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Fixed tenure Kashmir again |
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Star coach
The unrest in Balochistan
The case of a lost night
Upswing in Indo-Pak ties Where kids are on
their own Chatterati
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Fixed tenure THE circumstances in which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came out strongly in favour of a minimum fixed tenure for civil and police officers at the district level have not been spelt out. He expressed his unhappiness over the frequent transfer of district magistrates and superintendents of police at an all-India meeting of officials in New Delhi on Friday. That it came a day after the district magistrates of Siwan and Gopalganj were transferred in a dramatic manner by Bihar Governor Buta Singh could not have gone unnoticed by the discerning. Both officials had become an eyesore for Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his henchmen. Their transfer, together with the appointment of former Chief Secretary Arun Pathak as Adviser to the Governor, is seen as the success of Mr Yadav to establish his proxy rule in the state. District officials play a crucial role in the administration of the state. It is through them that most of the government programmes are executed. It is no surprise that most political leaders want their own people in these posts. If they find that the officials do not play to their tunes, they use their clout on the government to have them transferred even before they complete their tenure in the districts. Under such situations, few officials show courage to take a principled stand. In most cases, they prefer to be in the good books of the politicians so that they can have choice postings. Their conscience is not pricked when they help the MPs and MLAs in siphoning large chunks of the special funds granted to them for development of their constituencies. It is not uncommon for politicians in power to use the police to deal with their political opponents. This is not a phenomenon peculiar to any state. For every politician wanting to control officials, there are as many, if not more, officials willing to be tools in the hands of the politicians. In other words, both politicians and officials are equally to blame for the present mess. At present, the service rules protect officials from harassment other than transfer. If they are assured security of tenure for a minimum period, they will remain immune to even such pressures. They will be able to devote their full time for the development of the districts under their care. If constitutional authorities like the election commissioners can have security of tenure, why not the DMs and SPs? |
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Kashmir again Pakistan
President Pervez Musharraf has ultimately realised the significance of softening the Line of Control for handling the question of Kashmir. India has been hammering this point for a long time. This was the central idea behind promoting people-to-people contacts by starting the bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad with the minimum requirement of travel documents. Once people find it easy to travel from one side of Jammu and Kashmir to the other with facilities for trade and commerce, they will develop a stake in peace. The advantages of peaceful coexistence will make the people concentrate on their economic well-being. The pressure from the people, which is bound to increase in such a situation, may force the two governments to find a workable remedy for the problem, which has been one of the major roadblocks to peace. General Musharraf rightly said at a South Asia Free Media Association conference on Friday that religion cannot be the basis for a settlement on Kashmir. But it is not mainly because India is a secular country and, therefore, any solution guided by such divisive considerations as religion is unthinkable. It is also because the two-nation theory, which had congenital flaws, died the moment it was born. Any mention of religion should be avoided. It is difficult to understand what solution the General has in his mind. But the choice is obvious when India’s stand that “there can be no redrawing of boundaries” is not acceptable to Pakistan, and Islamabad insists that “the LoC cannot be a permanent border”. Boundaries should become irrelevant in the interest of peace and stability in the region. The two governments will have to think of as many confidence-building measures (CBMs) as possible for this noble purpose. They, however, cannot go too far with the soft border idea unless the monster of terrorism is immobilised. India and Pakistan will have to launch a joint drive to eliminate the common enemy. |
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Star coach The
selection of the coach for the Indian cricket team turned out to be a huge media event this time. The hype and hoopla surrounding the process made one feel as if the Chief Minister of some crucial state was being finalised. It is this kind of saturation publicity which has done a lot of harm to the careers of some players. One just hopes that the extra-bright spotlight will not affect Greg Chappell. The former Australian captain has had his place in the sun as a player and he must be eager to prove himself to be an equally outstanding coach. In such matters, nationality of the coach does not matter but since he comes from the country which is considered the best team in the world at present, his presence can indeed make a lot of difference. What his pupils have in abundance is talent. On their day they can wallop the best in the world. It is just that they do not have too many days to call their own. There are other days when our boys collapse like a pack of cards. Chappell has to find the causes of such rollercoaster swings and eliminate them. As a captain, Chappell had the reputation of being a quick and sharp thinker. His overall vision of cricket is much sharper today. His blueprint for a turnaround is said to have impressed the selectors greatly. He has two years to translate it into reality. The mental strength and concentration that he hopes to imbibe in the boys can help them strike a balance between working hard and working smart. Individual brilliance will have to make way for team excellence. Just like the rest of the country, the team players were believed to be divided on who should be the next coach. Now that the choice has been made, all of them are expected to benefit as much as they can from his proven talent. There were misgivings in some quarters that a specialist batsman might not be able to hone the bowlers but he has already set these at rest by hinting at having a specialist bowling coach. The West Indies World Cup is in 2007. Chappell’s time starts now. |
