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Good, but
not good enough Harassed
Hindus |
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After-relief
disasters
Emerging
regional dynamics
Road to
Myanmar and beyond
Ebbing
Cultural Leadership
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Harassed Hindus
Hindus
in Pakistan seem to have lost all hopes of being allowed to live with their honour, life and property safe in that country. That is why over 150 of them who came to India last Friday as pilgrims from Pakistan do not want to go back home. Belonging to Sindh, they have expressed their desire to live in India forever. Like them, most Hindus in Pakistan, constituting 2 per cent of that country’s population, are eager to migrate to India or any other country. They are scared of living in their own country as they see a serious threat to their life and liberty. Their complaints to the authorities concerned are never taken with the seriousness these deserve. The Hindus in Pakistan have their nominal representation in the democratic institutions there, but their elected community leaders are not much effective in ending their plight. Goons operating in the areas where Hindus live loot their shops, raid their houses and threaten to victimise their children. Sometimes their female children are kidnapped and made to change their religion. Recently a Hindu boy’s conversion got highlighted when he was asked to present his views as part of a TV chat show. The idea ostensibly was to send across the message that his conversion was a voluntary act, but nobody could believe it. How could a boy in his teens understand a religion so deeply that he would be ready to embrace it? Whatever the reason, such developments have scared the members of this largest Pakistani minority so much so that they now see no future in the land of their birth. It is not without reason that leaders of the community, mainly concentrated in Sindh, have approached the diplomatic missions of India and the US to end their persecution. They have to suffer all kinds of indignities because the authorities do not take adequate measures to punish those responsible for their plight. Their plight is a major human rights issue, a valid reason for the international community, including India, to bring enough pressure on Pakistan to ensure that its Hindus as well as other minorities lead life as equal citizens of that country.
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After-relief disasters
When
disasters of the magnitude of Bhuj (earthquake) and Leh (cloudburst) strike, the entire nation is jolted. There is a unanimous — and genuine — outpouring of grief; floodgates of relief money are opened, including massive amounts of private charity. Unfortunately, in this world of fast-developing events, tragedies are forgotten just as fast. That is how one would see what a parliamentary panel has pointed out — hundreds of crores of rupees sanctioned under the MPLADS funds for relief have not been utilised, or no one knows what stage the relief works are at. On Leh, for example, the panel was able to get the status report for only three of the various works sanctioned for more than Rs 900 crore. The House panel concerned itself more with the money released under the MPLADS, but the observations are equally reflective of what happens with other — and bigger — relief grants that come from the Centre following disasters that are declared a national calamity. The Bihar flood relief scam of 2004 was a prime example of how hundreds of crores can be almost entirely siphoned off without spending anything on the victims. The chaos of a post-disaster situation provides ideal conditions for the inefficient as well as the corrupt to cover their tracks. The emergency allows funds to be sanctioned without a thorough study of the requirement. Thereafter, relief plans are again formulated without much thought. For the money directly handed out to the people there is little proof of receipt. To prevent such bungling, or sheer theft, specific mechanisms need to be developed. As the sums are large, accounting should not be left just to the channels that utilise or distribute it in the state. These cannot be relied upon as they are overburdened with relief work that is added to the routine functioning, and also because they themselves are to produce proof of utilisation. Separate nodal officials should be appointed for any such funds, who should be held accountable for the money that passes through them. The red tape may hinder work, but it is better than money being wasted without giving relief.
