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Sunday,
July 28, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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USA caught
between crass materialism & idealism Sharon diverts Bush’s
attention from Kabul to Palestine |
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Delhi-ites
managing to cope with the mess
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USA caught between crass materialism & idealism
RICH in the morning, bankrupt by night — this is the world of America today. Was it foreseen? Yes, by no less a person than the great John Maynard Keyness. He predicted the emergence of the “Casino economy” — an economy of global speculators. Speculation is in the blood of the Americans. It is also inherent in capitalism. Today, with the crash of a number of giant companies — of WorldCom, Enron, Xerox and Andersen — there is real panic. It is like the fear of the unknown — like the fear of burgeoisies of anarchy. According to David Corten, a former World Bank official, the world is now ruled by a “global financial Casino, staffed by faceless bankers and hedge-fund speculators”. And Wall Street presides over it. One can never be sure about a casino economy. It may just crash taking millions of share-holders with it. A George Bush may escape the crash. A George Soros may gain from it. But others will go bankrupt. America is a country of refugee — of migrants. More often indigent; less often, criminal. They are in a terrible hurry to get rich. They haven’t the patience of the peasant or the long-term calculations of the industrialists. They want their millions in the shortest possible time. For that, they are ready to do anything in the world — to speculate, even to murder. Morality is never part of the constraint. Hannah Arendt, the great American sociologist, says that these refugees — she calls them “exiles” — have come to symbolise the violence of our times. They are trying to remake the world, she says, in their own image. While they account for some of the greatest achievements of America, they also reflect some of the worst pathologies of that country. Not to know these facts is not to know America properly. The world has no objection if the Americans are in a hurry to make money. But it has all the objections in the world if they keep the world in a state of crisis. It is said that America is the engine of the world economy. I am afraid this engine is not reliable. There are bound to be accidents. It is being drawn by a horde of greedy drunken drivers. Should we be on board such a train? Many who matter in India think that George Bush is running America, that the America can do no wrong. Which is why our writers and thinkers on economies have acted as cheer leaders of globalisation, not as critics. No one could have misguided this country more. America's is a shareholding economy. Millions and millions have a stake in this economy. They want to retire on a comfortable return on their investment. It is they who make the decisions. They are not inspired by thoughts of ethics and morality. But their shares are not safe today. They are under the spell of speculators, who manipulate the share values, make their millions, but, in the process, bring the shares tumbling down. As a result, millions are blighted. Not this alone. Foreign investors in America are frightened away. There was a time when one made profits by trading in commodities. But it was no easy matter to move them. Other nations put restrictions. Today America has no interest in commodity trading as it has lost its competitiveness to other nations. Today it prefers trade in services, in which it is pre-eminent. But its heart is in speculation, which brings in enormous profits in a jiffy. Stock prices grew by 2.5 times faster between 1980 and 2000 than earlier. Alan Greenspan, called it “irrational exuberance”. He said there is no link between the real economy and the stockmarkets. However, Wall Street was able to convince Capitol Hill that it was a technology-driven growth. When stock values almost double in 24 hours, when they enter into the world’s stream of wealth, when capital flows turn into floods, there is something wrong with our way of thinking. George Soros, the American speculator, boasted that he made two billion dollars in one day during the Asian crisis through speculation. But even he says: “The arch-enemy of an open society is no longer the communist threat, but the capitalism one”. Prof John Gray of Oxford agrees. He denounces the propaganda in favour of the American model of society. He writes in a remarkable book False Dawn: Delusion of Global Capitalism: “Free market is not natural. Its social cost is very high. A free market and a fully democratic order cannot co-exist”. Corporatism, which is the dominant ideology of Wall Street, is a serious threat to democracy and the sovereignty of nations. Today, about 200 MNCs make the major decisions of the world in economics. Today it is almost Wall Street vs the rest. Yet the battle is not over. The world wants an ethical system. In its report “The World Ahead: Our Future in the Making”, UNESCO says that we must create an ethical society. The market cannot do this. Pope John Paul II has done well in throwing the weight of the Catholic Church on the scale of justice and equity. Western society is not a logical construct. It seeks a congregational salvation, but pursues individualistic economic salvation. In the process, it has destroyed both the family and society. While its political democracy seeks to expand human rights, in economics it contracts human choice and rights. It promotes globalism to expand the area of enterprise, but reduces the area of decision making. Today the greatest danger comes from the explosive growth of capital. Much of the growth is explained by speculation. This capital is unable to find returns. It wants free movement all over the world. Wall Street is engaged in providing free movement. Because it does not find adequate investment opportunities, it takes to speculation. And the more it speculates, there will be continuous instability in the global economy. This speculative mania is backed by the ideology of relativism — that there is nothing absolute to seek today. Relativism has castrated the conscience of the young, says Allan Bloom in his book The Closing of the American Mind. When success is measured by the money one makes, religion is no more a moral force. And without ethics and morality, life loses its meaning. America is caught between the dilemma of crass materialism and idealism. It must work its way out. |
