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Tuesday,
September 30, 2003, Chandigarh, India
  
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New Asian giants Flawless launch Ballot blinkers |
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US cannot remake the world
Balloon burst
Punjabis jump into Canadian elections
In troubled
waters
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New Asian giants JUST when it looked certain that the Asia Cup hockey final in Malaysia will go into extra time the Indian forward line came alive. The two magical minutes before the whistle saw India stun Pakistan to lift the coveted trophy for the first time in six editions. Both the teams played clean and conventional hockey for the best part of the match. It was only in the dying minutes, as if on cue, that the Indians went into overdrive and scored two goals, although just one was needed for victory, in quick succession. Indian hockey has been on the brink of glory for some time now. But poor coordination on the field, unwise selections and injuries to players have come in the way of the team living up to its advertised potential. At Amstelveen in Holland both India and Pakistan had disappointed their fans because neither could match the speed and stamina of the much fitter Australian and Dutch players. Of course, the Champions Trophy final between Holland and Australia lacked the flair of subcontinental hockey. But the speed was simply breathtaking. Victory is always sweet and if the losing team happens to be Pakistan it expectedly becomes more sweet for the Indians. It was clear at Kuala Lumpur that the Indians were determined to put the disappointment of Amstelveen behind them. Beating China and Bangladesh by huge margins was no big deal. Going down to Pakistan in the league game was disappointing. The players deserve praise for pulling their socks up in the semi-final against defending champions South Korea. The final was a heart-stopper. Sunday's game was special because the Indian team had promised Jugraj Singh to win the Asia Cup for the country. Jugraj was to the Indian team what Sohail Abbas is to Pakistan. The scores were tied 2-all in the first half. Both the Pakistani goals were scored by Sohail, perhaps, the best penalty corner specialist in international hockey after Jugraj. The Indians had evidently done their homework for final. They did not allow a single penalty corner in the second half for Sohail to show his skill. The last-minute burst dashed whatever hope Pakistan had of wearing India down. Be that as it may, it would be unwise for India to rest on its laurels. Some of the players lack the speed, the stamina and the fitness of the European and Australian players. These are the key areas that the Indian hockey, and even cricket, players need to work on for translating their immense talent and potential into certain victory like the Australians do with amazing consistency. |
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Flawless launch SUCCESSIVE delays in the launch of the advanced communications satellite INSAT-3E had caused many misgivings. These have been set to rest with the copybook launch on Sunday. The need for the satellite cannot be overstressed. A country of the size of India needs communications capabilities of phenomenal proportions. The penultimate spacecraft in the INSAT-3 series will augment these all right but the demand is increasing ever so fast that there is always clamour for more. Its transponders will provide a boost to telecom and television services. Besides, it will also come in handy in the fields of tele-medicine and promotion of literacy and education. The delay in its launch could have cost the country dear because it is scheduled to take on the traffic now being handled by 23 transponders on INSAT-2DT, which is nearing the end of its life. This transfer must start taking place by the first week of December. To that extent, this fourth satellite in the INSAT series is expected to be the mainstay for communication and broadcasting in the country during its operational lifetime of 15 years. This is the first launch since Mr G. Madhavan Nair took over as Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on September 1 when Dr K. Kasturirangan stepped down. He is the first person from the launch vehicle team to head the organisation (his two predecessors, Prof U.R. Rao and Dr Kasturirangan, were both satellite men). So, the successful launch is particularly significant for him and his team. But they cannot rest on their laurels. The country has to step up its space programme. Though considerable progress has been made during recent years, a large proportion of the space-based TV broadcasts and data communications is still provided by foreign satellites. ISRO has to augment its capabilities and at the same time market itself well. Not only that, it has also to ward off the competition posed by fibre-optic cables. There is a heavy outflow of money because the Indian communications satellites are heavy and have to be launched abroad at high cost. It is imperative to make use of the indigenous launch capabilities. As project director, Mr Nair was instrumental in making the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) a reliable workhorse. He is expected to lend the same synergy to his latest mission. |
