P A G E
Friday, April 23, 1999
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E D I T O R I A L P A G E |
Friday, April 23, 1999 |
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Army
is not a plaything
ADVANTAGE VAJPAYEE
Foodgrains:
no room for complacency
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Is
Iran on US list for dual containment?
“Small
sentiments”
New spirit awakened |
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Army is not a plaything THE nation has reasons to feel concerned at the growing tendency among political leaders to directly or indirectly involve defence personnel in one controversy or the other. As it is, the Bhagwat affair has badly affected the morale of the armed forces, especially the Navy. Allegations and counter-allegations by various interested parties have sown seeds of suspicion in the public mind about the way defence matters are handled. Not that the country overlooks serious issues of security or loose ends in defence purchases. The problem arises when charges are levelled publicly without substantiating them with sufficient proof. Viewed in this light, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda is guilty of unnecessarily pointing an accusing finger at a senior Army officer during his speech at the time of the recent confidence vote in the Lok Sabha. Mr Deve Gowda questioned the wisdom of selecting the T-90 tank in preference to the T-72 Russian tank the purchase of which he had negotiated as Prime Minister. For this he doubted the motives and professionalism of the Deputy Chief of Army Staff, Lieut-Gen S.S. Mehta. The Janata Dal leader obviously wanted to embarrass Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and Mr George Fernandes. But his political arithmetic was wrong. For, it was Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav who as Defence Minister had put his seal of approval on the upgraded T-90 tank. The armed forces are not a plaything in the hands of politicians. They have been entrusted with a sensitive job of defending the frontiers of the country and they have discharged this duty with dignity and honour. Mr Deve Gowda should have known his facts and avoided raking up sensitive issues. It is indeed a pity that politicians seem to be more guided by their petty considerations than the dignity and honour of the armed forces. This tendency has to be resisted and reversed. Political leaders have no business to decry an individual officer on the floor of Parliament, knowing well that the officer concerned cannot defend himself to save his honour. Army Chief V.P. Malik has rightly brought this matter to the notice of President K.R. Narayanan and Defence Minister George Fernandes who has, in turn, written to Lok Sabha Speaker Balayogi, asking him to expunge the adverse references against Lieut-General Mehta. The minister has categorically stated that Lieut-General Mehta is an outstanding officer with impeccable credentials. Mr Fernandes is, therefore, right in spelling out the government's stand in the matter. Mr Deve Gowda's remarks should be expunged. He should also be told to behave in a responsible manner. The floor of the Lok Sabha must not be used for settling personal and political scores. The nation expects a
better behaviour pattern from our political leaders. As
it is, they have been misusing their position by
frequently calling in the Army for internal security
duties. This is good neither for the Army nor for the
country. In fact, directly involving the Army in the task
of restoring law and order speaks poorly of our political
management. Our leaders should learn the art of
governance instead of indulging in mud-slinging against
high-ranking officers of the armed forces who are
entrusted with the tough task of protecting the country's
honour and territorial integrity. Today, all our
institutions are being systematically eroded and
mutilated by the forces of evil, like political
manipulation, unabashed sycophancy, rampant corruption
and debasement of values. Our Army is one of the very few
institutions which has relatively been less affected. Let
us not damage its high professional standard and its deep
apolitical roots. Clearly, we have to move to a more
precise understanding of various levers of power. |
Gun culture in USA WHETHER the number of those killed in Tuesday's horrifying suicide attack launched by two students, who subsequently annihilated themselves at Denver (Colorado), remains static at 16 or goes on to 61 is an inconsequential issue. The essential fact is that violence has gone deep into the American psyche. The killers belonged to a school "sub-culture" and called themselves members of the Trenchcoat Mafia. If this killing frenzy is a sub-culture, what will be the main culture like? Politicians and educationists have begun to theorise on the possible causes of the not quite unusual episode in the American school. There have been several small but equally violent incidents in other institutions. The so-called experts, who speak about the acceptance of strange sub-cultures and cliques which provided a violent outlet for "frustrated teenagers", are mere speculators. The description of the two culprits shows, among other things, the growth of the cult of the personification of a deadly tradition for which the USA has become notorious in recent years. Have we ever heard of students going to educational institutions elsewhere with deadly weapons and obsession with anarchy? Their dress is frightening and their temperament is manifestly arrogant—heavy trenchcoat, combat boots, explosives visible on the personalised uniforms and abuse flowing from the mouth like water gushing forth from a mountain water source. The attacks being related to the punk rock bands or to some Gothic style of infrastructure or life may help divert public attention from a major problem of present-day America. But the permissive lifestyle and the willing acceptance of waywardness are to be viewed seriously. The killers had not gone crazy suddenly. The USA has been
advertised for years all over the world as a symbol of
free and uninhibited thinking. Television and the
unguarded educational edifice have come in for criticism
in decent societies undergoing imitative change. The
Denver incident is a pointer. President Bill Clinton has
condemned violence and advised parents to adopt a
disciplined attitude towards their wards. He has also
spoken of the adverse effect of "violent images and
experience". But his own utterances have justified
in the past the use of violence in settling disputes.
