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Sunday,
June 1, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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SPECIAL FOCUS: GENDER EQUITY
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Injection is better than hanging
Another ‘failed state’
It’s a risky job for Sherpas
Formidable axis against Mayawati
Diplomats worried over homicide
Small family: Muslims
show the way
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SPECIAL FOCUS: GENDER EQUITY Sriganganagar district, the granary of Rajasthan, saw in me the first lady Collector & District Magistrate in 55 years of Independence. Though expected to pull the weight as equals to many of my worthy predecessors, the challenges I faced were far greater than men. Women, I feel, have to make more often an extra effort to make a mark and to gain the same respect that seems to come more automatically to men. With the bout of free-flowing skepticism in official corners and public, one felt that “when you come in, you start with the negative balance against you and you have to prove otherwise”. In coping with the emergencies, many issues are raised. The experience of managing the varied natural and the man-made disasters in Sriganganagar district gave me a deep insight into the male and female responses to disaster management. The gender analysis of the study of disasters, strength and vulnerability of women in disaster response raises a range of issues facing women both as victims of disasters and as participants of disaster management. Disasters work like the magnifying glass of society. They magnify what is good and what needs sincere help. Disasters do not affect everyone equally. What you are and what you do, determines your fate. The problems before the disaster are the problems after the disaster, just worse. When a disaster happens, both the strong and the weak points in a society really stand out. This is true for gender issues as much as in other issues. Piperane village near Suratgarh, which lies 85 km from Sriganganagar on the Sriganganagar-Bikaner National Highway witnessed a fire in the Army Ammunition Depot on May 25, 2001, which triggered horror, shock and sprinkling of ammunition remains over an area of 20 km. On receiving the information from the Army officials, soon the relief and the rescue works became the top priority for the day. Instant instructions were issued to cut off electricity, rail and transport services and to reduce the flow of water in the canals and finally, to evacuate the seven villages close to the depot to prevent human loss. Summoning fire tenders from Abohar, Ferozepore and Muktsar in Punjab, the adjacent districts of Hanumangarh and Bikaner, to supplement the six tenders of the district, the response time was incredible. The long trail of 26 fire tenders were lined up awaiting the signal from the Army officials, who had cordoned off the area. The ‘Babe Ka Dhaba’ became an improvised office. It was all a male affair. Women perceive disaster events more seriously because of their relative lack of power and control in society. In the emergency response behaviour, women were less involved. Women provided food while men ‘managed’ the provision of relief supplies. Sriganganagar, sharing 210 km of the international border with Pakistan was in sharp focus, when the Chief Secretary was on a visit. The widespread laying of mines in the border villages threw a large chunk of population outside their agricultural activities. Sporadic cases of women abuse and misbehaviour also came to light. Social seclusion is another factor of vulnerability. The avoidance relationship of ‘Sasur-Bahu’, ‘Devar-Bhabhi’ forbids women to leave houses when their husbands are out at work when disaster happens. Women are most vulnerable in the post-disaster phase. Though the evacuation plan of nearly 4 lakh people spread over 500 villages lying in the range of 20 km from the border was well prepared, situational fears had prompted people to leave their women, children and costly possessions to the safer areas. Because of the unequal distribution of food in many families, women get 20 per cent less calories than men. Malnutrition and poor health add to the physical weakness of women in general. To understand how the households responded to the war-like situation, we need to understand the pattern of domestic labour and decision-making. Women as mothers, partners, daughters, grand-mothers, sisters and aunts, tend to do most of the household work. An unequal division of domestic responsibility persisted. The bottom line was that while women play a crucial public and private role, their voice have been unheard of in organisational and community policymaking including decisions and disaster response recovery. I vividly remember the morning of January 26, 2001, when a killer earthquake hit Gujarat. The relief work commenced immediately. The spontaneous outpourings of the people of Sriganganagar to the tune of Rs 1.5 crore was