 |
|
|
Moving ahead The spy who flew away |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
VC must resign
Flames of war in West Asia
The royal rescue
Research projects by youth to get special grants: Sobti News dished out as soap opera Delhi Durbar
|
Moving ahead The Indo-US civilian nuclear deal is moving towards becoming a reality. It has crossed another hurdle with the US House of Representatives giving its seal of approval after an intense debate lasting nearly five hours. The draft legislation was earlier cleared by the House International Relations Committee with a comfortable majority. The rejection of the amendments by the House shows that the opponents of the nuclear cooperation agreement had no case to take along with them the US House. The vote is truly “an expression of trust on matters relating to nuclear technology”, highlighting India’s track record as a credible and responsible nuclear power like the recognised members of the nuclear club. The focus has now shifted to the US Senate, which is expected to take up the draft Bill concerning the nuclear deal after a few weeks. India’s case to get exemption from the US restrictions is so strong that the Senate, too, hopefully will go along with the House of Representatives. India has already presented to the US a separation plan for its civilian and military nuclear facilities and is in the process of negotiating an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency as required under the July 18, 2005, agreement. Besides these, India has to adhere to the Nuclear Supplier Group’s guidelines regulating nuclear trade. However, it remains to be seen what is the final shape of the law approving of the Indo-US nuclear deal. There must be some reason why Dr Manmohan Singh clearly stated in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that India would “never compromise” on the provisions of the July 18 Joint Statement. The Americans, too, know well that India cannot agree to anything that goes to dilute what is contained in the basic document, aimed at opening the doors of international nuclear trade for New Delhi. Hopefully, the US will respect India’s concerns. It should avoid the inclusion of embarrassing clauses which India cannot accept. |
|
The spy who flew away WHAT’s in a name, asked the Bard. “There is a lot”, the author of A Call to Honour seems to say. Otherwise, Mr Jaswant Singh would not have kept it close to his chest for 10 long years unless he thought it was better to save his secret for a future book. Look at the problems he is already facing even when he has not disclosed the name of the mole in the PMO during P.V. Narasimha Rao’s regime! His one-time Cabinet colleague Ram Jethmalani has quoted chapter and verse of the Indian Penal Code under which he can be hauled up for failing in his duty as a citizen. When Mr Jaswant Singh told journalists on Tuesday that he had already given enough indications and they could do some investigation on their own to figure out the name, he would not have imagined that he would soon have to clarify that the mole was not V.S. Arunachalam. Mr Jaswant Singh knew that giving a name could mean having to face a defamation suit and having to pay damages. So the stratagem of putting the onus on the Prime Minister by revealing the name to him in private! Dr Manmohan Singh saw through the game and refused to take the bait. In his circumlocutory manner the author-politician explained why he chose to remain mum even when he was a member of the Union Cabinet. It would have been construed as a witch-hunt implying thereby that a gentleman like him could not have resorted to it. So the charade that it was pointless to pursue the mole as he had already flown away. To add to Mr Jaswant Singh’s worries, a name seldom comes alone. It has its anonyms and synonyms. To give one name, he has to disclose four. The name of the American, who mentioned the mole’s name in a letter he wrote to a fellow American, which means three names in a row. The fourth would be that of the person who gave the author a copy of the letter. There’s no certainty that the names would stop there. That is why Mr Jaswant Singh is now in a let’s-forget-and-move-on mood. He may appear foolish or too clever by half, but the mole affair has diverted attention from the Kandhar stigma on him. Also, it has made his book controversial enough for better sales. In the end, he may turn around and paraphrase the Bard to say, “Call the mole by any name so long as A Call to Honour sells”. The trick is not unknown to those who sell the stuff that Bollywood churns out. |
|
VC must resign When there was a leakage of examination papers in Baba Farid University and Panjab University, newspapers and TV channels were full of the scandals. It was thought that this would have set alarm bells ringing in every university of the country. But it seems the incidents did not make the officials of Himachal Pradesh University any the wiser. Otherwise, how could they have allowed the Combined Pre-Medical Test (CPMT) conducted by their university to be compromised in quite a similar manner? Mediocre students, many of them from a particular locality, topped the list while the really brilliant ones had to bite the dust. The enquiry report confirmed the leakage of the paper and the High Court has now taken the extreme but logical step of cancelling the examination. There could not be a bigger slur on the name of the university. After all, conducting a free and fair examination is one of its primary duties. A fraudulently conducted examination is the worst thing that can happen to the country. If the bungling is not detected, the really