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Friday,
September 5, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Hawk for the Air Force Apple grower let down |
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in the making Get well Jugraj, Indian hockey needs you INDIAN hockey suffered a major setback when Jugraj Singh met with an accident near Jalandhar on Wednesday. Hopefully, he will be all right and will return to the field in a few months. It is pointless to speculate whether he would be able to perform in the manner he did in the past. That he has been responding positively to the treatment is a matter of great relief to all hockey lovers and sports enthusiasts.
There is
consensus on Art. 356
The
heaven borns
Poor pay
keeps talent away from teaching
Sathe
and Salve
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Hawk for the Air Force THE two-decade-long dilly-dallying over an advanced jet trainer (AJT) has cost the country dear. There have been innumerable crashes, most of them because of the lack of suitable training of rookie pilots, and the cost of the acquisition has increased more than three-fold. But now that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has finally given its nod to the purchase of 66 Hawk-115Y trainers from British Aerospace, there is no point crying over mistakes made in the past. Besides filling a large gap in the training of the pilots and improving their skills, the AJT can also strengthen the country’s air defence by freeing fighter aircraft and trained pilots for operational duty. Not only that, the Hawk can itself double as a combat aircraft in case of an emergency. It is not as if the advantages offered by it were unknown earlier. It is just that everyone was wary of signing a big defence deal, particularly because Hawk happened to be costlier than its rivals. While the Cabinet green signal is welcome, what should not be forgotten is that defence experts originally wanted to purchase 160 aircraft and the list was then pruned to 103, before being whittled down further to 66. So, it should not be felt that the Rs 8,000-crore deal will take care of the defence needs fully. Also, the planes will start arriving only after three years. A welcome development is that 42 of these are to be manufactured by HAL under licence. Such transfer of technology is essential to take care of future needs. While the AJT deal forms the sheet-anchor, the CCS has also cleared four other projects to modernise the armed forces, which are equally important. These include electronic warfare systems for the Navy and modern weapons, communications and night vision devices for the Army. Their absence was hampering the preparedness of the forces. Still, Defence Ministry officials were developing cold feet on all high-expenditure proposals and large amounts of funds were going under-utilised. This year, the ministry may not only fully utilise the outlay but may also seek supplementary grants for advance payments for the deals cleared on Wednesday. The absence of suitable planes had also made VVIPs vulnerable. The CCS has addressed this problem by clearing the proposal for the purchase of five executive jets fitted with special protection enclosures on the lines of the US Air Force One to protect travelling VVIPs from on-board attacks. All such acquisitions cost a lot of money but that is inevitable in the current scenario and fully justified. |
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Apple grower let down A good crop should have normally cheered up growers, but in Himachal the apple growers have few good reasons to smile as the expected returns have not materialised. A bumper apple crop has led to a crash in the wholesale prices in all major markets. First, there has been a shortage of apple packaging cartons, the official denials notwithstanding. Second, transportation arrangements have been less than satisfactory due to the unavailability of adequate number of trucks. Farmers have been forced to spread out apples along the roads. Third, the state government has extended little help to the apple growers in marketing their produce. The previous BJP government had introduced a market intervention scheme to offer a minimum support price for fruits, but that has resulted in a Rs 13 crore liability because of which the present Congress government seems to have abandoned the scheme. The Himachal government expects the Centre to pitch in with funds to make the market intervention scheme viable. However, without waiting for any central help, the Jammu and Kashmir government has taken the initiative to launch a similar scheme to help the state apple growers get a reasonable price for their apples. Fattening at the expense of the apple grower is the trader, who buys even the premium varieties of apple dirt cheap and sells these in the retail market at a hefty profit. The retail price of apple has not been allowed to fall significantly. The consumer is still paying a high price. Worse, the traders with storage facilities are buying apples in bulk only to offload these during the festival season when the prices usually shoot up. Why the Himachal Pradesh Government has so far failed to put in place adequate storage facilities and make marketing arrangements for the crop on which a large part of the state population and the economy depend is not clear. The basic infrastructure is woefully inadequate. Holding an apple festival in Shimla may be good for headlines; it does not solve the basic problems of the apple grower, who is at the mercy of the trader. As a long-term measure, new markets need to be explored. The quality of apple has to be improved to international standards so that Indian apples can find buyers at the global level. The need for encouraging apple processing industries cannot be overemphasised. There are many lessons to learn from the present glut situation, but experience shows we keep moving from crisis to crisis without working on a lasting solution. |
