EDITORIALS

Iranian gas for India
Ensuring security is a factor

INDIA, because of its experience with Pakistan, is justified in rejecting the Iranian 2,500-km gas pipeline offer. There is a fear in New Delhi whether the pipeline will be fully secure as it will be passing through Pakistan. Despite the Vajpayee peace initiative, there is little hope of the state of India-Pakistan relations changing for the better in the near future. In any case, India is in dire need of natural gas for making its industries globally more competitive. Natural gas is a cheaper source of energy available in abundance in India’s immediate and distant neighbourhood like Bangladesh and Iran. While the eastern neighbour, Bangladesh, is reluctant to sell its surplus gas to India on various pretexts, Iran and Turkmenistan are willing to have a permanent export arrangement. India has already entered into an agreement with Iran for the import of five million tonne gas. But that is not all. Teheran has been pressing New Delhi for some time for joining the overland pipeline project as it could transform the entire industrial scene in the region. But India has been afraid of joining the venture since the very beginning because of security considerations. Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Sumitra Mahajan clarified India’s stand while giving the information in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that New Delhi has now initiated efforts for an offshore pipeline from Iran, without Pakistan being in the picture.

The government could have, however, taken more time to reach a final decision on the overland pipeline. There was no need for hurry. The views of certain Indian security experts deserve a serious thought. They feel that Pakistan-based terrorists, who are technologically well-equipped, can damage an offshore pipeline as easily as an overland one. And in the former case the repair work will not only be a much costlier affair but also take a longer time. There will always be a threat to the offshore supply line from the notorious ISI owing to Pakistan’s geographical advantages as well as its massive maritime capabilities. It will be a terrible situation in times of war.

This is not easily possible in the case of an overland pipeline as Pakistan will have to pay a price for sabotaging. The venture will involve not only India, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan but also the financing agencies like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. A terrorist sabotage of the supply system will hit all the parties involved. Pakistan will be putting itself in trouble by indulging in blackmail. India, if the subcontinental relations improve, may think of opting for an overland pipeline at some stage instead of an offshore one.

Insurgency in Manipur
It’s a socio-economic problem as well

THE attempt by militants on Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh’s life the other day speaks volumes for the extent of insurgency in the state. The fact that he escaped unhurt does not diminish the gravity of the situation because two of his security guards were killed and five others seriously injured when militants opened fire on his convoy. Apparently, the militants of the outlawed People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were waiting for an opportunity to assassinate him ever since he decided to tour the interior areas frequently. But if the Chief Minister is to be believed, they were also trying to settle scores with the SP of Thoubal district who reportedly killed two of their leaders recently. Insurgency in Manipur has been gaining strength day by day and this has affected the state’s development.

The roots of insurgency in the Northeast can be traced to the inability of successive governments to provide jobs to the youth who are disillusioned. In Manipur, for instance, the problem of unemployment is so acute that the failure of the government to provide jobs and the lack of opportunities elsewhere are forcing the youth to take up arms. Drugs and AIDS have become a major social problem. Ethnic tensions too threaten the fabric of the Manipuri society. The Meitis had lived peacefully with the other minorities for ages. But times have changed and various other groups too are competing for scarce land, food and other resources. The government seems helpless in checking violence, extortion and kidnappings.

The insurgency in the state is led by a plethora of outfits like the PLA, the armed wing of the underground Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF), the Manipur Peoples’ Liberation Front (MPLF), the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) and the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL). On a conservative estimate, there are 19 militant groups active in Manipur today. However, this in itself does not explain the deterioration of the law and order situation in the state. The security and intelligence agencies will have to remain alert to the possibility of more strikes by these groups. Apparently, there is lack of effective coordination between the law-enforcement and security agencies. Armed tribals continue to kidnap innocent people between Pallel and Tengnoupal along the National Highway-39. Why is the government not ensuring at least a token presence of the security forces along this stretch to instil confidence among the people? And to compound the problem, the Chief Minister has advised his ministers to avoid programmes in remote areas. This would send a wrong signal to the militants. The security aspect should be dealt with effectively and sternly. At the same time, the social and political dimensions of insurgency call for greater attention and necessary remedial action.

