O P I N I O N S

EDITORIALS

Poaching unlimited
Tigers have been nearly wiped out
Salman Khan and the Nawab of Pataudi appear to be only bit players in the horrifying poaching play which has been going on ruthlessly. Unless proven innocent, their trial is well-merited. There are, however, also culprits far worse than them on the prowl. Now that the police has taken up cudgels, skeletons — actually, animal carcasses and skins in this case — are tumbling out of many cupboards.

Path to infamy
Goswami brings disgrace to his service
The surrender of former Patna District Magistrate Gautam Goswami, the key accused in Bihar’s multi-crore flood relief scam, several weeks after a red corner alert was issued against him, is a classic example of how a nodal officer, in cahoots with politicians, contractors and thugs, can go to any length to siphon off crores of public money meant for the homeless and the marooned.

Monsoon is here
Late some place, on dot elsewhere
It is just as well that the commodity markets have not yet evolved to trade in monsoon-based futures and options. Otherwise, the mixture of hope and despair, bounty and tragedy that the South-West monsoon brings every year to the rest of the land would lead to unmanageable ups and downs in the stock and commodity trades.

• Thought for the day

ARTICLE

Islamic terrorism
It is bleeding Pakistan as well
M.B. Naqvi writes from Karachi
Apart from the long-standing business with India, Pakistan’s immediate objective remains fighting against Islamic terrorism, both for the sake of keeping the Americans pleased and for the future of Pakistan itself. Here foreign policy and domestic issues are intertwined. The present policy clearly began as a response to unbearable American pressure way back in 2001.

MIDDLE

“Mother India” in real life
by R.K. Kaushik
After the death of Sunil Dutt, I had an occasion to see his classic film “Mother India”. I meticulously watched the famous scene where Nargis got trapped in fire and was saved in real life by Sunil Dutt. As is well known, that incident led to love and later marriage.

OPED

Shisham, kikar trees disappearing
by Aditi Tandon
Shisham and kikar, two of the most significant tree species under the social forestry programme, are recording a severe decline all over the Indian subcontinent. Although several national and international seminars have been organised to assess the causes of mortality in these commercially valuable species, no specific cause has yet been ascertained.

Deportation of Muslim clerics
by Shahira Naim
Lucknow may be 500 km from the national capital but it is considered the hub of Muslim opinion making in the country. It is the head office of the influential All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) that claims to represent all sects of the Muslims in the country.

Time bows to pressure to reveal source
by Andrew Gumbel
One of America's most prestigious news magazines has caved in to pressure from the courts and agreed to hand over documents that risked revealing the identity of the confidential sources of one of its reporters.

From the pages of

REFLECTIONS

EDITORIALS

Poaching unlimited
Tigers have been nearly wiped out

Salman Khan and the Nawab of Pataudi appear to be only bit players in the horrifying poaching play which has been going on ruthlessly. Unless proven innocent, their trial is well-merited. There are, however, also culprits far worse than them on the prowl. Now that the police has taken up cudgels, skeletons — actually, animal carcasses and skins in this case — are tumbling out of many cupboards. The most gratifying is the arrest of notorious poacher Sansar Chand, who was rightly dubbed by a Rajasthan court as the “Veerappan of North”. He has been buying and selling wildlife products for 35 years. In the process, he nearly deprived the Sariska forest reserve in Rajasthan of its tigers.

The latter was at least hiding in forests. Sansar Chand was right here in Delhi for the past several months. That says a lot about the police of the Capital. He was arrested earlier also and was the first wildlife trader to be sentenced to five years’ imprisonment under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. In May last year, he was released on parole by the Rajasthan High Court, but went underground. Interestingly, his entire family is said to be in the trade. Wife Rani and son Akash were arrested last October for poaching.

One reason why he could play hide and seek with the law for so long was that he had links with senior bureaucrats and politicians. Apparently, the big money that he was making by poaching was being doled out to many to buy protection. It will be necessary to identify all such invisible backers. Nor is Sansar Chand the only one out to wipe out endangered animals. There are many more of his ilk. They will all have to be smoked out and brought to book. The search should be for the key operatives, not front men.

