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| Sunday, December 10, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Bhopal gas disaster Random Thoughts |
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| Faint light in the tunnel by Rakshat Puri DESPITE Pakistan’s hesitant, half-hearted and even unwilling response to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s offer of ceasefire, a measure of cautious optimism is perceptible in Delhi. The Indian reply to Pakistan’s telltale statement that it has ordered its forces along the Line of Control to exercise “maximum restraint” — which Pakistani forces were by implication not so far ordered to exercise — has been commendably firm yet flexible.
“Daughter of East’’ who is Miss World
Hawk Vajpayee creates flutter
AIDS update — a gloomy scenario
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Bhopal gas disaster “Bhopal is the largest industrial accident in the world history, bigger even than Chernobyl, and yet fifteen years of it remains an unprecedented example of the monstrous injustice for those affected. Carbide, one of the world's richest corporations, is responsible for poisoning half a million innocent people; for killing upwards of 16,000 and destroying the health, for the rest of their lives, of some 100,000 others — but it still hasn't properly answered for its actions in a court of law. Compensation given, where received, hasn't even covered survivor's medical bills. It is an international outrage; but also a frightening indicator of the unregulated power that multinational companies now hold over the human rights". These were the words of Edwards, an Englishman, who undertook a bicycle journey from Brighton in England to Bhopal late last year to arouse the conscience of the mankind against Bhopal-like industrial disasters. The tragedy that occurred in the intervening night of December 2-3,1984 has been compounded by the dishonesty of the ruling politicians and bureaucrats. Today, 16 years later, over 2,00,000 of the survivors are in desperate need of medical attention, while around 50,000 persons, whose capacity for hard work has been badly affected, are waiting for economic rehabilitation. The government claims to have spent Rs 70 crore on economic rehabilitation of these people but not even 70 persons have been rehabilitated. The funds have mostly been used on construction works and purchase of equipment. It is a 16-year-long story of bungling by the politico-bureaucratic nexus. The role of the judiciary, too, has not always been commendable. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has, in his reports, repeatedly commented upon the misuse of funds meant for the gas affected people. Complaints of corruption against those entrusted with the implementation of various schemes for the gas affected have been made by the organisations working among the survivors before the Lokayukta as well as before the courts but to no use. Buildings worth Rs 20 crore have been constructed for economic rehabilitation of the affected people. The government press had started a stationery unit near Radha cinema for providing employment to the gas affected women. Now the unit is not receiving orders. The government press is placing orders for its requirements with the private firms. In 1990 a special industrial area was developed for providing jobs to the affected people and 152 worksheds were constructed there at a cost of Rs 8 crore. Only 16 sheds are partially functional now. Fifty-two sheds have been converted into barracks for the Rapid Action Force (RAF). A programme of imparting vocational training to the affected people was started in 1986. Only 8,000 persons have been given training under the programme. But that served no purpose, as the follow-up assistance was not provided to them for starting their own business. An Industrial Training Institute was set up at a cost of Rs 8 crore in 1994. That is yet to become operational. The State Government gave funds to 13 hand-picked NGOs in 1994 with the responsibility of training the survivors to run production centres but none of these organisations has so far been able to provide any job to the affected people. The State Handicrafts Development Corporation started a scheme to train the gas-affected women in preparing jute items. The Corporation was provided Rs one crore by the State Government for imparting three-month training to 500 women in jute knitting and providing them jobs in March 1997. The Corporation spent Rs 13.87 lakh on purchase of 500 sewing machines and on providing training to women and another Rs 46.95 lakh on preparation of jute items in 1998. But the sale proceeds of the jute handicrafts were not deposited in the treasury and that was the end of the scheme. After the 1984 tragedy, a "step-up