Even school-going Americans know something of the role of
their President in Iraqi and Yugoslav bombings.
Electronic media serials like Santa Barbara and The Bold
and the Beautiful have given an aggressive and amoral
twist to thoughts and acts in communities. The daily
macho shows and gunmen's adventures are numerous.
Children grow amidst the sight and sound of violence,
sex, scams and immorality. Is there any hope for such a
society? The answer is in the affirmative because when
all is lost, hope remains. The invocation to
globalisation and liberalisation leads one nowhere. The
latest bloody happening is a cause for grief and concern
in India. Arnold Toynbee observed in 1952: "In 50
years, the world would be under the hegemony of the
United States, but in the 21st century, as religion
captures the place of technology, it is possible that in
India, the conquered will conquer its conquerors."
And he added: "It is already becoming clear that a
chapter, which had a Western beginning, will have to have
an Indian ending if it is not to end in the
self-destruction of the human race." Conventional
wisdom rules that the present one is a rare problem which
is insoluble. America could never follow the lead set by
Britain after Dunblane (where a gunman murdered a class
of small children), which moved fast to ban all handguns.
No, say the experts, the gun culture is too deeply rooted
in the USA. The gun lobby is too powerful to be
challenged. Besides, the US Constitution enshrines the
right of any individual to bear arms. Faced with all that
firepower, how can Mr Clinton do anything? |
ADVANTAGE
VAJPAYEE
THE political turmoil witnessed during the past two weeks once again exposes the basic weaknesses of the country's politico-constitutional system. There are inbuilt limitations in every unprincipled alliance. The BJP-led coalition at the Centre had, of course, a commonly-agreed national agenda. This was an indication of the broad policies and programmes the Atal Behari Vajpayee government was supposed to pursue. However, in the absence of coalition culture and norms, there was no guarantee how the members of the alliance would conduct themselves. Intellectually, this might appear contradictory and painful, but everything goes in Indian realpolitik. Adjustments and compromises come naturally to most political leaders. More than their diverse approach to policies and issues, the pursuit of personal and sectarian interests by certain coalition partners created confusion undesirable in a complex polity like ours. Each partner in the power-sharing arrangement had its own agenda to pursue. Each leader had his or her own perspective on men, matters and issues. That is why the Samata Party leader, Mr George Fernandes, talked differently even on sensitive matters like international relations and defence affairs. His public postures and observations on China after India's tryst with Pokhran II set off a chain reaction from which the country is yet to recover. Mr Fernandes is no doubt a competent and understanding leader. But right from his early days as a trade union leader, his behaviour has been rather eccentric. As a minister, however, he overlooked the fact that in a Cabinet form of government, every member is bound by collective responsibility in letter and in spirit. One may say that the BJP government under the leadership of Mr Vajpayee did not have experience in governance and hence its flawed functioning. This argument is somewhat misplaced. Mr Fernandes was a Minister in the Janata Party government which came into being in 1977. Mr Vajpayee was External Affairs Minister during that period and Mr L.K. Advani was in charge of Information and Broadcasting. They ought to be familiar with the functioning of Cabinet form of government. Perhaps, it was the nature of the coalition which created problems in enforcing discipline. Otherwise there is no reason why Ms Jayalalitha could not have been put in her place at the very beginning. When the government's sole purpose becomes its own survival, problems are bound to multiply. It is a fact that the BJP leaders were ever willing to succumb to pressure by the AIADMK supremo. They even tampered with the judicial process to make her task easier in her court cases. The allegation in this regard has come from no less a person than Mr Ram Jethmalani. As a Cabinet minister in the Vajpayee government, he should know what he is talking about after the fall of the regime. The moral of this episode is simple: appeasement is a bad policy, whether applied to individual political leaders or to a neighbouring country. Perhaps a tough posture on the part of the Prime Minister could have made a difference to the way certain ministers and alliance partners behaved. To say this is not to suggest that Mr Vajpayee was unaware of the implications of not taking such a course. A liberal person cast in the Nehruvian mould,he is basically a sincere and straightforward leader not given to today's politics of manipulation. A decent person, he represents the best of Indian political culture and tradition. Knowing the compulsions of coalition politics, he overlooked several faults of his colleagues