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Lacklustre 2G auction
Unfortunate incident |
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Reason aborted
Sufism, Salafism and state in Pakistan
Of women and men
CINEMA: NEW Releases RATINGS: Nonika Singh ‘‘It’s not a story of courage, but of love." But then one hadn't expected anything different. Yash Raj films, more pertinently those directed by the late Yash Chopra, have invariably revolved around the theme of undying love. Jab Tak Hai Jaan is without a doubt about love that spans time, barriers, class divide and much more.
Masala with Punjabi tadka
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Lacklustre 2G auction
The just-concluded 2G (second generation) spectrum auction has fetched only Rs 9,407 crore compared to Rs 67,719 crore raised in the 3G spectrum bidding. The CAG had accused the government of causing the exchequer a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore by allocating, instead of auctioning, 2G spectrum. The astronomical figure of loss was based on the 3G auction price. The CAG, the Opposition, the government, the Supreme Court and the media wasted so much time on discussing what was, and what has turned out to be, a notional loss. The 2G allocation, no doubt, was manipulated by the then Telecom Minister, A Raja, and others to favour certain companies for which the law is taking its course. The CAG and the Supreme Court had erred by suggesting that auction was the best form of resource allocation. To auction or allocate resources is for the government to decide. If mobile phones have become accessible at the mass level, it is because telecom companies got spectrum cheap. Now more companies have entered the once lucrative field and competition has shrunk profit margins. Eleven telecom firms operate in Mumbai and eight in Delhi. As a result, there were no takers for 2G spectrum in both cities. Besides, the reserve price set by the regulatory authority at the instance of the Supreme Court was, perhaps, too high, which upset the financial calculations of service providers. When the 3G auction took place, the Indian growth story was intact. Subsequently, the financial meltdown and recession rocked the developed world. Reports of scandal after scandal put the government on the defensive, resulting in policy paralysis. While the 2G auction has proved the CAG claim of loss as outlandish, it is not a time for celebration for the government – as some of the ministers seem to be doing. The government is faced with a serious financial crisis. Its plans to raise money through spectrum auction and disinvestment are likely to flounder as the economic environment has deteriorated due to the issue of fiscal cliff in the US and second-dip recession in Europe. |
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Unfortunate incident
A
clash between supporters of two groups of political parties during a meeting of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee is an unfortunate occurrence that should not have been allowed to take place. Violence has no place in a gurdwara. Such behaviour should certainly not have been allowed to occur. What kind of an example are the two groups, each wanting to be on the managing committee, setting by hurting each other with sticks and stones? The clash has brought to the fore a simmering dispute between supporters of the Shiromani Akali Dal Badal (Delhi) and Akali Dal (Delhi), which owe political allegiance to the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Congress, respectively. There is some merit in the belief that the clash was a result of a proxy fight between the two main political parties that are seeking support from the Sikhs in Delhi. A proposed amendment to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara (Amendment) Bill 2012, according to which every voter would exercise two votes, one for electing a member to the DSGMC and the other for electing the president directly, has also caused some disquiet among Sikh voters in Delhi. This move has been opposed not only by the Shiromani Akali Dal Badal (Delhi), but also by a number of Sikh bodies. Is this change really necessary? If so, the DGPC and the government should explain its position to the community at large, and build up a consensus on the issue. Sikh gurdwara politics has distressingly often been the cause of violence in gurdwaras. It even seems to transcend the geographical boundaries of the subcontinent, a recent clash in a California gurdwara being a case in point. It is time for everyone concerned to realise the importance of disagreeing without being disagreeable and it is imperative that the situation must never be allowed to deteriorate to the level that generates violence. The violation of sanctity of a place of worship is always painful, more so if it involves its custodians and those who are ‘battling’ for custodianship. |
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Reason aborted
