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Wednesday,
April 30, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Peace call Whose
Kalyan? Laloo’s lathi rally |
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Vajpayee’s offer to Pakistan
An encounter with Balwant
Rebuild community life to prevent suicides
Make Chandigarh a city of roses, not just of rocks
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Peace call NEVER-ending acts of terrorism have kept the Indo-Pakistan relations frozen for long. All hopes of the ice melting have proved short-lived, thanks to the short-sighted policy of Pakistan to persist with the undeclared proxy war. But, of late, international events have unfolded in such a way that it has come to a grudging conclusion that the two countries cannot afford to be fighting like irresponsible children because that will invite western opprobrium which will be to the detriment of both. That is why Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's "hand of friendship" offer has been reciprocated by his counterpart, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, through a 10-minute telephonic call. Since there is no tangible proof that Pakistan is sincere about making a new beginning, one should not be too optimistic about the development but even a minor thaw will be welcome. This was the first contact between two heads of government in several months. Although both sides stuck to their known stands broadly, Mr Jamali's reference to terrorism was seen here as his country's willingness to address New Delhi's concerns about cross-border infiltration. But the starting point might be far less ambitious: revival of sports links, on which Pakistan is very keen. India may also agree to send High Commissioner-designate Harsh Bhasin to Islamabad in the near future. Mr Vajpayee's suggestion to bring the relations back on rails through economic cooperation, people-to-people contact, civil aviation links and cultural exchanges may then be followed up. The two leaders may even meet in Islamabad, the venue of the delayed SAARC summit. That much of this geniality is for international consumption is obvious. It is reported that there were several phone calls from world capitals to Gen Pervez Musharraf before the Jamali call. By putting Mr Jamali centrestage, the wily General has tried to kill three birds with one stone. One, he has tried to send the message to the world community that Pakistan is not a war-monger and wants to reciprocate Mr Vajpayee's offer suitably. Two, he has attempted to deflect attention away from the dissension that is brewing against him within his country. And three, he has sought to give the impression that he has left the crucial issue in the hands of the civilian government. The unfortunate part is that while Pakistan pays lip service to peace, terrorist camps are being revived. If an era of genuine good relations is to dawn, Islamabad will have to put its heart where its mouth is. |
| Whose Kalyan? FORMER Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and founder-president of Rashtriya Kranti Party Kalyan Singh was at his virulent best in attacking Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and other Bharatiya Janata Party leaders during his visit to Delhi on Monday. The ostensible purpose of the visit was to scotch rumours that he was returning to the BJP. But the delicate caste equation has created an opportunity for him to resurrect his career. Make no mistake about Mr Kalyan Singh not knowing what measure will suit him best at a time when most of the main political players in UP are in a state of free fall. Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav has been taking calculated measures for expanding the political influence of the Samajwadi Party beyond the OBCs and the Muslims. But Chief Minister Mayawati's pace of
pro-Dalit moves has rattled the Bahujan Samaj Party's coalition partner, the BJP. It is looking for someone who can pass for a
Dalit. Mr Kalyan Singh once "stole" just about enough BSP MLAs, with the help of the same person as Speaker who is now shielding Ms
Mayawati, to remain in power. In the opportunistic world of Indian politics unscrupulousness has served many an unworthy cause. Only the politically blind would believe that Mr Kalyan Singh and the BJP are like Mark Twain's East and West. Forget the unkind words he uttered about Mr Vajpayee and his "retired colleagues". UP is going to play a crucial role in next year's Lok Sabha elections. The BJP has set its eyes on getting a clear majority. It needs Mr Kalyan Singh more than ever before. He was once the party's backward totem as also its most popular Hindutva face. There are reports that the Congress too is interested in him. Why not? In states like Gujarat and UP the Congress is now as visible as the river
Saraswati. For it to do business with the estranged members of the Sangh Parivar in the two states is like playing a zero sum game. In Gujarat it tried Mr Shankarsinh Vaghela and failed. A thoroughbred Congress leader too would not have withstood the fury of the
