The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Lethal and small
Miniaturised drones and future of war

Armies the world over seek weapons that maximise enemy losses while minimising their soldiers’ exposure. Now there is a new kid on the block, Switchblade, which is a drone issued to the soldiers deployed in Afghanistan by the US army.

It can be carried in a backpack and used on the battlefield instead of calling for an air-strike. The Switchblade is a lightweight, unmanned drone which the soldiers will be able to launch in the battlefield and use to kill enemy snipers and other targets. In the war in Afghanistan, the increasing use of drones of all kinds under the Obama administration has proved effective in reducing American casualties, although concerns remain about the collateral damage that drone attacks often entail.

While the Switchblade is essentially a small drone with a relatively small explosive charge as compared with its bigger and more lethal predecessors like Predator and Reaper, it has its own risks. Instead of a senior officer giving the command, the decision will now be taken at the platoon level, or even by individual soldiers on the scene, who would not be able to see beyond their immediate environment.

In any case, the use of drones in war is now fast on its way of becoming an established practice. It is widely seen as inevitable as armies seek more and get more sophisticated gadgets which make it possible to conduct missions in areas that are too dangerous to risk pilots. However, drone attacks have also raised questions about violations of territorial rights of sovereign states, and brought to the fore many ethical issues that arise because of their deployment. Drones are among the many robotic machines that increase the effectiveness of troops and reduce their exposure. They are the flavour of the season, but the allure of the technological marvels that they are should not eclipse the fact that these remain deadly machines and deployment of these has real, often fatal, consequences on human beings who become their targets.

Working children
Need for out-of-box approach

Who remembers Chitra, Muneeswari and the other 40,000 children who work in the fireworks and matchstick industry at Shivakasi, risking their lives and wasting childhood! Chitra, a 12 year old, received burns while at work in a fireworks factory at Shivakasi that distorted her face forever. Fearing legal action and pressure from her employers, her family’s lips were sealed.

Poverty nullifies what reads like a testament of humanity on paper. Phrases like “children’s rights” and the Child Labour Act, 1986, meet a different ground reality in the shacks of carpet weavers of Bhadohi and the entire belt of North India leading to Varanasi from Allahabad, where thousands of children work for 12 to 18 hours to get two square meals a day. They are kept under inhuman conditions for their high productivity. Their nimble fingers are best- suited for the fine knots they create per square inch with ease, which lends finesse to the carpets. Despite the hullabaloo created by carpet importers against the use of child labour in the carpet industry, things were back to square one once the economy hit a downward trend.

Child rights advocates need to empathise with unique realities of India that push about 60 million children to labour. If many of these children do not find work, at dhabas, as domestic help, as porters, etc, which gives them some sustenance, they would die of hunger. India has peculiar problems and needs to find solutions that are required for the cause of ending poverty and hunger. Children who cannot go to regular schools should be offered the facility of evening schools or, education at work place, so that they are able to improve their future. Once when Laloo Prasad Yadav, the then Chief Minister of Bihar, had advocated roaming schools on buffalo backs, to educate the children, the educated elite spoofed his idea. In reality, India needs an innovative, out-of-the-box approach to tackle its massive problem of child labour.

Thought for the Day

Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises. — Demosthenes

ARTICLE

The crisis of leadership
Disappointing time for India’s friends abroad
by Harsh V. Pant

They say when it rains, it pours. In recent days, bad news has been the norm insofar as India is concerned. The nation is at a crossroads and its leadership is asleep at the wheels. We have recently been informed that India’s GDP grew by 5.3 per cent in the first quarter of this year, far below expectations and much lower than the 6.1 per cent growth seen in the last quarter of 2011.

In fact, it’s the slowest growth since March 2003. The news will keep getting worse unless our leaders wake up and smell the coffee. There is a growing sense of disquiet and a crisis of confidence is growing.

