Clinton’s nemesis
FOR US President Bill Clinton this is the time of unmitigated ignominy, shame and sorrow. But for American democracy it is yet another moment of soul-sustaining glory and grandeur.
The ugly phase
MS JAYALALITHA often loudly protests that she does not set a deadline for the BJP-led ruling combine to carry out her “requests”.
Heinous carnage
IT was just a coincidence that the car bomb blast by suspected IRA guerrillas in Omagh city in Northern Ireland took place on the day when India was celebrating its 52nd Independence Day.

Patent law amendment
by Balraj Mehta
THE amendment of the patent law of India to conform to WTO norms on the agenda of the BJP-led coalition government is bound to be yet another contentious issue.
Why this increasing
dependence on West?
by Winin Pereira
THERE are dependencies within dependencies, interconnected dependencies, parallel dependencies and other exotic dependencies.

Patents will lead to economic apartheid By Devinder Sharma AFTER neem, turmeric and tamarind, it is now the turn of basmati rice. And at this pace, India is sure to march into the 21st century with little control over its own bio-resources, indigenous medicines and traditional foods. Khalsa tercentenary to be grand event By Kulbir Singh Sidhu THE Punjab Government has decided to celebrate the 300th birth anniversary of the Khalsa on a grand scale. Efforts and planning for the event are under way at the highest level. Call me Panditji by V. N. Kakar TO strengthen their hold on India, the British took a fundamental decision during World War II. That was to combatise all those working as clerks in various branches of the Army.

75 Years Ago

More about the blind boy
IN my appeal for funds for Bodh Raj, a poor blind student of the Dyal Singh College, I forget to mention in detail the various items for which funds will be needed.

Clinton’s nemesis

FOR US President Bill Clinton this is the time of unmitigated ignominy, shame and sorrow. But for American democracy it is yet another moment of soul-sustaining glory and grandeur. Mr Clinton, perhaps the most charismatic and arrogantly assertive US Head of State of this century, has admitted before the Grand Jury and the nation that he indulged in a relationship which was “not appropriate” and “in fact, wrong”. His extra-marital sexual behaviour has been reprehensible. Besides manifesting its odd religio-personal aspect, it has harmed the institution of the family grievously. Mr Clinton denied his habitual conduct over a long period and hurt his wife and daughter. Since in exalted positions like his the dividing line between public life and private life cannot be made so distinct as to provide one with immunity from criticism, he has at last exposed himself as an indiscreet social being who had been catapulted into a situation that made men metaphors. On his own admission, he has lied to his family, nation and God. Repentance and redemption are ideational and perceptional philosophic realities. For the world at large, his concern for the time and money wasted “because of the Starr investigations” appears to be a myth. The reality is his deviant behaviour of grave chronicity. Monica Lewinsky —the liar and the truth-teller — is not quite a person of prominence. She is a victim of circumstance among such other victims. Americans should, however, seek solace in their administrative and judicial systems in which the powerful and the famous cannot escape from the net of probity and justice. In our democracy law-breakers turn themselves into law-makers. The power that corrupts is turned into a contrived ability that can crown. Right mingles with wrong through conceit and deceit. Democracy lies bound with deliberately perverted institutional strings. Godse, at times, is celebrated like Gandhi. Fodder-starved cattle perish; those who starve them prosper in society and polity. But in the USA a Nixon gets his nemesis, a Kennedy is made accountable to the people by contemporary history and a Clinton is humbled into admitting that he has sinned, lied and betrayed his flock. The triumph of democracy is, in fact, the triumph of healthy traditions and national life.

It will be difficult for the American people to pardon their erring President on grounds of the prevailing perversion and permissiveness. They have their Manu in the 19th century French social philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville, who offered “the most comprehensive and penetrating analysis of the relationship between character and society in America”. Tocqueville described the moves, which he often called the “habits of the heart of the people”, to show how they could help “build American character”. He singled out family life, religious traditions and participation in local politics. He looked at the creation of the kind of person “who could sustain a connection to a wider political community and thus ultimately support the maintenance of free institutions”. Therein lies the warning that “an aspect of our character”—what the wise man was one of the first to call individualism—might eventually isolate Americans from one another, then from the world at large, and thereby undermine the conditions of freedom. One feels concerned to find that this individualism has got corrupted and become Clintonically cancerous on a wide scale. Moral integuments do not moderate promiscuous or wayward and destructive social potentialities anymore. A large number of Indians go to the USA every year in search of the foot of the rainbow. They have an occasion for looking at what they are seeking. The American people do not need our advice for doing what they should do with their Clintons. They need time to reconcile public questions with private anxieties. An inner social debate is the need of the hour for them.

