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CM by turn Ball in CBI’s court |
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Left sees reason The situation demands an open mind THE Left has scaled down its opposition to some of the controversial reforms the UPA government wants to pursue. Ending its four-month-old boycott, the Left returned to the UPA-Left Coordination Committee on Thursday.
Responding to disasters
New Capital for India
‘Japha’ diplomacy at work HEALTH
From the pages of
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CM by turn IT is a measure of the understanding between the Congress and the People’s Democratic Party that Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad will replace Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on November 2. Three years ago, the Congress could have insisted on having its own chief minister on the ground that it had more MLAs than the PDP. Instead, the two parties entered into an agreement whereby the Congress would take over the leadership of the coalition after three years. Whatever be the wisdom of the Congress decision, it is one of the rare occasions when a chief minister willingly vacates in favour of another. Of course, there were some moves to allow Mr Sayeed to continue in office but these did not go well with the Congress legislators, some of whom even threatened to resign from the House. In the end, the Congress leadership took the plunge to try its hand at leading a coalition government in the state after nearly 20 years. In doing so, the Congress will be taking a heavy responsibility on its shoulders. The timing could not have been more inappropriate with a large number of the people having been rendered homeless by the earthquake. Mr Azad’s primary task will be to ensure that relief reaches every needy person. Since the Congress is in power at the Centre, the state government will have no alibi when it is under pressure to deliver the goods. Mr Sayeed was certainly recognised as an authentic voice of Kashmir. The Congress, which won most of its seats outside of the Valley, will have to make an effort to be recognised as a representative body of the people of Kashmir. It was against this backdrop that well-wishers had advised the party against taking over at this juncture. Since any such discussion will now be of only academic interest, it is incumbent upon the Congress to take along the PDP to ensure that their government is able to discharge all its obligations to the electorate. A deputy chief minister from the PDP like Ms Mehbooba Mufti, whose leadership of the party in the last elections was, in fact, remarkable, will add to the coherence of the government. So will the representation of the PDP in the Central government. In such a scenario, the two parties will have a greater stake in making the coalition a real success.
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Ball in CBI’s court TWENTYONE years have gone by and justice still eludes the victims of the 1984 riots. That is a sad commentary on the state of affairs in the country. After moving in circles from one commission to another, the slight forward movement that has now come about is in the shape of the Centre referring to the CBI the cases against Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler, Sajjan Kumar and Dharam Das Shastri asking it to examine whether they should be reinvestigated. The Nanavati
Commission had cast aspersions on the role of these leaders in fomenting the anti-Sikh riots. Now that the CBI is in charge, it must reach a firm conclusion not only impartially but also quickly because the case is already well past the stage of delayed justice being denied justice. There are many legal hassles in the way, such as first seeking the permission of the court concerned for reopening the cases. The trail has indeed gone cold with the passage of two decades. While the government has sought to give the impression that it is earnest about nailing the guilty, the record of the CBI does not evoke much confidence. It has yet to live down the dubious reputation that it tends to be the handmaiden of the party in power. The apprehensions are fuelled further by the fact that the persons involved happen to be leading lights of the Congress. Now that the ball is in the CBI’s court, it is a golden opportunity for it to exorcise the ghosts of the past. By investigating the case with unwavering professionalism, it will live down the unsavoury reputation that it has come to acquire because of numerous acts of commission and omission. Quick action on its part will wipe out the impression that referring a case to the CBI is nothing more than a ploy to buy time. Needless to say that it will also be instrumental in keeping the fading hopes of the victims alive.
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Left sees reason THE Left has scaled down its opposition to some of the controversial reforms the UPA government wants to pursue. Ending its four-month-old boycott, the Left returned to the UPA-Left Coordination Committee on Thursday. Significantly, it has “agreed to consider” amendments to the Pension Bill. Six months ago, the Left had forced the UPA to drop the Pension Bill and its opposition was “non-negotiable”. The Bill requires the employees to make a 10-per cent contribution to the pension fund to be managed by a private agency, which would be allowed to invest in equities. If passed, the Bill would ease the financial burden of the Centre and the states. The Left-UPA committee also discussed disinvestment in profit-making PSUs other than the “navratnas” and the Left “did not reject out of hand” the proposal. This is again a welcome climbdown from the earlier Left position that the government stake in no profit-making PSUs should be disinvested. It had forced the UPA to rescind the BHEL disinvestment decision. On its part, the UPA did not press the thorny issue of foreign direct investment in retail. Even on this issue the Leftist opposition is likely to melt since US giant Wal-Mart has expressed interest in the retail food market in West Bengal and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is not opposed to the idea. The third instance of change of heart in the Left comes from its decision to leave to the West Bengal Chief Minister and trade unions the issue of whether to allow strikes in the IT sector or not. Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had made it known during the Left-sponsored September 29 strike that he was against any disruption of work in the growing BPO sector. All this indicates the victory of the line that pro-reform Leftists led by Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee have taken. To shape India’s future, the Left should come out of the past, stop clinging to an outdated ideology and move with the times.