and of the system. In a way, this cost him dear since Indian politics these days has become more a matter of backroom manipulation than a matter of principles, ideology and policies. Whatever might be the faults in the style and working of the Prime Minister, it must be said that in the current turmoil the sole gainer is Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. There is a ground-swell of sympathy for him in the country today. Whether the BJP will be able to take advantage of this in a future election is difficult to say at this juncture. Much will depend on the circumstances in which the country goes to the poll. A realistic assessment of the political uncertainty in the country would demand the holding of elections at an early date, maybe by October or November. A lot will depend on the alternative government and the way the new leaders conduct national affairs. However, going by past experience and the overall behaviour pattern of different political parties and leaders, one does not feel confident about the ability of any new arrangement to deliver the goods. Contradictions are inbuilt in any arrangement rigged up by diverse and disparate groups. In the present crisis, it was the Congress party which got trapped badly in the web created by the Jayalalitha effect. Its earlier calculations, formalised by Mrs Sonia Gandhi, to contest the elections on its own, have gone haywire. It has to adjust and readjust its principles, policies and approach to take diverse political elements along with it. It is going to be a ticklish task—in fact far more ticklish than was faced by the BJP leaders. There are a large number of politically inconvenient persons in the likely alternative arrangement who will be as difficult to manage as has been Ms Jayalalitha. Be that as it may. The question uppermost in the mind of every thinking Indian is whether the next election can produce a decisive verdict in favour of any party or combination. It is a fact that with the decline of the Congress, the voter has been desperately looking for a viable alternative. He has been experimenting with various permutations and combinations with no welcome result. That experiment continues in the absence of leaders like Nehru and other stalwarts who dominated the national scene after Independence. In recent years, Mr Vajpayee has come very close to that category, though a large number of his supporters do not approve of certain policies and postures of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar as a whole. This should provide the BJP leadership with some food for thought. People have wished to see the emergence of a party at the national level which is different from the Congress. It is for the BJP to bring about the changes and modifications in its policies and programmes to enlarge its political base. Of course, the BJP is no longer politically untouchable. It has come a long way from the days when it had either no representation or had merely two seats in the Lok Sabha. The very fact that some former socialists like Mr George Fernandes and Mr P. R. Kumaramangalam are part of the saffron establishment reflects the changing landscape of Indian politics. In a way, this is a healthy sign. If handled tactfully, this can definitely help the emergence of a two-party system. Of course, it will be difficult to have a two-party system in the strict sense of the term. The Indian scene is very disparate and diffused. There are various interest groups and caste and religious combinations which have to be accommodated in every political arrangement. Equally vital is the growing importance of regional parties. There is no point in decrying them. The real challenge lies in taking these interest groups along and making them responsible and accountable in any power-sharing arrangement. It will do the Congress a lot of good if it looks beyond Pachmarhi and draws a new policy line at the national and state levels. What is important is to
have clearcut national policies and an agenda. This is
equally applicable to the BJP. Indeed, the time has come
to draw the right lessons from the failure of coalition
governments during the past 10 years or so. Only new and
viable responses can help the voter to take a correct
position. In any case, it will be wrong to take the voter
for granted. All it requires is that political leaders
should learn to behave in a more responsible manner than
has been the case so far. |
