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Wednesday,
April 9, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Quibbling over words Garland or millstone? Malaysian balm for IT staff |
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The US ‘shock and awe’ tactics
Seasonal favours
Political parties ruffled by early poll scare
Is low self-esteem an excuse for self-pity?
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Quibbling over words THE global community is now discussing the interim arrangement in Baghdad after the US-led regime change. But our lawmakers, true to their style of waking up late, found themselves virtually speechless in condemning American unilateralism or the killing of women and children by nervous coalition troops! When the government chose to speak, it tied itself up in knots by raking up the sensitive issue of pre-emptive strike against Pakistan based on the Iraqi model. Pakistan has used stronger language for justifying similar action against India. The Indian political class does not seem to understand the compulsions of realpolitik. America has invaded Iraq because 12 years of UN sanctions have broken President Saddam Hussein's back. His troops could offer only token resistance and are being praised for that. Of course, when it comes to discussing US actions that violate all rules of global fair play, ordinary nations usually take an ambivalent position, that is best described as being "neither here nor there". That is what the Indian leadership did. It extended support to Iraq and its people and called for an early end to the unjustified war. But it merely deplored the US action. The two Houses of Parliament could not find the right words to express the collective view of the members when American troops invaded Iraq on March 19. They failed yet again to find an appropriate expression on the resumption of the Budget session on Monday for the action that has created a humanitarian crisis in Iraq. Just about every shade of political opinion had kind words for Mr Saddam Hussein, but not a single harsh word for President George W. Bush and his sidekick Prime Minister Tony Blair was allowed by the ruling coalition. The man on the street across the globe has shown more guts than leaders who are supposed to express the will of the people. The debate in Parliament over adopting a resolution on the US invasion of Iraq was a verbal journey from the absurd to the ridiculous. Members agreed to use the word “ninda” in the Hindi version of the proposed resolution. What our lawmakers overlook is that American leaders will have every word uttered in any language on the Iraq invasion translated for giving suitable reward to their “pals” and punishment to their “enemies”. There should be no confusion on this point. President Bush in one of his fire-spitting speeches after 9\11 had said that “those who are with us we shall treat as our pals, and those who oppose us shall be treated as our enemies”. In any case, a resolution by the Indian Parliament at this late stage even in the harshest of language is only going to evoke laughter. Instead, the leadership should look ahead and ensure for the country a major role in the rebuilding of Iraq. That would be a more positive gesture than condemning American action 20 days after the invasion. |
Garland or millstone? EVEN as the Task Force on Interlinking River Waters headed by former minister Suresh Prabhu is busy in formulating various strategies to implement the scheme, there are apprehensions among various sections on the efficacy and success of the scheme. Some of these fears are genuine. Questions have been raised on the very relevance and practicability of this gigantic scheme. From where will the funds come to execute the project? Thousands of crores of rupees will have to be sunk in. Funds apart, some state governments are also opposing the scheme for their own reasons. Water is, no doubt, a national asset. But it is also a question of sentiment and emotion. States like Bihar and Assam are unwilling to join hands with the Centre on this project. Even Orissa and Karnataka have expressed reservations. There is a general impression that the Centre has revived the idea, mooted by the late Union Minister for Irrigation, Dr
K.L.Rao, only with a view to resolving the Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Notwithstanding the Centre’s good intentions, what it amounts to is finding a big solution for a small problem. Clearly, doubts would not have arisen had the Centre tried to carry out the job in a methodical manner. The fact that no feasibility studies worth the name were carried out before launching this scheme is certainly cause for concern. Moreover, the entire scheme is riddled with imponderables and uncertainties. The target of executing the scheme — 2012 — fixed by the Supreme Court is as elusive as the dynamics of the project. The issue in question is why should not the Centre, in close cooperation with states, explore the possibility of evolving alternative methods of resolving the recurring problems of flood, drought and drinking water. The Centre should concentrate on methods like rainwater harvesting and reviving dried up ponds, rivulets, wells besides moulding the crop pattern. Some of these schemes have been successfully executed, for instance, by Magsaysay Award winner Rajendra Singh’s NGO, Jal
Biradari, in Rajasthan. People will have to be closely involved in programmes such as this. Sadly, there is no awareness among the people on water conservation. Every drop of water saved will help meet the ultimate goal of resolving the problem of water shortage. It is a nice idea to impound flooded water in the Brahmaputra, the
