|
|
Time to look ahead
Keeping off Asiad |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Israel’s arrogance
Maoists need to be defeated
Sensitive stuff!
The spectre of China A ‘butt’
that is harmful to health Bangalore Diary
|
Time to look ahead With a year of drift gone by, it is time for the UPA-II to look ahead, set the agenda and give the nation the proactive lead it so badly needs. With the main opposition BJP in disarray, the Manmohan Singh government still has enough public goodwill to sustain it. A few rotten apples will have to be dropped to provide the country a clean administration. Indications are a Cabinet reshuffle is imminent and it is not enough to change A. Raja’s portfolio; he must be dropped for depriving the exchequer of its rightful bounty.
The Congress must put its think tank’s political management skills to better use, assert its numerical strength and avoid getting arm-twisted by the blackmailing coalition friends. Be it a non-performing Sharad Pawar, the controversial DMK representative in the Cabinet or a part-time Railway Minister, the Congress must tame the allies. There is almost a consensus on the two major challenges before the UPA: Price rise and internal security. It is unfair to blame the government’s food mismanagement on the drought. Efforts must be made to cut farm waste, build additional storage capacity and raise agricultural productivity. The economic gains should be consolidated but a rate rise can hurt growth. The Maoist threat has dented the UPA image. The Home Minister, handicapped by a “limited mandate”, needs more political space to act. The party, it seems, too often ties the government’s hands. The talent the government has is under-used, thanks to behind-the-scenes operators. Inclusive growth rightly remains central to UPA policies. The delivery system will have to be reworked before pushing national food security. The right to education sounds nice but making it a reality is a gargantuan task. Deficiencies have crept in the rural job guarantee scheme as well as Bharat Nirman. These need better monitoring. On foreign policy, the UPA success has been above average despite Sharm el-Sheikh. The UPA will be tested when the contentious Women’s Reservation Bill and Telegana issue, currently in the freezer, resurface. It is not too late to learn from the past mistakes and look forward with confidence. Tomorrow is another day.
|
|
Keeping off Asiad
It
is unfortunate that the Board of Control for Cricket in India has announced that it would not send either the men’s or the women’s cricket team for this year’s Asian Games in China. Considering that Asian Games is a prestigious event in which the country’s name is at stake, cricket is making its much-heralded debut in this year’s Asiad and India’s chances of winning a medal were bright, the BCCI’s decision is indefensible. To ascribe the refusal to participate to a prior commitment to a New Zealand team tour is unconvincing because the tour could have been easily re-scheduled if the BCCI was really serious. In any case, the BCCI could have accommodated Asian Games in its schedule if it really wanted because the Asiad dates were out long ago. The surmise is indeed inescapable that the BCCI is obsessed with making money and is unconcerned about events where national prestige is at stake but where the monetary returns are unattractive. The Indian cricketers would have been a major draw for crowds in China and the game, which currently has few takers in that country, would have got a shot in the arm. It is quite on the cards that the BCCI’s refusal may have been motivated also by its avowed opposition to the ‘whereabouts’ clause of the World Anti-Doping Agency to which the International Cricket Council is a signatory. The players see the ‘whereabouts’ clause (which involves keeping WADA informed of the whereabouts of the players three months before the event) as an infringement on their privacy and the BCCI supports them on it. For a Board that has never had qualms about over-ruling cricketers when it came to taking part in tournaments where there was big money to be made for the BCCI, this acquiescence rings a bell. There is still time for the BCCI to do a re-think. It must see reason and agree to participate in Asiad with its first-grade team in the Twenty-20 format. The enthusiasm it would generate in a country that is only beginning to think cricket and the prestige it would bring to India if the team delivers would be adequate to justify its participation.
|
|
|
Israel’s arrogance Israel has once again provided proof that it does not hesitate in using force even while dealing with unarmed and peaceful challengers to its authoritarian and anti-peace policies. Its naval commandos on Monday killed at least nine persons in the Mediterranean who were part of the 700 pro-Palestinian activists moving towards the Gaza Strip in a six-ship aid flotilla.
