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| Thursday, January 4, 2001, Chandigarh, India    |
High voltage shock Ajanta goes to China |
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| A dangerous trend
SAWAAL KASHMIR KA
Biodiversity Bill: The missing dimensions
Work from home leads to stress
Moral values still hold sway
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| High voltage shock IGNORE a warning and you are bound to suffer a bigger shock. That is the main lesson to learn — if anyone is willing to do so — from the chaos caused by the collapse of the northern power grid a day after the New Year day. Such power shedding and breakdowns had been going on for so long, particularly in rural areas, without much notice being taken. The whole grid was bound to give in sooner or later. In fact, even region-wide ‘‘rehearsals’’ had taken place earlier in December, 1999, and January, 2000. But the problem was conveniently wished away. Even now, experts have warned that the breakdown can occur again if adequate correctives are not immediately applied. Such problems erupt mainly in winter when power generation equipment suffers short-circuit because of moisture and dew. Replacing the obsolete equipment could have easily solved these, but these continue to be in operation, without so much as proper maintenance. Ironically, the demand for electricity also increases during the winter months. Since supply falls far short of requirement, a bit of grid discipline is absolutely essential because overdrawal can make the whole system collapse. Nobody bothers for such niceties. Neighbouring lines and power stations should have been isolated by frequency relays. Apparently, that was not done. The Central Electricity Authority chairman R.N. Srivastava goes so far as saying that ‘‘it is not known if the relays were properly synchronised or not’’. If that is the state of things, a collapse is inevitable. The crux of the problem is that electricity boards have all along been run on political gas rather than on sound economic principles. Chief Ministers and Power Ministers have nursed their constituencies and purchased votes by pawning the electricity boards. If the governments were paying the electricity boards for all this, the former would have gone bankrupt instead of the latter. But the boards were made to toe the line with the help of an all-powerful political fatwa. Add to that the board officials' own corruption, sloth and mismanagement and the recipe was complete for a disaster. Meanwhile, population was rising and so was the demand for electricity. But more generation needed more money, which was hard to come by. The few projects that were started earned the ire of activists. Some did not like big dams; others hated the sight of atomic or thermal plants. Ironically, none suggested a way to increase power supply. Electricity, which should have been an engine of development, became a luxury. Factories remained idle, crops withered and anyone who could afford them had to go in for diesel or petrol generators, sending the country's import bill into the stratosphere. That is where things stand. Demand is still rising. Supply is almost static. The gap can be filled if generation, transmission and distribution are professionally managed. Speeches cannot make turbines turn. Either we pay a fair price for the power that we manage to generate or the country pays a heavy price for decades upon decades of drift. It is as simple as that. Failure to mend ways will be fatal. On Tuesday, it was North India which plunged into darkness. Some day it could be the whole country. Doomsday scenario? Hardly! |
| Ajanta goes to China BATTERED by inexpensive imports, Ajanta Clocks, the market leader in that line, has decided to shift operations to China, yes, China. It has already purchased a 6-acre plot in Shenzhen province to set up manufacturing facilities. It is ready to shift some machinery and hopes to complete the process in two or three phases. Apart from clocks, the company also makes calculators and telephone instruments under the trade name of Orpat. In the absence of clear thinking in the Central Government, it had three options: to close down and become an importer of Chinese products, to import parts and assemble goods or remain a manufacturer and stay afloat. It has chosen the challenging way out. Buying from China, affixing its own label and selling for profit would have caused permanent damage to production process and to procure competitively priced sub-assemblies would have shifted the crisis to its suppliers and added to the trade deficit. The last choice helps Ajanta to return if the infrastructure and taxation system improve to make production of its three lines profitable. A few others may mull over this idea, particularly those with recognised brands and under pressure from imports. A few others have taken to import of parts for assembling and selling under the existing names. Ortem, a company near Delhi, has closed down one unit making fans and is toying with the idea