 |
|
Slow and
steady Wireless scam |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Rift over disinvestment
Relevance of nonalignment
Every day is Teachers’ Day
Alienated Baloch Hungry planet: food crisis looming DELHI DURBAR
|
Slow and steady THE
Tarapore Committee’s second report suggests “fuller capital account convertibility” (CAC) in five years. Its two dissenting members — Mr Surjit Bhalla and Mr A.B. Rajwade — have accused the panel of missing the “big picture” and wanted an early shift to the CAC. But memories of the East Asian crisis are still fresh and the Tarapore panel has chosen to be cautious. If the government accepts its report, Indians would be able to buy property and shares and other financial assets abroad up to $200,000 after five years. Companies would be able to borrow up to $1 billion and invest up to $2 billion overseas without the RBI’s permission. A full float of the rupee will make the inflow of foreign funds and outflow of the Indian currency easier. While the access to cheaper finance and an increased inflow of FDI will fuel growth, entrepreneurs will be able to tap global opportunities without rushing to the RBI for clearances. But there are risks. Although FDI in India has touched $165 billion, much of the foreign investment is in shares, instead of in factories or infrastructure. This money can be pulled out easily. Any large-scale inflow or outflow of investment can destabilise the share and money markets. A heavy inflow of FDI can lead to unreasonable lendings and push up prices. The fuller CAC requires certain preconditions. The banking system should be able to handle large cash outflows and inflows. India’s fiscal deficit (the gap between the government’s income and expenditure) is scary. The banking system has improved with technology and greater operational freedom but it has not been put to any serious test. Inflation is within the manageable limits of 5 per cent but that has been artificially kept low by forcing the government companies to absorb the rising crude oil prices. India’s economy is in competent hands. The elephant walks slowly, but firmly and is unlikely to meet the fate of the “Asian Tigers” that had recklessly run into trouble.
|
|
Wireless scam IT seems the Punjab Police is not only top-heavy but also top corrupt. At least that is the inescapable impression one gets on reading the sordid details of the wireless scam involving the purchase of inferior quality wireless sets allegedly with the connivance of senior police officers. The scam is believed to involve embezzlement of Rs 5 crore. That may be peanuts by today’s corruption standards but it is the ranks of the officers involved which make one sit up. Those against whom the CBI has registered a criminal case include a DGP, an ADGP, a retired ADGP and three IGs. That should be a record of sorts which besmirches the none-too-clean image of the state police even further. Ironically, the scandal would have remained under wraps for ever like many others had it not been for rivalry among senior police officers who tried to save the skin of their friends and get to the neck of their foes. So much muck has already stumbled out that it is not really out of place to perceive that there is much more behind the veil. One just hopes that the CBI which is now seized of the matter under the direction of the High Court will do a professional job of it, unlike the police inquiries conducted so far. This is not only open loot of public money but also a fraud on the very department which gave these officers their daily bread, butter and much more. One can well imagine what kind of communication network the police can have with such dubious purchases. As it is, the record of many Punjab Police officers is smudgy because of numerous human rights violations. The latest scandal makes it all the more murky. The department is definitely in urgent need of a thorough overhaul.
|
|
Rift over disinvestment PRIME MINISTER Manmohan Singh’s government has stopped disinvestment of public sector undertakings (PSUs) but issues of policy and processes remain to be resolved as shown by the dispute over the sale of Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco). The Balco deal was a political hot potato when the government offloaded 51 per cent of the stake to Sterlite Industries in 2001. It has become a bone of furious contention with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reporting under-valuation in seven of the nine PSU disinvestment deals between 1999 and 2003 during the NDA regime. CAG reports have proved explosive in the past, too, the most famous being the one on the Bofors gun deal. Depending on whether they are in government or the Opposition, political parties unfailingly exploit the findings for their partisan ends. This belittles the constitutional authority of the CAG and, worse, takes the focus away from the main issue. It is no different now. With so much sound and fury, there is little light on the issue of disinvestment. The fact that the Congress has replaced the BJP at the helm of a coalition ministry has given the PSU sell-offs a political colour. This obfuscates the economic aspect as also the question relating to the entire financial process from valuation to bidding. As in the case of international treaties, political changes in government should not mean going back on contracts (including sale of PSUs) already finalised. Secondly, economic objectives in the interest of the national exchequer should decide disinvestment policy, which is now pushed or put off by post-facto rationalisation. Lastly, the government, as a party to the sale, should set its terms and stand aside. It should be left to credible financial and capital market institutions, free of partisan political influences, to carry through the transaction. |
|
At any rate, I am convinced that He (God) does not play dice. — Albert Einstein
|