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Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open. — Alexander Graham Bell
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Emerging regional dynamics The
May 2, 2012, Strategic Partnership Agreement between the US and Afghanistan pledged continuing cooperation between the two countries to “combat Al-Qaeda and its affiliates” and to deter threats to the sovereignty of Afghanistan through continuing close cooperation on defence and security. It was asserted that even after US forces ended participation in combat operations in 2014, it would continue to support training, equipping and sustaining Afghan security forces, “to ensure terrorists never again encroach on Afghan soil and threaten Afghanistan, the region and the world”. The agreement also provides for access to Afghan facilities for US forces. It is to remain in force till 2024. This agreement, taken together with the Afghanistan-India Strategic Cooperation Agreement of October 4, 2011, seems to have led to a reappraisal of thinking in Beijing and Islamabad. China has adopted an ambivalent approach to developments in Afghanistan. While concerned about the impact of Islamic extremism on its Xinjiang province, it appears to have got Pakistan to persuade its Afghan allies in the Taliban and in Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hizb-e-Islami not to attack Chinese nationals or interests in Afghanistan. Moreover, Beijing has done precious little for the reconstruction and development of post-Taliban Afghanistan, though it has pledged $ 4 billion of commercial investment for the development of the Aynak copper mines, southeast of Kabul, together with an agreement in December 2011, to explore oil and natural gas in the Amu Darya basin, and construct an oil refinery. The oil exploration agreement comes after New Delhi’s success in securing access to the nearby Hajikak iron ore mines. This Indian investment has been undertaken by a consortium of Indian-owned public and private sector companies called the Afghan Iron and Steel Company (AFISCO). This consortium is set to not only develop iron ore resources, but also build a steel and power plant. In collaboration with the Indian government, the entire complex involving an estimated investment of $ 11 billion, will include a 200-kilometre railway line to transport the produce to the Iranian border. The first signs of an enhanced Chinese interest in Afghanistan emerged when President Karzai met Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Summit in Tajikistan in June. The two sides reportedly discussed the possibility of a feasibility study for a Turkmenistan, Afghanistan China gas pipeline. Such a pipeline, through northern Afghanistan, would avoid the Taliban-controlled South and would be more viable than the proposed TAPI pipeline to India, which traverses through the Taliban-controlled areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s volatile Baluchistan province. While China would undoubtedly finance the oil pipeline from Turkmenistan, there is still a big question mark over financing arrangements for the TAPI pipeline. The Karzai-Hu meeting was followed by a visit to China by then Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak. In Wardak’s meeting with Guo Boxiong, the Vice-Chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, Guo alluded to bilateral military relations having been “boosted steadily” and called on the two militaries “to enhance strategic communication and strengthen pragmatic cooperation”. China appears now to be paying greater interest in establishing a significant economic presence in mineral-rich northern Afghanistan and promoting closer military ties with the Karzai dispensation, discarding its earlier low-key posture on developments in Afghanistan. Around the same time as Wardak’s visit to China, Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf was in Kabul, where he opened a new Pakistan Embassy building, interestingly located in a part of Kabul which is the stronghold of leaders of the Northern Alliance. More significantly, Ashraf’s visit was an occasion for Pakistanis to meet important leaders of the Northern Alliance, including Ahmed Zia Masood (brother of the legendary Ahmed Shah Masood), who heads the main opposition alliance in Afghanistan. Moreover, the chief of Afghanistan’s Peace Council, Salahuddin Rabbani, met Raja Pervez Ashraf and sought his assistance to reach out to Taliban leaders. What, therefore, emerges is that Pakistan realises that it has to reach out to Tajik and Uzbek leaders in Afghanistan, who in the past were described as “Indian agents”. Worse, the northern leadership of Afghanistan and indeed all those who will be high on a hit list if the Taliban return to Kabul, are reaching out warily to Pakistan to facilitate a dialogue with the Taliban. Significantly, these developments are occurring when cash-strapped Pakistan has been forced to climb down from its high horse and reopen NATO supply routes to Afghanistan. There should be little doubt that despite showing a readiness to expand its collaboration with the Karzai regime, China will work closely with Pakistan to ensure that it does not earn the wrath of the Afghan Taliban. It will not want to face a situation in Afghanistan similar to that in Baluchistan and parts of Pakhtunkhwa province, where its personnel working on economic projects have been targeted. Pakistan, in turn, is slowly coming to realise that it has to be more circumspect in its support for the Taliban and the Haqqani network, which will necessitate a more calibrated approach in its dealings with its long-term strategic assets in Afghanistan. It is entirely possible that Mullah Omar will be “persuaded” to agree to some form of dialogue with the Americans and the Afghan Peace Council. But, given their past experiences with Pakistan, which is unquestionably the most hated and distrusted country for most Afghans, mere professions of goodwill and good intentions by Pakistan will cut no ice with most Afghan leaders. This was manifested when both Defence Minister Wardak and Interior Minister General Bismillah Khan Mohamaddi were censured by the Afghan Parliament for their alleged inability to deter continuing Pakistani shelling of what Pakistan claims are strongholds of the Pakistani Taliban in Afghanistan. Recently there were credible reports from Kabul that Iran had allowed the Taliban to open an office in Zahidan in eastern Iran and that Tehran would assist the Taliban to operate against the Americans in Afghanistan. While Iran has legitimate concerns about the American presence on its borders, supporting a Taliban presence on its soil will only undermine the cordial relations it now enjoys with Afghanistan. Thus, the Iranian assertions about supporting the Taliban may be primarily meant as a warning that Afghan territory should not be used to undermine its sovereignty. There will, no doubt, be occasion to discuss developments in Afghanistan with the Iranian leadership when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Tehran for the forthcoming nonaligned
summit.