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Sharon diverts Bush’s attention from Kabul to Palestine
HAVE you noticed a new glint in President Bush’s eyes lately? They have also acquired a piercing look, more piercing than before. And his mouth is set in a grim line of determination — the ‘Don’t meddle with me’ look, like President Clinton before him. At times he has a faint smile (or smirk) that suggests he is confident of the world’s approval of all his fantastic plans for us. Does his speechwriter, I wonder, also insert directions for the appropriate facial expression? Ever since September 11, he has assumed the mantle of global leader, professing that those who are not with him are against him. True, his efforts to mobilise the world in the fight against terrorism has met with sympathy, if not success. But lately, his brashness has been a worry for his sympathisers — except, of course, Israel’s Ariel Sharon, who is delighted. Indeed, Sharon has managed to divert Bush’s attention from Afghanistan to Palestine. The two of them together are now brazenly confronting not only Arafat but also the European allies of the USA who are simply appalled by Bush’s new policy on the Middle East in which he lays down rules for the Palestinians. One of them being the replacement of Arafat as their leader by someone more acceptable to Bush and (of course) Sharon. Some Western commentators have even wondered whether President Bush is off his head. ‘That was a fantastic speech,’ wrote Jonathan Freedland in the London Guardian. ‘Quite literally fantastic. George Bush’s address on the Middle East consisted, from beginning to end, of fantasy. It bore so little relation to reality that diplomats around the world shook their heads in disbelief before sinking into gloom and despair. Israelis committed to a political solution of the conflict were heartbroken.’ Even Shimon Peres, foreign minister in Ariel Sharon’s coalition, reportedly called the speech a ‘fatal mistake’, warning, ‘a bloodbath can be expected.’ Bush has demanded from the Palestinians that they must transform themselves into a market economy, free of corruption and with a separate judiciary and legislature if they are to be considered eligible for statehood, which when it comes will be merely provisional. A more glaring example of putting the cart before the horse would be difficult to conjure up! And, of course, they must get rid of Arafat, the democratically elected leader of the Palestinians. (He is the only Arab leader who was voted into office in an election that was closely watched by a host of international observers). Bush conveniently ignores the fact that the Palestinians are under the military occupation of the Israelis. As the New York Times, normally pro-Israel, remarked: ‘How the Palestinians can be expected to carry out elections or reform themselves while in total lockdown by the Israeli military remains something of a mystery.’ The Guardian correspondent writes that Palestinian ministers complain that they cannot visit a village ten minutes away; they can pass laws but not implement them. They are ministers existing on paper only. Yet now they are expected to build the Switzerland of the Levant, where the streets are clean and government functions like clockwork. ‘This is George Bush in wonderland stuff.’ The President’s speech reveals a man recklessly unconnected to Middle Eastern reality. When elections are held, the Palestinians will either defy Washington and re-elect Arafat or they will choose someone who is more hardline. Bush has given Sharon the green light to continue with his policy of ruthless force while refusing to stop the building of new settlements on the West Bank. So long as Arafat remains and Bush’s conditions remain unfulfilled, Sharon apparently can do what he likes. He can build settlements, put up fences and redraw new maps. Already only 42 per cent of the pre-1967 West Bank is under the Palestinian Authority. The arrogance of President Bush has reached such a level that most world leaders (with the exception perhaps of Tony Blair) dread every pronouncement of his subjects he knows very little about. It may be Palestine today, Iraq tomorrow. In such circumstances, only Saddam Hussein is likely to sleep soundly at night. |
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REFORMING
THE SYSTEM
IN his article “Restructuring PPSC to restore its lost credibility” (July 7), Mr
V. I. K. Sharma has drawn leaves from his vast experience and offered some very good suggestions to improve and streamline the functioning of the
Punjab Public Service Commission. His suggestion for non-Punjabi, direct recruit IAS officer for the post of Secretary, Examination Cell, and High Court Judge for conducting PSC judicial viva-voce test needs reconsideration. If we bring in non-Punjabis for these positions, we will be lowering the image of Punjabis in this country and outside. Can't we find one Punjabi who is capable of doing this job efficiently?
