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The burden of charges Fighting over water |
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Uttarakhand stakes
China outsmarts Indian diplomacy
Le Corbusier’s sense of humour
Human Rights
Diary The Talibanisation of Waziristan Chatterati
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The burden of charges IT has been an eventful beginning for Mr Parkash Singh Badal’s Chief Ministerial stint, and must be fairly unpleasant for him. Despite the best efforts of his battery of lawyers, a Ropar court has ordered the framing of charges against him in a disproportionate assets case. The ignominy is not peculiar to the veteran Akali leader. His predecessor, Capt Amarinder Singh, was also in the dock. In fact, the list is interminably long and comprises a virtual who’s who: Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mr L.K. Advani, Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal et al. Politicians with taint spoiling their copybook and occupying positions of power present a dismal sight. They misuse their influence to scuttle investigation into their own misdeeds — and that of the people who are important for their clinging to power— and to hound their opponents. Tit for tat is the name of the game. These leaders make full use of the provision in the lawbook that a person is innocent till proven guilty, but the tar that sticks to them not only disillusions the public, but also puts a question mark on their capacity to function independently and efficiently. Plus, it is an ugly pointer to the sad state of affairs in the entire body politic. Like Caesar’s wife, their reputation has to be beyond reproach, but often quite contrary is the case. They take strength from the equally besmirched track record of others, and just because they manage to get elected, they pretend as if all allegations against them are unfounded. Look at the brazen manner in which Mr Badal has said: “Why should I resign?” The end result is that as a class, politicians are treated as the anti-thesis of probity and integrity. It is high time a consensus emerged among all parties that the tainted would not even be given ticket, let alone continuing in office after serious charges are framed against them. Since that might amount to politicians going against the grain, it might be necessary for the courts to step in and lay down special guidelines applicable to all, whether they are fit to continue in office. In public life, morality and clean image are as important as the legal position. The provision of “innocent-till-conviction” is sacrosanct no doubt, but the law should be effective enough to deal with those bent upon misusing it to remain in power. Or can the Supreme Court find a way out, where the politicians have failed to find one?
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Fighting over water PUNJAB Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s
announcement that he would scrap Section 5 of the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, has revived the emotive inter-state water dispute. A worried Haryana has approached the Supreme Court for an early decision on the Presidential reference of the Act, which had terminated all previous river water-sharing agreements. The Rajasthan Assembly has witnessed a heated debate on Mr Badal’s threat, which if carried out, would have serious repercussions for the water-sensitive state. Punjab’s plea is that it has no surplus water to share with the neighbouring states. It says the availability of waters in its rivers has come down from 17.17 MAF in 1981 to 14.37 MAF in 2000. The previous Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, had taken a unilateral decision to terminate all river-water agreements, which took even the Congress leadership at the Centre by surprise. Despite this, the Captain was voted out of power. A mature politician, Mr Badal could not have ignored the far-reaching implications of his statement made in such indecent haste on occupying the Chief Minister’s chair in Punjab. The BJP, with whose support he has taken charge, is in power in Rajasthan. A rational, conciliatory approach is required to settle the dispute. The northern states, in fact, should join hands to sort out all water, territorial and development issues. The availability of water, no doubt, is on the decline due to climatic changes. Earlier, when there used to be floods, excess water was released in the canals flowing into Haryana and Rajasthan. All states can cooperate to manage their underground and rainwater resources more effectively and also check pollution. They can also tap Himachal Pradesh’s immense unrealised potential for generating hydel power. If the states fail to work out a consensus on water-sharing, the Centre will have to intervene. There is a demand to declare all rivers as national resources and hand them over to a national authority. This is an ideal worth pursuing.
