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Momentous visit Terrorist strikes |
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Green Capital
Hooked to drugs
The gallant Bhaus from macho Majha
Gains from new status A relook at defence agreement From Pakistan
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Momentous visit PRIME Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the United States was, by all means, a momentous one. His description of India and the US as “natural partners” while addressing the US Congress, which in itself was a rare honour, exemplified the bonhomie witnessed throughout his visit. The joint statement issued at the end of the summit meeting between Dr Manmohan Singh and US President George W. Bush is one of the most elaborate ones and it covers a whole gamut of bilateral issues. Primarily, it underscores a metamorphosis in India-US relations, which touched a nadir following Pokharan II. The US now recognises India as a nuclear state with all the attendant advantages. This implies that India can look forward to receiving full cooperation from the US in all its civilian nuclear programmes, particularly in power generation. Rights come with responsibilities and it’s only in the fairness of things that India has mandated itself to honour all the commitments expected of a nuclear state. It is significant that India has attained the new status without compromising its known positions, the high-water mark of which is its own strategic interest. It’s not the result of a dramatic event that there is now a turnaround in India-US relations. As the Prime Minister underscored in his speech at the US Congress, 400 of the 500 big companies in the US have a presence in India and India’s phenomenal success in the Information Technology sector owes in the main to the enormous cooperation it received from American computer firms. The US recognises the growing economic clout of India, which is expected to become one of the biggest economies of the world in less than two decades. Aside from this, the two countries have many things in common like their unflinching adherence to democratic values and unwavering determination to fight terrorism. Once the steps outlined in the joint statement get a concrete shape, bilateral relations will reach a stage of apogee. Whether it is in fighting a natural phenomenon like tsunami or a preventable but fast-growing disease like AIDS or modernising agriculture, which has reached a plateau in states like Punjab, or ushering in a knowledge-based society, the two countries have committed themselves to strive together. In short, Dr Manmohan Singh’s visit marks a watershed in India-US relations. |
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Terrorist strikes THERE is no end to terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir. The number of such incidents may have come down, but terrorists continue to make their presence felt. They struck in Srinagar on Wednesday soon after Army chief General J. J. Singh gave an account of militancy at a function in Delhi on Tuesday. Four Army jawans lost their lives when a suicide-bomber blew up an explosive-laden car near a police station. The terrorist strategy appears to have changed as most militant attacks are carried out by fidayeen (suicide-bombers) these days. But anybody or any place can be their target. It seems security forces remain on their hit list, though for some time they have been hitting at soft targets like schools and religious places. Since there has never been any popular support for their so-called “cause”, they are, perhaps, not bothered about earning the wrath of the public. Desperation in the terrorists’ ranks is obvious as they and their mentors are under tremendous pressure from various quarters, including the security forces. More than 1500 militants are known to be hiding in Jammu and Kashmir besides those (between 2000 and 2500) in 53 training camps across the border, waiting to cross over to this side of the divide. As the Army has found out, the motivated killers are using non-traditional routes like those passing through the thickly forested Gurez sector. In such a situation the security forces will have to maintain the strictest vigil possible to foil the infiltration attempts, which have gone up for some time. At the same time, there should be no let-up in the pressure being mounted on the Pakistan government to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure. Terrorists seem to have become smarter with the passage of time. They are least bothered about the Pakistan Army helping them with cover firing, which is no longer available as admitted by General J. J. Singh. The terrorists have breached the fencing along the LoC at least 13 times in July alone. This means the barrier is not as effective as it ought to have been. Something must be done to ensure that the efficacy of the fencing remains unthreatened. |