Interestingly, the trip of the aid activists was sponsored by Turkey, an Israeli ally, which lost many of its citizens in the Israeli attack. Turkey has used, perhaps, the strongest language to criticise the inhuman Israeli action. In its opinion, the “distance between terrorists and state has been blurred”. Most world capitals have reacted with strong condemnation of the attack on the ships carrying humanitarian aid. As India has stated, “ there can be no justification for such indiscriminate use of force”, particularly when “lasting peace and security in the region can be achieved only through peaceful dialogue”. People in Gaza have been leading the life of prisoners after Israeli forces sealed off all the entry and exit points from the Palestinian-administered territory in June 2007. The Gazans were punished for voting the Hamas to power in the UN-monitored elections some time ago. They, however, exercised only their right of franchise, which should have been honoured instead of being used as an excuse to make them suffer in various ways. The more Israel tries to torment the Gazans, the more it strengthens the base of the extremist Hamas. Israel’s shortsighted policies are more responsible for the popularity of the Hamas than the activities of the ruling organisation. The Israeli naval attack came as Tel Aviv considered the peaceful way of highlighting its highhandedness against the Palestinians as an attempt to challenge its siege of Gaza. But it was a blunder on the part of a country which believes that it can establish peace in the region with the use of force. On Israel’s own admission, it committed a major mistake on that black Monday. It acted on misleading intelligence and used its armed forces, which was uncalled for. Again Israel has indirectly helped the extremists to strengthen their position in the Palestinian authority areas and elsewhere.
|
|
|
If one must serve, I hold it better to serve a well-bred lion, who is naturally stronger than I am, than two hundred rats of my own breed. — Voltaire
|
Maoists need to be defeated Let no one be in any doubt that the Maoists are fighting a war to the finish with the Indian State. And unless the Indian State can credibly demonstrate its ability to stand up to the threat being posed by the Naxalites, it is by no means certain that the Maoists will lose. At the moment, they clearly have the upper hand. The Maoists are not only targeting the nation’s security forces.
More menacingly, even the civilians are no longer out of their range as the landmine blast leading to the death of more than 25 civilians recently in Dantewada underlines. The Maoist attack on a private bus last week was the second major such incident after the April 6 happening at Tadmetla that ended in the massacre of 76 security personnel. There is a systematic campaign going on not only to demoralise the paramilitary forces and stall anti-Naxal operations but also to instil fear among the civilians to prevent them from cooperating with the security forces. Unfortunately, even when faced with as dire a threat as Maoism, the Indian political class has found it difficult to speak in one voice. The Home Minister will once again try to convince the Cabinet on the need for air support to back police action on the ground after previously failing to garner the support of the Cabinet Committee on Security about the desirability of such a course of action. Meanwhile, Mr Chidambaram’s detractors are more interested in neutralising the Home Minister than in confronting the Maoists. Mr Digvijay Singh has not only publicly questioned Mr Chidambaram’s approach in tackling Naxalism but has also attacked him for not knowing the terrain of the area. He has openly demanded a rethink of the government’s strategy of fighting Naxalism and accused Mr Chidambaram of “intellectual arrogance.” And his own remedy refuses to move away from banalities: “We have to win over the people of the area…” Mr Chidambaram was forced to make a fresh offer of talks after the Dantewada attack last week if the Maoists suspend violence even for just 72 hours but was rebuffed. The Maoists know that they are winning at the moment, so there’s hardly any incentive to come to the negotiating table. Operation Green Hunt, the 100,000-troop-strong counter-offensive against the Maoists launched last year, has not worked as per the expectations of its planners. The conventional wisdom on tackling Naxalism, much prevalent amidst the Indian liberal intelligentsia, suggests that this is a mere socio-economic problem. And only if we can provide jobs to the disaffected youth and win their hearts and minds, can we prevent Maoism from spreading. This assumption is the basis for the developmental package that the government has announced for the Naxal-infested areas where significant development aid is now being channelled in the hope that this will help in alleviating the perception of alienation from the national mainstream. It is true that good governance and economic growth have simply passed over certain parts of India, and the Naxalites thrive in this developmental and governance vacuum, often supplanting the State's legitimacy. And as the State's authority has eroded, the Maoists have moved in to fill this vacuum by erecting parallel structures of governance. According to some estimates, the Maoist movement has nearly 40,000 permanent members and 100,000 additional militia members spread across 22 of India’s 35 states and territories. They have established their own regimes that dispense justice, extort taxes and provide security. The insurgency of the Naxals is funded by extortion to the tune of Rs14 billion each year. Development, however, is