The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

The Al-Qaida threat
Time to review anti-terror strategy

THE world has been informed time and again that Al-Qaida’s top leadership — Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri — is leading a comfortable and secure life in Pakistan’s tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, Islamabad’s denials notwithstanding. The latest report by the CNN, quoting a top NATO official based in Afghanistan, mentions that the two terrorist masterminds not only had the protection provided by the local tribal population but also Pakistan’s notorious intelligence agency, the ISI. Yet the US-led multinational forces have not been able to catch hold of them, dead or alive. It is a very disconcerting development, indeed.

Interestingly, only recently President Barack Obama had warned Pakistan that all the aid it was getting from Washington DC would be stopped forthwith, besides other retributive steps like bombing of 150 terrorist training camps, in case there was an attack on the US from Pakistan-based terrorists. Obama admitted that “the cancer (of terrorism) is in Pakistan” and that the US had to ensure that it does not spread to Afghanistan, which Washington DC wanted to make safe for the American and other foreign forces to leave that country by next July in accordance with his declared plan.

Now the question is: if the US is aware of all these dangerous facts, why is it keeping quiet? Why is it not going in for a surgical solution to make the world, more so the US, free from the Al-Qaida threat? Or has the much-publicised war on terrorism been abandoned, if not lost? To add to the discomfiture of the US and the rest of the world, Al-Qaida has come out with a full-fledged magazine, published in Yemen, to promote its terrorist philosophy. The terrorist outfit has proved to be like an amoeba, which remains as active as ever despite the US-led drive involving billions of dollars. The most deadly terrorist organisation continues to spread its tentacles not only to the Af-Pak region or the Arabian peninsula but also to Europe and the United States of America, which the Al-Qaida publication describes as the “United Snakes of America”. This is a very sad scenario, which calls for a review of the anti-terrorism strategy at the earliest.

Shiv Sena’s new star
His first act inspires little hope

SHIV Sena supremo Bal Thackeray’s launch of his grandson Aditya into politics with speculation rife that the 20-year-old scion of the family will initially take over the party’s youth wing, marks a calculated attempt to revive the sagging fortunes of the Maharashtra-based party. In the past few years, the Shiv Sena has lost considerable political ground, especially to senior Thackeray’s nephew Raj’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. In the Maharashtra assembly polls held in 2009, MNS not only won 13 seats, it ensured the defeat of the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in many more constituencies. The Shiv Sena suffered the ignominy of emerging fourth, behind the Congress, the NCP, and its alliance partner BJP. It had to cede the post of Leader of the Opposition in the assembly to the BJP. Bal Thackeray apparently feels now that his son Uddhav is unequal to the task of running the party effectively and that Aditya could be groomed to take over the reins in the not-too-distant future.

Significantly, Aditya Thackeray has been in the news for his protests against Rohinton Mistry’s book Such A Long Journey, which has some anti-Sena remarks. Under Aditya’s leadership the students’ wing of the Sena had burnt copies of the novel last month and petitioned Mumbai University vice-chancellor Rajan Welukar to drop it from the second-year BA syllabus. Bowing to the demands, the university immediately withdrew the book from the syllabus and issued notices to all colleges regarding the same.

The sheepishness shown by the Vice-Chancellor is worthy of condemnation. The book, published in 1991, had been on the syllabus for three years without a murmur against it. Now, with the Shiv Sena flexing its muscles it has been withdrawn. Such spinelessness emboldens those who hold civil society to ransom. As for Aditya Thackeray, he needs to introspect on where he is heading. Instead of falling into the same old rut of agitational politics, he would do well to revitalize the party with the liberal thinking that education in one of Mumbai’s best schools, Bombay Scottish, and reputed college St. Xavier’s would have exposed him to.

Thought for the Day

We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry.

— W. B. Yeats

ARTICLE

India-US defence relations
A close look at the emerging realities
by Gen V.P. Malik (retd)

Defence and military relations are an important aspect of the Indo-US strategic dialogue. As these relations are sensitive to political and strategic shifts, they cannot be separated from the overall geopolitical realities. This is evident from the turbulent history of the Indo-US political relations during the past seven decades. Despite the fact that the relations are better than they have ever been in the past, these have not achieved results at the desired strategic level. Many of the current problems require urgent political intervention. US President Barack Obama’s coming visit to India, therefore, has assumed great significance.

