|
|
Widening
2G scam probe The
cancer of corruption |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Honour
the turban
Heartbreak
on homecoming
An hour
with Sam Manekshaw
The predisposition of
Indians to heart disease has long been evidenced in the scientific
community. The risk can be significantly reduced through simple
lifestyle modifications
|
|
The cancer of corruption
Corruption
is often viewed as a way of life in India. But India’s apolitical, disciplined and professional Army has enjoyed a relatively clean image — at least until recently — when compared to most other government institutions and departments. Till about a decade ago, financial irregularities and other kinds of corruption were mostly considered a preserve of branches such as the Army Service Corps, the Army Ordnance Corps and the Military Engineering Service where the opportunity to make money is considered high. The last decade, however, has witnessed a considerable number of cases of not just financial corruption, but also moral and professional impropriety across even combat arms. Most disconcertingly, a number of General-rank officers, too, have figured in such incidents, thereby sullying the image of an otherwise overstretched Army. The latest in a long list of incidents is a censure for sexual misconduct accorded to a Lt-General, a former Engineer-in-Chief, who is one of the Army Chief’s eight principal staff officers. Earlier this decade, the Leh-based XIV Corps Commander (a Lt-General) was asked to resign for his alleged involvement with another officer’s wife followed by a Division Commander (a Maj-Gen), also posted in Ladakh, being dismissed for sexual misconduct with a junior lady officer. That this is just the tip of the iceberg is evident from the Army’s reply to an RTI activist who sought information on Brigadier and above rank officers facing allegations of corruption. The Army stated that the information sought was so “voluminous in nature” that compiling it would “disproportionately divert their time and resources”. Indeed, several senior Army officers, including General-rank officers, have been caught selling military liquor, fudging encounters with terrorists and Pakistani soldiers, illegally transferring Army land to a private developer, and even manhandling and locking up CBI officials. An admission to the rot prevailing in a section of the officer cadre was made by the present Army Chief who, soon after assuming command in April, cautioned that until the Army’s internal health was not up to the mark, “we won’t be able to take good care of external challenges”. This is not to say that the entire Army can or should be labelled corrupt. But it is in the interest of both the nation and the armed forces that military officers must always be above reproach. This will also be in the interest of professionalism, propriety and command. There is simply too much at stake.
|
|
|
Honour the turban
You
cannot be a turban-wearing Sikh and a school student in France. The Sikhs are not required to remove their turban anywhere except in French schools. Turban-wearing Sikh students have been taken off the rolls of public-funded educational institutions ever since France introduced a rule in 2004 that banned schoolchildren from wearing articles of religious significance. This move primarily affected the Muslim girls who wore the headscarf or the hijab, and the Sikh boys who sported turbans. The French rule is based on a narrow interpretation of the principle of secularism, which demands the separation of the Church and the State. The same rule also bans the wearing of the turban for ID document photos. Thus, for purposes of all ID photographs, including driving licences, the Sikhs have to have their pictures taken without their turbans on, which is embarrassing to the individuals concerned. The Sikhs are a tiny minority in France, and till now they have had no relief from various courts where they have challenged the rule. The official French response generally is that “minority communities must respect rules that need to be followed in France”. While no one can fault this statement, we must remember that the so-called melting-pot model of immigration, where immigrants were expected to subsume their identity to that of their host country, has now been replaced by a far more progressive one in which immigrants contribute to their new home the diversity of their beliefs, culture, skills and education. The recent visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy to New Delhi brought the issue to the fore again when protesters, especially schoolchildren, took to the streets of the Capital to press their demand. The Prime Minister is well acquainted with the matter, but it remains to be seen if his government can aggressively pursue the case to end this discriminatory practice in a nation that seeks to enhance its role as India’s partner in different fields.
