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| Friday, September 21, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Musharraf’s
confession Security, where is it? |
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Hari Jaisingh
September
sonata
Bin
Laden: the new messiah
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Musharraf’s confession GENERAL Musharraf ended his long address to the nation with a plaintive appeal: “Trust me.” The speech had to stretch over an hour because he had to defend his decision which is unacceptable to a good section of his people. He and his brother Generals have embraced the US position to the extent of asking the Taliban regime in Afghanistan to quietly hand over Osama bin Laden to the US authorities as it itself did with four Pakistani nationals wanted for trial in the dollar kingdom. The Saudi-born engineer-turned-terrorism promoter is a founding fighter and financier of the Taliban and is a hero in that devastated country. So he is among the religiously regimented youngsters from poor rural families of Pakistan. That is the crux of General Musharraf’s excruciating dilemma. Disowning Bin Laden will ignite a popular protest and even the declared prospect of US economic assistance in the months to come will not subdue it. Sitting on the fence or striking a neutral posture will further isolate the country and prolong its economic anguish. So the military rulership had to be either with the Taliban or with the USA or, more precisely, either to be anti-Taliban or anti-USA. And it has cast its lot. The General, tentative and unsure throughout the television address (uncharacteristic of him), raised two highly emotive issues to garner people’s support or to mollify their hurt sentiments. One, he revived the trauma of 1971 when the then East Pakistan rose in revolt and emerged as an independent nation, Bangladesh. Pakistanis still thirst for reprisal for the national dishonour of splitting the nation, even 30 years after the event. The second was Kashmir. He illogically argued that standing by the USA was necessary to keep alive the fight in Kashmir. In other words, angering the USA will mean the death of what he calls “freedom movement” and the early consolidation of India’s hold. Senior journalists of Pakistan feel that the middle class is satisfied with the defence and hope to benefit from the expected economic revival. But the reaction of the common man will come today when the country observes a protest day against the US threat to attack Afghanistan. As it is, Pakistan has witnessed powerful and focused demonstration in several cities – 40,000 Pathan students holding a rally in Peshawar and 3000 in Karachi. Today’s events will show whether Pakistanis trust the General or hero-worship Osama bin Laden who, till the other day, was being promoted by the military regime in Islamabad. Either way, problems for Pakistan have just begun. |
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Security, where is it? WISE
people keep the stable doors locked all the time. The dim witted ones lock them at least after the horses have bolted, to make sure that the incident does not recur. Then there are some who do not wizen up even after they have suffered heavy losses. Indian security agencies seem to be keen to belong to the third category. Despite the terrorist mayhem in the USA and numerous such instances in India itself earlier, they continue to function in a picnic mode. On paper, there are repeated red alerts and the revamping of the security network, but there is no real change on the ground, except for the fact that the harassment of innocent citizens increases after every such drive. As far as hardened criminals are concerned, the system provides them loopholes large enough to take an elephant through them. The latest instance of this was highlighted by the media the other day when it pointed out that hundreds of special airport access passes were issued in the national capital to employees of airlines which were not even operating from there any longer. What happened after that was even more shocking. The new Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Shahnawaz Hussain, visited the airport. He did admit that passes were indeed issued, but there was no security breach (his words). If that was not a breach, then what is? But then, such casualness is part of the unusual work culture that prevails. No change has been brought about even after the December, 1999, hijack of IC-814 from Kathmandu. Last Tuesday, a businessman was found to be carrying bullets in his briefcase by the airline staff at Santa Cruz airport. Neither the police nor the X-ray machine detected the bullets. What if he had boarded the plane with the bullets? Who cares! Perhaps no one remembers that after the 1999 hijack episode, 20 airports were declared sensitive and taken over by the Central Industrial Security Force. How "sensitive" the working there is visible to all. At Bangalore, the CISF does not even have basic walkie-talkie sets. So, if a CISF personnel detects a security breach, he may have to walk a distance of one km to report the breach. The culprit? Rivalry between the CISF and the Airport Authority of India. At times the left hand not only does not know what the right is doing, it might even be working exactly at cross-purposes. Eight different types of passes are issued to frequent airport users, including employees of the AAI, customs, airlines, hotels, duty-free shops and those working for maintenance service agencies. Small wonder that the airports are an almost open house for everyone except a bona fide passenger. But the biggest threat comes from bribery and corruption prevalent there. A wad of notes can make the pliable ones overlook the biggest breach. What is true of airports is truer of railway stations and bus stands. Closer home, the security of Defence Minister Jaswant Singh was badly compromised at Panchkula when a person claiming to be a relative of his managed to cross all layers of security and put a tilak on his forehead. What if he were a terrorist? We lost Rajiv Gandhi that way, didn't we? So what! History is not meant to teach us any lessons, but only to repeat itself. |
