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Hurriyat
in true colours Wake-up
call |
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Trafficking
Bill
A
lawless law
Vanishing
sheen
Nepal’s
Maoist threat Dubious
victories in Kargil Defence
notes
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Hurriyat in true colours
Though not unexpected, the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has thrown a spanner in the works by refusing to participate in tomorrow’s roundtable conference in Srinagar, aimed at finding a negotiated solution to the Kashmir problem. This has prompted the other separatist leaders like Mr Yaseen Malik of the JKLF and Mr Shabbir Shah of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party also to decide to stay away from the peace initiative launched at the behest of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Now all of them willy-nilly find themselves in the company of the pro-Pakistan hardliner, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who heads the other faction of the Hurriyat. But it is the Mirwaiz who is primarily to blame for the situation coming to such a pass. Dilly-dallying for a few days, he announced his faction’s uncooperative decision on Monday, spoiling the entire atmosphere virtually at the eleventh hour, perhaps on receiving a word from their friends in Pakistan. It will be a deserving rebuff if the moderate Hurriyat’s demand for a separate meeting with the Prime Minister on the sidelines of the roundtable conference is turned down. This tactic had been used by the Hurriyat during the first round of the conference in New Delhi, too, when Dr Manmohan Singh was in an obliging mood. But this time, perhaps, the Prime Minister’s side thought, and rightly so, that allowing the Hurriyat to bypass the conference route in Srinagar would amount to giving its leaders a preferential treatment, which they do not deserve. The Hurriyat is not the sole agency of the public opinion in Jammu and Kashmir. It does not wholly reflect even the separatist opinion in the valley. There are several sections of the people —- political parties, intellectuals, lawyers, students and NGOs —- who are better representatives of the public opinion. Describing them as “a crowd comprising hypocrites” will not affect their status in society despite the abusive language used by the Hurriyat. The Mirwaiz and the other separatists, who have been saying that they are not against dialogue, have come out in their true colours. Their agenda is no different from that of the militants, who had given a call for the boycott of the conference. Shying away from the dialogue process amounts to siding with the terrorist outfits and ignoring the wishes of the people, yearning for peace. Efforts must be made to see that the separatists do not succeed in derailing the Prime Minister’s initiative. The Centre should go on talking to the other people even if the Hurriyat does not join the search for a solution. The Hurriyat cannot be given a veto on the dialogue with Kashmir leaders of different persuasions. But how is it that the Central Government did not know in advance that the Hurriyat would pull out of the roundtable at the last minute? |
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Wake-up call
Though negotiations are being held with agitating medicos, the latter’s protests have been dismissed as unwarranted by Mr Arjun Singh. The students opposing the move to extend reservations in the higher educational institutions badly needed moral and intellectual support and it has come in abundance in the shape of resignations of two members of the National Knowledge Commission. The commission happens to be a formidable think tank and Mr Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Mr Andre Beteille who have resigned from it are towering intellectuals and thinkers. The government will ignore their protest at its own peril. They are not the ones to see the issue of reservation through the prism of vote bank politics. So, they have called a spade a spade and have spoken in no uncertain terms about the dangers that this ill-advised policy entails. They have cogently explained how it will not only defeat merit but will also go counter to the requirements of a knowledge-based society. Others like Mr Sam Pitroda, chairman of the commission, are also opposed to the extended reservation. Their viewpoint should be a sobering influence on the depredations of self-serving politicians out to make a living by dividing society. But are there listeners in Delhi these days? There is a need for taking a dispassionate look at the ability of the reservation to end discrimination and to bring about a caste-less society. Unfortunately, it has ended up providing material comfort to a select few, while doing precious little for all the rest. The country has had to pay a heavy price for this aberration. Rather than vanishing, the caste divide seems to be sharpening because of reservations, taking the shape of an us-versus-they divide between those who get admissions and jobs through the quota route and those who do not. Sixty years is long enough a period to look back at the experiment and do an honest course correction. Reservation is only a tool, not an end in itself as Mr Arjun Singh and other politicians believe. |
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Trafficking
Bill
