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Ordeal by fire
Railways vulnerable |
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Winds of change
The games people play
Reporter, editor and auditor
From bad to worse
Kashmiri youth’s farewell to arms Chennai Diary
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Ordeal by fire
Tuesday’s blaze in a seven-story Kolkata building in which at least 24 persons lost their lives was almost a replay of a similar incident in Bangalore on February 23 in which nine persons perished. All the perennial shortcomings manifested themselves. A short-circuit or gas cylinder explosion started it. A huge quantity of hazardous material seemed to have been stored in the 150-year-old building, as suggested by the blue flames leaping out of the windows.
Soon the entire building was aflame. The wooden staircase of the colonial building caught fire and several victims were trapped on the upper floors. Fortyfive fire-tenders waded through milling crowds to reach the site and then tried to fight the inferno and rescue the trapped persons. The 70-metre-long ladders which were needed took a long time to reach because they had to be brought from distant places. Meanwhile, many persons jumped to their death from upper storeys. According to the police commissioner, the fifth and sixth floors of the building were constructed illegally and were later regularised. What made the job of the rescuers all the more difficult was the continuous stream of VIP visitors. They not only hampered the work, but also presented the ugly sight of scoring political points, with Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee blaming the West Bengal Government. They can perhaps keep their rivalry in abeyance at least on such sombre occasions. The bigger tragedy is that such horrifying accidents are waiting to happen at many other places. Where there are high-rise buildings, there are not suitable ladders. In old congested areas, it is difficult to send in fire-tenders through narrow bylanes. Central government rules stipulate that there should be two fire stations for every one lakh population. In most towns, barely one-tenth of this number is in existence. People themselves are not aware of the risks they are taking by blocking the emergency exits. Nobody cares to keep firefighting equipment inside the buildings. There is no safety audit either. Unless this callous attitude ends, it will be very difficult to ward off disasters like those in Kolkata and a hundred other places earlier.
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Railways vulnerable Maoists have frequently demonstrated their capability and readiness to blow up railway tracks, hijack trains and keep passengers hostage for long hours. But while such attacks were earlier carried out one at a time, the series of coordinated attacks in four eastern states this week is certainly ominous. Maoists had given a call for a two-day bandh in the region — West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa to be precise — against the joint operation launched by security forces.
A dozen-odd strikes during these two days disrupted the running of both passenger and goods trains in the region, derailed the Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani Express and affected the movement of minerals. The strikes also indicated the end of the honeymoon, if ever there was one, between the Maoists and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee. The Left, particularly the CPM, has been alleging a close nexus between Mamata and the Maoists. The minister can now legitimately claim that there is no love lost between her and the rebels. But politics apart, the fact that the Maoists got away with the attacks despite the presence of a large security force and despite the on-going operation against them should be a matter of concern. While the attacks may also indicate a certain degree of despair or desperation on the part of the Maoists, one can unfortunately draw very little comfort. Railway travel in the region in any case was never very safe and with the Maoists threatening to target the tracks, travelling by train in the region will not be the same. Even more worrying is the thought that with the security forces intensifying their offensive, the rebels may well be tempted to retaliate by targeting the railways. The tracks in this region pass through sparsely populated areas and it is not very difficult for a small but determined group of rebels to damage those. The Railway Board has ordered trains to slow down in the region as a precautionary measure. Patrolling of the tracks has been intensified and important trains are being escorted by pilot engines as a safety measure. But the fact remains that every train cannot be escorted and every inch of the tracks cannot be patrolled round the clock. The board, therefore, will have to think of long-term measures to instil a sense of security by ensuring, for example, a stake in the network for people living on both sides of the tracks.