Perspectives on global terrorism AMIDST
the war clouds gathering over the horizon, where do India's interests lie? How should it conduct its foreign policy so as to derive the maximum advantage to root out all traces of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the country as well as globally. How similar are American and Indian perspectives on terrorism? Where does India stand vis-a-vis Pakistan and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan? Will the USA show better understanding of Indian sensitivities in South Asia? These questions have become all the more relevant since one wrong move can cost the country dearly. Anxiety on this count is but natural since Indian leaders are not known for taking right decisions at the right time, particularly in a complex setting as it exists right now. Foreign policy is not made in a vacuum. It has to be related to the complexities of circumstances and conditions prevailing around. This does not mean that our policies should merely be a reaction to events and postures shaped elsewhere. Rather, we must have proper understanding and ability to anticipate events and try to influence them by evolving right responses. Here far-sightedness, courage and vision can make a difference between success and failure. In this context, South Block's track record is not all that flattering. There are too many cooks around. They not only lack the right focus but also often work at cross-purposes. The Pakistan-Taliban nexus is a tribute to our failure in the pursuit of what Home Minister
L. K. Advani called "a pro-active policy"! The situation arising out of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington is undoubtedly highly complex. America is angry and in a revenge mood, and understandably so. It has geared up its war machinery to meet the challenge thrown up by the Taliban-engineered terrorism. The global mood too is fiercely anti-terrorists. This is the most positive development of the current century, though it has been achieved at a very heavy cost. The Americans probably never had it so good in terms of a positive global response. Still, there are certain fears and doubts — not about America's military power but its ability to use it judiciously, intelligently and discriminately in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan. The problem with the Americans is they are generally not so well-versed with the ground realities. They tend to overreact and opt for a hitech operation when a lowtech earthy response can suffice. To say this is not to deny that Osama bin Laden has emerged as an evil symbol of global terrorism. All the same, it needs to be realised that he and his hardened followers cannot be tackled by mere display of missile power. Terrorism demands a multi-pronged strategy — political, diplomatic, economic, social and low-key target-bound military operations. It is equally necessary for American policy-makers to understand the real face of the Taliban regime, its operational philosophy and motivating force. It is no secret that the Taliban in landlocked Afghanistan was "the test tube baby" of the CIA and Pakistan's ISI at a time when the Cold War with the then Soviet Union had just ended. Taking full advantage of the politico-military vacuum in Afghanistan, Islamabad entrenched itself in Kabul as part of its grand strategy while waging a proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir. The patron-in-chief of the military regime was Uncle Sam. For over a decade, Islamabad has been waging a full-fledged war of terrorism — call it proxy war or jehad — to bully India. Indian leaders have drawn the attention of the world community, the Americans included, to the danger posed to this country by the Pakistan-Taliban nexus. But the Americans hardly bothered to listen to Indian woes, while thousands of innocent persons became victims of terrorists' bullets. India's has been a cry in wilderness, notwithstanding occasional feeble voices of support heard during the last phase of the Clinton presidency. These harsh facts are now part of history. Still, New Delhi cannot be sure as to which side the American camel will sit this time. Will President Bush and his advisers be able to come to the root of the problem? Will they correctly grasp the genesis of the Osama bin Laden phenomenon? Will they ever appreciate the fact that Pakistan has actually been the driving force of the Taliban's terrorism? Will they acknowledge the fact that Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir belongs to the same killer category that shook up America's military, economic and political power? India has suffered Islamabad's proxy war for over 20 years. Did anyone care? The question here is not of Islam, which is a sublime religion, but of its vicious distorted projection by the likes of Osama bin Laden who must be challenged logically by Muslim leaders and scholars for the very survival of global civilisational values. Caught badly in these complexities is Pakistan and its military ruler General Pervez Musharraf. A clever strategist, he knows how to package his diplomatic and political moves deceptively. His address to his people on Wednesday evening provides yet another example of his dubious character. Having been caught between the devil and the deep sea, he has no choice but to go alone with the Americans. However, in the process he has created for Pakistan a civil war-like situation. The jehadis in Afghanistan and Pakistan are sure to strike at him if he goes along fully with America's war machinery. Ironically, Islamabad is caught in the trap of its own making. It is no secret that Pakistan has been hand in glove with the Taliban regime. It has been supplying it arms and ammunition in direct contravention of UN Resolution Number 1333 of last December that put an embargo on any form of outside military support to the Taliban. Arms and ammunition have been despatched there under the cover of