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Friday,
May 30, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Mandir-masjid milan! Friends in uniform Combustible trains |
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Tale of two women CMs
Menu muddle
Realising the dream of a genius Roerich’s art was rooted
in humanism
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Mandir-masjid milan! SPIRITUAL miracles saw Valmiki and Angulimaal give up crime. It helped them acquire the halo of sainthood. India is also a land of political miracles. They are performed for fooling voters and grabbing power. Such a miracle was reported from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. Reporters covering the samarasta (harmony) rally of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Muslim-dominated city of western UP must have exchanged notes to make sure that what they heard was right. Forget December 6, 1992, when the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was knocked down by frenzied kar sevaks in the presence of some of the senior leaders of the BJP. But for the rubble and the current exercise of excavation at the disputed site, the BJP would have claimed that December 6 was Congress propaganda to malign a movement for establishing a nation that would follow the model of Ram Raj. How could a party that proclaimed at the samarasta rally in Rampur that a mosque and a temple could co-exist at what is called the Ramjanmabhoomi have ever led a movement that saw chunks of India being consumed by the fire of hatred? In Mahatma Gandhi's concept of Ram Raj both Ishwar and Allah represented the same Supreme Creator. This was also the message contained in the lyrical speech of BJP President Venkaiah Naidu. The Indian voters must be the dumbest human beings. Otherwise, why would the BJP, the Congress and other political parties follow the same strategy of taking them for a political donkey ride around election-time? The politicians rake up issues that do not hold the promise of banishing unemployment, poverty, ignorance-linked health problems, the perennial shortage of electricity and water and, above all, illiteracy from the country. These were standard election issues. Not any more. Today's politicians make populist and reckless promises on the eve of elections. They scrupulously avoid any reference to the genuine bread and shelter issues. Job reservation for economically backward members of the Muslim community was a promise that the Congress has made in the past. In Rampur the BJP decided to steal the Congress' Muslim thunder, or whatever is left of it after the emergence of regional parties. To be fair to the BJP, job reservation on economic basis was a humbug that was floated by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The BJP merely upped the political ante as it were. If the economically weak among the upper caste Hindus can be promised job reservation, why not sell the same bogus dream to the Indian Muslims? However, the political flip flop of the BJP in Rampur cannot turn it into a Macbeth without the blood stains of his victim.
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Friends in uniform THE security forces fighting the nation’s battle against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir are there to make life easier for the people of the troubled state. They are there to ensure that the people live a life free from the fear of trigger-happy militants, trained and brainwashed by their patrons across the border. The anti-Army propaganda by the enemies of India has been aimed at misleading the gullible public. The assertion of the General Officer Commanding,15 Corps, Lieut-Gen V G Patankar, in Srinagar on Wednesday that the Army has its own mechanism to deal with human rights violations should be read against this backdrop. According to the general, the troops have been given clear instructions that they have to discharge their extremely difficult duties as friends of the local people. In any case, these are not new guidelines. If any jawan or officer is found guilty of human rights violations, he will be punished for his irresponsible conduct after a thorough investigation. The harassment of the people will not be tolerated under any pretext. However, we should not ignore the reality that the troops are engaged in a battle against an invisible enemy, who has the advantage of the element of surprise. Therefore, there is every likelihood of human rights violations occurring at any point of time. Such cases can easily be described as
aberrations. But the Army wants to send across the message that it cannot tolerate any action which causes avoidable suffering to innocent civilians. Hence the declaration to probe any complaint of human rights violations. The Army’s approach is laudable not only from the angle of exposing those carrying on anti-India propaganda under the guise of fighting against human rights violations. It is also significant for taking the war against terrorism to its logical conclusion. The local people’s cooperation is the most essential weapon for the purpose. If the ordinary public and the Army are together, counter-terrorism operations will be more effective despite the dirty role played by the forces on the other side of the border. Terrorists cannot successfully carry out the orders of their masters in Pakistan in the absence of an effective local support base. The Army’s efforts at winning the confidence of the locals goes well with the Mufti Sayeed government’s “healing touch” policy. In such a situation there should be no difficulty in immobilising the few hundred terrorists still active in the valley. |
