nation. Uttaranchal has a hilly and difficult terrain, low population density, strategic location, economic and infrastructural backwardness and non-viable finances. So, the grant is no special favour to it. All other Himalayan states have it. As the Gadgil Formula, which initiated the move, had pointed out, hill states have exceptional development and economic dynamics and parameters. The special dispensation will make it eligible for Central assistance in the form of 90 per cent grant and 10 per cent loan. The figure is 30 per cent and 70 per cent respectively for other states. Positive that the gesture is, it might not be sufficient to keep the fledgling state afloat. The Centre will have to go out of its way to fulfil the aspirations of its people and set them on the path to development. Ten of its 13 districts are highly backward. It has an annual income of Rs 1250 crore, whereas the salary bill of government servants alone comes to Rs 1200 crore. When the state was formed out of Uttar Pradesh, it inherited a deficit burden of Rs 1,800 crore for five years. Given these harsh financial realities it is very difficult for Uttaranchal to bear its day-to-day expenditure, leave alone launching new development schemes. The demand of the Chief Minister that the Central Government should give Rs 1,800 crore per year for a five-year period to bridge the gap needs to be considered sympathetically. Both Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir have a similar special status, but have been bogged down by the magnitude of the backwardness. Lack of development increases the feeling of alienation. Helping the new state stand on its feet will have short-term as well as long-term beneficial effects. Tourism, electricity generation and horticulture are some of the areas where big strides are possible. Industries that do not degrade environment can also change the fortunes of the state. The area has suffered greatly under Uttar Pradesh. Now is the time to undo the neglect. |
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The politics of "ban" THE existence of the Deendar Anjuman became public knowledge after its name was linked with the targeting of Hindu and Christian places of worship in some South Indian cities. The Hyderabad-based organisation is said to have a membership of 15,000, mostly in the South. Going by the reaction of its leaders the decision to ban its activities is not going to achieve the objective for which the decision was taken by the Centre on April 27 and received by the administration in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Both the Central and state level intelligence agencies have much to explain for the spurt in the activities of the Anjuman. Founded in 1924 the Deendars were a little-known group of people following a peculiar brand of Islam. However, the attack on some churches in the South turned them into a source of threat to the country's security. Surely the journey from a dormant organisation to its present position, where it is linked with the ISI ,could not have been accomplished overnight. What were the security agencies doing while the Anjuman was putting together its anti-India agenda? It was accused of receiving funds from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. However, a common sense approach to analysing this charge would eliminate the name of Saudi Arabia from the list of Anjuman backers. It is unlikely that the rulers of the desert kingdom would agree to do business with an organisation which is treated with disdain by mainstream Muslim outfits. Saudi Arabia would be the last country to back an organisation founded by "a Muslim incarnation of a Hindu deity". The case of Pakistan's interest in the Anjuman would appear to be more plausible. The last thing the anti-India neighbour would do is to check the Muslim credentials of an outfit willing to implement its agenda of causing countrywide communal tension. Pakistan's backing of the Anjuman would be sufficient ground for justifying the ban on its anti-national activities. The Centre has in fact made a zero-risk move by targeting the Deendars. The ban would please the Sangh Parivar outfits without the risk of annoying the nationally recognised Muslim organisations. But a question which still remains is the effect the banning of an organisation has in curbing its so-called anti-national activities. Several Sangh Parivar outfits, including the RSS, never let the ban imposed by the Congress governments come in the way of continuing their activities. They did it less obtrusively than they do today. In the political context the evil in the mind can only be cured through honest confidence-building initiatives encompassing members of all the communities. |
