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Friday,
January 25, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Another
milestone VAT is what? |
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Hari Jaisingh
The
Kasauli Club: an unsentimental epitaph
Race
between India & China Physical
violence against girls on the rise
Kerala
on top of suicide chart in the country
1984, Peace: DESMOND TUTU
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Another milestone
THE successful launching of INSAT-3C on Thursday is yet another feather in the cap of the Indian missile programme. Ever since INSAT-3C’s predecessor, INSAT-3B, was launched on March 22, 2000, scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have been striving for this momentous occasion. The importance of the Rs 250-crore satellite can be gauged by the fact that it is said to be the third generation communication satellite with a designed 12-year mission life. It is also the first commercial launch of any satellite in the world this year. Undoubtedly, the credit for the redounding success of INSAT-3C should go to the scientists of ISRO and the ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) at Bangalore, the Space Application Centre at Ahmedabad, the Liquid Propulsion Centre at Valiamala and Bangalore, the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit at Thiruvananthapuram. No less is the contribution of several industries in both public and private sectors in the realisation of the new satellite project. Scientists have pinned great hopes on the success of INSAT-3C because it is expected to help the Indian missile programme in various ways. Besides augmenting the present INSAT capacity for telecommunications and TV coverage over the subcontinent, it will provide resources that will be analysed by the government as to how they will be used through the Department of Communications. It would also provide continuity of services of INSAT-2C, which is expected to complete its mission life later this year. The report that INSAT-3C’s performance level, after the launch, has been normal should bring in cheer to the scientists involved. There is no doubt that the new generation of satellites built by ISRO has been showing an excellent level of Indian space technology. Its good track record notwithstanding, ISRO has been facing certain problems associated with the missile programme. Consider, for instance, the difficulties it had to face regarding INSAT-3C. The satellite had been kept ready for launch as far back as August last year. It was originally planned to be launched onboard an Ariane five launcher in mid-September. However, following the failure of an Ariane five launch, the subsequent launches had been deferred by ArianeSpace. Considering the fact that ISRO has plans to launch INSAT-3D and INSAT-3E some time this year, it should stick to its schedules and try to avoid delays in their launching so that it would not only save the time and energy of the scientists but also the cost overrun. There is no doubt that with five satellites in the orbit and 85 transponders, India has a fairly large infrastructure to carry out its space activities. ISRO’s vision is to have satellites with a kilometre-to-one-metre resolution with global coverage and specific applications. It also plans to strengthen and expand its space-based services in areas like remote sensing, meteorology and telemedicine. Ultimately, the space missile programme will have achieved its larger mission if satellites such as INSAT-3C particularly help in weather forecasting and consequently saving precious human lives and properties from natural disasters like earthquakes, cyclones and floods. |
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VAT is what? LIVING up to its reputation, the BJP-led NDA government has once again postponed the introduction of value added tax (VAT) for one more year. It was originally expected to come into force on April 1, 2001. Now it will hopefully be in place by April 1, 2003. The delay is attributed to the terrorist attack on the Parliament building complex and the inability of the Union government to push through the necessary legislation. But it is only partly true. As Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha candidly admitted, there is much homework to be done, to convince the states, manufacturers and traders that VAT will not hit them. What the new tax system will do is to replace state-level sales tax and central sales tax (CST). Instead of collecting tax on every transaction, VAT will be charged only on value addition at any stage. Thus, theoretically the present double taxation on sales will be replaced by a uniform levy on the intermediate or the end product. VAT was first introduced in England four decades ago and is a great success since it adds up to the price in a cumulative fashion and not in an arbitrary way. There are two grey areas in bringing in VAT. Services have to be taxed and there is a wide gulf to be bridged between what the states want and what the Centre thinks appropriate. There is also a difference of opinion about the rate of tax on services. Each state wants to protect its dominant service from a harsh taxation regime, like information technology in Karnataka. Two, the states fear that the loss of their power to impose sales tax in tune with their economic and social ideology will affect their mass base. Yet it is