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PM bites the bullet Crackdown on Taliban |
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Grow more trees
Women in legislatures
When words are meaningless
Another VC in firing line Iraq opens oil fields to global bidding Inside Pakistan
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PM bites the bullet THERE is hope now for the Indo-US nuclear deal. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has prepared a roadmap, which will see to it that the 123 Agreement he signed with US President George Bush three years ago will come to fruition. Few can find fault with him when he says the government should be allowed to complete the next two stages of the deal — negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group — before the government returns to Parliament to seek its approval. It is well known that once the government completes its negotiations with the IAEA and the NSG, it would have fulfilled its obligations. Thereafter it would be for the Bush administration to take the deal forward by getting the approval of US Congress. It also has to persuade the NSG to accept India as a responsible, non-proliferating nuclear power. The Left should allow the government to go to the IAEA for getting its clearance, while agreeing to full-scope safeguards. After all, the Prime Minister has promised that he would come back to Parliament with the sewed-up deal. Unfortunately, the Left, particularly CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat, has been getting shriller and shriller in its opposition to the deal. It believes that once the deal crosses the IAEA and NSG stages, it would be on the “auto-pilot mode”. In other words, the Left would no longer be able to sabotage the deal that would end the nuclear apartheid against India. The clarity on the Left’s position has made one more thing clear. So long as the UPA government is dependent on the Left for its survival, it would not be able to operationalise the deal. The growing proximity between the UPA and the Samajwadi Party suggests that it may not be all that difficult for the government to save the government and yet take the deal to its logical culmination. Political parties like the Telugu Desam, once a great advocate of economic liberalisation, may even find it ideologically compulsive to vote for the government and thereby save the nuclear deal. The Prime Minister is now on somewhat surer ground than he was a few days ago. He seems to be confident that it is possible to save the government as well as the nuclear deal.
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Crackdown on Taliban The
Pakistan government, perhaps, is realising now that the militants in the North-West Frontier Province deserve to be handled with the use of force. A military campaign launched against the Taliban on Saturday has reportedly resulted in many areas, including Khyber Agency, getting freed from the extremists. Most of the bases of the Taliban have been destroyed. Perhaps, this reversal in Islamabad’s policy has come about after the threatening statements from Washington. But the coalition government says that the crackdown became unavoidable as there was a serious threat of the Taliban taking over Peshawar, the provincial capital. This is not unbelievable keeping in view the fact that both parts (North and South) of Waziristan have been under the control of the Taliban for some time. The terrorist movement could have made the NWFP government irrelevant anytime, making a mockery of the deals Pakistan recently entered into with the militants. The re-emergence of the Taliban as a destabilising factor on the Pakistani side of the Durand Line was the result of the shortsighted policy of “peace” deals being pursued by Islamabad. The extremists had been attacking the symbols of governmental authority almost daily. They would kill anybody suspected of being sympathetic to the cause of ending militancy. Yet the government adopted a kid-glove approach, wrongly believing that this would help establish peace. The militants used the opportunity to strengthen their position in the NWFP. While their areas of operation increased in Pakistan, they were now in a better position to send their cadres across the border for causing death and destruction in Afghanistan. It is this ground reality which has been behind President Hamid Karzai’s protests against the dangerous policy of Pakistan and the concern expressed by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The drive against the Taliban must continue till the militant movement loses its capacity to revive itself again. The majority of the Pakistanis are sick of the activities of the terrorists operating as jihadis. These elements are nobody’s friends, not even of Pakistan. They have their own destructive agenda to implement. They remain a major threat to peace and progress in the region, and deserve to be handled with tough measures. There should also be no let-up in the international pressure on Islamabad to deal firmly with anybody indulging in terrorism.
