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Saturday,
May 19, 2001, Chandigarh, India   |
Tehelka: army shows the way A worried lot Dosanjh bows out |
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Higher
education and globalisation
The
doyen among middle writers
Wounds
can heal if justice is done
Pak eyes
Afghan mineral wealth
Sexy
uniform for BA girls
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Tehelka: army shows the way Depend on the Army to move at a double-quick pace! It has wrapped up the Court of Inquiry (CoI) in the infamous Armsgate case in two months and has found six officers prima facie guilty of corruption and misconduct. Among them are three Major-Generals and one Brigadier. The CoI, which began proceedings in early March, has recommended appropriate disciplinary action against them. The future course of action is also likely to be equally swift. Court martial proceedings will be launched against them and disciplinary action might be taken against them on administrative grounds. The accused violated service norms by clandestinely meeting the Tehelka team in a hotel. Under existing rules, this act is “unbecoming of an officer” and this alone can attract dismissal from service. Army spokesmen are tightlipped about the likely punishment, but insiders reveal that summary/dismissal is more likely to be adopted and denouement might come in a matter of months. It is obvious that the Army is determined to clear its name. It wants the world to realise that it may have some black sheep in its ranks, but it is not a cesspool of corruption as some have tried to project it. At stake is the discipline in the uniformed force as well as its credibility. Now contrast this alacrity with the dillydallying tactics adopted by the political class. The diametrically opposite approach is too blatant and brazen for words. Instead of nailing the tainted leaders, the attempt appears to be to rise to their defence in these “trying times”. That gives credence to the widely accepted belief that they are all tainted. The time-tested technique of derailing justice by employing delaying tactics is being employed. It is true that some leaders like Mr Bangaru Laxman and Ms Jaya Jaitley have had to put in their papers, but that is not punishment enough. Such leaders have no moral ground to stand on. And yet they continue to fly high on the basis of the tacit support provided by their comrades-in-arms. Whereas the Army is about to complete most of the proceedings, the civilian government has not even taken the preliminary step. Perhaps the leaders are emboldened by the recent election result in Tamil Nadu into believing that corruption is no longer a relevant issue. That is a wrong conclusion to draw. The lava of public discontent against the never-ending loot of public money is very much active and is bound to spill over sooner or later. When it does, the thick-skinned netas will have no place to run to. |
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A worried lot Don’t bother about what they say in public but the leaders of the BJP and the RSS are a worried lot. The abysmal showing in the just concluded Assembly elections is only the immediate context. The real problem is to tone up the organisational structure within the next few months to fight the coming UP poll. While the BJP has a cadre base in urban areas, it has to entirely depend on RSS workers to mobilise support at the village level. Here is the rub. BJP workers are demoralised by the very poor tally — just 11 seats in three states and a blank in the other two. And in UP there is the additional factor of prolonged infighting and the dismal record of the BJP-led coalition government. On the other hand, the RSS men are upset by the ideological deviations of both the state and central governments. It does not do much to retain the enthusiasm of the silent workers who do not expect any reward. More than the political rivals, it is this sullen mood within the ranks of the Sangh Parivar that poses a great threat. And the leaders are busy driving away the blues in various ways. First both Prime Minister Vajpayee and Home Minister Advani sought out top RSS men to iron out policy differences or at least to buy temporary peace. They agreed to take an RSS man, preferably Organiser editor Seshadri Chari, into the all-powerful PMO, ostensibly in place of Mr H.K.Dua but in reality conceding a demand of the mother organisation. Now efforts are on to cajole the RSS to deploy all its pracharaks to restore popular faith in its capacity to win elections. The two-day chintan baithak at Jinjhouli near Sonepat is the clearest indication. While party president Jana Krishnamurthy wanted the government to come out with populist policies like a reduction in taxes, Mr Advani concentrated on the main job on hand. The RSS, which has drifted away or at least is keeping its distance, should end its estrangement and strengthen the party. A poor showing in distant states not known to be kind to the BJP is one thing but a loss of base in UP is another. Loss of UP will lead to the weakening of the alliance arrangement at the Centre. The return of Mr Ajit Panja and three of his friends or that of Mr Ajit Singh with another MP will not insulate the government from an erosion of authority and credibility. UP has to be won at any cost and that is possible only with the total support of the RSS. Mr Advani could not be more earnest. Interestingly, his appeal comes in the midst of unending speculation that hardliners in the BJP and the RSS are asking him to assert himself more |
