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The task ahead Now a clean chit |
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Unfair to daughters
Marching together-II
A lesson in humility
Dateline Washington What Haryana should focus on China leads death list as number of executions soars
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The task ahead THE Prime Minister’s keenness to address the socio-economic problems of Jammu and Kashmir is reflected in the task force he has constituted for preparing a long-term plan for the border state. Dr Manmohan Singh could not have found a better person than former Reserve Bank Governor C. Rangarajan to head the team, which has to give an interim report within six months and a final one in another six months. It is the first time such a committee will be studying the needs of the state with a view to finding ways to quicken the process of development. The Centre has been spending a lot of money in J&K but this has been in fits and starts, rather than in a planned way. Consequently, the tangible results have been few and far between while joblessness has been mounting. There is no doubt that development is the antidote to many of the problems that beset J&K. More than the doles, what the state needs are projects that can be implemented with minimal cost and maximal benefits. The state with its salubrious climate has unlimited potential for tourism, food-processing, electronics and information technology-related industries. The long queue of people, who turn up for jobs, suggest that given equal opportunities, the Kashmiri youth will not be found wanting. Of course, investments alone will not bring about a turnaround in J&K unless a political solution is also found. Unfortunately, it is on this score that the Centre has been lagging behind. It has been waiting unnecessarily for the Hurriyat to come forward for talks. But the Hurriyat represents only one of the many streams of thought and its refusal to talk should not be a constraint for the Centre. There are other representative bodies whose opinions can be sought to reach a solution that is acceptable to a cross-section of the Kashmiri population. At present there may be differences of opinion on the quantum of autonomy that should be given to J&K but few question the validity of the argument that autonomy alone provides a solution to the vexed problem. Whatever the pace of the dialogue with Pakistan or the attitude of a divided leadership of the Hurriyat, the Centre can begin talking to leaders from different parties and groupings to end the current stalemate. There is no point waiting for the Hurriyat. |
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Now a clean chit The controversy over the defence purchases running into Rs 2,100 crore during the Kargil war in 2000 had seen the Congress and its partners projecting Defence Minister George Fernandes as the villain of the piece, heaping on him also the ultimate ignominy of being called a “coffin thief”. They even held up proceedings of Parliament repeatedly. Five years down the line, there has been a sea change in the perception of the party and its UPA alliance partners. The government has virtually defended the action of the Defence Ministry in the Supreme Court, saying that no rules were violated. That negates the gist of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG), which had pointed out “delays” in procuring certain equipment during Operation Vijay in Kargil. The affidavit now filed by the Ministry of Defence says that the contracts then signed “in no way violated any of the financial rules of the government or the Defence Procurement Procedure of 1992”. In good measure, it even mentions that military equipment is not “available off the shelf”. This turnaround leads to the unfortunate conclusion that all the hullabaloo over the defence purchases was only a charade to get even with Mr Fernandes. What is all the more disgraceful is that an Army matter was thus used for settling political scores. One just hopes that such strategic targeting will not take place in future. The former Defence Minister is not wrong in saying that due to such tactics, even essential defence purchases had been greatly delayed. The Manmohan Singh government has cleared him only from the allegations about the purchases covered in the CAG’s
report. However, it should be borne in mind that the dirt dug out by the Tehelka sting operation is still very much in the air for which the former Defence Minister owes an explanation to the country. |
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Unfair to daughters The Amritsar district has earned the dubious distinction of standing ninth among the 20 districts with the lowest child (0-6 years) sex ratio in India. This is what Prof Ashish said last week in a lecture at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. The city has been notorious since the 1970s for using ultrasound technology to identify the sex of the unborn baby. Often the result is the killing of daughters before birth. There is no dearth of experts who point out the social consequences of the passion for the male child which results in female foeticide. But technology cannot be blamed, and its misuse by parents certainly is responsible for the heinous and inhuman practice. Even the spread of education has been of no help. The problem is not that of Amritsar district alone. Both Punjab and Haryana have been plagued by female foeticide. Religious leaders like Jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti and Swami Agnivesh have been vocal in condemning the practice, but it refuses to die down. Even legal measures have proved ineffective since the problem is social and deep-rooted. The only ray of hope is the economic independence of women. This has largely been enabled by education, and now it is common to see increasing number of women opting for a working life and being on their own. Till a few decades ago, a number of girls in colleges and universities were educated "to improve their marital prospects". This mindset has changed, and today women are working in practically all fields. Hopefully, these women will not kill their daughters. Social organisations, NGOs, government agencies and religious organisations all have to unitedly attack the evil of female foeticide in both villages and towns. Government authorities should also crack down on sex determination clinics which allow their facilities for misuse by parents and collaborating doctors who don't want to see a daughter born. |
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Most schemes of political improvement are very laughable things.
