 |
|
Lessons to learn Kashmir in Kathmandu |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Notional government
Palestinians after Arafat
The “Watan” factor
Girls for sale in Himachal Parents responsible if children get spoiled From Pakistan
|
Lessons to learn BY all accounts, Tuesday’s train accident in Punjab’s Mukerian was one of the worst in recent times. As accidents have become frequent, there is need for introspection and investigation at various levels with a view to improving traffic and passenger safety. In doing so, the authorities concerned will have to take a holistic view of the situation. The magnitude of the accident proves that there was a total collapse of the operations and safety wings of the railways. As the vital block signal instrument had reportedly not been working for over 24 hours, the station masters should have stopped the movement of trains and discontinued the outdated paper clearance system until the snag was rectified. Surely, it is timely human intervention, and not technology alone, which can ensure safety. However, this also raises a pertinent question: Why are station masters of small stations not provided with cell phones and wireless sets? These would come in handy in a situation of emergency. Unfortunately, except on some high-density corridors, the railways do not have a foolproof, modernised communication system. The cabins are yet to be upgraded and the signalling equipment is outdated. Experts like Delhi Metro chief E. Sreedharan suggest that if the railways could introduce the automatic train protection system by spending Rs 1-1.25 crore per kilometre of track, accidents can be checked. The system merits a fair trial because it will not only help prevent head-on collisions and other causes of accidents like derailment and brake failure but also reduce the scope for human error. Funds should pose no problem as it is a question of ensuring railway safety. Reports of a four-year-old Komal losing her mother and brother in the accident, the death of the ill-fated DMU engine driver Avtar Singh who had an accident-free record and was due to retire early next month and countless other tragedies are all shocking. Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav called the accident a “brutal murder”. Instead, why can’t he take the initiative to avoid such incidents and save the lives of innocent passengers and the railway staff? |
|
Kashmir in Kathmandu THE four-day deliberations on the Kashmir crisis in Kathmandu assume significance in many ways. It was not just a gathering of nearly 60 thinking individuals, including Kashmiri separatist leaders, from India and Pakistan who exchanged their views on the festering problem. Organised by the International Pugwash Foundation, which won the 1995 Nobel Prize for Peace, the Kathmandu conference had the tacit support of India and Pakistan as both had sent their official observers. This means the outcome of the initiative may influence their future moves. The meeting provided an occasion to the Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control to interact among themselves for the first time on a question that concerns them more than anybody else. Interestingly, they disapproved of the use of violence to achieve their objective. They supported the India-Pakistan dialogue process, expressing the view that peace could come back to Kashmir only through negotiations. There were, of course, elements which talked of separatist ideas, but they agreed with the majority viewpoint that there was need for promoting the confidence-building exercise initiated by India and Pakistan. It seems realisation has dawned on the Kashmiris of all shades and persuasions that the path of violence, including that of terrorism, will take them nowhere. It has made the life of people more miserable on both sides of the divide. As demanded by Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat, the Kathmandu initiative will continue with more such meetings in the coming months. It would be in the interest of the people in the entire region if a campaign is launched to create a situation so that terrorist outfits fail to find new recruits to their ranks. The drive is also needed with a view to exposing those who shamelessly continue to talk of violence in the name of religion. Kashmiris in general are not bothered about which side of the LoC they are. They will be happy if they are able to meet their relatives on either side easily. |
|
Notional government IN these benighted coalition times, for those who despair of a single parliamentary bloc with a clear majority, there comes cheering news. Over 50 per cent of the MPs, including ‘Iron Man’ L.K. Advani, his bete noire, Laloo Prasad and sporting Sunil Dutt have yet to furnish details of their assets and liabilities to the Lok Sabha Secretariat. It is mandatory for them to do so under the Representation of People Act. Despite this act of (c)omission, few would deny that the honourable members of the Lok Sabha are indeed representative of our people as well as our politics. And their number is exactly 277. There is magic in numbers, and not only of the cabal or cabala kind. The most aspired to number in the Lok Sabha is the magic figure of 272. It should not be forgotten that this is the number of MPs