impressive. After the earthquake, women in the disaster zone could put all the skill and will into helping survivors and protecting their families. Amongst evacuees, women showed exceptional strength, firmness and grit. They survived by becoming active in their own rehabilitation. They organised schooling for children and responded to the community needs. Special search teams of women and girls were at work to locate the displaced people. The study of various disasters has shown that women’s views and contributions are rarely given full recognition. For example, in the post-impact period, most women are left to perform the traditional and undervalued task such as child care, food preparation and domestic work, while men are more likely to leave the women to participate in more visible and highly publicised relief efforts. Women are seen as a vulnerable group, less unlikely to participate in planning, in preparation and unable to cope in the wake of the disaster. Gender inequality embedded in the social and cultural fabric is the root cause of social vulnerability. The traditional view of women as victims, leaves men to make decisions about their roles and needs and overlooks the vital work and unique perspective that women can bring to disaster management. The changing nature of family also affects the emergency responsibilities. The disappearance of joint and extended families, urban migration, separation of working couples and the growing number of single parents raise new issues in disaster management. Women should be seen as part of solutions. A paradigm shift is required to inculcate gender consciousness and view all disasters as social events that have roots in the social systems and structures. There is need for a disaster paradigm to move from relief to mitigation of disaster. The writer, a senior IAS officer, is Commissioner, Command Area Development & Colonisation, Government of Rajasthan, Bikaner |
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The new face of technology TILONIA (Rajasthan): Attired in colourful ghagra-choli, a dupatta covering her head and traditional Rajasthani jewellery, 55-year-old Norti looks an archetypical village woman at first glance. But when she sits in front of a computer with a mouse in her hand, and begins drawing maps of water resources of villages, one finds it difficult to believe that it’s the same woman. Using her database, Norti can tell how many wells, ponds and tubewells are there in a particular village. Life was going on as usual for Norti as a construction labourer, when there was a sudden change in her life at the age of 35. While working on a road construction site in 1981, she was being paid a daily wage of Rs 3.50 but came to know that the rate was Rs 7. She refused to accept lower wages. Meanwhile, she came to know about the campaign being run for labourers by the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghathan (MKSS). At their meeting she told the 300 women gathered there that how they are being paid less than the minimum wage. About 700 labourers from seven villages were working at this construction site. Many stopped accepting lower wages, inspired by Norti. After this incident, Norti had to face the wrath of her family, husband and village elders. They charged her with giving information about village activities to outsiders. The village elders brainwashed her husband against her. But Norti did not give up. She filed a case with the help of MKSS. Finally she won the case in 1983. The Block Development Officer was suspended and the Sarpanch was jailed. This led to tension in the village, for which everybody blamed Norti. But winning the case, gave a moral boost to Norti and she made creating awareness and empowering village women, a mission of her life. After getting the training of preparing muster rolls, book entries and other labour related works, at the Social Work Research Centre, Tilonia, Norti worked for six months at Bartwan Panchayat Samiti, where she trained 200 women labourers about their rights. Norti inspired parents — who could not send their children to school since they helped them with farm work during day — to send their wards to night schools. She started teaching them Hindi alphabets and counting up to 100 in makeshift classrooms. While working in night schools for three years, Norti also used to work in the Saathin programme being run by the state government. She got trained as a paramedical help. Norti says, “Village women would open up with her own problems concerning their reproductive health.” She worked as Saathin for seven years. Then she joined the MKSS and started working for right to information and actively participated in protests and dharnas against forceful occupation of land of villagers. Last year, her husband’s TB was confirmed and it became difficult for her to travel. But she did not want to sit back. When SWRC chief Bunker Roy offered her an opportunity to learn computers so that she need not travel much, Norti was surprised. She