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Dosanjh bows out The people of Punjab expressed their sense of pain openly when the news of Mr Ujjal Singh Dosanjh's political debacle was broken to them. Six months ago when he visited the place of his birth as Prime Minister of British Colombia there was a justified sense of pride in every Punjabi eye. Today he is not even a member of the House of which he was elected leader in February, 2000. But that is what politics and democracy are all about. Knowing the Punjabi spirit of not brooding over what has been lost, the sense of initial disappointment over the news of Mr Dosanjh's defeat in the just concluded parliamentary elections in British Colombia should logically give place to a more informed debate on the merit of democracy. During his rise to fame Mr Dosanjh never lost track of his humble origins as one of several children of a poor Punjabi family. On landing in Canada he began life as a lumber jack. He was only 17 when he bid farewell to the place of his birth. However, he told himself that he had not come all the way to Canada to be just an ordinary lumber jack. The tale of how he found time in between work to educate himself and how he rose to become the Attorney General of British Columbia before becoming the Prime Minister of the same province should continue to inspire the people of his village in Punjab. In any case, Mr Dosanjh's is only one of the countless stories of amazing success which Punjabi immigrants have scripted whenever they have gone. While a large number of them made it to the top in the fields of trade, commerce, science and technology Mr Dosanjh was the first Punjabi to have occupied the high office of Prime Minister of a province in a country in which he had no roots. During his visit to Punjab in December he rightly paid tributes to the Canadian society for whatever he was able to achieve in life. It would be unfair not to shower fulsome praise on "large-hearted" political system as well which never for a moment sought to disqualify him from contesting on the ground that he was not a citizen of Canada by birth. In the evolving global village it is now possible for anyone who has the will to succeed to follow in the footsteps of Mr Dosanjh. And even rewrite the script of political success in an alien land. |
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Higher education and globalisation ALL over the world, the demand for higher education has been increasing at a rapid pace and governments in different countries are meeting this by setting up universities, colleges, and professional institutions. The quality of the courses offered varies widely depending on the infrastructure facilities, manpower and the funding available. In the last decade or so, universities have started recruiting students from other countries also in a bid to bolster their finances and encourage diversity. Along with this, a new trend has also emerged — what is called the “twinning” arrangement which essentially is a sort of collaboration between institutions, allowing students to become eligible for foreign degrees without leaving their own countries. It is natural in such a context that the authorities in charge of higher education are realising the need for ensuring some uniformity in standards so that mutual recognition of degrees is made possible. This is to be viewed against the background of the governments and funding agencies in many countries establishing assessment and certifying panels to monitor and grade institutions in their own territories. In India, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), an autonomous body under the aegis of the University Grants Commission (UGC), has been doing this work for the past six years. The process involves a self study by the universities/colleges, visit of a peer team deputed by NAAC, and the final rating by the NAAC after scrutiny of the various reports. Transparency in each stage is sought to be achieved. It is against such a background that an international conference on quality assurance in higher education was recently held in Bangalore. This brought together delegates from 50 countries who compared notes and discussed ways and means of toning up the process of accrediting higher education institutions. A benchmark of standards for measuring quality also came in for debate. The bewildering variety of courses and socio-cultural environments in the developing and developed countries go to account for the educational offerings ranging from the excellent to the execrable. Admitting this, the delegates, many with several years of experience in the field, discussed threadbare the issues with a great concern for the youth, the major clientele of universities and colleges. Ms Ethley London from Jamaica posed the question “What sort of skills are required for making a self study report?” She drove home the point that substance was more important than the volume in the preparation of a self study report and persons with the necessary skills should participate in the process. “Recognition is what matters to the students”, said Mr John Randall, chief of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in the UK. Now the education system has moved from the “elitist to one based on mass participation”; also the growth of global labour markets signalled the movement of the system and students across transnational borders. In this context, the value which the employer places on the students’ degrees and qualifications assumed a vital importance, in his opinion. Degrees are the much wanted “recognisable labels”, pointed out Ms