E D I T O R I A L   P A G E

EDITORIALS

Dream and reality
THE people of the UP hills, now called Uttaranchal, waged a long and tough campaign. They wanted their area to be converted into a new state. Their argument was that this would spur development in the so-far-neglected hills, leading to the creation of adequate job opportunities. The state has come into being, but the people are afraid they will not get what they had been aspiring for. Their apprehensions appear to be justified. Excepting that they will no longer have to rush to Lucknow to get their grievances heard by the powers that be, there is nothing that would further their cause — development of the hills.

Frankly Speaking

Wining and dining
by Shriniwas Joshi
I HAVE had several occasions to attend the “wine and dine” get-togethers. Actually, wining is the capital enjoyment here and the dining part is in lower order. Being a teetotaller myself, I am ridiculed as “moth and rust” or a “yellow leaf” but admired for my juice taking capacity. This yellow leaf, however, does many green works in such parties. When my senior tells me that his feet are getting cold and wet, I request him to rotate the glass so that its open end points towards the ceiling or when he says that the front of his shirt is wet and the “bloody thing” is tasteless, I tell him to kindly apply the glass to the mouth. 

ANALYSIS

Energy and maritime security of India
By M.S.N. Menon
FROM a regional power to a global power — it is a long journey. Yet, India has made some far-reaching moves. As the largest naval power of the region, with a sway from Mauritius to the South China Sea, the main responsibility to keep open the sea lanes and protect ships from piracy lies with India.

US election drama

THE American people have spoken, droned President Bill Clinton with his trade mark sardonic smile, but it would take a while to decipher what they have said. And the waiting time is proving to be soul crushing. Democratic candidate Al Gore is hoping that this time his rival for the top post will ring him up to congratulate him on his dramatic victory after a false alarm. Mr George W. Bush is putting up a brave face and claims to be assembling a transition team. It is more than a psychological ploy. Both are in with a chance. The original Mr Bush’s lead in the popular vote has swung the other way. The process of announcing the verdict has got stalled in Florida, where the Texas Governor is in front by a mere 1000 votes, although the BBC puts it at 2000. This can melt away in a minute, but one election official says it may take days for that to happen. With this wafer thin majority votes cast overseas can prove to be decisive and four years ago the number was slightly more than 6000. Mr Bush is buoyed by the fact that he has wrested several Democratic states and Florida, with its large population of retired persons and minorities, is a confirmed Democratic state. This argument may sound logical but is wobbly in electoral and political terms. What particularly hurts Governor Bush is that his brother Jeb is the Florida Governor and he was hopeful of carrying it although he campaigned tirelessly. Mr Gore has to blame his compulsions for his undecisive showing in that state. Mr Clinton is popular there but the aged electorate hates his sexual misconduct and could have turned against the Democratic candidate. So he virtually banished the President from his campaign, banking on the selection of a Jew as his deputy to tilt the balance. Florida has a large number of rich, retired Jews. In the event, he has fallen between two stools. The absence of Mr Clinton on Mr Gore’s side proved highly embarrassing for Mr Gore. He lost his home state Tennessee and also Mr Clinton’s Arkansas. It is a first in US history that the states of both the President and Vice-President have voted for the rival candidate. Americans do not flock to the polling booths as Indians do but still the voter turnout has been a respectable 50.7 per cent.

If the campaign was hectic, the post-election scene will be tense. Both parties are gearing up for a tough time. Mr Gore has promised his supporters that his campaign continues. If he finally loses in Florida, he can be expected to mount a legal challenge. There is some ground to sustain such an action. Voters in Palm Beach county have complained that the ballot paper was defective and that is why they voted for Bush. If the court gives the nod to Mr Gore’s petition, it will open up the whole process for a fresh scrutiny and legal arguments. The Vice-President has indicated who will head his legal battle and he is both sharp and tough-minded. Nor will Mr Bush take a delayed rejection without a fight. Whoever wins, will have a hard task running the country. The margin of victory is very narrow, Mr Gore has about 100,000 popular votes more out of a total of 100 million votes. This situation is an inhibitory factor. The party position in the Senate and the House of Representatives is also too close for comfort. The debut of Mrs Hillary Clinton in the Upper House will galvanise her fellow Democrats and given her combative nature coupled with a capacity to work hard, the tumult of the sixties and seventies will revisit the chamber. There is some poetic justice in the rout of the two men who spearheaded the move to impeach Mr Clinton. The world has to hold its breath for some more time before knowing what will be the colour of the mighty US Administration and how it will respond to global developments.

