 |
Friday,
August 15, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
|
Criminal raj Why put a tag on
greatness? Hair raids! |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fiftysix
years after
A new
dawn for pensioners!
Delhi is
not an easy picking
Cong
twiddles its thumbs
|
Criminal raj IT is a measure of the situation in Bihar that a person accused of heinous crimes like murder deigns to surrender when he should have been in the jail a long time ago. But then Mohammed Shahabuddin, who has been representing Siwan in the Lok Sabha for quite some time, is no ordinary fugitive from the law. A confidante of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav, it is not the first time that he is in the news for the wrong reasons. Once even when the Delhi High Court ordered his arrest for his alleged involvement in the murder of a popular student leader of Jawaharlal Nehru University, he managed to evade the law. Thus there is an element of surprise in his surrender this time. He chose such an option when he found the police headed by its Director-General D.P. Ojha relentlessly turning its screws against him. One inference possible is that he has fallen out with Laloo Yadav and is paying a price for it. Whatever be the proximate cause of the police's determination to get even with Shahabuddin, it is only in Bihar that an accused on the run can challenge the police chief to settle the issue of murder in the people's court. That the Siwan MP retains some grassroots support in this backward constituency, partly because of his Robinhood image and partly because of his physical and fiscal clout, is not in doubt. However, it is in a court of law that he should prove his innocence and not in an election. Shahabuddin is not the only leader to argue that charges against political leaders should be decided in people's court, rather than in a court of law. All the votes a criminal gathers will not be able to erase a history sheet of crime. And to give the devil his due, Shahabuddin is not the disease but only a symptom of what afflicts Bihar. Criminalisation of politics has assumed such proportions in the state that there are few politicians who do not have any links with crime. At one time, there were as many as a dozen MLAs facing various criminal charges behind the bars in Patna. And when a change of guard took place in the State Secretariat a couple of years ago, these criminal-politicians played a decisive behind-the-scene role. Some of them have caste senas under their control, while others have gangs of sharpshooters serving them. They are able to terrorise the voters and the law and order authorities. Over the years, kidnapping has become the most thriving business in the state where every industrial estate remains closed. Laloo and his wife are not bothered as they know that as long as the Yadav-Muslim vote bank remains intact, they have nothing to fear, even if the state has acquired a reputation it should not have come to enjoy. That is the tragedy of Bihar. |
|
Why put a tag on greatness? THE raging controversy whether the government should waive the import duty on a flaming-red Ferrari gifted to Sachin Tendulkar is not targeted at the great cricketer. It involves the principle of equality in law. The master batsman richly deserved the token of appreciation presented to him by auto major Fiat when he equalled Don Bradman’s feat of 29 Test centuries. The question is why the government should subsidise his acquisition. He earns a lot of money through his endorsements and can comfortably pay the import duty. In any case, he won’t be a lesser player if the government does not pamper him this way. Also, the waiver cannot be a one-off exception. It will become a precedent which far less deserving persons will conveniently quote while demanding similar tax accommodation. Supposing a politician or a senior officer is given a gift by his “foreign admirers” for his “signal contribution towards the upliftment of society”, won’t the government let the luxury car or some other expensive item come into the country without paying the requisite charges? That is why the Delhi High Court is right in questioning this kind of “profligacy” and “parsimony when other sports are concerned”. The argument that the exemption is in “public interest” sounds so unconvincing. The Rs 1.13 crore which the government will lose on this gesture can provide badly needed sports facilities in many schools. That will be a far better way of promoting sports. Another moot question is as to why such largesse should be reserved for cricket alone. Other games continue to get stepmotherly treatment. The government refused to increase the number of Arjuna Awards quoting lack of funds with the Union Sports Ministry. The triumphant hockey team members recently had to suffer the ignominy of being put up in a tacky hotel in Paharganj in the Capital. Such incidents show that the government tends to be magnanimous only selectively. There are various sections of people which clamour for immunity from paying government dues on one pretext or the other. There are other ways available to the government to honour distinguished sportsmen. |
|
