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Indo-US deal on track An IG’s housing cess |
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Food subsidy
The greying of India
Summit failure
KU readies for golden jubilee celebrations What it means when you fall, die or cheat Chatterati
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Indo-US deal on track IT is heartening to learn that the US Administration remains determined to implement the July 2005 civilian nuclear deal it entered into with India. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made it clear on Thursday once again that the US was committed to helping India with advanced technology and equipment to produce sufficient nuclear energy for its fast growing economy. She obviously wanted to tell the sceptics in the US that India’s search for nuclear energy, which is cheaper and cleaner, deserves all-out American support as India has a clean track record so far as nuclear non-proliferation is concerned despite not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. What Dr Rice said in Washington while interacting with journalists should also convince the detractors of the Indo-US nuclear agreement in India that there is nothing sinister in the deal. If the US is so forthcoming for helping India to find fuel for its nuclear reactors and with the latest nuclear energy technology, there is no reason why India should not welcome it. India has no alternative but to approach the members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for nuclear fuel to keep its reactors functioning. NSG members will have no hesitation in coming to the rescue of India if Washington is on New Delhi’s side. The discreet offers from France and Russia should be seen against this backdrop. Issues like the separation of India’s civilian nuclear projects and those related to its weapons programme are complicated but can be sorted out to the satisfaction of both parties. After all, both countries have to keep in view each other’s interests. India’s civilian nuclear energy programme has to be pursued with the seriousness it deserves because this is the best way to meet the growing energy requirement of the country. Thermal and hydro-power projects cannot meet all the requirements and are also not environment-friendly. India can end its dependence on the hydrocarbons like oil and gas only by having more nuclear power reactors. Hence the Indo-US deal.
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An IG’s housing cess THAT our friendly neighbourhood cops are money-making machines is an open secret. One has learnt to live with this menace because of the TINA (there is no alternative) factor. But when skeletons tumble out of the musty cupboards of even IG-level IPS officials, one cannot help feeling ashamed of the state of affairs. The latest scandal to be unearthed in Haryana has an IG demanding money from an Inspector for his promotion. After all, this Rs 85,000 was badly needed for Bada Sahib’s house under construction. Multiply it with the number of other Inspectors whose promotions might have been held up on flimsy grounds in a similar manner and you get a rough idea of the kind of money that the IG may be making. Worse, the episode shows how the whole department has been vitiated with bribe being collected through ASIs and other such officials, who must be surely taking their own cut in the loot. That strengthens the common man’s belief that the system stinks from top to bottom. If this is how the top cops milk their own subordinates, the ordinary persons are sitting ducks for them. The Director-General of Police, Mr Nirmal Singh, deserves kudos for pursuing the complaints about corruption doggedly. He has been equally determined in several other such cases and his bold attempt revives the hope that not everything is yet lost. Such nailing of the criminals can restore the image of the department considerably. Now that the erring police officers have been caught with their fingers in the till, the case against them must be pursued forcefully, and they should be given the strictest possible punishment. Such officers have no place in the police force. Their expulsion is imperative not only to restore the confidence of the public that nobody is above the law, but also to set an example to other officers, who may be engaged in similar shady activities or thinking of practising them. Every wrong-doer who goes scot-free encourages 10 others. Every wrong-doer ruthlessly punished discourages a hundred others raring to emulate him. The corrupt must be weeded out of the police force to restore public confidence in it.
