The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

EDITORIALS

It's over, at last!
Can we have shorter, orderly polls?

THE longest election process in the world is over at last! It was a test of patience for voters, leaders and poll officials alike. No wonder, the whole country wears an exhausted look. Strictly speaking, it is not over as yet. The answer to the question who is to govern is now sealed safely, one hopes, in those tiny machines. Only when the last result is out and a new government is in place will the curtains finally come down on the feverish electioneering which took such a heavy toll of everyone's nerves, not to forget those who lost their lives in the process. If it is any consolation, poll violence was less widespread than in the past. But what was omnipresent was the stink of a dirty battle in which many punches were unfortunately aimed below the belt.

If parties did not aim poison darts at one another themselves, they made their surrogate organisations do so. Newspapers were full of such venom; so were some local TV channels. The sense of outrage at this public washing of dirty linen should translate into a cleaner campaign in the future. As far as the Election Commission is concerned, it should concentrate more on ensuring that large numbers of voters do not find their names missing from electoral rolls, as it happened this time, and the election process does not take so interminably long. This time it concentrated more on removing hoardings. One should not miss the wood for the trees.

Despite the strict lid on expenditure, there was a vulgar display of money power in some form or another. These are the kind of loopholes that must be seriously plugged. A healthy sign this time was that divisive issues like Ayodhya did not get star billing. Nor could rabble-rousers sway the nation. The whole exercise would be meaningful only if it gives the country a stable government. Share markets are not alone is dreading uncertainty. The common man too prays for a situation where the manipulative skills of a dozen-plus wannabe kingmakers are not allowed to pick up the winner. Major political parties should ensure that power brokers do not come to play a role after the results are out later this week.

Moscow’s worry
Blast at Grozny makes it worse

THE death of Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov in a bomb blast on Sunday has created a big hole in Russia's strategy to contain the unrest in the rebel republic. It is a major setback for President Vladimir Putin. Kadyrov was one of the leading lights of the anti-Moscow movement in Chechnya till he was lured by Mr Putin to weaken the rebellion guided by Aslan Maskhadov. Kadyrov accepted Mr Putin's offer because he was jealous of Maskhadov's popularity. The arrangement was working well as it suited both sides. But it could not last longer (Kadyrov was sworn in Chechnya President last October) because power had almost distanced Kadyrov from the ground reality.

Under the deal with Moscow, he was allowed to raise his private army to destroy the support base of his former boss, Maskhadov. Kadyrov was believed to be succeeding, but Sunday's incident brought out something different. His son, who headed the private army, had recruited a large number of former Chechen guerrillas, thinking that the lure of lucre would turn them into Kadyrov loyalists. At least some of them remained unchanged and planted the landmine in the Dynamo stadium's VIP box in Grozny that exploded while the celebrations to mark the Soviet victory over the Nazi forces were on.

The tragedy has once again proved that the situation in Chechnya is serious. Mr Putin launched a military drive after taking over power from Mr Boris Yeltsin and established Moscow's rule over Grozny with greater firmness . This is what his predecessor and mentor had also done. The difference between the two operations is that Mr Yeltsin lost control over the rebel republic within two years whereas Mr Putin has not. But Russia's hold over Chechnya is still weak. Moscow is unlikely to give in to the rebels in Chechnya. They are apparently not giving up violence. It looks like it will take a long time for Moscow to control the situation.

Carry on, Murali!
He will certainly set an impossible record

MUTTIAH Murali-tharan's record-breaking achievement in the Harare Test against Zimbabwe was awe-inspiring. The fraternity should see it in the right cricketing perspective to appreciate its import. The game of cricket is essentially batsmen-friendly. All the 11 players get to be bat, but only the specialists get to bowl. The crowds come to see batsmen score runs. A desire to get close to the legendary Sir Donald Bradman is the ultimate dream of an international player. Most of his records have fallen because of the sheer volume of cricket played today. Nevertheless, the one that is unlikely to be touched is the batting average of 99.94.

On Saturday Murali, the controversial off spinner from Sri Lanka, set his foot firmly on the path to becoming the bowlers' Bradman. Getting past Courtney Walsh's daunting, by the most exacting standards, record was incidental. The great former West Indian fast bowler believes that the Sri Lankan has the potential to take 1,000 Test wickets. Murali is only 32. He has taken those 521 wickets in only 89 Tests. This is easily comparable to Bradman's 29 centuries that came in only 52 Tests. It is difficult to say what the final tally of wickets would be. However, by the time Murali retires, he would have set an almost impossible bowling record.

