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No exception
Rape in Goa |
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Open holes An invitation to disaster WHEN a hole is dug, it must be covered so that no one falls into it. What is so basic was not done and it cost a child his life near Agra. In less than a year, such cases have been reported from Jaipur, Ongole, Yamunanagar and Kanhangad, to name just a few.
India-US ties get stronger
Flowers, not blood
Economic slowdown
Services deserve their due place in society
North Korea
to continue
nuclear
dismantling
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No exception
REPORTS that the Election Commission of India is divided on the issue of holding elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly are distressing. The commission has not done well in singling out the border state while announcing elections in five states. Ideally, it should have included J&K among those going to the polls in November and December. In fact, the Governor’s rule in the state had made an early election imperative in the case of J&K. It is not known why the three-member commission is divided on this issue. Political parties welcome early elections if they suit their interests. Remember the eagerness with which Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi wanted to face elections immediately after the 2002 riots. It is understandable why the Congress does not want early elections in J&K. It feels that the party will lose badly in both Jammu and the Valley. Similarly, the PDP believes that it cannot regain the lost ground in the Valley on account of the separatists gaining the upper hand. On the contrary, the BJP is keen to face elections because it believes it can exploit the Amarnath issue to its advantage in the Jammu region. If the National Conference is not enthusiastic about early elections, it is, again, because it is uncertain about the outcome. In other words, it is ill-advised to be guided by the opinion of political parties in deciding election dates. As a constitutional entity, the Election Commission should be guided solely by the requirements of the Constitution, which mandates that there should be periodic elections to the state assembly. There is no guarantee that if the elections are delayed by a few months, things in the state will improve and there will be a massive voter turnout. The commission cannot rule out the possibility that the separatists will give a call for boycott of the polls. Last time, too, they had given such a call but that did not prevent the voters from turning up in large numbers except in Srinagar. Elections provide the people an opportunity to decide what kind of government should rule them. This constitutional duty mandates the Election Commission to hold elections in J&K along with the five other states.
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Rape in Goa
REPORTS of the alleged involvement of a Goa minister’s son in the rape of a German teenager are shocking. The 21-year-old son, Rohit, is charged with rape, molestation and sending lewd text messages to the minor daughter of a Goa-based researcher. The police have also charged his father, Atanasio Babush Monseratte, Goa’s education minister, with abetment of crime as the mobile phone is registered in his name. The ends of justice will be met only if the rapist is arrested forthwith and punished in accordance with the law. The victim’s mother had lodged a complaint on October 2 against Rohit. Yet, the police failed to book him, apparently because of political pressure. On October 14, the police raided the minister’s residence in Panjim, but returned empty-handed, maintaining that they found neither Rohit nor his father. Surprisingly, the same evening, the minister met Chief Minister Digambar Kamat. He claimed that his son was “innocent”. The incident took a violent turn when his supporters beat up Aires Rodrigues, social activist and lawyer of the girl. Unfortunately, rape has become too common in the country with a woman being raped every 27 minutes. This is bound to give a bad name to the country. After all, Goa is an important tourist destination. The latest incident is similar to the one in which a British tourist, 15-year-old Scarlett Keeling, was raped and murdered on a Goa beach a few months ago. Her parents had alleged that local VIPs were involved and had pressured the police into scuttling the probe. While the last word is yet to be said on the Scarlett Keeling case, the latest incident has put the police on the mat. As the culprits are highly influential, they can be taught a lesson only if the police act impartially. They should be given a clear message that the law will catch them one day and they cannot get away scot-free. A rapist not only causes physical injuries but also leaves a scar on the woman’s most cherished possession — her dignity and honour. It is the duty of the police to ensure that the women are protected from such malcontents. |
