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Finances in good
health Optimism on Iran |
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For the sake of
justice
King refuses to
listen
Zoos or rustlers’
hunting ground?
AIDS and gender:
gutsy women rebuild their lives Documenting
Bollywood Golden night for
movie outsiders
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Optimism on Iran Despite
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) having referred the Iranian nuclear issue to the UN Security Council, intense diplomatic efforts are on to settle it peacefully. At last, success seems to be in the realm of possibility. On the eve of the latest meeting of the 35-member board of governors of the IAEA, now on in Vienna, the chief of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Mr Mohamed El-Baradei, expressed the hope that there would be no need for the Security Council to get involved in finding a solution to the crisis. If he is hopeful of a last-minute agreement among the parties involved, it cannot be without basis. A peaceful way out of the crisis is what almost everybody wants, despite the US threat that the military option is also there if diplomacy fails to bring the desired results. As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said after a telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a confrontationist approach is not in the interest of peace in the region and hence it must be avoided at all costs. Patient diplomacy must be allowed to succeed. No country in the region, including India can afford to see destabilisation in Iran. It is also true that no influential world capital is interested in allowing Iran to realise its nuclear dreams. But a give-and-take approach can help in finding a solution acceptable to all concerned. All eyes are fixed on the Russian initiative on defusing the Iranian crisis. Reports suggest that Iran is willing to shift its nuclear facilities to Russia provided it is permitted to have a scaled-down uranium enrichment programme within Iran. Teheran may get this concession for peaceful purposes as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, though any uranium enrichment activity has the potential to be misused for making bombs. The idea behind reaching an agreement on these lines may be that Iran is unlikely to think of walking on the nuclear path after all that has happened so far. The negotiators, perhaps, believe that taking this little risk is better than adopting a rigid attitude, which may lead to a military confrontation. The region, even the world, cannot afford another Iraq-like situation after having seen so much death and destruction.
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For the sake of justice Waking
up from its comfortable slumber after a nationwide public outrage over the acquittal of all accused in the Jessica Lal murder case, the police has finally registered a case to probe the alleged collusion between the accused and the police officials in botching up investigations and, may be, even falsifying evidence. This step will be meaningful only if the investigation is carried out impartially, at least this time round. After all, it is the same police force which while investigating the case the first time had seemed to be hell-bent to protect the accused than nail them. Will the officers looking into the dubious conduct of their colleagues now be 100 per cent free and fair? What causes misgivings is the fact that the FIR is against “unknown persons”. Will the investigators act against senior officers? When looking into the conspiracy, will they stand up to the acknowledged might of Manu Sharma, Vikas Yadav and their influential fathers? Only time will tell. Then there is also the question of double jeopardy. The accused can always take the plea that they cannot be tried in separate cases for the same offence. While much will depend on the fairness and competence of the police, one positive sign is that after much dilly-dallying it has decided to go in appeal against the trial court’s acquittal to the High Court. It is the High Court which can offer a ray of hope to the people blinded by this brazen murder of justice. It can even order a retrial in the case. After all, the dereliction of duty by the police officials here is as blatant as it was in the Best Bakery case, in which the Supreme Court had set a precedent. Even otherwise, the High Court has the powers to order the re-arrest of Manu Sharma and the other accused. It can also order a session judge to take further evidence on some unexplored angle. The only thing that matters to all right-thinking citizens is that the killers should not be allowed to cock a snook at the judicial system. At stake is not the outcome of one case, but the larger issue of faith in the dictum that law is the same for the pauper and the king. |
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Life’s not just being alive, but being well.
