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Saturday,
February 23, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Another barbaric act A banal clash Combating AIDS |
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Pitfalls of tax administration
Down Madhumati Road
‘Parents like mine’
Pearl killing: Musharraf will have to explain
2001, Physiology or Medicine: HARTWELL, HUNT & NURSE
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Another barbaric act Normally, the government of a country cannot be held responsible for everything that happens within its boundaries. But the circumstances in which kidnapped journalist Daniel Pearl has been murdered are peculiar. A Pakistani spokesman first tried to pin the blame on India. The Pakistani President then refuted the claim of arrested terrorist Omar Sheikh that Pearl was dead. Then it came to light that the notorious man had not been arrested on the date announced by the Pakistani government, but had been taken in custody at least a week earlier. The arrest had been announced on a convenient date that coincided with the US visit of President Musharraf. He was apparently trying to keep the lid on the dirty goings-on back home. One's heart goes out to Pearl's wife, Mariane, who is seven months pregnant with their first child. The barbaric act may shock the West, but India has seen far too many such incidents of perfidy to consider it unexpected. Successive Pakistani leaders have been making pious claims about good neighbourliness while balancing these clandestinely with satanical deceit. Kargil as well as Agra are classic examples of stabbing a neighbour in the back. It is time the USA also realised what a slippery customer it has on hand. So far, the US government got involved itself in all kidnappings of US officials or troops, but has sometimes declined to take any role in cases involving private citizens. But the Pearl killings has galvanised it into amending this policy. Now the government will play a more active role with actions ranging from simply giving advice in dealing with the kidnappers to conducting commando-style raids. Pakistan has been given a long rope right since the war against terrorism started after the September 11 carnage. The justification put forward was that its help was necessary in this struggle. General Musharraf has been particularly treated with kid gloves, on the ground that he is America's best bet. Even during his recent American visit, President Bush showered praise on him whole-heartedly. One hopes it was only a public posture and the USA now realises that Pakistan is an undependable ally. If it does not, it is in for many rude shocks. ISI-infiltrated Pakistani leadership can wreck the campaign against terrorism from within. Several such incidents have already taken place. When a Pakistani team was sent to Kabul - with the blessing of the USA -- to persuade the Taliban regime to hand over Osama bin Laden, several members of the team used the opportunity to harm American interests. It is common knowledge that many top Taliban leaders have quietly slipped into Pakistan, but the latter vehemently denies their presence, with as straight a face as it displays while saying that none of the criminals in India's list of 20 is on Pakistani soil. The small print in Pakistan's contract of allegiance hides a statutory warning and a caution mark, which the USA can ignore only at its own peril. |
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A banal clash The International Festival of Indian Literature being held in Delhi provided a rare opportunity for writers in English and Indian languages to enrich themselves through their shared experiences at the global and local levels. However, the event was marred by a display of short temper and impatience by Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul. When Nayantara Sehgal, the acclaimed author of “Rich Like Us” and a niece of Nehru, was invited to speak on the previously approved subject of “Shared Histories : Issues of Colonialism and Relationsip with the Past”, the 2001 Nobel Prize winner let out one of his usual spats: “Why do you keep drumming up the issue of colonialism?” And later he rubbed salt into the wound by saying : “Banality irritates me. Life is too short.” A befitting rejoinder came from Bangalore-based author Shashi Deshpande, who said if colonialism and oppression were banal to him, the theme of exile — common in the Naipaul writings — was banal to her. The rootless author, who specialises on giving aimed-to-wound expert comments on histories and civilisations, and proudly claims “I am not English, not Indian, not Trinidadian', needs some basic lessons in accepted social behaviour and etiquette. Besides, how could he deny a fellow writer the right to free speech? Earlier, Sir Vidia had displayed similar intolerance and undignified behaviour during an interaction with the wife of the US Ambassador. The Nobel Prize and knighthood bestow on the recipient additional responsibilty to conduct himself in public with dignity. The literary jamboree, organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, also witnessed a virtual contest between writers in English and vernacular writers. Salman Rushdie claimed that the best literature in India is produced in English. Many writers in English having earned a global
reputation and readership lend support to his claim. With English being the dominant medium of speech at the literary festival, the vernacular writers felt neglected. They in turn accused the Indo-Anglian writers of being
