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Saturday,
October 19, 2002, Chandigarh, India   |
Farooq's political petulance Unbelievable savagery Unsafe airports? |
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LoC is “line of no control” today
Avuncular advice
Removing obstacles
‘CM should be from Jammu’
Wheatgrass: a cheap cure for ailments
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Farooq's political petulance JAMMU and Kashmir Governor Girish Chandra Saxena has shown maturity and wisdom in handling the constitutional crisis caused by the unclear verdict the people have given in the just concluded assembly elections. He could have placed the state under Governor's rule on October 17 without giving an opportunity to Dr Farooq Abdullah to show his political petulance over not being invited to form the government. However, the Governor exercised the prerogative of giving more time to the elected representatives to sort out their differences. Dr Abdullah could have continued only as caretaker Chief Minister until the new deadline set by Mr Saxena for the leaders to give the state an elected government. Governor Saxena showed greater political understanding than Dr Abdullah in responding to the challenge of giving the state a democratically elected government. Unhappily Dr Abdullah chose to plunge Jammu and Kashmir in the crisis the Governor was trying to avoid. The fact of the matter is that the former Chief Minister has many failings. One is giving priority to playing golf over pressing state matters. And the second is doing all the wrong things at the wrong time. Now he is sulking because the electorate has shown him the door and Governor Saxena is not willing to call him back unless he can convince Raj Bhavan of having the support of the majority of the MLAs. He can or his son can still become Chief Minister. The National Conference plus Congress add up to 48 MLAs , four more than the required number for forming a government. Similarly, the National Conference plus the People's Democratic Party add up to 44 MLAs, good enough to satisfy the constitutional requirement of a party or a group of parties having the support of the majority of the MLAs for forming the government. If he has such charm, why doesn't he try it on the leaders of the Congress and the PDP? No one can help Dr Abdullah grow up. He has to do the growing up himself. To show that the much delayed process has at long
as begun, he must accept the verdict of the people and give up dreaming about remaining Chief Minister. Unfortunately, the leaders of the other two parties too have not shown the political vision for giving democracy a chance in Jammu and Kashmir. Now that Dr Abdullah's action has forced Governor's rule in the sensitive border, the deadline of Monday for the leaders of different parties to present their claim before the Governor has become irrelevant. Both Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad and the father-daughter combine of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Ms Mehbooba Sayeed have all the time they need to rise above their narrow political ambitions and give to the people of Jammu and Kashmir a clean and efficient government. The response of Mr Bhim Singh of the Panthers Party and the independent MLAs, without whose support no party can even dream of forming the next government, has been more
constructive. The wrangling over who should head the government is, therefore, unfortunate. Neither the Congress nor the PDP can claim that the people have given their party the mandate to head the government. The voters defied the bullet to express their faith in democracy and change. A power-sharing arrangement and a common minimum programme should help the Congress and the PDP to move ahead. If there is a will, there is a way. If the Congress and the PDP fail to resolve their differences, the people of Kashmir may lose faith in the democratic process of governance. And that would be a terrible price to pay for the petulance of self-serving politicians and good news for the separatist groups in the valley. |
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Unbelievable savagery NO state can claim to have a clean slate as far as incidents of lynching are concerned, but even amidst such cold-blooded occurrences, the butchering of five dalits in Jhajjar on Dasehra day on the mere suspicion of slaughtering a cow is without parallel. It is not at all certain whether they were skinning a live cow or a dead one, but that they were skinned alive is not in the realm of doubt. It is a blot on the face of civilised society. Human life could be so cheap. What is worse is the attempt by some organisations to protect the culprits. The failure of the police to save the lives of the five unfortunate persons is also highly deplorable, considering