E D I T O R I A L   P A G E

EDITORIALS

Small mercy this 
GOING by a number of financial sops offered on Wednesday, it is obvious that the Centre is yet to formulate a coherent policy on the small scale sector and its deep problems. The sudden enthusiasm to help the lakhs of small units which dot the country is directly related to the flood of imports expected from next year when WTO provisions take effect. 

FRANKLY SPEAKING

Small mercy this 

GOING by a number of financial sops offered on Wednesday, it is obvious that the Centre is yet to formulate a coherent policy on the small scale sector and its deep problems. The sudden enthusiasm to help the lakhs of small units which dot the country is directly related to the flood of imports expected from next year when WTO provisions take effect. At present this sector makes many consumer goods, accounts for about 35 per cent of exports and generates vast employment. Imports will threaten the viability of these units, many of which are already sick. The main cause is the size and hence unviability of periodic technology upgradation. Those bursting with funds cannot enter this charmed circle for two reasons. One, there is a ceiling on investment to become a small unit — it has been raised to Rs 1 crore from the previous Rs 50 lakh. Until two years ago the ceiling was still lower, at Rs 30 lakh. Hence they produce usually one single item and market it as best as they could. There are government agencies to assist them but not much good comes out of this because these units, clustered in industrial estates, lack glamour. The second problem is more acute. A large number of products — more than 850 — are reserved for small units and this blocks competition. Normally, a small industrialist ties up with a big unit and supplies one or the other part and manages to run his factory in one shift or, in rare cases, two shifts. Given the small supporting workforce, he has to per force keep a large stock of raw material and often of finished product too, waiting for the buyer to clear them. The few concessions he avails off do not help him overcome the difficulties of both size and outdated technology. The natural casualty is quality and new design. Barring a section the manufacturers turn out the shell of a part, preferring the customers, which are essentially bigger units, to give the finishing touches.

Financial help is welcome as when the Union budget offered. But a small producer needs much more. Unless he is a technical hand, he needs advice on product and technology selection and marketing. He does not get them from the public agencies and harassed by a dozen inspectors and faced with delayed payment, his survival becomes a matter of chance. The idea of setting up small units had an Indian and Japanese inspiration. It was to tap and encourage the famed Indian artisan, excellent in his craft and ready to adapt. A potter can switch to ceramic potteries and with profit. The Japanese industrial revolution in the post-war period was driven by cottage units, not literally but symbolically. Big manufacturers parcelled out the work to families which made them in their homes, thus slashing the need for capital and overhead expenditure. This country wanted to follow that route but stumbled. To revive the initial enthusiasm and recharge the energy, the government should work out plans to provide the small sector with modern technology and strengthen its commercial relationship with other sectors. The Prime Minister has also unveiled a nearly Rs 450 crore rescue package for the handloom industry. There is more nostalgia than pragmatism in this. Handloom products are losing their appeal except from cheap garment makers for export. Benaras sari weavers, embroiders and traders are in crisis caused by slack demand. It is a herculean task to rekindle the love for handlooms what with modern mills resorting to multicrore television advertisements. Nimble-handed UP weavers helped Mumbai and Ahmedabad textile mills to overcome the teething trouble. The same mills are today uprooting an entire industry and a way of life. 