What is the guarantee that a non-Punjabi will not indulge in malpractices and corruption? Only Punjabis should hold top positions. In fact, they held top posts like President, Cabinet Ministers and in every field of activity, they have made a mark. The PPSC Chairman may be a retired IAS or IPS officer like Ms Kiran Bedi or a retired defence officer of the rank of Lieut-General with experience as chairman or president of the Services Selection Board and with a proven record of honesty, dedication and integrity. The strength of the members may vary between three and five. Almost all members should be of the same status from different walks of life. They could be former IAS, IPS officers or retired defence officials. The Chairman and the members may be from either sex but they must be known for their integrity and honesty. The Secretary, Examination Cell, should get three sets of papers from three different examiners and select one out of these which will further reduce the risk of leakage or knowing the paper setters. The examiners’ names should be known only to the Secretary and kept confidential. The fictitious numbers on the answersheets should be allotted or changed and the Secretary must keep the codes in strict confidence. The
assessed answer-sheets and the award list of vica-voce should be kept in a sealed cover and in a bank locker with two locks, keys of which should remain with the Chairman and the Secretary, Examination Cell. Both must be present whenever the locker is to be opened. For professional candidates like PCMS, PCS Judicial, 10 per cent marks should be awarded as per their performance in their respective basic examinations like MBBS, LLB and for others 3 per cent weightage for performance in higher secondary and 3 per cent in graduation. Jagmohan Ghumman,
Department of Law, Panjab University, Chandigarh
Hotbed of politics I agree with Mr
V. I. K. Sharma that the PPSC was a perfect role model during 1947-1960. During this time, even politicians were role models. The decline in the PPSC started after the falling standards of our politicians. Education of people or voters is needed to elect ideal representatives. During 1947-1960, the strength of Class I officers in Punjab was minimal. Now their number has increased considerably. As the PPSC Chairman and members are appointed on the recommendations of the ruling political masters, they fight in the PPSC just as politicians fight in Parliament and State Assemblies. The PPSC Chairman should be a retired Army officer. He should be responsible for overall administration with two officers to assist him: one a serving or retired IAS officer for administration; and the other a retired Army officer for the security branch. All written tests should be conducted at one place, say Patiala. The questions should be of objective type and papers corrected by computer. The results of written tests should be declared within 24 hours of the examination. Copies of question papers should be given to candidates so that they can take them home. Interview marks, as suggested, may not be reduced but video recording will be helpful in case injustice is done to a candidate. In addition to the expert, who should be from outside the State, there should be at least three members including the Chairman, having equal powers to award marks. The Chairman and members should work by rotation. And as soon as the interview is over, within 48 hours, the results should be compiled and declared. Manmohan Singh Battu,
Sangrur
Many hurdles There will be many hurdles in making the working of the PPSC transparent. Being a daughter of an Army officer, it was a great delight for me to see our Chief Minister with an Army background. As expected, he started a vigorous and sustained campaign against corruption right from the day he assumed office. As a serving doctor, I feel the selection of doctors to state services by the PPSC is totally absurd. During MBBS, we are thoroughly grilled and then awarded marks for each fibre of the body we have studied. Ironically, this hard-earned degree just becomes an eligibility for a doctor to procure a job in the state services as PPSC conducts its own entrance test and decides the fate of doctors. Then, there is the interview to make matters worst. I wonder where is the need for a medical university. It is very much possible that a Gold Medallist in MBBS may not