P A G E
Saturday, October 17, 1998
today's calendar
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E D I T O R I A L P A G E |
Saturday, October 17, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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VIP
versus general security Pep
talk on economy Children
and civil society
SIGNIFICANCE
OF Protecting
the corrupt |
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Why
we still have a
Fixing
the audience for
“A
good friend”
Increase
in rates of electricity |
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VIP versus general security As the capital of India, Delhi should show to the rest of the country what a modern and model city should be. As the seat of two governments it should not complain of lack of resources for meeting the basic civic needs of the people. Yet by no stretch of the imagination can Delhi be called a modern or a model metropolis. Just about everything that can go wrong has gone wrong to make it one of the most insecure cities in the country. It has earned the epithet of the crime capital of India not because it lacks the resources for re-establishing the rule of law. The lack of political will is at the root of the problem of lawlessness in Delhi. In the past fortnight reported cases of burglaries alone have registered a 100 per cent increase — 201 against 93 in the preceding fortnight. Oscar Wilde’s famous observation that anyone who disappears is invariably last seen in Los Angeles can now be applied to Delhi. A major reason for the absence of law and order on the streets of the metropolis has now been identified by the Delhi High Court which observed that the number of police personnel deployed for the purpose of prevention of crime in the Capital was not sufficient and directed the Union Government to consider the question of pruning VIP security. The data provided to the court showed that out of a total of 56,000 police personnel only half the number was available at any given time for maintaining law and order, the prevention of crime and investigation of cases. The “other half” of the already inadequate number of police personnel for a city the size of Delhi was tied up with VIP security and other allied duties. Of course, the Director of the Ministry of Home Affairs informed the court that an exercise to scale down the level of VIP security was already on. However, without the necessary political nod for freeing those on VIP duty for general policing it may end up as an exercise in futility. The political leadership
is invariably responsible for the problems for which
policemen are rapped on the knuckles. Delhi Chief
Minister Sushma Swaraj’s midnight visit to a police
station, which resulted in the suspension of the SHO, is
being seen as a political gimmick not by her rivals but
the residents of the area where the police station is
located. The much publicised sweeping of the streets of
Delhi by former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral has not
made the city any cleaner. Similarly, Mrs Sushma
Swaraj’s midnight raids on police stations is not
the best way to make the police wake up to its
responsibility of providing adequate level of safety and
security to the people. The answer lies in heeding to the
direction of the Delhi High Court for drastically pruning
the number of police personnel currently detailed for VIP
security and allied duties. At least the political VIPs
should understand the simple fact that they are where
they are because of the faith the people have reposed in
them for protecting their (people’s) interests and
promoting their (people’s) welfare. Taking note of
the sharp increase in cases of heinous crimes, the court
rightly observed that “this alarming situation calls
for drastic action so that the common man feels safe
while discharging his normal activities in the city”
and suggested that “VIP security can be looked after
by a separate force, or the police strength should be
increased appropriately. A study shows that the number of
police personnel per one lakh population is among the
lowest in Delhi. This inadequate number of police
personnel is expected to perform the twin miracle of
providing security to the ever-increasing tribe of VIPs
and safety to the common citizens! One can only hope that
the Delhi High Court’s intervention would help
improve the level of general policing in the National
Capital. |