Congress President Sonia Gandhi claimed to have the support of when she pitched for her party to form the government in 1999. But she had got her sum wrong and the substance that followed was coalition ministries with more parties than can be counted on the fingers of our hands and toes of our feet. However, hope springs eternal in the human breast. Now if there are 277 MPs, a good five men more than the required 272, who have separately or together, wittingly or unwittingly, emerged as a united, single parliamentary bloc, there is cause for optimism. These MPs are, without a whit of doubt, a clear majority and can stake claim to form a government. The risk of defection, of one of the members breaking rank by declaring his assets and liabilities, is indeed low. Such a formation would be truly all-party, a notional if not a national government, often touted as the alternative to coalition rule. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee may not be easily stirred to appreciate the case of these 277 MPs, but he should take note that Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal belongs to their ranks. |
|
All men are creative but few are artists. — Paul Goodman
|
Palestinians after Arafat DURING a cold dreary Moscow morning in 1971, I was one of the few persons present when Nikita Khrushchev was buried. Khrushchev’s son delivered a poignant eulogy for his late father. He proclaimed: “My father was a unique man. During his lifetime there were many who hated him and many who loved him. But there was no one who could ignore him”. Khrushchev had, after all, denounced Stalin’s brutal excesses. But he was unable to liberate his people from the yoke of one-party tyranny. As I travelled through the Arab section of Jerusalem a few days ago I recalled Yasser Arafat’s contribution to the cause of his people. Almost single handed, Arafat placed the Palestinian cause at the forefront of global attention. But when he was handed over the reins of governance, he was unable to either effect democratic reforms, or deliver good governance to his fellow Palestinians. Like Mao and Khrushchev, Arafat will be remembered for his efforts to seek dignity and self-respect for his people. But his tenure as the President of the Palestinian Authority will be remembered for the corruption and centralisation of authority that emerged. While Arafat himself led a simple and austere life, the same could not be said of the lifestyles of his wife and supporters and many other members of the Palestinian leadership. The lifelong revolutionary was a poor administrator, unable and unwilling to curb the excesses of his followers, or those who resorted to mindless violence. With Arafat’s death, new dynamics is emerging in the quest for Palestinian leadership. Arafat’s successor is to be elected on January 9, 2005, just before elections are scheduled to be held in violence-torn Iraq in the same month. The frontrunner in these elections is Mahmoud Abbas, who like Arafat, spent many years in exile. Abbas is regarded as a moderate who is opposed to violence. Just when Abbas seemed to be ready to coast to victory, a radical young Palestinian leader, Marwan Barghouti, threw his hat into the ring. Charismatic 45-year-old Barghouti is in Israeli custody facing a 100-year jail term, after having been convicted for involvement in terrorist attacks that resulted in the killing of Israeli civilians. Barghouti suddenly withdrew his candidature with his supporters alleging that this had been forced by American and Egyptian pressure. Even if Abbas wins the election as predicted, Barghouti will remain a formidable political force. Abbas will constantly have to look over his shoulders when negotiating with the Israelis and the international community. Abbas’ own political strength will also be tested when internal elections to the Fatah movement are held in August 2005. Abbas takes over at a time when Israeli counter-terrorism measures have severely crippled terrorist groups like the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, though the Hezbollah remains strong. The main challenge for the new Palestinian leadership is, therefore, going to emerge from within its own ranks. It is now evident that in his second term President Bush is going to devote more attention to securing an Israeli-Palestinian peace than he did in his first term. The contours of such a settlement are well established in negotiations that Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Barak had in Camp David in the summer of 2000. The inconclusive Camp David negotiations were followed by comprehensive discussions in the Egyptian border town of Taba and a roadmap for peace endorsed by the “quartet” comprising the United States, the European Union, Russia and the UN. China has been excluded from the quartet. Unlike India, China does not pontificate, or issue gratuitous comments on issues in which it is not directly involved. China needs oil from the Arabs and arms and defence technology from Israel. It secures oil by providing missiles and nuclear technology through its proxy Pakistan to oil producers like Libya, Iran and Saudi Arabia, while buying sophisticated military hardware from Israel. Our communists should learn a lesson or two on diplomatic pragmatism from their