post-Godhra wave that swept Mr Narendra Modi back to power. In UP Mr Kalyan Singh can do more for the Congress than all the Congressmen put together, including the present faceless president of the party's state unit. Whose Kalyan is a question that the RKP leader is not going to answer in a hurry. He can do political business with the Samajwadi Party or the BJP or the Congress. But the profusion of political options should not give Mr Kalyan Singh a swollen head. He must remember that neither the RKP nor him add up to much in the politics of UP. |
Laloo’s lathi rally SOME may laugh off Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav’s lathi rally in Patna today. Others may see a method in the madness — elections are not far off. It is, at one level, no more than an electoral gimmick, a show of strength to which almost every party resorts. Still others may express concern at the massive misuse of official machinery to arrange for the transportation of workers of the Rashtriya Janata Dal and others from all over the state to the rally venue. There are reports that private vehicles too have been forcibly taken away for carrying RJD supporters. Power and water supply are being arranged by state officials. There is hardly any political party which can claim truthfully that it has never misused official resources for political purposes while in power. So one need not single out Mr Yadav on this count. However, what bothers the ordinary citizen is the threat of looting and violence looming in the air. There is the widely shared apprehension that, encouraged by party leaders’ exhortations on the benfits of this newly discovered weapon, RJD workers might flex their muscles and test their well-oiled lathis on ordinary citizens. The BJP tried to seek the Governnor’s intervention to stop the rally, but the latter refused. A PIL petition was moved in the state high court, but it was also dismissed. What Mr Yadav is doing by wielding the lathi is an extension of the same political culture which permits the distribution of the “trishul” and the sword among party workers. Society at large has been a silent witness to the mischievous and motivated pollution of the political culture by one party after another. Whether it is on a “maha” rally like the one in Patna today or the birthday celebrations of a Chief Minister, the country’s scarce resources are being wasted on unproductive purposes by short-sighted, visionless leaders, while the ordinary citizens, engaged in the daily grind of earning their livelihood, are deprived of the basic necessities of life like potable water, power, education and healthcare. We have to stop and ponder: can we afford to have such expensive political “tamashas”? Why put more inflammable material in an already explosive situation? Mr
Yadav, who has a justification for everything, says that the lathi, associated usually with Mahatma Gandhi, is a symbol of non-violence. How far it remains such a symbol will be known only after the rally is over and the participants return home peacefully. |
Vajpayee’s offer to Pakistan THERE were compelling reasons for Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to change course on Pakistan even as the Kashmir water has been muddied again by an upsurge of terrorist acts. India’s mantra of no talks with Islamabad unless it stopped all cross-border infiltration was becoming untenable. Second, New Delhi was out of sync with the rest of the world, including the United States, on an issue US Secretary of State Colin Powell has promised to deal with after Iraq. On the positive side, there were good reasons to take advantage of the momentum provided by the state election and Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s policy of reconciliation. To the extent the new dispensation in Srinagar can win friends and influence people, its tasks of governance will become easier. Indeed, the more hopeful outlook in the state is provoking separatist elements to increase their depredations. It is equally important that India absorb the lessons of the past in order to avoid pitfalls in future. Apart from pursuing national interests, Mr Vajpayee was guided by his desire to leave his mark on history by seeking a historic reconciliation on the subcontinent. The Lahore bus ride and the Agra summit are worth analysing. Their common characteristic was an element of surprise in the hope that only dramatic meetings at the highest level can yield results in resolving a problem overlaid with more than half a century of history and emotions. Mr Vajpayee’s bus journey to Lahore had elements of high drama. A Bharatiya Janata Party Prime Minister was calling on his Pakistani counterpart in the heartland of Punjab. Ostensibly, the Lahore Declaration was a worthy document. But New Delhi was apparently not privy to the domestic crisis Mr Nawaz Sharif was facing vis-ŕ-vis the army and the religious parties on the right. In a very real sense, Mr Sharif was not a master in his own house, as Kargil and his own downfall at the hands of his army chief were to reveal. At Agra, Mr Vajpayee faced a different kind of problem. Gen Pervez Musharraf was mightily pleased over India’s implied recognition of his new status (he had himself crowned president to make his point), but he had no authority from his army colleagues to seek a path to resolving the Kashmir issue. In a sense, he was on probation and had no compunction in grandstanding