of shutting down two more; instead it will become a straight importer. Despite the shrill demand to curb “dumping” of goods by China, neither the Finance nor the Commerce Ministry has initiated a full-length study on the nature and mode of dumping as also the extent of underpricing. Whatever information is available, it is generated by academics or a few serious-minded economic writers. Putting together all this, it is more or less certain that favourable factors in China and unfavourable factors in India have combined to apply a squeeze on those making consumers goods. As is already known, China has excellent infrastructure, low wages, low rates of all types of taxes and, above all, mammoth production capacities. It is also possible that workers there are well trained and motivated, which can increase productivity by as much as 15 per cent. In India none of these is present. Import duty once favoured import of raw material and parts and discouraged goods and partially assembled parts through high duties. In the series of ad hoc reforms, this had been reversed, making raw materials costly and parts import cheaper. This country has also agreed to a lower ceiling on maximum import duty or the bound rate. For instance calculator parts attract a mere 5 per cent import duty but raw materials a savage 25 per cent. This is irrational and hurts local manufacturing capacity. Then there is excise duty which is high on those consumer goods which were once considered luxury items. But the root cause is the poor state of electricity, roads, harbours and air cargo terminals. A veteran commentator has pointed out that peak time power shortage is an unacceptable 30 per cent and investment in power plants have come down by 30 per cent during the past 15 years. The loss of production and increase in production costs make Indian goods uncompetitive. India does not have many motorways and hence goods cannot be carried in containers. Narrow roads add to the transportation cost. Harbours are so congested that ships have to wait for days, sometimes three weeks, to unload their consignment. The resultant demurrage boosts the landed cost. These are structural deficiencies which cannot be overcome in a hurry. And with the government in financial straits and with the private sector unwilling or unable to make largescale investment, it can only get worse. As the analyst warns, that will trigger another economic crisis, a bigger one than the “dumping” problem. |
| A dangerous trend AFTER Hrithik Roshan it is now the turn of Ajay Devgan and Manisha Koirala to feel the heat of intolerance. The anti-Nepali views which Hrithik claims he never expressed resulted in anti-India violence in the Himalayan kingdom. However, both Ajay and Manisha have not even been accused of having done or said anything to hurt any one's religious, cultural or patriotic sentiments to explain the kind of treatment their films have received in Assam and Madhya Pradesh. Manisha, perhaps, had to pay for the anti-India riots in Nepal when NSUI activists in Madhya Pradesh tried to prevent the screening of her film "Champion". The only fault of Ajay is, if it can be called a fault, that he has made the most expensive Hindi film to date captioned "Raju Chacha", which did not set the box office on fire in the first week of its release across the country. But the controversy is not about the Rs 65 crore he is said to have invested in his first film as producer. The malcontents in Assam have reportedly whipped up regional sentiments in favour of the continued screening of "Jon Jwale Kopalat" at the expense of Ajay's film. "Raju Chacha", a poor imitation of the hugely popular "Sound of Music", was not allowed to be screened at Guwahati's upmarket cinema hall because All Assam Students' Union activists threatened to create violence if the Assamese film was not given an extended run, to a virtually empty hall. The pro-Assamese agitation was evidently sponsored by the producer of "Jon Jwale...". In a way the state government itself is responsible for the spread of the cult of intolerance, usually associated with the Sangh Parivar outfits. The Sangh Parivar activists, of course, have a long list of "achievements" to explain their growing clout in the Hindi heartland, and even beyond. They literally set Deepa Mehta's "Fire" on fire and drowned her "Water" in their ocean of irrational hatred. They forced a willing district administration in Varanasi to clip certain "religiously offensive" portions from Amitabh Bachhan's "Mohabatien". They have sought to impose an anti-jeans and anti-western dress agenda in territories under the control of the Bharatiya Janata Party. They even had the audacity to declare that celebrating birthdays with cakes was anti-national and threatened to stall the celebration of the New Year in UP because it was "against Indian culture". Is intolerance a part of the Indian culture they are trying to promote? However, in Assam the state government itself has given official sanction to the kind of activity which resulted in "Raju