 |
|
Blast in space Runaway inflation |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Threat from within
Relations with neighbours
The marriage market
Command in the air A new twist on the chicken-and-egg question Chatterati
|
Blast in space WHEN the Chinese blasted one of their own aging satellites with a ballistic missile last week, they may have done more than scatter 300,000 pieces of debris in crowded orbital space. They have underlined that the international frameworks on civilised cooperation in outer space and all space-based assets are as vulnerable to power play as anything more terrestrial. While the Chinese like to portray themselves as partners in every initiative from space-based navigation to orbiting space stations, the test is a reminder that they will never compromise on their military goals. The ability to knock off a satellite 500 miles above in space is significant. The Americans, who have many spy satellites and space-based missile defence assets at that orbital height, have been quick to express concern. What is more, the large-scale debris cloud that has been created poses a threat to all satellites there. While many of the pieces are small, there may be hundreds that are large enough to damage other countries’ satellites. The West has been guilty in the past. Both the United States and the Soviet Union tested such technology and the US even destroyed a satellite using a powerful laser from the earth. India would need to take serious note of the test, even as it pursues a resolution of the border dispute with the Chinese and seeks enhancement of their bilateral relationship. There is little incentive for the Chinese to seek conflict with India. But if that were to change, especially with regard to space, where India is no mean player, we would have to reckon with the full might of China’s capabilities. We may well bounce back from aborting the full duration test of the indigenous cryogenic engine recently. The engine is to power the GSLV, which, in theory, with the right guidance systems, can perhaps do what the Chinese did, though that is not what it is meant for. But we need to start thinking seriously about our ability to protect our assets in space, either by deterrence or direct action.
|
|
Runaway inflation THE UPA government has done pretty little in containing inflation, which has touched a two-year high of 6.12 per cent for the week ending January 6. Last year, during this period, inflation was just 3.86 per cent. The Reserve Bank of India’s projection of inflation at 5-5.5 per cent for the current fiscal has been proved wrong. Food products like wheat, edible oil, fruits and pulses have become costlier. Fuel items have also seen a jump in their prices. The immediate political impact of the rising prices of essential commodities can be well imagined in the states going to the polls in February. Yet, neither the Finance Minister nor any other spokesperson of the Central government has come out with any specific plan to deal with the grim situation. The government seems to be in a state of inertia. For the past some months the media has been pointing out the difficulties faced by the poor in meeting their day-to-day
needs. Yet, the political leadership at the Centre has not reacted. Far removed from the reality on the ground, the UPA leaders are busy celebrating the high GDP growth. They should not forget the fate the BJP-led NDA government met after it got carried away by its own hype of “India Shining”. The RBI’s solution to the problem is a hike in the interest rates and the apex bank may announce another increase during the credit policy review scheduled for January 31. Credit growth, no doubt, is at a high, but that is natural when the economy is in an upswing. However, a hike in interest rate is only a part of the remedy, though it runs the risk of depressing the demand for housing, resulting ultimately in an industrial slowdown. One effective way to combat inflation is to cut the Central and state taxes on oil to bring down the cost of transportation. Global oil prices are already on their way down. Another is to increase the production of food items and, if need be, resort to imports too.
|
|
Threat from within IRANIAN President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s defiance of world opinion over his country’s controversial nuclear programme, it seems, is not finding favour at home. There is growing realisation that the way he has been conducting Iran’s foreign policy may jeopardise its interests and hence the need for keeping a tight rein on him before it becomes too late. Interestingly, among those who have expressed their disapproval of his style of functioning is Iran’s supreme leader and top religious authority Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was on Mr Ahmadinejad’s side when he was elected President. Most Iranians consider the senior-most Ayatollah’s opinion as the final word on any subject. Constitutionally, too, he has the final say on all matters. The President’s conduct of nuclear diplomacy particularly has brought Iran to the edge of a precipice. After the imposition of the UN sanctions on Iran, its credibility has suffered considerably in the international community. The stock market continues to decline and many European banks have withdrawn their operations. The uneasiness on the political front, too, is on the increase. This can be gauged from the fact that at least 50 legislators have urged the Iranian President through a letter to present himself before Majlis (the country’s parliament) to answer their queries relating to the nuclear programme, which he claims is meant for peaceful purposes. Mr Ahmadinejad may have to review his policies if he wants to survive in his present capacity. Indulging in rhetoric like describing the Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Iran as “a piece of torn paper” will not do. He cannot afford to ignore the opinion of influential Iranians, particularly a person like Ayatollah Khamenei, whose views often get reflected through the columns of the daily Jomhouri-Eslami. If the paper believes that “the resolution is certainly harmful to the country” the Iranian President will have to redouble his efforts to save the situation from reaching the point of no return. After all, the Iranians can lead a better life without the nuclear bomb, for which Mr Ahmadinejad has put their country on the road to ruin.
