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Victory without sheen Publish, and punish |
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Another ISRO success
Drop tainted ministers
My Russian friends
Mind your language, sir Renal patients left to suffer Hard and not so hard working
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Victory without sheen BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair has little to rejoice over his third consecutive victory except that he will continue to stay in power. His Labour Party has a much reduced margin in the House of Commons while his own popularity is in a shambles. It secured 36 per cent of the votes, which is an all-time low for a winning party in Britain. He will be a much weakened Premier as he begins his third term. Naturally enough, power will no longer be concentrated in 10 Downing Street as he will have to watch over his shoulder to see what Finance Minister Gordon Brown and his followers, who have the potential to upset his calculations of completing the third term, will do during the next few months. The “awkward squad” in the party, which used to defy him, has only been strengthened, not weakened, by Thursday’s elections. It is the unpopularity of the opposition Conservatives that facilitated the return of the Labour to power. Between Mr Blair and Mr Michael Howard of the Conservatives, the voters did not have much of a choice. In fact, the better showing by the Liberal Democrats is a measure of the disenchantment of the voters with the two rival parties. More than the arithmetic of the vote, it is the moral dimension of it that will haunt Mr Blair. If in 1997 and 2001, Mr Blair represented the hope of the British public now no one is certain whether he will last a full term. Morally, Mr Blair stands exposed, not so much because he sided with the US in the war against Iraq but because he tried to manipulate the system to perpetuate a lie that Saddam Hussain had weapons of mass destruction. It is no surprise that not only his opponents but some of his own partymen see him as a liar. When Mr Blair won his first elections, his personal integrity was his greatest asset. Eight years of being “the poodle” of the US —the attribution freely used by his British critics — has destroyed it to such an extent that he will have a tough time heading a government which already has an alternative centre of power in it. By now he would have known that it is easier to win back political authority than moral authority. Mr Blair’s third term will be watched for how the chastened Prime Minister manages to win back the confidence of the electorate. |
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Publish, and punish PARLIAMENTS sessions come and go. Inquiry commissions too come and go. But justice continues to elude the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots which claimed some 3,000 innocent lives. The Nanavati Commission submitted its report two months ago. Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Law Minister H.R. Bhardwaj individually promised to publish the report and even mentioned dates when this would be done. But the government has yet again decided against tabling the report during the ongoing Budget session. According to rules, the government has six months to table it and it is now being promised that this would be done during the monsoon session that begins in July. It will be a very gullible person who will take the promise seriously. It seems that the expression “justice delayed is justice denied” is just not there in the government lexicon or thinking. Many facetious arguments have been given to defend the indefensible. After two decades of constant efforts, the officials have even run out of excuses for the never-ending delay. Why this is happening is no state secret. The entire exercise is aimed at shielding some powerful men and women who are once again in power. The entire charade of conducting inquiries seems to be aimed at buying time. Why should the state exchequer pay for this game of hide and don’t seek? The failure of the state to bring the guilty to book takes a heavy toll on the credibility of the government. The impotent rage of seeing the perpetrators of the killings moving about freely spawns extreme hatred and violence. The nation has witnessed a naked display of this alienation. It should not be made to lose face to keep the real faces of a few politicians behind a veil. |