Chacha" being withdrawn in "favour" of a below average "Jon Jwale". It is mandatory for cinema halls to screen Assamese films for at least 100 days in a year, even though they may have little audience appeal. The controversial policy has encouraged bogus film-makers to dish out unwatchable trash, which in no way reflects the rich culture, language and music of the region. A by-product of such a flawed policy is the act of intolerance which resulted in "Raju Chacha" being denied the right to be screened. It was a similar act which claimed the life of Safdar Hashmi in 1989 when Congress goons attacked him in Sahibabad in UP for doing a street play on the misdeeds of their leaders. However, instead of coming out openly against the acts of violence for protecting patently dubious values the political class has now begun provide direct patronage to the self-appointed protectors of the many shades of "swadeshi". However, some individual or organisation should muster the courage to destroy the demon of intolerance before it causes irreversible damage to India's glorious tradition of "positive tolerance". The sooner it is done the better it will be for the only country of many religions, languages and culture. |
| SAWAAL KASHMIR KA WHERE do we go from here on Kashmir? I wish someone could give a straight answer to this vital question that has a critical bearing on the future of India, nay, of the sub-continent. Notwithstanding Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's gesture of extending the Ramzan ceasefire and his promise of being “bold and innovative”, the Kashmir issue today is more complex than ever before. Certain old complications apart, a number of new and unknown factors are at play in the valley and beyond. First, the entry of Hashim Qureshi, founding member of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) who hijacked IA plane Ganga to Pakistan in 1971, introduces a new element in the already complicated setting. Lionised first and then tortured by Islamabad, his clear and categorical stances should be an eye-opener to pro-Pakistan Kashmiri leaders. The military regimes in Islamabad are not known for a human face. Nor do they care for democratic norms. For them the will of people is what the ISI and the generals decide. They have played with the sensitivities of Kashmiris in the name of Islam but in the process have brutalised the people's life under the shadow of the gun and foreign mercenaries. Second, having taken the plunge for exploring a peaceful solution to the problem, the Indian Government may still be groping in the dark, hoping to stumble on a solution acceptable to all parties. Mr Vajpayee's intentions are honorable but in the face of innumerable external factors it will not be easy for him to set the pace for events. As it is, our policy makers generally react to events rather than work for the goals and objectives that India as a major power in the region ought to be pursuing. To what extent Mr Vajpayee's New Year resolve to seek "a lasting solution" to the Kashmir problem will succeed is difficult to say at this juncture. Perhaps we will have to wait for the miracle the outgoing RAW Chief, Amarjit Singh Dullat, now an OSD in the PMO, is able to bring about, howsoever shortlived. However, a lasting solution has to be explored by political leaders. Kashmir is too complex a matter to be left to the limited calculations of intelligence agencies. In this context, it is worth remembering that time does not resolve complicated problems. Political will can. Three, the ceasefire has surely kindled a ray of hope among the people who believe that it may pave the way for peace. But there is considerable confusion among various political and public circles and a section of intellectuals. They do not foresee any breakthrough and feel that the ceasefire was primarily aimed at restoring peace to the state. Pakistan and the separatists, including Hurriyat leaders, have stated that the ceasefire should be used for finding a solution to the problem. Four, a solution is not yet discernible. Islamabad and its supporters are for Kashmir's incorporation with Pakistan. India is ready to hold talks on all issues but is not prepared to undo the state's accession. Five, Islamabad and the separatists have already rejected Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah's suggestion that conversion of the Line of Control (LoC) into a permanent border could be a viable solution. Apparently, this suggestion has no takers across the border. Six, the ruling National Conference (NC) is uneasy over indirect recognition India and Pakistan have granted to the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) as a representative of the people of Kashmir. The APHC came to the limelight when New Delhi conveyed its willingness to hold talks with the conglomerate of 23 organisations and Pakistan welcomed the Hurriyat leaders' plan to visit Islamabad and occupied Kashmir for holding talks with militants and the Pakistan Government. Seven, it is out of this uneasiness that