 |
Wednesday,
December 18, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
|
Punishing terrorists Right to education Metro Rail safety |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Good governance at grassroots level
A joyride down memory lane
A fresh look at water dispute
Virus causes sneezing, coughing
Massage a lullaby for newborns
|
Punishing terrorists JUSTICE has caught up with the accused in the Parliament attack case one year and three days after the heinous crime was committed. That is rather quick by Indian standards and will, hopefully, become the norm at least in cases involving terrorism. But the rapidity has also given rise to speculation as to how foolproof the case that the prosecution has built up against them is. On the surface, it is an open and shut case but evidence has to be clinching and the case watertight to ensure that it can stand judicial scrutiny at the highest level. It will be a shame if they are able to cock a snook at the system by utilising any of the numerous technical loopholes that have been earlier used by less notorious persons. While Syed Abdur Rehman Geelani, Shaukat Hussein Guru and Mohammad Afzal have been convicted of hatching a conspiracy to commit terrorism and acts amounting to treason, the fourth accused, Navjot Sandhu, alias Afsan Guru, the wife of Shaukat Hussein Guru, has been accused on the lesser charge of concealing knowledge of the conspiracy, “although she was not party to the conspiracy”. Geelani, Guru and Afzal stand convicted of conspiring with five killed Pakistani terrorists and Maulana Masood Azhar, founder of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Ghazi Baba and Tariq Mehmood to “capture Parliament House and kill the Prime Minister and the Home Minister and to make hostage all the MPs and VIPs present” and to kill anyone “who came in their way for the achievement of this object”. So, they also stand convicted of conspiring to kill the nine persons, including members of the Parliament security staff and a gardener who died during the attack. The conviction of Geelani, Guru and Afzal is the first under POTA and that may make some to jump to their defence. But they hardly deserve any sympathy. Nor should there be any quibbling about the sentence handed down to them. The attack on Parliament was an attack on the very foundation of Indian democracy and it almost precipitated a war with Pakistan. What is equally significant is that they are not at all repentant about what they did. This and many other similar attacks have been launched under the misconceived notion that India happens to be a soft state and the safeguards built into the judicial system to ensure that no innocent person is convicted can be easily manipulated to escape punishment or at worst to get a light punishment. Let the present conviction be a lesson to all enemies of the nation. Masood Azhar, who was released from a Jammu jail in exchange for the passengers of the Indian Airlines planes that was hijacked to Kandahar, was recently freed by a Pakistani court after he had been taken in custody following the September 11 US terror attacks. The December 16 conviction of his colleagues in Delhi might see a spurt in terrorist activities engineered by their mentor, the ISI. Indian security agencies need to maintain extra vigil on that count. |
|
Right to education EDUCATION has now been made a Fundamental Right of every child aged 6 to 14. The President has given his assent to the 93rd Amendment Bill, which amends Article 14 of the Constitution, providing for the Fundamental Right to Life and Personal Liberty, to include the Fundamental Right to Education also. One immediate reaction is: so what? Since its very inception, the Constitution contains the Directive Principles of State Policy which enjoin the states and the Union Territories to provide free and compulsory education to all children up to the age of 14. But has this made any significant difference? Agreed, the Fundamental Right to Education, unlike a Directive Principle, will be enforceable in a court of law. But will this right be enforced in reality? Who will raise the issue of a child’s right and get it enforced through a cumbersome and overstretched judicial system? From a state subject, education has been put on the Concurrent List. This may give the impression that now both the Centre and the states will make joint efforts to spread literacy. But the ground reality is: no serious effort has been made either by the Centre or any of the states, barring a few like Kerala, to eradicate illiteracy. Look at the Five Year Plan allocations for education. In Punjab the percentage of the total outlay for the education sector has been consistently decreasing until the Seventh Plan. In the Eighth and Ninth Plans there was a marginal increase in the expenditure on education. No wonder, in literacy Punjab’s ranking dropped from the 12th position in the country to the 16th position in 2001. A large part of the education budget is spent on meeting overheads and staff salaries. Besides, primary education is given a step-motherly treatment in the disbursement of