E D I T O R I A L   P A G E

EDITORIALS

Death of a titan
THE death of Nani Ardeshir Palkhivala in Mumbai on Wednesday is a great setback to the country. His death has come at a time when India is passing through a critical period of stress and strain. He was one of the front-ranking political scientists and jurists the country has produced.

Global recovery & World Bank
IF the latest report of the World Bank is to be believed, the new year may usher in an economic recovery, though not on a scale earlier anticipated. After an exceptionally slow growth in 2001 and 2002, says the bank report, global GDP is expected to rise by 2.5 per cent in 2003.

FRANKLY SPEAKING

HARI JAISINGH
Of democracy and December 13
Nation pays a heavy price for “soft state” image
THE terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament a year back on this day raises a crucial question: is a democratic regime like ours too vulnerable and fragile to take on the challenges posed by trigger-happy fundamentalist and militant outfits operating in the country as well as globally?

MIDDLE

Tormentor in the mirror
Raja Jaikrishan
ASK me the date of the Bhopal gas tragedy; Operation Bluestar... my salary figures; telephone numbers, house numbers. I am foxed. My poor hold on facts and figures has made me vulnerable to bullying by parents, teachers and mates. Smart alecs snigger at my spelling mistakes. Even now I am uneasy with all words that have more than four letters.

COMMENTARY

Sri Lanka needs a Marshall Plan
M.S.N. Menon
REASON has at last triumphed in Sri Lanka. But it took 20 long years and the lives of 65,000 people! Men are not known to reason why. Christianity brought it ill-repute. And Islam followed the same course.

Team care good for older adults
RESEARCHERS at the University of California have found that team care doubles effectiveness of depression treatment for older adults. The study followed 1,801 depressed older adults from primary care clinics in California, Indiana, North Carolina, Texas and Washington for one year.

TRENDS & POINTERS

Drinking during adolescence hits brain
A new study proves that drinking during adoloscence leads to long-lasting brain damage, especially when it comes to learning, memory and critical thinking. The report which synthesises nearly two decades of research on alcohol and the brain and released by the American Medical Association, shows that in some cases, it may take as little as a few beers to cause harm.

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

EDITORIALS

Death of a titan

THE death of Nani Ardeshir Palkhivala in Mumbai on Wednesday is a great setback to the country. His death has come at a time when India is passing through a critical period of stress and strain. He was one of the front-ranking political scientists and jurists the country has produced. He was an outstanding watchdog of the Constitution. He was also known as the conscience-keeper of the nation. He emerged as a titan in the post-Independence era championing the cause of democratic pluralism, fundamental rights and civilisational values. He believed on the supremacy of the Constitution vis-a-vis Parliament. He was not against the dominant role of the executive; what he opposed was the tendency on the part of the political leadership to assume untrammelled powers. Whenever there was any threat to the Constitution in the form of amendments, he opposed them tooth and nail in various fora. His arguments in the Keshavananda Bharati case (1973) and the Minerva Mills case (1980) are regarded as monumental treatises on the functional dynamics and the relationship between the three pillars of democracy — the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. When the Indira Gandhi government sought to circumvent the Constitution through a review petition even after the Supreme Court had struck down two provisions in the infamous Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act, Palkhivala opposed them with all the force at his command. He said such attempts were a “shocking exhibition of the arrogance of power” and that the government’s application was “totally unsustainable under any provision of the law”.

