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Nobel is not noble
always Profile |
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Revamping
rural education On
Record Courts
tend to save marriages
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Profile Nevertheless, it was an apt occasion to honour India’s most accomplished and iconic nature film-maker as the nation observed World Wildlife Week (October 1 to 7). Pandey’s comment was: “I am humbled and honoured by the Rajiv Gandhi Award. It is heartening to see the awareness that has come about nature and environment, but this is just a beginning”. Significantly, his breathtaking visuals on the killing of whale sharks had persuaded the authorities to ban the hunting of exotic species and pitch-forked Pandey to fame internationally. Mike’s latest film is “Timeless Traveller — The Horseshoe Crab”. The 22-minute film brings out the laboratory research conducted on the species as also the crab in the natural environment. According to medical experts, the blood of the crab is white on extraction. It turns blue with exposure to air, showing the presence of copper used in the medical sphere against bacterial contamination in drugs, vaccines and in surgeries. The film shows that after the blood of the crab is drawn out, it is released back into the waters, and in 24 hours the blood is regenerated. Known to be the oldest living creature on earth, dating back to 562 million years, the crab is under severe threat. Pandey has been quoted as saying: “What existed along large parts of our Eastern coastline along the Sundarbans Delta and Orissa, has now got restricted to just one small pocket of Balasore and is rapidly declining”. The crab is also smuggled in truck loads. “Shore of Silence”, focusing on a large marine species, is, perhaps, Mike’s most celebration production, having won him the Green Oscar for the second time in the year 2000. This is the first-ever documentation of the slaughter and trade of whale sharks on the Indian coast. The whale shark is an innocent creature and can swim close to the shore thus falling easy prey to poachers armed with harpoons and spears. Known to be the largest fish on the planet, an adult shark can grow up to 45 feet in length. The film moved the central government to enact legislation banning the killing of whale sharks on Indian shores. There is a great demand for shark meat and fins in South East Asia and poaching on certain pockets continues. The oil from their livers is used to waterproof boats. International recognition came to Mike when his film — The Last Migration—Wild Elephant Capture in Sarguja (now is Chhattisgarh state) — won him his first Green Oscar as far back as 1994. He then became the first Asian to get this honour. Mike was born in Kenya and he began his tryst with camera when he was barely seven-year-old. His uncle presented him his first camera — a Kodak Browning Box — on his birthday. He was ten when he sailed from Africa to India. Throughout the long sea journey he was fascinated by huge creatures that swam along side the ship. This was his first inspiration for wildlife shooting which blossomed after 40 years. He became internationally renowned and India’s most accomplished nature
film-maker. |
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Wit of the week It’s amazing; the enormous investment
countries like India and China are pumping into innovation and technology. And
you have so many minds! In another 10 years, the axis of innovation could well
shift to the East. Noble prizes will be awarded to anyone anywhere, who comes
up with innovative research or discovery. Many of my PhD research students are
from India. — Borje Johansson, member, Nobel Prize Committee for
Physics — President Pervez Musharraf — Benazir
Bhutto Today, while the world is in conflict, ironically in conflict
with diversity, the biggest challenge is managing diversity. India, in
contrast, has always grown in diversity. Ours is a country that has given birth
to four religions as well as assimilated and absorbed various cultures. —
Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Lok Sabha MP When we Indians hit our pillows
at night, our dreams about India’s future are not just colourful, but
steroidal. All of us are finally beginning to believe that the sand castles we
build in our minds are not going to be simply washed away by the morning
tide. — Anand Mahindra, industrialist — Sachin Tendulkar India states that
anti-personnel landmines still continue to be integral to the country’s
defence preparedness, which ICBL feels is not a tenable position. If 155
countries, big and small, around the world can ensure their security without
the use of landmines, surely India too can. What is needed is a change in
mindset. India is now displaying increasing openness, flexibility and
involvement in this issue. — Sylvie Brigot, Executive Director of
International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) Sreesanth has
matured and will get better. Ek-aadh match ban lag jaayega, line pe aa jaayega. — Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Indian Captain
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Revamping rural education
Although
