The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

PERSPECTIVE

Black Tuesday: We need to combat terrorism

The recent terrorist attacks and the horrendous loss of innocent lives that followed the destruction of the World Trade Centre in New York and the damage caused to the Pentagon in Washington have evoked an outcry of revulsion and condemnation from all leaders and right-thinking people the world over. The Tribune’s correspondents sought the opinions (given below) from some eminent people in political, social and intellectual spheres in Delhi.

The attacks on America on Tuesday was an attack of terrorism against the entire humanity and all peace loving countries should jointly fight this menace of terrorism. Terrorism doesn’t see boundaries and the world democracies should jointly act against the terrorist groups and the countries giving shelter to them.

Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, Union Minister, Civil Aviation.

The terrorist attacks in New York and Washington are very sad and unfortunate. It is quite likely that Pakistan is at the centre of the confrontation and this should go down as a lesson to Pakistan to change its approach. Henceforth, Pakistan should start calling terrorists as terrorists and not as jehadis as they have so far been doing. What is happening in Kashmir and Afghanistan goes against the fundamental tenets of Islam. The very meaning of the word Islam is `peace’ and there is no scope for compulsion in Islam.

Dr S A Hasan, Associate Professor, Persian Studies, JNU.

We condemn the barbaric attack on the US ... what has happened is indeed very shocking. However, we are now reminded of the time when our forces were being attacked in Kargil and also when the Kandahar hijacking took place. At that time, the USA kept telling us to hold dialogues with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Why are they shying away from what they preached?

Now that the US has realised the threat that Muslim fundamentalism poses, it should make sure that each country joins forces against the so-called jehadis. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) should contemplate using nuclear arms against Afghanistan or a combined army should land in Kabul, capture the territory, divide it like East Germany and West Germany and appoint someone as the ruler.

Yuvraj Raina, coordinator, Panun Kashmir.

I strongly condemn the terrorist attack on Washington and New York. I offer condolences to the kin of those killed and express my deepest sympathies with those injured. It is a tragedy of great magnitude. This also reveals the failure of the richest and most powerful country in protecting its own people. The USA should review its conduct and policies about the suppressed people of the world, at least the policies which invite hostility. He warned that retaliatory action, as contemplated by the USA, without full investigation of facts, may endanger world peace.

Syed Asad Madani, president, Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind.

It's a terrorist attack on America. It cannot be justified on the basis of only statements. It should be fought collectively by the people of the world. Great powers have to pay a price sometimes for their greatness. America today attracts much anger and hatred because of its involvement in the affairs of many nations. It is in the interest of America to introspect and re-orient its course to reduce the anger and hatred.

Syed Shahabuddin, president, All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat.

I suspect the involvement of a country not an individual in the terrorist attack on America. The attack could have been carried out with connivance of airlines officials whose aeroplanes were hijacked and used to attack US. It could be a result of the hostile policies of US towards suppressed people. The US should think about it.

Mufti Mukarram, Imam of Shahi Jama Masjid, Fatehpuri.

The attack is not only against the United States but the entire world. However, had the United States taken strong action against Osama bin Laden after the Sudanese bombings, perhaps this tragedy could have been avoided.

Terrorism in all its manifestations needs to be condemned universally. We have seen the fallout of terrorism both in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir and know the pain caused to the families of the victims.

The United States should also be careful of Pakistan and should not rely on it as it is well known that it’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has been actively involved in abetting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and in Afghanistan. I welcome India’s gesture of extending its all-out support to the United States but we should reconsider having our armed forces involved in any kind of conflict at this stage. A special session of the United Nations should be convened to discuss global terrorism and all those countries sheltering them should be declared terrorist countries.

M.S. Bitta, Chairman, All India Anti Terrorist Front

It is a terrorist attack and India which has been a victim of terrorism for so long is rightly showing solidarity with the US and expressing its fullest sympathy on its horrifying implications. We have to note that the USA is trying to bring prerpetrators of this violence to justice and they seek all kind of cooperation from friendly countries. I believe that we should be prepared to offer our cooperation to the extent it is relevant and useful.”