The ugly phase

MS JAYALALITHA often loudly protests that she does not set a deadline for the BJP-led ruling combine to carry out her “requests”. And to be fair to her, she has not fixed a time limit for rescinding the transfer orders of former Director of Enforcement M.K. Bezbaruah, revenue secretary N.K. Singh and 14 others. Still, it is doubtful if she takes her own demand seriously. As she knows from her experience as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, transfers are not that easily undone, not at the highest echelons of bureaucracy, particularly after the government has described it as a routine action. But so threatening are her whimsical demands that some senior BJP leaders launched a firefighting operation, like BJP senior vice-president K.L. Sharma hinting that the government could reconsider the administrative reshuffle. This is in sharp contrast to the tough line the PMO has rightly taken on the corruption allegation which the AIADMK chief has hurled at some one close to the Prime Minister. It is clear that she is not so much interested in the professional duties the government assigns to Mr Bezbaruah, as in categorically dissociating herself from his transfer. As a second insurance, she has sought to focus the spotlight on a close confidant of the Prime Minister and by quantifying the bribe as a “hefty” one. Informally she has held a particular BJP leader responsible for the transfers. Did she reveal her mind to Defence Minister Fernandes?

However limited her motive is in making the graft charge, its impact has proved to be very ugly. It has hit the BJP where it hurts the most. The party has always prided itself on being untainted by financial misdeeds. Mr L.K. Advani’s resignation from Parliament even if it was at the fag end of the term, reflected how seriously the party takes the accusations or even suspicions of accepting slush funds. To be a wobbly government is one thing (it is getting used to this popular impression), but to be additionally thought to be accommodating corrupt men is another. The cynical electorate will easily believe the allegation, since it sees a corrupt man in most leaders. One way to minimise the adverse fallout is to demand proof of Ms Jayalalitha’s charge and the second is to order an inquiry to get to the bottom of the thing. The PMO has resorted to the first course and it is obvious that she cannot accept the challenge. Nobody enters into an MoU to negotiate and accept a bribe and thus evidence is always hard to come by. The party has rejected the inquiry road, thinking it would strengthen the suspicion raised by the AIADMK. This is a strategy as dangerous as the problem. And that is precisely why the lady thought of it. She should know; she is facing so many corruption cases!

Heinous carnage

IT was just a coincidence that the car bomb blast by suspected IRA guerrillas in Omagh city in Northern Ireland took place on the day when India was celebrating its 52nd Independence Day. The 500-pound bomb killed 28 and maimed over 200, making a mockery of the Good Friday Agreement between the British and Northern Ireland's political parties. Ironically, the savagery of the incident has forced England to see the situation in Kashmir in a new light. A Labour group had been holding the agreement as a model and had been orchestrating the plebiscite demand of the Kashmiri lobbies supported by Pakistan. It was expected to press the party leadership during the annual Labour conference in the fourth week of September at Blackpool for not only a plebiscite but also third party negotiations. But the Saturday bombing might force them to lie low. After all, "just" referendums and elections were duly held in Northern Irelend. Did they have any meaning for the terrorists? The terrorists in Northern Irelend have derailed the entire process through that one incident. Things are far more complicated in Kashmir where Pakistan has been actively encouraging terrorism. An analyst in Leicester University has said that it is evident from what is happening in Northern Ireland that any solution of the Kashmir problem has to be negotiated between India and Pakistan. Even senior personnel of the British Foreign Office have veered round to the view that a third party cannot achieve peace in Kashmir where terrorism is being assisted by Pakistanis. Moreover, there is not just one group of terrorists here. The ISI has been using several splinter groups to spread terror in Jammu and Kashmir, the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and even the national Capital, Delhi.

The world must realise at least now that referendum is not the answer to such problems. Those who did not respect the elected State Government of Dr Farooq Abdullah are not going to stop their activities, whatever is done. The unfortunate part is that countries like Britain strike moralistic postures while preaching to others and realise the gravity of the situation only when they themselves come face to face with the ugly blood-soaked face of terrorism. After all, Mr Robin Cook did not even address Dr Farooq Abdullah as Chief Minister when he visited the Valley before his party came to power. One wonders what he will have to say about the whole episode now. Will the British Government accept, say, India as a third party mediator?

