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Fire power Civilising the state |
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Where are the toilets? China begins finding an answer EVEN though India has established itself as a major power in the comity of nations, it is a shame that most people in the country do not have toilets. This is a sad reflection on the insensitivity of successive governments and the failure of the planning process itself.
The wilting lotus
To Boss with love
Dateline London Delhi Durbar
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Fire power Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s assurance that the Defence budget would be increased is heartening, considering that the long-delayed modernisation drive hinges squarely on it. Leave alone enhancing the capability of the army, air force and the navy, even the maintaining of the former strength has been in jeopardy of late, so much so that even essential acquisitions have been on hold for various reasons. This has the defence planners in a tizzy, because there is a very real possibility of the preparedness of the country being compromised. The shortcoming will be felt all the more acutely if ultramodern aircraft and other equipment is given to Pakistan, as envisaged. Procuring high-tech hardware is a long-drawn out process and one has to plan not years but decades in advance. For instance, the 125 frontline aircraft that the Indian Air Force is set to purchase will become operational only after several years. Yet, the desired urgency is rarely shown. It is hoped that the promised budget increase will be substantial, considering that there is normally very little increase in real terms after taking into account the inflation. The defence budgets have rightly to be made considering what kind of threats armed forces have to face in the coming years. Massive expenditure can be foreseen particularly for the air force and the navy. The number of fighter aircraft has been shrinking. Similarly, the navy needs aircraft carriers and submarines. It also has to prepare for a nuclear second-strike capability and to enhance its network-centric potential. All that can be possible only if more money is allocated for modernisation of defence equipment. Any hike in defence expenditure should aim at giving the armed forces better teeth rather than expanding their size. |
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Civilising the state ONLY the other day the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) awarded compensation to the families of 109 persons killed and clandestinely cremated by the Punjab police between 1984 and 1994. Although the balm of relief is confined to the victims of police atrocities in Punjab, the observations made by the NHRC in the course of this order has a wider bearing, and should serve as a salutary warning to other states too, to end forthwith this practice of extra-judicial killings. It is not without good reason that the NHRC has come down heavily on state governments resorting to “encounter deaths” in the guise of combating terrorism. In fact, encounter killings predate the phenomenon of terrorism and have a long history. Bengal pioneered the trend to suppress the Naxalite movement. Soon enough, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala followed suit and encounters became almost the norm during the Emergency. The Vimadlal Commission took the lid off so-called encounters in Andhra Pradesh during the mid-1970s and the Rajan case exposed the horror of it in Kerala. There are few states in India where encounters are not staged. “Encounter” became a catch-all alibi for state police forces to justify their policy of killing anyone – innocent or suspect – and then labelling the victim as a “Naxalite”, “dacoit” or “terrorist” depending on what would be politically expedient at that moment. Given this predatory culture of the police, for the first time an institution of the state — the NHRC — has come out with such force and clarity against encounter deaths. No government should take the law into its own hands – even if it is in the name of counter-terrorism. Encounters have no place in a democracy and in societies committed to safeguarding human rights. This is an area where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s administration can take an initiative that has been evaded by successive governments in the past. |
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Where are the toilets? EVEN though India has established itself as a major power in the comity of nations, it is a shame that most people in the country do not have toilets. This is a sad reflection on the insensitivity of successive governments and the failure of the planning process itself. One shudders to think why our planners and experts have never given serious thought to this problem. Lack of toilets is said to be responsible for various kinds of diseases. It especially hurts the dignity and esteem of women who, in some states, are forced to defecate in the open. What is the use of Approach Papers and Five-Year Plans if the government does not accord priority to sanitation and help provide toilets for its citizens? Not long ago, Union Minister of State for Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation Selja had lamented that 70 crore Indians do not have access to proper toilet facilities. It is not clear whether she followed up her statement with any concrete plan of action to tackle the problem. If a toilet is the index of development and culture of a country or a family, India cannot afford to neglect this area anymore. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should bestow personal attention on this problem and try to evolve a comprehensive strategy to provide toilets in all towns and villages. Why cannot India emulate China which is racing against time to provide toilets in every village before the 2008 Olympics? If China is trying to revolutionise the concept of “humanised toilets”, why should India lag behind? In this endeavour, one cannot depend on the government alone though it has to play a leadership role in providing funds. This problem can be effectively tackled through a mass movement involving all sections — educational institutions, government offices, residential welfare associations and NGOs. Sulabh International has registered some success in this field. It has recently announced to set up an international academy of sanitation too. The Chinese-type of “toilet revolution” can succeed here only if NGOs and corporate bodies step in to supplement the government’s effort. |
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Be above it! Make the world serve your purpose, but do not serve it. — Goethe |
The wilting lotus THE secular camp could not have written a better script for itself. Not only has its main political opponent, the BJP, lost two elections in a row, the party has fallen into such disarray that its plight is almost embarrassing to behold. As is common among parties which are at the receiving end of the electorate’s displeasure, the first fallout is the outbreak of an intense factional squabble to determine who is to blame. It was to avoid such infighting that the BJP turned to its tried and tested leader, L.K.Advani, to restore a semblance of calmness. But as the spat between Uma Bharati and Mr Advani in front of television cameras showed, the rot had gone far too deep in the organisation for any kind of palliative to work. For Mr Advani to be a target of a party member’s defiance is undoubtedly a new development. It was Atal Bihari Vajpayee who used to face the wrath of a sizeable number in the BJP and in the Sangh parivar. But he had never experienced a face-to-face challenge of the kind which Ms Bharati hurled at Mr Advani. What the episode showed, therefore, is that the two — in fact, the only two — front-ranking leaders of the party no longer command the respect which they earlier did. Since Mr Vajpayee and Mr Advani have been the two unquestioned leaders of the party ever since Deen Dayal Upadhyay’s accidental death, their declining status is an indication that the BJP is facing a crisis of an unprecedented nature. The gravity of the situation has been compounded by the fact that the party doesn’t have anyone in the second rung of leadership, who is capable of taking charge from the two senior leaders. To put it another way, there are too many aspirants for the top post to make it easy for the party to choose one. If the internal rows had been only between over-ambitious party members, the BJP might have been able to convince itself that it would be able to tide over these difficulties either through an electoral success or a major blunder committed by the Manmohan Singh government. But the prospects of either are dim. For one, not only is there little chance of the BJP faring well in any of the forthcoming elections in Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana, there is every possibility of the party losing all three. Coming on top of its defeats in the Lok Sabha and Maharashtra elections, the party will be in dire straits if it has to cope with five successive defeats. For another, since the Manmohan Singh government appears fairly stable at the moment, there is no immediate possibility of the BJP capitalising on any of its failures. The BJP might also have been able to control its internal problems via the kind of disciplinary action it took against the fiery sanyasin. But the party faces other challenges as well, which are no less serious than the one posed by Ms Bharati. Even before the latter went on the warpath, the BJP had attracted the opprobrium of the most combative of the parivar outfits, the VHP. As the VHP’s decision to stay away from a conclave where the BJP was expected to participate showed, the estrangement between the two may have reached a point of no return. It was probably to bolster the BJP’s position vis-ŕ-vis the VHP that Mr Advani’s first port of call after the assumption of the party president’s post was the Nagpur headquarters of the RSS. The BJP obviously expects the paterfamilias to stand by the party in its hour of distress. The RSS would have gladly done so had it been more convinced of where the BJP stood on the question of Hindutva, the main point of difference between the BJP on one side and the other organisations of the parivar. But, like the VHP, the RSS, too, is not sure. So, the entire gameplan of the BJP, and also the parivar, is falling apart. The original belief was that the BJP would sweep to power on the basis of a Hindu agenda and implement the parivar’s eight-decade old dream of establishing a Hindu rashtra. But after the