Ellinor Hansen of Denmark who had spent many years in the IT (Information Technology) industry. While highlighting the importance of such standardised recognitions, she cautioned against attempts to impose uniform, superficial structures because these in the long term, “may be at the expense of fundamental values”. Again, “internationalisation comes at a price” in this era of meeting the demands of a rapidly shrinking world. “Excellence is not achieved merely by adhering to standards, only by continuously striving for improvement”. Even within a country, a number of accrediting agencies are at work in some cases. Monitoring and controlling the quality of course offered by the higher education institutions in such countries becomes a daunting task. Now the question arises: “Is it easy for international body to establish criteria that can lead to uniform interpretation by accrediting agencies?” Ms Wong Wai-Sum, delegate from Hong Kong, stressed the need for the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INAQAAHE) for recognising accrediting agencies in different countries on the basis of well thought out and accepted criteria. Several strands in this complex mosaic came to the fore during the sessions. Unravelling these proved to be an uphill task but the delegates did try hard to get down to brass tacks. For instance, Ms Marjorie Peace Lenn, Executive Director, Center for Quality Assurance in International Education, Washington DC (USA), provided the backdrop for the exploding market for higher education throughout the world. She spelled out the challenges confronting education providers and a practical guide to sustaining quality. International linkages, branch campuses, single purpose programmes, and other forms of transnational education have become the order of the day and quality is the key to their sustainability. But it is not easy to sustain quality at remote locations on account of “custom, law, language, cost or just plain convenience”, pointed out Ms Lenn. According to an estimate, in 1999 there were 48 million learners in the world in higher education, and of this 17 million learners were in Asia. A projection predicts that this number may go upto 159 million (worldwide) and 87 million (Asia). The US figures among the top three higher education exporters worldwide, the other two being the UK and Australia. Experts point to new technologies which enable fast communication and also the global market place promoted by regional and international trade agreements as the reasons for this spectacular growth. In the view of many experts, individual and national systems of higher education must take responsibility for quality. Adequate physical facilities are only one aspect; any good institution must have competent, well qualified staff and a transparent admission process. Also, good governance and administrative structures, financial planning mechanisms and an information system for institutional variables must be in place, according to Ms Maria Jose Lemaitre, delegate from the Education Ministry of Chile. Prof Phil Meade, Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Otago, New Zealand, made clear his views on the external audit experience. While the audit panel must be trained, credible and have a mix of transparent, constructive and include a design for followup action. Interaction between higher education institutions and external audit agencies leads to enhancement, he said while citing case studies from different countries. The common themes in these instances include: focus on enhancing learning by students, and projects for staff development and team-working. Several delegates subscribed to the view that internal quality control always made it easy for an institution to proceed smoothly with audit by external agencies. Changing the mindset of the academics posed the toughest problem but a transformation in the scene is emerging. As a key person instrumental in putting in place a quality system in the public and private higher education institutions in Thailand, Dr Vanchai Sirichana made a number of valuable points in his keynote address (this was made available to the delegates though he could not be present). He referred to the emergence of ASEAN University Network (AUN) comprising 17 countries, all members of the ASEAN group. AUN will identify common quality criteria and benchmarking procedures. That ethical and moral values are to be suitably integrated into all the quality assurance efforts was also stressed by Dr Sirichana. This was mainly because “we are dealing with man and not machine”. More than the highest ranking and rating, “quality of life in its genuine meaning of harmony, coming up with the world’s best model universities with ideal faculty and graduates” mattered in the scheme of things. Indeed, the active participation of academic professionals from a large number of countries in the four-day meet must give a fillip to the efforts of the NAAC, the organising body. Learning from the accrediting panels of other nations will help in refining the procedures and evaluation mechanisms here. Dr A. Gnanam, Chairman, NAAC, along with his team was doing his utmost to keep the plenary and parallel sessions get along with the job as per the schedule. What is really more significant is the lively debate which followed each presentation. The cut and thrust of the exchanges could draw the best from the panelists who had years of experience behind them. One can gauge the importance of accreditation on the global scale from the way in which participants from such far-flung countries as Argentina, Lithuania, Japan, Finland, Hungary, Ghana and Thailand exchanged information with those from the USA, the UK, China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. It all goes to show that in this shrinking world, the concern for a worldwide accreditation system to ensure quality education for the growing numbers of youth is very much in evidence among the university dons. And it bodes well for a harmonious international order. The writer is a Chennai-based education expert. |