Dream and reality

THE people of the UP hills, now called Uttaranchal, waged a long and tough campaign. They wanted their area to be converted into a new state. Their argument was that this would spur development in the so-far-neglected hills, leading to the creation of adequate job opportunities. The state has come into being, but the people are afraid they will not get what they had been aspiring for. Their apprehensions appear to be justified. Excepting that they will no longer have to rush to Lucknow to get their grievances heard by the powers that be, there is nothing that would further their cause — development of the hills. First take the case of the new Chief Minister, Mr Nityanand Swami. Few people in the villages of Kumaon and Garhwal are familiar with the name of the person who, they feel, has been unduly favoured. It is true that he was born and brought up in Dehra Dun, chosen as the capital of Uttaranchal. But besides this and the fact that he has been elected the leader of the Uttaranchal BJP Legislature Party comprising 23 MLAs, he has nothing significant to offer in support of his case. He was never involved in any development activity in the hills even when he was part of the Government of UP, being a member of the Legislative Council. His family basically comes from a village near Narnaul in Haryana. There is no plausible reason why the Kumaonis and the Garhwalis should identify themselves with Mr Swami.

The second factor which goes against the interests of the actual fighters for Uttaranchal will torment them forever. This is the domination of the people of the plains in a state created to facilitate socio-economic development in the former hill areas of UP. The Uttaranchal Assembly, with an expected strength of 70, will have a majority of the people’s representatives elected from the plains because of a larger population there. This has been ensured by the inclusion of Hardwar district. There is no way the power balance can be tilted in favour of the hills. The status of the “hillbillies” may never be what they expected. Though the Chief Minister has assured them that his government will take up the development of the necessary infrastructure so that people can get employment opportunities nearer their villages, it is mainly aimed at assuaging their hurt feelings. Another reason causing depression among them is the selection of Dehra Dun as the capital. It is well known that in these days of privatisation the government has very little role to play in the economic growth of any area. But it is difficult to deny that a decision to build the state’s capital at Gairsen, as expected earlier, or at any other place in the hills would have led to large-scale development activity in the surrounding villages. Dehra Dun obviously cannot serve that purpose. The BJP high command has been careful about protecting its political interests. If the people in the hills of Kumaon and Garhwal desert the ruling party in the coming assembly elections, it can get enough support from the plains. However, in the process a new and avoidable controversy will have been born — the hills versus the plains. Those who feared that after the constitution of Uttaranchal there would be a running battle for supremacy between the Garhwalis and the Kumaonis should relax.

Can we let in the foreign press?
Dangerous games power brokers play
by Hari Jaisingh

Addressing the World Association of Press Councils in 1999, former President R. Venkataraman said: “There is absolutely no justification to even think of foreigners being allowed to own and manage the print media in this country either on their own or in collaboration with some Indians.”

This being so (he was speaking for this country at a world forum), why is the present government dilly-dallying on the matter? Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj says that a decision will be taken after “consultation” with the parties concerned, as if consultations have not already taken place ad nauseum!

I understand a detailed note has been finalised by the Prime Minister’s Office for 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the print media. Coming from the BJP-led NDA establishment, this is shocking, to say the least. Where has the BJP’s swadeshidom gone? It gives an unfortunate impression of having opened a retail outlet to barter away the country’s basic interests in the name of liberalisation!

I fully support the process of reforms and liberalisation in the core areas of the economy, especially for faster development of the infrastructure sector. But the print media is a different area. It represents the heartbeat of the people. It was so during the freedom struggle. It has been so during the past 52 years of our democratic functioning.

To compare foreign interests in India’s print media today to the presence of a 100 per cent British-owned newspapers during colonial times or even for a few years in post-independence India is both misplaced and irrelevant. Governments have come and gone through the ballot boxes. The Indian press has invariably played an enlightened role in the evolution of healthy democratic norms and it will continue to do so in the face of any challenge.

