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Quality of
judges Focus on
‘dryland farming’ Instant
cricket |
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Keep
back channels open
My
teaching days
Surprised
at Kargil Soya
threat to Amazon’s eco-system Delhi
Durbar
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Quality of judges
The Union Government’s proposal for creating an all-India judicial service on the lines of the Indian Administrative Service is welcome. If implemented, the proposal, as recommended by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice (The Tribune, July 17), will help attract better talent to the judiciary. Owing to the dearth of talented people seeking openings in the judiciary, the functioning of the courts at present leaves much to be desired. If an all-India judicial service is created and judges are recruited directly on the pattern of the Civil Services examination by an independent and constitutional body like the Union Public Service Commission, our courts will attract more competent people to take over as judges. Simultaneously, the quality of dispensation of justice will also improve. The problem of huge backlog of cases in the subordinate courts, which overburdens the High Courts and the Supreme Court, is a constant worry. Apparently, the present system seems unable to respond to the challenges. How serious is the problem of not getting the right kind of judges can be gauged by the fact that both Punjab and Haryana have failed to fill the civil service (judicial) posts in their respective states because of the lack of suitable candidates. In Punjab, for instance, only 39 out of 2,500 candidates cleared the written test. Yet, the PPSC failed to fill 27 PCS (Judicial) posts. This is, certainly, a poor reflection on the standards of law education in colleges and universities. True, law education is currently receiving due attention. In some states, the national law schools are coming up, besides the existing ones at places like Bangalore and Kolkata. However, a lot more needs to be done. Moreover, mere increase in the number of judges, without improving their quality, is not enough. For many years, talented advocates have been refusing to accept senior judicial positions including those in the High Courts. An all-India judicial service will help improve the quality of personnel, especially at the cutting edge of the justice delivery system. In the All India Judges Case, the Supreme Court supported the need for such a service, as enshrined in Article 312 of the Constitution. All this calls for early setting up of the all-India judicial service. |
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Focus on ‘dryland farming’
If the first Green Revolution boosted wheat and paddy output through the extensive use of better seeds and chemicals, making India self-sufficient in food, the second Green Revolution can be ushered in by
focusing on dryland farming. That is what Dr M.S. Swaminathan, a distinguished farm expert and Chairman of the National Commission on Farmers, thinks. Dryland farming means raising crops based solely on rainwater. Crops like pulses, oilseeds and millets do not require too much water and can be grown in semi-hill and other areas where water availability is poor. Dr Swaminathan wants “coarse cereals” such as ragi, bajara and jowar to be renamed as “nutritious cereals” and pleads for their inclusion in the public distribution system. The veteran expert on food and agriculture is speaking sense. The cereals, once condemned as coarse grains, and consumed mostly by the poor, need to be reinvented as these are highly “underutilised crops”. Their inclusion in the PDS may boost demand and raise prices, which, in turn, may encourage farmers to grow them. As for pulses and oilseeds, the present high prices of these farm commodities may be enough to lure farmers. Dry lands can also be used for growing certain types of vegetable and fruit apart from boosting milk and meat production. All this requires concrete efforts. Water conservation needs to become a movement. Rainwater harvest has to be made part of policy with provisions of rewards and penalties. For states like Punjab and Haryana, where the water table is falling to alarming levels, dryland farming is particularly desirable to protect water resources from extinction. While states are still not serious in preserving water bodies, the government has made higher allocations in its budgets for irrigation and water conservation. However, the Water Resource Ministry is reportedly underutilising its budgetary allocations, thus affecting the progress of the ongoing water projects. |
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Instant
cricket
If it is the slog overs of a one-day international that are truly exciting, why not just play the slog overs? That roughly appears to be the philosophy of Twenty20 cricket, where each side plays just 20 overs as against 50 in a one-day game. For purists, this is clearly overstepping the line. But then, these are the days when people demand instant versions of everything. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had to “gracefully” accept defeat when the ICC voted 10 to the sole Indian vote, in favour of hosting the maiden Twenty20 World Cup championship in 2007. The Twenty20 international is already a reality, though India has been holding out. Now, we will have domestic Twenty20 fixtures also. The format has received the endorsement of fans and players like Rahul Dravid. The scores of the recent World XI vs Pakistan game show its potential attraction. Sachin scored 50 in 26 balls, but Pakistan won, riding on Afridi’s 41 of 12 balls. For many, test cricket, which is still going strong, is the only true cricket. To others, even the one-day format has begun to grow a little stale. May be, the new game will spice things up. One thing the boards should ensure is that it does not contribute to the overload that players are facing, thus further reducing the quality and character of the game. The good news on the other front, women’s cricket, is cause for unreserved applause. The women’s form of the game used to suffer, among other things, from lack of funds, as the Women’s Cricket Association was nowhere as rich as the BCCI. Now, the BCCI has announced that it will fully fund and support the Indian women’s tour to England. That kind of support was long overdue. A larger stage will enable our ladies to lift their game and show the cricketing world what they are capable of. It is not known whether they will only play the whole day, or their English tour will be a Twenty20 affair. We wish them success in either version of the game. |
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The moon belongs to everyone,/The best things in life are free.