the existence of a number of educational institutions in Punjab is an indicator that the state is educationally developed but there exists a wide gap between education in the urban and rural areas. Education being provided in the rural areas is of very poor quality. There is lack of school infrastructure, many of the village schools lack buildings and if the building exists, then there are no teachers. Teachers prefer urban or semi-urban postings and are not inclined to work in the rural areas. There is hardly any supervisory body in existence and thus there is no accountability at any stage. The student strength in the government schools has fallen at a sharp rate. The dropout rate, particularly at the primary level, is very high. Poverty, lack of employment opportunities along with low educational levels of the parents are the few reasons for the high dropout rate in the rural schools. The systematic policy of withdrawing from the social sector, including education, by the government coupled with a decade of militancy has hit the education system hard in the rural areas. No serious and worthwhile effort has since been made to revive school education by the government in the rural areas either in the form of providing teachers or any physical infrastructure. Most of the government schools are in a shambles. The present government has shown some inclination to provide quality education in the rural areas through the much-publicised “Adarsh Schools” in each block of the state, which is a welcome step. However, this requires huge resources, which looking at the financial position of the state seems to be quite difficult to achieve for the whole state in the next 2-3 years. The aim of the government is to provide good and quality education to the rural masses at their close proximity. The same can be achieved by revamping the present system at far less financial liability. The government, instead of establishing new schools, should devote all its available resources and energy to restructure the existing school education system. This can be done by selecting one of the existing government senior secondary school in each block and facilities for imparting education in all streams — science both medical and non-medical, commerce, agriculture and humanities — be provided in these schools. It should fill all vacancies of teacher. These schools should be provided with the requisite infrastructure like libraries, laboratories and playgrounds. The government should equip these schools with buses/vans to ferry students from distant villages in the block. The provision of transport facility is very important, otherwise many children of far-off villages will not be in a position to make use of these schools. With a widespread network of roads in the rural areas it won’t be difficult to reach the school located at a distance of 4-5 km if proper transportation facility is provided. Even in the urban areas students travel 4-5 km to reach the school. These schools should provide education with English as the medium of instruction from class I. These schools should cater to at least 2,000 students of the block. In order to ensure that students from all villages in the block get education from these schools, five primary/elementary schools in each block should be selected as subsidiary to these schools. These schools can be named as modern government schools. Similar schools are run very successfully by the Chandigarh administration. The success of these schools will, however, depend not only on the physical infrastructure but also the way these schools are run by the government. There should be a committee of local people to oversee the day-to-day running of these school and these committees may be given the name of local school boards. The universities and colleges in the area can be even assigned the duty to oversee the functioning of these schools. In order to make these schools successful in providing quality education, whether Adarsh or government schools, efforts will have to be made to make teachers teach. No worthwhile purpose will be served if teachers do not take up their responsibilities seriously. Teachers should be given training in new techniques and methods of teaching at regular intervals. They should be convinced that teaching is not a job it is a mission and only then any meaningful purpose will be served. As majority of the parents in the rural areas are either semi-literate or illiterate, so these schools be made day boarding, as there will be nobody to solve problems of children at home. Children should be made to sit in the school after the school times, complete their homework and get their problems solved in the school itself. Another benefit of making these schools day boarding is that children can pursue sports seriously. This will help the state in identifying good players at the school level and they can be further groomed to become national/ International players. The size of the class should be restricted to 40-50 students. The other alternative is privatisation of school education, but it is not the solution for improving the education system in the rural areas, rather it will further accentuate the problem of illiteracy in the rural areas. What is required is the will of the government to provide quality education in the rural areas and for this it will have to convey that it means business and is dedicated to the purpose in order to make Punjab a literate state in the real sense of the word. Let each child be equipped with the weapon of education to fight all the socio-economic
evils. The writer is Professor, Punjab School of Economics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
