E D I T O R I A L   P A G E

EDITORIALS

Freedom from debt
THERE are optimists who see in India’s small positive steps a sudden sprint to growth and the realisation of its dream of assuming “big power status” with the developed world, appreciative of its stupendous economic performance, offering it a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. 

Warning in warming
THE plains of India are virtually on fire. News headlines do not always tell the tale of human suffering beyond the wired urbanised centres. The figures of heat wave deaths do not include the uncompiled data from the parched villages where both cattle and human beings vie with each other for less than their normal requirement of the scarce resource called water. 

Flip-flop Naidu
IF somehow the “rollback” idea could be converted into a pictorial image, it would make such an apt symbol for the Bharatiya Janata Party. The virus has infected the party president himself. In fact, Mr Venkaiah Naidu has set a record of sorts by eating his words raw twice in a week. First came the gem about making a mosque next to a Ram temple in Ayodhya.

OPINION

Sending Indian troops to Iraq
Decision must be based on ground reality
V.P. MALIK
TO us Indians, the political facade is more important than anything else. We tend to spend time disproportionately on moral and ethical considerations in international affairs and very little on realpolitik, long-term national and strategic interests. The Government of India has been considering for many days the pros and cons of sending military men to Iraq as part of a “stabilisation force”. It is an important politico-military decision that requires detailed consideration of political, diplomatic as well as military factors.

MIDDLE

Encounters in Paris
Harbachan S. Sandhu
DURING the last Security Council debate on Iraq, the French Foreign Minister spoke in French while even the German Minister, who are also very proud of their national symbols, chose to speak in English. This brought to my mind my own experience, though not a very pleasant one, of Frenchmen’s love for their language.

Is it contract or bureaucratised farming?
P.P.S. Gill
PUNJAB is experimenting with contract farming, which aims at reducing the area under wheat and paddy as this mono-culture has caused tremendous damage to the economy and the ecology of the state.

• How Thailand, Turkey did it

The aged and the young
Barbara Ellen
THE much younger woman has long been a status symbol for the older male. Cheaper than a Porsche, less upkeep than a yacht, the mere presence of arm candy provided physical proof of a man’s wealth, power and continuing virility. And sometimes it seems to have worked rather well.

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

EDITORIALS

Freedom from debt

THERE are optimists who see in India’s small positive steps a sudden sprint to growth and the realisation of its dream of assuming “big power status” with the developed world, appreciative of its stupendous economic performance, offering it a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. There is no dearth of daydreamers in this land. They think the elephant, as India is widely regarded, can suddenly start running like a tiger. Much has been made of the Finance Ministry’s recent announcement that the government would prepay a part of its loans. In February the country had retired the high-cost foreign currency loans amounting to $3 billion taken from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Now again the government plans to repay loans aggregating $1.6 billion ahead of schedule. Where does such a huge amount of money come from? The government has obtained loans from the Reserve Bank of India. This is just the substitution of foreign debt with domestic debt, which makes a lot of economic sense. It is not that the country has suddenly awakened to its “big power status” and, as the impression has spread, decided to confine its financial dealings to developed countries by returning the loans taken from “smaller” countries. The countries that are being repaid the debt include the Netherlands, the Russian federation, Saudi Arabia, Canada and Australia.

While presenting the Union Budget for 2003-04, the Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, had announced that the policy of “proactively liquidating relatively higher cost component of our external debt portfolio” would be continued in the coming year. That the country is in a position to prepay the debt is no mean achievement, specially when it was widely feared that India might land in a debt trap because of its huge borrowings. However, the extent of debt, both at the central and state levels, is a cause for serious concern. A large part of the revenue mopped up by the Centre and the states goes into loan interest payments, leaving very little for education, health and infrastructure development. Punjab, once a progressive state, is today under heavy debt because of governmental profligacy and fiscal mismanagement. The Central Government’s plight is not much different. As on March 31, 2003, the country’s outstanding debt stood at Rs 66,316.07 crore, much of it coming from just four countries — the US, Germany, Japan and France. Those who boast about the hefty foreign exchange reserves should remember that the FDI inflow to this country is a trickle compared to what pours into China. If some get the impression of India being an emerging giant, they do not see its feet made of clay. It is too early to indulge in self-praise in a country a quarter of whose population still lives below the poverty line.