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Ballot blinkers THE defeat of the Congress candidates in Ernakulam in Kerala and Solapur in Maharashtra is bound to rattle the party leadership for a long time to come. The two Lok Sabha seats were considered the party's strongholds. In the case of Solapur, it was vacated by Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde when he became the Chief Minister of the state. Nonetheless, between the two, it is the defeat in Ernakulam that will prove costlier. The run-up to the poll saw veteran Congress leader K. Karunakaran pulling all the stops out against the official party candidate. He paid scant regard to party discipline in his bid to cut his arch rival and Chief Minister A.K. Antony down to size. While the wily old politician played a significant role in the defeat of Mr M.O. John, handpicked by Mr Antony, the results suggest that there were other equally important factors at work in Ernakulam. The way Mr Antony dealt with the horrendous Marad incident in which six people were killed had not found appreciation from a section of the voters. His attempt to win the sympathy of what is called the Hindu voters also seems to have boomeranged. Now that Mr Karunakaran has succeeded in humbling the Chief Minister, he will definitely ask for a change of leadership in the state. Perchance he is pushed to the wall, he can even cobble together a government with the support of the Marxists, who would be only glad to give him a helping hand. The failure of the Marxist rebel, Mr Vishwanatha Menon, who had the backing of the BJP and its camp followers, to cut much ice with the electorate shows that in the politically polarised state, there is little scope for a third player. Mr Menon, who was a top-ranking Marxist, who held the Finance portfolio in the E.K. Nayanar government getting BJP support was as much an aberration as Mr Karunakaran's followers openly campaigning for the Marxist candidate, Mr Sebastian Paul. What this shows is that when it comes to the brass tacks, it is not ideology but selfish interests that matter even in such a politically conscious state as Kerala. For the Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra, it is the margin with which it lost Solapur to the BJP-Shiv Sena that should worry the combine. The defeat weakens Mr Shinde's position in the party, particularly when he was brought in to arrest the slide in the government's popularity. He will now have to face challenge not only from within the Congress but also from a resurgent BJP-Shiv Sena, which at one point had nearly succeeded in toppling the Congress-NCP government. The results of the by-elections to the assemblies in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Meghalaya and Orissa have, by and large, conformed to the prevalent trends in those states. In any case, the outcome in these constituencies is unlikely to affect the stability of the governments there, though it gives an idea of which way the political wind blows.
Thought for the day What I know most surely about morality and the duty of man I owe to sport. — Albert Camus
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US cannot remake the world IRAQ is a symbol of many things, but above all of America’s desire to reorder the world, beginning with West Asia, more in tune with its interests in the age of one super power. Flowing from it is the conflict with Old Europe, as US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld describes the countries that do not agree with Washington’s scheme of things. What is being contested is the very nature of the power structure in the world. The neoconservatives who run the George W. Bush administration tend to believe that with the arrival on the world scene of the hyperpower, it is “the end of history” in a sense. And they wish to set in concrete the New World Order, beginning with Iraq, in which there is room only for proxies. There can be no partners in the real sense because there can be no comparison between the behemoth and others. Such a grand design must inevitably come into conflict with the only emerging conglomeration that can aspire to challenge the United States in the coming decades, the European Union. True, Iraq bitterly divided the old continent, with Britain practising its own version of realpolitik, the right-wing governments of Spain and Italy weighing in on the side of the US as did the new entrants to the European Union, more interested in ingratiating themselves in America’s good books than in proving their European credentials. Indeed, Iraq cruelly exposed European vulnerabilities as France and Germany bravely soldiered on, with Russian support. Even as the European Union was poised to take in 10 new members next year, the lines between a unipolar and a multilateral world had to be drawn. Britain repudiates such a concept, but there are enough countries and peoples in the emerging Europe refusing to accept the mantra of one power, with the rest of the world being vassals to varying degrees. The attempt to seek a compromise within the Union and between it and the US cannot hide the elemental nature of the contest. In the British view, there cannot be a different pole of power represented by Europe contesting the US. In the Old European view, best represented by France, the only way in which the Union will be taken seriously in the world is when it develops its own autonomous centre of power. A modest effort at evolving a European force that could be deployed in peace-keeping and peace-enforcing duties with NATO logistics but without US participation has not made dramatic progress. It was later submerged in an American effort to form a European subsidiary force to do US bidding. But a more recent development has been the attempt by France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg to form a defence arrangement with a planning and command structure outside the NATO umbrella. This has set alarm bells ringing in Washington although Britain, in an effort to placate Old Europe, has been