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Winds of change The Supreme Court’s observations on pre-marital sex and live-in relationships are progressive, egalitarian and reflect the winds of change in the corridors of the higher judiciary. Chief Justice of India Justice K.G. Balakrishnan’s obiter dicta that there is nothing wrong — legally or otherwise — if two adults want to live together cannot be faulted. Significantly, the Bench, also consisting of Justice Deepak Verma and Justice B.S. Chauhan, has given a new interpretation to live-in relationship when it said that living together is part of the individual right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Though the Bench has reserved the judgement, its observations while hearing a batch of petitions filed by Tamil actor Khusboo to quash 22 FIRs filed against her by Tamil activist groups and forums for her alleged comments endorsing pre-marital sex, make it clear that if two adults are leading a happy life, it is no criminal offence and the courts — or society — have no business to interfere. Interestingly, this is not the first time that the apex court has endorsed such relationships. In a historic ruling in August 2008, Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice P. Sathasivam not only validated these as marriages but also declared that children born out of such a relationship are legitimate. In 1978, it recognised a live-in relationship as a valid marriage and charged the authorities with questioning a relationship 50 years after the couple had begun living together and were treated as married by their relatives. Critics dubbing live-in relationship as a threat to social norms and cultural ethos are, perhaps, guided by the fact that India is widely known as a country with strong moral values and traditional integrity. The union of a man and woman is considered most sacred in the country and, consequently, living together and/or having pre-marital sex is frowned upon by as section of the people. Nonetheless, the new millennium has ushered in great changes. From films to daily soaps, the younger generation, though in a minority at present, has started leading a liberal lifestyle. To know their partners better, they denounce the age-old ethics and take the bold step of living together. One needs to take a liberal and pragmatic view of the matter. As law always inclines in the interest of legitimacy, such relationships ought to be put in a context rather than uniformly denounced. |
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The more things change, the more they are the same.Alphonse Karr
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The games people play
Pakistan
has become such a fig-leaf artist that nothing appears to shame it. So, perhaps the confessions of David Coleman Headley, the self-indicted American of Pakistani origin who helped the
Lasher-e-Toiba plan and execute the deadly Mumbai attack on 26/11, may only add “literature” to the shelves of all the many literary giants that rule Pakistan today. However, India and the world will not be satisfied by such denial. Pakistan’s lies have been nailed over and over again but it is able literally to get away with murder because it remains a crucial frontline state for the Americans in Afghanistan. Headley, who reconnoitered the targeted sites in
Mumbai, has confessed to the existence of LeT training camps, which he visited in 2008, and to consorting with LeT members training to assault Mumbai and their handlers in Pakistan. A quote from his plea bargain confession before a Chicago court on March 19 says it all: “Beginning no later than in or about late 2005 (the Musharraf era), and continuing through on or about October 3, 2009 (the Kayani-Gilani era), at Chicago and elsewhere within and without the jurisdiction of the United States, the defendant conspired with Lashkar members A, B, C and D, and others, to commit acts outside the United States …namely, murder and maiming in connection with attacks carried out by the Lashkar in India”. The dates are revealing. Handley was a double agent, working for the US Drug Enforcement Agency, who had been arrested earlier and then let off the hook on condition that he went back to Pakistan and fed Washington with information about the terror network and drug mafia in that country. Yet India was not kept informed until much later and even after 26/11 when Headley was back in India reconnoitering more sites for the
Lashkar. This was duplicitous, despite whatever information has been vouchsafed. It is in line with the long rope earlier given to the notorious
A.Q. Khan whom the US allowed to proliferate to and receive nuclear technology and material variously from China and Korea, and to negotiate with Iran, Libya and even Osama agents after he had been caught red-handed by Dutch intelligence only to be let off by the CIA. In both cases the primary victim has been India. India has been promised Headley’s testimony through interviews or video-conferencing in the US as part of Indian judicial processes, but he will not be extradited to this country. Whether giving “testimony’ allows for “interrogation” remains to be seen, though the FBI had full access to
