E D I T O R I A L   P A G E

EDITORIALS

Farmers and politics
THE two-day dharna by the Bharatiya Kisan Union can be justified only on the ground that the Punjab Government has done practically nothing so far to help the drought-hit farmers. The survey being done to assess the crop loss is not to the farmers’ satisfaction, who allege that the land left uncultivated have not been included.

Jaya’s gameplan
TAMIL NADU Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa’s statement the other day on Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s “foreign origin” and her “unsuitability” for the post of Prime Minister may have provided a good copy to the Press. A shrewd and clever politician that she is, Ms Jayalalithaa knows how to play her cards, steal the limelight and come to the centrestage.

Keeping Bhopal alive
GREENPEACE, the international agency for the protection of environment, has put on the war paint for taking on Warren Anderson, wanted in India for his role in the world's worst industrial disaster that visited Bhopal 18 years ago.

BJP doing what others had done
But two wrongs never make a right
Prem Prakash
NO, two wrongs do not make one right. India’s politicians of today, particularly the ruling ones, the ones that claimed themselves to be different, the ones who claimed themselves to be as pure and pious as the water of holy Ganges, the ones projecting themselves above greed and more honest than the Gods above would today like us to believe that “two wrongs do make a right”!

ON RECORD

‘Need to review health policies’
Tripti Nath
HANDPICKED recently by the ruling BJP as one of its seven national Vice-Presidents, Harsh Vardhan entered politics rather reluctantly. A former Delhi Health and Education Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan has vivid memories of October 13, 1993 when he filed his nomination papers on the last day for the Assembly elections.

SIGHT & SOUND

Inner thoughts of Lyngdoh
Amita Malik
THE debate still goes on about whether Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh should have given a full-length interview on NDTV/Star News, his first ever on TV, or, like the proverbial civil servant, borne all public insults heaped on him by the likes of Narendra Modi silently.

Baby babble a first step towards speech
Maggie Fox
BABY babble is not a random exercise in mouth control, but a solid step toward speech, involving the left side of the brain where language originates, researchers said on Thursday. Babies as young as five months old are engaging the left hemisphere of the brain, the researchers said.

Stretching does not stop pain
JOGGERS beware. Stretching before or even after exercise does not prevent muscle soreness or reduce the risk of injury, according to a controversial survey published in the British Medical Journal on Friday.

• Intake of soya food lowers cancer risk
• Sex workers object to ritual

EDITORIALS

Farmers and politics

THE two-day dharna by the Bharatiya Kisan Union can be justified only on the ground that the Punjab Government has done practically nothing so far to help the drought-hit farmers. The survey being done to assess the crop loss is not to the farmers’ satisfaction, who allege that the land left uncultivated have not been included. Regardless of the inconvenience caused to citizens in general, the BKU has found making farmers converge on Chandigarh to air their grievances an effective tool of protest. No one listens to them when they raise their voice in a remote corner of the state. There are a few genuine demands of the farmers which need urgent action. Why have the sugar mills in the state not cleared the farmers’ dues so far, specially when they have to take loans to meet their day-to-day and farming needs during the present critical period? The banks are supposed to postpone loan recovery and waive interest for this year. Why no action has started on the ground when the Union Government has already made a formal announcement to this effect? During electioneering, the Punjab Congress had promised in its manifesto a Rs 30 per quintal bonus on the last paddy crop. It is yet to honour its promise. Punjab’s financial condition was already well known when the promise was made. It is a recognised fact that the Punjab farmer suffers heavily for taking loans from arhtiyas, who charge hefty interest rates, driving some to suicide. Why don’t the banks simplify procedures and check corruption to make loans easily available and drive the arhtiyas out of business?

