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A bad loser
Geriatric care |
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Band baaja baraat
Growing ties with Thailand
On being called “ustaad”
Politics over hanging
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A bad loser
So
sure was the Congress of its electoral win in Punjab that defeat in the assembly elections has come as a rude shock. The unexpected knockout has brought out the worst in the top party leaders. They have proved to be incapable of accepting defeat gracefully. Factionalism has always been the bane of the Congress in Punjab but the lure of power and fear of disciplinary action from Delhi kept them united. The party’s national leadership has remained a mute spectator to the ugly goings-on in the Punjab unit for too long. A three-member committee under A.K.Antony formed to bring order in the chaotic party affairs in Punjab does not inspire much hope. Antony’s first priority will be to clear the mess in his Defence Ministry. As the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president and chief ministerial candidate, Capt Amarinder Singh was quick to take moral responsibility for the defeat. But this did not satisfy his rivals. Whispers about his inaccessibility and style of functioning turned into shouts for his removal as the PPCC chief when the Captain blamed five senior colleagues for the party’s poor performance. His most vocal critic and a contender for the Chief Minister’s post, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, hinted at the misuse of some Rs 500 crore collected as party funds. Her replacement as the leader of the party’s legislative wing by Sunil Jakhar must have left her bitter. At a tea party held by Capt Amrinder Singh for his party colleagues only four of the 70 leaders present aired their differences. This shows the Captain is very much in command. It is time the Congress leaders stopped squabbling and sorted out their differences like grown-ups. The next electoral battle is due in 2014. Running a government with an empty treasury is no easy task for the Akali-BJP coalition, which is bound to make mistakes. The Congress can win back public support by acting as a responsible Opposition and drawing public attention to acts of omission or commission by the ruling alliance.
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Geriatric care
Better late than never. The country has finally woken up to the needs of the country's aged. The realisation has dawned upon planners only after receiving a jolt through demographic statistics. By an estimate, people in the 60-plus age group are expected to be 100 million by 2013 and 198 million by 2030. At this rate, India will soon become home to the second largest population of elders in the world, who will need specialised doctors and trained paramedical staff to take care of special needs of the geriatrics. Strangely, till a year back, no medical college in India offered MD degree in geriatrics. Hence, hospitals do not have special geriatric wards, nor do they have specialists trained in medicine and surgery for the elderly. In 2010, for the first time, the National Programme for the Health Care of the Elderly (NPHCE) came up with a scheme for the preventive, curative and rehabilitative support of the aged. Under this programme, eight regional institutes were told to start geriatric courses and all medical colleges were told to have two extra post graduate seats for MD in geriatrics. Some regional geriatric centres were also opened. But, this exercise looked good only on paper, for the implementation of these lofty plans, the country neither has the faculty to produce MDs in geriatrics nor the expertise to handle such a vast population with special needs. Since family support is on the decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s are growing like an epidemic, specialised geriatric care is needed more than ever before. Now the Ministry of Human Resource Development has signed a formal contract with Tata Institute of Social Sciences to train a cadre of professionals in five social fields; that also includes geriatric care. If this programme succeeds, it will be a win-win situation for about 12.1 million young who need skills to get employed and the elderly who need to be looked after. If only the plan could turn into practice.
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Band baaja baraat
When I celebrate, the world must know,
is a common refrain, especially during big fat Indian weddings. This
is the time when purse strings, normally those of the bride-to-be’s
family, are loosened and reserves dipped into to provide all those who
attend the wedding, or hear about it, a rich, no-expenses-spared
experience. Those who can do it all, a plane to shower petals, a
helicopter to whisk in the groom and fly out the couple, expensive
gifts, a hundred plus dishes of different cuisines for the guests, a
BMW each for the main relatives, all this has been done and more. Of
course, liquor must flow like water, single malt and scotch preferred,
and festivities, dance music all must go on, and on, and on. Now,
here is a trendsetter — the panchayat of Padha village in Karnal
district of Haryana, which has decided that a celebration cannot be
allowed to go on unbridled. Spoilsports, you might well say, but then,
you would be ignoring such incidents like firing guns, in the air to
be sure. There have been incidents in which a reveller here or an
onlooker there died during such firing. Of course, liquor must flow
for inhibitions to be shed and thus an inebriated baraat is so common
that one which is not is noticed and commented upon. While cities have
limitations on how long blaring music is allowed, villages have none,
so the entire village celebrates a wedding as DJs outdo each other in
being creative and in blasting off the eardrums of those in the
vicinity of the enormous sound systems that are specially trucked in.
