The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Tytler escapes
CBI role remains questionable

A Delhi court might have valid legal reasons to accept the CBI’s clean chit given to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 Sikh massacre case, but the stains of blood may not go easily no matter how hard Tytler tries to wash. That an appeal is expected against the court verdict need not raise hopes unless the prosecuting agency digs out fresh evidence. Tytler is among the political leaders the Justice G.T. Nanavati Commission had indicted for their role in the attacks on Sikhs after the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.

As many as 2,733 people had lost their lives in Delhi alone, according to official figures. So far only 13 persons have been convicted. Given this poor shady track record and the latest clean chit to a prime suspect, the 1984 happenings will continue to hang around India’s neck like an albatross. The blot could have been erased had the state acted adequately and the judicial system delivered timely justice. Nothing of the sort has happened. The acquittal of Tytler once again reminds one of the sordid drama going on for the past quarter of a century.

Instead of pulling up the CBI for its lackadaisical work the Delhi judge chose to defend the investigating agency, whose reputation has got tarnished many a time in the past for its pro-ruling party stance. With time, witnesses tend to make contradictory statements, much to the advantage of the accused. Some just cannot cope with the ordeal and back out, while others die waiting for justice. If the lawlessness in 1984 stands out as a shame for the Congress, the Muslim pogrom in Gujarat is a disgrace for the other national party, the BJP. When the CBI first gave the clean chit to Tytler in 2007, the fate of the case had become clear. A relook was just a formality.

Cobalt-60 exposure
Radioactivity takes its toll

THE death of one of the persons who handled radioactive material at a scrap yard in Mayapuri, Delhi, has highlighted the threat that lurks in our midst. It was only 19 days ago that Rajender Prasad, 35, handled the material. The others exposed to the radiation of what has now been identified as a Cobalt-60 isotope continue to battle for their lives in various hospitals in the Capital. An AIIMS spokesman has identified the exposure to Cobalt-60 as the “definitive cause” of his death, apparently the first radiation death in the country.

Cobalt-60 isotopes are used widely in medial and industrial applications, including food processing. In India, cameras that use Cobalt-60 were phased out in the 1990s. In any case, the use and disposal of all such radioactive material is strictly supervised in the country, and it is believed that the source of the Mayapuri radiation exposure is outside the nation. Contaminated scrap was identified as the cause of setting off a radiation detector alarm in France in 2000. A worker in a nuclear plant was wearing a watch that had contaminated bracelet pins made with steel supplied by a plant in China, from which 100 kg of contaminated steel was recovered. In Thailand the same year, a disused cobalt-60 teletherapy source caused a death and a major scare. The International Atomic Energy Agency maintains that “lapses in good practice, human error or lack of knowledge are the root causes of such accidents”.

The Mayapuri incident has hammered home the laxity in monitoring the around 4,000 tonnes of junk metal imported as scrap in India every day. Such scrap must be examined for radioactivity at ports and India should not be allowed to become the dumping ground of the world’s hazardous waste. At the same time, junkyards and smelting centres should also be monitored to ensure that any material that slips through various ports is identified and neutralised. Involving the public in awareness and preventive programmes has also become necessary in the increasingly flat world in which innocent Indians have had to pay for the sins of others.

Thought for the Day

He that first cries out stop thief, is often he that has stolen the treasure.
— William Congreve

ARTICLE

After the end of ethnic conflict
Opportunities and challenges in Sri Lanka
by G. Parthasarathy

MAY 2009 saw the end of a three-decade-long and bloody ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, in which an estimated 80,000 people perished. The conflict ended when a relentless offensive by the Sri Lankan armed forces led to the killing of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and the decimation of his cadres. While questions remain about the alleged horrendous violations of human rights of the Tamil civilian population caught in the crossfire, President Mahinda Rajapakse has emerged as the most popular leader of his country, decisively defeating his rival, former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka, in the Presidential elections on January 26. This has been followed by a decisive victory of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance, which secured over 60 per cent of the votes cast in the parliamentary elections on April 8-20.

President Rajapakse combined a determined war strategy with astute diplomacy, after he concluded that dialogue with the LTTE had failed and that he had to eliminate the Tigers. Faced with huge pressure brought about by erstwhile mediator Norway, together with the US and the European Union, Rajapakse secured diplomatic and even intelligence and military support from India while simultaneously obtaining arms and economic assistance from China and Pakistan, together with economic assistance from Japan.

