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The delivery of justice Water worries |
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Rich men, poor people
Advani at it again
Coach or poach?
Not enough money
for armed forces Afghan-Pak rift deepens Delhi Durbar
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The delivery of justice DESPITE the headlines, no confrontation is essentially developing between the executive and the judiciary on the essence of judicial administration. Both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice Y.K. Sabharwal have stressed the need to revamp the justice delivery system. Addressing the conference of the Chief Justices of High Courts and Chief Ministers in New Delhi, both were apparently alluding to the public outcry on the shoddy manner in which the Jessica Lall murder case was handled by the police and the courts, leading to the acquittal of all the accused. Justice Sabharwal later admitted before the media that judges could do little about witnesses turning hostile. While a case has to be decided on the basis of the evidence on record alone, it is the process of investigation that needs to be strengthened. Both the executive and the judiciary will have to share the blame for the present mess in the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, the Centre has done little to implement the recommendations of the Dharma Vira Commission and the Malimath Committee. Things will improve only if the investigation wing is separated from the law and order duties of the police and the evidence rules are changed at the earliest. What is the use of appointing expert committees if there is no political will on the part of the government to implement these recommendations? The Prime Minister’s concern for clearing the huge backlog of cases in the courts is reflected in his decision to draw up an action plan for judicial reforms that will include infrastructure upgradation and strengthening the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms. The Chief Justice himself has endorsed some of the reforms as well as the experiment with Lok Adalats. There is certainly a need to appoint more judges, considering the backlog of cases and the size of the country. But among other things, court procedures need to be streamlined, written arguments accepted and the judges’ tendency to grant too many adjournments discouraged. The judges and the advocates must be made accountable for delays. What the common man wants is affordable and speedy justice, and both the executive and the judiciary must work in concert to achieve this objective.
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Water worries
A study by the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, Ludhiana, confirms the general perception that the quality of water in Punjab is fast deteriorating while the water table keeps touching a new low year after year. Only 42.3 per cent of the cultivable land is irrigated with good quality water. A significant 7.7 per cent of the water in the state is totally unfit for irrigation. Gurdaspur tops the list of districts with better quality of water while Moga, according to media reports, is at the bottom. According to PAU estimates, 100 of the 141 blocks in the central districts of Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangrur and Moga have been declared as “dark zones”. While the Punjab government is aware of the poor quality of water used for drinking and irrigation as also the declining water table, specific and sustained steps to reverse the trend are yet to materialise. The government indifference to the alarming situation is shocking. The Swajal Dhara, a scheme funded by the Centre, has not been implemented in six of the seven districts in which it was introduced as the panchayats concerned could not cough up even 10 per cent of the grant. While Haryana got Rs 100 crore from the 12th Finance Commission to tackle the water crisis, Punjab failed to present its case before the commission to claim funds. Meanwhile, over-exploitation of underground water continues unchecked. With a free supply of power, farmers tend to over-use their tubewells. Against experts’ advice, massive and early sowing of paddy and indiscriminate use of fertilisers and pesticides are resorted to. Punjab Agricultural University is making some efforts to check water salinity and soil sickness, but the problem is too big for it to handle alone. While the Central grant of Rs 100 crore to the university may boost efforts directed at better water management, the government needs to push water-conservation measures with mass participation and launch an awareness campaign.
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Rich men, poor people IT must be cheering to know that India is home to 10 new billionaires, according to the annual ranking of the world’s richest people by Forbes magazine. Top of these Indian group and ranked fifth in the world is steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal with his pile of $ 23.5 billion. The second-ranking Indian, Azim Premji of Wipro is, well, a “poor” second — 25th on the list with $ 13.3 billion. Whoever said that 13 is unlucky must think again, unless too fine a point is to be put on the .3 part of the billion. Predictably, the Ambani brothers — Mukesh and Anil — are on the list as is “Kingfisher” Vijay Mallya. While brother Mukesh is listed 56th with a net worth of $ 8.5, Anilbhai ranks 104 with $ 5.7 billion. The rest are further down, though way above the majority of even the wealthiest Indians. Although, India as a country became a “billionaire” (in terms of population) quite a few years ago, nothing fires the imagination of the poor as much as news about rich men and how rich they are. The feel-good factor is all very well, but has all this wealth done any good to the majority, especially the poor and the pauperised in India? Is the disparity between the rich and the poor any less for the increasing number of wealthy Indians? These wealthy men and the classes for which they generate wealth have much to celebrate. Yet, why do they grudge the government — yes, the same government, which they expect to bat for Lakshmi Mittal’s bid to take over a steel company in Europe — setting apart a relatively small amount for the National Employment Guarantee Scheme? Only goes to show that countries are rich, it is only people who remain poor, and it requires the many to be poor so that a few can be rich.