rootless. They are closer to the people and express their aspirations better in their mother-tongue. Lack of translation facilities limited their reach, however. Prime MInister A.B. Vajpayee, himself a poet who understands the plight of the fellow writers in Indian languages, was aware of this when, while inaugurating the festival, he suggested setting up a national translation board. The regional writers will have to come out of their narrow grooves and take up subjects which have wider appeal and acceptance. The challenge from the electronic media and the declining readership of regional literary writings will have to be met with a fresh approach and commitment. Government help cannot go beyond a particular point. |
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Combating AIDS The decision of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to jointly fight the AIDS menace in the country is timely. Not that such professional and
institutional cooperation between the two premier organisations did not exist earlier. What makes the fresh attempt significant is the collaboration of the two agencies to involve the private sector more closely and effectively in combating the deadly disease. Under the new plan, the WHO intends to train 60 national trainers called ‘master trainers’ who would further train five ‘state-trainers’ each. The state-trainer would further train 25 more doctors each. This way, there would be approximately 30,000 doctors involved in curbing the sexually-transmitted infections (STI) as per the WHO guidelines. In the first phase of training, 30 eminent private doctors from all over the country were imparted training at a workshop at Daman in the first week of this month. Such workshops have been planned in the coming weeks in all other states, especially those having a large concentration of AIDS patients. About 30 per cent of the total HIV cases of the country are concentrated in six states — Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Manipur, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Nagaland. Obviously, while these states will be taken care of, other states too will not lag behind. In Punjab, for instance, the training of private doctors is scheduled to begin next month under the project “Private Sector involvement in STI infections”. The nature and magnitude of the danger posed by AIDS to the world can be gauged by the fact that, according to latest reports, it is killing six persons every minute worldwide; the figure is said to be rising every hour. The latest data of UNAIDS reveals that while over four crore people are infected with AIDS today, 2.8 crore people have already succumbed to the disease. There are an estimated 14,000 new infections everyday in the world. As on December 31, 2001, India had 38.6 lakh AIDS patients. About 460 “full blown” AIDS cases have been reported in major hospitals of Chandigarh of which a majority are from the neighbouring states. It may be true that AIDS has no permanent cure. However, it has been observed across several countries that if the STI and Reproductive Tract Infections (RTI) are treated promptly, the rate of spread of AIDS can be retarded to a large extent. At the same time, the responsibility of combating the menace should not be confined to the government alone. The involvement of the private sector will surely supplement the governmental efforts to fight the menace on a war footing. |
Pitfalls of tax administration As the Union Budget for 2002-03 will be presented in Parliament on February 28, it is worthwhile to examine the state of tax administration in the country. On the whole, the picture does not seem to be as rosy as is being made out to be. Of course, the collection of direct taxes has shown remarkable growth in the last decade. From less than Rs 10,000 crore in 1990, the collection has crossed Rs 66,000 crore as on March 31, 2001. For the current financial year, the target has been fixed at around Rs 83,000 crore. These collections compared favourably with the central excise collections. Direct taxes account for around 35 per cent of the Central government's receipts. This highlights the importance of direct tax collections especially when only 2.3 per cent of the total population pays taxes (income tax or corporation tax) whereas central excise is being paid by a majority of the population because every citizen is a user of petrol, HSD or mill-made cloth, footwear, etc. It is in this context that we have to examine the constraints under which the Income Tax Department has been functioning for the last three years. As per the policy of the government, the scrutiny has been virtually brought to a halt. The impression of senior officers that taxes come on their own is a fallacy and the earlier it is understood, the better for the government and the nation. The climate of voluntary tax payment is simply not there and no government has been able to successfully inculcate the spirit of tax payment in the minds of the citizens. The people look forward to better healthcare, law and order and infrastructural facilities like road, water and electricity. Though there is a lack of such facilities, the people are expected to pay for these services. The rich and the powerful are targeted by the mafia and the underworld and to protect themselves they engage private security guards. Scams, as