Ceasefire amidst killings

THERE has been an alarming spurt in militant attacks on the security forces after the extension of ceasefire by three months. The month of March has been marked by virtually an attack a day. The most gruesome was the one in the Kalaban area of Rajouri district on Friday in which more than 20 policemen lost their lives. The aim is twofold: to demoralise the security agencies and to provoke a hue and cry in the entire country that the pusillanimity has been a mistake and the ceasefire should be withdrawn. That only goes on to show how much militants abhor any semblance of normalcy returning to Kashmir. Every trick is being utilised to force the government to get itchy fingers. The latter has to hold its fire for precisely that very reason. It has to prove to itself and to the world that an elephant does not have to respond to the barking of every dog. Unfortunately, there is a strong lobby within the ruling coalition itself that sees such fortitude as a sign of weakness. Uncomfortable questions are asked as to what have been the benefits of the ceasefire. Such intangibles cannot be quantified but there have been several. For one thing, canard assiduously spread over decades by Pakistani propaganda machinery that India is trigger-happy has been effectively neutralised. Instead, Pakistan stands fully exposed as a terrorism exporter. The ban put on several Pakistan-based Kashmiri militant groups by Britain is yet another proof of that. But most important, Islamabad has been all but made to concede that it is fighting a proxy war.

The only fly in the ointment is that many precious lives have been lost. The country shares the sorrow of those brave men who have lost their lives since November. But their sacrifice should not be directly attributed to the announcement of ceasefire. Such murder and mayhem was going on even before Delhi took this bold step. Still, there is an urgent need for reviewing the counter-infiltration strategy. Home Minister L.K. Advani has said it several times that the ceasefire does not mean lowering of guard by the security agencies. Unfortunately, that is the impression generated by the success of militants in recent times. This U-turn from the so-called pro-active mode to the sitting duck posture has to be reversed. Those bent on mischief should not be allowed to misuse the period of ceasefire as an opportunity to recoup and spread panic. Kashmiri civilians have relived a few moments of fun and frolic after many years. In them lies the kernel of a community's desire to lead a normal life free from the acrid smell of cordite. A few foreign mercenaries should not be allowed to destroy it yet again. At the same time, there is need for causing extreme caution. The good atmosphere generated by the ceasefire gesture was spoilt by indiscriminate killing of a few innocent civilians. Perhaps what saved the day was the frank admission of senior officials that some of the army personnel may have made a mistake. It is only when an error of judgement is sought to be denied or justified that public anger mounts. What is noteworthy is that there is a change of mood in Kashmir. The silent majority is willing to give peace a chance while self-serving leaders are engaged in mutual bickering as usual. This is the time for Delhi to lend a hand in reviving the legendary Kashmiriyat. But for that dream to fructify, those who hold the reins of power have to think and act like statesmen rather than mere politicians. 

Deadly KP effect

A deadly virus is threatening to fell the 30-scrip Sensex and along with it, the BSE. Market regulator SEBI, too will catch the contagion and need time to recover and regain credibility. SEBI has taken the very first step, somewhat hesitantly, to understand the malady by ordering an investigation. It has assembled more than 40 officials from the BSE and the National Stock Exchange to go into the nature of stock sales by 14 “entities”, a euphemism for individual brokers, institutional players, both Indian and foreign. In this distinguished list figure Morgan Guaranty and Credit Suisse First Boston. There is no xenophobia in the inquiring act but has nearly solid evidence. Senior officials of the BSE have painstakingly downloaded facts from the computers of these “entities” and handed them over to SEBI to formally trigger the probe. This has created nervousness among big names, which may include the Big Bull of recent years, Ketan Parekh (KP in “KP effect”). In the past decade he has made a number of killings by greedily and massively buying computer software and other shares, thereby taking the prices to the stratosphere. His favourites are, however, Himachal Futuristic Communication Limited (HFCL), Global Telefilms, Pentafour, ZeeTelefilms and Ranbaxy. During the past few years the price of these shares has soared and soared before losing breath and slipping. Now this has gathered momentum and quickly spread to other exchanges. An executive of a foreign fund manager frankly admitted that his textbook knowledge cautioned him against following the KP index (yes, there is something called KP index) but found that everyone was making money by simply watching the KP terminal. So he too succumbed to herd mentality and made money. Buying by foreign and retail investors helped Parekh enormously: demand pushed up the price further. Where does he get funds? Easy. He has invested in Global Trust Bank and his family members and friends are some of the biggest borrowers. He is very much in the venture capital scheme along with HFCL and Australia’s Kerry Packer ($ 250 million). He is also a business partner of Amitabh Bachhan and reportedly bailed him out.

