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Ruinous populism Caste-bound Haryana |
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Levels of autism Need for specialised schools Parents of autistic children never get to know what goes on in the mind of their child behind the wall of silence. Almost 50 per cent of the autistic children do not know how to communicate. For some inexplicable reason, in India, there has been a staggering six-fold rise in the number of autistic children. In 2003, there were 20 lakh reported cases of autism, in 2012, the numbers rose to 1.36 crore.
The ghost of Gwadar
When it rained gold
Former
Indo-Canadian MP faces jail for tax evasion Vancouver's Punjabi
girl power Japanese scholar on
the trail of Punjabi/Tamil diaspora
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Caste-bound Haryana A
Parliamentary Committee that visited Haryana to look into excesses against the Scheduled Castes, especially Dalit women, has blamed the dominant caste and its khaps for the continued suppression. While this may not be news in most parts of the country, given the long and shameful history of the caste system, what is shocking about Haryana is the feudal system’s stubborn refusal to even begin to change. Caste is practised not just as a personal notion but a mass-based system that is a virtual law unto itself. Any violations invite prompt retribution, and khaps play a major role in the propagation of that. A Dalit also has little access to redress mechanisms, as most agencies such as the police or even the legislators are dominated by the same upper castes against whom a complaint may be addressed. People in positions of political power have their constituencies to serve, and thus also appoint government officials in line with that. This nexus cannot be broken with simple appeals for social reform. To change things, institutional mechanisms are required, towards which the visiting MPs’ report has suggested the setting up of a Scheduled Castes Commission. The judiciary is the other hope for reform, given the conspiracy of silence. Where does a Dalit go when the police station refuses to register his complaint? Women are the worst sufferers in any unequal situation, and so it is with the caste-based exploitation. Dalit women are not only often targeted but also find it nearly impossible to report an assault such as rape, especially when the assailant is from an upper caste. If ever a Dalit happens to cause an affront to a dominant community in a village, there is hell to pay, as was seen in the Mirchpur case. Correction can come only if the political leadership shows the will to take on the very source of its power — caste-based politics. That is a tall order, and the only way to overcome the challenge is to keep implementation of the law above all other considerations.
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Levels of autism Parents of autistic children never get to know what goes on in the mind of their child behind the wall of silence. Almost 50 per cent of the autistic children do not know how to communicate. For some inexplicable reason, in India, there has been a staggering six-fold rise in the number of autistic children. In 2003, there were 20 lakh reported cases of autism, in 2012, the numbers rose to 1.36 crore. No one has a clear answer, why autism is on a rise. It has transformed into a global health challenge and the fact that there is no cure for the disability has made the situation even worse. Though the life-long disability of autism manifests itself during the first three years of life, majority of autistic patients in India continue to go undiagnosed or do not receive the services they need for serious lack of awareness about this disability. Our education system screens children on so many parameters that autistic children are kept outside of its purview. Only very few specialised schools are equipped to train these children, though in most cases it is a committed parent whose devotion brings about a difference to the child’s life. Like the famous case of Tito Mukhopadhyay, a severely autistic 11-year-old boy, who was writing poetry to give glimpses of a cognitive mind behind his apparently strange behaviour. There is misunderstanding about autism even among the medical professionals. As a result, the disability is either misdiagnosed or remains under-diagnosed. This situation may change with the help of an indigenous scale developed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment that can now ascertain different levels of autism and can give a certification with the correct levels of disability that may help the child access specialised education and other benefits. The government would do better by investing in a concrete and long- term health plan and educational facilities for the autistic children which are almost negligible in specialised as well as in mainstream schools. Mere certification will not be of much help.
