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Blasting peace Transit route to Kabul Mantri Number One |
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Pay panel has a tough task
Movers and shakers
Preventing research Iraq to restore
relations with Syria Defence
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Blasting peace Monday’s blast in the Haldibari-New Jalpaiguri train, which killed at least 10 persons, has taken the government and the security agencies by surprise. There have been many such violent incidents in the neighbouring Assam, but this area has been rocked by such an explosion after many years. There is no confirmation yet, but this could be the handiwork of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) which has been waging armed struggle in the area since 1995 for a separate Kamtapur state comprising six districts – Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North and South Dinajpur and Malda – of West Bengal and four contiguous districts of Assam – Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Goalpara. But it could not have pulled off such a daring act on its own considering that its camps had been effectively demolished in a drive in Bhutan some time back. That is why it is being suspected that it had the support of ULFA and also the ISI, which has been trying to foment trouble through its operatives in Bangladesh. What gives credence to this theory is the fact that terrorists in this area never target common people. But this explosion took place in a second class compartment packed with mostly local people. There were no security men there either. A similar blast at New Jalpaiguri station in 1999, which claimed 10 lives, was targeted at security personnel. Part of the blame also goes to the ambivalent policy of Assam towards ULFA. It has been half-hearted in targeting them. That is why they feel emboldened and have also developed links with the KLO to get a free passage into Bengal. The KLO is not popular among the local populace but such linkages have increased its nuisance potential. What makes the situation alarming is that the Siliguri corridor is strategically very important for India. For the same reason, many of the enemies of the nation are also active in these parts. The biggest threat comes from the ISI, which has a strong presence in Bangladesh. The lack of preparedness of the state government can be suicidal. The Centre too will have to do all in its power to make sure that the Siliguri area does not become the next trouble spot. |
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Transit route to Kabul Sunday’s Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan in New Delhi brought into sharp focus India’s case for a transit facility from Pakistan to reach Afghanistan through the land route. A positive response from Pakistan can accelerate infrastructure-rebuilding activity in the war-ravaged country, besides boosting trade in the region. Pakistan will obviously be one of the beneficiaries. The question has been raised earlier, too, both by India and Afghanistan, but Pakistan has shown little interest in the demand as it has its own game-plan in Afghanistan. On the pretext of being a participant in the global war against terrorism, Pakistan is busy, of course quietly, in reversing what it did in Afghanistan under international pressure after 9/11. The increasing Taliban violence in southern and south-eastern Afghanistan, over which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed his concern at the conference, reflects Pakistan’s design. Islamabad has been advocating the case of the Taliban remnants, saying that if they agreed to mend their ways they should be allowed a role in the Afghanistan government. This, in Pakistan’s view, may lead to stability there. Initially, there were few takers for the dangerous idea. But now Pakistan seems to be hopeful of its strategy getting successful as the NATO forces in Afghanistan are showing signs of weariness. Only recently NATO commanders from five countries, which have contributed troops to function as the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, had asked their respective governments to prevail upon Pakistan to end its clandestine support to the Taliban if they wanted their peace mission to succeed. The West cannot afford to trust Pakistan’s certificate of good conduct for the Taliban. The re-emergence of the Taliban has also been possible because of the failure of the international community to revive adequate economic activity in Afghanistan. The pace of the infrastructure rebuilding programme has been too slow to inspire confidence among the ordinary Afghans. This is mainly owing to the lack of funds. Some time ago the Hamid Karzai government had to issue an appeal to international donors to honour their financial commitments to Afghanistan. India is one of the few countries which has not been found wanting. A transit facility for India to reach Afghanistan through Pakistan will help mitigate the Afghans’ economic worries considerably. But this can also scuttle Pakistan’s game-plan, and hence its unhelpful attitude. That Islamabad will see reason and allow the transit route is unfortunately a remote possibility. |
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Mantri Number One Tennis legend Bjorn Borg had said that “you are either number one or nothing”. We are not sure if our Lalu Yadav has heard what Borg had said. But he had certainly heard people calling him “Do numbri”. But this is unfair, as the term has another meaning. The ebullient Railway Minister has gone one-up on his critics. He has declared that he is actually Mantri Number One. Normally, such gradations are done by various publications, whether there is a scientific basis for their reportcards or not. But good old Lalu is self-reliant in such matters. He has anointed himself. After all, he has the good performance of the railways under his belt to justify this claim. His ministerial colleagues may beg to differ, but such pleadings have no meaning for the erstwhile “Bihar ka raja”. If he thinks he is “Bharat ka raja”, then there can be no parliamentary debate on that count. If there is, he can always count on the active support of Sadhu Yadav to silence it. But Lalu is not happy to be number one mantri either. He has set his sights higher. He has already declared that he will be the Prime Minister of the country one day. “One day”, he said in a TV interview. Why not? Nothing wrong with that. After all, everyone of the country’s billion-plus citizens of the country has the right and the theoretical potential to become the Prime Minister. It is another matter that not many politicians disclose this secret desire in public. The way things have been moving in Delhi of late, Laluji’s ambition should not be dismissed merely as “Mungerilal Ke haseen sapne”. More improbable dreams and jokes have already come true at the Centre and in the states. Coalition politics, particularly based on caste and vote banks, has enough fodder to turn such dreams into reality.