Path to infamy
Goswami brings disgrace to his service

The surrender of former Patna District Magistrate Gautam Goswami, the key accused in Bihar’s multi-crore flood relief scam, several weeks after a red corner alert was issued against him, is a classic example of how a nodal officer, in cahoots with politicians, contractors and thugs, can go to any length to siphon off crores of public money meant for the homeless and the marooned. Ironically, Goswami, who shot into limelight in the media, has brought shame and disgrace to the IAS. He epitomises the cult of decay and decadence that has set in the administration today. The embezzlement of Rs 18 crore or Rs 25 crore (as Goswami himself claimed in a TV interview in April) would not have been possible without the tacit support of the politicians and many other officials. But then, what has come to light may only be a tip of the iceberg. Disturbingly, the nexus between the politicians, bureaucrats and contractors has been widening all over the country, affecting the quality of administration. More seriously, it raises questions about the integrity and character of today’s bureaucracy and politicians and their pernicious influence on governance and the polity.

Goswami’s involvement in another fraud to the tune of Rs 1.52 crore relating to self-employment and slum development schemes in Patna suggests that something is wrong with his track record. Similar reports of nepotism and corruption have also come to light during his stints at Vaishali, Munger and Bokaro. Of course, his sudden resignation from the IAS and its withdrawal later and his joining a private airliner and subsequent dismissal are all shrouded in mystery. All this calls for a thorough inquiry. But the question remains — whether the State Vigilance Bureau, which is investigating the scam, would measure up to the task.

The slow pace of investigation raises doubts about the bureau’s sincerity to ferret out the truth. Its handling of the scam so far does not inspire confidence because of its propensity to yield to political pressure. Governor Buta Singh and Chief Secretary G.S. Kang have promised to act fast. If they mean business, they must help expedite the trial so that all those who are involved in the fraud are brought to book. This alone will restore people’s confidence in the system.

Monsoon is here
Late some place, on dot elsewhere

It is just as well that the commodity markets have not yet evolved to trade in monsoon-based futures and options. Otherwise, the mixture of hope and despair, bounty and tragedy that the South-West monsoon brings every year to the rest of the land would lead to unmanageable ups and downs in the stock and commodity trades. The uncertainties of the monsoon are not uniformly glorious, given its errant activity, pulsating progress, uneven spread and disparate quantities. This year, the monsoon, which had a late, if not hesitant, arrival did bring cheer initially; despite reaching the Andaman and Nicobar islands 10 days later than usual, the journey to Kerala was delayed by only five days. The downpour in peninsular India lowered temperatures and lifted the mood, albeit for a few days, as the northern limit of the monsoon remained stuck near Goa for an anxious length of time. Once beyond this limit, the abundant rainfall washed away much of the deficit, and apprehensions too, of the monsoon’s delayed arrival in the rest of India.

While the monsoon has covered the whole country now and holds out the promise of plenty for July, it has also turned into a raging torrent unleashing tragedy. Gujarat, where over 40 have been killed and tens of thousands evacuated, is the worst hit by the incessant downpour. The rain-fed fury of the Sutlej’s tributary, Pareechu, and the resultant flash floods have wreaked havoc in Kinnaur. Elsewhere, in the crucial crop belts of the West and the North, too, there is worry over whether the deluge would bring deliverance or devastation.

The weathermen certainly have earned a deserved respite from carping critics and ‘scientific rivals’ who mocked their forecasts. The clouds have amply vindicated the sky-gazing Indian Meteorology Department. Now it is for the authorities rooted in the ground to deal with the overwhelming realities that have come in the wake of the monsoon.

Thought for the day

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.

