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In
the pipeline Stealing
a march Thief,
thief! |
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Desperation in West
Asia
To be fair...
Slum students learn
vocational skills Half
the world to speak English in 10 years Delhi
Durbar
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In the pipeline The Iranian gas offer to India through a pipeline is over 15 years old but it has not yet materialised because of the Pakistan factor. The overland pipeline has to pass through Pakistan and that is the problem. Keeping in view the state of relations between India and Pakistan, there are concerns over the security of the pipeline. Though the situation is slightly better today with New Delhi and Islamabad engaged in a composite dialogue process, the pipeline’s security cannot be taken for granted. Moreover, Pakistan is treating it as a “stand-alone project”, not linked to issues like the grant of the most-favoured nation status to India and allowing it to use the land route passing through Pakistan to reach Afghanistan and Central Asian countries. Therefore, the best alternative for India is to strike a deal directly with Iran. Reports suggest that efforts are on to convince Iran to agree to the idea of supplying gas at the India-Pakistan border. Iran and Pakistan have already finalised the gas pipeline project and work on it may start any time now. They have only to extend the pipeline to the border with India. It will be incumbent upon Iran to ensure that the pipeline is secure till it reaches India. Under this arrangement, India will have nothing to do with the problems associated with laying the pipeline. If there are any problems, Iran and Pakistan will have to sort them out on their own. This will benefit the three countries. India and Pakistan will get an assured gas supply at cheaper rates. Of course, the royalty to Pakistan for the stretch of the pipeline going to the Indo-Pak border will have to be paid by Iran. In return, the huge Indian energy market will be easily accessible to Iran. India has to reduce its dependence on oil because of its skyrocketing prices. Natural gas is much cheaper and can replace oil to a large extent with the help of technology. In fact, gas is fast emerging as the fuel of the twenty-first century. Therefore, a viable wayout has to be found for the implementation of the Iranian gas pipeline project. |
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Stealing a march The opening of the new underground corridor of the Delhi Metro system from Delhi University to Kashmere Gate is yet another feather in the cap of the authorities concerned. The fact that this 4 km-long stretch was completed seven months ahead of schedule needs to be emulated by our planners and engineers in all other sectors. At a time when political leaders and officials are least bothered about the time and cost overruns due to long delays in the execution of projects, Delhi Metro has set a unique example. One has to just see how the work is being executed in the Capital in clock work precision and keeping the disruption of normal life to the minimum. Owing to the huge rise in the number of vehicles, Delhi’s traffic has been bursting at the seams. The metro project is expected to address this problem adequately, fulfilling the long-felt needs of the people. The Prime Minister has rightly commended Delhi Metro chief E. Sreedharan for having performed the role of a “pace setter” and ushering in a new work ethic in the organisation. In fact, the employees are said to be the main reason for the railway’s record progress. Delhi Metro is not only reputed for its world-class technology in the form of engines, coaches, stations and track but also the staff who are punctual and devoted to duty. There is no system of free passes here even for the Prime Minister. Mr Sreedharan too should buy tickets first, with the facility of reimbursement later. What is more, one can even use mobile phones, whether at the station or in the train. In view of its immense benefits, there is every reason for the government to explore the possibility of launching similar urban rapid transport systems in cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chandigarh. Overcrowding on the roads has led to air and noise pollution which, in turn, are responsible for the spread of various diseases. Clearly, if we have to ease congestion on the roads, reduce our dependence on the imported energy and promote an environment and people-friendly transport system, metro rail is the only answer. |
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Thief, thief! Who
says MPs and other leaders live in ivory towers? They are very much human and some equally human thieves have underlined this ordinariness by doing what they – the latter, that is – normally do at mere mortals’ houses. The thieves broke into the houses of four MPs on Sunday. If that is not sensational enough, consider the fact that they could take away only a mobile phone. Goes on to prove that poor men like Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav are absolutely right when they say they have no money. This fact can perhaps be corroborated by a certain Sukh Ram as well. Anyway, the icing on the cake is that these flats happen to be in the high-security zone of South Avenue. So much for the efficacy of the gun-toting guards. The way the burglars went about their job has the MPs worried. They not only merrily ransacked the houses but also treated themselves to choice snacks from the kitchens of some of the houses. After all, the way to a thief’s heart is also through his stomach. The police suspects that this is an inside job, pun unintended. Actually the needle of suspicion points towards contract labourers engaged in repairing the houses. Then there are also many others to whom the MPs have quietly rented out parts of their houses as a service to the nation. One just hopes that the burglary is found out to be the handiwork of some such petty thieves, otherwise fingers might very well be pointed at foreign intelligence agencies out to destabilise the country! Whoever did the reprehensible act, did not show any sort of professional courtesy. Nor was he familiar with the long list of exemptions available to the MPs. The only way to protect the leaders from such targeting is to put all of them in the Z-plus category. Also, they could be sent on an all-expense-paid trip to Europe to study the latest techniques in security operations. |
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Fate is not an eagle, it creaps like a rat.