Hair raids! LAURA Hawker, an American artist, was mad as a hatter, because someone stole 43 hats from an outdoor art show. She had the hats hanging from a clothesline as part of a class project for Eastern Washington University when the strange theft was noticed. It was not really so strange compared to the astounding tale of two jobless persons from Andhra Pradesh. They were caught stealing human hair! Ripley's may decide to give Suresh and Shankar a special entry in their book on silly deeds. But once the hair thieves are set free they would have a difficult time explaining what got into their head that made them nick human hair. Look at their audacity. They did not pick up the 10 kg booty from outside some busy barber's shop. They chose the abode of Lord Venkateshwara in Tirumala near Hyderabad for committing what must easily qualify as the rarest of rare crime. Legal luminaries may have to rummage through reams of case law to get them convicted. It was not really such a silly deed considering that the annual income from the sale of hair of the devotees to wig-makers from Tirumala alone is Rs 50 crore. That gives a totally different spin to the tale of the daring hair raid that bombed. The value of the bundle of shorn hair "recovered" from the luckless thieves was about Rs 70,000. The world is passing through difficult times. Once the wires and the ubiquitous Net explain the economics of stealing human hair barbers, hair-setters or whatever fancy names they have given themselves, may record a dip in their flourishing business of snipping. Devotion may not stop their clients from putting a price tag on their locks. The longer the hair, the better the price. Remember the Gift of the Magi? There may come a time when even Habib may find himself following the raddiwallahs in search of what may become a scarce commodity. And the hat thief of Washington may find an unexpected market in India with business-minded folks wanting to protect themselves from hair attacks. Only the bald shall have "natural" protection from the hair raiders. |
|
|
Thought for the day What I know most surely about morality and the duty of man I owe to sport. — Albert Camus |
Fiftysix years after FIFTYSIX years ago this day a free India was born. The people experienced the joy of freedom as Jawaharlal Nehru spoke about the nation’s tryst with destiny. There was much hope in the air — despite Partition, the history’s largest displacement of people and plenty of suffering. The rulers, new to governance, had formidable tasks ahead — refugees, an immediate war in Kashmir and hardly any institution to help. They were not overawed. They had some idea of a free India to guide them in the new journey the nation had embarked upon. Besides running the administration — still colonial in the mindset — they thought of having a Constitution for the new India, setting up democratic institutions like Parliament, an independent judiciary and much else. Despite odds, they aimed high and immediately set about building the nation so that they could give a better deal to the people and the nation could have its due place in the world. They were sincere men and women, and the people believed them and what they said and promised. The effort was not futile. The nation has travelled some distance since then. India’s economy is stronger and there is enough grain to live on. India is emerging as an industrial power, more young men and women — bright and hopeful — are coming out of schools and colleges ready to take India forward. Strides in such areas as information technology have brought extra cash into the foreign exchange kitty. Also, the nation can defend itself. The nuclear weapons India has piled up in the basement have given it a sort of a feeling of self-assurance that it can meet any challenge to its security. It is perfectly legitimate for a nation to have pride in its achievements. The nation has, however, a long way to go before it can gain the respect of all its people and is taken more seriously by the rest of the world. Many promises made during the freedom struggle and in the wake of Independence remain unfulfilled. Much more could have been accomplished than what has been. India’s case is of an unrealised potential. The progress that is visible in the show-windows, gleaming ATMs and cybercafes, plush farm-houses, 5-star hotels, high-flying chief executives, jazzy fashions, and page-3 celebrities may create an impression that all is well with the land. It could be an optical illusion. Undue cynicism and self-deprecation are as unhealthy for a nation as for an individual. But confining higher standards of living to a few when basic needs of a major chunk of people have not been met does not speak highly of the kind of progress the nation has made, real or claimed. The so-called trickle-down effect the economists have been talking about leaves millions of people simply dependent on drops of benefits. It is being unjust and unfair to them. Possibly, glossy ads on the television and trendy magazines are deceiving the people with false images as do the promises of the politicians. Both admen and politicians believe that repeating a message with new packaging is enough to sell anything to a gullible people. Sales-talk of both cannot, however, hide the reality on the ground. Under the veneer there lies the pain and suffering of millions of the lonely and the lost for whom freedom may not have been more than an emotional experience born out of their innate patriotism. These 56 years after Independence have in effect created two Indias: One, that has made gains out of the freedom; and the other that has been denied the fruits of freedom. The first India is busy in its own pursuit, power and wealth and has neither time nor inclination to think of the consequences of the neglect of the Other India. Members of Parliament were indignant the other day, perhaps rightly, when they threw out Coca Cola and Pepsi bottles out of the august precincts when they came to