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Demolishing the law Iranian N-standoff |
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Outsourcing
satellites
Quota controversy
The dog’s jewels
Preying on public
land Apocalypse vies
with reform in Iran Chatterati
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Iranian N-standoff All
efforts to forge a consensus to haul up Iran in the UN Security Council for its nuclear transgressions have failed to produce the desired result. The latest meeting to deal with the issue, convened by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, concluded last week without any agreement among the participants —- the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Britain, France, China and Germany besides the European Union foreign policy chief. Russia and China opposed any action on the US-backed resolution sponsored by the UK and France in the Security Council, asking Iran to stop all kinds of uranium enrichment activity forthwith. The two non-European permanent members of the council have been insisting on tackling the crisis at the level of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Iran, perhaps, wants to see that the nuclear issue is resolved without the involvement of the Security Council. Teheran obviously realises the consequences of a decision by the council, notwithstanding the rhetoric by the Iranian leadership. But Iran is not prepared to cap its controversial uranium enrichment programme, saying that it has every right to go ahead with it for peaceful purposes as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iran has failed to come clean on the allegation that it has been clandestinely pursuing a weapons programme, a serious violation of the NPT. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has, however, offered to answer all the questions raised by the IAEA at some stage. The significant offer is contained in the letter he has written to President George W. Bush. How the world powers view it may be known after their coming meeting in London. It seems diplomacy still has a chance to succeed. The cost of a repeat of Iraq in Iran will be too heavy for the world to bear. That is why efforts are on to avoid it despite the setbacks suffered so far and the rhetoric from both sides. The Western powers are working on a new package of incentives and penalties. A formula needs to be worked out to prevent UN sanctions and recourse to a military action. |
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Outsourcing satellites The
Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) reported intention to start “outsourcing” the manufacture of its communication satellites is in keeping with the national goal of a bigger role for private industry in the high technology and strategic sectors. ISRO’s INSAT series of satellites have served the nation well, and it is time ISRO released manpower and resources to concentrate on core activities. These will not only include remote-sensing satellites, which have applications both in the civilian and military sectors, but also launch vehicle development, manufacture and commercialisation — not to mention general research and development, and the pursuit of cutting-edge technologies in space. ISRO, in fact, has led the way in the involvement of private industry at various levels. Even the launch vehicles and remote-sensing satellites, not to mention strategic missiles, have critical parts made by private industry. The complete outsourcing of a satellite will mark the logical culmination of such an approach. Many defence public sector units like Hindustan Aeronautics are also pursuing this approach, as is the Defence Research and Development Organisation, particularly in aeronautics. There are structural difficulties, ranging from technological challenges to the lack of economies of scale, to bureaucratic decision making. Ways must be found to get around them. Even ISRO will still have to do a lot of hand-holding in the initial phases and a two or three years’ time-frame for an outsourced satellite might be ambitious; but the big corporate and manufacturing houses in India are now ready for the transition. Indeed, ISRO’s road-map should look at a future where most manufacturing is done in the private realm. There are big dreams for ISRO to chase — hypersonic and reusable spacecraft, air-breathing engines, manned missions. Space is limitless, after all. |
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Cowards die many times before their death; /The valiant never taste of death but once.
