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Return of the veterans Gohana to Saalwan |
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Cement the price Bring manufacturers in line THE Union Budget proposed a dual duty structure for cement so that the manufacturers could take the benefit of lower duty and cut the prices. However, a day after the Budget, the step had just the opposite effect. The manufacturers raised the cement prices by Rs 10 to 12 per bag.
An interwoven fabric
A gripping problem
Monitoring ‘Iraq effect’
on global terrorism Products for unknown problems Inside Pakistan
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Return of the veterans THE massive crowd that witnessed the swearing in of Mr Parkash Singh Badal and 17 others as ministers at the Mohali stadium on Friday is symbolic of the enthusiasm the new Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government has evoked in the state. That the SAD and the BJP were able to decide the number of ministers each party should have without any rancour augurs well for the state. Mr Badal’s decision not to leave any vacancy in the ministry, whose size cannot exceed 18 under the law, has a lot to commend itself. Chief ministers in the past have kept some ministerial posts vacant so that they could keep the hopefuls on tenterhooks. By finishing the task of ministry formation in one go, Mr Badal has in a way freed himself from possible pressures and counter-pressures from those who have been left out. The Badal team can now look forward to attending to the problems of the people and redeeming the promises the two parties have made to the electorate without let or hindrance. The new ministry is by all means rich in experience as it has many veterans on board. Care seems to have been taken to give adequate representation to all the three regions of the state. Both parties have given representation to women, though their presence in the Vidhan Sabha is meagre, once again proving that in Punjab women have to fight their way for being counted. Except for one, all the new ministers have served more than one term as legislators. Perhaps, Mr Badal has reserved to himself the option of watching the performance of the new members before deciding to give them ministerial responsibilities. In any case, it is the prerogative of the Chief Minister to drop or include ministers at any point of time. That three SAD ministers belong to the Badal family will set the tongues wagging. As has been stated in these columns earlier, the success of the Badal government will depend to a large extent on the understanding the two alliance partners maintain on all key issues. They should be able to decide the portfolios of the ministers in the same spirit in which they decided to leave the post of Speaker to the Akali Dal and the post of Deputy Speaker to the BJP. The ruling parties should show an accommodative attitude towards the Opposition so that it is able to extend support to all the welfare programmes of the government. After all, the success of a democratic government depends on how inclusive it is. |
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Gohana to Saalwan WHEN it comes to Dalits, history repeats itself with a minor difference being in the detail but not in the fact that they continue to be targets of casteist oppression. The only difference in the violence that was unleashed against Dalits at Gohana in Sonepat on August 31, 2005, and on March 1 at Saalwan in Karnal district is the caste of their tormentors. At Saalwan, the hordes that razed the houses and wrecked the belongings of Dalits were Rajputs, whereas 19 months ago, at Gohana, the perpetrators of arson were Jats. That such atrocities driven by a feudal mindset, which has only contempt for the law, should occur with alarming frequency in Haryana exposes the prevalence of a despicable social order, which ought to have been rooted out long ago. The mob that forced its way into the houses of Dalits to destroy and burn their belongings was said to have set out to avenge the murder of a farmer who was reportedly killed by two Dalits. Doubtless, murder is a heinous crime and the guilty, regardless of their caste, should be brought to book. Historical injustice and centuries of oppression do not justify Dalits — or members of any community, for that matter — taking the law into their own hands. By the same token, there can be no recourse to mob rule to avenge a crime. The mobs, in retaliating against a murder, vented their wrath against over 50 Dalit families only because they were Dalits. This is an atrocity that should and could have been foreseen and prevented by the administration, especially when it is known that such attacks are not uncommon in Haryana. The state also boasts of caste panchayats “dispensing justice” in blatant violation of the constitutional scheme and in defiance of all law. Clearly, both the rule of law and the civil rights are endangered and the administration is able to do little to safeguard the lives and property of Dalits. In 2002, five Dalits were lynched in Jhajjar merely because of rumours that they had killed and skinned cows. The government should get rid of these casteist black holes that are a blot on the country. |
