|
|
Free at last!
G20 talk show |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Falling standards
Leaving a political party
What about your handwriting?
New Frontiers In Heart
Care
Dramatic increase
|
Free at last!
The army junta of Myanmar has not released Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi out of any noble motives. It is only a clever ploy to deflect attention from a sham election won by the army-backed party to hide behind a façade of democracy. Even otherwise, she was let off only at the very end of a totally illegal and unethical seven-year incarceration, without being given even a day's reprieve. She has been kept under house arrest for 15 of the past 21 years only to stifle the people's aspirations and their right to choose the government they want. The reins of power are firmly in the hands of the generals. The situation has not changed much since the time she was put behind bars after her National League for Democracy posted a landslide victory in 1990 and the generals refused to relinquish power. The point to ponder is whether she will be allowed to threaten their hold on power after these two decades. Democratic icon Suu Kyi is unlikely to accept any order banning her from political activity. Her lawyer Nyan Win says she will resume active politics and make organising tours throughout the country. Her party has been forced to disband because it refused to take part in the rigged elections, but it remains the strongest social force in Myanmar. What happens in the days to come will determine the course of history of the country. If the world stands by her, she can stand up to the army machine. Otherwise, while the army still retains its appetite to arrest her at will, the thugs backed by it have the potential to harm her physically. Seven years ago when she travelled through her country, she narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by one such band. Public support for her is phenomenal because people are inspired by her defiance. But her voice of protest should not be allowed to remain a cry in the wilderness. The whole world should forcefully join the chorus. |
|
G20 talk show
The G-20 talk show at Seoul has produced no substance, only some good intents and agreements no one is serious about. It has re-emphasised the obvious: the US writ no longer runs far. The US wanted China to loosen control over the yuan so that it did not get undue advantage in trade. China has not budged an inch from its known position and has just held out a vague assurance to "move toward market-determined exchange rates". The US itself is guilty of weakening its currency by printing more dollars, which flow to the emerging markets, harming the currencies and exports of fast-growing Brazil, South Korea, Russia and India. The second major issue at Seoul was of trade imbalances. Many nations are upset that China and Germany export their wares without doing anything to stimulate domestic demand. This means they should buy goods from other countries also so that their economies too pick up and the recovery becomes truly global. India has no major problems on these issues. Though a weak yuan hurts India's export competitiveness and inflows of the US dollar strengthen the rupee, denting exports, India by and large is not dependent on exports to keep up its growth momentum. Domestic demand itself is huge. Hence, India is not unduly worried about outcomes of such summits. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made three important observations at Seoul. He cautioned against "competitive devaluation" of currencies (by the US and China). He also apprised the G20 meet of dangers of "a resurgence of protectionism". Protectionism and currency devaluation both hit exports from other countries. Finally, he asked the rich nations to be prudent with debt. These were very sound and relevant observations. After Greece, Ireland and Portugal have debt problems and are giving jitters to world markets. In fact, mid-way during the summit worried European leaders huddled together to discuss Ireland's deepening debt crisis. So even after Seoul, currency wars will continue, trade imbalances will persist and heavily indebted nations will continue to threaten global financial institutions. It is life as usual. |
|
|
Falling standards
The Supreme Court's green signal to the President of India to remove the suspended Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) Chairman Mehar Singh Saini and other members for their failure to "maintain the required standards of integrity and rectitude in performance of their constitutional duties" is welcome, though belated. Its well considered response to the President's reference comes very late because six members of the HPSC have already retired and three others - Mr Saini and two members - are due to retire in a few weeks. Nonetheless, the Bench consisting of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice K.S. Panicker Radhakrishnan and Justice Swatanter Kumar not only examined the case comprehensively but also fixed accountability on the beleaguered members for their actions. Questions were raised on the fairness and selection process of these members by the Om Parkash Chautala government at the fag end of its tenure. However, soon after taking charge, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda reviewed their appointments, withdrew work from them and suspended them, pending investigation. The manner in which Mr Saini and others conducted themselves during the probe leaves much to be desired. The Bench has called their refusal to submit records to the authorities for investigation as an act of misbehaviour. And rightly, it called for their removal by the President as mandated by the Constitution. The Governor appoints them but can't remove them. This reflects the kind of autonomy that the framers bestowed on the PSC members to ensure proper and fair performance of its functions. The Bench ruled that the irregularities and acts of irresponsibility committed by them delineate their misbehaviour in terms of Article 317 (1) of the Constitution as it, certainly, lowers the dignity and prestige of the Constitution. The malaise in the state PSCs is so deep-rooted that it is not confined to Haryana alone. Almost all states, including Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are afflicted with this malady. The Chief Ministers want to pack these commissions with unworthy persons, oblivious of its consequences on the system. If Ravinder Sidhu created history as the Punjab PSC Chairman, the Kerala government's recommendation for appointment of a dismissed Central government employee as PSC member caused consternation and dismay. It would only be fair if the Union Public Service Commission - and not the Governors - is empowered to select meritorious persons with impeccable credentials to the
PSCs. |
|
|
Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual freedom.