Most of the amendments proposed in the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Amendment Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha have been suggested or supported by the National Commission for Women (NCW). Aimed as they are at preventing child prostitution and the continued exploitation of sex workers both by their clientele and the ugly network of human traffickers, brothel keepers and pimps, they deserve to be welcomed. Of course, it is gaps in implementation that are the bane of our justice system, and new laws and amendments are unlikely to solve the problem by themselves. Nevertheless, the NCW had felt that these amendments were necessary. It is a fact that 85 to 95 per cent of all arrested under the 1956 act are women. The men involved in promoting prostitution manage to get away. The new amendments will be effective in correcting this anomaly, as it brings brothel keepers and other assistants into the net. It also redefines “child” to include anyone below the age of 18, as against the earlier 16, and targets those responsible for forcing girls into prostitution. Penal provisions for all offences, both fines and imprisonment, are proposed to be made more stringent. There are some grey areas. The NCW had also explicitly called for punishing the “customer”, a long- standing demand of women’s groups. The bill proposes both imprisonment (from three to six months) and fines (between Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000) for those visiting brothels. Many sex workers’ unions have already vociferously opposed this provision, stating that it infringes on their rights and will force them to go underground, where their travails will only increase. They also fear that the provision lowering the rank of the Special Police Officer under the act, to sub-inspector from inspector, will pave the way for more harassment. The key issue here is exploitation. To the extent that the new provisions are for penalising those exploiting vulnerable women, the amendments are to be welcomed. The onus, as always, is on implementation. |
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The strongest power ever known/Came from Caesar’s laurel crown.
— William Blake |
A lawless law
Thanks to the marvels of live televised parliamentary proceedings, the country witnessed on May 16 and 17 a brief but rare spectacle of inter-party camaraderie when members belonging to different political parties in each of the two Houses of Parliament joined together and passed the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill 2006. With respect, in my humble opinion, this is a “lawless law” — a phrase coined by German judges after the end of World War II while stigmatising some of the laws passed during the regime of the Third Reich. Why do I make this somewhat extravagant assertion? Let me explain. Article 102(1) (a) of our Constitution provides that a person shall be disqualified for being a member of either House of Parliament if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the government of any state other than an office declared by Parliament by law not to disqualify its holder. The general rule in the first part of Article 102(1)(a) is founded on the need for neutrality and impartiality in the public service. For the latter part of the rule what is required is an objective assessment by Parliament of such offices of profit under the Central government or state governments irrespective of who is holding them: the assessment is to avoid any possibility of conflict of interest between the office so held, and the office of an MP. This is how the present Bill has been presented. But the Bill is not, in fact or in substance, an office-of-profit-removal-of-disqualifications-Bill. It is aimed only at enabling private members who already hold such offices of profit to continue to do so with impunity (45 such offices of profit presently so held are specifically mentioned in the Bill). The Bill provides in essence that the members who are currently holding offices of profit under the Central Government or any state government (individuals holding known and listed “offices”) shall not be disqualified from being members of Parliament since Parliament has retrospectively declared by law that the offices of profit they so hold would not disqualify the holder! As simple as that. By a legislative sleight of hand a constitutional transgression that had already taken place is sought to be removed by law — passed (among others) by the legislators who have avowedly acted in violation of the constitutional provision. The lack of any objective assessment of the offices that are not to be treated as offices of profit, together with the intendment that the new law is to be back-dated (so that all sitting members remain sitting members) inexorably conveys the impression to all right-thinking persons that the people’s representatives, cutting across party lines, have amply “looked after their own.” Parliament is not authorised by law to grant amnesty to its own members pardoning them from non-compliance with a constitutional provision. Parliament is empowered to make laws for the public good, not to enact laws principally for the exclusive benefit of its own sitting members. In the field of removal of disqualifications, of course, there is ample room for parliamentary discretion — but only as to offices of profit, not as to persons known to be holding such offices and enjoying their benefits. The function of Parliament is not to exercise some sort of patronage, howsoever well intended, by relieving undoubtedly good and competent persons of the embarrassment of having fallen foul of the law. There was no sudden change of interpretation of law by the Supreme Court to justify the introduction and passage of this Bill