— Mother Teresa

ARTICLE

Islamic terrorism
It is bleeding Pakistan as well
M.B. Naqvi writes from Karachi

Apart from the long-standing business with India, Pakistan’s immediate objective remains fighting against Islamic terrorism, both for the sake of keeping the Americans pleased and for the future of Pakistan itself. Here foreign policy and domestic issues are intertwined. The present policy clearly began as a response to unbearable American pressure way back in 2001. But since then Pakistan has discovered to its own astonishment that Islamic fundamentalism, or terrorism, its lineal child, are as much a domestic problem as they are in relation to other countries like Afghanistan, India (via Kashmir) and the US.

Islamic extremism took three extreme forms: one was personified by Taliban who were only somewhat more extreme than what the old Seven Sisters of Peshawar were. One is referring to the seven recognised Afghan religious parties that were, after 1975, headquartered at Peshawar — on different dates, of course. For instance, Hekmatyar settled down in Pakistan way back in 1975; other Pushtoon or non-Pushtoon Afghan religious leaders came in subsequent years but all had come before 1979 when the Soviets moved into Afghanistan.

The second extreme face of Islamic extremism is the jihadis whose actions led to the loss of God knows how many lives in Indian-administered Kashmir. Some estimates go up to 80,000. They were the same persons or groups like Taliban and had the same outlook on life and with much the same interest and understanding. They sometimes went out to support or fight alongside Taliban or were one section of them from Afghanistan. Frequently, many on return from their Afghanistan preoccupation next opted to fight the jihad in Indian-controlled Kashmir. What is significant is that their beliefs, interests and outlook on life were identical.

The third extreme face appears within Pakistan. It is sectarian terror. Here again the same people who were jihadis in Kashmir, frequently on return, engaged in sectarian terror killings all over Pakistan. The particular school of orthodoxy to which they belong had produced its own antithesis: Shia terrorists, who would occasionally engage in revenge killings. The individual beliefs of the two terrorists may differ but their objectives are similar and so are their motivations.

In the last few days, two major instances have taken place, one in Islamabad — at a stone’s throw from Parliament, the palaces of the President and the Prime Minister, and on the other side the diplomatic enclave. A suicide bomber killed himself amidst the annual Urs of Bari Imam amidst a large gathering killing 20 and wounding many more. The second took place in a Shia mosque in Karachi where a similar suicide bomber took six lives and injured many more.

The sectarian terror within the country has waxed and waned during the last 16 years. From one viewpoint, it was a legacy of the previous military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq who patronised all orthodox religious organisations, Shia and Sunni. For him the more extreme you were the better. His political purpose was that the mainstream political parties’ political space should be taken up as much by these groups as possible. In this he succeeded to an astonishing extent.

Come to think of it, it is not at all astonishing. The seeds of this Islamic extremism were sown in India in early 20th century. Who can forget that India has been a home to great deal of Islamic scholarship and sprouting of intellectual trends? As an Islamic country, India was more important than Saudi Arabia or Indonesia or Nigeria; only Egypt rivaled it in influence and scholarship. Insofar as Shia orthodoxy is concerned, there were several centres: Iran, Iraq and India. These listings are not comprehensive and leave out the orthodoxies of smaller sects spread all over the Islamic world, especially in India.

Today’s terrorism in various forms and for various purposes is linked with standard Islamic orthodoxies: mind you there are many of them, as noted. But the most important one belonging to the majority Sunni sect of the subcontinent (including Afghanistan) is Darul Uloom in Deoband. It has supplied the maximum number of Imams to the lakhs of mosques there are. But orthodoxies wear many beguiling dresses. Much of the orthodox graduates of Deoband are not merely harmless but are likeable and politically acceptable, depending upon one’s point of view, though not others.

There is a hoary tradition in historical India of an Islamic tolerance at the grassroots level, a legacy of unorthodox religious leadership of Sufis. Now, Sufis work tirelessly with music and other art forms as their instrument to serve all without distinction. You can hear a Sufi expound a pacific, otherworldly religious view, transcending all orthodoxies of any religion, share his food, listen to his music or poetry and become enamoured of him. That is how Islam spread in the subcontinent and survives — not through religious orthodoxies of various sects or political power — because of the legacy of Sufis’ cosmopolitan outlook who do not accept any religious, cultural, racial or linguistic boundaries. And they lived and worked at grassroots level with no support from any authority. That ambience is authentically Islamic and is simultaneously tolerant and commonsensical.

