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Nuclear peddler Sop-free budget |
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Tandoori nightmare
Tackling man-made problems
Spanish route to America
Writers, scholars to discuss future of Punjabi Adultery new rage with Hindi cinema
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Nuclear peddler US President George W. Bush has used harsh words to express his anguish over the incidents of nuclear proliferation involving Pakistan. He has indicted Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan as the “director of the proliferation network”. However, his reaction is a case of delayed response to a crime against humanity. The US cannot be unaware of how the so-called father of the Pakistani bomb has been jet-setting buying prime property in exotic lands by selling nuclear know-how. Evidence had been mounting about his shady dealings with Iran, North Korea and Libya. Yet, the US turned a blind eye to the goings-on as Pakistan was its “ally” in the war against terrorism. By the time the lid was blown off Khan’s shenanigans, proliferation had indeed taken place, though the world is not sure about the specifics of the danger it poses. General Musharraf’s protestation that with his “pardon” to Khan, everything has been sorted out and Pakistan’s nuclear assets, both in the realms of knowledge and infrastructure, are intact can be taken only with a pinch of salt. Nobody is sure how much damage Khan has already caused to non-proliferation. There is also no certainty that the beneficiaries of his nuclear trade are only three countries. The world is really scared about whether the know-how has reached the hands of terrorists, who have found a haven for themselves in Pakistan. It also does not know how secure the Pakistani nuclear assets are. The world cannot wake up one day to know that a radioactive bomb, say in the hands of someone like Osama bin Laden, has gone off somewhere. It must do everything possible to avert such an eventuality. It is for the international community through its institutions to decide how best to ensure that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and know-how do not reach the wrong hands. What is surprising is that Pakistan has so far got off without even a slap on the wrist for doing everything the US claimed to be afraid Iraq might do, including proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and support to terrorists. The international community should seize the initiative and appropriately deal with Pakistan. |
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Sop-free budget IF the Haryana Finance Minister, Mr Sampat Singh, has not imposed any fresh taxes in his Budget for 2004-05, which is quite understandable in this election year, he has also resisted the temptation to dole out any major sops for the electorate. This has led the Opposition to dub the Budget “anti-farmer” and “anti-people”. The single major benefit to the employees — the merger of 50 per cent DA with the basic pay — was announced prior to the Budget. Another concession is for the traders who come under the ambit of Value Added Tax (VAT). They will not be required to pay any tax if their turnover is below Rs 5 lakh. The earlier threshold limit was Rs 1 lakh. Incidentally, Haryana is the first state to introduce the VAT and the experience has been positive. While the Finance Minister can justifiably boast about his prudent fiscal management in not availing of the RBI’s overdraft facility even for a day — again the first state to do so — a major cause of worry about Haryana’s finances is the high component of debt. The government spends 44 per cent of its funds on debt and interest payments alone. If one takes into account the government employees’ salaries and pensions too, 64 per cent of the revenue goes into these areas, leaving limited resources for development. In addition, the DA-basic pay merger will cost the exchequer, some Rs 115 crore more annually. The government’s borrowings are also on the rise. During the coming fiscal, the government plans to raise Rs 1,465 crore, up from this year’s figure of Rs 901 crore. The Finance Minister claims the fiscal deficit is within manageable limits. He is pinning his hopes on better tax collections and higher allocations from the Centre due to the industrial and agricultural uptrend in the country. He will have to pray for another normal monsoon also. Few can challenge the government’s thrust on the social sector, transport and infrastructure building, but the noble intentions must be translated into reality. To meet the fresh demands on revenue, it would not be surprising if the government raises taxes once the elections are over. |
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Tandoori nightmare THE bird flu-scare has turned India's culinary preferences on its head. It has also broken the myth about Indians not taking life seriously. Of course, they do. That is why they have stopped eating chicken. But life without tandoori chicken or butter chicken or drum sticks is like water without whiskey. Yo ho ho, it is not worth the breath without the most popular bird and bottle on the table for some. Fish and mutton make poor substitutes. How can love bloom in young hearts on Valentine's Day without a dressed bird making a sizzling entry to whet their appetite for the next course? The Arabs take their post-meal burps seriously. The scare has revealed that the Indians take their meat as seriously. They ignore the warning about AIDS and population explosion. Amitabh Bachchan has turned grey rooting for pulse polio for infants. But a false alarm has made them avoid the bird they could not chew without. The scare has also proved that love and loyalty are fickle. When the Japanese Quail was introduced, the region rejected it in favour of the more robust bird. It was their way of showing their love for and loyalty to the tandoori chicken. The gourmet's are now running for cover to avoid the flu that never came. The poultry business has suffered because the people who ate the bird have chickened out. Like most bad jokes, the bird flu started from China. It entered Pakistan presumably via Aksai Chin. Neither the CBMs nor the thousands of kilometres of barbed wire across the LoC could stop it from entering India as a wild rumour and then spreading across the country like a real flu. If Miss Marple were to investigate the case, she would begin by questioning the local butcher and the fish-monger. And why not? The poultry business' loss has been their gain. Thought for the day If a problem is too difficult to solve, one cannot claim that it is solved by pointing at all the efforts made to solve it.
