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Bond of cricket Enter
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Critical
acclaim Another milestone in nuclear self-reliance IT was a proud moment when the first and the largest (540 mega watt) nuclear plant went critical at Tarapur on Sunday. It is a Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor that uses natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as moderator and coolant.
An occasion to
mourn
Fringe benefit
Not yet free to
choose US sent
hundreds of terror suspects to foreign prisons Delhi
Durbar
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Bond of cricket Cricket is a passion in both India and Pakistan. It is also the subject matter of a bitter rivalry next to which the Ashes jealousy pales into insignificance. Pitched battles have been fought not only in stadiums but also on the border because of the victory or defeat of a particular team. Till a few years ago, a contest between the two sides used to make the administrators jittery because of the apprehension of violence. Who would have thought that a day would come when it would become a bridge of understanding as the Mohali Test is turning out to be! Pakistani fans are crossing the borders in unprecedented numbers and are being welcomed by the people in this part of Punjab like long-lost brothers. That is not only symbolic. Almost everyone in this state has some link with the part that went to Pakistan, and by extending a red carpet to the visitors, the people are reliving the glory of the days when all the five rivers were common heritage. Not only have commercial establishments announced special packages, residents are even welcoming the guests into their homes. That’s what is called cricket. One hopes that the grand spirit will become even more pronounced as the series unfolds. All this is happening also because Pakistanis opened their hearts to Indians when this country toured Pakistan some time back. In fact, that was the first time that the ice had melted. It is a tradition in both countries to outdo the other one whether it is in matters of revenge or friendship. So, the Indians — people if not the officials — have a “score to settle”. One just hopes that this is the kind of “rivalry” which will thrive in the future. The stopping of the special trains at the last minute by Pakistan has come as a damper, and nobody is really convinced that it is entirely because of “technical reasons”. But one hopes that this can be taken in one’s stride. The return of some unsold tickets from Pakistan is also intriguing. Many of the visitors have revealed that there was a mad rush for tickets and if some of them have remained unsold, it is only because of visa restrictions. The two governments must be alive to the camaraderie that is in the air and alter their policies and reactions accordingly. Here is to a great series and greater friendship. |
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Enter President BIHAR’S political leaders are wholly to blame for President’s rule in the state. It is pointless to blame Governor Buta Singh when they failed to cobble together a coalition that could form a stable government. Under the circumstances, the Governor had no option but to recommend President’s rule. Had he conceded Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Rabri Devi’s demand that she be given an opportunity to form a government, it would have been a total negation of the verdict, which was clearly against her. Besides, she could claim support of only 91 legislators in a House of 243. The claim of the BJP-JD (U) combine was equally facetious as it, too, failed to show proof of majority support. The Lok Janshakti Party of Mr Rambilas Paswan put a spoke in their wheels when it told the Governor that it would never support either the RJD or the BJP. Since the new Assembly has not been dissolved, it gives all political parties time to think rationally and rise above petty considerations to provide a stable government. The people of Bihar expect a popular government that can fulfil their aspirations. After all, there is no guarantee that if fresh elections are held, there would be a clear mandate in favour of a party or a group. So it is incumbent upon the new legislators to sort out their differences and form a government. Mr Paswan cannot take the moral high ground and subject the state to bureaucratic raj, which is what President’s rule is. With 29 MLAs under his leadership, he is in a position to help either the RJD or the JD (U)-BJP to form a government. Alternatively, he himself can try his hand with the support of one or two of the major players in the state. No political party can justifiably claim that the voters were in favour of it. Rather, there are only losers and no winners in the recent elections. What this implies is that they have a duty to join hands with the specific purpose of providing a government as has been the case at the Centre. The earlier they set themselves to this task the better it would be for the state. On his part, the Governor should strive to install a popular government without creating any hassle. He will be on test as much as the politicians are as the state comes under President’s rule. |