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Grow more trees NOW is the time to plant saplings as the weather condition — plenty of rains and strong sunlight — is ideal for plantation. Since most schoolchildren are on vacation these days, we must involve them in planting trees. Parents should take the responsibility of making available saplings and guiding the children in planting them. A child who plants a sapling will not cut a tree, at least indiscriminately. In fact, children develop an attachment to the trees they plant and they take care of them when care is required. They will have a sense of fulfillment when they see the saplings they planted grow into big trees giving fruits or shade. In this connection, President Pratibha Patil’s initiative, called “Roshini”, to transform Rashtrapati Bhavan into a green, energy-efficient, plastic-free model township is a welcome step. It will, hopefully, encourage others to take their cue from the President and replicate the Rashtrapati Bhavan model in their own areas. Of course, there are already many such initiatives. The Patiala Baradari Beautification Society is a citizen-led attempt to plant trees in the famous garden. In Ludhiana, the residents took the initiative to plant saplings in their own compounds. Greening an area has many benefits: some tangible, some intangible. It is one thing to plant trees and quite another to nurture them till they are fully grown and do not need periodic watering and timely manuring. Haryana Minister for Forest and Tourism Kiran Chaudhary has also been taking steps to promote eco-tourism and increase the green cover in the state, through ecological zones. While the government is duty-bound to take ecologically sound decisions, it is the involvement of citizens, especially children, which will make a visible difference on the ground. And now is the time to do that. Parents and teachers should take the initiative to involve children in the
programme.
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No, painting is not made to decorate apartments. It’s an offensive and defensive weapon against the enemy. — Pablo Picasso
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Women in legislatures Twelve
years after, the 81st Amendment aka the Women’s Reservation Bill seeking one-third seats for women in Parliament/ state legislatures returns in a modified new avatar: Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, 2008 (108AB). The drama around 108AB’s introduction in the Rajya Sabha — where Bills do not automatically lapse as in the Lok Sabha on dissolution — and continuing politicking are well-known. The Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) on Law and Justice, chaired by Congressman E.M.S. Natchiappan, is presently examining 108AB. Mixed reports of parallel Congress negotiations — lowering reservation quotas for political solutions — abound. The PSC reports to Parliament in the monsoon session 108AB seeks one-third reservations for women —181 in the Lok Sabha (543), approximately 1350 in UT/state legislatures/councils (approximately 4000) — but only addresses the President’s 12 nominations in the Rajya Sabha. Categorically included are SC/ST women with reservations within the existing overall SCs/ST quotas. OBC/minority quotas — a major demand and the principal bone of contention among certain political parties like the SP, the RJD and JD (U) — are not provided as the OBC/minorities (barring Anglo-Indians) have none overall. 108AB clarifies that nothing will affect the existing Lok Sabha/state assemblies until their respective dissolution in the normal course of events after 108AB enactment. Similiarly, the existing elected/nominated members in the Rajya Sabha/legislative councils safely continue till retirement on term expiration. Amplified are the principles for the reservation of SC/ST women within the existing SC/ST quota, precedence for women’s reservation vis-a-vis single constituencies, rotation methodologies ensuring women (reserved) constituencies in one general election are not re-reserved in subsequent two general elections over the 15-year span. (But mid-term-polls are not factored!) The 10 amendments lie mainly within Part XVI of the Constitution dedicated to Special Provisions Relating to Certain Classes: i.e. SCs/STs and Anglo-Indians. But unlike the ongoing population-proportionate representation to the SC/STs, women are held down at 33 per cent reservations, limited to 15 years; affirmative action in services/posts available to the other “classes” not included. Special provisions yes, yet children of a lesser god. Not equality but enough critical mass, unless whittled down by compromises that turn the measure incremental/fractured. Notwithstanding the elaborations on rotation methodologies to contextualise the displacement of almost one-third male parliamentarians/legislators as a one-time affair for a single general election, rotation remains 108AB’s Achilles Heel, endangering the essential objectives. Musical chairs render all players vulnerable/insecure, expose all constituencies to a short-term nurture; simultaneously, they undermine the capability of new women political-entrants to establish substantive political bases. Reservation for women is not an end in itself; only a crucial step towards transformative, inclusive politics — their raison d’etre: gendered-perspectives’ different fresh insights; new energy to restore lost idealism, vigour and rigour to public life, evolve more practical