— William Shakespeare |
Quota controversy A great deal of what is being said on the subject of reservations is based on wrong assumptions. There is a case for reservations at certain levels, but not in the manner in which it is being suggested today. This will be understood better if seen in the light of experience. During the last few decades, reservations have been made at certain levels. By and large, these have proved fruitful. To advocate reservations, therefore, is not something which should be regarded as unacceptable. One has only to compare the state of development of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) with what obtained in their case, say, some five decades ago. In overall terms, the situation is distinctly better today than what it used to be. This goes to show that reservations are not to be looked down upon. In certain situations, they can play a somewhat positive role. Having said this, one should also look at the situation of the Scheduled Tribes (STs). There has been some marginal improvement in their case but not as much as in the case of the Scheduled Castes. What is the explanation for that? One explanation is the state of political developments within the SC category. But a more decisive explanation would be that the SCs had a better start in the field of education. The former have definitely profited more from reservations than the STs have. In other words, the state of education in a community in a given situation is the decisive factor. Policy makers do not dispute this fact but do not take those indispensable steps which should be taken if education has to spread among the deprived sections of the population. More precisely, the following steps have to be taken: One, the dropout rate, both at the primary and the post-primary levels, has to be brought down systematically on a yearly basis. If today it is a little less than 50 per cent at the primary level, that has to be brought down, say, by 5 per cent or so every year. Two, to achieve this objective, every state government has to prepare a plan of action whereby a reduction in the dropout rate is linked with the performance of each individual school, whether it is run by the government or by a private agency. Three, the same logic should apply at the post-primary level. No more need to be said on the subject. Four, it is at the secondary and the higher secondary levels that what is called quality takes a hard beating. Everything about these two levels of schooling needs to be improved and updated. This applies to the infrastructure, the training and quality of teachers and the quality of governance in the school. Each one of them is a weak link and has to be taken care of. Five, how will the SC and ST students come to college unless they are looked after closely and systematically at the levels described above? Having said this, it also needs to be recognized that while the Centre does have a role to play, more particularly since the special cess on education was introduced two years ago, the basic job has to be done by each state government. They are in charge of more than 95 per cent of the student strength in the country. Whether the job is well done or not will depend upon the kind of creative control that is exercised by the different state governments. If the Centre can coordinate their plans of action, it would be an immense step forward. Six, the fact of the matter is that the weakest link in Indian education today is the role of the different state governments. Nobody has recognized this uncomfortable fact so far. The focus has to be on how they perform. Seven, the Centre, however, has a role to play and that is with regard to the quality of teacher training. To a substantial extent, this dimension of work is controlled by the Centre. If there is one thing which has been criminally neglected all these years, it is this aspect of training and re-training of teachers. If we wish to respond to the reservation system rationally and constructively (as should be done), we have to take care of each one of the problems listed above. No problem ever gets solved unless the basics are attended to. And that is precisely what is not happening today. Another way of saying the same thing would be that it is the underperformance of the state governments for which the Centre has to make amends. As stated already, 95 per cent of the students, may be even more than that, are looked after by the states. If they do not perform, as is apparently the case, what is to be done? Over the years the Centre has responded by doing two things. One is to seek to introduce the quota system in the institutions controlled by it. Their number may not be large but, since they are under the direct control of the Centre, things can be done without anyone else having a say in it. It is the second thing, however, which leads to a controversy. The Central institutions, be it the IITs or the IIMs or any other prestigious institution, command public attention. What happens in these institutions has an all-India impact, sometimes even outside the country. The IT revolution, even if one may put it that way, has an international dimension as well. In brief, whatever the Centre does has a good deal of impact all around. Therefore, what the Centre does cannot be ignored or underrated. A much better way of going about it would be that the Centre with its superior financial resources handles the job in this way. Every state government is asked to discuss its annual budget in respect of education with the Ministry of Human Resource Development. After the imposition of the education cess, a sum of Rs 5000-6,000 crore is being distributed to the states every year. In other words, till 2004, the Centre could intervene in the affairs of the states only by invoking the powers of concurrency. And that in turn disturbed the Centre-state equation. Now that part of the controversy can be sidestepped. If the Centre is giving a few hundred additional crores of rupees to each state — depending upon its size and population — there is every justification for the Centre to take on the job of discussing with each state how and in what manner, indeed how effectively, the money is being spent. The problem at the state level in almost each case is excessive dependence on the government machinery, non-involvement of the panchayats and a host of other problems. If the school system has to perform, there is no choice except to involve everyone with a focus on teacher participation and everything else that goes with it. But does the Centre even have a bureau in the Ministry of HRD dealing with the states? The fact is that all these decades no one paid any attention to improving the performance of the schools or the productivity of teachers. In short, the biggest casualty has been quality. And as should be possible to understand, the worst victim of this systematic neglect of quality has been the weaker section of society. It is because of this that there are repeated demands for reservations, etc. While there is some justification for reservations, and experience has confirmed its limited usefulness, to push in that direction alone and not to attend to the basics would be to complicate the problem further. To ensure social justice, the important thing to do is to ensure high quality at the lower levels. Were that to be done, there would be little justification for introducing reservations on a large scale. It is as simple as
that.