— Martial |
King refuses to listen The
call was from Nepal. “Dang-Ghorai has given the first martyr of Nepal’s third revolution. He is the UML’s Umesh Chandra Thapa. He was shot by the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) on the day of municipal elections (February 8).” The voice reminded me that it was the attack by Maoists against the RNA in Dang in November 2001 that escalated the scattered insurgency into an organised war. Despite the wide condemnation of the sham elections, the royal regime has congratulated itself on restoring democracy, a task no previous government was able to do. King Gyanendra had sacked four Prime Ministers for not being able to hold elections. Ignoring the latest advice from the US, the UK and India for reconciliation with political parties and dialogue with the Maoists, the government has declared that parliamentary elections will be held on schedule next year. It says it cannot negotiate with terrorists unless they lay down their weapons. This outright defiance of the international community is due to the latter’s failure to match words with deeds even through some unintended encouragement by the US, which is paranoid of a Maoist takeover of Kathmandu. Not to be left behind, China has provided some comfort to the King. India, which is directly affected by the anarchy in Nepal, has let others slam the royal regime by tenaciously clinging to its defective two-pillar theory — constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy —necessary for the stability and prosperity of Nepal. Ironically, neither is in place and time to abandon one has come. Another reason which emboldened the King to swallow more than he can chew is his belief that he has a fall-back position: constitutional or ceremonial monarchy. And he is right. Most, if not all the political parties, will still accept a reconciliation but on their terms: the King should restore constitutional order and revive the democratic process. But this will be contrary to the royal game-plan of restoring absolute monarchy. The political parties on the other hand will settle for nothing short of absolute democracy. Herein lies the impasse. Look at the hollowness of elections. Only 1.4 million out of 26 million Nepalese were eligible to vote for 618 seats in 36 out of 58 municipalities in 28 among 75 districts. Of 4,146 seats, 2,251 posts are unfilled and in 1,277 places candidates were elected unopposed. Many leaders of the Seven-Party Alliance (SPA) were placed in pre-emptive detention and in most places there were more security personnel and election officials than voters. No outside observers were permitted in an election where government servants, security personnel and their families were ordered to vote. The boycott call by the SPA and the Maoist bandh spread fear in Kathmandu like never before. As expected, royalists swept the polls followed by Independents. But the real winners are the Maoists. They have acted with consummate political skill, first by declaring a unilateral three-month ceasefire and later extending it by a month; second by entering into a 12 point agreement with the SPA in which they agreed to stick to democratic norms, follow human rights, rule of law and multi-party democracy. And just before the elections they offered to talk to the government. Curtailing the election bandh was another wise step. In the 10 year war Nepal recorded the lowest levels of violence during the four-month ceasefire. Yet another masterstroke coinciding with the elections was the two Prachanda interviews to newspapers: one to Kathmandu Post directed at the Nepalese and the other to The Hindu addressed to India. In Kathmandu Post, Prachanda was soft on the King, saying that they would accept a ceremonial monarchy if the people wanted it. His advice to India was for reconsidering its failed two-pillar policy. The conciliatory tenor of the interviews was buttressed by successful attacks mainly against the police from Dhankuta in the east to Dhanghadi in the west. They didn’t spare the RNA either. The storming of Tansen and the deadly ambush of an RNA convoy in Nawalparasi were Maoists at their guerrilla best. It is obvious the ceasefire was used gainfully to retrain and regroup forces and to spread the word that Maoists had infiltrated Kathmandu and would soon encircle it. By mixing propaganda with violence and politics with diplomacy the Maoists ensured that the elections were disrupted. The non-violent campaign by the SPA was closely coordinated with the operation of the Maoists. The failed elections belied the royalists’ claim of a groundswell for the King. Despite the presence in Kathmandu of 40,000 security personnel, nearly 80 per cent of the people stayed indoors. But that did not deter the royal regime from “finding totally objectionable the insolent comments” of the international community about the credibility of the elections. The King has missed at least two chances in course correction. The first not responding to the Maoists’ ceasefire and second not taking up Prachanda’s offer of talks. The King could have seized the moment to reach out to the Maoists, if not the political parties. Those who know the King say he keeps his own counsel. He is known to tell foreign leaders that he needs no sermons and advice. “Your ambassadors give me enough of that, so listen to me,” he says. No one who has met him last month says he is going to leave any time soon. On the other hand, he wants to strengthen the military which will touch the 110,000 mark by next year — a three-fold jump in five years. His eye is on the Special Forces being equipped by the US. There are no critical shortages in the RNA except the will to fight. Even with these reasonable military assets, the King has painted himself in a corner. The historic verdict of the Supreme Court annulling The Royal Commission on Corruption Control — many say the last C is superfluous — and Prachanda’s fatwa in a BBC TV interview after the elections that the King will either be executed or exiled are big setbacks for him. Further, the US is angry that the King does not listen to the sole super power. If it is any comfort, the US is in good company. For years now India, the regional power, has been complaining “Raja hamari baat nahin sunta hai (The King does not listen to us)”. King Gyanendra will muddle through, till elections to Parliament in April 2007. Between then and now if the international community and India do not restrain the King, Nepal will slide further into the hell hole. Clearly, the time for talking is over. The King had made his choice long ago. It is now the turn of the friends of Nepal to make theirs and
act.
