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The Patiala spirit Roping in Ratan Tata |
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SC order on Pappu No, Bihar cannot treat him as a VVIP THE Supreme Court order for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the unruly behaviour of Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Pappu Yadav in Patna’s Beur Central Jail on December 1 is timely.
Reforming the Security Council
Bollywood on the beach
Remembering Jack Gibson Delhi Durbar
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The Patiala spirit THE ongoing Indo-Pak Punjab Games and the World Punjabi Conference that concluded at Patiala last week cannot be treated as ordinary events. They have provided an excellent opportunity to
gauge the mood of the people vis-à-vis the peace process launched by the two countries. Once again it has come to light that there is tremendous enthusiasm among the people on both sides of the divide for living as friends and good neighbours, and demolishing the walls of mistrust. The ideas and sentiments they exchanged at Patiala reflected the common desire to overcome the hurdles on the way to lasting peace. People are fed up with fighting wars and nursing hatred. They yearn for writing a new chapter in their relations. There is greater realisation that the two countries, with poverty as their major problem, have no better choice than to live as friends in peace. The message from Patiala, however, has special significance because those who talked of peace and amity there believed in the ethos of a composite culture. Among them were respected writers and journalists, besides the Chief Ministers of the two Punjabs. They are all Punjabis separated by politics in 1947 when one country was divided into two. They have suffered the maximum as a consequence of Partition, particularly during the four wars between India and Pakistan. They are definitely better placed now to understand what it means living as enemies despite speaking the same language steeped in the same culture. They are growingly realising that religion is a private affair and hence can be kept aside. If they give a call for forgetting the bitter past and starting life afresh both India and Pakistan will gain. The events at Patiala have shown that sports and cultural programmes can be greatly helpful in creating an atmosphere conducive for peace and goodwill. There should be more such events to bring the Punjabis from both sides together. It is heartening to note that the Indo-Pak Punjab Games will be a regular annual feature. Both Punjabs occupy a special place in the scheme of things on their side of the border. They can easily play a proactive role and contribute to the efforts of the ongoing peace process between the two nations. |
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Roping in Ratan Tata FINANCE
Minister P. Chidambaram announced on Sunday a string of decisions: an investment commission headed by Mr Ratan Tata, a roadmap to guide 74 per cent FDI in private banks by month-end, a regulator for pensions by year-end and a Bill to raise the FDI limit in insurance early next year. The reform process, at last, picks up some momentum. Why it took the government so long to form an investment commission announced in the 2004-05 Budget only shows how slow administrative machinery moves. The commission includes three of the distinguished and upright businessmen of the country and surely they would do a better job than bureaucrats and politicians in attracting investment. The previous NDA government had raised the FDI limit in private banks in March this year. Now Mr Chidambaram has promised a roadmap this month. Once global banks step in, taking over smaller players, urban India will witness a revolution in banking services. Government banks, which too are consolidating through mergers, will face a stiff competition in catering to high-networth customers. They will have to shed flab, become service-oriented and tech-savvy. Government policies tying them to targeted lending will have to change to ensure a level-playing field. The pension sector is set for restructuring with increasing participation of private funds. Given the huge size of the Indian middle class, increasing job insecurity and the absence of a social safety net, the pension sector may witness a massive inflow of funds. To keep watch on their activities and protect the interests of contributors to pension schemes, an effective regulator is a must. The Finance Minister hopes to appoint a pension regulator by year-end. He also appears confident of seeing through Parliament a Bill to raise the FDI cap in insurance from 26 per cent to 49 per cent despite the known Leftist opposition to the government move that was first announced in the Budget. The real test of the reforms lies in their implementation: how effective it is and how soon. |
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SC order on Pappu THE Supreme Court order for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the unruly behaviour of Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Pappu Yadav in Patna’s Beur Central Jail on December 1 is timely. Having become a law unto himself, he has been circumventing the due processes of law with impunity. Clearly, some officials have abdicated their responsibility. The manner in which Pappu Yadav is able to hold his “darbar” and throw parties within the jail premises suggest that he is treated more as an extra-constitutional authority than as an accused in a murder case. Even as the dust is yet to settle on the controversial party he had organised on September 26, came reports of violence in the jail on December 1, right in the presence of the Jail Superintendent. When the Inspector-General (Prisons) noticed Pappu Yadav’s “darbar” with his visitors, the Jail Superintendent stood like a silent spectator. It is a pity that the IG had to muster courage in ordering his staff to throw the MP’s men out of the jail; if Bihar was not a badland, it should have been a part of his normal duty. The Supreme Court has been monitoring Pappu Yadav’s activities for quite some time. It had earlier taken exception to the manner in which he was found “roaming” in the Madhepura Lok Sabha constituency despite being in judicial custody. Because of his high political connections, most civil and jail officials, fearing reprisals, are afraid of dealing with him firmly. Consequently, the suggestion for shifting him to a jail outside Bihar is eminently sensible. In this context, the apex court’s deadline of December 13 for submission of reports is indicative of its sense of urgency and measure of importance. The Jail Superintendent and two others were suspended on Monday, but the state government will have to explain why it has so far failed to comply with the Patna High Court’s explicit instructions to transfer him out of the Beur Central Jail. It should also explain the reasons for its failure to enforce the normal law of the land in the case of Pappu Yadav. The entire judiciary and the administrative system will be reduced to a mockery if he is allowed to get away with his antics. |
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Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.
