The Competition Commission is being set up to replace the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission and to decide mergers and demergers of companies. The Monopolies Commission was always headed by a retired Supreme Court judge or a chief justice of a high court. “How could a judicial function be discharged by a retired bureaucrat as head of a commission created to deal with mergers and demergers of companies running into thousands of crores of rupees and the orders of which were to be executed by the High Courts?” the counsel for the petitioner had asked objecting to the government’s appointment. “When the High Court was the executing court for orders passed by the commission, how could a bureaucrat head the commission?” the court said. “The matter is very serious”, it told the Attorney-General of India, Mr Soli Sorabjee, who could not defend the government’s appointment. The government was clearly aiming at capturing the control of the Competition Commission by appointing the Commerce Secretary; the Supreme Court, on the other hand, has seen it as the executive’s attempt at capturing what falls in the judiciary’s domain.

It is not only hockey which has been bringing in cheers. India’s domination is also complete in tennis where it grabbed all the seven gold medals on offer. Things were slightly less rosy in boxing and rather pale in athletics but even that much was good enough to put India just behind China in the overall medals tally. That is quite an achievement considering that India has earlier yielded place to smaller neighbours even in the Asian Games.

The menace of the liquor kiosks along highways, which has been highlighted in a recent report in this newspaper, comes under the media spotlight from time to time, but unfortunately, there is no follow-up action from the administration. Even the Punjab Human Rights Commission, which took cognisance of a previous report published in The Tribune, has not been effective. The liquor lobby is powerful and well-connected. However, the ineffectiveness of the state machinery in combating the menace is inexcusable, particularly since it manages to take action against various other unauthorised squatters.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh had slokas from Granth Sahib recited to him every morning and had the holy book in a palki mounted on an elephant when leading his troops in battles. He also had Brahmins perform havans, regarded cows as sacred, punished cow-killing with death, went to Hardwar to bathe in the Ganga and expressed the wish that on his death the diamond and Koh-i-Noor should be gifted to the temple of Jagannath at Puri. Till then relations between the Hindus and the Sikhs were of naunh-maas — as the nail to the flesh out of which it grows. Inter-marriages between Hindus and Sikhs of same castes were common. Many Hindu families brought up their eldest sons as Khalsas, whom they regarded as Kesha Dhaaree Hindus (Hindus who did not cut their hair or beards).

Seeds of Hindu-Sikh separatism were sown by the British after they annexed Punjab in 1839 AD. They made reservations for Khalsa Sikhs in the Army, Civil Services and legislatures. Thus an economic incentive was given to Khalsa separateness. The feeling was eagerly nurtured by leaders of both communities. The lead was taken by Swami Dayanand Saraswati of the Arya Samaj. He visited Punjab and in his intemperate speeches described Guru Nanak as a semi-literate imposter (Dambhi). Sikhs picked up the gauntlet and made Swamiji or mahasha a synonym for a bigoted Hindu. Sikh separatism was boosted by the Singh Sabha movement started in the 1880s. It found expression in a booklet by Sikh scholar Bhai Kahan Singh of Nabha entitled “Hum Hindu Naheen Hain” — we are not Hindus. Punjabi Hindus and Sikhs started treading different paths. The Hindus opened DAV and Sanatan Dharm schools and colleges. The Sikhs opened Khalsa schools and colleges. They closed ranks to face Muslim dominance and later against the demand for Pakistan. Though Muslims conceded that Sikhs were Ahl-e-Kitaab (people of the Book) as were the Jews and the Christians, they regarded them too close to the Hindus to be accommodated in Pakistan. When Partition came, Punjabi Muslims drove both Hindus and Sikhs out of their country.

Independence brought about a radical change in Hindu-Sikh equations. Sikhs were the worst sufferers of Partition. From being the biggest land-owners in West Punjab, they were levelled to comparative poverty; they became an aggrieved people: “With Partition, Hindus got Hindustan, Muslims got Pakistan, we Sikhs got nothing.” The notion of a Sikh State gained credence. Their last Guru had promised them Raj Kareyga Khalsa — the Khalsa shall rule. They felt it was time to change the promise into a reality. In the exchange of populations the Sikhs found themselves in majority in a few districts of Punjab. If Haryana and Himachal could be separated they could have a Punjab in which they could form a majority of 60 per cent against the Hindus being 40 per cent. The Hindus sensed what the Sikhs had in mind. They, supported by the Hindu newspapers from Jalandhar, exhorted Punjabi Hindus to declare Hindi as their “mother tongue” instead of Punjabi in the censuses that took place, so that the Sikhs could be deprived of the argument that they were only asking for a Punjabi-speaking Suba. The Boundary Commission, which granted states to all regional languages listed in the Constitution, denied it to only one, Punjabi. This gross injustice gave the demand for a Punjabi Suba its rationale. After a prolonged agitation in which thousands were jailed, Indira Gandhi conceded the demand in 1966 but only after the Sikhs had proved their loyalty to their country by actively assisting the Indian Army in the Indo-Pak war of 1965. The Punjabi Suba was where all the Sikhs would legitimately expect a state of their own in a democratic India. It did not turn out that way.

