Chandigarh, August 22
For starters, our science and technology minister has found a new vocation: Poetry. And indeed, Kapil Sibal establishes his credentials as a modern-age poet, who effectively uses technology to let flow his creativity.

i witness, is an expression of a man who finds his voice in verse. So, don’t be surprised if you find the lawyer-turned-politician’s maiden lyrical venture loaded with a diverse range of emotions.

‘The Sibalnama’ has the poet reflecting on parenthood, love, youth to contemporary issues - globalisation, cricket, terrorism, tsunami, nano technology and even the nuclear deal.

For his outpourings, Sibal relies more on a phone rather than a notepad. Most of the work has been composed on his cell phone.

And it’s not that muse has beckoned him of late. The lyricist in him was always itching to break free.

Though the man has contributed articles on issues like security, nuclear proliferation and terrorism in national dailies and periodicals, this time he uses poetry as a medium to make public his innermost thoughts. Here, he chose rhyme over blank verse due to its lyrical quality.

Let’s have a peep into what Sibal witnesses. The collection of 84 poems starts with ‘Nostalgia’ which cleverly uses senses of touch, smell, hearing, sight and taste to create a feeling of longing.

‘The Lioness’ is a tribute to Indian womanhood: ‘Wishing to live in harmony/ she is our precious pride/ lioness of our civilised world/ without her we won’t survive.’

The romantic in the poet comes to the fore in ‘Lovers and the Chowkidar,’ a poem that anyone who has been in love in their youth and have waited outside hostel gates, to catch a glimpse of their beloved, would identify with.

However, it’s polemics that brings out the best in him. See him raising a strong environmental concern in ‘Human Predators:’ ‘Denuding forests, felling trees/ destroying top soils errantly/ nature’s lungs will fail to breath/ impacting human destiny.’ ‘Road to Extinction’ is a poem in same league.

His satire on the modern-day society is particularly telling. Watch him taking a dig at ‘Twenty 20,’ the changing face of cricket: ‘The new gladiators/ commercial predators/ this was a gentleman’s game.’

‘The Art of Leaving’ is a commentary on materialism: ‘Very few people know the art of letting go/ we made a naked entry and naked we must go.’

The politicians aren’t spared from his wit-whip. Take his observation on ‘fellow colleagues’ in ‘Political Opportunism.’

‘Without practice if you somersault/ you might fall flat on the face.’ In ‘Man behind the Mask,’ he takes a swipe at Atal Bihari Vajpayee: ‘Build that Mandir in your heart/ let not the nation fall apart.’ He takes a dig at electronic media in ‘Wither Press:’ ‘Online information / instant coffee/ no time to brew.’

Even the names of the poems smack of mockery: ‘Sycophant: An Endearing
Indian Phenomena,’ ‘To Trust or Not to Trust 2008’ and ‘Winner’s Recipe,’ for
winning elections.

The poet juggles between personal and professional realms, while making his
observations. So, we see verses written from many viewpoints, from those of
an advocate, a politician, a policy-maker and of course a sensitive individual
and a romantic.

The lyrical quality is good. At times, the rhyme falters, but when it does, the wit takes charge to express the thought neatly.

The writer has also used short, informative notes wherever mythology or technology terms are used. An interesting reading, the poems are ‘reflections in rhythm.’

Published by Roli books, this collection is available at an affordable price of Rs
295. The book cover has an eye-catching painting by Pablo Picasso, Sitzende
Frau (sitting woman).

New Delhi, August 22
Now that the Left parties are no longer supporting the UPA government, the Congress today displayed no hesitation in pinning the blame for the farmers’ agitation against the Tata Motors’ small car project in Singur on the West Bengal government’s opaque policies.

“It is a fact that the process of land acquisition from the farmers by the state for this project has not been transparent,” Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said today, adding that the farmers were agitating because they had been denied the compensation due to them.

As for Ratan Tata’s threat to pull out the small car project from Singur because of the ongoing agitations, Ahmed said it was most unfortunate that the situation had come to this pass.

“Nano is an ‘aam aadmi’ car and we would like it to be manufactured at the earliest,” he said. However, he said, such a project should have been set up by evolving a consensus among the farmers and giving them adequate compensation for their acquired land.