— Hannes Alfven |
Tackling man-made problems WHEN the political philosopher said that the man is born in chains, he probably had two kinds of chains in mind — natural and social. The natural chains are created by the natural environment in which the man is born, while the social chains are clamped on him by the society in which he is born. Both chains are the result of the accident of birth, and fasten to him from his birth. He does not choose them as indeed he cannot choose his parents. Man’s problems differ, depending on the natural and social environs in which he is born. The problems of an individual born in a cold climate differ from those born in a hot climate. The one born in an affluent family and the one in a poor family have different problems. The man and woman face different situations. As also different regions blessed with different kinds of quantities of natural resources, different races, castes and religions pose different problems to the individual. The different kinds and levels of social, political, economic, educational and cultural development of different societies also create different living conditions for the growth of man. The social conditions may also differ in the same society from time to time, presenting different problems at different times. The simple life of the past had few problems for the man, compared to the so-called advanced life of the present. The so-called primitive and modern societies present the same contrasts. But with all the differences in the problems of man in different parts of the world on account of the local natural and social conditions, there have always been some common problems facing mankind as a whole. These problems are created either by natural or man-made disasters. In fact, some natural disasters are also the result of man’s activities. While the advances in science and technology are enabling man to prevent, or cope with some of the natural disasters, it would appear that he has been using the same advances to create disasters for himself. Man has to harness science and technology to prevent the emergence and spread of viruses, diseases, pests and plagues and to cope with storms and cyclones, tornados, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, droughts, famines and forest fires. These disasters, being the results of the law of nature, have as yet eluded solution, and though man has landed on the moon and is planning to land on and habitate mars, he is as yet unable to prevent them. He has yet to make many strides in his quest for their solution. Unfortunately, instead of devoting his resources to preventing these disasters, he is not only diverting them for destructive purposes, but also for creating more and more disasters. The single most important fact responsible for all the man-made disasters is the economic order which keeps profits above the people and encourages consumption, acquisition and competition. This in turn leads to the loot of the natural resources, the colonisation of the weak nations by the powerful, the armament race and wars, their concentration of pelf and power in fewer and fewer hands, the socio-economic inequalities, unemployment, crime and violence, corruption and criminalisation of public life, and the consequent degradation of the human being. The need is to organise the economy of the individual nations, and the international economic order on a rational basis abandoning the present capitalist mode of production, the free market economy and the unbridled competition, acquisition and consumption. Every man and woman has an inalienable inherent right to live with dignity, which should be the ultimate aim of any civilisation. Unless all the basic human rights, namely, the minimum economic and civil rights, are assured to the individual, it is not possible for him or her to live with dignity. The resources of each society have, therefore, to be harnessed, first to satisfy these basic needs of all individuals. The resources cannot be appropriated by a section of mankind accidentally inheriting the particular region, and denied to others. Being the property of the entire mankind, they have to be equitably shared and utilised by all. For this purpose, there has to be a control both over the size of the population and on the nature and quantum of consumption, in all the nations. This can only be done if each country, as well as the world as a whole, has an equitable and rational economic and social order based on equity and justice. The need, therefore, is to organise economies everywhere on a rational basis by discarding the present capitalist economy which keeps profits, rather than the man, at the centre-stage. Once the economy is organised on a non-exploitative, people-oriented and just and equitable basis, it will pave the way for an international order based on peace, fraternity, justice, equality and non-discrimination. Such a social order alone will guarantee dignity, security and safety for man. It is necessary to spread the philosophy of humanism, which being rational, humane and beneficial, will alone end the conflicts in the human race, and lead to permanent peace. The concept of one world, one human family and universal brotherhood will be realised only through the spread of such a philosophy. It will also help us to realise the goal of the just and equitable world social order and