Assertive no more
ANOTHER proposed Cabinet expansion. Another postponement. This time it is different. The Prime Minister had himself talked of the proposal, and only two days back. And this time, again, the Prime Minister himself is different.

Patnaik must quit
CONGRESS President Sonia Gandhi is apparently employing delaying tactics in dealing with the man in Orissa who is alleged to be protecting the tormentors of Mrs Anjana Mishra.

WHO'S AFRAID OF DEBATE?
by Hari Jaisingh
PRIME Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has called for a national debate on the question of conversions which has sparked off violence and arson in Dangs district of southern Gujarat. Opinions on the subject are sharply divided, though the Archbishop of Delhi and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad have welcomed the suggestion. The Congress has, however, struck a discordant note.

Assam sitting over time bomb
by Krishna Das
VIOLENCE is not uncommon in Assam. But the recent developments which left 38 people dead, including two car bomb attacks right in the front of the state secretariat, were really uncommon.

Importance of the Buddhist circuit
By M. S. N. Menon
TOURISM has much to do with religion. On how much, we have no accurate estimate. In India, it is pilgrimage which is the most important segment of domestic tourism. And yet India has failed to exploit the Buddhist angle, the most potential.

‘Ram Ram’ to Ram
by T.R. Sharma
‘WHAT is there in a name?’ The man, who said this, must be feeling small because of his name. I have all sympathies for him. At one time, I used to feel slighted if some one introduced me with my full name — Tej Ram. I always wanted to hide my name behind my initials — T.R. To my delight, even in my twilight years, my close friend still call me simply T.R.

75 Years Ago

The Nizam’s tact
HIS Highness’s stay at Hanumakonda for about a month has been fruitful of one very good result. The unfortunate strained relationship between the Hindus of Matwada and a section of the Mahomedan population of the place has been completely cleared up.

Assertive no more

ANOTHER proposed Cabinet expansion. Another postponement. This time it is different. The Prime Minister had himself talked of the proposal, and only two days back. And this time, again, the Prime Minister himself is different. He is perceived to be in an assertive mood, ready to issue orders and ready to demand compliance. What has gone wrong then? Somewhere between Bangalore last fortnight and Ahwa (in Dangs district of Gujarat) on Sunday there seems to have been a transformation. Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee has, to quote one of his seasoned apologists, gone soft on those who demur and desist. And this has forced him to divest a part of the awesome prestige and authority of the chair he occupies in South Block. The post of Prime Minister demands, in fact commands, leadership 24 hours a day and in every aspect of national life. At no time has the country looked up to the chair for leadership as now. Politics is in extreme flux; the law and order situation is getting worse; communal tension is rising; an economic crisis is looming; there is stirring in the defence services and the country’s image in the world outside is taking a beating. No, it must be emphatically stated, he or his coalition government is not responsible for all this. There is a big cumulative effect.

But he is responsible for providing leadership as Prime Minister. Inspire others to get busy with finding solutions, jawbone distractors and chronic critics into silence. The Prime Minister has to lead and the only way is through actions and the capacity to generate confidence. Mr Vajpayee is the tallest leader in the country, as of today; the Prime Minister has to emerge as the undisputed leader of the coalition government. The postponement of the proposed Cabinet expansion is a step in the reverse action. It is a sad reflection on the failure of the leaders of mainly the BJP and partly the other parties of the alliance to gauge the damage their self-induced weakness will cause in the months to come.

Propriety demands that the media should refrain from doling out advice to politicians; the two play different games. It would be reckless to expect the Prime Minister to act in a particular way. Yet, it must be said that he should crack the whip and curtly order every one to fall in line. And the chances are that he will be obeyed. All those trying to throw their weight around and to present impossible demands are really lightweight. The numbers they boast of in the Lok Sabha are too insignificant to pose an immediate threat to the government. Any way if one faction of, say, Samata protests, its rival will applaud. The only source of danger is Ms Jayalalitha and she is in a chastened mood these days. She needs the alliance government to ward off harsh court cases in the immediate future. Finally, the Prime Minister adds to his appeal every time he asserts — insurance, patents, his prerogative and, the latest, sidelining Mr Murli Manohar Joshi. Yes, he eased out the obstructionist Mr Joshi from the divestment committee, despite his threat to quit as Minister. The desire to be part of the ruling party is a powerful glue and it is about time the Prime Minister tested its strength.

