E D I T O R I A L   P A G E

EDITORIALS

New-look defence set-up
IT is tempting to link the decision to restructure the top military leadership with the ongoing efforts to contain the damage caused by the Tehelka tapes expose. But that is not the case. However, the establishment of a defence procurement board is a new idea and is meant to insulate purchases from bureaucratic interference. The inference is that the Ministry of Defence officials are more prone to tilt the final outcome in favour of their friends by virtue of their close relationship with political leaders.

Patch-up in HP, at last
WITH the intervention of the RSS, the BJP's central leadership has finally succeeded in defusing the crisis that had paralysed the Himachal government's functioning for over four weeks. But it appears to be a temporary truce between the warring camps, one led by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and the other by Union Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Minister Shanta Kumar.

OPINION

Defence set-up under scrutiny
Tehelka’s foreign policy implications
G. Parthasarathy
IN November, 1970, Soviet Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin told our Ambassador in Moscow, Mr D.P. Dhar, that the Soviet Union would be prepared to supply us long-range TU 22 bombers in response to our long-pending request for such an aircraft. Dhar was elated when we found that the TU 22 met the qualitative requirements (QRs) that our Air Force had spelled out for what was labelled as a “deep penetration strike aircraft” (DPSA). Imagine our shock when a few months later a high-level IAF delegation informed us during a visit to Moscow that the TU 22 did not meet the requirements of their new and revised QRs.

IN THE NEWS

The lonely man of Indian politics
THE lonliest man in Indian politics has been spotted. He is Mr P. Chidambaram, former Union Finance Minister and a star of the Tamil Maanila Congress and earlier very close to Rajiv Gandhi and later to Mrs Sonia Gandhi. There is much regret in both the Congress and in Tamil Nadu as he rides, like in a Greek tragedy, to his political sunset. But this sympathy will not translate into votes in two months time. No, this ultra suave leader will not be disowned but parochial and caste-based politics will win.

• Armament expert as US envoy
• Mir, 1986-2001, RIP

75 YEARS AGO

Farewell to Lord Reading

TRENDS AND POINTERS

Schizophrenia “helped man’s ascent”
TINY mutations in our ancestors’ brain cells triggered mankind’s takeover of the world 100,000 years ago. But these changes also cursed our species to suffer from schizophrenia and depression.

• Animals also feel (the chill)

BACKGROUNDER

USA had hand in Laden’s creation
Gobind Thukral
FOR the past two years or more, Osama bin Laden has been in the news for one reason or the other. This Saudi Arabian oil-rich Sheikh, is now the leading militant figure in strife-torn and devastated Afghanistan. He is public enemy number one of the USA. At the same, he is a hero of the Islamic fundamentalist movement worldwide. But for the Americans he was not such a devil all these years. He was, in fact, a darling of the American Government and its spy network, the CIA.

OF LIFE SUBLIME

Next to God — thy parents
J. L. Gupta
"WHOEVER makes his father's heart bleed, shall have a child that will revenge the deed" is an old saying. But is it really so? Recently, I heard a story that proves the truth of this statement.

• Painful to the parents. Isn't it?

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

New-look defence set-up 

IT is tempting to link the decision to restructure the top military leadership with the ongoing efforts to contain the damage caused by the Tehelka tapes expose. But that is not the case. However, the establishment of a defence procurement board is a new idea and is meant to insulate purchases from bureaucratic interference. The inference is that the Ministry of Defence officials are more prone to tilt the final outcome in favour of their friends by virtue of their close relationship with political leaders. The other side of the argument is that the military top brass generally keeps to itself and the honour code and instant punishment combine to ensure a higher degree of probity. This is also the general impression and the findings of the court of inquiry into bribe-taking by five officers should hopefully support this. For long and in all countries purchase and sale of equipment and ammunition have remained a top secret. Unlike in India, the West filters out negative tendencies by erecting a smart supervisory mechanism and because of the prevalent social morality. In this country impenetrable secrecy has not only bred sleaze but has also degenerated into an obsession. There is no secret in the arms bazaar and the “enemies” are up to date on all vital information.