Champi, Tel Malish...
More than cinema is the loser

IF the heavens do not have the barrier of language, all the good souls should be having a rollicking time. Bob Hope was the first to leave, two months after celebrating his 100th birthday. And now Johnny Walker. Such coincidences happen rarely. Bob Hope and Johnny Walker were entertainers. They literally belonged to different worlds. One was the master of vaudeville and the other the king of comedy that had a far wider appeal. What would have become of Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi had Balraj Sahani not spotted him and Guru Dutt given him the break in "Baazi"? He would still have been an entertainer. For that is what he was doing as a bus conductor in Mumbai when his antics caught the attention of Balraj Sahani. He represented a class of people who invent their own entertainment. Put simply, the sound of laughter is usually louder in modest homes than in the ones occupied by the so-called people of substance. Money can neither buy love nor laughter. The latter is the middle people's lifeline to sanity. Hindi cinema was fortunate to have discovered a truly people's comedian in Johnny Walker. It would, nevertheless be inappropriate to describe his passing away at the ripe age of 79 as the end of an era.

The era that gave a place of prominence to comedy died much before Johnny Walker breathed his last. Early Hindi cinema had a simple structure. It had a male lead, a female lead, a villain and a comedian. Since actors who could play the supporting roles were in short supply Johnny Walker became the comedy king and Pran the quintessential villain of Hindi films. Efficient script writers were required to weave all these elements in the storyline. Today, the male and the female lead actors between them are required to perform a triple sundae, as it were. Besides, the rare film that follows the old formula of horses for courses makes the comedy sequences so blatantly slapstick and loud that the ears split more than the sides. Not that Badruddin was not loud. But his down-to-earth humour made him relate better to the audiences than today's over-priced bawdy entertainers.

Thought for the day

Life well spent is long.

— Leonardo da Vinci

OPINION

Musharraf facing new situation
India must keep the heat on
by G. Parthasarathy

FEW Pakistani visitors to India have stirred up emotions and raised expectations as much as baby Noor Fatima, who underwent a complicated heart surgery in Bangalore. Virtually the whole of India prayed for her speedy recovery. The reaction in Pakistan was, however, quite predictable. While one section of public opinion welcomed the outpourings of sympathy and support the little child and her parents received in India, there was yet another section that claimed that doctors in Pakistan could have done an equally good job as their counterparts in India and that there was really no need for the parents to have travelled to Bangalore. This brought back memories to me of how an Indian offer of wheat to Pakistan in 1978 was peremptorily rejected and wheat obtained at exorbitant prices from elsewhere, because influential voices in the Zia establishment claimed that it would be demeaning to show the world that they were dependent on “Hindu” India for essential food supplies. There are similarly no rational economic reasons for Pakistan to stifle exports from India as it presently does. What worries the military establishment is that such exports in Pakistani markets would demonstrate India’s technological and industrial advancement to ordinary people in that country.

Sadly, our media and even large sections of public opinion seem to go completely overboard when covering events concerning Pakistan. This was obvious when the leader of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Islam and the internationally renowned “father” of the Taliban, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, was in India. Our media reported that the good Maulana was willing to settle the Kashmir issue on the basis of the Line of Control becoming the international border. He made no such assertion. He merely echoed General Musharraf’s formulation that he was prepared for any solution acceptable to India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris. But inviting Maulana Fazlur Rehman to India was a welcome move. His interaction with Indian Deobandi leaders like Maulana Asad Madani only reinforced his view that Indian Muslims do not like the ISI’s “jihad” in Kashmir and that they would like to see an end to violence and the restoration of peace and harmony between India and Pakistan. Maulana Madani had made these views clear when he visited Pakistan for the International Deobandi Conference over two years ago.

