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Thursday,
October 10, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Ballot defeats bullet Seven high-flying decades Subsidies:
EU, USA & India |
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Ties between ‘estranged democracies’
New leader to guide telecom sector
Germans discover modern Indian writers
Nobel literature winner today
Pleasure is the highest goal of life
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Ballot defeats bullet BY this evening most of the results of the four-phase assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir should be
out. The counting of the last vote would bring to an end an exercise that engaged the attention of the global community. No election in free India was as demanding as the one that saw women take the lead in all the four phases in turning up in large numbers to vote by defying the diktat of the Pakistan-trained militants to boycott the poll process. Each phase of polling threw up new challenges for the security forces and those charged with the duty of conducting free and fair elections under extremely trying circumstances. But neither the security forces nor the election personnel nor the voters were cowed down by the threat of violence by the militants. In the end Pakistan’s attempt to disrupt the elections failed miserably. Ironically, the day that marked the completion of the poll process in Jammu and Kashmir also saw Pakistan dictator Pervez Musharraf conduct sham parliamentary elections in his country in which neither Ms Benazir Bhutto nor Mr Nawaz Sharif has been allowed to participate or address public meetings. Be that as it may, the most remarkable aspect of the last phase of election in Jammu and Kashmir was the amazing show of defiance by voters in Doda where the militants raised the level of violence to a more bloody level to show their sense of desperation over the failure of their attempt to derail the democratic process. A turnout of 52 per cent is counted as good under normal circumstances. It must be given a higher rating considering the scale of violence in most parts of Doda on the day of the voting. The overall turnout of 44 per cent is a fitting reply to Pakistan that wanted to show to the global community that the heart of the Kashmiris was not with India and that they were forced to participate in the election process. If it was indeed the case, the fear of violence would have been a valid excuse for them to ignore the appeal to vote. Pakistan may still have succeeded in selling the story of forced voting had India not taken the decision to allow diplomats and foreign journalists to monitor the elections. The 2002 assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir have been the fairest, according to independent observers. And they have also been the bloodiest. Over 800 ordinary folks, security personnel and policemen were killed in fidayeen attacks during the course of the elections. Which party wins the election is irrelevant at this juncture. What is important is that the voters used the ballot as a powerful weapon for making the militants bite the bullet they had used for killing the election process in Jammu and Kashmir. Yes, democracy has triumphed in spite of the hurdles created by Pakistani militants. It is now up to the elected representatives to make every vote matter by giving to the people an honest and efficient government. A government that works and does not find excuses for the lack of progress in key areas. The focus should be on speedy economic growth. A healthy body is the best protection against disease. A healthy economy is the most effective shield against forces of civil unrest. It does not require great wisdom or insight to understand that militancy usually feeds on the economic fears and backwardness of the people. |
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Seven high-flying decades EVER since it was created by an executive order of the Viceroy in Council as an independent service on October 8, 1932, magnificent men of the Air Force in their flying machines have kept a grateful nation in thrall. Whether it is war time or days of peace, the IAF has always contributed its mite in various ways to ease the pressure on the country. Seventy is an age when a person gets old, but in the case of an ageless institution like the IAF, it is yet another birthday which takes it towards greater heights. The deeds of meritorious service in these seven decades are too numerous to be recounted. But there are certain peaks that do stand out. And these began right during World War II when it was only a fledgling force. The real IAF emerged after Independence. And it was an initiation by fire if ever there was one. Pakistan invaded Kashmir immediately after it came into existence. Today, if the state is part of India, it is mainly because of the Air Force, which defied all odds to land Indian forces there. The same miracle was repeated in the saving of Ladakh when Air Commodore Mehar Singh flew his Dakota to Leh to the incredulous stares of everybody. If that was the height of glory, greater peaks were to be scaled in the days to come. An abiding image of the 1965 war with Pakistan was that of the tiny Gnats giving a run for their money to the mighty Sabres and F-104 Starfighters. It was truly a case of David challenging Goliath. The same gallantry was displayed during the liberation of Bangladesh and the battles of Longewala and the Kargil sector. History was written in golden letters by men who went way beyond the call of duty, some never to come home live. The heroics have been repeated so often that sometimes the country does not fully appreciate them. That is why the force has to struggle for funds as well as the latest equipment. The never-ending wait for an advanced jet trainer, whose absence has taken the life of many rookie pilots, is a case in point. Similarly, the performance of ageing MiGs has caused a lot of turbulence. Of late the most upsetting development has been the tendency of some officers to hobnob with politicians for the sake of their promotions and related matters. Mercifully, these are stray aberrations which do not form a pattern. One hopes the IAF will be able to get the better of all of them, exactly as it has vanquished its adversaries. |
