E D I T O R I A L   P A G E

EDITORIALS

Now a phone war
THE success of the new economic policy — privatisation-globalisation — is most visible in the telecommunication sector. Today a villager earning his livelihood in a city can easily contact his family members in a far-flung area through public call offices, unthinkable a decade ago. The introduction of cellular telephone services has taken the telecommunication revolution to a new height. With the entry of so many service providers, call rates are affordable by a vast section of the population.

Crumbling heritage
IT is sad that in spite of their relatively young age, many heritage buildings are going to seed. Be it the fort at Bathinda, the Quila Mubarak at Patiala, the Gole Kothi at Kapurthala, or the havelies in Amritsar and other towns, they all are an important part of the heritage of the state and in need of conservation. Because of the Punjab Chief Minister’s long association with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage it was expected that the focus would be on conserving the heritage sites of the state.

OPINION

Problem of border management
Need for involving local population
Gurbachan Jagat
SECURE borders are a sine quo non even when a country has no hostile neighbours. Strong fences make, they say, good neighbours. Secure borders mean both peace and good trade. But given the inimical nature of our one neighbour and apathy or incompetence to check cross-border infiltration by others, managing borders becomes the first defence of the country. Here we have not been very effective. So, the issue bothers both the politicians and the public alike as it does the security forces.

MIDDLE

Here a Bush, there a Bush, everywhere a B-B-B
Shriniwas Joshi
THE two nations, Pakistan and India, after 9/11, have transformed themselves from “hush-hush” Bush-Bush to “buzz-buzz” Bush-Bush. President Musharraf, who generally gets lost in darkness around the Line of Control and finds direction only with Dubyaman’s star-spangled rod, has been dubbed as President ‘Busharraf’ in his country.

POINT OF LAW

Sikh Gurdwaras Act and the legacy of non-violence
Anupam Gupta
MEMBERS of the Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission, ruled a five-member Full Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court last month in an illuminating majority judgement, interpreting the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925, do not hold office in perpetuity but for a term coterminous with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.

Delhi cops to let lovebirds romance
New Delhi: Lovebirds looking for a quiet corner in the Indian capital have reason to celebrate. Nosy cops will no longer play spoilsport. This is because Delhi Police have now issued an order saying that local policemen should not harass couples in public parks.

• ‘40 Licks’ from Rolling Stones

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

EDITORIALS

Now a phone war

THE success of the new economic policy — privatisation-globalisation — is most visible in the telecommunication sector. Today a villager earning his livelihood in a city can easily contact his family members in a far-flung area through public call offices (PCOs), unthinkable a decade ago. The introduction of cellular telephone services has taken the telecommunication revolution to a new height. With the entry of so many service providers, call rates are affordable by a vast section of the population. The rates have been constantly going down with the competition getting intense. But the most surprising thing is that it is the public sector giant — Bharat Sanchar Nigarm Limited — which is giving the private operators a run for their money. BSNL has become increasingly innovative, acquiring a greater competitive edge. Of course, this is mainly because of the presence of the private players in the field. But credit definitely goes to the public sector company for not allowing the private operators to get complacent. The latest challenge from BSNL has come in the GSM mobile telephone segment with the introduction of its CellOne country-wide service, inaugurated by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in Lucknow on Saturday. It is claimed to be the cheapest service provided anywhere in the world — a cell phone call costing as little as Rs 1.20 with a monthly rental of Rs 225 and a free all-India roaming facility. The user public is obviously happy at the development. The BSNL success story also shows that public sector undertakings are no inferior business organisations provided they are run strictly professionally and without governmental interference.

Cheaper rates are bound to boost economic activity in the country. But the service providers are unnerved. The cellular industry, in particular, has accumulated losses to the tune of Rs 7,700 crore, with the fixed line service providers experiencing very little subscriber growth. BSNL, according to one estimate, was expected to suffer a revenue loss of approximately Rs 2,000 crore in 2002-2003 before the launch of CellOne. This was a result of the December, 2001, tariff announcement made by Communications Minister Pramod Mahajan, effecting a 62.5 per cent cut in the long-distance fixed telephone call rates following a 50 per cent tariff reduction introduced by the private sector’s Bharti Telecom. It is possible that some of the revenue loss of BSNL may be offset by snatching business from the private sector companies if they fail to find a way to beat the public sector undertaking in the battle of enterprise. There is also the possibility of some of the operators disappearing from the scene. This is the ultimate result when the competition is ruthless. One has to either grow or perish. There is, no doubt, a great scope for growth. The number of mobile telephone users is multiplying with every passing day. The problem, however, is the revenue-sharing agreement that every service provider has to enter into with the government. The revenue share has been fixed at 12 per cent, which is the highest anywhere in the world. This needs to be reduced drastically to spur the growth of the cellular industry. 