Patent law amendment
A contentious issue for India

by Balraj Mehta

THE amendment of the patent law of India to conform to WTO norms on the agenda of the BJP-led coalition government is bound to be yet another contentious issue. The Rao government, in spite of strenuous efforts, failed to secure the amendment which has since been in the limbo.

The proposed amendment of the patent law is designed to put in place a mechanism to receive retrospectively, from January, 1995, onwards, applications for the grant of product patents for pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Exclusive marketing rights of the producers are proposed to be allowed to the holders of patents abroad pending patent protection for them by law in India. The attempt is to nullify under this arrangement the transition period of 10 years agreed to under the GATT treaty for the introduction of product patents for pharmaceuticals and chemicals in India and other countries which do not accept these in their patent laws.

Even though Parliament has refused to pass the amendment, the government has still been receiving applications for product patents and exclusive marketing rights, and giving assurances to patent holders abroad that their applications would be acted upon. This is a glaring example of cringing behaviour of the administration in India in dealing with multinational corporations.

The requirements of the international agreement on what are euphemistically described as trade-related intellectual property rights which the Rao government mindlessly signed, cannot, however, be fulfilled surreptitiously by an executive fiat. The government cannot evade or avoid legislation to amend the Indian Patents Act of 1970 to implement the TRIPS agreement. Any such amendment, past experience shows, will provoke a sharp debate and strong opposition in Parliament.

The plea often made by some ministers, bureaucrats and other interested official functionaries as well as businessmen and their apologists in the media that “there is no alternative” to falling in line or to abide by TRIPS, has no substance and deserves to be rejected. The insidious suggestion that India cannot afford being expelled from the WTO and must, therefore, accept the abridgement of the sovereign position of the Indian State and the access of the people to pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals at affordable prices is a wholly unacceptable proposition.

The BJP-led government will be placed in a very awkward position if it seeks to amend the Indian Patent Act on this basis. It chose to defy the monopoly rights of holders of the nuclear bomb. It won well-deserved kudos for safeguarding the security interests of India. To submit to the demand of patent holders of pharmaceutical and chemical products will reflect poorly on its policy-political commitments to safeguard the interests of the consumers of these products in India as well as that of the Indian pharmaceutical and chemical industry.

The Indian Patent Act of 1970 is an outstanding piece of legislation which must not be tampered with. It was hailed as a model instrument for developing indigenous technologies, and has served this purpose very well by making available pharmaceuticals and chemicals at affordable prices to Indian consumers. If it is to be amended, it should be to strengthen and sharpen it and not scuttle its positive role and objectives.

The right to take advantage of the transition period of 10 years for the introduction of product patents in the Indian market too must be taken note of. The grant of exclusive marketing rights to holders of patents abroad does not arise at all even after the scope of patenting products may be enlarged in tune with the present day needs of Indian consumers.

The right to work on the patented property and compulsory licensing for their production in the country must be enforced. India must not be opened for exploitation by multinational corporations, which hold most of the patents but work hardly 5 per cent of the patents for the production of patented goods in the developing countries. The competitive position of the Indian companies in pharmaceuticals and chemicals must be protected in the home market and not undermined in favour of foreign companies through the patent mechanism. India is entitled to and must claim waiver in respect of several provisions of the TRIPS agreement to protect Indian consumers and R&D as well as business interests.

The spectre of multilateral trade sanctions against India for failing to honour fraudulently introduced sub-clauses in the TRIPS agreement, which violate the letter and spirit of its main provisions, must not be raised to frighten the government into submission. The people will not be taken in by threats to expel India from the WTO either. The USA is not likely to be able to muster a three-fourth majority in the WTO.

It can be confidently asserted that India can and must hold its position in the WTO with dignity and honour. It too may not be missed in this context that many countries, among them the USA, have set up mechanisms to side-step the WTO if it does not subserve their national interests. China has shown that its trading position in the global market does not require trading away its national interests to join the WTO, and it is ready and willing to enter the WTO only on fair and equitable terms.

