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Saturday,
June 7, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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A crying shame OBC party gets bigger FIRs, dotcom style |
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Vajpayee in the rich men’s club
A tryst with pandas and pedlars
Unsafe water, toxic vegetables
Talking of the weather
Britons smarten up
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A crying shame Talhan village near Jalandhar which saw a violent clash between Jats and Dalits on Thursday has been a festering trouble spot for quite some time. Caste trouble has been brewing for several months with a social boycott of the Dalits by the Jats. An enquiry ordered by the government to probe the boycott issue has not made much headway during the past more than three months. Things were so serious that the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes had even issued notices to Punjab Chief Secretary Rajan Kashyap, DGP M.S. Bhullar, Secretary Home Affairs S.K.Sinha to appear before it on May 28. After these senior officials briefed the commission about the latest situation, the latter gave the state government 15 more days to complete the probe and resolve the issue. But despite such palpable tension, the police did not take sufficient preventive measures. There are reports that when the two communities clashed over a minor matter, the cops remained a mute spectator. Worse, there are allegations that they helped the Jats in attacking the Dalits and ransacking their houses. That is an extremely serious charge and must be investigated thoroughly. Violence by irate Dalits in the nearby areas was a consequence of this resentment. The failure of the administration is clear from the fact that despite imposing curfew and deploying a large number of policemen, the area witnessed renewed violence on Friday morning. This does not show the Amarinder Singh government in a good light. The bone of contention in Talhan is a samadh (shrine) which rakes in about Rs 5 crore in offerings annually. It is managed mostly by Jats. Dalits regard the shrine income as a community resource and want participation in its management. But Jats have been treating the shrine as their exclusive preserve. After the controversy arose, Jat residents claimed that the shrine was a gurdwara and only a baptised Sikh could become part of its managing committee. Whatever be the facts, the dispute is a disgrace. Neutral observers are unanimous that outsiders have worsened the friction. Although each side puts the blame on the other, excesses have been committed by both. From a caste dispute, it has now turned into a religious dispute. Sane elements should put their heads together and recall that the great Sikh Gurus always fought against caste-based distinctions. Keeping any community away from a religious place on the basis of caste will fly in the face of their exalted philosophy and the law of the land. Even otherwise, caste differences have no place in the 21st century. The earning from a shrine is too small an issue to spoil the fair name of Punjab and its communal harmony. Political and religious leaders should come down heavily on those who besmirch the state’s reputation. |
| OBC party gets bigger The anti-reservation lobby should not raise its voice against the expansion of the OBC job-quota list. It does not have a case for mobilising the kind of support that saw a peaceful city like Chandigarh explode with rage when the Mandal Commission monster was unleashed. It must be understood that the size of the reservation cake has not been increased. What the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance has done is to invite more people to the OBC party. The name of the game is populism. At some point the policy is bound to boomerang. Imagine the plight of the host who has to serve food to more than the original number of guests. Sooner than later, the OBCs themselves are likely to protest against more people at the table without increasing the quantity of the food cooked for them. Diverting food from the table for the non-reserved section will invite the displeasure of the Supreme Court. It may also cause social turmoil that would make the
post-Mandal nationwide spontaneous agitation look like a child's sulk. The new list of beneficiaries has been prepared with nothing but the forthcoming assembly elections in mind. Interestingly, certain sections of the Muslims too have been offered the non-existent sarkari jobs. The Rajasthan Chief Minister's humbug about job reservations for the upper castes gave the BJP the chance to up the ante. It has promised to set up a commission for preparing a legal case for expanding the size of the reservation quota without annoying the apex court. The economically backward Muslims too have been promised a huge chunk of the proposed pie. If the constitutional barrier is removed, the BJP and its sidekicks will realise that they had made an impossible promise. More than 90 per cent of the Muslims will qualify for job reservation because