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A Tribune Special
When the officers had to apologise for their folly |
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Kayani’s extension
Profile On Record
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A Tribune Special Our score in Human Development Index is amongst the lowest in the world. Leave aside any modicum of good education, more than one-third of Indians are totally illiterate. Unfortunately, it has been rarely realised that this is in spite of India having assets that are unmatched by any country in the world. Let us look at them. We have all the world’s geo-climatic zones. Therefore, we can grow anything and everything that is grown anywhere, somewhere or the other in India. We can host winter Olympics, if we wish to, while taking the visitors to a native tropical forest, the Silent Valley, for a memorable ecological site-seeing trip. We have a coastline of 8,000 km. It is a pity that we have not used marine biotechnology to produce extremely cheaply a large number of drugs (such as polyunsaturated fatty acids) which are otherwise extremely expensive. We have unmatched inland water bodies and water sources such as rivers, and rainfall — and abundant sunlight. The forests we had when we became independent and the variety of materials that the forests produced, has again been unmatched. Our mineral resources are vast; it is just that we have not learnt to use them fairly and in the interests of the people. Our land has had the capacity to feed even two billion people. It is just that we have mercilessly exploited it to destroy this capacity. Even half-a-dozen countries have no rich animal and plant biodiversity that we have. We have not recognised this diversity as a resource. We have the third largest scientific and technological manpower in the world consisting of some three million trained personnel. We have a high level of expertise in virtually every area of human endeavour — be it space or nuclear technology, biotechnology or making the cheapest car in the world. No country in the world has repertoire of traditional indigenous knowledge that we have, that too, in a large variety of areas. For example, we have over 40,000 distinct plant-based traditional drug formulations, using some 10,000 different plants, for curing or containing various diseases. Even if 10 per cent of them were found to be valid, using the most stringent criteria that we apply today for validating a new drug, India’s contribution to world medical and healthcare would become seminal as less than 20 new drugs come into the market every year, each costing about US $ 1.5 billion to produce. We have the greatest human biodiversity in the world with close to 40 major and some 450 minor ethnic groups. We have the largest number of young people anywhere in the world and will continue to have them for the next several decades. We could, in fact, with our facility with English, become the most important supplier of manpower around the world. We have a tradition — modern, medieval and ancient — of science and technology that is matched by very few countries in the world including developed countries and, certainly, not by any developed country. We have had ten major revolutions pioneered by our human assets: the Green Revolution that made us sufficient in food grains; the White Revolution that made us the largest producer of milk in the world; the Information Technology Revolution making us the preferred destination for customised software; the Telecommunication Revolution that has 60 per cent of Indians own a cell phone; the Space Revolution so that we can make our own satellites and launch vehicles; the Atomic Energy Revolution so that we can produce our own nuclear fuel and reactors; the DNA Technology Revolution that led to the development of our own technology of DNA fingerprinting which is now used widely in the country; the Defence Technology Revolution so that we can make even highly sophisticated missiles ourselves; the Institutional Building Revolution so that we have today some of the world’s best institutions in every area of human endeavour — be it management, technological education or research in modern biology; and the Drug Revolution so that a large number of drugs even today cost in India less than one per cent of what they would in the United States. We are one of the most ancient civilisations with an unbroken history of 5,000 years. In fact, we have history that very few countries have but, unfortunately, no sense of history. Our variety in every area is unmatched so that the only statement that is true about India would be that no statement about India is either true or false. We have the longest and the most varied tradition of beauty expressed through a mind-boggling variety of arts, crafts, music and dance to give just a few examples. Art has been a part of everyday life of Indians for centuries till the compelling desire of the middle class to copy the West put a break on its dissemination and development. Family and friends mean a great deal to us. The closeness of social relations and social bonding are amongst India’s greatest assets. Ours has been a highly value-based society, unfortunately corrupted by degenerated politics. For example, our tradition of hospitality is unmatched. Travelling by car, this writer and his wife had on occasions spent a night in an unknown village. We were always given a place to sleep and food for which no charge was levied. Perhaps, our nameless host had gone hungry to feed us. We are the world’s largest democracy and our Constitution is amongst the best except that we do not follow it, just as we do not stick to democratic values. Where else in the world one would find all of the above at one place? Therefore, the blame for the present situation in India must lie squarely with our government — exceptions granted — the ignorance of which about its own country would appear abysmal. Not surprisingly, it is concerned almost exclusively with those who are governing us rather than with those whom it is supposed to govern.
