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Laloo can’t say
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Maharashtra
poll pot Too many players queer the pitch By all accounts, the Maharashtra Assembly election is turning out to be a close contest. This is not surprising given the high-voltage campaign by the main contenders — the Congress-NCP and the BJP-Shiv Sena — as well as the marginal players such as the BSP and the SP, besides the small but significant state Dalit forces.
US knowhow policy
discriminatory
‘Kahani ek gudiya
ki’
Dateline
Washington Teach
agriculture to rural students From
Pakistan
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Laloo can’t say “No” IF anything epitomises criminalisation of politics, it is the fielding of Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav on the Rashtriya Janata Dal ticket from Madhepura in Bihar. Accused of the murder of CPM legislator Ajit Sarkar, he was in jail when Railway Minister and RJD supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav picked him up for the Madhepura seat he vacated to retain Chapra from where also he was elected. The only condition that the Bihar strongman insisted on while favouring him with the nomination was that he leave the Lok Janshakti Party on whose ticket he unsuccessfully contested the last Lok Sabha election from Purnea. As if to facilitate his campaign, the lower court gave him regular bail following which he organised a massive farewell party for the jail staff. Mr Pappu Yadav’s campaign was going on in style when, seized of the impropriety of his bail, the Supreme Court cancelled it and ordered him to surrender to the police. It is a measure of his clout that on the pretext of jurisdiction, the police refused to take him into custody allowing him in the process an extra day or two for campaign. He is now back in Beur Jail, where he reportedly enjoys cult status because of which he is entitled to all creature comforts. Given Mr Laloo Yadav’s support and the fact that his castemen have the heaviest concentration in the constituency, it will be a surprise if he is not able to make it to the Lok Sabha where his wife Ranjita Ranjan already represents Saharsa. The reason why the RJD gave him ticket is not difficult to fathom. There was a possibility that Mr Pappu Yadav would contest on his own and thereby split the backward caste votes facilitating the victory of the Janata Dal (United). Whatever the reason, it was unethical of the RJD to have nominated him when heinous charges exist against him. Mr Pappu Yadav is not an admirer of Mr Laloo Yadav, having been his trenchant critic until a few weeks ago. Nor does he have any record of service to the common man. All his strength is derived from his criminal past. By fielding him, Mr Laloo Yadav has exposed his own vulnerability, rather than strength. If anything, Mr Pappu Yadav’s rise symbolises the coming of age of the criminal-politician. |
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Nation without toilets Fiftyseven
years after Independence, Union Minister of State for Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation Selja’s statement that over 70 crore Indians do not have access to proper toilet facilities does not come as a surprise. On the contrary, this reveals the gross failure of successive governments at the Centre and in the states to provide basic sanitation to most people. The country has no dearth of programmes and committees on how to improve sanitation. But what has been lacking is the political will to achieve this objective. Sadly, though India has made significant strides in science and technology over the years, most people are forced to defecate in the open in the absence of toilets. This is particularly devastating for women as it severely hurts their self-esteem, dignity, safety and indirectly their literacy and productivity. Studies reveal that poor women in most states, without access to toilets, try to avoid their use by not drinking water when thirsty or eat when hungry. This, in the process, has affected their health. Lack of sanitation is the primary cause of many infectious diseases. Over five lakh children die in the country every year owing to diarrhoea. According to a study, over 180 million mandays — equivalent to Rs 12 billion — are lost every year because of sanitation-related diseases. Most public health problems can be checked if the government focussed attention on sanitation and hygiene. The goal of total sanitation can be achieved if there is political will. The Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP), launched in the 1980s, failed because the subsidy of Rs 2,000 a toilet was too meagre, making the project unsustainable. Though the CRSP was scrapped, it raised the sanitation coverage to 14 per cent in the 1990s from almost zero in the 1970s. Organisations like Sulabh International have proved that affordable and sustainable toilets can be built for various categories. More NGOs should come forward to supplement the government’s efforts to meet what is the basic human need. |