of economic backwardness. The politics of reservation has retarded the process of social integration. It has harmed the interests of those whom it was meant to help break the shackles of centuries of social and economic discrimination. The concept of social justice has been distorted to provide protection to violators of the law, instead of making them experience the majesty of a fair system that punishes the exploiters of the vast Indian underclass. Unhappily, the current stock of politicians does not have the courage of conviction to reverse the present policy of providing job reservations as a vote-catching ploy. Look at the revised list. Does it offer any clue about a political deadline for banishing the curse of caste from the country? No. On the contrary, it encourages even the Muslims to create a caste system, by destroying the egalitarian spirit of their faith, for getting the benefit of job reservation. |
FIRs, dotcom style Filing a First Information Report (FIR) is considered an intimidating task for common Indians. The Punjab Government may now offer an effective e-solution after it introduces its Net-based FIR facility. An FIR is an important factor for investigating a crime. In most cases, the verdict is based on how good or bad an FIR is. Therefore, any ease in the filing process is welcome. The police promises to make it comprehensive. Details about the seizure of property, final report, court disposal status, the result of appeal and the arrest or surrender of the accused will all be available online. Making the FIR a part of the nationwide network is also a positive step. It will make tampering difficult, allowing the police forces in various states to coordinate their efforts. They will have a better idea of the emerging crime patterns. It will be easier for them to exchange notes on offenders caught in other cases. In fact, the Punjab police has been taking positive steps in linking all police stations in Amritsar, Tarn
Taran, Moga and Faridkot police districts with their respective headquarters through computers via LAN (local-area-networking). Going by various reports, the police has been aggressively pursuing computerisation in its pursuit of efficient management of resources, including manpower, finances, materials as well as various police functions, including analysing fingerprints and tracking criminals. Worldwide, police forces have realised that computerisation has allowed them to cope with the ever-increasing population as well as increasing sophistication in crimes. Computerisation and the application of various elements of electronic governance have borne fruit in metropolises. In Delhi, for instance, it will not be long before traffic violators can pay their fines online. On an average, more than 7,000 drivers are caught for traffic offences daily. Cameras have been installed at certain traffic intersections to allow the police to catch the offenders who jump red lights. They get the traffic violation tickets from the police by post. The payment of fines is also expedited because of computerisation. Similarly, if you want to buy a second-hand vehicle, the police can perform a computerised check and inform you if it has been involved in any crime-all this in a very short while, and with a token fee of Rs 10. There have been various bureaucratic delays and problems with selection of the right kind of systems and software, but overall, the police is getting its act together and harnessing the power of the computer. This is to be commended, but to make it more effective, the focus also has to be on the person handling the machine. For this, proper training and incentives are imperative. As they say in the Army, a weapon is only as good as the man handling it. Computerisation may just be the weapon that the police needs to increase its efficiency and make itself more people-friendly. |
Vajpayee in the rich men’s club Global politics is singularly being driven by the US as the lone superpower in the vanguard and President George Bush undeterred by the concerns of half of the most powerful G-8 grouping. The legality or otherwise of its actions like the military operation in Iraq to send the Saddam Hussein regime packing has become inconsequential. Washington remains unruffled in holding out fresh threats to North Korea and Iran much to the discomfiture of others, including the emerging powers. Efforts at the G-8 summit at Evian in France on June 2 and 3 to coordinate action on post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, Trade, diplomacy or currencies bombed. Washington’s hands-off attitude has failed to convince the financial markets that it wants a strong dollar as Mr Bush left the picturesque Evian without saying anything on the issue. At the same time the industrialised countries exuded confidence in economic recovery. In the final statement, the G-8 nations underlined the need to press ahead with structural reforms and greater flexibility in the rich nations’ economies. French President and host Jacques Chirac at whose initiative an extended G-8 summit was held to incorporate the