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Scenery is fine — but human nature is finer. — John Keats
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The ghost of Gwadar
The
ghost of Gwadar is back, looming large again as China gears up to assume operational control of this strategic deep sea port close to the Strait of Hormuz. The recent decision of the Pakistani Cabinet to transfer the functional responsibility for this port from the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) to a Chinese company (China's Overseas Port Holding) has sent alarming signals to India as this port has larger strategic implications. India is concerned as the port offers an exceptional much-desired strategic depth not only to Pakistan but also cements China's foothold in the Indian Ocean region. The move is a win-win situation for both Pakistan and China. For Pakistan, the Chinese takeover serves the purpose of closer Sino-Pak economic cooperation and possibly a greater engagement on security issues. A fully operational Gwadar port means the end of near-total dependence on a relatively vulnerable Karachi. Even prior to the completion, Pakistan had started considering Gwadar as an important naval base after Karachi and Ormara in an attempt to improve Pakistan's maritime security posture. Karachi, which lies about 470 km east of Gwadar, was effectively blockaded during the India-Pakistan war of 1971. Gwadar, located much further to the west, away from the Indian coast, will certainly provide a safe alternative for Pakistan to improve military flexibility. For the Chinese, Gwadar has the strategic significance of being close to the Strait of Hormuz. The Gwadar-Karakoram link road will offer strategic access to the Indian Ocean as well as greater economic benefits to its restive Xinjiang province. It will also allow Beijing to ensure better security of its energy shipments along the existing maritime links and oil imports from the Gulf to the Xinjiang region through overland. Perhaps, the proposed multi-modal Gwadar-Kashgar road, rail and gas- oil pipeline links will put to rest the much discussed China's Malacca dilemma. Besides, on the security front with a listening post, China will be able to monitor US naval activities in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden, activities of the Indian Navy and future India-US cooperation in the Arabian Sea. China is investing an enormous amount of money and muscle power to widen the Karakoram highway, and there is a plan to connect Gwadar with this strategic highway. This 1300-km highway running from Kashgar in western China to Havelian, located in Abbottabad district near Islamabad, is set to be transformed from a dusty and bumpy road to a smooth and bustling mountain highway. The highway also aims to augment the Chinese influence in Central Asia and the Middle East. In the coming years, the link would act as resource-rich Central Asia's gateway to the Indian Ocean. The newly constructed dry port at Sost (Afiyatabad), just a few kilometres away from the Khunjerab pass on the Karakoram Highway, has the potential to act as an entrepot for the Central Asian Republics. Besides the road links, China and Pakistan are also planning to build a railway link between Xinjiang and Gwadar, almost parallel to the Karakoram Highway. The proposed railway line runs from Kashgar to Havelilian and is expected to join Pakistan's railway network for further connection to Gwadar. This rail link is not only aimed for economic benefits, but also to carry oil from the Persian Gulf to Xinjiang in case the pipeline option turns out unfeasible. Energy transportation through the comparatively secure Gwadar-Xinjiang overland corridor would always be an easier and faster option for China. The distance from Kashgar to Gwadar through the overland route is about 1000 miles while the present oil shipments from the Gulf region cover a distance of more than 3500 miles in reaching to the east coast of China through the Malacca Straits. An apprehensive India, soon after the commencement of the Gwadar project, decided to help Iran in developing the Chabahar port. This port, located in southeastern Iran, is the only Iranian port which has direct access to the Indian Ocean. Chabahar, connecting Afghanistan to the Persian Gulf waters, could be a good alternative to the Gwadar and Karachi ports being a low cost option for Afghanistan and Central Asia to reach the warmer waters of the Indian Ocean. In 2003, a trilateral agreement was signed between India, Iran and Afghanistan in infrastructural development. Under this, Iran was to build a highway from Chabahar to the Afghanistan border and India was assigned to develop road connectivity between Delaram (a city on the Iran-Afghanistan border) and Zaranj (capital of Nimruz province of Afghanistan). Despite the existing flux in Afghanistan, India has already completed 213-kilometre Zaranj-Delaram road while progress from the Iranian side is unexpectedly slow. In addition, India is also engaged in helping Iran to upgrade the Chabahar-Milak rail road. There is a common perception that the US may agree for greater cooperation with India to balance the growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean region, but may also disagree on India's policy to joining hands with Iran. But despite her reservation on India-Iran cooperation, the US has come out in support of the recent (August 2012) trilateral agreement among India, Iran and Afghanistan to expedite the on-going Chabahar port project. In addition to the Chabahar port development, New Delhi must look to other alternatives to sustain the existing balance in the region. Augmenting naval capabilities, strengthening India-US naval cooperation as well as engaging other major powers and small littorals should be the priorities for New Delhi. Considering Chinese ambitions, it is imperative for India to make a sagacious move to balance China and maintain her traditional influence in the Indian Ocean littoral states. In response of China's growing naval activity, search for reliable maritime access in the Indian Ocean has now become imperative for India. In addition, India is required to improve the dilapidated border road and rail infrastructure otherwise the prevailing disparities with China may be one of the causes for unrest in the border states in the near future. And above all, New Delhi should learn from the Chinese ability to convert strategic assets into economic
opportunities.
The writer is an Associate Fellow at the National Maritime Foundation,
New Delhi.
