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CPM pulled out to settle scores: Somnath
Porous Nepal border cause for concern
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PM’s daughter to write ‘biography’of parents
Navy eyes UAVs that function like choppers
Tharoor, Pushkar tie knot in Kerala
LHASA
Naipaul travelogue on Africa sparks row
Key accused in Tamang case flees
Opposition seeks further dilution
of nuclear Bill
Jantar Mantar
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CPM pulled out to settle scores: Somnath
New Delhi, August 22
These are his views on the bitter period in his last days of his parliamentary career contained in his autobiography "Keeping the Faith: Memoirs of a Parliamentarian", which was released by Prime Minister yesterday. "After the formation of the UPA government with Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi as the chairperson, it gradually became clear to all, specially those in the government, that the Left parties - which had 62 members in the Lok Sabha and on whose outside support the survival of the government depended - wanted to play the role of the 'real power behind the throne' as it were," Chatterjee says. "The party gave the unpalatable impression that the UPA government could survive only with the blessings of the party's leaders, primarily of its general secretary, Prakash Karat. Needless to say, the common man took this to be nothing but unjustified arrogance on their part," he says. According to the 81-year-old Chatterjee, Congress' resolve to operationalise the nuclear deal irked Karat. "It seemed that Karat had decided that the Prime Minister and the UPA chairperson had to be taught a lesson for the 'insult' meted out to him," he writes in the chapter 'The Expulsion: A Great Shock'. The former Speaker, who won 10 terms to the Lok Sabha on behalf of the party that expelled him in 2008, writes that he had no role at all to play in the decision of the Left parties to withdraw support. "I feel that the supposed 'affront' to Karat by the prime minister and UPA chairperson had upset him so much that he did not or could not objectively consider the consequences of his decision to withdraw support to the government," the book, published by HarperCollins India, says. Chatterjee writes that there was a common perception that the Left leaders were wielding the real authority without being in the government and had, thus, arrogated to themselves de facto powers of governance without any corresponding accountability and had also become arbiters of the government's survival. He says he had proposed that the CPM should take steps to rouse public opinion against the nuclear deal while maintaining that the party should continue to oppose the deal. Providing a riveting account of one of the most tumultuous periods in the history of the Lok Sabha, 2004-09, he discusses why he chose not to resign as Speaker when the CPI-M withdrew support from the Centre. He also gives a comprehensive account of the subsequent confidence vote that he presided over and how he was treated by the party. According to Chatterjee, Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu had advised him to preside over the trust motion as Speaker. — PTI
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Porous Nepal border cause for concern
Chandigarh, August 22 All three persons claimed by the police to be Pakistanis, had entered India through Nepal. While one was apprehended from Chandigarh, the other two were nabbed from Ludhiana and Kharar over the past few weeks. Though foreign nationals entering India illegally through Nepal is nothing new, security agencies have called for serious steps to plug the gaping loopholes in border security and immigration procedures to check infiltration. Also required is greater coordination with Nepali agencies to keep a check on movements of suspected persons. The security officials’ concern assumes significance in view of Punjab Police sounding the alarm over wanted terrorists setting up bases in Asian countries and attempting to ferry men and explosives into the sate to carry out strikes. Referred to as Pakistani Resident Agents (PRA) within the security establishment, the aim of these persons is to acquire Indian identification documents and merge with the local populace and gather information on sensitive military and civilian establishments. Interrogation of these apprehended PRA indicates that one or two such agents slip into India every 3-4 months. That the agents caught were residing here for the past about five years is a reflection on the state of affairs and the threat posed by them. Revealing the infiltration route generally used, sources said trained PRA are moved from Karachi to Bangladesh on commercial flights, though never on a Pakistani aircraft. A day later they are flown to Kathmandu where they are received by their own people. The next destination is Kanchanpura, which is about five hours away from the border and has pockets of Muslim population. From here it is a few hours by bus to border areas and the final part of the journey near the border is by jeep or rickshaws that ferry local people and it is a relatively easy move across to reach places like Gorakhpur and Darbanga on the Indian side. Intelligence agencies have also warned of a “bold new method” by Pakistani agencies, where their officials are impersonating as Indian military intelligence officers and are contacting ex-servicemen residing in the vicinity of defence establishments and motivating them to work form them as regular sources.