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Subsidies: EU, USA & India THE
present crisis in agriculture in India and other developing countries is likely to deepen with the USA and Europe maintaining or further increasing the level of their present farm subsidies. The European Commission recently tried to effect changes in its common agricultural policy by redefining how food is produced and sold, and how farm subsidies are handed over to the seven million EU farmers. Under the policy, higher subsidies are given to farmers who produce more. This has resulted in huge surpluses of agricultural produce in Europe. The excess stocks are dumped into international markets, which leads to the fall in the prices of agricultural commodities. As a result, farmers in the developing countries fail to export as their produce is priced out of competition. Brazil
recently complained to the WTO that its economy suffered an annual damage of $ 600 million on account of global cotton subsidies, mostly given out by the USA. Farmers in Kenya have suffered losses because of excess production of coffee as prices are low. The chief culprits behind the distortions in farm prices are the EU and the USA. In July this year the EU’s Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler, supported by the Germans, the Dutch and the British, proposed changes in the
common agricultural policy to redefine subsidies, which amount to $ 39.6 billion a year, so that farmers produced what their countries required: safe food without damaging the environment. But the critics of the proposed changes led by France stalled the move. They pointed to the US Farm Bill, signed into law by President Bush later on, which proposed a 67 per cent increase in the funding of farm subsidies and
extended the benefit to a host of other crops. Europe and poor countries opposed the Bill, but a defiant Uncle Sam went ahead. The EU also dropped the move to
curtail subsidies. Where do countries like India stand in this scenario and what should be their plan of action? The only course open is to knock the doors of the World Trade Organisation so that the subsidies are brought to an acceptable level. There is need to build up international opinion against the US and EU level of farm subsidies. The Third World with its outdated farming techniques, small field sizes, lack of latest seeds, inputs, knowhow and machinery cannot hope to compete with the highly mechanised farming in the developed world. The poor countries have to identify their core strengths and build on them. Contract farming, being introduced on a larger scale in Punjab now, is one way out. The land ceiling has to be removed since small farms are not viable. Government policies, currently supporting excess production, have to be redirected to promote the production what is in demand, both in the domestic and global markets. The dependence on agriculture has to be reduced with a push to industrialisation, particularly knowledge industries in which Indians have excelled. The regional-level fora need to be activated to draw common strategies to meet the challenges from the rich nations. |
Ties between ‘estranged democracies’ DESPITE rhetoric about India and the USA being “natural partners” and “natural allies” as the two largest democracies in the world, the two countries have really been, in the words of American scholar Denis Kux, “estranged democracies”. Mutual bickering and distrust have clouded their relationship. Even after the end of the Cold War, the primary thrust of American diplomacy was to “cap, roll back and end” India’s nuclear weapons capabilities. And to achieve this purpose the non-proliferation warriors and compulsive India-baiters like Assistant Secretary of State Robin Raphael were quite prepared to condone, overlook and even rationalise Pakistan’s support for cross-border terrorism and use Jammu and Kashmir as an issue to pressurise India. Things have substantially changed after we asserted our autonomy in nuclear matters with the Pokhran tests of 1998 and Pakistan displayed its recklessness with its Kargil misadventure. The new “National Security Strategy of the United States” presented by President George Bush reflects the winds of change that appear to be removing the old cobwebs in American minds about India. The report, “Global Trends 2015”, published by the CIA last year, before the cataclysmic events of September 11, was the first manifestation of changed thinking in the corridors of power in the USA. The report had described India as an “unrivalled regional power” with “a large military, including naval and nuclear capabilities, and a dynamic and growing economy”. It predicted that Pakistan would be more fractious, isolated and dependent on international financial assistance. It added that Pakistan would not recover easily from decades of political and economic mismanagement, divisive politics and ethnic feuds. It expected that by 2015, the Pakistan Central Government’s writ would be confined to Punjab and urban hubs like Karachi. Such assessments led to President Bush expressing his determination to build a new relationship with a vibrantly democratic and economically resurgent India. The war on terrorism in Afghanistan and its consequent extension to Pakistan naturally raised questions in Indian minds on whether President Bush was being forced to backtrack on his earlier assertions about India and revert to the old “India-Pakistan equation syndrome” as many of the mandarins in the State Department would dearly like. The Bush National Security Strategy addresses such misgivings. President Bush has asserted that the USA is now threatened by “shadowy networks of individuals” penetrating open societies with new technologies and by enemies seeking weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capabilities. He asserts that “as a matter of common sense and self-defence America will act against such threats before they are formed”. The new strategy envisages action against any terrorist organisation of global reach or state sponsor of terrorism that attempts to acquire or use WMDs or their precursors. Such action would be for “defending the United States and the American people and our interests at home and abroad, by identifying and destroying the threat before it reaches our borders”. The new Bush Doctrine, therefore, calls not just for “pre-emptive” strikes, but also “preventive” strikes to protect American security interests. It adds: “We will not hesitate to act alone, if necessary to exercise our right to self-defence”. Referring to Islamic countries, the new strategy voices support for “moderate and modern governments, especially in the Muslim world”. The Bush Doctrine has an extensive agenda for “Cooperative action with other main centres of Global Power”. The NATO partners are naturally the primary focus of attention in this effort. Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Singapore and New Zealand are identified as key players in the Asia-Pacific Region. Optimism is also voiced on the relationship with Russia following the establishment of the “NATO-Russia Council”. The American objective is to develop a cooperative framework of relations with the Russians, with Russia’s integration in a “Euro-Atlantic community”. Much will, however, depend on the Bush Administration reaching an understanding with the Russians on the American role in the former Soviet Republics. The Russians would obviously not relish American insensitivity towards their vital interests in their immediate neighbourhood. The Chinese are not going to be too enthusiastic about the new American strategy. The document refers to Taiwan’s democratic traditions in positive terms. The USA will seek to promote a “stable, peaceful and prosperous” Asia-Pacific and also welcome a “strong, peaceful and prosperous China”. It, however, cautions China against “following an outdated path” to acquire “advanced military capabilities that can threaten its neighbours”. It advises China to take the path of “political freedom” for its people and asserts that Taiwan, human rights and non-proliferation remain areas of “profound disagreements”. Thus, the Bush Doctrine seeks to engage China even while expressing concern about its possible future role. The misgivings that have been voiced by India about the directions that American policy appeared to be taking in response to the terror attacks of September 11 have also been addressed. These misgivings have arisen because Mr Colin Powell and his mandarins have continuously sought to view the relationship with India in the post-September 11 period through a Pakistani prism. The Bush Doctrine, however, states: “The United States has transformed its bilateral relationship with India based on a conviction that US interests require a strong relationship with India. We are the two largest democracies, committed to political freedom, protected by a representative government. India is moving towards greater economic freedom as well. We have a common interest in the free flow of commerce, including through the vital sea-lanes of the Indian Ocean and in creating a strategically stable Asia.” The Bush Administration acknowledges that differences with India remain on India’s nuclear and missile programmes and the pace of economic reforms in India. But such differences will not be allowed to compromise the “strong strategic partnership” that it seeks with India — a country that is described as a “growing world power with which we have common strategic interests”. The Bush Doctrine naturally refers to regional disputes and emphasises the need for India and Pakistan to settle their “disputes”. Nowhere does the strategy document contain the dreaded “K” word! The only reference to Pakistan states: “ With Pakistan, our relations have been bolstered by Pakistan’s choice to join the war on terror and move towards building a more open and tolerant society”. It is thus apparent that in the perception of the strategic establishment in Washington, India is a vibrant democracy with a growing economy, while General Musharraf’s Pakistan is a problem child that has to be encouraged to behave and reform itself. It would, however, be naïve to presume that this document is suddenly going to change the State Department’s propensity to stick to its old ways. The approach of the State Department to issues like India’s military cooperation with Israel and transfers of high technology remains rooted in past policies. While President Bush has handled the recent tensions in India-Pakistan relations with a determination that Pakistan should “permanently” end its support for cross-border terrorism, there is no dearth of voices that seek to dilute this policy and make excuses for the “difficulties” of their favourite military dictator to fulfil the promises he made to the President of the United States of America. Our diplomacy with the USA will, therefore, have to be conducted with firmness, tact and imagination if we are to see that bilateral relations proceed along the path enunciated by President Bush. We will remain relevant and respected only if we translate the hope of an 8 per cent growth rate into a reality. |
New leader to guide telecom sector THE
