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Collegium for
selections Mubarak to rot in
jail |
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The tobacco
epidemic
From interlocution
to action
The ‘ping’ test
Lessons from
Israel’s innovation
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Mubarak to rot in jail
Finally, disgraced Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison for his complicity in the killing of around 800 demonstrators at Cairo’s Tahrir Square during the June 25-February 11, 2011, uprising against his rule. The 84-year-old former ruler was, however, not found guilty of financially defrauding Egypt, though it is well known how he used his nation’s wealth for promoting his personal interests. That is why people are unhappy with the court’s verdict. They wanted nothing less than his execution. But this could not be possible as vestiges of Mubarak’s regime, senior generals of the army, are in control of the levers of power at this stage. However, Mubarak is the first toppled Arab ruler who appeared before an ordinary court to get his just deserts. The first dictator who was dethroned in the wake of the Arab Spring, Tunisian President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, underwent a court trial in absentia after he had flown to Saudi Arabia, and Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi was killed by his country’s rebels. President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen was quick to read the writing on the wall and relinquished power soon after he was faced with a massive revolt against his rule. But Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad is refusing to realise the ground reality and has let loose a reign of terror. The Arabs’ struggle for democracy calls for more sacrifices. Even in Egypt, despite the end of Mubarak’s rule, the army, the caretaker of the administration, has been trying to find excuses for continuing to cling on to power. But the unending pressure from pro-democracy groups first forced the army to hold the parliamentary elections and then the presidential polls. Since no candidate could emerge as the winner in the presidential battle of the ballot Egypt will have run-off elections in a few days when former air force commander Ahmed Shafik, who served as Prime Minister under Mubarak, will be pitted against Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Mursi. Who will become the President of the most populous Arab country is not as important as the formation of a democratically elected government in Egypt, as it may have a cascading effect in the rest of the Arab world.
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The tobacco epidemic Har
fiqr ko dhuen mein udaata chala gaya…runs the refrain of a popular
Hindi song that validates the somewhat romanticised status of smokers—as
carefree souls who can puff away their worries and cares. The only
success model that can offer some inspiration to break this image of
tobacco addiction in our society is the Polio Plus campaign. For, it
was based primarily on generating awareness among the masses. Unlike
other addictions which are considered a social taboo, tobacco use is
hard to control because of its cultural acceptance in most states. In
Haryana, it is customary to offer a hukkah to a guest, which has to
follow a proper protocol. Even among women, offering hukkah to the
elderly is a sign of showing respect. Any number of men and women do
not feel any hesitation asking for a packet of gutkha or paan masala,
even at their work place, which contain varying percentage of tobacco.
With such cultural connotations attached to tobacco intake in
its variants — from smoking cigarettes to eating gutkha, the
governments are hard-pressed to find solutions to curtail the growing
menace. About 2500 people die every day due to tobacco-related
diseases in India. And chewing of tobacco and gutkha contributes to 90
per cent of oral cancer. Despite harsher pictorial warnings on tobacco
products and many state governments like Bihar, Kerala and
Madhya Pradesh banning the sales of these items, the menace seems to
remain unabated. In fact, a survey conducted in 23 cities of India
shows a rise in the number of smokers, especially those belonging to
the fair sex. While in developed countries, the number of smokers
has come down, the practice of consuming smokeless tobacco makes the
banning of tobacco more challenging in India. On World No Tobacco Day,
it was heartening to observe that efforts are made to regulate the
contents of gutkha, which is supposed to follow the Food Safety and
Standards Association of India Act, and should not have any trace of
tobacco.
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Do not fear mistakes. You will know future. Continue to reach out.
