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Sunday,
September 28, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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ON RECORD
Cancun and after |
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Joshi: Waiting for Prime Minister
Recent happenings portend a bleak winter, feel most Kashmiris
The hen and the pig talk about starvation
Satish and Kiran stand out for their compatibility
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ON RECORD
Vivacious, jovial, methodical and young at heart, Sethna has tried to overcome ageing with his positive attitude to life and keen interest in work. As a member of the National Commission for Minorities, he is known to be the youngest in spirit. He is the President of the Delhi Parsi Anjuman, the Vice-President of the Federation of Parsi Zorastrian Anjuman of India and the Chairman of the Executive Council of the UNESCO-created Preservation and Promotion of Parsi Zoroastrian Culture and Heritage Foundation. He has made films for the Army, Navy and Air Force, the PARZOR project and is a consultant to Kaleidoindia. He has also tried his hand making wines. One of his greatest pleasures these days is to play golf with his three grandsons. Excerpts of the interview: Q: After returning from Safidon (Jind), what are you doing to protect the interest of the Sikhs? A: The NCM looks after the interests of the minorities, a task laid down by the Constitution. So, when we got a report on Safidon and the indignities heaped on the Sikhs by the police, the Commission decided to send a committee. We have given our report to the Haryana government. We have recommended administrative action and stringent measures. During our visit, we found that the amity and concern expressed by non-Sikhs was very heartening. Jind has a strong presence of Sikhs who are hard working, prosperous farmers. It is true that middle-aged and respectable Sikhs were beaten up by the police and badly humiliated. The district administration took action and within 24 hours, the station house officer and the assistant sub-inspector were put under suspension. The problem was the humiliation heaped on them and that is where we came into the act. Our job is to ensure that no community is dishonoured. Q: What are the problems confronting the Parsi community? A: A major problem is health and population. We are an ageing community and our demographic pressures are enormous. We have what we call the Scandinavian pattern of population. We are hopefully trying to find out how these trends can be reversed. One in every five Parsi women die of breast cancer. This susceptibility is more in the Indian subcontinent. The PARZOR Foundation is doing research. The exhibitions which are being shown as part of the 3000th anniversary celebrations of Zoroastrian culture are an icing on the cake which show what solid research is being done by Shernaz Cama, the Project Director. We have projects on health, linguistics and embroidery. Q: What are the problems confronting other minorities? A: Education and empowerment of women is a very major issue for all minorities. Gender inequality is another area of concern. The largest number of polygamy cases are not among the Muslims but among other minority communities. In the last 10 to 12 years, the secular fabric is being questioned more and more. Q: How safe are the minorities in post-riot Gujarat? Will they come out to cast their vote in the general elections next year? A: The Supreme Court has come to their rescue. I went there in July. They are better than what they were last year but some of them are unable to go back to their villages. NCM played a very major role in bringing the post-riot scenario to public notice. We were the first to visit the Shah Alam refugee camp there. Thank God, the Election Commission is doing a very good job. You saw the voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir. Q: What do you like to remember of the days when you were Vice-Chief of Army Staff? A: We diffused many situations. That was the time when Bhindranwale was coming up. There were a lot of internal domestic problems. Q: Do you continue to keep a close watch on the affairs of the Defence Ministry? A: I don’t intentionally take interest in Defence Ministry affairs. I used to write on national security. I’m much more interested right now in national integration. I was in Australia in 1998 in my capacity as Chairman of the India-Australia Council. As news of India’s nuclear explosion came, the Consul-General in Sydney reported what had happened. I said “Is it Alpha and Bravo or Alpha, Bravo and Charlie?” He was shocked but it was no news to me as preparations for the first nuclear test were carried out in 1981. Q: What memories do you have of your university days? A: I played cricket and was part of the University Training Course which is now NCC. But the most memorable event of Allahabad University was August 9, 1942 when a fellow student was shot during a procession of the Quit India Movement and his body was brought in front of the Muir Hostel (later renamed the Amarnath Jha Hostel). Allahabad University is basically a university town. Professor J.K. Mehta of Economics and Professor Amarnath Jha, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, were very
erudite. |
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Cancun and after
