E D I T O R I A L   P A G E

EDITORIALS

Elected coterie
IT is now official, as the cliche goes. The Congress has no use for inner-party democracy. It craves for humane authoritarian rule, preferably under a scion from the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. It showed this urge in a shy manner during the election of its president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, some weeks back.

More teeth for EC
WHEN it comes to giving up or even sharing its tremendous powers, the government can be more stubborn than a mule. All citizens who have had to deal with the government know this bitter truth. Even the Election Commission has now learnt this lesson.

Welcome rain
THE weather gods have relented at last. After a prolonged dry spell the region comprising Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana has reported heavy snowfall in the upper reaches and rain in the plains. Other parts of India too have a reason to celebrate the beginning of the new millennium with more than usual bonhomie. 

OPINION

DHR MODEL OF GOVERNANCE
Haryana sets a disquieting trend
by D. R. Chaudhry
INDIA has adopted the Westminster style of democracy. Its important characteristics such as a multiple party system, periodic elections, adult franchise, separation of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary etc deal more with form than with the content of democracy. 

Nepal needs to learn a lesson
by Amar Chandel
WHILE Nepal slides back to normalcy after all the violence and furore over a Hrithik Roshan remark that never was, the authorities there ought to do a lot of soul-searching. They may not have the courage of conviction to offer an apology to India and Indians, but they should at least have a guilty conscience. 

ANALYSIS

The Red Fort (in)security
by Pritam Bhullar
“THE security inside the premises is virtually nil as otherwise it would cause a major problem to those who visit this historic place”, remarked the Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, on the shooting incident by militants in the Red Fort on December 22.

LCA prototype to fly in Jan
by Imran Qureshi
THE first prototype of India’s indigenously developed multi-role fighter, the light combat aircraft, will fly in the first week of January, officials say. The Rs 30 billion project of prestige, bogged down by U.S. sanctions in the aftermath of India’s 1998 nuclear tests, is expected to take off with the first prototype after another 60 to 70 hours of taxi trials. 

Music lover preserves fading melodies 
REALISING that the deep-throated, melodious voices of the women who livened the “mehfils” (soirees) of Benaras of yesteryear are beginning to fade into obscurity, one man has made it his mission to keep the memory alive for now, even if not for posterity.

• Mummy with wooden toe

• 11 new viruses discovered

• Most avid surfers

Elected coterie

IT is now official, as the cliche goes. The Congress has no use for inner-party democracy. It craves for humane authoritarian rule, preferably under a scion from the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. It showed this urge in a shy manner during the election of its president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, some weeks back. Then word went out from New Delhi to pack the PCCs with chosen yes-men. That resulted in an embarrassing landslide win for her and a humiliating defeat for her brave rival, Mr Jitendra Prasada. Now the fatwa from the same source is that the PCCs should authorise the president to nominate the full compliment of 24 members to the Congress Working Committee, and there is no need for the AICC members to exercise their option to elect worthies to the highest policy-making body. Thus the party is inching towards an Indian form of constitutional monarchy, the queen bee acting as the sovereign. This aversion to election is not a new phenomenon and Congressmen everywhere are getting used to it. But by practising it at every level, the party is casting away a glorious heritage. It is becoming indistinguishable from regional parties, no matter how loudly it asserts its claim to a national presence. It has given up its cherished policies but has not fashioned a new package. Thus it gives the impression of being a B team of the BJP. And actually staunch anti-Congress forces like the Samajwadi party and the Telugu Desam are busy spreading the opinion, but in wispers, that there is a cozy understanding between the Congress and the BJP to scratch each other’s back but for public consumption fight with velvet gloves. This perception, shared by many veteran Congressmen, robs it of the status and support as the main opposition party in Parliament. It faces the danger of losing it in due course. If that tragedy were to hit it, it will have little chance of regaining its vigour. And the regular nomination to what were once elected bodies is adding to this weakness.

