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Wait for veto Borrow more, spend more |
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Beant Kaur’s gesture Parting with money is rare these days THEY no longer have their home, but they have a large heart. They suffered on account of their property at the hands of their relatives, but India's first woman pilot, octogenarian Beant Kaur and her sister Satwant Kaur have shown the way to those people who think they should not have more money than they absolutely need.
Netaji remains an idol
Kendriya sarkar
Jinnah secular? Hardly Consolidating peace in Nagaland Defence notes
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Wait for veto
India and the other G-4 countries, fighting for their entry into the UN Security Council as permanent members with veto power, have adopted a pragmatic approach to achieve their objective. After having realised that their insistence on veto power could derail the drive for their otherwise just claim, they have presented their case in a manner which shows realism. They are now prepared to wait for veto power for 15 years provided they are allowed to join the elite club of permanent members. If the idea to have six new permanent members is translated into reality, two African countries will benefit along with the G-4. But the overall strength of the expanded Security Council with non-permanent members is to go up to 25 from the present 15 so that the world body truly reflects the existing global reality. Now it will be difficult for the group called Uniting for Consensus to stall the expansion of the Security Council. The G-4 draft resolution explaining the case of India, Japan, Germany and Brazil is getting support from a large number of UN members. France agreeing to co-sponsor the resolution in the UN has surprised the detractors of the G-4. Britain has already given enough hints for its support with Russia also indicating to act on similar lines. The US has so far given its commitment only for Japan’s case. Its categorical stand on the G-4 demand is yet to be known. Efforts are on to win over the US and China. The coming days are, indeed, crucial for the cause of having a new-look Security Council. The G-4 nations have to put in more work to succeed in their mission. Dropping the demand for veto for a specific period has strengthened their campaign, though they will not be losing much in real terms. Already there is great resentment among the member-countries against the use of veto. The G-4 countries have earned the goodwill of these countries by redrawing their plan. A rigid approach could not have been of much help to them. |
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Borrow more, spend more
Indians are already so heavily taxed that any budget that avoids fresh taxes is welcome. But governments need funds to run state affairs and meet demands of growth. The easiest way to raise money these days is to borrow more and borrowings hardly attract adverse publicity. This is what the new Congress government in Haryana proposes to do. The state has a
worryingly high debt of Rs 22,901 crore, which will escalate to Rs 25,619 crore by the year-end. The gap between the government’s revenue and expenditure, which currently stands at Rs 242.36 crore, will widen further to Rs 294 crore. The Bhupinder Singh Hooda government’s economic philosophy can be summed up thus: spend more, borrow more. Finance Minister Birender Singh talked of focussing more on output than on outlay or outcome. Presenting his maiden Budget on Thursday, he outlined his priorities, which are quite in order except those on agriculture. Haryana’s locational advantage has boosted industry, real estate and the service sector, but the areas away from Delhi and the GT Road need special thrust on development. Agriculture growth is pathetic, irrigation facilities are inadequate and farmers are exploited for credit as banks remain distant. Diversification is a non-issue. Villages still lack basic amenities. The Finance Minister has announced a health scheme for the poor and an innovative plan to build “delivery huts” in 300 villages. This is welcome as rural Haryana needs more such steps. Also laudable is the focus on gender sensitisation. There is, however, no mention of pushing power reforms stalled by the previous government. Infrastructure does find a place on the priority list. Mr Birender Singh’s real test will be next year when he will have to implement his promises. He has promised to contain unproductive expenditure, ensure fiscal discipline and expand the tax base, which are all formidable challenges. His deficit and debt figures are already set to be skewed. The state, which was the first to implement the VAT, is among the laggard states as far as passing the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act is concerned. The Budget, on the whole, sticks to the familiar path of development. |
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Beant Kaur’s gesture
THEY no longer have their home, but they have a large heart. They suffered on account of their property at the hands of their relatives, but India's first woman pilot, octogenarian Beant Kaur and her sister Satwant Kaur have shown the way to those people who think they should not have more money than they absolutely need. The two sisters have sold off their property and donated Rs 1 crore to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, which is engaged in projects in the fields concerning literacy, women and children, welfare of the disabled, health, etc. The ladies, who have shown the light in the evening of their lives, found mention in the columns of this newspaper in November 2004 for the injustice done to them. They had allegedly been illtreated by the person whom Beant Kaur had helped so much. The bone of contention was reportedly the multi-crore property the ladies were living in. Beant Kaur is a widow of Air Vice-Marshal Harjinder Singh, who was the first Indian technical officer to join the Indian Air Force. A pilot as well as an engineer, he was a contemporary of the Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh and the legendary pilot Baba Mehar Singh. He died in November 1971. Beant Kaur and her sister can only be admired for their magnanimous gesture. As Satwant Kaur said: "It is better not to have money if it brings so much misery and pain. What is the use of having a house, carpets, money and jewellery if they bring so much unhappiness. We had gone through hell for 25 years because of all these." What happened to these ladies is, unfortunately, not unique; the way they have responded certainly is. |