Agriculture, the lifeline of many developing nations, remained in focus right from the word go. But the conference had to be called off because of stiff opposition on Singapore issues from the Caribbean, African and Pacific countries (CAP). African and certain poor countries trooped out of the conference on getting the information that bargaining has begun on agricultural subsidies between G-21 led by India, Brazil and China and the US-European Union combine. Developing nations successfully circumvented the EU- US attempt for greater access to agricultural markets of their countries. The US and EU insisted on the removal of protectionist measures and tariffs by countries like India. However, as a counter-strategy, developing countries urged the US and EU to dismantle the regime of high subsidies in their own respective domains. Rich nations linked Singapore issues to the reduction of agricultural subsidies. There is little possibility of resolving agricultural and related issues by January 1, 2005. The US did not agree to curtail farm subsidies as the Presidential elections would be held there next year. The US and EU give subsidies worth $ 350 billion, almost a billion a day, to their farmers. Slashing of subsidies would have annoyed the farmers’ lobbies and harmed the prospects of President George W. Bush for a second term in the White House. At least 60 per cent of the subsidy amount in the US is gobbled up by 10 per cent big farmers. The EU, preparing to expand its canvas, did not concede on subsidies fearing that it may peeve the nations interested to join its ranks. Likewise, any adverse decision at Cancun would have created problems for the Vajpayee government with the assembly elections in five states round the corner. That is why Union Commerce Minister Arun Jaitely took a strong pro-farmer line at Cancun. He tried to send a strong political message to the farmers at home. He also ducked the Opposition from speaking against the Vajpayee government. Most countries were unable to comprehend the internal trade politics of WTO, when it was set up in 1995. The US and other rich countries were then dictating terms to poor countries. However, as the implementation of the WTO terms and conditions have started to harm the trade and people of developing and poor nations, political parties and NGOs have started educating the people on the problem. In India, many anti-WTO groups are active. A South Korean farmer, Mr Lee Kyung-Hae, who stabbed himself to death while holding the banner ‘WTO kills farmers’ at Cancun showed farmers’ reservations about the WTO. Surprisingly, most of the US and European media supported poor and developing nations at Cancun. The New York Times has recently written two hard-hitting editorials condemning the non-yielding attitude of the rich nations on subsidies. How the highly subsidised cotton farming in the US has ruined the farmers of West and Central African countries were cited by US newspapers. Interestingly, a section of the Indian media supported the EU-US line. The issue before India is now to devise a strategy for the proposed December meet keeping in view the fact that the US could not afford to stick to its posture at Cancun for diplomatic and economic reasons. Even the poor nations, who survive on US aid opposed its proposals at Cancun. That was another big diplomatic setback to the US, who is facing isolation on the Iraq war. Ballooning budget deficit, growing negative trade balance and galloping unemployment owing to sluggish performance of the manufacturing sector have all become a major concern for Americans. The EU nations are also not performing well on the economic front. These factors would make both the US and EU to reduce subsidies to its farming sector in lieu of seeking greater access in agricultural and industrial markets in the developing countries to boost exports of huge surplus production in various sectors and to revitalise the factory sector to generate more employment before the Presidential elections. So, as a part of strategy, India should not stick to its Cancun stand, seeking the removal of subsidies by the wealthy nations. Instead, it should exert pressure on the US and EU to tabulate their subsidies to the farming sector in totality. The channelling of most of the subsidies by rich nations to this sector through the non-reduction zone, that is beyond the WTO’s purview, must be opposed. India would have to keep a watch on China, who stood with it in Cancun. China will be inclined for country- to -country free trade agreements (FTAs) especially with the US. India should also look for opportunities to sign bilateral FTAs with friendly countries. The noose around the neck of multinational companies operating in India should be tightened by notifying the European food standards and regulations regarding the quality of food products and beverages. It would not only raise the production cost of their products, making them non-competitive in the Indian market but also give a boost to the sale of indigenous products. The EU often resorts to such hurdles to block imports from India. Even India can impose countervailing duties to block highly subsidised foodgrains etc from the US and EU. After Cancun, India, China and Brazil got an opportunity to change the world from unipolar to bi-polar one. Will they succeed in their endeavour? The writer is a staffer of The Tribune |
Joshi: Waiting for Prime Minister Joshi is not the one who strayed into politics, having failed elsewhere. As a brilliant Professor of Physics, he left an indelible impression on his students. His name has become a legend in the corridors of Allahabad University. Those who influenced him included Prof Rajendra Singh, popularly known as “Raju Bhiaya”, his predecessor in the Physics department and later the RSS Chief. Guru Golwakar and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya played an important role in shaping the young Murli Manohar’s political leanings. He became a member of the RSS when he was hardly 10 years. He was also influenced by the writings of Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo. Allahabad has been the cradle of Dr Joshi’s political life as also his city of destiny. Having worked there for four decades, he was elected to the Lok Sabha thrice from 1996. He made a debut in Parliament in 1977 after his detention under MISA during the Emergency. He became the General Secretary of the parliamentary party. A Rajya Sabha member from 1992 to 1996, his career graph