With the US deciding to work together with India on regional issues during the Bush Administration, things turned around for the embattled President, once the Americans adopted a more understanding approach even while the Sri Lankan government effectively resisted European pressures to halt military operations. Most importantly, the successful conclusion of the ethnic conflict ended all doubts in Sri Lanka about India’s commitment to its unity and territorial integrity. The once powerful Sinhala chauvinist, pseudo-Marxist and anti-Indian Janatha Vimuktha Perumana (JVP) was badly mauled in this month’s parliamentary elections.

The end of the ethnic conflict was accompanied by the displacement of 300,000 Tamil civilians. New Delhi’s primary concern in recent months has naturally been about the rehabilitation of internally displaced Tamils. With an investment of $110 million, India has provided emergency supplies of medicines, temporary housing and cement, and undertaken demining of Tamil habitats located in the battle zones. But this is necessarily only a beginning, in a larger package of assistance that New Delhi has to provide to the Tamil population in the war-affected parts of the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. With plans underway to have an Indian Cultural Centre and renovate the famous Duraiappan Stadium in Jaffna, India would have to invest substantially in building higher educational and technical training institutions in Tamil areas to enable the Tamil population to integrate into an emerging pluralistic and economically dynamic Sri Lanka.

Politically, President Rajapakse should be persuaded to implement the provisions of the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lanka Constitution enacted in 1988, pursuant to the Rajiv Gandhi-Jayawardene Agreement of 1987. Moreover, if a return to a situation of Tamil discontent fuelling insurgency is to be avoided, it would only be wise for Sri Lanka to also enact legislation to implement the provisions of the “Constitution of the Republic of Sri Lanka Amendment Bill” of August 3, 2000, and effectively end human rights violations of innocent Tamils.

This Constitutional Amendment Bill was presented after extensive consultations by President Kumaratunga’s advisers G.L. Peiris and Neelan Tiruchelvan and was withdrawn because of domestic opposition. The implementation of this bill, together with the 1988 Constitutional Amendment, will largely address Tamil concerns and aspirations. But, at the same time, the Tamils of Sri Lanka would have to recognise that with the East becoming very different from the North in terms of its ethnic composition, demands for a united north-eastern province may no longer be tenable.

Concerns naturally exist in India about growing Chinese involvement in Sri Lanka and especially its partnership in the development of Hambantota Port. This port, being built with a concessionary Chinese loan of $300 million, will eventually have a LNG refinery, fuel storage facilities, three separate docks, together with facilities for ship repair and construction. It can serve as a base for bunkering and refuelling. Moreover, China has been the largest supplier of military equipment to Sri Lanka in recent years and is involved in projects for the construction of highways, railways and a coal-based power plant.

China’s trade with Sri Lanka has doubled during the last five years to $1.13 billion in 2009. Given the Chinese desire to increase its maritime presence in the Indian Ocean, including in South Asia, while working through Pakistan, New Delhi will have to make it clear to Sri Lanka that any facilities provided to China, in the context of its overall policies of encircling and containing India, would not be welcome.

Despite the foregoing, it does appear that Sri Lanka has no intention of causing undue concern to India. When blocks for oil exploration were parcelled out in the Gulf of Mannar, the Sri Lankan government gave equal opportunities and benefits to both India and China, allocating one block each to both countries. Moreover, with bilateral trade reaching $2.02 billion in 2009, Sri Lanka is today India’s largest trading partner in SAARC. India, in turn, should be more forthcoming in opening its markets to the export of tea, spices, rubber and textiles by Sri Lanka.

India has extended the Lines of Credit amounting to $592 million to Sri Lanka for upgrading of the Colombo-Matara rail link, the supply of railway equipment and construction of railway lines in Northern Sri Lanka. Proposals are under consideration for the interconnection of the grids in Sri Lanka and India. But New Delhi would do well to ensure that negotiations are finalised for constructing a 500 MW power plant in Trincomalee.