through Parliament. The only recent change of law, by dicta of the Supreme Court, was in the case of Mrs. Jaya Bachchan’s disqualification, where the court said authoritatively that a member of Parliament would be treated as holding an office of profit even if the member derived no pecuniary benefit whatever therefrom, if the office entitled its holder to profit or gain that was sufficient to disqualify him or her for sitting any longer in Parliament. The present Bill was introduced not to save those in the position of Mrs. Jaya Bachchan. It was introduced in the belated realisation of the fact that complaints about holding offices of profit by many members of Parliament and receipt by them of emoluments from such offices — an activity long observed in the breach — would probably be accepted by a vigilant Election Commission, and so reported to the President (under Article 103 of the Constitution) resulting in consequential It is unfortunate that those who came into the Lok Sabha by popular vote and into the Rajya Sabha by votes of the elected members of the state legislative assemblies did not do the honourable thing — to resign and seek re-election. They did not even have the frankness to admit on the floor of the House that they had inadvertently and with no mala fide intentions breached the provisions of Article 102. There was no sense of contrition, no expression of remorse. Only two women had the courage to face the consequence of unintended constitutional transgression. The moment Mrs Sonia Gandhi, a member of Parliament, knew that there was a complaint about her holding an office of profit, a fact that she had overlooked, she bowed to the superior wisdom of the Constitution and promptly resigned her seat in the Lok Sabha. A freshly nominated woman member of the Rajya Sabha did likewise. That other MPs of the Congress party and those belonging to the other political parties did not emulate their example is testimony to the abysmal state of our polity, and the alarmingly low state of our public morals. There is an old adage that “howsoever high you be the law is above you”. It has sustained over the years the rule of law in many countries, including our own. And we are proud of it. But we may now be in danger of being placed along with the other group of countries — characterised as the rule-by-law countries — where laws are made only to suit those who are in governance. The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill, 2006, passed the way it has been passed, and at a time when it has been passed and with the obvious intention with which it has been passed, is a blot on the fair name of a great institution — Parliament. If the President of India does sign the Bill into law, the courts should strike it down as wholly arbitrary and constitutionally impermissible. Who will protect us from our elected guardians — except our unelected courts?
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Vanishing sheen
Nearly seven years back, my wife and I decided that the place to settle down for us, after my retirement from the Army, was Panchkula. So, we bought a plot in Sector 6, which we were told by many was the best sector, and constructed our house. We moved into our new home the very next day after my retirement. That was about five years back. Our initial impression confirmed that Panchkula, as well as Sector 6, were indeed the right choice. I had also congratulated myself on selecting a street which had many of the advantages one looks for — comparative quiet, good neighbourhood, nice houses and nicer occupants and to top it all, half the street was occupied by officers of the Haryana Government, which translated into better security in my reckoning, and security was a major consideration, especially in a new and still developing city. During the first two years of our sojourn in our new home, Sector 6 did live up to its reputation of being the best sector of Panchkula. The civic services were good. The roads were well maintained, electricity and water supplies were regular, complaints were attended to with sufficient promptitude, garbage was not left to rot, and the residents of the government quarters, although not extroverts or even partially forthcoming, as is the wont of most bureaucrats, were reasonably good neighbours. So, all in all, the entire situation called for quiet optimism and satisfaction. As it happens in most Indian movies, the plot always takes a turn for the worse after the initial merriment, and the same happened to us. We were soon overtaken by neglect in practically all spheres. Our complaints about the deteriorating civic services met with assurances of it being only a temporary phenomenon. Many excuses were dished out, including the transfer of duties to a new municipal council. Being good citizens, we waited and waited and are still waiting! With a view to address issues en-masse and create a pressure group, we formed a mini residents association, but no one really took notice! In our exuberance, we employed a sweeper to keep the street clean, but this initiative boomeranged when the sweepers appointed by the municipal council quietly disappeared! Last week, there was jubilation on our street, when we saw a convoy of road carpeting vehicles trundling past. It reminded me of those western cowboy movies that were our staple diet when we were growing up. The cavalry eventually came galloping on their chargers in their colourful tunics with bugles blowing and sorted out all the mess! But movies and reality are not the same, as we discovered to our dismay. The carpeting of the road was only for the main road, on which VIPs travelled, and we were left high and dry once