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PM’s daughter to write ‘biography’of parents
“I see the book as a way to try and understand them as individuals, not merely as my parents,” says Daman, the second of Singh's three daughters. For Daman, whose second novel “The Sacred Grove” released last week, her father is her favourite politician. “I admire his integrity the most,” she said. Asked whether her father reads her books, she says, “We are three sisters, and all three of us have written books. My father has certainly read portions of them, but he does not have time to read them from cover to cover. I am quite sure he thinks our work is wonderful. Of course, he is biased.” Daman, in her mid-40s, says that as daughters and professionals, the three daughters often give suggestions to their parents. “But they are pretty independent too. So they usually ignore our advice,” she maintains. The sisters do not necessarily consult their parents for their writings. “They have always encouraged us to be independent, especially in our respective fields of work. So I don't think my sisters or I would consult them in our writing.” The PM’s eldest daughter Upinder is the head of the History Department at Delhi's St Stephen's College and the youngest Amrit is a lawyer in New York.
— PTI
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Navy eyes UAVs that function like choppers
New Delhi, August 22 So far the armed forces have the conventional UAVs that take-off like small planes and hover over specified targets to gather information. Most of these are acquired from friendly foreign countries, while the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have also developed some of these. However, the Navy cannot put them to much use as an open space is needed to enable a landing when a UAV returns back to base. This will not be possible at high seas, where decks are constrained for space. The Ministry of Defence has sent out a request for information to global players asking what kind of single engine or twin engine UAV’s can be supplied. The main requirement will be for vertical take off and landing facility. It will be fitted with scanners, high-resolution cameras and infrared imagers. Besides, it will have the capability to operate all weather conditions. Most such UAV’s will be operated off naval ship decks that have helicopter landing facility. The UAVs will be used for surveillance, targeting and intelligence gathering, using a combination infrared optical sensor and lasers. The Navy can also use this for search and rescue operations. Another use will be to carry a common data link and serve as a radio and data relay platform between ships at sea and ground stations.
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Tharoor, Pushkar tie knot in Kerala
Palakkad, August 22 Tharoor, a former UN under secretary general and now a member of Indian Parliament, tied the “thali”, symbolising the marital bond as per the Hindu custom. While Throor was clad in traditional Malayali attire of Kurtha and mundu, Sunanda, who hails from Kashmir, turned up with jerried off-white veshti-mundu set, like any Malayali bride would have preferred on her wedding. Before the wedding ceremony, the would-be couple sought the blessings of gods and elders of the family, who included Tharoor's 94-year-old maternal grandmother Jayasankari Amma. The tying of “tali” was followed by exchange of floral garlands and handing over the “pudava”, a piece of new cloth to the bride by the bridegroom, a long-followed tradition of matrilineal Nair families of Kerala. The invitation to the wedding on the eve of “Thiruvonam” was limited to close relatives, friends and well-wishers. But, a large number of mediapersons gathered to cover the occasion. The party from the bride's side included Sunanda's father Col Pushkarnath Das. Congress leader Manisankar Aiyar was the only senior politician present at the marriage. — PTI
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LHASA
The grand Potala Palace stands a mute witness to history. Its grandeur is still intact though the sheen is long gone with the exile of its occupant and benefactor, the Dalai Lama, more than six decades ago. As the ageing God-King of Tibet slogs away for drawing international attention on the issue of Tibetan autonomy, a cause that already seems lost to many, but a few among the 150,000 hopeful Tibetan refugees around the world, in a faraway land at McLeodganj, the question of his successor hangs heavy in the lofty portals of the Potala Palace. The 13-storey palace was the seat of power for the Dalai Lama, the temporal ruler of Tibet, since the 13th century. Ever since the Tibetan uprising in 1959 forced the 14th Dalai Lama, then only 24, to flee to India, the palace has been reduced to a mere relic.
