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Open skies Right
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Warriors
of Kerala
Kashmir
bus diplomacy
The
political arena
Dateline
London Defence
notes
Hospitals
seek grading to attract high-networth patients
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Right to safe food The extremely stringent punishments proposed for food adulteration in the forthcoming Food Safety and Standards Bill 2005 are commensurate with the gravity of the problem that exists in India. The adulteration level is scandalously high and the quality of food is so low that many countries routinely reject stuff made in India. Here the real issue is not boosting of exports or impressing the foreigners but protecting the health of every citizen. The integral food law that is to replace multiple legislation on food standards seeks to impose life imprisonment in case of death due to adulteration. There is one-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh even in those cases in which food does not result in illness. Food manufacturers have been enjoying an almost free run all this while because there are far too many agencies looking after the food quality and this duplication has made sure that there is no ultimate authority. Bringing the matter under a single umbrella and imposing penalties which are more logical, graded and easy to apply will address this problem. The proposal to ban the direct use of insecticides on articles of foods, except fumigants, is also welcome. But as it has been true in the case of other social ills, more stringent punishment is not the panacea for all ills. What is needed is better investigation and conviction of the guilty. The experience so far is that most people escape the dragnet by ensuring that the case against them is pursued half-heartedly or too slowly. Exemplary punishment is meaningful only if it is handed out quickly, justly and uniformly. At the same time it must be ensured that the tougher laws are not misused by unscrupulous officials. A corrupt officer can easily blackmail food manufacturers by hanging the sword of non-existent adulteration over their head. This is not a fictitious possibility. Some of the food inspectors have all along been showing their true colours by harassing the manufacturers no end just to make some easy money on the sly. This aspect must also be taken into account while framing the new law. |
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Warriors of Kerala THE reason why Congress leader K. Karunakaran chickened out on his threat to retaliate against the High Command’s decision to expel his son K. Murlidharan from the party for six years is not far to seek. At the meeting of the “I” group they convened on Monday, he realised that not more than five MLAs would follow them if they decided to form a new party. What was more worrisome was that his own daughter K. Padmaja did not attend the meeting as she had made known that she was not ready to walk out of the Congress. Mr Karunakaran thought it prudent to defer the decision till he was able to assess his real strength in the party, nay the “I” group. Significantly enough, neither son nor father made any critical remark against Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, though the expulsion order came from the High Command. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is not wide of the mark when he says the expulsion of Mr Murlidharan will not rock the UDF government. A majority of the Congress MLAs will not like to destabilise the government, particularly when there is uncertainty about Mr Karunakaran’s course of action. It is true that Mr Murlidharan has been itching to leave the party, though he has not adduced even one reason for the same. He probably feels that the mantle of Chief Ministership should have fallen on him, rather than Mr Chandy, when Mr A.K. Antony quit owning “moral responsibility” for the Congress defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. Left to himself, Mr Murlidharan will like to float a new political party. Such an entity will be part of a yet-to-emerge Third Front in the state or have a deal with the LDF. All this is in the realm of speculation. But what is certain is that the Congress will be harmed if the father and son leave the party. In any case, the party has not been doing well in the state, losing election after election. It is the factional war in the organisation that is mainly responsible for the common man’s disenchantment with the Congress. The Karunakarans and Oommen Chandys will do well to remember this as they flex their muscles. |
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Belief triggers the power to do. — David Schwartz |
Kashmir bus diplomacy The