never the goal of such movements. It is all about power. A multi-pronged strategy is needed to tackle Naxalism and one of the planks will have to be to ensure that the developmental aid trickles down to those at the very bottom of the nation's socio-economic ladder. But this should not mean that the military defeat of the Maoists should be put on the back-burner. For far too long there has been a complacent attitude towards fighting these forces. There has been an absurd sentimentality about the Maoists' leftist pretensions. The argument went that these are idealistic, well-intentioned people who have gone awry, but soon they will recognise the benefits of participatory democracy and start engaging with the nation's electoral process. The Congress party remains ambivalent about defeating Maoism and we keep hearing clichés suggesting that development is the only way to tackle the menace of Naxalism. Only a dimwit would argue that development should not be a part of the solution, but development can only take place once the Maoists have been militarily neutralised. There can be no credible development programme when civilians and security personnel are getting killed day in and day out. The Maoists have no interest in development nor do those politicians who only talk about development to score partisan points. The tacit alliance of the Maoists with some political parties needs to be exposed. There is no substitute for good governance. After failing to provide corruption-free governance for decades, sections of the political class have the gall to shed crocodile tears for those who have found it difficult to enjoy the fruits of India’s economic development. The politicians who have been ruling the states where Naxalism is thriving are as culpable in the present travesty as those who are wielding the guns without any compunction. Sections of the Indian intelligentsia continue to buy the arguments of the Maoists about the grievances that motivate the Maoist rank and file. This has led them to equate illegitimate Maoists actions with the actions of the legitimate State. The indiscriminate nature of their killings and the brutality of their methods should be enough to convince anyone who chooses to see that the real aim of the Maoists is to establish a totalitarian state. For years, Naxals have been killing security personnel and civilians continuously and consistently with a ruthlessness that is unprecedented, but the Indian State has tended to look the other way while celebrity activists have tended to justify these acts on all sorts of moral grounds. The Maoist insurgency is a blatantly illegal and no-holds-barred war against the Indian State, against the idea and existence of Indian democracy, and that includes the poor tribals and farmers for whose cause the Maoists claim to fight. It is not only ignorant but also extremely dangerous to romanticise the Naxal cause. The main task of great urgency before the government today, therefore, is a military defeat of the anti-democratic Naxal forces. New Delhi needs to re-establish its authority, creating conditions for pursuing an inclusive political process and developmental
agenda. |
|||
Sensitive stuff!
“ I had just finished a lecture to a bunch of youngsters on the verge of entering politics. "All right", I said. "Instead, you point to such animals and call them by the names of your rivals! Nobody can object. But try and stick to dogs. Even the great Shakespeare used the word dog more than 200 times in his works. So, you can also claim to be highly literary". I also told them never to forget offering an apology soon after abusing the rival ("didn’t mean to hurt his sentiment"), and saying you have great respect for the chap you had described as a pig or big buffalo minutes ago. "How should we handle sensitive matters?", asked a pathetic looking gentleman. "Very simple, my friend", I said, "anything below the belt is considered sensitive! Though some leaders are raising doubts about the quality of the stuff by calling their rivals ‘napunsak’ (un-manly). You may refer to the rivals’ poor stuff in the head, heart … you may even call them idiots. But never go below the belt!" "Sir, give us some tips on how to worship our venerable public fruitfully", asked a youngster with the face of a hungry fox. I reminded them about a few instances of big shots losing jobs because they called the public cattle class, etc. And how losers in elections always stated that they "humbly accept the people’s verdict" – as though they had a choice. "Keep harping on how mature and powerful our voters are. But never mention how, when a leader dies, they give sympathy votes to his silly wife or a scoundrel son and ruin their own fate… ". I also gave them a few tips about entering poor people’s huts selected carefully in advance, eating there, bathing thoroughly in dettol - braced water afterwards, etc. A clever girl wanted to know the meanings of expressions commonly used by politicians and the media. Holding a closed-door meeting or fruitful discussion meant, I explained, first hitting out at each other ("haatha-pai"), calming down, and then striking secret deals. "Law will take its due course" – was an assurance that ultimately nothing much would happen to the criminal. The public hue and cry would die down in due course, enabling the VIP culprit to get away lightly. The young man with foxy looks stood up, coughed lightly to catch our attention. "Sir, we would like to conclude this session", he smiled and asked everybody to stand up and shouted: " Jai janata, Jai democracy, Jai elections". I knew then and there, he had the stuff for the national scene in times to
come!