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It is better to waste one’s youth than to do nothing with it at all. — Georges Courteline
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Pay panel has a tough task
On October 5, the Government of India formally announced constitution of the four-member Sixth Central Pay Commission. The notification indicates that the commission headed by Justice B.N. Srikrishna, a retired Judge of the Supreme Court, will submit its report within 18 months, i.e. on or before April 5, 2008. It has been estimated that recommendations of the new Pay Commission may entail an extra expenditure of about Rs 25,000 crore per annum. There is genuine apprehension that the extra expenditure will release inflationary pressures in the economy and achievement of targets set in crucial productive sectors in the Plan may be adversely affected in the process. There is also apprehension that an increase in pay and allowances of Central Government employees will have a cascading effect on the finances of the different State governments, whose employees will clamour for a pay rise to maintain parity. Thus, the inevitable fallout of the Sixth Central Pay Commission will be deep-rooted and far-extending and will by no means end only in a better financial package for the Central Government employees. In all fairness it must be said that the Government of India — and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — had no other option but to appoint the Sixth Central Pay Commission as more than 12 years have passed since the Fifth Central Pay Commission was appointed on April 9, 1994. And it has been the practice of the Government of India to appoint a new Pay Commission after 12 to 13 years. The new Pay Commission has been given only 18 months to submit the report. Considering the fact that it has to examine in depth a variety of issues, it has to request a number of specialised research institutions in the country to prepare reports on different facets of issues before the Pay Commission. The Fifth Central Pay Commission (1994-97) had requested as many as 19 research institutes to undertake specialised studies. There is no reason why the Sixth Pay Commission will not also use the research institutes of excellence for specialised studies. The Pay Commission will also take evidence of different service associations and important non-officials and officials and visit different establishments in the country to assess the conditions of service and the work environment. Since the hearing of evidence, the examination of the memoranda submitted by different service associations and a study of specialised reports submitted by a number of research institutes of excellence will take considerable time, it would have been expedient if the notification appointing the Sixth Pay Commission would have given it at least two and a half years for submission of its report. In the past, no Central Pay Commission — except the First Central Pay Commission (under the Chairmanship of Justice Varadachariar, a retired Judge of the Federal Court) appointed as early as 1946 submitted its report within the stipulated time. A Report of the Sixth Central Pay Commission — if it is rushed through to meet a highly unrealistic deadline of 18 months — will only mean a bouquet of ideas on pay fixation and the bouquet will have no fragrance. The second suggestion I would venture to make is to induct a retired senior officer of the armed forces of the Union as a full-time Member of the Sixth Central Pay Commission. It is not very widely known that the Sixth Central Pay Commission will make recommendations about pay and allowances of officers and men of the armed forces of the Union. There is a widespread feeling in the armed forces that the Pay Commissions — and the government — have not given them a good deal. If due to any reason, the government is not willing to induct a new member from the armed forces to the Sixth Central Pay Commission, the commission may at least appoint a high-powered study group comprising serving and retired officers of the armed forces to prepare a comprehensive report about adequate pay and other terms and conditions of officers and men in the armed forces. The recommendation of the study group may receive due consideration by the Chairman and Members of the Sixth Pay Commission. Thirdly, the Pay Commission may perhaps like to ask the government as to what happened to the Report of the Fifth Central Pay Commission (1994-97), which had recommended that there should be a reduction of the strength of members of staff of the government, which was 4.18 million in 1994-95, (vide para 5.16 of the Report of the Fifth Central Pay Commission). The recommendation was that it should be reduced by at least 30 per cent in the next 10 years. The fifth Central Pay Commission, appointed in April 1994, submitted the report in January 1997. Even if we assume 1998 as the first year of implementation of reduction of strength of the staff of the Central Government, already eight years have passed and there should have been a reduction of at least 24 per cent in strength of the staff of the Central Government in the last eight years at the rate of 3 per cent per year. In other words, the strength of staff of the Central Government should have come down from 4.18 million to about 2.9 Fifthly, have the different Pay Commissions been able to evolve a formula of pay fixation for public servants in India? After making some observations about principles of pay fixation and practices of various countries in the matter of fixation of pay and allowances, the different pay