P A G E
Wednesday, October 6, 1999
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E D I T O R I A L P A G E |
Wednesday, October 6, 1999 |
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A
damp squib
PROBITY
IN PUBLIC LIFE |
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Redefining
role of paramilitary forces
Baby
boom - need for change in health systems
“The
dirty old man”
Mahatma
Gandhi
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A damp squib THE no-nonsense approach adopted by India seems to have won the day and the proposed march across the Line of Control by activists of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front on Monday has passed off as a non-event. Delhi had told Islamabad in no uncertain terms that it would be solely responsible for the consequences if it allowed the JKLF supporters to cross the line. The message apparently went home and the Pakistani security agencies were seen fighting pitched battles to stop the activists, who incidentally were only a handful, at several places. The Indian Army and the BSF were put on maximum alert as a precautionary measure because after Kargil, there was no question of taking any threat lightly. But keeping in view the comparatively low rank of the JKLF among the militant organisations, and the international focus on the LoC, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's response was on expected lines. He would have weakened his position further in capitals around the globe had he allowed the march to go on. That is why he had issued a stern warning to Mr Amanullah Khan and his followers. If he later toned it down to an appeal, that was only to appease the fundamentalists within his country who were seeing it as some kind of an oppression of peaceful, religious people. That is why he reminded them that if he does not stop the JKLF men, there might be a bloodbath. After all, the death of eight activists during a similar attempt made in 1993 was there as a precedent. Moreover, the serious injuries suffered by a large number of people and large-scale disruption that erupted must have weighed on his mind. The raising of the white flags by the Pakistani security agencies in the morning was not a ruse for once. What is also worth taking note of is that the Directors-General of Military Operations of the two countries were in touch with each other on an hourly basis during the critical period. Having said all that, it
is necessary to add that if Pakistan has acted
responsibly, it has only made a virtue of a necessity. It
would be wrong to expect any genuine change of heart.
While another attempt may be made soon enough in a less
publicised manner, there is also a distinct possibility
that it might try to smuggle in militants, especially
foreign mercenaries, in the guise of JKLF activists.
Frustration over its grand disruption plans is writ large
over its recent actions. There has been a change in the
attack pattern of the heavily armed men it has already
managed to send into Kashmir. They now concentrate on
security forces rather than the civilians. Killing the
latter cost them the sympathy of the people. The attacks
on the security men are now launched in residential and
less guarded areas. In place of waiting for better sense
to prevail or weeding out militants from the valley,
perhaps a better bulwark against the unholy designs would
be the unrelenting vigil mounted on the LoC to prevent
the march. |
Hello, MTNL! MAHANAGAR Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) jumped the gun and fell flat on its face. It published advertisements offering “a poor man’s mobile phone” and promptly attracted a huge crowd. It did not even have enough men to handle all those hundreds and hundreds of applications from those who wanted to flaunt an instrument. The phone can be had on a security deposit of Rs 10,000 and a monthly rental of Rs 600. The temptation lies in the low tariff, just Rs 1.40 for a three-minute call. This compares with Rs 6 a call on cellular phone, to be cut to Rs 4 from next month. It is the low fee for calls that prompted the people to queue up but MTNL was not ready and so failed them. Its lapses are two. One, it has not sought the clearance of TRAI (Telecommunication Regularity Authority of India), which is mandatory. Why this discourtesy? Two, it has an installed capacity for only 10,000 connections, a ludicrously low number in a metropolitan centre with countless number wanting a wireless set. And it will take months before equipment is ready for 40,000 more planned lines. There is a related issue. The technology is much less sophisticated than the cellular phone. It is more akin to the cordless phones than to the cellular one. It is called WiLL (wireless in local loop) and as the name indicates, it involves advanced transmitting stations with a very limited range to receive calls and beam them to the dialled number. Some experts claim that this technology is ideal for small towns where every subscriber can be within a range of, say, 25 km. A senior MTNL officer, however, says that the range is only about 3 km and increasing this would result in an increase in the tariff. The real issue is the
bypassing of TRAI by MTNL. There is no need for any fresh
clearance, the latter maintains. WiLL is already in
operation and it is only being expanded, and there is a
mandate for adding more lines. Reports are that the PMO
has approved the plan and hence MTNL’s arrogant
rebuff. TRAI will have none of it. It claims the last say
in fixing tariff and the new fee structure requires
advance clearance. Strictly speaking, the new tariff does
not violate the norms. Some months back TRAI set the
ceiling on fees, leaving it to the operators to finalise
their own rates. But then WiLL is now being used on a
mass commercial scale and propriety demands that
TRAI’s should have a close look and clear the rate
of billing. There is another curious development. At
first the association of cellular phone operators
bitterly opposed the expansion and the low tariff of
WiLL. Suddenly it changed its stance and welcomed the new
scheme, but wanted certain conditions to be met. Within a
day, the government accepted these demands. The cellular
phone operators in the four metros should have persisted
with their objection since WiLL will directly hit them,
but they do not. Maybe they too have come to an
arrangement with the government to fight for the
continuation of the present contract norms. TRAI is
toying with the idea of enhancing their licence fee to
divert part of their huge profits to the government.
