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Return of Raja Bhaiya Coalition dharma |
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Gas as a
weapon
N-capping fears unreal
Banishing backache
News analysis Desi surgery for a Western beauty ideal Delhi Durbar
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Return of Raja Bhaiya The re-induction of controversial Independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiya, into the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has proved once again that politicians are more bothered about their vote banks than the cause of preventing criminals from entering politics. The scion of the Kunda princely state in Pratapgarh district, facing charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), has been given back the portfolio he held earlier —- Food and Civil Supplies —- from which he had to resign “to save” the Mulayam Singh Yadav government from an embarrassing situation. He had, in fact, no option than to quit office following a Supreme Court verdict last November, quashing the withdrawal of the charges against him soon after the Samajwadi Party-led ministry was installed in August 2003. He was sent back to jail and his trial shifted to a POTA court in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, from where he was released on bail on December 19, 2005. In just a few weeks the man facing serious criminal charges is back to join Mr Mulayam Singh’s flock. The Chief Minister seems to be the least concerned about the criminal antecedents of Raja Bhaiya in view of the fact that Kunda MLA’s name may help him in enlarging his following among the Thakurs (an upper caste) in UP, where caste continues to remain a major political factor. Mr Yadav, perhaps, feels that his support base among the Thakurs — whatever little it may be — will get eroded after the BJP’s elevation of Mr Rajnath Singh, a Thakur, as party chief. The Brahmins and the Thakurs constitute nearly 15 per cent of the total votes in UP. Or has Raja Bhaiya been brought back because of his personal allegiance to the Chief Minister? Mr Mulayam Singh is obviously playing realpolitik, the art in which he excels. But this is unlikely to accrue him political gains in the long run. The new minister will continue to remain an embarrassment for him even if he may have been implicated in a case under POTA by former Chief Minister Mayawati to settle political scores. Defending Raja Bhaiya’s reinstatement as a minister by citing the examples of Central ministers Tasleemuddin and Shibu Soren will not help. Two wrongs can never make a right, whatever Mr Mulayam Singh’s compulsions. |
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Coalition dharma The Congress party’s call to its partners in the ruling United Progressive Alliance at the Centre that the responsibility for the success of the Manmohan Singh government rests as much on them as on itself is timely and significant. The political resolution of the just-concluded All-India Congress Committee plenary in Hyderabad has rightly advised its partners to respect the “coalition dharma” because national challenges demand effective cooperation and coordination among all the coalition partners. The resolution does not refer directly to the developments in Karnataka where the Governor has asked the Congress-led Dharam Singh government to prove its majority on or before January 27 following a sizeable chunk of Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs having withdrawn support to the government and joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party. However, there is no doubt that the Congress has been facing a crisis especially because Karnataka had shown that the “anti-BJP adhesive” which brought the UPA constituents together in 2004 was not safe from wear and tear. Significantly, the resolution reaffirms the UPA government’s “continued success” because of the commitment and contribution of the individual coalition partners. At the same time, the Congress felt that though each of its allies has its own perspectives, they must follow some discipline and refrain from crossing the Laxman Rekha while criticising the government. In this context, it underlines the importance of “collective responsibility” among all the allies for the smooth functioning of the government. Equally significant is the resolution’s clarification of not only the Congress’ equation with the Left but also the contradiction in fighting a party in some states and taking its support at the Centre. Its decision to fight the Left in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura without any compromise is a case in point. The Congress understands the fact that the days of one-party rule at the Centre are over and that coalition culture has come to stay. If its allies too understand their duty and sense of responsibility to face the challenges boldly and unitedly, coalition politics can make a constructive contribution to the nation. Given the current political realities, there perhaps is no other choice available to political parties — big or small, national or regional. |
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Gas as a