| Combustible trains THE nation is bound to heave a sigh of relief over reports of the miraculous escape of over 800 passengers of a Fazilka-bound train when the engine and three of its coaches caught fire near
Ferozepore on Wednesday. Nonetheless, with the Frontier Mail tragedy near Ludhiana still fresh in memory, the latest incident is bound to evoke widespread criticism of the appallingly low levels of safety in the Indian Railways. But for the alertness and timely action of the engine driver, the guard and some passengers, it would have been yet another ghastly accident on the tracks. The driver applied the sudden brake and the guard promptly got the three coaches detached from the train, preventing the spread of fire. Mr H.C.Punia, Divisional Railway Manager of
Ferozepore, says that fire may have erupted in the engine due to “overheating”. According to another report, the diesel in the tank may have caught fire because of an external spark in the genset. Whatever the possible causes of the fire, the needle of suspicion obviously points to the irregularities on the part of the mechanical engineering officials. It is common knowledge that the railway engines and the coaches, especially of the passenger or ordinary express trains, are not maintained properly. In fact, these trains hardly carry any value in the Rail Bhavan’s scheme of things. Even though they earn more revenue, they do not receive the attention they deserve. It is surprising that the mandatory regular drill called the “safe-to-run check” is done only for prestigious trains like the Rajdhanis, the Shatabdis and the Jan Shatabdis. Why such checks, as a matter of policy, are not extended to each and every passenger train? Such a check, for instance, would have helped the staff in detecting possible errors in the engine and necessitating its replacement with another. Equally distressing is the poor response system to tackle emergencies despite so many accidents. The Railway Ministry needs to enlighten the people why none of the extinguishers in the Fazilka train were functioning. Wireless communication linking the engine driver with the guard and stations is a pressing necessity. By the time the fire tenders reached the spot, a full 80 minutes after the fire broke out in the engine, three coaches of the train were completely burnt down. Clearly, the Railway Minister needs to give serious thought to improving railway safety. For the Indian Railways, there is no dearth of either technical expertise or detailed studies by eminent engineers on this issue. Unfortunately, however, most of these studies gather dust in the cupboards of the Rail Bhavan, making a mockery of the huge funds utilised for conducting them. If the authorities are interested in restoring their sagging image and winning the confidence of the people, they will have to improve the level of professionalism in the Indian Railways by bringing down the accident-rate. |
Tale of two women CMs DURING the days of glory of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, it was commonly acknowledged that she was the only “male” in her Cabinet. Today, two of the most powerful Chief Ministers are UP’s Mayawati and Tamil Nadu’s Jayalalithaa Jayaram. While holding the state affairs in an iron grip, the two women do not hesitate to hit below the belt and subdue the Opposition, within their own parties or outside. The political situation in the two states is totally different. Ms Mayawati, heading a controversial coalition in UP, is often shaky. Left to itself, the BJP would not like to come near the kind of politics Ms Mayawati follows, but had no option to remain in power in India’s politically most important state. While maintaining good relations with the BJP’s national leaders, the UP Chief Minister has no such niceties for the state BJP unit. The most ambitious and power-crazy politician in the nation, Ms Mayawati has successfully sold the idea that she alone can look after the Dalit interests in her caste-riven state. Attempts to remove her from power are attributed to conspiracies hatched by the upper castes. Ever ready to come up with more and more gimmicks, the Chief Minister came up with schemes for reservations in the state judiciary, the sports hostels and other institutions, despite the fact these could not be implemented. But the publicity she received over these moves helped her to consolidate her position among the Dalits. Presiding over a shaky coalition was not easy for Ms Mayawati, but she had managed it. The jumbo-sized Cabinet offered shelter to all disgruntled MLAs while others had been offered other sops. The official machinery in the state was used quite shamelessly in these machinations. Ms Mayawati had so far managed to outscore her opponents and put them in their place. Thus she took on the powerful rebel BJP leader, Raja Bhayya and had him arrested under POTA, despite protests from the national leadership of the party. Ms Mayawati saw to it that she held all the aces and flaunted the illegal and criminal activities of the BJP leader. It was certain that such grave crimes would have been overlooked by Ms Mayawati had the BJP strong man not rebelled against her. This was what made her the most dangerous political opponent. Her intelligence system worked overtime