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Uttarakhand stakes EVEN as Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri has taken over as the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, he has started his innings on a weak wicket. Governor Sudarshan Agarwal has rightly asked him to prove his government’s majority support in the State Assembly by March 20. This is because Mr Khanduri’s party, the BJP, has failed to get a simple majority in the Assembly elections. Having secured 34 seats in the 70-member House, the BJP falls one short of the simple majority. Consequently, after hectic efforts, the BJP managed to cobble together a majority by enlisting the support of two Independents and three members of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD). Mr Khanduri has now said that he will prove his majority in a week, much before the deadline set by the Governor. It may not be difficult for him to scrape through the floor test. But the question is whether he can provide a stable government. The biggest stumbling block in Mr Khanduri’s path is the former Chief Minister, Mr Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, who has been eyeing the Chief Minister’s chair. He has made his displeasure over Mr Khanduri’s imposition on the state by the BJP Central leaders (a la Congress style) known to his party bosses in New Delhi and through his supporters in the state. The BJP has so far failed to tame him. This actually forced Mr Khanduri to include just one person in the ministry on March 8. Will Mr Koshiyari accept the Deputy Chief Minister’s post in the next expansion and, if so, will he give a free hand to Mr Khanduri to run the state? Mr Koshiyari’s tirade against the then Chief Minister, Mr Nityanand Swamy, is well known. Mr Swamy was not allowed to function properly and the party high command was forced to replace him with Mr Koshiyari three months ahead of the 2002 Assembly elections which the BJP lost. The BJP may try to keep the two Independents in good humour by making them ministers in the next expansion. But can the BJP take the support of the three-member UKD for granted? The UKD is rigid on its demand for building a new capital at Gairsain in Chamoli district of Greater Himalayas, which is a ticklish proposition. Clearly, Mr Khanduri has to walk a tightrope.
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Success without honour is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good.— Joe Paterno
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China outsmarts Indian diplomacy IN June 2003 when the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited China and signed the Declaration on Principles for Sino-Indian Relations and Comprehensive Cooperation and fully recognised Tibet as an integral part of that country, it was in a way a major display of Indian foreign policy direction and intent in the 21st century. Significantly, it was around the same time, March 2003 to be precise, that China’s new leadership was elected at the 10th National People’s Congress at Beijing, and President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao started touring world capitals to seize new strategic initiatives and cultivate new friends both in its neighbourhood and distant horizon. With 29 countries surrounding it out of which 15 border on it directly (India can count its neighbours on its finger tips), China’s foreign policy template covers a three-pronged reach of its neighbours, the developing countries and of course its special relations with the US, Russia, Japan and the African countries. Whether India has similarly classified its areas of foreign policy interests as the Chinese, and whether like them we too have a “soft power” (meaning to influence by persuasion and not force) mode of achieving our aims, is an interesting scenario worth an examination. Pastmasters at limitless patience, never giving away anything that is on their mind and with the Communist Party and the PLA always on their side, China’s leadership does enjoy a distinct advantage over Indian policy makers, where new political parties that come to power in elections, the murkiness of coalition politics and an apolitical Army that cannot be used for political gains, all make governance of the country a very challenging business. Does India have the luxury of long tenures of governance where foreign policy can be executed for some length of time? Do we possess an enforcement agency which can sometimes push through necessary yet disagreeable measures without fear of a violent backlash? These factors will govern the success or failure of any Indian initiative. The Chinese have today developed a stratagem of resolving their disputes with nations without going to war, and often put on the backburner issues that are contentious and could lead to bad blood in bilateral relationships. With regard to India having got Tibet on a plate, they have formally never said that Sikkim is an integral part of India and at the same time they have repeated that the whole of Arunachal Pradesh is their territory, though it is quite clear to everyone that they are not likely to go to war with us in any near future on these differences. The two million chemical weapons left behind by Japan in China after World War II which maim and kill the locals, have not adversely affected the Sino-Japanese bilateral cooperation. In fact both countries have resumed their military contacts with the naval fleets of the two visiting each other. With Russia, China has demarcated in recent times their 4,300 km long border, and Putin is committed to increasing its oil exports to China to meet that country’s fast paced industrial growth. With the US, China’s one- China policy about Taiwan has paid off, and President Bush has declared that they would oppose any moves for an “independent” Taiwan. Thus the two Cold War adversaries of yore have been neutralised effectively by Chinese diplomacy. China has also positioned itself as the main interlocutor in any deliberations