— Buddy De Sylva and Lew Brown |
Keep back channels open
The pause in the Indo-Pakistani dialogue was inevitable, given the devastating nature of the terrorist attacks on the Mumbai trains and their suspected links to groups in Pakistan. It is equally important, however, to draw the correct lessons from the tragedy in providing better security in urban centres and in charting the future course of dealings with Islamabad. The terrorist threat will not go away as far as one can see. A better system of security to frustrate evil men is imperative in protecting the people through more intensive policing, surveillance and citizens’ cooperation. Meticulousness and discipline are not among Indian virtues but we must learn to inculcate them if we are to avert tragedies. No state can banish all terrorist acts but a rigorous set of precautions and rules can vastly diminish their occurrence. Dealing with Pakistan presents a different set of problems. First, it must be understood by all that there is no option but to try to be friends with Pakistan. One must also record the usefulness of the confidence - building steps that have been put in place since the January 2004 joint statement. Buses are plying across the Line of Control in Kashmir and trains go back and forth across the international border. The exchange of visits between people of the two countries has reached a level not seen since 1965. Indeed, people-to-people exchanges have been a major tenet of Indian policy in the belief that they help to dispel prejudices as new generations disconnected from the first-hand experience of Partition take charge. Benefits from increased travel in both directions are obvious. My own visits to Pakistan suggest that there is a greater desire to be friends with India in Pakistan’s civil society and this trend cannot but influence policy in the long run. Second, we must realise the limits of Pakistani flexibility in the context of the country’s political developments. General Pervez Musharraf consolidated his power after engineering a bloodless coup by ensuring the exile of leaders of the two principal mainstream parties, the People’s Party and the Nawaz Sharif Muslim League. Further, he successfully split the Muslim League and gave enviable political space to the religious parties clubbed under the MMA label. Externally, General Musharraf correctly assumed that he had no option but to embrace President George W. Bush after Nine Eleven by radically reversing his policy in fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. He earned himself the stripe of a “non-NATO ally” even as he sought to balance his new anti-Taliban stance with giving greater leeway to Pakistan-sponsored jehadis in Kashmir. Periodically, the Pakistan President has been toning down the Kashmiri jehadis’ activities in deference to pressure exerted by the US and, sometimes, as a gesture to India. At the same time, he remains a votary of using the jehadis to bleed India to a greater or lesser extent, depending upon the signals he wants to send to Delhi. Both Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mr Nawaz Sharif proved during their stints in office - whatever the stances they choose to adopt today - that their ability to resolve contentious problems with India was very limited. Indeed, India’s premise that only elected governments could be worthy partners proved to be a myth. It was General Musharraf who could offer out-of-the-box ideas (unacceptable as they were) after he had consolidated power. A pause in what is termed the “composite” dialogue between the two countries can be salutary for assessing the results of more than two years of negotiations at various levels. The complexities of India’s own decision-making process over such issues as
Siachen were highlighted in recent discussions, but General Musharraf’s ability to make bold moves must necessarily be circumscribed by the elections looming on the horizon and the controversy over his holding two offices. Unlike the Indian political system, which has been accepted by all legitimate parties, Pakistan’s recurring bouts of military rule and consequent changes in laws and constitutions give an ephemeral air to the ruling establishment. Military rule — long or short — is cyclical in nature, but, as Ms Bhutto has been telling the world after losing power, the Army remains a looming presence and claims aspects of the country’s security and foreign policy as its preserve. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reiterated after the Mumbai blasts that terrorist acts and peace talks cannot go together. This is a self-evident truth although it is conceivable that some maverick terrorists might have broken free of central Pakistani control. A more plausible explanation is that General Musharraf cannot fight two battles at the same time and is, therefore, inclined to give the Kashmiri jehadis freedom of action because he has to keep chasing the Taliban on constant American prodding. It goes without saying that the stronger the Indian position is in the valley, the less scope there would be for Pakistan and jehadis to fish in troubled waters. But the round-table talks initiated by the Prime Minister are taking their leisurely course even as such new excitements as the sex scandal take centre-stage. Jehadis realise that the improved situation in the state highlighted by the flow of tourists represents a danger for them. They have, therefore, set about attacking and killing tourists. Kashmir is, of course, a central political issue in Pakistan, but despite the Pakistani rhetoric of the centrality of this “core issue” trotted out whenever the need arises, Islamabad has moved some distance to discuss other issues. It has not reached the point India did in reversing itself on the border issue with China by agreeing to set it aside vigorously to pursue other questions of mutual interest, particularly trade and economic relations, burgeoning today. India’s options in relation to Pakistan are clear. While keeping a sharp eye out for terrorists and evolving mechanisms to cope with the problem, New Delhi must keep back channels open to continue the dialogue. As Jawaharlal Nehru said long ago, one cannot choose one’s
neighbours.