Wounded spirit of spirituality

UNITED Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan deserves two cheers for organising the Millennium World Peace Summit. The world has seen more blood being shed in the name of religion than for any other cause. And some of the worst atrocities by the defenders of the faith were committed in the last century of the previous millennium Against this backdrop the getting-together of over 1,500 religious and spiritual leaders for the on-going summit in New York may help the global community understand the irrelevance of turning personal, and often petty, differences into religious wars. For this reason alone the head of the UN should have earned unqualified and universal praise. After all, it was at his initiative that an inter-faith dialogue at a critical juncture in the history of mankind was made possible. So, why just two cheers for his effort? Because he failed to prevail upon China to allow the Dalai Lama to address the assembly of spiritual leaders. By forcing the UN to keep out the temporal and spiritual head of the followers of the Buddha from the peace summit the Chinese leadership violated the spirit of spirituality, which helps individuals to perform the miracle of transcending the limits of personal faith for attaining the ultimate state of divine bliss. The Dalai Lama is not just a Nobel peace laureate, but also a spiritual leader who commands respect among members of all faiths. His presence would have added substance to the exercise of keeping religion out of politics and introducing elements of spirituality into the politics as practised by the world. The Dalai Lama would have attended the peace summit not to discuss the future of Tibet but the spiritual health of mankind. And he is without doubt an articulate exponent of the doctrine of non-violence as an essential element of all faiths. The problem with the Chinese leadership is that it tends to see red whenever and wherever the name of the Dalai Lama is mentioned among the top spiritual leaders of the world. It is unfortunate that China which, along with the Indian subcontinent, was once the repository of the best spiritual values known to mankind has grossly misread Mao's dictum that religion is the opium of the masses. Mao attacked organised religion, but not spirituality.

Any religion without the essential under-pinning of spiritual values can indeed prove more dangerous than opium to the collective good of mankind. Such a form of distorted religion is being practised in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Iran under the liberal leadership of President Mohammad Khatami is trying to rediscover the true spirit of Islam which encourages the faithful to be merciful and forgiving because these are the qualities dear to Allah. The punishment for shedding innocent blood under the garb of defending Islam is as severe as it is for the infidels. It is a pity that the Chinese leadership treats any reference to spiritual values as a cardinal sin. The members of the Falun Gong sect are tortured because their gospel of peace and non-violence as the ultimate weapon for conquering the world makes Communist China feel insecure. Red China's myopic approach to dealing with spiritual issues became evident when its representative at the peace summit staged a walkout the moment a Buddhist monk rose to read out a message from the Dalai Lama. At about the same time the Chinese authorities displayed their rabid dislike for the Dalai Lama when customs officers seized 16,000 copies of a book of photographs by the White House's official photographer because one picture shows President Bill Clinton shaking hands with the Buddhist monk. Of course, the spiritual head of the Buddhist community tried to provide a face-saver to Mr Annan by announcing that he was unable to attend the peace summit in New York because of "important engagements in Dharamsala". However, the Chinese snub caused turbulence in South Africa when the country's most respected spiritual leader Bishop Desmond Tutu turned down the invitation to attend the peace summit. In a strongly worded letter to Mr Annan he is reported to have said that he found the exclusion of the Dalai Lama from the conclave of spiritual heads of all faiths "totally bizarre and unbelievable". He went to the extent of saying that it "compromises the integrity and credibility of the summit". He is not alone in believing that the Dalai Lama's presence would have raised the credibility-level of the current exercise.

The malaise in the polity
Three areas of darkness
by Hari Jaisingh

AMIDST innumerable policies and functional aberrations, three areas of national crisis stand out which send alarming signals of a deep-rooted malaise in the polity.

The first is the Kashmir imbroglio with all its domestic, subcontinental and international dimensions. Who committed the first policy blunder way back in 1948 is no longer a guarded secret. It is widely known and discussed. What has, however, been tragic is that the persons at the helm at different times and in different situations have moved from committing one mistake after another. Today we are only harvesting the crop of blunders the seeds of which were sown in the past. We could still be in a happier position had the present masters of the country's destiny learnt a few lessons from history and applied correctives to put matters on the right track. More of Kashmir later.

The second disturbing signal comes from the Veerappan episode which has emerged as a glaring case of the nation's impotency to effectively deal with criminals and their visible and invisible official and semi-official links.

The third episode which has done no credit to the persons in the sports arena is the match-fixing syndrome.

The Veerappan and match-fixing issues underline the extent of rot that has sunk in our society. The question uppermost in the mind of everyone is: how come the dreaded brigand and sandalwood smuggler could not be hauled up, though the Editor of Nakeeran and official emissary of the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments, Mr R. R. Gopal, could frequently visit him in dense jungles without any difficulty?