The government claims that the proposed board will introduce transparency. It may not because transparency is a function not of a board but of clearly laid down laws and their practice without favour. This comes out of long years of training. The government has finally ended its vacillation over creating the post of Chief of Defence Staff who will control the nuclear force. This is a wise decision and should go a long way in ending doubts about an effective nuclear force. It is not clear what the functions of the new Inspector-General will be. Perhaps his will be a watchdog institution. The military is an ancient institution and precedents are as important to soldiers as the glittering silverware that every mess boasts of. That makes it incumbent on the government to imaginatively mesh new offices to take care of new problems with the existing mechanism and mindset. In no other profession does the administrative set-up overwhelms an insider as the armed forces do. Only a few, and only those at the top, add strength to the huge organisation; others draw all their strength from the defence forces. India has been lucky to have a professional army without political ambitions. It is for the politicians to prove that they have no stomach to overawe the forces, Tehelka or no Tehelka. 

Patch-up in HP, at last

WITH the intervention of the RSS, the BJP's central leadership has finally succeeded in defusing the crisis that had paralysed the Himachal government's functioning for over four weeks. But it appears to be a temporary truce between the warring camps, one led by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and the other by Union Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Minister Shanta Kumar. The reinduction of the four sacked Ministers in the Dhumal Ministry and broadbasing of the BJP's state executive committee as part of the compromise formula are unlikely to work for a longer period so long as Mr Narendra Modi continues to look after the party's Himachal affairs and the fund distribution machanism under the Local Area Development Scheme is not restructured to make it discrimination-proof. The dissidents' demands included these points, and some corrective measures have been taken with regard to fund distribution. But this is only a cosmetic change. The party MLAs have not been happy with the functioning of Mr Kripal Parmar, MP and general secretary of the BJP's state unit, and so far controlling the fund distribution under the scheme. A staunch Dhumal loyalist, Mr Parmar may not be able to ensure fund disbursement as effectively as was the case earlier, but he remains part of the system and may not desist from creating difficulties for those in the Shanta Kumar camp. Despite all this, dissidents have every reason to feel emboldened. They openly revolted against the Chief Minister, demanding his removal, besides other things, but at the end of it all no harm has been caused to their interests. Moreover, one of their camp followers, Mr Mohinder Sofat, whose humiliation by denying him the party ticket to fight the Solan byelection led to the intensification of the dissident activity, is going to be included in the BJP state executive along with two other rebels. They are unlikely to sit quiet now when they will be in a better position to trouble the Chief Minister.

In fact, Mr Dhumal is fighting an unequal battle. Unlike his party detractors, he has to defend himself at two fronts — one opened by his parivar people and the other by the Opposition. While efforts were still on to ensure that guns fall silent at the dissident front, former Congress Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh came out with some unnerving questions for the BJP-led government. In a 10-page booklet released on the completion of three years of Mr Dhumal's Chief Ministership, the Opposition leader has charged the government with neglecting development work which has worsened the unemployment position in Himachal. The government's answers to his questions are unconvincing. After all, how can a regime as much faction-ridden as it is in Himachal Pradesh find time to concentrate on development issues?

Controversial film awards

TUESDAY was a bad day for film personalities. Sunil Dutt was injured in a plane crash near Nashik. In Mumbai actress Sonali Bendre was arrested, and later released on bail, for causing hurt to the religious sentiments of the followers of the Hindu faith through a photograph carried on its cover by a fashion magazine. But the stars of ill omen shown with fury at the 48th National Film Awards announcement ceremony in Delhi. Poor Raveena Tandon did not know whether to jump with joy or go into hiding on being chosen the best actress for her role in “Daman”. Her on-screen sizzling numbers have often caused chaos at the ticket window. But who can stop her over-enthusiastic fans from not going overboard while following her amazing hip movements from one end of the screen to the other? However, the chaos at the film awards ceremony was not caused by her fans, but a section of the jury members who were convinced that she was “suitably rewarded” by the powers that be for having campaigned for the BJP in the last Lok Sabha elections. Her uncle Macmohan, who usually plays the villain in films, may have inadvertently played a similar role in real life by not opting out of the jury which nominated her for the honour which in the past has gone to Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil and a number of equally respected film artists.