be able to clear the PPSC entrance test due to various “chance happenings” at every stage of selection. For doctors, marks secured in the MBBS examination should be the only criteria if the government wants to do justice. Entrance test needs to be scrapped immediately. Secondly, whenever any organ of the body undergoes a cancerous change, medically, we do corrective surgery and, if required, remove the adjoining parts. Drawing a similarity between a patient and the PPSC, I appreciate our Chief Minister for having exposed Ravi Sidhu’s corrupt deals. But I feel perplexed as to why other members are allowed to continue in the PPSC. The axe should fall on them too. Only then can the purity of PPSC be restored in the eyes of the public. The PPSC needs a radical overhaul. Dr
P. P. Ghuman, Sirhind CJ must have say This refers to the public debate
"Restructuring PPSC to restore its lost
credibility" (July 7). Some officers of the PPSC (as also in the service commissions of other states) like Ravindarpal Singh Sidhu have not only viciously played with the lives of many a young and promising aspirant but they, with their casteist and ulterior motives, have brought decadence in public life. Unfortunately, successive governments took little initiative or at best made some superficial and cosmetic changes whenever a finger was raised at the working of the PPSC or the integrity of its members. The time has now come to make the working of this statutory body transparent and efficient. To begin with, the members should not be appointed by the government. Instead, a panel of 10 names should be recommended to the Chief Justice of High Court, who should select three members. The Chief Justice should also have the power to reject all the names in the panel and ask for a fresh list. But after the appointment, even he should have no say in the working of the commission. Secondly, the examination scheme should be made more skill and knowledge-oriented. In other words, 50 per cent weightage should be given to the educational qualifications and experience of the candidate and 40 per cent to the performance in the written examination. Of the remaining 10 per cent marks for viva and interview, the Chairman should have 5 per cent while the two members should share 5 per cent. The Examination Cell should be an independent body. Without disclosing candidates’ performance in the written exam, it should recommend the selected ones for the interview. Candidates should be interviewed not in order of their merit, but called alphabetically so that the Interview Board can have no idea of their final standing. Francis Bacon had rightly said that a high public official should harm no one, nor should he have any power to do so. Ved
Guliani, Hisar Selection norms Mr
V. I. K. Sharma has made very valuable suggestions on PPSC restructuring
(July 7). I would like to supplement the same as follows. First, the marks for the interview proposed to be reduced from 75 to 50 for PCS (Executive Branch) and from 100 to 50 PCS (Judicial Branch) should be kept at a figure even below 50. In this connection, I reproduce below the observations made in 1968 by the then Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur, Sardar Manmohan
Singh, IAS, on a case pertaining to recruitment of clerks in which I, as Head of an ad hoc selection committee (in my capacity as General Assistant) made recommendations after conducting a written test and interview of the candidates: “While I have absolutely no reasons to differ with the recommendations of the Committee, I would suggest that in future the marks for interview should not be more than 10, so that even if the Selection Committee may wish to favour a particular candidate(s), there should be the minimum possible chance of his or their superseding those candidates who have done better in the written test and obtained marks for their academic qualifications and experience”. As regards qualifications of the Chairman and members, norms may be revised suitably. The practice that obtains the appointment of High Court judges should be followed for the PPSC members. Shiv
Singh, Jalandhar Two suggestions I have two suggestions to offer. Candidates taking the written test should be supplied detailed marks cards after selection. Answersheets too could be given for a reasonable fee. This practice is already prevalent in most of the universities and it is very essential for ensuring transparency in PPSC exams. Ram
