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Chidambaram’s missive
A bold decision
No more statues |
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Obama’s message from Kabul
Journey of a road
China’s pressure
tactics
A Tribute
Mumbai Diary
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Chidambaram’s missive
IT is a sad commentary on the state of affairs in West Bengal that Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Sunday had to publicly remind the Chief Minister of his government’s responsibility to maintain law and order, which in any case is a state subject. The Union Minister was stating the obvious when he took recourse to Americanism to remind Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee that he could not possibly pass the buck for lawlessness in the state. It is no secret that the ruling Left Front holds the Congress and the Trinamool Congress responsible for hobnobbing with the Maoists on one hand and unleashing violence against the Left Front cadre on the other. Mr Chidambaram was merely stating the obvious, however, when he reminded Bhattacharjee of his ‘Raj dharma’. The Chief Minister, he contended, had to take stern steps and ensure that the buck stopped with the District Magistrates and the Superintendents of Police. It is certainly the job of the state government to see that police stations enforce the law impartially. Plain speaking by Mr Chidambaram may not, however, lead to much qualitative change on the ground. Mr Bhattacharjee is a prisoner of the past, when the Left Front filled up the police stations and government offices with its own loyalists. Under the false assumption that the Left Front government would rule over the state for a brief period, the state government headed by the CPM laid less emphasis on governance and more on strengthening the party organisation. While the Left Front has woken up to the belated realisation that it is expected to administer with an even hand and ensure development on the ground, it finds to its horror that its delivery mechanism has ceased to function. Maoist violence must eventually be dealt with squarely by the states. Even the Central forces deployed in the states are expected to assist the state police. But none of the four eastern states, namely Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal, seem to be acting in coordination or taking the tough but necessary decisions. It is to be hoped that Mr Chidambaram’s message, that the buck really stops with them, sinks in sooner rather than later.
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A bold decision THE Punjab government has taken a bold decision by keeping the retirement age for its employees at 58 instead of raising it to 60 years. Though it runs contrary to its electoral promise, the decision would be welcomed by the youth. Over 18,000 employees, who would have benefited immediately from the enhanced retirement age, would, however, be disappointed. Had the government decided to raise the age of retirement, it would have, in the short-term, deferred payments to the tune of Rs 700 core this year and another Rs 762 crore during 2011-2012. However, in the long-term, it would have had serious financial implications for the state. The government would have had to pay two increments to employees who are already in the top bracket of their salaries. The burden of the government would also have increased because of a rise in the employees’ pension and other emoluments over a period of two to three decades. For those attaining the age of 58, extension of service by two years could be described as a bonus. But this was, certainly, not in the state’s financial interest. It would have adversely affected the prospects of Punjab’s youth as well. The government’s refusal to buckle under pressure and decision to enhance the maximum age for recruitment from 35 to 37 years will help check, albeit marginally, the acute unemployment problem in the state. Significantly, 70,000 youth have applied for over a thousand vacancies of Food and Supply Inspectors. For about 600 posts of Excise and Taxation Inspectors, the government received as many as 30,000 applications from candidates that included MBAs, PhDs and scientists. While the decision on retirement is expected to help the unemployed youth most, it is debatable whether the new recruits will help improve the quality of governance. Infusing fresh blood is welcome. At the same time, the government needs to save money by trimming the bloated bureaucracy and checking public spending and leakage of funds.
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No more statues THE recommendation of a high-powered committee of Parliament not to have any more statues in Parliament House has not come a day too soon. Already, the majestic building is crowded with nearly 40 of them. Any more would only interfere with its heritage character. What should be borne in mind is that it is not a museum of statues. Some were installed to show genuine respect, but then competitive politics stepped in. If a national leader belonging to one party was to have one, then there were other claimants as well, and before everyone could be pleased, there was a problem of plenty, forcing the Committee on Installation of Portraits, Statues of National Leaders and Parliamentarians in Parliament House complex to call a halt now. But it is not a blanket ban. It has been said that the permission for installing more such statues could be given if the Heritage Committee of Parliament gave its approval. Now that can cause some uneasiness. Given the clout that some politicians enjoy, they may prevail upon the heritage committee to allow statues of less than fully deserving persons. The committee coming under the jurisdiction of the Speaker will have to steel itself against all sorts of pressure tactics. Besides being a heritage issue, there is also the question of maintaining the sanctity of these towering structures. Those that are there must be shown due respect. On Martyrs’ Day this year (March 23), only one MP turned up to pay floral tributes at Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s 18-ft bronze statue created two years ago by sculptor Ram Sutar in Parliament. No official commemoration was held and no intimation published in the bulletin for parliamentarians. There is no point installing such statues if due respect is not given to them, even on the day on which Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev kissed the gallows 79 years ago.
