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Neighbourhood
schooling
Indian media must
go global
More with less
Dateline
Washington GM crops: threat to
wildlife? Chatterati
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Welcome release NO President, certainly not Gen Pervez Musharraf, releases hundreds of prisoners of a neighbouring country with whom he is fighting a proxy war on the spur of the moment or on the prodding of a visiting Chief Minister (Capt Amarinder Singh in this case). Apparently, a lot of planning has gone into the “impromptu” decision to let go prisoners from Punjab and other parts of India. Apparently, the good General was keen to reach out to Punjabis, Sikhs in particular. That is also obvious from the way Capt Amarinder Singh was allowed to address a public meting, a first. Whatever the motivation, the news will rightly earn the Punjab Chief Minister a lot of goodwill. Most of the civilian prisoners languishing there had been either duped by travel agents or had strayed into Pakistan. Had the relations been normal, they would have been released long ago. But given the tension, they became bargaining chips in a no-holds-barred game. One hopes that this “magnanimous gesture” will not be a one-off event but will become a permanent feature of better understanding between India and Pakistan. India on its part should consider a reciprocal gesture. Capt Amarinder Singh headed a trade delegation to the neighbouring country. The release of prisoners made an auspicious beginning. Constructive business ties can be sewn up in its backdrop if the two governments show sincerity of purpose. That will be a win-win situation because both need each other’s markets. It just does not make sense to trade via third countries when this can be done virtually across their backyard. As has been repeatedly pointed out, trade can be the best confidence-building measure as well. Now that a start has been made through the unconditional release of civilian prisoners, the Pakistan President should also spare a thought for the army personnel who are very much there in Pakistani jails, stout denials notwithstanding. They have gone through hell and have already sacrificed their youth. President Musharraf can bring some sunshine into their twilight years. Being a soldier himself, can’t he spare a thought for their families whose existence has been hanging on a fragile thread of hope all these decades? |
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Neighbourhood schooling THE progressive idea of neighbourhood schooling, first formally promoted by the Kothari Commission, has been revived. Newspaper reports suggest this time it has the backing of the Prime Minister’s Office. It is gratifying that Dr Manmohan Singh has education on his priority list. His government has levied a cess to collect funds for this neglected sector. So it may not be surprising if the idea of making schools admit on priority children from their neighbourhood areas gains momentum, though odds are heavily stacked against it. The sub-committee of a Central body, which is working towards having a common school system in the country, is already seized of the matter. It is natural for parents to try for the best possible education for their children. This, however, leads to a scramble for admissions in select few public schools having a good academic reputation. The parental craze for English-medium education has led to the countrywide mushrooming of the so-called public schools that tend to indulge in malpractices. Some charge capitation fee, while for most it is plane business. The visible decline of government schools has also contributed to the commercialisation of education. Hefty charges apart, distant schools require transportation of children which escalates the cost of education and adds to urban pollution and traffic chaos. It may seem impracticable to implement the concept of neighbourhood schooling. The toughest problem is the non-existence of enough good schools. Many areas do not have any school. The challenges do seem formidable, given the government’s reluctance or inability to dictate terms to top schools. The school managements, however, should themselves realise their social responsibility and voluntarily admit on priority basis children from the nearby areas as this eases social tension and pressure on a city’s infrastructure. |
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You can never plan the future by the past. — Edmund Burke |
Indian media must go global
While
launching a business channel in Hindi recently, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, wondered why Indian media was not going globally and why “very few of our media organisations are yet willing to invest in foreign correspondents in important capitals of the world”. The Prime Minister, in fact, felt that the “Indian media should think global and go global”. He even advocated “for our own CNN and BBC type” broadcast services. These observations deserve serious attention; particularly since India has one of the oldest and largest networks of newspapers and radio and television channels. We take pride in the fact that India has arrived on the global scene. Yes, in many respects India today is an emerging power and stands on the threshold of global leadership. An appraisal of world politics over the decades brings out that no country can expect to be a global