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EC is the winner Tackle the Taliban |
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Rebuilding assets
Why US hates France
Mein Banoonga
Crorepati
A tale of
helplessness Rebels held during
Bush’s China visit Delhi
Durbar
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Tackle the Taliban Saturday’s
kidnapping of an Indian driver along with three Afghan nationals should not be treated as an isolated incident. It is believed that Taliban remnants, who represent the anti-India forces in Afghanistan, are behind the incident which occurred between Kandahar and Herat. Earlier they had kidnapped a few Indian engineers (later on released), besides nationals of certain other countries, in the provinces known as the Taliban strongholds. The Taliban and their sympathisers continue to remain a potent threat to stability and security in various areas despite the US-led military drive against them in the wake of 9/11. The Taliban remnants, who have their umbilical cord in Pakistan, get clandestine support from Islamabad, which uses them not only for keeping the Hamid Karzai government on tenterhooks but also for creating hindrances in the way of the reconstruction projects being undertaken with the help of India. Their latest victim, B. R. Kutty, the driver of the Indian Border Roads Organisation, belongs to the 300-strong Indian workforce busy constructing a major road for linking the Kandahar-Herat highway to Iran. The strategically significant project, being funded by India, will provide Afghanistan a shorter route to the sea via Iran’s Chabahar port than the road that leads to a Pakistani port. Besides the Taliban remnants, there are other elements also who pose a serious threat to the security of the Indians working on not only road construction projects but also those related to healthcare, education, telecommunications, etc. India, which has pledged to spend over $600 million on reconstruction projects, has been asking the Afghan authorities to provide adequate security to its nationals but without any tangible result. The time has come for India and Afghanistan to create a special security force for the purpose. The new security force can get the necessary training in India, which has already been helping Afghanistan in having a properly trained police force. Reconstruction projects will get unnecessarily delayed in the absence of an effective security cover to those engaged in the task. |
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Rebuilding assets THE Union Government’s recent decision to allow 49 per cent foreign direct investment in asset reconstruction companies will help banks clean up their balance sheets and get rid of bad loans or what they call non-performing assets (NPAs). The Indian banking industry is reported to be saddled with NPAs amounting to Rs 1 lakh crore. Asset reconstruction companies pick up bad loans of financial institutions and banks at a discount, securitise them and then sell them off as junk bonds. The Finance Ministry was keen on a 74 per cent cap on FDI in this sector, but the RBI favoured a 49 per cent ceiling. The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have been barred from equity participation in companies buying NPAs, though their entry would have broadened the market for bonds. The latest decision coincided with the visit of US Treasury Secretary John Snow, who welcomed it and also expressed US corporate interest in India’s real estate, banking, credit market and financial services. Several foreign companies are keen on investing in the asset reconstruction sector in India, but lack of clear guidelines and policy had deterred them. CDC of the UK had proposed to set up a firm called Actis Asset Reconstruction Company with equity participation from Corporation Bank and ING Vysya Bank. Other global firms like Goldman Sachs and Pricewaterhouse are also ready with their projects to enter this business. Although by taking such baby steps, the government wants to send the message that the reforms are on track, it will have to move faster to cash in on global interest in the Indian growth story. China still attracts 10 times more foreign direct investment than India and if the trend is to be reversed, the government will have to aggressively open more sectors to FDI, especially those where the Left opposition is not stiff. |
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Critics are like brushers of noblemen’s
clothes. — Henry Wotton |
Why US hates France Weeks
