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Stink of liquor auctions Admission of guilt |
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Towards self-rule
Stars steal the shine
Gorshkov: the man and the ship
Governor takes a ‘less travelled road’ Road to happiness
sans pot-holes
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Stink of liquor auctions THE controversy over the auction of liquor vends has spread really bad odour throughout Punjab fouling up even the State’s politics. In the clash of interests between a liquor baron and contractors – major or mini — there are open allegations of money changing hands for making sure that a particular group captures the lucrative business. Even the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverages Companies (CIABC) is making noises. The best course open in such circumstances is to make the whole operation totally transparent and let the allegations die a natural death. But exactly the opposite is being done. Reports from various districts allege that the administrative machinery has been acting in a strange manner. Most auctions are over in a matter of minutes. For the first time, an attempt has also been made to keep the media away from the proceedings. Needless to say, the controversy is highly disturbing, and rightly or wrongly, only the murky side of the story is being believed in Punjab. It affects the common man in two ways. One, the State may be deprived of the revenue which is its due. Two, the bungling can have a bearing on the political situation as well because the way things are being handled gives credence to the allegations that a particular political party is the beneficiary of the liquor baron’s largesse. The matter is already before the Punjab and Haryana High Court which has issued notice of motion for March 15. Since all this is happening at a time when the polls are round the corner and the model code of conduct is in force, the Election Commission must look into the matter and examine whether elections for the State’s Lok Sabha seats are being held in a conducive atmosphere. It is true that the auction process has to be completed in the financial year ending on March 31. But it has been vitiated to such an extent that it will be advisable to postpone the auction indefinitely. Unusual situations call for unusual responses. |
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Admission of guilt DEPUTY Prime Minister L.K. Advani’s description of the Gujarat riots as a blot on the National Democratic Alliance is a belated admission of the truth. The reason why he was compelled to admit it is not far to seek. With elections round the corner, he knows only too well how important every vote is for a party which is yet to gain the confidence of some sections of the people. The BJP realises that its ambition of winning 300-plus seats will remain a pipedream if the minorities remain outside its fold. For the minorities, particularly Muslims, the Gujarat riots remain a watershed just as the demolition of the Babri Masjid transformed the way they viewed politics. Mr Advani seemed to have them in mind when he spoke about Gujarat two years after the cataclysmic events snuffed out the lives of hundreds of people. Small wonder that Mr Advani’s statement has not gone down well with some sections of the Sangh Parivar, who have questioned his motive. In any case, his statement is only of academic interest because it is not going to make any material difference to the situation in Gujarat. But that would not have been the case if as the Home Minister of the country he had taken decisive action immediately after state-wide riots followed the Godhra massacre. For virtually a whole month, the Narendra Modi government was allowed to play fiddle while the foot soldiers of the Parivar went about systematically targeting the Muslims. Even when the Chief Minister paid scant regard to the Prime Minister’s gentle reminder to him to follow raj dharma, no action was taken against him. Worse, when the highest decision-making body of the ruling party met in Goa soon afterwards, Modi was the toast of the gathering. However welcome Mr Advani’s belated admission may be, there is an element of conceit when he says “had Godhra not happened, the subsequent riots would not have taken place”. Godhra was an abominable act but it provided no justification for the organised pogrom that followed. An eye for an eye might have been the state policy in the years of yore but today when the nation follows the principles of the rule of law, such perverted logic has no validity. Nonetheless, if Mr Advani’s admission leads to a proper re-evaluation of the Gujarat riots in the BJP it would have served some purpose, other than purely electoral. |
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Towards self-rule WITH the signing of Iraq’s interim constitution, the first major step has been taken towards transferring power to the Iraqis. The deadline for the purpose is June 30, by which time a transitional government will be in place. The new administration will organise a general election early next year to draft a final constitution for a permanent democratic set-up in a country which has not experienced democracy before. The document, regarded as the most liberal constitution anywhere in West Asia, is expected to promote Iraqi unity. It is bound to give fresh impetus to the ongoing political process. However, the road to the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty is full of potholes. The document does not spell out how the provisional government will be formed, though it outlines a federal structure with a 25 per cent representation for women in the legislature. The differences among the Governing Council members, representing the different segments of society, may erupt again and create serious problems. The Shia leaders, who initially objected to the grant of autonomy to the Kurds, may try to dilute the provision in the name of preserving Iraqi unity. The Kurds will obviously resist such a move, leading to a possible new crisis. The interim constitution has a provision for a country-wide referendum for adopting the final constitution next year, but it can be rejected if a two-thirds majority in at least three provinces votes against it. This is a kind of veto power given to the Kurds and the Sunnis to block the adoption of a constitution which they see as threatening their interests. The arrangement, aimed at allaying the minorities’ fears, is unacceptable to the Shia leadership. This may be another source of trouble in the days to come. Thought for the day Heroing is one of the shortest-lived professions there is.
