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Left, right and PM Parliament demeaned |
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Victory in Old Blighty
Partition’s children
Horrifying days
Increase Siachen allowance Neglect of irrigation harming food security Defence Notes
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Left, right and PM Sometimes
it is difficult to convince those who do not want to be convinced. This is more so in politics. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stoutly defended the civilian nuclear deal through a statement in Parliament he could have placed on the table of the House with ample justification. He asserted that the 123 Agreement, the bone of contention, in no way compromised India’s national interests as alleged by the Left supporters of the UPA government and the Opposition parties like the BJP. Both parties have decided to oppose — may be, for effect. The Prime Minister assured that there was no threat to the country’s strategic weapons programme and India had the “right to reprocess US-origin spent fuel”. The US will support India to have “a strategic reserve of nuclear fuel to guard against any disruption” of fuel supplies for the lifetime of the country’s reactors. Despite the voluntary moratorium on nuclear tests, India is free to go in for such an exercise, depending on the circumstances. What else could he say to satisfy the House. Dr Manmohan Singh had to come out with his latest statement after the UPA’s Left allies rejected the agreement with the US at their August 7 meeting, pointing out that it “falls short” of the promises made by the Prime Minister in Parliament. Dr Manmohan Singh’s immediate response was that the deal, approved by the Cabinet, was “non-negotiable”. He even indirectly challenged the Left to bring down the government if it so desired. Trying to fish in the troubled waters, BJP leader L. K. Advani crossed the ideological inhibitions and made a surprise telephone call to CPM general secretary Prakash Karat asking him for joining the Opposition in giving notices under Rule 184 that entails voting in Parliament. But Mr Advani was left with an egg on his face when Mr Karat refused to join hands with him for his convenience. The logjam involving the UPA and the Left may not affect the historic deal. The Prime Minister met Left leaders on Tuesday morning after getting the indications that they might withdraw from the UPA-Left Coordination Committee. How far he has succeeded in cooling down the Left tempers will be known only after the CPM’s Politburo meeting on August 17 and 18. The Left at this stage is unlikely to take any step that threatens the survival of the UPA government. However, the relations between the two may get strained, possibly beyond repair, as an unfortunate fallout of the nuclear agreement with the United States. |
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Parliament demeaned Some Members of Parliament appear to be determined that 60 years of Independence should be an unforgettable occasion. This is a rare opportunity that should be seized to leave an indelible mark on history. And, that they did on Monday in a way that has, perhaps, never been done before. For the first time the Prime Minister was not allowed to speak in Parliament on a policy issue. This is not done. Generations to come, to vary Einstein’s remark on Gandhi, will scarce believe that this is how some of our MPs stonewalled a Prime Minister and misused their elected places on the eve of Indian Independence turning 60. Dr Manmohan Singh has the right to speak and the right to be heard. The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party made sure that Dr Manmohan Singh would be deprived of the opportunity when he rose to make his statement in the Lok Sabha on the nuclear energy cooperation agreement with the US. It was no different in the Rajya Sabha, where the Elders actually made it even harder for Dr Manmohan Singh to read out the statement. As a result, he had to stop after a few paragraphs and table it in the House. The Left parties, led by the CPM, staged a walkout from both Houses during the Prime Minister’s statement. That they did not conduct themselves in the appalling manner in which members of the BJP and the SP did may be a saving grace. Yet, the fact remains that they did not extend to the Prime Minister the courtesy of being heard. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee’s stunning observation to the BJP and SP members — “You are finishing Parliament. You have no right to be here” — had no effect on the shouting MPs. At one time there was a “shouting brigade” in Parliament. As we celebrate 60 years of Independence, this brigade has extended to cover more benches of the Opposition. It is an indelible mark of shame — of the disservice these MPs have rendered to the nation, the disrespect they have shown to the House and the dishonour they have inflicted on the dignity of a forum meant for debate, discussion and making laws. |
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Victory in Old Blighty Beating England in England for a series win after 21 years is, indeed, a momentous achievement for the Indian team. And with its mix of established stalwarts and bright new youngsters, the team, under Rahul Dravid, will carry memories of it for a long time to come, cherishing the many commendable performances that made it possible. There was the superb bowling from Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble and the batting of emerging stars like Dinesh Karthik and M.S. Dhoni, not to mention the redoubtable performances of old glories like Sourav Ganguly and VVS Lakshman. Everyone, in fact, contributed. It is a fine feather to add to the cap after the win in the West Indies not so long ago. But both the captain and the team members will know that but for an extraordinary decision not to enforce the follow on when they were more than 300 runs ahead, this could well have been 2-0 instead of 1-0. In fact, the last test was not quite Rahul Dravid’s finest hour. Apart from a dropped catch, and a terrible innings of 12 in some 90-plus balls, an innings more stick-in-the-mud than great wall, Dravid did the unthinkable in shying away from enforcing the follow-on. This is no mere cavil. Everything about that decision cried out — this is not the way to play Test cricket! And to talk about tired bowlers and “living room” opinion, suggesting that our warriors out in the field knew more about what was happening than the fans, was totally out of place. For one thing, many a veteran was equally shocked at the decision. But the bottom line is that a team that cannot enforce a follow-on because of tiredness should not be playing Test cricket. But Dravid is nothing if not a constant learner, and he would have filed away some points for future use. Defensive strokes are an important weapon in a batsman’s armoury. But it is possible to play too safe. For now, well done boys, and happy Independence Day. |
