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Wages of boycott Damned by debt |
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Compulsions of
realpolitik
Hindi-Chini buy-buy
Reflections
Dateline
London Chatterati
Immigration boosts
economy
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Damned by debt That
an average Punjab farmer is under heavy debt is widely known. However, a recent survey on farmers’ indebtedness conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation claims a Punjab farmer household bears the maximum debt in the country. The average household debt figure in the state comes to Rs 41,576 against the national average of Rs 12,585. This should not be surprising in a state which has a government heavily under debt. The 2004-05 state Budget had put the debt amount at Rs 40,327 crore. Salaries, pensions and loan repayments consume all its revenue and the government borrows to survive. Whatever limited development takes place is funded by borrowings. One thing that is common for the government as well as the farmer is: both are extravagant and tend to spend on non-essentials. There is nothing inherently wrong with taking loans. All progressive countries, companies and individuals take loans to grow. Much of development is loan based. The trouble arises when one borrows beyond one’s repayment capacity and does not put the loan to productive use. If farmers borrow to improve their productivity through the purchase of better farm inputs or machinery and generate additional income, the result may well be more prosperity. Loans, however, are usually misspent and taken from arhtiyas charging astronomical interest rates. Many a farmer is led by social pressure to buy a tractor. The average landholding is too small to make full use of the machine and the loanee quite often lands in trouble and is sometimes driven to suicide. Many farmers invite distress because they go in for loans just to finance lavish social ceremonies or to buy machinery and chemicals they can very well do without. They can easily pool resources, form cooperative societies and buy agricultural inputs for collective and effective use, thus cutting their costs significantly. But agriculture is not run on commercial grounds and state-administered prices save it from a total collapse. It is a situation for which a remedy needs to be found. |
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Compulsions of realpolitik The
democratic forces in Nepal may feel upset with the Indian announcement on defence supplies to the Himalayan kingdom. They may not take kindly the statement that "whatever is in the pipeline cannot be blocked forever". They have a point that even the non-lethal consignment from India --- military vehicles, night vision devices, etc --- will boost the morale of the Royal Nepal Army, which is being used by King Gyanendra for suppressing the democratic forces in Nepal. However, India cannot ignore the compulsions of realpolitik. While dealing with the King, India has to keep in view its own overall interests as well as the aspirations of the people of Nepal. India cannot allow the Maoists to gain the upper hand in the fight against these insurgents in Nepal. New Delhi remains committed to the cause of elimination of the Maoist menace, but not in the manner the King wants. The battle for the restoration of normalcy can be taken to its logical conclusion only when he creates a condition for getting the cooperation of the democratic forces. India has been of the view that the King must involve the political parties in the fight against the Maoists. This principled stand does not get diluted because of the release of the already committed defence supplies to Nepal. Under no circumstances should India allow the King to get the impression that his suppression of the democratic forces, including the media, can be tolerated because of the compulsions of realpolitik. India will have to maintain adequate pressure on the King for the restoration of multi-party democracy in Nepal. The lifting of the emergency is not enough. It is good that Nepal's major political parties have launched a joint campaign for reviving the suspended parliament. There is no need for fresh elections as the House can be brought back to life. King Gyanendra should give serious thought to the suggestion that an all-party government must be formed at this stage for tackling the Maoist problem. |
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Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length.