remarkable that all 16 states and a number of union territories have more or less drafted Bills to enforce VAT. Former Finance Minister Manmohan Singh introduced a partial VAT system called modvat and hoped that it would earn approval and spread very fast. But it did not for the simple reason that the Centre evoked a strong suspicion that it would not compensate the loss of revenue. A meeting of the state Finance Ministers set up an empowering committee, in plain language a small group, to coordinate with all states and between them and the Centre to push through this major reform. Sales tax like octroi is a crude form of revenue collection and all developed countries have switched over to VAT. Manufacturers have been relieved of much harassing paper work; consumers have benefited and the state has not lost much revenue. The underlying point is that it is a sophisticated system of boosting tax collection and wholly welcome. But the NDA government, true to its reputation, has messed up the schedule even though the states, despite their different political ideologies, agreed to go along. Linking the failure to bring forward enabling Bills in the just concluded winter session and promising to complete the process in the budget session is a poor advertisement for a government that talks tall on economic reforms and walks short on action. |
Punjab’s battle of the ballot WITH the Assembly elections scheduled for February 13, Punjab is again at the crossroads. The question here is not of democracy versus militancy. Democracy has struck roots after the terrorist years. It is alive and kicking. If anything the poll battle has already become intense between the two traditional rivals of pre-terrorism days—the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and its ally the BJP, on the one hand; and the Congress and its partner the CPI, on the other. Also in the run is the Panthic Morcha led by Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Mr Simranjit Singh Mann and rebel Congress candidates under the banner of the Nationalist Congress Party of Mr Sharad Pawar. Looking back, certain broad deductions can be made from the changing political profile of Punjab. Militancy is as good as lifeless, though some pockets may still smell foul and hence suspect. Certain vested interests are hoping against hope that the old cycle of terrorism would get revived. This was probable prior to the September 11 terrorist strike in the USA. The events thereafter have changed the global perspective on terrorism. It is now seen as Number One problem. So any patronage of a militant group by a foreign agency will not go unpunished. There will, therefore, be no willing sponsors of terrorism. For Pakistan's ISI also it will be very difficult to organise and sustain any terrorist network in the state. All the same, the Indian authorities will have to maintain high alert and closely monitor possible clandestine activities of some known disgruntled elements with the help of the ISI and other foreign-backed outfits overseas. Interestingly, some Punjab watchers used to underline the need for unquestioned support for the Badal government to keep terrorism in the state at bay. This point might have made sense before the September 11 events. Such pleas no longer hold good in view of the changed global scenario on terrorism. It is worth recalling that Punjab has suffered because of the irrational and negative nature of competitive politics pursued by different political groups. The problem here is not merely between the Akalis and Congressmen, but also within the various Akali factions who are now organised under the banner of Panthic Morcha. A healthy and issue-based competition is always welcome. This is good for democracy. But the problem arises when ordinary issues acquire emotional and religious overtones and become explosive and subsequently go out of hand of the sponsors. Unfortunately, the SYL issue is being exploited by various interest groups for political purposes. This matter needs to be handled with care and a sense of sobriety. A classic example of Punjab's no-holds-barred competitive politico-religious game was the Bhindranwale phenomenon. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was an innocuous religious leader to begin with. Later, he grew larger than life because he came to be used as a political football by the state's seasoned political players. How and who used him for what purpose is a different story. What followed is a very tragic and painful phase in the state's life. I do not wish to go into the details of who was or who was not guilty at that time at the Centre and in the state. However, the democratic process limped back to normalcy after the dark shadow of militancy under Beant Singh. It was quite a nerve-racking chapter in the history of Punjab. Of course, nothing was perfect to begin with. But in a difficult situation even half a step forward matters. Full marks to Beant Singh. He took the plunge against all odds. True, everything was not clean about his modus operandi. All the same, he did his best in putting the state back on the road to democracy. He was a man of guts and courage. He stood up to the militant forces and ultimately became the victim of the same forces which wished to eliminate him. In any case, politics in Punjab is not a bed of roses. Politicians have to be made of sterner stuff. Beant Singh belonged to this category. He set