Pep talk on economy Economics is not the strong suit of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee nor of the BJP top brass. That explains his welcome decision to set up a committee of outside experts to advise him. But the proceedings of his first meeting with the specialists, as reported in newspapers, show that it has been more of a monologue, with the Prime Minister laying out the road map of growth and reforms. It seems he wants the participants to mull over the tasks, discuss among themselves and come up with workable plans. There is nothing startlingly new about the areas of immediate attention that the Prime Minister has set out. There is need to cut down fiscal deficit, he says, not only because a sharp increase in money supply heightens the chance of double-digit inflation but also because it dries out funds available for investment and also keeps the interest rates high. (It is a different matter that leading business houses want to plough their sizeable surplus back into their own shares — the demand for a buy back provision — or park it in UTI instruments like US 64.) It is in this context that he also talked of reviving the sense of confidence in all players like investors, industrialists and consumers so as to restore a mutually beneficial balance. The other points too have been made often enough in the past, and have defied a solution. For one thing, infrastructure calls for huge outlays which the country cannot generate in the foreseeable future and foreign investment is proving to be shy for obvious reasons — the gestation period is long and the returns are not commensurate. There is one point on
which the Prime Minister has not been fully briefed. It
is about the growth rate for the year. He hopes for a
healthy rate of 6.3 per cent as against last year’s
5.1 per cent. The ever optimistic RBI has stopped at 6
per cent and even that with a meaningful if. Other
institutions have been more pessimistic. A CII survey of
over 520 industrialists brings out spreading gloom, with
a good majority of them seeing no “feel good
factor”, a favourite expression of the Union Finance
Minister. Yet another study predicts a lower growth rate
as does the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy which
places the figure at 4.5 per cent. The base of the Indian
economy is still narrow, as is reflected in the low per
capita income, and growth is uneven in various sectors.
What is surprising is the momentum built into the economy
during three years until 1995-96 has fizzled out, proving
that deregulation and lower tariff can offer only
temporary benefit and not long-term boon. It appears that
the committee of economic heavyweights can profitably
investigate the possibility of effecting radical reforms,
not the way the terms is commonly understood but in a
limited way to suit Indian conditions. |
Children and civil society A number of developmental and behavioural organisations have brought up in Delhi and Madras the question of the nature of civil society. Emphasis has been rightly laid on civility and childhood. It is necessary to clarify the meaning of civil society. Most of the prevailing concepts do not include the notion that civil society is not the same thing as liberalism or democracy. But it is, indeed, what makes liberalism and democracy truly desirable. The idea of such an organism existed all over the world. But it grew systematically in Europe. The European view has prevailed largely. Many scholars, including John A.Hawl, have come to the conclusion that civil society is an essential element of national life. But its concepts move extremely slowly. Families, congregations and civic associations are our most important schools of liberty. Citizens can acquire the moral self-mastery required for self-government and learn how they can cultivate self-discipline. This thought is related to the legacy of progressivism. No one wants to liberate "individuals from the family or the community. But social pathologies plague the nations and create images of bondage". Indian philosophy, according to Dr S. Radhakrishnan, broadly states that without the divinely inscribed self-evident truths in the human soul, there can be no sure foundation for human freedom and self-government. Children form the base of the developmental pyramid. In this respect we want to draw the attention of the organisations which are generating a nationwide debate on civil society, children's future and participatory rights of children articulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This convention represents an area which is surrounded both by ambivalence and lack of awareness. There is a general
misunderstanding of the scope and content of the
provisions of the convention. As Dr Savitri Goonesekere
has correctly stated, the ambivalent response is
motivated by the sense that the participatory rights
involve the recognition of the personal autonomy of
children. The protection of such interests of the child
as are adversarial and in conflict with adult or parental
family responsibility for child-care and nurturing has
not been made a major issue by governmental
organisations. The performance of the NGOs concerned is
also half-hearted. Those who do not appreciate the
importance of participatory rights in the convention's
framework tend to perceive children's rights essentially
in terms of the state's and society's commitments to
ensure child survival and development in the familiar
sense. Protection from exploitation is a major problem.