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When it rained gold Myself
and my friend Sudhir Raje were together in Mumbai in 1944. We were of the same age. The other day I came to know about his sudden death. It shocked me as we had shared very exciting moments of our lives during our very first trip to Mumbai. On April 14,1944, we boarded a local train and headed towards Victoria Terminus Station. Suddenly, near Sandhurst Street station, we heard a loud explosion. The train stopped and we got down to know that a cargo ship, SS Stikine, in the docks had suddenly caught fire with a massive explosion. The ship was carrying a cargo of cotton bales, barrels of oil, explosives, plenty of gold bars and gold ingots. Many persons were seen fleeing from the area. Loud explosions were occurring in the neighbourhood shaking buildings. Reports also started coming in regarding a number of gold bars, about 2.5 feet long and 3- inch wide, falling on the roadside in various places in the docks and fort area. Most of these were handed over to the police authorities, but those seen falling in the seaside area could only be retrieved later. A burning hot gold bar fell near the gate leading from the castle barracks to the naval dockyard, Mumbai. It was handed over to Palton Road police station by the naval officer on duty after it was adequately cooled down. The news of raining gold in Mumbai spread fast as it had never happened before anywhere. Sudhir got police praise for extricating persons who had suffered serious burn injuries. However, it took time to assess the massive damage caused to precious human lives and property. It is assumed that a fire broke out when a lighted item like a cigarette butt happened to fall over a cotton bale close to the boxes of explosives as well as gold bars and ingots. The explosion ripped open not only the steel plates of the ship but also severely damaged some nearby offices and about 26 other ships and craft lying on nearby berths. Among the dead were more than 700 Army, Navy, police and dockyard personnel. During the last about 69 years of this grave tragedy dredgers have dredged out several gold bars from the sea spread out towards the Gateway of India, seaside berths and the anchorage sea berths. Even after some time, dredgers of the Mumbai Port Trust, operating in Victoria Docks, discovered a heavy gold bar which was handed over to the appropriate authorities. Also during the later months of 1911, a 45 kg live bomb was dredged out by the Mumbai Port Trust from close to the explosion site. All these years, my late friend from Mumbai used to amuse me with news on fresh gains of gold by dredgers, but now I would be entirely dependent on newspaper reports. I have resided in Dhanraj Mahal, close to the Gateway of India in Mumbai, and once a dredger unloaded a heavy large gold bar taken out from harbour waters. A large number of curious persons were there to look at the exploded
gold!
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Canada calling Gurmukh Singh
The
new Indian High Commissioner, Admiral (Retd) Nirmal Verma, on the grounds that the navy man lacked diplomatic experience for such an important station, exudes confidence that he is more than equipped to do justice to his new role as a diplomat. In his first interaction with the media in Toronto where he came to attend Indian Republic Day celebrations, the former Indian Navy boss said in a lighter vein that a defence guy need not be a shooter all the time and he can be a good diplomat as anyone in sorting out issues. Handpicked by Prime Minister Manmohan, Verma said he had his job cut out: to take India-Canada relations to a higher level, deepen the complementarity of their economic interests and engage the Indian diaspora in India's development. “During my tenure as India's High Commissioner, I look forward to working closely with the Government of Canada and provincial governments, and with all other stakeholders active in improving India-Canada relations,” he said. Verma said his appointment for this job happened at a time when Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited India in November. “Both sides held extensive discussions. The visit came at an appropriate time for me, and it (all the discussions held between the two sides) makes my job easier to execute,” he said. The new High Commissioner reiterated what Indian leaders had conveyed to the Canadian Prime Minister during his visit: that New Delhi remains concerned about anti-Indian activities by some elements from the Canadian soil. “Canada would understand why these concerns are expressed. Terrorism is a global phenomenon and various countries are coming together to fight it. Canada understands what effects it (anti-Indian activities) will have if not checked. After all, Kanishka (the bombing of Air India Flight 182 by pro-Khalistani elements in June 1985) happened from Canadian soil.” And about the signing of the much-talked-about nuclear agreement, he had no definite answer. All he said was that due processes were being followed by the two countries “so that it is signed soon.” As far as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which has been in the works for years, is concerned, he said, “it is a complex process as it involves various ministries from the two countries. We have been through six rounds. It is a complex document that is being signed. But we are moving briskly.” Briskly or not, the fact remains there is more talk than substance in India-Canada interactions. The trade between the two nations still languishes in the region of $5 billion despite all the hoopla in 2010 of tripling it in the next five years. Much-bandied-about agreements are still in the pipeline. God knows when they will be inked. Dozens of Canadian ministers and delegations visit India each year at taxpayers' expense, but where are the results?