making some symbolic gestures to the idea. There are good reasons why France should be the leader of the autonomy camp. It is the proponent of Cartesian logic, piercing as it is prescient in analysing facts and delineating trends. Charles de Gaulle left his country a legacy of independent thinking and a grand vision. The latter has doubtless been battered by the growing power of the US and France’s own diminishing resources but the neo-Gaullists represented by President Jacques Chirac refuse to believe that France’s, and Europe’s, destiny lies in paying court to what US academics have described as the Second Roman Empire. Germany is still emerging from the shadow of World War II although Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has planted his country’s flag firmly in the autonomy camp. Indeed, the candidate members of the European Union are a natural constituency of the Berlin Republic, seeking American favours though they are with an eye to a future resurgent Russia, their historical foe. A new constitution for the future European Union of 25 countries is in the process of being formalised, with the former French President, Mr Giscard d’Estaing, having impressively presided over the commission that delivered the blueprint. President Chirac is free from the dichotomy represented by the “cohabitation” — sharing power with the Socialists — before the last election and is thus better placed to fight European battles with the US. Given the divisions in the European camp, a two-speed Europe is bound to come into being. Apart from the traditional division between the federalists and those favouring an organisation of sovereign states, the core of Old Europe — France and Germany — will want to progress faster than others. There was a time when Japan was projected as a future pole of power, but its sputtering economy, rigidities in the power structure and the perceptions of the elite have tended to inhibit the country from fulfilling its potential. China’s potential as a power centre is universally recognised but it is some decades from becoming a pole. Thanks to Iraq, the battle had to be joined by Europe as the only emerging countervailing force to the hyperpower. Philosophically, France is attuned to playing the role of the leader. Some of the clearest formulations in the pre-war and post-war stages have come from French spokesmen. The French have got under the American skin because much of what they have said on Iraq is unassailable. In the mess Americans find themselves in, the transformation of the occupation regime is imperative, the French suggesting that sovereignty should be passed on to Iraqi hands quickly and the United Nations should have a central role in supervising and delivering a new, more permanent Iraqi dispensation. Washington is still trying to reconcile its need for other countries’ assistance while refusing to give up military or political power in Iraq. It is still unclear how soon Americans will learn from their Iraq misadventure. The task of remaking the world is proving more arduous and expensive than was foreseen by the Bush administration. The pleas for help sit ill with the arrogance of the neoconservatives. Ultimately, the neocons will be disciplined by public perceptions at home, with the presidential election due in a little over a
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Balloon burst I think most of us are duped, at one stage or the other, by twin elements of hope and illusion. It is this Brucian hope to ultimately win the battle or the persistent dream of a Sisyphus to roll up the boulder and make it stay on the top of the precipice that drives us to continue with the struggle to succeed. Even when we know that the journey is tough we decide to march forward, chanting inwardly “who knows?” So, what is the harm in trying? Equally strong is the pull of illusion, especially with people who read too much poetry and drama and fiction. Having spent nearly four decades reading and understanding some of the classics, I did salute the poets called “the unacknowledged legislators.” About the legislation part I didn’t worry much but when they said something about age I lapped it up. I started believing that if you feel young at heart, you look also young despite that horrible date of birth in your matriculation certificate. At times I did feel a bit confused when some of the Romantics suggested that a man of 70 should feel like a lad of 17, but that didn’t dent my passion for life. Even though after retirement I had to leave the constant company of poets and playwrights, my passion and zest for life didn’t nosedive. In my essential self-image the certificate age played no role. In fact I defied age in my stormy walks, for I hated to hear someone say “look, how he walks after retirement”. I continued with the usual pace, letting people wonder about the magic in my knees and ankles. Unfortunately, I didn’t realise that the high tide of illusion would suddenly abate in a distant coastal city, the home of celluloid fantasies. Now both my hopes and illusions about feeling and “looking” young lie buried in the wet sands of Juhu Beach. My wife and I were in Bombay to spend one summer with our son. Propelled by the inner demon I would step out in the morning and briskly walk to the nearby campus of Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers — of course with a folded umbrella in hand, like all Bombaites. On return I would greet the security guards at the Sterling Apartments and run up the steps to our fifth-floor flat — all the time shunning the elevator. One fateful evening as I returned from the market, with a motley of bags in both hands, as usual I looked at the elevator and prayed for its users. It was not meant for a lad of 17 bubbling with energy, I thought. I think it was on the third floor that I found a burly resident standing in the doorway of his flat, playing some game with his unruly son. As I moved on to the next flight of steps, I heard this: “One should always walk up like this old man.” Sitting in the barber’s chair the next morning I did notice that my face showed wrinkles and that visual pathos that I always called the insignia of the oldies. Rid of the illusion of feeling young and looking young I got back home to nurse my wrinkles and value my last grey