Those who seek to escape the noisy urban areas are well advised to
stay away. What might have sounded regressive in another
environment becomes progressive because the village in question, with
a population of 6,500, has emerged as a welcome harbinger of change in
Haryana because of its stand on female infanticide. It now has a
balanced sex ratio. This gives it a moral high ground and it has
decided to flex its muscles in the social arena as well. Surely, some
must be cheering, even as others cry spoilsport, but then social
change is always difficult, even when it is necessary.
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The family is one of nature's masterpieces.— George Santayana |
Growing ties with Thailand
With India’s investigating agencies clearly signalling that New Delhi and Bangkok blasts were closely linked, it is more than evident that India and Thailand have to work together in fighting the menace of terrorism. Intriguingly, on March 31 itself, yet another series of bomb blasts rocked Yala, a city in Southern Thailand. Terrorism has once again put India and Thailand on the same page in terms of finding ways and means to ensure safety and security of their citizens. This is in tune with a number of pledges made during Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s India visit this year. As part of the 2012 Republic Day celebrations, New Delhi had invited Shinawatra to be the chief guest. Yingluck, the first female Prime Minister of Thailand, brought along a 100-strong delegation and paid a three-day visit. Conceivably, there could have been no better time than Republic Day to host the Thai leader when India is celebrating two decades of the Thai dimension of its Look East policy as also the 65th anniversary of the Indo-Thai engagement. Two decades ago, when Prime Minister Narasimha Rao officially flagged off the Look East policy, Thailand was among the countries in focus. Demonstrating India’s interest in engaging its eastern neighbour, Rao had visited Bangkok in 1993. Since then the relationship has only moved forward. However, the situation was quite different during the Cold War years. The imperatives of Cold War strategic dynamics inevitably drew them apart. India’s policy of Non-Alignment with a tilt towards the USSR was in contrast to Thailand’s worldview, which was a partner with the US and suspicious of the socialist block. Though the power block politics hindered New Delhi and Bangkok from being close to each ohter, they still maintained warmth in formal ties. This was largely due to the fact that no contentious issues existed between them. In the post-Cold War era, changes at systemic and sub-systemic levels motivated India to reorient its foreign and economic policy priorities. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation’s (SAARC’s) dismal success compounded India’s frustration, leading to a search for friends beyond South Asia. As an inward-looking, snail-paced Indian economy attempted to open up, it naturally looked at ASEAN countries as role models and potential partners. Thailand didn’t disappoint India on that count. However, the 1997 financial crisis hit the Thai economy hard, and it took Bangkok several years to get back to normalcy. It was only in 2004 that India signed the Early Harvest Scheme with Thailand; and yet it was among the first countries with which India had inked such a deal. What started as a small step towards an FTA with Thailand in 2004 culminated into inking of the 2009 India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement in Goods. That trade has become a significant player in bilateral ties is evident from the point that during the first decade of this century, the total trade volume went up six times, crossing the $ 6 billion mark in 2010. The two countries are working to increase it further, which is evident from discussions on enhancing cooperation in areas such as energy, food industries and petroleum, and inking of six important MoUs. It is hoped that by 2014 bilateral trade will cross the $14 billion mark. The proposed Chennai- Dawei corridor project, which aims to link India and Thailand, is an added advantage of the relationship. Incidentally, India’s engagement with Thailand and its Look East policy have been complimented by Thailand’s Look West policy, started in 1996. As a consequence, bilateral ties have gone from strength to strength. Today, there are several regional platforms which India and Thailand share. India is an integral