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Terror
in Jeddah Democracy
on decline Vultures
and values |
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Rising
cost of petrol
Little
buddy
British
Home Secretary in the dock Kashmiri
youth harassed
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Terror in Jeddah
Monday’s terrorist attack on the US consulate at Jeddah shows that something is seriously wrong somewhere in Saudi Arabia. Every time Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network decides to strike at US interests outside Iraq, it chooses Saudi Arabia, the country where the terrorist mastermind was born. Obviously, Al-Qaeda’s base there remains intact despite the claims to the contrary by the Saudi authorities. One can believe that there are people who provide sustenance to this destructive outfit. That is why it continues to get recruits for its killing projects. The problem requires serious thought not only by the Saudis and the Americans but also by the rest of the world because terrorists are nobody’s friends. What happened on Monday —- killing of four Saudi National Guards and three of the five attackers at the US consulate —- was the fifth major such incident in Saudi Arabia, an American ally, since November 1995 when Al-Qaeda first struck at US interests in the Arab world. It killed the maximum number of people —- at least 40 —- most of them US citizens, in May and July 2003 in Riyadh apparently to remind the Americans that Al-Qaeda would not let them live in peace. But in the process it also disclosed its aim of causing destabilisation in Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil-producing country in the world. What happens there can have a cascading effect in the entire West Asian region, ultimately affecting the whole world. Under no circumstances should the terrorists be allowed to succeed in implementing their destabilising designs. Today they are targeting the Americans and the Saudis; tomorrow it may be the turn of some other people. The international community, particularly the Americans, should think coolly why the fight against global terrorism that began in Afghanistan has not succeeded so far. The drive went astray with the opening of the Iraqi front by the George Bush administration. There is need to focus on the problem again. The international community should forget its differences and launch a fresh united campaign against the monster before it becomes impossible to eliminate it. |
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Democracy on decline
The Punjab Assembly holds fewer sessions and spends much less time on debating matters of public interest than before. These are the findings of its own secretariat. The same holds true for the Haryana Assembly as well. The meaning of democracy is now increasingly sought to be confined to holding elections and getting voted to power. The chief ministers no longer like to subject their administration to scrutiny by members of the Opposition. They try to dodge inconvenient questions. This also suits the bureaucracy. But as a result, representatives of the people are denied an opportunity to voice public grievances and place before the House their views on vital issues of public interest. The spirit of democracy thus stands defeated. The ruling members can be blatantly self-serving too. During the Punjab Assembly’s forthcoming two-day session, the first day will end with obituary references. The next day, the legislature will take up the issue of declaring the office of Parliamentary Secretary as one of non-profit. This is for the benefit of the MLAs recently appointed Parliamentary Secretaries since the Chief Minister could not accommodate them in the ministry due to the Central legislation requiring the states to limit the size of their ministries. Another issue listed for discussion also concerns the welfare of the MLAs only. The august House will decide whether the state should pay the income tax of its members! With the election of persons of dubious character and their induction into ministries, the quality of debate is bound to go down. Whether it is MLAs in states or MPs at the Centre, they play politics, indulge in oneupmanship, frequently speak in an undignified language and waste the legislature’s precious time on petty squabbles. If Parliament can pass a Budget without a debate, what better standards can one expect from a state legislature? If known criminals can be elected to the nation’s highest legislative body, what can prevent law-breakers from infiltrating into an Assembly? It is time to restore real
democracy in the country and make governments responsible and accountable. |
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Vultures
and values
For long has the United States been described as a “vulture culture” which is very different from having a few culture vultures, like we do in India. In a globalised world where the acme of accomplishment is to be Americanised, it can be asserted, with a measure of pride, that India is not lagging behind in catching up. We too have joined the race for breeding vultures. After Haryana and West Bengal, now Himachal Pradesh has set up a centre for breeding of vultures. These, of course, are the winged versions that are endangered. Captive breeding has become essential to prevent the total extinction of certain species of vultures and ‘vulture recovery’ is the big thing for those dedicated to bird protection. These creatures, at the bottom of the food chain, are perishing because of the drugs in the animal carcasses they eat. It is an early warning: the threat of extinction can move up the food chain unless counter-measures are taken. However, only an alarmist would fear the extinction of the vultures in human form. Although in wit, humour and satire, lawyers and financiers are the most akin to vultures, other fields of human endeavour are not free of the predatory beast. There are vultures in our politics, in our economy and in almost every sphere of society. They feed on death, disease and disaster and, far from facing extinction, are actually thriving. And not all these vultures come with law degrees and neither are they confined to chasing ambulances. While the efforts at saving the bird deserve support, if only to save ourselves, it is equally important to rid the country of the vultures with a human face. |