to refurbish his credentials at home. Mr Vajpayee’s decision in getting half the Indian Cabinet to camp at Agra during the talks did not help matters because it implied a lack of self-confidence. As if to prove this point, India’s public diplomacy on the talks was a disaster. One lesson India must learn is that given the nature of the Kashmir problem and the troubled relationship between the two countries, a summit must be preceded by ample preparation, with senior officials given parameters for resolving the issue. True, officials are more inclined to get into grooves in as contentious a problem as that of Kashmir, but Mr Vajpayee’s two attempts at summit diplomacy have failed because circumstances were simply not condusive to a breakthrough. Although Pakistan insists on linking progress in other fields to Kashmir —- much as India did for decades in relation to the Sino-Indian border before it gave way —- it would be worthwhile probing Islamabad to discover new room for manoeuvre. Siachin is one issue India can attempt to resolve while reopening severed road and rail communications with Pakistan. It is ironic that India should be reluctant to take such a step against the background of its consistent advocacy of people-to-people contacts. Frustration with repeated attempts at peace-making should not be converted into a posture of intransigence. Indeed, there is much to be said for Mr Vajpayee participating in the planned SAARC meeting in Islamabad to renew contacts with General Musharraf on the sidelines of a setting that will not run the risks of a declared summit. The compulsions against a resolution of the Kashmir question are greater on Pakistan’s side than India’s. Traditionally, successive governments in Pakistan have made Kashmir such a central issue of their foreign policy and statehood that it will need propitious circumstances and a brave man to cut the Gordian knot. But there are problems in India as well, particularly in view of the next general election due in 2004. This is perhaps the last time New Delhi can work towards a rapprochement on Kashmir before electoral compulsions take precedence. India has always resisted the internationalisation of Kashmir or offers of outside mediation. Mr Vajpayee’s hint at making a new effort at resolving the issue in view of the new world order implies that the initiative might be taken out of the hands of the two countries. The Bush administration is one with its predecessor in viewing Kashmir as a world flashpoint, and in the new scheme of things in which Washington sees itself as a hyperpower that can shape the world as it likes, New Delhi might be left with fewer options. Much work has been done by the two sides in processing the problems over many interminable meetings. Instead of reinventing the wheel, senior officials of the two sides should pick up the threads of previous negotiations. For instance, Foreign Secretaries of the two countries should be given briefs to arrange for an early meeting. Once the decibel level of rhetoric on either side of the Line of Control is brought down, the atmosphere would become more conducive. A heartening aspect of the recent moves is the consensus that exists among major political parties on internal developments in Kashmir. A PDP-Congress government in the state is being encouraged in its reconciliation endeavours by the BJP-led Central government. There are dissident voices in the Sangh Parivar but they have not succeeded in negating Mr Vajpayee’s attempt to place the winds of change in the state above partisan politics. Any suggested solution to the Kashmir problem will doubtless be more contentious, but the need of the hour is to start the process of the long-stalled dialogue — with due deliberation. |
An encounter with Balwant THE death of Balwant Gargi unplugged the memories of a sweet encounter I had with the literary giant more than a decade ago. I was posted as Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax at New Delhi in 1990 and was preparing to re-appear in the Civil Services main examination. I had opted for Punjabi literature as one of the subjects. As this was a new subject for me, I was finding it a bit difficult to cope up and was looking for some guidance on grasping the depth of the Punjabi literature. One day while scanning the telephone directory for a friend’s number, I suddenly spotted the telephone number of Balwant Gargi. After some initial hesitation, I decided to talk to him on the phone. I dialled the number, and a courteous voice responded — “Yes, Balwant Gargi speaking.” I felt a bit nervous but soon composed myself and gave my introduction. “Sir, I want to meet you sometime,” I intoned. Gargi didn’t ponder for a second and, to my surprise, invited me for a cup of coffee the very next day. At the appointed hour, I was at Gargi’s door. He lived in a small house in Connaught Place. An old man with silver hair opened the door, and with a sparkle in his eyes, said: “I am Balwant.” He exuded warmth but I could sense a bit of uneasiness on his face. He took me inside and anxiously enquired about the purpose of my visit to his place. When I told him that I was not there as income tax official but for a personal reason, he had a hearty laugh. At once he was at ease with