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Food subsidy THE UPA government’s decision to slash the food subsidy by Rs 4,524 crore is quite likely to be misread as anti-poor. The ruling coalition’s Leftist allies, as expected, have already dubbed it “a retrograde move”. Making subsidised food available to the needy is a desirable goal for a welfare state. But it has to be leakage-proof. The Indian experience shows much of what is meant for the poor is swallowed on the way by sharks well-entrenched in the system. Subsidies are doled out at a huge cost to the exchequer. If they fail to reach the intended beneficiaries, the whole purpose is defeated. The fertiliser subsidy, for instance, is intended to help farmers, but actually it benefits the industry. Operational inefficiency and lack of competition keep fertiliser prices high, beyond the reach of small farmers. Similarly, it is the rich farers who take advantage of subsidised or free power. Free power makes them draw out and waste more water than they otherwise would. As the water table falls, small farmers are denied water since not many can afford to install submersible pumps. Thus in this case the subsidy intended for the poor farmers actually harms them. No wonder, experts are almost unanimous on having a second look at the subsidies to better target them and avoid their misuse. The decision to reduce food intake through the public distribution system and the Antodaya Anna Yojana is rather a baby step towards reform. Since subsidised foodgrains made available through the PDS are diverted by unscrupulous traders to the market, the distribution channel needs to be overhauled. Some suggest the dual pricing of foodgrains be replaced by the issuing of food stamps to the poor who can buy their requirements at the market rates. The long-term goal should be to generate enduring sources of income for the disadvantaged so that they can buy foodgrains.
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It is always easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them. — Alfred Adler |
The greying of India
MODERN medicine and better nutrition have wrought quite a miracle in India. Life expectancy has increased dramatically during the last century and people are also leading a far better life. Increased longevity has led to many demographic changes. From just 1.20 crore persons of the 60-plus age in 1901, the number rose to two crore in 1950 and 5.7 crore in 1991. Today, it is well over seven crore. Many of them will join the 70-79 years age group soon. As the percentage of old persons in the total population has increased, we as a country have not been able to take good care of these elders. Every day, we hear of horrifying incidents like an 80-plus man abandoned at a bus stop and another septuagenarian farmer in Punjab and his wife performing their own last rites while they are still alive, lest their children and grandchildren, constantly fighting over their property, refuse to fulfil this sacred duty once they are dead. One-third of the country’s population lives below poverty line and another one-third belongs to the low income group. Just imagine the plight of the elderly who happen to be from any of these two groups. Women, especially widows, are particularly discriminated against. Incidence of widowhood among 60-plus females continues to be four times higher than their male counterparts. They are hopelessly vulnerable due to their gender, widowhood and age. Before we lay the blame squarely at the doors of modernisation and western “decadence”, let it be added that such a criminal neglect of aged persons is not a new phenomenon at all. Anyone who is familiar with the wretched real-life tales of Kashi and Vrindavan widows even a century ago will agree that there have been callous relatives all along. Leave alone the abandoned ones, many of even those who are living with their children or grandchildren have to lead a life of neglect and ridicule. There are also those who have no family to call their own. Life for most such people in India happens to be a living hell, considering that they have practically no security net in the evening of their life when they need it the most. Whenever the problems of these neglected elders are highlighted, there are loud cries for introducing stringent laws so that those who do not look after their elders receive a tough punishment. Logically, that is very sensible, but practically, it is a non-starter, considering that it ignores the psychological aspect of the issue. Even when the children turn out to be so heartless as to neglect or abandon their parents or other relatives, most of the elders are too compassionate and considerate towards their children to complain against them to anyone, leave alone approach the police. The fate of such a law passed in Himachal Pradesh is educative. Despite all efforts, only a handful of persons have come forward with their complaints. Yes, such a law has to be on the statute books, but that cannot be the whole remedy. The hard social reality is that the desirability of respecting elders can be taught to children but cannot be enforced by the government in all cases. Responsibility towards parents also cannot be uniformly enforced. Even pressure from NGOs and social organisations can go only thus far. There is no hard and fast definition of what constitutes good care either. A son may very well keep the aged mother and father in his house, even take care of their health, but he may not speak to them. Isn’t that cruelty too? While such emotional torture cannot be stopped on the pain of law, the plight of the elderly can be improved considerably by ensuring financial, social and health security and other benefits for them. If they have adequate pension, medi-care and insurance, they will be far less dependent on their irresponsible children. This will be particularly true in non-linear families because it has been noticed that while some children do take care of their fathers and mothers, they are utterly callous when it comes to an uncle or aunt. The framework for doing all this already