The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Musharraf’s NRO goes
Zardari could be in serious trouble

The striking down of the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) by the Pakistan Supreme Court is not surprising. The NRO was bound to meet the fate it did on Wednesday after the PPP-led government failed to get it adopted by the Pakistan National Assembly (parliament) recently. The decree was promulgated by then President Gen Pervez Musharraf in October 2007 mainly to free the slain PPP leader Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Zardari, now President of Pakistan, from the corruption cases instituted against them during the prime ministership of Nawaz Sharif. As a result of the 17-member apex court Bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, declaring the NRO as “an instrument void ab initio, being ultra vires ... of various constitutional provisions”, all the cases withdrawn stand revived. The NRO had benefited nearly 2000 persons, though a document made public by the National Accountability Bureau listed only 248 NRO beneficiaries.

The judgement may bring about considerable pressure on Mr Zardari to resign on moral grounds. He may not do so immediately since he as President enjoys immunity under Article 248 of the Pakistan Constitution. But ultimately he may have to bow out. Even before the verdict was pronounced he was getting hints from the Pakistan Establishment, including the Army, to call it a day in view of his name being associated with widespread corruption in the country. Mr Zardari’s assets are worth $1.5 billion, including millions of dollars in overseas bank accounts. He and his late wife are alleged to have been paid $60 million as kickbacks by a Switzerland company for giving it undue favours when Benazir Bhutto was Pakistan’s Prime Minister.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik and a few other bigwigs are also likely to be in trouble as a result of the apex court verdict. Mr Malik, facing two cases in accountability courts, offered to resign on Wednesday, but Mr Zardari persuaded him not to do so till the cases against him were decided by the court. Under the circumstances, the major gainer appears to be Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. He has been playing his cards dexterously, pandering to the wishes of the all-powerful Pakistan Army. There is the possibility of his getting elevated as President after Mr Zardari finally departs.

Prices shoot up
Looking beyond inflation

The issue of price rise rocked Parliament on Wednesday as members expressed concern at government inaction. That inflation has climbed up three-and-a-half times in just one month has not come as a surprise. Given the steep rise in the food prices, it was expected. From 1.34 per cent in October it has shot up to 4.78 per cent in November. For the housewife this may be a cold statistic that does not add to her knowledge. She already knows how much she has to pay every time she goes out to buy potatoes or sugar. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was only stating the obvious when he attributed the high rate of inflation to the rising food prices. What people want to hear about is government action to arrest the skyrocketing prices.

To be more transparent and reflect the price reality correctly, the government has reworked the basket of products that constitute the inflation data. There is a separate index of food and fuel items, which affect the common man, and its data is released weekly so that the price situation is regularly monitored. Then there is the wholesale price index, which includes food items as well as manufactured goods, power, light and lubricants. The data of the wholesale price index is released now on a monthly basis. The inflation figure of 4.78 per cent released for November is based on the WPI.

Prices can be brought down if the states and the Centre act firmly. First, hoarding can be checked through raids and open sale of commodities in short supplies. Adequate quantities of scarce commodities like sugar, pulses and edible oils should be imported. Secondly, the poor can be provided essential commodities at subsidised rates through the public distribution system after plugging its loopholes. In the long term, agriculture needs to be rejuvenated by higher government spending and correcting policy imbalances. Farm productivity has to be raised through latest agricultural inputs and practices.

Thought for the Day

Forty years on, when afar and asunder/ Parted are those who are singing today. — E. E. Bowen

ARTICLE

Sea power has its significance
India needs self-sufficiency in ship building
by Abhijit Bhattacharyya

One does not have to be an Admiral Gorshkov (the longest serving Soviet naval chief) or Alfred Thayer Mahan (the guru of the maritime doctrine) or a Sir Julian Corbett, the Royal Navy Admiral, to state the obvious. That a navy is not built in a day and no nation can aspire to be a naval power by being at the eternal mercy of foreign suppliers and manufacturers, which can arm twist the ship users’ lack of knowledge and technology at will by taking advantage of its expertise and experience in ship building thereby resulting in the importer’s weakness and helplessness. In fact, naval history of the world is replete with instances of nations which prospered and developed during last 500 years inevitably had the advantage to traverse the entire two-thirds of the global lake in ships built in their own shipyards.

