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Saving the child Koizumi’s victory |
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DGCA revamp Civil aviation sector needs an effective body CONSIDERING that the civil aviation sector is set to grow rapidly over the next decade, the launch of an exercise to revamp the office of the Director-General of Civil Aviation is timely.
Schroeder or Angela Merkel
Rum-bustious wedding
Manipur’s highways of conflict Treatable disease kills UP children Delhi Durbar
From the pages of
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Saving the child SPURRED by the recent economic growth, India today nurtures the ambition of sitting at the high table of the world community. Unfortunately, despite the impressive growth figures, it has not done too well on crucial indicators like child mortality. Even Bangladesh, considered a basket case once, has outperformed India, showing a much sharper reduction in the number of deaths among children in the age group of 0-5 years. This year’s UN Human Development Report on infant mortality reveals that India, which registered 202 deaths per thousand of children in 1970s as compared to 239 in Bangladesh, now has figures in 80s while Bangladesh has gone down to 60s. That only shows that social development is not directly proportional to economic progress and changes can be made even with lower levels of income and smaller economic growth. Ironically, India’s population is constantly on the rise despite high child mortality. The figures hide behind them a sordid tale of neglect of girl children. Even otherwise, there has been uneven development, with some regions lagging far behind others. Similarly, rural areas are worse off than urban ones. The story does not stop at child mortality. India continues to languish at the 127th position, the same as last year, according to the annual human development index that ranks 177 countries across the globe on indicators, including life expectancy, literacy and provision for health services. China on its part has climbed 20 places since 1990 to 85th position. All these are wages of under-investment in human development. Consequences are going to be long-term. The millennium development goals like reduction in poverty, ensuring health and water and education for all seem to be as distant as they were in the past. The government must wake up to this mismatch and apply correctives at the earliest. It cannot have islands of prosperity amidst poverty and squalor. The fate of the “India Shining” campaign should be used as a reality check. Economic progress just has to be translated into all-round human development.
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Koizumi’s victory PRIME Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s spectacular victory in Sunday’s snap polls proves overwhelming support for his economic reforms in Japan. The elections were caused by his government’s humiliating defeat in parliament over a postal reform Bill last month. The ruling coalition got a clear two-thirds majority with his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) winning 296 seats in the 480-seat Lower House, showing a gain of 84 seats. The junior partner in the LDP-led coalition, the New Komeito, also improved its performance considerably. Mr Koizumi’s opponents, including the old guards of his own party, are crestfallen. The old LDP, which had ruled Japan for most of the post-World War II period, has faded away. It is a new LDP with younger leaders occupying key positions. Mr Koizumi, who has been slow on the reforms front despite the gamble he took on the issue of Japan Post, will now have to move faster. He may take up the social security sector after getting the postal reform Bill passed by parliament. Though a two-thirds majority gives him the power to overrule any objection by the Upper House, he has appealed to its members to respect the wishes of the people and avoid coming in the way of his reform drive. His bold steps may speed up economic recovery in Japan, which has been experiencing serious problems for some time. Urban voters, particularly the younger ones, have played a major role in the victory of Mr Koizumi. They have endorsed not only his economic policy but also his support for the US military action in Iraq. However, the rural Japanese are not happy with his rule. He has, perhaps, not been able to take care of their interests, which are largely different from those of the city-dwellers. How he ensures that his reform programme reflects the concerns of the rural people too remains to be seen. Most of Japan’s neighbours, particularly China and South Korea, wanted Mr Koizumi to lose the elections because Japan’s relations with these countries have been deteriorating after he came to power in 2001. The world will be watching with greater interest how he pursues his foreign policy objectives now.
