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June 12, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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It is Hurriyat’s turn now Grain glut: a new
hope Good for Indian
cricket |
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China, Nepal and Pakistan
Monkey-times
PM’s post-surgery problems
What are babies for? To give & take love
Was Lawrence of Arabia married?
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It is Hurriyat’s turn now IN terms of setting the popular mood, the Hurriyat’s decision to suspend agitations is a pale imitation of the euphoria-creating ceasefire offer by Hizb-ul-Mujahideen two years ago. The Hizb is an effective militant organisation under a unified command and consisting of Kashmiri fighters. The other organisations have foreign roots. Also, Hurriyat’s influence among the people is untested and the sheer number of parties (23) is not relevant. Yet the temporary end to strikes and bandhs has a symbolic significance. Hurriyat cannot cut itself from the peace process initiated by Prime Minister Vajpayee’s invitation to General Musharraf for talks. After all, it has been demanding just such a course with itself as the third party. Hurriyat has to show to the people that it is part of the process, if not of talks. Calling off all forms of stir is its way of claiming it. It has also quietly dropped the idea of seeking an appointment with the visiting military leader. It would be content to present a memorandum listing whatever it wants to list. It is ironical that in the tortuous course of the decade-old Kashmir problem the Hurriyat has not been able to carve out a role for itself. The silent rebuke it earned from Mr K.C. Pant says it all. Equally meaningful is the admission of Mr Abdul Mujib Dar, second in command of Hazb-ul-Mujahideen, that violence will end once there is progress in Indo-Pak talks. It is noteworthy that he does not link peace with a final solution. There has been an interesting sideshow. An American newspaper, whose name confuses it with the more prestigious Washington Post, has said that the forthcoming talks will revolve around greater autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir. At first many thought that the report was based on an interview with Pakistan leaders. Top military spokesman, Major-Gen Rashid Qureshi, felt that it was based on the US State Department briefing. But he did not reject the autonomy issue being the core of the summit talks. That is interesting. Now it is known that the USA had a big role in bringing about the summit meeting and in persuading the Pakistan leader to send out peace signals. It is only natural that the USA is monitoring the summit agenda and somebody leaked out the various points under examination. The autonomy question suggests itself automatically. It is already under discussion. The Indian government is not averse to devolving more powers to states. Pakistan can claim that it has bought greater freedom for the “Kashmiri brethren”. The local leaders cannot reject it. The only problem is how to approach it. |
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Grain glut: a new hope IF the FCI godowns are overflowing with food stocks, the Centre itself is partly responsible. While presenting the 2000-01 Union Budget, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha announced an increase in the foodgrain prices issued to the above poverty line (APL) population through the public distribution system. This was aimed to achieve the twin objective of rooting out those above the poverty line from the PDS and also help the Food Corporation of India meet its economic cost of foodgrain procurement. The latest available data indicate that the move has back-fired. The price hike has resulted in a sharply lower offtake of foodgrains from the FCI godowns. This has put an additional burden on the FCI in the form of maintaining the excess unsold inventory. About 60 per cent of the FCI stocks of wheat and rice was consumed by the above poverty line segment till 1999-2000. The price hike has left the FCI handling at least eight million tonnes of additional foodgrains which normally would have been consumed by APL families. Much to the FCI relief, however, the offtake for the BPL (below poverty line) population has risen, though not to the expected level. This development has given a jolt to the well-developed PDS infrastructure in states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal where APL families have stopped availing themselves of the PDS facility since there is not much difference in the prices of foodgrains available in the open market and those at the PDS. On the other hand, the states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where the bulk of the poor reside, have failed to strengthen their PDS networks to make foodgrains available to the largest possible section of the poor. What is the way out of this situation, often dubbed the "problem of the plenty?" Common sense dictates that to spur demand and lure APL families back to the PDS foodgrains, the prices have to be slashed and kept at a level which is sufficiently below that in the open market. Since the handling cost of foodgrains is very high in this country, the FCI and state procurement agencies cannot expect to sell the stocks at their "economic cost" prices. Because of poor quality of foodgrains procured under political compulsions and the rejection of Indian stocks on two