know that the stuff they had been consuming over the years had pesticides and was not good for their health. The Honourable Members are not known to have shown an equal measure of concern during the last five decades over the fact that a half of over one billion people of India do not have access to safe and clean drinking water. In most villages and jhuggi-jhonpries in towns and big cities, the people are still living without toilets. Are they asking for much? Chief Ministers have cut layered birthday and wedding cakes that would shame even the maharajas of the Raj days. The new maharajas and maharanis forget that over 260 million people live, in the Planning Commission’s simple words, “Below the Poverty Line”, which in reality means that they do not get two square meals a day. They may get “roti” but not enough “dal” to allow them the luxury of some protein in their daily diet. They don’t have much to wear and have no roof over their heads. The concept of “Roti, Kapra aur Makaan” is as distant as the “Gharibi Hatao” slogan doled out to them over a generation ago. And what about their right to work? There are no jobs for most. The queues outside employment exchanges are becoming longer. Alienation, perhaps anger, is building inside the jobless against the system which favours the politician, the well-placed bureaucrat, the businessman or the smart aleck. One reason why water, health care and jobs are scarce is the indifference and callousness in which the rulers over the years spread across the country have been treating the people who send them to legislative assemblies and Parliament. The rulers are either not willing to do anything for them or they are not able to do. Either way their negligence is culpable. Their failure to do anything for the people can be easily explained. The idealism that brought freedom to the country vanished long ago. There were times people gave up comfort, chose to go jails and even to the gallows—just to see their country win freedom. Now those who ought to be in jail for committing crime are getting elected to legislatures. The law-breakers are becoming law-makers. Even those who are not saddled with history-sheets have nexus with the local mafia who lend them money and muscle to fight elections. The politicians come to power to serve the people who elect them; they end up serving themselves and those who gave them money and musclemen. State after state has fallen to power brokers and criminal groups who are on the prowl to fix deals, policies and decisions and even laws for convenience. In essence, most people across the country no longer see the kind of freedom that was promised to them over half a century ago. What they see is the naked pursuit of power or money, or both. Either the politicians are busy in coming to power; or those who have come to power want to cling to it. The casualty is the people’s aspirations. Who is to protect the people from the predators who have come to make the most of freedom and politics? The Constitution and the law provide enough loopholes to allow the unwanted to bend the system to their wishes. Parliament? The MPs have set their sights so low that Parliament often cannot protect the rights of the people. The administration is indifferent and too distant to provide redress to the aggrieved citizen. The judiciary—at higher levels—has shown sensitivity and tried to stand by the people, but the distance and the delays make it difficult for those who need justice most to knock at its door. Where do the people of the Other India go? The politicians would certainly expect these people to vote for them and sing the National
Anthem. |
A new dawn for pensioners! A
telephone friend, (we haven’t met) a retired engineer, informs me that he is eighty. He is an active member of senior citizens’ organisation, reads his newspaper more astutely than many younger to him in years, and also composes verse. In short, he is physically and mentally alert and alive at an age when most others live life as “cabbages.” Yes. He is a pensioner — a word, which somehow has become a wee-bit stigmatised in contemporary society. At best, it arouses compassion. At worst, pity. Dictionary defines pension as an allowance to one who has retired or has been disabled or reached old age or has been widowed or orphaned. Mark the operative word “allowance.” The retiree is thus a pensioner who is “put upon an allowance,” which is “supply in limited quantities”. Could anything be more hurting or humiliating? These “old” people certainly have their wits about them — and prove that we have our image of pensioners all wrong. Supply in limited quantities implies they are put on oxygen! To add to their gall, to the general public, they seem to represent legions of feeble, old dodderers, existing in cold, cheerless quarters with nothing to look forward to apart from shuffling down to the post office or bank or treasury to collect their “oxygen” allowance. In a vast number of cases, however, nothing could be farther from the truth. Isn’t the retired President of India a pensioner? Likewise countless other known people who are as keen-witted today as they have ever been. Think of the former Prime Ministers of India. Thinking of the less well-known pensioners, anyone who has survived more than 50 years of political misrule in the country has to be as tough as old military boots. Of course, we have many needy, sick old people. But the young can fall ill, too. Many young couples live in poverty, often struggling to bring up children. Somehow they do not arouse nearly as much sympathy, pity