Patnaik must quit

CONGRESS President Sonia Gandhi is apparently employing delaying tactics in dealing with the man in Orissa who is alleged to be protecting the tormentors of Mrs Anjana Mishra. According to credible sources, Chief Minister J.B. Patnaik called Mrs Mishra a liar after she got an FIR registered against a few persons who, she said, had gangraped her on Saturday night. Mrs Mishra has the courage of conviction. The law relating to criminal assault is largely antiquitous and a victim has to undergo a lot of harassment in public and in courts of law. Mrs Mishra had got a raw deal from officials in a case she had filed against the then Advocate-General, who had misbehaved with her, according to available accounts. Mr Patnaik showered favours on the former legal officer and he was criticised for it by his party men in Orissa as well as in Delhi. Mrs Sonia Gandhi could have probed the conduct of Mr Patnaik quite some time ago. He was accused of "depriving Mrs Mishra of justice". Deputy Chief Minister Basant Kumar Biswal took up the cudgels on behalf of the oppressed woman and conveyed the views of a large section of the angry Congressmen from Orissa to the high command. Mr Basant Kumar has considerable following in Orissa and he is a stern person acclaimed as a "chief ministerial candidate". Several Patnaik supporters in Delhi prevailed upon the party caucus in Delhi and the message conveyed to Mrs Sonia Gandhi was that one could call the entire affair relating to the ex-law officer and Mrs Mishra sub judice and thus buying time during which the matter could be made less damaging. Congress spokesperson Girija Vyas has ruled out the removal of Mr Patnaik from the Chief Minister's gaddi "till the judicial enquiry into the incident is over". Obviously, the probe will linger on.

Meanwhile, the second incident robbing the victim of her sacred womanhood has taken place. The public, the media and a large section of politicians in Orissa sympathise with the person who had fortunately escaped insult and physical injury some time ago. Hired goons abducted and raped her in a forest in full view of two of her companions, who were gagged. The state police has arrested a man who has been described by it as the main culprit. If the keepers of the law are to be believed, several collaborators of the arrested man are at large. All of them are being described as "accused persons". If there is no serious crime, where is the question of suspects being elevated to the status of "accused persons"?

The story of the rape cannot be easily suppressed. The fact of Mr Patnaik's callous attitude to the respectable woman is amply clear by the remarks made by him in Delhi, in which he is, inter alia, reported to have called Mrs Mishra an untruthful person in search of publicity. Who is, by the way, Mr Patnaik to call her names and repudiate her allegations? The court case involving the former Advocate-General has not been concluded. The officer has been made to quit his post in the interest of a fair trial. Mrs Sonia Gandhi should ensure that Mr Patnaik, who did not show any sympathy for the harassed woman, steps down. He is a threat to the process of evidence-gathering and bringing the culprits to book. The anti-Basant Kumar lobby is active in Delhi. Meanwhile, Orissa, an impoverished state, is facing violence and bandhs. Trade and commerce have come to a standstill and the law and order machinery is being pressured to give as much time to the ruler of the state as is necessary to put the patience of the public on trial and make it forget the ghastly incidents. Union Home Minister L.K. Advani has suggested the dispensation of capital punishment for rapists. Why has he been sleeping when rape has been committed? He is the Minister concerned at the Union Government level and he should gear up the investigating machinery, taking away the case from the local police. Mr Patnaik should be summarily sent into wilderness. Lal Bahadur Shastri had resigned from the Cabinet owning moral responsibility for a railway mishap. Mr Patnaik should resign and save the face of the Congress in the state where it has a government. Accusing fingers point in the direction of the Chief Minister and several other influential persons. Mrs Gandhi should remember the Maya Tyagis and Geeta Chopras of the "weaker sex" in a democracy in which women's empowerment is said to be a primary point of the agenda of all political parties. Mrs Gandhi's reputation will be tarnished if she does not act promptly and have Mr Patnaik pulled down from the pedestal.