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Happiness is a perfume you cannot put on others without getting a few drops on yourself. — R. W. Emerson
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Responding to disasters THE Kashmir earthquake is one more national disaster that has left in its wake not only a trail of human misery and devastation of infrastructure and property, but an agonised soul-searching over how to ensure better disaster preparedness and post-disaster management. While government and other agencies have indeed responded with large-scale rescue, relief and rehabilitation operations, there is a widely perceived delivery gap, especially during the crucial phase of the immediate aftermath. A draft of a comprehensive disaster management bill is reportedly in circulation, for possible passage during the winter session of Parliament. In the meantime attempts have been made to create state-level cells, and a several thousand strong central response force. Several studies have been conducted, and pockets of expertise available at various corners of the country have been tapped. But these, along with institutions like the new National Disaster Management Authority, have not been integrated into a powerful and seamless network that can mobilise available resources and deploy them quickly when an event occurs. The creation of such a network is clearly overdue in India, where large swathes of land are disaster prone. While famines and droughts creep up on human societies, earthquakes and floods arrive with sudden and destructive power, crippling the very mechanisms that are needed to ensure timely and effective delivery of rescue and relief operations. As disaster after disaster strikes, one clear pattern emerges. The resources in both men and material are available, as is the expertise. The gaps, firstly in preparedness and secondly in post-event response, arise from a lack of political and administrative will, in the first case, and the absence of an operative mechanism, in the second. We ignore the exhortation to “be prepared” at our own peril. Risk assessment exercises are crucial. Earthquake risk zonation needs to be refined, with micro-zonation of vulnerable areas, so that the government can start somewhere as far as strict enforcement of building regulations is concerned. “Earthquakes don’t kill people, buildings do,” is a cliché in the field, but it is a lesson still to be learned. Delhi and large swathes of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh are in the high-risk zone IV, while the zone V areas of HP’s Kangra district are not far away. With unreleased stresses still looking for an outlet along the Himalayan faultline, we are all sitting on a megatonne explosion waiting to happen. While such enforcement needs to be carried out over a period of time, risk assessment exercises can be used by the government to immediately make certain structural preparations. Buffer zones should be identified in high risk population centres, preferably on higher ground, away from possible flooding. A quake-resistant public building, like a stadium, can double up as a relief centre when needed. Evacuation routes need to be planned. Helipads on available higher ground need to be systematically constructed. It is a holistic process. Gaps in basic infrastructure — good roads, drainage networks, telephones — while hampering growth and development in normal times, kill people during a disaster. The next step would be to determine, based on the vulnerability assessment, the requirements for rescue and relief in the event of a disaster. These will include food and drinking water, tents, makeshift shelters, clothing, medicines, and emergency medical equipment in the immediate aftermath. Sustained supply of rations and more advanced medical care will have to be ensured in not more than two or three days time. The gap between conceptual analyses and planning, and actual implementation on the ground, is most visible in the question of makeshift shelters. After the two mega quakes of the nineties in Maharashtra and Gujarat, scientists in the Indian Institute of Science developed an inexpensive shelter that could be set up quickly. Other such efforts have also been made. To date, the government has made no effort to see if such shelters could be mass produced and be available when needed. In the Kashmir quake, shortage of viable shelters was sorely felt. Tents were not available in sufficient numbers; tens of thousands were required considering the number of houses damaged. What is more, tents were not the most effective shelter given the spells of rain that occurred, and with the prospect of a Himalayan winter around the corner. As for relief materials of various kinds, it is clear that the resources are available. But without a network to facilitate rapid mobilisation and delivery, they might as well not