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Critical acclaim IT was a proud moment when the first and the largest (540 mega watt) nuclear plant went critical at Tarapur on Sunday. It is a Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor that uses natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as moderator and coolant. That the commissioning happened seven months ahead of schedule and is based on an entirely indigenous effort are feathers in the cap of the National Power Corporation of India Ltd and the Atomic Energy Commission. It took five years for the Tarapur-4 reactor to be commissioned. The concept, design, manufacturing technology and fabrication of equipment have all been done indigenously. It seems that the cost of the reactor has come to less than what was originally envisaged, leading to a lower rate being charged for the power generated there, which will be Rs 2.65, instead of Rs 3.50. The power will be given to the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Daman and Diu. The earlier construction issues, like the problems in ducting, have been sorted out. In fact, another similar reactor is expected to be commissioned soon. In a developing economy like India, power is a major need and nuclear reactors provide a viable alternative to hydroelectric and thermal stations that still dominate the power generation processes. This reactor will add to the total nuclear power generation of 2,770 MW. There have been some concerns about safety in nuclear establishments, especially since some workers were exposed to high radiation levels in 2003. Safety has to be ensured in all nuclear establishments. The new reactor is said to have a state-of-the-art containment system. The initial international reaction to the commissioning of the plant has been cautious and mature. India had a demonstrated commitment to peace and has also shown that it is not dependent on anyone for nuclear fuel. The commissioning of the new reactor is an important milestone in the nation's march towards self-reliance. |
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Without work, all life goes rotten, but when work is soulless, life stifles and dies. — Albert Camus |
An occasion to mourn We
should stop celebrating Women’s Day. In fact, it should be a day of national mourning. We should collectively hang our heads in shame. Or maybe we should observe two minutes’ silence today for all the lives that have been snuffed out in their mother’s womb. The Nazis tried to eliminate the Jews. The rich and the elite in India are quietly but systematically eliminating the female sex. The Census Commission’s latest analysis shows that the female sex ratio in the zero to six age group has fallen in all the metro cities of the country with the exception of Kochi, Asansol and Madurai. There has been an 80 to 90-point drop in the female sex ratio between 1991 and 2001 in Ahmedabad, Agra, Kanpur, Amritsar, Jabalpur and Faridabad. In Delhi the drop is of 50 points. The PNDT Act has been in force for several years now. In fact, sex selection before conception is also recognised as a crime. All ultrasound clinics have to be registered. The Medical Council of India can suspend/cancel the registration of doctors caught doing sex selection or an abortion based on sex selection. However, despite all the thunder and fury of legal action, sex selection and elimination of the female foetus has not declined. In fact, it has increased. A study of the births registered in the Delhi hospitals by the MCD between January and June 2004 shows there are 819 female births to 1000 male births (950 females to 1000 males would be considered normal). The residents of South Delhi are truly girl-haters. The female sex ratio in this region, called the south zone, is an abominable 762, followed by Rohini 784, Najafgarh 792, central, Shahdra and Narela zones 805, 806 and 808 respectively. In Delhi alone some 2100 ultrasound clinics are under government scrutiny. The falling sex ratio has sent out clear signals that these clinics are promoting and practising sex selection. Female foeticide is such a murky and clandestine business that it is difficult to give an exact figure. But it is estimated that between 1.5 million and 5 million female foetuses are being destroyed in India every year. With the emergence of new technology, female infanticide has been replaced by female foeticide. And if you thought that the big bad wolves gobbling up the unborn foetuses are only in the cities, think again. A staggering 204 districts of the country have a lower child sex ratio than the national average of 927 in the zero to six age group. Fortyeight districts have a female sex ratio of less than 850. Alarmed at the falling female sex ratio among the affluent people of Punjab, a few years ago Akal Takht Jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti had notified that female foeticide was against the Sikh
tenants and offenders would be ex-communicated. One has not heard of a single case of ex-communication in Punjab. Were these empty promises? An analysis of the census data reveals that among the various religious communities, the Sikhs have the worst track record for sex selection. There are just 786 females for every 1000 males in the zero to six age group. In fact, in Punjab both Hindus and Sikhs do not want to have girls because they do not want daughters to get a share in their agricultural land-holdings, which are already shrinking. With daughters now legally entitled to a share in ancestral property and land, they are not welcomed. The Jains are known for their pacifist behaviour. The traditional Jain religious leaders wear a mask around their mouth and walk without shoes or chappals because they do not want to kill any living being either by inhaling it or unwittingly trampling on it. But apparently they are not so squeamish about doing away with the life struggling for existence in the womb. After the Sikhs, the Jains have the worst record for sex ratio-870 females to a thousand males. The Muslims in the country have been much maligned for having too many children. But as a religious group they are more gender-just than the Sikhs, Jains, Hindus and even the Buddhists. They have a robust sex ratio of 950 females to 1000 males. The Christians have the best record - 964 females to 1000 males. The two-child policy being practised by at least half a dozen states in the country has only compounded the problem. With the strong son preference in India, the slogan of yesteryears, “We two, ours two,” which pushed for a small family of a daughter