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Pak Army’s barbaric act
High command’s choice |
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The CDMA cut
Economy at a critical juncture
Flying moments
Chandigarh's Unbuilt Monument
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Pak Army’s barbaric act
In
an act reminiscent of medieval times, Pakistani Army soldiers took away the head of an Indian soldier after beheading him and killing a second soldier in a well-planned ambush on an Indian Army patrol in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday morning. Considering that the Pakistani soldiers had deliberately positioned themselves well inside the Indian side of the LoC to execute the attack, both the killing of the Indian soldiers and the brutality involved, reflects clearance at a high level in the Pakistani military’s hierarchy. The taking away of the head to probably flaunt as a ‘trophy’ reflects on the Pakistani Army’s sickening psyche and its stooping to a barbaric low in addition to the abject lack of respect for the Geneva Convention and for human rights. In the past too, the Pakistanis have behaved in a similarly brutish manner. At the start of the Kargil War, Pakistani troops captured, tortured and mutilated the body of Captain Saurabh Kalia. About three weeks later, Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, who had landed on the Pakistani side of the LoC after ejecting from his MiG-21 fighter whose engine had flamed out while flying in the Batalik sector during the Kargil War, was shot in the head and chest. The bones in his body were broken reflecting that he had been possibly first beaten and tortured. Then in February 2000, Pakistani ISI-backed Al-Qaida member Ilyas Kashmiri beheaded an Indian soldier in a raid on an Indian post in the Nowshera sector of J and K during which seven Indian soldiers were killed. Kashmiri was subsequently felicitated by General Pervez Musharraf, who was then Pakistan’s Army Chief and self-appointed Chief Executive, and also awarded Rs 1 lakh as ‘prize money’. Pakistan has predictably not only denied Tuesday’s incident but has also gone on to insensitively term it as Indian propaganda. For several months now Pakistan has been nonchalantly violating the November 2003 agreement to cease fire along the LoC. Several Indian soldiers have been killed or wounded in such incidents of violations in the past one year. If the Pakistani establishment truly favours peace and tranquillity, it has to then reign in its demons and change its psyche towards India. Pakistan’s brutality deserves the most severe condemnation not only by New Delhi but also by all civilised countries.
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High command’s choice
The
Congress accepted Virbhadra Singh’s claim that he was the party’s best bet in Himachal, and he delivered too. The victory in the state gave him reassurance that he was indeed the tallest leader of the party in Himachal. His claim to the Chief Minister’s post too went without a glitch, and then came the selection of the Cabinet. This is about the time he started taking his hold on the party and sway with the high command for granted. The choice of ministers was nearly entirely his, as was the naming of chairmen of boards and corporations. Rival party leaders rose in protest, and the leadership in Delhi was forced to pay heed. The election of five-time MLA from Palampur Brij Bihari Lal Butail, 71, as Speaker has come as a reminder to Virbhadra Singh of what he must already know from his decades in the business — politics is about taking on board as wide a spectrum as possible. The appointment of a loyalist of Virbhadra Singh’s rival Kaul Singh Thakur would be seen by many as a slight to the Chief Minister. That, however, may be too extreme a view, for he has already had his way aplenty. This is more a striking of balance, a deft move by the central party leadership, which must have taken into consideration future stability in the state, especially with the Lok Sabha elections due next year. Anyhow, what matters is how the various factions handle the developments, and thus far everyone has made ‘politically correct’ noises. Both Virbhadra Singh and Kaul Singh have said there are no differences. It is important that there be equanimity in the ruling party so that the leaders may be able to focus on development. That is as true for the relations with the Opposition, which should not be hounded out of vendetta. The Chief Minister has said there will be no persecution, but there is also talk of ‘cases of corruption’ being pursued. The state’s voters can only hope the hatchets remain buried.
