|
Kulkarni goes Blow to Shiv Sena |
|
|
Vanishing trees Even those known for special value are dying MAN'S carelessness with regard to flora and fauna has reached an alarming level. People are not as much bothered about preserving the green wealth gifted by nature as they ought to have been despite the campaign going on for creating such awareness.
Trial by fire
Dentist’s chair without a speed-breaker
Wheat trade with Pakistan Bollywood and stars and stripes Delhi Durbar
From the pages of
|
Blow to Shiv Sena IT is time for a different kind of stocktaking in India’s premier state — Maharashtra — even as the stock markets are on a roll. The Shiv Sena has been rocked badly by the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Mr Narayan Rane, deciding to join Mr Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party
(NCP). In sacking Mr Rane, a former Chief Minster, Sena supremo Bal Thackeray was merely going through the motions of locking the stable after the horse had already bolted. When Mr Rane decided to quit his legislative office, he was already at the Sena’s exit door and on the threshold of the NCP. Therefore, Mr Thackeray’s expulsion order is at best a technicality to make himself, and probably his son and nephew, console themselves that Mr Rane did not leave the family-run fold but was sent packing. That does not materially alter the power shift that is underway in Maharashtra, where the Shiv Sena is now facing desertions by its MLAs. The fact that only recently Mr Thackeray praised Mr Rane as a “staunch Shiv Sainik who would never betray the party”, explains his anger and call to party workers to “punish” the “traitor”. However, such extra-parliamentary exhortations may have little effect when the NCP, a UPA constituent, is in office at both the Centre and in the state, and perceived as a powerful counterpoint for those disenchanted with the ways of Mr Thackeray. The development, regardless of the number of Sena MLAs who follow in Mr Rane’s footsteps and whether the Sena is split or not, is a boost to Mr Pawar that would not be unwelcome to the Congress either. Although this would bolster Mr Pawar’s clout within the UPA a bit, the Congress party stands to gain much more from the Shiv Sena’s grip being weakened. For now, that is something both the NCP and the Congress can celebrate together, irrespective of their differences. |
Vanishing trees MAN'S carelessness with regard to flora and fauna has reached an alarming level. People are not as much bothered about preserving the green wealth gifted by nature as they ought to have been despite the campaign going on for creating such awareness. As a result, even the trees particularly useful to people are fast disappearing. The most appalling case is that of shisham and keekar, which belong to a group of multi-purpose trees. Shisham has been a favourite for its timber, but it may not be available in the near future if the tree continues to get the treatment it has been given so far. Already, both shisham and keekar can hardly be seen in many areas in North India, as reported in The Tribune last Saturday. This is going to be their fate in the entire Indian subcontinent if no remedial steps are taken soon. It is not only the disease which is having its toll. There are other reasons also like water-logging caused by the changes in the land use pattern. When people interfere with the natural drainage system they must ensure that the trees like shisham, which cannot survive in excessive water supply, do not die. The scientists associated with the agricultural universities and the extension officials must guide the public properly so that the trees which have their special significance do not become a thing of the past. Certain traditional trees like imli, jamun and banyan may also meet the fate of shisham and keekar. They have nearly disappeared from Punjab's Majha region, and this may be the situation elsewhere too in the near future. The trees that are about to join the list of extinct species would not only play a major role in environment protection but also have medicinal value. Those involved in the tree plantation campaign should see to it that people prefer to grow such trees as are Indian in character and useful from various angles. Symbolic grow-more-tree campaigns are not enough. |
Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities. — Aristotle |
Trial by fire PEOPLE power”, the Philippines is discovering, is a double-edged sword. Twice in recent times have elected Presidents been deposed by street movements although the 1986 deposition of Ferdinand Marcos, who had assumed dictatorial powers, was more justified than the last deposition of the actor and President, Joseph Estrada, in 2001, which brought Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, then Vice-President, to power. Mrs Imelda Marcos, the one with her collection of 3,000 pairs of shoes and now a widow, still strides the political stage. Now President Arroyo is facing her own agni pareeksha (trial by fire) as opposition calls mount for her resignation in circumstances that are a match for any Bollywood melodrama. Tapes, CDs, SMSs and mobile rings are circulating in the Philippines containing what seem to be the voices of President Arroyo and an election commissioner discussing the margin of her victory while counting in last year’s presidential election was still on. After a seemingly long silence, President Arroyo acknowledged that she had had “a lapse of judgement”. Meanwhile, the air was thick with allegations linking the President’s son and husband to receiving kickbacks from an illegal gambling syndicate, charges similar to those for