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Zoos or rustlers’ hunting ground?
Top-level burglars — if such an adjective is not inappropriate to use for that fraternity — set their sights very high: they target famous paintings and prized art objects and their stake runs literally into millions of pounds. They, however, have to cope with very high risks too. The problems of storage and disposal of the masterpieces are most daunting and can extend over years and years. If, on the other hand, their ambitions are on the more modest side they play on a much safer wicket. The profits are no doubt lower but disposal of the stolen goods is much less of a hassle. Actually, France has recently encountered an unusual phenomenon in that numerous gangs have turned up all over the country indulging in very large-scale “zoo-raiding”. They are working at the behest of unscrupulous private collectors in neighbouring countries who are keen to set up their own zoos. So the market provided is secure and fully assured in advance. And the prices are also generous. Examples are: pink flamingos — £ 3,000; special snakes — £ 10,000; rare breed of parrots — £ 14,000. The result is that hardly any birds or animals escape the raiders. From snakes to flamingos, to turtles, to penguins, to vultures, to kangaroos, every living thing is fair game for them. So far it appears only two kinds of animals have remained untouched — lions and elephants. Lions are, of course, safe because no burglar, however enterprising, likes to risk becoming a lion’s supper. As to elephants, the current thinking is that their reprieve is temporary: any day the news might come that someone has walked off with an elephant. The basic problem is that most of the zoos are designed to keep the animals in rather than human intruders out. So now they are having resort to armed guards and are installing powerful lights and alarms for much higher level security. Some have also started implanting small electronic devices under the skin of all their valuable animals to keep track of them. It is ironical that while zoo inmates live in constant fear of the rustlers, some domestic pets are in for a gala time giving a direct lie to all the talk about the proverbial “dog’s life”. A suncream block for them has gone on sale for £ 2.99 and protects exposed areas like the nose and ears. Sunglasses too are available for the eyes. Also, meat-flavoured delicacies are at hand on the counter. These according to a spokesperson for the store are highly popular and are almost flying off the
shelves. Tailpiece: Literally hundreds of owners of pets visit church San Miguel in Madrid during a particular festival (San Anton). They go there to have their pets blessed: they believe the blessing guarantees a long and healthy life for their animal
companions. |
AIDS and gender: gutsy women rebuild their lives In
a country that doesn’t even blink an eye while burning a bride for dowry, it is not hard to understand what it means to be a woman infected with HIV/AIDS. In 1986, when the first case of HIV/AIDS was identified in Chennai, the infected person, who happened to be a woman, was thrown in jail. Twenty years later, very little has changed. Articles in prominent newspapers seeking imprisonment of a woman believed to be HIV positive underscore the bitter fact that stigma and discrimination associated with the infection have not been eliminated. Urmila had a master’s degree in social work and was married to an engineer. When she tested positive in her fifth month of pregnancy, she and her husband, who also tested positive, did not lose heart. Although their child was born with the infection, they were determined to fight. Unfortunately, her husband died a few months later. Urmila was convinced that her in-laws would support her. However, not only did they ostracise her but also tricked her into signing away her and her son’s rights to her husband’s share of the property. Despite difficult circumstances, Urmila was lucky because she had supportive parents. But most HIV positive women are not as fortunate. A 2002 study by the India office of the International Labour Organisation in collaboration with positive people networks in Delhi, Maharastra, Manipur and Tamil Nadu found that 74 per cent of the positive women in a group of 292 infected people faced a lot of discrimination. Ironically, it was the family of the infected which discriminated the most compared to other sections of society. The women were deeply hurt by the aspersions cast on their sexual lives by their in-laws. Although a majority of women are infected by their husbands, they are blamed for their deaths. In many cases, they are accused of causing their husband’s illness and either disowned or deserted by their in-laws. Take the case of Reena (name changed), a widow, who was specially selected as an empowered woman to head a network of HIV positive people in Chandigarh just a year ago. The formation of the network in the state was delayed because there was no one bold and articulate enough to head it, till Reena took the responsibility. Reena had been infected by her husband. Though her young son was ignorant about her HIV positive status, the support she had received from her in-laws gave her the courage to come forward. But