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The CDMA cut
The
decision of the Empowered Group of Ministers to cut the base price of the 800 megahertz (MHz) band has had an air of inevitability to it, since the previous auction of this bandwidth did not attract any of the telecom operators. Naturally, the decision has to be approved by the Union Cabinet but that seems like a mere formality since the high reserve price also acted as a deterrent in November when the government could raise only one-third of what is expected from the sale of 1800 MHz band spectrum. The 800 MHz bandwidth is optimised for the CDMA services, which have fared poorly as compared to the GSM services. Of the two competing standards, Code Division Multiple Access or the CDMA is considered more suitable for data transmission, while its competitor, the Global System for Mobile Communications, or the GSM, has an edge in voice calls. While both systems operate in India, GSM accounts for about 90 per cent of all mobile subscribers in India, even as the CDMA numbers are falling. It is due to this that some mobile operators are petitioning to the government to allocate a part of the CDMA spectrum in 800 MHz band for GSM services. However, it needs to be emphasised that the increasing consumption of data by Indian smartphone users gives the CDMA a window of opportunity. It is somewhat understandable that the government is treading gingerly on the spectrum auction issue, given the background of the CAG’s observations and the subsequent furore about the telcom spectrum scam. Indeed, even this decision is likely to invoke a negative reaction from the GSM operators, who will feel short-changed, and may challenge the implications of this decision legally. While the government needs to be proactive and respond to the market forces in setting realistic prices, it has to keep the overall picture of the telecom sector in mind while dealing with such issues. Telecom is an integral part of the India growth story, and the number of users keeps on rising. They need the bandwidth, and the government should allocate it soon. Unused bandwidth, however, is a waste. It must be utilised in a manner that it benefits the nation.
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Character is what a man is in the dark. — Dwight L. Moody
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Economy at a critical juncture The
year 2013 has begun not so well due to various reasons. First, of course, is the death of a girl in her prime due to gang-rape. On the more mundane economic front, there is the alarming news of a big jump in the current account deficit (CAD) which denotes all transactions of currently produced exports of goods and services plus all invisibles like payments for insurance, shipping, tourism, and cash transfers like remittances, interests, profits and dividends, minus all imports and other similar outgoing payments. The CAD reached 5.4 per cent of the GDP in the second quarter of 2012-13 (July to September) when the sustainable level is supposed to be around 2.5 per cent. The high CAD ( $22.3 billion) is putting pressure on the rupee which has already depreciated by 6.8 per cent in the past 12 months. While the rupee's depreciation has led to a slight improvement in the exports of some items, it has also led to pressure on companies' pricing of their products because of higher raw material costs, making them uncompetitive. There has been a marked slowdown in exports which declined by 12.2 per cent during the second quarter as against a rise of 45.3 per cent during the corresponding quarter of 2011-12. This slowdown has contributed to the widening of the CAD and is due to the fact that goods and services to western markets are facing a declining demand. The main culprit of the sharp rise in the CAD, however, is the increase in gold imports and the hefty payment for oil imports. India has to import 75 per cent of its oil requirements and though the oil prices have not gone up hugely, the imports have not declined either. The oil price has hovered around $85 a barrel. As Dr C. Rangarajan, chairperson of the PM's Economic Advisory Council, said recently "if you exclude oil and gold, imports are not very disturbing", which means that these two items are mainly responsible for the rise in the CAD. People are buying gold because they are apprehensive about the outlook on inflation. They think of gold as a reliable asset whose value has appreciated the most in the past few years. Private commercial banks are also endorsing this idea. There is much hype in the advertisements imploring customers to buy gold during festivals as if it is the most endurable and safe investment. No wonder, there has been a rise in the demand for gold. Now the government is considering a tax on gold imports and hopefully it will help in curbing the demand. On the inflow of dollars into the country, which is critical for managing the CAD, there has been a steady though slow increase in remittances and software export earnings. The government, however, thinks it will be able to manage to bring down the CAD in the third quarter because so far foreign institutional investment (FII) inflows have been good and there has been an increase in external commercial borrowings (ECB) from abroad by the corporate sector. There has also been an increase in foreign direct investment inflows. But there could be problems ahead. First, the FDI inflows may not gather momentum despite the opening up of multi-brand retail sector to 51 per cent of foreign equity because foreign investors may perceive quite a few impediments in the available infrastructure in India. The biggest prospective foreign investor, Walmart, is undergoing investigation by the US government for bribery charges in India. This may take time to resolve and during this controversy, it may want to wait for some time till the ground is cleared. Another trend is that there has been an increase in NRI deposits due to various incentives