— Samuel Johnson |
Marching together-II
The compulsions of economic development and the gathering momentum of globalisation require cooperation in the area of investment and flow of goods and services that cut across state boundaries. This is necessary to improve the quality of life in the region by creating employment and promoting sustainable development. Ironically, there seems to be more action in regional cooperation across national boundaries than among northern states. There are issues that require Central intervention and initiatives, and there are yet others that deal with the Centre-state relations. But there are a whole lot of state-state issues of cooperation. These have an enormous impact on regional development and have remained largely unexplored. Considering the competitive advantage of different states in the North, there is a convincing case for regional cooperation, fully endorsed and supported by the political and administrative framework. Creation of a North zone common market: Freer flow of goods and services demands reduction in cross-border controls and a common approach to a rational tax structure, including octroi and entry taxes. Evidence shows that a common market fosters larger investment and economies of scale, an increase in output and productivity and bigger employment opportunities. The areas of cooperation cut across all sectors of economic and social development. Cross-border industrial growth: A joint task force of the states in the region should review and draft a common minimum incentive package for the whole region, rather than the specific states. The state Finance Ministers should be mandated to come out with time-bound targets for the rationalisation of this structure. An integrated approach to the development of the automobile industry in Haryana and that of auto-components in Punjab can create new synergies. Joint market development initiatives: Annual conventions and revolving expositions would provide a boost to the products of small and medium enterprises. Power generation and transmission: Why should Punjab, for example, spend so much on power generation using the resources it does not have when it can access power from Himachal Pradesh? A convincing case exists for Punjab to advocate allocation of resources to Himachal Pradesh, rather than to its own thermal power stations so that it can benefit from the low cost generation of electricity. Water resources management: This is a sore issue getting increasingly wrapped up in emotional and parochial considerations. A common approach to the “ownership” of Himalayan snows and rivers for equitable distribution of waters among the states could be worked out jointly to help resolve long-pending inter-state disputes on the sharing of river waters. The management of the Bhakra Beas Management Board is, perhaps, the only example of its kind and can be used as a role model for an integrated development of water resources. The depletion of water-table and degradation of ground water quality are regional, not just state, issues. Port access: Over 90 per cent of international trade is through sea-freight, and that international trade is playing an increasingly important role in economic development. The landlocked northern states are at a disadvantage. Creation of a dedicated port on the West coast through cooperative implementation by northern states would be a great boon for the industries in this region. However, huge investments involved in its creation are way beyond the capacity of a single state. The economy of scale and the funds for this venture would require a regional cooperation. Highways: The northern states account for about 40 per cent of all-India cargo movement on roads, but only 25 per cent of the national highways lie in the northern region. The area under roads in the North is 22 per cent lower than the national average. The need for good access to the ports demands coordination with host states for road development. Development of a northern transportation grid calls for regional cooperation in areas such as land acquisition, laying down common road specifications, access guidelines and ensuring a coordinated and synchronous development. Absence of regional cooperation is reflected in the sad state of the small stretch between Chandigarh and Baddi, languishing for over a decade. Agro-products’ distribution: The broad parameters of cooperation could include agriculture development such as re-framing the cropping pattern, switching over from foodgrain cultivation to cash crops and laying an emphasis on social development. Over 30 per cent of India’s supply of fresh fruits and vegetables is produced in the northern region. Sadly, nearly a third goes waste for want of poor transportation facilities, insufficient warehousing, lack of cold storage and retail distribution. A region-wise agro-products’ distribution network will vitalise this sector and give an impetus to the growth of an agro-based industry in the region. Human resource development for employment: The quality of human resource development has fallen behind badly in the North. Several emerging sectors of the economy are constrained by the availability of skilled manpower while unemployability of the so-called educated and trained youth is staring us in the face. This is a tinder box waiting to explode. The North needs to set up a number of centres of excellence to focus on quality and pool