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All experience is an arch to build
upon. — Henry Brooks Adams |
Netaji remains an idol
Austria had a major role to play in Netaji’s life, not in the least because his wife, Emilie Schenkl, and their daughter, Anita, lived here. His Austrian base brought him close to Italy and Germany, the two countries that played an important role in his political philosophy and actions. A Netaji associate, Walter Nordan, a prosperous businessman, married to Jay, a Malaysian Indian lady, lives in Vienna. These links must have prompted Anton Pelinka, a professor at the University of Innsbruck, to write a book, “Democracy Indian Style - Subhas Chandra Bose and the Creation of India’s Political Culture”. Netaji could not but inspire an Austrian intellectual, who studied India. The book is more than a biography of Netaji. It is also a study of the evolution of the modern Indian state. It traces the struggle for independence and examines the strengths of Indian democracy. It is two books in one as there are distinct chapters dealing with Netaji’s life and career on the one hand and an analysis of the Indian political system on the other. Netaji’s story has been used as an illustration of how democracy had taken roots in India even before independence. His rise to the leadership of the Congress party is seen as evidence of the will of the people prevailing even over the wishes of Gandhiji. Pelinka characterises the Netaji saga as Hollywood material. His complicated journeys around the world, including by submarine; his meetings with Mussolini, Hitler, Tojo and others; his interactions with Gandhiji, Nehru and Jinnah; moments of triumph and adulation; a transnational, transcultural love story and his tragic unconfirmed death are stuff that films are made of. He makes the striking observation that today’s India, industrialised, nuclear-armed and democratic, is more Netaji’s than Gandhiji’s. He does not recognise the pivotal role that Nehru played in shaping modern India. The book contains interesting observations on Netaji’s relations with Ireland’s de Valera, whom Netaji admired most, Italy’s Mussolini, with whom he had a good equation and Germany’s Hitler, who did not care much about “some Asian charlatans”, who predicted the collapse of British colonialism in India. Hitler observed: “I prefer to see India under British rule than under any other.” Netaji could find common ground with Italian Fascism, but not with German National Socialism. Netaji knew that the new nationalism in Germany was “not only narrow, but selfish and arrogant”, yet he later yielded to the illusion that an alliance with Hitler was in India’s interest and also possible. Pelinka traces the history of the Indian Legion formed in Germany and the Indian National Army established in South-East Asia. The Legion had about 3000 soldiers at the peak and they served under German command and owed allegiance to Hitler. Netaji’s persistent efforts to obtain German support, despite heavy odds, seemed uncharacteristic. Hitler felt that he had nothing to gain from Netaji, but Netaji believed that Germany should be his ally in his battle against the British. Hitler had only scorn and derision even for the Indian Legion. “The Indian legion is a joke. There are Indians who wouldn’t hurt a flea. Confronting them with the English is nonsense as far as I am concerned”, Hitler is recorded as having said in 1945. In contrast, the Japanese valued the Indian National Army and it came to be recognised as having contributed substantially to Indian independence. The INA had made history by contributing to the final Japanese offensive in South-East Asia and by giving greater credibility to Netaji’s exile government. Pelinka subscribes to the theory that Netaji died in the Taiwan crash. He graphically describes the last days of Netaji, how he had ceased to be a factor in Indian politics and internationally almost simultaneously. With the defeat in Imphal and the collapse of the Japanese stronghold in Burma, his military influence also had disappeared. In keeping with his strategy of forming alliance with his enemy’s enemy, he planned to befriend the Soviet Union. He had rightly anticipated the advent of the Cold War. “The collapse of Germany will be the signal for the outbreak for an acute conflict between the Soviets and Anglo-Americans”, he said in a radio address from Singapore on May 25, 1945. According to Pelinka, the myth about Netaji’s continued life beyond 1945 was a part of the dispute over who would write Indian history and whose interpretation of India’s path to independence would prevail. The military contribution of Netaji did not support the popular belief that Indian independence was won by peaceful means alone. The revolutionaries and martyrs, who fought for freedom, came to be symbolised by him and hence the legend lived on. Pelinka thinks that it was the politics of impatience that drove Netaji forward. The younger generation in India is still impatient and Netaji remains an idol for them. “Whether the living Bose would have found a role within Indian democracy cannot be known, of course. But the dead Bose has his role”, concludes
Pelinka.