again. |
Nepal’s Maoist threat
The Nepalese revolution is only the latest manifestation of the power of the people in compelling dictatorial forces to yield. In February 1986, the Philippine people had brought down a dictatorship and restored democracy in their dramatic four-day People Power Revolution. Though the Soviet communist regime had quelled both the 1956 Hungarian Uprising and the 1968 Prague Spring with tanks in the street, the influence of Lech Walesa’s ‘Solidarity’ movement in Poland led to the intensification and spread of anti-communist ideals throughout the countries of the Eastern Bloc, weakening their communist governments. The citizens of neighbouring Czechoslovakia threw off the shackles of four decades of totalitarian communist rule in what has been called the “Velvet Revolution”. The victory of the Ukrainian people’s Orange Revolution over their country’s corrupt leadership and the installation of Viktor Yushchenko as President in January 2005, represented a new landmark in the history of peoples’ movements for democracy. The Cedar Revolution in April 2005 ended the Syrian military occupation of Lebanon after 30 years. However, the Nepalese people’s short but intense agitation that led to the restoration of parliamentary democracy in April 2006, after over two years of brutal repression, is nothing short of spectacular in the breadth of its reach and the depth of its significance. In the face of fearless crowds creeping up on the Narayanhitty Palace, King Gyanendra finally threw in the towel. In many ways the scenes of frenzied crowds on the streets of Kathmandu resembled the last hours of the regime of the Shah of Iran. However, Gyanendra’s Himalayan Kingdom, which he treated as a personal fiefdom, is still in a royal mess. Delighted by their victory over totalitarianism, the people of Nepal welcomed the transfer of power to the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) headed by octogenarian Prime Minister G. P. Koirala, despite the ever-squabbling and corrupt Nepalese politicians having lost the people’s confidence years ago. The Maoists, whose writ runs over large swathes of rural Nepal, have declared a cease-fire for three months but have set tough conditions for elections to a new Constituent Assembly, including the release of their cadres from jails in Nepal and India. Both these honeymoons are likely to be short-lived. Fissures have already begun to appear among the constituents of the SPA over their approach to bringing the Maoists into the mainstream. The arrogant and wily monarch that he is, King Gyanendra’s recent moves are at best only a tactical retreat to stave off what was quite obviously an imminent lynching. He appears to be light years away from realising that in the eyes of the people he is the problem and cannot, therefore, be part of the solution. The Royal Nepalese Army (the prefix ‘Royal’ has now been dropped) had earned the wrath of the people with its high-handed tactics in crushing the movement for democracy. Though the traditionally loyal Army, that is officered at the senior level by the King’s handpicked appointees, has reluctantly agreed to place itself under civilian control, it remains to be seen whether it will actually take orders from a civilian dispensation or continue to take its bearings from the palace. Though the King of Nepal has been traditionally revered as an incarnation of the Hindu God Vishnu, the Nepalese people have made no secret of their contempt for King Gyanendra. There is no clarity on whether the King will be willing to abdicate if the Constituent Assembly adopts a Republican model. In case the King has the good sense to hand over all executive power to the people and accept a ceremonial role in a constitutional monarchy like the Queen of Britain, the people may yet accept such an arrangement despite their reservations. The Maoists too have a diabolical game plan. As they are well armed and have terrorised most of the rural areas, they hope to win the elections to a Constituent Assembly and then dictate terms. So far they have failed to show any enthusiasm for laying down their arms as a pre-condition for their participation in the proposed electoral process. It is not even clear whether they genuinely wish to share power with the SPA, or if their interests lie in capturing Kathmandu through the ballot box, if they can, to govern Nepal in keeping with their ideologically driven policies. The international community did not cover itself with glory with its tacit support for the King despite his assumption of absolute power on February 1, 2005 as it saw the Maoists as the greater evil. Even though the King’s repressive regime had launched a brutal campaign to crush the movement for democracy, Ambassador James F. Moriarty of the United States was advocating reconciliation till late-March 2006 and was opposed to the 12-point agreement reached between the SPA and the Maoists for the restoration of democracy. As Nepal’s neighbour, India’s “twin-pillar” doctrine of supporting multi-party democracy under the rubric of constitutional monarchy lulled the King into complacence and angered the Nepalese people. India is itself plagued by Maoist violence in 150 districts of 14 states. In recent months the Maoists have broken into jails to free incarcerated cadres, hijacked a train and attacked police stations to loot arms and ammunition. Daily incidents of violence and IED blasts are commonplace. In the deep jungles of Central India the Maoists