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Icon in the making INDIAN hockey suffered a major setback when Jugraj Singh met with an accident near Jalandhar on Wednesday. Hopefully, he will be all right and will return to the field in a few months. It is pointless to speculate whether he would be able to perform in the manner he did in the past. That he has been responding positively to the treatment is a matter of great relief to all hockey lovers and sports enthusiasts. It is also heartening that various agencies like the Indian Hockey Federation and the sponsors of the Indian team have come forward to pick up his hospital bills. For his admirers, it is quite reassuring that he will be provided the best treatment possible, whether in India or abroad. If anything, all this shows how important Jugraj Singh has become to Indian hockey. The sorrow sports lovers feel over the accident is a tribute to his exceptional talent. He was responsible for India’s splendid 7-4 victory over Pakistan in the recent Champions Trophy at Amstelveen. In other words, he was the architect of that victory which lifted the morale of one billion Indians. He showed his mettle in both defence and conversion of penalty corners and, naturally enough, the team relied heavily on his prowess. Small wonder that Dhanraj Pillay and his team have been pinning their hopes on him. As hockey experts point out, his wrist had that innate strength and manoeuvrability to convert a penalty stroke into a powerful volley and a potential goal. That Jugraj Singh cut his hockey teeth at a young age and, at 20, has already become some sort of an icon speak volumes for his brilliance on the field. He will be missed badly as the Indian team prepares itself for the Asia Cup and the Afro-Asian games, which are to be held shortly. It is almost impossible for them to think of the 2004 Olympic Games without Jugraj Singh wearing the Indian jersey. Such is the team’s dependency on him. Naturally, what worries them is whether he would ever regain his form after the multiple fractures he suffered. Whatever providence would have it for Jugraj Singh, hockey lovers all over the country are one in wishing him a speedy recovery and an early return to the field. |
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Thought
for the day Men are more often bribed by their loyalties and ambitions than money — Robert H. Jackson |
There is consensus on Art. 356 ARTICLE 263 of the Constitution empowers the President to establish an Inter-State Council to enquire into and advise upon inter-state disputes and matters of common interest between states or between the Union and the states and make recommendations for better coordination of policy and action. The just concluded Srinagar conclave of the Inter-State Council is reported to have arrived at a consensus inter alia on preventing the “misuse” of Article 356. Touted as an important decision and making media headlines, it is proposed to lay down that Article 356 is to be used only as a measure of “last resort”. Sarkaria Commission recommendations apart, almost every decision reported to have been taken by the Council at Srinagar actually echoed the sentences and words of the report of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC). The Commission, in its report submitted in March last year, clearly recommended: “Article 356 should not be deleted. But it must be used sparingly and only as a remedy of the last resort and after exhausting action under other articles like 256, 257 and 355”. (ii) “In case of political breakdown, necessitating invoking of Article 356, before issuing a proclamation thereunder, the concerned state should be given an opportunity to explain its position and redress the situation, unless the situation is such, that following the above course would not be in the interest of security of state, or defence of the country, or for other reasons necessitating urgent action”. (iii) “The Governor’s report should be a “speaking document”, containing a precise and clear statement of all material facts and grounds, on the basis of which the President may satisfy himself, as to the existence or otherwise of the situation contemplated in Article 356”. It is difficult to understand why the decision makers are fighting shy of referring to the recommendations of the National Commission. It is now proposed to bring before Parliament a constitutional amendment to provide that Article 356 is a measure of last resort. A perusal of the recommendations of NCRWC in regard to Article 356 and other related provisions would show it is hardly necessary to amend the Constitution to prevent the misuse of Article 356 or to provide that it should be a measure of last resort. For anyone who cares to read the Constitution, it is clear that under the provisions as these exist now, Article 356 is to be used only as a measure of “last resort”. No constitutional amendment can make it clearer than what it already is. In the Constituent Assembly, while replying to the critics of this provision, Dr Ambedkar had expressed the hope that it might remain a dead letter and might never be used except as a last resort, after everything else failed. But what actually happened was that under this provision, state governments were taken over on more than 100 occasions during the last 53 years i.e. on an average involving more than two states each year. The article was misused, more often than not, for political and partisan purposes. The Constitution did not permit