The charge of “saffronisation” of the selection process may not be entirely without substance. However, it takes two to play the game of manipulating national honours in favour of those close to the centres of power. The tehelka expose on defence deals is also a comment on those who know how to make the levers of power work to their advantage. In the past similar charges of nepotism and favouritism used to be hurled at the Congress. Muzaffar Ali’s “Gaman” was an exceptionally well made film, but it was said that it was given the national award because of a senior civil servant in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. The civil servant was to Muzaffar Ali’s second wife what Macmohan is to Raveena Tandon. What then is the remedy? The State should stop playing the role of the patron of art, music, dance, literature and films. The Oscar, the Nobel and the Booker awards are not decided by any government agency. That explains their credibility in relation to the awards doled out as favours by the national and state akademis in India.

Defence set-up under scrutiny
Tehelka’s foreign policy implications
G. Parthasarathy

IN November, 1970, Soviet Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin told our Ambassador in Moscow, Mr D.P. Dhar, that the Soviet Union would be prepared to supply us long-range TU 22 bombers in response to our long-pending request for such an aircraft. Dhar was elated when we found that the TU 22 met the qualitative requirements (QRs) that our Air Force had spelled out for what was labelled as a “deep penetration strike aircraft” (DPSA). Imagine our shock when a few months later a high-level IAF delegation informed us during a visit to Moscow that the TU 22 did not meet the requirements of their new and revised QRs.

Among the reasons given by the IAF for rejecting the TU 22 was that the runways in our airfields were not long enough for these aircraft to operate! When we analysed the issue in some detail in our embassy in Moscow, we found that there was no aircraft anywhere in the world in service at that time that would meet the new operational requirements that we had outlined, except perhaps the newly inducted American F 111 bomber that had not been tested out operationally. In any case, our relations with the USA and our foreign exchange resources then were such that there was no question of acquiring the F 111.

The rejection of the TU 22 on less than justifiable grounds did have long-term strategic implications. We were left without any effective strike aircraft when the Bangladesh conflict broke out. The Pakistanis would not have been able to make any progress in the Chhamb sector if the IAF had the TU 22 in December, 1971. More importantly, we went ahead and signed a deal for the purchase of Jaguar aircraft from the UK in 1978 to meet our requirements for a DPSA. The purchase of the Jaguar was justified on the grounds that we had to “diversify” our sources of supplies. We then entered into a new era, where for the first time there was talk of kickbacks having been paid on a major contract for defence equipment. The major contracts signed in the 1980s from West European countries were for the purchase of Bofors guns, HDW submarines and Mirage 2000 aircraft. The purchases of Mirage 2000 and Bofors were undertaken after it was confirmed that the Soviet Union was then not in a position to supply comparable weapons systems to the F-16 aircraft and 155 mm artillery that were in the pipeline for supply by the USA to Pakistan. There were, however, some question marks on the rationale for the purchase of the HDW submarines.

Defence deals with the Soviet Union were relatively easy to negotiate, especially given the low prices, payments terms and soft credits extended. There was no question of any kickbacks or commissions. But when we commenced purchases from West European countries, the stench of corruption entered the corridors of the Ministry of Defence. Whether it was the purchase of the Jaguars or the HDW submarines, it became clear that the era of agents and commissions had commenced. We are now unfortunately in an era when not only the West Europeans but also other suppliers like the Russians and Israelis are into the business of promoting business through agents and commissions. But our politicians and media should be very careful in not casting doubts about the efficacy of weapons systems selected as this could lead to demoralisation in the armed forces. Irresponsible comments were made by a number of senior political figures about the quality of the Bofors guns at the height of the controversy surrounding their purchase in the 1980s. Kargil proved how irresponsible and unjustified these comments were. Caution should be exercised before criticism is mounted about the effectiveness of the systems being acquired, unless there are established and valid reasons for such criticism.