solutions for people’s manifold problems. Compromises reducing numbers/accepting caste-alignments would undermine the catalytical potential of women’s collective strength and ability to dare alternative thinking. Unresolved gender-resentment evidenced by the bitter acrimony/physicality seen in Parliament could spill still more dangerously into constituency-streets, daunting most worthy women-candidates. Consensus for women’s equal participation, recalling pre-freedom pan-Indian identity and solidarity of the sexes, is therefore vital, a pragmatic compulsion for today’s scarred-political-scape. Eminently achievable also, if the scenario turns non-threatening to male-politicians. The way forward then is not reduced numbers but innovations accommodating men and women without disturbing the existing population/ state/ratios. As long-argued: bake a bigger pie, create win-win situations instead of bickering/bartering over crumbs-on-the-table. The Parliamentary Standing Committee must move beyond the narrow draft of 108AB placed before it to consider incorporating/redrafting as necessary to provide society durable, fuller solutions. With constituency delimitation completed, new building-blocks are available for more innovative thinking without upsetting the influential population lobbies. All constituencies — barring five states — are delimited (redrawn). India’s greatly increased population stands accommodated within the previous framework of equitably balanced-population ratio/constituency numbers assigned to each state for representation, frozen at the 1971 population levels. Barring four NE states and Jharkhand, for whom guidelines are set, constituencies across the country are geographically demarcated. The previous anomalies of enormously varying sizes reduced to an even average within each state, given 5 or 10 per cent plus-minus. Anxiety of family-planning-performing south/west states losing out to changes increasing the representation for the more populous North-East states is, therefore, finished. Constituency numbers for the country/each state are frozen by Parliament till 2026, geographical boundaries defined. Within each state, population is subdivided to create approximately equal-sized constituencies. But with the population-explosion since 1971, average population size of each constituency — parliamentary/state assembly — is huge. Almost every constituency far exceeds the 500,000-750,000 population-size optimum originally envisaged by the Constitution, maintained till 1971, when frozen as a “population-control measure”. Equal-but-overly-large constituency sizes nevertheless pose issues for democratic-contact/efficient functioning. Further population increase over the next 20 years is inevitable, turning constituencies still more unwieldy over time. The next delimitation is in 2026. Can women’s representation-reservations provide some solution to this conundrum while providing equitable participation for women? Yes! The constituencies numbers and their population ratios between states/within states are sacrosanct. This must remain so — representation ratios between and within states must continue constant. However, directly proportionate to the existing states’ shares, the number of persons representing the states can be increased and all additional numbers mandated to be filled by women only. This would ensure representation equities left undisturbed and yet more persons available to serve the people. The processes for such law change are no different from those for the drafted 108AB. Several options exist to achieve the above, always assuring the frozen representation ratio/balance, the knotty constitutional/political issue is untouched. Ideally, every constituency in the country could be uniformly turned a double-member constituency: one man, one woman, elected everywhere: upping Lok Sabha numbers from 543 to 1086 and state legislatures/councils from about 4000 to about 8000. Seemingly huge increases, but on consideration conservative for a billion-plus population and not much different from numbers that would have obtained had the Emergency era “population control” measures that demonstrably failed to achieve population objectives not intervened. The enhanced figures compare favourably with representation levels in other countries of our size (China)/ parliamentary procedures (UK). India began the SC/ST representation through this double-member route. Further, double-member constituencies result in zero displacement, ensure perfect gender parity, realise the constitutional dream in one sweep, setting a global example as India asserts world leadership. If doubling representatives is not considered feasible, the concept remains viable to implement at whatever percentage-level chosen, including the suggested one-third (although 50 per cent provides greater equity/efficiency). Counter arguments that dual-constituencies devalue women’s representation to a secondary status reverse dramatically if a creative route is picked: combining three/two contiguous constituencies (depending on the additional percentage agreed) as “supra-constituencies” assigned to women-candidates only. “Supra-constituencies” would certainly make women’s task much more challenging but also add a sharper edge to their political clout. Supra, not secondary, MPs /MLAs! The need of the hour is out-of-the-box radical changes that are win-win for everyone. The battle ahead is for good governance — not against disgruntled
male-political-forces.