Like her husband Rajiv Gandhi, Mrs Sonia Gandhi started off with tonnes of idealism and promise. She encouraged open debate and was receptive to ideas. That was proved to be a transitory phase and soon she began to show her nervousness born out of lack of experience. Her dependence on individuals like Mr Vincent George and Mr Arjun Singh increased, forcing many veterans to distance themselves from what has come to be pejoratively called 10, Janpath. The result is all too obvious. A coterie is by definition a tight band of faceless intriguers who pull the string from behind since they do not enjoy mass support. In a manner of speaking, they are discarded leaders who worm their way to the proximity of the leader. This has two fallouts. The members of the coterie are interested only in retaining their position, which coincides with retaining the confidence and trust of the leader. Thus, two, they will never take the larger and long-term interests of the party into consideration. It is adhocism with a vengeance. Shockingly, this pattern has spread to states as well. In Tamil Nadu PCC chief E.V.K.S.Elangovan is not fighting the ruling DMK but his detractors in his own party. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit is having to contend with the Congress chief Subhash Chopra. The same is the case with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. True, the daily tussle between what was then called the ministerial wing (read the Chief Minister) and the organisational wing (read the PCC chief) is as old as independence. But then every one was duly elected and fought their battle with the help of the people or on the basis of popular support. That way routine political wrangles were massive exercises in taking the Congress party closer to the people. The new-found love for nominated Chief Ministers and nominated PCC chiefs is forcing both sides to rush to 10, Janpath, and not to the people. Herein lies the seeds of Congress’s growing irrelevance. In a democracy inner party democracy is a nourishment and the tradition of nomination is an intoxicant. The latter has proved to be the Congress party’s addiction. Jawaharlal Nehru would have opposed it even if his daughter initiated it. His granddaugther-in-law has a choice but she should be briefed by her coterie! 

More teeth for EC

WHEN it comes to giving up or even sharing its tremendous powers, the government can be more stubborn than a mule. All citizens who have had to deal with the government know this bitter truth. Even the Election Commission has now learnt this lesson. Way back in 1989, a parliamentary decision had given it certain powers to supervise and discipline public servants, including police officers, for insubordination or dereliction of duty while on election duty. But the Centre stonewalled this Act all along. This was ostensibly done in response to the bureaucrats' plea that they couldn't serve two "masters". The actual reason was that no party in power wanted to give up the advantage of having "sympathetic" bureaucracy at its beck and call during an election. After a tussle of 11 years, better sense has finally prevailed and the Election Commission has been empowered to suspend or substitute an erring public servant. The Chief Election Commissioner, Mr M.S.Gill, has clarified that this "brahmastra" will be used very rarely, if at all. This kind of potent weapon was essential to keep in leash more than five million personnel who take part in the parliamentary polls and lesser numbers who have to be involved in other elections. The compromise has come about only after the poll panel gave up its demand that it should also have the powers to take disciplinary action such as withholding increments, demotion or even dismissal of the employees concerned. Instead, the Election Commission will have the power to recommend disciplinary action to the competent authority against the erring officers. Such recommendation will be promptly acted upon and the action taken will be communicated to the Election Commission within six months of the date of the commission's directive.

This is a welcome but small step. It will apply to Central and public sector employees all right, but the states are mostly non-committal. Only five of them - Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu and Tripura - have supported it. It has not been clarified what will happen if some state refuses to implement the decision. The Chief Election Commissioner has only commented that we will cross the bridge when we reach it. But the bridge has been already reached. Four states and one union territory are scheduled to go to the polls in the near future. Only one of them - Tamil Nadu - is amenable to putting its personnel under the Election Commission's total command during the election period. The Election Commission's hope is that since many states are ruled by parties which are the alliance partners of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre, they may not renege on the decision. But this may be a fond hope. Leave alone endorsing the BJP's decision in the states, many alliance partners embarrass it even at the Centre. The concept called collective responsibility has become virtually extinct in the days of coalition politics. 