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DGCA revamp CONSIDERING that the civil aviation sector is set to grow rapidly over the next decade, the launch of an exercise to revamp the office of the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is timely. Over the last few months, numerous air services agreements with various countries (including an open skies agreement with the US) have been signed, drastically increasing the potential number of flights and destinations. Indian Airlines has just inked a Rs 9,900 crore deal for the purchase of 43 Airbus aircraft, and the 50 Boeing deal for Air-India is waiting in the wings. Private players are not lagging behind, and indicated orders already total around 300 aircraft, worth around Rs 1 trillion. The DGCA will have a radar screen full of issues to deal with, covering everything from airworthiness, operations, scheduling, licensing of personnel, airports and airlines, and air traffic control. The DGCA is already seized of the issue of the shortage of pilots, and its associated problems regarding the mandatory notice period and relaxation of licencing requirements without compromising safety. The terms of reference of the new committee formed under the chairmanship of former Civil Aviation Secretary M.K. Kaw are comprehensive, and should lay the foundation for an effective review and overhaul of the system. Public and industry inputs are vital and have been called for, and a constructive interaction is hopefully taking place. With increases in the number of planes, flights and passengers, fuelled by a growing economy and low fares, the DGCA will need to be proactive on safety. Its functioning will need to be fully in sync with the International Civil Aviation Organisation, and it will have to pay close attention to its own organisational structure, personnel and training. It will need to stock itself with competent and visionary professionals. The question of administrative and financial autonomy for the DGCA, and whether it should be converted into an independent statutory authority or corporation, is also part of the terms of reference. The government may indeed find it necessary to move in that direction.
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Remarks are not literature. — Gertrude Stein
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Schroeder or Angela Merkel GERMANY, Europe’s biggest economy and the traditional bellwether of the continent’s health, is going to the polls on Sunday in an election fraught with hope and foreboding. It is not a simple question of the incumbent chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroeder, losing the election to his rival, Ms Angela Merkel. Even if she wins, it is far from clear that her CDU-CSU (Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union) combination can form a government with her preferred Free Democrats (FDP). With Mr Schroeder’s SPD (Social Democratic Party) closing in in opinion polls, Ms Merkel might be left with no option that to form a grand coalition with it. Germany’s election is casting its shadow on the whole continent and the wider world for a variety of reasons. First, a revival of the German economy means the revival of the continent’s economic fortunes. Flowing from it would be a rise in the European level of optimism, now under the pall of a sluggish economy, stubborn unemployment and an aging population. At the heart of Mr Schroeder’s predicament, forcing him to call elections a year early, was his plan to reform the social system and amend rigid labour laws. But as the election campaign, including the TV debate between the two main protagonists, proved, Mr Schroeder remains a popular media-savvy figure against the rather drab homely image of Ms Merkel, a pastor’s daughter from eastern Germany. And a new phenomenon is the emergence of a new Left Party consisting of SPD defectors and members of the former East German Communist Party renamed the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), with its appeal to the frustrated voters of the eastern half. Its poll standing is around 10 per cent. Ms Merkel’s possible rise to power could have a striking impact on foreign policy. Mr Schroeder carved out a role for himself not only by becoming the most vociferous European leader in opposing the American invasion of Iraq but also by building up a special relationship with Russia’s German-speaking President Vladimir Putin. A significant result of the latter was the recent signing of an agreement on an under-sea gas pipeline that will make Germany the hub of distributing Russia’s ample gas supplies to meet the country’s needs and the demand of the rest of Europe. Ukraine and Poland, which will lose out in the bargain because they would lose the revenues from the pipelines transiting their territory, have already made their displeasure known. Ms Merkel and her party have made plain their kinder view of the United States and the Atlantic relationship. The attempt in case of their victory would be to make overtures to President George W. Bush and his neoconservatives. But an issue on which the CDU is at odds with the United States is its firm opposition to Turkey’s membership of the European Union. Ms Merkel’s formula is to give Turkey a position of a “privileged partnership”, unlike Mr Schroeder’s insistence on full membership, which even optimistic estimates suggest would be at least a decade away. The CDU is more in tune with popular opinion in the European Union, fearful as it is of an influx of a large Muslim-majority country