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A house is a machine for living in. — Le Corbusier
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Advani at it again
THERE are several ways of looking at the alacrity with which the Bharatiya Janata Party has grasped the terrorist acts in Varanasi to spring two yatras on a bemused public. It is living in the illusion that it can repeat the blood-curdling 1990 rath yatra of Mr L.K. Advani to catapult itself into power. Second, the six-year stint of power at the Centre has proved so addictive that the BJP is desperate to return to office. Or Mr Advani’s own predicament is so dire after he was forced out of the party presidency by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh that he would do anything to keep himself in the public eye. The idea of two yatras, instead of one, is presumably to appease the new party president, Mr Rajnath Singh, who has not distinguished himself thus far. And Mr Advani seems to have kept the RSS in the loop to cover his vulnerable flank. Whatever the motives in springing the two yatras on an unsuspecting public, this attempt to raise the communal temperature in the country for partisan profit can have harmful consequences. History, they say, repeats itself as farce. The 1990 yatra caused bloodshed although it helped the BJP achieve power in New Delhi for the first time. If anything, the prevailing climate is more dangerous than it was. As Indian Muslim mobilisation on the twin issues of the cartoon controversy and President George W. Bush’s visit to India demonstrated, there seems to have been an evolution in the community’s thinking. Not since Mahatma Gandhi’s Khilafat movement have Indian Muslims been induced to bestir them for a pan-Islamic cause. And the difference this time around is that they have organised themselves to fight for a pan-Islamic idea. To an extent, Indian Muslims are part of the wider Islamic movement influenced by such seminal events as the Iranian revolution and Western backlash after Nine Eleven targeting Muslims in a variety of ways. But they have also shown themselves more willing to mobilise the community for sectarian ends. Not only does this trend demonstrate greater confidence but also greater polarisation in society. This development represents two dangers. Indian Muslims are giving credence to the BJP’s argument that they are mere vote banks being manipulated by so-called secular parties for their own ends. Besides, they would be giving a handle to the Sangh Parivar to buttress the argument for “cultural nationalism”, the concept that, whatever one’s creed, all citizens of India are Hindus. Expectedly, the BJP has veered towards emphasising the Hindutva ideology after its defeat in the parliamentary elections. Mr Rajnath Singh’s elevation to the party presidency was primarily meant to bolster the BJP’s prospects in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh that has a direct relationship to achieving power in New Delhi. The surprise is only in the eagerness with which the party has seized upon the Varanasi acts, disregarding the risks of placing the party’s profit above that of the nation. It is no secret that the greater the polarisation between the two main communities, the greater the risks of conflagration. About terrorist acts per se, India - and the world - must learn to live with them. They represent a difficult law and order problem and must be dealt with as such. But the Muslim community collectively is not part of the problem; it becomes a problem only insofar as extremist elements are tempted by alienation or other frustrations to take the path of violence. Undertaking yatras in present circumstances can only stoke communal passions as these vans make their way through states set for assembly elections. Assuming that the yatras are Mr Advani’s initiative, one can only wonder why he has thrown caution to the winds to launch this foolish and dangerous venture. If his remarks on the founder of Pakistan were an attempt to remake his image with a view to claiming the prime ministership in a hopeful future, the new yatra would only serve to reduce his chances as the acceptable face of the BJP in a new dispensation. Or is he trying to prove that the RSS had erred grievously in casting him to the wolves and that he is at heart a faithful follower of RSS edicts? While one can speculate on Mr Advani’s motives, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s silence over the yatras is revealing. Perhaps the former Prime Minister is waiting for the right moment to shoot down the idea. Mr Advani is in error if he believes that he can face the near unanimous condemnation by urban India because rural India will be bowled over by the new yatras to fill ballot boxes with votes for the BJP. The response of the other parties such as the Congress and the Samajwadi Party to calls by worthies such as a Muslim UP minister offering a vast sum for the head of the offending Danish cartoonist has not helped matters. It is tempting for political parties to seek block Muslim votes to achieve power, but the salvation for Muslims lies in improving their lot by providing them appropriate education and jobs. “Minorityism”, in the BJP’s inelegant phrase, will not help. In a sense, Mr Advani has placed his party at the crossroads. The BJP’s tactics in squarely blaming the United Progressive Alliance government of Dr Manmohan Singh for helping terrorist acts by adopting “soft” policies and drowning out a whole day’s parliamentary proceedings are clear. What is not clear is the cost-benefit ratio - whether an attempt has been made to think through the party’s strategy. Pressures on the UPA government by its coalition partners or the Left parties supporting it are persistent and multiplying. But the BJP would be foolish to bank on the UPA’s disintegration in view of the compulsions that keep the coalition afloat. Rather, the BJP will harm itself by its blatant overtures to lure the Hindu vote. Mr Advani owes the country an explanation before he reaches the point of no
return.
