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Monday,
June 23, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Venkaiah’s word A devotee
of Saraswati |
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What
others say Next step in Iraq AMERICAN soldiers in the central, primarily Sunni area of Iraq are being ambushed and attacked by well-armed remnants of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party regime. The US response has been a sequence of military sweeps termed Operation Desert Scorpion. Troops, vehicles, and helicopters swoop down on houses and neighborhoods fingered by local informants, detaining suspects and confiscating prohibited weapons.
Between
hysteria and euphoria
Love
like a snail
Punjab
Police gets top heavy
Time-share
resorts: you have rights
Delhiites
cry for masterplan
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Venkaiah’s word BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu has done well to make it clear that his party won’t be fighting elections on the Ayodhya issue. There were serious public misgivings on that count and it was necessary to set them at rest. This would mean that the BJP will have to exert pressure on other members of the Sangh Parivar not to rake up Ayodhya in the run-up to the elections. It will be a tall order indeed, what with the VHP gearing up to wield the trishul. The BJP has been associated with the temple movement so closely that it will not only have to steer clear itself but also persuade the other saffron organisations to follow suit. Otherwise, it will not be able to escape the charge that what its sister outfits are doing has its tacit approval. To distance himself from the unyielding stand taken by men like Mr Ashok Singhal and Mr Praveen Togadia, the BJP president has asserted that the VHP is basically an organisation working for the Hindus, “whereas we in the BJP and the NDA government are committed to the cause of the nation and would like to take everybody along”. Apparently, the party realises that the demolition of the mosque has tended to restrict its constituency. It is not as if the BJP is dumping the Ayodhya issue all of a sudden. Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee studiously underplayed the topic during the first few years of his Prime Ministership. Then Gujarat came along and it bounced back into reckoning. Even then, it was kept on a low key during the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections. Similar sagacity has to be displayed not only during the forthcoming assembly elections but also the Lok Sabha polls. The excessive focus on this contentious religious issue has made it an anathema not only for the minorities but perhaps a large section of the Hindus also. For the benefit of the hardliners, the BJP is ready to take up issues like anti-conversion laws and a ban on cow slaughter. The common man is more concerned today with health, education, jobs and other vital issues of governance. That is where the focus should remain — not only for the BJP but all the other political parties too. |
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A devotee
of Saraswati THE countless admirers of Ustad Bismillah Khan must have been shocked by the news of his having to worry about money for the treatment of age-related ailments. It is only Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee's decision to sanction a grant of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's Fund that made the news of Bismillah Khan's poor health public knowledge. Plato at least had the courage to dream about a republic in which the children of Saraswati and the Muse would have had an exalted status. In the Indian tradition, dance and music were taken a notch higher than the position given to them in the Greek philosopher's visionary world. These temple dance and music forms came out of their sacred seclusion when courts and kings gave their practitioners positions of honour and respect. Plato's republic was a dream, but what the Indian philosophers evolved for the artists is recorded history. The self-effacing, ever-smiling, Ustad Bismillah Khan is a product of that great culture. To discover the soul of Indian plurality, all that is needed is a journey to the fascinating realm of Indian classical music. The Ustads and the Pandits begin the day by paying musical respect to Saraswati, the goddess of learning. Who would not bow his head in respect to this humble musician walking barefoot, playing a sad tune on the shehnai, leading the Moharram procession through the streets of Varanasi and later paying tribute to the holiest river by playing a soul-stirring raga on the ghats of the Ganga? Surely, India would have done itself a great honour had it given the same status to artists like Bismillah Khan that was visualised by the Greek philosopher for them centuries ago. The shehnai wizard is a Bharat Ratna not because of the political decision to confer this honour on him, but because he truly represents the syncretic culture of the country. Born in Bihar, he chose to settle down in Kashi because of the spiritual awakening he experienced on the ghats of the city described by the great Urdu poet Asadullah Khan Ghalib as the Ka'aba of Hind. At 87, age-related ailments have forced him to stop playing. Mere prayers for speedy recovery will not do. Let the people of India make sure that in the evening of his life he gets more than good wishes and a Prime Ministerial grant in gratitude for so lofty a contribution he has made for them. |
