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Love of Cricket Tackling terrorism |
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Self-reliant PSUs
Pitiable state of civil services-I
A painful saga
The dragon and the tiger bhai-bhai? More pupils than ever cheat at school exams Chatterati
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Love of Cricket NEVER mind the spoilsports, cricket won the day at the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium on Sunday when Pakistan clinched the six-match one-day series with a convincing 4-2 win. Cricket lovers and people of goodwill, on both sides of the border, have much to rejoice in the fact that the three Tests and six one-dayers were not only thrilling contests but also free of incidents. Despite the crowd trouble that briefly interrupted the game at the Kotla Stadium and the noises raised by fringe groups before the Pakistani team came, it is cause for satisfaction that India and the Indian team were so warmly hospitable to the tourists. The Pakistani players led by Inzamam-ul-Haq are certainly carrying back much more than the coveted Pepsi Cup that they won. Cricket as diplomacy and as a basis for greater people-to-people interaction has certainly altered the atmospherics of the relationship between the two countries. Apart from underscoring sport as a basis for friendship, the matches were keen battles that overturned many assumptions by the respective contenders of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. After India’s unstoppable run of success in Pakistan last year, in both the Tests and the one-dayers, it was widely believed that the hosts held the upper hand. The Pakistani team was dubbed as “the weakest”, especially by critics at home, and Inzamam painted as being too laid back to pull off a victory. But the Pakistani captain, whose leadership was questioned, has proved his detractors wrong as well as unfair. In levelling the Test series and winning the one-day matches, he came in from behind, as it were, and thereafter led from the front as both strategist and batsman. The Indian team has to review its premises of engagement given the challenge that Pakistan now represents. There is, perhaps, a lesson in this for the political establishments in Delhi and Islamabad: that they too must shed preconceptions to move forward with purposeful engagement. Inzamam has been, deservedly, complimented for being a good ambassador of Pakistan to India. Diplomacy could do with a bit of the game’s spirit which appears to have fostered bonds and changed mindsets for the better between the people of the two countries. |
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Tackling terrorism IT is a harsh reality that today there is hardly a state which can claim to be totally free from insurgency and extremism. The reach of the terrorists is expanding with various groups joining hands, so much so that now it is very difficult to distinguish between internal and external terrorism either. Among the factors which inhibit the battle against the menace, a major one is the petty rivalry among the various states. Anti-social and anti-national elements have been exploiting this lack of cooperation to the hilt. It is good that the government is finally waking up to the problem and the issue was debated at length during the day-long chief ministers’ conference on internal security in Delhi last week. The chief ministers seemed to have realised that they were the fingers of one hand and could get a grip on the insurgents only if they acted in unison. The most serious is the threat posed by Naxalites who have spread their reign of terror to as many as a dozen states. The police of these states could have obtained much better results if only they had not used their areas as personal fiefdom. In his own gentle but firm way, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a significant policy statement during the conference. His assertion that “there can be no political compromise with terror, no inch conceded, and no compassion shown” deserves to be the cornerstone of the future strategy against extremist elements. The consideration shown to such people has been misconstrued as weakness in the past. He has reiterated the same policy in the case of foreign-backed extremists also. Talking about Jammu and Kashmir, he has said that his government is willing to conduct an honest and meaningful dialogue with any group that abjures the path of violence and is willing to engage in a dialogue. It is high time the government made the enemies of civilised society realise that they could not armtwist it by targeting innocent citizens and essential installations. The government has to be ever-ready for a dialogue but not from a position of weakness. |
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Self-reliant PSUs FEW can find fault with Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s exhortation to the public sector organisations under his ministry to become financially more self-reliant. He wants them to pursue joint ventures and co-production with both foreign and domestic private companies. This comes at a time when many of the larger ones have already realised the wisdom of such a course. The largest under the ministry, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, with a turnover of Rs 4425 crore and profits of Rs 630 crore, has many joint ventures with foreign companies on the cards. Over the last couple of years, involvement of the local private sector in producing components for aircraft has also gone up dramatically, though in absolute terms, the proportion may be small. Others like Bharat Electronics and Bharat Dynamics have not fared too badly either, but Mazagon Docks Ltd continues to struggle with