— Albert Einstein |
Leaving a political party
Developments in Punjab, with the ouster of its Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal from the Cabinet and the Shiromani Akali Dal, withdrawal of support by 16 Karnataka MLAs to the ruling BJP, their consequential disqualification by the Speaker and its getting upheld by the state’s High Court have triggered a debate on the application of the anti-defection law. Earlier in August 2003 in UP 13 BSP MLAs, who formed a new party and shifted their support to Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party to oust Mayawati from the government followed by 24 other MLAs, had to suffer disqualification following a judgment of the Supreme Court. The Speaker had recognised the split under the then existing provisions and refused to disqualify those members. The anti-defection law came into existence in 1985 as a result of frequent defections by individual members generally known as the Aya Ram Gaya Ram factor. Articles 102 and 191 of the Constitution of India were amended so as to provide that a person shall be disqualified for being a member of either House of Parliament or the Legislative Assembly of a state if he is disqualified under the Tenth Schedule, which too was added by way of the 52nd Amendment of the Constitution. The Tenth Schedule exhaustively and strenuously prohibited defection by any member of Parliament or a Legislative Assembly having been elected on a symbol allotted by a political party, except by way of a split by at least one-third of the members of such House or by an independent member joining a political party. In 2003 a major change took place in the anti-defection law (The Tenth Schedule). Dinesh Goswami, Chairman of the Committee on Electoral Reforms, as well as the Law Commission in its 170th report recommended that Paragraph 3 of the Tenth Schedule, allowing defection on the basis of a split by one-third members of a political party encourages bulk defection while individual defections are discouraged and not allowed. As a result, the 91st amendment of the Constitution was made in 2003 which came into effect on January 1, 2004. The amended provisions disallowed defection by any number of members by way of a split. The provisions in the Tenth Schedule have been redefined. A split is not allowed now by any number of members. However, merger of two political parties is permitted which does not attract any disqualification. After deleting Paragraph 3, regarding split, the Tenth Schedule retains the provision regarding the merger of political parties. It provides that “a member of a House shall not be disqualified under Sub Paragraph (1) of Paragraph 2 where his original political party merges with another political party and he claims that he and any other member of his original political party-(a) have become members of such other political party or as the case may be, of a new political party formed by such merger”. And if those who have not accepted the merger and opted to function as a separate group, then from the time of such merger they shall be deemed to belong to the political party they originally came from. The merger of the original political party of a member of a House shall be deemed to have taken place if and only if not less than two-thirds of the members of the legislative party concerned have agreed to such merger. The law provides the definition of “legislature party” and “original political party”. There is a difference between the two. “Legislature party” means a group consisting of all the members of that House for the time being belonging to that political party in accordance with the said provision. “Original political party” means “the political party to which he belongs and which party set him up as a candidate for election as such member”. “Paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule provides that a member of a House belonging to any political party shall be disqualified for being a member of the House (a) if he has voluntarily given up his membership of such political party; or (b) if he votes or abstained from voting in such House contrary to any direction issued by the political party to which he belongs or any person or authority authorised by it in this behalf without obtaining, in either House, the prior permission of such political party, person or authority and such voting or abstention has not been condoned by such political party.” There is an exception to this