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The petro pain Free for all! |
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Katrina’s sweep
India’s stakes in Persian Gulf
The tale of two cities
Human Rights Diary EU-Chinese
bra wars end From Pakistan
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The petro pain THE only consolation about the latest oil price rise is that it may well be the last in this fiscal ending March, 2006. Although so far the spiralling oil prices have not pushed up inflation, the steep hike announced on Tuesday is bound to raise the cost of living because of its cascading effect on the economy. While the consumer will bear the brunt partly, it is the oil companies that will suffer the most. Their possible losses during the current financial year are estimated at Rs 40,000 crore. However, the government itself is profiting from oil as the commodity is heavily taxed. Did the UPA government have any other option? Its Leftist partners had suggested it to give up the budgetary increase in the customs and excise duties, rollback the increase in the road cess, suspend duty-free benefits given to exporters and withdraw sales tax concessions to private refineries. These suggestions do make sense, but the government is under pressure to raise resources, specially for its rural job guarantee scheme. The government, therefore, chose the easy way out: borrow more money. It will float oil bonds to raise Rs 12,000 crore. What the government has done is widely known, what it has not is less known. The persistent oil crisis has not led the government to set up the much talked-about strategic reserve or price stablisation fund. It has not undertaken any serious austerity or flab-shedding steps despite the crunch. The petro subsidies are not directed at the needy. The suggestions for tapping non-conventional sources of energy —wind, solar and hydel — have seen little action on the ground during the last few years. While Dr Manmohan Singh tried to facilitate the supply of nuclear power technology and fuel during his recent visit to Washington, it will take some years to switch on the new reactors. Consumers should not be forced to pay for administrative inefficiencies by higher taxes. The pre-tax price of petrol, for instance, is about half of the retail price. The tax accounts for 40 per cent of diesel’s retail price. Moreover, the petroleum sector needs to be exposed to global competition to improve its health. Nevertheless, it looks hike the high crude prices are going to lead to a new calculus for economic and fiscal policies. The nation cannot be complacent.
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Free for all! THE temptation to woo voters at state expense is irresistible, all the more so in a state like Punjab where the free power route has been traversed earlier also, although not with the desired results. So, Capt Amarinder Singh, who not too long ago lashed out at his predecessor, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, for ruining the state by giving free electricity, has now done exactly the same. His concern for farmers has overflowed when elections are just 16 months away. He had earlier come up with the “energy bonus” scheme for small farmers but it was soon realised that electoral benefits would be only marginal. So, he has decided to give free power to every farmer. He says his brainchild is different from that of his predecessor. The difference seems to be too fine to be visible to non-Chief Ministerial eyes. Ironically, Capt Amarinder Singh was earlier saying that free electricity should not be given to all, lest it goes to big landlords like Mr Badal. Why this change of heart now? It goes without saying that the power subsidy bill will hit the roof. The financial condition of Punjab is too precarious to allow this luxury. Not only that, the step goes against the stand of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who has publicly opposed grant of free electricity. The unjustified wooing will have a direct bearing on the electricity board as well. What the farmer wants is not charity but assured and adequate power supply. When there used to be long power cuts in Mr Badal’s hey days and the farmers would complain to lower-rung powermen, the stock reply was: “Go, make the demand before the Chief Minister”. That is why the sop did not pay any electoral dividends. The farmers may not say thanks to the Captain also. Just as there can be no free lunches, there can be no free power either, unless laws of physics and economics are defied somehow. So far, Capt Amarinder Singh or any other Chief Minister has not discovered the magic formula. As such, somebody will have to pay dearly for the populist measure. It is going to be the public, directly or indirectly. And the people know about it.