|
|||
The spectre of China
An exchange of visit between nations at the political level generally helps soften their previously held positions. During President Pratibha Patil’s recent visit to China, President Hu Jintao assured the Indian dignitary on May 27 that China was ready to discuss India’s quest for a permanent seat in the UNSC.
Though without any clear commitment, as the Chinese leadership gave in the case of a non-permanent seat for the year 2010-2011, India views China’s forthright statement to discuss the issue as a change of stance and a positive development in an otherwise trust deficit relationship. The Chinese leadership also agreed to the need for consolidating mutual relationship and maintaining “peace and tranquillity” all along the border. Notwithstanding, China’s long-term strategic objectives vis-a-vis India are unlikely to change in the near future.The Sino-Indian relations have remained unresolved despite protracted negotiations at the political level. To date, China continues to occupy nearly 40,000 sq.km of Indian territory, including 5100 sq. km of Shaksgam valley handed over to it illegally by Pakistan. It also lays claim to the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh. Although, it desires a peaceful periphery in order to concentrate on its comprehensive national development and has resolved border disputes with all its neighbours on terms equally acceptable to both sides, it continues to avoid a solution with India, perhaps waiting for some more opportune time. In all other cases, except Vietnam and ASEAN’S maritime boundary, it has settled disputes almost on the basis of fifty, fifty give and take. With Kazakhstan, it has gone ahead and given up most of its initial claim because of that country’s vast and much needed oil assets. From all indications, it appears that China is no hurry to settle the Sino-Indian dispute. And yet it has managed to ensure a peaceful LAC by getting India to commit to a treaty of “peace and tranquillity” in 1993. It has thus ensured that the dispute resolution is relegated to a distant future when it expects itself politico-economically and military more comfortable. China has similarly managed to commit the ASEAN to a “stand still” agreement. In both cases, China is sitting pretty with large chunks of adversary’s land in its possession. China does not want to get involved in any major war with any of its neighbours that may impede its national development. Although, the probability of a large-scale conflict along the 4056 km border is low, periodic armed clashes in no man’s land may escalate the level of tension. Till China becomes a major global power, it will continue to follow a dual track policy of keeping India on tenterhooks by aggressive posturing coupled with maintaining strategic stability. Meanwhile, China has embarked upon a dual policy of enhancing its influence in India’s immediate neighbourhood with a view to counterveiling India’s regional pre-eminence and making use of the time now available for building infrastructure in the Tibetan plateau north of Himalayas. Despite this being a laborious and time-consuming process because of the elevation that varies between 10,000 ft and 16,000 ft and the weather generally cold and dry and the land arid, China has made a substantial progress. During the last ten years, China has managed to build a massive network of roads and railways. The road network runs north-south and east-west, covering almost the entire autonomous region of Tibet, including a direct road to Beijing. Most major cities are linked through these black topped, two or four lane roads for a fast movement of traffic. The plateau is also linked through this network of roads to the adjoining states Yunan and Xingjian etc. The total length of roads seemed to have doubled within this decade. China has also simultaneously built nearly 2000 km of rail lines through the most treacherous route of permafrost soil at heights of 5,000 mtrs plus above mean sea level. This network is further likely to be extended to Shigatse and Yadong and later even to Chengdu. A large number of bridges and tunnels had to be constructed in most demanding conditions. But it has made travel and transportation of heavy goods comfortable and expeditious. It now takes nearly 48 hours to reach Beijing from Lhasa. Knowing fully well that the Chinese have been working feverishly to enhance their fighting potential in Tibet, India continues to remain hamstrung in a politico-bureaucratic tangle. India has failed to comprehend the strategic relevance of road rail network in the northern region along the LAC. Whilst the Chinese will be in combat position in a matter of a day or two, India would be struggling for days to reach their sites. We seemed to have forgotten our recent history of