 |
|
Left apart A house for Mr Buta Singh |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Blow for English
Changing global scenario
SMS messengers of God
In pursuit of excellence Madhu Dandavate Enforcing respect for the law in Bihar
|
Left apart THE Left, particularly the CPM, has, of late, been going hammer and tongs at the UPA government. The party took the cake for it on Sunday when it participated in a joint rally with the Samajwadi Party in Lucknow where it lambasted the government for, what the party calls, its “ills”. It was difficult to believe that such criticism could emanate from a party on whose support the government survives. Even more astounding is the extent to which the CPM went to berate the government for its vote on Iran. The Left line on the Iranian issue has been at variance with the government and it has been freely expressing it. Few can find fault with it. But the idiom and language CPM general secretary Prakash Karat used at the Lucknow rally did not behove a secular party. He seemed to be pandering to sectional interests when he reminded the government about Lucknow’s Shia connection to Teheran. Seldom has a senior Marxist leader of Mr Karat’s eminence used a religious argument to make a political point. It is totally unwarranted. India’s external affairs have been guided mostly by what the government of the day thinks is its national interest. Of course, there can be difference of opinion on what constitutes the national interest. But at no point of time has foreign policy been guided by religious considerations. It is surprising that when the Marxists can have umpteen reasons to criticise the Manmohan Singh government’s vote on Iran, they have chosen a totally unacceptable argument. If Mr Karat was influenced by the preponderance of the Shias in Lucknow, will he change his policy when he addresses a meeting in Malappuran in Kerala where the Sunnis are in majority? Much of the Marxist bravado is because of the awareness that the UPA government is critically dependent on the Left for its support. It has every right to be heard by the government. In fact, there is a coordination mechanism in place so that the supporting parties and the constituents of the UPA are in agreement on broad policy issues. But this does not mean that the Left has a right to poke around or its student wing can hoot the Prime Minister down when he addresses a public function at Jawaharlal Nehru University. The government is as dependent on the Left for its survival as the latter is dependent on the government for its present-day importance.
|
|
A house for Mr Buta Singh WHEN it comes to enforcing rules against the political elite, invariably the authorities fall back on due form to avoid action as required by law, and all under the pretext of not wanting to be high-handed. Typical of this is the Union Urban Development Ministry’s avowed inability to get former ministers and political bigwigs thrown out of the government houses they continue to occupy illegally. Scores of government houses in the Capital continue to be retained as personal property by politicians who have no official status or right to such accommodation. As a result, those entitled to these houses have to put up in hotels, and that too at the cost of the public exchequer. The offenders belong to all parties, which may explain the reluctance of the government to act despite the Supreme Court’s explicit directives in the matter. It may be recalled that the Supreme Court had asked the Union Government to throw out all illegal occupants. In spite of such sanction from the highest judicial authority, all that the Urban Development Ministry does is file another affidavit in the apex court. This time the ministry has, obviously with a view to impressing the court and the public, taken a “tough stand”. And, what is this tough stand? A mere reiteration of the fact, that despite notices, the VIPs occupying government bungalows had not taken steps to vacate them. Among the squatters is Bihar Governor Buta Singh, several former NDA ministers and prominent functionaries of the Congress, the CPM, the Samajwadi Party and the Akali Dal. There is no reason, for instance, for Governor Buta Singh or UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to retain their government-allotted houses in Delhi. Each and everyone of them should be evicted forthwith and literally given no quarter by dragging on the case, as the ministry is doing.