meritorious students have to make way for those who are undeserving. And if the scam is exposed, then there are very real chances of the examination being held again, as it has now been ordered in Himachal Pradesh. Yes, the cancellation is necessary to make sure that the fraudulent ones do not get away with their mischief, but it can be nightmarish for the innocent ones to undergo the rigorous test all over again. Yet, the unthinkable is happening so very frequently. The main reason is that the culprits think that they can get away with the crime lightly. The experience shows that smaller fish are punished while the real sharks manage to avoid scrutiny. The trend can be reversed only if heads begin to roll, right up to the top. In fact, the continuation of even the Vice-Chancellor has now become untenable on the touchstone of propriety. |
|
The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on. — Walter Lippmann
|
Flames of war in West Asia
EVEN at the best of times, this country is heavily polarised and therefore in a confrontational mood. Yet, seldom before has the Capital’s air been so full of strife and contention almost entirely over domestic issues. The only issue touching foreign policy is the Indo-US deal for civilian nuclear cooperation that is virtually assured of acceptance by the US Congress but has encountered bitter criticism here. Interestingly, the Left Front and its bete noire, the BJP, are at one in opposing this deal but are in total disagreement over the rather crass Office of Profit Bill, with a potential for a standoff between Parliament and Rashtrapati Bhavan. For the rest, the confrontation over the spread of Pakistan-backed jihadi terrorism, soaring prices, farmers’ suicides and, above all, soaring prices of essentials is at a high pitch. Indeed, so absorbed is India in itself that it has little time to notice and reflect on the flames of war that are consuming some crucial areas of West Asia, except on two counts. The first is the evacuation of several thousands of Indians in Lebanon caught in the merciless crossfire between the Israeli Army and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shia militia entrenched in southern Lebanon. Secondly, a noticeably large number of Indians are demanding, “If Israel can go to war for the sake of three of its kidnapped soldiers with both Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Hamas in Gaza, why can’t India take military action against the promoters of terrorism here”? The emotion behind the question is understandable, but not its logic. The two situations are vastly different. Israel, a Jewish state created in 1948 in an extremely hostile neighbourhood with 50 times its population, has had a unique historical experience that has profoundly affected the nature of the Israeli state and society. For it believes that it must react to every single act of violence against it as if its very existence is threatened. The Indian situation and its imperatives are different. Consequently, it is futile to expect extrapolation of the Israeli-Hezbollah-Hamas equation to the Indian subcontinent. To say this is not to suggest even remotely that unlike Israel’s hard attitude, India should behave like a “soft” state, which is precisely what it is accused of doing sometimes. The fight against terrorists of all hues — whether Pakistan-backed jihadis or Maoists of the Indian variety called Naxalites, has to be relentless and remorseless. But no one should shut his or her eyes to ground realities either. The US support to everything Israel does, even when outrageous, is complete and unreserved. Where Pakistan’s sponsorship of, or support to, terrorism directed against India is concerned, the Americans blandly look the other way. China has its own reasons to back Pakistan. Only the other day, the US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Mr Richard Boucher, upbraided this country for making “allegations” without “offering any evidence”. He then went on to praise General Pervez Musharraf extravagantly. That apart, there is an urgent need to understand the nature, range, ramifications and possible consequences of the two-front war that Israel is fighting — against the Hamas in Gaza from where Israel withdrew less than a year ago, and against the Hezbollah in Lebanon with which Israel’s war has been unceasing. The first point to grasp is that the situation is extremely complex and complicated. There are too many wheels within wheels. Moreover, there is nothing India can do about it even if it wants to. Consequently, the temptation to rush to judgment and shout our opinions from housetops should be resisted. In this respect, China has set an example of mature reticence that is worth emulating. This may be dismissed as the privilege of a one-party dictatorship that does not have to bother about public opinion, which is not possible in India’s raucously noisy democracy. But then what about Japan that is a lively democracy but usually avoids unnecessary comment on tangled international affairs, and saves itself a lot of trouble. More strikingly, major Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan — all allies of the US — have been conspicuously silent or subtly critical of the Hezbollah. The Arab street, of course, is incensed. Terrorism has certainly something to do with the present bloodbath, but that is not the main issue. The truth is that the kind of Hezbollah incursions into Israel that became the flashpoint for the horrendous flare-up has been taking place ever since 2000 when Israel was forced to end its two-decade-long occupation of southern Lebanon. Mr Ehud Barak, the Israeli Prime