scheme" was started to provide training-cum-employment to the affected people. Under the scheme the affected people were to be given training in various vocations. They were then to be provided financial assistance to start their own business (75 per cent bank loan and 25 per cent government grant). Lakhs of rupees were spent on the scheme. The total number of beneficiaries so far is 263. Under another scheme, 3600 persons were to be trained in 40 vocations every year from 1990-91 to 1998-99. Only 4800 persons have so far been trained under the scheme. The CAG notes in his latest report that by March last year Rs 325 crore had been reported as spent by the State Government under various heads for the gas affected people. A major portion of the funds, according to the CAG report, was lying unspent, while substantial amounts were spent on activities unrelated to the welfare of gas victims. The medical facilities were inadequate and measures of social and economic rehabilitation lacked effectiveness. While the gas affected people have been dying or suffering for want of treatment, the medicines worth crores of rupees purchased for them have been finding their way into the black market. The doctors deputed to the Bhopal gas disaster relief department have become prosperous in the past 16 years. Half a dozen complaints of corruption in the department have been pending with the Lokayukta since 1995. Today 10 to 15 persons are dying every month from exposure related illness. Breathlessness, persistent cough, diminished vision, early age cataract, loss of appetite, menstrual irregularities, recurrent fever, neurological disorders, fatigue, weakness, anxiety and depression are the most common symptoms among survivors. The survivors include a whole generation of young people who were born around or immediately after the disaster of December 2-3, 1984. T he Supreme Court of India had expressed concern about the fate of these children, estimated at one lakh, and issued elaborate guidelines for their care in its judgement on October 3, 1991. These estimated children are today without any medical cover in spite of the directive of the Supreme Court. According to Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan, a voluntary organisation active among the Bhopal gas victims, almost the entire generation of the old city born immediately before or after the night of the disaster is suffering from lung and liver ailments. No one appears to care for them. Those who survived the December 1984 MIC leak from the pesticides plant of the Union Carbide are facing a fresh hazard to their survival — in the form of huge quantities of toxic wastes left behind by the US multinational. A report prepared by a group of Bhopal citizens after visiting the site and submitted to the Chief Minister says that 31 tonnes of Sevin residue has been stored at the southwestern end of the factory adjacent of the Arif Nagar. More than 50 tonnes of Naphthol and other chemicals are stored in other areas. About three acres of land at the eastern end of the factory (next to Atal-Ayub Nagar and Shakti Nagar localities) are covered with tonnes of solid toxic wastes which only means that the management of the erstwhile pesticides factory had been constantly dumping the wastes there. When the Eveready Industries (the Indian company which had taken over from the Union Carbide) handed over the plant and the land to the Madhya Pradesh government in 1998, the State's Pollution Control Board had taken over the responsibility of disposing of the wastes and was reportedly given a sum of Rs 15 lakh for the purpose. The Chief Minister, Mr Digvijay Singh, later said that it could not be done by the Pollution Control Board. He did not say specifically how and when these toxic wastes would be disposed of. Compensation to the survivors had been a messy affair. According to official records, 10,01,723 cases of injury and 22,149 cases of death were registered for claiming compensation. Only 7,000 of the latter were accepted as cases of MIC related death while most of the death cases were converted into injury cases. The compensation for the injury cases averaged Rs 25,000 while the compensation amount for death in most of the cases was less than Rs one lakh. An estimated one lakh survivors are being denied compensation following a notification issued by the Welfare Commissioner (Gas claims) issued on February 5 this year. The notification empowers the Additional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and other officers (all from the judiciary) appointed to discharge the functions under the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster (Processing of Claims) Act, 1985, to refuse to reopen the case which has been dismissed or rejected by the claims court in the absence of claimant. The claims courts were started in 1990-91. Around one lakh of the six lakh cases of compensation are still to be disposed of. The procedure adopted by the claims courts is so peremptory that many of the genuine sufferers have been left out. Notices were, by and large sent by ordinary post. Many of the victims have changed places of residence during this period. The victims were at least heard even if they approached the claims courts after the due date. Now the February 5 notification has deprived them of their right to be heard if they have not appeared, for whatever reasons in person on the due date of hearing. One wonders if they will ever get justice. |