Traditionally, there have never been very many fighting ship-builders either in the 20th or the 21st century. Thus, during World War II Japan was virtually the sole Asian naval power by virtue of its ship building capacity and capability, restrictions imposed by the Washington naval disarmament conference of 1922 notwithstanding. In the west of Suez, Anglo-American supremacy was over, and superiority to the perceived “land-powers” like Germany and its European allies could never match the marine powers’ strength, stamina, endurance and industrial productivity. Hence the war ended in victory for the superior, combined naval strength of the West and defeat for the sole maritime Japanese foe.

Post-World War II, however, the rise of the Soviet Navy was the sole non-Western, non-capitalist state to pose a threat to the virtual monopoly of the Anglo-Saxon naval axis. And it happened, thanks to the Soviet Deputy Minister of Defence-cum-Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy, Admiral Sergei Georgiyevich Gorshkov, who initiated an unprecedented construction plan and timely execution of all ships required by the state. The Soviets challenged the West in the sea because the Soviets made the ships in their own shipyard. Hence they did not have to bank on the charity and worry about the whims of foreigners resulting in time and cost overrun.

In the post-Soviet era, it is the turn of China to pick up the thread which already has built a formidable navy with an apparent single-point agenda of an indigenous ship construction programme. True, the Chinese Navy still has a few ex-Soviet/Russian inventories in its fleet, but the variety and range of Beijing’s vessels today is simply awesome. And there lies the strength of its fleet. Thus China today, according to Jane’s Fighting Ships, 2009-2010, has a total of 54 submarines (of various class), 27 destroyers, 49 frigates and 275 fast attack and patrol craft. Of these, only 16 ships are of non-Chinese (i.e. Russian) make; 12 kilo class submarines and 4 Sovremeny destroyers.

Little wonder, the Chinese feel much more free and confident to flex their muscles and show their ships in out-of-area operations. Jane’s refers to Chinese enterprise thus, “Future historians may come to regard 2009 as the year that the Chinese Navy finally came of age.”

In the midst of the Soviet challenge to the West till the 1990s and the Chinese Navy’s “coming of age in 2009”, where does the Indian fleet stand today? How strong and self-sufficient is the navy of New Delhi? To this writer, the scenario appears to be a mixed bag of success and shortfall. The positive sides of India’s defence is the technical competency and mastery over the English language, expertise in aircraft carrier operations and combat capability in both surface and sub-surface warfare.

However, the not-so-positive factor lies in Indian inability (should one say traditional inertia!) to be self-sufficient in ship building expertise for long. The deficiency on this front is so conspicuous that one still finds all 16 submarines of the Indian Navy to be of foreign make (10 Russian ‘Kilo’,‘2Foxtrot’ and 4 German HDW class). Its sole aircraft carrier Viraat (ex-Hermes) is of British origin, 5 Rajput (Kashin class) destroyers are made in Nikolayev North shipyard (Russia), the 3 Talwar class frigates also are of Moscow origin (with three more likely to follow suit). At least five out of 12 Veer (Tarantul class) corvettes are of Russian make and so are the 4 Abhay class anti-submarine warfare patrol boats.

On the positive side, however, the Indians have made tremendous improvement in ship design, construction time reduction and planned delivery thereof. The pride of Indian ship building has been reflected in the Delhi and Kolkata class destroyers, Shivalik, Brahmaputra and Nilgiri class frigates; Kora, Khukri, Veer, Abhay and project 28 corvettes and the top of the line project of indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant which has been going on at Kochi shipyard.

Despite the mixed bag of success and shortcoming, a horrible mess appears to have been created by the failure of the Russians to stick to the delivery time schedule of the proposed refurbished and refitted Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier to India. This inordinate delay only results in an avoidable spiralling cost, which in turn affects a balanced fleet development. Indeed, one suspects that perhaps the Russians are no longer capable of producing the same quality vessels for which they made a name for themselves during the Soviet era. The period after the demise of the Soviet Union could have resulted in an acute shortage of naval technical experts thereby creating an all-round vacuum in ship-building capability of Russian shipyards.

