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Directive and the nexus Boy from Ballia Handshake, at last |
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Tensions in the Gulf
Check in: tuck in
AIDS and society From Pakistan
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Directive and the nexus The Union Government’s stand in the Supreme Court on the issue of the Single Directive, even after the Solicitor-General’s admission of an expanding nexus between criminals, politicians and officials, is unsustainable and against the principle of natural justice. It is indeed surprising how the UPA — like the NDA government — continues to justify the directive even when it openly admits that there is a need to address the problems of criminalisation of politics and rampant corruption. How can the Centre apply different yardsticks to different categories of officers on the issue of tackling corruption? This is patently unjust. The Supreme Court rightly quashed the directive in 1997, upsetting the NDA government’s plans. However, following a Joint Parliamentary Committee’s recommendation, Parliament restored the clause. The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will, in due course, give its considered opinion on the validity of the Single Directive. However, it needs to be emphasised that the apex court, while quashing the directive earlier, had made it clear that it would like to treat all civil servants equally and on a par with one another. This is the way as it should be. Moreover, when the law itself does not classify offenders differently for treatment, including investigation and prosecution of offences, the Single Directive cannot make a distinction between senior and junior officers. Consequently, as the Single Directive is applicable only to officers of the level of Joint Secretary and above, it is repugnant to the rule of law. The government’s stand, if upheld, can inflict an incalculable damage on the quality of governance and the administrative system as a whole. Senior corrupt officers, due to their proximity to the powers that be, have come to rule the roost. In their anxiety to help their political masters, they enter into a collaborative arrangement with them. The government needs to step up efforts to rid the system of these corrupt officers and withdraw the Single Directive. It is doubtful whether it will do so. The nation will have to ultimately depend on the verdict of the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on the issue that has a bearing on the basic principles of law and natural justice. |
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Boy from Ballia SAURABH SINGH, a boy from Ballia in Uttar Pradesh, has done the nation proud when he topped in the prestigious Houston-based National Aeronautical and Space Agency’s admission test. His father, a school teacher, had to scrape the bottom of his savings to enable him to appear for the final round of the test in London. Now, NASA will take care of all his higher education needs if he continues to excel in his studies. It is the same test that brought out the talent in the late Kalpana Chawla, who became the first Indian woman astronaut, and Mr A.P. J. Abdul Kalam, who headed India’s space programme and eventually became the President. What is common about all the three is that they all come from small towns and ordinary middle class families. They could do well only because they could use the opportunities to study and their parents saw merit in educating their children. At this juncture when Saurabh Singh readies himself to study aeronautical engineering, the whole nation will be one in wishing him all the best. But there are countless such boys and girls in the country who are equally talented but have not got the chances to study and perform well. Even 56 years after Independence, education remains, by and large, the preserve of the affluent and those who live in the cities. For a vast majority of the population living in the villages, quality education is a distant dream as a majority of the government schools that cater to them do not have even the basic infrastructure. Not that the government does not spend much on education; its benefits do not reach the needy. As a result, India has the largest population of illiterates in the world while countries like China have stolen a march over it in education. What’s more, even a less developed country like Bangladesh has made tremendous progress on the literacy front. Most of the ills that afflict the nation can be attributed to the lack of education among the people. Yet, little is being done to enroll all the children in the schools and to see to it that they do not drop out for one reason or another. Unless the present trend is reversed, the success of the Ballia boy will be just a flash in the pan. |
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Handshake, at last The Sharm al-Sheikh meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas marks the beginning of a historic attempt for peace in the troubled region. The two sides have reached an understanding to shun violence to create an atmosphere for the resolution of their disputes in a peaceful manner. The informal ceasefire agreement is likely to lead to the revival of the abandoned peace process. The new opportunity that has come their way must not be allowed to be lost. They will have to initiate bold and sincere efforts to use it to make progress towards peace. Significantly, the development has come about immediately after the visit to the area by new US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who invited Mr Sharon and Mr Abbas to the White House for a meeting with President George W. Bush. The Egyptian initiative to host the Sharon-Abbas talks appears to be linked to the renewed US interest in the internationally-backed “roadmap for peace”. The change in the attitude of the Israeli Prime Minister after the emergence of Mr Abbas as the top Palestinian leader shows that he may suspend his policy of targeted killings, which had led to a spurt in suicide bombings by Palestinian extremists. Though the extremist leaders have expressed their scepticism about the promises made at Sharm al-Sheikh, they are likely to go according to the mood of the people. One reason is their keenness on sharing power, reflected by their participation in the local body elections. The extremists’ activities require people’s support, which may not be available under the changed circumstances. As a result of the Sharon-Abbas meeting, the 13 Palestinian extremists exiled to Europe will be back home in a few days and 900 of the 8000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails will be set free. The fate of the rest may be decided in the coming months. The Israeli control of five West Bank towns will end soon. This is bound to create a new climate and some hope for the region that has seen much human suffering. |
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As an old soldier I admit the cowardice: it’s as universal as sea sickness, and matters just as little.
