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Rumblings of peace
A positive step |
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NATO’s unfinished job
Case against ‘non-interference’
‘Wolves in sheep’s clothing’
A Big fat health concern
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Rumblings of peace If the shoe pinches, you don’t register a minor itch elsewhere. That’s what Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah meant when he told civil society members he was pleased to hear them talk of development issues at an interactive session. The state’s terror shoe is off, or at least the laces have been loosened.
The corn it has left on the toe, however, remains, and it will be a while before that goes. In that context, Abdullah’s appeal seeking public support for the government’s efforts to maintain peace and move towards development needs to be responded to with due earnestness. Whatever be its genesis, people of the state have experienced militancy at its extreme. Now they deserve a taste of freedom — as defined in a democracy — so they may make an informed choice. An ideology is only as good as the quality of life of the people affected by it. At a personal level, Abdullah has had a problem of establishing a rapport with the people, many of who saw him as inaccessible. Tuesday’s five-hour-long interactive session with civil society members was probably an exercise towards countering that impression. His tweets have touched a chord more in the national media than at home. During moments of unrest or distress in the state, he has been accused of staying away. In case he wants to close that gap, he would have to be ‘one of them’, something people coming from elite backgrounds often have trouble achieving. While it would not be of his doing, even sitting in a chair higher than the rest on the dais at a ‘people’s event’ would have made him seem that much aloof. To be fair to him, however, being the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir is not the easiest of jobs. While running a state is a handful in the most peaceful parts of the country, here he has the responsibility of winning back a whole population’s faith in the system that India represents. Filling holes in the roads is just one part of that.
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A positive step The widespread welcome extended to the passage of the Anand Karaj Amendment Bill 2012 in both Houses of Parliament is a good indication of how much the Sikh community wants this Bill to become law.
Indeed, the support spans various hues of political opinion in Punjab. A clause has now been inserted allowing registration of Sikh marriages solemnised under the Anand Karaj ceremony in the original Anand Karaj Act, 1909. The issue of Sikhs having to register their marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act has cropped up from time to time, with community leaders making a strong case for a Sikh Marriage Act. The amendment, which the Union Cabinet had approved earlier, has now been passed by the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The absence of any provision for divorce in the amendment had become controversial, with religious leaders saying no such provision was necessary, whereas more pragmatic people demanding one. As it is, if needed, Sikh couples would be able file for divorce under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, so the problem would not be practical or legal, but more an emotional one. While it was the practical issue of the Sikh religious ceremony needing legal sanction that gave rise to the original Anand Marriage Act, now the matter is more about assertion of the community’s distinct identity. Any delay in passing the Bill could have allowed disruptive elements to exploit the situation. Even though the provision of divorce has not been adequately addressed in this Bill, when it becomes law after the President’s assent, it will go a long way towards fulfilling a need that the Sikhs have felt for a long, long time. |
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NATO’s unfinished job The Chicago summit of NATO countries that concluded on Monday cleared the way for handing over charge of security in Afghanistan to the Afghans. On the face of it, it seems promising that the maintenance of law and order in the war-torn nation will now be the responsibility of the Government of Afghanistan after the foreign troops, working under the banner of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), withdraw by July 2014 as declared by US President Barack Obama
However, it is not just a law and order problem in Afghanistan but effectively handling the different factions of the Taliban some of whom like the Haqqani network have strong links with Pakistan’s ISI. When the powerful ISAF troops could not tame the Taliban during their decade-long presence in Afghanistan with the advantage of sophisticated weapons and well-trained fighters, how can one expect that the Afghan security forces — the army and the police — will be able to do the job satisfactorily? Afghan President Hamid Karzai is feeling uneasy and hence his appeal to Pakistan for “constructive cooperation” in handling the Taliban. Mr Karzai knows better than anybody else that peace in Afghanistan is not possible without Pakistan playing a positive role after 2014. And it would be unrealistic to expect Islamabad to cooperate with Kabul without getting an assurance for fulfilling Pakistan’s long-cherished desire of “strategic depth”. Immediately, Mr Karzai will have to accommodate in his government at least one pro-Pakistan Taliban faction, the Haqqani network. The US, too, wants those Taliban factions to be made part of the government which agree to shun the path of terror. But will the inclusion of these Taliban factions in the political dispensation in Afghanistan end the threat to peace and stability there and in the region? Had it been so simple, the Karzai government would have secured the support of the “good” Taliban by now. The problem, however, is that both the “good” and “bad” Taliban factions are basically power-hungry. All of them are eagerly waiting for the withdrawal of the foreign troops from their country. Some of them are Pakistan’s stooges and the rest have Iranian or other foreign links. The situation in Afghanistan appears to be going back to square one. |
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Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself.— Marcus Tullius Cicero