of the world government. It has also to be brought home to the people everywhere, and as has now been proved also by science, that the genes of all human beings whether black, brown, yellow or white are similar. It is necessary to impress upon everyone the oneness of human beings in all respects, and also to expose the games of those who are out to divide them, for their selfish interests. The question remains as to why people fall an easy prey to the appeals based on race, religion, region, language and caste. It will appear that each of them becomes a part of the individual’s life, so much so that it becomes a mark of his/her identity. To unite humanity, it is neither necessary nor advisable to destroy or attempt to destroy the exclusive marks of the identities of the different social groups. Nor is it possible to do so. The unity can be achieved without eliminating the diversities, and may be achieved more easily and securely if the various social groups are assured that their individual identities will not be threatened. The way to forge unity is to unite the human race for common causes, on a common platform and with a common agenda and programme. The social integration of the different groups without shedding their individual identities is possible and should be attempted, seriously. Two precautions will, however, have to be taken if human unity is to be achieved permanently. The first is that no social group should try to denigrate and assert its superiority over others. In fact, the denigration of others should be legally banned. One may glorify one’s attributes sky-high, but while doing so, there is no need to condemn others. The conflicts breed precisely because one tries to assert one’s superiority over others, belittling them. The second precaution that has to be taken is to discourage the practice of excluding others by treating them as strangers. It is another form of denigration of others though in a subtle form. On the other hand, the individuals belonging to different social groups should be encouraged to come together and the social intercourse should be facilitated. The exclusivism is more observed in the minority groups in each country. It is a psychological defensive mechanism. They are afraid of losing their exclusive identity with the encroachment of the majority on their social space. That is understandable. The majorities in one country are the minorities in another and react there in the same fashion. The majorities in each country should appreciate this phenomenon in a humane manner and respond to it accordingly. Rationalism and humanism lie in understanding the social phenomenon pragmatically, and not reacting to it aggressively and adversely. It is not possible to realise these goals and solve the present problems confronting mankind without the management of this planet by a central authority organised and operated on the democratic lines and backed by the requisite force to implement its decisions against the big and small recalcitrant nations. The UN with all its laudable objectives has failed to deliver the goods. Unless we soon organise and operate a world body constituted and functioning on the basis of democratic principles and dedicated to promoting the welfare and happiness of all human beings and opposed to all kinds of destructive activities, it may be too late to save this planet from being converted into a desert. The writer, a retired Supreme Court Judge, is also a former Chairman of the Press Council of India. |
Spanish route to America MY neighbours in Colaba, Mumbai, were simple God-fearing and generally well-contented persons in their retired life. But their school-going son Suresh was not so. He always dreamt of foreign countries and a wish to settle down in the west, preferably the US. Before leaving Mumbai I had advised him that there were only two decent ways to obtain American citizenship. Either he should study hard and join any reputed university in technical subjects and work his way up to get a work permit leading to eventual citizenship or marry an American girl. I did not meet Suresh after I settled down in Chandigarh. Last year I happened to meet Suresh’s father at a wedding in Delhi. With tears in his eyes he revealed that Suresh, ill advised by some, had left for Cyprus. Before leaving Suresh started learning Spanish language in regular classes and could speak Spanish sufficiently fluently to match his fair complexion. Parents were perplexed but kept quiet. After about six months of Suresh’s departure for Cyprus his parents came to know that Suresh was caught and deported to Mexico by the US coast guard and landed in a Mexican jail. Before American officials Suresh had feigned that his name was Rosario belonging to Mexico and he had lost his passport and other papers. As Rosario, Suresh planned fast and enticed a Mexican divorced lady named Josephina working in a border town. Josephina needed a partner and did not ask many questions. They were quietly married in a church while residing within the Mexican border from where Josephina used to commute daily for her work. Now for his next move he decided to tell the truth to Josephina who loved him. It was not difficult to provide particulars for immigration application for the US and Rosario was now waiting his turn to be given American citizenship as spouse of Josephina. Suresh’s father ended his narration by confirming that Josephina was a gentle and scholarly lady and by God’s grace he would soon see his son in India as Suresh. A few days later he received a long letter from Suresh that he was completely misled by his agent in Cyprus. But for timely help of Spanish language he would have been languishing in a Cyprus or West Asian jail. Daily, dozens of Mexicans were caught while trying to cross the soft and wide border between Mexico and Texas and it was quite usual to deport them back. Even today Suresh’s neighbour as well as the police in Mexico believe him to be Rosario — a Mexican. Suresh has also indicated that he and Josephina would like to be