and appeared to have the dossier on all the politicians in the state. Whenever she was accused of being corrupt or indulging in criminal practices, she was able to hit back, highlighting similar offences in the careers of her opponents. This was how she matched her wits successfully against her most dangerous opponent, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, who had been the Chief Minister of UP for several years. Whenever Mr Mulayam Singh announced details of a scandal against the Chief Minister, she hit back, checked the official records and unravelled hundreds of illegal operations during the Mulayam reign. Ms Mayawati’s retaliation was often crude, excessive and smacked of personal vendetta. But she thrived on such action to become the most formidable political force in the state. There was no turning of the other cheek in her political strategy. Equally ruthless, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa does not have a “dalit card” up her sleeve. Suave and more sophisticated, she is the uncrowned queen of Tamil Nadu, having led her AIADMK to an unprecedented victory in the last Assembly polls. Jaya’s position is very much like that of Indira Gandhi in the Congress party during the early 1970’s. From a political point of view, Jaya is more secure in her state than Ms Mayawati is in UP. She is not bothered by coalition partners and leads a party which is willing to eat out of her hands. The masses continue to worship her, which is not enough for Jaya. Her ambition was to destroy the one opposition party which mattered in the state, the DMK. For decades, these two parties had dominated Tamil Nadu politics. In the bitter ideological and succession struggle after the death of the legendary M.G.Ramachandran, Jaya had suffered and endured open humiliation at the hands of DMK thugs. Showing unexpected resilience and political acumen, she successfully bid her time. Jaya often invoked the image of Kannagi, the martyred Tamil legendary heroine, and led the AIADMK to a stunning victory in the last general election. Like Ms Mayawati, Jaya had a long memory and was slow to forget insults. She had scores to settle with the DMK leadership. She had vowed to send Mr Karunanidhi to the same jail where she had been imprisoned and make him eat from the plates she had used. It was very much like the “badla” theme in an Indian film. Revenge was quick and swift. Once in power, she did order the arrest of Mr Karunanidhi and his DMK colleague, Mr Murasoli Maran, using the police to effect midnight arrests and carry them struggling to jail. It made unforgettable television pictures! Under the Jaya onslaught, the DMK has begun to disintegrate and Jaya knows that. The recent happenings in Tamil Nadu point to that direction. When DMK regional leader Kirutinan was recently murdered in Madurai, the state police was quick to arrest Mr Karunanidh’s son Azhagiri for the crime. Of late, the DMK had been going through a power struggle between two of Mr Karunanidhi’s sons, Mr Azhagiri and Mr M.K. Stalin. Aging and infirm, Mr Karunanidhi had no chance to fight back. His Press statement that there was no power struggle in the party and that the two brothers were getting along quite well did not fool anyone. The DMK leader had supported his younger son, Stalin, making him both an MLA and the Mayor of Chennai while Mr Azhagiri was asked to cool his heels in distant Madurai, Mr Azhagiri’s supporters did not like it one bit. Mr Karunanidhi, of course, appealed to the national leadership accusing Ms Jayalalithaa of trying to destroy his party. The NDA coalition may well come to the conclusion that the DMK is a sinking ship and in the days to come may try to mend fences with the AIADMK. But one can expect Ms Jayalalithaa to strike a hard bargain. She has often crossed swords with the Centre and refused to attend the swearing-in of President Abdul Kalam, on the grounds that she had not been invited for the function. She was right and Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani had to apologise. While Ms Mayawati would be happy to remain the Chief Minister of UP, Jaya would certainly want to play a more significant role at the Centre. She has been demanding a special status for the Chief Ministers. Anyone who is in power at the Centre will have to realise that Ms Jayalalithaa is someone special, such is her hold over Tamil Nadu. Once the aged Karunanidhi disappears from the political scene, the DMK faces a bleak future. Jaya would exploit the case fully to consolidate her position as an unchallenged leader from the state. |
Menu muddle I
have frequently wondered what exactly transpires when an Ambassador or a High Commissioner calls on the Head of Government he is accredited to. Does he discuss the nuances and fine print of a new bilateral treaty to strengthen trade and cultural ties or the imminent declaration of war between their two countries? Not quite, I have come to believe. In his recently published autobiography, Sir Robert Wade-Gery, a former British High Commissioner to India, has disclosed that during one of his meetings with the then Indian Prime Minister, Mr Rajiv Gandhi, he discussed the menu for the breakfast Mr Gandhi was hosting for his British counterpart, Mrs Margaret Thatcher, during her brief visit to Delhi. I imagine this is how the talks between the two men held, of course, in an atmosphere if “utmost” cordiality went. “Mr Prime Minister, I’ve here an ‘aide memoire’ from Her