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| Tuesday, March 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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A glorious day for India Annan baulks at Pakistan Exams: a welcome move |
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BUDGET 2001-2002
Morning at Kanyakumari
New coalition dharma at work
The little girl look makes a comeback
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A glorious day for India WHO says only adversities come in pairs? Sometimes even good news can flow in torrents. Look at the back-to-back feats of Harbhajan Singh in the Eden Gardens of Kolkata and Pulella Gopichand in distant Birmingham. While the former became the first Indian bowler to score a hat-trick in Test cricket against redoubtable Australia, the latter has emerged as only the second Indian (after Prakash Padukone) in history to win the All-England Championship, badminton's most coveted title, against a Chinese opponent. The wild celebrations that have erupted all over the country are more than justified. The performances will, hopefully, lift the sagging morale of sports lovers and also exorcise the ghost of matchfixing that has haunted Indian cricket for long. Both performances are resounding and authentic and are exactly the kind of boost that the country needed. Ironically, the wild joy itself is a sign of the poor shape in which Indian sport finds itself. These performances are no fluke, but have taken all these decades to come about. After all, Wasim Akram of Pakistan has posted a similar achievement not once but twice. Even Abdur Razzak of that country has a hat-trick to his credit. Why is that India misses the bus more often than others do? The question is tricky, but the answer is straightforward. It is mostly because of the system prevalent here. A player is only a bit actor in the big games that the sports administrators play. What is at stake is untold power and pelf and foreign jaunts. A player's performance or career is secondary. This is the sort of attitude that demoralises many a budding player. In the prevailing atmosphere, neither spotting nor nurturing of talent takes place properly. Extraneous considerations come into play. A player can give off his best if and only if he is kept immune from demoralising influences. But he has to contend with politics and intrigue of the worst kind. Now that Harbhajan Singh and Gopichand have made it big, there will be a clamour for claiming credit for their success. The fact of the matter is that they owe their sweet triumphs to their own grit and determination. Being gentlemen, they are unlikely to say anything bitter about anyone, but the fact remains that both have had more than their share of frustration and disillusionment because of the insensitivities of the system. They have proved what dogged determination can accomplish. Now it is for the country to adopt this winning formula so that such achievements do not remain once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence. |
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Annan baulks at Pakistan IT is now official, to use a cliché, that the UN has neither the stomach nor the mandate to meddle in the Kashmir dispute. And UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan says so. Being the world’s top diplomat, he has ducked under a procedural nicety. The plebiscite resolution adopted by the Security Council way back in August, 1948, is not under Chapter VII and hence lacked the force of self-implementation. In this respect it is very different from the motion on East Timor which mandated the world body to push for the ejection of Indonesia and holding of free election. The UN can lend a hand only if both countries were willing and invoke the Lahore Resolution of February, 1999. Simply put, he wants the two countries to get down to serious talks to untangle the problem that has lingered on for more than half a century. The media has tended to see in his frank remark a major victory for India and correspondingly a serious setback to Pakistan. The elation springs from his firm rejection of equating Kashmir with East Timor, thus scotching the ever present danger of the USA suddenly jumping up and coercing the UN to intervene in the dispute. This was only a distant possibility and even those pressing for a comparison realised the absurdity of it all but made occasional noises either to keep their constituency happy or to frighten the ultra nationalist forces in this country. East Timor was and is a separate country, which was invaded by Indonesia after the colonial power left. Yes, there is a comparison. With the end of the cold war both Indonesia and Pakistan have ceased to count! Mr Annan’s recipe will not work as long as the present military regime lasts. He has placed all his faith in the Lahore Declaration and General Pervez Musharraf reserves all his powers of rejection for the short-lived agreement. He was not present at the signing ceremony, perhaps busy planning the Kargil operation. He has denounced the bubbling spirit of bilateralism first to keep the fundamentalist forces happy and now to keep himself in power. India may ultimately agree to talks but it will face an empty chair on the opposite side or a closed mind. However, the UN Secretary General’s clarification has both freed his organisation of any extraordinary authority and mounted pressure on the two countries to search for a solution. The Jamaat-e-Islami’s slightly softer stand on the nature of the Kashmir dispute as political and human and not religious is of some help in this regard. |