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Another ISRO success IT is to the credit of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for lately making the success of space launches a routine affair. The sixth operational flight of the indigenous PSLV, ninth in all, again went off well. The placing of the mapping satellite Cartosat-1 and the smaller Hamsat into orbit marks another advance in India’s steady, if incremental, progress in deploying space technology for a variety of uses. This is the first launch from the second launch pad set up at Sriharikota, and it augurs well not only for future PSLV flights, now set to play a regular workhorse role, but the advanced versions of the GSLV waiting in the wings. Apart from offering low launch costs, consistency in launch performance is vital in the effort to grab a chunk of the international market. At over 1500 kg, Cartosat-1 is much larger than the 850-kg payloads of earlier PSLV flights. Its 2.5-metre resolution 3-D images of terrain and built-up features can be used to create digital elevation maps for urban and rural development, for the management of land and water resources, disasters, and the environment. Where the eyes of the satellite can pick out village roads, bridges, fences, distinctive geographic features, and outposts, essentially any object larger than 2.5 metres, the security applications are obvious as well. Though ISRO’s TES with one-metre resolution is on the job, border defence and dispute resolution can be further facilitated with accurate information about the terrain. As for Hamsat, India’s amateur radio operators, famous for their role in assisting post-disaster operations during earthquakes, floods and tsunamis, have been given the needed boost. While space technology is closely linked with military applications, and ISRO has never shirked that role, it has always prided itself on its essentially civilian character, and its drive to deploy space technologies to the benefit of the people at large. This latest success is a further testimony to that ethos. |
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Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you. — Ovid
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Drop tainted ministers WHOSE country is it any way,” is the persistent question being asked by the average citizen when he watches with pain squabbles of politicians regarding Lalu Yadav continuing to be a minister notwithstanding court having framed charges of corruption against him. The demand is being met with the counter-taunt as to why Advani etc did not resign after being charge-sheeted for the vile act of sacrilege like the demolition of Babri Masjid. This approach can only shock the nation’s conscience because it seems to suggest that the country belongs to these political parties and the masses are only dumb cattle. I agree that the boycott of parliamentary proceedings by any party for whatever reason (whether in the matter of Lalu Yadav or George Fernandes) is unacceptable in a parliamentary democracy. But this misconduct cannot justify the retention in Cabinet of a tainted minister. Defence of Yadav is also being put forth by suggesting that because of new emerging social classes, the distinction between the public good and private good does not come easily to the public. It would indeed be a sad day when corruption in public life is to be judged by the social origin of the individual minister. I thought our Constitution had abolished privileges. Secularism is not an apologist for corruption — rather the latter, if tolerated, will be a danger to secularism. To an average citizen both these actions are equally alarming and a setback to the campaign against criminalisation of politics in the country. We no longer look for Lal Bahadur Shastri who resigned because of a rail accident. But are we being politically partisan when we expect, as Ivor Jenning in his book “Cabinet Govt.” says, “that the most elementary qualification demanded of a minister is honesty and incorruptibility. It is, however, necessary not only that he should possess this qualification but also that he should appear to possess it”. In our country we have had some shining examples. Pt. Nehru asked T.T. Krishnamachari and K.D. Malviya, ministers of undoubted efficiency, to step down because of the adverse findings given by an informal inquiry. No one raised the question as to why they were being asked to resign when even the inquiry did not hold them personally responsible for any misfeasance but only of being constructively liable because of lapses by their departments. Recently, a powerful Home Secretary of the British Government had to resign because he asked the immigration department to hurry up a case of maid for a lady friend. There was no corruption, no money was taken but it was felt that the minister’s interest in a pending matter in another department was an act of impropriety — and yet he resigned to uphold integrity in public life. Even the judiciary which for some time past has had to accept many uncomplimentary disclosures has not taken cover under technicalities. Allegations even prima facie correct have led to resignation by High Court Judges without taking the plea of lack of conviction or absence of impeachment proceedings. Members of all-India services like the IAS and the IPS are liable to be suspended even when the government contemplates disciplinary proceedings. If such is the rule in all other spheres to take action at the preliminary stage, by what logic can a minister be allowed to continue in spite of the fact that a court has after hearing detailed arguments from the minister concerned come to a prima facie view and has framed charges of corruption against the minister? What is so special about legislators that while the highest in the executive