the pace for peaceful politics. Mr Parkash Singh Badal followed suit more emphatically. He put a seal of legitimacy on democratic Punjab. Here what needs to be acknowledged is common sense and earthy wisdom of the people of Punjab. They think big and act big. Regrettably, the bureaucracy does not properly understand the sensitivities of the state's problems. At best it can do a bit of tinkering here and there and expect miracles. Punjab today needs a new deal. It requires a new perspective planning. It demands a new socio-economic order. The problem of farmers has also to be looked into afresh with urgency. The leaders at the Centre and the state have failed to think and work on new lines after the successes of the Green and White revolutions. More than politics, Punjab as also Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttaranchal need a massive development strategy to put the region back on the rails. We will have to make the region viable, vibrant and competitive nationally and globally. The post-WTO regime calls for a total overhaul of the earlier agriculture policy. The industrial thrust, too, needs a fresh look. The development of infrastructure has to be given the pride of place. Equally important is a rapid growth of information technology. Nothing can be more tragic than to see Punjab lagging behind the other states even in new critical areas of agriculture where it once showed the way to the rest of the country. I am making a pointed reference to the state's pressing problems to tell leaders of various political parties, now locked in the electoral battle, to keep the interests of Punjab and its people at heart while raising issues and non-issues. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has certainly reasons to feel personally satisfied at the completion of the five years of his rule. This has happened for the first time for the Akalis. Mr Badal at least ensured stability in the state for five years. This is no mean achievement. Full marks to the Chief Minister. However, his failure has been his inability to translate this stability into a plan of action for Punjab's march forward. There have been serious gaps in the government's performance. It must be said that the Chief Minister did not do enough to enthuse the politico-administrative machinery for the desired growth. In fact, the sore point among rural and urban folks has been corruption and corrupt practices which should be seen as deadly as the spectre of terrorism. Why Mr Badal failed on this front remains a mystery to me. I have always felt that Mr Badal could rule the state for another 10 years or so if he would have intelligently exploited the goodwill among the Hindus and the Sikhs he enjoys. Mr Badal's problems are of his own making. He could not cash in on the people's goodwill in a long-term perspective. Wittingly or unwittingly, he allowed the gains to slip away from his hands. He could have given a better account of himself as Chief Minister. He could hardly project a clean image for the state administration. Nor could he address himself fully to the problems of farmers and build the requisite infrastructure for faster growth of the state. His response system was slow, misplaced and often faulty. The Chief Minister was never quick with decisions. Nor could he set the pace for faster growth of the state's economy. No wonder, Punjab failed to gain the confidence of many investors during the past five years. This is because the Chief Minister could not provide the bureaucracy a definite direction and guidelines. Many NRIs went back disappointed. In some cases, they became the victims of red-tapism and ill-conceived demands of the babus. In certain cases, the NRIs either demanded too many concessions or free allotment of land. Rightly or wrongly, the impression went around that it was very difficult to do business in the state because the system appeared to be corrupt and inefficient. Statistics speak for themselves. Punjab today is far behind the states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra even in the field of information technology. Since its per capita debt is among the highest in the country, the per capita income works out to be in the negative. Mr Badal could have turned the tide had he been assertive and shown sufficient dynamism to tackle the state's development problems. Even the SAD's partner, the BJP, has not covered itself with glory on this count. I do not think that the BJP's central leadership ever cared to stop corrupt practices. This indeed is the bane of Indian politics. Corruption has been a great leveller. This reminds me of Panthic Morcha leader Gurcharan Singh Tohra's caustic remarks while travelling recently in the Shatabdi Express from New Delhi to Chandigarh. He told me in his typical Punjabi jargon: "Ek loot ke ja rahey hain, te dujey lootan waste ah rahey han." What he meant was that the SAD-BJP government was on its way out after having looted the state exchequer and that the Congress was all set to step in to do exactly the same. If there is a change of government, the Congress may come to power under Capt Amarinder Singh who himself was once an Akali Minister. How he will be different from his predecessors is difficult to say right now. He seems to be serious and concerned about the state's development priorities. He has been interacting with various experts to revive the state's economy. Capt Amarinder