occasions by Iraq, exports are difficult, if not impossible, at least in the current year. If "distress sale" has to be resorted to, why not do it within the country first. The "food-for-work" programme needs to be implemented at the national level. Roller floor mills' demand can be tapped by reasonably pricing the foodgrains. According to newspaper reports, the Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies has floated a proposal to reduce foodgrain prices by 75 per cent for the APL segment and by 45 per cent for the BPL of the economic cost of the stocks. This is in line with the recommendations of the high-level committee set up to formulate a long-term grain policy. The proposal, delayed but spells hope nevertheless, is subject to clearance by the Finance Ministry. The country's foodgrain stocks have already reached the 60 million tonne level. How to store the rice stocks to be procured in October is a serious enough problem that should prompt Finance Ministry mandarins to take a quick decision. |
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Good for Indian cricket WHEN was the last time India won three cricket Test matches in a row? It is a dream run for the current team under Saurav Ganguly. Cricket buffs may have to pinch themselves to realise that what they saw in Kolkata was not a freak. Neither was the victory in Chennai nor the one in Bulawayo on Sunday. Two Test wins on the trot at home against Australia, the best team today, was not a fluke. Victory in the Bulawayo Test too was the result of an amazing transformation the entire team has undergone ever since the appointment of John Wright as the national coach. Of course the Indians still have a lot of work to do to catch up with the best teams in contemporary cricket. However, the refreshing change in their attitude to spending time at the nets, working on fitness and playing as a team does suggest that the journey to the top may no longer be an impossible mission. The amazing fact about Indian cricket is that at no point of time in the history of the game was it without the services of players of international calibre. On paper the team which had Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Bhagwat Chandrashekhar, E. A. S. Prasanna, Bishen Singh Bedi, Dilip Vengsarkar and Syed Kirmani playing together would appear more formidable than the one which under Ganguly erased a 15-year-old embarrassing record of not being able to win Test matches outside the sub-continent. But the visible improvement in the fitness and fielding skills of most team members today has given to them attributes apart from talent, which make a vital difference between victory and defeat in contemporary cricket. However, the dream run has just begun. Ganguly and his boys still have a lot of hard work to do for making winning every Test match, at home or away, a habit. Wright would without doubt, apart from making every team member run that extra length for remaining fit, be warning them about the danger of becoming complacent. In the past this weakness had seen India snatch defeat from the jaws of victory on countless occasions. Having broken a 15-year-old jinx of not being able to win abroad India's next target logically should be to clinch the series. It would get a chance to show, when it meets Zimbabwe in the second Test a couple of days from now, that the Bulawayo victory was not a flash in the pan but the result of collective and sustained hard work. |
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China, Nepal and Pakistan WANTED: A Perry Mason or a Fredrick Forsythe! Sooner the better. To unravel the latest security environment in India’s neighbourhood. Vitiated by the monstrous “massacre” of Nepal’s King Birendra, his Queen Aishwarya and seven others of the royalty, reportedly by a drunk and “trigger happy” Crown Prince: Dipendra. And, muddied further by China increasingly spreading its “super power” tentacles in the region — albeit silently and stealthily. Please contact the Government of India, New Delhi. No, this is not a write-up on the latest pulp fiction by the ace detective or the expert on “Dogs of War”, but the harsh reality of the worsening security scenario in South-East Asia. No doubt, the royal slaughter in the world’s only Hindu kingdom in the Himalayas has made the whole world sit up and rub its eyes in disbelief. True, that half-baked theories are running riot about the shooting spree in “God’s own