initial spectacular increase in the BJP’s tally of seats and voting percentage in the aftermath of the Babri masjid demolition, the parivar’s hopes have been largely blighted. The wheel started turning backwards for the RSS and the VHP when the BJP realised in 1996 that it needed to pursue a policy of moderation if it wanted to remain in power. Hence, its decision to put the Hindutva agenda on the backburner. Till the last general election, the RSS and the VHP may have thought that the BJP would secure a second term in office and, with the Congress getting less than 100 seats in the Lok Sabha (as was believed), would be well on its way to accomplishing the parivar’s vision. But all such calculations have gone awry. The Congress has shown unsuspected recuperative powers while the BJP has realised how difficult it is to push its sectarian programme in a secular country. Yet, such are the intricacies of democracy that the BJP can still believe that all is not lost. After all, the difference between its tally of seats and that of the Congress in the Lok Sabha is only seven. What is even more significant is that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance has secured a marginally higher percentage of votes (35.91) than that of the Congress-led alliance (35.82). The Congress’s own percentage (26.69) may be higher than the BJP’s (22.16), but the gap is not so wide as to cause dismay. Besides, these are the only two parties with voting percentages in double digits — the next highest is the CPM’s 5.69 followed by the BSP’s 5.33 — showing how far the Congress and the BJP are ahead of the rest of the pack. If the BJP’s performance had been genuinely poor in terms of seats and percentages, it might not have had any hesitation in forsaking its pretensions about secularism and adopting the Hindutva agenda with as much enthusiasm as during the Ramjanmabhoomi agitation. But, as of now, the BJP can legitimately hope to return to power via the NDA route. And, since the NDA will not survive if its Big Brother follows the RSS and VHP line, the BJP has to maintain a distance from its two fraternal allies. But the two have clearly run out of patience with the BJP’s temporising over Hindutva. And it is their impatience which can encourage the Uma Bharatis to defy the party leadership for they know that they can expect a measure of support from the RSS and the VHP. Significantly, just as Mr Advani visited the RSS after becoming the party chief, the fiery sanyasin went to the RSS after her tiff with the louha purush. Conflicts within a parivar are a recipe for indiscipline. |
To Boss with love ON October 16, my terribly-in-tune-with-times son chirpily remarked, “Mom, today is Boss’ Day.” Really, but why, I unkindly wondered. Now, which boss deserves to be put on a pedestal? The information, however, triggered thoughts about all kinds of bosses I’d worked with over more than a decade. From the hazy images of Grumpy, Blabber, Sadist, Crazy, Incapable, Gossipy, Efficient-but-Unfeeling, Lazy, Frivolous stood out one lone face - of Smiling. How could I have forgotten him? May be his name immediately didn’t come to my mind because he was so un-boss like. He was considerate and a thorough professional. There were so many qualities about him that were admirable. He would enter the office with a cheerful greeting to one and all. He never rested on his ego, waiting for a junior to greet him and only then condescending to reply. Once I was immersed in work, and didn’t make the effort to look up. And, within no time he was beside my table, teasing me about working too hard. Still a trainee at that point, it was very humbling to have the boss come over to you to greet you. But that was him, as friendly and forthcoming as your best friend could be. He got along with most, simply because he could relate effortlessly and smilingly with the top guy as well as with the last in the rung. You never hesitated going to him with a doubt for you knew that he would never belittle you with a look that said “Hey, don’t you even know this!” A man of varied interests and fond of reading, he kept you busy and laughing with enriching anecdotes in between work. His being accessible, helpful, pleasant and gracious however never gave you the excuse to treat work lightly. This you learnt from his earnest and painstaking approach to every bit of news that he handled, be it a two-paragraph news item or a page-1 story. It was sad when he decided to immigrate to Canada. At his farewell party, senior colleagues wished him well. One of them asked whether anybody else also wanted to give a farewell speech. I desperately wanted to thank him for being a great boss and a still greater teacher. But I kept quiet, too shy to voice my feelings. Years later, I got in touch with him on the e-mail. I wrote to him about the new bosses on the scene. I also told him about how much we missed him and what all did we miss him for. He wrote back a long letter. Touched by the praise, he said it had made him feel on the top of the world. I had wanted to reply soon, but somehow got caught in the tomorrow trap. Some months later came the shattering news that he was no more. I regretted not replying to his letter. The regret is still there but I’m glad I could tell him what I thought about him. May be that’s what a Boss’ Day is for. For bosses like Ezra Daniel.