This may have been the broadest cultural current among the Muslims, but it was not only one. The religious orthodoxies also flourished and had remained tolerant and moderate in actual practice. But their doctrines were not necessarily either moderate or, from today’s point of view, enlightened. Since Muslims have as many sects as one can count — they are in hundreds — and each has its own orthodoxy, indeed hierarchy and a central religious seminary. The net effect until the end of the eighteenth century was the assimilative culture of tolerating conflicting ideas but sticking rigidly to one’s own sectarian belief.

That unfortunately changed in the 20th century. One holds two rhetorical flourishes by two Urdu journalists of the early 20th century — Maulana Muhammad Ali and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad responsible for initiating an unintended trend: they either invented or repeated a notion that has done great harm later.

While the two journalists went their own political ways, the notion produced a wholly new ideology that was meant to be Islamic reply to the Russian Revolution of 1917. The notion itself is a cliché: it says “Islam provides a prescription for every situation from cradle to grave”. May be it was received wisdom or an innovation by the two, but a totalitarian concept of uniquely Islamic state structure, fitted with Islamic culture, Islamic economy, Islamic ideology and of course values. Independently a similar trend emerged in Egypt.

There is not much evidence of linkage between the two streams of this particular thought: one was articulated by Hasan al Banna in Egypt in 1925 who was the founder of Akhwanul Muslemeen (Muslim Brotherhood) and the other was authored by Maulana Abul Ala Maudoodi, with his concept of a unique Islamic State. Maulana’s concept had taken an actual shape in Afghanistan’s Taliban rule, with Mulla Omar as Amirul Mumineen.

This extreme ideology of setting up an ideal Islamic State or system, no less otherworldly, has spread to all Muslim countries. The latter’s interests somehow include harming the Great Satan, America. The US has countered it with an imperial project based democracy’s shibboleth - as brutal and violent as the former. Those who have to defend genuine freedoms have to, in addition to fighting, understand the source from which this violence springs and which factors sustain it in depth.

MIDDLE

“Mother India” in real life
by R.K. Kaushik

After the death of Sunil Dutt, I had an occasion to see his classic film “Mother India”. I meticulously watched the famous scene where Nargis got trapped in fire and was saved in real life by Sunil Dutt. As is well known, that incident led to love and later marriage.

That reminded me of a similar incident that occurred near Emperor Jehangir’s tomb in Shahadra in Lahore in the winter of 1945. A group of girls from Government College, Lahore, led by their famous Urdu Professor, Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum, went on a Sunday morning to visit the tomb. There was a virtual forest in an area of almost 200 acres nearby. Some of the girls went there to take rest.

Suddenly a fire broke out and a group of girls got trapped in that. One of the girls named Manorama Bhanot fell in a deep ditch and injured herself. Other girls escaped leaving Manorama in the raging fire. Nobody had the courage to take her out of the deep ditch. For her everything seemed finished.

The girls and Professor Tabassum started shouting at the top of their voices for help. (Manorama’s father H D Bhanot, ICS, was the first Indian Chief Secretary of Punjab.)

As good luck would have it a police officer, Mr Christopher Hamillin Fairhall, working as Additional SP, Lahore, was passing by on horseback along with some police personnel. Fairhall heard the desperate cries. It did not take him long to fathom that it was impossible to bring her out alive from the forest but still he decided to take a chance at a great risk to his own life.

He along with a few policemen entered the burning forest. He jumped into the deep ditch after tying himself to a rope whose other end was tied to a tree. He took her out slowly. It was a scene straight out of a movie.

Manorama fell unconscious and was taken to Mayo Hospital. She was discharged the next day.

She developed an instant liking for the smart Britisher. Their interactions increased. Fairhall fell in love with her. He proposed and Manorama accepted. They married.

Fairhall was shifted as SP Gujranwala, immediately after marriage to Manorama. She always used to recall the incident in social gatherings of officers.

