 |
Tuesday,
April 22, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
|
PMT racket Family court’s limits Belling the (big) cat |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The crisis of governance
Pla(n)tonic love
Ifs & buts of gilding the Golden Temple Work of
a composite mind
A matter
of fat
|
PMT racket THE dimensions and the ramifications of the PMT entrance test racket take one’s breath away. The large-scale leakage of papers should rank in the same category as the infamous PPSC scam. If the candidates who greased the palms of Ravi Sidhu made it to the administrative branch of the state without any merit, those who bought the entrance test paper for a whopping Rs 11 lakh or more, allegedly from an Akali leader and rice miller of Sirhind, Devinder Singh, alias Pappu, were on their way to becoming doctors. What doctors of such dubious distinction can do to their patients goes without saying. Worse, such doctors are bound to make good their “investment” many times over when they join the profession. That means that the seeds of corruption were sown early in their life. From preliminary reports, it appears that the scandal was not confined to Punjab alone but was in operation in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana as well. It was a well-oiled operation indeed, involving politicians, CBSE officials and middlemen. While the Amritsar police deserves kudos for unearthing it, there is need for proceeding with extreme diligence. Since the persons involved are well-connected, they may move heaven and earth to prove their “innocence”. Only a water-tight case can nail them. Senior CBSE officials are said to be involved. It will be necessary to launch a nationwide hunt to unearth the truth. It is logical to suspect that their avarice may not be confined to the PMT alone. Other examinations might have been similarly vitiated. While the middlemen held in Amritsar are said to be duping the candidates for the past two years, a responsible IMA office-bearer has said that such a racket had been going on for about a decade. That makes it even worse. Quite a few candidates must have made it to medical colleges merely through money power. They deprived meritorious candidates of their seats. They are also a potential threat to society because their medical education might have been equally dubious. Only if their degrees are taken away will the right message go to those who continue to swear by the backdoor route to success and prosperity. The decision to release a fresh set of papers for the entrance test scheduled for April 27 is a step in the right direction. Equally important is the need to focus on the tests which have taken place in the past. |
| Family court’s limits THE Family Court Act was passed in 1984 for helping estranged couples resolve their differences through professional
counselling. The primary objective of family courts is to help the couples identify the source of friction in their matrimonial relationship so that they can take remedial measures instead of the extreme step of divorce. Another purpose is to make the parting as painless as is humanly possible in instances where there is no scope for reconciliation. But a recent Supreme Court ruling has given a new dimension to the role of family courts. It is a significant role that most family courts were reluctant to play because of lack of clarity on their jurisdiction in hearing post-divorce disputes among couples. Now a woman or a man after the completion of the process of divorce can knock at the door of the family court to seek the return of the moveable and immovable property over which they had collective legal claim. Like most progressive interpretations of the existing laws, the process of review of the powers of family court to protect the property rights of the spouse after divorce began with the Kerala High Court. The case came up before the apex court when the
Kerala-based former husband of the complainant sought a review of the High Court's verdict that had upheld the family court's order accepting the claim of the petitioner's former wife over the properties that once belonged to them as man and wife. A related point that too needs to be highlighted is that the parties sought the settlement of the dispute without the help of their community's personal laws. The couple were married in 1988. The husband gave his wife “talaq” in 1995. The divorced woman moved the family court for the return of the properties that had been acquired with contributions from her. She was able to prove before the family court that she had sold her gold bangles and also given the money she had received from her family at the time of marriage to her husband for the purchase of some properties. Not surprisingly, the husband challenged the jurisdiction of the family court in hearing cases of divorced couples. It was wrongly presumed that the family court could hear complaints from either party only in “subsisting marriages”. The apex court's interpretation of the jurisdiction of family courts should provide yet another reason for couples to remain united in “happy matrimony”. The court ruled that the Statement of Objects and Reason of the Family Courts Act shows that the jurisdiction of the family courts extends to properties owned when the couples lived together and even to those acquired after they started living separately by law. |