— George Bernard Shaw |
Tensions in the Gulf
The United States Congress passed the Iraq Liberation Act on October 31, 1998. The Act proclaimed: “It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime”. The American Congress sanctioned $ 97 million to organisations whose members included people like the former Pentagon favourite Ahmed Chalabi and present U.S. protégé Ayyad Allawi, to lead the effort against Saddam Hussein. Less than five years later American forces invaded Iraq to unseat Saddam. On May 6, 2004, a “Sense of the Congress” Resolution was moved in the U.S. House of Representatives expressing concern over Iran’s nuclear programme and its support for terrorism. This resolution demanded that Iran should “immediately and permanently cease all efforts to acquire nuclear capabilities.” It called on the European Union not to proceed with a trade agreement with Iran till American demands were met. The resolution also called on countries like Japan, France and Malaysia to end all cooperation with Iran aimed at enhancing its oil and gas production. It demanded that the Russians do likewise on the Bushehr nuclear power plant being built in Iran with Russian assistance. The resolution called on President Bush to impose sanctions on companies assisting Iran in the exploration of oil and natural gas. Energy- hungry India and China that need Iranian oil and natural gas to sustain their economic growth could well face similar demands. On July 21, 2004, Senators Santorum and Cornyn introduced the “Iran Freedom and Support Act of 2004” in the US Senate. Like the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, this legislation calls on President Bush to assist “pro-democracy” groups and support “regime change” in Iran. Shortly thereafter, at the instance of Senator Sam Brownback, the US Congress made financial allocations in the last budget, designed to help the Iranian opposition to overthrow the current regime. This has been followed by statements by President Bush and others that they would not rule out the use of force to “take out” Iran’s nuclear facilities. Vice-President Dick Cheney stated that Israel could also strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities. There are credible reports that a US commando task force is ascertaining the location of Iran’s nuclear facilities from Pakistani scientists who were earlier involved in aiding Iran’s nuclear programme and penetrating eastern Iran from bases in Pakistan for identifying underground nuclear facilities located there. Pakistan is also reported to be providing facilities on its territory for the Iranian armed opposition group, the Mujahideen-e-Khalq. In his State of the Union Address on February 3, President Bush proclaimed: “We are working with our European allies to make it clear to the Iranian regime that it must give up its enrichment programme and any plutonium reprocessing and end its support for terror. And to the Iranian people I say tonight that as you stand for your liberty, America stands by you”. President Bush was clearly endorsing the Iran Freedom and Support Act and making it clear that he would work for regime change in Iran. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice stated that the US would not rule out the use of force to “take out” Iran’s nuclear facilities by telling audiences in Europe that any attack on Iran was not in the US agenda, at any rate not “for now”. Earlier, in January 2005 Germany, France and the UK told the Iranians that their primary demand was that Iran should fully cease its enrichment and reprocessing programmes and dismantle all efforts to achieve full nuclear cycle capabilities. Responding to European demands, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the European powers on January 29, saying: “The Europeans negotiating with Iran should know that they are dealing with a great, cultured nation”. He indicated that if the Europeans persisted with their present stance, Iran would reconsider its cooperation with them on nuclear issues. On the same day, the Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz told French Parliamentarians that while he ardently hoped that “recourse to military action” would not be necessary, Iran was reaching the “point of no return” on building nuclear weapons. All this coincided with a meeting between Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalon and Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in Davos. This meeting was described by the Israelis as having gone “beyond just a passing conversation in a hotel corridor”. Israel then proclaimed on January 30: “Israel does not see Pakistan as an enemy but rather as an important country in the Islamic world with which it is interested in improving relations”. Israel and the US are evidently working jointly to mount pressure on Iran to dismantle its nuclear programme. While both countries share the objective of “regime change” in Iran, there is recognition that every effort should be made diplomatically to compel Iran to dismantle its uranium enrichment facilities and plutonium reprocessing facilities, if any. The US also recognises that any precipitate action would be opposed by its European allies, Russia, China and the Muslim world. Thus, while military action against Iran would not be considered for the present, especially because of the difficult situation the US still finds itself in Iraq, the possibility of air and missile strikes against Iran by the US acting alone or in cooperation with Israel in the coming years cannot be ruled out. Any such action would pose serious dangers to world energy security. Iran is not the sort of country that will remain passive if attacked. It will almost certainly take measures to block world oil supplies through the Straits of Hormuz, perhaps attack US allies in the Gulf and even launch missile attacks on Israeli cities and nuclear facilities. The resulting tensions will send oil prices skyrocketing. India has a vital interest in the preservation of peace and security in the Persian Gulf region where nearly four million Indians reside and from where we get over 70 per cent of our oil supplies. We should commence a process of consultations on the emerging scenario with all concerned countries to assess whether we can join others in defusing the tensions that are growing in the entire Persian Gulf region.With violence continuing in Iraq and Saudi Arabia beset by tensions, any conflict in the Gulf will seriously endanger India’s energy security. The stakes are too high for us to be merely passive spectators of the emerging
developments. |
Check in: tuck in
Kalka-Shimla road is dotted with so many hotels and dhabas that whenever I travel on that road, which is very often, I wonder whether all these have enough work to run the show.
The statistics of checks in and tucks in, however, are of little bother to me. What really disturbs me is that the owners of the hotels blindly follow Shakespeare’s advice “What’s in a name?” while naming their ventures. The method that many of them have adopted is the easiest. They find out what is visible from the site where the hotel has to be constructed and then add the word ‘View’ to it. We have, therefore, Dagshai View, Shimla View, Snow View (although snow has become a thing of the past), Valley View, Hill View etc. There is one named Train View. If this run-wild race continues then I am sure that I, in my lifetime, will see Signal View, Rail Crossing View or Tunnel View hotels. If the entrepreneur of the last one named has his concentration focussed on a limited perception, he may divert from the rut and name the hotel as Tunnel Vision. I have a friend who has a plot of land in Solan and he wants to construct a hotel there. He is also bitten by the ‘View’ bug. He asked me to suggest a name for the hotel. I went to the site with him, looked here, there and everywhere and advised him to name the hotel as The Ultimate View. He was lost. I told him that cremation ground was clearly visible from there and if he named his hotel as The Cremation Ground View, then he might have to spend lonely nights in the building, “Ultimate” specifies where a man has finally to go and dictionary says that it also means “the best achievable or imaginable”. So, say truth in silken words. If I am his ‘guide, philosopher and friend’, as per his claim, then The Ultimate View Hotel at Solan is in offing. Americans might be eating 45 billion sandwiches in a year but we, Himachalis, who believe in prets (ghosts) and churails (witches) eat sandwitches. Pick up the menu card of an eatery on Kalka-Shimla road and you will find majority of them selling sandwitches and “aam late”. The later is not a late growing variety of mango but omelette, the dish of beaten egg cooked in a frying pan. Khatta ghost is not a demon but sour meat, a delicacy from Chamba that you may relish in these wayside dhabas. I, on my latest outing, had the honour and privilege of eating “braid role” in one such joint. I said, “That which we call a bread roll/ By any other name would taste as good” and ate it up with ‘toomato catche up’ — the sauce tasting more of pumpkin and less of tomato. Visit Himachal for all reasons and in all seasons!