— Will Rogers
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Stars steal the shine LIKE in most large-sized villages of the country, Ramlila is the most awaited annual event in my native place. But the boisterous menfolk there are not really interested in the narrative. To keep them engaged in the proceedings, a large number of dance items are somehow thrust into the narrative. It is not only "Ravana" who shouts "ab kisi nachne wali ko pesh kiya jaye" every five minutes or so. "Dasratha" and "Janaka" also make similar demands every now and then. A similar farce is being played out on the national scene as well. Politics has been reduced to the numbers game of how many actors/TV personalities/ sportsmen/models and sundry other entertainers a party has managed to garner. The entry of every such crowd-puller is lustily cheered as if an international trophy has been won. What these Johnnies can actually achieve in terms of votes is yet to be fully tested, but they do have novelty value and the barometer of a party's electoral future for the present is the number of stars in its kitty. This is not exactly a new phenomenon. Celebrities have been in demand right since Independence. But politically active actors of that era confined themselves to attracting crowds. They were, as they say in film parlance, "item numbers". After elections, they went back to their world of greasepaint and arclights. No longer. Actors of today have woken up to their intrinsic value and are eager to demand their pound of flesh. That bounty, in the prevailing circumstances, comes in the shape of a say in matters of state, besides MLA/MP-ship, if not ministership. It is as if those meant for side roles have appropriated lead roles, or sauce is being served as main course. Theoretically, there is nothing wrong with handing over the reins of the country to these professional entertainers. After all, they are only as good or as bad as the current crop of politicians. Rather, they are any day better than the criminals and crooks, of both retired and active varieties, who have been making politics their last resort. But this kind of negative reasoning is telling upon the quality of governance. Most of these actors have no ideological depth whatsoever and intend to ham their way through politics the same way that they did in their films. Cinema at least provides them a prepared script. Here, minus that prop, they are reduced to cardboard caricatures. Small wonder that most of them do not go much beyond mouthing popular dialogues from their films. The most prominent of such square pegs in a round hole was Amitabh Bachchan. He was wise enough to realise and admit that he was a misfit in politics and beat a hasty retreat. Others have refused to be so sagacious. Ironically, even those like Hema Malini who made it to the Rajya Sabha through the nomination route succumbed to party politics and have decided to jump into the electoral cesspool, throwing propriety to the winds. There is such an acute scarcity of leaders of stature that most of her ilk are not only being allowed but are also being cajoled to contest elections. While the Congress is dancing around the trees behind Govinda, the BJP is wooing the likes of Dara Singh. No party admits it but leaders of substance who can also win elections are in short supply and film actors are only filling the vacuum. Such a situation has developed because of short-sighted policies followed by national parties during the past few decades. In the case of the Congress, the blame largely goes to Indira Gandhi who in her eagerness to perpetuate the Nehru-Gandhi stranglehold never let anyone outside the charmed circle to rise to his or her full potential. To make sure that no rival power centre developed, she systematically dug the ground from under the feet of many promising leaders. The result is that the party today has hardly any second or third rung leaders. This crisis panned out slightly differently for the BJP. It was catapulted from a fringe party to a ruling dispensation all too suddenly. In its anxiety to have the numbers, it welcomed people of strange hues and colours into its ranks. They were wonderful for panchayat-level debates but like floats in a tank, they got elevated to the status of state or central-level leaders undeservedly. Even earlier it had taken the help of men for whom India was confined to temple construction, cow protection and communal exclusivism. Now it had to hand over the spoils of office to them, although that annoyed the larger, secular sections whose support was necessary for the party. It did have a core group of able administrators but outside that circle, there was chaos. The consequences were tragic-comic. If the