What kind of assistance? No scope for military cooperation beyond the kind of exchange of information, exchange of whatever we may learn from our sources about Osama bin Laden’s network and other terrorist outfits. We should show a kind of readiness to collaborate. We may be asked for logistic help. It depends on what they want. During Gulf War, we gave them refuelling services. I don’t think that we should be aiming at military cooperation. I don’t see the need for it.

Secondly, it raises so many questions. Like, we have always been a non-aligned country. Any ostentatious collaboration could create misapprehensions about our policy and about our historic independence in all military matters. We have never been lined up in any military alliance with any country.

Salman Haider, former Foreign Secretary.

The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) strongly condemns the terrorist offensive launched against the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in New York. I trust that the US government will proceed with wisdom, foresight and responsibility. I view with concern the loss of life as a consequence of acts of terrorism anywhere in the world and believe that efforts at global level should be made to counter such mindless violence.

To combat terrorism, it is important to address the core issue, the root causes behind terrorism. If you punish any country not involved, then that is also terrorism. But the moment it is decided that a person or group is responsible for terrorism, the ends of justice will have to be met. The American government is looking into the matter and let them determine who is responsible. Once that happens, we will react. But it is important to draw a line between freedom struggle and terrorism. Only a handful of people are involved in terrorism but it is different in the case of freedom struggle. After four decades of peaceful agitation, Kashmiris were forced into an armed struggle. India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir should put their heads together to find a solution to the Kashmir problem.

Abdul Ghani Bhat, chairman, All Party Hurriyat Conference

The killing of innocent people in the USA is a grave offence against humanity and we share their agony. The USA should consider how people were driven to a stage where they committed such acts of violence and the country should be careful about its future moves. If this could happen to the USA, a superpower, India too should ponder over the possibility of the situation getting very ugly. New Delhi should initiate dialogue with real representatives of Kashmir to arrive at a meaningful solution to the protracted problem.

Shabir Shah, chief, Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party.

I condemn the attacks on the United States. It is a dastardly act. There is need for a coalition of nations to root out terrorism. India has been at the receiving end of terrorism for the last ten years. There should have been a wake-up call earlier to combat terrorism. This requires a very concerted action and political will on the part of those who can enforce it. A systematic beginning is needed to combat terrorism.

The effort should be to stem the cause. Even at the university level, I am in favour of starting courses on Peace Studies, Conflict Resolution and Conflict Transformation. Western universities including some in Norway have already started such courses.

Shahid Mahdi, Vice Chancellor Jamia Millia Islamia

Any act of terrorism is reprehensible especially if it leads to the killing of innocent civilians. Whether it is morality, religion or international law, terrorism has no sanction.

What has happened in the US has on the one hand alerted us to the dangers of terrorism and on the other hand alerted us to the necessity of those issues and situations which nurture terrorism. Terrorism is not a natural growth. It is the child of desperation, deep-seated anxieties and beleagueredness and that is what really gives rise to terrorism. I think, the US being the most powerful country in the world, must take the initiative in defusing the Palestinian issue and distancing itself from extending support and patronage to fundamentalist, authoritarian and military regimes.

I believe America’s national interests should be guided by the spirit and letter of its Constitution rather than the desire to perpetuate its political, economic and military hegemony.

Prof Mushirul Hasan, Jamia Millia Islamia.

India is a democracy and also one of the oldest targets of terrorism. India has tried to mobilise the international community for the resolutions etc through the UN. India has a Joint Working Group with the USA on terrorism. It is in constant consultations with countries like Russia, France, UK, Germany and others. India is threatened by groups other than purely Middle East, Afghanistan and Central Asia. India has to take a pro-active role in defending itself.

Occasionally, it might become an offensive defence. But that part will depend on our own assessment of our national defence and our military capabilities.

In this situation, the only course of action we have available to us is to cooperate with like-minded countries who are prepared to assist us in this; and that includes the USA. What kind of help? That depends on what help they seek from us and what we can afford to give them. We should never speculate on what they would ask.

S.K. Singh, former Foreign Secretary

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Contributed by Ravi Bhatia, Rajeev Sharma, Tripti Nath, S. Satyanarayanan, Prashant Sood, Gaurav Choudhury, Syed Ali Ahmed and Smriti Kak.

