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Autonomy for J&K Another setback for Jaya Life term for cops |
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Powell on tsunami aid
Dropper shopper
Indo-Pakistan peace process From Pakistan
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Autonomy for J&K THE Centre’s decision to set up a committee to study the question of autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir is a step in the right direction. For a beginning, the committee has the Autonomy Bill passed by the J&K Assembly when Dr Farooq Abdullah was the Chief Minister to consider. For all said and done, the National Conference has been steadfast in finding a solution to the Kashmir problem within the framework of the Indian Constitution. It was, therefore, a bit disappointing when the Bill was dismissed with flourish by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government. A logical step would have been to persuade the NC to make necessary changes in the Bill, rather than rubbish it. The fear that granting autonomy to J&K would strike at the roots of Indian federalism was unwarranted, given the peculiar situation in the border state. It also did not conform to the readiness the government showed in talking to outfits like the Hurriyat, whose constituents include some rabid anti-Indian forces. The United Progressive Alliance government has no such hang-ups about granting more autonomy to the state if it helps in resolving the Kashmir issue. The J&K Bill has many imperfections as it raises a question mark even on the applicability of certain Central laws to the state. There is considerable opposition on going back to the pre-1953 system that existed in the state. Besides, the NC is not in a position to ensure the support of a majority of the people in all the regions of the state to its autonomy move. This makes it obligatory for the Centre to involve all the political groups in the state in any discussion on autonomy. It is in this context that the proposed committee makes sense. No government at the Centre can afford to redraw the border to settle the Kashmir problem. Necessity compels it to look for solutions which are nationally acceptable. Granting of more autonomy to the state so that Srinagar finds its own ways to fulfil the aspirations of the people is the most sensible option. Though “Bodoland” and “Gorkhaland” are not comparable to Kashmir, these agitations were ended by granting autonomy. The main task of the proposed committee is to persuade the political parties in J&K to agree to minimum acceptable autonomy for the state. |
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Another setback for Jaya Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling rejecting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s petition against the transfer of her two wealth cases to Karnataka is yet another setback to her, coming close on the heels of her government’s failure to deny bail to the Kanchi Sankaracharya in the Sankararaman murder case. The five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti has ruled that her petition is unsustainable as it was not within the parameters laid down by the apex court for entertaining a curative petition. It is nobody’s case that Ms Jayalalithaa should be denied fair justice. However, since the apex court shifted the wealth cases to Karnataka on November 18, 2003, she has been trying every stratagem to derail justice. The court has found no substance and merit in any of the grounds mentioned by her against the trial in Bangalore. The Supreme Court transferred the disproportionate assets cases — to the tune of Rs 66 crore — to Karnataka on the ground that the course of justice was subverted after Ms Jayalalithaa’s return to power in May 2001. Witnesses were recalled for cross-examination on flimsy grounds without any opposition from the prosecution. As many as 64 witnesses resiled from their previous statements. And the public prosecutor was hand in glove with the accused. Clearly, one cannot expect fair justice in such circumstances. The apex court ruling once again reinforces the need to insulate the process of criminal investigation and prosecution from political or other external interference. The inordinate delay in Ms Jayalalithaa’s trial in the wealth cases proves that police investigation and public prosecution are susceptible to political interference, particularly when the accused is the Chief Minister herself. As fair and impartial justice was not possible in Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court had to shift the cases to Karnataka. It is thus expedient in the ends of justice that Ms Jayalalithaa cooperate with the Karnataka authorities. In the Sankaracharya case, she said umpteen times that the law should take its own course. The principle she cited is sound and often celebrated; it should be valid for the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister also. |
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Life term for cops The strict instructions issued by the Supreme Court last year that lawlessness and custodial violence will be dealt with severely seem to be having a salutary effect. No, the incidence of such State crimes has not come down as yet, but those who engaged in such nefarious activities are being served just desserts all over the country. In the latest instance of zero-tolerance, a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court in Nagpur has awarded life imprisonment to as many as 11 policemen, including a DSP, for a custodial death in 1987. Such exemplary punishment will, hopefully, curb the inhuman tendencies of the boorish men in uniform. Cases involving killing of over 1,300 persons in police or judicial custody in India were reported in 2002. Exact figures of later years are not available but a rough estimate suggests that the situation has not improved much since then. This is despite the fact that barely 40 per cent of such cases are reported while the rest are hushed up. The apex court has expressed concern over this kind of police barbarism but clearly the message has not gone down to all levels to the extent that it should have, and cases continue to be reported from all parts of the country, Punjab being a major contributor. The mindset of the average policeman continues to exist in a medieval time warp where he thinks that he has the right to ill-treat and browbeat anyone who comes in contact with him. Little does he realise that by doing so, he is disillusioning law-abiding citizens, whose faith and respect are necessary for him to function properly. The National Human Rights Commission says: “Custodial violence is most inhuman and when human dignity is violated, the flag of humanity must fly at half-mast”. Well, the flag has been in that state of mourning for a long time in these parts. |
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In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments — there are consequences.