Rebutting corruption charges levelled against him by Team Anna members, the Prime Minister, in a rare case of public engagement, expressed outrage and suggested that he would quit politics if those charges were proved correct. Given his lack of leadership over the last three years, the nation can be forgiven for thinking that he had quit politics long back. The Prime Minister and the top leadership of the Congress party, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, don’t like engaging with the public. They don’t explain their decisions; they don’t talk to the people of the nation directly; they don’t seem to believe that there is any need to engage with ordinary Indians. The Prime Minister makes no effort to create and mould public opinion to help him in governance and in support of his policies.

Recently, Sonia Gandhi has suggested that it has become fashionable to say there is a policy paralysis in the government. But fashionable or not, that’s the reality. One just have to look at the economic data. Data doesn’t lie, politicians do!

That this should be happening at this juncture in India’s economic transition is a real tragedy. This should have been India’s moment. The Western world is mired in an unprecedented economic crisis. The eurozone crisis has made it impossible for most European economies to grow and this will remain the case for a number of years. The US is also finding it difficult to get out of the economic morass it has sunk into. The political deadlock in Washington DC and the Presidential elections in November have forced the government to postpone tough choices. As a consequence, the developed world is looking inwards as a vacuum is felt in global leadership. China has its own political transition to worry about and recent events, including the Bo Xilai affair, have made the Chinese Communist Party more cautious as the change of guard approaches. More significantly, China’s economic growth has also weakened.

This should have been India’s moment to lead the way. But Indian story seems to be over even before it began. The rupee remains Asia’s worst performing currency; there is a growing deficit, investors are refusing to invest in India due to policy uncertainty, and the common man is facing the spectre of an ever-rising inflation. There is a persistent sense of chaos at the moment domestically with the government unable to take any decision and having the force of will to implement them. The government’s allies and the Opposition have sensed this weakness and they are making sure that this government, which still has two more years to go, becomes a lame-duck entity.

For the outside world, especially for India’s friends and allies, this is a disappointing time. The US, which has invested significantly in a strategic partnership with India, finds the relationship struggling to regain the past glory. India’s allies in East and Southeast Asia, who had hoped New Delhi would emerge as a critical balancer vis-à-vis China, are looking elsewhere. India’s friends in Afghanistan are shifting their loyalties, fearing Pakistan’s resurgence after the NATO forces withdraw in 2014. The only saving grace in this bleak scenario is the fact that domestic turbulence in China and Pakistan has prevented these countries from taking advantage of disarray in India.

Yet, the Indian political system is behaving as if nothing is wrong. India is facing a crisis of leadership that has allowed this drift to set in. Sonia Gandhi has all the power but no governmental responsibility; Manmohan Singh has responsibility but no power. For a party that won a decisive mandate in 2009, this all-pervasive decline is almost difficult to decipher. Economically, the party has not allowed the government to proceed with the second generation of reforms programme. Socially, the stench of corruption is now too odious to bear. All major institutions of governance are now struggling to retain their legitimacy. Politically, the party in power has lost all the capital it had earned in the 2009 elections. There is no coherence in the government with all departments working as if there are no national imperatives, only departmental interests.

The political landscape of contemporary India tragically is devoid of both, effective CEOs and visionary leaders. The Prime Minister, despite his noble intentions, has not been able to provide a vision for the nation’s future. Yet, it is not his fault. He didn’t earn the political capital in the last elections. Sonia Gandhi, as the leader of the Congress, did and yet she seems to have failed to use the capital that she had earned against heavy odds to carve out a vision of where the Congress should be leading India in the crucial years.

Regrettably, there is hardly any choice before the Indians. The BJP, as the main opposition party, is equally bereft of leadership. Various chief ministers, once they become popular, start running their states as their personal fiefdoms. Regional parties propagate a version of leadership that is even more draconian than the two main political parties. Today’s political class seems incapable of either inspiring or effectively managing the country’s myriad problems. It says something about the dearth of political talent in the country when the best that the Indians are offered are either the derivatives of various dynastic legacies — the Gandhis, the Scindias, the Singhs, the Pilots — or are those who play to the worst fears and anxieties of their countrymen, the Narendra Modis, the Thackerays, the Mulayam Singhs and the Mayawatis. No wonder India continues to look to the film industry and its cricket pitches in search of its idols.

