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Thursday,
December 5, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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A tough economic agenda Where are our MPs? Mobile phones for J & K at last! |
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The new dispensation in Pakistan
NSCN strongman’s homecoming
Satsanga sustains spiritual life
Shahenshah-e-Kalam
The un-matchable
H.M. Seervai
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A tough economic agenda A mid-year review of the economy is an innovation aimed at demystifying the process of Budget-making, a report card focusing more on the government’s achievements than slippages and presenting a roadmap for future growth. The next Budget is expected to pursue the reform agenda outlined in the review. What message do the cold statistics wrapped up in the review’s financial jargon carry for the common man? There are tough times ahead: the review recommends that the railway fares should go up further. This is to bridge the widening gap between the railway revenue and expenditure. Remember the government’s politically motivated decision to set up new railway zones? The passenger will have to foot the bill. The senior citizens and pensioners surviving on interest income are in for another blow. The interest rates are set to fall further. This may, however, cheer up those planning to take house and/or vehicle
loans. The Finance Minister, who had promised to leave more money in the housewife’s purse, is going to take away more from her as LPG and kerosene will become dearer with the subsidies on the two household items going to be slashed. The farmers will also feel the heat as fertilisers are to become costlier following a cut in the subsidy. The Centre has once again emphasised the need to decentralise the procurement of wheat and paddy. To wean farmers from the wheat-paddy rotation, which has resulted in unmanageable surpluses of cereals, the Centre proposes to shift the price support to oilseeds and pulses. While cutting down the food subsidy, the plan is to limit the public distribution system (PDS) to the targeted sections. All these steps, which have a strong bearing on the public, need to be debated to evolve a consensus on the reforms. This is what the review hopes to achieve. Another goal of Finance Minister Jaswant Singh in presenting a shorter, half-yearly version of the annual Economic Survey is to pat his government on the back for the economic performance, which is anything but dismal. Despite a severe drought, sluggish world trade and high international oil prices, growth has accelerated in sectors like cement, steel, automobiles, capital goods and textiles. The review seeks to downplay the impact of the drought, which, it says, has only “weakened the growth momentum”. Although achieving the Prime Minister’s target of 8 per cent annual GDP growth is still a far cry, this year’s expected growth rate of 5.5 per cent is not altogether disappointing, given the constraints. China and India are today globally recognised as the two fastest growing economies. While a low inflation rate and a high level of foreign exchange are two comforting areas, the alarming rate of fiscal deficits, both at the Centre and in the states, is a worrying point. The harsh measures listed above are aimed at containing the Central deficit and the states too are expected to follow suit. The process of PSUs’ disinvestment, now put on hold, needs a fresh immediate look. All in all, a mid-year review of the economy is a healthy practice and will help in refocussing the public and media attention on pressing economic issues, which often get sidelined by the high-decible play of politics in this country. |
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Where are our MPs? It is distressing to see empty benches in Parliament almost every day. The scene is particularly shocking after the lunch hour when there is invariably no quorum. Parliament is said to be the temple of democracy and this is all the more relevant for our country which is the world’s largest democracy. India also has the unique distinction in the comity of nations as one with a rich parliamentary history and tradition. Over the years, developed and developing countries, not necessarily from the Commonwealth nations alone, have been seeking India’s guidance and direction in running their parliamentary institutions. Unfortunately, however, our own parliamentarians have been failing in their duties. The fact that not even 100 MPs are present in both Houses of Parliament even on days when important issues are slated for discussion suggests that they are not taking their job seriously. This is a cause for serious concern. If members are not interested in attending the session and if they are busy with other own engagements most of the time, what is the purpose of convening the session? Throughout last week, for instance, the Lok Sabha had less than 50 members (required for a quorum) during the post-lunch