As far as the issues relating to paddy and power are concerned, the farmers in general and the BKU leadership in particular must understand that there cannot be free as well as regular power supply. If it has to be regular, then the PSEB must be financially strong enough to ensure it. Misguided government policies have led to a year-after-year increase in the minimum support price for paddy. Farmers grow paddy because it is attractively priced and returns on other crops are lower. But few realise the long-term damage that the over-exploitation of underground water has done. The underground watertable is falling and this is evident from the increasing number of tubewells and hand pumps becoming inoperative and are reactivated only by digging deeper to reach the sliding water level. The much talked about crop diversification will not happen unless the growing of pulses and oilseeds becomes remunerative. Incidentally, the Union Agriculture Minister has asked the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) to rework its recommendations for the MSP for paddy and other kharif crops for this season in view of the increased cost of cultivation and crop loss caused by drought. The CACP had earlier recommended a freeze of the MSP for paddy at last year’s level of Rs 530 a quintal for common varieties and Rs 560 for grade A varieties. This may cheer farmers, but only for a short time as the water and power costs will go on increasing. It has to be widely understood that paddy is no longer suitable for Punjab. Groundwater has to be recognised as a national asset and the present practice of free-for-all has to come to an end.

Jaya’s gameplan

TAMIL NADU Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa’s statement the other day on Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s “foreign origin” and her “unsuitability” for the post of Prime Minister may have provided a good copy to the Press. A shrewd and clever politician that she is, Ms Jayalalithaa knows how to play her cards, steal the limelight and come to the centrestage. This is what she did in New Delhi on August 28 when she visited the capital to attend the meeting of the Cauvery River Authority. At one stroke, she brought back the issue of Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s “foreign origin” alive even though it looked for quite some time that this question was settled once and for all by the Supreme Court last year when it ruled that she was an Indian citizen and not a foreigner. But the issue in question is the precise motive behind Ms Jayalalithaa’s diatribes against Mrs Sonia Gandhi and the Congress which she describes as “morally bankrupt”. For one thing, notwithstanding the ruling AIADMK’s two-thirds majority in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, the Chief Minister has been feeling insecure ever since the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) merged with the Congress in the presence of Mrs Sonia Gandhi on August 14. The TMC and the Congress parted ways six years ago on the issue of corruption. Both allied with the AIADMK during the last Assembly elections, but Ms Jayalalithaa dumped them after she won a landslide majority. Their formal merger now is being viewed as a formidable combination for taking on Ms Jayalalithaa. Though the merger would add little to the Congress’ numbers in Parliament, it would jack up the party’s tally to 31 seats from the current seven in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly making it the second largest opposition party there.

Equally or more important is the other reason for Ms Jayalalithaa’s present predicament. She feels she has not been successful in getting her slice of the cake from the Centre because of her past involvement in destabilising the Vajpayee government. Ever since her parting of ways with the ruling National Democratic Alliance, she feels Tamil Nadu has been given a raw deal in terms of allocation of funds, special assistance or drought relief, despite the DMK’s alliance with the NDA. In the last few months, she has been supporting the Centre on a number of issues such as POTA and election of President and Vice-President. It is believed that another important reason for Ms Jayalalithaa’s attempt to get closer to the NDA is the fact that she needs a lot of clout to wriggle out of the Tansi land deal case. The DMK’s appeal against her acquittal in the Tansi case is expected to come up before the Supreme Court next month. It is said that as she has a “weak case”, by attacking Mrs Sonia Gandhi, she would be able to please the NDA bosses and keep the Centre in good humour. Reports also suggest that notwithstanding her seeming tilt towards the NDA, Ms Jayalalithaa’s opposition to the idea of Mrs Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister is a move to pave the ground for the resurrection of the Third Front. Ms Jayalalithaa’s statement in New Delhi that the BJP and the Sonia-led Congress should not be seen as the “only political alternatives” in the country and that there was “no question” of the AIADMK joining the NDA provided some clue about her next move.