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Road to Myanmar and beyond This
is not about “Burmah Road”, an old 1962 Hindi movie, but the route to Burma (Brahmadesh), once part of Britain’s Indian empire, now Myanmar. Manipur borders Myanmar. Long ago, it was a must-do for every VIP visiting Manipur’s capital, Imphal, to drive 110 km to go across the border to visit Tamu, a small village that lay in Myanmar, literally to shop till one dropped. No one cared for Moreh, a small nondescript village in dense jungles, 5 km ahead of Tamu that lay on the Indian side of the Indo-Burma border. It was tiny Tamu which was the most sought-after destination. It had three shops, two being manned by enterprising Sardarjis. The star attraction of Tamu was shopping where one loosened purse-strings over Japanese goods like nylon saris, crockery, cosmetics, mechanical toys, etc — the kind of things that were not manufactured in India in those days and were dirt cheap. But most appealing was Japanese folding umbrellas with multi-locking systems. Their thick handles had powder compacts, lipsticks or torches concealed in them, being priced at Rs 10 each. Burmese hand-painted parasols with bamboo spokes were sold at mere Rs 5. Tamu scored over the state’s placid Loktak lake and renowned Manipur’s Ras Lila / Thoibi Khamba dances. Near Moreh was a bridge from which dangled a small board with “Burma” painted on it. We drove over it to reach Tamu. Today, one finds a board at Moreh’s this very bridge reading “Welcome to India — Myanmar Friendship Road”, installed by the Border Roads Organisation. Moreh, where NH 39 ends, has become India’s gateway to South-East Asia. Now a trade hub and drug den, Moreh literally stands for “Millions Of Rupees Enter Here”. It has a remarkable transition as its isolation from a hamlet to a town has virtually ended due to its liberal open border trade practice. Undeniably, over the years, the scenario has sea-changed. In pursuance of the government’s Look East Policy, a quiet transformation is happening between India’s Northeast and Myanmar, which will ultimately boost international connectivity, trade and geopolitics throughout Asia. Since ages, India has been at the centre of Asia’s most vital trade routes (the Silk Route). Its commanding position at the heart of South-East Asia is enviable. Now, imagine a highway between once-sleepy Moreh and Myanmar-Thai border. Perhaps driving to Thailand could even become a reality. A bus service between Imphal and Mandalay in Myanmar is also mooted. In a 20-year dream project, Indian Railways is a signatory to the Trans-Asian Railway Network that will connect 28 countries — India, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Mongolia, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, Russia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bulgaria, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, etc. Work on the Trans-Asia Railways (which aims to connect Istanbul to Hanoi) is now underway near Imphal.
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Ebbing Cultural Leadership
AN
AMerican museologist, Dr. Grace Louise McCann Morley (1900-1985), became the Founder Director of the National Museum in New Delhi, on August 8, 1960. With the grand opening of the magnificent building, India had set the bar high for cultural institutions in the developing world. Founder of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Dr. Morley had continued at its helm for 23 illustrious years prior to relocating to India at the invitation of late Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. Honoured with Padma Bhushan for her tireless dedication, service and foresight, she remained in India till her death in 1985. The National Museum has not been the same since. Dreadful neglect Like a dinosaur fossilised in its quasi-self, the lumbering National Museum — home to over 2,00,000 artefacts, exhibits complete lack of cultural leadership, vision and pride in our priceless cultural heritage, at every conceivable level. With over 108 permanent positions vacant and barely 7.6% of its collections on display, the museum has never had any credible professional leadership in the last two decades and continues to be run by a revolving door of civil servants with little to no expertise in contemporary museum practice. Seven out of its 26 galleries continue to remain closed for prolonged periods while some of the significant curatorial positions have been eliminated or have remained vacant for 18 years. Last year, a Parliamentary Committee, headed by Sitaram Yechury issued a scathing critical report on the inadequacies plaguing the National Museum. The 167th Report also noted that the Art Acquisitions Committee of the museum had been defunct now for 15 years with on-going ad-hoc acquisitions and pointed to no inventory stock-taking since 2003. He also pointed out the shocking lack of gallery renovation standards. A Phase III building expansion project to increase gallery space started in 2003, has remained incomplete. Laudably, the Committee has recommended a revamp of recruitment procedures, benefits would be reaped it suggests, if the selection of the Director General’s position is not handled by a board constituted of curators and or historians, but by museum professionals with international exposure to best practices in cultural leadership and design-build rigours. Many sub-committees and advisory panels are chaired and led by individuals with little experience in running national or international cultural institutions and as such their advice remains out of sync with global visionary leadership practices and transformative institutional change management requirements. Out of the 911 World Heritage Sites listed by UNESCO, India is home to 28. In the zealousness to chase the mirage of becoming an economic powerhouse, we are ignoring our most precious asset — our culture that defines us. Museums are collective souls of civil societies that give us a sense of place, a sense of history that gives us the strength to lead our aspirations into the future. Resource remorse The 2011-2012 Central Government Budget for the Ministry of Culture is a mere Rs.1338 crore, out of which a paltry Rs.135 crore is set aside for all the museums across the