Else, how does one justify the report that “the French government has given the go-ahead to the possible sale of a helicopter-and-troop carrying ship to Russia”? Is Russia now incapable of building even its own 15000-18000 tonne helicopter-and-troop-carrying carrier? If so, then how would the Russians be able to re-manufacture a sophisticated 45000 tonne aircraft carrier for India? Indeed, the scenario appears rather intriguing. Gorshkov has been badly delayed already. Diplomatic talks have been upgraded from the Joint Secretary to the head of government level. In between, the Captains, Admirals and Defence Ministers are failing to achieve any breakthrough. And yet the “price rise” haggling is going on.

Amidst all this, the Russians are reportedly negotiating with French civil shipbuilders STX and combat ship company DCNS for potential purchase of a Mistral class warship. Although referred to as the amphibious assault ship by Jane’s Fighting Ships 2009-2010, this 21600 tonne vessel has a range of 11000 nautical miles at 15 knots an hour and is capable of up to 16 attack helicopters in its deck thereby giving it enough teeth for offensive operations. If indeed Russia manages to clinch the deal for this ship (two of which are in the French fleet), then its navy would be able to play a role of “forward pressure, force projection, logistic support for the deployed force (ashore or at sea) . . . and command ship for combined operations.”

All indications suggest that the Russian Navy is keen on an early acquisition for a force multiplier mission in the ocean. As an Indian, one certainly cannot possibly have any grudge if a long-standing friend like Moscow acquires a floating airstrip from Europe. But why does Moscow not look into the need of its friendly South Asian navy with the same sense of urgency and sensitivity? Is the “price rise” really that grave as to delay the delivery of India’s maritime defence? One wonders!n

The writer is an alumnus of the National Defence College of India and a Member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London.

MIDDLE

Boys will be boys
by Raj Chatterjee

It is possible that people of my generation who attended places of “higher learning” some 50 or 60 years age were more timid, more easily intimidated, and less “combustible” in regard to the burning problems of the day than those who now so readily transmit some of their fire to passenger buses, post offices, milk booths and the like.

Perhaps, also, there weren’t quite so many “burning” problems to bother us, hunger, over-population, over-crowded classrooms, the wide gulf that separated the very rich from the very poor and, above all, the uncertainties and frustrations that face a young fellow with a B.A or B.Sc to his name — all these are comparatively modern phenomena.

In our times there was, of course, the fight for Swaraj, but this was left to our political leaders and those few of our classmates who gave up their studies in order to follow them in and out of jail.

For most of us a token gesture seemed to suffice. In my case, a sudden patriotic zeal drove me to discard my coat, trousers and solar topi in favour of an achkan and churidar pyjamas, both made of khaddar.

This sartorial transformation, I must confess, was of short duration mainly because of finding a suitable headgear. I had decided that a white cap did not suit my physiognomy. A fur cap was uncomfortable in the hot weather but a solar topi apart from defeating the purpose of the change to ‘desi kapra’ would have looked rather odd on top of a long coat and pyjamas.

Another ‘sacrifice’ I made was to give up pinching the odd fag from my father’s tin of Craven ‘A’ and buying myself a bundle of bidis. Unfortunately, bidis have a pungent smell and this experiment did not last long. Oddly enough, it put me off smoking altogether.

Now that I am generally regarded as a respectable and law-abiding citizen, I often wish that our young zealots would take to more peaceful and less destructive methods of expressing their feelings.

They could, for example, content themselves with passing resolutions like the one adopted by the Oxford Union in 1933 — not to fight for King and country. No one took it seriously and a few years later, both King and country were extremely grateful to the young fellows, some of whom had supported the resolution, for laying down their lives fighting for them.

And there was the case of the nine Cambridge under-graduates who tried to kidnap “Miss South Africa”, a 22-year-old beauty queen, Johanna Carter, who with 52 other contestants, had come to Britain to compete for the “Miss World” title.

The intention of the would-be kidnappers was to hold Johanna in captivity until such time as the newspapers that had sponsored her visit had coughed up a fair amount of money for the varsity “rag week fund”. Unfortunately, the lady’s male escort biffed them with his brolly and that was the end of the escapade.