— Robert Frost |
Hindi-Chini buy-buy India-China diplomacy is often compared with elephants mating: it takes place at a high level, there is, much noise and the results take a long time in coming. Prime Minister Wen Jia Bao’s visit to India has certainly created a lot of noise. It has also led to clutter and consternation. Once again, Delhi is erring on the side of optimism, unable to prioritise China’s agenda. For example, there is no urgency on the part of Beijing to settle the border dispute or facilitate India getting out of the South Asia box, made jointly by China and Pakistan. The gloss of burgeoning trade cannot conceal this reality. It is another matter that the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has been violence-free since the 1962 war barring scattered skirmishes around Nathu La in 1967 and culminating in the confrontation in Sumdorong Chu (Wangdung) in 1986. It was the Indian Army’s demonstrative offensive action in Wangdung that largely removed the stigma of 1962 and led to the breakthrough in India-China relations in 1988. In 18 years since the formation of the Joint Working Group (JWG) the LAC has not even been mutually identified, leave alone settling the border issue. It suits China to keep Indian forces deployed at high altitude at a very high cost and attrition. For many years now the Chinese have counselled India on “patience” in settling disputes “left over by history” in a spirit of “mutual understanding, mutual accommodation, mutual adjustment” and so on. The counselling has two new words: “mutual concessions” and “reality”. Last month’s breakthrough agreement on political parameters and guiding principles on a boundary settlement will supposedly give primacy to a political package deal instead of haggling with history and legal evidence. The reference to “early settlement” to be pursued as a strategic objective is indeed laudable but no time-frame has been stipulated and so we could still be another five to 10 years from finding a formula. The boundary issue is on the back-burner as it is not clear whether the Chinese are amenable to skipping LAC clarifications in favour of a border swap. It is surprising that no one has mentioned the 1963 Parliament resolution solemnly pledging to retake every inch of territory lost to China. In the Operations Room of the Army’s Northern Command at Udhampur, this pledge is displayed prominently. The Chinese are good listeners and have an institutional memory. On the key issue of a UN Security Council seat for India, Mr Wen was evasive though the Indian media has been creative. No one has asked if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised the question of Chinese nuclear and missile transfers to Pakistan and the latter’s abysmal record in proliferation. In the last annual report produced by the Ministry of External Affairs, a reference was made to this liaison and its security ramifications. The Ministry of Defence report went a step further. It mentioned the deployment of Chinese missiles in Chengdu aimed at Indian targets. The two references have been amended in this year’s annual
reports. We fight shy of telling Chinese leaders about our concerns. While Mr Wen paid strategic visits to Pakistan and Bangladesh (and Sri Lanka) — both are not friendly neighbours — before coming to Delhi, his Foreign Minister Lee Zhao Xing went to the Maldives and Nepal. Beijing’s extraordinary interest in South Asia is not without meaning. Every time Pakistan has a problem with India, be it Kargil or Operation Parakram, its leaders scurry to China for moral and material support, which has never been denied by Islamabad. Not surprisingly, both China, and Pakistan immediately supported King Gyanendra’s coup. China does not recognise India as a state with nuclear weapons and has consistently refused to discuss nuclear or missile issues as part of the so-called strategic dialogue. Beijing has not forgotten that India’s nuclear tests in 1998 were blamed on threats from China. So incensed were the Chinese that Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh travelled in June 1999 to Beijing at the height of the Kargil war to untie the knot. The very first statement attributed to Mr Jaswant Singh in the Chinese media was that China was not a threat to India. The Chinese are paranoid about their self-image as a peaceful and responsible nation. In a speech in Islamabad last month, Mr Wen reiterated that China will never be a threat to any country. So, is China a threat to India? This question has been variously framed by India’s strategic community. Former Defence Minister George Fernandes has been grilled over his reference to China as enemy number one (he never used the word “enemy”. Given India’s historical experience with China, the answer should be an emphatic “yes”. Semantic niceties makes it a strategic challenge, rival, competitor, etc. The military in its internal discourse does not indulge in
diplomacy. It clearly regards China as a long-term threat today as it did in the late 1950s. The threat assessment is based on the PLA’s conventional capacity and strategic nuclear reach, and not on the basis of pious declarations. China has further strengthened its military capability through an elaborate infrastructure it has created in Tibet. Former Army Chief Gen Nirmal Vij, after a visit to China last year, reported on the ongoing modernisation of the PLA and the need for the Indian armed forces to keep up their guard. Unlike India, China regularly reviews its defence policy in its White Paper on