which Estrada had to lose the presidency and spend time in jail. In a desperate attempt, President Arroyo has sought to recover her balance by banishing her husband, Mr Jose Miguel Arroyo, to an indefinite exile abroad; he left for Hong Kong early last week. Additionally, a Cabinet minister facing tax evasion charges has resigned and, to fill her cup of misery, the Supreme Court has frozen a key reform proposal, an expanded sales tax regime meant to perk up a failing economy. There are other colourful characters in the political cast. Ms Susan Roces, widow of the actor Fernando Poe Junior, who lost to Ms Arroyo last year and died last December, has emerged as a focus of opposition protests. She has called on President Arroyo to resign for having “stolen” the presidency twice. And the former President, Ms Corazon Aquino, who was the beneficiary of the 1986 popular movement after her husband had been gunned down on his return home from exile in the United States, has appealed to the opposition to stay within the four corners of the constitution. An important character in the cast is missing this time around. The archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Sin, who died recently while in retirement, played a stellar role in bringing down two Presidents in a majority Catholic country. His successor, Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, has been critical of the President without lending support to the opposition calling for her resignation. In any event, his clout does not match the queen-making powers of his predecessor. Entertaining as the Philippines’ political drama is, more serious questions of polity are involved in the present crisis. In India, we are familiar with persons assuming power on the strength of their lineage, and Mrs Arroyo is the daughter of a highly regarded President, Diosdado Macapagal I had interviewed in Malacanang Palace in the sixties. She is a trained economist and has held teaching and ministerial positions in previous administrations and has juggled her political responsibilities between a husband and children and office. Marcos was responsible for some of the rot that set in in the Philippines political institutions and the politicisation of the election machinery; in fact, the election commission was cleaned up after his ouster but reverted back to its old ways. Indeed, the Philippines has been living in a permissive atmosphere in which the film and political worlds have merged and the lure of illicit gambling has proved to be too potent for politicians and film stars alike to resist. In President Arroyo’s case, her husband has become a political liability — again a somewhat familiar theme in countries as far afield as Pakistan and Turkey. During Ms Tansu Ciller’s prime ministership in Turkey, a Turkish diplomat told me at length about how her husband had brought her down politically, and Ms Benazir Bhutto’s husband speeded the end of her prime ministership by earning the sobriquet of “Mr Ten Per Cent”. On India’s home turf there are innumerable instances of sons and other family members compromising the leader. The military in the Philippines is another important political actor and rumours of coups abound in times of crisis. But President Arroyo has a little time to bring about a miracle and restore the people’s confidence. The military has reaffirmed its support to her, and three other important constituencies — the middle class, the business community and the Catholic Church — have not entirely swung against her. Street protests have been modest, numbering 8,000 at the outset and have reached nowhere near the numbers of 1986 and 2001. In the first instance, popular street protests numbered up to a million and in the second in hundreds of thousands. However, President Arroyo remains wounded and can hardly convey the image of a strong leader who is up to the arduous task of coping with a weak economy and high unemployment rates. Besides, political patch-up is no answer to the country’s endemic problems that involve men and institutions. It is unedifying to have tapes purporting to be conversations between the President and an election commissioner played in the Lower House of Congress. There are no short answers to correcting the Philippines’ political and social ills. A spring-cleaning of political institutions is easier said than done. Only a coming together of the political class and civil society in a government of a grand coalition or its equivalent can begin the marathon task of reconstituting political institutions. Above all, changing presidents by “people power” brings about an institution-destroying cycle that cannot lead to a stable political environment in which a healthy economy can flourish. It has been said of the Philippines that it has been in a Catholic convent for 200 years (Spanish rule) and 50 years in Hollywood (US colonial regime). Perhaps the cocktail of the colonial legacy has had an influence on modern Filipino politics but it can hardly justify today’s political theatre. Ms Aquino’s advice to her people to stay within the bounds of the constitution is wise. The problem is: will the people
listen? |