No country has given exclusive marketing rights to patent holders. India can and must assert its rights in the WTO and all other global fora and enter into transactions — economic as well as political — on acceptable terms. It was disconcerting that during the Uruguay Round of negotiations India drifted from the position of an active participant in hard bargaining to an obsequious observer waiting to “buy peace” in its trade relations with the developed countries, especially the USA. Time has come for India to assert its sovereign status and rights, without any equivocation and false notions of precedence for international obligations over national interests.

The all-party Forum of Parliamentarians on Intellectual Property is committed to upholding India’s inalienable right to have an intellectual property regime which would promote public interest and ensure self-reliant development in economic and technological spheres. It has declared repeatedly “the resolve not to allow amendments to the Indian Patents Act, so as to make it conform to the regime visualised in TRIPS”.

A tendency has, however, developed within the BJP-led government to be ambivalent on this issue and some bad moves have been initiated to amend the Patent Act of 1970. They are not likely to be allowed to make headway unless there are appropriate provisions in the patent law to safeguard national interests. An informed debate is in the offing within and outside the government on this issue of vital interest for Indian science, business enterprise and consumers which is expected to develop in conjunction with mass mobilisation to safeguard national interests.

Why this increasing dependence on West?

by Winin Pereira

THERE are dependencies within dependencies, interconnected dependencies, parallel dependencies and other exotic dependencies. While under colonial rule, dependency was forced upon us, now we willingly and eagerly accept the Western exploitative system, becoming labourers bonded to the West in the global industrial society.

The British claimed sovereignty over India by the simple fact of forced occupation. With much difficulty, British physical domination was removed 50 years ago, but the West has now moved in through economic windows.

Today the World Bank/IMF claim sovereignty over India by the fact that they give us loans. The mere demand for the implementation of SAPs is a demand to surrender sovereignty. Our economic policies have to be approved by them before members of Parliament can even debate them — not that they would attempt to deviate from the Western line.

Our import and export policies are determined by WTO rules which cannot be ignored without retaliation by the West. The purpose of all Western policies is to make us more dependent on the West, on its technology, its products and even its culture. Such expropriation of a country’s sovereignty should be considered as an act of war.

No one will deny that the British exploited the people and resources of India. The British said, as they themselves admitted, that their bleeding of India was done “judiciously”.

The British colonial occupation and the present economic occupation by the West are identical except that the latter has been given a veneer of legality. Now India is being bled openly but juridically. Take Enron as an example.

The basic problem has arisen due to the fact that the British left their cultural contamination behind. We were brainwashed to think that we were “backward” and “uncivilised” and that we needed to “modernise” and make and use lots of things in order to become “civilised”.

To do this we needed to trade with the West, to export our raw materials to them and to import their finished products as well as open up our country to MNCs to manufacture them. Still culturally enslaved, we accepted the bait.

Letting in imports led to an outflow of foreign exchange which naturally caused balance of payments problems. The World Bank and the IMF gladly offered to help, but with conditions — or conditionalities in their jargon — attached.

The government had to, among other things, further liberalise imports, the very thing that caused the problem in the first place. It had to devalue our currency, when all this could accomplish was to earn less for exports and pay more for imports, thus making the balance of trade worse.

The import of items which we were already making in India was meant to provide competition and a higher quality of products, but it has resulted in the closure of many local industries and an increase in unemployment. In addition, the government had to remove subsidies for local industries thus making their situation more precarious.

MNCs were to be encouraged to invest in industrial and infrastructural projects here by being given lots of favours, neglecting the elementary fact that at some stage they would export their capital and profits, almost surely taking away more foreign exchange than they brought in.

This had been happening for years with Hindustan Lever Limited, Colgate and many others. Now Enron is set to produce a world record.

In addition, the government had to reduce social welfare expenditure, allow industry to pay lower wages to and freely sack workers, all leading to greater poverty, hunger, malnutrition and illness.

The West gives market rights priority over human rights, leading to further obviously maligning situations.

Liberalisation of trade encourages the imports of anything from crop seeds to Enrons, even though they are harmful to the people at large, serving only to benefit the West, its MNCs and a few of their stooges here. In no way can the West claim that this helps India “develop”. — TWNF

(The writer is a commentator and author of “Inhuman Rights”.)