Mahanadi, and the Subarnarekha and divert it to water-deficit states like Tamil Nadu. But how will it ever be executed is a million-dollar question. Instead of going ahead with gigantic schemes such as the interlinking of river waters, the Centre ought to give serious consideration to location-specific projects to control floods and drought. |
Malaysian balm for IT staff THE Indian IT industry would welcome the Malaysian authorities' action against six police officers who did not follow proper procedures when they rounded up over 200 Indian IT workers last month. The arrests had sparked off strong reactions from the Indian industry. Even the Indian government raised the matter at the highest level. Thanks to this unusual display of support for its nationals by South Block, a prompt apology came from the Malaysian authorities who have now taken the erring policemen to task. The Malaysian action is in contrast to the move of the Indonesian government that had stonewalled initial Indian interventions on behalf of Mr Arun K Jain, CEO of Polaris. He had been detained by the Indonesian police following a complaint from a local bank. Again, it took a major Indian diplomatic initiative to sort out the muddle and to have Mr Jain released. The latest arrest that has shaken up the Indian IT industry is that of Senthil Kumar, CEO of the Dutch subsidiary of the Indian software company, I-Flex. Mr Kumar, who was arrested in London, is alleged to have violated the visa rules of the Netherlands. There is no doubt that these incidents have come in quick succession, and there are conspiracy theorists who see some kind of a hidden hand behind them. That is not correct. The Indian software industry is a recent player in the global market, and it has to learn that the local laws and even sensibilities have to be kept in focus, if it has to do business there. Given the worldwide downswing in IT, it is natural that protectionist tendencies have arisen wherever there are foreign workers. This has particularly hit the Indian IT workers, because one of the attractions of hiring workers from India has always been that they are better and their services cost less. However, when any economy takes a downturn and protectionism comes to the fore, foreign workers are the first to be targeted by the local labour unions. The initiative taken by top Indian IT companies that have recruited native IT engineers in Australia is to be lauded as it will surely help in making the “foreign” companies more acceptable. Indian companies need not entirely be Indian-manned; they should have the right mixture of the best talent available, Indian and foreign, both in terms of workers and managerial staff. As for safeguarding the interests of Indian workers abroad, the government and the industry have to work together in order to ensure that they get full protection and help from Indian diplomatic missions. The industry must, however, ensure proper understanding and compliance of various laws by the Indian IT specialists sent abroad to work there. |
The US ‘shock and awe’ tactics THE investigation of political ideologies leads to the understanding of the subterranean agenda of a government. Therefore, the study of political ideologies becomes a major focus for political analysis that reveals the strategies employed for “manufacturing consent” with the sole aim of maintenance of a particular way of life. Spin doctoring, image management and media manipulation are geared to influence the public opinion for the so-called legitimacy of its state policies. The changing role and nature of ideologies in politics and the exploration of the practical manifestations of ideological frameworks in public policy throws light on the forms of political thinking that take place in a society. How ideology works becomes clear from the statement made by Antol Lieven, senior associate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC: the Bush administration’s efforts conform to “the classic modern strategy of an endangered right-wing oligarchy, which is to divert mass discontent into nationalism” through widespread sense of foreboding of external enemies. The fear is false and the desire to dominate the world is the only motivation. Military superiority gives it the confidence of a state apparatus that can enable the country to rule the world without any “peer competitor” or antagonists.. It is clear that the Republican ideology here convinces the people of the urgency of a war, which is nothing but a diversionary tactic to supersede the sagging economy with the war at a time when the congressional elections are around the corner. Chomsky maintains that “Ever since the September 11 attacks, Republicans have used the terrorist threat as a pretext to push a right-wing political agenda”. The imperial ambition of acquiring the rich oil wealth of Iraq as well as Iraq’s geopolitical strategic significance goes back to the forties, and 9/11 has given the US the impetus to execute the long cherished goals. People begin to believe that there is a threat from Iraq, and the administration through the media control goes ahead with the public approval to destroy Mr Saddam Hussein, notwithstanding the fallout of a terrorist retaliation and the “possibility of a nuclear Armageddon”. The warning “that US adventurism would lead to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as terror, for deterrence or revenge” has gone unheeded. And the threat posed by Saddam is fiction considering Iraq’s depleted economic and military strength over the last decade. In all probability, it is the weakest nation in the Middle-East and the neighbours harbour no worries about any future threat from Iraq. Undoubtedly, Saddam was far more dangerous when Reagan backed him in the past, and now the same strategists in the Bush camp want to hound him owing to an altered agenda. A potential humanitarian disaster has been no deterrence to