| Belling the (big) cat NIRMALA Devi’s fight with a leopard is the stuff legends are made of. For long minutes, this 30-year-old woman warded off an attack by a leopard even as other villagers rushed to the spot. They were alerted by Binder, a 13-year-old boy who was grazing sheep in the area, and whose life Nirmala probably saved. She hit the leopard from behind with a sickle, even as the big cat was about to pounce on the shepherd boy. It was a rare act of bravery, by Nirmala from
Pipli, a village near Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. In the end, the leopard lay dead but Nirmala also suffered serious injuries and is still in a critical state. Her bravery in facing the leopard, even as no one else came forward to help her, is commendable, and it is, indeed, fitting that the state government should bear her medical expenses and give proper care to the “courageous lady with a sickle.” It is also but proper that her name should be recommended for the national award for bravery and that she should be honoured. Acts of bravery are few, and those of altruistic nature even more so. While we have to commend the bravery of
Nirmala, the question as to why the leopard was there in the first place begs an answer. It was just two days after the attack on Nirmala that a leopard cub was found at Lakkar Bazaar bus stand in Shimla. It had probably been run over by a bus. Wildlife experts point out that deforestation has forced wild animals to prowl in areas that they normally avoid — villages and towns. The prowlers often come to feed on domestic animals, and once they get over their fear of human beings, they can even become man-eaters. In fact, there have been reports from the area around Mandi about domestic animals and pets being attacked by predators. When this happens, human beings are also vulnerable, as the Nirmala episode demonstrates. Wild animals face an unenviable position. The forest cover has been decreasing at an alarming rate. As wild animals become rare, poaching increases, especially in the case of predators, whose body parts are coveted for all kinds of perverse reasons, including misplaced machismo and their purported aphrodisiac properties. This has resulted in the slaughter of these animals, and in also making them more aggressive. Whenever an incident of an animal attack, or of atrocities against animals, comes in the limelight, various knee-jerk reactions follow. They are meaningless. Only a holistic approach will work in ensuring safety of the animals, and in turn the safety of the human beings who have to live at the edge of wildlife areas. |
The crisis of governance AN influential opposition MP has presented a Bill for reducing the strength of ministries to 10 per cent of the strength of the Legislative Assemblies in the states and the Lok Sabha at the Centre. In the current political milieu, one does not expect the Bill to go very far. The hullabaloo of rightsizing and downsizing the administration has been around for a long time without any effect. Indeed, any change towards administrative reforms for good governance is effectively resisted. As the environment of helplessness engulfs the fabric of society, the crisis of governance deepens. What has gone wrong? And where? The problem can be analysed in a historical perspective. Independent India commenced its journey with the total unity of purpose and action, and with total faith in the new leadership. The path of economic development was accepted axiomatically without any question asked. The first Prime Minister, Pt. Nehru, chartered the nation on a fast-track economic growth path, deviating from the ideals of Ramarajya, Antyodaya, minimum needs, trusteeship, and the self-sufficient village economy of Mahatma Gandhi, his own revered mentor. Development was equated with economic development and economic development with economic growth. The Indian economy boldly experimented with a heavy-industry-driven mixed economy model with the public sector occupying the commanding heights. Whenever there arose any problem, the decision-makers opted for state-control to mitigate it. That was consistent with the ideals of the Constitution as also with the economic theory that pointed to the corrections of market distortions by the government. Until the mid-1980s nationalisation was the mantra, the panacea of all ills. By the time the arrow of time entered the last decade of the 20th century the national economy was a complete mess. Forced by the circumstances, the Narasimha Rao government with Dr Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister took a policy U-turn. The Nehruvian model was more or less abandoned, though with the apologetic claims of continuity of the approach and only prudent and dynamically responsive modifications necessitated by environmental changes in the new economic policy statements. A total metamorphosis! What (that is, the market) was considered as the villain until the 1980s became the messiah in the 1990s! The “socialistic pattern” gave way to privatisation competition and market mechanism; self-reliance to globalisation. Revolutionary developments in the field of technology, particularly in the area of information technology, and international market forces helped hasten the process of change. Ideological pressures from the global institutions like the World Bank and the IMF with the commitment to promote market mechanism motivated, if not coerced, yesterday's socialists become advocates