 |
|
OPEC whimper Fixed tenure must |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Devil in the detail
Few opt for varsity teaching
Madam Shakespeare
Salvation and sexuality Changing role of the tank in modern warfare Delhi Durbar
|
OPEC whimper THE only small gain to emerge from the one-day oil summit at Jeddah was that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait agreed to raise production, which, however, may be insufficient to calm the raging oil markets. Otherwise, the unusual gathering of oil producers, consumers and company executives that talked of cooperation on Sunday was sharply divided over what had led to the doubling of the oil prices during the past one year. The producers’ cartel, OPEC, that supplies 40 per cent of the world’s crude oil, blamed speculators. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia derided them as “despicable”. But the summit made no demand on the US to regulate the oil-futures market. A day after the summit, the crude price went up in the international market. Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, too, felt that the oil price is disconnected from the fundamentals of demand and supply and wanted the producers and consumers to wrest control from the traders by agreeing to a price band. There were few takers for his proposal. He had earlier suggested an Asian buyers’ cartel. This, too, has not materialised. The other viewpoint, voiced by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, insists that more than speculative pressures it is the surging demand from the developing countries like China and India, which has been driving up the oil prices. China, he says, will build 1,000 new cities and 100 more airports and its number of car-owners will rise from 37 million to 100 million. While the demand is definitely on the rise, the supplies have remained almost stagnant. Rather, there is a fall in oil production in Nigeria (due to militant strikes), Mexico and Norway. There is no way out of the crisis except to cut demand at the individual and country levels. The slowdown in the US and Asia is expected to cool demand. Nuclear and renewable sources of energy are regaining global attention. Part of the windfall profits that some countries and companies have made from oil should be channelled to boost green technologies. More taxes on oil guzzlers and relief for cheaper and non-polluting means of transportation are required. Mass transportation needs an urgent upgrade.
|
|
Fixed tenure
must FREQUENT
transfer of chief secretaries has affected the administration in many states.
It is common knowledge that they continue only at the chief ministers’ whim.
Himachal Pradesh has a new incumbent in Ms Asha Swaroop. She is expected to
continue in her present assignment until her superannuation in 2010. But the
question remains — will she have a full innings? Her predecessor, Mr Ravi Dhingra, occupied the post only for a year. He may have proceeded on deputation to the Centre, but there was no plausible reason for his mid-term transfer. How can chief secretaries lead their teams effectively and ensure continuity in administration if they are changed frequently? The chief minister may have the right to select the chief secretary, but the problem is that he is peremptorily shunted out in the absence of a fixed tenure. Not long ago, Mr A.N. Vidyarthi had a stint for six months in Himachal Pradesh. The problem is endemic in other states too. In 2003, Mr Rajan Kashyap had just a three-month stint in Punjab. After taking charge as chief minister in March 2007, Mr Parkash Singh Badal shifted Mr K.R. Lakhanpal and brought in Mr Ramesh Inder Singh who was on deputation to the Centre. Jharkhand had six chief secretaries in five years. Even the 20-month period that Mr Dharam Vir has in Haryana prior to retirement won’t be enough for a chief secretary to play a significant role in policy planning and administration. When the cabinet secretary, Union home secretary, defence secretary and the IB and RAW chiefs have a two-year tenure, why not replicate the same for the chief secretaries? For the latter’s appointment, the mechanism similar to the one suggested by the National Police Commission for the DGPs should be adopted. The chief secretary is the guardian of the civil services in the state, preserving their integrity, neutrality and responsiveness. He plays a critical role in the design and improvement of the administrative system for good governance. Apart from human resource development, he has to install and activate appropriate long-term planning, implementation and evaluation systems. These are roles that are too important to be neglected or bungled by too frequent transfers.