once it became known that she was HIV positive, her in-laws could not take the public embarrassment. They disowned her and threw her out of the house. Reena was so distraught that she resigned from the network. After several months Reena was taken back by the family but on the strict understanding that she would disassociate herself from the network. Gender inequality is at the heart of the epidemic. The greater the gender discrimination in societies and lower the position of women, the worse they are affected by HIV. But where women are oppressed, they face an even higher degree of stigma, shame and marginalisation when their positive status is known. In the majority of cases infected men are taken care of by their wives and families and not discriminated against to the extent that infected women are. The shame and fear associated with HIV is largely because of ignorance and lack of information about the mode of transmission. Among the worst affected are the unsuspecting rural women whose men migrate to cities seeking employment and return with the infection. These women have never stepped out of their homes and usually have a single partner, which is their husband. Their lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS leads to the infection being spread unknowingly from the woman to her unborn child. Very few infected women know that drugs taken at the right time during pregnancy can prevent the virus from being passed on to the child. Biologically and physically, women are more susceptible to the infection. During sexual intercourse a larger surface area is exposed in women, which heightens the chances of infection. Moreover, semen has a higher concentration of virus than vaginal fluid. Therefore, the infection of women by men is twice as likely as infection of men by women. In addition, the chances of laceration which provide entry to the virus, are heightened in women because of early and/forced sexual intercourse as in child marriages or rape. Frequent pregnancies, malnutrition and poor living conditions lead to reproductive tract infections and other sexually transmitted diseases, all of which increase the chances of women being infected with HIV. Because of this vulnerability, the number of HIV positive women has risen dramatically. Initially, positive men vastly outnumbered positive women. But now NGOs estimate that almost half of all infected persons are women even though official statistics say that of the 5.13 million infected people in India, two million are women and 120, 000 are children. This does not reflect the ground reality as stigma and discrimination prevent women in particular from disclosing their status and seeking treatment. In fact, for many a woman, ignorance is bliss as they prefer not to know their status and thus remain within the family. As wives, mothers, sisters, they carry the responsibility of tending to the ones who are infected. They rarely get time to look after themselves if infected, and in the event of shortage of drugs and money, it’s the men who get priority in the family for treatment. Organisations like the Lawyers Collective and the Human Rights Law Network offer their services free to help the HIV infected fight for their rights. The story of a young Muslim widow of Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking (DESU) employee, who stood up for her rights after being thrown out of her in-laws house after the death of her husband from HIV related illness, is heart warming. The gutsy widow, without even observing the mandatory period of mourning for her husband, approached Lawyers Collective with the help of an NGO and got the money her husband was insured for, the plot of land in his name and the custody of her children. The woman then approached DESU and got the job in place of her husband. After settling all her personal problems she formally mourned the death of her husband. Positive women can live a healthy and fulfilling life. They can work, travel, get married, have children and do almost everything that any other women do. As Leela Banta, President, Manipur People Living with HIV, said in 2001, “It is not how long we live that is important but how well we live.” |
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Documenting Bollywood The
DVD release of Nasreen Munna
Kabir’s "Inner and Outer world of Shahrukh Khan" is a
unique effort. It is one of the first attempts by a filmmaker to make a
documentary about the Indian film industry. The "Inner World of
Shahrukh Khan" is a peek into Khan’s daily life shot through seven
days on the sets of the film "Main Hoon Naa", while the Outer
World was shot around his US and UK live concerts. Kabir’s efforts need to
be appreciated for documenting one of the millions of stories that make
Bollywood a thriving and vibrant cultural capital of Asia. Filmmakers have
been making documentaries about Hollywood for quite a while. More recently,
directors Brett Morgen and Nanette Burstein’s documentary, "Kid
Stays in the Picture" about legendary film producer Robert Evans and "Searching
for Debra Winger", a documentary about the trials and tribulations of
actresses in Hollywood who reach a certain age, add to a rich montage of
documentaries made about the American film industry in the last 10 years.
