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IN FOCUS

President Clinton’s Bharat yatra
Expectations and apprehensions
by Salman Haidar
PRESIDENT Clinton is now virtually on our doorstep. It has been a long build-up, something of a tease: will he come or won’t he? and when. And especially, where else will he go? The loud effort on our part to keep Pakistan off the schedule did not succeed — to nobody’s surprise, and no sensible person will shed any tears.

Trade ties to touch new high
by T.V. Lakshminarayan
Mr Bill Clinton is about to visit India, and it will be the first visit by a President of the United States since Mr Jimmy Carter’s visit in 1978. A US President visiting India after nearly 22 years has made the occasion “historic” and India and the USA are both determined to show tangible results of the visit.

“Quote — Unquote”

PROFILE

by Harihar Swarup Hardliner with swadeshi tag IN one-to-one meetings the new RSS chief, Kuppahalli Sitaramayya Sudarshan, gives the impression of a puritan. He lives in a narrow one-room set at Jhandewalan whenever in Delhi, wears a half-sleeve, locally-stitched khadi baniyan and dons a long shirt and dhoti when outdoors. Callers on him sit in plastic chairs, facing him as he squats on a simple bed and speaks to the visitors intimately, affectionately without demonstrating the position he holds in the RSS.

DELHI DURBAR

75 years ago
The Under Secretary's Defence
WE cannot find any reason, logic or commonsense in the defence of the action which has just been put forward by Earl Winterton in the House of Commons. In reply to the pointed question of Colonel Wedgwood, whether there was a single precedent for the place of a Governor being taken by anybody not on the spot, by anybody except the Senior Executive councillor, all that the good Earl could bring himself to say was that "no precedent could be found in what was done in filling ordinary vacancies temporarily."

President Clinton’s Bharat yatra
Expectations and apprehensions
by Salman Haidar

PRESIDENT Clinton is now virtually on our doorstep. It has been a long build-up, something of a tease: will he come or won’t he? and when. And especially, where else will he go? The loud effort on our part to keep Pakistan off the schedule did not succeed — to nobody’s surprise, and no sensible person will shed any tears. It was a false issue from the start, and now that it is finally out of the way we can look more clearly at what the visit augurs.

The President’s itinerary, no less than the build-up to the visit, has been carefully tailored. State visits have a predictable pattern: Mr Clinton will of course go to some of the grand sight-seeing places — Agra, Jaipur, and Ranthambore to see a tiger if his luck holds. He has been vocal in expressing appreciation of the visit of his wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea when they came here some years ago and he knows there is much to see and to enjoy as he follows in their footsteps. But he will also go to India’s IT heartland, Hyderabad, where the sinews of the future Indo-US relationship are being fashioned. What he will see and project back to his country is not the familiar India of poverty and hopelessness but a fresher image of a confident, skilled country, well-placed to play its part in the world of tomorrow. It is not the picture of an anxious supplicant but of an associate with a great deal to offer on its own account. American spokespersons have laid stress on the perception of a partner relationship of their country with India in the future. The President’s visit is deliberately planned to drive home this point.

As is usual, a number of agreements and memoranda of understanding will emerge from the visit. A flock of business people will be in attendance and no doubt several deals will be struck. This is part of the routine. What is different is the ‘statement of vision’ to be issued during the visit. According to reports, this is the document that ranks highest with the President. To know what it contains we will have to wait. The title, however, gives an indication of what to expect: a forward-looking expression of growing opportunity and potential. Such documents are far from routine adjuncts to top-level visits. So the ‘statement of vision’ should be an important marker for the future.

Identified and established areas of cooperation, like trade and investment, combating terrorism and opposing trade in narcotics, among others, are bound to come in for appropriate mention. This may prove to be the time when we move on to a different level in the relationship. Tricky concepts like a strategic partnership, often spoken of but of little practical value, may emerge from the shadows to brighter focus. A sense of genuine possibility has been created.