the ruling NC leaders, including the Chief Minister, have been criticising the Hurriyat leaders. They dispute their claim of being representatives of the people of Kashmir. The NC is upset as it fears that any deal with the Hurriyat and Islamabad may result in its losing power. Such a possibility is remote right now. Eight, the majority of people in the state are for peace. They are willing to cooperate provided they have a face-saving formula which will enable them to end their support to militants and other separatists. It is obvious that they are tired of violence and scared of foreign mercenaries. If they are assured of a protective shield and a reasonable deal they may even openly oppose militant activities. The Hurriyat, however, is divided between pro-azadi and pro-Pak postures. The top leaders are confused. They want a way out of the mess which is not discernible yet. They also want New Delhi to compromise on certain issues so that they could tell the people that the 10-year-long struggle has achieved at least "this much". Nine, Pakistan does not seem to see the ceasefire as a positive step. Had Islamabad been sincere it could have stopped aiding militants and put an end to infiltration. Ten, the Lashkar-e-Toiba has gone to the extent of issuing instruction to its activists to eliminate Hurriyat leaders who are weakening the jehad by supporting the peace process. It is in this context that the Hurriyat chairman, Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat, has said that their proposed visit to Pakistan is risky. "We may be killed. Hence we are willing to go not for pleasure but for finding a solution to the ongoing turmoil and to the Kashmir dispute." Eleven, talking about a possible political solution, the key issue is the will of people. Who represents this will? The Government of Pakistan? The ISI? The militant outfits like the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Al-Badr, Dukhtaran-e-Millat, etc. which are at the beck and call of Pakistan's military regime and its intelligence outfit? Then, what about the will of the people living in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK)? Do they have any freedom? The plain answer is: hardly. This is confirmed by a number of reports coming from across the border. In fact, Islamabad has made PoK its colony. It has, therefore, no moral authority to speak for it, that too in the name of Islam. Twelve, even Hurriyat leaders know that the people across the border hardly have freedom worth the name. This is a harsh reality. Still, they conveniently forget that Kashmiriyat is different from Islamisation. The former is based on harmonious bonds between people belonging to various religions. In fact, the true spirit of Kashmiriyat is very much in tune with the basic ethos of the Indian nation. Thirteen, apart from Pak-supported militant groups, new players in Kashmir are the heavily-armed Taliban operating under the patronage of Osama bin Laden. He represents the fundamentalist ideology which has not only destroyed the robust common sense of the people of Afghanistan, but also whatever little sanctity that might have still been left in Pakistan. Today they pose a major threat even to the military regime of Gen Pervez Musharraf. A Talibanised Pakistan is bound to have serious repercussions which India cannot afford to ignore. The game of Pakistan-supported Taliban groups is to destabilise India and grab Kashmir through violent means and eliminate saner elements in the valley. They have virtually hijacked the will of the people in the name of Islam and the gun. Fourteen, there is a democratically elected government of Dr Farooq Abdullah. He may have his whims and fancies, but he is very much committed to the people of Jammu and Kashmir as to the rest of the country. He is India's best bet in Kashmir. In a way, he symbolises Kashmiriyat. Fifteen, the valley apart, there are two vital regions of Jammu and Ladakh of the state. In seeking a solution to the Kashmir imbroglio, India cannot ignore the sensitivities of the inhabitants of Ladakh and Jammu regions. Where do the two regions stand? Are they not also very much part of the will of people? Sixteen, amidst the peace process we must not forget the Kashmiri Pandits who had to desert their homes and are now living in ghettos. Where are the human rights organisations which cry hoarse at real or imaginary violations elsewhere of other communities? We do not even shed crocodile tears for Kashmiri Pandits. What a shame! Seventeen, whether we like it or not, the key to peace in Jammu and Kashmir is held by the USA. President Bill Clinton has been taking more than routine interest in the matter in the larger context of establishing Indo-Pakistan amity. Mr Clinton is on his way out. Mr George W. Bush, President-elect, will be the new occupant of the White House. What approach Mr Bush and his close advisers will evolve to the sub-continent's complex matter is anyone's guess. It will take them some time before they firm up their policies and postures. Of