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N-Liability Bill a must
Avoidable confusion |
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Judicial shelter
Obama’s surprise dash to Kabul
Hidden world
Better deal for a few?
A life devoted to words
Chennai Diary Corrections and clarifications
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N-Liability Bill a must
Those
opposed to the introduction of the Civil Liabilities for Nuclear Damages Bill in Parliament appear to have little justification for sticking to their stand after what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on the sidelines of a function at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Wednesday. He categorically stated, “We have an open mind. If there are any deficiencies in the Bill we can discuss them.” Moreover, it can go to the relevant parliamentary standing committee “where all differences can be sorted out”, as Dr Manmohan Singh clarified. The Bill cannot be stalled forever, as the country needs the law to facilitate the entry of foreign firms in India’s nuclear energy sector. This is in India’s own interest, too, as we require the latest nuclear reactors and enriched uranium for generating enough nuclear power to meet the country’s fast rising energy demand. The Opposition, particularly the BJP and the Left parties, came in the way of the introduction of the Bill earlier saying that it unfairly limited the compensation claim of the victims of a nuclear accident to Rs 500 crore, and the liability was only of the operator, which meant the government as the situation existed today. There was no liability fixed for nuclear reactor suppliers, as the critics of the Bill pointed out. Actually, the Bill has an arrangement for compensation to victims from three sources. First of all, it is the nuclear operator whose liability is fixed at Rs 500 crore. The Opposition is justified in demanding that there should be no cap on the operator’s liability. After all, the nuclear energy sector may soon have private operators too. However, there should be no objection to the government having a Rs 2,133 crore fund to come to the aid of the affected people. There will be no dearth of compensation money once India becomes a contributing member of the International Convention on Supplementary Compensation. In any case, the critics of the Bill must keep in mind that we should do all we can to remove the shortcomings in this crucial piece of legislation, but it must be allowed to become an Act. The country cannot afford to delay the law.
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Avoidable confusion
The
Punjab government has a penchant for creating problems for itself. In January when it decided to give one-time, one-year extension to its employees retiring on or before December 31, 2010, the decision invited ridicule and was widely debunked as discriminatory. About 25,000 employees stood to benefit and the government hoped to save Rs 800 crore. But knowing its propensity to slip up, few were surprised when the Punjab and Haryana High Court struck it down on Wednesday. What did come as a surprise was how the expected decision left a bewildered government unprepared to deal with the situation. Some 2,000 employees were hurriedly and unceremoniously retired on March 31. To add to the confusion, newspapers quoted the Chief Minister as saying that the Cabinet would discuss the issue on April 14-15 and if the retirement age was raised to 60, the retired employees could rejoin duty. The Cabinet itself is divided over the issue. The resource mobilisation committee comprising Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Industry Minister Manoranjan Kalia had suggested 60 as the age of retirement so that the payment of the retirees’ dues could be deferred. Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, however, opposed the idea, saying it would not go down well with the unemployed. Moreover, the administration, he argued, needed young blood. As a way out, the government thoughtlessly decided on one-year extension applicable only to one category of the retiring staff. It, perhaps, did not seek prior legal advice on the issue. After the announcement was made, the Advocate General’s office told the government that the retiring PCS officers to be re-employed on one-year contract could not be given statutory or quasi-judicial powers. The government, therefore, knew well in advance that it had messed up the whole issue. Instead of taking quick remedial measures, the government has chosen to prolong the state of confusion, perhaps waiting for the return of Badal junior from his private trip abroad. This is no way to govern.
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Judicial shelter
In
most Indian families, a girl and a boy are supposed to marry according to the convenience and approval of their parents, relatives, neighbours and, at times, even of those who are total strangers to them. In short, everyone’s opinion matters, except that of the would-be brides and grooms. Most take this tyranny lying down. A rare few rebel. They have to face the wrath of society and pay a heavy price, as if they have committed a crime. The family members can commit what have come to be known as “honour killings”. If somehow the relatives relent, there are community kangaroo courts called khap panchayats, which can either tell them to annul their marriage and live as brothers and sisters or socially ostracise them or kill them, as it happened in the case of Manoj and Babli of Karoran village in Haryana. Such runaway couples have no option except to appeal to the High Court for protection. The travesty is that many of them have been abducted or beaten up right while going to or returning from the state capital where the high courts are located. Moved by their sorry plight, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has now empowered district and sessions judges of all districts of Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh to provide security to such runaway couples. This will not only save them from undertaking the long, hazardous journey, but would also reduce the burden on the High Court. However, the major concern remains: what about providing them security while going to district courts? Those bent on harming them can attack them there as well. Such couples can breathe easy only if the government, society and NGOs join hands and come to their rescue whole-heartedly. While it is necessary to persuade those with medieval mindset to treat those wanting to marry by listening to their own hearts with compassion, it is also necessary to tell them in no uncertain terms that law would brook no violence.
