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Thursday,
June 6, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Almaty Declaration Teetering
on the brink VSNL: avoidable
controversy |
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The
travails of General Musharraf
No dull
moment for this career diplomat
Queen
feted on emotional tide
When sister of a
single marries Diet pills claim
a life
The right
path, right conduct & right action
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Almaty Declaration PRIME Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee returns from the first summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) with a Declaration on Eliminating Terrorism and Promoting Dialogue Among Civilisations, which he had strongly advocated after the December 13 attack on Parliament. The 16 signatories have pledged to eliminate terrorism from the face of Asia and also to be particularly vigilant in ensuring that the global fight against terrorism does not become a war targeting particular cultures, religions or nations. The conference also adopted the Almaty Act condemning terrorism and committing its signatories to not supporting separatist movements on the territory of another member-state. The text noted that signatories of CICA “will unite in their efforts to prevent terrorism either being prepared, launched and financed from the territory of a member-state, and we refuse to offer protection or a home to terrorists”. It specifically barred member-countries from backing separatist movements acting on the territory of other CICA members. Such pious words uttered with such passion! Now if only these could be translated into practice. Perhaps asking for the moon will be more fruitful. What must be remembered is that one of the signatories to the documents is a General-turned-President called Pervez Musharraf who at this very meeting insisted — as he has done at numerous forums around the world - that he was more honest than a lamb as far as cross-border mischief was concerned and the word terrorism had never been there in any dictionary published in Pakistan. That proves how much sanctity is attached to the Almaty Act and Declaration. Incidentally, CICA is yet another international forum which prohibits members from raising bilateral issues but that was no bar on the General to harp on Kashmir. The referendum-legitimised President was fully aware that the audience back home was listening to him live and he used his tongue and the fist to full advantage. As far as other nations were concerned, they were sympathetic to the plight of India, but were hardly willing to go beyond the usual homilies asking both sides to be reasonable and to settle their differences through negotiations. None of them was willing to call a spade a spade. One should be thankful to them that they at least called it a dangerous, sharp-edged instrument. There are several lessons to be learnt. One, while it is fine to expand the campaign against terrorism to continental level, the real battle has to be fought with the help of one’s own devices. Two, in international diplomacy it is not fashionable for anyone to come out openly in support of you — howsoever genuine your cause may be - unless there is a quid pro quo. And three, you have to have tremendous internal strength for the world to take notice of what you are saying. Whether your argument is right or wrong is secondary. |
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Teetering on the brink CLOSE
on the heels of its debacle in the elections to the Goa State Assembly, the fast-paced developments in neighbouring Maharashtra have hit the Congress hard. At stake is the fate of the Vilasrao Deshmukh ministry which seems to be teetering on the brink. If reports were to bear scrutiny, the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party-led coalition government has been reduced to a minority following withdrawal of support to the government by several MLAs, including four legislators of the NCP. The Shiv Sena-BJP combine, waiting in the wings for long to topple the government, has claimed majority support and demanded the resignation of the government. In the 288-member House, the ruling coalition claimed the support of “147” and the Opposition “at least 148”. Amid claims and counterclaims on the majority support, Governor
P. C. Alexander has directed the Chief Minister, Mr Deshmukh, to prove his majority in the State Assembly within 10 days. The trouble started when three ministers representing the Peasants and Workers’ Party (PWP) quit the government in protest against the re-induction of NCP’s former Minister of State Sunil Tatkere into the government. Mr Tatkere was asked to resign four months back for his failure to help PWP regain control on its stronghold, Raigad Zilla Parishad. When the NCP found, after a formal inquiry, that he was not responsible, he was reinducted into the ministry. But this has led to a volley of protests from the allies. Seven members from the Left and the PWP withdrew support to the government three days back. On May 3, six Independents ditched the ministry. Sensing trouble, the Chief Minister quickly inducted three Independents into the ministry on May 4. Mr Deshmukh’s troubles were compounded after some NCP members raised the banner of revolt. The Deshmukh ministry may or may not survive the confidence