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Make it reasonable After the shock |
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When silence is not an option
A misadventure on the border
The US rhetoric that insults and conceals Decoding IS power
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Make it reasonable The Punjab Chief Minister and his deputy met the Prime Minister on Monday to demand a Rs 1.02 lakh crore debt waiver. Punjab finances are in a mess, largely because of mismanagement by successive governments. If the Akali leadership is serious, it should first acknowledge the problem of rising debt, which has crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark. During elections Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal said the debt was not a problem and compared it with the loans of the Central government. When the Centre had offered to settle the debt issue, the father-son duo discredited the then Finance Minister, Manpreet Badal, and denied there was any offer from the UPA. After studying the finances of the debt-stressed states of Punjab, Kerala and West Bengal, a Central committee had then offered relief on the condition that the state should cut subsidies and raise its own resources through taxes. The Akali Dal as well as the Congress pursues politics of freebies. The last and present Akali-BJP government has made no effort to downsize the administration, wind up unviable PSUs and target subsidies to the needy. Instead, it has maintained an army of chief parliamentary secretaries, made MLAs chairpersons of even loss-making boards and corporations and granted Cabinet status to every Natha Singh and Banta Singh. Little effort has been made towards fiscal discipline. If the SAD-BJP government needs Central help, it should prepare its case reasonably, based on rules, and present it logically at a time when the Prime Minister is free, not when he is heading for America. Where was the need to club the crucial issue of debt waiver with matters -- equally important though -- of drought relief, 1984 riots probe, citizenship for Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, Sikhs on the MHA blacklist and visas for Sikhs who have got asylum in various countries? Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had earlier dismissed the Badals' similar plea with the message: set your own house in order first. Modi may give his own mantra of governance: "Have minimum government, maximum governance". But are the Badals really serious about the debt?
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After the shock As the floodwaters swept across the Kashmir valley and parts of the Jammu region, homes, roads and bridges were washed away. Lives were lost and families ripped apart, and thousands of people stranded. All of it made for shocking news and reports. An immediate burst of rescue and relief efforts followed. Given the nature of the calamity, the effort was mostly ad hoc and spontaneous. Whoever cried the most, or where the camera pointed, got help first. But the situation has now entered the grinding phase, where the initial sacks of food or prescriptions of medicine given to families have been run through. The real extent of the crisis is only dawning now. There are families upon families that have lost all household goods. Even if they are given flour, they have no means to cook it. There is no bedding or roof to sleep at night, and winter is approaching. This is the time where the government has to quickly come up with a plan to systematically identify families that need help, and ensure each one of those gets it. Time is of essence, as hunger and disease strike every day. No individual can be left out. The state government is in a disarray itself, with many of its employees not back at work yet, and some offices having been damaged, along with the records in them. Many people have lost all identities and documents that may facilitate the distribution of relief. Under the circumstances the Central government has to step in in a big way, chipping in with funds, material, manpower, and even allow relaxation of certain rules. The rebuilding is going to be a long and sustained effort, in which the government has to maintain focus, even when TV crews have lost interest in the devastated state. Promises made, such as free ration for all affected, have to be kept and delivered on ground. While that is a human need, the issue becomes even more sensitive, given the rogue elements out to exploit the political situation in the state.
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It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses we must plant more trees.
—George Eliot
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The Aga Khan on Indian loyalty IN the course of an interview with Reuter's representative, His Highness the Aga Khan, referring to Indian loyalty, said that "there was no need to differentiate between the various communities and races of India. All were united and eager to support the Imperial cause, gratified that their martial representatives were to assist in a European war for the first time in history." The Aga Khan rightly added that "this advance in the growth of Indian co-operation in the responsibilities of Empire would be another great stone in the great landmark of a beneficent Viceroyalty." He paid a warm tribute to Lord Hardinge's work in carrying the country through a most difficult period of transition. As regards Moslem loyalty in particular he said "the loyalty of the Indian Moslems was proof against any attempts of German diplomacy to create a bastard Pan-Islamic sentiment in favour of 'the Mailed Fist.'" It is interesting to learn, as Professor Speers stated in his lecture at Lahore, that the peace party in Turkey, which was at a discount at the outbreak of war, has steadily grown in power until it has come to control the destinies of Turkey. His Highness was confident that the spirit of devotion would be maintained.
Mischief by a German cruiser WE have received from the Censor, Simla, a telegram to the effect that late on Tuesday night Government of India received intelligence to the effect that a hostile cruiser presumably Emden threw a few shells into Madras whilst passing. Damage reported is slight. The act is on a par with German disregard of rules of civilised warfare exhibited elsewhere, but otherwise this act of mischief-making or bravado, which may lead to the capture of the offending cruiser, is of little significance.