In fact, there is no problem in the country for which a solution cannot be found within the framework of our own assets — if only we would recognise and use them rather than seek a solution by becoming an appendage to powers elsewhere that cannot match us in the totality of assets that has been enumerated above. The country is currently paying a much higher price for the ignorance of its rulers and of the so-called rich and the powerful than for the ignorance of the poor, the unprivileged, the uneducated and the
ruled.
The writer is a former Vice-Chairman, National Knowledge Commission, and Director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad
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When the officers had to apologise for their folly
The step, though exceptional, is not unprecedented. We had in the early sixties a case in Bihar where it was alleged that five Bihar officers — an IAS officer, an IPS officer and three state service officers — had got a Sikh truck driver named Charan Singh to get his hair including beard and moustache shaved off as he had not allowed a passage to their car on a single lane road. Charan Singh happened to be non-kesadhari Sikh supporting only a full grown moustache. fter a gruelling long drive behind the truck, the officers succeeded in intercepting the truck. Charan Singh thought they were Bihari civilians and talked to them nonchalantly. One of them was the local Sub-Divisional Magistrate, S.K. Srivastava, an IAS officer, and the other was Raj Mahal District Superintendent of Police, Pandey, an IPS officer. They asked the Station House Officer (SHO) to take care of the truck and proceeded to a luncheon party in a nearby inspection bungalow on the road. The SHO checked the papers of the driver and found them in order. He took Charan Singh with him to the Inspection Bungalow to seek further instructions from the officers. While the SDM told him to let go, a prankish junior officer said that Charan Singh seemed to be proud of his moustache, so he could be permitted to go only if he got it shaved off. Charan Singh demurred a bit and asked if he could be allowed after he shortened his moustache. The officers laughed and said that the whole must go. Charan Singh just went to a barber, got it shaved off and proceeded to Calcutta, his destination. There was a general busybody in the drivers’ fraternity called Dalip Singh Mamlebaaz at Calcutta. He drafted a complaint for Charan Singh over the incident, adding his own masala to the episode. He made it out a case of forcible shaving off of all hair. Dalip was a professional complainant. He sent copies of the complaint to all concerned from the President of India down to the District Magistrate. The Bhagalpur Divisional Commissioner, having perused the Deputy Commissioner’s report, inferred that no such incident had taken place. Soon some Sikh leaders of Bihar confronted the government with the barber’s recorded statement. They pulled up Bihar Chief Minister K.B. Sahay who appointed a High Court judge as the Commission of Inquiry. He transferred all the five officers to ensure a fair probe. When the government refused legal assistance to the officers, the latter sought my help. I contacted the convenor of the Coordination Committee Sardar J.S. Grewal, an eminent mining engineer. The issue had started being viewed as a religious affront of all the Sikhs. The various Sikh denominations including the SAD were represented in the committee. Sardar Grewal was a friend of mine. He appeared to be somewhat unsure of the outcome of the inquiry as they found out that the complainant was unwilling to follow up his complaint. They had traced him with difficulty from his village in Amritsar. He had agreed to come for the inquiry only after the committee agreed to pay him a regular salary and also bear his expenses on drugs etc. that he was taking. He also observed that in all commissions of inquiry initiated on the complaints of the SAD, the judges had given adverse findings. He was keen for an out-of-court settlement. Being the Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate of Ranchi, I had the opportunity to meet the Chief Minister every weekend. I broached the subject with the Chief Minister on his next visit. He observed that the officers had themselves to blame for their predicament as they tried to be clever. If they had admitted their indiscretion in the beginning one could help them but he saw no way to bail them out at that stage unless they could find some way to get off the hook from the Sikh community. Knowing a bit of Sikh history, I proposed to the officers to tender an apology at Gurdwara Takhat Patna Saheb. This solution was acceptable to the coordination committee too. I was asked to ensure the presence of all the accused officers at Patna Saheb on the coming Sunday. There was a good presence of the media and the Sikh congregation at the Takhat Saheb. The proceedings of the session were conducted by the Bihari Head Granthi Sardar Maan Singh. The granthis of the Sikh Takhats came to be bestowed with the title of Jathedars by the SGPC chief the late