country.” Also correct that it would be impossible to “jump the gun”, so to say, in apportioning blame till the investigations are completed. Be it a devilish conspiracy or a tragedy of circumstances, New Delhi has lost a good and sincere friend in the deceased King. More so as the new King Gyanendra, 54, the younger brother of the late King, is both an “unknown” and “untested” quantity, as a foreign expert acknowledged. Reports aver that the Cambridge-educated Gyanendra enjoys a reputation of being an academician with eclectic tastes. But at the same time, his communist leanings are also no secret. Unfortunately for New Delhi, Nepal’s democracy is still in a nascent stage and not very successful so far. Wherein the Maoists party has lately emerged as a strong political force to reckon with. With a King sympathetic to the communists cause, they may exploit the people’s grief over the death of King Birendra and try to weaken the democratic system. New Delhi would then have no choice but to review its relations with Nepal in the geo-political and economic context. Asserted Prof Kalim Bahadur of JNU’s School of International Studies: “Instability in Nepal is definitely a matter of concern for India.” More so in the context of the Pakistan and China factor. As matters stand, Pakistan’s ISI has not only gained a strong foothold in Nepal, it is also using diplomatic channels to sneak ISI agents and RDX into Nepal for deployment in India. Remember, a Pakistani diplomat was expelled from Kathmandu only last month. Though the China factor in India’s security perception is not so pronounced, it cannot and must not be ignored. In this context, it is pertinent to recall the divergence in the views of India and Nepal on China, specially in the case of Tibet and Taiwan. While Kathmandu accepts both as an inalienable part of China, New Delhi sympathises with the Tibetans and has provided the Dalai Lama a haven from where he can peacefully carry out his crusade against China. Recall, Kathmandu purchased anti-aircraft guns from China in 1988-89 without informing New Delhi as per the Indo-Nepal Treaty. This was perceived by South Block as directed solely against India. No doubt, Sino-Indian relations are at present good. But in international relations, there are no permanent friends or foes. The Defence Ministry in its latest annual report has impliedly shown concern about China’s rapid modernisation of its armed forces and the political and military bridges it has been busy building with a large number of countries in our neighbourhood. It has specially noted that every major Indian city is today within the reach of Chinese missiles. Reportedly, this capability is being further augmented in the Indian Ocean. The report adds: “The asymmetry in terms of nuclear forces is strongly in favour of China which, additionally, has helped Pakistan to build missile and nuclear capability.” Beijing’s thinking is reflected in two reports. One, on the “US Military’s Soft Ribs and Strategic Weakness”, prepared, by the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA) in October last and: The other, a white paper on national defence in November last. The PLA advocates the launch of an “electronic Pearl Harbour blitzkrieg” by using advanced cyber warfare and electro-magnetic interference technologies to cripple US military equipment in Asia. The white paper calls for an aggressive expansion of China’s hegemony in Asia. It suggests that China could subjugate east, South Asian and Indian Ocean rim countries in a bloodless “coup” — using “non-lethal weapons” such as massive electronic equipment and computer logic bombs and viruses to sabotage their decision-making processes. Moreover, China’s emphasis is shifting from land-based to naval and air-based armed forces. Beijing’s defence budget marks a 35 per cent increase for the navy and 29 per cent for the air force. Both are all set to deploy anti-submarine and anti-warfare platforms, latest short and long range air-to-air weapons, airborne warning and control system (AWACS) and air refuelable aircraft etc. The PLA advocates the deployment of at least two aircraft carriers and five submarines in its naval force in the Indian Ocean by 2005, supported by oil tankers, AWACS and refuelling aircraft. Already, it has set up a blue water base in Great Coco Island, just a few miles from the Andaman Islands. This base has an extensive signals intelligence facility, which will enable it to monitor Indian missile launches from Balasore and rocket and satellite launches from Sriharikota. Not only that. The Navy has purchased four kilo-class Russian diesel-electric attack submarines, having advanced quieting technologies, sophisticated sonars and other sensors, and wake-homing and wire-guided torpedoes. China is reported to have also bought 40 Shkval torpedoes from Russia and is negotiating the purchase of 3M54 Club ASCMs (anti-ship cruise missiles). It is set to buy two platforms-guided missile