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Green Capital IT is heartening that Delhi has actually gained 58.84 sq. km of forest cover, but the news for the rest of the country is not so encouraging. `The State of Forest Report – 2003’ released on Tuesday says that 26,245 sq. km of `dense’ forest cover was lost during the 2001-2003 period. The overall tree and forest cover has shown a negligible increase of 0.6 per cent to stand 23.68 per cent of the geographical area. As the ministry itself has admitted, reaching the goal of 33 per cent cover by 2012 is near impossible, even if the estimated Rs 8000 crore per annum needed for afforestation programmes becomes available. The loss of dense forests suggests that the phenomenon owes less to the pressures of legitimate urbanisation and economic development, and more to the presence of illegal tree-felling mafias and poaching networks, mismanagement and corruption in forest administration, and apathy towards making the effort to optimise the development-conservation trade-off. Conservationists look upon the tiger as an `umbrella species’ – protecting the tiger protects not only a whole range of other species living in its habitat, but the habitat itself. Similarly, certain `ecological hotspots’ like the Nilgiri biosphere reserve needs to be made completely off-limits for developmental activity. Of course, climate change is increasingly being shown to be a factor in shrinking forests, but that cannot be an excuse to stop the damage being done directly. The ministry’s intention to adopt a `multi-stake holder’ approach has to be followed through and implemented as part of a coherent plan. The forest service is sorely in need of a revamp, with a staggering personnel shortage of over 40,000. Those who are in service are aging and vulnerable. A separate service for ecological hotspots along the lines of an old plan being considered in the 70s may well be needed. It is a pity that nothing much has been heard from the National Forest Commission formed in February 2003, which was supposed to submit a report in two years. Every citizen is a stake-holder in the effort to conserve the green cover. |
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Curtsey while you are thinking what to say. It saves time. — Lewis Carroll |
Hooked to drugs
Sometimes when you live with a problem for too long, you tend to forget its full sweep and magnitude. The pain does not vanish; you just get used to it. Such apathy has also developed towards the growing drug menace in Punjab. The recent series of articles on the subject carried by this newspaper was aimed at jolting everyone out of the slumber. It is an unmitigated disaster all the way, no ifs and buts about it. It is no longer a question of a village or a district getting ruined. The whole state is in the stranglehold of this poison ivy. The vibrant Punjab which ushered in the Green Revolution is today living in a dazed stupor as bad as that which gripped China once. The situation is worsening by the day. Not only are more people getting hooked, they are also catching the lethal habit at a much younger age. Even girls have started climbing the death wagon. There isn’t a village which does not have a score of people moving about like zombies, cut off from the reality. A whole generation is as good as destroyed. Alcohol is not the only poison. There are opium, charas, ganja, mandrax, smack, heroin, cough syrups, shoe polish, lizards’ tails. The recipe of the witches’ brew has many more items. With the consumption of intoxicants having become so widespread, an introduction to them is treated as some kind of a coming-of-age ceremony by most boys. What begins as an adventure out of curiosity soon turns into a nightmare from which there is no escape. Once someone is hooked, his dehumanisation process proceeds full steam. Becoming useless for family and society is only the beginning. Selling off of family land or jewels and then taking to crime so that one can procure one’s daily dose is the next logical step. The journey gets nastier by the day. Smuggling, prostitution and narco-terrorism are a natural corollary. The spread of AIDS too is linked to the malady due to the use of injectible intoxicants. In short, the drug menace is fuelling the crime engine to the fullest extent. Now that the drug hazard has fully manifested itself, certain harsh facts of everyday life cannot be wished away. One is the sheer acceptability that it is acquiring. With so many people caught in it, the need to hide the drug problem has been dispensed with. Just look at the way many truck drivers boast about their habit through slogans on their vehicles: “Je khadi aye, taan bhaja lai; nahin tan chupchaap pitchhe laa le” (If you have taken your dose of opium then come let’s race. If not, then you bloody well make way for me). Since opium dulls one’s senses so much that one does not realise that one is bone-tired, it is being used as a device to extract more work out of employees. Transporters provide the daily fix to truck drivers so that they can keep on driving day and night. Nobody seems to realise how dangerous a driver on a high is. In fact, many of the accidents are due to the stoned driving. Farm labourers too are given their quota for a similar reason. Since the profits are huge, many “respectable” persons indulge in drug smuggling. Many