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What others say AMERICAN soldiers in the central, primarily Sunni area of Iraq are being ambushed and attacked by well-armed remnants of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party regime. The US response has been a sequence of military sweeps termed Operation Desert Scorpion. Troops, vehicles, and helicopters swoop down on houses and neighborhoods fingered by local informants, detaining suspects and confiscating prohibited weapons. Inevitably, some innocent Iraqis are injured, terrified, offended. The long-term danger is that the US attacks against Ba'athist diehards will alienate Iraqis who do not want the Ba'athist thugs to seize power again but also do not want foreign occupiers to come storming into their homes with guns pointed at children. The best solution for both Americans and Iraqis would be for the US military to train a sizeable contingent of Iraqis — perhaps 25,000 — to serve as military police. Since most Iraqis were conscripted into Saddam's despised army, there is a large pool of people with the background and training to perform what are essentially police functions. A crash course run by US, British, and other foreign forces could begin turning out a security force of Iraqis in fairly short order. This is a program that the chief US civil administrator for Iraq, former diplomat Paul Bremer, ought to initiate as soon as possible. Each day that goes by with US soldiers being shot at and shooting back increases the risk that Iraqis will perceive those troops not as liberators but as an army of occupation — an intolerable humiliation for people whose political sentiments have been molded by memories of subjection to foreign rulers. Anti-Ba'athist Iraqis across the political spectrum want to have Iraqi military police replace the US and British troops currently trying to put down Ba'athist sabotage and enforce order. Such a force would still be under the ultimate authority of the occupying powers, but it would constitute a crucial assertion of Iraqi sovereignty within Iraq. —
Boston Globe Racism: past and present This month, Vivian Malone Jones returned to the University of Alabama to speak at the campus where 40 years ago then-governor George Wallace "stood in the schoolhouse door" to block her and another black student seeking admission. At Arlington (Va.) National Cemetery on Monday, Myrlie Evers-Williams was honored by black and white politicians at the grave of her husband, civil-rights leader Medgar Evers, to mark the 40th anniversary of his death. The decorated veteran of World War II was assassinated in the driveway of his home for trying to register black Mississippians to vote. Both commemorations teach young people about a shameful era — and a heroic struggle — they never experienced. Those fighting to overturn segregationist laws in the 1960s staged protest marches and sit-ins, while their foes killed civil-rights activists and shut public institutions rather than integrate
them. — USA Today |
Between hysteria and euphoria GENERAL Pervez Musharraf’s refusal to rule out another Kargil and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s retort that Pakistan was preparing for its fourth defeat punctuated the cordial and friendly exchanges at official and non-official levels between the two countries that have been taking place for the past two months. It must be the anticipation of such ebbs and flows in Indo-Pak relations that prompted Pakistani writer Khaled Ahmad to warn India and Pakistan “against risking war by talking peace”. He argues “every time there are talks, the bilateral equation takes a nose-dive and there is a threat of war”. In his opinion, “it is much better for the two countries to continue to impose attrition on each other than to risk war by talking peace.” The writer is not anti-peace but draws his lessons from the experiences of the recent past — at Lahore, Agra, etc. As a nation, our mood often swings from one extreme to another; from hysteria to euphoria on this issue. Our vision of relations with Pakistan is limited to two options: perfect peace or full-scale war, complete settlement or no settlement, Bhai-Bhai-ism to permanent enmity. Sometimes we are reminded that the twin-siblings belonged to the same civilisational family who like estranged brothers will reunite again. On other occasions, the history of perpetual hostility, and cold or hot wars between the two countries is recalled. The aforesaid two views are held not necessarily by two different schools of political thought. They are often the product of the same mindset which cannot view Pakistan as any other foreign country. With his poetic ambivalence, the Prime Minister is capable of giving expression to extreme moods of the nation towards Pakistan and contradictory expectations from it; Lahore to Kargil, Kaluchak (call for “Aar paar ki ladai”) to Srinagar (offer of hand of friendship). This role befits a political leader par excellence. But when he restricts his role to “the third and last attempt at peace” and offers to accept defeat and retire if he fails, he fails as a statesman. For peace is a permanent process and not a one-time gamble. A relationship with Pakistan may have to be explored in between the two choices of romanticised