O P I N I O N S

Perspective

Politics of quota
Affirmative action will dilute excellence
by Cecilia Antony
AS a 17-year-old girl, I watched a young handsome guy with curly hair and attractive smile giving fiery speeches on Marx and Lenin, about the division of labour and wealth, during the stormy campaigns for the post of president and of other office bearers of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union.

On Record
Naxalites fighting a losing battle in AP, says DGP Sen
by Ramesh Kandula
Andhra Pradesh has probably more experience in tackling armed Maoist uprising than any other state. Even as reports indicate that the red corridor is spreading fast across the nation, the success of Andhra police in containing the vexed problem in recent months is notable.

Haryana must rein in khap panchayats
by Ujjal Singh Sahni
The Supreme Court has come down heavily against fatwas issued by Muslim clerics. In a landmark ruling, it directed the Orissa government to give full protection to Nizama Bibi who was forced to live separately from her husband following a fatwa issued by a mufti.

 

OPED

Reflections
Women must show the way
by Kiran Bedi
This piece of writing is not about percentages or a head count of women in uniform but ‘who’ these young women in uniform are? And ‘what’ made/makes them opt for olive greens, khakis, blues, the jungle fatigues, or the naval whites? And what could they ‘do’ with what they get into…!

Diversities — Delhi Letter
Poverty, deprivation and rural indebtedness
by Humra Quraishi
Here we are crying hoarse, tamatars are out of our grasp, but as attention gets focused to the Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region, horror stories tell us of what deprivation and stark poverty can do to the human being. Farmers  are killing themselves because of the increasing problem of rural indebtedness. Rural India has been facing the reality of deprivation for several years now.

• Book on digital transformation

• Abha’s novel on summer in Paris

• VP’s creative skills

• Dismal power supply

Profile
Javed Akhtar: Poetry runs in his veins
by Harihar Swarup
Why an unseemly controversy was whipped up over the grant of visa to noted lyricist Javed Akhtar to visit Pakistan for the grand premiere of the 1960 classic Mughal-e-Azam? The Pakistan government initially denied him permission to visit Karachi for the premiere but later cleared it.

REFLECTIONS

Perspective

Politics of quota
Affirmative action will dilute excellence
by Cecilia Antony

AS a 17-year-old girl, I watched a young handsome guy with curly hair and attractive smile giving fiery speeches on Marx and Lenin, about the division of labour and wealth, during the stormy campaigns for the post of president and of other office bearers of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union.

Those days, JNU was famous for its SFI domination, had its vibrant members mostly from the affluent families; a majority of them, especially the leaders, were the children of industrialists, rich landlords, top bureaucrats like first secretaries, ambassadors, etc. Invariably, they would all wear the JNU trademark Kolhapuri chappals, worn-out jeans, and long cotton kurtas. But most of them were Communists by day and capitalists by night. It is always easy to preach than to practice.

Years passed by. Everyone according to one’s “haves and have-nots”, ability and inability, accepted the reality of life and carried on with one’s moral life. The young man I was talking about in the opening lines is none other than Sitaram Yechuri, a prominent Rajya Sabha MP and CPM Politburo member. I used to feel happy and proud seeing him on the front page of newspapers and in the reputed TV channels. Hence I felt like saying Et tu Brutus when I heard about his stand on reservations. All the political parties have joined hands for their survival! Votes come first. That is the name of the game.

Mr Sitaram Yechuri says that reservations are a part of affirmative action and that here in lies India’s future. But I am pained to say that India’s future lies anywhere but in the reservations. I am shocked at the lack of imagination of our politicians. Is this the only thing still left to offer even after six decades of Independence? Can’t their imagination go beyond renaming the Indian cities into vernacular languages, which has brought no glory to our country or to our people, rather than burdening the taxpayers with the extra costs involved in paper, clerical and postal work?