with the North Koreans? In its neighbourhood in Southeast Asia, China maintains peace on its periphery so that trade can grow and its economy prosper. In addition they look for control of the sea lanes, supremacy over the South China Sea, and reducing the influence of Japan, Taiwan and the USA in the region. Simultaneously China is a member of the ASEAN 10+1 and 10+3 configuration and in 2003 became the first non-southeast Asian member of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation thereby greatly increasing its influence in the region. With UN Peacekeeping missions in Congo, Cambodia and Liberia from time to time, it is not hard to see that China has mastered the twin art of soft power and hard sell in one sweep to its optimum advantage. Indian foreign policy formulations in no way do it any justice, even when most of the post-independence years have seen long stretches of undisturbed Nepal even under the new dispensation with Maoists in Parliament is not sure of its own long-term future, what to talk of any enduring ties with India, where we can counter Chinese patronage and influence in the Himalayan kingdom. Myanmar’s ruling junta with massive doses of Chinese aid packages has gone the way of the dragon, and shuns any dialogue with its liberal, democratic opposition. Though there is no border unrest on the Indo-Myanmar border for the present, the spreading Chinese hold over Myanmar and Bangladesh increases Indian security concerns in the area, especially in the case of the latter from where there have been reports of insurgent, and Pakistan’s ISI infiltration into India. Assam and Nagaland are already on the boil, and the internal situation in Bangladesh does not auger well for Indian interests. India’s none-too-exclusive diplomatic position in Afghanistan as was the case in the 1960-70s. On the question of the Siachen pullout, India has been unable to hold its diplomatic high ground and much of the world thinks that it is India that is averse to a solution there and are unnecessarily putting obstacles about ground position verification prior to a withdrawal, which though an absolutely justifiable position surprisingly finds few takers in our own neighbourhood and the other Islamic nation states. Obviously our diplomacy has not been up to the mark somewhere, and small matters like Sir Creek and the return of captured fishermen cannot compensate for a proper and final political resolution of the Kashmir problem. On Kashmir and any other issue that one can think of, China will side with Pakistan, and Indian diplomacy should have at least by now somewhat neutralised Chinese proximity to Islamabad. It is doubtful whether China will ever support India in the United Nations when it comes to substantive issues like a permanent seat in the Security Council, or in forging a Russia-India-China axis for regional stability and about which much is being written these days. Only when the Indian Treasury benches and the Opposition of the time have leaders with a vision for the nation and adequate gumption and selflessness to sacrifice their self and party for the country — something that happens in China where there is continuity, unity of purpose, and a long term plan even if it has some flaws — can India hope to truly become an Asian Tiger and a great power like its Chinese
counterpart.
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Le Corbusier’s sense of humour
Le Corbusier’s is a household name in this part of the world, although very few, including professionals, know about his amazing versatility and ready wit. The word “complex” became popular when he designed the Capitol Complex at Chandigarh, meaning the group of governmental buildings: the secretariat, the legislative assembly, and the high court. When he went round to inspect the work of his Indian assistants in Chandigarh, he asked: What are you doing? Everyone gave the same pat reply: Monsieur, I am designing a complex. He turned to his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, and said in utter surprise “It’s very strange that everyone here is suffering from the same ‘complex’!” Learning that L-C (Le Corbusier signed his short name thus) was in Chandigarh, a foreign tourist hurried up to the office in Sector 19, and sent in a slip. L-C conveyed through his secretary that he was not available. But when the curious visitor insisted on seeing him, the master architect sent this curt note: Le Corbusier is not a public lavatory that anybody can visit when their bladder-pressure becomes unbearable! In the early years of the Chandigarh Capital Project, a Parsi architect Piloo Mody worked here. He was such a hulk of a bulk that it was difficult to decide whether he was wider or higher in his enormous size. When L-C saw him for the first time he devised an ingenious metaphor to fix in his mind Mody’s image. He called Piloo the “horizontal” man. Piloo Mody later became a Member of Parliament (MP) and was responsible for getting the 1975 Architects Act passed. He had the characteristic ability of a Parsi to laugh at himself. When other MPs poked fun at his gargantuan size he would wryly quip: But I’m the only man in Parliament who can acutally throw his weight about! The master architect adopted the name “Le Corbusier” as an alter-ego. Whenever he was in a fix over a design decision in official meetings, he would use this sure-fire stratagem: “I don’t mind the change but unfortunately Le Corbusier doesn’t agree! Le Corbusier means in French “The Crow”. L-C always caricatured himself as a crow with a roll of papers tucked under his winged-arm. On his visit to the great Pyramids in Egypt, his friend requested him to let him snap his picture. L-C, who normally wouldn’t permit photographers shoot him at will, strangely agreed readily, and struck an evocative pose with his posterior resting on the pyramid’s edge. While the cameraman was still adjusting his equipment the maestro yelled: Hurry up, man, because this time the square peg is actually in the round
hole!