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He sleeps soundly who is undisturbed by the conflict of his emotions and desires. — The Upanishads
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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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Obama’s message from Kabul President
Obama spent 26 hours in the air to spend six hours on the ground in Kabul on March 28, 2010. He met only President Karzai and addressed the US troops at Bagram airforce base. As the Commander-in-Chief he wore a bomber jacket while addressing the troops. A President does not do all this as a ritual. There must be a message in this act and what he said in Kabul. He undertook this journey after the strategic dialogue between the US and Pakistan, after President Karzai’s visits to China and Iran and after the Iranian President’s visit to Kabul. His message came out loud and clear in his remarks at the end of the meeting with President Karzai. Obama said, “I want to send a strong message that the partnership between the United States and Afghanistan is going to continue…But we also want to continue to make progress on the civilian process of ensuring that agricultural production, energy production, good governance, rule of law, anti-corruption efforts — all these things end up resulting in a Afghanistan that is more prosperous, more secure, independent; is not subject to meddling by its neighbours; a transition will be able to occur so that more and more security efforts are made by the Afghans. His reference to meddling by the neighbours is of particular significance. And there can be no doubt about its implication for Pakistan.The message is delivered three days after the US-Pakistani strategic dialogue in which General Kayani was reported to have highlighted the Pakistani interest in Afghanistan as its strategic depth. Obama also made it clear that the development of Afghanistan will continue to be supported by the US. That will mean that India’s role in Afghanistan’s development is not likely to get diminished. Pakistani establishment who have been calculating on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and consequent installation of a Pakistan-pasand regime there and diminishing and eliminating Indian role in that country may have to rethink their strategy. Obama’s emphasis on long-term commitment of the US to Afghanistan is unmistakeable. He invited President Karzai to Washington in May and added, “and we intend to have a discussion about our long-term strategic interests between the two countries…all of us are interested in a day when Afghanistan is going to be able to provide for its own security but continue a long-term strategic partnership with the United States”. People around the world, particularly in India who interpreted Obama’s speech of December 1 as notice by the US that it was going to cut and run when Obama stipulated that the US will start a draw-down of forces 18 months after the initiation of the surge of troops will have to reinterpret what the President meant. It did not occur to many people that he was setting a target date for his forces to finish the job successfully in the Af-Pak area. That comes through clearly in his address to the troops at Bagram base. He told them, “We can’t forget why we’re here. We did not choose this war. We were attacked viciously on 9/11. Plots against our homeland, plots against our allies, plots against the Afghan and Pakistani people are taking place as we speak right here. And if this region slides backwards, if the Taliban retakes this country and al-Qaeda can operate with impunity, then more American lives will be at stake… And as long as I’m your Commander-in-Chief, I am not going to let that happen. That’s why you are here… …“Our broad mission is clear: We are going to disrupt and dismantle, defeat and destroy al-Qaeda and its extremist allies. That is our mission. And to accomplish that goal, our objectives here in Afghanistan are also clear: We’re going to deny al-Qaeda safe haven. We’re going to reverse the Taliban’s momentum. We’re going to strengthen the capacity of Afghan security forces and the Afghan government so that they can begin taking responsibility and gain confidence of the Afghan people”. He further added realistically, “But we know there are going to be some difficult days ahead. There’s going to be setbacks. We face a determined enemy. But we also know this: The United States of America does not quit once it starts on something. You don’t quit, the American armed services does not quit, we keep at it, we persevere, and together with our partners we will prevail. I am absolutely confident of that.” He also had something to say about the kind of people the US is fighting which should give some thought to those who are talking about negotiating deals with the Taliban. He justified the war, as he did in his Nobel Prize address in terms of a Just War. He exhorted the US forces, “Make no mistake, this fight matters to us. It matters to us, it matters to our allies, it matters to the Afghan people. Al-Qaeda and the violent extremists who you’re fighting against want to destroy. But all of you want to build — and that is something essential about America. They’ve got no respect for human life. You see dignity in every human being. That’s part of what we value as Americans. They want to drive races and regions and religions apart. You want to bring people together and see the world move forward together. They offer fear, in other words, and you offer hope.” Is this a speech of a person thinking of cutting and running in the next 15 months? The Quadrennial Defence Review of the US Defence Department published early February says, “We now recognise that America’s ability to deal with threats for years to come will depend importantly on our success in the current conflicts”. If this is read with Obama’s Kabul speech can he afford to lose the war in Af-Pak area and hope to win the 2012 elections? The Pakistani leadership appears to have made as disastrous a mistake as they made in 1965, 1971 and 1999 in concluding that the US will cut and run in 2011. As Pakistan gets hooked on US aid and finds it difficult to do without it, the US will be able to persuade the Pakistani Army to fall in line with their strategy. The Indian establishment should bear in mind the above interpretation of Obama strategy and not fall into the trap of assuming that the US will withdraw from Afghanistan in 2011 leaving the field open to the
Pakistanis.