into what is essentially a Christian club. In the economic field, Ms Merkel has not helped her party’s cause by advocating a two percentage point rise in value added tax and the rather bizarre notion of her financial adviser for a flat 25 per cent income tax for all. It was easy for Mr Schroeder to jump on it and draw the obvious conclusion that such a dispensation would be unfair to the poor. Nor has the leader of the CDU’s sister party, Mr Edmund Stoiber, done her service by his gaffes, some of them derogatory to eastern Germans, colloquially referred to as Ossies. In the last elections, Mr Schroeder came from behind to win over the luckless Mr Stoiber, largely, it is suggested, on the strength of his anti-American Iraq stand. But his party seems too far behind to repeat the triumph and the likely result seems to be tilting towards a Merkel-headed Grand Coalition, in which case Mr Schroeder will be out of the government. In fact, a scramble has begun among SPD ranks to lobby for posts in a future coalition. But the election is not over until it is over, a truism that highlights an outside chance of a surprise at a time of volatile politics and a fluctuating mood of pessimism laced with some optimism. Indeed, there are already signs of revival in the German economy. According to present trends, the CDU-CSU will emerge as the biggest party followed by the SPD, with the Left Party gathering about 10 per cent and the Free Democrats’ future uncertain — they need a minimum of 5 per cent of votes to be in Parliament. What happens if the FDP does surprisingly well or the SPD gets more votes than the CDU-CSU? The future of the Greens, headed by the popular Mr Joschka Fischer, is uncertain. The permutations and combinations are many, but the important point is that there is a convergence of views in the two main parties on the need for reforming the basis of the German economy. Despite the unpopularity he courted, Mr Schroeder has set the stage for further reforms and took the first halting steps in making employing labour less burdensome for industry. In this respect, a grand coalition would make it easier to enact legislation. The SPD was greatly handicapped by the opposition’s majority in the upper House. Even if Ms Merkel were to get her wish to secure a working majority by teaming up with Free Democrats in a centre-right dispensation, she would not be able to take the country towards a blatantly pro-American policy. The level of anti-Americanism is strong, thanks to how President George W. Bush and his neocons have advertised their unilateralism and the invasion of Iraq was almost universally unpopular. Iran is a case in point. Mr Schroeder has already declared his opposition to the use of force in Iran on the nuclear issue, a stance Ms Merkel has had to agree to. Freed from the compulsions of the Cold War, Germans, in common with many West Europeans, do not see merit in becoming America’s B or C team in the world, to fulfil President Bush’s imperial dreams. Mr Schroeder sprang an early election on the country after his party lost its traditional stronghold, North Rhine-Westphalia. Today the SPD controls only five of the country’s 16 states. Paradoxically, the incumbent chancellor’s popularity bears little relationship to the prevailing score
in the states.
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Rum-bustious wedding IN the Army, if an order is not obeyed, lives or promotions are at stake. But sometimes following a senior’s order too seriously can have a humorous outcome. Here is an incident which happened ‘somewhere in the eastern sector’ some years ago. The occasion was the marriage of the brigade commander’s daughter. Naturally, the whole brigade was on alert — from the deputy brigade commander to the humble sepoy — so that everything went off in true Army style — on time and smoothly. The father of the bride ordered his second-in-command to arrange a ghori and ensure its presence outside the marriage pandal at 9 pm sharp. The “2IC” in turn ordered his subordinate, a Major, that the ghori should be present at the site at 8.30 pm sharp. The order then went down the chain of command and by the time it reached the Subedar-Major the ghori’s presence was required at 3 pm! All hell broke loose as it was already 12 noon and the cantonment was a long way from the nearest habitation. The Subedar-Major, fearing the worst, commandeered a truck and went off to look for a ghori. The animal was located within a hour and promptly brought back to the Army base. The ghori and the ghoriwala were well looked after but the wait proved too much for both of them. The ghoriwala wanted to go back but he was given a few shots of Army rum and he was ready to camp there for the whole night! The ghori ate more than it could chew and promptly dozed off. No amount of coercing had an effect on her. With the baraat about to arrive, a desperate Subedar-Major ordered his men to force feed rum to the ghori. It took 10 men to carry out the order. In a few minutes the ghori was up and ready to charge and now it took more men to control it. The ghoriwala was in a dreamland having consumed half-a-bottle. It was an amusing sight for the baraatis to see nearly 20 soldiers escorting the ghori to the pandal. The animal too was in high spirits but it panicked on seeing so many people. The faujis, seeing their future at stake, somehow managed to help the very reluctant groom, a Captain, onto the ghori. Thankfully, with so many soldiers literally keeping the animal on its feet, things went off without any further incident.