had never used a computer before. Norti first started with a Hindi keyboard, and spent about a month learning the basics. Norti says she used to write letters on her hand to learn by heart, while at home. After learning typing on the keyboard, she fed the text in a magazine called “Pitara” of SWRC. Then she worked at the internet Dhaba of SWRC for two months, and also learnt making maps on the computer. After mastering this work, Norti is now engaged in yet another novel work — teaching computer operation to physically challenged girls. She is also in-charge of the SWRC’s water mapping project and looks after the Jalchitra software. “There is no age for education and learning. What you need is strong will power. “There is no age for education and learning. What you need is strong will power. Even if you are uneducated, you can learn a lot of things, no matter if it is the latest technology,” said Norti with a smile on her face and a mouse in her hand. Grassroots Feature Network |
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Tackle dowry menace to end female foeticide Gender discrimination is practised in the country with impunity. As a result, the male-female ratio has fallen in the country in general, and in some states in particular. One reason for this imbalance is the abortion of female foetus with the help of the latest technology. The biggest culprit is the misuse of the ultrasound machine by diagnostic clinics. To be fair, there are stringent laws to protect the female child whether in the womb or after birth. But these laws remain on the statute books as there is no specific administrative machinery to oversee their implementation at the ground level. Ironically, some diagnostic clinics, having installed ultrasound machines, display a board warning their clients that tests meant to determine the sex of the foetus are against the law. However, the business of detecting the sex of the child goes on inside the clinic under one pretext or the other, the most common being to detect Down’s Syndrome. This is permitted by the law. The ban on determining the sex of the foetus is being used increasingly by unscrupulous clinics to extort more money from their clients. But this hasn’t yet discouraged people, who practise gender discrimination, from rushing to these clinics. Of course, once the ultrasound machine confirms that the foetus in the womb is that of a female child, these very people try to get it aborted, legally or illegally. Unscrupulous doctors and quacks thrive on this. The practice of gender discrimination cannot be stopped by just enacting laws. The truth is that for transforming the minds of the public towards this sensitive issue, a different approach is needed. We need social reformers to make people aware of the dangers of carrying on the evil practice of female foeticide. Such leaders, however, cannot be politicians. The latter are only interested in capturing power and enjoying all that goes with it. On the other hand, a reformer has to be a man of the masses, totally honest in what he says and does. Do we have personalities like Mahatma Gandhi (who was instrumental in the abolition of untouchability) among us? As we have countless politicians and no tall leaders, even an ordinary person can launch a movement for bringing about social change in society. But to do so, he has to be sincere, honest, dedicated and hard working. Gradually, his movement would generate enough steam so as to give birth to a band of small leaders at the grassroot level. This, in turn, will take the leader’s message to each and every home. When this happens, social change begins to take effect and transform people’s attitude. We need committed people to bring about social transformation and attitudinal change on this issue. As things stand, it is solely for one reason that ordinary middle class couples do not want to raise daughters — the menace of dowry. A parent who raised two daughters, his only children, gave them the best possible education he could afford. One daughter worked hard to earn a Master’s degree in architecture. The other acquired an engineering degree from a prestigious institution. The parent narrated his tale of woe. He said that whenever a proposal for marriage comes, each girl is selected for marriage on account of her extremely good looks, bright academic career and cultured behaviour. Yet the boy’s parents invariably demand a dowry of Rs 10 lakh in cash. The agony of this parent can be imagined, who has spent his entire earnings of life in giving top professional education to his daughters. Even then, he is expected to shell out a huge dowry. It is this menace of dowry which is forcing most middle class parents to go in for the abortion of female foetus. If this menace were to disappear, the bias towards raising girls would also die along with it. In sum, if the male-female ratio continues to decline, it would lead to more crimes against women and bring down their social status further. The writer is a freelance writer based in Dharamshala (HP) |