At this point the plot thickens. Parekh is believed to have loaned hundreds of crores of shares to friendly brokers in Kolkata to raise funds to buy more shares. It makes sense to borrow funds in a rising market. But when some Parekh-unfriendly “entities” decided to unload the shares to book profit, everyone followed and there was real mayhem. Kolkata friends sat on overvalued shares, not good enough to cover the loan money. They asked Parekh to repay the loan and cart away his shares. He had no money and they sold the shares anyway. It is all illegal. The first shot in the organised or concerted bull phase had been fired. In Mumbai there was an aftershock. Several foreign investors were in a mess. They normally indulge in two irregularities. One, they “lend” shares to their brokers and sell them when the prices fall but they are back when the prices recover. This is not illegal but is unethical as it hurts the interests of all investors. The other method is blatantly violative of the SEBI rules. This is short selling, or entering into a contract to sell a certain number of shares on a specified date although the seller does have those shares. This way both bulls and bears can manipulate the market without a grave risk. It is all done under vyaj badla, a typically Indian futures system. The current crash of the Sensex is an ideal opportunity for SEBI to clean up the trade and convert the exchange into a centre of capital formation instead of being a gambling den for a few to make a huge profit at the cost of the gullible. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) not only imposed a huge fine ($800 million) in the case of Michael Milliken and a stiff jail sentence but also used the crisis to bust a crime gang there. SEBI should read the proceedings of the SEC carefully to regain its legal authority.

Towards Chief of Defence Staff
Is India ready for the bold new concept?
R. S. Bedi

THE most positive outcome of the Kargil episode was the government’s resolve to review the national security system in its entirety. Based on the Kargil committee report, four task forces were set up to look into the management of defence, internal security, the intelligence apparatus and border management. These reports were considered by a group of ministers whose recommendations, after long deliberations, were recently submitted to the Prime Minister.

The task force on the management of defence under Mr Arun Singh was to examine the existing organisation and structure, and recommend steps to improve the management of the country’s defence. It was also to examine the changes in the defence structure with regard to the nuclear environment, revolution in military affairs (RMA) and the information revolution, besides recommending improvement in the procurement process in order to ensure more cost-effective management of defence.

Mr Arun Singh in his 300-page report has gone in for a major revamp of defence establishment with wide-ranging recommendations. Creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) above the three service chiefs is one such recommendation that has far reaching implications. While the Army is euphoric about it, the other two services are not so. However, the Navy has reconciled to it. But the Air Force continues to view it with suspicion. The Navy sees in the present CNS, being the seniormost as India’s first CDS. It is also expecting to take over the joint command at Port Blair.

It is not out of place to mention that when Mr Arun Singh as Minister of State for Defence created an innovative set-up of Defence Planning Staff (DPS) under him in 1986, the three chiefs, as also the MoD bureaucrats, felt uncomfortable. He was uniformly viewed with suspicion. His task was to carry out the threat evaluation, evolve military aims, and find out a response to the perceived threat, work out the force levels, coordinate perspective planning and interact closely with R&D, defence production, industry and defence finance. As soon as Mr Arun Singh went out, the DPS was promptly brought under the Chief of Staff Committee. The fear in the case of the CDS, among other things, is that of being dominated by the bigger service.