I am sure, even the great minds which drafted the Indian Constitution must have thought at that time that the future torch-bearers would do away with these mercy benefits one day and replace them by merit so that nobody is looked down upon for their birth. I am testimony to many occasions where these reserved category applicants have hidden their caste if they were otherwise sure of getting admissions. But sometimes at the last minute when they would realise that the admission was getting tougher, then they brought their certificates of proof and claimed the benefit with heads down.

It is human nature that nobody wants to be segregated or singled out for any wrong reason; nobody likes to live on charity. Help them to rise at the grass-roots level and they will walk with head high and make their presence felt in these reputed institutions on their own. So far the reservations have brought only sharp division and resentment in society.

I have also seen students from the so-called upper castes expressing their discontent when somebody otherwise richer than them but with low merits got admission thanks to their caste. Admittedly, even these extra benefits have not given birth to a second Ambedkar or a K.R. Narayanan who have excelled without any benevolence. Surely, more reservations will speed up the brain drain as well as an exodus of meritorious youth who, otherwise, were willing to serve the country. It will also give birth to more terrorists and criminals.

But who is bothered as long as the vote bank is safe even at the cost of blood bank? More than half for whom the reservations are made can be bought to vote for a cheap bottle of drink or a few miserable rupees. But people like me cannot be bought. So why listen to our cries? Worthless tears fall on the deaf ears!

The smothering technique of increasing the number of seats without increasing the infrastructure will only bring more of confusion and chaos. It will be like rendering all poor and worthless. So we will have equality in demerit with a quantum jump in quantity. What a beautiful future lies ahead! If anyone is really concerned about the country and its people, the first thing he should do is to improve the lot of 26 crore still living under the poverty line.

Many governments have come and gone, but none of them have been really able to improve the lives of millions dying — living in the slums among pigs like pigs. I wonder how many of these politicians have actually visited the slums of India. If they have, they wouldn’t just talk about reservations in the IITs, IIMs, medical colleges and other institutions of learning and get away. How on earth will a child manage to reach such an institution when he doesn’t have the bare basic necessities to exist? It is like giving a coconut to a dog or a monkey. It will frustrate them more and be careful you never know the protégé may bite the protector as nothing is to be taken for granted in life.

The only way left to eradicate poverty and bring about an acceptable level of parity in society is to hand over these slums and other backward regions of the country to our business tycoons — fortunately, India has the top 10 richest men in Asia. Who will use the enormous sums of taxes they pay to the country directly for uplifting the lives of the underprivileged regardless of their caste, creed, colour, religion? All the taxes they have paid over the years have filtered through the governments and as we all know only a tip of the iceberg reached the needy; the lion’s share went into the pockets of greedy politicians. These private firms and NGOs can work jointly to speed up the progress. I am sure, if this step is taken, within 10 years, India will actually shine.

What India needs today is statesmen, not politicians. But unfortunately, we are left with smooth talking, self-serving, ruthless politicians who care two hoots about the public on whose hard-earned wealth they are making their glass houses.

With the government planning to withdraw the existing tax benefits and thinking of introducing taxes even on TV sets, the only thing that would be left for them to ask for are the parts of the human body — kidney, liver or heart — as a large majority will have to sell their organs to survive. Some of these politicians can’t even stand straight to talk. Hence these organs will be a boon to them. What a way to self-serve the people whom they have promised to serve! Jai Hind!

The writer is Reader, Department of French, Panjab University, Chandigarh

On Record
Naxalites fighting a losing battle in AP, says DGP Sen
by Ramesh Kandula

Swaranjit Sen

Andhra Pradesh has probably more experience in tackling armed Maoist uprising than any other state. Even as reports indicate that the red corridor is spreading fast across the nation, the success of Andhra police in containing the vexed problem in recent months is notable. Following the merger of Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and the People’s War Group (PWG), the new entity is said to be active in 156 districts of 13 states that include Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchal and Kerala. The outfit has also been making attempts to establish its presence in several other states such as Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

In this backdrop, it is interesting to observe that Andhra, seen as the fount of Naxalite movement, has been able to gain a clear psychological edge in the battle against the Maoists recently. The concerted efforts of the police have driven most of the underground leadership out of the state. In this interview with The Sunday Tribune in Hyderabad, Director-General of Police Swaranjit Sen shares his views on the issue.