OPED

Pangs of separation
A violent backlash over Telangana
by Suresh Dharur

It was a cure that turned out to be worse than the disease. The UPA government’s midnight prescription for the festering Telangana wound was anything but a soothing balm. The treatment became too complicated to handle for the Congress leadership as it was hit by an open revolt in South India’s largest state.

Even the incorrigible optimists among Telangana statehood supporters were shocked over the hasty manner in which Union Home Minister P Chidambaram announced the initiation of the process for the formation of the new state without any consultations and consensus-building. Evidently, the decision was prompted by the deteriorating health of the fasting Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao and fears over the Maoists taking control of the violent Telangana agitation.

Home Secretary GK Pillai added fuel to the fire by stating that the process for Telangana formation had started and that Hyderabad would be its capital. With the future of Hyderabad, the bustling cosmopolitan city, becoming a major bone of contention between supporters and opponents of Telangana, the bureaucrat’s casual remarks further compounded the confusion.

AP went into a tailspin following the midnight announcement. A constitutional crisis stared at the Congress government with nearly 140 legislators from the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, cutting across party lines, submitting their resignations to protest against the proposed bifurcation of the state. The 294-member Assembly has 123 MLAs from the coastal Andhra, 119 from Telangana and 52 from Rayalaseema.

The violent backlash, marked by protests, rallies, hunger strikes and attacks, showed that the Congress high command miscalculated the impact of its decision on the other two regions. It completely missed out on the strong undercurrent of public sentiment in favour of the integrated state.

As the political crisis deepened with regional passions threatening to tear apart all parties, the Centre sought to assuage the ruffled feelings by declaring that Telangana statehood could be considered by the Parliament only after the state Assembly passed a resolution.

Given the sharp divisions on regional lines, such a resolution can never be passed by the Assembly. While this may provide an escape route for the UPA government from the present crisis, the TRS, which has been in the forefront of the Telangana movement, argues that the Assembly resolution is not required for the creation of new states. It can be done by the Parliament through a constitutional amendment.

Clearly, the Congress leadership is caught in a catch-22 situation. It cannot go back on its commitment on Telangana nor can it expect to redeem its image in the rest of the state unless it drops the statehood plans.

The party’s strategy behind the sudden grant of statehood appears to be two-fold: First, to garner the entire credit for carving out Telangana and to be seen as fulfilling the dream of a large section of the people in the backward region.

This can help the party reap rich electoral harvest in the 2014 general election in the new state. Second, to marginalise the main opposition Telugu Desam Party, whose flip-flop on the Telangana issue could be politically exploited.

Unfortunately for the ruling party, the backlash from within triggered turmoil in the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. Contrary to the promise of “consultations and consensus” made in the Common Minimum Programme on the Telangana issue, the announcement was preceded by none of them.

The integrationists argue that all-round development was possible only if the state remains united. They have invoked “Telugu pride” to drive home their point that all Telugu-speaking people should remain united and splitting the state would weaken its position and adversely affect the investment flow.

However, Telangana protagonists contend that only statehood can solve the problems of the region which has been neglected in all spheres of life ever since its integration with the rest of the Telugu-speaking regions in 1956 to form Andhra Pradesh, the first linguistic state in the country.

In the event of formation of Telangana state, Hyderabad would become a bone of contention. Being the state capital, the IT-savvy city of 70 lakh population has, over decades, attracted a large number of people from the other two regions.

Dubbed “settlers” by Telangana protagonists, they constitute nearly one-fourth of the city population and are strongly opposed to the division of the state.

Cutting across party lines, several city leaders and intellectuals from various walks of life have advocated Union Territory status for the city.

What sets Telangana apart from the other regions demanding statehood is that it was a separate state in the past but was merged with Andhra on the linguistic basis. Since then, the yearning for a separate identity and perceived sense of alienation have repeatedly found public expression in the region, spread over nine districts and Hyderabad.

The regional disparity in socio-economic development and employment opportunities and the failure of the successive governments in addressing these concerns have only accentuated the problem. The region witnessed a violent statehood agitation in 1969, claiming over 300 lives.

Lack of irrigation facilities, industries, educational and employment opportunities has been the bane of the region.

Telangana was part of the Hyderabad State ruled by the Nizams before its merger with the rest of the Telugu-speaking regions.