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AIDS and society There was, however, one gesture of solidarity which stood out in contrast. Reportedly, prostitutes from certain states in the US came forward with a unique offer of providing discount coupons to their soldiers in Afghanistan on their return after vanquishing the enemy! Humour and frivolity of the offer aside, this, however, suggests the comfort level of the members of this oldest profession in that society. Contrast this with the situation in our society. Society and its order-enforcing agencies seem to be perpetually on hunt for “loose women”. So much so that it does not mind befriending a loose woman to nab another! The perversion of this obsessive behaviour can be seen on any TV news channel where shots of motley groups of women being shoved into a van unsuccessfully trying to hide their faces amidst horrendous masculine gaze of the media and the men in khaki are served as regularly as weather reports to quench the sadistic carnal thirst of its male viewers. How sexual relationship between two consenting adults behind closed doors, even if it involves money transaction for sexual favour, becomes a law and order problem is something which defies any logic and sense and hence merits re-examination. This becomes more critical when seen in context of the whole question of legalising prostitution as an important strategic tool to combat AIDS. When cases of AIDS were first reported in the US responses in India were on expected lines. Pervasive post-colonial stereotyping of the US and the west in general as a promiscuous society came in handy. Some even suggested that it was god’s way of handling the wretchedness of the earth. Riding on usual hypocritical moral posturing and arrogance many had in fact rubbished the talk of impending AIDS threat of epidemic proportions in India citing the mythic age-old family value system and its thrust on monogamy. In short it was then considered “white men’s disease”. Decades later AIDS seen, to be ticking like a bomb in India. Latest statistics on AIDS released by WHO debunk the myth of “disciplined Indian sexual behaviour”. Contrary to popular belief AIDS spreads more because of poverty, illiteracy and ignorance and less because of sexual promiscuity. This explains why Africa and now South Asia are two favourite breeding grounds for HIV virus. The fundamental reasons why despite more than a decade-long intense State and NGO intervention and generous flow of international funding menace of AIDS continue to grow unabated are two-fold. One, AIDS in India is not an ordinary disease. It involves the sensitive “morality” factor. In other words an HIV positive person is not considered a victim; for he or she is immoralist beyond doubt established by scientific tests. Our cultural fixation with the notion of purity and pollution thus ostracises these immoralists as untouchables. So this immorality-sex monocausality is one vexatious theme in this debate. It is baffling because the same society seems to be so tolerant to other equally, perhaps more dangerous, variants of moral turpitudes like, for instance, people embroiled in mega scams and cases of plundering of public money, rape and murder and yet being successful in public life. Second, our serious inability as a society in making a distinction between the private and the public. What a willing Muskan does with her willing companion (ok, fine customer if u like) in the private confine of their hotel room pertains purely to the realm of private domain. Her murder, however, becomes a concern of the “public”; a law and order issue. If at all as a responsible, aware and vigilant society our concern should be more in ensuring that Muskans of the society are aware of “safe-sex” guidelines. By legalising this profession of prostitution it would be easy to target this extremely vulnerable section of society, which also happens to be the major source of infection since more than 80 per cent of AIDS infection takes place through unsafe sexual intercourse. Finally, let’s talk of the virtues of monogamy like non-smoking as much as possible. There is to harm with it but please do not try to “ensure” monogamy. It will only be as much successful as our effort to ban smoking in public places. And it is simply bizarre to see policemen literally beating around the bush in public parks while dreaded criminals make merry in broad daylight. It is time now to recognise that sex as one of the basic human instincts is essentially a matter of personal choice and the more we try to regiment and monitor it with instruments of obsolete moral trappings and mindset the more tough would become our battle against AIDS. The choice, it seems, has to be made between whether as parents we should be concerned with the “health” of our child or the baggage of obsolescent “morality”. Getting paranoid about this mobile and internet equipped new Gen-x will simply not help. Communication will. So talk about this taboo called sex now. Or else it would be too late. —