vote, what with renewed attempts by the Shiv Sena-BJP combine to woo disgruntled members within the NCP. But one thing is clear: it would be difficult for Mr Deshmukh to govern with confidence and ensure a stable government. In fact, ever since the coalition government was formed in the state, the relations between the Congress, the NCP, the PWP and the Left parties have not been smooth. Ego clashes, political rivalry and ideological differences between the ruling partners have all inhibited a conducive atmosphere within the coalition to run the government effectively. Reports suggest that 15 of the 74 Congress members themselves are not happy with Mr Deshmukh’s style of functioning. Among the allies, it is said that the PWP has been setting the agenda for the government for quite some time now. It forced the government to set up a commission to probe the Enron deal and withdraw some revenue-earning measures. The Left parties too are upset with the government’s refusal to reduce power tariffs. They also want a controversial power purchase agreement with Enron’s Indian subsidiary to be scrapped. On top of all is the role of Mr Sharad Pawar, the NCP president, who did not mince words in blasting the government twice recently. His statement on June 4 that he was “prepared” to face a mid-term poll to the State Assembly by June-end has obviously sent shock waves among the 62 NCP members. Is the statement by the Maratha stalwart a precursor to the events to follow in the days to come? |
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VSNL: avoidable controversy BUSINESS
houses normally avoid confrontation with the government even in the changed liberal environment. So when Communications Minister Pramod Mahajan termed as “asset stripping” the VSNL decision to buy a 25 per cent stake in Tata Teleservices for Rs 1,200 crore and the BJP rushed to his support, the Tatas in their dignified way just showed the rule book. Now they have reportedly offered to consider alternative investment plans. The guardians of national assets in the BJP have conceded that the VSNL investment decision may not be illegal, but they have not let the matter rest there. Instead, doubts have been aired on the disinvestment process and the Disinvestment Minister, Mr Arun Shourie, whose role had ended after VSNL was handed over to the Tatas. He was unnecessarily dragged into the unsavoury and totally avoidable controversy. Mr Mahajan has been politely reminded that Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd is no longer part of his empire. Some have even suggested in a lighter vein that once a daughter is handed over in marriage, the good parents do not interfere in her day-to-day married life. There are others who read another meaning in the development. They claim that although Mr Mahajan is the Communications Minister, he was sidelined at the time of disinvestment of VSNL. By stealing the limelight, Mr Shourie, they emphasise, is preparing himself for the post of Finance Minister, which may fall vacant if Mr Yashwant Sinha is shifted because of his much-publicised links with the controversial Flex Industries and none-too-rosey picture on the economic front. That may partly explain why Mr Mahajan gets angry easily these days. But look at the harm he has done to the disinvestment process, which incidentally is the only worthwhile economic activity the Vajpayee government is engaged in these days. The participation of foreign companies in the
government's privatisation programme is already limited. Such post-disinvestment interference will further discourage them. Second, disputes about company decisions, if any, are discussed and resolved by the board of directors concerned. Ministers need not rush to the media with their opinion. Mr Mahajan could have conveyed his views to the board through his government’s two representatives on the VSNL board. Both had raised no objection when the issue was discussed. One of them, however, changed his tune when he saw the minister getting angry. There was no clause in the VSNL selloff agreement concerning investment decisions because, as Mr Shourie has pointed out, such decisions are covered under Section 372 (A) of the Companies Act. Besides, the proposed investment of Rs 1,200 crore will take place in four years and only 10 per cent of the amount is being invested this year. Before rushing with his judgement, Mr Mahajan should have enlightened the public how the decision would harm VSNL, given its shaky position in the emerging competitive environment. |
The travails of General Musharraf THE United Nations University hosted a Conference on South Asia on May 27-28 in Tokyo. Not surprisingly, the focus of attention was almost exclusively on the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. Delegates from South Asian countries, including Afghanistan, and South Asian specialists from around the world participated in the conference. While former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral, who was unable to attend, sent a tough message condemning crossborder terrorism, the Pakistani delegates present, including a former Foreign Minister and Foreign Secretary, remained true to form, criticising India for its actions in Junagadh, Hyderabad and Kashmir and labelling us as a country unable to live at peace with its neighbours. Unfortunately for the Pakistanis, their