brotherhood to chauvinistic outrage; at least in the immediate future. Both choices are unrealistic. For any step towards reunification, including a proposal for Indo-Pak confederation, is treated as a threat to its identity by Pakistan. And permanent hostility is not maintainable as was eloquently demonstrated by unconditional withdrawal of Indian forces after 10 months of deployment on the borders. The nuclear parity, following Pokhran II, rules out a full-scale war with Pakistan. Nor the international community will permit it. While discussing various proposals that are being mooted for Indo-Pak friendship, including a final settlement on Kashmir, a senior Pakistani statesman, who had accompanied the parliamentarians of his country during their recent visit to India, pertinently asked me, “which of these proposals can ensure votes for Mr Vajpayee in the coming election?” If the BJP sought and got votes in Gujarat against Mian Musharraf, it would give up that plank only when an alternative can ensure more votes. Otherwise, it would cite the past experience to show how unreliable Pakistan has always been. More extremist sections in the country will argue that even if we hand over the whole state of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan, we cannot win its friendship. Will the BJP leadership, including the Prime Minister, or the leadership of the Opposition understand that the people (voters) are capable of realising that the methods so far adopted to deal with the perceived threat from Pakistan have been counter-productive, and alternatives may ensure better poll dividends? If nuclear explosion and Operation Parakram have exposed our incapacity to wage a war against Pakistan, the pathetic reliance on America to deal with it is equally proving self-defeating. As we fail to appreciate America’s compulsions and limitations, we are disappointed over its “double standards”. In our competition with Pakistan to prove a better and more reliable ally of America, we have lowered our status from a friend to almost a supplicant. What should be an alternative policy? First, restore full bilateralism in our relations with America and Pakistan. Less burdened by our expectations of support for India’s problems with Pakistan, our relations with America will acquire a new respectability. Apart from being a regional power, India’s geopolitical position equips it to act as a unique bridge between America and the Muslim world, particularly its Arab part, which is being swept by an anti-America wave. In the situation as it obtains today, America may need India’s friendship more than the other way round. The European tour of the Prime Minister should have given him the confidence about the moral, political and economic strength of the country which enabled him to be treated as much a friend by France, Germany and Russia as by US and the UK. If that encourages him to play a more independent, principled and tactful role, it would cut Pakistan and the problem it poses to size. Secondly, to quote Khaled Ahmad again, the hatred of people of Pakistan is exceeded by that for General Musharraf. For he is considered a stooge of America. If India could outgrow that image, much of the hatred against it in Pakistan will be neutralised. While religious extremists hold that America is the main threat to Pakistan and the Muslim world, which can be better met if relations with India improve, an argument gaining ground among the civil society is that Pakistan is more important than Kashmir. Many writers in Pakistan endorse the view of Stephen Cohen that its terrorism deficit is more than that of India where it was being exported. Najam Sethi adds, “the average citizen has borne the burnt of Pakistan’s Kashmir policy for too long and wants the economic noose around his neck loosened.” India’s national interest demands that it should outgrow the subcontinental constraints and aspire for its due global role; which could be a source of inspiration for the people of Pakistan also. While Pakistan’s government and the people seem unprepared for the “fourth defeat” at the hands of India, its policy for proxy war, too, is getting exhausted. India’s own limitations in going to war have already been mentioned. As war — even in proxy form — is no more an option for either of the two countries, the road to peace is equally bumpy. The baggage of past experiences, prejudices and mistrust is too heavy. There are many in India who have yet not reconciled to the Partition while many Pakistanis believe that the process of Partition is yet incomplete. The Kashmir problem is, in any case, not easily surmountable. Thus, realistically speaking, the euphoria over Indo-Pak relations is not justified. Reverting to the warning given in the beginning, every precaution should be taken to prevent another phase of hysteria. Even if confrontation becomes unavoidable, the response should be calibrated and always combined with engagement. The writer is a Jammu-based political analyst |
