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AFSPA in Kashmir
No end to rail mishaps |
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No free lunch
Ayodhya controversy & caste census
Our reality
In today’s globalised world, it is important that countries help out one another
during catastrophes. Problems in one country can have a direct bearing on its neighbours, the region and the world
Pakistan Floods
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AFSPA in Kashmir
The disconcerting chorus from the Kashmir valley for the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), or diluting some of its allegedly draconian provisions, calls for a closer scrutiny. It is certainly a matter of concern that the demand, which is at the core of the seperatists’ agenda, has been co-opted by not only the main opposition party in the state, the PDP, but also by the Chief Minister, Mr Omar Abdullah. Both the mainstream parties, the National Conference and the PDP, seem to be vying with each other to take the credit as and when the Act is partially or fully withdrawn from the state. There is thus a remarkable convergence of views on the AFSPA between hardliners like Syed Ali Shah Geelani and moderates like Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on the one hand and between Ms Mehbooba Mufti and the Chief Minister on the other. All of them now say that some dramatic concessions on the AFSPA must be made before peace is restored and dialogue resumes in the valley. The AFSPA can, however, be withdrawn from the state only if the government withdraws the “disturbed area” tag from it. Given the current situation in the state, it will be foolish to do any such thing. And as for diluting its provisions, only Parliament has the authority to do so. With most political parties in Parliament firmly opposed to any dilution in the Act, it again appears an unlikely possibility. More importantly, the demand appears designed to deflect attention from core issues. The Army, for example, has played no role whatsoever in the disturbances which have rocked the state in recent months. Indeed, the Army has been involved in only one or two clashes in the cities during this period. Most of the time it was the state police and paramilitary forces, to whom the AFSPA does not apply, which opened fire on stone-pelting mobs. No decision on the AFSPA should, therefore, be taken in haste or on emotional or political grounds. While the armed forces must ensure zero tolerance to the abuse of the Act, the state government cannot allow the street and the Hurriyat to set the political agenda. It must address the governance deficit and trust deficit that precipitated the crisis in the first place and stop using the AFSPA as a pretext for its inaction. |
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No end to rail mishaps
The sickening regularity with which train accidents are occurring, claiming the lives of many passengers, shows Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and her administration in poor light. The toll in Monday’s accident at Badarwas station in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh when a goods train rammed into the Indore-Gwalior Intercity Express has been increasing. The fact that it resulted in the death of over 25 passengers is cause for concern. An expeditious probe will reveal the exact cause of the accident. However, preliminary reports suggest that the driver of the goods train apparently overshot the signal at the station as the cabin man had not yet changed the track of the train. The head-on collision is also being attributed to heavy rain and poor visibility. The Commissioner of Railway Safety and the Railway Board would do well to get to the bottom of what went wrong and fix responsibility. However, what is surprising is that the anti-collision device (ACD), designed by Konkan Railway, has not yet been commissioned in all the railways though it had gone through trials. Indeed, the ACD is meant to prevent an accident like the present one, of a train ramming into another. The ACD units in the engines and the rear guard van are tracked by global position system satellites and they communicate with stationary ACD units installed at stations and along the track. Whenever the sensors judge that two trains are within a range of 3 km of one another, they automatically trigger the breaks. How many more accidents should take place before Rail Bhavan takes the final call? Reports that some liquor bottles were recovered from the Badarwas Station Master’s room point to a serious collapse of authority and accountability at the operational level. If these are true, the Station Master and all others involved need to be given exemplary punishment. Whether it is a signal failure or human error, the Railway Ministry should address the key issues with a sense of urgency — the modernisation of the safety equipment, the maintenance of track and signals, the failure of top officials to put in place the hi-tech full-safe mechanisms and re-training and fitness of the staff — to prevent the recurrence of such accidents. |
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No free lunch
An obscure pastor of a church in Florida hogged headlines and kept the media spotlight on himself for many tense days as he threatened to burn a copy of the Quran on the ninth anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks on the US. The “land of the free” was hobbled by its laws, and it took much high-level intervention before the pastor backed down from his threat. The world did not have to pay a price for an act that would have ignited passions in an already volatile situation, and many heaved a sigh of relief. In 1891, Rudyard Kipling was so impressed by the American practice of providing a “free” lunch to those who purchased at least one drink, something that prompted him to point out that “for something less than a rupee (sic) a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt.” However, this very practice led to the popular adage, “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch”. Now, Pastor Terry Jones has got to the truth of this adage in the form of a $1,80,000 bill for the security services rendered. The very city where his church is located, Gainesville, Florida, has asked him to pay up for the commotion he had caused. No doubt, the bill will make anyone with such disruptive intentions pause and think of the consequences of what they are about to do. If only leaders devoted more thought to the consequences of their actions, they would desist from troublemaking. In 2004, the Bombay High Court fined the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party Rs. 20 lakh each for organising a bandh on July 30, 2003. The court thereby laid down the principle of public accountability. Public misconduct must be punished, and in a body-political where imprisonment has become a badge of honour, large fines or bills for enforcement will prove to be an effective deterrent. Many irresponsible public figures develop a feeling of impunity, which is neither warranted nor desirable. Sooner or later, we have to face the consequence of our actions, as Pastor Jones has found. |
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Management that wants to change an institution must first show it loves that institution.