touched a new high when he was elected BJP President in 1991. He led the “Ekta Yatra” from Kanyakumari to Srinagar to unfurl the national flag at Lal Chowk on the Republic Day in 1992. People may differ with Dr Joshi’s political ideology and approach but his clean image is unquestionable. An impression about him in the BJP circles is that he does not oblige anybody. His lifestyle has also not changed since his Allahabad University days. He is a strong advocate of a modern, strong and vibrant India and since his early days in politics, he has been pleading for India going nuclear. Dr Joshi's commitment to Swadeshi is well known. His understanding of economics and WTO issues have given a fresh dimension to India’s approach to the Patents regime. As HRD Minister, Dr Joshi launched a number of popular schemes which included free education to every girl child up to graduation, introduction of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, education as a fundamental right, Nutrition Mission, Sanskrit education, modernisation and computerisation of madarsas and manifold increase in the allocation for Urdu study. Eloquent both in Hindi and English, he is proficient in Sanskrit, Urdu, Bangla, Punjabi, Marathi and Gujarati and written two books Vikalp (The Alternative) and Pragya Pravh (continuing Wisdom). Dr Joshi’s long and eventful career has again taken a new turn. His resignation is still pending with the Prime Minister and there is a remote chance of Dr Joshi withdrawing it. He has now emerged as a force to reckon with in the BJP. This is bound to have a bearing on the future politics. |
Recent happenings portend a bleak winter, feel most Kashmiris
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couple of weeks ago, the men who tend the Animal Husbandry sheep farm on the high meadows near Mohanmarg in the east of the Kashmir valley came running down in a panic. Reporting to their superiors that militants had swept in and carried away 15 sheep, they said there were suddenly far too many militants roaming those slopes for them to risk staying at the farm. They refused to go back. This same sheep farm, not far from Kangan, had been taken over by those — including Pakistani regulars in mufti — who infiltrated into north Kashmir in 1965. That was the last time Pakistan explicitly declared war on India over Kashmir. Whether those who have now taken it over are fresh infiltrators or have been lying low in the forests, it is clear that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s hard-knuckled speech to the United Nations General Assembly last week was not an isolated tactic. It is part of a multi-pronged initiative to raise the heat on Kashmir. The All Parties Hurriyat Conference was recently split to purge those who would no longer accept Syed Ali Geelani’s dictates. And orders seem to have been reversed to the militants who had been told to lurk quietly for a year-and-a-half, first because Indian troops were massed on the border, then because the US had promised that India would negotiate after state assembly elections had been held and, since April, because Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee raised the hope that those talks would begin soon. The new strategy is still unfolding. I am told hectic efforts are underway to persuade a couple of other leading members of the Hurriyat Conference to cross over to Mr Geelani’s faction. Among those being wooed is Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, one of the few in the grouping who has a committed support base, albeit limited to a part of Srinagar city. To strengthen the bait, an invitation has already been arranged for Mr Geelani's faction to attend the upcoming meeting of the Organisation of Islamic (OIC) countries. The young Mirwaiz has attended some earlier OIC conferences as Hurriyat’s representative. The two ranking fence-sitters in the Hurriyat’s leadership are Chairman Abbas Ansari and Abdul Ghani Bhat, who handed over the chairmanship to Ansari in mid-July. Both must surely be feeling most uncomfortable after a decade of successfully walking the tightrope. Of course that essentially consisted of treading the path Mr Geelani dictated. Over the past few months, they apparently misread the signals from their patrons in Pakistan, presuming that ensuring the unity of the grouping was more important than following Mr Geelani’s hard-line lead. Of course, the collapse of the peace process that Mr Vajpayee had initiated in Srinagar in April is largely responsible for the unhappy situation they find themselves in. There are two reasons for that collapse. The first is obvious: the Indian government was concerned in the immediate aftermath of the US forces’ takeover of Iraq to fend off pressure to engage with Pakistan in talks. Now that the US is in a fix over Iraq — and its much-touted “road map” for Israel and Palestine too has got nowhere — India can breathe easy. If there is pressure on it from the US, it is to send troops to Iraq to bail out the beleaguered US soldiers. The second reason for the collapse of the peace initiative is less obvious and more devious. Over the past decade, some of the Indian forces appear to have developed a vested interest in remaining vigorously involved in Jammu and Kashmir. The stories one hears in Kashmir of corruption, not only in purchases and timber smuggling but also in the way records of arms caches are kept and even about border operations, are sometimes shocking beyond belief. Some of those stories may be untrue or exaggerated but the fact is that at least the Border Security Force has given extraordinary publicity to its anti-militancy operations in the valley over the past couple of months. BSF Inspector-General Vijay Raman made himself available for cameras during the sensitive operation in which Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Ghazi Baba was killed. Then the BSF informed journalists that another militant it had