or compassion. If young people run into financial difficulty, it is often just put down to extravagance, lack of family planning or plain mismanagement. But when an old person is hard up, it is very rarely suggested that he should have put a bit by during his working years. The homes of most elderly people I know are warm, cosy places, spotless in a way that would put many young to shame. One 70-year-old when offered help declined, “not me. It is for old people!” The old image of grandpa sunk in a sofa, dinner droppings on his kurta, has long since gone. Today, you see him at the Sukhna Lake helping the young desilt it. Three summers back I managed a five-day visit to Manali. I found that Timber Trail hotel was one-quarter full of “old” people. Night after night they filled the lounge tossing their tales till wee hours of the morning. It was hard to choose who had more energy, them or the young. So let’s see the other side of the picture. Don’t pity them. Appreciate and applaud them. Don’t give them an “oxygen” allowance. Give them “reward” for services rendered. Old age is nothing to fear as long as we keep our sense of humour and enjoyment of life. With a bit of luck we could be better off than we have ever
been. |
Delhi is not an easy picking
WHEN it comes to taking credit, deservedly or otherwise, no one can beat the politicians. They have an inherent knack for it, specially if they feel that the issues involved can be translated into votes. In the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi which is preparing to go to elections by the year end, the credit claim race has started in right earnest with the ruling Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party rarely losing an opportunity, sometimes to the tremendous amusement of the general public. The credit claim race started in December last year at the time of the inauguration of the prestigious Metro Rail which was being lauded globally for its smooth and timely completion. The Congress government of the NCT of Delhi led by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit proclaimed that all this was made possible because of her government’s emphasis on development and making the Capital a better place to live in, much to the chagrin of the Delhi Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opposition, which lost no time in issuing statements that the entire project was conceived and initiated when they were in power in the Capital. Considering the tremendous interest that the novel rapid transport project generated in the general public, the BJP spin masters went a step ahead and managed to install Mr Madan Lal Khurana, president of the Delhi BJP and a former Chief Minister as the Chairman of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. He would ensure that if there was any credit to take it would be him and his party in the forefront. Then came the commissioning of the multi-lane, multi-crore flyover at the busy All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Ring Road crossing. It was another project which was being seen as an attempt to bring relief to the
beleaguered Delhi commuter. Both the Delhi Congress (read Delhi government) and the BJP were quick to take credit for its successful completion. Of course, the credit claim race in this case lost a little momentum when the prestigious project developed several gaping holes under the first onslaught of monsoon showers. However, the race gained momentum once again last month after it was made known that the final draft of the Delhi Statehood Bill had been cleared at the highest level and that it would be introduced in Parliament during the ongoing
session. This was an opportunity neither the Congress nor the BJP wanted to lose. Both the parties have been looking forward to ruling a full state instead of “a stunted one” as it is the case now. Mrs Dikshit, however, stole a march over the political rivals by publicly claiming that she would be happy with the Pondicherry-type arrangement rather than a full statehood because of the unique position the NCT of Delhi enjoyed by also being the nation’s Capital. The announcement made in a systematically organised Meet the Press programme at the Press Club of India apparently caught the BJP by surprise who all along were made to believe that both the parties, at least, concurred on full statehood for Delhi. Mr Khurana, who is being projected as the chief ministerial candidate by his party, was incensed and did not mince words in criticising the Delhi Congress in general and the Chief Minister, Mrs Dikshit in particular. He accused her of doing a volte face and vowed to fight for a full statehood. Nothing else would do, he thundered. After all his party was leading the coalition at the Centre. Now with the tabling of the guidelines for the Delhi Master Plan 2003 by the Ministry of Urban Affairs in Parliament, the race has entered the final few laps. The irrepressible Delhi BJP chief lost no time in issuing a statement that he was the original author of the guidelines. All the suggestions of having a flexible land use policy and redevelopment of slum areas were his, he claimed on that very evening and even announced holding of a special press conference to give details of the guidelines. His party Members of Parliament from Delhi would also be there. However, by the next day, people had reacted. The guidelines if incorporated in the Master Plan 2003 would sound the death-knell for Delhi which was already reeling under the pressure of massive population boom. The civic amenities were stretched to the limit. Congestion was rampant. In short, people were fed up. The BJP spin masters were quick to read the writing on the wall. Total support to the guidelines could prove disastrous in the forthcoming elections. The focus had to be changed. And predictably, in the next day’s press conference, the Delhi BJP leaders focussed on providing photo identity cards for the citizens. This was the only way of keeping outsiders at bay, they said in their collective wisdom. Had the Centre heeded their advice, Delhi would not have been in a mess that it is in now. The malaise is the unplanned