Singh, Patiala Adopt defence
services model Much has been said about corruption in the PPSC selection process, but not much has appeared about the inherent inadequacies in the existing selection system for the civil services. In sharp contrast, the selection system followed by the Services Selection Boards (SSBs) for selecting commissioned officers for armed forces is highly scientific and therefore, nearly flawless. After initial screening through the written examination, candidates are called for interview at SSBs. This is not merely an interview but consists of comprehensive tests spread over three to four days comprising scientifically designed psychological -cum-intelligence tests, group-cum- command tasks, and an elaborate interview properly conducted by three experts independently of each other who exchange their notes at the end before finalising the selection. Besides, all members or experts are specially trained and therefore fully equipped to assess the candidates for the required leadership qualities and the right officer material. A senior civil servant or a high ranking military officer or an academic should not automatically become a fit case for appointment as a member unless he undergoes a proper training course in the selection techniques. I am afraid, no such elaborate selection system is in place for selecting Class I officers in the state government — neither in the state public services commissions nor perhaps in the UPSC. The government should look into this aspect and do the needful. It should adopt the defence forces selection system for civil services with due modifications wherever necessary. Cdr
C. L. Sehtal (retd), Jalandhar Keep the cost
factor in mind The PPSC or any government establishment is sustained by public resources. Therefore, establishing an elaborate system of checks and balances would further add up to the exchequer's burden. Nonetheless, a mechanism for evaluating the candidate has to be devised which will be lasting, fair and cost-effective. The top priority should be to first weed out all the corrupt and pliable links and then make it tamper-proof, reliable and transparent. The PPSC should be headed by somebody known for his intelligence, integrity, dedication and probity as well as capable of identifying such people as resource persons for evaluating the candidate's intelligence, aptitude and ability to deliver. One such man at the top will make all the difference. The evaluation should be in a computer-based programme with one or two steps to test the knowledge, intelligence, aptitude and ability of the candidate. The results should be ready at the end of this session so that the candidate knows his/her performance. And the final listing should be purely on merit. The weightage etc as enshrined in the Constitution may be given when the initial eligibility is decided. Dr
S. K. Mann, Ludhiana Reduce the term The prolonged stay at a city of any officer breeds familiarity and closer contacts. Therefore the terms of the PPSC Chairman and members should be reduced by half. They have too long a tenure. Stagnant water starts emitting bad odour. Any young IAS officer as Secretary, Examination Cell, is desirable but this man should not be from the northern states. Otherwise he/she is likely to be influenced by the people of Punjab. Dr
B. S. Cheema, Mohali Stress on meritocracy Reforms in the PPSC’s administrative and organisational set-up will not make any extraordinary improvement in its functioning. It would be a futile exercise. Human factor plays a crucial role in the functioning of an institution. It can make or mar its reputation. Our Constitution prescribes no qualifications for the members of the State Public Service Commissions. Therefore, it becomes incumbent on the appointing authority to select persons of repute, Punjabi or non-Punjabis, and also lay down a procedure to ascertain whether the members of the commission are working together in perfect harmony and are performing their duty properly. Once the seniors set an example of good governance, the junior colleagues will follow suit. What is needed at this juncture is an honest and conscientious workforce in the PPSC, and last but not the least, strict enforcement of the cult of ‘meritocracy’ in the matter of appointments made by the PPSC. B.