Palkhivala opposed the idea of presidential form of government during the 1975-77 Emergency, but he appreciated the good points of this system in view of their relevance to the Indian conditions. What he advocated was a system of government that was in total conformity with the philosophy of freedom and liberalism underlying the Indian Constitution, one that will preserve and promote all the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, and one that will be the very antithesis of an authoritarian state. Palkhivala was also a strong advocate of genuine electoral reforms to help cleanse the system of functional evils. He was in favour of three changes: no recognition to any political party unless it maintained audited accounts of all its receipts and expenditure; partial proportional representation in the Lok Sabha; and minimum qualifications for aspirants to a parliamentary career. Even though he was an eminent authority on the tax laws and the Union Budget, it was mainly his involvement in contemporary constitutional law and jurisprudence that had contributed immensely to the enrichment of modern political science. He believed in a free Press for the success of a functioning democracy just as he wanted higher budgetary allocation for education (as in Singapore) to make the country fully literate and advanced. Globalisation may have become a catch phrase these days, but it was Palkhivala who advocated this two decades ago. Indians will, no doubt, miss him, but his writings (The Tribune was lucky in having him as one of its valued contributors) and the avowed causes he had espoused for will continue to inspire generations to come and shape the destiny of the nation.

Global recovery & World Bank

IF the latest report of the World Bank is to be believed, the new year may usher in an economic recovery, though not on a scale earlier anticipated. After an exceptionally slow growth in 2001 and 2002, says the bank report, global GDP is expected to rise by 2.5 per cent in 2003. This hope would materialise provided there is no let-down from the US economy, which is in recession and defies an uptrend despite the interest rates being at their four-year low. Earlier, financial wizards in the World Bank had made the prediction that the year 2002 would see the countries’ sinking fortunes take a u-turn, but waning consumer confidence, debt problems, imbalances in the Japanese banking system, over-investments in the telecommunication sector and uncertainties in the global financial markets sapped the momentum of the modest recovery that began in December, 2001. All major stock markets were rocked by a series of accounting scandals, starting with such big names as Enron and WorldCom that made major investors to hold on to their investments and distrust long-term projects. Small investors, having burnt their fingures, stayed away from the bourses. It is but natural for the World Bank this time to strike a note of caution. The report, entitled “Global Economic Prospects and the Developing Countries 2003: Investing to Unlock Global Opportunities”, carries this warning: “Global rebound might quickly lose the momentum and there is a significant risk that the world can slip back into recession.” An interesting aspect of the emerging economic scenario is that the growth rate in the developed world will be much slower (about 2.1 per cent) than that in the developing countries (3.9 per cent). Contrary to the common perception, it is East Asia that will grow the fastest at 6.1 per cent a year and not South Asia, which will have to make do with 5.4 per cent.

Regardless of the doubtful success of its economic development agenda, the World Bank cannot help prescribing its brand of treatment to the ailing economies. East Asia’s Tiger economies have seen a sudden reverse in their fortunes after a steep growth. Argentina is another example where the development model produced different results than what was intended. China and India are growing faster than the rest of the world more because of the large size of their economies and only limited sections have benefited from the economic reforms. Large sections of their populations have remained tied to poverty. This has not deterred the World Bank from tendering fresh advice: lower the trade restrictions and administrative barriers to the entry of large investors (read MNCs). The supporting evidence is: firms in the countries that follow this advice -- like South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand -- are more productive than the firms in the countries that keep high barriers -- like India and China. This broad generalisation, however, is debatable. Already the institution’s credibility is not very high. The IMF and the World Bank are widely seen as protecting the interests of the developed world. So when the bank asks the rich nations to remove trade and investment barriers that hurt the poor people in the developing countries, few are going to take it seriously.

FRANKLY SPEAKING

Of democracy and December 13
Nation pays a heavy price for “soft state” image
HARI JAISINGH

THE terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament a year back on this day raises a crucial question: is a democratic regime like ours too vulnerable and fragile to take on the challenges posed by trigger-happy fundamentalist and militant outfits operating in the country as well as globally?

I have often reflected on this issue in the light of India's reputation of being a soft state. This, in fact, raises the question whether a "soft" democracy can be effective in tackling the problems posed by highly motivated fundamentalist and terrorist outfits like Al-Qaida, the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Harkat-ul-Ansar, etc.

Finding answers to the questions mentioned above are of utmost importance to the very survival of democracy since this country has become a special target for militant groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country with the support of foreign forces.