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My teaching days
I had earlier been to Harvard University as a Visiting Fulbright Professor, but the year (1969-70), I spent there was chiefly devoted to the writing of my book, Henry James, The Indirect Vision (UMI Research Press). Ann Arbor, 1988. I hardly did any teaching there. However, when in 1988, I received a call from Prof John Meynard, Head, Department of English, New York University to teach there, I was happy to respond. However, when I reached Kennedy Airport, Professor Meynard had some trouble with the authorities regarding my stay there as a paid professor. It appears, there had been some mistake at the New Delhi U.S. Embassy regarding the nature of my visit. However, after some effort Professor Meynard convinced the authorities about the nature of my visit, and thus I started my teaching at the university. It was against this background that I began my work there. On the first day of my teaching, professor Meynard introduced me briefly and then left, leaving the rest to me. It was a graduate class where those working for their Ph.D degree attended some prescribed courses. It was an evening class, and those present included professionals such as school teachers, priests, even lawyers, their ages varying from 25 to 40 and beyond. It was then, this class of mature persons that I was to face. My very looks — a Sikh with a turban and flowing beard — it appears, amused them. However, it did not take me long to prove my credentials. And once I had established my credentials, there was soon an air of ease and friendship between me and the class which consisted of men and women from several Asian, Arabian and North American countries. I was allotted a flat in the university housing complex, and my wife soon joined me there. We made several friends there, and were often invited to their homes. It was during that time that we had an embarrassing experience. We were returning home after our daily shopping that we ran into a gay procession. One or two tried to drag us into their ranks, but we somehow managed to escape. And when we recall those moments we still feel somewhat
shaken. |
Surprised at Kargil
F C. Fuller, a well known military historian, records, “he, if he wishes to understand war, must examine the nature of surprise in its thousand and one forms as it pursued its relentless course throughout history.” Pakistan’s intrusion in the Kargil sector came as a surprise to every one, i.e. from the field formations to army HQ; from the intelligence agencies to the political leadership. Surprise and deception are two sides of the same coin, though deception precedes surprise. How did India allow herself to be surprised by Pakistan, which employed deception with no great skill and sophistication?! General (retd) V.P. Malik, then Army Chief of Staff, in his book, ‘Kargil: From surprise to victory,’ has once more stoked the fires of controversy over the intelligence failure at Kargil. He blames the field commanders for their failure to obtain and report the developments across the LOC, and surveillance and patrolling of the gaps between the posts. Their assessment of the threat limited itself to infiltration. The intelligence agencies failed to obtain relevant information and talked of the ‘Kargil sector becoming the focus of Jehadis attention.’ There were few intelligence reports of new tracks being constructed, logistic build-up and induction of additional troops opposite the Kargil sector. Only dumping of artillery ammunition and movement of two artillery units into the sector was reported as a contingency, ‘for heavy exchange of fire during Apr-May, 1999.’ The intelligence agencies, RAW and IB, lay claim to the contrary, and declare that they passed all relevant intelligence but the army failed to evaluate the same properly. Air Marshal Goel of ARC wing of RAW states that on 16 May, 1999 they detected six Pakistani M-17 helicopters parked in Mushkoh valley and that this was reported to the Defence Minister and Army HQ. This piece of information by itself was enough for Gen Malik to immediately head home from his travels. Former Director, IB (DIB), Ajit Doval claims that the intelligence reports were so serious that the then DIB had personally addressed letters to the top political establishment and the army. Doval in an interview claims that the RAW Chief, Arvind Dave in April 1998 briefed all, ( including the three chiefs of defence services ) but is silent on the contents of this briefing and those of the letters sent to the PM, DGMO, etc. He blames the army for ignoring intelligence reports due to a mind set of its own. RAW in its report of Oct 1998 noted, ‘A limited offensive by Pak cannot be ruled out.’ Such a generalised observation is no great piece of intelligence. Later, it could not identify the likely area for such an offensive, according to the Kargil Review Committee (KRC) report. RAW failed to identify five additional NLI battalions deployed right across the LOC in this sector. This was certainly its greatest failure. The sure give away of Pak intentions of large-scale intrusion into this area was, one, the development of new tracks, two, the dumping of stores, and more importantly, artillery ammunition all along the LOC, and the induction of additional artillery units into the sector, intelligence for which was provided. Why did Pakistan move troops from the Punjab sector to reinforce the LOC in J and K, so soon after the Lahore declaration, was something that should have struck the Indians as incongruous! Could the reinforcing of positions along the LOC be intended to absorb a possible Indian riposte in the event of Pak intrusion? Such an inquiry should have plagued the minds of planners at army HQ. Drawing the Indian army into artillery duels, Pak lulled the top brass into associating the presence of gun areas etc, to merely disrupting the use of road to Leh and provoking Indian retaliation. However, the dumping of ammunition and other related activity by Pak opposite Batalic and other sectors, away from the Leh road, could not be explained. The field commanders on the Indian side were too mesmerised by the thunder of their own guns, in these futile counter-bombardments, to hear the whisper of reason and logic. Those in far away army HQ completely failed to assess and evaluate these developments and instead busied themselves with working out foreign tour programmes. The Joint Intelligence Committee and the National Security Council Secretariat, composed as it is, could hardly carry out an in depth analysis of the available intelligence reports specific to this case. While the KRC went into all the details of intelligence failures at Kargil, it omitted to look into these basic issues of failure on the part of all concerned to detect the missing links in this intelligence jigsaw and see through the Pak deception plan. Throughout history, military commanders have strived to find out what lies on the, ‘other side of the hill.’ If all the intelligence about the enemy’s strength, dispositions, intentions, possible moves, etc are made known, then ‘generalship’ would be a simple affair. Commanders as they evaluate bits and pieces of available information, which is often incomplete, contradictory and confusing, have to bring to bear their own experience, knowledge, skill and intuition to make sense out of a perplexing situation, draw up a coherent picture, and act decisively. That is what, ‘Generalship’ is all about. While many generals were at work on the Kargil issue, ‘generalship’ as such was nowhere to be seen. Finally, success at Kargil can be attributed to three factors. One, that the political leadership in Pakistan developed cold feet and denied its troops the essential support, two, strong American intervention, and three, the courage and bravery of our troops and junior leaders. Missing was ‘generalship’ and strategic perspective. Finally it was the inept politico-military handling of Kargil that laid the foundation for the ‘Operation Parakaram’ fiasco. |
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Soya threat to Amazon’s eco-system
The scars are unmistakably man made. Hard edged squares and rectangles, hundreds of acres across, hacked and burned out of the Amazon forests, are linked by illegal dirt roads that stitch together these giant clearings. Seen from the air this fearful symmetry marks out the battle lines of an invasion that has seen the humble soya bean emerge as the greatest threat to the world’s most important rainforest. On the ground, what was once a thriving ecosystem supporting at least 300 tree species for every hectare is now a wasteland. Dead roots and dry grass crunch underfoot and the breeze throws up dust from the eroded soil. Three hours drive outside the city of Santarem in Para state, along dirt trails struck by illegal loggers you arrive in a vast monoculture inside the Tapajos National Park. Soya fields laden with the dry brown seed pods stretch in every direction. The Amazon basin is home to one in ten of the world’s mammals and 15 percent of the world’s land-based plant species. It holds more than half of the world’s fresh water and its vast forests act as the largest carbon sink on the planet, providing a vital check on the greenhouse effect. Brazil has overtaken the United States as the world’s leading exporter of soya. The protein rich bean has become a profitable link in the processed food chain and 80 percent of world production is fed to livestock. Brazilian soya beans are feeding Europe’s growing hunger for cheap meat and have overtaken logging and cattle ranching as the main engine of deforestation. Santarem, a riverside city hundreds of miles upstream into the Amazon has found itself at the centre of the Soy boom. In the 12 months up until the end of last year Brazil produced over 50 million tonnes of soya across nearly 23 million hectares, an area about the size of the United Kingdom. Soya production remains relatively contained within the Amazon biome but the decision to locate a major soya port this deep into the basin is inviting a catastrophe, according to conservation groups. In the last three years nearly 70,000 square kilometres of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed. The smoke from burning trees pushed Brazil into the top four of global greenhouse gas producers in 2004. According to government figures based on a satellite survey there was a 32 percent decrease in the rate of deforestation last year. With satellite monitoring stations now in place and delivering an annual overview of the Amazon basin, accessible to