remarried as per Indian rites in Brindavan before they return to Mexico to continue their happy life. In case an individual is detected trying to illegally enter the US without proper documentation and is suspected to be Spanish-speaking Mexican, he is deported to Mexico. This point of law helped Suresh in getting into
Mexico. |
Writers, scholars to discuss future of Punjabi
PUNJABI is a language spoken by about 11 crore people all over the world. The largest Punjabi-speaking population — about eight crore — is in West Punjab (Pakistan) followed by East Punjab in India. Punjabi immigrants have taken this language to the UK, the US, Canada and other countries. The UN has also recognised it as one of the major languages of the world. In East Punjab, people have struggled hard to make it the official language. Recently, the West Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Prevaiz Elahi, announced the introduction of Punjabi in primary schools as a compulsory subject and in post-graduation classes in colleges shortly thereafter. But Punjabis in West Punjab are yet to go a long way to achieve more on this front. Not Punjabi, but Urdu is the official language of West Punjab. However, in East Punjab a lot has been done to promote Punjabi in the past 50 years. A law has been passed, declaring it as the official language, though whether in practice it has become so is debateable. Now globalisation is emerging as a serious threat to various local cultures and languages. The English language is spreading its domination through globalisation. Its onslaught has made Punjabi social scientists and linguistics, writers and poets to sit up. The increasing use of information technology is causing an immense damage to local languages. Writers and others concerned feel that English imperialism is staging a comeback by subduing various cultures and languages through globalisation and satellite channels. Talwinder Singh, a writer from Amritsar, who is coordinating in India for the meet, says “globalisation is eating away everything from the independence of states to the existence of languages”. People around the world have formed organisations and devised strategies to fight back the negative effects of this economic onslaught on cultures and languages of various communities of the world. However, people in East and West Punjab have not built up any credible movement of resistance against this new colonialism. In fact, there are people who have become collaborators, obviously at the cost of their own language and culture in both Punjabs, to further the interests of the new colonialism. An inferiority complex is being instilled among those who are not fluent in English, that is fast becoming the language of business, trade and industry. English is being thrust upon people through the new system of governance, administration and education infrastructure even in the countryside. To dwell on these issues, which have been exercising the minds of Punjabi scholars in East Punjab as well as West Punjab, eminent Punjabi scholars from both India and Pakistan will gather for six days, starting from February 17, at Depalpur in Okara district of West Punjab. The get-together has been named as the Punjabi Boli Mela. A far away place from Lahore, Depalpur has been selected to break the monopoly of hosting such events in big cities. An important question that will be discussed at the mela is whether both Punjabs speak different shades of the same language or are these two different languages. How can one differentiate between diversity within a language and different languages. Is this historical, linguistic or political question? What is the role of the language in the power-politics of the subcontinent? Why did the colonial rulers treat various local languages differently? For example, the treatment of Punjabi and Sindhi. What is the politics of language in Pakistan? This question is also relevant in the case of East Punjab, where the issue of the Punjabi language has witnessed several struggles in the past. The most significant issue that will be debated at the meet is how can the scriptural divide between Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi be bridged? What is the importance of the mother tongue as a medium of instruction? Why do Punjabis hesitate to identify themselves with their mother tongue? What is the class politics of languages? Gurmukhi is the script that is used to write Punjabi in East Punjab while Shahmukhi serves the same purpose in West Punjab. Though both scripts are used to write Punjabi, but those living in East Punjab cannot read Punjabi literature of West Punjab and vice versa. Efforts had been made earlier to find