— Benjamin Franklin
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From interlocution to action The
Jammu and Kashmir Interlocutors have spoken as have interlocutors before them and others even before those. Dileep Padgaonkar, Radha Kumar and M.M Ansari have done a good job in reaching out to every section of the population in every part of the state and presenting a valuable situation report with recommendations for action at the local, regional, state, national and trans-boundary levels. Previously available were three autonomy reports submitted by the National Conference, the PDP and Sajjad Lone and the reports of five Task Forces set up by the Prime Minister. The ground is now well covered. Every nuance has been explored. This is now the time for final consultation and decision. Spoilers should be ignored and while the door should be kept open for all, none can claim a veto. It is a mystery why the government sat on the Interlocutors’ report for seven months before releasing it. Delay has only aroused cynicism and suspicion and added nothing to official wisdom or negotiating strategy. However, it would now be inexcusable not to act fast at multiple levels – a parliamentary debate, close consultation with political leaders, a similar legislative and consultative process at the J&K level. This must be accompanied by concurrent action on matters falling within the ambit of administrative and development action, including implementation of such promises as further empowerment of panchayati raj structures. There is absolutely no reason to wait for the next elections, a handy ploy for procrastination. The basic “New Compact” recommendation is to make Article 370 a “special” rather than a “temporary” part of the Constitution. Articles 371-A to I make special provisions for Maharashtra, Gujarat, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Andhra, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal and Goa. Hence, no favour is being done in defining a “special” centre-state relationship for J&K in terms of the solemn and binding commitments contained in the Instrument of Accession. No sooner was the Interlocutors’ report released than passionate denunciations followed from the BJP and others for this unacceptable weakening of J&K’s “integration” with the Union. This is fallacious. Integration is governed not by Article 370 but by Article I and Schedule 1, reinforced by corresponding interlocking and un-amendable provisions in the J&K constitution. J&K’s integration with India is, therefore, absolute. What the Interlocutors have proposed, including a change in the manner of the Governor’s selection and reversion in Urdu usage to the nomenclatures of Sadr-i-Riyasat and Wazir-e-Azam, for the Governor and Chief Minister, are symbolic emollients.Substance matters more than style. As Lenin is said to have told his foreign minister, Maxim Litvinov, who wondered if he should observe bourgeois protocol and wear black tails and a top hat to a critical conference, “If it will serve the cause, go dressed in a petticoat”! A review of all extensions of Indian constitutional provisions to J&K after 1953 through a commission directed to report within six months is also in order. Other committees have looked at this matter earlier but no finality was ever reached. A de novo review can, therefore, do no harm. Under other recommendations, the Governor’s power under Article 356 (“failure of constitutional machinery”) will be subject to a bar on dissolution of the Assembly and holding fresh elections within three months. The proportion of officers from the All-India Services deputed to J&K will gradually be reduced in favour of local recruits. Three Regional Councils should be created for Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. And Parliament shall make no law for J&K unless it entails a matter of internal or external security or vital economic interest such as the Indus Water Treaty. Finally, there is a commitment to promote cross-LoC cooperation. The fact of existing regional and cultural differences is recognised in recommending the establishment of Regional Councils, District Councils and empowered panchayats with the devolution of considerable legislative powers to each tier. The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration pattern of devolution is cited as a possible example. The state legislative council too should reflect the diversity of the state. Indo-Pakistan dialogue and interactions at multiple levels are envisaged in furtherance of the so-called Manmohan-Musharraf formula. This would convert the LoC into a permanent but “soft”, porous border, as envisaged at Simla in 1972, facilitating cross-border movement, commerce, investments and other exchanges that might structurally evolve into joint management institutions over time. But it will be for Pakistan to open an internal dialogue with the people of PAK and the Gilgit-Baltistan Area, which enjoy rather limited autonomy, if such joint structures are to germinate. On the Indian side, human rights issues, the Pandit’s return to the Valley, a judicial commission to look into the matter of “unmarked graves”, a review of AFSPA, the Disturbed Areas Act and the Public Safety Act, the withdrawal of security forces from inhabited areas and vacation of commandeered property have been urged. Most of these issues have been tossed around for years. What the Interlocutors have done is to tabulate, analyse and prioritise them and suggest a process and timelines for their disposal. The economic and social component of the New Compact is given due emphasis. The creation of basic human and physical infrastructure to realise the human and natural resource potential of the state is of high importance. Perhaps, not enough has been said about harnessing the great new opportunities that beckon with the operationalisation of Srinagar international airport, the Jammu- Qazigund railway, the new all-weather four-lane Jammu-Sriangar highway and the low-level Bannihal tunnel, and the accelerated power programme now on the cards. The impacts and outcomes of these developments on income-generation, employment and regional regeneration need to be spelt out in a series of planned packages that are implemented concurrently rather than sequentially. Fresh impetus can be given to the Indus Water Treaty to everybody’s benefit given operationalisation of the dormant Article VII of the Treaty titled “Future Cooperation”. This envisages joint exploration, design, implementation and management of engineering, drainage, ecological and other basin-wide works for the common good, especially now, in the face of the challenge of climate change. Radical though this proposition might sound, Dr Manmohan Singh is one person who has had the foresight and courage to hint at such a possibility. Those who have sought to rubbish the Interlocutors’ report have nothing better to offer other than tired absolutist arguments. J&K remains an unsettled question with Pakistan. The 1994 parliamentary resolution defining all of the erstwhile Maharaja’s domains reiterates India’s legal position until a final settlement is reached. Whenever the LoC is confirmed as the boundary, this will not constitute a cession of territory but will mark the drawing of the final boundary in consequent with Partition as set out by the Supreme Court in the Tin Bigha judgment. A window of opportunity for a J&K settlement appears to have opened. Seize
it.