India’s engagement with the US on defence cooperation started with the 1991 Kicklighter Proposals. There have been a number of initiatives since then, guided by the changes in the geostrategic realm. These are the Agreed Minutes on Defence for the Expansion of Defence Cooperation between the US and Indian Defence Departments and Service-to-Service Military Exchanges in 1995, the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership, and, finally, the “New Framework for the US-India Defence Relationship” signed in June 2005.

The New Framework for US-India Defence Relationship has established an institutionalised framework. With a Defence Policy Group and its four sub-groups — the Procurement and Production Group, the Joint Technical Group, the Military Cooperation Group and the Senior Technology Group — it covers the entire spectrum of defence cooperation. The agreement states that in pursuit of the shared vision of an expanded and deeper US-India strategic relationship, defence establishments of the two countries will do the following:

They will conduct joint and combined exercises and exchanges and collaborate in multinational operations when it is in their common interest. They will strengthen the capabilities of their militaries to promote security and defeat terrorism, respond quickly to disaster situations, and assist in building worldwide capacity to conduct successful peacekeeping operations. Steps will be taken to expand interaction with other nations in ways that promote regional and global peace and stability. India and the US will expand two-way defence trade. They will work to conclude defence transactions not solely as ends in themselves but also as a means to strengthen the two countries’ security, reinforce their strategic partnership, achieve greater interaction between their armed forces, and build greater understanding between defence establishments.

The two countries will increase opportunities for technology transfer, collaboration, co-production, and research and development in the context of defence trade and a framework for technology security safeguards.

Besides these, they will continue strategic-level discussions by senior representatives from the US Department of Defence and India’s Ministry of Defence on international security issues of common interest.

The agreement has also laid out a road-map for joint training exercises and exchanges. Indian armed forces have participated in about 30 exercises so far. Service officers have also been attending expert exchanges and participating in joint seminars, conferences and observer programmes.

Indian exposure to the combined arms training at the US National Training Centre has been very useful. Such training contributes to further refinement of the Indian military’s war doctrine, rapid force deployment, higher defence management, etc. Officers have also benefited from the US experience of fighting cyber terrorism and IED defeating mechanism in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Indian military, on the other hand, has invaluable operational experience in all types of terrain, dealing with sub-conventional wars, conflicts in ethnically diverse societies and international peacekeeping. These are essential aspects in the nature of current conflicts and come handy in conflict resolution.

The crux of the Indo-US cooperation is related to defence procurements, dual-use technologies, R&D and India’s defence industrialisation. This is an important issue in view of our inability to set up a credible defence industry to meet the armed forces’ requirements: an unbearable weakness in India’s security infrastructure.

During the last few years, there has been some improvement in defence trade through the foreign military sales route, with its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is the procurement of the state-of-the-art equipment in government-to-government deals. One disadvantage is the US insistence on separate agreements for spares with original manufacturers which gives them a “single vendor” situation. After the delayed supply of spares for weapon-locating radars, doubts over US reliability continue to persist in India. Just when India is intending to purchase key military platforms like the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft and M777 ultra-light Howitzer, the latest problem is the US demand that unless India signs two technology safeguard agreements — the Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMoA) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA) — these platforms would have to be divested of cutting-edge electronics.

With neither side giving ground further negotiations have stalled. Also threatened is the transfer of crucial avionics, satellite navigation aids and secure communications equipment that power the already purchased P8I Poseidon maritime and C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft.

According to the US, their law mandates that sensitive American electronics goods can only be transferred abroad after the recipient country signs the CISMoA and BECA. The CISMoA promotes tactical systems interoperability between the two armed forces and allows them to provide the communications security equipment to protect sensitive data during communications. The Indian government is reluctant to allow the fitting of such equipment on the platforms that India buys. The growing distance between New Delhi and Washington DC on the CISMoA is causing frustration on both sides. Last year, after extended negotiations, India reluctantly gave in to an End-User Monitoring Agreement but rejected US proposals for a Logistics Support Agreement and Cross-Servicing Agreement that would allow the US forces ready access to Indian logistics.

In the field of research and development, the dual use technology issue remains the litmus test by which healthy relations can be measured. Unless some regulations are waived by the US, high-tech cooperation does not appear possible.