Why should the coterie around the Prime Minister advocate the entry of foreign interests in the print media? This is a highly dangerous game. Globalisation does not mean abject surrender of our national interests. Where is the need for such a move? For whose benefit is this being done? We must not allow the government to get away with this insane act for the benefit of a few select individuals in the business of power.

The Indian press is strong and viable enough. It can take care of its needs. It does not have to depend on outsiders for quality work and cross-fertilisation of ideas and concepts. Collaboration in select areas to mutual advantage is one thing. But allowing foreign direct investment in the country’s most sensitive arena, which has a direct bearing on the people’s basic rights to think freely and independently within our democratic framework, smacks of mental slavery on the part of some power-brokers for a few crumbs.

Do Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee’s advisers realise that the medium and small papers will be the first to perish on the advent of the foreign press in India? Gagging of “small voices” will be undemocratic and goes against the fundamentals of Indian society.

Think of another disturbing dimension. What will the custodians of our national interests do if Pakistan’s ISI extends its proxy war through its overseas friends by purchasing a few newspapers! I am not painting an alarmist picture. But such a possibility cannot be ruled out. Just look at the “nexus” here and overseas. What disturbs me is that the BJP’s chosen favourites should be advocating such a dangerous line right in the Prime Minister’s Office. Has Mr Vajpayee lost the will to govern? Has he failed to grasp the dangers of inviting the foreign press? If so, why this “soft spot”?

Already, some of the big dailies are in favour of inviting the foreign press. What motivates them is profit — higher and higher profit. Whatever might be the calculations of various interest groups, it will be suicidal to throw open the print media to foreigners. The risk is grave.

The print media is already a matter of concern today. It is not what it was — a press with a mission. The profit motive has eroded the commitment of the press to be the watch-dog of the community’s interests. In fact, a section of the press has become “a commodity” to be traded for profit. In certain newspapers the editor is already redundant. His work has been taken over by the “Managing Editor” or others with such high-sounding designations, whose main job is to liaise with the government and promote the commercial interests of their employers.

“The office of editor has been completely devalued in the face of profit considerations,” says Justice P.B. Sawant, Chairman of the Press Council of India. In his opinion both credibility and quality of the print media have suffered. There cannot be a more weighty judgement.

It is Justice Sawant’s considered view that senior executives of the advertisement department of big newspapers have a greater say in the working of the newspaper today. And in view of the political leanings of some proprietors, editorials are vetted, and comments are added to news reports, he says. Justice Sawant wants the editors to be insulated from the proprietors. “There should be structural changes for true freedom,” he says, and he is right.

With liberalisation and globalisation, there is undoubtedly an explosion in public relations and advertisements. Both go together. This is an unexpected bonanza for the press, which big newspaper chains are eager to capitalise on. It is already moving away from hard issues. More and more space is going to small matters of life. No wonder, it is the marketing kids who often seem to have the final say on editorial policy. Mercifully, it is not so in The Tribune group of newspapers run in public (and no one’s proprietorial) interest by the enlightened Tribune Trust.

My head bows in admiration to the visionary will of the founder of The Tribune Trust, Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia. Thriving on 120 years of public trust, the Tribune Trust, guided by public personalities of eminence, is a living symbol of the country’s rich liberal values.

Looking around, what should be the cause for concern is the erosion of the editor’s authority in a section of the media in favour of crude commercial interests and marketing manipulations. Whose interests are we serving? Surely not of the people. Nor of democracy whose very essence demands free and unbiased flow of information.

In today’s changing media scene, it needs to be noted that the biggest advertisers and advertising companies in India are mostly foreign- owned. They have complete control over publicity. Of the 10 largest advertisers, eight are foreign multinational corporations (MNCs) — all in the consumer sector. This is already an important factor in influencing the political and economic views of the owners of newspapers.

If the foreign print media is allowed entry in these circumstances, it will corner much of the advertisements. In short, the foreign print media, if it has a mind to do so, can eliminate competition by starving it of advertisements. Such a development will be highly dangerous to free press in India.

The Indian advertisement budget is said to be over five billion dollars today. It is growing rapidly. In spite of the competition from the electronic media, of which there were great fears, the print media has done well for itself in terms of both circulation and revenue growth.