— Robert G. Ingersoll |
Powell on tsunami aid
India’s stake in the effort to stamp out terrorism entitles it to feel perturbed at the implications of Mr Colin Powell’s linkage between relief and religion in stricken Banda Aceh where the tsunami killed over 100,000 Indonesians. Since the retiring Secretary of State is reputedly the least ugly of Americans, it is especially unfortunate that his comments should recall a scene from that Cold War classic, “The Ugly American”. As stevedores unloaded the rice that the United States of America had sent to relieve famine in Sarkhan, a fictional Southeast Asian country, a checker stencilled a few words in Sarkhanese on each bag. Recipients read later, “This rice is a gift from Russia.” Such deceit is unlikely any longer. But Mr Powell’s hope that favourable television coverage will enable starving and homeless victims of nature’s fury who have lost everything, including their nearest and most loved ones, to be dazzled by “an opportunity to see American generosity, American values in action’’ suggests that experience has not taught Americans to shed any of their simplistic formulations about human reactions. This is particularly evident in the argument that since “the majority of those nations affected were Muslim,’’ America’s helping hand will “dry up those pools of dissatisfaction that might give rise to terrorist activity.’’ No one can deny that the US has always been the world’s most generous donor. It would have helped Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, in distress “regardless of religion”, as Mr Powell says. But the US does deserve to be saved from its own diplomacy. Succour in a crisis should certainly shape opinion and outlook. But even if “powdered milk and cattle are part of politics, and therefore part of history,” as Deong, the Sarkhanese communist, says in the novel, they do not constitute the sum total of politics and history. Other components are equally important. The “pools of dissatisfaction” to which Mr Powell referred may have more to do with political and religious aspirations than the needs of the flesh. Human beings, Asians in particular, are a perverse lot, and the Indonesian government’s profound gratitude might not be shared by those who plan, direct, finance and carry out terrorist activities. American commentators have been harping on the theme of Muslim ingratitude to a country that has helped them in Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan and elsewhere. The help is undeniable but cause and effect cannot be set out in black and white. The US had its own strategic reasons, especially during the Cold War, for going to the rescue of some Muslims. Nor may the help that it gave always have endeared itself to other Muslims. Shias would not have been battling Sunnis, Anwar Sadat would not have been murdered by the Islamic Jihad, nor would attempts have been made on Gen Pervez Musharraf’s life, if the ummah had been monolithic. Aid might even be counter-productive. Deong, let us not forget, was prepared to risk Sarkhanese lives by poisoning American milk powder to discredit America. Even without such extreme tactics, Osama bin Laden is hardly likely to compare Saudi Arabia’s $30 million for tsunami victims with the US’ $350 million, and conclude that the Americans are friends and the Saudis are not. He would have other political reasons for assessing both nations and probably concluding that they are both enemies of his particular brand of militancy. Only Western propagandists gleefully rub their hands over the conspicuously mean response of the oil-rich Arab states to the disaster. Their satisfaction does no harm but they are doomed to disappointment if they expect it to be translated into political gain. Illogically and deplorably, the money the Saudis pour into mosques and madarsas all over the world probably influences the faithful more effectively than constructive projects would have done. Otherwise, Japan’s $500 million would have entitled it to first claim on Islamic loyalty. At the same time, Islamists will note that the US increased its contribution by 20 times (and the French three times) only under moral and political pressure. Islamic inflexibility is strong in Aceh in whose capital Mr Powell made his ill-judged remarks. This is a region that has battled for 23 years as much for political independence as to convert liberal Sufi-inspired Indonesia to its own more rigorous version of faith. Aceh was Southeast Asia’s first Muslim kingdom. “The Sultan of Aceh, along with the Sultan of Malacca, was a major controller of trade through the straits,” Mr Paul Wolfowitz, US Deputy Defence Secretary, wrote when he was ambassador to Indonesia. British and Dutch stratagems destroyed the sultanate, in the late 19th century. Even so, Aceh was not incorporated into the Netherlands’ East Indies, and objected from the beginning to being swept into the new Indonesia. Radical Muslim groups, suspected of links with Al-Qaeda and of complicity in the Bali nightclub bombing and other regional outrages, have established a presence in the relief scene there. But the “Islamic Law Enforcement” sign over their encampment is a reminder that they are like the late Mother Teresa — the secular business of relief is less important in their calculations than immortal souls. Unimpressed by philanthropy, they understand well a