Love like a snail WHOEVER coined the expression "animal passion" for describing uninhibited expression of love had evidently not gone beyond the edge of the wood. Animal passion is a unique divine gift or curse - depending upon individual predilections more than preference - for exclusive use or abuse by the tribe of Adam. In the animal kingdom, untouched by the process that makes us presume we are civilised, the male of the species has to literally beg for the favours of the opposite sex. You only have to keep your eyes and ears open for discovering what a difficult life it is for the male of other species in the wild. The higher the rating in the wild pecking order, the greater the demands from the female of that species. But the conditions for living and lovemaking are not exactly honey and spice in the lower forms of life. Who would want to be a drone? And who would have thought that even the lowly snails had lessons to offer the Lailas and Majnoos of civil society? A group of evidently out-of-job scientists decided to study the love life of
snails. They were rewarded with rare insights into the mysterious ways of nature. It may help us answer some of the questions that are usually asked in private. One such question is: What would happen if couples took turns in producing babies? The initial response is mostly a pregnant silence among men. The second response sees Adam trying to duck away from the love darts of Eve when his turn comes for entering the labour room. The scientists have more or less busted the mystery. If they had a choice, they would end up playing passing the baby. No one would want to be woman enough to take a deep breath before going into labour. The love life of the snails has confirmed that no one - neither the male nor the female of the species - likes getting pregnant. Being in the family way as the ultimate state of
ecstasy is a myth spread by the female of the human species for two reasons. One, why complain about being in a condition that is non-transferable? Two, it is done to make men believe they are less blessed. Look at the irony. The evidence against the state of motherhood (or fatherhood?) being a source of fulfilment had to be provided by the seemingly slow-paced snails. In western lore the owl is the symbol of wisdom. Pass on the honour to the snail in your garden. What it does to avoid getting into the family way would make the owl look more like its cousins in India. Scientists have found out why some snails shoot love darts. The hermaphrodites, with both male and female parts, fight with the darts before mating. In this state of frenzy a snail that is speared stores more sperms. A chemical on the dart's tip slows down the natural digestion of the sperms in its female organs. The stored sperm is more likely to be used for fertilisation later. But where is the evidence against motherhood being the source of ultimate joy? Scientists found that snails prefer to give rather than receive sperms because producing offspring takes much more energy. It is all so simple, really. |
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Punjab Police gets top heavy Incidentally, Punjab has been perhaps the only State which has had seven police chiefs from outside the State, starting with Mr Birbal Nath and the last one was Mr O.P. Sharma. Of these seven officers — Mr Birbal Nath, Mr P.S. Bhinder, Mr K.S. Dhillon, Mr S.D. Pandey, Mr J.F. Ribeiro, Mr KPS Gill and Mr O.P. Sharma — Mr Gill had two tenures as the police chief, besides his other stints, including as Inspector-General of Police (Operations). Mr P.S. Bhinder was the only outsider who commanded the Punjab Police in the rank of an Inspector-General as all other outsiders were in the rank of Director-General. Among outsiders, Mr Bhinder also had the shortest stint as Punjab police chief. He remained in office only for four months. Looking back, the Punjab police chiefs used to enjoy long terms in office. For example, Mr Sant Parkash Singh, the first Inspector-General after Independence, was in office for more than six years. His successor, Mr D.C. Lal, remained in office a little less than five years while Mr Gurdial Singh was the Punjab Police chief for almost six years. In between, Mr Waryam Singh became the chief only for 16 months. Kanwar Shamsher Singh, after a first term of seven months as the Inspector-General in 1960, subsequently had another term as the Punjab police chief for five years. Like Mr Waryam Singh, Mr Ashwani Kumar was another officer, who was the Inspector-General for 13 months only. All these officers — Mr Sant Parkash Singh, Mr
D. C. Lal, Mr Waryam Singh, Kanwar Shamsher Singh, Mr Gurdial Singh and Mr Ashwani Kumar - belonged to the Indian Police (IP). When Mr J.R. Chhabra took over as Inspector-General of Police from Mr Ashwani Kumar on August 18, 1972, he became the first IPS officer to head the State police. Since then the tenures of the police chiefs became shorter and only a handful of officers have remained in office for three or more years. The longest single stint as DGP by an IPS officer has been by Mr KPS Gill. His second term lasted a little more than four years and a month. His first term was for two years and eight months. As such, he remained Punjab police chief for six years and three months, almost same as of Mr Sant Parkash Singh, though the later had one continuous stint. The Punjab Police can boast of some highly decorated officers. Two of its previous chiefs — Mr Ashwani Kumar and Mr J.F. Ribeiro — were honoured with Padma Bhushan while the Padma Shri award was conferred upon Mr KPS
Gill. Then the Additional Director-General of Police (Intelligence), Mr S.S. Virk, is also the recipient of Padma Shri. In the absence of a proper cadre management, the Punjab Police has been becoming top heavy. On August 1 when Mr Siddiqui
