E D I T O R I A L   P A G E

EDITORIALS

It was Harbhajan’s series
LET us raise a toast to Test cricket. And a special toast to India and Australia for making the short three-Test series count among the best in the long history of the game. Who could have imagined that the game would regain its glory so soon after the match-fixing controversy made most cricketers look like crooks? Chennai revived memories of the famous tied Test.

Stock market shake-out
TWO sub-broker families have killed themselves. Two indirect brokers have fled with whatever money they had after the market meltdown. Three high-profile brokers in Kolkata have been declared defaulters, a damning description, and their shares and fixed deposits are being disposed of.  On Monday a rumour stunned the members of the stock exchange: the CSE would mortgage its majestic building on 30 acres of land just behind the Writers’ Building to raise funds to meet the settlement obligations.

FRANKLY SPEAKING

BY HARI JAISINGH
A shady world of arms and men
How national security is jeopardised for a consideration!
PRIME Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared in New Delhi the other day that the "Press, which normally plays the role of a watchdog on other institutions of democracy, has to accept restrictions in covering military matters".

OPINION

Oh, our feudal democracy!
Amar Chandel
WE may be hopelessly divided into a million castes, creeds, religions or sub-groups, but almost all of us are committed members of one overarching cult: the personality cult. We just have to have a few domineering personalities, whether it is for the purpose of deifying them or vilifying them. 

ANALYSES

Congress dumps globalisation; will BJP follow?
M.S.N. Menon
NOW that the Congress has decided to go back to the “mixed economy” of Nehru, will there be a change of heart in the BJP? Will it also give up globalisation? Of course, one can never be sure of the words of the Congress. But let us assume. It is telling the truth.

Team to delve into human genetic code
A leading scientist hopes tiny Singapore will help the human race discover more about itself by unlocking some of the mysteries of our species’s own biological master-plan — the human genome.

TRENDS AND POINTERS

Road renamed after Indian
THE city of Parsons in the American state of Kansas has renamed a section of a road as Jothi Avenue in honour of an Indian American physician. Dr S.P. Jothi, a 30-year resident of the city, was recognised for his services to the community, especially for establishing a free medical clinic for economically disadvantaged people.

• BANKING ON NEEM, PIPLIYADI

• RALLYING AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Dayanand Ayurvedic Hospital

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

It was Harbhajan’s series

LET us raise a toast to Test cricket. And a special toast to India and Australia for making the short three-Test series count among the best in the long history of the game. Who could have imagined that the game would regain its glory so soon after the match-fixing controversy made most cricketers look like crooks? Chennai revived memories of the famous tied Test. Every cloud has a silver lining, but the lining which dazzled the cricket world during the India-Australia series was made of the highest quality gold. Ironically tehelka’s expose of the murky side of the game seems to have played a part in rejuvenating international cricket. There is a lesson in it for Indian politicians and bureaucrats who figure in tehelka’s expose of the scale of corruption in defence deals. Coming back to cricket, India as usual were given only an outside chance of spoiling Steve Waugh’s party. But Saurav Ganguly made the pundits eat their words. In the process he made Australia look a very ordinary team. The Australians certainly did not look like they had won a record 16 Tests on the trot before the tide turned against them in the second half of the Kolkata game.

As far as individual performances go there were many heroes on both sides. What Matthew Hayden did for Australia was put in the shade by V. V. S. Laxman’s breath-taking batting for India. Adam Gilchrist in Mumbai and Steve Waugh in Kolkata provided glimpses of why the Australian team was considered the best in the game. In the Indian camp for once Sachin Tendulkar had to share the spotlight with Laxman and Rahul Dravid. It is good news for Indian cricket. But a special toast should be raised for the young Sardar from Punjab, Harbhajan Singh. Seldom has a single bowler dominated the entire series as he did. His splendid and controlled off spin bowling was largely responsible for making the kangaroos look like rabbits on a hot tin roof. A tally of 30 plus wickets in three matches is indeed an incredible performance by a player whose career had come under a cloud because of his suspect bowling action. He was sent to England to train under the legendary Fred Titmus. The training did help and he later told the media that “I have passed the Titmus test”. He has indeed going by his performance against the best team in the game. Just when the series appeared to be slipping out of India’s grasp, he even scored runs when they mattered the most. Shabash Harbhajan