Excerpts:

Q: You have been claiming an upper hand in tackling Maoists? How successful have you been?

A: They have suffered major reverses in recent times. Even their chief, the state CPI (Maoist) secretary, Ganapati alias Muppala Lakshmana Rao, is hiding in Orissa’s forests. Actually, we have been pushing them upwards. You can observe that the firing is happening nowadays on the Orissa-Chattishgarh border.

Q: Aren’t the Naxalites stronger now?

A: They did make use of the talks period to swell their ranks. But once the talks failed, we have gone about our work systematically in countering them. Now, they are on back foot. Their strength — members of their armed squads — is presently no more than 850.

Q: What has worked in your favour?

A: We followed a clear-cut strategy. We carried the combing operations aggressively and intensely even in the remotest areas. We ensured that anti-Naxalite operations were not confined to the anti-Naxalite wing Grey Hounds only, but involved the district forces, which were imparted training for this purpose. Now, it is not just 1,000 Grey Hounds who are pursuing them, but every single police man in all 23 districts of the state. We didn’t victimise villagers, who ended up supporting militants out of no choice. This has gained us a lot of goodwill.

Q: Isn’t the merged outfit more militarised now?

A: It is just a propaganda on their part to give a false impression of their strength. The merger has not made any difference to their military capability. In fact, AP Naxals did not like the merger with the Bihar Maoists.

As for the increasing military approach, actually they have no choice. The people who join their ranks now are mostly illiterates, on whom philosophies don’t work. So they have no choice but to engage them in armed militant activities. Another important point is that no intellectual is now prepared to join them, unlike in the past when highly educated people led the movement.

Q: What about tribal battalion?

A: Yes, we are raising a battalion with people from backward regions of the state. It will have only tribals and will be called the 15th battalion of the AP Police. The idea is to tap this valuable resource. Tribals do not satisfy the present physical requirements of the police force, and hence do not have a good presence in the force. We recognise now that they have other characteristics that will add great strength to the force. Hence, I have decided to relax certain conditions and raise a battalion for them.

We are not going to pit them against Naxalites as alleged by rights activists. They will be as involved in the Naxalite operations as other battalions are. There will be no differential treatment. Such an initiative has never been tried in India.

Q: The Union Home Ministry suggested a coordinated approach between various states to tackle the Naxalite violence more effectively. How far has it been effective?

A: We have been conducting joint operations with Orissa and Chhattisgarh. We are coordinating with Karnataka. The Centre’s approach is very clear. They will provide equipment, weapons, special forces, intelligence support and funds. Ultimately, it is for each state to decide its approach.

We feel that sooner or later, other states will have to follow the Andhra model entirely. Which is hot pursuit, but with accommodation. We will rehabilitate the surrendered cadre.

Q: What would be the impact of ascendancy of Maoists in Nepal?

A: The Nepal developments may not have much impact in Andhra, but they will have significant effect in providing a boost to left-wing extremism in the country.

Q: When do you hope to reduce the presence of armed guerillas in Andhra significantly?

A: If we follow the present policy, we will be able to break the backbone of the movement in two years. By that time, they will realise that they are fighting a losing battle.

Haryana must rein in khap panchayats
by Ujjal Singh Sahni

The Supreme Court has come down heavily against fatwas issued by Muslim clerics. In a landmark ruling, it directed the Orissa government to give full protection to Nizama Bibi who was forced to live separately from her husband following a fatwa issued by a mufti.