that they were murdered by a frenzied mob after being pulled out from a police post. If the police cannot protect citizens on its own premises, how can it be expected to come to the aid of the common man? In fact, there is need to look into the allegations made by relatives of some of the victims that the police was an active party to this shocking incident. According to their version, certain policemen reportedly stopped the truck in which the victims were carrying animal skins and asked for a bribe. When they refused to pay, they were thrashed so badly that one of them got grievously hurt. To cover up this brutality, a case was registered under the Cow Slaughter Act and a rumour spread that they were killing a cow. Those who have seen the police functioning in the hinterland closely know that such atrocities are not uncommon. Instead of the attempt that is being made to cover up the whole shocking incident, it is imperative that the real truth is ferreted out and the guilty given exemplary punishment. Such intolerance is a dangerous consequence of the attempt by some to raise the communal temperature well beyond the boiling point. All that it takes to start a conflagration is the spark of a rumour. A similar incident had taken place in Loharu (Bhiwani district) in April where it was alleged that a few Muslims had slaughtered a cow. One hopes that the kind of communal friction that developed after that incident would not take place now, considering that the lynched people happen to be Hindu Dalits. But that hope pre-supposes that the usual rabble-rousers will not join the fray. In any case, a lot of hostility between various castes cannot be ruled out. It is now for the state government to make amends for the past mistake by ensuring that the apprehended trouble does not take place. |
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Unsafe airports? WITH the growing threats from terrorism, the first thing that India should do is to make the security arrangements at the airports foolproof. This has become crucial after the use of passenger aeroplanes as missiles by terrorists, as they did to strike at the symbols of America’s military and economic might. But India continues to remain indifferent to the security requirements. Realpolitik is the primary factor influencing the government’s decisions. Take the case of upgrading Bihar’s Gaya airport to international standards. On the face of it, the decision seems to be development-friendly, besides easing the problems of pilgrim-tourists. The government has decided to hand over the airport to some private party for its development to the required standards, spread over an area of 6.24 acres. The present length of the runway is 5700 ft, which will be extended by another 900 ft. Both Union Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Yadav, who virtually runs the Bihar administration though his wife is the Chief Minister, are counting the gains to the people, but with a view to strengthening their respective vote banks. They are specially highlighting the fact that an international airport at Gaya will be greatly helpful to a large number of Muslims who visit Saudi Arabia every year for the Haj pilgrimage, and boost religious tourism because of the area’s special significance for Buddhists. Air-India’s flight from Gaya to Bangkok will be launched on November 6 and to Colombo after two or three days. This is all very well and deserves appreciation. But what about security arrangements? Reports suggest that the airport has nothing beyond a runway and an air control tower. One cannot be sure when it will have luggage X-ray machines, etc, for preventing a passenger from carrying lethal weapons. This means no system for protecting passengers from terrorist designs! Patna’s Jayaprakash Narayan airport has a similar story to tell. For some time there has been tall talk of modernising the airport, citing its growing utility. But so far there is no activity to make one believe that the government is really serious about giving it a facelift from all angles. Security is the most neglected aspect at this airport too. Even seasoned pilots have been unwilling to operate flights from Patna airport, particularly after the aircrash on July 17, 2000, involving an Alliance Air flight. Using an airport in the absence of proper security checking arrangements amounts to blatantly playing with the lives of passengers. Is the Civil Aviation Minister listening? |