new president of the Telecom Equipments Manufacturing Association (TEMA), Mr Goyal, has his hands full, especially as he finds the current scenario of the telecom manufacturing sector alarming. He apprehends that the employment of a large number of workmen and engineers is at stake. He regrets that even though the Union Government set out several key objectives through the National Telecom Policy of 1994 and 1999, these have remained on paper so far. Then, there is urgent need for a specialised Telecom Finance Corporation akin to the Power Finance Corporation to encourage telecom operators to source equipments indigenously. Mr Goyal wants a committee of experts to be constituted to identify the source of funding, be it the government or multilateral, institutional, market or private. He maintains that the government should set up a telecom export promotion council on a priority basis. Meanwhile, TEMA proposes to join hands with the Electronic Software Council in formulating a joint strategy for encouraging exports. TEMA also plans to visit China in April next year besides taking part in the CommunicAsia exhibition in Singapore in June, 2003. A workshop is on the anvil in February next year with the three armed forces to explore and seek other avenues of telecom equipment supplies. Hailing from Himachal Pradesh, the multifaceted Mr Goyal is adept in legal, financial, techno-commercial and management matters. He began his professional career with the HPSFC in 1970 and then served with the Technical Consultancy Corporation and the Agro-Industries Corporation. His last assignment with the HP government was as General Manager of the Electronic Development Corporation before joining the HFCL. A devoted social worker and spiritually inclined person, he started a charitable society called the Organisation of Excellence in Yoga and Reiki. Mr Goyal’s wife runs schools in HP and Haryana, and the couple has two daughters, both married. An example of industriousness
At 52, Subhash is director of his own company and a name to be reckoned with in the courier and automobile industry. Realising the importance of education, his parents sent Subhash to a civic school which waived his fees, facilitating him to study up to the higher secondary level after which he dropped out. At age 15, he learnt driving and drove a taxi on rent without a licence which earned him Rs 60 every day. It was in 1975 that Subhash got the break. He secured a loan under a government scheme for the educated unemployed and got his own taxi. Driving around the city, he noticed that small dents in vehicles cost a big amount to remove. In 1980 he developed a process to remove the existing dent while substantially reducing the cost. It was an instant success and he set up a small factory in Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia. He moved out of the chawl to a two-bedroom apartment in Sion. Today the business operates under the name of Bombay Auto Industries. Along with friends, Subhash also started the GMT Cargo and Courier Company. |
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Germans discover modern Indian writers ARUNDHATI Roy paved the way: Her novel ‘’The God of Small Things’’ was not only a worldwide best-seller, but it also drew the attention of readers to her home country, India. There, readers are now finding out, more and more authors are to be discovered whose narrative fantasy and expressive use of the language stand out. Many of them focus on the theme of breaking with old traditions. ‘’They are writing directly atop the fault line of the cultures,’’ is the way Martin Spieles, spokesman for the German book publisher in Frankfurt, Fischer Verlag, describes modern Indian authors. Angela Volknant, an editor at the Hoffmann und Campe publishers in Hamburg, sees ‘’fantastic potential’’ in the young literary scene in India. German publishers are just now starting to discover it. Among the new novels by Indian authors appearing on the German market this autumn, Rohinton Mistry’s ‘’Family Affairs’’ is already being hailed as a ‘’masterpiece’’. It is a no-holds-barred family story told by Mistry: In the sprawling city of Bombay, the elderly Nariman Vakeel is living a relatively carefree existence with two of his children. This changes, however, when after he falls down he needs full-time care. The older son and daughter shove the responsibility onto their youngest sister, Roxana, whose family is forced to share their tiny apartment with the grandfather. The family’s harmony breaks down and Roxana’s marriage threatens to fail under the new burdens. Mistry, who now lives in Canada, shows how incomplete human nature still is while at the same time providing an impressive document about present-day life on the subcontinent. A novel about women and for women comes from the young writer Anita Nair in Bangalore. In ‘’Ladies Coupe’’, the main character Akhila, (45) is travelling alone for the first time in her life to the coast. She is fleeing the strict conventions of society and the expectations which the family poses on her as an unmarried woman. On the train, Akhila meets other women, who during the long night-time journey tell the stories of their lives. Nair’s second novel provides deep insight into the lives of women in modern-day India, illustrating their tough battle for opportunity and the limits which are still exerted by tradition, religion and convention. The first novel of the 35-year-old Nair, ‘’The Better Man’’, is also to be published in Germany next February. It is the story of an ageing man who after his retirement returns to the village of his childhood. Suddenly ghosts of the past are plaguing him: he thinks of his mother, whom his tyrannical father had rejected early for another woman. And he finds no rest, plagued by the thought that he had not lived up to his father’s expectations. Only after becoming friends with a man in the village is the protagonist freed from the torment of the memories of his youth. And the discovery of the literary season is the debut novel of writer Hari Kunzru, ‘’The Impressionist’’. Kunzru is an interesting figure as a person bridging the divide between two cultures. His mother is English, his father Indian, and he lived both cultures. The London Times has gone so far as to put Kunzru on a level with Salman Rushdie. ‘’The Impressionist’’ is a historic epic novel depicting India at the turn of the 20th Century, filled with stories and adventures attesting to the author’s imaginative and narrative powers. As with so many other Indian novels, this book also wrestles with the central question of identity in a culturally divided world.