The Savitri doctrine should go a long way in explaining
the concept of the child's right to be treated as a
person or as an individual with a distinct identity. The
convention articulates not merely the rights of a young
child but also the privileges of adolescents and young
people. Herein lies the crux of a truly civil society. |
Tamil Nadu politics, with its Dravidian orientation in many shapes, continues to be different from that of the rest of the country. The last parliamentary elections pushed the much-maligned Ms Jayalalitha to the forefront of Indian politics. After her AIADMK was able to secure 18 seats and her allies 9 her block of 27 Lok Sabha seats constitutes the second largest group in the BJP coalition, the importance of which is hardly forgotten by Ms Jayalalitha. Her recent visit to Delhi and the media hype which marked her three-day halt highlight her role. However, Ms Jayalalitha had overplayed her hand during the past few weeks and her attitude towards dealings with the BJP leadership had been almost intimidatory. Her acid remarks on Home Minister L. K. Advani and indirect barbs against Prime Minister Vajpayee himself had not gone down well. Her extravagant demands during the recent Cabinet formation exercise resulted in scuttling the entire process as Mr Vajpayee did not want too many controversies on his hand. Political circles are thick with rumours that a quiet attempt is on to win over as many of her partymen and alliance partners as possible so as to eventually reduce her to a dispensable factor. Simultaneously, feelers have also been reportedly sent to DMK Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi about support to the BJP in the event of Ms Jayalalitha playing foul. These efforts have partly succeeded and Ms Jayalalitha’s poll allies, the MDMK led by Mr V. Gopalaswamy, the PMK and its President Dr Ramadas and the single-member TRC party of Mr V. Ramamurthy have all moved away since early September. They had declared that they would continue to support the BJP whatever the AIADMK stance might be. As for making inroads within the AIADMK itself, efforts are said to be continuing and in the event of Ms Jayalalitha withdrawing support from the BJP more than one-third of the AIADMK members of Parliament may break away and support the BJP. Meanwhile, Ms Jayalalitha is making the most of her alliance with the BJP government by getting unwanted officials transferred through the help of her ministers at the Centre, Mr Thambi Durai, holding the portfolio of Law and Surface Transport, and Mr Janardhanan, who is in charge of Department of Personnel and part of the Finance Ministry. Ms Jayalalitha’s principal demand is the dismissal of Mr Karunanidhi’s DMK ministry for alleged failure to maintain law and order and connivance with LTTE cadres and their alleged unchecked activities in Tamil Nadu. Her latest unsubstantiated charge is that Mr Karunanidhi has permitted the infiltration of ISI agents as well as Islamic militants guided by Osama bin Laden in Tamil Nadu. It is amazing that she should have made this charge when even the alleged infiltration of Laden’s militants into J and K itself is yet to be confirmed. However, all these wild allegations are of no avail since the question of dismissal of the DMK ministry in Tamil Nadu does not even remotely arise, particularly after the setback suffered by the BJP government in the Bihar case. Ms Jayalalitha is not the type to let things normalise in Tamil Nadu and make it easy for Mr Karunanidhi to run the administration. The recent eruption of caste riots in Ramanathapuram district, involving the backward but landholding and somewhat prosperous community of Thevars and the backward, poor and landless Dalit community of Pallars was the outcome of rivalry between the DMK and the AIADMK. It has been alleged by no less a person than Dr Krishnaswamy, the leader of Puthiya Tamilagam (a Dalit party), that the AIADMK had instigated the Thevars into starting the riots in Ramanathapuram. Dr Krishnaswamy has said that the Pallars are no longer willing to remain docile and suffer injustice in silence and they are now going to organise themselves more effectively and capture political power. The Dravidian politics has thereby taken a sharp turn in that it has moved from its original and traditional anti-Brahmin moorings to backward class vs forward class politics and now further to backward class vs the lowest rung of the ladder, namely the Dalits. This is bound to happen as education spreads and the Dalit empowerment takes shape slowly but surely. Last month Tamil Nadu witnessed three glitzy spectacles when the leaders of the DMK, the AIADMK and the MDMK organised separate functions marked by rallies and processions, each vying with one another to show off its strength. Mr V. Gopalaswamy of the MDMK got 4 MPs in the last poll for the first time and that too because of the alliance