Crumbling heritage

IT is sad that in spite of their relatively young age, many heritage buildings are going to seed. Be it the fort at Bathinda, the Quila Mubarak at Patiala, the Gole Kothi at Kapurthala, or the havelies in Amritsar and other towns, they all are an important part of the heritage of the state and in need of conservation. Because of the Punjab Chief Minister’s long association with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) it was expected that the focus would be on conserving the heritage sites of the state. To a certain extent, there has been some movement, insofar as there are efforts to conserve the Gole Kothi, which served as a palace for three maharajas of Kapurthala. The move to convert it into a museum is also laudable. It must be stressed that the government alone cannot and should not be held responsible for such upkeep. Dual use, or even multipurpose use, of such heritage buildings is absolutely necessary, since buildings have to be under use to remain alive. An unused building decays with a frightening speed. Using such a building as a canteen, which has been the fate of a sarai presented to Fakir Hussain by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Bharowal village, near Amritsar, is certainly not proper. The common perception is to treat such buildings as ruins, rather than heritage in ruins.

Many heritage buildings have beautiful frescoes that are not only invaluable examples of the region’s art but also a lively depiction of cultural and religious imagery. Be it the wall paintings at Baba Atal in Amritsar, at the samadhi of Kaladhari at Una, Pothimala at Guru Harsahai, the Krishna temple in Kishankot, or the one at Mansa Devi. It would not be an exaggeration to say the region abounds in such art. Unfortunately, most of them are either in a state of decay or have been “lovingly painted over with whitewash.” As if this were not horror enough, we have examples, especially in religious places, where “modernisation,” which essentially involves “marblisation,” has destroyed the originality and the beauty of many heritage sites. The wrong use of materials also contributes to decay and causes problems. There is an urgent need for increasing the awareness about such sites and involving NGOs and local people in maintaining them. These places must also generate revenue, and proper rules must be worked out to help the general public enjoy the experience of being in touch with rich past. Heritage tourism is also an answer, though not the only one. The need is to look conclusively at the various options available, study the working of foreign heritage bodies, like the National Trust in Great Britain and its counterparts in Europe and the USA, and benefit from their experience. While various efforts being undertaken now are laudable, a holistic approach is required to save the region’s heritage from crumbling.

OPINION

Problem of border management
Need for involving local population
Gurbachan Jagat

SECURE borders are a sine quo non even when a country has no hostile neighbours. Strong fences make, they say, good neighbours. Secure borders mean both peace and good trade. But given the inimical nature of our one neighbour and apathy or incompetence to check cross-border infiltration by others, managing borders becomes the first defence of the country. Here we have not been very effective. So, the issue bothers both the politicians and the public alike as it does the security forces. My own personal experience as chief of the police in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir and later Director-General, Border Security Force, has shown that we have not been able to manage our borders against unfriendly countries as effectively as we should. It is only after this admission that we can proceed to analyse what has gone wrong and what can be done to overcome the shortcomings.

The BSF and some other forces are responsible for the management of our borders, and the charter of duties given to them entails prevention of infiltration and smuggling as also giving a sense of confidence to the people living on the borders. The forces have, over the years, developed a system of management that basically entails a static border post, regular patrols, ambushes, etc. This is a system that has stood the test of time in normal periods when we have more or less friendly neighbours. It is a system that, in ordinary times, does well to prevent small-scale trafficking in human beings and smuggling of the contraband. Even these tasks become difficult to perform when multinational mafias indulge in high-level smuggling of drugs.

The main thrust has to be to secure our borders, which have unfriendly neighbours who are bent upon systematic infiltration of men and weaponry, other logistical resources with the avowed policy of snatching our areas or destabilising the country as a whole. The Pakistani strategy does not confine itself to Jammu and Kashmir but extends to the rest of India with balkanisation of this country being the strategic objective. Although we may rightly think, at present, that the concentration is on J&K, gradually the tentacles of the enemy are spreading to other areas of the country and the results are visible.