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Burden of the PSUs OF all the fields where well-thought policy is yet to enter, disinvestment is about the biggest and the most vexatious. In yet another experiment, the Centre is recasting its programme without knowing what the outcome will be. Of course it is reacting to the Balco controversy which can be split into two parts. One is the sale of majority holding to one company at a price which is bound to be suspect. Add to this the poor understanding of the problem by politicians and their oppositionist obligations; hence every deal of this type will kick up much heat. The second is the prolonged confrontation between the workers and the new management, the former are trained to oppose the private sector and now fearing large-scale retrenchment. This predicament will visit the disinvestment in Air-India, Indian Airlines, VSNL, Hindustan Zinc and Hindustan Copper. The bidders are Sterlite (of Balco fame), Videocon, BPL and Hindujas. These are tainted companies and any quick deal will give rise to an unholy verbal
war. The first three have been guilty of price rigging and the Bombay Stock Exchange has imposed some curbs on them. Hindujas are fighting a court battle in connection with Bofors kickback and it will sound awkward if they are chosen as the strategic partner. It is a mess, one that defies a solution. What is more galling for the government is that with domestic companies not being interested, not having the kind of money and being tainted, any serious proposal to buy public sector units will have to come from multinationals. Even a mention of this possibility will set off several explosions in the already divided Sangh Parivar and that is best avoided. What next? Buffeted by no progress in disinvestment, the government bravely talks of offering shares to the public (the so-called IPO option) in the name of wider ownership or ask financial institutions to exchange their cash for its property. There are two difficulties, not so far realised by the government. During all of last year companies could raise slightly more than Rs 6300 crore by way of issuing shares. Also, the turbulent market will come under bear pressure if PSUs with a good capital base enter the scene. Also, evaluation of the assets and the book building method (a kind of continuing auction till the price stabilises) are imperfect and leave the professional critic dissatisfied. The government faces another problem. Last year tax collection fell short by Rs 10,000 crore and Finance Minister Sinha is hungrily looking at disinvestment to bail him out. |
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Elections
in Tamil Nadu turn into a farce THE Dravida Munetra Kazhagam (DMK) party came to power in Tamil Nadu in 1967 dethroning the Congress which had a 20-year run in the state. The Congress has not been able to recapture power there since then. After the death of Annadurai, the DMK party, which he hounded, split following the emergence of the celluloid hero M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) who challenged the leadership of M. Karunanidhi, Annadurai’s successor, MGR, became a folk hero and the illiterate masses in Tamil Nadu went overboard in their adulation. MGR soon replaced Karunanidhi and became the popular Chief Minister of a new party which he founded under the name of the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Jayalalitha entered the film world in her teens and became a favourite heroine in pictures starring MGR. In his long film career MGR had many heroines as constant companions, to put it euphemistically, but Jaya emerged as a winner. MGR groomed her as his political successor and in this she succeeded pretty well since she was known as MGR’s chosen companion and could attract large crowds. After MGR’s death there was a period of confusion, but eventually Jayalalitha became the AIADMK Chief Minister, defeating Karunanidhi in 1991. As Chief Minister she indulged in gross corruption in every conceivable manner and her ministers were equally venal. Jayalalitha was ably assisted in all these transactions by her adopted sister Sashikala, who was earlier running a video shop and her husband, a junior government official. The amount of properties Jaya and her ministers acquired, the amount of jewellery made by the two women, the manner in which Jaya suddenly adopted a grown up young man as her son and celebrated his marriage in a grandiose style are all legendary. The inevitable retribution came when her party was defeated by Karunanidhi and his DMK in 1996. Karunanidhi singlemindedly went after her and instituted a series of cases for corruption. Special courts were set up to try the various cases chargesheeted and at least in three cases Jayalalitha and some of her associates were convicted and sentenced to jail terms ranging from two to three years. In all these cases her appeals are pending and she will no doubt take them all up to the Supreme Court. Jayalalitha’s role in bringing down the Vajpayee government in 1999 cannot be forgotten. Her party held the same crucial position in 1999 which Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP now has with his 29 MPs. Her demand from day one, after her party joined the Vajpayee government, was that Karunanidhi’s government in Tamil Nadu should be dismissed. Short of implementing this demand the Vajpayee government complied with every whim of Jayalalitha. Nevertheless she withdrew her support from the Vajpayee government which fell by a difference of one vote. In the Lok Sabha elections which followed the Vajpayee government returned to power