politics. He put up a big show in Chennai on September 15 and invited all the BJP alliance partners as well as the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. The processions and the public meeting went on and on and the turn of the Prime Minister to speak came after midnight. Mr V. Gopalaswamy, called Vaiko, is a known supporter of the LTTE and its demand for a separate Eelam. Even now he does not hide his pro-LTTE stance and he had asked his volunteers not to raise pro-LTTE slogans during the Prime Minister’s visit to save the latter from embarrassment. AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha had organised on the same day a procession and a public meeting at Tiruchy. Both the MDMK and the AIADMK were ostensibly honouring the ninetieth birth anniversary of C. N. Annaddurai, the founder of the DMK party and who formed the first Dravidian government in 1967, defeating the Congress and redoubtable Kamaraj. The Congress rule has not returned to Tamil Nadu all these 31 years and it has always been between the DMK and the AIADMK since then. The AIADMK itself was founded by the charismatic cine star M. G. Ramachandran in 1972 when he broke away from the main party of the DMK over his differences with Mr M. Karunanidhi. The MDMK came into being in 1993 when Vaiko was thrown out of the DMK by Mr Karunanidhi. At the Tiruchi public meeting Ms Jayalalitha lashed out against her erstwhile allies who had since deserted her and said that those who kicked the ladder after reaching the top would one day slip and get their legs broken. She also declared at the meeting that when her party returned to power in Tamil Nadu she would ensure that Mr Karunanidhi would be arrested and put in the same cell where she was incarcerated for a few days last year on charges of corruption. The third show was by the DMK and its supremo and Chief Minister Karunanidhi at Tirunelveli on September 17-19. Thousands of buses and trucks were pressed into service and people were brought from all over the state to attend the rally and the procession itself took about 10 hours to pass. The estimate of the amount of money spent in all the three rallies organised by the DMK, the AIADMK and the MDMK might reach anything between Rs 15-20 crore. Since the DMK is in power the partymen had reportedly imposed a levy on all shopkeepers, contractors and various other categories and collected vast sums of money. The colossal waste of it all, when one considers how all this money could have been constructively spent for building new schools and hospitals, makes one cynical of politics in India and Tamil Nadu in particular. The cinema glamour was behind all this politics particularly since both Mr Karunanidhi and Ms Jayalalitha were so closely associated with Tamil Nadu cinema earlier. This was further proved by the six-hour long gaudy show put up by Tamil Nadu cine producers, distributors and actors on September 27 to mark the 75th birth anniversary of Mr Karunanidhi. Endless eulogies were recited and at the end of it a 250 kg silver statue of Mr Karunanidhi was presented, along with a heavy gold chain with an equally heavy pendant. It was a pointless and socially outrageous exercise which should have been avoided by the Chief Minister himself. His political opponents promptly asked the very next day whether the Chief Minister had deposited all the presents in the state treasury as per the government rules. The latest development in Tamil Nadu politics is the positive response of Mrs Sonia Gandhi to the feelers sent repeatedly by Ms Jayalalitha. If the political scene undergoes a serious change consequent to the state assembly polls in November, the 40 Lok Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu will become a crucial factor. The writer is a former
Governor of West Bengal. |
Protecting the corrupt THE World Bank says that “tens of millions of people may face harder times”. Every Indian knows it. Everybody feels the smack of the rising prices and falling investments. Yet the people in power have no desire to cut spending here or abroad, to economise at a time when money is short. Foreign jaunts continue. Droves of officials accompany every VIP. The illness that requires American surgery could be treated in India in a better way. Poverty mainly among Dalits and Tribals is increasing. The damage caused by the floods has left millions destitutes, but little help has reached them. The word “economy” is never heard, and worse is the corruption that has seized those in power. That is the only trickle-down we see — the trickle-down of corruption that begins at the top and becomes a torrent for the citizen at lower levels. Ninety-three ministers in the UP Cabinet. This backward state is badly indebted and never economises. It spends Rs 22 lakh on tea for ministers in two months. Around 80 kg of cashewnut is consumed in one party of the Chief Minister. This