assumes office, he will have four officers senior to him holding the rank of Director-General of Police, including the country’s two seniormost IPS officers, Mr Sarabjit Singh and Mr Jarnail Singh Chahal, both belonging to the 1965 batch. Besides, Punjab has 14 Additional Directors-General and 20 Inspectors-General. Almost every third officer in the State cadre is an Inspector-General or above. The number of DIGs is equally large. The ultimate sufferers will be the young officers as they will have to stagnate. And majority of the senior officers always nurse a grouse that they hardly have any work to do. When Mr Siddiqui takes over as the Director-General of Police , he will become the first Muslim officer to head the State force in 56 years. Considered a very competent and efficient officer, he was once a strong contender to replace Mr Gurbachan Jagat, also a Punjab cadre officer, as the head of the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Later, he was sent to head the Manipur police before the present Congress government recalled him prematurely from the inter-State deputation and named him the successor to Mr M.S. Bhullar. After returning to Punjab, he headed a team of senior officers which undertook a gigantic task of amending the archaic Punjab Police Act of 1857. The draft of the amended Act is now before the government to consider and present it before the State Assembly. |
Time-share resorts: you have rights THIS holiday season let me give some good news: the doors of the consumer courts have finally been thrown open to those who invested in time-share holiday resorts and burnt their fingers. Yes, henceforth consumers can file their complaints against time-share resorts before the consumer courts. In a landmark order, the National consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has set right a wrong by reversing its two earlier orders that denied the benefits of the consumer protection law to those who had had a raw deal from time-share companies. Holding its earlier orders erroneous, the apex consumer court has clarified that when a consumer who purchases the ‘right to stay’ in a holiday resort for a particular period is denied that right or the services rendered are not as agreed upon or as per standards, it is a clear case of deficiency in service on the part of the owner of the holiday resort. And a consumer in such cases is entitled to compensation. In two cases — Dalmia Resorts International vs Dr Ranjana Gupta and Punjab
Tourism Development Corporation vs Kirit P. Doshi — the National Commission had earlier held that the transaction between the parties was one of purchase of a time-share in immovable property. And any dispute arising out of such a transaction could not be regarded as a consumer dispute coming under the purview of the consumer courts. These orders had come as a big shock to consumers who had banked on the consumer courts to give them justice and recover the money invested in time share companies that had failed to keep up their promises or rendered deficient service. It was obviously an erroneous decision on the part of the National Commission because the Supreme Court, in its landmark judgement in the case of LDA vs
M. K. Gupta, had clearly held that “ when a possession of property is not delivered within a stipulated period, the delay so caused is denial of service. Such disputes or claims are not in respect of immovable property as argued, but deficiency in rendering of service of a particular standard, quality or grade”. The commission’s decisions had come as a surprise to the lower consumer courts too, who till then were resolving disputes involving time-share resorts and awarding consumers compensation for any suffering or harassment undergone. However, following the two verdicts of the National Commission, consumer courts at the state and the district level too were forced to dismiss complaints involving time-share companies. Fortunately for consumers, a complainant filed a special leave petition before the Supreme Court against one such case dismissed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum. (K.N. Sharma vs Toshali Resorts International). And in January this year, the Supreme Court set aside the decision of the Forum and asked it to consider the case afresh in accordance with law. While doing so, the apex court observed that in the case of Lucknow Development Authority vs M.K. Gupta, it had taken the view that even in respect of matters where immovable property was involved, the question to be examined was whether there was any service to be rendered in relation thereto and whether the complaint pertained to such service. “That aspect seems to have been lost sight of by the (National ) Commission”, the Supreme Court said. This time the National Commission took a fresh look at the entire issue and decided that its earlier decisions were erroneous and that complaints pertaining to time-share resorts would constitute a consumer dispute under the Consumer Protection Act. It based this decision on three factors: (1) That it’s earlier decisions holding that disputes relating to immovable property cannot be a subject matter of complaint under the CP Act, ran contrary to the law as settled by the Supreme Court in the case of LDA vs MK Gupta. (2) In the case of KN Sharma vs Toshali Resorts International, the Supreme Court had once again clarified that even in respect