The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

EDITORIALS

Offers galore
Election time is promise time

JUST as the clouds are the harbingers of rains, approaching elections are the signal for political parties to rain incentives or promises on the voters. The monsoon may occasionally fail but the bounty from the leaders is far more dependable. As if on cue, the BJP has promised the moon and some more to the voters this time. Soon after the Prime Minister dangled the carrot of reservation for the poor among the upper castes, comes the news about the Cabinet clearing a proposal for granting full statehood to Delhi and another for a nationwide ban on cow slaughter. There is nothing new about these proposals, so much so that these have been hanging fire for decades. By resurrecting them at this time, the BJP has not only beaten the election drum but also taken the wind out of the sails of the Congress. Madhya Pradesh Congress Chief Minister Digvijay Singh has been clamouring for the cow slaughter ban and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit was all set to make the statehood a big issue. Suddenly the BJP has thrown the ball back into their courts and it will be the central leadership of the Congress which will have to come out with an effective counter-strategy.

It is unlikely that the Bills will have a smooth passage in Parliament. There are sticky points galore. For instance, the statehood for Delhi will come with the exception of law and order and public security. With the police and public order thus remaining under the Centre’s purview, the statehood will only be partial. Similarly, the cow slaughter Bill is different from the one proposed a few months ago. The new Bill seeks to invoke Entry 17 in the Concurrent List of the Constitution which deals with “prevention of cruelty to animals” whereas the previous proposal had envisaged invoking Entry 15 of the State List of the Constitution dealing with “preservation of animals”. What that means is that the new proposal seeks to ban cow slaughter automatically all across the country whereas the earlier proposal required legislatures of at least two states to initially recommend it to the Centre to bring about such a Central law, which would have been applicable to only those states and the Union Territories.

The Congress will be hard put to go along with the BJP on these issues. If it does, the BJP walks away with all the credit. If it does not, the ruling party will accuse it of standing in the way of people’s aspirations. What Mr Digvijay Singh and Mrs Dixit had considered to be an asset might end up being a liability.

The Noor effect
Let more candles be lit on the borders

NOTHING dramatic was expected from the recent two-day conference of parliamentarians and journalists from India and Pakistan at Islamabad. They met, talked and understood each other’s viewpoints. This was precisely the aim of the organisers. The participants found that there was a lot more common in the two countries than there were diversities. For instance, Bihar leader Laloo Prasad Yadav, who was on his first visit to Pakistan, found to his pleasant surprise that the markets, the roads and even the vegetables were the same as in this country. What’s more, he even struck a chord with the people of Pakistan, who saw in him a real grassroots leader, who went to the village school, instead of a public school, and spoke an earthy language, instead of the Queen’s English. Leaders who would otherwise spew venom at India over the Kashmir issue were conspicuous in hugging the Indian delegates. There was no sign of protest anywhere in Pakistan.

Every journalist who accompanied the delegation specifically mentioned in his or her report that the exemplary treatment Noor Fatima received in India when her parents took the child to Bangalore for a complicated heart surgery had a profound impact on the people across the border. Many of them could not have imagined that she would get the kind of hospitality she received in this country. This broke many a shibboleth in the Pakistani mind. India’s readiness to treat 20 Pakistani children suffering from congenital heart problems, too, helped in the process. Until a few weeks ago, nobody could have imagined that a child’s treatment and the release from prison of a Pakistani boy, who strayed into the Indian territory, could make such an impact. Much of the stereotyping about Indians and Pakistanis will disappear if more businessmen, journalists, academicians, politicians, women’s leaders and youths travel across the borders. Such close interaction will help the two countries to re-establish better relations.

Soon, a group of people will assemble at the Wagah border and light candles as the two countries begin their Independence Day celebrations. For many of them, it has been an annual pilgrimage of peace for the last eight years. Of course, there are people who ridicule them for doing what they describe as an inane activity. But this has not dented their enthusiasm to show the lighted candles as a symbol of peace. It has not mattered to the organisers that the governments on both sides have not been very receptive to such ideas. But such initiatives have the potential of snowballing into a movement which even the governments would not be able to ignore. Take the case of Noor Fatima. She was just a patient arriving in India on the first Lahore-Delhi bus. But when the people began showering their affection on her, even the government had to step in with a Karnataka minister calling on her and the Central Government announcing free medicare for 20 children. After all, no government can afford to ignore the people’s feelings.

