 |
|
Synonym for terrorism Wah, Taj Sizing it up |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Suicide bombings
Lost sweetness
Uncle Sam’s bear hug Mind-enhancing drugs are
in the offing The roots of workers’ solidarity
|
Synonym for terrorism THE London police has nearly succeeded in unravelling the mystery of the serial bomb blasts in London on July 7. It has identified the mastermind of the attack as British-born Mohammad Siddique Khan. The police has also a fair idea of the four suicide bombers who also perished in the blasts. What is common about all of them is their Pakistani connection, however nebulous it may be. Khan is also reported to have been involved in some previous terrorist incidents. He is also alleged to have connections with Al-Qaeda. All this confirms the suspicion that 7/7 was a well-coordinated attack with a clear view to terrorise Londoners. Fears that some more suicide bombers are lurking somewhere for an opportune moment to strike have not yet been scotched. Few would have been surprised by their Pakistani connection. It is almost impossible to mention a major terrorist incident, barring those in war-torn Iraq, which does not have such a connection. The Talibanisation of Afghanistan would not have happened without the active support the so-called “students” received from their benefactors in Pakistan. Many of the Taliban, who were smoked out of the caves in the mountainous country, are believed to be in Pakistan. If the Al-Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden, is still alive, he is in all likelihood recuperating in Pakistan. Also, many of the terrorists wanted in India are safely ensconced in Pakistan. Small wonder that, in popular perception, Pakistan is the hub of international terrorism. Unfortunately, Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has not done much to change this perception. The report in a Pakistani newspaper that terrorist camps were still functioning in Pakistan is a case in point. This flies in the face of the General’s claim that his government had come down heavily on such camps and that they no longer existed there. India has photographic evidence to prove otherwise. In any case, the infiltration of terrorists from Pakistan is something which the people of India experience periodically, the most recent being in Ayodhya on July 5. Those churned out by these camps pose a threat to the international community. General Musharraf will do well to realise this and take steps so that the first nation to be formed on the basis of religion does not remain a synonym for terrorism. |
|
Wah, Taj IN the wonder that is India neither the sacred nor the secular makes sense. Everything — heritage, values, institutions, monuments — exists to be made nonsense of. In the crucible of this country’s denominational claims and conflicts, the truly sublime can be turned to the utterly ridiculous; a matter of national pride reduced to an object of sectarian contention. The ruling that the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board is the “rightful” owner of the Taj Mahal defies good sense as well as a sense of history. It is farcical for the Board’s Chairman to have decided that the 350-year-old monument is Waqf property; and, no less farcical is the “irrefutable evidence” he claims to have gathered to arrive at this amazing conclusion. The “evidence” cited are references in the Badshahnama and Shahjahanama that Emperor Shahjahan wanted the Taj Mahal to be declared as waqf property after his death. Regardless of the veracity of the texts, these are inadmissible as evidence, specious and legally untenable, if not altogether absurd. The Taj is a national monument and as one of the world’s wonders, a global heritage site. It is India’s best-known symbol and one of the world’s great tourist attractions. It cannot be treated as a mere tomb of an individual and then appropriated today by those who represent the religious denomination to which that person belonged some four centuries ago. The Jama Masjid in Delhi, which the Capital’s High Court decreed as the property of the Delhi Waqf Board, arguably, falls in a different category as it is a mosque in use. The logic is not applicable to the Taj, which as a heritage site, is entrusted to the state for protection. It should be under the authority and administration of the Archaeological Survey of India and any litigation to keep up this entirely unnecessary controversy that has now been triggered should be discouraged by the judiciary. If necessary, a law can be enacted to make the Taj beyond the pale of contention. |
|