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Cement the price THE Union Budget proposed a dual duty structure for cement so that the manufacturers could take the benefit of lower duty and cut the prices. However, a day after the Budget, the step had just the opposite effect. The manufacturers raised the cement prices by Rs 10 to 12 per bag. The Budget cut the excise duty from Rs 400 a tonne to Rs 350 for a cement bag of 50 kg priced at Rs 190 or lower and raised it to Rs 600 a tonne for cement selling above this price. The duty change was one of the series of measures the Finance Minister has taken to control inflation. Cement carries a weightage of 1.73 per cent in the wholesale price index. The price hike comes as a blow to the government’s anti-inflation measures. The boom in the construction industry, triggered by low interest rates, tax concessions and heavy demand, has seen the prices of cement go up by 30 to 40 per cent in the past one year. The happy situation could have continued had the rising inflation not played spoilsport. The political implications of high inflation for the UPA government forced the Finance Minister to ask for the industry’s cooperation in bringing down prices. While some industries responded positively, others like the cement manufacturers pushed up prices “beyond all reasonable limits”. This led to the budgetary carrot-and-stick offer for the cement companies. The industry should understand that it can cash in on a situation of scarcity only up to a point. High prices of cement and other necessities will sooner or later suppress demand and slow down growth, which ultimately would hurt the industry also. Instead, the cement manufacturers should cut their own costs and improve efficiency. They have already gained from the oil price reduction. Besides, at times it should think beyond profits and accept its social responsibility also. |
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A man who has nothing to do with his own time has no conscience in his intrusion on that of others. — Jane Austen
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An interwoven fabric
THE comment is often heard in India that our legislatures interfere too much with the executive, and that both do so with the judiciary. Those who say so reinforce their complaint by advising India to follow the example of America, which they hold to be an exemplary country for separating the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary from each other. But they overlook a major constitutional reality: that while such separation may be practicable under a presidential system, it is not under a parliamentary democracy, and even less can it be practiced in India. As in any parliamentary democracy, in India too the Constitution holds the executive and most of its senior officials (with only a few exceptions) to be answerable to Parliament, whether directly or through the accountability of the concerned minister to Parliament. If the minister is challenged in Parliament for any action by any official working under him he cannot plead innocence either on the ground that the official and not the minister is responsible for it, or on the ground that the executive is separate from Parliament and not accountable to it. If the minister pleads he is ignorant of the offending action by the official he must prove that he took appropriate action as soon as he became aware of it, or he must promise satisfactory action on the complaint made by Parliament since the complaint would have made him aware of the offence. On the other hand, in a presidential system the executive machine is not accountable to the legislature on most things but to the chief executive, and either the constitution or long-established constitutional conventions have demarcated large areas of governance in which the chief executive and the legislature can act independently of each other. This is all the more so in America. But both systems, the presidential as well as the parliamentary, distinguish between the legislative and judicial functions of state. As a rule, barring some exceptions, they leave it to the legislative wing to formulate policies and laws, and leave it to the judiciary either to uphold the policy/the act, or to strike it down if it conflicts with the constitution or with an earlier enactment. There are some special reasons why the case of America attracts a lot of attention in this context, especially when contrasted with the case of India. Apart from the fact that India is a conspicuous example of the parliamentary system and America that of the presidential, and the further fact that while India has one of the longest and most detailed constitutions in the world and the US has one of the most brief, only about half a dozen pages at one time, there are also some reasons which are deeply rooted in the contrasting histories of the two countries. America was founded by the Pilgrim Fathers, who had fled from Britain for the reason (among others) that they were protesting against the assumption of what they considered to be too many powers by the government following the Cromwellian revolution. In shaping America they stuck fiercely to the “minimum government” philosophy, the more so in the case of the government in distant Washington though in many “local” matters they were kinder to the capitals of the states which came together to form the American federation. But independent India adopted the reverse of both these tendencies. Anxious to protect India against the hostile circumstances it faced at the time of its birth, in 1947, the “founding fathers” not only gave free India a maximalist government but also tilted governmental powers so much in favour of New Delhi that foreign commentators have often questioned whether India is federal at all. These commentators are in error of course. In political science the question whether a country is federal or not is not judged according to the balance of power between the federal centre and the federating states. The test is whether the constitutional powers of the government at one level are derived from, and can be withdrawn by, the government(s) at the other level, or are the powers of governance at each level derived from a source which