Incidentally, only one British ICS and two British IP officers opted to serve post-Independence Punjab. The ICS officer, of the 1934 batch, was Donald Falshaw, who retired as Chief Justice of the Punjab High Court in 1966. The two IP officers were C.H. Fairhall and F.B. Manley, both friends and batchmates belonging to the 1939 batch of IP.

Fairhall served the Punjab Police as DIG till early sixties. He later joined Deutche Bank in Delhi as General Manager before going back to England with Manorama who was an epitome of beauty, charm and grace, much like the late Mrs Nargis Dutt in “Mother India”.

OPED

Shisham, kikar trees disappearing
by Aditi Tandon

The high mortality rate of shisham (left) and kikar trees has set scientists thinking.

Shisham and kikar, two of the most significant tree species under the social forestry programme, are recording a severe decline all over the Indian subcontinent. Although several national and international seminars have been organised to assess the causes of mortality in these commercially valuable species, no specific cause has yet been ascertained.

The problem is grave, not only in North India where mortality has touched 100 per cent in some areas, but also across the border in Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh where fungus fusarium is said to be the main cause behind the malady.

In the last regional symposium on “Mortality in shisham and kikar in northern states of India” held in Bathinda in March, 2002, scientists had urged the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) to undertake a coordinated project on this issue of national significance. Accordingly, the ICAR identified some centres of research in different states so that a database could be generated.

Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, has been assigned a major role in this context. Dr S.S. Gill, Head of the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, PAU, confirmed that PAU had started fresh experiments to determine specific factors threatening the trees, otherwise famous for their drought resistance and high timber quality.

Both shisham and kikar belong to the primary group of multi-purpose trees, extensively planted under the afforestation programmes. They are good for fuel, fodder, site rehabilitation and improvement in soil through nitrogen fixation. No wonder, farmers, until lately, treated them as “live bank accounts” to make money in crisis situations. But no longer. These trees are disappearing from the natural landscape of the region.

Dr S.S. Gill explains, “Shisham and kikar are dying everywhere — along highways and canal banks; in arid areas and in areas with high water table. There is a need to compare the existing plantations with new ones and isolate every factor — from insect/pest attack to erratic weather conditions, including long foggy spells in winter. The soil factor must also be studied if the exact cause of mortality is to be determined.”

Recently, a team of Pakistani scientists, on an informal visit to PAU, shared a similar concern. Dr Gill said pathologists, physiologists, entomologists and soil specialists in Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar and Bangadesh are also engaged in extensive research to crack reasons behind the mysterious mortality.

In India these trees are well distributed in the northern states. However, in the recent past they have registered a massive decline, which is still continuing. “These trees are dying within three to four years depending on age and site. The malady is 10 years old in shisham and only five years old in kikar, but in the latter it is more alarming,” said Dr Gill.

In Punjab mortality is higher in western districts, which are comparatively arid in nature. About 50 per cent trees have died in Bathinda and Faridkot. In Sangrur and Patiala, some places have reported 100 per cent mortality in kikar and 80 per cent mortality in shisham.

The Haryana Forest Department confirms that 1,26,000 sisham trees died in 1997-98; 2,01000 died in 1998-99 and 2,64000 died in 1999-2000. The figures are swelling, with less mortality in the dry districts of Sirsa, Bhiwani, Mahendragarh and Rewari, and very high mortality in the Karnal, Kurukshetra, Jind, Rohtak and Sonepat.

In Uttar Pradesh, the situation is grimmer in the eastern Tarai region (Gorakhpur, Gonda, Behraich and Balrampur) than in the eastern plains. In Bihar mortality has touched 20.8 per cent. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir is also alarming with the overall mortality of shisham reaching 15 per cent.

Scientists researching the problem have made an interesting observation, “This mortality is species-specific. Only shisham and kikar are drying up while trees of other species adjacent to them are unaffected.”

The drying up of shisham is being linked to various factors by scientists of research organisations like FRI, Dehradun; Regional Centre of National Afforestation and Eco-Development Board, Solan; Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana; Haryana Agricultural University and Rajendra Agricultural University, Samstipur.