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Journey of a road Travelling
from New Delhi to Chandigarh by Shatabdi Express the other day my mind and eyes remained fixed on the GT road that runs almost parallel to rail line till Ambala. Sher Shah Suri built the road in the 16th century and called it Sadak-e-Azam. Only public way that links India’s present to its past and connects the eastern region to the western, its precursor is said to be the road Chandragupta Maurya built from Taxila to Patliputra to link India’s trade with the Hellenic world. Sher Shah had defeated Humayun in a battle and banished him from India. Paradoxically, this same road, later, served Humayun to re-enter India from his Persian exile and re-establish the Mughal dynasty. Dotted with “Kos” minars and Caravan sarais, Sadak-e-Azam provided shelter to travellers and served as the first postal communication system. Caravan sarais have now become extinct but “Kos minars” are extant. However, modernity has asserted itself. This lifeline is now dotted with fast food joints, motels and tourist spots and adorned by signages and traffic warnings. Route to invaders and empire builders, it has also served folks living in the plains and in the rugged valleys it slices through. Caravans of traders, thugs and plunderers have thrived on it, invaders and the pilgrims have walked on it. It is now a smooth purveyor of cars and Cadillacs. But keeping company with carts and camels still, this Milky Way on earth has not broken with the past. Farid — Sher Shah Suri — perhaps, never envisioned that two of the most transformative systems he introduced in India — Sadak-e-Azam and Rupiah — would revolutionise communication and currency. Today both are serving the nation like nothing else. History has traversed on this road with gigantic steps and thundering noises. The Mughals led their campaigns to Peshawar and beyond. Serving all the Mughals in their glory, it was also a witness to their downfall. The British troops moved from Bengal to North-Indian plains in 1857 and the British reinforcements marched on it from Lahore and Ambala cantonments. Capture of Bahadurshah Zafar and his subsequent exile signalled the fall of Mughal Empire and the rise of British domination. Sadak-e-Azam was rechristened Grand Trunk Road. Another milestone in its journey. In 1947 when India was partitioned, there was unprecedented scale of murder, misery and migration of millions of people. The railways and this road served the people to seek shelter, safety and a new life. This was its most painful signpost. Travelling on this highway is like being a witness to the vignettes, pageantries and a spectacle of the unity and diversity of India, union of the past with the contemporary and a window to the future. Aptly it has been described not as a national highway but a national monument. In Kipling’s words “GT Road is a wonderful spectacle. It runs straight bearing without crowding India’s traffic for 1500 miles — such a river of life as nowhere exists in the
world”.