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Punjabis jump into Canadian elections
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Gandhi Jayanti bring luck to 11 Indo-Canadians, all of Punjabi origin, who are among 24 candidates from visible minorities running for representation on the 103-member Ontario’s Provincial Parliament? Elections are to be held on October 2. They are out to emulate their brethern from British Columbia, who have not only been creating history with their unprecedented victory in the electoral battles for more than two decades but also have risen to Premiership of the province besides holding ministerial berths in the provincial government. In the present 73-member British Columbia Assembly elected in 2001, there are at least six Members (MLAs), who are of Punjabi origin. They are Mr Tony Bhullar, Mr Gulzar Cheema, Mr Karan Manhas, Ms Patty Sahota, Mr Dave Hayer and Mr Rob Nijjar. Mr Gulzar Cheema, now a Minister in British Columbia, had the distinction of being an MLA of more than one province in Canada. Earlier, he was a member of Manitoba Provincial Assembly. Mr Karan Manhas has been the youngest to enter British Columbia Assembly. Mr Moe Sihota of New Democrats Party (NDP) is perhaps the pioneer of politicians of Punjabi origin to make a breakthrough in the provincial politics of British Columbia. Mr Ujjal Dosanjh, who rose to be premier of BC in 2000-2001, and Mr Harry Lalli, have been among others who have held senior positions in the provincial government. Though the Punjabi population in British Columbia and Ontario may nearly be the same, those in the former territory had emigrated long back leading to the better consolidation of the community. In fact, some of the present MLAs belong to second and third generation of Punjabi immigrants in Canada. It is British Columbia which has sent Mr Herb Dhaliwal, a Federal Minister in the present Liberal Government, and Mr Gurmant Grewal, a Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons. Like their counterpart from Ontario, Mr Gurbax Singh Malhi, they are all Punjabis, elected to the House of Commons more than once. Interestingly, the Punjabi immigrants are identifiable with all major political parties, both at the provincial and federal level. For instance, in the Federal House of Commons, while there are two Punjabi-Canadians in the ruling Liberals, there are three in the Opposition representing the Canadian Alliance or erstwhile Reform Party. Similarly, in provincial politics, Punjabi-Canadians have been holding key positions in Liberals, New Democratic Party (NDP), Progressive Conservatives (PC) or Tories, Green Party, and Communist Party of Canada. Besides, a couple of them are contesting as Independents. Given that 19 per cent of Ontarians are visible minorities, it is still not reflective of the population as a whole as the progress in diversifying ethnic representation in Ontario’s Assembly has been slow. Certainly, the process of assimilation of Punjabi Canadian politicians into mainstream politics has been slower in Ontario than in British Columbia. The last Assembly had only three visible minorities, including Mr Raminder Gill, a Punjabi, who had been the Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier and Minister of Inter-Governmental Affairs, Mr Ernie Eves, since April last year. He had earlier served as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities and also as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Labour. Besides Mr Raminder Gill, there will be five other candidates of Punjabi origin who will be contesting the October 2 election on the ruling Tories (Progressive Conservative) ticket, nine will be contesting on the Liberals ticket and the remaining nine for the New Democrats (NDP). There are two women contestants also — Ms Nina Tangri and Ms Saroj Bains. The Punjabis are mostly concentrating on constituencies in and around Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Mr Raminder Gill, who was elected in June 1999, became the first Sikh ever to sit in Ontario Provincial Parliament. Other candidates of the Indian origin who put up a good show in the 1999 elections but failed to make it to the Assembly were mostly from Liberals — Mr Gurjit Grewal (Brampton Centre), Mr Mohan Anand (Halton) and Mr Shan Padda (Mississauga East) — besides Ms Janaki Balakrishnan (NDP). According to Elections Ontario website, this time those in the run besides Mr Raminder Gill are Dr Kuldip Kular (Bramalea-Gore- Malton-Springdale-Liberal), Mr Sanjeev Goel (Brampton Centre - Green Party of Ontario), Mr Vic Dhillon (Brampton West-Mississauga-Liberal), Mr Baljit Gosal (Etobicoke North-Progressive Conservative Party), Mr Kuldip Singh Sodhi (Etobicoke-North-New Democratic Party), Mr Robert Sabharwal (Huron-Bruce-Freedom Party of Ontario), Mr Harinder Singh Takhar (Mississauga Centre- Liberal), Ms Nina Tangri (Mississauga West-Progressive Conservative), Mr Karnail Singh (Simcoe North-Independent) and Ms Saroj Bains (Windsor-St Clair-Independent). After doing his Master’s degree in Engineering from the