S. Saini, Hoshiarpur |
Ending Modi’s rule an
acid test for Vaghela
“KHADIA” locality in the heart of Ahmedabad city has been the citadel of anti-Congressism for almost three decades. The anti-Congress sentiments were whipped up during the agitation for a separate Gujarat state culminating in violence. A memorial was erected in the area to commemorate the martyrdom of those who laid down their lives for the cause. Known as “Shaheed Smarak”, the memorial has become a landmark of Gujarat’s capital and a symbol of the rise of the Jana Sangh-BJP in the state. No Congress candidate was elected from this area in successive elections. The newly appointed president of the Gujarat unit of the Congress, Shankersinh Vaghela, sent shock waves in BJP circles as he virtually launched his party’s campaign from Khadia; took out a procession, with almost the same gusto, as the BJP’s well known “Rath Yatras”. People have not seen a Congress rally in the area for years and they were in for surprise when they saw the one led by Vaghela. Aware of Vaghela’s potential and intimate knowledge of his erstwhile party’s modus operandi, say top sources, Chief Minister Narendra Modi, dissolved the State Assembly in his bid to advance the elections. He, obviously, did not want to give time to Vaghela to consolidate. The coming elections in Gujarat have been fast turning into Modi versus Vaghela and a no-holds-bar campaign appears inevitable. Both Modi and Vaghela had begun their respective careers in the RSS but now they are virtually cut-throat rivals. Much senior in age and experience, Vaghela had, in fact, enrolled Modi in the RSS in 1984. Modi was also Vaghela’s general secretary when he headed the Gujarat unit of the BJP and in his assessment: “Modi is self-centered, would not like to listen to others”. Also, “Modi believes whatever he thinks is the ultimate truth and that he is always right. He is anti-Muslim only because it suits him”. While Vaghela is a four-term member of the Lok Sabha and had six-year stint in the Rajya Sabha, Modi spent long years as “Pracharak”; the first-ever election contested by him was a bye-election after he became the Chief Minister. Both he and Modi have, at least, two common traits; while Modi is known to be arrogant, Vaghela is temperamental. Both are, however, good orators and can sway the masses. Having joined the RSS in 1964, Vaghela shifted to the BJP in 1969 and became a Congressman in the year 2000 and now spearheads Sonia Gandhi’s party in the crucial election. He is, possibly, the only leader in Gujarat who has visited all 1,800 villages, developed good rapport with bureaucrats and has friends in business community both in Ahmedabad and Mumbai. There was a time (in early nineties) when Vaghela was an ardent follower of L.K. Advani, vacated his Gandhi Nagar seat for him and worked tirelessly for the victory of the BJP leader. Such was the confidence of Advani in Vaghela that he campaigned in other parts of the country in 1991 election, entrusting Gandhi Nagar to him. Vaghela later rightly claimed that he was the architect of Advani’s poll victory. As a reward for vacating Gandhi Nagar, Vaghela was allocated Godra constituency and he won hands down. He was, in fact, keen to contest for the assembly and stake his claim to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Had the BJP’s central leadership not imposed a blanket ban on MPs to seek assembly elections, Vaghela and not Keshubhai might have headed the state government. The decision, evidently, was taken to forestall Vaghela’s entry into state politics. Vaghela was assured at that time that his claim for the Chief Ministership would be considered after six months. He waited patiently and just after completion of the stipulated period, acted decisively, whipped up a revolt and topped the BJP government. His new party — Rashtriya Janata Party comprising the breakaway MLAs of the BJP — formed the government with the support of the Congress but the dispensation was short-lived. Later Vaghela’s party merged with the Congress. Vaghela has seen many ups and downs and changed his career plans many a time before taking a plunge in politics. As a young man he began his career in the army as a warrant officer and was attached to “The Guards” in Kota. But it was the RSS which had attracted him from his school days. His stint with the army was short-lived as he joined the RSS as a full-time activist and, subsequently, made his way to erstwhile Jana Sangh. Vaghela minces no words in saying that RSS was responsible for the growth of the VHP in Gujarat and candidly admits that as a RSS functionary he financed the outfit. Vaghela now hates the VHP and went on record saying in a recent interview “They (VHP) are very artificial people. Their responsibility is only to create a vote bank for the BJP. I am authentically telling you, believe me I know them”. But he added with a pause “let me tell you the BJP and the VHP in Gujarat have reached climax. What you see is the glow of the dying flames”. |