They say the most important cause can be the change in land use pattern, which has caused destruction of the natural drainage system through the levelling of agricultural land and laying of road networks. In the canal-irrigated areas, there has been an increase in the watertable. Shisham, says Dr Gill, thrives well in sandy loam soils having good drainage but it cannot tolerate water-logging for long periods as its roots die of asphyxiation.

In Punjab the worst affected are Ferozepore, Faridkot, Muktsar, Sangrur and Bathinda. Two ends of Chandigarh also present different responses. Shisham and kikar in Ropar (on one end of Chandigarh) are dying, but the same trees in the other end (district Panchkula) are normal.

Alarmed by the situation the Forest Research Institute of Dehradun organised a national symposium on shisham mortality on January 11, 2000. Another international seminar on kikar was organised in Nepal in April, 2000. The seminar was meant to assess the extent of mortality in kikar (babool) and suggest measures to stem the rot.

The workshops suggested the creation of a database, recording of climatic and hydrological variables and adoption of a multi-disciplinary approach. But only general guidelines could be issued as no specific cause was known. The challenge persists.

Deportation of Muslim clerics
by Shahira Naim

Lucknow may be 500 km from the national capital but it is considered the hub of Muslim opinion making in the country. It is the head office of the influential All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) that claims to represent all sects of the Muslims in the country.

Recently, a section of the Shia Muslims, unhappy with the AIMPLB, floated the All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) having its headquarters in the city. A few weeks later, the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board was launched also having its nerve centre in the city.

The statements issued by office-bearers of these all-India organisations receive wide media attention as they claim to be speaking on behalf of the community. It is in this context that the deportation of two important clerics associated with these organisations by the US authorities acquires significance.

The outspoken Shia cleric and senior vice president All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, was detained at Chicago airport on March 17, 2005, soon after he had arrived to deliver his regular round of sermons during Moharrum.

After sustained interrogation, an amazed Kalbe Sadiq was informed that his visa had been cancelled. His passport had a visa was valid until 2010. Since his return, he had steered clear of the media. “Please don’t press me to speak on the issue. I am waiting for something. In a few days, I will come clean. Till then you can report that I have vowed to be silent”, he had said.

The American Cultural Centre had assured him that the US Embassy would get in touch with him. After waiting in vain for the last three months Kalbe Sadiq has decided to break his silence.

“I have not changed. Yes, there is a perceptible change in US policy. Their most cherished value of respecting freedom is no longer visible. I have always been outspoken about some of their policies. I had been a regular visitor even after 9/11. I was vocal in my protest of their Iraq war. Still I was always welcome”, points out Kalbe Sadiq.

The other cleric deported from JFK airport, New York, on June 18, 2005, is 65-year old Maulana Mirza Mohd Athar. He is the Chairman of the four-month-old All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB). He was informed that he could not enter the country as his visa had been cancelled. His passport had a valid US visa until 2012.

He was given the choice of contacting the Indian Embassy or seeking legal help. Maulana Athar politely declined both. The officials offered him political asylum, if he desired. He had no cause to accept that either. The only request of the by now haggard old man was to be put on the next plane back home. He clearly explained to the officials that he did not want to enter a country where he was not welcome.

Maulana Athar was one of eyewitnesses from mid-air to the burning of the Twin Towers on the fateful day of 9/11. The incident never hampered his visits to the country.

The only reason for this US decision that he can think of is the resolution passed by the AISPLB in its last meeting on June 8 condemning the desecration of the Quran by the American military interrogators at Guantamnao Bay. Terming it an inexcusable offence, the resolution had asked the guilty to be strictly punished so that no one dared to repeat the crime.

Nevertheless, Maulana Athar is still keeping his fingers crossed. He first wants an official version from the embassy before he makes up his mind. He admits that ever since he accepted to head the AISPLB he has many detractors. If the cancellation is due to the mischief of some opponent, he will deal with it at that level.