reported in the Press, seem to be eroding the people's trust and confidence in the government. It is public money which is being misutilised, embezzled or withdrawn by political bosses and officials showing expenditure in the records even though no such thing has taken place. The fodder scam in Bihar or purchase of urea or the ammunition elucidate this point. If the money involved in these frauds is calculated, it would perhaps come to one year’s total budgetary collection. Who is accountable for this mess? The Union Budget is discussed in Parliament every year in a perfunctory manner and often the grants to the ministries are guillotined. The expenditure involving thousands of crores of rupees is sanctioned in one go without questioning. Top tax administrators feel that people pay taxes voluntarily. However, in reality, people pay their taxes out of the fear of law. Ironically, even though they are supposed to pay the advance tax voluntarily, the department is asked to monitor the advance tax payments. This is surprising because the department is neither required to scrutinise the tax returns nor do they have the authority to ask the taxpayers to pay more advance tax. Even the number of cases picked up during the scrutiny has been limited to a negligible number. It is like expecting the police force to ensure law and order, even though it is not allowed to move out of the police lines. Unfortunately, though tax evasion is on the rise and there is no voluntary tax compliance, the department is expected to perform its duties and exceed the budgetary targets fixed by the Finance Minister. It is the salaried class which contributes the maximum revenue in the form of taxes. Its contribution accounts for at least 30 per cent or more of the total taxes collected. The Government of India has recently amended the rules regarding the perquisites pertaining to the salaried class. The Advisory Group of Tax and Planning Commission has also recommended taxation of perquisites to the salaried class. It has also recommended modifications/amendments to the provisions relating to savings which will affect the small taxpayers, but mostly the fixed income group like the salaried class. Thus, the emphasis of the government has been to target this section which has no chance to escape from taxation. The perquisites which are to be taxed concern a negligible portion of the taxpaying population. Afterall, who are given these perquisites? Mostly well-paid executives of big companies or MNCs. It may be right to tax these perquisites. Otherwise, they get to derive undue advantage over the employees of the public sector or the government who shoulder greater responsibilities than those working in the private sector. Clearly, the Secretary to the Government of India or an Army General shoulders far heavier responsibilities towards the nation than those heading MNCs or working in private sector companies. Is it not sheer absurdity that the Tax Advisory Committee of the Planning Commission or policy-makers are not paying attention to bring into the tax net the vast majority of the business community which has been avoiding tax? In fact, it is their income which needs to be scrutinised in depth to check tax evasion and generate more revenue. The government seems to be avoiding this for obvious reasons. What is the contribution of the business/profession people towards revenue generation? By limiting scrutiny, the government is only helping these people to avoid tax payment. No department can function unless it is perceived by the people that it has the teeth which can be used by the government when needed. It is not understood how and why this decision has been taken at the top when the responsibility for tax collection lies at the field level. The political bosses in Delhi raise the budgetary collection targets of various charges sometimes as much as over 40 per cent of the previous year’s collection without considering the fact that they have tied the hands and the feet of the field staff. Though they have no powers or discretion regarding tax investigation and collection, they are expected to achieve unrealistic budgetary targets fixed by the Delhi bosses. By reducing the number of scrutiny cases, what is Delhi trying to achieve? To whom are they trying to favour? The tax evaders or the tax avoiders? The policy-makers and the administrators must leave it to the field staff which should be made accountable for execution of these policies and their performance. If senior officers are made accountable, they should have the powers to act and work within the framework of the law. The promotion policy of the government is also riddled with too many drawbacks. The government has been taking a long time in promoting the officers. The files on promotion are kept pending for months together and no decision is taken to promote those officers whose cases have already been cleared. If the government feels that it can carry on regardless of persons in position, why have any promotion policy at all? While the Finance Ministry or the Central Board of Direct Taxes and the Central Board of Excise and Customs are expected to perform the role of policy-making, posting of officers well in time forms part of a comprehensive policy of the government. The government has cleared more than 350 posts of Commissioners of Income-tax and at least 50 per cent of these have been categorised as Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals). This at a time when there has been no scrutiny for the last three years. The number of appeals filed is negligible. So also the work entrusted to these officers. What purpose will the government achieve by creating positions with no work or no work potential as also its policy that there should be minimum scrutiny? The restructuring has been done in India after studying the Canadian system. But the policy-makers did not realise that the conditions in Canada are not akin to those in India, which is basically a cash economy. It is, therefore, surprising that the posts have been created for which there is no work. This has led to frustration among senior officers. The writer is a well-known chartered accountant based in Chandigarh. |