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Exams: a welcome move HUMAN Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi's statement in the Rajya Sabha the other day that the NCERT and the CBSE had been asked to do away with the annual examinations till the matriculation level must have provided the much-needed relief to the students who will soon enter class 10. But in academic circles the move has given birth to a heated debate, as the news of holding board examinations only at the class 12 level has come after the decision to replace the marks awarding practice with a grading system for assessing the achievement of a student. There are some people in every area of activity who oppose any change even if it is for the better. This is true of the drastic measures being taken in the field of education. But on the whole, there is general approval of the Minister's idea. Anything done to reduce the stress level among students is good in the sense that this will enable them to concentrate on real learning instead of resorting to tactics to score marks. Under the prevailing system, which should have been given a decent burial a long time ago, even meritorious students depend on their capacity to rote and that too under highly stressful conditions. Owing to intense pressure from all sides----parents, teachers, relatives, et al----to score the maximum marks possible, there is an unhealthy competition, which leads to serious psychological problems with many young learners. The system has been responsible for the loss of a number of innocent lives in the past simply because these unfortunate souls could not score marks on expected lines. Thus Dr Joshi deserves accolades for abolishing the marks-giving system (when there will be no fail and pass stamp on any student) and the practice of board examinations till class 10. However, a foolproof mechanism will have to be evolved to ensure that the teachers and the taught take their duty seriously. Any method of classroom assessment should not put a student to a disadvantage because of the likes and dislikes of a teacher. In fact, the planned changeover has brought into sharp focus a serious problem which has remained ignored all these years. School teaching is more significant than university and college education from the viewpoint of a child's overall personality development. But teaching as a profession, specially at the school level, has degenerated. Bright students rarely evince interest in it. In the absence of teachers fit to be the role models for their students, one can imagine how seriously the latter will take their studies. Dr Joshi, a former teacher, should give a serious thought to the issue. |
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BUDGET 2001-2002 The national agriculture policy, announced by NDA government last year, declared that agriculture had become a relatively unrewarding profession. It stated that “the situation is likely to be exacerbated further in the wake of the integration of agricultural trade in the global system unless immediate corrective measures are taken.” It was felt that the well-being of the farming community continued to be a matter of grave concern for the planners and policy-makers in the country. It was declared that “the establishment of an agrarian economy, which ensures food and nutrition to India’s one billion people, raw materials for its expanding industrial base and surpluses for export, and a fair and equitable reward system for the farming community... will be the mainstay of reforms in agriculture.” The Finance Minister in his budget speech has noted that reforms in agriculture have been inadequate and must be speeded up and he mentioned, in this context, the announcement of a national agriculture policy. The measures outlined for this purpose include an increase in credit flow to agriculture from Rs 51,500 crore during 2000-2001 to Rs 64,000 crore during 2001-2002, extension of a credit-linked subsidy scheme for the construction of cold storages, a scheme for setting up agriclinics and agribusiness centres, development of rural roads, completion of rural electrification in the country in the next six years, changes in the management of the food economy and removal of all restrictions on the movement of agricultural commodities across the