is independent of the government at the other level. If a lot of powers are accumulated at, say, the federal level but can be withdrawn by the states at their own will (or the other way round) then the country is not truly federal. But for this test America could be denied its “federal” label, and perhaps the only country which could claim it would be Switzerland because the “cantons” which constitute the Swiss federation have more powers of governance than the “states” which constitute the American federation. But under this test India is as much a federation as any other. The constitutional powers of the government in New Delhi as well as of the governments in the states are precisely defined in the Constitution, and each level separately derives its powers, independently of the other level, from the Constitution. Neither level can increase or decrease the powers of the government(s) at the other level without amending the Constitution. The power to amend it is shared between the two levels, and not only shared between the two levels but also very precisely laid down in the Constitution, probably in greater detail than in some other constitutions. Neither level can alter the process or the text without the consent of the other level. Also, while the federating states have many powers which they hold and exercise independently of Parliament and the Central government, no state, unlike the American “states”, has a constitution of its own. Some states have some special powers which may be peculiar to them. But they are all derived from and are spelt out in the same Constitution which applies to the whole country, and even these can be altered only with the consent of the whole federation, the state of Jammu and Kashmir being the sole exception, and that too only in some rather peripheral respects. One of the supreme duties of the Supreme Court is to ensure that neither Parliament nor the legislature of any state can legislate any measure or execute any function which may be contrary to the national Constitution because the whole Constitution applies to the whole country. Therefore, in such a deeply interwoven polity, what is described in America as “separation” of the legislative, judicial, and executive powers of governance, and separation of federal powers from the powers of the units which constitute the federation, acquire a very different meaning from what they have in America. It is true that over the years some functionaries of the Indian state system have held views, or have even exercised some powers, which have been questioned by some others and are not wholly supported by the Constitution. But these developments are less — much less ( so far ) — a mark of changes already made in the Constitution than they are reflections of some incipient changes in the positions of some conspicuous political actors. As such, they should form the subject of a different
comment.
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A gripping problem
You need to work on your grip, which is weak in left hand,” was the parting counsel of an ace national golfer friend with whom, I chanced to play a round of golf sometime back. A few days after, I felt a disturbing pain in my neck travelling down to the left arm. The family doctor prescribed to me a few analgesics with an advice to wear a cervical collar. Sighted with a noose of collar around my neck, I was proffered legions of therapies like reiki, magneto-therapy, acupressure, acupuncture, massages etc by every acquaintance confronting me. Some suggested visits to particular charlatans and mendicants supposedly blessed with spiritual and providential powers. Some even brought along fistful of self-made herbal drugs and potions with the promise of sure relief. The diehard agnostic with unflinching faith in scientific temper as I am, I took the efficacy of their therapies with a grain of salt. However finding no signs of relief, equipped with the MRI of the affected part and other reports I landed in the apex medical institute of the city. A junior doctor after putting me through an array of exercises to ascertain the reflexes jotted down the history of my case on the card. In my anxiety, I enquired from the resident the status of spine in my neck, which according to the radiologist showed some signs of changes. With deep sympathy he shook his head and announced that the situation is hopeless and the prognosis according to him was dismal. According to him a serious neurological malady had set in. I was going to lose the muscle power of my arms sooner than later. He elucidated that my handwriting initially will peter out to a scribble and I shall not be able to hold a glass of water or a cup of tea in the times to come. His pronouncement was the proverbial bolt from the blue. It shocked and stunned me. Drained of energy, I could barely muster the strength to accompany him to the senior doctor whom he narrated my case along with his diagnosis. The professor didn’t seem in agreement with him and prescribed me certain medicines with a complete bed rest for 15 days. The next few days were harrowing. The assurance of the professor not withstanding, the words of the resident kept haunting me. I was visualising myself in wheel chairs and other hopeless and helpless situations. Life started looking as a burden. With the complete bed rest and medicines, my pain and numbness gradually vanished. After a couple of months I resumed my weekend game, though I continued to struggle with my swing. The other day, I again got the opportunity to play with my dear professional golfer friend who occasionally gives me some useful tips to improve my game. And this time his cue was: “Your grip of club with left hand is too strong, you need to relax it a bit.”