I don't subscribe to the theory that a democratic regime has to be a soft or goody-goody show. The problem here lies not in the basic structure of democracy but in the poor quality of governance. To say this is not to deny the vulnerability of our free-wheeling parliamentary democracy, the growing criminalisation of politics and the basic weakness in our character to tolerate wrong-doings even in critical national areas.

How can a responsive, pro-people orderly system be created if the mafia nexus thrives under the very nose of officialdom? The drift in the polity in the past few decades is too serious to be ignored.

In fact, a thorough overhauling of the system at all levels is the crying need of the day. Indeed, the process of reforms has to begin in the mind of politicians, bureaucrats and policemen. The success of terrorists here has been mainly because of our weak system, manned by weak leaders, which leaves enough gaps for criminals and terrorist groups to have a free play on the ground.

The security forces, though competent and capable, more often than not, suffer on account of weak politico-bureaucratic leaders. Only an Indira Gandhi of the 1971 Durga mould, as depicted by M.F. Husain, can provide the right answer to the threat to the system posed by terrorists.

Of course, when a terrorist strikes, he has the advantage of being the first with his striking power. And the first strike can be deadly as we have seen in numerous cases in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country.

It may also be conceded that an intelligence network, howsoever efficient, may not always be in a position to nip such troubles in the bud. No country can afford to have a spy under every bed of every household—the sort of setting that was once visualised jokingly amidst the KGB-CIA operations during the period of the Cold War between the two super powers.

Still, a lot can be done if persons at the helm know their job and go about their work professionally and not as part of the politics of expediency which happens to be the standard weakness of Indian politicians.

It is a fact that the country's image as a soft state is doing more harm than good. This has given wrong impressions about this country to anti-India forces abroad. The time has come to set the Indian house in order by evolving a viable system of governance without diluting our democratic norms, liberal and secular values. What can be the components of this framework?

First, the leadership must acquire proper understanding of basic national interests. And national interests must not be confused with personal, caste, community, regional, religious and partisan pursuits.

Till the eighties there used to be a broad consensus among political parties at least on foreign affairs. These days serious divisions exist virtually in every area of national life.

This is mainly because of the absence of clarity in the ruling class and its lack of efforts to take opposition leaders along in the pursuit of national goals.

The second point of relevance demands proper evolution of consensual politics not only on foreign affairs but also on social and economic priorities and reforms. The question of poverty and development should not be a matter of factional politics but of united national efforts to uplift the poor and the backward with a view to raising their standards of living.

Three, there is need to generate the right kind of political will among politicians and administrators so that national objectives are pursued with single-minded devotion and determination.

Four, equally crucial is work culture and work discipline. The concept of discipline must not be seen as a negation of democratic values and democratic spirit. Much of agitational politics and the drift in the polity can be attributed to the failure of persons at the helm to enforce discipline. Terrorism cannot be challenged unless there is a disciplined environment in the country.

Five, for proper evolution of policies and strategies, the nation ought to adopt a think-tank culture on the pattern of the USA. In fact, select Indian universities should be encouraged to have top thinking persons drawn from different disciplines to work on varied policy options and strategies for the benefit of policy-makers.

Take, for instance, the problem of terrorism. Our leaders have been talking about cross-border terrorism. But may I ask: what sort of quality work has been done to enable the leadership to think in terms of policy alternatives in handling Pakistan and its patrons? Similarly, we must have various options to pursue national objectives in different segments of national activities.

It is often said that Indian efforts look pathetic in the face of aggressive policy and postures adopted by Pakistani leaders and diplomats at home and abroad.

Of course, it is easier for the Pakistani establishment to pursue its one-track obsession relating to India at the global level. More often than not India fails to project its case in a comprehensive and coherent manner because of lack of proper appreciation of national goals and objectives. Nothing can be more dangerous than glimpses of confused minds at the top.

Where do we go from here? Since terrorism today is a sordid fact of life, it has to be tackled effectively. It is equally vital to remember that Pakistan-sponsored terrorist activities cannot be eliminated overnight .