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Case against ‘non-interference’ The Government of India has faced not even slightist criticism in Western capitals and even from its own “liberal intelligentsia” for not supporting Western attempts for effecting “regime change” in those countries labelled to be “rogue states,” or said to be acquiring “weapons of mass destruction”. This Western propensity for “regime change” was justified ideologically, as the Soviet Union was falling apart and finally collapsed on December 25, 1991. In his thesis entitled “The End of History”, American scholar Francis Fukuyama then proclaimed: “What we are witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, but the end of history as such; that is the end of man’s ideological evolution and the universalisation of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government”. Even as American aircraft commenced bombing Iraq in August 1990, President George Bush announced that he was making a move to “forge for ourselves and for future generations a New World Order”. While Fukuyama and Bush did not spell out what the fault-lines would be in the past-Cold War world, American academic Samuel Huntington was more explicit. In his thesis, “Clash of Civilisations and Remaking of the World Order,” Huntington held the ideological conflicts of the Cold War would be replaced by civilizational conflicts “prevalent between Muslims and non-Muslims”. Huntington held that the clash would be between Islamic resurgence and the demographic explosion of Islam on the one hand, and the values that western civilisation believed are universal and should be accepted by all civilisations. Interestingly, Huntington drew pointed differences between what he called as “Western civilisations” comprising the US, Western and Central Europe and Australia on the one hand and the “Orthodox Christian World” comprising Russia, its Western and Caucasian neighbours, Serbia, Greece and Cyprus, on the other. In Huntington’s world-view, Russia, China and India are “swing civilisations” and could join either the Western or Islamic civilisations, depending on the circumstances. He noted that Russia faces Islamic separatism on its south, but cooperates with Islamic countries to counter external support for such aspirations. He added that India and China do likewise, though China is keen on undermining Western influence by close ties with major Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran. While what Huntington said about the likely view of countries like Russia, India and China, all of whom have significant Muslim minorities, makes sound geopolitical sense, one has to look at the results of what has transpired in the relations between what he calls the “Western civilisation” and the Islamic world in the years following the end of the Cold War. Even as President George Bush spoke about a New World Order, his forces backed by his NATO allies and a coalition ranging from Australia to Syria, (now a target for “regime change”), invaded Iraq. The invasion ensured that the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was reversed and an American military presence established in Saudi Arabia. It was this American deployment in Saudi Arabia that led to Osama bin Laden, a former CIA asset, to becoming an anti-Western jihadi, who was to mastermind the 9/11 attack. This attack triggered President George Bush’s “Crusade” against Taliban ruled Afghanistan, then the epicentre for Bin Laden’s “International Islamic Front for Jihad against Jews and Crusaders”. Oddly enough, when the Taliban took over power in the nineties and promised to permit American oil companies to transport gas from Turkmenistan to Karachi, a US official described Taliban rule as a “factor for stability”. In the meantime, the American invasion of Iraq in 1990 led to the deaths of an estimated 35,000 Iraqi citizens. The subsequent sanctions, sanctified by the UN and peculiarly interpreted by the US, led to the deaths of and estimated half a million Iraqi children because of the absence of medicines and adequate nutrition. This led then Secretary of State Madeline Albright to comment: “This is a hard choice, but we think the price is worth it”. When the second American invasion of Iraq occurred in 2003 an estimated 1,51,000 Iraqis met their deaths. Nine years after the second American invasion, Iraq has been engulfed by Shia-Sunni convulsions, superimposed on the historical Arab-Kurdish animosity. Moreover, the American actions had an unintended consequence that Huntington did not envisage. We now have a Shia-Sunni divide across the Arab and indeed Muslim world. Iraq, which placed its Arab heritage over sectarian concerns during the rule of Saddam Hussein, distrusts Saudi Arabia and has moved closer to Iran. The Arab Spring, which was the outcome of popular demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt, has produced regime change in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Yemen. There is no doubt that Libya’s Muammar Gadhaffi was a tyrant. But, like Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, he was a strong opponent of religious fundamentalism and medieval practices. According to the International Crisis Group, Gadhafi’s overthrow has led to national fragmentation, with Libya coming under the control of around 100 separate militias. Libya’s new Western-installed ruler Mustafa Abdul Jalil has proclaimed that secular law would be replaced by Sharia law as its “basic source” of governance. Jalil has vowed to introduce Islamic banking and revoke Gaddafi’s ban on polygamy. In Egypt, recent elections have produced a parliamentary majority comprising Wahabi and Salafist elements dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, which has proclaimed: “God is our objective, the Quran is our Constitution, the Prophet is our leader, jihad is the only way and death for the sake of God, the highest of our aspirations.” In Tunisia, recent elections have produced a strong presence of Islamists in Parliament. And in Syria, a secular but brutal and minority-dominated Alawite regime is being challenged by a Sunni opposition, with significant Wahabi tendencies, backed by a coalition of the US, the European Union, conservative Gulf Arab Sunni monarchies headed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, apart from neighbouring, secular Turkey. These developments are going to inevitably impact on stability in the Persian Gulf, where six million Indians who remit back over $ 30 billion annually live and from where India gets over 70 per cent of its oil supplies. We have a situation wherein traditional Iranian-Arab rivalries have been accentuated by a growing, sectarian Shia-Sunni divide. To add these complications is the American determination to contain the influence of Iran’s clerical rulers and roll-back its nuclear weapons capabilities. India can no longer continue to chant its mantra of “non-interference” in the internal affairs of others. While rejecting foreign-sponsored regime change, each development will have to be addressed, bearing in mind its regional dimensions and its impact on our interests, including the welfare of our nationals in West Asia and the security of our energy supplies.n
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‘Wolves in sheep’s clothing’
THE Lion King sat on his throne with the jungle law book and a pile of newspapers. He was perturbed over excessive unrest and violence in human land and wondered if it was the same in his kingdom.