as a coalition while Jayalalitha found herself a loser though her party still managed to get 10 Lok Sabha seats. In the assembly elections taking place on May 10, the two dominant alliances are led by the DMK and the AIADMK, respectively. Jayalalitha’s AIADMK scored a coup when Dr Ramdoss of Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) which stands for fighting for the cause of the backward Vanniyar community which corresponds to the Kurmis in UP-Bihar. The Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) led by G.K. Moopanar and the Congress party had no alternative except to join her as the DMK-BJP alliance was taboo. The prospects of both the TMC and the Congress had considerably lessened in the state in recent times and Moopanar himself is a sick man and would not be able to do much electioneering. Knowing the inherent weaknesses of these two parties Jayalalitha ruthlessly whittled down their prospects and even announced the list of AIADMK candidates without consulting either Moopanar or the Congress. Some of the seats which these two parties had won in the previous elections were taken away from them. There were many other whimsical and arbitrary acts on the part of Jayalalitha which only indicated that she was so sure of her party’s victory and becoming Chief Minister that she would not care for anybody. The opinion polls published a few weeks earlier had indicated a clear lead for Jayalalitha and her party, which only added to her arrogance. Jayalalitha, however, had the nagging fear of the court convictions and hence filed a petition in the Madras High Court requesting the suspension of the conviction since her appeals were pending. The Judge who heard the case gave a strange judgement stating that he was suspending the sentence which implicitly meant that her conviction also stood suspended. Armed with this judgement Jayalalitha went ahead and filed her nomination papers in two constituencies viz. Andipatti and Krishnagiri. Meanwhile, a public interest petition filed in the Madras High Court against Jayalalitha contesting the elections brought forth the submission by the Election Commission at the Madras High Court that its directive of 1977 that any person convicted for an offence for more than two years could not stand in the elections. This came as a big damper and on the last date of filing of nominations, Jayalalitha had her nomination papers filed in two other constituencies, Bhuvanagiri and Pudukkotai. When the scrutiny of nominations came up on April 24, legal luminaries like Siddharth Shankar Ray and retired Supreme Court judge, V. Ramaswamy, were brought in to argue in favour of Jayalalitha. Unfortunately for her, not only did the 1977 directive of the Election Commission went against her but also the rule that no one could file nomination papers in more than two constituencies. Why Jayalalitha filed her nomination in two more constituencies in the last minute is a mystery and the only possible explanation is that she hoped that at least one of the four Returning Officers could turn out to be favourable to her and accept her nomination. Predictably all the four nominations were rejected on April 24 afternoon. Jayalalitha is made of sterner stuff and believes in the policy of never-say-die. She is now on a whirlwind tour telling people that she has been prevented from contesting by Karunanidhi’s conspiracy but his machinations cannot prevent her from becoming the Chief Minister as people are going to vote for her and her party. Some of the leaders in her coalition are also echoing similar views hoping that Jayalalitha would somehow romp home and return as CM. There was a sideshow in Tamil Nadu politics when P. Chidambaram broke away from the TMC and started his own party, calling it the TMC Progressive Wing. Unconfirmed reports had circulated earlier that the BJP leadership at Delhi wanted him to step in the vacancy caused by the death of Rangarajan, BJP minister from the South, and contest election as BJP candidate from Tiruchi, the constituency of Rangarajan. The BJP leadership from the South, however, including the present BJP president Jana Krishnamurthy opposed the move tooth and nail and aborted it. Chidambaram has now joined the DMK-BJP coalition and secured two assembly seats for his party candidates who will contest on the DMK symbol. Chidambaram himself has been going around electioneering in favour of Karunanidhi and his party. If V. Ramamurthy of the erstwhile Rajiv Congress could become a Cabinet Minister in the NDA Government with a single seat, so could P. Chidambaram at a future date, which might well be his calculation. Whether the DMK-BJP coalition led by Karunanidhi will get a majority or not is doubtful since he alienated influential sections led by Dr Ramdoss, V. Gopalaswamy (Vaiko) etc. However, even if the AIADMK coalition gets a majority out of the 234 seats and even if the coalition elects Jayalalitha as leader, she cannot possibly be sworn in as Chief Minister by the Governor. The question of her contesting a byelection within six months to retain the post does not arise at all since the main question is whether she could at all be sworn in as Chief Minister. Any person convicted by court for more than two years cannot stand for election and such a person cannot be thought of for the post of Chief Minister either. Even Laloo Prasad Yadav in Bihar had to step down after the chargesheet was filed against him in the court. It is the accepted political norm that no person can continue as a minister if a chargesheet is filed in the court for corruption or moral turpitude. The electoral farce in Tamil Nadu would be hopefully resolved in favour of legality and jurisprudence by about May 20. The writer is a former Governor of West Bengal and Sikkim. |