Surprisingly, the fatwa was issued even when the matter was pending before a family court in Cuttack and despite her husband’s willingness to accept her as his wife. The apex court order came when the Orissa Government’s counsel sought more time to submit a reply despite the court notice to the government a few months back.

A similar situation has arisen when the Punjab and Haryana High Court heard a bunch of writ petitions challenging the fatwas issued by the self-styled caste-based khap panahayats in Haryana ordering married couples to dissolve their marriages and live separately and ordering their expulsion from the village on refusal to do so.

The first case happened in Asanda village of Jhajjar district in October, 2004. The Gotra khap panchayat ordered Sonia to dissolve her marriage with Ram Pal and accept her husband as a brother. Sonia, showing exemplary courage, contemptuously refused to obey this dictate. The High Court directed the Haryana government to protect the life and liberty of Sonia and Rampal and restrained the khap panchayat from interfering in their marital life.

Another couple — Asish and Darshna — of Jaundhi village in Jhajjar district, who were banished from their village four years back for defying the diktat of Gehlot khap panchayat, also approached the High Court for justice. The court has asked the local administration to report on the matter.

Some more cases of interference of khap panchayats with the rights of citizens have been reported from Bhiwani district. The latest incident is in Ladawas village where the Sheoran khap panchayat ordered expulsion of two families from the village for daring to marry their children despite its objection to their outmoded view of gotra. The High Court has issued notice to the government.

Sadly, the political leadership continues to cower before these kangaroo courts. The Haryana government has done little to check the extra-judicial activities of the khap panchayats and their blatant interference with the citizen’s rights. In response to the April 19 directive, the government should have made its stand known on these khap panchayats by April 19. However, the counsel for Haryana’s Home Secretary has sought more time. The matter has now been adjourned to July 4.

The government must enforce the law of the land and uphold the fundamental rights of the citizens guaranteed under the Constitution. The apex court’s ruling is binding on the state. It cannot abdicate its responsibility in this regard. 

The writer is Advocate, the Supreme Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court

OPED

Reflections
Women must show the way
by Kiran Bedi

This piece of writing is not about percentages or a head count of women in uniform but ‘who’ these young women in uniform are? And ‘what’ made/makes them opt for olive greens, khakis, blues, the jungle fatigues, or the naval whites? And what could they ‘do’ with what they get into…!

This writing is also an attempt to examine what kind of work culture do these determined and inspired women get to work in? Is it what they had anticipated or envisioned? Or is it a surprise (or a rude shock) for them? How do they deal with what they get into? Equally, how does the organisational culture accept, impact, tolerate, conflict, imbibe respect or reject them? Do they feel fulfilled, reconciled, trapped, disillusioned or shattered?

Do these women entrants team up with male dominated and male controlled uniform services, which undoubtedly are? Or do some of them dare to carve their own paths? Or do some get isolated, maladjusted and perhaps out of place? How do their juniors, peers, managers and leaders deal with the gender differences, which are a fact of life, and get to work with them?

Does the organisation leave them on their own or are they assisted, groomed, mentored, allowed (sic) or empowered? Is there any written or agreed policy that the uniformed services must naturally create an environment of smooth absorption, acceptance, respect and growth for these enthusiasts, by which the organisations continue to attract more of women in uniform?

The source of all my questions are the different scenarios I have witnessed in one form or the other.

Scenario I: Women today who are opting to join uniform services are not doing so by a whim or a fancy. They are also not being persuaded. They are there because they want to be there. It is their dream to be there, immaterial of rank or service. It was their intense desire to be in uniform to be somebody. It can be for larger service or professional expression with growth…

Women entering uniform services are aware of the difficulties that come along. They are conscious of the fact that the vocation they are joining is extraordinary. They are aware that the work involves tenacity, endurance, risk and willpower. It also means mobility and distance from family. At the same time, they also envision and self-believe that with these costs and sacrifices they will realise their potential and be a source of pride for their family and friends. Most of all they will be self empowered and exceptional.