The Bodyline tried to destroy Bradman's confidence. It did not. The periodic controversy about Murali's bowling action had a similar objective. The most accomplished batsmen simply fail to read his prodigious spin. The fresh round of murmur concerning his action, generally coming from those who can’t play his spin, was unjustified. He has been through hell not once, but twice. No bowler likes to be called a chucker. It hurts. Murali deserves a special round of applause for carrying on with the art of baffling batsmen in spite of attempts to create doubts in the mind about his bowling action. Carry on, Murali.

Thought for the day

As for our majority ... one is enough.

— Benjamin Disraeli

ARTICLE

A people without friends
Palestinian land being cut into ribbons
by S. Nihal Singh

THERE has been a hiccup in the American-backed Israeli plan to put paid to a Palestinian state because Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has failed to take his Likud party with him, but there is little to cheer Palestinians. With President George W. Bush’s help, Mr Sharon has succeeded in turning the world’s attention to when and how soon Israel will withdraw its illegal settlements in the Gaza Strip while converting it into a large prison house and completing the building of a new Berlin Wall on the West Bank, appropriating more Palestinian land and destroying more livelihoods.

And it is part of this Alice-in-Wonderland atmosphere that the US administration and the world still talk about the so-called road-map to peace that was so spectacularly torn up by President Bush and Mr Sharon during the latter’s recent visit to Washington. President Bush, in a seeming fit of generosity, gave Israel the right to keep illegal settlements on the West Bank and the ultimate gift of barring the Palestinian refugees kicked out of Israel on the state’s formation the right of return.

To complete this make-believe world of a non-existent road-map and a Palestinian state that has been destroyed, the quartet, comprising the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, in addition to the US, solemnly meets and accepts Mr Sharon’s evacuation plan with reservations. American administrations, including the present, have always made it clear that others can play bit parts in the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation but Washington is the lead player while exercising the veto.

One needs to recall that Russia became the co-chairman of the Madrid peace process, together with the US, which led to the Oslo accords without having any influence on events. It was the era of President Boris Yeltsin singing from the American hymn sheet. Today Russia is conserving its energies to save its “near abroad” from American poaching and the two main continental powers of the European Union are exhausted by their battle with the US in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq and would rather not open a new front. And the United Nations was co-opted by Washington to lend the fig-leaf of legitimacy.

Appearances must be kept up. President Bush now says that the original timetable for a Palestinian state next year is unrealistic and the Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat, declares that it is not so. As a sop, President Bush meets King Abdullah of Jordan and agrees to writing a letter to the Palestinians (he had written one to Mr Sharon) and the President’s National Security Adviser, Ms Condoleezza Rice, is to meet the Palestinian Prime Minister when she has nothing of substance to offer him.

The marvel is that this hectic diplomatic activity surrounds a proposal for a Palestinian state that has ceased to exist even in its nascent form. As and when Gaza is evacuated, its air and sea space will be controlled by Israel, its border with Egypt will be patrolled by Israeli troops and its border crossings checked by Israel. On the West Bank, President Bush has already gifted Israel illegal settlements which cut the occupied land into ribbons by exclusive roads connecting Jewish settlements. To cap the virtual Israeli annexation of much of the West Bank, the Berlin Wall is eating up more Palestinian land.

In short, there will be little left of a Palestinian state even as the quartet meets from time to time, Arab kings and presidents visit Washington and the Palestinians talk about their cherished state. For much of the Bush administration and its neoconservative and Christian Right supporters, a Palestinian state has already vanished into thin air. It suits many sides to keep up appearances — until such time that there is no land left for the Palestinians.

As the world knows, Americans are having a tough time occupying Iraq, facing Iraqi nationalism as they are in circumstances made worse by their lack of a coherent plan and major mistakes — witness the prison follies. The neoconservative dream of running a Second Roman Empire is turning into a nightmare, and the one thing they can grasp is to help build a Greater Israel as a bastion of US strategic interests in a volatile part of the world.