These developments have been taking place amidst challenges to General Musharraf within Pakistan and growing tensions in its relations with Afghanistan. Even as General Musharraf was pledging undying loyalty to President Bush at Camp David last month, his close comrade-in-arms, Gen Mohammed Aziz Khan, was proclaiming in Rawalkot in POK: “America is the number one enemy of the Muslim world and is conspiring against Muslim nations all over the world.” Gen Aziz Khan described General Musharraf as a “hypocrite”. But like General Musharraf, General Khan proclaimed that India and Pakistan could never be friends even if the Kashmir “dispute” is resolved. To add to General Musharraf’s discomfiture, an All-Party Conference (APC) held in Islamabad on July 26 refused to acknowledge the legality of his assumption of office as President, called for the appointment of a new army chief and rejected the so-called Legal Framework Order from which General Musharraf derives his authority. The APC denounced the General’s agreement in principle to send Pakistani troops to Iraq, criticised the presence of American military bases and unfettered freedom of action for the FBI in Pakistan and demanded that leaders like Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mr Nawaz Sharif should be permitted to return freely to the country.

Amidst these developments, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai openly accused Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism and continuing to assist the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Mr Karzai also rejected Pakistani allegations of India using Afghan territory to destabilise Pakistan. The embattled Musharraf now faces a situation wherein he is accused of supporting cross-border terrorism by two neighbours — India and Afghanistan. Another neighbour, Iran, is angry at the continuing links of the ISI with extremist Sunni groups that are pro-Taliban and target Shias. In the meantime, the United States House of Representatives has linked future military and economic assistance to Pakistan to its ending support to cross-border terrorism. New Delhi should ensure that every international forum is used to pressurise Pakistan to mend its errant ways. No effort should be spared to keep the heat on Pakistan so that it is denied economic and military assistance not just by the United States but also countries like the UK, France and Germany, and refused admission to forums like the Commonwealth and the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation, until it ends its support for terrorism and establishes normal, good neighbourly relations with India.

Mr Vajpayee’s peace initiative is moving in a measured manner. There is no need to get hustled by Pakistani demands to move faster. The Prime Minister has candidly acknowledged that the mistake made at Agra of staging a summit without proper groundwork will not be repeated. We should establish direct contacts initially at the Joint Secretary level to sort out issues like the resumption of travel links and overflights. The discussions could be raised to the level of Foreign Secretaries and then Foreign Ministers before Mr Vajpayee heads for Islamabad for the SAARC summit in January 2004. At the same time, we should invite leaders of mainstream political parties like Ms Benazir Bhutto, Mr Nawaz Sharif, Mr Altaf Hussain, Nawab Akbar Bugti, Mr Mohamad Khan Achakzai and Mr Asfandyar Wali Khan to interact with the political leadership in India at the highest level. Political leaders in Pakistan are for the first time picking up the courage to tell their Army that its job is to defend the country and fight terrorism and not involve itself in politics, industry, trade, banking, agriculture and real estate. A wide range of contacts between civil society institutions also needs to be initiated and fostered.

The recent fidayeen attack on a lightly defended static Army EME unit near Jammu establishes that the Army needs to get its act together and improve its security preparations for such attacks. The target selection, timing and modus operandi of the attackers clearly indicate professional support from the ISI. The statement of the Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, seeking to absolve the Pakistan government of responsibility for the attack and asserting that there had been no security lapse on the part of the Army was unfortunate, incorrect and counterproductive. Both our Army and Air Force need to be urgently equipped with modern surveillance equipment, equipment for special forces and newer multi-barrel rocket launchers. The infantry modernisation plan should be quickly implemented to deal effectively with the continuing low-intensity conflict successfully.

MIDDLE

The age of make-believe
by Raj Chatterjee

WE were, I regret to say a sloppy, sentimental lot when we were young.