collect taxes and impose fines. They are rapidly acquiring organisational cohesiveness and may soon begin to coordinate their attacks. As has been the case with insurgencies in Jammu and Kashmir and India’s north-eastern states, inimical neighbours are bound to jump into the fray with what they call “political, diplomatic and moral” support. Hence, the Indian government has been apprehensive of growing linkages between Indian and Nepalese Maoists. A full-fledged civil war in Nepal that results in a Maoist take over would be immensely detrimental to India’s national security interests. Even though such a prospect is improbable at present, the present situation in Nepal is far from stable. It is time India stopped hedging its bets and came out with a clear pro-democracy policy while simultaneously remaining prepared for harder options if the need for these
arises. The writer is Director, Security Studies and Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi. |
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Dubious victories in Kargil
The ghost of the Kargil war that had begun to disappear from the Indian mind should now get a second life through an account of the war titled “Kargil, From Surprise To Victory”, penned by General (retd) VP Malik, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) at that time. In spite of what the usual band of reviewers may write about the book, this nation of countless war veterans and ex-servicemen is unlikely to be impressed by an individual under whose watch the nation had to face an uncalled for and totally avoidable, mental and material disaster. Hundreds of casualties, a huge embarrassment and a slap on the face, and a vigorous intervention by the United States virtually ordering Pakistan to pull back, were all events that could have been avoided had General Malik and his Army, Corps and Divisional Commanders and the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) kept their eyes and ears more closely tuned to the ground on and across the LoC, and acted in a timely manner. General Malik was on a visit abroad, and as events showed clearly, his Army Commander on the spot had been taken totally unawares – otherwise he would have done something about it. Malik’s book dwells more on the enemy’s eviction from our posts, than on why the intrusions were allowed in the first place. The title of the book itself raises a number of questions. Yes, total surprise was there at Kargil, but there was no victory. Because we had been badly surprised and needed to get back at Pakistan, terribly heavy casualties were taken by our young officers and jawans mounting frontal attacks in high altitudes, in terrain totally devoid of cover. Who is to be held responsible for such heavy casualties in such a short duration conflict? Was it really a victory when soldiers like the 121 Infantry Brigade Commander Brig Surinder Singh, who was the only one sacked, are even today going to the press and enquiring about the status of Pt 5353 on the LoC, and asking the government as to whose troops are presently holding this feature? It is also a fact that the sudden pullout of complete army formations from the Valley into the Kargil sector diluted the fight against terrorism inside the valley, in spite of what General Malik may now say about it. Does a so called victory in one sector compensate for an imbalance in another? Yes, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and others were also caught napping, but how does this absolve our own vigilance by troops in contact? Why did it take so much time and so much effort on the part of General Malik to be able to convince his other two colleagues for an all out air effort? Air Marshal A.K.Singh, AOC-in-C, Western Air Command has rubbished the charges of late intervention. As regards a CDS, there is no guarantee that a CDS from another Service would not actually have further slowed down the process of decision making and subsequent execution. This is especially so when efforts were under way to localise the entire conflict to just one sector. A CDS or a Joint Chiefs of Staff is as good as the Generals, the Air Marshals and the Admirals running it. It is more important that every Service Chief does his own bit first. A CDS System in itself cannot guarantee victories, and with our inter-service rivalries it is not time for us as yet to adopt such a system. |
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Defence
notes
The licensed production of multi-role Sukhoi-30MKI fighters in the country is running into huge cost overruns, and some of them in the latest batch of imports are flying without some advanced, critical, airborne systems. The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) placed in Parliament, while pointing this out, has noted that the indigenous manufacture of the Russian frontline fighters is actually working out to be more expensive than its import. Three critical airborne systems of the fighters — electronic warfare system, reconnaissance system and the direction finding, modular radar — have not been integrated with the latest batch of aircraft delivered by the Russians, under the November 1996 contract, the report said. Rapping the Government for huge cost escalation risks in the project, the CAG said the total cost of 140 aircraft projected by the Defence ministry in 2000 was Rs 22,122.78 crores at the 2000 price level, while in a detailed project report prepared by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in July 2005, the amount shown was Rs 39,224.9 crores, almost a hundred per cent increase.