it. It was done despite the clear constitutional provisions and in utter violation of the provisions. Necessary attention was not paid either by the government or by the judiciary to understanding the integrated scheme of the Constitution in the matter of proclamation of President’s rule over the states under Article 356. Several years back, the present writer had written and the NCRWC has since fully endorsed that it is important that Article 356 is read with Articles 355, 256, 257, 353 and 365. This is usually not done. Insofar as Article 355 speaks of the duty of the Union to ensure that government of every state is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, it is obvious that Article 356 is not the only one to take care of a situation of failure of constitutional machinery. The Union can also act under Article 355 i.e. without imposing President’s rule in a matter of “external aggression” or “internal disturbance”. Article 355 can stand on its own. Also, the Union Government can issue certain directions under Articles 256, 257 and 353. It is true that Article 356 clearly authorises the President to issue a proclamation imposing President’s rule over a state “if he is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution” but a question may be asked when can the President lawfully hold that such a situation has actually arisen. A very specific and categorical answer is already contained in Article 365 when it says that where a state fails to comply with Union directions (under Articles 256, 257 and others) “it shall be lawful for the President to hold that a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution”. It is unfortunate that before rushing to issue proclamations under Article 356, no efforts were ever made to ensure that (i) the Union had done all that it could in discharge of its duty under Article 355 (ii) that necessary directions were issued by the Union under Articles 256, 257 etc. and (iii) that the state had “failed to comply with, or give effect to” directions of the Union. The NCRWC has fully endorsed this position. The Inter-State Council has admitted (i) that all proclamations under Article 356 were so far issued without taking Article 365 into consideration and (ii) that till date the Union Government had never issued directions under Article 256-257 as the mandated pre-conditions for imposition of President’s rule under Article 356 read with 365. Thus, if the existing provisions of the Constitution are correctly interpreted, understood and followed, it would be obvious that no amendment is called for in the matter of using Articles 256, 257 and 355 before rushing to Article 356, reading Article 356 and 365 together and using Article 356 as a measure of last resort when everything else failed. The only matter in which NCRWC recommended a constitutional amendment in regard to Article 356 concerned non-dissolution of the state assembly until the proclamation is approved by Parliament. This has also found favour with the Chief Ministers and others assembled in the Inter-State Council meeting at Srinagar. Consideration of the 1988 Sarkaria Commission Report is said to have been completed at Srinagar after 15 years. Perhaps decisions on NCRWC report will take another 15
years. The writer was a member of NCRWC and Chairman of its Drafting Committee |
The heaven borns THE first ever result of the Indian Civil Service (ICS) examination was announced in London on September 5, 1856, exactly 147 years ago. That was culmination of the first ICS examination held on July 16, 1855, in London. The process started on that day continued uninterrupted for 87 years and the last batch was selected in 1943. The first person to qualify for the ICS from North India was Sir Shadi Lal Aggarwal of Rewari who was selected on September 5, 1902. It’s not well known that Sir Shadi Lal after his training in Haileybury resigned and started practising as a barrister in Lahore. He later became a Judge and Chief Justice of Chief’s Court (later Lahore High Court). He got the title of Rai Bahadur in 1912 and knighthood on January 1, 1921. In India, since time immemorial Indians have believed that a person goes to heaven (or hell in case of poor record) only after death. A birth in heaven is unimaginable and invites ridicule. However, the Britishers had created their civil service, nay their “Steel Frame”, the Indian Civil Service, which was called the “Heaven Born” service. The elite members of this service were called “Heaven Borns” because they lived like kings, enjoyed security of service, respect mixed with aura of fear to some extent and enforced law with fairness and objectivity and delivered justice to subjugated Indians who were pejoratively called “Natives”. They were arrogant but were good human beings. They were imperiously ostracised but had morals and interacted with people wherever required. They were extravagant in their lives but had self-imposed discipline. The ICS officers were repeatedly reminded that they should govern India in trust for the natives and for India itself. The ICS examination was held in London from 1855 to 1921 and from 1922 onwards the exams were held both in Allahabad and in London. At the time of India’s Independence there were 980 ICS officers in pre-partition India. Of these 468 were Europeans, 352 Hindus, two depressed classes (both Mahars from Maharashtra), 101 Muslims, five domiciled Europeans and Anglo-Indians, 25 Indian Christians, 13 Parasis, 10 Sikhs and four other communities. The only Indian to top the ICS examination in 87 years was K.P.S. (Kumar Padmanabha Sankara) Menon who stood first in the 1921 batch. In that batch, interestingly, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had stood fourth. Bose