— John Tusa |
Ayodhya controversy & caste census
The country is girding itself to face the possibility of extreme reactions in the wake of the Allahabad High Court’s ruling on September 24 on the title suits pertaining to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid controversy. Appeals for calm are in order but must be backed by careful bandobust. Dubious elements and agents provocateur are ready to create mischief to earn 10-paise worth of martyrs glory. After December 6, 1992, nothing should be left to chance. The court verdict will not necessarily settle the issue. Either side could go to the Supreme Court. Even otherwise, matters of faith are not legally determined. But this does not entitle people to take the law into their hands. Unfortunately, all such issues are political fodder for those who brazenly rouse passions to garner votes. The Babri issue is a squeezed political lemon from which the Sangh Parivar has extracted every drop of juice. It has become an embarrassment for some of the faithful but they can neither hold not drop this hot potato at this juncture. Meanwhile, there has been no follow-up on the much-delayed Liberhan Report which itself took 17 years to state the obvious. In Kashmir, Eid was marred by violence sparked by false reports of alleged desecration of the Quran in the United States where a nondescript, fundamentalist evangelical Christian pastor was persuaded to abandon the crazy idea of burning the Holy Book on September 11 to avenge 9/11! The ensuing rioting and arson in Srinagar and elsewhere was used to stoke the separatist cause. Having stirred the pot, the Mirwaiz piously looked on The Union Government has caved in to pressure and has agreed to a separate caste census months after the main count, ostensibly more accurately to deliver affirmative action programmes to target communities. This at a financial cost of over Rs 2200 crore and an incalculable social cost from a body blow to fraternity and inclusiveness. Every political party has elaborate, up-to-date figures of the caste composition of all constituencies throughout the country. It is on this basis that candidates are nominated — to win or woo away caste votes. The NSS could probably do a far better job of targetting the SCs, STs, OBCs and other marginalised groups at less cost and without the political overtones of blatantly cultivating caste consciousness. If the purpose of targetting underprivileged castes/classes accurately is to overcome income, educational and health deprivation, then why exclude other categories of deprived such as the poor in general. Are historically deprived categories today a superior class vis-a-vis other destitutes who may belong to higher castes or other faiths? This is warped logic and will only create new classes among the poor and the deprived. It is for this reason that the Sachar Commission pleaded for an Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) to address the problems of all categories and classes of disadvantaged Indians. This cause has been advocated by the Minorities Commission, which has, however, been told to limit its concerns to minorities alone. Surely, this should be the task of an enlightened and empowered EOC that could deal with the deprivation of all disadvantaged groups while leaving the minorities, SC, ST and Women’s commissions to take care of other concerns relating to these categories. An alternative might be to make these other bodies limbs of the proposed EOC. Flogging caste as a means of economic and social advancement is to put a premium on this evil rather than seek to remove it. Witness the Gujjar and, now, the Jat agitation in Rajasthan and Haryana and similar exclusivist throwback movements elsewhere. The historical process of Sanskritisation and de-tribalisation is being reversed in order to massage political ambitions and egos. This is not moving towards but away from an inclusive India. Take the extraordinarily perverse and anti-secular attitude of all parties across the board in preventing the enactment of a uniform civil code, which is now a dire necessity in a fast modernising and integrating Indian society that has no desire to be bound in chains to the dictates of an obscurantist clergy and “social leaders” of all hues. The khap panchayats, with their barbaric and bloody “honour” killings, exemplify this tribe. It is amazing that the Haryana Chief Minister should defend the khap panchayats as innocent “social organisations” which should not be held accountable for “honour” killings. Now Jats are on the rampage in Hissar and elsewhere, committing arson and damaging public property to demand reservation. Rather than tame them, the state registered cases against police officials who tried to stem the rot, an action which has evoked strictures from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Finally, the Parivar has taken umbrage at the use of the term “saffron terror” after Narendra Modi, Varun Gandhi and other Hindutvadis for years named Muslims terrorists with unbridled venom. Terror has no religious colour, whether saffron or green, nor any denominational label. And why should the government be once again offering Haj subsidies, a wholly un-Islamic practice that cost the exchequer Rs 680 crore last year and could cost more this year. Balancing this with subsidies for Hindus undertaking the pilgrimage to Kailash-Mansarowar only compounds communal folly.