leader without having some say in the news dissemination apparatus and visible presence in the news media in particular. Going by these important criteria, where does India figure today? In terms of not merely the coverage of India in the global media which, of course, is important but also in terms of the extent of participation in the media operations outside India. Apart from this, it is also relevant to understand the extent of presence of foreign entrepreneurs and their influx into India recently. The Indian government’s welcoming foreign direct investments into Indian newspapers, 50 years after it was restrained by a Cabinet decision, implies a new opportunity for Indian entrepreneurs too. Even foreign news agencies, which operate in India through an Indian news agency, are being considered to operate directly in India. In fact, it is these foreign news agencies which are already distributing news about India outside the country apart from the own correspondents of individual foreign media positioned in India. Except for a few sporadic efforts recently, there has been hardly any major initiative on the part of Indian entrepreneurs to go global even where India has already made inroads in one or other field. Zee TV’s initiative to be on the DTH platform in the US is a step in that direction. Other Indian channels too, including Doordarshan, have been trying to be on the DTH and cable networks in the US for some time with not much success. In any case, the service being made available by these channels is neither specially aimed at the domestic viewers of that country nor is in the context of the local media. Interestingly, despite increased revenues of Indian media barons, the number of their own reporters abroad has declined and that of their reliance on foreign news agencies is on the increase. In fact, a leading news daily, of late, has started devoting nearly one-sixth of its pages for its “international section,” relying primarily on foreign news agencies. Over the years the intake of news agency items for foreign coverage by Indian newspapers has declined except in the case of a few mainline dailies which have recently revived and repositioned “foreign news” reprinted from one or the other foreign newspaper or news agency. The Internet has given boost to this route. In fact, these foreign news agencies account for a little over 1 per cent of “domestic news” of mainline Indian dailies — sometimes as high as 3 per cent and prominently placed. Overall, country-specific news bureaus are operating in India directly representing news media of some 58 countries whereas Indian media organisations have their bureaus or have staff reporters in hardly 10 locations today. At one time Indian news agencies had 10 senior journalists posted overseas and another 12 Indians as stringers. With more and more foreign news agencies coming in to full play and foreign coverage going up once again, the trend seems to be the other way — as if Indian media is withdrawing from their overseas presence - at a time when globalisation is an opportunity for a two-way presence and for India becoming a global media player. Without such presence, how do we expect to see an “Indian century” or an “Indian miracle” to come about? India has a lot of catching up to do in the field of mass media. A sound environment or contextual conditions cannot be build up for India without the presence of Indian entrepreneurs in the media operations in different continents and the visible presence of Indian journalists in the global news media. The other dimension, rather compulsion, to consider in this context is political. For, media today is used as a political tool for agenda setting and to bring about radical changes in the balance of power globally. President Huge Chavez of Venezuela, during his visit to India recently, had reminded India of this potential of media with a case example of his own country. A few weeks earlier CNN’s Ted Turner referred to such a potential “problem for democracy” from the news media. In the context of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News channel in the US emerging on the top, Turner observed that “the news is dumped down leaving voters without critical information on politics.” Even in the US it is being felt that media is being used to transform party politics and government operations into show business and that media swamps democratic practices. India cannot be unconcerned about such a possibility. The least it could do is to work for reciprocal arrangements with countries whose media organisations are allowed to operate and invest into media enterprises in India. Going beyond, it should facilitate and promote overseas Indian investments into media ventures. Individual Indian players cannot be expected to make inroads into foreign media markets without joint ventures to start with. Even NRIs in the respective countries could be encouraged to go beyond the present concerns of their media operations to compete locally. It is not a question of mere reach but making available locally relevant contents in a competitive context. Reduced transponder costs and opportunities of DTH should be an added reason for Indian television channels to be competitive globally. Today many things are in favour for Indian entrepreneurs to go global in media too. Only then can India be truly described as being in the “big league” of nations. n The writer is Chairman, Centre for Media Studies, New Delhi. |