|
|
A committee is a group of the unwilling, chosen from the unfit, to do the unnecessary. — A proverb
|
Relations with neighbours Two
notable events along India’s Himalayan marches have marked the turn of the New Year. First, King Jigme Singye Wangchuk of Bhutan abdicated in favour of his son, Crown Prince Jigme Khesar Namgyei Wangchuk, on December 15. The coronation of the new King, Bhutan’s fifth, will take place only in 2008 when the Kingdom makes a transition from a benign monarchy to a fledgling parliamentary democracy. Early this year, Nepal’s Maoists successfully concluded sensitive negotiations with the Seven-Party Alliance, led by Prime Minister B.P. Koirala, and agreed to join the government and take their seats in the interim Parliament, following an earlier understanding on arms management. Elections to a constituent assembly are to follow in early summer. Both events represent a significant transformation. King Jigme Singye Wangchuk had commenced a steady process of consultation and participative governance. A new parliamentary constitution has been framed to usher in a new democratic era not through revolution but by a remarkable act of self-abnegation of one who chose not to remain an absolute ruler, which in practice he really never was. This should be a powerful example for the region and the world. India has handsomely responded by making known its willingness to rewrite its unequal 1950 treaty with Bhutan. This binds the kingdom to be “guided by India” in its external relations and stipulates that it shall import arms only with Indian approval and assistance. In neither case has this proved irksome. In fact, Bhutan has increasingly steered its own course and has not so far lacked for any arms it sought, which India has readily provided together with military training. Nevertheless, the treaty symbolised an element of tutelage that will now end. The new King is due to visit Delhi shortly when the process of negotiating a fresh treaty will be taken in hand. Indo-Bhutanese relations have been marked by utmost cordiality and mutual understanding. Indeed, the Royal Army suffered casualties on India’s behalf a couple of years ago when Bhutan took military action to clear armed ULFA and Bodo insurgents from its southern districts where they had taken forced sanctuary and established camps. India has likewise been mindful of Bhutan’s interests and given it full support on request in matters of development, governance and capacity building. The Kingdom’s five-year plans have been underwritten by India, which has assisted the development of 1500 MW of hydro capacity, notably at Chukha and later at Tala and Kirichu, which has given it the wherewithal to become a mini Asian Tiger and enjoy a per capita income that now probably ranks highest in South Asia. Further understandings have been reached to augment Bhutan’s hydel capacity to 5000 MW over the next 10-15 years with a guaranteed offtake of all generation surplus to its requirements. In other words, Bhutan has the assurance of full access to the Indian power market for all projected increases in hydropower generation. Likewise, India has expressed readiness to renegotiate its Friendship Treaty with Nepal as sought from time to time, most vehemently by the Maoists. The matter was not actively pursued as Nepal was beset with internal problems. The stage is, however, now set for a review. Though Nepal has had grievances about arms imports and certain other seeming limitations, this dispensation has also worked for it in many important ways, especially as an employment market, a political refuge for millions in times of trouble and as a source of huge Gurkha remittances and pension funds feeding into its economy. Now with the peace agreement in motion and a truly democratic constitution in the offing, Nepal appears ready to renew development and development cooperation with India. A number of water resource development projects are poised to move forward. These include resumption of the joint preparation of a detailed Kosi-cum-Kurule Diversion project report, an understanding on the scope and terms for progressing the stalled Pancheshwar project and negotiating the Upper Karnali and Burhi Gandaki projects as well as schemes in other areas. In all matters, the Gujral Doctrine of non-reciprocity in the context of asymmetrical relationships should be India’s norm. While all of this is to the good and will underpin democracy in South Asia, it is time India revisited the prickly question of the 100,000 Bhutanese Lhotshampa refugees in camps in Nepal. The US and some other countries have expressed willingness to absorb some 40,000 or more refugees. If this arrangement is acceptable to all concerned, India should find it easier to use its good offices to explore an amicable settlement, even to the extent of resettling some of these families in India as some of those in the camps are said to have been pushed out of Meghalaya while all certainly transited India en route to Nepal. It does no good to the new democratic regimes in Bhutan and Nepal to allow this matter to fester and for India to stand aloof and let frustration and anger spawn unrest and violence that could spill across borders. The new arrangements with India’s Himalayan neighbours are a good augury as China joins SAARC as an
observer.