of LPG (liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation). The new reform process yielded good results in the beginning. At least, the economy came out of the mess. Even when the political scene changed and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance came to power, economic policy of the government, if not the economic ideology, changed little. The reforms process continued in spite of the resistance from the champions of swadeshi within the Sangh Pariwar and the suffering indigenous industry. It is believed the process of first generation reforms has been more or less completed. Hick-ups apart, the process of second generation reforms is on. But the problems have been increasing in progressive geometric progression. Each solution gives rise to new problems. Definitely, there is a crisis of governance. The nation has been holding faith in democracy. But its operational meaning and empirical content have undergone catastrophic transformation since the days of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Fortunately, elections are held, but an unbelievable perversion of the concept of adult franchise has occurred. It is the vote that matters, irrespective of how it is earned or captured! One sees a naked dance of dama (monetary gratification), danda (use of brutal force) and bhed (creating division) of the Chanakya niti. Heads of political parties that swear by the principles of democracy act dictatorially! Hypocrisy pervades. Sessions of elected bodies, from Parliament down to the village panchayats, are now epitomes of chaos! The role of the state and thereby the size and power of all wings of the government have been increasing since Independence. The politicians in power and the administrators, hand in glove, have acquired omnipotence and omnipresence, and even omniscience. The demon of corruption also became omnipresent as a corollary of the theorem: "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". As a consequence, efficiency and effectiveness of governance has been suffering a continual decline. As different political parties struggle for capturing or for keeping power by hook or by crook, the pace of deterioration in the quality of governance hastens. Politicisation of the executive wing of the government has added fuel to the flames. A word about the judiciary is pertinent at this stage. The Supreme Court and the High Courts have been the cornerstone of India's democracy. The ray of hope is that the judiciary has maintained its independence despite attempts to encroach upon. It has adopted rather an activist role to help defend the citizens' fundamental rights, safeguard the environment, etc, and has tackled cases pertaining to accountability and corruption in the executive. The synergy of courts, civil society and reform-minded people, including retired judges, has effectively advanced these causes. While judicial activism has been appreciated by the public at large, some sections of the ruling elite do not agree with the approach. A lively debate is on as regards judicial activism. The contours of governance are increasingly littered with dirty colours in spite of meaningful reports presented by the plethora of commissions and committees prepared after a penetrating analysis of the problems with all good intentions. There is no dearth of rhetoric, above all, from the government itself. At the stage of implementation, something goes wrong. Is the problem deep-rooted and more complicated than the analyses of experts and policy-makers suggest? Werner Heisenberg, a great German scientist whose principle of uncertainty led to a revolution in the world of physics, said to one of his Indian students in 1975, "You know, in the West we have built a large ship. It has all the comforts in it, but one thing is missing: it has no compass and does not know where to go. Men like Tagore and Gandhi and their spiritual forebears found the compass. Why can this compass not be put in the ship so that both can realise their purpose?" While the Indian leaders are busy building the “ship”, they do not seem to bother about the compass. The writer is a Professor at the University Business School, Panjab University, Chandigarh |
Pla(n)tonic love MY father’s interest in gardening has exceeded the limits of the shallow and narrow confines of a hobby and reached the verge of an all-consuming passion and obsession. This has now become a well-known fact in our close circle and the hot topics in our get-togethers are invariably fruit, flowers or ferns. He loves the people who love plants but does not hold very high opinion about those who do not. His day begins with a close inspection of his plants and closes with leafing through his vast collection of books on the topic. In his view, a
