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Out of the frame BSP’s
electoral haul |
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Three-in-one
triumph India takes lead in AIDS treatment A three-year US study of AIDS drugs has held that the drug combinations made by Indian companies are the best in the world for new patients. The report of the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine is a big testimonial for Indian research which can spur many other such achievements.
Who’s afraid of
the Sensex?
Chivalry is not yet
dead
A dream team fights
polio Defence
notes
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Out of the frame Both Mr Mulayam Singh and Ms Mayawati were hoping to play a role at the Centre after elections. They have reason to be disappointed. Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and SJP General Secretary Amar Singh chose to fight election without a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress. The popular assumption was that the party or alliance that wins the Uttar Pradesh 80-seat political derby would get to play a key role in Delhi. Nothing of the sort has happened. The Samajwadi Party finished first, winning more seats, 36 to be precise, than it had in 1999. Yet, Mr Mulayam Singh has returned to Lucknow because the Congress leadership refuses to recognise his existence. Mr Amar Singh is keeping the Samajwadi flag of secularism flying against the “communal forces” on various television channels. Even the Bahujan Samaj Party chief, Ms Mayawati, had no option but to extend unasked for support to the Congress-led alliance. She was evidently forced to avoid a pre-poll alliance with the Congress by being given a glimpse of the Taj corridor files. Look at the political irony. In real terms, the Congress managed one seat less in UP compared to 1999. However, the overall verdict has placed it in a unique position of spurning the overtures of the party that has won the most number of seats. The Congress is now not obliged to consult the SJP in the matter of ministry formation and drawing up a common minimum programme of governance. Cold statistics do not always reveal the real picture. In overall terms, the Congress in spite of finishing last again in UP is the real winner. This victory was achieved at the expense of the Bharatiya Janata Party. There are other reasons for the isolation of Mr Mulayam Singh from the central scene now. The verdict has put new life in the Congress. The UP leadership insists that the moment to revive the party has come. Any tie-up with either the Samajwadis or the BSP would only stall the process of political resurrection of the Congress in the state with 80 seats. Who wins ultimately in this four-cornered fight for occupying political space in Uttar Pradesh remains to be seen. |
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BSP’s electoral haul The Bahujan Samaj Party may have only 19 seats in the new Lok Sabha ranking sixth below the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Yet, this represents a vote share of 5.35 per cent which is way above that of the RJD (2.19 per cent) and the SP (4.21 per cent). Number crunchers can ignore it in a system where ultimately it is the seats that matter. But those concerned with emerging socio-political realities cannot afford to ignore the mobilisation that this implies. Regardless of its parliamentary or legislative rating, the BSP is a phenomenon that is making remarkable electoral and political strides. Let there be no illusions about Maya Memsaab. She has come a long way from 1985 when she declared the BSP’s arrival in the Allahabad by-election won by Mr V P Singh. She secured over 18 per cent of the votes and since then has been marching ahead. Although confined to Uttar Pradesh with noticeable pockets of support in Punjab, the BSP’s formidable bank of Dalit, Muslim and Most Backward Class voters is expanding rapidly, and well beyond the Hindi heartland. In this election the BSP fielded the largest number of contestants - 435 - and in almost all the states. The pickings in terms of seats were pathetic, with the bulk of them losing their deposits, but the vote share underscores that they are overtaking other parties of Dalits. For example, in Maharashtra, the BSP factor cost the Congress-NCP alliance eight seats. It won over a million votes and was preferred over the factionalised Republican Party of India. The party’s appeal, by all evidence, is growing. Clearly, it is more of a political force than its performance as an electoral factor suggests. While the biggies should take note of this, the BSP, despite its achievements, has a long way to go to be reckoned with in the national mainstream. |