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It is more shameful to doubt one’s friends than to be duped by
them. — Duc de la Rochefoucauld |
Rising cost of petrol
CONSIDERABLE interest has been generated among political parties, the media and the general public in petroleum products due to the rise in their prices and the subsequent rollback. An economic issue has been turned into a political one. Different parties are playing to the gallery without looking at the different aspects of this sensitive issue. The petroleum price rise is not specific to oil importing countries like India. Even the largest crude exporting countries in Africa and South Asia such as Nigeria, Angola and Indonesia have substantially increased the price of petroleum products. The price rise in India was high this time because the NDA government had kept quiet for months when the international prices of the crude were touching the roof. This was done despite the fact that the NDA government had deregulated the petroleum sector by dismantling the administered pricing mechanism in April 2002. Prior to this, the government was offsetting the effect of the price rise through oil pool accounts. The main function of the oil pool was to build reserves when crude oil prices fell and release the petroleum products with increased subsidies when crude prices rose. Due to the continuous rise in the oil prices, the deficit in the oil pool increased to nearly Rs 14000 crore and the government was forced to abandon this mechanism and resorted to the international price parity mechanism. While oil prices were raised between 5 per cent and 7 per cent in India, China, one of the role models of the left parties, increased the petroleum prices three times during the year. The increase was 16 per cent for petrol and 13 per cent for diesel, which was the biggest rise in recent years. Instead of emotional and political outbursts to please the voters, there is need for a pragmatic long-term oil pricing policy. A critical study of the subject shows that a number of factors have been at play such as a mismatch between the demand and supply of crude oil, the impact on the national economy and the effect of various fiscal measures. At present, India imports 70 per cent of its oil requirement due to limited indigenous resources. Only a portion of our known reserves may be technically and economically feasible to exploit. In the race for India towards attaining a super power status during the next 20 years, energy use will accelerate exponentially and the reserves will not last more than single digit years. There are not many new finds of oil in the country. India’s drilling recovery rates are only 30 per cent, which is much less than the world average. Thus, India’s dependence on the imported oil will increase substantially in the coming years. In spite of our limited reserves of oil, we are using two and a half times as much energy as developed countries per unit GDP. China has a much better record compared to India. The major reasons are the inefficient operations and equipment, no disincentives on wastage and subsidised petroleum products. There is an urgent need to put more teeth into the energy bill to reduce the wasteful use of energy. The use of renewable sources of energy should be accelerated. These measures will help in reducing the import bill and the dependence on imported energy from the national security point of view. The rise in the international oil price has a crippling effect of the economy. It has been estimated that every $1 per barrel increase in the oil price adds Rs 2700 crore to our oil import bill. The increase in the oil import bill adversely affects the trade balance and drives up inflation. The real national income and tax revenue declines, budget deficit and unemployment increases, and real output decreases. It has been projected that every $5 increase in the oil prices cuts GDP growth by 1.5 per cent. There is a general perception among different sections that the petroleum price rise is a temporary phenomenon and the government should wait for the fall of the international prices before increasing the prices of petroleum products. The ground realities do not fully support this line of thinking. The sustained oil production capacity of OPEC is 30.3 million barrels per day and the production during the second quarter of 2004 was 28.2 million barrels per day. While OPEC claims that its members still have a spare capacity of 1.0-1.5 million barrels per day, the International Energy Agency estimates that the spare capacity with OPEC is only 0.6-07 million barrels a day. As a result, any increase in the demand of oil or disruption of supplies due to natural calamities, explosions at oil terminals and pipelines due to accidents, terrorist activities or labour problems may lead to an immediate spurt in the oil prices. The Russian surplus capacity is also not fully available due to the country’s internal problems. The present spurt in the oil prices has been attributed to an increased demand for oil in China and the US and low inventories of winter fuel for heating in North America. China has emerged as the second largest consumer of oil in the current year. Out of the total 1.8 million barrels per day increase in the oil consumption in the world during 2003, China accounted for 0.8 million barrels per day. The International Energy Agency estimates that the combined share of