DPA |
Nobel literature winner today THE
winner of the 2002 Nobel Literature Prize will be revealed on Thursday, the Swedish Academy said on Tuesday. As usual, the highly secretive academy would give no word of which writers were under consideration for the prize. The talk in Stockholm’s literary salons this year is that an Arab or a relatively unknown American could win. Favourites for this year’s award, according to literary experts, include Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, Hungarian novelist Imre Kertesz, U.S. poet John Ashbury and Syrian-born poet Adonis. “Vargas Llosa would be good, John Ashbury would be interesting. But to second-guess the Swedish Academy is a perilous task,” said London Times books editor Erica Wagner. British novelist Doris Lessing is again mentioned as a contender, as are South Africa’s J.M. Coetzee, veteran U.S. author Philip Roth and Canada’s Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro. “They are good but maybe the time for them to win has passed,” said Asa Beckman of Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter. “But I think it could go to Thomas Pynchon of the U.S. or Italian-American Don DeLillo. Pynchon is a writer no one knows but he has been really important for the American novel.” Tension in the Middle East could help an Arab writer win, some literary experts say. “They will deny it but as human beings the judges are political creatures and I wouldn’t be the least surprised if they gave it to someone like Adonis,” said Svenska Dagbladet literary editor Kaj Schueler.
Reuters He has 14 wives, 86 children Keeping one family happy may be a challenge for most people but one Vietnamese man claims to have successfully juggled living with 14 wives and over 80 offspring. Retired bricklayer Tran Viet Chu, born in 1927, said he was just unable to resist ladies during his travels to far-flung construction sites. “Poor me, every time I see a voluptuously shaped woman I find no way to resist my sensitive feeling. I seem to have been born with this flirtatious tendency,” Chu told a newspaper. Chu bedded down with at least one woman everywhere he worked during his six decades of travels. He now lives with some members of his unusually large family in the central province of Quang Tri. The group manages to survive as each wife supports her children, while Chu meets his own needs. While Chu admits he’s lost count of the numerous branches of his family tree, he told the newspaper he has at least 14 wives and sired at least 86 children.
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Pleasure is the highest goal of life THE Indian philosophical systems have been divided into two classes namely Astik and Nastik. Astik i.e. theist (those who believe in God) while Nastik i.e. (atheist those who do not believe in God). Most of the Indian philosophical systems like Vedanta, Sankhya, Yoga etc belong to Astik class while Carvak belong to the Nastik class. This class is also called Lokayata i.e. view of the common people. According to some, Carvaka was a sage with materialistic outlook. It is not sure if Carvaka was a particular name of an individual or merely an epithet of the followers of Lokayata school. Anyhow materialistic tradition in India is very old. One finds mention of this system in Buddhist Pitakas, earliest Jaina, Samkhya, Yoga sources. Not a single test is available on this philosophy. Anyhow this philosophy has been developed by piecing together the references scattered in different works/passages. Unfortunately, this system is only preserved for us only from the writings of those who sought to refute and ridicule it. According to this system, only gross matter exists and consciousness or mind also springs from matter. Matter is recognised as the only reality. The material word is composed of four elements i.e. earth, water, fire and air. The soul in the living body is the quality of consciousness. There does not exist any invisible, unchangeable and immortal soul. The combination of the four elements is termed as body. Conscious is produced by the coalition of the four elements. With body it exists and with body it perishes. It is associated solely with body. Perception i.e. knowledge based on five senses is the only source of valid knowledge in this system. The existence of God, soul, heaven, hell, life before after death etc. cannot be believed as these cannot be perceived. These are the only fabrications of crafty Brahmin priests for their professional interests. As it gives credence only to perception other means of knowledge i.e. inference and testimony recognised as means of proof in other systems of philosophy are full of flaws and cannot be relied upon. As regards God, Carvakas reject that the world being an effect, must have been caused by some- one who is God. They consider the world to be the fortuitous combination of the elements which do not require a creator — God to fashion them into design. Carvaks do not believe in the traditional concept of liberation