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To me old age is always fifteen years older than I am. — Bernard Baruch |
The unrest in Balochistan
Balochistan
has been in the news since early 2004 mostly for wrong reasons. The tribes dotting the sparsely populated province of Pakistan have been up in arms against the regime in Islamabad, demanding an end to the injustice done to them for decades. The Balochistan Liberation Army, never heard of earlier, has caused a heavy loss — both human and material — since the situation assumed serious proportions. For some time it had succeeded in paralysing Pakistan’s biggest gas plant at Sui. Incidents of violence have come down, but the basic factors behind the crisis are still there. All efforts made to defuse the crisis have so far been suppressive in nature. A parliamentary committee, headed by the ruling Muslim League chief, Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain, appointed to look into the problem, has submitted its interim report to the federal government. It has made some sensible recommendations like the payment of gas royalty to Balochistan within a fixed period and a financial package for the development of Sui, Gwadar and Quetta towns. But what finally happened to it is not known. It seems the report was meant for temporarily cooling down the tempers more than removing the grievances of the people. There is another committee studying the most sensitive aspect of the problem: the province’s demand for autonomy. The Mushahid Hussain committee report, essentially focusing on the socio-economic side of the crisis, caused a division among those spearheading the movement for the restoration of the Baloch pride when there was a debate on the subject in the National Assembly. Most Baloch leaders have no confidence in the government in Islamabad. The anti-Islamabad sentiment running across the length and breadth of the province cannot be weakened unless some drastic steps are initiated. The Baloch rightly have a strong feeling of deprivation. General Pervez Musharraf is fully aware of the causes of the crisis. He admitted some time ago that the “rulers of the past ignored” Balochistan. But he argues that this happened because the previous rulers had “little resources for development projects”. This is a strange logic. If the Pakistan government lacked the necessary resources, why should it neglect the interests of Balochistan only, which has abundant natural resources like oil, gas, copper, gold and uranium? It fulfils over 70 per cent gas requirement of Pakistan though it gets only 2 per cent of the total production. Gas was discovered in Balochistan in 1952 but even the provincial capital, Quetta, got the first gas connection in 1986. The continuing neglect and exploitation of Balochistan has resulted in the province having the lowest development indices. It has the lowest literacy rate with widespread unemployment. Power consumption in the province is merely 0.5 per cent of the country’s total. Eight per cent of the sea coast is in Balochistan, but the coast guards are 100 per cent non-Baloch. These startling figures were reeled out in the Pakistan National Assembly by an angry Baloch Senator some time ago. The people of Balochistan refuse to believe that the government in Islamabad will do anything to alleviate their suffering. They do not expect much from the state government either. The frustrated Baloch have opposed the construction of the Gwadar port, though it can lead to the generation of large-scale employment opportunities. The federal government may agree to the shifting of the Gwadar port headquarters from Karachi to Gwadar, as demanded by Baloch leaders, but they suspect that most of the jobs may go to the people not belonging to their province. Going by the past experience, their fear seems to be justified. The unemployment problem has been aggravated by the influx of Afghan refugees in thousands. That is why the Baloch want the Afghans to leave their province as quickly as possible. Their presence is not only depriving the Baloch of their means of livelihood but also threatens to change the demographic character of the province. The Afghan refugees, mainly Pakhtoon, speak a language different from that of the Baloch. President Musharraf initially used strong-arm tactics to contain the Baloch resentment. When he realised that his approach could lead to disastrous consequences, he began to talk in conciliatory language. But he never gave up the idea of instilling fear among the otherwise fearless tribal people through massive army deployment. That is why, despite the Baloch protest against the increasing army presence, there has been no change in the policy on the subject. The army presence has been rising fast particularly after the eruption of violence. There is an element of US pressure also because of the threat to its strategic and economic interests in the area. The US investment in the oil and gas sectors in Balochistan is over 30 per cent. Thus, it is not surprising that three new cantonments are being set up in Balochistan. The army, in its drive to acquire land for the purpose, is not hesitating even to use pressure tactics. The situation has reached such a pass that economic measures alone are unlikely to bring about normalcy in Balochistan. The federal government may have to concede the Baloch autonomy demand at least partially to end their feeling of subjugation by Islamabad with the help of an army dominated by Punjab. But the trouble is that the remedy is as dangerous as the disease. It may encourage Sindhi nationalism, which has been lying low for some time. Whatever the complications, peace in Balochistan must be established in the interest of stability and economic progress. The proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project can never become a reality if there is no end to the unrest in Balochistan. The province’s location is such that it can serve as the engine of economic growth for Pakistan. In fact, this has been one of the factors influencing the Pakistan government’s decision to speed up the construction of the Gwadar deep sea port. Once it becomes fully operational, the port will boost trade with China and Central Asian countries. Gwadar will be a rival to the Chahbahar port built by Iran with Indian help. The stakes for the Pakistan government are too high to allow the Balochistan problem to fester. |