growth. The master plan would ensure certain amount of supervision and restraint. There was nothing wrong with it. The Delhi Congress was more pragmatic. It waited for the public reaction before issuing a statement and when it was issued it reflected the popular opinion. Mrs. Dikshit washed her hands off the entire affair by claiming that her government was not even consulted. After all under the limited statehood, land and law and order were under the direct superintendence and control of the Union Government. The Delhi government had no role to play. The next three months could well see a neck and neck race. |
|||||||||
Cong twiddles its thumbs THE choice of D. Srinivas as the new Congress chief of Andhra Pradesh has led to sweets being distributed in the in Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s ruling Telegu Desam Party in Hyderabad. The mood in the APCC headquarters is neither celebratory nor upbeat. Congressmen in the southern state are making anxious phone calls asking Srinivas who and expressing reservations if he can turn the tide for the party. Has the Congress committed another faux pas in opting for a relatively low key Congressman belonging to the backward classes to head the APCC when the demand for a separate Telengana state is hotting up? Discriminating Congress leaders regret that mass base leaders have once again been sidelined by the party high command. They maintain that while Chandrababu Naidu is already in the election mode, the Congress continues to twiddle its thumbs. Who will lead BJP in Bihar? The BJP high command is looking for a new person to lead the party in Bihar. The BJP’s electoral chances in Bihar, according to a survey conducted by the party, are dismal and that is why it is felt that the party should revamp its set up in the state. A former Minister of State, who was unceremoniously dropped from the Council of Ministers, was summoned by the party chief M.Venkaiah Naidu recently and asked to lead the party in the state in view of the Lok Sabha elections. The former Minister, who belongs to the Dalit community and is a former Indian Administrative Service officer, reportedly declined saying that if he was not good enough to be a minister how could he lead the party to victory. When told that he was sure to win his Lok Sabha seat, he politely told his party chief that he can’t make others win. In such a case he would be blamed for the BJP’s defeat and he does not want to be in that spot.
Ustad modesty personified Legendary Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan’s endearing qualities are worth emulating. During an interaction with the Shehnai player before his performance at Parliament House last week, mediapersons covering the noisy proceedings of both Houses experienced a refreshing change with his quick wit and sense of humour. When Speaker Manohar Joshi enquired about his well-being, the octogenarian musician looked at his wrist and remarked that his watch has become loose and slides beyond the wrist. He went on to say that ‘Hindustan’ is unique in the entire world and his home town Benaras is matchless. He also affectionately referred to Mumbai-based vocalist companion Shoma Ghosh as his daughter and encouraged her to sing in ‘sur’ (melody) to live up to the kinship with him. The Ustad said that he regains his youthful vigour when he holds the ‘saaz’ (Shehnai). The thunderous applause that he received at the Parliament House auditorium certainly proved his belief.
Where ASI failed,
it has succeeded Where the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has failed, it has succeeded. While the excavation by the Archaeological Survey of India as per the High Court directives has so far yielded little to indicate the existence of temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, the ASI brought to light by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad argues that there is irrefutable evidence of the existence of a temple. The members of the society are those archaeologists, who have faith in VHP ideology while
practising the “scientific” principles of
archaeology. Contributed by TRR, Satish Misra, R Suryamurthy and Tripti Nath |
Our freedom was a hard fought one and I always felt that we should be worthy of it. — Mahatma Gandhi A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance...We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again. — Jawaharlal Nehru Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it. — Bal Gangadhar Tilak August 15, 1947 is the birthday of free India. It marks for her the end of an old era, the beginning of a new age. But we can also make it by our life and acts as a free nation an important date in a new age opening for the whole world, for the political, social, cultural and spiritual future of humanity. — Sri Aurobindo This is the quintessence of wisdom: not to kill anything. — Sutra Kritanga |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 123 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
