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Sunday,
May 4, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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GUEST COLUMN FOLLOW-UP A VIEWPOINT |
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ON RECORD IN THE NEWS
Foundations
of governance
PM to
induct Mamata, bail out George
Qutab
Minar reopening will boost tourism
Arduous
task for Kuldip
Businessman’s
90th birthday bash
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GUEST COLUMN Higher educational institutions are supposed to be the reservoirs of meritorious learning, teaching and high quality of research. Academic ambience is to be created and sustained for the realisation of this laudable objective. Merit is to be zealously guarded and promoted. The decline in the standards of higher education and the rot set therein can be checked only if merit does not become a casualty. Evils like corruption, nepotism and inbreeding, narrow political considerations and of caste, region and religion have all shattered the credibility of the system. Disillusionment and demoralisation have set in the minds of the youth. This has given rise to a grim scenario, both social and educational. The GNDU does claim the credit of erecting impregnable defences in the form of evolving a well-defined policy framework and system for the recruitment of lecturers in the university departments, regional centres and constituent colleges. It is one of the numerous healthy innovative practices evolved by the university. The cherished objective behind the implementation of the new policy is that if fairness is ensured at the entry point i.e. the recruitment of lecturers, it will contribute a lot towards attracting meritorious candidates. It is heartening to note that the new recruitment policy and system has been widely acclaimed by every section of the university academia after threadbare debate and discussion at different fora. The wider acceptance has emboldened the university authorities to take the lead. By and large, the GNDU is the first university in the country to implement the policy and system, not in a piecemeal manner but in totality. It is so meticulous and unambiguous that no scope has been left for any shady working. Some universities did draw rough sketches of the policy and system but did not articulate the same. The GNDU’s lead is quite appreciable in this regard as transparency will be ensured, merit will be given due credit and the candidate’s ability will be effectively evaluated. The said criteria will help the selection committees avoid the undesirable non-academic backdoor pressures. The dirty departmental politics will be kept at bay. Whimsical appointments would not be made. The policy and the system seem to be so effective and useful that the same
have been adopted by the Punjab Government. A notification to this effect has been issued by the Governor of Punjab for its implementation while appointing lecturers in the colleges. The scheme is so transparent that out of 100 marks, the performance of the candidate in 80 marks will be displayed before the interview is held. A proforma will be attached with the application form which will be filled in by the candidate in his/her own handwriting. It will be checked by the officials concerned including the Registrar and verified by a screening committee which consists of the Dean of the faculty and Head of the Department concerned. The allotted 80 marks include 30 marks for basic qualification, five marks for M.Phil/M.Tech. or its equivalent, five marks for NET qualified, and 10 marks for Ph.D. Academic achievement and extra-curricular activities are given five marks. Fifteen marks are for publications in the national, international and referral journals or books. Ten marks are allotted to teaching or research experience. By this way, no component of merit has been left out. If one has remained engaged in research and has made out creditable output in the form of Ph.D. and publications, he/she carries score out of 25 marks. So tangible achievements in research cannot be ignored. Normally merit in the basic qualification is ignored because higher qualifications claim the larger credit. The present policy wards off that lopsidedness. Those securing 55 per cent marks onwards will be given 30 per cent weightage on the score card. To cap it all, the candidate gets 10 marks for his/her performance in the interview, five marks for oral presentation and another five marks for resume-writing. This will help make a fair trial of the comprehension and dialogic capability of the candidate. Resume writing is a mechanism by which the candidate makes comments upon the nature of the interview itself. In this scheme, there is no space for extraneous considerations. Gold medal at graduation or post-graduation level, post-doctoral international fellowship, ICSSR, DST, DBT, CSIR, UGC, ICAR-awarded major research projects, gold medal, silver medal or bronze medal in any international meet, participation in any international meet, medals and participation in national and zonal meets have been separately categorised for the score award. Participation in NCC/NSS camps have also been given due weightage. Authored books and edited books have been given different weightage. Same is the case with research papers in international journals, referred journals and non-referred journals. A novel method has been devised for oral presentation. Every candidate is asked to speak for 3-5 minutes on his/her area of specialisation so that the selection committee will be able to judge the communication ability and confidence of the candidate. For instance, even if a candidate has a poor expression or personality but is good at academics, the academic side will compensate him/her as merit just cannot be ignored. But if nobody is found fit, the process would start afresh after readvertisement. Selection would be unanimous as there is no space for divergent opinions among the members of the selection committee. The committee has remained unchanged and is constituted according to UGC norms. Adopted by the Syndicate and sanguinely implemented by the university, the scheme will go a long way in introducing a new work culture, new academic spirit and new research orientation. High academic standards would be maintained. The eroded credibility as referred to above will be restored. A new visionary era will usher in. Punjab lagging behind in academic excellence will come forward in a big way. If one knows that merit is a rewarding affair, he/she will be encouraged to strive harder to perform better and excel. Consequently, the scheme is expected to become a catalyst for confidence