a war. Chomsky is of the view that war is avoidable, “unless reasons have been offered that have overwhelming force. And surely nothing remotely like that justification has come forward.” The past sins and follies of Saddam are now forgiven and he rises as an unchallenged hero for the Iraqis. There have been no uprisings against him. Contrary to expectations, the Shias have not revolted in the South, nor have the Kurds attacked from the north. And the coalition’s optimism that thousands would come forth to garland the western forces has been ill-founded. The role of the Iraqi defenders has wiped out the sense of lingering humiliation in the Muslim world owing to American self-importance and condescension. Saddam’s defiance overpowers his image of a tyrannical ruler. As Ayaz Amir writes in Dawn: ‘This is a war being fought on two fronts simultaneously: in the killing fields of Iraq and the hearts and minds of the Muslim world. Whatever the outcome of the first battle, Saddam has already won the second. His tyranny and brutality lie forgotten, his courage under fire and his defiance the only things registering with Muslims the world over. He goes on to argue that this is a similar case to the one in World War II when Stalin defied Hitler, “and led the Red Army to victory over Germany, he became a hero to his people.” Umm Qasr and Nasiriyah were not easy to take over and the American rationalising that they were only in need of a small corridor through Nasiriyah has to be taken with a pinch of salt. So far there has been no sign of the Iraqi forces capitulating on the western media. No Iraqi soldiers have been foolish enough to become easy targets for the advanced technological weaponry of the West. The Republican forces have simply melted away, raising the suspense of a lull before the storm. The western forces are cautious and know that the battle for Baghdad is not going to be a cakewalk. Though the media has been reporting that the coalition forces have entered Baghdad, there are no signs of it, and the scenes from inside the city are absolutely placid and indicate normal movement of daily life. Missile attacks are of no worry to the general public or the Iraq forces. The “embedded” journalists are of no help in getting anywhere near the truth. Contradictory pictures of Saddam appearing confident and unperturbed in public and the Western media’s reports of encircling the capital only exacerbates the psychological war. The valour of the Iraqi army goes unreported and is instead termed as terrorism. As Ayaz Amir puts it very succinctly, “Goliath’s brutality is kosher. David’s fighting back is terrorism.” The “cottage industry of lies” is all that goes to build a propaganda that ignores any moral or ethical values so inherent for instance in the ancient Homeric wars. It is intriguing that the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Conference have not raised a joint voice against the war. The oil supply to the aggressor from the Arab world continues and so does the use of air space. On the other hand, part of the European Union has robustly stood against the coalition and Pope John Paul has criticised the war. Public opinion at home and abroad is divided. The “shock and awe” tactics have only resulted in the death of thousands of civilians. And at the end of three weeks, it is Mr Bush and Mr Blair who seem to be hassled, whereas the Iraqi leadership remains nonchalant, even though the coalition forces have gradually crept into the heart of their capital. We need to be at the moment concerned about what is happening in our societies, concerned about what kind of culture is emerging in the West as a result of the war on terror. Is it that the US government is subterraneously enforcing a permanent emergency at home through this paranoia of external threat? Is it that the real target of the “war on terror” is the disciplining of the emancipatory excesses in American society itself? Can we sympathise for America, when its arrogance has been so provocative, seen in the statement made by Mr Bush to the people of America on October 12, 2001: “How do I respond when I see that in some Islamic countries there is vitriolic hatred for America? I’ll tell you how I respond: I’m amazed. I just can’t believe it because I know how good we are.” The writer is Professor, Department of English, Panjab University, Chandigarh |
Seasonal favours HAVING become wiser due to an occurrence that took place about a year back, I did not approach the authorities for a seasonal favour this winter, despite its bone-chilling intensity. It so happened that in January last, I flied a formal request with the officials concerned with pruning and maintenance of flora, since tall eucalyptus trees blocked the sun on my roof that largely remained in shade that was cool enough to kill, with even the slightest stirring of breeze if you happened to be there. One full month rolled over when I thought it prudent to remind the department concerned since sarkari people attach much importance to a booster-catalyst in the form of a reminder. Nothing moved till I turned the February leaf on the calendar. I shot off another reminder followed by a telephone pleading, in a mild and meeky pitch after the fashion of the beggars near Sai Mandir on the Lodhi Road. My efforts paid dividends when at noontime, when I had come home for lunch, an overseer ably attended by a foreman of the horticulture department visited our roof, for what they called a spot inspection (normally the cops indulge in that game very often). Convinced, they went back with a promise that prompt action would follow. Nothing happened even during the month of March. The All Fools’ Day last year was quite warm when I received a call from my father. He asked us to join him for Baisakhi celebrations since we