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Vulgarity in politics Recently, both concern and derision have greeted the delay in the announcement of the result of the Presidential election 2000 in the USA. A former US President, Jimmy Carter, doing the tango with his wife in the White House foyer, Washington, DC, seems to be enjoying himself in the midst of the national crisis. Honest enough he was when as President of the USA he candidly confessed that he sometimes lusted after his neighbour's wife. A columnist in a British paper, commenting on the prolonged suspense in the declaration of the US presidential election, currently a case in law courts, sagely remarked: "Heck, let Bill Clinton continue for another term!" Meanwhile, the US Press has in an apologetic tone admitted that it committed blunders in reporting and, at the same time, bravely attempted to cover up the chaos and confusion saying it was not an un- usual phenomenon in the election process. People and politics: For the common man and woman, in the Brave New World of the twenty-first century, all this, to say the least, is a sordid, tragic development. People everywhere, undoubtedly, are as they were in the last century — good, bad, indifferent, self-centred and fighting against tyranny of politicians and bureaucracy on this enchanting planet. But it is obvious that leaderships — those who manipulate the lever of power, in civic, administrative, governing cadres — have failed to set worthy examples before the people. Politics, business, and economy are today, much more than before, dominated by insatiable hunger for power, sex and over-luxurious life styles. Elections, at all levels, have today become the lethal poison being injected into social life. The US Presidential election this year has reportedly cost the nation $ 4 billion, a colossal waste of resources. Why can't prudence simplicity, austerity, and self-discipline be the watchwords for politicians and people alike? Governance ethics: In this heated debate on the election crisis in the USA, hardly anyone seems to care or analyse the ethics of governance. Are political cadres, from the lowest to the highest levels, unaware of the cancer attacking the vitals of public life? Do officials realise that they are polluting the springs of development? Mahatma Gandhi often said that he had entered public life and had participated in political struggles not only to remove alien rule, but also to cleanse it, to endow it with political morality. Officials at all rungs of the bureaucratic ladder are servants of the people, not bosses or masters. Both politicians and public servants draw their emoluments from the taxpayers' contributions. If they do not subserve public good, the taxpayers have the right to kick them out of their offices. But what do we see all over the world? Politicians and public servants are all the time enlarging their perks, privileges and powers to harass people. This ugly dance of affluence, pomp and paraphernalia of power, seen not only in the USA but also nearer home in India, is, to say the least, disgusting and degrading public life and service. Economy and frugality in public life:
All round the world poverty, disease, hunger, and malnutrition plague people. Self-sustainable products suffer. Disparities are growing at a frightening rate. Human rights are violated with impunity. Is it is not possible in India, following in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, to abandon the life of luxury and ostentation? Let all political leaders, whether they flaunt saffron, khadi or any other colour or dress, impose on themselves a voluntary cut of 5 per cent in expenditure and donate it to the lower strata of society. Similarly, the officials should follow the example of their political bosses. Will the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister and the proliferating bureaucracy set examples of economy and frugality to be followed by the superpower, now embroiled in its own electoral tangles, and other great and lesser powers? This will be the true Gandhian — and Indian — way of public life and service. It is hoped that the new US President will abandon arrogance of office and serve his people and the world community. The author, a former Chief Editor, Indian & Foreign Review, New Delhi, is a retired diplomat. |