Relevance of nonalignment PRIME MINISTER Manmohan Singh will be attending the 14th Nonaligned Summit in Havana on September 15 and 16. It is a gathering of more than 100 developing countries and it is useful to attend such a summit, which gives an opportunity to meet other heads of state and government informally on the sidelines of the conference. This is the second time the summit is being held in Havana. Cuban leader Fidel Castro is recovering from major intestinal surgery and his younger brother Raul is acting in his place. Fidel Castro is one of the longest serving heads of state (47 years) and has a well-recognised standing in the nonaligned movement. He is a symbol of resistance to US domination and, thanks to the US-Soviet agreement in the wake of the Cuban missile crisis, has managed to sustain Cuban sovereignty all these years. The US pledged at that time not to invade Cuba. Recently as he fell ill and had to hand over power to his younger brother, there was a lot of propaganda from the US, mostly from the large Cuban expatriate community, about the possibility of regime change in Cuba. Understandably in Cuba, there was an upsurge in anti-US sentiment. This sentiment, expressed so recently, is bound to be reflected in the deliberations of the forthcoming summit. Cuba has a fervent admirer and ardent supporter in leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Venezuela is rich in oil and is, therefore, economically self-reliant, especially with current high oil prices. Mr Chavez has been at the vanguard of mobilising anti-US sentiment in the Western hemisphere. Just as Cuba did in 1960 with its establishment of relationships with the Soviet Union, Venezuela is attempting to establish a close relationship with China, on the basis of oil supply. However, this is no longer the bipolar era and China and the US do not regard themselves as strategic adversaries. So, Venezuela cannot expect any security protection from China as Cuba did from the USSR. One must understandably expect a lot of anti-US rhetoric from these two Latin American countries during the upcoming Nonaligned Summit. There will also be a justifiable condemnation of Israel for its invasion of Lebanon and continued occupation of Palestine. The large group of Islamic countries are likely to focus attention on the alleged bias of the West towards Islam and the doctrines of regime change and forcible democratisation. There is also likely to be some support for the Iranian stand on its right to develop nuclear R&D for peaceful purposes. All these criticisms will justifiably be directed at the US. The summit is of the nonaligned and not an anti-US one. In 1979 at the earlier Havana summit Fidel Castro declared that the Soviet Union and the socialist bloc were the natural allies of the nonaligned. That summit was not attended by Indian Prime Minister Charan Singh, but by Foreign Minister Shyam Nandan Mishra instead. India was not happy about nonalignment having one of the two super powers as a natural ally and regarded the declaration as contrary to the spirit of nonalignment. In today’s world, there are no longer two military blocs aligned against each other. It was that situation which gave rise to the term nonalignment and provided relevance to it. That situation is no longer there. Today, from Vancouver to Vladivostok, all nations are in a single security framework — the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand are in military alliance relationships with the US. The entire Western hemisphere is covered by the Organisation of American States (with only Cuba out of it). The Southeast Asian nations form the Asian Regional Forum with the US and other great powers, and the South Pacific nations are allied to Australia and New Zealand. Excepting Africa, West Asian countries, China and South Asian countries, all others are today in a network of more intimate relationships. Most of the West Asian and North African countries are members of the Organisation of Islamic Countries and a number of them are in the Arab League. The international system today is recognised as having six major balancers — the US, the European Union, China, Russia, Japan and India. In economic terms, global decision making is done by the G-8 in which Russia is a member and there are possibilities of China and India joining it. Most of the African countries are dependent on the G-8 countries for health (especially for the treatment of AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis), educational and agricultural aid. Under these circumstances, once in three years a summit of nations to indulge in some strong rhetoric and a lot of platitudinous declarations does not have much impact on the international system and particularly on Washington. There is no harm in the developing countries with understandable grievances against Washington giving vent to their anger. The problem arises when people start looking at nonalignment as an ideology and consider that nonaligned nations are waging an ideological struggle against the domineering United States. Nonalignment was a strategy in a bipolar world and it ceased to be functional when the bipolar system collapsed. There can be no ideology that can unite Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Singapore which are all members of the nonaligned group. The US is no doubt domineering and is the preeminent power in the world and through its actions and policies it is hurting the interest of many other countries. But the answer to that is not a strident rhetoric and platitudinous declarations. Let us take the example of China, which has not joined the nonaligned. It practised classical balance of power politics — first by allying itself with the USSR and then switching over to the US. In spite of the US arming Taiwan to enable it to maintain its independence, the Chinese have not lost their cool, nor have they slackened their efforts to strengthen their economic relations with the US and thereby enhance US dependence on them. They have not opposed the US on any significant issue in the Security Council though they have the veto. They used to talk about the need for a multi-polar world and now they mention it infrequently. China understands that the US had to be engaged economically, technologically and diplomatically, and maximum benefits should be obtained for China through that engagement. There is a lesson for India in the Chinese relationship with the United States. Dr Manmohan Singh is aware of all this. Yet he is making this visit to Havana mostly to pacify the nonalignment lobby within his own party and among its
allies.