Welcome rain

THE weather gods have relented at last. After a prolonged dry spell the region comprising Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana has reported heavy snowfall in the upper reaches and rain in the plains. Other parts of India too have a reason to celebrate the beginning of the new millennium with more than usual bonhomie. Nature has always been a generous host, and the rain and snow in abundant measure suggest that it is even willing to forgive the gross abuse of its boundless resources by the tribe of Adam. To the people of Himachal the weather gods have given a very special white New Year instead of the traditional white Christmas. To the farmers its has given a marvellous gift of rain. For everyone in general the end of the long dry spell means a sharp fall in the weather-related ailments. However, the time has come for mankind to learn to count its blessings. It will have to learn to give back to nature at least a fraction of what it receives from nature's limitless resources. The visible changes in the weather pattern across the globe indicate that the usually reliable weather cycle has developed serious faults. The continued abuse of nature is largely responsible for the imbalances. Years ago when environmentalists spoke of global warming a number of countries got together to draw up a collective strategy for averting it. They are still busy discussing the issue while global warming has become a fact of life. The dry winter in most of the sub-continent which ended with the beginning of the New Year is just one of the many manifestations of the ill-effects of global warming.

What the international community is currently discussing is a project which would give the USA and other developed countries the unquestioned right to discharge life-threatening substances in the atmosphere, which cause global warming, with little regard to the right of the rest of the globe to pure air, water and food. At the Rio global summit for the protection of the environment Mrs Maneka Gandhi had asked for stiff penalties for the polluters. But the big players continue to cock a snook at the rest of the world by introducing new and more toxic substances for increasing industrial production, without any concern for the long-term effects of such malpractices on the general health of mankind. The poor and the impoverished countries are already having to pay for the sins of the rich nations. The devastating cyclone in Orissa followed by widespread drought were the result of the damage caused to the weather cycle by the rich nations. The ozone layer, which prevents harmful rays of the sun from reaching the earth has developed disturbing leaks because of the reckless use of CFCs by the industrialised nations. Rapid deforestation by developing countries like India has further reduced to the capacity of the earth to trap the excess heat generated by callous industrial activity. Unless a collective strategy is drawn up for substantially increasing the global forest cover and reducing the use of dangerous industrial practices to acceptable levels nature may itself one day raise its hands in despair at the foolishness of mankind. In the Indian tradition, nature has been given the exalted position of mother. But can any mother continue to breast feed her child without receiving sufficient nourishment herself? And the milk of nature's kindness too cannot last forever. The region should count itself lucky for receiving what is without doubt the best New Year's gift from Mother Nature.

DHR MODEL OF GOVERNANCE
Haryana sets a disquieting trend
by D. R. Chaudhry

INDIA has adopted the Westminster style of democracy. Its important characteristics such as a multiple party system, periodic elections, adult franchise, separation of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary etc deal more with form than with the content of democracy. They constitute a necessary but not sufficient condition to characterise a system democratic in the real sense of the term. The essence of democracy lies in the nature of relationship between the people and the ruling elite. A system can be said to have acquired democratic essence only if the ruling elite is in true empathy with the masses and strives constantly to actualise their needs and aspirations in as concrete a form as possible.

In India, one notices an ever-widening hiatus, a yawning gap between the form and content of democracy. The tension between form and content has reached a critical point in several states. Haryana provides a glaring example of this. It is easier to understand the phenomenon with the help of Haryana as here everything is done in the most unabashed and uninhibited style.

It would be charitable to characterise the model of governance in Haryana as dynastic. A dynasty operates within certain constraints and it acquires certain norms as it has a long-term perspective to perpetuate itself. Haryana’s model can be best called ‘direct home rule’ (DHR) — a rule by a few members of a family where the state is treated as a fiefdom and the state capital becomes a mere extension of one’s farmhouse or a branch of one’s trading concern. Resources of the state are treated as God-given booty which are geared for private accumulation as quickly as possible.