Injection is better than hanging
Capital punishment to perpetrators of henious crimes against society has existed since time immemorial and a persistant debate has been raging for years for adopting a simpler mode of execution than hanging. Methods like crusification, burning at the stake, boiling to death in oil, throwing from the clif, crushing the skull under elephant’s feet, stoning and guillotine had been used to execute a condemned prisoner in the history. Sending a convict to firing squad, putting him in gas chamber, electrocution and deministering lethal injection are the prevalent methods of execution in many countries. In India, hanging is the only mode accepted by law, except in the case of death penalty by Army, Navy and Air Force Court Martial, which has been given discretion of sending a convicted soldier to firing squad. The Law Commission of India has come out with a report favouring intravenous lethal injection in place of death by hanging stating that it is less painful and quick. Law Commission Member N.M. Ghatade, who authored the study paper for seeking opinion from jurists, social scientists, NGOs, human right bodies and public to finalise its report to the Government, spoke to The Tribune on the issue. Excerpts: Q. The present method of executing a condemned prisoner by hanging has been there in the country since we adopted the codified law about two centuries ago. Why is the Law Commission in favour of intravenous lethal injections now? A. There are no two opinions about the death penalty, especially in the prevailing situation when the country is facing the menace of terrorism. But Indian society has progressed a lot since we adopted the law on the mode of execution. In many countries including the US, lethel injection has been accepted as a less painful method. The commission feels that execution should be decent. The state cannot have a revange against the perparators of law. Execution is a judicial punishment. So we took up the study as the hanging has been replaced even in the UK on whose legal pattern our judicial system is based. Q. What is the basis of your study report? How the commission has formed its opinion in favour of intravenous lethal injection? A. The Royal Commission Report in UK on capital punishment in 1949-53 had said that the question of judicial execution should be periodically examined, especially in the light of the progress made in the science of anesthetics. Consequently, the UK also adopted the lethal injection mode. Besides, the United Nations Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly resolutions in 1984 had suggested that the death penalty should be carried out to inflict minimum possible sufferings to the convicted accused. Q. How is the lethal injection less painful in comparison to hanging a person by rope? A. The pain in the lethal injection is felt only at the time of prick of needle. The whole process takes five to nine minutes. Three injections are given, the first puts the convict to sleep and the subsequent two cause his death in sleep. But scientific studies and post mortem reports of the bodies of the prisoners hanged abroad had suggested that if the drop is too short, it may not break the spinal cord and in such a case the death will be slow and agonising due to strangulation. On the other hand if the drop is too long, the head will be torn off and there will be mutilation of the body. Besides, over the years, finding a hangman has also become a problem. Q. Is the post mortem done in the country after the body is taken out from the gallows? A. No, we have no provision in the law to have post mortem of the body but studies abroad, especially in England has established beyond doubt that execution by hanging does involve intense physical pain and suffering. Q. Has the commission given a thought that the convicted person should be given a choice of his execution as in countries like the US? A. No, this has neither been considered nor is permissible under our law. Only under the Army, the Navy and the Air Force Acts, the Court Martial has been given discretion to chose whether a soldier given capital punishment should be hanged or sent to firing squad. Though the death by gun shots is instant, it causes lot of mutilation to the body. Q. Has the commission ever given a thought of suggesting to the government to do away with the death penalty and provide for a longer term of life sentence which at present is roughly 14 years? A. In the present situation when the country is facing threat from terrorists, I don’t think any government will consider this. There is threat to the very survival of the country, its integrity and sovereignty. |