Warning in warming

THE plains of India are virtually on fire. News headlines do not always tell the tale of human suffering beyond the wired urbanised centres. The figures of heat wave deaths do not include the uncompiled data from the parched villages where both cattle and human beings vie with each other for less than their normal requirement of the scarce resource called water. The punishing conditions have exposed two aspects of the problem. Of immediate concern is the poor crisis management apparatus of the district and state administrations. In centres like Delhi the perennial power shortage has aggravated the problem. But what about the plight of the poor labourers who risk their lives by continuing to do chores that are energy-sapping? Should not responsive administrations prohibit the plying of pedal rickshaws during the hours when the sun makes even small worms seek solace in some shady crevice? There should be reasonable restrictions on all forms of manual work when the heat becomes unbearable. Shopping time should be split between early morning and extended evening hours. During cold wave conditions the civic administrations arrange community fires and night shelters for the pavement-dwellers. Now at least the office and school timings should be changed for saving students and office-goers from avoidable exposure to the scorching summer sun.

The other aspect of the problem has to do with the liberties man has taken with Nature. Global warming is a reality that cannot be wished away. The weather patterns across the globe have gone haywire because of man's reckless treatment of the bounty that Nature has bestowed for everyone to share but for no one to exploit. On Thursday the global community went through the ritual of observing World Environment Day. However, a ritualised response cannot arrest the march of the global catastrophe that is manifesting itself in the form of extreme cold, sizzling heat, droughts, floods, torrential rains, blizzards, earthquake, etc. The ozone layer needs mending. It is an impossible task because the world's richest nations are unwilling to take a holistic stand that should include scaling down the use of green house gases. Even a primary class student now knows the relationship between the thinning of the ozone layer and the excessive use of chloro-fluoro-carbons by the cosmetics and refrigeration industry. Look at the irony. The current heat wave will push up the sales of air-conditioners and refrigerators. Their increased use will add to the phenomenon called global warming! The earth's average temperature has risen by an average of 1.1 F since 1900. CFCs and other greenhouse gases are the main culprits. As a late entrant to the technology-driven global supermarket, India could have avoided contributing to the degradation of the environment by allowing the use of only eco-friendly technologies.

Flip-flop Naidu

IF somehow the “rollback” idea could be converted into a pictorial image, it would make such an apt symbol for the Bharatiya Janata Party. The virus has infected the party president himself. In fact, Mr Venkaiah Naidu has set a record of sorts by eating his words raw twice in a week. First came the gem about making a mosque next to a Ram temple in Ayodhya. The VHP raised Cain and the poor Naidu had to plead that not knowing Hindi too well, he had misused the word “bagal mein”. In public, he used the routine ploy that the media misinterpreted his remark. He did get away, only to shoot his mouth off yet again. This time the subject matter was all the more explosive. By saying that the party had decided to project Mr Vajpayee and Mr Advani as twin mascots for the elections, he conjured up images of a Vajpayee on the way out. The errata came up double quick, but the damage was done. Perhaps as a firefighting measure, Mr Naidu even organised a felicitation function for the Prime Minister on his “successful diplomacy” but the controversy only thickened. Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee poured aviation-grade petrol on the fire by saying that Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani would lead the party in the next Lok Sabha elections. Mr Naidu had to jump to his feet to interject that “Vajpayee is the undisputed leader of the government, the NDA, the BJP and leader to Advaniji and Venkaiah. We will fight the next polls on the basis of Vajpayee’s name and fame”.

The sum total is that from two mascots, the party is back to just one. Whether it is Mr Vajpayee or Mr Advani is yet to be finalised. Mr Vajpayee has spoken in his characteristically cryptic manner and the remark is open to contradictory interpretations. But it cannot be dismissed as a light-hearted pronouncement. Whatever he may say in public, the bitterness at sharing the top slot cannot be hidden. Things are not as bad as they were in July 2001 when he had told the BJP parliamentary party that it was free to choose another leader if it was not satisfied with his leadership. Yet, why blame Mr Naidu alone? The Prime Minister himself has been inconsistent in his statements of late. First he denied his remark about “retirement” in a none-too-convincing manner. And then he waited for his return to Indian soil to talk about the Kashmir talks beginning with PoK. This line is indeed in keeping with an old parliamentary resolution but should have been plugged consistently ever since he made his latest peace offer.