WHO'S AFRAID OF DEBATE?
Escapist approach will not do

by Hari Jaisingh

PRIME Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has called for a national debate on the question of conversions which has sparked off violence and arson in Dangs district of southern Gujarat. Opinions on the subject are sharply divided, though the Archbishop of Delhi and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have welcomed the suggestion. The Congress has, however, struck a discordant note. It favours adjudication and wants the whole matter to be put up before the Supreme Court.

Why should the Congress shy away from debating a live issue? This is somewhat intriguing. It fears that such a course would destabilise the polity and “directly affect the social fabric of India”.

As a major political party, the Congress has the right to differ with the Prime Minister. But it has apparently not given a serious thought to the consequences of its own suggestion.

The general tendency to go to courts at the slightest provocation is not desirable. Political issues have to be sorted out politically. Socio-economic problems have to be resolved by evolving the right response to uplift those living below the poverty line. One tragedy of the leadership at the Centre has been its politics of convenience under which burning issues are swept under the carpet. This is the main reason why we have been struggling with the same set of problems even 51 years after Independence. This tendency has to be curbed if we mean to build healthy democratic traditions.

Debate is the very oxygen of democracy. And it is what distinguishes democracy from other forms of government. It opens up minds, throws up new ideas, builds consensus and makes government functioning smooth in the long run. All this is, of course, in theory. In practice, we have to examine every issue in terms of its possible fallout on the system as a whole.

As it is, India’s political system has an amorphous character. It has links with a traditional social structure. But the two are not enmeshed harmoniously. They tend to operate in different spheres.

True, the present situation presents a baffling set of dilemmas and paradoxes. What is particularly disquieting in this setting is that politicians have done very little to attune the likely solution to the ethos of democracy.

In the absence of functioning harmony at the social level, all sorts of interests are at play to dominate the socio-political arena. This creates distortions. In the circumstances, logical and rational articulation suffers. The task of reconciliation becomes complex and difficult. In fact, the system these days is run more to further short-term, narrow and parochial objectives than to achieve broader goals concerning the nation’s future.

Today, the picture is fluid and in sharp contrast to that of more mature systems prevailing elsewhere. The requisite maturity in the system can be brought about through the process of positive interaction and dialogue among the varied interest groups pursuing different faiths.

A meaningful politico-social communication holds the key to the nation’s future. We need to expose our system at the grassroots level and beyond to the process of meaningful communication and inter-connection. This alone will help generate the right atmosphere.

Whether the right atmosphere exists for such a debate may be debatable. Debates at the wrong time by wrong people against the wrong setting can prove counter-productive. But then in a complex polity like ours, a beginning has to be made for an honest dialogue on all burning issues, including the question of conversions, communalism and secularism.

The increasing intolerance that we often see in the polity is the result of serious communication gaps among different sections of Indian society. We have to bridge this gap by encouraging dispassionate debate at all levels on major issues facing the nation. This is how we can strengthen the roots of democracy and inject a degree of maturity in the working of the system.

We started off quite well. In the initial years of Independence, a number of stalwarts of the country’s freedom movement dominated Parliament. Debate then was both passionate and illuminating. Those giants and highly respected state-level leaders have disappeared one by one. Their place has been taken by rabble-rousers who let go lung power, not to stress a point, but to shout down the rival. Of late, the well of the House too has come to be misused to shut down business for the whole day.

This is the true picture of Parliament. The one outside it is not heartening either. It is rare that one comes across information-laden and argument-based speeches or press statements. It is mostly a string of charges and counter-charges, all unprovable and wild.

It is possible that the debate the Prime Minister is seeking on the question of conversions will be conducted against the backdrop of highly inflammatory statements and actions and in the midst of a raging controversy. If debate should sustain democracy, it should be held in an atmosphere of sanity and sobriety. Anyway, a debate of sorts is in place, but it is carried out mostly by the wrong people.

Listen to Parveen Togadia, leader of the Gujarat unit of the VHP. He talks of forcible conversions, tension between “Hindu” tribals and the converted ones, the two factions clashing and the outside agencies, meaning the VHP and the Sangh Parivar units, having nothing to do with the arson and physical attack.