Call me Panditji

by V. N. Kakar

TO strengthen their hold on India, the British took a fundamental decision during World War II. That was to combatise all those working as clerks in various branches of the Army. And so, barring a few exceptions, they all became NCOs (non-commissioned officers) and VCOs (Viceroy’s commissioned officers). In the second category fell those who had seen long years of what is called distinguished service. They were given the venerable ranks of Jamadar Sahib, Subedar Sahib and Subedar Major Sahib.

Conversion of hard-boiled civilians into down-to-earth combatants is no joke. Numerous problems arose. Where to train them? This was taken care of by the realisation that whatever be their Army rank, babus would continue to do what babus had been doing all along. And that was pushing files in and out of trays. They had to handle no guns.

The second problem was in relation to belts and headgear. Belts were provided by the Army HQ. These came in three standard sizes — small, medium and large. It turned out that some of the babus who had become VCOs had waists too large even for the largest size in belts. For them, a new size, extra large, was improvised quickly and manufactured wholesale.

The question of headgear was somewhat ticklish. While Sikhs in all branches were as a rule allowed to wear turbans, others had to don their unit’s cap. Not all the others were prepared for this. To them, turban was a symbol of “izat”. They had worn it for generations and did not seem prepared to give it up for the lowly cap. The British government, wiser by the experience of 1857, surrendered on this. Those who were absolutely devoted to the turban were allowed to go on wearing it. Others, not that bound, were given the cap.

The VCOs had to receive salute from their juniors and to give it to their seniors. That was part of the Army discipline. There was a prescribed form of salute. It had to be given and taken in a smart, tiptop fashion. For this, the right arm, along with the right hand, had to rise triangularly and the left arm had to hold the standard Army baton under its pit. All VCOs had to carry that baton with them.

We had in our unit a Subedar Major, Pandit Kanshi Ram. He had opted for the turban and had to be given the extra large belt. All through his life he had greeted people with folded hands. The Army pattern of salute was beyond him. Raising the right arm up in a triangular fashion and simultaneously expecting the left one to keep in holding the baton was too much for him.

To make matters worse, there were occasions when Subedar Major Pandit Kanshi Ram’s pants rolled down. This was because the function of keeping the extra large belt tight on them, which had to be performed jointly by both hands, could not be performed properly since both were otherwise occupied. Disaster occurred one day. While smartly receiving a smart salute from a junior VCO, Pandit Kanshi Ram’s baton fell down, the turban narrowly escaped following suit and the extra large belt lost its grip on his pants.

“To hell with all this,” said Panditji to all his subordinates, “for God’s sake don’t impose this salute-valute ritual on me. Call me Panditji, as you were calling before. And greet me with folded hands, as you were greeting me in the past. I will continue doing the same.”

75 YEARS AGO
More about the blind boy

IN my appeal for funds for Bodh Raj, a poor blind student of the Dyal Singh College, I forget to mention in detail the various items for which funds will be needed.

Needless for me to mention that a much greater amount of exertion has to be made by a blind boy to keep pace with the boys, gifted with sight; and the ensuing vacation will be a session of very hard work for my ward, since he will have to write to dictation all the books prescribed by the University of the Punjab for the Intermediate Examination, according to the Braille system of transcription.

A number of boys will work with him as a labour of love, and help him in the completion of as much of writing work as possible, to enable him to follow class lessons in winter.

The paper on which the writing for the blind is done is thick paper, which sells at the rate of Rs 3 per quire; and at right estimation, about a ream of paper will be needed for this purpose for the present costing Rs 60.

This sum added to the cost of books in ordinary type will make a good sum. The boy is very sensitive, and when in his calm moments he sits down to think where all these funds will come from, I have to infuse into him a good deal of my spirit, in order to cheer him up.

Through the courtesy of the hostel students, he is having his meals also as a free boarder, but he insists that he would not continue to be an unnecessary burden on his friends as soon as relief comes.

G.L. BHAGAT

Patents will lead to economic apartheid

By Devinder Sharma

AFTER neem, turmeric and tamarind, it is now the turn of basmati rice. And at this pace, India is sure to march into the 21st century with little control over its own bio-resources, indigenous medicines and traditional foods.

It certainly is a classic case of an economic hijack. With the entire food supply system patented by a few multinational companies, India’s food security will depend upon the profits that these companies can garner. Since India offers a unique diversity and richness in food products, there is virtually a worldwide scramble to patent every thing and anything that is part of the Indian food chain. From microbes to animals, from chutneys to parboiled rice, and from idlis to vegetable pulao, food pirates are scouting for anything that is worth intellectual property protection. So much so that a drug multinational has drawn a patent on the commonly used Oral Rehydration Therapy by health workers.