The roots of this suspicion lie in the past. During the 1971 war, both the Navy and the Air Force felt unhappy at the Army’s propensity to treat them as if they were its subsidiary forces. In fact, this mindset goes back to the days of the 1965 war. In his recently published biography, the then Army Commander, Lieut-Gen Harbaksh Singh, says that the IAF withdrew its fighter aircraft from Adampur and Halwara without his permission, as if he was the supreme commander and the IAF functioned under him. There are other such “howlers” in that book which reflect the Army’s thinking towards other services. Then Army Chief General Chaudhary did not even take the Navy Chief into confidence that the war with Pakistan was about to start. The Air Force came on the scene only because he found himself in dire straits against the fast advancing Pakistan armour in the Akhnoor sector. And he rushed to the Defence Minister for the IAF’s help. It went to the Air Force’s credit that it reacted in just an hour and a quarter. Even the Army attack across the international border was carried out without plans with the IAF. The Pakistan Air Force struck the IAF bases the same evening and also harassed I5 Div in its advance towards Lahore. No wonder, the IAF was not there to protect its own Army.

Notwithstanding all this, the CDS concept needs to be studied dispassionately before deciding either way about it. The easiest way to discard it is to say that borrowing a western concept from an alien politico-military environment is unwise. Or, for that matter, to say that since 64 countries in the world have it, why we too cannot have it is also not tenable. Each country has its own compulsions. What we have to find out, in our context, is what ails our higher defence organisation, decision making and its execution, and whether the CDS would remove the infirmities that impinge on our national security.

What is put out in favour of the CDS is that it would provide one-man contact to the political authority. The government will deal with one person for advice as against three now. But it has its own pitfalls. It is also said that the CDS will ensure the desired level of coordination for optimal results and bring about economy by preventing duplication in the procurement of assets.

These are indeed highly desirable objectives, but we need to look at them in proper perspective. The Chiefs, though placed above the Defence Secretary in the warrant of precedence, still deal with him only and not the higher political authority, as was the case during the post-independence era. This lacuna can be overcome if the CDS interacts with the Prime Minister as recommended by the GoM. The fear, however, is that the bureaucracy will not relish being bypassed. And the CDS may soon find himself dealing with anyone but the Prime Minister.

Where do the three Chiefs stand in this new arrangement ? Though they will continue to control their forces as hitherto, adding another tier between them and the government will only erode their professional pre-eminence and downgrade them in overall government hierarchy.

Besides, knowing the politico-bureaucratic paranoia of the men in uniform, the PMO may not like the concentration of power in one man at the helm of the armed forces. The genesis of this misperception goes back to the days of Gen Ayub Khan of Pakistan who usurped political power through a military coup. This created ripples in the minds of Indian politicians, particularly Nehru. That mindset continues to prevail even today. George Tanham of the Rand Corporation in his essay on India sums it up very well: “The fear of a coup has led to extremely close control of the military services at the highest level of the government. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA), rather than the military, makes the major strategy and military decisions. The Civilian Minister of Defence and his civilian staff receive recommendations from the Services, make decisions and pass on the important issues to the CCPA. A section of the Ministry of Finance with an office in the Ministry of Defence has a near veto on all expenditure proposed by the Services and an input to recommendations to the Ministry of Defence.” Under the circumstances, it is hard to believe that the government will go in for a full-fledged CDS. All eyes are on the PMO now.

Is the CDS the panacea for all inter-Services problems ? Despite the Gulf operations being unprecedented in synergy, bordering on the miracle, these were not without quarrels or dissensions.

The existing Chief of Staff Committee, which confines itself to mundane inter-Services matters, could well be considered as an alternative to the controversial CDS. The Chairman, COSC, who takes the chair by rotation and on the basis of comparative seniority as a Chief, can be elevated appropriately. He could be given the requisite mandate and the authority to ensure jointmanship which is inescapable in today’s multi-Services warfare. He can function as “senior among the equals”.

Alternatively, the DPS could also be considered for the task and elevated to ensure the same objectives of jointness and synergy. The DPS is an inter-Services organisation comprising the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the MEA, the DRDO and defence accounts officers. Between the Chairman, COSC, and the DPS, one can surely provide the solution without undue controversy.