Defence. The two-decade-long uninterrupted modernisation is intended to transform the PLA into an efficient fighting machine integral to its foreign policy and diplomacy, and the key element of comprehensive national power. The streamlining of its land forces and sharpening of its air and naval arms are at the heart of building new operational capacities. Estimates of China’s defence spending have varied from $ 26 billion to $100 billion, making it, after Japan, the second biggest military spender in Asia. One has to take Mr Wen at his word when he said the visit to India was the most important on his calendar in 2005. The Chinese White Paper on Defence, which names several neighbouring countries on security consultations, conspicuously omits India from its list because in reality India is peripheral to China’s strategic calculus. Despite the treaties of peace and tranquillity in 1993 and the confidence-building measures of 1996, defence cooperation, barring visits, is minimal. The last soldier of the 1962 generation, General Vij retired earlier this year. It will take more than just the settlement of the border dispute to remove the suspicions and mistrust. India has to first develop a credible conventional and strategic deterrent to deal with China on equal terms. Meanwhile, it has been suggested that Delhi could also indulge in some belated tit for tat against China’s encirclement and containment of India. It could pass on nuclear submarine technology to Taiwan or ship missiles to Vietnam. But risk-taking is not in our genes. The India-China economic engagement is the only item for cheer but any hope that trade alone could help resolve political disputes is misplaced. A country that has enjoyed the 9.5 per cent growth rate for 25 years on an FDI-driven model, properly integrated in the global labour market, prompts many to ask: why can India not be like China? In those nostalgic Nehruvian days, in the spirit of Panchsheel, the slogan of amity was: “Hindi-Chini bhai bhai”. After the 1962 war, it became “Hindi-Chini bye-bye”. Now the new cry is “Hindi-Chini buy-buy”. By the end of the decade the two-way trade is expected to jump from $ 13 to $ 30 billion. That will be quite an achievement. The weekly Beijing Review, remembered for its June 1967 issue for carrying an outrageous version of its boundary claims and the LAC, in its April issue, had Aishwarya Rai on the cover. Just as well, because there is hardly any level of people-to-people contact despite 2005 being the 50th year of Panchsheel and 55th year of diplomatic relations. Unfortunately, India’s Pakistan fixation obfuscates the China
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Reflections Recycling my life through my mind’s eye, I realise that I have led a full life — seen various ups and downs, faced various trials and tribulations, hibernated at times and then jumped up the ladder with God’s grace. Hard work and the ‘Will to Live’, accompanied me even in the worst of circumstances. I have faced rain and storm, enjoyed monsoon breeze, basked under the bracing sunshine and also tolerated the scorching sun fury and continued the journey of life. When disease holds me firmly in its grip, chirping birds, waving tall trees, coo coo of cuckoo and the cry of peacocks, even through the closed door lend me their hand of support. Lying on bed I hear the ballad of nature and feel light. I take the courage to walk a few steps up to my favourite sofa in my sitting cum working glazed room. Lying there with eyes closed for an hour I suddenly awake. How nice, a peacock is engrossed in watching his own reflection on the glasspane of the front door from various angles. Spreading the multi-coloured wings he steps down and starts dancing all around the garden. Drip by drip life starts pouring in my listless limbs. I get rid of dozing for a while. The multicoloured flowers in the beds around the garden, the bushes and creepers all around the boundary walls and the lush green grass all soothe my tired nerves! In that restive state poesy creeps in gently and lulls me to sleep. Often, it slips out from my mind leaving a slight trace of its visit, when I wake up. Sometimes, it keeps haunting till with my feeble hand I pick up a pen and let the feelings drip to the blank paper. A poem materialises. It gives me the feeling of achievement and lifts up my morale. Fortunately, though the body has substantially lost its vigour and strength, I still feel that my mental faculties, the zest for life and the “Will to Serve” have not deserted me. After all, it takes both the sun and the rain to make a rainbow; so why complain? Amassing the love of family and friends, winning the goodwill and blessings of those whom I have served at one time or the other, I feel contented and at peace with myself. I am not eagerly awaiting “Yama” nor scared of the other world but I want to “Live Life” not like a cabbage but as a fragrant fading flower, exchanging elixir of life with all my friends and
well-wishers. With my limited physical strength and adequate mental and emotional strength, I want to serve the humanity and perform the maximum possible duties as a housewife, social worker and also as a devotee of Goddess Saraswati. Before I lose all my faculties and become an undue burden on my family and friends, lift me my God, I am mentally prepared for the last journey, no
regrets!