Stock market shake-out

TWO sub-broker families have killed themselves. Two indirect brokers have fled with whatever money they had after the market meltdown. Three high-profile brokers in Kolkata have been declared defaulters, a damning description, and their shares and fixed deposits are being disposed of. On Monday a rumour stunned the members of the stock exchange: the CSE would mortgage its majestic building on 30 acres of land just behind the Writers’ Building to raise funds to meet the settlement obligations. Whew! As the CSE and market regulator SEBI were desperately trying to ride out the crisis, newspapers came out with a long list of wrong-doings by the member-brokers both on the trading floors and outside. Kolkata is the only place anywhere in the world where unofficial or illegal selling and buying of shares outstrips the official or recorded ones both in value and volume. The positive but mostly the negative fallout of this spills over to the exchange, leaving the authorities helpless in containing the damage. It is like an alien virus entering the country through the porous seacoast and setting off an alarm! The CSE is controlled by the tightly knit Marwari community, and private funds are available at an attractive interest rate of 20 per cent a year. With a high degree of inbreeding, the CSE has grown both weak and wretched. This week’s crisis flowed from this.

The Kolkata exchange is a snake pit but its size and middling clout make it manageable. The Bombay Stock Exchange defies any reform. It is a behemoth, a trend-setter, and the arbiter of blue-chip companies. Here the problems are deep-rooted and intractable. Take insider trading. Several traders know the future developments in several important companies. So they buy in bulk and when the prices of shares shoot up after the happy tidings become public knowledge they unload the shares and make a killing. The latest case is that of Hitech Drilling, a Tata-owned company, which sold 26 per cent of the equity to a foreign partner. Weeks before the official announcement, the share price rose steeply despite the strong bear pressure on the market. Something similar happened in the case of the Bank of Madura-ICICI merger and more recently the Global Trust Bank-UTI Bank amalgamation. Insider trading — that is, manipulating the market by those who have inside knowledge – is illegal but the punishment is a fine of Rs 5 lakh. Proving this charge is very difficult and hence most complaints die at the stage of investigation. In the USA they are constantly updating the computer software to spot any abnormal dealing or price rigging. Last year the US regulator filed cases against about 60 traders and the punishment normally is a three-year prison term. Unless this and circular trading – rife in the BSE – are rooted out, the stock market will remain a trap for unwary investors.

FRANKLY SPEAKING
A shady world of arms and men
How national security is jeopardised for a consideration!
BY HARI JAISINGH

PRIME Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared in New Delhi the other day that the "Press, which normally plays the role of a watchdog on other institutions of democracy, has to accept restrictions in covering military matters". Mr Vajpayee has reasons to feel disturbed by wideranging tehelka.com revelations which have badly shaken his government.

However, it would be a pity if he takes a narrow view of the disturbing expose and thinks in terms of "restrictions" as a cover-up for the politics of convenience.

To say this is not to deny that Mr Vajpayee is still the best bet for the country and is widely acceptable. All that he needs to ensure is that the "Lakshman rekha" drawn by him is genuine and does not tempt his men to the baits of outside forces and operators.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is a sacred territory. It is expected to be the custodian of the nation's interests and not the playground for personal and partisan pursuits.

The PMO is, in a way, today's Raj darbar. And the image of the government is made or unmade by the quality and talent of those manning it. It is, therefore, worthwhile to keep manipulators out, howsoever near or dear they might be.

Viewed in this light, the Prime Minister seems to be mixing up strategic matters of security which can legitimately come under the cover of secrecy and the working of the system which is expected to be clean and transparent.

As it is, there is too much of secrecy in the name of defence. What the government tries to hide from the media and the public is widely known to arms dealers and their agents in New Delhi. They are even armed with classified information on the most sensitive aspects of security!

Still, the people are kept in the dark simply because the authorities prefer to operate secretly, away from the media glare. This proposition is not acceptable. For, only informed citizens can help the process of transparency and ensure the quality of functioning of our democracy.

There can be views and counter-views on the tehelka website show set up with the help of spy cameras. We don't yet know the whole truth of its operation. It is also not quite clear whether it was a genuine piece of investigation or part of a gameplan of certain vested interests. Be that as it may. It has at least caught the system with its pants down with the unwitting help of some vulnerable individuals of standing.