Sizing it up FIGURES released by the World Bank show that India is now ranked 10th among the world’s economies, in terms of absolute GDP. Economic power is one of the elements of “hard power” in the international system, and brute size does mean a great deal. With the GDP pegged at $ 692 billion for the year 2004, India has moved up two notches from its earlier 12th place ranking, and is now three places behind China. The leader, the United States, has a GDP of $ 11,668 billion. With growth rates hovering around 6-7 per cent, even if the desired 8-9 per cent is unachievable, India can still move up a few places in the next few years. There are plenty of other economic indicators, however, that do not show India in a flattering light. Given the size of its population, and inequitable wealth distribution, per capita incomes are obviously going to be low. The UN Human Development Index (HDI), which factors in longevity, health, and schooling along with per capita, Purchasing Power Parity income, ranks India at 127th. The Human Poverty Index puts India at 48 amongst 95 developing countries. The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report ranks India at 55. This is in spite of the fact that India ranked second in “access to credit” and vulnerability to recession. As for a corruption index, the less said the better. Sustained improvement is not going to happen by itself. The reforms process, if continually stymied by harangues from the Left, or various vested interests, can severely affect progress. Infrastructure needs a bigger push than it is currently getting. Telecommunications is improving rapidly, and the outlook on energy is fairly positive, though vulnerable to global vagaries. Foreign investors are showing increasing interest in Indian stocks and the Mumbai stock exchange is behaving as if it has always belonged in the 7000-plus range. The potential exists. The climb is still ahead. |
|
How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something, but (instead) someone. — Coco Chanel
|
Suicide bombings AS a fragile peace holds out with the Palestinians, Ariel Sharon has opened a new front against Jewish settlers being uprooted from the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has claimed credit for the peace and appropriated a central role in the fight against terror. Whereas other countries use their air forces in a combat and logistics support, the IAF says it has found the formula for ending suicide terrorism. For the first time, the IAF has bagged the post of the chief of Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). He is Lt-Gen Dan Halutz, who took over earlier this month. The magic mantra for successful, targeted killings of Hamas leaders who prepare and designate suicide bombers is impeccable real-time intelligence and precision firing of helicopter-borne missiles. But Hamas has said that the rules of engagement have been broken by the use of the IAF. The Indian counterterrorism strategy — if there is one — does not envision the proactive use of armed helicopters against the 2500 or so terrorists in J&K, half of whom belong to Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and other imported tanzeems. It is high time more selective use was made of the UAV and armed helicopters to minimise own and civilian casualties as well as collateral damage. A leaf has to be taken from the recent Israeli experience if we are to deter and stop car bombings of military convoys. Against a monthly average of 20 Army casualties in J&K, in March not a single Army soldier was killed. But a single car bomb last month killed nine soldiers and wounded 18, many of whom succumbed to their injuries later. IAF commander Maj-Gen Elyezer Shkedy, at a recent conference at Tel Aviv on air power in countering guerrilla warfare and terrorism, outlined three operational parameters: intelligence, planning and precision, for pinpoint fighting. Contrary to popular perception, the IDF is quite sensitive to unintended non-combatant casualties, legitimacy, appropriate and proportionate use of force and international opinion. They worry about yellow and red cards being doled out to them. Previously the IAF accounted for 35 per cent of kills in counterterrorism operations. Now it is 70 per cent, making ground forces less relevant. Because of precision-guided munitions, the ratio of terrorist to civilian killed has increased from 1:1 to 12:1. But the key to targeting are intelligence agents of Shin Bet on the ground who designate potential bombers and assassins. They have to be 100 per cent sure they have the right man or woman in their sights. Avi Dichter, Shin Bet’s chief till last month, explained the “one-stick” concept: one person holds the trigger. Once Shin Bet has designated the target, authority transfers to the IAF. But it is Shin Bet, not the IAF, that has the veto if circumstances change. This “joint find and kill” concept hinges on establishing intelligence superiority which has come about after years of dirty work on the ground and 50,000 flying hours over the 330 sq km Gaza Strip where one million people are crammed in 270 sq km. The IAF, which has taken away the initiative from Special Forces, is now involved in 80 per cent of operations. The goal is to control areas on the ground from the air. Before the current ceasefire with real-time intelligence and surgical use of Hellfire missiles from Apache helicopters, the IAF accounted for 100 terrorists and 12 civilians killed. Not a single soldier was lost. This round of fighting, the Israelis say, has been won by them. The IAF first used UAVs in 1981. During the first Intifada, the IAF was only in a policing role. March 2002 was the turning point in the terror war when 120 Israelis were killed in a spate of suicide bombings. Earlier, the lynching of