Well, the cosy relationship between the PMO and the
cellular phone operators is flourishing. They are about
to receive a big gift after the Rs 50,000 crore bonanza a
few months earlier. |
Colour of fair trial AN abiding myth the West has made the rest of the world believe is its so-called respect for justice and fairplay. However, the conviction of a British nanny by a US court for having caused the death of a child placed in her care has once again shown that nothing is fair, except the colour of the skin, in western society. In October, 1997, in a similar case the British media had launched an "inter-continental" campaign for saving an 18-year-old British nanny, Ms Louise Woodward, found guilty by a jury in the USA. This time the British media has virtually ignored the case. Has the "milk of human kindness" dried up among the people who had not only launched a campaign but had also raised funds for the defence of Ms Woodward? The western media's lack of interest in the conviction of another British woman, Ms Manjit Basuta, found guilty last week by a California court and sentenced to 25 years in jail, has revived the debate about the racist attitude of "white societies" towards the coloured members of the human race. The difference in the British and American response to the two cases has everything to do with the fact that Ms Woodward is a British national by birth while Ms Basuta is a Punjabi from East Africa, now a British citizen living in the USA. Her family, which lives in Slough,Berkshire, and the local Sikh community are trying to mobilise public opinion against the conviction of Ms Basuta, who was running a day care centre from her home when a 13-month old boy in her care died. But the hype which surrounded the trial of Ms Woodward is missing. The BBC covered the "white nanny's" trial live from the courthouse. Ms Basuta's case has not
even been mentioned by the network which is, otherwise,
known for its unbiased coverage of events. The
Britain-born nanny was found guilty of having murdered
nine-month-old Matthew Eppen but thanks to the
trans-Atlantic coverage of the case was set free after
having spent just 279 days in prison, that too during the
course of the trial. The judge reduced her sentence from
murder to involuntary manslaughter and sentenced her to
the time she had already spent in jail. There is another
vital difference between Ms Woodward's case and that of
Ms Basuta. The child who had died in the care of Ms
Woodward had mixed blood - the father, Mr Sunil Eppen was
from Kerala who married Deborah, an American by birth. In
the eyes of the members of the superior race Ms Basuta's
alleged crime was far more serious because a white child
had died in her care. Another example of the
"coloured" nature of justice dispensed by a
judiciary and jury made up of mostly fair skinned persons
was the verdict in the murder of a Sikh waiter by three
white youths in Scotland. In March this year just one
suspect, produced by the police, was convicted of assault
by the jury, but allowed to go free because he had
already spent four months in jail! The same media which
pleaded for the release of the white nanny found guilty
of having murdered an infant is now trying to paint an
Indian diplomat as an ogre in the Paris maid case. The
doctor who described in great detail, with the help of
diagrams, to the French media the alleged injuries
inflicted on Lalita Oraon's private parts by the diplomat
should have by now had his licence cancelled for
violating the code of privacy between doctor and patient.
