 |
|
Putin’s protege Voice of reason |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Teen charge
Misuse of asmita card
Old is gold
Struggle for human rights Urbanisation, caste factors change with Haryana delimitation Delhi Durbar
|
Putin’s protege THE victory of Russia’s first Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Sunday’s presidential election shows the popularity of outgoing President Vladimir Putin. He made a smooth sailing because of being a nominee of Mr Putin, who is credited with having brought Russia to a position from where it has started reasserting itself as a global power. The Russian economy, which was not doing well when Mr Putin took over as President eight year ago, has been growing at 7 per cent for some time. There is clearly visible improvement in the people’s standards of living. Thus, it was sufficient for Mr Medvedev to have been known as Mr Putin’s choice to trounce his opponents. Mr Medvedev’s elevation as President is being interpreted as the continuation of Mr Putin’s rule. The two had reached an agreement before the elections under which Mr Putin would become the prime minister and he the president of the country. It goes without saying that under the scheme of things the two envisage, Mr Putin will call the shots. The understanding the two had reached helped in pushing up Mr Medvedev’s rating to an unassailable level. Most Russians want continuity in the policies of the government. But Mr Medvedev, in his early forties, has the reputation of being a moderate. This is contrary to the image of Mr Putin, who has been ruthless in dealing with the opposition. Mr Putin had barred many parties from contesting the presidential election. He also ensured that the state-owned television network gave coverage to the election campaign of only his own nominee. By any chance if the two leaders begin to pull in different directions in future, it will mean real trouble for Mr Putin. After all, Mr Medvedev will be the man controlling the levers of power. Moreover, every ruler has his own style of functioning. A protégé in power may not always listen to his former mentor. The West may be watching the goings-on in Russia in the coming days with greater interest because of their tense relations during Mr Putin’s two terms as President.
|
|
Voice of reason INDIA has been saying all along that its relations with Pakistan should not be held hostage to the Kashmir issue. Now for the first time, there has been some positive resonance from across the border. Asif Ali Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party, which is set to assume office in the country, said in a TV interview on Saturday that he is ready to set aside the Kashmir issue and focus on other aspects for improving relations with India. That is a dramatic turnaround if ever there was one and has come as a big surprise — pleasant or unpleasant depends on which side of the political fence one is. What matters is that if Mr Zardari can take his party and that of Mr Nawaz Sharif along, this new-found wisdom can change the fortune of the subcontinent. Leave alone hardcore sections in other groupings, there may be tremors in his own party as well. After all, its late founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto himself had thundered that he wanted to fight with India for one thousand years. Ironically, the strongest reaction has been coming from Kashmir where separatist leaders are venting their spleen wholesale. Whether it is Hurriyat Chairman Syed Ali Geelani or People’s Conference Chairman Sajjad Ghani Lone, they are all frothing at the mouth. The former particularly sees a conspiracy in the statement. But whatever their reaction, the fact remains that they draw their sustenance from across the border and if the spoon-feeding actually stops, they will have no option but to fall in line. Mr Zardari’s statesmanlike announcement has apparently drawn on similar sagacity shown by India and China in putting the border issue on the backburner and make progress in all other areas. By adopting a similar approach, India and Pakistan can benefit all the more. With Kashmir out of the way for the time being, they have little left to fight over. They can make substantial progress on trade and other related issues. Here is hoping that Mr Zardari’s call is picked up by some other politicians also in Pakistan, particularly his remark that “as it is, it is going to be a no-border world in the end”.
