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After tsunami Troubled waters |
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Arafat to Abbas Great expectations from new Palestinian leader THE victory of former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in the Palestinian presidential election has been on expected lines. He had no formidable challenger in this crucial battle of the ballot.
Lok Pal is not for judges
My pet aversion
Feed the soil, not the crop Delhi Durbar
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After tsunami THE tsunami havoc has jolted the government to put in place a nodal agency to tackle any such threat in the future. The National Disaster Management Authority which is proposed to be set up can be more effective than the present inter-ministerial crisis management group if it is suitably empowered and all concerned extend full cooperation to it. Whether it should work under the PMO or not is a matter of detail. What matters is that the authority should be so well-established that the mutual rivalries between the ministries do not affect its functioning in any way. That is imperative because it will be handling a task where time is of the essence and it will have to go into the top gear at the word go without bothering too much about irksome bureaucratic technicalities. That is the only way it can save lives. Not only that, it will have to be in the extreme state of readiness always. That is a tall order considering that if there is no immediate threat for a long time, official machinery tends to go into sleep mode. The decision to establish a tsunami warning system also reflects the collective will, not only of political parties but of the entire population. Had it been in existence before December 26, perhaps the loss would not have been so colossal. The pronouncement to set up this system in collaboration with other countries is a welcome departure from the earlier insistence on having a system of India’s own. The threat is too large to be tackled by any country alone. Just as natural disasters know no national boundaries, they are not hemmed in by state boundaries either. In such an hour of trial, the relief and rehabilitation work needs to be undertaken without injecting any political colour to the exercise. Such is the magnitude of the tragedy that no relief effort will be enough. The limited resources have to be shared equitably by all. The effort of some leaders to grab a larger slice for their own state even if that deprives those of a neighbouring state of their rightful due needs to be discouraged. It is equally unfortunate that the victims are still divided on caste lines. If this calamity does not unite us, perhaps nothing will. |
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Troubled waters IT is unfortunate that the India-Pakistan talks on resolving the Baglihar dam issue has broken down. This has happened at a time when the two countries have been busy taking confidence-building measures to put their relations on an even keel. Pakistan has threatened to seek the appointment of a “neutral expert” to address the problem as permitted by the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960. India has also shown readiness to face the situation if Pakistan exercises such an option. Needless to say, such a course of action, however acceptable it may be under the Treaty signed by Jawaharlal Nehru and Ayub Khan, will be a great setback for the ongoing peace process. If the two sides adopt a give and take approach, it would not be difficult for them to solve it. Under the Treaty, waters of the Sutlej, the Ravi and the Beas are for the exclusive use of India and the Jhelum, the Chenab and the Indus are for the exclusive use of Pakistan. India wants to build a dam on the Chenab for hydroelectric purposes because of its growing power needs. It is in its search for new power sources that it has thought of the Baglihar project. India has tried to scotch Pakistani fears that supply of water to Pakistan would be curtailed by pointing out that the Chenab water would not be diverted and Pakistan would get its full quota. Pakistan feels that the dam violates the Treaty provisions. Besides, it also does not want India to construct a dam when the Kashmir issue has not been sorted out. The dispute is essentially technical, rather than political. It should be said to the credit of both India and Pakistan that the World Bank-brokered Treaty has stood the test of time during the last 44 years. It has also worked to the full satisfaction of the signatories. So, there is no reason to believe that they cannot discuss the matter and solve it in an amicable manner. After all, if they cannot find a solution to such a small problem, how can they solve bigger problems like Kashmir? Far from being desperate, they should have further rounds of meetings till they are able to put an end to the whole dispute. What is needed is a sense of sagacity on both sides so that India can meet its power needs and Pakistan its water needs. |
