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Mayhem at Marriott
Vigil pays |
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Mother and child
Prachanda path
Shepherd of scavengers
War in Afghanistan
Kosi tragedy
Chatterati
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Mayhem at Marriott
The
terrorists’ attack killing over 60 persons at Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel on Saturday is another grisly sign showing how serious the dangers are that Pakistan is facing from the jihadis. Their real target could have been Parliament House nearby where Pakistan’s entire civilian and military leadership was present about three hours before the incident occurred. Though the presence of all the top leaders was in violation of the security code, they were there to hear the first address to parliament of President Asif Ali Zardari. The militants could not succeed because of the strict security checks carried out following a warning from intelligence agencies that Parliament House could be targeted by terrorists anytime. But the militants proved to be smarter and might have quickly changed their plan to hit at the prestigious American hotel. Among the victims was a Czech ambassador. The hotel at the fateful hour had a number of US marines, which shows that the killings reflect the strong anti-US sentiment in Pakistan these days. Whatever is the motivation, frequent suicide bomb blasts may shake the Pakistani state if no effective measures are taken to bring this madness to an end. According to a study by the US-based Pew Research Centre, the support for suicide bombings in Pakistan has declined sharply from 33 per cent in 2002 to 5 per cent today, but in real terms there are people who justify violent extremism. A number of Pakistanis still subscribe to the destructive ideology of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. That is why the banned terrorist outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Lashkar-e-Taiyaba, which have resurfaced by changing their names, are getting considerable support from the gullible sections. This is a very dangerous scenario Pakistan’s rulers are faced with. Pakistan will have to devise a multi-pronged strategy to fully destroy terrorism before the monster destroys the country itself. Terrorists must be given the message that the days of deals in the name of buying peace are over. Of course, the people need to be educated to prevent them from providing any kind of support to militants. But anyone found to be indulging in terrorism on any pretext must be dealt with sternly. The time has come to confront the jihadis with the full might of the state. The world will be with Pakistan in this critical hour. But it must launch a decisive drive against the terrorists — for its own sake.
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Vigil pays
Call
it the result of nationwide criticism of the failure of the Centre and the state governments to get terrorists, or call it the success of the security agencies, but the Delhi police has finally managed to kill two terrorists and arrest five linked to the bomb blasts in Delhi and other places. Friday’s encounter shows that the killers melt in the crowd and could be using any part of the Capital – or, for that matter, of the country – as a sanctuary. It has become necessary for the common people to become eyes and ears of the police, because after all it is their lives which are at stake. It is hoped that many details about the modus operandi of the terrorists would be available from the arrested suspects. The police is of the considered view that Tauqeer, a Mumbai techie and the mastermind of the Delhi serial blasts, remained in touch with these suspects regularly and he had perhaps also stayed in the fourth floor Delhi flat where the encounter took place. The killed terrorists from Uttar Pradesh had no criminal record. It is such persons — many of them educated — who are being now used to carry out the nefarious designs of the heartless killers who target innocent citizens. That has made the job of the police all the more difficult, but it has to prove equal to the task. While any success in the war against terror is welcome, operationally, the Delhi raid was not all that neat considering that two of the terrorists managed to escape. Highly decorated Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma lost his life when terrorists fired at him. It is not clear why he was not wearing a bulletproof jacket like his colleagues while going out on such a dangerous mission. The nation should salute him and other men who risk their lives so that the citizens could lead a less fear-filled life. At a time when organised terrorist groups are out to kill people and cause disruption across the country, we not only need tougher laws but also more such tough men who will do anything for the nation. |
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Mother and child
MINISTER for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury has the support of The Tribune and all right-thinking people for her plan to make it obligatory to mention the names of both parents in all the certificates of a child. The issue cropped up over the denial of passport to a teen-aged girl in Mumbai because she refused to mention the name of her biological father in the passport application. The passport office did not accept her mother’s name as a substitute for her father’s name. Since her father had never communicated with her since the day she was born, she thought it justified to leave his name out. She was brought up by her mother with whom she lived even at the time she applied for a passport. It is a measure of the patriarchal nature of our society that the passport office told her she could mention the name of her foster father, but not her mother. The passport office should have been satisfied with the mother’s name. The problem would not have arisen if the girl’s certificates mentioned the names of her mother also. In any case, the law has to change in the light of the sweeping changes in society. With the divorce rate going up and living-in relationships becoming common in cities, children are the worst sufferers. Society has a responsibility to make their life easier by doing away with cumbersome procedures. Courts have passed decrees in divorce cases that mothers are the natural guardians. In a majority of such cases, the custody of the child is given to the mother. Yet, passport offices insist on the father’s consent if a mother enjoying the guardianship of the child applies for a passport on her behalf. The Supreme Court had in the Gita Hariharan case ruled that the mother should be given equal rights as a natural guardian. It ruled against the argument that this was contrary to the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act on the ground that Parliament would not have passed the Act in 1956, if it had transgressed the principles of equality of sexes contained in the Constitution, which came into force full six years earlier. It will be a furtherance of these progressive rulings if the minister succeeds in her attempt to make it obligatory to mention the names of both parents in a child’s certificate. |
