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Monday,
June 10, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Major
gains for India LCA hopes
and hype |
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Immigration
crisis in Europe Have
hope if you want to cope
Blending
materialism with emotionalism
A case
of too much, too soon
Dracula
lives on in English town Einstein,
a money-spinner for varsity
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Major gains for India THE intensification of coercive diplomacy vis-a-vis Pakistan has brought certain major gains for India. The just concluded visit of US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage to New Delhi and Islamabad has made India feel that everything has begun moving towards the easing of tension on the border. India has officially reacted in a positive manner to Pakistan's promise of ending "immediately and permanently cross-border infiltration of terrorists" into Kashmir, describing it as a "step forward and in the right direction". External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh has made it known to US Secretary of State Colin Powell on the telephone that India has taken an otherwise undependable Gen Pervez Musharraf's pledge on the question of cross-border terrorism on its face value. The pledge was conveyed to India through Mr Armitage. But first let us have a look at the outcome of India's diplomatic efforts. One, the country has succeeded in securing a categorical promise from Pakistan's military ruler to bury the monstor of Kashmir-related terrorism forever. This means that terrorism should no longer be used as an instrument of state policy by Islamabad. Two, Pakistan has agreed to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure on a permanent basis, indirectly accepting India's viewpoint that the terrorist training camps that had come up in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and elsewhere in that country were a reality and got sustenance officially. Three, General Musharraf has expressed his willingness to hold talks with India without any preconditions, contrary to Pakistan's earlier insistence on the centrality of the Kashmir issue. All this shows that Pakistan is inching towards a clear U-turn in its Kashmir policy, of course under tremendous international pressure, as it did in the case of Afghanistan under the Taliban. Since General Musharraf has made his commitments to US, UK and other world leaders, it is their responsibility to ensure that there is a quick change in the ground reality accordingly. India has to wait and watch what follows now. There is no question of withdrawing the troops ready for a decisive battle near the border. There is need for utmost caution as this country is dealing with a crafty ruler on the other side. We are faced with a tricky war of nerves. The USA is trying to convince India that there has been a decline in terrorist
infiltration since May 27 when the General made a vague promise on the subject in the course of his televised address to his people. The immediate international purpose is to make India reciprocate in a manner it deems fit. It is learnt that an exercise is on to restore the strength of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to the level that existed before the December 13 terrorist attack at the Parliament complex in New Delhi. There is no harm in taking such a step provided Pakistan gives an undertaking that staff members will not be victimised as it happened in the case of Mr Kulwant Singh at the hands of ISI operatives. However, India cannot change its military position at the border without satisfying itself that the specific purpose for which the troops were deployed in such a large strength has finally been achieved — ensuring the demise of cross-border terrorism. |
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LCA hopes and hype HIGHLY laudatory reports appear in the Press every now and then about the exceptionally successful test flights of the light combat aircraft (LCA). But the long-awaited plane continues to remain as elusive as ever. In fact, it is many years behind schedule. Highly placed Indian Air Force sources, who are to finally use the machine, do not share the enthusiasm of the makers about its merits. Insiders are sceptical about its capabilities and also pooh-pooh its claim to be an indigenous machine. Since the engine and advanced avionics are all imported, it can hardly be called a swadeshi aircraft. Had its performance been up to the mark, even that shortcoming could have been overlooked. But there are serious doubts about its quality too. Naturally, fingers are being raised about the feasibility of the whole project. The Rs 2,500-crore LCA project has been in the pipeline for the past 16 years now. There is no doubt that the country has to