After the much publicised patenting of basmati rice, comes the shocking news of an American company obtaining a process patent on peperine, a by-product of black pepper, a major forex spinner. The US-based Sabinsca Corporation has served a legal notice on a Kerala firm claiming that it has a 1996 patent for a formula using peperine. While the patent over peperine has shaken the Spice Board, George Williamson Ltd., of England has filed for a patent on the entire manufacturing process of tea, from the plucking of leaves to its final packaging in chests, prompting the Tea Board to launch an offensive to counter the monopoly control over a process that has been in vogue throughout the country. Multinational Nestle already has a European patent on vegetable pulao and parboiled rice. Innumerable applications are pending before the Indian Patents Office to grant exclusive marketing rights for patented products that range from chutneys, jam spreads, ice-cream contents, to ‘nutritional meals’.

With 64 patents drawn on various insecticidal and medicinal properties of neem, 34 patents on tamarind, 11 on turmeric and at least 28 soil micro-organisms already under monopolistic control of a handful of private companies, MNCs intellectual property agenda is no longer hidden. Thanks to the prevailing ignorance and the growing patent illiteracy that many of these patents are actually being drawn with prior informed consent of the Indian Patent Office. Even otherwise, that such a patent is pending is invariably known much before it is taken. Take, for instance, the basmati patent. The American company, Rice Tec Inc., had filed for the patent in July 1994. Three years later, through the Rice World journal of May 1997, it had announced its intention to license the patented basmati variety. And yet, the government awoke four months after the patent had actually been granted in September 1997!

Irrespective of what Rice Tec claims, the basmati patent is a clear violation of the patent laws. A careful perusal of the approved patent brings out the mischievous intentions. Although a technical committee appointed by the government is examining the patent claims and is expected to file a point-by-point rejoinder with the objective to revoke the controversial patent, the fact remains that Rice Tec is keen to monopolise international trade in basmati. The US Patent Office, which in any case has lost its credibility in face of world wide opposition to indiscriminate patents approved every year, surprisingly did not consider Rice Tec’s claims an infringement of its own tough geographical indicator laws.

To say that the ‘novel’ basmati variety developed by Rice Tec can be grown in America and therefore justifies a patent is like saying that scotch whisky can be made in India and so needs an approval. The British will never allow India to produce scotch whisky as it is a clear cut violation of geographical indicators. Similarly, India should never lose a similar advantage over basmati. Didn’t the French protest and stop the production of champagne in India?

Moreover, Rice Tec has also applied for a plant breeder’s protection under the Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) for another basmati variety. Taking advantage of the dual IPR system prevalent in the United States, Rice Tec had sought protection for its variety Basmati-867, obviously not so commercially attractive as its other three ‘novel’ strains are. More importantly, the ‘novel’ strains that Rice Tec claims to have developed are derived from Pakistani parent lines. These basmati lines were supplied to Rice Tec by the US Department of Agriculture, which has made these collections free of cost over the past few years. And it is primarily to ensure that the country of origin (in this case, Pakistan) does not get any share of the commercial profits accruing from the patented strain that the US has refused to ratify the Convention of Biological Diversity. This international treaty, to which the USA is the only country refusing to accede, considers biological resources to be a ‘sovereign property’ of the countries to which it belongs.

Fighting every illogical patent in the US Courts is easier said than done. Following the success in getting the turmeric patent struck down, the CSIR and ICAR are now contemplating to take the basmati issue to American courts. In preparation, a select committee has already put together more than 1500 pages in defence, countering each and every argument with scientific facts. And still, it is not sure whether India will be able to get the basmati patent revoked.

Basmati is certainly not the end of the fight over patents. In fact, in many ways, it is merely the beginning. The world has come a long way since the CBD was signed in 1992. And as Dr Ismail Serageldin, chairman of the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), said recently: “The world is fast heading towards a paradigm where food supply, all patented, will be concentrated in the hands of a few multinational companies.”