Can the police personnel claim that they do not know his hideouts after chasing him for years? If it is so, then it is shockingly shameful for the entire nation. Why are we wasting public money? We could as well withdraw the police and allow the Veerappan gang to run his jungle raj from Chennai and Bangalore! At least he will run his gangland efficiently! Nothing can be a sadder commentary on the state of the nation than the fact that our rulers do not know how to manage even simple matters of law and order. All that they have mastered is the manipulative politics of votes and notes.

What is particularly disquieting is that Veerappan continues to thrive after having killed over 2,000 elephants and murdered 120 persons. Apparently, the parallel system manned by mafia groups these days is more powerful than the look-the-other way official channel of governance.

We do not know the whole truth about Veerappan and his operations. We have no authentic information as to who in our "respectable establishments" are partners in his loot. It looks like a well-conducted show. Suddenly there are moves to dye his unlawful deeds in deep ideological and political colours.

The people are surely being taken for a ride. Ignorance may be bliss. But ignorance combined with the lack of assertiveness on the part of citizens on key issues of governance, fairplay and justice is nothing but a doubly-cursed tragedy.

Where do we go from here? What sort of a system are we running, and for whose benefit? What is sad is that only a thin line divides the mafia raj and the police raj. In the circumstances, where should people turn to? After all, the presiding "deity" in both cases for all practical purposes is the ruling clique!

The match-fixing phenomenon typifies another kind of money-making sickness. It shows how the overall atmosphere of corruption has affected even our cricketing heroes.

These heroes have now virtually been reduced to zeros. This is all because of the business of greed which moves on without a comma, a semicolon or a fullstop.

It is sad to see the fall of Kapil Dev in the estimation of the public. I know of a close friend who used to take him to Chandigarh's cricket stadium on his scooter for coaching. Kapil's friend remains where he was— in a nationalised bank —but Kapil became a big success story and deservingly so. He dominated the national and international cricket horizon as a superstar. But then something went wrong down the line. It must have been really agonising for the Haryana hurricane!

I am raising this question not to discuss the merit and demerit in the Kapil Dev case, but to focus the people's attention on how and why the country's sport arena too has been so terribly polluted.

Cricket has been a national obsession to the disadvantage of several far more deserving domestic games. The way things were being run, they have had to explode one day. What is regrettable is the inglorious fall of India's new national symbols in persons like Kapil Dev. Who becomes poorer in this process is difficult to say. However, the time has come for the country's sensitive persons to do some introspection and examine the nation's successes and failures, both individually and collectively, diagnose the problems and work out their possible solutions.

This exercise must be done by those who have stakes in the country's honour and dignity. Nothing should be left to the ruling clique, operators and manipulators. For, they are as much to blame for the sickening state of the nation as are the new heroes now grounded.

Though it has nothing to do with the Veerappan and match-fixing issues, the Kashmir tangle is another story of a never-ending national tragedy. Though we have been grappling with it for the past several decades, the problem has got more and more complicated simply because those in authority have failed to understand its genesis.

First, even after 53 years of Partition, we hardly understand the Pakistani psyche. How and why Pakistan came into being is now part of the subcontinent's history written in blood.

Of course, our leaders refused to toe the extreme religious line of Pakistan and rightly adopted the secular path.

Still, it is necessary for our policy-makers to understand the nature of the forces which have gone into the making of Pakistan and the reasons behind them. Equally vital is constant updating on fast-changing developments. Today's Talibanised Pakistan is vastly different from Liaquat Ali Khan's Pakistan. Perhaps tomorrow's Pakistan will be radically different from the one we are seeing today.

General Pervez Musharraf's is the fourth military government ruling the roost in Islamabad. Have we cared to examine in depth why the military could manage to have the upper hand in Pakistani life?