G.S. Tohra during the Dharam Yudh Morcha. Some Sikh youngsters demanded that the apology should be in writing. They were, however, overruled as what was alleged against the officers was not wholly true and the Sikh tradition too required an oral apology coming from the heart. Mr Pandey, the Superintendent of Police, offered the apology on behalf of the five officers in words like that they were all human beings who always erred in the eyes of God and for the particular transgression committed by them they were tendering the unconditional apology in the house of God that was Patna Saheb. Maan Singh declared the apology to have been accepted after the Sikh congregation endorsed the acceptance by the collective refrain, Bole so Nihal Sat Sri Akal. Thereafter, all members of the coordination committee signed a paper saying that the Sikh community had no grievance left against the officers. No one remembered or bothered about Charan Singh, the truck driver. I delivered the signed document to the Chief Minister who ordered the winding up of the Commission of Inquiry. The end of the unfortunate episode was welcomed by all in
Bihar.
The writer is a former Chief Secretary of Punjab and Election Commissioner of India
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Kayani’s extension
In the last two years, Kayani could have overthrown the elected government and established martial law. The US government has now decided to retain its Ambassador to Pakistan, Anna Patterson, for an unspecified period even though she had already spent four years in Islamabad. Kayani has been described as a “soldier” by US officials. US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Moullen is a close friend of General Kayani. The US has studiously avoided taking a public position, but US diplomats and military officers had indicated noticeable desire to see him at the helm of affairs. Kayani, however, has avoided projecting himself as ‘America’s choice’. Kayani shares the strong and traditional suspicions of India nursed by Punjabi officers of Pakistan army who view India as a bitter enemy of Pakistan and a graver threat than the Taliban. Musharraf started as a fierce adversary of India, but mellowed down over the years. Kayani shows no signs of mellowing down. He is of the firm view that Pakistan should try to take on India in every possible way. The documents made available by an organisation called Wikileaks now indicate that Pakistan allowed ISI representatives to meet the Taliban in strategy sessions to organise the militant groups to fight American soldiers and Indian interests in Afghanistan. It encouraged Haquanni networks to kill Indians resulting in bomb blast in the Indian embassy in Kabul. General Kayani ran the ISI network during 2004-07, a period from which many of the reports are drawn. Developments in Afghanistan have strengthened General Kayani’s hands. The Pakistan Army has a feeling that after years of marginalisation, the US needs it more than ever. By making apparent its desperation to leave Afghanistan, the Obama Administration has provided a sense of indispensability to the Pakistani military. The West can only leave early and save face if it is able to bring moderate Taliban to the negotiating table. ISI which has been a patron of the Taliban for two decades, therefore, becomes a crucial conduit for the West to come to an understanding with the Taliban. Thus, Washington has no choice but keep the Pakistan army in good humour. Another reason is geography. America’s supplies of food, fuel and rations and ammunition to its troops have to go through Pakistan. Alternative route through Iran is not feasible politically and the route through Central Asia remains to be developed. Pakistanis are extracting geo-strategic rent from the US. This undermines India’s interest in Afghanistan in a dramatic fashion. The last thing India wants to see is a return of elements of India hating Taliban in the reconstituted government in Afghanistan. As Pakistan seizes upper hand in Afghanistan, General Kayani is in no mood to talk, much less to listen to India. The Pakistan army is playing for high regional stakes. It wants to eradicate India’s influence in Afghanistan and regain strategic depth by brokering a settlement which will bring those Afghan Taliban sections to power that it supports. Further developments in India have emboldened Pakistan in hardening its attitude. The growing Naxalites’ threat, turmoil in Kashmir and constant fear in India of another Mumbai-type terror attack have given an impression that India is unable to deal with crucial security issues. Some strategists have suggested that India should deal directly with the Pakistan army as they are the real decisionmakers. Americans understand this. They prefer to deal directly with the military dealings as the civilian government is only for the sake of form. Indian Foreign Service officials, who deal with Pakistan, also know that when they talk with the Pakistan government, they are actually talking to the army but using a via media. The India policy in Pakistan is directed and scripted by GHQ in Rawalpindi. This