With an over 90 per cent rate of literacy and life expectancy of females reaching 76 years, Sri Lanka has a far better record in human development than India. Moreover, despite a raging civil war, the island has shown a remarkable growth rate, averaging 6.3 per cent since 2003. Unlike some of India’s other neighbours, the Sri Lankans have shown a readiness to integrate their economy with the economies of neighbouring South Indian states. Projects involving Indian private investment of around $500 million have been approved for implementation in Sri Lanka, where India is today the fourth largest foreign investor.

With the ethnic conflict over, there should now be fewer inhibitions on expanding bilateral military ties. In this otherwise optimistic scenario, one hopes that with a massive mandate, President Rajapakse will show statesmanship and magnanimity in addressing the legitimate aspirations of the island’s alienated Tamil population.

MIDDLE

Beating the Americans
by Roopinder Singh

Ah! That’s one thing in which we are far ahead of the Americans!” I wondered what had brought out this ironically delivered pronouncement from Jaspreet, since yours truly considers himself a bit of an authority on the US of A, having spent a number of youthful years there.

Now for the disclaimer. I did see the inside of cop stations, but purely because of my journalistic pursuits. I was never arrested and nor did I serve any time there. Neither, have I, for that matter, been able to set up anything like a multi-million dollar empire, but then I digress, as has most of the country in the past few weeks.

President Obama was on his pulpit, addressing the world, glancing left and right for the slim electronic teleprompters that provide him with the right words which he delivers with such eloquence. The leader of the Land of the Free asked politicians to “think more about the next generation than the next election”.

Think of the next generation….the penny dropped. We have a strong tradition of thinking of the next generation. Anyone seeking the validation of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein’s “family-resemblance” theory just has to glance at the Indian political pantheon. When a few families control the destiny of a nation, we call it a dictatorship. When they are elected, we call it a democracy…it gives us a moral high ground, you know.

How we take care of the next generation! First we provide for it - at least for the next seven generations is the norm. Then we secure their future by “getting them into a suitable line.” Matrimonial alliances are entered into to secure their future, and religious intervention is sought to leave nothing to chance. In case a prodigal son stumbles, we are there for him, assuring him our full support, and maintaining that he could have done nothing wrong.

The darling was denied a drink and someone was shot? Too bad. A few people were mowed down after a few too many were consumed? Sad. However, witnesses maintained that it was not a BMW but a truck that had done the deed. A foreigner was raped? No way could our dear have done it! Besides, you know how the French are, and she never returned to the city of her trauma to testify. A scuffle and shots fired? Come on, these little things happen when boys are growing up!

Not that the Americans did not have their Chappaquiddick incident, but it was an aberration and ensured that Ted Kennedy could never lay to rest the ghost of his party companion, Mary Jo Kopechne, who died in a car he was driving.

American children learn early that actions have consequences. The privileged in India seldom have to face the consequences of their actions. We can take care of the elections as well as (our) next generations. We beat Americans, but at what cost?

We could better them sometime, but only after we learn to equip our children to take care of themselves, rather than devote our lives to “taking care” of them and crippling their growth potential.

OPED

Quitting life early
Suicides are preventable tragedies
by Nonika Singh

The deepest definition of youth is life as yet untouched by tragedy — Alfred North White Head

Alas, more and more young people in India are embracing tragedy by choice. Quitting lives in the prime of youth, they are calling it an end game even before it has begun. Two suicides in the tricity of Chandigarh in two days alone-last one recorded on April 20 when an unemployed youth committed suicide in SAS Nagar-preceded by an attempted one by a Punjab University student over 10 days ago, might seem an aberration or sheer coincidence, but is actually symptomatic of the fatal phenomenon that has a pan-India dimension. Our young ones may be lip-syncing the popular number “All is well” with gusto, clearly many of them are fast losing control of their lives.

Psychiatrists know of cases where children as young as eight-year-old nurse suicide ideations. So what has happened?

Yes, in the innocent guileless world of our youngsters the monster of stress has crept with a vengeance that knows no bounds. Invariably telling agonising suicide notes point fingers at the growing academic pressure. Failure, rather inability to cope with it, is exacting a price no society can turn a blind eye to.