With the affluence that came with the Green Revolution, the younger generation of Sikhs in increasing numbers began to give up the Khalsa tradition of keeping their beards and hair unshorn. They became clean-shaven (mona) Sikhs. The dividing line between the two communities became blurred because a mona Sikh was no different from a Hindu believing in Sikhism, no different from millions of Punjabi and Sindhi Hindus who revered Granth Sahib and frequented gurdwaras. The Sikh identity being separate from the Hindu was challenged. Sikh leaders changed the emphasis from the Sikh to Khalsa.

A man whose role in the identity crisis has not been fully highlighted was Kapur Singh of the ICS. He had been dismissed from service on charges of corruption. He tried to portray himself as a martyr. In a pamphlet he published he alleged that Prime Minister Nehru through Governor Chandu Lal Trivedi had issued a directive in 1947 to all the Commissioners in Punjab to the effect that the “Sikhs in general must be treated as a criminal tribe. Harsh treatment must be meted out to them to the extent of shooting them so that they wake up to political realities.” He concluded: “Mughal King Bahadur Shah ordered followers of Nanak to be executed on sight. I, being a declared Sikh, fell victim to this Mughal firman.”

There was no truth whatsoever in Nehru ever having sent out such a directive, nor was Kapur Singh a victim of any firman. His case was scrutinised by his own colleagues in the Service before he was dismissed. Nevertheless, he won the favour of Akali leader Master Tara Singh who helped him win an election to the Punjab legislature and then to the Lok Sabha. Kapur Singh was the brain behind the drafting of the Anandpur Sahib resolution demanding a dominant role for the Sikhs — Khalsa ji da bol bala.

Another so-called intellectual was Pritam Singh Gill, a retired Principal of Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar. He talked of “the Hindu conspiracy to destroy Sikhs; kill the language, kill the culture, kill the community.”

They found takers for this hate propaganda in Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Simranjit Singh Mann, (a police officer who was cruelly tortured in jail and later became an Akali leader and Member of the Lok Sabha), Jagjit Singh Chauhan, Ganga Singh Dhillon, Gurmit Singh Aulakh and a few others among the ranks and leaders of different factions of the Akalis.

Herewith the excised portion.

“Mr President, we notice that you’ve exceptionally well-developed wrist muscles. Do you do any strenuous exercises with heavy iron dumb bells”

“No, I don’t. I just use the full force of the strength in my wrists to twist the arms of the poor, developing countries of the third world who refuse to abjectly toe the American line in the New World order and also open the doors to American multinational investments. This is an exercise I enjoy very much.”

“Mr President, could you tell us how fishing helps you keep fit?”

“Well, fishing helps me to relax and unwind from the tensions and pressures of Washington. However, I don’t mean fishing for trout and salmon in the Potomac river. I mean, fishing in troubled waters like I’m doing right now in Iraq, the Middle East and Central and South America.”

Mr President, the American people are very proud that they have a Chief Executive in the White House who, at 59, stands ramrod straight without the slightest hint of a stoop. What exercises do you do?”

“Well, I’ve developed my own regimen of isometric and biometric exercises and aerobic techniques which I call cold war posturings and that accounts for my erect stance.”

“Mr President, how does riding help you keep fit?”

“Well, there’s nothing as good for the inside of a man like the outside of a horse. Mind you, I ride two horses at the same time like solemnly swearing America’s unwavering commitment to democracy, liberty and human rights and simultaneously arming blood thirsty tyrants to the hilt.”

“Mr President, may we also comment on your tremendously well developed neck. Do you recommend any special exercises to develop the neck muscles?”

Well, I’ve my own regimen. Even to the most reasonable proposals like banning the use of CFC gases to reverse global warming, halting the arms race and opening the world markets to developing countries, I shake my head vigorously in dissent and that helps exercise my neck muscles.”

“Mr President, what about the food you eat? Do you follow any special diet that accounts for your glowing health?”

“Well, actually I don’t follow any special diet nor do I have fads, but I do confess that I’ve a weakness for desserts?”

“Desserts?”

There were just no educational opportunities for children below six in the villages of Kashmir Valley and Ladakh. Pre-primary schooling was the preserve of the elite. For young girls who had done their schooling, and some even their graduation, there was no opportunity for employment or entrepreneurship. With over a decade of militancy in the Valley parents were too frightened to send their girls out to work and there was no work in their villages.

But Noor-ul-Sama, Safia Jan, Zaboora Akthar, Bushra Khalid, Fouzia Zahoor and Rubeena Bano are eager to contribute to the family kitty. Many of the 33 girls, undergoing a nine months' intensive course to start a pre-primary school in their homes in the villages, have lost a brother or a father and need to work to keep the family fires burning.