To streamline the jointmanship, the government needs to define the roles and responsibilities of each Service without any ambiguity or overlap. Inter-Services turf battles are not unknown because of this lacuna. Even in the USA constant turf battles go on between the USAF and the air wings of the Army, the Navy and the Marines. And so also between the Army and the Marines. With the proliferation and acquisition of high technology equipment, each Service tends to encroach on the other’s arena. Distinct definitions of roles will preclude poaching as also the duplication of assets.

In fact, the government has to go beyond this and look into the way the entire defence set-up operates. At present the MoD, the defence finance department, the defence production staff, the DRDO, the army, the navy and the Air Force all work in water-tight compartments without much interaction. The Services headquarters operate outside the government and have to deal with uninitiated bureaucracy. Unless all interact laterally under a common political authority, as is the case in the UK, the USA (Pentagon) and many other countries, lack of synergy and economy will continue to effect the security in one way or the other.

The writer, a retired Air Marshal, is a former Director-General, Defence Planning Staff, Union Ministry of Defence. 

Taliban: barbarians at the gate
Rahul Singh

BARBARIANS. That is the only word that can be used to describe the Taliban in Afghanistan. They have put themselves beyond the pale by destroying the two ancient and giant, rock-cut Buddhas in Bamiyan, along with other pre-Islamic art which depicts the human figure.

The Kabul Museum has probably the richest collection of Gandharva art in the world. Gandharva refers to the period following the 329 BC invasion of the Indian sub-continent by Alexander the Great of Macedonia, a major turning point in human history. A great flowering of art took place in much of what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan and north India. The art combined a unique fusion of European and Indian culture and styles. The cloak of the Buddha, for instance, was typically shown like a Greek robe, and some of his features were made to look distinctly European.

Though I have not seen the Bamiyan statues, I once visited the Kabul Museum with a Press party in the mid-1960s, much before the Soviet invasion of that country. We all marvelled at the exquisite — and absolutely priceless — collection of paintings, sculptures and artefacts that were displayed there, much of it coming from Bamiyan itself, in central Afghanistan, located not very far away from Kabul. Sadly, quite a bit of the museum’s collection has since either been destroyed or stolen during the last two decades of invasion and civil strife in Afghanistan.

War is no respecter of art or culture. There have been reports that small Buddha statues and other figures of the Gandharva period have turned up in salesrooms in London, New York and Japan. Since they were never catalogued, they can easily be sold, undetected. They must have been smuggled out of Afghanistan and it is quite likely that the Taliban, which has plenty of arms but is short of cash, had a hand in the smuggling.

Many countries, including predominantly Buddhist nations like Japan and Thailand, condemned the Taliban’s decision and pleaded with it to desist from destroying what was not, after all, just the heritage of Afghanistan, but that of the world. However, the Taliban — possibly a little maddened after so much bloodshed and warfare — did not listen to reason.

Even Pakistan’s appeal to the Taliban, which came rather late in the day, fell on deaf ears. Clearly, though it seemed that the Taliban earlier wanted some degree of international acceptance, now it does not give a damn. The only factor which might sway it is if it is given substantial amounts of money for some of the art that it intends to destroy. This could come from rich Western museums or an international organisation like UNESCO.

Why are some fundamentalist Muslims so strongly opposed to art, especially when it depicts humans, even animals? I have always found this aspect of Islam difficult to understand. I can appreciate the ban on showing Prophet Mohammad in any form. But why other humans?

I am convinced that one of main reasons why even otherwise fairly civilised non-Muslims have a streak of anti-Muslim feeling in them is because of this irrational destructive streak among many Muslim invaders of India (and of other countries as well). Be that as it may, how does one explain the exquisite Persian, Mughal and Deccan miniatures, painted by Muslim artists and largely for a Muslim clientele?

Along with other countries, India also formally protested against the Taliban’s actions, even going to the extent that it would be willing to take whatever the Taliban had planned to destroy. That was not really being practical. How could the two giant Buddhas be taken out of the rock-face and transported hundreds of miles? Also, I cannot somehow see the Taliban virtually gifting the collection at the Kabul Museum, or whatever remains of it, to us. Perhaps to Pakistan, but certainly not to India. 