|
|
Blow for English THE Haryana Government’s decision to make English and mathematics compulsory in middle and secondary-level school examinations is a step in the right direction. These subjects are the most important and keeping them optional was leading to a grave infirmity. It was found that the students who were not thorough in these subjects were on a shaky wicket in later life. While those who want to clear the examination just to get a certificate might make angry noises, the decision is likely to get widespread support, because it is in the interest of students themselves. English is no longer a “foreign” language. It is an international language of communication. Only those conversant in it can hope to make a mark. That is why China too rues shortage of English-literate people. Several states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar which tried to do away with it found that their students had no avenues available outside the boundaries of their states. Even in those states where it is taught only perfunctorily in government schools, parents prefer to send their wards to private schools even if that entails extra expenditure. The NCERT has also made recommendations on these lines. But the benefits will seep down to the recipients only if proper arrangements are made to teach these vital subjects. There is no dearth of single-teacher and even teacherless schools. Many schools show scandalously low pass percentage, mainly in English and mathematics. Suitable preparations will have to be made to tackle this shortcoming. Last month, Haryana had announced that 7,100 English teachers would be appointed soon. These teachers should be in employment before the next academic session. Not only that, their performance will have to be closely monitored. Now that the boys and girls are being made to learn this language in right earnest, let it be proper English, and not just
Hinglish.
|
|
Be wise with speed;/A fool at forty is a fool indeed. — Edward Young
|
Changing global scenario THE twenty-first century is witnessing a fast-changing international scene, with many complexities weaved in its emerging pattern. There are new features on the global scene which have no precedents, making their delineation difficult. A restructuring of the world order is underway, and in the years ahead, the shape of international relations will be quite distinct from what we have known till even a few years ago. Presented here is a sort of challenge to statecraft in the realm of foreign policy — for India, as also for all major actors on the world stage. The scenario that opened with the 9/11 onslaught of terrorism was a new ingredient in this restructuring of international relations. Even before global fluidity settled down came the American invasion of Iraq, adding further changes in international relations. All this — heaped on the post-Cold War setting that witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union and socialist regimes of Eastern Europe — simultaneously saw a strident rise, from amidst the ruins of the socialist dogmas of the 20th century, of a rejuvenated communist China with an unprecedented new flair. India added to this global restructuring by an upswing none expected. American dominance of the world scene is accompanied by several countervailing developments. Even prior to the Iraq invasion, the European partners of the US began distancing themselves from Washington. Cracks had begun to appear in the Atlantic alliance. At the root of this alliance rift was the economic cleavage, trade rivalry, dollar-euro tensions, with the icing of new geopolitics on this altered economic relationship. It was seen that in this rearrangement, Britain clung to its kinship with America though simultaneously it claimed to be part of the European Union. The American invasion of Iraq witnessed a climax to this new turn in Western Europe’s relationship with the United States, just as the event became the initiator of a downslide in the global standing of the US. That indeed is a characteristic of the emerging restructuring of international relations. A striking new feature of this scene is the kind of transformation that US-China relations is undergoing. The Sino-American bonhomie in opposing the erstwhile Soviet Union having disappeared, a confrontationist stance is being shaped by the two powers. On Taiwan, of course; but also in relation to several contentious issues that emerge on the world scene, such as the American invasion of Iraq, and now on Iran’s nuclear ambitions. This confrontationist stance is soft-pedalled by Beijing: it avoids any attenuation or demonstration in these postures. Both countries avoid the display of adversarial positions. Strangely, this confrontationist posture is not to be seen on the latest North Korean nuclear impasse. Rather, Beijing has been acting as a sort of go-between to resolve the contentious issue. Wang Jisi, a Chinese Communist Party think-tank says, “United States can exert the greatest strategic pressure on China”. A novelty of this geopolitics is that it is accompanied by unprecedented intensity in US-China