Scenario II: The point I am making is that women who opt to join the uniformed services are already meritorious, strong willed and focused in what they want to do and want to be. They are selected on merit. At the time of entry they go through and pass the prescribed tests equally. And the organisations want them for compelling reasons. They are needed: (as is said.) The services to be provided to society as a whole need their perspective. Or else it will not serve the interests holistically.

Scenario III: Take the case of police services. Even when policing is for society as a whole, and in many cases involves additional focus on women’s issues, women police officers comprise an abysmal percentage in the field, policy-making, training, and decision-making. Even those in service are almost marginalised and poorly visible. This applies in all ranks. This is not because there are no women to fit the bill but even where they are, they are not identified, trained, deployed, groomed, selected and appointed.

The fact is that while a good section of women are ready to take on challenges, the organisations recruiting them are still not. They are still warped and led by conservative, outdated, hierarchical mindsets which are patronising and protective. Their attitudes still go back to be providers: caring and commanding brothers and fathers. Or deciding husbands!

It will take quite a while for this generation to alter and amend. The true test will be to see what changes women will make once they are at the helm. This is one difference which is being feared to be seen today! Women in uniform are perceived to be predictable and independent.

I personally trained equally many young women in police along with the men. They were comparatively more committed to serve. Regrettably, hardly any of them are visible on the streets today. Be it patrolling, investigating, and directing traffic or managing. Barring crimes against women, frisking or escorting, or being duty officers, in juvenile bureaus, missing children squads or running welfare centres. Basically all matters predominantly concerning women and children. But not beyond…!

Women who make inroads are seeking wider and larger challenges, but are restricted to traditional gender roles. Many times by the time they are ‘gifted’ an opportunity into hitherto male roles it is late for many. Their skills are not current and their families are more demanding by then. They choose to play safe and opt out.

Women do not fail but are progressively driven to. They are not groomed when they are young, hungry and excited to take on. This is when they come with energy and expectations of exciting work but lose it by force of circumstances. Women in uniform even when prepared equally are left unequal, in exposure, experience and specialised skills. The society and the nation do not reap their potential.

Behind a successful man in uniform has usually been a wife. Behind a successful woman in uniform has normally not been her husband, but her own family. (I am not on exceptions)!

Indian institutions, particularly uniformed services, are still not prepared to be led by women. Hence the onus is on women of calibre to dig their heels regardless and make new inroads for the benefit of all.

They must not wait. Instead show the way!

Diversities — Delhi Letter
Poverty, deprivation and rural indebtedness
by Humra Quraishi

Here we are crying hoarse, tamatars are out of our grasp, but as attention gets focused to the Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region, horror stories tell us of what deprivation and stark poverty can do to the human being. Farmers  are killing themselves because of the increasing problem of rural indebtedness. Rural India has been facing the reality of deprivation for several years now.

The Human Development Profile, compiled by the National Council of  Applied Economic Research (NCAER) on the basis of an in-depth study of over 33,000 rural Indian households, reveals disturbing facts. India’s 350  million people live in extreme poverty. Of the 40 per cent poor, the poorest 20 per cent have a daily income of just Rs 3; the remaining 20 per cent have a daily income of Rs 5. 5 (1994 prices).

In the total category of the poor, about 8 per cent of their household income  is spent on health and primary education alone. The poorest of the poor  spent up to 20 per cent of their income on health care alone). About 25 per cent have access to water. Only 35 per cent utilise the public distribution system.”

The NCAER findings were out in 1998 after a comprehensive study spread  over three years by a 100-member team. However, there couldn’t be a betterment of the rural situation. Consider the increasing number of farmers’ suicides in recent times. Now that we, in urban and urbane settings, have begun to miss the good old tamatar from the veggie list, it is time to think of those reeling under stark poverty in those backwaters.