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Katrina’s sweep CAN one believe people being desperate for water, food and shelter in the US without any help coming to them for days together? Can one imagine a whole city, once bustling with activity, having come under the virtual control of thugs, rapists and killers? Yes, this is what happened in New Orleans in Louisiana with victims of hurricane Katrina that struck the US Gulf Coast last Monday. This was in sharp contrast to what was seen in Mumbai, which experienced the worst deluge in its history recently. Mumbaikars in large numbers rushed to the rescue of those in distress, whereas in New Orleans Americans looted and killed disaster-hit Americans! To cap it all, the US administration failed to react quickly to the SOS from New Orleans and the other affected areas where thousands died and lakhs became shelterless. It is alleged that the federal officials associated with the disaster management agency were too lax in their response because the victims were poor blacks, the have-nots of the US. And among those who believe on these lines is former US President Bill Clinton, who has sought an enquiry to find out the truth behind why this happened. The federal officials took unusually long time in reaching the Katrina-hit with supplies of food, fuel and water. Troops in adequate strength were not dispatched quickly despite the fact that the administration knew that the deadly Katrina could visit anytime. Was this the demonstration of indifference of the privileged and the powerful to the suffering of the poor and those struggling for survival? The local administration has appealed for help from all in the world, and many countries have responded with whatever they can afford. India too has offered $ 5 million to the American Red Cross besides a proposal to send a self-sustaining and self-supporting medical team from the Army Medical Corps. Even a country like the US needs help from others when faced with a natural disaster of such magnitude as the one that hit its Gulf Coast region.
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Our memory is always at fault; never our judgement. — American proverb
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India’s stakes in Persian Gulf MILITARY intervention in Iraq could prove to be a historic blunder for the United States, similar to the setbacks it faced in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia. Claims that Saddam Hussein was a menace because of his insatiable desire for weapons of mass destruction have been found to be untrue. Assertions that he was hand in glove with Al-Qaeda have similarly been found baseless. American international credibility has been so badly eroded by the arguments put forward to justify military intervention in Iraq that any claim that Iran is on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons will evoke scepticism, even within the US. If current trends continue, around 2000 US lives would have been lost in Iraq by the end of this year. Domestic opposition to the American involvement there is growing. The Pentagon recently claimed that its war against insurgency is succeeding. The insurgents comprising a mixture of erstwhile Baath Party supporters of Saddam Hussein and Wahabi foreign fighters from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Arab world, however, continue to pose a potent challenge to the American troops and to the newly recruited Iraqi security forces under Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari. The Americans were hoping that they could persuade the Iraqis to adopt a new, secular constitution. They have found that the ethnic and sectarian divide between the Arab Sunnis, who constitute around 20 per cent of the population, the Shias (60 per cent) and the Kurds (around 20 per cent) is so wide that evolving a national consensus for a future constitution is a daunting task. On August 28 the Iraqi Parliament accepted a draft constitution that provides for a federal set-up in which the Shia and Kurdish areas in Northern and Southern Iraq would enjoy considerable autonomy. These regions will control revenues from all future oil and gas projects. The Sunni minority that has ruled the country for centuries finds these provisions unacceptable as they would be denied the revenues from the vast, untapped resources of oil and gas located in Shia and Kurd-dominated regions. Led by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the Shias realize the benefits of democratic governance and have organised themselves accordingly. While the Americans have secured provisions in the draft constitution that will give their oil companies a stake in the future exploration of the oil and gas resources of Iraq, they have endorsed provisions that will give the Shia clergy an overwhelming say in national affairs. The emerging changes in Iraq will have a profound impact on developments in the Persian Gulf — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates — all members of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The oil-rich eastern province of Saudi Arabia has a Shia majority that has for long been discriminated against and treated as “kuffar” (kafir). Shias constitute 30 per cent of the population of Kuwait and are a majority in Bahrain. The empowerment of the Shias in Iraq will inevitably lead to a situation where countries like Saudi Arabia can no longer ignore Shia aspirations. Saudi policies of insulating the monarchy against Wahabi extremism by funding and promoting such extremism abroad are becoming difficult to sustain. The monarchy itself is today a target of the supporters of Osama bin Laden, even as it faces pressures for introducing more representative governance. How do these developments affect India? Over 70 per cent of our oil imports are from the Persian Gulf countries. With our