speeches were made at a time when President Musharraf was delivering a belligerent and uncompromising address to his people and to the world, claiming “we are not allowing any infiltration across the LoC”. The Japanese were not amused. Their Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi asserted: “Japan strongly expects Pakistan will take all steps to stop and prevent terrorist activities, including the infiltration across the Line of Control”. Speaking of India “in the light of its position as a major player in the region” the Foreign Minister appealed to New Delhi to “exhaust all diplomatic efforts and work towards de-escalation”. The Japanese joined the world community in criticising Pakistan’s ill-advised and ill-timed missile tests and reacted with horror when Pakistan Ambassador Munir Akram spoke in the U.N. ever so casually, about Pakistan’s readiness the cross to nuclear threshold. Within the conference, the testing of the missiles named “Ghauri”, “Ghaznavi” and “Abdali” evoked amusement and derision. Everybody was aware that the “Ghauri” was none other than the North Korean “Nodong” missile. The “Ghaznavi” and the “Abdali” were merely replicas or variants of the Chinese M11 missile. A Japanese delegate remarked that given the origin of these missiles it would have been more appropriate if they were christened Kim ul Sung, Deng Xiao Ping and Jiang Zemin!! Amin Saikal, an eminent scholar from Afghanistan, remarked that Mohammad Ghauri, Mahmud Ghazni and Ahmad Shah Abdali hailed from Ghor, Ghazni and Kandahar in Afghanistan. He sarcastically asked whether Pakistan was now intending to lay territorial claims to parts of Afghanistan. I reminded the former Pakistan Foreign Secretary that Ghauri, Ghazni and Abdali had first sacked Pakistani cities like Multan and Lahore before indulging in pillage in Somnath and elsewhere in India and asked him why Pakistanis were choosing to extol those who had looted and destroyed the homes of their forefathers. There was no credible reply. While the Pakistanis love Japanese financial doles, the voice they listen to and cannot ignore is that of the United States. In an unprecedented rebuke, President Bush said on May 27 that he wanted General Musharraf “to show results, in terms of stopping people from crossing the Line of Control, stopping terrorism”. General Musharraf’s buddy General Colin Powell proclaimed on June 2: “We are pressing President Musharraf to cease all infiltration activities on the part of terrorist organisations across the Line of Control”. The European Union, the Russian Federation and the G 8 have expressed similar sentiments. Pakistanis have an almost naive tendency to believe that China is one country that will forgive them for all their errors of omission and commission and support them blindly against India. China’s response on May 30 could not have particularly warmed Pakistani hearts. While condemning terrorism, the Chinese Foreign Office spokesman said that Kashmir is an issue left over by history and needs to be resolved through peaceful means. China seems to be in the horns of a dilemma. It is concerned about the increasing American influence and presence in South Asia, but is unable to do anything about it. Apart from exaggerated expectations of Chinese diplomatic and military support, the Pakistanis also have illusions about their indispensability to the so-called Islamic Ummah. Kashmir is constantly projected as an Islamic issue and equated with Palestine. The Arabs are now realising that this is a self-serving Pakistani ploy. In the past, the Pakistani infiltrated OIC Secretariat routinely condemned India on any issue the Pakistani staff wanted. However, on June 2, the Secretary General of the OIC for the first time condemned terrorism in all its forms and called on the international community to act decisively to prevent the escalation of the situation between India and Pakistan. Not a single Islamic country has come out openly in support of Pakistan or criticised India. Most Islamic countries have either chosen to remain silent, or called for restraint and de-escalation-formulations that New Delhi can comfortably live with. Significantly, Sudan has condemned the terrorist attack on the Army camp in Kaluchak. New Delhi can thus be pleased with the results of its post-December 13 diplomatic offensive in the Islamic World. New Delhi should realise that it is dealing with an internationally isolated and domestically discredited ruler in Pakistan. Musharraf’s rhetoric of May 27, Munir Akram’s threat of a nuclear war, Musharraf’s subsequent retraction of this threat and the missile tests were all attempts at psychological warfare by a military ruler. While these moves have boomeranged internationally, they have nevertheless engineered some domestic support for the cornered General. These acts have also led to a measure of panic internationally, resulting in the Americans taking the lead in evacuating their citizens. It is, therefore, imperative that India should explain its strategy frankly and transparently to the international community. Despite all their bluff and bluster, Pakistan’s military rulers know that while a nuclear exchange could cause grievous damage to India, it would lead to Pakistan’s annihilation. Pakistan’s Generals are not suicidal. The Pakistanis are also aware of the eagle’s eye that the western world maintains