sittings. It was no different in the Rajya Sabha. This gives an impression that our members are much more interested in attending Question Hour from 11 a.m. to 12 noon every day (to catch the attention of the people, courtesy Doordarshan) than when the Houses start the actual proceedings of the day at 12 noon. If individual members are behaving like non-serious college or university students, what are the floor leaders of various political parties doing? Obviously, the onus is more on the floor leaders of the BJP and the Congress, the two major parties in Parliament. The individual cases of absenteeism are all the more unfortunate. It is said that Lata Mangeshkar (nominated) has never attended Parliament. The only day we saw her in the House was when the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) was put to vote. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptullah expressed her distress — and of the House — about Lata Mangeshkar’s absence. If a formal application to the presiding officer of the House from her, citing “prior engagements and ill-health” as reasons for absence, is enough to escape from the 60-day mandatory attendance rule then it is time this rule was amended to prevent its misuse by members with impunity. Union Health Minister Shatrughan Sinha has also been in the news for wrong reasons. Either he is absent from the House even when matters concerning his Ministry are discussed or he does not seem to bother to do his homework before replying to members’ questions. Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat had to ask Mr Sinha the other day to specifically respond to the member’s question instead of beating about the bush. If our MPs, more so Union Ministers, behave in an irresponsible manner, what message will they send to the other representative institutions down the ladder? The people’s faith in the system will get eroded if they do not change their attitude for the better. At least when Parliament is in session, they should give primacy to their parliamentary responsibilities. |
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Mobile phones for J & K at last! The news that the Centre has agreed to allow the mobile phone service in Jammu and Kashmir is bound to warm the cockles of the residents of the state because this was one demand which was being voiced almost unanimously. In fact, the denial was spawning the much-maligned alienation because questions were being asked as to why the Kashmiris should be denied this basic facility which was being enjoyed by most other Indians. The argument that it was dangerous to extend the service to the border state because of security reasons did not cut much ice with the public. Rugged terrain of the state and the long distances cry for such a service because of the interminably long time taken in travelling from one place to another. The service is also necessary from the economic and tourism points of view. But the policy makers have all along been hypersensitive about the likely misuse of the facility by the enemies of the country. That is why even the STD booths were forced to close down some time ago. Just as the apprehensions about the terrorists using the STD facility to stay in touch with their patrons across the border have proved to be magnified, perhaps the mobile facility will also not be quite as dangerous as it is made out to be. That does not mean that the fear of mischief is totally ruled out. There is indeed a very real possibility that the militants might use the facility to further their nefarious designs. There are numerous instances where the militants passed on vital information to the enemies of the nation through the STD service. The potential for misuse is even higher in the case of mobile phones. But surely, some strategy can be evolved to minimise such a possibility. In modern technology, there are enough devices available to keep track of suspect calls. To deprive millions of citizens of a resource which has already come under the list of essentials because of its tremendous utility is not very advisable. A careful weighing of all pros and cons makes one feel that a blanket ban on the service is counter-productive because the top ranks of the militants already have sophisticated communication equipment. In fact, it may be easier to keep a tab on the messages going back and forth if these are sent through the mobile service than if these travel via private, clandestine networks. The anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster fell on December 3. The date was wrongly mentioned as December 5 in the article carried on
this page in The Tribune’s
— Editor