Keeping Bhopal alive

GREENPEACE, the international agency for the protection of environment, has put on the war paint for taking on Warren Anderson, wanted in India for his role in the world's worst industrial disaster that visited Bhopal 18 years ago. It sent an investigator to his home in Long Island, New York, to expose the US authorities' claim that the former chief of Union Carbide was not traceable. The leakage of a deadly toxic gas from its plant in Bhopal caused several thousand deaths and its longer term impact has claimed nearly 10 million victims so far. The Greenpeace representative visited Anderson and handed him an arrest warrant. What purpose it served is not clear. An honest assessment of the developments since the gas leakage in December, 1984, would show Anderson as a prime accused along with several others responsible for ignoring the prescribed safety procedures. But who is going to demand action against him? An indifferent state that has overlooked the criminality of those associated with the relief and rehabilitation measures for the survivors has no moral right to treat Anderson as a criminal. His crime in the overall context is less grave than that of the countless number of agencies and individuals associated with the rehabilitation of the survivors. Here are excerpts from a moving account by an overseas journalist who spent time with the survivors and the authorities operating various health care facilities and social and economic rehabilitation programmes. "Whole families are buried in the Muslim cemetery for the victims". For want of upkeep the bones of the dead "are starting to re-emerge from the still poisoned ground where they lie. It is almost as if the dead are protesting at the lack of justice".

However, only a responsive state has the right to demand the trail of Anderson. Japan has not let the world forget Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But an indifferent Indian leadership has not bothered to ensure that the survivors get the best possible medical care. Anderson caused the disaster inadvertently. It was like someone setting out in his car without checking the brakes. The person behind the wheel cannot escape responsibility for the death and injuries his act of negligence may cause. But the fact remains he did not set out with the intention of causing injuries to or the death of other road users. The crime of the medical care centres that allow the injured to die a slow and painful death is far greater than that of the negligent motorist. Yes, Anderson is guilty. So are those associated with the relief and rehabilitation programmes for the survivors. Shouldn't special courts be set up to try them for misappropriation of funds and material meant for the maimed and deformed children living a life that is worse than death? However, it does not mean that Anderson should not be tried for his role in the worst industrial disaster. The USA should be firmly told about its commitment to a fair and just world order that does not condone what can be called crimes against humanity. The Bhopal gas tragedy falls in that category. If Greenpeace can smoke out Anderson, so can the American authorities. They should send Anderson to India for a fair trial. Such a gesture would enhance the credibility and image of the USA in the eyes of the global community.

OPINION

BJP doing what others had done
But two wrongs never make a right
Prem Prakash

NO, two wrongs do not make one right. India’s politicians of today, particularly the ruling ones, the ones that claimed themselves to be different, the ones who claimed themselves to be as pure and pious as the water of holy Ganges, the ones projecting themselves above greed and more honest than the Gods above would today like us to believe that “two wrongs do make a right”! Having been finally caught with their hands deep in the kitty of the nation, they now seek reprieve because somebody else before them also did exactly that. What logic!

It was in March this year following the resounding defeat of the BJP in Delhi that I raised the query: “Is the party over?”. People of the Capital see a lot and suffer a lot. Thus it was no surprise that having seen so much and suffered so much they decided to push the BJP out of power from the MCD in Delhi as well. The reply to my query was not long in coming — not that it came from the BJP, but from a respected weekly magazine that came out with a cover story to say “The party is over”. How very prophetic! With each passing day the sad story of failure to govern and sleaze is coming out in the open. The electorate now only waits for the day to enter the polling booth and apply the seal to kick the corrupt out of office. Whatever they may claim, this government now is a lame duck with hardly any popular support.

It is a difficult period for India. The desperate can resort to any means to hang onto power. Such desperation can even be comical in a cynical way. Why else would the ruling party try to remind us that what they did was nothing strange? They justify their wrongdoing by quoting the precedent of it having been done by their predecessors. They forget that they sought the votes from the nation on the basis that they were “different” and “incorruptible”. The people of India feel cheated.

The BJP has used emotive issues of temple and mosque in the past to win people’s confidence. Cornered as this party is now, the people of India would have to safeguard themselves from an onslaught of such emotional issues that could take place in the weeks and months ahead. The real issue before the nation today is that of honesty and governance.