Apartheid far worse than racism
Abu Abraham

APARTEID was an evil that the whole world regarded as one. It rested on the belief that the white races are inherently superior to the black races. It was institutionalised by General Smuts, who was Prime Minister of South Africa in the 1930’s. He also happened to be the leader of the Boy Scouts Movement. Dr. Verwoerd who ruled in the 50’s-60’s described apartheid as ‘separate development’ and also as ‘good neighbourliness’. But apartheid lasted less than a hundred years. Politics overcame it. There was also international condemnation.

In India, caste has a history of at least 3,000 years. And we insist that it is a division of labour, organised by our wise ancestors and, what is more, has the blessings of the Lord. How can we reject a system, which is declared indestructible by the Imperishable himself? ‘The four castes emanated from me, by the distribution of qualities and action,’ says the Gita.

Unlike apartheid, the caste system has the quality of being invisible. Its oppression and injustice has gone largely unnoticed by the rest of the world. For the first time it found itself under the spotlight at an international forum.

It is the mixing of caste and the Hindu religion that gives it its strength and durability. Who is going to unscramble the two? What a stupendous task for the world community!

Both Gandhiji and Vinoba Bhave tried to reform Hinduism and remove its social injustices. But their emphasis was on untouchability, not caste as such. Nehru saw caste in a more forthright way. He saw it as a barrier to change, as the cause of our stagnation as a society. Ambedkar saw Buddhism as an escape from Hindu oppression. But although it provided dignity and emancipation for the downtrodden, it did not help the masses in the long run. Most dalits, it was found, did not want to change their identity for fear of losing the benefits of job reservation. Only in Maharashtra is there reservation for Buddhist dalits.

‘Sanskritisation’ was another remedy tried out to emancipate the dalits. By following the social habits and customs of the upper castes they expected to be welcomed into the higher classes of society. Vinoba Bhave’s advice was to stop eating beef and pork. The dalits must have laughed at the idea.

In contrast to the idea of Sanskritisation, Gora, the Brahmin-born atheist, whose Atheist Centre in Vijaywada, has done remarkable social work in the rural areas of Andhra Pradesh, believed that atheism was the solution to caste and all the social and political discrimination that goes with it. He preached atheism as the path to modernisation and economic power.

Gora wanted dalits to contest elections in large numbers. He said, ‘Wide political participation of untouchables should not be a difficult proposition. In 1920, Indians had the same diffidence and sense of frustration as the untouchables have today. Imperialists did not treat Indians better than untouchables are treated now.

But the rise of the political movement and people’s large-scale participation in it converted cowards into bold satyagrahais. Similar change is possible now for dalits through wide political participation. Neither slander nor sabotage of reactionaries can prevent the rise of a popular movement.’

There is general agreement that land distribution is one of the keys to the dalit problem, but mostly the upper castes appropriate land from dalits through devious ways or by plain violence. And the police tend to side with the Brahmins and banias. After all, in rural areas they are in the majority.

Things are improving, no doubt, but very, very slowly. As the dalits become more and more politically conscious and able to exercise their power, great changes can be expected. But then, violence will also increase.

As of today, the caste system remains the most complex, the most evil system of oppression devised by mankind. It is far worse than racism and it involves millions more people.

If the United Nations or any other agency cannot break its hold on Indian society, they would have at least been made aware of it.

KASHMIR DIARY
Ghulam Mir’s killing sends shock waves in Valley
David Devadas

WRITING Kashmir diary can be a macabre business, as I discovered to my dismay a week ago.

Eight weeks ago, I had written of the fear clawing at the lives of Ghulam Mohammed Mir and his family after the armed forces withdrew his bodyguards’ guns. He had been an “Ikhwani,” or member of the Ikhwan-ul Musalmoon, which took to working with the security forces in the mid-1990s to identify, capture or eliminate militants. The army had withdrawn the weapons it earlier issued for his security in a village in the north of the valley after a gun issued to another such “Ikhwani” was stolen by militants.

Gul Mir, as he was called, died on September 8 in broad daylight. He and a bodyguard, now unarmed, were killed in a burst of automatic fire outside his home. So intense was the burst that his left arm was severed. No, Kashmir is not pleasant.