couldn’t visit the village on Holi that season. We spent about a fortnight with father, going for a stroll in the fields and bathing almost daily twice a day in the cold water in the nearby canal to beat the heat of April. After attending the Baisakhi festival around the middle of Eliot’s “cruelest month” and having seen the wheat ripen, on my lands back home, we came back to Delhi, only to find the surprise that was in store for us. There were about half a dozen men, like the vanar-sainiks of Lord Hanuman in Ashok Vatika where Sitaji was held captive, atop the eucalyptus trees, with axes, saws and halberds, performing a very neat and clinical job of chopping the branches that extended like our neighbourly country Pakistan’s ever soliciting loan-arm to the US, to my roof. These were to provide me with the much needed cool shade when, I thought, I would sit in the mornings, sipping tea from my cuppa and enjoy reading the newspapers. “Hey! You fellas! Stop that!” I barked at those who were responsible for not only robbing me of my sunshine during the winters but were hell-bent on depriving me of my cool shade in the ensuing summers as well, but to no avail. When I took up the issue with the leader of the gang and told him that pruning was not required anymore then, he quipped: “But you are supposed to inform us in time, sir!” “Do they collect their salary of the month six months later than when it becomes due?” I kept wondering and grumbling with four-letter words coming to my mind in gay abundance. I felt like someone whose molar was extricated when the dentist was supposed to take the canine tooth out.
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Political parties ruffled by early poll scare THE puzzle expressed two weeks back in these columns seems resolved. It has been the scare of an early Lok Sabha polls that has ruffled the two major political formations into the election gear. Their immediate worry is the assembly elections this year in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi. But they have also simultaneously launched poll preparations all over India on a war footing. In the normal course, we have a year and half left for the general election. However, the opposition fears that in case the BJP fares better in at least two of the four states this year, it may try to advance the Lok Sabha election to February-March. Ruling parties resort to such standard practices to take advantage of a favourable political mood. In such an eventuality, the Opposition will be left with hardly a few months to face the general election. Incidentally, the BJP camp also nurses similar fears. If the Congress retains the four states, an unsympathetic Election Commission could create a Gujarat-like confrontation. As the flurry of activity assumes a feverish pitch, nothing is being left out. The idea is to hit the rivals where it hurts most. New campaign themes hitherto dismissed as obsolete are getting wide acceptance. First about the Congress. The party is undergoing basic shifts. Those who have ben resisting aggressive policies and wanted to maintain the gentleman image before the “international community” are rapidly being sidelined. All that will be of no use if the party has to sit in the Opposition for another five years. Therefore, the Congress should shed its old baggage and adopt offensive postures without being obstinate. The go-it-alone policy lobby within the Congress is getting extinct. Even Mr Pranab Mukherjee now concedes the inevitability of coalitions at the Centre. There are no takers for the earlier thesis that the Congress will first have to recover the vast regions like UP, Bihar, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu (220 Lok Sabha seats). To wait for it will mean sitting in the Opposition at least until 2010, a proposition so frustrating for power-drive parties like the Congress and the post-1988 BJP. Hence the Congress has finally reconciled to trying for viable alliances in these areas without much sacrificing its identity and even while strengthening its organisation. It takes consolation from a similar kind of stagnation being faced by the BJP in all these four states. On this score, there seems to be a difference in emphasis between the two parties. While the BJP is ready to go to any extent to grab bulk of the 85 UP seats by keeping Ms Mayawati in good humour — even at the cost of its caste base — at the moment the Congress would not fritter away its energies on alliance talks. Instead, the party will concentrate on its own strongholds and think of a coalition if the numbers work out. As of now the Congress has fairly durable state-level tieups in Kerala, Maharashtra and Bihar. The calculation in the Congress is that political pragmatism will force even Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav not to repeat the 1998 fiasco. The latter will have to counter a BJP-BSP tieup by one with the Congress and others. On the other, the BJP has to depend on the strength of its provincial allies in at least 10 states. The NDA has two dozen outfits. This explains the BJP's allout efforts to woo the allies wherever possible. Also, the Congress no more considers Ms Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin a serious hurdle. She will be the party's mascot and it will not accept any one else as the Congress Parliamentary Party leader. But as against the NDA projecting Mr Vajpayee as its unique selling point, the Congress’ emphasis will be on its own programmes and performance of its state governments. If Mr Vajpayee finally manages to retain his majority, the question of foreign origin would not arise at all. On the other, if the Opposition has the numbers with the Congress making an impressive show in its strongholds, the legitimacy row will vanish into thin air. Political