O P I N I O N S

EDITORIALS

Blame game in Srinagar
Militants want to eliminate moderates
THE finding of a high-level Central security team that there were lapses in the security cover provided to National Conference president Omar Abdullah and his father and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah should be taken in the right spirit.

One school, two badges!
Gujarat must end this practice
Long before a man called Narendra Modi and his politics gripped Gujarat, the mindset on which communalists thrive was becoming increasingly pervasive in the state of Mahatma Gandhi. So much so that an abhorrent practice, which reinforces and deepens the communal divide, is accepted as the norm, rather than being seen for the deviation it is from civilised conduct.

• Thought for the day

ARTICLE

India as a Permanent Member
It’s better to wait for a few years
by T.P. Sreenivasan
The United Nations headquarters in New York witnessed an unprecedented show of strength this year by the aspirants for permanent seats in the Security Council: India, Japan, Germany and Brazil. Paradoxically, it revealed the recent weakening of the case for expansion of the permanent membership.

MIDDLE

When Chandigarh was young
by Saroop Krishen
I have lived in Chandigarh since the 1950s and the current debate about the threat to the future of the city has taken my mind back to what things were like at that time. As was only to be expected in any new project of that order, there was of course no dearth of “teething” problems to be overcome.

OPED

Patriot missile purchase under discussion
Armitage likely to visit Delhi this month
by Gulshan Luthra
The United States is offering India Perry-class warships, P-3C Orion reconnaissance aircraft, radars and a host of infantry weapons but what India needs most is to build an anti-ballistic missile defence with the advanced capability (PAC-3) Patriot missile.

• So far so good

Delhi Durbar
Congress, NCP face-off
The Congress leadership had to take one step forward and two steps backward in resolving the leadership tangle in Maharashtra after the Democratic Front retained power in the western state.

• ‘Iftar’ politics at play
• Vajpayee fading away?
• Stars favour Kerry
• Is CM popular or populist?

REFLECTIONS

EDITORIALS

Blame game in Srinagar
Militants want to eliminate moderates

THE finding of a high-level Central security team that there were lapses in the security cover provided to National Conference president Omar Abdullah and his father and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah should be taken in the right spirit. They had a miraculous escape when they narrowly escaped a bomb explosion. It may be improper to accuse the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government of engineering the explosion but there can be no denying that the security system failed that day. Since the two NC leaders face the gravest threat to their lives, nothing should have been left to chance when they reached Anantnag on that day. Far from that, there were many lapses, including the failure of the jammer, which is meant to incapacitate explosive devices.

If the father-son duo were acerbic in their criticism of the Mufti government, the latter merely pooh-poohed their complaint. The state government does not seem to have taken any steps to address the people’s concern over the security of the NC leaders. As they make charges and counter-charges, they forget that the terrorists had nearly succeeded in their mission. It needs no great wisdom to recognize that they want to create a political vacuum in the state by eliminating political leaders. There is no reason to believe that they have abandoned their murderous project, particularly when they have succeeded in killing several political leaders. It would be pertinent to mention that the Abdullahs had gone to Anantnag to attend a prayer meeting to pay homage to the slain NC leader and former minister Safdar Ali Beg.

That the terrorists make no distinction between politicians is borne out by the fact that their victims belong to all political parties. If Mohammad Rafiq Shah, president of the People’s Liberation League, a constituent of the Hurriyat Conference, fell to their bullets, so did Ghulam Mohiuddin Chichee of the PDP. Incidentally, the latest politician to fall a prey to terrorism is Congress leader Bashir Tiker. By targeting moderate political leaders, they obviously want to have maximum effect with minimum effort. Far from wasting time blaming each other, political parties like the NC and the PDP should join hands to fight the common enemy. For this, a review of the security system in the state is unavoidable.

One school, two badges!
Gujarat must end this practice

Long before a man called Narendra Modi and his politics gripped Gujarat, the mindset on which communalists thrive was becoming increasingly pervasive in the state of Mahatma Gandhi. So much so that an abhorrent practice, which reinforces and deepens the communal divide, is accepted as the norm, rather than being seen for the deviation it is from civilised conduct. The case of the S J Dave School in Shehra village of Godhra district – where, as a part of the uniform, Muslim students are required to wear a badge with a star and Hindu students one of the goddess Saraswati – is too shocking an outrage. It is abominable that the school administration should have even thought of such a scheme when uniforms were introduced some years ago. More appalling is the defence of the practice – as an example of “communal amity” – by some school functionaries now, when the matter surfaced with the District Education Officer acting to end the uniform divide. The communal identification enforced is rationalised on the ground that since parents of Muslim students had reservations over sporting badges with Saraswati, they were asked to wear one with a star. This is clearly in gross violation of the Constitution and ought not to have been initiated or allowed in the first instance.