building. The writer is Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar |
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FOLLOW-UP The Punjabi University at Patiala was selected for the Chair with a view to weaning away students of the Malwa region from militancy. Compared with Majha and Doaba regions, militancy entered this region rather late. The main objective of the Chair was to inculcate the spirit of national integration among the youth. At the syndicate meeting on July 31, 1991, the university had decided to create the Chair to fulfill the State Government’s dream of nation building. Though nation building is as relevant today as it was in 1991, the way the government had treated the Chair since its inception speaks volumes about sincerity towards national integration. From Day One, the Chair experienced many ups and lows. The state government did not allocate funds for the project on a regular basis. On the contrary, it handed over the responsibility of funding the Chair to two PSUs — the Punjab Tractors Limited and the Punjab Alkalies and Chemicals Limited. Both were asked to contribute Rs 2.25 lakh on 50:50 basis to fund the Chair with an increase of 10 per cent on an yearly basis for a period of five years. Surprisingly, the government did not spare even Rs 2.25 lakh per year to fund the Chair. The two PSUs provided funds only for five years. After they developed cold feet, the Chair’s future became uncertain. In the original proposal, the Punjabi University had told the government that if it wanted to set up the Chair, it should provide not less than Rs 25 lakh in one go to make the project financially viable on a long-term basis. It was also suggested that the Chair would be able to meet its expenditure from the interest accruing from the principal amount, which will be deposited in the bank as endowment fund. Left with no option, the Punjabi University wrote to the government in 1996 to make another arrangement to fund the Chair. The option suggested this time was that the State Education Department should bear the “insignificant” burden of running the Chair. However, the government asked the university to raise its own resources since it had no funds to spare. Upset over the “attitude” of the powers that be towards the Chair, the Head of the Chair, Dr H.S. Deol, quit the job in October 1996 to join as Chairman of the National Commission for Linguistic Minorities at Allahabad. Consequently, the Chair had almost become defunct. Its charge was given to the Registrar of the university. Again, the university authorities decided to revive the Chair in 2001-02. Dr Baltej Mann was appointed as Professor and Head of the Chair. He met senior officers of the Punjab Government for funds, but in vain. Meanwhile, Mr Daljit Singh Khalsa, an NRI and President of the Guru Nanak Sikh Mission of America, visited the university in 2001. Dr Mann and the Vice-Chancellor told him about the fate of the Chair. As the issue of national integration appealed to him, Mr Khalsa donated a cheque of US $ 5000 to re-start the activities for which Chair was established. This was enough to pay salaries to the staff attached to the Chair for a few months. A series of debates, seminars, lecturers and conferences, mass rallies and marches were organised to carry the objectives of national integration forward. However, the NRI’s donation obviously was not enough to last long. The result: the problem to keep the project floating bobbed up once again. Having tried various options, the present Vice-Chancellor, Mr S.S. Boparai, wrote to the President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), Mr Parmjit Singh Sarna, to fund the Chair in February last. He suggested funding on a regular basis by providing Rs 7 lakh per annum or by contributing Rs 70 lakh for an endowment fund that can be set up for the Chair. In his letter, Mr Boparai made a heart-rending appeal to Mr Sarna: “the major thrust of he Chair is to join in the effort being made by many social agencies and personages like you to prevent mutually destructive activities and provide purposeful perspective and which all of us can follow as a dignified, self respecting and sovereign nation”. Mr Boparai also deputed Dr Baltej Mann to meet Mr Sarna and others concerned in Delhi. Mr Boparai’s efforts did not go waste. On Mr Sarna’s advice, DSGMC General Secretary Bhajan Singh Walia, has sent a cheque of Rs 7 lakh to the university for the current financial year as sponsorship amount for the Chair with a request that the Chair be re-christined as “Guru Teg Bahadur Chair of National Integration”. This is an eloquent tribute to the Guru who made supreme sacrifice for religious tolerance and national integration. The committee has promised regular funds. Mr Boparai has directed the renaming of the Chair. Interestingly, now even the National Foundation of Communal Harmony, an autonomous body set up by the Union Home Ministry, has started showing interest in the Chair. |