offered by the government and thus funds have been made available for corporate borrowing. Too much short-term borrowings by the corporate sector can lead to an accumulation of short-term debts which can prove dangerous. A sudden withdrawal of funds by lenders can land the country in a crisis as well as bunching of credit payback may create problems. The government is, however, not terribly worried and may be considering widening the scope of the External Commercial Borrowings (which has gathered much popularity) further to make up for the shortage of dollars and the prevailing high interest rates in the markets. The government has given an incentive to the corporate sector for the ECB by withholding tax on such borrowings. India's external debt has been rising, and though it is not in a danger zone yet, it was $365.20 billion by the end of September 2012, which meant an increase of $20 billion from the previous year. It will put pressure on the economy's foreign exchange reserve position. All this may make India a little less attractive as an investment destination. Regarding the FIIs, which have been coming in droves again to India in 2012 (FIIs topped $20.2 billion in the first 11 months of 2012) as a result of a rise in global liquidity due to quantitative easing by the central banks in the US and the EU, there has to be some caution because FIIs are fickle in nature. To depend on them for financing the dollar needs of the market is playing with danger. They come in when the prospects of a country's stock market seem rosy and withdraw at the slightest hint of a downturn. All this makes the position of the stock markets quite tenuous and vulnerable, and will put pressure on the rupee and may lead to its further depreciation which will fuel inflation. Another ominous development is the fiscal deficit, which is not showing any signs of compression in meeting the proposed deficit target of 5.1 per cent. The deficit of government spending over revenue collection has already reached 80 per cent of the budgeted levels. If budget deficit exceeds 5.8 per cent of the GDP, there will be further inflationary pressure generated by the government's borrowing programme which will involve the release of more money in circulation. Thus, both a high CAD and a high fiscal deficit will lead to higher inflation which will make people turn more to gold as an asset, not bothering about a rise in its price. There will be much pressure on the government for reducing food and fuel subsidies, specially diesel subsidy, otherwise various important infrastructure programmes would get affected and curtailed. For the government to make a turn-around this year would be essential and the first task would be to see that inflation is
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Flying moments The year 2012 ended on a gloomy note. I realised how gloomy it was only when my New Year message to a friend got me a terse reply, “The world did not end in 2012, but we are already dead people.” He was hinting at the brutal gang-rape that rocked Delhi. The reply cast a shadow on my New Year celebrations too. So I gave the enthusiastic DJ in the ballroom of a five-star hotel near Manali, where I was a guest, a miss, and hit the sack before the clock struck 12. I wanted to start the New Year on a different note, with an endurance test! I, along with my hubby and son, drove to Solang valley. Jostling through the crowd with cold wind slicing like a knife was endurance enough, but I wanted to take it to the next level. So, when someone offered us an economy paragliding package to jump from the highest point in Solang, I jumped to it. With my son in tow, I got into the trolley car to the point of jumping. Soon, we joined an enthusiastic group ready for an out-of-this-world experience. Next, we were taken on a mountain hike that seemed never ending. Manoeuvring slushy slopes could be nightmarish if you do not have the experience. Long years of wading through flood waters and slush during my growing-up period in Guwahati helped me and my son to reach the point. What's more, I even received a few admiring glances as I climbed with the ease of a mountain goat. My son was the first to jump. Tied to the parachute, he tumbled in his first attempt, but got it right the next time. It seemed easy. If he could do it, so could I. But I was wrong. Tied up to the parachute, I started to run, but didn't go far. I fell down before we could take off, making the parachute land all over me and my pilot! I shrugged it off, getting ready to do it again. I promised myself to get it right the second time but, once again, I fell down before the parachute could lift me up into the air. “Dar ke aage jeet hai,” some smart mouth shouted from behind. I felt like telling him, "Shut up. Fear is not the factor causing my downfall. It is the combined force of the mighty parachute pulling me back and my pilot's constant push, urging me to run that is proving too much for my feeble legs." But when you are stranded hundreds of feet above the ground and the sun is fast disappearing into the horizon, you do not want to make an enemy. So, I ignored it. This time my pilot got an assistant. At his suggestion, we exchanged our seats as the pilot seat was a lot lighter than mine. The assistant held my hand as I started running again. I do not know how far I ran, but as I thought I was about to fall again I felt a shove and, lo and behold, I felt the hard touch of the earth beneath my feet disappear and I was airborne! What followed next was pure ecstasy as I saw the snow-clad terrain from far above. My pilot asked me to spread my arms, like Kate Winslet in Titanic. Cannot say for sure how long it lasted till my pilot swooped me down and my bottom contacted the hard ground unceremoniously with a thud. I yelped in pain. But my spirit was still soaring. Not from the beautiful sight that I just witnessed but because of the realisation that dawned on me-when the push comes to shove, I can
fly!