|
Every day is Teachers’ Day My grandson’s regular chant of “I don’t want to be four years old because then Miss Karen will no longer be my teacher !” was a déjà vu of sorts. It took me years back to the small waif-like boy clutching at his evening glass of milk and declaring solemnly: “I don’t want to go to class two”. All parents have different panaceas for their desperation. Mine, as a single parent was to joke my way out of it even as my heart pounded furiously. At night as I took him in my lap and we sang our prayers, he mumbled just before sleeping: “I don’t want to go to class two because then Mrs Vimal will no longer be my teacher!” Fortunately for us Mrs Vimal remained with his class for the next seven years. She brought out the best in my young son. A bright, hard working and conscientious child, he was shy and reticent. Traumatised by deaths in the family and the consequent upheaval, he tried hard to cope. Like a skilled diamond cutter his teacher polished his intrinsic qualities and encouraged him continuously. Her word was the gospel truth. The usual effervescent school news session on our lunch table was a quieter affair if Mrs Vimal was on leave. When people tell me I am lucky because my son attended the IIT and then went on to be a gold medalist at the IIM, I agree with them but I know, both as a parent and a teacher, that it was Mrs Vimal who helped me lay a firm foundation in those crucial years which later took him places. Little boys grow into strong, pragmatic men to cope with the onslaughts of life. Now when I ask him about his workplace the answer is always monosyllabic. Also there is a typical tolerant smile which good sons reserve for their mothers’ unending chatter. But when I mentioned my encounter with Mrs Vimal, while giving him my weekly update about everyone and everything the cool, suave investment banker disappeared and a small boy with moist eyes sat up, “Oh my God mom, she must be old”, and then he nostalgically talked about her. I was amazed at all the details he remembered about her and her family. It was then that I realised that loving little boys don’t grow into uncaring men. They just learn to sift the dross from the real thing. Henry Adams was right when he remarked, “ A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” Thank you Miss Karen. Thank you Mrs. Vimal. May your tribe
increase!
|
Alienated Baloch DURING an interview with an enterprising Pakistani journalist in March 2006, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, the most popular tribal leader of Balochistan, said: “Now our options are clear: resist and die, or die without resisting. The people have chosen the former course.” He proved this by laying down his life on August 26. His cold-blooded murder has deprived the Baloch nationalist struggle of his physical presence, but a dead Bugti may be more effective in galvanising support for ending Islamabad’s exploitation of Balochistan than the one seen in flesh and blood. The four retired Generals — Gen Aslam Beg, Gen Assad Durrani, Gen Hamid Gul and Lieut-Gen Talat Masood — who have taken Gen Pervez Musharraf’s regime to task for its blunder obviously realise this. The Baloch movement now has a powerful symbol and a rallying point, which it needed so badly. The anti-Islamabad sentiment in the towns and villages of the tribal province has become stronger. The large presence of the army cannot force the people with their injured self-pride to keep quiet. Their struggle has got a new lease of life. Protests to express sympathy with their plight, held in many other parts of Pakistan after Bugti’s killing, could not be expected earlier. General Musharraf admitted after capturing power through a bloodless coup that the people of Balochistan had genuine grievances. He formed two committees to go into the details of their demands. But nothing concrete happened. The result is before everyone to see. Balochistan is the richest province of Pakistan in terms of natural resources with its large gas, oil, coal, uranium, gold, copper and iron ore deposits. It has a long coastline too. But all this has been of little help to the tribal people there. It remains the poorest and most illiterate province. Balochistan’s fate could have changed considerably if only the royalties for gas and oil exploration had been made available to it and spent properly. The royalty dispute continues to remain a festering sore. The angry people have been expressing their resentment against Islamabad’s policies for many years, sometimes even by resorting to violence, but all in vain. They attacked the Sui gas installations in the Dera Bugti area in the recent past, leading to the suspension of gas supplies from there for a few days. This too could not move the Musharraf regime to take a sympathetic view of their plight. They believe that their fate can never change so long as their province is under the control of a government run by a Punjab-dominated army. The Baloch have been nursing a feeling of alienation mainly because of the shortsighted policies of Islamabad. The attitude of all the successive governments, whether military or civilian, has never been different. Almost all the successive governments have been insensitive to the plight of the Baloch. Balochistan has always been suspicious of the intentions of Islamabad because of historical reasons too. The Baloch are unable to forget the treatment meted out to the Nawab of Kalat when he refused to join Pakistan in 1947. (The province came into being with the inclusion of some other tribal areas into the Kalat confederacy.) Their suspicions have been only reinforced by the highhanded behaviour of the Pakistan army. It has responded ruthlessly with guns whenever its subjugation of the Baloch has been challenged. There has been large-scale violation of human rights, but the world community has mostly preferred to ignore it. This indifference