Israeli soldiers led to the first targeted killing. The IDF has faced threats from Islamic Jehad, Hamas and the tanzeem. IDF and IAF targets have been Hamas leaders, RPGs, Kassam rockets and suicide bombers. By mid 2003, Hamas casualties had peaked and 25 per cent of its leadership had been taken out. In 2003, Hamas supreme leader Sheikh Hasin was in their sights. But the IDF hesitated on moral grounds. Another reason was the choice of armament and uncertainty on account of collateral damage. He was finally eliminated in March 2004 in a wheelchair. His successor was also taken out soon after. The most traumatic encounter for the joint Shin Bet-IAF was Op Rainbow in May 2004. The target was a Hamas military factory manufacturing explosives and Kassam rockets. The target was on one of the floors of the five-storey building, full with civilians. The third floor was hit while the second and fourth floors were intact. Unfortunately, intelligence was flawed because the rocket factory was on the ground and not the third floor. The IAF got it right a few months later in successfully eliminating a bomber armed with Kassam rocket from a moving car. Technology has played a crucial role in refining capability and led to 60 per cent reduction in cost and casualties. Israel has lost more than 1000 of its people in the last three years. It has weathered nearly 160 suicide attacks, six by women, and prevented 66 human bombers from striking. Nearly 900 terrorists and as many as 1005 Palestinians have been killed, the latter in their military laboratories. 6000 of them have been picked up for interrogation in the last three years. While the IAF has found an antidote to suicide bombings, it is helpless against home-made Kassam rocket attacks. It is not authorised to fire back into civilian localities from where a rocket or mortar attack is sourced. 3000 Kassam rockets have been fired in the last three years. “Get the bomber before he gets you” is the slogan of the IDF. All is not well with targeted killings. There is a moral dilemma as mistakes can be lethal. Each operation is therefore, approved at the highest level, the equivalent of our CCS. The IAF has taken over 70 per cent of operational duties, reduced costs and casualties. Combined with the political initiatives of the Sharon government, the IAF has virtually halted suicide attacks. The IDF and terrorists are playing a game of chess. For the time being, the IDF is winning the war against Hamas. Some Israelis are warning the government that victory is illusory as excessive use of force is bound to heighten alienation. They counsel addressing the root causes. The government is mindful of the legal, moral, ethical and political issues on the use of the IAF. But suicide attacks have stopped. India’s tolerance threshold of taking casualties is high. In J&K we lose more than 500 soldiers every year. It is high time our political and military class ordered a study of the relevance of stand-off aerial capability in J&K, substituting assault of ground troops by using precision weapons. In May 2002, during Operation Parakram, our IAF demonstrated its surgical capability in eliminating Pakistani
incursions. |
Lost sweetness MY son, barely four, came home in high spirits. “Papa! summer holidays have begun ....” he chimed gleefully. He threw away his school bag and water bottle instantly as if they had chained him heavily. Total freedom! writ large on his chubby face. He hugged .... his pet: “Peter dear, now I shall just play with you .... do nothing else”. He caressed it like anything and burst into a guffaw. It was a treat to watch the boy kidding with the pet. Clearly indicated his craving for a carefree and stress-free life. Freedom from the grinding routine of waking up in the morning, getting ready hastily and rushing to the school bus. Top of it, endless homework and weekly class tests, followed by quarterly, annual exams et al. My heart went out to him. Summer vacation! The very word sends ripples in every child’s being. So it did when I was a kid. Looked forward to summer vacation as it was the time to visit grandparents and meet cousins in the village, fly kites, pluck mangoes, or jamuns and what not. I would climb the mango trees in a jiffy. While I tasted mangoes myself, friends and cousins standing on the ground with eyes glued to my movements, abused me badly if I delayed even a bit throwing the same to them. I still cherish our confrontation with the gardener. His bushy moustaches and big turban are still etched on my mind. The very first showers impelled us to ply paper boats. Fantastic would be running and shouting along with them. Oops! Swings seemed to touch the very skies! Unforgettable was the magic of “gullidanda”! Wow! glow worms! An irresistible attraction at night. Added to all this were story- telling sessions held by granny. Each one of us strove hard to be near her. Reliving memories back home and sharing with my classmates was such fun. Alas! Salil is bound to miss all that. He wears the albatross of “Competitive Times” around his neck. Every child is born with this curse in the “mod” times. The good old days are beyond the reach of the little boy who will receive non-stop reminders: “You are to be at the top”. Otherwise rebukes and humiliation are in store for him since it will bring down his family status too, he is told. Caught between the devil and the deep seal! Perforce Salil has to be with the times. My stream of thoughts is interrupted by my wife’s arrival. Salil running to his mother announces from a distance: “Tomorrow please don’t wake me up in the morning, mom. Ha.... ha....! Summer holidays have begun!” His face radiated with sheer joy and exuberance unaware of how his working mother had planned entirely otherwise for him. He is to attend summer workshop in the mornings and computer classes in the evening. All this will groom his personality and give him exposure, she opines. Late evenings will be swallowed by TV serials. Hence the day will be over and one day curtain will fall on “summer vacation”. Can’t think of flying kites and plucking mangoes or jamuns and visiting grandparents. That golden era is over once for all. Instead, attending summer workshops is in. A deep sigh escapes my lips when I find Salil fast asleep on the sofa. Can’t help caressing him and make him a bit comfortable there only. My wife may talk of child’s exposure, all-round personality but I feel guilty of robbing him of sweetness of
childhood. |
Uncle Sam’s bear hug THROUGH most of the Cold War and for over a decade after it ended, the phrase that best described Indo-US relations was “estranged democracies”, coined by Dennis Kux, a former US diplomat. The two democracies, the world’s largest and the world’s most populous, regarded each other with wary suspicion. Then in May 1998, under Prime Minister Vajpayee’s leadership, India announced with a bang that it was a nuclear power and the non-proliferation ayatollahs in President Clinton’s administration went ballistic. Indo-US relations plummeted to their lowest level ever, but not for long. President Clinton made an eminently successful visit to India in March 2000 and the tide began to turn. Despite stubborn resistance from an entrenched bureaucracy, President Bush pushed for better relations with India in his first term and has now set the relationship on the course to achieving a genuine strategic partnership. The ebb and flow of the last five turbulent years, the rationale for the change, which, even though it appears revolutionary, is really evolutionary, the present state of the strategic partnership and the steps that are necessary to take the relationship to a new level of cooperation, have all been documented in a masterful manner by Dr. Ashley Tellis, a Senior Associate at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His analytical policy brief “India: As a New Global Power” was released in Washington on July 14, three days before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s US visit. Tellis believes that the present US Administration views India as part of the solution to nuclear proliferation rather than as a problem. The US government now recognises that India will not give up its nuclear weapons, that these do not pose a security challenge to the US and that it is more important to ensure strict controls on the export of WMD-related technologies rather than to keep harping on the “cap, reduce and eliminate” mantra. This change in perception forms the basis for the improvement in relations that first led to the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership and is now heading much beyond that. Three senior US government officials made a statement in a background briefing some months ago that the US had reached a decision “to help India become a major world power in the twenty-first century”. This was dubbed condescending by many Indian analysts and only after the Prime Minister’s visit will it be clear whether it is being borne out by the turn of events. Dr Tellis has recommended that the US President should issue a National Security Decision Directive to guide government policy towards facilitating the export of critical dual-use technologies to India in the nuclear research and civilian space fields. He favours integrating India into the global nuclear regime that will eventually give India access to safeguarded nuclear fuel and technology, the initiation of a civilian nuclear and renewable energy dialogue, affirmation of US support for India’s membership of the UN Security Council, giving India core group status in the Proliferation Security Initiative, further enhancing defence cooperation through the licensing of high-leverage military technologies and missile defence, removing diplomatic practices that exemplify a prejudice against India’s space research efforts and expanding cooperation in cyber security. He has written that “India remains an island of democratic values and political stability in a region convulsed by religious fanaticism, illiberal governments, state sponsors of terrorism and economic stasis” and this should lead the US to engage India in jointly managing regional security. In the economic field, Tellis recommends that the US pursue a bilateral free-trade agreement with India to “increase the integration of American and Indian economies with the intent of maximising joint gains for both so as to support the