Chinese comrades! The quartet’s roadmap, derived from the Camp David and Taba negotiations, would lead to Israeli withdrawal from around 95 per cent of territories occupied in 1967 in the West Bank and from the entire Gaza Strip. The Palestinians will be “compensated” by a land swap with Israel. Israeli sovereignty over Jewish neighbourhoods in Jerusalem, and Palestinian sovereignty over Arab neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem including the Muslim, Christian and Armenian quarters of the old city, is envisaged. Both sides have also favoured Jerusalem being declared an “Open City”. While the Palestinian side has long insisted on the “right of return” of refugees, Israel has flatly rejected this, fearing that any large-scale influx of Palestinians would pose security risks it cannot afford to take. The Israeli position has been endorsed by the Americans. While Israel may accept a few thousand refugees, especially from divided families, the bulk of the refugees would either have to move into the newly created Palestinian State or be settled in Arab countries where they are now resident. The “road-map” stresses that the Palestinian Authority has to quell terrorist violence and adopt democratic governance. India has no direct role in moving the roadmap to peace forward. India can also have no pretensions that it can contribute significantly in economic terms to the West Asian peace process. We would also do well to remember the old adage that empty vessels make the most noise. Our Ambassador to the United Nations Nirupam Sen made a balanced but eloquent presentation on the Middle-East peace process on November 30. While reiterating support to “legitimate rights” of the Palestinian people, Sen expressed our concern over the “endless cycle” of “violence and counter-violence” that has resulted in the loss of thousands of innocent lives in recent times. Sen’s pronouncements were in marked contrast to the intemperate tone used by some constituents of the ruling UPA. It is perhaps too much to expect a sense of balance and understanding of our national security interests from a communal party like the Indian Union Muslim League. The Muslim League’s supporters, after all, pulled down and dishonoured our national flag last month at the International Airport in Calicut as a mark of support for one of its leaders returning from Saudi Arabia - a kingdom that finances Wahabi extremism, undermines unity and communal harmony in pluralistic societies, discriminates between Indians on religious grounds on issues of employment and at Pakistani behest, criticises India and supports the Geelani faction of the Hurrriyat Conference within the Organisation of Islamic
Conference. |
The “Watan” factor SIGHTSEEING can be exhausting. We were on the eleventh day of our land tour that covered — starting from Paris — Bonn,
Berlin, Prague, Salzburg and Munich. We had made advance hotel bookings for the first 10 days and left the remaining days open-ended. We were some 30 km short of Munich in the East. It was nearly 10.15
p m and sun was about to set on this June day in 1994. We pulled off the highway into a small town. There was hardly any human activity and the town seemed deserted. We spotted a pub and on entering, encountered three beer-smelling Germans on their way out. The person managing the joint looked like a non-European. We disclosed our identity and asked him if he could suggest a hotel close-by where we could lodge for the night. “I have two big rooms on the first floor. If it suits you, you are welcome to stay.” We had a look at the offered rooms and found them spacious and adequately furnished to house the six of us. We enquired about the charges. “What would you like to drink and eat?” he said, ignoring our query. Postponing our question for a later hour, we settled for beer and omelette, which he himself prepared. For the ladies he brewed desi tea, which they had been craving for. During conversation, we learnt that he — Majid— was a Pakistani who had gone to Germany nine years earlier when he was eighteen, worked as a waiter in a restaurant for five years and with earnings bought this pub. He had now plans to build a hotel. “My grandfather used to tell me of our home town in India,” he said, showing genuine happiness at meeting us. By midnight, well fed and well hosted, we were all yawning. “What is your schedule tomorrow?” Majid asked. “We plan to leave by 8 a m,” we told him. “Oh” he said, “I only come at 11”. Seeing us exchange worried glances, he added, “The pub has an automatic lock. You simply have to close the door while leaving.” We looked at him unbelievingly as he added, “The kitchen and bar are fully stocked. You must have your breakfast before leaving.” We again asked him for the charges. “Please treat it as your home. It is rare that I get guests from the watan.” Before we could protest, he had already walked out, leaving his entire establishment in the hands of total strangers, whom he had known barely two hours. After our return to Paris, I telephoned to thank him and ask him if we could do anything. “Yes” he said, “Please come again and tell your friends they are all welcome in my greebkhana.” I was overcome with emotion and did not know what to say. He perhaps understood and added, “By next year I will have the hotel ready and will be able to make my guests more comfortable. Insha Allah.” Luckily, the Line of Control does not divide human
