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Conflict of interests
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Hungry India
Outlook in Jammu & Kashmir
God make us dogs
Booker for Adiga
Scrambling for cash:Pak turns to China
Delhi Durbar
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Conflict of interests
SPEAKING up for the democratic rights and aspirations of a besieged people in another country and expecting the national government to submit to the dictates of ‘politics from below’ are two different things. It is all very well for political parties in Tamil Nadu to give vent to their anguish and concern over the discrimination and violence against the Tamils in Sri Lanka. In fact, public protests against the Sri Lankan government’s atrocities against the Tamils should not be confined to Tamil Nadu; all sections of the country that value democratic rights ought to speak up to make the authorities in Colombo feel the heat of public pressure in India. That said, these parties and sections of the public should not expect the Union government to accept their demands as the basis for policy and action. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has responded adequately to the concerns of Tamil Nadu in sending a strong message to Colombo that the human rights of the Tamils must be respected. Even before the DMK-led all-party meeting — which said that state MPs would resign their seats if the Centre did not ensure a ceasefire within two weeks — National Security Adviser M K Narayanan had conveyed New Delhi’s growing concern over the developments. It has been made plain to Colombo that India is opposed to the pursuit of a military solution for resolving the Tamil-Sinhala conflict. Beyond this, the Centre cannot allow cross-border ethnic solidarity to decide or dictate foreign policy because, then, it could be carried to parochial extremes in other regions of the country. It is significant that the parties in Tamil Nadu invariably seek New Delhi’s “intervention” whenever the LTTE is in a tight corner. The Sri Lankan armed forces are reported to be on the verge of retaking Killinochi town, a rebel stronghold. India’s commitment is to the cause of the Tamils’ rights, not the sustenance of the LTTE, which is a terrorist organisation. Given this distinction, which the DMK and other parties must accept, New Delhi would be wise to steer a course that is not to the advantage of the LTTE or the Sri Lankan armed forces. At the same time, New Delhi must respect Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and remain committed to the war-torn neighbour’s territorial integrity.
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Back to flying WHATEVER Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal may claim, it was public pressure that forced the airlines to reinstate 1900 employees who were sacked during the last two days. As the head of the Jet family, he says, he cannot see tears in the eyes of any employee. With this, an unfortunate episode has, hopefully, ended. The reason why Jet Airways’ decision to sack so many employees had caused widespread resentment is not far to seek. The decision came within a few days of Jet Airways and Kingfisher airlines deciding to join hands to pool their resources to maximise revenue. In a way, it confirmed the widely held fears that the two airlines, who together account for 60 per cent of the domestic air traffic, would behave like a cartel. It was believed that Kingfisher would follow in the footsteps of its big brother Jet. The inhumane manner in which Jet Airways executed its plan to downsize also contributed to the public anger. The sacked employees were not given any notice whatsoever. In many cases, they turned up for duty, only to be told that their services were no longer required. Jet Airways had its own reasons to sack the staff. The aviation industry is in doldrums, cost of operations has gone up, the US meltdown has a debilitating effect on the passenger bookings and it has a lot of flab to shed. But all this did not comfort the airhostesses and ground staff who were “pink-slipped”, to use the airline’s jargon. For many of these employees, the salary was their only source of income. Given the recessionary situation, it would have been impossible for them to find alternative jobs in the industry. Civil aviation minister Praful Patel did not crown himself with glory when he refused to intervene on the specious plea that it was a labour dispute. At the root of the problem was the failure of the management, which could not foresee the emerging situation. It was just six months ago that some of the retrenched employees were recruited. The civil aviation ministry also failed to take remedial action in time. In no case could the poor employees be blamed for the ills of the industry. The threat of agitation by political parties and their unions surely influenced Mr Goyal’s decision. For the employees, all is well that ends well.