|
|
Devil in the detail WHEN Mr Gyanendra Shah, the former king of Nepal, made his final departure from the Narayanhity Palace in Kathmandu, among the things he did not hand over to the government is the famed snake throne. Mr Shah did part with the crown, sceptre and a number of other precious items of which the government took possession, since the country is now a republic. When there is no place for a king, where is the need for him to hang on to his royal trappings, was the logic. Yet an important item that the ex-king did not part with is the Shah dynasty’s throne. Since Mr Shah was moving out of the Narayanhity palace, he was dispossessed of the symbols of royalty on the premises. State and public attention also turned to Nagarjuna Palace, the summer residence of the royal family, to which Mr Shah and family were moving until they found a permanent residence befitting his new status as a citizen. In the process, little attention was paid to the absence of the throne. It appears that the snake throne is in the Basantapur Palace, which is now an archaeological space, along with numerous other royal treasures. Except that the throne is in a room under lock and key, unlike the regal memorabilia, which are open for public viewing. The key to the room is with a retired palace official. As the Nepalese government moves to take custody of the snake throne, it might also act to claim two other thrones of the Shah dynasty, which remain to be officially handed over. There must be a number of such details that require to be attended to. After all, the devil is in the detail.
|
|
The world is divided into people who do things — and people who get the credit. — Dwight Morrow
|
|
Corrections and clarifications
Despite our earnest endeavour to keep The Tribune error-free, some errors do creep in at times. We are always eager to correct them. We request our readers to write or e-mail to us whenever they find any error. We will carry corrections and clarifications, wherever necessary, every Tuesday. Readers in such cases can write to Mr Amar Chandel, Deputy Editor, The Tribune, Chandigarh, with the words “Corrections” on the envelope. His e-mail ID is:
amarchandel@tribunemail.com. H.K. Dua
|
||
Few opt for varsity teaching IN a market system, the allocation of labour, including those highly skilled, takes place through market rules. The thumb rule followed is the principle of relative wages and salaries. An occupation which gives best rewards in terms of high wages and salaries is able to attract the best quality of labour, both skilled and highly skilled. The reverse is equally true: occupations providing low wages and salaries are not able to attract best human resources. Talented students look at teaching as a low-paid profession. The same is the case with professions like defence services. It is not surprising that a large proportion of vacancies remain unfilled for want of qualified candidates. Prof A. Vaidyanathan, Chairman of the Fourth Review Committee of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), has remarked very aptly: “Even the best university departments are unable to attract high quality faculty.” Professor Vaidyanathan’s remark is applicable equally for science, management and medical teachers. A recent report from the UGC brings out that more than 20 per cent vacancies in the Central universities are lying unfilled due to the lack of talented teachers. Though a large number of candidates are qualified in terms of the minimum qualification requirements, they are not found fit by selection committees for the job. The proportion of vacant posts in the state universities is much larger. The shortage of teachers is expected to be more acute in the near future. The National Knowledge Commission has recommended the setting up of 1500 new universities nation-wide to enable India to attain a gross enrolment ratio in higher education to at least 15 per cent by 2015. The Eleventh Five-Year Plan Working Group on Higher Education has fixed the target of 15 per cent enrolment ratio to be achieved by 2012, the terminal year of the Plan. Realising the difficulty of achieving this target, India Vision 2020 (Planning Commission, 2002) suggested a “near doubling of investment in education as a soundest policy.” This seems a rational policy perspective for full development of India’s enormous human potentials to ultimately reap the benefits of growing global knowledge economy. For the training of young population to convert them into gifted knowledge workers (intellectuals), the country must produce a large number of gifted and talented teachers for higher education. This is a colossal task. The accomplishment of this task is a big challenge for the country. This would require that the teaching jobs in higher education are made reasonably attractive, if not more attractive than those in the corporate sector. The situation demands that there is a big boost to the pay scales of the teachers. This would require that the pay scales recommended by the UGC Committee for University and College Teachers are not only in parity with civil and police services but are also lifted a step or two higher than those correspondingly recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission for equivalent positions. The logic of the market demands that if talented young persons are to be attracted to teaching and research the pay structure must be equally attractive along with an assured career advancement programme. The part of compensation can be allowed in the form of liberal research grants along with a mandatory sabbatical leave facility at every level to pursue research and provision of attending fully paid national and international conferences. It is expected that the UGC pay committee would make significant contribution through its recommendations. The committee is headed by Prof G.K. Chadha, an eminent economist and committed teacher and researcher, who is fully aware of these issues. It has also adopted the correct approach of