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A man’s best friends are his ten fingers. — Robert Collyer
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Prachanda path Nobody expected Nepal’s Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ to arrive waving red flags and with guns blazing. Yet the interest in and the impact of his first visit to India as Prime Minister was far more than that created by any of his predecessors, especially after the emergence of multi-party democracy in 1990. Prachanda is no stranger to India. Nor was the Indian political class unacquainted with him before he became the first Prime Minister of the world’s newest republic. In the more than five months since the April election to the Constituent Assembly, the South Asian region as much as Nepal has had enough time to accept the reality of the Maoists leading the Nepalese government. For all that, unasked questions and unstated apprehensions about the world’s first elected Maoist head of government persisted until the man himself appeared — not in the official dress that Nepalese government functionaries traditionally wear, but in a business suit. That attire often proclaims the man was never more apt. In fact, the attire proclaimed the man’s intent, too: that he was here on business and he was a man they could do business with. Hardly surprising, then, that the first splash he made was at a joint meeting of the three chambers of commerce and industry. Prachanda impressed India Inc with his earnest pitch for cooperation, making no bones about the reality that Indian investment and involvement in Nepal were critical for the country’s development and growth. He, as much as his audience, know that if India does not invest in Nepal then few other countries in the world would be encouraged to do so. However, he presented his case to convey that Indian industry and investment, too, would gain in the process of a cooperative partnership; and, that the opportunities outweighed the risks as he was committed to building a secure climate for investments. Such an opening gambit amidst hard-headed business leaders set the tone for what turned out to be a landmark visit which was not confined to politics or the political establishment of the day. His diplomatic engagement extended to leaders across the political and business spectrum, be it a trip to Infosys in Bangalore, hobnobbing with corporate honchos or going to the Bharatiya Janata Party headquaters. He minced no words about what he had to say. At the same time, he made his points frankly and forcefully without giving rise to friction. He drew attention to differences in the relationship in a way as to indicate how India and Nepal could together move forward on many tracks. At a meeting with leaders from the range of parliamentary parties, Prachanda made it clear that he was leading a “New Nepal” and that he looked forward to a continuation and strengthening of India-Nepal relations. He made it equally clear that this meant a “break with the old continuation and start of a new continuation. He called for imparting a “new dynamism” to the relationship by focusing on the big picture and “not on the small things”. Prachanda was breaking old barriers to make new friends for New Nepal and sending a signal that no longer would the ruling party in Nepal kowtow to one leading political party in India. The message — that in the larger interest of India-Nepal relations a number of smaller but settled arrangements will have to change — could not have been lost on the government or the Congress party, especially as it was at a luncheon hosted by the Janata Dal (U) President Sharad Yadav; and attended, among others, by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and leaders of the CPM, the CPI and the BJP. Political equations within Nepal are yet to stabilise in any clear mould after the momentous electoral upset. And, they are unlikely to stabilise until the peace process is concluded successfully, a new Constitution adopted and fresh elections held in 2010. With no one national party assured of continuity at the helm of government in New Delhi, it makes practical sense for Prachanda to diversify his political portfolio and invest in a working relationship with all parties; and maintaining equidistance between the Congress and the BJP. He managed to do this in a matter-of-fact manner. His seeking a rapport with the BJP is significant – because of the Maoists being at the other ideological extreme – but not unexpected. Prachanda calling on BJP President Rajnath Singh, who hosted a tea for him at the party headquarters, shows the former guerrilla leader’s transformation as a statesman who can negotiate Nepalese interest regardless of ideology and cross-national party affiliations. This ‘overture’ to the BJP is guided as much by Nepal’s need to negotiate its way in Indian coalition politics as the compulsion to ensure that the Sangh Parivar outfits, which are active in the Terai do not stir up trouble. The Maoists are vulnerable in the Terai and the Terai with its vast open border with India can be the ground where threats to both Kathmandu’s elected elite and Indian security interests can emerge. By assuring the BJP leadership that the demise of the Hindu kingdom does not mean the burial of Nepal’s Hindu ethos or its emotional and cultural links with India, Prachanda is seeking wider political support here. The subtext appears to be that bilateral ties are far too important to be driven solely by the bonds between the Nepali Congress and the Congress party. Prachanda’s visit had the right atmospherics. He made the right moves and said the right things. There were substantive agreements with regard to the issues on which the two countries disagree, such as the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship. On these contentious issues, which anyway cannot be resolved in haste, neither side sought to press its viewpoints with any urgency. Therefore, both New Delhi and Kathmandu limited the exercise to recognition of the reality that times have changed and that the political situations in both countries are in for further changes. In the circumstances, it was best to leave the problems to official-level mechanisms with reiterations of intent to “upgrade and revise” bilateral ties by making a “fresh start” in many areas. This has served to restore a climate for cooperation, put behind the somewhat troubled and suspicious phase that marked India-Nepal relations for the last several months and ensured that the top leadership of the two countries — regardless of personalities and parties — can continue to engage as before even as the agenda and the purpose is redefined to meet the aspirations of a new
Nepal.