A hard look at the modus operandi used by Pakistan shows a distinct pattern.

• Pick up the boys having the right mindset for carrying out their objective;
• give them basic fanatical motivation in some educational institution;
• train them in regular and irregular training camps set up in different countries bordering India. This training would include arms training, tactical operational training, development of leadership potential, and training to operate in a hostile environment;
• infiltration of these trained cadres from various points into India;
• making available enough arms and ammunition by establishing dumps at various places inside India;
• establishing local liaison units to help the foreigners with logistics and knowledge of the terrain;
• establish them in small groups with minimal local representation and assigning particular areas to them for operations;
• set up a very sound modern multifaceted communication system which enables each member to be always able to reach his mentors;
• giving constant guidance to them regarding targets and tactics;
• recalling them to their bases after a fixed tour of duty and infiltrating fresh recruits in order to make up the deficiencies of those recalled or killed;
• inducing favourable demographic changes on the borders.

The writer is a former Director-General, Border Security Force.

MIDDLE

Here a Bush, there a Bush, everywhere a B-B-B
Shriniwas Joshi

THE two nations, Pakistan and India, after 9/11, have transformed themselves from “hush-hush” Bush-Bush to “buzz-buzz” Bush-Bush. President Musharraf, who generally gets lost in darkness around the Line of Control and finds direction only with Dubyaman’s star-spangled rod, has been dubbed as President ‘Busharraf’ in his country.

As far as our beloved motherland is concerned, the great George W. Bush has eagle eyes on two wanted ministries here. And providentially, the moon is made of green cheese for him, the names of the ministers running these ministries happen to be Bush Want Sinha and Bush Want Singh. Dubya’s invisible hand, besides the two named above, is also felt knocking the desks of other ministries too. That is why the nursery rhyme that one may hear today in the corridors of North and South Blocks is.

“Old Vajpayee had a Government;

Eeya, Eeya, O!

In that Government he had some Ministers;

Here a Bush; there a Bush;

Everywhere a Bush, Bush, Bush;

Eeya, Eeya, O!”

Chaturanan Mishra, ex Agriculture Minister, had once admitted that in India the de-facto Agriculture Minister was Mr Monsoon and those who took the oath of Office had de-jure powers only. Could this statement, mutatis mutandis, be applied to Dubya and the drafters of our financial and foreign policies? People think so. Because Bushji is so high in confidence after his bold stroke in Afghanistan that he has started measuring other people’s corn by his BUSHel. Surjit-Yechuri combine gets upset by all this and openly say that Bush is a bush and not a bear. But our Prime Minister uses the liberty to poetic licence and reads with Shakespeare:

“The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen/Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing/A local habitation and a name.... In the night imagining some fear/How easy is a Bush suppos’d a bear.” This despite the fact that Americans feel that their President looks more like a chimpanzee than a bear or human being and have developed a website www.BushorChimp.com

A different network called bush telegraph has just decoded that Bush has special interest in Himachal Pradesh and that in the elections round the corner, George Walker Bush has full support for Virbhadra Singh.

It is because Virbhadra is ex Prince of ex BushHahr State.

POINT OF LAW

Sikh Gurdwaras Act and the legacy of non-violence
Anupam Gupta

MEMBERS of the Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission, ruled a five-member Full Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court last month in an illuminating majority judgement, interpreting the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925, do not hold office in perpetuity but for a term coterminous with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

While thus promoting the de-feudalisation of institutions by ruling out life tenures, the September 13 verdict effects also the “provincialisation” of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, overturning an earlier Full Bench decision of 1970 that had contributed to its over-centralisation.

It is rare, indeed, that a Bench of five Judges is constituted by the High Court to sit in judgement on any matter. And rarer still that such a Bench is constituted to examine a law that so vitally affects Punjab’s past, present and future as the Sikh Gurdwaras Act.

Described by Sardul Singh Caveeshar as the “Third Sikh War” and hailed by Richard Fox as the “largest and longest application of the Gandhian programme of satyagraha or non-violent resistance”, the Gurdwara Reform Movement of the 1920s — the movement which culminated in the adoption of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act — is one of the most inspiring chapters in Sikh and Punjab history.