complex game that goes far beyond a direct connection between deprivation and militancy. It may be no coincidence that sporadic skirmishes warn that the unofficial truce in Aceh might be coming to an end. Nothing could be more contrary in the midst of such intense suffering. But suicide bombers are not among the hungry of the earth. The preacher who manipulates their passion has access to untold riches. Poverty breeds discontent but political frustration and thwarted nationalism transform discontent into militancy. Like Aceh, the Chechen, Moro and — nearer home — Kashmir insurgencies have to be understood and the causes grappled with. They cannot be blamed on Bin Laden alone; they will not fade away because of American philanthropy in Indonesia. Philanthropy and politics are always closely intertwined. India’s ostentatious rejection of aid is a political, and not an economic, gesture. Indian assistance to Sri Lanka, especially the military deployment after US marines were flown in, was similarly a statement of strategy. All governments expect some dividend from every external action, including disaster alleviation. But a blunt demand harks back to those bleak years when the phrase “aid with strings attached” became an exercise in tautology. Global differences over invading and occupying Iraq have already infected the relief effort with the unhealthy competitiveness that once marked Soviet and US policies. Bickering between American and French officials, and one-upmanship among members of the European Union, indicate that humanitarian assistance is as much a political card now as during the Cold War. Money is the first need, with Mr Kofi Annan warning that all promises — amounting to a record $4.6 billion — may not be redeemed. Iran, for instance, received a fraction of what was pledged after the devastation of the Bam earthquake. Even funds that are transferred do not always find their way to the needy. But if relief is essential in Indonesia and the 11 other affected countries, a concerted global effort is even more necessary. However, economic help alone will not. Mr Powell’s successor should bear in mind that a just solution in Palestine, disengagement in Iraq and a less menacing attitude towards Iran and Syria might be more helpful in placating irate Muslims and drawing the claws of terrorist organisations. This is a fight in which India is as deeply involved as the US. But it serves no purpose to brush sore points under the carpet and blame everything on a nameless evil. The tsunami’s damage is one crisis where it would not be rewarding to tailor humanitarian acts to political
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Dropper shopper
THE importance of a drop, of whatever — oil, water or medicine — is impressed upon us from a very young age. Now, a measured drop requires a dropper. And, a dropper is rare to find, almost a precious antique. So I discovered the other day. I was asked to have just two drops of a medicine put in each of my ears every night. Nothing could be simpler, I told myself, especially as the vial comes with the necessary accessory. The accessory — a plastic bottle cap with a conical nozzle, which too has a removable cap as a dust-shield — has to be fitted around the neck of the vial, after removing the metallic seal and rubber stopper. That I did in a jiffy. When I lay down and pressed the plastic cap, not a drop of the antidote emerged. I peered through the eye of the nozzle and noticed that the end from which the fluid flows in was smack against the bottle’s surface. I had to lift up the accessory a bit to let the medicine enter the opening. When I tried that, the plastic cap split at the edge and was rendered useless. I retired drop-less that night and resolved early next morning to buy another cap-cum-dropper. Only when I ventured forth to the chemists - quite a few of them - did I realise that this type of cap-cum-dropper comes with the vial and cannot be bought separately. Having come a cropper at this level, I decided it would be lot easier to buy an ink dropper and turned my attention to the stationery stores. I was laughed out of these shops with a pitying look as saved for a backwoodsman who has surfaced a century late. You no longer get droppers to fill ink in your pens; you get ink cartridges, and if you insist on bottled ink, well then you buy a bottle of ink with which comes a dropper, though not always. So the ball, or more accurately, the dropper was back in the medical court. I returned to make a round of the medical shops, only to be told, with a drop-dead look that I had already been sent away once with the message that it is no longer dispensed in any chemist shop. Hadn’t I got the point? My Sunday afternoon had been wasted and I was still without a dropper. Dejected, I turned homeward, mournfully chanting “Dropper shopper kuch na mila, peeche pada copper”, when I espied a hole-in-the-wall kind of medical shop. I summoned all my courage, steeled myself for another humiliating rebuff and asked him if he had a loose dropper, a simple dropper all by itself which I could buy without a bottle of ink or a vial of medicine. “Of course, of course”, he reassured me, fishing out a handful from which he handed me one, for the price of a rupee. I asked him from where he had got it. He looked up, as if at an idiot, “From a stationery store”. Talk of
outsourcing.