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Arafat to Abbas THE victory of former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in the Palestinian presidential election has been on expected lines. He had no formidable challenger in this crucial battle of the ballot. His success has ended the search for a successor to Yasser Arafat. The Palestinians have voted overwhelmingly for Mr Abbas with the hope that the new leader would succeed where his predecessor had failed. That is why the voters did not bother about the boycott of the poll by the militant outfit Hamas. Interestingly, the Hamas leadership has hinted at abandoning the path of violence, though temporarily, in its quest for a political role under the new dispensation. It is likely to declare a ceasefire after over two weeks of rocket attacks on Israeli targets, which will be another victory for Mr Abbas. He stands for an end to intifada (the ongoing uprising) so that he can wholeheartedly concentrate on the Palestinian cause of establishing their sovereign homeland. He has the support of 49 per cent Palestinians on the question of intifada, as a recent survey has brought out. The election of Mr Abbas has brightened up the hope for the resumption of the stalled peace process. The necessity for restarting the negotiations may figure in the talks he is likely to have with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in a few days. Mr Abbas has also to undertake the task of overhauling the Palestinian Authority, which has been riddled with corruption and inefficiency. The Palestinians expect him to do something soon to alleviate their economic problems too. There is widespread unemployment in the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas. This shows that he has trying times ahead. He can come up to the people’s expectations only if he gets enough support from the international community. |
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Live as long as you may, the first twenty years are the longest half of your life. — Robert Southey
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Lok Pal is not for judges
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brazen-faced tactic to bury the Lok Pal Bill has been worked out by the UPA Government if the Press statement of the Law Minister represents its view. I am referring to the outrageous proposal (which has never been put forward since 1968 when this topic is being discussed in Parliament even by the extreme critics of the judiciary) that the judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court should be included in the purview of the Lok Pal. The Supreme Court itself has emphasised that society’s demand for honesty in a judge is exacting and absolute. No excuse or no legal relativity can condone such betrayal. A single dishonest judge not only dishonours himself and disgraces his office but also jeopardises the integrity of the entire judicial system. A legislator or an administrator may be found guilty of corruption without apparently endangering the foundation of the State. But a judge must keep himself absolutely above suspicion, to preserve the impartiality and independence of the judiciary and to have the public confidence thereof. Realising that independence of the judiciary being one of the basic features of our Constitution, a grave responsibility lies on it to see that no doubt is cast on its honest functioning. But then judges do not come from another planet — they come from the same stock as the rest of society, and actions of some of them do bring shame to us. But no protection is sought for them — rather the Supreme Court has ruled in Veeraswamy’s case that High Court or Supreme Court judges can be prosecuted under the Prevention of Corruption Act after obtaining sanction from the Chief Justice of India, just as for a civil servant sanction has to be obtained from his appointing authority. But contrast this reaction with a failed attempt made by members of Parliament some time back to pass legislation to say that legislators are not public servants with a view to escaping from the purview of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Independence of the judiciary is the most essential characteristic of a free society like ours. It is the livewire of our judicial system. In order to effectuate this, a methodology for appointing a proper and fit candidate to higher judiciary and also for removal is necessary. It is for that reason that there is now near-unanimity among legal and political circles that in the matter of appointments, transfers, removal, disciplinary matters of the higher judiciary, the present position of the Supreme Court alone being the exclusive mechanism is no longer acceptable. There is also near-unanimity that the National Judicial Commission (N.J.C) should be constituted to deal with all these matters. It is not a revolutionary suggestion — rather it is to be found in a number of countries. There is now insistent demand from the public that matters dealing with appointments and other misdemeanours by higher judiciary need to be handled by an independent body using transparent criteria, instead of the present unsatisfactory mechanism shrouded in secrecy and controlled by a small cabal. It is for this reason that the National Commission to Review the Constitution, headed by former Chief Justice of India Justice Venkatachalliah, has also advised the constitution of a NJC. The NJC should