hearts. |
Girls for sale in Himachal
Girls are married to aged men at prices between Rs 5,000 and Rs 15,000. Gullible girls are at times taken as second wives. They have little say in the household and are forced to lead a life of hardships. Not only have quite a few returned home after being harassed by their in-laws, but also a few have gone missing mysteriously. The community does not encourage education of girls. The sale of girls is accepted as a means of bringing some lucre to an otherwise poverty-stricken family. The lure of a son compels people in the Transgiri area to have large families. With little land holdings and barely any education, a family, already living a hand-to-mouth existence, is easily enticed to sell daughters when offered a few thousand rupees. The district has a high 23 per cent of its population living below the poverty line. Middlemen arrange grooms for needy girls and earning a handsome commission in the bargain. Having turned a mute spectator to such commodification of the fairer sex, this rural community is yet to wake up despite several girls making a comeback after facing exploitation. A majority of such cases go unreported for fear of social disrepute. Though the police maintains that no organised network of conduits exists in the area, according to an estimate, in a brief span of one year at least five dozen cases of sale of girls have been reported from the blocks of Sangrah, Shillai and Rajgarh alone. In one and a half dozen cases the girls, including an expectant mother, have returned home after ill-treatment. The State Commission for Women, while taking note of this proliferating trade in its annual report, has expressed concern at the trend. A 22-year-old girl of Kuriya-Kharag village of Rajgarh was rescued by the police from Haryana after she was sold for Rs 5,000 some months back. Dwarika Devi (23) of Andheri village in Sangrah block was lured by two Haryana youths hailing from Karak Pandev in May this year to enter into one such arrangement. She disappeared mysteriously and the police has not been able to trace her till today. In another case a vigilant group of villagers nabbed two physically challenged youths hailing from Jind in Haryana. They had come to buy a bride at Sangrah. They were later arrested. The villagers who are gradually realising the disrepute associated with the trade are now coming forward to raise their voice against the menace. The Superintendent of Police, Mr S.R.Sharma, while accepting that sale of girls was indeed happening in the region, maintained that since the parents themselves hatched the deals and the girls showed little resistance, it is very difficult to book them under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956. The Chairperson of the State Women’s Commission, Ms Viplove Thakur, expressing concern at the extreme backwardness of the region leading to the disturbing trend, says, “The economic status of the Transgiri region of Sirmaur should be viewed separately and not seen in totality with the gross domestic product of the rest of the district”. The state planning department has been requested to chalk out a special project providing sustainable employment. She said no amount of police vigilance or awareness could improve the lot of these people unless the government endeavoured to uplift their economic condition. Sirmaur is at number two in the list of most backward districts of Himachal and among 140 such districts of the country. A Rs 45-crore project was recently approved for Sirmaur by the Government of India, disclosed the Deputy Commissioner, Mr M.L Sharma. Providing avenues like cultivation of off-season vegetables, improved irrigation facilities, horticulture and diversification of agriculture and improved health facilities, the project, slated to be completed in three years, would bring in the desired changes in the region, added the DC. |
|
Parents responsible if children get spoiled A
boy and a girl, both students of Class 12 at a school in New Delhi, are facing disciplinary action after the 17-year-old boy allegedly made a small pornographic video clipping with his cellphone of himself and the girl, having sex inside the school. Rajnessh (Osho) says, “It is very easy to give birth to a child, but very difficult to become parents”. As we know, mother is the first teacher of a child. She is in charge of the child’s growth during infancy. Father is equally responsible in today’s world, when mother is serving. It is the joint effort of mother and father to bring up a tiny tot, who is innocent and new to this world. Research has proved that environment plays a vital role in the personality development of a child. The immediate environment is of the family. Time has come when parents should ask themselves: Are they sincere with themselves? Are they following a healthy value system? Do they have a duality in their personalities or do they have a clear-cut character? Is there any difference between the face they actually have and the face which they pretend in front of their children? Do they make an effort to become a right role model for their children? We should not forget that