Minister who decided to withdraw, was a war hero, like his successor Ariel Sharon, who took the decision to leave Gaza. Both could afford to react to the Hezbollah’s provocations astonishingly mildly. But the new Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Olmert, could not do so. Instead, he realised that the “double humiliation” of abduction of Israeli soldiers by both Hamas and Hezbollah at the same time could endanger his government. His reason for launching the war was more political than military though the military considerations should not be dismissed out of hand. Israeli Generals have known for some time that the Hezbollah is no longer just a “nuisance” but had become a possible “strategic challenge” to their country. The latest Hezbollah assault, they thought, had given them the opportunity to eliminate the danger forever. But life has many surprises. With a stock of 12,000 rockets and missiles with which he has dented the myth of Israeli invincibility, the Hezbollah chief, Sheikh Hassan Nasrullah, is both confident and defiant. He is sure of the support of Iran and even of Syria, notwithstanding President Bush’s historic expletive at St. Petersburg, while stressing the need to make Syria hold back the Hezbollah from this. This explains why America has been in no hurry to see the war end. But it and Israel, even more than it, have realised that the idea of “destroying the Hezbollah for good” is pipe-dream. The Shia militia is the most powerful military entity in Lebanon and so it would remain. Any expectation that the fragile government in Beirut can implement the UN Security Council’s resolution 1559 and “disarm” Hezbollah is utter nonsense. No wonder, for the first time, Israel seems willing to accept the presence of a “strong” international force on its northern frontier with Lebanon. Whenever the war ends, it will have to be on terms that save the face of not only Israel but also the
Hezbollah.
|
The royal rescue
Little Prince was very lucky. Lucky because he was saved from certain jaws of death by diligent Army engineers, who worked round the clock to rescue him when he fell into a 60-foot borewell pit in a village near Kurukshetra. And lucky also because the day of his fall and the subsequent two days over the weekend happened at the time when nothing major was taking place in the country and the TRP-driven TV channels had nothing better to do than set camp in this obscure village in Haryana and give the “event” a second-by-second coverage. Here, before anyone mistakes me for being a cynic, let me clarify I am not one. Believe me, I am a true romantic and a complete believer in milk of human kindness and the fact that like happiness, pain and crisis also make people rally around each other and provide support. Moreover, I would also like to say kudos to all TV channels because had the Prince’s fall not received such a massive coverage, waking up the administration and the government would not have been an easy job. No one would come to know and people across the country would not have been cutting cakes and praying for his life. Prince, I think, has no one to thank but the Army and the news channels. But just ponder over the possibility as to what would have happened had this five-year-old from a rather poor family had the mishap when there had been a bomb blast in some part of the country. Or a senior leader was battling for his life after being shot by his own kin. Or the party in power or the Opposition were undergoing a rank-and-file crisis. Or a Bollywood star was being hounded on some vague issue. Or a woman had claimed to have entered the sanctum-sanctorum of a place of worship, when she should not have. Or the Sensex or the Nifty were having a breakneck downfall or rise. Would the little boy’s misery have still got the same media attention? I think not, because just a month back, a little girl in Bihar was not so lucky. And no, the incident of this girl falling into a manhole and losing her life did not take place in some backwaters but in the Capital Patna. But except for a passing reference the media, most of us are not even aware that a child, and God knows how many before her, have lost their lives, and will continue to do so, due to the callous attitude of the administration for whom the lives of common man has so little
meaning. Just think!
|
Research projects by youth to get special grants: Sobti
Prof
R.C. Sobti, a renowned biotechnologist of the region, has taken
over as the 11th Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University replacing Prof
KN Pathak, who remained the VC for six years. As a Panjab University
syndic and senator, Prof Sobti has been advocating more coordination
among university departments, colleges and institutes running similar
courses to synergise efforts for the evolution of disciplines. Prof
Sobti has a three-decade association with the university, first as a
student and then, as a faculty member, joining as a teaching assistant
in the Department of Zoology to establishing the Department of
Biotechnology in 1989. Recipient of the prestigious Young Scientist
Award of the Indian National Science Academy for his doctorate work on
cancer and genetic disorders, Prof Sobti branched into cell biology
and has to his credit today 16 books and over 175 academic papers. As
a scientist you have been deeply involved in high-end cancer research.
What are your plans now as the Vice-Chancellor in terms of academics
and research? I have always held that collaborative research
bears better results. I intend to facilitate more tie-ups with PGIMER,
AIIMS, CSIO, IMTECH and Panjab University’s science departments.