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Open holes
WHEN a hole is dug, it must be covered so that no one falls into it. What is so basic was not done and it cost a child his life near Agra. In less than a year, such cases have been reported from Jaipur, Ongole, Yamunanagar and Kanhangad, to name just a few. In 2006, young Prince was rescued from Haldaheri village in Haryana. In the instant case, Sonu, a two-year-old, died after falling into the borewell. All the efforts made to rescue him were in vain. The question is: Why was the borewell not covered? Why are such basic precautions not taken to ensure safety? How many more children will have to be sacrificed before the government and society at large wake up to their responsibilities? Workplace safety is a distant dream in India in spite of the increasing number of lives that are lost. All that happens is a series of knee-jerk reactions resulting from the media coverage of such events and, then, life reverts to “normal”. It is, therefore, “normal” to see a number of people getting hurt, or even killed, due to open manholes in many cities, including the national capital. Roads throw up challenges because at many places potholes prove dangerous, even deadly, to two-wheeler riders and construction sites create hazards of their own. It is not for lack of laws that accidents occur. Buildings, for instance, have to conform to certain standards. But in their bid to maximise profit, the contractors would give a go-by to the construction manual so much so that a water tank in East Delhi collapsed the moment it was filled. “Shortcircuits” are a common cause of fire in this country. Again, it is because of supreme unconcern for safety that stampedes in which hundreds of people were killed occurred in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh recently. All those who violate safety norms must be punished, even as all-out efforts must be made to enforce rules and ensure safety. |
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Today I am a lamppost against which no anthologist lifts his leg. — James Agate
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India-US ties get stronger
Barely a decade ago when Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee decided to announce India’s entry into the nuclear club, with the Pokhran tests of May 11 and May 13, 1998, an enraged President Clinton launched a global campaign commencing with visiting and making common cause with China, to isolate India and force it to roll back” its nuclear weapons programme. Thanks to some subtle diplomacy that involved securing a measure of understanding from France and Russia, combined with a firm resolve, it was not India that backed off, but the US. Sanctions soon ended and Mr Clinton realised that his professions of love for democracy would be meaningless without a visit to India before his term ended. A process of recasting India-US relations was soon initiated, though given the anti-Indian obsession of its nonproliferation warriors, American transfers for India’s space and nuclear programmes and its other high-tech needs remained severely curtailed. Gen Pervez Musharraf’s ill-fated cross-LoC Kargil adventure also resulted in Pakistan being forced to accept that established borders had to be respected. After nearly eight years in office, the Bush Administration is preparing to leave Washington, with what many Americans believe is their country’s foreign policies and economy in tatters. The country is facing its worst economic crisis in decades; it has paid a horrendous price for its ill-advised invasion of Iraq, and terrorist violence along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border appears to be spiralling out of control, with no sign of where Osama bin Laden is hiding. The Democrats appear set to re-enter the White House. In this grim environment, the one major success that those close to President Bush are claiming is the remarkable turnaround in India-US relations during the Bush presidency. Those like former Ambassador Robert Blackwill, who accompanied Mr Bush during his first election campaign, claim that even before he assumed office Mr Bush had a messianic zeal to improve relations with a democratic and economically resurgent India. As early as November 1999, as a Presidential candidate, Mr Bush noted: “The coming century will see democratic India’s arrival as a force in the world - a changing economy in which three of its five wealthiest