Kasab. Possibly the US is worried that Headley may reveal too much. Whatever be the case, there will be reservations about the US stance and sincerity until the outcome is known. Pakistan must. however, be confronted with the new Headley revelations and its diversionary forays, asserting Indian mala fides on water and
Balochistan-Afghanistan, nailed. India’s public communications policy has been abysmal over the years and little spurt of information disclosure is no great triumph. Public information policy — not jingoistic propaganda — is today a prime instrument of diplomacy, security, national morale and preparedness. It is time the government woke up to this reality. General David Patraeus of the US Central Command recently told the Senate Armed Forces Committee in Washington that elements like the LeT are not yet on Pakistan’s radar although he had praise for its fight against
Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. But distinctions have begun to be made as between the good, “moderate” (read Pakistan)
Taliban, with whom it might be possible to do business, and “radical” Taliban which must be fought to the end. These are dangerous waters and India has real concerns based on bitter experience that US military aid to Pakistan ultimately goes in substantial measure to support jihad and confront India. The new US-Pakistan strategic dialogue in Washington, in which General Kayani was the key Pakistan spokesman, should not be allowed to exacerbate these tendencies, American assurances having been consistently belied in the past. Meanwhile, the BJP and Left criticism of the fuel price increase announced in the budget must factor in international trends that are beyond domestic control. The Opposition cannot demand more expenditures on social and welfare programmes and cavil at efforts to raise resources at the same time. Equally, the strident opposition to the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill is misplaced as being solely dictated by American interests. It is part of an international regime being built through various protocols to encourage investment and technological support for nuclear power development. This should not be stalled by fears of unlimited liability in case of a nuclear mishap. Victims will be more swiftly compensated though a limited vendor liability, an international compensation fund and insurance. Let not the country shoot itself in the foot. The BJP and the Left are threatening cut-motions on these issues during discussions on the Finance Bill. The blackmailing tactics of the SP, the RJD and the Trinamool Congress must be resisted. If the UPA falls, no other coalition will be able to form a government. So, let the bluff be called and fresh elections held. The electorate will know whom to
punish.
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Reporter, editor and auditor
Journalism
in India is 230 years old. Still, many don’t understand the profession. Very few seem to know that the newspaper they buy for Rs 2 or 3 requires effort of over a thousand persons daily. Reporters often take pains in explaining the wide difference between them and an Editor. Still, invitation letters address them as Editor, Auditor, District Auditor Saheb, Main Editor, Chief Editor and some even as Editorial Saab. More hurting is to see your name spelt awfully wrong on the invitation cards despite the byline appearing in the news columns. I still get invitations in the name of Japinder, Jubinder, Jupendra and, weirdly, Jupiter Singh. Journalists also live under the illusion that everyone reads their byline. When I got my first byline in a newspaper, I left home, chin up, thinking everyone — right up to the chief minister — knew me now. It took me only a few hours to return to the ground. A person called up at the office seeking to talk to my predecessor. He had read the news and wanted to congratulate him. I pulled my hair, “How can he miss reading my name.” Then, nearly six months after I had switched over to another newspaper, a Punjabi University Professor left no congratulatory adjective unused while hailing my news stories appearing in my previous newspaper in the last few months. The expression on his face should have been preserved when I told him I had left that newspaper half a year ago. The guffaws of his colleagues still ring in my ears. An aged uncle of mine was not amused when I told him I was working as a journalist. He had brought a marriage proposal of a girl working as a Bank Probationary Officer in Patiala. “Patarkarta taan theek hai, changa shaunk hai, par roti khan layi ki kam karda hein?” (journalism is fine, but what do you do for a living?) A couple of days after my marriage, performed in a simple ceremony, an aged woman confronted my mother-in-law on why they were not invited and what the jawayi puttar does? “He is a patarkar. Akhbaar vich naukri hai,” my mother-in-law tried to explain. “Hai hai…you have married your well-educated daughter to an akhbaar wala,” she said. “Every morning he would rush out to distribute newspapers. No wonder, he had no money for a good ceremony and invite us.” Taken aback, my mother-in-law told her I was a reporter. “He does the same work as my daughter. Both are in the same office. They gather news and send it to Chandigarh where it is printed.” “Oh my God. He gets up to distribute newspaper and gather news all day. And your daughter too? No wonder you also did not organise a ceremony!”n