It is all to the good that two of the trustees of the school have come out against the deplorable practice and resolved to end it. The principal, who has been in charge for about two years, has confessed that he was opposed to the practice. While criticism of the principal for continuing the uniform divide may be valid to the extent he did not act earlier, it is mischievous and motivated to criticise him with the expectation that he should continue to enforce what he had merely put up with earlier.

As in all things, here too politics and politicians of different hues have pitched in to muddy the situation. The school and the authorities should forthwith bury the divisive uniform code and let all students wear the same uniform and the same badge—of an Indian, irrespective their religious affiliation.

Sporty splice
British women dream a khichri man

Many British women are said to be looking for a “dream man” — or “dream boy”. Some of them want the best of all the current sporting icons. Their dream transcends British and French rivalry. Informed Indians would be familiar with the name of David Beckham, not because of the money he makes playing football, but because of his marriage to a former Spice girl and off-field reputation as every interested ladies man.

However, given a choice, most British women would want a splice of the very best to fashion their dream beau. A recent survey showed that women between 18 and 35 want their dream man to have Beckham’s hair only. The rest of their dream man would have the eyes of Jonny Wilkinson and the shapely legs of Thierry Henry, both unfamiliar names to the cricket-only Indians. A quarter of the same set of women said they had worn “granny pants” on their first date. Yet, they want the best of three sporting icons. Such audacity can leave anyone’s dream man speechless.

Since globe-trotting has become a rage (finance companies now offer even EMI packages) they would do their image a world of good by getting acquainted with Wilkinson, captain of the British Rugby team and Henry, a black French footballer who plays for Monaco, Juventus and Arsenal. However, becoming well informed may only add to their sense of confusion. They may shed tears for Andrew Flintoff. Given similar choices, Indian women would settle for every bit of Irfan Pathan or Yuvraj Singh. Some may want a bit of Baichung Bhutia to change the flavour of their company. This is not good news for the struggling hockey players and certainly not for Jugraj Singh, who has virtually come back from the dead to reclaim his place in the national team.

Thought for the day

“Classic”. A book which people praise and don’t read. — Mark Twain

ARTICLE

India as a Permanent Member
It’s better to wait for a few years
by T.P. Sreenivasan

The United Nations headquarters in New York witnessed an unprecedented show of strength this year by the aspirants for permanent seats in the Security Council: India, Japan, Germany and Brazil. Paradoxically, it revealed the recent weakening of the case for expansion of the permanent membership. The four countries as well as the other aspirants campaigned on their own when the chances of expansion were greater.

In the early nineties, neither Germany nor Japan wanted to form a front with the developing countries to fight for permanent membership even though they were co-sponsors of the Indian proposal for an expansion of the non-permanent membership made in the late seventies. They felt that they were within striking distance of becoming permanent members on account of their economic strength. The United States was among the enthusiastic supporters of Japan and Germany as permanent members as they would have brought money for peacekeeping without upsetting the political status quo. Among the countries that blocked the “quick fix” was not only Italy, but also India, which energised the nonaligned countries to prevent a limited expansion covering only Japan and Germany.

A leak from the high-level panel, constituted by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to review the operational and organisational aspects of the UN appears to have caused a change of heart in Japan and Germany. The panel was not widely expected to make recommendations on reform of the Security Council, but the news from sources close to the panel was that it would recommend the creation of a third category of members, who would serve more often than the others as non-permanent members by a system of rotation.

The news naturally united the aspirants for permanent membership, but it was obvious that no other recommendation could emerge from the panel by consensus. Nothing short of a miracle can lead to a different outcome in the General Assembly itself at this time. The vast majority of the member-states, however committed they may be to different candidates, will gladly accept the recommendation as a compromise as it will please the most and displease the least.

The resistance to change in the power structure in the Security Council by the induction of permanent members comes not just from the Permanent Five, who have vested interests to protect, but also from a large number of medium and small States, who have nothing to gain from an expansion of the permanent membership. Most members are in no mood to agree to extend the privilege of permanent membership and the veto to more members, who will use it only to advance their own interests and influence.

Moreover, there is no universally acceptable formula in sight for the selection of permanent members. The size of population, economic strength, contribution to peacekeeping, the extent of assessed contributions, etc, have been mentioned, but there is no objective yardstick to measure these ingredients. Regional consensus is a possibility, but none of the candidates, not even Japan and Germany, can claim regional endorsement.

