The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Corrections and clarifications

n The headline “Livestock event thronged on opening day in Ferozepur” (Page 4, November 8) is inappropriate. It could have been “Ferozepur livestock event attracts many entries”.

n In the headline “Rash of thefts, robberies hits city” (Page 1, November 8, Chandigarh Tribune), the word ‘rash’ is inappropriate. Instead ‘spate’ would have been better.

n The headline “President Obama hardsells the US” (Page 1, November 7) is not borne out by the report which records the various deals signed without dwelling on how the deals were struck.

n The photo caption “A porter carries official files from the civil Secretariat...” (Page 6, October 31) has wrongly identified the load as files. It is actually a photostat machine.

Despite our earnest endeavour to keep The Tribune error-free, some errors do creep in at times. We are always eager to correct them.

This column appears twice a week — every Tuesday and Friday. We request our readers to write or e-mail to us whenever they find any error.

Readers in such cases can write to Mr Kamlendra Kanwar, Senior Associate Editor, The Tribune, Chandigarh, with the word “Corrections” on the envelope. His e-mail ID is kanwar@tribunemail.com.

Raj Chengappa
Editor-in-Chief

ARTICLE

Profligacy of Punjabis
More on sustenance, less on substance
by Kuldip Nayar

A PUNJABI is known for living beyond his means. He may beg, borrow or steal, but he wants his reputation, however exaggerated, to stay. When it comes to the government in the two Punjabs, east and west, they are profligate. They spend less on substance and more on sustenance of prestige. That both societies are losing their culture — and their mother tongue, Punjabi — does not bother them because they sincerely believe that what comes from elsewhere, especially phoren, is worth cherishing. And it is peculiar to both Punjabs that they are saturated in corruption. There is no tier of government, from top to bottom, which is without the taint of graft.

Survey after survey shows the two Punjabs have come down in the standard of living which they used to enjoy even a decade ago. The burden of loan has gone up and their income in real terms has come down. The number of poor has increased and so wide is educated unemployment that even a post of peon has very qualified people as applicants. Petty politics takes most of the time of those people in power or in the opposition. And, believe me, they do not stop hitting below the belt.

Yet if the Punjabis were to preserve the fundamental values of a democratic society each one of them-whether a public functionary or a private citizen-would have to display a degree of vigilance and willingness to sacrifice. Without the awareness of what is right and a desire to act according to what is right, there may be no realisation of what is wrong. Over the years, for many Punjabis, the dividing line between right and wrong, moral and immoral, has ceased to exist.

On our side of Punjab, a debate has begun, with the resignation of Finance Minister Manpreet Singh, on the state’s capacity to spend when the Centre’s debt runs into hundreds of crores of rupees. He has pointed out that the state goes on spending on subsidies and wasteful activities, and has not tried to balance the budget despite his warnings to the Cabinet and the Chief Minister. It goes without saying that the loan from the Centre to the state is probably highest in the country and it has to be reduced because the interest on the loan runs into crores of rupees.

The issue of overspending or subsidies is a matter of serious discussion and concern. But, unfortunately, the whole thing has been overshadowed by the blood relationship. Manpreet Singh is a nephew of Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and cousin of Sukbir Singh Badal, the Chief Minister’s son and Deputy Chief Minister.

Had this been a quarrel for succession it would have been understandable. Manpreet Singh has said many a time that he has accepted Sukhbir as his leader. Therefore, the inference is that Manpreet Singh has been rightly pointing his finger at the government’s increasing expenditure and the falling income. Whether extraneous considerations, like the family differences, have aggravated the situation is difficult to say. Both have avoided washing dirty linen in public.

Regarding fiscal matters, it is always difficult to balance expenditure and income. Most states in India face a similar situation. But where Punjab differs from the others is the lack of effort to narrow the gap. The reason again is the ineluctable politics. The Chief Minister and his deputy believe that lessening subsidies would cut into their following and hence votes. Manpreet Singh, on the other hand, says that there is no option to cutting subsidies. I wish politics had been kept out of financial matters. But in today’s scenario when a list of voters has more value than a balance sheet, anything that gives electoral advantage has the last word.

Subsidies like free water or free electricity are the sinews of a backward, agriculture economy. But is Punjab really backward? Even if one were to avoid this debate, are the subsidies going to the right quarters? Rich farmers have fattened themselves on free power and free water. In fact, the Akali Dal, which once had a massive following of the Sikh peasantry, is now an organization of kulaks. The landless are fed on religious slogans which the Akali-controlled gurdwaras proliferate.