The tragedy of the failure of BJP’s NDA experiment is of a much larger dimension than can a gauged. The sleaze and the corruption indulged in by the ruling party compounded by its total failure in governance have created a situation where the people of India have lost faith in the political class as a whole. India’s people have given a shining example of themselves in backing a democracy. The founding fathers of India who ruled India soon after independence set very high standards of governance. Who could doubt the integrity of Jawaharlal Nehru, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai or Lal Bahadur Shastri?

The period after independence was one of growth and development. Nehru and his team laid solid foundations to put India on the path of growth and scientific development. New temples of modern India rose all over the country enabling us today to be in the forefront of technology-based industries. The current rulers and their cohorts like the VHP spend all their energies living in the past and creating violence on issues of mosques and temples. They do not need to work hard like the ordinary people of India to earn their living. They have got it made for generations to come via petrol pumps, gas agencies and the like.

Let it not be forgotten that many a time the current rulers have used intemperate language in describing the Nehru era. This author and B.G. Verghese, were the only two Indian journalists who stayed on in Tezpur and witnessed the darkest hour that free India saw — retreat of Indian army in the face of advancing Chinese. Yet in just a short period of 20 months between October, 1962, and May, 1964 when Nehru passed away, he had rebuilt India’s defence apparatus. It was because of that hard work that India was able to give a fitting reply to Ayub Khan when he dared to grab Kashmir.

The people of India forgave this government’s monumental failure in apprehending infiltrators when they consolidated themselves in Kargil. That episode resulted in over 500 precious Indian lives being lost in ejecting the enemy. Was there one politician or his son seen in the fighting in Kargil? How many of the sons or daughters of India’s politicians opt for defence service? It is time that these questions are raised. There is no such thing as a ruling class in a democracy. Indian politician has abrogated to himself that title as yet another caste in this caste-ridden country. And thus the progeny of a politician is above the normal way of life of the nation. How many of the political children work like other ordinary working Indian?

In a shameless act Indian politicians are now trying to overrule the right of the citizen to seek information about the antecedents of a candidate before casting vote. The landmark judgement of the Supreme Court is sought to be sidetracked. Why? Sure, you can take steps to safeguard misuse of that order by any overzealous returning officer. But to deny the citizen his right to know the antecedents of a politician cannot be accepted. Why are the politicians fighting shy of declaring their assets, their background and that of their families?

It was safe for the people of India to take a back seat so long as the stalwarts of freedom struggle were at the helm of affairs. India was safe in their hands. People’s future was their first concern. Not so today. Look at the state of law and order in the country. It is not just in Jammu and Kashmir that a citizen does not feel safe. The capital city of Delhi today relies more on the security arrangements that the residents have set up in their residential areas. They do not rely on the police. The police force is virtually all used to provide security to the politicians and their families.

The latest scam has created a dangerous situation in as much as that a vacuum could well emerge in the face of loss of confidence by the people of India’s political class. That void would need to be covered by fresh young faces. They would need to be different — taking up specific issues of development and growth in a business-like manner as was done by Nehru in his time and era. India is tired of the rulers who have used populist slogans to amass wealth for themselves and their families and friends.

In a globalised world India is lucky that her young people have led the country to a place of respect in the comity of nations. Many of us still remember the sarcastic manner in which today’s politicians were teasing Rajiv Gandhi when he introduced computers and announced that India would enter 21st century with success in information technology. That dream has come true and India today ranks among the leading nations of the world. The country can ill afford the luxury of having politician who only see easy money in coming to power.

The present government had promised the people total transparency in governance. Yes, people have a right to know as to how the nation’s wealth is used. Why were these petrol pump allotments made in the manner they were? The BJP itself had fought against the discretionary powers in such matters that earlier vested in the government through the Minister of Petroleum. There must be several other areas where such discretion is perhaps still being used. It is high time that the government came clean on all issues.

The Prime Minister having cancelled the allotments needs to do more than that. His ministers are not capable of any followup action. Yes, it is right that the future allotments of such dealerships, located as they are on public land, be done in an open and equitable manner. This should stand not just for government-run dealerships, but also for those run by private oil companies. The land for such pumps on highways or elsewhere is generally sold or allotted by the government. That being public land, the public has a right to ensure that future of such business is equitable.