citizens are software entrepreneurs”. Just As Pakistan was fading away from US radar screens, the terror strikes of 9/11 led to General Musharraf being told in no uncertain terms that the US expected Pakistan to provide it basing, transit and intelligence facilities to wipe out the Taliban and Al-Qaeda from Afghanistan. Pakistan was promised in return a resumption of military and economic assistance. During his first four years Mr Bush was prevented from doing anything significant for India by his pro-Pakistani Secretary of State General Colin Powell, though some moves were made to ease high-tech sanctions against India. Nevertheless, the most significant development of this period was that despite Mr Powell’s reservations, Pakistan-based terrorist groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiyaba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed were declared international terrorist organisations, their assets seized and pressure mounted on Pakistan to rein in these groups. Shortly thereafter, a decision was taken to make frontline American weapons systems, including combat aircraft available to India. For the first time, it was decided to “decouple” American relations with India on the one hand and its ties with Pakistan on the other. As strategic analyst Ashley Tellis, who was closely involved with the formulation of the Bush Administration’s policies, notes: “US relations with each state (India and Pakistan) would be governed by an objective assessment of the intrinsic value of each country to US interests rather than by fears of how US relations with one would affect relations with the other.” Secondly, “while the US would recognise that India is a country on the way to becoming a major Asian power”, it would also recognise Pakistan as “a country in serious crisis” that must be assisted to achieve a “soft landing”. It was in pursuance of this policy that Mr Bush bluntly told his Pakistani hosts in Islamabad who wanted a nuclear deal similar to that with India: “Pakistan and India are different countries with different histories. So as we move forward, our strategy will take into account these well-known differences”. An important development in American policy during the second Bush term was that whether it was the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka, the role of the Maoists in Nepal, or the transition to democracy in Bangladesh, the Americans made it a point to consult closely to ascertain Indian perceptions. Consultations with India became a regular feature on developments within Pakistan and Afghanistan also, as the Taliban-led violence escalated in Afghanistan. Moreover, the last few years have seen movement forward on cooperation in our space programme and on acquisition of major weapons systems for our armed forces from the US. As it now appears that the US is headed for an Obama Presidency, can one expect similar movement forward in India-US relations? It must be remembered that unlike Mr Bush, Mr Obama has not shown any personal interest in relations with India, though the Democratic Party Platform (manifesto) speaks of “deepening and widening our ties with democratic partners like India, in order to create a stable and prosperous Asia”. Many from the Clinton camp, who were and remain ardent advocates continuing nuclear sanctions against India, are today key Obama advisers. There is no mention of the Indo-US nuclear deal in the Democratic Party Platform. Apart from his initial negative role in the Senate on the nuclear issue, Mr Obama also has strong reservations on the reprocessing of spent fuel. New Delhi would, therefore, be well advised not to sign any binding contracts with American companies till such time as contentious issues like nuclear fuel reserves and the reprocessing of spent fuel are sorted out. The US is still to accord its concurrence to the reprocessing of spent fuel for the Tarapur Nuclear Power Plant. Moreover, New Delhi should be prepared for American moves for early ratification of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and finalisation of a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT). Obama’s advisers appear to favour excluding India from Asian and other international cooperative endeavours. They are reportedly advocating the development of a “US, China, Japan” grid for cooperation in nuclear energy. While China and India are presently “Outreach Partners” of the G-8, the Obama team reportedly favours granting full membership of the G-8 to China. While one hopes that such thinking will change once the new administration assumes office, New Delhi will have to undertake some deft diplomacy with partners like France and Russia if an Obama administration “tilts” towards
China.