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Three-in-one triumph A three-year US study of AIDS drugs has held that the drug combinations made by Indian companies are the best in the world for new patients. The report of the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine is a big testimonial for Indian research which can spur many other such achievements. For once, Indian scientists have the upper hand since the medicine made by them is not only better but also much cheaper. The generic versions of the indigenous three-in-one cocktail are sold for $350 per patient per year even as other companies market them for $12,000 per patient per year. WHO has been recommending the cocktail in poor countries since 2002 while the Indian government has been dispensing these anti-retroviral drugs to AIDS patients in India free of cost. To that extent, the three-in-one pills made by Ranbaxy and Cipla are set to break western monopoly. But the attitude of the western manufacturers remains obstructionist. They seem to be able to influence government decisions also. Despite the green signal by WHO, whose laboratories have the most stringent standards, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) simply refuses to give its approval for their use in the US-funded programmes. That is a parochial attitude, considering that any progress in the fight against AIDS should be universally acknowledged and promoted. Business rivalries should not be allowed to act as a roadblock. Ironically, AIDS has been spreading at an alarming rate in India. The same is the case with many of the African countries. While the gravity of the threat posed by the scourge is acknowledged, its elimination is yet to be taken up at a global level. Only if all countries come together against the common enemy can it be conquered. An HIV vaccine is many years away. A concerted prevention campaign is imperative. |
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A person with half volition goes backwards and forwards, but makes no progress on even the smoothest of roads.
— Thomas Carlyle |
Who’s afraid of the Sensex? The tumultuous political events of the week saw India’s stock markets first crashing and then soaring. Never before has the country’s bourses displayed such volatility. What has become apparent to all and sundry — just in case, some still had doubts — is that the behaviour of the markets has little or nothing to do with the state of the economy. It has everything to do with psychology, expectations, sentiments, speculation, rumour and manipulation. On Friday, May 14, the day after it became known that the BJP-led NDA government had been voted out of power, the sensitive index of the Mumbai stock exchange came down by a huge 330 points to close at its lowest level in 25 weeks. Then, on Bloody Monday (May 17), the Sensex plummeted by a record 800 points (the steepest fall in the 130-year-old history of the bourse) before recovering to close 564 points lower. Trading had to be stopped twice to check the decline in share values as irate investors gave vent to their anguish on Dalal Street. This was the biggest fall in the index after the April 28, 1992, crash when the Sensex collapsed by 570 points in the wake of the Harshad Mehta scandal. The following day, the Sensex zoomed to gain 372 points at the close of trading. At one stage during the day, the rise in the index had been the highest ever. The steepest fall was followed by the biggest jump; one couldn’t get more volatile that that. On Wednesday, the Sensex rose by another 65 points. The rise was reportedly on account of buying by government-owned institutions including the Life Insurance Corporation. Thus, while market capitalisation worth nearly Rs 3,00,000 crore was wiped out in two days of trading (Friday and Monday), the following two days saw the markets reviving to return to almost where it had been. And while this fact made newspaper headlines (after all, the nation’s gross domestic product is around Rs 25,00,000 crore), the losses as well as the gains were only “notional” in the sense that the numbers measured the extent of appreciation or depreciation of stock values and not actual losses incurred or gains made while trading. Market capitalisation is the total value of all the shares of a particular company multiplied by their market value at a particular point in time. There were many reasons for the spectacular fall and almost equally spectacular rise in the Sensex. The obvious explanations related to the uncertainty over government formation in New Delhi, statements by communist leaders that the Ministry of Disinvestment should be wound up, Sonia Gandhi’s decision to not become the Prime Minister and the anointment of Manmohan Singh. But the manner in which the Sensex behaved cannot be fully explained by the week’s political upheavals. All over the developed world and also in emerging economies, market indices had come down on account of international prices of crude oil and petroleum products touching historic highs, besides expectations of an increase in interest rates in the US and an economic slowdown in China. What made matters worse was rampant speculation in India’s bourses by a so-called