exist. The first step would be the identification of who would be best placed to quickly procure, say, thousands of tents, buckets, soaps, rice, dal, warm clothing, medicines, lanterns, torches, and the like. Teams will have to be put in place drawing upon both government departments and NGOs, not to mention private enterprise. With a little imagination, an innovative dry run exercise will not be difficult to devise. The question of centralised relief camps is tricky. It has been found that survivors prefer to stay where they are even when their homes are gone. Unless they require major medical attention, or it is hazardous for them to stay where they are, it might be better not to move them. Makeshift shelters are thus crucial. Psychological trauma can also be considerable, and the need for deploying counselling teams will have to be factored in. Media management is also part of handling a post-disaster scenario. An efficient and open information network in fact, serves several purposes. Superior information means faster and more effective delivery of relief. Bureaucracy should not prove a dampener. Incoming financial resources, for example, need to be able to quickly find their way to the ground. While some political grandstanding in terms of who is helping who is unavoidable, it must not be allowed to get in the way of relief. Defence and paramilitary forces, as well as organisations like the Border Roads Task Forces, prove invaluable during major disasters. They are the ones with the helicopters and the heavy air and sea lift capabilities, not to mention fit and disciplined personnel, and will have to be integrated into a response plan. They should never, however, be over used. Ultimately, it is important to ensure that the response network is adequately empowered, is streamlined, highly flexible and decentralised, so that it can rapidly self deploy in the event of a disaster. When the earth is shaking, or walls of water seek to take up residence in people’s homes, a slow response is no response at
all.
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New Capital for India WITH passage of time, New Delhi has become too chaotic and unmanageable to be the Capital of India. It is necessary to establish a spanking new Capital city, away from the Delhi madness. The focus has to be on proper housing for all, not just today but 50 years hence. I have a blueprint ready which takes care of all essential needs. It will be a meticulously planned metropolis, circular in shape like Connaught Place. Thus there will be several ever-widening concentric circles to accommodate everyone. At the centre will be government buildings like Rashtrapati Bhavan, Pradhan Mantri Nivas, Parliament, Supreme Court, Mantralayas, prisons, etc. These will be surrounded by residential quarters. The first circle will have 10,000 bungalows measuring two acres each for ministers and MPs. Why 10,000? Because as far as housing is concerned, there is no difference between a sitting minister/MP and a squatting ex-minister/ex-MP. It will be pragmatic to have enough houses near the seat of power for all ministers and MPs, past, present and future. The next block of 10,000 houses will be for governors, chief ministers, ministers and MLAs – again past, present and future. Since they (or their families) come to Delhi at least once a year, it is the responsibility of the state to make them feel at home. The circle beyond that will be earmarked for setting up memorials for various netas. The actual need is for several lakh houses but given the limitation of space, the number will be curtailed to five figures (99,999 houses). The memorials will be raised only for those politicians who led the country during the past 5,000 years. This cut-off date will be strictly adhered to, unless direct descendants of a dear departed leader stake claim. Around them will be one lakh houses for government servants. Depending on the size, these will be divided into categories running from A to Z, with A being the biggest and the best. Category A houses will be allotted to bureaucrats who are blood relations of ministers. B will be for relatives of MPs. Friends of ministers will get to live in Category C with friends of MPs occupying Category D houses. Then will come the turn of relatives and friends of governors, chief ministers, ministers and MLAs etc. Everything has to be systematic in the national Capital, you will agree. The Z category single-room tenements will be allotted to those who have no linkage whatsoever with any VVIP. The outermost circle will comprise 10 lakh flats for private citizens. Owners will be law-bound to rent these out to the needy within one month of construction. There will be a strict Left-ordained ban on evicting them. And where will the owners themselves live? For them there will be tented accommodation beyond the boundaries of the futuristic city.