The second aspect which requires thorough understanding by our policymakers in South Block is the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan. How deep-rooted is its sweep? Is it the legacy of the Afghan civil war? How well-entrenched is the hold of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan? What are the calculations of the USA and other interested Muslim and non-Muslim countries in Pakistan and beyond?

Islamic fundamentalism cannot be wished away by rhetoric. It is very much part of social, political and psychological warfare which Islamabad has been directing against this country, knowing well that India has the second largest number of Muslims in the world after Indonesia.

What sort of goals and targets are the ISI and the military establishment in Islamabad and their global supporters aiming at? Who has been financing madarsas and who are Pakistan's partners in its destructive short and long-term designs? Has the Government of India worked out a comprehensive counter-strategy to meet the manifold threat posed by Talibanised Pakistan and foreign mercenaries operating freely along the Line of Control (LoC) as well as inside the valley?

We have often preferred to be mute spectators with regard to wayward happenings in the hope that time will resolve our problems. Time does not do so. Only political will can.

And it needs to be remembered that those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Perhaps that is the reason why we continue to repeat the mistakes in Kashmir and other critical areas of national life. 

Can Putin restore shattered Russian pride?
by V. Gangadhar

ONE of the best comic novels of the 1960’s was Nathaniel Benchley’s “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming”, which recounted the tale of a Soviet submarine that ran aground off the coast of Cape Cod, USA. The crew came ashore and had an “eyeball to eyeball confrontation” with the locals before realising that neither of them were such ogres as was made out to be by the media and the politicians.

The novel, written during the days of the Cold War, exposed how propaganda could twist the thinking of ordinary mortals. There was no confrontation when the crew of the Soviet submarine and the people of Cape Cod realised that they had many things in common and were, in fact, ordinary human beings. So much for the Soviet devils or the American imperialists!

That was a happy, joyous submarine story. Now nearly 40 years later, the Russians are mourning the tragedy of another submarine, Kursk, which sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea in the Arctic killing everyone on board. A more gruesome kind of death could not be visualised. Kursk, labelled a “killer submarine”, was equipped with the deadly Granit anti-ship missiles and was commissioned only five years back.

Make no mistake, Russia is undergoing a bad time. During recent months, despite some military success, more Russian soldiers had died in the Chechenyan skirmish. Recently 12 people were killed following an underground explosion in Moscow. Russian pride suffered a major blow when a fire ravaged Moscow’s famous Ostankino television tower inflicting severe damage.

But the Kursk disaster overshadowed everything else. Look at history. Russian pride had always asserted itself even during moments of worst crisis. Emperor Napolean and Adolf Hitler learnt that when brave but ill-equipped Russian armies devastated the enemies. The defence of Stalingrad in World War II claimed a toll of millions of Soviet lives, but the soldiers, often living on rats and offal, fought off the enemies. In space, Russia was well ahead of the USA. The first man to be send into space and also walk in space was a Soviet cosmonaut.

But today, despite being propped by the USA and the West Russian pride and performance are a shambles. Once a world power, in fact a super power, along with the USA, Russia today is nothing more a tottering regional power. Its voice has become irrelevant in the international scene, its role in the UN Security Council is muted. And more important, the once-famed Russian military might is now totally eroded.

The Kursk tragedy revealed several highly disturbing facts about the Russian naval might or lack of it. Though commissioned only in 1995, it had no deep-diving equipment to save the crew in case of a crisis. Nearly 15 years back, Russian divers had set records when they went down 300 metres under water for the first time in diving history. But today there was nothing in the submarine to rescue the crew from a depth of only 100 metres. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, was shocked to find that his naval rescue units had been downsized and their funding drastically slashed. The President confessed to the families of the Kursk crew, “I knew that the Russian navy was in a dire state, but I had no idea that things were that bad.”

How and why did the Kursk sink? Some naval sources said that the ill-fated sub must have collided with a NATO submarine, prowling the region. But there was no evidence to support such a conclusion. On the other hand, it was more likely that the submarine was rammed by a Russian warship. But for the last so many years, because of lack of funds, the Russian Navy had not held any extensive exercises, particularly involving submarines like Kursk. At a particular time, only a small section of the Navy was at sea. Unhappy with long land tenures, senior Russian naval officers had been leaving for fresh pastures. And they were not being replaced.