The battle against this evil has to be a long-drawn-out affair. However, the moot point is: does the Indian leadership possess the political will to take on Pakistan's terrorist arm? The problem here is of the permissive atmosphere prevailing even in the security and defence-related areas.

On the face of it, the situation seems hopeless. But all is not lost as yet. The nation is still vibrant and the public vigilant. All that is required is to build up public pressure through free flow of information and make the nation action-oriented.

Defence matters surely have to be dealt with carefully. Strategic and operational affairs have to be classified. But the tendency today is to discourage a free debate even on routine but crucial matters. Less of secrecy and more of openness are the basic requirements for building a healthy action-oriented democratic society.

Of vital importance is to reorient the administrative structure and revamp the established procedures with a view to helping honest ordinary citizens.

Let there be fairplay and fairness in the system. This will help build up the confidence of common people in the system. Once the common people gain confidence, the current drift can be arrested.

Instead of indulging in shadow-boxing against cross-border terrorism, Indian rulers would do well to take a few tough steps and make it difficult for Islamabad to run terrorist training camps. This can be done. But the tendency so far has been to talk big and do little. Political leaders do not practise what they preach. The problem is of a mindset. This must be changed if the country has to come out of its “soft state” image.

MIDDLE

Tormentor in the mirror
Raja Jaikrishan

ASK me the date of the Bhopal gas tragedy; Operation Bluestar... my salary figures; telephone numbers, house numbers. I am foxed.

My poor hold on facts and figures has made me vulnerable to bullying by parents, teachers and mates. Smart alecs snigger at my spelling mistakes. Even now I am uneasy with all words that have more than four letters.

Instead of hanging my face all about, I prefer to show it to the mirror. As I stare into it, the silly me stares back. I have to contort and distort my facial muscles to get the caricatures of my tormentors. Then I give choicest ones to each one of them.

The fun would be aborted as a familiar head (mine) with matted hair and bridgeless prominent nose would appear.

In order to keep that silly childhood face at bay, I began to apply talc to my unruly locks. I would assume the look of Pandit Harbhat Shastri, the tormentor-in-chief. Shashtri was his caste. He was only a matriculate and a “yajmaan” of my under-matric grandfather.

Mr Shastri was a tall, healthy landlord with salt and pepper hair. His well-oiled Narendra Modi hairdo didn’t fit well with his double-chinned, clean shaven Atal Behari Vajpayee face.

On every visit he would bring part of the seasonal harvest which ranged from paddy to fruit and lot of humiliation for me.

In his booming voice he would call out my nickname. The flight to the attic enveloped in darkness over, I had no place to go but to wobble up to him.

And stand with head down, in front of him. He was not of the stuff to excuse a bender. The sadist in him wouldn’t let go of me, until I put my foot in the mouth. His standard assault used to be ‘‘spell out pusillanimous”. I would start of well, but a look at his Sonia Gandhi-like cheeks would make me blurt out “p. ..u. ..s. .. i” and then I would be tongue-tied.

Waiting to be dismissed, I would draw solace from a painting on the wall. It showed Yashoda twisting Krishna’s ear. I wished my mother to do the same to me. But she used to be busy preparing mutton balls, the favourite dish of Mr Shastri.

While he was enjoying the tongue-smacking delicacy my grand-father confabulated with him. As a result, he was let loose on me regularly.

Now he would test me in subjects over which he had poorer hold than mine.

I had to undergo this ordeal four times a month on Sunday mornings. That used to be the hour when my mates would be driving yorkers into windowpanes of neighbours.

No sooner would he be out of sight, I would rush to the mirror. I would run my fingers into the hair. A touch of talc on the puff would complete the Shastri look.

A recent look into the mirror tells me that I no longer have to reach to a handful of talc to indulge in my favourite mirror game.

Save a clutch of hair at the back of the scalp, all my hair has turned grey. My hair is neither well-oiled like that of Vajpayee nor slickly combed like that of Modi.