|
|
Teen charge EVEN as a young team picked for the ODIs in Australia are doing well, India’s under-19 team has trumped South Africa in a close final to win the U-19 world championships. The Indian team, led by captain Virat Kohli, had beaten South Africa earlier in the run-up to the finals. In fact, they have not lost a game during the competition, and in the last two U-19 world cups, they have lost just once, in the low-scoring final to Pakistan in 2006. Of course, in the ODI triumph against Australia in the first final, it took a brilliant hundred from veteran Sachin Tendulkar to finally make it home; but no one can dispute that the emphasis on youth in the team has paid off handsomely. Bowlers like Praveen Kumar and batsman Rohit Sharma made crucial contributions. The future of Indian cricket does, therefore, look bright. Chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar and Board of Control for Cricket in India Sharad Pawar were quick to express their pleasure. Cash awards of Rs 15 lakh per player and a victory parade reminiscent of the one undertaken by M.S. Dhoni’s victorious Twenty-20 team have been announced. But it is possible to get too happy, as a notional bench strength can vanish overnight, in the absence of a mechanism to find and nurture new players. The BCCI is still not doing enough in this regard. And then there are the temptations of big money in the newly launched ICL league. Many of the U-19 boys will be playing, distributed across the Delhi, Chennai, Jaipur, Bangalore, Mumbai, Mohali and Kolkata teams. While they need not be denied their ICL limelight and some big bucks to boot, it would be good if they, their mentors, and indeed the BCCI itself, collectively ensure that precious and still vulnerable talent does not get frittered away. We need to create future icons and the time to build a strong foundation is now. |
|
Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself/ Are much condemned to have an itching palm. — William Shakespeare
|
Misuse of asmita card
Mr
Narendra Modi won the Gujarat elections by harping on asmita (self-respect). He succeeded in creating an atmosphere verging on paranoia in which any reference to the 2002 riots amounted to besmirching Gujarat’s image. Similarly, Mr Raj Thackeray is trying to project himself as the preserver of Marathi identity against the putative onslaught by other Indians. Anyone among the latter who wants to live safely in Maharashtra must imbibe Marathi culture and language. A fluency in the local language is advisable to fend off attacks by pretending to be a “son of the soil”. Mr Raj Thackeray did not invent this concept of outsiders accepting the dominance of the local norms and traditions, which rules out Chhat Puja for Biharis and, presumably, Durga Puja for Bengalis. A major plank of the Hindutva brotherhood’s politics is to coerce the minorities to bow to the primacy of what the saffron brigade regards as Hindu culture. Hence, the slogan for the BJP’s and the Sangh parivar’s idea of cultural nationalism is one nation, one people, one culture. Self-respect was also the driving force for OBC politics in the Hindi heartland, with Mr Lalu Yadav, among others, claiming the credit for politically empowering the Yadavs and Other Backward Castes so that they no longer felt beholden to the upper castes either socially or in the political field. The same parochial idea constituted the basis of the DMK’s and Telugu Desam’s politics in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh although, mercifully, no outsiders were physically targeted in these two states. Only in Tamil Nadu, the upper castes felt it wiser to look for greener pastures elsewhere, mainly in the US. What is noteworthy, however, about this politics of sub-nationalism is that although Mr Modi, the Thackeray family and Mr Lalu Yadav may be lauded by sections of people in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Bihar, they hardly arouse any sense of respect among the people of the other states. Instead, while Mr Modi is widely regarded as a psychopath, the Thackerays seem to fit Mario Puzo’s portrayal of the family of Godfather, as Ram Gopal Verma’s Hindi film, Sarkar, also conveys. And Mr Lalu Yadav is mostly seen in urban India as a rustic villager, notwithstanding his latter-day success as Railway Minister. It is not impossible that the very fact that these provincial leaders are derided outside their states makes them all the more aggressive in the pursuit of their insular politics. And given the increasing role of anti-social elements in the various parties, including those of the Left as the Nandigram episode showed, it is seemingly not very difficult for these leaders to secure a measure of ostensible support for their chauvinistic cause. As a result, it becomes difficult to ascertain the real popularity of these rabble-rousers