holding 14 regional conclaves inviting vice-chancellors, principals, eminent educationists and office-bearers of teachers’ associations to grasp the ground reality and be aware of the issues faced by the institutions of higher education. One such regional meeting was held at Panjab University, Chandigarh, on May 20-21. The recommendations for the correction of distortions in the relative salary package for the teachers in higher education are a necessary but not sufficient condition for attracting talented persons. The sufficient condition is related to the implementation of these recommendations. As on March 31, 2006, the number of the universities in India was 367. Out of this, 20 were Central universities directly funded by the Ministry of Human Resource Development through the UGC. The recommendations of the UGC pay committee as and when approved by the government (hopefully in September-October this year) would be immediately accepted for the Central universities. The remaining universities (347) and colleges are funded by the state governments and some of them are not funded by any government. Now the number of the universities has crossed 405 and a large number of private universities are being established. Of the state and private universities (more than 385), only 158 are eligible for UGC grants. The remaining universities do not fulfil the conditions to be entitled for grants. These universities are in bad shape, and many of them can be safely labelled as sick institutions. Left to the state governments, a large number of universities would not be provided the necessary funds for the implementation of the revised/recommended pay scales. The important question is that how this resource constraint of the state government in higher education can be overcome. One possible wayout can be that of the total Central funding for the state universities and colleges of enhanced financial burden of implementation of the revised pay scales for at least for five years. This is justified on two counts: one, education is a priority area and is on the Concurrent List. Two, the Union Government, unlike the state governments, is endowed with the enormous flow of funds arising out of fast growth in the service sector. Another solution to meet the shortage of teachers is to increase the retirement age in higher education and make it equal to that of teachers in the Central universities. There were recommendations by the UGC in 1996 that the retirement age of university teachers should be raised to 62 years which several states, including Punjab, did not implement. Whatever the recommendation is made in this regard by the UGC committee, it should be mandatory for the state governments (as a condition of grant release) to implement it. This is in the interest of the country and the development of human resources. At the same time, the tendency to pay very high to a few selective faculty and moderately and low to others in the emerging private sector in higher education needs to be checked to avoid over-exploitation and early burn-out of younger faculty. The writer is a professor, Department of Economics, Punjabi University,
Patiala.
|
Madam Shakespeare
Today’s
English society no longer seems to be enough charitable to the Bard of Avon. Two pieces of news in this context are important to take notice of. One, a cognitive scientist by the name of John Hudson, through his research, has claimed that “Shakespeare was a woman in disguise”. Two, “Soothsayers in the UK will feel the heat of the new law” if their predictions on “love” and “good fortune” don’t come true. Remember, women and soothsayers control most of the action in Shakespeare’s popular plays like Hamlet, Othello and King Lear. Let me make it clear that “feminists” may please not “mis(s)-under-stand” me after reading what follows, for I am a votary of “rights of women”. And also that I am a believer in prophesies and predictions to the extent that you tell someone on a rainy day that he or she might need a rain- coat or an umbrella to protect against splashes in case one plans to venture out. Whether or not it is a timely warning to the despotic Caesar — “Beware of the ides of March” or “In nature’s infinite book of secrecy, a little I can read”, as in Antony and Cleopatra — the soothsayers are almost unheeded. The ghosts and witches in Shakespeare’s works seem to know more than their “creator” himself. This may only be a travesty of fate for the heroes with “tragic flaws” that the predictions in Shakespearian tragedies do come true and take their toll. They also confirm the playwright’s belief in the supernatural as an important tool in weaving a plot. But Shakespeare’s powerful kings and princes never ordered beheading of soothsayers as the modern-day lawmakers in the land of the Bard seem to have done. And now the issue if Shakespeare was a Jewish woman who had to disguise herself as a man, for the Elizabethan London would never accept literature from a woman, “a mere woman!” (Apologies to Oscar Wilde!). To me it seems quite probable as I have been to Shakespeare’s house in Stratford upon Avon twice. If you have a look at the Bard’s bed, it is too small to be meant for a man. If Shakespeare was short of height, he would have roped in midgets in many an action scene to overcome his “inadequacy”. Also, the articles that are on display helplessly betray their masculine façade. Then, if it were not so why would “Ms Shakespeare” harp so much on “frailty”, “suspicion”, “impediments”, “purpose” and so on! Is it not only a woman who can observe a man’s “lean and hungry looks?” Thank you John Hudson for your wonderful research. By the way, what are your views on Kalidasa, our desi Shakespeare, who in Meghdoot makes a droplet of water traverse the feminine waistline, negotiating each and every curve and marvelling at the shape as if it were a man’s reconnoitring hand. And for the Indian fortune-tellers, they hardly do the libellous act themselves; rather they have it done by their
parrots.