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Dateline London The Labour is back in power, though with a substantially reduced majority. Instead of a majority of 161 in the last Parliament, it now has a majority of only 66. The opposition Tory party has increased its tally by about 40. The bigger gainer, however, was the Lib Dems, who increased their members of Parliament to 62. Lib Dems claim that they have doubled their MPs during the last three elections and changed the political landscape in Britain. Instead of the two-party system, Britain now has a three-party system. The third party has not only gained in numbers but also in its spread and has marked its presence in the electoral map of the entire length and breadth of the UK. It was closer to its aim to replace the Tories as the main Opposition and contender for power. Looking at the hard realities, however, both the Tories and the Lib Dems have lost. The Tories are in a no better shape now than they were at the time of the last two elections and it would find it difficult to dislodge the Labour under its new leader, most probably the Chancellor of Exchequer, Mr Gordon Brown. The Chancellor, is given much of the credit for breaking the cycle of boom and bust and building a steady and strong economy, the best the country enjoyed during the past several decades. True the Lib Dem has registered a steady increase in its strength in Parliament, but in peoples’ perception, it has come to occupy a space on the left of the Labour party and would, therefore, cease to appeal to disenchanted Tories. It is also not certain that in the next election it would gain ground. The main reason that it enhanced the party’s presence in Parliament was the disgruntled and angry Labour voters due to the perceived devious manner the Prime Minister dragged his country into the Iraq war and his autocratic and presidential style of management of the party and the government. Next time round there would be no Iraq factor and no Mr Blair, who became a hate symbol for a sizeable section of the party. It would have a new leader who is not tainted with the Iraq factor. Meanwhile, Mr Blair, who as he himself confessed, has promised to listen to the people and work more democratically, consulting his parliamentary party and Cabinet colleagues, before embarking upon important government programmes. In any case, the Labour has a majority similar to the one Mrs Margaret Thatcher had in her first term when she launched the country on a path of privatisation of public services, broke the back of the unions which then caused havoc in the country and initiated far-reaching economic reforms. It was only by stealing the Thatcher clothes and abandoning most of what his party had held dear in the past that the New Labour was able to win three elections in a row. No one in the Labour party now believed that it could win another election by ditching the policies which were responsible for the Labour capturing the centre ground in British politics. Tory leader, Michael Howard has already resigned, saying he had failed to do what he set to achieve i.e. lead the party to victory. By the time of the next election, in four or five years, he would be 67 or 68, he said. He would, therefore, like the party to elect a new leader. But before doing that it should re-examine the way the party elected its leader — both by the party membership and the members of Parliament. The system, in the past, landed the party with some leaders, who were unelectable. Mr Howard’s decision, however, has opened a Pandora’s box. It would keep the party busy for months. The contest over the leadership can be exasperating when the country faced a referendum on Europe’s new constitution in a year’s time. The Tory Party, in the past, had been deeply divided on the issue. Reopening of the rift could further weaken the new leader’s ability to shape the party to a victory in the next elections. A reduced majority for the Labour, meanwhile, has led to a renewed call by Mr Blair’s detractors within the party for his early retirement Led by former Foreign secretary, Robin Cook, a number of party backbenchers have asserted that the election demonstrated beyond any doubt that Mr Blair had become a liability for the party. They, therefore, want him to set a time-table for his early retirement, probably, after the G8 meeting in Scotland in July or the Labour conference later in the year and in any event before the next local government elections, due next year. One message which came loud and clear during the election campaign was the unpopularity of Blair with largely Muslim voters and some hardcore party workers and some of the senior leaders, foremost among them Mr Robin Cook and Ms Clare Short, former Secretary of State for Overseas Development, and some other ministers who resigned on the Iraq issue. A very large number of other voters were angry with Blair because of the way he tried to justify the war and being less than honest about the reasons as well as the time at which the decision to invade Iraq was taken. This was reinforced by revelations about secret meetings with his cronies, where crucial decisions to go to war were taken, ignoring most his Cabinet colleagues and Parliament. Tories and the Lib Dems fully exploited these revelations. There is, therefore, no denying the fact that Mr Blair had become an electoral liability. During the 1997 and 2001 elections, Mr Blair was a valuable electoral asset of the Labour party. During the recent election campaign, however, he had become a major embarrassment and the party’s electoral liability. It is, therefore, fair to say that the Labour victory on May 5 was in spite of Mr Blair and not because of him. Most party workers give the credit for the social programmes and a booming economy to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and not to Mr Blair. Precisely for this reason, Mr Blair had made it a point to sing praises of Mr Brown in his media interviews. Mr Blair praised Mr Brown’s Chancellorship and even said that he would make a great Prime Minister, thereby confirming his succession These statements were at variance with earlier unofficial leaks to the media that Gordon might be stripped of his portfolio after the election.
