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Wise decision SC guidelines timely |
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Nurture talent
Ominous portents for BJP
Cycle of reason
Promises to poor unkept Breast cancer risk double for left-handed women Delhi Durbar
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Wise decision IT was a difficult choice before India when the time came to cast its vote on the European Union-sponsored resolution on the Iranian nuclear issue during Saturday’s meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors. Ultimately, India decided to go along with the EU and the US, and the resolution —- referring the case to the UN Security Council —- was adopted. This was the best course available to protect India’s own interests. For the first time, perhaps, India had to abandon the company of the nonaligned nations, but this was unavoidable. As a self-confident nation, India had to choose this independent course in view of the emerging global reality. Those in India, like the CPM, who accuse the UPA government of acting under US pressure are not being realistic enough. India had to play its card in a manner so that its own interests like the nuclear deal with the US were not jeopardised. Moreover, India opposing the IAEA resolution or abstaining from the voting on it would have amounted to siding with those involved in nuclear proliferation activities. This would have dented India’s image as a responsible nuclear power, opposed to any proliferation activity anywhere in the world. Yet, India should not be seen as having ditched its old friend Iran at this critical juncture. India’s insistence on giving diplomacy more chance to settle the Iranian issue has led to the EU amending its resolution —- to withhold its being referred to the Security Council till the November meeting of the IAEA. Iran must be thankful to India for earning this breather, which can be used to find a last-minute solution to the problem. Iran should give a fresh thought to India’s suggestion of becoming “flexible” and satisfy the international community that it has no intention of developing weapons of mass destruction. It would not be wise on the part of Iran to depend on China or Russia using their veto power for saving it from the wrath of the Security Council. When it comes to the crunch, every country has to take care of its own interests first.
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SC guidelines timely THE Supreme Court has rightly censured the high courts for indiscriminately granting bail even to those involved in heinous crimes without properly examining the merits of the bail petitions. In a significant order, the apex court allowed a Muslim woman’s petition and directed the Allahabad High Court to cancel the bail granted to an accused in her husband’s murder case. The apex court expressed its displeasure on the perfunctory manner in which the High Court treated the case and said that it did not exercise proper application of mind while granting bail to the accused. Its directive to the high courts to indicate in the bail order the specific reasons for prima facie concluding why bail was being granted to an accused, particularly when he/she is charged with having committed a serious offence, is expected to act as a deterrent. Moreover, the court said that if this procedure is followed scrupulously, the appellate court would be able to know the exact reasons for the bail, when the case goes for appeal. Significantly, the Supreme Court has laid down three parameters for granting bail: the nature of accusation and the severity of punishment in cases of conviction and the nature of supportive evidence; reasonable apprehension of tampering with the witness or apprehension of the threat to the complainant; and prima facie satisfaction of the court in support of the charge. Now that the Supreme Court has come forward with clear-cut guidelines on granting bail to the accused, similar norms are also required to streamline the system of anticipatory bail. The Centre took the initiative to check the misuse of this provision through an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill. However, following opposition from the DMK and some human rights groups, the Centre deferred its implementation. If there is a provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure making it mandatory for the applicant to be present in court while moving the petition for anticipatory bail, VIPs like Shibu Soren, Gautam Goswami or Nawab Pataudi would have been prevented from evading the due process of law.
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Nurture talent IT would be an all-round loss if inter-university sport, that world of youthful bravado, heroism, camaraderie, pride, tears and laughter, is allowed to die. The suspension of all-India and inter-zonal universities’ sports meets by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), due to the lack of funds, will surely spell doom for an important segment of national sporting endeavour. University sport has not only laid the foundation of many a sporting career, from Sunil Gavaskar to P.T. Usha, but has also been an important platform of cultural exchange, national discovery, and character-building — not to mention jobs for the talented in sporting quotas in PSUs and the Railways. Around two lakh students participate in these meets every year, of which over 60,000 are girls. As many as 87 events were held spanning every kind of sporting activity, and the AIU was actually engaged in an exercise to create a “national pool” of talent and increase the visibility of university sport. Other national-level meets do exist, but university sport has a unique ethos, and in many countries it commands a dedicated following that rivals international meets. Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar had won this year, for the 19th time, the prize for the best sporting university. The suspension of the sports meets follows the transfer of responsibility for funding from the Centre to the states. This is clearly an ill-conceived decision, for while states do play an important role in funding and facilitating sporting excellence at the state-level, national-level encounters have a federal character that call for Central funding. State governments may or may not be persuaded to earmark funds for the purpose, and host universities may indeed chip in, but the real solution would be to ensure Central funds for the AIU. That will reap more than just cheers in the play ground – it will be an investment towards the all-round education of our youth.