|
Salvation and sexuality THESE are not the best of times for the Anglicans, the third largest church with 77 million followers the world over. They face one of the gravest crises as they await the decennial Lambeth Conference (July 20-August 2), called by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Nearly a thousand bishops, including from India, are expected to attend the conference but this time it will be noticed more for the absentees than for the attendees. A fly in the Lambeth ointment is the Global Anglican Future Conference, Gafcon, for short, promoted by some bishops from Africa and other continents who are upset about the way some Anglicans have been reinterpreting the scripture vis-à-vis human sexuality and the primacy of the Word. About 300 bishops and clergymen are now holding a weeklong conference in Jerusalem, which will conclude on June 29. Many see Gafcon as the result of a schism, though one of the leading lights of the movement, Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen, an exceptional communicator whom I met last month, disapproved of such a nomenclature. Yet, a book in downloadable form Gafcon released prior to the conference entitled The Way, The Truth and The Life, shows that the hiatus between the official Anglican Church and the rebels has been widening and has, perhaps, reached a point of no-return. The book, in the drafting of which Indian theologian Vinay Samuel played a major role as a Convener, provides an insight into the theological, liturgical and historical issues that prevent a rapprochement between the two groups. The promoters of Gafcon wear the garb of the Orthodox and chose Jerusalem for their first conference, as theirs is “a pilgrimage to the roots of Christianity”. The Gafcon bishops position themselves on the three-legged stool of scripture, tradition and faith. What has really angered them is the goings-on in the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada. Both churches are part of the Anglican fraternity but have been in the news for the wrong reasons. At the last Lambeth Conference, named so because it was traditionally held at the Lambeth Palace of the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1998, a resolution to the effect that “homosexuality was incompatible with Scripture” and “homosexuals should not be consecrated” was passed. Those who argued that homosexuality was also God’s own ‘creation’ were so few in number that the resolution was passed with overwhelming majority. Alas, the resolution and the massive support it received at Lambeth did not prevent the consecration of Gene Robinson, a practicing homosexual of New Hampshire, as a bishop in 2003. The Church of Nigeria was the first to severe communion with the Episcopal Church of the
US in protest against the consecration. As if to spite his critics, last week, the controversial bishop formalised his partnership with Mark Andrew, first with a civil ceremony, and then with a service of thanksgiving at a New Hampshire church that was described as private but “absolutely joyful”. Earlier, the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada voted in June 2002 to approve the blessing of same-sex marriages with the enthusiastic support of their bishop Michael Ingham. These trends have forced the Gafcon bishops to conclude that for the Episcopalians in the US and the ‘Canadians’, the Bible is “no longer authoritative in many areas of human experience, especially those of salvation and sexuality”. All the subsequent efforts to influence the two churches in Canada and the US so that they could recant were in vain. The Gafcon bishops believe that “marriage manifests the equal value of men and women before God, and also their complementarity. Marriage between man and woman is the context in which the good (for God creates all things good), yet powerful (as the Song of Songs notes), gift of sexuality is to be cherished, respected and enjoyed”. And to rub salt into the wound of the Orthodox, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has not invited Bishop Martyn Minns of Nigeria, who has been campaigning against giving ecclesiastical sanction to gay marriage, to the Lambeth Conference. Whether all those who are in Jerusalesm now will eventually boycott the Lambeth Conference or not, the host has made known one decision - there will be no voting and there will be no resolution. Instead, there will be discussions on a host of