accumulated losses. And while HAL is getting repeat orders on forward passenger door supplies to Airbus, it has been struggling to win deals abroad for the Advanced Light Helicopter, Dhruv. The need is to move up the value chain, not only in sales of products but in the roles played in joint ventures and partnerships. Local participation also needs to piggyback, to a point where a whole sub-system or assembly, say the landing gear of an aircraft, can be outsourced confidently. The aim should be to develop a network of all potential stakeholders, including the academia, to facilitate constant interaction and exchange of skills, ideas, and capabilities, spanning a spectrum of activities from concept and design to development, production, and marketing. Human resources and technological capabilities within and outside the undertakings can thus be augmented, and the customer base expanded. Security considerations need not be a limiting factor. There are established ways of working with large and, sometimes, unwieldy networks, to ensure that potential security chinks are mapped and bases covered. It will take imagination and a willingness to explore new ways of doing things. |
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Any old place I can hang my hat is home sweet home to me. — William Jerome |
Pitiable state of civil services-I
A
civil servant should be fired by the zeal to render an honest, courteous and efficient service to the people of the country, without discrimination on grounds of caste, colour, creed, social or economic status and political affiliation. He must recognise that his appointment to an office is not meant for promoting one’s self-interest but for rendering service to the public. The moment the pursuit of self-interest becomes the dominant theme in the mind of a civil servant, he loses his moral right to remain in the public service. Going by the changes in public perception regarding the quality of public services being provided since Independence, it is clear that the level of public satisfaction has been declining. The autonomous sense of dutifulness among civil servants has been growing weaker. At the same time, the effectiveness of the hierarchical control has also been getting eroded. A sense of complacency appears to have taken deep root in the civil services, with civil servants showing little concern for accountability. The common assumption is that once a person is recruited into the civil service, he will not be asked to quit until his normal age of retirement. It is also assumed that even if performance at work is indifferent, the official will continues to receive promotions because of the lax methods of evaluation as well as the possibility of extraneous pressures of politicians, friends and well-wishers being brought to bear on the official’s career development. According to the representatives of several NGOs, the attitude among civil servants and public officials at the grassroot level continues to be a feudal one. Public functionaries feel that they are doing the people a favour by providing a service to them, even though they are paid from the public exchequer to do so. Officials are found to be arrogant, inaccessible and disinclined to listen to the people who approach them. Besides, even if they have the authority to redress the grievances of an applicant, quite often they refrain from doing so unless the applicant is politically well-connected or is prepared to offer illegal gratification. There is thus a dire need to drastically change the orientation of our civil servants from one of being rulers to one of being efficient, honest and courteous service providers. Since there can be no substitute for the sovereign functions of the state being discharged by a body of civil servants constituting the civil services, it is all the more essential that the civil services command a high degree of legitimacy and are publicly perceived to be the guardians of good order and conduct in society. If public legitimacy of the civil service gets eroded due to the misconduct of its members, and the general public perception is that powers vested in the authorities are being misused for personal gain rather than for the promotion of public interest, the task of governance in general and the enforcement of rules and regulations in particular is bound to become more difficult. Since members of the civil services are expected to embody and exemplify ethical values in the conduct of their assigned tasks, they must also enjoy a positive public perception about their integrity and bona fides. To the extent that such perception is not forthcoming, there is a clear need to undertake a serious re-evaluation of the underlining causes and to take remedial steps to overcome the deficiencies which have led to this unsatisfactory state of affairs. If those meant to be the upholders of the laws of civilised society are themselves found to be committing serious breaches thereof, there is bound to be a general weakening of law compliance in society as well. In many states, violations of laws and regulations have become so commonplace that people have been getting accustomed to the notion that “might is right” and that they can take the law into their own hands to suit their convenience, without the fear of being brought to book. This tendency is exacerbated by the pressure of growing population, overcrowding of towns and cities and the increasing level of frustration among the have-nots in society who are distressed by the lack of sufficient opportunities for improving their material quality of life. The declining levels of satisfaction with the functioning of civil services in the country in the eyes of the common people, the political class, the media, etc, can be accounted