limited funds. The larger part of the cake goes to higher education. The emphasis has been on raising large, Western-style buildings for the institutes of higher learning rather than making education available to every child in every corner of the state. That education is the key to development is yet to be realised by our society. While the urban middle class has awakened to the significance of good education in the economic well-being of an individual, the situation is dismal in the rural areas, particularly among the deprived sections. According to the 2001 census, the rural literacy rate in the country is 65.16 per cent as against 79.13 per cent in the urban areas. Poverty is a major hurdle. Hard-pressed parents tend to send their children to work rather than to school. The quality of education in villages is so poor that they do not see any immediate gains of school education. Despite incentives like mid-day meals, free uniform and books, and no tuition fee, the dropout rate among schoolchildren is alarmingly high. Programmes for the spread of education are plenty, but there is no commitment and conviction among those implementing these. Kerala as a model may be studied, but who will motivate the teachers, students, adults, local bodies and panchayats to make joint efforts to send every child to school and teach every adult the basics of education? |
|
Metro Rail safety COMMISSIONER of Railway Safety G.P. Garg’s “satisfaction” over the Delhi Metro Rail after a final inspection of the 8.3-km Shahdara-Tis Hazari section on Monday is bound to be greeted by Delhi-ites. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is scheduled to inaugurate it on December 24. However, controversy over the safety of the project raises serious questions on its railworthiness and technical status. Surely, one cannot brush aside some of the questions raised by the Indian Railways’ Research, Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO). This Lucknow-based institution, known for its pioneering work in railway safety over the years, has not voluntarily done a report on the Delhi Metro Rail. It was on the specific request of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) that the RDSO has done a technical report and, if it has raised some questions, how can one attribute motives or question its functional legitimacy? In its report to the DMRC, the RDSO is believed to have pointed out, among other things, the failure of the brakes in meeting the design specifications; unacceptably high jerk rate with the possibility of creating a risk of injury to passengers; cracks in the wheels owing to the presence of high carbon content; and the failure to measure the “derailment coefficient” due to the malfunctioning of the DMRC’s instruments. It has advised the DMRC to introduce the wheel sets of lower carbon percentage immediately. The DMRC’s clarification on the controversy is timely. Its Managing Director E. Shreedharan has maintained that the metro is “absolutely safe” and that the brake problem arose because of the application of the emergency brake for over 150 times in two days, something which was extremely unusual and unexpected. But the point is that when an institution like the RDSO has raised technical questions on safety, these must be addressed with all the attention they deserve. Clearly, the civil engineering officers of the Delhi Metro Rail or the Railway Board should not dismiss the report as yet another instance of the overbearing attitude of the RDSO’s mechanical engineering officers towards them. Already, the safety record of the Indian Railways is very poor. With the Kolkata-New Delhi Rajdhani Express accident fresh in memory, it would be difficult for one to dismiss reports or charges on railway safety at their face value. Delhi’s transport system is bursting at the seams and the Metro Rail, said to be of international standards, will definitely be a big boon for Delhi-ites. As the Metro Rail is bound to gain popularity in the years to come, the Railway Ministry will have to ensure that the safety aspect is foolproof in all respects. There should be no compromise on safety in terms of its rolling stock, track, bridges and the signalling system. |
Good governance at grassroots level OF late, a major debate has been going on at various levels of the government, the media, etc, as to the dire and urgent need for good governance. This debate has remained mainly focused on matters of high policy formulation at the level of the Government of India concerning major policy decisions regarding on finance, defence, foreign policy, internal security, better management, etc. A lot of talk has centred on privatisation, disinvestment, lesser government controls, etc. Whereas all this constitutes major areas of national policy, calling for the formulation of long-term policies, I intend to focus on some other vital areas, often neglected. Due attention has to be drawn as to what constitutes “good governance” at the cutting edge, that is, at the point where the local administration interfaces with the common man. This interface takes place extensively both in the