Murli Manohar Joshis emulated the bull in China shop at the Centre, there were Narendra Modis and Uma Bharatis holding the fort in states. They were acceptable to a certain section but an embarrassment overall. Film actors found the situation ripe for throwing their hats in the ring. They were popular, media savvy and articulate. So, instead of saying their set pieces and departing from the stage quickly, they decided to stay put. Their lack of experience, immaturity and intellectual bankruptcy is not being commented on by regular politicians because they are themselves sailing in the same boat. The advent of coalition politics has made things worse. Leaders who ought to have been inconsequential back-benchers now occupy the centrestage. Such netas are more comfortable with moronic
abhinetas than with leaders of stature and mass following. Politics today is unabashedly propelled by money power. The deep pockets too relish rubbing shoulders with celebrities rather than with politicians of principles. The public on its part seems to have given up all hopes of finding honest, sincere leaders and is in such a resigned state of mind that it is happier off making do with actors than confirmed scamsters. In short, the situation has unfolded in such a way that
abhinetas are ideally placed to dethrone netas. To be sure, even America has allowed some actors to make it big, Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger being the most shining examples. But that country never witnessed the same collapse of mainstream politics as India is facing. All parties are today virtually at the mercy of film and TV artistes. The consequences of this general bankruptcy of leadership are already noticeable. Leave alone the States, where the Jayalalithaas behave in public life like characters straight out of Z-grade films, even the Central Government at times takes decisions which are amateur at best and immature at worse. It is not as if the charge of the film brigade is the only reason for it, but it is certainly a major contributory factor. While they are encroaching on the territory left unguarded by serious politicians, celebrities are bringing into the body politic a lot of their inexperience. The development spells trouble for the
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Gorshkov: the man and the ship THE news of the acquisition of the 45400-ton Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov takes me back to the early sixties when the legendry Chief of the Soviet Navy, after whom its is named, first visited India soon after the arrival of the Soviet-built submarines at Vishakhapatnam. I was the liaison officer for the Soviet specialists lodged in a prestigious seaside hotel. A special bulletproof car was flown in from Hyderabad during the week-long visit. The leader of the specialists’ team used to meet the Soviet Naval Chief every morning. On the second morning of the arrival of the Soviet team I was also asked to join the delegation at breakfast. Admiral Gorshkov with his 70 medal ribbons stitched on his duck-white jacket looked resplendent. The VIPS seated on the table included the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Mediterranean fleet, the Far East fleet based at Vladivostok and the Black Sea fleet. They were to visit new sites for a modern repair yard. The Soviet Naval Chief, known for his hard work, efficiency and vision, was the first to start his breakfast. He finished it in 10 minutes while the rest were still having their first course. Suddenly he got up and said: “Gentlemen, let’s go”. Most of the rest with their napkins falling beneath the table got up with a jerk and joined the exit! In the afternoon, Gorshkov used to prefer juice of whole unpeeled kinnows or maltas and fresh coconut water sipped through straw stick. He was a good-humoured gentleman and talked about superiority of Soviet-built missile boats even in the presence of an American lady with two Siamese cats staying in the adjoining suite during those days of cold war. One evening the two Siamese cats entered his bedroom and started chasing each other on his double bed. Gorshkov took the intrusion sportingly and even invited the American lady, one Mrs Simpson, for a cup of coffee and requested her to “rein in her wild tigers”. I also saw Admiral Gorshkov when he visited India again in 1972 when he was briefed about the exceptionally successful role played by the Soviet missile boats during the bombardment of the Karachi harbour in 1971. A local state minister embarrassed us all by addressing Admiral Gorshkov as Marshal Grechko, confusing him for the Soviet Defence Minister. On his retirement, the Soviet government renamed their latest aircraft carrier “Baku” as “Admiral Gorshkov”. The imposing aircraft carrier is a symbol of our naval strength and traditional Indo-Soviet goodwill. It is thrilling indeed for me to describe its high strike capabilities to my grandchildren residing abroad and also to tell them about the man after whom it is