The absence of an African country in the Group of Four is evidence enough of the hazards of the regional approach. The African Union maintains the position that there should be two permanent members from Africa, while Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt have expressed interest.

The increasing political cohesion in the European Union adds yet another complication. If the EU were to be represented by one country, it would lose an existing seat rather than gain from the expansion. The proposal to expand the permanent membership is, therefore, treated as the proverbial Pandora’s Box, which should be left unopened.

India’s claim is well recognised to the extent that if ever there is an expansion of the permanent membership involving developing countries, India would be included. India’s case has been strongly made both in the multilateral fora and bilaterally since 1992, even before its interest was formally announced. India has gone to the extent of making support to our candidature the litmus test of the strength of its bilateral relations with countries around the globe. Indian diplomats have, through bilateral diplomacy, gathered formulations that appear to favour it. The latest addition to this list of supporters is believed to be China, which has not been enthusiastic about any expansion till now. The value of such support, ranging from pious declarations on India’s qualifications to solid commitment, will be tested only in the unlikely event of a ballot for permanent membership. The near certainty that such an eventuality will not arise has prompted leaders of friendly countries to speak in India’s support in guarded terms, when they are on bilateral visits to India.

The reform of the council is possible only through a global compact to which the members of the UN will subscribe with different degrees of unhappiness. Such a compact will be attempted by the panel and if it fails and comes up with different options, the reform process will go to the back-burner once again.

An unanticipated consequence of the debate on an expansion of the Security Council has been a setback to the traditional periodic rotation of Asian non-permanent seats among India, Pakistan and Japan. By convention, these countries used to come back to the council every six years or so, but the revelation that nearly 80 countries had never served on the Security Council brought up candidates in the Asian Group for the next 25 years or so, making it difficult for these countries to have frequent terms.

India has refrained from offering its candidature since its defeat at the hands of Japan, perhaps because we have not felt confident enough to defeat any of the declared candidates. Pakistan and Japan have, however, manipulated their way into the council, despite the setback to the convention of rotation.

India will face a Hobson’s choice if the panel makes a unanimous recommendation to add a number of rotating states instead of permanent seats. Acquiescing in to the panel’s recommendations will be as difficult as defying them. The first option will guarantee a rotational seat for India, the terms of which could be negotiated to its advantage. But the acceptance of rotation will typecast India in perpetuity and diminish its chances for permanent membership altogether.

The second option will postpone the entire reform process indefinitely, with little chance of India serving on the council even as a non-permanent member. The postponement of the process for 10 years or so may well serve Indian interests. India-Pakistan relations and India’s nuclear status, which seem to militate against India’s specific case for permanent membership, may well be resolved by the time the world is ready to accept additional permanent members.

The publication of the report of the high-level panel at the end of 2004 will be the next moment of truth.

The writer is a former Ambassador of India with wide experience of the UN in New York, Vienna and Nairobi

MIDDLE

When Chandigarh was young
by Saroop Krishen

I have lived in Chandigarh since the 1950s and the current debate about the threat to the future of the city has taken my mind back to what things were like at that time.

As was only to be expected in any new project of that order, there was of course no dearth of “teething” problems to be overcome. Rows of trees which act as wind-breakers had yet to come up and winds roaring through the gorge between the hills in the north were there all the time. In fact, we were told that if you had small children who happened to be on the second storey balcony you would be well advised to keep them chained to the railings otherwise there would be serious danger of their being blown away by the wind. And of course against the combination of strong winds and fierce monsoon rain little defence was possible.

Flooding of roads was routine as were leaking roofs. Actually rain seemed to be of a rather embarrassingly sociable variety: it liked to be as much inside the houses as outside them. I recall that in one of the government houses the drawing room and the dining room were in the same line and adjoined a small verandah, and there were occasions when rain would flood the verandah, sweep on to the dining room and the drawing room floors, and go out on to the lawn through the door. What that did to the floor coverings can well be imagined! When the problem was mentioned to some of the foreign architects their response was quite a surprise: “In our countries”, they said, “rain falls vertically or nearly so. In India it chooses to pour down at an angle of 45 degrees”.