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The new dispensation in Pakistan My Pakistani friends have lamented for years that they are not the masters of their own destiny. Their future is, instead, determined by the three almighty “A”s — Allah, Army and America. Most of them no doubt now believe that Allah appears to have been rather indifferent to what the Army and America have done recently. The Army indulged in an exercise of rigging and manipulating the electoral process. The Army and the Americans then prevented the political parties that emerged from General Musharraf’s “elections” from forming a stable government, by engineering defections from Ms Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The anti-Musharraf forces had formed a coalition called the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD). With the PPP securing 81 seats, Mr Nawaz Sharif’s PML (N) 19 seats and the alliance of religious parties, the MMA, securing 60 seats, an ARD-MMA alliance would have had no difficulty in securing a parliamentary majority in the 342-member National Assembly. The ARD and the MMA were, in fact, on the verge of forging such an alliance when the Army and America intervened. The Army establishment passionately distrusts and dislikes Ms Bhutto. General Musharraf himself could under no circumstances countenance a situation in which his arch foe, Mr Sharif’s PML (N), would team up with the PPP and then proceed to cut him to size. The Americans were concerned because the MMA had virtually swept the polls in the North-West Frontier Province and performed strongly in Baluchistan (both provinces bordering Afghanistan) on a strongly pro-Taliban and anti-American platform. Ms Bhutto was “invited” to Washington even as the election results were being announced, where she met Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca and a middle-level White House official. Following these meetings, Benazir backed off from the understandings the ARD had virtually concluded with the MMA, under which MMA leader Maulana Fazlur Rahman would become the Prime Minister and a PPP nominee the Speaker. In the process, she eroded her own credibility because of the growing perception within Pakistan and within her own party that the none-too-popular Americans were unduly influencing her. Following these developments, the Army and its protégés in the PML (Q) party had little difficulty in securing the defection of PPP legislators and creating the majority required for a PML (Q) nominee, a relatively unknown Baluch politician, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, to be elected Prime Minister. Two PPP defectors, Rao Sikandar Iqbal and Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, were duly rewarded with the Defence and Interior (Home) portfolios respectively. It is now becoming increasingly apparent that while the Americans may have concerns about the MMA, these are not necessarily shared by the military establishment or its proteges in its PML (Q). There have been extensive negotiations between the PML (Q) and the MMA seeking a political accommodation and compromise at the national and provincial levels. These negotiations have not succeeded at the national level thus far because of the aversion of the MMA to General Musharraf continuing as Army Chief even as he holds office as President. But at the provincial level, the Musharraf protégés have forged an alliance with the anti-American MMA for government formation in strategically located Baluchistan province. There is little doubt that in the immediate future the unstable coalition government of Prime Minister Jamali is going to be entirely guided by the wishes of the President/ Army Chief, General Musharraf. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was personally “interviewed” by General Musharraf before Mr. Jamali could appoint him. And when the MQM threatened to withdraw support to his government, the first thing that Prime Minister Jamali did was to rush to the President’s residence to seek his advice and guidance on how to deal with the situation. In order to keep General Musharraf, the Americans and the IMF happy, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz has been appointed Adviser to the Prime Minister in charge of finance, revenue and economic affairs. Mr Shaukat Aziz will no doubt be elected to the Senate with the support of the PML (Q) and made the Finance Minister. Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, who has the dubious distinction of having advised successive military rulers, including General Musharraf, on how to seek legitimacy and stifle the Supreme Court, has been appointed Prime Minister Jamali’s “Senior Adviser” (which denotes a rank senior to even Cabinet Ministers) and given charge of foreign affairs, law, justice and human rights. All these political developments are taking place at a time when more and more revelations are being made about how successive governments in Pakistan, including that of General Musharraf, have transferred nuclear enrichment technology and equipment to the rogue regime of Kim Jong IL in North Korea in exchange for missiles that could target virtually all major cities and population centres in India. Even though the ever-obliging Colin Powell may seek to underplay the significance of these revelations, the fact remains that Pakistan has now given the North Koreans the capabilities to threaten