relief supplies. In fact, Islamabad's control over the Taliban regime has been total. According to a UN expert group's report, Pakistan has even failed to "regulate" madarsas, an important source of recruitment by the Taliban. Viewed in this light, it is difficult to know Pakistan's real face. General Musharraf is adept at playing games. But with the Americans around, the going will not be all that easy for the Pakistani dictator. Indeed, after the shocking events of Black Tuesday Pakistan will never be the same again. And it seems the next few months will be decisive not only for the Americans but also for the Pakistanis. India too stands at the crossroads. Its leaders will be under watch as to how they conduct themselves. They have to draw right lessons from past experience and relate them to the challenges ahead. In Kashmir itself, there has been a series of failures right from the days of Jawaharlal Nehru to the present times which have made things worse for us. Often even simple matters have got complicated because of the lack of objective assessment of the ground realities. Indian leaders, for that matter, lack the requisite collective will which motivates people to achieve lofty goals. It must be said to the credit of Americans that they have risen as one nation in the wake of the dastardly terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11. They have shown that their nationalism does not centre around money-making, but goes deeper into their psyche. Not that the Indians lack nationalist feelings. But because of poor political and economic management, genuine sentiments stop short of becoming part of national character. Of course, Indira Gandhi could show rare leadership qualities during the 1971 war with Pakistan. She exhibited tremendous courage of convictions as well as iron will to act decisively and toughly. No wonder, in these days of crises even ordinary people remember her fondly. Coming back to today's complexities, one does not feel fully confident whether the Vajpayee government will be able to derive right advantages from the present challenges. Much will depend on how intelligently diplomatic efforts are initiated to protect and promote our national interests. There must be a total clarity of national objectives. The Americans will not fight the Pakistan-sponsored proxy war for us in Kashmir. We will have to fight our own battle against terrorism. Notwithstanding rhetoric, failures in this regard have been both disturbing and unpardonable. The present mess in Jammu and Kashmir is actually the result of our bunglings and failures on various fronts which, ironically, have given a boost to terrorist forces in Kashmir and their sponsors in Pakistan and Afghanistan. That Pakistan is "a rouge state" has been known to our policy-makers. But they have either buckled under pressure or lacked determination and guts to fight on. South Block should have actually launched a major offensive against terrorists and finished off their training camps set up by Islamabad in its own territory and PoK. If the Americans could attack the Taliban bases in Afghanistan way back in 1998 after the bomb blasts at their embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, there is no reason why India should not have legitimately destroyed these terrorist camps. This is one of the biggest operational failures of our leaders, including the BJP's twin towering personalities of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and Mr
L. K. Advani. |
September sonata THOUGH
all months are alike, like all days and years, you tend to recall with a sense of nostalgia only those days, months and years that have been more fruitful than others. Well, I never thought much about these signals or signs since to be a September-born is no great deal. For instance, when I was born on the eighth of that month, no birds sang and no earth-shaking event occurred. In fact, I forgot about it as long as lasted my celibacy. Once in a while when I had to pull out some certificate I did notice my date of birth and began to rue it every year as I grew older. I wrote neither a sonnet on September nor a ballad on my brave passage from a sleepy hamlet to the chaotic towns where I spent my adolescence. My adolescence led to that treacherous terrain when you negotiate each step with fear and trepidation. Luckily, there was little fear and even less of trepidation when I tied the knot while in my tumultuous twenties. When you love a classmate you don’t ask her which month she was born. I didn’t either, but the young lady turned out to be another Virgoan, though the difference of two weeks did shape a safety zone for either of us. Husband and wife with the same Zodiac sign made us occasionally think that we were special, even though there was no other earthly evidence of being so. Then we crossed the high seas to read more about the Jews and Blacks and deepen our scholastic insights. After a close contact with the rigorous norms of American academic life and sampling, in between, dollops of Baskin-Robbins, we got back home to wait for our son. And the bloke chose to be another Virgo, orchestrating an equi-distant placement between mom and dad. That is the time when we simply vetoed the concept of coincidence and looked up to the heavens, with awe and speechlessness. So the three birthdays — first mine, then his and thereafter hers — intensified our longings for September. Our friends and relatives wondered at the mystical spacing in our birthdays, though after a few years we began to experience a bit of bashfatigue. The same revellers, the same event, the same old dialogues, though the lady did lessen the tedium through a selective variation in the lunch or dinner menu. But the miracle was yet to happen — the most momentous that could happen on earth. The young man brought his bride, another Virgo, whose birthday and mine turned out to be at a whispering distance from each other. Mercifully, the Lord in Heaven didn’t let her appear a day earlier, otherwise I could have had a little problem in being the shepherd of the little flock. |