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Hungry India
THE ‘India shining’ image has, again, taken a beating. On the global hunger index, India has been ranked 66th amongst 88 countries, as reported by the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute. This taints, if not belies, India’s claims of being the fastest growing free market democracy. While the growing levels of consumerism surpass all logical levels of indulgence, there is the grim reality of abject hunger and poverty. In absolute numbers, India is home to the largest number — over 200 million hungry people. The nutritional and health indicators put India on a par with sub-Saharan Africa. For a country that won freedom six decades ago, freedom from hunger still remains a chimera. Contrary to popular belief, hunger is not caused by food shortage alone. It is caused by the mismanagement of the country’s food resources. The dichotomoy of millions going to bed with empty stomachs while the FCI godowns are overflowing with foodgrains seldom registers on the policy-makers. Of course, many government schemes like Annapoorna Yojana, Antyodaya Anna Yojana, Food for Work and Mid-day Meal are in place. Unfortunately, the benefits do not reach the needy because of bureaucratic delays and corruption. Hunger is linked to the lack of purchasing power and policies that promote poverty and perpetuate denial and inequities. Programmes like the Hunger Project that empowers men and women to end their own hunger must gain nation-wide momentum. Lessons can also be learnt from the public distribution system in states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The media can’t escape its share of the blame either. ‘Hungry’ with sensational lifestyle stories, large sections of the media preoccupy themselves with frivolous reports. Hunger as a vital concern of a welfare society has been marginalised and finds little space in national consciousness. It has to be understood as the combined responsibility of the corporate world, the government and the society at large. Otherwise, India would acquire the unwanted distinction of being the ‘republic of hunger’.
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Diseases desperate grown,/By desperate alliances are relieved,/Or not at all. — William Shakespeare
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Outlook in Jammu & Kashmir During
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Srinagar and Jammu, Kashmiri separatists were able to engineer a shutdown of the valley, which has been a virtual routine there over the years. Also, the Hurriyat and other extremists were quick to reject his offer of talks. But none of this could detract from his message to the sensitive state’s long-suffering people. No Kashmiri farmer can be oblivious of the meaning of the inauguration of the Baglihar irrigation project, hitherto held up by Pakistan’s specious objections. No less important was his waiving of the green flag to the first train to run in the valley. When, in a few years, this rail link extends to Jammu and thus to the huge network across the country, its immense benefits would be manifest to one and all. This possibility should be viewed in the context of the upheaval caused recently by the "blockade" of the Jammu-Srinagar highway during the emotive agitation on both sides of Banihal over the Amarnath land allotment. What the Jammu agitators did was foolish indeed. But the separatists of Kashmir also blew it out of all proportions. They organised the disastrous "March to Muzaffarabad" that led to loss of life and aggravation of the already grim situation. Yet, in retrospect, it is clear beyond doubt that the "blockade" in fact lasted only a couple of days before the authorities, helped by the Army, were able to restore traffic. It is a measure of the ineptitude of both the state and Central governments that even while hundreds of trucks plied, they let the propaganda about the blockade, by both the separatists and TV channels, go on. No wonder then that the secessionists and separatists had a field day. They took out procession after procession, carrying black, green and Pakistani flags and shouting anti-India and pro-Pakistan slogans. One such procession marched to the headquarters of the observers of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) in Srinagar. Shaken by the events when the procession bound for Muzaffarabad was fired upon the security forces let the separatists have their way. Luckily, of late, this policy has been reversed. Syed Ali Shah Gilani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq have been denied the power to shut down the valley and call out protest marches at the drop of a fur cap. Now, whenever they plan such ventures, the state government pre-empts them and shuts down the valley itself, keeping at bay both defiance and violence. At last the writ of the Indian state has begun to run in a part of the country where it was being flouted flagrantly. This message cannot be lost on the Hindutva extremists responsible for murder and mayhem in the Jammu region during the prolonged Amarnath land agitation. It is also gratifying that the prospects of trade across the LoC have brightened up. Official-level discussions between India and Pakistan are already on, and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari is even talking of converting the LoC into the Line of Commerce. Should this come about mutual trade would add to mutual confidence though one should never underestimate the Pakistani sentiment that Kashmir "belongs" to it by right. At the same time, it would be useful not to lose sight of the limitations of the cross-LoC commerce. Kashmiri apple exporters would have tough competition in Pakistan from