Despite gaining popular support, the first bout of the Telangana agitation in 1969 fizzled out after a few years. Its chief architect, Dr M Channa Reddy, had merged his Telangana Praja Samithi with the Congress and then went on to become the Chief Minister of AP.

After nearly three decades, a rabble-rousing politician Chandrasekhar Rao, known as KCR in political circles, revived an otherwise dormant movement and launched TRS in 2001.

He had quit the then ruling Telugu Desam Party and the Deputy Speaker’s post to lead the statehood agitation, harping on under-development and exploitation of Telangana.

Known for his sharp tongue and aggressive approach, KCR reaped a rich electoral harvest in the 2004 polls when he aligned with the Congress, which was then in opposition.

After being a partner in the Congress-led governments at the Centre and in AP, his party walked out of the UPA in 2006 protesting against the delay in carving out a separate state.

Despite setting repeated deadlines for the UPA regime for the formation of Telangana, KCR, who had served as the Union Labour Minister, could not extract any assurance from the government.

A sub-committee, headed by Pranab Mukherjee, was formed to elicit views of various parties on the ticklish issue. However, nothing much emerged out of it.

Accusing the Congress leadership of betraying the people of Telangana, the TRS ended the alliance with the ruling party and gravitated towards the Third Front. It contested the recent Assembly elections in alliance with the TDP and left parties but received a severe drubbing.

By handing out a crushing defeat to the TRS, the voters comprehensively rejected the separate state slogan. The sub-regional party managed to win just two Lok Sabha and 10 Assembly seats and was soon hit by rebellion.

However, the political vacuum, created by the sudden demise of Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy, a staunch opponent of the bifurcation, provided an opportunity for KCR to redeem his image. He embarked on a fast-unto-death on Nov 29, demanding Telangana state, and forced the Centre to blink first.

While KCR succeeded in resurrecting a dying movement, the Congress has let the genie out of the bottle and will find it increasingly difficult to douse the regional flames.

Zardari's shaky hold on power weakens
by Griff Witte

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday nullified a controversial deal that had given President Asif Ali Zardari and thousands of other government officials amnesty from past crimes, a decision likely to further weaken Zardari's already shaky hold on power.

Zardari still has immunity from prosecution under the constitution. But opponents plan to challenge that immunity by arguing that the president is technically ineligible for his office.

The decision comes as the United States pushes for an expanded strategic partnership with Pakistan to help combat the growing threat in the region from Islamic extremist groups, including the Taliban and al-Qaida. The United States is sending 30,000 additional troops to neighboring Afghanistan, and wants Pakistan to step up efforts on its side of the border to keep militants from finding refuge there.

The repeal of the amnesty comes amid a struggle in Pakistan between the civilian government, which is weak, and the military that has run the country for about half its history. Zardari's ability to govern has been compromised by his struggle to simply hold onto his job – a task likely to be made harder by Wednesday's ruling.

The decision to overturn the amnesty deal had been expected, but the 17-member Supreme Court panel went further, requesting that Swiss authorities open years-old corruption cases against Zardari that had been set aside.

Zardari allegedly received millions in illegal commissions from two Swiss companies, and was convicted in 2003 on money-laundering charges by a Swiss magistrate. The conviction was later suspended. Zardari has denied allegations of corruption, and has said the accusations are politically motivated. It was unclear whether the Pakistani court's ruling would have any bearing on the decisions of the Swiss courts.

The court's ruling, issued just after 10 p.m. following hours of deliberation, had the immediate effect of reopening cases against thousands of politicians and bureaucrats that had been frozen under the amnesty deal. Four government ministers had been protected under the amnesty. One, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, had been convicted and may now be forced to fight the charges on appeal.

The amnesty deal, known as the National Reconciliation Ordinance, was created in 2007 as an agreement between former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and then-President Pervez Musharraf. The deal allowed Bhutto and her husband, Zardari, to return to Pakistan without facing the threat of prosecution over long-standing corruption allegations.

Bhutto was assassinated months later, and Zardari succeeded her as leader of the Pakistan People's Party. After the PPP swept elections last year and Musharraf stepped down, Zardari became president.

In the hearings leading up to the court's decision, the government had not defended the unpopular amnesty deal.