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Chandigarh's Unbuilt Monument “Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light.” — Le Corbusier
As
the world celebrates Le Corbusier's 125th birth anniversary, Chandigarh -his magnum opus -- is yet to keep its tryst with destiny. The city of Jawaharlal Nehru's vision has promises to keep. Even after six decades of inception, it is still to complete some of the key elements originally proposed for the crowning glory of the city -- the 'Capitol' (commonly known as Capitol Complex). The unbuilt Governor's Palace in the Capitol is a monumental absence. To mark the historic 125th anniversary year, world over-France, Switzerland and even USA-- wherever there are Corbusean footprints, many significant events are being organised. In fact, for the first time Chandigarh will find a place in the world famous Museum of Modern Art ( MOMA) in New York. The museum is planning to hold its first-ever exhibition on Le Corbusier in the United States this year, titled "Le Corbusier: Landscapes for the Machine Age", to open in June 2013. Is it not then time to make a truly, grand gesture and complete the unfinished symphony of the city's Capitol? And thus pay a real tribute to one of the world's tallest architect-planners -- who ushered in Modern architecture ---instead of merely holding ritualistic, annual seminars and glittering functions. Let's then seize the moment and the monument.
Capitol Neglect Even in its present incomplete, unkempt, barbed-wire-fenced existence-the Capitol is hailed by architects from all over the world, as the 20th century's most poetic, potent interplay of sculptural edifices, monuments, piazzas and landscapes-dramatically set against the jagged skyline of pristine Himalayas. In 1960 when the legendry architect Paul Rudolph visited the Capitol, he wrote, "As time goes by I am sure every man will understand the importance of Chandigarh; people will go there as they now go to the piazza San Marco...It is undoubtedly the century's greatest." Charles Correa recalls impressions of the Capitol, "Through out his life, Corbusier has sought to create an architecture of passion. His buildings -both in concept and visual language -have always presented a certain decibel level. No sotto voice, no politeness, but -- like Wagner -thunder in the concert hall." Let Corbusier then thundered on with his music encrypted in the frozen concrete facades of the Capitol, and not go silent as Mozart's unfinished Requeim.
Corbusean Concepts & Symbolisms In the city layout, the Capitol has the prime location on the north-western tip, somewhat aloof and detached from the remaining grid-iron, mesh of self-sufficient neighbourhood units called Sectors. Corbusier explained this deliberate remoteness as an act of emphasising the 'sacred zone' of the city where the pillars of democracy functioned, beyond the mundane activities of the city. Inspired by the Greek Acropolis, he placed the Capitol, too, on a lofty plane in harmony with the elements of nature and cosmos. The visual distance was not an act of architectural arrogance thrust by an imperial power to convey its superiority, but one of defining symbolism and coherence of forms. "The Capitol was placed at the top of the town so as to take good advantage of the hills and the agricultural life, this millennial activity touching the Capitol, but connecting modern times to the magistral bucolic symphony," explained Corbusier. The Capitol comprising of the four key buildings ('edifices' as called by Corbusier): Secretariat, Assembly, High Court- -and the unbuilt Governor's Palace ( later substituted by the Museum of Knowledge, also unbuilt ) is embellished with a large number of 'monuments' like the Open Hand, Martyr's Memorial, Geometric hill, Tower of Shades, 24 Solar Hours and Course of Sun between Solstices -some of which are still incomplete. The layout of the Capitol was based on Corbusier's predilection with the Golden Section and the Modular dimensions he evolved from it. Thus all the buildings, piazzas and monuments located there, are governed by the principle of an (invisible) intricate, geometrical composition of two squares of 8oo metres and 400 metres juxtaposed together. The Governor's Palace is strategically placed at the north-eastern tip of the entire composition, closest to the hills. And therefore defines the outer boundary of the 'invisible geometry' that generates the intangible and asymmetrical visual balance intended between the buildings. To Jane Drew, an associate of Corbusier, the composition of the Capitol buildings gives the impression of, " units held by some remote magnetic force."