LoC is “line of no control” today THE just concluded most violent elections in Jammu and Kashmir which resulted in 800 deaths, have proved that the Line of Control (LoC) is a misnomer. What was intended to be a Lakshman Rekha between two warring sides has turned out to be the Line of No Control. It has lost its sanctity, changed names, made the United Nations Military Observers’ Group in Pakistan (UNMOGIP) persona non grata and rendered, in the words of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the Security Council Resolution on Kashmir “unimplementable”. Believe it or not, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto once called it the Line of Peace. All this has encouraged Bollywood to make films by the same name. It will go down in history as the longest unsettled hotline making it the first case of non-resolution of conflict despite India’s stunning military victory in 1971. The proxy war in J&K was started in July, 1947, by tribal raiders under Major General Akbar Khan in order to pre-empt Maharaja Hari Singh from acceding the state to India. The war between two dominions, orchestrated by the British, had one objective – all of J&K should not go to India. As the first Indian C-in-C, Gen KM Cariappa was to take over on January 15, 1949. The British hassled Nehru into accepting a ceasefire on December 31, 1948. The ceasefire line (CFL) and UNMOGIP were born on that day. The 760-km CFL stretching from Manawwar in Chhamb to below Siachen Glacier up to NJ 9842 and “thence northwards to the glaciers” was demarcated in Karachi on July 17, 1949. The 17-day 1965 war could not alter the character and nomenclature of the CFL despite Russian Prime Minister Kosygin’s efforts at Tashkent to persuade Gen Ayub Khan to make the CFL into an international border. Lal Bahadur Shastri even offered a no-war pact to Pakistan for respecting the CFL and ending infiltration. All territories captured including Haji Pir and Kargil heights (captured twice by Indian forces in six months) had to be returned to Pakistan. In 1971, however, neither side returned territory seized across the CFL and so Kargil’s Point 13620 came back to India. On August 10, 1972, Lt Gen PS Bhagat and Lt Gen Abdul Hamid Khan met at Suchetgarh to re-demarcate the CFL as on December 17, 1971 where it had been disturbed rather than a new more viable line. The CFL becoming LoC and derecognition of the UNMOGIP were byproducts of this war. Unfortunately, the Indian side omitted to extend the LoC beyond NJ 9842 along the Saltoro Ridge up to the Karakoram Range. Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw has called this as strategic oversight. The inability to force the conversion of LoC into an international border (IB) was essentially a political and diplomatic failure. The Simla talks were a two-person show – Mrs Gandhi and ZA Bhutto. Instead of a military officer, a police official accompanied Gandhi to Simla. She is supposed to have got a promise from Bhutto that in due course he would accept LoC as IB. Noted journalists Kuldip Nayyar and Dileep Mukherjee have written about this “understanding”. Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, P.N. Dhar, was the last to recount in 1995, the account of the “wasted promise”. Bhutto was under intense domestic pressure to bring home the 90,000 PoWs and the return of lost territory. India occupied nearly 400 sq miles in Punjab and 4800 sq miles in Kutch, Sind and PoK. Pakistan on the other hand secured 69 sq miles in Punjab and 53 sq miles in Chhamb. Because Gen AK Niazi had surrendered at Dhaka to a joint India-Bangladesh military command, Bangladesh was also keen to extract its pound of flesh and would not allow the exchange of prisoners till July, 1974, as it wanted to try 194 Pak personnel for war crimes. Neither the 90,000 PoWs nor the huge swathe of captured Pakistani territory could be used to force Bhutto into committing on paper, the conversion of LoC into an IB. Bhutto was able to wriggle out of the separate nets cast by Mrs Gandhi and the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Mujibur Rehman. Pakistan-India relations normalised in 1976 after repatriation of prisoners and land, settlement of war related issues except the alteration of LoC into IB. Sadly the “secret agreement” strongly refuted by Pakistan died in 1977 when both Mrs Gandhi and Bhutto went out of office. Later, Bhutto was hanged in 1979 and in 1984, Mrs Gandhi assassinated. From 1976 to 84, LoC was peaceful. It hotted up after Siachen happened in 1984 and later in 1989 blew up into the third proxy war. But much before 1971, the earliest attempt to convert the CFL into IB was made after the 1962 Himalayan blunder in 1963 in a US-initiated dialogue between then Foreign Minister, Sardar Swaran Singh, and the ubiquitous ZA Bhutto. They held marathon sessions spread over months. Yet an agreement eluded them. Armed with marked maps, India had even agreed to give them 3000 sq miles of territory which did not include the 2000 sq miles of Northern Areas ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963. It could have been Swaran Singh’s golden hour as he all but clinched the deal. Bhutto rejected it but it is more