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh should personally
intervene to secure the repatriation of Lalita to India
even at the risk of friction in diplomatic ties with
France. |
PROBITY IN PUBLIC LIFE UNLIKE top leaders of the BJP, the Congress and other parties, I am not upset by the marked tendency among those involved in the recent poll battle to indulge in "dirty and loathsome" personal attacks. On the other hand, I welcome what has come to pass and consider all the brouhaha whipped up over certain remarks against some leaders largely uncalled for. In fact, I even believe that Mahatma Gandhi, whose "jayanti" we celebrated last Saturday, would be on my side and may well puckishly repeat from the high heavens above a line made famous by Sachin Tendulkar: "Dil maange more." Shocked? Perhaps yes. But you really don't need to feel outraged. The Mahatma would not only have found the development desirable but also hoped that it would help revive an important debate he was having with Jawaharlal Nehru before the assassin cut his life short. Gandhi wanted Nehru to judge people not only by their public actions but equally by their private conduct. Nehru, influenced by the Western ethos, insisted that he was concerned only with a person’s public doings and not with his private life. The Mahatma, however, maintained: "A man's public life cannot be clean if his private life is not clean. You cannot separate the two!" Almost all the leaders and many others are today loudly lamenting what they call a decline in the standard of poll campaigning and aver that the battle should be fought only on issues and not on personalities. This is an absurd proposition which must be summarily rejected. May I ask: should we as voters not take a good close look at the candidates who seek our support and are eager to be elected to the Lok Sabha? The character, commitment and credibility of persons making poll promises are of crucial importance. In fact, we need to recall what Baba Sahib Ambedkar emphasised about the importance of the individual during the concluding session of the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949. Ambedkar said the Assembly had laboured hard to give India a good Constitution. But much in regard to its merit would depend upon the people who worked the Constitution, adding: "However good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it happen to be a bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it happen to be a good lot." In short, the man operating the system was no less important than the system itself. Every party today offers us the moon in the course of glossy manifestos. But who will give us what our people have been demanding for the past five decades: a good, clean government. Clearly, we need leaders who can truly be trusted to put the country before all else — self, family, caste, community and party — and implement their solemn promises. This may have happened had Nehru and those who followed him shunned sycophancy and enforced selfless Gandhian standards. Sadly, however, Nehru, though Bapu's political heir, had his own ideas — and agenda. Corruption and political harlotry may not have flourished as brazenly as they do in India today if only we had focussed as much on the character of our rulers as on the issues. Especially when issues have largely become irrelevant with politics increasingly becoming an exercise in unabashed hypocrisy, double talk and deception. We have adopted the Westminster form of democracy, but not applied its standards of probity. Churchill's War Minister quit during World War II for having accepted no more than three bottles of liquor. Profumo had to go not because he slept with Christine Keeler but because he told a lie in the high temple of democracy — the House of Commons. We have allowed politicians and many others to get away not only with lies and damn lies but even with murder at high noon. We have spoken loudly but done little to punish the crooks and the corrupt among our rulers as also those who have made a mockery of the Constitution. We have often lambasted those who have shown the courage to expose unprincipled doings instead of praising them. Mr Pramod Mahajan has, for instance, been condemned for comparing Mr Sharad Pawar to Elizabeth Taylor and saying: "He marries, divorces, remarries and again divorces! Instead, he deserved to be complimented for his delightful quip. Even Mrs Sonia Gandhi's loyalists concede that the issue of her foreign origin is of crucial importance to India's national security, integrity and self-respect. At the time of the Chinese aggression, Nehru warned: "Freedom is in peril. Defend it with all your might." This warning is as relevant today as in 1962, now that the Congress has no qualms of conscience in projecting a person of foreign origin for the office of the country's Prime Minister. Remember, Nehru barred officers of India's Foreign Service from marrying foreigners on considerations of national security. This ban, I gather, also virtually applies even today to the officers of India's armed forces. Remember also that the USA, by the same token, has amended its Constitution to bar persons of foreign origin from becoming the country's President! Many more pointed questions need to be asked from various leaders. Our people have a right to seek some basic information from Mrs Sonia Gandhi: her family background, education, political philosophy and links, if any, with Italy. Why did she not take up Indian citizenship on her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi, since she now claims to love India? Why did she wait for 16 years before doing so? For Sonia to dismiss the query as "technical" is as ridiculous as Indira Gandhi's absurd assertion in 1975 that Justice Sinha's decision to unseat her from the Lok Sabha and disqualify her for six years was based on "technical" grounds. This historic judgement eventually led to the diabolic Emergency. Likewise, our people have every right to get adequate answers to the questions raised about Prime Minister Vajpayee by Congressmen Ghulam Nabi Azad and Rajesh Khanna, both of whom have been unfairly slandered by angry BJP leaders. Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad asked: "How does the PM have a son-in-law without being married? Whose son-in-law? Who is married to whom?" Mr Rajesh Khanna queried more pithily: "Aulad nahin, damad hai." Mr Vajpayee, as we have all known for years, has an honourable answer. His life is an open book, leaving no scope for any canard, including one regarding his role in the 1942 freedom movement. I am one with the others in opposing personal vilification. At the same time, let us not shut out the cut and thrust of a political debate, which once made Mohammed Ali Jinnah, prior to independence, mischievously describe half the members of the Central Assembly as consisting of fools and knaves. When some members protested and the Speaker asked for amends, Jinnah cleverly corrected himself and stated amidst smiles and thumping of desks: "Sir, half the members are not fools and knaves!" In fact, the DMK Chief Minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi, deserves a hand for the ingenuity with which he has been hitting out at his bete noir, Ms Jayalalitha. When the AIADMK supremo coupled her campaign speeches with a song which said, "Oh Vajpayee you have cheated me", Mr Karunanidhi commented: "I don't think it is in good taste.... If a woman says she has been cheated, we can only draw awkward conclusions!" In the final analysis,
India faces many crises today because our voters have
tragically failed to demand the highest probity,
integrity and commitment from our publicmen. We have
recklessly compromised with minimum standards wherever
our friends, relations, partymen and benefactors were
involved, greatly encouraging all-round decline in
standards and institutions and even criminalisation of
politics. Our people, therefore, need to take a close
look at every candidate and apply the Gandhian yardstick
sternly. Crooks, criminals and the corrupt among our
leaders and aspirants for a seat in Parliament must be
exposed ruthlessly together with their carefully hidden
personal frailties. No quarter must ever be given to them
under the misplaced plea of good taste and decency. |
A
maid’s tragedy IF I remember my English literature right, there was an English play during the Elizabethan era bearing the same name as the heading of this article. But I am certain that even the Elizabethan villains would not have stooped to the level of starving, ill treating and mutilating the genitals of a 19-year-old maid. The Elizabethan playwrights would have growled, “Fie, this shalt not be done, it is too mean for words”. Modern France, I agree, is no Elizabethan England. But it had worshipped the Maid of Orleans (Joan of Arc) and clamoured for her sainthood. Naturally, the French are angry and upset at the plight of Ranchi-born Lalita Oraon and the allegations in the local media that she had been ill treated by her employer, Mr Amrit Lugun, First Secretary in the Indian Embassy. Maids, occasionally, cause diplomatic embarrassment. A few years ago Singapore and the Philippines almost broke off diplomatic relations at the death sentence imposed on a Filipino maid working in Singapore. Western nations got jittery when maids belonging to them were sentenced to flogging and other kinds of punishment in the Arab countries for violating local laws. Protests at home were mostly confined to women’s organisations and human rights activists because the governments concerned were eager to downplay the issue for fear of losing out on Arab oil and the huge export orders for arms. The Lalita Oraon case was slightly different. An Indian maid was allegedly ill treated by an Indian employer and she attempted to commit suicide. But the French would not remain silent. For them and the other members of the Western society the concept of a maid and other domestic help was different. Full time maids were a luxury and were hired only by the super rich and aristocracy. Others had to make do with part-time domestic help who negotiated strongly on wages and perks like watching television or raiding the refrigerator. The French society was appalled that an Indian diplomat, who enjoyed the unique luxury of a full-time maid, repaid her with maltreatment and starvation. Obviously, the French media and society in general did not know how most Indians treated their domestic help. The innocent girls, many from the rural areas, were made to work round the clock, had to sleep on the floor, fed on leftovers, beaten on the slightest sign of rebellion and kept behind locked doors when the family went out. Lalita Oraon must have suffered a severe cultural shock after being airlifted from Ranchi to Paris. She needed sympathy, understanding and kindness. What she got from the First Secretary must have been something quite different. Some time ago the maid of a Geneva-based Indian diplomat was found scrounging for food from the rubbish bins. It transpired that she never got enough to eat. This incident was quietly hushed up. But the Lalita Oraon case was too inhuman, and the blot on the Indian Embassy cannot be erased easily. The French media came out with graphic details of ill treatment, starvation and genital mutilation. Their society