and son, is unfortunately being interpreted now as two sons. They are seen as indispensable for conducting the last rituals of parents and for carrying forward the family name. With the demand for dowry increasing, girls are seen as a liability. In fact, the slogans seen in different parts of Haryana before the clamp down under the PNDT Act was “Spend Rs 5000 now (on a sex test and abortion) and save Rs 5 lakh as dowry later. With the sex selection business going underground, the fee for a test-cum-abortion has gone up to Rs 10,000. The amount has to be paid in advance. If the test reveals a male foetus, Rs 6500 to Rs 7000 is returned. Fortunately, the Central Government was pushed into realising the consequences of a two-child policy recently when a public interest litigation was filed in the Delhi High Court for the implementation of the National Population Policy of 2000. There is no insistence on a two-child norm in the family planning programme and couples can have as many children as they want, the government affidavit stated. It had no intention of implementing a centralised, target-oriented family planning programme, it added, and to the relief of NGOs, confirmed “the programme was voluntary.” So families can decide in their bedrooms the number of children they want instead of it being decided in the corridors of Nirman Bhavan. The bigger challenge for the government and civil society is changing the mindset of people — to give equal status to daughters and sons and stop this senseless killing of the female foetus. There has also to be serious implementation of the PNDT Act and PCPNDT (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act. There are 25,569 registered ultrasound clinics in the country. No one knows how many are unregistered. Despite all the hue and cry about the missing daughters, till the end of January this year just 308 cases had been prosecuted but not a single person has been convicted. Eighty per cent of the cases registered are for non-registration of the ultrasound clinics or machine. The rest are for non-maintenance of records, communicating the sex of the foetus and for advertisements that promote sex selection. There has been national euphoria over the victories of Sania Mirza in tennis and Anju Bobby George in athletics. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw’s achievements in the corporate world are trail blazing, Aruna Roy and Arundhati Roy won the Magasaysay award and the Booker Prize for the right to information movement and for literary work respectively. Smart young women walk the ramp, are journalists of eminence, scientists and corporate and information technology whiz kids. Where would they all have been if their mothers had practised female foeticide! It is high time we stopped mourning our missing daughters and started celebrating their
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Fringe benefit Our editorial meetings just got more interesting. There is a storm in every teacup offered by the Editor-in-Chief. The customary cup of tea is followed by a stormy debate over who is the beneficiary of the proffered beverage — the EiC or CiEs (Called-in-Editors). The EiC insists that we CiEs consume the tea; we benefit; and, therefore, we, and not he, should be subject to the fringe benefit tax. The CiEs contend that the cup of tea not only cheers, but it actually spurs us to come up with ideas and write; which benefits the newspaper and, therefore, the EiC is the end beneficiary. When it comes to editorial matters, the EiC has the last word. But “teadotirials” are more complicated and less easily resolved. Finance Minister P Chidambaram is the sole cause of this entirely avoidable dispute. I have known him for some 30 years. Mercifully, for him, our interactions have been few and far between, and rarely of the hail-fellow-well- met kind. Now, I wouldn’t call him my friend, certainly not after the rift he has created between my Editor-in-Chief and me over something as trivial as a cup of tea. After the Budget, such disputes must be raging across the land: in bazaars and boardrooms, editorial conferences and advertising conventions, ministerial highways and bureaucratic by-lanes. The economy could collapse over the man-hours lost in this futile debate. It would be best if PC cleared the cloud of controversy by personal example. After all, it is the man at the centre who attracts most of the fringe, and fringe benefits, too. PC is all the rage now. The media raves about him, and people cannot stop raving that he is the finest media personality. He hogs all the space in newspapers and time on television. Why not a rating-based computation of how much this media space and time would cost? His emergence as a media icon is certainly a fringe benefit for the Finance Minister. Surely, he should be asked to pay the 30 per cent fringe benefit tax on prime time rates that he has saved. Few would disagree that PC is doing a terrific job that would take him to Davos for the World Economic Forum, to Washington for the World Bank-IMF meetings, to London, Brussels et al. Delegates accompanying him would be in a state of suspense over who is the fringe beneficiary — the FM or the businessmen — in such economic expeditions. PC’s press conferences, here and abroad, would be thinly attended if the journalists are to be taxed for the fringe benefit of mineral water served. On the other hand, if PC takes it on himself, he is liable to pay the tax. That is if he accepts the underlying principle. He would claim that he is only doing his job as FM. So am I, when I drink tea at the editorial conference. He would contend that the government and the Congress party are the beneficiaries. That we would know only after the next elections. In any case, the principle is that you pay, even if “under protest”, and await due process for recovery. Now, let’s not forget that PC is a damn smart lawyer
too.