of the smugglers have gone on to become well-known politicians. Just look at the way poppy husk is freely distributed to entice voters to vote for a particular leader or party. “Bhukki” is also the favourite mode of celebrating a victory in every election. Again, because the mega-bucks cannot be made in isolation, the smugglers have also roped in many politicians, bureaucrats and policemen. Some security men at the border are also involved in the racket. The mafia is so well connected that any lonesome policeman or bureaucrat who tries to fight it is hounded out mercilessly. Since the government’s own men are susceptible, no drive against the menace has been successful. There are recoveries occasionally, but they are not even the tip of the proverbial iceberg. In fact, at times, the smugglers themselves let the cops “seize” some consignments so that the media can be satisfied. As the Tribune story revealed in graphic details, it is the carriers which get arrested while the real kingpins continue to rule the roost. There are exceptions of course, but many lower-level policemen are part of the problem. They are better known for using opium and other drugs to prove an innocent person to be a smuggler than for catching the real culprits. Since the government itself is not backing the drive due to political pressure, many officials consider it foolish to deprive themselves of the huge profit and risk their lives in the bargain. Two years ago, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh chided his senior police officials to name even one village which was free from the drug menace. Nobody took his challenge. One had thought that this would galvanise the police into action but nothing of the sort has happened. The Tribune’s job was to make society aware of the extreme danger that it faces. It is now for the administration to apply the correctives. What can be said with certainty is that the present setup is too weakened by the evil grip of the mafia pincer to be effective. What is needed is a dedicated set of officers of proven courage and integrity to take the drug-lords head-on. There is no dearth of such men. It is just that they have been sidelined. If the government agrees to unshackle them, they can take the fight into the enemy’s camp. All that is needed is political will and consensus. Such a war cannot be fought in a piecemeal fashion. Even a state-level drive will not suffice, considering that the cultivation of poppy is licensed in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The Centre has to wake up to the gravity of the situation and start a nationwide operation. Since such a drive will also curb smuggling, crime and AIDS, etc, it will not be unidimensional despite being target-specific. In fact, it will also strengthen national security, considering that many terrorists operating from neighbouring countries are actively involved in drug smuggling. And do not waste time and energy on small fries. Just make an example out of the big fish and the huge empire that they have created over the decades will start crumbling. While that big battle is launched, also step up the rehabilitation drive. Right now, most deaddiction centres are there only in name. Just as the number of drug addicts is growing, there is also a louder clamour from those who want to kick the habit. Society and the government ought to lend them a helping hand, firmly and not perfunctorily. |
The gallant Bhaus from macho Majha
Don’t go by their somewhat pejorative title: the “Bhaus” are as macho as they come. In fact there’s a theory that does the rounds of Punjab’s university campuses, where there is usually war between the “Kakaji” (Malwai) group and the “Bhau” (Majhail) group, that this epithet was coined by a disgruntled Kakaji. You can spot a “Bhau” by the set of his square jaw — it’s their signature feature. Clothes, footwear, etc don’t matter, because they wear their attitude. Their ideals light up their gallant hearts, and their hearts; well naturally, they wear them on their sleeves. Flamboyant and quick tempered, they can be braggarts who love to show off but can morph into passionate crusaders and even visionary statesmen of which Kairon is a luminous example. Their tragic flaw is that they think with their hearts rather than their heads. Majhails live in the shadow of the border. The daily strutting and shadowboxing of troops on either side, a la Wagah and Hussainiwala, sustains the fear psychosis of border life. This cocktail of fear and excitement imbues the Bhaus with the restlessness and craving for adrenaline, which is almost a part of their DNA. They have a fatal fascination for causes. With so much angst, repressed energy and idealism at large its not surprising that almost every meaningful movement or cause has originated in Macho Majha. The Bhaus have always been the strong, zealous crusaders at the forefront of these, fanatically committed to whatever cause they subscribed to at the time. Most adults living in Majha have seen the screaming sirens of at least two wars and the subsequent cold war ending with the Kargil faceoff. Many have seen their lands cut off in the