since their cadres will ensure that most of the Gujaratis and Marathis who are unhappy with their dubious tactics remain silent. But even as these leaders consolidate their hold on their states with a mixture of demagoguery and street-level violence, the sensitive people among the locals cannot but feel disheartened that their provinces, some of them with a long and proud history, gradually come to be identified with these politicians with their less than shining reputations. It is obvious enough that Mr Modi’s success has made most Indians of other states look upon the Gujaratis in general as communal-minded when it is difficult to believe that the percentage of such people is any larger in Gujarat than in the other states. The besmirching of the state’s image is patent enough to those who remember Gujarat for being the birthplace of Gandhi. Similarly, the impact of the reputation of the Thackeray family on Maharashtra’s prestige hasn’t been salutary. Ever since this family burst on the state’s scene with acts of violence against the South Indians in the mid-1960s, the Maharashtra of Shivaji, Tilak and Gokhale has unfortunately been associated with the lumpens of the Sena in the public mind rather than with the stalwarts of the earlier age. It goes without saying that the evident regression hasn’t brought it glory. Bihar, too, whose citizens in Maharashtra are currently bearing the wrath of Mr Bal Thackeray’s and Mr Raj Thackeray’s Senas, has undergone a similar decline. Known for widely admired figures like Munshi Premchand, Rajendra Prasad and Jayaprakash Narayan, this former crucible of the Mauryan empire has now become a byword for poverty and backwardness, a “contribution” of the state’s myopic political leadership of the recent past. Blaming the politicians, however, is an easy way out. Instead, the responsibility for the degeneration has to be borne to a large extent by civil society, and particularly the intelligentsia. Historically, it is these groups, belonging to the middle class, which have played a seminal role in moulding the opinion of the ordinary people so as to ensure that they are not misled by cynical demagogues peddling a sectarian line. As is known, it is the quiescence of the middle class in the Islamic countries which is held responsible for the prevalence of religious extremism. The same applies to Gujarat and Maharashtra. In the first, it is patent enough that no outrage was felt or expressed during the two months in 2002 when the riots raged to warn the Modi administration against acting recklessly and harming the state’s name. In Maharashtra at least, concerned citizens, including a few well-known names, marched to Raj Bhavan during the 1992-93 outbreak to express their unhappiness over the Sudhakar Naik government’s curious apathy. But there has been no public condemnation in Gujarat of the fact that nearly 2,000 of the riot cases have had to be reopened and that some of the more serious ones tried outside the state, thereby underlining the failure of not only the administration but also of the local judiciary. It is such abject abdication of responsibility by civic society which enables the Modis and the Thackerays to strut about as if they have not only nothing to be ashamed of, but are also, in fact, doing a heroic job. Yet, it is not only the reputation of their states which suffers, but the country also faces the threat of balkanisation, of which the Supreme Court has warned. But even if the country does not experience such a dismal fate, the states themselves will suffer a near-permanent tarnishing of their name. Mr Modi seems to have understood this danger, which is why he has switched from minority-bashing to development even if there has been no change of heart. But the Thackerays seem oblivious of the harm they are inflicting on Mumbai’s and Maharashtra’s industries, including Bollywood, by their xenophobia. In an earlier period, a state’s self-esteem was increased by the number of celebrities it produced. Bengal was proud of Rabindranath Tagore and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and later of Satyajit Ray, Tamil Nadu of C. V.Raman, Srinivas Ramanujan and S.Radhakrishnan, Maharashtra of Jotiba Phule, M.G.Ranade and Pandita Ramabai and later of Vijay Tendulkar - and now Sachin Tendulkar. It isn’t only individuals, however talented, who define a state. Gujarat has always been known for commercial enterprise, which took its people all over the world, while Bihar in the 1960s was said to be one of the best administered states. Uttar Pradesh was known for the cultured behaviour of its elite and the fame of Allahabad University, and Madhya Pradesh for the art of Bastar. It is for the intelligentsia to remember and reiterate what makes a state respected. Only then will the pettiness of its frogs-in-the-well politicians be
exposed.