University of Toronto, Mr Gill worked for 15 years as a chemical engineer. He is also the developer of a range of environmentally friendly products. For some time he ran a travel agency. He is married to Dr. Pam Gill, a physician. Representing the Punjabis-dominated Bramalea-Gore-Malton- Springdale constituency (Riding), Mr Gill is hopeful that the number of minorities in Ontario Assembly will increase in the October 2 election. “I would definitely like to see more people seeking office. I think the legislature should truly reflect the make-up of the people,” the 52-year-old lone Punjabi legislator of Ontario, recently told a Canadian newspaper. Facing him this time will be another Indo-Canadian of Punjab origin, Dr Kuldip Kular, 54, a physician. Dr Kular, who immigrated from Punjab in 1974 after finishing medical school, has won the Liberal nomination this time. Besides Bramalea-Malton- Gore-Springdale constituency, another constituency which will witness a direct fight between two Punjabis is Etobicoke-North. Mr Kuldip Singh Sodhi (New Democrats) will face Mr Baljit Gosal of the ruling Progressive Conservative. |
In troubled waters THE
Congress finds itself in troubled waters in Kerala and Chhattisgarh. In Kerala because the old war horse, K. Karunakaran, continues to show his angst against Chief Minister A.K. Antony and party chief Sonia Gandhi. He has decided brazenly to join hands with the rival camp — the communists — on doing his bit to destabilise the situation for Antony. The Congress high command finds itself helpless and does not know how to get round Karunakaran, whose supporters eulogise him as the only Congress leader in Kerala. The Congress think-tank finds itself in a similar situation in Chhattisgarh as well where the assembly elections are round the corner. Things are hotting up for Chattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi with the CBI likely to file a chargesheet in a forgery case in a local court. If Jogi is chargesheeted, he would find it difficult to lead the Congress in the coming elections in the fledgling state. The irrepressible Jogi insists that these are canards being spread by his enemies and that there is no question of his bidding adieu to the Chief Ministership. Power play in BJP If factionalism has been the bane of the Congress, it is no different in the BJP. Discriminating political pundits insist that the Congress and the BJP are the two sides of the same coin. The resignation of Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi following the adverse verdict by a Rae Bareli special court is a case in point. It smacks of political oneupmanship. Joshi has dismissed the accusation that his resignation is to embarrass the co-accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case. Even though no senior BJP leader has gone to visit Joshi after his resignation, he does insist that he has been kept out of the loop in the discussions pertaining to the Ram mandir issue. Advani, Dilip Kumar meet When Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and Bollywood thespian Dilip Kumar or Yusuf Bhai met recently, it was widely speculated that the movie icon was being drafted to join the band of enthusiasts to resolve Ayodhya tangle. But that was not the case. That Advani is a keen movie buff and a fan of Yusuf Saheb was all too evident. Leaving aside matters saffron, Advani stumped Dilip Kumar by recounting most of his evergreen films and some unforgettable songs of the black and white era. It transpires that Dilip Kumar had expressed a keen desire to meet Advani and the two took time off to reminisce about golden oldies. Champion at 92 There is never a dull moment for the NRI Sikh community. A 92-year-old Sikh from Britain is being sponsored by a New York weekly in Punjabi, “Sher-e-Punjab,” and an organisation of Sikhs in England to run the New York marathon on November 2. Fauja Singh is the world record holder for marathons in the over-90 category for males. The patriarch of an extended family of four children, 13 grandchildren and five great grandchildren spread over Britain, Canada, India and Italy, Fauja Singh started running marathons only at the age of 89. In April this year, Fauja Singh clocked six hours, 2 minutes and 43 seconds, improving his previous best of 7 hours and 52 minutes. Maran’s treatment The Vajpayee government has spent about Rs 16 crore on the treatment of Union minister Murasoli Maran in the US. After treatment in New Delhi and Chennai, Maran was flown to the US and the Cabinet secretariat
was asked to coordinate clearances for the payment to the Methodist Hospital in Houston. During his return to Chennai in a special air ambulance, eight major international airports were put on alert in case of an emergency. Inquiries reveal that the DMK is yet to return the Rs 16 crore spent on Maran’s medical treatment in the US to the exchequer. DMK stalwarts say there is nothing wrong in the BJP-led NDA government picking up the tab for Maran’s treatment abroad, especially when Maran was one of the architects of the NDA’s return to power. Contributed by T.R. Ramachandran and Satish Misra |
Hatred does not cease through hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law. — Gautam Buddha If we could all give our own definitions of God, there would be as many definitions as there are men and women. — Mahatma Gandhi A mind that is fast is sick. A mind that is slow is sound. A mind that is still is divine. —
Meher Baba O Son of Spirit. My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and
— Baha’u’llah As is the hope so is the desire which is fulfilled by the All-inclusive God. — Guru Nanak |
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