American forces in the Korean peninsula. As Ms Benazir Bhutto initiated these developments when she was Prime Minister, during a visit to North Korea in December, 1993, even her credibility as an “ally” is now being questioned in the USA. But most observers of Pakistan recognise that on issues of nuclear and missile development the driving force is the Army and not the political leadership. The political direction that Pakistan and particularly the provinces bordering Afghanistan are taking is now becoming clear. Prime Minister Jamali has announced that in keeping with Islamic practices, Fridays will be public holidays. At the same time, the MMA Chief Minister of the NWFP, Mr Akram Durrani, has commenced banning videos and films, and even decreed that buses plying on the roads must stop and wait if any passenger wishes to get down and offer prayers. The MMA has made it clear that it does not want the FBI and the CIA to operate on Pakistani soil. It is only a question of time before the little support that the Americans are getting in locating Al-Qaeda and Taliban supporters in the NWFP significantly dries up. More importantly, the constituent members of the MMA have close links with the Taliban and with a virulently anti-American and fundamentalist Afghan leader (once a protégé of the CIA), Mr Gulbuddin Hikmetayar. There are already reports emerging about efforts of the ISI to forge an alliance between Mr Hikmetayar and the Taliban to challenge the Government of President Hamid Karzai. It is significant that in the message of greetings that he sent to Prime Minister Jamali, President Karzai pointedly alluded to the need to adhere to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs in maintaining relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. New Delhi has to take careful note of these developments. Just as the constituent members of the MMA have close links with the Taliban and other fundamentalists in Afghanistan, they also have links with jihadis in Pakistani groups like the Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Harkatul Mujahideen operating in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere in India. General Musharraf has publicly alluded to his support for jihad in Jammu and Kashmir. While General Powell may claim that he is one who can hear no evil, speak no evil or see no evil when it comes to the doings of his good friend General Musharraf, neither India nor the international community can afford to be sanguine about the implications of the recent political developments in Pakistan. |
NSCN strongman’s homecoming Muivah, a Tangkhul from Manipur’s Ukhrul district, had his early education in Shillong and graduated in political science from Gauhati University, Assam. He was among the 140 activists of the erstwhile Naga National Council (NNC) to visit China and undergo arms training. They refused to surrender in violation of the Shillong Accord. The accord was signed between the NNC, led by the legendary A.Z. Phizo, and the Centre in 1975 and its terms mandated that the rebels would come overground and disarm themselves. However, Muivah and the group of 140 activisits preferred otherwise and formed the NSCN. With the passage of time, the NSCN emerged as the most powerful insurgent group fighting for the Naga “cause”. The complexity of the Naga problem can be gauged from the fact that Nagas comprise 17 major tribes and more than 20 sub-tribes — some of them having very little linguistic and anthropological commonalities. And while the demand for a sovereign Nagaland (Nagalim) seems well nigh impossible to be met, Muivah could well tread a loosely defined middle-path after a careful consideration of the costs and benefits of each tribe and sub-tribe of Nagaland that he may represent while sitting across the table with Mr Vajpayee and Mr L.K. Advani. For unlike Mizoram (a near homogenous tribal society), which attained statehood after the Mizo Accord was signed, Nagaland had already attained statehood. The bigger question for Muivah, therefore, will be to trudge a middle path for the benefit of all. Breaking the barriers in IAF As if that is not enough, she, 57, is also the first woman officer to have completed the Defence Services Staff College course in 1978 and to command the IAF’s Central Medical Establishment (CME). She and her husband were the first-ever husband and wife team to be honoured with the VSM at the same defence investiture ceremony by the President of India. On picking up her new rank, Air Vice Marshal Bandopadhyay has become Additional Director-General of the Armed Forces Medical Services and will play a key role in the positioning of military doctors and medical services across the country. The Armed Forces Medical Services will soon become part of the structure being put together to integrate the three services. She believes her stint with the CME — one of only two facilities in the country for the medical certification of military and civilian pilots — has prepared her for her new responsibilities. She had