Yet Russia is a mighty militaryforce. However, sophisticated weapons and missiles, due to lack of proper supervision and poor maintenance caused by lack of funds, pose a major worry. It was believed that Kursk was rocked by a terrible explosion of nearly two tonnes of TNT from the torpedoes stocked underneath. Russian defence sources had admitted that in 1996, in an overhaul of the submarine, its torpedoes were replaced by cheaper models powered by more dangerous hydrogen-mix engines. At the time of sinking, Kursk fortunately carried no nuclear weapons. It, however, had two nuclear reactors and no one seemed to know if these had been damaged. For Russians, who had not forgotten the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the sinking of Kursk was another major warning that all was not well with the military machine.

The Russians submarine fleet consisted of 10 Oscar-class guided missile submarines (like Kursk), 18 ballistic missile submarines and around 30 nuclear-powered submarines. This is a formidable array. But the question was: did Russia need so many of these naval craft, particularly when many of them could not be deployed and maintained properly because of the fund crunch? The Russian President had admitted this problem and told his people that the country could manage with 10 subs. Simultaneously, he called for increased defence spending to the extent of an additional $ 7 billion. Where from Russia was going to get this additional amount/remained to be seen.

Mr Putin has a tough task ahead of him. The armed forces, which were so vital for his continued existence as the Head of State, would not like any cutback, even on the submarine front. The Russian Navy had been the pride of the country and the powerful naval lobby would seriously object to any trimming of the submarine fleet. But for how long can the armed forces continue with the slide in their fortunes?

President Putin is aware of the shortcomings. He fully knew that the ill-fated crew was doomed to die a terrible death, deep under the sea. The President has been blamed for not doing anything, but he could hardly do anything in view of the crippled state of his armed forces. Mr Putin is known for his efficiency and pragmatism, but it will need a superhuman effort from him to modernise his armed forces and restore their pride. And restore the pride of his buffeted nation.

Making a clean break
by Chetna Banerjee

I SURVEYED the marvel before me. Her looks were certainly as had been promised... stunning, sleek and elegant. And what perfect statistics!, I thought as I watched her glide without any hitch through the narrow door and stand with ease in the tiny corner. She was just right... no unwanted bulges, no extra inches.

I stroked my new fully automatic washing machine welcomingly. Finally, I was making a foray into the world of hi-tech gadgetry.

The company salesman had already given me a briefing about her versatility. “She can juggle a number of tasks at one go”, he proudly informed me. “Just give her the necessary command and leave the rest to her”, he continued as he pressed a knob and in response she blinked back reassuringly.

“It washes, it rinses, it even dries the clothes... in just a few minutes”, I had often heard such ad jingles on television and they were about to become a reality for me now.

I was all anticipation as I gingerly ran my fingers over her buttons. I was eager to test the skills of this creation from the world of automation.

The items subjected to my first experiment with this latest tehnology were my husband’s dirty, sweat-soaked shirts. If my new helpmate can get rid of the grime on the shirt collars, then she certainly knows her job, I thought as I tossed in the garments.

She set to work at once. She didn’t groan about the workload like my maid. She didn’t grumble about the stubborn stains. She didn’t complain about being underpaid.

She worked effortlessly and smoothly. She made no discordant sounds. She merrily swished and splashed. She scrubbed without a fuss. She didn’t demand a tea break. She worked at a stretch.

Aha! at last, all my laundry is in safe hands, I congratulated myself as I stretched my legs leisurely on the bed. The days of torn collars, badly washed linen, truant maids and piles of unwashed clothes are over now, I thought dreamily as the care-worn days seemed to recede into the past. A wave of drowsiness began to sweep over me...

Soon enough, the beep of the buzzer in the bathroom cut short my pleasant thoughts. I sprang to my feet, all set to witness the results of my new mate’s performance. I flipped open the machine and pulled out the clothes.