views of the developing and poor countries remained unbudging in emphasising that the US-led war to oust Saddam Hussein was “illegitimate and illegal.” The transatlantic relationship has come under severe strain since the US and its allies launched the offensive in Iraq to curb proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Such an initiative was sought to be taken forward in Evian. Even as the world’s biggest industrialised nations met in France for a summit to boost confidence in the global economy, Mr Bush injected a surprise element on WMD. US and British officials brushed aside growing apprehensions about the failure to find significant evidence of WMD in Iraq, they were seeking an international agreement to intercept ships and aeroplanes suspected of carrying shipments of arms or nuclear, chemical and biological cargo. The move came as Mr Bush issued a strong warning to North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions as tensions rose in east Asia following a naval clash between the two Koreas. At the same time British officials claim that there is broad agreement among the G-8 to agree on an action plan to combat the spread of WMD. It is not often that an Indian Head of Government has a first-hand perspective of the prevailing global political environment by the most powerful country directly involved in setting the agenda. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s insight of global politics from within both at St Petersburg and Evian assumes significance as he held discussions with the leaders of all the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council in a span of 24 hours. What New Delhi finds extremely worrisome is the unilateralism being pursued vigorously by Washington and the widening chasm between Europe and the US. The opinion in the highest echelons of the Vajpayee government is that stability of nations might be the biggest casualty in the weeks and months ahead. The overall situation is highly complex and fresh spots of tension cannot be brushed aside. The assemblage of world leaders at St Petersburg and Evian was intended to reduce and possibly forget the split and confrontation caused by the Iraq war but the divisive episode has not died out. The message emanating from Evian of infusing confidence in the world economic growth has not been credible as the G-8 leaders refrained from commenting on a strong euro and a weak dollar. Mr Chirac has been highly critical of the US policy that war must be the ultimate resort and charged Washington with unilateralism and disengaging from Europe. Mr Vajpayee’s fresh initiative of extending a hand of friendship to Pakistan was lauded. The Prime Minister apprised these leaders that preliminary discussions were underway but Pakistan must stop cross-border terrorism for any meaningful progress to be achieved in putting Indo-Pak relations on an even keel. All the leaders of the UNSC agreed with Mr Vajpayee that Pakistan must end state sponsorship of terrorism. Mr Bush, Mr Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder assured Mr Vajpayee that they would talk to Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf in this regard. India believes greater pressure must be put on Pakistan so that it dismantles the infrastructure for encouraging terrorism. The response from these leaders has been positive as they now have a proper understanding of the violence being aided and abetted by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir. There is no doubt that New Delhi will have to deal with the protracted problem in J and K itself rather than peering over its shoulders. At the same time British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s insistence that Washington is going to take up crossborder terrorism strongly with General Musharraf is significant. America’s State Department fears that if Washington does not rein in Pakistan as a frontline state in the war against international terrorism, it might alter the composition of the National Assembly in the years to come. China also expressed appreciation of Mr Vajpayee’s effort to end coercive diplomacy with Pakistan after the attack on Parliament in December 2001 and New Delhi’s desire to resolve differences by sitting across the table. Mr Vajpayee met the new Chinese President Hu Jintao for the first time in St Petersburg. During the interface described as “cordial and constructive” the two leaders also briefly touched upon the vexed border issue between the two countries. The meeting helped the two leaders feel each other’s pulse. It is a prelude to Mr Vajpayee’s official visit to China later this month. Both desired that Sino-Indian ties should move forward taking into account their mutual concerns and in an effort of partnership. For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the 300th anniversary celebrations of St Petersburg were to showcase his country’s transformation under him and turn around world opinion in favour of his country. And Mr Vajpayee was a privileged invitee apart from the CIS countries, the European Union and the major western