for by the erosion of professionalism within the civil services. Professionalism can be described as the embodiment of intellectual competence to undertake an assigned task, clear understanding of the goals and objectives and the ability to exercise interpersonal and organisational skills to deliver the desired results. Additionally, a good professional has to adhere to the codes of ethical propriety and compliance with internal quality standards. In professions such as medicine and accountancy, the concerned professional associations, which are statutorily recognised, have prescribed the requirements for undertaking a certain number of hours of professional re-education each year before a member can seek extension of registration either as a doctor or a chartered accountant. In the Defence Services also, before serving officers are considered for promotion to higher ranks, certain internal training courses and examinations are conducted. Such in-service examinations need to be instituted in the civil services also, as a signal to the serving officers that they must retain a sharp learning edge if they wish to advance professionally. It cannot be over-emphasised that a good professional will always be expected to remain intellectually honest and will not refrain from stating his professional opinion about the issues which he is required to deal with, in accordance with his best independent judgement and understanding. He will not hesitate to state his opinion frankly, just because it may not be palatable to persons who may be at the receiving end. The poor state of law and order maintenance in many states, which has resulted in the insecurity of life and property of common citizens, can be traced to the failure of supervisory police officers posted in the field to act in a properly professional, independent and fearless manner and enforce the criminal laws firmly, without bothering about how palatable or otherwise their actions will appear to their political or civil service superiors, or to other influence-peddlers. When awarding contracts to be funded from the public exchequer, many civil servants, instead of safeguarding the public interest and ensuring the most cost-effective application of public funds, are willing to go along with improper and extraneous considerations to please their bosses, including political patrons or private contractors. By doing so, they fail to act as conscientious custodians of the public resources entrusted to them. Those officials failing to uphold their commitment to complete honesty and integrity should not be allowed to continue in the public
services. (To be concluded) The writer, a retired bureaucrat, is a former Lieut-Governor of Delhi. |
A painful saga
AS Air-India’s jumbo carrying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was taxiing at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport at Port Louis in Mauritius, I switched on my mobile to check whether the roaming facility was available there. In an instant I got a message from my friend cartoonist Sudhir Tailang in Delhi: “O.V. Vijayan is no more”. It is not the kind of message that you want when you are a bit high, travelling with the Prime Minister and looking forward to combining work with pleasure. Sudhir had a reason to give me this message. About 14 years earlier, we had collaborated to do a profile of O.V. Vijayan for the Hindustan Times. In my long career as a journalist, I have written about hundreds of people but no other writing saddened me as this one. There were days when I wished that I had not written it. A day after the profile with a brilliant caricature of the writer-cartoonist by Sudhir appeared in the paper, I got a telephone call from Vijayan himself. I never expected the call. So I was thrilled when he told me in his soft voice: “I am O.V. Vijayan. I have read your piece on me. It will definitely do you proud.” Then he paused for a while and continued: “But it has pained me a lot. I wish you had not referred to my illness.” It was not out of any ill-will that I made a reference to his state of health. All I could do in the given situation was to apologise to Vijayan. He was gracious to a T when he virtually consoled me: “Don’t worry about it. My intention was not to hurt you. Please forget this conversation.” However hard I tried to forget the conversation, it still haunted me. The portion in my write-up that hurt Vijayan was: “The debilitating disease that he contracted has been taking a heavy toll on his cartooning abilities though it has not in any way affected his mental faculties. Confined as he is within the four walls of his flat on Satya Marg at Chanakyapuri, his contact with the outside world is virtually through the telephone.” If I had an inkling that my comment would upset his finer sensibilities, I would not have even thought about mentioning it. After all, Vijayan was no ordinary subject for me. I grew up admiring his cartoons in The Hindu and later The Statesman and reading his Dharmapuranam, loosely translated as The Saga of Dharmapuri, in a now-defunct Malayalam weekly, Malayalanadu. He was easily the most cerebral cartoonist India has ever produced. Much has been written about his literary talent, especially his trend-setting novel Khasaakinte Itihasam (Saga of Khasaak), which he took 15 years to complete. It is easily the greatest novel in Malayalam. It is a moot question how many Nobel Prize-winning novels measure up to the standards of Vijayan’s magnum opus. A loner in the crowd, he did not promote himself, never hankered after awards and recognition and led a dignified life. And it was this man that I had inadvertently hurt by my writing. The feeling of guilt haunted me as I looked again and again at the terse SMS from Sudhir
Tailang.