The case of a lost night
Recently
I lost one night. Where did it go? It melted into thin air. Literally. I had boarded the plane at Palam, New Delhi, in the morning and had landed at Chicago on the same evening covering a distance of 7474 miles in 19 hours of flying time. The sun had moved with me to swallow the night. I remember that this lost night had once troubled an officer who had come to the US on an official trip. That was the time when State Government officers with halo only were permitted to go to the US. The auditors and accountants knew little about such Travelling Allowance (TA) bills. When he presented the TA bill, the note in the file of the auditor read: “The Officer left India on X date and reached Chicago on the same date. It is impossible. He should be proceeded against for claiming forged TA.” The note also was approved at the lower levels of hierarchy. The harassed officer had to pass through litmus test before his explanation about the time-difference of 11 hours between the two countries was finally accepted. My co-passenger in the plane was a happy go lucky Sardarji from Ludhiana. He was making full use of the duty free liquor. He told me a story of how his five-year-old brat (child) once entered into his bathroom where he was enjoying tub-bath. When he asked him the reason for entering the bathroom, the brat replied: “Mama says that you drink like a fish. I want to see how you do it” and then added: “You understand what I mean.” That was his catch phrase. He told me that that day onwards he had made it a principle not to drink unless he saw stars. “You understand what I mean. I drink only when it is dark.” He then confessed to have broken his vow only once when he had lost his mother. “Presently I am breaking it because I have lost the night. You understand what I mean,” he said. I said: “Now that you are going to the land of Stars and Stripes you have just to see a flag to open a bottle.” He patted me hard on my Himachali back as if it were a Ludhianvi one and shouted: “Well said, well said” and raised his glass claiming three cheers for the lost night. He looked towards me as if expecting a word from me. I did not disappoint him and said: “I understand what you mean.”
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Upswing in Indo-Pak ties The
revolutionary upswing in Indo-Pak ties stands testimony to the opening of a new chapter in the field of international relations, that is, media diplomacy. India and Pakistan can credit themselves for having tuned their ties to new parameters set by media diplomacy, which has overshadowed even the deterring importance of their nuclear understanding. When viewed against the backdrop of the Srinagar-Muzaffarbad bus service and the “cordial” tone in which power-holders in the two countries have begun addressing each other, one is compelled to say that probably media diplomacy has led to what seemed “impossible” less than a decade ago suddenly become possible. This new development is not just a case of cricket-diplomacy or firing along the disputed lines while indulging in “peace-rhetoric.” Diplomatic finesse at the government-to-government level has matured in around five decades’ time. In the process, certain hard-hitting socio-political and diplomatic realities have been exposed. One of these is that the force of bullets, be it of militants or of national armies, can have only a temporary impact. It cannot bind or attract common people by its prowess for too long. Were each and every Kashmiri still carried by frenzy of select terrorists or self-imposed Kashmiri leaders, prospects of peace would have seemed mirage-like even today. Without doubt, the new turn in Indo-Pak ties has also considerably convinced Kashmiris that this peace-process is not equivalent to moving along a road covered with only firing weapons. Even though, India, Pakistan and certain Kashmiri groups might still be miles from reaching any agreement on Kashmir, New Delhi and Islamabad have agreed to disagree and move ahead for the sake of peace and for economic cooperation, which will prove beneficial for people of the region and the two governments. Had India and Pakistan adopted this line from the beginning, perhaps it would not have held thousands and thousands of Kashmiris as victims for decades. Though through their violent, aggressive posture, the active participants managed to have their say, they did not succeed in manipulating developments, including the Indo-Pak peace process, to their way. It is a hard but simple truth — war or even war-like methods cannot spell peace. Resorting to these only spells failure of diplomacy. India and Pakistan have accepted this reality after having been face to face with it for several decades. Undeniably, nuclear prowess attained by two countries compelled them to accept its deterrent value as well. The linkage between their having ceased from indulging in open conflict and their nuclear proliferation cannot be missed. Yet with specific reference to Kashmir, this did not restrain them from a proxy war or low-level conflict, of which the Kargil-crisis and terrorism are acute indicators. What stands out is that nuclear deterrence did not spell peace for Kashmiris. Should it be assumed that because economic progress forms the core point of the present government’s foreign policy, it decided to view Kashmir issue and its approach towards Pakistan from the same lens. Yes, there is no denying that prospects of Asia and Africa coming together economically, of the much-talked about oil pipelines and other such issues would remain mirage-like if proxy wars continue to simmer in the sub-continent. Peace cannot, however, be imposed but has to be processed and developed through