of rioting by France’s underclass in poorer neighbourhoods have opened up another front: a new cross-Atlantic war of words, with American commentators, many of them in the neoconservative ranks, delighting in deriding French values and self-perception. Foremost in their ranks are columnists such as John Vinocur and Charles Krauthammer. It is as if they cannot stop belabouring France for its superciliousness and talking down to Americans. Yet the venomous prose that is filling the pages of American newspapers and journals has a deeper cause. After having vanquished communism, in the American self-perception, and desirous of ruling the world as the Second Roman Empire, the only thing that stands in the way is France — French concepts and vision that taunt vainglorious attempts at world domination. And the dramatic French-American clash symbolised by the then French Foreign Minister, Mr Dominique de Villepin, in the United Nations Security Council in the run-up to the Iraq war still rankles. The truth is that France has done more than its bit in bringing down the American concept of its own power several notches. Traditionally, France has been largely cooperative in American endeavours during the Cold War, in particular in helping integrate Europe in the European Economic Community, now the European Union. At the same time, it has a distinct personality and vision of its own and is unafraid of promoting and pronouncing upon them. In 1966, it left NATO ‘s military command and it had no compunction in vetoing Britain’s first attempt to join the European Community. In the beginning, the United States came into being in opposition to colonial Britain in association with France, and many of the leaders of the independence generation had much praise for France. The German occupation of France for four years during World War II was a great humiliation, but the French transcended it and had a vision, spelled out by General Charles de Gaulle. Later, there were problems between Bush senior and the French; the former’s Secretary of State, Mr James Baker, has been candid in expressing his frustrations with Paris. The usual American complaint is that France punches above its weight in power terms, for much of the post-war period through the European project. Its insistence on possessing a nuclear weapon ability of its own was an expression of its self-image. The end of the Cold War has compounded US-French problems, with America’s global ambitions unfettered by the demise of the Soviet Union. The American plan that sat ill with France was to make Europe an appendage to its interests and transform NATO into an American Foreign Legion to fight Washington’s imperial wars. A crisis developed over the proposal for a European Rapid Reaction Force, with its own planning organisation, to conduct missions in which the US was not interested. Washington fought hard to downgrade the Europe venture in favour of NATO’s own force. Despite French and European assurances, Washington continued to believe that the Brussels proposal was the thin end of the wedge, with Europe eventually going its own way. It was, of course, true that with the end of the Cold War, there was less European compulsion to hang on to American coattails. But the French have not always been unsympathetic to Americans, the famous Le Monde headline after the Nine Eleven attacks proclaimed, “We are all Americans”. In recent times, Iraq represented a new breaking point in French-American relations because it proclaimed contempt for multilateralism and wished to consign relationships to “either you are with us or against us”. While countries such as Britain and “new Europe” chose to humour Americans for their own perceived selfish interests, such a relationship militated against the very concept of France. It is a paradox that the French generally like Americans but not America while Americans like France, but not the French. According to the Pew Research Centre, 53 per cent French have a favourable opinion of American citizens while only 17 per cent of Americans believe that France is a faithful ally. On its part, the US administration has often tried to isolate France by teaming up either with Britain or Germany, the latter option being closed in the lead-up to the Iraq war because of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s use of the Iraq card to win his electoral battle. In fact, the French helped the US in the passage of the first UN resolution (1441) on Iraq but Washington chose to go to war without Security Council authorisation. The French have been particularly apt in defining American attitudes and objectives. Alexis de Tocqueville’s guide to America remains a classic, and to a former French Foreign Minister, Mr Hubert Vedrine, goes the honour of inventing the term “hyperpower” for the United States as it has emerged in the post-Cold War phase, a description Americans have taken to be pejorative. In an interview in December 1999, Mr Vedrine chose to describe his country’s relations with the US. “They always seem to reflect”, he said, “a mixture of fascination, sympathy, admiration and exasperation”, a state of affairs he found “normal”. On another occasion, Mr Vedrine suggested that US hegemony was not the outcome of a plot but “the result of a project”. There are at the same time very close economic and trade relations between France and the United States, despite American fury during the Iraq war by making a display of boycotting French wine and re-christening French fries as “freedom fries”. And the term of abuse for Mr John Kerry, the Democratic candidate contesting the presidency against Mr Bush, was that he looked (and spoke) French. In fact, Mr Kerry has a French cousin. Popular perceptions play a part in relations between countries but such stereotypes can do little good, buttressed as they are by an army of neoconservatives eager to paint the French in the most ridiculous of colours. The French have a problem on their hands in devising methods to bring their underclass — mainly black and brown citizens — into the mainstream. American taunts will not help resolve these
problems.