destroyers. It has already purchased 40 Su-30 fighter aircraft, which match the capability and performance of the US F-15E Strike Eagle, equipped with air-fuelling capability. Beijing also plans to modernise its submarine force. It has associated with Myanmar naval bases at Munaung, Hainggyi, Katan Island and Zadaikyi Island. A direct highway and waterway linking China’s southern Yunan province to the Myanmar port of Yangon, is already being constructed. This will provide direct access to the Bay of Bengal. More worrisome is China’s close involvement in the modernisation of the Gwadar deep sea port in Pakistan. So far Beijing’s track record on this score is disturbing. It merrily continues arming traditional friend Islamabad and makes no bone. It has made it unequivocally clear that it will not sacrifice its all-weather friendship with Islamabad to improve and develop Sino-Indian ties. In fact, its policy is to further consolidate and develop its relations with Islamabad. Beijing believes that development and improvement of Sino-Indian relations will not have any adverse impact on the friendly relations and cooperation between China and Pakistan and vice versa. Beijing also continues full steam ahead to obliquely accuse New Delhi of colluding with the Dalai Lama to split Tibet. It has stationed strategic nuclear missiles in Tibet, pointing towards India. Besides, it is no secret that Chinese arms are freely available in Bangladesh. Coupled with growing Dhaka-Beijing ties, New Delhi needs to be on its guard, specially after last month’s clashes on the Indo-Bangladesh border between the BSF and Bangladesh Rifles, which needs a rethink on Indo-Bangladesh ties. In sum, all these developments are a significant pointer to Beijing casting a security net around us. Fifty years down the line, Beijing seems not to change the way it looks at New Delhi. The decades-old mistrust, anchored in a volatile past and a present conditioned by India’s nuclear tests of May, 1998, has not evaporated. Beijing has been one of the most stringent critics of Pokhran-II, viewing it as India’s grand “hegemonistic” and “expansionist” design. In geo-strategic terms, the Chinese threat looms large on the horizon. Evidently, New Delhi is so caught up in its Pak-centric policy that it fails to look at the larger picture. Pakistan may be a threat in the short term. But it is China that India needs to worry about in the long term. We continue to be reactive rather than be proactive. We need a policy to deal with the emerging China-Pakistan axis. More than anything else, China and India need to build mutual respect when a sea-change is sweeping over international relations. New Delhi cannot afford to take any chance with what constitutes a threat to India’s security. Undoubtedly, both India and China have a stake in peace and stability. Nonetheless, India needs to be careful and circumspect before it embraces Beijing. It needs to remove its blinkers and face ground realities. As Woodrow Wilson once said: “Only a peace among equals can last.”
INFA |
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Monkey-times ‘‘MALGUDI-MAN has died,” I informed my wife in a matter-of-fact tone. I did not realise that my kids were around. Death scares them. My five-year-old son jumped up and asked, “Has one monkey-man died?” I was taken aback. I thought he was trivialising the tragedy. But no, my wife told me that he is too small to trivialise death, and that in moments of fear anyone can mistake Malgudi-man for monkey man. She told me that a day earlier when the vegetable hawker came, she unconsciously addressed him as mango-man. The son mistook mango-man for the monkey-man. Since then he is in a state of shock, and today when the hawker shouted mangoes, he ran into the store room for protection. She advised me not to use expressions having the sound “m” in the beginning. I promised I shall not use “Malgudi” henceforth, but I wondered how can I stop calling mangoes, mangoes? “Should we coin a new term for ‘mangoes’ for the time being to restore confidence of the scared son in mangoes?” I asked her. She liked the idea, and suggested a couple of alternative names, almost without a pause — vaiko, stalin, antony, etc. What else can one expect from a lecturer in political science? She was discreet enough to avoid moopnar, mohanty, mamata, etc. from her list of alternatives. I was sufficiently amused, but still asked her as to why should she bring unsavoury politicians in sweet “mango matters”. She cut me short, and reminded me my violation of the law of not using an alliterative word “m” with sound. I immediately corrected myself, and said, “Okay, let it be vaiko-issue.” For the last two days we are addressing mango as “vaiko”, and believe me mango does not taste as sweet. The name changed, even though temporarily it changed the taste also. After consuming a couple of “vaikos” (sounds almost cannibalistic), when I went to the wash-basin to clean my face and hands, I