Significance of the project Not building the Governor's Palace in such a finely poised composition, is thus akin to conceiving the Taj Mahal without its dome or locating Lutyen's Rashtrapati Bhawan without the balancing counterpoint of India Gate! The ensemble of the edifices and monuments in the Capitol is a teasing interplay of landscape, skylines, silhouettes and pedestrian esplanades connecting the floor plane to one another. Corbusier planned a playful series of reflecting water pools between the Governor's Palace and the remaining edifices to connect to the vastness of the main esplanade, and reduce the enormity of the scale. The abstract engagement with cosmic elements echo skylines of Maharaja Jai Singh's Jantar Mantar observatories in Jaipur and the yonder blue hills of the Aravalis. It is recorded that when Corbusier visited the place, he was very much impacted by the forms of the ancient Indian astronomy. "The absence of Governor's palace is like a betrayal of the promise India made to Corbusier to give concrete shape to his masterful strokes of genius," opines architectural critic Caroline Constant. Ironically, the Governor's Palace is the smallest of the four buildings of the Capitol, but provides the proverbial finishing touch or a crescendo to the symphonic composition of sculptural concrete buildings, playful sculptural forms, landscapes (natural and designed) and the symbolism of the monuments. The total area of this smallest of the Capitol edifices is perhaps lesser than a contemporary shopping Mall being erected in the city nowadays! Surely we can afford to build it. Its massing of the five floors of cuboid forms over pillared halls, recessed floors in between and then a floating mass-to be culminated by a curving canopy akin to an Indian 'barsati' at the rooftop, to connect to the stars, heavens and the distant ethereal Kasauli lights, is a mesmerising concept.
Abandoning the Governor's Palace Unfortunately, the proposed Governor's Palace was viewed as too grand and feudalistic a residence for the head of a modern, democratic state, and therefore abandoned. Part of the reason for this strong reaction stemmed from the misplaced connotation of the French word 'Palace' - not quite the equivalent of its grander, opulent meaning in English. For a nation just recovering from the yoke of kings and rulers, allergy to another 'palace' was quite understandable! Moreover, the proposed structure was not indented to be only for the private use of the Governor; but to function as a state guest house and a venue for holding official receptions and functions etc. The Museum of Knowledge project that Corbusier hastily put together as a substitute to the aborted Governor's Palace looks like a pale and anaemic inspiration in design, compared to the powerful form of the Palace. Besides the dull, unappealing design, even the proposed function that it was supposed to host, is ambiguous and now outdated. As a repository of 'electronic devices to help the government in decision making' sounds antiquated in today's era, and therefore redundant. In fact, during the prestigious conference 'Celebrating Chandigarh-50 years of the Idea,' held in January 1999, a galaxy of eminent international architects from all over the world who assembled in the city, saw a full-scale mock up of the Governor's Palace, which was especially erected at the site. And the consensus was clearly, "that the unbuilt project must be made, so as to give coherence to the fragmented concept and reveal the un-manifested full power and genius of the creativity of Corbusier's architecture." The Tribune reported, "On behalf of the visiting delegates, Sir Denys Lasdun, made a statement saying that once it was decided to construct the Governor's palace, money would come…. Almost all other architects, including Charles Correa, Charles Jencks, Romi Khosla, William Lim Siew Wai, Xiao-Wei Luo and Mahendra Raj supported its completion - "missing link of the Capital Complex as visualized by Le Corbusier". Is any further endorsement about the choice to make the Governor's Palace over the Museum of Knowledge required? Moreover, there is also the confidence among the experts that the design of Governor's Palace is flexible enough in its spatial ordering to retrofit it into a new, more contemporary and relevant function. Recently some initiative was taken by the Chandigarh Administration to explore and develop new, more relevant, viable functions to be housed in the readapted functions for the 'Governor's Palace'. Among the various suggestions made by a group of experts, some that found serious consideration include proposals for a centre for urban studies or one for Indian thought. But as yet nothing conclusive has been decided. However, the objectives of the project are very clear: to create an institution where there is a permanent display, attractive enough to draw regular visitors and tourists as well as create a place for enlightened research, seminars and public discourse on issues vital to the city, urbanisation and future growth of the nation. Long time ago, Le Corbusier said, "It is the city's business to make itself permanent , and this depends on considerations other than those of calculation. It is only Architecture which can give all the things which go beyond calculation." Let us then complete the City.
Corbusier celebrated The Museum of Modern Art
(MoMA) is organizing the largest exhibition on Le Corbusier to ever show in New York, scheduled to open on June 9 of this year. “Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes” will be curated by modern architecture scholar Jean-Louis Cohen, and it will encompass Corbusier's contributions to architecture, interior design, and city planning, as well as his written and photographic
endeavours. According to MoMA, the exhibition will reveal “the ways in which Le Corbusier observed and imagined landscapes throughout his career, using all the artistic techniques at his disposal, from his early watercolours of Italy, Greece, and Turkey, to his sketches of India, and from the photographs of his formative journeys to the models of his large-scale projects.” Rajnish Wattas is the former Principal of the Chandigarh College of Architecture
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“Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light.” — Le Corbusier