resources for training in specialised technologies. Dedicated centres in areas such as environmental engineering, bio-technology, industrial electronics, instrumentation, auto-components and sericulture could cater for the region. The examples of Ireland and Singapore have shown that skilled manpower attracts investment and is a strong driver of economic development. Networked tourism circuits: Tourism has emerged as a key economic activity in most states of the northern region. Yet North India’s share of international tourism at 46 per cent is down from over 70 per cent in the early 1980s. The growth rate of foreign tourists is higher in the South (11 per cent) as compared to the North (8 per cent). Domestic tourism has made great strides, up from a mere 66 million to over 320 million Indians in 2002. The north Indian states have a number of strengths such as diverse cultures and traditions, a rich historical heritage, cuisine, the Himalayan eco-system, rivers and pilgrimage tourism. These can be best utilised through regional cooperation that would create an integrated plan for northern states, provide connectivity in inter-and-intra-state connectivity, remove inter-state governmental barriers and provide transit facilities and increased air and rail connectivity. Environmental issues: At a time when the focus is on international agreements on the environment and development, it is time we came together to take a common approach to the issues of the environment. Deforestation in Himachal Pradesh has its effects in neighbouring states. Even the silt in the lake in Chandigarh cannot be tackled with frequent, often ceremonial, desilting operations. It requires concerted inter-state initiatives and cooperation. The above list is by no means exhaustive. There are numerous other issues of concern. What I have emphasised is that there is clearly a large and pressing agenda for the northern states’ cooperation for regional development. Creation of a durable institutional framework that transcends governments in power can provide a platform where issues of regional importance can be resolved. It will also act as a springboard for the government and industry to work together. Most national chambers of commerce and industry have long organised themselves into regional councils. This initiative would lead to increased employment in the region, bring in larger investments, increase economic and social development and promote a higher quality of life for people. In taking advantage of the relative competitive edge that their geographical position and resources provide, the individual states and the region can benefit in a win-win situation. (Concluded) The writer is currently a Professor at the University of Maryland, USA. |
A lesson in humility
The bus crawled into Srinagar at eleven thirty at night with just three passengers on board — the driver and conductor of the ill fated bus and I, the sole survivor. Yet there were thousands of people milling around the Parade Ground, waiting to receive us. A bus has no passenger manifest. So anyone who was expecting a friend or a relative during that period was worried that he might have been on the bus that had plunged into the Chenab. The bus inched its way through the crowd and people called up names to me, held up photographs with just one question “Was he there?” Always: “Was he there?” I nodded my head in negation, overwhelmed by the sea of suffering uncertainty all around. After a few days, the ripples of the accident settled and the gentle course of my life resumed its uneventful flow. Before leaving for the winter vacations I had left a few paintings to be framed at a small shop near Ganpatiyar and I went now to collect them. Ghulam Rasool, the framer was as polite as ever, but there was an underlying note of sadness in his voice and in his manner. When he had packed my paintings and I had made my payment he asked: “Who does these paintings?” “I do.” His eyes lit up and his face took on its usual animation. “Will you make a painting for me?” He pulled out a distressed group photograph and pointed at a face no bigger than my thumbnail. “That’s my brother. He died.” His voice cracked and I looked into his face. Those soft brown eyes filled up with tears. “He drowned when his bus fell into the Chenab, while a one legged bastard survived.” I took the photograph from him. It would be no help but I knew that in his mind his brother had been transformed into the handsomest young man in Kashmir. I found the handsomest young man in Ghulab Nabi’s embroidery shop, photographed him and used this for my model. In a fortnight the portrait was done. It was a composite picture of Ghulam Rasool and the young craftsman, and even though I say it myself, it was rather good. Ghulam Rasool was ecstatic. He hugged me over and over again “What can I do for you? You must let me do something in return.” I smiled gently at him and then hitched up my trouser leg to show him my artificial limb. “It was God’s decision that the one-legged bastard should be saved and not your brother. I hope some day we will know why He made this decision.” Fortyfour years later I still do not know. There is nothing that I have done in my life, nothing extraordinary that would warrant this decision in my favour. But God must have known the ordinariness of the life that He was saving and yet He chose to save it. There could be no more humbling thought than this.