rural and urban areas. It is at this level that people come face to face with the agencies of the government which matter most to them in their day-to-day lives — i.e. the police station, the patwari, the Block Development Officer, the village dispensary, the primary and high schools, the sales tax authorities, municipal committee officials, octroi officials, electricity and water departments, etc. It is at this level, and to my mind this matters most to 90 per cent of our people, that we have failed to evolve an efficient, responsive and sympathetic system. It is in the areas mentioned above that the common man has lost all faith in getting even hearing, leave alone sympathetic hearing or justice. He either has to resort to some kind of recommendation from political quarters or more often pay his way through. The situation has reached a stage where people no longer even try to get a recommendation; they just try to find an intermediary who could facilitate the exchange of money, or better still an official who does not even need an intermediary. Things have reached such a pass that the common citizen is afraid of drinking water at public places or even buying items of daily need for fear of adulteration. He is mortally afraid of going to a police station, and the local public health utilities are of very little help to him. No doctors are available at night in the rural areas (they are available at private clinics); teachers have sublet their jobs to others; and have you ever tried to locate a patwari? Without going into too many details of the above kind, the irrefutable fact is that we have failed to activate the system at the grassroots level so that it could give justice and relief to the common man. It has to be understood that common people do not interact with Chief Secretaries, Directors-General of Police, Secretaries of Health Services or Education, etc, even once in their lifetime. Howsoever good the officers at the top may be, and they generally are very good and the people have very few complaints against them directly, it is the levels mentioned above at which almost complete failure is noticed. Senior officers of the various departments of state governments cannot be absolved of their responsibility in this regard. There is a system in the government, and it is the responsibility of the top hierarchy to ensure that the system functions efficiently, responsibly and in a just manner. It is only when the system works at the grassroots level that people get relief and justice. One of the primary reasons for this failure is that the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Police Service, the State Civil Service, State Police Services, etc, have not at all got evolved as “services”. The relationship between these government agencies and the public continues to be unfortunately that of the “ruler and the subject”. This calls for major attitudinal changes in these organisations — this basic factor of being a body to render service to the people and not being a colonial agent to rule over them. This is the change that is called for. It will come about if we are able to define what kind of a public servant we want, and then go in for suitable recruitment and training of those in these services. Until these basic attitudinal changes take place and better recruitment and training methods evolved, the present system itself is capable of delivering the goods to a large extent provided we can enforce the cardinal principles of administration: fixing of responsibility and accountability. In the government organisations we have a huge unmanageable hierarchical structure in whose maze both responsibility and accountability are lost. It is imperative to cut down the number of tiers in these hierarchies and make the organisations lean and effective so that both responsibility and accountability can be clarified. Any governmental or non-governmental system needs periodic stock-taking so as to evaluate performance, identify strong and weak points and take corrective measures. Most of our organisations have a system of formal/informal inspections, surprise visits, audits, inquiries into major acts of omission and commission, etc. The problem is that most of these devices have rusted out of disuse. Even if these are strictly enforced from the top and middle supervisory rings, it may bring a sea change in performance at the lower levels. It should be remembered that this entire superstructure of the various departments has, in the final analysis, been created to ensure that the lowest official in the field redresses the problems and difficulties of the people. This will be real relief and justice to them. If this official on the ground is not delivering today the superstructure has to be asked as to what its role has been in these last few decades and how it proposes to correct the situation. Things have come to such a pass that very few senior officials tour their areas. Only if a major incident takes place or a big calamity occurs that they venture out and then also it is found that the system is unequal to the task. The DGP should be considered successful, if