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A VIEWPOINT A simple truth that the Indian media never popularised is that anywhere in the world minorities prosper only in conditions of an accommodating majority. In the last 55 years of free India that status has never received a setback. The communal clashes prove, if any, the vote bank politics of secular and communal parties. Most of the Congress councillors who voted in the Begum’s favour belong to the majority community. If the Congress contends that this would not have happened if the BJP were in a majority in the Ahmedabad Municipal Council, it will have to explain how Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam became the President of India. Those who contest the accommodating spirit of the majority community may contend that it is the party whip that ensured the election of a Muslim. Agreed. But who returned the Congress to power in the first five decades of Independence? The minorities? Has any minority party ever named a non-minority candidate for election? It is common sense that no party can come to power in the country without the ready support of the majority. The people who empowered the Congress are the same who elected the BJP as the largest party four years ago. Mohammed Kaif, Sharukh Khan, Bismillah Khan, Parveen Sultana, Naushad Ali, Azim Premji etc. Who are they? They are all household names associated with success. They are the darlings of the people because they rose above the majority-minority divide that the country’s Constitution has thrust upon them. They are a success because the bulk of the majority community does not see them belonging to any particular faith. Their rise shows that it is far more desirable for the minorities to join the great mass of Indians and taste success than demand constitutional doles on the basis of faith. Begum Aneesa Ali’s election is a reminder of this eternal truth. Men and women from other minorities too joined the gallery of greats by rejecting the constitutional apartheid and made a name for themselves. The Sikhs and Jains are the leading lights of the Indian industry. Separatism among Christians is a recent trend and a pseudo-event because it is an artificially created reality. The Begum had no chance if the majority-minority mathematics had come into play. The discomfiture of the liberal parties and the minority leaders is the greater because the Begum’s election again proved that the minorities are not only safe but enjoy the good will of the majority. Despite the Constitution, a majority of the people in the country refuses to allow religion to play any role in their public life. I do not see any sanctity attached to religion to be the basis for classifying the population of a country. Society is already fractured on the basis of gender, economic status, literacy, caste etc. The Constitution has simply added another category to this list. The urgent need is to look for an adhesive that can bond all the different communities in the country on non-religious lines. Is it possible to regard a poor man as poor man and not as a Muslim or Hindu? The recognition of the minority concept in the Constitution has encouraged political peddlers of religion to inject acrimony into its interpretation despite clear judgements of the Supreme Court. Arriving at an acceptable definition of minority is impossible because there are minorities within the majority community and within the minority communities themselves. Do you create special enclaves for the Brahmins, for the Shias, for the Catholics, for the Namdharis etc.? There is a need to end this suicidal drive to split society ad infinitum and to avoid bloodshed and, God forbid, treason on that account. What kind of a secular society is it that rests on religious foundations? Worse, the liberal media are behind them, emotionally segregating them from the mainstream. Both Ayodhya and Babri Masjid are non-issues. The VHP and the Muslim parties must share the blame, though the inventor of this tradition is the Congress itself. Surprisingly, the media too joined their ranks following the demolition of the Babri Masjid since when they began to take sides. I am critical of the media because they do not address the secular problems of the minorities but their untenable demands in the name of religion. Take conversions. There is no objection to voluntary conversion, one not induced by illusory promises. The kind of conversions that took place in Meenakshipuram is not acceptable to a civilised society. Nor are the conversions in the tribal belt tenable because they are not based on informed consent. Conversion of the Kamala Das kind alone is genuine and legitimate born out of awareness. There is reason to worry about number politics. According to a survey of demographic changes in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the percentage of the Hindus (including the Buddhists, the Jains and the Sikhs labeled as Indian religionists by the authors) will come down in the second half of this century. It has already dropped from 78 per cent to 67 per cent in a century. In the north, both the percentage of and the area occupied by the Indian religionists dropped by an alarming 4 per cent. In the border districts of India, their share suffered a 7 per cent drop and in Kerala it is 12 per cent. In the northeast, the fall is drastic. These developments ought not to cause apprehension but for the secessionist and terrorist movements based on religion in the north and northeast. The election of Begum Nafeesa once again proves that the minorities enjoy the goodwill of the majority community, in spite of the liberal media and more liberal political parties. The minorities must remember that their underclass nature is not related to religion but economic status. A great bulk of the majority community too is as underprivileged as the minorities are. This has nothing to do with religion. No political party is a friend of the minorities. It is the saner sections of the majority community that have preserved the demographic and cultural profile of the minorities and not the media or political parties. |
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ON RECORD