powers. St Petersburg was also projected as the symbol of Russia’s global ambition and door to Europe. Considering India’s ties with Russia, Mr Vajpayee made a special gesture of partaking in the celebrations in St Petersburg. Mr Vajpayee’s three-nation European tour was satisfying in more ways than one as it brought to the fore the changing equations globally and the keenness on the part of France and others to strive for a multi-polar world despite the hard and singular approach of the US. The Prime Minister believes that a new world organisation is on the anvil which might strive in removing the imbalances in the existing world order weighted heavily in favour of the industrialised North. The writer, The Tribune’s New Delhi Chief of Bureau, accompanied the Prime Minister on his three-nation tour |
A tryst with pandas and pedlars Now that even the thought of a holiday in Kashmir sounds so menacing, what with the curse that seems to have befallen that valley of enchantment, one turns compulsively to those sweet and lighter moments that once marked one’s visits there. Perhaps, the lethal politics of the place induce the mind toward those pastoral pleasures which holidays in the hills and dales preserve in our memories. A light interlude in that “theatre of cruelty”, then, becomes perhaps a requirement of the imagination of nostalgia. Of all the petty nuisances that crop up at every step in Kashmir, the two most ubiquitous and disquieting are the pandas and the pedlars. The moment you enter this haven of holidays, they dog your footsteps with covetous eyes, hanging around like a mysterious presence. Once they mark you down as their man, you cannot shake them off for all your vigilance or ingenuity. They materialise from the thin air, as it were. It would then require more than the laws in the Indian Constitution to prevent them from claiming their pinch of flesh. And first the pandas. They are, indeed, the more tenacious of the two. Armed with dog-eared, moth-eaten, huge rectangular behis —scrolls as musty as they are menacing —, these Kashmir Brahmins of pure stock and vintage will track you down to your digs or den, be it an obscure room in an obscure hotel, a dilapidated houseboat moored in backwaters, or a solitary tent on a distant mound. Here, they approach you gingerly, diffidently, almost apologetically, for the times are out, and they know it. But in Mattan, a place of pilgrimage as ancient as the hills that surround it (for such is the legend), they operate as of right. Here, they wait like destiny; it’s a tryst you cannot avoid! As the Pehlgam bus halts opposite the sacred pool, an entire school of turbaned creatures robed in long, voluminous togas swarms around you, subjecting you to a tornado of questions regarding your caste, parentage, family-tree etc. A pandemonium ensues. Often, your face is enough for these sly slueths. With amazing precision, they’ll place you, and once you confirm it, these human computers will rattle off a long list of your forbears from Adam downwards. And if you still prove intractable, they’ll cajole you and coax you till they almost bully the details out of you. You needn’t pay them for their labours; no sir, you cannot deny them their privilege and their pleasure. And if you are yet not shamed into acknowledging their virtuosity, wait and see. If ever an ancestor visited Kashmir even in remote antiquity, their sixth sense enables them to smell your paternity. Sure enough, his name is there in those unwieldy scrolls which are, to your bewildered sight, nothing but a plethora of signatures and scrawls in all manner of scripts. Without an index system or anything of that kind, they’ll thumb through the dear, decaying pages, and produce his signature in a trice. You are helpless in the face of this recorded evidence. The ancestral finger, having writ, has departed, setting the teeth of the visiting progeny on edge! And then the pedlars. Unlike the pandas who have an impeccable, blue-blooded “trade union”, these itinerant traders are a vast, heterogeneous fraternity. Carrying large packs of indigenous goods — silks, pashmina, furs, wood-work, papier-mache, synthetic stones etc. —, they hawk their merchandise from door to door. And if you are an innocent abroad, you fall like a ripe plum into the lap of these gypsy vendors, always on the prowl. They start off with staggering prices, and no reduction on your part is to large or fantastic to cause dismay in those stout hearts. They never get rattled. On the contrary, you feel disconcerted, for even when you cut the price down to the bone, they smile and smile, and keep the song going. They swear by all the gods in heaven, put passion into their speech, implore you, tempt you, bait you till they hook you on the line. But wait, it’ll be a different story when a few minutes later, another of the tribe (in all likelihood, an accomplice) offers to sell the same thing at half the price. You call yourself a sucker, and swear, you’ll have no truck with that kind till someone else repeats the trick, and you are left a sadder, but not a wiser man.