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China’s pressure tactics
China has settled its disputes with almost all its neighbours except India. With India, it seems to prefer to keep the pot boiling so far as the Sino-Indian border dispute is concerned. Shrewd as the Chinese are, they managed to sign a treaty of 'Peace and Tranquility' with India in 1993 during Prime Minister, Narasimaha Rao's visit to their country, thus ensuring peaceful borders by putting the resolution of currently intractable border issue in cold storage indefinitely. Last month, Chinese soldiers stopped the work on 8 km long road being constructed under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) at Demchok. India just caved in and instead blamed the state government of Jammu and Kahsmir for taking the initiative. In June, 2009, the Chinese helicopters violated the air space in Ladakh and left behind tell tale signs of their intrusion including air dropping of food cans near Chumar. Precisely a month later the Chinese soldiers came along in Chumar area once again and painted rocks with the word ‘China’ in Cantonese. In 2008, they intruded in Sikkim’s’Finger Area’ and we dismissed it by calling it a minor issue. In 2007, the Chinese in fact intruded nearly 20 km inside the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh. The UPA government just denied it and of course so did the Chinese. The Chinese have not hesitated resorting to such antics even when Indian dignitaries are on their visits to China. In 2003, when Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was on a visit to China, the PLA soldiers cut across the LAC and apprehended an Indian patrol. In all these cases, India just down played these incidents. China’s aim is to keep India off balance by devious tricks, otherwise how does one explain its objections to Indian dignitaries visiting Arunachal Pradesh and issuing stapled visas to Indian nationals from J&K. India’s response on China’s attempt at diverting Brahumputra River before it enters India near the ‘great bend’ is another example of its helplessness. India already seemed to have resigned to a fait accompli, if one is to go by recent statements of Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, our Minister for Water Resources. There are also reports of China planning to divert Indus river water to the arid plains of western Tibet, a matter of extreme concern for India. India must rise and face these challenges in best possible manner. Both the NDA and the UPA governments have failed to see through the Chinese strategy. Frequent and deep violations of the LAC are to give credibility to their claims. China has been nibbling large tracts of land and advancing gradually across the LAC. Their permanent settlements have come much closer than they were ever before in the past. They have been constructing roads, permanent structures and devious settlements adjacent to the Indian side of the LAC. They have also been claiming the traditional grazing fields of our Ladakhi people by scaring them away. Instead of standing up to the Chinese as they do to our similar construction work, the Indian governments more often than not back out tamely. The Chinese dismiss India’s objections invariably with a firm denial whilst we down play their actions under the cover of differing perceptions of LAC. We always want to avoid precipitating the issue. Apparently, 1962 syndrome continues to haunt our thinking. China’s multi-dimensional threat to India’s National Security has become a cause for serious concern. Strategic divergence, competitive economic growth, territorial disputes, India’s growing ties with the US and their civilian nuclear cooperation despite not having signed the NPT, long Joint Defence Framework and last but not the least Dalai Lama and his one lakh Tibetans’ presence in India are some of the major factors that are viewed by China with mistrust. China is apprehensive that India may at some critical juncture exploit Tibetan nationalism and encourage clash between them and the Hans in Tibet. Besides, China also sees India’s benign rise as an impediment and a long term threat, particularly in Asian context. China will keep debilitating pressure on India through diplomatic offensive as also through strategic incursions and offensive posturing for time to come. But it will not let the situation go out of hand and turn into a major war like conflict. Conflicts will remain localised, for large scale war is not in China’s interest presently. India will have to change its mind set and cope with the changing situation with requisite confidence, lest its credibility as a rising power is sullied.