Q: How does the Congress view Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee’s recent "hand of friendship" offer to Pakistan? A: There seems to be an epidemic of confusion in South Block as far as India-Pakistan relations are concerned. The number of U-turns that this government has undertaken is quite spectacular. We have given our broad support to the Vajpayee government when it comes to Indo-Pak relations, national security and foreign policy issues. Till Mr Vajpayee went to Srinagar, the government was saying that the question of dialogue does not arise until cross-border terrorism stops. The Congress kept saying please don’t close the diplomatic door, we have to talk to Pakistan. I said in Parliament last month that US Secretary of State Colin Powell declared on March 31 that once Iraq was over the American attention will be focussed on India and Pakistan, that is Jammu and Kashmir. I asked the Prime Minister whether he will resist this pressure. Both he and his Foreign Minister said yes. Then what happened in Srinagar? Why is there a U-turn? Or, is there a sudden realisation that you must talk to Pakistan. After his return from Srinagar, the Prime Minister again put conditions. He also pointed out that US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage will visit Delhi to do some plainspeaking and this is precisely what is happening. Q: Should Mr Vajpayee accept Pakistan’s invitation for talks? A: There is great confusion. Mr Vajpayee said that he had not yet accepted the invitation. BJP leaders said it has been rejected. The External Affairs Ministry spokesman said that it had not been rejected. Pakistan Premier Zafarullah Khan Jamali has said that he is willing to come to Delhi. We have been a constructive opposition. We intend to ask Mr Vajpayee what is the government’s policy and what is the agenda for the dialogue. They went to Agra without an agenda and Mr Musharraf got away with making Kashmir the core issue because the Vajpayee negotiating team was subdivided with Mr L K Advani launching Mrs Sushma Swaraj to the great discomfiture of the then External Affairs Minister. So at least this time, there will be an agreed agenda. Our objective in having a discussion in Parliament is to strengthen the hands of the government. Q: Is US pressure behind the moves by India and Pakistan? A: We have said so clearly in Parliament. I have failed to understand why Mr Armitage is coming. Why is he coming here? To have dinner? Q: How do you view the Prime Minister’s remarks in Srinagar about the US action on Iraq being a warning? A: Why did the government wake up so late? We have been saying it all along. It is being said that the resolution in Parliament was passed on the last day of the war... but suppose we had passed it on the first day what difference would it have made. The point is that if there was no resolution in the Indian Parliament, then the message would have gone down that the Indian Parliament is divided on the issue of the Anglo-American invasion of soverign, independent Iraq. It was a unanimous resolution and Mr Vajpayee realised that the public sentiment was ahead of his government’s policies. Q: How do you see the government’s insistence on Pakistan ending cross-border terrorism before the resumption of dialogue? A: Mr Armitage will take care of it. He will tell Gen Musharraf to lay off for three months. They make him change the policy on Afghanistan. I ask the government why do you surrender your rights to a third country? Q: Compared to our positions in the past, has the NDA government a pro-US tilt in its foreign policy? A: Any government in India should have a pro-Indian tilt. We should have the closest relations with the US. At the same time, we should not be taken for granted. Q: What relevance do you see of the non-aligned movement (NAM) in a unipolar world and India’s role in it? A: We should be much more active. Mr Vajpayee should have got in touch with NAM leaders from countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and South Africa. NAM is very relevant because you can speak with one voice on a new agenda. There is no more colonialism, racialism left. Q. What is your position now that the war on Iraq is over? A: We are absolutely concerned that the United Nations has been ignored. The US has said they do not want UN involvement which is amazing. Q: How is the Congress preparing for assembly elections later this year? A: We
are working hard. We have already started the process and we will win
all the four states. |
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IN THE NEWS
The recognition to the 43-year-old 1986 batch officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) is also an honour for Chandigarh where he did his MA in Economics from Panjab University in 1982 and MBA in 1984. The citation recognises his “exemplary skill” in establishing a rapport with the media at the time of railway accidents. When the Shramjivi Express derailed in May 2002 in Jaunpur near Lucknow, Sandhu showed his colleagues the way in tapping unconventional sources of information. A former Senior Divisional Safety Officer, he believes that alternative systems of information ought to be explored at the time of accidents when the conventional channels of information in the railways are under pressure. This facilitates speedy flow of information to anxious relatives of passengers and those who wish to mount rescue services and restoration. Again, at the time of the Rajdhani Express accident at Rafiganj near Dhanbad last September, Sandhu met public and media expectations by making available information even when it related to another zone. He has laid down a system for classifying emergencies as A, B and C and a system of duty roaster for the entire year made two months in advance. In the event of an accident, employees on duty can be asked to report for duty. Sandhu’s promptness in responding to suggestions and criticism on Railway Board Chairman’s message board on the website (www.irsuggestions.org) has also found a mention in the citation. He took over as CPRO, Northern Railway, in July 2001. He enjoys reading and music. Breaking new grounds Deccan
Aviation was started eight years ago by a group of professionals from Army aviation who shared the passion for flying and understood the psyche of the community whose needs they were addressing. One of the three ambitious persons who had this unique vision to explore the limitless skies is the founder MD of Deccan Aviation Capt G.R.Gopinath. The 50-year-old ex-armyman says that the large number of jobless pilots and the absence of a helicopter company dedicated to special services prompted him to start the
company. He explains that the news copters provided to NDTV will nose mounter gyrostabilised cameras. The copters are specially designed for riots and other news situations. The copters will also be fitted with electronic news-gathering (ENG) equipment. One such helicopter belonging to NDTV will be maintained by Deccan Aviation.