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Former Indo-Canadian MP faces jail for tax evasion The latest one to fall is former MP Sukh Dhaliwal who served in the Canadian parliament from 2006 to 2011. The 53-year-old Dhaliwal faces investigations for not filing tax returns for his company Genco Consultants Inc. from 2004 to 2010. In fact, he was the candidate of British Columbia's ruling Liberal Party for the upcoming by-election from the Surrey-Panorama Ridge constituency (or riding as it called in Canada). But he will now have to bow out of the poll fray. Tax evasion investigations against Dhaliwal began in November, but he did not tell his party about the probe till a Vancouver daily reported the matter last week. Dhaliwal comes from Sujapur village in Ludhiana. He landed in Canada in 1984 and is settled in Surrey. For years, he was active in municipal politics. He contested against fellow Indo-Canadian Gurmant Grewal (also from Ludhiana) in the 2004 parliament election from the local Newton-North Delta riding, but he was defeated. However, in 2006 when Grewal didn't contest because of issues, Dhaliwal won. But in 2008, this gentleman created a controversy by writing a letter to a California court in support of an Indo-Canadian drug dealer Ranjit Cheema who was part of a gang trying to smuggle about 200 kg of heroin from Pakistan into the US. However, Cheema was jailed for five years. He was gunned down in Vancouver last year on his return to Canada after serving jail time in the US. In 2010, Dhaliwal and a fellow MP tried to introduce a resolution in the Canadian parliament to recognise the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India as “genocide”. He lost his seat in the 2011 elections to fellow Indo-Canadian Jinny Sims. Dhaliwal faces a year in jail or a maximum fine of $25,000 if he is found guilty of tax evasion.
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Vancouver's Punjabi girl power Though
there were some small protests in Britain and Australia against the Delhi gang rape, it was the Punjabi community in Vancouver who held a huge candle-light vigil and got a large number of people to sign a petition to the Indian government to express their outrage at the incident. “We got hundreds of people to sign the petition to be forwarded the Indian prime minister to express our shame and outrage at the Delhi gangrape,” said Lucky Gill of Global Girl Power, which organised the candle light vigil for Nirbhaya in a Surrey city park and presented the petition to the Indian consulate. The young woman, who came to Canada from Ludhiana more than a decade ago, said, “This crime has shaken the whole world and we want stricter laws by the Indian government to punish the guilty. Women are not safe anywhere in India — whether it is Delhi or Punjab.” Global Girl Power, led by Lucky Gill, is on a mission to raise awareness about female foeticide - which is still rampant in Punjab and the NRI community. As part of its mission, it has been organising Global Walk for Missing Girls in Canada for the past two years. “Women are still considered second class citizens whether it is in India or anywhere else. The mindset to victimise women has no place in today's world, and we are fighting for women's rights," said the Punjabi girl leader. Interestingly, the NRI community of Vancouver doesn't enjoy a flattering reputation for its treatment of women because of some ghastly crimes, including murders, against the fair sex reported in recent years.
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Japanese scholar on the trail of Punjabi/Tamil diaspora Much
has been written on the Indian and South Asian diaspora in Canada by Indians and Canadians. But this powerful community has attracted the attention of an unusual man: A Japanese professor Hiroshi Yamashita who teaches at Tohuku University. Prof Yamashita, who was recently in Toronto to study the diaspora, visited the Dixie Road Gurdwara — the largest in North America — and Hindu (mostly Tamil) temples. He took pictures, mingled with people and talked to them about their experiences as part of the Indian diaspora. Fluent in Sanskrit, Tamil, Pali, Tibetan and many other world languages, the Japanese professor said he has been studying India's civilisational journey for nearly four decades. “I am interested in the development of Indian civilisation from ancient times to the present, and the Indian diaspora has taken Indian civilisation (read culture and religion) on to the global stage. Hence, my interest in the Indian diaspora.” Prof Yamashita, who studied at Madras University from 1981-87 for his doctorate in Tamil, said, “The diasporic circumstances are ideal locations for my study, because people in the diaspora are separated from their original home and are in danger of losing their identity. I believe that religion plays a central role in integrating people in the diaspora. And, in my belief, that is particularly true among Indians.” Since temples and gurdwaras are the centres of the cultural and social life of the Indian diaspora, he said visits to these places constitute a major part of his research. The Japanese scholar said since he is a Tamil scholar, he was drawn more to the Tamil diaspora. “But taking Tamils as an example, we cannot generalise Indian cases. Therefore, I have positive reasons as well for my interest in Punjabis or Sikhs in the diaspora. They are the pioneers as an immigrant community and established their presence in different parts of the world. “They are also the pioneers in struggling with discrimination, including racism in their host countries, as shown in Gurinder Chadha’s Bend it like Beckham in which Punjabi wedding takes on a role as the core of their cultural identity. As it was an entertainment film targeting the world market, it was virtually impossible to focus on their religion. But in reality religion should play an important role because wedding ceremony is one of the important manifestations of their identity rooted in religion.” He said the Punjabi or Sikh community as the forerunner and a successful case in the diaspora was also important in his
project.
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Canada
calling
M
I