— Mae West
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Reforming the Security Council IT is tragic that the most important reform of the United Nations in recent times should have come at a time its Secretary-General Kofi Annan is in America’s gun sight. Now in his final second term, the man who reached the top after the US single-handedly blackballed his distinguished predecessor, Mr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, against the otherwise unanimous desire of the Security Council has been displaying signs of independent judgement. Mr Annan had paid his debts to the US for getting him the top job and had earned a second term. He had traditionally been more restrained on Israeli actions than he was of Palestinians’. And in an unprecedented sign of solidarity with America, he blessed the unauthorised NATO 11-week bombing of Yugoslavia under what went under the rubric of “humanitarian intervention”. After winning American support for a second term, Mr Annan has been seeking to place some distance between him and the US to leave a better legacy or, it had been whispered in UN corridors, to curry favour with President George W. Bush’s Democratic challenger John Kerry, to secure an unprecedented third term. Indeed, Mr Annan had sailed through his first term in style, pleasing his American benefactors no end. Mr Richard Holbrooke, former US ambassador to the UN, gave him the ultimate accolade of being “the best Secretary-General since the organisation was founded”. Managing the UN’s relations with the “indispensable power” of Ms Madeleine Albright’s description is a delicate operation for any Secretary-General. In his revealing memoir, Mr Boutros-Ghali has related how Ms Albright struck up attitudes in demanding compliance with American wishes without bothering to argue her case. Mr Annan’s path was smooth because he was the American candidate. In his second term, Mr Annan gave some weightage to the other 190 members of the organisation and US legislators took aim at alleged fraud in the UN’s oil-for-food programme, with several investigative committees getting into the act. The Secretary-General himself appointed a committee under the former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volker. Accusations came to be routinely bandied about, and the American Right charged Mr Annan with having stolen President’s Bush’s thunder in the UN General Assembly by giving a critical appraisal of world events which, they said, influenced the tepid response to the American challenge to the UN to conform to its desire or become irrelevant. American legislators were going through the oil-for-food programme with a toothcomb, alleging that President Saddam Hussein had milked some $21 billion from it for his own purposes although the US had winked at Iraqi oil supplies to Turkey and Jordan, with profits going into Saddam’s coffers. A Republican senator called for Mr Annan’s resignation because the scandal happened on his watch, a call repeated by any number of right-wing individuals and think tanks. The US administration studiously avoiding an endorsement, with Secretary of State Colin Powell damning him with faint praise: “Secretary-General Annan is a good Secretary-General and the United States has tried to support him and the United Nations in every way that we can”. Mr Annan then committed the unpardonable mistake of describing America’s Iraq war as illegal, suggesting that elections could hardly be held there in the then prevailing circumstances. Calls for his resignation grew louder and Mr Annan scored an own goal by having to confirm that his son Tojo was paid a retained fee of $2,500 a month by a Swiss contractor monitoring the UN programme in Iraq until early this year, years after the son was supposed to have terminated his connection. Inevitably, others got into the act. A sex scandal in a UN office in Geneva and by a senior UN staff member in New York was grist to the mill of Annan’s detractors. And even an e-mail poll of UN employees supporting the Secretary-General became the subject of controversy because it was said to be an enterprise cooked by senior UN staff. In American eyes, a man they had placed in office became a questionable proposition even though he has two more years to his term. For Washington, he had crossed the red line by challenging Mr Bush’s Iraq war and by being generally unhelpful in his niggardliness in sending UN men to Iraq and otherwise exerting himself in the American cause. While Mr Annan fights his battles with his new detractors, what happens to the weighty report — a whole year’s labours of a group of eminent persons supported by a battery of research staff? The report seeks much more than the enlargement of the UN Security Council. It is implicitly highly