Bin Laden: the new messiah NEHRU wrote: “Often in history, we see that religion, which was meant to raise us and make us better and nobler, has made people behave like beasts.” The Taliban has behaved worse than beasts. Is there any difference between Osama bin Laden and Adolf Hitler? There is none. Hitler was a mad man. So is Bin Laden. Hitler wanted to re-carve the world. So does bin Laden. Hitler wanted to destroy the power of the world Jewry. Bin Laden wants to destroy the power of America. The world ignored the small-time painter of Austria. It paid a heavy price for that folly. It can commit the same folly all over again in the case of bin Laden. But who will guard the world against these self-appointed guardians? This is an old question. Juvenal raised it long ago. We have not yet found a proper answer to it. But we must, lest the guardians make us slaves for ever. For us in India, religion is not so much doctrinal conformity or ceremonial piety as the transformation of our personality — becoming something nobler than what we are. This is no easy task. That is why the world has produced so few good men. India produced only one — Mahatma Gandhi. His “Experiments with Truth” is the story of his continuous exertion to transform himself to a nobler being. The point is: while the world can produce a Churchill, Stalin, Hitler or Mao, it cannot produce a Gandhi. In short, we cannot hope to be ruled by philosopher-kings. That is why Plato raised Laws above men. But men can subvert laws. Indeed, they did, and set up monarchies, aristocracies, oligarchies and so on. But nothing worked. Men were found wanting. Democracy, the government of all, may not be the best form of government. But it is the best we have. It is based on logic. It says: while one man can go wrong in his decision, a whole people cannot go wrong. And even if they go wrong, they have only themselves to blame. In any case, they can correct it. Today the democratic principle is well established in most of the countries. The world has paid a very high price for it. But men continue to project themselves as saviours. And the world remains incautious. There is no democracy in most of the Muslim countries. They have a problem with the democratic principle: they believe in God’s sovereignty over the earth, not of the people. Naturally, the Muslims play no major role in shaping their earthly lives. The Quran is silent on the state and nation. Muslim fundamentalism does not accept secularism. “Secularism is the latest evil of the modern world”, says a fundamentalist. They say it asserts “the priority of nation over Allah.” Thus, Islam has remained impervious to reforms. The Quran has a finality in all matters. In the “Rights of Man”, Thomas Paine, the philosopher of the American revolution, says that the greatest tyranny in the world is the desire of men to rule beyond their graves. Vivekananda says: “I have to find my light just as they (Vedic seers) have found theirs.” Today, we have enough knowledge on all these matters. And it is time we blocked the emergence of prophets and messiahs. It is not for want of ideas that the world is in this disarray, but because of man’s inability to get a full grasp of his predicament. The world has become highly complex and even the best brains fail to understand the issues that worry the world. The time has come to reshape the way we look at the world and its problems. In the meantime, let us not lend our ears to the dark forces which are trying to take mankind back to its primitive state. Bin Laden stands for despotism. He is against democracy and the fraternity of men. Such men should have no place in civilised societies. Northcote Parkinson says: “If the West wants to survive, it must absorb all that is best in the East.” This is not the spirit of the fundamentalists. Otherwise, the Bamiyan statues would still be there. The Popes used to condemn the teaching of yoga in the west. Why? Because it was gaining popularity among the Christians. But times have changed. The Pope now admits the mistakes committed by the Roman Catholic Church. Are Muslims ready to admit the mistakes they have committed? Only then can they stop the bin Ladens in their dangerous tracks. |
Industrial strikes
During the year ending June 1926 it appears there were 41 trade disputes in various industrial centres of India involving over 65,000 workers and there was a loss of over 4 lakhs of working days. Presumably most of these disputes were in textile mills and this shows that the trade was unfavourable and the condition of workers was unsatisfactory. Except in one instance all disputes ended in the failure of the workers in getting what they wanted. The poor labourers returned to work on old conditions and also lost the wages for the days they were idle. |
Every man is a channel through which heaven flows. *** Seek not your own life for that is death. *** You cannot violate the law of equality for long. *** Man has to learn to die quite simply and naturally as the child has to learn to walk.
*** Be steadfast like a light. Let the moths come and be consumed in you. *** We can overcome our enemies by causing them to come over to us through love. *** Comparison or drawing contrasts is the root of evil. *** To give is a better bargain than to get. — Swami Ramatirtha, In Woods of God Realisation, Vol. II, Notebook III. *** Ten qualities of a spiritual aspirant The following ten qualities should be cultivated by a genuine aspirant on the path of God: 1. Intense desire of attaining union with God 2. To seek the guidance of a perfect murshid. 3. Discipline for oneself and reverence for others. 4. Resignation to the will of God. 5. Renunciation of worthless things and contemplation of Divine Love 6. Piety and Purity 7. Wholehearted observance of divine injunctions 8. To eat and sleep as little as possible 9. To keep oneself detached from the people. 10. Regular observance of ... prayer and fasts. — Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti (by M. Hafiz Syed) |
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