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At my devotion I love to use the civility of my knee, my hat, and hand. — Thomas Browne
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Ominous portents for BJP THERE are many Lal Krishna Advanis. I recall accosting him in Parliament’s Central Hall after the fragile Janata Party government gave way, ostensibly on the question of the dual loyalties of the members of the then Jan Sangh. We shall live to fight another day, he said in effect. I watched his sprightly step at a Calcutta function after the end of the Emergency and Indira Gandhi’s defeat. But these images have been transplanted in the public mind by his role as a charioteer spouting vitriol as he travelled across the country painting the soil red. Mr Advani can rightly claim that, thanks to his symbolising the Ayodhya movement, he helped propel his re-christened party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, from two seats in the Lok Sabha to eventually becoming the largest single party and ruling the country in a coalition for six years. At the same time, the BJP needed the gifts of Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee to govern, an amalgam of a sedulously cultivated image of moderation interspersed with assertions of loyalty to the party’s mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, followed by denials. What prompted Mr Advani to commit political hara-kiri by making the remarks he did about Jinnah as a secular man remains a mystery. Admittedly, he, dubbed the Iron Man by his unfortunate predecessor as party president, was attempting a makeover of his public persona, aware as he was that the slim chances of his ever becoming Prime Minister were dependent upon a radical change in public perception. How could he have imagined that he could get away with the exercise, without the RSS calling him to account? The RSS chief, Mr K. Sudarshan, has not had much affection for Mr Vajpayee the reconciler and consensus builder, but Mr Advani surely occupied a high pedestal in RSS eyes and took his conversion in Pakistan as a stab in the back. Last April, Mr Sudarshan had been publicly seeking the retirement of both the former Prime Minister and Mr Advani in order to make way for a younger leadership. The latter’s political career went into a tailspin after the Pakistan visit. The outcome was never in doubt. There have been other ominous portents in the BJP. The second rung of party leaders had been fighting each other to a stalemate. Dissidence in the states mounted, with loud and public bickering. A weakening presidency invited new forms of dissidence, with Mr Madan Lal Khurana publicly challenging Mr Advani’s authority and the president’s decision to expel him met with a rebuke from Mr Vajpayee who had been something of a support to his beleaguered colleague. Mr Khurana was taken back into the party. The Chennai meeting of the BJP’s executive was the inevitable setting for Mr Advani’s final political rites because he had decided that he would not permit himself to be discarded as an irrelevance after his great contribution and devotion to the party by choosing to slink away. Nothing became him more than the manner in which he chose to sing his swan song because he took the RSS head on. There were no euphemisms. His concluding speech was straight from the shoulder. In effect, Mr Advani chose to open up the entire gamut of relationship between the BJP and the RSS, the perception, as he put it, of the latter’s inference in the party’s affairs to the extent that no important decision could be taken without its approval. His recipe was that the RSS should stick to the nation’s character building and ideology, leaving the BJP to attend to affairs of state. It is not clear how far this debate will be allowed to proceed for the simple reason that the BJP’s fortunes are so entwined with those of the RSS. It is the RSS that provides election workers to the party candidates contesting elections; the RSS helps stake out fresh territory by the kind of social services it provides in such areas as the tribal belts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Mr Advani’s belated desire to cut the umbilical cord is heresy in RSS eyes. As politics in the BJP has descended to new levels of corruption and indiscipline, the RSS, to the votaries of Hindutva, is the beacon light. And it speaks volumes for the mentor of the Sangh Parivar that, after Mr Advani’s Jinnah remarks and subsequent developments, all second-rung leaders either criticised their leader or maintained an eloquent silence. No aspiring leader in the BJP wanted to blot his or her copybook by siding with a falling star. It was as if Mr Advani could not be shown the exit door soon enough. Yet the relationship between the BJP and the RSS is a problem that will not go away. There is something of a division of labour between the two organisations as long as the political party works within the ambit of the guidelines laid down by the RSS. While in power in New Delhi, Mr Vajpayee had the excuse of being part of a coalition government to ward off insistent demands by the Parivar to seek radical political solutions. Now in the opposition, it cannot employ the same excuse. But Mr Advani partly gave his answer by suggesting that the party has “to reach large sections of the people outside the layers of all ideology”. In plain language, the BJP would rule itself out as a viable alternative to the Congress, were it to be led by the nose by the RSS. There are no easy answers to the problems posed by the BJP’s central contradiction, by a political party in thrall to a divisive ideology in a pluralist society. The immediate prospect is, indeed, of the RSS exercising more, rather than less, power, with Mr Vajpayee’s age and ailment constraints and a second rung successor as leader who would have to prove his or her loyalty to the Parivar through subservient conduct. If a weakened Advani has been unable to get a handle on the increasing dissent in the party, one can imagine how difficult a successor would find the job. The only authority that could fill the breach is the RSS. Perhaps Mr Advani has a few more surprises up his sleeve, apart from revisiting his old haunts of another brave age before he bids good-bye.
