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Thursday,
May 9, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Hands off Kashmir! Strategy for growth Making talaq difficult |
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The Musharraf referendum
Distinguished economist as VC of JNU
Power of positive thinking
How to have a stable relationship How-to-date manual
from govt
A ‘rejection’ helpline for the timid
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Hands off Kashmir! The External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, has done well to firmly rule out the presence of outside observers in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Such “suggestions” have been made in the past also but their frequency has increased manifold following the Gujarat incidents. Even those countries which do not have a decent track record on race relations have been talking down to India and have bundled the Kashmir issue with their observations on Gujarat, apparently in the hope that this would be the right time to arm-twist Delhi. Under the circumstances, a no-nonsense reply is very much in order. Any unsolicited homilies fall just short of an unfriendly act. The lack of sincerity in such fake pearls of wisdom is obvious. How would these self-righteous countries react if it was suggested that an election in a state of theirs should be held only in the presence of outside observers? There are reasons to suspect that the move has been given momentum at the prodding of Pakistan which has been trying its level best to internationalise the issue. Now that it has camouflaged its stripes to suddenly become a partner in the anti-terrorist drive instead of being the wholesale exporter of terrorism, its entreaties are getting exceptionally warm response. India will have to double its diplomatic efforts to expose the mischief and nip it. The proposal to post observers is couched in innocuous terms, but that is only the thin edge. If at all Delhi gives in, it will not take long for Kashmir to be converted into a chessboard for hidden power players. India’s difficulties have been increased by short-sighted pronouncements of groups like the Hurriyat Conference which demanded an election commission of its own to oversee elections in the state. Secondly, the Gujarat violence has left India extremely vulnerable. If the pressure on Kashmir is to be withstood effectively, Delhi will have to set its house in order elsewhere. Any atrocity on Muslims in Gujarat or other states only strengthens the case of the enemies of the nation that the minorities are in grave danger in India. It would be futile to be worked up over the Pakistani attempt to spread this canard. Given the bad blood between the two countries, it is but natural that Islamabad would try every trick of the trade to discredit its neighbour. That is what has been going on for decades now. It is for India to ensure that Pakistan’s lie is nailed and at the same time an unambiguous message goes to the world that the only unfinished agenda is the restoration of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to India. |
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Strategy for growth The Planning Commission has approved a 50 per cent higher outlay at Rs 12,000 crore for Haryana’s 10th Five Years Plan (2002-2007). This is more than what the state had hoped for. The highest allocation of 42.2 per cent is for the social services sector which covers education, healthcare, drinking water supply and pensions for the aged, the handicapped, widows and other destitutes. This is quite in order. Equally appreciable is the second highest priority of the government which is infrastructure building. Accordingly, a sum of Rs 4,920 crore (41 per cent of the outlay) has been earmarked for building up and improving the networks of irrigation, power, roads and the transport system. The state government proposes to set up what is called the “Sinking Fund” for taking care of debt servicing and non-planned expenditure. While the state government insists on having a single such fund, the RBI wants the state to have, besides the Sinking Fund, a separate fund called the Guarantee Redemption Fund, whose purpose is self-explanatory. The Haryana team led by the Chief Minister, which met the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr K. C.Pant, in Delhi on Tuesday, also sought additional assistance for the development of the poverty-stricken areas of Rewari and Mahendragarh. As for as the state’s priorities are concerned, these are in the right direction, at least appear so on paper. The focus is on the right aspects and areas for development. But when it comes to translating these policies into reality, much remains to be done. Planned development is on its way out globally. Some even question the wisdom of continuing with the Planning Commission in the changed scenario. States now fiercely compete for foreign direct investment since neither the Centre nor the states have enough capital for development projects. Whatever limited funds are mobilised, these don’t reach their desired destination. Although Haryana’s politicians and bureaucrats have gone abroad and travelled within the country frequently to woo private investment but without any tangible results, which has led sceptics to dub their trips state-sponsored holidays. Wasteful expenditure remains unchecked; rather it is growing. Consider the government’s recent decisions to provide the legislators with expensive luxury cars and laptops, while the people in the backward areas of Rewari and Mahendragarh districts cry for basic amenities like clean drinking water and education. Time is running out for the state. Unless the government develops infrastructure, simplifies cumbersome procedures and provides a corruption-free, efficient administration, industry will not come to the state. The present lop-sided growth has to be replaced by a balanced growth with a special focus on the neglected areas. Reforms have to be pushed faster to right-size the administration and dispose of the loss-making state undertakings. |
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Making talaq difficult The sanctity of the institution of marriage is respected by all societies and faiths. Yet, it is the most imperfect institution and that is the reason why marriage and divorce laws are mentioned together. Just as a marriage without the "due process" is not recognised by law, a divorce that places one of the two "parties to the marriage" at a social and financial disadvantage is discouraged by most faiths and societies. For instance the Muslim practice of "triple talaq" has always attracted negative notice for two reasons. One, the abuse of the option of talaq by most Muslim men. Two, incorrect interpretation of the process of divorce by the clergy. Whenever the judiciary has tried to intervene on behalf of the aggrieved Indian Muslim women, a section of the political class has tried to push them back by introducing retrograde laws. The same fate may befall a landmark judgement delivered recently by the full Bench of the Bombay High Court. There are already murmurs of protest among a section of Muslim men against the judgement that seeks to place reasonable civil restrictions on the arbitrary nature of talaq as practiced in India. The court ruled that divorce between a Muslim couple cannot be taken at face value. It must be convincingly proved in a court of law under the civil procedure code and the Evidence Act. A mere statement, written or oral, by a Muslim man would henceforth not be considered sufficient proof of his having divorced his wife. Such a safeguard was necessary for stopping the abuse of the process of divorce by Muslim men. The Bench pointed out that all tenets of Muslim laws prescribed that a period of reconciliation should necessarily precede divorce. It said that divorce registration made under the Wakf Act was customary in nature and "unless the factum of talaq is proved" the certificates issued under this law would have no legal sanctity. The full Bench was constituted after conflicting interpretations were given by a single and division Bench. The Bombay High Court verdict should be seen as showing the way to the political establishment for dealing with the personal laws of not only Muslims but other communities as well. The Bombay High Court judgment has provided an opening for starting a debate on the need for maintaining a national marriage and divorce register on the lines of the birth and death register. The debate should examine the feasibility of making registration of all marriages, performed through customary or religious rituals. Such a law should lay down clear guidelines and conditions that must be fulfilled for seeking the cancellation of a registered marriage. In fact, the state should enact a comprehensive set of civil laws for settling marriage, divorce, conversion, adoption and inheritance disputes. Any person knocking the door of the judiciary should be recognised as having expressed lack of faith in the community's personal laws and given justice through the civil disputes redressal mechanism. In such a situation personal laws would acquire the welcome status of a set of procedures that encourages out-of-court settlement of civil disputes. |
The Musharraf referendum Subtlety and understatement are attributes that General Pervez Musharraf obviously detests. Nothing demonstrates this more than the so-called referendum he organised on April 30 to cover himself with a fig leaf of legitimacy. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and foreign media teams observed that the entire exercise was marked by an extremely low turnout, the stuffing of ballot boxes by election officials and multiple voting, with reports of individuals having cast their vote on over 100 occasions. Nothing demonstrates the nature of the farce that was enacted on April 30 more than an incident when a foreign media team detected that a presiding officer at a polling booth at Government College for Women in Rawalpindi quietly stamped ballot papers with "yes". When challenged, she said that she had been given no choice by her superiors: "I have been told by the Principal to complete 500 votes in my booth." She added that barely 150 voters had turned up and pleaded: "What can we do? We are government servants and have to do our job." The Pakistani and foreign media have widely reported how General Musharraf misused municipal councillors and governmental machinery in towns and cities from Chakwal and Faisalabad to Lahore and Peshawar to stuff ballot boxes and blatantly rig his referendum. Even overseas Pakistanis who take a keen interest in the affairs of their country were not impressed by General Musharraf's referendum. In Washington DC barely 400 out of an estimated 50,000 eligible Pakistanis turned up to vote. Like in Kargil, Musharraf and his minions went into an exercise of overkill in the referendum. The discredited Election Commission claimed that of the 61.90 million voters in Pakistan, 43.39 million had cast their votes, with 40.02 million endorsing a further five-year term for Musharraf. What was, in effect, being claimed was that 70 per cent of the electorate had voted and that 97.47 per cent of those voted were so enamoured of President Musharraf's sincerity and qualities of head and heart that they wanted him to lead them to new heights