China and India in the total demand growth of oil this year is 40 per cent. This will go up to 50 per cent in the coming year due to the rapid growth of transport and petrochemical sectors in these countries. The government must initiate immediate measures to reduce the consumption of petrol in the transport sector. Due to soft loans and the subsidised prices of oil, the transport sector is galloping at a double-digit growth rate. Vehicle production per year has already touched the magic figure of 1 million. It has been estimated that nearly 60 million tonnes of oil will be used by 80 million vehicles in 2010 if the vehicle growth rate continues at the existing pace. Subsidised prices of petrol and diesel are encouraging single occupancy transport vehicles and transport of goods and oil by trucks instead of railways, inland water-ways and pipelines. This skewed policy has resulted in the wastage of imported fuel, clogging of the highways and parking lots. As a result, excessive pollutants are generated causing widespread pollution. Instead of subsidising the imported fuel, the government should spend this money on creating a better mass transport system in the country. Someone has to foot huge subsidy bill. If the government does it by reducing the duties, the budget deficit will increase due to the total subsidy of Rs 38,000 crore. Forcing oil firms to share the subsidy burden will result in adding our Navratna PSUs to the already long list of sick units. Kerosene accounts for a nearly 50 per cent share in the total subsidy. However, it plays a vital role as it is only source of light in the 51 per cent rural households. As per the latest census, only 38 per cent households in the rural areas have no access to electricity. Till this problem is solved, there is need to financially support the rural population for meeting their basic requirement of lighting due to infrastructure bottlenecks and economic reasons. The data from the NSS shows that contrary to the perception of a large-scale use of kerosene for cooking purposes, only 7.4 per cent households in the rural areas and 11 per cent in the urban areas use kerosene for such needs. A strong measure is required to stop the diversion of kerosene for other uses. It will be desirable to leave the pricing mechanism to the market forces as has been done in the case of steel, cement, etc. Instead, the government should make policies and plans to stop the wastage of this precious resource and promote renewable sources of energy. We must never forget that petrol is not only a fuel, it is also a raw material for fertiliser, pharmaceutical, plastic and polymer industries. It should be used judiciously. Otherwise, the coming generations will curse
us. The writer is Honorary Director, Energy Research Centre, Panjab University, Chandigarh. |
Little buddy
I
read somewhere that when a Jewish child finds Hebrew alphabet cast in the shape of honey cakes he begins to associate learning with sweetness. When my turn came to initiate our grandson into the initial taste of life, I put a drop of honey on his tiny tongue which seemed to instantly activate his taste buds. The little fellow welcomed the second drop and I was willing to offer some more drops when his grandma took away from me both the silver spoon and the bottle of honey. “At least let him understand what moderation means,” she remarked with a special emphasis on “him.” Moderation, I think, stands distinctly as my self-definition. But my wife’s definition of moderation accepts neither the dictionary meaning nor my logical interpretation of it. So on the second day of the cherub’s arrival our home discourse on moderation became a subject of discussion in the family. To be fair, the family was equally divided. While our son also wanted the little man to taste a few more drops of honey, his wife thought that a stiff dose of the syrupy stuff would make him an addict. Anyway, we resolved amicably that we could forget about moderation and focus more on the art of baby-sitting. All the four of us pledged to respect one another’s mode of cuddling and cradling the little fellow. Any technique that could stop him from bawling was good enough, though it may violate established aesthetic principles. In different ways we all tried to keep him happy, through both prose and poetry, but at moments the threat to howl looked imminent. It was at that delicate moment that everyone turned to grandpa, the master of home-spun melodies. There was nothing esoteric in my art. Before he could burst in anger or twist his lips in despair, I would fashion a heroic couplet to remind him who he was - dadu’s little man and Lord’s little son. Believe it or not, the fellow liked the rhyme scheme as well as the thought content and invariably deferred his urge to cry. We are back home, after spending two fun-filled months in Mumbai. Just on return we called the family and I asked for the little buddy. I recited the couplet and he shrieked with joy. He couldn’t see me around but he did respond to that mystical couplet. The little man now is the desk top of our PC. We keep calling his mom and dad to monitor his weight and shots and other activities. We wonder about his sleep routine and his dietary passions. We feel happy that he relishes a bit of mashed banana and a spoon or two of apple juice. Last week we received some pictures of Arjit, including one of a passport size. He looked fine to me in his varying postures till grandma pointed to one photo and asked me to examine it. “Look hard,” she said, “he knits his eyebrows as you do.” Just this morning we were told that he slept well at night and didn’t bother his mom or dad. In one respect, said one son, he seemed to be like his grandfather. The fellow was up at four in the morning, just playing by himself in the cot. I recalled those two or three drops of honey which seem to make him emulate one of my central
virtues.