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When silence is not an option The report by former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai is so damaging that the former Prime Minister has to explain his side, if there is one, to sustain his credibility. It is not enough to argue that he did not personally make any money or that he is nowhere directly involved. He has to dispel the impression that he looked like conniving in the scams which spread over months. And even when the entire corrupt deal was for everyone to see he took no action. How can he say that he was only doing his duty. At least he should have taken action when the CBI had reconstructed the scandal from A to Z and had sent the report to his office. His defence that “he did his duty” is a statement which is neither here nor there. Those who were responsible for the corrupt deals carried on for a long period without any check. Once the Prime Minister’s Office has got the initial report, it should have moved in. Its lack of action raises many questions which need an answer. The mere silence is no reply nor it will minimise the gravity of the charges. It is clear that he was in the know of the happening and preferred to keep silent because of political considerations. In fact, if one could be blunt, he wanted to be in the chair at any cost. And it has been more or less proved that he was the mere front and the money was being made by the elements which have come to be known by the name of No. 10 Janpath, the residence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. That does not absolve him of looking the other side when the corrupt deals were being made and executed. Nobody blames him for being part of the scams. But nobody can say with authority that he looked at everything as if he was helpless. He has often said that posterity will judge him better than what is being said against him today. It is difficult to anticipate what would be people's perception after three-four decades. Even then the observation against him of being a weak Prime Minister will stay. It will be unfair to the nation if the things are left at what they are today. There has to be a probe. It is a pity that there is no Lokpal yet because of political quarrels. But that does not mean that there should be no effort to reach the bottom of the scams to pinpoint who, if not former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was supervising the rampant corruption which was going on. The office of Prime Minister may not be any way responsible for the corruption which was prevalent but it cannot be said that it did not know of what was happening, much less acting to stop it. That the corrupt deals took place is now a proven fact. Not to proceed further and pinpoint the blame will not be fair to the nation if the entire gamut of deals is not made public. It is not difficult to find who is to blame because somebody must have sanctioned the deal and somebody must have seen the execution. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) can be entrusted with the job even risking the political pressure which would be exerted on it to give a clean chit. It is a pity that no action is taken even against the highly placed bureaucrats because politicians are themselves involved in the deals made. If the government decides not to do anything because the country had a weak Prime Minister, it does not mean that the scams did not take place or that both politicians and bureaucrats did not make money. Now there is a change of government. Prime Minister Narender Modi is saying again and again that he will clean up the system; some action should have started by now. That the government servants should come on time is alright but this is not a change which will satisfy the people who are expecting action against the politicians and bureaucrats who were involved in scams. There is no direct evidence but the perception is that 10 Janpath was very much in the picture. The books which have come out to tell a story of what was happening behind the scenes have revealed enough for the appointment of an independent team of eminent persons to go into the whole things and bring before the public how politicians and bureaucrats had joined hands to literally loot the country. On the other hand, without having any direct responsibility, Sonia Gandhi is said to have run the administration. Secret files used to go to her. Although this allegation has become public, there is no cogent explanation either from her or from the government headed by Manmohan Singh. The interview which the Auditor General has given is much more damaging than his report. He has revealed that he had met former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and conveyed certain things verbally. Still there was no action taken. It is difficult to say why Manmohan Singh did not act except that he wanted to stay as the Prime Minister. Since Sonia Gandhi had everything to put him in the seat, he comes out very badly as if the chair was more important than the perception people had that he would do something to stop corruption. One feels sad that a person like Dr Manmohan Singh, who had no axe to grind, compromised his position to stay in the chair. The posterity will judge him as the one who did not rise to the expectations that the office demanded of him just because he did not want to lose the office he occupied.
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A misadventure on the border It was customary in those days that the newly inducted soldiers in Sikkim would be sent on terrain familiarisation missions, within and on the flanks of their assigned segments. They were expected to attain proficiency to reach a given landmark blind-folded, so to say. As it happens at times, SOPs get ignored and in one case a group of soldiers lost orientation and could not be traced despite extensive, weeklong ground and aerial searches. Ultimately, word came from the PLA that they had foiled an attempted "intrusion" by Indian soldiers but would gladly hand them over. As may be imagined, not only did that create a diplomatic embarrassment but also severely dented the pride of the particular outfit. The story which unfolded before a Court of Inquiry was that 20 soldiers led by a smart Captain had set out on a routine four-day patrol. As briefed, on the first day they went due North, keeping a thousand metres from the International border along the Chumbi-Sikkim crest. However, the weather changed and mist soon turned into fog so dense that no soldier in the lead was discernable to his comrade ten paces behind. By the afternoon, they had expected to reach a rock cliff-face at about 15,000 ft ASL (and indeed they did get to one) from where they were to go due West for an hour, before bedding for the night. The Captain had accordingly locked his prismatic compass pointing West but unfortunately he stumbled, had a fall and unbeknown to him, the compass got damaged. There was no fog the next morning, so their spirits buoyed and they soon hit the track which by about 3 PM would take them to a tributary of the Teesta river. Once there, they would turn left and in an hour hit the bridge on the Teesta near a township. But, in reality, all this while they were walking due East because the locked compass was pointing West! Shortly they even hit a tributary as they had expected, so turned left and soon heard cheering and laughter. Surely, that was the Border Roads detachment at the Teesta bridge making merry? Yes, they were having a volleyball match and the patrol marched past them smartly, heading for rendezvous with vehicles to return to the base. As the last Indian soldier went past, the referee gathered his wits, blew the whistle and gesticulating excitedly terminated the game. The volleyball ground was in fact the PLA helipad at Yatung in the Chumbi Valley. And the India troops were marching nonchalantly on the road to
Lhasa!