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The doyen among middle writers I was having lunch when OP Bhagat dropped in. “I won’t stay”, he said, “I’m in a hurry.” He had brought a packet of sweet jelly for my grandson, Varun. His daughter, Lakshmi, had brought these jelly packets from America. He put this packet on the table and as he turned to leave, I pointed to the plate of sliced mangoes. “At least have a bite”, I said. He hesitated. “Mangoes are a forbidden fruit for me” he said. Then he picked up the three thinnest slices. “I’ll take these. There are two others in the car outside. We’ll share one each. That was the briefest visit in the last 25 years that we had known each other. Little did I suspect that it was his last. (He passed away on May 7). Even on the telephone he always had so much to talk. He’d go on for an hour. Next day he called me up from his home. He said he was going to Mussoorie but before leaving he wanted to read out to me a small piece he had written. “What is the theme? “I asked. “Cool”, he said. That was Bhagat. He could write on anything. “If you want to write, just look around”, he used to say. “Themes lie scattered everywhere. A middle writer is not committed to nay particular subject though he has some interests closer to his heart. He is free to choose. He works on a small canvas. His is a miniature literary art of varied hues. “So when people asked him what was the subject he wrote about, he felt visibly embarrassed. Bhagat had been writing for The Tribune for the past three decades. He had developed a special kinship with nature. He could recount countless myths about various trees, plants and shrubs. He could depict autumn hues and spring colours with equal felicity. He responded to the sights and sounds of nature with sensitivity. He was deeply interested in mythology. He had a passion for collecting legends. He wrote a series of articles for children about mythological heroes. Another series he wrote about the festivals of the world. His book “King of Fruits” won an award from the Children’s Book Trust in 1979. He published two collections of poems entitled “Another Planet” and “Kingmakers”. His short stories, like his middles and poems, were simple but gripping and always made you pause and think. Each had its own flavour. Readers had become familiar with his middles about spring, autumn, rains, summer and winter. He even wrote a middle on “Talking Taps”. To him the bougainvillaea was a “bristling beauty”. His short story “The First Umbrella” is the simplest story of youthful romance I have ever read. A village lad saw a lass getting wet in the pouring rain. He plucked a stout branch of a tree with a canopy of thick leaves on its one end. He ran to the girl with it and held it like an umbrella over her. That was the first umbrella. He saw everything through his creative eye. He was basically a good person and responded naturally to goodness in others. Soft-spoken, polite, gentle and mild mannered he appreciated whenever he found these traits in others. He handled words and sentences like an artist. He wrote poetic prose. He was a master of small words and simple sentences. Only he could write these small words and simple sentences the way he did. Many tried to copy him but failed. This simplicity in writing as also in his day-to-day living worked like magic. As editor of the Hindustan Times Evening News he added many new features to the paper and enriched its personality. Under his editorship it became a popular vehicle of art, music, literature, painting, sculpture and dance. But as editor his best contribution was that he gave break to many new budding writers. |
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Wounds can heal if justice is done Last week in Delhi I interviewed a lady called Els van der Plas who was here in connection with a symposium called “Experiments with Truth: Transitional Justice and the Processes of Truth and Reconciliation”. The two key words in this long and ponderous title are Truth and Reconciliation and not the ones that sound like Gandhiji’s autobiography. They are particularly key words in an Indian context despite the terrible violence — communal, terrorist and state-organised — that we have seen and continue to see in our daily lives the one thing nobody has thought of doing is think in terms of seeking either the truth or reconciliation. For those of you who have not followed the proceedings of the Truth Commission in South Africa, set up specifically to deal with crimes and violence under apartheid, let me say that it has set an example for the world to follow. In the Indian Subcontinent with our long list of unreconciled differences that go back in history to the Muslim invasions and extend to the present violence in Kashmir we need to follow that example almost more than any other country. While talking to Ms van der Plas the subject came up and she said that many of the Indian speakers had brought this up. But, when I asked if this had been brought up in a romanticised ‘we love each other now’ form she admitted that it had. There were women speakers, she