While the media in Western countries may patronisingly assert that what is happening in India is yet another example of “Third World corruption”, the fact remains that in today’s world corruption is a fact of life not only in developing countries but also in the industrialised ones. The World Development Report of 1997 notes that 15 per cent of all companies in the industrialised countries have to pay bribes to win or retain their businesses. This figure is 40 per cent for countries in Asia and 60 per cent in the Russian Federation. But, more importantly, it is the arms traders of developed countries who are responsible for the aggressive introduction and fostering of corrupt practices in developing countries. While the OECD countries have endeavoured to curtail such practices through measures like the 1997 “Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions”, their efforts to date have been half-hearted and token. Even though the US law specifically prohibits such bribery, one does hear of American corporations spending millions of dollars to “educate” Indian decision-makers. The OECD countries also benefit immensely from providing tax havens to tax dodgers and people with ill-gotten gains. It is estimated that between $ 350 billion and $ 700 billion is hidden in tax havens in the UK alone.

While we have succeeded in persuading the world community about the dangers of terrorism, it is now equally important that a sustained diplomatic attempt should be made along with like-minded countries to get the OECD members and other arms suppliers like the Russian Federation and Israel to agree to adopt measures that would enhance transparency in their arms sales practices and also make details of commissions, if any, paid to secure contracts abroad. Even though this is not going to be an easy task, it should nevertheless be initiated. Transparency International that has played a key role in focusing international attention on issues of corruption in international business transactions has rightly noted: “Every society is as corrupt as its institutions and practices allow”. One hopes the recent tehelka episode will lead to measures that ensure that corruption in the corridors of power is effectively dealt with.

Our political elite will have to understand that public confidence in the very system of democracy will be eroded if an impression gains ground that the law of the land is not applicable to the political class and that it is to be applied only to hapless officials. The decision to appoint a person of impeccable integrity like Mr B.G. Verghese to introduce a measure of transparency and public accountability into the entire functioning of the Defence Ministry is a welcome development. Our armed forces have an unquestionable reputation for professional and personal integrity. We cannot allow that national reputation and image to be sullied by the misdemeanours of an errant few.

Governments in New Delhi tend to become over-cautious and shy away from taking difficult decisions when under siege. We should never forget that the 1965 conflict and the Kargil intrusion took place because our adversaries across the border felt that we had lost our qualitative edge. It is, therefore, imperative that the tehelka episode must not be allowed to delay the process of decision-making on issues of defence modernisation and procurement. As External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh prepares to leave for Washington, a clear signal needs to be sent out that we intend to have the capabilities to project power from the Straits of Malacca in the east to the Straits of Hormuz in the west. The emergence of destabilising religious fundamentalism to our west and the growing internal tensions and instability in our friendly neighbour Indonesia to our east are factors that require close consultations with our friends with whom we share common interests, especially on issues of energy security. But if we are to play an effective role in the Indian Ocean region, it is imperative that we should not allow the process of second-generation economic reforms or the modernisation of our armed forces to be derailed by recent developments. Rapid and accelerated economic growth is essential for the effective conduct of a dynamic foreign policy. One hopes that when Parliament reconvenes next month, we will show the sagacity and wisdom to evolve a political consensus on such vital national issues.

The writer is India’s former High Commissioner to Pakistan.

The lonely man of Indian politics

THE lonliest man in Indian politics has been spotted. He is Mr P. Chidambaram, former Union Finance Minister and a star of the Tamil Maanila Congress and earlier very close to Rajiv Gandhi and later to Mrs Sonia Gandhi. There is much regret in both the Congress and in Tamil Nadu as he rides, like in a Greek tragedy, to his political sunset. But this sympathy will not translate into votes in two months time. No, this ultra suave leader will not be disowned but parochial and caste-based politics will win.

For the present Mr Chidambaram is out of active politics. It is a sad commentary on politics and not on Mr Chidambaram.

Armament expert as US envoy

It is heartening to note that India continues to occupy an "important place" in the American scheme of things in South Asia. This is so not because President George W. Bush has decided to send Mr Robert Blackwill to New Delhi as the new US Ambassador in the first batch of appointments he has made but also because it has been declared a senior-level assignment. There is an unstated desire to have a permanent arrangement for dialogue with this country at a higher level.