exists. The National Policy of Older Persons (NPOP) announced in January, 1999, visualises state support for financial security, health-care, shelter, welfare and other needs of old people. It is just that like many other well-intentioned government schemes, it remains confined mostly to paper. To effectively implement the policy, the taxation level will have to be increased steeply, as in the West, for which no party is ready due to political reasons. The common belief is that the sorry state of the elders has come about because of the breakdown of the joint families. That is not entirely true. First of all, a joint family is mostly an upper-middle class phenomenon. Even in them, the elderly can be a neglected lot, especially women. As K. G. Desai, who retired from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, says, “Joint family in India represents a forced choice, made because of inadequate retirement income that necessitates pooling and expensive housing that compels sharing quarters”. The government policy has to take care of the “silent sufferers” in joint families also. With many enlightened couples having only one or two issues now, the joint family is becoming a thing of the past. In any case, with the change in the employment pattern, the fragmentation of families is inevitable. In a nuclear family, where the husband as well as the wife works, the elderly are bound to be deprived of care. Rather, many of them may themselves have to act as just babysitters. Then there are the destitute too who have no family at all. The policy has to cater to them all. In Indian mind, old-age homes are synonymous with abandoning the aged. Surprisingly, none of the western elderly I have talked to concurs with this interpretation. They happened to be so fiercely independent that they were just not willing to live at the mercy of their children. They had independent means of their own and preferred to live separately, knowing full well that they would have to make unwanted lifestyle changes for the luxury of staying with their children. The children too would have to make a similar sacrifice. Only the very old in need of specialised care lived in nursing homes. The children would not have been able to provide them such care even if they wanted to do so. So, why be a meddlesome, unwanted nuisance? Even those who were invited by their children to be with them permanently preferred to be on their own. We need to take a second look at the phenomenon of specialised homes for the elderly, where they could live with dignity in the company of their own peer group. All facilities like community service, medicare, parks, recreation and cultural centres that they might need should be within easy reach. The neighbours would provide the necessary emotional support if required, without being too intrusive, as is the case in many large families. Children who come to visit them once a week or month would be any day more preferable than those who are with them all day but treat them as a big burden. Our elders are a storehouse of experience. With due care, they can be an invaluable asset for society, leading a productive, peaceful and dignified life in the evening of their
sojourn.
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Summit failure LONG back in a university a situation just flared up. There was a tradition of regular exchange of “views” between the students of a girl’s hostel and a boy’s hostel. However, a visa system operated. One entered one’s name in a register, put down the time, the purpose of the visit and the duration of the exchange of views! Everything was donkey hoary, sorry hunky dory, till a person deeply steeped in Indian values became the warden of the girl’s hostel. She made the boundary wall between the hostels inviolate, and, to stop cross-border terrorism, bricked up the wicket gate through which the “terrorists” were infiltration. A danda wielding chowkidar was also appointed to patrol the border. He was no problem really. A cup of tea and a samosa, and he suddenly lost his vision! But the inmates were on the war path. Curbing exchange of “views” a time-allowed convention, was the first step to Hitlerisation, they announced. The early seventies were the years of students’ revolution all over the world and challenging authority was the only true religion. They demonstrated. A huge mob collected. Ultimately, the VC intervened, and it was decided that the matter be resolved in a summit meeting. The President of the students union and the warden were to meet to find a solution. The warden had to come down a little. “But the doors of the rooms should be fully open, said she conceding the right of exchange of views. And as a further confidence-building measure announced the end of the Register Raj! The agreement seemed in sight, and we the scribes (read that as the writers of the one-page hostel newspapers) were all excited. Two tables were also brought out standing on which the Prez and the Warden would announce their history-making breakthrough in a joint pronouncement. But seconds changed to minutes and then an hour passed, but no announcement. No one knew. Then suddenly the Prez came out and clarified that they had almost come to an agreement, but for the difference that the warden, initially for total openness of the doors had agreed to their remaining open 45 degrees. The Prez wanted no more than 30 degrees. They had agreed at the halfway mark, 37.5 degrees. But the moment they were to come out, an aide came and whispered something in the warden’s ear. He had brought a chit from the VC’s office. It transpired that the full Senate had earlier considered a question — individual privacy versus high moral conduct and had decided that nothing less than 45 degrees would do! Since the warden had to toe the mandated line, the talks broke down. But it did not, in the least, deter those fighting for liberty, freedom and free exchange of views. They just jumped the wall — the actual line of control, seduced the chowkidar with tea and special samosas and continued their cross-border tryst for a free “exchange of
views”!