A riposte of sorts has come from the Christian sources and the Minorities Commission, all interested parties. And naturally they accuse the Sangh Parivar of instigating violence and appeal to the government to crack down on the violent elements.

It is not yet clear where the truth lies. For that we will have to wait for the fact-finding commission to come up with its report. Surely, this is not a point for debate.

Interestingly, some debate took place in the mid-50s, immediately after the release of the Niyogi Commission report on the conversion of Chhattisgarh tribals to Christianity. But those days were free from the communal paranoia that marks public utterances these days. And if my memory serves me right, the highly exaggerated fears of the future of the tribal belt have turned out to be just exaggerated.

Amidst the existing complexities, one point that should be debated vigorously is the failure of the government in damage control. The attack on the Christians has evoked international concern. Newspapers are flooded with stories of Western envoys calling on all and sundry and protesting against violent events. Strangely enough, the External Affairs Ministry has not so far, to go by the published reports, briefed the Indian embassies on how to handle the aftermath. It has left the task to the Home Ministry and these two do not have a tradition of working together.

It is for the third time that the present government has fumbled in dealing with the adverse fallout of a major development in the country. The Pokhran blasts were badly handled. The dismissal of Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat has been made worse by conflicting and wrong arguments in the absence of basic truth being made public. And now the attack on Christians in the tribal belt of Gujarat makes the government appear in a bad light.

Assam sitting over time bomb
by Krishna Das

VIOLENCE is not uncommon in Assam. But the recent developments which left 38 people dead, including two car bomb attacks right in the front of the state secretariat, were really uncommon. With disturbing notes emanating from Parliament for the AGP-led state government, the state ministry is likely to be in for serious trouble and come closer to getting sacked. It is Mr Prafulla Kumar Mahanta’s dame luck that Article 356 will not be liberally used, but he will be compelled to do a lot of explaining when the parliamentary delegation visits Assam. He will now be called upon to explain how the situation has become so bad and it will only be a matter of time before the incompetence of the Assam government gets exposed. For Assam, another bad year is gone and there is no hope that the present one will be any different.

Meanwhile, the Frankestein has returned home. The Bodo militancy, which was created and patronised by the earlier Congress regime to disturb the then AGP government, has now become uncontrollable . The militants are now bombing Dispur, or precisely Janata Bhawan, the seat of the Assam administration. The top brass of the state police did not have to dust off much of the old files to come to a conclusion that it was the handiwork of the Bodo Liberation Tiger Force (BITF). But what was shocking was that within 24 hours, the BITF attempted to carry out a second car bomb attack literally on the same spot, disregarding the security arrangements of the high security zone of the state.

The state’s most secured place has become the most unsafe place now with two car bombs on the same spot within a span of 24 hours. The police knew it was the BITF and it was reconfirmed with the possession of the licence from the body of the driver, who happens to be a dreaded BITF terrorist. But the unusual alacrity in identifying the prime accused the same day by the state police only reconfirmed their association with the group in the past. It is no more a secret that the Bodo youths were given arms training by the central intelligence agencies in Orissa to disturb the then AGP government in the mid-eighties.

Hence the BITF are superior in making bombs and executing the operation than both the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and ULFA. The BITF also have a knack of attacking innocent persons by planting bombs in crowded places. They had blasted similar bombs in Paltanbazar and in Assam Assembly Hostel campus five years back.

Whenever the Bodo movement reaches a dead end, this kind of blasts are common. In fact, history suggests similar kinds of incidents. It was former Bodo MLA Tajendra Narzary who had helped Thabela Basumatary in making the bomb and then detonating the same five years ago inside the assembly hostel complex as well as Paltanbazar on the same day.

This time also the Bodo issue has once again reached a dead end with the Union Government making it clear that unless the Assam Assembly recommends, they cannot come into the picture. This issue punctured the ABSU’s hope of comparing the Bodoland demand with that of Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Vananchal. In each of the three cited cases, the respective state assemblies have passed resolutions for the creation of a state carved out of their state. But not in the case of the Bodoland, and there are no chances of such a development in the future too, as the Bodos can at the maximum send only 12 MLAs to the Assam Assembly, much less than becoming an influential lobby.