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The US rhetoric that insults and conceals
JOHN Kerry is becoming more and more like William McGonagall, the “worst poet in the world” whose horror at the 1879 Tay Bridge railway disaster yielded the imperishable observation that it “will be remember’d for a very long time”. Like McGonagall’s verse, Kerry’s attempts to explain America’s crusade against its latest evil enemy are so awful, they are addictive. Just when you think that Kerry’s lame explanation to American politicians of Obama’s Iraqi crusade – “(Isis) has to be defeated, plain and simple, end of story” – can’t get any more childish, it does. For sheer infantilisme — the French word captures it best — I dare readers to wade through the following claptrap without a snort of disbelief. “I want to make sure that by the time we’re done here today, I’ve heard from you, I know what you’re thinking,” quoth Kerry to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week, “and you’ve heard from me and you know what we’re thinking, what the (Obama) administration is thinking, and that you have a clear understanding of what it is that we have done so far, of how we see this and how, hopefully, we can come to see it together, what we’re doing now and of where we go next.” It was all very complex, he said – and will also, no doubt, “be remembered for a very long time”. Obama’s fantasy world Most immediately shocking was the Obama fantasy world which Kerry, in his clod-hopping, schoolboy way, represented. Anyone who has studied Syria from afar, let alone those who go there, know that the fictional “moderate opposition” — supposedly deserters from the Syrian government army — does not exist. Corrupted, disillusioned, murdered or simply re-defected towards Isis or some other Al-Qaida outfit, the old “Free Syrian Army” is now a myth as ridiculous — and as potent for the Kerrys of this world — as Mussolini’s boast that the Italian army could defeat the British in North Africa. Any Syrian soldier will tell you that they are happy to fight the FSA because these warriors of the “moderate opposition” always run away. It is the Al-Qaida-Nusra-Isis “terrorists” who fight to the death. But Kerry, like the generals of World War I, is in an ornate chateau of his own imagination. “In Syria, the on-the-ground combat will be done by the moderate opposition, which is Syria’s (sic) best counterweight to extremists like (Isis),” he told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “And we can talk more about that moderate opposition – what it looks like, who it is, what they’re capable of today, what they could be doing – as we go forward.” Like Generals Haig and French, Kerry dreamed on. The FSA, he said, had been fighting Isis for two years — in Idlib, Aleppo, around Damascus and Deir Ezzor — while the Syrian government, Kerry insisted, is not fighting or will not fight Isis. This is nonsense. Most of the Syrian army’s 35,000 dead were killed in action against Al-Qaida and Isis. And the only other boots-on-the-ground forces confronting Isis are the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards alongside the Kurds. Flawed contention To exalt the “moderate opposition” two days before Isis’s latest victories bring them to the very border of Turkey is preposterous. And what statesman illustrates his contention that Sunnis and Shias are in alliance with America by brandishing the front page of The Wall Street Journal upon which a Kurdish leader, an Iraqi Shia minister and the Sunni foreign minister of Saudi Arabia are pictured together? Kerry praised Saudi clerics for condemning Sunni Isis without mentioning that many prominent Saudi imams spend far more time decrying America. Nor could he refer to the Pakistani clerics who have also declared Isis a heretical force – because, of course, they spend as much time accusing the Saudis of funding it. Like Cameron, Kerry uses the words of false self-confidence. The US “rightfully, absolutely” had to support the Iraqi government’s efforts, and there is “absolute clarity” that America has blunted Isis. As for the “Islamic State” itself, it was an “insulting distortion of Islam”, “an enemy of Islam”, a “militant cult masquerading as a religious movement” of “cold-blooded killers” whose philosophy “comes out of the Stone Age”. What is this? Once we claimed that Isis came from the Middle Ages, then the eighth century. Now it seems it came from 2,000 BC. International allies Thank heavens we have General John Allen — who not long ago was proposing “security” guarantees for the Jordan Valley which both Palestinians and Israelis turned down — to sort things out in Iraq. He’s the former deputy commander of Iraq’s Anbar province, a man – according to Kerry — with “great respect” in the region, with “knowledge of the Sunni tribes” and — a real McGonagall moment, this — “of all the folks there that are part of the mix to be able to mobilise action”. No wonder Kerry also told the world that, of America’s 50 international anti-Isis allies, some would engage in “kinetic activities”. I bet they will. Though I’ll also wager you won’t be seeing an Arab air force joining the Franco-American air bombardment. What we can’t