Having let my hair down for four decades, they rest on my nape like those of child Krishna. Incidentally, the word of torment — pusillanimous — aptly describes me.

COMMENTARY

Sri Lanka needs a Marshall Plan
M.S.N. Menon

REASON has at last triumphed in Sri Lanka. But it took 20 long years and the lives of 65,000 people!

Men are not known to reason why. Christianity brought it ill-repute. And Islam followed the same course.

The Age of Reason put reasoning back on the pedestal. But the age of ideologies — of Nazism, Fascism and Communism — chained the mind of men to dogmas. It is still chained to false hopes. Never was reasoning made into a habit with men.

There is only one country where the mind was truly free — that was ancient India. The quest of knowledge — the pursuit of Gyana — was to the Indian, one of the ways to salvation. And it was a path of prestige. India has not given it up altogether, for it is one of the pillars of its civilisation.

But why this long introduction? Because men continue to pay a very heavy price for not being reasonable. As a result, history has become the graveyard of human follies.

Sixtyfive thousand had to pay with their lives in Sri Lanka to discover that ethnic assertions are counter-productive and meaningless in a globalising world. Sixty thousand died in Jammu and Kashmir to discover (I hope they did discover) that religion cannot be a firm binding force in human relations.

And there were the first and second World Wars. The first was fought to open up the closed colonial markets of the world and the second was fought against the new imperialisms — Nazism and Fascism — which wanted to cut up the world anew among the various contending powers. Over sixty million paid with their lives for these follies.

And the world must have paid with the lives of many more millions during the cold war only to discover that ideologies are new fetters on the questing spirit of man, that neither capitalism nor socialism can deliver justice.

And Russia paid with the lives of 20 million peasants and China with the lives of 30 million peasants to understand that communes lead the way to terrible famines, that a farmer is at his best when left to himself.

Well, we all live and learn! But the price we pay for learning elementary things is far too high. We cannot allow this to happen over and over again and still claim that our mind is free, that we have alight in reason to guide us out of the darkness.

Sri Lanka lost 20 years of its life. Its economy is in ruins. Its people are scattered. They are numbed by violence. And there is a bitter legacy of hatred which will take centuries to forget. But neither the Sinhalas nor the Tamils anticipated this tragedy. Why? Because they never reasoned. They allowed their passions to drive them astray. Just as Hindus and Muslims failed to see the consequences of India’s partition. Act in haste, suffer in patience — this has been the way of the world.

Even today President Chandrika Kumaratunga is not reconciled to the fact that peace was won by her rivals — the United National Party! Such is the blind power of unreason.

Now that the process of reconciliation between the Tamils and the Sinhalas has begun, one can only hope that it will be allowed to run its course without obstructions. We know that the President and the Prime Minister are not on the best of terms and that the President has powers to dismiss the parliament. Let us hope that she will not resort to such a destructive course.

The people of Sri Lanka are sick of the strife and are in favour of peace. They seem to have greater faith in Ranil Wickremesinghe. So let it be. The President should accept it.

The Tamils are an ancient people. They are intelligent. Which is why they were the first to realise the new realities of the world. Once the USA declared war on terrorism, it ceased to be an instrument of self-determination. What is more, a terrorist is not entitled to the halo of a freedom fighter. He remained a terrorist, who can be hunted down and denied any mercy. The saner elements of the LTTE were able to see these new realities. Alas, other militants in South Asia have so far failed to grasp these momentous changes.

It is time for India to reflect on its true role in Sri Lanka. India’s policy was one of vacillation. The point is: India cannot promote separatist movements after its own tragic experience. Nor is it safe to take sides. It was wrong on the part of India to take the side of the Sinhalas. This infuriated the Tamils, who had their revenge on Rajiv Gandhi. In asking for the extradition of Prabhakaran, the Congress is playing politics. It wants to cover up Rajiv Gandhi’s blunders by making him look a martyr for the country.