My expectations had not been belied. The shirts were sparkling clean. Satisfied, I was about to close the lid when my eyes fell on a shining black object lying at the bottom of the machine tub.

It was my husband’s digital diary, which he always carries in his shirt pocket. It too had a taste of the new technology. The machine had performed its functions of washing, rinsing and draining to such perfection that the digital diary had forgotten its own functions.

Couldn’t blame the dear machine. No machine can be fool-proof.

Japan: search for strategic relations
By M.S. N. Menon

YOSHIRO  Mori, the Japanese Prime Minister, has come and gone. But Indo-Japan relation continues to be in the same old nut. Mori did little to take it out.

But who is in charge of India’s relations with Tokyo — Jaswant Singh or George Fernandes? Fernandes has been to Tokyo twice this year, and is said to be crafting the “strategic relations” between the two countries. There is naturally concern, for he is known for his deep antipathy towards China.

Be that as it may, can we go for a “strategic” relation with Japan without a proper understanding of its implications? And do we know Japan well enough? In the last over 50 years, we have had no reason to believe that Japan is a friend.

The Japanese media paints a highly negative image of India. A chairman of a Japanese think-tank says: India continues to be the “land of the Buddha”, but otherwise, it is a “land of curry, miracles and hot summers.” If this is what the Japanese think of India, surely they cannot have any respect for this country.

It was against this background that the idea of a “strategic dialogue” between India and Japan was broached by Japanese Foreign Minister Ikeda. He said: “It is time to promote our relations in political and other areas as well.” This was before Pokhran II. Naturally, India paid little attention to Ikeda’s suggestion.

Now, Mori says: “Japan and India have become global partners as of today.” I simply cannot make out what he wanted to convey. No wonder, there was little enthusiasm. However, one must welcome his suggestion for regular consultations at the highest level. It is an admission of the low level of Indo-Japan relations. By flying direct to Bangalore, Mori highlighted the Principal objective of his mission — namely to get in touch with the centre of India’s IT revolution.

Japan is not a country associated with the causes of the developing countries. And about its assistance, there is much controversy and criticism.

Tokyo’s case against India is that India went nuclear. As if Japan has given up the nuclear option: This is not true. Let us look at the history.

In 1995, nuclear power formed 12 per cent of Japan’s energy consumption. In the process, Japan developed an advanced nuclear technology. Its plutonium route and secretive management had already raised suspicion. There were revelations now and then of what was going on. In 1969, for example, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said:”...although Japan did not need nuclear weapons for the time being (because it is under the US nuclear umbrella) it should keep the economic and technical potential for the production of nuclear weapons...” This is exactly what Japan has been doing. It is ready to go nuclear at instant notice.

In the 1970s, Japan’s Defence Agency recommended possession of tactical nuclear weapons. This is why Japan was reluctant to sign the NPT. It took eight long years to make up its mind to ratify it.

If Japan is so sensitive to nuclear weapons, as it wants us to believe, it should have opposed the indefinite extension of the NPT and rejected the US nuclear umbrella. But it has not done so. To preach nuclear abstinence in these circumstances is the worst form of hypocrisy.

The USA has a strong interest in preventing Germany and Japan going nuclear. This will alter the balance of forces against the USA is more, if Japan goes nuclear, China will move closer to Russia, a prospect the USA dreads. But there were Japanese leaders in favour of the bomb. For example, Sato and Nakasone, as also think tanks.

Fear of Japanese nationalism was one of the reasons for the Sino-US alliance. This USA does not trust Japan fully. Japanese life is given to ultra-nationalism. For example, Mori, the present Prime Minister, is of the view that Japan is a “diving country” (an old imperial view). He told a Shinto group (his own creation): “The state of Japan is a country of God, centred on the emperor.” Such beliefs are dangerous. Naturally, the Japanese press questioned his suitability to be the Prime Minister. And a former Prime Minister of Japan had to rebuke him.