provision in the case of a Speaker. It is open for the member of a political party, if he is elected as a Speaker, to resign from the membership of the party. He incurs no disqualification. He can join his political party after he ceases to be Speaker. In case he opts to retain the membership of the party while being a Speaker, he will then be bound by the party discipline in the Assembly and in the event he has to cast his vote, he has to abide by the direction or the whip issued by the party. Jagjit Singh and Karan Singh Dalal having been elected to the Haryana Legislative Assembly, as lone elected members of their respective political party, the Democratic Dal Haryana and the Republican Party, having allegedly supported the Congress(I), attracted the wrath of the Speaker who, exercising the powers under the Tenth Schedule, disqualified them for being members of the House for alleged defection. Their plea was that they being the lone member constituted 100 per cent than the one-third required majority for a split. The Supreme Court disagreed with their viewpoint on the ground that the rule of one-third split did not apply to a single-member Legislature Party. In Jagjit Singh’s case the question arose as to the independent character of an independent member of the House. The Supreme Court held that “giving outside support by an independent elected member is not the same thing as joining another political party after election. To find out whether an independent member has extended only outside support or, in fact, has joined a political party, materials available and also the conduct of the member are to be examined by the Speaker. It may be possible in a given situation for a Speaker to draw an inference that an independent member of the assembly has joined a political party”. Accepting a portfolio as minister or as Parliamentary Secretary is a material for the Speaker to come to a conclusion whether an independent candidate has lost his independent character and suffered a disqualification under the Tenth Schedule. The position of a member of the House expelled from a political party, as to his role, position and rights as a member of the House is a subject of controversy. Paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule provides that a member suffers disqualification if he voluntarily gives up his membership of such a political party or votes or abstains from voting in such House contrary to any direction issued by the political party to which he belongs. Expulsion from membership is not voluntary giving up membership. It is different from resignation. The question arises whether he incurs disqualification. The Supreme Court of India in G.Viswanathan versus Speaker Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly (AIR 1996 SC 1060) has held, “If a person belonging to a political party that had set him up as a candidate gets elected to the House and thereafter joins another political party for whatever reason, either because of his expulsion from the party or otherwise, he voluntarily gives up his membership of the political party and incurs the disqualification. Even if he is treated as an ‘unattached’ member in the House. It is a matter of mere convenience. It is outside the Tenth Schedule. The Supreme Court observed, “We are, therefore, of the opinion that the deeming fiction must be given full effect for otherwise the expelled member would escape the rigour of the law which was intended to curb the evil of defections which had polluted our democratic polity.” The controversy has again been taken to the Supreme Court by Amar Singh expelled from the Samajwadi Party. The role of the Speaker, acting in extraordinary haste or sleeping over the matter, or his arbitrary conduct in denying the member due opportunity of being heard, or not to allow him to look into the record or produce his defence, has also been a point of controversy before the Supreme Court in Jagjit Singh’s case. Besides the statutory finality attached to the powers of the Speaker in the matter, in case of violation of principles of natural justice, or the rule of law, any order speaking of arbitrariness passed by the Speaker has to be held as void ab initio. The debate is continuing at the national level as it is a matter of concern for every citizen of the country. It attracts their attention and
involvement. The writer is an advocate of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh |
||
What about your handwriting?