Yes, discretion should be retained to be used only for the families of martyrs. There are breadwinners risking their lives not just in Jammu and Kashmir, but elsewhere too. However, such a discretionary allotment when necessary must only come in a public announcement and that too from the Prime Minister’s office.

The President of India has set a target before the nation. He wants India to be in the front ranks of developed nations by 2020. It can be done. Such a goal cannot be achieved by sleaze and corruption. Nor by discretionary powers that ride rough shod over the rights of others. India’s governance would have to be impeccable and devoid of corruption. Those who steal petrol pumps also perhaps help corrupt businessmen in escaping taxes. That is how black money is generated to power the corrupt political machine of India.

Is this not strange that Indian politicians are shying away from bringing about electoral reforms that should make it impossible for the corrupt and criminal to fight elections backed by black money? Those elected with the support of stolen money (all black money is stolen money as it comes out of tax evasion) should not be expected to be honest good guys. The politicians should not be allowed to water down the Supreme Court order that can help clean up India’s politics.

Why can India not run a National Online Lottery that could go a long way in funding the political parties of India? The funds generated by the National Online Lottery could be released in part to the political parties. That could perhaps free them from dependence upon black money or big business houses. Why do India’s politicians shy away from honest money? Why do they want to rely only on cash donations and support by big business houses? It is time that all thinking Indians pondered over these questions.

India is today at the crossroads. She can either move ahead with dynamism to the year 2020 and emerge as a developed nation or allow herself to be ruled by the corrupt that enrich themselves. For them keeping India in poverty is a political strategy to win votes on empty promises. The country has already lost at least a quarter century in having failed to deal with the corrupt system when it first raised its ugly head. All that has now happened has only confirmed the belief of people in general that all politicians irrespective of which party they belong to are corrupt.

India needs to think clearly whether there can be such a class as political. It is often forgotten in the din of today’s ugly politics that most of the founding fathers who led the great freedom struggle, were men of great calibre and success. They all earned an honest living. They moved into politics and freedom struggle to serve the nation, not to get anything from it. Today’s politician is a professional who wants to make money out of politics. For this new breed politics is like industry, a great gamble. If you win an election you have a right to plunder!

India’s new politicians must emerge now from successful business and professional groups. President Narayanan was one such great example. It is heart-warming to see him succeeded by yet another successful person who already has earned his laurels. That should be the kind of qualification for the politicians who wish to serve India. India’s electoral politics like that of the rest of the developed world of democracies needs to find new breed of politicians who can offer time-bound plans and programmes to vote for or against.

The mood of dejection that has gripped the nation today is bound to turn into anger against the system at the appropriate time — that of electing the next government. But that would also be the moment for the nation to show the way to right kind of politics. The politics of plunder cannot go on. The corrupt no doubt will be thrown into the dustbin of history.

The nation must set into motion new politics next time. The Election Commission may have to play a major role in standing up to the ugly pressure of the political parties against the order of the Supreme Court. India cannot go on with the luxury of voting into power the corrupt, the inefficient, and the illiterate who lack any administrative capability. The professional, academic and business classes must come forward to serve India.

ON RECORD

‘Need to review health policies’
Tripti Nath
Tribune News Service

HANDPICKED recently by the ruling BJP as one of its seven national Vice-Presidents, Harsh Vardhan entered politics rather reluctantly. A former Delhi Health and Education Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan has vivid memories of October 13, 1993 when he filed his nomination papers on the last day for the Assembly elections.

As Education Minister, he made sports a compulsory subject in Delhi schools. He is fond of reading books on Hindu religion and philosophy and has an ear for old Hindi music with meaningful lyrics.

Excerpts of an interview:

I will do whatever work is allotted to me whether it is at X or Y place. If they say you help in Delhi, I will help in Delhi. If they say, you help in Mizoram, I will gladly work there. For me, it is irrelevant what kind of task is allotted to me. I love to handle challenging tasks entrusted to me.