critical of President Bush’s postulates in pursuing his unilateralist policies. It seeks to define terrorism, still espouses the sanctity of nation-states with qualifications and places terrorism in the context of world poverty and deprivation. In seeking to reform the key Security Council, the report offers two formulas revolving round the expansion of permanent members without veto power or a rotating renewable four-year category of new members. Those at the head of the queue for permanent membership — India, Germany, Japan and Brazil — will opt for the first option. Despite President Vladimir Putin’s clarification that he was for India’s entry as a permanent veto-wielding power, Japan and Germany seem to have reconciled themselves to a non-veto permanent membership slot and India will ultimately have to follow suit. It has come as something of an unpleasant surprise to New Delhi that the report elevates the issue of Kashmir to the status of the Palestinian question in enumerating contentious conflicts. As it is, the creation of new permanent members will be challenged by regional powers — Italy in Germany’s case and Pakistan in India’s — and China will have reservations about Japan. Africa will have to choose between South Africa and Nigeria. All in all, the present permanent members of the Security Council will refuse to entertain new members in their ranks with veto power. And they will form the core of a necessary consensus that will be required in expanding the key organ of the UN. For the immediate future, Mr Annan’s own travails and the scandals swirling around the United Nations will continue to detract attention from overdue reforms. The question of reforming the Security Council has been considered for some 12 years, without success. Vested interests, both inside the charmed circle of permanent members and those outside who will be left out of an enlargement, had successfully prevented reform. The issue now is to separate the reform process from Mr Kofi Annan’s
fate. |
Bollywood on the beach BACK in the 1970s, Bollywood made the nation swing to the strains of Goa with “Ghe ghe ghe…ghe re sahiba” from the blockbuster “Bobby”. Nearly three decades later, it was the turn of Goa to dance to the tune Bollywood with the item number “Dhoom macha de dhoom”. Then, it was the magical Raj touch — that of showman Raj Kapoor — that had captured a slice of Goa’s coastal life on celluloid. This time, it was again a Raj banner — Yash Raj productions — that brought a bit of Bollywood to the Goan beach as part of IFFI-2004. Well, almost on to the beach, one can say. Eager to catch the festival mood while in Goa, I strolled into Calangute beach to find a huge digital screen mounted close to the entrance. A bevy of policemen were not only managing the traffic but also doubling up as publicity managers for the IFFI event. With an air of officiousness, inbound tourists, particularly the skimpily clad firangi, were informed that the film “Dhoom” was about to be screened at the venue. The outgoing public was left to make this discovery on its own. No wonder, surprise was writ large on most faces at this unexpected entertainment on offer. When promos of the new release from the Yash Raj stable — “Veer-Zaara” — began being beamed, a wave of another kind swept the beach. Excitement surged through the viewers as Shah Rukh, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji loomed large on the screen. As images from this love saga beckoned, many lovers and honeymooners, instead of walking into the sunset with real partners, preferred to keep a date with their reel idols.. The excitement became all the more palpable once the screening of “Dhoom” — an action drama shot in Mumbai-Goa — began. Sniffing where the real action was, even an army of stray dogs parked themselves in front of the mega screen. Some tourists chose to keep their distance from the crowd and watched the film sprawled on the sand. A couple of foreigners seemed more busy filming the event than watching the film. Displeased at this weaning away of their prospective customers, some surrounding shacks began playing item numbers at full blast. But this didn’t stop the crowd from being riveted to the screen to catch the dialogues of Abhishek Bachchan — playing ACP Jai — much in the mould of his father’s “Inspector Vijay” roles. Not even the real-life leg show by some Maharashtrian women clad in knee-length saris could divert the public’s attention from Esha Deol’s reel-life skin show. All in all, the water side screening may not have truly been able to replicate the Cannes experience, what with the screen being positioned at an odd distance from the sea shore, thereby limiting viewing space. But the Bollywood blockbuster certainly did manage to create some “dhoom” on the