Mir had been a fixture at the Rashtriya Rifles camp at nearby Wusan, pleading daily for a weapon to defend himself with. The ISI controlled militants were determined to settle scores with him ever since he had reported to Wusan the presence of 22 young militants, who had just returned from training across the line of control and had stopped at his house for a meal. He had also tipped them off about other militants in the vicinity in those years when militancy had been on the run.

Mir was a well-respected young man, devout, polite and just. The news of his death spread like wild fire through the entire Kangan and neighbouring Ganderbal tehsils within hours. His neighbours were deeply resentful of the militants who had done this, both apparently of Pakistani origin, but there was also much talk of India’s ingratitude. Who would ever risk giving information to the forces again, they asked, if such a man was thus rewarded?

Mir had been politically active before the militancy and once stood for elections. That itself made him a target of pro-Pakistan militants in the early 1990s. He then joined the pro-independence JKLF, seeking protection against the pro-Pakistan ones from an organisation that was by then squarely in their line of fire. He was punished for that by local leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami, who yoked him to a plough beside a buffalo and made him pull it. When the Ikhwan came up, he seized the chance to take up guns against every insurgent militant.

Perhaps the army cannot be blamed for denying him security for the last few weeks of his life. They had to account for the weapon that the other Ikhwani, Fida Hussain Bhatt, had lost. One of his bodyguards turned out to be an agent of the current lot of militants and decamped with the weapon one day. Today’s militants are highly motivated and there are reports here that the ISI has set up separate groups only to kill Kashmiris who cooperate with the security forces.

(Another section, say these reports, concentrates entirely on killing politicians, particularly those in the National Conference).

Now, of course, Fida Hussain’s family lives in terror. His brother shifted his entire family from their shared house the day after Mir’s murder, but none of them is very confident. Death goes on in Kashmir from day to day.

It is important to take stock of the armed forces’ policies. They function in tough circumstances and to ask them to discriminate carefully between one Kashmiri and another is a Herculean task. It is nevertheless the core of India’s very exacting struggle in the valley, for there can be no end to the violence unless at least a section of the people are encouraged to join the fight against militancy. No army, however well equipped, can defeat a guerrilla war except with the assistance of at least a section of the local population.

This talk of ingratitude from India that one hears from the families and neighbours of men like Mir is terribly dangerous. As things stand, such supporters tend to be routinely alienated instead of encouraged.

Just a few days ago, Tahir Mohiuddin, the very courageous editor of the Urdu weekly ``Chattan’’ was severely beaten up by a jawan in Srinagar. Mohiuddin has written vigorously against militancy, the Jamaat-e-Islami ideology and Pakistan’s tactics even at the height of militancy, when hardly anyone else dared speak up against them.

The local intelligentsia and media figures have been agog at the assault on Mohiuddin. They also speak of the recent killing by the Special Operations Group of the J&K Police of Masood, a Hizb-ul Mujahideen commander who had come forward to negotiate peace with the Centre last summer.

Again, talk of ingratitude keeps cropping up. This is most unfortunate, for the real battle here is in the minds of men.

READERS’ RESPONSE

Seeing the wood for the trees

THIS has reference to the two articles written on the Tehelka website’s methods in investigative journalism by Mr L.H. Naqvi and Mr V. Eshwar Anand (Sunday Tribune, Aug 26).

It seems a situation is being created where the public may be unable to see the wood for the trees.

The Tehelka website CEO, Mr Tarun Tejpal had done a great job by highlighting the rampant corruption among our public men and public servants. After Mr Arun Shourie’s expose of the misdeeds of Mr A.R. Antulay, Mr Tejpal’s is the greatest investigative story and he must be given the kudos he so richly deserves.

One may censure Mr Tejpal for some of the means he employed for a good end as not being fully in conformity with the journalistic ethics. But neither his achievement can be belittled nor the guilty be allowed to go scot free.

While questioning the use of call-girls for his purpose, Mr Tejpal has to be immensely praised for not extorting money from the culpable people.

One wishes that the enterprising journalist had been discreet in his arduous task but one is ever grateful to him for the hazardous undertaking.