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Mein Banoonga Crorepati IT was a dream come true. I had qualified to sit next to Amitabh Bachchan and play for two crore rupees in “Kaun Banega Crorepati-2”. Amitabh Saheb introduced me in his deep baritone with élan: “Our contestant tonight is from Chandigarh. He has studied up to graduation and passed up to matriculation. If he bags the Rs 2-crore prize, he intends to invest it in winning an election and making it into Rs 200 crore. Welcome Mr Chandel, here is your first question: “Who is the Prime Minister of India? Is it, A. Manmohan Singh, B. Natwar Singh, C. Sonia Gandhi, or is it D. Harkishen Singh Surjeet?” “Sir, it is A, Manmohan Singh.” “That was quick. You have won Rs 1,000 but play with caution. Here is your next question: “How many children does Lalu Yadav have? A, eight; B, nine; C, 10 or is it D.11?” Since I am a lifelong admirer of Laluji’s productive policies, the question was easy fodder for me. I immediately blurted out B. “You are absolutely right and have won 2,000 rupees. The next question is now on your screen: How many times has Pakistan given up terrorism export? A. five; B. 50; C. 500 or D. 5,000?” I scratched my head. “I think I will go for D.” “Confident?” “Not really, sir, but I had lost count after 500 and the answer has to be 5,000.” “You are right once again and your prize money has also swelled to Rs 5,000. Your question number four is: which State has the honour of giving the term ‘Aya Ram Gaya Ram’ to the world: A. Punjab; B. Haryana; C. Tamil Nadu or D. Goa?” I knew the answer vaguely but was spoilt for choices. To be doubly sure, I went for “audience poll”. Surprise of surprise, the audience returned a hung verdict. Since there was no scope of a re-poll as in real life, I went with my hunch and locked B, Haryana. “You are absolutely right and have earned Rs 10,000. Now answer this one: How many persons were killed in the 1993 Bombay blasts: A. About 150; B. About 250; C. About 550 or D. 950?” I was completely at sea. We Indians have phenomenal memory when it comes to the number of affairs that a starlet has had but tend to forget the tragedies of innocent fellow beings. “Sir, I would like to go in for ‘phone a friend’,” I said. “Whom would you like to call?” “Dawood Ibrahim.” “Where does Dawoodji live?” “Karachi.” “Computerji, Dawoodji ko Pakistan mein phone lagaya jaye. Hello, Dawoodbhai, mein Amitabh Bachchan bol raha hoon Kaun Banega Crorepati se. Aapke mitra Amar Chandel mere samne baithe hain. He has won 10,000 rupees and to win 20,000, he needs your help. Answer his question but you will get only 30 seconds for that. Your time begins now.” “O Bachchan, how dare you give me a deadline? Just hand him Rs 2 crore and ask him to wait at home with the money for my man. And by the way Bachchan, here is a list of five films in which you have to act or else …. Your time begins now.”
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A tale of helplessness Today
I feel helpless as a Punjabi foremost, then a helpless writer and finally a helpless filmmaker! After touring the state for three days and three nights, I realise my state, which was once an epitome of prosperity, joy and laughter, basant and mustard fields, is slowly sinking into an unmentionable physical and mental despair. I stare into a near future, where Punjabis (70 per cent) will be mere zombies and hence soft target for any form of exploitation — by the State, vested foreign interests and mercenary individuals. It is a ticking time-bomb. How can I, in my individual capacity, stop a class VII student of my state from drifting into drug addiction and also stop him from inducing his equally innocent friend? I cannot, therefore I am helpless. How can I ask his parents to be more vigilant and stop pampering him with money and mobiles, which make him go looking for other “kicks”? How can the school authorities of the state shut their eyes on a problem which has become an epidemic in the last seven years? How can they shirk their responsibility and not carry out an anti-drug awareness campaign in the schools? The information about the nexus of the police, politicians and drug mafia is nothing new for the general public or the media. But I wish truly that at least one politician who unloads trucks and tractor-trolleys of “bhukki” during elections to woo his voters, and one police official who waits for his share from the proceeds of drug sale, could witness how a young Punjabi youth, when he has no means to buy drugs, when he has already disposed of his home articles to provide for the “nasha,” pours kerosene over himself and sets himself afire! When his poor old parents cannot stand his mental and physical agony and request the doctor on duty “give him an injection which puts him out of his pain forever”. The 20-year-old taxi driver could be my son and despair grips me when he says, “It is not that bad in my case. I just take small doses, but if I don’t get it then I can’t drive”. I look at his thin, drug-abused frame and his constantly shifting eyes, and wonder, where has the once eulogised Punjabi “gabru” vanished? While sitting in another de-addiction clinic, the doctor, who has brought out countless books and magazines on drug abuse, educates me. “Where the urbanites are concerned, parents don’t want to acknowledge that their children are into drugs. It is a social stigma and they would rather open their pockets to aiding their children rather than curing them!” What apathy! He points to a young lady, “she has been married for two years, has one-year-old child and the husband is an addict. She has been bringing him regularly for treatment. But it is not possible for all ruralites to undergo this treatment. They cannot afford a private doctor’s fee and government hospitals are not equipped to handle de-addiction”. I look at Dr Vandana of Bathinda, who is normally beseiged with drug-addicts numbering 40-70 in the peak season, who has made de-addicting Punjabis her mission and feel hope stirring inside me. Moreover, she charges them a very nominal fee so that they have no hesitation in coming to her. “I can go to the extent of touching their