India today is in dire need of leaders who can not only spell out an idea of India that this moment in history demands but can also effectively manage to bring that vision to fruition. Surely, this about-to-be the most populous nation on earth can produce leaders who can dream big and help Indians realise those dreams by embracing “the better angles of our nature”.n

The writer teaches at King’s College, London.

MIDDLE

Stepping into my son’s shoes
by Raj Kanwar

IT was 20 years ago that my younger son had gone to the US to do his under-graduation; he was then barely 17. We had imagined that he would try for admission to some top Indian engineering or management institution, and he had even joined the Aggarwal Coaching classes specialising in such joint entrance examinations.

As we sat down to discuss his options, he came out with a well-rehearsed plan. “Papa, do you know that “lakhs and lakhs of aspiring teenagers like me take these entrance examinations, but hardly 3 or 4 per cent finally manage to get into these prestigious institutions,” he said with a flourish of a salesman trying to sell air-conditioners to Eskimos. My wife and I looked at him wondering what next he had up his sleeves. He continued, “I apologise for not having taken you into confidence. Unknown to both of you, I had taken SAT and TOEFL tests and am glad to inform you that I have cleared both these tests with flying colours. Thus, my admission to any US university of my choice is assured”, he added anxiously looking at us for signs of approval or disapproval. Noticing my hesitancy, he threw another bomb. “I have also been given tentative admission by the Cleveland State University (CSU) which will be confirmed when we pay $ 5,000 as advance fee for the first semester. And to soften our shock, he softly added that he would stay with Minna Didi in Cleveland and that would save a lot of money on dormitory or hostel accommodation.

To cut the long story short, he duly joined CSU as an undergraduate in chemical engineering and did extremely well in all his tests in the first two semesters, in the process winning a monthly stipend of a thousand dollars. He came home for a holiday after a year; and was full of enthusiasm and told us many stories. When he was finished with telling us all those amusing stories, he opened his handbag and brought out a few gifts and added that he had paid for these gifts from his stipend money.

It was then, like a magician, he took out a pair of black shoes which looked fairly new. To my surprise, he said, “Papa, these shoes are your size 8. My shoe size has now increased to 9. I hereby present these shoes to you, my dear father, with all my regards and love. Sons generally step into their father’s shoes but in this instance you will be literally stepping into my shoes.” Then he bowed respectfully and wished me a long life. With silent tears in my eyes, I stepped into my son’s shoes as he and my wife clapped.

OPED the arts

Nursing old films to health
Films are an irreplaceable part of our history—political as well as social. Unfortunately, films made barely three decades ago have lost their prints for lack of storage facilities and laboratories
Ranjan Dasgupta

A secne from Kundan Shah’s unforgettable comedy ‘Jaane Bhi do Yaaron’, restored by NFDC featuring ( L toR) Om Puri, Neena Gupta, Pankaj Kapoor and Deepak Qazir

Martin Scorsese Foundation has finally restored and preserved Uday Shankar’s artistic creation ‘Kalpana.’ The film, based on the inner strife of an artist was screened at the classics section of the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival. It appeared as a brand new film in black and white and received a standing ovation.

On a request from Pandit Ravi Shankar, Martin Scorsese (Producer, director of cult films like ‘The Aviator,’ ‘The Departed,’ ‘Gangs of New York,’ ‘Goodfellas,’ ‘The Colour of Money’ etc.) initiated the noble step of restoring ‘Kalpana.’ This incident clearly shows how memorable film prints are neglected and uncared for in India. No one, not even producers have taken measures to restore classics which have brought international glory and pride to our nation. Nowhere else in the world does one come across such an act of neglect towards one’s own national treasures.

The process of restoration and preservation remained unknown to India for a very long time. The print of Chetan Anand’s ‘Neechanagar,’ India’s first film to win the Grand Prix at Cannes in 1946 jointly with Sir David Lean’s ‘Brief Encounters’ was discovered by cinematographer Subroto Mitra at a grocer’s shop of Kolkata in the mid- 60s. Subroto Mitra recognised the film print and handed it over to the National Film Archives of Pune.