The writer teaches sociology at Government College, Sector 46, Chandigarh |
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From
Pakistan ISLAMABAD: Exiled Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, accompanied by her spouse Asif Zardari, will meet in Jeddah during the current week for the first time after many years. They will discuss the strengthening of cooperation between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), leaders of the two parties confirmed to The News. Benazir and Zardari are proceeding to Saudi Arabia from Dubai to perform Umra. This will be the maiden meeting between the PML-N and PPP leaders since Nawaz Sharif went into exile in December 2000 and Benazir Bhutto imposed exile on herself nearly six years ago. — The News Bill against food in plastic bags
LAHORE: A draft prohibiting packing of foodstuff in drums being used for storing chemicals and polyethylene bags would soon be tabled in the provincial assembly for legislation. This was stated by Punjab Environment Minister Makhdoom Ashfaq at a meeting here on Tuesday. He said the laboratory tests pointed out that foodstuff packed and stored in drums and polyethylene bags usually carried bacteria which caused hepatitis and other diseases in human beings. The minister said though the City District Government in collaboration with the Environment Protection Department had initiated a campaign in this regard, the government was keen to seek a permanent ban on their use. He directed the authorities concerned to take measures to manufacture degradable bags to replace them. —
The Dawn
Balochistan: talks can help
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Seriki Party (PSP) President Barrister Taj Muhammad Langa has stressed the need to solve the Balochistan issue as per the wishes of the people instead of imposing a military operation on the province. Addressing a Press conference here on Tuesday, he said the nationalist elements are strongly opposing the army and military operation in the
area. If the government wants to improve the law and order situation in Balochistan, it is necessary to reject the operation formula and solve every issue through dialogue, the only way for the solution of the problem, he added. — The Nation
Census of Afghan
refugees
ISLAMABAD: In order to develop policies for those Afghans still living in Pakistan, the government has announced to conduct a countrywide census of all these refugees from
February 23, 2005. The Government of Pakistan and the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR here made this announcement in a jointly
organized Press conference at a local hotel on Tuesday. The conference was addressed by Sajid Hussain Chattha, Pakistan’s Secretary of Ministry for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), Guenet Guebre-Christos, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Pakistan, and Najam Hasan, Pakistan’s Chief Census Commissioner. UNHCR and the Government of Pakistan have agreed that voluntary repatriation of Afghans is the preferred
goal. — The Nation |
True non-violence should mean a complete freedom from ill-will and anger and hate and an overflowing love for all. — Mahatma Gandhi Remembering Him no harm can near us steal, Remembering Him alerted aye we feel. — Guru Nanak The enlightened teach us seven things — not to blame, not to strike, to live under the guidance of the Divine law, to eat moderately, to sleep alone, to meditate alone and to dwell on the highest thoughts. — The Buddha Work is the path to salvation. And work is the path of downfall too. Our motives of working determine what we make of it. So the wise person thinks carefully and tries to keep his motives pure and unsullied by base desires. — The Bhagvad Gita It is easy to love people far away. It is easier to give a cup of rice than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. — Mother Teresa  |
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When the US forces descended on Afghanistan to wage a war against terrorism, hounding Osama bin Laden and his henchmen, massive public support to this military option for peace ensued back home reflecting the shattered and devastated collective psyche of a nation.