two buses were travelling in opposite directions of course, one to and the other from Srinagar. But the alchemy of the times gave them a common destination: a happy meeting of hearts between people from across Line of Control, and they reached the destination with beaming faces. Scenes like that have never been seen in this part of the world before, and that day Kashmiris were thinking less of “Indian oppression” than of the heartlessness of the militants who tried to burn their bus. But one regret remains, that we missed a third bus. “What might have been” is sometimes seen as the enemy of “what was”. But when what “might have been” is as great as it could have been that day, some regret is not unfairness to “what was”. The regret is that the occasion was neither allowed to remain a non-party affair nor allowed to become an all-party affair. It would have been better if it had been either the one or the other, on both sides of the line. But it did not become either, on either side. Both sides slipped on a habit of petty-mindedness. President Musharraf had what looked like a good thought when he said the two busses should only carry the hopes of both sides of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, not Indian and Pakistani ambitions. If it had happened that way, the whole focus would have been on the happiness of the people of the state, without the “national interests” of India or Pakistan coming in the way. But as it turned out, this was not the thought in Musharraf's head. Reports from Pakistan suggest that he feared “other countries” were losing interest in the plight of the people and were more focused on where they stood in the “India vs Pakistan” equation , and in that calculation India had wiped out the advantage Pakistan had inherited from the cold war days and more recently from the “anti-terrorism” theme. Therefore he only wanted to scale down the stakes. The Indian send-off for the bus for Muzzafarabad was also deficient in foresight. It failed to do what it could have done and is going to be needed. Mr Manmohan Singh's sincerity stood out. But the politics of the event lacked sagacity. 10 Janpath became one distraction, and an honorary Kashmiri another. The focus on Srinagar would have been clearer if Kashmiri leaders of all shades who do not oppose the state’s accession had been brought together despite their domestic differences. Farooq Abdullah’s absence from the stage was conspicuous, while that of Ghulam Nabi Azad stood out though he has had little to do with Kashmir. Other Indian leaders who have been much more active in Kashmir were nowhere to be seen. The focus on New Delhi could have had more meaning but for the conspicuous absence of some major Indian parties on the dais. But stranger in this respect was the role taken by Sonia Gandhi, in the flag waving from the dais. The Government of India was well enough represented on the stage by its Prime Minister, who began the flag waving. But soon both his hands were joined by the hands of his party’s president. The government of the day always speaks on behalf of the country, not only the party in power. But when an occasion requires for it to demonstrate that it has the backing of the whole country then it needs to seek and show the support of the main opposition party, not of another leader of his own party. But leaving aside these matters of political protocol, there would have been a symbolism of another and a higher kind if in giving a send-off to the Indian bus the Prime Minister had been able to show the visible support of the BJP. It is not known whether such support was sought and declined or not sought at all. But either way it was a bus missed by the country. The support of Mr Advani as party president and leader of the opposition would have been support enough for the Prime Minister. But Mr Vajpayee’s hands on the flag Mr Manmohan Singh was waving would have given a higher dimension to the country’s support for the bus diplomacy. It would have shown not only that the present opposition was behind the present government but that the whole country was behind it as a long term national policy, because it was Vajpayee who had started the bus diplomacy, and from a higher rung on this issue. Where the new round of this diplomacy will take us is not known as yet. But three things can be foretold. First, there will be many twists and turns, many plots and conspiracies by various countries and interests. Anything which looks like a new opportunity will be a mixture of many motives. Second, India will be able to negotiate them better with a more convincing display of national unity, on this issue at least, than it did on that day. Third, there will be weeks and months of probing sallies before anything emerges which is as new and bold as was hinted at after the meeting between President Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York towards the end of September last year. What was said then was tantalising but on closer examination in the weeks which followed turned out to be a mirage, a kind of diplomatic equivalent of Kargil. Mr Vajpayee’s bus journey to Lahore had raised high hopes but Musharraf sabotaged them with his conspiracy in Kargil. The same thing happened after the New York meeting, only this time the sabotage came in the form of a “clarification” by Musharraf. India must be on guard against another repetition. Indian political parties, the two major ones most of all, must be more watchful of him than of each other. They could have made a beginning in Srinagar a few days ago, but failed to do so. A lot of expectations were aroused when Mr Manmohan Singh said in New York that at a meeting they had just had in New York President Musharraf had talked of “many options” and he himself had promised in return that India would consider all of them with an open mind in confidence. This was to be done at a meeting they would have early in 2005. Some weeks before that meeting Musharraf said in public that the option was to divide Jammu and Kashmir in seven parts, while Manmohan Singh had ruled out any further redrawing of the boundaries or partition of any part of India on the basis of religion. The expectations went up in thin air after