member of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue — a Thai initiative. While one finds enough reasons to feel good about Indo-Thai ties, a lot needs to be done to realise the fullest potential of the partnership between the two countries and take it to new heights. Needless to say that there cannot be a better moment than now for joining hands to take up responsibilities — fighting transnational terrorism, handling neighbourhood problems as also promoting bilateral cooperation. First, and perhaps a challenge of most immediate nature, is tackling the mounting threat of terrorism. Both are multi-ethnic and pluralistic countries and are facing daunting challenges of drug trafficking, armed insurgency and terrorism. India’s Jammu and Kashmir and Northeastern provinces are infested with insurgents while Thailand is struggling with them in its southern part. Learning from each other’s experience may help India and Thailand in dealing with the problem resolutely. It’s time India and Thailand comprehensively analysed the lessons of the recent bomb blast as also devised mechanisms to avert such incidents in future. The second is the unfolding scenario in Myanmar, which is undergoing swift changes at both domestic and foreign relations’ fronts. India and Thailand not only share boundaries with Myanmar but are also important stakeholders. Ethno-cultural linkages across the border integrate them in numerous ways. Therefore, it is imperative for both New Delhi and Bangkok to find ways and means to ensure that Myanmar undergoes peaceful transition without causing any humanitarian distress to its neighbours. Third, China’s rise and its increasing assertiveness has been a matter of concern for both India and Thailand. While both are willing to partner with, and benefit from China’s rise, apprehensions still linger on. A hedging strategy is what New Delhi and Bangkok are seemingly practicing. Nevertheless, India, Thailand and other ASEAN countries have to devise ‘safe modes’ in dealing with a rising China in order to ensure a peaceful Asia. Fourth, the increasing US presence in the region is comforting for many, including Thailand --- a major non-NATO ally of the US. India’s bonhomie with the US is likely to strengthen its acceptability as a major player- considering that President Obama wants India to “engage the East”. While New Delhi is not likely to get into any alliance with the US or any other country, it has to get engaged in regular strategic dialogues with Thailand and other ASEAN countries to carve out a greater role for itself in future. Fifth, while New Delhi and Bangkok are trying to build the Bay of Bengal sub-region as a zone of multifaceted growth and prosperity, slow-paced organizations such as BIMSTEC and MGC kill the optimism about it. Finding ways to tackle transnational maritime challenges also demand their attention. A rather unusual yet significant challenge for both countries is managing urban spaces. The year 2011 will always be remembered as one of the worst years in Bangkok’s history, when uncontrolled floods swept across the city. Incidentally, Mumbai also faced a similar situation in 2006. Considering that both India and Thailand are ill equipped in dealing with such issues, it makes sense for them to jointly devise disaster management strategies. Sixth, India’s Look East policy has accrued significant dividends for the country at multilateral politico-strategic fronts, and it is now seen as a responsible stakeholder in the region. However, it has to devise a long-term strategy to maintain sustained focus. While more substantive India-Thai interactions and regular follow-up meetings at all levels are required, it is beyond doubt that the recent bomb blasts in India and Thailand have made the two countries realise the need to strengthen communication and information exchange. However, putting words into action is perhaps the biggest challenge facing New Delhi and Bangkok. It is time to ensure that initiatives pledged lately are supplemented by regular follow-up meetings and substantive measures.n The writer is associated with the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.
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On being called “ustaad”
The other day I got a pleasantly surprising jolt. It was a kind of knee-jerk for me as I am least used to such a practice. While covering an event, I was astonished to hear the host speaker requesting me as a “senior journalist” to address the gathering.