MOD flies high As the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government celebrates two years in office, the Ministry of Defence too is boasting about is achievements. Interestingly, it listed among these the world record created by an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer, who flew a Cheetah helicopter at an altitude of 25,150 feet, at Saserkangri near Leh, and the elevation of Ms Padmavati Bandhopadya as the first lady Air Marshal in the history of the IAF. Is it that these individuals achieved the feats as a result of the encouragement given by the UPA Government?
Securing cyber space The Union Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallamraju has laid stress on having an “India-centric national cyber security response system” to deal with the increasing threats in cyberspace and growing incidents of global cyber-terrorism. At a seminar, he said the Indian initiative against cyberspace crimes would seek to bring together governments and the national and international private sector to fight the growing menace. “The new response system will serve as a pioneering platform to allow various state governments, public sector companies and corporates, and individuals of the country, to exchange notes and ideas, as well as to facilitate the sharing of skills and best practices, with the ultimate objective of combating these constantly evolving threats,” the minister said. Cyber security is not entirely a government concern, given that some of the best skills and technologies in cyber-security reside in the private sector, he noted. “It is only natural that all governments need to work closely with businesses.” |
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From the pages of GANDHI IS DEAD
The tempest of madness issuing from the hideous depths of communal hell after covering a considerable part of our unfortunate land with destruction and death has extinguished that Heavenly Light which had not only been flooding it with spiritual lustre from end to end but had also been transmitting immortalising warmth and energy to it. Mahatma Gandhi, who presented in his peerless personality the rarest combination of Bhakti yoga and Karma yoga and who infused life into the millions of extinct Indian bones and converted the biggest graveyard of ancient achievements and future hopes into a glorious victory-ground of the revived spirit of man, has ceased to walk this earth. This ringing of murderous shots at New Delhi was like the crack of doom for Indian culture and civilisation. But they would not only be able to bear the shock of the sudden disappearance of their greatest representative, interpreter and “populariser” but also shine forth more resplendently, for the Mahatma lived and worked and bled and died to make them the beacon light of the world. He was not just the father of the Indian nation — he was more, he was the father of humanity. |
When a young warrior sets out what other old and renowned warriors could not, there are some who encourage him. They praise his strength. Above all they praise his lofty will
to dare. —The Mahabharata I can’t eat, can’t sleep restless. I prowl from room to room. Someone please let him know I can’t endure being without my
beloved. —Kabir A man may emerge victor in a thousand battles. In each battle, he may conquer a thousand men, yet he is nothing before the man who has conquered himself. That is the greatest victory of
all. —The Buddha The principle which Koran lays down commends itself to every reasonable person. It requires the injured person to exercise his judgement, and see whether the occasion calls for punishment or
forgiveness. —The Koran We reap what we sow. — Guru
Nanak One can get human gurus by the million. All want to be teachers. But who cares to be a
disciple? —Ramakrishna Soul-force comes only through God’s grace and never descends upon a man who is a slave to
lust. —Mahatma Gandhi |
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