and the judiciary are expected to resign even without a formal conviction, the minister should claim the status of an absolute, irremovable monarch free to indulge in corruption and nepotism? I thought we had left behind the era of King Louis XIV of France, who proclaimed “I am the state”, a remark that led to the end of his dynasty, and guillotine. How expediency blends the political parties is proved by the fact that in 1997 when charges were framed by the court against Lalu Yadav, the present constituents of the UPA government (though not in government) held a public agitation and forced Lalu to give up Chief Ministership of Bihar. Why this somersault? If it is the fear of Lalu endangering the stability of the UPA government I would suggest that the NDA, which is purporting to take its stand on moral grounds, should publicly pledge that if Lalu is asked to resign and on failure to do so is dismissed, the NDA will not destabilise the government on this issue. Centuries ago in 1695 the British House of Commons passed a resolution whereby it resolved that “the offer of money, or other advantage, to any Member of Parliament for the promoting of any matter whatsoever, pending or to be transacted in Parliament is a high crime and misdemeanour and tends to the subversion of the English Constitution.” Membership of Parliament is a great honour and carries with it a special duty to maintain the highest standards of probity. Immunity from dismissal even when prima facie corruption charges are framed by a criminal court (like in Lalu case) would in the words of Lord Salmon lend to “charter for corruption” so as to elevate Members of Parliament as “super-citizens, immune from criminal responsibility”. Such a situation is untenable in a republican country like ours. The immediacy with which the UPA government gives quietus to this demand by forcing Lalu to resign will be the measure of their bona fide in their declaration and faith in the democratic tradition of the Constitution. Let heed be given to the lament of J.P. which is pregnant with a warning: “I know politics is not for saints. But politics, at least under a democracy, must know the limits which it may not cross. Otherwise, if there is dishonesty and corruption there can be no government, no public order, no justice, no freedom, no national unity, in short, no nation”. The government has given out that it is planning to call a meeting of the political parties to bring about a consensus on the question of legislation regarding tainted ministers. I do not know what would be the outcome. To me it is inconsequential because the convention that tainted ministers should resign is a well-settled one in all democracies. It needs to be remembered that obedience to law is a fundamental duty; it is less frequently realised that obedience to convention is also among the political virtues, a maxim which all political parties can ignore only at their own
peril. |
My Russian friends THE whoosh of air presaged the arrival of the metro at the Vosstannya Square metro-station in Leningrad. As the rushing train came to a halt, its doors opened with a hiss. Only then did the throng of weekend commuters surge forward. I found myself at the forefront, being propelled into the compartment ahead. “Ashatrojna — deitii (careful children)!” The compartment was full of seven year olds. To avoid squeezing the kids, we all braced ourselves against the rush trying to push its way in. The doors hissed shut, opened again — someone was stuck in the doorway — finally closed and the train rapidly accelerated forward. Only then did I become aware of 20-odd pairs of eyes staring in dread at my bearded face, topped by a black turban and silver pagri-badge. I was attending a long course at the Kalinin Military Academy and had by now got accustomed to the frightened reactions of kids. So I struggled to free my hands, which had been pinioned to my sides by the packed commuters. At length I succeeded and dug out a handful of toffee from my greatcoat pocket. As I proffered these to the children in front of me I was rewarded by a half-dozen radiant smiles. The fearful expressions of the kids at the back were now replaced by anxiety — would there be any toffee for them? The exercise of struggling to push my hand into my pocket, then hand out toffees — a handful at a time — seemed to take an eternity. Finally, all the kids had got a toffee and I offered one each to the two pretty teachers as well. By now the compartment was less crowded and the children were happily chattering away about their field trip to the countryside from which they were returning. “Miss, miss” one little boy asked, “on ot kuda — where’s he from?” No self-respecting teacher was going to answer that directly. “Who can tell us?” she asked. “I know,” said a cute golden-haired little girl, “he’s from India”. Well done, Natasha! — this from the teacher. I promptly handed Natasha another toffee. The compartment was now emptying out and it was Natasha’s turn to go. As she prepared to alight, she opened her school bag and gave me a small painting on a plywood square, which she had done on her trip. I knelt to her level and thanked her and she leaned forward and gave a friendly peck on the cheek. It was my station. As I prepared to leave, a chorus rang out from the children: “Do svidaniya Indiskii droog! (bye-bye Indian