said, who had talked about visiting Pakistan and finding that really all was well and that the wounds of Partition had healed. As someone who knows that country well let me say that this is rubbish and that they have simply been swept away by the nostalgia and wonderful hospitality that usually greets Indian visitors to that country. On the surface all seems well and, especially in the older generation of Pakistanis, it is hard not to meet people who do not have found memories of India and Indian friends. This, alas, is no indication that all is in fact well. If it were we would not have such enthusiastic support among ordinary Pakistanis for what they like to call the ‘jehad’ in Kashmir. Even sophisticated, educated Pakistanis will admit, if probed, that they think of Kashmir still as the unfinished business of Partition and to them the solution was best expressed to me in the words of the wife of a Pakistani envoy in Delhi, ‘Why don’t you just give us Kashmir and then we can all be friends again’. Can you think of a single Indian you know who would consider this an acceptable solution? I cannot. Nor can I think of many Indians who have forgotten the terrible wounds of Partition which are complicated, as we know, by the fact that it was not just Muslims who broke India up but Muslims who conquered and pillaged it as well. The result is resentment against Muslims in the hearts of most Hindus and this gets translated on the ground as discrimination against Muslims when they seek jobs, homes and almost anything else. This has led to a sense of grievance among Muslims that makes them think of themselves as second-class citizens. Younger, angrier Muslims translate this into a need to take up arms against the Indian state and the problem becomes uglier and more complex. The answer is truth and reconciliation with, as Ms van der Plas reminded me, justice. Without justice added on the exercise becomes meaningless as we have seen from those countless inquiry commissions that have gone into the many communal riots we have suffered. A new beginning We have a chance to make a new beginning with the Nanavati Commission that is trying to investigate what happened in 1984 during the anti-Sikh violence. There have been other commissions into this and the reason why the exercise is being undertaken again is because the findings of the earlier ones were seen to be less than satisfying. So, in the past few weeks we have seen eminent Sikhs like Patwant Singh and Khushwant Singh giving evidence before the Nanavati Commission. Patwant Singh told of how he and a group of other eminent citizens had approached the Home Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, to try and stop the violence that cause the murder of more than 3,000 Sikhs in Delhi in three days. The Home Minister, he said, seemed indifferent to what was going on and made no effort to stop the violence. Khushwant Singh, for his part, said he believed that the violence was organised and had the support of Rajiv Gandhi’s government. There is not a Sikh who was in Delhi in those terrible days who does not believe this. I personally saw crowds similar to the ones Khushwant Singh described to the Commission and there was an obvious pattern. The crowds were led by people who shouted “Khoon ka badla khoon” (blood is avenged by blood) to incite violence then, in most cases, there would be cries that the Sikhs were coming and then the killing would begin. The killers, in many cases, were children with petrol-soaked rags in their hands, who forced cars to stop to see if there were any Sikhs inside and if there were the cars would be set on fire. The police seemed to vanish completely or, in many cases, lend their support to the killer mobs. Then, when the government decided that enough blood had been spilt, it ordered the army to move in and the violence stopped instantly. Finally, at the end of the massacres, Rajiv Gandhi personally justified the violence with his now famous comment, “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes”. There are those who would like to believe that the wounds have healed but they delude themselves. They will heal only when there is not just truth and reconciliation but also justice. One way to achieve this is for the Nanavati Commission to become more than just another inquiry commission and it can be done if the government decides that it wants to convert it into a commission for truth, reconciliation and justice. This model could then be followed to unravel the terrible violence in Kashmir — not just by terrorists but also by the State. As in South Africa’s Truth Commission let the victims and the culprits sit across the table from each other and discuss what happened. Let all of this be fully televised so that we can all see how otherwise decent, ordinary people can become killers in a given set of circumstances. If we do this sincerely and well we could one day learn to live with each other in peace and harmony. We could also learn to forgive and carry on with our lives without repeating the mistakes of the past. As we have so far remained in almost total denial we have been doomed since Partition to continue making the same mistakes and to continue condemning our children to more hatred and violence. |
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Pak