We expected that the US defence industry will be able to transfer some latest technologies and help us establish the much-needed industrial complex. Such collaboration now appears to be a long way off. Off-the-shelf sale and purchase do not build long-term partnerships. However, it must be stated that the Americans are not the only one to blame for the lack of progress on defence manufacturing. The US companies find it hard to collaborate with India’s DRDO ordnance factories and public sector undertakings due to bureaucratic stranglehold, decision-making delays, and work culture differences. They prefer to work with more efficient and profitable private sector. Despite several revisions of procurement procedures and off-setting policies, the Government of India has not been able to provide an even-playing field so far.

How does one see the current level of strategic partnership? It is clearly not a strategic alliance as many people tend to perceive. India cannot afford to compromise its strategic autonomy and let this partnership dilute strategic relations with other nations. It cannot allow the emergence of a situation when India is perceived as a hedge against China, or accept the US policy of ensuring peace between India and Pakistan through a “military balance”. In the present world order, a nation of India’s stature and potential has to play an independent role and cooperate or compete on issues with other nations, depending upon its national interests.

The Indo-US strategic partnership is still evolving. At present, it seems that political sensitivity, deep-seated distrust, bureaucratic and procedural hurdles and some short-sighted domestic policies in both countries are stalling this process.

The writer is a former Chief of Army Staff.

MIDDLE

Never give in
by Major-Gen R.S. Mehta

THERE he was, standing in the fog and mist outside the Cecil Oberoi, in Shimla, in his trekking shoes, Capris, rucksack, Spiderman watch, smart shades that matched his bright cap and mackintosh.

All of five years, little Krish was fuming. “Dadu”, he cried, a shadow crossing his innocent, handsome face. “You, had promised to take me for a real hike through a forest! This is just a walk in the rain!”

He was right. I had indeed promised him a real hike, but had reneged, seeing the overcast weather. I thought that the excitement of boarding the toy train at Shoghi, 12 km away, the tunnels and the dollops of icecream at the heritage Shimla railway station would distract him from trekking along slippery jungle trails, in the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.

Things went swimmingly till we reached the Cecil, helped in part by the tunnels, the lovely, dark and deep pine and cedar woods, wafers and giggly co-passenger school girls cuddling him.

Returning to Shoghi, Krish worked his way through some juicy purple plums. Wagging his little finger at me, he reminded me that he had wanted a real jungle trek where leopards and bears abounded, whom he could befriend with scrumptious chocolates and sandwiches.

His Sanawarian Dadi was delighted with his passion. “He’s taken after me”, she enthused, recalling her sporting talent that had put her name on the prized Spartan Club board at school and national athletic glory later. “Don’t let him down”, she commanded.

The day before he was to return to Chandigarh, Krish, in his smart togs and I, with my walking stick, entered a jungle trail off the Shimla highway. Crossing the railway track, we trekked uphill to a distant farmhouse. Some friendly girls there made much of our determined adventurer till he indignantly reminded them of his single point mission — trekking.

Off we went through thick “jungle” to another hilltop. I watched with growing respect as the precocious tyke, his angelic face ruddy with exertion, slogged unaided, his rucksack loaded with goodies; His mental attitude, rare in one so young, was infectious.

Tired, grandpa and grandson sat like bosom pals on the hilltop overlooking Shoghi, with Krishjit opening his chocolates carefully (Mama says don’t litter). “Dadu, if a leopard attacks us you handle him like Spiderman”, he intoned, using wet wipes on his chocolate smeared face. Suitably reassured, he demanded that we climb yet another hill.

It was there that feisty Krish saw yellow flowers growing wild and ordered his “pal” to help him collect “one each for Mama, Papa, Dadi, Nani, Cheeku Masi”, and, he added, patronisingly, “Dadu”.

Being ex Army, I followed my Napoleon’s commands implicitly.

“Dadijee! He yelled, as he bounded into her arms on trek completion.” You said: Never Give In! That’s what I did!”

Grabbing her cell, he called up his proud parents; then added Bow-Wow for Walter, his excited Alsatian. Indeed, son, you were strong; you never gave in.

OPED — AGRICULTURE

Organic agriculture and its prospects
The advantages of organic agriculture include sustained soil productivity, conservation of natural resources, increased employment opportunities, availability of healthy food and maintenance of healthy environment
Charanjit Singh Aulakh

Organic products for sale in the market

Preparation of compost by an organic grower

Organic agriculture is the fastest growing sector in agriculture with an annual increase of about 20 per cent in sales of organic products in the last decade. The area under it in India is on the continuous rise and India has achieved the first position in the world organic cotton production.