I remember the day in August, 1926, when that great heart-throb, Rudolph Valentino, died. I didn’t miss a meal but, for a month, I wore a piece of black crepe round my sleeve. A few pony-tailed, school-going young ladies of my acquaintance reacted more poignantly. Two of them eschewed chocolates for a time, which relieved the pressure on my purse and one of them swore that she would join a nunnery when she grew up. The last time I heard of her, about 50 years ago, she had just been separated from her third husband.

I also remember spending a good portion of my pocket money on jars of pomade and other sticky substances to make my unruly hair look as flat and sleek as Valentino’s. Now I spend considerably more on lotions and tonics to make what’s left of my hair look unruly.

“Blood and Sand” was Rudy’s most noteworthy contribution to the silent screen. It must be nearly 70 years since I saw it but the moral contained in the story is till fresh in my mind, namely that it is safer to face an enraged bull than to cope with the wiles of a pretty woman determined to add you to her collection of scalps.

There were the three boxoffice hits, “The Sheikh”, “The Son of the Sheikh” and “The Rajah”. In each of them a white girl was carried off by Rudy mounted on an Arab steed. Thereafter, the stories followed more or less the same theme. He being an Oriental she is repulsed by his overtures but only for a while till she discovers that a man’s nationality is but skin-deep. They desire to get married but she hesitates, presumably because she doesn’t want any coffee-coloured brats. Besides, Mr Kipling, who was very much alive at the time, would have turned a deep purple at the mere thought of such an alliance.

So, to bring about a happy ending, the old family retainer comes forward to confess that the young Sheikh/Rajah isn’t the ruler’s flesh and blood but is “Pukka” British, having been kidnapped from his parents’ home to replace the still-born heir to the gaddi.

For sweet inanities you couldn’t have beaten the song-writers of the ‘20’s and early ‘30’s. there was that girl called Seminola (sounds like a rice pudding!) whose boyfriend, not having read “Love in the afternoon”, kept repeating that night-time” was the best time for love.

And Gracie Fields used to sing a song whose refrain might well be taken up by our family planning crusaders. It went something like this: “Just Molly and me/And Baby makes three/We’re happy in our blue heaven”.

But there were songs that weren’t quite so stupid. One of them was “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” which it still does to me whenever I hear it on a 78 record. And two that make the years fall away are Noel Coward’s “Bitter Sweet” and Sigmund Romberg’s “student Prince”.

Liberettists wouldn’t make much money writing that sort of music these days. More’s the pity!

Tohra back at the centrestage of Sikh politics
This time he owes it to his former foe, Badal
by Roopinder Singh

Mr Tohra: his grassroots contacts explain his durability as a politician

MANY in Punjab have watched Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra’s re-election as the President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) with a distinct sense of déjà vu. This is quite unlike the other elections during his earlier, record-breaking 25 years at the helm of the premier Sikh religious body. This ensured his stamp not only on the affairs of the Sikhs worldwide, but also those of the Punjabis at large. What happens now remains to be seen.

Mr Tohra has for long been one of the towering political figures in Sikh politics. Even though now he needed some help in getting up on the stage-both literally, as recent photographs indicated, and otherwise-from former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, there is no doubt that Akali politics, and consequently Punjab politics, will not be quite the same now.

But what is it that makes it possible for him to cast such a durable shadow over the state? To a certain extent, the answer lies in his rise from the ranks and his being a grassroots politician. Gurcharan Singh is a Tiwana Jat. His last name Tohra is after the village in which he was born on September 24, 1924, to Dilip Singh and Basant Kaur.

He is now famous as a person who has organised many a dharam yudh, but he was once an activist who fought British rule through the Riyasti Praja Mandal movement. He was first arrested in 1945 in the erstwhile Nabha State for his political activities. He was subsequently jailed many times, most notably during the Emergency, for his political activities.