Time bows to pressure to reveal source
by Andrew Gumbel

One of America's most prestigious news magazines has caved in to pressure from the courts and agreed to hand over documents that risked revealing the identity of the confidential sources of one of its reporters.

Time magazine's decision to hand subpoenaed records over to a special prosecutor investigating a White House security leak appeared to be aimed at sparing jail time for its reporter, Matthew Cooper, who was facing up to 120 days behind bars for contempt. But the move ignited a furore at a time when traditional protections afforded to journalists and their sources in the United States are becoming seriously eroded.

Ostensibly, the pressure should be on the Bush administration itself, which deliberately – and illegally – leaked the identity of a CIA field operative, apparently as a form of revenge against her husband, the diplomat Joseph Wilson, who conducted an investigation and wrote a report undermining the administration's case for war against Iraq. Instead, however, the special prosecutor's attempt to pinpoint the identity of the leaker or leakers has focused on two reporters told about the CIA operative in 2002. Both Mr Cooper of Time and Judith Miller of The New York Times have come under relentless pressure to give up the names of their sources, although neither was the first to identify the CIA operative as Mr Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame.

The magazine's decision was immediately criticised by The New York Times, which had hoped the two publications could stand firm together.

Curiously, the journalist who did "out" Ms Plame, the conservative columnist Robert Novak, has come under no pressure from the special prosecutor whatsoever, for reasons that remain to be explained. Mr Novak said at the time that Ms Plame's identity had been disclosed to him by two separate White House sources.

Time explained yesterday that it felt compelled to follow the rule of law in handing over the documents — believed to be company e-mails rather than Mr Cooper's actual notes — no matter how much it disagreed with the courts. The magazine appeared to be reaching for a compromise, whereby the prosecutor would obtain the information he was looking for but Mr Cooper could still say with a clear conscience that he had not personally betrayed his sources.

A lawyer for the magazine said he did not now expect Mr Cooper to have to testify before a grand jury, or to face the threat of jail.

The New York Times's publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jnr, said he was "deeply disappointed", and noted that the newspaper had stood up to similar pressures in 1978, when its reporter Myron Farber ended up serving 40 days behind bars rather than betray his sources in a criminal trial. "Our focus is now on our own reporter, Judith Miller, and in supporting her during this difficult time," Mr Sulzberger added.

The next hearing has been set for next Wednesday, at which time the prosecutor could insist on Ms Miller's immediate incarceration or decide he has enough information from Time to drop the demand.

Opponents of the Bush administration are astonished at how adeptly the White House has deflected attention from itself. Many conservatives, meanwhile, are appalled at what they see as an assault on the rights of journalists and freedom of speech. William Safire, the veteran conservative commentator, returned to his old slot at The New York Times to demand a full explanation from Mr Novak of how he "managed to get the prosecutor off his back".

Journalism advocacy groups noted with dismay that another court ruling came down this week ordering another four journalists — from the Associated Press, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and CNN — to disclose their sources concerning unfounded espionage accusations hurled at the Los Alamos nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee six years ago.

One of America's most prestigious news magazines has caved in to pressure from the courts and agreed to hand over documents that risked revealing the identity of the confidential sources of one of its reporters.

Time magazine's decision to hand subpoenaed records over to a special prosecutor investigating a White House security leak appeared to be aimed at sparing jail time for its reporter, Matthew Cooper, who was facing up to 120 days behind bars for contempt. But the move ignited a furore at a time when traditional protections afforded to journalists and their sources in the United States are becoming seriously eroded.

— The Independent

From the pages of

November 18, 1891

Petticoat government

Ladies clamouring for women’s rights ought to go to Argonia, Kansas, U.S.A. This town is so completely under a petticoat government that all the town officials are women, the men humbly taking the lower place…. The spinsters of Argonia have decided that it is their turn to propose to the men. So one of the belles inaugurated the new order of things by calling on the young man she preferred and making him a formal offer of marriage, which was duly accepted. The happy pair have since been married with all due forms and ceremonies by a feminine Justice of the Peace.