To find out, he sent for his political adviser the wily fox whom he fondly called "Chanakya" to come with the team of law enforcers. Soon the fox came, followed by hundreds of sheep. "Is it some kind of a joke?" he roared. "Why have you come with sheep?" "But my lords wanted the law enforcers to come", replied the fox. "If sheep are the law enforcers, I can understand the plight of my subjects", said the king angrily.” "How can they enforce laws? they are such lambs?" "Sir, you are foxed", said the fox with twinkling eyes. "They are all wolves in sheep's clothing." Oh, thank God", said the king, his belief in his adviser reinforced. OK, tell me, why is there so much unrest in humandom, and I hope the same situation does not prevail here", said the king The fox smiled and said, "I have been studying humandom for a long time. First when I could not understand, I thought it is a case of sour grapes, but then I have finally succeeded and proceeded to explain. "See king, you must understand that we animals have one law — "Might is right" — and we follow it scrupulously. The lesser animals give way to the mightier ones and pay with their lives to uphold the principle. Humans have laws in abundance ostensibly to promote civility, but these laws are subverted with impunity and the mighty violators get away with no consequences inflicted upon them, and thus the very laws which are meant to establish the rule of law end up with the naked assertion of the principle of "might is right", which is the law we profess and practise. Humans are seeped in hypocrisy, so they turn a Nelson's eye to it. (She stopped briefly as she noticed a baffling expression on the face of the king and, aware of the king's limited education, quickly corrected herself). “... Err, I mean they pretend that the rule of law is being observed. Deception, hypocrisy, cloak-and-dagger ploys, intrigue and pretenses all are the order of the day in humandom." "But we do it too, don't we have creatures who even change colours to fool brother animals?", said the king almost complainingly. "Yes", replied the fox, "we do it to enhance self-preservation and this is driven by need. But in humans it is driven by greed, to enhance self-promotion; that is the difference." "You mean they are all wolves in sheep's clothing" said the king. "Yes, and some are pretenders and are called Bagula Bhagats." "Oh! Very clever of them", said the king and I thought you were the cleverest. "Oh! No! No! said the fox, and responded lyrically, "Lombri budnam hui ..." The king roared in laughter and gestured dismissal, satisfied that all was well with
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A Big fat health concern
It is this dangerous liaison which is one of the greatest threats in the 21st century. Our sedentary lifestyles, increased consumption of calorie-rich foods, and decreased physical activity have led to the rise and spread of this disease. Coupled with this is the prevalence of genetic factors like sex, age and emotional factors, which also act as causal factors for obesity. A more severe form of obesity is morbid obesity. A morbidly obese patient is unable to shed excessive weight by merely adopting diet programs and exercises. Obese people have a body mass index (BMI) between 27.5 and 37.5. The BMI is a measuring tool used to determine whether an individual’s body weight is ‘normal’, overweight, obese or morbidly obese. In case of an indication of having body weight more than 20 per cent of the required or ideal weight in relation to the height of an individual, a person is considered obese. Morbidly obese people have a BMI of 32.5 to 37 or higher and are at an extremely high risk for various life-threatening conditions. What makes obesity especially dangerous is that there is a high correlation between an increase in BMI and increases in the prevalence of comorbidities such as cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure or hypertension. Also many liver diseases, various types of cancer, gallbladder disease and stroke are quite common in obese people. Other comorbidities linked to obesity are gout (joint pain caused by excess uric acid), respiratory problems such as sleep apnea, and aggravation of asthma, complications of pregnancy (before, during and after pregnancy), and psychological and social effects, such as Alzheimer’s disease, depression and isolation. Interestingly, certain comorbidities, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and steatohepatitis (fatty liver disease) that used to be considered “adult diseases” are now regularly seen in obese children as well. Type 2 diabetes has emerged as one of the deadliest comorbidities associated with obesity. Once diabetes develops, it can lead to heart disease, kidney failure, loss of sight, and even limb amputation. Diabesity Diabetes and obesity (often referred as diabesity) currently threaten the health, well-being and economic welfare of virtually every country in the world. Diabetes is a global epidemic with 285 million patients worldwide currently. In India, till 2010, there were nearly 50.8 million diabetics in the age group of 20-79 suffering from the disease. According to the