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The ‘ping’ test This
is neither a civilized nor an appropriate subject to write upon and I will well understand, if The Tribune refuses to publish it. But the experience was so steeped in zany hilarity that I feel compelled to share it with my readers, just as I have shared so much else of my life with them. The test is basically a test of the flow when the bladder is being evacuated. The first time I underwent the test, I sat outside the lab and drank two bottles of water. Then I was taken in and told that the computer would make a ping sound which was the signal for me to begin evacuation. But I just could not ‘ping.’ I was brought outside and patiently worked my way through another bottle of water, but with the same result. Fortunately, someone suggested a cup or two of hot coffee and with this weapon I was able to make the race. Last week I had to undergo the test again while I was in the ICU.This time, in anticipation, I built up as much pressure as I could over three hours. But just as I was being trundled out the nursing sister said: “They said to make sure there was sufficient pressure.” I was assailed by doubts and asked for another half an hour during which I drank another bottle of water. I was sure that there could not possibly be more pressure. A patient from the ICU must be on life support systems when taken out for a test. Unfortunately, the monitor for these systems had been ‘borrowed’ for another patient. So I waited in agony for the patient to return. Just as the situation appeared hopeless, the monitor was retrieved and I heaved a sigh of relief, which unfortunately proved to be premature. The pins in the plug of the lead of the monitor were bent and the plug would not go in. I waited impatiently while a senior sister exercised her technical ingenuity and straightened the pins. I counted the seconds as they passed, and offered a silent prayer of gratitude when I found myself outside the lab. But now another hitch arose — I could only take the test standing up and I had forgotten to bring my prosthetic which was necessary for me to stand up. The ward boy was sent back to the ICU to retrieve the apparatus. It was the longest 10 minutes of my life. I sat up to put on my artificial leg and discovered that the ward boy had forgotten the bolt that was necessary to fix the socket to the leg. I almost broke down and wept but then he suddenly remembered that he had put it in his pocket and all was not lost. Finally, when I did walk into the lab, it was to discover that the doctor had gone away. Fortunately, the technician took pity on me and, after a phone call to the doctor, conducted the test. There was no trouble with the ‘ping’ this
time.
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Lessons from Israel’s innovation
Israel can help states like Haryana and Punjab in managing waste, packing, cold storage,
dairy processing and recycling sewerage water for use in agriculture
Israel
has emerged as a leader in various fields, especially water management and renewable energy, science and technology, agriculture and dairy. At Agritech Israel 2012, organised in Tel Aviv from May 15 to 17, Israel showcased some of its latest technologies and farming machinery and dairy practices. Representatives from industry and agriculture, government officials and investors came together on one platform and discussed problems and issues relating, among others, to dairy and agriculture. Haryana has taken keen interest in picking up the best available farming and dairy practices from Israel. The impact of adoption of Israeli farm technology has started yielding results. The Indo-Israeli centre of excellence for vegetables at Gharonda in Haryana’s Karnal district has been able to match the productivity levels
of Israel. “The centre for excellence achieved yields of 302 MT per hectare in tomato, 211 MT in capsicum and 151 MT in cucumber which is on a par
with Israel”, according to Haryana Agriculture Minister Paramveer Singh, who was in Tel Aviv for the “20th anniversary of Israel-India diplomatic relations.