Curious western tourists and the deeply religious Tibetans who make a beeline to the palace wonder whether the institution of the Dalai Lama is heading for obscurity or will survive the present incumbent, 75-year-old Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, who is perhaps the most charismatic refugee in the world. The palace has telltale signs that point to the fading legacy of the Dalai Lama within Tibet. The residential quarter of the present Dalai Lama in the palace, his prayer room and the living room are all intact but bear no photograph of the Tibetan leader. In fact, the very mention of his name evokes strange response ranging from it being a "forbidden word" for the Tibetans to a blunt "separatist" description by most Han Chinese in Lhasa. "He is purely using the institution of the Dalai Lama and religion to achieve his political aspirations as he is a separatist who is advocating independence," remarks Deji, Vice-President of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). She even holds the Dalai clique responsible for the 2008 unrest in Lhasa even though there are no visible traces of the turbulence anymore. Now with the new "Reincarnation Law" being put in place by China in 2007, there is every possibility of disagreement over the next Dalai Lama. The dynamics of realpolitik in a globalised economy of which China is a significant fulcrum do not augur well for the Tibetan cause or the institution of the Dalai Lama, which has become symbol of Tibetan resistance the world over. Tibet watchers do not rule out the scenario where two reincarnations of the Dalai Lama emerge, one backed by the Tibetan government-in-exile and the other by the Chinese government as happened in the case of contesting reincarnations of venerated lamas, the Panchen Lama and the Karmapa. Spearheading the campaign to counter Dalai propaganda Suo Lin, director of the Information Office of the TAR, asserts that having fled to a foreign land the Tibetan leader introduced his separatist opinion to the western world. "Despite China showing complete sincerity in holding talks with his aides his main motive of a separate nation remains unaltered even though our doors are still open," he maintains. Notwithstanding the anti-Dalai stance of the authorities, the manner in which local Tibetans make a beeline prostrating along the entire route to the Potala, carrying Yak butter for lighting lamps and some getting rosaries blessed from the monks inside is a clear reflection that Tibetans have great reverence for him. The discomfiture on the contentious issue of the continuation of the institution of Dalai Lama and finding a successor is obvious. "There is no question of accepting a Dalai Lama chosen by him as the name of the reincarnate must come out of the golden urn and the laid down traditions must be followed," says Lin. He hastens to add that till the traditions are not followed, the reincarnate will not get the stamp of approval either from the Central government or the followers of Tibetan Buddhism inside Tibet. The Dalai Lama has already indicated that in case situation inside Tibet does not improve, his reincarnate would be born outside and it could also be a woman. Conscious of the fact that the issue of his succession will be a murky affair, he could choose a person during his life time in a bid to avoid the kind of controversy that arose over the 11th Panchen Lama when the Chinese propped up their own reincarnation of the Lama after the Dalai Lama blessed a boy-incarnate to be the next Panchen Lama. Whatever the future scenario, it is almost certain the Potala Palace will never witness enthroning of another Dalai Lama. A peep into history The Potala Palace which remained the centre of power since the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama till 1959, figures on the list of world heritage site. The flow of tourists is so huge that there is a long waiting for entry tickets as the number of visitors per day has been restricted to 2,500. Entry into the palace virtually gives a peep into the history of Tibet as one goes up on the narrow wooden stairs through the White and Red Palaces, meant for living and praying, respectively. The palace built in 7th century by the Chinese emperor has more than 1,000 rooms including various Chapels and prayer rooms. The most resplendent is the Chapel housing eight pagodas and three stupas, including the tomb of the 5th Dalai Lama, which has 3,721 kg of gold and precious ornaments. In fact it was the fifth Dalai Lama who extended the Potala in the 17th century as it emerged as the seat of power. The monks have their modest living quarters in the front garden along with a museum where precious thangka paintings, rare ancient manuscripts and relics are exhibited.