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Monitoring ‘Iraq effect’
on global terrorism Innocent people across the world are now paying the price of the “Iraq effect”, with the loss of hundreds British forces. An authoritative US study of terrorist attacks after the invasion in 2003 contradicts the repeated denials of George Bush and Tony Blair that the war is not to blame for an upsurge in fundamentalist violence worldwide. The research is said to be the first to attempt to measure the “Iraq effect” on global terrorism. It found that the number killed in jihadist attacks around the world has risen dramatically since the Iraq war began in March 2003. The study compared the period between 11 September 2001 and the invasion of Iraq with the period since the invasion. The count – excluding the Arab-Israel conflict – shows the number of deaths due to terrorism rose from 729 to 5,420. As well as strikes in Europe, attacks have also increased in Chechnya and Kashmir since the invasion. The research was carried out by the Centre on Law and Security at the NYU Foundation for Mother Jones magazine. Iraq was the catalyst for a ferocious fundamentalist backlash, according to the study, which says that the number of those killed by Islamists within Iraq rose from seven to 3,122. Afghanistan, invaded by US and British forces in direct response to the September 11 attacks, saw a rise from very few before 2003 to 802 since then. In the Chechen conflict, the toll rose from 234 to 497. In the Kashmir region, as well as India and Pakistan, the total rose from 182 to 489, and in Europe from none to 297. Two years after declaring “mission accomplished” in Iraq President Bush insisted: “If we were not fighting and destroying the enemy in Iraq, they would not be idle. They would be plotting and killing Americans across the world and within our borders. By fighting these terrorists in Iraq, Americans in uniform are defeating a direct threat to the American people.” Mr Blair has also maintained that the Iraq war has not been responsible for Muslim fundamentalist attacks such as the 7/7 London bombings which killed 52 people. “Iraq, the region and the wider world is a safer place without Saddam [Hussein],” Mr Blair declared in July 2004. Announcing the deployment of 1,400 extra troops to Afghanistan earlier this week - raising the British force level in the country above that in Iraq - the Prime Minister steadfastly denied accusations by MPs that there was any link between the Iraq war an unravelling of security elsewhere. Last month John Negroponte, the Director of National Intelligence in Washington, said he was “not certain” that the Iraq war had been a recruiting factor for al-Qa’ida and insisted: “I wouldn’t say that there has been a widespread growth in Islamic extremism beyond Iraq, I really wouldn’t.” Yet the report points out that the US administration’s own National Intelligence Estimate on “Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States” - partially declassified last October - stated that “the Iraq war has become the ‘cause celebre’ for jihadists ... and is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives.” The new study, by Peter Bergen and Paul Cruickshank, argues that, on the contrary, “the Iraq conflict has greatly increased the spread of al-Qa’ida ideological virus, as shown by a rising number of terrorist attacks in the past three years from London to Kabul, and from Madrid to the Red Sea. “Our study shows that the Iraq war has generated a stunning increase in the yearly rate of fatal jihadist attacks, amounting to literally hundreds of additional terrorist attacks and civilian lives lost. Even when terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan is excluded, fatal attacks in the rest of the world have increased by more than one third.” In trying to gauge the “Iraq effect”, the authors had focused on the rate of terrorist attacks in two periods - from September 2001 to 30 March 2003 (the day of the Iraq invasion) and 21 March 2003 to 30 September 2006. The research has been based on the MIPT-RAND Terrorism database.