Former Defence Minister George Fernandes suspects the ISI hand in the sensational disclosure in a non-existent defence deal. The ISI, for that matter, has been a convenient whipping boy of everything unpalatable to the powers that be.

To say this is not to minimise the gravity of the ISI's disruptive role in every critical area of the country. But to see the ISI under every bed as was being said about the CIA and the KGB during the Cold War days is undesirable. If any foreign agency is taking undue advantage, it is mainly because of our poor housekeeping. In this context, it must be said that defence deals are not being struck professionally and cleanly in India.

There are middlemen, lobbyists, conmen, politico-bureaucratic operators working for one vested interest or the other. This is so despite the fact that defence rules specifically prohibit middlemen in the purchase of hardware and arms. But, as in other walks of life, the rules are violated with impunity. In any case, why suffer this hypocrisy? Middlemen are very much there in most defence deals all over the world. They operate here as well.

Squadron Leader (retd) Kamal Chaudhry, former Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee, is right in holding that brokers have penetrated deep in defence deals. He had opposed the purchase of T-72 tanks from Russia on this count.

Mr Chaudhry, who was returned to the Lok Sabha on the BJP ticket in 1998, has now quit the party for "shielding corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and officials in the Prime Minister's Office."

It is also a fact that the business of kickbacks is carried on merrily in the name of national security! Where does this kickback money go? Who pockets it? The enforcement authorities may not know about it. But the spy cameras of competing arms merchants know the price of most honourable persons in this business of money and power games.

The tehelka.com expose has clearly established that the system in the sensitive defence procurement area continues to be corrupt and that persons occupying high public offices are vulnerable and hence purchasable. This is a sad commentary on the state of the nation.

The Prime Minister should know about it. So should Mr George Fernandes. Since big money is involved in defence purchases, lobbying for one weapons manufacturer or the other is generally very intense. With lobbying flows money in the form of pay-offs. The tragedy of this nation is that kickbacks are shamelessly accepted by persons of influence as a matter of right. What is more, since the bulk of this money is deposited in overseas banks, they don't attract the notice of the income tax and the Enforcement Directorate authorities, as it should have.

According to one estimate, as much as $ 2,550 billion (Rs 119.85 lakh crore) is deposited by Indians in overseas banks. This estimate was done a couple of years ago. By now, this amount must have multiplied, keeping in view major deals which have gone through in the meantime.

Indeed, a lot of hanky-panky goes on in most defence deals. Mr Fernandes has surely every right to defend himself. But after closely examining the stinking system and its wideranging operations, as recorded by the tehelka. com involving Ms Jaya Jaitley, the needle of suspicion is bound to be pointed at the former Defence Minister.

Forget about numerous known and unknown deals. What about the purchase of the controversial Mine Protected Vehicles (MPVs) from a private South African firm at $ 1,25,000 (Rs 58.75 lakh) each? Known as Casper, these vehicles were specially purchased for counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East. They were inducted into the Army in April, 1999.

Ironically, these anti-mine vehicles were antiquated, were roughly 13 years old. These had been discarded by the South African police and the army long before the Indian deal!

It is also a fact that the manufacturer of these reconditioned vehicles had shut down the assembling units. As such, the spare parts necessary for this purpose was also missing. In any case, these MPVs reportedly suffered from numerous operational and technical flaws. They did not meet the stringent quality control tests of the Indian Army and created problems.

According to a report, of the 166 MPVs contracted for, 90 were delivered but did not come up to the mark and the deal for the remaining 75 was put on the backburner. Quoting sources in the Army Headquarters, a report published in the Indian Express on September 7, 2000, said: The Caspers (MPV) were refurnished vehicles to protect troops from landmines in a counter-insurgency situation. Unfortunately, their performance was not up to the mark. The South Africans had a contractual obligation on service, spares and other maintenance aspects but could not fulfill it. Therefore, India did not take the remaining 75 and cancelled the contract.

The then Defence Secretary, Mr T. R. Prasad, blocked the purchase of 75 Caspers following a story in The Pioneer (October 22, 1999). Mr Prasad was shifted from the Ministry of Defence on October 20, 2000.