likely that a political consensus was unavailable in India on this immediately after the humiliating defeat at the hands of the Chinese. Pakistan has deliberately kept the LoC hot and sponsored cross-border terrorism to keep alive the issue of J&K and demand of self determination and plebiscite. Not surprisingly, therefore, in 1999, the Pakistan Army launched yet another clandestine operation to alter the disposition of LoC, avenge India’s pre-emptive occupation of Siachen in 1984 and internationalise a nuclearised J&K. The 70-day Kargil war ended with Indian forces vacating aggression and restoring the sanctity of the LoC. For India the LoC is the Holy Grail and much of its present difficulties regarding “pre-emptive action” stem from the need to respect LoC. Gen Pervez Musharraf has frequently repudiated Indian allegations of cross-border terrorism by pointing out terminological inexactitude: it is LoC, not Border and Freedom Struggle, not terrorism. India’s deliberate and sustained use of the word “border” should not be missed. The case for converting CFL/LoC into IB is a case of missed opportunities. Both in the 1947 and 65 wars, but for the premature acceptance of ceasefire, the Indian Army was confident of retaking PoK. About 1971 the less said the better. Given the present geostrategic dispensation and equitable military balance, territorial seizures are untenable. History and prudence should encourage the two sides to make the existing LoC as the basis for a settlement of the dispute and a settled border. Also settled following the Helsinki agreement is the fact that the era of mapmaking is over. Four wars and several proxy wars later, a more viable alternative to the LoC being made IB is not in sight. Many Western think tanks have periodically floated the LoC balloon. Both sides have to surmount huge obstacles. For Pakistan the Kashmir “masla” resurfaced in 1989 due to Indian misgovernance in J&K. “Previously it was not on our radar”, observe Pak analysts. “It has now been turned into a core issue” while for India it is the core of Indian nationhood. Pakistan is apparently willing to sacrifice the wellbeing and happiness of 140 million Muslims for the four million Muslims in Kashmir. An army of fidayeen and jihadis supported by the ISI is waging a relentless terror war no longer under Musharraf’s control. By giving up the Kashmir cause (read the India threat) Pakistan Army will lose the raison d’etre for its primacy in state and society. India’s difficulties are less intractable: to renege on a parliamentary resolution of 1993 to retake PoK. This is similar to the 1962 resolution to retake territory lost to China. India must be seen as a rather careless nation, losing land to neighbours. There is also a prime ministerial resolution from the ramparts of the Red Fort in 1994 to ‘complete the unfinished agenda of the Partition’. Article 253 of the Constitution stipulates that any settlement of J&K would first have to be approved by the State Assembly. By now we are all tired listening to our leaders about ending terrorism permanently and decisively. It is clear to them and to the readers that this is not possible till Pakistan is comprehensively defeated in war or agrees to comply either on its own or through friendly persuasion. The starting point for that is to begin setting J&K house in order and simultaneously start the dialogue on Kashmir. It is believed that the USA and most other members of the international community favour the proposal of making the LoC with certain adjustments into a soft border. The redemarcated border would have to be as agreed in Simla, more rational and viable. Equally, more easily identifiable and defensible. In his annual address this year, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called J&K as one of the flashpoints in the world. But any vision of LoC being made into the IB has to be preceded by first making LoC into what Bhutto described as the Line of Peace. In past-Musharraf-guided elections in Pakistan, a breakthrough could be possible provided he closes down the “tooti” (tap) of terrorism. Another round of negotiations could then begin with Pakistan. |
