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Shaky but in control
Murder most foul |
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Iron hit
Mending India-China ties
Out of pocket
‘These men should be starved of our attention’
A worrying new face of the terror threat to the UK
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Shaky but in control
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combative Sonia Gandhi used the occasion of the UPA's ninth anniversary celebrations on Wednesday to back Dr Manmohan Singh, who, she said, "is carrying out his responsibilities with great dignity in the face of unrelenting hostility and abuse from the Opposition". She gave a strong reply to the BJP, which had accused the UPA of devaluing the post of Prime Minister by having two power centres. Buffeted by a series of scams and media opinion polls suggesting a Congress defeat in the coming Lok Sabha elections, the government and the Congress no longer appear to be on the defensive. Sonia Gandhi called upon the party to counter "a calculated effort… to spread misinformation". The UPA's nine-year performance is not unimpressive - NREGA, Right to Education Act, RTI Act, anti-rape law, direct benefits transfer and higher spending on social welfare to make growth inclusive. However, party strategists have failed to manage public perception. Top leaders talk less. No one explains in simple terms what the government is doing. There are ministers who should not be talking since every time they open their mouth, they embarrass the government. The UPA has a lot to answer on two fronts: corruption and price rise. The mishandling of scams and the delay in sacking the railway and law ministers hurt the Prime Minister's image apart from provoking the BJP and TV channels to unleash concerted anti-PM campaigns. People are angry over the price rise, which will have a bearing on the Congress's future as it heads for elections. Survival is a key UPA achievement. Nine years in office with unreliable, even blackmailing, allies is a miracle. It has emerged stronger after the departure of the Trinamool Congress and the DMK, taking advantage of political parties' reluctance to face the electorate to push hard decisions like capping the fuel subsidy and opening up multi-brand retail to foreign investment. On the other side is the BJP, divided on the leadership issue, notorious for stalling Parliament and compromising on corruption when necessary - as in Karnataka. It may not be as clear a verdict as opinion polls currently suggest. |
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Murder most foul
The brutal, inhuman and highly visible face of terror confronted residents of Woolwich in south-east London, and the rest of the world when two men attacked a soldier, killed him and then hacked him with a meat cleaver. The attackers ensured that the horror they were unleashing was widely publicised by asking bystanders to take photographs and make video recordings of the act. When confronted by police officers, they attacked them too, receiving gunshot injuries in the process. The location of the attack, its sheer brutality, the chilling focus that the attackers maintained, and the way they struck seemingly at random, all make it stand out even in a world which has long become immune to acts of terror. The attackers ranted about taking revenge against the killings of Muslims in Afghanistan, where British soldiers are fighting against the Taliban. Britain faces a major cultural challenge as it confronts the ugly face of terrorism by radicalised Muslim immigrants. The 2005 London suicide bombings had shaken up the world, but thereafter the government foiled some attempts, including those in which beheadings were planned. Even as it finds ways to tackle terror, the British government will have to devise ways to inform and educate the general public about the difference between its ordinary law-abiding Muslim citizens and the radicalised fringe. Woolwich has a history of troubled race relations, and there has already been a backlash. As for the Muslim community in Britain, it is already facing the ignominy of finding itself in the spotlight in the worst possible way. The Muslim Council of Britain has rightly said: "This is a truly barbaric act that has no basis in Islam and we condemn this unreservedly." Britain is a vibrant multicultural country which has a long history of tolerance of different points of view. Cultural pluralism, vigilance by the police and security agencies and effective policing will ensure that it finds ways to tackle those who threaten its democratic ways. |
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Iron hit
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very well conceived programme of the National Rural Health Mission may come under threat in Haryana for an apparent failure in proper implementation. There have been repeated incidents of children having taken ill after being administered doses of iron and folic acid supplements in the state; yet there seems to be no action to ascertain the exact cause. The only public response from the authorities thus far has been that there is nothing wrong with the medicine or the programme. This flies in the face of the fact that children continue to be admitted to hospitals after the supplements being given in schools. Continuation of the lapse could lead to a reaction from the parents, who may bar children from taking the supplements. To prevent such a reaction, they need to be reassured that care is being taken to ensure no one suffers side-effects. The supplements are supposed to be given after children have had a meal; else they are liable to experience side-effects that include abdominal pain and nausea. Simply issuing guidelines to schools regarding this is not enough, which is obvious from the outcome. The quality of the supplements as well as the entire procedure of administration as practised in each school needs to be examined. Once the real lacunae are established, fresh guidelines need to be issued, along with in-school instructions being given to teachers and other staff responsible. Iron is the most common nutritional deficiency in the world, and children in India are among the worst sufferers. This can lead to learning and physical development being affected, besides other serious illnesses. The idea of giving the supplements, in conjunction with the Midday Meal Scheme, is, therefore, worth sustaining, but irresponsible implementation could lead to it being derailed. What is happening in schools may not seem medically a serious situation to doctors — who have declared there is nothing wrong with the supplements — but perceptions matter a lot in public health programmes, especially when dealing with a population that is not very aware. Immediate and visible steps by the state government are called for. |
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We cannot command Nature except by obeying her. —Francis Bacon |
Mending India-China ties
THINGS do change sometimes. Hardly a fortnight after the three-week India-China "face-off" over China's intrusion into Indian territory in the Depsang valley in Ladakh, Asia's two largest and fastest-growing countries have once again smoothened their relationship as a result of the visit of China's Prime Minister, Li Keqiang. After intense talks with his host, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — first at a "restricted session" where very few aides were present and then at a delegation-level meeting — both sides declared the outcome of the visit “positive” and “useful”. This assertion is not without basis. India has been able to drive home to China the message that the border issue remains vital and that if peace along the border areas is disturbed, the entire relationship would be impacted. The distinction between the styles of Dr Singh and Mr Li could not have been greater. At a joint Press conference at the end of the delegation-level talks, Dr Singh stated that having "learnt the lessons of the recent incident in Ladakh" the two sides had asked their Special Representatives — National Security Advisor, Shiv Shankar Menon of India and former Foreign Minister, Yang Jichie of China — to meet soon and find ways of strengthening the mechanism for the maintenance of peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) over which there is no agreement because the Chinese reneged on their commitment to “confirm” and “clarify” the LAC. From the Indian side the clear message to the Special Representatives is that must find ways to ensure that incidents like Depsang intrusion are never repeated. Although 15 meetings between the SRs over the years have produced little result, a significant mandate to them, emanating from the Delhi talks, is that they should try and settle the boundary question speedily. This is easier said than done. While responding to Dr Singh's remarks on the utmost importance of peace and tranquillity along the border, Mr Li conspicuously refrained from acknowledging any “incident”, recent or remote. This is entirely in keeping with the standard Chinese policy of total denial of Chinese presence on Indian soil and of the Chinese troops ever violating any treaty between the two countries. However, he admitted that though the two countries had much in common and shared many interests, there are “problems also between them”, especially over the border issue “left behind by history”. Therefore, the agreement between the two to tell their Special Representatives to expedite their efforts to achieve the goal assigned to them. One fear on this score is that the Chinese side might use the quest for peace along the border to discuss India's attempts to improve and add to its dangerously inadequate infrastructure on the Himalayan border. Defence Minister A. K. Antony's public statements on this issue should be a warning. Dr Singh's “tough talk” and “plain speaking” to his Chinese counterpart were in sharp contrast to the Indian government's squeamish and namby-pamby policy during the Ladakh crisis. What is the most important problem, according to the Prime Minister, was dismissed by the Foreign Minister, Salman Khurshid, then as no more than “acne” that could be easily cured by “ointment”. After the latest talks at the level of prime ministers, the Indian strategic community has expressed satisfaction that the irate public opinion had at last produced the desired result. Yet, some are still angry that Dr Singh should call the Chinese violation of Indian sovereignty a mere “incident”. Next only to the issue of peace along the border, the two other major concerns Dr Singh emphasised were the question of Bramhaputra and other cross-border rivers and that of great imbalance in the burgeoning bilateral trade (China is already India's largest trading partner and the India-China trade is expected to exceed $ 100 billion by 2015) almost entirely in China's favour. As for river waters, the Chinese still refuse to accept the Indian suggestion of having a “joint mechanism” of experts like the one that exists between India and Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty. But they have belatedly agreed to share hydrological data denied to India so far. Mr Li also spoke reassuringly of China's respect for the rights of the lower riparian states. This, Indian officials concede, is a “movement forward” but no one can say to what extent. On the crucial problem of acute imbalance in bilateral trade also the visiting Chinese Premier showed receptivity and reasonableness. A number of proposals were made, and these included greater Indian access to the gargantuan Chinese market, investment in each country by the other, and exploring ways to allow Indian manufactures to find their way to China so that India does not merely export raw materials, including iron ore, while Chinese consumer goods flood the Indian market. China also offered to invest in and build infrastructure in this country. This has given satisfaction to many. But some experts are apprehensive that construction of roads, railways and bridges, etc, by China would be “at the expense of Indian firms”. No less important than what was included in the joint statement is what was excluded from it, largely at India's insistence. For instance, the Chinese wanted the usual statement by India on “One China” and Tibet being an integral part of the People's Republic of China. The Indian side refused and pointed out that this oft-repeated statement was omitted also from the joint statement with the then Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, in 2010. Early reports about the Chinese reaction to this suggest that there are many “raised eyebrows” in Beijing. Similarly, China wanted a mention of its “core concern” over South and East China Seas. Again India declined because it cannot endorse the Chinese claim to these seas being under its sovereign control. Despite the “candid and cordial” atmosphere all through the Singh-Li talks and a certain amount of optimism these have generated, and notwithstanding a genuine desire of both India and China to improve their relations, there is widespread and legitimate feeling in the country that the Indian government's China policy lacks realism. New Delhi, many feel with some justification, tends to push difficult issues with Beijing under the carpet. Why, they asked wasn't a word said to Mr Li about what China is doing in so-called “Azad Kashmir” or indeed in Pakistan where he went from
Mumbai. |
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Out of pocket
In 1984, I was posted in the College of Combat, Mhow, which is now War College. In nearby Indore, the State Bank of India was conducting a course for young would-be managers in their Staff College. They sent a request for someone from the College of Combat to speak to them on “Styles of Military Leadership”. I got picked up, not for any special qualification but more because of availability. On the appointed day, a bank officer arrived with a car to pick me up. On the way to the venue, I asked him what the youngsters would like to hear from me. "Sir, as a preamble if you could also tell them what you expect when as a client you visit a bank to encash a cheque, it would be helpful". As the old Ambassador car chugged along, I wondered how best I could put across the point requested of me. Luckily in my childhood village there had been many good story-tellers. Some were retained in my mind and I chose one. There was a young farmer whose wife died leaving behind an infant son. As per the prevailing norms, the younger sister of the late wife married him and a year later they got another son. The two boys, aged some 16 months apart, were growing up together. They wore similar clothes, consumed the same food and attended the same school. The farmer knew that the wife treated the two boys with equal care and love. However, he noticed that the older boy was losing weight and was becoming withdrawn. On some cajoling, the boy opened up and said that while serving them their food, his mother kept her hand on the head of his younger brother but did not do it to him. Driving home the point, I said when I visit the bank to draw money, I am looking for the hand on my head; money in any case I would get since it is my own. The point was well received by the young trainees. The officer came back to Mhow to drop me. After a cup of tea when he got up to leave, he took out a sealed envelope, saying "This is for you, sir". He kept it on the table. On opening the envelope, I found a crossed cheque for Rs 150 as my remuneration. As was required, I sent a minute sheet to the Commandant giving my feedback on the assignment. At the end I mentioned about the payment. The Staff Officer to the Commandant was a batchmate and a good friend. He called me up and accusingly asked, "What have you done?" Even before I could explain he cautioned me that accepting the cheque could land me in trouble and disciplinary action could not be ruled out. In a lowered voice, he told me as a favour he was sending the file back without showing it to the Commandant. He further advised me to return the cheque and prepare a fresh minute sheet avoiding any reference to the payment. I sent back the cheque, paying for the postage out of my
pocket. |
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‘These men should be starved of our attention’
The reporter on ITV news describes it as the “day that Bagdad style violence came to South London”. And the Prince of political clowns George Galloway may have compared this incident to the violence people suffer in Syria. But of course there is more than hint of exaggeration in these remarks. Woolwich is obviously not Bagdad nor Damascus. And despite these fortunately very rare incidents of violence London remains a relatively relaxed and peaceful place. So what are we to make of the horrific murder that occurred on the streets of Woolwich? The random fanatic Since September 2001 there has been a dramatic shift in the way that the threat of terrorism has been understood and represented in Western societies. Traditionally terrorism was conceptualised as something that had its roots ‘over there’ — usually in the Middle East. When after the destruction of the World Trade Center former US President George W Bush raised the question ‘Why do they hate us?’, it was widely assumed that ‘they’ were from somewhere far away. The people who ‘hated us’, and who threatened us, were very much seen as being external to Western societies. However, since 9/11 it has become increasingly difficult to ignore the fact that the threat may not simply be an external one, but a domestic one, too. The realisation that there are people who do not like their societies, who do not want to be British has made the terror threat feel more intimate. Consequently many experts have shifted their focus on ‘home-grown terrorists’ and the radicalisation of young people who feel existentially distant from their societies. Sometimes described as ‘lone wolf terrorists’, these individuals are represented as a radical threat to society. According to one report random terrorist attacks are MI5’s greatest fear. One problem with the construction of the random fanatic is that virtually any form of incomprehensible act of violence — a school shooting, a crazed knife attack — can be redefined as an act of political terrorism. That is why far too many people cannot resist the temptation of defining the tragedy in Woolwich as an act of political terrorism. Writing in this vein, The Daily Telegraph’s Defence Editor, Con Coughlin claims that “the Woolwich ‘beheading’ is straight out of al-Qaeda’s terror manual”. Reality Terrorism It is unlikely that the two men who perpetrated this despicable act of violence have been busy reading al-Qaeda’s terror manual. However there is little doubt that they are thoroughly immersed in the cultural values of reality entertainment. The script that they have internalised is one that is regularly rehearsed in front of the cameras of the reality television shows that dominate our screens. The depraved violence perpetrated on the body of the murdered soldier is bad enough. But what is deeply disturbing is the obsessive manner with which these two murderers insisted that their performance ought to be recorded on camera. The whole episode was about the performance of the act. The murderers may have adopted the role of idealist jihadists as one of them chanted “We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you”, but what they really meant was that we will never stop performing. As far as they were concerned there was always time for one more picture. Their lack of interest in escaping from the scene of the crime serves as testimony to their self-absorption to the drama. Back in the eighties, when Margaret Thatcher declared that “publicity is the oxygen of terrorism”, reality television and celebrity culture had not yet acquired such dominant influence over popular culture and everyday life. Today, publicity regarding an act of violence is far more likely to serve the narcissistic message that it is all about me than serve an act of political idealism. In reality culture, publicity becomes a medium through which otherwise unremarkable people become for a fleeting moment quite remarkable. Often the promise of fame leads to acts of self-abasement and self destruction. In Woolwich it led to the destruction of another human being. The tragedy is that when the reality fanatic is given recognition as threat to national security we inadvertently encourage the destructive and obsessive quest for fame and recognition that haunts our society Cultural threat The impact of an act of terror is ultimately determined by the way society reacts to it. That is why it is important not to over-react. The inflation of the threat can empower would-be reality fanatics, who may conclude that relatively modest acts of terrorism are likely to achieve a disproportionate impact. From time to time — fortunately very rarely — the random terrorist succeeds in causing great physical damage. But it is not the scale of this damage that endows them with such significance. They are not simply a physical but also a cultural threat. Two memories of Woolwich haunt me. One is the sadistic act of murder. The other is the casual manner with which passers-by assumed the role of participants in the drama. Thankfully some sought to help and give assistance to the victim. But others took out their cameras to record the spectacle and adopted the role of “I am here too”. On twitter far too many people embraced the role of the voyeur and unwittingly gave recognition to two self-obsessed killers who did not deserve it. Frank Furedi is author of Invitation to Terror: The Expanding Empire of the Unknown. |
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A worrying new face of the terror threat to the UK
Islamists had for a while been uploading video footage on the internet of prisoners being beheaded by their captors. It was most prevalent in Iraq and has spread to other parts of the world where ferocious jihad was being waged. The murder outside Woolwich barracks was the first time that beheading had been used as a tool of terror in the West and it has, understandably, spread shock and revulsion. The appearance of footage of one of the suspects, with bloody meat cleavers in his hands, speaking calmly about what he has apparently done in an English accent, will add to the sense of foreboding. This was also the first time that a soldier had been targeted back home by Islamists; although off-duty soldiers had been targeted by Irish republicans in the past. The Ministry of Defence now has a major problem on how to react to this in the raising of security measures which was already under way tonight. The questions being asked were ‘is there a danger of copycat attacks?’ And, at the same time, ‘What would be effect on the morale of service personnel and their families if they were forced to live under siege conditions?’ Kidnapping and killing, beheading in particular, of military personnel had, in fact, been a recurring theme among would-be Islamist terrorists in this country. Six years ago a group of British Pakistanis based in Birmingham were convicted of plotting such an attack and their leader, Parviz Khan, received a life sentence with the recommendation that he serves a minimum of 14 years. But there appears to have been no indication for the security agencies that such an attempt was in the horizon, according to sources, leading to possibility that this was the work of a very small group, possibly just the two suspects who were shot by the police at the scene. There was initial speculation that the attack may have been the result of ‘road rage’ following a car crash. However, counter-terrorist officers also appear to have information that the killers had staged an accident after waiting for an opportunity to present itself and were intent on finding a victim. The behavior of the two men after the death, the video recording of their jihadist statements, the refusal to run away and then charge at the police — which could be taken as a desire to become ‘shaheeds’, or martyrs — all point away from this being a random, spur of the moment, incident. The fact that the two men are alive after apparently being shot will be of huge help to piecing together what led up to the attack. According to security officials the behavior of the suspects in the aftermath of the killing suggested they were proud of what they had done, and, experience shows, that they may be only too happy to talk about their actions. One official said : “We are not talking about your veteran PIRA (Provisional IRA) guy who during interrogation will not even make eye contact but stare at a fixed point on the wall either saying nothing or saying ‘no comment’. Some of the Islamists, especially those who want to be martyrs, want to describe what they had done, their motivations, and who motivated them. That’s why you get so many martyrdom videos which are of great help to investigators.” |
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