country. In the implementation of all these measures it is the individuals or organisations in the private sector which are supposed to play an active role. This is the case of the construction of cold storages, setting up of agriclinics and agribusiness centres and a major part of the foodgrains trade and its movement. The Union Government has decided to withdraw from both the procurement and distribution of foodgrains for the public distribution system (PDS). This role is being transferred to the state governments. The Union Government, instead of giving subsidised foodgrains, will provide financial assistance to the state governments to enable them to procure and distribute foodgrains to BPL (below the poverty line) families at subsidised rates. The FCI will procure foodgrains (in reduced quantities) for maintaining food security reserves and for such states as will assign this task on their behalf. This is being done to control the food subsidy which has increased to the level of Rs 21,125 crore. The withdrawal of the Union Government (except for token presence) will lead to reverting to foodgrain trading of the pre-FCI system. Pre-FCI trading involved a high seasonal fluctuation in prices and a lot of exploitation of farmers by private traders. The FCI now will handle something like 20 million tonnes of foodgrains out of 190-200 million tonnes. The states which are expected to replace the FCI have neither resources nor expertise/experience to handle such a colossal task. Obviously, this role is expected to be performed by private traders who are supposed to invest a large amount on the construction of godowns. It is clear that private traders will take up this role in a surplus foodgrain situation leading to a sharp fall in the foodgrain prices. This will be to the great disadvantage of farming and farmers. In the absence of assured market clearance by the government, the minimum support price (MSP) will become redundant, and farmers will be forced to sell their crops at much lower prices. This was the experience of farmers last year in the case of paddy. In the case of fruits and vegetables, it often happens that prices crash when there is a bumper crop in the fields. The experience of potatoes this year is a clear pointer of the shape of things to come. The proposed changes in the management of foodgrains trading amounts to disowning the farmers because they have produced enough of surpluses. The message is clear: the government is no longer willing to support foodgrain production. At the same time it has not created any support system for the proposed new crops which are supposed to replace foodgrains crops. The budget negates the pronouncements of the national agriculture policy about maintaining national food security. Any major shift in the cultivable area away from food crops may create a situation of scarcity. A country with more than a 100 crore population cannot afford to be complacent on this issue. India should not forget its experience of the 1950s and the 1960s when shortages in foodgrains led to the country’s humiliation at the international level and a lot of hardships to the weaker sections of society. At the same time, the budget proposals betray the commitments of the national agriculture policy on the fair and equitable reward system for the farming community. In the absence of an efficient working of assured market clearance at the MSP, farmers may never get fair prices for their produce. It is painful to observe that more than 60 per cent of the population depends on agriculture in this country, but the share of agriculture in the GDP is less than 30 per cent. This indicates that the income levels of those who depend on agriculture, on an average, are nearly one-half of the all-India average. A vast majority among them are poverty-stricken. The budget proposals do not contain any specific measure for the disadvantaged vast majority of people dependent on agriculture. The distress of the poor sections of farmers is reported from many states, particularly those where commercialised farming is practised. Reports of suicides by farmers from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana and Punjab have been appearing in the Press for the past several years. These reported suicides are due to economic reasons: crop failures and the consequent high-indebtedness threatening their very existence as peasants. There is no proposal in the budget to provide a safety net to the distressed farmers and agricultural labourers, who are suffering not due to their personal weaknesses but because of the working of the socio-economic system. The insurance cover attached to the Kisan Credit Card (Rs 50,000) scheme is so meagre that it cannot even marginally rehabilitate (suicide-affected) victim families. Moreover, very few peasants are covered under this scheme. It is well-known that the labour absorption capacity of agriculture is fast shrinking. The forces of modernisation (new technology) are