weapon Russia used the first available opportunity provided by the freezing cold conditions in Europe to declare that it still has the capacity to protect its interests and that too through non-military means. Earlier this month, the Russian gas monopoly, Gazprom, suspended its supplies through the pipelines passing through Ukraine because of a pricing dispute, leading to protests from all over Europe. Though the decision was aimed at stopping the natural gas supplies only to Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, it was not possible, as the Russians thought, without doing what they did, as Ukraine was allegedly “stealing” gas from the pipelines going to Europe. Russia does not want to supply gas to Ukraine, a member of the erstwhile Soviet Union, at the old and cheaper rates. Ukraine has ceased to be in the good books of Kremlin after the “orange revolution” there with the installation of pro-West Yushchenko as President. Ukraine under Mr Yushchenko is likely to become a member of NATO in the near future, much to the discomfiture of Russia. Hence the Russian move to force Ukraine to pay nearly five times more for its gas supplies, citing economic reasons. Ukraine, however, describes this as a violation of a 10-year agreement for selling gas at the current rates — $50 per 1000 cubic metres of gas. It has accused Russia of using gas as a weapon to punish a former Soviet republic for pursuing an independent policy line. The US and many European nations like Germany have described the Russian action as “irresponsible”, not expected of the G-8 chairman. The Western criticism was bound to come because most of the European countries, which depend on Russia for a large part of their energy requirement, could not get their gas supplies on the very New Year Day. The matter is not going to end so easily. The use of natural gas for “exerting political pressure” by Russia, which has the world’s largest gas reserves, has become a major issue to be discussed at various forums in the days to come. Issues concerning oil supplies can be slippery and tricky. |
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Taxation without representation is tyranny. — James Otis |
N-capping fears unreal One of the bogeys raised by those who want to mire India in the status quo of technology thraldom and prevent the Indo-US agreement on exceptionalisation from the NPT to go through is that this is an attempt to cap our credible minimum nuclear deterrent. This is not a valid argument since the agreement under discussion with the US will leave out of safeguards not only Dhruva (100 MW) and CIRUS (40 MW) plutonium production reactors but also a few more 200 MW pressurised heavy water reactors in the military sector. In fact, the fear of capping of credible minimum deterrent has been used in the traditional Indian decision-making culture to avoid making decisions and to continue to drift and to subject India to technology
thraldom. For many of our elite across the political spectrum, an India liberated from technology thraldom, growing at 8-10 per cent, scientifically and technologically interacting with the advanced countries of the world, creates a lot of unease. This may be called the Deve Gowda syndrome. One may recall how many of our industrialists, who fattened themselves on the licence-permit-quota raj, opposed economic liberalisation in the early nineties. Even in our scientific establishments there are people who are afraid of international competition and would prefer India to function as a scientific island. This is just as sections of our foreign service are more comfortable with the nonaligned and developing countries than matching their wits with the leaders of international diplomacy. This section of intellectual mediocrities are using the issue of fear of capping the credible minimum deterrent as an excuse not to make harsh decisions, not to negotiate hard with other countries and not to engage the international community in our capacity as one of the six balancers of power in today’s world. The whole world knows that India’s nuclear arsenal production commenced in 1989. The capacities of Dhruva and CIRUS to produce plutonium are also known. On that basis the outside world has estimated that India must have around 100 nuclear warheads. It is now claimed that some of India’s civil nuclear reactors have been occasionally operated at a low burn-up to enable them to produce weapons grade plutonium. In that case the Indian nuclear arsenal number should be a little higher. Now in the agreement to be negotiated, some civil nuclear reactors will be left out of the safeguards and can be used exclusively for military production. Each one of them is of 200 MW, twice the capacity of
Dhruva. Therefore, if there is a decision to accelerate the reaching of the minimum credible deterrent, the proposed agreement facilitates it. What we shall give up from civil to military nuclear production can be made up by the import of new reactors from abroad which, in all probability, will be much larger than ours and set up much faster. When under the proposed agreement four times the capacity of Dhruva will be available or weapons production with at least two civil reactors categorised military, if we choose to, it is ridiculous to talk of attempts at capping of our arsenal. The present US administration, which envisions a balance of power with India as one of the six balancers, is not interested in capping India’s arsenal as the nuclear Ayatollahs of the US want to do. That is one of the reasons why this agreement should be concluded with the Bush Administration. Our problem is that many of our policy-makers (with fortunately some exceptions at the top) are still living in a bipolar or unipolar world when the nuclear Ayatollahs reigned supreme in Washington. Today there is a window of opportunity in which the nuclear Ayatollahs of Washington have been assigned to their proper places and a worldview of balance of power with India as a balancer prevails. By recognising India’s military-nuclear status, the US is leading the international community to liberate India from technology thraldom and treat it as a unique nuclear power. Missing out on this opportunity is the worst blunder this country can ever commit. The issue is not one of safeguarding our nuclear technology as it has been portrayed. This is like our car-makers, Fiat and Hindustan Motors, opposing liberalisation earlier. The costs this country will pay if it is to continue under technology thraldom across the entire spectrum of high technologies will be enormous and will outweigh any minor disadvantages in respect of nuclear safeguards application under which other