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Manipur’s highways of conflict THE Naga demand for several districts of Manipur to be integrated into a “greater Nagalim” has fomented a long-standing Naga-Manipuri conflict in this beleaguered north-eastern state. This intra-state tussle adds an extra dimension to the general prevalence of secessionist movements. The recent imposition by a Naga group of a crippling 50-day “economic blockade” made a mockery of the North Eastern Council’s avowed hopes that the entire region was moving towards normalcy. During the blockade, imposed by the All Naga Students Association of Manipur (ANSAM), prices of essential commodities and medicines that did manage to reach Manipur via the embattled National Highway 39 spiralled. One of the telling images of that blockade was a series of advertisements in the local Press from an electronics dealer offering two litres of petrol free with a colour TV! The response from both the Centre and the state government was inadequate. Towards the end, the Air Force had to be used to air-lift supplies, and while ANSAM was finally persuaded to lift the blockade, the situation continues to be tense. At the heart of the problem in Manipur is a question that continues to be of vital importance in a globalising world. Is it necessary for an ethnic or religious group to live in a clearly demarcated piece of territory that it can call its own, in order for a state or federal government to be able to address the group’s needs for self-preservation, identity, and cultural and material advancement? Manipur, with a total population of around 25 lakhs, is peopled mostly by the Manipuri Meiteis, the Kuki tribes, and the Nagas. The Nagas dominate in the hill districts of Tamenlong, Senapati, Ukhrul, and Chandel, and a greater Nagalim, as envisioned by groups like the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), would include these districts (apart from parts of Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh, and even Myanmar). The NSCN (I-M) is in talks with the Centre, and a ceasefire has held since 1997. This was extended recently by six months after a tough round of negotiations. A “Kashmir type”status for the region is being explored, and reports suggest that the Centre might find that a break-up of Manipur is inevitable. The Manipuri Meiteis have long been up in arms against the demand, which would leave them with a tiny piece of land to call their own. On June 18, 2001, when the ceasefire with the NSCN (I-M) was again extended, a suggestion of a greater Naga territoriality in the agreement led to a violent uprising. The Manipur Assembly was burned and over 18 Meiteis died. The O. Ibobi Singh-led state government this year declared June 18 as Manipur Integration Day to commemorate the “martyrdom”of the agitators. It did not take long for mayhem to be unleashed with the torching of several government buildings, and the subsequent imposition of the blockade. The blockade was effective because of limited access to Manipur. The only good highway, NH 39, running from Guwahati to Imphal via Dimapur, Kohima, Mao and Senapati, was essentially taken over by militants, and no trucks were allowed to pass. Only some got through under armed escorts. There is, in fact, another highway, NH 53, which comes into Imphal from the northern hills. This old road has several weak bridges however, and coupled with the threat of IEDs, few would dare to take it. During the blockade, the Army did a lot to sanitise the road, and even repair many of the bridges. While many of the bridges have been repaired, reports continue to flow in of repeated sabotage. The NSCN has denied that it has had anything to do with the blockade. Post-blockade talks between the state government and ANSAM have not gone well. ANSAM continues to threaten to hold the state to ransom again with a reimposition of the blockade. Truck movement on both highways, meanwhile, is still problematic. Extortionists demand huge sums of money as “tax.” While some amount is always extorted, the militants this time want a “fine” for the “tax evader”