Organic agriculture in India has been a tradition rather than a new concept. Even today, the farmers in several parts of India are doing organic agriculture but without any knowledge of the term organic.

The resurgence of organic agriculture is backed by increased health consciousness and concern for environment. The increased awareness of consumers about pesticide contamination of food products and environmental concerns like high nitrate content of underground waters due to excessive use of nitrogenous fertilisers have resulted in a joint movement by the health conscious consumers and environmental groups in favour of organic agriculture.

As organic products cannot be differentiated from the conventional products, so it is the system of farming, certified by an inspection and certification agency, that makes the products of a farm organic. The word organic in organic agriculture is a process claim rather than a product claim.

Organic agriculture relies on crop rotations, green manures, organic manures, biofertilisers, composts and biological pest management for crop production, excluding or strictly limiting the use of synthetic fertilisers, chemical pesticides, plant growth regulators and livestock feed additives. Enhancing soil health is the cornerstone of organic agriculture.

The advantages of organic agriculture include sustained soil productivity, conservation of natural resources, increased employment opportunities, availability of healthy food and maintenance of healthy environment. This is associated with the higher net income to the farmer due to reduced external input costs and availability of price premium on organic products.

Organic agriculture itself does not require any certification but the organic food market demands certified organic products. The importance of certification becomes more important where the consumer is likely to pay a premium on organic produce.

The organic certification is not limited to the production of crops only but it encompasses the whole chain of processing, packaging, labeling and transportation.

The organic production area at the farm should be clearly inspectable from the conventional production with natural barriers or buffers. The seed of the crop to be sown under certified production programme should be from the previous organic crop and in case of nonavailability of organic seed, the chemically untreated seed from conventional crop can be used. Genetically modified crops like Bt cotton are not permitted under organic programme.

All the agricultutral inputs have been classified as prohibited, restricted and permitted. The major prohibited inputs include synthetic fertilisers, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, synthetic growth regulators, farmyard manure and poultry manure from commercial establishments and sewage and sludge effluent.

The major permitted inputs include farmyard manure, poultry manure and crop residues from the organic farm, green manure, pest management practices such as mechanical control devices, pheromone traps, soap containing plant fatty acids and potassium soap, pyrethrins, Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) spray, granulose virus preparation, gelatin and hydrolysed protein.

The restricted inputs, like farmyard manure from conventional farms, in organic agriculture are those inputs that can be used in a restricted manner with the prior permission of the certification agency.

The reduction in crop yield during the initial years of conversion from conventional agriculture to organic agriculture may occur but after a few years the yields get stabilised and similar yields as that with conventional system can be achieved if organic manures are applied on a regular basis. So the conversion of whole farm to organic should be done in a period of 5 to 10 years starting with 10 per cent area of the farm.

The limitations in adoption of organic agriculture include the competitive uses of farmyard manure like cowdung cakes as fuel, limited adoption of green manure due to its extra cost on its raising and nonavailability of water during crop growth, inconsistent performance of biofertilisers is a rule than an exception, nonavailability of quality bio- pesticides for pest and disease management, costly and complex certification procedure and lack of market infrastructure for organic produce with a price premium.

Contract farming having legal binding with super markets and multinational companies is a viable option to take care of two basic constraints of organic agriculture i.e. marketing and supply of quality organic inputs.

The issue of food security of India is no doubt vital but simultaneously the farmers should get the advantage of emerging global market of organic food to improve their socioeconomic condition. The demand of non-food organic products in the international market can be tapped without compromising the national food security. The non-food products in demand are cotton, spices and fruits and vegetables.

The major component of national food security comes from the about 35 per cent intensive high input rice-wheat based cropping system area of the country which should not be the priority area for organic agriculture in these crops. In this area, only those crops can be considered for organic agriculture, which require high organic manures even under the conventional system like mentha, turmeric, potato, onion, chillies and garlic and the crops which require very less nutrition like basmati rice.

In Punjab, rice/ basmati rice-wheat, maize/soybean-wheat, maize- durum wheat-cowpea (fodder), maize-potato-onion cropping systems and turmeic have been recommended for organic cultivation but the area under organic agriculture in Punjab has not increased noticeably due to the marketing problems and nonavailability of premium price.

The major prospects of organic farming in Punjab exist in organic cotton, basmti rice and kinnow, that also if contract organic farming is done. The possible areas of organic agriculture promotion in Punjab can be south-western districts of Punjab for organic cotton, the areas around Abohar and Hoshiarpur for kinnow and districts of Gurdaspur and Amritsar for basmati rice. The shift of these areas and crops under organic agriculture will have least effect on foodgrain production.