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British Home Secretary in the dock In some quarters though, he was accused of prying into aspects of one’s private life and even been described as control freak. His proposal for identity cards to meet security concerns and the challenge of terrorism did not go well with the liberals within and outside the Labour party. On TV screens Blunkett always came out as a harsh and cut-and-dry person, with hardly a smile on his face. By no stretch of imagination he could be described as handsome or a ladies’ man. One was, therefore, surprised when the tabloid press unearthed his affair with the publisher of a conservative weekly, The Spectator, with whom he was contesting in a court of law an access to her two-year old son, who Blunkett claimed to be his own son. He also claimed to be the father of a child his lover was carrying. Most people would have dismissed the affair as a private matter but for the fact that Mr Blunkett’s former lover disclosed to the Press that the Home Secretary had violated the ministerial code by showing a special favour to a nanny working for his former lover. He was also accused of giving a first-class railway ticket given to him as an MP to his former lover and misusing his ministerial position to get the US Embassy in London to issue a temporary passport to his lover’s child. Of all the charges, one which was considered serious was the fast-tracking of an indefinite right to stay in Britain to the nanny. Within 19 days of being told that she could be considered for the indefinite right to stay in Britain in about a year, the Home Office granted her the right of residence. The government has already instituted a one-man enquiry to look into this charge. Other charges are being looked into by the Parliamentary Standards Watchdog. Some time ago a Cabinet Minister, Mr Peter Mandelson, and a minister in the Foreign Office, Mr Keith Vaz, had to resign from Mr Blair’s government after they were accused of helping the Hinduja brothers in securing British passports. Being a close friend of the Prime Minister, Mr Mandelson , had recently become a European Union Commissioner. Mr Vaz, a person of Indian strain, however, was cooling his heels on the back benches. Though one would not predict the outcome of the scandal, so far the Prime Minister has stood by his Home Secretary. Mr Blair swears by Blunkett’s integrity and commitment to his work.