OPINION

Sending Indian troops to Iraq
Decision must be based on ground reality
V.P. MALIK

TO us Indians, the political facade is more important than anything else. We tend to spend time disproportionately on moral and ethical considerations in international affairs and very little on realpolitik, long-term national and strategic interests. The Government of India has been considering for many days the pros and cons of sending military men to Iraq as part of a “stabilisation force”. It is an important politico-military decision that requires detailed consideration of political, diplomatic as well as military factors. But the important foreign policy issue has been quickly consumed by domestic politics and rivalry, making it more difficult for the government to take a decision.

It is wrong to presume that a “stabilisation force” in Iraq to manage one of the five administrative sectors there will be like any other “blue helmeted” peacekeeping mission, within or without a UN mandate. The mission in Iraq will neither be a traditional peacekeeping one as described in Chapter 6 of the UN Charter, nor of “conflict resolution” as stated in Chapter 7. The mission is likely to be more sensitive; and more like the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan currently overseeing security in and around Kabul, without the advantage of full domestic (national) or UN political support.

Since this will be a politico-military decision, let us consider the political factors first.

Before the invasion of Iraq by the US and the UK, there were major differences among the international community over the issue. India had joined the protesting nations which was right and justified although our Parliament’s resolution on the issue was ill-timed and not guided by realpolitik. But all that is history today. From the manner in which Resolution 1483 was adopted in the UN Security Council on May 22, 2003, it is obvious that there are no differences on the post-war developments in Iraq. Countries like France, Germany, China and Russia, which protested earlier, consider the post-war reconstruction of Iraq to be a separate issue. Thus, there is no contradiction between India’s disapproval of the war and its participation in the post-war stabilisation and reconstruction efforts.

UN Security Council Resolution 1483, which was adopted with 14 votes in favour and one member remaining absent, and was warmly welcomed by India, makes the following significant points:

• It welcomes “willingness of member-states to contribute to stability and security in Iraq by contributing personnel, equipment and other resources under the ‘Authority’ (US and Britain).....” This is easily interpretable as an invitation to the members to make this contribution.
• It recognises that it is for the Iraqi people to determine their political future and unambiguously reiterates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq.
• It involves the UN Secretary-General’s representative in further political, rebuilding and reconstruction developments, which also implies reporting back on the situation in Iraq to the UN.

The writer, a former Chief of Army Staff, is President, ORF Institute of Security Studies, New Delhi

MIDDLE

Encounters in Paris
Harbachan S. Sandhu

DURING the last Security Council debate on Iraq, the French Foreign Minister spoke in French while even the German Minister, who are also very proud of their national symbols, chose to speak in English. This brought to my mind my own experience, though not a very pleasant one, of Frenchmen’s love for their language.

Being on a shoestring budget me and my cousin stayed in a gurdwara in Babony, a suburb of Paris. We were received with due cordiality by the manager and except for entry in a register, no questions were asked. There was good dormitory type of lodging and the building was being extended with an underground langar hall. There were a few young Sikh boys in their twenties, mostly asylum seekers, during the militancy days of nineties. We not only had a comfortable stay but also partook the langar thrice a day. No charges were demanded except that we could offer to the Guru whatever we wished. The greatness of this institution dawned on us while in a distant land.

The first and foremost spot in Paris is none else than the imposing Eiffel Tower, one of the seven wonders. The views from the tower of the vast city around were nothing but captivating. The long winding Seine river with its scores of bridges leaves an ever-lasting impression. On coming down we felt very thirsty, it being a June afternoon. But the mineral water turned out to be costlier than beer.

The next encounter was during a cruise over the Seine river. While the guide was explaining the great cultural landmarks of Paris like Notre Dame, I noticed a newly wed Indian couple opposite us. Naturally I was instantly attracted towards another Indian. After the usual greetings I enquired from the husband as to which part of India he belonged to. His answer that he was a French national and was a corporal in the French Army bowled me completely. Sensing my disbelief he explained that at the time of merger of Pondichery his father had opted for French nationality and that is how he had all the privileges of a French national. He had been to India for his marriage and the couple was now on a honeymoon trip around the country.