Perhaps the biggest gain to be obtained from the visit is in the impact it can have on the manner in which the two sides approach each other. Interests converge in several areas but we are yet to evolve an acceptable mode of expressing this reality. The experience of the last several decades of finding ourselves on opposing sides in global matters has left a bundle of attitudes and habits. They die hard and have left a residue. There is a good deal of debris to be tidied up. Public comment in India about not the visit alone but the wider bilateral relationship with the USA remains edgy. Comment on the visit has been more in terms of the immediate and current issues — WTO, Indo-Pak relations, terrorism etc. — than on the grander vistas of the future. Nor are attitudinal impediments a one-sided deficiency. American insensitivity to India, random and inexplicable, keeps cropping up, among the latest being the recent effort (by a non-official, it should be said) to promote the appointment of an American ambassador for J & K affairs. Such lumbering initiatives only feed the ever-present doubt and suspicion in India about American intentions. Unclogging channels of perception and of communication may be the most important potential benefit of the President’s visit. How we approach each other is a significant part of any fresh chapter in the relationship, and changes of attitude are essential. Mr Clinton’s interest in the ‘vision’ statement seems to bear out this expectation.

Some people have argued that the visit cannot amount to much, no matter how carefully it is structured and presented. Mr Clinton is now a lame duck. His visit is largely a formalistic affair, not far removed from a touristic jaunt. The ‘vision’ he wants to promote will barely survive his journey before being overwhelmed by the clamour of normal politics, heightened by the impending US election. So there is no need to invest too heavily in his coming or to have too many expectations from his visit. But such a negative prognosis seems wide of the mark. American planning for the President’s journey has been remarkably sustained and extensive. Apart from the skilled media management, which has eked out the full value of slow and gradual revelation of programme details, there has been a vast traffic in businessmen, academics, think-tank denizens, and the like as part of the preliminaries. The effort has been not just to showcase Mr Clinton but to involve in his plans the wider group which has an effective role in the bilateral relationship. This degree of activity suggests the intention to leave an enduring mark so that the Clinton visit will be regarded as a genuine turning point.

Lest we should be carried away by the upbeat talk, some sobering statements have also been aired. They act as a reminder that high expectation about the future does not mean that the problems of today have been bypassed. American spokesmen have made this clear. A number of issues have been listed where the views of the two sides are not in alignment with each other. There is a whole clutch of issues on nuclear matters which add up to a substantial package of disagreement. Even closer to the bone is the question of Jammu and Kashmir where American expectations are at odds with ours. The President himself has described the Line of Control (LoC) in J & K as the most dangerous place in the world, and American commentators dwell on the risk of strained relations between India and Pakistan leading to a nuclear flashpoint in the sub-continent. That such fears have several times been dismissed in India only emphasises the gap.

The question now is of managing these differences without preventing the growth of what is positive and helpful in the relationship. The differences are not to be wished away or to be ignored. They relate to core areas of Indian defence and security policy, and to the structure of peace in the sub-continent. A sustained high-level Indo-US dialogue principally on nuclear issues over nearly two years has been welcomed on both sides and has heightened mutual understanding. Nevertheless, however carefully packaged and however tactfully urged, the US position amounts to a challenge to India. Modifications of policy are sought from us and there is little public sign that such adjustments by us will elicit any meaningful concessions from the other side. Clearly the two sides will have to remain engaged in the dialogue. Nuclear policy is an arcane matter and by now the CTBT is more of a shibboleth than a genuine constraint upon us. One can hope that differences can be whittled away through sustained dialogue. Differences on Kashmir cut deeper. For one thing, there is no reason now to believe, as we did in the aftermath of Kargil, that a decisive shift in US policy towards the sub-continent had taken place, enabling us to sort things out in Kashmir through our own resoluteness and firm policy. We find instead that the President himself is describing the situation there in frightening terms, and we are being urged to start a dialogue, with willing mediators hovering on the sidelines. All this tramples on some of our most zealously held beliefs, including the need to resolve matters bilaterally without any third party intervention.