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Dateline London
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been ruminating about his country’s place in the world and its relations with its principal allies, the US and Europe. The two have been on a collision course mainly on the issue of the invasion of Iraq though there are other continuous issues between them such as trade, fiscal, monetary and agricultural policies. Since Britain interests are closely linked to both Europe and the US, Mr Blair wishes to use his proximity and friendship with the US Administration to broker peace between the US and Europe. He believes that the US plays a unique economic, strategic and political role in the world affairs. It is a vibrant democracy which has been a victim of terrorism. Without the US, Europe would not be able to tackle nuclear proliferation, Kosovo, terrorism, or handle Russia, and the growing economic giants such as China and India. Mr Blair, therefore, wants European powers “to stop ridiculing American arguments and parodying their political leadership”. However, he does concede that terrorism could not be beaten by firmness alone. He also believes that after the death of the Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat, the Bush Administration would do its best to help restart the Middle East peace process. Mr Blair put these ideas in a speech before a select audience at the annual Guildhall. Mr Blair’s idea of playing an honest broker between the US and Europe, however, was ridiculed by French Prime Minister Jacque Chirac. Speaking to a group of British media persons, two days before he was to go to the UK on a state visit to conclude months of celebrations to mark the centenary of the Anglo-French entente cordiale, Mr Chirac said, “I am not sure, the US being what it is today, whether it is possible for anyone, even the British, to play the role of a friendly go-between”. He believed that Britain had gained nothing in return for supporting the US over Iraq and that he did not think “it is in the nature of our American friends today” to pay back favours. Though Mr Blair thinks that it is important for Europeans to work with the US for world peace and prosperity, Mr Chirac felt it was increasingly pointless. It is ironical that though Mr Blair attaches great importance to its relations with the US as well as Europe, both the relationships are being questioned, with the US, by a very large number of his backbenchers in Parliament and party ideologues, and with Europe, by some in the Labour Party but mainly by the main opposition Tory Party. The government’s willingness to surrender its judgement and rush to join the Bush misadventure in invading and occupying Iraq has been questioned by a large section of the population too. A very large number of Labour backbenchers believe that the US and British forces invaded and occupied Iraq on a false pretence of tackling the imminent danger from Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. Several enquiries both in the US and the UK, and indeed by UN inspectors, have categorically denied that Iraq had any weapons of mass destruction to use against either against its neighbours or other countries. The continued occupation of Iraq has resulted in a massive loss of human lives. According to a reliable western source, more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians have perished in the invasion of Iraq. Blatant cases of human rights violations and brutalities committed by the US and coalition forces have come to light — in Abu Gharaib, Guantanamo Bay and Faluja — where countless civilians have been killed and the city has been reduced to a rubble. And all this was done in the name of fighting terrorism. Many feel that events in Iraq, in fact, “made the country a magnet for jehadist terrorists”, as the Guardian newspaper put it in an editorial and made the world more and not less vulnerable. This view has been confirmed repeatedly by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and several other world leaders, who described the invasion and occupation of Iraq as illegal. According to Mr Blair, Britain had joined hands with the US not merely because it had a special relationship with the US, but because it was in Britain’s own interest to make the country and its people safe from terrorism. His critics do not believe him. They argue that Britain’s special relationship with the US could not have been in peril had the UK disagreed with the US on Iraq. In the past, Britain was able to maintain a special relationship with the US without surrendering its (Britain’s) judgement. Why could not the present Labour government follow a similar path? By blindly following the US, Britain had become more not less insecure. As far as its relations with Europe is concerned, there are two kinds of critics. First, there are those who criticise the government for not hastening integration with the rest of Europe. Britain’s principal concerns regarding trade, development, environment, or tackling the Middle East imbroglio, the UK are closer to Europe rather than the US. Secondly, there are others who believe that there was hardly any justification in surrendering the country’s sovereignty to the European super state and subject Britain’s home and foreign policies to the whims and fancies of continental Europe. Many in the world consider the European Union a unique entity Without being a sovereign entity, with defined territory, it has all the attributes of a state. Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers of its 25-member states recently signed a constitution binding them into a single governing body. Though it is yet to be ratified by member states, it is already hailed as a momentous event in the European and world history. Representing 455-million strong population, nearly twice that of the US, the EU has its own President, its Parliament and its court. It has its own currency, adopted by several member states. Its laws override the laws of its member states and are mandatory. Its citizens enjoy a common passport. It regulates trade and coordinates energy, transportation and communications among member states. It is in Britain’s best interest not only to be part of it but at its very heart. Many in South Asia today cite it as a model for solving the ills bedevilling the subcontinent. |
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Delhi Durbar Early this week Union Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee was on the high seas to witness the Navy’s newly acquired destroyer’s firepower display. Showing considerable enthusiasm, he shifted position from one side of the deck to another for each event as scheduled. As he climbed the stairs after a short break, he slipped but promptly grabbed the nearby railing and escaped unhurt. Considering it as a good omen, the ship crew feels that it will not get hit, coupled with divine help, in protecting the team.