people-to-people interaction. Undoubtedly, Kashmiris are willing to view this peace-process through the economic lens. Herein, one cannot ignore the revolutionary role of the media, of which India and Pakistan have become acutely conscious. Thanks to the media, the world and the people likely to be affected directly by peace-related measures cannot be taken for a ride for too long by indulgence in only cosmetic diplomacy. Leaders and others can succeed in creating a hype or illusion about their goals and promises only to a point. With their being almost always under media-glare, each move, even word of theirs is open to continuous scrutiny. Such was not the case, around a decade ago. Rather, that was the period when politicians and leaders could indulge in “manufacturing news” to enhance their own “credibility.” What else did the loud war-rhetoric exercised at primarily election time indicate? That was also a phase, when media was primarily dependent on what politicians said regarding foreign policy as well as the Kashmir issue. A revolutionary swing in the role assumed by the media has considerably reversed this relationship. Leaders are now well aware of the crucial linkage between their credibility and dependence upon the media. What relevance would the initiation of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service or President Pervez Musharraf’s recent India visit have had if these developments did not hit the headlines? Without doubt politicians are not blind to Indo-Pak news still being a weakness, rather an obsession of media — Indian as well as international — whether it is about war/peace. However, this is no longer just the age of what select leaders say, but bears greater relevance from the angle of how adept they are at making the right splash in the media world. There is a catch here. Making a media-splash that is not backed by constructive measures cannot keep any “news-maker” afloat for too long. The upswing in Indo-Pak ties also stands a testimony to their having stopped being dependent only on media hype. After all, the Agra Summit resting on mainly media hype was destined to collapse. In contrast, be it the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service or Musharraf’s India visit, both have rested on tangible moves actually taken by India and Pakistan towards “peace.” Had they indulged only in talking about the bus service or other such measures, it would have been as good as their playing with diplomatic tools to attract media attention. From this angle, the “peace-bridge” marking the crucial turn in Indo-Pak ties also symbolises the crucial progress the two countries have made from indulging in primarily media-hype to actually exercising media diplomacy. In this age of media diplomacy, India and Pakistan can credit themselves for having moved ahead in this field. To date, Uncle Sam is still blinded by the fact that media hype created by it can win it the needed global support to pursue what it wants to. |
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Where kids are on their own To
reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic, New York City public schools have added another R: rumba. Also tango, merengue, fox trot and swing dancing. For the past decade, fifth-graders throughout the city’s five boroughs have been required to learn ballroom dancing, locking hands and eyes with their peers and swaying to the sounds of big bands and bongos. But there is more to this program than the steps, as Marilyn Agrelo’s insightful and endearing documentary “Mad Hot Ballroom” makes clear. The film follows students from three schools as they vie for a trophy at the culminating citywide competition, a grueling process in which thousands of hopefuls are judged on their poise, their posture, their timing and most important, their attitude. We see how their teachers lust for that winning trophy as desperately as the kids do. We watch as the instructors zero in on each stumble and success with laser focus, how they endeavor to get squirmy kids to look in each other’s eyes “like it’s the last time in your life,” as one urges. Clearly, there’s a lot more to ballroom dancing than simply getting the footwork right (and these young, nimble minds seem to master that part with maddening ease). Keeping your shirt tucked in is of vital importance, yet so devilishly hard to do. So is smiling at your partner “even if you hate him,” as one teacher commands. And there is the tricky matter of dealing with the gender bias embedded in the art form, which means spirited, outspoken girls have to submit to being “led” by their awkward, sometimes intimidated male counterparts. It is wonderful fun to watch these kids dance, to witness their earnest efforts to perfect patterns, musicality and hip action. But what is loveliest is listening to the kids talk. They are at a touchingly sweet stage, still plump-cheeked and mischievous, bravely trying to make sense of a complicated world and their place in it. In remarkably intimate interviews, the students open up about their lives and their dreams, some of them as grandiose as making it in the music industry, others as simple as finding a husband who’s not into drugs. Their guileless chatter will take you back to the slumber parties of your youth. But there is also a directness about these children that feels very 21st-century urban, as careers, parents, puberty, the opposite sex and the upcoming competition are discussed with equal seriousness. Can ballroom dancing right all the wrongs in their lives, especially in those of the most desperate? In one of the film’s most poignant moments, a teacher of the Dominican students considers the irony of her largely impoverished kids becoming experts in this elegant art form. “You bring in the arts, you bring in all these programs, and a few years down the line you’ll see these kids on the street,” worries Yomaira Reynoso. Yet the principal of Reynoso’s school notes that several students have turned away from troublemaking in the course of the program, maturing and becoming more disciplined before her eyes. The film doesn’t sermonize about the virtues of dancing in a school setting; the wholesome impact is implicit. Some of the program’s most striking lessons, in fact, come from the newfound grace and confidence of the students themselves.