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Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry. |
Partition’s children
Like the nations of India and Pakistan, this post-Partition generation is now entering its sixties. Their views and those of the younger generations of Indians and Pakistanis are going to define the nature of future relations between their countries. Historians of the Partition have been emphasising the importance of recovering the neglected memories of refugees and restoring their stories to public focus. It was expected that this generation, who grew up hearing their parents’ devastating stories, would share this opinion. But their feelings about Partition were much more complex. Although they agreed that their families’ stories should not be forgotten, for many, the desire to move forward from the past was their uppermost concern. While those belonging to the second generation in these refugee families obviously have no first-hand memories of Partition, it nevertheless profoundly shaped their lives. As they grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, their families were often still struggling to rebuild their fortunes, trying to find new jobs and new homes. In some cases, their families were still living in refugee camps and awaiting compensation for many years after 1947. Growing up as the children of refugees, they shared the impact that Partition had wrought on their families. But for this generation Partition holds a very different significance. They do not share the first generation’s nostalgia. While they might be curious about the family’s past, most had no personal attachment or sense of “belonging” to the home that their family left behind in the “other” country. A woman from Delhi, born in 1953, described her uneasiness about her father’s longing for his old home in Rawalpindi. She explained, “Even today my father says, ‘Oh, my house’ and my daughter the other day said, ‘Why your house? You have lived in Delhi for more of your life. Why do you say your house? Your house is in Delhi. Why do you say my house in Pakistan?’” The second generation recalled with great pride the courage and bravery that their families had displayed in the face of the dangers and hardships they confronted during their migration and the difficult years of resettlement. But they had much more emotional distance from their families’ memories. While they felt it was important to ensure that the horrific communal violence that marked Partition is never repeated, many said that these memories held little relevance for their present lives. A housewife in Delhi, born in 1943, whose family migrated from Lahore, summed up this emotion most succinctly. She explained, “Look, those people who saw with their own eyes and understand what happened, they think about what happened. What is there for us to think about? What can we think about? Those people to whom it happened, they remember. For me it is just a story. All I think is this kind of a thing should not happen, but it is finished and I do not take a lot of interest in it.” Some people are unwilling to let go of their anger and mistrust; for them, the Partition stories they had heard from their families exemplified the deviousness and treachery of the “other” country and its people. For them, the suffering that their families endured was unforgettable and unforgivable. But they are in a minority. Most people display a willingness to leave behind the bitter legacies of Partition. They are determined that the past need not affect the future and are eager for solutions to be found to end the conflict between India and Pakistan. One such woman, born in 1947, whose family had migrated to Lahore from Hoshiarpur,
explained, “There is no point for us to fight except for Kashmir. If we can solve this then we can
become powerful countries. Import, export can begin. We could form a strong bond. If we can solve this, things can be good.” However, the desire to move on does not necessarily imply that people have forgiven and forgotten. For many people, that will take longer. Their decision was purely pragmatic — Partition was over and it was time to focus on the present. Having themselves grown up against the backdrop of war and conflict between India and Pakistan, people on both sides express a desire to shape a better, more peaceful and more prosperous future for their own children and grandchildren. Rapproche-ment between India and Pakistan will help achieve that. Rebuilding trust is a slow process. So the willingness of many in the post-Partition generation to rebuild bridges, regardless of their motivation, is a sentiment which gives cause for optimism. It is a beginning. Among the children of Partition refugees there are signs that mindsets are gradually changing. Born in 1947 a woman, living in Lahore, described how her feelings towards Indians had now changed. She grew up hearing stories about the horrors of Partition from her mother, who had fled to Pakistan from Nabha in East Punjab. She explained, “When I was young, I was more impressed (by these Partition stories). I used to hear these things with more interest. Now I have grown more mature, more realistic. Maybe, because of … age .. Now I am more realistic. I think people can be bad anywhere. Bad and good. This is not the criterion that he is Indian so he is bad and he is Pakistani and so he is good.” Interactions with these families in Lahore and Delhi brought out the complexities of Partition’s long term consequences. Sixty years on, Partition continues to shape the lives and opinions of subsequent generations. The process of ending the prejudices and hostilities that Partition created will probably take generations. However, it appears that the process has
begun. The writer, a scholar of peace and Fellow with Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace, is conducting her DPhil research at Oxford University.