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Shepherd of scavengers These
are Gandhiji’s famous words. Born into a family of scavengers in 1966, Bezwada Wilson is no Gandhi reborn, but born with something of a Gandhi in him. Working for generations in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) what his family handled was no gold - only human excreta. Wilson’s personal encounter with scavenging came when he saved a sanitary worker from drowning into a pit of night-soil and barely survived drowning himself into it. He wanted to die, says Wilson. He resolved to wage a war against this ‘hateful practice’ and ‘relieve’ not only his family but the entire community of the scourge of manual scavenging. Starting his education in a school reserved for scavengers’ children, Wilson completed post-graduation. He applied for a job. He tore off the appointment letter in utter disgust when he discovered that the offer was only for a scavenger’s job. His degrees notwithstanding! Removal of manual scavenging became his lifetime job then. Torn pieces of the appointment letter are still kept as a treasure in the tiny archives that the family owns. Bezwada Wilson attracted evident attention at a recent workshop on manual scavenging organised by NHRC. Servants of the public used officialese with remarkable effect denying existence of scavenging where it still exists and creating a hype about states where supposedly it has been eliminated. Wilson did not allow any claim go unchallenged. Photographic evidence, figures supported by surveys and site visits exposed the wide gaps between what was claimed to have been done and a lot that remains. The Kolar township inhabited by about two lakh people was festering with large bins. The banality of the problem was devastating as it produced alcoholism, poverty, unemployment and illiteracy. Wilson made it his battleground and announced, “This is my personal problem now! I will do a dharna before the KGF head office. If you want to support me, do it. If you don’t, I will anyway go ahead”. Total abolition of manual scavenging became the slogan and the goal of the Safai Karamchari Andolan, which Wilson had formed as a vehicle of his campaign. Wilson’s firmly believes that if the scavengers mobilise themselves, they can achieve complete abolition of manual scavenging. Trudging long distances, organising cycle rallies, Wilson toured the length and breadth of Karnataka. His triumph came when in an emergency Board meeting in 1994, KGF Board abolished manual scavenging. In this moment of triumph Wilson left KGF. He toured Andhra Pradesh and then moved on to the North to extend the reach of his Safai Karamchari Andolan. Though always in the vanguard of his fight, he does not quarrel or pick up a fight. Ever willing to be helpful he never fails to expose the false claims by government bodies. This is how he leads Andolan. Wilson’s Andolan has created remarkable awareness that scavenging is, indeed, a human problem and not a labour issue. His calm face belies his restless soul. Deeply religious with a firm faith in the church, he is not afraid of saying that “the church and its ministers want to talk of the Kingdom hereafter, but not about the living hell today”. He draws inspiration from the Bible, Bapu and the Baba (Ambedkar). Being the youngest, Wilson was the darling of his mother Rachal, herself a devout Christian. She desired that her son should become a pastor. Instead, he has become the shepherd of the
scavengers.