— The writer is a former Ambassador of India to Austria |
Kendriya sarkar I was driving from Shimla to Dehradun via Sarahan and Nahan. The curvaceous road had churned my stomach well and I thought of filling the vacuum thus created at a dhaba in Markanda, a small village throbbing in the shadows of the town of Nahan. The attendant was a young lad in his early teens wearing a T-shirt with "Future" printed on the chest. I wondered what future the boy would have serving in that wayside dhaba. His C.V. disclosed that when he was in the eighth class, he had run away from his home at Naraingarh (Haryana) after a tiff with his father. There was truce between the two after his father had flown the white flag, so he bragged. I asked him what would he offer me to eat. He started minus commas, of course: "Tandoori roti, tawa chapatti, safed chawal, baingan bhartha, matar paneer, saag paneer, alu matar, dal pili tadka mar ke, dal makhanni……… aur kendriya sarkar." I asked him: "yeh kendriya sarkar (ks) kya hai?" "Mixed vegetables, Sir", he replied. I ordered for half a plate of ks besides other items from his verbal a la carte. When he brought the ordered items, I said, "Is mein aloo to Lalu hoga." He said, "No sir, aloo to Paswan (Lok Shakti) hai. Sabke saath chaltaa hai, NDA ke bhi aur UPA ke bhi. Lalu (RJD) to tamatar hai, KS ko rang aur ras (colour and flavour) deta hai." Then I started my "research" on KS. Brinjal is Manmohan Singh, not because he fits into that known Hindi proverb and rolls from one constituent to the other but because he wears the crown. Natwar and Mani (Congress) are peas who have come out of the pod of all-India services where in togetherness with members of their fraternity they were tolerable but here their flashy utterances have put them in the soup. Giridhar Maran (DMK), though from the south, is not a tangy chilli. He is sweet like capsicum also called the bell pepper and looks after telecommunication that had its father in Alexander Graham Bell. Sharad Pawar (NCP) is gobhi, sometimes cauliflower, open and accessible, sometimes cabbage; inner layer is different from the outer one, sometimes khol-khol (ganth-gobhi), hard and knotty. I liken radish in the dish to Arjun Singh, parallel to saffron carrot. They say parallels meet at infinity. Later Vedic literature describes it as muluka, an item to be chewed by way of digestive after a heavy meal. Is "detoxification" digestive process after the six-year meal of ‘Hindutva’? I had done on Who’s Who of KS by the time I could polish the platter. Then came the attendant to collect the charges. I asked him: "Teri KS mein vaam panthi kahan thai?" He said: "You mean Left Front, sir. They were spices, no see (not visible) but hot, hot." I could fancy that lad from Haryana
going from logcabin of Markanda to that exalted chair in Chandigarh
— and a green turban tied on his head — his distant future.