It is worth remembering that the foreign media entry was prohibited by a Cabinet resolution of 1955. It was prevented from bringing out its editions in India. It was based on the recommendation of the first Press Commission. This was endorsed by the second Press Commission of 1980, which recommended a legal provision to even prohibit foreign media holding shares of Indian papers. Only an Indian citizen can own an Indian newspaper.

In turn, this reflects the stipulation in Article 19 of the Indian Constitution that the right to freedom of speech and expression is vested only in an Indian citizen. (Mr Murdoch, the media tycoon, had to take American citizenship in order to go into the broadcasting business in America. France has restricted the entry of foreigners in the electronic media and in Sweden it is not easy to obtain publishing rights. In Russia and China, foreign media has been banned. So is the case in Singapore and Japan.)

As direct entry is thus difficult, the foreign press has been trying to circumvent Indian laws by seeking tie-ups with local papers. Under this modus operandi, Indian managers and editors are sought to be appointed to operate under a corporate veil.

Today, threat also comes from the digital age, of which the Internet is the most advanced symbol. No one knows its potential ramifications. But it is sure to have a serious effect on the media.

In all these changes, the casualty is news and truth. These are being sacrificed at the altar of “infotainment”. In the Internet, the news flow is still from the developed North to the underprivileged South. The one-way traffic of news may spread a “monoculture”.

What then is the choice before the Indian print media? There can be only one: to preserve the culture and identity of the nation and protect and promote its interests.

The telecommunications evolution is, of course, expected to integrate the computer, the telephone, the communication satellite and the TV in the day-to-day life of the citizen. It will link audiences across the continents. This information superhighway is, however, dominated by the USA, which is also the world’s supreme power. One hasn’t the option to even opt out of this network. And being universal, it will speak a “universal” language, more often connected with business.

That is why the print media remains the last hope of those committed to preserving the culture and identity of nations. How this can be done when the new devices try to reach out to the citizens directly is beyond the ken of the best brains. But we can do one thing: keep the ownership of the print media within the nation. If it passes into the hands of foreigners, the name of the new game will be the controlled packaging of thoughts and non-thoughts for commercialisation with pleasure.

In any case, it is dangerous to treat the newspaper as a mere industrial product like toothpaste. The newspaper is more than a “product”. It is a mission with a purpose. And modern technology has to be utilised to heighten the paper’s reader-friendly approach for the good of society.

The Indian media has still much new ground to cover. It has numerous challenges ahead. There are several untied ends, both within and without. Muddled thinking, misplaced zeal, lack of objectivity, absence of broader understanding of basic issues and problems, arrogance, and a one-track approach make the media as flawed as are other democratic organs. In this context, I quote below an American scholar:

“The proper measure of a country’s mass media is whether, by thorough examination and reporting, they increase understanding of important realities, and whether, through presentation of the widest possible spectrum of thought and analyses, they create an adequate reservoir of insights into the social process. The media may produce entertainment and sell merchandise, but if, in addition, they do not create a rich marketplace of ideas and serious information, they fail a prime function. In primitive and unchanging times, limited public knowledge and insulation from alternative ideas might have been tolerable. But for a dynamic society, especially a democracy in a rapidly changing world, a lack of diversity in fact and thought leaves a population partially blinded: people will have a defective understanding with which to cope with new circumstances. Diversity and richness in the media are not ornaments of democracy but essential elements of survival.” (Ben H. Bagdikian, “The Marketplace of Ideas Revisited”, Journal of Communications, Vol.35. No.3, University of California.)

No doubt, the Indian press has acted as a watchdog of democracy. But of late most press barons seem to have a misplaced (if not defective) understanding of the ground realities and the challenges ahead.

Healthy competition can certainly go a long way in improving information quality. The battle of ideas and communication as well as the urge for sharing experience must continue. Also, communication technology has to reach every nook and corner of the country. This is the only way to demolish the existing mental barriers and prejudices.

Democracy flourishes only when the thinking class leads the people correctly and puts truth, and only unbiased truth, before the nation. Pretensions. Sycophancy. Fallacious reasoning. Absence of scientific temperament. Crass commercialisation. Mental slavery to things foreign, even in the highly sensitive arena of the print media. All these are danger signals in the healthy growth of a free press.

The media personnel must address themselves to the complex and sensitive issues facing the press today. The print media cannot be left to manipulators and operators who turn around the system to enslave it for promoting videshi needs and designs.