FOLLOW-UP
Reeta Sharma

The “divine shakti” which led to their downfall

REMEMBER the case of the late S.R. Dutta whose wife, Kamlesh Dutta, had nursed his body for 22 months from June, 1985, to May, 1987, with blind faith in her “Guru” Amir Chand Kaushal? He had assured her that S.R. Dutta was in spiritual coma and that he would infuse life into him with his “divine shakti”.

The Chandigarh police had recovered the body from the residence of Baldev Singh and his wife, Daljeet Kaur, in May, 1987. That month the media was full of reports on the case as to how gullible people flocked to Sector 8 to have a ‘darshan’ of the Savitri of the 20th century? How the police recovered the body and why doctors were hesitant to conduct a post-mortem examination. Finally appeared the report how the “Guru” and the owners of the Sector 8 house, Baldev Singh and Daljeet Kaur, were arrested under Section 302 of the IPC. The media trial ended there. And now, here is a follow-up on the lives and trials of all those embroiled in the case.

Baldev Singh and Daljeet Kaur is a disillusioned couple today. The scars of that ugly episode are deep and visible on their faces. The couple belonged to decent families and was leading a comfortable life with only one regret that God was not blessing them with a child. It was at this juncture that “ we came in contact with Amir Chand Kaushal and became his followers. He assured us that we would soon be blessed with a child”.

Daljeet Kaur did not realise that it was her menopause that had caused her a swollen tummy. “Amir Chand Kaushal said that I was pregnant and we believed him because we had blind faith in him. He had also warned me that if I got myself examined from a doctor the child would get destroyed. The desire to have a child of my own was so overwhelming that I dared not defy Kaushal’s instructions”.

For 12 months the couple remained under this illusion. Meanwhile, S.R. Dutta who was a subordinate of Baldev Singh, along with his wife, Kamlesh, also turned a follower of Amir Chand Kaushal. So when Dutta developed a boil on his neck, Kaushal, allegedly, claimed that he would be able to cure it with his ‘divine shakti’.

According to Kamlesh Dutta, “Kaushal also instructed us that no doctor should be consulted and no medicine should be given to my husband and we followed him in full faith”. The situation deteriorated and Dutta eventually died. But Kaushal, according to Kamlesh, declared it a “spiritual coma” and said he would revive him into life.

The Chandigarh police on the basis of an FIR lodged by Dutta’s brother, Anil Dutta, registered cases against Amir Chand Kaushal, as the main accused, and Baldev Singh and Daljeet Kaur co-accused under Sections 302 IPC and 120-B IPC. Even today, 14 years later, Baldev Singh cannot hold his tears from rolling down his cheeks for the humiliation he suffered at the hands of the police.

“The Chandigarh police handcuffed me behind my back in the cremation ground where we had gathered to cremate Dutta. They pushed me into a Gypsy and made me sit on the floor. In the police station, I was shocked to see that even my wife had been arrested. And for what? We were being framed as conspirators to murder Dutta. I had such a deep bond with Kamlesh as my sister and Dutta was more than a brother to me. They were living in my house, along with their five children, just like my own family. How could we be a party to kill him? We were just ignorant followers of Kaushal, who believed in whatever he said. I was repeatedly slapped and my beard pulled like a third rate criminal”. While he narrates his story Daljeet Kaur cries silently at times putting her hand on her husband’s hand to extend solace.

Both of them along with Amir Chand Kaushal remained embroiled for two years in the trial in the Sessions Court at Chandigarh. The Chandigarh police had put up Kamlesh Dutta as the prosecution witness. However, Kamlesh did not toe the police line of argument. “I was absolutely convinced and sure that Baldev Bhai Sahib and Daljeet Bhabhiji had no ill-will against me. In fact, they not only cared for us but also loved us”, holds Mrs Dutta even today. She stated before the court that she acted on the advise of Kaushal whom she and her husband had adopted as ‘Guru’ and that Baldev Singh and Daljeet Kaur had nothing to do with it.