named! |
Governor takes a ‘less travelled road’
WITHIN the limits imposed by the Constitution, each Governor defines his own role. Many happily spend their post-retirement days in the luxurious seclusion provided by the Raj Bhavan. Some step out of formality to play politics. The one in Bihar plays a contrarian. To the Rajasthan Chief Minister’s discomfort, the recently appointed Governor, Mr Madan Lal Khurana, holds public durbars to hear complaints. The Haryana Governor, Babu Parmanand, quietly resists the acts of the Chautala government which he does not approve of. The Governor in Punjab plays a more proactive role as the Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh. A gentleman politician-turned Governor, Mr Surjeet Singh Barnala swims with the current. The Uttaranchal Governor, Mr Sudarshan Agarwal (73), has chosen social activism to cope with the dreary of official routine. His interaction with the rich and influential has helped him raise funds for health and education. After his judicial service in Punjab and Delhi, Mr Agarwal served as the Rajya Sabha Secretary General for 12 years. Post-retirement, he was appointed a member of the National Human Rights Commission. On January 8, 2003, Mr Agarwal was sworn in as the second Governor of Uttaranchal Pradesh. Life in the Raj Bhavan was quite different from the one he had been used to. “Being used to anonymity and privacy, it was quite a shock for me to see the kind of media interest that was taken in the public and private life of the Governor”, he recalls. “All of a sudden I had ceased to be a common citizen and instead I was expected to spend my time in a cocoon of security and protocol administered by my Secretary and my Aides de Camp.” Having heard about his social positivism, I tried to meet him on my way to Mussoorie, but the fences that separate a Governor from the commoners came in the way. Not in a mood to disturb His Excellency after a journey, the Aide de Camp did not let me in. Nevertheless, a telephonic interview, the official handout of his
bio-data and newspaper clippings of his activities were enough to make up the loss of a personal question-answer session. Looking back, he says: “One option before me was to give in to conventional wisdom and spend my tenure in plush comfort, mouthing pleasantries in endless rounds of receptions and ceremonies. The other option, “the road less travelled”, was to bring to this office my own sensibilities and beliefs about the power of the common man and civil society to play a role in tackling serious problems. The initiatives I have taken in my tenure so far, with varying degrees of success, are simply a reflection of my deep and abiding faith in the decency and dignity of the ordinary citizen”. Most talented sons and daughters of Uttaranchal, he soon realised, were forced to leave the state for higher education. This imposed a severe burden on their families. “Even before I set foot on the soil of Uttaranchal I had resolved to set up a foundation to address this issue. I shared this thought with my travelling companions. By the time our train pulled into Dehra Dun, starting with my personal contribution of Rs 1 lakh, we had almost Rs 11 lakh in initial pledges”. A trust, Him Jyoti, was thus formed and today it supports 25 children in their efforts to seek professional education. The corpus has already exceeded Rs 1.7 crore and is expected to swell to Rs 3 crore. This will support at least 100 children at a time. Another issue that has caught Mr Agarwal’s attention is the plight of children of widows, especially of soldiers from the Army and the paramilitary forces. Through his efforts, an NRI, Mr Raj Loomba, agreed to adopt 120 children of poor widows. He will spend Rs 500 a month for five years on each child. The Jain