This airing of differences has the effect of putting down markers and identifying issues that may have to be tackled in time. Such differences, however, will not be permitted to detract from the lustre of the visit. In coming here, Mr Clinton has made a considerable personal effort. His visit can serve both countries well by upgrading and modernising relations between them.

The writer is a former Foreign Secretary.

Trade ties to touch new high
by T.V. Lakshminarayan

Mr Bill Clinton is about to visit India, and it will be the first visit by a President of the United States since Mr Jimmy Carter’s visit in 1978. A US President visiting India after nearly 22 years has made the occasion “historic” and India and the USA are both determined to show tangible results of the visit.

On the political side, there is little scope for progress with the USA differing with India on its perception of the Kashmir problem, nuclear disarmament and the military regime in Pakistan.

This means that economic cooperation will be the main playing area for the two countries where significant results can be shown. According to analysts, the concrete result of the trip would be increased trade and investment.

With a population of about one billion people, India is potentially a major market for the USA and it is believed that in the long run it could be a useful counter to the region’s economic heavyweight, China.

Already the USA is India’s single largest export market with bilateral trade in 1999 recording over 12 billion dollars. Indian exports account for eight billion dollars and US exports for three billion dollars.

According to the Director-General of the Confederation of Indian Industry, which has an office in the USA, Mr Clinton during his visit will have a huge agenda to expand bilateral trade relations.

Indo-US bilateral trade is targeted at 15 billion dollars in the next couple of years. By 2008, it is expected to go up to 20 billion dollars, which would mean almost doubling the present figure.

The importance of trade in bilateral relations between the two countries can be gauged from the fact that an advance team of the US Trade and Development Agency (TDA) is here to review the Indian trade scenario ahead of Mr Clinton’s five-day visit.

According to the TDA Director, Mr Joe Grandmaison, India is rich in opportunities and the agency finds it an excellent competitor of the USA, in terms of trade and business.

“The importance can be gauged from the fact that the President would be visiting five cities in India”, he told a meeting of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

TDA wants to establish a win-win relationship in trade activities with India, he said, adding that the organisation was eager to facilitate joint ventures that would benefit both the host country and the US investor..

He said knowledge-based industries like Information Technology, media and telecommunications were areas in which India and the USA had a lot to offer to each other.

As an early indication of ventures in India, the USTDA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd providing 218,950 dollars as grant to support a study for the company’s Internet-over-cable project.

From the Indian side, the apex chamber of commerce and industry, the CII, is planning to launch a host of initiatives to boost exports to the USA.

A forum of Chief Executive Officers is being planned to be set up between Indian and US companies. The panel, to be headed by a prominent Indian CEO, will hold meetings twice a year to identify methods to increase trade and investment between the two countries. This will be the first top-level CEO forum between the two countries. Another CEO group will be formed specifically for infotech, pharma and bio-technology sectors. This forum will be headed by Infosys CEO N.R.Narayanmurthy. These two forums will feed the Government-to-Government economic dialogue which will also be launched during the visit.

According to Mr Tarun Das, there are a number of areas which India needs to look at closely for cooperation with the USA. Efforts need to be made to attract more foreign institutional investment to India, especially in the area of telecom business, in which the USA is one of the biggest players.

Apart from telecom, the USA is also the biggest source of investment for India in the financial sector, insurance sector, power projects and agriculture sector, apart from contributing the bulk of FII investment.

From the US side, Mr Clinton will come prepared to argue the case in favour of the US industry. According to a list of potential policy outcomes of the Clinton visit to India, drawn up by the US Commerce Department, the USA will seek a commitment from India for lowering the excise duty on soft drinks, removing the embargo on the import of American soda ash, granting duty free access to Kodak’s Nepal plant, and relaxing “stock and sale licensing” requirements for household insecticides.

About 50 top CEOs in the energy, telecom, insurance and infotech sectors will also be accompanying the US President. Though it is still unclear who will finally make it to the delegation, indications are that knowledge-based cooperation will be their area of interest.

