 |
|
Stinging sleaze Living dead |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Kerry Fighter
Enlightened moderation?
Grey area
UNICEF report:
Tsunami rehabilitation effort Northeast as partner in modernisation Vitamin D: Miracle pill against cancer
From the pages of
|
Stinging sleaze IT is a time of embarrassment for the BJP. The silver jubilee session of the party in Mumbai will be remembered more for the resignation of its general secretary, Mr Sanjay Joshi. What has felled the RSS pointsman in the BJP is a sting operation carried out at the behest of some party leader to expose his sexual escapades. Consensual sex between two adults is not a crime but in the instant case, Mr Joshi happens to be a ‘pracharak’, who had taken a vow of celibacy. Incidentally, his brief included keeping an eye on the party leaders so that their conduct measured up to the exacting standards laid down by the RSS. The incident brings to the fore the extent of skullduggery and deviousness that some party leaders indulge in to scuttle one another’s chances of political growth. The party is so divided at the top that it has been unable to throw up through consensus the name of a person who can succeed Mr L.K. Advani when he leaves the presidentship of the party on December 31. It is by a process of elimination than choice that Mr Rajnath Singh has come up as the most likely successor. Why is it that few other parties have this kind of a problem when the BJP claims itself to be the party with a difference? Mr Advani has in his presidential address blamed the Congress for the “Congressisation” of the BJP. Such arguments are specious, to say the least, particularly when the BJP has stolen a march over other parties in many respects. Take, for instance, the cash-for-question scam, a majority of the 11 MPs exposed in the scam belonged to the BJP. What’s worse, even after the scam hit the BJP where it hurts most, reducing its presence in Parliament, it has not been able to take any step to redeem its image. Mr Advani, who should have seized the initiative, fumbled when he led the boycott of the expulsion of the MPs from the Lok Sabha. In the process, he could neither save the six MPs from expulsion nor take a moralistic stand. His argument that the MPs’ case should have been referred to the privileges committee would bring credit to a petty lawyer but not a party president, who is committed to bringing about a transformation in Indian politics. What a tragedy, Mr Advani! |
|
Living dead India has a tradition of revering its aged. This sentence should actually be changed into the past tense, considering that the glorious custom is no longer in force in a large number of households. For nuclear families, the retired parents are becoming a burden and a nuisance. The real alarming part is that the malaise is spreading to rural joint families also. Nothing could have illustrated this problem more poignantly than what a septuagenarian farmer and his wife had to do in Baurhai Kalan village near Mandi Ahmedgarh in Punjab the other day. The old couple has three sons and three daughters along with a score of grandchildren and great grandchildren. But instead of taking care of them in their twilight years, they have been fighting over their property. This made Ajmer Singh and his wife Basant Kaur suspect that their progeny might not even perform their last rites. So, they held their own “bhog” ceremony, complete with printed invitation cards, and a feast to the entire village. Not only that, they have even collected firewood for their cremation. Mind you, this is no joke or publicity stunt. It is a loud and clear expression of the anguish of a hapless couple. One does not know if it will move their children but it should certainly move the nation. Theirs is not an isolated case. Only recently, an old man was left at a bus shed near Mohali under similar circumstances. Things may not be quite so extreme everywhere but even lesser neglect can be excruciating for the people who are counting their days. It is time for all of us to do a bit of introspection. The respect for the parents cannot be taught. Nor can it be forcefully enforced by the government, given the extreme sensitivity of the matter. Under such circumstances, the only alternative is to have in place an adequate safety net for those who are unfortunate enough to be abandoned or neglected by their families when they need them the most. That is going to be a long haul, considering that right now old-age homes that are in existence are not sufficient for even a fraction of the country’s large population. |
|