apple-growers of that country. Then there is the problem of payments. Given Pakistan’s precarious economy, especially amidst the global financial tsunami, would it have enough dollars to pay for imports? From all accounts the authors of the sound new policy in Kashmir are National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and J & K Governor N.N. Vohra. The latter’s responsibilities are confined to the state. But the NSA and his political bosses need to take steps to ensure that the writ of the Indian state, currently inoperative in various other parts of the country, is enforced there, too. In states like Orissa and Karnataka the Union government may be able to do no more than issue advisories — why it backed down from invoking Article 355 is far from clear — but what about the state of Maharashtra where a Congress-led coalition is letting hapless "outsiders" being targeted. Against this backdrop the key question in Jammu and Kashmir today is the timing of the next election to the state assembly that was actually due this month. However, since the state government fell and the state went under President’s rule some months ago, in the wake of the storm over Amarnath land, the general feeling was for postponing the poll. The most important reason was the belief that the separatists would announce a boycott of the election and, in highly disturbed circumstances the turnout of voters could be embarrassingly low. But if the separatists were determined to announce a boycott whenever the elections are held, how often and how long would they be deferred? In the past, at the height of the insurgency that was a mixture of indigenous alienation and cross-border terrorism, elections were postponed for years. Surely, that must not been repeated. Moreover, the general atmosphere in the state looks like improving, a process that has got to be encouraged. The Election Commission was on a visit to Kashmir some days ago, and in its interaction with political parties, it inevitably got divided advice. The parties and groups unsure of their prospects demanded that the assembly elections be deferred. But others felt that they should be held along with assembly elections in other states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Mizoram. Because of the weather conditions in Kashmir, it would be better to hold them somewhat earlier. Time was when the state government and even New Delhi were of the view that elections in an inflamed atmosphere be avoided. Judging by the Prime Minister’s public pronouncements during his visit to the state, it seems that the Union government, too, is veering round to the view that elections should take place according to schedule. Dr Manmohan Singh has assured the J & K people that, as in 2002, so now the elections would be free and fair. In that background, an early and clear announcement of timely elections might even help change the mood in the troubled state. And even if this expectation is not fulfilled, even a low poll would be much better than no
poll.
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God make us dogs
Few dog-lovers would dispute that that dog is man’s best friend. But if the man in question happens to be a husband and the cute brute his wife’s pet, the equation changes a bit. And if any man thinks that he can keep the ship of matrimony afloat by just adhering to the precept, “love me love my dog”, he doesn’t know what stuff marriages and, well, dogs are made of. History has it that soon after his (first) wedding Napoleon was told that Josephine’s dog Fortune was in the habit of sleeping in her bed and that the changed marital status of his (dog’s) mistress wasn’t excuse enough to alter the sleeping arrangement. While the ruler of France reconciled to this unusual piece of dowry (and the situation), the dog did not. On the very first night the pampered pug defended his territory by digging into the little corporal’s shin. The truth today is that dog is more of a man’s rival than his mate. Hollywood actress Jennifer Aniston has recently gone on record to say that she wished men were more like dogs. “It wouldn’t be bad if, when a man comes home, he’d run to his woman with his tail (sic) wagging”, she elaborated. Elsewhere, in an online poll conducted by DogCatradio.com sometime back, 78 per cent respondents said they would rather have a pet than a husband. Before anyone dismisses it lightly one should consider that more than 1 lakh women participated in the poll. Experienced husbands would agree that the point of dispute is not so much the finding itself as the fact that husbands weren’t included in the category of pets when, in fact, a pet husband is almost a tautology. But they needn’t lose hope. If any husband thinks he is less of it, he can be trained to be a perfect pet. That was the pitch of a 2005 BBC reality show called “Bring your husband to Heel.” “You can train your husband like a dog because they both learn in the same way," said Annie Clayton, the hostess of the show, adding to good effect, “I am living proof it works. I haven't washed a dish in years." Perhaps she was inspired by the 1962 comedy film, “If a Man Answers”. In the movie, the leading lady’s mother, to put an end to the daughter’s marital woes, advices her, “If you want a perfect marriage, treat your husband like a dog", and hands her, ahem, a dog-training manual. Needless to say, for the unhappy husbands who are never tired of lamenting, “It’s a dog’s life”, the redemption lies not in sulking but in brushing up on pet-behaviour. What about those who are too old to learn new tricks? Well, they might seek consolation in a wish that a friend once expressed. Asked what he would like to be in his next birth, his pat reply was, “An heiress’ pooch!”