Khalsa tercentenary to be grand event

By Kulbir Singh Sidhu

THE Punjab Government has decided to celebrate the 300th birth anniversary of the Khalsa on a grand scale. Efforts and planning for the event are under way at the highest level. Eminent persons from all walks of life and from all parts of the world are expected to reach Anandpur Sahib on Baisakhi day next year. About 50 lakh are expected. Traditionally Hola Mohalla is celebrated at Anandpur Sahib in the last week of February or the first week of March. This time, the mela falls in the first week of March. So from the first week of March to April 15 programmes linked to the anniversary would be in abundance.

Guru Gobind Singh left Anandpur Sahib and travelled to Damdama Sahib, 640-km away to fight injustice. The purpose of all the battles fought from Anandpur Sahib to Muktsar was not a desire for worldly kingdoms or grandeur; nor was it possession of land or riches: it was a revolt against the feudal oppression then prevalent. The Guru sacrificed his entire family for the cause. Two of his sons, Sahib Ajit Singh (17) and Sahib Jujhar Singh (15) embraced their martyrdom in the battlefield at Chamkaur Sahib.

Very few know that when the battle of Chamkaur Sahib was fought by the Guru along with just about 40 Sikhs against the mighty Mughal force, the Guru’s 38th birthday was just 15 days ahead. The Guru’s brave sons and soldiers gave their best birthday gift to the Guru by sacrificing their lives, true to his commandment: “Sawa lakh se ek laraoon”. The Guru’s younger sons, Sahib Zorawar Singh (8) and Sahib Fateh Singh (7) showed exemplary fortitude and were bricked alive at Sirhind.

The path from Anandpur Sahib to Damdama Sahib, christened “Guru Gobind Singh Marg, has about 90 gurdwaras on the road. This 640-km road along with historic towns and gurdwaras are an inalienable part of Anandpur Sahib. This path also goes to Talwandi Sabo up to Nanded Sahib. Traversing the difficult terrain, the Guru reminded Emperor Aurangzeb of the reign of terror and oppression unleashed by him. Thus he penned ‘Zafarnama’ to the emperor and reminded him how far he had drifted from his religion.

Kiratpur Sahib alone has 21 gurdwaras. Kiratpur Sahib has been given the status of ‘Har ki Pauri’ (Hardwar) because of Gurdwara Patalpuri Sahib. Kiratpur Sahib is also blessed, being the birthplace of Guru Har Rai, the seventh Guru, and Guru Harkishan, the eighth Guru. It is also blessed by being the resting place of Baba Gurdita and Peer Budhan Shah. There is a gurdwara commemorating the meeting of Guru Nanak Dev and Peer Budhan Shah. The respect of Peer Budhan Shah has a long tradition right from the time of Guru Nanak Dev and is still prevalent as a popular lore reflecting respect for other religions.

To the north-east of Anandpur Sahib is Naina Devi temple, a place of pilgrimage. Every year, a Sawanashtami mela is held here in July-August. There are also four other fairs which culminate at Anandpur Sahib. Across the Bhakra Dam there is Baba Balak Nath temple.

The Punjab Government has decided to enhance the beauty of Anandpur Sahib, the city of bliss, by erecting Nishan-e-Khalsa, a heritage museum and a spiritual centre. The surrounding areas of Anandpur Sahib are also to be through all-round development schemes, so that the arrival of lakhs of devotees and pilgrims to Anandpur Sahib could be facilitated by building bridges and erecting overbridges at railway crossings.

The 11-km stretch from Kiratpur to Anandpur Sahib is being widened to 100 ft and is to be decorated with electric lights and fancy shrubs and flowering trees. Besides, a modern bus stand, a railway station and parking lots are also being built. The SGPC is constructing Yatri Niwas, and langars for pilgrims. Likewise, the state government is constructing a kisan bhavan and a three-star hotel with the help of the ITDC.

At Agampur village, the mahal of the 10th Guru, an ITI and polytechnic is under construction. There is also a proposal to establish a medical university at Anandpur Sahib. The plan to extend the Delhi-Sirhind electric railway line to Ropar, Anandpur Sahib and Una is under way.

It is said that Guru Gobind Singh once remarked that Anandpur Sahib would hum with activity again. Thus whosoever will witness next year’s Baisakhi at Anandpur Sahib would be blessed. Doubly blessed would be the people who are conscious of the happenings. The Gurbani says the “the devotee has to serve” hence tourists and pilgrims must be provided all facilities.

It is hoped the Central and state governments as well the Himachal government put in the maximum efforts to provide facilities to pilgrims.