did not find the soap. I shouted, “Madhumadam, where is the soap?” I do not know whether this time my son was disturbed by the “m” expression or not, but my wife was visibly upset once again for my second infringement of the mutually agreed law within less than 24 hours. I did not take her objection lamely this time, after all, how can I address her otherwise. I told her that she was stretching the issue too far. She once again calmed me down, and asked me to change her name. She added, “Many husbands change the name of their wives after marriage. It has been my deep desire to see you addressing me with some soft sweet name like Jayalalitha, Jayanti or Jaya, etc. I would be thankful to the monkey-man if he becomes the cause of my re-naming. I shall have a second birth!” I told her that nothing is sweeter than Madhu, and asked her why should she insist on the name of tainted politicians in matters as sweet as mango and madhu? Her answer was crisp: “In monkey-times, even politicians get acceptance. You may dislike Jayalalitha, but look at the thumping majority she secured! I was speechless. The monkey-man had made inroads into the very psyche of my wife, leave aside the kids. Instead of using names like Jaya or Jayanti, for the time being, I am just using “Ji” to address her. She is happily surprised by the sudden respectability she has gained in monkey-times. The monkey-mania reached its limits last night when I was all set to watch my favourite quiz programme Master Mind. My wife once again intervened, and reminded me to keep away from “m”s in all possible manners. In sheer disgust I switched off the TV, and told her that she too would not watch “Kyonki Saas bhi Kabhi Bahu thi”. To my surprise, with TV shut off, the monkey-man too went out of sight, and very soon out of mind as well. But in the process poor Malgudi-man, with whatever little footage he would have received in the media, too was blocked out. You cannot have the monkey-man and the Malgudi-man at the same time. |
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PM’s post-surgery problems THE political weather has undergone significant changes during the eight months since Atal Behari Vajpayee had his first knee surgery at Breach Candy Hospital. Now the second one is also performed in the same hospital in style with a mobile PMO in tow and the right media build-up complete with a special website. With the normal post-operative care and the scheduled physiotherapy, the rule from the hospital ward may continue almost until the month-end. In the present context, all this is not without any message. In October last, he had entered the hospital as an all-powerful leader who had successfully warded off all challenges to him whether from the allies, the party or the parivar. But soon after the surgery, he had suffered a series of setbacks which have left him considerably weaker. He had to repeatedly compromise on what he thought prime ministerial powers. He had to shunt out his trusted aides under duress. The powers of his most dependable aide were cut short to please his party and parivar detractors. Later under a forced compromise, he had to devolve much of control he had earlier exercised on party matters to others. After the Tehelka and poll debacle, L.K. Advani became more active both in the party and on crucial government decisions. Unlike the skyjack fiasco during which the country’s Home Minister was totally kept out, now he is at the centrestage of the Kashmir strategy. Thus it was expected that in the changed scenario, Advani would be assigned the crucial role when the Prime Minister recuperates in the hospital. But Vajpayee seems to reassert that he would not like any senior colleague to share his prime ministerial responsibilities — whether on holiday or the operation table. The absence of a well-structured institutional hierarchy has been the bane of the Vajpayee establishment. The forcible pruning of the PMO has begun playing havoc with ministerial coordination. Ministers talk and act at cross-purposes. At the PMO, there is a tendency to play safe lest there would be no accusation of lobbying and favouritism. Decisions await a number of crucial issues in the coming three months. It is time to work out details on the talks with Musharraf. Details will have to be worked out on the monsoon session next month (the date of which was already informally extended from July 16 to 23 on Vajpayee’s request), the UP elections and the long promised Cabinet reshuffle. All these domestic issues are inextricably inter-connected. For weak governments that are constantly under pressures from the partymen and allies, reshuffle means opening a pandora’s box of troubles. Rajiv Gandhi had effected one reshuffle every two months. He had enjoyed the authority to do so. Since then every coalition has shied away from ministerial reshuffles. Vajpayee’s is the worst predicament in coalition history — worse than the Janata coalitions. Every action will have