himself, and launched into a conversation. For more than two hours, we discussed the contemporary Punjabi literature. While seeing me off at the door, he said smilingly: “You know, I did not have proper sleep last night. I have been wondering since yesterday as to why a gentleman from the income tax department wanted to visit my house. My house is so small and what will the income tax people find here.” Such was his simplicity at heart. Thereafter, I met Gargi a couple of times. Our discussions invariably veered around the Punjabi literature and theatre. Meeting him was an enriching experience. Gargi would come across as a man with amazing zest for life. He was young at heart and would animatedly talk about the glamorous heroines of the day. I was particularly struck by his earthiness. He was a typically Punjabi host — serving coffee and snacks himself. He was brutally frank and did not mince words to criticise the hollowness of leading lights of the Punjabi literature. For me the most touching moment of my interaction with Gargi was his gesture of gifting me five of his books — all signed by him. “With love...” he jotted in English on the preface of each book. Long after my examinations were over, I would often cherish my lively chats with Gargi. Years later, I learnt that he had moved to Mumbai and was living with his son Manu. Gargi never ceased to fascinate me. Somewhere in my heart I had a craving for meeting Gargi again. But, my long-cherished desire came to an abrupt end on April 21, the day I learnt that Gargi had passed away. But the fond memories of sweet encounters with Gargi will linger all my life. |
Rebuild community life to prevent suicides THE recent suicide reports from Chandigarh focus on an issue the city should address without delay by a multi-pronged approach. Suicide has multiple causes. It is evident that sociological variables alone have little predictive power. Similarly, psychiatric variables represent only a small part of the relevant psychological factors that contribute to the suicidal acts. It is well known that the study of suicide is an aspect of the more general study of aggression and violence, and the common base lies in the realm of interpersonal relations. The book “World Mental Health”, released in 1995 by the Harvard Medical School, focussed world attention on mental health problems and priorities in low-income countries. Suicide is one of the nine areas selected by this report. The major conclusions about suicide concern: (a) recognition of the wide variation in suicide rates across countries and rural-urban areas; (b) determinants of suicide with a focus on social factors; (c) means of completing suicide; and (d) emphasis on an interdisciplinary approach to suicide. 1. To the extent that suicide can be explained as a treatable psychopathology underscores the need for mental health professionals to formulate programmes for its prevention and treatment. 2. Crisis management and suicide prevention should be part of "essential clinical services". 3. Effective health education messages need to be developed and disseminated through the mass media to advise people of available services and of the transient nature of many self-destructive impulses. 4. Regional centres of suicide research need to be established for the study of the variations in the contexts of suicide. 5. There should be changes in social policies to restrict access to hand guns, pesticides and other readily available means of suicide. 6. The media coverage of suicides should be limited to reduce the number of imitative suicides. 7. There should be active dialogue and continuous interaction among ethicists, policymakers, clinicians, the judiciary and related disciplines towards social policy formulation. The media can assist in prevention by limiting graphic and unnecessary depictions of suicide and by deglamorising news reports of suicides. In a number of countries, a decrease in suicide rates coincided with the media's consent to minimise the reporting of suicides and to follow proposed guidelines. Glamorising suicide may lead to imitation. The following section identifies the above ideas into areas for action in Chandigarh. The interventions begin with universal interventions, then moves to focussed interventions. Acceptance of “normalcy" of suicidal feelings: The situation in India, where attempted suicide is a criminal act, leads to secrecy and a lack of willingness to seek help. It is important for the mass media to present the experience of suicidal feelings as a common human experience. Such an acceptance makes it easy for people to recognise their feelings of hopelessness and seek help to overcome the same. This need is exemplified by the report of 35 per cent of youth in Panjab University having suicidal tendencies. Life skills to cope with stress: Adolescent and young adults in the developing countries are experiencing high levels of stress from various forces operating in schools, homes and the fast-expanding media. At the same time there is loss of the protective function of the joint family and the community. It is important for schools to provide life skills to all children as part of the educational experience (WHO, 1994). Life skills are living skills or abilities for adaptive & positive behavior that enable individuals to deal effectively with demands and challenges of everyday life. Life skills education provides 10 skills, namely, critical thinking; creative thinking; decision making; problem solving; interpersonal relationship; effective communication; coping with emotions; coping with stress; self-awareness and empathy. In India this activity has been taken up as a measure in about two dozen