Preceded by abortive talks in April-May, 1924, between the Sikh members of the Punjab Legislative Council (acting in consultation with the leaders of the Gurdwara Reform Movement detained in Lahore Fort) and the Commander-in-Chief, Northern Command, General (later Field Marshal) Sir William Birdwood, and the product finally of negotiations revived in November, 1924, by the Punjab Governor, Sir Malcolm Hailey, through the Deputy Commissioners of Lahore and Amritsar and conducted for almost five months, the Sikh Gurdwaras Act is perhaps the only law of its kind anywhere in the world.

Sikhism, wrote one of its foremost scholars, Prof W.H. McLeod, in 1988, is yet to develop a theology of its own in the proper, technical sense of the term.

Some major studies devoted to the analysis and presentation of the Sikh tradition have been produced, which have exercised a determinative influence on the intellectual understanding of Sikhism ever since. Notable examples are the various Adi Granth commentaries, and the works of Kahn Singh Nabha, Prof Teja Singh and Bhai Vir Singh.

But a “theology of Sikhism,” said McLeod, “integrated and comprehensive, has yet to be written.”

The validity of such academic reflections is a matter of debate, even controversy, the occasional acrimony of the debate being a part of the controversy. As McLeod himself acknowledged in 1996, in an essay on Sikhism’s most famous exponent vis-a-vis the English-speaking world, Max Arthur Macauliffe: “The Sikh religion is a unique religion and the Khalsa represents its true form. Any attempt to demonstrate that the situation is rather more complicated than this must expect to encounter rugged opposition.”

There is no doubt, however, that the unique ecclesiastical institution — the SGPC — sanctified by the Sikh Gurdwaras Act has, whether we like it or not, played a central and (but for the period overtaken by militancy) dominating role in Sikh affairs since 1925.

“With the statutory sanction it has and with the periodical elections duplicating in every detail parliamentary processes,” observes the late Prof Harbans Singh in his book The Heritage of the Sikhs, “the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee is a unique ecclesiastical institution. Although it is meant for purely religious purposes, the electoral procedure governing its structure imparts to its affairs a permanent political interest and makes it liable to factional antagonisms.”

That is a remarkably precise formulation with a near juristic flavour and would be difficult to improve upon, even though Khushwant Singh, in his A History of the Sikhs, has given us other, more popular expressions.

The SGPC has, he says, concluding the chapter on Gurdwara Reform, “become a sort of parliament of the Sikhs”, and “a government within the government”, its control being the focal point of Sikh politics.

Understandable in itself — for politics, especially contemporary politics, both unduly attracts and unduly repels — the general pre-occupation with the “politics” of the SGPC and the deteriorating standard of such politics has resulted unfortunately in the Gurdwara Reform Movement of the 1920s remaining shrouded in historical obscurity and its message of non-violence being completely forgotten.

“There has been something far greater in this event than a mere dispute about land and property,” wrote the Reverend C.F. Andrews in The Tribune in September, 1922, after witnessing the Guru-ka-Bagh morcha (the high watermark of the Gurdwara Reform Movement) near Amritsar.

“It has gone,” he said, “far beyond the technical questions of legal possession or distraint. A new heroism, learnt through suffering, has arisen in the land. A new lesson in moral warfare has been taught to the world.”

So powerful was this lesson, and so inspiring, that a year later in September, 1923, arrested and locked up in Nabha Jail for making common cause with the Akalis in the Jaito morcha (the next phase of the movement), an emotional Jawaharlal Nehru exclaimed:

“I rejoice that I am being tried for a cause which the Sikhs have made their own. I was in jail when the Guru-ka-Bagh struggle was gallantly fought and won by the Sikhs. I marvelled at the courage and sacrifice of the Akalis and wished that I could be given an opportunity of showing my deep admiration of them by some form of service. That opportunity has now been given to me and I earnestly hope that I shall prove worthy of their high tradition and fine courage.”

This was not mere rhetoric, mind you, as some cynic might tend to believe, and even though an anxious Motilal Nehru, visiting his son in jail with the special permission of the Government of India, toned down with the “cold pen of a lawyer” the draft defence statement which Jawaharlal proposed to read at his trial (ending with the tribute to the Akalis quoted above).

As Jawaharlal’s biographer and noted historian, S. Gopal tells us, the Congress’ interest in the Gurdwara Reform Movement was not because the Congress had always been looking for a party of physical force to replace their own “somewhat backboneless agitation” (as Sir Malcolm Hailey later suggested), but because, influenced by Gandhi’s leadership of the Non-Cooperation Movement, the Sikhs had pledged themselves to non-violence and they abode by their pledge despite severe provocation.