on their nuclear arsenal and delivery platforms. There can be no question of New Delhi pulling its armed forces back from the borders, till there are firm indications that Pakistan’s use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy has irrevocably ended. While eschewing rhetoric, we should make it clear to the Americans and others that the General should be kept on a tight leash whenever economic assistance is extended to Pakistan. In other words, aid to Pakistan should be linked to its performance in irrevocably ending support for cross-border terrorism. This message will no doubt be firmly conveyed to American envoys like Richard Armitage and Donald Rumsfeld when they visit India. There is little doubt that in the short-term, General Musharraf will be compelled to reduce the profile of cross-border terrorism. A face saving way to achieve this would be to get the ISI sponsored United Jihad Council in Muzzafarabad to announce a short-term ceasefire. This will enable the ISI to calibrate the level of violence in J&K and also keep its cadres active in intimidating those who would wish to participate in the forthcoming State Assembly elections. Even those Hurriyat leaders who were earlier showing signs of being persuaded to join the democratic processes now seem to lack the courage to participate in the elections, after the assassination of Abdul Ghani Lone. The entire strategy of Pakistan in the coming months would be to subvert the democratic processes in J&K. New Delhi appears to have substantially succeeded in its diplomatic efforts to get the international community to turn the heat on General Musharraf to end support for cross-border terrorism. But the more daunting task that it now has to address is the effort to mobilise public support within Jammu and Kashmir to overcome fear of the terrorist gun, reject violence and participate in the Assembly elections in October. Given the fear of terrorist violence that pervades the minds of people in Jammu and Kashmir after the assassination of Abdul Ghani Lone, it remains to be seen whether this can be achieved. |
No dull moment for this career diplomat CAREER diplomat Manbir Singh, Ambassador-designate to Hungary, has invariably found himself in the most happening place during his postings abroad. He has been witness to historic developments unfolding in rapid fire succession. There has hardly been a dull moment since he joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1976. Having chosen Persian as his language, Teheran was his first foreign destination in 1978 as language trainee, second secretary (Press and Information) and subsequently as Head of Chancery. Those were the days of the revolution with Iran becoming an Islamic Republic in 1979 and the ruling Shah being forced into exile. With the Clergy reigning supreme and curfew in force, Manbir Singh’s daughters — Bahar and Samar — were born in Teheran. After spending four eventful years in Teheran, he moved to Toronto as Deputy Consul-General and the three years that he spent there were not without its attendant challenges because of Operation Blue Star in June 1984 and Indira Gandhi’s assassination in October the same year. Then in June 1985 the Air India 747 Kanishka on the Toronto-Montreal-London-Delhi-Bombay flight disintegrated and fell from the sky over the Atlantic ocean killing all the 329 persons on board. He returned to headquarters in New Delhi as OSD (PR) in the External Publicity Division before proceeding to Moscow in 1989 as Commercial and Economic Counsellor in the Embassy. The erstwhile USSR disintegrated dramatically in December 1991 which is seen as the most important political event of the 20th Century. After the resignation of Michael Gorbachev, the Soviet Union broke up into 15 States. From Moscow, Manbir Singh went to the
Permanent Mission of India in Geneva looking after Unctad and G-15 in 1992. The Uruguay round had just begun. In 1995 he was posted to the UAE as minister in charge of political, press, consular and labour wings. While in Abu Dhabi he was directly involved with the repatriation of 60,000 Indians predominantly from Kerala during an amnesty granted by the UAE government. Since 1999 he has been Chief of Protocol in the MEA and has overseen the visit of a record 66 foreign dignitaries in 2001. That enabled him to interact with a host of world leaders — Bill Clinton, Vladimir Putin, Tony Blair, Gen Pervez Musharraf — among others. The extremely soft-spoken Manbir Singh found Gen Musharraf “energetic” and constantly quizzing the Chief of Protocol about the administration in India especially the law and order machinery. Hailing from Chandigarh and having done his schooling and post-graduation in economics from Le Corbusier’s city, Manbir Singh’s ambition was to join one of the uniformed services, probably the Indian Police Service but fate and circumstances willed otherwise. His late father who was an engineer wanted his only son to follow in his footsteps. “I was very poor in maths and had no interest in Chemistry and Physics,” he says as a matter of fact. Having finished 17th in order of merit in the Civil Services examination, the late Giani Zail Singh as Chief Minister of Punjab had wanted him to join the Punjab cadre of the IAS. But that was not to be and Manbir Singh a quarter century down the line believes being a career diplomat is the best