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The world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation ...The hand is the cutting edge of the mind. — Jacob Bronowski
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Obama’s surprise dash to Kabul President Barak Obama’s sudden visit to Kabul — his first to Afghanistan during the 14 months since he moved into the White House — was surprising. It was also short, but its outcome could be significant and lasting. Indeed, the immediate impact of his pronouncements in Afghanistan and his meeting with the Afghan President, Mr Hamid Karzai, has been to dissipate the widespread impression that the Obama administration’s top priority in Af-Pak was a hasty exit, even if it meant a compromise with a section of the Taliban. The recent London conference on Afghanistan, by deciding on “reintegration” of, and “reconciliation” with, those Taliban who were willing to say farewell to arms and become part of the Afghan political process, had strengthened the belief in Washington’s “defeatism”. Pakistan felt greatly encouraged for two reasons: it rejoiced over the “rejection” of the Indian view that there were no “good or bad” Taliban; and it crowed that, after the London resolve, the US would need it even more than before. The Pakistan Army Chief, General Ashfaq Kiyani, after a meeting with the NATO top brass at Brussels, had declared publicly that his country alone was in a position to broker a deal between the US and the Taliban. And he had made no bones about the quid pro quo for this service: Pakistan’s “primacy” in the post-War Afghanistan and India’s exclusion from that country so that it can at last attain the “strategic depth” vis-a-vis India. Just before Mr Obama’s unannounced and super-secret visit to the Afghan capital, there had taken place in Washington the much-hyped US-Pakistan strategic dialogue during which, incidentally, General Kiyani was the dominant figure on the Pakistani side even though the delegation was nominally led by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi who was visibly ecstatic at the end of the talks. Even while President Obama was flying to Kabul, Mr Qureshi was announcing in Islamabad that the dialogue was “more successful than expected”. The moot question now is whether this euphoric mood can survive the dramatic Obama visit to Afghanistan. For, the US President categorically declared: “If the Taliban can take over again and Al-Qaeda is able to act freely, the homeland security of America would be threatened and the world would be less secure than now. This, as your commander-in-chief, I would not permit.” This reaffirmed that the US would not leave in haste but would stay the course till the twin-objectives of not letting the Taliban prevail and of destroying Al-Qaeda were achieved. Of course, there are those who believe that since Mr Obama was addressing the US troops fighting in Afghanistan his brave words might be no more than overblown rhetoric meant only for his immediate audience. This skepticism is uncalled for. In the first place, no American President can indulge in such theatrics and that, too, on so important an occasion. Secondly, it seems entirely logical that having won a long and hard struggle over healthcare at home, Mr Obama realises that he needs to repeat this in other struggles, too. Doubtless, his priorities are domestic. But Afghanistan, or rather Af-Pak, takes precedence in the realm of foreign policy. Iraq, despite its disputes over the just completed elections, casts no shadow on homeland security but Af-Pak does. So, it stands to reason that as a “chess grandmaster” (Henry Kissinger’s description of him), Mr Obama should complete the moves he has already made in and in relation to Afghanistan. To this country, as to the rest of the region, the American decision to stay the course cannot but be welcome. Countries like China may formally demand that American and NATO troops should quit Afghanistan immediately but they don’t really want this to happen. Russia’s approach is hardheaded. It does not want Islamic extremism to infect its southern neighbourhood in Central Asia, and it wants the problem of narcotics, which are finding their way into Russia and causing havoc there, to be sorted out as part of a settlement on Afghanistan. Other regional countries have to be on board at the time of devising a solution for the Afghan problem. These include Iran, and this may be problematic for the US. Mr Obama used his brief sojourn in Kabul to make two other crucial announcements. The first related to President Karzai. After the fraud-ridden Afghan elections last year there was no doubt about America’s and the UN mission’s deep antipathy to him. These feelings changed later when the Afghan President asserted himself in more ways than one. After the London conference, however, the talk was that the US was not averse to a deal with the Taliban even “at the cost of (Mr) Karzai”. President Obama has put paid to it. “The American people,” he said, “are impressed by the progress that has been made. I hope to see more improvement in governance, anti-corruption and judicial process”. More importantly, Mr Obama invited Mr Karzai to Washington on May 12. It is possible that countervailing measures to secure his position that Mr Karzai took — such as his visits to China and Iran — have also influenced the change in America’s stance. The second message of importance the US President delivered was that he intended not only to continue but also to enhance Drone (pilotless) attacks on Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders in their sanctuaries in Pakistan. “We have”, he said, “struck blows against the Al-Qaeda leadership as well as the Taliban’s. They are hunkered down. They are worried about their own safety. It is harder for them to move and to train and to plot and to attack. All of that makes America safer, and we are going to keep them on the run”. What Pakistan makes of this would be interesting to watch. Up to now its policy has been tacitly to let the Americans go ahead with the Drone and Predator strikes. So far retaliatory attacks on Pakistani cities and military installations have been limited. But will this situation last? That is where a critically important question comes in. Under American pressure, Pakistan’s army and the government have started acting against Al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban in South Waziristan and adjoining tribal areas. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) they had to take on because it attacks the Pakistani state itself. But so far there has been no Pakistani action against the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) that primarily targets India and also imperils US homeland security and American interests abroad.