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When words are meaningless
The
clock was moving all the time and we were getting nervous with every tick, as there was no sign of Madam Dilawari. It had never happened that Madam is not in the newsroom during pressure hours. As a radio news bulletin is not supposed to be delayed even by a few seconds, any radio production turns into a terrific fight against the clock. Punjabi and Hindi bulletins were to go on air a little past 6 p.m., but we were feeling non-plussed as there was no sign of the desk in charge till 4 p.m. This untoward incident dates back to the early 1980s when I was working with All India Radio, Chandigarh, as a casual news reader. Madam Sudesh Rani Dilawari, with whom I worked, was a graceful woman with an unusual sense of professional duty. Suddenly, around 4.30 p.m., Madam Dilawari appeared and we took a sigh of relief. But she seemed upset over something. Quickly, she arranged the papers and handed over a few stories to us for translation. “Be fast”, she uttered these words in a very harsh tone. Many a time she tried to say something, but her trembling lips did not help her. I looked into my colleague’s eyes and silently we decided to remain silent. When we put the bulletin on track, I ventured to ask if there was something wrong with her. Even before I could complete my sentence, Madam Dilawari just burst out: “Oh, no, I should not have appreciated him......no.....no ..................never.” “Whom you should not have appreciated, Madam?” I asked. “One should know with whom he or she is talking to?......I did the wrong.......” “But, what happened?” My curiosity was increasing with every word that she uttered. “You know, I was coming from Delhi. The driver drove the bus very well and brought it here in about four hours. I got down from the bus and thought I must appreciate the driver who was still sitting on his seat. I went to him and said: “Tusin bus bahut achchhi taran chalai hai, Shukria.” (You drove the bus very well, thank you!) “I wanted even to add that it was only because of him that I would be able to make it to my office in time. But that rascal interrupted me and you know what he said?” She didn’t want to stop, but I asked.” “What?” “Baitho Baadshaho, hor jhute de dinde aan.” (Sit down your majesty......I will take you for another joyride.) “I jumped from the bus and fled from there like a sprinter,” she continued. As Madam Dilawari was relaxing and concentrating on her work, I was thinking that meanings do not lie in words, meanings lie in
people.
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Another VC in firing line The
maxim goes that first-rate administrators engage first-rate people and a second-rate administration selects third-rate people. Add to it, the reality that a second-rate administration does not tolerate the first-rate people and tries to replace them with third- rate people. This process has been invariably put in process for long in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors in the universities of Punjab. This is no recent phenomenon and one cannot vouchsafe the selections of Vice-Chancellors made by the previous political regime or the regimes earlier because appointments made in these positions were never based on any objective criteria. These appointments were almost always made under some influence, political or otherwise. It is only a matter of chance if some of them did not perform below par. With the change of government and power equation, the misplaced priority of the new political regime did not rest with the improvement in the delivery of quality higher education in the state, but went to the replacement of Vice-Chancellors in order to accommodate their own favourites, irrespective of the competency and performance of the incumbents. Though the changed political regime normally does not care for any solid reason(s) to replace a Vice-Chancellor, yet they do seek some lame excuse. For instance, one Vice-Chancellor was removed by the present regime on the basis of triviality of not opening a gate to the adjoining colony of some influential persons, who had voted for the party that came to power. A bunch of politicians were inducted into the Syndicate of another university, which, with the tutored support of the government ex-officios, held the university to ransom and brought its administration to a grinding halt. Ultimately the Vice-Chancellor had to quit under duress fearing the shadow of “brahmastra” of vigilance in the hands of the government. The third Vice-Chancellor, Dr Jai Rup Singh, from the day the government changed, has been in the firing line. So far the dirty politics has not been able to subdue him to make him deviate from the path a rational and purpose-minded university head should follow. However, no human being is ever perfect whether one is handling administrative or any other job of responsibility. Yet, if the objective is to improve educational administration in the higher seats of learning, which is a rare phenomenon with the present-day political leadership, coercive actions out of political considerations never yield optimal results. If as usual, the approach of the political powers-that-be is to create a threat perception in the mind of the academic administrators so that they compromise their position and ultimately vacate their posts, this creates an unfortunate situation for the institutions and the academic community. The education system including teaching and