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Human Rights
Diary THE Pakistan government’s proposal to revise tainted textbooks in the country evoked an interesting discussion in the National Assembly the other day. The government wanted to revise history so as to include a chapter on Hinduism, Buddhism and ancient emperor Chandragupta Maurya. The religious parties, however, were opposed to the proposal. They said that “their history starts from Mecca and Medina.” The government tried to justify the teaching of pre-Islamic history on the ground of learning and knowledge. Even members against the government supported it and argued that students should not be kept ignorant about the subcontinent history such as the Indus Valley or the Gandhara civilization. The National Assembly’s Speaker, too, intervened to make the point that there was no harm in studying pre-Islamic history for the sake of knowledge as he and his contemporaries did in schools, colleges and universities. The National Assembly where the government raised the matter was divided not on the lines of party but on the attitude. The liberal members were arrayed against the non-liberals. Yet, the government developed cold feet and referred the matter to a committee. This is one way of postponing the matter indefinitely. It looks that the revision of the books, if any, will now take place after new elections scheduled for the next year. In the meanwhile, history books will continue to pollute the atmosphere between the two countries and play up the “wars” between Hindus and Muslims, with the latter always emerging victorious. Mohammaed Bin Qasim and Mahmud Ghaznavi, the first two Muslim invaders of India, are glorified for destroying kafirs (infidels). Textbooks in Pakistan have been used to mould students, especially in schools, in a particular religious cast. History has been turned and twisted to serve the purpose. Since partition was on the basis of religion, the Pakistan government thought that the advent of Muslim rule in India was the best period from which the history should begin. This was done long ago after the death of Qaide-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah who did not want to mix religion with the state. It looked odd not to connect with history the monuments belonging to the times of Mohenjadaro and Taxila standing visible in Pakistan. Yet the government did so. Students could see the anomaly and were confused. The post-partition period was that of strengthening the Islamic ethos which could not be watered down by including the relics of Hinduism as part of the heritage. But the Pakistan rulers could neither silence the conscientious objectors nor the foreigners who found the mutilation of history preposterous. The debate did not abate at any time. Since there was no tall leader after Jinnah to join issue with religious leaders -Liaquat Ali lived only for a short period - the history books in Pakistan continued to skip the pre-Islamic Hindu rulers. Strangely, the British rule figured prominently. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a popular leader, could have corrected the textbooks. But he wanted the mullahs on his side to withstand the pressure of the military, a third chamber by that time. To placate religious leaders, he, in fact, declared the Qadian sect as non-Muslim, making it illegal for its followers to go even to the mosque. How could he have revised the history books? It goes to the credit of President General Pervez Musharraf to broach the subject of rectifying the mistakes in textbooks and wanting to include in them the civilizations representing Mohenjadaro and Taxila. Religious forces are up in arms again. The MMA (Muttehaida Majlis Amal) is in the forefront. It may raise the matter during the election campaign. Having been born in the spirit of jehad Pakistan has perforce to keep its spirit and tone alive. This is evident from the textbooks prescribed for classes VIII and IX. I glanced through them at Lahore some time ago. The books correctly highlight the glories of the Mughal period: “In the entire history of the subcontinent no other dynasty acquired as much importance as the Mughal dynasty.” In contrast, the Hindu period is dismissed in one sentence: “The Hindus were not much interested in history and we have a very few historical records of this period.” Dilating on the greatness of the Mughal rulers one of the books says: “The Hindus considered the king as the incarnation of god and considered it a religious duty to see him in the morning.” Babar is described as changing the architecture of the Hindus because he “did not like it” and “he found the rooms so small that they