For our return we took the tube from Babony to Paris for catching the onward train to Calaise which was the boarding station for the steamer to go across the English channel as the under sea tunnel had not yet started operating. Coming over ground from the tube we found ourselves in a big pillared hall and started looking for the passage to the main Paris Station. Not able to locate the direction we enquired from a number of persons but to our shock none of them responded.

In the city of “Arc de Truiomph” we were fast losing our patience as the minutes ticked by towards the departure time of the train. While we were running from pillar to pillar, help came most unexpectedly. A man standing next to a pillar had been watching our discomfiture and to our pleasant surprise asked us in Punjabi: “Sardarji, kithe jana hai”. The kinship was established as my cousin was donning a turban. The man had fixed a folding table over which he had rings, necklaces, bracelets and other nicknacks. He explained that French people are very touchy about their language and culture and they usually don’t reply in English. Thus our angel guide from our own Punjab came to our rescue directing us to the main station.

The nostalgia of these strange but pleasant encounters with our own people in a strange land has always been worth cherishing.

Is it contract or bureaucratised farming?
P.P.S. Gill

PUNJAB is experimenting with contract farming, which aims at reducing the area under wheat and paddy as this mono-culture has caused tremendous damage to the economy and the ecology of the state.

The official name of the scheme is “Multi-crop, multi-year contract farming”, a baby of the Punjab Agro Foodgrains Corporation (PAFC), an offshoot of the Punjab Agro-Industries Corporation (PAIC).

Says the PAFC Managing Director, Mr Kirpa Shankar Saroj, “Primarily, we have to provide farmers high-yielding seeds, technical supervision, follow up on agronomic practices and buy back the entire produce with returns comparable to or better than what farmers get from wheat and paddy”. The total area to be brought under contract system during the kharif and rabi seasons is three lakh acres. Eventually, the area will be increased to 25 lakh acres by 2007.

The PAFC has identified crops to replace wheat and paddy. It has also drawn up a farming roadmap. In the first phase, the identified crops are, spring maize, kharif maize, sunflower, basmati, castor and guar.

The PAFC has tied up with several seed companies, consultants, buyers, processors and exporters. Mandis too have been identified for the procurement of contract produce.

Mr Saroj is hopeful that the scheme will improve economies of farmers, the ecology and soil health, check depletion of sub-soil water, give impetus to industrial growth and create jobs.

At a round-table convened at the Kisan Bhavan in Chandigarh on May 26, attended by Agriculture Minister R.K. Bhattal, bureaucrats, PAU experts, state officials and representatives of farmers, the contract scheme came under criticism. The “quality” of seeds given to farmers was questioned. There was no proper certification from PAU. Agri-technocrats engaged in extension education programmes were ignored.

Dr S.S. Johl wanted the Department of Agriculture and PAU to be closely associated with the implementation of the scheme. His report on diversification has been placed in bureaucratic deep freeze at the Central level.

The flak received by the PAFC and the PAIC was attributed by the PAIC Managing Director, Mr Himmat Singh, to “ideological” differences. While the minister has ordered a probe into the failure of winter maize, the PAFC/PAIC are making amends by involving the Department of Agriculture and PAU in the scheme.

Farm experts and economists asserted that there was scope for the scheme to succeed provided certain “correctives” were applied and the past mistakes were not repeated when contract farming had failed in respect of tomatoes and peas.

The examples of Thailand and Turkey were cited. It was felt that there must be a legal framework to protect property and enforce contracts. “Law underpins markets”.

This has been amply proved by the theory “Lawlessness and economics” given by a Princeton economics Professor, Avinash Dixit, as reported in the IMF survey dated May 19, 2003.

The scheme had the following advantages:

— Farmers are assured of marketing of their produce at the pre-determined rates.

— Farmers learn technical knowhow, as and when required, from the contracting agency.

— The agencies, consultants etc. arrange the supply of quality seed, charging for the same at the time of selling the produce.

There were some disadvantages too:

— The choice of crops of contracting agencies often suffers from vulnerable biotic, abiotic stresses.

— Inputs supplied to farmers may not be the ones recommended by PAU or of tested varieties in the region.

— Only “A” grade produce is accepted, leaving out broken, damaged, under-weight and under-size products with growers, who eventually lose interest in the contract system.