course, the US policy will, more or less, remain the same. The USA has, after all, political, economical and strategic interests in the region, including Central Asia. China and Russia are other key players in the area. It is no use going into the ifs and buts of history. But the picture given above should help us formulate a broad framework while seeking a lasting solution to this vexed problem. As it is, the political scene is quite hazy. There are no marked trends either in favour of bilateral talks or against the peace process. People wait for a miracle to happen. Many want restoration of greater autonomy that existed till 1953 and lifting of the restrictions on trade and travel so that people living on either side of the LoC could meet one another frequently. "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter." For most Muslim Kashmiris in the valley, Pakistan and its people have come to signify "unheard melodies". Their response and attitude will probably change if they get to hear the real "melodies" from the other side. Hashim Qureshi is familiar with both heard and unheard "melodies". He knows the real face of Pakistan. No wonder, his utterances are already causing discomfort to Islamabad's militant groups and foreign mercenaries. Over to Mr Vajpayee. |
| Biodiversity Bill: The missing dimensions WITH objectives of conservation, promotion and equitable use of genetic resources as also to combat bio-piracy, the government has formulated two new laws. The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV) Bill, and the Biodiversity Bill (BDB). But, the Bills and the controversies surrounding them, unfortunately, have missed the issues which, left unaddressed, can make these crucial laws self-defeating. While the PPV Bill is India’s sui genris legislation to fulfil the requirement of TRIPS agreement, the latter is guided by Articles 1 and 3 of the framework convention on Biodiversity, of which the country is a signatory. The first bill is ready for the final consideration of Parliament and the second one is under the scrutiny of the parliamentary standing committee. Whereas the PPV Bill seeks to establish a harmony between the breeder’s interest against the farmer’s rights with the objective to protect agro-biodiversity, the Biodiversity bill covers the biodiversity in its entirety. Stakes are high for India. Not only are its bioresources rich, most variegated and largely unexploited, the country is also in the vanguard of the biotechnology. The importance of its biodiversity cannot be over-estimated. The medicinal properties of many Indian herbs and plants like turmeric, gilori, neem etc. are most sought after by the MNCs. It is claimed that only in EU, Australia, USA and Canada the market value of various drugs and formulations based upon these herbs amounts to $70 billion. Till recently the country was engaged in the conflict over patent of Basmati in the USA. Minus any bio-piracy rule, in the past the country has lost a great deal of benefits to MNCs. Expectedly, the Bills have been controversial from the very beginning. Sadly, the foci of the Bills as also the debates over them have harped on about only two issues. First, the desirability or otherwise of patenting the bioresource-based inventions. Second, the share of the farmers and local communities, who have been promoters and preservers of our biodiversity, in the benefits from such inventions. Of course, these issues are important. In fact, debates over these issues are responsible for the incorporation of farmer-savvy clauses in the now redrafted PPV Bill. At the same time they have missed a lot. While the redrafted PPV Bill has resolved the second controversy, by and large satisfactorily, the issue of threat to biodiversity was left to the all-encompassing BDB. The preamble to and Sections 10 through 22 of the Bill give detailed account of how the biodiversity is to be preserved. Section 16 of the Bill restricts the use of bioresources by foreigners without approval of the proposed National Biodiversity Authority (NBA). Also, Section 19 states that no Indian or foreigner can apply for patent, anywhere, for the researches based upon the Indian genetic material sans permission of the NBA. Nevertheless, both the Bills and largely unstudied controversies over them have neglected very important issues like the threat of new technologies to the already endangered biodiversity and the predatory character of MNCs. The real danger to the biodiversity is posed by the terminator, traitor and other similar technologies of the MNCs like Monsanto, Delta, Pine Land Co etc. These technologies are causing widespread alarm. These technologies render the seeds incapable of further producing fertile seeds thus making all the disputes over farmers’ right, in particular the right to sell seeds, irrelevant. The motivation behind these technologies is to compel farmers to buy seeds every time they plant a crop, rather than use seeds from the previous crop as has always been the practice everywhere. Keeping this in view the PPV