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War in Afghanistan
Poor old Algerians. They are being served the same old pap from their cruel government. In 1997, the Pouvoir announced a “final victory” over their vicious Islamist enemies. On at least three occasions, I reported – not, of course, without appropriate cynicism – that the Algerian authorities believed their enemies were finally beaten because the “terrorists” were so desperate that they were beheading every man, woman and child in the villages they captured in the mountains around Algiers and Oran. And now they’re at it again. After a ferocious resurgence of car bombing by their newly merged “al-Qa’ida in the Maghreb” antagonists, the decrepit old FLN government in Algiers has announced the “terminal phase” in its battle against armed Islamists. As the Algerian journalist Hocine Belaffoufi said with consummate wit the other day, “According to this political discourse ... the increase in attacks represents undeniable proof of the defeat of terrorism. The more terrorism collapsed, the more the attacks increased ... so the stronger (terrorism) becomes, the fewer attacks there will be.” We, of course, have been peddling this crackpot nonsense for years in south-west Asia. First of all, back in 2001, we won the war in Afghanistan by overthrowing the Taliban. Then we marched off to win the war in Iraq. Now – with at least one suicide bombing a day and the nation carved up into mutually antagonistic sectarian enclaves – we have won the war in Iraq and are heading back to re-win the war in Afghanistan where the Taliban, so thoroughly trounced by our chaps seven years ago, have proved their moral and political bankruptcy by recapturing half the country. It seems an age since Donald “Stuff Happens” Rumsfeld declared,”A government has been put in place (in Afghanistan), and the Islamists are no more the law in Kabul. Of course, from time to time a hand grenade, a mortar explodes – but in New York and in San Francisco, victims also fall. As for me, I’m full of hope.” Oddly, back in the eighties, I heard exactly the same from a Soviet general at the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan – yes, the very same Bagram airbase where the CIA lads tortured to death a few of the Afghans who escaped the earlier Russian massacres. Only “terrorist remnants” remained in the Afghan mountains, the jolly Russian general assured us. Afghan troops, along with the limited Soviet “intervention” forces, were restoring peace to democratic Afghanistan. And now? After the “unimaginable” progress in Iraq – I am quoting the fantasist who still occupies the White House – the Americans are going to hip-hop 8,000 soldiers out of Mesopotamia and dump another 4,700 into the hellfire of Afghanistan. Too few, too late, too slow, as one of my French colleagues commented acidly. It would need at least another 10,000 troops to hope to put an end to these Taliban devils who are now equipped with more sophisticated weapons, better trained and increasingly – sad to say – tolerated by the local civilian population. For Afghanistan, read Irakistan. Back in the late 19th century, the Taliban – yes, the British actually called their black-turbaned enemies “Talibs” – would cut the throats of captured British soldiers. Now this unhappy tradition is repeated – and we are surprised! Two of the American soldiers seized when the Taliban stormed into their mountain base on 13 July this year were executed by their captors. The Soviet general at Bagram now has his amanuensis in General David McKiernan, the senior US officer in Afghanistan, who proudly announced last month that US forces had killed “between 30 and 35 Taliban” in a raid on Azizabad near Herat. “In the light of emerging evidence pertaining (sic) to civilian casualties in the ... counter-insurgency operation,” the luckless general now says, he feels it “prudent” – another big sic here – to review his original investigation. The evidence “pertaining”, of course, is that the Americans probably killed 90 people in Azizabad, most of them women and children. We – let us be frank and own up to our role in the hapless Nato alliance in Afghanistan – have now slaughtered more than 500 Afghan civilians this year alone. These include a Nato missile attack on a wedding party in July when we splattered 47 of the guests all over the village of Deh Bala. And Obama and McCain really think they’re going to win in Afghanistan – before, I suppose, rushing their soldiers back to Iraq when the Baghdad government collapses. What the British couldn’t do in the 19th century and what the Russians couldn’t do at the end of the 20th century, we’re going to achieve at the start of the 21 century, taking our terrible war into nuclear-armed Pakistan just for good measure. Fantasy again. Joseph Conrad, who understood the powerlessness of powerful nations, would surely have made something of this. Yes, we have lost after we won in Afghanistan and now we will lose as we try to win again. Stuff happens. By arrangement with
The Independent
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Kosi tragedy Last week I visited some flood-affected areas of Bihar. As I travelled from Patna to Saharsa and Methupura on potholed and often non-existent roads I saw nature’s furious and crushing blow on a struggling and destitute people. Not that the rich were spared – nature does not make distinctions – but the haves find alternatives. The have-nots simply don’t. I saw the human spirit fighting for survival under the most trying conditions – people wading through thigh-high water carrying all their possessions in a bundle on their head, or bringing relief to their marooned kin; hutments barely covered with scant polythene sheet but overflowing with occupants; hands stretching anxiously for relief material, faces twitching nervously waiting for relief boats. Miles and miles of water across the horizon – perhaps a scenic beauty in normal times but now a picture of devastation. Amidst the devastation children could be seen frolicking in water, women had started the chores that needed doing, and men had stopped to complain. I wondered if it was resignation to fate or resilience of the human will. And as I was struck by the strength of the victims to bear the suffering un-leashed upon