In the 60s, 70s and 80s, film preservation was a rarely talked about matter in India. No one cared for restoring and preserving classic film prints till Satyajit Ray’s timeless classics were restored by the Academy of Motion Pictures after his demise in 1992. Ismail Merchant, Martin Scorsese and Sir Richard Attenborough joined hands to maintain Ray’s masterpieces, frame by frame, the cost for which was borne by the Academy. Since the restoration of Ray’s films by the Academy, the need for preservation of films in India received prominence and an awareness was generated amongst a certain section of conscious film makers.

Learning from Europe, US

Quite contrary to the neglect with which classics have been treated in India, Europe has been more sensitive in the area of film preservation. The immortal creations of Ingmar Bergman, Federico Felini and even the works of Vitorio D’Sica have been very well preserved. The torch bearers of the French neo wave Francois Truffaunt, Jean Luc Goddard, Chabrol and Louis Mal have taken special care on their own to preserve their works. The most famous of the lot has been Francisco Rossi from Italy who, in fact started the trend of preserving films at par with Hollywood which has so far the best technology for preserving films.

Hollywood has remained the ideal example of film preservation. Later generation filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola, Sir Alan Parker and even Steven Spielberg have taken special care to preserve and restore classics created by John Ford, Sir David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder and Elia Kazan. Kazan and William Wyler first stressed on the importance of film preservation in the late 50s and 60s. Their efforts received further boost when Gregory Peck as chairman of the Oscar committee took concrete measures for preservation of umpteen Hollywood classics. Then, Steven Spielberg took the task ahead, he has stated that , “ ‘Brief Encounters’, ‘How Green Was My Valley’, ‘A Gentleman’s Agreement’ and ‘Diary Of Anna Frank’ and many such other haunting films would have been destroyed if we and the Academy did not take the initiative to restore them. My idol is Sir David Lean and it was a challenge for me to see to that his creations remain intact.”

Quite contrary to this scenario, in 2009, Mrinal Sen’s ‘Khandahar’ could not be screened at Cannes classic section at it was in a sorrowful condition. After special instructions from the Prime Minister’s Office, The National Film Archives took utmost care under the supervision of Govind Nihalani to restore ‘Khandahar’ which was shown at Cannes the following year. Govind Nihalani, who headed the technical team of the project took personal initiative to restore ‘Khandahar.’ He says, “It was a matter of shame that Mrinalda’s classic could not be screened initially as the print was in a very bad condition. I supervised frame by frame the restoration process and the final print appeared brand new. Mrinalda has recently requested me to restore a couple of his other classics and I will do anything to do what he has requested me to.”

Role of NFDC

During the last few years NFDC (National Film Development Corporation of India) in collaboration with the National Film Archives, Pune, has started the process of restoring and preserving many memorable Indian films. Apart from many of its own productions, NFDC has completed restoring Goutam Ghose’s ‘Paar’ and ‘Antarjali Yatra.’ The pathetic condition of negatives of ‘Antarjali Yatra’ and ‘Paar’ brought tears to Goutam Ghose’s eyes, his films were barely 25 years old and were in such deplorable condition. ‘Antarjali Yatra’ was critically acclaimed and was screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. ‘Paar’ got lead actors Naseeruddin Shah National Award for Best Actor, and Best Actress award for Shabana Azmi. In addition, Naseeruddin won the Volpi Cup Best Actor award and the film got the UNESCO Award at the Venice Film Festival and the Fipresci Award.

The presence of an able cinematographer is a must for restoration exercise of cinema. Only an experienced cinematographer can understand and work on colour compositions, understand the layers and frequencies of each frame and complete the restoration work. Along with Goutam Ghose and Govind Nihalani, cinematographer A.K.Bir has taken lots of efforts to preserve a few classics. Bir says, “It is an optimistic and encouraging trend now as more classics are being restored at the National Film Archives with the latest technology available. It is monotonous and laborious yet a very interesting process to restore old films, without disturbing the original version.”