Liberalisation and globalisation are all fine to speed up economic growth with a human face. Liberal values have to be part of our thinking process. But anything that perpetuates feudalism and mental slavery will have to be resisted. The print media is too explosive to be left to the whims and fancies of vested interests of foreign origin. I am for a swadeshi approach in this critical area.

Wining and dining
by Shriniwas Joshi

I HAVE had several occasions to attend the “wine and dine” get-togethers. Actually, wining is the capital enjoyment here and the dining part is in lower order. Being a teetotaller myself, I am ridiculed as “moth and rust” or a “yellow leaf” but admired for my juice taking capacity. This yellow leaf, however, does many green works in such parties. When my senior tells me that his feet are getting cold and wet, I request him to rotate the glass so that its open end points towards the ceiling or when he says that the front of his shirt is wet and the “bloody thing” is tasteless, I tell him to kindly apply the glass to the mouth. When another one complains about his legs being wet and warm, I show him the way to “King” and ask the waiter to get the carpet washed next morning.

May I wind up this piece with “Drinking is injurious to health”!

Energy and maritime security of India
By M.S.N. Menon

FROM a regional power to a global power — it is a long journey. Yet, India has made some far-reaching moves.

As the largest naval power of the region, with a sway from Mauritius to the South China Sea, the main responsibility to keep open the sea lanes and protect ships from piracy lies with India.

Energy security is an important objective of India’s foreign policy. The safety of the oil lifeline is, therefore, important. Apart from crude and oil products, India needs vast quantities of natural gas. If pipelines are to be laid across the seas, they will have to be protected from hostile forces.

The super-power rivalry in the Indian Ocean is over. But India’s concerns are by no means over, for China has entered the scene. For what, we do not know. The USA is also well entrenched in the Indian Ocean — it has two bases, one at Diego Garcia and another in the Gulf.

The Indian Ocean littoral is perhaps the most important region, now that the economic weight has shifted to Asia. Kenneth McPherson writes: “The Indian Ocean region was the home of the world’s first urban civilisation and the centre of the first sophisticated commercial and maritime activities.”

There are already a number of economic communities along its sores. There is the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Indian Ocean Rim Association, SAARC, Bay of Bengal Community and ASEAN. Together, they constitute one of the most powerful and dynamic economic groupings of the world.

Naturally, India’s responsibilities will grow over the years. But this is not reflected in its naval growth. With the addition of “Admiral Gorshkov”, the Indian Navy will make a quantum jump in its status as a blue water navy. The Indian Navy is planning to have three aircraft carriers. But in the final analysis, India has to work out different strategies not only to ensure regional peace and security, but also to protect the maritime resources of the entire region. Only through cooperation with the littoral states can this be accomplished. In this article, an attempt is made to give a brief analysis of the conditions prevailing in each important region along the arc.

South Africa is perhaps the most important strategic partner of India. It is already a regional power. India has very close relations with the South African leaders. South Africa has achieved a high degree of self-reliance. With the largest economy in Africa, the most sophisticated armed forces and the most modern defence industry, South Africa is destined to play a major role in the world. It is already being recommended for a seat in the UN Security Council.

India and South Africa have of late entered into a strategic partnership. India is already the biggest importer of South African defence items like ammunition for the Bofors gun, avionics and night vision equipment. The two have carried out joint naval exercises. India has offered training facilities for South Africans. The two are also engaged in joint research. South Africa has advanced technologies in a number of fields.

With its close relations with both Oman and Qatar, India has established a military presence in the Gulf. The Indo-Oman Strategic Consultative Group deals with common security problems. The Gulf meets much of India’s oil needs. Already India and Oman carry out regular joint naval exercises and the two countries have high-level military contacts. Both Oman and Qatar are liberal regimes and Indian workers form the largest contingents in both countries. What is more, the two countries offer freedom of worship to Indians.

The IOC has been uniformly pro-Pakistan. But we need not exaggerate it, for the Gulf countries also accommodate 3.2 million Indian workers. And more than a million of them are in Saudi Arabia. The Arab world cannot ignore the fact that India has the second largest Muslim population (after Indonesia) and that India has a rich Islamic heritage. It is unfortunate that the Indian Muslims are not yet aware of what role they are to play in India or abroad.