Samaj of Uttaranchal also came forward and adopted 120 more children on the same pattern. This initiative is called Him Karuna. A similar sponsorship has been arranged for 25 tribal children studying at the ITITI in Dehra Dun. Their work has been commended, among others, by the Prime Minister. In Uttaranchal, it is common to see children born with cleft lips and other congenital deformities. Such facial disfiguration at times leads to social ostracism, causing a traumatic effect on not only the afflicted persons, but also their families. To tackle this issue, the Him Karuna took the initiative. Under this project, specialists in Delhi and Ludhiana perform surgeries on the affected persons on a charitable basis. The Governor’s Secretariat has facilitated the identification, transportation and treatment of afflicted persons. So far almost 100 children have been treated. “The smile on the face of a child who can now look at herself in a mirror without wincing in disgust and the look of love and adoration on the face of doting parents is a sight that will be an abiding memory of my time in Uttaranchal,” beams a satisfied Governor. And then adds, “My experiences in the Raj Bhavan have reinforced my faith in the essential goodness and decency of the common man. The values that have guided me have largely been the values I have picked up as a Rotarian”. With the support of the Rotary community, the Governor hopes to continue his mission. |
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Road to happiness
sans pot-holes YOU can be walking down the street, after parking your car or getting off a train, the endless sky above you, the improbable miracle of life going on all around you in its unlikely yet beguiling fashion, infinite prospects awaiting you, you’re probably loved by at least one person, you’ve more than likely food in your belly to keep you going for the rest of the day and, as well as countless other blessings, you also have a brain in good enough working order to be able to appreciate it all. And yet I bet, at some level of self, rather than feeling exhilarated simply to be alive to witness it all, you feel a bit stressed because you’re worrying about things that could go wrong and how bad you’ll feel if they do. Anticipating the future, or at least a projected image of what you expect it to look like, is an essential component of your basic survival skills. Anticipating someone pulling out of a side road as you drive along, for instance, can save lives. But driving around all day anticipating someone being careless and therefore paying special attention is different from expecting to crash regardless, hence feeling stressed and unhappy and therefore more likely to make the wrong split-second decision and crash. Look at how you might have been unconsciously allowing anticipation and expectation to merge and their combined effect giving rise to anxiety. Note anticipation when it arises. Make your internal or external adjustments to the way you intend to proceed to minimise danger, whether it’s at work, rest or play, and make some sort of declaration to yourself to that effect: draw a line under that particular internal conversation but then let it go, relax your body, stop holding your breath and enjoy being here again. Hang on to the conversation past this point and you move into the realm of negative expectation and the stress it engenders. It may seem odd to realise there’s a choice. It almost feels like an obligation to suffer. But it’s merely a habit you picked up in your formative years, watching the adults do it, and it only requires a small amount of discipline to break the habit: to remember you have a choice from moment to moment — do I let go now and enjoy myself or cling to the pain and suffer? — and, of course, once having remembered you have a choice, to choose the former. It’s also down to using willpower to keep you moving fearlessly in a chosen direction until the time comes to pick a new one. Willpower derives from kidney energy, as does fearlessness, and there’s an old Taoist trick for giving it a boost when you find yourself flapping and fretting over things that will probably never happen and that you’ll deal with adequately in the unlikely event they do, in any case. Stand with your feet facing directly forwards, shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, then bend slowly at the hips, bringing your chest towards your thighs. Allow your spine to lengthen out as you do, stop holding your breath and relax all your muscles, especially hamstrings and calves. When you’ve dropped as low as you’re truly comfortable with, support yourself by placing your hands on your shins or feet and hang there breathing slowly.
— The Guardian |
For the man who is temperate in food and recreation, who is restrained in his actions, whose sleep and waking are regulated, there ensues discipline (yoga) which destroys all sorrow. — Dr S. Radhakrishnan The state of the one who truly believes in God cannot be described. — Guru Nanak The principle of Ahimsa is hurt by every evil thought, by undue haste, by lying, by hatred, by wishing ill to anybody. — Mahatma Gandhi Do not speak of your happiness to one less fortunate than yourself. — Plutarch Character development is the great, if not the sole, aim of education. — O’Shea |
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