Foodgrains: no room for complacency KRISHI BHAVAN is agog with excitement. Foodgrains production has touched a record figure of 200 million tonnes in 1998-99, up from 192.4 million tonnes in 1997-98. But euphoria should not lead to complacency. The claim that India is self-sufficient in foodgrains is a myth propagated by official circles. How mythical the claim is becomes clear from the data released by the National Institute of Nutrition. With the present level of production, the annual availability of foodgrains per person comes to 205 kilograms. This is just equal to the minimum nutritional requirement. But the unfortunate fact is that one-third of the Indian population does not get even this minimum requirement because it is too poor to have the requisite purchasing power. Half of the children in the country are malnourished and stunted. According to the World Watch Institute, the healthiest people in the world annually consume 400 kilograms of foodgrains per person. If we go by this standard, India would need to have a foodgrains production of 392 million tonnes. If we go by a lower nutritional standard of 300 kilograms per person per annum, India would need to raise its foodgrains production to 340 million tonnes. These projections assume that the present population of 980 million will continue to grow at an annual rate of 17 million for at least another two decades. It is distressing enough that, taking into account the proper nutritional standards, India’s claim about self-sufficiency is bogus. But the depressing picture is further besmirched by a crass insensitivity — even as one-third of its population teeters on the brink of starvation, India has been exporting foodgrains! With the government granaries filling up and the storage capacity being inadequate, it is again being argued that the “surplus” foodgrains, particularly wheat, should be exported. Fortunately, this may not be possible because of the high domestic procurement price of wheat(Rs 550 per quintal) and the depressed wheat prices in the international market. At present India has a foodgrains buffer stock of 20.8 million tonnes against a requirement of 15.8 million tonnes. The “surplus” of five million tonnes would become still larger when all the grain from the rabi harvest has flowed in. Instead of attempting to export this “surplus”, India should make foodgrains available to the poorest section of its population through a countrywide food-for-work programme. To meet the challenge of feeding its growing population in the coming years, India needs to usher in a second Green Revolution. This would require a higher public investment in agriculture with a view to increasing the productivity of the existing arable land and bringing more land under cultivation. Public expenditure on agriculture and irrigation has been declining over the last 10 years. In the Union Budget for 1999-2000, however, this lacuna is sought to have been made up by hiking the allocation for agriculture by 35 per cent. India’s agricultural productivity is still low by world standards. Whereas China gets 6060 kilograms of rice per hectare, the corresponding figure for India is only 2810. Again, whereas China gets 3760 kilograms of wheat per hectare, the corresponding figure for India is only 2490. One view is that a substantial increase in India’s agricultural productivity can only be brought about by commercialisation of agriculture. Farmers should form companies by contributing land against which they would hold shares and exercise proportionate voting power. The companies would be of a certain minimum size to be viable. They could employ specialists to advise them on inputs like seeds, water and fertilisers of the right quality at the right time and in right quantities. Ultimately, the idea is to have scientific agriculture. Commercialised farming would also facilitate the introduction of bio-technology in agriculture. Growing transgenic crops through genetic engineering has advantages. There is greater flexibility in crop management, reduced dependence on pesticides and herbicides and the yields are higher. The USA, China, Argentina, Mexico, Spain, France and South Africa have adopted transgenic crops. Nearly 30 million hectares globally are under transgenic crops. There is considerable scope for bringing more land under cultivation. The record yield in 1998-99 has been achieved partly by bringing more area under wheat in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The second factor which helped was a favourable monsoon. With only 37 per cent of the cultivable land under irrigation, India remains heavily dependent on the monsoon. More area should be brought under irrigation on a war footing if the challenges of the future have to be met. The flow of credit to
agriculture increased from Rs 14,837 crore in 1991 to Rs
26,351 crore in 1996. But the target that 18 per cent of
the total credit should flow to agriculture has never
been achieved. A scheme of kisan credit cards has been
introduced. More than 20 lakh farmers are expected to
avail themselves of it in 1999-2000. |
“Small
sentiments” “PANDITJI! This ghee is hot. How can I put it on my mother? It would hurt her.” “Do not act like a child. Just do it. Are you not going to scotch the pyre in a few moments from now? My father had overheard my protest. Probably, he had noticed my hesitation also. He knew that I had merely followed the directions of the Pandit. Yet, he had chided me for having poured the hot ghee over my mother’s body. It was the fateful morning of November 1, 1989. Maan had spent an uncomfortable night. Dr Satinder Singh and Dr Rashmi had remained by her side during the last 48 hours. I was an untrained nurse cum assistant to lend a helping hand to them. The drip was continuously on. This was her lifeline. The means of administering fluids and even the medicines to her. A drop went out with