When will they ever learn? |
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Our reality
Some years back, my children had a domestic help by the name of Chandan. He was a ‘bhola’ (simple-minded) alright, but not a block-head. He responded fairly intelligently to what we asked him to do and had even started anticipating our usual needs. Encouraged by his seemingly good I.Q., my daughter-in-law, Sakshi, a medical super-specialist, had a brainwave to educate him and thus push him towards a higher quality of life. She purchased the necessary books and stationery for him and squeezed some time out of her routine to teach him. To our surprise, the boy seemed to have such a big mental block against learning as would not allow a single letter or a numeral to pass by. When pressed harder by my zealous daughter, he felt exasperated and came out in the end, “Mem Sab, padhai se dar kar hi to mein aap ke pass aya tha”. (Madam, I had come to you exactly to avoid being forced to learn). It was a situation where our Sakshi had driven the buffalo to the pond alright, but sadly she could not force it to drink. This was a case of a sincere citizen wanting to pay back to society. If it did not work it was too bad. We tried to understand what exactly the problem with the boy was. His uncle — we did not know how near or distant — would drop in at our place right in time to claim his salary. He seemed to have no other interest in him. We were reluctant to hand over his earnings to him, but Chandan was always prevailed upon by him to ask us to pay his dues to him. It was perhaps this man who had put the dread of education in the boy’s heart, because his illiteracy suited him. We could understand that the problem of empty stomachs and idle hands had to take precedence over education. Still, there is no denying the fact that education is the way out of backwardness. But what can you really do when people develop a vested interest in backwardness itself? His uncle seemed to fear that we would ultimately force some literacy down his throat and thus, asked us to relieve him. Possibly, he had got a more lucrative placement for him also. The boy had served us well and we would have liked to retain him, but we could not. When the man had collected his final dues, we called Chandan aside and put a 50-rupee note in his pocket, advising him to keep the money to himself. We do not know how his uncle came to know about this. Right within the visual distance from our house, he gave him two slaps and the currency note promptly shifted from one pocket to the other. Sakshi was sad at the failure of her literacy mission. But we consoled her that after all, the three best administrators of our country — Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji, Shehanshah Akbar and Maharaja Ranjit Singh — were also
illiterate. |
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In today’s globalised world, it is important that countries help out one another
during catastrophes. Problems in one country can have a direct bearing on its neighbours, the region and the world
Five years ago Hurricane Katrina hit the southern shores of the United States in what became one of the worst natural disasters in United States history. Over 1,800 people died, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane in eighty years. With an estimated $81 billion in property damage, Hurricane Katrina was also the costliest hurricane in U.S. history. Over one million people were displaced from their homes and communities, many never to return. In the aftermath of such a disaster, the United States received an outpouring of offers of assistance from all corners of the world. Rich countries like Kuwait and developing countries such as Bangladesh offered money; historical allies like South Korea and Israel offered help and even a country with strained relations with the United States such as Venezuela offered material assistance and technical experts like doctors. Not surprisingly, India also made generous offers of financial assistance and supplies. India pledged $5 million and sent tarps, blankets, and hygiene kits. On September 13, 2005, the Indian Air Force delivered 25 tonnes of relief supplies. I say “not surprisingly” because providing humanitarian relief in time of need is one of the core values that the United States and India share. It is why India sends its men and women into harm’s way as U.N. peacekeepers in Africa. It is why the United States lent military capabilities to the government in the wake of the Haiti earthquake in 2010. It is why both the United States and India have offered support to Pakistan in response to the recent flooding crisis. It is in this spirit that I visited Leh on Monday (September 20) to deliver supplies, blankets and bedding materials for families in need through NGO relief efforts, provided by both the United States government and by donations raised by the students at the American Embassy School in New Delhi. In today’s inter-connected world, it is imperative that countries assist others during catastrophes and in time of adversity. Transnational problems in one country can directly impact neighbours, the regions and the world. The flooding in Pakistan could reverse years of development efforts, making it more difficult for Pakistan to fight insurgents and for the United States and other countries to bring aid to Afghanistan. Without assistance to Pakistan, it will be more difficult for the United States, India and the world to achieve its objective of bringing peace and security to South Asia. Recognising the need to help other countries during a humanitarian crisis, the United States and India are working closely to expand our bilateral relationship to include joint assistance to third countries. In April, we extended our Bilateral Disaster Management Support Project for another five years. Through this project our two countries have worked together for more than six years to share best practices and build capacity in key institutions to enhance the quality of disaster preparedness and response. It will continue to strengthen our capacities to plan for and respond to disasters, including integration of disaster risk reduction to climate change. Beyond natural disasters, transnational threats such as terrorism, cyber-warfare and pandemic disease require countries and governments to cooperate in ways not foreseen just a few years ago. The United States and India recognize our common strategic security interests in preserving the free passage in the Indian Ocean