bear cartel of operators allegedly acting at the behest of a large Mumbai-based corporate group. A representative of this group rang up influential financial journalists asking them what would happen if Sonia Gandhi refused to become the PM. Leaders of Left parties challenged outgoing Union Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie to reveal the names of the corporate houses and politicians who were allegedly part of the bear cartel that had hammered the prices of the scrip of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation in March. There is considerable evidence to indicate that Indian stock markets lack depth and are far more speculative than US or European capital markets. Even in the US, the market had crashed by as much as 21 per cent in 1987 - a higher proportion than the decline in the Sensex on Bloody Monday. The shares of close to 10,000 companies are listed on the two dozen stock exchanges that exist in India, all but a few of which are virtually defunct thanks to the rapid spread of online trading terminals in more than 450 small and large cities scattered across the length and breadth of the country. However, trading in the shares of around half the above number of companies is almost non-existent as these firms have not complied with the listing requirements of the stock exchanges. The scrips of around 1,000 companies are regularly traded and 30 of the most actively traded shares comprise the Sensex. A number of studies have indicated that over the last few years, the mood in Indian stock markets has been almost entirely determined by the purchase and sale decisions of a clutch of foreign institutional investors. Net cumulative investments by all the 500-plus FIIs put together since 1992 are currently over $ 26 billion. It is no longer domestic financial institutions like the Unit Trust of India that call the shots in the markets by the FIIs which together hold around 30 per cent of the equity capital of the 10 largest private companies in the country and 20-25 per cent of the top fifty companies. Despite a lot of tall talk, nobody gives a damn about the small investor in the country. As a matter of fact, there is a dispute about the total number of small investors in India. One estimate is that this figure is in the region of 20 million or a pathetic 2 per cent of the country’s total population. This would include individuals who have invested their hard-earned savings in units issued by the UTI or in mutual funds. It is also acknowledged that thanks to a series of recent scams, the number of small investor may have actually declined in recent years. So, who’s afraid of the Sensex? Answer: punters on Dalal Street, the high-profile financial media that includes the pink dailies and certain television channels, foreign investors and sections of the urban elite. For the rest of the country, the Sensex may as well not have existed. However, those who are concerned about the rise and fall of market indices have a disproportionately loud voice. During the Harshad Mehta stocks scam that took place more than 12 years ago, Prime Minister designate Manmohan Singh who was then Finance Minister got into a major controversy over his remark that he would not lose his sleep if the markets went up or down. Dr Singh is a different man today. He leads the country and he has repeatedly said there is no reason to
panic. |
Chivalry is not yet dead It
is the duty of the President’s Military Staff to organise and conduct all functions at Rashtrapati Bhavan, for which Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are laid down and meticulously followed. Since the Military Secretary is always responsible to conduct the President, it devolves on his deputy to conduct the visiting Heads of States/ Governments and our own Prime Minister whenever anyone of them visits the Bhavan. I received Mrs Indira Gandhi near the President’s study and she noticed that the Gianiji was already on his way to the State Room. She just took off, ran and overtook the President to be just in time to receive him at the venue. This sort of situation was a frequent happening as Gianiji would ask: “Time te ho gaya; Indiraji aaye ne kya”? (It’s time for the function, has Indiraji come?) and then he would say “Aapaan chalde haan” (let’s go); without waiting for an answer. “Please get some carpets put in the corridor; otherwise I am likely to break my bones running here”, said Madam Prime Minister on one occasion. “Yes madam,” I had replied, “We would not let you be hurt, even if you had a slip”, which, I knew, was a distinct possibility with her pencil heels. She gave me a lingering look and smiled. She had a very canny smile to convey different things at different times. “Colonel; if I do slip, there is no way I escape hurting myself; as one cannot order it away even if one is in a smart military uniform”, she said. “Aapaan chalde haan” (let’s go) happened again within a fortnight. She was cheerful and smiling