advanced powers function as well in respect of breeder reactors. This is a politico-strategic decision and should not be deemed as a hostage to only one set of factors only. This decision requires an understanding of the current international situation in which prospects of violent conflicts between great powers is becoming ever more unthinkable. China has published its doctrine of “rising peacefully”. No power treats any other as an adversary. The incipient improvement of relations with the US has already led to the betterment of relations with China. For the present and foreseeable future, there is no need to fear unforeseen eventualities in which India will be compelled to go beyond credible minimum deterrent. If after a period when India would have freed itself from technology thraldom, improved its relations further with the US, Europe and Russia, if a situation were to arise which requires accelerated augmentation of arsenal we would be far better placed to do it in case India signs the agreement and frees itself from the crippling technology denial. The issue of capping our arsenal is a non-issue and deserves to be dismissed with contempt. Technology isolationists are like our import substitution and self-reliance people of the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties. They kept the country back at least by two decades as South Korea and East Asian tigers overtook India. India may succeed with its fast breeder and thorium-energy economy. That cannot be stopped by breeders coming under safeguards, though it may get slightly slowed down. On the other hand, if Indian breeder isolationism fails, India will be pushed back on nuclear energy development by several decades. We have paid very heavy costs for our over-confidence on India’s R&D (research and development). That mistake should not be allowed to be repeated. What is called for today is a politico-strategic judgement with professional risk evaluation on Indian nuclear breeders’ future development under safeguards, free of safeguards and phased-in safeguards. Logically, our agreement with the US should provide for phased-in
safeguards.
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Banishing backache
Turning a deaf ear to the doctor’s adage “live your age”, I lifted a heavy box resulting in severe pain in the lumber region of my spine. Home remedy directs not to attend to any malady for three days because the human body is the greatest of all medicos and cures most of the ills in that period of time. I followed the direction but the pain aggravated. Apprehending slipped disc, I visited a hospital where the orthopaedist told me that it was spasm of the muscles and my discs were so sound that songs could still be heard. He gave me muscle relaxants and painkillers. I was irregularly regular in taking the medicines. The backache continued. Er. R.S.S. Chauhan, my well-wisher, was kind enough to lend me a book “Backache-51 ways to relieve the pain”. Hardly could I glance at the book than an unfortunate incident in our family forced me to go to Hardwar. I boarded a Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus that started from Shimla at 8.45 p.m. The seats of the bus and the leg spaces were so designed that person taller than five feet four inches had to travel in a position that was akin to that of the “murgha” punishment of the school days. The bus stopped at Ambala at the wee hour of 1 a.m. for repairing a flat tyre. This stop was of a longer duration after a few of shorter ones for snacks with tea, dinner, cold drinks, ice-creams, etc particularly for the transport staff and generally for the passengers. Here I got down the bus and found that the jerks and jolts added to the punishment position in which I had been sitting had miraculous effect on the lumber region of my spine. The pain was about to vanish; it only required hot fomentation and that too was provided by this almost an hour and a half stop at hot and humid Ambala. Drenched with sweat, I offered the first salute to Sardar Puran Singh because I saw a row of Puran Singh Dhabas there, each one claiming to be genuine and announcing to be cautious of copycats. What culinary-savvy fingers this man Puran Singh must have been in possession of! The other salute, of course, went to the HRTC for adding to my knowledge that tall persons travelling in their buses got cured of backache. I am writing to Charles B. Inlander and Porter Shimer, the authors of the above mentioned book. “Mr Inlander, whether you ‘inland’ or ‘outland’, HRTC buses also have their own way of making people backsmart. And Mr Porter, ‘porter’, if you please, but also travel in HRTC buses to discover the 52nd way of banishing backache”. Thank you,
HRTC. |
News analysis Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was literally fumbling for words when a mate of the recently abducted Don Bosco sudent, Nirmalendu alias Bunty, put a straightforward question before him: “Sir will it be the last abduction of a school
student in Bihar ?”. A student delegation from Don Bosco met Mr Nitish Kumar yesterday urging him to put an end to the abduction menace which has created a fear-psychosis in the minds of the students and their parents in Bihar. Not just Mr Nitish Kumar, perhaps other political stalwarts in the state too, from RJD supremo Lalu Prasad to LJP Chief Ramvilas Paswan, would be scurrying for cover when faced with this question. A blame game prevails today rather than a concerted effort by all concerned to put an end once and for all to the booming abduction industry in Bihar. The NDA is on the verge of completing two months in office tomorrow. During his meeting with senior police officials across the state on January 18, Mr Nitish Kumar categorically cautioned them against the soaring crime graph by stating: “Shape up or ship out”. The Chief Minister made it clear that he wanted a pro-active and not a reactive role from the Police. For