|
The marriage market Sixty or seventy years ago, the prospective sons-in-law rating was somewhat like this: ICS, Indian Army, IP, then called ‘Imperial Police’ followed by the other All-India services. Professional young men like doctors, lawyers, accountants came rather low on the list. At the time of which I write, there were about a dozen or so Indians in foreign firms, mostly British. Most of them held Oxford or Cambridge degrees and some of them had attended British public schools. They started on the same salaries as the ICS besides which they had numerous perks and non-taxable allowances unheard-of in the Services. And yet, strange to say, eagle-eyed mothers-in-law on the prowl looked upon them as second or third best. They lacked “status” and they were “box-wallahs” though they did not actually stand behind a counter. The situation changed after World War II and, with all due respect to the IAS and their less prestigious brethren, the wheel seemed to have turned full circle. Judicious parents with nubile daughters began casting glances at young men in British, or once-British firms. It was different in my time, as the following anecdote will show. As a young box-wallah I had a lot of travelling to do by road, rail or, believe it or not, even in bullock carts! On a visit to Bannu (NWFP) in the summer of 1938 I was dining with a captain and his charming wife. The captain, I am happy to say, was awarded a DSO in the Western Desert. He rose to the rank of Lieut-Gen but was passed over for the chief’s post because he had fallen foul of the then PM, Mrs Indira Gandhi, possibly because he was not sufficiently subservient to her. Both he and his wife died several years ago. We were having coffee when another officer, a major, dropped in with his wife and daughter. Such after-dinner visits were in fashion those days, especially in lonely outposts of the Empire where the only other distractions were the club and the garrison cinema. To cut a long story short, I fell hook, line and sinker for the daughter who was pretty as a Peshawar peach. She was on a visit to her parents from Murree where she taught at a convent. After the visitors had departed I lost no time in making my feelings known to my host and his wife. They seemed quite taken up with the idea of arranging a match. On my return to Lahore, where I was posted at the time, I wrote to my captain friend urging him to press my suit with all possible haste. There was no reply to my letter. I wrote again and followed up my letter with another visit to Bannu despite the sizzling heat. “Sorry, old boy,” said my friend. “The girl’s parents have other plans for her. I didn’t write because I thought you would get over your ‘infatuation’.” “But what’s wrong with me?” I asked with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Nothing,” said my friend except that you are not in the ICS or the army.” Well, the girl got her ICS husband soon after the Bannu episode. I was pretty cut up at the time but, very soon, as my friend had hoped, I got over my “infatuation”. The story has a happy ending. Twenty years later my “lost love” and I, both married to different partners, found ourselves in the same station. By that time, as I have said, government service had lost some of its glamour. At the lady’s urgent request, I managed to get her son a job in my firm. Even before he was confirmed in his appointment, he had received half a dozen proposals of marriage. Very wisely, he accepted none of them. He waited till he was nearly 30 years of age and then married a girl of his own choice from outside his
community.
|
Command in the air Should
only fighter pilots become Chiefs of Air Staff? The Indian Air Force is in the process of celebrating its Diamond Jubilee in 2007. Despite being operational for 75 years, it has not resolved this question, and it is now faced with a dilemma as to whether its next Chief of Air Staff can be from the non-fighter stream. For the first time, the officer next in line in seniority is a helicopter pilot. If we trace back the history of the Indian Air Force, since the time the first Indian became an Air Chief – Air Marshal Subrato Mukherjee took over on 1 April 1954 – we could draw some conclusions about the period from 1954 till 1971. We saw Air Marshals Mukherjee, Engineer, Arjan Singh and P C Lal as Air Chiefs. Notably, all of them were from Second World War vintage, having flown piston engine/ single engine types of aircraft. These aircraft had very limited capability, capacity and role. Then the Indian Air Force acquired jet engine fighters like Vampires, Mysteres and Toofanis during the late 1950s; from 1968 onwards came the supersonic Mig -21. Till 1971, the post of Chief of Air Staff went to the senior most pilot. One’s experience on fighter aircraft or transport aircraft was nearly the same, the machines being technologically not far different from one another. The difference between a fighter pilot and a non-fighter pilot was thin and the dividing line nearly did not exist. The distinction started surfacing from 1989 when for the first time, specifications were laid down for the Air Officers Commanding in Chief (AOC-in-C) of various air commands, like the Western Air Command (WAC), South West Air Command (SWAC), Central Air Command (CAC) and the eastern Air Command (EAC). These, and some other Commands and senior appointments were designated to be held by officers from the fighter stream only. It may not be out of place to mention here that even officers from navigation branch then held appointments as AOC-in-Cs and other top assignments. Undoubtedly, the quality and capability of machines as well as strategy and tactics, have changed. But we should also not forget that the knowledge levels of people have also changed. And if we look at the system of governance, the officers who manage the Defence Ministry come from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and various allied services, not particularly groomed to a career in defence. How can we then start having serious doubts on the capacity, capability and intelligence of an officer who would have done 30 to 40 years of service in the air force but is considered unfit for the top jobs just because he is not from the fighter stream? He has been in the same environment as his other colleagues, be it the fighter or transport or heliborne operations. Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi, fondly called Bundle from the NDA days, would be hanging up his uniform on 31 March 2007. By that time he would have completed 43 years and three months of commissioned service. A glorious record for any servicemen to have rendered that long a service and having risen to the highest position. He is a brave officer, takes part in marathons, and although he is nearly 62, he did not hesitate to do a para-jump on the Air Force Day on October 8 to land at the Hindon airbase to for the ceremonial salute at the inspiring parade. But the question now is: Who will be his successor? Our own Indian Army should be a case in point. It is one of the best and most battle-tested armies in the world. No other Army has fought five conventional wars and has had to fight an insurgency since Independence. It has extensive deployment for a continuous period of more than 17 years to counter militancy, and it protects the country from threats even at the world’s highest battlefield of Siachin. And we have had Chiefs of Army Staff from the Infantry, Armoured Corps, Artillery and even Engineers. Have they lacked punch or professionalism? One may keep in mind that even the US Air Force has had Regional Commanders – all four star officers – from non-flying branches. Based on this premise, I am also reminded of a Japanese Air Force delegation visiting India in January 2003. As customary, a banquet was hosted by the Chief of Air Staff at the Akash Officer's Mess. I was in conversation with senior officers of the Japanese delegation on “flying effort” and accidents on various types of fleets. The flying effort of the Japanese Air Force is more than twice that of the IAF, and they hadn't had any flying accident then for the 29 months. One of the Japanese Air Vice Marshal
suddenly asked me: “Air Marshal what are your chances of becoming the Chief of Air Staff.” “Nil,” I said, adding that “age was not in my favour, and that even if it was, I would not have made it to that appointment as I was from the transport stream.” He was quite astonished at my reply and said: “How can you be so parochial in a democratic country? In our country, their would be serious opposition to such an approach.” To my surprise, he said: “Do you know which branch our Air Chief belongs to? Administration – A Traffic Controller.” This should help bring home the point. If the US and Japanese Air Forces, two of the most operationally active air forces can have pilots from other than the fighter stream at the very top, then it is time for the Indian Air Force to do a rethink.
|
|
A new twist on the chicken-and-egg question Which
came first, the chicken or the egg? People have puzzled over that question for at least 2,000 years. In the eternal cycle of natural reproduction, they saw no answer. But it turns out that the cycle is not eternal. Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration tentatively approved the use of cloned animals to make food. Natural reproduction is giving way to artificial reproduction. And with the new era comes a new question: Which came first, the steer or the steak? Case in point: Elvis. He’s a 19-month-old calf. You can view him on the Web site of ViaGen, a cloning company. In a recent slide presentation from the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the caption below his photo reads, “Elvis was cloned from a side of Prime Yield Grade 1 beef.” No joke: The calf came from the beef. Elvis isn’t a freak show – he’s a business plan. “Some of your animals have more income potential than others,” ViaGen reminds farmers. “Our services help you identify, preserve and reproduce the genetics of those animals.” If a steer is already dead, no problem. In fact, the best way to judge its
steak worthiness is to cut it open and hang it on a hook. That’s what happened to the original incarnation of Elvis. “Biopsy samples should be collected from your animal as soon as possible,” ViaGen advises. If you like that side of beef and want another just like it, we can grow it for you. A steer from a steak from a steer. Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has reentered the building. The political fight over animal cloning is just beginning. It’s a lot like the fight over human cloning, except that the roles are reversed. Right-wing groups and Republican senators fanned fear and ignorance about human cloning; left-wing groups and Democratic senators are fanning fear and ignorance about animal cloning. Moderates on both sides get trampled. So do principles. The same liberals who demand stem cell research using human embryos and who blasted the FDA for delaying approval of emergency contraception now accuse the FDA of recklessly approving cloned food. The left-wingers want the FDA, Congress and President Bush to keep clones off the market. Their case, laid out in a petition to the FDA, is a mess of anecdotes, obsolete data, speculation and ideology. Like right-wingers in the human cloning debate, they expect the government to honor even their “religious” objections. But their strongest argument is