joined the IAF to be a pilot but a problem with her eyesight forced her to give up that dream and stick to a medical career. So, she specialised in aviation medicine. She, however, made up her passion by flying in most of the frontline fighter aircraft of the IAF to gain first-hand experience of problems faced by pilots. Over the years she has flown in trainer versions of the Gnat, Hunter, MiG-21 and MiG-25. Born in the holy town of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, Air Vice Marshal Bandopadhyay was brought up in Delhi and studied at Kirori Mal College. She was commissioned in the IAF in 1968 after passing out of Armed Forces Medical College. In the late 1980s she went to the Arctic to join an Indo-Russian experiment to determine whether people from tropical Indian climates could acclimatise themselves to extreme cold conditions. Research proved that Indians could acclimatise themselves to extreme conditions. |
Satsanga sustains spiritual life Satsanga is to commune with the Truth, to live in it, and to become it. Just as air and food sustain the human body, Satsanga sustains the spiritual life. Satsanga is the only effective method of purifying the mind and burning up the vicious samaskaras (impressions) of present and past lives. In the Shrimad Bhagavata (discourse XII), the Lord says: “Neither Yoga, nor Samkhya, nor righteousness, austerity, study of the Vedas and renunciation, nor pouring oblations into the sacred fire and works of public utility, nor gifts, fasts, worship of gods, muttering secret spells, resorting to holy waters and places of pilgrimage, sacred observances and the (five) forms of self-abnegation gain me over as does Satsanga capture me”. Satsanga (Lit. “Association with the Truth”) is possible by taking recourse to spiritual means, reading the scriptures which contains the elixir of spiritual wisdom and by partaking of the company of saintly men who embody the Truth. By the law of association, the company of the wise, the truthful and the evolved souls leads one to the path of virtue and the company of the unholy drags one to the path of evil. Says the Hitopadesha (Wildin’s Introduction): “Men of good or evil birth may be possessed of good qualities; but falling into bad company, they become vicious. Rivers flow with sweet waters; but having joined the ocean they become undrinkable”. Can sound wisdom issue from association with the wicked? Can an adulterer attain the felicity of salvation? (Kahu sumati ki khal sang jami; subh gati pava ki partriya gami), asks the Ramacharitamansa of Goswami Tulsidas. The fact of the matter is that bad company (kusanga) takes one away from the righteous path. “Through contact with the wind dust rises in the air; if it joins low-flowing water, it becomes mud and stinks”. (Gagan chadai raj pavan prasanga; keechahin milai neech jal sanga — Bala Kanda). That is why the wise shun the company of the vile (Budha nahin adham kar sanga — Uttar Kanda). Satsanga is possible only by the grace of God (Binu hari kripa milahin nahin santa — Sundara Kanda). According to the law of cause and effect (karma), merit earned through austerity, penance, self-sacrifice or virtuous living brings one nearer to saintly men whose contact kindles the light of Viveka or the power of discrimination to separate right from wrong. Wisdom dawns not without association with the saints. (Binu satsanga viveka na hoi), says the Ramacharitamansa. Satsanga brings one closer to God. “Except in the company of saints, one does not hear the story of Hari, and not till that be heard will delusion take to flight; and till delusion is dispelled, one cannot have unwavering affection for Rama’s feet” (Uttar Kanda). Love for the Divine makes one see the Reality that all existence is His manifestation, that Nature is God’s Nature, that all living beings are just His reflections. The spiritual vibrations emanating from the realised souls as also their discourses create a positive forcefield of energy which consumes one’s lower propensities. It is believed that each step one takes towards the saint’s abode is equal to the performance of a yajna. Even when one does not become spiritually elevated after attending a satsanga, one at least becomes a little more pure (sattvic). From mere contact with the sandalwood tree plants all around emanate the same aroma (Sant Tukarama, Gatha, 2051). That is why the Indian Bhakti tradition regards the true saint as God in human form. Sant Ravidas prays: The saint is Thy body/Thy very life-breath..../Grant me, O God of gods,/the company of the Saint,/A taste for the Saint’s discourses/and love for the Saint./Bless me with the Saint’s conduct,/the Saint’s way..../One more gift, the wish-fulfilling gem/of devotion I beg of Thee —/the unholy and sinners let me not see./He alone is wise, O Ravidasa, who knows