As many as 75 varieties of tomato, 14 hybrids of capsicum in seven colours and five hybrids of cucumber have been tested by 100-odd farmers who adopted protected cultivation. Enthused by the phenomenal success of the project, more farmers adopted the new technologies. As a result, 2.20 lakh sq mt area was brought under protected cultivation. The Haryana government plans to start polyhouse cultivation in 5,000 hectare area in the nextfive years. Fourteen frontline demonstrationcentres are being established in various districts on the pattern of the Gharonda centre. The state also plans to establish an international horticulture market on 200 hectare area with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore at Ganaur. Fifteen cold chain facilities have already been setup, 15 collecting centres and an equal number of commodity hubs are in the pipeline. Haryana now looks forward to collaboration in germ-plasma exchange, bumble bees, nursery management and post-harvest management, especially of fruits and vegetables. The state has a lot to learn from Israel, especially in agriculture development of arid zones for which technology developed by Israel will be useful, adds the minister. Israeli technology will also help in managing waste, packing, cold storage, dairy processing and recycling sewerage water for use in agriculture, says Vani Rao, a Councillor of the Indian embassy in Israel. Israeli Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Orit Noked stressed the need for more collaboration in the fields of food security, water management, renewable energy and environment. Haryana leads in Indo-Israeli collaborations. Out of the total geographical area of 44.21 lakh hectares in Haryana, 38.09 lakh hectare area is cultivated witha crop intensity of 180 per cent. The area under horticulture is 6.40 per cent of the total cropped land. The share of agriculture and allied activities in the state GDP has risen to 16.3 per cent in 2011-2012. Excels in milk management In spite of emerging as the largest milk producer in the world, India faces the problem of low productivity in dairy. On an average, a cow yields 1,300 litres a year. In Israel a cow’s annual yield is 13,000 litres. “Israel also produces high quality milk with a minimum amount of bacteria in it,” says Ronen Koll, Area manager, India and South East Asia, Afimilk. “We have built sheds where more than 1,000 cows are accommodated. These are designed in such a way that the roof can be opened and closed to adjust to the temperature. The automatic farm has got exhaust fans, drinking water and fodder and it needs merely 12 persons to handle 1,000 cows”, explains Koll. India’s dairy sector faces the challenges of contamination, absence of a cool chain, a high bacteria count and heat stress on cows. Technologies developed byIsrael offer solutions. According to Israeli experts, the Indian practice of milking animals by hand causes contamination. Mechanised processes to completely avoid a human touch are available. Air exposure while milking is reduced and milk directly flows into cooling containers at 4 degree Celsius. In Israel the bacteria count per mm is 10,000 whereas in India it is as high as 2 lakh per mm. Heat stress hits milk yield. “We have overcome the problem by providing big ventilators in farms with open/close roofs. Cows are never exposed to direct sun light as they feel heat stress at 25 degrees Celsius and the temperature is maintained below that level. About 60 years ago, local breeds were crossed with European but today we have our world-class Israel Holstein Friesian breeds”, says Ronnen Koll.
Dairy software from Afimilk A global leader in making advanced computerised systems for dairy farms and herd management, Afimilk was the first to introduce pedometers to monitor cows, dairy farm management software and an online milk analyser.“The pedometer is attached on the feet of each cow to see the heat which is normally at 60 steps and when it increases to 300-400 steps, we come to know that the cow is ready for insemination and the computer reads everything”, he adds. Newborn calves are separated immediately and are fed with colostrums, a milk-like substance that jump-starts a newborn's immune system. Milk is tested once a month, every cow has a milk tag, an ear tag and a number for registration. Cows are fed twice a day with fodder comprising silage made of wheat and corn (only dry fodder, calculated in kg) in the 60:40 proportion. No wet fodder is used and there are three milking sessions a day after every eight hours. A farmer gets 55 cents per litre and even the dry manure cows lay is scrapped by machines and taken to produce bio-mass energy of 4 MW everyday. Feet and mouth diseases are negligible due to vaccination and only one per cent suffer from mitosis. Cooling (mix of fogging andstrong winds) is done by fans at the stands by locking the cows. Afimilk operating in the cooperative sector on the pattern of Amul is replicating the technology for the first time in India by setting up the first “demo farm” in Gandhinagar in Gujarat which would start functioning in 10 months. There are 300 cooperatives farms of kibutzs (large community groups) and 800 family farms in Israel and the entire demand of milk and milk products is met locally.
Collagen made from tobacco Prof. Oded Shoseyov of Robert H. Smith faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel), has produced a replica of human collagen from green tobacco plants, an achievement with tremendous commercial implications for its use in a variety of human medical procedures. Collagen is a type of protein, fibrous in nature and is an essential component for hundreds of medical products used in orthopedics, diabetes, cardiology, wound healing and many other diseases as human skin contains 70 per cent collagen. Collagen-based products are used for wound care, surgical meshes, vascular grafts, hem ostasis, drug delivery solutions and corneal shields. Collagen is usually produced from animalslike cows and pigs as well as human cadavers but these materials are prone to harbour human pathogens such as viruses and prions (mad cow disease). The human cadaver on the other hand is scarce and also raises serious ethical issues. The writer, a Senior Staff Correspondent of The Tribune, visited Israel from May 12 to 19 to participate in “Agritech Israel 2012”.
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