PM puts Advani in the driving seat Vajpayee made his displeasure known last week when he did not attend the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting in Parliament House and in his absence the proceedings were conducted by Advani. Observers point out that it was the first time in several years that the Prime Minister was not present at the Parliamentary Party meeting. Similarly, the Prime Minister has kept mum on the party’s decision to back the elections in Gujarat and it has been left to Advani to defend the decision. It is a different matter altogether that the Deputy Prime Minister went overboard praising the leadership of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. To the embarrassment of Advani, the media reported him as describing Modi as the “best Chief Minister in 50 years” during his speech in the Rajya Sabha. The Home Minister promptly issued a laboured clarification where he said he was misquoted and what he meant was that Modi had dealt with the communal riots in a stern manner. Seniority problem Ever heard of a Head Constable pipping a senior Inspector to the post? The country will see this happening on August 12 when the Vice-Presidential polls take place. With the NDA candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat pitted against Sunil Kumar Shinde of the Opposition, not many know that the race is actually turned out be one between two former policemen. Shekhawat was a Head Constable in the erstwhile princely Sikar State while Shinde was with the Maharashtra Police. With the numbers on Shekawat’s side, the BJP strongman from Rajasthan is all set to win the elections. In politics it is the numbers and not the stripes on the uniform that count. Poll education Lawmakers it appears can do with some education regarding polling. One would expect them to be experts when it comes to elections but then recent trends depict a different picture. Take for instance the presidential polls. More than 40 votes were found invalid. Coming from MPs and MLAs the political parties are finding it unacceptable. Even when it came to filing of nomination papers of the President, several sets were found not in order. With the Vice-Presidential elections on it was found that around 20 nomination papers were not in order. This included sets relating to the main candidates Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Sushil Kumar Shinde. It is understood that main parties like the BJP and the Congress have decided to informally educate their voters on how to vote for the Vice-Presidential elections. The MPs of both the Houses could also be cautioned against casting invalid votes as there is threat of the Vice-Presidential elections turning into a race between Dalit candidate Shinde and Rajput candidate Shekhawat. Lucky utterances? At the AICC session in Delhi last May, two speeches were particularly cheered and are still remembered by Congressmen. One of former Gujarat Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela and the other of Punjab MP Shamsher Singh Dullo. Vaghela, in his emphatic loud voice came straight to the point made by the earlier speaker Vasant Sathe about his last desire of seeing Congress president Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister. Vaghela said that Sathe did not have to wait too long as Sonia Gandhi would soon be the Prime Minister. Dullo, in his own rustic style, talked of the aristocratic leaders getting precedence over the grass-roots workers in the Congress. Dullo’s speech was well-received and even Sonia Gandhi, in her concluding remarks at the session, took note of it. Shankersinh Vaghela is now the PCC chief in Gujarat and has been hand-picked to lead the Congress campaign in the state in the forthcoming polls. Punjab too has to have a new PCC chief soon and Dullo must be wishing that his speech does the trick. Treating the future It was not an ordinary lunch. It was a lunch for the first citizen of India with the future generation of the country. Dr
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who formally took over as the President of India from his predecessor
K.R. Naryanan yesterday, made it a point to have his first lunch in his new palatial home — Rashtrapati Bhavan — with some 100 children invited specially for his swearing-in ceremony from all over the country. The children included visually and physically challenged. Dr Kalam’s love for children was evident when he mingled with the visiting school children to have lunch and personally served them, discarding the high table organised for him for lunch in the Ashok Hall. Earlier, the President preferred to sit in a chair in front of the children, who were squatting on the carpet of the Ashok Hall, and interacted with them. It was some lunch for the children! Met blues There were disturbances and the rains arrived more than a fortnight late and that too only for a day. All eyes and ears are now glued to the department to know when the full monsoon would arrive. The Met office is, however, not playing sport as every second day it changes its prediction. One day it talks about the monsoon current strengthening and the second day it is about the weakening current. Praying to the rain Gods appears to be the only solution for the residents of the national