The report’s assertion that the Iraq invasion has had a far greater impact in radicalising Muslims is widely backed security personnel in the UK. Senior anti-terrorist officials told The Independent that the attack on Iraq, and the now-discredited claims by the US and British governments about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction, had led to far more young Muslims engaging in extremist activity than the invasion of Afghanistan two years previously. Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, head of the Secret Service (MI5) said recently: “In Iraq attacks are regularly videoed and the footage is downloaded into the internet. “Chillingly, we see the results here. Young teenagers are being groomed to be suicide bombers. The threat is serious, is growing and will, I believe, be with us for a generation.” In Afghanistan the most active of the Taliban commanders, Mullah Dadullah, acknowledged how the Iraq war has influenced the struggle in Afghanistan. “We give and take with the mujahedin in Afghanistan”, he said. The most striking example of this has been the dramatic rise in suicide bombings in Afghanistan, a phenomenon not seen through the 10 years of war with the Russians in the 1980s. The effect of Iraq on various jihadist conflicts has been influenced according to a number of factors, said the report. Countries with troops in Iraq, geographical proximity to the country, the empathy felt for the Iraqis and the exchange of information between Islamist groups. “This may explain why jihadist groups in Europe, Arab countries, and Afghanistan were more affected by the Iraq war than other regions”, it said. Russia, like the US, has used the language of the “war on terror” in its actions in Chechnya, and al-Qa’ida and their associates have entrenched themselves in the border areas of Pakistan from where they have mounted attacks in Kashmir, Pakistan and India. Statistics for the Arab-Israel conflict also show an increase, but the methodology is disputed in the case of Palestinian attacks in the occupied territories and settler attacks on Palestinians.
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Products for unknown problems I am deep into nesting these days a familiar annual state brought on by the promise of a fresh start of a new-ish yeart and the onset of cabin-fever-inducing cold weather. I can't gin up any interest in new spring fashions, because all I want to spend money on right now are new sheets and a fresh coat of paint. I want to have my kitchen floor refinished and send my slipcovers to the dry-cleaners. When you are trapped inside your house, everything starts to look like it needs cleaning or replacing or a raging fire and a check from the insurance company. So the catalogs that draw my attention are not the ones from Talbots or L.L. Bean, with their rushing-the-season offerings of swimwear and cute cotton dresses. I am into catalogs that come from what might be called the household solutions category. Solutions for the problems-you-didn't-know-you-had category. Catalogs that are actually called ``Problem Solvers,'' ``Solutions'' and, improbably ``Whatever Works.'' Among the offerings that I am considering purchasing are: —
Special light bulbs that simulate the sun, reducing seasonal affective disorder without increasing UV exposure. —
Rechargeable battery-operated votive candles, although it is hard to imagine the nature of the mood those things might inspire. —
Pillows in special shapes for all the parts of your body that actually hurt worse when you wake than when you crawl, sore and tired, into bed. You have to see the range of shapes and sizes to believe it. We knew not sleeping was an issue for us grown-ups. Who knew sleeping could be such a problem? —
Voice-activated controls for the television and the DVD player, so you don't have to keep track of the remotes. You just bark orders. (There is also a remote you can buy that is the size of a cereal box and, therefore, impossible to lose.) —
Enzymes that keep the birdbath clean, picnic tables that fold up to the size of a briefcase, electric garlic roasters and a computer keyboard that you can roll up and throw in the dishwasher. —
Special laundry clips that keep pairs of socks together; a toilet light that illuminates the water with a soft green light when the seat is raised, to prevent accidents; triangular brooms for the corners and special sunglasses that help you spot your lost golf balls against the background of the rough. And I don't even golf. —
I'd like an outdoor grill cover emblazoned with the name of my favorite sports team, a black light that can illuminate the source of organic odors and filters to attach to the blades of my ceiling fan to help clean the air. —
I want the special spray that will freeze dog poop for easy pick-up, and I don't even have a dog. I want the fake panoramas for my basement windows, and I don't have any basement windows. There are all sorts of products to drive away all sorts of pests. Furniture that vibrates against every part of your body. A dozen products that promise you will never have to clean your toilet again. But my favorite might be the special adhesive pad that prevents chest wrinkles caused by sleeping on your side after a certain age. Didn't know you needed one until now, did you?