By turning out Manpreet Singh from the party, the Akalis have proved that anyone hurling a challenge to the party’s sacred cows has no place in it. He has done well in not considering the Congress as an alternative because the latter has come to be headed by a maharaja to deliver the goods. This indicates how both the Congress and the Akalis have distanced themselves form the common man, the first depending on the affluence in urban areas and the second on the wealth of rich farmers.

Come to think of it, the Punjabis on either side of the border are essentially feudal in their thinking. They believe in the cult of command and obedience. They have to have the poor because these people provide leaders their followers and hangers on. The gurdwaras on this side and the mosques on the other are a recruiting ground to rope in the gullible and the innocent.

Punjab needs a party based on the Punjabi ethos and Punjabi pride. The educated employment-a challenge before the state — cannot be managed either by the Akalis or the Congress. Nor can poverty be eradicated. Badal’s defence of subsidies would be credible if he were to withdraw them from the haves. Manpreet Singh would have gone down better if he had realised during his tenure that the amelioration of the landless was more important than quoting Karl Marx to prove his radical ideas. Real life is different from dialectical materialism.

The Punjab leadership is too jaded, their programme too pedestrian and their ideas too hackneyed. The tragedy of both Punjabs is that their eyes are fixed on foreign lands and their bodies are too accustomed to the drugs they consume. They are selling even the family’s heirloom and whatever is left of the land to buy a visa or the drug.

The jolt Akali party received following Manpreet Singh’s exit is too small. But it is a warning to it — more so to Punjab — that unless it deals with the economic matters in a systematic and scientific manner, it is bound to go down because politics can give votes but not the kind of development which the state badly needs.

MIDDLE

G-5 meet
by V.S. Chaudhri

WE are a group of five retired officers. We fondly call it G-5. One of us is from the I.A.S, another from the I.P.S; two are chief engineers and one a state civil service officer.

We meet once a fortnight with our spouses at the house of one of the members, by turn.

We have an unwritten rule that nobody will serve more than biscuits and tea in the meeting. This is partly to avoid intake of saturated fats which is injurious to health at our age and partly to keep the lady of the house out of the kitchen and share our august company.

We discuss all subjects under the sun in the meeting. The topics are as varied as the ways of the housemaids, adultertion in foodstuffs, corruption, the Commonwealth Games, match fixing and deteriorating moral values in the younger generation. Everything under the sky comes under our scanner during the short period of about two hours. We enjoy full freedom of speech and expression in this session.

In our last meeting, we hit upon the idea of how greedy and hungry we have become. There was unanimity on the point that everybody wanted to enjoy power, pelf and recognition till the last breath of his life and perhaps thereafter, too, if one could help.

We started with our own tribe. A bureaucrat is a creature whose insatiable hunger is never satisfied. He wants to remain glued to the chair till the last minute and second of the hour on the date of his retirement.

As the retirement date approaches, he is on the lookout for a suitable job where he can fit in. Chief Secretaries start lobbying for being appointed as Governors or chairmen of some board, authority or corporation having the status of a minister. We counted on our fingers and came to the conclusion that no senior officer who retired during the last 10 years remained unemployed after superannuation.

Salaries were never so good as today and corruption never so rampant! It is unfortunate.

Same is the case with members of the higher judiciary. They are chartered as Commission of lnquiry if not anything better. There is no dearth of ghotalas, ghaplas and hungamas in the country.

We also talked about the politicians. Despite the fact that more than 60 per cent of the M.Ps in the present Lok Sabha are crorepatis and each M.P costs the exchequer around Rs 5 lakh per month they are crazy about hike in their salary by a few thousand rupees. They forget that they have ‘income from other sources’ also in addition to what they get in the form of tax-free pay and perks.

Strange enough, their ambition is not confined to the material world alone! Every politician wants to die in harness so that his body is wrapped in Tricolour and he is given a gun salute at the funeral.

Now time being up, we congratulated ourselves for having retired at the right time and chanted ‘Mera Desh Mahan’ in chorus before dispersal.

OPED DOCUMENT

‘Pak terrorist safe havens unacceptable’

US President Barack Obama shares a laugh with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar at the Parliament House in New Delhi on Monday. — AFP

Excerpts from US President Obama’s address to MPs of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha:

Mr. Vice President, Madame Speaker, Mr. Prime Minister, Members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and most of all, the people of India.