Regarding the local Congress unit’s support to the agitators in Singur, Ahmed
said every political party has to work for the common man and, in this case,
the Congress is giving voice to the concerns of farmers, who are affected by
the land acquisition.

The Congress, he clarified, supported industrialisation but believed that the cultivable land should not be acquired for these projects.

Guwahati, August 22
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today claimed to have received the much awaited nod from New Delhi to start the process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) of 1951 in the state to March 1971 in order to simplify as well as expedite the process of detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants as per the Assam Accord of 1985.

He said the union government after examining the modalities for NRC updating as submitted by the Assam government had in principle agreed to the proposal.

On the strength of the approval from the Centre, the Assam government would soon start a pilot project on NRC updating.

“Though the task of updating the NRC ultimately rests on the Registrar General of Census, the Assam government has taken the initiative as per the decision taken in the May 5, 2005 Prime Minister-level tripartite talks on the Assam Accord implementation,” Gogoi said.

The updating of the NRC has been a long-standing demand of the All-Assam Students’ Union (AASU), the spearhead of continuing tirade against illegal Bangladeshi migrants in Assam. The AASU was party to the PM-level talks on the Assam Accord implementation.

New Delhi, August 22
India’s growing prowess in the defence sector got another boost as the US Air Force (USAF) officers expressed the desire that the participation of Indian pilots be made a regular feature in the prestigious Red flag exercise.

This is normally conducted between air forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) countries.

At present, a team of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is participating for the first time in the multi-nation Red flag exercises being conducted at Nevada, USA.

An Indian defence spokesperson, quoting Captain Marcus Wilson of the US Air Force, said, “We would like to have the IAF here as a regular participant.”

Wilson was further quoted as having said, “The IAF is a world class air force with great aircraft and leadership. It is a great training opportunity for the USAF and the IAF to integrate our assets in training environment.”

Meanwhile, the exercise has entered its final phase. The success of the missions in these air campaigns is dependent on situational awareness of all persons involved.

Hence, the network- centric operations are the pivots on which the difference of life and death rests.

The main challenge during the exercise for the team IAF has been to adapt to the US network and also carry out ‘stand alone’ tasks simultaneously.

The IAF team is participating with eight Sukhoi 30’s, two IL 76 and 247 officers
and personnel.

New Delhi, August 22
In a move that is aimed at countering China, the Indian Navy is looking forward to become a member of the western pacific naval symposium (WPNS) to be organised by South Korea in October.

China has in the past opposed the symposium and India will be pitching in with all it might to be on board. The Indian Navy will be participating as an observer in the WPNS to be organised at the sidelines of a South Korean international fleet review on October 8.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command Vice-Admiral Nirmal Verma will represent the navy.

"The symposium is important as Canada is pitching to modify charter to change status of some countries, including India, from observer to member," added official.

The naval officer pointed out that it was in the interest of the Indian Navy if the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and the WPNS became an interface of the Asian-pacific security interests.

Besides this, the Indian Navy will be exuding greater influence in the Indian Ocean as it will participate in the second International fleet review.

The Indian Navy ships will be deployed in East Asia for the furtherance on its foothold in the region and also in the West Asia and Northern Africa.

A few vessels will depart from Port Blair for Combodia next month and from there on it will move to Vietnam, naval officials said on condition of anonymity.

The Indian Navy ships will then leave for South Korea. There the ships will participate in the prestigious international fleet review at the biggest port city of Busan, said the officer.

About 50 warships will be showcased along with 30 aircraft in the world's largest naval exhibition.

South Korea hosted its first international fleet review in 1998. The event will mark the 60th anniversary of the Republic of Korea's armed forces, with about 13 nations, including the United States, Britain, China, Russia and Japan participating in it.

In the Indian Ocean, the Indian Navy's endeavour is to gain foothold. The objective is to promote a shared understanding of the maritime issues facing countries in the region and to develop strategies designed to enhance regional maritime security.

After attending the events, Indian Navy vessels will go to Japan, where it will hold an exercise with Japan maritime self-defence force (JMSDF) in October.

The ships will then move to Malaysia and Singapore before returning to Port Blair by the end of October.