On December 11, 2000, a South African delegation met the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence for reviving the Casper deal. The purchase of 75 Caspers, blocked earlier by the then Defence Secretary, was cleared at a discount of a paltry 5 per cent.

Later, the Director of Monitoring and Sale in the Ministry of Defence was directed to open a letter of credit for these vehicles. The moot question is: with the manufacturing company closed and without spares and service backup, how come the Caspers, discarded by the South Africans themselves, got into business in India? The MoD must have been under pressure from the top to buy these reconditioned anti-mine vehicles at the price of new vehicles!

Who were the persons behind this dubious deal? Was Mr George Fernandes as Defence Minister aware of this? Who should be answerable for this scam? Big money must have passed hands. Who pocked this booty?

Would the Prime Minister want media persons to remain silent in the name of the security of the nation? May I ask who is jeopardising the nation's security by buying this junk?

It is a fact that as many as 15 jawans were killed in a mine blast in Jammu and Kashmir while travelling in one such a vehicle which is supposed to have been designed to withstand mine blasts. Don't the former Defence Minister and the Prime Minister owe an explanation to the nation for this stinking deal? National security is not a matter of party politics. It should not be politicised as some parties seem to be doing. In fact, it is high time our security concerns and contemporary politics were jolted out of the existing business-as-usual mindset.

Oh, our feudal democracy!
Amar Chandel

WE may be hopelessly divided into a million castes, creeds, religions or sub-groups, but almost all of us are committed members of one overarching cult: the personality cult. We just have to have a few domineering personalities, whether it is for the purpose of deifying them or vilifying them. If we don’t have them, we create them.

For centuries we bowed to the royalty, turning its members into no less than descendants of gods. This gave them heads too swollen for their own good. Then we started hating them. We rose in revolt against their tyranny, finally throwing them on the garbage-heap of history. However, that did not stop us from starting our search afresh and anointing new gods. These were the politicians of Independent India. Thanks to our pampering, they too metamorphosed into demi-gods. Dynasties emerged and we patronised them to the hilt.

We tended to be subservient enough not only to put on pedestal a person who happened to be born in a particular family, but even put the silver spoon in the mouth of a person who married into a particular family. All such pretenders were considered good enough to even lead the nation. No prizes for guessing whom I am referring to.

But this write-up is not about our tendency to worship false gods. Instead, it relates to our equally strong trait of being satisfied with the fall from grace of those whom we once put on the pedestal. One will need to have a million fingers to count the names of the leaders who proved that they were actually criminals of the first order. Every now and then they are caught with their pants down, as it is happening in the case of Mr Bangaru Laxman and Co. these days. Suddenly, we display extreme revulsion for their wrong deeds.

The unusual part is that our sense of disgust is limited to calling for the head of the persons caught with their hand in the till. All our energy is focused on ensuring that these particular people are kicked out. Once that is done, we are least bothered whether there has been a cleansing of the system at all. We don’t mind if the person who replaces the corrupt person proves to be even worse.

“People’s power” thinks that its job is done if the man unwittingly caught in the act gets his marching orders. The corrupt system remains intact and the fight has to start afresh.

At times, we are not all that keen on meting out punishment either. If the person concerned is shameless enough to hang on, we convert his brazenness into fighting quality. Just see what happened in the case of Jayalalitha, Sukh Ram and Laloo Yadav! They exploited the system to the hilt and used the political debasement to ensure that they either became kings or kingmakers. There are enough political opportunists to sup with the very same men and women for the sake of a few crumbs of power.

We castigate the judicial system for letting off many criminals. But when a political person is let off by the courts, even if it is only on technical grounds, we accept this reprieve as a proof of his innocence. The certificate is good enough for the public as well.

Look at the electoral victories posted not only by those let off by courts for want of enough proof but also by those who were convicted of serious crimes. Leaders have the best of both worlds. If they are acquitted, they hail their vindication; if convicted, they call it victimisation.

There is a template of possible excuses, which the political class keeps handy. Neta X will say that he is being hounded because he belongs to a particular party. Neta Y will cry that he is being persecuted because he happens to be from a particular caste. This time-tested excuse is good enough to deflect the responsibility of the crime that they committed in their personal capacity. The lamentable fact is that society too falls for this stratagem.