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Horrifying days
Unprecedented
communal riots were eating into Indian society during Partition days. Murder and arson was the order of the day. We had no alternative except to move to a refugee camp in DAV School, Layallpur (now Faisalabad). The camp was overcrowded and was in a pathetic condition without basic amenities. The Pakistan Army replaced the Indian soldiers for the camp’s security. It proved to be the start of a horrifying tale. On the dreadful night of September 5, 1947, it was pitch dark. I was sleeping with my father. My ears reverberated with the loud shots of fire. My father lost no time in waking me up by slapping me. I could not react out of fear. Abruptly, a bullet grazed past my right ear. It was learnt that Pakistan Army personnel were firing with the mob armed with swords and spears. The camp was attacked but the civilian armed men guarding the building fired back. The mob retreated but not without attacking the people sleeping in the open killing about 500 refugees. In the meantime we crawled to the hall, where all had rushed for security. There were frequent shouts of “AA-GAYE, AA-GAYE” leading to stampede. Two children were crushed to death in the melee. The fear of impending death was evident on the faces of all of us as if we are meeting each other for the last time. Parting messages were exchanged. It may be mentioned the people’s valuables were looted and about hundred ladies were abducted. They were molested, raped and paraded naked. Their private parts were mutilated. I was an eyewitness to this ghastly scene while I was easing myself behind a bush. My hair stands on end when I think of it. This was the worst kind of degradation of human values. A civilian vehicle with the convoy was arranged to ensure our safe journey to India. To our misfortune, our vehicle strayed from the main convoy and was left on the road at the mercy of killers. All the passengers were in a state of fear with their lives at stake. But we were saved due to the presence of mind of the driver, who steered the vehicle into a mango grove nearby. A strong foul smell was emanating from the decomposed dead bodies lying scattered in the garden with vultures and dogs devouring them. All of us became dumb and started praying to the Almighty for our safety. It seemed the time had stopped ticking. The two hours appeared like two years before we could join the main convoy. We breathed a sigh of relief. Our woes of misfortune seemed never ending when our convoy reached Lahore. There was an altercation between Indian Army personnel and their Pakistani counterparts, telling civilian vehicle not to proceed. Both parties took up their position. The showdown was averted with the intervention of senior commanders. Ultimately our convoy reached India at the Wagah border. Even at the age of 73, I still get nightmares, thinking of lakhs of people uprooted, humiliated and killed. While we are rejoicing our Independence, we should always bear in mind that fanaticism based on religion does not
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Increase Siachen allowance Fortunately, there is one real life experience when a permanent human habitation was created around 14000 ft above sea leval (ASL) in the 1960s. There happened to be a very lucrative sulpher mine in Chile at about 16,000 ft ASL. The miners lived in villages around 12,000 ft ASL and several work-hours were lost daily in transporting them to and fro for work. The management therefore created permanent living quarters at about 14,000 ft ASL. After two years of continuous living at this high altitude the miners extraction output diminished by over 20 per cent. And when two years hence the miners efficiency dropped by another 10 per cent, the high altitude habitation experiment had to be abandoned. Unlike the soldier at Siachen, the miner reunited with his wife and children each evening to share the joys of home. Then, in the Sola Khumbu region of Nepal, the home of the Everest-climbing sherpas, there are small human settlements even at 14,500 ft ASL. But these are seasonal habitations where families move into after the winter-thaw, may be just for three to four months each year basically to provide pasture to their livestock. They also eke out a crop of barley and a few vegetables. Soon, the combined effect of drop in temperature, exhaustion of the stock of cooking fuel-wood and pasturage for the season, make good sense for the sherpas to descend once again to their permanent villages around 10 to 12000 ft ASL. Here too, even though human beings are exposed to the hazards of living at high altitude, it is in pursuit of an evolved way of life over centuries and in which the daily common bond with their flesh and blood remains intact. Now, where soldiers of the Indian Army are living in warlike conditions between 15,000 to 17,300 ft ASL in Siachen are concerned, the only parallel can be the Chillean miners experiment. Even though that comparison is far fetched, the fact remains the experiment failed because physiologically the human body’s out-put dropped by about 30 per cent. The physiological erosion of human body notwithstanding, the soldier at Siachen