The writer is former Director General, Defence Planning Staff
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A Tribute Amrik Singh graduated from Khalsa College, Amritsar in 1940. The Khalsa College founded in 1896 was then a unique institution with some distinguished teachers such as Teja Singh, Waryyam Singh, Gurbachan Singh Talib, Sant Singh Sekhon and Arjan Nath Matoo. Though Amrik Singh took his MA degree in English from the prestigious Government College, Lahore, he remained consistently in touch with his Khalsa College teachers from whom he imbibed his quest for learning and his left-wing radical orientation of a dissident, protester and an agitator against the spurious, the sham and the hypocritical. Amrik Singh told this writer that after obtaining his M.A. degree, his father Dr Gopal Singh, a medical practitioner, advised him to travel and meet some of the leading intellectuals to widen his learning and experiences. Amrik Singh often recollected how intellectually profitable and rich his experiences were at Lucknow and Allahabad Universities where he spent some days in the company of eminent educationists. At Lucknow University he met Professor N.K. Siddhanta, who had secured a first class in the English tripos at Cambridge. He was greatly impressed by the wide learning and intellectual calibre of D.P. Mukherjee, a leading Marxist and easily one of the rare intellectuals endowed with an acute sense of originality and sensitivity. Amrik Singh joined Khalsa College, Delhi in 1951. I remember vividly visiting Sardar Hukam Singh, the Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha in early 1954. Sardar Hukam Singh was then the Chairman of the Khalsa College governing body. As we were conversing, a telephone bell rang. Hukam Singh picked up the phone, and spoke for about two minutes. After he replaced the receiver, he said: “Well, we have in our college a promising teacher, but he is always agitating for the rights of teachers and causing us great embarrassment.” Throughout his life, Amrik Singh engaged himself in reading, writing and teaching. He read widely, and was never a scholar of the library. He wore his learning lightly. As a Punjabi, he possessed an uncommon common sense, which gave to his personality not the image of a pensive, brow-knitted scholar, but of a simple warm-hearted smiling friend, dedicated to the cause of education. In his youth he visited bookshops in Connaught Place, but with his growing age, he worked mostly at the India International Centre Library. Ideologically, Amrik Singh was not a Marxist. He belonged to no political party. He was a rationalist, an eclectic. Religious rituals and ceremonies he abjured. Religion he regarded essentially an inward experience of spiritual growth. He respected the feelings and sentiments of others, who followed their religious faith. Though Amrik Singh obtained his Ph-D in English literature from London University, his deep and abiding interest lay in his study of education and its promotion in the country. For the enhancement of literary skills, he floated at his expense a fortnightly journal India Book Chronicle which continues to be published from Jaipur. Amrik Singh never desisted from criticising the Government and University authorities whenever they acted arbitrarily by diluting academic standards, or disregarding the rights and interests of the teaching community. Amrik Singh travelled alone. He chartered his own course. Witty and sharp with a twinkle in his eyes, he was, indeed, a loveable person, good in company. Never did anyone, to my knowledge, hear him speak ill of anyone. His gentle smile and warm handshake I shall ever miss.
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Mumbai Diary The buzz is that the actress who, along with her former beau Ness Wadia of Bombay Dyeing and the Burmans of Dabur, is a co-owner of the team and wants to divest part of the stake in the team. Rumours that have been floating for the past several months have been denied. What has raised eyebrows is the invisibility of the other owners of leaving Preity to carry the baton all on her own. Preity doesn’t seem to mind their absence though. According to her close aides, the actress spent the earlier part of this year at the Harvard University picking up the basics of business management. Preity is expected to play a larger role when the IPL management allows team owners to trade players or float Initial Public Offerings to investors. Watch the dimpled actress trade her team colours for sharp business suits.
Taj Ballroom restored Nearly two years after terrorists attempted to burn down the place, the famous Taj Ballroom on the first floor of the heritage wing of the Taj Mahal Hotel is open for business again. Kuala Lumpur’s LTW Designworks, which had carried out renovations in the premises before the terrorist attack was roped in to restore Taj Ballroom to its former glory. For more than a year, architects and experts from the company pored over historical photographs to get a feel of the original Victorian design of the sprawling ballroom. According to the hotel management the restoration project cost more than Rs 130 crores. The carpets that line the floor of the Taj Ballroom are from Hong Kong while the lighting system is from London. Typical of all Taj properties, the artworks have been sourced from India in addition to Victorian and period art that is the hallmark of the Mumbai property. The rest of the heritage wing of the Taj Hotel which suffered the brunt of the terrorist attack would be open for business in the next few months. The management has gradually opened the Sea Lounge, restaurants Wasabi and Golden Dragon, and the Harbour Bar which were badly damaged in the 26/11 terrorist attack.
John to tigers’ rescue Following reports of wildlife experts warning of the number of tigers in India decreasing alarmingly, Abraham said he would work on creating awareness to save the big cat. The actor is now producing a documentary along with green film-maker Mike Pandey. The feature traces the progress of four tiger cubs into adulthood. This documentary, says John, would be screened at major film festivals. In addition, dignitaries like parliamentarians and decision makers would also be shown the documentary, according to the actor.
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CHINA is likely to emerge as world’s
second largest economy by the end of this year. Its military might is also growing simultaneously at the same pace. Deng Xiaoping outlined his vision in 1979 when he said: “The world would have no option but to listen to you if you have a robust economy and powerful military”. 
Soft-spoken
Preity Zinta’s