A whole slew of contracts is also expected to be signed between US and Indian companies during Mr Clinton’s visit. These include a sales contract between General Motors and Indian Railways, a new tariff agreement between CMS and Andhra Pradesh for the Jegurupada power project, coal bed methane exploration licence for Ogden from the Petroleum Ministry and sales contract between Water Systems International and the Haryana Government for a fluoride removal system.

A number of contracts are also expected to be signed by independent power producers with their US energy partners in the presence of Mr Clinton.

Quantitative restrictions on several items of import from the USA has been a matter of dispute between the two countries for several years now. However, the two countries have recently signed a bilateral agreement which has determined a period of time for removing quantitative restrictions.

Consequent upon the rulings and recommendations of the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organisation that India was no longer justified in maintaining quantitative restrictions on imports on balance of payments grounds in a dispute filed by the USA, the bilateral agreement was signed for removing them in a phased manner.

Accordingly, out of the existing quantitative restrictions (QRs) on 1429 tariff lines at eight digit level maintained on balance of payments grounds, QRs on 714 items are to be removed by April 1, 2000 and on the rest of the 715 items by April 1, 2001.

“Quote — Unquote”

“A strong state is strong in sofar as all its various institutions of authority function together. It would be a mistake if Putin takes on the role of trying to be all things”.—Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Acting President Vladimir Putin.

***

“As you know, one of the most disturbing developments in South Asia is the proliferation of terrorist organisations in Pakistan that threaten the U.S., India and other allies in the region”.

—US Congressman Robert Wexler in a letter to President Clinton.

***

“But the CTBT is far too important to abandon. We are determined to continue working for the Treaty and to join with others around the world to halt the development and spread of more advanced nuclear arms”.

— US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

***

“You should voice against criticism of their provocative posture towards the Kashmir insurgency making clear that they (Pakistani rulers) and their country would not be better off if Pakistan foments a war with India over Kashmir or anything else”.

— US foreign policy experts in a letter to President Clinton.

***

“There is no question of going back to the Congress even if Sonia Gandhi quits the party. I have built up the NCPC (Nationalist Congress Party) to strengthen it”.

— NCP General Secretary Purno Sangma.

***

“It seems Naxalites do not have faith in the democratic system adopted by India”.

— Union Home Minister L.K. Advani on the occasion of the 31st Raising Day of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

***

“It is neither advisable nor permissible to accept the recommendation of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to provide reservations to S.C. and S.T. candidates in defence forces, scientific establishments and the judiciary”.

— The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in its action taken memorandum on the report of the Commission for 1996-97 and 1997-98.

***

“Combating hunger and unemployment should be the basic thrust of the policies. The policy formulation should necessarily involve farmers, artisans, SSI units who constitute three-fourths of the economic activities”.

— R.S.S. Chief K.S. Sudarshan.

***

“I am part and parcel of the Sikh Panth and have the right to preside over the SGPC executive meeting”.

— SGPC Chief Bibi Jagir Kaur.

***

“The plagiarism charge is part of a deep rooted conspiracy engineered from Delhi to stall the making of my film in West Bengal”.

— Film maker Deepa Mehta in an interview.

***

“The killing of the lawyer (in Pakistan) further underscored the need to press for openness, democracy and constitutional rule”.

— White House Spokesman Joe Lockhard.

***

“As fundamentalism runs counter to women's rights, they should shoulder the responsibility of preserving secularism”.

— Ms Shabana Azmi, M.P.

***

“We do expect the coming summer to be one in which the Pakistanis will increase their activities on the border and inside Jammu and Kashmir”.

— Defence Minister George Fernandes.

***

“The US position is well known. They term Kashmir as a disputed territory. We don't agree. There is no change in their position as yet”.

— Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on the US position on Kashmir.

***

“There were proposals for division of the state separating Jammu and separating Muslim majority parts and carving out a greater Kashmir. We will have to be cautious about that”.

— Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah.

***

“We urge the Union Government to take effective steps to ensure that support to insurgents from outside Assam is neutralised without any further delay”.

— Assam Governor Lt-Gen-(Retd) S.K. Sinha.

***

“Our goal should be to have a double digit rate of growth of GDP at the earliest”.