is expected to perform at peak, at all times of the day and night (when the temperature is often lower than minus 30 degrees celcius) for a span of 18 months. Yet, indeed, the soldier fully measures up to that challenge, always. His smile does not wane despite the crushing psychological stress of remaining self-motivated and the inevitable debilitation to his genetically inherited physical prowess. And let us never forget that for every soldier who has lived 18 months of his life at Siachen, the World’s highest and longest active battle field, the psychological and physical stress will eventually, adversely impact on his God-given life span. What remains conjectural is how severely, how soon and in what form? As of today, the soldier returns home proud to display the Siachen medal over his uniform. But let us, that is, the honourable members of the sixth Pay Commission and the Finance Minister, not be unmindful of the fact that the stresses of Siachen will visit the soldier in the evening of his life. There will be aches and pains of unknown magnitude. It is incomprehensible how a thought was generated during the fifth Pay Commission to equate a soldier for determining his wages and emoluments with an industrial worker. Be that as it may, here is an industrial worker, the only one of the kind in the world, who works round the clock (should situation demand) and without over-time wages. And till his last breath or the last minute before his service tenure comes to the end, “striking work” is anathema to his unwritten creed of soldiering. Any guesses as to how soon India would join the ranks of super-powers if all our industrial workers were to fall in line with the work ethic of the Indian soldier? The tour of duty at Siachen simply has no parallel among the military or non-military occupations any where in the world. It is the most demanding of all commitments which any man can ever be faced with. It is a matter of pride that in the Indian Army’s Siachen experience to date, no soldier has deserted or succumbed to suicide or was driven to fratricide. |
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Neglect of irrigation harming food security After Independence, top priority had been given to develop infrastructure for irrigation in order to achieve self-sufficiency in food grain production. Investments in irrigation during the first three five-year plans created a base for adoption of high-yielding varieties on well-irrigated fields along with supporting inputs and services, which led to the Green Revolution. The country achieved food self-sufficiency. There was a continuous increase in the percentage share of investment on irrigation and flood control, from 7 per cent to 10 per cent, in successive plans up to the Sixth Plan (1980-85). Then, suddenly, this declined to 7.6 per cent in the Seventh Plan and has stagnated at 6.5 per cent since the Eighth Plan. Consequently, the annual increase in area under irrigation during the corresponding periods also declined from 2.4 per cent to 1.8 per cent per annum. The real problem started since the last two years of the Ninth Plan and continued through the Tenth Plan, when, in spite of allocation of about Rs 150 lakh crores on irrigation and flood control, the area under irrigation declined from 55 million hectares to 50 million hectares. This set-back to irrigation made the food grain production dependent on the monsoon. The food security of the country became threatened. The government has to import wheat at a higher international price to maintain buffer stocks. Where has this large amount of money, Rs 150 lakh crore, allocated to irrigation and flood control during the Ninth and Tenth Plan gone, without any addition in irrigated area? The existing irrigated infrastructure has deteriorated, losing about 2-5 million hectares of irrigated area. The recent report of the Committee on Water Resources highlighted the mess in irrigation through cost and time overrun of hundreds of major and medium irrigation projects over the various plans. If the present trend continues, the nation has to pray to the rain god or beg before wheat-producing nations for food. Another factor is globalisation. As many of the food grain importing countries achieved food self-sufficiency, the agricultural economies of the food surplus, developed countries were threatened. The developed countries propagated the idea of globalisation of agricultural markets with the hidden agenda of capturing the food grain markets of the under-developed countries. This strategy has been successful in misleading the agricultural policy in favour of trade against food self-sufficiency, to achieve the objectives of the developed countries. The results are clear as India started importing wheat regularly in large quantities at a price higher than that offered to her own farmers. Figures like the trend during the last four decades in irrigation investments, the area under irrigation along with area under high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat, fertiliser consumption, and credit and agricultural price policy, provide analytical support for the sustainability of food self-sufficiency in the country. On an average, 70,000 hectares