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It’s voters' day Belling the CAT |
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Jailed in Portugal At least Abu Salem, Monica won’t be able to flee THE four-and-a-half-year jail sentence handed down by a Portuguese court to underworld don Abu Salem and a two-year term to his girlfriend Monica Bedi will mean that India will have to wait that much longer for their possible extradition, but at least it has the satisfaction that they will not be able to flee to some other country as they did from the UAE.
Competitive exam mania
Dread of advertising
DATELINE LONDON
CONSUMER RIGHTS
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It’s voters' day TODAY
is the day when the dirty tricks departments of most political parties will go on overdrive to influence the electoral verdict in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. However, it is unlikely that the Election Commission is going to be caught napping when the race is about to end. In Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the Congress, more than the Bharatiya Janata Party, had to be rapped on the knuckles several times by an alert EC for violating the model code of conduct. However, a fair stocktaking of the campaign will show just about every political player having tried to violate the prescribed norms. Mr Ajit Jogi and Mr Digvijay Singh were singled out for "special treatment" by the EC for abusing the state machinery for pushing the Congress' campaign in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, in sharp contrast, played the game by the rule book. Pollsters have predicted a second term for both of them. If the pre-poll predictions by various agencies prove correct, both the Congress and the other political party should honestly analyse the factors that influence the voting pattern. Running a transparent and clean government may emerge as important inputs in helping the voters make up their mind. Unlike Mrs Dikshit and Mr Gehlot, the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh had injected a bit of soft saffron too into their campaign. Whether the Judeo tapes will help Mr Jogi salvage some ground is doubtful because of the limited reach of television in this tribal-dominated and backward state. The Congress had made the mistake of using soft saffron in Gujarat and was trounced. Will the voter punish them for taking the focus away from real issues like the shortage of power and drinking water, increasing lawlessness and rampant corruption in the administration? One can only wish that the campaign was cleaner and more focussed on issues that concern the voters. |
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Belling the CAT THE
Chhattisgarh High Court’s ruling on Friday staying the order of transfer of the district collectors of Bastar and Jashpur by the Jabalpur Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal is welcome as it restores the primacy of the Election Commission in its disciplinary jurisdiction over poll duty officers with a view to ensuring free and fair elections. Under Article 324 of the Constitution, the Election Commission is directly responsible for holding orderly elections as also ensuring a level-playing field for all the candidates. The commission had ordered the transfer of the two district collectors only after it was satisfied that in their capacity as returning officers, they were not enforcing the model code of conduct impartially and that they themselves were flouting the code with impunity by supporting Chief Minister Ajit Jogi in his election work. The unsavoury controversy between the Election Commission and the Central Administrative Tribunal could have been avoided had the latter tried to understand its limits and acted accordingly. By annulling the directives of a constitutional authority to hold elections, the CAT not only overstepped its limits imposed by the Constitution but also flouted the Supreme Court’s directive in 2001 reinforcing the supremacy of the commission on all election-related issues. Admittedly, the CAT is only a statutory body created to adjudicate on service-related disputes between the state and the civil servants. It is not an authority to pass judgements on the directives of the Election Commission. If civil servants knock the doors of the CAT for annulment of the orders issued by the Election Commission, it will tantamount to challenging its constitutional legitimacy and supremacy. A lesson to be learnt from the latest episode is that the officials should enforce the model code of conduct scrupulously and set an example of impartiality and rectitude. Otherwise, the commission will have to step in to restore the people’s confidence in the elections. |
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Jailed in Portugal THE
four-and-a-half-year jail sentence handed down by a Portuguese court to underworld don Abu Salem and a two-year term to his girlfriend Monica Bedi will mean that India will have to wait that much longer for their possible extradition, but at least it has the satisfaction that they will not be able to flee to some other country as they did from the UAE. That would have put paid to the painstaking case built up by the CBI against one of India’s most wanted men. The conviction is the result of a concerted Indian attempt to establish beyond doubt the criminal profile and identity of Abu Salem. He had falsely deposed before a Portuguese court that he was Arsalan Mohsin Ali, a Pakistani national. The two countries do not have an extradition treaty but the close cooperation that they have displayed will send a strong signal to terrorists and mafia dons that the governments the world over are determined to track them down. The conviction is set to strengthen the Indian case for the two being handed over to this country after they have completed their terms. Portugal, a member of the European Union (EU), follows the law that no prisoner would be extradited to a country where he could be awarded the death penalty for a domestic crime. India has already given this assurance in writing despite the fact that Abu Salem is wanted in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, besides more than 60 other cases of murder, extortion and kidnapping that mainly targeted film producers and stars. Now that terrorism has bared its most inhuman face, it is necessary for the global community to reconsider its stand on death penalty. Jail term is hardly a deterrent for hardcore killers and their associates. At the same time, India needs to sign extradition treaties with as many countries as possible.