A formal request followed from the anchor man describing me as his “ustaad” (teacher-guide) in the media. I mustered courage to ease the situation by humbly expressing my inability to do so. My brief plea to those on the dais, saying “Let me do my job”, helped me out. The occasion was a modest gathering on the occasion of World Theater Day by (EKTA), a School of Drama and Repertory. Theatre Day at its 50 is younger to me only by a few years. The event took me exactly 25 years back to the day when I joined the profession of journalism. After a brief period of training, I had finally decided to be in the print media while offers from the official media and the teaching profession were in the waiting. There were many pre-conceived ideas about the profession of pen-pushing. The basics remaining the same, many things in terms of technology have changed considerably, making the physical exercise in producing and transmitting reportage easier and less labourious. My mind goes back to the cacophony of the shrilling sounds of teleprinters that used to keep running, disseminating news stories for media organizations. The theatre personalities in Srinagar on the day expressed their craving for the modernisation of folk theatre even as it finds itself as a basis for the production of films and tele-serials. In the same manner, going by the adage that “pen is mightier than the sword”, the print media is also believed to be the basis for the electronic news media, which has come a long way. During the past 25 years I have come across innumerable personalities in the media, prominent senior and contemporary journalists. I would be failing in my humble way of expressing gratitude if I do not mention the guiding spirit of Mr Ved Bhasin of Kashmir Times from Jammu, which provided a launching pad for many of us. It was a beginning for me exactly 25 years ago on April 5, 1987. Learning during the early years from senior journalists like Mohammad Sayeed Malik and O N Koul to sharpen one’s skills cannot be ignored either. God give peace to the soul of O N Koul. Every single moment spent in the company of people like these and many others have added to my “experience”, which, according to one of my admirers, is an “asset”. I do not know whether I am “ustaad” for
others.
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Politics over hanging The BJP maintained that the law should take its own course. And so did the Punjab Legislature Congress Party leader, Sunil Jakhar. Both the Congress and the BJP made it clear that they would oppose any attempt of the Akali Dal to pass an Assembly resolution for clemency to Rajoana. The BJP kept silent on efforts to get clemency for Rajoana. This was in sharp contrast to its vocal stand reiterated in the Afzal Guru case that terrorists should be shown no mercy. National TV channels cornered the BJP for its double standards. A day after Sunil Jakhar made the party stand clear, the Punjab Congress chief, Capt Amarinder Singh, reversed it, saying the Congress stood by the Beant Singh family, which had no objection if clemency was granted to Rajoana, and it would support any government move to commute Rajoana’s death sentence to life term. The Beant Singh family’s views on the death sentence to Rajoana had no relevance as his was a crime against the state. Both the Congress and the BJP chose to be mute spectators. Remember: “When there is a duty to speak, silence is not an option”. The most absurd, however, was the role of the Shiromani Akali Dal. Here was a Chief Minister rushing to Delhi to save the life of a killer of a former Chief Minister of Punjab. As the head of the government, Parkash Singh Badal’s job is to prosecute militants as much as the law-breakers within the government. However, instead of being an impartial upholder of the law, he pleads the cases of militants (Rajoana now, Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar earlier) and rewards police officers notorious for excesses during militancy. He even offered the party ticket to one such officer but backed out after protests. Badal’s initial reaction to the news about the proposed execution of Rajoana was: What can the state government do? Akali leaders Virsa Singh Valtoha and Bikram Singh Majithia urged the Chief Minister not to give the hardliners a tool to exploit the situation. However, at a core committee meeting on March 24 party leaders vowed to “go to any extent” to seek clemency for Rajoana. They advised Badal to tell the Centre that the hanging would pose a law and order problem. The Omar Abdullah government had also taken this stand to oppose the hanging of Afzal Guru. By this argument, no criminal or terrorist with some following would ever be hanged to avoid protests. On March 26 Badal told the Vidhan Sabha that “legal infirmities, constitutional inconsistencies and jurisdiction issues” forbid the government from taking any action on the order to execute Balwant Singh. As mass support appeared for Rajoana and saffron displaced the dominant blue colour in Punjab, the Chief Minister and the SGPC president met the President to file a mercy petition on behalf of Rajoana, and the Home Ministry displayed unusual efficiency in handing Badal the stay order. Given the explosive situation, Badal tried to revive the issues of transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab and a settlement of the river waters issue on the riparian principle. Winding up the debate in the Assembly on the Governor’s address, he demanded a new Constitution granting more powers to states. Such issues can be exploited, as also the unrest among unemployed youth and farmers, thanks to poor returns from agriculture.