Kerry Fighter Tough. Aggressive. Ready for a fight, off or on the field. And always looking to win. That doesn’t just describe Australian cricket captains and teams, not to mention the Aussie captain-turned-coach of the Indian men in blue, but also a certain Australian media baron. And Rupert Murdoch notwithstanding, they don’t come much bigger than Kerry Packer, who died in Sydney on December 26. The audacious World Cricket Series, which turned a relaxed, conservative game into a colourful, charged, gladiatorial contest under lights, happened because of his passion for sport on television, and intense rivalry with other media houses. Essentially, he bought the world’s most exciting cricketers and staged his own matches on his own Channel Nine. The coloured clothing, the lights, and the white ball, are used to this day. The Packer players were banned, but not only did he get the courts to revoke the ban, he got the TV and marketing rights to the regular games – the original goal. He believed in making the right deals, and he always did. He cashed in all his shares just before the big crash of 1987, which destroyed many of his rivals. That year, he sold Channel Nine for one billion Australian dollars to a man named Alan Bond. Then he made a prediction. He would buy it back for less than half that later. He used Bond’s money to buy and build an empire, and in the mid-1990s, he bought Channel Nine back cheaply. Even death has had a hard time getting to him. He suffered a major heart attack in 1990 while playing polo, one of his passions. His heart stopped beating for seven minutes. Seven days later he discharged himself from hospital and returned to the polo field. One of his middle names, appropriately, is Bullmore. Gamesters in India, and not necessarily only of the bat and ball wielding kind, might want to know his secret. He reportedly once told his staff, hanging on to his every word in an office chat: “I buy low and I sell high.” Make of that what you will. |
|
The greatest art of a politician is to render vice serviceable to the cause of virtue. |
Enlightened moderation?
EVER since it was established that the terrorist bombings in New York and Washington were engineered from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, Gen Pervez Musharraf has constantly proclaimed his goal of making Pakistan a “moderate Islamic country” based on “enlightened moderation”. Speaking at the Third Extraordinary Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Mecca on December 7, the General proclaimed: “Senseless acts of terrorism committed by a handful of misguided individuals claiming to act in the name of Islam has maligned our noble faith. We must condemn and reject all forces of terrorism and extremism, banning organisations which preach hate and violence.” Yet the Urdu newspapers of Pakistan and publications brought out by groups like the Lashkar-e-Toiba (now going under the name of Jamat-ud-Dawa) report statements and events showing that extremism and religious bigotry thrive in General Musharraf’s Pakistan. “Hindus, Christians and Jews” are regularly described as “enemies of Islam”. Members of these terrorist outfits cross the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, or India’s porous borders with Nepal and Bangladesh to incite communal passions and indulge in terrorist violence across India. While General Musharraf claims that he has banned groups like the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the suicide bombers in London were trained in the madarsas of this terrorist group that openly collects funds and preaches hatred, from its sprawling headquarters in Muridhke near Lahore. Its supporters have been arrested for sponsoring terrorism in California and Virginia in the US and in places ranging from Chechnya to Australia. President Karzai’s government repeatedly refers to the presence of the Taliban leadership in Pakistan. Two senior Taliban leaders who were killed in a bomb explosion near Peshawar recently had been living comfortably in Peshawar ever since the Taliban was forced out of Kabul in 2001. The extremist Lashkar-e-Jhangvi attacks Shia leaders and places of worship even in the Northern Areas of Kashmir, now under Pakistani occupation. General Musharraf’s embrace of “enlightened moderation” that has resulted in groups and organisations like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Al-Rashid Trust (banned internationally for financing terrorist activities) taking the lead in post-earthquake relief efforts in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) has prompted international concern. While his proclaimed efforts to make