From a funny "Hollywood Goes Ape", which salutes actors who
have played apes from the silent era to today to a more thorough account in "A
Decade Under the Influence", which examines Hollywood movies made in
the 1970s, these documentaries explore the history of Hollywood studios as
they attempt to attract new generations of filmgoers. As the Indian film
industry too reaches for international audiences, it is not surprising to find
filmmakers like Kabir interested in making documentaries about Bollywood. Two
recent examples that stand out are Hong Kong-based director Komal Tolani’s
film "Sunset Bollywood" and Canadian-Indian filmmaker Nisha
Pahuja’s "Bollywood Bound". Tolani examines, through the
stories of Rahul Roy, Kumar Gaurav and Bhagyashree, how certain actors become
overnight sensations and then cannot maintain their star status. The film
beautifully recounts their meteoric rise to stardom, the circumstances that
caused their spotlights to dim and repeated attempts to launch a comeback. "Bollywood
Bound" is about the peculiar global attraction of the Indian film
industry. Pahuja introduces the viewers to four Canadians of Indian descent
(including TV personality Ruby Bhatia), who have achieved varying degrees of
success in Bollywood, where their Western influence seems to be considered an
asset. Documentary films are gradually attracting more mainstream audiences
worldwide with their accessible and realist formats. Michael Moore’s "Fahrenheit
9/11" won the Palme d’Or Prize for the best film at the Cannes film
festival in 2004 and Werner Herzog’s documentary "Grizzly Man"
is being touted by most critics as one of the best films of 2005.
Documentary films are not new to Indian audiences. Filmmakers like Anand
Patwardhan, Shonali Bose, Pratibha Parmar and Mira Nair are some established
faces who have made cutting-edge, internationally acclaimed documentaries.
Films by Kabir and others, with their visual attractiveness and narrative
style, will surely expand the aesthetic palette of the audiences and increase
visibility of the Indian film industry.
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Golden night for movie outsiders This year’s Oscars host was a Hollywood outsider. Four of the five films made more than pocket change at the box-office. The recipient of the honorary Oscar, Robert Altman, has been a consummate industry outsider for 40 years. So it was only fitting, perhaps, that the Academy would reserve its biggest prize for a film the bookmakers didn’t much fancy, that most American cinema-goers didn’t see, an ensemble piece rather than a conventional star vehicle without a traditional happy ending, an examination of race relations in Los Angeles that sharply polarised its audiences, especially in LA, and was written and directed by a Canadian. The glory bestowed on Crash at the climax of Sunday night’s three-and-a-half hour Academy Awards ceremony prompted gasps of surprise from the assembled glitterati inside Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre. Even Jack Nicholson looked a little stunned as he opened the envelope on stage and read the single word inscribed there. Until the very last moment, this awards season had seemed to belong exclusively to Brokeback Mountain, the haunting story of forbidden love between two sheepherders. More predictable was the triumph of British talent. Best supporting actress went to Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener. Best animated feature went to Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Cathy Schulman, one of Crash’s two producers, proclaimed from the stage that it was a film about "love and tolerance" and hailed 2006 as "one of the most breathtaking, and stunning, maverick years in American cinema". That’s certainly the most positive spin on a year in which the big film studios watched in horror as audience numbers slumped. The event also revealed an industry deeply concerned about its continuing relevance. Several participants, starting with the Academy president, Sid Ganis, preached the virtues of seeing movies on the big screen, not on DVD. Off-stage, there were jokes about just how many hundreds of people would be tuning in to an Oscars show bereft of box-office hits. When the ratings came in, they were the second worst in history. The unenviable task of turning the evening into entertaining television fell to the host, Jon Stewart. He never looked entirely comfortable, never really engaged with his audience and never really solved the problem of how to make good jokes about films that tackle racism, homosexuality, political repression, violence and terrorism. If the night belonged to anyone, it was Paul Haggis, the director and co-writer of Crash, who was also the screenwriter of last year’s big winner, Million Dollar Baby. "Bertolt Brecht said that art is not a mirror ... to hold up to society, but a hammer with which to shape it. So I guess," he said, pointing at his best original screenplay Oscar: "This is ours." By arrangement with The Independent
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From the pages of “Bravely weathering the storm”
According to a Free Press message, “some of the most prominent civilians are said to be very uneasy over the unconditional release of the Congress leader,” and “the Viceroy is bravely weathering the storm”. We have heard of the Viceroy’s loneliness, but the trouble in this matter is that His Excellency has given the public so few opportunities of congratulating him on his brave loneliness. Of such differences as he may have had with his cabinet or with provincial governments the public naturally knows nothing. On the other hand, it has before it the spectacle of a Viceroy who in every crucial matter supports the administration. The unconditional release of the Congress leaders is almost the first administrative act in which His Excellency has shown himself at his best, but here again the demands of expediency and statesmanship require that he should go much farther than he has gone. |
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