the general public, the deforestation is no longer taking place unknown to the authorities. But that may not be enough. The cycle of deforestation where state owned reserves is infiltrated by loggers and ranchers looking for “free land” now has a third and more lethal phase where the cleared land is sold to soya producers who intensively farm the soil until it can no longer bring a harvest. The cutters move to new areas and the process is repeated. Within as little as three years rich and fertile rainforest supporting incredible biodiversity can be reduced to desert. Cayetano Scannavino Filao has been working with indigenous people inside the Tapajos for nearly two decades and can remember life before the soya invasion. “We used to fight the loggers but the loggers, they eat the Amazon in small bites, the soya is eating the Amazon in big
bites.” — By arrangement with The Independent |
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Delhi
Durbar The war between medical students and the union health minister Anbumani Ramdoss is far from over. After the minister announced that the medicos will not be paid for the duration that they were on strike, the students have retaliated by filing an RTI seeking clarification on how Ramdoss, who is also a doctor, was allowed to examine patients at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences during the anti-reservation strike. The students want to know whether it is permissible for any doctor to just walk into AIIMS and start treating patients. Members of Youth for Equality (YFI), who have filed the RTI, have pointed out that Ramdoss’ position as president of AIIMS comes under the Office of Profit category.
Postal network Competition seems to be finally catching up with the postal department. After losing a substantial chunk of potential revenue to the courier services, the department is now shaking hands with private players. By the end of this month it plans to make operational countrywide an e-payment solution for bills. A senior postal official explained: “We outsource the work and earn money as we have the network, reaching even remote areas.”
Sanskrit is the mother of many Indian languages and it has an ancient and rich tradition, but today it is dying a slow death. While it is still taught in some educational institutions, it has very few patrons now. It is hardly spoken anywhere in the country, except in a hamlet in Karnataka. But of a group of Indian students at the University of Maryland and young professionals have launched a website, www.speaksanskrit.org, to promote
Sanskrit on a global scale. The students have even rendered the popular Bollywood number
Aati kya khandala and blockbuster film Sholay in Sanskrit to catch the imagination of net surfers.
Petroleum dilemma Union Petroleum minister Murli Deora had announced last month, along with the unprecedented hike in petrol and diesel prices, that oil companies would be allowed to increase the price of petrol and diesel independently whenever the international crude price rose above the $ 75 a barrel mark. The minister is now mum on the issue, considering the political costs for the government, although the international prices have already touched $ 78 a barrel.
Varun’s ticket Former union minister Maneka Gandhi’s son Varun Gandhi is getting a feel of the inherent pitfalls in politics. Some time ago BJP leaders were suggesting that Varun contest the
Lok Sabha seat from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh. This seat had been vacated by Shivraj Singh Chauhan after
becoming the MP Chief Minister. Varun found that the Chief Minister wanted his wife to be given the ticket to contest from Vidisha. Even if Varun is given the ticket there might be forces within the party organisation working overtime to get him defeated from
Vidisha.
Contributed by Prashant Sood, Smriti Kak Ramachandran, R Suryamurthy and Manoj Kumar |
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From the pages of Bloated Cabinets
When does a group become a crowd? — asked Aldous Huxley. He himself replied: “Jesus had only 12 apostles. Ten is the number for a Communist cell. Eight is the perfect number for a dinner party. In armies, the smallest unit is about 10. The witches ‘coven’ was a group of 13”. The Punjab Cabinet of 20 and the Haryana Cabinet of 16 do not fall into any of these groups. They bear a family resemblance more to Noah’s Ark in which two of a kind of all species were invited aboard by the patriarch. The largest
Cabinet in undivided Punjab was Mr Kairon’s 31. But he also slashed it down to 9, as against the present total of 36 for Punjab and Haryana. The figure of Punjab will be boosted when a Cabinet Minister and a Deputy Minister are also added. Mr Musafir has said that, besides these two, the question of appointing a Chief Parliamentary Secretary and other Parliamentary Secretaries will be taken up later. Mr Sharma has already added two Parliamentary Secretaries in Haryana. The logical end of the process will come when all Congress legislators have been duly provided. There is only one name for it — jobbery. |
Is it possible to understand God’s action and his motive? He creates, He preserves, and He destroyers. Can we ever understand why he
destroy? — Ramakrishna |
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