fine-tune its R and D effort greatly to be able to come on a par with the leaders in the aviation manufacture. But the results of decades of hit and trial are not quite as impressive as it is made out to be by the interested parties. What is of paramount significance is the fact that the Air Force does not require these planes far out in the future. These are urgently needed for immediate use. This single-seat, single-engine, all-weather supersonic fighter designed for air-to-air, air-to-ground and air-to-sea combat roles is supposed to replace the ageing MiG fleet. The old plane is accident prone, and numerous accidents have depleted India’s strength. As of today, it is being claimed that the aircraft will join the IAF in 2006. The country is passing through a difficult phase. It does have superiority over Pakistan in the air but it is not quite so pronounced as to allow India the luxury of being complacent. In the unlikely (hopefully!) situation of a war, the presence of every single plane is going to count. The nation needs reassurance on two counts. One, that the long delay in the LCA project has not affected the country’s state of preparedness. And two, that whenever this plane is finally inducted into active service — whether it is in 2006 as claimed or even later — it will be as good, if not better, than the aircraft in possession of the country’s adversaries. |
Immigration crisis in Europe IF present-day Europe is to be defined by one word, it is immigration. For years now there has been a dissonance between the traditionally tolerant norms of the countries of north-western Europe and the evolving popular mood. The dam burst when the extreme right began saying the politically incorrect things and struck a chord with a significant number of fellow countrymen and women. It is no longer merely a question of Turkish “guest workers” who participated in the West German economic boom sticking out like a sore thumb. Rather, the tolerance of the cosmopolitan West European elite has reached its limit. And the extreme right is forcing the people to confront the question: why should Europe accept people who refuse to integrate and want to live in a world of their own? Indeed, the remarkable change in Europe is that the pendulum has swung to the other extreme. The tolerant must answer why people belonging to another culture refuse to be governed by the norms of their host nation. In one European country after another, the extreme right has made strides because it reflects popular trends towards immigrants more than the theme song of mainstream parties. Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair, ever the savvy politician when he is not being the spinmaster, bluntly told his European colleagues recently that the countries of the European Union must tackle the problem of illegal immigration if the issue is not to be hijacked by the extreme right. To a considerable extent, it already has, as the bastions of traditional liberalism like Denmark and the Netherlands are leading the rightward march. Members of the European Union have indeed put their heads together to address this vexatious issue, without conspicuous success thus far. But the danger is that in meeting the extreme right’s arguments, EU governments, whatever their stripe, will exercise a heavy hand on the legitimate ethnic minorities in their nation states. It is, of course, a reasonable proposition that those who choose to make Europe their home should observe the norms of their host countries, except in the privacy of their homes. But the new mood Western Europe represents, in varying degrees, is a turning away from the concept of a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society. Somewhat like the South African Boers, Europeans are seeking to protect their societies by circling their wagons. It is an absurd proposition in today’s day and age, and, to place it in perspective, ethnic minorities represent a minuscule proportion of the European population. The travails and stresses of the modern world, combined with an ageing population and the new perceptions of terrorism, have traumatised sections of the people. And the extreme right has been fanning the flames for partisan profit. The mainstream parties in West Europe are running scared. In an age in which the socialists have lost their traditional base and are competing with the conservatives and capitalists to make themselves relevant, the old communists and the workers and tradesmen have often nowhere to go but to the extreme right with its simplistic perceptions of chasing the predatory “foreigners” away to get them back their jobs and prosperity. The angry lower middle class whites in the USA perform military drills and adopt a philosophy of hating the federal government and, on occasion, plant bombs to protest against being left on the shelf of history. The disadvantaged Europeans are expressing their anger over being made redundant by the Information Age by flocking to the extreme right. It is a dangerous mix because the issues of illegal immigration, crime in the streets and vandalism get inextricably mixed up in the popular mind. In the present mood, it is easy to equate a nation’s problems with ethnic minorities following different norms and allegedly abusing the once generous social security benefits. For the present, the mainstream parties in West Europe have decided that they need to move to the right to deprive the extreme right of the growing space it is beginning to occupy. It is rather like the old Labour parties becoming avid capitalists in varying degrees to secure or retain power. Whatever the reasons, West Europe is in a regressive mood, with voices of sanity and tolerance being drowned by the new awareness of the alien presence. How long this mood lasts will depend in part on an