a severe counter action and each of them can hurt the government. Take the case of George Fernandes. Every one knows a reshuffle without him will be inviting troubles. Humiliated and without work, his party has already demanded his immediate reinstation in the Defence Ministry. The Samata camp sees red in the speed with which Jaswant Singh is signing orders and agreements on defence. It is even alleged that he had reversed his predecessor’s proposals, and in some cases, forced a fiat accompli so that Fernandes will be compelled to follow the decisions if he returns. Jaswant Singh has even taken the credit for the painstaking negotiations done by Fernandes on issues like new defence accords with Russia. Samata argues that barring urgent cases, the stop-gap minister could have waited for the return on the ‘real’ minister. Vajpayee is the one genuinely keen on the early return of Fernandes. This is for two reasons. First, he thinks Fernandes is a unifying force and has tremendous capacity to troubleshoot and bring round recalcitrant allies. Second, he is a counter-balance to those seeking special status within the Cabinet and the NDA. After the exit of Fernandes, Vajpayee has been forced to depend more on those like L.K. Advani and Jaswant Singh. The two leaders firmly believe that Vajpayee’s own integrity will suffer if he succumbs to the pressures to include Fernandes in the ministry before he is cleared by the Tehelka panel. The commission will begin day-to-day hearing only from July 2. This means it will be left with just 21 days to complete the work before the monsoon session begins on July 23. Thus Vajpayee will have either to reshuffle without Fernandes or put off the move altogether which itself will upset the calculations of other power aspirants. Then there is the Mamata Banerjee problem. She had quit on the Tehelka bribery issue. If she or other Trinamul nominees were allowed in, it apparently means she has relented on the charges against Fernandes as well. This is the rationale for the simultaneous entry of both. Apart from this, BJP finds itself sharply divided on the Mamata issue. The state BJP leaders are against her entry as she had betrayed the NDA at the crucial moment. The NDA could do without her at the Centre. She will only prove to be a frequent “nuisance” even if she gives a registered affidavit. The state leaders thus want the BJP to split the Trinamul and accommodate the loyal MPs as ministers. The UP elections will also have linkages with the central reshuffle. A badly shaken BJP is desperately wooing Ajit Singh for an alliance in western UP. By this the BJP hopes to get a dozen MLAs. As price, Ajit Singh is asking for the Agriculture Ministry at the Centre, formation of a separate Harit Pradesh carved out of UP and a reasonable share of seats in the election. However, Om Prakash Chautala, an NDA ally, strongly objects to the entry of his rival Jat. Chandrababu Naidu too has warned against the formation of new states. Just in UP, the Loktantrik Congress has threatened to walk out if Ajit Singh is brought in. The LCP may or may not finally relent. But Vajpayee will have to take extra care not to push Ajit Singh into the Congress side in the wake of this desperately fought election in UP. A controversy is also raging about the ministership for the state President Kalraj Mishra. There are also serious pressures from other allies for more berths and better portfolios. Then Vajpayee has to pacify the claimants from his own party. Two days before he entered the hospital, Vajpayee had to face the ire of his ministers of state who have been neglected by the senior ministers. Some of them have alleged that they were totally “jobless”. The NDA’s poor performance in the recent elections and erosion of Vajpayee’s authority will make the exercise all the more tough. The widening hiatus is reflected in the policy clashes between the state units and the BJP high command. After the Manipur fiasco, Vajpayee himself had to force the Tamil Nadu unit to drop its demand for the sack of the Governor. The Andhra BJP unit is still resisting the Centre’s order to shut up on Telengana. The Haryana leaders resent the approach to Chautala. But one solace for Vajpayee is that as it is he does not face any number problem in the Lok Sabha. |