friend)”. |
Mind your language, sir WHENEVER we say that such and such term is “unparliamentary”, the implication is that the particular set of words is unfit to be used in Parliament. In other words, whatever is said in a house of representatives is supposed to be a byword for grace and decency. Reality could not be farther from the truth. Actually, many expressions used in these houses are colourful enough to make a barnboy go red in the face. It is just that most of them are regularly expunged and that is why the stink does not reach the public - well, at least not fully. The gems that are thus deleted, in quite the same way as a zealous censor board functions, are painstakingly complied for future reference and education of the members. It is ironical that they still continue to be used with impunity. The latest compilation of “Unparliamentary Expressions” brought out by the Lok Sabha Secretariat has already bloated to a tome running into some 900 pages. No, the honourable MPs and MLAs have not dipped their tongues in venom of late. It is just that the new edition also contains words and expressions disallowed in some of the Commonwealth Parliaments. A perusal of the “foreign expressions” shows that the MPs from the Commonwealth can match their Indian counterparts quite creditably although our own men have a distinct edge because of the linguistic richness of our vast country. The compilation is the revised, updated and enlarged edition which contains references to words and expressions declared unparliamentary up to the 13th Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and State legislatures in India up to 2003 and Commonwealth Parliaments up to 2002. The size makes it fit to be a coffee-table book but keep it there at your own risk, because if your children happen to read it, there may be complaints galore from the neighbourhood and their school about their filthy mouth. The huge book is divided into two parts. While the first part contains words and expressions in English, the second comprises Hindi and other Indian languages. The first one only shocks you. The latter can make the weak-hearted faint. If it is any consolation, the language used in the Lok Sabha is a little better than in the State legislatures. The Punjab Vidhan Sabha has made a significant contribution to the debate in which “Aapki akkal paon ke neeche aa gayee hai” counts as relatively mild. Perhaps the worst terms have been used in Rajasthan, with Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (“Mantriji ko ajayabghar mein bhejane ki vyavastha kar dein”) coming a close second and third. Such ornate language is used not only for the opponents but also for the Chair. Consider what the presiding officer had to listen to in the Lok Sabha on August 14, 2003: “Aap professor hain aur bhashan dete hain. Chhatron ko bhramit karne ka path padhakar jaise-taise yahan aa gaye aur hum sabko abhi updesh de rahe the (You are a professor and deliver lectures. You fooled the students and somehow entered this House and are now giving sermons to us)”. Only a few years earlier, in 1997 that is, an MP had the cheek to say to another: “Agar asli baap ki aulad ho to khade ho kar boliye!” (No translation can do justice to this ugly expression). This may be dismissed as intemperate language. But the honorable members have no qualms about using words which are recognised as unprintable even among the uncouth. Some MLAs think that the use of such expressions is unavoidable. This is what an MLA from Madhya Pradesh said about a Minister in Madhya Pradesh: “Tab unko Pichrapol ke apang, loole, langde, bail nahin kahen to kya kahen? (So how else do I describe him if not as the handicapped, lame bull from Pichrapol)”. The book is arranged under keywords in an alphabetical order. So those who know the language can get down to the exact word in a jiffy. Name it and you have it there. “Is ullu de patthe nu kee pata (what does this son of an owl know” “Thoothe varga moohn le kea a gaye” and “Is kature nu vee puchho, pata pao is kature nu” (Ask this dog also. Tie him up) come from Punjab. Madhya Pradesh chips in with “Gadhe ke bachche kyun dhenchun dhenchun kar rahe hain (why are these sons of donkeys braying?” Compare these with “ye gaddar hain, badmash hain, gunde hain; inki gundagardi ko sab jante hain” and “ye Ravan hain, Kans hain, gunde hain, badmash hain” expunged in Rajasthan. Your ears start ringing as you wade through thousands of such expressions. What is all the more shocking is that a similar language of the street has also been used against Governors and judges. After all, the representatives enjoy a hide-bound immunity. With so much of muck splashing around, one tends to develop a thick skin (incidentally, the expression “having a rhino’s skin” has been used and expunged umpteen times) and starts wondering why docile expressions like “such question should not have been admitted in the Assembly (Nagaland)” have been expunged. But is has been made abundantly clear that more than the words, the expunctions have taken place because of the aspersions cast in several cases, That is why words like “agent” and “ashamed” have also been deleted on occasions. Since such words can only be expunged, there are reasons to suspect that the future compilations will be as big as a Delhi telephone directory. And since languages evolve and expand constantly, our respected MPs and MLAs will always find new usages which are yet to be banned. |