end to the recession and the capacity of the mainstream parties to recover their balance. Europe must fight two battles at the same time. It must battle the forces of regression even as it enlarges and re-invigorates the European community by enlarging the Union. France is an obvious candidate for a leadership role in this context. Indeed, a vigorous debate has begun in the pages of such newspapers as Le Monde on the pros and cons of an issue that will not go away. Beyond the fate of the ethnic minorities, at stake are liberal European values that have traversed much ground in recent centuries through the renaissance and the reformation. The Nazi era represented one Nadir while the treatment of Palestinians by Israelis is a modern tragedy. It is significant that West Europeans are increasingly taking on a leadership role in criticising Israel for its conduct because the US vision is traditionally clouded by the American Jewish lobby and self-interest. The immigration issue is here to stay because European individuals and nation-states are having to make enormous adjustments in the information age, and political parties must fight elections and win them. The pot having been stirred by the extreme right, mainstream parties must deflect popular anger towards saner and more realistic goals. Rather like the entertainment and sports fields in the USA, black or coloured soccer stars in Europe, for instance, remain immune to the anti-foreigner mood. The challenge is to translate this inter-racial tolerance into the wider arena, with the poison of a new hate spreading around Europe. Perhaps, Europe needs a new Reformation to purify itself. |
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Have hope if you want to cope A
hospitable hospital. Sounds paradoxical. Hospitality and hospital are as far apart as chalk from cheese. Don’t mistake appurtenances for their core competence or lack thereof, which is healthcare in style. My friend looked askance at me. He accompanied me to the hospital where the six footer durban rose with hospitable haste to hold open the car door and ushered us in. The lobby resembled that of a star hotel with appropriate hardware and software dotting the landscape — shoppe, restaurant, mediation hall, temple, manicured gardens, shades of green and gray et al. Occasional sonorous announcements making the white robed figures scurrying around, milling but methodically moving crowd of well wishers, some anxious others excited, lent an air of hope to cope. A hospital is about healthcare just as a shrine is about prayer. What is health is as profound a query as what is time. Some answers occurred to me during my sojourn in this hospital. Man alone has been endowed with free will which he uses to define his karma — scape. The animal world, plants and all animate and inanimate beings follows the laws of nature. Living beings except homosapiens are pre-programmed in terms of stimulus and response. They have no thinking ability. They cannot feign appearances which is our prerogative. This is not to be compared with the capability to
camouflage, innate to certain species in the kingdom of creatures. This is part of their survival kit, which gets into act according to the laws of stimulus — response mechanism. But man stands out as a solitary exception of lawlessness which leads to discord. The laws of health are the laws of nature. Those who neglect these laws become victims to incurable diseases and drag a cheerless existence, says Swami Sivananda. You can be the author of your own health or disease. Physical health is derived from mental health. When you have controlled the mind you have perfect control over the body which is only a shadow of the mind. Good or ill health is a state of mind. Norman Cousins believes that drugs are not always necessary. Belief in recovery always is. Examples exist. We all exist beyond our bodies. Swami Sivananda says that during illness, detach yourself from the body. Connect the mind with Buddhi and soul. And assert again and again. “I am the bodiless, diseaseless, all-pervading, immortal soul or atman. Presto! the disease will take to its heels.” Auto — suggestion is a powerful Vedantic tool. Say to yourself: By the grace of god, I am becoming better and better, day by day, in every way. Think constantly, “I’m the spirit, the atman which is independent of the body and the mind, which is diseaseless,” This is a panacea. But a patient has to be patient. He cannot afford to be impatient. Being impatient would again lead to read I-M-PATIENT. Dr Ravi Bhatia, a neurosurgeon of reputed who operated upon me for pituitary adenoma with hemorrhage at the Indraprastha Appolo Hospital, in April, chided me for being an impatient patient when I coping up with the post-operative hormonal havoc. “You are running a marathan, not a 100-metre race” he chortled. Time will heal everything. And it is doing. G.B. Shaw’s The Doctor’s Dilemma counsels us to “use your health even to the point of wearing it out. That is what it is for. Spend all you have before you die; and do not outlive yourself.” But who will not agree with this poet’s suggestion: We squander Health In search of Wealth. We scheme and toil and save, Then squander Wealth In search of Health. And all we get’s grave, We live and boast of what we own We die and only get a stone. |