have the CJI (chairperson), two seniormost Supreme Court judges, seniormost High Court Chief Justice of a minister nominated by the Prime Minister, leaders of the Opposition in both houses and a senior member of the Bar to be nominated by other members of the commission. A retired judge of the Supreme Court could be the whole-time member of the commission. A judge of a High Court is not like any incumbent in service. He is not to be treated as one of the highest paid persons in the country, and the rules relevant for assessing the performance and capability of a government official cannot be made applicable to the judges of the High Courts. Of course, this in no way absolves then of their obligation, moral as well as constitutional, to devote the best part of their time to their work and to keep up and uphold the best traditions of the judiciary in the matter of impartiality, objectivity and independence from any influence. Judges themselves are now acutely aware of the public dissatisfaction with the judicial system. This awareness, I am quite sure, is the biggest guarantee that serious efforts will be made by all. But then everything is not all rosy. So I am all for proceeding against those judges against whom even reasonable suspicion exists. It is not correct to say that the only remedy is impeachment. A mechanism like a National Judicial Commission will be able to impress upon the judge concerned either to desist from such activities or remit that office in disgrace. The Law Minister’s snide that the impeachment provision has failed is dubiously correct, and he needs to be reminded that it was because of the opposition by his party, motivated by extraneous considerations, that let the people down in that instance. The Lok Pal Bill could become law immediately with Parliament passing it. But if the weird suggestion of the Law Minister is to be carried out, the Constitution will have to be amended, and approval obtained from a majority of the state legislatures. Such a time-consuming process will necessarily take decades. This, of course, is not a deterrence to the Law Minister, because the real and sole motive behind this dangerous suggestion (which trespasses on the independence of the judiciary) is to find an excuse to avoid passing the Lok Pal Bill and to give relief to 100 tainted MPs, including some of the powerful Cabinet ministers. This exercise by the Law Minister would make a mockery of the assurance given by the Prime Minister, as recently as September 2004, that the “UPA government would lose no time to enact the Lok Pal Bill and that the need for it is more urgent than ever”. A person in the street will wonder whose word is to be accepted. The Prime Minister’s word or the self-interest and safety of tainted ministers speaking through the Law Minister? When at his first Press conference the Prime Minister resoundingly refuted the “insinuation that there are two power centres”, it gave the assurance that Dr Manmohan Singh had jumped successfully to land in the Prime Minister’s chair. Is that hope to recede by the latest move of his Law Minister? The people wait for an answer from the Prime
Minister.
— The writer is a retired Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court |
My pet aversion
I
am strongly and violently allergic to cats, and I don’t mean the two-legged variety whose caustic comments about other members of their sex I find highly entertaining. My fear and dislike of cats began when, as a child, I saw one of them running round in circles in an attempt to extricate its head from the mouth of the jug in which my nightly potion of warm milk had been left to cool. In adolescence, and as a young man, my antipathy to cats became somewhat of an obsession. On more than one occasion I dropped my pursuit of a comely maiden as soon as I discovered that she or her mother was cat-lover. It did not matter if the family’s adored pet was of Persian or Siamese origin. A cat was a cat, and if I saw one purring contentedly on the lap of a girl I quickly made my exit from her house and her life. There must be something kinky, I’ve always thought, about rich, old women in western countries who leave their entire fortunes to a home for stray cats. Despite my strong feelings about the latter, I would not mind changing places with one of them if some disgustingly rich American dowager would adopt me as her son and heir. I would draw the line, however, at her little darlings enter my room. Strange to say, I once came within an ace of being in that enviable position. I was in my early twenties and the lady in question was in her mid-forties, though well-preserved and not bad-looking and more than adequately provided for by her late husband who probably suffered from the same phobia as I did. She had no children and she lived with a retinue of servants in a rambling old house which she had modernised at considerable expense. Somehow, she had taken a fancy to me and told me to look upon her as an elder sister. Taking her at her word I gratefully accepted her lavish hospitality as also the imported silk ties and socks she bought for me from the European shops in Delhi. One night, at a candle-lit dinner in her house, she spoke of the great emptiness in her life and her desire to fill it with someone whom she could trust, and who would love her for herself and not her money. I sensed the danger signal at once. A few dinners and lunches did not matter, nor did the occasional gifts. But I wasn’t cut out to be a gigolo. So I suggested in all seriousness that she keep some household pets. I recommend a dog, a talking mynah, a budgerigar, or all three. The lady was not amused and, greatly to my relief, her invitations to “drop in” became less frequent. The last time I saw her, she had bought herself a white and gold wicker basket in which reposed a round ball of fur which, I was informed by the proud owner was of Chinese descent from an ancestor who was a favorite of a princess of the Ming