There cannot be a separate, isolated plan of Dr Harsh Vardhan. It is a joint strategy. It has to be the party’s agenda. We have to ensure that the mood of the party is upbeat and the party workers put in their best for the victory in the Assembly elections and follow it up by victory in the parliamentary elections in 2004. The BJP has vast potential and has a big band of dedicated, sincere and intelligent workers. We will ensure that this potential is utilised optimally and effectively to ensure a major win all over in the elections in the next few years.

It is a difficult question to answer. It is ultimately the Prime Minister’s prerogative to decide who should be in his Cabinet. If the PM decides to pick up the best for a key portfolio like Health, we should not challenge it. It is not necessary that a doctor will do better but he is likely to do better. To have a medical person could be an ideal situation but that cannot be the rule. I’m not talking in particular reference to Dr C.P Thakur. I can only say that I know about the new man. He is a very dynamic person and I’m convinced of his capabilities. I’ve seen his commitment to health issues. When he became a Rajya Sabha MP, he came to my Chanakyapuri residence as he had to speak on tobacco. He spent two hours with me and tried to educate himself on tobacco. His commitment to tobacco control is very high.

If there were not a proper representation, you would ask why it was not done. It is definitely a very dynamic and intelligent approach to have talented people from various sections. The party has to grow in all directions in all states and if a person from a particular section is part of the core group or nucleus, he is in a better position to represent their grievances and find solutions. The revamp gives the impression of some kind of a mini India.

The main thing is that there have been too many programmes. As far as their implementation is concerned, we have not been able to get very good results statistically. We have been able to achieve results like raising life expectancy and eliminating small pox but a large number of diseases continue to exist. I feel that public health care ought to be strengthened. The rational use of drug programme endorsed by the WHO should be used. The programme recommends purchase of essential drugs which take care of 95 per cent of illnesses. I started the Essential Drug programme as the Delhi Health Minister in 1994. It is now accepted all over the world as the Delhi model and has been replicated by 14 states, including Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal. The budgetary allocation for the health sector needs to be increased. The Indian systems of medicine and homoeopathy have not been given due importance and whatever is being done is far too inadequate. We need to review the health policies pursued in the last 50 years.

I do not accept that it has failed. Almost 50 per cent of the countries in the world have legislation or some sort of a regulation against smoking in public places. All over the world, we have seen that it has been a gradual social movement. A few months back, the Supreme Court directed all state governments to enact laws to prohibit smoking in public places and to make it a punishable offence. We challaned a number of smokers. For instance, the penalty for smoking in public places was Rs 100 and Rs 500 for a subsequent offence. As far as the prosecutions are concerned, they are definitely far too inadequate. The killer instinct or the passion for tobacco control is missing. The government has delayed notification of other prohibitions spelt out in the Act as selling cigarettes to children below 18.

Legislation is the most important tool for dealing with this problem. The Congress has put the Bill in the cold storage. The select committee had recommended the passage of the Bill. The 70-member House resolved to accept the report of the select committee subject to attaching a financial memorandum. It was the moral duty of the new government to bring it up. Putting an end to quackery has been a long standing demand of the medical profession. Any well-meaning Health Minister would like to ensure that quacks do not play with the lives of human beings. Non-fulfilment of the formality of financial memorandum by the government constitutes contempt of the Delhi High Court directions to take concrete steps to check the menace of quackery.

India has already made a big headway in eradicating polio. We are now quite close to the zero level in polio cases. For WHO certification, it is necessary to maintain this level for another three years. The national polio surveillance programme started by the government is of world class. Today, we are at a position where from many thousand cases of polio in 1994, we have only 270-odd cases in Delhi.