The reason behind the two car bombs near Janata Bhawan is discernible. The BITF, which has always been working as a shadow of the Bodoland statehood agitation, has taken the extreme measure to bring the Bodo issue back to the centrestage. Earlier, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) also mowed down 12 woodcutters. Whether the BITF has succeeded in its efforts to bring the Bodo issue back to limelight or not, only time will answer, but they along with the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and ULFA have exposed thoroughly the hollowness of the security measures taken by the government to maintain peace in the state capital.

It is sheer luck for the state police that two of the dreadest Bodo militants accidentally got killed in the bomb blast. One of them happens to be Harkhab alias Hareshwar Boro alias Thomas Brahma, the chief bomb maker of Assam. He was the “central finance secretary” of the BITF with expertise in explosives making. He was, in fact, the most wanted man, who was instrumental in making almost all bombs single-handed in the past three years, blowing off road bridges, government houses and then car bombs. Harkhab was driving the vehicle when the bomb accidentally went off just near the state secretariat, killing himself and seven others on the spot.

The sporadic bomb blasts and the unchecked attacks by terrorists at will only signifies that the law and order machinery in the state has virtually collapsed, making the administration a mere mockery. It will not be a mistake to say that Assam is virtually sitting atop a time bomb that promises to detonate any moment. — Newscribe

‘Ram Ram’ to Ram
by T.R. Sharma

‘WHAT is there in a name?’ The man, who said this, must be feeling small because of his name. I have all sympathies for him. At one time, I used to feel slighted if some one introduced me with my full name — Tej Ram. I always wanted to hide my name behind my initials — T.R. To my delight, even in my twilight years, my close friend still call me simply T.R.

I was not alone in my agony with my full identity. There were whole lot of others — Biru Ram, Telu Ram, Thola Ram, Dola Ram, Beloo Ram, Kalu Ram — ad nauseam. It was literally — ‘Ram nam ki loot hai loot sake to loot’.

In pre-Independence days, the naming game in my part of hill-region of Himachal was very simple. For upper classes it was all Ram, may be Rati Ram or Gribu Ram, but they were the upper crust. For middle classes, it was all Das — Charan Das, Sharan Das, Karam Das and the like.

This pattern must have started with the coming of the Bhakti movement to the hills. In my family three generations before me were also all Ram — Khiali Ram, Nika Ram, Bhimi Ram. Ram ruled the roost for centuries. But with independence everything changed. The divorce with Ram was complete. With rays of independence, for a few years, it was all ‘Prakash’. My brothers were named as Tulsi Prakash and Bhubneshwar Prakash. The influence of first Prime Minister resulted in naming a brother of mine as Jawahar Lal. But severing of ties with Ram were complete. My cousin, who was initially named as Bala Ram, was enrolled in the School as Bal Krishan. It is a different matter that by the time the waive of “Takhallus” came to that part of the land, he went to the full length as — Bal Krishan Sharma Naveen.

My friend Tek Ram silently suffered the torment of a ‘lamb’ like name. By the time he became a Brigadier, he said enough is enough. He went through all the formalities and notified to all that he is no more a “lamb” and has become “lion”. And in his new incarnation he was Tek Singh Thakur.

The idea of changing over to an impressive name came to me very early in my school days. In those days I, as everybody else, was so conditioned by the “Rashi Chakras” that I could not think of any name other than one starting with “Te”. The name, which fascinated me then was having all the shades of light — Tejasvi Chander Prakash. He joined us in ninth class. The reason for his luminous name was that his father was Headmaster in a school. On the other hand, we were three Tej Rams in the same class. And I silently nursed my inner wounds as in the roll call I was always Tej Ram III.

The reprieve came when I joined the service in the city. Here, every- body had reduced his first name to English initials and added his caste surname like Sharma, Verma, Chauhan etc. Initials with surname were the new status symbol. Some people were more creative and added family, village or whatever surnames to their odd or not so odd first names. The gradation lists were replete with Jasta, Rejata, Kalta, Bragta etc.