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Hell in a helicopter IT was in the first decade of the 20th century that man had made a brief vertical flight. For the first time. In a helicopter built by Paul Cornu. This was almost a hundred years back. Last month, I had my maiden experience. The 30 minutes of hell in a helicopter. A week off from work had provided the provocation. For a short holiday. And I had unhesitatingly grabbed the opportunity. Decided to go to the Northeast. Away from the heat. So I had taken the morning flight from Delhi. The plane was packed. Captain Deepak Sahi had announced in a distinct and resonant voice that thanks to a strong tail wind, we were flying at a speed of more than 15 km per minute. Over the clouds. Almost touching the blue sky. Had a glimpse of the majestic Mount Everest. But even while plying at a height of 41000 ft., the mountains seemed to stand out. In towering glory. It really felt as if these were looking down upon me. In less than two hours, the plane had landed at Bagdogra. Out of the big Boeing, I got into the old, rickety and small helicopter. A mere five-seater. The captain, bald like me, started the engine. Initially, it heaved and hummed. The rotor started rotating. Soon it sounded as if a hundred diesel engines had been put on together. And suddenly, with a jerk, the machine moved. Upward. Also forward. As the craft rose, the heart sank. Before long, we were rising above the telephone poles. The high-tension electric cables. Over the river and then the mountains. Through the valley. My friend Alok Sinha was pointing out every place. With details. The Kalimpong city on my right. The cluster of buildings. The smoke emerging from the
houses. The Teesta river. The cardamom plantations. The terraced fields on the hills. The Rumtec monastery. And so on. The height gives an advantage. It ensures a good view. But I was not interested in seeing the surroundings. In fact, I was wet with sweat. It was dripping. From the forehead. From every part of the anatomy. Despite the fact that I had nothing woollen on me. I pulled the pane from the creaking window. To let in some fresh air. To have a deep breath. It did come in. It was nice and cool. There was a distinct scent. It was pure. Refreshing. But it did not seem to help. Why? The machine was making a lot of noise. It was no music to the ears. Even the slightest turn produced a jarring sound. Every stroke of breeze was tossing the aircraft. On occasions, it appeared to be losing height. Whenever the pilot attempted to go up, the craft did not seem to respond. Each minute felt like an hour. The promised 30 minutes did not look likely to finish. There was fear of hell in my heart. During these minutes, all the helicopter crashes passed through the mind. The copter caught in high-tension cables. On account of bad weather and poor visibility. All aboard killed. The two copters crashed in mid-air. The passengers sustained serious injuries. And so on. I prayed. And even remembered God more than ever before. In fact, all the time. Finally, the craft took a turn to the starboard. There was a black patch. With a white mark. I knew — that was the helipad. The aircraft was moving in that direction. Soon it was on the spot. And then came the touchdown. Soft. No jerk. Along with came the life back to me. I heaved a sigh of relief. The sweat was gone. The cool air was relaxing the body and mind. Life on earth may be expensive. But it is easy. Every year one makes a free trip around the sun. But the 30 minutes in the helicopter were like a lifetime in hell. |
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Issue of High Court’s “biased” judges THESE
days the military government is under unusual pressure from various quarters. While giving its verdict in the corruption case involving former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the