Majesty’s Government and I’m desired to hand it over to you. It concerns a high matter of state — breakfast menu.” “Mr High Commissioner, my government attaches the greatest importance to Mrs Thatcher’s visit and I express my happiness at the excellent state of bilateral relations between our two countries and we shall give the ‘aide memoire’ the most careful consideration it deserves. While my Foreign Office studies it, may I suggest that the main course consist of toasted sandwiches with mixed fruit jam or marmalade, poached eggs and coffee?” “Mr Prime Minister, Her Majesty’s Government warmly applauds your unilateral initiative in proposing the breakfast menu and considers it a positive step forward in the ongoing confidence-building measures between India and Britain. “However, may I seek a brief recess so that I can contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London for instructions? Thank you. “Mr Prime Minister, the Foreign Office has asked me to suggest that the toast be moderately done and buttered on one side only and that your offer of mixed fruit jam be turned down with regret. However, we agree in principle to having marmalade and this decision is subject to ratification thru’ normal diplomatic channels. Mrs Thatcher likes her eggs scrambled and not poached and your acceptance of scrambled eggs should further strengthen the traditional bonds of friendship between our two countries.” “Mr High Commissioner, my government is committed to removing all minor irritants like poached eggs that hamper friendship between the Indian and British people. We shall have scrambled eggs. “Mr Prime Minister, Her Majesty’s Government lauds your principled stand on poached eggs and as a token of reciprocity, it shall reconsider the question of virginity tests on Indian travellers arriving at the Heathrow airport. Now for the fruit course.......” “Mr High Commissioner, I suggest we have sliced mangoes and seedless Afghan grapes.” “No, no, Mr Prime Minister, Her majesty’s Government has unequivocally condemned the naked and unprovoked Soviet aggression in Afghanistan and it can’t possibly countenance Afghan grapes seedless though they may be.” “Very well, Mr High Commissioner. I shall ask Sonia to buy a few oranges from the Chandni Chowk fruit market. “Mr High Commissioner, may I express my happiness that outstanding matters between our two countries have been resolved in a spirit of mutual goodwill and trust?” “Mr Prime Minister, I heartily reciprocate your sentiments and I’m confident that the breakfast menu we’ve agreed upon will further cement long-range Indo-British ties.”
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Realising the dream of a genius THE vision and soul of the great Russian artist, Nicholas Roerich, who made the picturesque Kulu valley a theatre of his artistic expression, is all set to be institutionalised.
The establishment of an international school of art at Naggar will be a befitting tribute to the master Russian artist, who spent 20 years in this tiny hamlet. It will, in fact, be a belated realisation of the dream of the creative genius who sought to unite the world through art. The International Roerich Memorial Trust couldn’t have found a better patron than the poet Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in its mission to immortalise the art of Roerich. The Prime Minister, during his recent summer sojourn, visited Naggar and announced a grant of Rs 1 crore to the trust for the setting up of the International Art School in memory of the philosophical artist. This grant is besides the Rs 1 crore sanctioned by the Prime Minister in 2001 for carrying out reconstruction work and improvement of the Roerich Art Gallery. “The vision of the Roerich family was to make Naggar a city of art and knowledge. The setting up of the International School of Art will be the realisation of that dream,” said Elena Adamkova, the curator at the art gallery. At present a makeshift art school is functioning where 50 local children have enrolled for vocal and instrumental music. Elena says the proposed International Art School, when fully functional will attract students from all over India and abroad. “The school will be awarding diploma courses in various artistic streams like classical and vocal music, folk drama, art photography and painting,” she explained. She is confident that the required infrastructure for the proposed art school would be created by the end of this year and the school would start functioning from the next academic session. Prominent artists from Russia and India will be regularly invited to the school to share their artistic vision with the students. Roerich came down to Naggar from St Petersburg and made the tiny village his home for more than 20 years. After settling down in the small village overlooking the majestic Himalayan ranges he started a world movement to protect cultural monuments, later embodied in the International Roerich Pact (Pax Culture) signed in 1954, by more than 60 countries. The art gallery was set up three decades back. The gallery hosts a vast array of Roerich and his son Svetoslav’s paintings. Bollywood queen Devika Rani, who was married to Svetoslav, took active interest in the development of the gallery and the Urusvati Institute Building, which houses the school of art. The renovated premises hosts a gallery of Himalayan art, a library, besides the informal art school. The attendant at the art gallery, Swaran Lata Sharma, says, “My