in dealing with a human crisis is there perhaps because the global community today, for all practical purposes, means the United States of America, which has huge investments to protect in Balochistan. The second major investor in this strategically significant province is China with its Gwadar port project. The authorities in Islamabad know that the best way to deflect the attention of the world from the suppression of human rights in Balochistan is to invite large-scale investments by companies from influential countries. In such a situation, who cares when countries like India raise their voice? In fact, both the Pakistan government and the local chieftains have been unfair to the people of Balochistan. The Sardari system among the tribes — Bugti, Marri and Mengal — has been used to perpetuate their exploitation. Instead of abolishing this medieval system, the successive governments have only been active in playing dirty politics. They have patronised a pliable chieftain and created troubles for an uncooperating one. The latest proof of Islamabad’s negative role is the way the successor to Nawab Bugti has been appointed. Nawab Meher Bugti, the new Bugti chieftain, was nowhere in the reckoning, but has captured the coveted position thanks to the machinations of the Pakistan government. In the process, most of the basic problems like generating greater avenues of employment, promoting literacy, establishing health care centres and developing infrastructure such as roads have remained neglected. General Musharraf initially appeared enthusiastic and made many promises. He effected an increase in the budget allocations for Balochistan and floated certain development schemes like the Gwadar port. Later on, however, he started following in the footsteps of his predecessors, doing little so far. People expected a lot from Gwadar, but their hopes were belied when most of the jobs went to those from outside Balochistan. Likewise, when some ambitious housing schemes came, the beneficiaries were mainly retired and serving army employees. The result is that people have lost whatever little faith they had in the Pakistan government. They express suspicion even when new schools are opened. Any such development will obviously lead to an increased movement of people from outside Balochistan which the tribes fear can hurt their interests. The prevailing circumstances may force the protesting tribal leaders to ignore their parochial interests and concentrate on the demand for greater autonomy for Balochistan. One should not be surprised if it takes the form of a powerful struggle for independence.
|
|
Hungry planet: food crisis looming AS stocks run out and harvests fail, the world faces its worst food crisis for 30 years. New figures show that this year’s harvest will fail to produce enough to feed everyone on Earth, for the sixth time in the past seven years. Humanity has so far managed by eating its way through stockpiles built up in better times — but these have now fallen below the danger level. Food prices have already started to rise as a result, and threaten to soar out of reach of many of the 4.2 billion people who live in the world’s most vulnerable countries. And the new “green” drive to get cars to run on biofuels threatens to make food even scarcer and more expensive. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which produce the world’s two main forecasts of the global crop production, both estimate that this year’s grain harvest will fall for the second successive year. The FAO is still compiling its latest crop forecast - due to be published next month - but told The Independent last week that it looked like barely exceeding 2 billion tons, down from 2.38 billion last year, and 2.68 billion in 2004, although the world’s appetite has continued to grow as its population rises. The USDA estimates it will be even lower — 1.984 billion tons. This would mean that it would fall 58 million tons short of what the world’s people are expected to consume this year. The gathering crisis has been largely unnoticed because, for once, the harvests have failed in rich countries such as the United States and Australia, which normally export food, rather than in the world’s hungriest ones. So it has not immediately resulted in mass starvation in Africa or Asia. Instead, it will have a delayed effect as poor people become increasingly unable to afford expensive food and find that there is not enough in store to help them when their own crops fail. Enormous quantities of the world’s increasingly scarce grain now goes to feed cows and, indirectly, cars. The cows are longstanding targets of top environmentalists like Lester Brown, head of Earth Policy Institute, a respected Washington-based think tank. As people become better-off, they eat more meat, the animals that are slaughtered often being fed on grain. It takes 14kg of grain to produce 2kg of beef, and 8kg of grain for 2kg of pork. More than a third of the world’s harvest goes to fatten animals in this way. Cars are a new concern, the worry arising from the present drive to produce green fuels to fight global warming. A “corn rush” has erupted in the United States, using the crop to produce the biofuel, ethanol — strongly supported by subsidies from the Bush administration to divert criticism of its failure to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Brown expects the food crisis to get much worse as more and more land becomes exhausted, soil erodes, water becomes scarcer, and global warming cuts harvests. Making cars more fuel-efficient, and eating less meat would help but the only long-term solution is to enable poor countries — and especially their poorest people — to grow more food. And the best way to do that, studies show, is to encourage small farmers to grow crops in environmentally friendly ways. Research at Essex University shows that this can double yields.