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Jinnah secular? Hardly
Apparently, he did not. As a result, Advani not only opened wounds of history in the subcontinent, he inflicted deep wounds on his own party and its satellite bodies like the RSS, the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal. A cerebral politician like Advani did precisely this when he called Jinnah “secular” during his Pakistan visit. An astute politician of the stature and wisdom of Advani does his homework before an important event. And it is unlikely that Advani did not do his homework. Advani should have done well to get a through briefing on the life and times of Jinnah from unimpeachable authorities and experts. Jinnah’s Direct Action Programme of August 1946 personified the ‘jehadi’ in Jinnah. In many ways, Jinnah was the most prominent jehadi in the Indian subcontinent. His concept of two-nation politics helped him succeed single-handed in creating Pakistan — leaving more Muslims in India than there are in Pakistan. Advani quoted from Jinnah’s inaugural speech delivered on August 11, 1947, in the Pakistan Constituent Assembly to prove his contention that Jinnah was “secular”. The BJP’s towering leader ought to have kept in mind what Jinnah had been saying from 1929 until days before India’s eventua al partition. On August 5, 1929, Jinnah said the Hindu-Muslim question was a national problem. Exactly 10 years later, Jinnah said at a public meeting in Bombay that Western democracy was not “suited to genius of India”. The rule of the majority was perceived by him as the rule of the Hindus. While introducing the Pakistan Resolution a year later in 1940, he said that Hindus and Muslims could never be a common nationality. On March 23, 1941 he had said that “social and cultural differences would not permit Hindus and Muslims to rule (India) jointly.” Jinnah called upon the Muslims to join the Muslim National Guards in 1942 “to meet any emergency for the Muslim cause”. This was a turning point for relentless aggressive posture of the Muslim League, a preparation of bloody confrontation with Hindus. The Muslim National Guards eventually gave scope to Muslim ex-servicemen and this organisation was in the forefront of implementing the Direct Action Programme that led to the killings of more than 10,000 innocent people in Calcutta. The concept of jehad was invoked to attain a political objective. The Direct Action Programme of Jinnah’s Muslim League should not have been forgotten by Advani while showering accolades on Jinnah. Jinnah’s determination for the creation of Pakistan was reflected in various speeches he made after the adoption of the 1940 Pakistan Resolution. In November 1945, while addressing the students of Islamia College, Peshawar, Jinnah said: “We want to get rid of the British but we do not want the change of masters. Let three-fourths of India belong to Hindus where they can rule as they wish and let Muslims have one-fourth of India where they are in majority. Let us both be free. What is terrible about it?” Communal riots took place in Punjab, Bengal and Bihar in 1946. Jinnah was aware of the implications of the demand for Pakistan. In November 1946, he bluntly proposed at a press conference an “exchange of population” to save minorities from communal atrocities. When Gandhi was assassinated, the Qaide-e-Azam— ironically the title was bestowed upon him by Gandhi — described Gandhi in his condolence message as one of the greatest “Hindu leaders” of modern times. Advani also glossed over what Jinnah had to say about the fate of Muslims in India after partition. Before partition, M C Chagla raised this question before Jinnah.”You (Jinnah) are fighting for Pakistan mainly in the interest of the Muslim majority states. But what happens to the Muslims in the states, particularly like Uttar Pradesh, where they are in a small minority?” Chagla said he would never forget the answer he (Jinnah) gave. He looked at Chagla for a while and said: “They will look after themselves. I am not interested in their fate”. Noted journalist Farid Zakaria, an American citizen, had this to say about Jinnah: “The harm that Jinnah did is incalculable... Even the worst Muslim ruler in the Middle Ages did not alienate the Hindus from the Muslims so badly as the so-called Qaid-e-Azam had done.” But the most damning description of Jinnah came from Lord Mountbatten, who said Jinnah was “a psychopathic case; in fact, until I had met him I would not have thought it possible that a person with such a complete lack of Administrative knowledge or sense of responsibility could achieve or hold... so powerful a position”. Atal Behari Vajpayee and company may go on saying that Advani has said nothing wrong. They have to do some reality checks on history. They are defending the
indefensible.