The rule of law A transparent, efficient and fair system of governance and justice does not allow conflicts to flare up. A healthy respect for the rule of law and its impartial enforcement can avoid or contain disputes. The absence of both to some degree has caused much bloodshed in Punjab. The state has, according to one estimate, seen the killings of some 22,000 people in 13 years of militancy, culminating in the assassination of Beant Singh in a blast on August 31, 1995, along with 16 others. Many believe that the origin of militancy in Punjab can be traced to a simple Nirankari-Sikh clash in Amritsar in April, 1978. The administration could have disallowed the function or at least barred the carrying of weapons. A small lapse, perhaps, at that time. But the killing of a few Sikhs in the clash became a turning point in Punjab’s history. Had the then government headed by Parkash Singh Badal enforced the law and brought the guilty to justice, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale would perhaps have lived and died in oblivion. How fragile the peace in Punjab still is becomes evident from the Rajoana case. The court order to execute Rajoana on March 31, 2012, was challenged by a jail superintendent of Patiala with the backing of the Badal government, first on the ground that the jail did not have a hangman and then on the plea that since the assassination and the trial took place in Chandigarh, the UT should carry out the death sentence. The court reordered the hanging and served a contempt notice on the jail superintendent. They gave the explanation about the status of others convicted in the case and appeals pending. While the hanging of Rajoana was subsequently stayed, the bandh called to protest his death sentence led to communal tension in Gurdaspur, claiming the life of 18-year-old engineering student Jaspal Singh. He was killed and another youth was injured as the police reportedly opened fire to avert a clash between Sikhs and Shiv Sainiks. Rajoana’s life has been saved, at least for the time being. But an innocent life has been lost. In the battle between the challengers and wielders of state authority, it is the innocent who suffer and are often dismissed as collateral damage. Both politicians and policemen are protected, but ordinary people face the bullets from both sides. The police mindset shaped during the days of militancy has not changed. It opens fire to kill at the slightest provocation and often to cover up its incompetence in using peaceful means of crowd control. Middle-rung local politicians too played their part in inflaming the situation in Gurdaspur. Had the law taken its course, all trouble-makers, regardless of their religion or political connections, should have been booked. Such small lapses sometimes lead to flare-ups. When the system denies justice to the aggrieved, punishes the innocent unjustly and a public perception develops about the law serving the interests of the influential, victims — real or imagined — take to the gun. Militancy began in Punjab because of the selective enforcement of the law.
Capital punishment The groundswell of public support for him is because of his firm stand on issues. Making a humanitarian gesture, Rajoana has offered to donate his body organs to the needy. He is seen as fighting state repression, is angry about the Army assault on the Golden Temple and questions the denial of justice to victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots — issues that have hurt the Sikh psyche. He trashes the political class for not taking up these larger issues of the community. Whatever his cause or hurt, plotting a murder or abetting a suicide bomber is a heinous crime and the law will have to take its course. The state would have little moral authority to hang an ordinary murderer if the one within the government or one with influence gets away unpunished. A Panthic leader has raised a relevant query: If the death sentence of Kishori Lal, convicted in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, can be commuted, why not that of Rajoana? Political compulsions sometimes make it difficult for governments to carry out the capital punishment. An increasing number of states are opposing or are reluctant to carry out the death sentence. The Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a resolution to demand clemency for Murugun, Santhan and Perarivalan, all convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Jammu and Kashmir is sympathetic towards Afzal Guru. Punjab has observed a complete bandh in support of clemency for Rajoana. As a result, the number of convicts on death row is steadily increasing. The system of governance and justice must be fair and above suspicion for the state to be on the high moral ground to award the death sentence. Capital punishment is awarded in the rarest of rare cases, but the political class seems incapable of dealing with after-effects of a hanging. Given the politics behind crimes, infirmities in the judicial system, questions raised about the selective application of the law and powerful politicians and officers misusing state authority and committing excesses, it is the right time to start a debate whether the death sentence should be scrapped. Some 139 countries have already abolished it in law or practice.
Law enforcement has consistently been found wanting at crucial junctures, whether it was the failure to prevent the Nirankari-Sikh clash of 1978, ensuring justice to
1984 victims, or even maintaining peace, as in Gurdaspur (above) on March 29. The groundswell of support for Balwant Singh Rajoana (left) is because of his seemingly firm stand on issues.
Playing to the gallery SAD BJP The party remained silent on efforts to secure clemency for
Rajoana. This was in contrast to its stand in the Afzal Guru case. Congress The state party unit changed its stand from anti to pro clemency.
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