the NDA, such anxiety on part of the Chief Minister is understandable because it came to power by cashing in on the growing crime graph in the state during the previous RJD rule. But the report card of the past two months in law and order related issues is far from encouraging. Apart from killings and murders, there have been over 50 abductions in the last 60 days of NDA rule in the state. Going by a report submitted before the Patna High court last year by DGP Ashish Ranjan Sinha, there were 1,111 abduction related cases between 1995 and 2005 when the RJD was in power. For Mr Nitish Kumar, the new year too began on a discouraging note when six persons, including a woman and five children, of a poor Kahar family were burnt alive at Raghopur on January 1 over the dispute of a stolen buffalo by the dominant Yadavs in the village. During his election campaign, it was Mr Nitish Kumar who himself promised to establish rule of law within three months if he was voted to power. At the recent NRI conclave too, when noted businessman of the city Prasant Jain was kidnapped, Mr Kumar assured the prospective investors of putting a check on the crime graph. There is no denying that his intentions have been honest. But the recent incident when the noted don Anil Sharma was escorted none other than by the police to a family function of JD(U) party functionary Poonam Devi on January 19 instead of to jail, after the hearing of his case before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Ranchi on January 18 clearly indicated the deep rooted malaise in the system. A cursory look at some of the vital statistics concerning the police is a pointer to how poor infrastructure and delayed modernisation of the force are proving to be a handicap for them to establish their superiority over the criminals. There are just 8 police personnel per 1000 citizens in Bihar, which is much below the national average. Though the recruitment process is on for the appointment of 2,533 ASIs and 10,471 constables, sources said that there is still a huge gap in meeting the demand of police personnel as the posts of 3,000 havildars and 11,000 constables still remain vacant. Sources further disclosed that out of 1,667 police stations, outposts and town police stations, only 448 have buildings. And of these, 221 are rented. There are nearly 250 police stations in the state that do not have any vehicles and several have rickety ones. Making the job difficult for the police is the limited fuel earmarked for patrolling purposes. The police stations have a fixed quota of 110 litres, irrespective of the requirement. Most of the quota is used for escorting VVIPs rather than chasing criminals! Strangely, in an era of techno-savvy criminals, who not only roam with mobile phones, but also with any number of sim cards, many SP rank police officials outside Patna do not have mobile phones. Added to this, there is the burning naxalite problem with 30 out of 38 districts in the state seriously affected. Sources disclosed that despite availability of funds no proper initiative was taken by the previous regime in the state to modernise the police force. The Union home ministry also
recently sought reports from the state about the strength of its force and the utilisation of central forces. For the people of Bihar the memory is still fresh how the same police force and the same administration became effective between October-November under the election commission and its representative K.J. Rao, who did a commendable job not only holding free and fair polls, but also putting a check on criminal activities. Mr Nitish Kumar, after the victory, openly acknowledged the contribution of K.J. Rao in enabling the people of the state to vote in free and fair manner. But perhaps the time has come when the new dispensation needs to emulate Mr Rao, as he clearly showed that if there was a will one could deliver even with the existing facilities. In addition, there should be no repetition of an Anil Sharma type of incident. Change begins at the doorstep. |
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Desi surgery for a Western beauty ideal THEY are a growing breed of well-educated, British-born Asian women in their 20s who visit family in Pakistan every year. They are increasingly combining their annual trip back home for weddings and family reunions with some low priced cosmetic surgery. Pakistani plastic surgeons report a surge of bookings by British Pakistanis, with a 200 percent rise in the past four years. Nose jobs, tummy tucks, liposuction and breast enlargement are the favoured treatments with many who feel an increasing “pressure to have Western features” and can pay for the procedures at a fraction of the cost in Britain. Dr Abdul Hameed, president of the Pakistani Association of Plastic Surgeons, said around 400 women visit the country for cosmetic surgery every year. “These women are mostly educated, with around 70 per cent being those who work and earn independently. The women know that the waiting lists for good cosmetic surgery in London are maybe three months long. In Pakistan, there is no waiting list. We do them whenever we get them,” he said. He said around 250 women from Britain book in for liposuction treatment and tummy tucks every year, and they comprise around a fifth of the country’s total number of rhinoplasty clients. He added that most were aware of the potential dangers of picking the wrong surgeon, especially over the Internet, and advised clients to do their research before booking. Professor David Sharpe, professor of plastic surgery at Bradford University said he was aware of the growing trend, but warned against risks. “One in ten cases of nose reshaping and one in five cases of liposuction require additional work for up to six months, such as an adjustment to the tip of a nose. The patients would need to go back to the surgeon and this work would normally be carried out for