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Renal patients left to suffer
IT is a strange scientific paradox. Great advancements have been made in the science of nephrology, but renal transplants in Punjab, rather the entire North India, have come to naught as permission for kidney donations from unrelated donors is not being granted. Hundreds of renal patients, who do not have a related kidney donor, are suffering... many a time till death. Since cadaver donations account for just 2 per cent of the kidneys required for renal transplants, patients who do not have a relative willing to help them out, have nowhere to go for help. The authorisation committees set up under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, refuse permission for transplants from unrelated donors on the assumption that monetary transaction has taken place. Under the Act a donor who is not a relative can donate by reason of “affection or attachment” towards the recipient. But he cannot receive any compensation in cash or kind for his “loss”. The assumption that people could donate their kidneys without deriving any material benefits and “purely for affection” (a state of utopia) had led to a flourishing of the science of nephrology in Punjab and authorisation committees used to permit transplant surgeries by unrelated donors. However, three years ago after the alleged kidney scam at Amritsar was unearthed, the committees have stopped granting permission. In rare cases where permission is granted, nephrologists refuse to operate for fear of being victimised for “aiding organ transactions”. Though the concern shown by the authorities is not ill-founded, the fact remains that hundreds of renal patients in Punjab are forced to undergo long periods of painful dialysis... often till death comes as a saviour from pain. Even the legal recourse adopted by some patients has failed to bring relief. Given the number of petitions pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, many a time patients die even before their case comes up for a hearing. Mr Suresh Chander, a 61-year-old renal patient died waiting for the court order to expedite his case for permission to take a kidney from an unrelated donor. He had approached the court in November 2004, but his case was adjourned six times by the court. He died about two months ago — without a single court hearing. Take the case of 28-year-old Kuldeep Singh of Ludhiana. For almost a year now, his father, Mr Baldev Singh, has been running from pillar to post to get permission for a renal transplant. “I am totally disappointed. I have the money to afford his treatment, hospitals here have the technical expertise to save his life. But just because I cannot get a ‘no objection certificate’ from the authorisation committee, we are helpless,” he says. Kuldeep Singh is a diabetic (he contacted diabetes at the age of eight), and in May 2004, suffered renal failure. For almost one year now, he has been on dialysis. With parents being ruled out as donors because they are hypertensive, and siblings have blood groups, the Singhs had no option but to find an unrelated donor. Since permission for getting a transplant here seemed unlikely, they decided to get Kuldeep operated upon in Chennai. All formalities were completed, but just before the operation, the authorisation committee of Tamil Nadu insisted that a “no objection certificate” for conducting the transplant surgery was required from the authorisation committee of Punjab. The latter refused, saying that there was no provision for the grant of an NOC under the Act. Frustrated by ‘bureaucratic hurdles’, which also meant that Kuldeep was losing crucial time, his father approached the Supreme Court. The apex court ruled that the authorisation committee of the Punjab Government should issue him an NOC after screening his case file. The committee here asked to examine not just the donor, but also his mother and wife before granting an NOC. The donor developed cold feet and fled. Kuldeep is now not just in need of a transplant surgery, but also a donor. Another patient from Ropar district, says that he has to get a dialysis done every alternate day. “Since the blood group of my wife and daughters’ does not match my blood group, they cannot donate a kidney. The doctor who does my dialysis told me that the only reprieve was to go to Lahore for a transplant as laws there are flexible. He even gave some references to help me arrange for an unrelated donor from here”. With the authorities discouraging kidney transplantation patients from Punjab are forced to go to hospitals in South India or in Pakistan. This means the rich can go anywhere in the world for a transplant, the poor have no option... but to suffer. |