dynasty. |
Feed the soil, not the crop
In agriculture, man’s role is subservient to nature, and land’s response to him depends on its own nourishment. As often as we hear of a person needing iron or proteins and one being advised to eat a balanced diet, mother earth too is found to need one or the other nutrient for its proper health. You need seeds and irrigation for raising a crop. The advent of chemical fertilisers gave the image of extra bumper crops like a key to an era of plenty. Fertilisers and pesticides did act as tonics for the replenishment of lost fertility. But just as human body requires several elements of nourishment in a certain ratio, land too needs succour in the form of a number of ingredients. Scientists tell us that plants require at least 17 essential nutrients in mother soil for a normal growth. The relevant philosophy is: “feed the soil, not the crop; give back to earth what you have taken from it!” It is a heartening sign that India — for whom organic approach is a tradition — is waking up to the reality. “A lot of research has been done on how chemical farming poses hazards to environment and human health. From this it is quite clear that there are pesticides and fertiliser residues in our food,” says V. Bapna, of Morarca Foundation, whose pioneering work has helped farmers of 150 villages in Jhunjhnu, Sikar and Churu districts of Rajasthan change the face of the Shekhawati region. They produce 2,000 kg of vermi-compost (priced at Rs. 500 per kg.) per day. Such is the valuable contribution of the lowly earthworm - an insignificant representative of mother nature — with the dung of the cow which is often maligned only because our ancients gave it a place of honour. As per experiments, a cow - too old to litter, more than repays for its feed and the caretaker’s cost, and even if it dies, if its carcass is buried in the earth - it yields after a year a quality manure called “Samadhi Khad”. In the U.S.A (which has witnessed the damage caused by chemical inputs), organic farming is now a ‘booming industry at $25 billion and growing @ 25 per cent’, we are told. Of the US and the EU, each has an estimated market of above Rs. 2.16 lakh crore. India’s market is of course much larger projected at Rs. 6.58 lakh crore. A state-level workshop on organic agriculture organised jointly by the Extension Directorate of J.L.N. Agriculture University, Jabalpur, and Central Ministry of Agriculture in January last year expressed serious anxiety regarding the threat of environmental pollution and stagnating production consequential to the reckless use of chemical fertilisers. It underlined the need to revitalise the concept of organic farming in the interest of future generations. Five “organic villages” — selected, one in each block - to showcase eco-friendly sustainable development were showing satisfactory results like increase in rainfall, water recharge, increase in natural enemies to fight crop pests and higher income for farming families. Experiments at Malgaon (district Khandwa) are valuable examples of what can be done through totally indigenous techniques spurred mainly by cow dung and urine. The story of the blind use of chemical pesticides for the control of insects, pests and crop diseases is not very different. This has, over the years, destroyed many natural effective biological control-agents present in the soil. The consequence is twofold: (1) pests have been developing resistance to chemical pesticides and (2) the pesticides and herbicides have travelled through foodgrains, vegetables, fruits and animal feeds to our dinner tables and even to the milk of breast-feeding mothers! (The last having been authenticated in a UNDP report in no less a state than Punjab!). Purchasing all this danger to human society year after year at markedly increasing prices is as ominous as it is idiotic. As per official figures, we spent 72 crore American dollars on the import of fertilisers last year (though in 1999-2000, it was nearly double amounting to $140 crore), while pesticides which cost us 33.6 crores of American dollars have been increasing more or less regularly during the last eight years. How do we meet this situation? Simply by flaunting the increase in our stocks of foodgrains and our exports thereof - forgetting the starvation deaths and farmers’ suicides? The amelioration of our basic industry of agriculture in which our average yield per hectare of many major crops is less than even the world average — lies in a return to organic manure. That this was