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Maharashtra poll pot By all accounts, the Maharashtra Assembly election is turning out to be a close contest. This is not surprising given the high-voltage campaign by the main contenders — the Congress-NCP and the BJP-Shiv Sena — as well as the marginal players such as the BSP and the SP, besides the small but significant state Dalit forces. The intensive campaigning was only to be expected given the high stakes of the principal rivals. This is the first election in a major state after the Lok Sabha polls. The outcome would have a bearing on the fortunes of both the BJP and the United Progressive Alliance at the national level. Should the Congress-NCP alliance win a majority, the UPA may well claim that the Lok Sabha results were the beginning of a trend against the BJP. On the other hand, a BJP-Shiv Sena victory would be a much-needed morale-booster for the BJP given its present problems. The election has also been cast as a referendum on the policies and postures adopted by both the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led UPA in the months since May. The two rivals at the national level have been locked in successive bouts of confrontation in Parliament and outside on a variety of issues, including that of tainted Union ministers. While the biggies are slugging it out, despite the expressed inability of Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and former Prime Minister Vajpayee to campaign, the plethora of Dalit factions in the state have all the potential to queer the pitch. As if these imponderables were not enough, Ms Mayawati’s BSP has entered the scene in a big way — with 272 candidates and scores of rallies. While this would weaken the state Dalit parties, Ms Mayawati’s game plan is to wrest enough votes to emerge as a multi-state party and chip away at the votes of the Congress and the SP, which is contesting 95 seats. All these add up to confusion where no one might emerge as a clear winner. |
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The wish for prayer is a prayer in
itself. — Georges Bernanos |
US knowhow policy discriminatory Unlike
in the Clinton Administration, the nuclear nonproliferation mandarins in the Bush Administration have never embarked on a crusade to “cap, roll back and eliminate” India’s nuclear weapons programme. The “Next Steps in Strategic Partnership” Agreement signed by President Bush and Prime Minister Vajpayee outlined a shared commitment to build greater cooperation between India and the United States in peaceful uses of nuclear energy, space, high technology transfers and in missile defence. This was a landmark agreement symbolising an acknowledgement by the United States that it recognised the need to move away from a regime of sanctions, in the hitherto forbidden areas, to a new era of cooperation with India. It was in this environment that Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran was able to get some of the existing sanctions eased on India’s space research activities and on a very limited area on non-reactor components for safeguarded power reactors during his visit to Washington, just preceding the Bush-Manmohan Singh meeting in New York. This process was never going to be easy because of the existing US commitments with partners in groups like the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and its own domestic legislation like the Nuclear Nonproliferation Act of 1978. While the spin masters in both the NDA and UPA dispensations and gullible journalists would like us to believe that each meeting between India and the US at the highest level is a great “breakthrough,” realists acknowledge that the process of easing past US sanctions is going to be painstaking and time-consuming. The Bush Administration, at the highest levels, seems to be committed to this new “strategic partnership”. Given the comments of Mr Strobe Talbot, who is one of the high priests of the Democratic Party foreign policy establishment, during his recent visit to India, it appears that if Senator Kerry is elected on November 2 the process initiated by the Bush Administration could well be brought to a grinding halt. But even if we have a very friendly President occupying the White House, American nonproliferation legislation and commitments are such that it would be a pipedream to imagine that the United States would be prepared to offer us technology pertaining to nuclear power reactors in the foreseeable future, as it now appears ready to do for China. What we need to do in the long run is to persuade the US to ease its objections to nuclear transfers to us by countries like Russia and France, in the same manner as it has acquiesced in the Chinese decision to build yet another nuclear power plant in Chashma in Pakistan. While the Manmohan Singh government has handled Indo-US relations with considerable skill thus far, there are naturally misgivings about the propensity of its communist partners to restrict and sabotage any meaningful partnership with the US. Given the interest of the Bush Administration in a meaningful partnership with India there is naturally amazement at the recent action to impose sanctions on two Indian nuclear scientists. This