The Tehelka controversy is moving along expected lines. Here a concerted attempt is being made not only to attach motives to the investigating website, but also to find other fig-leaves to hide the shame of exposure. For argument’s sake, let us assume that the website was working at the behest of certain political rivals. Does that diminish the responsibility of the dramatis personae in any way?

To cap it all, in place of saying that we are thankful to the journalists for bringing out the rot, even the Prime Minister is saying that defence matters should not have been handled like that. There should have been a “Lakshman rekha”, he says, without answering why his Ministers and even the party president overstepped the line and went a mile beyond it.

For all one knows, the journalists may even be prosecuted. Is that the way to react to an expose? However, that is the way the government of the day always hits back. Remember what happened after a journalist blew the lid off the sale and purchase of women by buying up Kamala. He was almost prosecuted for trafficking in women! That is something like breaking the thermometer if it shows that you are running high temperature.

If you just make an insinuation, the alibi is that there is no proof; if you go and get the proof, you are told that you had no business to proceed in this particular manner. Strange, isn’t that?

Politicians get away with blue murder only because we the people give them such a long rope. They don’t fear the judiciary because they know they can manipulate evidence. And they don’t fear the citizens because they know that they can manipulate the voters as well. The unfortunate consequence is that the persons taking the public for a ride change, but the ride continues regardless.

So many frauds have been committed already that there is a precedent for everything. Ask one leader to resign on moral grounds and he would cite 10 instances when the leaders of other parties never went out even after committing far more serious irregularities. The message is clear: hang all those who did something similar before me and then come to me. Two wrongs always make one right, according to their book of arithmetic. Three wrongs make an even better right.

The question is: can society allow this sort of deduction in all walks of life? Tomorrow a thief caught stealing will say that you can arrest me only after all those who ever committed a theft are jailed. And why theft, those accused of rape, robbery and even murder have gone scot-free. So, you cannot punish me. Period. That is the message that the leaders are giving us.

If politicians can hold their heads high and hope to convince the public of their innocence after as categorical an evidence as being caught on video tape while accepting money, they are never going to mend their ways. Lament, my countrymen, or tell them that you will not put up with such brazen loot any longer!

Remember, next time, no greasy politician worth his moneybags is going to let video cameras go past his door. Deals will be struck in hermetically sealed “clean” environments and if you shout foul, they will smugly say: where is the proof.

Every crime that goes unpunished spawns two more. This doubling of figures has already gone far enough, hasn’t it?

ANALYSES
Congress dumps globalisation;
will BJP follow?
M.S.N. Menon

NOW that the Congress has decided to go back to the “mixed economy” of Nehru, will there be a change of heart in the BJP? Will it also give up globalisation? Of course, one can never be sure of the words of the Congress. But let us assume. It is telling the truth.

Critics of globalisation have grown over the years within the BJP. The Prime Minister himself is a doubting Thomas. And the BJP has its mentor to mind — the RSS, which is opposed to globalisation, and is in favour of Swadeshi.

But, first, some background. The RSS began as a body of nationalists, and the BJP, largely of traders and industrialists. The two could have never meshed. The RSS saw India as a great power and a light unto humanity. The traders and industrialists saw the country as part of the global capitalist system. They accepted American leadership of the world.

The industrialists of this country played a major role for the entry of MNCs into India. And their sons were promptly rewarded by placing them as managers of western enterprises. Today, they are fighting battles for the MNCs. Can we call them Indian nationalists? They laugh at the very concept of Swadeshi!

Never before were two such unlikely animals ever so yoked! The result is there for all to see — in our confused policy towards America. Worse, the two animals are pulling in different directions. Unless the BJP frees itself from this historic bondage, it can never have a credible view of the world. Victory must go to nationalism, for nothing else can bind this disparate nation together. That is more important than anything else.

Capitalism is not a universal theory, if that is its claim for acceptance. It is not a panacea. It is not a step in human evolution. It is not even an efficient system. In fact, it is highly wasteful. It is a product of European experience and opportunity.

No country — not a single one — in Europe could have developed capitalism on the basis of its own limited market. Capitalism grew because of colonial conquests, by the expansion of markets for goods and raw materials. And those who did not get their share of the markets and resources fought two devastating world wars.

Even today, the struggle is for markets — this time for the global market. The IT revolution has not made any difference to this struggle.