gardener is a true one only if his/her gardening prowess is accompanied by a detailed scientific knowledge of the plants on their green fingertips. Always generous in sharing both his knowledge as well the treasures of his garden, he was extremely happy when somebody requested him for cuttings of some plants. At the appropriate season of the year, my father sent me to that person’s place with a large bag full of cuttings. Later the person found small white cards attached to all the plants explaining in brief the common, local and scientific name of that plant, tips about its maintenance and proper care. He was highly impressed and complimented my father again and again for this. But my father was more satisfied that his plants had gone in right hands. The green of our garden dotted with ripe red, orange yellow luscious fruit of several varieties attracted not only plant lovers, but the moneys as well. We have to be on our toes to save his precious plants from large simian armies. Though our dog “Dingo” successfully shoos them away but not before they have made good with some of the fruit. My father wanted to punish them for their misdeeds. He even thought of using pebbles and stones to protect his fort, but later dropped the idea. Probably his animal lover part must have dominated his plant lover part. Then somebody suggested he should erect a couple of scarecrows around the garden. The idea appealed to him and the care with which he created two scarecrows would put even a sculptor to shame. The end-result was two perfect human figures appearing more like attractive mannequins than scary scarecrows. A few months back tragedy struck in an unexpected way when some of his precious flowering plants were found missing. We all felt bad but father was inconsolable. After describing the beauty of each one of them he decided to go into action. He went around the locality, did some digging and came up with some clues. Our milkman had seen two school children moving suspiciously around our house. He identified one of them as the son of a villager from a nearby village. Without wasting much time, father consulted the telephone directory, contacted the only shop at the village and requested the shopkeeper to send for that person. On the phone he gave a piece of his mind to the villager. After a lengthy lecture on inculcating values in children he said he would lodge an FIR if his plants were not returned. Early next morning the historical plants were back in his possession. When out of station, his first enquiry on long distance calls is: “How is the lily doing? Have you watered the chrysanthemums?” And then his instructions are: “Do not water the roses much. Make sure you cover the delicate flowers from the afternoon sun.” His pla(n)tonic love at such time drives us crazy. But as we sit in the mellow sunlight feasting on the delicious strawberries and kiwis, enjoying the soothing freshness of dew flowers, the fragrance of exotic flowers dancing around us, we can taste the sweetness of his love, witness his long hours of hard work and take in the affection in his soul through each breath that we draw in.
|
|
Ifs & buts of gilding the Golden Temple THE Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak jatha from Birmingham, UK, which has undertaken the restoration work of the interiors of the Golden Temple at the behest of the SGPC, has claimed that the technique of gilding the interiors of the Golden Temple being used by it was much better than the one used during the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
“It is laudable that during Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s reign such a remarkable structure was established making the Golden Temple perhaps one of the most outstanding buildings in the world. Nevertheless the construction techniques and material used were by no means as sophisticated as what are now available in the West. For example, there was no screw technology available at the time and the copper plates had to be mounted by hand-made nails, which were anchored in lead and blocks of timber. In contrast, the jathas’ ability to marshal the latest tools and technology, given the fact that it is located in the UK, has meant that every technological aid has been made available for this project. The newly gilded plates have not only been screwed but all the harmful lead removed from the site. This has meant that the end product is vastly superior and will be able to withstand the elements much longer”. In recent times the jatha has received adverse publicity from a small section of the Press which has claimed that it has not been aware of the rich heritage contained in the Golden Temple complex and that important Sikh paintings and historical works have been spoiled during renovations. While the jatha does not intend to refute every minor claim which in many cases is motivated by malice, it is important to broadly recognise that the jatha did not abandon the conservation work merely in the interest of development. Dr Rajiv Khanna, an eminent restoration-conservation expert engaged by the jatha, has claimed that all the material testing of the Golden Temple was being got done by accredited agencies in foreign countries. At the preliminary stage, the efforts of the experts will be to establish details of historical developments of the art work. “It will be our effort to register as to why the art work got damaged so that it should not further decay after the restoration is done,” Dr Khanna says and adds that he will also try to identify the “man-made” damage too. He claims that while carrying out “patch work” of the art work in the past much damage had already been done which needed to be eliminated. The jatha would resort to restrictive interference and any “overdose won’t be allowed” so that the great art should not get damaged. Bhai Inderjit Singh and Bhai Mehnga Singh of the jatha said that the jatha was open to the suggestions of experts. They said that the kar seva would be completed as per the wishes of the Sikh Panth. They said documentation of the pattern of art work would be done before fianalising the work. The jatha said that after seeking clearance from the Sikh sangat it would proceed to complete the seva. |