Bill bans the terminator technology but does not cover other equally harmful technologies. The BDB, ironically, neglects the issue completely except a vague and peripheral reference under Section 10. On the contrary, sensing the global protests against the terminator technology the MNCs are concentrating their research efforts on other similar technologies to realise the same goal. The objective is sought to be achieved by developing genetically or chemically modified seeds that would turn on the plants’ special traits like pest-repelling only if a special chemical is used to treat the seeds. The research on such technologies is in full swing and their findings are getting patented the world over Furthermore, chemicals used in treating the seeds are ruinous to not only the undesirable but also many useful weeds like “Bathuwa” which play a complementary role in replenishing the soil. The special “exterminator pesticides” wipe out all plants other than those of specially treated seeds. Experiments in the USA, UK and France are reported to have shown that crops from genetically and chemically treated seeds affect the adjoining bioresources through cross-pollination. Many scientists fear that infiltration of these technologies into India could kill off not only the cereal varieties but also other weeds which are mutually preserving for the ecosystems. As the farmers will opt for the high productivity seeds produced by MNCs the existing varieties will first get substituted and then removed from the ecosystem. It is feared that many crop and non-crop varieties would give way to a few genetically modified varieties promoted by MNCs. Not only that all this will endanger our food security by increasing the country’s dependence on MNCs. It is a well established scientific fact that uniformly of species is inimical to their survivability. It is these issues the Bills fail to address head-on. The BDB Bill must specify what is permissible and what is not. The Bill must have more specific rules against all predatory and harmful technologies. Otherwise, market generated power of MNCs is so strong that what is local and regional has no realistic chance of survival. |
| Smokers’ babies at higher risk of meningitis PARENTS who smoke make their babies more vulnerable to the deadly meningitis bacteria. A study carried out by a team of scientists at Edinburgh University, Scotland, showed that smoke helped the bacteria adhere to the tissues lining the throat. More smoke a baby comes in contact with, more bacteria he or she will have. Such babies are more likely to suffer from cold and flu which can trigger meningitis. Dr Caroline Blackwell, from the university’s department of medical microbiology who carried out the study, said the discovery had implications for research into cot death and chest infection among babies. The study was carried out on more than 250 babies in Greece. It was found that the babies who had the meningococcal bacteria had mothers who smoked, according to a report in Spectrum. The study was carried out in Greece because equal numbers of women there across the social spectrum smoke. In the UK it is higher among people from poorer backgrounds. Meningitis is also more common among poorer people in the UK, and the research showed the link between smoking and meningitis could go some way to explaining that. (PTI) There is good news for nervous kids-and adults-who are fearful of painful dental injections. A new device called the “Wand” may reduce pain in kids getting injections into the roof of the mouth during dental visits, according to a new study. What may seem like magic to millions of reluctant patients, the Wand is in fact, a computerised delivery system that injects numbing agents at a very controlled rate. “The Wand is basically a regular needle very similar to one that might be traditionally used to inject a numbing solution. However, the Wand needle is attached (via tubing) to a pump. Instead of the dentist pushing the numbing solution into the patient, a computerised pump does the job,” Dr Keith Allen of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha told Reuters Health. Allen is the co-author of a study in the December issue of Pediatric Dentistry that looked at the usefulness of the product. “In the past, the problem for the dentist has always been whether or not they can push the solution in slow and steady enough so that it does not hurt-most of the pain from an injection comes from the solution going in, not the needle itself. The pump solves much of this problem”, Allen explained. The team of researchers compared the Wand to more traditional methods of injection on 62 children between the ages of 5 and 13. The researchers report that 42% of the patients displayed “disruptive behaviour” with the Wand method while 77% and 45% did for traditional roof of mouth and cheek injections, respectively. The percent of patients who cried during each procedure was 42% for the Wand, 74% for traditional roof of mouth and 32% who had a traditional cheek injection, according