as I received her. She noticed Gianiji being escorted about 50 steps ahead of us and just about to enter the State Room. We just ran. “Please ensure that I do not get hurt if I slip” was writ large on her face. Pencil heel slipped; and she was already half in the air when I grabbed her; and we both landed on the marble. She just missed hitting the side wall. Dazed, she got up first as I had not let her touch the marble at all; and then I got up. We quickly checked our clothes. Fortunately there was not a soul in the corridor in accordance with the SOP. “Please do not mention it to the President, he would be unnecessarily worried and I am perfectly fine”, she said. “Yes, of course, madam”, I replied. She apologised to the President for being late by two minutes. Function over; I escorted her back to the car, now, of course, walking slowly down the corridor. She did notice the round shaped carpets placed at three most slippery spots and smiled back. As we approached the car; she gave me a big pat — almost a hug — and shook me by the hand with a “thank you very much indeed”, which left me perplexed and her PS and PSO both looking at me wonder-struck. As she entered the car and asked for the extra cushions always carried for her by her PS; she turned to me and said; “Colonel, I am extremely happy to see that the chivalry is not yet dead”. A broad smile was writ large on her majestic face, as I stood at attention bowing to her and she waved me a
goodbye. |
A dream team fights polio
I
saw a new Dream Team! Not the ones who will bowl out wickets or make centuries on green fields in front of tooting and hooting fans. But ones who will silently realise the aspirations of many parents who needlessly suffer the pain of seeing their child afflicted with polio. This dream team comprises women and children as little as six years old. In Shorpur taluk of Gulbarga district in northern Karnataka they are ensuring that every child under five in their villages gets polio drops. On May 9, 2004, the pulse polio booth day, scores of women involved in a Neighborhood Leader Programme (NLP) were bringing their neighbours, relatives or friends’ children, carrying two and stringing five to six behind them. Little six-year-old Renuka did not want to be left behind, copying her mother Yellamma's actions, she got eight children into the booth. She is also aware about the dos' and don'ts on polio. Seeing Renuka carry a younger child she is asked, "Has this one got the drops?" Renuka suitably admonishes the questioner, "Only children below five years should be given drops, he is more than five." Then she chirps gaily, "I like doing this work because my mother is also doing this. If you do not give polio drops to children they become physically handicapped. Their legs and arms become twisted. If you give them drops they will remain healthy." The women involved in the NLP programme are volunteers and most work as labourers, earning Rs.20-25 a day. They are not paid a single rupee. Instead they miss their work to volunteer for these activities. Ask Sreekamma, Bimbarayi, Vijaylakshmi or Yellamma on why they do it and the response is the same. "Though we have forgone Rs. 25 today we do not feel bad." One noticeable factor is the complete absence of men in the pulse polio activities. Sreekama answers directly, "Men say this is the duty of women. All this talk of men and women sharing work does not work. I love doing this work." Sincerity shines from her eyes. This Shorpur taluk is a model for all those seeking to reach zero incidence in polio. If similar meticulous planning and strategy is applied elsewhere in India the target can be met. Suresh Babu, Secretary of Action for Rural Reconstruction Movement (ARRM), Prabhakar, Tehsildar of Shorpur taluk, Dr. Patil, Karnataka state health department and Sukanya from UNICEF scan over a colorful map of Tintini village prepared by Gangadhar. The NLP team prepared detailed micro-plans for 36 panchayats in the Shorpur taluk that has a total population of 32,000; for the remaining six panchayats they chartered micro-plans for the slums areas only. The NLP is increasing its coverage step by step. Dr. Patil adds, "The idea was to mobilise more children on Polio Day. Earlier there were just mop-ups rounds. Now there is one booth day and three days of house-to-house visits. After the poor performance in January and February, micro planning began in April and more families were reached. In February the coverage was just 33 per cent, in April it increased to 75.4 per cent and now 85 per cent will be reached," smiles Dr. Patil proudly. Vikas Verma, UNICEF-Hyderabad informs, "India is among the last six countries including Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger, Egypt and Afghanistan where polio has been reported in 2004. India's neighbour, Bangladesh, has been free of polio since 2000. For a country to be declared polio free, no case should be reported for three consecutive years. By 2005 