when the trucks moved under escort during the blockade. The Nagas of Manipur charge that notwithstanding slogans of brotherhood between the hill and valley peoples — chinmi tammi amatani — they are a discriminated lot. The Meiteis will brook no break-up of their state. Kukis have also clashed with NSCN cadres. Relations between the Manipuris and the Centre are not free of problems. The despised Armed Forces Special Powers Act is still in force in the state, and the report of the Justice Jeevan Reddy review panel has still not been made public. It was on July 11 last year that Assam Rifles arrested Thangjam Manorama, who was later found dead. Her death led to violent protests, including an agonised nude protest by elderly women. Today in Manipur there are an estimated 13,000 cadre members of 22 insurgent groups. Sixtyeight battalions of military and para-military forces, totalling around 58,000 personnel, are deployed in the state. Clearly, hard decisions will have to be made. The Centre will have to define the contours of its North-East policy, with just enough room for manoeuvrability given the complexities of the situation. It will have to clearly articulate that policy, and then have the courage to implement it in totality. A reactive, ad-hoc approach, with no clear vision of the goals to be achieved, will continue to cost lives, and hamper development and true integration.
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Treatable disease kills UP children OVER the last two months, hospitals in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh have been overwhelmed by Japanese encephalitis, a viral infection that has sickened more than 2,000 children and killed nearly 600, making it one of the deadliest outbreaks of the disease on record in India. In Gorkhpur city at the heart of the epidemic, the main government hospital resembles a war zone, with desperately ill children crowded two or even three to a bed, family members camped in filthy corridors, and weary medical staff struggling to keep pace with about 30 new cases a day. Japanese encephalitis kills nearly 30 percent of its victims, mostly children younger than 15, and leaves many of the rest with permanent neurological damage. The toll is all the more heartbreaking because the disease can be prevented by several vaccines, including one made in India and another, more effective version developed in the 1970s in China, where mass vaccinations have largely contained the virus. In that regard, the latest outbreak shows how bureaucratic inertia, skewed priorities and what some health experts say is a nationalistic aversion to importing medicines are undercutting efforts to improve India’s shaky public health system, to the detriment of its poorest citizens. Last week in its annual human development report, the United Nations faulted India for falling behind on key public health goals, noting that its infant mortality rate is now higher than that of Bangladesh. One in 11 Indian children dies before the age of 5. “It’s a lot of politics in vaccine,’’ complained Komal Prasad Kushwaha, a senior pediatrician at the hospital who has watched in frustration as the death toll from Japanese encephalitis in India has climbed steadily over the last two decades. “We have been crying for vaccine since very long. If vaccine is available for all children in the community, Japanese encephalitis will certainly be controlled.’’ Health officials in Uttar Pradesh have said they are trying to contain the epidemic by spraying against mosquitoes, which typically acquire the virus from pigs before passing it on to humans. Over the longer term, they are trying to shift pig farms, which can act as reservoirs for the disease, away from crowded villages. Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has said he wants to remove barriers to the import of Japanese encephalitis vaccines in time to begin mass vaccinations in high-risk areas by April, before the disease makes its seasonal reappearance. Ramadoss and his aides did not respond to phone messages and two faxed requests for comment. Japanese encephalitis occurs across wide areas in Asia, where about 50,000 cases — and 15,000 deaths — are reported annually, according to the World Health Organisation, although the number of cases is thought to be vastly underreported. In India, the virus is concentrated in eastern Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state and one of its poorest, as well as the states of Andhra Pradesh and Assam. The Indian vaccine is expensive, time-consuming to produce and relatively short-lived in its effectiveness. Because the government has resisted importing better versions from China and elsewhere, or licensing their production at home, India has adopted what Julie Jacobson, a virologist, calls a “firefighting approach” to Japanese encephalitis, ramping up domestic vaccine production in response to each outbreak, by which time it is often too late.