|
|
|
Government and cooperation are in all things the laws of life; anarchy and competition the laws of death. — John Ruskin
|
Heartbreak on homecoming NEVER before has my homecoming, after a short or long absence overseas, been so deeply depressing as now. The only exception to this was on the bleak morning of November 2, 1984, when, cutting short a foreign assignment, I had hurried home in the wake of Indira Gandhi’s assassination and the anti-Sikh riots that followed. Thank God, nothing even remotely comparable to that terrible tragedy has jolted the country since. Therefore, it hurts all the more that today the powers that be have made an awful, and easily avoidable, mess of national affairs so serious as to drive one to tears. To be sure, even before I had left, Rising India’s name was being besmirched by the horrifying scandals surrounding the incredibly extravagant preparations for the Commonwealth Games that deservedly earned the nickname “Common Filth Games”. Eventually, the games did go off reasonably well, but that is no reason to forgive that brazen wrongdoers. Most people apprehend that small fry might be jailed but the big fish would merrily swim away. In any case, even the hugely shocking CWG affair has paled before the mother of all scams, the G-2 spectrum loot, estimated at the mind-boggling figure of Rs. 1,76,000 crore or $ 40 billion. The Bofors bribes had amounted to only Rs. 64 crore. Neither the enormity of the G-2 mega scam nor the effrontery of its perpetrator, the then Communications and IT Minister, A Raja of the Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), was a secret ever. But nothing happened to him for months and months. Only after the Comptroller and Auditor-General’s stinging exposure, and the DMK’s arch rival J. Jayalalithaa’s declaration that she and her party, the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), would “save” the United Progressive Alliance government in New Delhi in case an estranged DMK withdrew support to it was Mr Raja forced to resign. Meanwhile, Niira Radia tapes have revealed how he was reappointed IT Minister in the first place. It was through the joint exertions of extraordinarily efficacious power brokers such as herself, business barons in the highest league (some of whom are direct beneficiaries of G-2 licences and therefore dubbed by The Economist “dynamic but dirty”), politicians with an axe to grind, and even eminent media persons. Inextricably intermixed with the G-2 mega scam is the no less murky, in fact inexcusable, appointment of P. J. Thomas to the post of Central Vigilance Commissioner, the nation’s watchdog against corruption that is ubiquitous and rampant in the entire governing system. The very fact that he was the Telecom Secretary during the period when jiggery-pokery on a gargantuan scale took place should have been enough to rule him out, never mind the criminal charges in Kerala. The CVC is one of the few posts for which the incumbent is selected by a committee of which the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is a member. Such a bipartisan consensus is indeed imperative. In this particular case, the Leader of the Opposition, Sushma Swaraj, after explaining her objections to Mr Thomas, offered to accept either of the other two officers on the panel. Why the government remained adamant on choosing Mr Thomas and no one else is a mystery. Be it noted that this appointment was made at a time when the party line — dictated by DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi — was that Mr Raja would neither resign nor be asked to go. In response to the Supreme Court’s cutting observations about Mr Thomas’s unsuitability, his response was that he would “recuse” himself from the G-2 case. The government’s law officer, apparently under instructions, told the Supreme Court that this was “in the best traditions of the civil service”. Heavens above! Are we going to have next as Comptroller and Auditor-General someone caught with his hand in the till who would then reassure the courts and the country that he would “recuse” himself whenever necessary? Ironically, Mr Thomas then turned on his own benefactors and rebuffed all their attempts to persuade him to resign gracefully. The denouement of the squalid episode will now take place in the apex court. Until then everyone must wait. This is by no means all. We have also had the spectacle of former Army Chiefs and serving and retired officers of the armed forces grabbing luxury flats in Mumbai that were meant only for the heroes and widows of the Kargil war. Numerous politicians, not far behind in this shameful scramble, were headed by the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr Ashok Chavan, who had allotted flats to his mother-in-law and two other relatives. Given the marching orders he is now wailing that he has been a “victim” of conspiracies by his colleagues in the Congress party! The bribes for bank loans and the racket in micro-credit speak for themselves. And no one knows what else might spring out of Pandora’s Box next. In this all-enveloping darkness the only silver lining is that no one, not even his harshest critic, has raised the slightest question about Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s sterling integrity. At the same time, there has been a deep erosion of the credibility and prestige of the government he presides over but obviously does not or cannot control fully. To a very large extent this is a function of the rather curious juxtaposition of power and responsibility within the Congress party that is the core of the ruling combination, the UPA. The party’s performance in the past has been uneven. Today, at the height of the crisis of credibility, it is far worse. The key question is whether, faced with an extremely difficult situation, the Congress can muster greater skill and bring about the necessary synergy between itself and its own government. Sadly, there is no encouraging sign so far. The party’s response to the united Opposition’s demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the G-2 grand robbery is a case in point. The issue has paralysed Parliament’s winter session. Some of its allies in the UPA are urging the Congress to accept the demand for the JPC, but the party leadership bumbles along. The joke is that no JPC, not even the one Rajiv Gandhi had to appoint for Bofors, has ever achieved much. A new one will do no great harm. Yet the party that would be 125 years old in less than two weeks remains indecisive. How distant looks the glad, confident afternoon of May 16,
2009!