the police station dispenses justice, the chief secretary, if the patwari, the teacher, the BDO, the doctor, etc, are available to the people and serve them. This should be the litmus test. Effective supervision must come from the top and proper delegation of powers to local officials must be given. The responsibility of the middle and ground-level officers should be clearly laid down, and then on the basis of their performance they should be held accountable. It is the responsibility of the government and higher levels of the bureaucracy to ensure that the right officers are posted at the right places. If this were done half of the job would be complete. Some District Magistrates, Superintendents of Police or civil surgeons who had left their districts decades ago are still remembered by the people because they cared for the people, went out of the way to help them and did their utmost with sincerity, transparency and honesty — as men of commitment and integrity. There is no dearth of such officers today also in all departments, but the problem is that they are languishing in various nooks and corners because of the inability/unwillingness of the government to post the right man at the right place. We have to begin at the top. The first steps in good governance in the states have to come from the top levels of the state administration that is the posting of right officers at right places, giving them the freedom to act as per the law of the land, making their responsibility clear to them and then formally holding them accountable for what happens in their respective areas. There is nothing new in what has been said here, but it requires honesty of purpose and commitment to public service at the highest levels of the state administration. There should be the will to make the system effective; there has to be a series of firm measures and the results are bound to follow. We have to involve the citizens at the micro level of the administration. While not talking about the entire panchayati raj system, I would only suggest the formation of citizens’ committees in a cluster of villages/muhallas comprising concerned citizens of the area, the representatives of reputed NGOs and those nominated by consensus and replaced periodically. These committees could interact with the local officers of the main departments in a structured manner. Attendance of local officers should be made mandatory, and the committee itself and the senior officers of these departments, who can also occasionally participate in these meetings, should monitor the follow-up action. The role of these committees would include suggestions for improvements in the working of the local departments and for strengthening the weak spots in the administration. They would also give active cooperation to the local officials in the performance of their lawful duties. This would go a long way in narrowing the gap between the officialdom and the citizens, and converting the relationship of the “ruler and the subject” to one of a cooperative, integrated, service-oriented structure. |
A joyride down memory lane WHEN “Save our Shimla” (SOS), a Shimla-based NGO, invited members to join the “Heritage Walk” along the 96.5-km-long Shimla-Kalka rail track on November 9, 2002, the day this fascinating rail track entered its centenary year, I simply seized the opportunity to relive my childhood memories. My most fond memories of holidaying at Kandaghat in 1947, as a young girl of nine , have been of the frequent rail journeys from Kandaghat to Barog, in the company of my brother and cousins. The purpose was to fetch a fresh packet of Spencer’s tea from the Barog railway station for my father, but it always turned out to be a big picnic away from the frowning gaze of the elders. These were the times when summer vacations meant the getting together of relatives with families, both from the mother and father’s side. A huge place would be rented at a hill station and the relatives, along with their families and servants would move in and live like a big joint family for the summer. Consequently, the children learnt to adjust and mix up with their cousins of different background. In the process, life-long relationships blossomed. During 1947, Kandaghat was an important Nizaam of the Royal Patiala State and my Mami’s elder brother was posted as Tehsildar. Pre-Partition disturbances were looming large and my father being a senior advocate of the Punjab High Court decided to spend the summer vacation in Kandaghat, instead of Koh-Murree, the usually patronised hill-station ( now in West Pakistan) by most of the upper middle class families from Sialkot after Srinagar. Soon enough my bua moved in with her family. My mamaji’s family had already reached there to give us a big welcome. A big gathering of seniors, juniors and servants provided enough opportunities to explore the Shimla-hills. The Kandaghat-Barog rail journey was undertaken under the strict vigilance of Tehsildar sahib’s old faithful retainer Bansi Ram, who knew the area like the back of his hand. The train ride was the highest point of entertainment for all of