It has taken the death of an Indian woman to awaken the Irish government to the absurdity of its anti-abortion law that makes no provision to terminate a pregnancy even to save the life of a mother. It is only in the wake of a media uproar, and a subsequent protest outside Parliament in Dublin, that the government has promised to “bring legal clarity to this issue”. Savita Halappanavar, 31, who was miscarrying, was not allowed to abort a foetus that in any case would not have survived. The reason given by doctors was that Ireland was a Catholic country where the law did not allow abortion. The Irish Supreme Court had in 1992 ruled that abortion was allowed if there was a threat to the mother’s life. However, this remained a matter of jurisprudence, and the government never amended the law to formally legislate on the provision. As the circumstances that warrant an abortion have not been spelled, it remains up to the doctors to decide, who may be swayed by personal belief or be so wary of the law and social sanction as to delay the termination till it is too late, as in the case of Savita. The majority in Ireland is in favour of abortion to save a mother’s life. But such has been the influence of the Catholic Church on politics in Ireland until the 1980s — though now much weakened — that successive governments have avoided legislating on the issue for fear of losing conservative voters. Religion and politics can be a deadly mix, as India has experienced particularly with personal laws. No government has been able to show much spine in such matters, whether it is conversion, marriage or inheritance laws. When voters are manipulated for vested interest, reason is the first casualty. This assumes tragic proportions when matters of health and medicine get involved, as in Ireland. Science will continue to pose challenges of ethics and morality, but modern-day civilisation calls for a reasoned debate to reach decisions in which religion and human good do not impinge on each other. |
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Tough times never last, but tough people do. — Robert H. Schuller |
Sufism, Salafism and state in Pakistan
How should one understand and interpret what has happened within Pakistan in recent months, especially the radical groups led by the Taliban and its allied sectarian outfits targeting both the state and society? On the one hand, institutions of the state are being constantly targeted, the recent attacks on the airbase in Kamra and the earlier ones on PNS Mehran in Karachi and GHQ in Rawalpindi would highlight a trend in the Taliban’s war against the symbols of the state. On the other hand, there have also been a series of attacks on various societal institutions, especially sufism; attacks on the famous shrines in Karachi and Lahore, besides those in tribal regions, would also signify another trend in what the radical groups are attempting. Clearly, there is a trend: what do these attacks signify? And where is the trend leading to? It is not difficult to understand why the radical groups are targeting the state and its institutions. Led by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the groups that are targeting the state are not monolithic. Some of these groups, like the multiple factions of the TTP with their headquarters in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), reflect the post-9/11 phenomenon. Others such as the two Afghan Taliban factions led by Mullah Omar and the Haqqanis had established their linkages with Pakistan in the 1990s; so has been Al-Qaida, which perhaps is in the last stage of elimination from Pakistan and moving towards another unstable region, perhaps the Middle East-North Africa (MENA). And then there are those home-grown sectarian organisations, a legacy of General Zia and the proxy war led by Saudi Arabia and Iran in Pakistan, in which Islamabad and Rawalpindi played a willing role. The Sipah-e-Sahaba, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and other sectarian organisations are the offshoots of this Zia legacy. Of the above groups, there has been an understanding between the TTP and sectarian organisations. Now bracketed as the “Punjabi Taliban” (of course, vehemently denied by the Punjab provincial government in Pakistan), the sectarian organisations from Punjab provide the much-needed access, intelligence and infrastructure for the TTP to strike deep into Pakistan, though headquartered in Waziristan. Other groups – the two factions of the Afghan Taliban, especially the Huqqani network and Al-Qaida --- are still dependent on Pakistan; hence, there have not been any significant cases in which these three groups have turned against Pakistan and started an open war. It is important to note that despite the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and the multiple arrests of its leadership by Pakistan (including those being handed over to the US), Al-Qaida has neither issued a statement nor acted against the interests of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. So is the case of the two factions of the Afghan Taliban. Reasons are easy to predict; these groups are highly dependent on Pakistan for their future course – either in Afghanistan or outside. On the other hand, the TTP and its sectarian affiliates are inward looking and compete with the state for influence within Pakistan. While many within Pakistan believe in a mirage that after the American exit from Afghanistan, the TTP would become a force of stability and an army of peace; given their trajectory, it is unlikely that they would give up. The TTP and its sectarian supporters are targeting the state for the following primary reasons. First and foremost, they are targeting the state in retaliation for the military’s initiatives in containing them. Referred to as “revenge attacks” in the press statements made after their high-profile targets, one could observe the TTP linking it to the death of Osama bin Laden, military operations in Swat and Waziristan, reopening of the NATO supply lines, and Pakistan’s collusion with the US. The second major reason for the TTP targeting the state is what the pro-Taliban analysts and supporters both outside and inside the establishment do not want to understand: the TTP perceives certain areas and issues as their domain, and do not want the state to intervene. The FATA, a few border districts of Khyber Pakhtunkwa, including Malakand and Swat, and perhaps some districts of Balochistan and Punjab are also considered as their areas of influence. Why would the TTP object to the peace march by Imran Khan and his party in Waziristan to oppose the