|
Old is gold
WE have to see this movie today”, said by my better half in a tone which implied non-cooperation if the “request” was not heeded. This made me book seats in the newest multiplex in Ludhiana for the latest Akbar film. The movie started in the familiar rich baritone and then it was a spell-binding extravaganza of fantastic sets, excellent costumes, authentic dialogue and good acting. The intriguing tale of the Mughal emperor who first has to win the heart of his Rajput wife after their marriage, which was based on everything but love, is beautifully and artistically woven in the backdrop of battles, attempted assassination and court intrigues. Remembering my history, I said, “Hey — she was Akbar’s third wife — where are they?” only to be shushed by all the people around me. So, I decided to let history take a backseat and just enjoy the movie. As a simple love story between a man called Akbar and a woman called Jodhaa who come together in spite of their differences of religion, the movie scores very well. The lead pair did justice to their roles and complemented each other very well. My better half cried through some of the emotional scenes. There are some great moments in the film. The taming of the wild elephant, the sword fight between the pair who engage in verbal sparring as well. Akbar’s repartee — “Hey you know I am your husband” — when she almost decapitates him, is a gem. The way the queen makes the emperor take cold showers is quite quaint. The surreal Sufi dervish dance full of melody and rhythm when Akbar walks into the group in a trance-like state is mesmerising — I felt like joining in myself! Sonu Sood, who plays Jodhaa’s cousin Sujamal, has an eery resemblance to a young Amitabh Bachchan. One cannot but help in comparing it to the magnum opus “Mughal-e-Azam” released in 1960 — when the two lead actors of the current movie were not even born — since both deal with love and court intrigue in the Mughal era. I went down memory lane as I had seen the film at a very impressionable age and it had in no small way contributed to making me the diehard romantic that I am. The new film does fall flat and is nowhere near the old one. The seductive song and dance ensemble, including the famous dance sequence of the song — “Jab pyar kiya to darna kya” — is firmly embedded in the mind and heart of all those who have seen the film. As against this, no song of Akbar, including the title song featuring 1,000 dancers, remains in the mind the moment one steps out of the theatre. The most sensitively portrayed erotic scene ever on the Indian screen as Dilip Kumar tickles the impassioned face of Madhubala with a white feather puts most of today’s slam-bang in your face scenes to shame. With a nostalgic sigh, one realises that, indeed, Old is Gold!n
|
Struggle for human rights Arbour, 61, declined to confirm whether she will leave the post of UN high commissioner for human rights. But in an interview last Friday, she said the U.S.-led counterterrorism struggle has set back the cause of human rights by “decades” and has exacerbated a “profound divide” between the United States, its Western allies and the developing world. “The war on terror has inflicted a very serious setback for the international human rights agenda,” she said. Kristen Silverberg, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for international organisation affairs, said it is “wrongheaded to suggest” the war on terrorism is the critical human rights issue of the times. “We would like to see the high commissioner focus more of her attention and criticism on totalitarian and abusive governments,” she said. Arbour, a former UN prosecutor of war crimes who secured the indictment of the late Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, said bedrock principles once taken for granted – including the prohibition against torture – have been eroded, and that what she considers as Washington’s excesses have undercut her efforts to crusade for human rights, particularly in places where political repression is greatest. Human rights advocates largely praised Arbour, a former Canadian Supreme Court justice, as a tough, principled lawyer who has offered the United Nations’ most forceful critique of the United States’ use of harsh interrogation techniques and the transfer of suspects to countries where they stand a chance of being tortured. They note that she has done more to expand the presence of UN rights monitors around the world, making reports on abuses from Baghdad to Katmandu routine. But she has also been a lightning rod for American conservatives, including the former U.S. envoy to the United Nations, John R. Bolton, who scolded her in 2005 for using Human Rights Day to criticise U.S. anti-terrorism tactics instead of highlighting rights abuses by countries such as Burma, Cuba and Zimbabwe. Even supporters say she has trod lightly over abuses by some of the most powerful UN members, including China and Russia, leaving the United Nations increasingly silent on one of the world’s most pressing human rights issues. Silverberg said the Bush administration was disappointed that Arbour had not spoken more critically of human rights abuses in Iran during a recent trip there, and accused her of making a “modestly approving statement about progress in human rights in