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The dog’s jewels AS I walked briskly up and down the terrace of our house for the fiftieth time, breathing in great gulps of what passes for fresh morning air in the city, I noted the old gentleman on the opposite terrace also doing his morning exercises. But today his valiant attempts to stand upright on his toes and the ineffectual flailing of his bony wrinkled arms did not fill me with hope, as it normally did. I observed, instead, the poverty of the barsaati that his obviously wealthy kin in the air-conditioned downstairs had got together for him. I also noted the frayed ends of his shirt. In the past his efforts to keep an 80-year-old body in shape had heartened me so much that I had never felt my attention diverted to his appearance. But that day I did notice, because of the previous day encounter with an aged, ailing Australian couple looking for the perfect gifts for their two daughters. Most of their conversation had centered round their “beautiful girls”. Finally, when my sister and I were getting a trifle apprehensive that the poor mother might collapse from sheer exhaustion in a climate to which she was unaccustomed — with much trepidation and after great deliberation — they had decided upon exquisite trinkets. My sister had remarked that “their children were lucky to have such caring parents”. She smiled: “Oh! All parents live for their children!” She added, “Wonderful children! They love their old parents! It is just that their taste is different — the generation gap, you know! They are very choosy! John, do you remember when we took those two Egyptian necklaces for them, and I will never forget the glance they had exchanged before bursting into peals of laughter. They had laughed for 10 minutes and finally put the necklaces round our dog’s neck!” As she registered our shocked expression, she added hastily with an embarrassed cough that was only half laughter, “The necklaces are still called “The Dogs’ Jewels”! That throttled sob still rang in my ears as I saw the lonely old soul opposite, now sitting back to gaze at the sky. My cynical interpretation of this lonely pause, with its inevitable questions regarding the sanctity of blood ties, was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a panting child of about nine. Flushed with the exertion of the upstairs climb, in a breathless, angry voice, he said, “Daadoo-papa, what on earth are you doing? Come down for breakfast!”.. whereupon Daadoo-papa broke into a toothless grin which the child ignored. Taking his grandfather firmly by the hand, he led him downstairs. “My India!” I thought with pride. I would ponder the generalisations and the exceptions later. The here and now was too full of blissful
hope. |
Preying on public land The
Supreme Court deserves to be saluted. It has been making a valiant attempt to bring about the rule of law in Delhi and save it from the ravages of law breakers who are destroying all norms of organised civic life. It has shown both courage and insight in labeling the government’s latest move to condone illegalities as ‘appeasement’. But the Court can succeed in its venture only if it points its finger towards the ‘malady of all maladies’, that is, the diseased under-belly of Indian politics. Here, principles do not count; values do not matter; and all that is sought is power — power not for doing long-term good to the nation but for attaining short-term personal and political gains, forgetting all the time one of the strongest messages of history: “Where there is no vision, people perish”. Never in the civic history of any city has happened what of late has been happening in Delhi. It has been seized by a phenomenon called ‘pirate-urbanisation’, a pattern of urbanisation which is propelled by the predatory forces. Ironically, the custodians of the city themselves are the principal instigators of this phenomenon to which major contribution is made by four distinct groups of Delhi’s citizens – i) the grabbers of public lands; ii) the builders of illegal spaces; iii) the creators of unauthorised colonies; and iv) the convertors of residential units into commercial establishments. Each group has crafted its own predatory technique. Let me elaborate. The persons constituting the first group are the ones who occupy, in connivance with unhealthy political elements, sizeable chunks of public lands illegally and set up, usually with the aid of ‘slum-lords’, what are called ‘jhuggi-jhompri’ colonies. These colonies have a large number of residential units and quite a few commercial and industrial ones. All the three actors — the squatters, the ‘slum-lords’ and the political elements — combine to constitute a mutually self-serving network. The squatters get free occupation of land, free use of municipal services like water and access to free electricity by way of illegal tapping from street-lighting system. The ‘slum-lords’ derive huge pecuniary benefits by way of renting out a portion of land. The political elements, besides listing ‘slum-lords’ as their free political workers and securing finances from shops and factories, create huge blocks of ‘bonded’ voters who significantly improve their chances of winning elections, be they of a local body or State Legislature or Parliament. On the other hand, the responsible political elements in public life who oppose such illegal activities not only get the ‘block hostility’ of the ‘created voters’ and threats from the slum-lords and their musclemen but also run the additional risk of being dubbed as anti-poor in general. The trading of ‘vote for land’ ensures that unsavoury elements retain their dominance in the power-structure of the state and the city. An equally pernicious web has been weaved by the second group — the builders of the illegal spaces. Herein, the land and building mafia, the landlord of the property, the buyers of the additional space, the tenant who rents the said space and the political elements who support the illegal activities, all constitute a self-serving web. Everyone gains. And this acts as a cementing force among the constituents of the web and they all vote in favour of the political elements who support their activities. More often than not, the political elements themselves are no other than the sponsors of the land and building mafias. As in the case of unauthorized occupation of public lands, the staff of the local body is also roped in by way of bribes or influence of political elements or threats of mafia. Huge multi-storeyed buildings come up, where one or two storeys could have been constructed. Several crores are, thus, made illegally. Since the financial powers of the corrupt and the area of their influence go on increasing in the electoral system, honest persons continue to go out of it. No less damage is being caused by the third group – the creators of unauthorized colonies. Here, sizeable chunks of public lands or lands under acquisition or private lands on the fringes of urban limits are taken over, generally through spurious legal deeds and are parcelled into plots without complying with zoning or municipal regulation and without providing any infrastructure or civic amenity. The plots are sold at high prices by playing the politics of regularisation. And the regularization is done on the eve of every municipal, state or central elections. At the time of regularisation, it is declared that there would be no more of it and future colonisation of this nature would be dealt with sternly. But the declaration lasts only till the next elections, when it is cynically disregarded by both central and local governments. While all concerned reap huge bonanza, the city is left with a dead albatross around its neck. The activities of the fourth group, that is, the citizens who are engaged in conversion of residential units into commercial ones, have increased rapidly in the recent months. Perhaps, this has turned out to be easiest and quickest way of acquiring pecuniary benefits. Consequently, even the once pleasant residential areas are getting degraded with traffic congestion and parking problems. And the city which has already the dubious distinction of being one of the noisiest human settlements in the world, is getting noiser. The extent of the civic evils which the above four groups of Delhi citizens have caused can be seen from the fact that there are now as many as 1432 unauthorised colonies and over 1250 ‘jhuggi-jhompri’clusters. During the period from June 2001 to mid-June 2005 alone, about 18000 unauthorised constructions have been carried out, besides thousands of illegal conversions. All this has happened, and is still happening, with full connivance of local political leadership of all hues and colours and also with the full knowledge of central political leadership of all hues and colours. Could there be a worse case of moral or political weakness or both? Is it now possible for the Supreme Court to stem the rot and set the matter right without pin-pointing the rusting irons in the soul of our politics and without reminding the political leadership of its constitutional obligations as well as its obligations to the future well-being of the
country? The writer is a former Union Minister of Urban Development. |
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Apocalypse vies with reform in Iran In
a dusty brown village outside this Shiite holy city in Qom, Iran, a once-humble yellow-brick mosque is undergoing a furious expansion. Cranes hover over two soaring concrete minarets and the pointed arches of a vast new enclosure. Buses pour into a freshly asphalted parking lot to deliver waves of pilgrims. The expansion is driven by an apocalyptic vision: that Shiite Islam’s long-hidden 12th Imam, or Mahdi, will soon emerge — possibly at the mosque of Jamkaran — to inaugurate the end of the world. The man who provided $20 million to prepare the shrine for that moment, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has reportedly told his cabinet that he expects the Mahdi to arrive within the next two years. Mehdi Karrubi, a rival cleric, has reported that Ahmadinejad ordered that his government’s platform be deposited in a well at Jamkaran where the faithful leave messages for the hidden imam. Such gestures are one reason some Iranian clerics quietly say they are worried about a leader who has become the foremost public advocate of Iran’s nuclear program. “Some of us can understand your concern,” a young mullah here told me. “We, too, wonder about the intentions of those who are controlling this nuclear work.” Qom is a place where the possible ends of Iran’s slowly crumbling Islamic regime can be glimpsed — both the catastrophic and the potentially benign. In the winding alleys here, with their mosques and madrasas, are some of the world’s most progressive and influential interpreters of Islam — ayatollahs who insist that democracy, human rights, and equality for women are all compatible with the Koran. To hear them is to understand that the much-hoped-for Islamic reformation is, at least in the Shiite world, already underway. The best known of the liberals is Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, once the designated successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s first supreme leader, and in recent years one of Iran’s foremost advocates of democracy. Frail at 84, Montazeri was firm enough when I asked him about Ahmadinejad’s buildup at Jamkaran. While “the 12th Imam does exist and will someday emerge,” he said, “using this belief as a political means for deceiving people or leading them to certain decisions is wrong”. As a grand ayatollah, Montazeri is one of the few in the country who can make such a public statement without risking imprisonment or worse. Even more intriguing is Montazeri’s near neighbor, Grand Ayatollah Yusuf Saanei, 68, who, unlike his elder, is still instructing students at his madrassa and delivering regular sermons and fatwas. Like Montazeri, Saanei favors full democracy in Iran; he has also issued rulings banning workplace discrimination against women, sanctioning abortion in the first trimester and authorizing therapeutic cloning. Saanei acknowledges that anti-democratic forces among the Iranian clergy have the upper hand, for now. But he offers reasons for optimism. One is the growing demand for change among Iranian youth; those under 30 make up more than two-thirds of the population. The violence in Iraq has galvanized Shiite clergy such as Saanei on the subject of terrorism. “Terrorism must be hated in any form. And if a powerful and influential figure supports only a small number of these terrorists, he must be condemned as well.” The reference to Iran’s current rulers seemed unmistakable. By arrangement with
LA-Times–Washington Post |
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Chatterati The
capital’s motto seems to be ‘work hard, chill out harder’ in the summer. When Delhi’s claim to Bollywood fame, Pradeep Hirani, opened another shop, Bollywood was in attendance. Raveena Tandon and Urmila Matondkar stood around while Mrs Shah Rukh Khan shopped. Hirani insists Bollywood is full of his friends. Sure! Certainly worth flaunting. Delhi’s Karishma Kapoor heads to Mumbai endorsing jewellery though. Kapoor rarely surfaces for parties as Sanjay Kapur, the industrialist husband, lurks closely behind, and calls the shots on where the twosome hang out. Tarun Tahiliani chose show-stopper Shilpa Shetty — because of her figure, he says — over Raveena and Urmila. Ooh! While Raveena has kept her charm intact, Urmila explained that her age catching up with her was a natural process. Delhi’s obsession with Mumbai is at its peak. Oomph girl Mallika also flirted with Delhiites this week as she launched a new mobile. Delhi’s poster boy designer Rohit Bal danced to swooshing beats at his birthday bash. The highlight was the lotus adorning his jacket but also carved on the walls of the venue. The talk at socialite evenings was of cocaine and the use of such substances going on in Delhi’s high society, from showbiz to school children, all getting hooked on to it in large numbers. Wooing lady luck Indian astrology, numerology and tarot card reading seems to be going international too. In sports, our boys in blue are depending on numerology for success on the field. Skipper Rahul Dravid was advised by numerologist Sanjay B Jumaani to wear either a 19 or a 39 which adds up to one, which is the number of the sun, which symbolises the creative force. Both Chappell and Dravid’s lucky numbers fall under the same zodiac sign, and are interchangeable. Robin Uthappa covered up his unlucky number 26 which adds up to 8, a “disruptive” number, so now he wears 51 or a 72. A ‘slice of luck’ plays an important part in the game of cricket. Dropping catches, not getting run-out, hitting a match-winning six is all about taking chances. Sourav’s unlucky numbers are 4, 8 and 9. When he wore number 24, his career was on an upswing. “But 2006 again adds up to 8; he will turn 35 soon (35 also adds up to 8), so difficult for Sourav to make a comeback.” Well, it is the attitude and the skill of the cricketers that makes a difference. But if you are superstitious… The beaming faces of the Gandhis spelt joy no doubt but Priyanka Gandhi sitting atop a jeep with her husband, and her brother Rahul Gandhi, was picture perfect. Priyanka’s confidence and pride in her brother vis-à-vis his performance in Rae Barelli was evident. Sonia’s two minute darshan atop the jeep was enough. Priyanka claimed that they were never doubtful about the people of Rae Barelli, but it has been a good exposure and experience for Rahul.
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From the pages of Bengal votes for partition
Calcutta, June 20 — In pursuance of H.M.G.’s declaration of June 3, a joint sitting of members of the Bengal Legislative Assembly, representing Muslim and non-Muslim majority areas, voted this afternoon on the question whether the Province of Bengal, as a whole, would join the existing Constituent Assembly or a new and separate Constituent Assembly if it was decided by the two parts to remain united. Ninety members voted for joining the existing Constituent Assembly and 126 for a new and separate Constituent Assembly. Later the members representing non-Muslim majority areas, decided by 48 votes to 21, that the province should be partitioned. The members of the non-Muslim majority areas also decided by 58 votes to 21 that “the constitution of the separated province, consisting of the non-Muslim majority areas, should be framed in the existing Constituent Assembly”. The motion was put from the chair. Muslim members, numbering 21, opposed en bloc. Four Anglo-Indian members voted with the Congress. |
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