The then judge stated that Baldev Singh and Daljeet Kaur were themselves victims of the blind faith. Nevertheless, the Sessions Court while acquitting Daljeet Kaur of any conspiracy to kill Dutta held Baldev Singh guilty of destroying evidence under Section 201 and punished him with three years rigorous imprisonment. He was accused of burning a mattress on which Dutta’s body was lying. “The mattress was so badly soiled that it could not have been washed, so I just burnt it, little realising it could be held against me”.

However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Baldev Singh on September 6, 1991, stating: “The basic charge of causing death by poisoning through conspiracy having failed, there is nothing to connect the accused with the commission of the crime attributed to him”. Amir Chand Kaushal was also acquitted of the crime of culpable homicide amounting to murder on the basis of benefit of doubt.

Kaushal has since returned to his self-claim of religious “Guru” and now lives in Sector 2, Panchkula. And, yes, of course, there are a number of people who still flock to him as his followers every day.

Kamlesh Dutta, on the other hand, has settled down in Solan. Her five children are well settled and she continues to nurture a warm and emotional bond with Baldev Singh and Daljeet Kaur. All the three, Kamlesh, Baldev and Daljeet, admit that they have learnt their lesson the extremely hard way that blind faith without reason and logic in living human beings is defying the super power.

Meanwhile, Kamlesh Dutta reiterates that she followed the instructions of Kaushal in full faith and blindly at that time foolishly denied medical care to her husband. “Both me and my husband were his followers. Since Kaushal has said that he would cure my husband and infuse life in him, I literally believed him. But I realised too late that he had no such ‘divine shakti’.”

Princess promoting AIDS awareness
Kavita Bajeli-Datt

AT 16, she wanted to be an actress. But her father said that’s not what good little princesses from one of Europe’s most glamorous royal families do. She had better things to pursue, he said.

Today, in her 50s, Countess Albina du Boisrouvray of France is one of the world’s leading activists fighting the scourge of AIDS through her non-governmental organisation, Association Francois-Xavier Bagnoud (AFXB).

During her visit to India last month, the Countess made a fervent appeal to the government and the people to wake up to the rising number of AIDS cases in the country that now threaten to reach epidemic proportions.

“In India, AIDS is taking epidemic proportions and it is a wrong notion to say that it is primarily an African problem,” she said during her whirlwind tour for Rajasthan last month, where the AFXB is trying to educate people, especially in the rural areas, about AIDS.

By all counts, the countess has led a fairytale life. She is the granddaughter of Simón Patiño, the Bolivian ‘Tin King,’ who at the time of his death in 1948 was one of the world’s richest men.

Her Franco-Mexican father, Count Guy du Boisrouvray, was a cousin of Prince Rainier of Monaco, and thus, she is a cousin of the Grimaldi family and describes her cousin, Princess Caroline, as one of her best friends. Her other friends include Margaret Thatcher and the late Jackie Onassis.

But today the gala social parties are gone, and an orphan child born to AIDS infected parents, travels with her. And in the past 11 years, she has mobilised more than $100 million for humanitarian work in 13 countries.

Since 1993, her organisation has been running 12 assistance programmes in India and has also set up a Centre for Infectious Diseases at Sumerpur in Rajasthan to promote AIDS awareness. “I chose Asia and particularly India, though my fate has taken me to many countries. I wanted to reach out to the Indian society with my work,” said Boisrouvray. India Abroad News Service

My bare wall is a silent protest
Akshaya Kumar

A bare wall is a cultural incongruity; nudity of a kind that must be properly clothed. In this age of tatooing, when even the most intimate spaces are embellished with “dragonian” designs, my bare walls have been an eyesore to many of my aesthetically “mature” friends. I am told that the stark whiteness of my walls marks sheer absence of aesthetics, a lack of taste and, more significantly, an empty mind. From “very English” to “very Indian” friends, I receive a baffling range of suggestions to decorate my interiors.

“A laminated photo of Shakespeare in exotic Elizabethan costumes or a portrait of Keats with his curly locks,” suggested my “enlightened” senior, “would surely establish your credentials as an English teacher.” Another, a post-colonialist one, butted in and said, “Shakespeare is dead, Rushdie in a ‘steel frame’ would be a much better bet.” I did not react for there was hardly anything to choose between Shakespeare and Rushdie. “We deify those who ransack us,” I muttered these words to my “very Indian” friend, thinking that perhaps he would understand my unease with these colonial deities.