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Unsafe water, toxic vegetables
The World Environment Day with “safe drinking water” as the main theme has come and gone. But lakhs of residents living in 40 villages of Ludhiana are yet to get a reprieve from the pollution caused to underground water by the Budda Nullah, a large sewerage drain that crisscrosses the district and carries toxic elements into the Sutlej. Reams of paper have been wasted by environmentalists and the media about the alarming destruction caused to the environment by the Budda Nullah. The Punjab State Human Rights Commission has gone through a year of litigation hearing the government agencies about the corrective measures they had taken to reduce the pollution level. Strong claims have been made before the commission that safe drinking water was being provided. But the stark reality is that the pollution levels have assumed alarming proportions in the Budda Nullah. People are forced to consume unsafe water and the crops and vegetables have been found with large traces of toxic substances. The people live so close to the river that they get plenty of water for drinking and irrigation purposes. But the irony is that the water has been classified as unfit for human consumption. Groundwater is easily available at 30 feet, but thanks to the pollution on account of seepage of toxic effluents all along the nullah, safe water is available only at 350 to 400 feet. Last year, it was available between 300 and 350 feet. While 40 villages in Ludhiana district are most seriously affected and suffer from water-borne diseases, especially Hepatitis-B and jaundice, the contaminated water is being served to lakhs of others in Faridkot, Ferozepur and Bathinda districts. It is this water which goes to the Harike barrage and is finally supplied through canals to those districts. That the nullah is a major source of ground water pollution is proved by several extensive studies conducted by environmentalists, the Punjab Pollution Control Board and Punjab Agricultural University. The reports are with the powers-that-be but nothing is being done to restore the lost glory of this vital water channel that was once host to 60 species of fish and other aqua life. A year ago The Tribune had carried a detailed report about the nullah, its effects on the ground water, the resultant pollution in the Sutlej, the destruction of marine life and the presence of effluents and residuals in the green leafy vegetables cultivated along the banks of the nullah. A human rights activist and environmentalist, Charanjit Bakshi, had sought from the Human Rights Commission directions to the government regarding the news report. As is the case with most government agencies, the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board and the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation claimed in sworn affidavits that a lot has been done in the regard. The board stated that the water supply distribution pipeline work in areas along the Budda Nullah would be completed by March, 2003. It had stated that there should be no reason for anybody to depend on the hand pumps, which at the moment were a health hazard. The villagers just wish that this were true. Mr N.S. Tiwana, Chairman, Punjab Pollution Control Board, admitted to The Tribune that the Budda Nullah was still polluted. He said the Sutlej action plan alone can save the villagers but the plan will take some more time to see the light of the day. He claimed that most of the industrialists had installed treatment plants in the industry and the board keeps on taking action against persons throwing effluents in the nullah. When contacted, Mr S K Sharma , Commissioner, Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC), said the much-awaited sewerage treatment plants had already been installed and would start functioning soon. He said they would treat the Budda Nullah and the water would be safe for irrigation purposes. The villagers are the real victims of the pollution. While municipal officials say the villagers are out of their jurisdiction, the Sewerage Board officials claimed that 95 per cent of the pipe-laying project has been completed. A visit to the villages is enough to know that only a few houses are getting safe drinking water from a hydro-work unit installed in Hambran. Others get only contaminated water from hand pumps. A Tribune team visited many villages along the nullah on June 3 to see the ground realities and what was being done to save the villagers. It was established that the March 2003 deadline did not bring a single drop of safe water to the villagers. Second, the nullah continues to discharge effluents into the Sutlej. Third, the claims of the Sewerage Board regarding safe drinking water supply in Ludhiana city have also come under a cloud owing to the unearthing of large-scale irregularities in the water pipeline project for this purpose by the