— Since the yield potential of varieties or cultivars supplied by contracting agencies is not known, farmers remain unsure of the level of productivity.

— Rates fixed by contracting agencies are above the MSP, but without a good enough margin. At times market rates are higher than contract rates, as it happened this season for basmati. The difference was Rs 600 to Rs 760 per quintal.

— Farmers who had sown winter maize and hyola (rabi oil seed) were disappointed with the performance.

Farm experts at PAU have suggested several legal and administrative steps, as the contract system is found suitable for promoting agro-processing and perishable commodities the world over.

They do not like the term “contract” to be used for the PAFC experiment. To correct the present “half-hearted attempt” the PAU experts suggested:

— A contract should be legalised and registered at least at the panchayat level with a provision of penalty for the defaulter.

— There should be a dispute settlement mechanism.

— To make production risk-free, crops should be covered by an insurance scheme.

— Contract farming, apparently, is pro-big farmers. The small and marginal kisans should also be covered under the scheme.

— Co-operative societies, contracting agencies and consultants should provide adequate finance, better inputs and technical knowledge to growers;

— Quality seeds and other technology, duly approved by PAU, should be provided. No variety, cultivar or seed not approved by PAU should be allowed to be distributed or sold under contract farming;

— Manpower of the Department of Agriculture should be involved.

— More agro-processing units be set up to ensure processing and value addition for perishable crops and produce, so essential for the PAIC to succeed in implementing its original charter. 

The aged and the young
Barbara Ellen

THE much younger woman has long been a status symbol for the older male. Cheaper than a Porsche, less upkeep than a yacht, the mere presence of arm candy provided physical proof of a man’s wealth, power and continuing virility. And sometimes it seems to have worked rather well.

Anna-Nicole Smith’s marriage to her billionaire near-cadaver looked sound enough. She brought cleavage, fun and moxie to the table, while he provided money, dribble and imminent death (always attractive in a man).

Then there are those women who just prefer older men. It’s no secret that nice older men have horrible young men to thank for any success they have with young women. That said, do older men realise that, for some minxes, they are secretly considered the `fat girls’ of the dating scene?

As one friend put it: ‘Why waste your time being mucked about by a young guy who thinks he’s doing you a favour when older men are so much more accommodating and grateful?’

Basically, though, the idea has remained the same over the years. Mature, rich, powerful men would appear younger, richer, more virile, if they managed to snag themselves some nubile flesh. In return, the women, these playmates for middle age were supposed to be as passive as they were desirable, as silent as they were beautiful.

If anything, the new breed of high-profile ‘younger women’ seem to have an ageing effect on their men. No one could say that the old dog hasn’t stuck to his guns over the years with this ‘leggy blonde’ thing.

It’s just that as he gets older the girls stay young and Rod seems to have this permanent pleading look on his face.

Sri Aurobindo, the Indian guru, once said, ‘A woman is more dangerous than a sharp sword.’ And certainly, just like footballers warned to abstain from sex before a big match, you can see how re-asserting their virility is taking it out of these guys. Indeed, the sight of older men with younger women seems to inspire less ‘Phwoar!’ than fear these days.

It’s the women who have changed. There’s a warped kind of feminism in the way this new breed of ‘younger women’ have gone from being passive objects of desire to the ones doing the desiring, and it’s clear that they want a lot more out of life than the man they are with.

That’s why these days older men look like they are accessorising their younger women’s lifestyles, not the other way around. Which one supposes is progress of sorts. Just put him to bed a bit earlier, Penny, have a heart. The Guardian

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

Even though you should worship but one God, yet all the other gods will be pleased.

— Japanese proverb

There are three ways of committing sin:

By one's own activity,

By an agent;

By approval of the deed.

— Sutrakritanga, 1, 2, 26

There is no life after death, as you know life.

And if there is any life, you have to learn to live now.

And you have to live it so totally and intensely that if there is any life after death you will be able to live there too.

— Osho, Words from a man of no words.

The path of Jesus crossed all the paths followed by men, and at every point where they joined a new cross awaited him.

It is enough to be son of God in this world to be judged worthy of death.

Christians say Jesus died only once — a very modest estimate.

O gallows, shadow of the cross!

— Paul Richard, “The Gospel of the Cross”