— Principal Scientific Adviser to the Union Government, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

***

“The most dangerous place in the world today is the Indian Sub-continent and the Line of Control in Kashmir. Is that an ethnic conflict or religious one”?

— US President Bill Clinton, while addressing inter-faith religion meeting.

***

“Water is increasingly becoming scarce and there could be riots over water”.

— Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Arun Gujarathi.

***

"Till yesterday, Washington was threatening to include Pakistan in the list of terrorist states. What has changed since then that has led the United States Administration to include Pakistan in Mr Clinton's South Asia itinerary".

— "The Voice of Russia" in a commentary.

***

"Pakistan disrupted tourism in Jammu and Kashmir for 10 years. But when it saw tourism reviving, it launched the direct campaign at Kargil".

— Union Home Minister L.K. Advani while referring to Kargil conflict.

***

"We are committed reformists".

— Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala.

***

"In a globalised economy, poverty eradication cannot be treated as the exclusive responsibility of individual nations".

— Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee

***

"The global community must come together to arm and defend itself against the random and indiscriminate violence.... But the eventual victory against terrorism will be secured in the minds of men".

— K. P. S. Gill, President of the Institute of Conflict Management.

Profile
by Harihar Swarup
Hardliner with swadeshi tag

IN one-to-one meetings the new RSS chief, Kuppahalli Sitaramayya Sudarshan, gives the impression of a puritan. He lives in a narrow one-room set at Jhandewalan whenever in Delhi, wears a half-sleeve, locally-stitched khadi baniyan and dons a long shirt and dhoti when outdoors. Callers on him sit in plastic chairs, facing him as he squats on a simple bed and speaks to the visitors intimately, affectionately without demonstrating the position he holds in the RSS. To important ones, he offers tea and sweets and asks him to guess what it is ? Some are able to guess; it is “amla muraba”, full of vitamin-C. Sudarshan is always on the move, travelling extensively. He has no home of his own, no family to look after. His home is the RSS headquarters in Delhi or wherever he sojourns. Sudarshanji, as he is known, is 100 per cent “swadeshi” in style of living and in thinking too.

Sudarshanji was a brilliant student, having acquired the B.E. degree in telecommunication, a forceful speaker, fluent besides his native tongue Kannada, in other regional languages like Bangla and Assamese. But he is not as scholarly as his predecessor, Prof Rajendra Singh, alias Rajju Bhaiyya, who taught physics in Allahabad University and is still remembered by a galaxy of students produced by him. While Rajju Bhaiyya is known to be a moderate, having a broader perspective, can think beyond “Hindutava”, Sudarshan is a hardliner; some call him a “hawk”. In political circles Rajju Bhaiyya is likened to Atal Behari Vajpayee and Sudarshanji to L.K. Advani.

The RSS under the new supremo is likely to become proactive and pursue its goal more vigorously. Within hours of taking over from Rajju Bhaiyya, Sudarshanji revived the agenda for the RSS, set its goal and indicated that he meant business. The agenda includes primacy to “swadeshi”, restoration of economic sovereignty and scrapping the present Constitution which, he feels, has become impractical.

Construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is an article of faith for the new RSS chief and he sees the agitation by the VHP as a renaissance in the Hindu “samaj”. In an interview to the RSS organ, “Panchjanya”, soon after taking over, he likened the pulling down of the Berlin wall with laying the foundation stone of the Ram temple.”Demolition of the Berlin wall was a symbol of collapse of communism and foundation of Sri Ram Janmabhoomi temple was a symbol of resurgence of Indian nationhood”.

Though Sudarshan is the first RSS chief hailing from the South, he was born, brought up and educated in what is now Madhya Pradesh. His parents come from Kuppahalli village in Mysore district. His father, Sitaramayya joined the forest service of the old Madhya Pradesh Government with its capital at Nagpur. Born in Raipur in 1931, Sudarshan got his early education in far flung places like Mandla, Damoh and Chandrapur (now in Maharashtra). Finally, he joined the Jabalpur Engineering College and obtained the bachelor’s degree in telecommunication with distinction.