that has happened to him. His wife Jaspal is from New Delhi. She has a forces background and studied in various parts of the country. His mother lives in Chandigarh. Honour for India After being acknowledged globally in IT and Finance, Indian marketing has broken new ground with the appointment of Anil Kapoor heading a leading advertising agency in this country as a member of the FCB Worldwide (Foote, Cone and Belding) Board, New York. An alumni of New Delhi’s St Stephens College and having done his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Kapoor has been MD/CEO of the FCB-ULKA advertising for the last 14 years. Kapoor said his appointment on the Worldwide Board “is a great honour for India and the Indian advertising industry. This is global recognition of Indian talent and underlines the fact that the country has very superior talent.” Involved with ABC and other media bodies, the media shy Kapoor has been the president of the Advertising Association of India. |
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When sister of a single marries
SIBLING relationships are difficult at the best of times, and sisters are the most complicated of all. Boys are pretty straightforward. They either get on with each other or not. Women seem to have a gene missing when it comes to making emotions anything but tangled. I love my own sister very much but I often fantasise about practising Chinese torture methods on her. We have the worst arguments. Most of them about important issues like where we should have dinner, whose turn it is to put petrol in the car or why it took her over an hour to call me back. We established recently that part of our problem is that it’s easy to be blase about bad behaviour and expect forgiveness solely on the basis of being blood relatives. This is not a good idea; plenty of family relationships, like friendships, do break down. I suggest you imagine what life would be like without your sister around. If, like me, you realise you couldn’t do without her, then you need to do something about your behaviour. Bursting into tears when she tells you she’s getting married certainly doesn’t sound supportive. In fact, it’s the sort of reaction I’d expect from my boyfriend’s ex, not my own flesh and blood. The first thing you need to do is call and apologise. Then you need to take a long, hard look at the
picture you’ve created of yourself in the great scheme of things. It sounds like you may find that if life were a window, you’d be blocking the view with your own reflection. Do I detect a whiff of self-pity? There is nothing worse than the whingeing victim. The people who imagine themselves to be at the epicentre of life’s woes while the rest of mankind marches around unscathed. Believe it or not, the fact that your sister has met her match is in no way connected to the fact that you haven’t. It doesn’t mean you are any less lucky or less attractive or that you are tragically hard done by. It just means that right now the fates are smiling on someone else. This may come as a shock, but her happiness is totally unconnected to your own unhappiness. You just have to mentally sever the link. Not everything reverts to you. In my experience, the person who sits around feeling sorry for themselves is also the person who point blank refuses to do anything positive about their own life. Get up off your butt! It’s very easy to lie around revelling in your miserable status as a magnet for misfortune. The challenge is to change your own life for the better. Step one is to stop measuring it against everyone else’s. This means not being suffused with envy when you’re faced with other people’s good fortune or smugly delighted when someone else’s luck runs out. The Observer |
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Diet pills claim a life THE health authorities in Singapore filed charges against the importer of China-made “Slim 10” diet pills after one woman died, another needed a liver transplant and at least 14 others fell ill. “It is a warning to anyone who deals in medicinal products that they have to take care to ensure their products are not adulterated,’’ Clarence Tan, CEO of the Health Sciences Authority, was quoted by The Straits Times as saying. The pills have been linked to hepatitis. In two cases, television personality Andrea De Cruz and logistics executive Selvarani Raji, it led to liver failure.
DPA |
Queen feted on emotional tide BRITAIN’S Queen Elizabeth gave heartfelt thanks to her family and subjects as four days of pomp and pop-filled golden jubilee celebrations drew to a close on a tidal wave of emotional support. More than one million persons packed central London waving flags, cheering and singing patriotic songs yesterday as the 76-year-old monarch smiled and waved to the throng from the balcony of Buckingham Palace at the climax of the festivities. She even made an encore appearance to satisfy the crowd of all ages and from all corners of the world before the rain — which had threatened all day — took its cue and came down. “I think we can look back with measured pride on the history of the past 50 years,” she told a dignitary-studded lunch at London’s historic Guildhall earlier in the day. “Gratitude, respect and pride. These words sum up how I feel about the people of this country and the Commonwealth, and what this golden jubilee means to me,’’ she added.