Servility of those who are down below in the administrative hierarchy, a concerted attempt to subvert and bypass constitutional structures and democratic norms to establish a direct rapport with the masses, snuffing out every possibility of dissidence in the ruling party and striking terror in the minds of the opposition to ensure its silence are some of the major traits of this model of governance.

The case of the former DGP of Haryana, Mr S.P.S. Rathore, provides a telling example of this servility syndrome. The gruesome details of the Ruchika molestation case, her subsequent suicide, the relentless persecution of her family resulting in its virtual disintegration are too well known to bear repetition. But for the heroic resolve of an exceptionally valiant couple — Madhu Prakash and Anand Prakash — to seek justice and the leading role played by The Tribune to highlight the case, it would have been buried under the mighty politico-bureaucratic callousness.

The request made by the CBI, the National Human Rights Commission and several other human rights bodies to remove Mr Rathore from his position in the interest of free and fair investigation failed to move the State Government. It stood behind Rathore like a rock. However, the judgement of the Special Magistrate condoning the delay in filing the charge-sheet against Mr Rathore created a disturbing situation for the Government. Even then, he was not placed under suspension. He was merely asked to proceed on long leave.

The Tribune Editor in a signed front-page editorial (Dec. 5) on the case talked of the “vital issue of dharma” and “the morality of action or inaction”. However, the concepts of dharma, morality and propriety are alien to a feudal sensibility tinged with modern covetousness and megalomania. The more servile, supine and spineless a vassal, the dearer he is to the ruling baron. (Rathore, at a important police function recently at Madhuban, Karnal, read out as DGP a poem singing glories of the Chief Minister’s son!)

The treatment being meted out to the village panchayats in Haryana these days provides an example of a calculated design to bypass a constitutional institution. The Panchayati Raj is a creature of the Indian Constitution. The Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, clearly defines the functions and duties of the gram panchayats. In spite of the bureaucratic control and interference in various ways, the Act invests the panchayats with enough powers to undertake or supervise a host of development works in the fields of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, dairying, poultry, piggery, fisheries, social and farm forestry, rural and cottage industries, drinking water supply, maintenance of tanks and ponds, rural sanitation, public health and family welfare, women and child development and so on. Besides the grants received from the State Government, a gram panchayat has the power to impose a special tax on the members of the gram sabha for any public work of general utility. A gram panchayat also raises revenue by leasing out panchayat land, selling forest produce on it and renting out shops etc constructed by it. If implemented seriously, the idea of gram panchayat can lead to flowering of grassroot level democracy. A few states have done remarkably well in this regard. However, any democratic institution is anathema to the rulers in the DHR model of governance and must be subverted as far as possible. Thus, the Haryana Government through an executive order decided to have a gram vikas samiti (village development council) in every village to undertake development work. If this largely nominated body has to carry out development activity and handle the funds for this, what is left for the constitutional body of the gram panchayat to do? It automatically loses its raison d’etre.

This act of the Haryana Government has let loose a veritable hell on the countryside. Rural Haryana is seething with dissension and at places, violent clashes have occurred. The elected members of gram panchayats have not taken kindly to the move to deprive them of powers conferred on them by the Constitution. There are speculations about the real intentions of the ruling set-up. Some believe that the provision of a paid job in every samiti with a monthly salary of Rs 2500 will enable the ruling party to oblige several thousand of its activists and supporters. However, this purpose could have been served by creating similar posts in gram panchayats. Therefore, the real purpose seems to be to subvert a constitutional body and render the elected representatives redundant and to carry out development work in the village through a body controlled by the rulers at the top of the social pyramid.

If the logic is extended a little further, a body can be created to take over most of the functions of the State Assembly. Unfortunately, this move of the Haryana Government has not evoked sufficient concern among social scientists, political activists and the media. How far this move is constitutionally valid and capable of standing the scrutiny of law is for legal pundits to ponder over.