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Booker for Adiga
Aravind
Adiga, a first-time author, won the Man Booker Prize for his novel The White Tiger. It was praised by the judges for presenting the “dark side of India” and likened to Shakespeare’s Macbeth “with a delicious twist”. Adiga, 33, was the second-youngest writer in the 40 years of the competition to claim the £50,000 first prize. He was also the second novelist of Indian origin to win with a debut novel – as Arundhati Roy did in 1997 with The God Of Small Things. Accepting his award in London, Adiga said the work came out of his journalistic assignments, which took him travelling across India to its northern regions. “I grew up in the south, which was very different culturally and economically to the places along the Ganga where I was travelling,” he said. “For the first time, I met people like rickshaw-pullers, and it got me thinking about India in a different way. This book was an attempt to capture the voice of the men I met.” Asked what he would spend the prize money on, Adiga joked: “The first thing I’m going to do is find a bank where I can put it in.” Speaking about his desire to capture the underclass in India, which he said amounted to 400 million people, the author said he found them “similar to black Americans, with a sense of humour you would associate with the Jewish population in the ghettos”. He added that he wanted to do this without sentimentality, and without presenting them as “merciless weaklings”. Adiga explained: “I did not forget about him”. The annual Booker prize, which goes to the best work of fiction by an author from the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland, all but guarantees worldwide readership and a surge in book sales. Michael Portillo, the former Tory minister who chaired the panel of judges, said their decision was “emotionally draining” because they initially split their votes between Adiga and one other on the shortlist of six. The final selection meeting, he said, brought all of the male judges to tears. He praised The White Tiger as an “extraordinary” work which painted a searing portrait of Indian poverty. Its plot revolves around Balram, a young man who grows up in a poor village and is beguiled by the corrupting charms of Delhi. Mr Portillo said: “He is a hero who is a thorough-going villain. The story tells of the corruption that typifies Indian politics as the author see it. It is an interesting insight into a country that is becoming more and more important in global affairs. It does follow the story of Macbeth’s ambition realised through murder. There’s a delicious twist. Adiga was born in Madras in 1974 and partly raised in Australia. He studied at Columbia University in New York and at Oxford, and has written for The Independent and for Time magazine. Now based in Mumbai, he is the third debutant to win the Booker, after Roy and DBC Pierre, who was first choice in 2003 for Vernon God Little. The Booker judges had claimed the six short-listed novels were great page-turners worthy of beating the likes of Salman Rushdie, and formed the most readable short-list in years. Critics said the offerings by largely unknown authors were unremarkable. Philip Hensher, The Independent columnist whose book The Northern Clemency was also a contender, said: “It was a huge honour to be on the shortlist and I’m very happy that a lot more readers have discovered my book.” The five other nominees won £2,500 each. Adiga’s countryman Amitav Ghosh was nominated for Sea Of Poppies, while Australia’s Steve Toltz, 36, was the other debutant with A Fraction Of The Whole. Irishman Sebastian Barry, short-listed in 2005, made the cut again with The Secret Scripture. —
By arrangement with The Independent |
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Scrambling for cash:Pak turns to China Pakistan
has reached a critical new phase in its long-deteriorating financial situation, as investor flight and bleeding of national reserves force the country to scramble for international funds to shore up its economy. With the global financial crisis draining coffers in the United States and Europe, the key US ally in the war on terrorism is seeking help from old friend newly flush with cash: China. President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a four-day state visit. While the amount of money Pakistan needs in the short term is relatively small — $4 billion to $6 billion — analysts say the climate of crisis and public anger over domestic bailouts in the United States and Western Europe have made even a modest infusion from its Western allies politically difficult. Pakistan’s bid for Chinese cash underscores the potential of Beijing’s $1.9 trillion in foreign reserves, the largest in the world, to boost its global influence. The government is now seeking as much as $3 billion in emergency assistance from China, as well as assistance from oil-rich Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to a senior Pakistani official. Pakistan’s central bank governor, Shashad Akhtar, is in Washington this week to review a draft plan for overhauling the country’s finances with the International Monetary Fund, potentially paving the way for future aid. US military and intelligence officials fear that Pakistan’s increasingly precarious economy will compound an already unstable political situation and undermine military cooperation. Both Al Qaeda and the Taliban leadership are located in the rugged, economically depressed region along Pakistan’s western border with Afghanistan. The Bush administration and Congress have been shaping a long-term economic and military assistance package for Pakistan, but there is no indication the United States is able to step in with a short-term financial lifeline. Securing as much as $6 billion would buy the government the breathing room it needs, analysts say, to begin a desperately