was announced as part of sanctions imposed by the US on 14 “entities” from China, Russia, Spain, India, Belarus, Ukraine and North Korea. The five Chinese “entities” named have evidently been involved in nuclear and missile transfers to Pakistan. But it is odd that the National Development Complex in Fatehjang headed by Pakistani nuclear scientist Samar Mubarak Mand has not yet been subject to any sanctions, even though it is well known that the nuclear and missile facilities in Fatehjang have links with Chinese “entities”. What is even stranger is that the two Indian scientists named have been sanctioned for their alleged transfer of unconventional weapons and missile technology to Iran. One of the scientists Mr C. Surender, has never visited Iran. The other scientist Mr Y.S.R. Prasad visited Iran while in service, at the request of the IAEA, to advise on safety-related issues. He visited the nuclear power plant being built in Bushehr, Iran, as a consultant on nuclear safety after he retired. The Bushehr reactor is being built with Russian assistance. It is subject to IAEA safeguards. Referring to these visits New Delhi has clarified: “No sale of material, equipment or technology was involved. No transfer of sensitive technology has taken place. The US government has been asked to review the issue and withdraw the sanctions.” If it is US policy to impose sanctions on any scientist who advises on issues pertaining to the safeguarded nuclear facility in Bushehr, is the Bush Administration going to similarly impose sanctions on every Russian scientist who works on the construction of this nuclear power plant? It is evident that American nonproliferation policies are arbitrary. Pakistan has been found to have transferred enrichment technology and equipment and weapons designs to Libya, Iran and North Korea. China is known to have transferred nuclear weapons designs, nuclear reactors, plutonium processing facilities and ring magnets for Pakistan’s nuclear programme. Its missile transfers to Pakistan’s missile facilities in Fatehjang for the Shaheen 1 and Shaheen 2 missiles are a violation of MTCR guidelines. Rather than taking firm action against China and Pakistan for engaging in blatant nuclear and missile proliferation, the Americans have sought to obfuscate issues. Ms Madeleine Albright loftily proclaimed that the Clinton Administration was unable to make a firm “determination” that there had been missile and nuclear transfers from China to Pakistan. And we are now asked to believe that Dr A.Q. Khan actually ran a worldwide nuclear weapons department store for over a decade and his bosses ranging from General Aslam Beg to General Musharraf, were blissfully unaware of what the wicked and money-hungry Khan was up to! We also have the strange spectacle of Iran and North Korea being harangued and sanctioned for receiving nuclear weapons capabilities and Pakistan being lauded as a champion of nonproliferation for acknowledging that it has supplied these capabilities. What has been revealed so far would appear to be only the tip of the iceberg. Saudi Arabia has sought nuclear capabilities for several years now and generously funded Pakistan. Many skeletons could well start tumbling down from the Pak-Saudi nuclear closet! We live in an inequitable world. We need to realise that sanctions will end only when we demonstrate that we can make our own supercomputers, launch commercially viable satellites and build our own nuclear power plants with reactors larger than the 238 MW reactors we obtained from Canada. Self-reliance is not merely a slogan. It is a national
necessity. |
‘Kahani ek gudiya ki’ Utterly confused and perplexed At the crossroads of life I stand Tossed between Arif and Taufiq Gudiya I am called Hence they take me for a “gudiya” only Mere plaything! Expect me to reverse my life At the stroke of a gear Not simply a “gudiya” But’m a woman With the heart of a mother Beating within me Thrilled with the kicks of one within me I alone know the anguish of sleepless nights A’ saline waters that rolled down my puffed eyes No news about him for years and years Longed for something to hold on Ah! to open my heart out How painful it was to see couples hand in hand No charm, left in my life Joyless and forlorn! I groped in the dark Endless bleak winter it was Lo! Taufiq came like a light Ushered in spring with rainbow blooms Thought it would stretch till eternity But fate, rather bloody hounds of fate Alas! won’t let me be at peace Perhaps ’m born to suffer & sigh There reappeared My “soldier hubby” of a short while Like a whirlwind Ruffling the placid waters Claims, counter claims on my head Ah me!’m reduced to a commodity Just commodity you can trade My private pain made a TV soap Too much, indeed Endless misgivings a’ apprehensions Nestled within me overnight What concerns me more than myself Is the fate of my yet-to-be-born Dearie ! part of my flesh and blood Afraid it too would be tossed like me Poor thing! a mere roller coaster My chubby, helpless I am (your whimpers I can feel) Wish this world of ours Dominated by callous men Could fathom the heart of a mother Ah ! Matters little for the powers to be I dare not go against their dictates, my pet O the cruel compulsions of life ! Crashlanded the dreams I had nurtured Longings I had cherished Because I’m a woman, a mere weakling With “aanchal mei he dhoodh, aur aunkhoo mei pani” In our age of loud talk of Woman