Down Madhumati Road As you drive towards Shimla from Chandigarh, a road sign on the highway passing through Chandimandir cantonment states “Madhumati Road”. Few would know why this name is on the board except may be that it’s the name of a large river in Bangladesh. For me, passing by the road sign gives a feeling of familiarity and pride, for the road sign signifies a hard-fought victory of the 1971 war by the 62 Mountain Brigade. One battalion of the 7th Brigade also performed the important function of a road block in this battle. Someday I plan to stand my children by the roadside for a photograph, for I want them to remember what their grandpa achieved 30 years ago. The children are yet small but I am sure they understand what I explain to them. For it was Dad who commanded the 62 Mountain Brigade in this battle. The Army observes Victory Day and Infantry Day every year, but for my father such occasions are for remembering fallen comrades, of recalling men overcoming the primal emotions of fear on a pitch dark night, of men who fought for the honour of their battalions. The emotions, I have observed, are never revealed but the memories of the fallen comrades are always there on such occasions. Very few outside the forces can understand the feeling of having won a hard fought battle only to salute the fallen heroes the same day and to watch the pyres. Such farewells to comrades in arms are something the soldiers take along with them over life’s pathways. All that they ask is respect and honour for the fallen comrades and their sacrifices. The western social mores in this regard can teach us in India a lot, specially the “feel good” feeling it creates in the forces. The 2/9 Gorkhas and 4 Sikh Light Infantry fought a pitched battle on December 15, 1971 with the 50 Punjab and 38 Frontier Force of the Pakistani army. The Indian troops had to cross the river Madhumati and take on the opponents, who fought stubbornly before retreating. Dad still remembers crossing the river in the dark as the situation was perceived to be tricky, he wanted to egg on his troops as the men fought desperately on the river banks to clear the way forward. The Pakistani forces withdrew after a stiff fight and considering the scale of the fighting and the magnitude of the operation, the 62 Mountain Brigade celebrates the day as Madhumati Day. Incidentally, the Pakistani troops were fresh troops from West Pakistan and hence fought well. There is another tale also about the battle. Prior to the battle proper, a young officer from another unit had been detailed to recce the area and to find out the Pakistani deployment. The young officer could not apparently cross over and handed over a report which led to the attack being launched on what were entrenched positions. But then as military writers state, the only certainty in the chaos and fog of war is uncertainty and such incidents do occur. After the war, 62 Mountain Brigade returned to Kanpur. The Subedar Major of the Unit whose officer had been detailed for the recce was retiring and sought an interview with Dad. On entering the office, he saluted smartly but refused to sit down. Standing ram rod straight he told him: “Saheb, it was a privilege to have fought under you. However, we let you down at the Madhumati river. The patrol did not cross the river for which I request forgiveness on behalf of the unit. Before I lay down my uniform I must request you for this and don’t have any ill-will in your heart.” There were tears in his eyes as also Dad’s. Nothing more was said, the Subedar Major simply saluted and left. After 30 years, this incident can still make my father emotional. But as he says, only those who have fought together can know the strength of the bonds forged in the heat and chaos of battle and that more than the abstract feeling of nationhood, it’s the camaraderie, self sacrifice and trust factor which motivates the officers and men in the frontlines. Even today his prized possessions are the mementos presented to him by his battalions after the war, simply inscribed “We fought together — Bangladesh — 1971”. My children must know and understand these bonds. One day the photograph must be taken. |