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Coach or poach? ABBAS Ali Baig, young, fair and debonair, was returning to the dressing-room after hitting a ton against a visiting cricket team. A sprightly girl ran on to the field and showered kisses on him. He returned to the pavilion; his face smeared with lipstick marks. This happened many years ago. Cricket craze in our country has increased manifold since then. Some call it “janoon” (passion); others religion. Old and young, men and women, boys and girls are all crazy. Many may feel deflated if they know the dictionary meaning of “crazy”, “frail”, “cracked”, “insane”, and “demented”. They need not put up hackles because another meaning is “fantastically composed of irregular pieces as in a quilt on pavement”. A visitor to my office during an ODI between India and Pakistan, striking an imposing pose, said: “Rahul Dravid is a partial captain.” “Why?” I questioned. Replied she: “He gives three slips to Irfan Pathan but only one to Anil Kumble and not even that to Bhajji”. I cut in with “Anil Kumble is a leg spinner”. The mention of the phrase “leg spinner” resulted in wide opening of her mouth, and eyes. She brushed off and continued, “Okay”, why does Dravid give one cover and sometimes an extra cover to Kumble, not even one to Bhajji? She explained herself, “It’s because Kumble belongs to Rahul’s own State Karnataka while Bhajji is from Punjab.” Citing another instance, she queried: “Why catches from Zaheer Khan’s bowling often fall in no-man’s land and not in any fielder’s hand?” I professed my ignorance. Naturally. She fired another verbal volley: “Saurav Ganguli hails from Kolkatta, the east, but is called the south-paw. Why?” I started, getting fidgety, but for courtesy’s sake asked, “Any other question?” She darted, “Is Greg Chapell coach or
poach?”
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Not enough money for armed forces THE modernisation programmes that have been kick-started by the armed forces are set to continue as the defence budget for 2006-07 has been hiked by 8.9 per cent (Rs. 7,300 crore) to Rs. 89,000, as against Rs. 81,700 crore in 2005-06 on expected lines. The Finance Minister, Mr P Chidambaram, said while presenting the Budget that this hike was meant to cater to “normal growth in pay allowances, maintenance and for modernisation of the defence forces”. Now that the borders with Pakistan have been peaceful for two years, therefore, the hike in the defence budget has been nominal. Unlike the previous year, the three services did not spend all the money, but returned about Rs. 1,300 crore from the capital outlay. The capital outlay for 2006-07 is Rs. 37,458 crore, up 13.25 per cent from the revised expenditure of last year and constitutes a little over 42 per cent of the total defence budget. The increase of Rs. 4,383 crore in arms acquisition funding implies that the Defence Ministry has a considerable sum in its hands to place orders for new equipment and also meet the commitments for orders placed by the previous and present governments. This will help kick-start the process of payments both for the aircraft carrier that India plans to build and the compliment of aircraft from Russia, submarines from France and advance jet trainers from Britain. It will also help the Air Force call for international tenders to purchase 126 combat aircraft to shore up its depleting fighter squadron strength of MiG 21s and enable the Army to purchase upgraded 155mm artillery guns. Despite its failures to meet the deadlines on the main battle tank and indigenous aero engines, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been given a 7.48 per cent hike in allocation to Rs. 3,020.18 crore, from last year’s revised estimate of Rs. 2,809.96 crore. The allocation for the Army has been increased by 5.28 per cent to Rs. 33,205 crore from last year’s revised estimates of Rs. 31,539 crore while that of the Indian Air Force has been hiked by 7.88 per cent to Rs. 10,087.36 crore from Rs. 737.09 crore in 2005-06. The Navy, the smallest of the three services, has got a hike of 5.75 per cent, as the allocation been increased to Rs. 6,791 crore compared to last year’s estimate of Rs. 6,422 crore. While the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, recently said that the country’s defence budget could be at 3 per cent of GDP, the current budget is only 2.27 per cent of GDP, despite an 8.9 per cent hike. India’s neighbours, China and Pakistan, allocate 5 to 7 per cent of their GDP for their armed forces. The government has also fulfilled the long-standing need of retired Armed Forces personnel below officer rank for better pension benefits. About 12 lakh such personnel have benefited to the tune of Rs. 460 crore with effect from January 1, 2006. Having remained on the periphery of the Centre’s priorities in the 1990s, the defence sector came into the limelight after the 1999 Kargil conflict. Moreover, nearly two years of full mobilisation on the border showed that the armed forces were under prepared for a modern war. The U.S-led military operations after 9/11 also contributed to the increasing expenditure on military platforms and surveillance mechanisms. Despite the tranquil borders and a relatively stable situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has made reasonably substantial allocations for the defence sector. The revenue expenditure has been increased to 6 per cent because the Army will be averse to downsizing until the security situation stabilises