Cuba, which is ludicrous.” She also faulted Arbour for speaking “favorably” about an Arab declaration on human rights that was biased against Israel. “We would like to see a much stronger approach,” she said. Arbour acknowledged that she has taken a more diplomatic approach to promoting human rights in places such as China and Russia, saying that she has chosen a strategy of private engagement “that is likely to yield some positive results” over one that “would make me and a lot of others feel good.” She said that as a UN official she is constrained by the reality of the organisation’s power centers, including China, Russia and the Group of 77, a bloc of more than 130 developing countries. In that context, she said, “naming and shaming is a losers game.” Arbour’s departure, first reported on Wednesday by Reuters, comes at a time when critics are questioning the United Nations’ reputation as a moral authority. A new UN Human Rights Council, established by member governments two years ago to reinvigorate the organisation’s human rights efforts, has ended up undermining them. The council, which includes some of the world’s worst human rights abusers, has scaled back scrutiny of abuses in countries such as Belarus and Cuba. It has devoted most of its energy to castigating Israel. The US has declined to join the council, although it provides financial support. But Arbour took issue with congressional critics, particularly Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.), the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who implied that Arbour was responsible for the council’s failing and in a statement Thursday said Arbour had a record of “condemning democracies and defending tyrants.” Arbour said the statement revealed “ignorance” of the United Nations’ inner workings. “There is nothing I could have done,” to ensure continued scrutiny over Cuba and Belarus, she said. “The Human Rights Council speaks for itself.” Arbour has told friends that she is leaving to spend more time with her family, and also to avoid a bitter political battle over a major anti-racism summit next year in Durban, South Africa. The United States, along with Israel and Canada, has already announced it will boycott the event, saying it believes it will be a forum for unwarranted criticism of Israel. Arbour’s influence in the United Nations has diminished since the departure of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who made human rights a major priority of his tenure and frequently relied on her counsel on a range of issues. She has often seemed out of step with his successor, Ban Ki-moon, who views public diplomacy on human rights as grandstanding. By arrangement with
LA Times-Washington Post
|
|
Urbanisation, caste factors change with Haryana delimitation The
recent delimitation of parliamentary constituencies of Haryana has brought about certain appreciable changes in most of them. This may have significant implications for various social formations in state politics – because of the salience of the caste factor in it. The Ambala (Reserved parliamentary constituency), which already included the predominantly urban segments of Panchkula, Ambala City, Ambala Cantt and Jagadhari, has become all the more urbanised as a result of including Yamunangar. Moreover, it will increase the proportion of Punjabis who are dominant in it. The Kurukshetra parliamentary constituency will become more ruralised as a result of exclusion of Yamunanagar and the inclusion of the rural segment of Kalayat. This would lead to a corresponding increase in the proportion of the Jats on the one hand and a considerable reduction in that of the Punjabis on the other. The Sirsa (Reserved parliamentary constituency), will become less ruralised due to the addition of semi-urban Narwana. While this would increase the proportion of the Jats and the Banias, it would reduce that of the Punjabis and the Sikhs. The Hisar parliamentary constituency will be more ruralised due to the exclusion of semi-urban Jind – despite the inclusion of semi-urban Hansi – because of the addition of rural segments of Adampur and Bawani Khera. This is because the former are Jat-dominated, despite the sizeable presence of the Bisnois in Adampur. The Sonipat parliamentary constituency remains predominantly rural and Jat-dominated despite the addition of semi-urban Jind to it. However, the proportion of urban voters as well as that of the Punjabis and Banias is likely to increase in it due to the nature of the demography of the Jind segment. While the Rohtak parliamentary constituency remains predominantly rural and Jat-dominated, as its boundaries remain unchanged, the Karnal parliamentary constituency will continue with its semi-urban character with dominance of none, but salience of the Punjabis, the Jats, the Sikhs, the Rors and Gujjars. This has not been tinkered with by the delimitation despite the changes in the composition of its assembly segments. The Faridabad parliamentary constituency has undergone a qualitative change as a result of the exclusion of the Meo-dominated rural segments of Nuh, Firozepur Jhirka and Punhana from it. It has become more urbanised because of the retention of Faridabad and Ballabhgarh in it, and also Jat-dominated, owing to numerical strength of the Jats in Bawal, Hathin and