research, suffers in the process. Academicians do make mistakes, yet they are rarely hardened criminals. Most of the time they are gentle, sensitive and even timid. Most of them would quit rather than be messed around on trivialities, which are often not their creation. Mostly the situations develop as a result of the actions they take against gross defaulters, work shirkers and the corrupt. These negative individuals are often very clever and scheming in their nature and are resourceful enough to mobilise political support from within and outside of the university governing structure. It is unfortunate that now the third Vice-Chancellor in the state has been put in the firing line. It will be worth watching whether he succumbs to the pressure and quits to save himself and the university from political hold-ups or dares the challenge and stands up to the machanisations directed at him and at the very vitals of the university administration. A salvo has been fired at him in the form of an inquiry, violating all the norms of such an action against the high office of Vice-Chancellor. It is surprising that out of a misplaced zeal to hook him, the issues raised and the allegations levelled against him have already been inquired into and have been settled. Some of the issues pertaining to the period of the previous Vice-Chancellor and settled long back have also been included in the bundle of allegations. Interesting! Isn’t it? There is now a crying need for giving a serious thought to the chronic fatigue syndrome that a university administration starts suffering with the change of a political regime. Shedding all hypocrisy, one is constrained to admit that under our system of degenerated political dispensations, there is little scope for academic, financial and administrative autonomy at the level of Vice-Chancellors, howsoever competent they may be. In order to survive, they have to go subservient to the political authorities, howsoever illogical and irrational they be. It is, therefore, quite logical to hold that the posts of the Vice-Chancellor in the state be made co-terminus with the tenure of the government of the party in power. This will save the Vice-Chancellors and the universities from political hold-ups and embarrassment at the hands of small-time politicians, who are often interested in advancing their own misplaced agenda through their easy access to the top party leaders who are ever ready to oblige them in the interest of political support. It is not a new phenomenon. These unhealthy equations had existed and survived rather went stronger and stronger through time. It is pertinent to quote The Tribune of September 26, 1926, which has become more relevant today, “why should not the leaders sternly rebuke their followers when the latter deviate from the path of propriety and indulge in personal vendetta. “Public life will be altogether a better, nobler and purer than it is, if our leaders cultivate the habit of keeping their followers within bounds. But the question remains whether our type of political system will ever be able to accommodate such noble thoughts and vital values that are essential for the healthy development of our democracy.” But the basic question is whether anybody who matters will care to heed this advice.
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Iraq opens oil fields to global bidding Iraq's government invited foreign firms Monday to help boost the production of the country's major oil fields, beginning a global competition for access to the world's third-largest reserves. Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said the government would seek to tap Western technology and capital to increase Iraqi oil production by about 60 percent, or approximately 1.5 million barrels a day, swelling Iraqi oil revenue and potentially easing tight petroleum markets where prices have doubled in the past year. Shahristani said 35 companies - including firms from the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and India - had been selected to bid on long-term contracts to provide services, equipment, training and advice on the country's biggest oil fields, which have suffered from age, technological neglect and mismanagement during years of war and economic sanctions. "The six oil fields that have been announced today are the backbone of Iraq's oil production, and some of them are getting old and production is declining," Shahristani told reporters. The invitation marked another step toward giving Western companies a significant role in Iraq's oil industry, which the Baathist government nationalized in 1972. But the opening is likely to cause controversy in a nation wary of Western influence over its largest source of wealth and among foreign critics who say the Bush administration wanted to depose Saddam Hussein to gain greater access to Iraqi oil. Followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who opposes Western firms having any control over Iraq's oil, voiced suspicion. "Those agreements should be open and transparent," said Liwaa Smaism, a senior Sadrist lawmaker. "We do not know whether those contracts are ordinary technical contracts with foreign companies, or are they involved in the excavation and production of the oil?" Other lawmakers said any deals should be made after parliament approves legislation governing Iraq's oil resources. "I do not believe that the companies should sign contracts in such a fragile political situation and confusing security situation," said Mohammed