needed overhaul of its budget to sustain Pakistan’s battered economy in the longer term. Pakistan’s financial problems go back at least a year, with current and past administrations borrowing from the central bank to sustain generous state subsidies on gasoline and diesel. As global oil prices surged, the government of former President Pervez Musharraf curried favour with average Pakistanis by having the state absorb the shocks. Musharraf ousted a democratically elected government in 1999 and ruled until a civilian coalition was voted into office last spring, headed by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani. The government forced Musharraf from the presidency in August, electing Zardari as his replacement in September. Analysts and IMF officials say the current government has made notable progress in lifting those subsidies in recent weeks to ease the budget. Yet the global credit crunch and concerns over security have worsened investor flight, with as much as $1.2 billion a month fleeing Pakistan during the summer. National reserves over the past year have fallen 67 percent to $8.3 billion, leaving the country ill-prepared to deal with financial turbulence as more investors pulled out in recent weeks as the US crisis spread globally. That has fed two major fears. First, that Pakistan may not be able to secure the funds to avoid a debt default early next year. And second, that investor concern over its potential insolvency could grow into a panic in coming weeks, leading to a far broader capital pullout that could jeopardise the country’s financial system. Unprecedented inflation, political instability and the growing threat from Islamist insurgents have all had sharply negative affects on investor confidence, said Sakib Sherani, chief economist at ABN Amro Bank Pakistan. To curb losses, Pakistan in recent weeks has set new rules on stock trading aimed at preventing even sharper sell-offs of Pakistani companies. Some analysts are concerned that the new government may resort to freezing foreign capital, a measure Pakistan took in the 1990s after being slapped with global sanctions for conducting a nuclear test. The Pakistani government is seeking to ease those fears by bolstering its central bank reserves with funds from China and Gulf states. China and Pakistan have a long history of economic cooperation, based partly on decades of weapons sales, and a lifeline now, particularly so small a sum, would not be seen as unusual. A senior Pakistani official said the government requested in July that Saudi Arabia chip in with an “oil facility” — or an agreement that would grant Pakistan concessionary terms and delayed payments and on roughly half the oil it imports. One reason investors are more concerned about Pakistan now is that Saudi Arabia has not yet responded. —
By arrangement with LA Times-Washington Post |
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Delhi Durbar The Delhi Assembly elections may be a good month and half away and the results even farther, but the BJP already appears to be in a celebratory mood. The other day most of its young and not so young leaders were swinging to good music and enthusiastically enjoying a belly dance by foreign troupes. The host, industrialist Manoj Arora, had the ‘who’s who’ of the BJP youth brigade in full attendance. Delhi Mayor Arti Mehra, Saket MLA Vijay Jolly, national vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, spokesman Prakash Javadekar and former MP Kirti Azad along with wife Poonam were among the high-profile party leaders present. Vijay Jolly was once being billed as a future BJP chief ministerial candidate. But with Vijay Kumar Malhotra now the party’s nominee for the post, Jolly can sit back and relax. The party is pinning all its hopes on Malhotra’s personal popularity in Delhi.
FM’s sound bytes
The economic crisis has not stopped bureaucratic movements in the Finance Ministry, amid the stock market-mood lifting bytes of Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram which start promptly at 9.30 am just in time before the stock markets open at 9.55 am. There are whispers that the Finance Secretary is moving to the World Bank. And that Finance Secretary Arun Ramanthan is looking for a posting at the World Bank as Executive Director in place of Dhanendra Kumar who retires on November 1. The 1973 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer has assumed charge as Finance Secretary recently. Also in the reckoning are Deputy RBI Governor Rakesh Mohan (who was aspiring to be the RBI Governor but was lost to D. Subba Rao) and Union Power Secretary Anil Razdan whose term comes to an end in December.
The super king
Consumer is king in every sector but he has become a super king in the telecom sector. And this despite a phenomenal growth rate, which the telecome sector is witnessing. From the days of Rs 16 for every incoming and every outgoing call just 10 years ago to now when even an STD call is costing just 50 paise despite the inflation is a clear signal that the competition is tough in the telecom sector. The sector is now seeing a fresh war of tariffs with the telecom operators coming out with newer packages to attract customers. While the other telecom companies slashed long distance calling rates some time ago, the latest entrant Virgin mobile did it earlier in the week to keep pace. As if this was not enough, the next day Reliance Communications came out with a newer scheme in which it offered its pre-paid customers the luxury of local calls at 50 paise per minute and STD calls at Re 1 per minute for the lifetime. It is an offer, which the other telecom companies would have to match to hold on to their subscriber base. It is certainly a merry time for the consumers while the telecos fight. Contributed by Faraz Ahmad, Bhagyashree Pande and Girja Shankar Kaura |
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