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KU readies for golden jubilee celebrations IN the dying months of 1956 seven-year -ld Shiv Narayan, studying in Class I in the Municipal Committee School at Kurukshetra, did not fully understand why he along with the rest of his class was busy preparing colourful buntings. The entire process took two months and every student of the school had cut small triangles of kite paper and stuck them on strings in preparation for what was going to be one of Kurukshetra’s biggest event after Independence. Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the nation, was to come to the historical city to lay the foundation stone of Independent India’s first Sanskrit University coinciding it with the inauguration of the fifth session of the Sanskrit Vishva Parishad. On January 11, 1957, the road that led from Pipli to Kurukshetra was lined with these buntings and the freezing cold and rain (The Tribune had reported that it had snowed in Shimla and Kulu and intermittent rain had played havoc with the arrangements for the great day) could not deter villagers and school children from thronging the roadside to have a glimpse of the First Citizen of this egalitarian nation. Fifty years later, as the Assistant Director Public Relations of the university, Mr Shiv Narayan, now busy with the preparations of the golden jubilee celebrations, can still feel the thrill of that great day. “The Rashtrapati arrived here in a special train at 10.25, he was received at the railway station by the Rajpal of Punjab, Shri C.P.N. Singh, and of Uttar Pradesh, Shri K.M. Mushi, Chief Minister Shri Pratap Singh Kairon, Education Minister Shri Gurbachan Singh Bajwa, Chairman Punjab Council Sardar Kapur Singh, Speaker Vidhan Sabha Sardar Gurdial Singh, Chairman Reception Committee Dr AC Joshi, Chief Secretary Punjab Shri Nakul Sen,” reported The Tribune on Januray 12, 1957. The university, the brainchild of C.P.N. Singh, was the result of a regular Bill passed unanimously by both houses of the Punjab Legislative Assembly in May 1956 and was initially set up as a unitary teaching and residential university to promote indology. Dr A.C. Joshi, the then Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University, was given the additional charge of Kurukshetra University. The project was to cost Rs 1.25 crore. Initially functioning from the makeshift premises at Gita Bhavan, the university campus of over 400 acres of land between the holy tank at Kurukshetra and the Jyotisar —the place where Lord Krishna had given the message of Gita to Arjun— now houses 10 faculties, 400 teachers, 6000 students, over 500 researchers, and has developed into one of the best universities of North India today. “In 1961 the university got its first full-time Vice-Chancellor, Chaudhry Harwdari Lal. He motivated villages of the region to donate land to the university. These vast expanses of land became a major source of income to the university in its growing years,” recollects Mr Shiv Narayan, adding that the university became an affiliating university only in 1970. Other than sportspersons, including Arjuna awardees, civil servants, businessmen and educationists, the university also gave the nation Jagjit Singh, India’s ghazal king. Its Department of Correspondence Studies, the largest in the region, caters to over 35,000 students. The university offers degrees in hotel management, a first in the region and is known for its remarkable contributions to chemistry and archeology. The university moved from strength to strength. The pace, however, varied largely depending on who held the reins. It tried to keep up with the widespread changes that were happening in the world of education but was soon faced with an acute staff crunch. “Somewhere along the line we lost direction. Mainly due to factors beyond the control of the University,” says Prof Ram Phal, Vice-Chancellor. A former student and teacher of the university, Prof Ram Phal recalls: “I have been here in various capacities and I know every brick, every pothole, our strengths and weaknesses and I have a vision: to revive the glory of this university, attract the best students and teachers and turn this place into a thriving centre of higher learning. Achieving this mission requires a concerted focus on new knowledge generation and dissemination of knowledge created.” The plans for future include the development of an East campus of the university on GT Road. “The library is being extended to include more books and journals and a massive reading hall. The university is being networked and the examination system computerised. A special museum here showcasing the history of this area is also in the pipeline,” he says. “A unique step was to expose our students to world-class personality development programmes. We tied up with Dale Carnagie’s group which trains our toppers. The results have been beyond our expectations,” says Prof. Raghuvender Tanwar, Head, Department of History and the Dean Students Welfare. Kurukshetra University will be 50 years old on January 11 and seems to have reached the take-off point. The atmosphere is humming with new ideas, new visions, new goals, in consonance with the rejuvenated nation, willing to work and thirsting to excel in this global village. Having learnt useful lessons from the past, time has come when the university should grab the opportunity, cement its strengths, separate the grain from the chaff and move forward resolutely with a renewed confidence in all that a university stands for.