— LA Times-Washington Post
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Delhi Durbar WHEN British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his entourage came calling last week, the Indian establishment did some real out-of-the-box thinking, constantly advocated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Instead of settling for the usual “sarkari” venue, the hosts decided to showcase India’s rich heritage by hosting a reception for the visiting dignitaries on the lawns of the spectacular Humayun’s Tomb. It was not a very large gathering — the usual mix of captains of industry, representatives of the diplomatic corps, politicians, bureaucrats and former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and I.K.Gujral. The Indian PM was heard telling his British counterpart how Humayun Tomb had only recently been restored while Congress MP Anand Sharma expressed disappointment that Tony Blair was unable to visit his home state, Himachal Pradesh because of the bad weather. In fact, alternative venues for the retreat were discussed that evening. Hurriyat team faces flak The delegation of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference, which recently held its first round of talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Capital, has come under sharp attack both from hardliners in Kashmir and the mainstream parties. While the APHC leadership was prepared to face criticism from hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, it was National Conference chief Omar Abdullah’s attack which left the Hurriyat leaders fuming. The NC Chief had remarked sarcastically after the talks that if the APHC wanted to discuss human rights, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act or the Public Safety Act, then its agenda was no different from that of his party. “We are not holding talks for coming to power,” Hurriyat leaders retorted. Benefits of competition Competition always benefits consumers. Readers in Mumbai realised the virtues of competition when two media houses launched new newspapers in the city recently. This has given a jolt to another well-established media house which, till now, enjoyed monopoly in this metropolis. For the first time, the city’s consumers are witnessing the unusual spectacle of representatives from this very publishing house standing at their doorstep offering discounts and even free gifts. Long live competition. Sheila under attack Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is under constant attack from her Cabinet colleagues and party workers for neglecting their concerns and depending too much on bureaucrats. After the face off over the power tariff issue, Mrs Dikshit has created ripples by appointing. B.B. Bhat, Principal Secretary (Finance), as Chairman of the Delhi State Industrial Development Corporation (DSIDC) even after Industries and Labour Minister Mangat Ram Singhal had evinced keen interest in this job. There has been an “unwritten rule” to award the Chairman’s job to a political appointee.
**** Contributed by (Girja Shankar Kaura, Prashant Sood, J.T. Vishnu and Anita Katyal)
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From the pages of Hateful Manchester
There is nothing that can make the Swadeshi Movement fail excepting the irresolution of its champions. The art of weaving, whether by hand or by machinery, is not unknown in India, and success in the re-establishment of the weaving art, so as to make it supply the general and substantial needs of the country, will gradually bring success in other directions in its train. One victory achieved will smooth the way for others, by reason of both the self-confidence gained and the resources mastered. The agitators of Bengal would therefore do well, as they have begun wisely, to direct their main efforts against Manchester piece-goods. There is a peculiar fitness in this and an element of poetic justice. Manchester has been the main factor of ruin to India industrially, and it is the Manchester vote that upholds the perversity of English politicians in their dealings with other peoples, specially those of India. If the worst should come to the worst, could not the wives and daughters of Bengal—aye, of all India—spin out enough fabric to cover their bodies until local manufacturers sprung up to replace the hateful goods of Manchester?
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Our limitations and success will be based, most often, on your own expectations for ourselves. What the mind dwells upon. —Book of quotations on Success One religion is as true as another. —Book of quotations on Religion Don’t murder a poor creature, he’ll pay you back in the same coin. Going on a pilgrimage, giving millions of rupees to the Gods won’t save you. —Kabir The sword lies unassuming in its sheath. So does the spirit number in the mind. —The Upanishads
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