By arrangement with
|
|
DELHI DURBAR The prestigious St Stephen’s College recently celebrated its 125th anniversary. The alumni of the college have excelled in various fields leaving their mark in politics, sports, science and culture, not to mention ultra-Left ideology. However, little known facts about the college have been brought out in a fascinating book. Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore completed his English translation of “Gitanjali” in the college premises. Mahatma Gandhi or plain M.K. Gandhi as he was then known, came to St Stephen’s early in 1915 soon after returning from Natal in South Africa. The house of the then Principal Sushil Kumar Rudra became a rendezvous point for iconic nationalist leaders like Rabindranath Tagore, Madan Mohan Malviya, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Surendranath Banerjee. Rajniti in the House of Elders Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairperson Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s sense of humour enables him to ensure smooth proceedings in the House of Elders. Recently, when a member, Rajniti Prasad, got up to raise a point, Shekhawat was curious as to how he got his name. “Aapka naam Rajniti Prasad kaise pada?” asked Shekhawat in lighter vein. Rajniti Prasad replied that he has always had this name. To this, Shekhawat quipped: “Isiliye Rajniti mein aa gaye” (that is why you joined politics). The same day, when another member, Anusuiya Uike, did not wind up her speech within the allotted time and pleaded for more time, Shekhawat warned her gently: “Aap apna baad ka chance kho dengi (You will lose your chance of speaking in future).” First the seawater turned sweet and then idols began drinking milk. Now, another supernatural occurrence has been reported. This time, the secretary of the late Shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan and the caretaker of the graveyard where the musician now rests have announced that they can hear the strains of the Shehnai playing late into the night. The secretary of the departed musician has claimed that he often dreams of the maestro urging him to pack their bags and get ready for the concert at India Gate which was scrapped. Performing at India Gate was the musician’s wish that remained unfulfilled. Shy jawans They may be tough men in uniform fighting terrorists and guarding the frontiers but when it comes to fighting AIDS/HIV, the jawans feel shy. This observation was made by a health counsellor after holding a session for counsellors in various para-military forces held in the Capital recently. He felt that despite several intensive awareness campaigns, some of the armed forces personnel, especially those posted in far-flung areas, still shy away from using a condom. The health counsellor insisted that the jawans did not need sophisticated guns to fight the dreaded enemy of AIDS/ HIV but condoms. It is always better to avoid casual sex but if one can’t then it is foolhardy to shy away from condoms, he maintained. Contributed by R. Suryamurthy, Tripti Nath, Smriti Kak Ramachandran and S.
Satyanarayanan.
|
|
From the pages of Politicians’ sons
IT is no more news; it has even ceased to be a joke. The escapades of our political leaders’ sons are now a stale repetition of misconduct of one kind or the other. Therefore, when reports about the Palam airport incident concerning Mr Om Parkash hit the headlines the country was not exactly flabbergasted. Surprise, if any, arose over the act of petty plunder of which Mr Devi Lal’s younger son was allegedly guilty and for which he was nabbed by the Customs men on his return home from Thailand. Some others have played for much bigger stakes and have either wholly got away with the booty or escaped the net for the time being. But the thought behind all such escapades is identical: the risk is covered by one’s own or inherited status. According to Mr Devi Lal, he had some knowledge over a period of the political advantage his son was takning his position and the two were not on the best of father-son terms. The former fact was public knowledge although not the strained relationship. The Palam incident clearly brought the decisive moment for action, and Mr Devi Lal announced on Tuesday that he had “disowned” his son. |
Believe dreams are not meant to put you to sleep, but to alert and arouse you to your immense possibilities. The only way to obtain His grace and love is to meditate on his true name in the early hours of the morning. Our good actions will be rewarded with a better life, even if salvation comes from His Grace alone. All this, says Guru Nanak, shows he is the True One. Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat. Your shoulder is against mine. Giving without humility is but the way to downfall.
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