Book on digital transformation

Whatever the pitfalls of the season, there has been just a little dip in the   book release dos. Vice President of India Bhairon Singh Shekhawat spared an evening to release D.K. Ghosh’s Digital India: Rural Empowerment and Transformation (UBSPD). After all, it’s a remark from him that got Ghosh  into writing this book, “this book is the outcome of a remark that our  revered Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat made when releasing my  earlier work, The Great Digital Transformation. The Vice President asked  that I should go into the application of information and communication  technologies in our villages and find out how far they would benefit the  rural hinterland of the country.”

Not really wanting to sound hopelessly discouraging, I strongly  feel that technology and its benefits can only reach out if there is curbing  of hunger. If basics like water and food and power are missing, there can’t be connectivity. It sounds all very fashionable and hyped.

Abha’s novel on summer in Paris

Abha Dawesar’s novel, That Summer In Paris (Random House) has just hit the stands. Her publishers are awaiting her arrival from the US for the formal launch. Here, summer or winter or even the monsoon, these formalities are so severely seeped in that they have to be met with.

This is her third novel, after Miniplanner and Babyji. As the very title more than hints, the new novel was set in Paris. More than just an evening in  Paris, the story is intense as Prem Rustum, a Noble Prize winning Indian writer ventures online at the urging of his friend Pascal and meets Maya, an aspiring novelist. Prem surprises himself by following her to Paris.

During the slow sensuous summer that follows an unlikely affair  blossoms. While Maya grapples to separate the man she loves from the writer she reveres, her presence brings Prem into direct confrontation with his own morality and desires.”

VP’s creative skills

For some reason, former Prime Minister V.P. Singh chose this time of the  year for the release of his memoirs, Manzilon Se Jyada Safar. After its release, he reportedly explained some points at a follow-up session. The book has kicked off a controversy. Can’t say how further dimensions this  controversy would create, but V.P. Singh has other creative outlets too.

When I had stepped into his home on two earlier occasions, he seemed  obsessed with painting and poetic verse. Focusing on even the minutest  detail together with the background and occasion when he’d just about taken off. Extreme talent looming large from each one of his works so much so that one had wondered rather aloud, what was a creative man like him doing  in politics! In politics, he just created the Mandal monster.

Dismal power supply

Dark times, literally. Several of the Capital’s intersections are without traffic lights. Blame is saddled on the poor power situation.

Surely, with all our (however hollow) claims of getting highly advanced there has to be  some substitute for the dismal supply. These are important intersections with a heavy flow of traffic and commuters. The government should go out of the way to help save the human limbs.

Profile
Javed Akhtar: Poetry runs in his veins
by Harihar Swarup

Why an unseemly controversy was whipped up over the grant of visa to noted lyricist Javed Akhtar to visit Pakistan for the grand premiere of the 1960 classic Mughal-e-Azam? The Pakistan government initially denied him permission to visit Karachi for the premiere but later cleared it. As a result of the delay, Akbar Asif, who had organised the premiere, cancelled the event. Javed was to lead a 20-member delegation which included renowned Bollywood stars like Shabana Azmi, Sridevi, Zeenat Aman, Saif Ali Khan and Urmila Matondkar.

Visas of all them were cleared but withheld in the case of Javed. The purpose of the visit of the star-studded delegation was not commercial. The Indian film personalities were later to participate in a telethon to raise money for the earthquake victims of Pakistan. Javed was astounded and his impromptu comment was: “I am the only one who has been refused visa. I don’t understand what kind of threat I pose to that country”. According to him the only reason for the controversy could be that “I am too frank and outspoken for their comfort”.

May be the celebrated lyricist’s hunch was true. Only in May, during the special screening of another Bollywood film, former hero Feroze Khan angered Pakistan authorities when he reportedly said minority Muslims in India were better off than those in Islamic Pakistan.