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What it means when you fall, die or cheat DREAM experts have much to say about the meaning of common dreams. Ultimately, it’s up to the dreamer to figure out how a dream applies to his or her life. — Flying dreams: Lauri Quinn Loewenberg, author of “So What Did You Dream Last Night?” says these are really good dreams, and the most common childhood dream. They are about learning a new skill, realizing a new ability, feeling powerful and elevated. Charles Lambert McPhee, who has a nationally syndicated radio show called “The Dream Doctor,” writes in his book “Ask the Dream Doctor” that dreams about “flying freely — without difficulties staying aloft or the presence of obstacles — are indicators of self-confidence and high self-esteem. ... If your flight is a struggle, work to identify the obstacles that stand in the way of your goals.” — Falling dreams: This is the most common dream, Loewenberg said. It has to do with feeling out of control, hopeless. “It’s a message telling you something in your life, something within your life, is going rapidly in the wrong direction. It’s a red flag. If we heed it, we can redirect the situation immediately.” McPhee writes about falling: “Ask yourself what event recently caused you to “lose your sense of support. Are you worried about the future?” — Dreaming that you die: No, it doesn’t mean you’re dead or about to die. “It means that something in your life or something within you is coming to an end,” said Loewenberg. Writes McPhee: Death is a “symbol for change and separation that should not be interpreted literally. Dreams about the death of a child, sibling, friend or other family member symbolize change in the quality of the relationship, or a fear of separation.” — Being chased: “When we are chased in a dream, it’s a very good indication that we are avoiding something in waking life — that there’s a confrontation that we need to deal with. It will nag you to death until you take care of the issue. McPhee writes, “successful confrontation of a pursuer indicates confidence in one’s ability to face challenges in life.” — Cheating dream: “When our mate is cheating, and we wake up and smack him or her in the face,” said Loewenberg, “rarely is this pointing to an actual affair, unless there is good reason to believe there might be. This dream happens when our mate is spending too much time, when their attention is focused, on something else. They are working too much or spending too much time on the computer or with friends, causing us to feel jealous or cheated. “If you are cheating in the dream, it’s a good indication you aren’t giving your spouse the attention he or she needs, and you are feeling a little guilty.” Both scenarios are a good opportunity for change. Writes McPhee: “Betrayal dreams often reflect our insecurities, rather than being literal indicators of betrayal. Before you accuse a partner of wandering, perform an inventory of your own self-esteem.” — Teeth falling out: Teeth in dreams are about your words and how you communicate, said Loewenberg. If your teeth fall out of your mouth, she said, it may indicate that you’ve been gossiping too much and that there are words that should remain unsaid. McPhee said loss of teeth also can be associated with concerns about appearance and deterioration. They often occur in the wake of romantic breakups or divorces or in the midst of social or professional problems.