country that includes the National Museum absorbing nearly Rs.19 crore of this sum. Deducting planned overheads and payroll, the remaining resources are woefully inadequate to even begin to think of basic improvements and upkeep of crumbling facilities and premises, let alone creating world-class exhibit and programming experiences, augmenting their staggering priceless collections. However, fiscal resources are only part of the problem. A bigger concern is human resource. India needs a world-class training institute exclusively for excellence in museum studies and much-needed cultural awareness for the people managing and leading its cultural resources. After 65 years of pursuit of excellence in education and such rich heritage at our disposal, we should be able to produce experts in museology. But, what is evident from the poor state of our national and state run museums floundering for budget and vision at many levels contradicts our efforts. Adequate awareness of best practices and international museum standards is needed for the bureaucracy that is often entrusted with caretaking as well as for those young professionals who will be the future cultural ambassadors to India’s heritage within India and overseas. The approach to both levels of training programmes will address the growing need for effective management and leadership while leveraging cultural resources for diverse audiences and the overcoming challenges of addressing contemporary stakeholders through old methods and traditional practices. Transformative change As India lacks a comprehensive Museum Policy that addresses the changing needs of a globalised work-force and has an indigenous population-base that is increasingly looking beyond the material measures of success, the time has come to create a think-tank. With the Prime Minister finally appointing a Minister of Culture late last year after holding on to the portfolio for many years, the Central and state governments need to now precipitate a partnership between corporations and individual resources to trigger a workable strategy for a 2020 vision, in-line with the best in the world. There is a growing need, now more than ever, to address the needs of museums and their diametrical congruence with tourism, economic, regional development coupled with foresight and leadership to truly capture the spirit of “incredible India”! Contemporary culture Noveau museums, art galleries and similar destinations of non-formal learning, experimentation and visual repositories of lifestyle, are vehicles of economic regeneration and inspiration in civil societies. Often leisure destinations with interesting contemporary twists attract not only tourists, but other investment in allied sectors and industry keen on offering the quality of life that the ambience offers. Apart from generating direct revenues, employment, e-commerce, tourism and restaurant investments, real estate, retail and rentals, museums serve as cultural ambassadors for political, strategic and a range of community benefits. A working formula that offers a combination of tax incentives and targeted philanthropic edge at regional and national levels, can aid India harness a significant portion of its national taxable income towards a higher societal purpose. Youth and heritage While it is true that India is a young nation, the museums hardly offer any content that resonates with this missing swathe of our population. The cultural landscape provides significant capital investment opportunities and new projects that could have tremendous public interest and support. Untapped subject fields of fashion, design, music, cinema, health awareness, culinary diversity of India, et al can all be transformed into rich museum exhibit experiences with travelling avatars in circulation at international venues. Examples of such initiatives with investment opportunities, urban planning, community revitalisation and econometrics of success abound in various parts of the globe. With more and more Indians travelling abroad and visiting museums and heritage sites, there is a growing desire to experience similar cultural sensitivity and pride in our museums. It is an encouraging trend which should catalyse public interest in applying standards of cleanliness, care, creativity and character towards the betterment of our cultural institutions. Globalisation is beginning to affect cross-cultural dialogue at many levels and their impact on the future of museums is yet to be fully discerned. The catalytic coordination of professional resources and implementation dynamics is expanding possibilities of reach and outreach resulting in remarkable optimisation of financial and intellectual resources. Intercultural dialogue is changing the way architects and museum designers are approaching the visual manifestation of modern museums with increasing emphasis on the subtle aesthetic, laced with fresh thinking that resonates with contemporary society. Museum designers from different continents are cross-pollinating their creative rigors on to the creation of national museums obtuse to their own cultural backgrounds. Not only has the last decade seen an increased blurring of the local vernacular and national identities, it has experienced an unprecedented fluidity of resources that has re-shaped the manifestation of culture and heritage. From conventional leanings of curatorial practices to the frayed edges of neo-economic colonialism, museums face a plethora of challenges as they seek relevance while engaging diverse audiences. With countless museums, heritage sites and immeasurably immense resources, some, on the brink of being lost, there is a tremendous opportunity to raise the bar, train and educate a new generation of cultural resource professionals to lead the change in transforming the way we appreciate, preserve and present our heritage. India ’s soft-power, in effect, is woven into this fabric and is in need of a radical shift in the way our cultural resources are governed. The impact of these resources transcends the very perception of India – for those who visit it to be transformed or transfixed irreversibly. The writer is a well-known
museologist who has authored books on the future of museums
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