Dentist’s chair without a speed-breaker MINDLESS over-speeding on the road is one of the great curses of our time and even strict measures to curb it have met with only partial success. Recently, however, there was a bizarre case of reckless speed occurring in a dentist’s chair of all places. A woman in Munich, it was found, needed 14 root canal treatments which call for special care and patience and normally must be spread over a number of weeks. Her dentist, however, apparently believed that there was no dental problem which would not be helped by a liberal intake of cognac. So he proceeded to give the patient large glasses of the magic liquid between the drillings, saying it would eliminate all pain. He then undertook a single mammoth operation to complete the job at one go instead of in many weeks. The result was excruciating agony for the patient for days on end. She was of course furious and brought a suit against the dentist for heavy damages. The court readily agreed with her and awarded her the equivalent of £ 4000. Another item which would be able to walk into Ripley books at will concerns a somewhat different activity. That can be described as savouring the joys of an ever-increasing tally of life partners — and of progeny. The protagonist in that story would be the king of Swaziland. He was recently married for the 11th time and has two more wives already selected for him, which will take their total number to 13. The count of the children at the last reckoning was 24 while the 25th is on the way. Considering that the present age of the king is only 36 years, he has obviously time enough to improve his already very impressive record still further. In Thailand there is another strong candidate for an entry in Ripley as well as Guinness. An unusual research project has been started there to examine further a theory called “brain-based learning” (BBL). The underlying idea is that nurturing of babies/children should start while they are still unborn: it is believed that from that stage on various parts of the brain are primed to learn about various aspects of the world around it. The project will cover as many as 100,000 unborn and infants. Tailpiece: A Scotsman climbed into the dentist’s chair and took his wallet out of the pocket. “No, Sir”, said the dentist, “You do not have to pay me in advance”. The Scotsman remarked coldly: “I am not paying you. I am only counting my money before you give me
gas”. |
Wheat trade with Pakistan WHEAT emerged as the fourth largest in the agricultural exports of India, after marine products, rice and oil meals during 2004-05. India’s export of wheat jumped from 6.3 million quintals in 1995-96 to 30.9 million quintals in 2003-04. Its production has increased from 110 mn qtls in 1960-61 to 551 mn qtls in 1990-91 and 730 mn qtls in 2004-05. India accounted for 12 per cent of the world production of wheat during 2004-05, and has become the second largest producer in the world after China. Traditionally, the world market of wheat has been dominated by the US, Australia, Canada, Argentina and the European Union (EU). India has become a regular exporter of wheat during the post-WTO period (1995-2005) except 1997-98. But its share in the world exports of wheat is around 1 per cent only. Pakistan has been importing wheat from Russia, the US, the EU and other countries over the period due to its more demand and less production. The per hectare yield of wheat in Pakistan was 2373 kg, which was far less than Indian Punjab’s 4228 kgs during 2004-05. Pakistan’s production of wheat was 214 mn qtls during this period. However, the import requirements of Pakistan for wheat have diminished from 20.2 mn qtls in 1997-98 to 5 mn qtls in 2004-05 due to an increase in domestic production. The South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) to be effective from January 1, 2006, will boost trade between the two countries and resolve the controversy over non-extension of MFN treatment by Pakistan to India. Wheat has not been on the list of Pakistan’s import of 600 items from India. But India has been exporting wheat items to Pakistan on a special approval, basis during the post-WTO period (1995-2005). India banned the export of wheat to the world from August 11, 2003. Only previous contracts with other countries were being obliged. Wheat is one of the several other items in which India has a cost advantage over Pakistan. India exported wheat items to Pakistan during 1996-97, 98-99, and 2002-04. India’s export price of wheat to Pakistan during 2002-03 was less as compared to the rest of world. However, the export price of wheat seed and flour to Pakistan was more as compared to the rest of world. Therefore, it was gainful to Pakistan to import wheat from India during 2002-03, as its export price was Rs 513 per qtl as compared to Rs 720 to the rest of world. Further, the average wheat price in Pakistan was Rs 1,400 per qtl. If India and Pakistan allow wheat trade it would be beneficial to both. Punjab is the lifeline of India in terms of foodgrains production. With 13 per cent (3.4 mn hectare) of India’s wheat cropped area, it contributed more than 20 per cent (146.8 mn qtls) in India’s wheat production during 2004.05. Its share in the central pool was 61 per cent during this period. Wheat surplus from the state is more than 90 mn qtls. Indian Punjab has been exporting wheat since November 2000. The share of Punjab in India’s wheat exports was 83.5 per cent in 2003.04. There are high potentials of Punjab wheat exports to Pakistan. By way of comparing Punjab’s global exports and Pakistan’s global imports of wheat during 2000-05 it has been found out that if there had been political will on the part of both countries, Pakistan could import wheat worth Rs 541.48 crore during 2000-05. But actual imports of Pakistan from India were worth Rs 7.44 crore in 2002-03 only. These potentials were only 10 per cent of Punjab’s global wheat exports, which could meet 100 per cent requirements of Pakistan’s global wheat import during 2001-05. At this growth rate, Pakistan can import wheat from Indian Punjab worth Rs 97.5 crore in 2005-06 and Rs 110.15 crore in 