Blending materialism with emotionalism “WE never do wrong nor do we tolerate it” could well be only the common statement that while injustice is a sin, putting up with it is a greater sin in other words, which is often parroted casually from political platforms. Without any qualms it is also conceded that today in the factual world such an ideal can decorate only classroom walls but not the director’s report of a successful company. Well, now take a declaration such as this: “We never plan, never act, never need, never desire so, never ask anything which is not legitimately due to us from anybody including people from legislature, judiciary, administration or from any field. Never with any kind of intention which is against the interest of society and country, against the law of the land or against basic values and ethics”. What will a man-in-the-street’s response to it be? Isn’t one reminded here of Carlyle’s cryptic comment to the effect that if Jesus Christ were to come today, people would not even crucify him; they would ask him to dinner, hear what he had to say and make fun of it! The change since Carlyle’s day may well only be that today our scribes can start making fun without showing the courtesy of listening to him — much less hosting him a dinner! But wonder of wonders, there does exist a company which lives — keeping this pledge — and has grown from one establishment with just three workers and assets worth Rs. 2000 only in 1978 to a ‘parivar’ with 2342 establishments, over six lakh workers and assets worth over Rs. 9600 crore in 1999! No less spell binding is the fact that it can boast of ‘the largest, best and the most disciplined workforce of karmayogis with no ‘malik’ and — hold your breath, defying all Marxist prophecies, no trade-union! It claims to be the world’s largest one but still a family, and an emotionally integrated family to boot! What is the emotional bond which explains the mystery of such integration in an age when even units bound with the ties of blood are in shambles? To what does this organisation owe its inimitable discipline — a quality which has been thrown out of the window by forums extending from our august Parliament down to our academic institutions which are supposed to be a nation’s vehicles to excellence? What appears to be and has been described as a miracle was the concept of just one person who has implemented it too. Has Subrata Rai Sahara landed upon an Alladdin’s lamp? Or a Kalpavriksha? In a way, yes, but one is not likely to discover a secret recipe in the book which narrates the story of his experiences. The Parivar has enthroned motherland as the goddess to be worshipped. The idol of Bharat Mata holding aloft the tricolour and riding a chariot drawn by four fierce looking lions has been installed in the centre of the Parivar’s headquarters and an annual programme called ‘Bharat Parva’ has been started to arouse patriotic feelings. But that — unbacked by appropriate mundane steps — would have remained (to use a rather strong term) sanctimonious humbug. But we have here a company whose Chairman insists on being described as s ‘managing worker’ (instead of Managing Director) and in which “all directors, partners, promoters and shareholders are from the workers’ rank and all have taken an oath through notary affidavit in the court of law that neither they nor their family members can ever share the profit or assets of the company. The importance of life’s material aspect is not ignored, but is given a second priority by blending materialism with emotionalism. Through collective sharing and caring, an impetus is given to its philosophy of ‘Collective Materialism’. “We chase quality —quantity chases us.” Thirty-five per cent of the company’s profit “goes to its net owned fund, 25 towards social development activities and 40 per cent towards welfare of karmayogi workers” is their pronouncement. The cementing of the family set up is the personal example of the founder, his self-abnegation and winning ways. The result was beautifully summed up by a Japanese visitor thus : “By seeing Sahara family, I have seen as much of life as the world can show!” The writer is the Governor of Madhya Pradesh. |
A case of too much, too soon RESULTS of medical studies presented at high-profile medical conventions can be premature, exaggerated and reflect the bias of some researchers taking part, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) said. JAMA turned its issue released over to a group of physicians and scientific communication specialists who described in unflattering terms the way in which researchers and well-known medical journals reported findings. “Some medical press releases use formats that may exaggerate the perceived importance of findings and do not routinely highlight study limitations,” wrote Steven Woloshin and Lisa Schwartz, of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in White River Junction, in the northeast US state of Vermont. The analysis covered 359 articles on new treatments published in medical journals between 1989 and 1988. “Our review of the literature showed that, in the majority of cases, only the most favorable statistic was used when reporting the results of these studies,” Jim Nuovo, of the medical faculty at the University of California at Sacramento, said.