a solution to this problem, but in vain. As relations have started improving between the two countries, scholars have started focusing more now on this issue for having a better understanding of what is being produced in both countries as Punjabi literature. In this context, Prof Bhushan, an eminent satirist, recalled Rabindranath Tagore’s advice to a Punjabi writer. Balraj Sahni, who wrote a poem in English, approached Gurudev to show it to him. “ What is your mother tongue?” was the counter question from Gurudev. “ Punjabi”. “Then go and write in your mother tongue”, said Gurudev. It is difficult to write poetry in Punjabi, said Sahni. Gurdev asked him “ If Guru Nanak Dev could produce such a wonderful ‘Gurbani’ in Punjabi, why can’t you write poetry in it? Gurudev gave similar advice to Balwant Gargi, who had requested him to write the forward of a book. Rasool Hamjatove, whose famous book “Mera Dagistan” has been translated into several languages and is widely read, has stated in the book that in his native state Dagistan, when one wants to decry someone, he says “ Ja tun apni maan boli bhuljen” ( You may forget your mother tongue). They are so proud of their mother tongue. Of course, people have made supreme sacrifices to save their mother tongue in Punjab also. But the way the English language is elbowing out Punjabi from the mainstream, the future of Punjabi seems to be bleak. |
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Adultery new rage with Hindi cinema
In Aruna Raje’s coming release, “Tum: A Dangerous Obsession”, Manisha Koirala plays a bored housewife who pays for the sins of her one-night stand when the lover (Karan Nath) turns obsessive. Raje made another film about an adulterous wife many years ago. In the bold “Rihaee”, Hema Malini was Vinod Khanna’s lonely wife in the village who had an affair with passer-by Naseeruddin Shah while her husband worked in the city. The film and its mature handling of the theme of adultery echoed Kalpana Lajmi’s “Ek Pal”, where Shabana Azmi played Naseeruddin Shah’s inert wife who came alive when her former lover impregnated her. The woman, seen as the traditional homemaker, has intermittently been put in adulterous situations in films that wear their badges of boldness like medals. One such recent film was Deepak Tijori’s “Oops”, where Mita Vashisht played Kiran Kumar’s alcoholic wife who goes out and has an affair with a male stripper (Kiran Janjani). The stripper turns out to be her son’s best friend! Adultery isn’t an esoteric offbeat phenomenon. Taking a cue from the bold and trend setting B.R. Chopra film “Gumrah” in the 1960s, where Mala Sinha continued to see her lover Sunil Dutt even after marriage, Dharamesh Darshan’s coming “Bewafaa” features Kareena Kapoor as the wife torn between her husband Anil Kapoor and lover Akshay Kumar. Sanjay Gupta’s “Musafir”, which will release at the year-end, goes even further. Sameera Reddy plays a bored small-town housewife who has torrid affairs with three drifters played by Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor and Suniel Shetty. The lovemaking scenes are so hot they drove Priyanka Chopra right out of the project. Apparently, Hindi cinema is shedding not just clothes but also skin as far as the traditional image of the Hindi film heroine is concerned. Films like “Tum...”, “Bewafaa”, “Musafir” and Karan Razdan’s “Hawas” allow the female protagonist to move away from the sanctity of marriage. Indian soaps on television also appear to be enamoured of the amorous strain in a woman’s marriage. In Sahara’s soap “Zindagi Teri Meri Kahani”, a wife plans to kill her devoted husband in collusion with a terrorist. In Star Plus’s “Kasauti Zindagi Kay”, the wanton Komolika plots with an entrepreneur behind her husband’s back. In Zee’s “Astitwa: Ek Prem Kahani”, a wife finds her male colleague’s shoulder to be more sympathetic than her husband’s. The men aren’t getting left behind either. In two coming feature films, “No Entry” and “Masti”, a group of roving-eyed men lust after the forbidden fruit outside marriage. Are we entering a new phase in popular art where marriage is, for now, no longer the sacred institution it was meant to be?
IANS |
The spiritual perfection which opens before man is the crown of long, patient, millennial outflowing of the Spirit in life and nature. This belief in a gradual spiritual progress and evolution is the secret of the almost universal Indian acceptance of the truth of reincarnation. — Sri Aurobindo Spirituality lies in regarding existence merely as a vehicle for contemplation, and contemplation merely as a vehicle for joy. — George Santayana Beauty does not still one’s craving; the more one sees it, the more one desires it. — Guru Nanak Kindness is an essential feature of religion. Religion without kindness is like a rose without fragrance. Yet most people who resort to mere external practice of religion lack this basic emotion. Without kindness in your heart you can never evolve spiritually. — Swami A. Parthasarathy |
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IN Vishal Bhardwaj’s “Maqbool”, Tabu plays a mistress to a powerful don and has an affair with his stooge. After seducing the don’s underling (Irfan Khan), Tabu entices him to kill her lover benefactor in the film that is a take on Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”.