Singh is reportedly exploring new ideas and plans to improve the state's investment climate. However, the real challenge is whether he will be able to curb corruption in the state administration. What Punjab needs is faster development and a clean administration. If the new regime after the poll is able to bring down the level of corruption even by 20 to 25 per cent that will be quite an achievement. As it is, the coffers of the state are empty. How the economy will be revived in these circumstances is a million dollar question. All I can say is good luck whether the Akalis retain power or the Congress swings back. Let the best persons and the best potential combinations rule the state after the February 13 elections. The state of five rivers needs a result-oriented government with due stress on social and economic development. It will have to work hard to regain Punjab's position as Number One state. The people here are capable of responding and delivering the goods provided they are led properly and on the right lines. Religion can certainly ensure personal spiritual salvation. But it cannot meet the expectations of people for high standards of living, better education facilities and better health care while giving them a sense of pride. There is no reason why the Punjabis here cannot do as well as they do overseas — in the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK. It is time Punjab came out of its jinxed existence and the also-ran category. |
The Kasauli Club: an unsentimental epitaph KASAULI'S old colonial-style club has burnt itself to ashes. Recently refurbished at enormous cost, this more than century and a half old institution had been mired in controversy for the past 10 years. From a club renowned at one time for tennis parties and tournaments, amateur dramatics and elegant dance evenings, it had degenerated into a noisy den given to gerrymandering. It had also become a venue to plan and plot shady land deals and property development ventures at the expense of the law and the environment. The ill-mannered infighting in the club had become so ugly that even the deployment of army guards in combat fatigues was used as a part of the club’s petty in-house squabbles. The club that went up in flames on the night of January 13 had become a degenerate, decadent version of old-style burra sahibism. Its burra-sahib (and memsahib) members, desi and Indian of course, uniformed and civilians, used the club as a venue of drinking, barbecue binges, bingo, so-called beauty queen nights featuring, 15-year olds, and flaunting coke ‘n’ pepsi “culture” a la imitation Bollywood. The club had, in fact, been turned into a paddock to display the obese physical and mental contours and measurements of burra sahib officers, businessmen and their families. Kasauli has indeed lost a landmark of vintage colonial architecture as Sanawar did a few years ago, when, it is believed by some, that a certain gentleman burnt down the headmaster’s residence. But the old club had already been given the treatment during the past decade or so. Its tennis courts had become derelict; for there were no takers for the game anymore; its gardens converted into a car-park, for the members found it impossible to walk from their homes or park their limousines in the public car-parks. There was a time when the club manufactured its own club-soda, its own lemonade, ginger ale, tonic water and ginger beer. Over the past many years such useful facilities and strong points of club-life had been allowed to go to seed. Sadly, the seed was pretty rotten, for there was little in the renovated, refurbished club that could commend itself to a healthy, clean and sporty lifestyle. Now the club, nearly all of it is ashes and cinder. An old playground of many a sinner (and a few pretenders to sainthood) is no more. The full-size wood-framed mirror that used to be poised in the hallway for gentleman to make sure if they actually looked the part, if not played it, has also vanished with the flames of providential destiny. And as the club’s tarnished brass mourns and gets drunk over the club’s grave and commiserates its benign and not so benign ghosts, a new empty space with a ruined spectacle in place, beckons Kasauli. May this space and spectacle of ruin rest frozen for posterity as carbon and fossil, our own ground zero in the hills. And, may the wind, sun and starlight be allowed to ventilate and illuminate the ground where Kasauli’s countryhouse club once stood — a club, a hub of our surviving post-colonial vanity and snobbery. However, a certain familiarity with Kasauli’s movers and shakers belies the hope for a cultivated stretch of nature to take command where the club once stood. Thus it is not easy to ward off the nightmare of another club rising tower-like from the ashes, the tennis courts packed like sardines with gypsies, marutis and safaris. Oh! Kasauli your epitaph is a tragedy inexorably on the move and in-the-making. |