Each sector of the city, barring a very few, was divided into four sub-sectors and each sub-sector was given streets named A, B, C etc — named as such only on the maps and not anywhere at all on the ground. Each street had houses numbered 1, 2, 3 etc in separate series. So if every sub-sector had six streets on the average (all of course unmarked and anonymous) the entire sector would have 24 houses numbered ‘1’, 24 houses numbered ‘2’ and so on. The hassle that it was to locate a house you were looking for could not have been worse if it had been planned deliberately. (This system was scrapped later on and now no house number is repeated in the same sector, and all the houses there have numbers in a single series).

All this was of course just a passing phase and for many years thereafter we were happy to be in the only planned city in the country which we felt fully deserved the sobriquet — the City Beautiful.

OPED

Patriot missile purchase under discussion
Armitage likely to visit Delhi this month
by Gulshan Luthra

The United States is offering India Perry-class warships, P-3C Orion reconnaissance aircraft, radars and a host of infantry weapons but what India needs most is to build an anti-ballistic missile defence with the advanced capability (PAC-3) Patriot missile.

According to highly placed sources, as yet the US seems willing to supply an upgraded but the older version of the Patriot (PAC-2 GEM+) and that this was discussed between India’s National Security Adviser J N Dixit and US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who visited New Delhi in July to familiarise himself with the new government. He is due here again mid-November and India’s missile defence requirement is bound to be on the agenda.

According to a recent US Embassy publication “People, Progress and Partnership,” India’s strategic cooperation with the US stemmed from its “swift response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US and its unconditional support to the war on terrorism,” adding, however, that “the first steps had been taken months earlier, when India endorsed the National Missile Defence Programme unveiled by the Bush Administration in May 2001.”

So far so good

Although the two countries have moved fast in restoring their long- jettisoned cooperation from space to military and other fields, Washington has to keep in mind that the terrorist threats it faces actually originate from around India, be it our immediate or extended neighbourhood. And thanks to the proliferation of nuclear technology, missile technology and terrorism - or call it terrorism technology - from our next door neighbour, the cooperation between New Delhi and Washington in accordance with the so-called ongoing Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) programme has to be realistic.

The US seems concerned at India’s reluctance to sign some agreements on dual use technology for fear that it may pass into unfriendly hands - read Iran and some Arab friends - but there has not been one incident in which India has supplied either weapons or terrorism technology.

It is a different matter though that Pakistani military aircraft, perhaps the US-supplied Hercules C 130, flew in to Tripoli, to fill in the requirement, and as claimed by Islamabad, without the knowledge of the powerful military and all-pervasive ISI in operations run individually by the rogue international proliferator, Dr A Q Khan.

India has already told the US that there is no question of sharing technology obtained from the US with any other country and no doubt that this would be reiterated when Mr Armitage comes here again.

Politically, there have been different governments but from Mrs Gandhi to Dr Manmohan Singh today, none has acted in any way that would cause international concern in nuclear or missile proliferation. It was only this month that Dr Manmohan Singh, while pouring the first concrete for the nuclear power plant at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu, asserted that India would not proliferate sensitive nuclear technologies.

India and the US may or may not have liked each other in the past. But there is no turning away from the fact that it was the US which first introduced hi-tech war equipment in South Asia by giving F-16 warjets, Harpoon anti-shipping missiles, P-3C Orion maritime aircraft and Command-Control-Communications-and-Intelligence (C3I) computers to Pakistan beginning 1982. India had to match.

It is another matter now that India has overtaken its hostile neighbour through cooperation and innovative indigenous effort. That is why the Mirage 2000 multi-role aircraft was acquired and that is how India now has an impressive range of sensors, weapons management software and missiles.

But India needs more. Both in terms of weapons and Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD).

The US armed forces are in a high gear of technological change and many of their systems need to be phased out, and given away in some cases. According to reports from Washington, the US has already supplied about $20 million worth of radars to the Indian Air Force (IAF) while its military manufacturing giant, Raytheon, is supplying Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment to the Indian armed forces.

GPS locaters are fitted on India’s Mirage 2000, Su 30, Jaguar and IL 78 tanker aircraft while the Army has equipped its special forces with them. No doubt, the Navy is also using these helpful devices, some of which are available even for fitting into civilian cars.

Cooperation with the US is useful as it will meet our hi-tech requirements. The Indian Army is believed to have initiated a $ five billion 15-year programme to equip its infantry with smart, lighter and more offensive weapons. The Navy needs more than 100 ships over the next 15 years as replacements and additions and maritime patrol aircraft like the P-3C, and there are requirements for the Air Force as well as civilian Space programmes.

But India must have the advantage of late start.