al-Daini, a Sunni lawmaker. Daini added that "America has come over here to Iraq in order to first control the oil wealth and, second, the entire economical wealth." He said he and other lawmakers should review the contracts to ensure they don't allow Western firms to infringe on Iraq's sovereignty. Oil experts and companies cautioned that Iraq's government must still approve a hydrocarbon law that would clarify revenue-sharing between Iraq's central and regional governments, the role of the Iraqi national oil company and the framework for paying foreign firms. In addition, foreign firms remain concerned about security. "How this is going to be done is an open question, and I don't think anyone in the oil industry expects that's going to be resolved anytime soon," said an oil company official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because his company is in the midst of negotiations with Iraq. By arrangement with
LA Times-Washington Post
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Inside Pakistan By and large, people across Pakistan are feeling relieved with the launch of military operation against the extremist forces in the NWFP. Even if the action has been initiated under pressure from the US, the reaction of those who matter and others, as reflected in media reports and comments, is largely positive. The PML (N) and the JUI of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, constituents of the coalition government, which have criticised the use of the armed forces against the Taliban, may be the losers if they persist with their unjustifiable stand. Even a conservative paper like The Nation says, "Those who keep criticising the authorities for resorting to the use of force should try to understand that it is no use striking agreements with elements who are bent upon spoiling the peaceful atmosphere. This became evident from Baitullah Mehsud's latest threat of turning 'Punjab and Sindh into a furnace' if the military operation did not stop at once." In the opinion of The News, "As the Prime Minister has said, such action was necessary, after militants broke agreements – in a pattern that has, of course, been seen often in the past. The need for the state to grasp back something of its receding writ was urgent. A failure to do so could have resulted only in anarchy and even a possible threat to Peshawar itself. "But while action against militants was required, the overall situation remains a complex one. A battle may have been won. It is far from certain that any real headway has been made in winning the war. Striking a threatening note, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has warned it will hit back with strikes in Punjab and Sindh. This evidently means more suicide bombings, terrorist attacks and other mayhem. It is also true, of course, that through their network of seminaries, other training centres and a sophisticated system of recruitment, the militants have a hold that is not easy to loosen." Foreign
factor Who are the militants who have been trying to Talibanise first the NWFP and then the rest of Pakistan? Most of them, of course, are Pashtuns, the tribes inhabiting both sides of the Durand Line. What is, however, little known is the presence of a large number of extremists from Uzbekistan, Chechnya, Zinjiang province of China and certain Arab countries. They have constituted their own "multinational" force, according to Daily Times. The paper pointed out, "The Uzbeks were seen by Pakistani journalists when they came to Swat as a part of the Taliban force in the wake of the storming of Lal Masjid in Islamabad in 2007. They stood out because of their savage conduct among the innocent people of Swat. They were a part of the faction that beheaded local people and placed their headless corpses in the streets. They were partly masked, seemed to look racially different and did not speak because they did not know the local language. Later, news trickled in about training camps established especially for the training of Uzbeks in the tribal areas. The IMU (Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan) targets Pakistan as compensation for Al-Qaeda's support to the IMU's activities in Uzbekistan." Disappointing
performance The PPP-led coalition government in Islamabad, formed after the February 18 elections, has been suffering from paralysis. It remains entangled in power struggle, showing no urge to take up the basic issues like the price rise, fast growing unemployment and law and order. Even the most debated issue of safeguarding the independence of the judiciary has not been resolved. The byelections for five National Assembly (parliament) and 29 Provincial Assembly seats provide ample proof of the people getting disappointed with the performance of the government. The voter turnout was very poor in the last week's elections. The enthusiasm that could be seen on February 18 was missing. According to The News (June 28), after "barely three months into the term of the government, people have begun losing hope in its ability to bring about change" they had been aspiring for. "Dismay" among the people "regarding the socio-economic situation is higher than ever; the feeling is that far too little has been done…" In the words of Dawn (June 28), "Going by all that has happened since February 18, with the PML-N and the PPP divided over the judges issue, one can expect little from the federal government in the near future."
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