— LA Times-Washington Post
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Chatterati THE seedy CD of Sanjay Joshi has left a bad taste in the name of sting operations. How far can such sleazy operations go on? To record two adults in a compromising situation and then to use it for blackmail is uncalled for. It was not a rape; it was with the consent of two adults. Lust or love is not for us to judge. Doing sting operations on MPs taking money for questions is welcome. But the big fish are not caught at all. The 10,000 per-question poor guys are caught. Amar Singh’s phone being taped is also completely uncalled for. None of these acts are of any significance actually. They are not a threat to Indian security at all. Personal vendetta should not get Indian politics to such a low level. It is shameful. Even for the electronic media just to run your 24-hour news channel. It’s completely unethical. What are the courts for? The Volcker case was blown out of proportion too. No one has spotted Natwar Singh or son Jagat or that Matherani either in real life or in press for the last many days. Isn’t it time these kinds of trial by the media should be put a stop to? Only then will these sleazy recordings will stop. And actually no one is interested in anyone’s personal life. Corruption or any thing to do with national security, we are happy to watch. But no sex videos please! New year
party spirit The cold foggy weather could not dampen the party spirit in the Capital. No way. Entrance charges varies from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 per head at bars and discotheques. Brave young blood in skimpy dresses and biceps showing men all freaked out to bhangra and western beats. The Olive bar and kitchen were full with teenagers to oldies. The latest craze in town 360 at the Oberoi’s was packed. Freaking out seems to be the mantra for kids today. It’s not save for tomorrow now. The Le Meridian hotel dance floor was so packed it was difficult to move, forget your dancing steps. You just got shoved around. Flamingo dancers at the Olive left a lot of our well-built, pot-bellied going bulb men whistling while guzzling their drinks. Of course, the real jet set crowd of Delhi was in Goa, London or Bali. The rest who have actually arrived just sat at home with family and watched T.V. Luckily all were in high spirits with no tsunamis this year to wash off their smiles. Fortunately, for Delhiits farm parties are a big no, no now. Too cold and too far — spending more time in traffic jams. Even though parents were worried sick about the safety of their girls, it was not to be a damper. Gang rapes, senior citizens’ murder, thefts, demolitions, power cuts and water shortage and of, course road rage. The Capital’s safety issue is all that one talks of. Insecurity can be seen as businessmen now carry private security and girls going out alone are out of question. But on the other hand we do have a brand new Metro with less pollution. So here’s to a clean progressive safe New Year. |
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From the pages of Leaders in Jail DOES the Government realise the wonderful effect upon the people’s mind of that short of sentence in Pandit Moti Lal’s recent speech at Allahabad in which he said that he had been treated with great consideration by Government officials from the Commissioner downwards, that he had been given a comfortable room in the Lucknow jail and very well looked after while there, and that the treatment accorded to him in Nainital Jail was even better? The Government may not know it, but the revelation at once, though within necessary limits, improves its position in the eyes of the people and removes a little of the impenetrable barrier that has hitherto divided it from the majority of politically minded India. What the country must know is whether the Government has treated and is treating other great leaders as they treated Pandit Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi in Bombay, Mr Das in Bengal and Lala Lajpat Rai in the Punjab, the Ali brothers and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr Kitchlew, Dr Satya Pal and other prominent leaders of the Congress and the Khilafat. |
Watch the householder build the roof of his house. He strengthens it with thatch, stones, tiles or whatever he can find, so that rain may not break in. Learn to strengthen your thoughts and mind power so that evil and arrogance may not break in. —The Buddha “If one stretched forth a hand, one would hardly see it”: The ignorance and blindness of the ungrateful not only hinders them from acknowledging the ultimate end, it veils them from the truth of what is near at hand. —Islam How the vain person cares for his body! He oils it, clothes it in magnificent robes and jewels. But alas! Before long it will lie in the dust, despised as a corpse, useless as dead wood. All others will run away from it in fear. —The Buddha When our minds are taken up with thoughts of cars, houses and jewels; we begin to think of them as the final objective of life. This is delusion. A man in the grasp of such delusion cannot think of much else. Nothing appears worthwhile save these. —Sanatana Dharma Know thou that all that has a beginning must have an end. —The Upanishadas
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