to the report. The Wand did take more time-3.7 minutes, on average, versus 2 minutes for a traditional injection. “The pump pushes the solution in very slowly and steady. Our recent study showed that the pump did relieve much of the discomfort traditionally associated with an injection into the roof of the mouth,” Allen said. “Of course, an injection still hurts a little. But injections into the roof of the mouth are always the worst and the Wand appears to relieve a good deal of that discomfort,” he added. (Reuters Health) A cancer marker A protein found in very high levels in some people suffering from breast and colon cancer may help doctors predict a patient’s chance of survival, Austrian researchers have said. Scientists at Innsbruck University Hospital have shown that breast cancer patients with too much of a protein called Ep-CAM are more likely to die of the disease. “If these data can be validated in a larger population of patients and in prospective studies, Ep-CAM overexpression could become a relevant marker for risk assessment,’’ Dr. Gunther Gastl and his colleagues said in a study in The Lancet medical journal. Every cell in the body has Ep-CAM, which transmits messages between cells and binds them, but in cancerous cells there is an abnormal amount of the protein. The researchers suspect Ep-CAM plays a role in the metastasis, or spread of cancer, throughout the body. Gastl and his team examined breast tissue from 205 women who had breast cancer surgery between 1980-1991 and measured levels of the proteins. After monitoring the women’s progress over an average 10.8 years they discovered that 35.6% of patients with high levels of the protein had the poorest survival rates. In addition to identifying patients with a poor prognosis, Gastl said the finding could lead to new treatments to attack the cancerous cells. (Reuters Health) |
| Work from home leads to stress WORKING from home causes mental problems that can leave a person feeling isolated, anxious and guilt-ridden, according to a study carried out on journalists in Britain. Psychologists studied 74 journalists employed at two national newspapers, one a tabloid and the other a broadsheet, half of whom worked from home. They found that “teleworkers” were more likely to experience a wide range of negative emotions such as loneliness, irritability, resentment, guilt and frustration. Home workers also displayed more clinical stress symptoms than their office-based colleagues. These included poor concentration, sleeping problems, worrying, and feeling under pressure and unable to cope. The problems were worse for men than for women. The researchers believe this is because men’s egos are dented by staying at home instead of going to the office. Dr Sandi Mann from the University of Central Lancashire, who helped carry out the study, said, “People who work from home feel isolated. They miss out on the emotional support and camaraderie you get at the office, and also the technical support when something goes wrong. “If your computer goes wrong at work it’s bad enough, but at home it can be nightmare. Teleworkers also experience a lot of guilt. If you’re at home and working you feel guilty that you’re not doing jobs that need sorting around the house, or neglecting the children”. Home workers were also more likely to persevere and keep working if they felt ill. “When people working at home are sick, office-based colleagues can’t actually see their red noses, and they feel they have to work on,: Dr Mann said. Dr Mann carried out the study with Lynn Holdsworth from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. Their findings were presented at the British Psychological Society’s recent London conference. Some companies in America have virtual breaks where there is a set time when people get together at their homes via e-mail or web site chat rooms, said Dr Mann. “It’s not the same as really seeing people but it helps”. — DPA |
| Moral values still hold sway INDIA, not in the very remote past, gave to the world moral titans like Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Gandhi and Tagore. Today, according to international perceptions, India is one of the 10 most corrupt countries. It is also one of the 10 poorest countries. This paradox baffles not only foreigners but also many deep-thinking Indians. The rot started during the 'permit-quota-licence Raj'. The politicians had to contest elections and for that they needed large sums of money. They made demands on industrialists and business magnates who could not resist the demands because the politicians were to take over the reins of administration and issue permits, sanction quotas and give licences or render help for that purpose. It was also an unwritten convention that money so paid should not be reflected in account books and no receipts were to be issued. This gave rise to the evil of black money. Once the politicians got afflicted with the vice of collecting money for elections, they could not resist the temptation of amassing wealth for themselves. Political