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Foundations of governance
I am deliberately saying so in view of the positions and status of people involved and where they deserved to go (perhaps much earlier) for what they have apparently done or do, with the responsibilities they were or are entrusted with. For every one of such kind arrested, God knows, and people do know, how many more are taking their chances with impunity, that the system could never reach them. Or simply that even if caught they could circumvent it and come back centre-stage in no time. To glide through, with all their evil designs, they make all the right (sic) investments (sic) in preparation for prevention (sic). I wonder many times on the whole concept and processes of our audit systems. What purposes do they really serve and in fact actually should? And why should we not address this ‘core’, ‘Crore Rupees’ issue. Once this is done, it might well substantially, lay the foundations of sound and right governance. So far audit as we see and understand in our country, is an annual, financial audit. But what about an objective performance audit? It is not just about whether the budgets were exhausted and financial procedures followed (sic) but on the whole issue of the quality of services delivered, and to whose satisfaction? Did the client or the consumer of services have any say in the analysis and presentation? Let us take a concrete example of any department of the government. Does the head of the department, on appointment, receive clear standard operating procedures (other than accounts) and an institutional business plan, which she or he, has to follow and will be assessed by? And in the end of the year how all is the department and those responsible are to be assessed/ measured on performance (other than accounts)? Are there evolved measurable, objective procedures? Is there any mid- year review of these? Do we have systems in place which are watchful to ensure mid-course corrections to save the year? And what about the public perceptions? Are there inbuilt systems to gauge them? Have we built-in mandatory systems of right to information and accessibility for the general masses? Do they figure in our decision-making for continuance? Do we involve experts in performance assessments and then make the reports available for general public scrutiny? And do we attach a great deal of weight age to what people’s perceptions are? It is in answers to these questions lies the whole commitment in the quality of governance. Also in these answers would be evident, the determination to prevent the shame of having to send these so-called trustees (sic) to jails (hopefully for corrections). Well one thing is quite clear. Reputations travel to work places before the trustees, (good or bad) come. If the world knows it why can’t the supervisors of trustees know? Do they also do then what is that entitles them to be supervisors in the first place? How do we ensure that supervisors know supervision? The challenge is when they too require it. No wonder we often hear many fellow Indians saying God runs our country. And if God does, then it appears, He/She is obviously not using the right administrative skills. Perhaps God is working over time, just to answer the prayers of people on basic survival issues than on where the country goes. And in this regard I do not see much of a difference between the West and the East.
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PM to induct Mamata, bail out George
Tackling Laloo Bihari babu Laloo Prasad Yadav wielded “lathi power” — literally — at a “maha railla” a couple of days back. Laloo’s target was none other than the Prime Minister. Murmurs are already being heard in the NDA camp as to who will bell the cat (read Laloo). With BJP having no leader who could match Laloo, some leaders in the party have started admitting privately that projection of Samata Party leader and Union Railway Minister Nitish Kumar as the BJP-Samata combine’s prospective chief minister will be the best bet in the next Assembly polls in Bihar slated in 2005. A respected Kurmi leader, Nitish, is a good administrator. In the two last Railway budgets he has offered a lot of sops to Bihar, the most important being the new Hajipur Railway Zone in Bihar.
Tech-savvy MPs The story of computers and MPs is like a perfect bollywood script — it is all about love and hate relationship. In the initial phase, parliamentarians vehemently opposed computerisation claiming that it would result in retrenchment and reduce employment opportunity. Now they pitch for cyber park in their respective constituency and get themselves trained in bits and bytes. And, palm top is the new device, which they would train themselves with to keep in touch with their constituency people all the time. For them, cyberspace is merely a click away and that too, right from their palms. The laptop, which was earlier supplied to them, broke the technology barrier, and now palm top would, perhaps, bring the elected representatives closer to the electorate. But, for now, it is back to school for the MPs in the hot and soaring temperatures next week to familarise with the new gizmos.