Geetanjali Korpal, Amritsar

I have read both the views. In this connection, I agree with Mr V. Eshwar Anand quoting Gandhiji’s belief: “Means are in no way subordinate to end...”. But just as there are exceptions to every rule, there can be exceptions to this belief also. And what Mr Tarun Tejpal did falls in the category of an exception.

Let us take an example to explain the issue with more clarity. According to traffic rules, we should always go on foot/drive on the left side of the road, and we usually follow it. When, however, some vehicle from the opposite side is coming towards us on its right (wrong) side, what we do is to move to our right (wrong) side for a while and after crossing the coming vehicle, we again follow our journey on our left side.

In such circumstances, are we challaned? The answer is “no”. The reason is that our motive is not to break the traffic rules but to avoid an accident. It is universally said that two wrongs cannot make a right. But here also is an exception where two wrongs do make a right!

According to the teachings of the Gita, the question whether an action is right or otherwise can be determined not by its objective consequences but by the motive of the doer. As such, in the case of Tehelka tapes, the means as also the end are subordinate to the motive of the doers which alone can be called Lakshman rekha, which Mr Tarun Tejpal and his team do not seem to have transgressed.

And lastly, I would like to ask a question. Where is the guarantee that the underworld is not already adopting unfair means like sex and sleaze to achieve their nefarious ends? By no stretch of imagination can this be considered as an original idea of Mr Tejpal!

A. K. Suri, Chandigarh

America should learn from the tragedy
Cecil Victor

IT is too early to speculate in which direction the finger of suspicion will point but President George Bush’s promise to take the fight to terrorists around the globe opens up some logical directions.

Leads can be culled from the Mumbai blasts as well as the hijacking of Indian Airlines IC-814 in which the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is already involved because an American passenger was on board at that time. The hijackers were given safe passage out of Afghanistan and the only way out for them was through Pakistan.

In fact, the main beneficiary of that act of air piracy in violation of the Hague Convention is Mian Masood Azhar, the founder of the Jaish-e-Mohammad Islamic terrorist group that is operating in Jammu and Kashmir who is roaming about freely in Pakistan. His brother was one of the hijackers. If the US is indeed keen on combating global terrorism it should ask Pakistan to hand over Masood Azhar to help it to unravel the interlinkages that acknowledgely exist between the dozens of terrorist organisations that are operating with impunity around the globe largely because the US has hitherto been pursuing a policy of laissez faire for “our SOBs”.

In spite of the evidence available with it, the US has hesitated to designate Pakistan as a State that sponsors terrorism in the hope that “constructive engagement” will defang the evil monster even though it knows full well the close cooperation between the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in matters of power projection from a position of “strategic depth”.

As dangerous as the arrow from an unseen archer that struck its very nerve centres on Black Tuesday, the US has been pandering to the blackmail of “nuclear flashpoint” indulged in by Pakistan to deter India from taking the logical action against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir (and earlier in Punjab) by holding out the threat of a nuclear first strike if India “crossed the threshold of tolerence” the first step of which is on the Line of Control and the next point of escalation is the international border.

The US itself is guilty of encouraging terrorism from behind a nuclear shield in this part of the world by harping on and joining the chorus of “nuclear flashpoint” to force India to do business with the fountainhead of Islamic terrorism instead of bringing pressure on Pakistan to cease and desist.

This attitude is in continuation of the Cold War cosiness that permeated US policy, which turned a blind eye on Pakistan’s direct aggression in Jammu and Kashmir in 1948, which was exactly the same as its incursion into Kargil in 1999 under the spurious flag of local “mujahideen” seeking self-determination for “Kashmiris”.

President Clinton recognised that it was an act of naked aggression and forced General Pervez Musharraf to withdraw the Pakistan Army’s Northern Light Infantry regiment from the Kargil heights. But American insistence that India come to terms with Pakistan on the basis of the Line of Control and the “right to self-determination” being dictated by aggressor in Jammu and Kashmir has encouraged Pakistan to use terrorism as a tool for territorial aggrandisement.

The horrendous strike on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon has prompted President George Bush to enunciate a determination to combat terrorism around the globe.

This has given rise to hopes in India that the US will reverse its policy of pandering to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. (Asia Defence News International).