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Chatterati by Devi Cherian The Capital last week witnessed a concert titled “Shaam-e-Sarhad” featuring three young turks from the world of Sufi music Shafqat Ali Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Rabbi Shergill. It was organised by an NGO to support under-privileged children. Priyanka with Robert Vadra, Shiela Dixit, Balram Jakhar, T.V. guy Shekhar Suman, Lalit Suri and Rana Sodhi from Chandigarh were present. After the Sufi concert Vandana Luthra of VLCC hosted a dinner for Kapil Dev’s wedding anniversary. This was amidst the controversy of his house being sealed and then getting a reprieve for it by the Supreme Court after promising not to use it for commercial matters.
Umang opens a school Umang is a charitable organisation which has the Capital’s ladies doing work at the grassroots level for the underprivileged. The members include Sunita Kohli, the American and French Ambassadors’ wives along with Bim Missel, Bapsi Nariman, Gugu Anup Singh, Kavita Bhartiya etc last week they got the Prime Minister’s wife to inaugurate a slum school, which has been rebuilt with the help of the Bhartiya Grameen Sangh of which the head is Mrs Kuldip Nayar. This is among the first Umang schools in the Capital in its 10th anniversary year. Schoolbags and uniform were given by Umang and the Delhi Grameen Mahila Sangh gave sewing machines to deaf girl students. mahila Mandal girls and the kids sang and danced for Mrs Singh. Uncovered manholes, open sewage drains and piles of garbage infested with flies welcomed the P.M’s wife. The humble and modest Mrs Singh sat through with a smile so what if securitymen were getting heart attacks.
Babus and drinks “Arrey babu log! piyo magar dhyan se, please!” I wonder how many of us know that since 1974 there has been a rule banning bureaucrats from drinking at public places like hotels, bars, restaurants. The Indira Gandhi government incorporated the clause in the All India Service (Conduct) Rules, 1968. Not that till now it has stopped our babus gulping a couple of shots. But the peg of the story never shifted focus. Many babus have trouble even recalling this “ludicrous” rule. Well, that really does not suit our high-flying savvy babus now. So, they have lobbied together and recommended a review committee where the babus should be allowed to drink in moderation.