Dr Parmod Kumar, consultant psychiatrist, Silver Oaks Hospital, SAS Nagar, feels that attributing academic failure as the number one reason for the growing number of suicides among young is too simplistic a presumption or conclusion for that matter. A report suggests that some children deliberately time their suicides around examination that lends credence to the thesis—suicide is not an impulsive decision. According to Dr Kumar, the desperate measure is not an isolated phenomenon but an outcome of depression, an illness that could be caused by genetic or biological factors.

According to him, worldwide research has as yet provided no definitive conclusion on what role environmental factors play in exacerbating suicidal tendencies. But yes circumstances are important. There is little doubt that children today are living in highly stressed times where both parental and societal expectations bog them all the time.

Punit Singh, counsellor, Carmel Convent School, Chandigarh, feels that pressures playing havoc with the minds of young ones are not academic alone. Says she, “Emotional pressures are equally acute and interpersonal relationships determine their dysfunctional behaviour to a large extent.” An agony aunt “Preeto Maam” of a website concurs that broken affairs often lead young ones down the fatal path. Bottled-up emotions, heart-breaks, a rigorous academic system, indeed suicide has many fathers. After the fatal seed has been implanted within their impressionable minds, the flashpoint could be any.

Students have committed suicide for reasons like the Telangana issue that have no immediate impact on their lives. Indeed, the age group 16 to 25, according to Dr Parmod Kumar, is exceptionally vulnerable. Research says that suicide is the sixth leading cause of death among six to 14-year-olds and the third leading cause for 15- to 25-year-olds.

But the moot question is-can the susceptible ones be helped? Fortunately, the answer is a big yes. As it has been widely believed, first and foremost, the onus rests with parents. Though there is no litmus test that can warn them, parents must be alert of pervasive and persistent change in the behaviour pattern of their children.

After parents, expectedly educational institutions and the teaching community are the most significant others who can help. Of course, in a country where a probe can indict a principal for harassment where suicide notes have accused teachers and where teachers’ insensitivity is more of norm than exception, can teachers rise up to the challenge? Maybe the task can then be best handled by school counsellors, which are a must for every institution.

Online counselling, strangely, despite the advantage of anonymity that it grants to the person concerned, however, is not recommend by experts for they argue that personal touch is a must. Still, for young ones desperate enough to call it a day, any measure— helplines included— that reaches out to them can prove to be a saviour. Suicide threats of distress callers too feel experts are meant to be taken seriously, not to be dismissed as sheer blackmail.

The bottom line is most suicides can be prevented as Dr Kumar says, “ By its very definition suicide is a preventable cause of death.” Only parents, teachers, NGOs, media, health professionals and other pressure groups need to put their heads together to ensure that young ones choose life over death.

WOODen wives behind Tiger husbands?
by Rajeev Tanwar

Tiger Woods recently became the favourite of tabloids, news channels and on the internet not because of his golfing skills, but for trying his macho prowess outside his marriage with numerous damsels of questionable repute.

Is Tiger solely responsible for his extramarital escapades?

The incident throws up an interesting debate as to whether Tiger is solely responsible for his extramarital escapades and his wife, Elin Nordgren, is a poor hapless cheated wife, or his wife is also indirectly responsible for driving Tiger to other women.

History is replete with innumerable incidents of infidelity by the rich, famous and powerful elite. Swami Nityanand, N.D.Tiwari, Bill Clinton’s Shane Warne, Shiney Ahuja and Madhur Bhandarkar can be labelled as a part of this syndrome. Amir Khan is also rumoured to have fathered a son out of wedlock.

The syndrome appears to be particularly limited to males. Generally females do not have sex scandals. One cannot help but wonder as to what prompts these highly successful, rich, famous and powerful males to show their amorous prowess. Perhaps variety is the best aphrodisiac. Does being elite, oozing with extravagant perks makes them choose the path of infidelity or the poor victimised, cheated wife sitting at home is also responsible for showing them this path?

Even though women now are liberated, self-reliant, rich and famous as well, why don’t women have sex scandals? Is fidelity a virtue only for women and males cock a snook at it? The few plausible explanations forwarded for it include women work extra hard at office and home. Therefore, they are too busy and less willing to risk everything for a momentary pleasure. Also women are inherently overwhelmingly less susceptible to physical temptations. Successful, rich women usually fall for males who are more successful, rich and powerful than them; whereas rich and successful males fall for women not as rich and successful as them. Men usually get intimidated by females more successful and powerful than them.