Does this mean that Mr Blackwill will be more than an Ambassador? That will be known in the days to come. Currently the Belfer Lecturer in International Security at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, Mr Blackwill has authored many books on global security issues with special emphasis on arms control. His latest work, brought out last year, is "America's Asian Alliances" which he has coedited with Paul Dibb.

Known for his soft corner for China since his days with the presidency of Mr George Bush Sr (1989-1990), he is believed to have undergone a chage of heart, as he played a major role in India getting a larger focus in the Bush electoral campaign platform (manifesto in Indian terminology). The manifesto has it that "India is emerging as one of the greatest democracies of the 21st century...The United States should engage India, respecting its great multicultural achievements and encouraging Indian choices for a more open world."

However, more than anything else, it is Mr Blackwill's assessment of the security scenario in the region that will help in having a clear peep into his mind from the angle of his area of specialisation. One wishes he understands India's security requirements in the context of the Chinese nuclear muscle, and not vis-a-vis Pakistan.

He began his diplomatic career in 1967. In these 34 years he has held a number of strategically significant postings, including those of the chief negotiator during the talks with the erstwhile Warsaw Pact countries, the Director of West European Affairs on the National Security Council and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs. This vast and varied experience should enable him to influence the Bush administration to evince greater interest in India and its security problems and, of course, in a realistic manner.

Mir, 1986-2001, RIP

Mir is peace in Russian language. Mir also means world. Today Mir is dead. Buried in the South Pacific sea, about 2700 km south of New Zealand. Mir shed an alarming 100 tonnes of its weight between its space slot and the sea. Heavy metal body, precision scientific instruments, a Bible and a Quran and, yes, several fungi burnt as the space station entered the earth’s atmosphere. The re-entry temperate could have been 1500 degrees Celsius. Water boils at 100 degrees and steel melts at 800.

Mir was not some run of the mill spacecraft. It was very special, allowing first the Soviet cosmonauts and later US astronauts to train in weightless living. Those from 18 other countries too took a ride. During its 15 years of orbiting Mir set a number of records. It experienced 1600 breakdowns in the form of meteorite strikes, collapse of the solar panels and at least half a dozen total failures of the electric system. Space-walking cosmonauts fixing minor and major repair was a common sight. But Mir fought on.

Other records. Valeri Polyakov spent 437 days without a break circling the earth. Another Russian Sergei Avdeyev did 747 days but in three stints. US astronaut Shannon Lucid entered the record books as the first woman to stay aloft, very aloft, for 188 days. It is not known what they all feel about Mir, their vehicle to fame, lying inert at the bottom of the sea.

Mir had orbited the earth 86,220 times with a total crew strength of 106, 20 from 20 countries. Mir would see a sunrise or a sunset every 45 minutes as the crew switched on the solar panels. Otherwise from the three-paneled main capsule the space was vast darkness.

Russia reluctantly opted to violently retire Mir, once its password to space superiority, because of two reasons. It could not spare cash to keep it in space and also contribute to the 16-nation project to build an international space station. The more important factor was that Mir was meant to come down after five years and had become decrepit and euthenesia had become inevitable.

Mir is both peace and world. But more importantly, Mir is very much a memory. 

75 YEARS AGO

Farewell to Lord Reading

THE Council of State unanimously adopted, all members standing, the resolution of Sardar Charanjit Singh conveying to Their Excellencies Lord and Lady Reading on the eve of their departure the Council's grateful appreciation and heartfelt gratitude for all they had done for India. No less than 12 members, besides the President, spoke in eulogistic terms of His Excellency's statesmanlike handling of the situation in India; and observed that his Viceroyalty would be a landmark in India's history. Lady Reading's noble work in the cause of Indian womanhood was greatly appreciated by all sections of the House.

Schizophrenia “helped man’s ascent”

TINY mutations in our ancestors’ brain cells triggered mankind’s takeover of the world 100,000 years ago. But these changes also cursed our species to suffer from schizophrenia and depression.

This is the controversial claim by biochemist David Horrobin in a new book, The Madness of Adam & Eve: How schizophrenia shaped humanity, to be published by Bantam Press next month.

Horrobin — who is medical adviser to the Schizophrenia Association of Great Britain — argues that the changes that propelled humanity to its current global ascendancy were the same as those which have left us vulnerable to mental disease.