Supreme Court of Pakistan had identified certain “biased” judges in the Lahore High Court. These “tainted” judges are Mr Justice Qayyum Malik and Mr Justice Rashid Aziz, then the High Court’s Chief Justice but now a judge of the apex court. They had convicted Ms Bhutto and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, in an unfair manner and in accordance with instructions from former Law Minister Khalid Anwer and defunct Ehtesab Bureau chief Saifur Rehman, two trusted lieutenants of deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Legal experts feel that these judges must resign and the government should take the matter to the Supreme Judicial Council for launching impeachment proceedings against them. But Mr Justice Malik is adamant and unrepentant. He says there is no moral ground for such a drastic step. The seven-member apex court Bench, which stalled the operation of the High Court verdict, wanted the “biased” judges’ impeachment to ensure self-accountability in the judiciary. But the military regime is undecided about the course of action. Its dithering is being interpreted differently. Without naming anybody, The Nation carried an extensive report by Javed Rana the other day, highlighting the views of legal experts. The report gave their opinion in their own words: “Since the guilty judges have not opted to resign on their own and are continuing with their judicial duties, the lingering inaction on the part of the military rulers to impeach them would be construed as deviation from the Supreme Court’s verdict on the subject. “The delay to comply with the spirit of the judgement in the SGS (Benazir Bhutto) case would desensitise litigants and lead to a foreseeable, informal and unchallengeable institutionalised form of bias in the judiciary.” At the end the report quotes an executive member of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Rai Mohammad Nawaz Kharal, who argues that the executive is bound to comply with the SGS case verdict. The Nation, a multi-edition daily, belongs to the Nawa-e-Waqt group of newspapers, known for its sympathy for the Bhutto family since the days of the late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. The report appears to be part of a campaign launched against the “biased” judges. But the Supreme Court order has definitely created a difficult situation for the ruling General. He wanted the High Court judgement to be upheld by the apex court to prevent Ms Bhutto from capturing power. His wishes were ignored. The General obviously must be feeling ignored, though what he desired amounted to influencing the course of justice. If he complies with the judgement it would be doubly so for him. But what the Supreme Court has stated is legally binding on the government. It will be interesting to watch how a hurt military dictator handles the situation. In the meantime, it is learnt that Mr Justice Malik has stopped visiting the High Court for a few days. Though this is an obvious fallout of the embarrassing remarks made against him by the Supreme Court, he has given some medical problem as the reason for his decision. Perhaps, he is suffering from skin allergy. One rumour doing the rounds in Lahore is that he is thinking of going abroad on long leave. Difficult days ahead
for Lahorites People of Lahore and the surrounding areas are going to have tough days this summer. Weather experts have predicted an increase of at least three degrees celsius in the maximum temperature in the coming weeks compared to last year. This means mercury will go up to 48 degrees celsius, as it stood at 45 degrees in June last. A harsh weather will add to the miseries of the people in many ways. The crippling drought has already brought down the water level in the dams and dried up many rivers. This has severely affected the supply of both water and power. Hotter May and June will make the situation worse. The warning issued by the meteorological office may help those from India and elsewhere planning to visit Lahore. They may review their plan accordingly. During these two months very little water will be available for agricultural activity, but wheat and cotton growers are not upset, according to a recent report. In their opinion, sizzling hot days will help in the maturing of crops in time. The harmful pests will also die a natural death. |
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How serious is the crisis
in Indian film industry THE Indian film industry is in crisis and to discover just how serious it is I arranged to have lunch with Mahesh Bhatt. We met at Sampan, the Chinese restaurant at Mumbai’s Holiday Inn Hotel which, for those of you unfamiliar with the geography of Bollywood, sits at the heart of the Indian dream machine. Around it in small apartments and big houses live the stars, producers, directors, technicians and in its vicinity are the studios and sound recording facilities that turn the dreams into celluloid. This strip of Juhu is so much the territory of the film industry that every time I go there I expect the air to be redolent with the sound of Hindi filmi songs and the smell of greasepaint. The Sampan, though, is redolent only with the smells of Chinese cooking and the only star in the unusually empty restaurant this particular afternoon is Poonam Dhillon. Rarely, have I lunched here and not seen either a star or a movie director at one of the tables. Mahesh and I choose a table that overlooks the swimming pool beyond which lies the Arabian Sea. It is a scene from so many movies that its hard to look out at the view without images of songs and dances instantly floating into your head. Why do I choose Mahesh to tell me about the state of industry? Because he is passionate about its virtues and its flaws and he is an interviewer’s dream. You only have to hint at a question and he answers with a torrent of words. But, first we order lunch. ‘I’m