— Elizabeth Bowen |
Desperation in West Asia
Seldom
in recent times has West Asia been as confused and uncertain about the future. America’s invasion and occupation of Iraq have been traumatic events while the threat of violence and terrorism is fuelled by the injustice of continuing Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and total US identification with Israel. The Arab world in particular needs to change, but circumstances could hardly be less hospitable for non-disruptive change. In the brash modernity of Dubai, one tends to forget the disturbing problems of a region which produces a large part of the world’s oil, is subject to American control in many respects and lags behind other parts of the world because of a frozen hierarchical order and vast wealth for a privileged elite. The United Arab Emirates is different because it has invested its wealth wisely even though the old social system remains in place. Other wealthy states have been more profligate and there are many countries which are poor and do not possess oil. One senses a measure of desperation about the future. There is little reason to believe that given America’s total support, Israel will be prepared to give the Palestinians even the truncated pre-1967 state they promised to. Britain’s Tony Blair may have his own reasons to bestir himself on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the key to the solution lies in Washington, not in London. And continental Europeans, sensitive as they are to Palestinians’ suffering, simply do not have the political clout to challenge President George W. Bush’s attitude to Palestinians. The Gaza evacuation plan is an Israeli decision to cut its losses so that it can hold on to the occupied West Bank and the large illegal settlements there. As it is, the wall that is being built by taking in more occupied territory and divorcing Palestinians from their fields, schools and hospitals is becoming a reality with each passing day. And the Israeli authorities, now buttressed by the support of the Labour Party, are tightening their grip on East Jerusalem. The pervading gloom is not relieved by the departure of Yasser Arafat because his likely successor is less capable of making a sensible compromise even if the Israelis undergo a change of heart. To the overhanging cloud of the never-ending Palestinian tragedy is the added burden of the continuing American occupation of Iraq. Most Arabs watch helplessly as the murders and mayhem are being played out there. Few believe that America’s purpose was to liberate Iraq and spread democracy. Rather, the hope is that the bleeding of America in men and treasure will force it to leave Iraq sooner, rather than later, but few are betting on a peaceful and prosperous Iraq in the near future. There is, of course, the all-important question of terrorism, defined by the Bush administration after Nine Eleven as its primary focus in the form of a “war on terror”. The intensity of the crisis in US-Saudi relations, stemming from 15 of the 19 hijackers of civilian aircraft used as missiles to destroy the World Trade Center twin towers, has receded somewhat, but each side is warily eyeing each other. Saudi Arabia itself has become an object of terrorist attacks even as American policies towards West Asia are a major factor in fuelling terrorism. Much is being said about reforming the Arab world, but even the most optimistic projections do not conceive of a less hierarchical and more democratic region in the short term. What the Arab world recognises is the need for them to catch up with the technologically changing world, in other words, how to replicate the Dubai experience on a larger scale. But Dubai cannot be replicated because it is, in essence, a city-state which has invested large sums over decades in infrastructure and, given the turbulence in the region, has cashed in on the political stability and security it offers. The problems of the Arab world are assuming alarming proportions because the very young are in great majority in most countries. The government structure can no longer support indifferently educated hordes of job seekers, and unemployment breeds dangerous thoughts of revolt against the system and the pre-eminence of the United States in the region and the world. The future is thus open-ended, with two political trends in the ascendant. Instead of coalescing, regional groupings are becoming less cohesive. Each country, it would seem, is on its own out to ensure its own security, chiefly with the sole super power, a fact strikingly brought home by Bahrain’s conclusion of a free trade arrangement with the US, despite the mechanism of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The Arab League is more a sounding board than an effective coherent organisation. It is often divided and is long on rhetoric and short on action. The other trend is gradually to move towards a less hierarchical system of education because it is an essential cutting-edge tool to face the challenges of the modern world. In an attempt to cash in, Dubai and the neighbouring emirate of Sharjah are opening a plethora of schools and colleges of all description to serve as a regional hub. In fact, given the popular prejudice against Muslims in the West, particularly in the US, West Asian students feel more at home in their traditional environment. Individual countries in the region must cope with homegrown terrorists as best they can. This problem is the most acute in Saudi Arabia, given the structure of government and the marriage of Wahabiism to the state. But, whatever the nature of government, Arab states are fighting the menace with one hand tied. They have no control over two of the chief causes of growing militancy, “American policies and the continuing Israeli occupation of Palestinian land”, while they must at the same time seek US help to protect their own security. Former US President Bill Clinton, who was in Dubai recently for a conference on the Arab world’s future, said he did not believe the Palestinian issue could be solved during the second term of the Bush presidency. While he was saying the obvious, it deepened the gloom among his listeners. Palestinians will keep on fighting for justice, but in the larger Arab world, there is an air of resignation about the world’s ability to give justice to a long-suffering