|
||||||||
An hour with Sam Manekshaw I
came
across an advertisement in a newspaper, immediately after the demise of legendary Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw by his daughters Sherry and Maja requesting everyone to share with them any anecdote or experience that they have had with their father. I meant to write but never got around to doing it. A few days ago, while cleaning one of my desk drawers, I came across this neatly filed cutting of the advertisement and it brought with it memories of that magical chance encounter with Sam in Shimla many moons ago. On one crisp winter evening, my wife and I were enjoying a casual chat with our friend Shailender Nigam and his wife Usha over coffee in a hotel lobby. A gentle tap on my shoulder distracted me and there he stood, our charming intruder, Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw. Before we could say a word, he requested with a naughty but pious smile, “May I sit between the two ladies?”, pointing at the gap on the sofa between Usha and my wife. In one simple sentence he had the women eating out of his hands! Comfortably flanked by the two ladies, his verve and enthusiasm lifted the spirits instantaneously. He held fort and we listened like eager school children devouring every word that came out of his mouth. Out of the many tales he regaled us with I would like to share one with you. During the course of the conversation, I asked him, “Who was the best Defence Minister you worked with?” Pat came Sam’s reply, “Late Babu Jagjivan Ram”. He remembered affectionately that Babuji could never pronounce his name correctly and, instead of Sam, he used to call him Shaam. He went on to describe Babuji as a brilliant, shrewd and calm Defence Minister, all of the qualities that made him admirable. I was hungry for anecdotes. With a characteristic twinkle in his eye and in his inimitable style, he reminisced. He had once received a call on his hotline from Babuji requesting him to help an officer to pick up rank as Major-General. Sam politely replied that he does not interfere in such matters. A few months later Babuji invited Sam for coffee, “Shaam caffi khane aavo” (Sam join me for a cup of coffee). Over coffee Babuji requested Sam to help a Colonel in picking up the next rank. Again Sam politely reiterated his stand and said that he never interfered in such matters. Exasperated, Babuji asked him, “Shaam, kya aap kabhi bhi kissi ki sifaarish nahin sunta”. (Sam don’t you ever entertain these requests?). Sam told Babuji that there are only two exceptions to this rule, either the person being recommended deserves it or when the recommendation comes straight from his girlfriend. “Shaam yeh bhi kuch aisa hi case hai” (This case also falls in the category of the exceptions to the rule), the radiant Babuji whispered in Sam’s ear. Stumped by his wit, Sam knew that Babuji had turned the tables on him. Babuji smiled triumphantly as he finished his coffee. Our encounter with Sam, the first and unfortunately the last, stayed in our memories for his ebullience and candour. It is no wonder really that he lives on in the memory of the entire country and a fond smile appears on anyone’s face who has ever been privileged with spending any time with
him.
|
||||||||
The predisposition of Indians to heart disease has long been evidenced in the scientific community.
The risk can be significantly reduced through simple lifestyle modifications What is even more alarming is the fact that there is a growing trend of heart disease affecting the younger, more productive age groups. Nearly half the deaths from heart and blood vessel diseases occur under the age of 70. A recent study by Apollo Hospitals corroborates this fact by a summary that an Indian’s heart ages must faster than a Westerner’s. The results were compiled from cases our hospitals have been treating across the country. What we found was that some heart disorders, including blood vessel blocks found in 35-year-old Indians, are similar to those found in an average 60-year-old in the US. The predisposition of Indians to heart disease has long been evidenced in the scientific community. Studies have indicated that we have elevated levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and also suffer from a deficiency in HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol that helps clear fatty build-up of blocks in the arteries). Additionally, we tend to gain weight in the abdominal region, our abnormal waist to hip ratios putting us at a greater risk for heart disease. Then again, our studies reveal that about 10 percent of Indians develop heart disease without having any obvious risk factors. Our scans have revealed that heart disease may act as a precursor to diabetes and hypertension and many Indians between the ages of 35 and 60, who see themselves as healthy individuals, may actually have heart problems. Since most heart diseases show no symptoms, we often have instances when young patients come to us only after the damage is done. The problem of heart disease in our country has assumed epidemic proportions, earning India the dubious sobriquet of being the ‘Heart Disease Capital of the World’. The following are some pointers to the enormity of this problem:
n
The World Health Report (2002) projects cardiovascular disease to be the largest cause of death and disability in India by 2020 (WHO, 2002). Frightening scenario
The burden of cardiovascular diseases (CHD) in India is so huge that according to the WHO, CHD is the leading cause of death in India. In this year 2010, 60 percent of the world’s heart disease is expected to occur in India. There is also a wide gap between availability of cardiology expertise and load of cardiac morbidity in rural as well as urban areas. India is the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.18 billion people (estimate for April, 2010). About 60,000 cardiac surgeries are performed every year when the need is for more than 2 million surgeries every year, and about 70,000 stent procedures are carried out every year, while the need is for more than 4 million! Even these figures are actually an under estimation because the need is multiplying every year, as Indians are known to present with coronary heart disease about 10 years earlier than in Western countries, and risk factors like diabetes and hypertension are
escalating rapidly. Identifying Risk Factors
While socio-economic transitions (living habits altered by urbanization and globalization) and demographic transitions (increasing life expectancy, with more deaths occurring at older ages) contribute to the rise in the risk of heart diseases, much of the risk is avoidable. Many of the deaths due to heart attacks and strokes can be prevented or at least postponed to a much older age, with very few succumbing before the age of 80. Scientific evidence indicates 7 risk factors, which if addressed, can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease: smoking, cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, lack of exercise, obesity and stress. The risk of heart disease can be significantly reduced through simple lifestyle modifications.