beach. |
Remembering Jack Gibson
JOHN Travers Mends — “Jack” — Gibson came out to India in the 1930s as a teacher at the newly established Doon School in Dehradun, where he became a famed Housemaster. He taught there for several years and finally retired as a long-serving illustrious Principal of Mayo College, Ajmer. Well into his eighties, he passed away in October 1994. Gibson was not only a distinguished teacher and principal but also a larger-than-life figure. Jack’s zest for life and ability to put his heart and soul, with rare passion, into anything he undertook were most infectious. Quest for knowledge to impart, punctuality, discipline, abhorrence of idleness or waste of any sort were germane to him. The interests he helped develop ranged from mountaineering (acclaimed mountaineers referred to him with awe; Tensing of Everest fame, when a young Sherpa, climbed with him), photography, gardening to music. A world class fencer, he was also very adept at most other sports and competed fiercely. Contribution to education in its widest sense — spirit of adventure combined with learning and, most importantly, as a moulder of character by example, of young men — made him a legend. Without losing his upper class British moorings — Haileybury, Cambridge and Royal Navy background — Jack took to the Indian scene with no inhibition. He whole-heartedly engaged in Indian social and cultural activities by educating himself about those unfamiliar to him earlier. This was amply demonstrated by him elegantly wearing a “dhoti”, “kurta-pyjama” or donning a Rajput turban when the occasion required and celebrating festivals across communities with natural enthusiasm. Despite his indifferent Hindi it was a treat watching him sing, with deep involvement, national songs written by poets as diverse as Gurudev Tagore to Allama Iqbal. Once on a trek his group ran short of some essential rations, particularly potatoes. Instinctively, Jack decided to teach the boys mysteries of barter — he called it “economics”. He led the team to a nearby hill hamlet. In broken Hindi, Jack said to the local headman, “Hum Atta Tum Ollu!” The crestfallen village head was quickly reassured that he was by no means an “Owl”. Negotiations followed and a bargain was struck. The boys got their supply of potatoes by parting with some flour which they had enough to spare. The villagers’ joy at this deal was explained by Gibson. “At high terrains good wheat did not grow, hence flour made from it was precious”. The potato-starved boys nodded wisely! Hauled up by the Customs at Bombay airport for bringing in a large quantity of books, music records, film rolls and a most fascinating oakwood globe, a perplexed Jack explained that each time on return from England, he brought articles, not available in India, for the institution he headed. This led to further harassment. He insisted on seeing the senior officer and requested help, in his dilemma, to make a long-distance call. Surprisingly, the officer obliged only to be mortified at Jack asking for Pandit Nehru! The P.M.’s secretary told the customs officer that for his own good he must pacify Mr Gibson and ensure he reached the railway station in comfort to catch his train with all his belongings. The terrified and confused officer, with two other colleagues, escorted Mr Gibson all the way to Ajmer! With a mischievous smile, Jack insisted no such facility was solicited by him. At the Doon School, on a Sunday, Jack went into town to play bridge at the local club. On return, he passed by a restaurant noticing in it some familiar faces. A discreet enquiry revealed the youngsters had asked for beer. Jack marched in, cancelled the order, taking the “adventurers” back to school. The frightened boys awaited the worst. Gibson announced the punishment. “Write one page, without missing classes, on the science of Brewing and let me have it by tomorrow.” Jack was impressed with the paper presented. He thought it was well-researched and intelligent. Promptly, Jack asked for beer to be served, inviting the lads to join him and quench their thirst! It so happens that one of the young men, probably the main author of the “treatise”, later established India’s largest beer and alcoholic beverages conglomerate. Mayo had a venerable priest called “Shastriji”. One day Jack asked him if he was any connection of Lal Bahadur Shastri — soon to be India’s Prime Minister. The saintly man politely replied he had never heard of him and there was no question of a relationship — adding, with some pride, that he himself came from a highly learned and respected clan. Jack muttered, “Thank God, we already have far too many well-connected people around!” Jack never lost the common touch and cared in an inimitable way for the less