India aims to achieve zero incidence." Two vaccines are currently used in the global campaigns to eliminate three types of polio viruses' type I, II and III: Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) used in India and in other developing nations and Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) in developed countries. IPV is a killed form of polio vaccine and is injected subcutaneously while OPV is a live polio vaccine administered orally. In India the OPV is preferred over IPV as it costs less than IPV, does not require trained health workers and offers secondary vaccination but it has one serious disadvantage; the risk of vaccine-associated paralytic polio. In fact, in any attenuated vaccine, there exists a danger that the attenuated form will revert to the virulent form. As estimated by Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, USA one case per 2.5 million doses of OPV distributed results in vaccine-associated paralytic polio. The hardy polio virus, lying latent in the human intestines, is ejected into the environment through excreta and transmits to other children by contact with fecal matter. Children living in crowded and unsanitary conditions without access to clean drinking water are particularly vulnerable. |
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Defence notes Although the incident of fake killings resorted to by the Gorkha Regiment troops posted in the Siachen sector has died down a little with the Army authorities informing the Punjab and Haryana High Court that Major Surinder Singh, who had the courage to expose the killings which were carried out with the knowledge of senior officers, would be tried outside Jammu and Kashmir, the exuberance shown by the Army Headquarters to put a tight lid on the issue is quite startling. In fact, had it not been for the check system that has been installed in the Ministry of Defence (MoD), another faux pas of the AHQ would have been out in the open and this time it could have even faced the wrath of the Punjab and Haryana High court. Last week when the petition filed by Major Surinder Singh came up before the court and the latter gave directions to various parties involved in the case, the AHQ in its haste to declare that it had achieved another victory, this time not against any enemy but one of its officers, had almost come out with a statement pointing out that the case had actually been dismissed by the High Court.
Soldiers, not deserters Two Indian soldiers captured by the Pakistani forces are soon to be repatriated and their salaries and allowances would be restored from June 1, 2004. The AHQ issued a statement in this regard earlier last week which read: The Pakistan DGMO has confirmed that two Indian Army personnel, namely Lance Naik Jagsir Singh and Sapper Mohd Arif, in their custody would be repatriated soon. The process of providing consular access to these individuals is being progressed by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. Financial assistance has already been provided to the families of the two soldiers and their pay and allowances will be restored from June 1. But this move from the Army, which claimed that the release of these soldiers was repeatedly taken up as a high priority with Pakistan, came only after a daily reported the plight of the families of these two soldiers who had actually been declared deserters by the force and their pay and allowances were stopped. The two soldiers from the 108 Engineer Regiment were engaged in de-mining operations post-Kargil war when they disappeared on September 17, 1999. Instead of establishing their whereabouts, the Army declared them deserters/away without leave with an addition that they were sighted by the unit personnel on September 19. The two men, actually captured by the Pakistani forces, possibly as a result of their straying into enemy territory, were disowned by the regiment and became a label of shame in their villages. They are likely to return home by the first week of June.
Cassino II 34 Medium Regiment (Cassino II) recently celebrated its Cassino Diamond jubilee. It conducted a cycle rally from Belgaum to Meerut covering over 2,000 km. A total of 16 pairs participated in it. The regiment, which was originally raised as the 8th Battalion of the Fifth Maratha Light Infantry, got the name Cassino II due to its heroic performance in World War-II. |
Any new discovery of truth does not contradict the past truth, but fits into it. — Swami Vivekananda Happiness is in action, and every power is intended for action; human happiness, therefore, can only be complete as all the powers have their full and legitimate play. — Thomas You are the light of the world. A city that is set on the hill cannot be hid. — Jesus Christ The wise God knows everything. — Guru Nanak Every religion has a distinctive virtue, and the distinctive virtue of Islam is modesty. — Prophet Muhammad |
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