feet and begging to leave drugs”. Dr Praveen Agarwal, who runs O.C.E.D — Organisation for Children’s Education and Development — along with 40-odd members, says: “We have adopted 20-odd government schools in the Mamdot sector and provide educational facilities and also run an awareness programme about drugs. Because we know that these very children whose parents have been labourers for many generations will be used as drug carriers from across the border”. This awareness in a 32-year-old was an eye-opener! Today there are no jobs to rehabilitate those graduates or professionals who undergo de-addiction and want to lead a normal life. After drifting in a void for some months, without anything to exhaust their energies, these youth go back to being addicts. When they run out of money, they become peddlers. I feel helpless for State policies are not what they should be, and one can do nothing about it. On the one hand I see the youth of my state killing themselves and on the other I see unaccounted poppy blooming in the neighbouring Rajasthan, UP and MP, and I feel helpless that the powers that matter cannot see where Punjab is heading! Where is the State consciousness? Young Megha, who has been my companion for some hours, says, “Maybe because we have become used to this extensive drug abuse, your reaction seems strange!” Harnek, who has been driving me around, comments, “There are parents, who will fall before you and beg you to get their sons cured, but there are also others for whom peddling is the only means of livelihood”. What had started for me as a recce for my next documentary, has become an ordeal and a tale of helplessness. Would making a film help wipe out the agony and tears of thousands of mothers, fathers, wives and sisters? Is someone out there listening to what has gone wrong with my Punjab? The writer is making a documentary film on drug addiction in Punjab. |
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Rebels held during Bush’s
China visit After
a two-day visit to China billed as an opportunity to advance his second-term goal of spreading freedom, President Bush left the country on Monday amid questions over how aggressively he pressed the matter. Prior to the trip, expectations among human rights advocates were high, as Bush had scheduled an appearance at a Beijing church, had challenged China to open its society during a speech last week in Japan, and had hosted the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing perceives as a threat, at the White House. But setbacks began days before Bush’s arrival, when Chinese authorities apparently forced several high-profile dissidents to leave the capital in an effort to prevent negative publicity. Also, unlike past U.S.-China summits that have resulted in the release of some political prisoners, no such releases occurred this time. And U.S. officials apparently failed to persuade Beijing to air all aspects of Bush’s trip, particularly the church stop, on state-controlled media. “We all understand that a system that is open and competitive politically is one that is moving toward democracy,” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said after Bush’s meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao and other leaders. “And there’s no question but that China would have a ways to go to meet that test.” Bush’s China trip, his third as President, underscored the challenge posed by this country to the “freedom agenda” that is the centerpiece of Bush’s second-term foreign policy. While much smaller countries such as Iraq, Syria and even Myanmar draw intense focus from the Bush administration in its quest to spread democracy, China seems to operate in its own category as a fast-rising world superpower with major economic influence in the U.S. One measure of that is Washington’s trade deficit with China, which now approaches $200 billion. Hu on Sunday proclaimed that his country had achieved “historic progress” in democratic reforms and human rights. Standing beside Bush in the Great Hall of the People flanking Tiananmen Square, site of the 1989 student protests that sparked some of the reforms, Hu said the Chinese now exercise “their right of democratic elections, democratic decision-making, democratic management and democratic supervision.” But the Chinese President offered no details and did not mention the roundup of political dissidents, or his country’s continued efforts to crack down on public dissent and religious freedom. He also took no questions, even though the audience for Sunday’s joint statements by Bush and Hu consisted almost entirely of journalists. U.S. negotiators failed to persuade Hu and his aides to permit a question-and-answer session with reporters as is tradition at Bush’s summit meetings (though Bush typically limits the sessions to two questions from each country’s press corps). The weekend’s discussions were dominated by business and trade issues, such as the value of China’s currency and Beijing’s failure to prevent pirating of music and movies. A sign of that industry emphasis came Saturday, Bush’s first night in town, when one of his aides broke the news to reporters that Seattle-based Boeing Inc. had inked a deal to sell 70 737 jetliners to China - a “vindication,” the aide said, of the administration’s approach to China. — LA Times-Washington Post |
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Delhi
Durbar No
meeting with Sam Bahadur can be without its lighter moments. The Field Marshal had a VVIP visitor in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he was recuperating at the Army hospital. A bird tells us that Manekshaw accepted Dr Singh’s good wishes and without any preamble asked the Prime Minister his age. The Prime Minister said he was 72. Manekshaw, 91, instantly told Dr Singh he was a “baccha”. Then he wondered how many children and grandchildren did the Prime Minister have. The Prime Minister responded. And Manekshaw observed in his typical style: “it is good you don’t have a son otherwise you might not have become the Prime Minister.” Everyone in the room burst into laughter. The significance of the Volcker report was not lost on anyone.