It was not we who discovered the true nature of capitalism. That was done by the thinkers of the West. By Karl Marx, above all. He revolted against this ruthless and unethical system, which gave free rein to the rapacious greed and cruelty of Europeans — to the barbarous slave trade, the inhuman genocide of the Red Indians, to the brutal plunder of the colonies. Western civilisation was built on plunder, murder and pillage.

In our own times, it has been the cause of mass poverty and unemployment, of endemic crises, of pollution and degradation of environment and, now, of the danger of global warming. What is the social and environmental cost of these adversities? No one has worked it out. It must be staggering. It is the common man who finally will have to pay the cost, not the capitalist class.

The poor are not asking the rich to carry them on their backs. They are merely asking the rich to get off their backs.

The poor have for long been petitioners. It is time they knew their strength. If association with the rich is a Hobson’s choice, then the poor must do without it. The human race is not a joint family. At least not yet. Nor have we reached the ideal of human brotherhood. The world is full of religious and ethnic conflicts. The rich tell us that we live by them. We say that the rich live by us.

After all these, American still wants to lead the world? Where is its leadership?

In contrast, India has been more tolerant, less greedy, and less cruel. Our example is exemplified by India’s ethical life. So, why are some of our educated citizens beholden to the West? There is only one reason: the slave in them. A thousand years of slavery has made them what they are.

The poorer countries of the world cannot copy the western model, if only because they cannot set out to conquer and colonise. What is more, when we oppose exploitation by the West, we ourselves cannot take to it in our country. We have to produce something batter.

Is there, then, a place for capitalism? The answer is yes. But capitalism with a human face. It is easier said than done. “The alternative is state control of economic life. There is nothing worse than state control. We have seen it in the last over fifty years — how our huge public sector was systematically destroyed by the politicians, the bureaucracy and the working class. Like parasites, they stripped it of its very life.

Why do I prefer capitalism? Because it promotes initiative, enterprise and skills. A man who can organise an enterprise and run it is any day better than a worker. But, as I said, it should be capitalism with a human face. There is a price to be paid for it — the loss of freedom for a free for all. A humane capitalism involves adherence to norms.

In the final analysis, we must have favourable global conditions for a crisis-free economy. The world is moving inexorably towards it. In other words, the world is getting democratised. In Asia, we have Japan, China, India and Indonesia; in Africa — Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa; in Latin America — Brazil, Mexico and Argentina; in Europe — Germany, France and Russia. All are emerging as sizeable economic powers. The age of hegemony is, therefore, coming to an end. And the world is moving to greater democratic relations. This should be welcome.

The need for a new world order has become urgent. It cannot be a replication of the old with cosmetic changes. It has to be a genuinely new one. We are opposed to a world based on domination, exploitation, inequality and oppression. And we are against uniformity.

The experience of a society is the product of its history. Its people do not leave their own history to enter the history of another people. In short, we should not copy the way of life of other people. Where this has happened, it has ended in disaster.

The civilisation of Europe and its history cannot be a teleological model for the rest of mankind, though European thinkers had such pretensions. This was challenged by the Marxists. But they failed. But history is not at an end, as has been suggested. It has just begun. We have a very very long way to go.

In the meantime, nations can organise their economies the best way they can. No doubt on the basis of principles. A nation eats what it grows on its soil. Its cuisine is best when based on what it grows. And it relies for its ills on the herbs it grows. And it produces goods and services in which it has comparative advantage. One should be guided by one’s native genius. In short, India’s life should be based on Swadeshi. That is, as far as possible.

This is not to say that the economies of the world should not be integrated. It should. But not the way it is being done by depriving a country of its sovereignty, by abolishing its borders, of its genius. And, above all, I see no reason why the world should be guided by American experience.

The life of every nation is based on some organising principle. In the west, it is “freedom of enterprise”. Profit is the principal motive in capitalist countries. Congress dumps globalisation; will BJP follow? In India, our organising principle has been called “Swadharma”, everything according to the promptings. And excellence was the motivating factor. Thus, at one level we sought the Truth of things, and at another level we have sought excellence. Should we depart from these noble ideals?

Team to delve into human genetic code

A leading scientist hopes tiny Singapore will help the human race discover more about itself by unlocking some of the mysteries of our species’s own biological master-plan — the human genome.