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Faint light in the tunnel DESPITE Pakistan’s hesitant, half-hearted and even unwilling response to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s offer of ceasefire, a measure of cautious optimism is perceptible in Delhi. The Indian reply to Pakistan’s telltale statement that it has ordered its forces along the Line of Control to exercise “maximum restraint” — which Pakistani forces were by implication not so far ordered to exercise — has been commendably firm yet flexible. The Indian Government has ruled out “tripartite” talks for the present, which Pakistan has now been pushing, and directing the Islamist —- as distinct from Islamic — terrorist groups based in that country to push. Delhi has reiterated the basic precondition for talks with Pakistan: a verified halt to cross-border terrorism from Pakistan into J&K. It has also reiterated its readiness to engage with Islamabad on the basis of the Shimla Agreement, and of the Lahore Declaration, as soon as the necessary preconditions have been met. In the meantime, Delhi is ready immediately to talk with “all parties and groups in Jammu & Kashmir, including the militants”. A measure of cautious but inexplicable optimism is perceptible in Delhi in spite of Pakistan’s patent unwillingness to undertake withdrawal from its proxy war in J&K. Does this indicate that the Union Government is nursing some new ideas? It is to be noted that Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Sayeed Hafeez has rejcted even the half-hearted Pakistani response of “maximum restraint” on the LoC and, further, warned the Islamabad government against falling in “the Indian trap”. It might usefully be recalled here that the Lashkar-e-Toiba is a group of “religion” screaming fanatics who have no stake in the welfare of the Jammu-Kashmiris. The chief of the Pakistan-based Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Syed Salahuddin, who has obviously to be guarded in his statements so that he does not displease his Pakistani hosts, has spoken yet again of the Indian offer of ceasefire being meaningful only if it led to a settlement in J&K according to “the wishes of the Kashmiris”. The tone of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen this side of the LoC is different. How will Pakistan react to the Islamists? On the Indian side of the LoC, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has declared that no talks can take place on J&K without the participation of his National Conference Party —- the pre-1947 party led by his father Sheikh Abdullah to struggle for justice when the State was ruled by the Maharaja. The leaders of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference are hurrying and scurrying from meeting to meeting to “formulate an appropriate response” to the Indian rejection for the present of a tripartite meeting involving Pakistan. An indication of their approach may be available in the remark of their senior colleague Abdul Ghani Lone, that “it is a peace initiative from the Indian Prime Minister, Mr Vajpayee, and we must come out with counter-offensive measures so that the world does not dub us terrorists who do not respect peace. It is a war of wits and we must answer it diplomatically”. War of wits? Does sincerity of purpose, and sincerity to those for whom the Hurriyat leaders claim to be acting, have a place in this approach? Much, in connection with all this, has been made of US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher’s welcome to Pakistan’s “maximum restraint order on the LoC” —- since the US administration has been calling for restraint on and respect for the LoC. But the Hurriyat leaders may not be overjoyed at remarks from another quarter over ongoing terrorism in J&K — from Lord Avebury, who has traditionally been a critic of India in the past, especially in the matter of Jammu-Kashmir, and upon whom for this reason the Pakistani Government conferred its highest civilian award, Nishan-e-Haider. Lord Avebury has visited Kashmir frequently. In course of a newspaper interview in Delhi, Lord Avebury observed that “there are vested interests in the Valley who are determined to keep the conflict going . ... I am led to believe that certain leaders have amassed wealth through illicit sources during the period of militancy and conflict. These people have made money out of death and destruction. . . . I will not take names but they are the ones opposing the ceasefire [offered by Vajpayee] and are active leading the Kashmiri cause. An independent accountability commission should be set up immediately to