Pakistan a model “moderate Islamic State” has only promoted terrorist violence worldwide, what has been the impact within Pakistan of General Musharraf’s policies of “enlightened moderation? Which directions have “enlightened moderation” led Pakistan to on issues of women’s rights and religious tolerance? While Pakistan’s constitution may grant equal rights to women, the shariat courts and blasphemy laws are clearly loaded against women, or minorities receiving a fair deal. On June 22, 2002, a tribal woman, Mukhtaran Mai was gang-raped following a sentence handed down to her by a village council that claimed that her brother had been involved in an act of “sexual indiscretion”. The five rapists were sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court, but acquitted by the Lahore High Court on June 10, 2005. Her grit and determination in seeking justice and bringing the rapists to trial won Mai international acclaim. But when Mai sought to visit London for a meeting with Amnesty International, General Musharraf banned her visit abroad to “protect Pakistan’s image” of “enlightened moderation”. Mai was finally permitted to travel abroad after a huge international outcry. Similarly, the gang-rape of a young lady doctor, Shazia Khalid, in Baluchistan by a group allegedly led by an army officer sparked a tribal uprising in the province. The army officer is still free, with General Musharraf arbitrarily pronouncing him innocent. After threats to her and her husband, Dr Khalid left for Canada. How did General Musharraf respond to these developments? He told The Washington Post that claiming rape was becoming a “money-making concern” in Pakistan and that many Pakistanis feel that claiming rape was an easy way to get a Canadian visa! Women’s groups worldwide and Canada’s Prime Minister expressed outrage at this manifestation of the General’s “enlightened moderation”. It is not only Mukhtaran Mai and Shazia Khalid who face abduction or rape in Pakistan today. A Hindu couple in Karachi, Sano Amra and his wife Champa, returned home recently one evening to find their three daughters aged 21, 19 and 17 missing. When the couple tried to file an FIR they received threats to their lives from neighbours. The daughters were ultimately found. It was claimed that they had converted to Islam and were living in a madarsa. When the couple got to see their daughters they found them clad in burqas and weeping with bloodshot eyes. Members of the Hindu community in Karachi have noted that 20 Hindu girls have been converted to Islam in similar circumstances in the past five years. Sano Amra is a lonely figure today, determined to secure justice and the return of his daughters. But in the era of “enlightened moderation” in Pakistan there is scant hope that he or others similarly placed will obtain justice. “Pakistan’s image” abroad as a country where religious freedoms were perhaps respected was best demonstrated when their star batsman Youssef Youhana, a devout Christian, proudly made the sign of the cross to television cameras worldwide whenever he scored a century or half-century. But Youhana is reported to have converted to Islam largely because of peer pressure. He now plays under the name of Mohammed Youssef. His parents are said to be distraught. His “conversion” coincides with reports of increasing intolerance towards Christians in Pakistan. Just last month, mobs in Nankana district burned down three churches, a missionary-run school, two hostels and several houses of members of the Christian community. Burning of chapels and attacks on Christians have been regular features of life in Pakistan in recent years of “enlightened moderation”. Is General Musharraf alone responsible for today’s violence and bigotry in Pakistan? The answer perhaps lies in the confusion in Pakistan about the role of Islam in national life. While Jinnah may have envisaged that his country would be ruled according to secular norms in his August 11, 1947, speech, the question that then arises is: why should there be a separate Muslim majority state in the subcontinent, if Islam has no role in national life? Further, the ruling military elite believe that “radical Islam” fostered through groups like the Lashkar-e-Toiba is a useful tool to “bleed India” and obtain “strategic depth” in Afghanistan. It is not General Musharraf alone, but the entire military-intelligence establishment which rules Pakistan, that makes any talk of “enlightened moderation” nothing more than a cruel
joke.
|
Grey area
Before I crossed 40 and greyed I did not know that grey hair could be such a bother to everyone around me.