2009-10. It is gainful to India and Pakistan to promote mutual wheat trade as both can have trade through the Wagha/Attari (Amritsar) and Hussainiwala (Ferozepur) land routes, which would save a lot in terms of transportation and shipment costs. At present, wheat trade between the two countries is through the ports of Karachi and Mumbai. From the economic point of view, it is illogical to confine trade through ports only when both countries share a large common land border. The transport time for goods through ports between the two countries is more than 10 days. Further, the transport cost of wheat through ports is Rs 75 per quintal. The land route is cheap, faster and safe as carrying cost through Wagah is Rs 12 per quintal only, and the transport time is one hour only from Amritsar to Lahore with distance of 50 kms. Indian Punjab is always looking for wheat exports across the Wagah border once it has been opened. Though Punjab has been exporting wheat to Bangladesh, Nepal, Mynmar and other South East Asian countries, it has not been possible to do the same with Pakistan. Wheat costs about Rs 1200-1600 per qtl depending upon quality in Pakistan, and if it is exported from Indian Punjab, it costs there would be at the best Rs 700 per qtl, including freight and other charges. Hence wheat exports from Indian Punjab will fetch crores of rupees to Punjab farmers, who grow a surplus wheat each year. Wheat importers in Pakistan are pressuring their government to allow imports from Indian Punjab via the Wagah border. The possibility of opening the Wagah and Hussainiwala land/rail routes for wheat trade between the two countries and beyond have brightened with the setting up a joint Trade Council of the private sector in April, 2005. Punjab will be the major beneficiary from the opening of this land routes. The Entire Central Asia can be accessed by Punjab through this land routes. Similarly, South-East Asia can be accessed by Pakistan. It will fetch valuable foreign exchange. Hence there are huge wheat trade potentials, which are to be tapped. |
Bollywood and stars and stripes BESTY Rose would often tell her grandchildren of the fateful day — sometime in May 1776 — when three members of a secret committee came to call upon her at her home in Philadelphia. Those representatives asked her to sew a flag. According to Betsy, General Washington, one of the trio, showed her a rough design of the flag that included six-pointed stars and 13 stripes, each representing the colonies which would become the independent states of the new nation, America. Rose’s flag, officially referred to as the “Stars and Stripes”, now rests gently on the walls of the American History museum in Washington DC, as tourists from all over the world quietly file by, at awe for what it represents. Several thousand miles away, in the studios of Mumbai, the “Stars and Stripes” appears as a thong bikini on Shilpi Sharma, the talent-less lead in the controversial but banal “Jo Bole So Nihal,” it features as a bandana on Saif Ali Khan as he hosts the Filmfare awards and it is the backdrop on which Shah Rukh Khan dances for his “pretty woman” in “Kal Ho Na Ho.” Bollywood has enthusiastically embraced the flag of another nation. Unfortunately for Indians, the Tricolour was off-limits until recently when a young businessman and current parliamentarian, Navin Jindal, secured through a hard-fought legal battle, the right to fly the Indian flag in his back-yard. Interestingly, Jindal’s fascination with the Tricolour began during his visit to the US in 1990. One of the first things he noticed was the ubiquitous fluttering of the American flag all over the country. He returned to India with a strong conviction that he could make the Tricolour just as popular. Little could he foresee that his court battles would be lost on Bollywood. It has been nine years since Jindal’s court victory and in these years Bollywood has steered clear from the Indian flag. While the “Stars and Stripes” has become increasingly omnipresent on the screen, the Tricolour has dimmed into obscurity. But why blame Bollywood for something that American advertisers have unabashedly promoted as a product? Benetton and Ralph Lauren have used the flag on sweat pants and under-shirts. Innumerable flag clothing and insignia aside, the post 9/11 “Stars and Stripes” made an explosive come-back on just about every product on the supermarket shelves, from pillows to paper napkins. Sadly lost in the drive for commercialisation is the symbolism of “Stars and Stripes”: not the xenophobic patriotism of post-Iraq war but the belief in freedom, liberty and justice, ideals for which the American Revolution was fought and the flag first raised. “Stars and Stripes” is no longer just the flag of a nation (sorry General Washington): it is a brand, a recognisable icon and franchise for American consumerism. “The world is way American,” writes Scott Galup in Washington Times, “Our media culture and economic opportunity works in mysterious counterpoint, and often dissonantly, with the overwhelming military might and principled clout for which we have been chided of late.” |
Delhi Durbar FRUSTRATION among some of the ministers of state in the UPA government is growing day by day with Cabinet ministers not parting with any work connected with decision making. With all files being dealt by the Cabinet ministers themselves, the junior ministers are feeling left out. One of the ministers of state was candid in admitting that “even clerk are better off than junior ministers. They at least get to see some of the files.” What is restraining them from raising their voice? No prizes for guessing.