for another five years. Most independent estimates suggest that despite the use of coercive measures and inducements, barely 10-15 per cent of the voters could be brought around to casting their votes. The General thus demonstrated that he was no different from General Zia in cynically manipulating and rigging bogus referendums. As The New York Times noted: "Few besides General Musharraf and his backers see it (the referendum) as a true endorsement of the leader" and that "the balloting actually diminished General Musharraf's stature." The Press within Pakistan and across the world has strongly echoed this view. All this has not deterred General Musharraf from claiming that he has been chosen by Allah to lead Pakistan. Speaking to correspondents on May 4, he proclaimed: "God has placed me in this position to take these decisions." He has repeatedly asserted that all these efforts were meant to get rid of "sham democracy" and introduce "true", "genuine" and "sustainable" democracy. Apart from a message from Chinese President Jiang Zemin felicitating him on his "victory," the General has either faced silence or criticism for the farce he enacted on April 30. But when asked how his buddy Colin Powell felt about the referendum, he claimed: "I think he (Powell) is a good friend — I don't think he'll be unhappy. Our friendship is above this." General Musharraf evidently feels reassured that people who matter in Beijing and Washington support his moves and his continuation in power. This belief was obviously reinforced when just a day prior to his referendum the World Bank announced that it would extend assistance of $1 billion to Pakistan. General Musharraf has made it clear that he personally and the Army would continue to wield effective power even after elections are held and an elected Prime Minister assumes office. Despite the outward bravado, he knows that the referendum has exposed the chinks in his
armour. The world has seen that the emperor has no clothes and the claim that he enjoys massive public support is false. Further, while refusing to annul his referendum, the Supreme Court has held that its verdict has been given in terms of the Provisional Constitutional Order under which the country was being ruled after the military takeover. The court implied that as the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan was presently under abeyance, it would be in a position to rule on the constitutional validity of the General’s actions only when the constitution is restored after the elections to be held in October. He is, therefore, now in a weak position domestically. With the assistance of political figures like Mr Imran Khan, former President Farooq Leghari and disgruntled Muslim Leaguers, General Musharraf will spare no effort to keep Ms Benazir Bhutto’s PPP and Mr Nawaz Sharif's PML from winning the elections. He cannot afford to permit a free and fair election. More importantly, his own Punjabi colleagues in the Army would not be too pleased with how they were dragged into a none too successful or credible political exercise, to help further the political ambitions of their Muhajir chief. Given his domestic vulnerabilities and his compulsions in aiding the none too popular American war against terrorism, with US troops now operating on Pakistani soil, General Musharraf is going to become even more dependent on the goodwill of senior Army colleagues for political survival. The compulsive hostility of this military establishment to India remains unchanged. The prospects of his fulfilling the promises he made on January 12 about curbing jehadi elements involved in cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir have further diminished after the referendum. He seems to believe that as long as he plays ball with the Americans, he will not face too much heat on his support for cross-border terrorism. All this is happening at a time when there is an unprecedented deployment of the armed forces of the two countries on the international border and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian armed forces are now engaged in exercises close to the border. Pakistan has been given advance notification of these exercises. Even as the Vajpayee government remains engrossed in recent political setbacks it has faced in state assembly elections and by the fallout of the carnage in Gujarat, it cannot afford to ignore the implications of General Musharraf's April 30 referendum, or his belief in American support and understanding for his policies. Having deployed its Army on the borders and declared that there can be no talks till Pakistan's support for cross-border terrorism ends, how will New Delhi react when the problem intensifies after the Himalayan snows melt? While the meeting of two Hurriyat leaders with Sardar Qayyum Khan in Dubai with the consent of the Governments of India and Pakistan was a positive development, there is no let-up in Pakistani sponsored efforts to sabotage and discredit the forthcoming elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The ISI-sponsored United Jihad Council in Muzaffarabad is sparing no effort to compel the cadres of the
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen to continue their armed struggle. There is also much that remains to be done domestically to ensure public and political participation, free from fear of the gun in the forthcoming elections in J&K. While suggestions for the presence of foreign observers to monitor the elections in Jammu and Kashmir have rightly been rejected, mechanisms need to be devised to credibly establish that the electoral process will be genuinely free and fair. As the winter snows melt in the Himalayas, every effort needs to be made by the international community to persuade General Musharraf that the path to peace and prosperity goes through initiatives like those undertaken in Dubai, and not through mindless pursuit of violence. One sincerely believes that he will pursue this path. However, given the prevailing political environment in Pakistan, one cannot rule out the possibility of the summer and autumn months of 2002 becoming "hot", by factors other than merely the sunlight. One hopes that this will not happen. But it would only be prudent to be prepared. |