Lhasa is a distant memory for most Tibetans living in exile for the past over five decades. Nostalgia of their native land prompted the exiled Tibetan community to recreate a home away from home at far away McLeodganj, a small hill town in Himachal Pradesh, which they lovingly call "Little Lhasa". Now the internationally known address of the Tibetan government-in-exile, which no country recognises, McLeodganj is also the abode of the Tibetan temporal leader, the Dalai Lama. Shorn of much of the grandeur and opulence of the Potala and Norbulingka palaces from where he ruled Tibet before seeking asylum in India, the abode of the Tibetan leader in India has connotations of a pilgrimage centre for most Tibetans living outside Tibet. As compared to Lhasa, which has all trappings of a modern city, McLeodganj is a small settlement, which has come up around the heavily guarded palace of the Dalai Lama and the adjoining monastery. It has crowded narrow lanes lined with shops run by Tibetan refugees selling artifacts, Tibetan delicacies and photos and literature pertaining to teachings of the globetrotting religious leader who is striving to garner international support for getting "genuine autonomy" for Tibet. In Lhasa, the narrow streets near Jokhang monastery selling Tibetan antiques and artifacts have the ambience quite akin to the narrow lanes of McLeodganj. In sharp contrast to Lhasa, where it is next to impossible to spot a photograph of the spiritual leader, in McLeodganj he is accorded a warm welcome by raising special arches and gates each time he returns from a foreign tour. He is revered like God by the refugee population whose numbers have increased manifold from a few hundred who accompanied the Dalai Lama to India in 1959. An added attraction for the followers of Tibetan Buddhism in Dharamshala is the Gyuto Tantrik Monastery, which has been home to the 17th Karmapa, Ugyen Trinely Dorjee, head of the Karma Kagyu sect since his arrival in India. He reportedly fled from Tibet and made a sudden appearance in McLeodganj on a cold winter morning almost a decade back. Compared to Lhasa where getting access inside Tibet is not easy, McLeodganj regularly draws international dignitaries and renowned personalities including Hollywood stars, Richard Gere, Pierce Brosnan, Goldie Hawn and many others making frequent visit with no restrictions to seek the blessings of the Tibetan leader. For most Tibetan refugees who keep arriving in a trickle from Tibet, McLeodganj is normally the final destination. Escaping from Tibet and entering India through Nepal, every one of these refugees, including monks and nuns, have their tale of woes to narrate. Most accuse China of unleashing religious repression. Practically none of them return to Tibet as they are shifted to Tibetan settlements in Karnataka, Dehradun, Mussoorie or other places in India. While in Lhasa, there are apparent attempts to dilute the Tibetan identity, the Tibetan administration in "Little Lhasa" assiduously tries to preserve its culture and traditions. It has made successful efforts to keep Tibetan language alive through Tibetan Children Village (TCV) Schools, with thrust being on teaching Tibetan culture and Tibetan way of living. The exiled Tibetan government has its own Parliament and the cabinet called "kashag." There is the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) where traditions like opera and other dance forms are practised and the modest Norbuligka, not a palace like the original one but a centre to preserve arts like metal works, woodcraft, and a doll museum. Amidst Tibetan accusations of assimilation and elimination of their culture in their homeland, especially on account of population transfer from mainland China into Tibet, facilitated more by the rail link between Lhasa and Beijing, there are many within the Tibetans who strike discordant notes on many accounts. There are the firebrand Tibetan Youth Congress activists who, while seeking complete independence, reject Dalai Lama's "middle-path approach" settling for genuine autonomy. With liberal foreign aid and ample international support, the exiled Tibetans have managed to keep the spotlight on them but their hopes of ever returning to a "Free Tibet" are waning. Their next generations reared in exile are adopting a pragmatic approach to life. Many Tibetan youths are availing every opportunity to move abroad in search of greener pastures. Perhaps they realise that Lhasa is a distant dream and only the Little Lhasa is their present reality. — PC