be told by Kerry is as simple as he claims the struggle against Isis to be: that there will have to be a Western alliance – of some sort – with Iran to defeat Isis, that this will inevitably have to include an unspoken understanding with Bashar al-Assad’s Syria, even with the ghastly, unthinkable, “super-terrorist” Hezbollah guerrillas who — unlike Kerry’s description of Isis — do not go around “killing and raping and mutilating women” or selling off girls “to be sex slaves to jihadis”. But for a man who thought he could stitch up a Palestinian-Israeli peace in 12 months, what else can you expect? Yes, Isis is the latest monster to taunt us. But isn’t there another one, not that far away, which is a threat to us all and which really has “to be defeated, plain and simple”. It is threatening to kill infinitely more people than Isis. It’s named after an obscure African river. So where are the calls for a 50-nation alliance to destroy Ebola? — The Independent
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Decoding IS power
THE sudden rise of the well-armed, well-financed and media-savvy Isis militant group could not have come about unless unscrupulous companies and individuals slipped money to the group or did business with it, said the founders of a new, private research and advocacy group that will seek to expose such dealings and apply pressure to stop them. “They’ve taken great advantage of modern communications and modern financial techniques” to promote themselves, recruit followers and amass money and weapons, said Mark Wallace, a former Bush administration diplomat and lawyer heading the new organisation. “There’s been an absence of people operating to counter that.” President Barack Obama and other world leaders are making the extremists, who have seized control of large areas of Iraq and Syria since May, a central theme of next week’s annual United Nations General Assembly. The group, called the “Counter Extremism Project”, is modelled on United Against Nuclear Iran, the hawkish investigative and advocacy group Wallace also runs. The two not-for-profit groups share some prominent advisers, including a former Bush administration Homeland Security adviser Frances Townsend and a former Obama administration diplomat Dennis Ross. The group has compiled detailed financial information about Isis that will be released next week. It has begun building what it claims will be the best public database of information about extremist groups and their supporters. The information will be provided to governments as well as the private sector, media and other outlets, acording to the organisers. Many Western diplomats are worried about the Isis’s apparently flush bank accounts and arsenals, a senior State Department official said, off the record. Some of the weapons were seized from the fleeing Iraqi Army, but many others are presumed to be provided to the group by supporters or purchased on the black market. Isis is smuggling oil from seized facilities in northern Iraq and selling it in Turkey, the official said. Turkey has pledged to stem that lucrative traffic, as well as the flow of weapons and foreign fighters across its porous border with Syria. Gary Samore, formerly Obama’s top adviser on arms control and weapons of mass destruction, said although it has no power of enforcement, the new group has significant leverage over terror financiers or enablers. The threat of public exposure, with the resulting damage to professional reputations or the risk of prosecution, can stop businesses from making illicit deals or lessen the chances that foreign governments will look the other way, Samore said. Separately, Tony Blair will call for the UK to consider using ground troops in the war against Isis. In an essay for his Faith Foundation, the former Prime Minister says the fight against Islamic extremism is similar to the ideological and physical battles the West fought against communism and fascism and that Britain and America needs to ally themselves with Russia and China to defeat extremist groups across the world. But he warns that unless what he calls the “spectrum of Islamism” is taken on as well similar groups to Isis will continue to form and threaten Western interests. His remarks come as David Cameron prepares to travel to New York for the UN General Assembly where he hopes to use the event to garner a wide alliance of international support to take on Isis in Syria and Iraq. MPs are preparing for Parliament to be recalled – possibly as soon as Thursday to authorise UK military action against Isis. In his essay, Blair says while it is “right in the immediate term to concentrate on defeating Isis,” in the longer term “another Isis will quickly arise to take their place unless we go to the root of the issue and deal with this ideology wherever and however it shows itself on a coordinated global basis”. “Revolutionary communism had many faces,” he writes. “So did fascism. But their essential ideological character played a defining part in how the history of the 20th century was written. We have to see this ideology born out of a perversion of religious faith, in the same way.” — The Independent
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