a contributing factor. But the pressure of the work force on agriculture has not diminished. This is a last resort to those who cannot be absorbed in other sectors. Consequently, there is a very serious problem of underemployment in this sector. Without creating non-farm employment in the rural areas and elsewhere, the condition of these poor sections cannot be improved. There is nothing in this budget to tackle the problem of rural unemployment and underemployment. The budget proposals amount to throwing the farmers to wolves. They are supposed to fend for themselves in the wake of fluctuations in prices. They will face a competition from outside due to the complete removal of quantitative restrictions on imports under the WTO trading regime from April 1, 2001. In the proposed policy the Finance Minister has not shown any awareness of volatility in the global prices of agricultural commodities, and consequently not suggested any measures to safeguard the interests of the farmers in the surplus states like Punjab, Haryana and Western UP. The foodgrains trade was in the State List (List-II) which was shifted to the Concurrent List (List-III) through the Third Amendment of the Constitution of India in 1954. This was done to ensure food security and encourage foodgrains production in the country. For this purpose the FCI was set up and the Agricultural Prices Commission (now the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices) was established in 1965. The commission has been advising the Union Government on the MSP of major crops. The package of measures such as the MSP, the procurement by the FCI and quick market clearance at the MSP stabilised foodgrain crops. Farmers responded favourably and made this country self-sufficient in foodgrains. The ground reality demands that our policy-makers, instead of dancing to the tune of the Bretton Woods institutions, should respond to the requirements of the economy and the needs of the people. It is being forgotten that the rural people and farming still constitute the backbone of society and the economy. By neglecting the backbone the economy cannot be expected to have a sound body. If the Finance Minister thinks that by putting farming and farmers out of the country’s agenda, he can build a healthy economy, he is living in an unreal world. This country cannot afford to live with illusions. If farmers decide to put anyone (including the country) out of their agenda, the consequences may not be very pleasant. There is an urgent need to replace the budget proposals — particularly those relating to the diminished role of the FCI and shifting the task of foodgrains procurement and the PDS to the states — with such proposals as attend to the distress of the poor peasants and agricultural labourers in terms of safety nets and massive employment opportunities outside agriculture for those who are trapped in farming. The agricultural surplus states like Punjab and Haryana must exert their pressure to get reversed the retrograde proposals mooted in the budget. The writer is Professor of Economics, Punjabi University, Patiala. |
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Morning at Kanyakumari Our hotel was near the seashore. It claimed that the guests could see from their beds the sunrise over Kanyakumari. But I doubted it. As I had done in the hills before, I decided to watch it from the balcony of our room. Around 5-30 I put out a chair there and sat down. The night lingered yet. I waited. The sea and the sky were of the same colour and seemed to be making the same noise together. However, in the light of the lamps along the shore I could see the waves come sweeping in and end up quietly, almost submissively. A cock crowed somewhere around below. It had crowed once before too. I did not remember when and where I had last heard a rooster’s call. Anyway, the time was right, but the place seemed wrong. No, it was not wrong, I corrected myself immediately after. A cock’s loud crowing was very much a part of the Kanyakumari legend.... Just then a faint light appeared in the east. It was filtering through the clouds that covered the sky. While I was looking, many small lights glimmered in the distance. As they moved, more lights followed like those of a torchlight procession. “Fishing boats perhaps,” muttered my companion. “They are setting out on the day’s venture.” Minutes passed. The blackness of the night thinned a bit. I could discern before me the blurs of the tall Tiruvalluvar statue on a small rock and the bigger Vivekananda Rock with its high temple amidst the faintest gray of the sea. This was the farthest limit of India in the south — unless there were some other such rocks in the seemingly endless expanse of the waters. A little more light, and the statue and the temple stood quite clear against the sky. Once or twice a crow cawed above the soughing monotone of the sea. That patch of light in the clouds turned a pale golden yellow. It indicated