‘We became human because of small genetic changes in the chemistry of the fat in our skulls,’ he says. `These changes injected into our ancestors both the seeds of the illness of schizophrenia and the extraordinary minds which made us human.’

Horrobin’s theory also provides support for observations that have linked the most intelligent, imaginative members of our species with mental disease, in particular schizophrenia — a link supported by studies in Iceland, Finland, New York and London. These show that “families with schizophrenic members seem to have a greater variety of skills and abilities, and a greater likelihood of producing high achievers”, he states. As examples, Horrobin points out that Einstein had a son who was schizophrenic, as was James Joyce’s daughter and Carl Jung’s mother. Guardian

Animals also feel (the chill)

Endangered vultures and tigers are among the latest victims of a bout of very cold weather in Russia this winter that has left scores of people dead from hypothermia and overwhelmed energy systems.

The icy weather is threatening a rare species of vulture and has brought a surge in clashes between snow tigers desperate for food and humans, wildlife custodians said.

Rangers from Russia’s Tiger Department, a group assigned to protect endangered species, discovered a mass death of vultures in Russia’s Far East because of lack of food after thick snow covered the carrion the birds eat.

About 100 endangered black vultures, whose wingspan reaches 2 metres, have migrated into Russia from China looking for food, the Tiger Department said in a statement. AP

USA had hand in Laden’s creation
Gobind Thukral

FOR the past two years or more, Osama bin Laden has been in the news for one reason or the other. This Saudi Arabian oil-rich Sheikh, is now the leading militant figure in strife-torn and devastated Afghanistan. He is public enemy number one of the USA. At the same, he is a hero of the Islamic fundamentalist movement worldwide. But for the Americans he was not such a devil all these years. He was, in fact, a darling of the American Government and its spy network, the CIA.

Osama bin Laden left Saudi Arabia to fight the Soviet army in Afghanistan after Moscow’s military intervention in 1979. By 1984, he was running an organisation called Maktab al-Khindmar (MAK). It was a fledging organisation, not much known outside Afghanistan. He not only provided funds and arms but also Jehadi fighters from some Muslim countries. And, CIA operatives were in touch with him, using and supporting him. He was listed as an operative.

A senior and a respected American journalist, basing himself on unclassified CIA documents, has come out with some sensational disclosures. Michael Moran, International Editor of the major TV network MSNBC in an article “Bin Laden comes home to roost — His CIA ties are only the beginning of a woeful story” has this to say: “At the CIA, it happens often enough to have a code name: Blowback. Simply defined, this is the term that describes an agent, an operative or an operation that has turned on its creators. Osama bin Laden, our new public enemy No 1, is the personification of blowback. And the fact that he is viewed as a hero by millions in the Islamic world proves again the old adage: reap what you sow.”

Mr Moran has detailed Bin Laden’s beginnings. He says: “As his unclassified CIA biography states, Bin Laden left Saudi Arabia to fight the Soviet army in Afghanistan after Moscow’s invasion in 1979. By 1984, he was running a front organisation known as Maktab Al-Khindmar — the MAK — which funnelled money, arms and fighters from the outside world into the Afghan war.

“What the CIA bio conveniently fails to specify (in its unclassified form, at least) is that the MAK was nurtured by Pakistan’s state security services, the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI, the CIA’s primary conduit for conducting the covert war against Moscow’s occupation.”

The journalist maintained that by no means was Osama bin Laden, the leader of Afghanistan’s Mujahideen. His money gave him undue prominence in the Afghan struggle, but the vast majority of those who fought and died for Afghanistan’s freedom — like the Taliban regime that now holds sway over most of that tortured nation — were Afghan nationals.

Mr Moran said in his article; “Yet the CIA, concerned about the factionalism of Afghanistan made famous by Rudyard Kipling, found that Arab zealots who flocked to aid the Afghans were easier to “read” than the rivalry-ridden natives. While the Arab volunteers might well prove troublesome later, the agency reasoned, they at least were one-dimensionally anti-Soviet for now. So Bin Laden, along with a small group of Islamic militants from Egypt, Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria and Palestinian refugee camps all over the Middle East, become the “reliable” partners of the CIA in its war against Moscow.”