Rights and duties
Sensitisation should begin at schools

THE Supreme Court’s directive to the Centre on Monday to take appropriate steps for the implementation of fundamental duties as enshrined in the Constitution has not come a day too soon. The court has issued the directive following a letter written by Justice Ranganath Mishra, a former Supreme Court Chief Justice. The court’s concern on the general decline in moral standards can be gauged by the fact that it had treated Justice Mishra’s letter as a writ petition and issued the necessary instructions to the Centre. In fact, this issue has engaged the attention of successive governments for quite some time. A committee headed by Justice J.S.Verma was appointed in July 1998 to examine the issue. Subsequently, the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution endorsed the Verma panel’s recommendation for teaching fundamental duties in every educational institution as a measure of in-service training.

Unfortunately, even though there is political consensus on fundamental duties, little has been done to sensitise citizens on their duties. For instance, though safeguarding public property and abjuring violence are an important fundamental duty, no concrete steps have been taken to educate people on the same. People take the law into their own hands and indulge in violence, burn vehicles and damage public property. The Verma panel felt that the process of sensitisation should begin right at the school level so that moral standards and values like respect for the national flag, representative institutions and fellow citizens can be inculcated in the tender minds. Ultimately, this will help them become good citizens.

It is time the recommendations of the Verma panel report were implemented in right earnest. Fundamental duties should be taught at primary, secondary, senior secondary and university levels. The scope of teaching fundamental duties, through suitable packages, should be widened to include teachers, people’s representatives from panchayats to Parliament, civil servants and other sections as well. This will help spread general awareness among the citizens on their duties. Though fundamental duties are not enforceable like fundamental rights and may not have legal sanction for violation or non-performance, they have an inherent element of compulsion regarding compliance. Sadly, many people seem to be conscious of their rights rather than duties. For every right, there is a corresponding duty. Rights flow only from duties well performed. Duty is an inseparable part of right.

Thought for the day

He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.

— George Bernard Shaw

OPINION

The face-off at Asaphila
Early delineation of boundary is an answer
by V.P. Malik

THE recent face-off between Indian and Chinese patrols in the Asaphila area in Arunachal Pradesh on June 26, 2003, evoked considerable media interest and political debate in the country. It overshadowed and almost neutralised the Prime Minister’s visit to China, which took place after a decade-long gap and, more significantly, was first after the Sino-Indian spat over the Pokhran-2 nuclear tests.

There is need to examine the facts, analyse the implications, and draw some lessons from this incident.

Asaphila is an approximately 100 sq km remote mountainous (average height 2000 metres) area, covered with dense forests along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Upper Subansiri division of Arunachal Pradesh. It is very sparsely populated. Other than some tribal shikar trails, the only foot tracks are along the Yume Chu and the Chayul Chu, two distributaries of the Subansiri river. The nearest road head on the Indian side is Tame Chung Chung. About 50 km ahead toward the LAC is the last Indian post Taksing, which is on the Eastern edge of the Asaphila area. The Chinese are not placed any better — their road head and posts, Lung and Tadang, are approximately 35-40 km away.

There is no clear watershed in the Asaphila area. The foot movement is possible round the year. As the Indian and Chinese perceptions of the LAC are wide apart, and not delineated, it is one of the eight “disputed” areas recognised by both sides.

On June 26, 2003, an Indian non-military patrol, comprising two police personnel, three porters and five men of the SSB, moving upstream along the Yume Chu decided to take a break. They were resting non-tactically when a stronger 22-man Chinese patrol from the other side surprised them. The Chinese took away their arms and then escorted them back upto the Indian observation post. There they hailed an officer, claimed that the Indian patrol had entered their area, handed over the Indian personnel with their weapons, and then went back.

Let us put this incident into its perspective. Ever since India and China signed the Agreement on Confidence-Building Measures in the Military Field in 1996, there has been no firing incident along the LAC. But Army and para-military forces patrol face-offs have often taken place in the “disputed” areas, including Asaphila. In most cases, both patrols have exercised self-restraint (as per Article 7) and returned after registering respective claims to the area. In some instances, there have been angry exchanges with tension rising high, but patrol leaders have not permitted the situation to get out of control. Significantly, they have neither attempted nor allowed, to disarm each other.

In this particular incident, the Chinese patrol disarmed the Indian patrol; a highly objectionable act, in clear violation of Articles 6 and 8 of the Agreement. A protest has, therefore, been lodged, which was totally justified. If there were to be another such attempt, it would definitely lead to a firing incident. (No one is expected to hand over weapons without a fight. How did that happen this time?)

The 1996 agreement also provides a mechanism of flag meetings by military commanders on both sides to resolve tactical problems. Unfortunately, the agreed locations for such meetings are far apart and the meetings are very few. The flag meeting location that covers the Asaphila area is far away, in Bumla of Kameng division.

What then are the lessons at the local and tactical levels?

* There must be no complacency in patrolling. The patrols must be adequately strong, well trained, and should remain alert.

* We must not send untrained, ad hoc non-military patrols in sensitive areas.

* There is need to establish more flag meeting points along the LAC, particularly in or near the disputed areas.

* The Joint Working Groups must expedite the delineation of respective LAC claims. Meanwhile, a jointly agreed, detailed SOP should be prepared and laid down for adherence in face-off situations.

The Asaphila patrolling face-off of June 26 was no doubt a tactically important event that required an immediate response at that level (flag meeting). Only if that did not produce results, the level needed to be raised. When seen in a perspective and at the macro level, however, it did not call for the media hype or a national debate that could affect a sensitive foreign policy issue of the on-going Sino-Indian dialogue to improve relations. Several journalists and political leaders in and outside Parliament over-reacted on this incident and hinted at changes in the national policy on China. Was that necessary? Why did that happen?

Much of the blame for this can be attributed to the government’s media policy and its inability to move forward with the times. Despite several positive and negative lessons in the past, we continue to maintain antiquated public relations (PR) establishments in most ministries/departments. Except in the Ministry of External Affairs, where an IFS Joint Secretary spokesperson holds media briefings every other day, there are no such spokespersons. Where they do, they are horribly ill-informed and decline to say anything without the minister’s approval. As someone has remarked, “Those who know are scared of talking; and those who do not, talk too much.”

The government must realise that after the Kargil intrusion, the public expects information and explanation, particularly when there is any news or rumour of such an incident. On the other hand, with over 15,750-km-long land borders (nearly one-third of that is disputed), and 7,685-km-long coastline, such patrolling face-offs are bound to take place occasionally. If an official explanation is not given quickly, the incident is bound to be misreported and distorted, leading to undesirable over-reaction. It happened in the Machel incident (often referred to as Kargil-2 in the media), where despite good surveillance and excellent combat action, the Army came for unnecessary flak. Unfortunately, this sort of development is happening fairly regularly now. The rank and file in the Army is bound to feel concerned. Further, public and political over-reaction can make the troops on the ground defensive in attitude and shy of talking or reporting such incidents immediately.

In the case of the latest incident, a timely statement and clarification by a spokesperson from the Ministry of Home Affairs or Defence in Tezpur or in Delhi would have closed or kept the issue at its correct level.

In the information technology-driven media age, “everyone to keep his mouth shut” will be counter-productive. We must modify our policies on the Official Secrets Act, adopt a pragmatic information policy, and create suitable organisations in each ministry/department to implement it.

The writer is a former Chief of Army Staff

MIDDLE

“Sala main to saab ban gaya!”
by Balvinder

THREE decades ago jobs were not that scarce as they today are. One often could get one without “sifarish” or paying hefty “fees”. I was lucky enough to get a “prestigious” (?) Job of a lecturer in a local degree college soon after completing my professional art-education.

However, on getting the job at an age that almost equalled to that of my students, I was genuinely scared of facing my classes. For, I had no such training or experience. So on my very first day my very first lecture was a complete fiasco. It ended within minutes that I spent on dictating the art material that students were asked to bring along with them, the next day. Even the role of a professor that I had played in one of my college time dramas did not come to my rescue.

Though the seemingly slow moving teething period passed without much mess, tension always remained writ large on my face during those difficult days of my learning teaching-career. But those being good old days, despite my number of noticeable shortcomings, particularly that of my slurred speaking skills, I was never put to any embarrassing situation by the small number of my students, the names of some of whom I still remember while my memory fails when I intend to recall the names of my present students.

That is why I have always been wondering why is it not mandatory for a college/varsity lecturer to learn pedagogic skills just as it is required for getting a school teacher’s job? Whether one has to become a school teacher for nursery classes or for higher classes, one ought to have one or the other professional pedagogic training. The preference for PhD scholars as college lecturers seems to be foolish enough as it plays no role as far as classroom teaching is concerned. And I remember that one of our principals had to put a couple of lecturers on discipline duty outside the classes of a fresh teacher, decorated with a PhD degree, for a month or so.

My in-service fully-paid training-period took quite some time before I could learn some of the necessary tactics of teaching methodologies. Thankfully I did not need the help of ‘martials’ outside my classes. But look at the irony of the fate. In those early years, my inquisitive students actually wanted to learn from me and I was unable to satisfy them wholly. But now when I am quite competent and experienced to teach, the class room culture has almost vanished.

As the luck would have it the things took another dramatic turn. Recently I was made the “officiating” (what ever it means) principal of my college. It was not a dream come true. For, I had never dreamt of being the principal of the same college where I had nervously started, some 35 years ago, my career as a lecturer.

Perhaps another nervous startup in this very college was destined for me! For, while elevating one to this chiefly administrative post, as the convention goes, one is not trained to learn administrative skills. One is suddenly pushed into a pool of governmental gobbledygook, which is not easily understandable, to swim or sink alone! Leave me, the dud type, alone; I am sure that even the most intelligent teacher initially would fail to distinguish between an LTC and LPC, a voucher and a bill, a service-book and a cash-book, plan and non-plan expenditures, and a horde of other such tortuous terms. And lo, here too the stress, for the appointment of a principal, instead of being laid on some administrative knowledge is put on “pompous” PhD degree, the eroding credibility of which is quite well known.

It is a sad fact that majority of the college lecturers normally retire as lecturers with not even a single promotion in their entire career (and perhaps there is no parallel in the annals of job market, present or past, to this non promotional career of “nation builders”!). Therefore, some and sudden (because you are always unaware of it till the eleventh “lucky” hour) promotion of a lecturer to the post of a principal is not only welcomed but celebrated enthusiastically.

Once pushed into the line of teaching-business I had gradually picked up teaching expertise. Similarly now I do hope to grasp soon the tricks of the administrative trade too. However, by the time I would learn administration and unlearn teaching, it would perhaps be too late. For, I would be retiring in a couple of years’ time. But don’t get surprised, it is ‘low’ priority ‘higher’ education field, where there are instances of “one-day-kings” also. Recently a colleague joined, in a neighbouring state, as principal in the morning and got relieved, after retirement, in the same afternoon! So, skilled or unskilled, small-termed or long-termed, who cares! For once and all, “Sala main to saab ban gaya!”

IN FOCUS

State of universities — 2
Why the decline: second-raters have
appointed third-raters
Promotion of Punjabi no longer on the priority list
by Roopinder Singh

Students have stopped thinking big, and this has stifled their growth, say teachers.

THE teachers, students and employees that you meet in Punjabi University, Patiala, convey a distinct feeling of wanting to move on. This they have to, since controversies have dogged the university in recent times. The recent mudslinging between the Vice-Chancellor and the Pro Vice-Chancellor is a case in point.

Both have been hitting the headlines with their version, and this controversy has, no doubt, had a negative impact on the functioning of the university, as has the continuing unfortunate saga regarding a girl student of the Fine Arts Department, who is again in the headlines. A Reader in the department has also been suspended.

However, many would like to turn the spotlight on the record number of admissions this year. Even though the admission process is on at the moment, projections are that the new targets will be met comfortably. This year, every department has been asked to admit 25 per cent more students than the previous year. Up to 2,640 seats are likely to be filled this year, says Prof. Umesh C. Singh, Dean, Academic Studies. This is up from last year’s 1,923.

The university is notorious for factionalism and dissension amongst the teachers on political lines. This has marred its academic atmosphere. Many teachers also place the blame for the deterioration in various departments on the system that rotates heads of department every three years. No one can build a department in three years, they say, pleading for at least a five-year tenure for the heads of departments. Because of a court case, the teachers’ union is virtually defunct. Teachers plead for PUTA to be recognised as the only teachers’ representative body and for the setting up of a grievances removal panel.

The Senate’s powers were withdrawn by the Punjab Government in 1975 during the Emergency (along with those of GND University, Amritsar) and have still not been restored. Students have had no representation in the university since 1984 Operation Bluestar. There are those who maintain that even minutes in various meetings are not recorded fairly.

Vice-Chancellor Swarn Singh Boparai says that the state of a university is directly related to the quality of leadership provided by the head of the institution. Asked about the poor state of the university, he says, “Second-raters have been appointing third-raters.” He is being advised by a team of senior academics and is making sure that the wider faculty is involved in the decision-making process.

More an administrator

Mr Boparai is candid about his non-academic background. He is a retired bureaucrat, but says he is drawing on his administrative skills to lead the university.

There is not much involvement of teachers in their departments, but that is being changed, he says, pointing out that the departmental heads and faculty members have all agreed to reduce the number of holidays in the university by one-third, to 10.

Talking about the state of finances of the university, he says that in percentage terms, private aided colleges get more support from the government than the universities, and in any resource crunch, the poor are left out. “People are willing to give in the name of religion, but not education,” he laments. At the same time, he points out that even if they are ready to give for their own community, the university may not take endowments meant for specific communities! Mr Boparai is particularly proud of the increase in the number of admissions this year, in spite of the increased fees.

These very fees are a bone of contention with the students, as is arbitrariness in the system. A frustrated student said that in case you want to receive a copy of the detailed mark sheet of someone who passed out in, say 1983, you would have to pay Rs 2,000 a year, i.e. Rs 40,000!

Established on April 30, 1962, Punjabi University has the distinction of being the only one other than Hebrew University, Israel, to be named after a language. It was set up with the specific purpose of promoting Punjabi as a language of instruction and examination. It has not been able to do much in either-a tiny fraction of the budget is devoted to the departments connected with the development of Punjabi, according to an employee who requested anonymity. The department has been hitting headlines for all the wrong reasons and the controversial suggestion of using the Devnagri script, instead of Gurmukhi, for Punjabi still raises the hackles of many a Punjabi lover.

However, the university is not limited to Punjabi alone, and it has been given a five-star rating by the University Grants Commission. It has over 50 teaching and research departments. Of these, many have been recognised for grants by the UGC. They include the physics, botany, economics and, of course, the Punjabi departments.

The Economics Department is abuzz with activity. Its head, Prof Gurbachan Kaur Bhatia, reels off statistics: 213 students enrolled in various courses; 15 students pursuing their doctoral research scholarships; and many faculty members are playing an important role in the university administration apart from their regular departmental work. This is a department that has given the university a vice-chancellor in Dr H. K. Manmohan Singh.

Faculty members say the culture of having a cup of tea together and devoting that time to discussing only social and departmental matters, as opposed to political activities, help in keeping the right focus. Everyone on the faculty has at least one book to his credit, they claim.

This is not the case in most of the other departments. As you visit the imposing Guru Gobind Singh Bhavan, immortalised in thousands of photographs, you can not but reflect on its past glory, when it was the only such department with international recognition. It is now a pale shadow of that, and the only thing towering about it is the building.

One might drive past the Botany Department but one shouldn’t. It has been selected by the UGC under the Special Assistance Programme (SAP), in which cytogenetics, algal physiology and mycology, and plant pathology are the thrust areas. Dr M. K. Sidhu, the present head, was in the first batch of students when the department was started in 1967. Here too, publications abound-since its inception, 1,100 research papers in various international and national journals and 30 books by faculty members have been published.

Right now, they are trying to cope with the increased number of students, who need more equipment (how do 42 students see through 25 microscopes?). An international Congress on Emerging Trends in Plant Chromosome Research is scheduled for October. The department is rightly proud of its herbarium that has a large collection of well preserved/mounted, identified and catalogued specimens. The Botanic Garden sprawls over 12 hectares and is well maintained.

It is, however, a different story in the Department of Mathematics. Dr B S Mangat, the senior-most professor, laments the fact that there are no research scholars studying Maths because even after a doctorate, they may not get a job. “People want to start working as soon as they finish, they do not want to devote themselves to research. Toppers want to do B Ed and get a job, any job, even a school job,” he rues. The don will retire soon — he is one of three due to retire in the next three years, out of a faculty of five!

He feels that the students are talented and hard working, but they feel merit alone is not enough, which discourages them from competing. Dr Mangat, who has served under almost all the Vice-Chancellors of the university, feels that the main problem today is that students have stopped thinking big, and this has stifled their growth.

Manjit Singh, who just passed out of Punjabi University and has now joined Panjab University, Chandigarh, says he loved the homeliness and warmth of Patiala, as opposed to the cold and cut-and-dried atmosphere he faces in Chandigarh. People are more “humane” in Patiala, says he. Even a casual meeting with other students shows their concern for one another, which an outsider would find touching.

Distance education

However, some engineering students, point out that while their university is fine as far as universities of Punjab go, it is the very different (read lackadaisical) as compared to the university just 60 km away. Asked what they would do in case they do not get good placements, they say they would simply continue studying.

The Department of Correspondence Courses is a pioneer in many respects. A faculty of 46 serves 11,500 students. The medium of instruction is Punjabi as well as English, though over 60 per cent of the students opt for Punjabi, according to Dr Bhupinder Singh Khera, who heads the department. All the courses have been approved by appropriate authorities and there are certain special courses on Punjabi language and culture, including diplomas in Gurmat Sangeet and Divinity and MA in Religious Studies, he points out.

Students say the courses are well designed, but the two sessions of personal-contact programme become too much for them. Faculty members, however, point out that only one session is compulsory.

When the university hosted the Indian Science Conference in 1996, it resulted in a significant improvement in the Internet connectivity that had been available for the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Dr Chandan Singh, its head, says that the connectivity has been upgraded and is now better than that of even IIT Delhi, and the students have free access to the Internet.

His 300-plus students have access to the latest on the World Wide Web. A B Tech course was introduced in 1987, an MCA programme in 1991 and M Tech in 1995, says Himanshu Aggarwal, a product of the department who is now on the faculty. This is the only department in any university of Punjab that offers a PhD programme in this subject.

One area where computers have not made much inroads is the library, though it is linked with the Information and Library Network Centre, an autonomous Inter-University Centre (IUC) of the UGC, involved in creating infrastructure for sharing information among academic and research and development institutions.

Few takers

The library keeps its doors open for 360 days a year, from 8 am to 8 pm. Unfortunately, there are few takers for one of the most impressive collections in the region — almost four lakh books — including personal libraries of Bhai Mohan Singh Vaid (interesting Vedic works), Dr Ganda Singh (history) and Dhani Ram Chatric (Punjabi literature). There are around 5,000 members of the library, including faculty, research scholars and students, but not more than 400 books are issued a day.

Faculty members cannot be said to be particularly fond of visiting the library. An air-conditioned cabin that was built exclusively for them a few years ago, had finally to be opened out to students. There is extensive use of the photocopying facility, since students prefer copying the texts rather than reading them in the library. The reading room, a vast hall, remains nearly empty. A university in which the library reading room is hardly utilised. Need one say more?