Liberation!
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Dateline Washington
Since the US-led invasion in 2001 and the resultant fall of the Taliban government in Kabul, the American presence has been ubiquitous in Afghanistan. Three years later, the administration of President Hamid Karzai is grudgingly struggling to disengage itself from its American patrons amid accusations of foreign interference. A recent Times of London report noted that Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Ambassador to Afghanistan, has been nicknamed “The Viceroy” because of the influence that he wields over Mr Karzai’s government. The paper quoted Mohammad Mohaqiq, a Hazara and key presidential candidate in the October 9 election, as saying Mr Khalilzad had “tried very hard to persuade me” to drop out of the race in exchange for a berth in Mr Karzai’s Cabinet. “I am not the only one he has visited,” Mr Mohaqiq said. “He has done the same thing with many other candidates. We all know that the Americans are not interested in a real election, they just want Karzai to win.” Mr Khalilzad denies these claims. Yet there is an undercurrent of concern in Washington that overt American interference in the presidential election could undermine Mr Karzai’s position should he win. The Pashtun incumbent is expected to retain his office. At a recent hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Congressman Henry Hyde, Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, said, “We must be careful to avoid any perceptions that the United States has been more concerned with the outcome of the upcoming presidential elections in Afghanistan than it has been with supporting a meaningful electoral process for the Afghan people.” The US goals for a stable and independent Afghanistan could be undermined if there are signs that the United States has played a heavy hand in Afghan’s domestic political decision-making process, Mr Hyde cautioned. Peter Rodman, Assistant Secretary of Defence for international security affairs, told the commission at a separate hearing on September 23 that the Bush administration was pursuing its strategy “mindful of the lessons of Afghan history.” “Other foreign powers have been present in, and summarily evicted from, Afghanistan because they sought to subjugate and repress. A foreign presence that does not serve the Afghan people will be rejected by the Afghan people,” Mr Rodman said. “America’s goal mirrors Afghan wishes: to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Afghan people until they are ready to stand alone. The United States sees Afghanistan as our friend, our ally, and our partner with a shared vision of a world free of the nightmare of terrorism and oppression. We believe our national strategy is succeeding,” he added. But not everyone shares Mr Rodman’s optimism. John Sifton, an Afghanistan researcher with Human Rights Watch, says a flawed US strategy is, in part, to blame for the present turmoil in Afghanistan. “The United States, as a leader in the international effort in Afghanistan, has continued to lead incoherently,” he said. “In execution, Washington’s goals have often been at cross-purposes, and in many cases the means employed to reach the goals have been insufficient, inappropriate, or contradictory.” Mr Sifton said there is no clearly defined military goal in Afghanistan and US military, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies lack a coherent agenda. The specific goals of the US presence in Afghanistan are alternatively articulated to include: “hunting down remnants of Taliban and other anti-government forces, capturing non-Afghan terrorist leaders, assisting in the strengthening of President Hamid Karzai’s government, helping reconstruct rural areas, and preventing civil conflict between rival Afghan military factions. There is currently no guide as to how these agenda are supposed to harmonise, and which take precedence over others.” Afghans may have “unrealistic expectations” about how one presidential election can change their lives, Mr Hyde noted. “Regardless,” he said, “visible, positive consequences must be realised through improved security and accelerated reconstruction, or else we risk the chance of the Afghans becoming disenchanted with the democratic process as a means to secure their livelihoods.” “We cannot afford to lose the hard won confidence of the Afghan people, otherwise Afghanistan could revert to an environment characterised by chaos, on which terrorists thrive,” the Congressman said. Human rights groups predict major political problems are likely to manifest themselves soon after the presidential elections. “Much of the political pressure and threats reported here may in fact merely be part of efforts by factions to create malleable factional voting blocs which the factions can then deliver for Karzai on election day — for a price,” Mr Sifton said. “We expect that most governmental posts will likely be filled by unrepresentative officials from the military factions, who will use threats and force to get votes, and then use their parliamentary and local power for their own narrow interests.” “The time to address this emerging crisis is now, as the world’s eyes are on Afghanistan’s first election,” said Mr Sifton. “By the time of the national elections in 2005, it will be too late to undertake the necessary changes to improve the county’s political situation. The U.S. and its allies need to clarify their strategy, redouble efforts to disarm the factions and build up a new army as well as police forces.” |
