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People of India and Pakistan want peace ON RECORD |
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PROFILE COMMENTS UNKEMPT DIVERSITIES — DELHI
LETTER
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People of India and Pakistan want peace
John F. Kennedy said, “It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war”, said John F. Kennedy. That must have been a fact during the Cold War period when war and peace went hand in hand. Much has changed since Kennedy said that famous line. The Cold War ended, new nations were born, a superpower collapsed, a wall dividing nations crumbled, globalisation spread, world has shrunk, more nations have even opted for common currency. The sole superpower even got trembled by terrorist attacks and too much has changed since then. Pakistan was not created to lock two peoples in a perpetual death embrace or for fostering terrorism in the region. If dividing India, creating the largest ever exodus in human history, was meant to solve a problem, it certainly has not solved any but only created many. Even four wars have failed to solve any problem. The two peoples technically remained at war ever since the Partition. But now the people of both countries are fed up with the feud. India and Pakistan have made some significant moves bringing hopes and cheer. The ceasefire has received warm welcome. So is the decision of resumption of over flights. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating. General
Musharraf should earnestly try to end terrorism. That alone will reduce distrust among the people. It will enable one-fifth of humanity to work for promoting economic cooperation, and eventual reunion of divided families. Kashmir is enmeshed in tragedies for long and it's tryst with despair must end. Prime Minister Vajpayee in the context of Indo-Pakistan relations said sometime back: “For the welfare of our people, there is no other recourse but a pursuit of the path of reconciliation, of engaging in productive dialogue and by building trust and confidence”. Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani said: “…A day will come when the people of both countries will realise that Partition has done no good to them”. Righting wrongs is natural. Human imbecility and selfishness should not come in the way of correcting past mistakes. So, nothing is impossible in the world of politics, if rulers are far-sighted. Through deft diplomatic efforts, shared aims, prudence of leadership, India and Pakistan can bury the hatchet and tread towards peace and prosperity. There are many other places in the world where East-West or North-South feud prevailed for decades and ended. East and West Germany had an acrimonious relation for many decades. That ended and their wall of suspicion crumbled on Nov 11, 1989. Similarly, following the Vietnam War (1954-1973) and the subsequent fall of South Vietnam, it got absorbed into the North Vietnam in 1976 to become a Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It is making fast progress. The world has changed. The Communist world too! The world is already moving towards a borderless regime of free trade and transactions. Take the case of the Korean peninsula. The two Koreas (North and South) follow diametrically opposing ideologies and way of life. They were technically at war for half a century. Their rivalry was cause for great worry for the world because of its possibility of becoming a nuclear war. Foreseeing economic, social and other benefits, the two nations pledged to work for promoting economic cooperation, reunion of divided families and eventual reunification. The people of Korea and Japan are linguistically similar and ethnically almost identical but they don’t like each other much. Their quarrel goes back to the period of Japan's occupation of the peninsula from 1910-1945. By co-hosting the World Cup 2002, the two countries' young are letting old wounds mend. According to a poll by Japan's Mainichi Shimbun and Korea's Chosun Ilbo, nearly 70 per cent of Japanese feel affinity for Korea and 35 per cent Koreans say they have a warm spot for the Japanese. America devastated Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945 and today both Japan and America work hand in hand for economic progress. If such unbelievable and dramatic attitudinal changes are possible and such deep-rooted hatred can be turned into understanding, why can't we in India and Pakistan initiate efforts leading to greater understanding between the people of the two countries? The only lasting solution to peace in this subcontinent is to turn hatred into understanding. Let's forget the past, burry the hatchet and look to the future. Mr Vajpayee had already travelled long distance on the road to peace; he travelled to Lahore in February 1999 though Musharraf led him to Kargil. Then again he walked the extra mile to seek peace and went to Agra to receive Musharraf despite the warning of Benazir Bhutto that “New Delhi is making a colossal mistake if it believed that Gen Musharraf is going to play a peace card at the Agra Summit”. Again he initiated a major peace mission in November 2000, by announcing a unilateral non-initiation of combat operations in the state during the holy month of Ramzan. That bold initiative was extended twice. “Let this opportunity not be missed by all those who desire peace, for our patience is not infinite”, said the Prime Minister. Now it is for Gen Musharraf to prove his sincerity and willingness to walk the road to peace. Mr Vajpayee is again packing his bags for SAARC in Islamabad and that will provide an opportunity to Gen Musharraf to show his sincerity. Let’s not prevent things from happening; let’s help make things happen. As Mr H.K. Dua said: “In the affairs of nations, sometimes it becomes necessary to experiment with history — if you want to change it”. The writer is Union Minister of State for Home Affairs |