free, as it would be part of the package. With liposuction, you can get lumps and normally you don’t see any effect as it takes three to four months for the swelling to go. If you are abroad, the result may not be seen for another few months,” he said. Ambarina Hasan, health and beauty editor of Asian Woman and Asian Bride magazines, said the growth could be linked to a career-orientated lifestyle in which Asian women had increased levels of disposable income and were getting married later. She said that with some arranged marriages, the pressure to look good was even greater. “When you look at Bollywood actresses, you find they are becoming more homogenous with the West. They are getting fairer with lighter eyes. There has always been a hankering after the Western ideals of beauty. There have been creams for lightening skins and plastic surgery is taking it one step further. These women are earning for themselves and they feel an immense pressure to look good. “With an arranged marriage, you often look at someone and size them up in a photograph so looks are very important,” she said. — The Independent |
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Delhi Durbar At a time when the government is thinking of ways to reduce subsidies, Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has gone public with his demand that interest subsidy should be provided to the rural poor. The minister feels that banks are unwilling to provide cheap credit to the needy while people in urban areas get loans at low rates for cars and houses. The minister does not share the perception of those who claim that money sent for assistance to rural areas does not reach the needy. He says there is an “anti-poor lobby” in the capital which spreads this impression. Politicians and their wards Ever since the political drama unfolded in Karnataka taking the Congress high command by surprise, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, in the vanguard of the JD (Secular), and his son HD Kumaraswamy, appear to be charting their course in perfect harmony. Despite shouting hoarse about a betrayal, Deve Gowda is perhaps promoting his son to become the chief minister. Prior to this there were rumblings in the JD (S) that the party had become the fiefdom of Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy. Clearly, the overbearing view in the JD (S) is that it is best to strike when the iron is hot. And if the BJP is willing to go along with the JD(S), Kumaraswamy and Deve Gowda appear willing to play ball.
Foreign origin, again The UPA government’s questionable role in shielding Bofors scam accused Ottavio Quattrochi has given the National Democratic Alliance another chance to take up their long standing demand of constitutionally barring people of foreign origin from holding key posts. Former BJP President LK Advani has warned that allowing people of foreign origin to hold key posts can amount to compromising national interests as evidenced in the Quattrochi case. NDA Convenor George Fernandes has gone a step further by asking UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to make a choice between her much proclaimed loyalty to India and friendship with Ottavio Quattrochi, an old friend of the Gandhi family.
Anti-poverty strategy How effective will the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme be in tackling rural poverty? According to eminent economist Lord Meghnad Desai, who was in the capital recently for a conference, this programme is only a palliative and not a cure to the problem of rural poverty. He feels a gigantically ambitious programme of expansion in the manufacturing sector will be the best anti-poverty strategy for India.
Marketing scientists Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal has a plan which few ministers would have thought of in his place. He wants to promote science by marketing the country’s top scientists. Sibal says what science needs are role models who are marketed in the way of sports heroes and actors in the entertainment industry. He feels that appropriately told stories of struggle and dedication of top scientists leading the country’s march into new frontiers would inspire students to follow in their footsteps. —
Contributed by Prashant Sood, Tripti Nath and S. Satyanarayanan. |
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From the pages of Prohibition in America
Before prohibition was adopted in America the newspapers that were making money from liquor advertisements claimed that it would ruin trade. Since prohibition was adopted trade has flourished exceedingly in America while it has languished pathetically in license countries. Before prohibition American parents were told that the revenue from the manufacture and sale of alcohol was necessary to run the schools of the country and that without it education would be ruined. Since prohibition the schools have flourished as never before. Before prohibition it was said that labouring men would not consent to such a law, that even if they would consent they could not do their work without beer. Since prohibition, labourers have been more contented than ever before, strikes have been fewer and standards of output and efficiency have been higher. |
Brahma Ananda is the quiet stillness of subterranean ocean. Worldly pleasures have the turbulence of mountain brooks.
—The Upanishads The world keeps dying but no one knows how to die. No one dies in such a manner that he won’t die again.
— Kabir Even a fool may be called wise if he knows the extent of his foolishness. But what kind of fool is the man who considers his foolishness as wisdom.
— The Buddha “And not in play did We create”: The processes of life and death and nature are not random or meaningless events: even if we regard them as meaningless, that act of choice does effectively have meaning, with implications for our future.
— Islam
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