capital. Contributed by T. V. Lakshminarayan, Satish Misra, Prashant Sood and
S. Satyanarayanan. |
Delhi-ites managing to cope with the mess TILL about two days back a friend who stays in the Asiad Village locality of New Delhi would say with immense pride, ”I stay very close to the DRDO guest house where the would be President of India Dr Abdul Kalam stays...” The same friend has reframed his sentence(s) in the last couple of hours — “I’m going to meet the new President with this charter of demands. He should look into the terrible power and water problems of the Asiad Village...I think he is well aware of the fact that most of us wait for that trickle or for those water tankers. Of course, the President cannot be expected to look into the civic disorders of the capital city. But then, he can summon and order someone around to clear the mess...” No, I don’t want to sound sarcastic but there are people who are managing to live and perform in spite of this mess. How else would you explain activities in full swing — be it the Cinemaya’s festival of Asian Cinema, receptions being hosted with immense enthusiasm (the latest will be the one hosted on July 30 by the Ambassador of Morroco, to celebrate the third anniversary of the enthronement of his country’s king, Mumbai’s stylist Shaina coming all the way to tell us how to tie the sari (although the untying techniques would have been original and apt in these times!), Lakme’s so-called Fashion Week which takes off this coming week... I could go on and on, but the one event which would stand out is the series of lectures on the varying aspects of different religions. Come September and Jain Vishva Bharati Institute is making arrangements to hold these lectures for Delhi’s elite “to clear misconceptions about different religions and listeners would be free to question and query so that all those myths settle down...” Clearly, an effective way to control the communal poisoning doing the rounds.
Krishan Kant As news comes of the passing away of Vice-President Krishan Kant barely 48 hours after the swearing in ceremony of the new President, there is a sense of shock and disbelief. Mr Krishan Kant was a familiar figure as chief guest at the National Days of the various foreign missions. Though the book release ceremonies at his residence were nowhere (at least in number), compared to those held during the tenures of his predecessors, the late Shankar Dayal Sharma and Mr
K.R. Narayanan, he was known to be a lover of books. He had many friends in literary circles. One of his ardent admirers is the Hyderabad writer,
Prof. Shiv Kumar, who bagged this year’s Padma Shri for Literature. Kumar almost insisted on having his book on Faiz to be released by the Vice-President — his rationale being that the late dignitary wasn’t just a lover of poetry but understood the nuances associated with the Urdu language. He is said to have kept in close touch with the people of Hyderabad with whom he had interacted during his governorship days. Many people from Andhra Pradesh are expected to visit the capital to pay their condolences to the departed leader.
Love for India Just received an e-mail from Panama’s former Ambassador to India, Mirta Saavedra Polo, in which she writes the intensity with which she misses India. She has formed ‘Association of Panamanians — Friends of India Society’ in Panama and had invited the Indian Ambassador to Panama Tara Singh to unveil a statue of Mother Teresa in her village, along the coast of Panama. |
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Prof Jagdish Bhagwati (Columbia) says: “Just as there was a military-industrial complex before (during the Cold War years), now there is the Wall Street-Treasury complex”. “The great task of subjection and conquest”, says Noam Chomsky, “has changed little over the years”. Globalisation is neo-colonialism in disguise.
PRIME
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who till the other day had an iron grip over the Bharatiya Janata Party, seems to have taken a back seat with his deputy
L. K. Advani emerging as the driving force behind the party. With Advani taking the driving seat, the party is once again being dominated by hardliners. Several decisions including the one on holding elections in Gujarat is a result of the new trend and it is understood Prime Minister Vajpayee is not party to several of the decisions.
Like the rains, the Meteorological department too has failed the people of Delhi. Or is it that the unpredictable rains has failed the department. Having made predictions on the dot during the last ten years, the Meteorological Department of India’s prediction that rains would hit the capital on June 29 was taken as a gospel truth. Now what could the weatherman do if the weather plays truant?