economic ties — booming trade ties, the biggest-ever industrial interaction which includes American energy giants, Westinghouse and General Electric, building advanced nuclear power reactors in China, coupled with American investments in China along the entire spectrum of the economy. Here is a paradox. China’s rising economic power will certainly add to its military power — an unease that US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfield has recently articulated. But stopping China’s economic progress would harm American economy. Yet, if the US were to lose influence in a disastrous downturn, the resultant instability could cause a disruption in oil flow for the Chinese economy. All in all, it is a novel pattern of big power relationship such as has not been seen before. Consequently, this phenomenon gives rise to several other complexities. Indo-American relations are heavily impacted by the Sino-American relationship. Another factor in this layout is Japan, both US and Japan being mutually dependent. On the other hand, Sino-Japanese interaction has deteriorated sharply. Simultaneously, India-China ties are coming closer, though the hangover of the 1962 border war has not been entirely got over. A rapidly expanding India-China economic relationship is a developing factor that can hardly be underrated. And so, the India-US-China triangle has many frailties that pose ticklish and sensitive question marks for India’s foreign policy makers. Obsessed as Indian policy makers inevitably are over relations with Pakistan, the Kashmir issue being the fulcrum, India’s burgeoning relationship with the United States on the one hand and China on the other is fast emerging as the central band of the new foreign policy direction of this country. India’s ties with the European Union, including Britain, as also Japan, are becoming tertiary, but cannot be underplayed. So too is the relationship with the other developing nations of Asia, Latin America and Africa. India thus finds itself in the vortex of the unfolding events on the international arena and has to restructure its international relations as well as foreign policy parameters. The rise of terrorism backing Islamic fundamentalism, the virtual break-up of the Atlantic alliance, China’s emergence as a big power with economic as well as geopolitical ambitions, and India’s own economic and geo-political upswing in which its merits in nuclear science and IT play a special role, pose many new questions for Indian foreign policy. Has India to remain equidistant between Washington and Beijing or to lean more towards the US, or to decide on the choice from issue to issue, according to its national interests? A tertiary issue is Indo-EU and Indo-Russian ties, for the two powers are emerging as potential deciding players on critical global issues. Some of these questions were pushed to the fore following the voting at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the issue of Iran’s nuclear ambitions. India’s role can be understood only in the context of giving primacy to its national interests. There is a great deal of understandable heart-burning in India over the way this country has voted on the IAEA resolution, after a protracted phase of international push and pull among the main powers, in which India had hitherto sought to cushion the impact on Iran of American arms-twisting. All of a sudden, it appears, India has changed its role by voting in favour of the IAEA resolution, promoted by the US as well as the EU3. Evidently, there is a tilt in Indian policy on this sensitive issue since the matter is related to India’s own nuclear status and the change in American and Western attitude towards India’s indigenous nuclear capability and civilian nuclear power cooperation. This aspect cannot be minimised: it has to take primacy. But Indian policy has to be flexible and play an active role in resolving the issue within the domain of the IAEA. As the Prime Minister has said, India has to persist with efforts to gain time for Iran, to build a negotiated solution within the framework of the IAEA. The situation has been clouded because all the facts in this crisis are not sufficiently known. So, let the facts be restated in the position taken by the main actors — the US, EU3 and the Iranian government. The prime issue is whether Iran has the right to enrich uranium for its nuclear power projects. In principle, Iran has this right subject to IAEA supervision, for which Iran has to accept the additional protocol the IAEA is now applying to all members. But in practice, Iran can hardly implement this project indigenously in the near future. On the other hand, Iran can build light water reactors — for which it needs low-enriched uranium fuel — only with the cooperation of Russia and France. In the event of such agreements, as is the case with Iran-Russian collaboration, enriched uranium fuel is part of the deal. There is no fundamental issue here that cannot be resolved. On the other hand, Iran’s interest is in dispelling doubts about its intentions of diverting indigenous nuclear capability for
weapons.