rise of Indian power.” He recognises the “enormous difficulty of granting New Delhi an exception to existing US policy, law and international regime commitments” but warns that if only modest policy changes are effected to signal good intentions, the envisaged strategy runs the risk of petering out prematurely, with “potentially grave implications for the future balance of power in Asia.” He feels that a new bilateral dialogue on energy security, strategic cooperation and economic engagement are “unlikely to gain much traction in the absence of concerted direction by President Bush himself.” Also, New Delhi must take steps to “promote tacit coordination with, if not extensive support for, US goals” without compromising its key interests if the policy changes India wants are to become achievable. Since the September 11 attacks in New York, India has acted decisively to support America’s war on terrorism, even though the US has still not fully acknowledged that India too faces a similar threat from Islamist fundamentalist terrorism. The only sticking point has been India’s inability to provide troops for stability operations in Iraq. There has been undeniable forward movement in Indo-US relations in recent months. India did not overreact to the proposed sale of F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan in March; in June, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee signed a new 10-year agreement with Secretary Rumsfeld to further enhance defence cooperation and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s forthcoming visit is likely to see further developments with major consequences, especially in the field of cooperation in nuclear energy. India has emerged not only as a big market and a rising economic power, it is well on its way to becoming a major player in world politics — with or without US support. While there is congruence and convergence with the US on many issues, India has its own world-view and there will always be some divergence from US interests. Contrary to the US belief during the Cold War that India was aligned with the Soviet Union, India has always pursued an independent foreign policy in keeping with its own world-view. An Indo-US strategic partnership can prosper only if it is built on shared mutual interests while recognising that there will inevitably be some issues on which the two countries will not necessarily agree.
**** The writer is a visiting Research Scholar at the Sandia National Laboratories, USA |
|
Mind-enhancing drugs are
in the offing POWERFUL stimulants that improve memory, intellectual agility and aspects of mental performance will almost certainly be developed over the next 20 years. They will have few side-effects, little or no addictive properties and could be used for a wide-range of recreational or non-medical purposes such as boosting exam performance, making better business decisions or even eliminating bad memories. “In a world that is increasingly non-stop and competitive, the individual’s use of such substances may become the norm, with cognition enhancers used as coffee is today,” says the latest Foresight report of the U.K. government’s Office of Science and Technology. “Cognition enhancers are likely to be developed to treat people who need to improve attention, memory, planning or wakefulness and to help people to forget, sleep more efficiently and be less impulsive,” the report says. But the possibility raises disturbing practical as well as ethical and social issues. “It is possible that such an advance could usher in a new era of drug use without addiction,” it adds. Professor Trevor Robbins of Cambridge University, one of the lead authors of the Foresight report, said that two drugs available on prescription are known to have mind-enhancing properties. Ritalin, which is given to children with attention-deficit disorder, is being used by a small number of students in an attempt to improve exam results and by businessmen to boost boardroom performance. Modafinil, a drug designed to treat narcolepsy, is also used to improve the concentration of healthy people so that they can make more accurate decisions, Professor Robbins said. “It improves so-called working memory, the actual ability to remember telephone numbers. It can give an extra digit or two. It can also improve your planning when you’re doing quite complex, chess-like problems,” he said. “What tends to happen is that the drug makes you less impulsive, it makes you more reflective about the problem so you take a bit longer, but you get it right. So it changes your speed-error trade-off to get better accuracy,” Robbins said. Research into the chemistry of the brain has already identified about 60 natural compounds that affect the mind. Their use could “create new expectations about the performance and behaviour of individuals and groups.” Cognitive enhancers could also be developed to help people come off addictive drugs or overcome post-traumatic stress disorder by helping them to forget memories or painful associations leading them to return to a more balanced mental state. Such drugs might also be used to remove the cues an addict associates with a drug — such as seeing a pub for an alcoholic. They might even be taken with alcohol to help people make more careful decisions when under the influence. “The drinker could enjoy alcohol but would still think clearly,” says the report. — The Independent |