AFP
A vanishing tribe in Kerala They are unwanted visitors in many a Kerala home as more often than not they bring bad tidings. The “telegraph men” are a vanishing tribe today in the state. The number of telegraph men, who deliver telegrams to the remotest corners of Kerala, has come down from around 500 to less than 100 in the past two decades. P. K. Radhakrishnan, the sub divisional engineer (administration) in the Central Telegraph Office (CTO), agrees their numbers have fallen drastically. “Today, on account of telephone penetration and e-mail facilities, the average number of telegrams booked in my office on a day has come down from 1,500 to just 600 in the past two decades,” Radhakrishnan says. “Likewise, the number of telegraph men in my office has also come down from 56 to nine.” The CTO here way back in 1996 became the country’s first Internet kiosk in the government sector. Today, to compensate for the decrease in the number of telegrams booked, there are six nodes where Internet access is provided. Despite the Rs.30 per hour rate that is charged, there is a heavy demand for the service. The telegram business is also not lucrative for the department. Radhakrishnan said a 10-word telegram costs a client Rs 3.50. But it costs the department Rs. 22.50 to deliver it.
IANS Aussie mates for Orissa’s cows With the number of cows in Orissa decreasing, the state government has decided to take the Aussie bull by the horns. The state veterinary directorate says it will bring in about 300 Australian bulls to mate with the cows. The latest cattle census, conducted every five years, showed the number of cows had declined by over 2.5 million since 1995. The state had two bull semen banks in Bhabanipatna in the Kalahandi district and Cuttack. Both are now dysfunctional due to funds crunch. In 1975, the state imported 20 bulls. It also brought in several indigenous breeds from New Delhi’s breeding farm. Cows in Orissa generally give birth to one calf every three years and their lactation period lasts about six months. But crossbreeds calve every year and give milk up to 300 days. The state has informed the Centre it wants to buy about 60 bulls in the first phase and the rest in batches. It is awaiting the Centre’s response.
IANS |
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Dracula lives on in English town
Whitby, England Or so they say in Whitby, where the Irish author came for a holiday and ended up writing the legendary novel about a blood-sucking count who turns his victims into vampires with just one bite. Whitby, a small fishing town nestling beneath rugged cliffs and steep hills, features in just three chapters of the book but this is no obstacle to the lucrative Dracula-tourism that pulls in thousands of visitors a year. More than a century since ''Dracula'' tapped into a 19th century fascination with ghosts and the supernatural, Whitby has become a haunt for a new generation of devotees. Their faces painted with black and white makeup, dressed in 19th century-style costume or all in black with heavy silver chains, these so-called ''Goths'' flock to Whitby, which they describe as their spiritual home. Twice a year Goths take over the town for a ''Goth weekend'', but there is also a steady stream throughout the year, Whitby Tourist Office said. Goth Sharon Rawson, her blood-red lips and black-rimmed eyes striking against a white-powdered face, said of the town she visits often: ''It's the absolute inspiration for Goths because it spawned the concept of vampirism. Whitby is endearing, intriguing and all-consuming. Bram Stoker has added to the atmosphere he was inspired by...Dracula's still alive here, the myth is immortalised.'' The rector of the local church welcomes the Goths and says he is certain the mystery-steeped town is haunted. ''The northeast coast is littered with ghost stories and supernatural stories,'' said Rector David Smith. Romanian Alexandra Nasta, a distant relative of Vlad the Impaler, upon whom the Transylvanian Count Dracula was loosely based, came to visit the site of Stoker's inspiration. ''The mist rolls in from the sea over the ruins. It's bleak, atmospheric. I can see how easy it would be to inspire someone with such a story,'' she said. Casual vampire-spotters also boost tourism revenues in the town, whose fishing fleet has more than halved over the last 10 years. Local Dracula expert Harry Collett, top-hatted and dressed head-to-toe in black and red, makes his living telling tourists that Dracula still stalks the streets looking for a tender neck to sink his teeth into.