Avuncular advice WOMEN, I firmly believe, have a way of living in the present. Perhaps this is because they are more practical minded than men. Before marriage a woman is out to win you. Afterwards, you are just one of the many factors in her life, the others being children, servants, filling the larder, new clothes, social engagements and, of course, her counterpart next door with whom she spends her free time gossiping. I always try and instil this philosophy in the minds of my young married friends who, after the first ecstatic glow of their unions are for ever complaining of taking a secondary place in the affection of their wives. This is indeed a far cry from the days of Manu, the law-giver, who said “Day and night women must be kept in dependence by the males of their families and, if they attach themselves to sensual enjoyments they must be kept under one’s control. A woman’s father protects her in youth and her sons protect her in old age; a woman is never fit for independence.” The other day a young fellow came to me with his tale of woe. “She’s not the same person any more” he moaned about his wife. “She used to wait on me hand and foot. Ring me up at the office at least once a day to say that she was missing me. Be waiting for me with a smile and a kiss when I got home. Pour out my tea and bring me my slippers. Now, I’m lucky if I find her at home when I get back. She has either gone shopping or her lunch and rummy party at a friend’s house hasn’t ended.” “My dear boy” I said, “Why not try a little finesse in dealing with the situation? Pay her back in the same coin. Stay late at the office or drop in at the club on your way home. You might even have a shot at making her jealous. When you go to a party pay a great deal of attention to the prettiest woman in the room. Or sing the praises of your office secretary, saying that she is oozing with charm, apart from being extremely efficient at her job. See how it works. You’ll probably have your wife eating out of your hand in a short while.” The scheme, I regret to say, misfired but only because my young friend interpreted my advice too literally. After he had stayed out till midnight two or three times the servants who had to wait up for him threatened to leave. On one occasion he made a pass at a comely wench in the presence of his wife who immediately collared him and marched him protesting from the party. When, as a last resort, he hinted at an affair with one of her friends his wife sent a telegram to her mother who arrived by the first available train. So now, the poor fellow is saddled with his mother-in-law and for no reason. His wife’s friend is one of the ugliest women in their social circle and he wouldn’t dream of even paying her a compliment.
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Removing obstacles When I came out of the airport I found the queue system still intact and passengers could take a taxi by turns. I did not see any hawking or harassment of the passengers needing taxis. I felt good that a good practice had not only been retained but stabilised for the good of all. No wonder the old taxi drivers came to greet me to indirectly affirm that the good habit was going on. From the airport, I drove on towards the city of Panjim (Panaji) Goa’s capital. All along the long route I remembered every bend, turning or a crossing. For this route was the one we worked on to drive down the Heads of Government of Commonwealth countries for CHOGM. Over 70 Heads of Government had arrived in Goa for a two-day retreat. The dignitaries drove down this very airport road. For the first time in Goa, a proper well carpeted road was made from the airport to its holiday resorts. The road was still smooth and well maintained even 20 years after. But the most memorable memory which came back to me was when I reached the Zuari river. I recall when I reported for duty to Goa, my staff, my car and I had to wait for a long time on the bank of the river to be taken to the other side of the river by a ferry. It was for me a great experience. The ferry was the only connection between the airport and the main city to Panjim, Mapusa and others. But because of CHOGM the Zuari bridge had been planned and completed in time for the international dignitaries. A permanent gift for Goa. We in the traffic police benefited the most. For now there were to be no more long waiting jams on the banks of the river. At least this is what we thought. But it was not as simple as we had imagined that as soon as the bridge would get completed it would be available for people to use it the very next day. Instead we were now waiting for Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, to inaugurate it. To our dismay, weeks and weeks passed by and every time the PM’s visit got cancelled. Different dates were fixed but each time we heard of a postponement. People were distressed but tolerant and patient. They continued to stand for hours to cross the river by the ferry, right in the long shadow of the Zuari bridge. One day, on one of my rounds I was standing at the foot of the bridge watching ... . On the one hand I saw the long queue