But he had his own list of awesome deities. He promised me to gift a silky scroll having an imprint of Krishna with his cows on it as a fit wall-hanging for my room. “Deities on a paper-poster is a Congress legacy; now you get images of the divine on silk,” he added. “Your wall will bristle with divine halo in this silky scroll!,” he exclaimed. “Instead of a deity, colonial or otherwise, a castle or a historic monument would be a much better choice,” I interrupted.

My “very English colleague” chanced an opportunity and proposed that in that case a photo of Canterbury Castle or Globe Theatre would be an ideal choice. My “Indian” friend promptly countered and suggested that Raghu Rai’s famous photo-poster of Taj Mahal in the moonlight would prove much more captivating. Before I could say yes or no, he changed his opinion. “Taj Mahal is a symbol of Muslim aristocracy,” he said. “Go for a picture of temple, instead. That would be ‘more’ Indian,” he added. I told him that all temples look alike from outside, and since “inside” has never been pictured, it serves no purpose to adorn my interiors through the exteriors of others, buildings, monuments or individuals.

I have a Jain gentleman as my neighbour who, as a believer of the digambar sect, I thought, would appreciate my urge to keep my walls nude. First he appeared quite sympathetic, but later could not resist suggesting me the usefulness of hanging a full-length photo of naked Mahavira. “Lord Mahavira’s nudity would supplement your sense of nudity,” he averred. I wondered whether nudity required external supplements, divine or otherwise.

My aunt, now sufficiently old, went on to catalogue a list of bad omens if I continued to keep my walls bare and undressed. “Bare walls stand for barrenness, for unfulfilled marital life. Worse still, only ghosts or souls of the dead dwell in such surroundings,” she almost intimidated me. “Life should not be denied so disrespectfully,” she counselled me. She told me how when my late uncle lost his hair on the head, she prevailed upon him to have French-cut beard so as to be respectful to life, its juices till the end. I wondered whether a half-grey beard could make up for the receding hairline.

The only reprieve I got was from a rather “immature” quarter. My school-going daughter who till a few days back used to paste posters of “stylish” Ajay Jadeja and “suave” Brian Lara on the walls of her study came rushing to me with badly torn posters of her sporting heroes in her hands. She stared at me and said, “Papa, you were so right, none deserves to be on the interiors of one’s space. It is too pious to be crowded with false gods. Henceforth I too shall protect the integrity of my walls,” she resolved.

Bare walls is my silent protest against fallen heroes. Far from being a clean slate, it is cleansed state for me. In moments of doubt, these walls with their untainted whiteness hold me intact and secure.

Trends and pointers

PAKISTAN’S UNIQUE FINISHING SCHOOL

AINEE Munir’s camouflage really isn’t working. Two officers from the Pakistan air force have spent the past 20 minutes wrapping her in rope and covering her in branches but her gold nose ring and painted red fingernails are still showing between the green ferns.

A few yards away, 17-year-old Sahar Masood, also hidden uncomfortably in rope and ferns, takes a few ungainly steps. “How will I walk, how will I run?” she asks. A moment later she trips and slides down the hill. Chief Wing Officer Mohammad Asghar, dressed in a khaki air-force uniform, Marlboro baseball cap and cheap aviator sunglasses, looks frustrated and blows his whistle. Camouflage class is over.

Standing around him at a military base in the hills overlooking the Pakistani capital Islamabad are 30 of the wealthiest and best-educated young women in Pakistan. For the next five days he will take them through a specially tailored “survival” course, an integral part of their studies at the Pakistan Air Force Finishing School, one of the only finishing schools in Asia.

The school was set up by the wife of a former air chief marshal, who had seen a couple of finishing schools in Europe and wanted to set up a similar one in Pakistan. For practical reasons, she enlisted the help of the air force. And for reasons which remain unclear, the courses on offer include a military survival course.