look into such acts and stringent punishment meted to the guilty”. He added that “an inquiry into the objectives of these armed groups and their financing should be done. It is important to know who plans their activities, as this may affect many countries other than India”. Who does plan their nefarious activities? Where do the funds for these activities come from? The ultimate directors, planners and financiers are unlikely to be Pakistani. The near-bankrupt government in Pakistan —- though it somehow obtains funds for indulging in weapon-buying sprees at the cost of the welfare of those over whom it rules —- can hardly have the means to plan and implement on its own the proxy war it is carrying on in J&K. So, where do the funds and directions for it eventually come from? America? Britain? China? Israel? France? Russia? Perhaps the Hurriyat leaders would like to throw some light on this. Have any of them ever asked —- themselves or others —- questions about this? Have any of them expressed any curiosity on this score, or felt uneasy? Allegations against some of them for unexplained personal wealth have been heard in the past. In this kind of twilight-situation, it is not inconceivable that, in the last analysis, if and when a resolution of India-Pakistan differences comes —- it must come eventually — it will come not by treaties and agreements signed in the corridors of power, but by the interaction of hostility-sickened people at folk-level and at the level of traders and manufacturers. There is much more than passing relevance in the observation of Ms Hina Jilani of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan: “Militarization has undermined democracy and development [in Pakistan], and religion has harmed the interest of a vast majority...” Recently, a delegation from India of the Women’s Initiative for Peace in South Asia toured Pakistan. And also recently, a suggestion has been reported vaguely from Lahore of a student at Aitchison College suggesting “a magazine or website by students of the two countries, which would go a long way to end disinformation”. Consider other events, in this context, such as the music concert that took place in Dubai last October, featuring the Indian singer Sonu Nigam and the Pakistan pop band, Junoon. A huge crowd of many thousands of Indians and Pakistanis rocked and swayed to the tune of
Jaan Yehi Dosti Hai, and other such songs. Or recall the farewell party to her friends by the Pakistani diplomat in Delhi, also in October, by Tasnim Aslam, at her home in the Vasant Kunj suburb. Her music guru, present on the occasion, was reported to have proposed starting the evening with an invocation to Ram since Ram Navmi had just ended. And Tasnim Aslam casually sat on the stage behind her guru and sang the bhajan, “Ram naam”. These factors seem far away from Pakistan’s proxy war in J&K, and from the political, diplomatic and security concerns of the concerned parties and of the international community. Possibly, some kind of treaty or agreement eventually will be patched together as a result of the Indian offer, of the international endeavours and pressures, and of the present Pakistani half-hearted response. Islamabad could presumably be persuaded to full-heartedness in the end. But the essence of a stable and lasting peace between the two neighbours will lie in the interaction of people at non-political, non-diplomatic levels. Such interaction will begin when the concern of the leaders of the countries in the South Asia region turns genuinely from hatred initiated religio-politically to socio-economic development in duly recognized cultural togetherness. It will go into stride when borders in the region become easy and when South Asia moves towards becoming a single community. |
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“Daughter of East’’ who is Miss World The sheer name ‘‘Priyanka’’ almost instantaneously conjures up another image that of Priyanka Gandhi but this Priyanka is no Gandhi campaigning in the dust-swept Amethi constituency. She is Priyanka Chopra, the most beautiful damsel of the world; crowned Miss World 2000 at London's Skydome, next to the Millennium Dome. It is widely believed that ‘‘daughters of the East’’ are more charming than maidens of the West. The rigours of the climate make their feature rugged and the natural feminine charm fades away. It is believed that in the tropical environment, the feminine attractiveness, the tenderness of the skin and the