Palestinians, therefore, are in danger of becoming the Wandering Palestinians, rather like the Wandering Jews of yore, now stationary through expropriating Palestinian land. Palestinians have no friends left. The Arab states pay them lip-sympathy but the flowing rhetoric from Arab capitals seems largely intended to mollify the rage on the Arab street in home countries, rather than to fight for Palestinian rights. Most Arab states are dependent upon American protection, if not subsidy, and cannot displease Washington beyond a point.

The United States and the quartet are content to make demands on Palestinians — none on the state of Israel. In its latest contribution, the quartet is almost excommunicating Mr Arafat by asking him to give real authority to his Prime Minister. It was no surprise when the Bush administration followed Mr Sharon’s lead in shunning the recognised Palestinian leader — after Israel had converted him into a non-person Soviet style and systematically destroyed the European-financed Palestinian infrastructure. A peripatetic Yasser Arafat, who used to hop from one Arab capital to the next every other day, has been grounded in his battered headquarters.

If the United States and Israel believe that by cheating Palestinians of their state, they can live happily ever after, they would be sadly mistaken. Israelis were delighted with the disintegration of the Soviet Union because there was no countervailing force to balance their mentor, the United States. And they were delighted with the American reaction to Nine Eleven and lost no time in wrapping up their confrontation with the Palestinians in Stars and Stripe.

Ironically, Israelis and Palestinians are the two most vital people in West Asia and the latter will never give up their fight to reclaim their homeland. Israel is thus condemning itself to living perennially in a garrison state, protected by the might of the US as by its own growing military prowess. It cannot enjoy peace by depriving Palestinians of their home.

MIDDLE

The stars’ part!
by Vepa Rao

“BOSS,” said Bajnani in his usual conspiratorial tone, “we can charge the film and sport stars heavily.” It looked an irresistible scheme.

Oil lamps were lit and coconuts broken for the ‘mahurat’ fixed by the stars’ favourite pundit.

Crowds clapped and raised slogans. Bajnani had earlier hired the “extras” and crowds. “The right environment,” he had insisted.

The heavily painted and costumed participants were all eyes and ears, when a senior political leader began with practical tips. “Masses are our common mantra — we use them, keep them amused, and call the whole thing democracy. We must always live for them, make money for them, and if necessary die for them.”

The crowds clapped and said zindabad.

Suddenly, a hero of yesteryear sprang to his feet. He looked emotional. “Villains, I want villains at once,” he thundered.

Bajnani signalled and a few fat uncouth looking guys emerged. He smiled complacently and whispered: “Their best dialogues come in front of villains, boss. I had to fix many such things”.

The hero threw his fists around and moved his lips rapidly.

But no words came! Bajnani signalled again. A lean , half-starved fellow crouched behind the star. “Prompting, boss”, Bajnani leaned at my ear again, “without a script, they can’t utter the right things even to their spouses.”

An ageing, ailing politician intervened: “Never lose your temper in the public — be cool and sweet. And for God’s sake, remember that Kanyakumari is a town in the south — not your kidnapped heroine.”

The crowd started throwing paper balls, I suspected, at Bajnani’s behest. The veteran politician kept smiling, rose, bowed respectfully, and began to pacify them with “namaskar, my loving masters!” In the end, the crowd joined him in zindabad. “I need your precious vote and support this time also, to serve you fully, totally, and completely.”

The crowd broke into a joyous dance. A heart-throb of yore couldn’t resist the urge to join it. “No, no, madam,” shouted a sportsman who entered politics recently, “a leader must not dance. Make others dance. Take no chance. Score, you must enhance.”

A midnight knock woke me up. “Let’s leave quietly through the back-door,” whispered an agitated Bajnani, “I had made the terms clear before the course, but the stars are now demanding payment from us now for their participation! The political fellows are also after my blood for chanda.”

OPED

A poetic view of the political scene
Use mat vote dena, jo andhera ban ke nikla hai
by Amar Chandel

WHILE leaders have been campaigning vociferously, celebrated Padma Shri award winner poet Sardar Anjum has been watching the scene silently, penning his thoughts all the while. Verses flowing out of his pen are enough to be compiled into a small book. His observations are sensitive and yet of no-holds-barred variety. With the completion of the last round, he too has signed off for the time being with a ghazal, some of whose shairs are prophetic:

Khair maqdam tab karenge, koi bhi sarkar ho

Jinke pairon ki zamin, poori tarah tayyar ho

It is now for politicians to show which one of them stands on a solid ground.