A brilliant student as Sudarshan was, he was selected in the first interview as an engineer but preferred to be a RSS “pracharak”. A class-mate of his was astonished at his choice and told another colleague: “Look, what a stupid thing Sudarshan has done. He has become something called a ‘pracharak’ of the RSS, giving up a bright career. What a fool!” But for the young Sudarshan there was no looking back.

He completely dedicated himself to the RSS, vowed not to get married, left his home and promoted the organisation’s work in various regions of central India. Seeing his dedication, the RSS leadership of that time drafted him to carry on the Sangh’s work in the north-eastern states — a difficult task indeed. He toured the region extensively during his prolonged sojourn in mountainous areas and thick jungles and picked up besides Bangla and Assamese the local dialects also. As far back as 1990,he was appointed “sah sar sanchalak” (deputy chief).

Sudarshan is the fifth RSS chief and he has been greatly influenced by Guru Golwalkar, the third “Sar Sangh Sanchalak”, who had a fanatical following and known to be a strict disciplinarian as the present one. Like Guru Golwalkar, Sudarshan is also a hardliner who wants to build a resurgent society with “Hindutava” as its main stay and ‘swadeshi’ as its economic philosophy. Will he succeed in the current political complexities?

Delhi durbar
The drama behind the RS nomination

ONE never knows when lady luck smiles on you. So seems the case of Mr Bhagatram Manhar who got the nod as a Congress nominee for the Rajya Sabha elections from Madhya Pradesh hours before the close of nominations. That too after the party announced the candidature of Mr Shivkumar Deharia.

According to party grapevine former MP Chief Minister, Shyama Charan Shukla was opposed to the nomination of Mr Deharia who was supposed to be favoured by the party spokesman Mr Ajit Jogi. In fact, Mr Manhar and another aspirant, Mrs Shakuntla Banjare, had returned to Madhya Pradesh after apparently losing the race.

Interestingly, when the party High Command decided to replace Mr Deharia, it could not contact Mrs Banjare who was travelling by road to Bhopal. Frantic messages were sent to locate her till her car was finally waved down by authorities at a checkpost some 90-km away from Bhopal. The message was she should contact party leaders in Delhi. As she made contact, it was realised that even if she was given the go ahead it would be well impossible for her to reach the Capital before the close of nominations. So the choice fell on Mr Manhar. So goes the story.

Respect for rival

Even though Mr Pranab Mukherjee is a Congress man, he has an ardent admirer in Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan.

Mr Mahajan appreciates the positive manner in which the senior Congress leader contributes during meetings of political parties to decide upon what business the House should take. Due to his sound knowledge of rules and regulations of the proceedings, when Mr Mukherjee makes a point even those from the government side find it hard to challenge him.

As Mr Mahajan says, Mr Mukherjee always stresses that the main objective behind Parliament sitting was to take up government business and that it should not be just a debating forum.

The Yogi from America

Recently an impressive reception was hosted at a pool side of a luxury hotel in the Capital and the place was swarming with lots of Americans which gave a feeling that the group could have been an advance party for Mr Clinton.

Yet only one thing stood out, a large majority of those fair-hued persons wore ‘desi’ attire complete with a turban. After all they were followers of the Sikh Dharma of Western hemisphere of the USA set up by Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogi.

Yogi Harbhajan Singh hosted a reception in honour of Mr Tarlochan Singh on his appointment as Vice Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities and representatives cutting across political spectrum were also present on the occasion.

Mr Tarlochan Singh who perhaps has the rare honour of being feted endlessly since his appointment remarked on the occasion that while Indians were trying to project the country abroad, Yogiji was making mini-India at several places across the hemisphere by preaching the sacred thoughts of the gurus.

Reporting Clinton

United States and media coverage are synonymous. And, when it is the US President travelling to an international destination, it is definitely big news for them. Making sure that the US Press does not get left out from big events, the President ensures that a team of White House journalists travel with him all the time.