Race between India & China IT had been said of the Chinese kow-tow artist, the master in particular, that one could not make out whether he was advancing or retreating before the son of Heaven, the Chinese Emperor. Dissembling is in China’s blood, in its policies, in its way of life. If you take China at its words, it is at your peril. This is what happened to Jawaharlal Nehru. He thought that the Chinese communists were like brothers. He realised later that he was living in a fool’s paradise. But, by then, the damage was done to India. That has not made many of us any wiser. Certainly not the Indian media. Its talk is all about the economic miracle of China. We are told, we are no good. India never had a China policy, unless you can call the slogan “Bhai-Bhai” a policy. But it was not. India has no policy now too. True, it is difficult to evolve a policy towards China, for it does not practise what it preaches. All that we can do is to be friendly, but firm. And we must keep up our relations with Washington. It adds value to our foreign policy. Jiang Zemin, the Chinese President, asks us to leave our disputes with China to future generations and Li Peng, the number two man of China, wants us to look to the future. And Zhu Rongji, the pragmatist, wants us to concentrate on trade and economic relations. China and India are ill-matched. One has a lively memory of its past; the other prefers to forget it. That is why we cannot put aside our
disputes. We must keep them in focus. So when Zhu asks us to concentrate on trade, promising to double or treble the turnover in a decade he was dissembling, he was telling a lie, for while China can flood our market, we have nothing to export to China which China is not already making or making it cheaper. We have much to learn from China. Its GDP is expected to grow to $ 10 trillion by year 2020. These are astronomical figures. If China is able to produce such miracles, it is because its energy flows in one direction and not in a hundred directions as in ours. We do not know how to rein in these wild horses. Zhu is a businessman. So the first thing he did in India was to study the market. What did he discover there? He found that goods made in India are four to six times costlier and of poor quality. But he didn’t ask us to import Chinese goods. The Chinese are cleverer. Instead, he advised us to buy parts from China, assemble them here and sell them at “Indian prices.” Now, which Indian businessman will not jump at the chance of making more money? Already a number of our industrialists have reduced themselves to assemblers of Chinese goods. But, then, they were never good enough for anything else. Socialism provided our industrialists the best of two worlds — the world of public sector, where prices of products and services were kept under check by an obliging ruling class and the world of private enterprise, where prices were free to move up and up. So while the government kept wages and raw material prices under check, it allowed the entrepreneurs to have their way with regard to prices and profits. As a result, India priced itself out of the world markets. Can we bring the prices down? No, never. But we have a middle class of 300 million while China has only a small one of 20-30 million. China has been far more intelligent in managing costs and prices. It is reaping the rewards of its prudence today. It has advantages in land and capital costs, power and raw material costs, as also in labour productivity. Our only advantage is in our knowledge of English. Zhu knew what India is good at. So he went to the heart of the information industry — Bangalore. China intends to catch up and overtake India. But do we know how the Chinese have been able to produce high quality goods at a very low cost? I doubt it. I have not seen in the Indian media one intelligent article on this subject so far. If, as Zhu says, Indian prices are six times the Chinese prices, China has discovered a secret to beat every capitalist country. Only we do not know what it is, for the usual explanation that it is done at the expense of Chinese labour does not wash. The Chinese labour enjoys a far better standard of living compared to Indian labour. But why this sudden interest in business with India? There are two explanations: (1) China wants a share of the Indian market like any other nation and (2) more pertinently, China is worried about the growing “strategic partnership” between India and America and wants to woo India away from America. It offers itself as an alternative attraction to those who are today obsessed with America. China knows that India will be worse for its business with China, but some Indian businessmen will make pots of money and will be ready to drum up hosannas in favour of business with China. It is true we will make the discovery of our folly one day, but who will care at that stage? China knows that America in alliance with India can isolate China, undo China’s foreign policy calculations, for neither Russia nor Japan can be expected to take China’s side if it comes to a crunch. Certainly not at this time, when America is in the
ascendant. But should we fall for this American game of containing China? I have always said no to this enterprise. But can’t we dissemble a bit if it serves our interests? After all, this is part of every nation’s diplomacy. I believe there is a large element of bluster in US policies too. America wants trade with China (it keeps the American cost of living much lower), but America also wants to prevent China from getting ideas about its place under the sun. It is still a whiteman’s world. The yellowman has to wait. But the yellowman is more than willing to wait, for he knows that the whiteman’s days are over, for even if we merely add up the three economies — that of Japan, China and India — it will be greater than the combined economies of America and the European Union. And that is why we should be on our guard about our “strategic partnership” with Uncle Sam. But America is not as good in dissembling as China. Which is why we should be more careful about our relations with China. We may yet be back in the fool’s paradise otherwise. |