has always been the case. Whenever a Prime Minister tried to make his own policy, as Nawaz Sharif did, he had to pay a heavy price. The scenario in Afghanistan remains hazy. According to Dr Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State, “America needs a strategy, not an alibi.” It is in US’ national interest to prevent jihadi Islam from gaining additional momentum which it will certainly do if it can claim to have defeated the US and its allies after overcoming the Soviet Union. A precipitate withdrawal will weaken governments in many countries with significant Islamic minorities. It is being hoped that the US will be able to turn over the responsibility to an Afghan government and national Army whose writ runs across the country, and the turnover is to begin next summer. Neither the premise nor the deadline is realistic. India has to rethink seriously its policy of peaceful negotiations with Pakistan and should not show any impatience about resumptions of talks. It has also to think of fashioning a new bold policy towards Kabul. Otherwise, it will lose grounds in both Afghanistan and
Pakistan.
The writer, a former IPS officer, is currently Senior Fellow, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi
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Profile “She is a born shooter”, says her coach. She fell in love with rifle since the age of 13. She decided, she was going to shoot and began practicing at a small shooting range in Dudhali area with minimum facilities. Her parents did not shy away from raising loans to support her. Even then, funds fell short and Tejaswini and her late father Ravindra Sawant, knocked at every door to collect money to buy a rifle in 2001. Ravindra used to make the plea “his daughter has the talent to become a world champion. Support her efforts. Money should not determine the fate of a player”. Teju, as Ravindra used to affectionately call her daughter, fulfilled his dream, won a gold and was signed by top weapon manufacturers Walther last week but, sadly, he was not there to see his daughter’s achievement. A retired Navy electrical engineer, Ravindra passed away in February this year. Despite opposition from everyone, he was the only one who had confidence in Teju. He used to say “ Money or family position do not make one successful; talent, determination and hard work do. We gave her these values and she proved us right”. Teju dedicated her gold medal to her father. Tejaswini is a lover of music and when free from the noisy world of shooting, she will drown herself in the soft tone of classical songs. Currently, she is working as Assistant Director, Sports, Maharashtra government, at Pune’s Balewadi shooting range. Meanwhile, the Dudhali range where Tejaswini began her shooting career has been celebrating her feat. Teju’s two gold medals at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbouorne drew the Maharashtra government’s attention to this range. In two or three years time, Kolhapur will have a modern shooting range. Tejaswini’s success at Munich is attributed, besides dedicated
practice and hard work, to the ammunition she purchased at Hanover. She visited an ammunition factory there and bought a lot of equipment suited to her style. These equipment were crucial because the ammunition constituted a major factor in preparation. She asserts that the delay in the completion of the Commonwealth Games venues in New Delhi would not rob India’s athletes of home advantage. Just 15 days of vigorous practice is enough to prepare for the Commonwealth Games. A few former athletes and administrators feel that India’s medal prospects will be hit badly as many of the venues have not been made available to the athletes to get acclimatised. Tejaswini is, however, confident that Indian shooters will do well at the October 3-14 games. What is Tejaswini’s mantra to success? When she competes abroad she
would go and practice with Chinese; see how they train and pick up a few tricks. Chinese take to shooting at a young age. In India, however, sports takes a secondary place. And what is her mantra for focus because for shooters or any sportsman the problem is one of focussing. Strange thoughts enter the mind just when one needs a hundred per cent focus like a batsman facing the bowler or the golfer taking a swing or a shooter taking aim or a brilliant player cueing the ball. Tejaswini says, “it is the same problem for us shooters. Nobody can stay with a blank mind for five minutes. In shooting one needs to concentrate for an hour or more. We train ourselves to get into that condition”. Equipment, too, has been a problem for most of Indian shooters. Weapon’s malfunctioning has been an alibi for failure. What is the case with
Tejaswini? For 2006 Games, she had an old weapon, but thanks to the help of Vinay Kore of the Warna Group, she got two more rifles. There is no quota for Commonwealth Games and the Asian shooting championships to make it for Olympics in air rifle and three position
category. And, with Tejaswini high on confidence, the country will be hoping she achieves some firsts there as
well.