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Teach agriculture to rural students Why
is it that agriculture as a subject has not been introduced at the school level? The geography of the region, with district-wise illustrations and detailed information about the types of soil, the crops which can be sown, the depth of the watertable and so on should be made a part of the syllabus. The rural students are not getting elementary education in a subject that can enable them to better their existing source of livelihood. Many rural students drop out of school to lend a hand in the family’s farming operations. Punjab has only one agricultural university and lack of extensive agriculture-related curriculum in schools is the reason that the farmers remain ignorant about latest technology or alternative drought-resistant crops. While 1 kg of rice takes up nearly 10 litres of water, crops like sesame or corn, which are equally viable commercially, require much less water. Drip irrigation has still not caught on much in the state. Agro-based industries are not a success due to lack of raw material. Ashutosh Jagga, Director of Phulwari Biotech Limited, points out,” If certain belts are earmarked for a particular kind of crop, say cotton in one, mustard in the other, groundnut in the third and so on, then it becomes easier for the smaller farmers to survive. China is 10 years ahead of us as it has made these kinds of plantations mandatory.” As many as 90 per cent of the farmers in Punjab have an average holding of two and a half acres. In short, they are mostly poor, yet no steps have been taken to teach them how to survive. There is paucity of data. There is lack of vision and planning. A farmer who wants to take the help of a Krishi Vigyan Kendra has to deal with fourteen different agencies housed in different localities so that if pest attacks the crop of one farmer he will be able to get relief only by the time maximum damage has been done. Mr Riar, a member of SGPC, points out, “The problem of a small farmer is political, but there are other factors too. The only advantage that education has done to the farmer is to make babus out of them. Whereas the older generation worked on the fields, the younger generation employs labourers, mostly Biharis. As a result, the cost of production goes up. Each farmer buys a tractor without thinking whether he can afford it. He needs this tractor for utility only for a few days in a year which he can take on rent as well. After that the tractor becomes a car for towing, for rides to cities. Ultimately, they default on the payment of loans. In olden times, dairy was an additional source of income”. Certain steps can help improve the situation. For instance, a people’s movement would go a long way to save the small farmers. Even religious bodies like the SGPC should chip in. In ancient India too the temple catered to and looked after the peasantry in its surrounding areas, gave help in times of crises, founded schools, helped in digging ponds and even giving employment. Educating the small farmers about their economic limitations, ways to curtail overspending and developing alternative, small-scale, agro-based industries can help them weather future droughts. |
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From Pakistan ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Population Welfare is working on a project to involve religious leaders in reducing the population growth rate which currently stands at 1.9 per cent. This was stated by Federal Minister for Population Welfare Chaudhry Shahbaz Hussain while speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday. Mr Hussain said just after Ramazan, the ministry had planned to launch an upbeat campaign under which religious leaders in the countryside would be involved to convince people to follow family planning programmes. The Prime Minister is also concerned over the population growth rate of the country, he added. He said religious leaders at the village and town level had a definite following and they could effectively play an important role in letting people know about the importance of family planning at the household and national level. Mr Hussain said the government would also send teams to villages and towns to convince people in general about family planning. Initially, the government has planned to organize workshops, seminars and meetings with religious leaders for their sensitisation on the population issue, he added.