was outraged. As usual, the Indian Embassy, instead of promising to investigate the matter and punish the guilty, denied everything and went to the extent of accusing the French media and the organisations which had helped Lalita, including the Committee Against Modern Slavery (CCEM). The embassy had the gall to issue a statement which read, “The embassy requests the French media to cease its campaign against our diplomat, against mendacious statements by individuals and organisations who are themselves responsible for Ms Oraon’s actual plight. Ms Oraon is not a laboratory animal on which these individuals and organisations should experiment with their social concerns.” The implications were quite clear. The Indian Embassy envisaged a “great conspiracy” to embarrass and discredit India. The “individuals and organisations” persuaded Lalita to run away from home, fake a suicide and subjected her to the mutilation of her genitals. This was an outrageous stand taken by a nation which professed often to “Gandhian principles of non-violence”. But the French were not amused. The CCEM had sued the embassy for defamation and very soon some of our exalted diplomats will learn that defamation laws abroad were strict and less time-consuming than in India. The embassy’s perverted stand overlooked a major issue. Why did these “individuals and organisations” target India? Relations between the two nations had been cordial for a long time and there are no major irritants. The French had always admired India’s effort to strengthen its democratic ideals and were impressed with its tradition and culture. Did the Indian diplomats who issued the statement really believed that certain French nationals actually molested and sexually maltreated the girl? The French media had every reason to be furious at these outrageous charges. The External Affairs Ministry had deputed a senior official to investigate the case. We all know what this meant. The brotherhood of the Indian Foreign Service was strong and would not admit to any wrong doing by one of its members. The investigator and the investigated would sit together and vent their anger at the audacity of the lower classes who, instead of owing life-time allegiance to their employer, caused him great mental anguish. She deserved to have been left back at Ranchi, where probably she would have been gangraped a couple of times and put in her place. If our diplomats in Paris had any decency and sympathy, they would have enquired into Lalita Oraon’s health and the nature of her injuries. She was an Indian citizen and it was the duty of the embassy to look after her interests. If Lalita was found wanting and was up to some mischief, she could always be sent back to India. The embassy and the MEA condemned Lalita without having listened to her side of the story. They shamelessly hinted that Lalita had fabricated the story of her ill treatment and faked the suicide attempt so that she would not be sent back home. The embassy also came out with the prejudiced version that Lalita was not good at her job. But this was only the view of her employer, and the Indians made no attempts to find out the truth. The investigation into the girl’s plight and her injuries should have been entrusted not to a fellow IFS officer, but an unbiased woman activist. But the Foreign Office brotherhood was too strong. I wonder if External
Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh had paid any attention to
the Lalita Oraon case. The Minister should know that one
Lalita can do more harm to India’s image than our
attitude to the CTBT and other controversies. |
“The
dirty old man” ON Saturday mornings I keenly wait for the Saturday Plus edition of The Tribune because of my namesake. Khushwant Singh’s recent piece aroused curiosity as to how I got my name? My tag was allotted to me by my late grandfather who was a great friend of Sardar Jaspal Singh, brother-in-law of Khushwant Singh. He was highly influenced by Khushwant Singh’s writings and this prompted him to give me my present name. School life was miserable because of our similar names as my respective class teachers’ likes and dislikes for the jaunty man were manifested in their behaviour towards me. Thank God for small mercies that I had a roll number to count on, in college. Socially, this name does not allow me to go too far with women. They succumb to looking suspiciously at me during an icebreaker and presume me to be an alter ego of the old man. I confirm their doubts after a couple of drinks. Khushwant Singh’s interference in my life carries on, as the other seven Khushwant Singhs might agree. Last year, I chipped in with my first middle to The Times of India on agriculture with the byline Khushwant Singh. “I have never sown potatoes all my life,” he had told the editor. Ultimately I dropped “Singh” and retained “Ahluwalia”. The only place where he didn’t haunt me was when I took to horse-riding. Horses and gawky Khushwant Singh probably don’t gel. People talked in terms of Khushwant Singh as a rider and not a writer. Alas! I was relieved of the ghost of the Sardar and managed to get married without an overdose of scepticism regarding my ways with the other sex. His recent article “What’s in a name” proved decisive in the short strife spanning over two and a half decades. It seems I won the battle as he conceded that he abolished his original name his grandmother gave and chose his name at the age of five. Cheers to the original! It’s too small a
victory to be proud of, for Khushwant Singh can never be
duplicated. We shall remain Khushwant Ahluwalias and
Mubarak Khushwant Singhs forever, never ever donning the
knighthood of the “dirty old man.” |
Redefining role of paramilitary forces Security & Strategy IN these days, when the cost of keeping each man in uniform is escalating beyond comprehension, the entire question of the maintenance and desirability of having a very large paramilitary force for the country, needs to be re-examined in a more pragmatic and meaningful measure. Many of these paramilitary forces have been doing a commendable job in counter-insurgency and policing actions, and yet a good many others have only been duplicating each other’s efforts, both with regard to law and order and the external threat contingencies. As is well known, the states and union territories are responsible for the maintenance of public order within their geographical jurisdiction. When things get out of hand, and on request by the state concerned, the Centre provides these forces assistance, with the proviso that the entire force will be withdrawn as soon as their mission has been completed. In very many cases these forces get drawn in for long-term tasks, thereby creating their own administrative and logistic constraints, precluding thereby also the availability of the force in other parts of the country. The rise in militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, the North-East and some other parts of the country, and the growing requirements of adequate force levels for the task of internal security, do keep the entire paramilitary force continuously on their toes. A balanced standard operating procedure (SOP), for the employment of these forces with the police component of the state concerned and the Army has to be evolved so that the optimum operational results are achieved. A host of paramilitary forces dot the country, with the Ministry of Home Affairs administering their charge. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is the primary police force that assists a state in the maintenance of law and order, and recently a rapid action force was created for low-intensity counter-insurgency operations, and law and order duties in the volatile north-eastern states. Another adjunct of the police security force is the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) , providing protection to public sector undertakings. The National Security Guard (NSG) a specialised taskforce for counter-terrorism and anti-hijacking operations, also falls under the purview of the Home Ministry. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was raised to provide a sense of security to the villages living on our borders, to check trans-border traffic and the ingress and exgress of unauthorised civilians in some of these sensitive and far-flung areas. A cursory examination of the Central police forces would reveal two salient facts. One, is the large number of personnel in these organisations — nearly 3,00,000 in the CRPF, CISF, NSG and the ITBP alone — and two, the variation in their role, for which these forces were first raised and their employment today. The ITBP meant to man the northern borders of the country is today employed in VVIP protection duties, for fighting terrorism and for enforcing riot control. The elite NSG, an anti-terrorist unit, now often looks after VVIP protection. The CRPF basically meant for riot control and reinforcement of the state police, is now found in virtually every corner of India, stretching its capability and operational competence to breaking point. There is a case for rationalising all the purely police — specific tasks into one category, and then having a composite Central police force, tailor — made for this role under one commander or head executing these. In this manner, the efficacy of routine “policing” in peace time would be enhanced considerably, besides effecting large-scale economy to the state, and creating a single-point command and control structure. Today the paramilitary forces have to react to each and every volatile situation in the states. On our borders, the dividing line between normal policing and a full-scale conflict like Kargil has to be absolutely clear. The Central police forces for normal policing, Rashtriya Rifles for counter-insurgency, and the BSF and Assam Rifles for an open conflict, would be an ideal match-winning combination alongwith the Army. For greater results, the RR working under the operational control of the Army, would need to be fully composed of infantry elements only. The BSF, too, if it is to hold ground in less threatened sectors in war, would need to be better equipped with heavier calibre weapons, and would also need to get over its fixed-defences mentality. The time has come to
take a hard look now at our paramilitary forces, and
through them ensure a safe environment for the country,
both in peace-time and in war. At the same time it must
be ensured that the paramilitary forces, raised at
considerable cost, are fit in every respect to carry out
their assigned tasks in peace and war, and that the
transition for them from the former to the latter stage,
is made as smooth as possible, for optimum operational
results. |
Baby boom - need for change