corruption thus became a way of life. The nation had thus to suffer the phase of political corruption and black money. These two vices went hand-in-hand and no qualm of conscience was allowed to act as a deterrent. Apart from money, the politicians also needed muscle power to fight elections and for this they had to rely upon mafia groups, anti-social elements and criminals because they are the main sources of muscle power. As time passed, the leaders of mafia groups, anti-social elements and criminals got the idea that if they could get the politicians elected because of their muscle power, why should they themselves not seek election. The result was that a large number of history-sheeters on police record fought elections and many of them got elected to legislatures. Some of them even came to occupy ministerial chairs. One effect of that was the havoc it caused to the administration of criminal justice. Effective and purposeful investigation of crime, so essential for securing conviction of the culprits, became difficult because of the interference, and it became almost impossible to secure the conviction of major criminals involved in serious crimes of murder, culpable homicide, grievous hurt, extortion and rape. Inaction and reluctance on the part of investigating officers and those in charge of vigilance cells was brought to a halt by the Supreme Court. It directed them to spare no one in the investigation of cases relating to amassing of ill-gotten wealth and other offences. Earlier these officials were hesitant to proceed with the investigation against those wielding political power because they (officials) were under their (the politicians’) administrative control. The Supreme Court removed the fear and hesitation by making the investigating and vigilance officers effectively investigate such cases. In doing so, the Supreme Court did not transgress the judicial arena. All that it did was to ensure the enforcement of the rule of law. It was because of such steps that cases of amassing ill-gotten wealth by politicians came to light and many skeletons in their cupboards came tumbling out. Despite all that has been written earlier, I still feel that the heart of India is strong and there throbs and pulsates within the bulk of Indians a heart wedded to basic moral values. Most of the Indians are God-fearing and attached to moral values preached by the saints and sages and religious books. Science and technology have placed in our hands vast resources and methods of acquiring wealth. I think that no stigma should be attached to the acquisition of wealth by lawful means. In fact, countries like Japan, Germany and other developed countries have taken full advantage of the newly acquired technology. It would be wrong and immoral for India to lag behind in this task of entrepreneurship and upsurge of national economy. The backlog of poverty, illiteracy and backwardness has to be wiped off if India has to occupy its rightful place in the comity of nations. We cannot afford to go about with a beggar's bowl. It hurts our self-respect when we find that even very small countries undertake to provide financial help to meet the cost of some of our projects. It is gratifying and heartening that the spirit of entrepreneurship has come to sway our educated young men and women and they are making great headway in different fields. The urge to acquire wealth by taking advantage of the new technology should not be construed as evaporation of humanistic values, nor has this urge led to the extinction or abatement of the spirit of tolerance, mutual understanding, compassion and generosity. The writer is a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India. |
| For him who is moderate in eating and recreation, temperate in his action, who is regulated in sleep and wakefulness, yoga becomes the destroyer of pain. —The Bhagavadgita, 6.17 *** Sattvic food engenders a sattvik mind which is essential for peace and happiness. — Sudarshan Kumar Biala, *** If God is a flower, you should feel yourself a bee that sucks its honey; If he is a Tree, Be a creeper that clings to it; If he is the sky, be a tiny star that twinkles in it. Above all, be conscious of the Truth That you and He are bound By Supreme Love. — From the discourses of *** To lose our own identity and to become another being is love. *** Who are the true devotees of the Lord? Not those who know the most but those who love the most. *** Love alone is eternal and God is Love. He alone is permanent unchanging, everlasting on the otherwise shifting sands of time and space. Those who devotee themselves to Him alone also become eternal and deathless. —Maharaj Charan Singh, *** LIfe without love in the heart Is like a sapless tree in a barren desert. *** What good is a body perfect in outer ways, If inwardly it is impaired by lack of love. *** With love enshrined in the heart, one truly lives. Without it, the body is but bones encased in skin. —Tirukural, 78-80; Satguru Sivaya |
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