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What are babies for? To give & take love ONCE, children were a necessity: they continued the line, acted as guardians of our values, looked after us in old age and followed faithfully in father’s footsteps. Now, they’re no earthly use to anyone. It’s likely they’ll junk dad for a stepfather, flunk university, turn into an eco-warrior and come out of the closet long enough to hack down the family tree. No, kids ain’t what they used to be. Small wonder Laurie Taylor and his son Matthew, a father of two, are in a state. In this month’s issue of the UK political magazine Prospect, they pose the startlingly utilitarian question: ``What use are children?’’ The Taylors, both academics, pundits and well-known media personalities in the UK, provide their own, very middle-class set of answers as to why people become parents. Apart, that is, from that initial ``miracle of birth’’ (which, for many, is the only reason required). The Taylors argue that, since descendants don’t deliver as they once did and ``the capacity to pass on one’s name, position and occupation has been subverted in the modern world’’, there is less incentive than ever to become a parent. At the same time, adults have grown too self-absorbed and too aware of the cost of school fees and au pairs to lay out the expenditure that children require. We have fallen prey, say the Taylors, to ``the central tenet of liberal modernity: individual self-fulfilment’’. While having children is the ‘‘wellspring of compassion, competence and commitment’’, they say, opting for parenthood is now ‘‘counterintuitive’’. Today’s workplace is far from flexible, so some women make the selfless ``choice’’ not to have children, while others have the leeway to admit that they never wanted kids anyway. But nowadays, too, while we are repeatedly reminded of the (grim) consequences of child-rearing, the often positive practice rarely has a press. Instead, children are portrayed as the grit in life’s oyster and a continual string of problems. They eat up time, upset schedules, deliver hammer blows to marriages, set back careers, turn us into our nasty mothers, cause postnatal depression and induce permanent exhaustion. So why does anyone bother? Ironically, for largely the same reasons — given a more optimistic twist. We conceive to give to our child what was denied to us; to salvage a relationship; to prove we can do at least one thing well; to live life vicariously; to glimpse that golden childhood of mythology; to relieve the boredom; to avoid a baby-boomer version of Groundhog Day — doing the same as non-parents at 50 what we did at 30, only slower; to prove that the womb works (after all, that’s what authenticates a ‘‘real’’ woman); to seek ‘‘fulfilment’’; to feel both grown-up and wanted; and to experience what the poet Adrienne Rich calls ‘‘the suffering of ambivalence: the murderous alternation between bitter resentment . . . and blissful gratification and tenderness’’. What are babies for? Each person has his or her own answer — and that answer may change as the child grows, the adult flourishes or flounders in a sea of mistakes, and society adapts (or does not) to a better work-life balance. Ideally, what babies are for is to generate and receive that most precious commodity of all: unconditional love. The Guardian |
D.C.’s Warning IT is understood that a few days ago, the Deputy Commissioner of Lahore summoned the editors of certain newspapers of Lahore and warned them not to publish articles which may create communal trouble. It is also stated that they were further told that orders had been received from the Government of India to prosecute editors of such papers, but the Governor of the Punjab had given them another opportunity to cooperate with Government in maintaining peace. If they did not do so, legal action would be taken against them — Bandematram. |
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Was Lawrence of Arabia married? LAWERENCE of Arabia, the ascetic soldier and writer often described as a homosexual, apparently was actually married, according to a published report. The Observer noted on Sunday said the news comes as a surprise to Lawrence scholars. He is thought to have shunned close human relationships and was not the sort of man to have had a whirlwind romance. But Tariq Ali, the leftwing novelist, has spoken to friends of Lawrence’s brother-in-law who gave him details of how he had married a young Muslim girl while stationed in what was northwest India in 1928. Lawrence, whose fame was confirmed by David Lean’s 1962 film starring Peter O’Toole, would then have been 40. The marriage was short-lived but, says Ali, who is a specialist on South-Asian affairs, it “definitely happened”. Ali was told of the marriage by a former senior civil servant from Kashmir which was part of the British Raj until Independence in 1947. The civil servant said he was told by Benji Nedous, a brother of the bride. “It was kept fairly secret,” Ali told The Observer. “While Lawrence was stationed in India he used to go to the city of Lahore like many other officers, to relax. It was known as the Paris of the East and the Nedous family had a hotel there that was popular with soldiers wanting to rest and drink and so on, and that is where he met her.” Ali said that he was told that the woman, called Akbar Jehan, was from a good family and was a Shia Muslim. “It was the Shia practice to have short-term marriages that are very quick to arrange and dissolve. The exact details are a mystery and very few people knew about it, but I am completely convinced that Lawrence married the girl.”