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ON RECORD Q: Has your force the necessary wherewithal to meet the challenge of counter-insurgency operations, especially in Jammu and Kashmir? A: Anti-militancy or anti-insurgency role is full of challenges. But it is not the first time that the CRPF has started manning in Jammu and Kashmir for anti-insurgency operations, particularly in Srinagar town. When militancy raised its head, four battalions of CRPF were airlifted from Delhi to Jammu and Kashmir. From 1989 to 1991, it was the CRPF, which handled the anti-militancy operations along with the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Since infiltration continued and militancy intensified, additonal forces like Rashtriya Rifles and BSF were inducted. So, counter-insurgency operation is not a new task and the CRPF is fully prepared to take on the challenge. Q: Then why are doubts in some quarters over the CRPF’s role in Srinagar? A:
I am not aware of any opposition. The Group of Ministers had recommended that the BSF will revert to their duty of guarding the borders and the CRPF will handle internal security. Q: Why the taking over process is slow? A: The replacement of eight BSF battalions by the CRPF will be completed by Dec 31, 2003. The mission of taking over the counter-insurgency role would be accomplished by 2005. We are raising 64 new battalions, 17 of which have already been raised during the last two years. This year the recruitment process has been started to raise 22 new battalions. With raising of about 25 new battalions next year, the strength of CRPF battalions is going to be more than 200 battalions which would give the force the distinction of being the largest paramilitary force in the world. Q: Why is the process of modernisation slow? A:
No. This is not true. The present government is keen on modernising the force in terms of upgradation of weaponry, communication systems, mobility, transport, bullet-proofing, as early as possible. But we have to depend on the import of some of the equipment. As for the indigenous weaponry systems or gadgets, we have no problems as the indigenous factories are able to ensure supplies. Till last year, we faced procedural problems. Now the Ministry of Home Affairs has evolved, on our suggestion, a fast-track mechanism for procurement of weapons. Q: Is the firepower of the CRPF enough to match militants? A: Yes. But we are modernising further our weaponry system in a phased manner as per our requirement. We have already procured or in the process of procuring modern machine guns, sniper rifles, automatic granade launchers, Carl Gustav Rocket launchers, global positioning system, etc. Q: There was a move to raise special CRPF battalions for deployment in the Naxalite-hit areas. A:
The specialised battalions’ pre-induction training has been made area specific, dealing exclusively with the problems, strategies and the tactics to deal with the Naxalites. After one-month of intensive training, they are ready to operate in the Naxalite affected areas. Having seen the success of the CRPF in the recent Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, where the Naxalite-affected areas recorded a higher voter turnout this time, we are inducting 11 more battalions for long-term deployment in the Naxalite-hit states, particularly in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. The total number of battalions under deployment in these areas will then rise to 22. Q: Why is the CRPF heavily banking on other agencies for intelligence gathering? A:
We have nucleus of intelligence units. Intelligence gathering requires long-term deployment of the force. In the Naxalite-hit areas, as the CRPF deployment is temporary, intelligence gathering is difficult. But since we do not have an elaborate system, we depend on the intelligence inputs made available by the local police, State Intelligence Bureaus and the Intelligence Bureau of the Central Government. Q: Have you proposed a separate air wing for the CRPF on the pattern of BSF? A:
No. But we have suggested that certain aircraft manned by the BSF should be exclusively made available to the CRPF, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir for movement of our force and for our Quick Reaction Teams and senior officers. Q: What about quarters for the CRPF jawans? A:
The Government of India has increased the percentage of housing from 14 to 24 per cent. We need land. This year, we have selected suitable land in various states, where
separated family quarters, with all basic social amenities like shops, schools, etc, could be built. I have been assured by the governments of Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh that we should identify land and wherever it is available, they will support us. Q: What about stress management of jawans? A:
We have set up occupational therapy units in four of our base hospitals in Jammu, Guwahati, Jamshedpur and Delhi for those with psychiatric ailments. Apart from treatment through medicines, these therapy units involve patients afflicted with psychiatric ailments in occupations like candle making, cane furniture making, etc. These units will help a great deal in giving proper treatment to our jawans, who have psychiatric ailments. |
PROFILE
Writing for films — screen plays and even dialogues — was an experiment, an aberration in Kamleshwar’s four-decade-long career as literati. “When he writes, as he wants to write”, his genius proliferates as manifested in his 12 novels and 17 collection of short stories. Doubtless, he has established himself as one of the pioneers of “new story revolution” in Hindi. Some critics put him in the category of one of the founding fathers of modern Hindi literature. The Sahitya Akademi has, therefore, aptly chosen Kamleshwar for its prestigious award and his novel “Kitne Pakistan” was taken as a criterion for the honour. Perhaps, coincidentally, “Kitne Pakistan” was adjudged among his best writings when people of both India and Pakistan, suffering for years the agony of Partition, have been yearning for peace. Kamleshwar says: “The response of “Kitne Pakistan” Kamleshwar does not like awards and in the past refused many but he is elated at the recognition of his creativity by the Sahitya Akademi. A family friend of this columnist for long years, he was in a hurry to catch a flight to Mumbai when I called him on his mobile phone, congratulated him and requested him for a brief meeting. He could not spare time but kind enough to send material about himself, promised to call back from Mumbai and, like last year, join me in ringing out the old year and ringing in 2004. Born in a middle class family in Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh, Kamleshwar's full name is Kamleshwar Prasad Saxena. He did his graduation and obtained Master's degree in Hindi literature from Allahabad University. His first novel “Badnam Gaali” (Cursed lane) was published when he was a student. Writing was not enough to enable him eke out a living after completion of education and he had to work as a proof reader, carved out designs on cardboard boxes and drew sketches. Unable to make both ends meet, he had to work, at one stage, as night watchman at a tea go-down. He continued writing in the worst of adversity, facing the rough and tumble of life bravely. His literary genius sparkled with the publication of his first short story “Comrade” in 1948 and the course of life changed. The days of dire poverty were over as he travelled to Bombay and began his career as film writer. Kamleshwar was, however, a reluctant entrant as script writer but motivated into writing for films by producers like Ramanand Sagar, B.R. Chopra, Saawan Kumar and even a writer like Gulzar. Once he stepped into this field, he came to be known as the most successful and sensitive writers in Hindi film. So much so that he followed his own principles and dictated terms to some of the most successful directors. There was ego clash when film makers started interfering with his writings. He had to compete with writers who did not know the basics of writing yet making money by tailoring their scripts according to the whims and fancies of producers whose sole objective was to cater to public taste. Kamleshwar compromised till he could and many films he wrote for the best of film makers flopped at box office. He could not compromise beyond this point, decided to quit Mumbai and switched over to television, having made the first short TV film on the “Jamuna Bazar”, near river Yamuna in Delhi. Kamleshwar will go down in history as one of the greatest writers in Hindi literature who was not cut out to write money-spinning film stories. He couldn't force himself to write what his heart refused to cooperate with. He is 71, still active and working on new
ventures. |
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COMMENTS UNKEMPT It’s not uncommon to see the Third World pictured through First World eyes. Stylish descriptive prose, a smitch of sympathy, and its all done. The contrary from Third World to Third World, is not so easy because “there but for the grace of God...” comes into play. Calcutta (I like the old name above the ersatz Kolkata) is a prime example, City of Joy, Mother Terasa, are compelling to the First World reader, even to the Calcutta booktaster snuggled in deep-cushioned cane chair, reading of one’s own world seemingly aeons removed. But it’s different for one wedded to Calcutta but not living there any more, only visiting now and then. Threading a crowded way past men and women who live out their 24 hours of work, sleep, bath, cooking or dandling the baby next to a 1930 small pillbox-type water-tap of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation from its halcyon days, the emotion is something deeper than just sympathy. How is it, surfaces the question, that a city which has produced four Nobel Prize winners and near-dozen Fellows of the Royal Society offer such a collage of contradictions? A first World chronicler now nestled back in Shoreditch of Shepherd’s Bush will not, of course, know of three thunderous waves of refugees that thudded onto Calcutta. In 1944 when the British and American soldiers in the city and equally hungry fighting forces in North East India, Burma and beyond ate their fill, caused the Bengal Famine, and drove hundreds of thousands of skeletal human beings to Calcutta. In 