SIGHT & SOUND

Inner thoughts of Lyngdoh
Amita Malik

THE debate still goes on about whether Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh should have given a full-length interview on NDTV/Star News, his first ever on TV, or, like the proverbial civil servant, borne all public insults heaped on him by the likes of Narendra Modi silently. But while an Election Commissioner need not be flamboyant or acerbic like Seshan, or perhaps a shade too accessible, like the amiable Mr M.S. Gill, Mr Lyngdoh certainly had the right to speak up for his principles, his method of functioning, correct the servant crude mis-statements made about his personally and, above all, the responsibilities of civil servants in crisis situations. Conceding that unwary interviewees may be seduced into making unwise statements by clever interviewers, I think both Rajdeep Sardesai and Arnab Goswami not only got, to use an old-fashioned phrase, a scoop of scoops which has left other channels standing, but also kept their questions within reasonable and decent limits.

Those who were against Lyngdoh breaking his silence, perhaps do not realise the outrage felt, for instance in the North-East, an often neglected part of India from where he comes, or that many people there, and particularly the Khasis, are seething about one of their most distinguished sons, of whom they are intensely proud, being called names in what the Prime Minister has called an unseemly manner.

In the event, Mr Lyngdoh spoke clearly, quietly, with dignity and at times exasperation. He cleared the religious accusation by mentioned that he was an atheist. He also spoke sadly about the deterioration in public administration: “When I started in service, it was unheard of that a collector would stand by when people were dying of starvation or getting killed in a riot and do nothing. But this is happening all over the world. Thousands are getting killed and nobody cares”. He was unambiguous when asked why he had not hit back at his political denigrators. He said what they had said was despicable and that he did not want to degrade himself by hitting back. I think the man’s manner, language and various aspects of his credo came across powerfully and lakhs of viewers must have understood his position and taken note of his principles and integrity. All the same, I hope Mr Lyngdoh will now revert to his usual silence after this interview, a very rare one and therefore all the more valuable. It has made it points and should rest there. I did, however, wish he had been asked about his love of boxing, his black belt in karate, his stint at Princeton, and as he was interviewed in a book-lined study, his love of books — the human Lyngdoh.

There were two more interviews last week, with totally different personalities and from different fields, which were interesting for different reasons. I think Karan Thaper’s conversation with Amitav Ghosh, his old school chum, on the BBC was one of the most pleasurable I have watched in a long while. Ghosh’s relaxed and totally natural manner, whether talking about his personal or professional life, was in some ways touching and always laced with wit as well as warmth. A lovable personality, on all counts. Then Vir Sanghvi got, again, a rare first interview with Dr Alexander, who was frank and forthcoming about the political intrigues underlining the offer and then withdrawal of the offer about becoming the President of India, his relations with Bal Thackeray, his relations with other political personalities and his role, if any, over the reports on the Mumbai riots. Dr Alexander said it was the first time he was able to speak freely in his 50 years as a public servant. And it was certainly revealing, Sanghvi, as usual, handling everything gently but leaving nothing out.

The high drama of the week was, of course, provided by India’s glorious innings victory over England at Headingley. One could not have too much of it and people were dancing in front of TV sets and letting off crackers all over India. DD’s answer to all this and the US Tennis Open, which is very exciting, was characteristic and brilliant. It has been running non-stop on two channels, ever since they ended long ago, the Manchester Commonwealth Games, highlighting such dreary events as bowls, played by old ladies which no one understands in India, and endless cycle races and weight-lifting events. where India has blotted its copy, without any post-script by DD when showing them. Well, I supposed DD will be DD.

Baby babble a first step towards speech
Maggie Fox

BABY babble is not a random exercise in mouth control, but a solid step toward speech, involving the left side of the brain where language originates, researchers said on Thursday.

Babies as young as five months old are engaging the left hemisphere of the brain, the researchers said.

They can tell because the right side of the mouth deforms slightly when the babies babble — a phenomenon well known in adult speech, said Laura-Ann Petitto of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, who helped lead the study.

“When babies babble, they babble out of the right side of the mouth,” Petitto, a cognitive neurologist, said in a telephone interview.

“When making vocalisations that are not babbling, it came out of the middle of the mouth. Smiles skewed to the left.”

The study, published in Friday’s issue of the journal Science, suggests that babies are trying to learn to talk when they babble. Petitto hopes it will help settle a heated debate over when language skills kick in.