issues, including human sexuality. Though it has not been explicitly stated in the Gafcon mission statement, there is growing resentment within the Anglican Church to the preeminence given to the Archbishop of Canterbury. There are dark hints that the Church of England did not play a significant role in the spread of Christianity in Asia and Africa. In India, it confined itself to providing pastoral care to the British soldiers and officials in the colonial service. It was societies like the Baptist Missionary Society which answered the Biblical injunction to spread the word of God. At another level, with mass desertions from its ranks, the Church of England has been losing its appeal to the faithful, who find greater fellowship in Pentecostal and other home churches. In comparison, the Anglican Church of Nigeria took Lambeth 1988’s ‘Decade of Evangelism’ to heart, and planted churches that increased its membership from 14 million people to 18 million, and now 20 million. Of course, for those familiar with Christian history, these developments, however seminal they may appear to be, are nothing new. Some of them see a parallel between the present events and the events in England in the 16th century when the Church of England broke from the Roman Catholic Church. From time to time, Christianity has dealt with heretical teachings like the ones supporting Bishop Gene Robinson’s marriage to a man. Marcionism, Gnosticism and Arianism are some such heresies the church had to face in the ancient days. Through the mechanism of Councils like the one held at Nicene, it countered them with telling effect. It is time for another if the primacy of the Word, not
of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is to prevail.
|
|
Changing role of the tank in modern warfare Today
the Indian Army is categorically demanding the Russian T-90 Main Battle Tank (MBT) and not the indigenously developed Arjun MBT. The Defence Minister, however, is reported to be in favour of the latter. Whatever may be the ultimate outcome, and the choice of an MBT, it would be pertinent to examine the spectrum of the MBT today. Introduced 91 years ago in the battle of Ypres in 1917 at the fag end of the first World War, the tank continues to adorn the inventory of all major armies of the world and is produced by 32 countries at present. The main suppliers of MBTs to the contemporary arms bazaar are only five; France, Germany, Russia, UK and the USA. In the second rung of tank production and distribution stand Italy and China. In the third category are Argentina, India, Iran, Jordan, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan and South Africa who have managed, or at least are trying to manage, to induct their home grown machines into their armed forces. In this venture, however, India regretfully lags behind owing to divided opinion within the establishment itself. Often referred to as a “state of the art” MBT, a limited number of Arjuns have been inducted into the tank regiments, but import of more Russian T-90 tanks is high on the agenda of the Indian Army. Although for most armies of the world the tanks constitute the backbone of their combat preparedness, in many cases, nations are struggling to keep and maintain their fleet owing to shrinking budgets, along with prohibitive production, procurement and modernisation costs. On top of all these is the distinctly reduced possibility of tank warfare in the global arena. Even in the Indian context the use of the tank in war has been limited to the 1965 Indo-Pak conflict at Punjab’s Khem Karan sector. A paradigm shift appears to be taking place in the tactics and use of the tank in 21st century warfare. Whereas previously the main role of the tank was to carry out offensive and defensive operations during high-intensity military engagement, recent battlefield experiences of British and US tank regiments and Marine Corps in Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated that the MBT is equally effective in urban operations in the direct-fire, support role of dismounted infantry. The Iraq/Afghanistan conflict apart, the Israeli Army too, in recent times, deployed its heavy weight Merkava tanks to deal with Palestinian and other insurgents in urban areas around Gaza and Ramallah. Tank manufacturers have now started developing, often with the active assistance and advise of the user, customised upgradation to enable tanks to be more effective and lethal