PROFILE

First Indian woman to win Golden Lion
Harihar Swarup

MIRA Nair is 44 but she has established her credentials as a film director of extra-ordinary talent. She has created history both for herself and India; became the first woman in the world and first Indian to win the coveted Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Her film — “Monsoon Wedding” — shot in typical Indian setting, bagged the prestigious award at World’s oldest film festival. She has been appropriately called a “visionary” by the jury. Regarded finest among her films , “Monsoon Wedding” depicts the tale of a “Punjabi” bride who has second thought about her arranged marriage. Mira sought to praise the Punjabi community while bringing to the fore the dark side also. To quote her, she wanted to show “Punjabi people are like Neapolitans (natives of Naples) in Italy — Loud, aggressive, individualistic and with a huge appetite for living”.

Daughter of a civil servant and born in Bhubaneshwar, Mira was educated at Irish Catholic School in Simla and at the Delhi University. Her subject was sociology with an abiding interest in theatre. It was in the year 1976 that she got a full scholarship to continue her study at the Harvard University. While at Harvard, her attention was focused on documentaries which she described as “a marriage of my interests with the visual arts, theatre, and life as it is lived”. Her first film was “Jama Masjid Street Journal” which was also, incidentally, her Master’s thesis project. The film explores the life of a traditional Muslim community from Western perspective. Her most acclaimed documentary, however, was “India Cabaret”.

Mira was pitchforked to world cinema with her very first feature film, “Salaam Bombay” which was bestowed with the best New Director award at Cannes Film Festival as well as nomination for best foreign film at the Academy Awards. The influence of her sociology background is easy to perceive in this film. She depicts the plight of the unfortunate children who live in the streets of Bombay. The main character Krishna spends his time as a runner for a tea shop in a neighbourhood replete with prostitution and the drug trade. It is in the teeming environment of the streets that Krishna must save Rs. 500 before he returns to his village. The strength of the film lies in its extraordinary realism. All the scenes were shot on location. Her global recognition came with such provocative films as “Mississippi Masala”, involving immigrant Indians from Uganda and resident African-Americans and “Kamasutra”, telling a 15th century love story set in India.

Mira says the “Kamasutra” aims at correcting Western misconception of her home land. The film is about the many faces and the many lessons associated with love, and often ruthless and savage lessons as well as eternal ones. The sensual nature of the film sparked off a controversy in India even though the movie was shown in US and Europe without any change.

In her own words “I have just gone blue in the face for four months in India where they (censor board) tried to cut out everything that was vaguely sexual. But, I said, this is a film about sexuality, so if you cut it out, it will not be the film I made. So I took them to court and won”. It was indeed an enormous victory for Mira and what she had to do was to cut a two-minute lesbian scene and make other minor changes to enable the film’s release in India. As a matter of fact the movie was not the “Kamasutra” on film. She had written an original screen play — “the tale of Love” which was inspired by the original “Kamasutra”.

Mira is very fond of Japanese movie “Mughal”, Kurosawa, and watches his works pretty closely. Guru Dutt has a special place in her world and Emil Kusturica is her special favourite. She loves Satyajit Ray’s earlier films and “Apu Trilogy” has left an imprint on her. She had known Ray very well and he was very much appreciative of “Salaam Bombay”. Ray passed away soon after. Though Meera regarded Ray as “one of the great film producers of our time”, his films did not influence her works. She said in an interview sometime back: “I wasn’t specifically thinking of any of his films when I made mine except The World of Apu”. Ray’s ``Pather Panchali’’, particularly the end scene, where the mother is walking in the monsoon through the bamboo forest, had greatly influenced her. “There is this amazing, beautiful sway of the hips, the Bengali walk is very particular”, she remarked in one of her interviews.

DELHI DURBAR

US attacks prove India’s point of view

WHEN the terror attacks in the United States took place, there were several people in India who said “look we told you this was going to happen”. It was not long ago that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had warned the US that terrorism needs no distance and the happenings in India would have global ramifications. It is unfortunate that it took such a severe attack for the US to see India’s point of view. Home Minister L.K. Advani drove home this point when he pointed out that India has been suffering the agony of terrorism for more than a decade now. In the backdrop of the new developments it was felt that India and the US would now become more closer than ever before.