growing dependence on imported oil and gas, stability in this region is crucial for our welfare and well-being. Around 3.7 million Indian nationals live in the six GCC countries. They remit around $8 billion annually to India. These remittances are crucial in making our balance of payments position and foreign exchange reserves comfortable. While there have been exchanges of high-level visits periodically with these countries, there has been no significant investment in India by them. Even projects in crucial areas like gas and fertilizers with friendly countries like Qatar and Oman often take years to finalise. With oil prices now around $70 per barrel, GCC countries will accumulate large surpluses and also commence higher spending on domestic development. This could, however, be jeopardised if violence, now engulfing Iraq and growing in Saudi Arabia, escalates or spreads. The Gulf region will supply between 54 per cent and 67 per cent of the world’s crude oil by 2020. Saudi Arabia’s production capacity will rise from its current level of 9.4 million barrels per day (mbpd) to an estimated 22.1 mbpd in that period. Iraq’s oil production, currently at less than 2 mbpd, will exceed 10 mbpd during the same time. While the Western world today consumes around 60 per cent of Gulf oil production, 75 per cent of this will be consumed in Asia by 2015, with China and India emerging as the fastest growing importers of oil from the Gulf. India thus has a vital stake in stability and cooperation with the countries in the Gulf region. While the foreign and security policies of GCC members are largely determined by their close relations with the US, it is not yet clear how Iraq will conduct its international relations. The resurgence of Shia assertiveness will also inevitably affect the politics of the region. While the prospects of some improvement in Iran-US relations cannot be ruled out, historical Persian-Arab rivalries and suspicions will continue to prevail. With Iran set to emerge as the dominant power in the Gulf region, our strategic partnership with Iran has to be strengthened in a carefully nuanced diplomatic effort. Barely 11 per cent of oil imports of the US are from the Persian Gulf. The Americans will, however, continue to maintain a strong military, diplomatic and economic presence in the region, where their companies have a firm foothold. China is emerging as a rival to the Americans, with its growing investments in the development of oil and gas in Iran and its readiness to supply weapons, including missiles, to prospective buyers. A possible Chinese naval presence through base facilities in the Pakistani port of Gwadar, strategically located at the entry to the Persian Gulf, cannot be ruled out in the long-term. A major achievement of the Narasimha Rao government was its introduction of a new “Look East” policy that promoted cooperation with our eastern neighbours. The time has, perhaps, come for us to fashion a new and more pro-active “Look West” policy to deal with the challenges that we now face to our west.
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The tale of two cities
WHEN I left Shimla for Cincinnati, USA, I did not know that I was leaving the “Queen of the Hills” for the “Queen City of the West”, a sobriquet given to Cincinnati by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He wrote a poem “Catawba Wine” which read, “And the song of the Wine/This greeting of mine/The wines and the birds shall deliver/To the Queen of the West/In her garlands dressed/On the banks of the Beautiful River.” This beautiful river is 981 miles long Ohio. What Longfellow was to Cincinnati, that Rudyard Kipling was to Shimla. Kipling sung in praise of the beauty and beauties of Shimla and expressed its haunt in “The Plea of Simla Dancers” as “With echoes of a score of Simla years, /Shall plague you with unbidden sentiment-/Babbling of kisses, laughter, love and tears”. Shimla was Shyamalaya, a small village in the crescent shaped ridge round the temple of Kali in Jakhu and Cincinnati was Losantiville that meant “village opposite the Licking River”. Licking is another river merging with Ohio just near Covington, a town adjacent to Cincinnati like Panchkula is to Chandigarh. It is also coincidence that these were the army personnel who gave names to Shimla and Cincinnati that ultimately made them recognisable in World Atlas. Captain Charles Kennedy baptised Shyamalaya as Simla and General Arthur St. Clair dubbed Losantiville as Cincinnati in honour of the Society of the Cincinnati, an organisation of Revolutionary War Officers formed under a Roman General Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus who was drafted to fight against the invaders and returned to farming after successfully checking their advance. There is yet another similarity-surprise between the two cities and that is that both are known as the cities of seven hills. If Shimla has Prospect, Summer Hill, Observatory, Mount Pleasant, Bantony, Jakhu and Elysium, then Cincinnati has Adams, Airy, Washington, Auburn, Echo, Lookout and Hope. Being a Shimlaite, I have always remained skeptical about the “officially” declared seven hills of Shimla because I feel that a couple of these are mere climbs and the list misses hills like Craighdu, Keleston and many more. I have many supporters among historians and curators in Cincinnati who think that trying to pick out the “official” seven hills even in this city from dozens of possibilities is a dead end and that some very wise person can settle the true identity of the elusive seven hills. Whatever is, I am proud to have been born in Shimla, a city on seven hills which shares the honours with only four other cities in the World —Rome, Jerusalem, Rio de Janeiro and Cincinnati in Ohio. Please note that there is yet another Cincinnati in the USA, which is in the State of Iowa.)