Ludhiana Vigilance Bureau. The sullage flowing in the nullah stinks. At the confluence of the nullah and the Sutlej at Ballipur, the black current of the nullah and the clean water stand in sharp contrast. So strong is the polluted current that one can see a streak of black for a long distance downstream. Villages like Beniawal, Ballipur Kalan, Ballipur Khurd, Basaimi, Phagla, Birmi, Malakpur, Salempur, Gaunspur, Waran-hara and Hambran are the worst hit. Several other villages like Issewal, Mohi, Chak and Dakha are also threatened. “Yes, some officials had visited the spot last year when the news appeared. They said the commission had sent them. They went back saying things would improve but nothing happened. During the assembly elections the Akali and Congress leaders promised that the Budda Nullah would be cleaned up. The promises remain on paper only,” laments Iqbal Singh, a resident of Ballipura village situated close to the confluence. With the onset of summer, water-borne diseases strike the area in a big way. Jaundice is the most dreaded disease. Iqbal Singh of Balipura said people having good financial position are able to dig deep bores. The rest are dependent on hand pumps, which draw water at the maximum from 60 feet. The Tribune team also witnessed about five new bores being dug in Ballipura village. According to studies by PAU, “A number of pollutants and toxic elements like cadmium, nickel and chromium and other heavy metals get concentrated in vegetables which eventually are consumed by humans”. The fact that drinking water is available at such deep levels clearly indicates that there is no treatment of water at the sources in the city. A study by the Department of Zoology and Fisheries of the university reveals the extent of damage to the fauna in the river. As The Tribune team took leave of the villagers, the query of an innocent child rankled them: ‘“When will the nullah become clear again so that I can swim in it?” |
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Talking of the weather There are many popular illusions about columnists and the one about those who write on the media is that the lucky fellow sits in a cool, dark room, sipping the occasional iced nimbu paani while the poor sloggers who do outdoor jobs or have to make their dusty way to office in the worst of the heat wave in impossible traffic jams, slog it out and come home with heat-stroke to an apartment or room where there is no power. To add to one’s woes, one gets irritable and finds the usual routine political intrigues, mafia arrests, baby-swapping, Vajpayee smiling at George Bush (ah to be in St Petersburg savouring the priceless art treasures of the Heritage Museum — hope Vajpayee made it). Even more irritating, Karan Thapar’s hard-hitting interview with the Pakistan Foreign Minister was one of his best in months and some relief. The routine soaps are not quite the thing in a heat wave with all those over-dressed and over made-up women and their wicked intrigues. They make one feel even more hot. In fact, the only soap I found bearable is, again, “Astitva”, on Zee which is sailing along nicely. And I must confess I found the revived edition of “Public Hai Sab Janti Hai” very enjoyable on Sab TV. First there was the baby-swapping episode with Sushmita Mukherji (what a versatile actress) playing the cheated mother to the hilt and then a biting satire on child marriages. What is best about this serial is its highly topical choice of subjects which it tackles with a high degree of sophistication and solid research. However, I was still searching for something different and I found it on ESPN which carried the famous “Spelling Bee” from Washington which was won by a prodigy of Indian origin. Unfortunately, the Paris Open came on before I could see him in action, but I was overawed by these children, some as young as 10 years, spelling and pronouncing the most obscure words I have heard in my life, asking clever questions about their origin, asking the judges to give them a sentence using the word and generally making the participants in Mastermind India look like amateurs. I am still reeling under their knowledge and skill. One girl from Jamaica got everything right and prefaced her questions with “Please, Sir” and “Thank You Sir” and was outstanding, although she was obviously beaten by the Indian. The French Open Tennis was a welcome diversion with a number of young players ousting veterans like Andre Agassi and the young Russian girls providing a surprise or two. I think only one channel Aaj Tak had Atul Naryaan doing some reporting from Paris. But I was appalled at the blatant rudeness of Suresh Awasthi from the Delhi end who interviewed Leander Paes after he and partner beat Mahesh Bhupati and partner. Repeatedly and very politely Leander told Awasthi that he was not able to reply in Hindi (Awasthi used some very fancy language instead of chalti bhasha) and could he