father-in-law escorted Devika Rani and Svetoslav from Bangalore after their marriage in 1951 to Naggar. After her husband’s death, Devika returned for the last time to Naggar in 1994, to immerse his ashes here.” She said Nicholas was himself cremated as per Hindu rites, according to his wishes expressed at Naggar. Swaran Lata Sharma says her father-in-law told her that Nicholas mostly used vegetable colours prepared from flowers and herbs, while his son Svetoslav, generally used oil colours. “My mother-in-law used to accompany Roerich on his Himalayan sojourns and prepared colours as per his wishes,” she said. India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was so impressed with Roerich’s works that he wrote after visiting the gallery, “When I think of Nicholas Roerich, I am astounded at the scope and abundance of his activities and creative genius. A great artist, a great scholar writer and explorer, he touched and lighted up so many aspects of human endeavour.” Roerich painted the magical peaks in all their be spellbinding grandeur at different times of the day and in different seasons. He captured the constant play of light and shadow upon the sheets of snow and barren rocks. Roerich painted more than 7,000 paintings in his lifetime. Now, a serious effort has been initiated to secure world heritage site status for the Roerich estate. This would only help accord full recognition to his invaluable contribution to art and knowledge. The restoration works and beautification carried out in the complex has indeed enhanced its appeal as a tourist destination. The number of visitors to the gallery has been steadily increasing and last year 42,000 of them visited the place. More importantly, with the patronage of the Prime Minister it is well on way to becoming a vibrant centre of art and knowledge. The trust has recently acquired 40 hi-tech reproductions of the original Roerich paintings, which will be displayed in the gallery at the Urusvati building. The replicas, as good as the originals, have been acquired from Samra Roerich Society in Russia. The moving spirit behind the proposal is Russian Ambassador to India Alexander M. Kadakin, who has been closely associated with the Roerich family. He strongly believes that the legacy of Roerich should be preserved and promoted as the symbol of Indo-Russian cultural heritage. |
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Roerich’s art was rooted
in humanism
Mr Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich was a man of extraordinary talent who became a legend in his lifetime. At once a scholar, writer, philosopher, painter, explorer, archaeologist, scientist and above all a great humanitarian. All his creative and scholastic activities originated from his innate humanism. There is hardly any country in the world in which the name of the outstanding Russian artist is not known. However, no other country, besides Russia, played such an important role in his life and art as India. Roerich believed that materialism had debased man and his soul. It was, thus, not surprising that with its rich religious and spiritual legacy and ancient philosophies India was a natural magnet for him. He was a lover of mountains, particularly the Himalayas, which as per the Tibetan belief provided an earthly link to the heaven. He led caravans into the North-Western Himalayas in his quest for knowledge and drew inspiration, as he believed that in the high mountains lay the purer world of peace and tranquility. He found time during his forays into the mountains to sketch, write, conduct archaeological digs, collect medicinal plants and gather linguistic and folklore material to quench his insatiable thirst for knowledge. Born on October 9,1874 at St Petersburg in Russia, Roerich had an abiding love for landscapes as a child. At the university he studied art and law at the same time. Later, he learnt the finer nuances of art from landscape painter A.I.Kuinji, who taught him that inner meaning and significance of the painting were more important than style, technique and composition. It was a lesson, which eventually enabled him to become the great artist he was. He left behind about 7,000 paintings, which adorn the art galleries and museums the world over. It was an exploratory expedition to China and Tibet, which brought Roerich and his wife Helena and their son George to the Kulu valley. The family chose Naggar, which provided a breath-taking view of the valley and the surrounding mountain ranges. His joy knew no bound when the priests told him that the local gods were happy over his presence in the village. He collected some images and placed them before his house to show his respect to the deities. He felt the need for a research institute to study the results of his expeditions to inner mountain ranges and this led to the inception of the Urusvati Himalayan Research Institute. He was against British rule in India and was in touch with eminent Indians like Pandit Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Dr S. Radhakrishnan and Jagdish Chandra Bose. He developed deep roots in his adopted country but also retained his bonds with his motherland. He often talked of establishing an Indo-Russian cultural association and his sojourn in India helped to bring the two countries closer. Roerich died in Naggar on December 13,1947. The Roerich family retained its ties with India after his death.
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