A sight to see Thinking how a modern destroyer moves at sea, all with the encouraging words “very good”. Puzzled. Well, all the command in the control room to different areas in the ship are announced over the microphone, which can be heard in any corner of the ship and the concerned person repeats the command. It is then acknowledged “very good.” After the demonstration at sea, the media team from Delhi was shown the dry docks in Mumbai. Some enthusiastic scribes wanted to have a close look. With the depth of the dry dock several meters deep and a ship stationed there, it was a sight to see. However, when some photographers wanted a close shot, the Naval officer cautioned in lighter vein: “Several persons have hurt themselves when they tried to come close to these beauties.” That sent the right message.
Keeping pace with tech Being out on the high seas for weeks together is a difficult proposition. What do the sailors do on board? Watch movies, play indoor and video games apart from working 12 to 14 hours a day. How about chatting over the net? This question seemed to be asking too much for the Naval officers. “No Internet. It can give the ships critical information to the enemy.” When informed ships in the US Navy and other western countries have access to Internet, they were quick to say that it will also come here in another five years. That’s keeping pace with technology.
Of Manmohan & his babus Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who also has the Ministry of Personnel under his charge, is on an overdrive having issued more than 30 circulars to his babus. He has impressed upon the bumbling bureaucracy to pull up their socks and be accountable. Officials observe that Dr Singh evinces interest even in the postings and transfers of Joint Secretaries. The advisories to the civil servants admonish them from going on foreign jaunts at the drop of a hat or angling for foreign postings in international organisations.
Plight of junior
ministers The plight of some junior ministers in the Manmohan Singh government is pathetic. Minister of State for Home S. Reghupathy feels marginalised. DMK chief M. Karunanidhi had asked Reghupathy to find out who the new Governor of Tamil Nadu was going to be. When Reghupathy contacted his boss, Shivraj Patil, he sent him packing on the ground that he would come to know later. Karunanidhi was keen in having his old friend, Surjit Singh Barnala back in Chennai’s Raj Bhawan. Though Karunanidhi’s desire was fulfilled, Reghupathy was embarrassed having failed to secure the critical information for his political mentor.
Sunny days for
Najma A question arises whether former Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha is happy in the BJP than Sonia Gandhi’s Congress. The answer may be in the affirmative, but it is a different ball game in the BJP. She is in demand in the party because the other two Muslim faces — Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shahnawaz Hussain — are firing verbal missiles at each other on the Uma Bharti issue. Najma has been given a Rajya Sabha seat and is on the party’s national executive. Dubbed as Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s recruit, she is also in L.K.Advani’s good books. In many ways, sunny days are here again for her. Contributed by Satish Misra, Gaurav Choudhury and R. Suryamurthy |
True love springs from the knowledge of universality with all forms of life. — The Upanishads One may long to know the Supreme Truth but cannot do so without following the path of impartiality and humility. One who does not have these remains ignorant. He may read much, attend many lectures and speak weighty words but he still would not know the truth. — The Bhagvad Gita
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