Why?
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Hidden world Away from home, in the lonely dark room of hostel, where everyone was trying to “let loose” and vent out childhood trauma and emotional suffering, I was part of the grief of almost seven hostel roommates (and I am sure many more) who had one common pain to share and that pain was of being an Indian woman. It indeed is painful and for sure a curse to be a woman and then to be born into an Indian joint family where the innocence of a girl child in most cases is attacked by the “known devils”. I had no idea that child sexual abuse was so deep rooted in many so-called culturally rich Indian families and that almost every Indian girl (Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian) that I have ever come across had at one point or the other paid a price for being a helpless and defenceless woman. It was not on TV or in newspapers where such cases are being reported almost every day; it was in my hostel room with the girls I was staying 24/7, sharing my belongings, eating and hanging out together, with them now I am also sharing the “comm God knows how in the world we all just broke the ice and decided to share our past. It was not easy to give words to those horrendous experiences which were not understood earlier and now when we understand, we still decide to remain silent and move on. But as rightly said: “Behind each human face is a hidden world that no one can see. We cannot continue to seek outside ourselves for the things we need from within. The demons will haunt us if we remain afraid. Silence is one of the great victims of modern culture.” But then what else can the childhood abuse victims do? According to a recently released 13-state National Study on Child Sexual Abuse conducted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, UNICEF and Save The Children, abuse is a startling, everyday reality for as many as half of the country’s children. I wonder if going by the way of law or going by the way of humanity would help us in putting an end to this unabated crime, which is beyond physical abuse or rather an irreparable loss, which most of just decide to bury and then move on, but for how long, is a question for which we all need to find an
answer.
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Better deal for a few?
Whether
the Women’s Reservation Bill serves the purpose of promoting gender equality is a moot point. Will it actually make a difference to the overall empowerment of ordinary women, and not just those who are able to get voted into Parliament? Or will it be largely symbolic in its impact on the condition of most women in the country? Why should it make a difference? After all, we cannot really claim that so far all the women who have managed to achieve a certain position of leadership in national politics have really differentiated themselves by highlighting and championing the issues important for women. In fact, aside from some very inspiring exceptions, many elected women MPs have not made much of a mark in any major respect; leave aside the particular concerns of women. But that is not really an argument because it is well known that there is a dynamic that can be set in motion by sheer numbers. Currently, women constitute only 8.2 per cent of the MPs which makes them a potentially lonely minority in a context where raising issues from a women’s perspective or demanding that laws and policies be more gender aware can be an isolating experience if there is not enough support from other members. But when the numbers increase beyond such a small minority, things tend to change. It has been found in many countries where women are substantially represented in legislative bodies that such a presence increases the likelihood of more gender sensitive legislation as well as the culture of the House, empowering individual women to speak up more and be heard, and generating many more women leaders who are then taken seriously across the political spectrum. This does not simply mean a better deal for the few women who are able to get elected – it is likely to translate to a different focus on policies and programmes that may help the majority of women in the country. The significant effects of the 73rd and 74th Amendments on the empowerment of rural women through the reservation of seats in the local bodies are still being realised. And this is likely at the national level as well. The Indian problem really lies in the fact that women do not make proper use of the existing legal and political rights and facilities. There are several reasons for this. Most women are not yet fully aware of their new rights and opportunities. The bureaucracy they must deal with in order to exercise these rights, or to obtain redress for grievances is too complex, too slow, too distant and even too expensive for them to use. If a cross-cultural or multi-national analysis of legal provisions for women is made, India is likely to emerge as one of the most progressive countries. There are lots of provisions in the legal and political structures of the country that affirm and reaffirm the equality of the sexes. But are these laws utilised by those women