is the “Andher Nagri” that we thought we had come out of it ages ago. Where does the Comptroller and Auditor-General live? Where are all the curbs which are supposed to be there to check senseless expenditure? Should he not tell us how he proposes to check reckless spending? Why are his reports kept secret? We want to follow the debt economy of the USA but fail to see how many countries have walked into a debt trap and have been shackled in it forever. Each time there is jubilation when we get a loan. Then money is squandered in political dreams or in surrendering to the entreaties of government servants for better wages. It gives us a feeling that we are rich and generous when all that we are doing is deluding the people and sabotaging the future. If a man lives on debt he is supposed to be a fool. If a nation does, it is called the Asian miracle. Stories of corruption come out of the most unexpected quarters. Each man adds his own bit to every story. Rumours of corruption are causing as much damage to the state as corruption. The stories of corruption of Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mr Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan threaten to bring down a democratically elected government. That would be a disaster for us too. In the last few months we have seen that democracy can produce a new type of injustice. Mr Clinton, Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mr Nawaz Sharif are all victims of political media hype which we accept because it targets big people, and it gives us some pleasure to see them squirm. This is a dreadful new form of the inquisition, a new (Kenneth) STAR CHAMBER that has diabolical punishments, or a return to the Roman era and the Androcles-thrown-to-the-lions type of trial. We have to fight any type of injustice, even that which leaves the powerful in tears. I wonder if it comes under human rights. It certainly can produce wrong consequences like the overthrow of a democratic government and punishment that is worse than torture to those who are totally innocent. We have created an impression in India that no action will be taken, or can be taken, against corrupt persons owing to judicial procedure and delays in the court. We need a man and an institution to show that the law can and will be used to deal promptly with those who have cheated the nation. Can he deal firmly with the problem before him? He will fail unless he is empowered to supervise all departments, remove those who are chronic defaulters by a new provision of the law, give authority back to the various departments and forces, and instead ask for accountability, and speed up trials. He has to send a message to the corrupt: “You are not a protected species.” They must feel endangered. If our democracy is unable to check corruption, there will be violence of a dangerous kind. I believe that the first step we should take is to implead anyone who delays sanction for prosecution in a case of corruption with the accused. He has obviously tried to shield the accused by delay. The CBI has not only a
good record but also developed systems which combine
investigative skills with legal and technical opinion at
every stage. Despite the fact that investigations are
done competently, delays in court decisions are serious. |
“DO you know why we still have a Kashmir problem? Because no sooner do things start returning to normal in the state than bureaucrats in Delhi begin treating it like other state.” The man who said this to me, in Delhi last week, was a senior member of the Kashmir Government and he had just spent a harrowing few days in the capital negotiating for funds and additional security forces with Central Government mandarins. At the end of the negotiations when things got bitter one of the country’s highest officials had the arrogance to say: “Well, if you can’t run Kashmir then we will do it for you.” After nearly 10 years of violence that was caused mainly by the incompetence of our politicians and bureaucrats we are beginning to see the first signs of normalcy in our most difficult state and Delhi has already started behaving badly again, Kashmir desperately needs funds to meet the needs of the vast network of security forces that the state is forced to support; it also needs to be able to deliver some development if a democratic government is to survive. The term which came to talk to the Central Government about these problems found that there was absolute cooperation and support from the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the Planning Commission. The problem came when the orders were passed on to the officials who were supposed to do the implementing. And, this is apparently always the problem. They do nothing and they could not care less either. To them the Kashmir problem is solved. It is an old problem with Delhi. Mrs Gandhi thought it was solved in 1984 and so had no qualms