Another ‘failed state’ As a part of my duties I got to visit another ‘failed state’, as it is termed in international parlance. And it was yet another experience. The country was not only beautiful but also exceedingly rich in resources. But it lay ravaged and literally raped. Its ground wealth was the main reason for its present ruins. People from outside came in the garb of either doing business or providing security and literally became the owners. And the inhabitant’s their labourers and slaves. The locals i.e. the slaves over a period, too learnt the art of sophisticated ‘robbery’ and joined hands with their so-called protectors, masters, usurpers, trainers and mentors, only to do it one better than them…to steal and stack away, added with butchery, as now they had the weapons. Thus leaving a legacy of ‘thuggery’ with murderous exploitation. The mightier always won, as now they had higher lethal power. In fact, the local thieves joined the foreign usurpers and massacred their own brethren. And what better ground for the outsiders to remain indispensable, for there was the need for protection of, common- stolen- wealth! This is what I (also) saw (for there is a huge international effort to rebuild), of, one of the really beautiful countries, literally in a bloody rubble. There were rows and rows of houses devastated and roofless. The occupants or ‘occupiers’ were still hanging around these. As if waiting for someone, when queried, they said, ‘for food’. Irony of it is, that this same country is lush green with fruit laden trees, surrounding these same ‘roofless’ walls. Ripe fruits were seen fallen into their houses (sic) and they had only to pick it up and eat it. In totality there were more fruits on the trees and on the ground than there were mouths to feed. The land is so rich, that crops and vegetables grow on their own yet I saw only small patches of vegetables and hardly any cash crop. Those few vegetables were being cultivated for the day and for themselves and not for the nation. The concept of nationhood was alien to the residents. According to them, boundaries made by foot rulers did not necessarily divide. Means of communication are scarce. Large parts of the country remain unconnected. The country is not divided into districts or counties but fiefdoms run by tribal chiefs or chieftains. And these chiefs are a story by themselves. Most of them practice polyandry with display. They have to fence their houses to keep confined over dozens of concubines and scores of children. One chieftain has only sixty of them and more to come. Young girls are given to them as gifts. Such is their way of life…all at the cost of women and girls. There are but a few schools and higher education a mere dream. Once upon a time it existed but all of it got destroyed in butchery. Alcoholism is rampant among men. . It is so easy here to lure and trap young girls. And in such an environment no woman or girl is safe. These men know only their animal instincts. It was alarming to hear of the number of children or foetuses born and found in garbage heaps. Too many women died due to repeated childbirths. And men perish by Aids. The climate of the country also breeds its own killers. About which the world only occasionally gets to know. But the same failed state has it all, you name it — oil, natural gas, minerals, thick forests, good monsoons and wild life…. but not the people. I was asked on the conclusion of my visit, what additional international support would come to their land, once the existing support goes. My answer was, why must you stay dependent? When you can be the kings? Why do you not rise as a nation? Why do you not use your gifts, given to you and all of humankind, by Nature, that is, the head, hands and legs to think and work. Why should the young men spend their waking hours, staring at the sky and waiting for young girls for the night? Why can’t you govern yourself? What can’t the young men and women come forward to take charge? But the question is, who will galvanise them and drive them towards nation building? And whose interests will it serve and whose interest will it simultaneously hurt? And will those interests let this happen? And particularly after the support is gone? And on whose side are the powers that be, effectively? I am of the view that no recovery is impacting which does not reach out to the masses…and one, which does not enable a whole new political generation inclusive of women. To bring about that, change at all three levels needs to be addressed in such failed states, the bottom, that is, the masses, the fence sitting middle level and the creamy top layer, who, in fact, are the cause, in one way or the other, for whatever the situation is. And we tend to begin and end with the bottom, that too in a very limited way. One thing in such states, which I feel could be done, on an experimental basis, to begin with, is to bar men from possessing arms. Alongside give women the right to cast two votes, against one for each man. It’s worth trying some new safe strategies when all else has failed. When I see all this, I feel very anguished… But on the other hand very blessed. My country has it all. We must value, treasure, protect, guard and secure it. We must never spare any ‘insider’ who may attempt to hurt our motherland.