the 1962 war. With our reactive modus operandi, the Indian Army is placed at a tremendous disadvantage. Till very recently when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Arunachal Pradesh and discovered the asymmetry, we had ignored this strategically vital requirement. Funds sanctioned by the PM for building roads along the LAC will take years to fructify, Mere induction of a couple of mountain divisions and aircraft in the eastern sector will not meet the all-pervasive requirement of surface communication. Besides, China is constantly at pains to prevent India’s rise. It did not take India’s 1998 nuclear test kindly. Later, it went on to block the India-specific waiver at the Nuclear Supplier Group in Vienna. It also tried to block the Asian Development Bank funding of projects in Arunachal Pradesh. China continues to show marked political, diplomatic and military aggressiveness towards India. As per the latest information, China is planning to acquire land bases in Pakistan. With Tibet already linked with Pakistan through karakoram highway, China will thus have a direct access to the Arabian Sea through the Chinese built port of Gawadar on the Makran coast, besides being able to help Pakistan expeditiously when needed. With similar facilities in Myanmar and Sri Lanka, China has managed to finally encircle India from all sides. It is also at the verge of getting similar concession from Bangladesh for a road and rail link between Chittagoan and Kunming, a large military and air base in land locked state of Yunan. It will pass through Myanmar and very close to India’s Tripura and Mizoram. Bangladesh is also likely to give direct land access to two of its sea ports. This will make China’s presence at sea all pervasive. Competitive economic growth, strategic divergence and continuous territorial and boundary disputes are the potential sources of conflict scenario between India and China. The shelter given to the Dalai Lama by India is another sour point in mutual relations. China fears that India may exploit Tibetan nationalism and encourage clashes between the Tibetans and the Hans at some critical juncture. China perceives these challenges as impediments in its rise as a dominant Asian power, thus precluding any possibility of co-existence with India in the Asian context. China wants a uni-polar Asia, whilst at the same time, it prefers a multi-polar world. India, on the other hand, feels that there is sufficient space for both to be accommodated for a twin-power Asia. The fight for space has led to a conflict situation that does n’t bode well for a stable Asia. The writer is a former Director General, Defence Planning Staff
|
|
A ‘butt’ that is harmful to health To what extent societal pressures have desisted women from smoking is not really known. For there was always this odd woman in both urban and rural India, more in rural, actually, who had no qualms about puffing away to glory. While many might view smoking or consumption of tobacco as an urban phenomenon and an assertion of modern Indian woman’s new identity the reality is that even today more women in rural areas than in urban India smoke. The same goes for the use of smoke- less tobacco products that finds more takers among rural women. In fact a vast majority of women consume smokeless tobacco products like gutka, paan masala with tobacco, et al. This, however, should not delude you to assume that urban Indian women are free from the deadly addiction. Hear this out. Researchers from the Tata Memorial Hospital and the non-governmental organisation ‘Doctors for You’ conducted two surveys related to women smokers in Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) and media and found that the number is way higher than the national average. Nearly 8 per cent women in BPOs and about 6 to 35 per cent working in media organisations smoke. Beyond the rural urban divide, there is no denying the fact that number of women tobacco users in India is on the rise. Worse still it is catching them young. The First Global Youth Tobacco Survey conducted by the Union Health Ministry with WHO has found that nearly 8.3 per cent girls that too in tender years of 13 to 15 consume some form of tobacco. Tobacco is the second major cause of deaths worldwide. Not only does it lead to lung cancer but also makes smokers susceptible to other kinds of cancers. It is known to accelerate ageing, increase the risk of stroke and heart attack and can reduce life span considerably. On women, who comprise 20 per cent smokers worldwide, the effects are far more adverse. Is it any wonder WHO’s theme for this year’s World No Tobacco Day is “Gender and tobacco with an emphasis on marketing to women”. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan noted in the report, “protecting and promoting the health of women is crucial to health and development – not only for the citizens of today but also for those of future generations.” Her apprehension finds an instant echo in several health studies that have found that smoking not only creates reproductive problems among young women and also leads to the risk of abortion. Women who smoke during pregnancy are likely to have premature deliveries and underweight babies. Yet unminful of the fatal consequences including sudden infant death syndrome, the number of pregnant woman tobacco users is rather high. Over two million pregnant women in India consume tobacco. Why do women smoke or consume tobacco? The reasons are varied from curbing hunger pangs to peer pressure to the desire to appear cool to plain and simple addiction and the inability to kick the killer habit. While the former Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss’s move to ban smoking in films did fall flat, celebrities can play a key role in targeting youth, especially young girls, who must be made to understand that smoking kills and is not a fashionable fad. No doubt, the government must enforce anti-smoking measures with greater vigour and force and must shed its dillydallying tactics on new more explicit pictorial warnings that could serve as an effective tool which now under pressure from the tobacco industry have been postponed till December 1. No doubt, awareness campaigns can make a key difference. However, the government will have to devise new strategies to reach out to women tobacco users. Unlike men, many of them may still not be visible users. While the national average of women smokers is much less as compared to the world figure…. India cannot afford to ignore the warning signals that could soon turn into threatening alarm bells.
|
|
Bangalore Diary The
piano at the Raj Bhavan in Karnataka had seen better days when grand balls were organised in the palace on Christmas, the New Year’s Eve and on other special days. After the British left India, the piano fell into disuse but was kept spic and span in the Raj Bhavan’s huge lounge and responds well on the rare occasion when it is played. Guess who played it last? It was none other than S Y Quraishi, the Haryana cadre IAS officer, whom people in Chandigarh and its neighbourhood knew well even before he became an Election Commissioner of India. Quraishi’s last assignment in Chandigarh was as the Principal Secretary to the then Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala. He left the job mid-way to become the Director General of Doordarshan in Delhi. Later he resigned from the IAS to become an Election Commissioner. Even after he left Chandigarh, Quraishi continued to figure in conversations of officials and journalists in the city, but none attributed this particular musical ability to him. However, the EC apparently does play the piano. “When Quraishi saab stayed here in April last, he played the piano for about an hour”, a beaming member of the Raj Bhavan staff said.
CBSE topper Soham Dhesi, a Sikh girl from the National Hill View Public School of Bangalore, has earned laurels by becoming one of the top ten scorers in Bangalore in the CBSE class 10 examination. While most of the other toppers have conventional ambitions (doctor/engineer/IAS officer), Soham wants to become an architect. Believe it or not, she even considers journalism as one of her options! Since she loves writing, she may very well become a top-notch journalist when she grows up!
Bad time for godmen Religious institutions in Bangalore are apparently going through a bad phase. First it was Nityananda, who was captured on a sting video with a film actress, and the incident opened a can of worms. Next it was the turn of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The bullet fired at his ashram causing a non-bleeding injury to a devotee has given rise to rumours that one may soon see Ravi Shankar’s trademark benign smile finally leaving his face. The ISKCON, Bangalore, too, is facing trouble as a result of its rift with ISKCON, Mumbai. Besides making claim on the ISCKON temple in Bangalore, ISKCON Mumbai has objected to ISKCON, Bangalore, dabbling in the real estate business.
Jail food for babus Following complaints from the inmates of prisons about bad food, the Mysore district administration has decided to send officers as uninvited guests in prisons, orphanages and beggars’ colony to partake food with the residents. Starting from this month (June 2), an envelop containing the name of the officer and the place he is supposed to visit will be opened by the Deputy Commissioner every morning in front of a video camera. The novel initiative is expected to improve the quality of food served in these establishments. |
|
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