Kingfisher takes off Doctor Vijay Mallya is literally flying high as his Kingfisher takes off as his son Siddarth Mallya turned 18 with a bang. Last week as Dad Vijay launched his Kingfisher airline, the rising son lost no time in meeting his Dad’s powerful
buddies. The airline is a full “service carrier” with a 10-channel audio and five-channel video television screen for each traveller. The launch of this airline was a full political parade. Sunil Dutt, Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah, Vijay’s closest buddy Praful Patel and industrialists made it a sensational do. |
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Immigration boosts economy Immigration
is vital for the health of the economy, helping to tackle jobs. A study also warns that the scale of immigration is vastly over-estimated by indigenous populations across Europe with the result that politicians are at risk of basing immigration policy on “ill-informed evidence”. The report comes after a bruising election campaign in which race and immigration took a central role. Its prominence dismayed ethnic minority groups who warned that the exchanges could foster prejudice against blacks and Asians. Academics from University College London (UCL) examined migration trends since the Second World War and compared them to economic trends of different nations across the continent, including Britain. They dismissed the idea that there is a fixed number of jobs in an economy and that an influx of foreign workers simply increases the competition for them. They argue that much of the large-scale economic immigration into Europe, and between European nations, has been driven by labour shortages in the recipient nation. The report concluded: “An economy embedded in a competitive international market can always expand production, absorbing new workers by creating new jobs.” It acknowledged that immigration could initially depress wages for lower-skilled workers, but said the effect was temporary. “The economy reacts by expanding production in the sector that uses unskilled workers more intensively,” it said. People born abroad make up about 8.3 per cent of the British population, a smaller proportion than in France (10 per cent), the Netherlands (10.1 per cent) or Germany (11.1 per cent), but higher than in Denmark (6.7 per cent) or Spain (5.3 per cent). The figure for the United States is 12.3 per cent. The study found, though, that people in various European nations “vastly over-estimate the true size of the number of immigrants and the foreign-born population”. The report warned: “It is important to bring detailed information relating to immigration to the attention of the electorate. “It is likely that residents’ perception of immigration is more important for policy than evidence that has been established by social scientists. “As a consequence, policy-makers may react to beliefs based on ill-informed evidence and may, therefore, create inappropriate regulations and legislation.” The analysis was welcomed yesterday by the Government, which has argued that controlled economic migration is essential for prosperity. A Home Office spokesman said: “Tourists, students and migrant workers make an important contribution to the UK economy. We cannot simply be a ‘fortress Britain’ if our businesses and economy are to grow and thrive.” He said the Government’s five-year plan for immigration, published in January, would “deliver a rigorous and flexible system of controls that operates in Britain’s interest, allowing in those with the skills and talents to benefit the UK, while preventing
abuse.” — The Independent
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From the pages of “Frogs in Anglo-India” What can India teach us?” asks a contemporary. “Nothing”, he answers himself. This reminds us of the story of the learned Brahmin’s son. Attracted by the fame of his learning, students from different parts of the country would gather round the Pandit, but the obstinate son would have nothing of his father’s knowledge. The learned Brahmin, compared his son to a frog who, living under the very leaves of the lotus, would not taste its honey. Frogs may live in the very waters where lotuses bloom, but the honey is denied to them; the filth of the water is what they live upon. There are frogs in Anglo-India who may spend all their days here and yet may not come across anything to learn. Professor Max Muller is a bee who has been designed by nature to such honey, and it is no wonder that frogs should not appreciate it.
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Renounce your personal selfishness and attachments. Purify yourself of motives and desires. Turn into the fundamental element of love. You will then find yourself the centre of attraction in the world. — Swami A. Parthasarathy One’s body may be handsome, wife beautiful, fame excellent and varied, and wealth like unto Mount Meru; but if one’s mind be not attached to the lotus feet of the Guru (teacher), what thence, what thence, what thence and what thence? — Shri Adi Shankaracharya Goodness will flow through you to the rest of the world. Those who mean to do good to the world will do well to become a concentrated essence of purity and love. — Swami A. Parthasarathy He who associates himself with evildoers is ruined. Being fed on poison, his life goes to waste. — Guru Nanak Let there be births as a human being, as a god, as a mountain, or forest-animal, as a mosquito, cow or worm, as a bird or as any other. If the heart, here, is ever given to sporting in the flood of supreme bliss consisting of the contemplation of Thy lotus-feet, what does it matter in which body one is born? — Shri Adi Shankaracharya My mind is the scales, consciousness the weights and Your service the reckoner. I weigh You with them, my Lord, within my heart; and thus keep my mind from its wanderings. — Guru Nanak Mankind without kindness would be just another biological species. It is this inherent trait in man which renders his species divine. — Swami A. Parthasarathy  |
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