Zardari spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the government would respect the court's decision, but he reiterated that the president remained immune from prosecution under the constitution. "We believe this does not affect the president of Pakistan," Babar said.

Others had different ideas. Roedad Khan, a retired civil servant who was one of the petitioners who challenged the amnesty, said the decision would "destroy" Zardari.

Khan called Zardari "a man who has looted and plundered this poor country. ... Is there one law for Zardari and one law for the 160 million people of Pakistan? No, there is one law for everyone. He can't get away with it."

Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, a veteran lawyer who argued that the deal should be nullified, called the decision "a victory for truth. It is a victory for the judicial system. It's a victory for the country."

— By arrangement with LA Times-Washington Post

Fraudulent marriages by NRIs
by Avinash Rai Khanna

The matter of brides married to NRIs has been studied by a high-level committee on Indian diaspora constituted by the government. The committee members visited countries with a substantial population of Indians and people of Indian origin and noted in their report difficulties arising as a result of failed and fraudulent marriages between NRIs and Indian brides.

The observations of the committee were taken up for remedial action with state governments since the matter at the Indian end is dealt by the states. A number of states have responded.

For instance, the Government of Uttar Pradesh has conveyed that it has prepared a detailed action plan to tackle the problem, while the Government of Andhra Pradesh has stated that a Bill relating to the compulsory registration of marriages with the local authorities has been passed by the assembly.

The Superintendents of Police have been directed to take the necessary action. All this action is in the nature of preventive steps.

To study the legal aspects a special seminar on private international law dealing with issues like marriage, divorce, custody of children, alimony and property was held by the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the Indian Society for International Law as part of the second Pravasi Bhartiya Divas in New Delhi in January, 2004.

The inputs from the seminar have been useful in evolving a legal framework to take preventive as well as corrective steps, but the problem cannot be solved in this manner. The Punjab Government has not made any law to deal with the problem.

It is a well-known fact that thousands of girls married to NRIs have been deserted by them. The marriage is performed with pomp and show with the intention to send the girl to a foreign country. The bridegroom assures the bride and her family that after reaching the country where he is settled, he would call the bride and send the necessary documents.

In so many cases, after enjoying a married life in Punjab, NRIs did not care to call the bride. The apparent reason is that either the NRI was already married in the country where he is settled or his intention was to cheat the bride and collect the money on the pretext of settling the bride in a foreign country.

The best solution is to get a certificate of being unmarried from an NRI bridegroom issued by the government where he is settled and verified by the Indian embassy. It should be produced at the time of registration of the marriage of an NRI bridegroom in India.

This should be made compulsory otherwise no marriage should be performed and registered. If an NRI produces any divorce certificate, he should also produce a certificate attested by the embassy and issued by the government where he resides stating that after divorce, he has not married again.

There should not be any exception to this rule. The problem can be solved to some extent. Otherwise the girls who are married to NRIs even having children, would continue running from pillar to post to get justice.

Corrections and clarifications

There is a mix-up in the property auction report (Page 1, Chandigarh Tribune, December 17). The headline says a 5-marla plot in Sector 32 fetched Rs 1.04 cr and a 4-kanal plot in Sector 19 went for Rs 4.06 cr. The body of the report, however, says it was a one-kanal plot that went for Rs 4.06 cr in Sector 19 and a 5-marla plot fetched Rs 1.4 cr.

Quarter-final has been mis-spelt as quaterfinal in the headline of the report on the under-18 singles in the AITA Talent Services Tennis Tournament (Page 6, Chandigarh Tribune, December 16).

A PTI picture caption on Page 2 of the issue of December 16 identifies “Nagma” as a Congress MP. On verification we find that she is not so though she did foray into politics.

Despite our earnest endeavour to keep The Tribune error-free, some errors do creep in at times. We are always eager to correct them.

This column appears twice a week — every Tuesday and Friday. We request our readers to write or e-mail to us whenever they find any error.

Readers in such cases can write to Mr Kamlendra Kanwar, Senior Associate Editor, The Tribune, Chandigarh, with the word “Corrections” on the envelope. His e-mail ID is kanwar@tribunemail.com.

H.K. Dua
Editor-in-Chief