Systematic efforts have been made to snuff out dissidence in the ruling party. All powers are concentrated at the top and the elected legislators and ministers have to act as humble petitioners to get small favours. There are bizarre stories doing the rounds about the use of strong-arm methods to silence some legislators who have a potential for dissidence. Even small matters like the presidentship of a municipal committee or headship of a university department are referred to the top and decided at that level. The opposition has been bullied into silence by launching legal cases against important opposition leaders. The charges range from amassing wealth through unfair means to being an accomplice to murder. This is not to suggest that the opposition leaders are all angels. However, there is a calculated strategy to buy peace with some garrulous noise-makers on the other side of the fence. And the strategy seems to have succeeded. Those who regularly shot arrows at the ruling satraps are now seen sulking in silence.

The best example of the DHR model of governance in Haryana is provided by the ‘Sarkar Aap Ke Dawar’ (government at your doorstep) conclaves. The Chief Minister regularly presides over the village gatherings with a retinue of bureaucrats, area legislators and party functionaries. The gatherings very much resemble a medieval court with a retinue of courtiers and a crowd of supplicants. The only personage missing is the official jester. Demands for the construction of rooms in the village school, a link road, sheds in the cremation ground, a village chaupal, a sports stadium, culverts on the canal, old-age homes, paving the village streets, brick-lining the water channels and a host of other things are put forth and granted on the spot or rejected, depending on the mood of the boss.

One thing is worth noting at these conclaves. If the local legislator or an important party functionary displays overt interest in projecting a demand, he is brushed aside with a contemptuous gesture and the demand goes unheeded. If the same demand is presented by the villagers without the help of any intermediary, it is readily granted. Sometimes the demands granted involve a sizeable expenditure running into lakhs of rupees. Should a modern ruler assess the development needs of the state as a whole with the help of expert committees and then mobilise resources to undertake development works, fixing due priorities at the state level? Alternatively, should he, like a medieval baron, occasionally hold public court and grant largesses on the spot? Answers of these questions have a direct bearing on the democratic process.

The DHR model of governance in Haryana seems to be working to the utter satisfaction of the power wielders at the top of the social pyramid. The top is keen to establish a direct rapport with the base, making redundant the midriff of the pyramid, comprising party functionaries at different levels and the opposition ranks. Even constitutional institutions can be bypassed or subverted if they prove to be irritants. The effort seems to be succeeding eminently.

There is complete peace in the state. Not a leaf stirs without the approving nod from the top. However, there is a snag in the whole paradigm. In a democratic set-up, howsoever defective it may be, it is always the midriff provided by the party structure that mediates between the top and the base of the pyramid. And the opposition acts as a safety valve and a necessary corrective mechanism. If this midriff is weakened and rendered fragile beyond a point by snuffing out dissent both in the ruling party and the opposition by taking recourse to punitive administrative measures, the top can tumble at any time.

Nepal needs to learn a lesson
by Amar Chandel

WHILE Nepal slides back to normalcy after all the violence and furore over a Hrithik Roshan remark that never was, the authorities there ought to do a lot of soul-searching. They may not have the courage of conviction to offer an apology to India and Indians, but they should at least have a guilty conscience. The way they allowed themselves to become a helpless pawn in the hands of a few mischief-makers made an ugly spectacle, to say the least.

India happens to be much larger than its neighbours and that cannot be helped, although Pakistan is working to a plan to fragment it somehow. However, India does not have to be apologetic about its size. If being bigger means being constantly called a big bully despite bending over backwards every now and then, so be it. In fact, the ferocity of the violence in Nepal should wake up New Delhi to the harsh realities. The Christian maxim of offering the other cheek when the first is slapped is all very well, but to keep on smiling while you are being slapped left and right can be misconstrued. Remember the bloody nose we got in Kargil as a consequence of our eagerness to smoothen the way for the Lahore bus yatra! It takes two to shake hands.