The poet who had played a key role through his poetry and the serial Goongi Tawarikh in sublimating the unsaid agony of the Punjabis during terrorism days, goes on:

Kya nikalenge bhanwar se wo hamari kishtiyan

Chhup ke baitha dil mein jinke aapsi takrar ho

Ye watan ka mamla hai, khel bachchon ka nahin

Taj pahnana use, jo taaj ka haqdaar ho

Well, if the verdict proves to be as fractured as is anticipated, the crown will not go to the most deserving but the most manipulative.

In another ghazal he issues a stern warning to the horse traders:

Sar ooncha karke keh do, ab nangi talwaron se

Apna haq hum chheen ke lenge, kursi ke beemaron se

Kamzori ko kahen jo taqat, khudgarzi ko sardari

Kya rishta hai is mitti ka, aise kuchh sardaron se.

His sense of disappointment at the lack of choice is palpable. He knows that all are out to grab power and none is for serving the people:

Raj singhasan kis ko den, kis ke sar pe sardari hai

Apne har ik charagar ko kursi ki beemari hai

Haar jeet ke daur mein 'Anjum' jiski neeyat saaf na ho

Us pe dao nahin khelunga jo ghoda sarkari ho

He laments the same Hobson's choice in another ghazal:

Kahan ujala mangne jayen, dono taraf andhera hai

Idhar balayen udhar balayen, dono taraf andhera hai

Is bejod siyasat ne apne hi ghar ko loot liya

Ab yeh baat kise samjhayen dono taraf andhera hai

Dr Sardar Anjum had written a book of Punjabi poems, Girnar, against Emergency and not only published this book in 1976 but also read out his poems in the Punjab assembly. As a result he had to remain underground for nine months.

Most politicians today are surrounded by self-serving advisors. This former head of the Urdu department of Panjab University has searing contempt for them:

Ek sher ne, suna hai, kuchh aise geedar bhi pale hain

Use dara kar jo kehte hain, 'hum tere ghar wale hain'

Jungle ke is sher ko 'Anjum' kaash koi yeh samjhaye

Wo uski dastar ko ek din daag lagane wale hain

Politicians come out of woodwork to land at voters' door only during the election season. Poking fun at such casual visitors, Anjum had written just before the elections:

Badi mushkil se ye mausam, savera ban ke nikla hai

Use mat vote dena, jo andhera ban ke nikla hai

Wo jisne kal talak halat kabhi poochhi nahin meri

Vahi kambakht "Anjum" aaj mera ban ke nikla hai

While politicians go about their task, he expects the common man to solve his own problems without being taken in by hollow promises and disruptive forces:

Mandir masjid ke jhagdon ko, chhod ke aao kaam karen

Rab in dono se oopar hai kyon usko badnam karen

Nayee siyasat ke aangan mein aise ped ko paani do Mehnat karne wale jiski chhaya mein aaraam karen

Bade bade vaade to 'Anjum', shor machate rehte hain

Khamoshi se, dukhi dilon ke chhote chhote kaam karen.

That unhealthy craving for chocolate
by Dr John Briffa

I QUITE often see individuals in my practice who find themselves irresistibly drawn to eat none-too-healthy foods such as chocolate cake. I was therefore interested to read a recent study in which the addictive nature of this oft-favoured food was assessed. Sophisticated scans revealed that the sight and taste of chocolate cake caused considerable activation in the brain, particularly in the areas associated with addiction. These brain-teasing effects were very similar to those recorded in people contemplating their next snort of cocaine. It seems that, in terms of addictive potential, there's a relatively thin line between cake and coke.

This research got me thinking about why chocolate seems to be the most commonly craved food. Some scientists have suggested that this is related to chocolate's content of mind-altering substances such as caffeine, phenylethylamine (both stimulants) and anandamine (a marijuana-like substance). Though chocolate looks like the ideal food for speed freaks and dopeheads alike, the levels of psychoactive substances present in cocoa appear to be too low to explain its addictive qualities.

It is often said that people who crave chocolate are suffering from a deficiency in magnesium, which is found in high concentration in cocoa. Yet one study found that white chocolate (which contains no cocoa) helped satisfy chocolate cravings, but that this effect was not enhanced by the addition of actual cocoa. This research suggests that the yen for chocolate does not come from a need for magnesium. It also adds weight to the idea that the drug cocktail contained in cocoa has little or no part to play in its addictive potential.