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‘Japha’ diplomacy at work
JAPHA” is the Punjabi word for a tight, affectionate embrace and no one does it better than Indians and Pakistanis. This was rediscovered, as we, a mixed group of parliamentarians, journalists and experts from India, entered the border at Wagah in August 2003. The irritation, caused by tedious immigration formalities, was dissolved in the bonhomie with the Pakistani hosts, who were there in large numbers to receive us. The warm hug was the order of the entire stay — at the conference on ‘Understanding, Confi-dence-Building and Conflict Resolution’, organised by the South Asian Free Media Association, which had taken us there, and at the elaborate lunches, dinners and receptions. Not all the MPs from India, especially those from the South, were familiar with the art of embrace. It had to be a triple exercise, three-in-open, to be complete. On their way to Pakistan, they remained keen onlookers as their northern colleagues practised “japha” with their counterparts from across the border in the midst of festive scenes. Three days later, during the return trip, they were active participants at the very same point…. Hugs, handshakes or, for that matters, salutes, get politicised, at times. In the 1990s, “japha” underwent a temporary eclipse. Tight hugs between big-wigs from the two countries became taboo in the wake of a setback to bilateral relations. Way back in 1996, I.K. Gujral, then the External Affairs Minister, received his counterpart from Pakistan, Gohar Ayub, visiting New Delhi for a multilateral conference, with a warm, tight embrace and brisk handshake. It was a moving occasion and cameras captured the spirit. When the pictures appeared in the next day’s newspapers in Pakistan, some commentators were furious that their minister was indulging in “japha diplomacy” when Indian security forces were “spilling the blood of Kashmiri freedom fighters”. Politicians became cautious thereafter…. In 1993, during a visit to the US, I happened to be at one of the government offices in Washington, on the day of the White House ceremony that brought the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, and the Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzak Rabin, together for a handshake. The ceremony was meant to signify the progress in the Oslo process. As we watched it on television, my host asked: “When will Indians and Pakistanis shake hands?” I told him: “We not only shake hands but also embrace each other. Our problem starts thereafter.” One of the occasions when I experienced a genuinely warm “japha” was when I visited what used to be our house in the town of my birth, Jhang, for the first time 31 years after the partition. The present owner, Mohammed Hussain Salis, a jovial person was all smiles, all exuberance as he greeted me with a tight, warm embrace. It lasted longer than is normally the case-obviously, he sought to make the most of that exciting experience. “It is your house, feel free, feel comfortable,” he said as we went around the modest dwelling. There were slight additions and small changes. The womenfolk of his family normally observed purdah but not on that occasion. Obviously, I, a stranger to them till a short time back, was treated as one of them. The house remained the subject of conversation, marked by mini “japha” or half-embrace. “You did not leave much in the house when you left”, he said with a naughty wink. “When did you move in?” I asked. He mentioned some date-which was at least six weeks after we had abandoned the house. “Do you think, our belongings would have remained safe all those days?” He laughed, as if acknowledging that it was the period of looting. Moving from the past to the present, he made two offers. “If you had buried some valuable here, you are at liberty to take all that” he said. I thanked him for the offer but expressed my inability to make use of that, for the simple reason that we had not buried any treasure, Then came the second part of the offer. He gave the address of his house in Amritsar and details of what was buried where, saying with a flourish: “you are free to take all that too”. I have not made use of that offer. To me his “Japha” was more valuable. If the cordial hug is one manifestation of bonhomie between Indians and Pakistanis, detailed conversations on the shared past and present day common interests is another. The old generation is prompted by nostalgia, the younger lot by curiosity. In the second case, the first meeting is generally marked by such startled expressions as “just like us”. Particularly fascinating was my experience-again in August 2003-at the Lahore residence of one of Pakistan’s charismatic politicians, Abida Hussain, and her politician husband, Fakhr Imam, both former federal ministers, along with another guest, Abid Hussain, a distinguished former civil servant and diplomat from New Delhi and a part of our group. The hugs were confined to male members. Both Abid and Abida were in Washington as the ambassadors of their respective countries at the same time in the early nineties-a coincidence that produced delightful situations…. The warmth reflected in informal interaction between the two peoples surprises others. Figuring in it are all manner of subjects, politics, poetry, science and technology and, of course, personal experiences in each other’s countries. Not merely the pleasing subjects but, at times, distasteful matters figure in discussions without causing offence to one side or the other. There was, for instance, the case of Dr A Q Khan, the architect of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb who came to grief, some two years ago, for clandestine supplies of nuclear technologies. He was also known for his extreme hostility towards New Delhi and his activities were closely followed in India. It was natural for us in India to keep track of his case when he found himself in deep trouble in his own country. In discussions with Pakistanis, Indians tended to compare him with another top distinguished scientist from Pakistan, Dr Abdus Salaam, a Nobel laureate who, too, was well known in India but for his personal charm and competence. In February 2002, I wrote a story in The Hindu focusing on the two scientists from Pakistan-one a straightforward person with great regard for India and the Indians. Salaam and I had studied in the same college and I could not resist the temptation of striking a personal note. I recalled his visit to India and contrasted his friendliness and pleasing qualities with the animus shown by the other scientist. During one of my visits to Pakistan I was surprised to find that a good number of people there had read the write-up and sought details from me of Salaam’s early life-all that I knew of him-and of his India visit. I gave them graphic accounts of Salaam’s intimate discussions, his affability which came in full pay, with persons from our common home town, during his stay in India. He was here shortly after he was awarded the Nobel Prize in November 1979. One of the main purposes of his visit was a call on his professor, Hans Raj Bhatia, who gave him the very first lesson in physics in the early forties at the college in Jhang. I had the privilege of being Salaam’s contemporary there. Meeting him after over three decades was a great emotional experience, providing an opportunity for informal, intimate discussions. In one such conversation in New Delhi Ashoka Hotel’s suite, Salaam said he was in favour of cooperation between India and Pakistan in science and technology, nuclear development not excluded. “For peaceful uses of nuclear energy?” I inquired. “Even for producing the bomb,” he replied.