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Flowers, not blood
Mehrauli is linked with flowers (Phoolwalon ki Sair), not bloodshed (read Delhi’s recent bombs blasts). The flower sellers’ festival at Mehrauli is perhaps India’s only one forging Hindu-Muslim amity, celebrated annually between September and October. Mirza Ghalib wistfully commented, “Oh! Delhi’s spirit would vanish the day there’s no Phoolwalon ki Sair.” Also called Sair-e-Gulfaroshan, it’s traced to the 19th century when the British desired Bahadur Shah Zafar to succeed Mughal emperor Akbar Shah II, not his favourite queen Mumtaz Mahal’s wayward son, Mirza Jehangir. He retaliated by shooting British resident Archibald Seton, though the attempt failed as only Seton’s hat was knocked off. Annoyed, the British imprisoned him in Allahabad. Mirza Jehangir’s grieving mother, for his release, vowed to offer a floral four-poster bed at the dargah (shrine of Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaki) at Mehrauli. Eventually, the British released Mirza Jehangir, his good behaviour being guaranteed. Mumtaz Mahal carried out her pledge grandly, never dreaming that it would go down in history as the famed Phoolwalon ki Sair. A beautiful canopy of fresh and fragrant flowers was woven. It was carried with great reverence and ceremony to the dargah. A throng of flower-sellers holding pankhas (large fan-shaped placard-like frames of fresh flowers mounted on big palm leaves) joined the memorable procession. Hindus and Muslims gathered at the dargah and Yogmaya Mandir (behind Akbar’s foster brother Adham Khan’s tomb). However, the British re-exiled Mirza Jehangir to Allahabad, where he finally died unsung. Ironically, he was the very cause of this pageantry. Dilliwalas, from courtiers to commoners, would travel to Qutub in palkis and tongas, staying there for two or three weeks in various serais for the much-awaited melas and mehfils, tying a red dori at Yogmaya Mandir and the dargah’s trellis for the grant of their wishes. Phoolwalon ki Sair’s zenith was during Bahadur Shah Zafar’s reign. The Baadshah, his begums, khidmutgars and nobles travelled en masse to Mehrauli, offering homage, also lunching en route at the tombs of Himayun, Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia and Safdar Jung. The royal safar would terminate at the carpeted and chandeliered Jahaz Mahal (Ship Palace) built by the Lodhis, lying at Mehrauli bazaar’s end. A luxurious ambience combined with festivities like picnics in Amarian’s shady aambaghs prevailed. The British discontinued it during the Quit India Movement (1942) due to its secular nature, on the pretext of security. However, Pandit Nehru revived it two decades later (1962) for the same reason. Now reduced to three days, the procession of flower/tinsel-decked pankhas, led by brocade sherwani-clad shehnaiwalas and dancers, commences from jharna (Feroz Shah Tughlak’s gulistaan of fountains) winds through illuminated Mehrauli bazaar, and proceeds to Yogmaya Mandir. Historians opine that Delhi’s earlier name, Yoginipura, is derived from this temple. Today only a stone idol remains. Next morning the procession goes to the dargah where Muslim bibis offer thanksgiving prayers for the mannats granted. Jahaz Mahal, lying on the banks of Shamsi Talab (once a large pool), is the venue of kathak dances, qawwalis,
etc.
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Economic slowdown
THE big news this festive season has been the stock market. Due to the turmoil in the international markets and its big impact on India, the Sensex lost 15.9 per cent in the Dusherra week and it is threatening to slide further. Though Dusherra-Diwali is the time for a big rise in sales especially for small-scale manufacturers and handicraft workers, this year could be different. There is not only a problem with security. There are other psychological reasons constraining people from spending. One reason is the lower disposable incomes due to inflation and the other is the lack of confidence about the future of their businesses and jobs. Business confidence of Indian industry has actually touched a new low due to the present liquidity crisis and high interest rates. Recently, the RBI undertook a second cut in the Cash Reserve Ratio of banks by 150 basis points — the biggest since 2001 — hoping to ease the liquidity situation by injecting Rs 60,000 crore in the system. According to FICCI, small and medium enterprises have been hardest hit by the credit crunch. Many shoppers, on the other hand, may feel richer because of the recent pay hike and arrears. Around 4.6 million government employees may thus spend more. Hopefully, their spending will give a boost to the demand for ordinary consumer goods. In general, there is some apprehension about people’s ability to spend and splurge though the large quantum of black money in the system is keeping some type of sales buoyant (like gold and jewellery). Today, India’s shopping malls are facing an excess supply of space as compared to the demand after mall rents doubled in the last two years. Though India is not much dependent on external demand as compared to smaller and more open economies, exports contribute to the growth of manufacturing sector. Exports grew at 26.9 per cent (in dollar terms) in August but imports grew by 76.7 per cent, making the trade deficit rise by 94 per cent to $14 billion in August. The