Also there is an immediate need for the university to work in
partnership with the industry without which high-end science research
is doomed. In order to boost research in the departments, the younger
faculty members have to be encouraged. The comforts of a cushy job
should not be the aim of those who are entering the university system
to teach. We would be taking steps like giving special grants to
research projects suggested by the younger lot to stimulate them into
research. Why do you think Panjab University, despite being one of
the oldest universities in the country, has not been able to create a
brand name for itself like Jawaharlal Nehru University, for example? Panjab
University is one of the best universities in the country and also has
tremendous potential. We have set excellence as our aim but how to
achieve it is the question now. No doubt, there was a time when
departments were known after the names of its faculty members.
Stalwarts heading these departments had unflinching command over their
subject and were responsible for igniting the same spark among the
younger faculty as well as their students. That phase can be
revived. We have some very capable faculty members but they seem to
have become disillusioned and hidden themselves while continuing to
work arduously for their subject. There is a need to bring their work
in the limelight. The biggest challenge before me is to build
confidence among the public and the students that this university has
great potential. How do you intend to bring about improvements in
the day-to-day functioning of the university? Enhanced
coordination between the faculty and students, in the faculty itself
and among the various wings of the administration can sort out a large
number of problems that occur in a university system. The closest to
my heart is the wish to see teachers interact more with their
students. Whatever I am today is because of the role my teachers
have played in my life. Also I believe that though a substantial
amount of computerisation has already been done within the university,
we need to do more work in that direction. Moreover there is a crying
need for improving the working conditions of our teaching and
non-teaching staff. As the first among equals, I too intend to keep my
ears to the ground regarding the day-to-day activities of the
university. In the past few years, colleges have been showing
irreverence towards the university’s authority especially when it
comes to affiliation of courses. Do you think the university should
accept autonomy of colleges? The University Grants Commission
(UGC) is already working out a system as part of which colleges can be
made autonomous. But the colleges which need university affiliation
will have to ensure that standards of education are maintained. I have
reasons to believe that colleges want autonomy not because they want
to get away from the mechanism of checks and balances but because they
feel confident that they can run their own system. But I am also aware
that the process of granting affiliation is arcane and lengthy and
this is what the colleges object to the most. We are introducing some
changes in this process. |
|
News dished out as soap opera Five-year-old Siddhi Ganesh slipped into a canal in Jammu and died unsung the same day that little Prince was rescued from a bore well in Kurukshetra in the glare of media publicity and to nail-biting, nationwide concern. This ‘Sunday Saga’ got airtime and exposure on our news channels much similar to ‘Terror Tuesday’, when the 11/7 blasts ripped through Mumbai. The entire episode highlights two things. One, that in a country where mishaps have people dying by the minute, one boy’s return from the jaws of death turned him into an overnight hero, a household name simply because our TV channels made him the star of a 24x7 news drama that needs new faces by the hour to keep eyeballs from straying. Second, in the mad scramble for TRPs, the electronic media often loses sight of what is of earth-shaking importance for the nation or the world, and what is just a matter of shaking around some earth. Little wonder, this Sunday entire households got hooked to Operation Prince as though it was the ‘Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki’ of news time, with more burning stories of the day getting pushed to the background. “Jeet Zindagi Ki”, as the event was christened by an enterprising news channel, garnered uninterrupted eyeballs, not because it was a spicy, new offering from Ekta Kapoor’s stable, but because it was the latest episode in the ‘soap opera-isation’ of the electronic media. Sure, the Herculean rescue effort merited attention as well as appreciation. Certainly, any extraordinary effort by the ordinary people needs to be lauded by the media. But the question is: shouldn’t the airtime devoted to any event be commensurate with its importance at a macro level or, with its relevance to the common man’s daily business of living, at the micro level? It is understandable if the viewers are bombarded with images celebrating the resilience of Mumbai post-11/7. But isn’t it going overboard to feed the public with non-stop images of a trapped boy for so many hours, to the near-exclusion of more pressing issues, and then of a whole nation erupting into jubilation, with cakes, langars, et al? First the channels spend an entire day generating a mass frenzy (and revenues for themselves through SMS polls and other such ploys), and then relaying images of concern and rejoicing born out of that very media-created hysteria. The trivial gets sensationalized and the essential trivialized so often that anyone with even a remote potential for fame or shame gets catapulted to overnight stardom on the news channels. Isn’t some benchmark needed to prioritise TV news? Should a prospective Abhishek-Aishwarya alliance become the staple of news channels much like a Mittal-Arcelor merger, enjoying such extensive footage that it even bestows 15 minutes of fame on an unknown astrologer who predicts the star merger and has the news channels vying with each other to pluck him out of anonymity? Or, for that matter, does a rumoured Karisma-Sanjay Kapur break-up merit repeat airtime at the cost of issues that can break up political alliances in our country? TV news, and even non-news, is being dramatised with such alacrity and rapidity that the Princes, Budhiyas and Gudiyas are like a parade of guest actors who’re ushered on to the electronic stage from time to time to keep viewer interest from flagging. Given this trend, Ekta Kapoor may not have to look far for talent, with the TV channels just having staged a new(s) version of her K-serial, renamed as “Kya Hoga Prince Ka.” |
|
Delhi Durbar The Indian Youth Congress is keen to bring down the age profile of its office-bearers to 32-33 to build leadership at a younger age and bring more vigour to its activities.