luster remains in its original form. This, possibly, explains why an Indian beauty bagged the Miss World title for the second successive year. Who knows ? It may be a third time next year. Last year, Yukta Mookhey , hit the world headlines and became a house-hold name. In 1997 Diana Hyden earned the global honour and 1994 was the year of Aishwarya Rai. She still continues to be in the limelight and is said to be the most charming of all. As far back as 1966, Reita Faria pitchforked India to the top position in the world beauty contest. She was the first Miss India to be crowned Miss World . Reita lives in Dublin and was present at the London contest. She exclaimed at Priyanka Chopra's success:‘‘ She is great, she is lovely.’’ There was great jubilation at the sleepy town of Bareilly as Priyanka was crowned Miss World. Every young girl of this district headquarters, a conservative town by all standard, wanted to emulate her and nurse the ambition of becoming Miss World. Though born in Jamshedpur, Priyanka grew up in Bareilly and cleared her sixth standard from St. Maria Goretti Convent and there are a lot of her childhood friends who have now become adults. Priyanka's style has become a craze and youngsters want to organise a Miss Bareilly contest. Only last year a beauty contest was held there but was disrupted by ruffians who considered the show as a display of vulgarity and threw snakes at the stage. Now a euphoria has swept the town as a "Bareilly girl" has brought fame and name to the place where she spent her childhood days. Can another local contest be prevented, if young men and women decide to hold one this year or next year? Eighteen-year-old Priyanka cherishes her childhood memories, proposes to visit Bareilly around Christmas time and stay there for a couple of days. Imagine what type of reception she will get there ? Though she began her formal education at Lucknow's prestigious La Martiniere Girls College, she shaped in Bareilly and subsequently prepared for her studies in the USA. It was in Boston where she was exposed to the western world, having cleared her 10th standard. Initially, she wanted to become a software engineer but changed her mind and the subject of criminal psychology interested her. Then came the sharp turn in her life and she entered Femina's Miss India contest and was crowned the winner. Her father was a captain in the Army and his frequent transfers took him and his wife to new places. Captain Ashok Chopra was initially posted in snow-bound Leh and then to the southern- most tip — Kerala. He was then moved to Mumbai and then to Jamshedpur in the east. Army discipline at home also enabled Priyanka to become an organised person quite early in age . She took to voluntary work and worked for the poor, participated in adult education awareness programme and joined the Indian Government-sponsored polio eradication project as a volunteer. Her commitment to the cause of the poor and the disabled proliferated in Boston when she raised funds for the destitutes in Boston. She was praised as a ‘‘genius, selfless, down to earth, warm and loving personality — a very special person.’’ Priyanka's abiding interest in music, poetry and stage performance may land her in the film world like many of her predecessors. Fond of modeling too, she will, evidently, be much in demand now. She has already indicated that she is looking for a future in Bollywood and claimed :‘‘I have experience of theatre and can also dance". Five feet eight inches tall and weighing 53 kg, Priyanka wears as bracelet with the word Om Namah Shivaya inscribed on it. The holy ‘‘mantra’’ makes her feel secure and brings her luck, she says. She feels that a weak point of her personality is that she cannot remain serious for a long time. Her favourite food is ‘‘makki ki roti and sarson ka saag’’, a typical Punjabi dish. Her favourite play is Shakespeare's ‘‘Romeo and Juliet’’ and Sidney Sheldon's ‘‘Tell Me Your Dream" is her favourite novel. |
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The Sangh Parivar never had it so good. The family's most liberal face is playing to the gallery. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee by making those controversial statements on the disputed site at Ayodhya has endeared himself to the hawks in the parivar, but in the process also distanced himself from the masses. People at large say they don't want another era of tension. Mr Vajpayee by raking up the Ayodhya issue has threatened to spoil the communal peace that has prevailed for some time now. Vajpayee's political compulsions are understood but then this is no way to go about it, is the common refrain. Critics point out that the Prime Minister has also been functioning in a partisan manner. The latest foodgrain crisis for instance benefitted the allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) the most. The Akalis in Punjab, the INLD in Haryana and the TDP in Andhra Pradesh have all got their share of the spoils. The States which are not in the NDA, especially Bihar and West Bengal, have complained of a stepmotherly treatment by the Centre. The Prime Minister