|
Work of
a composite mind THE Golden Temple is the living symbol of the historical traditions and cultural heritage of more than four centuries of the Sikh community. The embossed metal work of the Golden Temple is a specimen of the excellence attained by the Sikh craftsmanship in the skillful harmony of brass and copper. The same is with the case of frescos, naqqashi and applied art displayed at the temple. The wood carving and ivory mosaic work of the temple display admirable perfection of the Sikh artistes in this craft. The Sikh artistes had a genuine sense and appreciation of nature in the setting and architecture of the temple. The walls, corridors and panels of the Golden Temple contain a variety of excellent mohrakashi of fresco paintings. According to a Sikh scholar, Dr Madanjit Kaur, these frescos are said to be modelled after the wall paintings of its time found in the Kangra valley. Most of the fresco paintings are adaptation of the Hindu, Persian and Mughal motifs. Still these are distinctive from the other schools of art. Although the Sikh artistes adopted the Mughal mohrakashi style involving the Iranian motifs of relief, of bold flowers, glamorous colours and geometrical designs, the Sikh artistes penetrated deep into the spirit of the art and depicted fine samples of their own. Dr Madanjit Kaur believes that the conception of the total complex of the Harmandar is not the work of an individual mind. It is rather the outcome of the composite mind of the whole community. Besides, it went on for long, spreading almost over a century. The Golden Temple owes its present structure to the joint efforts of the misls. It began to take shape from the year 1765 AD when the Sikhs had beaten back successfully Ahmed Shah Abdali and his hordes. The marble laying and gold plating, however, came much later through the philanthropy of Maharaja Ranjit Singh,who had great reverance for this nerve centre of Sikh power. The Harmandar was pulled down by the Afghan invaders thrice, each time to be rebuilt with renewed energy. However, the original design of Harmandar Sahib was envisaged by Guru Arjan Dev himself. The temple was built in 1604 A.D.
|
A matter of fat ANYONE who takes more than a passing interest in the role of diet in health will inevitably become aware of inconsistencies and contradictions that crop up from time to time. One famous and oft-quoted nutritional anomaly is the so-called French Paradox: while the French consume more than their fair share of fat and tend to run elevated levels of cholesterol in their blood streams, their propensity to heart disease remains stubbornly low. A few explanations for this phenomenon have been mooted, including a preponderance of red wine in the diet, but it remains a mystery why our European neighbours appear to get away with a diet famously rich in cheese, red meat and foie gras. This week, I thought I’d try to get to the bottom of the French Paradox, starting with a look at the premise on which it is based. Conventional wisdom dictates that a diet rich in saturated fat found in animal products, such as meat, eggs and dairy products, and the higher blood levels of cholesterol this is said to induce, increase the risk of the artery-furring process that gives rise to heart disease. Research over the past half-century has shown similar results, and has been bolstered by additional studies linking higher levels of cholesterol in the bloodstream to increased risk of heart disease, too. However, the case against saturated fat and cholesterol may not be as open-and-shut as we’ve been led to believe. When Keys published his seminal study 50 years ago, he focused on just a few countries. But, at that time, data from 22 countries existed, which suggests Keys had been a tad selective about his evidence. For instance, despite similar fat intakes, heart disease deaths in Finland were found to be seven times higher than in Mexico. Also, subsequent studies have found enormous variance in heart disease rates within countries, despite consistent blood-cholesterol levels. There is evidence, though, that cholesterol-reducing medications known as statins can reduce the risk of heart disease. These findings are often cited as evidence that fat and cholesterol really do cause heart disease. However, some researchers have suggested that the disease-protective benefits of statins come not from their cholesterol-quelling action, but from other biochemical effects they are known to have. This concept is supported by the fact that studies designed to assess the effects of cholesterol-reducing diets have failed to find consistent benefits. So eating animal fat and having lofty levels of cholesterol in the bloodstream may not be the potent risk factors in heart disease they are generally regarded to be. The real explanation for the French Paradox could well be that it is really no paradox at all.
The Guardian |
Life is a bridge which helps the passage from birth to deathlessness and from death to birthlessness. Life is a continuous series of sacrifice of the lower for the sake of the higher; Of the tiny in favour of the vast. — From the discourses of Sathya Sai Baba |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 123 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