Iraq Gurdwara If you are looking for a perfect example for the proverb “much ado about nothing” then there could not be any better incident than the claims and counter claims about the damages to Gurdwara in Iraq. Initially it was claimed that the historic 16th century Gurdwara had been razed to ground in the US bombardment on Iraq. However, a report sent by the Indian High Commission official in Baghdad to the External Affairs Ministry stated that only two window glasspanes of the Gurdwara were damaged in the American precision bombing campaign in Baghdad. Perhaps, the final nail, has been sealed on this issue. Maybe not. Kar Seva in Baghdad could be in the offing.
Noble
profession Goodbye, TVL With the untimely demise of The Tribune’s Special Correspondent T.V. Lakshminarayan, it is not just the readers of this newspaper who are missing out on his economic reports and analyses. Readers of this column particularly should miss him more. This column was edited by TVL with exemplary dedication and hard work. He chiselled and improved each and every item. Friday used to be his day as Delhi Durbar items passed through his scanning eyes. Readers probably never knew that TVL had the uncanny knack of invoking humour even as he groaned in pain with cancerous cells eating his vitals from inside. Goodbye, TVL. Contributed by S. Satyanarayanan, Satish Misra, R. Suryamurthy, S.S. Negi and Rajeev Sharma
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Qutab Minar reopening will boost tourism The Union Tourism and Culture Ministry said the spiral staircase winding up the 72.5-metre tall stone tower in South Delhi would be thrown open to visitors in about two months. Mr Manoj Dass, spokesman of Delhi’s Tourism Department says: “It’s a welcome move. A lot of people, from India and abroad would come to see the monument from inside. Earlier visitors used to just look at the monument from outside and wanted to go in. Thankfully that would be possible soon.” One of the most visited landmarks of New Delhi, Qutab Minar was closed after 39 children died in a stampede inside the tower when the lights went out one day in 1981. There were about 150 children inside the tower at the time. The Qutab Minar complex, which is home to the oldest Indian mosque and several tombs, is currently open to visitors, but they are not allowed to go inside the tower. The complex is a world heritage site. Said Aloke Kapur of Access India Travel, a Delhi-based travel agency: “It will definitely bring more people to Delhi as Qutab Minar is a well known monument. Every penny spent by a tourist has a multiple affect. It helps everyone from the roadside vendor to five-star hotels. It’s a great revenue generator.” The Tourism Ministry has asked the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to complete all arrangements for the inside of the Qutab Minar to be reopened to visitors to allow them a glimpse of Delhi from the top of the tower. Officials said closed circuit television cameras would be placed in the tower to avert a 1981-like tragedy. Only 40 people would be allowed to enter at a time. Indians would have to pay Rs.5 to climb the monument while foreigners would be charged $50. The ASI hopes to make big money after the reopening. The Tourism Ministry had earlier removed small shops and eateries close to the monument as they were posing a threat to the structure. Experts said a housing settlement and a restaurant near the monument are still a threat. Under the law, there should not be any construction within 100 metres of a protected monument. The law, however, is flouted. The Qutab Minar is a symbol of the entry of Muslims in India in the 12th century. Qutabuddin Aibak started work on the “victory tower” in 1193. It was completed by his successor Iltutmish after two decades.