— The Dawn
Tribals being fleeced
ISLAMABAD: The Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industries (SCCI) has accused the Mohmand Agency political administration of extorting Rs 3 million daily from the people. In a press statement on Tuesday, a member of the SCCI Committee for Fata, Mr Abdul Jalil, sought Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s intervention to stop the administration from fleecing the people. Mr Jalil alleged that the political agent of the area in connivance with his appointed Jirga took “bhatta” on transportation of various items to the agency. Over Rs 3 million, he said, were extorted from the locals in this manner daily. The amount, he said, was not spent on the development of the people of the area but distributed among the members of the Jirga and the political agent. The Jirga always decides in favour of the tax demanded by the political agent to be imposed on the poor people. The Jirga, he said, had no option but to accept the demand of the political agent.
— The Dawn
Journalists’ role highlighted
LAHORE: Journalists have always faced challenges to uphold truth in the society. This was stated by the speakers at a two-day seminar on ‘Media Law for Journalists’ held on Tuesday under the auspices of the Department of Media and Communications at the Beaconhouse National University. The Dean, Media and Communication, Prof Dr Mehdi Hassan, Chairperson Kinnaird of the College Mass Communication Department, famous columnist Shafqat Mehmood, faculty members and students were also present on the occasion. During different sessions on the first day, the speakers, including representatives of the Commonwealth Press Union, threw light on various aspects of the topic. Director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan I A Rehman told the gathering about ‘Laws and practices of specific concern to the media in Pakistan’ and later on conducted an open discussion on media laws in Pakistan.
— The Nation
Z. A. Bhutto remembered
KARACHI: Leaders of different political parties, constitutional experts and journalists unanimously acknowledged the services, sacrifices and struggle of the late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and were of the view that the PPP founder-leader would always be remembered as a very astute politician, an intellectual, and a democrat who had set new tends in the political history of the country. Speakers expressed these views at a seminar organised by the PPP, Karachi, at a local hotel on Tuesday. The title of the seminar was, “The role of ZA Bhutto in the political history of Pakistan”, and speakers said that the 1973 Constitution, nuclear technology, Simla agreement, democratic norms and political awareness among the people were the major achievements of the late Z A Bhutto and nobody could deny it. Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Prof Ghafoor Ahmed said that the unanimously passed 1973 Constitution went to the credit of the late Z A Bhutto.
— The News |
Krishna is the greatest of the great: No one can surpass his opulence. He possesses all fame, all beauty, all strength, all knowledge, all wealth and all renunciation. He manifests the material and spiritual universes simply through his energy. — Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu If you have patience, then you will never have any enemy. — Lord Sri Rama I have neither any fear of death nor any craving for life. I only seek You, O Lord, who cherishes all and in whose will we breathe and survive. — Guru Nanak The Buddhas do but tell the way. It is for you to swelter at the task. —
The Buddha Of all vain things excuses are the vainest. — Buxton |
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