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Not yet free to choose
For centuries women in Haryana have been relegated to a third grade in the social hierarchy — much after the male members and their high yielding cattle. Though one of the richest states in the country, Haryana is the worst when it comes to providing equal opportunities to women in the social milieu. So even as the world celebrates the International Women’s Day and deliberates on women’s liberation, women in the state remain subjected to male dominance and century-old tradition that binds them to home and hearth. From an alarming decline in the sex ratio to women being treated as commodities and offered for sale, from their economic dependence to their poor literacy rate, emancipation of women has a long way to go. With the child sex ratio declining by almost 60 per 1,000 male children — owing to the prevalence of sex-determination and sex-selection techniques, and female foeticide — men in Haryana are “buying women” from poverty-stricken homes in Assam, Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa — mainly for procreation. In a state where a buffalo is available for Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000, a woman can be bought for Rs 4000 to Rs 6000. Women have almost no right to make choices in life, especially when it comes to selecting a life partner. Any aberration from the norm invites sharp reaction from the community, which includes of honour crimes and even honour killings. The fact that most of the inmates in the Nari Niketan at Karnal are those who face threats from their families/communities/ khaap panchayats for choosing a life partner without their approval is proof of this. The Sonia- Rampal episode, where a khaap panchayat had issued a diktat for the excommunication of the couple’s families in Rohtak because she married a man she loved, irrespective of his gotra, created an upsurge because a woman had dared to defy the social norms. Though her continued defiance and seeking legal help to sort out the issue/ and similar methods adopted by women in similar situations shows a new awakening in women to fight for their rights, the way the community stands up to them reveals that such “defiance” is still not tolerated. The compilation of data on the availability of amenities and assets in Haryana by the Department of Census Operations is a telling tale of the poor status of women. As against the belief that women in the rural areas are worse off as compared to those in the urban areas, the data reveals otherwise. The child sex ratio (0-6 years) in the urban areas is declining fast as compared to the ratio in the rural areas. As compared to the child sex ratio of 808 girls per 1,000 boys in the urban areas, the ratio in the rural areas is 823 per 1,000. Though this has more to do with the technology available for sex determination and medical termination in case of a female foetus, it also means that even in the urban areas a girl child is not welcome. The data shows a jump in the female literacy levels — from 40.47 per cent in 1991 to 55.73 per cent in 2001 — but economic independence of women (their work position) has hardly seen an upward trend. Interestingly, while 33. 91 per cent of the women in the rural areas are gainfully employed, the employment level in the urban areas of the state is just 10.55 per cent. This employment rate in the rural areas also means that it is only the women who work in the fields after finishing their daily household chores, while men just smoke their hukkah and play cards in village chaupals. The male-female gap in literacy is 26.1 per cent in the rural areas and 14.49 per cent in the urban areas. Though Haryana has made vast strides in industrialisation, women in most rural areas have to walk long distances to fetch water for their household needs. Tap water is available to only 48.1 per cent of the households in cities compare to mere 37. 8 per cent households in the rural areas. The unavailability of toilets in most parts of the state means that women still have to wait for dawn/dusk time to relieve themselves in the open. Almost 55.5 per cent of the households in the state have no toilets, including 71. 34 per cent of houses in the rural areas, thus urinary tract infections in women are common. The fact that 65. 4 per cent of women still use firewood, crop residue, cow dung cake and coal as fuel in the kitchen explains why respiratory infections among women are common. The situation is obviously bad. However, a glimmer of hope surfaces from the fact that the electorate of Haryana has sent the highest number of women in the Vidhan Sabha this year. As many as 11 women MLAs, including nine from the Congress, have made it to the Vidhan Sabha. It is being felt that with an increase in the strength of women in the Assembly and a more proactive role in politics, women can hope for a change for the better. |
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US sent
hundreds of terror suspects to foreign prisons The CIA has transferred an estimated 100 and 150 terrorist suspects to foreign countries for questioning — and, it is widely alleged, torture — since rules governing the American policy of “rendition” were relaxed immediately after the September 2001 terrorist attacks. The disclosure, in The New York Times on Sunday, throws new light on a practice fiercely criticised by human rights groups, who claim Washington is ignoring the standards it urges on others. Among the countries to which detainees have been sent are Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, all named in the State Department’s annual report on human rights worldwide as countries that use torture in their prisons. The practice of rendition long predates the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, but it was previously applied on a specific case-by-case basis, needing approval by several government departments. According to George Tenet, the former CIA director, 72 suspects were moved in this way, some of them from foreign countries into the US from abroad, before 11 September 2001. But since then the traffic has grown much heavier, under a directive