people. |
To be fair... That fair is good has been handed down to us for centuries as a near gospel truth, unquestioned. Beauty remains a sought-after virtue since ages, with the difference that now it has become a multi-billion rupee business with no dearth of takers. A buoyant cosmetic industry is selling a revelation straight out of jars and by way of lotions that beauty can, rather must, be acquired instantly. And we are not talking of a choice here, it is an obsession that all must opt for since it has come to be a prerequisite for marriage or career. Or so the wise ones would have us believe. As a corollary, if your skin is not satin smooth, complexion not cream and peaches and hair anything but skeins of silk, you don’t even have to make an effort to be inconspicuous. You have already been passed over. The idea being perpetuated by the market forces is that the quality of the skin and the texture of the hair are the quintessence of purposeful existence, all else can wait. It was unpleasant, to say the least, to see a new advertisement for a fairness cream, wherein a dusky but attractive woman is made to feel worthless only because she isn’t fair. What is even more pathetic is her “learned” father’s attempt to study ancient ayurveda books to make a personalised cream for his daughter. She applies it and voila! she is as fair as it gets. She has discovered the meaning of life. There are a large number of dark-skinned successful women who couldn’t care less about such advertisements but then again, there is an equal number of impressionable minds that may feel slighted. They may try out hordes of such enchanting “magic” potions, albeit unsuccessfully. What it may do to their esteem is not hard to imagine. Who cares though — the beauty industry continues to rake in millions. There is nothing really wrong with grooming people and enhancing their looks but it is quite another matter when it is done in a fashion that is downright appalling. Michael Jackson spent a fortune on multiple skin grafts to get porcelain skin and then went on to sing “it doesn’t really matter if you are black or white.” The truth of the words is lost in his own context. Personally, I like the Safi advertisement better. At least it has something to do with the
insides.
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Slum students learn vocational skills
A
government school in a slum area of Chandigarh is, as an experiment, providing vocational education to its students as well as dropouts under the Sarv Siksha Abhiyan. Government Girls High School in the Sector 25 Kumhar Colony imparts, in addition to regular studies, skills like tailoring and stitching, hand embroidery-mukaish, machine cutting, hair cutting, plumbing, book binding, flower making, making paper bags, toy making and pottery. The school has received orders for paper bags and office file folders. The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development recently invited the UT officials to give a presentation in Delhi on the project at a meeting of education secretaries of different states. The states have been asked to follow the model. Ms Devinder Kaur Kang, Principal of the school, said: “Parents now ensure that their children attend school regularly.” Earlier, the parents of dropouts had told education officials that despite facilities like free books, uniform and meals, they did not find education useful. They wanted their children to learn skills which could contribute to their family earnings. The DPI (Schools), Chandigarh, Mr D.S. Mangat, said it was decided that expertise to impart the skills would be drawn from amongst the parents, social groups and school staff. The department has employed professionals from the Kumhar Colony and the adjoining slum areas where most of the learners live. The department paid them around Rs 3,000 for four months to teach for eight hours in a week. Some teachers also volunteered to impart training in vocational skills. Within a few days of training, the children, who had never seen computers before, were proficiently hitting at the keyboards. They have mastered the commands in their own way, said their trainer. An elementary teacher, Surinder trains his pupils in making paper bags after he himself learned the skill from a professional. The school had already got an order for 2,000 bags from a boutique. Fakeer Chand, a barber from Panjab University, has been employed to teach hair cutting. Efforts are on to introduce chalk making. At the end of the session, the school authorities will also provide space for work to the students. In over two months of training, the bookbinding students have started making drawing book covers. The school Principal said the Chandigarh Administration would buy file covers. The office of the Deputy Commissioner has placed an order for 200 file covers. The girl students earned money by applying “mehndi” during Karvachauth in Sector 15. The pottery students sold some items during Divali. Their skills will be tested in December. Those failing the test will have to undergo training for another session. The training classes are held after the school hours to ensure that their studies do not suffer. |