killed was the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba deputy chief, although police records indicated that he was an ordinary militant. And questioned about his claim that another killed militant was cricketer Shahid Afridi's first cousin, Mr Raman acknowledged that it was hearsay. The BSF’s sudden high profile may have something to do with the decision that had been taken, in line with both the Mufti government’s “healing touch policy” and Mr Vajpayee’s peace overture, to limit the BSF to the border and hand the city’s security to the local police and the Central Reserve Police Force. However, as Frontline magazine revealed in May, the Army too showed extraordinary eagerness to transport selected journalists to the area around Hill Kaka, and painted its encounter in the area earlier in the year as a military battle of unprecedented proportions. Fast-byte TV interviews at street corners in major cities have shown that the high-profile coverage of all these battles has alienated Indian public opinion from the peace process. Of course, the changed public mood matches the government’s changed perceptions of global pressures. The results, on the other hand, are obvious: hardening of Pakistan’s positions and marginalisation of those Hurriyat leaders who were eager to turn away from violence and seek a negotiated settlement. Many in Kashmir expect a bleak winter.
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The hen and the pig talk about starvation AT the United Nations we had a panel discussion on the subject of my recently released book, As I See… The NGO Section of the UN in collaboration with Navjyoti Delhi Police Foundation, a United Nations chartered NGO, organised it. The speakers were Mr Shashi Tharoor, Dr Hanifa Mezuoi, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait and myself. I would like to share what remained etched in my consciousness. Panditji said that every human birth is a message to that particular person born, to go through life again, only to do it one better, if he so understands. In other words, it is to provide another opportunity to improve our earlier performance. We may not be able to erase the wrongs of our past but we can correct, alter, and modify anything we become aware of and persevere towards. The key is awareness with persistence. To do it the way one desires to. Panditji further said that nature gives such a choice only to human beings and not to any other living creature. Humankind is the only species Pandit Tigunait further elaborated that can sit erect with neck straight, evenly balanced. He also is the only being who can sleep on its back straight like a corpse. And the only living creature who can regulate his own breath: He can hold it: hasten it: weaken it, slow it down and observe it come and go, as Gautama, the Buddha, taught and practiced. Humankind is also firmly bound by an inviolable law of nature, which is, “reap as you sow”, “the cause and effect”. Nature conspires to heighten the sharpness of senses when these are being optimally put to good use. And equally reduces support when not. When one wants to genuinely reach out to others, the best way to begin is, to first understand the needs of the persons one is getting ready to serve. Wisdom and compassion ought to be natural partners and be equally cultivated. This is how Pandit Rajmani explained; Mahatma Gandhi came face to face with God through the extreme poverty he saw in Champaran. All those famished and hungry beings were the real representatives of the Divine for Gandhiji. And any service to God was through service of the needy that the Mahatma called daridra narayan. Shashi Tharoor gave an interesting concept of the United Nations by sharing a short story, a favourite of Kofi Annan he disclosed. Shashi narrated…there were a hen and a pig together talking about the problem of starvation in the world. And both were very concerned. The hen said, “Do you know my friend, between the two of us we can actually solve the problem of food for the entire world?” The pig was curious and asked, “How?” The hen said, “Simple while I lay the eggs you provide the bacon”. The pig said, “This is all very good. But do you know my friend for you it’s a contribution and for me it’s a commitment?” Our country at present and as always needs both contribution and a willing commitment in many areas, such as…population stabilisation, integrity, people's participation, right to information, clean and secular political leadership, responsive governance, responsible and law-abiding citizens, and most of all, value-based youth. All these are not some one else’s duties. In some way or the other we individually are contributing to aggravating the challenges posed. The solutions do lie in our hands…Could we even begin by asking ourselves what do I do with whatever I see? Jai Hind. |
Satish and Kiran stand out for their compatibility
I’VE been up and about to such an extent that my little Maruti couldn’t take the traffic strain and lies stranded, whilst I sit and write about the happenings. Satish Gujral and spouse Kiran wanted to thank Aruna Vasudev for hosting the festival for the Asian cinema. And they did so in their own special way — inviting friends over for a lovely dinner, amply dominated by Thai cuisine. Satish is not just an artist par excellence but an extremely warm person, with that old world charm about him. Just a hug from him is enough to make you feel good. It was a nice warm evening with so many guests. Satish and Kiran stand out for their compatibility. I do not know Satish’s elder brother and former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral and his spouse Shiela, but for years I have been observing them walking together in the Lodi Gardens and at various other venues here. Even at this dinner, they looked so very compatible. I wish the Gujral brothers together with their spouses do a book on how to make marriages work so beautifully.