Indo-Saudi relations have improved of late and Saudi Arabia had something to do with Pakistan’s withdrawal from Kargil. After all, India is a regular buyer of Saudi crude and oil products worth $ 9 billion yearly. And Saudi Arabia is the main beneficiary of the 70,000 or so Muslims who make it to the Haj yearly. And let us not ignore the fact that India is the only country in the neighbourhood as an attractive investment destination for Arabs.

Bangladesh is another important country along the arc. India has fairly good relations with it. And India and Bangladesh are members of the Bay of Bengal community.

It is Myanmar that causes serious concerns, although with the change in India’s policy towards the military junta in Yangon, there is a perceptible change in the attitude of the junta towards India.

With Myanmar, India has a border security problem as also a problem of security of the Bay of Bengal. Both are vital for India. Without the support of junta, it is not possible to contain India’s North-East insurgency. Of late, the junta is closely cooperating with India to curb the insurgency and to normalise relations. Already border trade is steadily improving.

Chinese penetration into Myanmar is what worries India most. Already the Chinese are well entrenched in north Myanmar. Mandalay, the biggest city after Yangon has become a Chinese outpost. There are two million or so Chinese in the north of Myanmar. Apart from being the sole supplier of defence equipment to the Myanmar armed forces, China is also the main trading partner of Myanmar.

Myanmar is a member of the Bay of Bengal community. As such trade between India and Myanmar is looking up. India is interested in joint production of hydropower on a buyback basis. This is for supply to the North-East, which cannot be supplied from eastern India.

Naval cooperation between China and Myanmar causes the greatest concern. Reports show that Myanmar has leased out the Coco Islands to China for construction of communication facilities. If so, this is totally unacceptable. What is more, Myanmar has been having naval exercises with China in the Bay of Bengal. While China wants a naval presence in the bay, it has serious objection to the Indian Navy’s presence in the South China Sea. All in the arbitrary style of China!

As for ASEAN, it is a disparate group, with no coherent or cohesive defence policy, which explains why American presence in the region continues. Only Vietnam has a definite defence policy. It wants to build up a navy. And this is because of the proximity of the Spratley Islands over which China and some ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, have a claims.

As for Japan, it is no doubt exercised over the security of the sea lanes and does have consultation with India. But Japan has no naval policy yet.

It is in this context that there is an urgent need to bolster up our defences in the Andaman and Nicobar islands. China’s entry into the Bay of Bengal is a provocation and challenge. No concessions can be made here. If China persists in this provocation, India has a case for close cooperation with the US naval fleets.

Spiritual Nuggets

Write on the gates of all temples and mosques that the Lord resides in the heart of man, away from religion and creeds.

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Almighty God is the ocean of consciousness and Bliss, the World (God in action) is a wave of the Ocean, and the soul is a drop thereof.

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Man gives thought to every thing else in the world, but seldom thinks about himself. Does he know what great treasures are hidden within his body, which even the three great gods and the angels of heaven never dream of?

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Turn within yourself for happiness, peace and bliss.

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Turn pain and trouble into pleasure. it is our own attitude towards things and circumstances that makes us miserable.

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There is a window within you which opens towards the Lord. To open it is as easy as to open any window of your house.

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Knock, knock, knock. He hears. It at first you do not succeed in having the door opened from inside, do not run away. Go on knocking, knocking, so violently as to make Him open the door. Suimran is the knocking.

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The Lord loves the humble and the low. Beware of injuring the heart of any man. God lives there. To those who break another's heart the gates of heaven shall ever remain closed... The higher the position you hold, the humbler you mind should be.

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Shun another man's wife as you would shun a cobra and another's property as you would shun a viper. You cannot have a vision of the Lord if your mind is filled with sensual desires.

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While you live, strives to attain the life eternal, for once dead, that opportunity shall be lost to you forever.

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Give a few minutes everyday to introspection and close self-examination. Carefully scrutinise your day's work. Thank the Lord for the good deeds done and repent for the evil ones, with a strong resolve never to do them again.

— Sardar Bahadur Maharaj Jagat Singh, The Science of the Soul: A Spiritual Bouquet, 43, 50, 53, 54, 55, 58, 59, 60, 62, 65, 76.