|
SMS messengers of God ON a much-awaited Sunday morning when I received an SMS message that said: “Don’t delete it. Pass the word jai maa Vaishnodeviji ki to 11 people and make a wish. After 6 days ur wish’ll come true. If u’ll not send, u’ll’ve bad luck 4 next 6 yr.” My initial reaction was that of fear, followed by complete disgust. The message had been sent by a person I knew very well, or thought that I did, and someone I always regarded as a progressive human being who could never ever wish anyone ill. Clearly, I was mistaken. But the message did lead me to think as to who these people are, who, in this day and age, still believe that God is perhaps a small-town lower middle-class housewife, ready to shower blessings on those who please him and punish those who do not. Clearly, to them God was perhaps an ordinary mortal like us humans, who needed to be flattered on a daily basis, pleased by propagating such scary and medieval thoughts and sending them in the form of messages to unsuspecting people. But even their thought process has continued to be as primitive as the times when such practices started, these pathetic ignorants (and believe me, I can think of no other word to describe such people), who earlier used to send such messages inscribed on pamphlets and postcards, have now graduated to hi-tech methods. They now use e-mails and SMS to propagate their thoughts. While I may be the last person qualified to even attempt to understand who or what God is, one fact that I am quite certain of is that God is the supreme power in whom we all need to have faith and belief in, not someone to fear or be scared of. And if God is even an iota of the supreme power we all believe him to be, he doesn’t need the aid of such messages or people to spread his name or religion. At least not by threatening and wishing others bad luck. Surely there are better ways to do so. Anyway, psychiatrists have an interesting insight on such people. This is what a senior consultant in Sriganga Ram Hospital, Dr R.C. Malik, has to say: Propagators of such messages are usually psychologically weak people, generally from the middle-class. Rich and poor people usually never indulge in such practices. At times, these people may send such messages out of fear as the underlying thought behind them is — better comply or something untoward may happen to you. Some do it for reward and others with the intention of spreading the religion. So for all these ignorant souls, all one can wish for is — please God, let there be
light.
|
In pursuit of excellence IT is always a pleasure for me to come to a university campus. My professional life started among students and teachers and I have always enjoyed the environment of a university campus. It is an even greater pleasure for me to be here at the Jawaharlal Nehru university. I feel truly privileged to have been asked by your university to unveil the statue of Panditji on this very sacred day of his birth anniversary. Your university has established itself as a premier institution of academic excellence and intellectual freedom. The nation is proud to have such an institution of global standing. I salute all those who dreamt of creating this university and all those who have toiled to make it a great one. It is only apt that an institution like yours was named after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. His vision of the world, his vision of India, and his vision of academia are all encapsulated in the vision of this university. Every student of this university I am delighted to learn, is made aware of Panditji’s famous reflections on what a university stands for. Speaking at the Allahabad University in 1947, Panditji had said: “A university stands for humanism, for tolerance, for reason, for progress, for the adventure of ideas and for the search for truth. It stands for the onward march of the human race towards even higher objectives. If the universities discharge their duty adequately, then it is well with the nation and the people. But if the temple of learning itself becomes a home of narrow bigotry and petty objectives, how then will the nation prosper or a people grow in stature?” Panditji went on to add: “A vast responsibility, therefore, rests on our universities and educational institutions and those who guide their destinies. They have to keep their lights burning and must not stray from the right path even when passion convulses the multitude and blinds many amongst those whose duty it is to set an example to others. We are not going to reach our goal through crookedness or flirting with evil in the hope that it may lead to good. The right end can never be fully achieved through wrong means.” Friends, students and teachers, these wise words of Panditji resonate in our minds even today when we think of what the larger purpose of a university is. Indeed, you come here to earn a degree. Indeed, you come here to master a discipline. But, do sincerely believe, you also come here to secure something more than just the understanding of a science or an art, something more than earning a passport to a job. A university provides the environment in which we evolve as responsible citizens of the world. We learn here the art and science of seeking truth. We learn here the principles of engaging in a dialogue. We learn here as much as we unlearn. For both learning and unlearning are two sides of the same coin of seeking truth, of seeking knowledge. We also learn in a university how to deal with a difference of opinion. For in expressing one’s own opinion freely, we implicitly recognise the right of another to similarly express a different opinion freely. I do sincerely believe