For now, Officer Asghar, who has spent 25 years training air-force recruits, has his work cut out. “You are in the battlefield now. Switch off your mobile phones when you go into the battlefield,” he shouts before explaining how to pitch a tent in a hurry and use a fire extinguisher to put out a campfire. Guardian

GODS PROTECT FROM SPIT MARK!

When man fails, it takes divine intervention — even if it’s simply to protect floors and walls in Orissa offices from the blood red darts that betel leaf chewers spit out!

Standing at the corner on each landing of a staircase at the Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) complex in Bhubaneswar is a statue of Ganesh.

It is his presence that, in the past three months, has kept betel chewers from using the floors and walls as a spittoon.

“The walls had virtually turned red with a large number of employees spitting ‘pan’ after chewing it,” IDCO official A.K. Mohanty said. “We tried to prevent this by placing notices on the walls but it did not work. Even placing spittoons at strategic places did not help,” he added.

“So, after cleaning the places where people spit more often, the idea of placing stone statues of gods came to us. We placed the elephant god on the first two floors which were the most frequented targets of pan lovers on an experimental basis,” Mohanty told IANS

QUEEN SET TO LOSE POWERS

One of the Queen’s more arcane prerogatives — her control over churches in the UK such as Westminster Abbey, quaintly known as Royal Peculiars — was placed under notice on Monday with the publication of a report suggesting that their management should be dragged into the 21st century.

An official enquiry called for the appointment of a standing commission, including lay members, tacitly to curtail the independence of the peculiars and their governing deans and chapters, who have retained almost medieval powers over how they are run.

Such a move — if accepted by the Queen and the government — would have the effect of distancing her from what has been a series of acrimonious disputes over the running of the abbey.

The inquiry team’s 116-page report stated: “The key question is whether the Royal Peculiars should continue to be treated as unique institutions or whether, in the light of modern developments in both church and public life, they should accept more of the character of cathedrals ... in organisation and outside links.”

Westminster Abbey, the site of coronations and other state occasions, which last year had an income of $ 12.7 million, with more than 200 staff and 1.25 million tourists, is still governed by statutes settled in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, in 1560.

The other peculiars — so called because they are under the authority of the Queen rather than the Archbishop of Canterbury or a diocesan bishop — are St George’s Chapel, Windsor, and the chapels Royal at St James’s Palace, the Tower of London and Hampton Court. Guardian

75 YEARS AGO

Labour & political prisoners

THE British Labour party is entitled to India’s gratitude for the consistent interest it has now for some months been evincing in the cause of Indian political prisoners. A Reuter telegram, dated March 2, contained the news that the National Council of the Independent Labour party had just issued a statement calling for the immediate release of all political prisoners and had adduced convincing reasons in support of its demand. The same telegram said that Lord Birkenhead had received at the India Office a deputation of Labour members on behalf of the persons detained under the Ordinance Act. The conversation that took place on the occasion has not transpired, but the very fact that the deputation was fully representative of both wings of the Labour party is of undoubted significance.

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

Better a little fire to warm us than a great one to burn us.

— Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia

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He is poor who doesn't not feel content.

— Laotse, The Character of Tao

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Contentment is here and now, is the present. A person who lives moment to moment will be contented, but we never live from moment to moment... We are moving like shadows, and we go on moving in future. And the more you move in the future, the more discontented you will be, because the future never comes.

— Osho, The Ultimate Alchemy, Vol. II.

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Be content with what has been given to you,

and do not covet what is not your own

One who snatches the right of any other,

is man of ill-intent.

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Treat like mother every woman who belongs to another

And threat like poison any wealth that is not your own.

Slander is a big sin which will keep you burning with hatred always.

— Mahatma Mangat Ram, Shri Samata Vilas

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Ask the moths

About the taste of burning,

They come flying

And plunge into the flame.

How can they resist

Who are love-stricken?

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— Shah Abdul

Saith Nanak, the saints are always happy;

By heartening to the Name

Sorrow and sin are destroyed.

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— Guru Nanak Dev ji, The Japji (Morning Prayer), 7-9