The first to raise a whine was my barber, the monthly tryst with whom is fraught with nameless fears, because his suggestions, criticisms and incessant babble finds me out of my depths. Everytime I visited him he discovered a few more grey strands and looked at my head with renewed horror! I tried to reason with him. Incorrigibly stubborn he buttonholed me one day by quoting the dyeing rates — that ranged from exorbitant to shocking. I avoided him like the plague and literally let my hair down for six months! But I was not very safe at home either. The missus who had already frowned at my grey stubble and the touch of grey in the caterpillar under my nose frowned furiously when she spotted the grey spreading nicely on my crop. I tried to convince her that I was past 40 and she was no spring chicken either. She flared through her shapely nostrils and pronounced that the next Sunday she was going to get my hair hennaed. Perhaps she did not resent my being in the forties as much as my indiscreet comment about her. But the damage was done and I left my head to her the next Sabbath. Two hours of sitting dumbly with “mehndi” dripping from my head and one hour of scrubbing it clean later, I emerged from the bathroom looking like a medieval dancing dervish at the sight of whom kids would run for cover! I had to be on leave till the effect wore off. I toyed with the idea of using a hat but was scared that it might provoke snide remarks from all these busybodies. Then one day when the sweet, svelte, sensational-looking lady-head of a private channel remarked about my grey hair when I had gone to anchor a talk show recently I cried enough is enough and rushed for a dye to my old barber friend to his utter delight! But unfortunately that did not signal the end to my troubles. Now whenever I come across any friend or acquaintance they smile knowingly at me and remark-”Aha, dyed your hair, haven’t you? You couldn’t possibly have such black mop at your age!” The barber had asked me to come back to him for a renewal after two months. I don’t know whether I would. I am still figuring out whether dyeing is better than
greying! |
UNICEF report: Tsunami
rehabilitation effort This report* covers the first year of UNICEF India’s 2005 to 2007 action plan to support the Government of India and partners in building back better for children after the 26 December 2004 India Ocean tsunami. It reflects on what happened to children and families that day, discusses progress in the recovery effort, and the work still left to do. The results achieved for children in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands reflect the collaborative effort between the Government of India, UNICEF, international agencies, non-government organisations, and most importantly, people in the affected areas. The tsunami killed more than 12,400 in India: three quarters were woman and children. The worst damage was sustained in Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where 58 hospitals and health centres and 358 schools were destroyed or damaged. The Indian Armed Forces evacuated 6,50,000 people to safety, and emergency authorities quickly set up 930 relief centres to house 6,04,000 people from destroyed villages. Many of these centres have now closed; but a year later, there are still 19,000 families in the Nicobar group of islands who have not yet been relocated to their permanent homes. The work that UNICEF is supporting today is concentrated in these communities.
The 2005 response Keeping children and women alive was the first priority in the collective emergency response. Not a single child died as a result of vaccine-preventable disease or displacement, arguably the most important indicator of an effective emergency response. UNICEF worked with government and local partners in relief centres in Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on mass vaccination and vitamin A campaigns that covered 1,03,629 children. In 2005, beyond restoring basic immunisation and antenatal care services for people affected by the tsunami, UNICEF has been working with health authorities to enhance the competencies of doctors and nutrition workers. The overall goal is to address unacceptably high death rates among newborns and infants in many of the poorest affected districts. UNICEF supported the restoration of services provided by over 9,500 Anganwadi centres where health workers track child growth and development in order to detect and address signs of malnutrition and provide nutrition counselling to mothers. In many communities, Anganwadi centres are becoming distribution points for vitamin A and iron supplementation. This support is especially critical in rural communities where there are few doctors, in efforts to promote child survival. Building back better for children also brought more focused attention to improving the quality of education for tsunami-affected children. This year, UNICEF worked with education authorities to provide training to over 1,740 teachers and academic support staff on child-centred, participatory teaching methods - a progressive departure from the traditional learn by rote approach. Teachers are supported by relevant teaching-learning materials and hands on resources for children. This year, nearly 1,500 schools are significantly closer to providing children with a better quality education. The tsunami orphaned 480 children and widowed 787 women. Dislocation and despair made many more vulnerable. Providing immediate care and protection for tsunami-affected children was a major priority, including providing psychosocial care. UNICEF worked with government, NGOs and mental health professionals to train teachers and volunteers, reaching up to 114, 000 children and adolescents through counselling, art, sports, puppet shows and theatre.