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The political arena SUNOJI, you are always busy with your official files only. Hardly think of your son’s future”, chipped in the better half. “Don’t you worry, sweet heart. Leave it to me”, uttered dear hubby. “Voh kaise......., “she said with eye wide open while stirring sugar in the tea cup. “Seems your pehlwan son has made you fidgety”. “Yes, dear. Cannot sleep at night,” she purred setting her sari pallav right. “ I have a panacea with me for the problems that give you sleepless nights. You know, in a few months I shall retire from the plum post I am holding. I shall jump into the ‘akhara’ a day after I
retire.” “Akhara!”, she screamed. “I mean, p...o...li...tics” dear. “Your politics and our family problems! Can’t make out!” Her spirits had plummeted to the lowest ebb. Holding her by the arm the hubby chipped in: “You should thank your stars that your ‘ladla’ is the captain of the ‘dangal’ team and not that of cricket. Already expert in making the opponent ‘chit’. This art he would practise against my rivals when I contest elections. How good I am at scheming, you will knew later on. With my expertise of chess and game of cards, I shall throw satte pe satta and take others for a ride. Opportunism and opportunism alone will be my dharma”. “Perhaps like the proverbial monkey......”. She gave a meaningful smile which the husband reciprocated with a guffaw. “The ‘dangal’ we intend joining is sans any rules. Quite easy to eliminate the opponents and win the game”. Before the hubby could proceed further she cried out, “No ‘paap’ please ji”. “Dearie, you don’t understand. Very simple game, indeed. Not difficult to hire a few men for a hefty sum. Such men do the rivals ‘chit’ on the ground. Anon I shall fire a volley of abuses against the opponents for such fouls. Hence my hands will be clean.” “So shall be our son’s,” she grinned. The husband too grinned from ear to ear and chimed: “Yes, dear, hundred per cent clean”. Chirpie, there is a soft way to damage the
opponents’ image too...... you get children on way to school kidnapped. Hold your opponents responsible for this ‘dirty’ practice and win votes......Finally, claim a ministry that pays well.” The soulmate muttered with misty eyes: “Everyone’s kids must come home.....am a mother you know.....cannot bear it ji”. Big drops rolled down. her
cheeks. “Don’t be that senti. The dangal your ladla and myself will play soon is another name for
it.”
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Dateline
London by K.N. Malik Most opinion polls predict a reduced majority for the Labour in the general election on May 5. Estimates differ. One poll predicted last week that the ruling party’s majority would be cut from 161 in the current Parliament to 70, while another put the Labour majority in the next Parliament at 136. There is, however, not a single pollster who predicted Tory winning the next election. I asked a few Tory party insiders about their opinion on the subject. Most of them said it was impossible for the Tories under Mr Michael Howard to unseat the Labour at the next elections. The most charitable view was that what Michael could do was to bring the Tory party to a level to have a fighting chance for winning, not the forthcoming election, but the one after that. The current Tory leader has been good at ambushing Blair, embarrassing him at times in the Commons. What he failed to do was to articulate policies and project his party as a credible alternative. As Home Secretary in the Thatcher government, he was an architect of poll tax, which brought the Thatcher government humiliation and defeat. The John Major government, that succeeded Thatcher, most political analysts believe, was a non-government. The Tory party, which was ousted from the government in1997, subsequently plunged into an internecine war. Three leadership changes have not been able to restore the party health. Michael Howard’s shadow cabinet comprises lightweights who have failed to exploit weaknesses of the Labour government, during the past eight years. Critics realise the Tory party difficulties. The Labour is most vulnerable on its Iraq policy. But those opposed to the war on Iraq know that the Tories would have done the same. The Labour party is also criticised by its liberal wing because of its stance on cutting civil liberties, its attempts to introduce identity cards, to curb demonstration near Parliament and curb trial by jury. On all these issues, the Tory party’s stance would have been