of commuters with scooters/ cars/bus passengers. On the other, the long stately empty bridge. At that moment I called out to my driver and the wireless operator of my jeep and said, “Park the jeep aside”..”And come let us remove these road blocks”. The three of us put aside the artificial obstacles and signalled to the waiting traffic at the jetty to come and drive on. Suddenly, there was a wave of exhilaration. We led the traffic to the other end of the bridge and removed all the obstructions on the other end as well. And in a matter of few minutes we saw all the traffic cleared. I was now standing on the other side of the bridge at the foot of it. A few drivers stopped to ask me: “So did Mrs. Indira Gandhi finally come to inaugurate it”? I said: “Yes”. I felt a sense of quiet ecstasy and gratitude for the service I belonged to, which enabled me to do what we did. The bridge stood “opened”. The obstacles were gone. The media was quiet. For it did not know what had happened and who did it? The politicians were taken aback. They did not know what to do-bring back the obstructions or let it be? No one asked me ... for perhaps they knew... The Zuari bridge too has not lost its identity . . . so far. |
‘CM should be from Jammu’ Further, he sought to hog the limelight by claiming the post of Chief Minister for his party on the ground that when a party with 40 MPs can give a Prime Minister to the country, why can’t his party with its share of MLAs do so in Jammu and Kashmir. Though the JKNPP has backed the Congress chief, Ghulam Nabi Azad in the chief ministerial sweepstakes, Mr Bhim Singh is also pressing his own case in the event of the bigger parties failing to form a government. Born in Ramnagar tehsil of Udhampur district, Mr Bhim Singh, 60, says that he inducted Mr Azad as office secretary in 1973 when he was the Youth Congress chief. Excerpts of an interview: Q: What are the reasons for the JKNPP’s good showing in the J and K assembly poll? I have been in politics for 40 years and have been sent to jail for eight and a half years by previous Chief Ministers. We lost several colleagues during an agitation under NC rule. I have always fought for the youth and farmers. Q: You have been insisting that the next Chief Minister should be from the Jammu region. Why? For the past 55 years three families of Srinagar have shared power with the blessings of New Delhi. It has been like the Centre giving away rule to an agency which further allots its power to a chosen few. New Delhi never allowed the growth of natural leadership in Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu region has remained neglected. There has been an imbalance. Not one person from Jammu has been able to claim the post of Chief Minister in all these 55 years. This time the people have given a fractured verdict for a change. The verdict is aganist terrorism, corruption and misrule of the National Conference. The NC bagged most of its seats from the Kashmir valley and it is in the Jammu region that it was voted out. The people of Jammu now deserve that the Chief Minister is from their region. Q: How will you see that promises made by you are implemented? We have sought reorganisation of the state on the basis of culture, language and geography. We have promised that all involved in corruption should be brought to justice. The JKNPP has raised its voice against the abuse of human rights. I have been carrying the battle for justice in the courts also. Q: You have talked of being a Chief ministerial candidate. Well, I said that the JKNPP should be given a chance to form the government if the other three parties fail. I would be acceptable in all the three regions of the state. Q: The JKNPP has said that the post of Chief Minister should not go to the PDP chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Your comment. I have nothing personal against him. It is a question of principle. If we allow power to go in their hands then Jammu and Kashmir will be like a crown of thorns. The people have to be provided a healing touch. The people of Jammu and Kashmir have voted for a change. Q: What do you see as a solution to the Kashmir imbroglio?. A good government which keeps away outdated corrupt, rotten elements. The people of Kashmir should be treated with affection. They are as nationalist as anyone else. Q: Do you support the demand for J and K’s trifurcation? The JKNPP stands for state’s reorganisation in consultation with the people. It has not been a benevolent rule all these years in Jammu and Kashmir. The Panthers Party was the first to seek two Chief Ministers for Jammu and Kashmir. The RSS-backed Jammu State Morcha tried to hijack the issue of statehood to its own peril. Q: The PDP wants a Chief Minister from the valley, you want it from the Jammu region. Aren’t such demands parochial? The state is united. Even at home, if you keep giving preferential treatment to one son, the other will be bad. In Jammu and Kashmir, this has been happening for the past 55 years. Jammu should be given its share for at least five years. Q: What should be the agenda of the new government? Involving all people against militancy and healing their wounds.