|
The roots of workers’ solidarity Most unionists have a special place in their hearts for the Tolpuddle sycamore, which stands majestic in the Dorset town of the same name. Many will gather there this weekend for the annual festival held in honour of its famous martyrs. Tolpuddle was not a hotbed of militancy before the “martyrs” emerged, and since then it has reverted to its bucolic passivity. Arguably the most active union in the area now is for mothers, but in the early 19th century it was a crucible of social dynamism. In 1834, six labourers met under the tree to protest against their meagre pay of six shillings a week, a meeting during which they formed a “friendly society” to press for 10. Originally they had been paid seven shillings an hour, but it was reduced because landowners could not afford it. It is said that entry into the union involved a payment of a shilling a week, and an initiation ceremony that involved swearing before a picture of a skeleton never to reveal the group’s secrets. The union was born amid widespread working class discontent — the Whig Government, under the vigorously anti-union Lord Melbourne, was keen to crush the aspirations of working people. At the time the establishment of the “friendly society” was regarded as an act of sedition, but the martyrs were convicted on a technicality — that of administering unlawful oaths. The six labourers were put on trial and sentenced to seven years’ transportation to penal colonies in Australia. There was uproar at the sentences and Lord Melbourne is said to have insured that the men were deported with haste. Some 250,000 people signed a petition in protest, and more than 30,000 marched on Whitehall. The government took fright, remitted the sentences and gave the six free passage home. This was a pivotal moment in British history — eventually leading to legislation that gave everyone the right to belong to a union. And it all began under the Tolpuddle sycamore. “It would already have been quite a large tree when the meeting took place,” says Ray Hawes, head of forestry at the National Trust. During its first 70 years, the tree would have grown rapidly and then gradually slowed down — much like the union movement itself. The sycamore bark is normally smooth and silvery grey when the tree is young, but it becomes progressively more cracked and develops large peeling scales — another metaphor that might appeal to those with a dislike for unions. The tree was cut back about 20 years ago because the branches were in danger of collapsing, which could have torn the fragile trunk apart. A cutting was taken as a precaution and a new sycamore grows nearby. As the unionists gather this weekend, they will doubtless be using the tree to shelter from the sun. Mr Hawes says: “I go to Tolpuddle regularly and talk to the tree. Sometimes I give it a hug like Prince Charles might. I’m very fond of it. With care, the tree will last another few hundred years.” The unions hope they will outlast even that.
— The Independent
|
|
From the pages of Grindmill of the Gods
If the people of India are disloyal, has the Government done all it could to retain their loyalty? No one should take the loyalty of the people to a foreign rule as a sine qua non. The heart is about the last place touched when a country is ruled by a foreign non-resident race. We are told that the educated classes are disloyal, or that some select portions of them are the principal malcontents. But is any portion of the people treated as loyal? Is a trusted people refused all responsible appointments in the Army. The reply to any proposal for the extension of representative government is that the country is not yet ripe for it, and that radical and sweeping reforms cannot be rushed into the country. But is the country likewise too young or unfit to bear arms? No, the people have been disarmed because they are more than fit to bear arms, beaus they have always borne arms. Representative government is refused on the ground of unfitness, arms are taken away on the ground of overfitness. That is the sweet reasonableness. That is the sweet reasonableness of the argument that cuts both ways. The vast majority of the official are intent merely upon asserting their authority, and they are more or less feared. But the lexicon has not yet been compiled that gives fear and loyalty as synonyms. Let the British rule in India reply. |
The only immortal part of us is the Soul. —The Upanishads  |
| 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 | |
SYCAMORES are not native to the British Isles and are thought to have been brought over by the Romans. But one mighty specimen occupies a special place in these islands’ history. The sycamore in question provided the sheltered meeting place at which British trade unionism was born. The National Trust, which owns the tree, has always estimated that it first took root in the 1680s. Now, using new scientific methods, they have confirmed that their dates are indeed correct.