Food for thought I simply loved the way the former Chief Justice B.N. Kirpal quietly quipped at the release of his spouse Aruna Kirpal’s cookery book “We have married for almost 40 years and it has been very happy.” Aruna and he look happy and content. The very title of the book “Dadi Maa Ki Rasoi” (Value Books) and the guest list were impressive. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit candidly said that she was a bad cook, but added that whenever she had eaten at Kirpal’s home, she’d jotted down the recipes to hand them to her cook. Dikshit also spoke of the great cooking skills of Justice Kirpal — Chinese cuisine. Aruna has included about 150 recipes in a manner that even a non-enthusiast would be tempted to experiment with them. Attorney General Soli J. Sorabjee was at his wittiest best. He quipped, “Wish my wife would spend more time in the kitchen than travelling, spreading the Bahai faith!” Whenever I have heard him speak, I have quietly muttered to myself “nice to see frank and forthright people are still around...”, for Soli speaks from his heart, something rare today.
Festival of songs The Dalai Lama will declare open a two-day festival of sacred chanting and singing (October 6-8) at Buddha Jayanti Park here. After the inauguration, there would be a meet at the India International Centre which will focus on spiritual ways of sustainable and non-aggressive living. This will be followed by chants in Parsi, Zoroastrian, Vietnamese, German, Bahai, Shamans, and so on. I just wish after all this chanting Delhi gets cleansed.
Partying plug Super artist M.F. Husain’s artist son Shamshad Husain is sulking. Last fortnight, he was clicked in the wrong (!) pose at a party hosted by another fellow artist. His sane advise to New Delhi’s party throwers is — don’t call photographers for private dos!
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God is a circle whose centre is everywhere, and its circumference nowhere. — Empedocles A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who shows courtesy reaps friendship; and he who plants kindness gathers love. — Saint Basil He who cherishes loving devotion to God and dwells in humility attains deliverence. — Guru Nanak |
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THE year was 1943. Lt.-General A.M. Sethna (retd) had just given his B.A examination. Without losing any time, he stepped out of the intellectually stimulating environment of Allahabad University (which for long enjoyed the enviable status of the Oxford of the East) and appeared for an interview for a Commission in the Army. He rose to the rank of the Vice-Chief of Army Staff and was decorated with 13 medals including the Param Visisht Seva Medal and the Ati Vishist Seva Medal, military honours for distinguished service. He was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 1983. After holding the post of the Vice-Chief of Army Staff from 1980 to 1982, he served as Chairman of the Indian Tourism Development Corporation. He was also entrusted the charge of Deputy Chairman, Asiad and Chairman of the ceremonial committee. He cherishes memories of the first Republic Day parade when President Rajendra Prasad drove down Rajpath in an open horse-drawn carriage without security and children on either side of the road showered flower petals and coins. As one of the two ADCs to Dr Rajendra Prasad, the young Sethna held blunt swords.
DEVELOPING countries are bound to be delighted over the failure of the WTO Ministerial conference at Cancun in Mexico. As both developing and developed countries had entered the conference with strident postures over subsidies and Singapore issues, its collapse was predetermined.
UNION Human Resource Development Minister Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi’s image looked larger than life as he sent in his papers to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee after the Rae Bareli verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case. In an order that surprised many, of the seven accused only Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani was absolved of the charge. Dr Joshi had committed even before the court verdict that he would quit if charge-sheeted and he did so promptly. The spontaneous support he got from the party cadre for the “moral stand” has been heartening indeed. Leaders and partymen thronged his residence in a show of solidarity. From all indications, he now heads a sizeable group in the party owing total allegiance to him.