“Though he has come to represent all that went wrong with the CIA’s reckless strategy there, by the end of the Afghan war in 1989, Bin Laden was still viewed by the agency as something of a dilettante — a rich Saudi boy gone to war and welcomed home by the Saudi monarchy he so hated as something of a hero.”

The NBC report also said: “In fact, while he returned to his family’s construction business, Bin Laden had split from the relatively conventional MAK in 1988 and established a new group, al-Qaida, that included many of the more extreme MAK members he had met in Afghanistan.”

Most of these Afghan vets, or Afghanis, as the Arabs who fought there became known, turned up later behind violent Islamic movements around the world. Among them: the GIA in Algeria, thought responsible for the massacres of tens of thousands of civilians; Egypt’s Gamat Ismalia, which has massacred western tourists repeatedly in recent years; Saudi Arabia Shiite militants, responsible for the Khobar Towers and Riyadh bombings of 1996. To this day, those involved in the decision to give the Afghan rebels access to a fortune in covert funding and top-level combat weaponry continue to defend that move in the context of the cold war. “Senator Orrin Hatch, a senior Republican on the senate Intelligence Committee making those decisions, told another journalist Robert Windrem that he would make the same call again today even knowing what Bin Laden would do subsequently. “It was worth it,” he said. “Those were very important, pivotal matters that played an important role in the downfall of the Soviet Union,” he added.

This is a kind of tunnel vision. It should be pointed out that the evidence of Bin Laden’s connection to these activities is mostly classified, though its hard to imagine the CIA rushing to take credit for a Frankenstein’s monster like this. Mr Moran further maintained: “it is also worth acknowledging that it is easier now to oppose the CIA’s Afghan adventures than it was when Hatch and company made them in the mid-1980s. After all, in 1998 we now know that far larger elements than Afghanistan were corroding the Communist party’s grip on power in Moscow.”

He also said: “Even Hatch can’t be blamed completely. The CIA, ever mindful of the need to justify its mission, had conclusive evidence by the mid-1980s of the deepening crisis of infrastructure within the Soviet Union. The CIA, as its Deputy Director William Gates acknowledged under congressional questioning in 1992, had decided to keep that evidence from President Reagan and his top advisors and instead continued to grossly exaggerate Soviet military and technological capabilities in its annual Soviet Military Power report right up to 1990.”

Given that context, a decision was made to provide America’s potential enemies with the arms, money — and most importantly — the knowledge of how to run a war of attrition, That decision is coming home to roost. Clearly every super power has blood on its hands in blood soaked Afghanistan. Why curse Bin Laden alone.

Next to God — thy parents
J. L. Gupta

"WHOEVER makes his father's heart bleed, shall have a child that will revenge the deed" is an old saying. But is it really so? Recently, I heard a story that proves the truth of this statement.

Nath was born in a poor family. All of them led an austere life. But despite all the difficulties, he worked hard, pursued his goal, became a doctor, and married his classmate. Soon he was a father. He brought up his son with love and affection, and gave him good education. He called him Santoo. Ultimately, even the son got a good job with a handsome salary and was married. He had a son, and named him Surya. The family was comfortable and happy. The three generations were living under one roof.

Man and misery are twins. Good times never last too long. Nath got a stroke. He was almost totally incapacitated and was confined to the bed. He got bedsores and was placed at the mercy of an untrained servant by his only son whom he had brought up with great parental affection. He gave him food in an earthen pot, cleaned him once in a day, and bathed him once in a week. Santoo thought he was doing more than what was necessary.

But the little son Surya was not missing anything. He was keen and watchful, even unhappy at what his father was doing to his own father. He was waiting and wanting to do something despite his young years, as if looking for an opportunity to take his revenge.

One day, Surya got a brainwave. He picked up the pot and threw it hard on the floor with the food in it. Then standing near the broken pieces, he started shouting at his grandfather. "Why have you done this? Why have you broken the pot? Now which pot shall I use to feed my father? I may not get another one like this. And he may not like to lose this one."