every heartbeat. This had kept Maan and our hopes alive for the last two days. At 8 o’clock, Maan had suddenly opened her eyes. Asked for the morning dose of her medicines. Four tablets were given to her. She had swallowed each one with a small sip of milk. A drop was just trickling out of her mouth. I had tried to give her a napkin to wipe it off. She had refused “Nidhi has specially embroidered it for me. Do not spoil it. Give me the other one”. Having said that, she had just collapsed. A moment more and she was gone. All efforts of the two doctors to revive her had proved of no avail. At precisely 8.07 she was no more . A lot had happened in just seven minutes. During the night, she had gone through her fifth cardiac infarction. In all, she had gone through the seventy and more years of her life. She had completed her journey on the rough road of life. During these years, she had faced the vicissitudes with fortitude. She had brought us up with care, love and affection. Worked hard. She never grumbled. She was brave. She had withstood her problems well. Followed the doctor’s advice faithfully. Never bothered anyone unnecessarily. Helped everyone. Her heart was our school. Her love was our bliss. When alive, she had problems. Now, she lay totally silent. No movement. No complaint. No pain. No discomfort. No pricks. No needles. Absolutely at peace with herself. Even with the whole world. There was a quiet dignity about her. Life with Him appeared to be better than the life in His world. We had to now learn to live without her. This was the truth. But we could not forget that even at about the last moment of her life, she was not oblivious of her grand daughter’s affection and effort. She had remembered the small napkin and the embroidery. And a few hours later, the family was reluctant to put hot ghee on her despite knowing that she was about to be consecrated to the flames. Small sentiments! Simple and sincere expressions of a pure emotion. Thoughts of a blessed association. To be cherished as sacred treasures. Yes. May seem strange. True. But some evidence to show that we are still human. Even humane. This is all that
distinguishes a human being from the other species.
Isn’t it? |
Is Iran on
US
list for dual containment? A NEW militant organisation called “National Council for Resistance Against Iran” has come up in Washington, indirectly propped up and supported by the State Department, according to Washington Post. Such organisations usually prop up perspective American policies and therefore the surfacing of this new body is perhaps ominous. The objective of this organisation is to press US policy makers to adopt a dual containment policy similar to the one used in Iraq. They go even further in their public pronouncements and talk of NATO intervention, if necessary, in Iran in the footsteps of Yugoslavia. In the past decade of the “New World Order”, the so-called “dual containment” policy has come into play. It is a term first enunciated by one of the key Israel/Jewish lobby man in Washington, Martin Indyk, soon after Clinton became President. And of course Indyk is now Madeleine Albright’s Assistant Secretary of State for the Middle East. Indeed that was one of the prices for her getting the job. The dual containment policy’s first major victim has been Iraq. Not long ago, Iraq was an American ally. And US Ambassador April Glaspie was sitting cordially with Saddam Hussein in 1990, while Iraqi forces were massed on the border with Kuwait, assuring Saddam what an important ally Iraq was. But the US stance was reversed when Iraqi forces occupied Kuwait’s region. With Iraq already prostrate, Iran is seen as the prospective target for containment. It is no secret that Iran is hard at work building up its military strength. After watching what has happened to Iraq through American domination and militarism, Iran is gradually working to build up its power for resistance should such an eventually arise. It is at this stage, if and when Iran slips up in its dealings with the USA that American power can swoop to destroy it. Today, in Washington, the so-called “Iranian Resistance” (formal name is National Council of Resistance of Iran) is going to be doing its work — helping with the containment of Iran and setting the stage, on behalf of the American and Israelis, whether by design or result. When the time comes, those second-generation Cruise missiles and Stealth bombers readied in US aircraft carrier Enterprise in Mediterranean Sea are just the tools needed to de-arm or damage Iran, as they are for Iraq. The National Council of Resistance of Iran is one of those shadowy groups that have learned, and been taught, how to manipulate and use the media. They held an expensive press conference recently at the posh Madison Hotel in Washington DC to denounce Iran’s biological weapons programme. They claimed they had new facts and details. And they probably do. It’s pretty clear that the CIA and the Israeli secret agency Mossad want the word out; and they can’t so easily hold such Press conferences and pass around hand-outs themselves. Ehud Barak, Yitzhak Rabin’s successor in Israel, has repeatedly been saying that it is Iran which is the real threat to Israel. And Madeleine Albright has recently been in Moscow, as has Ariel Sharon by the way, pressing the Russians to cut off Iran from modern technology and placing sanctions on specific Russian institutes, rather than the whole country. The world is going to be hearing a lot more about the “Iranian threat” in the year ahead. Iran is already in their list of so-called rogue states, which include North Korea, Iraq and Libya. The context is “Dual Containment”. The result is quite likely to be much more bloodshed, more hatred, and greater “instability”. Iranians themselves seem