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On Record While he has faced detention under laws such as the PSA early in his political life, Tarigami has also been targeted by militants. His real name is M Y Rathar. The surname Tarigami comes from his native place Tarigam. A two-time MLA, he is keen to promote secularism and democracy in the state. Excerpts: Q: How do you look at the functioning of the Congress-PDP government in the state? The functioning of the coalition government has been adversely affected by their mutual bickering and acts of oneupmanship. In the process, public interest and good governance have suffered. This has also created doubts in the public mind over the seriousness of the coalition partners to carry forward the Common Minimum Programme set by them. Often its functioning has conveyed an impression that the coalition was a divided house, specially when some of its leaders, including ministers, criticise the government while enjoying power. Q: Are there differences in the style of working of the coalition government headed by the Congress and that by the PDP? We are still going through the process of learning in J&K as to how the coalition should function. It is to be borne in mind that all governments, whether coalition or otherwise, have to observe the principle of joint responsibility of the cabinet in a parliamentary system of government. Trouble is bound to arise if this principle is not observed and one of the partners starts playing the role of opposition while being a party to the cabinet decisions. In this context, the style of working of the coalition government in the state has left much to be desired. Q: Has there been an improvement in the situation in Kashmir. Has infiltration from across the border come down? A lot of improvement is visible. This is testified even by the knowledgeable people and those who possess expertise in defence affairs, including the Army authorities. Q: How do you view the PDP demand for reduction of troops in the state? The reduction of troops in the state is not the demand of the PDP alone. A substantial section of political opinion in Kashmir supports the view that in the wake of the improvement in the security situation, the time has come when a re-assessment should be made on the quantum of forces to be deployed in the state. This is a serious issue and should not be taken up as a means to improve the electoral prospects of any one party. We believe that the issue needs to be taken up and debated properly taking the overall interests of the state and its people. Q: What are your party’s suggestions for finding a lasting solution? We firmly believe that the status quo cannot work, especially after endless bloodshed in J&K. We believe that the restoration of Article 370 to its original position should be the first step. This should be followed by the decentralisation of power and devolution of authority. The elected regional and sub-regional fora need to be empowered to take decisions concerning their areas of jurisdiction without any interference. For this, appropriate changes and amendments need to be introduced in the Constitution. We stand for converting J&K into a genuine federation of its constituent regions, a unit of the union and a co-federal unit vis-a-vis the other parts of Kashmir. Q: How do you look at the demand for separate regional councils in Jammu and Kashmir? Not only the regional councils should be there, but in addition to the state and the region, power (both political and financial) should trickle down to the elected forum at the district, block and village levels on the same pattern. At all these levels, the elected fora should be empowered to raise resources, allocate funds and take decisions in respect of their areas of jurisdiction. There should be an elected head of the government, the Prime Minister and the Legislative Assembly for the state of J&K, governed by the Constitution which will look after the interests of the entire
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Courts tend to save marriages During the past couple of decades, there has been an incredible increase in divorce phenomenon in India. It seems to be more pronounced in cosmopolitan cities like Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. However, this is now catching up even in smaller cities and towns. Kerala the most literate state in India, has earned the dubious distinction of registering a 300 per cent rise in divorce cases per year! What does this signify? Does it mean that marriage as a social institution is losing fast its primordial position and that the courts of law seem to be recognising this fact by granting divorce decrees rather easily? In our view, such a notion is somewhat misplaced. In the matrimonial conflict situations at least one thing is still clear: we do not as yet seem to enter matrimony with a divorce-design. Such a position is reinforced on two counts. One, leaving aside the exceptional cases of fraudulent marriages that fall within the realm of criminal law and not matrimonial law, marriages are invariably ‘solemnised’ with full participation of members of the community to which both parties belong. Often huge expenditure is incurred on the solemnisation of marriage, as if, it is an investment to ensure that the couple may live happily forever afterwards! Two, as yet we have not been able to evolve any viable