really hungry so bring me a soup — vegetarian please — immediately and then we will order the rest’. On the telephone when I fixed our lunch appointment I mentioned that I wanted to talk to him about the national film awards controversy, a subject on which he has been more vocal than other members of the tribe. Inevitably, it is this that we began our conversation with. He tells me that the controversy is a result of what he calls the “NFDC mentality, the ordering of public taste”. He explains that the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) was set up by politicians in Delhi, with intellectual pretensions, who wanted to dictate to the Indian public what their taste should be. So, as opposed to the Hollywood model, which Bollywood is closer to, they wanted films to be made in more European, art-film style. The public rejected most of the film NFDC made but when it comes to national awards there has been a tendency to favour unwatched art-films over those the public likes. “Nowhere else in the world do you see such contempt for the mainstream” he says. “And that is at the root of the controversy”. Pradeep Krishna, better known as Arundhati Roy’s husband than as a film maker, ignited the controversy by publicly announcing that the jury this year had been filled with people of “saffron” bent. Mahesh was emphatic that this was nonsense and knowing the tendency of Delhi’s leftist intellectuals to defame any idea that did not agree with their own received wisdom I found it hard not to agree. “I wrote down some points for you” he said producing a sheet of fax paper “take a look at them”. There were three points on the paper which I reproduce in reduced form: (1) One cause of today’s “culture war”, I am convinced, is our abiding misunderstanding of what is good and bad about popular culture. We respect what we do not love and love what we do not respect; (2) A reorganisation of cultural hierarchy is taking place. The aristocracy is irrelevant today. The role of the elite establishment is visibly shrinking; and (3) Artists should not seek to please governments: governments do not have an agenda that includes the creation of great art. There is little more to be said on the subject so we turn to the crisis in the film industry. How bad is it? “It is the worst ever” says Mahesh “we have reached rock bottom”. The film industry has not had a hit in a long, long time. Of 56 films released in the first three months of this year there has not been a single hit and the worst blow came with the collapse — in its second week — of Shahrukh Khan’s “One 2 Ka 4’. The result is that production of films is down by half, lay-offs are now routine and unemployment has added to the gloom that pervades Bollywood. The dream machine is in the middle of a nightmare from which it is showing no signs of awakening. “People’s tastes have changed”, says Mahesh as he tucks into vegetarian noodles “and we have to change but it isn’t easy. I’m reminded of something someone said to me about the Titanic. Why did it sink? Not because it didn’t see the iceberg in time but because it couldn’t change course fast enough....the Indian film industry is like the Titanic”. These are desperate times for the film industry and in desperate times there is even less likelihood of change so the same kind of fare continues to be churned out and continues to be rejected. Then, there is the fact that television has made it possible for people to find entertainment in their own homes instead of having to go to the cinema and the fact that cinema owners have not yet understood the need to change. The needs of the moment are smaller cinemas preferably attached to shopping malls or other places of commercial activity so that going to the movies does not become an excursion on its own. In Bollywood, though, there are other problems that arise out of the way films are financed. I asked Mahesh about the Bharat Shah scandal, is it true that the films he financed were with money that came from gangsters. My question makes Mahesh angry and his defence of Shah is emphatic. He believes totally that he is innocent and that if he was taped talking to gangsters it was only because people in the film industry have no choice but to talk to gangsters if gangsters wish to talk to them. The problem, according to him, is extortion not collusion and there is nobody who can protect film-makers or film stars from the extortion they are subjected to by Mumbai’s notorious Mafia dons. He reminds me that Nadeem won his case against extradition in a British court that passed the severest strictures against the Mumbai police. ‘Have you read what they had to say about the police, about their fear that he would not get justice in India?’ It is on this note that our Chinese lunch ends. I drop Mahesh off at his office in one of Juhu’s narrow, crowded roads and drive out of Bollywood passed gaudy hoardings for the latest films. Shahrukh Khan smiles happily in them, Karishma Kapoor looks beautiful and all seems well with the dream machine. It’s hard to believe that the film industry will not be able to recover from “its worst crisis ever”. |
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Should US aid be linked to religious freedom? WHILE