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From bad to worse
I have no new prescription for Punjab,” rued Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal when he presented his fourth budget on March 16. In a budget of Rs 43,925 crore, he leaves a fiscal deficit of Rs 6,706 core and a revenue deficit of Rs 3,787 crore. The government has no clue how to bridge the huge gap. The present trends in the economy and the efficiency level of governance do not support his optimism to mop this huge amount through an improved tax collection. The state’s economic survey indicates that the manufacturing, trade and services sectors are losing. Only agriculture shows an uptrend. This means the economy is not diversifying the way it should. Farmers are protesting the imposition of electricity charges worth Rs 850 crore annually. Last week over 25,000 farmers and workers held a demonstration in Jagraon. They plan similar protests in Amritsar and Chandigarh later this month. They want a rollback of the power charges and the increase in the diesel price. About one-third of Punjab’s revenue goes into debt servicing and meeting the subsidy bill. The sluggish tax collection has added to the gloom. The VAT fetched Rs 4,829 crore in 2006-07, Rs 5,342 crore the following year and Rs 6,529 crore in 2008- 09. This growth does not meet the needs. Tax compliance is low. And money borrowed for development is often diverted to pay salaries. The next year’s plan is for Rs 9,500 crore though the state resources show that it cannot exceed Rs 8,000 crore. Haryana’s plan for the next year is pegged at Rs 11,630 crore, including the central component. Punjab’s total debt has now touched Rs 64,924 crore, rising 10 per cent annually. When the Akali BJP government came to power in 2007, Punjab’s debt was Rs 48, 344 crore. It had blamed the then Congress government for the uncontrollable burden. How will it answer the same charge? The 13th Finance Commission has not accepted the state’s plea to write off or reschedule its debt. Punjab had also urged the commission to meet at least half the staff pay hike burden. Besides, it asked the panel to meet 90 per cent of the cost of maintenance, repair and expansion of water infrastructure to raise foodgrain production. The commission only marginally increased the state’s share in the Central taxes. The Punjab Governance Reforms Commission says the chief cause of the fiscal crisis is not the increasing wage bill. “This exaggerated discourse in no way can be a defence of the inefficiency of government services". It has suggested streamlining of the administration, which is inefficient and fraudulent. The basic issue relates to governance. The tax collection machinery is sluggish and shady. The government has done little to streamline it. The performance level of government staff is poor. The government has bungled in the recruitment of teachers, doctors and even anganwadi workers. The state has not been able to use more that 50 per cent of the funds available through the central schemes as it could not make matching contribution. The agrarian crisis, manifesting itself in suicides, drug addiction and alcoholism among the rural youth and poverty among the Dalits, does not get even lip sympathy. |
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Kashmiri youth’s farewell to arms
For the first time since the eruption of armed militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre has, prodded by the NC-led coalition government in the state, decided to help rebel Kashmiri youth return home to lead normal life. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had announced on February 11 that the Centre’s acceptance of the amnesty idea to facilitate the return of Kashmiri youth, who had crossed over to Pakistan occupied Kashmir for getting arms training. Many of them, 800 according to a report, had expressed their willingness to lead normal life back with their families in Kashmir. No time frame has been set for the implementation of the rehabilitation policy. The authorities have observed a change in the mindset of Kashmiri youth who had joined the armed struggle. The Central gesture also reflects a fast improvement in the situation in this trouble-torn state after a period of about two decades. The implementation of the policy, viewed with resentment by the separatist camp in Kashmir, the rightwing parties of the Jammu region and the migrant Kashmiri Pandits, will also involve a role of Pakistan. The modalities of working out the number of those willing to return would have to be taken up by India and Pakistan so as to push forward the scheme, which the state government affirms as “purely a rehabilitation process”. There have been instances of the return of Kashmiri youth from Pok or Pakistan via Nepal. This is being discouraged through the “comprehensive policy of the return and rehabilitation of these youth”. In view of the rehabilitation of the migrant Kashmiri Pandits