The Red Fort (in)security
by Pritam Bhullar

“THE security inside the premises is virtually nil as otherwise it would cause a major problem to those who visit this historic place”, remarked the Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, on the shooting incident by militants in the Red Fort on December 22.

No one who is conversant with the layout of the historic fort, the number of units located in it and the unhindered stream of tourists and other visitors who frequent the fort daily, can disagree with what Mr Fernandes has said. This writer, who was serving in 4 Guards when this battalion was located in Red Fort from 1957 to 1959, can vouch for this from personal experience. Not only that, I would go a step further to say that this is the most insecure and inappropriate location that an infantry battalion can have in a peace station.

Granted that both the Lahori Gate (the main entrance) and the Delhi Gate have armed guards to keep a watch on the inflow of visitors. But it is virtually impossible to frisk hundreds of them every day. Any such search can only be carried out selectively and that too on suspicion, otherwise it would give a very wrong impression to the genuine tourists, especially the foreigners, who come all the way to Delhi to visit the Red Fort.

Besides, a “sound and light show” is also held daily from 7.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. in the Red Fort, which is witnessed by a sizeable number of people who come to Delhi. If one started searching them all, quite a number of them will miss the show. And this measure will drive the tourists away from this historic building. All in all, the enforcing of stringent security checks on entry into the Red Fort will defeat the very purpose of the public visiting this monument.

Inside and beneath the ramparts of the Lahori Gate, there are curio shops on both sides of the road which attract a large number of tourists. All the traders who run these shops live outside the fort. From all this, one can imagine how loose is the security inside the fort.

The main occupant of the Red Fort is the infantry battalion that provides ceremonial guards at Rashtrapati Bhavan, besides providing guards of honour to the visiting foreign dignitaries at Rashtrapati Bhavan as well as at the airport. Generally, two rifle companies from this battalion are located at Rashtrapati Bhavan for these duties. At times, when there is a rush of foreign dignitaries, the strength of troops at Rashtrapati Bhavan is increased to three rifle companies.

Since two companies at Rashtrapati Bhavan are administered by the battalion headquarters from Red Fort, there is a lot of movement of vehicles between both places almost every day through congested area like Darya Ganj, which can easily be avoided if the entire unit is located at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The purpose of locating the battalion in Red Fort is that some troops are always available to be deployed for internal security (IS) duties at short notice. Going by the rules, the Army should be called out for IS duties only when the situation goes beyond the control of the state police as well as the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Besides, there are other forces, like the Rapid Action Force (RAF), which are readily available to control the situation. The Army, if still required at a later stage, can always come to the place of unrest from Delhi Cantonment.

The other units located in Red Fort are a platoon of the Army Service Corps (ASC), a unit of the Corps of Military Police (CMP), a workshop detachment of the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME) and a section of the Station Health Organisation. Apart from this, there is an interrogation cell of Military Intelligence. The staff of the Archaeological Survey of India is also there to take care of structures like Diwan-e-Khas, Diwan-e-Aam, Rang Mahal etc.

There is no clear demarcation between the units, other organisations and the residential areas. It is, therefore, difficult to keep a tab on the movement of visitors, leave alone detecting a stranger or an unfamiliar face. The Station Staff Officer (SSO) Red Fort along with his staff was also located there at the Delhi Gate. This writer is not sure whether the SSO’s office is still in the premises of the Red Fort.

Storming of a historic monument of such a great importance by the terrorists and that too in the national capital affects the morale of the nation and brings a bad name to the Army which is entrusted with its security.

Was the Army waiting for the shooting incident to occur before realising that the security scenario in the Red Fort was far from satisfactory? It has become a habit with us as a nation to sleep over things and wake up just for a short while when something shocking happens before falling into a heavy slumber again. Haven’t we yet realised that this habit is costing us dearly and is also defaming us?

All said and done, before we experience another more serious and ghastly happening in Red Fort as we have been experiencing at the Corps Headquarters in Srinagar, we should carry out a realistic appraisal of the security situation in Red Fort to plug the loopholes. In any case, there is no requirement to locate an infantry battalion in Red Fort. This battalion should, therefore, be shifted to the place of its duty at the Rashtrapati Bhavan complex.