— LA Times-Washington Post |
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Chatterati An
event with people of purpose is rare in the Capital now. The 25th anniversary of Sanskriti Pratisthan was attended by celebrities. Ladies dressed in gorgeous Indian weavers’ sarees and men in cotton kurta pyjamas or formal suits. A book was released by Montek Ahluwalia and a discussion on “Corporate cultural responsibility” was led by Abhishesh Singhvi. “We have far too few institutions like the Rockfellar Foundation,” said Singhvi. who is a trustee of the Sanskriti Pratisthan. Diplomats, writers and curators, all agreed that rich individuals should provide money from personal wealth to promote art and the corporates can help preserve monuments. O.P. Jain, president of Sanskriti, had put together, as expected, an evening of heavyweights. Liela Seth was there with her suitable boy Vikram Seth, as also Vikram Mehta of Shell, the Pakistani High Commissioner and Sunil Munjal, among other dignitaries. Cricket and politics Parliamentarians
came together to remember Surender Singh, the Haryana minister, who died recently in a chopper crash. A team of MPs took on the eleven from the Energy and Resource Institute. Despite the summer heat, it was a rare opportunity to escape the din of Parliament. Jyotiraditya Scindia was the man of the match. Like his father, he loves cricket. Surender Singh was missed at the match, as he himself was a great cricketer and was present in every parliamentarian cricket match. Our politicians and their greed for cricket presidentship is astonishing. After Rajasthan set the precedent of going to court, in Himachal we have the son of former Chief Minister Dhumal fighting a tough battle with his state government to give up his presidentship. In Punjab we have a Cabinet minister hungry for the post. In Haryana we have Bansi Lal’s MLA son as President, in Delhi we have Arun Jaitley, in Kashmir we have Farooq Abdullah and in Maharashtra we have Sharad Pawar and we have MP Rajiv Shukla at the helm of every thing. Hello, I am not describing a political meeting, I am writing of boards in which not a single member had ever been part of the game. Wonder why? It is easy my dear, money, fame, power is the birth right of our politicians. Players are ranked at the very bottom internationally. They are more interested in golf, discos, lectures and of course advertisements. The new coach may have to take lessons from Mr Dalmiya about dealing with cricket stars. He will also have to learn the etiquette and manners on how to deal with politicians and hangers-on. Buying a plot on moon Two
businessmen from Hyderabad and Vijayawada literally purchased land on the moon recently. Now Mr Ahluwalia from Bhopal has purchased five acres on the moon in his wife’s name. The cost is a modest $ 300. The CEOs said they have struck the deal over cyber base with a US-based group called the Lunar Republic Society, which is exclusively working on a project to make the moon an inhabitable entity. Now either these guys are highly romantic or just publicity hungry.
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June 5, 1886
The
Mission to Tibet is going to start shortly from India, certainly under very doubtful auspices. The Court of Peking, it is said, is deadly against the mission taking with them a very large escort of sepoys or attendants. Reuter had telegraphed a few days ago that the Chinese Government had addressed a communication to the British Government asking that the Mission to Tibet should be reduced in members and strictly limited to commercial objects, as was originally proposed, otherwise the Tibetans will oppose the progress of the party in their country, owing to the complicated nature of its composition. It seems that the Chinese have become suspicious of the real intentions of the Mission. The unwise policy that has been recently pursued in Burmah by the Government of India has set their Eastern neighbours on their guard. |
Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat. Your shoulder is against mine. — Kabir Giving without humility is but the way to downfall. — The Upanishads Take good care of your slave. You do not know what great passions fiercely scorch his chest. Were you a slave yourself, vain would be your wrath and righteous passion, and the inability would create a raging fire in the mind. — The Mahabharata When we all see God in each other, we will love one another as He loves us all. — Mother Teresa  |
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