Such military exercises are part of the growing military collaboration with the US which is resorting to aggressive military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and now targeting Iran.

The party charged that “since it signed the Defence Framework Agreement with the United States, the Manmohan Singh government is working to integrate India's armed forces with that of the US”.

Chandigarh, August 22
The central government has upwardly revised the grade pay for armed forces officers, but the key question remains whether the enhancement would do away anomalies created by the Sixth Pay Commission (SPC) in the status of military officers vis-à-vis civilian officers.

According to information available with The Tribune, the increase in grade pay for
armed forces ranges from Rs 400 per month to Rs 2,000 per month at different
levels (see chart).

Sources reveal that though the grade pay for the armed forces has been raised, similar enhancement has also been done for civilian officers, which may not give the former any benefit as far as status is concerned. After the SPC recommendations, grade pay remains the sole determinant of status.

The basic pay scales of the armed forces as well as civilian officers as recommended by the SPC were increased after a review committee put in fresh suggestion. This, however, did not give any edge to armed forces personnel vis-à-vis their status.

To cite an example where the revision has further eroded the status of armed forces officers, lieutenant colonels and equivalents in other services have now been granted a grade pay of Rs 7,600.

The SPC had recommended a grade pay of Rs 6,600 for officers at this rank, while recommending Rs 7,600 for the equivalent non-IAS directors of central government and Rs 8,300 for ones from the IAS cadre.

The Army had accordingly sought a raise of grade pay for lieutenant colonels to at least Rs 7,600 since traditionally Lieutenant-Colonels(Lt- Col) had been enjoying a pay more than even directors from the IAS cadre.

Moreover, the time frame for promotion to Lt-Col and director was the same, that
is, 13 years.

However, while acceding to the demand of raising the grade pay of Lieutenant
Colonels to Rs 7,600, the government has, on the other hand raised the grade
pay of directors to Rs 8,700 resulting in the same anomalous situation prevailing
prior to the revision.

Though complete details are yet to filter down, officers fear that the same situation may crop up at other ranks. The services are expected to take up the issue with the central government.

While the arrears for the salary will be paid with effect from January 1, 2006, revised applicable allowances will be admissible from September 1, 2008.

New Delhi, August 22
While campaign groups continued to voice their concern over the death of 49 infants during the clinical trials at AIIMS, health minister Anbumani Ramadoss today said the facts about the AIIMS incident had been misrepresented by the media.

“The 49 children did not die suddenly. Most were very ill and would have died even without intervention. Trials were held after completion of ethical formalities. But still, we won’t allow Indians to be used as guinea pigs for clinical trials,” Ramadoss said.

He added that clinical trials would be viewed in their entirety. But that would happen only once the enquiry committee set up by the ministry to probe infant deaths submits its report.

The ministry repeated that it was not yet known how many deaths occurred among infants given drugs and how many among the control groups not given test drugs.

However, activist Rahul Verma, who exposed the slip at AIIMS, questioned: “AIIMS has said so earlier, but not disclosed the number under the RTI Act.”

The Uday Foundation for Congenital Defects and Rare Blood Groups, which filed the RTI query in question, today said it had no faith in the internal committee set up to inquire into the matter.

“We are sending a strong letter to the health minister with a request to immediately scrap the internal committee set up by AIIMS. A new independent committee should be made under a retired Supreme Court judge. If guilt is proved, it would be a serious violation of the Right to Life,” said Verma.

The foundation's other concerns relate to AIIMS’ claims that consent of the infants’ parents was sought. In fact, former head of pediatrics at AIIMS Veena Kalra, who retired this year, also said the issue was not an easy one to explain.

“When people don’t understand dosage of medicines prescribed by doctors, it is
a tall order to assume something as complex as this can be understood in one
sitting,” she said.

The foundation adds, “AIIMS has said the guardians’ concern was taken and added that forms were read out to those who couldn’t read. It, however, did not answer how many participants were below-poverty-line.”

While the debate rages, it may be pointed out that India is increasingly becoming the chosen destination for drug testing by western countries, which find it cheap. Last year, 139 new trials were outsourced to India. China was second with 98.

These trials warrant strict regulation - a standard that’s difficult to maintain considering shortage of trained staff.