history, as in war, is written by the victor like Mr Murli Manohar Joshi literally rewriting Indian history through the text books. When Ms Indira Gandhi got popular endorsement in 1980, all emergency commissions and court cases became a butt of ridicule even though the basic fact of their being anti-democratic remained. It is the voters' approval that matters, not fairness and truth. That is how police informers and those who had written apology to the British rulers during the freedom struggle have got recognition as national heroes. The “garibi” campaign of the Congress also marks a major shift in its posture. It no more talks of the “BJP implementing our programme”. Opposition to economic reform the world over is proportionately related to the respective political party's distance from power. The Congress is well away from power at the Centre and hence it can afford to deride it and arouse the people’s ire. What the party’s backroom boys have been saying are now being confirmed by the feedback from the block and tehsil level workers. During the Himachal elections, mention to the elitist bias of reform had brought instant responses. The same song was repeated by worker after worker at the recent block-level Congress leaders' meet in Delhi. Apparently, every section feels frustrated at the failure of reform to improve their lot. Congress strategies feel that a pledge to give a pro-poor tilt to the economic policy within the broad framework of reform will impress large sections, including the middle class. Once the “garibi ke sath” slogan picks up, even those now deride it will follow suit. For this purpose, the Congress plans block-level workers’ conferences in states. For the first time in the past five years, the Congress has begun talking in terms of offensive campaigns. A 13-page charge-sheet in Hindi citing the BJP government's misdeeds and charges of corruption was held back at the last moment. They will now be expanded to include new points and presented in a different format in time for the election campaign. The overall Congress game plan is to launch an all-out offensive against the Vajpayee government citing facts and figures on the “damage and humiliation” its policies had done to the nation. The BJP, apart from issues of religious divide, has a two-level thematic approach. For the four assembly elections this year, the party is confident that the anti-incumbency feelings against the Congress governments — as it had worked in Himachal — will come to the party's rescue. It strategy planners argue that even if this does not occur, a failure at assembly polls does not necessarily mean a defeat in parliament elections. It flaunts previous instances to prove that the voters had opted for a different party in Lok Sabha polls with stability credentials. With the election phobia gripping the politicians unusually early, normal administrative and policy parameters have begun yielding to short-term considerations. We have an 'election-oriented' budget a year and half before the elections. Every administrative decision, whether under the BJP or Opposition governments in states, is being taken on the calculations as to how will it affect the ruling party's fortunes. This is what should cause public concern. |
Is low self-esteem an excuse for self-pity? IF only we liked ourselves more, we could get that promotion, ask that person out, stop beating ourselves up, be better, happier, more functional people. This is surely the mantra of the moment. Low self-esteem has become public enemy number one. The Department of Health for Wales believes building self-esteem will prevent child prostitution, while the Prime Minister recently blamed damaged self-esteem as much as poverty for social exclusion. With such an impressive list of references, no wonder so many ordinary people are walking into counsellors’ offices and complaining of low self-esteem. A lot of ineffectual, unhelpful and positively hazardous notions about low self-esteem and the treatment of it abound. Self-help books, for example, suggest standing in front of the mirror and chanting improving mantras. It sounds logical, but seldom works in practice because we demand proof, not just empty words. The next option is to turn to your partner for help, but all too often this catapults a couple into conflict. It is a very short step from `I didn’t feel loved enough as a child,’ to `You don’t love me enough.’ Low self-esteem becomes the justification for outrageous behaviour - normally an affair. Sufferers often view themselves as a victim - normally of their upbringing - which makes it harder for them to take control of their lives and change. Is low self-esteem just an excuse for self-pity and endless self-indulgence, possibly incorporating hours of me-time languishing in bubble baths? Maybe low self-esteem is a by-product of our self-obsessed society.’ Previous generations were taught to put others first and would have laughed at the idea of low self-esteem. ` Should we retreat behind the traditional stiff upper lip and count our blessings? Should we launch ourselves into charitable works? This might work for some people. Maybe a positive self-image is like happiness - in that it slips through your fingers whenever you aim for it. Could both be side effects of a balanced life, where you consider not just personal needs, but your family and the wider community? The Guardian |
God alone knows the Truth about everything. Most often our judgement is entirely wrong. When we realise this, we repent. Our suspicious thoughts give us no rest. They harass the mind again and again. Therefore, trust in God and leave everything in His hands. Have faith in Him. You will then enjoy unbroken peace —Swami Shivananda, Peace Your Birthright. |
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