drone attacks? Those who follow these outfits know that Imran Khan is a soft Talibani in his heart and is closer to the TTP in terms of ideology than any of the other political parties in Pakistan. Despite that, the TTP issued a warning against Imran Khan’s proposed march in Waziristan last month. Why? The reason is simple: the TTP considers the region as a part of its own sphere of influence and would not want either the state or any institution, including any political party, to venture into its territory. On a similar note, the TTP is also against a few institutions of society, including sufism. Why would the TTP and its affiliates target sufi shrines? How would a cemetery of a sufi poet constitute a threat to the TTP? If the TTP and its affiliates are against the state and political parties entering into their area and contend for power, they are also against sufism, for it would undermine the TTP influence at the societal level and pose an alternative to the people. These radical groups understand that common people go to sufis and are generally influenced by their teachings, including the Islam propagated by them. These radical groups would not want any institution to challenge their presence at any level – state, political and societal. If they take on the state militarily, they use their own version of Islam, closer to salafism vis-a-vis sufism at the societal level. This fits the agenda of the sectarian groups such as the Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, who use this to target their primary opponents – the Shias, Ahmediyas and other minority groups. There is a pattern that could be observed in how those adhering to the other faiths are being targeted. While the Ahmediyas and Shias were initially targeted, for they have been an easy prey, now the TTP and its affiliates have started targeting Sufi Islam. It is for the same reason the TTP mullahs and the young leadership is afraid of tribal jirgas and elders as an alternative source of conflict resolution. They do not want any challenge from the tribal elders or jirgas in the decision-making process to invoke legitimacy to what they would like to dictate; they are using their version of Islam as a tool to give verdicts on social issues. Since there is an established tribal way of resolving disputes, the Taliban movement is attempting to usurp that function and decide on its own. So, what does the above reality mean? The Afghan factions of the Taliban and Al-Qaida may not fight Pakistan as they may be dependent on Islamabad in the immediate future. However, for the TTP and its affiliates, it is a different game; it is less to do with the US, drone attacks and the Pakistani support. This is all about gaining power and influence. They are unlikely to give up their fight once the Americans leave Afghanistan. They would wage a two-front war against the state and society. While the state and many of the pro-Taliban analysts consider it as a series of pitched battles at a tactical level, the TTP and its local affiliates inside Pakistan consider it as strategic. For them, the war has just
begun. The writer is the Director, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi. |
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Of women and men
Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others, says a proverb. However, two recent remarks by two prominent personalities shocked the nation. The worst comment came from a senior political figure about the wife of a recently sworn in minister who was attacked in the most misogynistic language. The political leader concerned commented that by inducting the minister, the government had promoted a man with "a 50-crore girlfriend." There was public outrage over the offensive remark. The young minister responded first on Twitter and then on camera by stating that "my wife is priceless." His wife too joined the issue saying, "How can one stoop to something like that?" “It is the land of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel...and then you've got this guy...why do guys belittle women?" she questioned. The same man’s blatant sexism had been exposed earlier when he said that girls in his state were malnourished because they indulge in dieting to appear fashionably thin. The agony of the woman did not end post-comments as she was molested when she landed at a domestic airport with her husband. Cameras caught her trying to swot away a man who was groping her. Almost at the same time, another senior functionary belittled women with his comments that women lose their charm after a few years of marriage. The fact is stranger than fiction, as goes the saying! According to a survey, our country is the fourth most dangerous place in the world for women to live in because of female foeticide, infanticide and human trafficking. Afghanistan is the most dangerous place for women followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo and Pakistan in the survey conducted by Thomson Reuters' Trustlaw Women, a hub of legal information and legal support for women's rights. The poll asked 213 experts in the field from five continents to rank countries on their overall perception of danger as well as by six key categories of risk, health threats, sexual violence, non-sexual violence, harmful practices rooted in culture, tradition and religion, lack of access to economic resources and human trafficking. Sadly, at least 100 million people were involved in human trafficking in India, according to the survey, and there were three million prostitutes, of which 40 per cent were children. Other forms of exploitation include forced labour and forced marriages. "In India, up to 50 million girls were thought to be 'missing' over the past century due to female infanticide and foeticide," as per the UN Population Fund. I was appalled at the spoof and the real situation. When I retired to bed, the thought kept lingering, and in my dreams I recalled that no religion belittles women. Sikhism says, “So kyon manda aakhiye jis jammen raajan”. In Islam, woman has an honoured position and enjoys special respect, love, affection and gentle feelings. In Christianity, she enjoys an exalted status while in Hinduism her name comes before men. In the morning my daughter woke me up with my tea cuppa. Her innocent face reinforced my love for this wonderful creation of God. I realised that we can’t |