Some of IYC office-beares, particularly in states, are well over 40. IYC chief Ashok Tanwar has only partially succeeded in his efforts to bring down the age profile of his team but one step that may help the organisation in future is its decision not to make any appointment of persons above 35. The IYC continues to be on the margins in the Congress as far as getting the ticket for the assembly elections is concerned. However, its cadres are sure of a good turn coming to their fortunes once Rahul Gandhi takes up responsibility at the AICC.
Media lacks etiquette? HRD Minister Arjun Singh wants mediapersons to learn some lessons in etiquette. The minister, who was recently hounded by journalists at a public function, threatened to “go back” when a rather piquant question was asked. After regaining his composure, Arjun Singh advised the journalists to drop the habit of running after people. He urged mediapersons to instead opt for a more civilised way of seeking appointments and asked the scribes to refrain from behaving like “street walkers”.
Stars glitter in Capital Special invitees from the film industry overshadowed the awardees at the closing ceremony of the Eighth Osian’s Cinefan festival last weekend. The Siri Fort auditorium was packed to capacity on Sunday evening with invitees, cine lovers and critics, besides actors and directors who attended the ten-day festival. While Urmila Matondkar was surrounded by television camera crews at the entrance for a soundbite, Juhi Chawla and Nandita Das were seated in the front row. When compere Rajat Kapoor requested Shashi Kapoor and Simi Grewal to walk up on the stage, Simi Grewal was nowhere in sight to the disappointment of her fans. The lady, known for her preference for white, turned up a little behind time in a cream western suit. Her entry did not go unnoticed as somebody in the audience shouted “Simi is here”. The compere once again requested the blue-eyed actor Shashi Kapoor to walk up the stage with Simi. Clad in a black Pathani suit with a colourful stole, the blue-eyed actor stole the show as he spread smiles on a glowing face. While Juhi Chawla looked dazzling in a designer salwar suit, the plain and dusky Nandita Das clad in a plain beige-brown silk sari looked attractive sans any make-up.
VC’s post not for women? They may have exemplary academic and performance records, women still find it difficult to make it to the post of Vice-Chancellor. Even the University Grants Commission has admitted that the number of women who have made it to the VC’s chair is appallingly low. While there is no dearth of praise for their hard work and abilities, the government seems reluctant to appoint women as VCs. A senior academician who was recently considered a strong contender for the post of VC of a renowned university has lost the race to a male competitor. Women academicians, although disappointed, say the move was predictable.
|
|
From the pages of Pheruman — the martyr
Tributes have been paid and would continue to be paid in abundant measure to Mr Darshan Singh Pheruman who has died a martyr. Mr Pheruman believed that Chandigarh ought to be given to Punjab. In pursuit of his belief, he had taken a vow to fast unto death. In his last letter to the Prime Minister, he wrote: “Whenever a Sikh offers ardas before his Guru, he must fulfil it if he is a true Sikh. Whatever may be the other factors a Sikh is bound by whatever he says in ardas before the Guru.” In the face of his inflexible position all appeals to him to give up his fast failed. Grief over his death has been as widespread as it has been spontaneous even from those who differed from him both as to the ends as well as the means. In death he has become immortal. |
Think twice before performing each action so to analyse your thought before acting. Every thought and every act determines the course of your life. Never forget this lesson. Faith and contentment are virtues of the faithful. Patience is the sustenance of the angelic beings. The joy of spending money is but a fraction of the joy of realizing this Bliss.
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