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Human Rights Diary THERE are NGOs and NGOs. Some of them are doing a commendable job, fighting for the rights of those who have never known whether they have any right in the polity or any future. On the other hand, there are some NGOs that trade in the name of human rights and have opened shops to sell sufferings of the marginalised to make money for their own opulent living. To lump them together, the committed and the charlatans, is not only wrong but also unfair. Yet, this is what the Government of India is trying to do by enacting the Foreign Contribution (Management and Control) Act, 2005. NGOs have wanted the government to separate the genuine from the spurious. They have sought better operating environment. But never could they imagine that they would get a mechanism for control instead. The last BJP-led government initiated the mischief to put every voluntary activity under its own authority so as to serve the purpose of Hindutva. But the Manmohan Singh government should have acted differently. For it to sponsor the same old Bill conveys that the establishment does not change, the governments do. The thinking is the same and the establishment continues to believe that it alone is patriotic and has the right to define what it means. Personally, I am against foreign funding. But this is a matter of principle with me. This led me to resign, first from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and then from the Transparency (India). V.M.Tarkunde, father of human rights in India, disagreed with me. He would differentiate between the NGOs engaged in social welfare activities like education and health and those in other fields. I have stuck to my objection and I feel that NGOs should be able to build up so much response that people in my own country should find necessary funds. But I am dead against any legislation to supervise the receipt of money or its distribution because it amounts to interference in NGOs’ work. I can understand if the government stops foreign funding. But, apparently, this is not the case because its purpose is to have its control. What it means is that New Delhi wants to have its finger in the pie. It is really the police activity, the power to know every thing about NGOs, what they do, under which organisation they work and who they are. The government even wants details of a seminar an NGO attends. The proposed legislation says: “No foreign contribution shall be accepted by any correspondent, columnist, cartoonist, editor, owner, printer or publisher of a registered newspaper.” Foreign radio and TV networks interview editors and political commentators. There is the usual fee, a pittance no doubt. Should an editor or a commentator tell the networks that he or she is prohibited from accepting fee from them? Then there are some who contribute to foreign newspapers and journals. Really speaking, the government is objecting to the comment and it is finding a circuitous way to censor it. The voluntary sector has analysed the proposed Bill and found some of its provisions harmful. They are: (1) the proposed Bill insists on re-registration of already registered organisations within two years instead of allowing those who have got the approval to receive foreign contribution automatically; (2) the proposed Bill requires associations to obtain a renewal certificate every five years; (3) the proposed bill has provisions like suspension and cancellation of the registration certificate; and (4) it restricts associations not to exceed 30 per cent of the total contribution on administrative expenses. It is worth noting that at the time of disasters, famine and other calamities, voluntary agencies work in close liaison with the government to reach those affected. Instances such as the Gujarat earthquake and lately the tsunami are the two cases which have proved credentials of the voluntary sector. If the government has still doubts, it should hold a dialogue with the NGOs. The voluntary sector can do a good job only if it has a favourable and enabling environment which the government is trying to spoil. Unpopular causes What Maja Daruwala, Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, has written to me makes sense: “Let us be covered by the charities commission as we are; let us be covered by the societies Act as we are and the IT Act. Let us file returns and come and check our financial compliance, ensure our due diligence. But don’t interfere or control our work. This is a way of curbing the right to associate and curbing dissent. “It is also a way of preventing the liberal voice from raising objection; so what you have given with the Right to Information Act, you effectively take away because it is civil society that asks the awkward question and it is civil society that steadfastly works for unpopular causes until finally