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The dragon and the tiger bhai-bhai? THE Chinese Premier’s visit has been rich in symbolism and gestures, causing his hosts to gush effusively. The media too has gone into overdrive in hailing this new phase of “bhai-bhai” diplomacy. No longer is it just “bhai-bhai”, but “Chindia”. A long leap into fantasy. We have been treated to the fascinating spectacle of a map that now shows Sikkim as a part of India. Never mind that the map should, at the very least, have been issued during Vajpayee’s 2003 visit. The excuse then trotted out was that the “cartographers” had not had time to print the new version. In our eagerness to lap up the scraps that the Middle Kingdom casts our way, how easily do we forget that the ‘cartographic aggression’ of the fifties was also sought to be downplayed with a similar excuse. It was then stated that the People’s Republic had not had time to review the maps of the former regime. This sham was allowed to cloak the true intent till China had built a sufficient military presence in Tibet, which we had so gratuitously - (fatuously?) - conceded to them in the interest of “bhai-bhai”. As soon as that had been accomplished, the mask was off. After that we were told that the McMahon line was a legacy of our shared imperialistic past and we should negotiate the border afresh. In any case, it was then pointed out, the border agreement had never been ratified by the Chinese government of that time - in defiance of the imperialistic hegemonists, it turns out. The ‘62 aggression unmasked the dragon’s true face. Never mind also that the map in question is 30 years too late in depicting the ground reality of an accession that came about through an overwhelming vote by the erstwhile protectorate’s duly elected legislature. As such, the whole Sikkim issue, over which such a fuss is being made, is really a non-event. However, we are asked to shed the baggage of the unsavoury past lest it drag down the shining future. Look, we are told by Sun Yuxi, the Chinese Ambassador, “If we can speak in one voice, it will be the strongest in the world.” The symbolism of Wen reaching Delhi via Bangalore is pointed out. If we can market Chinese hardware with Indian software, we will capture the world. It is opined that China really seeks to emerge as a fully developed economic super-power. It, therefore, seeks to create a circle of peace around itself and does not threaten us militarily - or at least not directly. Look how Wen is smiling. The Indian spokesman tells us that China now supports our permanent membership of the Security Council. The Chinese continue to smile inscrutably and the next day the media denies the report. So many ifs. In assessing the present reality of Sino-Indian bonhomie, it is not sound bytes, symbolism, or smiles that we should focus on, but actions. China, the original proliferator, catalysed Pakistan’s emergence as a nuclear power. It continues to build its strategic and military muscle. Before he landed in India, Wen was scheduled to inaugurate the strategic Chinese-built port of Gwadar in Pakistan, which commands the entrance to the Gulf of Oman and access to the Red Sea. He also signed an agreement on the Chashma II nuclear power plant. China is also to help Pakistan with production of the JF 17 fighter aircraft. China is quite a busybody in our other neighbouring countries as well. Witness its none too friendly (for India) role in Nepal, Bangladesh and Burma. There is now a sizable Chinese naval presence in Burmese territorial waters astride the Strait of Malacca, a strategic waterway similar to the one at Gwadar. Coming to the border issue, nearly 50 years have elapsed since the first cartographic aggression and 46 years since Nehru famously asked the Army to ‘Throw them out!” The inglorious ‘62 war that ensued, led to our spending huge amount on garrison and maintain a large military defensive posture on the Mc Mahon watershed, effectively retarding our economic development. In contrast, China maintains a much smaller presence in its garrisons, comfortably to the rear, which keep the border under surveillance and which, in any case, are needed to keep the Tibetans suitably peaceful. From time to time the Chinese have created small border incidents to dissuade us from following likewise. ‘62 was followed by the ‘67 Natu La incident where of course, the Army gave an excellent account of itself. Rajiv Gandhi’s 1988 visit was followed soon after by the Bum La incident in Arunachal Pradesh. All these have only served to pull us back in our efforts for economic development, though in fairness to the Chinese, we did quite a bit of the pulling back ourselves. All the while we wait for the excruciatingly slow process to reach a mutually satisfactory