could have endeared himself to the masses by taking corrective steps in these areas rather than harping on the contentious Ayodhya dispute. Speaking Vajpayee style Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is known for his clarity in speech. He also uses a language that is easily understood by his audience. To begin with, the Prime Minister always makes it a point to address any economic conference in the English language. The reason: it helps the international media and the audience to understand India's economic policies with clarity. Mr Vajpayee also ensures that he sticks to a written speech so as to avoid any confusion. This trend also reflects his discomfort with economics and policy decisions. However, the same Mr Vajpayee is a different man when it comes to talking on politics. He prefers to speak in Hindi. He mulls over every word and makes crisp, pithy statements with telling effect. However, for those who are not comfortable with the language, and lots of scribes are in that category, the Prime Minister speaks chaste Hindi. The other day Mr Vajpayee wanted to convey to mediapersons that he had declined to accept the resignation of the temperamental Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee. The Prime Minister used the word "asweekar" for decline. The prefix was not heard by many and one news agency was quick to flash the news that the resignation had been accepted. Surprisingly, the flash was corrected quite late, after nearly 20 minutes. Again later in the week, the Prime Minister spoke in his mother tongue to make that controversial statement on the disputed shrine at Ayodhya. It took time for most of his non-Hindi speaking allies, the Trinamool Congress, the Telegu Desam Party and other parties from the South, to understand the import of the Prime Minister's statement. And when they did, Mr Vajpayee clarified that he had not been reported correctly. Shock treatment for Mamata The confusion over the Prime Minister's decision on accepting Ms Mamata Banerjee's resignation over the Punjab train accident caused lot of worry for her camp. Soon after the incorrect news, that her resignation had been accepted, spread her supporters were at a loss of word to explain the sudden reversal of happenings. Till then they had been given to understand that Mamata Banerjee was not serious about her resignation and she only wanted to draw political mileage from it. In fact, the Trinamool Congress leader went on record, soon after giving her resignation, that she did not want to destablise the National Democratic Alliance Government. A close supporter of Ms Banerjee when asked about the reported acceptance of her resignation, simply could not believe it and said that even the afternoon news did not have anything about it. For the next 20 minutes, till the news was corrected, he had his heart in his mouth. When he was contacted again to convey that the news was wrong, he heaved a sigh of relief and remarked that even he was wondering what went wrong. After all the resignation was not there in the agenda. For old time’s sake Politicians who keep in regular touch with the media do not go without rewards. Apart from developing ‘‘contacts’’ with mediapersons, they also get to know something about projecting their achievements. Chattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, who has had a fairly long stint as Congress spokesperson, has got on with the job of image-building in the right earnest. One month after he took over as Chief Minister, he sent back for distribution among his ‘‘media-friends’’ day-wise list of decisions his government has taken. In the list of 45 decisions taken in 30 days, 21 were taken in the first two days. While a large number of decisions pertain to welfare of weaker sections, including labourers, there are ones on software development and foreign investment also. Instructions seem strict for the government officials too. A case of politician being quiet and achievements speaking for themselves! Right connections Rajya Sabha MP and cine-star Jaya Prada's goodwill seems to have worked to the advantage of a former party colleague and Rajya Sabha member, Dr Y Laxmi Prasad. Jaya Prada forwarded Dr Prasad's letter to the Bachchans seeking Dr Harivansh Rai Bachchan's permission to attempt an abridged translation of his autobiography in Telugu. Dr Prasad who sent his letter in November end has got a rather prompt reply from Amitabh Bachchan. The Big B has conveyed that his father has no objection to his proposal. The Rajya Sabha MP who holds a doctorate in Hindi and Telugu and is Deputy Chairman, Committee of Parliament on Official Languages, has an enormous task ahead as it means translating four volumes —
Kya Bhoolon Kya Yaad Karoon, Neer ka Nirman Phir, Basere Se Door and Dashdwar se Sopan Tak.