approved by President Bush shortly after 11 September, allowing far greater latitude to the CIA. In recent days, several cases, where individuals were quietly sent back to their countries of birth and then held incommunicado and beaten and tortured before being released with no charges being brought, has brought the controversy to a new pitch. In one instance, Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen born in Syria was picked up at JFK airport in New York and sent to Syria where he claims to have been imprisoned for 12 months and beaten. Another detainee, Mamdouh Habib, an Egyptian-born Australian, was detained in Pakistan in late 2001 and says he suffered similar treatment in prisons in Egypt, Afghanistan and at Guantanamo Bay, before being released in January. Mr Habib’s lawyer has described rendition as “outsourcing of torture”. A similar debate surrounds the case of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, a US citizen and son of Jordanian immigrants, accused of being an al-Qa’ida member and plotting to assassinate President Bush. Mr Abu Ali says the US authorities prodded the local police to detain him while he was studying in Saudi Arabia. There, he says, he was tortured, before being returned to the US for trial. In every instance the complaint against the US is the same, that, in violation of previous US practice and the spirit of international treaties outlawing torture, it routinely handed over prisoners to countries where the use of torture was commonplace. US officials told the Times that rendition was just one among several methods of dealing with terrorist suspects, and that it had made every reasonable effort to ensure that transferred prisoners were treated properly. The Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales — under fire himself for endorsing more permissive policies on torture when he was White House counsel during Mr Bush’s first term — insists that the US in no way condones torture. In another move, Washington has begun a major overhaul of its counterintelligence operations, to carry the battle directly against agents of al-Qa’ida and the intelligence services of Iran and other countries considered hostile to America. Henceforth, the separate counterintelligence branches of the currently fragmented US intelligence community will be united in a new Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive. — By arrangement with The Independent, London |
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Delhi Durbar The crowd gathered at Jawaharlal Nehru University to hear Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias was curious about the huge plasma screen television placed in front of the dais. While some claimed it was part of the visiting Premier’s security, others insisted that the President liked to view it himself while delivering the address. Though the assemblage of academicians, experts of international studies, historians, left-leaning economists et al could not find out the reason for putting up the screen, they, however, did come to know that the President’s good looks were attributed to his love for sports. An avid baseball player, he has played for the national team and also writes poetry and short stories. Painting, it was pointed out, is his passion. And as for his singing abilities, he got a perfect 10 from the crowd that cheered as he sang for them. Syed Sibtey Razi is fall guy Being a loyalist of the Gandhi family from the days of the late Sanjay Gandhi and hailing from the Rae Bareili constituency in U P, Syed Sibtey Razi was handpicked for the gubernatorial assignment in Jharkhand. Little did the Congress high command or Sonia Gandhi in particular, expect that his overzealousness in discharging his constitutional duties would cost the UPA government heavily. The distraught Congress chief, was quick to distance herself from the Governor’s action in a damage control exercise Dr Manmohan Singh is believed to have underlined that the Governor must not waste time in asking Chief Minister Shibu Soren to seek a vote of confidence on the floor of the assembly at the earliest. To Razi’s discomfiture, he has emerged as the fall guy of the Congress leadership. Amar Singh woos Ambika Is Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh trying to mend fences with the Congress or is he trying to woo Ambika Soni? That is the question being asked in political circles. Eyewitness say he approached Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s trusted colleague Ambika twice apologising for his comments about her on television. Grapevine has it that the fractured verdict in the Assembly elections in Bihar is the main reason for seeking out Ambika. Army wives shine in pink The annual garden party at the Army House hosted by Anupama Singh, wife of the Chief of Army Staff, Gen J J Singh, last week turned out to be an event to remember. Attended by over 500, women, including the wives of senior army officers and ex-army chiefs, it was a veritable “who’s who” of the Capital encompassing the political and social spectrum as well. Anupama’s theme for the luncheon do with a band in attendance was “Pink and Silver.” Simple and down-to-earth Gursharan Kaur, wife of Dr Manmohan Singh, came in a peach saree. She did not mind being dragged to the dance floor for a few minutes. Among those present were Kiran Bedi, Preneet Kaur and Jaya
Jaitley. Contributed by: Smriti Kak Ramachandran, Satish Misra, Gaurav Choudhury and Prashant Sood
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Truthfulness is the abode of austerity, self-restraint and all other virtues. Indeed, truthfulness is the source of all noble qualities as the ocean is that of fish. — Lord Mahavir It has been said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say, do not resist evil: but whosoever smites you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. — Jesus Christ Purity of speech and hospitality is Islam. — Prophet Muhammad Charity is a duty unto every Muslim. He who has not the means thereto, let him do a good act or abstain from an evil one. That is his charity. — Prophet Muhammad  |
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