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Physical violence against girls on the rise INCIDENTS
of stripping of girls, acid throwing and physical violence against them are growing at an alarming rate in the country, adversely affecting their physical and mental development and often forcing them to commit suicide, according to a recent study. The study, titled “Bharat Mein Balika: Dharam, Himsa, Chhamta Evam Parivartan” by child rights activist and Director of Centre of Concern for Child Labour, Joseph Gathia, has revealed that ‘stripping’ and ‘acid throwing’ were being used as the “most effective way” to silence the girls who protest against sexual harassment. “It is the easiest and the most effective way to humiliate a family, a community and a nation.” Stripping or raping have become increasingly common in tenancy disputes, especially in Kolkata, the report pointed out and said that on an average, every thana there records about 10 cases of stripping a month. “This, when 70 per cent of cases go unreported.” The report, based on a three-year study in 18 states encompassing field work of nearly 70 NGOs, interviewing 11,500 girls of the age group of 6-18 and covering the role of religion, violence, opportunities and changes with regard to development of girls, pointed out that stripping, which is an organised and deliberate crime, has been clubbed with offences like sexual harassment under the umbrella term “outraging a women’s modesty” the maximum punishment for which was just two years imprisonment with or without fine.
UNI |
Kerala on top of suicide chart in the country The suicide rate in Kerala continues to be three times higher than the national average and half of those who kill themselves in God’s Own Country are below 45 years, says a new study. According to the study undertaken by Thanal, a voluntary organisation engaged in activities to check increasing suicidal tendency, as many as 31 per 100,000 population committed suicide in Kerala in 2000 when the national average was 11 per 100,000. Of the 9,304 people who took the extreme step in the state, 1,562 were farmers, a fallout of the grave financial problems the community faced in Kerala. Women accounted for 30 per cent of the victims. Wayanad district accounted for the largest number of cases, followed by Thiruvananthapuram and Idukki, Malappuram recording the lowest.
UNI Italy moves into fast lane with new traffic code Under a new traffic code approved in Italy, motorists will be able to zoom along at up to 150 kph, but could lose their licences if caught gabbing on the mobile telephone while driving. The code, approved yesterday and to go into effect in January 2003, eliminates the so-called “lane of shame” for slow-going vehicles, and raises the speed limit on a few authorised three-lane highways to 150 kph from 130 kph. While still trailing Germany, where there is no speed limit on some parts of the autobahn highway network, Italy’s traffic code has sparked protests from environmentalists and consumer groups worried about accidents and carelessness. “It will end up legitimising and encouraging high speed driving, probably above the new limit,” one consumer group told ANSA news agency after the code was approved at a Cabinet meeting. Under the code’s new “points” system, drivers can lose their licences after a certain number of infractions, including talking on a cellular phone while at the wheel. Motorists can order customised licence plates and get discounts for buying cars fuelled by natural gas, but will also have to obtain driving licences for scooters.
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Yesterday has deceived you and gone; Tomorrow is a doubtful visitor. Today is a fast friend — hold fast to it. You and the Universal are one; You and the Absolute are one; You and the Eternal are one; You are not the individual, the temporary; Realise this truth and be free. You are flowers in God’s garden You are stars in God’s sky. You are the breath of God. It is through him that you are alive, active and aware. You can find the footprints of God wherever there is beauty, virtue, humility, justice, truth, love and peace. You can hear the footsteps of God when silence reigns in the mind. You have come from God. You are a part of His glory; You are a wave of that ocean of bliss; You will get peace only when you again merge in Him. You have the Lord dwelling in the core of your being; Yet you are bound, miserable, limited, weak and agitated. Why? You are ignorant of your spiritual Reality. You may worship the picture of God but you should not worship god as a picture. You must give up the luggage of your desires and wishes and thus make life less burdensome. You must surrender your judgement to the Lord. Then Lord will assume full responsibility. You should not pray to God for secular advantages. You should pray only for grace. — From the discourses of Sathya Sai Baba *** If you hate a person you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What is not part of ourselves does not disturb us. — Herman Hesse, Demain |
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