Mrs G K Singh was the first one to make valiant attempts to sort out my problems with spelling. She was our English teacher in Yadavindra Public School, Patiala. I got the place of honour in her class, right in the front, so that she could keep a better eye on this "outsider" who had just joined. I managed to keep my head above water, since at this school, they did not insist that I write with my right hand, something I had found difficult to do when I studied in a convent school in Chandigarh, where the nuns forced us to "take the right path," till my mother intervened. However, by that time I had developed the skill to be ambidextrous, right hand for the class and left for homework. The result was handwriting that was truly atrocious. Later, Mr Christopher Duffy, a US Peace Corps volunteer who taught at YPS, took our class. He spotted something that had evaded everyone's gaze, a sliver of talent in yours truly. He encouraged me to read more, and write. He did not react as much to my handwriting, which at that time I attributed to his goodness. Only much later did I see the handwriting of my American friends and colleagues-they surely made me feel much, much better about my scribble. Particularly pleased with my work one time, Mr Duffy declared that I could be a writer one day. Of course, I didn't believe him at all, but a seed was planted. I told my parents about what he said, and soon I was being encouraged to write more. My father offered to pay me a rupee a page for every short story that I wrote, in Punjabi, his language of choice. Mother matched the offer in English, and thus came the only period when I truly felt that I could get rich through writing. Mr Duffy left school, having introduced us to baseball and kindled our minds. Other language teachers followed, notably Mr Sadhu Singh Deol in English and Mrs Darshan Bakshish Singh in Punjabi. Writing became much a part of life, even as I took Philosophy Honours in college. Interestingly, Mr Deol called me "Philosopher" when I was his student in YPS! In college too, my teachers were intensely involved in the way thoughts were communicated through the spoken and written words. Dr R K Gupta, then Head of Department of Philosophy at St Stephen's College, Delhi, was rigorous in his examination of the tutorials submitted to him. Dr Ashok Vohra made me rewrite a tutorial many times till I got it right, and Dr Vijay Tankha exposed my mind to much more than the subject at hand. After college, I went to New York and when I wrote to Dr Gupta to inform him that I was working as a journalist, he wrote back: "But Roopinder, what will you do about your handwriting and spelling?" Pat went the reply: "Sir, I have found a solution to both: a
computer." |
||
New Frontiers In Heart Care Getting people to adopt a healthy lifestyle is a challenge which requires a sustained action from various sections of the society, including government policies and awareness campaign by the media. These would involve population based strategies for our masses and individualised strategies for high risk individuals. Since there is a continuum of risk associated with CVD risk factors, a mass change will result in a significant benefit for the society, thought the individual benefit may be small. On the other hand, the individualised approach identifies persons with the highest risk of disease or existing disease. Here, targeted interventions result in significant individual benefit but smaller overall benefit to the society. Both strategies are important and need to be applied together. Population-based approaches consisting of a ban on tobacco advertising and promotion and banning smoking in public places along with a rise in taxes on tobacco based products have reduced tobacco use significantly. Policy interventions are needed to enhance the supply of healthier food choices by increasing their availability and reducing the prices and curtailing the availability of unhealthy food. Unfortunately today, the high fat fast foods are much cheaper than fruits, vegetable, whole grains and pulses. This coupled with aggressive marketing in the media promotes unhealthy eating habits which increase high cholesterol and obesity. For high risk individuals implementation of an essential drug policy to control the prices of related drugs would lead to better adherence to drug therapy and risk factor management especially in low income group. In certain high risk individuals it is important to detect the onset of disease at the earliest possible stage so that aggressive preventive steps may be taken Conventional investigations do detect asymptomatic coronary artery disease, but only when the obstruction is already about 70% . The 256-slice coronary CT Angio is a powerful new diagnostic stool which can detect the deposition of cholesterol in the walls of the blood vessels even before it has caused any obstruction in the lumen of the vessel. In expert hands it is truly a valuable tool and the radiation dose is far less than that given by the usual 64 slice CT scanners. Latest generation of 3-D and 4-D Echo machines give very accurate information of the defects in the heart giving the surgeons vital pre operative information. For those patients with established coronary artery disease, coronary angiography helps us choose an appropriate line of treatment- medical, PTCA or surgery. In all these 3 arms, new drugs, devices and techniques are being developed to make the treatment and procedures more effective, safer and