in the Jammu region and elsewhere outside the valley, and also the rehabilitation of migrants from different areas of Doda, Udhampur and Reasi and the border areas of Rajouri and Poonch, many people seem to be unhappy with the government’s initiative. Apprehensions could crop up in the minds of those willing to return and get rehabilitated as many other militants who had earlier surrendered and worked with the security forces are a dissatisfied lot. The separatists in Kashmir believe that the rehabilitation policy was a “ploy against the freedom struggle”. The opposition PDP, confronting various moves taken by the NC-Congress coalition government, is in favour of the rehabilitation of the youth and has also taken up the issue with the working groups. The rehabilitation policy would draw greater attention in India and Pakistan before concrete measures are taken to find the exact number and background of those willing to return and get rehabilitated. Mission abroad The separatist Hurriet (Freedom) Conference chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has returned from Geneva after a diplomatic mission abroad impressing upon the international community and human rights organisations to take cognizance of the Kashmir issue. For the past couple of weeks he has been on the mission during which he met a number of leaders and diplomats from different countries. Many diplomats from different countries have been visiting Kashmir and meeting the separatist leadership, including the moderate APHC-led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the hardline APHC chairman, Syed Ali Geelani, and the pro-independence JKLF chairman, Mohammad Yasin Malik. Addressing a press conference in Geneva last week, the Mirwaiz referred to the formula submitted to the central government for the resolution of the Kashmir issue, which includes the withdrawal of troops and release of political prisoners, and asserted that the only way out to end human rights violations was a reduction in the troops’ presence. Sikhs demand justice A decade after the massacre of 35 members of the Sikh community at the hands of unidentified gunmen
in Chattisinghpora village of Anantnag district, justice eludes the microscopic community of the Kashmir valley. The incident had taken place on the night of March 20, 2000, at a time when the then US President, Bill Clinton, was on his visit to India. While the government blamed the separatist militants for the massacre, the incident was followed by the killing of five suspected militants in a nearby village five days later. But the government is yet to present hard evidence on its claim, says Jagmohan Singh
Raina, coordinator of the All Parties Sikh Co-ordination Committee. He wants the Justice Pandan Commission to extend its investigations as the killings of civilian demonstrators at Brakpora days later and that at Chatisinghpora were
interlinked.
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Chennai Diary However, some of the officials who knew that Chief Minister M Karunanidhi was in the forefront of the anti-Hindi agitation in 1965 were a bit worried. Their hearts skipped a few beats, when the Chief Minister, who came to the function later, mentioned the playing of Hindi songs. To their great relief, Karunanidhi said: "As most of the workers were from the Hindi heartland, it is appropriate to play songs in their mother tongue. The DMK was not opposed to Hindi as a language. The party opposed the imposition of Hindi in school curriculum".
IPL Twenty20 hurts film industry
After the tournament started, the number of film goers have dwindled and most of the films which hit the screens last week, have failed to fetch the expected collection. Kollywood used to release many films in April and May as they would draw youths and college students, during summer vacation. Now, most of the theatre owners are afraid of releasing new films next month due to the IPL fever. President of Tamil Nadu Cinema Theatres Association S Panneerselvam openly complained in a function that IPL was causing losses to the film industry. A film producer said Kollywood stars should start a campaign to explain the youth that IPL was only a commercial event and it had nothing to do with developing cricket or bringing laurels to the nation or a state. A film director, who followed suit, said cricket was the game of the elite and the upper castes, while football and hockey are the common man's games.
Politics of power disruptions
After a few days, it was known that local DMK functionaries are deliberately switching off power supply from the nearby transformers. Now, a group of PMK cadres have a special task when Ramadoss addresses meetings. They stand near the transformers and see that no one tampers with power supply. |
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Workers
The Tamil film industry has suddenly started disliking cricket. Even a few of the Kollywood stars, who were cricket fans, are not watching cricket now, thanks to the popularity of IPL Twenty20.
When PMK leader S Ramadoss campaigned in a few villages for the Pennagaram bypoll, there were frequent power cuts. Ramadoss addressed a few meetings in darkness, without speakers.