Though the SGPC has its head office in Amritsar, it is in Patiala that Tohra has his base. He cut his teeth in politics there, as General Secretary of the Riyasti Akali Dal in 1948 after the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) was formed, and emerged as a powerful speaker who had the ability to sway crowds to his point of view.

He still spends a lot of time in his village, where his modest house stands in stark contrast to the palatial buildings that even neophytes in politics manage to acquire for themselves these days. At home, his wife Joginder Kaur looks after, with typical Punjabi hospitality and warmth, the large number of visitors who make themselves comfortable in their house. The couple's adopted daughter lives in Patiala with her husband, Harmail Singh Tohra.

Tohra is well versed in Sikh religious matters, and knows both the scriptures and the history of the people he now leads. Senior citizens of Patiala recall how he used to accompany his uncle Waryam Singh Tohra to perform kirtan at the local Singh Sabha Gurdwara. His love for kirtan is still intact —he would perform kirtan even as President of the SGPC. Last week he was in Chandigarh, listening to kiran from students of Guru Granth Vidya Kendra.

During his earlier days in politics, Mr Tohra faced problems such as prejudice of the established classes and lack of funds. Consequently, he has developed an easy rapport with the common people a la Giani Kartar Singh. He is known to go out of the way to help his constituents. This, perhaps, explains his durability.

Mr Tohra became an Akali Dal executive committee member in 1957. In 1960, he first became a member of the SGPC from Chanarthal, Patiala. He has also been a member of the Lok Sabha as well as the Rajya Sabha.

When Mr Tohra first contested the SGPC election he campaigned on a bicycle. According to Mr Ajmer Singh, a former Secretary of the SGPC, like other candidates Mr Tohra was given Rs 5,000 for campaigning. After winning the election, he returned the left-over amount of Rs 2,500. This left a deep impact on Akali leaders.

Mr Tohra had been a kingmaker, a Kamraj in Punjab politics, as he lorded over the SGPC until he quit following his differences with Mr Parkash Singh Badal in 1999, just before the Khalsa Tercentenary celebrations. He was succeeded by Bibi Jagir Kaur, the first woman to head the SGPC.

During his stewardship of the SGPC, Mr Tohra handled the affairs of the various gurdwaras with reasonable competence, and turned the SGPC into a powerhouse of Sikh political affairs that it is today. While critics contend that not enough has been done by the SGPC in producing literature about the faith and its adherents, as also to preach the message of the Gurus, there was tremendous response from the masses to initiatives like the commemoration of Guru Gobind Singh Marg (Anandpur Sahib to Talwandi Sabo) in 1973, when the Congress government led by Giani Zail Singh and the SGPC came together. In 1977, he marked the 400 years of the founding of Amritsar with a big march from Goindwal Sahib to Amritsar.

While his personal honesty has been lauded, Tohra has had strange bedfellows. He has found it hard to counter the allegation that he was supported by the Amarinder Singh government during his last bid for the SGPC elections, in which his supporters were roundly defeated.

His role during the decade of militancy was controversial. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale occupied the Golden Temple complex during his leadership, and Operation Bluestar took place while he was the President of the SGPC. He was, along with other Akali leaders, evacuated from the SGPC headquarters and later incarcerated.

After his release, Mr Tohra was targeted by terrorists. He survived a 1990 attack in which his driver was killed, while Mr H.S. Rajla, a former MLA, succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. He, however, did not publicly take a stand against the militants. But then, who did those days except Jiwan Singh Umranangal?

There is an urgent need to make the SGPC an efficient organisation that caters to the religious, educational, literary and other fundamental needs of the community. It remains to be seen if Mr Tohra takes up to the challenge of transforming the SGPC into a globally oriented organisation rather than a provincial one. Local issues like the question of Sehajdhari Sikhs voting for the general house elections scheduled in November, and the activities of the Jathedars of Patna Sahib and Takht Hazur Sahib (which are not managed by the SGPC) are likely to engage the new SGPC executive.