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Cycle of reason ANY hike in petrol prices leads to a lot of discussion about the modes of personal transport, etc. This is obvious because the cost of maintaining a motorised vehicle is becoming too heavy to bear for a middle class person. But my petrol-related worries disappear when I have a look at my old and dependable friend — the bicycle. I have always had a fancy for it. Not only that its running cost is negligible, but also because it is totally environment-friendly. Looks wise, it has undergone a drastic change, with many attractive and user-friendly models now available in the market. The bicycle can, in fact, serve as the ideal mode of transport for cities like Chandigarh. In smaller cities, it is easier to pedal to any place with complete freedom from the shocks that one suffers after every upward movement in the fuel prices. Promotion of a bicycle culture is the best way to ensure healthy living. Besides this, it can save our cities from gradually becoming unlivable. The talk of a bicycle culture reminds me of the days when even our intermediate college principal could be seen coming to our alma mater on his rickety non-motorised two-wheeler. It was an interesting sight to find the college head, teachers and students pedalling together. Everybody was guided by an unwritten law: the principal would be leading the cyclists followed by senior teachers whenever they happened to be together. No student would dare to overtake the college head and the teachers. It was not out of fear for authority. It was the respect for authority that influenced one’s behaviour. Moreover, everybody gave the maximum respect to the teacher, the person who spread the light of learning. Yet, it was not a drab and dull life. Both teachers and students would discuss all kinds of subjects while pedalling to the school. They would crack jokes too, but without crossing the limits of decency. Everybody knew what was decency and what were its limits. My uncle, who taught the English language and grammar, had some problem riding a bicycle. He would look for an elevated place to be seated on his vehicle. Whenever getting down was unavoidable because of any mechanical problem, all the students following him would also stop pedalling. Often they had a suppressed laugh. Uncle too knew this, and would admit, saying: “Bachcho, aap to jaantay hain ki mujhey cycle par charhne mein pareshani hoti hai. Par kya karen?” (Children, you know that I have difficulty in getting on the bicycle. But what to do?) Those were the days when owning a bicycle was a matter of pride for village people. Nobody would discard his bicycle even if it was in a poor condition. The principal’s bicycle looked as old as he himself was. It was also not maintained properly. Yet, he never gave the impression of feeling small. He was highly respected for his learning and administrative abilities. For some time I have been trying to emulate him as a regular bicycle user. But I realise the task is not as easy as it appeared in the beginning. Maybe, I have a long way to go before I start pedalling with pride.
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Promises to poor unkept THE United Nations Human Development Report 2005 is a remarkable document — grim, poignant, and almost desperate in its repeated pleading that the rich and powerful countries of the world use the UN 2005 summit to collectively ensure that the promise made to the world’s poor in the Millennium Declaration in 2000 is not broken. Noting that the year 2005 was “marked by an unprecedented global campaign dedicated to relegating poverty to the past”, the document urged that “this is the moment to prove that the millennium declaration is not just a paper promise, but a commitment to change”. “The UN summit provides a critical opportunity to adopt the bold action plans needed…to overcome the deep inequalities that divide humanity”, it added. “The other option is to continue on a business as usual basis and make 2005 the year in which the pledge of the Millennium Declaration is broken”, it warned. The summit was held recently. And the terrible news is that the promises, and the pledge, stand broken. If you have tears, prepare to shed them now…”These are words which Shakespeare’s Antony in Julius Caesar used in a very different context. But they are the only ones that echo in the mind as one confronts the magnitude of the tragedy that continues to be played out in front of us. And in spite of all our advances in science and technology and all our institutions, our universities, our corporations, our governments, we are evidently condemned to stand by, helpless, and let it happen. Here are just some of the facts highlighted by the HDR 2005: Every hour 1,200 children die. One crore children every year do not live to see their fifth birthday. More than 100 crore people (the size of India’s population), survive on less than one dollar a day and 250 crore people, about 40 per cent of the world’s population, live on less than two dollars a day. The world’s richest 500 individuals have a combined income greater than 40 crore of the world’s poorest. As many as 250 crore people account for less than 5 per cent of the world’s income. The HDR estimates a cost of $ 300 billion for lifting 100 crore people above the extreme poverty line. The amount represents just 1.6 per cent of the income of the richest 10 per cent of the world’s population. Or look at that figure from another angle — it is just 65 per cent of the $ 455 billion that the United States spent on the military last