During my southern sojourn, in many gatherings I was pleasantly surprised and delighted, when I was addressed as Tej Raman. I was completely taken in by the Raman effect. To the perceptive ones, Ram and Raman was the same thing but, the frill and the association restored by confidence in my name. This was the time when “Roots” had become a classic. Everybody was trying hard to go back to the roots. It was during this period that a South Indian scholar, well versed in Shastras, explained to me the significance of my first name. “I am ‘tej’ of the enlightened ones” says Krishna in the Gita. I was not amused and looked askance.

Another friend of mine surrendered his surname for different reasons. After many years, he completely dropped his surname — Bhagat. When everybody who is anybody was declaring himself as Bhagwan, why should he alone bear the burden of a Bhagat. He now is simply Tilak Raj, confident enough in the bureaucratic circles to declare that he, by virtue of his name, has divine right to rule.

I am slowly preparing myself for a paradigm shift in my perception to overcome a life-long complex. But for others the disillusionment with “Ram” is complete. In my fifth class all my classmates were having “Ram” as their second name. In schools now “Ram” is totally missing from the names. Perhaps after centuries, for the naming game, parents have finally said “Ram Ram” to Ram.

Importance of the Buddhist circuit
By M. S. N. Menon

TOURISM has much to do with religion. On how much, we have no accurate estimate.

In India, it is pilgrimage which is the most important segment of domestic tourism. And yet India has failed to exploit the Buddhist angle, the most potential.

Buddhism was born in India. But it almost disappeared from the country of its origin. It is, however, a major force in much of Asia — in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia and so on. There are about a billion Buddhists in the world.

How is it that India failed to promote the Buddhist angle in all these 50 years? And not only to promote tourism? There will be no honest answer to these questions. One thing is, however, beyond question: orthodox Hindus have always treated Buddhism, which is opposed to rituals, as a rival religion.

And yet perceptions have changed. In a world facing a “civilisational conflicts” (so we are told) the Hindus and Buddhists will naturally be on the same side of the barricade. This is now recognised by the BJP leaders. They have called for a new approach towards the Buddhist world. India must end its isolation.

Be that as it may, we are concerned here with the promotion of Buddhist tourism to India.

Of the 617 million world tourists, India was able to attract only 2.2 million tourists in 1997. That is a mere 0.4 per cent. South Asia accounts for 20 per cent of the world population. Yet it accounts for less than 1 per cent of world tourism.

South Asia, it seems, is not a favoured place in the tourist map of the world. All the same, tourism is the third largest export industry of India, and the first of Nepal. But it has suffered from long neglect and from an apathetic service sector. There is no powerful political lobby to back up tourism. Contrast this with China’s 23 million tourists. (Overseas Chinese form a large part of it.) Even Thailand and Malaysia received six million each.

How is one to explain this? Again, there is no clear answer. If, in spite of India’s pre-eminence, tourists avoid India, it is perhaps because India has been less enthusiastic about tourism. It does not make tourists feel that they are honoured guests. In fact, India has not understood the true role of tourism. It is certainly not the money that matters, though that is important.

Then what is the true significance of tourism? More than anything else, tourism helps a nation preserve its civilisation and heritage. To attract tourists, a country has to keep itself prim and preened. But at no cost to the exchequer, for tourism brings in vast revenues. Only a fraction of it is, however, spent by India on tourist promotion. This is a criminal policy, for the money should go first to the maintenance and improvement of our heritage. Remember, not long ago, our heritage was being vandalised and ruined. It suffered from long neglect. Many of India’s monuments were lost to forests or stripped by vandals. But no more. They are safer today. It is tourism which is leading to their restoration. Tourism is making our cities attractive and pleasant. And it earns substantial revenue. That is why tourism is important. It has created an automatic mechanism for the preservation of our heritage.

There are about 130 million domestic tourists. They generate about Rs 20,000 crore as revenue, enough to maintain tourist spots in the most attractive way. But the states of India treat tourism as a “cash cow”.... Shows how little they know about the importance of tourism. Even the interest of the future generations is not within their ken. This must change. This is where the BJP can bring about a new perspective.