(Contributed by T.V.Lakshminarayan, Tripti Nath, Prashant Sood and
P.N.Andley) |
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AIDS update — a gloomy scenario YES, it is a gloomy scenario. Last week UNAIDS released the AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2000, and here are some frightening statistics — there are 36.1 million adults and children living with HIV/AIDS, 5.3 million adults and children newly infected with HIV, 3 million AIDS deaths in the year 2000 and a staggering 21.8 million being the total number of AIDS deaths since the beginning of the epidemic! It is an extremely detailed report and all those facts and figures cannot be included within the confines of this column but I very sincerely suggest that principals of schools and colleges get hold of its copies to enable children and young adults to go through it. For what I found particularly disturbing is the high percentage of children infected with HIV/AIDS — 1.4 million children are living with it, 6 lakh children have been freshly infected and about 5 lakh children have died because of AIDS in the year 2000 alone. If you were to take into account the total number of children dead since the beginning of the epidemic then those figures would definitely shock you — 4.3 million children. And together with the release of this report UNAIDS had also organised a special photo exhibition of those infected with HIV/AIDS — struck in a particular state of the North East. No names have been changed and several of those infected have even been quoted saying how they got infected, the symptoms and, of course, how they are coping with it. And the young photographer who had managed to take these exclusive shots is none other than Anita Khemka. I think I’ve written about her on an earlier occasion and the photographs she had then taken of male child prostitutes in the capital. Khemka told me that she spent two months to complete this project and now plans to travel to other states to photograph the AIDS affected. Anyway, UNAIDS should take the trouble of taking this exhibition around to as many colleges and schools as possible. Even at the cost of sounding cliched let me state that it is a fact single photograph can depict what thousands of words are unable to. Focus on Bhagat Puran Singh There must be something so unique about Bhagat Puran Singh — “the bearded Mother Teresa of Punjab” — and the work he had done, that Khushwant Singh almost broke down whilst talking about him. The occasion was the release of the book “His Sacred Burden” (biography of Bhagat Puran Singh) by former journalist Reema Anand. It’s been written with a lot of feeling for she says: “Babaji was always very precious to me. As I grew up I started viewing his personality from different angles. But everytime it seemed there was some new aspect to his being which I had not explored. Indians have yet to know about Bhagat Puran Singh and the exemplary social work he had done.....” And Khushwant Singh used the occasion to point out the fact to I & B Minister Sushma Swaraj (also present) that there is little to no focus on people who are doing their bit for the society. There are individuals and organisations who are quietly working against all odds and yet so little is known about their selfless work. Here let me also point out that almost as a antidote to the communalism unleashed by Right-wing political forces there are people amongst us who are doing their bit to bridge the gap, the divide between communities. It was touching to know that Khushwant Singh himself prepares the ‘sehri’ (the pre-dawn breakfast for those who commence their ‘roza’ or fast) at 4.30 a.m. every morning for the nurse who is looking after his wife and is observing the Ramzan. It’s because of such people we are together in spite of those politicians and their hand-in-glove partners, the bureaucrats. In fact, let me bring in a personal bit — I can never really forget that immediately after the Babri Masjid fell the two people who called me were the Kuchipuddi dancer Raja Reddy and poet Lavlin. This is the greatness of this country that there exists an antidote to the communal virus. MEA, what’s this? Two weeks back in the confines of this column I had mentioned that the two chief guests (the Vice-President of India and the Minister of State for External Affairs) didn’t turn up at the reception to mark the National Day of Lebanon, on November 22. Till date there is no apology from the MEA. And the incident not only shows the MEA in poor light but in the absence of the chief guests the national
anthem (s) of both countries could not be played. And now the least the MEA can do is to host a reception in honour of Lebanon and its national day — better late than never! What say our Vice-President Krishna Kant and MoS Ajit Kumar Panja? The latter can also celebrate Didi Mamata Banerjee’s resignation being unaccepted by the Prime Minister. Thought only Panja was a stage-actor. But, then, the world is a stage and all of us actors, some of whom keep indulging in those unasked for encores! French at their active best The Embassy of France is at its active best. This week the Ambassador of France to India, Bernard de Monteferrand, celebrated the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau 2000. This is yet another French wine from the region of Lyon. There is also a film festival in the offing that features six films by the famous director Jean-Lue Godard from December 11 to 16. Happy viewing! Priyanka Chopra’s ‘gift’
for her parents Priyanka Chopra, the latest ‘Miss World’ (don’t ask me the rationale behind it!!) has given a life long gift to her parents — both of them are private practitioners in Bareilly and I’m told that number of patients visiting their clinics has doubled. Don’t ask me the rationale behind this also, unless they have gone and pasted some of her blow-ups. |
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