really in need of them? Women’s poor utilisation of voting rights is primarily due to their low level of political awareness and sense of political efficacy. They do not yet appreciate their potential power and political leverage as citizens of a democracy. They are ignorant of issues, and are not encouraged to become interested. Even educated women are apathetic. On the other hand, political parties consider women candidates a risk and are unwilling to invest in them. Women themselves find that an active political career is difficult to combine with home-making. Thus, women who are active in politics are either the wives or daughters of politicians, or women who have entered politics as social workers or as students. Women’s failure to exercise their employment rights is due to quite another set of reasons. Poverty compels women in the country to take up any available work. Because unemployment is high, they are obliged to accept the terms of the employers, who often evade the requirements of the law. Women are particularly vulnerable to exploitation because they are too timid to argue. They suffer from the additional limitation of having to accept work that fits in with their obligations as wives, mothers and home-makers. By far the most serious tragedies that occur – dowry deaths, suicide and impoverishment of widows – arise out of women’s failure to use the legal safeguards and redress provisions with reference to marriage, divorce, dowry and property. Their general inability to use the law is further aggravated in situations in which they have to fight a husband or a father. In the role allocation within Indian culture, these are the persons upon whom women normally depend to handle court matters. It appears that very few of those unfortunate women – mainly of the rural areas, and of the lower classes who suffer maximum discrimination – are aware of the existence of laws in their favour. It seems more important for the government now to create awareness among the masses, focus on cultivating the attitudes required for building the necessary public commitment, pin-pointing at the same time the punishment due in cases of malpractice, rather than to concentrate only on framing measures and laws. The fact is that all these legal and constitutional provisions are futile unless they are backed by appropriate attitudes and public commitments.
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A life devoted to words When
the going gets tough the tough get going…. So was the mettle of Dr Jagtar, an eminent poet whose voice may have fallen silent but certainly not his poetry. As he breathed his last on March 30, he leaves behind a rich poetic legacy, particularly in the realm of Punjabi ghazals and nazms, that is hard to match and is likely to inspire many generations to come.
In fact, fully conversant with Persian and Urdu, Dr Jagtar is deemed by many as a ustaad shayar from whom significant lessons on poetic craftsmanship can be learnt. When it came to metre, behar, his understanding and application were faultless. In constant touch with poets from Pakistan, he wrote on the legendary Sufi poet Bulle Shah too and his most recent published work is a travelogue titled “Peshawar taun Sind tak”. Writer and academician Niranjan Tasneem, who first heard him way back in 1963 at a mushaira in Muktsar, thinks that his singularly distinctive feature was that on the one hand he imbibed the best of classical tradition of ghazal writing and on the other he breathed fresh vision that was without doubt progressive and humanistic. In fact, the poet himself believed that contemporary ghazal is not merely a dialogue with women nor an ode to husan- ishq. In the preface of his book Akhhan Waliyan Paidaan he quotes Aal Ahmed Saroors’s couplet ghazal mein jaat bhi hai aur kaynaat vhi hai, tumhari baat bhi hai aur hamari baat vhi hai’ to reiterate what ghazal writing is really all about. Dr Gurbachan, editor and publisher of literary journal Filhaal, says, “See there are three significant parameters of a good poet – his literary experience, his linguistic experience and lessons drawn from life. He excelled in all three.” Dr Atamjit hails his poetry for sincerity, brevity and seriousness. Too serious and pessimistic? Well the thread of disenchantment, often despair too was predominant, writ in thoughts such as aaa gaya Jagtar aisa zindagi da hai mukaam, na kite zulfan di chaan, na kise aanchal di yaad’. However, Dr Surjit Patar, who remembers many of his verses by heart, remarks, “ By no stretch of imagination can you say his was poetry of hopelessness.” Indeed, lines like har mod te saleeban, har pair vich hanera, phir vi asi ruke na, saada vi dekh jera’ depict his indomitable courage and tenacity to fight against all odds. Yet there was an element of negation. Dr Atamjit calls him, “A poet of fluctuating moods” and elaborates “One moment he would dwell on loneliness as in tanhaai ne hi mera aakhir nu hath phadeya and then echoed desire to traverse the expanse baajan ne udna ambar taun vhi age. But then these changing shades are a reflection of our vacillating times.” Nods Patar, “Without doubt he captured the pulse of the times.” Actually, his