More with less
“TO get more, one must be content with less” is an old saying. That is why man is advised to rein in his desires. When a man’s desires are boundless, he sets himself a task he can never finish. Instead of the satisfaction he seeks, he will reap frustration, and the happiness he aims at will be ever at a distance. In moderation only lies all the peace of mind. The same principle holds in the matter of investment of personal finances. According to an expert, the whole investment process is basically driven by the sentiment of greed. Greed goads you to pitch your expectation a notch higher, alluring you to wait for one more boom, for another crest. But who can say whether your dream run will materialise, and not bust and turn sour? Wisdom, therefore, lies in defining your level of comfort. You will discover that by reducing your appetite for yields, you rather improve your chances of getting rich. It is now universally recognised that food is the basic requirement of sustenance. But the problem arises when there is a craving, an irresistible desire to gratify the palate, and when, to use the words of Buck, kitchen becomes your shrine, the cook your priest, the table your altar, and the belly your God. This intemperance and excess, in the long run, devastate your vital system. You become heavy, indolent and stupid; you lose your verve; and you shorten your years. Thus, in a manner of speaking, with your own teeth, you dig your grave. If, therefore, you would live well and long, and inject more joy into your life, your motto should be “not too much” in what you eat and drink. Then, there is that maxim that much more can be said with the use of a few words. Meaning is smothered in verbosity; a barrage of words masks the real intent, and lengthy instructions are bound to obfuscate. It is said that Winston Churchill, on becoming the wartime Prime Minister, asked the chief of the navy to write down just on one side of one sheet of paper his assessment of the preparations of the British navy. Churchill knew too well that if he didn’t so qualify his demand, he would be handed down a 300-page unreadable treatise. I would conclude by only referring to a recent experience of compression of thought, combined with wit. A friend provokingly asked me, “Define in one word that is also a sentence.” I was flummoxed for an answer. Seeing my plight he helped me out: “It is ‘marriage’, you idiot.” Marriage — a word, a sentence! Let the reader contemplate. |
Dateline Washington Mr Burton, a Republican from Indiana, made his intentions clear following rumours that the incumbent Chairman, Congressman Henry J. Hyde, Illinois Republican, could be named Ambassador to the Vatican. “I am going to run for it,” Mr Burton told Roll Call, a Capitol Hill publication. “There's talk that Henry might have a shot at being Ambassador to the Vatican. If that happens, he may leave early and I want to be ready.” Legislators from the Republican Party, the majority party in the House, and the steering committee will pick the next Chairman of the House International Relations Committee. The entire Republican Conference then ratifies the choice. Mr Burton is the fourth in seniority in the House International Relations Committee after Mr Hyde, Congressman Jim Leach, Iowa Republican, and Congressman Christopher Smith, New Jersey Republican. Besides Mr Burton, other lawmakers have begun throwing their hats in the ring even though term limits will not force Mr Hyde to give up his gavel until the end of the 109th Congress. Mr Hyde, who turns 81 next month, is expected to announce his retirement soon, effective at the end of his current term, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. He is prevented from seeking another term as Chairman because of the term limits imposed on House committee chairmen. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida Republican and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, announced her candidacy in a press release last week. “In the event that the position of Chairman Hyde becomes available, I would be honoured to serve in that capacity. I know that I would have big shoes to fill because the chairman's leadership and eloquence can never be replaced,” she said. Ms Ros-Lehtinen also chairs the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia. Ms Ros-Lehtinen is the sixth seniormost member of the House International Relations Committee, a handicap that could make it difficult for her to take the top spot, but not improbable. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Congressman Ed Royce, California Republican, indicated that the former co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans is also interested in succeeding Mr Hyde. The other potential candidates include Mr Leach and Mr Smith, Vice-Chairman of the House International Relations Committee. But it is Mr Burton's candidacy that will prove the most disconcerting for New Delhi. The conservative Congressman insists that human rights abuses are a part of Indian government policy in Kashmir and Punjab. In a 1996 speech on the floor of the House, Mr Burton said: “The Indian government is one of the world's worst human rights abusers.” After the collapse of talks between India and Pakistan aimed at resolving the situation in Kashmir in 2001, Mr Burton charged India with “duplicity” and “not