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It’s a risky job for Sherpas
A Nepali Sherpa last week performed a feat by climbing the Everest in a record 12 hours 45 minutes and became fastest climber of the snow-covered peak. The previous record was 16 hours 56 minutes, set in the year 2000 by legendary Sherpa Babu Chhiri who died after falling into a crevasse on the Everest the following year. The record setting 25-year-old Pemba Dorji Sherpa started from the base camp at 5 pm and successfully reached the summit at 5.45 am. Overjoyed by his achievement, Dorji placed a photograph of Nepalese King Gyanendra, Queen Komal and Crown Prince Paras on the summit and collected a few items including a medal left by an earlier expedition. Also he wore his native Sherpa dress as he stood on the earth’s highest pinnacle. Dorji claimed that in reality he climbed the Mount Everest in 12 hours 30 minutes but spent 15 minutes trying to prove his “historic” climb. His speedy climb had been easy but the descent was tougher. The climb could have been quicker but for strong winds. According to Nepal’s Tourism and Culture Ministry, Dorji’s task became easier because of ropes and ladders already put in places by scores of climbers who have been tracking the Everest in recent days. Another Sherpa, Lhakpal Gelu, too had made an attempt on the speed record but was forced back by poor weather and because ropes had not been in placed as he had expected. The record-holder for most of ascents has been the tough-looking 44-year-old Appa Sherpa having climbed the summit no less than a dozen times. The youngest to conquer the top of the world was the 16-year-old, Temba Tshiri. He hit the summit two years back. Of about 1,200 men and women, who have reached the summit, the highest number was that of Sherpas. Dorji began his career as a guide to mountaineers at a very young to eke out a living. He was a high altitude guide and was part of the “Dream Everest 2003 Expedition” led by Robert Huygn, 56-year-old salesman from Belgium. Over the years, guiding the mountaineers around the world has become a source of livelihood for Sherpas, though the avocation is fraught with danger. Little was known about Sherpas before 1950 who lived in dire poverty on the Everest’s southern side of Nepal. They were originally from a tribe of Tibet. |
Formidable axis against Mayawati
Begum as
diplomat
How many Prime Ministers or Presidents admit that their country is normally known for generating bad news only? Very few or perhaps none. But Bangladesh’s Begum Khaleda Zia is a Prime Minister with a difference. She candidly admitted to a group of visiting Indian journalists a few days back in Dhaka that while her country was known for generating bad news only, it had a lot of potential. Bangladesh has always been in the news for the wrong reasons: poverty, illiteracy, hunger and natural calamities like storms, typhoons and floods which rock the country regularly. Of late, a new problem has added to the endless list of Bangladeshis’ woes: rising Islamic fundamentalism. Bangladesh is known for being a country of military coups, martial laws and cycle-rickshaws (the last probably in millions). The lack of positive news from Bangladesh has also often left the political leadership red-faced and at times even apologetic. So it was no surprise that while addressing the gathering of journalists from the South Asian region in Dhaka earlier this week, Begum Zia went out of her way to convince the scribes that everything was not wrong with Bangladesh. She said there was a potential in the country which everytime went unnoticed. While experts and scholars may debate on the question of potential of Bangladesh, one thing is clear that Begum Zia has a lot of potential for shaping up as an accomplished diplomat.
Naidu style
Judicial
ethics
Judicial ethics and propriety require that a lawyer related to a judge does not practice in the same court where he or she is posted. The Bar Council of India, the statutory governing body for lawyers in the country has laid down clear rules for advocates in this regard. The BCI has taken strong exception to violation of the rule by lawyers across the country and was at pains to explain that in the Delhi High Court alone, kin of about 15 judges were practicing as per the list supplied to it by the Delhi High Court Bar Association. The fact has been brought to the notice of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) in a letter sent by the BCI recently with a request that all such judges in any high court should be transferred. The BCI also is contemplating a move to direct state bar councils to act against advocates related to judges and practising in the same high courts if the CJI did not initiate steps for their transfer in three months. The prohibition on judges’ relatives practicing in the same court has been laid down to maintain the credibility of the judiciary, BCI Vice-President Adish C. Aggrawala pointed out.
Wheel of
fortune
It is a turnaround few leaders can manage in the Congress. Months after he was on his way out as the Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot seems to have become a favourite of the party leadership. He first earned praise in party circles for arresting firebrand VHP leader Pravin Togadia. Then he stumped the BJP with a cabinet decision to implement reservation for “economically backward groups.” Gehlot’s “firsts” have earned him a pat on the back from Sonia Gandhi. Congressmen, who were seeing Rajasthan as a lost case only months back, are now hopeful of the party’s prospects in the assembly elections. Besides, “glitches” of BJP leader Vasundhara Raje have been an added advantage.