Dr Liu, who has won several awards for his study of genetic factors which determine breast cancer, left his position as Director of clinical science at the world’s leading National Cancer Institute in the USA to head Singapore’s fledgling project. Reuters

Trends and pointers
Road renamed after Indian

THE city of Parsons in the American state of Kansas has renamed a section of a road as Jothi Avenue in honour of an Indian American physician.

Dr S.P. Jothi, a 30-year resident of the city, was recognised for his services to the community, especially for establishing a free medical clinic for economically disadvantaged people.

“The road currently known as 22,000 Road between 32nd Street and U.S. Highway 59 shall be known as Jothi Avenue,” Mayor Tommy McLarty proclaimed in his ordinance on the name change.

“Jothi was the prime mover who brought the idea of the free clinic for low income people and the lead person instrumental in establishing it,” city manager Glen Welden says.

Jothi is involved in community service in other ways also, Welden said. The renaming is part of the city’s policy of honouring individuals for their singular efforts that impact the society, he added. IANS

BANKING ON NEEM, PIPLIYADI

Neem oil and pipliyadi yaga will be incorporated in the national family health programme once ongoing clinical trials establish their efficacy as contraceptives, a government official has said.

Dr A.R. Nanda, secretary, Family Welfare, says both Neem oil and pipliyadi yaga, which is a combination of ayurvedic products, are used by people as contraceptives.

And, on establishment of their efficacy by modern clinical trials, which are being organised by the India Council of Medical Research, they will become part of the national family health programme.

The trials would also evaluate toxicity and failure rates of the two products. While trials on Neem oil are likely to be completed by the year-end, trials on pipliyadi may take about one and a half years, Nanda said.

Both the products would have high acceptability among Indian as they are plant-based, Nanda said, adding after they become part of government programme, even “Anganwadi” workers would be able to distribute them. (Savitha Varma)

RALLYING AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Ethiopian women have risen against the scourge of domestic violence in this first movement of its kind in this country located in the Horn of Africa.

A group of about 1,000 women gathered in the capital’s Meskel Square that is normally used for military parades. Wearing T-shirts with the words, “It is time the violence stopped” in Amharic lauguage, the women chanted slogans and waved placards for three days.

They also marched to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s office and the country’s Parliament where they delivered petitions demanding more police protection and harsher sentences against offenders.

“The conspiracy of silence is frightening when the violence is against toddlers. It is time that we spoke out,” said women leaders. WFS

75 YEARS AGO

Dayanand Ayurvedic Hospital

The public will be glad to learn that the D.A.V. College Managing Committee has been pleased to open an indoor hospital in connection with the Dayanand Ayurvedic College. The hospital has opened both the medical and the surgical sides. Pure Ayurvedic treatment is given to the patients in the medical side and surgical side is under the charge of an experienced doctor. Every arrangement has been made for the convenience of the indoor patients and free meals are given to poor patients who require them. The hospital is situated near Dayanand Ayurvedic College in an open field just beyond D.A.V. College.

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

And it does not behove a believer to kill a believer except by mistake... And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his punishment is hell; he shall abide in it, and Allah will send his wrath on him and curse him and prepare for him a painful chastisement.

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And whoever commits a sin, he only commits it against his own soul.... And whoever commits a fault or a sin, then accuses of it one innocent, he indeed takes upon himself the burden of a column and a manifest sin.

—The Quran, chapter IV, section 13; 92-93; section 16:111-112.

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Unity in variety is the plan of the universe. If it be true that God is the centre of all religions, and that each of us is moving towards him along one of these radii, then it is certain that all of us must reach that centre. And at the centre, where all the radai meet, all our differences will cease.

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Suppose we all go with vessels in our hands to fetch water from a lake. One has a cup, another a jar, another a bucket and so forth, and we all fill our vessels. The water in each case naturally takes the form of the vessel carried by each of us. He who brought the cup has the water in the form of a cup; he who brought the jar has water in the form of a jar. But in every case, water, and nothing but water is in the vessel.

So it is in the case of religion. Our minds are like these vessels, and each one of us is trying to arrive at the realisation of God. God is like that water filling these different vessels, and in each vessel the vision of God comes in the form of the vessel. Yet he is one. He is God in every case.

— What Religion is in the Words of Swami Vivekananda, chapter I