eyes Afghan mineral wealth It seems Islamabad is working on a well thought-out plan to make Afghanistan an extension of Pakistan. One gets the impression after going through what Dr Bashir-ud-Din Mehmood, a nuclear scientist, told a gathering at Lahore the other day. Though his revelations were aimed at satisfying the religious ego of the people of the two countries, there were clear hints that Pakistan's economic interests were the primary driving force behind the idea of capturing the government in Afghanistan by creating what the world today calls the Taliban. According to Dr Bashir, Afghanistan has mind-boggling mineral wealth which has come to light after a study conducted by Russia and Germany. In all, there are 22 sites extremely rich in oil and natural gas. A proper exploitation of Afghanistan's oil and gas reserves can leave even Saudi Arabia far behind. There are 17 places from where at least 10 billion tonnes of high-grade iron ore can be extracted. It has the world's highest concentration of copper. If Dr Bashir is to be believed, gold and silver deposits in Afghanistan are even higher than in Zambia, known for producing the two precious metals of high quality. Ghazni and the Northern Areas (controlled by General Masood's forces) have the world's highest deposits of gold. Traces of precious stones even costlier than gold have also been found in certain parts of the war-ravaged country. This is not all. There are abundant reserves of metals of strategic significance like uranium, lithium and titanium rarely available elsewhere. Lithium deposits have been found in the Chitral-Afghanistan border areas. It is required for making hydrogen bombs, besides its uses in submarines and aeroplanes. It is also a rare source of energy. The Khost area has titanium in sufficient deposits. It is very useful in building supersonic planes, space shuttles, submarines, etc. According to Dr Bashir's study, of the total six lakh square miles landmass of Afghanistan, five lakh square miles is rich in mineral wealth. Now it should not be difficult to understand Pakistan's increasing involvement in Afghanistan's affairs. The idea is to offer Pakistan's human resources to Afghanistan to take away the latter's mineral wealth as much as possible. But are Afghans fools? However, when it comes to bearing the burden of refugees from Afghanistan due to the unending civil war and the crippling drought, Pakistan wants the camps for these displaced persons to be shifted to the other side (Afghanistan) of the border. The outright rejection of this illogical demand by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has upset the military regime as well as most media people who approved of this approach. Their plea is: "The refugees have placed an unbearable burden on the country's resources, have given birth to social complications..." This is understable. But a country which pretends to be a well-wisher of Afghans should have asked for increased international aid instead of sending them back to the hell from where they have fled. Today there are over two million Afghan refugees in Pakistan and two lakhs of them fall in the category of "economic migrants" following the UN sanctions imposed on the Taliban regime. Musharraf's love for music Despite his gimmicks of Islamisation of Pakistani society, Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf is a great lover of music. He made this confession in the course of a recent interview with Dubai's Khaleej Times, reproduced in The Nation of Lahore on May 6. He has rows of cassettes collected over the years. "I love music," he told the interviewer. He then clarified, "Urdu music". In the words of the interviewer, "It is a passion he has inherited from his mother and their side of the family, who are music lovers and quite accomplished amateur singers. While his mother sang and played the harmonium, his father accompanied her on the tabla, and a family get-together would invariably turn into a musical evening where the entire family participated in singing and music-making." The General told the Khaleej Times, "I don't like English music at all. And I don't like the new Indian songs... But I like the old songs very much". |
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Sexy uniform for BA girls A top fashion designer has come under fierce criticism over controversial plans to create “sexy” new uniform for British Airways staff. Julien Macdonald, who has been appointed to give cabin crew, pilots and check-in personnel their first makeover in a decade, infuriated staff and union representatives when he declared that he wanted “to bring glamour back to travel”. The Welsh-born designer, who is artistic director of the Givenchy fashion house, said about his ideas: “The girls will look very sexy and the men will look like strong heroes. They’ll be the envy of all the other airlines. The uniforms will have the Macdonald stamp, with a tight waist and a sharp silhouette. They will be sexy, but practical. Air travel is a glamorous business and my aim is to create a uniform which reflects this.” But a spokesman for the Transport and General Workers Union, which represents cabin crew and ground staff, said its members should not be seen as “dollies with trolleys”. He said female flight attendants were occasionally subject to unwanted advances from passengers and any attempt by Macdonald to make them look sexy could make matters worse. A spokesman for BA said the airline agreed with the union and admitted that the word “sexy” did not present the right image. However, it should be remembered that “sexy” often meant glamorous when used by a fashion designer, he said. BA’s marketing director, Martin George, said: “Julien’s vision for our new uniform reinforces the airline’s refreshed identity — classic, yet modern, stylish but practical — a quality brand which is recognisable around the world.”
