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First LoC, then Siachen Profile |
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Foreign
contribution Bill not in NGOs’ interest On Record When Indians won civil
rights in US
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First LoC, then Siachen Two important aspects are those relating to an agreement on the Line of Control (LoC), reached during the fourth round of the composite dialogue at Islamabad on March 13 and 14, and the inconclusive talks on the Siachen issue by the two defence secretaries. The latter, apparently, were enlivened by the Pakistani defence secretary’s histrionics, though the report was later denied. The LoC issue relates to concluding an agreement on “no development of new posts and defence works along the LoC”. This probably seems innocuous, except to those who are aware of the LoC’s background and culture. Such an agreement would tantamount to putting the cart before the horse. Unless the two sides agree on a CBM relating to the LoC first, other related issues might well be devoid of much meaning. An agreement on the entire LoC would not be just one more CBM, but the biggest military CBM of all. For starters, such an agreement would end the eyeball to eyeball confrontation on a continuous basis which has existed since 1949. The present LoC is the second avatar of the erstwhile Cease Fire Line (CFL), which had come into being on January 1, 1949, when hostilities between Indian and Pakistani forces had ended. During the 1965 Indo-Pak war, although our troops had captured large areas across the CFL, including the strategically important Haji Pir Bulge, we had to give them up after the Tashkent Agreement. After the 1971 war with Pakistan, a fresh line was demarcated, which is the present LoC. Despite the formal demarcation, the Pakistani Army did not honour the sanctity of the CFL, from its very inception. They commenced encroaching and nibbling on our side of the CFL, hoping to either gain tactically advantageous positions or merely to incorporate additional real estate. This was naturally resisted by our troops. Thereafter, eyeball to eyeball deployment became the norm and it was considered fair game to seize any opportunity and occupy areas across the CFL, by both sides. The result: the CFL became an active and live border, where firing at each other became a daily affair. This state of affairs continued even after the CFL became the LoC. After 1990, when Pakistan started infiltrating terrorists across the LoC, many actions were taken to reduce and cover gaps between our posts. In this process, many small detachments were deployed forward of our traditional posts, some in tactically unviable positions, in an endeavour to reduce gaps. These invited similar actions from the other side, thus further escalating tension and resort to increased firing, as well as attempts at capturing these outposts. Over the years, the accumulated result of a highly active LoC and jockeying for tactically important positions is that each side is in adverse possession of small areas across the LoC. These encroachments number about a dozen on either side. Such adverse possession results in periodic attempts to dislodge the other side from such areas which, in turn, vitiates attempts to de-escalate violence and bring in a modicum of stability. Consequently, instead of evolving an agreement only on non-development of new posts and defence works, the LoC itself should be the first focus of attention. Removing the irritants, irrational stances and the tit-for-tat attitude, which prevails on the LoC, will build confidence and trust between the two armies. This would perhaps be the biggest military CBM of all. It will also reduce the number of troops the two sides have deployed on the LoC, purely to ensure its sanctity. Many facets pertaining to the LoC will need to be discussed and resolved. A start can be made by identifying the encroachments and negotiating pull-backs. Since the LoC has been demarcated and authenticated, both on maps and on the ground, it should not be a difficult task. Once these encroachments are vacated by both sides, it would be much easier to arrive at an agreement on new posts and defence works. In fact, the bigger CBM on the LoC, as proposed, would automatically negate the need for a separate agreement on posts and defence works, as these aspects would be in-built in the larger agreement. Coming to the second issue, i.e. resolving the Siachen issue, much has been written on it and the stances of both sides are well known. Unless one side or the other wants to concede or dilute its stand, this issue will continue to remain only a talking point. Pakistan is very keen that the Indian Army vacates the Saltoro heights, which control the entire Siachen glacier. It feels that it could then tell its people that the Indian Army was compelled to withdraw. The Indian Army does not wish to vacate these important strategic positions, which were captured with great effort and many sacrifices, but if the positions have to be vacated for other reasons, it wants cast iron guarantees that the Pakistani forces would not occupy them in future, or claim in future negotiations that we were never in control there! These are genuine concerns because Pakistan is well known for its about turns and changing stances. Consequently, the Indian Army is clear that formal authentication of the positions held by the two armies is the first step in any resolution of the issue. On the other hand, the Pakistani army refuses to agree to this legitimate demand. Thus, unless Pakistan budges from its current stance, this issue cannot be resolved. India and Pakistan should first agree on the larger issue of the LoC as a major military CBM, before discussing other less urgent issues. Even the Siachen issue, although on the negotiating agenda for decades, is no longer as important as it was earlier. A former Vice Chief of Army Staff, the writer is currently Director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi |
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Profile Film maker Mira Nair describes her as a talented actress with the ability to pull off portraying a character who ages in her new film, The Namesake. The movie shows off Tabu’s range as she grows from a shy, young immigrant bride who joins her husband in the United States to a confident mother living in a foreign land and, finally, to a widow in her adopted country. Directed by Mira Nair and released last month, the movie is based on a novel by Pulitzer prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri. Tabu has been quoted as saying that she liked Lahiri’s earlier book, Interpreter of Maladies, but she found the The Namesake even more intimate. “And, when I read the book, I thought it would make for a fabulous film because it is about four people; it is poetic, it is beautiful”. Tabu is also known best for her willingness to play characters in artistic, low-budget films that go on to garner more critical appreciation than they do substantial box office figures such as in Maqbool (2003) or Meenaxi: A tale of three cities (2004). She has also acted in a number of Telugu films, many of them very successful, such as Coolie No. 1. Her biggest hit to date has been the film Fanaa (2006). Another trait of Tabu’s personality is that, unlike other film stars, she does not hide her age; she is 37 now. There was a time when she used to live in Hyderabad, far from Mumbai’s madding crowd. Her only link with Mumbai’s film world was her aunt Shabana Azmi. First her elder sister Farha stormed films but could not sustain stardom. Farha managed her career rather badly and settled down to marital bliss with Dara Singh’s son. Tabu entered after Farha left films. Tabu’s career opened with a grand production. She was taken by Boney Kapoor in his film to be directed by Shekhar Kapur and was cast opposite Sanjay Kapoor. Boney Kapoor’s Prem failed to make even a whimper. But Tabu was determined. There were no emotional entanglements that could harm her career. She just went on working hard. Tabu actually reached the audience as the Ruk ruk ruk girl in Vijaypath. She was also lucky to catch Gulzar’s eye. A couple of meaningful roles in his films, mainly Maachis, and she was an actress to reckon with. Priyadarshan’s Viraasat and Kamal Haasan’s Chachi 420 saw her excelling as an actress. Tabu is among a few exceptions in the filmdom who wears little or no make-up. Having a beautiful refreshing face with a height of five feet, six inches, she was born in Hyderabad. Her real name is Tabassum Hashmi. Her father is Jamal Hashmi and mother Rizwana. She is also affectionately called Taby, Tubs, Tabs, Tubba, Tabloid, Tablet, Tabsy and Tobasco. Tabu publicly disavows her father, whom she allegedly resents for abandoning her mother. “I have never seen my father. I don’t think I would like to meet him. For me it is my mother who is my father”. Her personal life has not provided much grist for the sandal mill. As for her love life, she has a serious relationship with fellow actor Sanjay Kapoor but that dissolved in 1995. Her next was Sajid Nadiawala to whose she was briefly engaged. Tabu has few friends and almost none in the film industry. “I am not very social. I don’t go to parties. So guess, I have not made friends within the industry. Also, it is very difficult for me to make friends; am happy the way I am. I have few friends outside the industry that I am very close to. I have one who’s so non-filmi that she is not even allowed to go out. I am content with these friends, and with my family. If I am not shooting, you will always find me at home. I love being home. If I am out, then it’s only to my friend’s place in Bandra. That’s it”. Apparently, most of her friends are men. She says, “I have more male friends than female ones. I can’t bond easily with women because there is a certain element of rivalry. Don’t ask me to name anyone but my experience with women friends have not been very happy. My friendship with men has always lasted longer, much longer”. Incidentally, when Salman Khan shot and killed a black buck, an endangered spicy, protected by the government, Tabu was present. Salman was thrown in jail for the incident, but Tabu was exonerated of any involvement in the shooting. The memory is still unpleasant for her. Tabu has plans for the future including directing a film. But, she says, “I have to learn a lot before that”. Tabu also shot a song for television based on her poem. She wants to write a lot of poetry. |
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Wit of the week — Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan’s response to advocate M.L. Lahoti while accepting the Centre’s plea for advancing the OBC case