Thanks to Vice-Chancellor J.A.K. Tareen, this June Kashmir University began a major initiative to select educated girls languishing in villages in the poorest and most backward districts of the Valley and train them to be educational entrepreneurs. The girls have been brought to the Home Science Department of the university and are being put through their paces. After completing their course, they will go back to their homes and set up schools with Rs 55,000 provided by the university for teaching aids. The Human Resource Development Ministry at the Centre has agreed to contribute another Rs 50,000 for each pre-primary school.

Prof Tareen has been concerned about the dropout rate in schools. Education for those aged three to seven and 18 to 20, he feels, is vital for human development, particularly in the rural areas. For Zaboora (28) and a science graduate from YK Pura, Kazigund, Anantnag district, life came to a standstill last year when her elder brother, Mohammed Yunus, who she was very close to and who was constantly motivating her to study and make something of her life, was killed. He had three children and Zaboora feels the mantle has now fallen on her shoulders to ensure their education and care. But the atmosphere in her village is repressive. Girls are not encouraged to go out or talk to boys. They have to stay at home. There are thick jungles adjoining her village and when the Army or militants are in the vicinity, the vigilance over young women in the villages is stricter.

In fact, Zaboora inaugurated the Press Institute of India's workshop on media and regional development at Srinagar University because she symbolises the aspirations and dreams of a people suppressed by over a decade of militancy awakening to a new world of hope, of seeking to rebuild their lives.

Though many of these girls have learnt to cope with death and trauma, suddenly an incident shatters the carefully nurtured confidence. After the Press Institute function, when she went home for the weekend, the entire village turned out to felicitate her for they had all seen her on TV. Zaboora was on top of the world. But soon after she heard that the fiance of her best friend had been killed in an encounter the very day she was on the podium of Kashmir University. As Zaboora recounted her story, there were sobs and moist eyes in the classroom because all these girls empathised with her. Some of them were hearing Zaboora's story for the first time.

Noor-ul-Sama from Kulgam, Anantnag, has given up her B.Sc course to join the scheme for popularising pre-primary education in the rural areas because she has always dreamed of becoming a school teacher. There were only 12 girls in a class of 50 at the secondary stage. Because her parents are educated and her mother works for the government, she was encouraged to go to Anantnag to do her senior secondary schooling. She was the only girl in her class. This bright, alert youngster penned down a poem about her past, which like Zaboora's seems to have been troubled:

"Whenever I remember my past,

I weep and keep a fast.

The days, the nights and the time

Which I have lost."

After a long, heart-warming chat with the class of 33 when barriers of reticence and shyness were crossed, it was Noor who plucked up courage to ask: "Ma'am, do you think all Muslims are militants?" This was a question that troubled her and her colleagues greatly. While one quick, light-hearted response was : "But what a pretty militant you would make." It took some time to convince the young girls that such sentiments were not shared by the general public.

Questioned about their dress code and whether there was any compulsion for them to wear the burqa or keep their heads covered, the response varied from "We want to keep with the times while maintaining our dignity. This is a highly competitive world", to "depending on the culture of our village, we choose our dress code."

If you ask me, a flat reduction in the price of the product that helps all consumers would be far more preferable to lucky draws that benefit only a few. In fact a consumer would probably get a better deal post-Divali when dealers are anxious to offload unsold stocks and are willing to cut prices in order to sell. Depending on your persuasive and bargaining skills you can get the price reduced (on the MRP) by as much as 20 per cent. And with reduced crowds, the retailer gives you better attention too.

For several years now, manufacturers have used gifts and lotteries to influence consumer choice and have succeeded too. But I do feel that it’s time manufacturers re-examined their marketing strategies because I don’t think these gifts and lotteries excite Indian consumers the way they did some years ago. First of all, the novelty has worn off and with it, the excitement of getting something free. Second, consumers are slowly becoming quality conscious and so these allurements mean very little if the products’ quality is not good. Third, they are quite skeptical about the gifts being really and totally free as made out. In fact for several years, the MRTPC investigated into these schemes to find out whether the consumer was being made to pay more for these schemes and whether the 'free gifts' were really free or whether the price of the gift was recovered either fully or partially from the consumer by increasing the price of the product prior to the announcement of such gift schemes. And the Commission did haul up several manufacturers following such investigations.

Fourth, certain unpleasant experiences with gift schemes have made the consumer wary of them. For example, there have been cases where the accompanying gift took several months and reminders to arrive. In some cases, the gifts were of substandard quality and without any warranty or guarantee. There were also complaints that consumers did not want the model that came as a free gift and the dealer was unwilling to exchange it for a better model, despite the consumer offering to pay the difference in price. Fifth, once upon a time, a middle class household did not have these products and if some of them came by way of gifts, they were more than welcome. But today, most homes have these and therefore are not so interested in them.