1947 (after Partition) and in 1971 (10 million, just imagine, refugees from East Pakistan) crushed the pleasantness that was Calcutta. Those waves still rule the politics and the economics of the city. And the refugees continue to flow in — from a country across hedge or stream much poorer, Bangladesh, and from the hinterland of backward Indian states like Bihar, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh that have shoved in employment seekers for generations. There are more Orissans even today, in Calcutta than in Orissa’s largest city, Cuttack. From atop the portico of my century-old Calcutta home, I look down on a row of small eateries and pan, bidi, cigarette shops where the sellers and buyers speak Bihari Hindi, not Calcutta’s native Bengali. From a taxi or car I don’t flinch so much from the malodour of uncleared garbage as from the sight of women abandoned by husbands or partners, each with two or three children in tow who sit bemusedly by the kerbside caressing the youngest, wondering where the next meal will come from, perhaps from, thrown out leftovers. It’s an image hard to get over and if one thinks of HIV-AIDS then some of those women and children are probably sentenced to death. I don’t remember so many beggars in my boyhood days but equally, too, I don’t remember so few givers of alms. Its like in our planet, the First World is notorious for not giving alms, the United States being the meanest donor of all. Is there something unusually dirty about squatter-type latrines which the First Worlder’s shrink from? Laboratory-historians talk of them as being better for evacuation. Certainly in my student-day flits to Paris the pensions I could afford usually had squatter types. Yes, the difference between past and present probably is that, despite sitting in an air conditioned car, getting off to enter gourmet restaurants and apparel stores as well-stocked today as Firpo’s Whiteway Laidlaw’s Army and Navy, Hall and Anderson’s in the 30’s and 40’s, the passing show in the lanes and slums consists of one’s own kinsfolk. That is hard to forget even in the world of short memories. Clement Attlee’s memoirs speak of young boys in London running barefoot behind cabs, picking up the horse-dropping from the street. James Callaghan’s first job was at something like a pound and a few shillings a week. London has forgotten the waifs, barefooted and dressed in rags, of the East End while country house parties flourished in the homes of England’s landed rich. Bedgraggled refugees? Did the hundreds of thousands from Ireland and Eastern Europe, steerage passengers on their way to the United States — white in complexion, of course, — look much different from those who crowded into Kolkata in those three waves? Slums, but then only 2 per cent of the people from the 30 richest countries live in slums, and 80 per cent of the urban population of the 30 poorest. Those 80 per cent are hardly represented in assemblies and parliaments. Even West Bengal, pioneer in giving land to the bhag-chashis (share croppers) goes on multiplying bodies on the rim of panchayats without giving them any powers. Tidal waves of refugees, political and economic, can shake the foundations and the social fabric of cities. Calcutta was so attractive in Bengal’s “green and pleasant land”. Even today, there is a lot of hoo ha made about Gokhale’s “What Bengal thinks today the rest of India thinks tomorrow” and about Calcutta as the city of art and culture. Repeated blows of geopolitical circumstance have damaged the lifestyle of the Bengalis, particularly of the educated middle class, that used to provide the doctors, scientists, lawyers and other professionals. Calcutta’s medical services are no longer the best in India, the Calcutta Bar has lost its superiority in legal advocacy and many Bengali scientists and engineers migrate abroad or to other cities. The sorely pushed middle class live very much by selling off whatever pieces of real property they have to builders and brokers. No longer is it the city where the stately white and green trams made everything comfortably close, where there was no showing off of interior decoration and trendy clothes. The cultivated and cultured lived simply and sparked each other off by interaction. But the city still has life, waiting for a return of the greatness that its tall figures gave it. |
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DIVERSITIES — DELHI LETTER NO nights out for me, I keep telling myself as fog engulfs and ill-prepared that I'm, don't have the foggiest idea how to go about finding my way. Its day time that surmounts and so don't really know the details about the activities lined out for this new year’s eve. Perhaps, I'd start the year with what SAHMAT holds out. Fifteen years back, Safdar Hashmi was murdered on January 1, and this platform that's come about in his memory starts off each year on a note that gently lulls you towards introspection. No, none of those winding speeches, but through the strain of classical music — on January 1, Shubha Mudgal and Madan Gopal Singh would start off the mood or as they say ‘act one’. Others to follow are Susmit Bose, Nirmalya Dey, Ruchika Castelino, Maya Rao, Navtej Johar, Madan Tewari. The list is long as the programme starts off in the afternoon and goes on till midnight. Short breaks for tea in those traditional earthen wares and talks revolving around the changing political scenario engulfing us.
