by T.V.R. Shenoy

Media fails to pick up Sushma’s gauntlet
‘POWER without responsibility’ — we have become used to that phrase. It was hurled most recently at the CPM while describing its decision to stay away from the United Front Government. But who coined the expression?

Sharif cracks down on coalition partner
From Yousaf Rafiq in Islamabad
SOME 800 people have been murdered in Karachi so far this year, but just one of these murders has prompted the Pakistani Government to tackle the country’s most prominent Islamic political party.

by Harihar Swarup

Most experienced pilot of IAF
THE family of the new chief of the Indian Air Force, Air Marshal A.Y. Tipnis, represents the three wings of India’s armed forces. His elder brother joined the Navy, the second one the Army and he, the youngest, preferred the Air Force.

75 Years Ago

Calcutta Post Office outrage
THE Sankaritola outrage committed two days ago in broad daylight in the centre of the town and in a government office created consternation among the Indian residents of Calcutta.

by T.V.R. Shenoy
Media fails to pick up Sushma’s gauntlet

‘POWER without responsibility’ — we have become used to that phrase. It was hurled most recently at the CPM while describing its decision to stay away from the United Front Government. But who coined the expression?

It originated, believe it or not, in a violent political dispute concerning India. In 1930, Stanley Baldwin, leader of the Conservatives, agreed to reform in India. He was bitterly opposed by the reactionary press lords. Matters came to a head in the Westminster byelection, where they campaigned against the Tory candidate saying a vote for Duff Cooper is ‘a vote for Gandhi !’

Baldwin lost his temper at a public meeting. He accused the proprietors of aiming at “power without responsibility — the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages”. Almost seven decades later, some politicians are thinking of using those words again and their target too is a motivated section of the media.

Two weeks ago, Ambika Soni, the Congress spokeswoman, demanded a probe into the links between Delhi Chief Minister Sushma Swaraj and the notorious Romesh Sharma. Having sowed the seeds, she prudently withdrew from the scene knowing that anti-BJP mediamen would act on the hint. Since then, some papers have been gleefully publishing every rubbishly allegation that some crank airs.

Let me sum up the main charges against Sushma Swaraj. It is alleged that she requested Romesh Sharma to put up dummy candidates in the coming Assembly elections to divert Congress votes. It is alleged, secondly, that she arranged for the transfer of an income tax officer who was investigating Sharma. Finally, it is whispered that Sushma Swaraj’s husband is Romesh Sharma’s lawyer.

The Chief Minister of Delhi has contradicted these charges. Not content with mere denials, she has taken the war into the enemy camp, requesting Delhi’s most widely-read English newspaper to investigate each claim. If, however, the paper doesn’t want to do so, she has asked the press to nominate a panel of any five editors to take up the task.

Quite predictably, neither gauntlet has been picked up by the media. Equally predictably, neither offer was given the same publicity as the original charges. Even a half-hearted attempt at unearthing the facts would have exposed the flimsiness of the accusations.

Take the idiocy about Sharma putting up dummy candidates. Does anyone believe that he knows anything about electoral politics? Romesh Sharma himself polled a grand total of 200 votes when he stood from Phulpur, near Allahabad, in 1996. How much could he do in a city the size of Delhi?

How about the allegation that Sushma Swaraj interfered in the work of the Income Tax authorities? Well, first of all every journalist should know that no Chief Minister has anything to do with a department which comes under the Union Finance Ministry. Secondly, this happens to be a Central Government that is markedly hostile to the forces represented by Romesh Sharma.

The Delhi police acts under the direct supervision of the Union Home Ministry (not the Chief Minister of Delhi). And it is an undeniable fact that Romesh Sharma was beyond the reach of the law from 1980 down to 1998, a period dominated by Congress or Congress-backed ministries. By no coincidence whatsoever, his downfall came with the arrival of the Vajpayee Ministry.

In 1997, just before her wedding, a crank turned up claiming Priyanka Gandhi was married to him. Amazingly, he even found a Judge willing to take him seriously enough to schedule a hearing. This was criticised by the media who said, quite justly, that the case should have been laughed out of court as soon as it was made.

The shoe is on the other foot today. We have charges just as silly as those levelled by Goud against Priyanka Gandhi. But some editors put them on the front page instead of consigning them to the waste-paper basket!

Sharif cracks down on coalition partner
From Yousaf Rafiq in Islamabad

SOME 800 people have been murdered in Karachi so far this year, but just one of these murders has prompted the Pakistani Government to tackle the country’s most prominent Islamic political party.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is blaming the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) for the assassination of Hakim Said, a philanthropist and former Governor of Sind province.

The government has decided to contact Britain to request the extradition of the MQM’s self-exiled leader, Altaf Hussain, on the grounds that he has been using British soil to damage Pakistan’s security. It is expected that the Sharif administration will present tape-recorded confessions of the accused in Said’s murder and documentary evidence that the MQM has stolen defence secrets to support its extradition demand.