please ask his questions in English. Awasthi obliged with one brief question in perfectly good English and then reverted aggressively to his fancy Hindi. It was the height of discourtesy and the channel probably realised this afterwards because they edited out Leander’s requests for English in later bulletins, which was not ethical either as the interviewer was in a position to cover up his faux pas. Nevertheless, Leander came across well with a highly emotional and touching reference to his break with Bhupathi and his sadness about two Indians battling against each other instead of teaming up for their country I am afraid Bhupathi has not come out very well from this sad situation, while Leander did at least on TV. I have done a lot of listening to the FM channels which are popping up all over the place. Sometimes on my car radio or while having breakfast or even while bathing I am afraid I look on them more as a background to other activities for a particular reason. Their particular kind of very light, mostly film music does not require much concentration. And the music and the presentation are so boringly similar, with a highly contrived form of cheerfulness and bonhomie which robs the matey remarks of both individuality and sincerity. Of course the reception is uniformly good and trouble-free which is the main attraction of FM. But I
think that Vividh Bharati still takes a lot of beating, in spite of the generation gap. |
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Britons smarten up Politicians and academics might accuse Britain of dumbing down, but new research shows that they are more confident in their intellectual abilities than ever. Far from being the `faux brow’ nation of popular myth, Britain is actually a nation that thinks it is cool to be smart. But the survey, by communications giant Publicis, found that, instead of being clever for clever’s sake, people are increasingly interested in intelligence that has practical applications and can help them in their daily lives. Caroline Chandy, who conducted the research, said: `People are moving away from an older, more limited definition of intelligence. The new definition is much broader and more eclectic. The emphasis is on intelligence that has an end benefit.’ The survey found that 71 per cent of people think they are as smart or smarter than they were five years ago. The researchers found that this conviction was spread equally across social class and age groups and they believe it paints a picture of a nation at ease with its intellectual abilities and confident of its cerebral position in the world. Of those surveyed, 70 per cent said they believed Britain was as smart or smarter than other EU countries and 81 per cent that they were as smart or smarter than the average American - perhaps unsurprisingly given the popular view of George W. Bush’s IQ. Other examples of smarting-up include the popularity of highbrow historians such as David Starkey and Simon Schama on television and the fact that the number of adults watching current affairs programmes rose from 55 per cent to 67 per cent by 2000. The researchers suggest that the new confidence which comes from being smart has produced a more assertive population, prepared to wade though the small print and hear complex arguments if they think it will help them, but equally happy to walk away if they think it is a waste of their time. Almost two thirds of people are more likely to complain now than they were three years ago. Consumers are much more sceptical when it comes to advertising, with more people than ever complaining about television adverts and mail shots. The research found that 80 per cent of those questioned believed the most important quality when it comes to being smart is to be `savvy’. In contrast, 58 per cent of those questioned thought being highly educated was very important. The findings suggests the concepts of `smartness’ and intelligence are now much more fluid. While a knowledge of Shakespeare and a grasp of the classics may still impress, members of the new knowledge society want to acquire and channel intelligence effectively, a phenomenon overlooked by their parents. `The older generation doesn’t understand this trend and so talks about dumbing-down,’ Chandy said.
The Guardian
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Devotion gives you the tremendous courage you need to keep walking on the path. When it is necessary to make a great leap forward, devotion gives you wings. —Swami Chidvilasananda, Gems from the Magic of the Heart He who dies alive into the nada — the Sound Eternal — will have his mental processes quieten themselves into a void, and his mind will get free from all pollutions. Worship your Lord — the abode and giver of Supreme blessedness, and propitiate Him in your own house alone — in this mortal frame. — Mahatma Mangat Ram Ji Maharaj |
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