from pains. So long as the body exists, life cannot be absolutely free from pains. Pain is always an antecedent of body. Anyhow minimisation of pain and maximisation of pleasure is possible. Liberation — be it from body of pain — can be attained only on death. Only death is liberation. Of the four traditional ends of human life — Dharma, Moksa, Artha and Kama — Carvaks reject the first two. Carvaks are hedonistic. They believe that pleasure is the highest goal of life. So long as man lives, he should try for maximum enjoyment. This system advocates that people should live happily as long as they live. Money is the ultimate means of enjoyment and it is necessary to earn it. Anyhow for earning money filthy means are not to be indulged. Pleasure cannot be rejected on account of its complicity with pain. One should not reject the pleasure of this life upon the false notion of future life. A bird in hand is worth two in a bush. Any action rendering more pain than pleasure is wrong. In fact, happiness is the goal of all systems, the approach to it differs from system to system. But pleasure is open to reproach if it encourages one’s self-indulgence to a degree which is detrimental to oneself as well as to society. Egoist hedonism, in its vulgar forms, militates against social discipline and reduces the person concerned to the status of animals. From the ethical and practical point of view, the most significant contribution of our materialists appears to be their revolt against the doctrine of karma. Belief in the karma theory, the desire to get rid of the cycle of birth and death and thus attain salvation are the pivots of almost all other Indian systems. An early Buddhist source tells that one of the earliest materialists advocated that there is neither fruit nor result of good or evil deeds. A human being is built up of four elements. When he dies, the earth in him returns and relapses to the earth, the fluid to the water, the heat to the fire and wind to the air and his faculties pass into space. Neither is there any other world nor are these beings reborn. Our early materialists in spite of inadequate scientific data succeeded in defending truths and scientific thinking which were sought to be obscured by increasing prestige of idealism and spiritualism. In fact, Carvak philosophy is not merely the materialistic philosophy but the philosophy of the people. |
In the silence of gathering night I asked her, ‘Maiden, your lights are all lit — then where do you go with your lamps? My house is all dark and lonesome, — lend me your light.’ She raised her dark eyes on my face and stood for a moment doubtful. ‘I have come’, she said at last, ‘to dedicate my lamp to the sky.’ I stood and watched her light uselessly burning in the void. In the moonless gloom of midnight I asked her, ‘Maiden, what is your quest holding the lamp near your hear? My house is all dark and lonesome, — lend me your light.’ She stopped for a minute and thought and gazed at my face in the dark. ‘I have brought my light,’ she said, ‘to join the carnival of lamps.’ I stood and watched her little lamp uselessly lost among lights.
*** Though art the sky and thou are the nest as well. O thou beautiful, there is the nest it is thy love that encloses the soul with colours and sounds and odours. There comes the morning with the golden basket in her right hand bearing the wreath of beauty, silently to crown the earth. And there comes the evening over the lonely meadows deserted by herds, through trackless paths, carrying cool draughts of peace in her golden pitcher from the western ocean of rest. Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali
*** The mind is like the lake; it is constantly being set in vibrations which leave an impression on the mind; and the idea of the ego or personal self, the “I”, is the result of these impressions. This “I”, therefore, is only the very rapid transmission of force and is in itself no reality. —The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. VI. |
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THE new president of the Telecom Equipments Manufacturing Association (TEMA), Mr Goyal, has his hands full, especially as he finds the current scenario of the telecom manufacturing sector alarming. He apprehends that the employment of a large number of workmen and engineers is at stake. He regrets that even though the Union Government set out several key objectives through the National Telecom Policy of 1994 and 1999, these have remained on paper so far.
There are any number of survivors who have made it big in this big, bad world. And Subhash Oberoi’s grit, who moved from Jalandhar to Mumbai in 1962 at the age of 12, is another rags-to-riches story. At that young age he went to Mumbai to seek treatment for a near fatal attack of smallpox. He worked 20 hours a day by selling combs and boiled sweets to commuters and took home Rs 3 which he diligently handed over to his unemployed parents staying in a slum in the western metropolis.