Once Lhasa was a mystical town far removed from world consciousness. Simple hill people chanted hymns to Buddha and revered their God-King, the Dalai Lama. Monks and nuns in their flowing maroon robes dominated the landscape. Present Lhasa is a transformed city, from the times it hosted the theocratic hill kingdom to a jungle of concrete just like any other modern vibrant city. Swanky malls and ornate buildings of Chinese banks, telecommunication and construction companies have transformed Lhasa into a bubbling city. The footfalls of monks and nuns have been drowned in the din of swanky vehicles like Audi and Prado whizzing through Lhasa streets. Only rarely one comes across elderly Tibetans counting rosary beads or carrying prayer wheels. Serenity and tranquility, the hallmarks of Tibetan people, culture and religion, seem confined only to the precincts of ancient monasteries like Jakhong and the hill top Drepung monastery. Even other historical places like the Potala and Norbulingka, the summer palace of the Dalai Lama have been reduced to places of tourist interest sans the spiritual flavour. Spiritualism and Tibetan Buddhism is sought to be pushed behind the razzmatazz of modern life ever since the Chinese government put into motion its "development" agenda in Tibet in the past three decades. "Today everyone in Tibet, including the older generation like my grandparents, are far happier with improved health and educational facilities and better opportunities for we youngsters," says Tse Yang, a Tibetan who works as an interpreter and hails from Nagqu Prefecture in North Tibet. If that is true, the Tibetan spiritual leader whom China dubs as "splittist", would have no issue left to fight against since he has often expressed the opinion that the most essential issue of Tibet is the happiness of the Tibetan people. There are others like her who feel that the situation inside Tibet is often misrepresented, especially by the western media. "I chose to study here rather than at a university in mainland China because I am enchanted by the mystical aura and landscape of Lhasa," says Wang Jianten and Li Tao, students hailing from Hei Bei Province and studying medicine at Lhasa University. The mere mention of the Dalai Lama evokes complete antipathy and an instant reaction as he utters the oft-repeated word "separatist." The Lhasa University has a sprawling campus with over 8,000 students. Officials claim that 85 per cent of the students are Tibetans and other ethnic minorities. With the unfolding of the Great Western Development project, the city has witnessed a sea change in terms of good roads, hospitals, schools and colleges, industrial development with special thrust on promoting Lhasa beer and wine made of barley in Europe and America. "With the setting up of wine and beer factories, we get very good prices of barley which has helped us improve our living condition," says 61-year-old Pasang, who lives in a modern house in village Sangzhulin on the outskirts of Lhasa, provided by the government to farmers like her. The officials of the TAR region who run their regime from a modest complex maintain that life for the common Tibetan has improved with the literacy rate being much improved and life expectancy having risen from a mere 35.5 years in 1959 to 67 years. "In sharp contrast to old Tibet under feudal serfdom which was even darker than the medieval period, the democratic reforms initiated after 1959 have fundamentally changed the destiny of Tibetan people," point out TAR officials. With Potala, Norbulingka, the summer palace of the Dalai Lama and the ancient monastery of Jokhang being declared world heritage sites, tourism in Tibet has seen an upswing. Efforts have been initiated to protect and conserve the rich Tibetan culture, language, traditions and religion by way of several projects, which have been showcased at the Tibet Museum. — PC
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Naipaul travelogue on Africa sparks row
Critics believe his new work, 'The Masque of Africa', portrays a continent still caught with one foot in its primitive past and obsessed with eating domestic pets. According to a report published in The Sunday Times, the Trinidad-born author, who has previously been in hot water for alleged racism, misogyny and disregard of Islam, now writes about witch doctors, buildings allowed to fall into ruin and streets strewn with rubbish. The 78-year-old Naipual is particularly harsh about Ivory Coast, where kitten is on the menu. "I found out what was the best way of killing a cat or kitten. You put them in a sack of some sort and then you dropped the sack in a pot of boiling water. The thought of this everyday kitchen cruelty made everything else in Ivory Coast seem unimportant," he writes. According to the report, killing cats and dogs and preparing them for the dinner table almost becomes a leitmotif for the book. In Uganda there is an ancient tale of a man who wants to buy a kitten to eat. In the north of Ghana "they ate and loved dog; they called it red goat. In the south they ate cats and had almost eaten them out."