Coup attempt
Meanwhile, the Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, has been accused by the media, of not fully disclosing the extent of involvement of the British government in an attempted coup against the Equatorial Guinea government, by a group of mercenaries, mostly British or British residents, some of whom were once connected with the British intelligence or security forces. Equatorial Guinea in West Africa has the third largest oil resources in Africa and is, therefore, eyed by oil companies and governments in many a developed country. A few months back, a group of mercenaries, who had procured illegal arms for overthrowing the government of Equatorial Guinea, were arrested in Zimbabwe. Some arrests were also made in South Africa and Equatorial Guinea. Among those arrested was Mark Thatcher, a businessman and son of former British Prime Minister, Mrs Margaret Thatcher. There were reports of involvement, or at least prior knowledge of the plot, by the governments of the US, the UK and Spain. When first contacted, the British Foreign Secretary denied any prior knowledge of the attempted coup. However, some months later, in a reply to a parliamentary question by the Shadow Foreign Secretary, Mr Straw admitted that his department was told about the plot much before the arrests were made in African countries. It had also made contingency plans for evacuation of British citizens in the event of the coup attempt. It later emerged that the plot was hatched by former security personnel in the apartheid regime in South Africa. Senior officials in the US Defence Department and the British Foreign Office were kept fully informed of the plot. None of these governments fulfilled their obligation under the UN Charter to forewarn the government of Equatorial Guinea. Hence, the strong suspicion of their involvement in encouraging, if not their direct involvement, in the coup attempt. There were also reports of the Spanish authorities lending assistance to a fugitive Equatorial Guinea opposition leader who had been living in Spain, to overthrow the Guinea government. The party was spoiled by the French, who were against this attempt by the US, the UK and Spain to gain control of oil resources in Guinea. The incident reminded one of the 1995 Peter Bleach episode. He along with some others were arrested on charges of unloading arms and ammunition over Purulia in West Bengal. There were many similarities in the two episodes. In both cases the British government had prior knowledge and there was involvement of some former British intelligence men in the escapade. Bleach’s release from the Indian prison was made possible by repeated pleas by the British government. He was finally released due to the efforts of the British Home Secretary, Mr Blunkett, after his visit to New Delhi. |
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Kashmiri youth harassed
There have been instances of Kashmiri students being harassed by the state machinery when they travel through Punjab to New Delhi and elsewhere. With no student union on the campus of the University of Kashmir, I thought it is important to focus on the Kashmiri youth through a senior faculty member of the University of Kashmir. Prof Nasir Mirza is the head of the P.G. Department of Media Education Research Centre. Twenty years back he was in the very first batch of this department and so his
association dates back to two decades. And he has performed the teacher’s role during the most turbulent times. I met him last month when I was in Srinagar. And to my query about discrimination that an average Kashmiri youth faces once he leaves the Valley and travels to other cities, this is what he has to say: “This is indeed a very serious issue. Local newspapers often carry stories of young boys travelling by train being harassed in Punjab and forced to part with some money to get safe passage and threatened that otherwise they would be booked as anti-social or anti-national elements. “Recently a group of media students undergoing training at the Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia, New Delhi, was asked to make a short film/documentary on any theme of their choice. They came up with a 15-minute film titled “Kaash” in which a young boy is shown responding to an announcement by a former Prime Minister that there are immense opportunities for Kashmiri youth in the country and that they should come forward and avail them. The film shows how the trials and tribulations, harassment and intimidation start when, in response to the call, a young man leaves his home and starts his journey, how he is harassed on the way and denied accommodation in any hotel!” Professor Mirza also focused on another grim reality: The vast number of educated unemployed in the Valley. “Recently for a post of class IV forest guard, 12,000 highly educated youth came with applications. The state government seems unable to tackle unemployment because of lack of funds.” Almost 90 per cent of the present-day Kashmiris are emotionally affected. This generation of the Kashmiris has actually seen no peace; just crackdowns and searches and have lived in constant insecurity. Do his students carry emotional scars? To this, Mirza has this to say: “One realises that healing will begin only when fresh injuries stop and that is yet to happen. Recently during a special session at Government Degree College, Bemina, Srinagar, I suggested that every college should have a counselling centre. Unfortunately we don’t have such centres, neither in the colleges nor at the university. Students find themselves at the crossroads with no one to turn to or bank upon when it comes to making an informed, intelligent career choice. They need to be told about the possibilities available, we need to listen to them, know their problems and suggest solutions.” Several students are taking to writing verse. “We have introduced a creative writing course at the PG level and it’s popular.” |
It is the Guru that teaches Simran to a seeker-after-God. —The Sikhism When one feels supremely content, effulgent with light from within and without, calm and collected; one is very close to attaining the goal of Truth. He feels a vast ocean of quietitude and peace descend on him. The cause of everything around him becomes easily apparent. —The Bhagvad Gita No matter who joins whom in battle, the laws of combat should be fair and just. The king must give his assent to these laws. Both the laws and the king's assent must be published far and wide so that the people know justice rules. —The Mahabharata It is not how much you do but how much love you put into the doing and sharing with others that is important. —Mother Teresa  |
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One always admired the British Home Secretary, Mr David Blunkett, a blind person, who has admirably handled two of the most important and challenging portfolios of education and home affairs. He has launched some of the most important measures to tackle crime and hooliganism and reform the legal system.