Three Bihar leaders In the just-concluded assembly elections in Bihar, Ram
Vilas Paswan, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitesh Kumar are the main leaders around whom the state politics revolves. Paswan, Nitesh and Lalu were
approached for an interaction with the media, but surprisingly only one of them responded. Paswan, who was
travelling in an Indian Airline plane, was given a request in person while the other two were contacted telephonically in Patna. Lalu was even approached through his party’s spokesman to grant sometime for an interaction. Nitesh was the only one whose response came as a professional. His office, when contacted, made Nitesh come on the telephone to say that the correspondent was welcome to travel with
him on his campaign tour.
Parliament library Winds of change are sweeping Parliament. At the initiative of Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, facilities at the Parliament Library are being thrown open to researchers, members of state legislatures, officials of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariat above a certain rank and accredited media persons. The access to a rich collection and an opportunity to rub shoulders with men in khadi at the knowledge centre one hopes would bring in new ideas to those who legislate.
Woes of air travel The IC-810 flight from Patna to Delhi last Friday was delayed due to an unusual reason . The Captain informed the passengers that he had been advised to stay put in air as there was congestion at the domestic runway. After having circled around for more than 50 minutes, one lady passenger remarked that while the earlier governments failed to modernise airports because of lack of resources, the present government is not able to do because of opposition from the Left parties who don’t seem to realise how much time and petrol are lost. Contributed by Prashant Sood, Satish Misra and R. Suryamurthy. |
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From the pages of Maharaja of Patiala
The Sikhs held a remarkable demonstration in the gurudwara at Simla last night presided over by His Highness the Maharaja of Patiala. He said: “We have met here today on the anniversary of the World War which is unparalleled in the history of the world. We have met here to pray fervently, with all the earnestness and devotion we can command, that God many vouchsafe a complete victory in every field of battle. The Government is making tremendous sacrifices in the cause of civilisation, freedom and justice. From tomorrow the New Year begins and I have every hope that, before its circle is complete, God will help the British arms to secure a complete victory. It is not for me to assert that the whole Sikh nation is ready with its body, mind and wealth to serve the Government. I trust that you will join me, will all your heart, in praying that Britain may for ever continue to rule over us and may gain in power and influence day by day and its enemies may for ever be destroyed.” Amongst those present were His Highness the Raja of Faridkot, Kunwar Charanjit Singh, Sardar Jogendra Singh and Sardar Bahadur Sardar Sunder Singh Majithia.
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Though done painstakingly, every piece of work has some chance of failure along with some chance of success. Failure should not dishearten a person from trying again. A man who does not try once more failed for all times. — Bhagvad Gita The human soul is like the core values of life such as love, honesty and doing good to all. None of these values decay or change though the environment may undergo many variations. They have remained constant and immortal throughout life. — Bhagvad Gita Dharma is God’s Divine Law, the law of being. Dharma is to the Individual what its normal development is to a seed—the orderly fulfillment of an inherent nature and destiny. When following dharma you are in harmony with the cosmic order; you abide close to God. — Sanatana Dharma I took upon an increase in the power of the state with the greatest fear because, although while apparently doing good by minimising exploitation, it does the greatest harm to mankind by destroying individuality which lies at the heart of all progress. — Mahatma Gandhi Government control gives rise to fraud, suppression of Truth, intensification of the black market and artificial scarcity. Above all, it unmans the people and deprives them of initiative, it undoes the teaching of selfhelp. — Mahatma Gandhi The Calamity! What is the Calamity, and what will convey to you what the Calamity is? A day when humankind will be like scattered months, and the mountains like carded wood. And as for those whose balance is heavy, they will be in a contented life; and as for those whose balance is light, their place will be an abyss. And what will convey to you what this is? A raging fire. — Islam He who drinks the nectar of this truth rises above mortal pettiness. — The Upanishads |
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