us nine children. The journey through dark tunnels and over the small bridges, resounding noises by the steam engines which emitted thick smoke and made looking out of window a big punishment was an unending thrill. The thick jungles along the track were irresistible. The most popular game was counting the running trees along the track and identifying the variety. Bansi Ram was a great teacher in nature science though he recited the details of flora and fauna and its natural habitat in Pahari dialect. It was my first direct contact with nature and I learnt to respect and love nature’s vast spread. It was to become a lifelong love affair with the Shimla hills. In my late sixties, I refuse to go to the plains even during winter and have made Shimla my permanent home. Huffing and puffing on the steep climb to Barog, the train needed two engines at both ends. The crew members spread sand at the rail track to facilitate the movement of trains — a far cry indeed from the modern electric trains and locomotives. My memories of the Barog railway station — a spick and span place, where liveried waiters in awe-inspiring silence served their British masters in separate, special refreshment rooms, located on a little higher reach — are deeply etched in my mind. The famous Spencers were providing the catering. The one anna-candy was the biggest treat for each child. You could choose between a lemon, orange drop or a toffee. The crossing of the Barog tunnel, one of the longer ones, made you huddle together, because according to Bansi Ram “White Sahib’s Chhaya Bhoot” would be offended if we made any noise or disturbed him. At that time we did not know that Colonel Barog, in-charge of the tunnel, had committed suicide when the tunnel alignment did not synchronise. He felt humiliated and put an end to his life and his dog’s too. With these five and a half decades in between, looking back clearly shows how times have changed. The joys of a big family holiday have disappeared in the rushed pace of life. Children can hardly bask in love and attention. Would the children of today, with endless means of entertainment, electronic toys and means of diversion, be able to relate to the pleasures of the joyride of the toy train, where children of earlier generation got a proper grounding as sons of the soil and formed a bond with nature.
|
A fresh look at water dispute IT is gratifying that a statesman like Mr Satya Pal Dang has joined the debate on the Punjab river waters (Dec 2). Mr Dang is known for his objective approach. He is certainly above provincial chauvinism, and is apparently in no mood to plead the case of Punjab. He is, however, expected to lend his support to justice. He should pay at least as much consideration to the rights of Punjab as to the interests of Haryana. Under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, assets are to be divided between Punjab and Haryana in the ratio of 60:40. As Mr Dang has himself admitted, this does not apply to the river waters. One simply has to look at the map to find out that while Punjab is a part of the Indus basin, Haryana belongs to the Yamuna-Gaga basin. The two basins are clearly divided by the Ghaggar river, which constitutes the dividing watershed. Rajasthan, too, is not riparian to the Punjab rivers. If at all any proof is needed, the following should suffice. The Gang canal, which serves erstwhile Bikaner state, was supplied waters only on the payment of royalty to the Punjab Government. This would have been unnecessary, if Bikaner/ Rajasthan were riparian. The Rajasthan Government admitted that it was not riparian to the Punjab rivers when it claimed a share of the Narmada waters on the plea that it was getting water from the Punjab even though it was non-riparian. In the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960, only the Satluj, the Beas and the Ravi are mentioned. There is not mention of the Ghaggar. It clearly shows that it is not a part of the Indus river system. Thus, Haryana, which is beyond Ghaggar, cannot by any stretch of imagination be regarded as a part of the Indus basin. In Mr Dang’s opinion “the riparian principle applies to sovereign countries and not to states within one country”. The Constitution leaves no doubt about its application to the states. In fact, according to some international judgements, it could apply even within a state of a sovereign country. We hope, Mr Dang will agree that it is not a matter of ‘opinion’. Himachal Pradesh is very much riparian to the three Punjab rivers. At present there is no dispute with it. If and when there is any, it can be easily settled under the procedure laid down in the Constitution for riparian states. Mr Dang favours application of the “basin principle” for the settlement of the issue. As explained earlier, no part of Haryana and Rajasthan falls in the Indus basin. Haryana is in the Yamuna basin, which is a tributary of the Ganga river system. The Ghaggar is not a tributary of the Indus. It is an independent river dividing the Indus and Gangetic basin. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are both riparian to the Cauvery so their claims are valid and can be settled through the Government of India appointed tribunal. Their case is not comparable with that of Punjab where neither Haryana nor Rajasthan is riparian. The Government of India has no authority to appoint any commission tribunal to entertain claims of a non-riparian state. Even the Supreme Court has no such jurisdiction. The legitimate rights of Punjab over its river waters, guaranteed by the Constitution, have been violated through unconstitutional legislation. Sections 78, 79 arid 80 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966 are the cases in point. These were apparently added with mala fide intention to deprive Punjab and its farmers of their constitutional rights. It is imperative, therefore, to challenge these Sections in the Supreme Court to get the wrong rectified before a Constitution Bench. Apart from the unconstitutional diversion of Punjab river waters to non-riparian states, the control of its rivers was passed to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB). This again is unconstitutional and the Supreme Court should be moved to restore the control to Punjab. It is painful to point out that the Centre has played a partisan role throughout. Its unconstitutional “awards”, forced “agreements” and commissions have only aggravated the situation. When Punjab moved the Supreme Court seeking a verdict on the constitutionality of such laws, it was forced almost at “gun point” to withdraw its petition. Political parties following short-sighted vote-oriented politics are misleading the public and inciting passions on both sides of the state borders and doing incalculable harm to good neighbourly relations. The situation demands statesmanship. It must not be forgotten that any sustainable solution has to be based on justice and made within the framework of the Constitution. As suggested by Mr Dang again the possibility of a mutual decision between Haryana and Punjab on the river waters is extremely remote in view of the diametrically opposed positions taken by the two governments. On the construction of the SYL canal, the Supreme Court judgement relates only to the construction. It has carefully refrained from making any reference to the alleged share of Haryana in Punjab river waters. Obviously, the court is aware of its lack of jurisdiction in this regard. On the Yamuna waters, Punjab’s claim is as strong or as weak as that of Haryana on the Satluj, Beas and Ravi. Mr Dang has rightly advised a reference to the Supreme Court. No amount of rhetoric on the part of politicians or threatening positions taken by the parties involved is going to help. The need of the hour is unity, sanity and commitment to justice. Let us take advantage of the Supreme Court. Let us make the right reference to the apex court, i.e., the ones that it is competent to adjudicate. The Supreme Court should be requested to give its verdict on the constitutionality or otherwise of certain piece of legislation which has been objected to by the Punjab Government and which forms the basis of the dispute. Nobody should reasonably object to such a reference being made to the Supreme Court. Punjab had earlier attempted this course. Let it be done again in the hope that this time, it will not be forced to withdraw it. |
|
Virus causes sneezing, coughing WINTER time sees a sharp rise in the number of people suffering from coughs and colds, and Christmas party season could be partially blamed for it. Figures reveal that about six million Britons are currently afflicted and doctors believe a common lung virus could be largely to blame. And there is little they can do to help, since antibiotics do not work against viruses. All they can advice is to stay warm and drink plenty of fluids. Data from the annual cold and flu scale, which collates information from doctors, schools, pharmacists and employers to measure infection rates, shows that about 15 per cent of the population has a respiratory infection. Dr Douglas Fleming, director of the Royal College of GPs’ research unit, was quoted by BBC as saying: “We always see a surge in cases in December. It may have something to do with the weather. It may be something to do with the spread of respiratory infection in children at this time of year.” The main virus responsible is thought to be respiratory syntactical virus which causes obstruction and inflammation of tiny airways in the lungs. Sufferers will have a runny nose, an ear infection and a mild fever which develops into breathlessness, rapid breathing and a strong, dry cough. It is usually a fairly minor condition, but young babies and the elderly can be affected more severely. According to Dr. Fleming, for adults the party season helps the virus spread. “It doesn’t make it worse, but what is true is that you have parties, and people are closer to each other, so you’re more likely to catch the virus,” he explained But he said the recent cold snap was unlikely to be directly responsible for the rise in cases because the effect would be more delayed. He said people with a virus should exercise common sense and avoid close contact.