less invasive. Certain new statins have been shown not only to halt the progression of disease but also cause some regression. New stents are being developed to further reduce the chances of reblockage of the arteries, including some stents which get dissolved automatically in six months. Important advances in surgical field consist of Heart Port surgery and Robotic surgery available in a few specialised centres, in which the incision is very small, resulting in much less discomfort to the patient and a quick recovery. It may also enable a surgeon sitting in another city to operate upon a patient! Percutaneous valve replacements are a reality now, in which damaged heart valves can be replaced without opening the chest of a patient. There are a large number of patients which were earlier considered to "No Hopers" as the disease was considered to be too advanced and heart muscle too damaged to be salvageable by the conventional diagnostic techniques. New diagnostic modalities like PET scanners have helped us identify patients who still have viable heart muscle which can be saved. In these individuals, restoration of blood supply to the heart by angioplasty or bypass surgery can yield dramatic benefits. For patients with extensive damage to the heart muscle, referred to as "Heart Failure" in medical terms, there are certain new pacemakers which can result in improvement in quality of life and longevity in carefully selected cases. Also, in individuals at risk of sudden death due to disorders of the heart rhythm, small implanted devices called ICDs can automatically detect these potentially fatal disorders and correct them by giving a small shock. Heart transplant remains the final method of treatment for many patients where there is no other choice. There are obvious difficulties in offering this to the large number who require it. Availability of donor hearts, infrastructure and technical expertise are the main limiting factors, but a few centres in our country have started offering this service. Finally, there are the exciting new fields of Stem Cell Therapy and tissue engineering. Their potential applications are diverse and consist of attempts to regenerate new heart muscle and new blood vessels to help patients with severely damaged hearts and inoperable blood vessels. There are also attempts being made to grow new valves for replacement of damaged heart valves. Genetic mapping will help us tailor therapies for an individual rather than applying the same set of treatments for everyone. All in all, the next couple of decades are likely to witness emergence of novel therapies and a paradigm shift in the way we have been treating our patients. The writer is Chairman and Managing Director, Medanta — THE Medicity, Sector 38, Gurgaon |
|
Cardio-vascular disease prevalence in India has risen four-fold in the past four decades. Expected to be the leading cause of death and disability by 2020, CVD already causes 29 per cent of all deaths in the country. "Indians are succumbing to heart disease and stroke in the most productive years of their lives; about a decade earlier than their western counterparts," says Dr KS Reddy, Chair of the World Heart Federation Foundations' Advisory Board and President of the Public Health Foundation of India. In India, CVD victims are often the sole breadwinner of a large family. Most healthcare costs are covered out of pocket and hospitalisations drive many families into poverty. According to the World Health Organisation, lost productivity due to premature deaths and disability cost India $ 9 billion in 2005, a loss projected to amount to $237 billion by 2015. This is one of the reasons why a risk factor surveillance and risk reduction programme was initiated in 10 Indian industries in 2001. "Cardiovascular and other chronic diseases threaten to undermine our health, our wellbeing, and our economic growth. Both the government and the business community are waking up to this threat." Dr Reddy concluded. A new survey among 60,000 Indians shows that one in four Indians has higher than usual levels of low-density lipoproteins, which is better known as bad cholesterol that leads to development of plaque on the arterial walls. "Urban Indian population has high levels of LDL (24.3% of those surveyed), triglycerides (or TGL at 28.7) and low levels of good cholesterol (or HDL at 17.7)," said the survey. Moreover, residents of Bangalore are among the unhealthiest as far as lipids are concerned along with Chandigarh and Delhi. Mumbai and Hyderabad are mainly fence-sitters, with Kolkata has emerged as the city for people with the healthiest hearts in India. According to Dr Shashank Joshi, editor emeritus of JAPI (Journal of Association of Physicians of India), the survey's results show the hidden burden of dyslipidemia in India. "Dyslipidemia (or improper lipid levels) is the invisible disease, but it is the most prominent marker for heart disease," he said. Indians have unhealthy levels of lipids because of urbanised diets and sedentary lifestyles, he said. |
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
C
There are six important risk factors which can be modified to decrease the disease burden in our society. These are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, overweight, physical inactivity, tobacco use and low intake of fruits and vegetables. Addressing these can have a major impact and reducing the global burden of the disease, a fact which is recognized but has not been addressed. 