Japan continues to harp on why India has not signed the CTBT. Little does it bother Japan that two major nuclear powers — the USA and Russia — have failed to sign the treaty. As for China, another sponsor, it has such a bad record of proliferation that its ratification is a mere hypocritic exercise.

Why should India rush to sign the treaty in these circumstances?

China and Japan were India’s worst critics. No doubt, for different reasons: China, because it ceased to be the sole nuclear power of Asia and Japan, because it resented being barred from the nuclear club. By the way, we should not exaggerate the sensitivity of the Japanese people to nuclear proliferation.

If China and Japan have become less critical of India of late, it is because the USA and Russia have refused to ratify the CTBT and also because President Clinton did not bring up the controversies on the issue during his visit to India. And the economic sanctions imposed by the USA and Japan have become infructuous. Of course, the fact that India did not oppose the CTBT and India’s acceptance of a voluntary moratorium on further testing did help to ease the criticism against India.

No one can challenge India’s right to defend itself. As for weapons, it is a matter of circumstances. The USA recognises India’s right to have a “minimum nuclear deterrent.” Japanese strategists too see the logic of India’s stand. Japanese Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Ichita Yamamoto had said; “India is too big and great and too important a country to be pressured into doing a thing it does not want to do.” Well, that is being realistic.

There can, thus, be no “security” tie-up with Japan unless the two nations move closer to each other in outlook and attitudes. Such a tie-up is more likely to provoke China. If India’s idea is to pay China in the same coin for its continuing support to Pakistan, then it is not Japan with which we should have a tie-up, but with Vietnam and south-east Asia. And, if possible, with Mynmar.

But this is not to say that we cannot have good relations with Japan in other areas. For example, in economics. Japan is already the second largest trade partner of India. And I see the need for cooperation to protect the sea lanes for the safe transhipment of oil and gas. The joint naval exercises conducted by India and Japan are, therefore, welcome. And cooperation with America may be necessary one day to protect the gulf and central Asia from Islamic fundamentalism.

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

O Ganapati, the Seer of seers, unrivalled in wealth, King of elders, Principal of principals. Hear us and take Thy place, bringing with Thee all enjoyments.

— Rig Veda, 2.23.1

***

We sing in praise of Him

Who is the essence of Omkaram.

— Satguru Yogaswami, Natchintanai

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You leader of categories,

are the writer of this Mahabharata.

— The Mahabharata, 1.1.77

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To You whom the wise exclaim

as the single-syllabled, Supreme sound,

stainless and peerless,

bliss, formless, unconditioned —

the Indweller in the core of

sacred tradition — to that

Primeval One I bow in adoration.

— Sri Adi Shankara, Ganesha Bhujangam

***

— Ganapatyatharshirsham, translator, Vasant Lad

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We devote our thought to the one-tusked Lord.

We meditate upon Him who has a curved trunk.

May the tusked One guide us on the right path.

— Ganapati Upanishad

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I know the mysterious Lord.

May His elephant face guide me.

May the tusked One guide us on the right path.

— Maitrayani Samhita, 2.6-9

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Praise be to elephant-faced Ganesha, the incomprehensible one with a sharp tusk, three eyes and capacious belly, king of all beings, the eternal one of blood-red hue, Whose forehead is illuminated by the now moon, son of Shiva-Shakti, remover of all difficulties. Ganesha Sharanam, Sharanam Ganesha.

— A traditional prayer to Lord Ganesha

Ganesha sits on the psychic lotus of the muladhara chakra, the ganglia of nerves at the base of the spine within everyone. This chakra governs time, matter and memory. As the spiritual aspirant is lifted up from fear and confusion into conscious awareness of right thought, right speech and right action, the muladhara chakra becomes activated. It is them that the seeker, with heart filled with love, encounters the holy feet of Lord Ganesha.

— Satguru Sivaya Subramuniya Swami, Loving Ganesha: Hinduism’s Endearing Elephant-faced God