How do we prepare ourselves?
Clearly, the way forward is for us to recognize that many of these risk factors can be prevented or reduced by making intelligent choices. Keeping away from tobacco greatly reduces our risk factor, while adopting a more sensible approach to our diet too has immense benefits. Reducing salt consumption decreases the number of deaths due to strokes by 22 percent and those from heart attacks by 16 percent. Avoiding unhealthy fats, reducing refined sugars and increasing the intake of fruit and vegetables further reduce the risk substantially. Physical inactivity increases the risk by 1.5 times while even moderate activity, regularly performed, is very protective. With healthy lifestyle habits, risk factors such as body weight, belly fat, blood pressure, blood sugar and blood fats can be kept under check. The WHO believes that 75 percent of the risk can be prevented by lifestyle modification. Apart from all these, it is necessary to undertake regular checkups for identification and estimation of risk factors, if present. This is recommended for all adults, and especially so for those with a family history of premature heart disease. Risk awareness and evaluation is the first step for the individual, as well as the physician, to take effective measures to reduce it. Through a judicious combination of lifestyle measures (always needed) and drugs (whenever needed), much of the risk can be avoided or even reversed.
Raising Public Awareness.
There is also a need for initiatives to raise public awareness with respect to heart health. In fact, there is a need for a crusade to awaken the masses that are largely negligent of the risks of impending heart disease and its impact on productivity. Recognizing the health risk that the population faces, Apollo has recently embarked on a crusade - the Billion Hearts Beating campaign against heart disease. The campaign focuses on raising heart health awareness amongst Indians. This crusade marks a momentous milestone, as it aims to reverse India’s infamy of being known as the ‘Heart Disease Capital‘ of the world. Ever since the launch of the campaign, thousands of individuals from all walks of life are taking a pledge on www.billionheartsbeating.com, indicating their desire to make smarter choices for their heart health. Dr Prathap C Reddy is Founder and Executive Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Group
|
|
Corrections and clarifications n In Page 17 of December 9 issue the caption of the lone picture says “Punjab Industries Minister Wen Jiabao with Navjot Singh Sidhu…. The Industry Minister of Punjab is Manoranjan Kalia who is in the picture with N.S. Sidhu, Amritsar MP. n
The headline “SGPC, NZ varsity to liaison” (Page 3, December 9) is inappropriate. A more accurate headline would have been “NZ varsity to admit SGPC colleges scholars”. n
The headline “We did it to revenge Babri verdict” (Page 13, December 8) should have used the word ‘avenge instead of ‘revenge’. n
In the headline “Aus face uphill task to save Test” (Page 16, December 7), Aussies should have been used instead of Aus. Despite our earnest endeavour to keep The Tribune error-free, some errors do creep in at times. We are always eager to correct them. This column appears twice a week — every Tuesday and Friday. We request our readers to write or e-mail to us whenever they find any error. Readers in such cases can write to Mr Kamlendra Kanwar, Senior Associate Editor, The Tribune, Chandigarh, with the word “Corrections” on the envelope. His e-mail ID is kanwar@tribunemail.com. Raj Chengappa
|
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
The burden of cardiovascular diseases (CHD) in India is so large that according to WHO, CHD is the leading cause of death toll in India. This year in 2010, 60 percent of the world’s heart disease are expected to occur in India