centres.The Indian adaptation of life skills education has been developed by NIMHANS, Bangalore (can be obtained on request). Enrichment of family life: One of the common associations with suicide is family and interpersonal stress, especially in women. Traditionally, family life was regulated and guided by social norms. However, urbanisation, women entering the working world and globalisation have put an end to traditional values. There is a need for a redefinition of family life, particularly to reduce inter-generational conflicts. Religion has an important role to play in this process. As noted earlier, it is members of the younger generation, who hold more firm religious values, are more able to cope with social changes. Religion has the potential to provide a framework for understanding the vicissitudes of life, especially in a situation of ‘moral vacuum". Community institutions for crisis resolution: Although the causes of suicidal behaviour are largely universal, solutions have to be local and rooted in local practices and institutions. Traditionally, crisis situations were solved by elders in the family, community leaders and religious leaders. There is a need to rebuild community life through common cultural, social and recreational activities to provide opportunities for group commitment to values and norms of behaviour. In addition, small homogenous communities can build places for people to meet, play and resolve their growth-related problems. Religious centres like temples,
gurdwaras, churches and mosques can play a vital part by responding to the needs of the younger generation. Crisis help-helplines: This has come to be a very important institutional mechanism for suicide prevention. There are both telephone hotlines and places for people in distress to drop in. The limitations have been considered in the earlier section on the Indian experience. There are many issues that need fuller understanding. However, crisis help must be a component of suicide prevention, especially in urban areas. Care of persons with chronic physical illnesses: In India, people with chronic physical illnesses attempt suicide as a way of solving their suffering. Adequate health care, formation of self-help groups, and supportive home help can decrease the helplessness of people with chronic illnesses. Early treatment of mental disorders: A significant proportion of individuals who attempt suicide have mental disorders. Developing measures such as decentralised mental health care and integration of mental health with primary health care can lead to early identification of mentally ill persons. This approach also encourages regular follow-up and reintegration of individuals into society. In India, integration of mental healthcare with general healthcare as a way of increasing the availability and accessibility of mental health care is the basis of the mental health policy. Chandigarh has taken this as part of the District Mental Health Programme. There is need to include the private general practitioners in this
effort. This is an important measure for suicide prevention. Support for suicide attempters: In the majority of situations, an individual who has attempted suicide is not provided with adequate help to understand his/her life situation, adopt alternative methods of coping and avoid repeat attempts. Help should be available for all suicidal attempters, including psychiatric assessment, emotional support at the individual and group levels, and work with the families of attempters. It is known that this approach can limit the rate of repeat suicide attempts. Support for families with suicide experience: The families of people who have attempted or completed suicide experience intense more emotional turmoil and distress . Feelings of guilt, shame and failure are all part of this process. In some families the grieving of family members occurs in isolation from each other. Organising support groups, periodic home visits and adequate follow-up for about 3-6 months would be beneficial. Religion and religious rituals could be utilised to make sense of the loss and to come to accept it. Social policies: The larger social policies relating to alcohol use, urbanisation, pesticide use, family laws and displacement of people all have an important contribution to suicide rates. In this area, the important factors are to sensitise planners and policy makers to these issues, continuously monitor the effects of policies on suicide rates, and develop innovative methods of meeting the emotional needs of the people affected by these policies. Decriminalization of attempted suicide would be an important measure. In the final analysis, suicide prevention will come from social action in additional to professional action. The earlier suicide moves into the social and public arena, the more likely we will address the issue. There is a particular need for changes in social policies in addition to those relating to psychiatric services. The writer is a Professor of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences, Bangalore. He edited the World Health Report, 2001. He also worked as a psychiatrist at the PGI, Chandigarh, from 1972 to 1982 |