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Distinguished economist as VC of JNU It has been a long journey for distinguished economist and former Chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) Prof G K Chadha, who has been appointed new Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. People close to him say that his relatives wanted him to be in the civil service. But the man himself wanted to be an academician. A brilliant student throughout, he was a topper in economics at Panjab University, Chandigarh. It is said that he was offered the job of lecturer even before the results were declared — an honour accorded to very few people. A Ph.D in agricultural economics, academics was the only choice for Prof essor Chadha. He moved over to Delhi in the 1970s and soon became a part of the elite circle of economists in the national capital. Since then he has held important assignments with the last one being that of the Chairman of the CACP. Incidentally, Professor Chadha is the second economist from Panjab University, apart from Dr Manmohan Singh, to have made it to the high flying “Delhi circle” of economists. In his latest assignment as the Vice-Chancellor of JNU, he faces the task of walking a tightrope as the selection followed more than six months of head-hunting by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. The main reason for this indecision by the government is reportedly the HRD Ministry’s desire to zero in on someone sympathetic to the Sangh Parivar. The so-called intellectual lobby was opposed to this move and sought someone “with a more open mind to be at the helm of affairs”. The Prime Minister’s Office, it is reliably learnt, had cautioned the ministry about creating another controversy. People close to Professor Chadha say that he does not have perceptible political predilections. He had been at the faculty of the Centre for Regional Development of JNU for several years. He has also been associated with the Planning Commission. Nambiar at UN India’s former High Commissioner to Pakistan Vijay K. Nambiar could not have asked for more. He has been given the plum job of India’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations. The new posting came his way on April 30. Indo-Pak relations are in a state of freeze. Far from any improvement, their relations are witnessing a new low every passing week. In the course of his turbulent 18-month stay in Islamabad that saw the high of the much-hyped but failed Agra Summit last July and the current military stand-off between the two countries, Mr Nambiar has seen it all. He believes that the Kashmir Committee, set up recently by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, has not brought about any material change in the situation as the hawkish stand on Kashmir remains as it ever was. In his opinion the essential basis for communication can be established if there is no terrorism. Mr Nambiar joined the Indian Foreign Service on July 12, 1967. In his 35-year-long service he has served in Hong Kong, Beijing, Belgrade, New York, Algiers, Kabul and Kuala Lumpur. Married to Malini with two daughters, his mother tongue is Malayalam. Hoshiarpur man restoring IA’s health Though he has handled civil aviation in Rajasthan, it is virtually non-existent and nothing to write home about. He believes that turning around the loss-making Indian Airlines is a challenge. He exudes confidence that “if the present upsurge continues there can be a vast leap forward.” Having studied from the first standard up to his postgraduation at Hoshiarpur, he taught English literature from 1976-78 at DAV College, Jalandhar. He sat for the civil services examination in 1979 and joined the IAS the next year. He would have preferred the Punjab cadre but had to settle for his second choice — Rajasthan. His father had faced the trauma of Partition and settled at Hoshiarpur. His wife has just done her Ph D on the travellogues of V S Naipaul from Jaipur University under the guidance of eminent academician Jasbir Jain. |
Power of positive thinking Life is always veering between two poles – the positive and the negative. The negative has some value when it expresses a choice or when it expresses a different point of view from our own. The trouble arises when we end with negativity, which is an overcritical and unhealthy reaction to many realities in our life. We all know how we as human beings grow through affirmation. The very first affirmations in life are those we receive from our parents and relatives. As we grow, the affirmations come also from our teachers, our friends and others we relate to. Without these affirmations we would not grow and mature into secure and mature human beings. More important still than affirmation from others is the affirmation we give ourselves. It may sound surprising, but it is true that many adults do not know how to affirm themselves. It maybe that bad experiences in life have made us cynical and self derogatory. Often, these experiences can lead us to have a poor image of ourselves. We know that the gospel enjoin us to love our neighbours as much as we love ourselves. We cannot, in fact, love