IANS
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Arduous task for Kuldip
Justice Kuldip Singh himself gave an idea to this writer of the enormity of the task which, he says, he has been enjoying. Outer Delhi, for instance, has an electorate of 38 lakhs and Chandni Chowk five lakhs voters while on an average a Lok Sabha constituency should comprise 13 lakh voters. Readjusting the voters would mean redrawing the map of constituencies to make them smaller or bigger while their numbers cannot be raised. Justice Kuldip Singh is currently compiling the list of constituencies which needed to be trimmed. Imagine how many of 546 Lok Sabha constituencies may need readjustment? There is a political side of this exercise too; an MP, whose constituency is pruned, is bound to kick up a row, more so, when elections are barely 18 months away. The areas he has nursed over the years may become part of the neighbouring constituency. The task before Justice Kuldip Singh is daunting, but his career graph shows he is a doer; not the one to give up. He retired six years back having narrowly missed the chance to become the Chief Justice of India but during his eight-year-long tenure as a judge of the Supreme Court, he left and an indelible mark on the judiciary. His most important contribution to jurisprudence was, perhaps, giving teeth to public interest litigation. He asserts that PILs should be encouraged. Known for activism as a judge, he firmly holds the view that “judicial activism is the only silver lining” in the fast degenerating system. Tall and burly, Justice Kuldip Singh, is known for his innovative ways; not content with pronouncing judgements, he insisted on monitoring their implementation. On many occasions, he lambasted the executive for not fully complying with his orders within the timeframe set by him. He often hauled up bureaucrats and threatened them with jail for tardy implementation of his orders. “That’s what judicial activism is all about”, he says. His efforts to give new dimension to human rights litigation while dealing with alleged police atrocities in Punjab gave an opportunity to his detractors to damn him as “Khalistani judge”. The charge, subsequently, proved to be baseless and motivated. He was also known as “green judge” having broken new legal ground in environmental law. He was the saviour of Taj Mahal, having ruled firmly that the coal should be substituted with gas as fuel for the Mathura oil refinery. But for his order the historic monument would have lost its lustre. There is a human side of this tough judge which, possibly, goes back to the tough life he had seen as a young boy. This was, perhaps, the reason that he was very gentle while dealing with cases of divorce and family matters. His initial approach in a divorce case had to tell estranged husbands in Hindi or Punjabi “ lai ja, lai ja” (take your wife back). In one case, a rustic husband snapped back at his pleading: “Tannu pasand hai, tusi lai jao” (if you like her, you take her). Few know that Justice Kuldip Singh originally belongs to Jhelum district, now part of Pakistan. He was barely 16 when Partition took place. His father was away for a year in Tehran where he had set up a business. During the holocaust of Punjab’s division, he was the eldest of his three brothers and three sisters besides an aging mother to look after. He took the risk of bringing them to Patiala. For a year, he could not establish contact with his father. Having lost everything, he began life from scratch. He had to work as a clerk for some time to eke out a living. His life’s ambition was to join the legal profession which he performed with diligence and alacrity.
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Businessman’s 90th birthday bash Unique birthday party for the old. Should we sound cliched and chant, after all, old is gold. Yes, in many a case. The famous businessman of the Kashmir Valley, Tirath Ram Amla’s family hosted a bash on his ninetieth birthday. Yes, as the trend goes, the top political brass of the capital was invited. Since I don’t fit into any of the top heavies, my name didn’t figure in the guest list. Though I must add that last autumn when I had met Amla in Srinagar, there was something about him which left me a reflective mood, putting him high on the pedestal. And not without a reason. Actually during a visit to Vijay Dar’s home, he introduced me to his father-in-law, Tirath Ram Amla. Sitting next to Amla was a frail, arthritis-ridden lady who could neither speak nor hear. Amla’s spouse and she has been born with these disabilities and yet Amla had not just fallen in love with her, proposed to her and has been happily married for more than six decades. “Ours has been a very happy marriage and I have had no problem communicating with her...I’m writing my autobiography and I’m mentioning all the details of my personal life, together with the business and political details...” Probably the man is different and that’s why he has the distinction of being the most successful businessman of his times. Another businessman who also comes across as a thorough gentleman is Lord Swraj Paul. In fact, I have met him several times at Khushwant Singh’s home. Khushwant hosted a get together for him which, as always, took at 7 pm and went on till 8 pm. Paul spoke on diverse subjects confronting the present-day world situation. Whatever he left out could be picked up by his youngest son Angad, who could be writing a book on his father. J&K WAR OF 47-48 Books on the US-UK war on Iraq are yet to hit the stands, but the vicious role played by the British cannot be overruled even in the Jammu and Kashmir war of 1947- 48. The author of the book on the Jammu and Kashmir war of 1947-48, Maj-General Kuldip Singh Bajwa spoke rather blatantly about the role of the British during the war and even mentioned that the decisions taken by certain political personalities like Jawaharlal Nehru seemed to have a marked effect on the situation in Kashmir. Bajwa’s book was released here by Field Marshal S.H.F.J. Manekshaw and the man was at his spontaneous best. Right from quipping “didn’t know a Khalsa could write so well...could write such good English”, he narrated anecdotes centering around the war and peace times. Settled in the Nilgiris, 90 plus Manekshaw flew down especially to release this book. TO SIR, WITH LOVE As I read reports of the passing away of Professor B.S.Thakur, I got carried away in nostalgia. He had taught me and I should admit that whilst he gave those lectures, I had sat almost oblivious to them. Yes, I’d loved the way he spoke, the way he took pains to express himself and the end result was that I hardly paid attention to whatever he’d lectured. For I was one of the students who sat lost and infatuated. I don't know whether he was aware of it; and though he was at his expressive best at his lectures, I couldn’t really express myself. Though I didn’t meet him the following years (almost 25 years), I would take pains to find out how he was faring. And as I read about his passing away, I sat lost the entire day. |
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The Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar, has introduced a transparent recruitment system for university lecturers. This will rebuild the confidence among the academicians. This will also set the pace for good and healthy ambience in the university and other institutions.