solution - in a couple of more decades? These past developments do serve to highlight that, while not remaining prisoners of the past, we ought not to become euphoric over the current smiles and symbolism. Wen Jiabao is indeed a new generation leader who may well be able to bring about a transformation in China’s perceptions and actions. Some progress is already there by way of a more acceptable stance on the Kashmir issue, but clearly more meaningful steps need to be demonstrated. Should the two Asian giants come together, our voice will indeed be the strongest. The economic benefits that would ensue would also be immensely worthwhile. However, we need to see the rhetoric translated into concrete action on ground. This message should be unambiguously conveyed. Only then will Wen’s visit become a meaningful milestone on the long road to rapprochement between the dragon and the tiger. |
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More pupils than ever cheat at school exams Record numbers of pupils are cheating in exams and hundreds are being helped by their teachers. Figures from the British exam boards show 3,600 teenagers were caught breaking the rules last year, a 9 per cent rise on the previous year, with many of the offences blamed on schools' anxiety to preserve their rankings in exam league tables. The most common offence was taking a mobile phone into GCSEs or A-levels, with pupils being caught texting answers to each other during the exams. Another offence, highlighted by the exam board Edexcel, was submitting "offensive scripts", students telling examiners in explicit language what they could do with their questions. A breakdown of the figures shows 2,500 cases were serious enough for students to be docked marks for cheating, or even disqualified from the exam. Exam board officials also warned that teachers can be barred from invigilating for life if they were caught helping students cheat. The most recent severe penalty was a ban for two years on a teacher who left the students alone in the exam lecture hall for half an hour while he went out to complete other work. One board, the Oxford and Cambridge and Royal Society of Arts (OCR), said the number of penalties imposed on pupils for cheating had risen by 12 per cent in a year to 1,275, including 516 in collusion with teachers. At the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), the numbers rose 3 per cent to 1,533. Edexcel issued 847 exam penalties, a 16 per cent rise on 2003. The five most common offences were: taking a mobile telephone into exams, colluding over coursework, disrupting exams, taking books or notes into the exam room and plagiarism. Exam boards blamed increased pressure on schools to perform well for the rise, but said increased vigilance had led to more pupils being caught. One official said: "It's the league tables, the league tables and the league tables." On mobile telephones, he added: "They are prohibited from the exam room but sometimes pupils aren't aware they've got them on them. They're just like another item of clothing like socks. They put them in their pockets in the morning and forget about them." Margaret Morrissey, spokeswoman for the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, added: "It is wrong but it is happening and it's understandable. I just wish one of the politicians would say we could cut the amount of tests we give our children." But she added: "We, as parents, are not getting a very fair view of what our children can and can't achieve. It may be very comforting to have done very well at school but when they get into the world of work if they can't actually do what their exam results say they can they're going to be in big trouble." Mrs Morrissey said she agreed that the pressure of doing well in league tables contributed to the problem of cheating. A spokesman for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the Government's exams watchdog, said: "The simple message is 'don't cheat'. If students cheat, they will be punished." Yesterday's exam board figures coincide with evidence that plagiarism is on the increase among university students. A BBC investigation for the Radio 4 programme Brains for Sale revealed that more students were buying essays online. The head of one of the firms selling coursework to students admitted during the programme that her work "belittles the whole education system". Dorit Chomer, said she sold between 500 and 1,000 essays a week, mainly to overseas students studying in the UK. Jude Carroll, of Oxford Brookes University, who is an expert on plagiarism prevention, said a US study had found 43 per cent of students cutting and pasting material from the internet without supplying attribution. She said the figure was likely to be similar in the UK.