The US has sold the much-needed 12 Raytheon AN-TPQ/37 artillery fire (Weapon Locating) radars($ 190 million) and the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force have conducted exercises with their US counterparts. That has been useful for both the sides and the US is now emphasising “interoperability” with common platforms. Sharing long-term strategic interests with India are obviously useful to both.

But the Indian Navy does not seem to be very happy with the Perry class ships like the Cowpens which has exercised with the Indian Navy. The Orion maritime aircraft is being described by the US as a “P-3C-plus” version with “offensive capability.” With a range of 2380 nautical miles, the 4-engine aircraft would be a boon for the Indian Navy but it has to have upgraded sensors and weapons.

The Patriot PAC-2 GEM+ system, which can fire a salvo of four missiles, may not be enough. India needs the PAC-3 version which has a better radar, launch speed and capability to fire 16 missiles against incoming nuclear threats.

Pakistan is sure to deploy its tri-technology of Nuclear, Missile and Terrorism (NMT) components against India in a future war. Washington is worried about NMT threats from far away. For us, they come from our neighbourhood.

Delhi Durbar
Congress, NCP face-off

The Congress leadership had to take one step forward and two steps backward in resolving the leadership tangle in Maharashtra after the Democratic Front retained power in the western state.

After much bluster about a Dalit in Sushil Kumar Shinde being tipped to hold on to the Chief Minister’s post, the strong Maratha lobby appears to have carried the day.

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar’s NCP finally settled for the post of Deputy Chief Minister and some key portfolios in the coalition government. Most of the legislators prodded for a Maratha in Vilasrao Deshmukh, who hails from Latur. It suited the Congress leadership to have someone who could counter the growing clout of Sharad Pawar.

The issue also assumes significance with Sharad Pawar planning to bring his daughter, Supriya, into politics. This has been on the cards for a while and dynastic ambitions now appear to be taking firm roots.

‘Iftar’ politics at play

High-profile “iftar” parties during Ramzan have taken a back seat this time with the major assembly elections out of the way in Maharashtra. The next round of elections in Bihar is a while away in the first quarter of next year.

The Congress and the BJP have adopted a low-key approach to “iftar” parties. However, some of the allies of the Congress-led UPA are dabbling in iftar politics with an eye on elections in their respective states. A case in point is of Union Chemicals Minister and Lok Janshakti party leader Ram Vilas Paswan.

Despite the unease in the Congress and NCP camps at that point of time about the leadership issue in Maharashtra, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar were in attendance without looking at each other in the eye.

Vajpayee fading away?

Does the rebirth of Advani as the BJP President signal the fading away of former Prime Minister Atal BIhari Vajpayee? This is the question doing the rounds in political circles. The Sangh Parivar interprets Advani’s observation that Vajpayee will continue to give “marg darshan” as arraigning a marginal role for the former Prime Minister.

On December 25 this year, Vajpayee will be 80. And interestingly, Advani had alluded in an interview recently that if the UPA government lasts its full term of five years, then it is only natural for a new leadership to emerge in the BJP.

Another Sangh leader wonders if Vajpayee’s health will permit him to play an active role in politics. On the other hand, Advani has emerged yet again as the supreme leader of the BJP.

Stars favour Kerry

After their unsuccessful attempt in predicting the Indian general election results and tenure of the UPA government, Indian astrologers have now expanded their horizon and are placing their bet on the US presidential poll. Prominent astrologers like Lachhman Das Madan and Ajai Bhambi have predicted that Democratic candidate John Kerry will win.

Planets governing President and Republican candidate George Bush are in an unconfortable position, making his tenure controversial and his re-election bid unsuccessful. Opinion polls say it is a neck and neck race.

Is CM popular or populist?

Kerala’s new Chief Minister Oomen Chandy is the new peoples’ man in the southern state. At least up till now he has met every visitor, affecting his official work. His aides explain that Chandy starts work on official files after 10 pm and continues till 2 am. By day break, there are hordes of people gathered at his residence. This is also the case when he reaches his office at 8.30 am. Chandy’s critics are growing, thanks to his people-friendly attitude and dismiss his style as gimmickry and lacking in governance.

Contributed by S Satyanarayanan, Gaurav Choudhury, Prashant Sood and R Suryamurthy.

REFLECTIONS

The human form of life is a very rare thing. It should not be wasted by only engaging in the animal propensities of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. It should rather be utilised for spiritual realisation.

— Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Independence means voluntary restraints and discipline, voluntary acceptance of the rule of law.

— Mahatma Gandhi

Through test and trial, I have found that nothing — no austerity and penance — equals the contemplation of God’s Name.

— Guru Nanak