Reuters |
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Einstein, a money-spinner for varsity Jerusalem The image of the wild-haired professor is instantly recognisable as the German-born genius who rocketed to international stardom for his theories on relativity which revolutionised mankind’s understanding of the universe. So it is not surprising that companies selling everything from computer software to toys vie to use Einstein’s name and image in advertising to persuade consumers that purchasing their products would be a smart move. Before Einstein died in 1955 at the age of 76, the Jewish physicist bequeathed to Jerusalem’s Hebrew University 50,000 scientific papers and correspondence as well as intellectual property rights and ownership of his name and image. The school earned $1.5 million last year alone in licensing fees paid by companies for Einstein-related advertising or by studios that made movies featuring an “Einstein’’ character. The university did not provide a figure for the total royalties it has accumulated. “We won’t approve anything that makes Einstein look ridiculous or ludicrous or which harms his image,’’ Ze’ev Rosenkranz, the curator of Hebrew University’s Einstein archives, said. The university rejects more requests than it approves. A liquor company that wanted to produce “Einstein vodka’’ received a firm “no’’ and a shop owner in the USA was sued for invoking Einstein’s name and image without permission. It also drew the line at a diaper company and a script for a television commercial that called for an actor playing Einstein to run into the arms of a Marilyn Monroe look-alike on a windy beach.
Reuters |
IN the article which we reproduced from it yesterday, the Manchester Ghardian obviously understates the case for the acceptance of joint electorates with a reservation of seats by the Muslim community. “Under the reserved seat system,” it writes, “the European
community would undoubtedly find itself represented by Mr C. F. Andrews, Mrs Besant And Mr
B. G. Horniman. These are admirable personalities, but we fear the European community would not feel satisfied in being represented by them. But there are great differences between the circumstances of the Mahomedan and of the European community. The
Mahomedans, after all, number some 60,000,000. Their voting power could never be as entirely negligible as that of the Europeans.” This is putting the case for the joint electorates on very low ground, indeed! |
The Divine Name alone is the truth, O Ravidas. It was true in the beginning and shall remain true in the end. It destroys all sins and sufferings And is indeed the mine of all true bliss. I practice not breath control and piercing of chakras; I abandoned all of them... As soon as I found the true Nam. I care only for the true Nam.... Which has shown me the Highest Truth. With ease have I attained the highest devotion, And the true Lord has been realised. By a single drop of that nectar, The thirst of countless lives was quenched. Fetters of birth and death were broken, And Ravidas was released for ever. —
Guru Ravidas, Darshan *** Nam is the only means To cross the ocean of the world. Never leave O Ravidas, The rudder of the Name of God. That body alone is golden... In which Nam shines bright. With the wish-fulfilling gem of God's Name within, All directions are flooded with luster and light. Without devotion to the Name Divine (Naam) all saintliness is worthless. Power is bestowed when the Name is lodged in the heart. Whosoever contemplates the Master's Word is a scholar with insight. Such a one is liberated when he searches inside and finds the
essence. — Sri Guru Granth Sahib *** God became the son of Baba Nand because he chanted His Holy Name.... God saved Prahlad because he chanted God's Holy Name. All the saints have sung the greatness of His Holy Name. It is the greatness of the Holy Name which made Lord Krishna run from Dwarka to help Draupadi. —
Swami Mohan Das Bairagi, Self Realisation *** I believe that man has little need to drug himself. 999 cases out of a thousand can be brought round by means of a well regulated diet, water and earth treatment and similar household remedies. —
Mahatma Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth |
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