that the dark gray mist and clouds on the horizon were curtaining off the rising sun, if it was rising then. But I could see the sea clearly — a gray sea under a gray sky on all sides. The only other colour on the waters was the white of the foamy waves. As I looked around, the Kanyakumari legend came back to my mind. The Kanya was a king’s daughter. Actually, she was the Divine Mother come to slay a demon, Vanasura, as a maiden. In time the king thought of her marriage. But the princess wanted to be with her eternal consort, Shiva. The auspices of their marriage was fixed for midnight. Shiva made for the place from Kailasa. But the gods got worried. If the girl married, none else would kill the demon who was their terror. They begged Narada to do something about it. While Shiva was resting in the dark on the way, Narada took the form of a rooster and crowed. Shiva thought that it was morning and too late for the marriage rites. He started back to Kailasa. Meanwhile the demon asked the lovely maiden to be his bride. Enraged, the girl slew him and waited for Shiva. She is waiting yet — the goddess of hope. The light broadened a bit more. But all was gray yet. However, it revealed all the houses and temples and the boats anchored or moving near the shore. The only sound there was of the sea. A little bird flew in there from somewhere. Looking more like a bat — a bat that had overstayed in the early light — it fluttered or fumbled about in the vast space about the balcony and above. Then it found a way out from there. A sort of fissure formed in the clouds. Through it the pale golden light of the sun fell on the sea like a long — overlong — strip of shimmering silk. It seemed to be demarcating the Bay of Bengal on my left and the Arabian Sea on my right. Between and beyond the two was the Indian Ocean. But the demarcation was artificial. And ephemeral too. In a few minutes the strip of silk or pale golden light was gone. As before, it was an undemarcated expanse of gray waters with a gray sky above. We had, because of the clouds, missed the spectacle of sunset the evening before. Now we missed the spectacle of sunrise as well. Two sights which every tourist guide lauded. My companion was disappointed. So was I. At the same time, I felt happy with what I had seen — the changing spectacle of many shades of gray in that vast and serene setting. |
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New coalition dharma at work Elections to the five state assemblies scheduled for next month-end highlight several significant trends in Indian politics. More than their final outcome, the polls will be known more for the kind of blatant market culture it has introduced in the conduct of politics. The ugly bargaining for seats with open threats, deadlines, walkouts, hikes in quota and humiliation are all being done without even a veneer of political morality. Ask leaders of any political party. They will readily concede that in the emerging coalition dharma, those who continue to stick to a minimum level of political honesty will be pushed into the backyard of history. If a Moopanar refuses to align with the rank opportunist PMK in Tamil Nadu, he will be wiped out. Hence under this unabashed realpolitik, the watchword is to gain maximum leverage from one’s own market share at the hustings. Invariably, the deal is struck with the highest bidder. Among the five states, the only exception has been the ruling Left Fronts of Kerala and West Bengal who have been able to conduct the seat-sharing exercise in an orderly traditional style. This apart, the electoral alignments once again highlight the collapse of the theory of dhritarashtra aalingan in contemporary politics. In the 1980s and ’90s, big brothers had hoped, and smaller allies feared, that electoral alliances and coalitions would enable the former to swallow up the small fish. This has not happened in the case of the national alliances or those forged by regional parties with the smaller outfits at local levels. During the period, not one small fish had fallen into the trap of mergers and takeovers, hostile or friendly. Any move by the bigger players to poach into the other’s territory has been met with stiff resistance. Second, the assertion of identity by the smaller fries at the regional and sub-regional levels seems to have had two effects. On the one hand, the regional party phenomenon has itself got stratified and hence stagnated and stuck up. They were formed on issues like regional honour (Dravidian parties, AGP and TDP) and social justice (Laloo, Mulayam and Kanshi Ram). However, their success also has acted as a restraint on their further expansion. Normally, it is easier for parties with an exclusive support base and divisive agenda to keep the flock intact. But this also deters them from widening the net, especially after they reach the saturation point. The Dravidian outfits, Shiv Sena and cast-based parties like the RJD, SP and the BSP perpetually