— Lok Sabha Speaker
— Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking after a zero-gravity flight at Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral — S.R.S. Varadhan, Professor of Mathematics, New York University, who bagged the
I am not a 100 per cent khadi user. I wear a lot of khadi but also other fabrics such as woollens and handlooms. — Gopal Krishna Gandhi, West Bengal Governor, on turning down an offer to head Gujarat Vidyapith as Chancellor When I say it, I mean it. I really had no choice in the selection of our candidates. They fielded strangers. In 24 hours, 272 seats were decided and everyone agreed with the Congress list. — Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on why the Congress lost the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections Tailpiece: The banner definitely comes before the script. If you have a good script but not the wherewithal to make it, then it’s a waste. A big banner has the potential to market and pull a film through, which is very essential today. — Actor Priyanka Chopra |
Foreign
contribution Bill not in NGOs’ interest A new
Foreign Contribution Regulation Bill, 2006 has been introduced in
Parliament in December last and is now under consideration of the
Standing Committee on Home Affairs. It has created a storm of alarm in
the voluntary sector and may well sound its death knell if enacted. It
seeks to further strengthen the hold of government over civil society
by adding impossible-to-challenge wide discretions onto the already
illiberal present Foreign Contribution Regulation Act 1976.
Under the guise of regulating the flow of foreign money, it creates
excuses that to direct interference with the directions of any
organisation at will. The Bill strikes at the heart of our democratic
ethos and goes against every principle of freedom of association that
allows citizens to participate in governance in our own ways.
The voluntary sector’s role in protecting our constitutional
safeguards and promoting democracy cannot be overstated. The
Commonwealth Expert Group on Development and Democracy headed by Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh insists that building “capacity of
citizens’ organisations and a free and well-informed media are
critical for promoting citizen participation, holding government to
account and empowering poor communities.”
The importance of civil society is glowingly reinforced by Planning
Commission reports. The Centre’s draft national policy promises to
“create an enabling environment for the sector that stimulates its
enterprise and effectiveness, and safeguards their autonomy so as to
enable the voluntary sector to legitimately mobilise necessary
financial resources from India and abroad.”
However, the government has chosen through security legislation to
keep NGOs and civil society institutions weak and dependent on its
whims and fancies. Defying logic and prevailing economic and political
trends, the Bill creates a rigid license raj enclave only to this
sector.
The Bill takes away everyone’s present permanent license to
receive foreign funds and requires everyone to apply for a temporary
5-year license. Renewals are not automatic but conditional and left to
how a bureaucrat feels about your work and whether he thinks it is
meaningful.
The sum total of wide discretions and vague words make sure that
the government can interfere at every turn in the private contract
between donor and donee. For example, there is a blanket prohibition
against foreign contribution going to “organisations of political
nature, not being political parties”. It is entirely at the
bureaucrat’s discretion whether any organisation’s activities,
ideology, programme, or association with activities of any political
party look as if they are of a “political nature”.
Then, the organisation must explain why it is not. Several clauses
make granting a license conditional on a government servant being
satisfied that the project is meaningful and also that it is not
likely to be diverted for “undesirable” purposes. Receiving
foreign funds becomes entirely dependent on what any government finds
convenient. Such provisions will have the potential to leach away all
energy and innovation from the sector, pushing out honest committed
people and leaving the field open to those who can manage the
environment and the rent seeking that goes with it.
The government is quick to justify this highly flawed Bill. It
alleges that evil funders and collaborating donees may collude to
divert money into illegal activities. This argument holds no water.
Strong laws like the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and
anti-terror laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967,
apply to everyone and more than take care of this aspect of concern.
Moreover, present regulations already require various kinds of
annual reporting. In addition, every bank transaction has to be
reported both by the bank and by the receiver of funds so that there
is no danger of losing track of where money ends up. It is also
laughable to imagine that in a liberalised economy where foreign
investment of all kinds is pouring into all kinds of corporate coffers
and havala is live and well that the preferred route for wicked
terrorists to bring in funds will be through the bank accounts of
civil society organisations.