a child is a minute observer. He does not follow what his parents say, he follows what they act, they do. We are to look into ourselves sincerely to find out our mistakes and wrong actions, which are damaging our generation. Our mistakes are ruining our children and the future of the country. Parents who themselves are addicted to so-called unethical TV serials and programmes cannot inculcate right, progressive and positive values among their children. Parents having the lust for money and power are unable to carry their children on the path of truth, honesty, commitment and dedication. Parents who themselves move under different masks can never help their children to be original because they themselves have lost the essence of originality. Our children are the ultimate responsibility and real treasure for us. If they are spoiled, misdirected to directionless, it confirms our inability to be parents. We, as parents, are to question ourselves:Are we leading the life of an awakened individual or just under the influence of falsehood — false ego, false pomp and show and temporary pleasures? |
|
From Pakistan ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday undertook to deepen good governance and political stability with the help of the free Press, terming the role of the Press as critical in a transition. “Clearly, good governance is possible only when all the three stakeholders —- the government, the media and the public—- pursue common objectives, goals, and aspiration,” the Prime Minister said while addressing the ceremony of the 17th All-Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) Awards here. “Any divergence between the three will not achieve the desired results. The APNS introduced a new category of Akhbar Dost Award this time which recognised the agencies that have won the highest number of business awards during the last two decades, 1982 - 2002. S.H. Hashmi of Orient won the first position in 17 awards held since the inception of APNS award ceremony. He was also given the Millennium Award of Life Time Achievement Award. Interflow Communications was the 2nd highest during the last two decades, followed by third Akhbar Dost Award, which was shared by two agencies, Asiatic Advertising and Midas (Pvt) Limited. — The Nation Drive against beggars
ISLAMABAD: Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Capt. (retd) Liaquat Ali Khan on Tuesday ordered all SDPOs and SHOs to arrest professional beggars and send them to jail under the Beggars Act. The SSP ordered them to take strict action in their jurisdiction, and organise patrolling of Eagles and Falcons to check professional beggars besides deputing the police in good strength at different spots to arrest them. In this regard he asked the SHO, Women Police Station, to make a beggars squad against women and child beggars seen at different places.
— The Nation
AJK chief for Indo-Pak amity
MUZAFFARABAD: AJK President Maj-Gen (retd) Sardar Muhammad Anwar has said the world has been emerging as a global village and time demands that both Pakistan and India should join the globalisation march and resolve their all outstanding disputes amicably. General Anwar was briefing a 27-member delegation of French doctors and media persons currently visiting the AJK the other day. The French doctors’ team is led by former French minister and Parliament member Prof Bernard Debry. The French doctors are on a humanitarian mission in the AJK.
— The News
Checking cash snatching
FAISALABAD: The Gulberg police has introduced a novel method to minimise the increasing incidents of cash snatching by rounding up the people carrying huge amounts and locking them in the police station. On the instructions of the Gulberg SHO, about 12 employees of different offices and industrial units who were carrying money with them were intercepted and physically searched on Liaquat Road, Gulberg, Jinnah Colony, Gurunankpura Road and adjoining areas. A police team, headed by the Gulberg SHO, intercepted many people at the Chiniot Bazaar Intersection and Liaquat Road where a number of bank branches are situated. The policemen not only harassed the people carrying cash, but also questioned them unlawfully. The people with cash were forced to stay on road for two to three hours and asked to provide proof about their cash.
— The Dawn |
Self-control is the best way to calm the thought-disturbed mind. It brings serenity and allows us to look on the world dispassionately. — The Bhagvad Gita The queen and her companions walk about gorgeously arrayed. Though covered with exquisite gems, they bow humbly to the poorly dressed sages, they bow in recognition to learning, not to wealth. — The Mahabharata Truth is the first to be sought for; and Beauty and Goodness will then be added unto you. — Mahatma Gandhi What was Guru Gobind Singh’s Khalsa? It was nothing but the ultimate finishing touch that was given to the sword of spirit. — TheSikhism  |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
DRIVEN by extreme poverty and social backwardness, villagers across the Transgiri area of Sirmaur district in Himachal are forced to sell girls, often to physically challenged and aged men from Punjab and Haryana. With a tacit social acceptance for the deals, the region has emerged as a market for girls.