Priorities for 2006 In 2006, UNICEF’s tsunami recovery programme will focus on consolidating gains and advancing progress in interventions that are underway in Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Activities in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala will be absorbed into UNICEF India’s regular programme In the area of Health and Nutrition, efforts in both Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands will focus on strengthening the community-based component of the Integrated Management of Neonatal and Child illness (IMNCI) programme. This means greater coverage in the number of newborns who are visited at home at least three times within the first 10 days of life by a health or community worker trained in IMNCI protocols. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands will continue to build on the success of this year’s malaria control measures, with the goal of brining the malaria fatality rate to zero. UNICEF will support Anganwadi workers and volunteers in their work to help families and mothers sustain healthy feeding and care practices such as exclusive breastfeeding and using adequately iodised salt. Interventions in the water and sanitation sector will continue to focus on making sure that shelters have functioning and sustainable waste management systems, and an increased emphasis will be made to ensure affected schools and Anganwadi centres have an adequate supply of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities. In both Tamil Nadu and Andaman and Nicobar, UNICEF will continue to support efforts to improve hygiene practices among families and children living in shelters. As families begin moving into their permanent homes, UNICEF will ensure that water and sanitation assets are relocated. In affected schools where teachers have been trained on providing Quality Education, support in 2006 will focus on improving learning experience and outcomes in classrooms and strengthening the support teachers receive from district and local level academic resources. In order to measure the impact of interventions, monitoring children’s progress will be an important component of activities. The total budget of UNICEF India’s tsunami recovery programme for 2005-2007 is $ 21.6 million. *The above is excerpted from the report Building Back Better for Children, UNICEF India, Dec 2005. |
|
Northeast as partner in modernisation India is making an all out effort to develop and modernize with better infrastructure, better skills and more education. The Northeast countries, however, are being left out. No group can last in tribal innocence if the rest of our country is advancing. The tribal world has already suffered with the heady intrusion of tea plantations and exploitation of forest and mineral resources by non-tribals. For developing the Northeast, large amounts of manpower, skills and training have to be introduced. This has to be done with the active support of the native population. Immigrants should be allowed to become permanent residents only according to the rules framed by local authorities. Only their descendants, if they are domiciled there, can enter the voting list and exercise their political rights. The immigrants will then be limited in number and will be welcome for their labour and skills. Like the developed countries, the states in the Northeast can also have a quota system for immigration and employment from selected states in India, or even from the outside. The Indian government should give the states full cooperation towards this. Modernization of the Northeast as well as that of neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bhutan will now be speed up after the new wave of cooperation. Some international projects with Myanmar will give new qaumi integration to tribes living on both sides of the international border with Myanmar. There is considerable scope of international funding for improving land and air communications between South China, Myanmar, Assam and Bangladesh. India’s close relationship with the South East Asian Region must serve to reassure foreign investors. Setting up a joint Indo-Bangladesh project should restore the communications with the Northeast across Bangladesh. This is sure to happen when the Bangladesh authorities learn to find their fulfilment in cooperation with India and by unrestrained enjoyment of the possibilities of SAARC regional cooperation. This is now increasingly expected by Pakistan, especially if the India-Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline becomes a reality. Rail and road communication with Assam across Bangladesh will be beneficial to Sylhet district. The region has a huge pilgrim tourist traffic potential from Indian Muslims. There are already large numbers of people of Bangladeshi origin in the Northeast and better communications will assist them too. Once there is visible improvement in border travel and trade with Myanmar, the Nagas can enjoy trans-national qaumi unification and so will other tribes straddling the international border. The traditional borders of Manipur should be guaranteed by India along with village wise autonomy of hill villages surrounding the Manipur plains. Tribal groups should be given a few months of employment each year in newly raised security and construction companies on liberal terms. Tribal animosities can be eliminated by taking a cue from the experience in Indonesia where educated students explained their common ancestry to the warring factions. Evidently, the education of tribal groups contributed to this. At present, there is only a misleading concoction of the tribal group’s ancient histories prevalent among them. |
|