no different. Traditionally the Tories scored over the Labour on crime and immigration and asylum. Even on these two issues, the Labour party under Blair has caught up with the Tories. The strongest indication came when the Labour launched its manifesto. No journalist, present at the press conference, asked any question on either crime or immigration. At the end of the press conference, one journalist asked the Prime Minister, “since no one has asked any question on these two issues, should one take that the Labour has won even on these points.” His reply was short and crisp, “It is for you to judge.” Crime was down and immigration and asylum seekers’ number had dropped since the Labour came to power. The Labour’s strongest point in the elections, however, will be a strong economy. Britain never had it so good in the past. The British economy, at this juncture, is perhaps the strongest in Europe. It is enjoying an unprecedented boom. Unemployment is at the lowest, the interest rates are low and so are mortgages. The feel-good factor is evident everywhere. This boom does not mean higher incomes only for the well-to-do. The system of tax rebates and increased child benefits have helped the low income families. Council bill rebates and winter allowances have also helped pensioners. The Labour spending on health, education and other public services is at a record high. The government has also invested heavily on the law-enforcing agencies This does not mean that the Labour victory can be taken for granted. Winning a third term is going to be an uphill task. Polls are not all they seem to be. Each poll is conducted on a different basis and there is a wide variation in their projections. Pollsters’ credibility is not all that strong. At least the Labour Party does not take the pollsters seriously. Nor do the pollsters themselves. They are keenly aware of a complete loss of face in the 1997 election. Every poll had written off John Major’s government. Believing these polls, the then Labour leader, Mr Neil Kinnock, had even started celebrating the victory. By midnight, he had realised that it was a proverbial case of counting the chickens before they were hatched. Egg was splashed all over the pollsters’ faces. Labour focus groups and canvassers at the doorstep are sending a different message to the party managers. There are lots and lots of angry, grudging and incoherent voters. A large number of the Labour’s traditional voters are angry because the government ignored their protests, acting as a poodle to the Bush administration, it invaded Iraq. Even the Labour parliamentary party did not fully support the Iraq war. It was an illegal war, they said. Even the UN Secretary-General said so. The British troops and its leaders could be arraigned before the International Human Rights Court. The minorities, specially the Muslims, who in the past had whole-heartedly supported the Labour, are angry and do not want to vote the Labour. The Labour party knows fully well that bringing back to the fold their traditional voters will be a key to its winning the elections. For many, their leader, Mr Blair has become a liability. Even the Tory party election managers have abandoned the idea of making an election plank of “Vote Blair and get Brown”. Most pollsters predicted that Mr Blair’s traditional rival, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Gordon Brown, has become more popular than Blair. That is why the Labour campaign is launched by the Blair-Brown team, standing shoulder to shoulder. Unlike the last two election campaigns, Blair’s photographs are hardly noticeable in its campaign literature. Former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, who had resigned in protest against the war on Iraq, has been persuaded to campaign for the Labour. Every effort is being made to placate its disgruntled supporters. The argument advanced is: “the party respects differences on Iraq. But do not ignore all the good things the government has done for the less well-to-do classes — for children, for elderly, for public services in general and for the economy as a whole. Your anger and apathy could mean bringing back the Tories.” |
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Defence notes by Girja Shankar Kaura With an increasing number of court cases, the Army has opened a specialised law chamber at the Delhi High Court. Equipped with a library and a communication system, the chamber was recently inaugurated by Lt Gen S. Pattabhiraman, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command. The Army law chamber will facilitate better interaction among the officer in charge of litigation, Delhi High Court, government counsel and the litigation section of the Ministry of Law and Justice and officials connected with the case. It will also benefit officers and men coming to the Delhi High Court to attend hearings and produce records before the court. Inaugurating the building, General Pattabhiraman stressed the need for prompt filing of pleadings and ensuring compliance of court orders. Maj Gen Thomas Mathew, GOC, Delhi Area, and Maj Gen Nilendra Kumar, Judge Advocate General (Army), were also present.