fortunate in the large community he presided over. Recipients of his concern were not made to feel beholden or awkward. Forever on the move in his famous jeep, and often on bicycle, one wondered if he ever rested. It was not due to absent-mindedness that he always left the keys to his vehicle in it. He did so, as someone might desperately need transport in an emergency. Jack’s numerous achievements would have made even exceptional men proud. His appointment as the first Principal of the Joint Services Wing, now the National Defence Academy, when he himself felt it ought to be an Indian (i) was an honour. So was being personally conferred both an OBE by the Queen of the land of his birth and a Padma award by the President of the land he worked and lived in are minor examples. Lesser persons have been awarded far higher honours. The writer taught at Mayo College in 1960-61 where he stayed with Jack Gibson and came to know him closely |
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Delhi Durbar JUSTICE M S Liberhan, who is probing the Babri Masjid demolition, does not seem to have been very impressed with the country’s top leadership with whom he has been dealing for the past 10 years, if his recent sharp comments on its behaviour is any indication. “Politicians are more involved in personal spats, in and outside Parliament, in a language that can never be described as dignified” was his sharp comment when former U P Chief Minister Kalyan Singh appeared before the panel on December 2 to depose as a witness. The reaction came when Kalyan Singh’s counsel said that leaders like him were responsible for enacting important laws.
Fresh light on Lenin In a book on Vladimir Lenin by former CPM MP Amal Dutta, the Russian leader emerges as a tyrant who ruled the Soviet Union with an iron hand without following any legal or constitutional norms. In his well-researched book, Dutta points out that Lenin was responsible for killing at least 15 million people even without any war being waged by external forces.
BJP undecided on Uma issue Whether or not Uma Bharti succeeds in getting her suspension from the party revoked, she has succeeded in not only triggering a debate among party workers, but also in virtually blacking out media coverage pertaining to the party’s preparations to face the ensuing assembly poll in Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana. While the party leaders are shying away from making any statement on the issue, some admit that the Uma Bharti issue should be settled once for all otherwise it would cause more embarrassment to the party with the media “blowing” out of proportion every bit of development. A party worker bluntly pointed out, “this is a time when we should be going all out against Laloo in Bihar, Soren in Jharkhand and Chautala in Haryana, instead of indulging in in-house feuds.”
The big rush at this year’s India International Trade Fair actually forced the organisers to make appeals in the last days to the visitors to go out early so that those waiting outside could make an entry. However, since the appeals went unheeded, the organisers were forced to stop entry much before the actual closing time. Incidentally, on the penultimate day, which was also a holiday, there were special appeals to divert the rush to other places. One of the announcers was heard telling surging crowds outside to give up the idea of seeing the trade fair and visit the Taj Mahal instead.
Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala has followed his `Sarkar Aapke Dwar’ programme with gusto. He completed the fifth phase of the programme on November 30 with his interaction with villagers at Pataudi and Taoru near Gurgaon. The Chief Minister apparently hopes that `Sarkar Aapke Dwar’ will pay him rich dividends in the coming elections and he will be able to resume the programme after the poll. Contributed by S.S. Negi, Satish Misra, S. Satyanarayanan and Prashant Sood. |
Let the laws be read out by a man who it known to be good and wise. Though they may be fair and just, to be sure. If read out by a man, cruel and greedy, they take on the colours of the man. —The Mahabharata Try not to judge people. If you judge others then you are not giving love. Instead, try to help them by seeing their needs and acting to meet them. —Mother Teresa What may appear as truth to one person will often appear as untruth to another person. But that need not worry the seeker. —Mahatma Gandhi The man who is sleepless feels that the night is endless, it stretches before him like infinity. The man who is tired finds a mile too long, it stretches before him like infinity. So to the foolish and the thoughtless, the troubles of life appear endless. —The Buddhism  |
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