dealing in good faith” because it wanted to include Pakistan's promotion of terrorism in the discussions. In the same speech, he declared, “It is India that introduced nuclear terrorism into South Asia.” B Raman, a retired additional secretary (Cabinet Secretariat), Government of India, and at present director of the Institute for Topical Studies in Chennai, participated in a hearing “to review U.S. counter-terrorism policy toward Asia and the Pacific” in Washington on October 29, 2003. Recalling that hearing, Mr Raman later wrote: “Mr [Dan] Burton started his remarks by expressing his apprehensions over the possibility of the joint hearing turning into a Pakistan-bashing exercise. He then criticised the Government of India for avoiding the implementation of the U.N. Resolution calling for a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir and accused the Indian Army of serious human rights violations, including gangrape of Kashmiri women.” He added: “Their attacks on India in their opening remarks created a dilemma for me as to whether I should, in my testimony, ignore them and use the 10 minutes allotted to me only for giving my assessment on the terrorist challenges facing India or whether I should utilise part of the time to rebut their allegations even at the cost of having less time for giving my assessment for which I had been invited.” In an April 26, 2002, letter correcting misinformation propagated by Mr Burton, Lalit Mansingh, then India's Ambassador to the United States, wrote: “The so-called 'Council of Khalistan' does not have any following within the State of Punjab or anywhere else in India. It is an organisation of self-serving people who are misusing U.S. hospitality to indulge in false and baseless propaganda against a friendly country.” The U.S. India Political Action Committee, a Virginia-based PAC that represents the interests of the Indian American community on Capitol Hill, describes Mr Hyde as an extraordinary chairman and a true friend of the Indian American community. When the chairmanship becomes available, Megha Chokshi of the USINPAC says Ms. Ros-Lehtinen will be best qualified to succeed Mr Hyde. Pro-India lobbyists are waiting for Mr Burton to officially launch his campaign for the post of Chairman of the House International Relations Committee before they begin a counter effort to foil his bid. |
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GM crops: threat to wildlife? Yet another nail was hammered into the coffin of the GM food industry in Britain recently when the final trial of a four-year series of experiments found, once more, that genetically modified crops can be harmful to wildlife. The study was the fourth in a series that has, in effect, sealed the fate of GM in the UK — at least in the foreseeable future. They showed the ultra-powerful weedkillers that the crops are engineered to tolerate would bring about further damage to a countryside already devastated by intensive farming. Only one of the four farm-scale trials, which have gone on for nearly five years, showed that growing GM crops might be less harmful to birds, flowers and insects than the non-GM equivalent — and even that was attacked as flawed, because the weedkiller the particular conventional crop required was so destructive it was about to be banned by the EU. Even so, a year ago the Government gave a licence for that crop — a maize known as Chardon LL, created by the German chemical group Bayer — to be grown in Britain, thus officially opening the way for the GM era in Britain, to loud protests from environmentalists. However, only three weeks later Bayer withdrew its application, suggesting the regulatory climate would be too inhibiting. That followed the withdrawal from Europe of the world leader in GM crops, the American biotech giant Monsanto, which also seemed to have tired of the struggle. Since then, the GM industry in Britain has withered on the vine, despite the fact that some members of the Government, and Tony Blair in particular, were privately great supporters of it from the outset. Official policy is portrayed as being neutral and based simply on scientific advice. The fourth and final mass experiment involving GM crops has found that they caused significant harm to wild flowers, butterflies, bees and probably songbirds. Results of the farm-scale trial of winter-sown oilseed rape raised further doubts about whether GM crops can ever be grown in Britain without causing further damage to the nation’s wildlife. Although the experiment did not look directly at the catastrophic demise of farmland birds over the past 50 years, ornithologists said the results suggested that growing GM oilseed rape would almost certainly exacerbate the problem. David Gibbons, the head of conservation at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said the herbicides used to spray GM rape killed broad-leaved wild flowers such as chickweed and fat hen which are important to the diet of songbirds such as skylarks, tree sparrows and bullfinches. The trial of winter oilseed rape involved planting conventional and GM forms of the crop in adjacent plots at 65 sites across Britain. Scientists then carefully monitored wild flowers, grasses, seeds, bees, butterflies and other invertebrates. Over the course of the three-year experiment, the scientists counted a million weeds, two million insects and made 7,000 field trips. Although