rise in the import bill is due to the rapid depreciation of the rupee. The rupee has depreciated by 15 per cent against the dollar this year and currently touching almost Rs 50. The rise in trade deficit by such a huge amount is not a good sign. And though India does have enough foreign exchange reserves ($283.9 billion), the huge trade deficit is putting downward pressure on the rupee. The RBI has been spending $7.8 billion in propping up the rupee in the last few weeks, catering to the rising dollar demand from business. It is also alarming that manufacturing growth has halved from last year (from 10.9 per cent last year it has shrunk to 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2008-09). Shockingly, industrial growth has sunk to 1.3 per cent in August showing a sharp decline in core sector growth. According to FICCI, employment intensive manufacturing industries like cotton textiles, manmade textiles, wood leather and metal products have witnessed a decline in August. The manufacturing sector growth is getting constrained by high input and high interest costs which is hurting operating margins and crimping demand. Similarly, the real estate activity has slowed down due to its own problems that resemble the ‘subprime’ mortgage crisis of the US. On the demand side, foreign companies’ need for office and residential space is declining and there is a liquidity crunch faced by the sector. Following the US’ crisis, the Indian banks have become cautious about lending to the real estate sector which is leading to a crisis situation. As regards the foreign investment and domestic investment being able to create jobs, there are signs that there are problems ahead in land acquisition and infrastructure. The domestic investment climate has been vitiated by Tata’s forced exit from West Bengal. Foreign investors in today’s business climate are not coming in droves because of problems in their home countries. But more incentives have been given to attract FDI. Both foreign direct investors and foreign institutional investors are worried about the depreciating rupee. The latter has sucked out $9.6 billion from the stock market this year. This economic slowdown will lead to more jobs being lost and a pessimistic outlook. The rise in unemployment in the US is due to the huge slump in automobile, construction and other manufacturing activities. The US is experiencing the biggest rise in unemployment in five years. A recession seems round the corner. A similar situation can prevail in India also. Agriculture, the mainstay of millions in India, is not looking great and there are problems in the kharif production prospects. Agricultural growth has fallen from 4.4 per cent last year to 3 per cent this year. Imports may have to be resorted to in order to control food inflation and farmers may cut spending on consumer durables. The IT service sector too is under pressure from slack and erratic demand for business outsourcing due to the turmoil in western financial markets which Indian IT served extensively. There are bound to be job losses in this sector. Other service sector industries like tourism may also be affected. The aviation sector already is in the red. Not only the US but European tourists may also be cutting down on long distance travel to India. The economic slowdown at this time of the year in India, though not surprising, is unfortunate. Let us hope that the shopping fever will catch up nearer Diwali. It will help boost industrial growth that has sunk to a dangerous level, threatening a recession.
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Services deserve their due place in society THIS is the first time since Independence that a confrontation between the soldiery and the civilian masters should be cause enough for alarm bells to start ringing in wise minds. Never before have the three Service Chiefs collectively and openly taken such a strong stand keeping in mind their duty to safeguard the legitimate interests of the men and women they command and whom they see in the instant case of having been humiliated and short-changed. It is time to understand that in today’s enlightened and well informed world, the soldier does not consider himself to be either a mercenary or cannon fodder. The two varying points of view have brought about this stand off and distrust. One view is that a Pay Commission headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge took time to get everyone’s views including the forces before giving its recommendations. There are others who feel that the forces cannot overturn a Union Cabinet decision. The civilian bureaucracy has conveniently taken care to upgrade its own monetary grades at the first available opportunity. The servicemen’s point is that a civilian mastery over them does not imply a political order that does not comprehend even their legitimate grievances. This is perhaps the only force that still stands tall in its performance and orderly behaviour. It deserves to be at least equated with its counterparts in the higher echelons of the civil services, including the police force. The senselessness with which Lieutenant-Colonels have been downgraded in monetary standing and rank with their counterparts being placed in a higher pay band, the carelessness where only the Army Commanders have been equated with Directors-General of Police and not all the other Lieutenant-Generals with it and