Biology makes mass production of sperms, hence naturally the male has to distribute it widely, whereas eggs are produced once a month hence the mother nature makes female hardwired to be selective in deciding which male should get the opportunity to mate with her, thus favouring quality over quantity. This naturally leads to females getting attracted towards successful and rich males and the males by nature are more than obliging, because for them once the lights are off all women are equally beautiful !

Society adopts double standards in the way it perceives cheating in a marriage. No one ever calls a cheating man a cheater, forget about calling him a slut or a whore, in fact, no one ever calls a cheating man anything in society! Secretly within their hearts most men adore such cheaters for having the guts to eat a cake as well as have it.

Quality of one’s married life, respect and love for each other also play an important role in this syndrome. All relationships need constant inputs. Relationships are like candles, the wick can glow and make the surrounding glow only if constant input of wax is there, otherwise the wick gets burnt out and there is darkness. Nothing runs for ever without refueling and recharging, and marriages are no exception.

Wives, once they have managed to get married to the most desirable male around, just go into a relaxation mode. Once kids come into their lives, the poor husband is pushed into the background like a used piece of furniture. Most men of meagre means with pressures of earning a livelihood experience a decreased secretion of testosterone in their bodies, hence accept such degradation meekly.

Daily grind also takes its toll on the female physiology, reducing the secretion of oxytocin and oestrogen hormones. The physical outward appearance of the female begins its distortion journey and a few years down the line her figure starts melting and bulging at all the wrong places.

Success, power and riches normally boost the secretion of testosterone hormone in males causing increased libido. Unfortunately, this is not reciprocated appropriately by his wife. This mismatch forces the man to find alternatives to release his pent-up desires and fantasies. Eager females around him are quick to snatch the opportunity, which they had earlier missed out to that woman who is his wife now! The wife becomes WOODen and the Tiger is on the prowl!

Delhi Durbar
Uniting a divided family

The Supreme Court does not depend on legal provisions all the time to adjudicate cases. Recently, in a dispute between a divorced couple over the custody of children, the judges asked the lawyers whether their clients were present. Not only the clients but two boys, aged 11 and 9, were also watching the proceedings from the visitors’ gallery.

The two judges promptly had a chat with the four during the lunch break. The boys told the judges that they wanted to stay only with their father with whom they had been living for nearly seven years. It was not difficult for the judges to know why they had no feelings for their mother.

Noting that it did not want to traumatise the children by handing them over to the mother, the Bench said the better course would be to allow her to make the “initial contact with the children, build up her relationship with them slowly and gradually restore her position as their mother.” For this, the court granted weekly visitation rights to her, besides asking the children to spend half of their three annual vacations with the mother.

Sibal’s gesture

Who says union ministers do not care about their juniors in the department? The other day, Minister of State for Human Resources Development D. Purandeshwari was in for a pleasant surprise when Kapil Sibal, HRD Minister, decided to host a special celebration in the ministry office for the former’s birthday, which fell on April 22.

Kapil Sibal

It all happened very casually. The minister learnt by chance about Purandeshwari’s special day. Just when she rang up Sibal to say she was leaving for home, the minister had her come over to his office, where a surprise awaited the daughter of former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and a legendary actor NT Ramarao. To top up the celebrations, Sibal had even ordered a birthday cake from the Oberois for his junior. She cut it in the presence of all top ministry officials. It was quite a day for her!

Poor development

For all the love and concern our politicians may profess to the rural poor, their affection for the rustic is barely skin deep. To demonstrate this concern the Rural Development Ministry is listed every year as one of the few ministries whose demands are discussed in the House. Only a few ministries are discussed every year and the rest put to guillotine. But for all protestations and claims, hardly anyone among the MPs or even political parties is interested in this ministry.

So during this discussion, there were only four members on the BJP benches. Attendance in other Opposition parties was no better. There were some Congressmen sitting. But that is because Sonia Gandhi herself sat through the debate. Even she spent most of her time drawing trees with a pencil on a piece of paper which she quietly put away in her spectacle case, the moment she noticed someone watching. Then why blame poor Preneet Kaur, who was sitting and solving a crossword puzzle in that morning’s newspaper?

Contributed by R. Sedhuraman, Aditi Tandon and Faraz Ahmad