Women for Nobel Kamla Bhasin the South Asia coordinator of the project 1000 Women for Nobel Peace Prize 2005 has a simple explanation for why only women are being nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. While acknowledging that men too contribute to the peace process and society at large, Bhasin, who condemns US President George Bush’s invasion of Iraq, says women are peace loving, nurturing, caring and, most importantly, unlike men do not wage wars. Women deserve the honour, she says, because they do not have “Bushful thinking”.
ISC being downgraded? Last week the Capital hosted meetings of the National Development Council (NDC) and the Inter-State Council (ISC). While several chief ministers were appreciative of the initiatives taken by the Central Government, the scheduling of the meetings was a bit of worry. Barely two hours after the two-day NDC meeting concluded, the ISC meeting commenced, forcing some CMs to complain privately that the importance of the ISC was being diluted by back-to-back scheduling.
Left plays spoil-sport The Left parties played spoil sport with UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s holiday in Shimla. As the Left parties “suspended” their participation in coordination committee meetings, Ms Gandhi telephoned CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat to tide over the crisis. But that did not help and she was forced to cut short her holiday to resolve the crisis.
BJP mum on Jinnah issue The L.K. Advani-Mohammad Ali Jinnah controversy refuses to die down. BJP leaders are wary of talking about it as that might earn the wrath of the party chief. The removal of Yashwant Sinha is a case in point. BJP leaders of the ilk of M. Venkaiah Naidu, Sushma Swaraj and Pramod Mahajan have been extremely wary of defending Advani, though they rarely miss an opportunity of giving lengthy sound bytes for TV news networks. Off-the-record briefings are taking a backseat for fear of being misquoted. Clearly, the BJP’s media management has suffered. Mum is the word till the crisis blows over.
**** Contributed by S. Satyanarayanan, Smriti Kak Ramachandran, Gaurav Choudhury and R. Suryamurthy |
From the pages of Executive and judiciary
THE question of the separation of the judicial and executive functions has cropped up again in Raja Surya Kanta Acharya Bahadur’s case. For some years the National Congress incorporated this subject in the omnibus resolution containing a variety of subjects, but at the last Congress this subject was wisely taken out of the omnibus and given the prominence of a distinct resolution. It is known that the Mysore Government is engaged in carrying out the separation of the judicial and executive functions, but the Government has gone ahead of the British Government in more than one direction and the example of the Mysore Government has become too high an ideal for our Government. But we have been also told that an effort is being made in the Madras Presidency to effect a separation between the judicial and executive functions; and the time seems to have arrived to attempt to arouse public opinion on this subject both in India and in England, especially as the Government in this country seems to be decidedly disinclined to such a change and steady efforts are being made to subordinate the judiciary entirely to the executive. |
By listening to the inner voice of the Master and dwelling on His name, man gains true knowledge about the Eternal Truth. With faith and love he becomes content and begins to lead a good and truthful life. — Guru Nanak Who are the ones to be blessed with Nirvana? Neither evil does nor good does. The evil doer will go to hell. The righteous one will go to heaven. Those who are free from all worldly desires will attain Nirvana. —The Buddha God, our Father, has a treasure trove of joys for us. What we ask for, he gives. Some of us ask for salvation, for knowledge of the glorious Truth, for eternal happiness. Some of us ask for clothes, curtains and carpets. —Book of quotations on Hinduism All men are frightened witless by death. When you go into battle and slaughter thousands, do you remember that they are as frightened by death as your are. So do not kill, do not slaughter. —The Buddha The king may not heed the advice of his parents while waging war. But is is the parents who suffer most, not only because he perishes on the battlefield. They have to live their last few years on the charity of the victors. —The Mahabharata There is to be no compulsion in religion. True direction is in fact distinct from error: so whoever disbelieves in idols and believes in God has taken hold of the most reliable handle, which does not break. For God is all-hearing and all-knowing. — Book of quotations on Islam The mediator must be transparent and perceived as being above all duplicity in speech and intent. If one warring party feels that he bears a secret love for the enemy and holds a secret grudge against him, the mediations are doomed to failure. — The Mahabharata With the true knowledge thus gained man’s sufferings and sins are wiped out. He obtains happiness and real joy, repeats Guru Nanak. — Guru Nanak |
HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |