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Honeymoon spoilers Debt of a farmer |
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Don't miss the bus
Economic thoughts of a lowbrow
Modi & Sharif: Prisoners of the past?
A new beginning to the peace chapter
Making a fresh start
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Honeymoon spoilers After
a welcome SAARC initiative, the Modi government is embroiled in controversies. One can understand an inexperienced MP-turned-minister in the PMO shooting off his mouth about Article 370 in a burst of enthusiasm, but the backlash his thoughtless statement caused in Jammu and Kashmir should have prompted someone responsible in the BJP to intervene and douse the fire. Unless, of course, the party leadership, like the RSS, intends to fan it for electoral advantages in the coming assembly elections. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah too need not overreact every time Article 370 is mentioned. Maybe the pressure of work is not giving Modi time to rein in irresponsible elements, but the controversy over the issuance of an ordinance to appoint a superannuated bureaucrat, no matter how honest and competent, as the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister is entirely his own creation. It has given the Congress a chance to remind the BJP how it had opposed the aborted UPA ordinance to fight corruption, an issue far more important than an officer's appointment. While one can appreciate the PM's efforts to pack his office with the best available talent, he may be reminded that there is no dearth of officers in the IAS with qualities he is looking for and that ordinances are issued only on the rarest of rare occasions since these are against the spirit of democracy. HRD Minister Smriti Irani has landed in an embarrassing situation with the detection of a discrepancy in her educational qualifications mentioned in her affidavits for the Lok Sabha elections in 2004 and 2014. This is a serious offence and she has not yet clarified it. One may take lightly the fact that she is only an undergraduate, that she is a defeated candidate and that degrees alone are not enough for doing good work. Also, she needs to be given sufficient time before a judgement on her performance is passed. But she heads the education ministry of a country where many highly qualified, talented youth are jobless. Collectively, all these incidents have contributed to a controversial start for a government elected with high hopes.
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Debt of a farmer Reports
of indebted farmers committing suicides continue unabated from Punjab, especially the southern districts; so do instances of defaulters being issued notices for recovery through sale of mortgaged land. Most of the loans are extended by cooperatives or the Agriculture Development Bank for the purchase of farm inputs such as seeds, implements and tractors. One part of the problem is farmers being unable to return the loans owing to legitimate reasons such as crop failure or even adverse family circumstances. The other is loan giving agencies' mounting non-performing assets. Then there are the rogue debtors, who take the easy loans without ever meaning to return them. Many instances of such so-called farmers have come to light who are heavy defaulters but the agencies concerned take no action against them beyond issuing notices. Both sides of the issue have to be addressed. The farmers' situation has to be looked at with compassion and the financial institutions giving credit too have to remain viable. As there are genuine cases of poverty or crop failure and at the same time intentional defaulters, it is hard to come up with a blanket rule for recovery. There are suggestions that tehsil-level bodies be created to take up each case individually. This is an idea worth considering and may involve revenue officials as well as representatives of society to avoid allegations of political partisanship, as is happening currently. Cooperative banks are run by elected bodies, and are therefore susceptible to political influence. A macro-level correction required is at the stage of giving out loans, rather than the recovery end. Most funds for farm loans come from
NABARD. These are distributed through various bank branches and come with set targets for managers, which means a certain amount has to be loaned out within a given period. This, in conjunction with a network of middlemen, often leads to farmers being pressured or lured into taking loans even when they don't need them. Farmers are not good managers of finances, and the consequences are all too clear.
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Thought for the Day
People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.
—Isaac Asimov
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MODERN sanitarians attach no little importance to the vital statistics to show the growth and prosperity of nations. An increasing birth rate accompanied by a low death rate is the result at which most of them are aiming. Such a result is said to indicate a high standard of healthy and happy living. But there is hardly any historic record of the existence of any such ideal nation or community. On the other hand those people whom the world has always considered to be happy, viz., wealthy, intelligent, cultured people have as a rule had fewer children and a low birth rate. The death rate has likewise been low. In India we notice, that Punjab and the United Provinces record a high birth rate, but there is also a higher death rate and infant mortality is frightful. It is a problem for sanitarians how to prevent nearly 40 to 50 per cent of the children born from dying before their 5th year of age. The late Rai Bahadur Piyare Lal IT is with deep regret that we have to announce the demise of Rai Bahadur Piyare Lal, retired inspector of schools, Delhi. The late Rai Bahadur, who was well-known throughout his life as 'Master' Piyare Lal, was born on 8th March 1838 and was thus at the time of his death 76 years of age. Entering Government service on Ist May 1859, Master Piyare Lal, by dint of his scholarship, industry and hard work rose to the highest post in the Punjab Education Department open to an Indian, an Inspectorship of Schools, which office he continued to occupy from Ist October 1886 till his retirement on pension in 1895. For his conspicuous, and meritorious work to the cause of education Lala Piyare Lal was gazetted a Rai Bahadur in 1893.
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Don't miss the bus A
roller coaster of an election has led to a result exceeding people's expectations. For India's Muslim population, the largest minority in the world, it is more of a shock. Their worst fears have come true, especially those who view Indian politics from a narrow prism of ideology and faith. The BJP, the supposed ultra nationalist, right wing, anti-Muslim party, will rule India with a majority of its own. This was unimaginable a couple of years ago when the common refrain was the assumption that the BJP could never go beyond the Hindi heartland and, therefore, could never secure its own majority. The initial sulk by the Indian Muslims after Independence was a result of their lack of confidence in their own decision and the initial euphoria in Pakistan about a land dedicated to the subcontinent's Muslims. The euphoria diluted over a period of time and today the psyche of an average Pakistani is reflected in Mahwash Badar's bold article - 'Jinnah made a Mistake and I am Ashamed of being a Pakistani' recently published in a prominent Pakistani blog. She writes: "What analogy do I draw to represent the utter misery that is being a Pakistani in this super-power dominated world?" No one puts labels on Indian Muslims when they travel internationally and no one profiles them in the manner which Ms Badar describes her countrymen. A prominent US Air Force General once in a discussion with me online stated: "What, 175 million Muslims and not one with Al Qaida!" It was difficult for him to understand this. The Indian Muslims have rarely looked upon themselves in this light because not many leaders have ever cared to explain to them the distinct advantages of their Indian label. There have been aberrations in the journey since Partition as would be in any aspiring and dynamic nation. There have also been many success stories which have helped cement their place in society. They have won adulation for winning the highest military gallantry awards, given Presidents, Vice Presidents and Service Chiefs to the nation, achieved the highest honours for scientific and cultural activities and worn their patriotism proudly. Why should they then be thunder struck by the simple change of government which has been elected with many a vote from within their ranks? Mercifully, within a few days of the electoral results the hushed whispers have started emerging as voices of assent; heads have started nodding and Indian Muslims are re-emerging from their self-induced perception of doom. Much of it is driven by aspirations of youth who had the courage to vote with their minds but also much of it is being driven by people who were opposed to Narendra Modi but now see in him as their collective hope for the future. Some introspection is leading to the deduction that it is scientific temper, education, power of investigation and living by rationale which will militate against the status-quoist attitude with which the community has lived for long. They have to be led into believing that as a patriotic, non-radicalised, proud segment of the Indian society, they hold out a beacon to the rest of the Islamic world. This is what the leaders of the Muslim society need to dwell on. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory signifies one of the most historic changes in world history. This has been the largest electoral process ever to have taken place with a system to monitor fairness and strict electoral norms. Not many are absorbing the fact that after 30 years stability has returned to India. Indians had forgotten the meaning of stability and have now to get used to it. That India could achieve high growth despite coalitions in power should encourage all Indians about the positives which augur for the future. The electoral rhetoric is over. Wishful thinking among India's adversaries would involve the anticipation of large-scale subjugation and wilful acts against the minorities resulting in increased antipathy and turbulence in society. Triggers may be planned to force the minorities to perceive danger to their safe existence. However, a government which has won a single-party majority and commands a huge majority as a coalition will inevitably leave behind rhetoric of the electoral process. Governance is too serious a matter to allow it to be mired in political criticism and minority bashing. Narendra Modi's emergence should send that clear message to the Indian Muslims. This is the moment to seize, unshackled from vote banks. Even if they have voted for other parties that was their democratic right; it does not prevent them from now strengthening the hands of the most stable government in India's recent history. On the part of the new government no one doubts its intent of taking united India to the next level. It has received not only a thunderous approval from the electorate but also an acceptance by an international consensus that this is the best thing which could happen to India. Leaders who are decisive, clear-headed and resolute rarely take decisions against the run of progress and Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to fit that bill quite appropriately. Perhaps the 21st century will still be the Indian century and the chance of giving it that label in letter and spirit has arrived. The Indian Muslims must not miss the bus, in fact they should get into it lock, stock and barrel. The writer retired recently as a Lieut-General, having commanded 15 Corps in Srinagar
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Economic thoughts of a lowbrow I
am of poor intelligence because I do not know why in this world so many things happen. Leave the world aside, why are so many things happening in our own country, India? For example, why does the rupee fall when India has the largest stock of gold? As a little child I used to wonder why the rupee notes were not printed to one's heart's content to tide over the monetary problems. My father made me wiser by informing me that we can only print as much currency as we have the gold stock in the country. Come to think of it, according to a news report, foodgrains, fruits and vegetables worth a staggering Rs 44,000 crore go waste annually because of lack of infrastructure for proper storage. Why does the government raise the prices of foodstuff when so much food gets rotten every year, but there are starving millions? Many a time when I go to the vegetable market, I am shocked to see that vendors would let their vegetables rot, rather than sell them at a little lower prices. Next, think of the health sector for a change. So many people smoke, putting into jeopardy the health of passive smokers. I fail to understand why does the government allow the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products when it has to spend crores of rupees on the treatment of people who develop diseases? The government is busy opening liquor vends at every available site. The blame for the initiation of youth into drinking and destroying thousands of families should squarely fall on the government. Not only that, why does the government on the one hand make drunkards out of people and then open rehabilitation centres for the addicts? Recently a plane crashed because it had fake Chinese parts in it. The market is flooded with all kinds of cheap Chinese products, making our in-house traders utterly helpless. Why can't Indians manufacture the same things and make them available at affordable prices? We laugh at our own foolishness, as someone says the 'dollar is on an escalator and the rupee is on a ventilator!' If the government reflects on all this, maybe my poor intelligence would get the nation some rich dividends.
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Modi & Sharif: Prisoners of the past?
AFTER the smiles, handshakes, photo opportunities and feel-good stories on Monday, Tuesday brought the more serious business of actually grappling with the nature and substance of the Pak-India relationship. Sticking to his pre-election script of focusing on building closer economic ties while downplaying the big, historical security issues, Nawaz Sharif said many of the right things and tried his best to sustain the feel-good factor of his presence in Delhi. Yet, as snippets from the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Sharif were leaked to the Indian media and then India’s own diplomats chose to take a tough line in public, it became clear — as if more clarity were needed — just how difficult it will continue to be to bridge the gap between India’s almost exclusive focus on terrorism and Pakistan’s wanting to expand talks to encompass many of the long-standing issues between the two sides. As ever, there are tough questions to be asked about the intentions and/or capacity of both sides to deliver on their rhetoric of peace. Is Mr Modi really interested in moving forward on normalisation of ties with Pakistan? A couple of days into his prime ministership that is impossible to know. The generous explanation would cast Mr Modi’s invitation to Mr Sharif as a signal that the new Indian government wants to work on improving ties with Pakistan immediately and perhaps even meaningfully. The less charitable explanation would be that Mr Modi has cleverly bought himself goodwill internationally by hosting Mr Sharif, but did so in a way that really conceded nothing: the invitation itself was one to Saarc leaders and the selective leaks to the media after the prime ministerial meeting yesterday suggested that Mr Modi stuck to a hawkish script instead of a more peaceable one. With Mr Modi having run a campaign that focused almost entirely on domestic issues, there is little yet to go by on what a Modi-led BJP foreign policy will look like over the next five years. South Asians may be eternally hopeful, but peace between states that have been historical rivals needs something more. On the Pakistani side, Mr Sharif’s mantra of business, trade and economy may be music to some ears, but it is in the security arena that many of the key decisions will need to be taken — and the battle for control fought. Unpleasant as it may be for Pakistanis to constantly be reminded of the Mumbai attacks when the Pakistani political leadership has been restrained about criticism on Kashmir or the ever-growing water-sharing problems, there is a domestic division of power that needs to be addressed. With Mr Sharif’s relationship with the army clearly going through a tense phase, is there really the capacity or the will here on both the civilian and military side to work together on crafting a new beginning with India? — The Dawn
Always on the brink
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A new beginning to the peace chapter Despite
reservations in some circles, most Pakistanis welcomed Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s decision to attend Mr Narendra Modi’s swearing-in as the new PM of India at the latter’s invitation. Although similar invitations were extended to the heads of state and government of all the SAARC countries, all eyes were focused on the interaction between the PMs of traditional rivals Pakistan and India. And the warm welcome PM Modi extended to Nawaz Sharif raised the hopes of the hopeful, comprising most Pakistanis, while the sceptics, including the Kashmiris, seemed unconvinced. The body language and atmospherics at the first meeting between the two PMs seemed excellent. It could be claimed with confidence therefore, that a good beginning had been made. At the glittering swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan (President’s House) in New Delhi, the SAARC leaders in attendance were joined by a large invited crowd, including political and business leaders and celebrities from all segments of Indian society, including Bollywood’s well known figures. Mr Modi’s vigorous welcoming handshake with Nawaz Sharif underlined the mutual desire of the two leaders to nudge their bilateral relationship towards normalisation. Apprehensions accompanying Modi’s rise to the apex office include the fears of the minorities in India, particularly Muslims, about the dark past of Mr Modi, especially in the Gujarat massacre of Muslims in 2002 when he was the chief minister. Perhaps aware of his polarising and divisive past, Mr Modi’s message after taking oath of office was to build an ‘inclusive’ India with a relatively lean cabinet, the latter reflecting his slogan: “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance”. This is intended to reinforce the election platform on which Mr Modi ran, emphasising good governance and economic development rather than the Hindutva agenda of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or the even more extreme stance of the BJP’s ‘mother’ movement, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which on the eve of the swearing-in ceremony and meeting with Nawaz Sharif, belligerently threatened that if Pakistan did not correct course vis-ŕ-vis India, Mr Modi would be forced to press the nuclear button against it. On his part, PM Nawaz Sharif opened his innings in New Delhi with the statement that there existed a great chance to open a new chapter, starting from where he and former BJP PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee left off in 1999. He offered attractive investment opportunities to Indian businessmen, which no doubt went down well with the proven business-friendly Modi. It goes without saying that enhanced trade and business opportunities between Pakistan and India are to the mutual benefit of both despite the naysayers and sceptics in Pakistan. Trade between the two countries is officially at around $ 2.5 billion, with the balance heavily tilted towards India, whose exports account for $ 1.75 billion of the total. Around $ 3 billion trade is believed to be routed through Dubai, again tilted heavily in India’s favour and which deprives both countries of tax revenues. The issue of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status, which India has long ago extended to Pakistan but has not been reciprocated, may now be revived under the new title of Non-Discriminatory Market Access (NDMA). While the positives of the warm welcome to PM Nawaz Sharif and the overwhelming run of opinion in Pakistan that it was the right decision to accept the invitation from Mr Modi are welcome, there are still many issues that remain to trouble relations between the two South Asian neighbours. Memories of 1999, when General Musharraf’s adventure in Kargil effectively sealed the fate of the Sharif-Vajpayee rapprochement, haunt the renewed process of normalisation. However, 2014 is a very changed scenario from 1999. Pakistan is beset with trouble on its western border, including a homegrown Taliban insurgency that has been described as an existential threat to Pakistan’s security rather than any external enemy. The military therefore appears, contrary to conspiracy theorists, to be on board regarding the critical need to normalise relations with India on the eastern border. That of course does not mean that long standing issues such as Kashmir and the Pakistan-India rivalry for influence in Afghanistan are about to disappear. They can cause tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi again as in the past. However, internally the fears of the minorities in India, particularly Muslims, at the rise to power of Modi have been underlined by a communal clash in his home province Gujarat on the very day he took oath. The underlying communal tensions lingering from 2002 burst forth into clashes between the Hindu and Muslim communities after an innocuous traffic accident. Reportedly, the first one-to-one meeting between PMs Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi yielded the expected positions of both sides. India raised the issue of terrorism and closure of the Mumbai attacks case. Pakistan seemed to agree on cooperation to overcome terrorism while emphasising the economic side of bilateral relations. Naturally, such summits are always followed up by experts and officials’ working out of the details of the vision of their leaders. Let us hope that that process will now proceed with dispatch, in contrast with the virtual halt during the Congress government’s later tenure.
— The Daily Times
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Nawaz
Sharif’s India trip for the inauguration of Narendra Modi was in itself such a seismic event — the first time ever for a Pakistani leader — that it would have been unrealistic to expect any substantive breakthroughs. Instead, this was a battle for public relations and setting the ground for an improvement in relations further down the line. In this Nawaz excelled, particularly with the poignant touch of calling on former Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at his residence. Vajpayee’s visit to Lahore to meet with Nawaz in 1997 is still fondly remembered as a rare high point in Pakistan-India relations and served as a reminder to Modi that there is a history of the BJP engaging Pakistan positively. The meeting between Nawaz and Modi hinted both at the prospects for peace and the likelihood of trouble in the months ahead. Nawaz focused, as he always has, on engagement but Modi spoke mostly of terrorism, particularly the Mumbai attacks of 2008. The way to work through these troubles, as Nawaz well understands, is by engaging in other issues first and broaching matters of disagreement once ties have improved. The Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh was more hopeful in her press briefing, expressing confidence that Pakistan would soon grant India Most Favoured Nation trading access, now rebranded as Non Discriminatory Market Access. She also said that Modi had accepted Nawaz’s offer of a return visit to Pakistan. In his own brief remarks to the press, Nawaz once again sung the song of peace. That the word “peace” can even be uttered with the hardline Modi in power is in itself a testament to the surprising developments of the past few days. A point to note was that the Indian side did bring up specific issues of concern but the Pakistani PM talked of our issues only in general diplomatic terms? While a measure of optimism is in order for this unexpected progress, we still need to be wary of likely challenges. Modi’s ideology remains what it is and any attack in India is still sure to be blamed on Pakistan, with the inevitable recriminations to follow. If Modi does indeed visit Pakistan, which could be a very distant prospect, we can also expect a lot of hostility stemming from his actions during the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat. The commitment of the military to peace with India is also in question. The two leaders have done what no one expected but the chances of reverting back to script still remain high. —
The News International
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The Indian Muslims, confused as they are, by the plethora of political parties that woo them and treat them as a vote bank, were so thunder struck by the electoral results that an ominous silence marked most of their gatherings. There are a few things that the Indian Muslims must keep in mind. First, that they are Indians by choice and, therefore, enjoy the fruits of India's democratic success and stability unlike so many others in the neighbourhood who share their faith. Secondly, the Indian political system has matured over 65 years, as has the electorate. The appeal of narrow issues such as faith and ideology does not matter as much as the attraction of social and economic progress. This inevitably happens in multi-faith and multi-cultural societies where the initial gains of nationhood are selfishly acquired. As systems mature the common goals and the common good are realised. 
I have since then been racking my brain hard. Our temples have a large haul of gold which actually serves no purpose. We never know how much gold is illegally reaching the pockets of unscrupulous elements till a 'gold scam' gets unearthed. I keep on wondering why India cannot boost its economy by compulsorily collecting the tonnes and tonnes of gold lying unused in the temples of India. I am sure gods residing in the temples would also wish the same. And then, Indians keep a lot of gold in their bank lockers, which again is lying useless! Why can't the government buy back some of the gold from them to strengthen the rupee?