arrangement that could be a legitimate substitute for the institution of marriage providing the requisite sanctity and stability to human relation, which is a sine quo non for their own development and the healthy growth of children. It is in this backdrop, the legislative intent manifested in clause (2) of Section 23 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, needs to be appreciated. This clause mandates that, before, proceeding to grant any matrimonial relief under the Act, “it shall be the duty of the court in the first instance, in every case, where it is possible so to do consistently with the nature and circumstances of the case, to make every endeavour to bring about reconciliation between the parties.” In the exploration of this legislative intent, a bold initiative taken by the Punjab and Haryana High Court has come up before the Supreme Court in the case of Jagraj Singh v. Birpal Kaur (2007). The fact matrix of the case reveals that the parties were married in the year 1993. The following year a son was born to them who did not survive. In the meanwhile, the husband left for Brunei, Darussalam, and the wife joined him there. However, not finding any gainful employment even in the capacity of a pharmacist (she being a holder of M.B.B.S. degree), she returned to India and started living with her parents. Relations between the two became strained in due course of time and in 2002 she petitioned for divorce on grounds of desertion and cruelty under the relevant provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 (HMA). The District Judge dismissed her petition. She appealed before the High Court, where the husband was represented through the Special Power of Attorney (SPA). Being acutely aware of its bounden duty under Section 23(2) of the HMA, the High Court directed the husband to appear before it in person. On the stipulated date, the wife was present, but the husband was conspicuous by his absence. The SPA assured the court that “the husband would positively remain present in the court on the next date of hearing.” However, when the husband did not show up at the twice subsequently adjourned hearings, the peeved judges of the High Court passed the non-bailable warrants “to be executed through the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India” on the address given by the husband’s SPA in a foreign country. This unprecedented order of the High Court was challenged before the Supreme Court by the SPA, contending that “the personal appearance of the party to the proceedings is not mandatory” and that the court has no jurisdiction to issue non-bailable warrant under the HMA. This led the apex court to examine for the first time the ambit of the court’s duty under Section 23(2) of the HMA. Emphasising the need for maintaining the institution of marriage, C.K. Thakker, J. (for himself and Lokeshwar Singh Panta, J.) has discerned that “conjugal rights are not merely creature of statute but inherent in the very institution of marriage,” the matrimonial disputes should not be allowed to be driven to a “bitter legal finish,” every possible effort must be made so as to restore the conjugal home and bring back harmony between the husband and wife,” and the court must endeavour by directly involving the parties in such a manner so that “possible irritations and misapprehensions should not be allowed to vitiate the (conjugal) atmosphere.” Hence, the approach of a court of law in matrimonial matters should be “much more constructive, affirmative and productive rather than abstract, theoretical or doctrinaire.” It is with this objective the court must make attempt to bring about reconciliation “irrespective of the stage” of the case under Section 23(2). The court “should not give up the effort of reconciliation merely on the ground that there is no chance for reconciliation,” or one party or the other says that there is no possibility of living together. The apex court does recognise the fact that living together is highly “personal to the parties.” Nevertheless, in its attempt to rehabilitate the couple the court is obliged to determine the cause of conflict, and this could not be done without having first-hand interaction with the couple concerned. This indeed is the basis for issuing non-bailable warrant to the recalcitrant husband for ensuring his presence in the instant
case. The writer is former Professor and Chairman, Department of Laws, Panjab University.
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Sixty
The
"It seems a little strange to me that the presidential
election involves outgoing assemblies. I have it in my mind that in case I get
elected I would like to look into maybe getting a vote of confidence from the
new assemblies".
"General
Musharraf has said he wants national reconciliation. We want that too. The
nation should move from the past to a better future."
I began playing
cricket because everyone around was into cricket. They did play other sports in
our neighbourhood, badminton and hockey, volleyball; football was really
popular when Mumbai’s monsoon was on, we would dance in the rain as we played
the beautiful game, but yet, somehow, it never was quite cricket. Cricket was
special.
Among the prominent leaders of the Left in Jammu and Kashmir is, M.Y. Tarigami, who represents Kulgam in the state assembly. He is a member of the Central Committee of the CPM and secretary of the party in Jammu and Kashmir.