The irony is that the Sharif Government has cooperated with the MQM since coming to power in February, 1997. The MQM is the strongest political force in urban Sind. Despite countless allegations of terrorism, favouritism, insurgency and treason levelled against its leadership over the years, the MQM enjoys a huge vote bank and mass popularity, forcing every new government to attempt a political understanding with the party.

The MQM got a lot out of the deal with the ruling party. Its workers were given financial compensation, MQM party-men facing terrorist cases were released, and administrative reshuffles were made according to the MQM’s desire. Members within the ruling Pakistan Muslim League have been advising the Prime Minister to disassociate from the MQM and launch an operation against the party to stifle its alleged terrorist activities. Sharif drew criticism for protecting the Sind coalition and his hand-picked Chief Minister at the cost of a chance at peace in the crime-ridden city of Karachi.

Sharif waited for 18 months, giving the MQM plenty of time to help restore peace to Karachi. He even announced a 24-billion rupee Karachi development package last month to deal with the Karachi situation, but nothing worked.

In the days after Said’s murder in late October, Sharif ordered the MQM to hand over the persons involved within two to three days, saying: “The country can no longer afford to allow people like Hakim Said to be killed by criminals.”

A day later, the MQM broke its alliance with the government, and leader Altaf Hussain said from London that all party workers should go into hiding.

Sharif then declared an open war on the MQM, dubbing the members terrorists and criminals. He imposed Governor’s rule in Sind, Pakistan’s biggest province, and suspended the provincial assembly for 90 days, cutting off the administrative support that the MQM was getting from within the government. He gave the Governor — a retired army General — the power to deal with terrorists with an iron hand.

The Federal Interior Minister, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has approved a list of 8,000 persons to be arrested during the crackdown, all but 200 of them MQM workers.

As many as 10 MQM legislators, including two Senators, three members of the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, and five members of the provincial assembly are on parole.

The government replaced 34 station house officers and 14 deputy superintendents of police in Karachi. Most of the newly-inducted station house officers participated in an operation against MQM in 1995-96.

“A crucial phase has started and we have determined a direction to save the city from total disaster,” a police official remarked on the eve of the proclamation of Governor’s rule. As many as 100 MQM activists were arrested during night-long raids.

The opposition parties have disapproved of the decision to impose Governor’s rule and suspend the provincial assembly, saying it will hurt Pakistan’s already fragile democracy. Former Law Minister Syed Iftikhar Gillani said the dictatorial step taken by the government would have dangerous ramifications. “It is regrettable if an elected assembly is suspended merely on the failure of the ruling party.”

For its part, the MQM says Said’s murder was a conspiracy to start an operation against it.

No matter who’s to blame for Karachi’s crime wave, the 12 million people in this bustling business-dominated port city live in perpetual insecurity, and in conditions overwhelmed by uncertainty.

According to one Karachi dweller, just getting home from certain parts of the city at the end of the day is a major achievement these days, when a stray bullet can end one’s life as easily as a car accident or a targeted killing.

“The people of Pakistan want answers, not solemn looking faces announcing for the 800th time this year the government’s resolve to restore law and order with an iron hand,” declared the English daily The News. “For once actions should speak louder than words.”

The city has long waited for able representatives with the understanding and the commitment to seek urgent remedies. The rise of the MQM in the mid-1980s offered a promise that still remains unfulfilled, as the party found itself playing a junior partner in one coalition after another.

Increasing ethnic and sectarian violence in Karachi compelled many settlers to flee back to their homes where they would face hunger and poverty, but would at least have some security of life and limb.

The biggest exodus took place from the late 80s to early 90s. Most of those who left belonged to the moneyed class who could afford to leave and resettle. As soon as things start settling down again, entrepreneurs and labourers once again begin trickling back into the city in search of better opportunities.

This latest “clean up” marks the third operation against crime in Sind in the past seven years. The army conducted one in 1992. In 1995, the Pakistan People’s Party Government of Benazir Bhutto pulled out the army, leaving a former Interior Minister, the civil administration and rangers to spearhead the second operation against the MQM in Karachi.

That operation proved a failure. The authorities were slack in nabbing the most wanted criminals. The majority either remained successful in continuing their activity or were able to leave the country.

Will things be different this time? Former chief of the Army Staff General Mirza Aslam Beg (retd) said Governor’s rule will bring short-term quiet to Karachi but he fears a strong resistance by the MQM afterwards. “It’s going to be a temporary peace and things will get settled for the next few days but later political necessities and expediencies will come in the way to further complicate the situation,” Beg maintained.

Political analysts say the biggest task now facing the Sharif administration is tackling the propaganda of the MQM. The party is well known for exploiting situations that go against them. Past experiences have shown that the MQM takes its grievances to international forums and is good at presenting itself as innocents being targeted.