That no difference is there between the saint and God. Satsanga purifies the mind, sublimates passion and helps one to practice virtue in life. It strengthens one’s faith in the Supreme Lord, keeps one in harmony with oneself and the world around and satisfies the natural longing of the human soul for a higher and more perfect life by relieving it of its three-fold bandages — Anava (finitising aspect), Karma (action) and Maya (delusion). The highest form of satsanga is when one realises the essential nature of Brahman, the Ultimate Ground underlying everything, and abides in oneself. |
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Shahenshah-e-Kalam
Bhai Vir Singh was born to a devout Sikh family in Amritsar on December 5, 1872. It was Gurbani that influenced him the most and he resolved to mould his life on its ideals. Next to Gurbani, he was influenced by the poetic compositions of Bhai Gurdas whose works are regarded by the Sikhs as a veritable key to the proper understanding of Guru Granth Sahib. He also studied the works of great Hindi, Sanskrit, Persian and English writers, which made him all the more devout in mystic and Vedantic study. But Gurbani was his spiritual fount. In particular, the Japji of Guru Nanak, the Sukhmani of Guru Arjan Dev and the Akal Ustat of Guru Gobind Singh pervade all his thoughts. He was a great writer, poet, thinker, philosopher, saint, reformer, linguist, humanist, spiritual teacher and ideal Sikh. Above all, he was a great mystic. Till date, Bhai Vir Singh is referred to as, with all justification, the father of modern Punjabi literature. He is as eminently known as the mother-tongue of Punjabis itself. All educated Punjabi who know something of the Punjabi language believe that in this language Bhai Vir Singh occupies the same place as Iqbal does in Urdu and Tagore in Bengali. He started writing in Punjabi when no author of repute dared to use this medium for his art. The fashion was to write in Brij Bhasha Hindi, Urdu, English etc and Punjabi was not considered suitable for literary works of a high order. It was Bhai Sahib’s genius that wrought the miracle of taking Punjabi to the top of literary heights and placing it side by side with the other proud languages of the world. He has enormously enriched his mother-tongue both with the volume and high quality of his works in poetry and prose. The thirst of his soul for God had been the driving force of his life and the inspiring source of his art. It was his special domain to enlighten about the higher mystic truths and take readers to the realm of ecstatic joy and beauty of the soul through his mastery of simple words and phrase in the description of his own mystic experiences. “Rana Surat Singh”, his masterpiece, contains a unique treasure of mystic thought which lights the path of many a seeker of truth and guide him to his goal in easily understandable and heart-reaching language. His works include “Kalgidhar”
Chamatkar, Guru Nanak Chamatkar, Asht Guru Chamatkar, Matak Hulare, Bijlian De
Har, Lehran Da Har, Preet Vina, Sundri, Baba Nandh Singh, Bijai Singh and Mere Saiyan
Jio. Bhai Sahib was a great journalist too. He was only 18 when he started The Khalsa
Samachar, which has ever since been successfully published. Bhai Sahib’s efforts had a great share in the creation and development of several institutions of public good for example, the Chief Khalsa Dewan, Khalsa College, Amritsar, the Khalsa Orphanage, the Homeopathic Hospital, Amritsar, et al which show his great longing to serve humanity and to relieve its sufferings. He was heaped with fame and honours. Padam Bhushan being one among many. So said Dr S.
Radhakrishan: “Bhai Vir Singh invites our attention in this world of easy-going contentment with small things to the goal of man’s life: They say man is the crest of the wave of life: But what is man, who is lost in the smoke of the fire that burns within him! For he is lord of creation only if he be lord of himself” In the land of the five rivers Bhai Vir Singh may well be said to be the sixth river: for he has always been known to his people as a river of culture and learning, one who has flowed for several years like a nourishing influence into their lives and sustaining them. |
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The un-matchable
H.M. Seervai
Hormusji Maneckji Seervai (H.M. Seervai), Homi to his near and dear ones, began his life’s journey on December 5, 1906. He played his innings for nine decades and died on January 26, 1996. His innings was full of strokes. One better than the other. Seervai taught English literature at Elphinstone College, Bombay, from where he graduated himself. Nani Palkhiwala wanted to be a lecturer in English literature. He was not selected. A lady was. Both Seervai and Palkhiwala came to make rich contributions to legal literature. They both are in good company with Lord Denning. Read Denning. His judgements. His writings. They are so well punctuated with literature. So is true of Seervai. He could recite Shakespearean speeches from memory. Seervai joined the Bar in 1929. He started with one of the foremost silks of the day, Sir Jamshedji Kanga. Seervai had no family or other connections in the legal profession. It was usual