The government complains that many organisations do not report
regularly. But there is little analysis of how many organisations
registered long ago may since have stopped receiving funds or be
dormant and defunct now. If the government is unable to monitor its
present license regime, the cure does not lie in more regulation but
in beefing up the administrative machinery to make it more efficient
to oversee NGO financing. It cannot be an excuse to direct civil
society activity. Equally, it is simply unjust to treat all with
suspicion for the transgressions of a few. To do so is to create a
police state where everyone is easy to accuse and to be kept in jail
unless allowed out.
The Indian attempt to bring the vociferous, vibrant and often
unruly voluntary sector — along with the media — to heel is part
of a trend fuelled by governments inconvenienced by criticism. It
follows the Russian lead to curb civil society activity following a
string of defiant democratic “colour” revolutions. India does not
need to ape illiberal regimes, because our laws are good enough to
take care of national security and national interest as well as
diversion of funds for illegal activities.
What is required now is for the government to learn to hear out
civil society and keep this Bill in abeyance till the new NGO policy
lying in the Prime Minister’s Office comes into being, and make good
on its own promises of creating an enabling and not a chilling
environment for the sector. n
Maja Daruwala is Director, Commonwealth Human Rights
Initiative, New Delhi. Aditi Datta is Media and Communications
Officer, CHRI
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On Record
Haryana Tourism Minister Kiran Choudhury is a woman with a mission. Her goal is not just put the state on the country’s tourist map but promote it internationally as a prominent historical, religious and archaeological heritage tourist destination. “Tourism”, she says, “is the only engine for growth” as every tourist coming to the state means more revenue, better job opportunities for the youth, social security and empowerment of women. This is why, Kiran is now marketing Haryana with an aggressive strategy before the Palace on Wheels train rolls into the state sometime next year. “We want to make Haryana a complete tourist destination like Kerala or Madhya Pradesh”, she says in an interview with The Sunday Tribune. Excerpts: Q: What is this new marketing strategy to promote Haryana as a tourist destination? A: Haryana has been the pioneer in highway tourism. The Haryana Tourism Corporation has been running a network of tourist complexes all over the state for quite some time now. What we are now planning is a paradigm shift from this earlier concept with the help of a multi-pronged tourism promotion strategy keeping in view the advantage points of the state. And that is to market Haryana aggressively for its incomparable historical, religious and archaeological heritage and significance, besides its excellent location next to the country’s Capital, before the Palace on Wheels rolls into the state next year. For the first time we also have a tourism policy. What I feel is that despite so many advantages, Haryana has never been marketed properly. It is a pioneer in highway tourism, but it has more or less been in a state of neglect. Q: What are the broad outlines of your new plan? A: Haryana has been able to get sufficient funds to develop three main historical spots. The Palace on Wheels train will stop at Panipat, Kurukshetra and Pinjore. The three cities will be the part of the integrated tourist circuit. We have received Central financial assistance for this. We are also seeking heritage city status for Kusrukshetra. This requires long-term planning, aggressive and strategic marketing of the place and voluminous paper work together with the Centre’s active help. Moreover, our calendar event Surajkund Mela is all set to go international. We are in the process of finalising details with Sri Lanka, Qatar and Pakistan. This will not only showcase our culture in foreign lands but also provide opportunities to our artists and artisans to go abroad and interact with people there. This, of course, would require active involvement of the Minstry of External Affairs and the Tourism Ministry. Surajkund, due to its proximity to New Delhi, is also being promoted as a convention and wedding destination. We are also planning to set up a drive-in theatre along with a designer village and food courts at Surajkund, management institutions at Rohtak and Faridabad, leisure tourism in the form of high-end spas at Bhondsi and eco and adventure tourism at Morni. Q: How much of this has already been done? A: Most projects are in the process of being implemented. At Kurukshetra, Pinjore and Morni, things have already started moving. Before the train moves in next year, everything will be in place. It is through the revenue generated through tourism that a place is able to come up. Because we are so close to Delhi and so very accessible, our aim is that why should people go anywhere else for a weekend retreat or a longer holiday? We have already started tapping the potential of golf and farm tourism. Our next step would be the involvement of women. In fact, our slogan would be ‘Tourism for Women Empowerment’. It should work well for a state rife with the problem of female foeticide. Q: Most tourist complexes are a picture of neglect. Any plans to improve them? A: We are upgrading existing facilities on the highways. The problem, however, is that hospitality is a very competitive and a money-intensive sector. To be able to compete with the private sector, we would require huge funds. Also, we are interested in the future; the future lies in building up on our untapped potential.