were dark even in the day time.” The Muslim buildings “were much larger and airy.” Shivaji is described as a person who believed “that all kinds of deceit and treachery was fair in war” and one “who made no discrimination between the Hindus and Muslims in his plundering.” The downfall of the great Mughal Empire is attributed to this: “They had lost in the course of time their great spirit of jehad and self-sacrifice.” In an introduction to Indian history and culture, prescribed for class VIII, the chapter on the Muslim invasion of Sind says: “Its administration by Muslims was marked by political wisdom. Toleration was extended to the Hindus who came to be known as protected people and were allowed to stick to their faith and observe their religious practices in return for a tax called jaziya, or poll tax.” India has seldom raised the question of history books with Pakistan at the ministerial level. It did so once when P.V. Narasimha Rao was the foreign minister. He pointed out at a meeting in Islamabad that India-Pakistan relations had been adversely affected because students in Pakistan were taught “biased” history. It is a pity that not many in Pakistan follow Jinnah’s liberal ideas. If he wanted to rewrite history, he would have done so soon after the birth of Pakistan. The mindset of bureaucrats and the military have communalised the atmosphere in Pakistan more than that of the religious parties. History’s mutilation is only one facet.
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The Talibanisation of Waziristan PESHAWAR, Pakistan – For weeks, there had been whispers that Akhtar Usmani, a young teacher at a Muslim religious school, was speaking out against the growing presence of Islamic militants in his home in the tribal area of Waziristan. Then one day last week, the schoolteacher’s corpse, with the head severed from the torso, was found in a bloody sack dumped beside a desolate road. A note on his mutilated body called him a spy for America. Such grisly reprisal killings have become a recurring feature of life in Waziristan, a rugged border zone that is in the global spotlight over U.S. intelligence claims that elements of al-Qaida are regrouping there. A little-noted corollary of the area’s notoriety as a militant haven is the suffering of civilians who live and work there, according to human rights groups, political analysts and Pakistani law enforcement officials. The killings are part of an atmosphere of terror enveloping many of the 4 million or so people living in North and South Waziristan and the other “tribal agencies,” seven federally administered but essentially ungoverned areas adjoining the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier. Civilians there are increasingly subject to the stringent Islamic prohibitions and punishments of Taliban insurgents, foreign militants and members of radical Pakistani organizations, whose influence is breaking down traditional tribal leadership, people in the area say. In some locales, barbers are being warned against trimming beards. Singing and dancing are discouraged, and music has been banned. Motorists who play their car radios face fines or beatings. Schools, particularly those educating girls, operate under constant threat. Movie theaters have been ordered to close. Most of the region, populated almost exclusively by Pashtun tribes, is a no-go zone for any outsider, even fellow Pakistanis. No official reporting mechanism exists for violent crimes, such as the slayings of clerics and elders accused of sympathizing with the United States or the Pakistani government. Adding to the tribal zone’s woes, criminal gangs claiming allegiance to the militant groups routinely carry out kidnappings for ransom, extort protection money, hijack commercial trucks and smuggle weapons and drugs. In a recent brazen heist, militiamen stole a fire engine. “Anyone can put on a black (Taliban) turban and claim they are acting in the name of Islam,” said retired Brig. Gen. Mahmood Shah, a former chief of security in the tribal areas. “That’s what many of these criminals are doing -- taking advantage of people’s fear of standing up to the militias.” In some areas, the locals are fighting back. Earlier this week, armed tribesmen attacked Uzbek militants, setting off a gun battle that left at least 19 people dead. Unrest in the tribal areas is steadily encroaching on the nearest big city, Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province, which lies outside the tribal belt but is the regional hub for jobs, supplies and services. Peshawar, with its 2.2 million residents, is more diverse and cosmopolitan than the conservative villages surrounding it. But