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Inside Pakistan Perhaps, the Pakistan government has realised that it cannot implement most of its development projects successfully without establishing peace in Balochistan. This biggest province of Pakistan has the country’s largest gas reserves. Pakistan’s energy requirement is currently growing at 10 to 12 per cent per annum. The Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, which will accrue considerable benefits to Pakistan, will also pass through Balochistan. Besides this, instability in this tribal province may affect the functioning Gwadar port, going to be ready for use soon. That is why all-out efforts are being made to fulfil the grievances of the people of Balochistan. According to The News, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has declared that “development of Balochistan is the government’s top priority”. The government is in the process of implementing as many as 138 development projects worth Rs 154 billion. It will spend Rs 77 billion on “federal roads” alone. He says, as quoted by The News, an improvement in the law and order situation and the cooperation of all the stakeholders in growth have made this possible. If the federal government honestly remains focused on giving Balochistan what is its due, most Baloch job-seekers may get employment in their own province. There is also a proposal to increase Balochistan’s share of gas royalty, as reported by Business Recorder. The idea is to use development for ensuring peace. This could be done earlier too. But, then, Islamabad’s self-interest was not as much linked to peace in Balochistan as it is today. A Dawn report, however, has it that increased military operation in Balochistan has led to deterioration in the situation there. It is going to face political instability, too, as a section of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) leadership is working for the dissociation of the MMA from the coalition government in Quetta. The MMA sharing power with Gen Pervez Musharraf-backed Pakistan Muslim League in Balochistan is coming in the way of the MMA’s full participation in the activities of the Association for the Restoration of Democracy. Violence against women Why are women the main sufferers of the growing culture of violence in Pakistan? Does the state condone the atrocities against the female sex directly or indirectly? Is it because of religious extremism being patronised by a large section of society? Or does the established social order feel threatened with women gradually coming up in different areas of activity? The issue of violence against women is being debated thoroughly after the killing of a woman politician, Zille Huma, in broad daylight by a “confessed religious fanatic”. But Afiya Shehrbano, in her brilliant study of the problem in The News, February 27, says: “No religion as a tool or culture as a vehicle could be used as a premise for violence against women if the state did not condone, sanction and exploit these practices as part of its own extended control and the need to maintain the status quo. “While patriarchal norms and religio-cultural practices are brutal exercises played across women’s body, yet repeatedly the state has remained silent, complicit or, at best, an arbiter or negotiator.” That is why the writer believes that the “initiatives on ‘protective’ legislation will remain symbolic”. Kamila Hayat says in her column in The News, March 1, “As the death of Zille Huma Usman has demonstrated, there is quite apparently also a need to address the issue of the police and judicial system. The minister died because her killer was not penalised for the murders of at least four sex workers that he had committed in 2002. Equally grave are the accusations that some police officers ‘sympathised’ with the killer and his ‘cause’, and these, too, need investigation. Prevailing attitudes within the police force must be addressed to avoid such grotesque miscarriages of justice in the future.” The historic city, now in Basant mode, is faced with the spread of dengue fever. The authorities, obviously, are upset because this may affect not only the enthusiasm of those who come to Lahore from far and near to celebrate Basant, but also result in a decline of the massive business that is done on the occasion. Daily Times, quoting Health Minister Chaudhary Mohammad Iqbal, says that with a view to meeting the dengue threat, “the Punjab government has placed all hospitals on alert.” Mohammad Iqbal urged the people “not to worry about the disease too much because the government was prepared for it.” All hospital emergencies have been provided with appropriate resources and instructions to handle the genuine dengue patients, the paper reported. But Basant enthusiasts will obviously depend on their own preventive arrangements if they decide to visit Lahore. The reason is that these days very few people take ministers’ words seriously. |
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