those days and even today for a lawyer to wait virtually briefless for several years. Seervai was no exception. At that time, the Bombay High Court had outstanding lawyers — Bhulabhai Desai, Chamanlal Setalvad, V. Taraporewala and K.M. Munishi among them. Seervai had to wait for seven years before he was recognised. One may mention two specific cases out of many. It was in the early 1950s that prohibition laws introduced by the Government of Bombay came under challenge in the state high court. The then Advocate General, C.K. Daphtary, and Seervai were engaged to defend the prohibition laws. Daphtary relished his peg every evening. At a Bar function in 1950 to celebrate the Republic Day, Daphtary is said to have remarked that a “Republic” without a “pub” was only a “relic”. Seervai was a lifelong teetotaller. Seervai argued the matter with great vigour. He was successful. Morarji Desai found in Seervai the right defender of the unpopular cases of the government. In 1957 Seervai was offered Advocate Generalship of Bombay. He accepted it. To be the Advocate General means the leader of the Bar. Seervai held this office for 17 years and with great distinction. During this period from 1957 to 1974, governments came and went. The new government did not consider it necessary to ask Seervai to resign. Seervai kept himself above politics. He never made any offer to cultivate ministers or other political functionaries. Whenever any minister wanted to consult Seervai, it was the minister who would come to the chamber of Seervai. The only exception that he made was in the case of the Chief Minister. Seervai began writing in 1961 a critical commentary on the constitutional law of India. It took him six years to complete the first edition of his book. The book was in single volume. Seervai brought out four editions of the book. The last 20 years of his life, he exclusively devoted to the book. He gave up his practice and devoted his full time to the book alone. The fourth edition of the book was undertaken in 1989. He was 83. This edition ran into three volumes containing almost 3,300 pages. He completed the dictation of the last volume on the eve of Republic Day i.e. January 25, 1996. He expired on January 26, 1996. Seervai in his will specifically wrote that no one in future will bring any further edition of the book. Thus, the venture which started in 1961 continued for 35 years till 1996. This book has been described as “an indispensable tool to everyone interested in Indian constitutional law or comparative human rights.” Seervai continues to live through his book. The writer is a former Professor of laws, PU. |
Poverty which is through honesty is better than opulence which is from the treasure of others. — Menog-i Khrad, 15, 4
*** To shrink from evil is one kind of shame... Food, clothing and other things are all common to all human beings. But shrinking from evil is a special beauty of great men. All lives have as their abode the body. Similarly, the good nature of man has as its basis moral shame. — The Tirukkural, 1011-1013
*** The Guru is the Supreme Cause the Guru is the Ultimate Destiny, the Guru is the Transcendent wisdom, the Guru is the Supreme refuge, the Guru is the farthest shore, the Guru is the supreme wealth. Because he teaches ‘that’, the Guru is most great. —Advaya Taraka Upanishad, 17-18 *** A perfect master is both man and God. He is a man because he has the human form, but he is also God because he has spiritually become one with Him. This is God’s own design because in no other way can He be realised. In His abstract form there can be no contact with God. So, He has to assume the human form to take man out of darkness into light, out of ignorance into knowledge, and out of bondage into freedom. When Bulleh Shah had the vision of God in his master, he blurted out: “The beloved has come as man!” and “God has come as man!” —J.R. Puri and T.R. Shangari, Bulleh Shah; The Love intoxicated Iconoclast
*** He has gained nothing who has not gained the soul. — Fragments Darmesteter |
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Hope smiles on the threshold of New Year for the trouble-torn North-Eastern region as the Vajpayee government lifted the ban on the NSCN (I-M), paving the way for its leaders Thuengaling Muivah and Isak Chisi Swu to visit India to carry forward peace talks with New Delhi. For Muivah, who has been living in exile in different parts of the world for the last 37 years, the visit would be more than a homecoming exercise. He carries with him hopes of perhaps a majority of the Naga community which has been waging a prolonged ethnic struggle. 
Padma Bandopadhyay created history when she was appointed Air Vice Marshal, becoming the first woman to adorn a two-star rank in the Indian Air Force (IAF). She has some other firsts as well in a career spanning 35 years in the IAF. She was the first woman Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Society of India and the first Indian woman to conduct scientific research at the North Pole.