I thank you for the great honor of addressing the representatives of more than one billion Indians and the world's largest democracy. I bring the greetings and friendship of the world's oldest democracy-the U.S.A, including nearly three million proud and patriotic Indian Americans.

I am not the first American president to visit India. Nor will I be the last. But I am proud to visit India so early in my presidency. It is no coincidence that India is my first stop on a visit to Asia, or that this has been my longest visit to another country since becoming President.

For in Asia and around the world, India is not simply emerging; India has already emerged. And it is my firm belief that the relationship between the United States and India-bound by our shared interests and values-will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century. This is the partnership I have come here to build. This is the vision that our nations can realize together.

For me and Michelle, this visit has therefore held special meaning. Throughout my life, including my work as a young man on behalf of the urban poor, I have always found inspiration in the life of Gandhiji and in his simple and profound lesson to be the change we seek in the world. And just as he summoned Indians to seek their destiny, he influenced champions of equality in my own country, including a young Martin Luther King. After making his pilgrimage to India a half century ago, Dr. King called Gandhi's philosophy of non-violent resistance "the only logical and moral approach" in the struggle for justice and progress.

Just as India has changed, so too has the relationship between our two nations. In the decades after independence, India advanced its interests as a proud leader of the nonaligned movement. Yet too often, the United States and India found ourselves on opposite sides of a North-South divide and estranged by a long Cold War. Those days are over.

Now, India is not the only emerging power in the world. But the relationship between our countries is unique. For we are two strong democracies whose constitutions begin with the same revolutionary words-"We the people." We are two great Republics dedicated to the liberty, justice and the equality of all people. And we are two free market economies where people have the freedom to pursue ideas and innovations that can change the world. This is why I believe that India and America are indispensable partners in meeting the challenges of our time.

In short, with India assuming its rightful place in the world, we have an historic opportunity to make the relationship between our two countries a defining partnership of the century ahead. And I believe we can do so by working together in three important areas.

First, as global partners we can promote prosperity in both our countries. Together, we can create the high-tech, high-wage jobs of the future. With my visit, we are now ready to begin implementing our civil nuclear agreement. This will help meet India's growing energy needs and create thousands of jobs in both our countries.

We need to forge partnerships in high-tech sectors like defense and civil space. So we have removed Indian organizations from our so-called "entity list." And we'll work to reform our controls on exports. Both of these steps will ensure that Indian companies seeking high-tech trade and technologies from America are treated the same as our closest allies and partners.

We can pursue joint research and development to create green jobs; give Indians more access to cleaner, affordable energy; meet the commitments we made at Copenhagen; and show the possibilities of low-carbon growth.

Together, we can resist the protectionism that stifles growth and innovation. The United States remains-and will continue to remain-one of the most open economies in the world. And by opening markets and reducing barriers to foreign investment, India can realize its full economic potential as well. As G20 partners, we can make sure the global economic recovery is strong and durable. And we can keep striving for a Doha Round that is ambitious and balanced-with the courage to make the compromises that are necessary so global trade works for all economies.

Together, we can strengthen agriculture. Cooperation between Indian and American researchers and scientists sparked the Green Revolution. Today, India is a leader in using technology to empower farmers, like those I met yesterday who get free updates on market and weather conditions on their cell phones. And the United States is a leader in agricultural productivity and research. Now, as farmers and rural areas face the effects of climate change and drought, we'll work together to spark a second, more sustainable Evergreen Revolution.

Together, we're going to improve Indian weather forecasting systems before the next monsoon season. We aim to help millions of Indian farming households save water and increase productivity; improve food processing so crops don't spoil on the way to market; and enhance climate and crop forecasting to avoid losses that cripple communities and drive up food prices.

And as part of our food security initiative, we're going to share India's expertise with farmers in Africa. This is an indication of India's rise-that we can now export hard-earned expertise to countries that see India as a model for agricultural development. And that's another powerful example of how American and Indian partnership can address an urgent global challenge.

Because the wealth of a nation also depends on the health of its people, we'll continue to support India's efforts against diseases like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, and as global partners, we'll work to improve global health by preventing the spread of pandemic flu. And because knowledge is the currency of the 21st century, we'll increase exchanges between our students, colleges and universities, which are among the best in the world.

As we work to advance our shared prosperity, we can partner to address a second priority-our shared security. In Mumbai, I met with the courageous families and survivors of that barbaric attack. And here in this Parliament, which was itself targeted because of the democracy it represents, we honor the memory of all those who have been taken from us, including American citizens on 26/11 and Indian citizens on 9/11.