Reuters Circumcision cuts AIDS chances New cellular research suggests performing circumcision might help protect men — and possibly their partners — from contracting AIDS, researchers told UPI. The research examined laboratory specimens of healthy human foreskin — the covering of the penis often removed in an operation, usually soon after birth — and specimens of cervical tissue from women undergoing surgery. They searched for CD4 T-cells, macrophages and Langerhan’s cells, all of which are targets for the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV — the virus that causes AIDS. UPI Too many studies get publicised Some scientific studies get publicity before they should, with a review of a year’s worth of research that generated news coverage concluding some proved disappointing or even wrong, researchers have said. News stories trumpeting preliminary studies can cause headaches for doctors and could be dangerous for patients who demand unproven or unavailable therapies. “The current press coverage of scientific meetings may be characterized as ‘too much, too soon,”’ Dr Lisa Schwartz of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vermont, wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Reuters |
The right path, right conduct & right action THE Gujarat carnage has made most Indians stop in their tracks. Most Hindus would rather die than identify themselves or their religion with the brutality that has gone on in the state day after day. As such Hinduism has never been an institutionalised religion and we have never had a clergy that has told us what to do. The Hindu dharma has always preached tolerance and it has never negated the existence of other forms of religious worship. To have a political party condone implicitly the killing of innocent people, the majority of whom are women and children, in the name of an exceptional religion is unacceptable. Hinduism does not insist that you preach or propagate a certain kind of worship and it has left behind a vast body of spiritual wisdom unparalleled in the world. Today we have to hang our heads in shame as the so-called political followers of this religion who hang on to external symbols as a justification of their belief, unleash their savagery on innocents, who do not possess arms and who cannot retaliate. Says the Tirukkural, an ancient book of wisdom in Tamil by Tiruvalluvar. “The hair on the head is a thing of beauty. Removed from its place, it becomes filth. The same is the fate of men who descend from their own level of honourable conduct and demean themselves.” I cannot think of a better way to describe the Gujarat politician and politicians in general in the country who have let the country down in the name of religion. No religion propagates violence and every religion says makes peace with the neighbour. Says British theologian Cardinal John Newman. “We can believe what we choose. We are answerable for what we choose to believe.” In Gujarat, therefore, the so-called followers of the Hindu faith chose to harm not the perpetrators of the Godhra incident in which Hindus were murdered, but innocent women and children, who had nothing at to do with the incident. What was worse was that they used religion to justify it. Cardinal Newman has also said: “When men understand what each other mean, they see, for the most part, that controversy is either superfluous or hopeless.” There is an air of hopelessness about Gujarat. It fills every right-thinking Hindu with despair. Are we really capable of this scale of violence in the name of religion? If it is true, then there is no hope for us. We need to be saved from ourselves. A spiritual awakening is required in the country. Keeping silent or ignoring the problem cannot wish it away. If this can happen in Gujarat what about other parts of the country where there is a large concentration of the minority community? The Upanishads say, “A person is what his deep desire is. It is our deepest desire in this life that shapes the life to come. So let us direct our deepest desires to realise the Self.” Realisation of Self does not come with unleashing our savage instincts on others. The ancient Hindu treatise goes on to say, “The Self, who can be realised by the pure in the heart, who is life, light, truth, space, who gives rise to all works, all desires, all odours, all tastes, who is beyond words, who is joy-abiding — this is the Self dwelling in my heart.” Can we say we are pure in the heart after all that is happened? The powerful purity and wisdom of this ancient religion stands desecrated at the altar of extremism and bigotry. How do we show our face to the world? With what do we defend ourselves, as we stand naked without a shred of decency to cover ourselves? We have humiliated ourselves as a nation, as a people and as a religion. We have descended to unimaginable depths to justify our bestial nature. It is time, therefore, that we as a nation and as a community took steps in our minds and in our heart to rectify the situation as it exists. We have to restore the confidence of the minority in us as a nation and in Hinduism, which preaches tolerance in the widest possible sense. The Tirukkural says, “A good government never swerves from dharma... “We have to put this ancient wisdom into practice, as it is true for all ages and for all times. Swerving from the path of dharma or right conduct leads to tragic consequences as we continue to witness in Gujarat. Therefore, the right path, right conduct and right action will lead us out of darkness into light. |
One should bring to bay or discipline, by the hook of knowledge, the elephant of the senses which is running to and fro in a destructive manner in the vast forest of enjoyable things. Sound, touch, sight, taste and smell — each of these five alone is sufficient to cause destruction. The deer which is innocent feeds upon grass and blades, and can roam far and wide, seeks death attracted by the music of the tempter. The elephant whose stature is like the peak of a mountain and who can uproot trees with ease, is however caught because of the pleasure of contact with the female. The fly gets death by falling suddenly into the lamp because of its mad passion through gratification of eyes by the light of the wick in a mild lamp. The fish though it dives into unfathomed depths and lives in distant abodes, tastes the angle with meat for death. The bee which has the power of cutting holes, and can fly with wings gets however caught within a lotus because of its desire for smell. These poison-like vishayas are each capable of ruining men. Cannot the combined Five cause destruction? —
Shukraniti, Chapter 1, 193-194, 201-214 Nam is the root of all knowledge, Nam is the door to salvation. The one whose heart is occupied by the Lord, He falls not in the entanglements of the world. My boat is weak, but... the guru is my boatman, Taking the Name from him, I shall at once ferry across. —
Guru Ravidas, Vani (Sakhi), 10, 21,39, 153. |
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