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Dateline Washington by Ashish Kumar Sen A powerful cardinal this week provided momentum to this conjecture saying the prospect of an African Pope would be a “wonderful sign for all Christianity.” Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said an African Pope would “only be to the church’s benefit.” In 1981 John Paul II appointed Cardinal Ratzinger to his current post as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s guardian of orthodoxy. “They are absolutely up to the level of such a position,” Cardinal Ratzinger told German newspaper Die Welt while discussing African prelates, and added that it was entirely plausible that the “next Pope may come from there.” At a press conference at his Cape Town home, Archbishop Desmond Tutu while reiterating Cardinal Ratzinger’s sentiment went one step further. “We hope the cardinals when they meet will follow the first non-Italian Pope by electing the first African Pope,” public broadcaster SABC TV news quoted Archbishop Tutu as saying. Such talk has only gained credence in the wake of John Paul II’s papacy. The Polish-born pontiff was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years and brought a new vitality to the Vatican, challenging parochial attitudes throughout the church. While some in the church would be keen to return the Holy See to an Italian, others say it’s time to anoint a pontiff from the Third World. More than 60 per cent of the church’s flock now lives in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. In fact, Africa has become the powerhouse of Christianity - the Catholic population on the continent has grown from 16 million in 1955 to 120 million today. The last black Pope, Gelasius I, led the church between 492 and 496 when early Christians were struggling to convert a pagan Europe. Prior to his papacy, two other Africans - Saint Miliades I (311-314) and Saint Victor (189-199) - served as Popes. Any baptized Roman Catholic male is eligible for election as Pope, but only cardinals have been selected since 1378. All the cardinal electors must be under the age of 80. Two ballots are held each morning and two each afternoon in the Sistine Chapel. This conclave of cardinals begins 15 to 20 days after the pope’s death. If no one gets the required two-thirds majority after about 12 days, cardinals may change the procedure and elect a Pope by a simple majority. The ballots are burned after each round: Black smoke means no decision; white smoke signals that cardinals have chosen a Pope and he has accepted. While several cardinals from the Third World have been mentioned as candidates only 21 of the cardinals eligible to vote on the new pontiff are from South America, and only 11 from Africa, compared with 58 from Europe. Cardinal Francis Arinze, a 72-year-old Nigerian, leads the list of African candidates. He converted to Roman Catholicism as a child and shares some of John Paul II’s conservative views on contraception and family issues. In May 2003, he caused an uproar at Washington’s Georgetown University when he criticised homosexuals during a commencement address. Having grown up in a country where Islam clashed repeatedly with Christianity, Arinze is known for his tolerance toward others sects. “The other religions are expressions of the human soul seeking God, with some beautiful spiritual insights, but also not without error. Christianity is rather God seeking humanity,” he once said, adding that those who do not know Christ are still included in God’s plan for salvation. At a time of perceived confrontation between Christianity and Islam, the cardinal electors in Rome might view Arinze’s interfaith channels of communication as a useful attribute for a pope. Latin America, too, has its share of candidates. Claudio Hummes, 70, Archbishop of São Paulo is a liberal from Brazil, the world’s biggest Catholic country and has emphasised on paying more attention to the battle against poverty. There is speculation in some circles that two Indian prelates - Ivan Dias who is the Archbishop of Mumbai, and Telesphore Toppo of Ranchi - may also be in the running. Cardinal Dias, Cardinal Toppo and a third cardinal, Varkey Vithayathil of Ernakulam-Angamaly, will participate in the election. Once elected, the new pontiff is presented to the crowds in St. Peter’s Square with the announcement in Latin, “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum. Habemus papam.” This means: “I bring you a message of great joy. We have a Pope.” The burgeoning Catholic flock in Africa, Asia and Latin America, having waited patiently for 1,500 years, will be hoping that this pope is from among them. |
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What Haryana should focus on With a sound agricultural base, proximity to the national Capital, good infrastructure and industrious manpower, Haryana has high potential.
The government will have to adopt a new paradigm of development branding the state as a manufacturing hub with a clear focus on selected industries. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is talking of initiating drastic changes in the education and infrastructure sectors, seems to have identified the basic problems. The state government will have to take bold steps to check the growing fiscal deficit, apart from restructuring loss-making public sector units and an inefficient and corrupt government delivery system. A joint study by the CII and Hewitt has identified five growth sectors for Haryana: agro/food processing, auto/auto ancillaries, textile/garment, IT/ITES and real estate. The state government will have to rejuvenate the farm sector. Besides pushing the SYL project, the state can encourage farmers to grow water-efficient crops, fruits and vegetables, besides dairy. These have a readymade market in the NCR region — now emerging as a supply centre to other states and export markets. The government can promote Rewari, Rohtak, Sirsa, Hisar and Sonepat as agro-processing centres. Through private-public partnership, the state can build up necessary infrastructure besides facilitating private companies to directly buy farm produce from farmers. Haryana has 3000 auto component units, besides big players like Maruti Udyog and Hero Honda. However, new players now prefer Pune, Indore and Chennai to set up units. The government needs to redress the problems of skilled manpower, power shortage, apart from making efforts to set up an auto Special Economic Zone (SEZ), say in Faridabad. In textiles, Panipat exports goods worth over Rs 2,000 crore annually. The state needs to promote textile clusters in Panipat and the adjoining area on the pattern of Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, considering its vast employment potential. It will also help cotton growers in the state. Exports of IT and IT-enabled services worth over Rs 4,000 crore from Gurgaon have helped the state. Total exports from the state have already surpassed the Rs 10,000 crore mark. According to Nasscom, Indian IT markets is estimated to cross $ 40-45 billion by 2008. Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida account for roughly 26 per cent of the ITES pie. The state will have to upgrade its higher education system to enable youth get jobs in the booming BPO sector. Since Haryana’s youth lack English skills, youth from Delhi, Chandigarh and other towns are getting jobs in the BPO sector. It is estimated that for every one direct employment in the BPO sector, there are four indirect jobs in the supportive fields like transportation, catering, security and housekeeping. Gurgaon needs to be promoted not as a suburb of Delhi, but as an industrial hub of Haryana. Roadshows in the developed world can help in developing the desired brand image. With the growing urban population, there is a huge potential in real estate. The proximity of Haryana to the international airport, the four national highways passing through the state and modern infrastructure available in the industrial estates make Haryana attractive to entrepreneurs and MNCs. One-third of the state’s area forms part of the National Capital Region and even the farthest point in Haryana is only six to seven hours drive from Delhi. The Chief Minister’s plan to set up the Gurgaon Development Authority on the pattern of Noida can play a determining role to make the city a destination for investors like Bangalore and Hyderabad. However, to attract large investors, the state government will have to emphasise on developing supportive infrastructure, including excellent educational institutions, an effective public transport system, assured electricity supply and a good security environment. |
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China leads death list as number of executions soars Executions around the world are nearing record levels, and the Unites States is among the four countries which account for 97 per cent of the total, a report has found. At least 3,797 people were executed in 25 countries in 2004, according to a report released today by Amnesty International. The report says China easily operates the most stringent capital punishment regime, with an estimated 3,400 executions last year. In second place, Iran executed at least 159, Vietnam at least 64, and 59 prisoners were put to death in the US. The number of executions worldwide last year was the highest since 1996, when 4,272 were carried out. No official figures are available for China’s execution rate, and Amnesty has changed the method it uses to calculate the number of executions there. According to Amnesty’s report for 2003 China carried out at least 726 executions. The much higher figure of 3,400 executed last yearis an estimate based on internet reports of trials, although it is still described as the “tip of the iceberg”. Kate Allen, Amnesty International’s UK director, said China’s record was “genuinely frightening”. Amnesty quoted a delegate at the National People’s Congress in March last year, who said that “nearly 10,000” people were executed every year in China. Corruption is among the crimes which carries the death penalty. Ms Allen said: “It is deeply disturbing that the vast majority of those executed in the world last year did not even have fair trials, and many were convicted on the basis of ‘evidence’ extracted under torture. “The death penalty is cruel and unnecessary, does not deter crime, and runs the risk of killing the wrongly convicted. It is time to consign the death penalty to the dustbin of history.” Yet the figures conceal a trend that shows a general move towards abolition. “The world continued to move closer to the universal abolition of capital punishment during 2004,” the report says. Five countries abolished the death penalty for all crimes last year - Bhutan, Greece, Samoa, Senegal and Turkey. This means that 120 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. Although the US has become accustomed to being named in the grim league table alongside states such as Iran, which it has branded an “outpost of tyranny,” there were fewer executions compared with 2003, when 65 were held. Two prisoners with long histories of mental illness were put to death in the US, but the Supreme Court ruled that imposing death sentences against child offenders contravened the US constitution. In several of the 38 American states where the death penalty is still legal, the lawfulness of lethal injection has been challenged on the grounds that one of the chemicals used may mask a prisoner’s suffering. Amnesty says that six prisoners on death row in the US were released last year after they were found innocent. — The Independent |
Atman is without beginning and end. It is indestructible and it creates this body. — Sri Rama Man attains to the sublime state of bliss through the name of God. — Guru Nanak One should not be complacent with a small debt, a slight wound, a spark of fire and an insignificant passion, because what is insignificant now may soon become uncontrollable. — Lord Mahavir It is only when one takes shelter in god that one is saved. — Sarada Devi All worry about the self is vain; the ego is like mirage and all the tribulations that touch it will pass away. They will vanish like a nightmare when the sleeper awakes. — The Buddha  |
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As Catholics around the world mourn the loss of Pope John Paul II, speculation is rife that the white smoke used to signal the election of a successor might proclaim a black Pope.
If such a development were to occur it would be the first time in 1,500 years that the Roman Catholic Church has elected a black pontiff.