commissions have only provided replacement scales of pay, which would be marginally higher than the pay plus dearness allowance linked to the All-India Consumers Price Index. In other words, there has been no exercise to link pay and allowances of public servants in the Central Government with pay, allowances and other benefits of employees in similar grades in the private sector. Finally, I am not too sure if a scheme of productivity-linked pay and allowances will succeed. Productivity in government — where officials push papers either up or down — is difficult to measure and any productivity-linked pay in government offices is likely to be abused. Instead, I suggest that if, according to the Reporting Officer, an official has not performed in a particular month as per the parameters set out in the Annual Action Plan of the official, he may be paid only 75 per cent of his monthly salary for that month. Such a measure will at least ensure that officials perform according to the annual target broken down to its monthly components.n The writer is a former Chairman, UPSC, and former Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Personnel and Training.
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Movers and shakers
Experience a ride to know why the auto-rickshaws are called “movers and shakers” (MS). Your muscles are moved and bones shaken.
My nieces in Delhi have all poison for the drivers of MS and think that they are in such hurry always that passengers for them are no more than the bags of potato besides being swindlers and cheaters. I was in Delhi recently staying in Himachal Bhavan (near Mandi House) and had to go to JNU to attend a function. Assuming me a simpleton “Pahari”, one of my nieces instantly proffered help in negotiating the fare with auto-rickshaw walla that I politely declined but not before knowing from her that the valid charge would be around Rs 80. The receptionist in Himachal Bhavan seconded her assessment. Making an excuse that his metre was out of order, the first auto-rickshaw walla refused to go because he had never been to that side and did not know what the flat fare would be. I thought he was right. The second one quoted Rs 60. I jumped on to the wagon. I attended the function. Probably I was the only one who had not come in a car and so a journey on foot up to an auto stand in the afternoon at 42 degree C after a function in an air-conditioned conference room was like passing through oven. Hardly had I taken a few steps, than a Maruti car stopped in front of me and the lady seated by the side of her husband on the wheel asked me if they could be of any help to me. I requested them to drop me at the nearest auto-rickshaw station. They did that and waited there till my negotiations with the auto-rickshaw walla had completed and I had boarded the three-wheeler. The auto-rickshaw walla was an old man and told me that he always drove with metre on. It was great, I thought. The fare up to Himachal Bhavan, according to the metre, was Rs 78. I told him that while going to JNU, I had paid a flat fare of only Rs 60. He immediately said:” Nobody who rides my auto-rickshaw has got down complaining, I will charge Rs.60 from you.” Despite my pleadings to accept whatever the metre was showing, he did not budge and took Rs 60 only. And on top of it he thanked me. Goodness me! Where did I spend the day? Among real ‘Movers and Shakers’ — words that are alluded not to the ordinary folk but to men of
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Preventing research There have been reports in the media about the incident on October 28 at Rampur village in Karnal district of Haryana, where a group of arsonists set fire to a research trial crop of insect-tolerant paddy being grown under the direction of the Government of India as well as the State Government of Haryana with all the requisite permissions from both the Central and state governments. Similar incidents have since occurred at other research trials in UP and Karnataka not just of insect-tolerant paddy but also of insect-tolerant bhindi. On November 11, yet another crop was similarly destroyed in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. The frequency of these attacks appears to be on the rise. I have worked tirelessly since the beginning of the Green Revolution to bring the benefits of science to our farmers through the use of hybrid seed and high yielding varieties, and other tools of modern agriculture to our farmers, I am deeply distressed In retrospect, I can only say that had these arsonists been there in the late 60s and early 70s, we would have had no Green Revolution and we would have been importing millions of tonnes of food every year. We live in a free and democratic society. Therefore, all of us may not think alike. Some of us may also have fears about new technologies. As a person committed to science in agriculture, I have worked to overcome the fear of hybrids among farmers, opinion leaders and the media since the mid ’60s and time has shown how right people like Dr Norman Borlaug and Dr M.S. Swaminathan and others of their stature were. Each day, each struggle each battle won and each mindset change that I experienced then is clearly imprinted on my mind. Today, hybrids are no longer a subject of controversy. They have increased our food production manifold. The experimental insect-tolerant paddy in Karnal, planted in August with the permission, and under the direction of the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) of the Department of Biotechnology, was meant to evaluate the performance of new technology in agriculture. This