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Hard and not so hard working MANY workers find themselves stretched for time in an economy that requires companies to do more with less to stay competitive. So as workers are left with more to tackle, some study the office habits of colleagues to identify who is being efficient and who is slacking. How do the frequent break-takers get anything done, and aren’t they slowing everyone else down? Are the workers who look too busy to say hello to top performers? Maybe not. The image of a productive employee being someone who works long hours and is chained to a desk is not always the best test for who is getting the most done, experts say. Improving job performance relies more on organizing your life, getting enough rest and making sure you have good working conditions than on constant back- or mind-breaking work, they say. “We think of productivity as the ability to do more with less, and that’s really a short-term solution to being productive,” said Rachna Jain, a licensed psychologist and job coach who is based in Bethesda, Md. “To be productive, you need adequate reserves and adequate resources to get your job done.” Taking a minute here and there to stretch, make small talk or walk up the stairs can boost productivity, according to several job coaches. Good habits such as eating and sleeping well and taking frequent breaks are essential to a productive day, said Carolyn Schur, president of Alert at Work, a human resources consulting company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in western Canada. Sleep is one of the main factors in how a person will function, Schur said. People have different sleeping patterns and, if possible, should structure their work around how they rest. A night owl is most productive in the afternoon and evenings, while early birds accomplish more before lunchtime. Schur recommends taking five — to 10-minute breaks every 90 minutes to get away from the task at hand and recharge. A break is a good time to have a snack that is low in sugar, such as nuts, fruit, yogurt or cheese. Those foods sustain the body longer than a cup of coffee or candy bar, which can provide a sudden jolt of energy that fades quickly. And breaks can help those who dread their workdays because they consider them one long task to be completed, experts said. When people can’t balance their personal and professional lives, one side can suffer, whether it’s neglecting family or friends or letting personal problems affect work performance. Another factor is working with a manager who is a good match, said Glenn Mehltretter, president and chief executive of People Fit, an organizational development consulting firm based in Raleigh, N.C. Another productivity killer is a power struggle. Workers are more productive if they feel they are in control of their work — they set priorities, schedule and agenda. Some employers have unrealistic expectations of how much time and work they want from their employees or spend too much time micromanaging their workers, Kahn said. Those expectations come from employers’ desires to be the best in their field or industry and get the most out of their workers, especially among start-ups. Some employers, however, realize that they can’t hold on to good employees by working them to death. — LA Times-Washington Post |
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Benefits of British Rule !
All intelligent, well-informed and right-thinking natives of India agree that British rule is a dispensation of providence, calculated to confer unbounded advantage on the people of this country. They are accordingly its staunch well-wishers and are loyal to the backbone. They are aware of the evils the flesh is heir to and feel disposed to make every possible allowance for individual shortcomings and occasional instances of gross failure of justice. They know that about 30 crores of rupees are being annually drained away from India, reducing her people to the verge of extreme poverty; that the children of the soil have little voice in the administration of the country, and that things are often managed in such a way as to give the rulers a decided advantage over the ruled. |
What is the good of telling people they are weak? Criticism and destruction are of no avail. We must give them something higher; tell them of their own glorious nature, their birthright. — Swami Vivekananda Living creatures are nourished by food, and food is nourished by rain; rain itself is the water of life, which comes from selfless worship and service. — Shri Krishna (Bhagavad Gita)We have to take the whole universe as the expression of the one Self. Then only our love flows to all beings and creatures in the world equally. — Swami Ramdas You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; in just the same way, you learn to love by loving. — Saint Francis De Sales Pray without ceasing, In every thing give thanks. — I. Thessalonians  |
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