Guwahati, August 22
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will make a two-day visit to Assam and Tripura on August 25 and 26, according to the announcement made by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi here today.

The Prime Minister will visit Tripura after a three-year gap to dedicate to nation the new railway line to Agartala that will link Tripura to countrywide railway network. He will address a function on the occasion at Agartala on August 25.

From there he will go to Jorhat in upper Assam to lay the cornerstone of a new medical college hospital in the 200-year-old tea town that has been a centre of higher education in the state.

After spending the night at the Raj Bhawan here, the PM will go to Kokrajhar for laying the foundation of an agriculture university.

He will also attend a function at the Guwahati IIT before departing to New Delhi on August 26 afternoon.

New Delhi, August 22
The Shiromani Akali Dal today turned on the heat against the proposed formation of a separate Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for Haryana.

Warning that it was dangerous step that could lead to serious trouble in Punjab and revive the “dark days” while pointing out that the committee will be an economic disaster, besides being an attempt to undo history.

Sources said the SGPC was also toying with the idea to have a separate subcommittee within its own members to manage the affairs of Haryana and this would also tide over the crisis.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the SAD had asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to “intervene effectively and immediately to save Punjab from being turned into another Kashmir.”

Earlier, Sukhbir Badal, Sukhdev Dhindsa and Capt Kanwaljit Singh presented a memorandum to the Prime Minister.

Badal said he hoped that the centre would realise the gravity of the situation and stop the Haryana government from going ahead with its attempts to break up the supreme and elected Sikh religious institution.”

The sentiments of the Sikh community would seriously impact the situation in the
entire region.

“The state has already paid a very heavy price for similar misadventures of the Congress in trying to divide the Sikhs. We are hoping that Sonia Gandhi would draw correct lessons from Punjab’s and country's traumatic experience of the 80s and not persist with her party’s dangerous adventurism in Haryana and Punjab,” said Badal.

The Chief Minister said the SAD demand seemed to have struck a sympathetic chord with the Prime Minister, who assured the delegation that he would direct Union Home Minister Shiv Raj Patil to take up the matter with the Haryana government.

“The Prime Minister informed us that he could understand the seriousness of the problem and the sensitivities of the Sikh masses on the issue as his own father had courted arrest in the struggle for the formation of the SGPC before Independence of the country,” Badal claimed.

The SAD also pointed out the historical error and referred to the movement - Jaitu Morcha - that led to the formation of the All-India Gurdwara Act, 1925.

Then Mahatma Gandhi had described the success of that Morcha, which culminated in the setting of this democratic religious Sikh institution, as the “first victory of the struggle for freedom.”

Later, the first Prime Minister of the country, Jawahar Lal Nehru, reached a pact with Master Tara Singh that said no state or Union government would ever interfere with the Sikh religious affairs.

The SAD said: “Not only is the glory of the struggle, which was hailed by Mahatma Gandhi as a national milestone, being undermined but an effort is being made to undo the proud history of the Sikhs.”

BRIEFLY

House adjourned over dowry case
BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa Assembly, rocked by the dowry case slapped against deputy speaker Prahallad Dora, was adjourned for the day after the Opposition Congress demanded his immediate resignation for an impartial probe into the matter. As soon as the House assembled, Congress members started demanding Dora’s resignation, against whom a case has been registered at Jeypore in Koraput district following a complaint by his daughter-in-law. — PTI

Indian Airlines to compensate passenger
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Lok Adalat for public utility services here has ordered Indian Airlines and its local caterer to provide Rs 25,000 as compensation to a woman passenger, whose palate was injured by a sharp object stuck in a ‘vada’ served to her on board a flight. Adalat chairman A Dennison on Thursday asked the airlines and the caterer to share the compensation and the interest on the amount to be provided to the passenger, Rugmini Krishnan. — PTI

Journey into space
KOTTAYAM: If all goes well, Santhosh George Kulangara, the country’s first non-professional astronaut, will start his space journey within 6 to 18 months in the inaugural flight of Virgin Galactic, the world’s first private spaceline. Kulangara, a 36-year-old businessman hailing from Pala here, has successfully completed his second phase of training for space tourists at the National Aerospace Training and Research Centre at Southampton in Pensylvannia recently. — PTI