that a university is built on the foundation of liberalism. It can never thrive without the assurance of a liberal environment. Every member of a university community must, if he or she wishes to aspire to be worthy of a university, accept the truth of Voltaire’s classic statement. Voltaire famously proclaimed: “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend, to the death, your right to say it.” That idea must be the corner-stone of a liberal institution. Friends, India was blessed in the period when its freedom was championed by its people to have had a galaxy of great leaders. Few nations in the world have seen within the span of a single lifetime leaders and intellectuals such as Mahatma Gandhi, Panditji, Subhash Bose, Sardar Patel, Rabindranath Tagore, C V Raman and scores of others who illuminated our national discourse. Together, that entire generation of our national leaders left behind one very important value. The idea of pluralism. The idea of inclusiveness. The idea of unity in diversity. Each of these ideas is inter-linked. Each of them is based on the principles of liberalism - The principles that must define the intellectual environment of a university. In erecting a statue of Panditji on this campus we should not engage in idolatry. That statue is not meant for us to pay our daily obeisance; for us to genuflect; for us to seek ritual purification by paying our respects to his memory. I do hope generations of students will stand before that statue and seek to understand the ideas that shaped that man. Ideas that in turn shaped our nation. The idea of India, as a land of diversity, of pluralism, of inclusiveness. The idea of India as an open society and an open economy in which every individual can find the space and freedom to express his or her creativity and explore their enterprise. Our policy on education must be informed by these ideas and ideals. We must ensure that we can offer access and seek excellence in our universities. I say this as someone who is what he is today thanks to the access that universities gave me and the pursuit of excellence they sought to instill in me. Education empowers us. Education creates capabilities. Education reduces disparities provided we can ensure that even as we pursue excellence, we can assure access. Jawaharlal Nehru University must become the symbol of such commitment to both access and excellence in education. The pursuit of excellence is not elitism. It is the means by which societies seek to grow and develop and encourage progress. On this birth anniversary of a great son of India, whose name and ideals define this institution, I thank you for this opportunity to be on your campus. I wish you all well. May your path be blessed. Jai Hind. The
above is the text of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s speech at Jawaharlal Nehru University, on the occasion of the unveiling of a statue of Jawaharlal Nehru, on November
14, 2005.
|
|
Madhu Dandavate IN his heyday, be it in Railways or Finance, he was rated as a “useless” Minister. What good is a politician who won’t cut an odd deal here and fix a contract elsewhere. Well, that was Madhu (Dandavate), who I’d known for over 30 years. After the V.P Singh ministry fell, when at his house — 10 Ashoka Road, Delhi — for a meal, I ribbed him: “So, you are back at home, with nothing to show for having been Finance Minister?” The word “clean” sums up the man, his persona, politics and work, though he never wore it on his spotless sleeve like politicians are wont to do. He was also gentle and modest but unwaveringly firm and resolute. Yet, he could shed the professorial veneer and join a street protest for a worthy cause. A gentleman protestor who never let down a good cause, be it fighting for liberation of Goa or against the Emergency. As Railway Minister in the Janata Party government, he is remembered for making second class travel almost as comfortable as first — with cushioned seats and berths giving way to what were at best wooden benches. Less known is that while many of the Janata Party ministers ignored the causes they had vowed to stand up for, Dandavate was responsive. His image, like that of his socialist comrades, may not have been one of a fiery crusader. Yet, he was more dedicated. The occasion was a public meeting called by a civil liberties’ union in Madras in 1977 to highlight Emergency atrocities and custodial deaths. Ministers who had promised to attend cried off and others pleaded their inability saying that they were awaiting portfolios. Then there were those who felt that with the Janata Party in office, there was no call to continue these movements with the earlier fervour. And, no ‘national’ politician wanted to fall foul of the DMK and the AIADMK, which had carved up Tamil Nadu’s political space between them. As a last resort, the organisers approached Dandavate who had come down for the assembly election campaign. Initially, he appeared hesitant, only because his schedule was already tight. When told that this public meeting was late in the evening, he wanted to know the issues to be highlighted. But when one of the organisers blurted out that a Union Minister’s participation had been announced and no one else was available, Dandavate smiled as if to excuse himself and stood up. “Now you have left me no choice. I have to come so that you are not let down by the Janata Party”. As word spread, the railway unions acted to ensure that their members gathered in thousands. It was a rare public meeting in Madras - for the attendance it attracted without the support of either the DMK or the AIADMK; and also for a non-party, issue-based political gathering.