year. What is the chance of the world finding that money? Practically, nil. The Millennium Declaration Goals (MDG) included halving extreme poverty, cutting child deaths, providing all children with education and forging a global partnership to deliver these results by 2015. Focussing on what it calls the three pillars of cooperation — aid, international trade and security — the HDR highlights that after five years “nothing of substance has been achieved.” On current trends, the MDG target for reducing child mortality is going to be missed in 2015 by 4.4 million child deaths. Fortyone million children will die before their fifth birthday. The poverty reduction gap will translate to an additional 38 crore people living on less than one dollar a day. As for primary education, about five crore children will be out of school. India-specific figures are no less disturbing: 2.5 lakh child deaths occur here — one out of five in the world. India and China (7.3 lakh child deaths) have “failed to convert wealth creation and rising incomes to a decline in child mortality.” Bangladesh is achieving a better rate of decline in child deaths in spite of lower levels of income and lower growth. Rich countries collectively spend 0.25 per cent of their gross national income on aid. The EU wants to reach 0.51 per cent by 2010, which the HDR finds encouraging. The document warns, however, that there would still remain a large shortfall of financing the MDGs, a shortfall that will increase from $ 46 billion in 2006 to $ 52 billion in 2010. Are the MDGs unaffordable? Not really. For every dollar spent on aid, 10 dollars go to the military. About $ 7 billion is needed annually over the next decade to provide 2.6 billion people access to clean water. That figure is less than what Europeans spend on perfumes and what Americans spend on cosmetic surgery. The story on trade liberalisation is no better. Unfair trade policies continue in the rich North with the “world’s highest trade barriers erected against the poorest countries.” Rich countries’ subsidies on agriculture have not only not been reduced as per the promise in the last trade round, but have been increased. These countries spend about one billion dollars a year on aid for agriculture in poor countries. And the subsidy on their agriculture? One billion dollars a day! Apart from trade barriers, structural problems like a weak infrastructure and limited supply capacity also disadvantage poor countries. Will the WTO ministerial meeting planned in December 2005 manage to effect changes, or go the UN summit way? In the recent summit a 35-page document was issued, which merely restated goals and “calls” with no concrete steps or commitments. A long-standing UN target is 0.7 per cent of GNI to be spent as international aid. The document dropped a planned call to all countries that haven’t done so, including the US, to earmark 0.7 per cent of their income for aid. World leaders, including India’s External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, have expressed their dismay at the outcome of the summit. “If you have tears, prepare to shed them now.” |
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Breast cancer risk double for left-handed women WOMEN who are left-handed are at increased risk of developing breast cancer at an early age, research has suggested. Scientists believe that women who are born left-handed may have been exposed to higher levels of sex hormones in the womb. They are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with pre-menopausal breast cancer, according to a study published in the online version of the British Medical Journal. Researchers from the University Medical Centre in Utrecht followed more than 12,000 women born between 1932 and 1941. They took into account other risk factors for breast cancer, such as body weight, smoking habits, family history and socio-economic status. Even when all these were adjusted for, women who were left-handed were 2.41 times more likely to develop breast cancer before the menopause. The scientists believe the increased risk is linked to exposure to higher levels of oestrogen in the womb. High levels of oestrogen in utero are believed to induce left-handedness, although the reason is unclear. Liz Carroll, head of services at Breast Cancer Care, said: “It is important to remember that the single biggest risk factor for breast cancer is age — 80 per cent of women diagnosed with this disease are over 50.” Emma Taggart, director of policy at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said the study did not give enough evidence to link left-handedness with breast cancer. Mouth cancer, once associated with older men, is becoming increasingly common in younger people and women. It is thought that binge drinking and smoking may account for the rise. Women who are left-handed are at increased risk of developing breast cancer at an early age, research has suggested. Scientists believe that women who are born left-handed may have been exposed to higher levels of sex hormones in the womb. They are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with pre-menopausal breast cancer, according to a study published in the online version of the British Medical Journal. Researchers from the University Medical Centre in Utrecht followed more than 12,000 women born between 1932 and 1941. They took into account other risk factors for breast cancer, such as body weight, smoking habits, family history and socio-economic status. Even when all these were adjusted for, women who were left-handed were 2.41 times more likely to develop breast cancer before the menopause. The scientists believe the increased risk is linked to exposure to higher levels of oestrogen in the womb. High levels of oestrogen in utero are believed to induce left-handedness, although the reason is unclear. Liz Carroll, head of services at Breast Cancer Care, said: “It is important to remember that the single biggest risk factor for breast cancer is age — 80 per cent of women diagnosed with this disease are over 50.” Emma Taggart, director of policy at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said the study did not give enough evidence to link left-handedness with breast cancer. Mouth cancer, once associated with older men, is becoming increasingly common in younger people and women. It is thought that binge drinking and smoking may account for the rise. — The Independent |