conceding that American aid to India is modest in comparison to the country’s size and population, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has recommended to the Bush administration that any further waiver of existing economic should take into account the progress of the Indian Government in protecting religious freedom, ensuring the safety of religious minorities and promoting the rule of law. In its report on religious freedom in India released in Washington earlier this week, the commission said the U.S. Government should make clear to India that a stronger determination to address its law and order problems would do much to demonstrate that India is a stable society with legitimate institutions capable of dealing with those problems. In the case, the USA should review its economic engagement with India to determine how it can further promote such progress, it added Evidence of the suggested improvements should be a factor in determining the level of U.S. assistance through the Export-Import Bank, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Commodity Credits Corporation and Trade and Development Agency. Lest its concerns about religious freedom in India should be misconstrued as “outside interference”, the commission suggested that the U.S. Government should make clear that its commitment to religious freedom as an element of its foreign policy was not a judgement on the effectiveness of India’s own human rights organisations. The commission noted that though India and the USA had often been at odds for much of the past 50 years, the relationship had improved greatly and “may even become warmer”, and said in the post-cold war era, there was great opportunity for government-to-government cooperation on such issues as human rights and the protection of religious freedom. More channels of communication should be opened at all levels to achieve these aims. An appropriate role for the growing Indian-American community in this process should be explored. The commission warned that a continued decline in respect for religious freedom would present “a serious obstacle” to U.S.-Indian relations. It wanted the U.S. Government to make clear that Delhi’s failure to do all it could to protect religious minorities from violent attacks raised serious questions about its commitment to abide by its own constitutional provisions and its obligations under international law. Here are some of the other observations of the commission in its 7200-word report on religious freedom in India: The U.S. Government should clear its concern to the BJP-led government that virulent nationalist rhetoric is fuelling an atmosphere in which perpetrators believe they can attack religious minorities with impunity. While fully protecting freedom of expression, firm words and actions from the Government are required to counteract this belief. Taking note of the BJP’s recent attempts to distance itself from the more extremist demands of the RSS and other nationalist groups, the U.S. Government should nevertheless make clear its concern that even if there is no official encouragement of violence against religious minorities, there is much within the “culture” of the Sangh Parivar that encourages it. |
New drainage schemes THE Sanitary Board, Punjab, at a recent meeting sanctioned a grant-in-aid of Rs 1,00,000 for the Sialkot Drainage Scheme estimated to cost Rs 4,31,075. The Board considered a letter from the Municipal Committee, Muktsar, stating that the Committee was unable to bear two-thirds of the cost of the Storm Water Drainage Scheme, Muktsar, and requesting a grant-in-aid of two-thirds or at least 50 per cent of the cost of the Scheme. It was resolved that the grant be increased from Rs 13,762 to Rs 20,635, a sum equal to half the cost of the Scheme. A grant in-aid of Rs 15,750 was also sanctioned for the Wazirabad Drainage Extension Scheme. |
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SPIRITUAL NUGGETS Life is short and fleeting like that of a drop of water on the lotus leaf. This mundane life is filled with egoism, delusion and disease. When will you be free from all these? ***** The deer falls a prey to the sense of sound; the elephant to that of touch; the moth to that of form; the fish to that of taste; and the bee to that of smell. But man falls a prey to all these five senses. Therefore, how difficult it is for man to free himself from the clutches of these five senses and obtain liberation? ***** When wells and ponds are full in rainy season, the water is muddy and not fit for drinking. In summer the water gets decreased and is sweet. So also when the mind is filled with sensual vasanas, it is clouded with tamo-gua. When it is free from sensual desires by the practice of dispassion it is filled with pure sattva. ***** He who is devoid of "Mineness" will not be bound by karmas whether he dwells in his house or wanders in a forest. ***** Control the elephant of pride with the spear of firmness and tie it to the post of the lotus feet of the Lord with the chain of devotion. — Sri Swami Shivananda, Vairagya - Mala |
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