about toppling Farooq Abdullah’s legitimately elected government. That began the problem. Her son thought it was solved in 1986 and so forced Farooq into an alliance with the Congress that proved disastrous for everyone. Now, it’s the BJP Government’s turn. This week it will be talking to Pakistan about easing tensions in the region and at the heart of these tensions is Kashmir but what it seems unable to understand is that there is an equally important need to ease tensions domestically. There are several aspects to this. On the one hand there are the problems that our security forces are facing. When I interview Defence Minister George Fernandes in Delhi last week he confirmed that the sort of equipment our troops and paramilitaries need to fight the ‘proxy war’ in Kashmir has not been bought in the past 10 years. The result is that the terrorists are now using weapons and communications equipment that is superior to what our security forces have. In Doda last week when eight of our soldiers were killed it was mainly because their killers had this advantage. They managed to plan their ambush in such a way that they had planted their mines and got to a vantage position in time to suffer no losses themselves and take our soldiers by surprise. Superior equipment is not the only problem. There is also a problem of morale and homesickness. On my last visit to Kashmir I can remember talking to soldiers and paramilitary men who talked wistfully about how nice it would be to be home for Divali. When they heard that I had just come from Delhi they said, “The weather must be lovely there at this time, if only we could get away from this freezing place”. Kashmir government officials admit that some of the men get so demoralised that they end up with nervous breakdowns. If the security forces have their problems ordinary Kashmiris have no shortage of their own. They are nearly always caught between the bullets of both sides. Usually what happens when there is an incident is that the terrorists do what they have to and then disappeared. The security forces appear later, inevitably, and then start rounding up innocent civilians and beating them up in the hope of getting information about the terrorists. In most cases they do not have any information since, according to Kashmir Government estimates, more than 60 per cent of the terrorist groups now operating in the state are foreigners, mainly Pakistanis and Afghans. There are believed to be nearly 10,000 Kashmiri youths still in occupied Kashmir waiting to return after their training but they are apparently not being sent back because they are less trustworthy then the foreigners. Most ordinary Kashmiris have no sympathy at all with these foreign mercenaries but often find themselves forced to give shelter and support because of it being demanded at gunpoint. Since they have little sympathy with our own security forces either there is hostility on both sides which continues to come out in incidents of shocking brutality. In a recent one, apparently, a soldier tried to rape a 15-year-old girl in a Jammu village. She fainted and was rescued in the nick of time by another soldier who saw what was happening. Action should have been taken against the rapist but it was not because, technically, the girl had not been raped. This kind of incident does little to endear soldiers to the local population. Kashmir as a problem would probably have been solved in 1975 after Sheikh Abdullah made his peace with Indira Gandhi. If it is still a problem today, and a serious enough problem for the world to be giving us lectures, it is almost entirely due to Delhi’s complete incompetence and insensitivity in dealing with it. Mr Vajpayee needs to do what nearly every Prime Minister before him has been forced to do in the end which is to have a Kashmir cell that reports directly to him. This is the only way that he can monitor what is going on. After years of despair we
finally have a real chance to bring peace to Kashmir it
would be a terrible tragedy if we lost it simply because
of the arrogance and stupidity of a handful of people in
positions of power. The importance of solving our
domestic Kashmir problem cannot be emphasised enough. It
is absolutely the only way that we can stop Kashmir from
being discussed and debated internationally by busybodies
from the Western world. Please notice that they shut up
about Punjab as soon as we solved it domestically. |