Restoration of a coloured film costs something between Rs. 14 to 18 Lakh. A black and white film’s restoration costs even more. Now with availability of advanced technology many producers like Randhir Kapoor, Manoj Kumar and Kiran Shantaram have undertaken all the necessary efforts to restore films of R.K. Vishal International and Rajkamal Kalamandir banners. Similar exercises are being conducted by Yash Chopra and Subhash Ghai. Alerted by the fate meted out to classics, Manoj Kumar, veteran actor and director of several patriotic films has initiated the process of restoration on his own. He says, “I have at my own expenditure preserved ‘Shaheed,’ a film I am most emotionally attached to, though it is not my own production. My process of digitalizing the prints of ‘Upkar,’ ‘Purab Aur Pashchim,’ ‘Shor’ and other productions of mine with dolby effect is complete. If I do not care for my own creations, who else will?” he wonders.

Regional films

‘Khandahar’ restored: Shabana Azmi in a scene from Mrinal Sen’s restored film of the same title Picture courtesy: Kunal Sen

Compared to films from other regional languages, Bengali films of the 40s, 50s and 60s are in worst condition. Evergreen creations of Pramathesh Barua, Ajay Kar, Tapan Sinha and Rajen Tarafdar are very difficult to restore as either prints are not available or are damaged. One really wonders if it will be possible to see ‘Mukti,’ ‘Jighansha,’ ‘Ganga’ and ‘Khudito Pashan’ again in a new form-- well preserved and restored. Even some memorable films of Uttam Kumar are facing the same fate. In comparison Telegu, Tamil and Kannada films are better preserved.

Only effective measures by the government are not enough to maintain and preserve classics. It is the duty of individual producers and distributors mainly to restore classic cinema. A reputed company like Dev Anand’s Navketan does not have a proper print of its maiden film ‘Afsar.’ The print exists without any sound-track. The print of another Navketan film ‘Humsafar’ is not available. A huge fire at Bombay Talkies burnt many prints including that of ‘Baadbaan’, a brilliant creation of director Phani Majumdar. Adoor Gopalkrishan, noted director of Malayalam films says, “ Though I have never produced any film, I fully appreciate the necessity of restoring classics. In a country like ours where cinema is a part of our culture, it is of prime importance to see to it that the best of our works are well maintained at the level of international standards.”

The writer is a freelance journalist

Classics reborn

l In Bollywood, thousands of films have been lost forever. Film storage vaults routinely put out advertisements threatening to dispose of unclaimed classics. Prints of many critically acclaimed films are lost forever. Few films of high artistic value, which are still in a restorable condition are now being selected by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC). It has already launched 22 classics on DVD under the title 'Cinemas of India'. These cult films have been digitally restored for the first time and are re-released in the market with a far better viewing experience.

l Titles under the ‘Cinemas of India’ launched on DVDs & VCDs include the classics like ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron’ by Kundan Shah, Ketan Mehta's rustic ‘Mirch Masala,’ the multi-ensemble ‘Party’ by Govind Nihalani, Sudhir Mishra's ‘Dharavi’ and the satirical take on the modern-day Devdas in ‘Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda’ by Shyam Benegal.

l The National Film Archives of India (NFAI) has belatedly begun work on digitising and preserving film titles that belong to it. With about 5,000 titles to work on, they have a long way to go. They have begun work by prioritising; films with only one remaining print are being restored first. The restored prints include Mehboob Khan's 1938 film’ Watan,’ P C Barua's ‘Shapmukti’ and ‘Amiri,’ Ezra Mir's ‘Beete Din’ and Mrinal Sen's ‘Matir Manisha.’

l Shyam Benegal’s films, such as ‘Bhumika’ and ‘Nishaant’ have been restored by New York's Lincoln Centre, which needed the prints for a Smita Patil retrospective.

l Vinod Chopra's National Award-winning Parinda has had its wings clipped too. The print is badly damaged and preliminary work is on to restore it at San Francisco.