**** Excerpted from the author’s just-released book “Journey to Amity — India and Musharraf’s Pakistan”.
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HEALTH DREW Woodmansee prides himself on being in shape. The San Diego lawyer played baseball in college and stays fit by running and cycling. He faithfully keeps his appointments with his trainer. But as he eases into his mid-30s, Woodmansee is noticing minor ``knots and aches and pains,’’ he says. He used to bound out of bed and run five miles. Now he gets out of bed, stretches for half an hour and runs at the beach, which is easier on his joints. As men age, their fitness needs change. The all-out basketball games played at 20 aren’t so painless played at 36. During middle age, weight begins to creep up as metabolism slows, and the fat that puddles around the midsection threatens the heart and other organs. Elderly men discover the importance of flexibility and muscle strength as the simplest tasks, such as getting in and out of chairs, can become a challenge. A woman’s aging process is distinguished by particular physiological changes that demand specific workouts, such as resistance training to combat the osteoporosis that often occurs following menopause. But men don’t have such definitive markers and may realize they need to change their exercise routines only when they suffer a sprain that takes weeks or months to heal. It’s vital, however, for men to keep exercising to maintain good health. One study, published last year in the Journal of Applied Physiology, found men ages 65 to 79 who did regular physical activity had far stronger immune systems than those of a sedentary control group. A separate Canadian study of 19,000 men discovered that those who exercised and were fit cut their risk of death by heart disease in half. Men in their 20s are at the peak of their strength. That’s why many head for the gym and load up on weights, sometimes neglecting the cardiovascular aspects of their workout. But cardio is necessary at this stage to maintain heart and lung health. Throughout their 20s and early 30s, men also aren’t giving much thought to things like warming up and stretching, says Dr. Jordan Metzl, a sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. A sedentary lifestyle can creep up on guys in their 20s and 30s if they don’t adhere to a regular fitness program. If competitive sports become too strenuous or even dangerous, experts recommend segueing to less-demanding activities such as exercise classes, running or cycling. Developing a consistent workout that includes cardiovascular and strength training should be paramount, he says, to keep weight down and muscles strong. Men typically gain abdominal weight, which puts them at higher risk for heart disease and diabetes. Maintaining flexibility is vital as well, says Bryant: “That only gets more important with each passing year.” Yoga and Pilates are two disciplines designed to keeping joints supple, which helps prevent injury.
— LA Times Washington Post
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From the pages of CLASS ANIMOSITIES
Is there hope of a better feeding? That question has to be answered by the people concerned, and not by any other. Among other sections of the people there is at least a surface smoothness in all the larger affairs; but between them and the Mahomedans there is not even that. And in Eastern Bengal, where was first started the Hindu-Mahomedan dispute in its most acute form, any kind of smooth relations seems almost impossible. Lord Hardinge could read this in the addresses presented to him, and he took the occasion to express a sincere wish, with the high authority of His Majesty himself, that their animosities might be softened, if not altogether removed. The frequent reiteration of such a wish, it is to be hoped, will leave some influence on the minds of warring communities. But unless they intellectually assimilate the sentiment, there can be no chance of its moral assimilation. |
Every man should follow his own religion. A Christian should follow Christianity, and a Mohammedan Mohammedanism. For the Hindu, the ancient path, the path of the Aryan rights, is the best. —Ramakrishna Do not worry if you have no wealth. Do not worry if you have an ugly face. Do not worry if you have no position. If your heart is full of love, you need nothing else. —The Buddha No government on earth can make men, who have realised freedom in their hearts, salute against
their will. —Mahatma Gandhi
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