them, the discomfort of my journey to the flood-stricken area and spartan facilities paled into insignificance. The makeshift arrangements for my stay in a temporary home of Dr. R.N. Singh, a Rotarian from Patna, seemed a blessing. My colleague Ranjit Bhatia, a Rotarian businessman from Panipat, the local Rotary Governor Dr. L.B. Singh, and I with some others who had accompanied us from Patna, joined our hands together in a grateful prayer. I was not sure if we the fortunate few could have borne anywhere near the suffering of the villagers around us. We saw the numerous relief camps that had sprung up with relief material from benevolent organisations. Even the government camps, to our pleasant surprise, were well organised and equipped with proper food, adequate medicines and regular medical assistance. Inhabitants appeared satisfied. Unhappy were those who could not immediately find a place in these camps. Yes, quality was reasonable but quantity of accommodation not enough. We did, however, see these camps being continuously expanded. The 4 Rs of managing a disaster situation are useful to recall – Rescue, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reso-lution. I will leave the last “Resolution” for discussion by experts; who would know how best to resolve the issues ensuring nonrecurrence and/or preparedness for such tragedies. In this connection Rama-swamy Iyer’s article “Lesson from Kosi” that appeared in “The Tribune” a few days ago discusses pertinently, whether the Kosi, also known as river of sorrow, can be bridled, and how can we deal with such natural calamities. I will confine myself to the first three aspects, starting with “Rescue”. It is now commonly known that had warnings about the Kosi been heeded and timely action taken, the suffering could have been substantially reduced; delay proved deadly. About “Relief” operations, my impression, talking to the people in the camps and on the streets was generally of satisfaction with what the authorities were doing. I only wish there had been more camps. Along our journey we encountered a traffic blockage by people agitating against a corrupt local government officer who was supplying substandard and contaminated rice, instead of the good quality product provided for distribution by the government. I was happy that instead of accepting whatever was dished out to them, the people, even though hungry, stood up to protest. A senior government officer resolved the issue and promised to suspend the delinquent staffer. This further confirmed my impression that the government distribution machinery was functioning satisfactorily. It was notable how the “Emergency Management and Research Institute”, an organisation set up with public-private partnership between Satyam and the state governments of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, provided 13 mobile medical vans, each fully equipped to deal with any medical situation short of surgery and manned by well-trained paramedical staff. This was an extraordinary example that many other corporate houses and state governments could emulate. “Rehabilitation” phase will come soon. As the flood waters recede, so will the nation’s memory of the tragedy. In the media the news, already relegated to insignificant pages, will be forgotten and relief funds will dry up quickly. The writer is an industrialist, social worker and former World President of Rotary International.
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Chatterati The annual elections of the 95-year-old Delhi Gymkhana Club are always fought as a prestigeous battle, especially after senior officers of the forces have started taking part in them. Come August and phone calls start going all over India to various civil and defence officers for canvassing. Some candidates for the post of executive member send their biodata all over. Now after former Army Chief J.J. Singh retired and went off to Arunachal as Governor, Lt General Rajender Singh is fighting the election for the President’s post. Pitted against him is the former Air Marshal P.S. Ahluwalia. Serving officers like Rajender Singh need clearance from Army Headquarters. J.J. had got the clearance. As per the deal worked out last year, Ahluwalia withdrew from the elections and allowed JJ Singh to be elected unopposed on the understanding that he would be the unanimous choice. According to his supporters, the General should have honoured the deal made in front of former presidents. Let us see which of the two heavy weights wins the battle this year. In Gymkhana the waiting period for entry is up to 35 years for ordinary private guys. For civil and defence officers it can take 15 to 18 years. The newly renovated club has a barber shop, a masseur shop, tennis courts and a bakery. Top IAS and IPS officers have made the club their home over the years and have fought enough battles among themselves. Bloody weekend The Delhi blasts completed the mission “BAD” (Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi) for the terrorist organisation Indian Mujahideen. These are the dark and bloody days in Indian history. The weekend was very dreadful for people in the metropolis. There were five blasts in the crowded area of New Delhi and it took the lives of many innocent people and injured more than 100. This year alone, India has witnessed blasts in state capitals and now Delhi, killing more than 500 people. The public wants the government to take tough action against these organisations, which are openly sending e-mails in the name of God and claiming responsibility for these ghastly blasts. What voters want Looks like Congressmen themselves do not believe that the N-deal is a vote-catching issue. Following the successful passage of the nuclear deal in the Lok Sabha, the political stock of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ought to have gone up. But in his own party, this does not appear to be the case. At a recent Congress Working Committee meeting, leaders from the poll-bound states of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi were seen requesting Sonia and Rahul Gandhi to visit their states and campaign for the party, but none approached the Prime Minister. These hard-nosed realists understand what the voters need.
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