|
|
Enforcing respect for the law in Bihar THE Election Commission needs to be commended for two fair and peaceful rounds of polling in Bihar. The human life saved is itself a singular feat as scores of people used to get killed in any election in Bihar. Having been an observer for the first phase, I have an idea of the ground truth and the magnitude of the effort, planning and above all determination that has gone into making things work. A fearless ballot was made possible under a general fear of the bullet. I have returned satisfied but carry a deep concern. We are now operating in a system where “mistrust” and “lack of confidence” in the local apparatus has become the sine qua non of a fair and peaceful electoral process. In Bihar the credibility question is not just restricted to the Election Commission or the media. More than outsiders, it is the natives who have neither regard for nor fear of the “authority”. The Central Paramilitary Force (CPMF) guarded about 65% of booths in the assembly constituency I was observing. On such booths everyone stood in a queue without asking and moved away after voting to a considerable distance causing no interference. What about other booths, however? During my visit to one such booth in an interior location, not classified as sensitive, I was taken aback by the scene. The booth had deployed four armed personnel, two from Bihar Police and two from Home Guards. There was total commotion at the booth. No one was prepared to stand in queue and the ladies, less than a hundred, had thronged the table of the Polling Party each demanding an early slip for the vote. All those who had already voted were still hanging around at the gate. The Polling Party was obviously harassed and though not many voters were actually left for polling, confusion and indiscipline had taken over the normal process. I demanded from the force deployed to bring order, make the ladies stand in a queue and ask all those who had voted to move away from the premises. Their efforts were without results. Some people did move away but the ladies were still resistant Finally I had to call my escort personnel to do the needful. I decided to be there for about 15 minutes for things to settle down and asked the armed personnel for an explanation. Their reply was that “the local people do not listen to us.” My PSO confirmed the general perception about the loss of command of the local police. I was appalled that the authorities had lost the ability and confidence to even command compliance of law. One can imagine the morale of such a uniformed force and their efficacy in meeting a law and order situation. What the Commission has done is absolutely necessary and there is no other possible solution but should we not think beyond it? This is certainly not the last election. What will happen when the elections in Bihar are held with general elections all over the country and CPMF availability is minimal? Alternatively, if separate elections are planned to ensure maximum CPMF presence, they will be in a number of phases spread over months and at an enormous costs, grinding all development and governance process. The bigger concern is that with time even the CPMF will lose it’s sheen as familiarity breeds contempt and constant public interface erodes the sharpness of law enforcement agencies. Unfortunately the malady is just not in Bihar as a similar situation prevails in many other pockets of the country. If we do not address and resolve these issues, the rule of law will begin with election notification and end with it. The author, Secretary (Home and Vigilance) in the
Government of Himachal Pradesh, was in Bihar during the first phase of the poll as Election Observer
|
|
From the pages of Three-storeyed bureaucracy
One of the proposed changes in the Constitution of the India Council is the introduction of the portfolio system. This innovation will go to the very root of the matter and divest the Council of its present advisory character. There cannot be a more effective way of relieving the Secretary of State of a large measure of his responsibility-a result which cannot be regarded with indifference. A new bureaucracy is going to be superimposed on those already existing and it will be sufficiently trying for the people of India to bear the pressure of a three-storeyed bureaucracy. It is quite superfluous to have a member in charge of a department over and above the Permanent Secretary, and this redundancy of officials in the India Council can only end in confusion and more red tape.
|
Have you not seen what your Lord did to those with the elephants? Did God not foil their scheme, sending flocks of birds against them, bombarding them with stones of baked clay? That made them like stripped cornstalks whose fruits have been consumed. — Islam Rain water never stands on high ground, but runs down to the lowest level. So also the mercy of God remains in the hearts of the lowly, but drains off from those of the vain and the proud. — Ramakrishna Society is divided into four classes of people: those who teach and guide, those who trade and those who serve. Each has an important task to perform. The role of each is indispensable for the proper functioning of society. — Bhagvad Gita
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
“I went (to North Block) with clean, empty hands and am back with them,” he retorted. Shaking my hand heartily, he took me aside and asked half-seriously, “Can I trust you to put that in my epitaph?”