LCA prototype to fly in Jan
by Imran Qureshi

THE first prototype of India’s indigenously developed multi-role fighter, the light combat aircraft (LCA), will fly in the first week of January, officials say. The Rs 30 billion project of prestige, bogged down by U.S. sanctions in the aftermath of India’s 1998 nuclear tests, is expected to take off with the first prototype after another 60 to 70 hours of taxi trials. “We have completed 200 hours of taxi trials and we should be able to fly it in the first week of January. We are certain about this,” a senior official of the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), who did not want to be named, said. Dismissed as a “white elephant” and heavily criticised by a Parliamentary Committee, the LCA has treaded a tortuous path of all kinds of delays before being cleared by the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certificate recently. The first prototype will be followed by three other prototypes, apart from one trainer and one for the Navy.

The flying of the first prototype means that its induction into the Indian Air Force to replace the ageing Mig-21s would take another seven years, four years behind its original schedule. That is when production is expected to begin.

But “it will be better than the F-16s (which Pakistan has) in its final form. For a fighter, full-scale engine development will begin from the day it starts flying. We have a lot of design goals that will make it up to date,” the official adds. Originally scheduled to fly in June, 1995, the tail-less, delta winged, digital, fly-by wire prototype, resembling the Swedish JAS Gripen, has inputs from scientists and aeronautical engineers belonging to over 100 research and defence centres in the country. It would become the second indigenously produced fighter after Marut (HF-24).It is configured to carry indigenous ASTRA medium range air-to-air missile (being developed by DRDL, Hyderabad), close combat missiles and an integral (23 mm) cannon in order to survive electronic warfare and jamming.

It is being fitted with an electronic counter-counter measure (ECCM) developed by the Advanced System Integration and Evaluation Organisation (ASIEO), part of the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bangalore.The first setback for the project came when the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs delayed its approval until 1993 for the Rs 21.18 billion project. The amount was later revised to Rs 30 billion a couple of years later. S.R. Valluri and Raj Mahindra of the ADA quit the project over differences with the then Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, Dr V.S. Arunachalam.

In 1998, the project suffered the second major, almost debilitating, setback when a dozen Indian scientists, led by Dr K.G. Narayan, developing the software for the flight control system, were sent back from Lockheed Martin following the U.S. sanctions in the post-Pokhran situation.

The U.S. embargo on the sale of GE-F400 engine to power the three prototypes became another hurdle for the project. The fourth would come from GTRE, Bangalore.

The first prototype is now expected to fly with a GE-F404 engine that was bought before the sanctions were imposed. The indigenously developed Kaveri turbofan engine, which would be used in the LCA, has been tested in India and Russia.

The LCA was estimated to cost $22 million each — down by $10 million compared to other aircraft in its class — when the then Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, invited collaborators for production and marketing to bring down the cost of aircraft.

It was expected to be priced at $15 million after international collaborators like British Aerospace, SAAB and Northrop of the USA came up for integration of the weapons systems and sensors and to globally market the fighter. The proposal was based on the projection that Asian and African countries would require 8,000 fighters in the next two decades. But the sanctions prevented all these plans.
 — India Abroad News Service

Music lover preserves fading melodies 

REALISING that the deep-throated, melodious voices of the women who livened the “mehfils” (soirees) of Benaras of yesteryear are beginning to fade into obscurity, one man has made it his mission to keep the memory alive for now, even if not for posterity.

“I loved listening to ‘thumri’ by Tara Devi, daughter of the one time popular Rageshwari Bai, but could not manage to get her records. This led me to capture not only her voice but also that of the other ‘tawaifs’ (courtesans) for posterity,” Rastogi, who boasts a collection of 150 such voices, told India Abroad News Service.