advocated in ancient times also need not frighten us for being charged with being obscurantist (since it is mentioned in Rig Veda and Atharva Veda). The practical issue is : do we have sufficient farmyard manure to meet the total need of our land under cultivation? Unfortunately, the answer is not quite reassuring. The most optimistic estimates show that about 25-30 per cent of the needs of Indian agriculture can be met by garnering our various organic sources. Concerted efforts will be required to make up the shortfall much of which is due to its neglect hitherto. Cattle manures, crop residues, off-farm organic wastes, green manures, bio-fertilisers, crop-rotation by incorporating legumes and adoption of biological pest-control measures need to be used to maintain good soil health and quality produce for human and animal consumption. Chemical fertilisers may be added in a balanced measure to make a suitable mix of the two. Dryland farming, dryland horticulture, medicinal as well as aromatic plants may depend solely or predominantly on organic manure. Isn’t it time to sift grain from chaff, honest facts from all types of prejudices to determine as to which way the country’s interests lie, although the cows don’t have votes and don’t read our papers either! |
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Delhi Durbar HERE is the success story of an Indian writer in English. “Q & A” is the title of a new book penned by diplomat Vikas Swarup. It is the story of a waiter, Ram Mohammed Thomas, who wins the highest prize of one billion rupees in a television quiz show. The organisers are in a tizzy as the mega prize has been claimed when the show is in its infancy — just the 15th episode. They act smart and get the hapless waiter arrested for fraud and cheating. What happens to the protagonist is the book all about. Incidentally, Swarup, who is the Director in the External Affairs Minister’s Office, has struck a pot of gold with this book. Doubleday, UK, has signed him for a six figure pound sterling deal. What is more, Film Four of the UK is making a film on this.
Marketing disaster The spots where the tsunami waves rose several feet high have become major tourist attractions. “Disaster tourism” is the hot topic of discussion amongst tour operators now. When Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was asked whether the inflow of tourist in the state has increased with more people opting for a safer location amidst sand-dunes and camels, she said there has been a marginal increase in the inflow. However, if the state wanted to cash-in on disaster tourism, then Rajasthan should be the first one as it suffers one disaster or the other almost every year. “But we would rather not opt for this”, she added. Perhaps, marketing gurus have not cast their spell on her so far.
Loyalty gets rewarded Having served for over two decades in the Foreign Affairs Department of the All India Congress Committee, Aneil Mathrani has finally got rewards for his loyalty to the party when he was picked up as India’s envoy to Croatia by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Mathrani, who worked behind the scenes to develop relations of the Congress with different political parties across the globe, will, however, now be missed at the party headquarters. The party has already started looking for a replacement. Many are vying for the post.
STD on way out? With tariffs expected to fall further, competition in the telecom sector will now move from rate wars to technology. Consumers may be allowed to migrate from one operator to another and still retain the old number. Technology allows it, only the regulator needs to press the button. Besides, the falling STD rates have already laid down the proto-type of a country-wide local zone. Time may not be far away when the whole country would be converted into one local circle and STD will die its natural death.
**** Contributed by Rajeev Sharma, R.Suryamurthy, Satish Misra and Gaurav Choudhary |
I do not regard flesh-food as necessary for us at any stage and under any clime in which it is possible for human beings ordinarily to live. — Mahatma Gandhi Now, base fears and sordid cares go, Truth our life fills to the brim, to the Lord supreme alone show All respect, none else ever hymn. Good are all the days and months too for the man God doth regard. Oh, I crave the sight of Thee, that Me, O gracious God accord. — Guru Nanak Do not seek your friends among the evil doers. They may have money and other comforts but if they have been acquired in the ways of sin, take care to avoid them. — The Buddha Control your desires. Do not indulge yourself in every little whim. Ultimately, every thought and every action of yours will shape the history of your life and how others will view you. So put a leash on your uncontrollable behaviour. — The Bhagvad Gita |
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OUR green revolution that signified high yielding varieties, widespread use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides as well as far greater reliance on tractors and other mechanised farm implements presented an imposing paraphernalia which carried in its womb a remarkable decline in the role of organic manures as plant nutrients.