the whole thinking is changed. Look at child labour, look at forest laws and look at environment. Who has kept up the discourse and dialogue? Who is educating the public about constitutional rights?” The civil society is the one that took up the cause of justice in Gujarat where the government, its instruments like the police and the ruling BJP party conspired to harm Muslims. A daring Teesta Setalvad led the movement to divulge what happened in the state. The government’s response, when the matter came to the Supreme Court stage, was to buy witnesses. It found Zahira Sheikh, whose family was killed in the post-Godhara riots, to withdraw her statement in the Best Bakery case. The Supreme Court was so horrified that it appointed a committee to look into the whole matter. The committee has concluded that Zahira Sheikh lied in the course of her testimony, probably under inducement. The price NGOs pay is a rash of government action to prevent them from doing their job. Still, some of them like Teesta are at it. But the Manmohan Singh government’s proposed legislation to control every bit of help they get from outside is the unkindest cut. |
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EU-Chinese bra wars end THE bra wars are over. After days of negotiation, the European Union and China reached an agreement yesterday over the 80 million items of clothing allowed into European shops — although half will be counted against next year’s EU textile quotas. Both sides have proclaimed themselves satisfied with this compromise. This crisis could, and should, have been foreseen. And responsibility for the debacle inevitably falls upon the shoulders of the EU trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson. It was no secret that the global textile quotas were due to come to an end in 2005. And it was well known, too, that Chinese firms were increasing their garment production in anticipation of entering this market — indeed, many European retailers had placed large orders with Chinese manufacturers with this opportunity in mind. So when the EU suddenly imposed new quotas in June to protect domestic garment manufacturers, it was predictable that both retailers and producers would rush to get under the wire before the quotas were filled. The result was the log jam of jumpers, T-shirts and bras we have been reading about. No one should assume that Monday’s deal, which was concluded after some gentle nudging from Tony Blair on a trip to Beijing, is a long-term solution to the global trade imbalances between Europe and China. The new trade restrictions only buy time for Europe’s textile manufacturers. It will not make them more competitive nor guarantee their long-term survival. And this deal is bound to harm the European retail sector next year, when the quotas will now be doubly restrictive. It is simply pain postponed. The best interests of European economies would be served if the EU began to dismantle trade quotas entirely. China clearly has the capacity and the inclination to manufacture almost all the garments demanded by European shoppers. It should be allowed to do so. One might as well have attempted to prevent Britain specialising in shipbuilding, or the prairies of the American mid-west being opened up for farming in the 19th century. If a country can perform an economic function more efficiently than the rest of the world, it is senseless to try to stop it. This is especially true in today’s global economy where the consumer is so powerful. The only viable option for European economies is to concentrate on where they can perform better than others. It is increasingly clear that this does not include making T-shirts. China is rapidly becoming the new workshop of the world. It is the biggest manufacturer of televisions. A Chinese firm owns IBM’s personal computer business. This undoubtedly raises serious issues. China, in its headlong expansion, must not be allowed to disregard the rules of world trade. The predatory targeting of markets supplied by other developing countries must cease. Chinese state banks should not be providing cheap finance for favoured companies. And Western states must not turn a blind eye to China’s shameful repression of its own people for the sake of good economic relations with Beijing. But globalisation and the emergence of China is a process that also brings great benefits. In the West, it is depressing consumer prices and keeping a lid on inflation. It is also providing a myriad of new business opportunities — as witnessed by another deal yesterday for Europe to sell 1,800 Airbus aircraft to China over the next 20 years. And it should not be forgotten that in China itself, economic growth is lifting millions out of poverty. The bra wars are a distraction from this bigger picture. Narrow protectionism in the face of the rise of China is unsustainable as well as wrong.