I THINK all politicians enjoy their stardom while they are in office. Most favoured are Prime Ministers and Ministers of Information and Broadcasting as far as DD is concerned. Natural performers like Laloo Prasad Yadav are every channel’s performing favourite and just revel in their TV roles. If very few show up as normal human beings it is because they are so conscious of their public image that they do not realise that TV is an intimate medium which people watch in the privacy of their homes and shrill interruptory bhashans of the type indulged in by politicians like Mayawati and Sushma Swaraj defeat their own purpose.The worst thing about politicians is that they want to eat their cake and have it too. They want to win, no matter by what means. And the latest manifestation of this is audience-fixing. I have long suspected that it was going on in some programmes. Many programmes remain above this. I have never seen signs of it in Question Time India, where, presumably, the BBC keeps a watchful eye on standards of integrity. A Question of Answers chooses audiences interested in the topic of the week and, in any case, often has subjects beyond politics. Priya Tendulkar’s audiences are also handpicked, but not for political bias. And I have not seen any signs of audience-fixing in Janata ki Adalat in fact, I asked Rajat Sharma if politicians had ever tried to bring along sympathisers to tilt the balance of the audience, and Rajat said never had he been approached. I think that the questions which come from his audiences to politicians usually makes them squirm. Which is the whole point of such programmes. In fact, the only grievance I have against the programmes just named is that they never venture beyond Delhi, no matter what the subject and do not go beyond politicians based in Delhi and also repeat them ad nauseum. Sometimes the same politician appears in more than one programme on the same night, as happened with Sitaram Yechury last Tuesday. I think Question Time India, for instance, could well travel outside Delhi, as could a Question of Answers. And politicians themselves should apply a self-denying ordinance to themselves, if programmers are too lazy to look beyond their nose. And now, at last one has documentary evidence that politicians do bring along their sympathisers to pack the audience. In fact some politicians now openly ask if they can bring their own “admis” along for the audience. One is therefore thankful to Mr Shiv Kumar of Kalkaji who has written to a national daily to expose the dubious tactics employed in the programme Aap ki Adalat, Aap ka Faisla. Mr Kumar alleges that most of the audience consisted of BJP sympathisers and even Congress chief Sheila Dixit was chivvied by them. When Mr Kumar left the show (where he was a member of the audience) he noticed at least 70 per cent of the audience were leaving in the company of the BJP participant, Mangeram Garg. In other words, like cheering audiences hired for political demonstrations and rallies which collect considerably more than samosas and jelabis, politicians will now bring along their own sympathisers to the studios. But not necessarily. It is only a pliable network and weak anchor which will submit to such shameful pressure tactics, which will eventually rob the programme of all credibility. Which brings me to two programmes with high credibility which I watched during the week. Suhaib llyas, a product of the Jamia Millia Mass Communications Department, has certainly caused a stir with his programme India’s Most Wanted, which has actually resulted in the arrest of criminals and solving of criminal cases. The legal adviser for his programme is Ram Jethmalani. On Tuesday, he reconstructed the murder of a merchant’s wife in Chandni Chowk and later flashed the photo of the servant suspected of the crime and said he was believed to be working in a factory in Mumbai. Then the case of a young couple whose first baby was stolen from a hospital in Indore. In both instances, the people concerned were interviewed but the reconstruction was with the help of actors. Ilyas himself anchors the programme and has been the subject of threats. The only drawback to the programme is the long string of ads, which break up the action. On a very high level as
far as political discussions go was the discussion in the
Metro Channel on violence in India, anchored by Vijay
Kranti, also very well known as a photographer. He
conducted the discussion with poise and equal and
intelligent participation, having done his homework with
care. K.P.S. Gill and Sitaram Yechury, who formed his
panel discussed in depth the economic, social and
political causes and repercussions of violence in India
with academic detachment but also practical sense and
personal experience. One of the best conducted and most
fruitful discussions I have heard for a long time. And
with eloquent visuals, mostly missing in other discussion
programmes. |