The SGPC has to rise up to the global level in order to take up issues of the diaspora. There are divergent views on langar and the interpretation of various texts. Because of his authoritative knowledge of Sikh history and divinity, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra is well equipped to sort out various religious issues that have bedevilled the community.

Religion and politics go hand in hand for the Sikhs. Mr Tohra is now again the head of the most important Sikh religious body. He would be performing a historic role if he were to concentrate more on religion and less on politics, even though it is politics that has brought him where he stands today.

FROM PAKISTAN

Musharraf in uniform

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali on Tuesday called on President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and discussed in detail the government’s ongoing dialogue with Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal and contents of the constitutional package to be offered to the religious alliance to resolve the issues of uniform and the LFO, sources revealed to The Nation.

President of Pakistan Muslim League Quaid Ch. Shujat was also present. The meeting discussed various ways and means to buy more time from the MMA leadership on the uniform issue. It has also been learnt that the government wants relaxation by the MMA on the uniform issue at least by mid -2005 and in return it would address the MMA-led NWFP government’s concerns on administrative issues in the province.

Government sources claim that the MMA leadership has expressed its willingness to accept Musharraf in uniform till that time. — The Nation

Package deal with Opposition?

ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf asked Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and Pakistan Muslim League-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain here on Tuesday to strike a "package deal" with the opposition to resolve all contentious issues.

"President Musharraf's attitude was not hard nor did he sound inflexible on any issue but has asked us to strike a package deal with the Opposition so that all issues are settled once and for all," according to Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.

Mr Shujaat said during the next round of talks, expected next week, the government would place before the Opposition various options to remove the differences over the Legal Framework Order (LFO). "But, so far, we believe that the LFO is a settled issue while the Opposition does not think so," he said. Legal issues hampered a quick end to the LFO controversy, he remarked. — The Dawn

Floods cause dislocation

KARACHI: Local bodies Nazims in Sindh were asked to get vacated more than 10,000 villages along the banks of the Indus in the Katcha area from Guddu to Sujawal in view of the flood situation in the river, Sindh Irrigation Department sources said on Wednesday.

The Irrigation Department has declared 131 spots sensitive along the Indus. The government has provided Rs 30 million for strengthening the weak spots along the banks. — The News

Islamabad, Kabul border dispute

PESHAWAR: Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to use the Ground Positioning System (GPS) under the US aegis to work out the coordinates with the help of satellites and match it with maps to sort out their border dispute along the tribal region dividing the two countries, a senior Pakistani official has said.

The decision to use the GPS technology, he said, was reached at a technical committee meeting of senior military officers of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States that visited the three disputed sites along the Mohmand tribal region on Tuesday. — The Dawn

Tribal town under curfew

PESHAWAR: Parachinar town remained under curfew for the second consecutive day on Tuesday as a result of clashes between protesters and the law-enforcing agencies after attacks on political authorities' offices and vehicles on Monday afternoon.

Amidst a tense situation the residents of Parachinar remained confined to their houses while the authorities continued the hunt for the suspected elements involved in the attacks. — The Nation

REFLECTIONS

None can erase the Primordial Gift.

Siri, 62

No one, neither kings nor beggars, neither rich nor poor, remains here permanently. No one can stay when his turn comes round.

The path is difficult and dreadful and passes through impassable seas and mountains. I am dying of grief owing to my sins; and how can I enter His house without any virtues? The righteous meet the Almighty by means of their virtues; but how am I to meet them in love?

Ramkali, 936

I shall become like them by meditating on God and cultivating virtues. I am full of demerits but redeeming qualities also abide with me.

But these are not perceived without the guidance of the u and meditation on the Word.

Ramkali, 936.

Without the Name, man loses always and everywhere. He earns a profit only when God makes known to him the true bargain.

Ramkali, 931