technology, if successful, will help farmers use less presticide, increase yields and benefit the environment. This is because the crop will be insect-tolerant. Farmers will also benefit from a personal safety point of view because they will be spraying less insecticide. I feel sad that some misguided people were not only allowed to make an unauthorised entry into the trial plot of 0.25 acre but also to burn it. By doing so, they did not permit us to complete data collection of the crop whose performance was being monitored by our scientists and regulatory teams from the government and the Department of Biotechnology. All this happened despite several hours of relentless persuasion. Where is the rule of law? The Indian regulatory system has a rigorous protocol for the testing of genetically-improved crops, with detailed guidelines and strict monitoring by various committees at every stage. The farmers on whose fields the crops were growing, were fully involved in and fully aware of the trials. The experimental crops were planted with the permission and full knowledge of the Department of Biotechnology of the Central Government as well as of the State Government’s Agriculture Department. In Karnal, it was to have been harvested in a fortnight. The Monitoring and Evaluation Committee of the Department of Biotechnology had visited the plot two days earlier to review the performance of the crop and the compliance with conditions related to safety. The crop was being grown in isolation as per the conditions of the permission following all safety measures. Our regulatory system for genetically improved crops is one of the most rigorous in the world. Can we not permit research trials to reach their logical end under the most rigorous supervision, so that our scientific minds can determine whether farmers have yet another option or not in the technology being studied to reduce the use of pesticides/insecticides, damage to the environment and increase yields? If our answer to that is no, then I fear for our scientific development and progress. I fear for it even more because the incident of arson has happened less than three weeks after the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, told the Second International Rice Congress the following: “We live in an age where science and technology have become a principal determinant of what happens to our progress and wealth of the nations. Thanks to these advances, it is possible as never before in human history to ensure that chronic poverty does not have to be the inevitable lot of a majority of humankind. “Food security for all and eradication of poverty are feasible goals for social action, provided we have the wisdom to combine science and technology and public policy making in the desired direction”. I ask all right thinking persons to reflect whether what is happening helps take forward the Prime Minister’s appeal. If not, I urge them to raise their voice against such incidents so that those who are misguided, or those who are determined to set India back, are deterred from further action of this kind. |
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Iraq to restore relations with Syria Iraq said on Monday that it would restore diplomatic ties with Syria after a break of nearly a quarter-century in an effort to solidify links with a neighbor seen as a conduit for insurgents fueling the violence in Iraq. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made the announcement after a historic meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, who pledged his country’s help in quelling the sectarian violence that threatens to propel Iraq into civil war. Al-Maliki pressed Syria to step up efforts to keep Sunni Arab fighters from crossing into Iraq to join the insurgency. “We refuse to let any regional neighbor countries become a passage or a headquarters for the terrorist organizations that hurt Iraq,’’ he said in a statement after the meeting. Syria and Iran, another neighbor, have offered to help bring stability to Iraq’s fractured government, but the Bush administration has long-standing concerns about Iran’s support for Shiite Muslim militias and Syria’s failure to stop foreign fighters from joining the Iraqi insurgency. The administration is under intense pressure to put aside those concerns and engage in talks with the two countries, even though it considers them adversaries. The Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by former secretary of state James Baker and former congressman Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., is expected to recommend in an upcoming report that the United States start such a dialogue. On Monday, reports surfaced of a possible weekend summit in Tehran involving the Iraqi and Syrian presidents, but U.S. and Iraqi officials quickly denied any high-level three-way meeting would take place. In Baghdad, a U.S. Embassy spokesman said Iraqi President Jalal Talabani had no intention of attending a meeting with both Iran and Syria. Al-Maliki’s close aide Hasan Suneid said Talabani had accepted an invitation from the Iranian government to visit Tehran, but he did not specify when that would take place. ``Iran has a great wish to hold a peace summit with Syria and Iraq, but still it is just a thought,’’ Suneid said, ``and if it happened, we should study it very well.’’ State Department acting spokesman Tom Casey in Washington said the administration welcomes ``discussion and dialogue’’ among Baghdad, Tehran and Damascus because it wants Iraq to have strong relations with all its neighbors. But he also expressed doubts. ``The problem is not what they say, but what they do,’’ Casey said. He added that ``it’s up to the Iraqi government to make the decision as to whether this is something useful for them or whether they would attend.’’ Moallem is the highest-level Syrian official to visit Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. His visit marked a major step toward restoring ties between the two countries, which have been at odds since the 1980s, when Syria backed Iran in its war against Iraq. But Syria’s oversight of its borders has become a major point of contention. Moallem denied Syria has allowed foreign Islamic fighters to infiltrate Iraq but also said sealing the long, porous border is an impossible task. At a briefing in Baghdad, Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a U.S. military spokesman, said so far this year Iraqi security and coalition forces have killed more than 425 foreign fighters in Iraq and captured about 670. Of those detained, he said, more than 20 percent came from Syria. Caldwell said the U.S. government is not accusing Syria of aiding the fighters, but added, ``We don’t know how much they have tried to preclude it from happening, though, either.’’ Caldwell also responded to Moallem’s comment this past weekend that if the United States were to establish a timetable for withdrawing troops, the violence in Iraq would decrease. He said Iraqi officials continue to ask for military help. ``There’s that acknowledgment that there is a need right now in their minds for additional security, and that the coalition forces can help provide for them as they develop their forces or capabilities and exert their influence,’’ he said. The political developments came as violence continued to flare across the country. A deputy health minister, Hakim al-Zamily, escaped an assassination attempt in Baghdad that killed two of his bodyguards. He was the fourth high-level government official, and the second deputy health minister, to be targeted by kidnappers or killers in recent days. “I think the terrorists are trying to show that the situation in Iraq is unbearable and it cannot be solved by the government,” said Ali Adib, a Shiite lawmaker. “They would like to show the Democrats that they control the situation and not the government.” In Kirkuk, a police captain said unknown gunmen had attacked a restaurant frequented by policemen and civilians, killing the restaurant’s owner and another employee. By arrangement with
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Defence
notes After
the initial comment from Chinese Ambassador Sun Yuxi on Arunachal Pradesh, it
all seems to be hunky dory between the two countries, specially at a time when
Chinese President Hu Jintao is in India for official talks. Till now the major border meetings between personnel of the armed forces of India and China had been held at Chushul in Ladakh, Nathu La in Sikkim and Bumla in the Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh. For the first time, a border meeting took place in Kibithu in Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh last week with ceremony in an area close to the Line of Actual Control. The Indian delegation was headed by Brig AK Bardalai. The meeting was characterised by great warmth and bonhomie.
Purchase policy under review Days after the Comptroller and Auditor General dug holes in the country’s arms procurement process, the Ministry of Defence has indicated that a mid-term review of the policy may be carried out to leave no scope for corruption. This was conveyed to the Parliamentary Consultative Committee by Defence Minister A.K. Antony, who said that if there was an urgent need to review the policy, the ministry would not wait for two years. “Our effort will be to make the procedure foolproof and to avoid any scope for corruption”, the minister told the members who cautioned that with some big-ticket purchases of weapon platforms coming up, utmost transparency should be ensured.
US choppers for Navy For the first time, the Navy will induct US-made helicopters with the government giving the go-ahead for the purchase of six Sikorsky-Seaking choppers. The choppers will be part of the package deal for the purchase of the landing ship tank USS Trenton, from which they will operate. While the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had cleared the purchase of Trenton at a cost of Rs 200 crore, the utility, search and resuce helicopters will be delivered along with Trenton by February, 2007, according to the Naval Chief, Adm Sureesh Mehta. A request for purchasing eight long-range maritime reconissance aircraft is also being analysed.
Hang gliding expedition One of the events organised by the Indian Air Force to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee Year was the Powered Hang Glider Trans-India Expedition. The expedition commenced from Air Force Station Hindon on October 24 and, traversing the lenght and breadth of the country, it terminated at Air Force Station Chabua earlier in the week. The powered hang glider landed at 21 locations, covering a distance of over 3,500 km. The aim was to spread the spirit of adventure and sportsmanship among IAF personnel and motivate youth to join the Indian Air Force. Hundreds of joyrides were given to civilians and children who were selected on the basis of their awareness about aviation. |
The heroes who fall in quest of victory or in defence of their faith You'll know who's a saint or thief as soon as he talks. The character within comes out by the road of the mouth. He who, with the Guru’s grace, deliberates on learning, attains, glory.
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