One of the dream of the late legendary K. Asif, the producer of Mughal-e-Azam – a historic romance with a tragic ending — was the screening of the classic film in Pakistan. His dream could not be made a reality in his lifetime but his son, Akbar Asif, a London-based businessman, organised the Karachi premiere to fulfill his father’s wish. The proceeds of the show too were to go to the earthquake victims.

Akbar Asif is a disappointed man now. “It would have been a great moment to see the dream of my father fulfilled, had Mughal-e-Azam been screened in Karachi”, he says. Akbar has great respect for Javed Akhtar and says, “I will not tolerate if he is insulted in this manner”.

Now on threshold of sixties, Javed Akhtar is well known in India and Pakistan as an Urdu poet, lyricist and script writer for Bollywood films. His songs are rhythmic, reflective of life and young and old are often heard humming them. Few have such rich literary family background as Javed. It seems poetry runs in his veins.

Son of the well-known Urdu poet and lyricist Jaan Nisar Akhar and Safia, also a writer, he belongs to a lineage that could be traced back to seven generations of writers. The highly respected Urdu poet, the late Majaz, was his Mamu (mother’s brother) and the work of his grandfather, Muzter Khairabadi is seen as a milestone in Urdu poetry. Two lines of the Muzter —tumko dekhaa to ye kayaal aaya, zindagii dhuup, tum ghanaa saaya (after seeing you, a thought comes to my mind; life is hot sun and you a thick shade over it) have become immortal in Urdu poetry.

Javed’s parents were lecturers in Bhopal’s Hamidia College. He went to school in Bhopal, Calvin Talukadar College in Lucknow and Minto Circle in Aligarh. For his graduation, Javed returned to Bhopal and obtained the degree from Safia College. He started writing poetry in Urdu, came to Bombay and knocked at the doors of film producers. During the initial days of his film career, he was a clapper boy.

It was the film Sarhadi Lootera (Robber at borders) that gave Javed the break. Director S.M. Sagar was desperately looking for a scriptwriter but could not find a suitable one. His eyes fell on Javed who, he thought, had the talent he was looking for. The young man from Bhopal was assigned the task of writing dialogues. Subsequently, Javed made rapid strides in the filmdom in partnership with Salim Khan with whom he wrote some of the biggest hits in India cinema during seventies and eighties. The partnership split following some differences; Javed became independent and in the years to come became the highest paid lyricist in India.

It is believed that he can do magic with words; can breathe life into inanimate words; can weave three-minute dream through verse; can evoke 20 different emotions in a single song. Javed has written a number of poems against communalism, social injustice, national integration and for women’s rights. The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has declared his song, beaconing the misguided youth to come forward and build the country as the National Anthem for Youth. At the initiative of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Javed wrote five poems on the national flag. These have been interpreted musically by Pandit Jasraj, Pandi Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ustad Zakir Hussain, L. Subramaniam and E. Srinivas.

Javed’s personal life too has been romantic. In his early days in Bombay, he married Honey Irani, a script writer and the couple had two children —Farhan Akhtar, now a film director, and Zoya Akhtar. Then, for some reason, a divorce followed. Javed married Shabana Azmi, daughter of famous Urdu poet, Kaifi Azmi. Both have become celebrities in their lifetime.

REFLECTIONS

If the body is weak, how can it be the receptacle of the immortal spirit?

— The Upanishads

When one, brilliant above the rest, is honoured, the mediocre in the gathering seek to pull him down by projecting others equally mediocre, They proclaim their minor deeds in the great, loud voice of the majority.

— The Mahabharata

No man should think lightly of evil. No man should say, “I can deceive fate”. Nothing will happen to me”. Little drops of water gather into a mighty river. So too small evils join together to drown a man in his own filth.

— The Buddha

Look how they invent falsehood about God: and that is sufficient in itself to be an obvious wrong.

— The Koran

He alone is educated, learned and wise, who wears the necklace of the Lord’s Name.

— Guru Nanak

The Lord has done too many things so will he not show people the way to worship him? ... He is our Inner Guide.

— Ramakrishna