— PTI
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Key accused in Tamang case flees
Siliguri, August 22 Tamang was arrested on August 16 and kept in the CID custody at Pintal village near here after he was produced in Darjeeling district court the next day, Debendra Pratap Singh, Superintendent of Police, Darjeeling, said. Tamang escaped on the pretext of going to toilet this morning, he added. Search operations had been launched to nab the fugitive, he said, adding nobody had been suspended in this connection as yet. Madan Tamang was murdered on May 21 while supervising arrangements for a meeting of the All India Gorkha League at Darjeeling.
— PTI
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Opposition
seeks further dilution of nuclear Bill New Delhi, August 22 Even as the government dropped the ‘and’ connecting clause 17(a) and 17(b) implicitly reducing the liability of foreign suppliers, the CPM reacted immediately saying that the latest amendment is one more surreptitious attempt to let the suppliers off the hook. The controversial amendment to the Bill reads: “...The nuclear incident has resulted as a consequence of an act of supplier or his employees, done with the intent to cause nuclear damage...”. “It exonerates the foreign suppliers of any liability, which mean if a Bhopal type incident happens then we will have to prove that someone like Warren Anderson was wilfully trying to kill the people of Bhopal. That just does not happen. Also it is contrary to the consensus that was sought in the standing committee,” said Prasenjit Bose, CPM leader, who represented his party in the Standing Committee. “We will bring it to the notice of the government that this is not what was acceptable for the BJP. We will certainly ask them to amend this amendment,” said Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP spokesperson. BJP deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, SS Ahluwalia, who also sat in the Standing Committee to review the Bill, was however, not so categorical and gave clear hints that unlike the Left, the BJP was in far more reconciliatory mood and was willing to be more reasonable and accommodative.
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Jantar Mantar Negotiations between the government and the Opposition in the parliamentary standing committee over the controversial Nuclear Liability Bill literally went down to the wire. With support from the Left parties ruled out, UPA’s chief troubleshooter Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, had the onerous task of bringing the BJP on board. Realising that the government needs its help in the passage of the Bill since it does not have the requisite strength to get it through the Rajya Sabha, the BJP played tough and bargained hard. It would bring up fresh conditions each time the government accepted its old suggestions. A senior BJP leader admitted as much. The party’s representative on the parliamentary committee, SS Ahluwalia, the leader joked, was armed with a dissent as well as a consent note, with instructions to present either one, depending, of course, on whether the government rejected or accepted its proposals. As it happened, Ahluwalia did not have to produce a dissenting note as a desperate government readily agreed to the BJP’s demand. Mutual admiration society
Jaitley does not shy away from publicly showering praise on Jairam Ramesh for the manner in which he responds to the Opposition’s queries in Parliament.
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Palakkad, August 22
With their larger-than-life image and influence on governance with 62 MPs, Karat, CPI's A B Bardhan and other Left leaders were of the belief that their decision would be the last word for the government, says former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.
New Delhi, August 22
London, August 22
They might be on opposite sides of the political divide, but that does not deter BJP’s Arun Jaitley and Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh from sharing a backslapping relationship.
The Congress minister, according to the BJP leader, is never confrontationist, takes pains to answer each member’s question and even makes it a point to praise the questioner. Needless to say, Jairam Ramesh never fails to return the compliment. The Congress leader is often heard commenting that Jaitley is the most reasoned, responsible and constructive Opposition leader. Naturally, this mutual admiration society has got the Capital’s hyperactive political grapevine buzzing.