to its satisfaction. On the capital expenditure side, the armed forces have made out a case for increasing the outlay from the current year’s Rs. 34,375 crore, hence it has been increased by 13.25 per cent. This is to meet the commitments for orders placed by the present and previous governments and sign contracts for more equipment, primarily for the Army and the Navy. The funds allocated will help in purchasing more military hardware. The Defence Ministry is in the process of purchasing a complement of surveillance planes for the Navy and a large number of tanks from Russia to replace its ageing armoured corps assets, besides air defence equipment. The Navy is also planning to repeat an order for three warships from Russia. It is keen on strengthening its nuclear force levels. Talks with Russia are highly confidential, but according to information, India is discussing the acquisition of long-range bomber planes and nuclear submarines. However, there is no time-frame for completing the negotiations in view of the complexity of such deals there was no requirement for Mr. Chidambaram to make allowance for these capital-intensive nuclear delivery systems. While India continues with high-end military purchases, industry is hoping to benefit from the spin-offs. The government has announced that foreign companies supplying equipment worth over Rs. 300 crore will have to source one-third of the value of the contract from the country. The Defence Ministry is on the verge of finalising this offset policy. However, a question mark hangs over the policy because of pressure by foreign companies to modify some clauses to their advantage. While big military purchases and the huge expenditure on salaries and pensions for the armed forces are the two major components of the defence budget, the Army hoped for a little more generosity from the Finance Minister to adequately compensate soldiers who died in action. The Defence Ministry had sent a proposal for higher compensation to its martyrs. This is unfortunate as the Finance Minister could not find funds for this noble cause. This is one of the reasons that the armed forces are not attracting enough youth of the country. As a former Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee realises the constraints imposed by social sector commitments on the exchequer. This is why he has refrained from capitalising on the Prime Minister’s statement, assuring 3 per cent of the gross domestic product to the defence sector if the economy continued to grow at a healthy rate. |
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Afghan-Pak rift deepens
A rare suicide car bombing Sunday in Afghanistan’s capital, which killed four people and left former president Sibghatullah Mujaddedi with burn injuries, seemed likely to set back government reconciliation efforts with Taliban members and to aggravate a growing war of words with neighboring Pakistan over terrorist violence. Mujaddedi, 80, who heads both the upper house of parliament and a commission that works to return Taliban members to civic life, publicly accused Pakistan’s intelligence agency of masterminding the attack. In a news conference in Kabul hours after the blast, he gestured angrily with both heavily bandaged hands. A spokeswoman for Pakistan’s foreign ministry in Islamabad immediately denied the allegations, calling them ``baseless’’ and saying the government condemned all such attacks. But the incident—the first suicide bombing in Kabul after months of escalating terrorism in southern and eastern Afghanistan—threatened to deepen the rift between Musharraf and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has long accused Pakistan of sheltering Islamic extremists and helping them launch cross-border attacks. In some aspects, the two leaders have much in common. Both espouse moderate Muslim values and seek to modernize deeply impoverished countries. Both have strongly condemned Islamic extremism and violence; both have been victims of assassination attempts. Their countries share a long border and tribes that live on both sides. They would seem natural allies in the war against terrorism. Instead, the long history of mistrust and manipulation between the two countries has continued to bedevil their relations, while the recent resurgence of violence by Taliban and Islamic militia forces in the turbulent tribal areas straddling both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border has led to renewed hostility between capitals. “It’s very sad. The two governments should be fighting terror jointly instead of trying to scapegoat each other,” Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general, said by telephone from Islamabad on Friday. ``The military can only attack targets; what is needed is a comprehensive approach that can bring development and rule of law’’ to the border areas. Last month, Karzai presented Musharraf with the names and addresses of alleged Taliban members and other fugitives in Pakistan, but Musharraf angrily dismissed the information as ``nonsense’’ and a “deliberate attempt to malign Pakistan.’’ A Karzai spokesman insisted the information was accurate and showed that “terrorists have freedom of movement’’ inside Pakistan. The resurgence in Islamic terrorism has occurred despite intensive military efforts on both sides of the border. In Afghanistan, where thousands of U.S. troops are based and new army and police forces have been built, the Taliban and other insurgents have become increasingly entrenched and emboldened in some border regions. In recent months, as NATO troops have begun replacing U.S. forces in the southern and eastern regions, the attacks have become increasingly ruthless and bizarre, from suicide bombings in crowded markets to the bludgeoning of a Canadian soldier March 4 by an ax-wielding teen-ager. Canadian officials have said they believe the young man was influenced by the Taliban. The suicide attack on Mujaddedi’s convoy Sunday, in which officials said both bombers and two bystanders were killed, might have been aimed at Mujaddedi’s high-profile efforts to persuade Taliban figures to defect and return to public life. — LA Times-Washington Post