Ballabhgarh. The proportion of Gujjars is also bound to increase with the inclusion of Badkhal, Prithla and Palwal segments, where they are sizable in strength. The Meos, however, remain significant in its Hathin segment. The old parliamentary constituencies of Bhiwani and Mahendergarh have been merged by excluding Hansi, Adampur and Bawani Khera from the Bhiwani and Gurgaon, Sohna, Pataudi, Rewari and Bawal from the Mahendergarh.Now, neither the Ahirs nor the Jats will have dominance in this predominantly rural constituency. The newly created parliamentary constituency of Gurgaon will be predominantly rural not withstanding the presence of predominantly urban Gurgaon and semi-urban Rewari segments in it. It will have three Ahir-dominated segments of Pataudi, Bawal and Rewari and three Meo-dominated segments of Nuh, Firozepur-Jhirka and Punhana. Although the Hindus will be quite numerous, the Muslims (Meos) will also have an expressive presence in it. The above analysis shows that the delimitation of the parliamentary constituencies in Haryana has significant implications for the pattern of caste-cleavages and political alignments. This may lead to new alignments among the various castes which may, in turn, result in a new type of social polarisation in the new parliamentary constituencies. It can be safely said that in the process, the Ahirs and the Meos have been hit hard. The Ahirs stand fragmented in the Gurgaon and Bhiwani-Mahendergarh parliamentary constituencies and likewise, the Meos stand split up in the Gurgaon and Faridabad parliamentary constituencies. The changes are likely to create difficulties for some of the sitting MPs. Rao Inderjeet Singh, Union Minister of State for Defense production will have to face a tough challenge in Bhiwani-Mahendergarh parliamentary constituency because of the likelihood of the polarisation of Ahir and Jat voters in it. Furthermore, the Jat leaders of Bhiwani districts may also stake a claim for the Congress-(I) ticket in this parliamentary constituency where they are dominant in four segments. The writer is a Consultant, HIRD, Nilokheri
|
|
Delhi Durbar Before the UPA government submitted its affidavit on Ram Setu to the Supreme Court last week, it held a series of brainstorming sessions to decide on the ticklish issue. The senior ministers involved in the discussion, including Ambika Soni and T.R.Baalu, were unable to forge a consensus and it was eventually left to science and technology minister Kapil Sibal, called in for his legal expertise, to sort out matters. Sibal is learnt to have told his Cabinet colleagues that the government should let the court decide whether or not Ram Setu was actually used by Lord Ram to go across to Lanka as it would not be correct for a secular government to comment on what is essentially a “matter of faith”. Sibal argued that any move by the government to take a view on this would jeopardise its position in the Ram Janambhoomi case where the Centre has sought the apex court’s intervention in determining the birthplace of Lord Ram. This argument met wth immediate all-round approval and, for a change, his bete noire Ambika Soni also agreed with Sibal. Unsympathetic Home Minister Shivraj Patil has acquired a reputation for driving his colleagues to exasperation. This is exactly what happened when a delegation of Karnataka MPs called on him recently to draw his attention to the growing Naxal problem in the state. Instead of expressing his concern or promising help, the minister chided them for unnecessarily bringing up this issue. In fact, he insisted that they refrain from talking about it in future as it would only encourage the Naxals and also stop the inflow of investments to the state. Vintage safari After the famous Palace on Wheels became a hit with foreign tourists, the latest craze to sweep them off their feet is the vintage car safari introduced recently in the Capital. Started by a private entrepreneur, it is not unusual to spot groups of visitors being ferried around Delhi’s main tourists spots in all kinds of vintage cars driven by drivers dressed in traditional Rajasthani attire. Needless to say, a ride in a vintage car safari comes at a price but judging by its popularity, there are enough takers for this joyride. Tonga on the move Here’s another instance of how the advent of technology, especially mobile phones, has changed the lives of the comman man in India. On a recent trip to Ajmer, a colleague was commuting from the famous Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti’s dargah to his hotel in a tonga when the tongawala’s mobile phone started to buzz. Soon after, the tonga actually started to fly. It was only after reaching the hotel did he realise that the call was from the bus driver who had just brought in a large group of foreign tourists to the hotel and the phone call was to alert the tongawala about the possibility of getting new business. Contributed by Anita Katyal and Girja Shankar Kaura
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
UNITED NATIONS – Louise Arbour, the top UN human rights official, will step down on June 30, according to sources close to her, ending a four-year term that has been highlighted by confrontation with the Bush administration over the Iraq war, the death penalty and US efforts against terrorism.