reported for training, resigned afterwards and joined freedom movement. In almost hundred-year rule over Punjab. The Sikh officers selected for the ICS were Sir Datar Singh (1921 Central Provinces), Mr Hardit Singh Malik (1921-Pb), Mr S. Partab (1921-Pb), Mr Tarlok Singh (1927-Pb), Mr Shamsher Singh Dulat (1928-Pb), Mr Nawab Singh (1929-Pb), Mr Kapur Singh (1933-Pb), Mr M.S. Randhawa (1934 United Provinces), Mr B.S. Grewal (1936-Pb), Mr Kewal Singh Chaudhary (1939-Pb) and Mr Gian Singh Kahlon (1938-Bengal). It is pertinent to mention that S. Partab was the only Indian Deputy Commissioner of Lahore from 1933 to 1938. However, he died in 1941. There were some other brilliant Punjabi officers like Sir Ram Chandra, ICS (1918); C.N. Chandra, ICS (1921 Pb.), H.D. Bhanot, ICS (1921 Pb.); P.K. Kaul, ICS (1923 Pb.); Amar Nath Bhandari, ICS (1924 Pb.); Gopal Dass Khosla, ICS (1926 Pb.); P.N. Thapar, ICS (1927 Pb.); B.R. Tandan, ICS (1927 Pb.); Mulkh Raj Sachdev, ICS (1928 Pb.); S.N. Haksar, ICS (1933 Pb.). In one of the meetings held in early 1946 in Lahore Sir James Glancy (1906 batch Punjab cadre), the then Governor of Punjab, had said: “You want us to leave India. We would leave very soon but one thing you must remember that you would not be able to maintain those vaulting standards of fairness, honesty, efficaciousness and diligence in administration which we maintained because of the conspicuous role of the ICS and other services despite difficulties of governing and numerous odds faced by us. Times would come when many of you would remember us with tears in your eyes and only sky and clouds to console
them”. |
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Poor pay keeps talent away from teaching GOOD education helps exploit the potential of an individual. Our latent capabilities are honed and the end result is a polished and well-adjusted individual. When we talk of education, it is not merely the 3 Rs. Reading, writing and arithmetic are a very small part of it. It only makes an individual literate, not educated. Emotional, spiritual and physical growth has to take place along with mental progress. Only then can we claim to be really educated. Today our education system is at the crossroads. It has to reinvent itself for the modern realities. In our country the biggest challenge that faces us teachers today is the increasing numbers in the school register. This vast influx of numbers has led education to be a commercial activity. Business houses are increasingly cashing in on this opportunity to make quick money. Teaching shops are mushrooming in towns and even the countryside is not immune to this scourge. Some kind of quality control is essential. More and more parents are waking up to the importance of good education and are willing to make financial sacrifices in order to ensure the very best education for their children. However, they are being increasingly caught in the catch-22 situation. Where are the good schools and colleges? Most institutions are at best teaching shops robbing them of their hard-earned money. Children are herded into small concrete structures, which are often residential houses with ill-trained staff and obsolete teaching methods. Even before the child is ready to hold a pencil, he or she is forced to conform to a four-line
format and taught the alphabet. The child begins to dislike going to school and learning becomes a chore. Learning can be fun. Teachers should adopt the learning-by-doing method. Not only do concepts become clear this way, students remember what they learn. Today our education and examination system depend on the learning by rote method. The retention of the matter learnt is of a very short duration. The syllabus can be designed far more scientifically. Vocabulary should be graded from the early classes. The early years are often neglected in our schools. Actually these formative years are the most important. If the foundation has been taken care of and is solid, the building is bound to be good. School teachers are poorly paid. As service conditions are not good, we do not attract the best talent. As a result, teachers neither have enthusiasm for their job nor love for the young minds in their care. Teachers must be paid a living wage and conditions of work should be made very attractive to encourage dedicated teachers in this crucial sector. A happy, cheerful and well-adjusted staff is a must. In most interviews the academic background is scrutinised. Today we know that E.Q. is as important as I.Q. An emotionally well-adjusted individual is a good team player and can handle the young placed in his or her care with sensitivity and affection. Nowhere is this quality more important than in education as teachers have a mind-boggling power to play God. We can make or mar the future of the children in our care. This places an enormous responsibility on us. So the need to improve the quality of our teachers and principals cannot be overemphasised. Another basic flaw in our education system is the emphasis on academic achievement alone. High marks is the only criterion of success. This turns our students into bookworms and encourages learning by rote merely for the examination itself. Acquiring knowledge for itself is not possible. Such knowledge is information at best and soon forgotten. Today with the advent of the computer all information is a click of a mouse away. Computer literacy cannot be overemphasised. Computer education is part of the curriculum in most upmarket schools. However, even these schools do not make the student computer literate. Children should be encouraged to research the topics they study independently on the computer. The reservation policy too is flawed and needs to be reviewed. Even after