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Wheatgrass: a cheap cure for ailments IT’S no more an apple but an ounce of wheatgrass a day can keep the doctor away, for no other food has the right combination of vitamins, amino acids, minerals and fibres. Wheatgrass is an excellent source of inexpensive nutrition, say experts noting in the present scenario, where a large number of lifestyle diseases are hitting thousands of Indians every year, it can literally be a panacea for all ills. Containing sufficient amount of vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K along with 30 active enzymes, wheatgrass juice also has magnesium in large quantities, which helps reduce antherosclerosis or hardening of arteries, say experts. According to M.M. Pathak, a retired professor at Azad University of Agriculture, Kanpur, Vitamin E, which is present in sufficient quantity in wheatgrass, is the best antioxidant in nature. It saves life from hazards of oxidents, that is, aging of cells causing brain and heart problems. Vitamin A and C in the wheatgrass juice also acts as anti-oxidants which are good for heart problems, he says. Wheatgrass juice has a positive role on lipids — cholesterol, tryglecerides, LDL and HDL. It increases the HDL level in blood, which minimises the chance of coronary artery disease. It also reduces the levels of remaining lipids which are harmful for the heart, he says, adding it also increases the haemoglobin level. “Thus, it functions as one of the best and cheapest lipid regulator,” claims Pathak. Described as a miracle weed, wheatgrass contains a juice having chlorophyll which has rich properties. A ‘powerhouse’ of nutrients and vitamins, wheatgrass juice is so nutritional that an ounce of it is believed to be equivalent in food value to two and a half pounds of green leafy vegetables, says Preety Aggarwal. Although the wonder benefits of wheatgrass are being discovered only now in India, they have been known in the West for years. Wheatgrass juice has chlorophyll that neutralises infections, heals wounds, overcomes inflammations and gets rid of parasitic infections. It is also a great skin cleanser and can be poured into the bath water for a refreshing soak. The best part is that it has ‘live enzymes’ which perform specific functions within the body in conjuction with other enzymes and control all the bodily functions. Enzymes also have a deterrent ability against cancerous cells. However, as a word of caution, experts advise that the treatment should not be started without consulting a naturopath as there is a need to undertake a 48-hour fast to detoxify the body and there are some more procedures one has to follow before going in for the wheatgrass therapy. PTI
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Put aside your scriptures, O
Kabir, All the world reads, But reads in vain. If love’s divine pain has not sprung in your heart, futile are your efforts to meet the Lord through reading and reciting. *** Reading and reading men toil to death, But no one can thus become truly learned; He who reads the one word BELOVED is the truly Enlightened One. *** Wrap up your holy books, O Pandit, Make them your pillow and sleep with ease; That one word LOVE is not in your books. Discard them happily or with tears in your eyes— for they are futile. — Kabir
Granthavali, p.30: 3-4; Kabir Sakhi Sangraha, p.167:9 *** Spirituality is total freedom, total liberation inner and outer. Religion in its fullest flowering is total life from the inner to the outer. Religion is not religion if it is cribbed and confined in the temples, churches and mosques. Therefore peep within. Get connected to your inner core, to the inmost core of your being. And you will get connected to the Cosmic Being, you will reach out to the Divine. —Vijay Dayal
Maharaj, Manava Mandir 2000 *** In all the deeds that you perform, in all the individuals that you meet and in all the thoughts that you entertain you must see the Divine and act accordingly. —From the discourses of Sathya Sai Baba *** Who dies for his faith gains a Kingdom. —A Ukrainian proverb |
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returned to Goa recently for a commitment. It was very refreshing for me to return to the most beautiful part of India. At the airport I was greeted by some old taxi drivers who were there when I was traffic-in-charge in Goa. They and us (Goa Traffic Police) worked together to make a queue system for taxis at Goa airport. Till we did it, it was a free for all. Passengers were taken away by whoever could lure and hawk a passenger and then charge exorbitant taxi fare on reaching the destination. There were no fixed rates then by which the drivers were bound by.
FOLLOWING a fractured verdict in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly poll in which the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) won four seats, its chief Bhim Singh has been catapulted to the centre of media attention.