and surrounding waterways, countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and re-building Afghanistan. The US-India strategic dialogue is responding. With our Counter-terrorism Cooperation Initiative signed in August, our two countries will now expand our collaboration on transportation security, maritime security, border security, cyber security, countering terror finance threats and much more. We are working to identify areas of common strategic interest in the global commons realm. In Afghanistan, our two countries are finding opportunities to work together in several sectors, including energy and women’s empowerment, to help bring development and ultimately prosperity and security to the Afghan population. These are just a few of several regional strategies where the United States and India are combining our efforts, capabilities and expertise to meet the challenges in the world. In future we hope to collaborate on a wider range of global challenges around the world such as providing food security, combating trafficking-in persons and working together on global disease detection. From New Orleans to Leh, helping others in times of hardship is one of many shared values which deliver shared benefits to neighbours and drives our strategic partnership forward. Helping others is not limited to times of hardship but includes meeting the challenges of transnational problems. These challenges cannot be solved by one nation but require cooperation amongst many nations. Providing aid to the residents of Leh, assisting in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, or safeguarding sea, air, and space domains, the United States and India are working together and answering these challenges. We are defining the indispensable partnership of the 21st century. The writer is the U.S. Ambassador to India |
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Pakistan Floods Wali Khan shifts his eyes nervously from side to side as he points to the tumbled walls which are all that remain of his mud-brick house. The 45-year-old labourer is frightened that his neighbours in the battered town of Charsadda will suspect he is receiving help denied to other flood victims. He says: "I mustn't be seen with foreigners for too long or people will think I am getting special treatment." As water levels in the rivers drop in this part of north-west Pakistan, victims of the flood are divided between those who have lost everything and those with just enough left to get back on their feet. Mr Khan, living with his wife and six children in a tent in a camp with 650 other people a mile from his old home, recalls: "The first I knew of the flood was when four foot of water came pouring into my house at ten in the morning. I came back today for the first time, but there is nothing left." Most of the better-built buildings in his old neighbourhood are still standing, with a water-mark over the doorways showing where the flood peaked at about 10 feet above street level. The future of some houses is still in doubt. Kashif Jan, who sells soap for a living, points to the dun-coloured side wall of his own home just behind the ruins of Wali Khan's house, where the central part of the wall has given way so that the topmost bricks are precariously held in place by a wooden pole. Mr Jan is dubious how long the wall will survive and adds that he lost all his savings, which he kept in cash, along with his soap supplies, on the day of the flood. Otherwise, standing in a clean brown robe amid the wreckage of his home and business, he sounds surprisingly confident that he will soon be back in business, though all the local shops are still shuttered. His neighbours agreed that the government had done nothing for them and that any aid they received came from international non-governmental organisations. The local transformer had been knocked out by the floods but was now back in operation. Shahid Ali, an electrician, said: "Our main need is clean water and rope beds to sleep on." For those like Mr Khan, who were already poor before the flood and have now lost their houses, the future looks grim and uncertain. At his camp, set up by the National Rural Support Programme and funded by the government and the World Bank, officials say it will be three months to a year before the houses which were destroyed can be rebuilt. The people in the tents are given tea in the morning and two meals a day but are without jobs and have no money for clothes. Charsadda is normally a prosperous Pashtun town at the centre of a well-watered agricultural area in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Its fields and orchards benefit from being close to the Kabul and Swat rivers, which made it particularly vulnerable to flooding following this year's epic monsoon rains. But in the centre of the town it is already difficult to see signs of disaster. The havoc wreaked by the flood water only becomes obvious close to the banks of the rivers, where the buildings and land look as if they have been smashed by an artillery barrage. As the flood waters recede in northern Pakistan the losers are the poor, who have lost their houses and livestock, and those living close enough to the rivers to be in danger. In some areas flood victims claiming compensation from the government are furious that they are outnumbered by fraudulent claimants whose houses and lands were unaffected by the rising waters. The falling water levels in the rivers may mean that the worst is over but a fresh danger now threatens. All over Pakistan, pools and small lakes left behind by the floods provide ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes carrying the parasite that causes malaria. The disease is endemic in Pakistan and its incidence normally increases after the monsoon. But this year there is far more stagnant water at the right temperature for the mosquitoes to breed in, the local health system is in disarray and people are on the move and more likely to be bitten. "If you sleep outside because your house is gone you are vulnerable to mosquito bites," says Dr Naeem Durrani, a malaria specialist for the medical charity Merlin. "We must be prepared to respond to as many as many as two million cases of malaria over the next four months in all areas that are mildly or severely flood affected." He adds that effective treatment simply means taking a few pills – but if victims don't do so, the death toll from the illness could be as high as 40,000. The Independent |
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