ourselves without constant self-affirmation. One positive stroke we give ourselves may be worth more than many positive strokes we may receive from others. Once we learn to affirm ourselves, we also learn to affirm others. Parents, counsellors and those in the helping professions, are often able to pull people out of difficult situations by just affirming them. What does affirmation mean? It means finding the good and the valuable in ourselves, recognising it and owning it. Similarly, it means seeing the good in others and recognising and acknowledging it. Many people go astray in life or become bitter, because they have not received sufficient human affirmation from others. Many receive so much negativity in their home or office situations that they develop defences and become negative themselves. It is also important for us to affirm life. We may go through the most trying of situations. The best way to overcome trials is by perceiving them positively and not negatively. This acceptance of our circumstances is an affirmation of life. Of course, religious faith is the most important affirmation of all. Because through faith, we affirm the source of life from which we come and to which we return. While God does not need our affirmation, we need to relate to the Supreme Being affirmatively. That also means that we do not concentrate only on our weaknesses, though a sense of sin is necessary for true repentance. But, we should not concentrate on our sinfulness to the point of not recognising grace and God’s acceptance of ourselves just as we are in life. In Jesus’ life, he received an important affirmation of Himself when he was baptised in Jordan and a voice was heard from above saying: “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased”. God repeats the same message to us. We are all meant to be his children with whom he is well pleased. The very acts of birth and death are an affirmation of life, because the one is an entry into this world, and the other into life beyond this earth, which is eternal. Jesus too, in his earthly ministry went about affirming people. Whether it was the Samaritan woman, or the harlot brought before him for judgment or the person from whom he exorcised demons, he was constantly affirming them and giving them new life. In our earthly lives, we are called to give new life to others. It may simply be our recognising the inner core of selfish people, of those who have gone astray. It could mean sowing the seeds of hope and change in alcoholics, drug addicts and others who are not able to help themselves. The power of positive thinking is being increasingly recognised today. Positive thinking is an affirmation of ourselves, of life and others. Many owe their successes in life to the affirmation they received from others. Whether they be athletes, or writers, or musicians, all of them have received important affirmations of themselves and their work from others. If we affirm ourselves we are in a better position to reach out to those who most need affirmation, namely the sick and the disabled, the lonely and the poor, the marginalised and the outcasts. Life grows and evolves through positivity and affirmation. Life itself and nature are one big act of affirmation. We are able to relate meaningfully to life and this earth on which we live only by affirming ourselves and others. |
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How to have a stable relationship NEW research suggests that even if there is no such thing as a perfect “soul mate”, we can still believe we’ve found one. Men and women can develop a sense that their partners are essentially mirror images of themselves, allowing them to perceive similarities that aren’t there at all, according to the authors of the new study. But while this type of self-centredness may seem a relationship killer, it can actually form the foundation of a “satisfying and stable romantic relationship”, they argue in the issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. “Assimilating a partner to the self gives intimates the sense that they have found a kindred spirit, someone who is just like them and, thus, knows and understands them for who they really are,” write Sandra L. Murray, of the State University of New York at Buffalo, and colleagues. In a world of complex relationships, the researchers assert such “egocentrism” can be beneficial by instilling the feeling that one’s partner is indeed a “soul mate”. To investigate this idea, Murray’s team studies 105 married or co-habitating couples who had been together at least two years, as well as 86 young, dating couples. Participants answered questions about their own qualities, values and feelings, and their perceptions of their partners’. They also reported whether they felt “understood” by their partners and whether they were satisfied with the relationship. The responses revealed that it was common for a partner to feel the other was similar to him or her in various regards, even if that wasn’t the case. Moreover, when it came to married and cohabitating couples, these “egocentric” individuals were more satisfied with their relationships — and so were their partners. These participants also felt more strongly that their partners understood them. And in both married and dating couples, men and women with egocentric partners tended to feel “more understood” themselves, the report indicates. Of course, the authors point out, these couples were not all fooling themselves. Those who actually were more similar felt more understood by one another. However, the researchers add, this was not enough for married couples, who appeared happiest when they saw shared characteristics that weren’t there in reality.