The child's words were not lost. The father got the message, loud and clear. He knew what Surya, his only son, thought and was planning to do. He could see the coming events and visualise what was in store for him. He also realised what he ought to be doing. He was quick to make amends without any loss of time. And results followed almost immediately. The father's health began to improve. Good days seemed to be coming back. The family was happy again.

The story has a lesson, for all of us. Your son will do unto you as you do unto your parents. A man's deeds are like the waves of sound. These rebound to produce a melody or a jarring noise. The deeds are the seeds. Good deeds give good results. Bad deeds bring bad returns. Our deeds of today determine our fate for tomorrow. We reap only what we sow.

We live in a vast world. But primarily, only two kinds of people live in it. Those who are good to their parents and those who are not. It is the latter who need to look within and do some serious introspection. They are the ones who fight over food, money and property. Some of them can even be heard asking the father: "When will you go and leave me in peace?"

Painful to the parents. Isn't it?

Very often life gives a man more than what he deserves. Sometimes a person may be worth a billion. Yet he may be worthless. He may reach a high position, yet he may be very low. It is a man's deeds that should really determine his station in life. He is just as good as his actions. The purse is no index of a person or his personality.

Today, man is driven by a desire to achieve, to fulfil his ambition. Thus, he is all the time trying to please everyone — colleagues, God, friends, even his foes. But an effort to please the whole world can only be a formula for failure. It can never guarantee happiness. Nor can it be a source of lasting joy. However, an attempt to please the parents can never go unrewarded. It is the key to happiness.

"Next to God, thy parents", says the poet, not without reason. The man who has brought me to this world is a reality. He is truly more than my God on earth. The mother who gives the child a part of her blood and flesh is not a mere person. She is much more — God's proxy on earth. The parents deserve all that any man can offer, his attention, his body, his head, heart, mind, money, time and patience, in the same measure as he got these when he was a tiny toddler.

Unfortunately, today the parents are mostly neglected. They are the victims of their own children. They suffer at the hands of their own dear and near ones. Passionate love for the parents is becoming a thing of the past. Property is getting precedence over parents. 'Sarwan' is a forgotten name, assigned to the archives. Why? A change of values? Effect of the modern system of education? Probably, a bit of both.

Man has already reached the moon, even Mars. But despite all the progress, the world that we live in is a callous, cold and cruel place. Here, the coin gets the greatest care. Certainly, more than a mere man. And wealth is valued more than virtue. We face degradation of values. Consequently, it is no surprise that evil, vice and wickedness prevail. In this environment of materialistic and worldly pursuits, man's love for the mother and morality are the first casualty and the last consideration.

Let us not forget that the chairs around a table usually come by rotation. The son of today shall be a father tomorrow. He shall get only what he gives. God is a good accountant. He does not make many mistakes. We need to remember that, all the time.

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

Know that the Prophet built an external Kaba

Of clay and water,

And an inner Kaba in life and heart.

The outer Kaba was built by Abraham,

The Holy;

The inner is sanctified by the glory of God Himself.

— Ansari, Mystic of Herat. From S.J. Singh, The Persian Mystics

*****

Spiritual life does not consist of loud prayers and frenzied dancing they only upset the peace and quiet of early morning.

Walking on water is not spirituality nor is praying on mats suspended in mid air.

They alone may be called mystics, O Bahu, who have enshrined the Friend in their hearts.

*****

God does not live in the highest heaven, nor can be found in the holy shrine of Ka'ba.

No one ever ever found him through learning or by knowing the scriptures....

*****

Formal prayer and prostration are feeble pursuits.

Fasting has little merit, other than to save food.

Only they go on pilgrimages to Mecca who are not wanted at home.

Only they pray loudly, professing their devotion, who are deceptive of intent.

But those who have found God's name in their hearts care not to fast nor prostrate themselves in formal prayer.

— Abyaat-e-Baahoo, 177,178,183. From J.S. Puri and K.S. Khak, Sultan Bahu

*****

Your mind is Mathura,

Dwarka is your heart,

Your body is Kashi;

The true temple

Is at the 10th door,

Therein realise the

Light of God.

— Kabir Granthavali, p.35:10