they found similar overall numbers of weeds in the two types of crop, broad-leaved weeds such as chickweed were far fewer in the GM plots. The scientists counted fewer bees and butterflies in the GM plots compared to plots of conventional oilseed rape. Les Firbank, of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Lancaster, who led the study, said that there was about one-third fewer seeds from broad-leaved flowers in the GM plots compared to fields with conventional oilseed rape. “These differences were still present two years after the crop had been sown ... So we’ve got a significant biological difference that is carrying on from season to season,” he said. GM oilseed rape is genetically designed to be resistant to a weedkiller that would kill the non-GM crop. It means that farmers are free to use broader-spectrum herbicides. The three previous farm-scale trials into crops investigated spring-sown oilseed rape, maize and beet. These showed that growing GM rape and GM beet did more harm to wildlife than their conventional counterparts. “All of the evidence that we’ve got from the farm-scale evaluations points out that differences between the treatments are due to the herbicides. It’s the nature of the chemicals and the timing at which the farming is done,” Dr Firbank said. Christopher Pollock, chairman of the scientific steering committee that oversaw the farm-scale trials, said: “What’s good for the farmer is not always good for the natural populations of weeds, insects, birds and butterflies that share that space.” Farm-scale trials of GM crops are unique to Britain and represent the first time that scientists have evaluated the environmental impact of a new farming practice before it has been introduced, Professor Pollock said. Results of the latest trial are published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. — The Independent |
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Chatterati The star of the Dandi March was the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family, Rahul Gandhi. And what an impact he made when he hit the Dandi trail! In fact, it is looked upon his first political foray outside U.P. Accompanied by Shiela Dixit and other Congress leaders, this young M.P. from Amethi walked the stretch. Shying from the media, he bonded well with villagers, stopping at local dhabas for tea. Crossing the river in an over-done garlanded boat, Rahul was a hit with the young and the old. Of course, he mentioned the U.P. govt’s misrule. The Congressmen seem to be enthralled to see their poster boy making his moves. Obviously, he is their trump card for the future.
A show of star power There was no doubt after the launch of designer Anna Singh’s multi-store Kimaya that she is a hot property of the Bollywood. The high funda multi-purpose store was swarming with movie stars. Amir Khan happened to be shooting in the Capital, so he dropped in. Jackie Shroff is a great pal of Anna’s. Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan along with a whole lot of Dilli celebrities turned up to salute Anna. Hey! you know how Delhi is. Half way through the evening, Anna madam was nowhere to be found. Well, she was closeted with the filmi crowd and a few other chosen ones behind locked doors in a store downstairs. It was raining stars that evening. Let’s face it whether it is
aam janta or the page 3 air-kissing type, nothing works better than star power. The usually hoity toity chattering classes abandoned all poise, scrambled to say a hello or
struggled for a photo opportunity with the stars. The Delhi designers fraternity was also present in full strength to make Anna Singh feel very welcome, I must say. Our designers are now getting prepared for the Lakme fashion week , as usual, with confusion reining supreme.
Modi back in focus The hot topic in town is, of course, the refusal of a US visa to Narendra Modi. Amazing, how many senior leaders, cutting across different political lines, have taken it as an
insult to the nation. After all he is an elected Chief Minister of a state. I personally have no love lost where as Modi is concerned. But it is sad to see that the same people who invited him also withdrew the invitation being scared of the reaction of the US government. The NRIs in the US are very divided. Always playing politics on organising important Indian events in the US. The gainer in all this is Modi. He has become a hero once again. |
If you truly expect to realise your dreams, abandon the need for blanket approval. If conforming to everyone else’s expectations is the number one goal, you have sacrificed your uniqueness and, therefore, your excellence. — Don Ward From affection come grief and fear. From lust come grief and fear. From desire come grief and fear. From craving come grief and fear. The man who is aware, tries to be free from the bounds of affection, lust, desire and craving. — The Buddha One who has realised the truth will never be born again. He transcends the cycle of mortal birth and death. From his place in heaven, he looks down on this cycle of day and night of the earthly life. — The Bhagvad Gita When one, brilliant above the rest, is honoured, the mediocre in the gathering seek to pull him down by projecting others equally mediocre. They proclaim their minor deeds in the great, loud voice of the majority. — The Mahabharata  |
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