— The Independent
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Chatterati THE flavour of the week was undoubtedly Renuka Chowdhury and her ministry. One can easily conjecture that if she carries on marketing her ministry this way, she sure will get excellent applause in the international arena. The night bazaar at the Ashoka Hotel lawns is a complete sellout not only with foreigners but with the locals too. Delicacies from different parts of the country provided quite an experience for our taste buds. Every state has a small shop of ethnic clothes, handiworks and gift items. Cultural shows along with filmi dance songs, salsa and skits. A great entertainment for the ones who work during the day and look for an evening out. Pioneers in the cultural area like Rajiv Sethi, Romi Chopra and Francis of the Neemraina fort fame were aptly impressed by what they saw. Another incredible experience was at the entrance of Purana Qila, all lit up with camels, elephants, dancers blowing fireballs to welcome delegates of the fifth global summit on travel and tourism. A good mix of diplomats, ministers, bureaucrats and, of course, page 3. Renuka, chirpy and bright, was also dragged to the floor by the tribal dance. Well, Renuka now seems to be well embedded into her ministry after the initial setbacks of the Black label controversy and her slapping the cop decades back. With her new bureaucrat, Rajeev Talwar, in place, she managed to get concessions worth six hundred thousand dollars for UDV products last year. This means effectively a reduction in the price up to 33 per cent. This vindicates her stand that something was amiss in the pricing and the purchase price of Black label should be reduced. Those who opposed her for six months, I am sure, are a bit sheepish now. The media too, as usual, hyped up without finding the facts. Well, in the end we realise that this was a very well co-ordinated campaign to promote the private sector on the one hand and put ITDC at a disadvantage by buying products at inflated prices. Wonder, whose pockets were being filled! It’s anyone’s guess! So, Madam Minister can now boast of getting the best of the babus. Yoga therapy for MLAs It was initiated by former Chief Minister Naidu of Andhra Pradesh and somehow a lot of politicians have started worrying about their health. In Delhi MLAs have started yoga classes. The camp was inaugurated by the Speaker, Chaudhry Prem Singh. Well, yoga and naturopathy can cure diseases which have become a threat to life. God knows what the honourable MLAs have learnt from Dr Salila Tiwari's techniques of yoga. The public, after hearing of this, wondered why these MLAs were tense. After all the next elections are at least three years away. Well, Delhi MLAs have also gone media savy recently. They have been given laptops. Now how many use them is an interesting question. Chalo! as long as their families enjoy them, it's fine. So what, if the government coffers may be empty. But our netas must have the best always. New cars, great interiors of their bungalows at sarkari expense. No! Gandhi preachings here. Ghulam Nabi has started using SMS to convey instructions to MPs. Sure we can now expect mobiles being doled out to the V.I.Ps. Ritu Beri holds fashion show At her own farmhouse, far away from the rush of Delhi, Ritu Beri held her first fashion show after getting married. Exclusive, hand-picked personal friends with a plenty of press persons. Ritu's hubby, Bobby Chadda, mother-in-law, sis-in-law and her own parents played the roles of supportive and excellent hosts. Ritu always has to create a stir. So this time music was live. If Ritu's summer collection was a hit, crooner Shibani Kashyap provided the background score. The ultra feminine collection titled 'Prayer' conveyed moods like joy, love, freedom. It was all there — laces, leather, silks, denims on those leggy models. The show-stopper and show-stealer was Nafisa Ali's daughter Armaana. Satish Sharma's wife artist Stella and Feroze Khan's daughter, Laila, were among those present. |
Conquer anger by forgiveness, pride by humility, deceit by straight-forwardness and greed by contentment. — Lord Mahavir God is like a hill of sugar. A small ant carries away from it a small grain of sugar, and a bigger one takes from it a considerably larger grain. But in spite of this, the hill remains as large as before. So are the devotees of God. — Sri Ramakrishna By hearing the name of God, truth, contentment and divine wisdom are bestowed. — Guru Nanak Till heaven and earth pass, one jet or one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
— Jesus Christ  |
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