“We pretty much agree that babbling has something to do with language. The question is, what drives it,” she said.

“For example there is a very real and prevailing group of people who argued for decades that babbling is absolutely not language in the beginning, that it is really the brain’s struggle to get more and more control over the mouth and the tongue and the lips.”

This is a “hot potato,” she said, because the argument is used in theories about how language developed in early humans.

“The most prevailing view is that first we stood up and then the jaw dropped down and then the brain got more and more control of the jaw and then later, magically, these creatures decided to invent language,” Petitto said.

“First this creature stood up and went ‘uh’ and then suddenly realized that it could say ‘uh’ and mean ‘club.’”

She and Siobhan Holowka of McGill University in Montreal wanted to disprove this idea, but it is hard to find a noninvasive way to test small babies. Then they settled on the idea of watching their mouths.

“It is known in adults that when you are talking, the right side of the mouth is pulled down a little more,” she said, although this is hard to see “live” because “the human visual system seeks symmetry and fixes it”.

It is believed that this occurs because the left side of the brain, which controls the right side of the body, has the language centers. Reuters

TRENDS & POINTERS

Stretching does not stop pain

JOGGERS beware. Stretching before or even after exercise does not prevent muscle soreness or reduce the risk of injury, according to a controversial survey published in the British Medical Journal on Friday.

But even more startlingly, the researchers also found that stretching before training by army recruits — considered to be a high-risk group — on average prevented just one injury every 23 years. Reuters

Intake of soya food lowers cancer risk

US researchers have found that consuming soya foods on a regular basis, especially during adolescence, can reduce the risk of breast cancer. The scientists revealed that Asian-American women who consumed soya food at least weekly during their teenage and adulthood were at less risk of developing the disease.

The study, published in Carcinogenesis, said that risk also was somewhat lowered for women who ate soya regularly during the teen years but consumed little during adulthood. However, preliminary data suggests little added benefit for women who ate little soya during adolescence but a high amount of soya during adulthood.

There has been a lot of talk and controversy about the Asian diet and connections between soya food intake and breast cancer. ANI

Sex workers object to ritual

Thousands of sex workers in Kolkata have objected to a centuries-old ritual. For Durga Puja, Bengalis symbolically take earth from the doorstep of a brothel to build clay images of goddess Durga. Now sex workers want the ritual removed from worship services. But priests are resisting the suggestion.

The Durbar Mahila Samanway Committee Director Mrinal Kanti Dutta says the ritual is insulting and brands a person as a prostitute for the rest of her life, ostracising her from society forever. But the priests say the ritual was started as a mark of respect for the "fertility of these women, as goddess Durga is the symbol of fertility". IANS

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

A man should be intelligent and learned, with great powers of comprehension, and able to overcome doubts by the exercise of his reason. One who has these qualifications is fitted for knowledge of the Atman.

He alone may be considered qualified to seek Brahman who has discrimination, whose mind is turned away from all enjoyments, who possesses tranquility and the kindred virtues, and who feels a longing for liberation.

Longing for liberation is the will to be free from the fetters forged by ignorance — beginning with the ego sense and so on, the down to the physical body itself — through the realisation of one’s true nature.

Among all means of liberation, devotion is supreme. To seek earnestly know one’s real nature — this is said to be devotion.

Those who echo borrowed teachings are not free from the world. But those who have attained samadhi by merging the external universe, the sense organs, the mind and the ego in the pure consciousness of the Atman — they alone are free from the world, with its bonds and snares.

Be devoted to Brahman and you will be able to control your senses. Control your senses and you will gain mastery over your mind. Master your mind, and the sense of ego will be dissolved. In this manner, the yogi achieves an unbroken realisation of the joy of Brahman. Therefore, let the seeker strive to give his heart to Brahman.

— Vivekachudamani

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In Him all divine cosmic powers become one.

He is Father of all hymns and praises.

Messengers of all divines

He purifies all regions, and from lofty regions.

Watcheth all creatures,

All that breathe and all that breathe not.

In Him all deities become One and only One.

— Atharva Veda