Bihari mantris
Contributed by Satish Misra, S. Satynarayanan, Girja Shankar Kaura, S.S. Negi, Prashant Sood and Rajeev Sharma |
Diplomats worried over homicide Though there’s always an incident a day which makes one wonder at the brutality creeping into everyone’s lives, last week’s incident revolving around the Senegal Ambassador’s son punching to death the official driver has sent shock waves. For one thing, Ambassador Ahmed Al Mansur Deouf happens to be the seniormost diplomat here. Posted in New Delhi for the last 17 years, he is also the Dean of the Diplomat Corps. For another, the incident occurred in a five-star hotel here. The first time I had met Deouf and his spouse was about five years back when he had hosted a farewell do at his home for the then Ambassador of Panama to India, Ms Mirta Saavedra Polo. What had struck me about his home was that it was sans any frills — simple and too modest, should we say. And his wife, though attractive, looked depressed and sad. Thereafter, I had been meeting the couple on the circuit but each time what struck me about this couple was that they were withdrawn. Mrs Deouf would always be elegantly dressed in her country’s national dress (sari look-alike but tied differently) and though she spoke fluent English, she kept to herself, with a sad, far away look in her eyes. Deouf looked reserved and spoke like a typical diplomat — cautiously measuring each word. I spoke to several diplomats who seemed concerned and upset about the incident. They say, children of diplomats from developing countries face a major dilemma and undergo sociological changes at various levels, the most prominent one being at the school level. Most of the children of Asian, Arab and African diplomats attend schools run by European countries or the American Schools and find it very difficult to adjust. The five-star culture (together with the frills) does not really jell. And wherever there’s an overdo, there’s a disaster. Reverse order Something is happening in the reverse order. While the who’s who from here are heading towards Europe, some are coming here in the second week. The Institute of Social Sciences (ISS) is hosting a three-day workshop for panchayat and municipal representatives. The rural and urban representatives from our country will interact with those from the European countries. However, with so much of disparity and glaring differences between developing and developed countries, how will the twain meet?, I asked Ash Narain Roy of the ISS. He says that the idea is that they will share their experiences — more of an interface and after this initial meet of about 30 representatives from here and some from about nine European countries, they plan to have another one on a larger scale. Ash, who has been a former journalist, has a track record of doing the offbeat. First he wrote a book on Latin America and now his latest is the book on the Arab world. A non-Arab and a non- Muslim and a non-American getting close to Arab politics, and, of course, to the people couldn't have been an easy task, but he has done it. |
Small family: Muslims show the way Ahmedabad: Winds of change are sweeping through the Muslim community of Juhapura here, one of the community’s largest colonies in the country. Till a few decades ago, most couples would have four to five children. The situation is now different with families advocating the small family norm. Farzana Khan, an English teacher, says: “One child is enough for me and my husband.” Her husband Asfaque Khan, a hotel executive, echoed her views: “Earlier people talked about two kids per couple. Now one child per couple has become the need of the hour given the growing population and inflation. “I have one girl child and I don’t intend to expand my family. Instead I would spend more time and energy on my girl’s education.” Hafiz Idri, teacher at the madrassa in Juhapura — the neighbourhood that remained untouched by the communal violence that took a toll of over 1,000 lives in Gujarat — says that contraception is against the law of nature and therefore against Islam. “Whatever is against the law of nature is against Islam,” he said. But few in the township pay attention to his preachings on contraception and condoms are sold aplenty. Said Shamsuddin Kanchwala, a chemist: “Family planning has nothing to do with religion. It is a matter of economy. In ancient times, the world’s population was much less and every religion propagated the concept of large family. Today family planning is the need of the hour and condoms are a must for every couple irrespective of religion.” Agreed Imtiyaz Sheikh, a civil engineer, and his wife Noorjahan. Said Sheikh: “What would a maulvi, religious teacher, know about family? He stays aloof from family life. Religious beliefs have to be rational. I don’t think Muslims or, for that matter, any community can afford more than two children.” Added Noorjehan: “One of us will undergo family planning operation after our second child.” Some Islamic scholars believe in the small family norm but not contraception. Zainulabedin Lokhandwala is one such hafiz or a scholar of the holy Quran. A grocer by profession, he is content with three children. “I don't want to go for the fourth child. Given my economic condition, I can’t feed more than three children,” he said. But he clarified that he did not believe in contraception. There are hundreds like him in Juhapura who do not have more than three children. If the men are showing signs of change, so are the women who are projecting their views more forcefully than ever before. Said Zarina Khan, a medical student: “I don’t want to get married and become a child bearing machine. Instead, I would love to be alone and not contribute to the burgeoning population of India.”