‘Parents like mine’ The male personal assistance which I have in my house has two small daughters, aged 9 and 7. He has been with us as a family member for over a decade. In fact, when he came to us he was married but never brought his wife home. Perhaps he did not have the economic means to start a family. Later he did. He now has two lovely daughters. Both are very athletic and full of energy. Probably due to our vigilance and subtle pressure, he sent them to a good school with a reasonable fee. After paying their fees, he is left with less than half his salary. This leaves him very insecure. He loves his children but equally remains in doubt whether money or their education is more important. Due to our presence, so far, he has not risked pulling them out. But I do know that the day he is on his own , it may not be too long when he will. But I am not writing to talk about his financial education dilemma. I am writing to point out a very fundamental situation which I felt the other day when I saw one of the two girls holding a long stick in her hand and using it to hit a football. She was playing in our garden. I stood there watching her. I saw for myself the difference between her and my own childhood when I was given a tennis racquet and a whole enabling environment to learn to play and compete. I recalled, at her age my parents ensured that straight from school (in Amritsar) I and my younger sister reach the tennis coaching scheme. Here my mother would be there waiting for us with hot milk and fruits. My father would be there to ensure our proper training. On and off the tennis court we were guided, motivated and inspired to be champions. We all shared a vision to succeed and be the winners. It all began in the same age I see the daughters of my staff member playing with a stick and big ball. She too wants to be a champion and has the same potential as I had. She is athletic and
diligent. But she does not have what I had the right enabling environment which came through my parents. In her case her father is not sure whether his financial security is more important or his daughters good school? His wife is a domestic help to him. She has no initiative to take her daughter even to a govt facility for sports despite the fact that the national stadium is not far from my house. She is also not literate. She has no motivation to educate herself and learn a vocational trade, even though the facility for training is close by. This could enable supplement her family income. In the case of these small girls, additional misfortune is when I see that their father even uses his financial situation as a reason to disappear and get drunk once in a while. The wife and children do not even get to know where he is the whole night. In our case our parents would not sleep till we slept. When I look at these girls — I see a hand of God — or a hand of nature. Who decides to which parents will a child be born. Who decides what kind of parents will one get? Till an age I was as dependent on my parents created environment as these girls are — But what a world of a difference. What wrong have these girls done to deserve such a home, and what right had we done to get such caring parents. I wondered watching her play. Becoming parents is the biggest responsibility we perform and for which there is no mandatory education, no training, no awareness, no responsibility, no accountability, no standards, no guidelines, no rules, no orders and no laid down duties. It is only the fate of the child which determines what she (includes he) gets in the formative years and once it is gone, is gone forever. Then as the child becomes an adult she becomes what she does with what she has got — diminishes it neutralises it, or maximises it. But what remains unexplained so far is what makes children like the girls I see be born to parents who are insecure unreliable and perhaps unworthy? These are the mysteries of life which perhaps will remain unresolved. Imagine if we had the proven answer what the world could be. May be the children could then only choose parents like mine. |
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Pearl killing: Musharraf will have to explain Funny, is it not, how Omar Sheikh has been transformed from a dreaded terrorist to singing canary so soon after landing in the custody of the Pakistani police? If leaks of his alleged interrogation are to be believed, then this young man has been responsible for virtually every major act of terrorism on Indian soil since he was released in exchange for the passengers of IC 814 two years ago. It was he, we are told, who tried to blow up the Assembly in Srinagar and he who was behind the attack on Parliament and he who kidnapped foreign tourists and used this expertise most recently to kidnap Wall Street journalist Daniel Pearl. Perhaps, I am growing too cynical but try as I have I find it hard to believe any of the leaked information that has been splashed across the front pages of our newspapers all of last week. There is no doubt that Sheikh is a terrorist. There can be none since he detailed his various crimes in a diary that lay in the bowels of Delhi's High Court for the five years he spent in Tihar jail. No doubt either that after his release in Kandahar he disappeared into Pakistan and continued with a life of jehadi violence and there probably is no doubt that he was involved in some way in the kidnapping of Pearl but beyond that the facts get fuzzy. Why, for instance, is the Pakistani police so keen to release details of his interrogation to the Press? Pakistan's police and military authorities are generally so secretive that even when information is asked for, it is denied. So what is it this time that is producing leaks so vivid that it sounds as if there are reporters sitting in on the interrogation? Could it be that this is being done by Pakistan's military authorities mainly to impress their new best friends, the Americans? Gen Pervez Musharraf has been more than eager to