However, what has surprised observers is that after the attacks the US President has cared to talk to so many world leaders but not Mr Vajpayee. Even the international electronic media has been ignoring India. So much so that there is no mention of the significant role that Indians play in the financial sector of the US. The fact that nearly five per cent of the top executives working in the now demolished World Trade Center were Indians have been ignored. India has also failed to highlight last year’s hijack drama in Kandahar and the involvement of Pakistan in that episode. Is it another public relations failure of the Indian Government?

New face of Punjab

The Punjab Government can probably look forward to a vibrant and more progressive face of Punjab in Delhi, after the change of guard at the Punjab Bhawan in the capital. J.S. Maini, a Senior IAS officer of Punjab has been appointed the new Principal Resident Commissioner. Maini is well known in the Punjab bureaucracy because of his luminous track record. He has come to Punjab Bhawan, Delhi from the Centre where for five years he worked as Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor in two ministries: Ministry of Information Technology and Ministry of Environment & Forest. In the Information Technology Ministry, he specifically piloted a software project for the financial markets, known as FACET; through C-Dac_Pune. In the light of recent financial markets scams this software has been specially designed to provide almost foolproof analysis to financial institutions for their portfolio investments to save them from the pitfalls the likes of which have been recently witnessed by the UTI and many other mutual funds. Now that the Government of India is considering handing over of pensions and provident fund and also mutual funds, this kind of software can provide much better tools for proper fund management.

While at the Centre, Maini also ensured that a Software Technology Park was set up in Mohali. Similarly in the Environment Ministry, he got cleared many effluent treatment plants under Satluj Action Plan and a special scheme approved for permanent clearance of Harike Lake of water hyacinths by installing small cranes.

Maini has recently completed his Ph.D thesis studying the environmental impacts of the economic growth pattern of Punjab.

Goel’s ascendancy

Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha member Vijay Goel who was made Minister of State (PMO and Planning) a fortnight ago, has every reason to be on cloud nine. First, the September 1 Cabinet reshuffle demonstrated his proximity to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and signalled the emergence of yet another power centre in Delhi BJP. The BJP “Big Three” of Delhi — former chief ministers Madan Lal Khurana and Sahib Singh Verma and party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra who were left out of the recent Cabinet expansion— would now have to contend with another political force: Vijay Goel. Incidentally, Goel had taken up his ministerial charge on September 1 night itself to avoid taking up the assignment during the 15-day-long “pitra paksha”, usually considered inauspicious, which began on September 2. That Goel had done this in deference to a reporter friend’s suggestion shows how close he is to certain members of the fourth estate.

Goel’s stature went up by miles recently when he attended the recent meeting of economic ministers convened by the Prime Minister. Goel attended this meeting as PM’s special invitee. He also attended the last union cabinet meeting, even though he is only a minister of state. Again by Vajpayee’s courtesy. What next ? Meeting of the prestigious and elite Cabinet Committee on Security ? That would be a real coup if it were to take off. Watch out Khurana, Sahib and company.

Congress flip-flop

Well begun, they say, is half-done but the Congress does not seem to take the adage too seriously even about its poll preparations for a state as crucial as Uttar Pradesh. The party has thrice postponed its ‘Lucknow Chalo yatras’ which are pivotal to the Congress efforts at reviving its electoral base in Uttar Pradesh. The yatras, which were to begin from six border areas of Uttar Pradesh were to culminate in Lucknow with a big rally to be addressed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. First, it was announced by UP Congress chief S.P. Jaiswal that the yatras would start from August 9, then from September 1 and, what seemed to be final date, from August 15. But it was not to be and the date of yatras was deferred once again to September 18. This time, however, there was a definite explanation. The yatras, it was announced, could not begin before September 17 because of ‘Shradhs.’ Even while declaring new dates, the UP managers of the party were not sure if the Congress president would address the Lucknow rally on October 3 or October 4. It was also clarified that Mrs Sonia Gandhi would not be participating in the six yatras, as announced earlier, but address rallies separately later.

Compare this flip-flop with the enmasse resignation of Samajwadi Party MLAs from the UP Assembly, who did not probably give a damn to their quitting seats during ‘shradhs.’

Contributed by T.V. Lakshminarayan, Ravi Bhatia, Rajeev Sharma and Prashant Sood.