Another theory concerns chocolate's ability to boost ‘feel-good' brain chemicals such as serotonin and endorphins. The fact that many individuals find that an episode of low mood can precede a chocolate binge appears to support this proposed chemical mechanism. However, a common cause of low mood is lower-than-normal levels of sugar in the bloodstream (ie hypoglycaemia), which can provoke an intense desire to eat something sweet. The role of hypoglycaemia in chocolate craving is also suggested by the fact that chocoholics often exhibit other symptoms suggestive of blood-sugar imbalance, including mood swings and fluctuating energy levels (with a characteristic lull in the mid- to late afternoon).

Most telling of all is that when individuals take steps to stabilise the level of sugar in the bloodstream, their unhealthy attachment to chocolate is usually severed without pain. The key to this is regular meals based around foods that give a slow and sustained release of energy into the system, including meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, fresh fruit, vegetables, oats and brown rice. Additional ballast for blood sugar can be provided by healthy snacks such as fresh fruit and/or nuts.

Getting blood-sugar levels on an even keel often makes conquering chocoholism a piece of cake.

— The Guardian

Delhi Durbar
What is happening to Digvijay?

FORMER Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, who enjoyed absolute power and popularity among the people in the state for a decade, seems to have lost his charm and the anti-incumbency is still weighed heavily against the Congress. People who used to literally worship him and fall at his feet appear to be disillusioned with him in the run-up to the Lok Sabha poll.

So much so that the Congress candidates in many constituencies in MP are trying to avoid Diggi Raja at public rallies. Public perception being the key for the success of any politician, it will be interesting to see how this seasoned Congressman wins back the trust of the people.

Congress sweats it out in MP

If it was the BSP (bijli, sadak, pani) factor that helped the BJP to give a severe beating to the Congress in the December assembly poll in Madhya Pradesh, it only is the Atal Bihari Vajpayee factor which is aiding the saffron party in the Lok Sabha poll. The popularity of Vajpayee is possibly doing the trick for the BJP candidates.

On the other hand, Congress candidates are sweating it out to retain their seats. Prominent among them are senior Congressman Kamal Nath and young Jyotiraditya Scindia. While Kamal Nath confined himself to his Chindwara constituency, Scindia junior’s mother Rani Madhaviraje and wife Priyadarshiniraje had to come out of their mahal to campaign in this scorching summer heat to ensure his victory.

PIB plans

Winds of change appear to be sweeping the corridors of power with the publicity wing of the government, the Press Information Bureau, coming out with sleek and comprehensive election data for the assembly poll and the general election. For the crucial day of May 13 when the election results will be declared, the PIB has made extensive arrangements to be the first to flash the results.

As the political parties discuss the post-poll scenario, the PIB plans to analyse the results to show where the parties got it right or wrong. Apart from focussing on the performance of women candidates, the PIB also plans to track the battle royal in key constituencies and those seats where the kith and kin of politicians are contesting.

Crocodile tears

It’s election season and politicians have started shedding crocodile tears for the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The Akalis and the BJP have pitched up the campaign to highlight the role of the Congress in the riots and urging people to vote against the party’s candidates from Outer Delhi (Sajjan Kumar) and Delhi Sadar (Jagdish Tytler) for their alleged role in the riots.

The Congress is defending its decision to give the ticket to these two senior politicians from Delhi on the ground that no cases are pending against them. Getting lost in the high-pitched campaign is the pain and anguish of riot victims. Their sorrow and disillusionment are being encashed by politicians.

Having tried the politicians, irrespective of which party flag they owe their allegiance to, the riot victims only question, which has remained unanswered, is: when will their miseries end? Are politicians ready to hazard a guess?

Food for cops

A strong 70,000 police force was deployed in the national Capital for the fifth and final phase of elections on May 10 for the seven seats. Considering that it was a long-drawn affair, the Delhi police brass ensured they were not left high and dry at their posts. Halwais had been contracted in large numbers to provide food for the cops.

The same drill will be repeated on May 13 when the counting is held. The halwais provided a vegetarian meal with a sweet dish thrown in. Special arrangements were made to ferry the meals to the polling stations in police vehicles before the voting got under way. Local police stations in all nine districts of the Capital had tied up with the neighbourhood halwais.

Contributed by S Satyanarayanan, R Suryamurthy and Gaurav Choudhury.