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CINEMA: NEW Releases RATINGS: Nonika Singh
Film Jab Tak Hai Jaan ‘‘ It’s not a story of courage, but of love." But then one hadn't expected anything different. Yash Raj films, more pertinently those directed by the late Yash Chopra, have invariably revolved around the theme of undying love. Jab Tak Hai Jaan is without a doubt about love that spans time, barriers, class divide and much more.So there she is — Meera (Katrina Kaif), the extremely beautiful, sophisticated and of course rich daughter of a businessman settled in London. And there he is — Samar (Shah Rukh Khan), who does odd jobs to eke out a living and in spare time strums the guitar and sings songs. To cap it all he is desi to the core who can barely get his English right. As providence would have it, they meet, a barter deal ensues "you teach me a Punjabi song and I will brush up your English" and what follows next requires no great imagination. They fall in love and separate. Indeed, here there is no villain lurking by way of a possessive father. Instead, it's the heroine's quirkiness and her pacts with Lord Jesus that keeps them apart. The hero is disgusted with her decision, walks away and becomes a daredevil Army officer. Then there is Akira (Anushka Sharma), easily the better part of the film. In fact, her character of the spunky cub filmmaker comes like a breath of fresh air as she has more chutzpah and depth. Even her love story is more convincing. In comparison, the lead love tale, despite the lip locks, is far less appealing and after a point even a bit irritating if not outright infuriating. As the film brings in far too many conjectures into play, the script loses its tautness and the lover's tale its steam. The cinematic ploys used to stitch the story together are not even half as refreshing as the other ingredients. For a change these Yash Raj heroines are not attired in French chiffon sarees, yet they look as ravishing. Katrina looks fabulous and emotes reasonably well too. SRK is, well SRK, the man who made romance larger than life. Of course, he is far better as the angry intense Army man, nevertheless good performance overall. Yet it's in Anushka's portrayal that Yash Raj films have moved many notches ahead. Even otherwise, heroines in Jab Tak Hai… are not caught in a time warp. There is sex before marriage, there is forgiveness for a mother having eloped with her lover. In short, the heroine is not just a wall flower. Nor is her love of the ephemeral kind. Then yet another notable feature is that the ball Yash Chopra kicked in Veer Zara by way of creating a cinematic ode to India Pakistan ties rolls on. Here too Indo-Pak friendship runs as a subtext. Of course, despite many pluses the film doesn't quite snowball into a magnum opus of love. Confused, at points, too filmy at another, it becomes a mish mash at far too many interjections. In fact, vintage love in the backdrop of modern ethos could have been path-breaking as many such movies like Rockstar and Love Aaj Kal in the past have been. Yet even while reminding in bits and parts of all these, the movie doesn't quite bloom into a flower whose fragrance is as everlasting as the love in which the director wants us to believe. However, Yash ji's last may not be his best, it's worth a watch, for no one brings the buffet of emotions to the table as lavishly as he did.  |
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Masala with Punjabi tadka
Film Son of Sardaar Bina sardar duniya bekaar… Actually from scene one Son of Sardaar makes no pretensions at being anything else and comes full on as a mindless entertainer. Sure enough it begins rather disastrously with a song and long-drawn action sequence. But just as you brace yourself for some more inane attack and wonder where a tale of vengeance between two warring families can take you, its comic track comes as a delightful surprise. Indeed, the movie is not exactly a laugh riot but with the comic timing of Ajay Devgn bang on, he along with Mukul Dev as one of his arch enemies do bring the house down more than once. Alas, the compulsions of commercial cinema that drives directors to pack more than a comic punch, punctures this one too. It's as the potpourri of romance, action, drama and emotion that it doesn't quite gel. The funny side up is sunny by and large. But beyond that very little home work has gone into the building of the script, characters and other details. Logic takes a backseat in most masala movies and this one is no different. Yet in this Ajay Devgn production, other actors are not relegated to the last bench and get enough screen space. Sanjay Dutt has a meaty part and Juhi Chawla has many if not more scenes than Sonakshi Sinha. Only if the movie itself had fewer scenes and cut down on the unwanted flab and just focussed on its USP, i.e. the comic quotient, it would have worked better. In the package in which it is delivered, it just about hits the time pass goal. Tail Piece: As for the controversy that the film had whipped up pre-release, well the sons of sardars have no reasons to be offended, but the film gives them no cause to be proud either. |
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