This is the bond we share. It's why we insist that nothing ever justifies the slaughter of innocent men, women and children. It's why we're working together, more closely than ever, to prevent terrorist attacks and to deepen our cooperation even further. And it's why, as strong and resilient societies, we refuse to live in fear, we will not sacrifice the values and rule of law that defines us, and we will never waver in the defense of our people.

Our strategy to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates has to succeed on both sides of the border. That is why we have worked with the Pakistani government to address the threat of terrorist networks in the border region. The Pakistani government increasingly recognizes that these networks are not just a threat outside of Pakistan-they are a threat to the Pakistani people, who have suffered greatly at the hands of violent extremists.

And we will continue to insist to Pakistan's leaders that terrorist safe-havens within their borders are unacceptable, and that the terrorists behind the Mumbai attacks be brought to justice. We must also recognize that all of us have and interest in both an Afghanistan and a Pakistan that is stable, prosperous and democratic-and none more so than India.

In pursuit of regional security, we will continue to welcome dialogue between India and Pakistan, even as we recognize that disputes between your two countries can only be resolved by the people of your two countries.

More broadly, India and the United States can partner in Asia. Today, the United States is once again playing a leadership role in Asia-strengthening old alliances; deepening relationships, as we are doing with China; and we're reengaging with regional organizations like ASEAN and joining the East Asia summit-organizations in which India is also a partner. Like your neighbors in Southeast Asia, we want India to not only "look East," we want India to "engage East"-because it will increase the security and prosperity of all our nations.

And as two global leaders, the United States and India can partner for global security-especially as India serves on the Security Council over the next two years. Indeed, the just and sustainable international order that America seeks includes a United Nations that is efficient, effective, credible and legitimate. That is why I can say today-in the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed U.N. Security Council that includes India as a permanent member.

Now, let me suggest that with increased power comes increased responsibility. The United Nations exists to fulfill its founding ideals of preserving peace and security, promoting global cooperation, and advancing human rights. These are the responsibilities of all nations, but especially those that seek to lead in the 21st century. And so we look forward to working with India-and other nations that aspire to Security Council membership-to ensure that the Security Council is effective; that resolutions are implemented and sanctions enforced; and that we strengthen the international norms which recognize the rights and responsibilities of all nations and individuals.

This includes our responsibility to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. Since I took office, the United States has reduced the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy, and agreed with Russia to reduce our arsenals. We have put preventing nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism at the top of our nuclear agenda, and strengthened the cornerstone of the global non-proliferation regime-the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Together, the United States and India can pursue our goal of securing the world's vulnerable nuclear materials. We can make it clear that even as every nation has the right to peaceful nuclear energy, every nation must also meet its international obligations-and that includes the Islamic Republic of Iran. And together, we can pursue a vision that Indian leaders have espoused since independence-a world without nuclear weapons.

This leads me to the final area where our countries can partner-strengthening the foundations of democratic governance, not only at home but abroad.

Every country will follow its own path. No one nation has a monopoly on wisdom, and no nation should ever try to impose its values on another. But when peaceful democratic movements are suppressed-as in Burma-then the democracies of the world cannot remain silent. For it is unacceptable to gun down peaceful protestors and incarcerate political prisoners decade after decade. It is unacceptable to hold the aspirations of an entire people hostage to the greed and paranoia of a bankrupt regime. It is unacceptable to steal an election, as the regime in Burma has done again for all the world to see.

Faced with such gross violations of human rights, it is the responsibility of the international community-especially leaders like the United States and India-to condemn it. If I can be frank, in international fora, India has often avoided these issues. But speaking up for those who cannot do so for themselves is not interfering in the affairs of other countries. It's not violating the rights of sovereign nations. It's staying true to our democratic principles. It's giving meaning to the human rights that we say are universal. And it sustains the progress that in Asia and around the world has helped turn dictatorships into democracies and ultimately increased our security in the world.

This is the story of India; it's the story of America-that despite their differences, people can see themselves in one another, and work together and succeed together as one proud nation. And it can be the spirit of the partnership between our nations-that even as we honor the histories which in different times kept us apart, even as we preserve what makes us unique in a globalized world, we can recognize how much we can achieve together.

And if we let this simple concept be our guide, if we pursue the vision I have described today-a global partnership to meet global challenges-then I have no doubt that future generations-Indians and Americans-will live in a world that is more prosperous, more secure, and more just because of the bonds that our generation forged today.

Thank you, Jai Hind!, and long live the partnership between India and the United States.