of net sown area per annum had been brought under irrigation during the last four decades, out of which 85 per cent automatically went under rice and wheat due to their relative technical and economic comparative advantage over other competitive crops. Roughly, all the increased irrigated area covered high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat, due to their availability. Their combined effect along with more than ten per cent growth in short-term credit and favorable input-output price policy, resulted in an increase in the use of about half million tonnes of chemical fertiliser per annum. This package of technology with irrigation as the prerequisite helped the nation to increase food grain production on an average by three per cent per annum. India can again put itself on the path of food self-sufficiency and can also achieve the targeted agricultural growth of four per cent during the future plan periods. It is possible by bringing about one million additional net sown area under irrigation while maintaining the existing irrigation infrastructure. Simultaneously, there is a need to make fertiliser price and rice and wheat price ratio a little more favourable. The international food grain market is relatively becoming more volatile, due to climate change, rather than the vagaries of the domestic markets. A policy based on international trade, as against one based on self-sufficiency, will make food security vulnerable. It is time for the policy makers to wake up and bring the required area under irrigation along with maintaining a favourable economic environment. The rest will be taken care of by the hard-working farmers of the nation. The writer is professor of economics, PAU, Ludhiana |
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Defence Notes Contrary
to popular perception, the national flag was first unfurled over the Red Fort 60 years ago, on August 16 and not August 15th. An article from Fauji Akhbaar (now christened Sainik Samachar), which is also the oldest defence journal of the country, in its special issue dated August 30, 1947, talks about the surging crowds who broke through slender police cordons at the Constituent Assembly in the morning, and at Princes’ Park, adjoining the India Gate, in the evening... “The formal ceremonies, carefully rehearsed, had to be abandoned; in their place was a spontaneous exhibition of joy and happiness which made August 15 an unforgettable day. On both occasions the Governor-General, when he drove in his state coach, was acclaimed as no other Governor-General of India within living memory has been greeted. Cries of “Mountbatten Zindabad” and Lord Sahib Zindabad” were heard along with the major and persistent shouts hailing Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru and the Congress. In the afternoon at Princes’ Park there were strange scenes where Lord Mountbatten and Pandit Nehru were seen helping lost children and two Indian women caught in the stampede into the state coach and he himself sitting on the rolled-up hood of the coach. The Governor-General and Ministers of the Union of India were sworn in at Government House. The Chief Justice of the Federal court, Mr. Justice Kania, administered the oath to the Governor-General, who then swore in his Ministers. Although constitutionally Lord Mountbatten had ceased to be Viceroy of India, the Assembly treated his arrival to make the “King’s Speech” as if the chronological lag had not taken place and as if he was still Viceroy. He was given the seat of honour, the President having vacated his in favour of the distinguished visitor. After his speech and that from Dr Rajendra Prasad, Lord Mountbatten made a signal for the National Flag of India to be flown over the dome of the building. Standing up himself and making a tiny gesture towards the roof, Lord Mountbatten brought the House to their feet as the first of a salvo of 31 minute guns heralded the appearance of the flag to those outside. When Their Excellencies left the Assembly building, the cheers were even louder. Pandit Nehru had come out to the terrace to watch the departure of the Governor-General. Lord Mountbatten looked up and waved to the Prime Minister and saluted the flag now flying over a building. There was also a small mishap. Both Lord and Lady Mountbatten were on their feet when the coach suddenly began to move forward. They were thrown on to the seat. Laughing at their own discomfiture, they waved happily, acknowledging the continued demonstrations of affection. Over half a million people had gathered at Princes Park to watch the hoisting of the National Flag by the Governor-General. The parade ground had been enclosed with wire fencing, seats had been numbered and all arrangements made to receive guests. The crowd, however, took possession. It was their day.” |
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IS there any living benchmark against which the psychological and physiological stresses suffered by a soldier serving at Siachen can be gauged? A soldier must be justly and adequately compensated for the arduous nature of duty he performs rather than exploiting the periodic enhancement in the allowance for Siachen for politicking.