Reuters
Dinner and a movie too routine? Then maybe the Singapore government’s how-to dating manual may help you plan the perfect date. A picnic on the beach is romantic, the eight-page manual says. Or take your dog for a walk in Singapore’ lush Botanic Gardens — so long as your date’s not afraid of man’s best friend. Museums and bookstores also get the thumbs-up. The manual was produced by the Social Development Unit, a government-run dating agency that aims to match educated, young people. The government in this prosperous city-state is worried about low population growth. It offers tax breaks to encourage women to get married and have
babies. “I see no harm in it,” said 31-year-old single Singaporean Sandy Tan, who is excluded from using the dating agency because she’s divorced. “Asians are very reserved. This could help them get together. But I wouldn’t use it, even if I could.”
Agency |
A ‘rejection’ helpline for the timid New Yorkers who want to let suitors down gently can now give out a special “rejection” telephone number. It means people too timid to refuse when asked for their phone number can be saved the embarrassment. They can simply give a special number which, when
dialled, gives out the message: “Unfortunately, the person who gave you this number does not want to talk to you or speak to you again. We’d like to take this opportunity to officially reject you. “Then, by means of a touch-tone system, it allows users to speak with a “comfort specialist”, hear a “sad poem”, or “cling to the unrealistic hope that a relationship is still possible”. Surge in sale of chastity belts A small business in the medieval town of Gubbio in central Italy is enjoying a sudden surge in the sale of chastity belts. Owner Giuseppe Acacia told a local newspaper that he had been producing the iron devices, used in medieval times to prevent women from having sexual intercourse for 15 years. “But in the last few months we have been injoying a boom and we are selling between 800 and 1,000 items per year,” Acacia was quoted as saying. “We started producing them without imagining the success they might enjoy. People buy them as an ornament for their homes or to play a joke on someone, but some actually plan to use them,” Acacia said.
Agencies |
Greed is a dark prison house; the sins committed out of greed become fetters round one's feet. — Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Var Satta Balwand, page 967 *** Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. — Mathew, V.6 *** Blessed are they that keep judgement, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. — Psalms, CVI, 3 *** A man whose life is most distinguished by Righteousness and whose demerits are wiped off by an austere living is forthwith conveyed with an earthly body refulgent with luster, to the world of Divine Bliss by Dharma. — Manu Smriti, 242-243 *** Such alone can realise Thee as are granted Thy sight by Thee; such persons abide in joy by guidance of the Master's Word. Such alone are sensible, handsome and wise as to Thy heart are pleasing. — Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Raag Maru Mahalla 5, page 1074 *** The all-pervading Lord is True friend of the devotees who lie under His sway. There is everlasting joy in the devotees' homes. They are freed from anxiety as God is associate of His devotees. — Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Bilawal Ki Var, Mahalla 2, page 849 *** Liberation comes when the mind's restlessness dies due to the Holy Word and consciousness in devotion. — Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Sarag Mahalla 3, page 1233  |
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He is measured in his talk and acutely aware of the highly competitive environment in the civil aviation sector. He maintains the concept of social resposibilities of public sector companies is fine but any comparison in fiscal terms is contradictory. At the same time, he realises that the “bottom line is the economics of the company.” That is Hoshiarpur’s Sunil Arora, a 1980 batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, who assumed charge as Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Airlines in May, 2000.