Thought for the day Let no one oppose this belief of mine with that well-worn proverb: ‘He who builds on the people builds on mud.’
— Niccolo Machiavelli
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Competitive exam mania THE
current debate over management examinations seems to be unduly restricted to narrow questions. Should there be one single examination for all institutions? Who should conduct such an examination? Will it benefit applicants? We are missing a proper perspective on the place competitive examinations of this kind should occupy in our admission process and educational system as a whole. To put the matter bluntly: it can be argued that the centrality of competitive examinations in our admission process is ruining rather than enhancing the quality of education. Here are some reasons why. We have an extraordinary tendency to take an institution from the West and then exaggerate its scope to the point where it subverts the original intent of the institution. We tend to forget that in the American academic system test scores, be it SAT, GRE GMAT or LSAT, are only one small component of an admission process that still heavily relies on educational performance in your institution, letters of recommendation, work experience, achievement and so forth. These tests are treated as markers of threshold eligibility; they are not the criteria for admission. In India, these tests have more or less come to displace every other consideration. The HRD Ministry’s appalling proposal to have the IIMs even abolish group interviews is symptomatic of the extent to which these tests are now treated as central to admissions at the expense of everything else. What are the consequences of this centrality? First, competitive examinations have almost entirely displaced performance in our regular institutions in the order of importance. There is thus very little incentive for students to see their regular courses as anything but placeholders while they take entrance examinations. Is it possible to even imagine a vibrant academic culture if an educational system consistently gives signals that your performance in regular classes will not count for as much as competitive examinations? The entire academic orientation shifts towards cracking examinations at the expense of curiosity, experiment and a sense of learning. It is small wonder that our universities have become basically irrelevant to a student’s life prospects in a meaningful sense. I taught at Harvard for close to a decade, and I cannot for a moment imagine any MBA or law aspirant there thinking that the papers they write at the university, the courses they take, the all-round skills they will develop, the grades they will get will, in the end, be irrelevant to their future. A large majority of our students here think so and a large part of the blame is to be placed on the competitive examination mania. The nature of competitive examinations discourages the development of certain kinds of skills. Given the trend towards objective-type examinations even in subjects like Hindi and English, most students even at the masters level do not have the basic skills like an ability to write an essay, an interest in being articulate, and the curiosity about research in the widest possible sense and so forth. There are three primary reasons why competitive examinations have acquired such centrality. First, we are clamouring for transparent admission systems where all institutional discretion is reduced. Competitive examinations provide such a measure. Traditional measures like interviews and extracurricular achievements other than sports are being slowly sidelined at all levels for fear that they are “subjective.” But our fear of letting institutions exercise judgment is undermining the quality of education. Think of a following real case. A student is extraordinarily gifted at music and mathematics, but has only average accomplishment and interest in other things. His average scores are, therefore, not high, but he is brilliant, close to being a genius in many respects. Under our system it is very difficult for any high-end institution to grant him admission (the courts will probably strike it down). But a university like Harvard is allowed to select him because, irrespective of test scores, they sense that there is something extraordinary here. In short, the room for admission policies in universities to reward real talent — your mathematical prodigy, your young poet, your student who has in adversity shown great leadership skills (always looked at in Harvard admissions) will all be shunted out by our system. A single criterion admission policy at any level will reduce the diversity of talent and make the university a less interesting place. Our fear of discretion encourages conformity. Second, our educational system does not have clear signalling qualities. We are left with competitive examinations as the only measure because students cannot acquire, let alone be trusted to get, meaningful letters of recommendation. A college degree could mean anything, even from our best universities. An overemphasis on competitive examinations is not a sign that we have a fair admission process. It is rather an acknowledgement that the entire system of education is crumbling. But in the long run competitive examinations are no substitute for the process of traditional university education. Third, the sheer pressure of numbers in our system is enormous and that will invariably lead to a demand for testing systems that are commensurable across different regions, academic institutions and so forth. But a result of centralisation of examinations is that it discourages experimentation and innovation. It is much more difficult for institutions to create and carve out a different niche for themselves if they are all expected to employ the same criteria in admission, if they have to prepare their students for the same examinations and so forth. It is not surprising that even distinguished institutions like the IIMs and the IITs , with all the wealth of talent they receive, are not able to define their respective fields of knowledge; they are recognised as reliable suppliers of particular types of students, but not as sites of innovation. Any complex education system will inevitably need many competitive examinations. But it is time we recognised the fact that these examinations were narrow in scope, giving students a perverse incentive as far as their regular education goes. Coaching institutions define our identities and life prospects more than our schools, colleges and universities. We should use these examinations to define minimum thresholds of quality and competence. But a society where these examinations come to define the meaning of educational achievement, at the expense of everything else, it is in trouble. Unfortunately, our government and our courts cannot seem to grasp this elementary fact. Competitive examinations, if used, must be used in moderation. |
Dread of advertising NOVELIST Zadie Smith, in her introduction to a recent book, The Burned Children of America, says that she is afraid of death and advertising. By bracketing advertising with death, she forcefully conveys her dread of this lethal weapon of consumerism used by product promoters, producers and market managers. “Advertising doubles for life”, she says, “supplants it, creates simulacra”. Indeed, she is not alone in recognising the perils of modern-day advertising. I too shudder many times at the distractions and distortions brazenly doled out on TV channels, inanities and untruths served blandly to gullible viewers. Let me give a few random instances that come to my mind. There was this ad, you would remember, of a famous brand of men’s suiting in which a comely, lithe lass is putting her arms around a handsome man dressed in designer clothes, and says in her husky voice: “my ultimate man”. As if she has had many men before and has at last found her “ultimate” man! What the script writer perhaps meant was the other meaning of this word, viz. the best or the greatest, as in “Atom bomb is the ultimate weapon”. Every time I saw the ad, I could not help smiling at the unintended joke played on the poor girl by a facile scriptwriter unaware of the nuances of its meaning. Then there is this ad for a particular brand of salt which emphasises the fact that it is “desh ka namak”, as if the other brands of salt have not been produced in the country and have been imported from abroad. It is puerile and silly. In another salt ad, the “maza” of eating dishes is shown entirely to depend on whether or not that particular brand of salt has been used in their preparation. It is ludicrous. Sometimes the point is exaggerated to such an extent that it borders on untruth. An ad for an iodised salt shows pathetic footage of a crippled child to bring home the idea that the curse on the child was brought about by the fact that during pregnancy the mother did not take iodised salt. It implies that the progeny of all pregnant women would be similarly crippled if they did not take iodised salt. It is an unwarranted supposition. Iodised salt is recommended only in such places where people draw ground water from borewells or hand pumps for drinking purpose, and such water has been tested for iodised deficiency. It is downright dangerous to presume that all potable water is deficient in iodine. Most cities and towns and many villages in the country have potable water supplied through taps. There is normally no iodine deficiency in that water, and it may not be desirable to use iodised salt in those places. In fact, excess intake of iodine may create health problems. Not only advertising, even published research is not free from bias. Reports keep appearing in print media about the beneficial effects of coffee and tea or wine. But somewhere tucked in fine print is the apparently innocuous information that the research had been sponsored by the global associations of these products. Obviously, they did not have a purely altruistic motive in sponsoring research in that area. Advertisers resort to endless repetition. They believe in the Goebbelien dictum of a lie becoming truth if told a hundred times. There is ceaseless din of ads, ads, and more ads on popular TV channels driving one to madness. I wish there was a law to curb this menace. Yet there are creative and enjoyable ads. Amir Khan’s cola ads, for example. Well, he is my ultimate actor. I love watching his ads, although all thanda does not mean Coca
Cola. |
DATELINE LONDON
PROTEST rallies against continued occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, a sulking Chancellor of the Exchequer, unions in a rebellious mood and revolt by back-benchers notwithstanding, even the staunchest critics of British Prime Minister Tony Blair believe that there is no chance of toppling the Labour Party at the next elections, 18 months away. A senior Conservative Party functionary told me the other day that in spite of the new found party unity under a new leader, it will not be possible for his party to overturn the Labour majority of 161 in the current Parliament. First, the Conservative Party is not as united as some would like to believe. There are serious differences among them over dumping of the pound sterling for euro, adopting the proposed constitution for the European Community and a European Defence force dominated by France and Germany undermining the US-led NATO. Secondly, new Conservative leader Michael Howard is associated in people’s minds with hardline Thatchrite policies, the most unpopular one being the poll tax. Eighteen months, however, is a long time in politics. The Opposition is hoping to seriously dent Blair’s and his party’s credibility. Opponents are pinning their hopes on the Hutton inquiry report investigating the death of David Kelly, a senior British intelligence officer, who revealed to mediapersons the suspect intelligence on Iraq’s threat of using weapons of mass destruction against the US and its allies, an excuse used to invade that country. The report is expected in January. It might provide enough gun powder to blow the ruling party out of power, at least that is what some incorrigible optimists believe. There are other reasons for optimism for the Opposition. Most elections are won by the Opposition not on its own strength but due to failures of the ruling party. The Labour is plagued with plenty of mid-term problems. The traditionally belligerent hard left is sharpening its knives to take on the new modernising Labour on several fronts. The legislative agenda, announced in the Queen’s speech at the opening of the current parliamentary session, pronounced several controversial policies. A particularly divisive of these policies is top-up fees by the universities. One hundred twentyseven Labour back-benchers have already expressed their dismay at the decision to levy top-up fees. Among the dissidents are some heavyweight members, three former Labour Cabinet ministers and about a dozen other former ministers, who have voiced their opposition to the top up fees. They have vowed to oppose the measure. Their main argument is that this measure will deny the right to higher education to the poor and middle income group children and would further widen the existing gap between the rich and the poor. An average student today has a government loan of about £12,000 at the time of leaving the college. Increased fees will further increase the burden and many a student would forgo the advantage of higher education. The government argument is that the universities are facing a financial crunch. The government kitty is limited and is to be spent on areas which will ensure maximum benefits for society. The government priority area in the field of education is education for kids under five. That is where the government expects maxim dividends on spending. Additional spending on higher education, health and transportation must be met out of additional resources raised from the public by way of non-tax revenues. The success of the congestion charges by the Greater London Council is cited in support. There is also disenchantment with the government asylum (not to be confused with immigration controls) policies, and dilution of the right to trial by jury. These policies need to be dealt with at another time. Suffice it to say that while these policies would be extremely unpopular with Labour back-benchers, NGOs and civil liberty groups, who are already angry with the foundation hospitals. There are other policies such as those scraping the remaining 92 Law Lords, the Lord Chancellor and judicial reforms as well as a complete ban on hunting, which will not go well with the opposition Conservative Party and many in the rural areas of the country. The government will also be given some tough ride by the Press, 75 per cent of it supports the Conservatives. The great TV and print media mogul, Rupert Murdoch, has publicly served notice on the government that he had decided to ask the media under his control to switch loyalty from the Labour to the Conservatives. The fact that the government did not have the guts to rebuke him and show him his proper place was disconcerting for the rank and file in the Labour Party.. Astute political observers, however, believe it is too early to write off Tony Blair. His determination to set a new reforming agenda for the country, as indicated in the Queen’s speech to Parliament, and his government’s attempt to appeal beyond the party faithful, to the wider electorate, should not be underestimated. Moreover, challenged by the rejuvenated Conservative Party and the upbeat Liberal Democrats, a ceasefire has been declared by the Prime Minister and ‘his heir apparent’, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown. The unions and some other party dissidents are also being placated by the promised ban on hunting and other social policies dear to the hearts and minds of the rank and file in the Labour Party Most observers feel that Blair government’s fate will depend on two main things. First, the situation in Iraq over the next 18 months, and the second, public service delivery, especially in the areas of education, health and law and order. The record in these areas has not been too bad. The electorate will have some pretty hard choices to make in the days to come. The government policies it abhors the most are on Iraq, education and health. On these issues, the Conservatives policies would not be any better than that of the present government. If any thing, these would be worse. |
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CONSUMER
RIGHTS WITH consumers in the icy grip of winter, what can be a better subject to discuss than warm clothes? Today Indian markets offer winter wear that is far more trendier and attractive than before. There is a wider choice too in western wear for women. However, in order to make an informed choice, one needs to have some basic information about wool and other fibres used in winter wear. So let’s look at that aspect first. Well, wool is a natural animal product, but its quality depends on the breed of the sheep and where and how it is reared. Superior quality wool is also graded on the basis of which part of the body the fleece is clipped. Fleece from the shoulders and sides of the sheep is said to be superior to that from the belly, breech and head. While Merino wool is one of the finest grades of wool from Merino sheep (the best variety comes from Australia), Lambswool, as the name indicates, is the fine, soft wool from the first shearing of a lamb. Shetland wool is derived from the soft undercoat of Shetland sheep raised in Scotland. While Mohair is produced form the Angora goat, Cashmere is from the Kashmir goat. Pashmina is made from wool combed from the underbelly of goat reared in the Himalayan regions of Tibet, Mongolia,
Kashmir and Central Asia at elevations of 14,500 feet and above. It is very light and soft, but exceptionally warm. A pashmina shawl, it is said, requires wool from three goats. You must have noticed the word “worsted” wool and wondered what it meant. Well, wool fibres can be fabricated into worsted wool, made of longer fibres that give a smooth surface or woollens, which have shorter fibres and have a hairy surface. Wool has several positive characteristics. It is highly resilient or elastic and keeps the wearer really warm on account of the air enmeshed within the fibres and on the surface. It also ‘breathes’. Another advantage of wool is that its outer surface is water repellent, while its interior has a great affinity for moisture. As a result, wool absorbs water very slowly and in the form of water vapour and it can absorb considerable amount of moisture without the wearer feeling damp. Wool is also slow to ignite and because of its low static quality it also resists soil. Wool, however, has certain disadvantages. It tends to shrink and needs to be processed or blended to prevent shrinkage. It is attacked by moth larvae and has to be treated with a moth-repellent. Man-made acrylic fibres, on the other hand, are easy to wash and maintain and moth larvae do not feed on them. They can also be soft and fluffy like wool and they are not as expensive as good quality wool. However, even though acrylics too keep the wearer warm, they are not as resilient as wool and they do not breathe. Unless given an anti-static finish, one can also encounter the problem of static electricity with acrylics. Thus, adequate label information becomes absolutely necessary and this is where the government has to step in and make it mandatory for all ready-to-wear winter garments to specify the fibres used and their percentage, in case of blends. This ensures that consumers are not deceived on quality and thereby, price. In fact, consumers have a right to information and absence of such essential label information on winter garments violates their right. Wash care instructions are also absolutely essential, as different fibres require different kind of care in washing and ironing. The date of manufacture, retail price and full name and address of the manufacturer should also be mentioned on a tag attached to the garment. Will the ministries of textile and consumer affair, please, take note? |
You see many stars in the sky at night, but not when the sun rises. Can you therefore say that there are no stars in the heavens during the day? O man, because you cannot find god in the days of your ignorance, say not that there is no God. — Sri Ramakrishna Sri Ramakrishna left me behind to manifest the Motherhood of God to the world. — Sarada Devi All power is within you, you can do anything and everything. Believe in that, do not believe that you are weak. — Swami Vivekananda One illumines one’s self by lighting the lamp of the Guru’s wisdom. — Guru Nanak Textbooks, preceptors and preachings cannot help you spiritually unless you enquire into yourself. Your Self is the theme of all religion. You can find it yourself right within you. — Swami Parthasarathy |
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