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Indo-Pakistan peace process Dr Humayun Khan, a former Ambassador of Pakistan to India, says in his book “Diplomatic Divide”, “India is almost an obsession with Pakistan’s policy-makers. Christopher Thomas in his book “Fault Line” has stated that “Pakistan’s struggle for identity requires it, in its own analysis of itself, to pursue conflict with India, not rapproachment. Thus the Kashmir conflict will drag on” General Pervez Musharraf says: “Kashmir runs in our Blood” Stephen Philip Cohen has said in his book “The Idea of Pakistan” that the staunchest advocates of the Idea of Pakistan feel that their identity is wrapped up in the fate of Kashmir. For some, Kashmir is also the unravelling of India. If India gave up Kashmir — the Indian Muslims would at least achieve a separate status within the restructured confederation of India... A few hard liners even look forward to the day when India might be broken up, adding to the list of independent South Asian Muslim states”. During his visit to Lahore Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee even visited Minar-e-Pakistan to convey the message to all Pakistanis that we not only accept the existence of Pakistan but also respect it and wish all the Pakistanis well. Thereafter Kargil took place. Nawaz Sharief was deposed. According to the defence analysts, the Pakistani army operation in Kargil had quite a few daring objectives i.e. encirclement of Siachan, surrender of our troops, draw its own LoC and force India to come to the negotiating table. According to Mr J.N. Dixit, the frame-work of Pakistan’s principles and intentions towards India is that Pakistan must emerge as the most important power in South Asia, India must fragment itself into smaller states, capture Kashmir and separate North-Eastern India. The suggestion of the President of Pakistan to identify some regions of Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control, demilitarise them and grant them the status of independence or joint control or under UN mandate is only the rehash of Sir Owen Dixon’s proposals of 1950 of dividing J&K on communal lines. These views are also in line with the formula suggested by the Kashmir study group headed by Kashmiri American Farooq Kathwari which has American academics, Congressmen and ex-diplomats as its members and is regarded as an unofficial think tank of the American government. In its report “Kashmir: a way forward”, it has suggested the creation of a hypothetical Kashmir state comprising the Muslim majority areas of J&K. It could be a sovereign state but without an international personality.” That there is no change in the stance of Pakistan is obvious from the insistence of the Pakistani delegation that instead of passports for travel on the proposed Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus, a slip issued by the respective district authorities be accepted as valid, subtly rejecting the suzerainty of the government of India on our part of J&K. American officials now seem to accept “facilitation” as a legitimate and useful role. The US Council on Foreign Relations Task Force advocates that the US should have a more forward leaning posture on the Kashmir conflict. Again referring to Cohen’s address to the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, “India has only two realistic choices in its relations with Pakistan. The first is the dialogue that might lead to a settlement over Kashmir and other issues (especially) trade without changing core Indian policies; the second is the long-term strategy of containment, which would attempt to promote change within Pakistan while resisting Pakistani military adventures. “Two other strategies are now debated in India but both seem unattractive: one is to completely ignore Pakistan, the other is to openly challenge Pakistan, forcing change and perhaps (as in 1971), its breakup. “There are senior officers who advocate a limited war to teach Pakistan a lesson. The 2002 crisis was a turning point: Indian Generals could not promise that a limited war against Pakistan would not go nuclear and the political leadership concluded that the risks of such a war were too great”. He further posed a question: Will India be able to provide Pakistan with one thing its army desperately needs — a reason to accept a border drawn through Kashmir? In the words of one Pakistani officer, the army understands it cannot wrest Kashmir from India, But it cannot turn its back on a 55-year long struggle. At stake is its pride and it literally calls the shots. Distinguished Pakistani analyst Ayaz Amir has accepted that the LoC will remain the effective frontier dividing Kashmir. “We have tried changing the status quo in Kashmir, from the first shots fired in 1947 right down to the Kargil adventure of 1999. We have only succeeded in making it more permanent. No one is going to give us a settlement which brings about changes in Kashmir’s geography books. We, thus have to live with the LoC, not as an international border...... So the fiction will have that the LoC is a temporary line pending settlement”. A likely solution could be more autonomy with soft borders. If that be so, I hope, we may not come up with inundation of the Kashmir valley with Islamic jihadis as the avowed objective of Pakistan is to grab Kashmir. Hafiz Mohammed, chief of Lashkar-e-Toiba, says that “We