India could not have supported a Tamil homeland after it opposed the division of India. If India supports Eelam, what is there to prevent the Kashmiris and North-Eastern people from asking for similar homelands?

True, an independent Eelam will always be an ally of India. But how can India confront terrorism in India after supporting it in Sri Lanka? The Tamils must understand that it is in their interest if India is able to win over the Buddhist world. In the long run, this is what will serve the Tamils too.

For the first time, all forces in Sri Lanka have realised that good relations with India is a must. Even the Buddhist monks have had a change of heart. Remember, they opposed the India-Sri Lanka accord of 1987 and threatened to immolate themselves if the Indian soldiers entered the island.

Ranil Wickremesinghe is particularly keen to open a new chapter in India-Sri Lanka relations. On two things he was particularly keen: India’s help in resolving the conflict and India’s help in reviving the island economy.

I have always believed that India must create a model relationship with Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is the only democratic neighbour we have. It is in our interest to promote its stability and growth. To bring the two countries closer, there is no proposal better than the one to build a bridge between the two countries. Perhaps what is needed is a Marshall Plan.

Sri Lanka has been keen to have deeper integration of its economy with that of India. We should welcome it. In fact, we should create a model of cooperation.

India has always been sensitive on the future of Trincomalee harbour. We do not want that it should fall under the influence of a hostile power. So it was a welcome thing when Colombo offered the oil facilities near the harbour to the Indian Oil Corporation.

And the LTTE has agreed to work within a federal system. They have the Indian example before them, which ensures equality of growth for all regions.

Thus, conditions are favourable for a new effort to shape our relations with Sri Lanka. That it has the blessing of all parties will ensure its success.

Team care good for older adults

RESEARCHERS at the University of California have found that team care doubles effectiveness of depression treatment for older adults. The study followed 1,801 depressed older adults from primary care clinics in California, Indiana, North Carolina, Texas and Washington for one year. Half were assigned to care as usual and the other half were assigned to a new model of team care.

“IMPACT participants told us that it was not only the medication that made them feel better, but it was like having someone in their corner, someone they could talk to”, Dr Unutzer added. ANI

TRENDS & POINTERS

Drinking during adolescence hits brain

A new study proves that drinking during adoloscence leads to long-lasting brain damage, especially when it comes to learning, memory and critical thinking. The report which synthesises nearly two decades of research on alcohol and the brain and released by the American Medical Association (AMA), shows that in some cases, it may take as little as a few beers to cause harm.

Teen drinkers appear to be especially vulnerable to damage in two regions: the hippocampus, a structure deep in the brain responsible for memory and learning, and the prefrontal cortex, tucked just behind the forehead and involved in decision-making and reasoning. ANI

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

Our Allah!

Forgive me and my parents,

and the believers

on the day when the account is cast.

—The Quran, 14:41

***

Our Allah!

Condemn us not if we forget

or err....

—The Quran, 2:286.

***

Raising up my hand,

I declare with all my might:

From dharma follow artha and kama

Why not then, practice dharma?

However,

None pays heed to me!

But be it remembered

That dharma should never be abandoned

To fulfill the demands of kama

Or through fear or avarice,

Or even when one’s life is at the stake;

For,

Dharma is Eternal,

while the joys and sorrows of life

Are but fleeting and transitory,

Even as the soul is eternal,

Though the means and instruments it uses

Are but frail and transient.

— Bharta-Savitri verses of the sage Vyasa. The Mahabharata, Svarga. 5, 62-63

***

From dharma spring wealth and the fulfillment of one’s wishes,

From dharma originates all enjoyments and all sorts of happiness.

From dharma arises power that is in the forefront and from dharma is that celestial happiness and the supreme stage (of emancipation) arise.

— The Mahabharata, Ashva 96, 33

***

When this holy dharma is resorted to, it saves one from great fear, for man by it attains to the position of the twice born and becomes enlightened as it sanctifies him.

— The Mahabharata, Ashva

Compiled by Satish K. Kapoor