“We are glad that on these points our views coincide with yours”, wrote the SGPC to Mahatma Gandhi on April 20, 1924, replying at length to his letter of April 4. “Satyagraha is to be practised in the spirit of perfect non-violence. ...We have been successful in carrying it out into practice and it is a source of great satisfaction to us that the public, on all occasions, has acknowledged our doing so. Our experience of this method has strengthened our faith in it and our adherence to it.”

“Our movement (said the SGPC) is neither anti-Hindu nor anti-any other race or creed. Though essentially religious in spirit and objectives, it is thoroughly national in outlook. We have, therefore, all along endeavoured to carry with us the sympathy, approval and good wishes of all that is best in India or elsewhere; and we take pride in the fact that we have been successful in it.”

Reproduced in full by Dr Ganda Singh, the patriarch of Sikh historiography, in Some Confidential Papers of the Akali Movement edited by him and published in 1965, this letter of the SGPC, dispelling the Mahatma’s reservations on several counts (including the communal implications of the Gurdwara Reform Movement) is a document of the highest importance.

It would be unfair, of course, to expect the Full Bench, or any other Bench in any other matter, to delve so deeply into history nor perhaps would the principles of statutory interpretation established by the courts over the years permit such an “academic” pursuit.

But so critical for Sikh affairs and for public life in the region generally is the working of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act that, for once, history becomes as indispensable a tool for enlightened understanding of the law as jurisprudence itself.

More on the Full Bench next week.

TRENDS & POINTERS

Delhi cops to let lovebirds romance

New Delhi: Lovebirds looking for a quiet corner in the Indian capital have reason to celebrate. Nosy cops will no longer play spoilsport. This is because Delhi Police have now issued an order saying that local policemen should not harass couples in public parks.

“We have issued clear instructions that couples should not unnecessarily be harassed,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Mukesh Meena has said.

Lovebirds in this crowded city rarely get a secluded spot to sit and talk or just gaze into each other’s eyes. While public parks provide the isolation, couples frequenting these places are often troubled by policemen, who haul them up or ask for bribes.

“A friend of mine had gone with some others to a park in New Delhi. They were generally enjoying themselves — talking and laughing — and they did not realise that it was quite late. While they were coming out, a policeman stopped them,” said Swati Bisht, a college student. IANS

‘40 Licks’ from Rolling Stones

New Delhi: The rubber lips of Mick Jagger and the ricocheting guitar strains of Keith Richards blazed amid neon lights and thundering stereos as fans celebrated the Rolling Stones not gathering moss even after 40 years.

Clapping wildly and often with lusty cheers, about 100 fans of one of the most popular rock outfits sat on high stools and tall-back sofas in a large pub-cum- discotheque here to experience the music and videos of the Rolling Stones.

It was called the “40 Licks” experience after the band’s latest album. Images from some of the Rolling Stones’ biggest and craziest tours flashed across the screen and the disc jockey (DJ) sported a “40 Licks” T-shirt showing a yellow, green and red protruding tongue.

This is the biggest Rolling Stone do ever in New Delhi. IANS

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

Desire is never extinguished by the enjoyment of desired objects; it only grows stronger like a fire (fed) with clarified butter.

The teacher is ten times more venerable than a sub-teacher, the father a hundred times more than the teacher, but the mother a thousand times more than the father.

He who possesses faith may receive pure learning even from a man of lower caste, the highest law even from the lowest and excellent wife even from a base family.

Even from poison nectar may be taken, even from a child good advice, even from a foe a lesson in good conduct and even from impure (substance) gold.

Teaching (and studying) is the sacrifice offered to the Brahmanas the (offerings of water and food called) tarpana, the sacrifice to the manes, the burnt oblations to the gods, the Bali offering to the Bhutas, and the hospitable reception of guests, the offering to men.

But he who does not feed these five, the gods, his guests, those whom he is bound to maintain, the mane, and himself, lives not though he breathes.

An oblation duly thrown into the fire, reaches the Sun; from sun comes rain, from rain, food, therefrom the living creatures (derive their subsistence).

Let the Brahmin say what is true, let him say what is pleasing, let him utter no agreeable falsehood; that is the Eternal Law.

Everything that depends on others (gives) pain, everything that depends on oneself (gives) pleasure; know that this is the short definition of pleasure and pain.

—The Manusmriti