face this dilemma. On the other, the same dialectics that have given birth to such outfits have also produced new forces from within to challenge them. This is the cruel dynamics of Indian politics built on social divisions. While Mulayam is desperately looking outside his clan for expansion, Kalyan Singh has subdivided the OBC to fight him from within. In Bihar, Nitish Kumar used the same device against Laloo Prasad Yadav with considerable success. In Tamil Nadu, things have gone too far. The demise of the old Dravidian movement has led to the birth of several outfits, each claiming to represent different social groups originally encompassed by the former. Some of these caste-based outfits have become so influential in their own pockets that the two main state parties have been forced to tie up with them. When Jayalalitha sewed up a formidable Thevar-Vanniyar alliance, the rival Dalit outfits like the Tamil Panthers and Puthiya Tamizhagam (‘Puducherry Congress’ also) rushed to the DMK side — the same way the DMK itself did in 1999. In West Bengal, a desperate Mamata has embraced smaller divisive outfits like Jharkhand group and Kamatapur, both seeking separate states. Irked at this, the local BJP leaders rushed to Delhi but were told to bear with Mamata’s opportunistic power games. Conversely, the nuclearisation and localisation have come in handy for the bosses of the exclusivist parties to be more authoritarian and insensitive. As the patrons of an exclusive group, it is easier for them to wrest a free hand to do things supposedly in their interests. This is not the case with the mainstream parties, which are hamstrung by national policy constraints. Take the case of the Congress. The party had pulled down the Gujral Government on the issue of the DMK’s alleged links with Rajiv killers. Now it finds it embarrassing to be with PMK, which had publicly celebrated the Rajiv assassination. Similarly, unlike an irresponsible Mamata, the Congress cannot afford to sit with the BJP in Mahajot as it would punch its claims of being secular. This phenomenon has certainly given a fillip to the politics of unprincipled alliances. Third, all this has reduced the status of the mainstream parties in these states to that of inconsequential subordinates. Watch the plight of the ruling party at the Centre. In all the five states, the BJP had to desperately woo the state-level parties for a limited share of seats. Barring perhaps Assam, nowhere is the BJP in a position to win seats on its own. Mamata Banerjee has given it 39 seats but half of them are with an embarrassingly strong Muslim presence. She has curtly spurned Vajpayee’s last-minute entreaties to provide at least ‘two or three’ winnable seats. In Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, Karunanidhi has made a similar take-it-or-leave-it offer. The BJP’s desperate efforts for a seat adjustment with the AGP in Assam have not succeeded so far. While the Congress does not have any insurmountable seat sharing problems in Kerala and Assam, it suffered humiliation elsewhere. Initially, Jayalalitha offered it just five seats as part of her power sharing arrangement with Moopanar’s TMC. It took a fortnight-long gruelling bargain to reach the present uneasy arrangement. She had begun with 35 seats in the hope that a desperate Congress would grudgingly accept it. What had finally forced her to raise it to 50 was her own calculation that the combined Congress vote is crucial for her victory in the elections. The Dalit consolidation on the DMK side and Karunanidhi’s renewed moves to win back Moopanar panicked her into accommodating the Congress groups. Last but not least, the widely perceived popularity of Jayalalitha once again brings out the unfortunate fact that corruption is not a decisive issue in this era of new political dharma. The PMK crossed over to Jayalalitha purely on its perception that she continues to pull crowds and can win votes. It had no other compulsions to leave the DMK alliance. Earlier, Laloo too had proved the same point by winning elections in the midst of several corruption cases against them. Both seem to adopt the same strategy with telling effect — they are the victims of vilification and the CBI cases are a vindictive action by their political foes. If the strategy succeeds, it is bound to have disastrous consequences on the political fabric on the country. This will further add to the emerging culture of political promiscuity and unprincipled pursuit of power. |
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75 YEARS
AGO Amritsar, March 9 The accused has been challaned under section 409, IPC for misappropriation of the money, and will be tried by Sheikh Mohammed Arif, Magistrate first Class. The amount has been recovered from him and paid to the treasury. |