The Observer
Tips for the newly married The British Government is funding the publication of a guide for couples about to marry. The glossy publication, to be published on Thursday and distributed free, promotes the advantages of marriage such as “married people are less likely to develop cancer”, said a report in The Times. “Married Life: A Rough Guide for Couples Today” also provides a 50-point quiz to help couples find out how well they know each other. Snippets of practical advice on pre-nuptial agreements and involving children in wedding plans are interspersed with photographs of couples and real-life stories of ordinary people and celebrities. A page is devoted to health benefits, pointing out that married people are less likely to smoke, drink, suffer depression or heart disease or commit suicide. They are less likely to develop cancer more likely to beat it if they do get it. There is homespun wisdom — good listening leads to better understanding of how your partner feels — with important legal information (unmarried fathers do not automatically have parental responsibility for their children).
Reuters
Saving water — a new style Drought-hit villagers in Sakri Taluka of Dhule district and surrounding hamlets in north Maharashtra are living examples of the proverb “necessity is the mother of invention” as even bathing water is conserved in a unique fashion. While men bathe on a “khat” (cot) and keep a big vessel underneath to collect the used water, women, who use bathrooms, attach a bucket to the sewage pipeline to collect the used water. This water is then used for other chores such as washing utensils and clothes.
UNI
WWF promotes negative values The Singapore authorities have ordered a local TV station to reschedule broadcasts of wildly popular World Wrestling Federation (WWF) shows. The Singapore Broadcasting Authority on Thursday said Media Corp TV should reschedule its prime time Saturday evening broadcasts of “WWF Superstars” because it promotes “negative values”. These include “crude language” and demeaning behaviour toward women. WWF should only be shown after 10 p.m. because children might not understand that the violence in such programmes is orchestrated. The rescheduling decision was based on feedback from the Singapore public and from advisory groups made up of industry members, academics and others.
Reuters |
Education Minister's visit
On the 12th instant the Honourable Ch. Chhotu Ram, Minister of Education, with L. Atma Ram, M.A., the Divisional Inspector and Sh. Allah Rakha, the Deputy Inspector paid a visit to the Local Mission High School. The Revd. B.T. Schelyur, Principal, and Mr N.C. Ghose, Headmaster of the School received him at the School gate. The Headmaster garlanded them. Then followed a most interesting, but a short programme. Maulvi Walidad, a vetran of the School, read out an informal address, the boys sang beautiful songs in accompaniment with harmonium and Tablas. |
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SPIRITUAL NUGGETS The Supreme Being is within us, Nearest is He to us. His throne is within us but we knock about outside in search of Him. God is far away only from those who do not 'go within'. — Sardar Bahadur Majaraj Jagat Singh, The Science of the Soul,
***** Better a single day of life Seeing the reality of arising and passing away than a hundred years of existence remaining blind to it. ***** If the roots remain untouched and firm in the ground, a felled tree still puts forth new shoots. If the underlying habit of craving and aversion is not uprooted, suffering arises anew over and over again. — The Dhammapada, VIII.14(113); XXIV.5(338). ***** The mother puts a morsel in her infant's mouth, but she rules her (grown up) children with authority; thus knowledge sets us far from God and puts a growing interval between us and him. The same mother bore both children, but her affection towards them takes a different course. Tuka says, the stronger is separated from her, the infant is laid to her breast. — Sant Tuka Ram, Abhanga 551 (I, 186) ***** They alone dispel the mind's distress who take refuge at the feet of the Incomparable one. ***** They alone can cross life's other oceans who take refuge at the Feet of the Gracious One, Himself an ocean of virtue. — Tirukural, 7-8. Satguru Sivaya Subramniya Swami, Weaver's Wisdom, Chapter I |
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