in health systems NEW DELHI: On October 12, the world’s population will touch the six-billion mark, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Nearly three billion will be under 25 years of age, and over a billion between 15 and 24 — parents of the next generation. What do these statistics mean? First, a lot of young people are around and will be around. Their needs for food, shelter, education, employment would have to be a major consideration for policy makers. Are countries ready for this? Second, as people live longer due to better healthcare, personal choice of smaller (and better nourished families), there are greater demands for education, gainful employment, and old age care. Are countries ready for this? Third, in developing countries such as India, fertility has fallen by half since 1969, from almost six children per woman to under three. Population growth has begun to slow down. But the same countries still have the highest population growth rates, and the worst reproductive health indicators (high maternal mortality and lowest rates of family planning). What will countries do about this? Fourth, food security will be critical. According to UNFPA projections, by 2050, the population may be 8.9 billion. For this, twice the amount of basic calories being required today will be needed. Besides, access to water will be critical, says the report. How will the needs of so many people be met? What have nations and the international community done in the past? Over the last 50 years, traditional approaches to lower the birth rate have been designed by governments and national and international population organisations. Policies and programmes have been based on the assumption that if men and women were to understand and accept family planning as a way of life, the birth rate would drop and population would stabilise. But often the best-intentioned policies and programmes go wrong. Men and women were concerned about child survival, wanted boys (as opposed to girls) to continue the family line and ensure old age maintenance, and used easy-to-use birth control methods. Other factors such as religion, tradition, social constraints and inadequate services for family planning discouraged adoption of the small-family norm. The success of the family planning programme lay in having a health system that delivered (not only babies, but services!). This was missing in most developing countries, as peoples’ health needs were never studied seriously. Over a period of time, it was realised that for couples to have smaller families, and for healthy children, child health services such as vaccination, nutrition, and care was also essential. Plus, attention to the mother’s health to prevent anaemia, and ensure safe pregnancy and good after-birth care. Safe abortions as and when needed, and wanted pregnancies. The recognition that men as fathers and partners needed to be involved came more recently. The state health systems in developing countries are in poor shape, as health is not a priority. Here, civil society organisations moved in. Non-government organisations (NGOs), or voluntary organisations focusing on education, environment, women, tribesmen, religion and ethics, human rights, tried to make the state public health systems work, and often collaborated with them, supplementing services. More recently, groups such as parliamentarians, private sector, medical associations, and religious leaders have been identified by UNFPA as partners in moving the discussion and programming forward. In 1999, at the Hague Forum which reviewed the progress of the plan of action adopted in Cairo in 1995, over 200 parliamentarians representing 103 countries attended a three-day forum. They passed resolutions to ensure adherence to the plan of action their governments had signed. In India, the Tata Corporation has formed partnerships with groups of mothers-in-law to support young women to avail of family planning services, and with youth to encourage young people to form organisations and plan activities. In Thailand, the Business Coalition for AIDS consists of 126 enterprises that provide assistance to initiatives to combat AIDS. Medical associations such as the Commonwealth Medical Association and International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and their local affiliates, are advocating the expansion of services to include reproductive health. Recognising the importance religious leaders can have on people to accept family planning, UNFPA African operations organised an international conference on Islam and population in 1998. In Ghana, eight religious organisations are preparing manuals to incorporate population/family life education into religious activities, and to encourage parents to discuss sexuality with their children. Not everyone has accepted that the six-billion mark is a big deal and a source of worry. They would prefer to dismiss the”professional worriers” and alarmists of population growth and argue that the issue is distribution of resources, and there is plenty to meet the existing and growing population’s needs. They could have a point. But developments are proving otherwise. The rates of maternal and infant mortality, illegal abortion and loss of life of women, teenage pregnancies, HIV/AIDS are symptoms of problems. Refusal and reluctance to talk of sexuality as a base of reproductive health, has taken a heavy toll on nations, individually and collectively. The magical number of 6
billion is an opportunity to reflect on the choice
individuals and nations have: to continue life as it has
been lived or to stop, reflect and change direction. Will
countries and people choose the latter? — Women’s
Feature Service. |
October
6, 1924 THE latest news about the condition of Mahatma Gandhi’s health is bound to cause anxiety all over the country. The bacteriologist’s analysis on Monday morning indicated the presence of a certain substance which caused apprehension; and although there was less of it in the evening, the country cannot obviously be at ease so long as it is not wholly removed. It is gratifying to
learn that the doctors have now materially curtailed
them. They should, as a matter of fact, be stopped
altogether. |
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