World Diabetes Foundation, India is the diabetes capital of the world. Obesity increases the risk of developing insulin resistance wherein the body loses the ability to process insulin properly. Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterised by high levels of glucose in the blood. This is caused by the body’s inability to produce insulin in response to glucose. Furthermore, there is a resultant effect on glucose uptake by the skeletal muscles and other tissues. The high blood glucose levels may also lead to organ damage in kidneys, nervous system and the circulatory system. Infertility One of the lesser-known disorders associated with obesity is infertility. Being overweight and obese leads to abnormal hormonal functioning, which in turn affects the reproductive system and process among men
and women. Among women, obesity has been linked to ovulation problems (release of an egg from the ovary), an increased incapacity to conceive, and increased risk of experiencing multiple miscarriages. Furthermore, in some cases, obese women continue to ovulate but, in comparison, with women with a lower body weight, they are still less likely to conceive as excess body fat results in hormonal imbalances in the body. An important cause is the high level of estrogen associated with obesity. Estrogen is the primary female sex hormone. Body fat plays a major role in
the production of estrogen. High estrogen levels result in the disruption of normal hormonal functioning in the female body, which, in turn, results in stopping the process of ovulation. Without ovulation, there can be no pregnancy. Among men, obesity has been found to decrease the sperm count and affect the sperm’s ability to fertilise the egg. It can also lead to erectile dysfunction (impotence), lower testosterone levels and can cause hormonal changes that result in infertility. A high BMI is, hence, an independent risk factor for infertility among men as well. Heart disease Research shows that obesity increases the risk of death from heart diseases by 82 per cent. Obesity is caused by a high intake of calorie-rich foods, saturated fats and an increase in cholesterol levels. This results in an increased risk of strokes, heart attacks, congestive heart failure, chest pains and
abnormal heart rhythm than those who maintain a healthy BMI. Being obese significantly increases one’s risk for developing heart
disease, especially if one has a lot of abdominal fat. Mental disorders Recent research has revealed links between obesity and highly-detrimental mental disorders such as depression and in some cases even Alzheimer’s disease. A study in the international journal Neurology found that high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and obesity in middle age may lead to brain shrinkage and cognitive problems. The study also found that fatter the body (particularly in the midsection), the greater the brain shrinkage and the greater the risk of dementia. Excessively high levels of insulin, quite characteristic in diabetes, a common obesity-related comorbidity, leads to the inflammation of blood vessels, which in turn,
can cause severe tissue damage in the brain. Obesity-related changes alter the chemical composition of blood itself. High levels of cholesterol
and triglycerides, often associated with excess body fat, increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s in the future. Further, increased exposure to nitrites, nitrates and nitrosamines through processed foods (as preservatives) and fertiliser and pesticide residues may also increase the risk of brain damage. Prevention and treatment Improvement in the conditions of diabetes, infertility, heart disease etc. after substantial weight loss suggests that obesity probably plays an important role in the development of these diseases. Obesity is one of today’s most blatantly visible, yet most neglected, public health problems. An escalating global epidemic of obesity is taking over many parts of the world, along with the rise of associated comorbidities such as hypertension, cancer, high blood pressure, heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, mental diseases and infertility. Weight loss is highly recommended among obese patients as a treatment for obesity-related comorbidities. Walk, exercise regimes, swimming, cardio etc. are various ways of losing weight. Dietary modifications to facilitate fat loss should be follow as well. However, it needs to be closely monitored so as to prevent any gaps towards achieving healthy weight. Specially designed low-calorie diets are recommended for obese people since it provides them adequate nutrients and prove effective for moderate weight loss. However, in spite of having tried a variety of exercise regimes, diet programmes, etc, the problem of obesity prevails, especially among the morbidly obese people.
Weight-loss surgery or bariatric surgery has developed as a viable option for both obese and morbidly obese patients with life-threatening comorbidities. However, to achieve the long-term success of surgery, it is important to take proper nutritional supplements, adopt a healthy eating pattern, and also maintain a motivated approach towards staying healthy. The writer is Additional Professor, Surgical Gastroenterology Division, Department of General Surgery, PGIMER, Chandigarh
According to the World Health Organisation’s The World Health Statistics 2012 Report:
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Obesity