DPA
Eunuchs’ convention begins The new found identity of eunuchs in the political field acting as an impetus, a decision on their strategy for the next assembly election in Uttar Pradesh is high on the agenda at the national convention of eunuchs which began on Sunday at Rath town in Hamirpur district, near here. The convention of the “Kinnar Samaj” (eunuch community) to be concluded on June 29 next will be attended by eunuchs from all over the country, including Shabnam Mausi, who was recently elected to the MP Assembly from Sohagpur, Asha Devi, Gorakhpur Mayor, and many who won the panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh, convention convener Naseem said. Religious ceremonies, dance and music programmes will also mark the convention. “Such a gathering was organised about 700 years ago by the guru of Kinnar Samaj Sundar Bai and Rath is her sacred seat,” the convener said. Over 150 eunuchs from different parts of UP and also from Gujarat have already reached the venue. Common man and media representatives will not be allowed except in some functions, Naseem said, adding that “we want privacy.” Political agenda will be taken up after June 17 when Shabnam Mausi and Asha Devi, the two key figures of the community in the political arena will reach the town. The convention will also deliberate on various problems confronted by the eunuch community, Naseem said.
PTI
Snacks, alcohol up calorie count Regular marijuana smokers consume up to 40 per cent more calories than non-users — mostly through alcohol, salty snacks and cheese — and are more likely to smoke tobacco cigarettes, researchers said on Monday. But they are also no more likely to be overweight than non-users. The study examined the dietary and nutritional habits of about 11,000 marijuana users and non-users between the ages of 20 and 59, and appears in the journal Public Health Nutrition. The data came from a survey done by the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention between 1988 and 1994. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the USA. About one-third of Americans over the age of 12 have reported smoking marijuana at some time in their lives, and 8 per cent currently use the drug. The study found that regular marijuana users consumed 24 to 40 per cent more calories than non-users. Marijuana users consumed more beer, liquor, soda, pork, cheese and salted snacks such as potato chips, and less diet soda and fruit than non-users.
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A hypocrite who disguises his true character and wishes to pass for an honest man is comparable to strong vinegar which one tries to make sweet by mixing with it camphor, musk and sandal. The attempt may well be made, but the vinegar will never altogether lose its sourness. **** To show friendship for a man in his presence and to libel him in his absence is to mix nectar with poison. **** A mirror is of no use to a blind man; In the same way knowledge is of no use to a man without discernment. **** Take care - To spend nothing without hope of profit; To undertake nothing without reflection; To begin no quarrel without good cause. He who evades these golden rules courts his own ruin. **** Never make known one's condition, one's wealth, one's mistress, one's mantrams, one's remedies, the place where one has hidden his money, the good works which one does, the insults which one has received, or the debts which one has contracted. **** Let us realise well that death watches like a tiger to seize us unawares; sickness pursues us like a relentless enemy; earthly joys are like a leaky vessel from which water trickles ceaselessly until it is empty. —Niti Shlokas ***** To comprehend all is to pardon all. —A French proverb ***** Live by admiration rather than by disgust. Judge people by their best, not by their worst. —Henry Van Dyke |
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