India is not among the top 10 countries most favoured by tourists. Among the 10 are the USA, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong. Surely, these countries have nothing comparable to offer as India. So what is attracting tourists? Perhaps shopping and night life. Singapore and Hong Kong come in this category.

India will not go for night life. Nor will it opt for sex tourism. It is the way to ruin a country. Our emphasis must be on the Buddhist angle and the NRIs. If they come, it is more than enough. And there are tourists who are interested in India’s culture. They will keep coming. And there are those who come for adventure, conferencing and leisure. They are welcome. Our approach must be selective. And our efforts must be commensurate. But they are not.

Why are Indian planners averse to an industry that brings in yearly over Rs 10,000 crore in foreign exchange? They are not prepared to give it its due recognition or facilities for its growth. Instead, it is loaded with new duties and levies.

With its climatic diversity, majestic mountains, rivers, golden beaches, scenic beauties, and above all the diversity of its culture, India makes an attractive destination for discerning tourists. But these alone will not do. We must make their visit hassle free. And what we offer must be comparable to the best in the world.

India has become a high cost area for tourists, even beyond the means of the most affluent. Two reasons can be adduced: high cost of land and the greed of the hotel industry. India needs 1,50,000 hotel rooms, but has only 60,000. This explains why India has become a high cost area.

If the Centre has neglected tourism, it is worse in the case of states. Take the classic case of Bihar. It is the land of the Buddha and Bihar could have lived on the revenue from Buddhist pilgrims. But it has shown no such interest. The Buddhist circuit in Bihar consists of Rajgir, Nalanda, Bodhgaya and Vaishali. Gaya and Nalanda are dominated by violent ultra-Left outfits and the Ranvir Sena, a paramilitary force of the landlords. Vaishali district is notorious for lawlessness. The Bihar Government has done nothing to control this anarchy. And the Buddhist angle is far from its thoughts. Even foreign funds remain unutilised. There is no infrastructure worth the name. As for Bihar’s contribution to tourism, in 1996-97 it was no more than Rs 56 lakh! That is why there is a thought that tourism should be a Central subject.

The fact is: all initiatives have come from the Centre. For example, it organised the Buddha Mahotsav. It has now become an annual affair. It attracted over 3000 tourists. It showed the gaps in the Buddhist circuit. As a result, UP has spent Rs 77 crore to develop Buddhist sites such as Sarnath, Kushinagar, Sravasti, Kausambi, Kapilavastu and Sankisa.

As part of this Mahotsav, a Buddha Parikarma Express, more like the Palace on Wheels, has been introduced. It is a six-day package tour starting from Calcutta, covering Kushinagar, Sarnath, Rajgir, Nalanda and Bodhgaya.

It is hoped this will promote social and cultural interaction between India and the Buddhist countries. This is of the greatest importance to our foreign policy objectives.

The BJP promises a new tourism policy. If it is to spell out the new perspective, it would be welcome. Not otherwise.

India is launching the “Visit India year” on April 1, which is to last till March 31 next year. This time we must concentrate our attention on the Buddhist circuit and the NRIs. And, what is more appropriate than to organise a new Buddhist circuit linking Sri Lanka and the South representing Buddhists and Hindus, now that a free trade area has been created between the two countries?

75 YEARS AGO

Gleanings
The Nizam’s tact

HIS Highness’s stay at Hanumakonda for about a month has been fruitful of one very good result. The unfortunate strained relationship between the Hindus of Matwada and a section of the Mahomedan population of the place has been completely cleared up.

In spite of the fact that the relationship between the Mahomedans and the Hindus is pre-eminently the most amicable in His Highness’s Dominions, some irresponsible men of the place started a riot about a year ago, and more than 100 well-to-do Hindus were arraigned before the District Magistrate for rioting and other kindred offences, which was, however, withdrawn by the prompt orders of His Highness, and the sequel to it in the attempt of the building of a mosque on the spot was, on the report of a Committee specially appointed for the purpose, directed to be abandoned, a public school being constructed in lieu thereof.

The result of this wise measure has been the promotion of peace and harmony between the two communities, to the satisfaction of not only the Hindu, but also all the Mahomedan residents and officials there. — Indian Patriot.