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The little girl look makes a comeback Fashion people have an expression — “very editorial” — to describe clothes that look stunning in magazine fashion shoots but which nobody in their right mind would actually wear. Strangely, “very editorial” is generally used as a compliment. It was, in fact, just about the only compliment possible to describe the most prominent trend from the Milan fashion shows — the little girl/babydoll look. Those with long fashion memories may remember the ``Lolita’’ trend of a few years ago, when it was briefly de rigueur to wear over-the-knee socks and squeeze into child-sized T-shirts. Some well-known women even took to wearing their hair in bunches. Well, this season’s little girl/babydoll look has the same distinctly dodgy undertones — the difference is, this time it’s uglier and less flattering. At Gucci, the babydoll silhouette of empire-line waist and extra-high hemline dominated eveningwear, with tiny evening dresses in dark velvet or in striped or spotted net. At Prada, models had grown up to school age, with apron dresses and capes. Poor Bridget Hall demonstrated the problems of an empire-line silhouette for anyone with breasts, looking mortally embarrassed in an unflattering smock dress that ballooned her svelte shape to twice its normal size. Miu Miu took literally its role as Prada’s younger line, with square-necked, big-buttoned, prep school princess coats in red and grey. Blouses had frilly cap sleeves and patch pockets at bust level. Philosophy looked positively elderly by comparison, with its sulky sixth-form chic: a long purple velvet skirt was worn with a purple ribbed cardigan and flat boots. At Lawrence Steele, ribbon-trimmed babydoll dresses were voluminous around the bottom, making stick-thin girls look as if they were wearing nappies. Square-necked sailor jackets, bermuda shorts, smocked velvet party dresses with puff sleeves — frankly, Britney Spears would look like mutton dressed as lamb in these clothes.
Guardian
Slump in toy industry The toy industry is in a slump, and the ideas for new toys are being rejected almost as fast as manufacturers can churn them out. “We’re in a period of a lack of innovation, a lack of imagination,” says one insider. The solution? If you can’t come up with good new toys, then resurrect good old ones. The 1960s hit “Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots” are making a comeback, as is the venerable old G.I. Joe doll and even Tickle Me Elmo. Reintroductions are also significantly cheaper to bring to market than new toys.
AP
Rainwater harvesting With the advent of the dry season from February through April in Sri Lanka, the Domestic Rainwater Harvesting (DRWH) project is stepping up its activities. It has formulated a three-year programme based on a document synthesising traditional rainwater harvesting practices from India (Gujarat and Rajasthan) the Khan region and Tharpakar in Pakistan and the districts of Kandy, Moneragala and Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. Popularising the practice of collecting rainwater for drinking and cooking is being stepped up with information material in the form of posters, pamphlets, booklets and illustrated stories which are being distributed in many parts of the island. A newsletter and a website are also being used for information dissemination. DRWH also gives technical knowhow on collecting rainwater, the techniques of storing it for best use, building tanks at low costs, the technology of various types of storage and the importance of building up a dialogue with DRWH personnel for successful rainwater harvesting.
WFS |
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SPIRITUAL NUGGETS Supporting one's father and mother, cherishing wife and children and a peaceful occupation; this is the greatest blessing. —Sutta Nipata, 262 ***** Lovers never die, They remain not in the body, They drink from the ocean of love, Their cup filled to the brim. Absorbed in the immortal, They are unattached to the world. Surrendering their heads, They remain immortal in the infinite. Being always in silence, They remain in the divine bliss. — Sachal Sai ***** Love comes in the path of intellect, I have turned away from intellect. My Murshid has served me The cupful of nectar The valiant love wins the battle Between love and intellect. The waves rising in the ocean of grace Have drowned the devil of ego. Love is powerful, O Qutab; It ignores the forces of intellect. — Hazrat Sai Quta Ali Shah ***** Recognise divine light in every one Do not inquire about caste, There is no caste in the next world. **** ...the whole world is produced from Brahma's seed, The whole world is made of the same clay, As a potter makes vessels of different shapes. So the blending of five elements makes up the body Who can think of more or less. Says Nanak, this being is tied down by its own deeds. Without meeting a true guide, emancipation cannot be gained. — Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Asa M.1; Bhairon M.I; Soohi M.5; Prabhati M.I |
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