IANS |
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When I joined I thought it was going to be a breeze, but it was a lot harder there encountering both natural and manmade disasters — breaches in the canal, fire in ammunition depot, drought, floods, relief works for earthquake victims, war-like situation at the border and the worse law and order situation following the murder of a labour leader and a young boy Amit Arora’s death in police custody.
Belonging to Harmada village of Rajasthan, Norti never went to school in her childhood. She was married early, while working as a construction worker. She never dreamt that one day she would become literate and start teaching village children or that she would learn to operate a computer.
Fifty years back, Jawaharlal Nehru told Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who along with Edmund Hillary, had conquered the Mount Everest: “Now you will train thousands of Tenzings”. It was a proud moment for newly liberated India and conveyed a potent message to the people; if an Indian can reach summit of Everest, Indians can certainly overcome all obstacles in rebuilding the infant nation. Tenzing became the symbol of a resurgent India. Nehru was prophetic; thousands of Tenzings have indeed come up. Climbing the Mount Everest has now become a sports. It is no longer a battle between man and the mountain.
When senior Congressman Arjun Singh broke into tears on Rajiv Gandhi’s death
anniversary on May 21, many in the country’s oldest political party thought that it was just an act of desperation aimed at regaining his lost place in the inner circles of party President Sonia Gandhi. But he has proved them wrong as subsequent developments show. He had talked of the need for developing an attitude towards possible alliances in order to make Sonia the
next Prime Minister. Within a week of his outburst, Sonia’s political enemies started wooing her. Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Ministers Kalyan Singh and Mulayam Singh Yadav were ready to work together with the Congress, ostensibly to end the “despotic” regime of Chief Minister Mayawati. Former Union Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh, who was forced to leave the Vajpayee government by an over-confident BJP leadership, acted as a catalyst. He made the first move by meeting Sonia. The next morning Yadav was also there talking to her.
But this was merely the tip of the iceberg as meetings at 10 Janpath were the result of a serious confabulation between the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Kranti Dal, Rashtriya Lok Dal and the Congress. Now, everyone admits that Arjun Singh’s outburst had a purpose.
He not only prepared the party colleagues for evolving understanding between different parties in the biggest state but in the process also succeeded in getting his close follower Jagdambika Pal, better known as the one-day chief minister of UP, as the UPCC chief. The Sonia- Mulayam-Kalyan-Ajit combine, if it were to happen ever, can prove to be a formidable foe for the BSP-BJP coalition. But as of now the Mayawati government does not seem to be under any serious threat. This is clearly reflective from the fact that Maya memsaab is presently in the cool climes of Europe.
With the BJP eyeing 300 seats on its own in the next Lok Sabha elections, the party chief Venkaiah Naidu has gone all out to appease the minority community. At the “Samraasta” rally organised recently at Rampur to woo Muslims, Naidu used his inimitable style to appease the minority community. Sample some of the punch lines used by Naidu during the rally: “Jab hum jai hind bolte hain, uska matlab hinduon ki jai aur musalmano ki jai nahin hota hai kya”; “Hum abhi sarkar mein hain...mein abhi apke saamne hoon, kya mein aapko kha gaya?”. The 50,000- crowd cheered lustily. But the question is whether the minority would cast its lot with the BJP in the next general election.
The formation of a new Jharkhand state from the erstwhile Bihar has in no way affected the strength of ‘Biharis’ in Vajpayee’s cabinet. In the recent reshuffle, their strength has gone up with the inclusion of Nagmani as Minister of State. Biharis have plum ministries like External Affairs, Defence, Railways, Civil Aviation, Shipping, Information and Broadcasting and Textiles. A wag asked: is it because the Prime Minister himself is a “Bihari”?