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On Record Recently, Soni set up a BPO unit at Karnataka’s Shimoga. In an interview with The Tribune in Bangalore, he talks about the idea of bringing small towns in the BPO map of India. Excerpts: Q: What prompted you to set up a BPO at Shimoga? A:
The first consideration was the very high cost of living in tier one cities like Bangalore. We felt that to be sustainable we must move beyond the big cities. Moreover, when you hire someone you want to pay the person well enough to help him lead a decent life. That way employees will also have it better in Shimoga. The other reason was we wanted to avoid the high rate of attrition that one has to normally experience in a big city. Q: What is the BPO industry’s future in small towns? A: Owing to the recent changes made in the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) regulations and similar steps taken by the government with regard to other financial services, a lot of these services are expected to move to small towns and rural areas in a big way. The government has correctly abolished some of the incomes being made by insurance companies at the cost of policyholders. As a result, the financial institutions would like to reduce their operating costs and move to less expensive places. Our main clients are banks and insurance companies. Their movement will open up huge possibilities for BPO companies in small towns. Q: Most of your clients are foreign companies. Why? A: As of now our clients are primarily foreign companies. But we can already see signs of our domestic business also picking up soon. Q: Have you ever considered towns like Mysore for your operations? A: No. We have offices in tier one cities like Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai, and then we straightaway headed for a tier four city like Shimoga. We want our operations to be sustainable. We could set up our office in Mysore but the cost there would be escalating soon. So we went to Shimoga from where we could function for a reasonable period of time. Q: How about setting up a BPO unit in a small town in the north? A: We are already scouting for land for this purpose. Ideally, we would like to set up our unit at the Himalayan foothills and Himachal Pradesh is apt for our operations. In the north, the high temperature during summer is a problem. Installation of air-conditioning leads to other expenditures like power back-ups, high electricity costs and so on. There is no air-conditioning in our Shimoga office. The building has been constructed in a way that air-conditioning is not required. Q: Haryanvi aspirants fail to get jobs in Gurgaon’s BPO units. Why? A: There is no question of giving any preference to aspirants from Delhi in our unit in Gurgaon. Let Haryanvi aspirants come to us, we shall certainly consider them. By the way, we have some Punjabi employees in our Shimoga unit. They were studying in the colleges in that area and landed up jobs with us at
Shimoga.
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IF one takes multiple criteria into account, more than 50 per cent of our countrymen would score below the poverty line. According to Arjun Sengupta, MP, 77 per cent of Indians lived in less than Rs 20 a day till just a few years ago. The situation today is, comparatively speaking, probably worse.
Reports
General Kayani
BORN with a silver spoon in mouth is a popular adage, meaning fortunate ones lucky since birth. Winner of the gold medal in 50m rifle prone category in Munich, Tejaswini Sawant, may not have born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but one may say she was born with a rifle in her hand.
Nimish Soni,