that cloned food is unsafe, because cloning, unlike fertilization, often fails to reprogram genes for normal embryonic development. It’s a sensible worry, but the facts don’t bear it out. The FDA’s review – based on exhaustive and fully disclosed analysis of scientific journal articles, health records, blood samples and meat and milk composition – found no “food consumption risks or subtle hazards in healthy clones of cattle, swine, or goats.” The agency concluded that “food from the sexually reproduced offspring of clones is as safe as food that we eat every day.” Why don’t reprogramming errors taint your food? Because if they’re serious, they kill the animal before it’s old enough to be milked or eaten, or they cause defects that make the animal flunk federal food safety inspections. They don’t carry over to a clone’s offspring, because fertilization, like rebooting, cleans up programming errors. And the offspring are where the milk and meat will come from. ViaGen charges $15,000 to clone a steer. You don’t butcher a $15,000 clone. You use it for breeding. Critics say that cloning often causes health problems for cloned animals and their surrogate mothers. That’s true, but less so in some species, and the rate of complications is falling as the technology improves. Opponents of cloning also suggest that it should be banned because it’s unethical “to alter the essential nature of animals.” Essential nature? We’ve been breeding animals for 15,000 years. We’ve been artificially inseminating them for nearly 700 years. Most apples, bananas, grapes, peaches and potatoes are clones, and a lot of meat sold today was produced through in vitro fertilization, embryo transfer or embryo splitting. In principle – with apologies to Bill Clinton – there’s nothing wrong with biotechnology that can’t be cured by what’s right with biotechnology. Yes, poorly cultivated clones may require antibiotics. But efficient cloning can reduce the use of antibiotics, not to mention growth hormones, by spreading healthier genes. Messing with nature at this level is never simple. It requires ongoing debate, monitoring and regulation. But we’re not even getting that debate. Instead, opponents are relying, as they have in the human cloning debate, on the fact that cloning freaks people out. By arrangement with
|
|
Chatterati Congressmen
feel Sonia Gandhi’s ubiquitous presence everywhere and A.R. Antulay is no exception. In a rush to attend the Union Cabinet meeting at South Block, the veteran leader’s usual first question to the official who escorts people inside is whether the meeting had started. When Antulay was informed that “only Madam is here”, the former chief minister of Maharashtra went into a splutter, losing his equanimity and presence of mind. It look a while for him to realise that the “madam” the official referred to was tourism minister Ambika Soni and not Sonia Gandhi who, Antulay apparently forgot, cannot participate in Cabinet meetings. So, if you want any attention anywhere in the Congress, just say “Madam” and you will have pin drop silence, every one’s attention, and lots of nervousness.
Desperately seeking tickets Even as the mercury dips in the capital, bigwig politicians, especially from Punjab, throng five-star hotel lobbies and suites. Ticket-seekers from Punjab normally park their huge cars in front of the gate creating traffic jams. Amateur ticket-seekers from Uttarakhand throng the room of Motilal Vora, while the veterans meet him at his house very early in the morning or very late in the night. Janardan Dwivedi makes it a point to meet everyone, everywhere. Ahmed Patel meets only a select few. With elections due soon, astrologers are handing out their visiting cards to gullible ticket-seekers. Most seekers have packed auspicious multi-coloured rings on their fingers, and wear rudrakhas malas and huge tikas. Important looking middlemen and pundits from Delhi have been let loose on the unsuspecting wannabes of Manipur and Uttarakhand. Some small time journalists also play a crucial role in making the seeker meet the sought. Sonia Gandhi is said to be either upset or deeply distressed at the state of her party. It is said that she finds it very difficult to trust people around her, especially after the Natwar Singh episode, as well as due to the controversies surrounding those who surround her. Crucial political decisions are being delayed and there is a general sense of uncertainty around her created by opportunists without any base. However, nobody has been able to pinpoint the exact cause of her mood. Manmohan Singh may have been clear that no relative will use or misuse his influence. But that did not stop many other relatives of the Congress hierarchy in Punjab from getting seats. Certain sitting MLAs not being dropped, along with confusion and arrogance, may cost the Captain, as was the case in Rajasthan some years ago.
|
A man who does not do any work and does contemplation is not much good either. His contemplation is merely a form of self-indulgence and of no import to any other. Contemplation and work are both necessary if a man is to achieve —The Bhagvad Gita I look upon an increase in the power of the State with the greatest fear because, although while apparently doing good by minimising exploitation, it does the greatest harm to mankind by destroying individuality which lies at the heart of all progress. —Mahatma Gandhi We don't need to look for happiness. If we have love for others, we'll be given it. It is the gift of God. —Mother Teresa Blessed is the love that maintains our honour with the Lord. — Guru Nanak O man! You will not be released without cherishing love for God. —Guru Nanak
|
| 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 | |