The diversification of area under rice in Punjab is a pre-requisite for conservation of soil health and underground water. The diversification of crops, adoption of conservation practices and prohibition of agrochemicals being the integral components of organic agriculture system will definitley contribute towards the conservation of our natural resources ie soil and water.

The writer is from the Department of Agronomy, PAU, Ludhiana

Personal health versus private wealth
Shalini

Himachal Pradesh is taking several steps towards developing its organic image. The State Government is supporting organic farming as one of the thrust areas. But is this encouraging healthy living or only encouraging private players and new untested technologies in the area? For the State and its people the challenge ahead is to make an organic movement in HP truly local, fair and green. That which ensures their health, the health of its local growers and traditional healers, as well as that of the planet.

This summer, Shimla hosted its first Organic Fair and Food Festival. It showcased Himachal's organic products, some farmer associations, and yet had stalls advertising private certifiers and company products. What really drew in the crowds, was an interesting array of local Himachali delicacies. The Kolth cutlets, Kinnauri Rajmah to Siddu Ghee, were reportedly made with organically produced ingredients. Most of us associate organic products as simply those that are chemical-free and without any toxic pesticide residues.

The real organic movement is the one that not only keeps the health of living beings but also ecological health, nurturing the diverse earth-friendly ways of farming. In the case of organic milk, it would mean that the animals have an organic diet and also have not been injected with synthetic hormones.

Likewise, in organic egg production the poultry is not only to be raised on organic feed, and fed with antibiotics only at the time of a disease, but also the birds are to have a cage-free environment with access to the natural environment rather than being locked in factory-like conditions.

This broader vision factors in not simply ecological concerns, but also social, ethical and political ones. With growing disparities we need socially sensitive food and farm systems for wealth redistribution amongst our farmers. The climate imperative too demands of us to relocalise our food systems so that we spend less energy resources on processing, packaging, storing, freezing and transporting food to people.

Supporting a local organic movement, thus helps support other causes. The Organic Farming Association of India (OFAI) comprising grassroots organic farmers' emphasises organic principles for local consumption. Likewise, the Navdanya network in Uttarakhand, effectively links organics with ecological security and food sovereignty. The Dalit women millet growers in Andhra, in their style of organic farming seek to bring due visibility to women farmers in particular and farmers in general. The Nanak Kheti kisaans of Punjab are amongst the nameless crusaders that embrace organic agriculture as a way of life after suffering the aftermath of chemical-intensive farming.

Thereby, these organic movements make a conscious choice against potentially hazardous seed technologies like genetic modification (GM), keeping the focus instead on farmer's seeds and biodiverse local knowhow.

GM seeds and even GM breeds are being pushed as the predominant 'science' of our times. GM agriculture cannot co-exist with organics. Organic farming is meant to be natural farming. GM products are firstly not natural, they are artificial constructs prepared in laboratories and given an unnatural genetic structure that they otherwise normally would not have. GM seeds sown in the open pose potential risk of uncontrollable genetic alteration of the natural environment.

HP's State Department of Agriculture's own brochure on Organic Farming defines it as an agricultural production system “which avoids or largely excludes...GMOs”.

Also, GM seeds still require the use of agrochemicals sold by the very same companies that market GM seeds. This locks local farmers into a seed-chemical dependency with inputs coming from the outside.

Moreover, as the President of the Ayurvedic Association of India explains, GM poses major issues for our environment and the Ayurvedic profession.

In Ayurveda around 14 varieties of herbs are used for medicinal preparation. Each one differs in its medicinal properties. Any intrusion in the basic (genetic) nature will alter the Rasa (taste), Guna (property), Veerya (potency), Vipaka (end taste) and Prabhava (synergetic property) of the drug.

So HP will need to address the growing risks to its organics. It will need to brace against possible GM contamination from neighbouring States like Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, where GM crops are either being grown or field tested. The choice to be made by the people in Himachal is - Organic FOR HP, or organics FROM Himachal with external inputs and headed for sale outside. The decision will be easy if the choice is for health. That will determine what brand of organics the government will support. Himachal needs to push a people's organics for the health of the State, not one that is private (and) limited.

The writer is a lawyer and works on trade, agriculture and biodiversity with a small global group called GRAIN. www.grain.org