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Delhi Durbar THE nuclear deal with the US seems to have suddenly revived interest in some political parties about the virtues of nuclear energy. The day Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told Parliament about the nuclear deal with the US, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav met him with other party leaders to demand a nuclear power plant for Bihar. But the Bihar strongman’s advocacy of a nuclear power plant may not strictly be for reasons of energy scarcity in Bihar. He was apparently addressing his constituency among minorities, which has been demonstrably anti-Bush about the benefits of the nuclear deal. Homecoming for Sushma It will be a home coming for BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, who will be contesting the coming Rajya Sabha election from Madhya Pradesh. In fact, in the early 80s Ms Swaraj had bought one apartments in Bhopal and took pains to furnish it with the intent that she will settle in Bhopal and contest elections from Madhya Pradesh. But as the fate would have it, under the guidance of the party elders, her political career matured in Delhi. Now, Ms Swaraj will at least have the satisfaction of fulfilling her long-cherished dream of contesting from Madhya Pradesh, if not for the Lok Sabha, at least for the House of Elders. Impressive
simplicity Ladies gathered to hear the Prime Minister’s wife, Gursharan Kaur, speak on the issue of women at a function to celebrate the International Women’s Day were heard singing paeans about her simplicity. The unassuming and matter-of-fact Gursharan Kaur made a brief speech, leaving the other panelists, including noted actor and activist Shabana Azmi, Farooq Abdullah to exhibit their vocal prowess. Dressed in an elegant silk saree with just a pearl strand around her neck, Gursharan Kaur, who patiently sat through the whole programme, could pass off for any other grandmother had it not been for the presence of the elite Special Protection Group personnel hovering around her. Smriti Irani, the perfect bahu She continues to receive bouquets and brickbats in equal measure for her role in the Saas-Bahu soap on the small screen. The actor-politician, who owes her allegiance to the BJP and better known as Tulsi, managed to strike a chord with women gathered to hear her speak marking the International Women’s Day. A gifted story-teller, she had the audience get goose bumps and some even shed tears as she narrated the story of a woman in Punjab who tried to kill her baby girl. And that’s not all. She won the approval of those women had been criticising her attire and appearance when she got down the dais to hand over a glass of water to an aged woman sitting in the front row, who was coughing incessantly. Contributed by S. Satyanarayanan, Prashant Sood and Smriti Kak Ramachandran.
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From the pages of “Preposterous demands” THE manifesto which has just been issued by the Punjab Hindu Sabha is a conclusive reply to the demands recently put forward by certain Muslim leaders in the Punjab. The Muslim leaders had declared that it was “more than ever impossible for Muslims to accept any constitutional agreement which deprives them of the essential safeguard of an absolute Muslim majority in the Punjab and Bengal.” “Safeguards for majorities,” says the Hindu Sabha manifesto, “is an unreasonable demand, unheard of in any part of the civilised world and unknown to any democratic constitution. Nor is this the only objection to which the Muslim demand is open. To quote from the manifesto again, “the position claimed by the Muslim leaders is one of weightage and favoured representation for the Muslims wherever they are in a minority and at the Centre, but the denial of the same weightage to other minorities in the Punjab and Bengal.” There is only one answer to such a demand, and that is the answer which the Hindu Sabha gives.
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(O you who believe) when it is said to you, make room in assemblies, make room. Allah will give you ample (hereafter). And when it is said, Rise up, rise up. — Islam People think that leading a life devoted to scriptural study and contemplation, may be better for spiritual progress than doing one’s worldly duty. A God-realised person does not consider oneself the doer of any action, but only an instrument in the hands of the Divine for his use. — Bhagvad Gita Remember that life is about love. Give love when you can, and it will be given to you! — Sanatana Dharma If you say. ‘I am a sinner’, eternally, you will remain a sinner to all eternity. You ought rather to repeat, ‘I am not bound, I am not bound. Who can bind me? I am the Son of God, the kings of kings. — Ramakrishna
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