here too, “extremism is gaining ground,” said Qibla Ayaz, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of Peshawar. Activists for women’s rights say they feel particularly vulnerable amid the rising religious fundamentalism. “Where there is a push toward a mullah state, we are the primary target,” said Rukhshanda Naz, a lawyer who works with a Peshawar-based group that encourages women to participate in politics. Peshawar neighborhoods, particularly outlying districts, have become unsafe for her group’s workers, she said. Last month, a Pakistani doctor and his assistant were killed by a roadside bomb in the tribal area of Bajaur after they met with village elders to try to persuade them to allow a polio immunization campaign for local children. Mullahs had denounced the vaccinations as a foreign conspiracy to sterilise Muslims. Despite the hardships the local populace is enduring, there is a degree of grudging public support for the militants in the tribal areas, according to some who were born and raised there. “On the whole, people don’t want to live under a Taliban-style system,” said Shah, the former security chief. “But anti-American sentiment, and anger at the central Pakistani government, is a strong uniting force, and one that the militant elements can exploit.” J. Michael McConnell, America’s new director of national intelligence, told Congress last week that Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, were thought to be hiding somewhere in Pakistan’s border area, an assertion the Pakistani government rejected. By arrangement with
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Chatterati A new method has been found to keep away unscrupulous liaison men from the corridors of power. A list of undesirable ‘contact men’ drawn up by the Intelligence wing has been circulated in the higher echelons of government with the express instruction that no appointment should be given to these guys and they should not be seen with them. The reception desks at all government and PSU offices and the various state government Bhawans have also received verbal instructions to block any inquiry from such people. The chief vigilance officers of various ministries and PSUs too have been given the list and asked to sensitise their staff to be cautious. The CBI will keep an eye on activities of the listed contact men and try to collect information about specific instances of malpractices in which they are involved. To keep the liaison men at bay, the government is also considering granting accreditation to authorised representatives of companies for easy access to officers, which will be of immense help to the businessmen who have to meet officers for genuine reasons. Gandhis’ charm When the Gandhis want to turn on the charm no amount of ID checks, metal detectors, body-frisking or trained dogs can stop them. This is the paraphernalia that goes with attending any event where Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and sonny boy Rahul are present. The duo came to the wedding of NSUI president Nadeem Javed, however, minus any Z-plus security headaches and starched attitudes. Sonia and Rahul entered smiling, greeted everybody who met them and were a picture of perfect mother-son bonhomie. One would have thought that Rahul, and his security team, would do a double-take when an elderly man came from nowhere and insisted on blessing him. But this do was the Gandhi family at their best. The man took Rahul’s face in both his hands and gave him his blessings. Rahul was more than happy to smile for the camera. Sonia also had a long discussion with the bride. Unlicenced plates A dangerous trend is emerging as many people get vehicle registration numbers “encrypted” in such a way that the alpha-numerical digits in Devnagri or some other script just make no sense. The calligraphy is done in such a way that it’s almost impossible to decipher it. It is amazing to see how beautifully ‘4912’ is written to read ‘Pawar’, ‘4141’ reads ‘dada’, ‘7171’ ‘nana’, and so on. In the event of an accident, how will we report the number of such a vehicle to authorities? There are stringent rules under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, specifying the length and height of numbers and the format. Besides, since June 1, 2005, the government has introduced tamper-proof high security registration number plates. While the new vehicles have to adhere to these rules, the existing ones have been given two years to comply. Still vehicles with their licence plates in unreadable format move about freely. It is the time the police took action against such violators.
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