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Half the world to speak English in 10 years Half the world’s population will be speaking or learning English by 2015, researchers say. Two billion people are expected to start learning English within a decade and three billion will speak it, says a British Council estimate. Other languages, such as French, risk becoming the casualties of this “linguistic globalisation”. But the boom will be over by 2050 and the English-language teaching industry will have become a victim of its own success, says David Graddol, author of the report, The Future of English. Mr Graddol’s research, published yesterday at the British Council’s Going Global Conference on International Education in Edinburgh, was based on a computer model developed to estimate demand for English-language teaching around the world. The lecturer, who has worked in education and language studies at the Open University for the past 25 years, said the model charted likely student numbers through to 2050. It was compiled by looking at various estimates from the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) on education provision, demographic projections, government education policies and international student mobility figures. The impact of educational innovations and other developments affecting the world population including the Chinese
government’s policy of one baby per family were also factored in. Based on its findings, Mr Graddol has predicted that the world is about to be hit by a tidal wave of English. “Many governments are introducing the teaching of English under a utilitarian banner. “But English predominates in the business world and for such countries to be able to compete for work, including lucrative outsourcing contracts, English is being pushed heavily from kindergarten on.” The potential bonanza on offer from outsourcing means even maths and science are being taught in English at secondary schools in Malaysia, he added. But demand for English teaching would drop as children progress through academia, and more universities across the world choose to teach in the language, the report predicted. The report also showed that English was not the only language spreading, and the world, far from being dominated by English, was to become more multi-lingual. Mr Graddol said: “Chinese, Arabic and Spanish are all popular, and likely to be languages of the future.” —
By arrangement with The Independent, London |
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Delhi Durbar A
diplomatic row erupted when British Home Secretary David Blunkett, who resigned from his post last week about his alleged love affair with publisher Kimberly Quinn, wanted to visit India a few years back. Mr Blunkett, who is visibly impaired, was coming to India on the invitation of former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani. A request came to the Ministry of External Affairs that his dog should be permitted to accompany him on the visit but the import of animals is prohibited according to Indian laws. A
special waiver had to be granted by the then Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley to facilitate Blunkett’s visit to India. Realignment in Tamil
Nadu?
Will the arrest of seer Jayendra Saraswathy alter political equations in Tamil Nadu? Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has stolen the show over the DMK in the fight against Hindutva forces. While making overtures to the allies of the Congress-led UPA’s allies like Vaiko’s MDMK and Ramdoss’ Vanniar community backed PMK, she hopes they will switch sides by the next assembly elections as both leaders have their reservations about M. Karunidhi’s successor,
M.K. Stalin. No questions on Rahul, Priyanka
The Congress President is highly reticent in answering questions on Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. When she toured her Rae Bareli constituency recently, Sonia, while talking to her constituents, assured media persons that she would talk to them later. Shortly a duo of SPG personnel approached the scribes and requested for a list of written questions. The SPG men deleted all questions pertaining to Rahul and Priyanka saying there can be no questions about dynastic ambitions. Mediapersons wondered if the SPG men were also acting as media advisers to the Congress President. Marriage can wait: Nagma
When actress Nagma came calling at the AICC headquarters recently, it set many hearts aflutter. Draped in a silk sari and with her mother in tow, Nagma met reporters and asked scribes if they just wanted to see her or also talk to her. She then spoke on Sonia’s sacrifice in renunciating the high office of Prime Minister. She said she worked with an NGO called ActionAid. Rahul Gandhi, she cooed without batting an eyelid, is the future Prime Minister. On Sourav Ganguly and marriage, Nagma said marriage could wait as she did not want to add to the population explosion. As an afterthought, Nagma quipped she did not find anything wrong in two unmarried people having a relationship. Dealing with Naxalites
With Naxalites spreading their activities, the Centre and BJP-ruled states are divided on ways to deal with them. While the Home Ministry maintains that the affected states can start a peace dialogue with Naxalite groups, the BJP-led state governments feel that a “piecemeal approach” will not work. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, who was in the Capital recently, said that the Centre should evolve a coordinated approach in consultation with the states concerned as the Naxalites were likely to shift bases from one state to
another. Contributed by Satish Misra, S. Satyanarayanan and Prashant
Sood.
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Mind, Simran is the sword of the spirit that Guru Nanak has offered free of all charge to mankind. — The Sikhism The man who knows, who understands, who is self-controlled is like one who has climbed the terraced heights of wisdom and now stands at the pinnacle looking down upon the jostling, sorrowing crowds. — The Buddhism  |
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