— The writer is co-author of “Pakistan: From Jinnah to Jehad” |
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Consolidating peace in Nagaland
Mr Thuingaleng Muivah, general secretary of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), has reiterated that it is not possible for the Nagas to come within the framework of the Indian Constitution. Coming after 41 rounds of dialogue, this seems to bring the situation back to square one. Dissension is endemic to India. At various times some part or the other of the country has erupted into fissiparous activities. The northeast in particular has been synonymous with dissension and even armed rebellion. This problem of insurgency first surfaced in Nagaland and took a violent turn in the early fifties, even though the desire of Nagas not to join India after Independence had been voiced earlier in 1929 before the Simon Commission. The level of violence in Nagaland has seen its highs and lows, with ceasefire coming into effect in 1964. 1975 and on August 1, 1997, that continues to hold. The current ceasefire has been the longest in the chequered history of the troubled state and has raised hopes of permanent peace. Will these hopes materialise, or, will the state once again revert to the gun? One could examine it from the perspective of different stakeholders. The first is the central Government. The intentions of New Delhi for a lasting peace are unquestionable. Direct negotiations with the underground leaders and announcements of the UPA Government are a further pointer to the sincerity of the government’s intentions. However, the Centre needs to exercise care in deciding whom to talk to and in choosing their mediators for the parleys. Bureaucrats, serving or retired, may not necessarily be the best choice. First, having served out their time in/around Delhi for most of their service, they lack the ground knowledge of the situation. Secondly, their long-standing loyalties to the regime in Delhi do not give them the required image of impartiality and neutrality to the negotiating partners. The second stakeholder is the leadership of the underground movement. Isak Swu Sumi and T. Muivah have been at the head of the dominant NSCN group ever since its inception. Their commitment and dedication to the cause cannot be questioned. They have a stated position of gaining independence from India, which even if impossible and impractical in their own thinking continues to be voiced by them. As in all such movements, leaders of high public repute have a problem, in that they find it difficult to climb down from their declared stance, for fear of loss of face and credibility among the masses. Late Yasser Arafat was a clear example who ultimately became the chief stumbling block to a peaceful solution in the Palestinian struggle. Isak Swu and Muivah probably know and realise this. It seems likely that while not giving up their demand for sovereignty, they will prefer continuance of the present non-violent phase, which is possible only if the talks continue throughout their life time. Their steadfast stance would give them a place of prominence in history. The next generation of leadership may/will then start afresh with scaled down and achievable demands. The third stakeholder in the issue is the rank and file of the underground movement. Unlike their top leadership, they do not have any lofty aim of achieving historical fame. What interest them more are the material benefits that the movement brings them. The existing environment, where they can carry arms openly and where extortion and even illegal tax collection are rampant, and there is no fear of Army crackdown, suits them ideally. They would prefer the status quo with no apparent haste on their part to arrive at a permanent solution. The last stake holder is the public. They form the vast majority but have the minimum say in the matter. Anyone familiar with the ground realities in Nagaland would agree that people are, by and large, tired of violence. The public normally begin to assert itself if there is a groundswell. The regime in New Delhi needs to take note of this sentiment and take steps to create a popular wave in favour of peace. What should the Centre do now so that the chances of permanent peace are enhanced? It needs to be noted that the root cause of the turmoil has been the feeling of alienation. Despite their strategic location and contribution to the national economy in terms of oil and tea production, the population in that region considers itself as having been neglected and exploited. As a first step, there is a need to create a separate ministry for northeast at the Centre. A dedicated bureaucracy, including officers who hail from the northeast, should staff this. The ministry should be given a time-bound programme of undertaking development in the region and all procedural and bureaucratic hurdles and difficulties in their way need to be removed with haste. Secondly, the region needs to be developed into a tourist haven. There is plenty of scope to develop facilities for river sports, hang-gliding, mountain craft, battle-site visits (some fierce battles were fought here during World War II) hill holiday resorts, creation of tribal cultural nodes, research centres for forestry, agriculture, horticulture and floriculture. The area also needs to be better connected by road, rail and air links to facilitate faster and cheaper travel. There is also a case for generating employment, including raising of regional armed battalions for the central security forces and for the Army. At the same time the Centre should open a track-II channel for contacting opinion moulders and second-rung leaders, who are otherwise dormant in the current milieu. This will prepare the ground and facilitate negotiations in
future. — The writer is ex-Deputy Chief of Army Staff |
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Defence
notes
As part of Indo-French defence cooperation, six Indian fighter aircraft and a mid-air refueller have left for the Istres Air Base in France for the ‘Garuda II’ air exercise, which be held from June 15 to June 30. This will be the second such exercise between the two Air Forces with the Garuda-I held in India in the month of February two years ago. The Indian Air Force will deploy six Sukhoi 30 fighter jets for the exercise, along with the IL - 78 air-to-air refuelling aircraft. The aircraft were flagged off from the Bareilly air base on Thursday. The French Air Force will be deploying its Mirage 2000 fighter and C-135 FR tanker aircraft. The Indian Air Force contingent comprises 120 personnel — the Sukhoi 30 aircrew (18), IL -78 aircrew (05), engineers/administration and medical officers (10) and technicians (87). After being flagged off Bareilly the planes will first stop at Jamnagar and then take off from Jamnagar on June 12 to proceed to Istres via Jyanklis (Egypt). The contingent will reach Istres on June 15.