Make Chandigarh a city of roses, not just of rocks THE recent spate of suicides has shocked the collective conscience of this city beautiful. More than a dozen cases have been reported in the last fortnight. While common sense explanations are galore, it would be worthwhile to revisit the work of Emile Durkheim, a French sociologist and philosopher of the 19th century who wrote his magnum opus “le suicide” in 1897. Durkheim had rejected the various extra-social factors such as heredity, climate, mental alienation etc as the causes of suicide and had argued that suicide which prima-facie appears to be a phenomenon relating to the individual is actually explicable with reference to the social structure and its ramifying functions which may induce, perpetuate or aggravate the suicide potential. Durkheim studied varying degrees of integration of individuals to the collective order and established that the stronger the forces throwing the individuals on their own resources, the greater the suicide rate. Durkheim, for example, reasoned that the Catholics show far lower rate of suicides than the Protestants regardless of their race and nationality. This is because the former are able to integrate their members fully in their fold and do not leave individuals to fend for themselves. In short, the crux of the Durkheimkian thesis on suicide is to establish the primacy of "social" over "biopsychological" in understanding the causes of voluntary deaths or self-destruction. With this backdrop; the reported cases of suicide in the city may broadly be classified into three broad categories: (1) suicide related to "fear of failure" and students being its main targets (2) suicide related to courtship, main targets being couples who find it hard to negotiate with the family and society and (3) cases of suicide induced by relative economic deprivation and disparity. Of these three, the first constitutes the major chunk of the tragedy. Growing consumerism and the associated value system of the market with its fetish for “success” takes a heavy toll on the impressionable minds of the students. They find it hard to cope up with the hype created around the performance in the exams and the sky-rocketing expectations of their parents. The dominant value system as its exists celebrates the “toppers” and demeans the “failures”. Society is increasingly becoming intolerant to the failures and the unsuccessful. The education and school system built on the edifice of money, market and media perpetuates this very value system by making "school with 100% success rate" their USP. The market dictates the curriculum and the sole objective of the education system is to manufacture saleable products. Understandably, therefore, the market does not have any place for "faulty" products; these are meant to be dumped! The second type of suicide generally involves young boys and girls who in their courtship zeal dare to defy society temporarily by going against their caste, community and religious sanctions. However, once the initial euphoria of romance evaporates, reality confronts them with just one option and that is to take a plunge in the Sukhna lake tying their hands together. At the individual level, both would have liked to unite as living persons but society and its structures force them to unite as dead. The third and last type of suicide is committed in a situation characterised by an acute form of economic deprivation. Visible signs of prosperity, what Thorstein Veblen would call conspicuous consumption, all around triggers currents of ambitious economic adventurism by the lower middle class and the people on the lowest rungs of the economic hierarchy. However, lack of avenues and channels consistently defeats these efforts. Consequently, unlimited aspirations and the breakdown in the regulatory norms in a supposedly open society leads people to self-destruction. It is an irony that the city which is known for its order and architecture and has been recently voted as the best city in the country to live in is faced with such a chaos. It is indeed a time for some soul-searching and introspection. We need to look beyond our cosy confines and emphathise with our less fortunate brethren in slums and footpaths and in our neighbourhoods. Teachers in school, to begin with, should start talking about Thomas Alva Edison's innumerable failed attempts which, he claimed, led to the invention of electric bulb. The "cult of indivualism" and utilitarianism of modern times must give way to the culture of sharing and togetherness. We must not forget that Chandigarh is not merely a city of the Rock Garden, it also happens to be the city of a garden of roses. Let's celebrate this spirit of fragrance and warmth in our relationships too. The author, a former research scholar at JNU, teaches sociology at Govt College, Sector 46, Chandigarh |
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