Mustard oil: unending row

  I agree with the observations of Prof Ravinder Nath (“Editor’s Mail”, Sept 11) regarding the mixing of Argemone seed in mustard, “Satynashi” in Punjabi.

Argemone mexicana grows as a weed in barren land in some parts of India, and is not so much widespread that the seed could be used as an adulterant on a large scale. During my field studies in the arid zones of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and South Bihar I have not come across the trade of Argemone seed. Even if its cultivation may be common in some areas, the collection and transportation factor will make it highly uneconomical as compared to the mustard seed.

One of The Tribune reporters mentioned Rs 2 per kg as the price of the Argemone seed, which appears highly unrealistic. It could be the case long, long ago when barren land was in plentiful and labour cheap. Many people are repeating these textbook observations.

The common man considers mustard oil with a strong odour and frothing on heating as genuine. During my field studies 10 years back, I was shocked to know that the essence of mustard oil is supplied by a multinational company manufacturing perfumes. It was a common practice to add this essence to light paraffin oil (known as white oil in trade) and give it the soluble colour of mustard oil. Sometimes in place of white oil, a cheaper grade of a petroleum product or a dark oil such as that of “harar” (Terminalia chebula) are used as an adulterant.

To my mind, the simplest method of testing the presence of petroleum products in mustard oil is to treat it with a caustic soda solution. By this treatment the natural fatty oil gets saponified and the petroleum oil remains unaffected and gets separated.

As per the recent trend in the Western world, the edible oil should be least processed, whereas we in India are “butchering” the oil by its drastic treatment at high temperature and pressure levels in the manufacture of refined oil and vanaspati. Only katchi ghani sarson oil is the least processed product for edible purposes. Steps should be taken to see that the purity of this oil is maintained.

It may be of interest to note that there is a common practice to add 10 per cent castor oil to refined oil.

I have got my facts confirmed by a person well conversant with the mustard oil trade. According to him, the mixing of a small quantity of Argemone seed with mustard seed is usually inadvertent and rarely intentional.

In recent times it has been a common practice to adulterate mustard oil up to 50 per cent with clarified mineral oil, known as mobil or white oil in trade circles. It is a waste product of the automobile industry. It appears that because of the immense demand mobile was in short supply and was substituted with unclarified mineral oil or some other industrial lubricant, which gave rise to the dropsy cases.

H.S. PURI
formerly, Head of Botany and Pharmacognosy, Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow

Chandigarh

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New Gurdwara Bill

It was reported in The Tribune (“Jathedars must be graduates”, Sept 3) that Justice Harbans Singh, the Chief Commissioner for Gurdwara Elections, has prepared a draft of an All-India Gurdwara Bill and submitted it to the SGPC, the Punjab government and the World Sikh Council for consideration.

It will be a good idea if, at some stage, the draft Bill is more widely circulated among the Sikh intelligentsia for information and comment.

Among other things, it is very important that any principle laid down for the management of gurdwaras should not compromise the original intention of the Sikh Gurus to bring together the spiritual, the material and the temporal concerns of man. In fact, it is even doubtful if the Gurus would endorse the management of gurdwaras with the assistance of the state. In this connection, it should be interesting to re-examine the limitations of the historical context in which the Gurdwara Act of 1925 and, along with it, the SGPC were born.

Be that as it may, the Sikhs have the right as well as the duty to know about the provisions of the proposed Bill and to satisfy themselves that the provisions are consistent with the Sikh doctrine and traditions as commonly understood.

(Prof) BHUPINDER SINGH

Patiala

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Pensioners in Haryana

Governments may say anything with regard to pensioners, but their own experience shows that there is no sympathy for these former employees. At least this is the situation in Haryana. The Central government issued orders on 10-2-98 for fixing the pension of those who retired before 1-1-86. Most of them are on three years’ average pension. Since the Fifth Pay Commission has brought them at 10 months’ average pension from 1-4-79, the Haryana government should pay attention to the problems of its pensioners who retired before 1-1-86, as they are at the fag-end of their lives. Delaying their legal and moral right amounts to injustice.

Even in the assembly it was said that the Fifth Pay Commission report will be implemented in full. But till today nothing has been done to mitigate the sufferings of the old pensioners.

S.S. KABOTRA

Panchkula

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Corporal punishment

Corporal punishment is not at all justified in schools. There are ways through which a teacher can get the best out of a student such as counselling as suggested by Mr Prabhjot Singh in his article “Counselling in schools is must” (August 31).

A teacher must understand each student’s potential and mental make-up and act accordingly.

The need of the hour is a mature relationship between a teacher and students. A teacher’s aim should not be just to teach but also groom a student’s personality so as to make him a good human being and a responsible citizen.

VEBHAV GUPTA

Chandigarh

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Boundless human greed

Human greed knows no bounds. They can destroy people to create market for themselves. The methods they employ can be devious so that they cannot be easily connected.

El-Nino is such a phenomenon. Those who have created it feel it is none of their responsibility. They browsed over the records of 150 years to create the effect. They wanted to ensure that it would destroy once and for all a major amount of food produced throughout the world. All they were required to do was to increase the temperature of sea water.

They could easily do it through a satellite. All that was required was a nuclear detonation. A nuclear detonation is no problem through a satellite.

Armoured fleets have been moving through the seas for decades now. No one stopped them from leaving the devices where they wanted. Who knows whether they have destroyed any of their nuclear devices.

Detonation of a nuclear device can raise the temperature of the sea. There can be no visible change if it is done deep enough. Profits for some can be punishment for all. Who else but the roughest of rouges could have done this.

Food availability has decreased seriously in the world because of El-Nino. It is not stopping even at that. La-Nina is going to supplement it further. While endangering the human race, how can anyone sell for long? Why should the human race let those sell who have no concern for the human race?

M.S. KOHLI

Chandigarh