This would be the case when he arrives in India and a whole army of presspersons from the print media, the electronic media and still photography would be part of his entourage in Air Force One. The US correspondents based in India will only be giving ground support. Due to paucity of space at several venues, including the airport, the Indian authorities handling the visit have imposed several restrictions on the Press. For once, there will be a pooling of copies by major news agencies. In other words those who cannot make it to the venue would have to depend on the agencies for coverage. From the US side, the mediapersons travelling with the President would have no such restrictions.

It was with this in mind, that the authorities decided that on March 20, when Mr Clinton leaves for Bangladesh, no mediapersons would be allowed to cover the event. A worried US journalist then queried that they normally cover the President’s departure from the ground. Her logic was, God forbid if something disastrous happens to the President’s plane then who will cover the crash? After all you cannot miss a story.

Jassi and Tihar jail

The high-security Tihar jail in Delhi has been in the news for the process of reforms initiated during the tenure of Mrs Kiran Bedi as its Inspector General some years ago.

The jail has also been holding periodic exercise allowing the inmates to meet prominent personalities and interact with them. At times there is a cricket match or at other times it could be a concert. Last week it was the turn of Punjabi pop star Jassi’s turn. The numbers that he sang without doubt set the inmates on the roll with many making the best use of the entertainment opportunity.

Incidentally, Jassi who sang in Punjabi found to his amazement that nearly everyone enjoyed his songs which prompted him to query: “Do all of you follow what I said or sang” and the assembled responded spontaneously with a big “Haan (yes)”. Though taken aback slightly, Jassi followed it up with a joke “Mainu pata tha ki mere Pind de log athai he milenge (I knew I will meet people of my village here)’’.

Throwing candlelight on animals

And now actress Dimple Kapadia has agreed to raise funds for the cause of animals. The glamorous actress who manufactures candles will be in the Capital soon to sell her products at a five-star hotel. She plans to share the profits with People for Animals, an animal welfare organisation headed by animal rights activist, Maneka Gandhi. Since it was set up in ’94, celebrities and artists have raised funds for PFA by staging shows, plays and even holding art exhibitions. The organisation runs ambulance vans, animal shelters and cat centres.

Meri Dilli-Hamara Bill

The much awaited visit of US President, Bill Clinton seems to be burning a hole in the pocket of the tax payer. The bills resulting from sprucing up the Capital on such a massive scale have been on the rise. Civic agencies including the municipal authorities and the Delhi Vidyut Board are not leaving any stone unturned literally to ensure that “Hamari Dilli” does not attract any adverse comment from Bill Clinton (never mind the unrealistic bills that go with it).

The DVB men are seen replacing bulbs (Surya?) on streetpoles. Roads are being swept throughout the day to remove even a speck of dust and new pavements have come up and old ones are being given a fresh layer of paint. Surely, the hysteria preceding Mr Clinton’s visit has led to visible development overnight but then at what cost is the question.

(Contributed by T.V. Lakshminarayan, K V Prasad, Girija Shankar Kaura and P N Andley)

75 years ago
March 19, 1925
The Under Secretary's Defence

WE cannot find any reason, logic or commonsense in the defence of the action which has just been put forward by Earl Winterton in the House of Commons. In reply to the pointed question of Colonel Wedgwood, whether there was a single precedent for the place of a Governor being taken by anybody not on the spot, by anybody except the Senior Executive councillor, all that the good Earl could bring himself to say was that "no precedent could be found in what was done in filling ordinary vacancies temporarily."

But if no precedent could be found here, could it be found anywhere else? It is absurd to say that because no Governor had previously been given leave, therefore no question of a precedent arose at all. The question is not whether any Governor had previously been given leave, but whether occasions had arisen for filling up temporary vacancies.

If that question must be answered in the affirmative, clearly the present case was analogous, because what mattered was the vacancy itself and not how it arose. The plain fact is that having superseded Sir Abdur Rahim because he is an Indian, and being naturally unwilling or unable to state this ground publicly, the Secretary of State is left without any rational explanation of his action, and can only resort to equivocation for purposes of defence.