Mummy with wooden toe

As if building the great pyramids was not enough of an accomplishment, the ancient Egyptians may have pioneered the techniques of amputation as well. German researchers have identified a mummy whose big toe may have been amputated and replaced with a functioning prosthesis.

The mummy, a woman who was probably 50 to 55 when she died, was found in a tomb dating from 1065 to 740 BC, in the necropolis (cemetery) of what was once the capital of ancient Egypt.

This is not the first mummy with a prosthetic limb to be discovered, but the lastest find differs in an important way, according to a team of researchers at Ludwing-Maximilians-University in Munich led by Dr Andreas G. Nerlich. They note that in the other mummies, replacement toes, forearms and other parts appear to have been added after death, probably to prepare the mummies for the afterlife.

But in the newly discovered mummy, a layer of tissue, including skin, had grown over the site of the amputation, according to a report in the December 23/30 issue of the medical journal The Lancet. This suggests that the toe was amputated when the mummified woman was still alive, the researchers note. — (Reuters)

11 new viruses discovered

A worrisome new virus that cannot be neutralised by the existing vaccines has put researchers on their toes.

Work was on how to fight the virus which affects kidneys, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Prof N. K. Ganguly has said.

The ICMR chief also revealed that 11 new viruses had been discovered in India in the recent past. Efforts were on to develop vaccines for the new viruses. However, the discovery of new viruses and strain has underlined the need for scientists to continuously monitor infections, he said.

Listing out some of the achievements of Indian scientists, particularly in molecular epidemiology, he said researchers have been able to indigenously solve the mystery behind the mass dying of vultures. Three viruses were initially identified as the cause behind these deaths and the Vigna virus was zeroed in on as the main cause of the death of nature’s scavengers. — (PTI)

Most avid surfers

Hong Kong people are the world’s most avid web surfers, international media research company, AC Nielsen, says.

The firm tracked the surfing habits of Internet users in 18 countries in October and found that Hong Kong people spend an average of 10 hours and 13 minutes a month on the net.

The average net surfer in the USA spent 10 hours and four minutes a month, while Canada came third clocking eight hours and 58 minutes a month.

But the research company believed Americans were generally more mature surfers than people in Hong Kong, which explained why they spent less time on the net.

“In these formative stages, they (Hong Kong surfers) are still learning how to use the Net as an information tool,” said the managing director of AC Nielsen eRatings.com, Hugh Bloch, in a statement.

Bloch said US surfers were refining their habits and going to fewer sites but remaining on them for longer periods of time. — (Reuters)

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

Every night before going to bed just sit in your bed, put the light off. Close your eyes, relax your body and then just feel that the whole room is full of golden mist... as if gold mist is falling all around.... And within a few days you will be able to see the whole room becoming luminous in your vision. The inhale and feel that the golden mist is being inhaled deep in your heart. Your heart is just void, empty, and that golden mist goes into it, fills the heart.

Then exhale: again feel that golden mist is going out and that your heart is again becoming empty, void, nothing inside.... This you do for five, seven minutes, and then simply go to sleep, always go to sleep when you are empty. And you will have a very different kind of sleep more of the void, more of nothingness, more of non-being. In the morning open your eyes feeling as if you have been in a totally different land.

In the morning before you get out of your bed, sit again: for five minutes; repeat the same process... Hold the gold mist inside..., and the whole day you feel a subtle energy flowing in you. In the night become empty, in the day become full.

The next step will be that you simply remain a watcher.... You are neither day nor night, neither emptiness nor fullness, just a witness.

— Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh,
The Zero Experience,
A Darshan Diary (March 3, 1977)

*****

Simplify, simplify. Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five, and reduce other things in proportion.

— Henry David Thoreau, Walden (New York, 1966), page 62

*****

When we meet the beloved Lord, Who is the Ocean of Happiness, we experience Supreme Bliss. On meeting the Lord who is Supreme Bliss all our sufferings end.

— Guru Arjan Dev, Asavari.
Guru Granth Sahib, page 431