Contribution to PM’s relief fund The Army and the Air Force, having taken the lead in the relief work in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster on December 26, have now collected money for the Prime Minister's relief fund. Recently the Chief of Army Staff, General J.J. Singh, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi, presented cheques for Rs 28.97 crore and Rs 3.61 crore, respectively, to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Indigenous air defence ship Work on the country's first indigenous aircraft carrier started recently with a “steel-cutting” ceremony at Kochi by Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways T.R. Balu. The Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Arun Prakash, was also present. The Chief of Naval Staff stated that the design and construction of such an air defence ship would mark the ''coming of age'' of our indigenous warship building capabilities. "As we cut steel today, we join an elite club of just six other nations which are able to conceptualise and then realise an endeavour of such dimensions and complexity," he added. The minister said that the government wanted to bring the maritime sector, including ship-building, onto the centrestage of development. "This project is an example in this direction,” he added and stressed the need to follow countries like China in this field. The Navy's own Directorate of Naval Design (DND) has designed this ship, which will be built using integrated hull outfit and painting methodology. Another significant feature of this ship is that it will be the first warship to be built with quality steel developed in India by DRDO and SAIL. |
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Hospitals seek grading to attract high-networth patients Indian
corporate hospitals are gearing up to attract more high-networth patients, including those from overseas, with the promise of validated service and in some cases even US accreditation. Apollo Indraprastha (Delhi), Wockhart Hospital (Bangalore) and Sri Ramachandra Hospital (Chennai) are a few that have embarked on the long and costly process of seeking accreditation from the Joint Commission International (JCI) of the US, according to industry sources. "Though this involves huge expenditure and a long process, JCI accreditation is being sought by some top hospitals to give them credibility of being on a par with the best of global healthcare institutions," said a senior official of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). "Take the case of Thailand and Singapore which have benefited by having JCI accredited hospitals," the official said. Assigned by the Health Ministry, the CII National Committee on Health has prepared a report on how hospitals seeking to attract overseas patients can be graded according to their facilities and patient care. "The group will present its report to the ministry and the Quality Council of India (QCI) by the month end. We are keen that QCI be given the mandate for giving accreditation to hospitals," the official told IANS. The CII team is in the process of finalising the document that will frame benchmarks on how hospitals from nursing homes to tertiary care hospitals can be graded and given accreditation. The benchmarks, much the same as those for hotels, will give indications of the type of facilities and care a patient can expect in a given hospital. Currently, around two dozen hospitals of varying sizes, including Apollo Indraprastha, Christian Medical College (CMC) at Vellore and five state-owned ESI hospitals in the National Capital Region are among those that have got their facilities graded by noted rating agencies ICRA Ltd and CRISIL. "After one-and-a-half years of research on benchmarking, we started providing grading services two years back. So far we have graded around a dozen hospitals. Only some make their grading public," said Amul Gogna, Executive Director of ICRA Ltd. "What started as an exercise to meet the demands of insurance companies, which expressed concern at independent evaluation of services in hospitals they were covering, has become a voluntary exercise sought by individual hospitals," said Gogna. The parameters employed by rating agencies are facilities, processes followed in patient care that is measured through the outcome, physical infrastructure, staff, safety aspects, standarisation of processes, the out patient department, in-patient, diagnostic and other procedures. "A major emphasis is on how the diagnosis and treatment regime is decided on," said Gogna. The benchmarking has been done taking into account the patient survey module, inputs from the medical fraternity, including from overseas. While not reflective of the cost of service, the grading is mostly on the basis of service provided, including after care. Industry sources feel a time will come when market forces will themselves start filtering out hospitals that are not providing proper care. While some hospitals would like to forget having not made the top mark in the Indian grading, Apollo Indraprastha Hospital is eagerly awaiting results of its two-year toil to get international accreditation that would pave the way for more demand from overseas. Ten percent of Apollo Indraprastha hospital patients are currently from overseas. "The JCI accreditation being an international benchmark, we are keen to get it. We have covered all the groundwork, and are now awaiting a visit from a JCI team for validating our standards," a hospital spokesperson said. In an attempt to match global standards, Apollo Indraprastha has had to turn around several of its earlier practices to put patient safety and welfare at the forefront, including keeping patients informed about what is happening during every step of the
treatment. — IANS |
Knowledge of the self leads to instantaneous realisation here and now. The established proposition of all Upanishads is that final release results from knowledge. — Sri Adi Sankaracharya According to Karma Yoga, the action one has done cannot be destroyed, until it has borne its fruit; no power in nature can stop it from yielding its results. — Swami Vivekananda With eyes covered with the film of Maya, you complain that you cannot see God. If you wish to see Him, remove the film of Maya from your eyes. — Sri Ramakrishna Speak the truth and realise the Lord within; for, He is not far from you. You have only to see Him intuitively. — Guru Nanak A real teacher is he who is well-versed in the Vedas, sinless and unsmitten by desire. — Sri Adi Sankaracharya What I say to you, I say to all. Watch, watch and pray, lest you should be tempted. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. — Jesus Christ  |
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