— The Independent
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From Pakistan ISLAMABAD: Not more than 30 per cent of the country’s population would get purified water to be supplied under a grand “Water For All” programme costing Rs 6.5 billion, by the year 2007, official documents reveal. General Pervez Musharraf has launched the plan for clean drinking water for all, after reports of catastrophic nature from hospitals all over the country that deaths of countless people have occurred on account of vastly contaminated water. The programme, yet to be initiated, now has a boss, Colonel Ishaq, who would be supervising the installation of 445 water purification plants in the same number of tehsils. National University of Science and Technology (a subsidiary of the Armed Forces) has been contracted to conduct tests on water to be purified by plants for installation of which two companies have already been awarded contracts, say official sources.
— The News
Petrol price hike RAWALPINDI: The recent rise in fuel prices has worried the masses who fear that if the rates keep on increasing it will be difficult for them to live as the prices of other items will also increase. The government, on the other hand, says that the price hike is linked to international market trends. A survey conducted by The Nation revealed that most of the transporters have increased the fares and many brawls between transporters and commuters can be witnessed while travelling on a local bus, wagon or Suzuki. Nasir, a resident of Sadr, said that on the one hand the government is talking about transferring the fruit of economy to the common people while in reality it keeps on increasing the prices and during the present government the rates of everything have doubled. “How can a poor man who earns only Rs 3,000 can get both ends meet? The government, instead of giving relief to the people, has snatched what they have,” he added. — The Nation
Tunnels used for terror MIRAMSHAH: The security forces on Tuesday mounted a search operation in the Zoi Naray and Kund Gher areas of North Waziristan Agency after cordoning off several residential compounds near the Afghan border, sources said. Regular and paramilitary forces in collaboration with tribal elders took part in the operation. Until late Tuesday evening there were no reports of any arrests. An official told Dawn that the operation was launched following reports about the existence of tunnels and bunkers in the hill area adjacent to Afghanistan’s Paktika province. The official cited intelligence reports as saying that these tunnels and bunkers were being used for terrorist activities in the area. These facilities were once used by the mujahideen in their battle against the Soviet troops in Afghanistan.
— Dawn |
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From the pages of Agrarian problem
WE referred in a previous article to the question of agricultural indebtedness and the part agricultural banks can play in the solution of the problem. Mr Thorburn has useful remarks to offer on this as well as the question of land revenue collective. “For years,” he writes, “the Government have been coquetting with the idea of ‘agricultural banks,’ but as our ‘system’ has broken down the communal character of village institutions and substituted a sort of selfish individualism, the postulate for success-the coming forward of benevolent pioneers-is absent. Every attempt by Government to shift responsibility in this respect on the shoulders of private individuals is foredoomed to failure. Clearly, then, what has to be done must be done quickly and by the Government, i.e., by ourselves. We are by our own admission ‘the largest landlords in creation’ and have hitherto so mismanaged our property that many of our tannery are now discontented serfs, not as they should be, prosperous right-holders…. We have yet to adapt our rent or land revenue system to the vicissitudes of seasons, and further, by advancing money at low interest for farming purposes, put ourselves as friendly landlord-bankers in the place of the dis-established village usurers.” Wise words these. |
Radiating kindness over the entire world, spreading upwards to the skies, and downwards to the depths; Onwards and unbounded, freed from hatred and ill-will. — The Buddha Try to see God in whatever work you do. The gardener is his flowers. The teacher in his students. The nurse in her patients. And the work you do will become perfect. —Book of quotations
on Hinduism Pick yourself up, Dust yourself off, Start all over again. — Book of quotations
on Success The modern town-dweller has no God and no Devil; he lives without awe, with, without admiration, without fear. — Book of quotations
on Religion The spirit buries itself in the Supreme as the arrow in the target. — The Upanishads A King would be shortsighted if he emptied his treasuries in helping others. He will be praised while there is money in his coffers. And laughed at when his wealth is exhausted. — The Mahabharata
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