Vitamin D: Miracle pill against cancer A growing body of evidence in recent years has shown that lack of vitamin D may have lethal effects. Heart disease, lung disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis are among the conditions in which it is believed to play a vital role. The vitamin is also essential for bone health and protects against rickets in children and osteoporosis in the elderly. Vitamin D is made by the action of sunlight on the skin, which accounts for 90 per cent of the body’s supply. But the increasing use of sunscreens and the reduced time spent outdoors, especially by children, has contributed to what many scientists believe is an increasing problem of vitamin D deficiency. After assessing almost every scientific paper published on the link between vitamin D and cancer since the 1960s, US scientists say that a daily dose of 1,000 international units (25 micrograms) is needed to maintain health. “The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency combined with the discovery of increased risks of certain types of cancer in those who are deficient, suggest that vitamin D deficiency may account for several thousand premature deaths from colon, breast, ovarian and other cancers annually,” they say in the online version of the American Journal of Public Health. Cancer specialists from the University of San Diego, California, led by Professor Cedric Garland, reviewed 63 scientific papers on the link between vitamin D and cancer published between 1966 and 2004. The dose they propose of 1,000 IU a day is two-and-a-half times the current recommended level in the US. In the UK, there is no official recommended dose but grey skies and short days from October to March mean 60 per cent of the population has inadequate blood levels by the end of winter. The UK Food Standards Agency maintains that most people should be able to get all the vitamin D they need from their diet and “by getting a little sun”. But the vitamin can only be stored in the body for 60 days. Countries around the world have begun to modify their warnings about the dangers of sunbathing, as a result of the growing research on vitamin D. The Association of Cancer Councils of Australia acknowledged this year for the first time that some exposure to the sun was healthy. Australia is one of the world’s sunniest countries and has among the highest rates of skin cancer. People living in the north-eastern US, where it is less sunny, and African Americans with darker skins were more likely to be deficient, researchers found. They also had higher cancer rates. The researchers say their finding could explain why black Americans die sooner from cancer than whites, even after allowing for differences in income and access to care. Professor Garland said: “A preponderance of evidence from the best observational studies ... has led to the conclusion that public health action is needed. Primary prevention of these cancers has been largely neglected, but we now have proof that the incidence of colon, breast and ovarian cancer can be reduced dramatically by increasing the public’s intake of vitamin D.” Obtaining the necessary level of vitamin D from diet alone would be difficult and sun exposure carries a risk of triggering skin cancer. “The easiest and most reliable way of getting the appropriate amount is from food and a daily supplement,” they say. — The Independent
|
|
From the pages of The “Begar System” One of the fruitful causes of discontent among some of the most backward communities of Upper India and the Punjab is the iniquitous system of “begar” or forced labour which not only prevails in the hilly districts of Simla and Kumaon but even in rural areas in the plains. The institution is one of a very long standing. Government officials when on tour depend for their transport and supply of the necessary articles of food upon “begar”. Those who have to supply food stuffs, as also those who act as coolies, have not choice in the matter. They are often paid at absurdly low rates and occasions have been known when they had to perform these services gratis. It is neither in the interest of Government nor of the people that there should be more discontent than can possibly be helped. The “begar system” is cruel and mischievous and therefore, a dangerous anachronism which should be abolished root and branch without delay. |
It is the earnest, who seek the source of highest happiness. The thoughtless are too busy with their petty pleasures to have such a broad vision. With wisdom the earnest meditate on the highest happiness and surely attain it. — The Buddha If you keep thinking of all the ways in which others cheated you, fought with you, degraded you or angered you; your heart will forever be full of hatred. Learn to let go, and be happy. — The Buddha Do you eat alone, hiding away like a thief? Offer your food to God before starting. And his name, share it with any hungry person who comes your way. —Sanatana Dharma You may have read many books, listened to many discourses and attended many prayer meetings. But understand this. Unless you can examine everything dispassionately, your knowledge will not be a guide to you. —
Bhagvad Gita Always remember the glory and greatness of the creator and do your duty efficiently without being attached to or affected by the results even if that duty may at times demand unavoidable violence. —
Bhagvad Gita If you want perfect peace, surrender yourself to the love of God. Surrender all your wants, desires, actions, reactions, pains, pleasures, joys and sorrows. Then feel the power of perfect peace. You will get it if you really want it. —
Bhagvad Gita |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