FRIENDSHIP? In today’s materialistic world? It is like the politician’s promise. Or, like the present day patriot who is all the time wanting to get the “freedom fighters’ pension”. It is a rare phenomenon. It is like a mirage. It has become a mere outward show. Man is constantly looking for a friend. But he is not constant in friendship. It invariably begins with an end in view. Thus, it often ends before it has really begun. Today, friendship is neither selfless nor sincere. Yet, in this wild world, I consider myself greatly blessed. I am lucky to have a very dear friend. And let me confess, I love myself despite my many faults. But true friends forgive failings. So does my friend. She has learnt to bear with me. Even with my faults. So the friendship has continued. Our friendship is exactly as old as I am. It is just my age. To a day. Like a twin, she has been with me since I was born. And we have had, at least so far, a very fond, intimate and personal relationship. For the last many decades, she has been coming to me every day. But only after it is dark. Every night. She has normally left me before there is any perceptible light to let anyone see me in her lap. Before dawn. Every morning. On rare, very very rare, occasions she visits me during the day time. But only if I am alone. All by myself. And having nothing to do. Not even to watch a match on television. You are curious. Even inquisitive. You want to know my friend? Yes! The answer is simple. You have guessed it right. She is Ms Calm Sleep. She is like the sponge that cleans the day’s dirt. She is like the balm that soothes the whole body. She is “the chief nourisher in life’s feast”. She is a great leveller. She puts men and monarchs at the same level. But this cute little lady carries a big price tag. She demands a clear conscience. She follows only a day’s hard labour. If you have done your day’s duty without an admonition from the judge within you — your conscience — you have laid the foundation for true joy. Then, the luxury of a warm bed, the delightful dreamy rest and the company of Ms Calm Sleep is all yours. Why should a man be not entitled to stand and stare? Why can’t idleness be the idol? Why can’t I put off till tomorrow what I can do today? Why should rest be misconstrued as rust? Why should Ms Calm Sleep love only the laborious? For “life is a short... but... a working day. Activity may lead to evil. But inactivity cannot lead to good’’. Because idleness is the root of all problems. It has been rightly said that an idle man’s brain is devil’s workshop. We cannot afford to have 950 million devils’ workshops working all the time. It is only by attempting and doing our work that we earn the “night’s repose”. When it is well earned, it is well enjoyed! Is it not too heavy a price? Everyone acknowledges that hard work has never killed anyone. Yet, each person is looking for labour saving devices. He is scared of taking a chance. He is afraid of being the work’s first victim. The landlord loves his land. But he does not like to labour. He wants somebody else to toil on the soil. To the lady, knowing the four walls of the house, is like being learned in Geography. She thinks that cooking is all that chemistry can teach. I recall a story. May I share it? A man was very happy when he noticed an advertisement for a book — “How to get rid of laziness?” He ordered. Got a copy. Then he asked his wife to read it out to him. Obviously, he had successfully fought against hard work for a long time. He did not want to change. It was already too late, he thought. When “Martinis and Manhattans” are the only source of pleasure for man in the evening, he will face a conflict between “mind and mattress” in the morning. He would be as miserable as a pick-pocket in a nudist colony. Ms Calm Sleep is a friend.
She is an infinite blessing. Like phosphorus, she glows
in the dark. Hard to find. Easy to lose. One wrong act
and she may be gone. This friendship is fragile. But if
you count on hard work, you can count on Ms Calm Sleep.
She is a good friend. Indeed, a great friend. |
AMRITSAR: The proposal of the Electricity Department regarding the increase of rates of energy, consumed by electric motors, is coming up before the General Committee for consideration on Monday next. It is clear that if the suggestions of the Department, that is, enhanced rates, are passed by the General Committee, it will cause a great commotion in the public as the poor inhabitants of the town will have to suffer a lot of inconvenience and trouble. If the electric motors are stopped or the rates enhanced, the people will have to get the flour dearer than they get now and pay more grinding charges on the necessity of life. Since the martial law days, Amritsar has become a centre of trouble. Hardly a trouble is over when a new one arises. The Hindu-Muslim trouble is not yet completely over when this new suggestion of the Electricity Department appeared on the horizon to stir the people. But there is one happy sign in it that this will unite all the different communities of the town to work together as all are to be affected equally by this resolution of the committee. A strong protest is
forthcoming through the Press and platform and the
Government will be approached in a proper manner. |
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