When the Punjab Government had proposed the National Integration Chair in 1991, the state was passing through a troubled period. “Boys” with AK-47s were calling the shots. Democratic institutions were under strain. And national unity was at stake.
Polarised Ahmedabad has returned a Muslim woman as its Mayor! Aneesa Begum Nafeesa Ali is the first Muslim woman in the country to be elected mayor. The Begum’s win is neither a victory for the Congress nor a defeat for the BJP. It is the victory of the silent majority who shuns secular and communal politics.
The
voice of the Congress party on foreign affairs, Mr K. Natwar Singh is
critical of the NDA government’s approach to India’s relations
with other countries, especially its neighbours. Mr Singh, 71, joined
politics after holding distinguished posts in the foreign service. A
minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government, he is now a Rajya Sabha
member from Rajasthan. As head of the Foreign Affairs Cell of the
Congress, he gives inputs to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on
foreign policy issues. In an interview to The Tribune, he sees US
pressure working behind the latest moves for resuming Indo-Pak talks. Excerpts:
Northern Railway’s Chief Public Relations Officer Davinder P.S. Sandhu is one of the 133 recipients of this year’s national railway awards for outstanding service.
The news gathering team of NDTV’s new Hindi and
English channels will have access to news copters like their counterparts in the United
States. A common sight there, the helicopters dedicated for news gathering will be made available exclusively to NDTV by Deccan Aviation Private Limited.
It puts most of us to shame when heads of topmost critical organisations are not only exposed for corruption but also arrested and sent to a ‘jail’? And not to a ‘correctional’ centre, which probably would be a politer nomenclature to use, going by the current trend in corrections.
It is not just Pakistan which is keeping Prime Minister Atal
Behari Vajpayee busy. He is also engaged in an exercise to expand his Council of Ministers which he is keen to undertake before he embarks on his foreign trip. But this time, the expansion would only deal with the NDA allies who have been clamouring for cabinet berths for a long time. Sure to re-enter in Vajpayee’s cabinet is the irrepressible Mamata Banerjee. Not only Defence Minister George Fernandes has been pleading for her case, but this time even the Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh has come to her aid. The RSS high command has advised Vajpayee to induct her into the Cabinet, claiming that she alone is in a position to make the BJP win in the next Lok Sabha elections. Others, who are going to be lucky this time, are from the Samata Party which is almost on the verge of a split. As Fernandes seeks to avoid a split, he made a SOS to Vajpayee asking him to induct some of his party colleagues in the cabinet. The Prime Minister has agreed to bail out the Defence Minister, the South Block grapevine says.
But the BJP faces a hurdle. Samata Party itself is faction-ridden and sharp differences between Nitish and Fernandes camps are showing no signs of getting evaporated overnight, the question remains whether the BJP and the Samata will be able to come together and project Nitish as the next Chief Ministerial candidate. Watch this space.
The Shamit Mukherjee case has turned the spotlight on the bench once again. But as they say you don’t chop off the entire arm if a finger develops gangrene. Top echelons of the government also must be aware of the crisis of credibility that a noble profession like judiciary is facing in the wake of Shamit Mukherjee case. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam probably had this case and allegations against other High Court judges somewhere at the back of his mind when at a recent seminar here he stressed the need for restoring public confidence in judiciary. Kalam told the august gathering of
Supreme Court and High Court judges and senior advocates that when he was preparing his speech for this seminar, the grand-daughter of his sister, a practicing lawyer, called him from Chennai around mid-night. “She asked me a question how to become a judge. I thought for a moment and then told her it is a difficult question....with a view to cut her short, I told her that to become a judge you need to be noble. This is a noble profession, beautiful profession and a divine profession,” the President said drawing loud applause from the audience.
Tourism authorities in New Delhi are thrilled with the Union Government’s decision to reopen to the public after two decades the inside of the imposing 12th century monument Qutab Minar. Officials and the travel trade said the move would increase tourist inflow and generate more revenue.
Readjustment of the territorial constituencies for the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies is a gigantic task entrusted to a retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Kuldip Singh, who was appointed Chairman of the Delimitation Commission in August last year. The readjustment has to be done on the basis of the 1991 census, which registered increase in India’s population by a staggering 54 per cent, and accomplished within a year without affecting the total number of seats allocated to each state in the Lok Sabha. With general elections due in a year- and-a-half, Justice Kuldip Singh is determined to complete what looks like an impossible task within the timeframe, giving at least six months to the Election Commission to revise the voters’ list.