process of cobra fencing by the BSF to secure the porous borders. Several have actually sneaked across the border and engaged in some clandestine smuggling of contraband and opium. Many a prosperous trader family has at least one Blackiya or smuggler to thank for the infusion of capital into the family business. Land holdings in the Majha are shrinking and lack of meaningful investment in industry has meant that jobs are scarce. The young Bhaus seek education as a means to a professional career, preferably in the uniformed services. Considering that even little ones as young as 10 are taught to hold a gun and aim straight at the Dushman, that’s not too difficult. Many an illustrious soldier of the Indian Army, police and the BSF can lay proud claim to a Majhail Bhau’s heritage. Good food and drink is the key to the Bhaus’ simple rustic hearts. Bhaus are known to have stomachs lined with steel and can drink anyone under the table. Barrels of homebrewed liquor and contraband are washed down with gallons of lassi and milk the next morning. But that’s back home in the Village. In the cities they bring business to the Paranthewala Dhabas. Not for them pizzas or KFC but Kake da Chicken. On campus, the Bhau is the Sir Galahad, offering to do chores for the fairer sex who are uniformly and respectfully addressed as Behenji (sister) and the men as Bhaji (brother). This invokes the wrath of the Kakajis who have coined some dirty rhymes to jibe them. The Bhaus stick together when out of their home territory but back home they can fell a brother over an argument. Tough, uncompromising yet conservative they are truly the Punjabi Knights, trying to preserve their own Camelot.
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Gains from new status THE India-US nuclear deal has vindicated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s two statements: that India was not up for sale and that his government would do nothing which would surrender its soveignty. The agreement between President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a win-win exercise for both New Delhi and Washington. The give-and-take formulae, as per the terms of the deal, substantiate this. On the “give” part, India has agreed to place its civilian nuclear facilities under international monitoring. It has also pledged to continue to honour a ban on nuclear testing — a key policy suo motu announced by the previous Atal Bihari Vajpayee government which the UPA government has decided to carry on with. On the “take” part, India has not placed its nuclear weapons arsenal under the international scanner. A move to the contrary would have certainly been a red rag to the Left parties and the National Democratic Alliance alike. Another important “take” is that the agreement does not bind India to cease production of weapons-grade plutonium. In simpler words, it means India can continue to expand its nuclear arsenal, if it so wishes. Moreover, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will “take” home two bonus points— for the first time in the history of Indo-US ties — in return for the nuclear deal. First, India will have access to conventional weapons systems and to sensitive U.S. nuclear technology that can be put to dual use, that is a technology that has both civilian and military applications. Secondly, India will now be free to buy the long-sought-after Arrow Missile System developed by Israel with U.S. technology. The Left Front has viewed the recent sanguine tinge in Indo-US ties with trepidation and has voiced concern. On the contrary, the Bush administration’s decision to share civilian nuclear technology with India - which has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) — means a reversal of Washington’s decades-old policies designed to discourage countries from developing nuclear weapons. The nuclear agreement will create a major exception to the U.S. prohibition of nuclear assistance to any country that doesn’t accept international monitoring of all of its nuclear facilities. Anti-India lobbies in the US can be expected to launch a campaign and may even try to block approval from the Congress to the Bush-Manmohan Singh nuclear deal. Their arguments can be many: it would compromise on American efforts to confront Iran and North Korea over their respective nuclear programmes; it would alienate Pakistan whose support is crucial for the US war against Al Qaida and Taliban. Though the American position on not recognising India as a nuclear power remains unchanged, the agreement means a major move forward in Indo-US relations and demonstrates Washington’s acceptance of India as a key, long-term strategic ally of the US in Asia. According to a White House communique, President Bush has agreed that “India should acquire the same benefits and advantages” as other states with advanced
nuclear technology. It can also be seen as a first among a series of concrete deliverables that are in the pipeline for India from the US. With this agreement, the Bush administration has signalled implementation of its declared promise of helping India become a major power of the world, something which jells with the American scheme of things in Asia. With this agreement in kitty, India can rest assured of gaining a significant diplomatic levereage from Beijing as the American move is aimed at building up India as a regional counterweight