Spare parts for Vietnam
In a bid to expand its maritime diplomacy with the strategically significant Southeast Asian nations, the Indian Navy is offering them spare parts of the same type of equipment which is being used by both countries. An Indian ship has carried almost 150 tonnes of spare parts for Vietnam. These include spare parts of missiles and warships. The spare parts have been carried by Indian ship INS Magar and the consignment, comprising of 900 boxes were handed over to the Vietnamese Navy at a ceremony earlier in the week. The spares are for the Russian-built Petya class frigate and OSA II class missile boats. The two boats are also used by the Indian Navy which feels that Vietnam has been a key partner in maritime cooperation.
First lady Vice Admiral
Lt Gen Punita Arora is set to create history by becoming the first lady Vice Admiral of the Navy. Storming the male bastion having become her second nature almost, Lt Gen Punita Arora is at present the Commandant of the Pune-based Armed Forces Medical College and will shortly take over as the Director General of Medical Services (Navy). The post has been lying vacant since May 1 last when Vice Admiral Vijay K Singh took over as DG Armed Forces Medical Services. |
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SEPTEMBER 11, 1889
The history of the world-renowned Koh-i-noor, as given by “G” in the May number of the National Magazine, will be read with interest. This priceless diamond was found in one of the mines of Golconda, near the river Krishna. It fell into the hands of Babar in 1526. The French traveller, Tavernier, saw it in the court of Aurangzeb. Tavernier describes it as an egg-shaped diamond, weighing 280 carats. Its original weight is said to have been 793-5/8 carats. In Shahjehan’s reign it adorned the celebrated Peacock throne. In 1739 the Koh-i-noor, formed part of Nadir Shah’s booty from India to the Persian Court. Shah Shooja was the last of the Afghan rulers who possessed the diamond. In 1812 it passed into the hands of the Lion of the Punjab as a lawful prize for the great service rendered by him to the Shah. In fact it was a present from Wafoo Begum, Sheh Shooja’s wife to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, for his having delivered her husband from the bold, incontinent grasp of Alta Mohammed, the last of the Muslem rulers of Kashmir. From Maharaja Ranjit Singh or rather from his beloved queen Jhindan, Duleep Singh had inherited this precious gem. It now adorns, as is well known, the diadem of our beloved sovereign. |
Blessed are the twelve months, the seasons, the lunar and the solar days, the hours, the minutes and the seconds when the Lord meets us — Guru Nanak As Bhakti emphasises humility, obedience, readiness to serve, compassion and gentle love, as the devotee longs to surrender himself, renounce self-will and experience passivity, it is said to be more feminine in character. — Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in The Bhagavad Gita Ahimsa magnifies one’s own defects, and minimises those of the opponent. It regards the mole in one’s own eye as a beam and the beam in the opponent’s eye as a mole. — Mahatma Gandhi The measure of a master is his success in bringing all men round to his opinion twenty years later. — Emerson Women expect, suffer, hope and receive. They long for compassion, mercy, peace. Femininity is in all beings. — Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in The Bhagavad Gita Blessed is such a householder, a recluse, a yogi, who attunes himself to the love of God. — Guru Nanak  |
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Mohammed Ali Jinnah is one of the greatest contradictions in history. “To study Jinnah is to open the wounds of history,” said Pakistani historian-writer Akbar S Ahmed. BJP chief L K Advani ought to have kept this in mind before he embarked on his eventful Pakistan visit earlier this month.