to be so much used to American sword and dagger posture
that they prefer to ignore or, at the most, occasionally
rattle their sabres too through massive anti-American
demonstration in the streets of Teheran. — IPA |
Outrage over display of
semi-clad AS France celebrates the 50th anniversary of Simone de Beauvoir’s attack on male-dominated values in The Second Sex, a leading department store in Paris has caused outrage with its latest window display — of live female models wearing only lingerie. The powerful feminist lobby, backed by two government ministers, has demanded that the Galeries Lafayette ends the show by three professional models, which is attracting huge crowds to the Boulevard Haussmann. There are daily demonstrations outside the store. The feminist writer Benoite Groult, who is among the protesters, said there was “something ugly about women in underwear being watched by men in raincoats”. She added: “It’s as if France cannot shake off the image of the femme coquette, the seductress and the petite femme de Paris. It is a fantasy from the 1900s that makes us think of the tarts in Amsterdam. When a woman passes the display she feels she is being undressed in the street.’’ The models paint their nails, read books and write their diaries as if unaware of the crowd. Some of the store’s women staff are among the demonstrators. One said: “Most people are just curious but there are voyeurs and disturbed men who take the opportunity to make lewd remarks to women shop assistants. There is a permanent mob atmosphere out here.” The Socialist junior education minister, Segolene Royal, has written to the store asking for the show to be called off. She said the models had been reduced to “merchandise” and the show “lowered the dignity of women”. The Women’s Rights Minister, Nicole Pery, is supporting a demonstration planned for Saturday. An earlier march attracted 500 protesters, including men. In that protest former Women’s Rights Minister Yvette Roudy took a prominent role alongside writers, philosophers, leftwing politicians and leaders of feminist groups who have been distributing protest leaflets outside the store. Campaigners say the display goes against the spirit of the Socialist-led government’s attempts to end inequalities that De Beauvoir condemned half a century ago. New initiatives include laws to enforce female-male parity at all levels of government and the feminisation of job titles. Protesters are also calling for a boycott of the lingerie. Its designer, Chantal Thomass, said her show had been choreographed to avoid vulgarity. Suspenders had been ruled out, and, if the underwear was considered too skimpy, the models wore housecoats. She said there had been no complaints three years ago when live male models were used to show underpants in a window display. “We have to put an end to this false sense of shock and calm things down,’’ she said. “It’s deplorable to compare the models with prostitutes in Amsterdam. Today’s women are liberated and accept their freedom completely. They like lovely lingerie. So do men.” But the store management said it was considering calling off the display to avoid clashes at Saturday’s march. Ms Groult, who chairs a
jury that gives awards to the least sexist advertising
campaigns, said she hoped protesters would “throw
something against the windows, which should be blanked
out completely”. — The Guardian, London |
New
spirit awakened by war “LONDON has become distinctly pagan under our very eyes”, declared the Rev Thomas Phillips of Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, speaking in the city. To a Press representative, Reverend Phillips made it clear that he used the word in its negative sense — as a nation or community that does not worship the Christian God. “London puzzles and frightens me,” he explained. “But the sentence must be taken with the context. I have no doubt the Kingdom of God is going to win, but a new generation is rising up, and they tell you frankly they have no use for the churches. “Then there are large firms whose young people attended the churches in goodly proportions before the war, but who now only send their twos and threes. In some districts not more than 50 per cent of the children attend Sunday school, while at one time there were as many scholars in them as at the day schools. Moreover, investigation
made recently by the Free Church Federation in an East
London district showed that only one man in 15 attended
the church or chapel.” |
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