poetry moved with movements like that of the Naxalites. Yet as one browses through lines like ghar de darwaaze taun, apne naa di takhti utaar, is vich khatre chhupe hoe ne, aj kal beshumaar and manjil te jo na pahunche, parte na jo gharan nu, raahavan ne khaa leya hai kam-dil musafiran nu… ring out a universal appeal and could apply to many situations, not just to a particular period in response to which he might have expressed himself so. Often his poetry has been laced with sardonic sarcasm as underlined in verses such as ‘ kaun jashan vich kisse nu chit dhare chete kare, zindagi vich jad kade talkhi wadhe taan khat likhi…. A subaltern writer, his poetry, feel critics, brims with agony of the deprived and the dispossessed. What made him a cut above the rest was that he didn’t nurse any bourgeoisie yearnings and wasn’t a sham. Gurbachan says that he was markedly different from the popular mode of ghazal writers. Actually he derided poets who hang on patrons and critics. Ironically, in his later days he felt he was unsung. Yes the Sahitya Akademy Award did come to him. Perhaps, he deserved greater honours. Indeed, overwhelming popularity may have eluded him, but then he didn’t really hanker after it and believed that populist ways that most poets resort to, spell disaster in the long run. Few grudge or deny his greatness that is imprinted in several compilations like Chunkari Shaam, Sheeshe Da Jungle, Chaangeya Rukh and Jugnu Deeva te Darya. While history will judge his final place, he himself implored – I dedicated my life to words…. What I gained and lost…. You judge. But then assessing the poet who felt ‘ parat jaayega alochak pair zakhmi hon te, mein ate meri ghazal haan patharan te chal rahe’ is no mean task and requires the same acumen and sterling qualities that he possessed. |
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LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran symbolises different things for different people. Strangely, for actor-turned-politician Vijaykanth, the Tiger leader’s name symbolises success. After naming his first child as Prabhakaran, the actor’s hundredth film was given the title “Captain Prabhakaran”. The action film was a box-office bonanza, marking a major turn in his film career. Vijaykanth himself earned the nickname “Captain”. Now, the Captain is launching a new TV channel. No marks for guessing the first film to be telecast by the channel. It will be “Captain Prabhakaran”. Vijaykanth believes that the channel started with a film named after Prabhakaran will change the fortunes of his party, which is not doing well at present. Will the Tiger sentiment click this time? Another captain, MS Dhoni, has promised to attend the function. SMS for love
How will a son of a Union minister and the grandson of a Chief Minister convey his love? The latest love story doing the rounds is that of Durai Dayanidhi, son of Union minister MK Alagiri.
Dayanidhi was not able to meet his lady love, in public places, since it could get media attention. The girl, Anusha, could not be asked to meet him in private without knowing her mind. Finally, he decided to express his love by sending a hundred messages through mobile. All the hundred messages contained the same words: “I love you”. One day he got a similar reply. Now, their love is known to their parents and the date for their marriage is to be fixed soon. Alagiri’s marriage was also arranged by his father and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, after the latter came to know about his son’s love. Punjab, beware of Vaas
Lankan speedster Chaminda Vaas is eagerly awaiting his next match with Kings XI Punjab. While Gilchrist and his men who arrived in Chennai for a match with the Chennai Super Kings were seen in a relaxed and jolly mood, Chaminda Vaas was tense and moody. “This is no time to relax”, he confided to a few friends. “I want to prove myself and get into the Lankan team for the T20 World Cup. I am waiting for the next match against Punjab, when I will get a chance to bowl at the island captain Kumar Sangakkara”, he said. He was confident that he would be able to get his captain out cheaply and get a berth for the T20 World Cup. Sri Lankan spinner Muthaiah Muralidharan, playing for the Chennai Super Kings had the last laugh over his captain Sangakkara, who got out to one of Murali’s superb deliveries. “The next time, when we meet in the same dressing room, I will remind Sangakkara about it”, Murali said in a lighter vein. No jeans, please
The Chennai Police Commissionerate has come out with a new rule that bans policemen from wearing casual wear jeans and T-shirts on its premises. Whether they are on duty or off-duty, whether they are higher or lower rank, the prohibition applies. Police constables will not be allowed to wear ‘objectionable’ outfits like jeans inside the Commissioner’s office as such garments invite unnecessary attention. A proper dress code will be in keeping with the formal atmosphere, officials say. |
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Corrections and clarifications
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. Raj Chengappa
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