— GEMINI NEWS

Most experienced pilot of IAF
Harihar Swarup

THE family of the new chief of the Indian Air Force, Air Marshal A.Y. Tipnis, represents the three wings of India’s armed forces. His elder brother joined the Navy, the second one the Army and he, the youngest, preferred the Air Force. The Air Marshal’s father was a high ranking officer of the Indian Army. As a child Tipnis was fascinated by the sky and aircraft, as if, he was born to be a flier. He would watch intently whenever an aircraft flew overhead or a bird fluttered its wings and soared higher and higher in the vast blue. One of his childhood fantasy was to fly like a bird. Whenever he got a chance to visit an airport, he would stand near the fence and watch an aircraft landing or taking off.

He was indeed born to fly and the Air Force beckoned him. His dream came true at the young age of 16 as he had stepped out of high school, having completed his Senior Cambridge. The National Defence Academy (NDA) almost instantaneously spotted the talent in the adolescent. Little did the members of the selection board know that they were selecting the future Air Chief Marshal.

Four years of gruelling training and a first rate fighter pilot was produced; indigenously educated and trained, Tipnis was a youth of 20 when he was commissioned in the Indian Air Force and since then there has been no looking back for him. Very few pilots might have flown so many types of aircraft as Air Marshal Tipnis. Apart from Hunters and Canberras, he has commanded an MiG-21 squadron and also headed the Mirage-2000 air base. He then switched on to more sophisticated machines — MiG-29, Jaguars and the latest SU-30s. He has also flown giant transport planes of the Air Force.

Having logged 4,000 hours of flying to his credit, Air Marshal Tipnis is, perhaps, the most experienced pilot of the Air Force. During the 1965 war with Pakistan he flew many combat missions, leading the first MiG-21 squadron. His role was to provide air defence and engage the intruding bombers. There were often deception as Canberras (then possessed by the Indian Air Force) came zooming from across the borders and could be only identified when they descended too low. While Indian Canberras were produced in the UK, the Pakistanis had a few Canberras made in the USA.

Air Defence was a tough job then and the only safeguard against an intruding aircraft was anti-aircraft guns. Air interception radar was introduced in the Indian Air Force after 1965, says Air Marshal Tipnis.

Few know that Tipnis had trained Iraqi pilots. At the time of the Bangladesh war in 1971 he was in Iraq streamlining the Iraqi Air Force. He still regrets having missed the opportunity to actively participate in the war. He and other officers of the Indian Air Force, who were at that time in Iraq, wanted to desperately return but were asked to stay back.

Air Marshal Tipnis, who succeeds Air Chief Marshal S.K. Sareen on January 1, 1999, is known to be most popular officer of the Air Force and commands allround respect. Airmen — Flying Officers, Squadron Leaders, Wing Commanders and other ranks — who have worked under his command say the “entire Indian Air Force agrees on one point that Air Marshal Tipnis is professionally most sound, perhaps, second only to Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal. He is the undisputed leader”. There is visible jubilation in the force at his elevation to the top post.

Air Marshal Tipnis was reticent to talk about the Air Force when I met him till he occupies the seat of pilot number one of the Air Force on the NewYear’s day. He, however, does not think that the role of the Air Force will be minimised with the development of various range of missiles.

Asked if the fighter aircraft would become redundant with the advent of missile systems, he said: “I do not think so. The relevance of fighter aircraft will remain important in modern warfare too. In fact, its role will become more predominant despite development of missile systems. Missiles will enhance the importance of the Air Force”.

The Air Chief Marshal-designate explained that while a missile is a one-time affair and can miss its target with the slightest miscalculation, an aircraft can be used repeatedly and rarely misses the target.

Air Marshal Tipnis and his graceful wife, Molina, are known for their humility and hospitality and love for roses. The Tipnis family like three wings of the armed forces have three daughters. They are married and settled.

75 YEARS AGO
Calcutta Post Office outrage

THE Sankaritola outrage committed two days ago in broad daylight in the centre of the town and in a government office created consternation among the Indian residents of Calcutta.

Peremptory steps have been taken by well-to-do Indians for the protection of life and property, supplementing those of the police. Special sentries and durwans have been appointed by rich Marwaris and Bengalees and their business places and residential quarters are being guarded by up country durwans and discharged military men.

A compounder arrested
The name of the man arrested yesterday in connection with the Post Office outrage, who was said to have fired a fatal shot, is Birendra Kumar Ghose, son of the late Preonath Ghose of Keshabpur village in Tarakeswar police station, Serampore Sub-division, Hooghly district.

He is at present employed as a Compounder in the United Medical Stores, a private dispensary in 181, Harrison Road, Calcutta. He lives with his brother, Mr Siddheswar Ghosh, Superintendent, Accountant-General’s office.