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Delhi Durbar STORIES about the raging warfare involving lawyer members of the Congress are now legion. For instance, it is well known that party spokespersons Anand Sharma and Abhishek Singhvi, both lawyers, are not exactly the best of friends. It is the same story when it comes to others like Kapil Sibal, Salman Khursheed, Ashwani Kumar and R.K.Anand. Their simmering differences show up occasionally as it happened recently when Salman Khursheed asked Abhishek Singhvi to represent the Congress in the land allotment case against UP Chief Minister Mulayum Singh Yadav in the Supreme Court. Singhvi agreed but failed to turn up at the hearing. A fuming Khursheed was left to argue the case himself. Pakistan SC
verdict Indians invariably bemoan the lack of democracy in Pakistan while people from across the border are full of admiration for India’s strong democratic traditions. But, for a change, the roles were reversed when a verdict delivered by Pakistan’s Supreme Court came in for special praise by none other than former Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee during the hearing on the Bihar Assembly dissolution case in the apex court. To drive home his point on the Governor’s use of discretionary powers, Sorabjee pointed out that the issue of “misuse” of such powers by constitutional heads had been aptly settled by the Pakistan Supreme Court in a case regarding the dissolution of the National Assembly by its former leader, Mohammed Zia-Ul-Haq. He narrated how the Pakistan apex court’s verdict in this case had considerable bearing on the famous Bommai case judgement, which has now become a bench-mark for the proper use of discretionary powers by the Governor for the recommendation of President’s rule in a state. A guardian of public health Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss’ enthusiasm for his work has won him both praise and criticism. For instance, when he banned smoking in movies , he won instant approval from the anti-smoking lobby but drew flak from the film industry. The minister, however, remains unfazed. Last week while inaugurating the health mela, Arogya 2005, the young minister did not hesitate to pull up the Director of the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine. Pointing to the fancy wrapping paper used for the council’s publication, Dr Ramadoss told him in no uncertain terms, ”You should be using bio-degradable paper instead.” Nainital
in UP? It has been several years now since the creation of Uttaranchal, but babus in the Press Information Bureau (PIB) will have us believe that the hill town of Nainital is still in Uttar Pradesh. This was clear from a press release issued by the PIB after last week’s meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) where special funds were earmarked for the development of lakes in the country. The PIB release, also posted on its website, mentioned that Nainital was in Uttar Pradesh. It obviously takes time for things to be sorted out in the Government of India! Contributed by S.S. Negi, Prashant Sood, Tripti Nath and Anita Katyal |
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From the pages of Exclusion of Indians WE are glad to find that instead of taking up the sedition trumpet, like the average bureaucrat, the ex-Lieut-Governor of Bengal boldly asserts that “the real cause of the present unrest is the grievance felt by educated classes at their exclusion from a share in the Government of the country.” In certain influential quarters efforts have been made to convey to the people of England the impression that India is seething with blood-thirst sedition. It is, therefore, a comfort to find a mature bureaucrat like Sir Charles taking the true measure of a situation and boldly asserting, in spite of the selfish outcry to the contrary, that India’s unrest or discontent have much to justify it. The exclusion of Indians from Club land, then, is a serious injustice for it means relegation to a position of the most hopeless racial and political inferiority. What an awful state of things we have here: 300 millions of inferiors, dominated by a handful of foreigners! |
Don’t worry about rituals. If you put your heart and shoulder and all your love in what you do, it will become God’s work. All great sages and saints have worked like this. — Book of quotations on Hinduism Success and failure are both difficult to endure. Along with success come drugs, divorce, fornication, bullying, travel, meditation, medication, depression, neurosis and suicide. With failure comes failure. — Book of quotations on Success Though the Yogi dyes his garments with red, if he knows naught that it’s of little use.
— Kabir |
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