more than five decades of Independence we are still reserving seats on the basis of caste and creed. This quota system is unfair to the brilliant student. It is very demoralising to have a professional seat given to a below par pupil because of the handicap of birth. We must help lift the standard of education, not devalue it in this way. A better method is to provide extra coaching and financial help to the economically backward student. The Scheduled Castes and backward tribe quota must go and a level-playing field be created for one and all. In the junior classes examinations should be abolished and children assessed on the basis of daily work. Even in senior classes children should be rewarded for being regular in their work. This way the average child will fare better and the student who relies on last-minute cramming will be penalised. School and college fees are becoming exorbitant and beyond the means of the common man. Good and affordable centres of learning are a must for a developing country like India. We must revert to the Gurukul model. In our ancient land learning was respected. The teacher was on a higher pedestal than the parents. We must restore the respect for the teaching profession if our country is to progress. Today the world has shrunk to a global village. English is an international language. Our education system has to emphasise the learning of English if it wants to progress and find its rightful place among the nations. Our students will have the advantage of being bilingual. Excelling in a foreign language along with our mother tongue is an asset. |
Sathe and Salve THE Congress has succeeded in keeping former Union Ministers Vasant Sathe and N.K.P. Salve in its fold though their demand for creating a Vidarbha state in Maharashtra remains undiluted. Or so it seems. Clearly, Sathe and Salve developed cold feet at the last moment as it were in joining a new party taking up the cause of having a state of the backward Vidarbha region. Giving unconvincing excuses for their volte-face, Sathe and Salve must have realised that breaking from the Congress fold might lead to political oblivion. Past experience has shown that on the few occasions Congress heavyweights who floated their own party due to serious differences with the leadership have come a cropper after the initial euphoria and being in the spotlight. Nevertheless, trouble is brewing in the Congress camp with the demand for a separate state of Telengana, Bundelkhand, Harit Pradesh and Poorvanchal unlikely to fade away. DMK’s overtures With the DMK’s Murasoli Maran expected to return home this weekend after extended medical treatment in the US, the Dravidian party’s chief M Karunanidhi appears set to bid adieu to the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. It is in this context that the DMK’s overtures to the Congress assumes significance. The Congress is yet to make up its mind whether to accept Karunanidhi’s invitation to attend a rally in Chennai on September 17. After the shabby treatment meted out to the DMK and the overtures made by the BJP to the arch rival AIADMK, Karunanidhi is keen to join hands with the proposed Secular Front in the run-up to the general election in 2004. Congress strategists maintain that the party will have to join hands with one of the two Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu. Joining hands with J Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK appears unlikely in the wake of her strident attack on Sonia Gandhi. Meanwhile, the Congress is mulling over the matter even though the party is in a shambles in the southern state.
Kalam shows way Once again President A P J Abdul Kalam has shown the way. The scientist and educationist acknowledged as the father of the Indian missile programme has already set some records. His love for children is borne by the fact that there is a hardly a day at Rashtrapati Bhavan without schoolchildren having an interface with the First Citizen. Then, he has since entering the erstwhile Viceregal Lodge visited all the states and UTs before making his first foray outside the shores of this country. Now, Kalam has set the tone for water conservation which was thankfully aided by bountiful downpour in the Capital. The watertable at Rashtrapati Bhavan has increased by 1.9 metres. It is time that the water starved Delhi-ites take a cue from Kalam.
Trucker honoured As part of the Independence Day celebrations, an NGO in Delhi zeroed in on a trucker for the best slogan emblazoned at the back of his vehicle — “Shahidon ko mera salaam.” At the post-award interface with mediapersons, the trucker was asked how is it that he hit upon the slogan “Shahidon ko mera salaam”. After being flummoxed for some time, the trucker wondered: “Are bhai kis shahidon ke bare mein aap baat kar rahe hai?” Then he went on to say “I just doff my hat to those who come under the wheels of my truck every second day.” Contributed by T.R. Ramachandran and Pramod Chaudhari |
The chief problem facing us today is the reconciliation of mankind. The Bhagavad Gita is
specially suited for the purpose, as it attempts to reconcile varied and apparently antithetical forms of religious consciousness and emphasises the root conceptions of religion which are neither ancient nor modern but eternal and belong to the very flesh of humanity, past, present and future. — Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan When we reach the superconscious state, body-consciousness melts away. Then alone does we become free and immortal. — Swami Vivekananda Know, he only is righteous Who steps forward on righteous ways, With acts of welfare who’s in love And who utters words of sweet taste. — Kabir |
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