believe in the clash of civilisations and our jihad will continue until Islam is the dominant religion.” It is a pan-Islamic movement, liberation of Kashmir from the “infidels”, setting up the “rule of Allah” first in Kashmir, then in India and the rest of the world. One unconventional threat was held out by Musharraf in 2002 of a nationwide jihad against India where a half a million armed jihadis would storm across the borders to create a mayhem in Indian towns and villages and pleaded with the US that militia was a legitimate weapon to offset the Indian conventional superiority. As on today, no solution is likely to emerge which may be acceptable to both countries. Meanwhile, India must accelerate its development and emerge as a world economic and military power. Only then Pakistan may come to some terms with India. |
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From
Pakistan ISLAMABAD: A substantial socio-economic package for Baluchistan will be ready after Eid-ul-Azha following marathon talks between major central and provincial political players. The package was finalised during a high-level meeting here at Punjab House. National Security Council Secretary and the President’s key adviser Tariq Aziz, PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, PML Secretary-General Mushahid Hussain, Chief Minister of Balochistan Jam Muhammad Yousuf and Inspector-General of Police, Baluchistan, Chaudhry Yaqoob, attended the meeting. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said Baluchistan had suffered protracted negligence and, therefore, the new package will not just be an “academic report” but a comprehensive solution to the problems. — The News Plan for Khokhrapar
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Railways has submitted a PC-I of Rs 3 billion to the government for the rehabilitation of the old railway track and laying of a new one from Mirpurkhas to the Indian border via Khokhrapar. The poor condition of 128-kilometre railway track between Khokhrapar to Mirpurkhas is the main hurdle in the reopening of this rail link between the two countries. A new track of 10 kilometres needs to be laid down from the Pakistan side for opening the rail route. Pakistan and India agreed to reopen the Sindh border crossing after 40 years last month but no timeframe was set to start the train service between Khokhrapar in Sindh and Munabao in Rajasthan. “We have submitted PC-I of Rs 3 billion to the Planning Division and are waiting for the approval,” Railways Secretary Shakil Durrani, who is also the chairman of Pakistan Railways, told newsmen here on Tuesday. — The News
No meals at weddings
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has directed senior government officials to take prompt action against contravention of the ban on serving meals at wedding ceremonies. “We direct the chief secretaries, inspectors-general of police of the four provinces, chief commissioners, the inspector-general of police of the federal capital territory, Islamabad, and the district administrations to ensure that the Supreme Court’s Nov 5, 2004, judgment of banning food at Walima receptions is implemented in letter and spirit and action against those who contravene the ban be initiated promptly,” said a detailed order dismissing a review petition. The petition had sought reconsideration of the restriction imposed on serving meals at marriage parties. A Bench comprising Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and Justice Tassadduq Hussain Jillani had dismissed the petition of Chaudhry Mohammad Siddique. — The Dawn
Gas shortage to hit industry
KARACHI: The suspension of gas supplies from the Sui plant has posed a major threat to industry and commercial establishments besides domestic consumers. Apart from direct threats, foreign investors are saying that it is not safe to invest in oil exploration and oil marketing as well as its supply in Sindh and
Baluchistan. As reports are pouring in that the government could launch an operation against the nationalists, the situation is likely to worsen and the economy to be adversely affected. As circumstances prevail, it would take longer to restore the supplies. Huge losses are apprehended. According to an official of the Directorate of Industry in Sindh, the losses can mount to Rs 1 billion. He said that many units were feared to close down and the hotel industry would have direct impact.— The Nation |
While travelling on a road, do not waste your breath in conversing on foolish topics with feckless fellow travellers. If you cannot find a wise man to talk to, then keep your counsel to yourself and your thoughts under control. —The Buddha We should strive to make our lives, as even keeled as possible. We should avoid gross pleasures and enjoyments and live our lives in moderation. —The Bhagavadgita He gives most who gives with joy. —Mother Teresa  |
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According to Ayesha Siddiqua, a defence analyst at the Department of International Relations of
Quaid-e-Azam University, “Since its creation in 1947, Pakistan’s security perception remains India-centric, dominated by an extreme sense of threat perceived from its bigger neighbour India. Despite claiming an extra-regional identity of greater cultural and religious affiliation with the Middle East, Pakistan has never ventured to extend its security vision beyond India”.