of immovable property, the question to be considered was whether there was any service to be rendered in relation to the property and this aspect had not been considered by the Commission in its two earlier decisions. (3) it was obvious that when a consumer is denied his or her right under the time-share agreement or the sale deed, there was deficiency in service and given this fact, the principle evolved in the earlier orders appeared to be unreasonable.. Of the six petitions which were bunched together by the National Commission to decide on the basic question of the admissibility of disputes pertaining to time-share, four were filed by consumers against the decisions of three state commissions dismissing their complaints on the basis of the National Commission’s earlier orders. The other two were filed by the opposite parties — Sterling Holiday Resorts in one case and Toshali Resorts International in another — against the decisions of two State Commissions allowing the complaint. Following the reversal of its earlier decision, the National Commission dismissed the petitions of the holiday resorts. And it remanded the other four cases to the State Commissions for fresh consideration in accordance with law. |
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Delhiites cry for masterplan IN the last few weeks there have been at least four discussions /meets revolving as they say “Delhi Masterplan 2021: Gearing up people’s participation.” I don’t know what would become of this city in another two decades, for last evening as the rain poured most vehicles were seen stuck in deep puddles, running through the main roads of South Delhi, the route I took to get back home. Red lights were not working at most intersections, scooters were lying stranded, big cars could make it but small ones were seen stuck. Just one hour’s rain was enough to cause havoc, so masterplans ought to be executed with immediate effect. Mexican artist — Frida Last week a private art gallery screened the film on the famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo; and though one had heard about this artist who had defied norms and conventions and even major health setbacks, but to see it all happen on the screen to a frail yet an awfully determined woman, was a different experience. And this week when writer Ajeet Cour in her characteristic warm way invited me for viewing the photographs and portraits on Frida I simply had to make it…. And at the Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, it was former Prime Minister VP Singh (a regular at this academy’s monthly meet of writers, poets and artists) who inaugurated this exhibition, in the presence of the Mexican Ambassador to India and his other Mexican diplomats and, of course, our usual band of artists and art lovers. I must say here that Satish Gujral’s presence was important for he had personally known Frida and he is one of those who talks, sharing his experience “In the 50s I spent three years in Mexico and during the last six months came in contact with Frida… She had been very ill, in fact on a wheel chair and towards the end with a paint brush somehow clasped in her mouth she’d continued painting …remarkable woman with such grit that its impossible to see… a communist, a rebel and above all a master artist… In fact, even before she died she was unable to move from her bed and even in that state she painted right till the end…” In fact, these inputs from Gujral made me see each photograph with a different angle altogether. “See, see her face in this photograph, see its expressions — its so full of pain and yet she didn’t give up…” said Gujral, who had come with his wife companion Kiran to see these portraits — portraits that could perhaps provoke some to follow that sort of grit and determination, to survive against odds. In fact, Satish has himself survived that earlier health setback (impairing his speech and hearing) but he has not just survived but made it to be our top artist.
Summer time About five years back when the Arab League held some major functions here during the peak of summer I had to open my big mouth and ask the ambassadors why have they chosen this time of the year for major celebrations and they quipped “But we are used to this sort of heat and so are you!” …Now, this season it seems the baton has been taken over by other countries too — eastern European countries, if you please. For earlier this fortnight a series of films on Romania were screened with the Ambassador of Romania to India Petru Petra coming up with introductions to each.
Off to Kashmir Several of my friends are taking off and spending the rest of June in Kashmir…. It seems almost amazing the numbers going from here to there. Temptation is there but for me to go and come back and settle down here takes a while — almost like returning from paradise to…. yes, your guess is right. And next week as the President of India goes to the Valley for a short get — away it would mean a further boost for the reluctant traveller. |
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MR A.A. Siddiqui, who has been named the 30th police chief of Punjab since Independence, is the first Punjab police cadre officer belonging to a religious minority to get the honour. The only other officer belonging to a religious minority to become the Punjab Police chief had been Mr J.F. Ribeiro, who belonged to the Maharashtra cadre.