ANI
|
Massage a lullaby for newborns REGULAR massages can help newborns as well as their mothers get a night of uninterrupted sleep, says a new Israeli study published in the December issue of the Journal of Developmental and Behavioural Pediatrics. “The results of the present study show a clear, long-term effect of massage therapy on the development of circadian rhythm. Massage therapy by mothers in the perinatal period serves as a strong time cue, helping infants coordinate their developing circadian system with environmental cues,” the study author, Dr Sari Goldstein Ferber of Tel Aviv University and the University of Haifa in Israel, was quoted as saying by Health Behaviour News Service. Circadian rhythm is a biological clock that helps humans and other living beings adjust to the Earth’s 24-hour rotational time. Melatonin is a sleep-regulating hormone secreted by the pineal gland at night. The secretion of melatonin is controlled by the circadian system. Count your teeth to know stroke risk Tooth loss and periodontal disease may increase the risk of ischemic stroke, which is caused due to a blockage in an artery leading to the brain. This is a most common type of stroke, according to a new study. Men who had fewer than 25 teeth when they entered the study had a 57 per cent higher risk of ischemic stroke than those with 25 or more teeth. The link between ischemic stroke and periodontal disease, which is caused by bacterial infections, adds another piece to the growing body of evidence that infection plays a role in stroke and heart disease. An unexpected - and unexplained - finding was that the association between tooth loss and stroke risk was higher among non-smokers than smokers. Smoking tobacco is a risk factor for both ischemic stroke and periodontal disease. The researchers also found that the risk of stroke was mainly related to the number of missing teeth at entry into the study, rather than teeth lost recently during the follow-up phase. Warmth, light & pulse check - all in a jacket An “intelligent” jacket that does its job of keeping you not only warm, but lights up in the dark, as well as keeping track of your pulse rate, has been devised by a Cornell University student. “The miniaturisation of electronics has led to the emerging field of intelligent clothing, which integrates functional clothing design with portable technology,” says Lucy Dunne, a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in wearable technology/smart clothing in the Department of Textiles and Apparel at Cornell’s College of Human Ecology. For her senior thesis as an undergraduate last spring, Dunne developed a prototype of a smart jacket that was first modelled at the wearable electronics fashion show at the International Conference on Wearable Computers in Seattle in October, says a report in Cosmiverse. The sporty pewter -and silver-coloured jacket uses embedded sensors that regulate an electro-conductive textile in the upper back to keep the wearer warm. It also has electro-luminescent wires that light up the jacket at night, and a physiological monitor on the left wrist cuff to monitor pulse and heart rate.
ANI |
O Covetousness, misled by thee Even the noble are swept away, By the many winds of greed: The mind hankers multifariously, Is unstable, vascillates, And is not checked by Conscience. Even before his father and mother, Friends, kin, dear ones, near ones, Thou makest man eat what should not be eaten; Thou makest man build what should not be built. Save, O save me, Lord, in Thy stronghold, Save me, saith Nanak: save, save! — Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Slok Sehskriti, 48, page 1358 *** A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you... By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples... — Bible, John 13.34-35 *** The world is a theatre of love. — Kashmiri proverb *** Love of men leads to love of God. — Hindustani proverb *** Love laughs at caste distinctions. Let your love be as a Hindu wife; with you in life and with you in death. — Hindustani proverb *** Those who are loved in this world are loved in heaven. — A Sanskrit quote *** The ways are two — Love and want of love. — Mencius 4, I, 7 *** Love cannot be outnumbered —Mencius, 4, I, 7 *** To lack love, when nothing hinders us, is to lack wisdom. Lack of love and wisdom lead to lack of courtesy and right, and without these man is a slave. — Mencius 2, I, 7 |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 122 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