to China. What made the agreement possible was that India had already disarmed the Bush administration by pledging its commitment to limit the spread of nuclear materials and technology when Mr Richard Nicholas Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs, held talks with Indian officials during his recent visit here. In days and weeks to come, the focus will turn to Washington where Congressmen, Senators and non-proliferation votaries must already be sharpening their knives to ambush the Indo-US nuclear agreement. In that sense, a good deal of distance is yet to be covered before India starts reaping the benefits of the agreement. Two major hurdles have to be sorted out before this happens: one, getting the mandatory approval from the Congress, and second, persuading the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to change its rules for export of
nuclear technology. Both the tasks are herculean. The US President has his hands tied behind while easing controls on nuclear technology exports in view of the US Non-proliferation Act. The Act prevents the sale of sensitive nuclear technology to countries that do not agree to monitoring of their nuclear facilities in toto. The Congress will have to amend this Act. Persuading the NSG to soften its norms in a one-off gesture for a specific country —India— will be an acid test for American diplomatic skills. The NSG is a consortium of more than 40 countries that controls export of
nuclear technology. |
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A relook at defence agreement THIS refers to “Mission to Washington” by Mr H.K. Dua (July 5). The 10-year agreement on defence and military affairs regarding future collaboration between India and the US signed by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherji has, ironically, been hailed by the opposition BJP and opposed by the alliance partner CPM. Both have not studied the agreement because there was no time for a study. Nor do they have the expertise to study the agreement, the details of which are couched in vague strategic phrase-mongering that can’t be precisely interpreted for actual implementation. The BJP supports the agreement because it thinks that the induction of arms will make India a superpower projecting its might in this part of the world. Some American analysts too fuel this thought of India becoming the dominant power of the East in the near future. With its old anti-Soviet mindset, the BJP thinks America will help India to police the East to safeguard freedom and democracy and to fight Islamic terrorism. The CPM opposes the Indo-US agreement because of its old anti-imperialist mindset. The comrades still live in a world of Soviet superpower glory, though the communist empire has collapsed like a castle of cards, despite its military capability of destroying the rest of the world several times. Russia is no more communist; like a new convert, it is frantically moving along the capitalist road for economic salvation. Yet, Indian communists do not raise a little finger when India bought the old repaired aircraft carrier Groshko with aircraft worth thousands of crores of rupees. Did they even think that we are bankrupting ourselves to save Russia from bankruptcy by buying unwanted military hardware? In these days of nuclear-powered carriers, is this one with oil engines that needs constant fuelling, floating in the Indian Ocean, a deterrent to unlikely attacks from the sea? Can it evade every enemy missile fired at it to save itself? Or do the India strategists think that the American SDI cover of anti-missile missiles, proposed to be built with Indian collaboration, will protect it? The fact is, our politicians are blissfully ignorant of military affairs and strategic requirements. And they are advised by officially sponsored “think tanks”, mostly hawkish, saying what their political bosses want to hear. Added to this is the defence establishment of bureaucrats and generals who are more interested in enlarging their respective empires, not caring a bit for the strategic needs and unmindful of the poverty prevailing in the country. No doubt, we will be profiting by acquiring some of the weaponry that can’t be produced in India, if there is an arrangement for joint production in the country. However, it will be too much to think that the US is eager to provide what we really want rather than to sell hardware to keep its corporate production units going. When it comes to the interest of the US military-industrial complex, America can always overlook the ideals of freedom, democracy and human rights. At least all these high ideals were trampled in no less a measure in Saudi Arabia than in Saddam’s Iraq. |
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Food prices go up