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When Indians won civil
rights in US LONG before Harvard professor Joseph (Joe) Nye Jr conceptualised “soft power” as “ability to get what you want by attracting and persuading others to adopt your goals,” Indian immigrants, mostly Sikhs, in the US successfully practised its variant to win civil rights. The India Lobby, as the campaigners were collectively called, had been technically operational in the whole of North America, including Canada, for about 50 years, from the dawn of the twentieth century to the run up to Indian Independence, or 1900-1946 to be exact. But Canada being a member of the British Commonwealth, there could be no lobbying there. The writ of White Hall ran there as much as in India, a British colony then. The concluding phase of about 20 years of the campaign corresponded with the freedom struggle in India under Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership. The Indian immigrants’ campaign for civil rights in the US continued unabated and non-violently. That was despite its implicit political dimension in the realisation of the campaigners that British colonial rule was at the root of the Indians’ travails in the US. The so-called Ghadar (revolution) movement launched at the time of the 1914-18 war was an unmistakable pointer in that direction. The main driving force of Ghadar was Sikhs who had settled in California and British Columbia (in Canada) as farmers and “lumbermen” (those who felled trees and prepared them for use in carpentary and other trades). They set out to provide trained manpower and tools — mainly ammunition — for extremist groups seeking violent overthrow of the British government in India. But like the more exciting Komagata Maru incident involving the landing of “illegal” immigrants in Canada, the Ghadar also was a foil to the kernel of the movement which was peaceful and geared to gather support within the US of American publicists and politicians. It culminated in the signing of the India Citizenship Bill on July 2, 1946. The Bill provided for Indians residing in the US being enabled to become American citizens and Indians wishing to migrate to the US being able to do so legally under a formal quota. A glittering galaxy of prospective Indian leaders participated in the movement, apart from distinguished Americans. While some of them, notably Har Dayal, worked for the devoutly cherished consummation, others associated with it were, among others, Annie Besant, Ghanshyam Das Birla, J.J. Singh, India League President in the US who was Jayaprakash Narayan’s host in New Delhi in the 1960s, celebrated authors, Louis Fischer and Pearl Buck, future US ambassador to India, Chester Bowles, Aurobindo Ghose, Chitta Ranjan Das, demographer S.Chandrasekhar, historian Romesh Chander Dutt, Sarojini Naidu, Surendra Nath Bannerjea, Rash Behari Bose, Sarangadhar Das, who was leader of the PSP group in the Lok Sabha in the 1950s and Bhikaji Rustom Cama. The data is drawn largely from Harold A. Gould’ s book, Sikhs, Swamis, Students and Spies (Sage Publications, New Delhi and London, 2006) |
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THE peace process between India and Pakistan, particularly the military aspects, do not seem to be getting anywhere. Two more rounds of official level talks between the two countries have concluded recently, the first between the foreign secretaries and the second at the defence secretary level. While both sides have reiterated their desire to continue the talks and consequently the peace process, the impetus is slackening because of the hardened stances on both sides. 
TABU is unquestionably one of India’s finest
actresses, having done films in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Bengali. One remarkable trait of her performance is that it lingers in your memory long after you have left the cinema hall.
It is my privilege which matter has to be heard. It is not within your purview. I have to decide. You cannot dictate terms. What you have said we have understood. You may give a speech elsewhere.
The Constitution doesn’t contemplate a super-organ nor confers an overriding authority on any organ. No organ has any power to superintendent over the exercise of powers of another unless the Constitution strictly so mandates.
Space, here I come. It was amazing. I could have gone on and on.As you can imagine, I’m very excited. I have been wheel- chair-bound for almost four decades...I wanted to demonstrate to the public that anybody can participate in this type of weightless experience. 
It’s a tribute to C.R. Rao and Mahalanobis that we were not pressured in any way to do things we did not like to and so we were left pretty much to ourselves.