during urban conflict. However, as urban violence is proving to be a totally different ball game owing to its being in the midst of non-military and civilian population, conventional lethal weapons are often being substituted by improvised explosive devices, to cripple and restrict the use of a fifty ton steel plated armoured fighting vehicle, the most vulnerable part of which is its caterpillar. Hence the British, Germans and Americans are constantly trying to improve the defensive protection device of the tank. Thus, despite the post-Cold War downsizing of the tank fleet, most European countries are still producing and procuring tanks with new systems. The fundamental requirement of the tank nevertheless continues to be mobility, fire power and armour protection, which keep on changing in accordance with the user’s priority. Thus, the Israeli experience makes its jumbo-sized Merkava one of the heaviest and slowest of all the tanks owing to the peculiar need of enhanced protection and increased fire power in limited urban spaces. Arjun’s power-to-weight ratio is considered inferior to the Pakistan built Al-Khalid because of Indian emphasis on fire power and armour protection, thereby making it heavier and slower to operate. Pakistan, however, seems to prefer quicker tank movements to change position and resort to fire, forget and fall-back tactics. Nevertheless, the tank today certainly is much more vulnerable and easier to hit by unconventional enemy fire than ever before. Thus the tanks can be immobilised by land mines, improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers. It can also be assaulted from the helicopter gunship, and by surface-to-surface and air-to-surface missiles. Nations are still building, operating and selling tanks no doubt. But for how long? That is the question. Perhaps the hey days of conventional tank warfare are now over.
|
|
Delhi Durbar Muslims are clearly the flavour of the season for the BJP. With elections round the corner, the saffron outfit is going out of its way to induct Muslims into the party. In fact, the BJP is so desperate that even if a completely unknown person joins the party, it is announced with major drum beating while posters welcoming the newcomer are plastered all over the party office. Take the case of a gentleman called Mohammad Rustam from Jafrabad in East Delhi, who nobody in East Delhi, least of all any other part of Delhi, seems to know about. But this has not failed to dampen the BJP’s enthusiasm. It has gone ahead and covered the walls of its main and Delhi offices with huge posters, welcoming this non-entity. Lessons in metro etiquette DMRC Chief E. Sreedharan’s repeated requests to Delhi commuters to remain orderly while boarding and disembarking from metro trains have fallen on deaf years.Delhiites continue to be at their unsophisticated best while using the world class Delhi Metro facilities. Delhi Metro has, therefore, been forced to deploy ‘customer facilitation agents’ to ease the movement of commuters at Rajiv Chowk and Kashmere Gate Metro stations and prevent incidents of “pushing and shoving”. Some months ago, Sreedharan had made a passionate appeal to Delhiites to be more orderly while using the service, assuring them that the stoppage time of a train was sufficient for everyone to disembark and get on to it. Metro authorities had also made markings on the platforms to ensure discipline, but to little avail.
SC status for Dalit Muslims Some MPs love to redefine the ethics of politics and protest. Ejaz Ali, the first-time Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar, is certainly trying. An entrant to Parliament, courtesy JD (U), Ali is squandering no opportunity to demand Scheduled Caste status for Dalit Muslims, as was recently argued in a study commissioned by the National Minorities Commission. Whereas the NCM, which could have actually gone to town with its findings, chose to silently forward the report to the government, Ali, it seems, has taken upon himself the onerous task of ensuring SC status for his Muslim brethren. As you cross his bungalow in the posh Fereozeshah locality, a huge banner, courtesy the All-India United Muslim Morcha (of which Ali is the convenor) greets you. It reads: “The one who talks SC status for Dalit Muslims is the one who will rule in the Centre.” Contributed by Faraz Ahmad, Vibha Sharma and Aditi Tandon
|
|
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