convey the impression that his recent visit to Washington was an unqualified success. While switching channels recently, I hit upon PTV at the very moment he was expounding on this success. He used words like historic and momentous and PTV — which is controlled by his government —then went on to interview Pakistan's Ambassador to Washington, Maleeha Lodhi, who was equally effusive in her description of the success of the visit. Our own MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) has a quite contrary impression. An official, who requested anonymity, said 'Please don't go by what the Pakistanis are saying about the visit. Don't go either by the fact that Bush praised him (Musharraf) on television… from what we hear things were quite different when they met in private. In fact, we have information that the General was read the riot act. He is being asked to do more than talk'. This is easier said than done. We know that Musharraf is good when it comes to talking. We have seen impressive performances at Agra's failed summit and more recently on January 12 when he addressed the world in the transformed mode. He was no longer the proud Islamist who had ordered the infiltrations in Kargil two years ago because of his passionate support for the cause of Kashmir's militants, no longer even the man who said in Agra that when there were freedom struggles people got killed. Were people not dying in Palestine? No, the General Musharraf we saw on January 12 was one who rejected radical Islam. 'This religious intolerance has been going on for many years and the average person is tired of these extremists'. The General's words came as music to Washington's ears. Since September 11 the Americans have waited eagerly for their friends in the Islamic world — like Saudi Arabia and Egypt — to condemn radical Islam and no such condemnation has come. Having just returned from New York I can report that General Musharraf is being seen as a hero in American eyes mainly because he is the only Islamic leader to talk the talk. When it comes to walking the talk, though, the General has serious problems. He knows that he can ban the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad over and over again and it will make little difference because the roots of these organisations go so deep that it takes them mere days to regroup and re-emerge under new names. He knows also that years of jingoistic propaganda from the Pakistani army and even Pakistan's civilian leaders has resulted in the average, lower middle class Pakistani believing so much in the Kashmir jehad that he is ready to die for it. So, it's one thing to end his support for the Taliban and quite another for him to put an end to Islamic militant groups in general. After all if they are decimated where will the recruits come from to fight in Kashmir? According to some accounts it was because Pearl was reporting that the militant groups were still fighting fit and functioning openly that he was kidnapped. The General must also be aware that the kidnapping must have happened with some collusion from radical Islamic elements in the ISI and this makes him look bad whichever way you look at it. If we accept that the kidnappers were out of the General's control, then he looks bad and if we accept that it could not have happened without his knowledge, then it makes him look worse. Meanwhile, the American Press has been reporting on the Pearl kidnapping on a daily basis and now that Pearl has been reported dead, no amount of fine speeches from General Musharraf are going to make him look good. The General is, as the saying goes, between a rock and a hard place and nobody is relishing his discomfort more than the MEA. Initially, immediately after September 11, there was considerable irritation at the speed with which Washington rehabilitated Pakistan. From being a pariah state two years ago when Bill Clinton visited Islamabad only to deliver a stern lecture on democracy it became overnight a valued ally and friend and there seemed no limit to the praise that Colin Powell was prepared to shower on General Musharraf. |
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Death is certain of that which is born; Birth is certain of that which is dead. You should not therefore lament over the inevitable. Beings are all, O Bharata, Unmanifested in their origin, Manifested in their mid state And unmanifested again in their end. What is the point then for anguish? This, the Indweller In the bodies of all Is ever invulnerable, O Bharata. Therefore you should not grieve for any being. — The
Bhagavadgita, II.27-28, 30 *** One dies, another mourns and then in a moment the mourner too passes away. — Sant Ramadasa *** The key to anger reduction is knowing thyself. Accept what you cannot change and change what you cannot accept. For every 10 minutes you are angry, you lose 600 seconds of happiness. Never go to bed with an argument unsettled. Nobody can make you angry without your consent. Work is the best remedy for all angers. Men who do not know how to fight anger die young. — Promod Batra amd
Vijay Batra, Management Thought Starters. *** Expectations breed frustration, Frustration breeds anger. Blessed is He in whose hand is the Kingdom, and He has power over all things; Who created earth and life that He may try you — which of you is best in deeds; and He is the Mighty, the Forgiving. — The Quran, Part XXIX, 1-2 |
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