the persistence with which the pension of the jawan who retires very early with no lateral rehabilitation and not being enhanced to 70 per cent from the present 50 per cent are the three major areas that mark the proverbial red rag to the raging bull in the services. More than the monetary disparity, it is the fall in ranking and operational gradation (how can a Coast Guard officer cadre override the regular Indian Navy hierarchy in command?; how can a Lieutenant-General with nearly double the amount of service be placed below a DGP?; and how will a Lieutenant-Colonel feel when his erstwhile junior counterpart in the BSF refuses to take his orders in the battle or counter-insurgency?) that should be the cause of serious concern to the government. These are matters that go beyond the ambit of any panel or pay commission. Over the years, with unmatched ruthlessness, the bureaucracy has been riding over a political order that rarely comprehends service ethos or way of working. It has successfully cut to size the only organisation that remains apolitical and highly proficient in the execution of national aims and interests. Should this edifice also crumble like much of the rest? For the services rendered, can any other service or organisation match the armed forces? One can also refer to the IAS here which, certainly, is no match to the ICS which had left a name for itself. Some of our best friends and close kin continue to serve in the civil services and the police. There is nothing personal between them and us but it is the principles that we stand for. They have a role to perform and so do we, and all we are asking for is that the government should recognise our special working conditions, service ethos and precedence of command. Disobedience is simply not in our constitution and while we hold the dignity of the nation high, the government should give us our place in the sun and the dignity and izzat that we have earned with our performance and unimpeachable conduct. Weakened and demoralised defence forces do not augur well for the country. The Service Chiefs have only temporarily accepted the ad hoc dispensation forced onto them and it would be unwise on anyone’s part to think otherwise and disregard the urgency and seriousness of a matter which all the three services are so deeply agitated and worked up. It will be a sad day if the three-member high-powered ministerial committee skirts the issue and takes its own time to arrive at a decision. The services and veterans expect the government to give them their rightful place in society. It should understand that the three Service Chiefs have not defied any authority but only acted in the best interests of the troops and warriors that the government has itself charged them to stedignity and fairness. |
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North Korea
to continue
nuclear
dismantling BEIJING: North Korea has said that it was resuming the dismantlement of its nuclear programme in response to President Bush’s decision to remove it from a list of nations that sponsor terrorism. The announcement means that UN nuclear inspectors, who were barred from entering the facilities in September but not kicked out of the country, can resume their jobs at Yongbyon, North Korea’s main nuclear compound. Surveillance cameras installed by the inspectors are expected to be turned on again starting Monday. North Korea also will resume the removal of fuel from a nuclear Bush in June had promised to remove North Korea from the list as a reward for its denuclearisation efforts. But the process stalled because North Korea would not agree to inspection and verification procedures. North Korea in turn moved to kick out the inspectors and hinted that it might launch a round of missile launches, and possibly conduct another nuclear test, before the end of the President’s term. Hoping to salvage the deal, Christopher R. Hill, the US Assistant Secretary of State, went to Pyongyang for three days earlier this month to hammer out a verification agreement. In a statement distributed on its official news service, North Korea said that since the United States had acted, the Asian nation had “decided to resume the disablement of nuclear facilities in Yongbyon and allow the inspectors…to perform their duties on the principle of “action for action”. North Korea has not been implicated in a terror act since the 1980s. But the delisting has drawn criticism from those who believe that North Korea has not accounted for earlier misdeeds. An association representing families of Japanese people who had been kidnapped by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s called the U.S. action the “betrayal of an ally” at a news conference Sunday in Osaka. Many South Koreans also believe that North Korea should issue a formal apology for the 1987 bombing of a Korean Airlines flight on which 115 people were killed. The verification deal does not permit inspectors unimpeded access to other sites, where it is feared that North Korea could be developing an alternative nuclear program using highly enriched uranium. A fact sheet released by the US State Department said that inspectors could visit undeclared nuclear sites only by “mutual consent.” John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, has blasted the compromise as a “95 per cent victory for North Korea.”
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