ISLAMABAD: The import of five essential items from India allowed in the first week of May has not materialised even after the passage of 75 days and prices of some of these items have almost doubled since. Informed sources told Dawn on Tuesday that New Delhi was unwilling to facilitate the import unless Islamabad granted it transit facility to export Indian products to Afghanistan through land route. So far, only 200 heads of livestock through land route to Lahore and about 60 containers of beef and mutton through ships to Karachi have been imported, said Economic Adviser to Prime Minister Dr Ashfaq Hassan Khan.The import of the rest of items like onion, potato, tomato and garlic has not taken place so far. As a result, the potato prices have increased from Rs 15 per kg in May to Rs 40-45 per kg now. The prices of garlic have increased to Rs 90-100 per kg against Rs 40-42 per kg in May. However, the prices of tomato and onions have either stabilised or slightly reduced. — Dawn Madarsa records
LAHORE: The government has decided to computerise the record of the religious schools and assigned the task to the law enforcement agencies besides the police to remain in touch with the administration of madaris until the work was complete, sources told The Nation. The decision was taken after the London blasts and the reports of involvement of some students who allegedly belonged to
Pakistani madaris, the sources added. The government has also informed all the provincial regimes of the decision along with the instructions for its implementation as soon as possible. According to sources, the law enforcement agencies were directed to collect details of the students staying at the madaris, especially of foreigners and also those who had left the madaris during the
last 15 years. — The Nation
Tribal stand on terrorism
QUETTA: The tribal elders belonging to the border areas of Balochistan on Tuesday asserted that they would extend wholehearted cooperation to the government in its campaign
against terrorism. This assertion the tribal elders made while addressing a tribal Jirga held under the chairmanship of the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Major-General Muhammad Alam Khan Khattak, at the Quetta Club. Among the prominent tribal leaders were Nawabzada Aurangzeb Jogezai, Sardar Habibullah Khan Achakzai, Sardar Muhammad Ali Badezai, Abdul Samad Khan Barakzai, Sardar Nasir Khan Nassar, Sardar Ehsanullah Khan Dummar, besides others. Over 150 tribal elders and notables attended the Jirga. — The News |
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From the pages of A “congeries of nations”? THIS idea that India is one great country and that Indians form one great nation is held to be ridiculous not only by the vast majority of our rulers but by many of our own countrymen. Even Professor Seeley, with his unrivalled powers of historical analysis and keen intellect unobscured by prejudice, hesitated to style the inhabitants of India as the Indian nation. The phrase “congeries of nations” as applied to India is a favourite phrase in the mouth of Anglo-Indian Editors. It has been repeatedly, authoritatively, and dogmatically asserted that India is the home of diverse races which can never coalesce or combine…. ….Look at the people of India from whatever point of view we may we cannot but come to the conclusion, if our judgement is not warped by prejudice, that the population of India is much more uniform than the population of any country in Europe, and the diversities that are observable are more apparent than real. And even if we may conclude by saying, India were inhabited by many different races and nations, it would be no longer appropriate to describe it as a congeries
of nations. |
Look at the millions spending millions on beautifying their bodies but nothing on bettering their souls. That is because they do not believe in the existence of the soul. Foolish are they. Just as a whole plant lies latent inside a seed, so does the soul live within the body. —Book of quotations on Hinduism Though one may be the son of a noble king but if he is wrathful and strikes terror in the hearts of his subjects, he is not worthy of being the king. The king must be righteous as well as noble. —The Mahabharata Whatever inclines a man to the middle path and establishes him in the mean course in conducive to good morals. The man who acts on the right occasion follows the mean path, which alone can lead to good. —Book of quotations on Islam When your child is born, you think that you created it. As your child grows up, you think that you have sustained it. Neither do you create nor sustain, God does it but you think that you do. —Book of quotations on Hinduism The leaders must believe in the cause for which they are fighting. Without belief, they will have no inspiration. Lack of inspiration will be reflected in their behaviour and will demotivate the troops. —The Mahabharata You will surely be tested in your possessions and your selves. And you will surely hear many insults from those to whom the Book was given before you, and from those who idolise things. But if you are patient and conscientious, then that is the resolve which will determine affairs. —Book of quotations on Islam  |
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