Sahitya Akademi’s
bid to reach out There could be good news for many upcoming writers as Sahitya Akademi is trying to shirk off its reputation of being labeled “a club of old professors”, to reach out to the younger writers. At a press conference, the chairman of this Akademi, Professor Gopi Chand Narang said that for the golden jubilee celebrations of this Akademi (beginning March 2004), they are laying utmost emphasis on the young writers of the country, so much so that their works could also be published by this Akademi and there would be five Jubilee awards of Rs one lakh each for young writers under 35 years of age. The Golden Jubilee year celebrations would also include a writers' delegation going from here to Pakistan, a conference of SAARC writers culminating in a literary meet, seminars to highlight regional writings. Thankfully, these seminars wouldn't be held in the capital city but in four cities of the country, focus on the literature of Jammu and Kashmir, a tribal writers’ meet. Perhaps the highlight of these golden jubilee celebrations would be a writers’ delegation coming here from Pakistan. As Narang said “I have asked President Musharraf that the Sahitya Akademi's counterpart in Pakistan be here so that our writers could interact with them, for there is simply no people-to-people rivalry.” The National Book Foundation in Pakistan is headed by the famous writer-poet Ahmad Faraz. I have met him here. It is an experience to hear him recite and talk. He was jailed (I think during General Zia-ul-Haq's tenure) and then had to shift to London for a while. Even his personal life isn't devoid of strange encounters. When I 'd asked him about his marriage, he smiled weakly and nodded and had this to say: “I just had to marry her, for before marriage as we were travelling together as colleagues our car met with such a terrible accident that her face got completely disfigured and so I'd decided to marry her. Its like any other marriage, you know what I mean.” I nodded and in that mood heard him recite one romantic verse after another, for the man carries immense pain, his voice has a longing for a certain definite kind... Coming back to Sahitya Akademi, this year's list of awardees has been announced. Yes, Kamleshwar had bagged the award in the Hindi language category for his novel “Kitne Pakistan”. And for the Urdu language, it is the Indian Revenue Service officer Syed Muhammad Ashraf for his collection of short stories “Baad-e-Saba ka intezar”, for the English language it is Meenakshi Mukherjee’s “The Perishable Empire”, for the Kashmiri language the awardee is Som Nath Zutshi. The list of the awardees is long, but don't overlook the fact that the Akademi honours writers from 22 of our languages.
Breaking the foggy vow Thank you, Dhanendra Kumar! When Sudhamahi Regunathan, Vice-Chancellor of the Jain Vishwa Bharati Deemed University, invited me this week to view a play that her university students was staging at the Kamani, I couldn't say no, fog or no fog. Two reasons for breaking this foggy vow. One, Sudhamahi is someone I greatly respect for her straightforward attitude and believe me there are only a handful whom one can respect in these times. This play is based on Jain monk Acharya Mahaprajna's writings. To be precise, he wrote the script, based on a king conversing with the nature around him. On that particular evening, as the clock kept ticking by for the play to take off, one of the chief guests, Dr L.M. Singhvi, went on giving such a long opening speech. When the other chief guest, Union Secretary for Culture Dhanendra Kumar arrived to give his speech, the audience gave each other those looks, “let’s see how long this man goes on speaking!”. But he was wise enough to not go beyond two impressive sentences. With that, the audience heaved a sigh of relief, as though saying “thank you Mr Dhanendra
Kumar!” |
Christianity is the religion of loving, speaking and doing, as well as believing. It is a life as well as a creed. It has a rest for the heart, a word for the tongue, a way for the feet, and a work for the hand. — Cumming God is attained only when man gets established in one or other of the three attitudes: All this am I; All this art Thou; Thou art the master and I am the servant. — Sri Ramakrishna He alone has found the right way who eats what he earns through toil and shares his earnings with others. — Guru Nanak Truth, purity, and unselfishness — wherever these are present, there is no power below or above the sun to crush the possessor thereof. Equipped with these, one individual is able to face the whole universe in opposition. — Swami Vivekananda Falsehoods not only disagree with truths, but they usually quarrel among themselves. — Daniel Webster |
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ACCORDING to “One Border-One Force” norm, as envisioned by the Kargil Review Committee and recommended by the Group of Ministers, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been asked to take over the counter-insurgency role in the country. Although the CRPF has already begun this process in Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur, there are apprehensions over the replacement of the Border Security Force (BSF) by the CRPF in Srinagar City. Is the CRPF really geared up to meet the challenges? CRPF Director-General S.C.Chaube, in an interview to The Tribune, outlined the steps initiated by it to meet this critical responsibility and also on the growing challenges before it. Excerpts:
SOMEONE has called noted Hindi writer Kamleshwar “Chotte kaad ka admi” and “Kale raang ka lekhak”. True, his diminutive figure and dark complexion do not impress a first-time caller but his size enlarges as he talks and big, brooding eyes sparkle, as if, he has so much to tell to his readers. His dwarfish figure, hopping from one place to other, became immensely popular on the TV chat show “Parikrama” watched by millions of viewers in early eighties. He had forayed into just coming up TV world having been fed up with his avocation as film writer. Obviously, a creative genius like Kamleshwar could no longer work like a “munshi” who was dictated sometimes by one and many times by a number of bosses. The key to the success of “Parikrama” was attributed to raising controversial subjects and bringing into open the stark truth of life.