A grand scheme, but …!
THE grand ventures announced by the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, at Anandpur Sahib on Tuesday are in keeping with the tremendous religious fervour and enthusiasm generated by the tercentenary of the birth of the Khalsa.

A significant judgement
THE reinstatement of Mr Arun Bhatia as Commissioner of the Pune Municipal Corporation by the Bombay High Court should be seen in the context of the tendency of the political authority to prevent the bureaucracy from discharging its duty without fear or favour.

No exports, more forex
EVEN as exports are stagnating or falling, foreign exchange reserves are going up. A paradox? Not really.

STATUS OF WOMEN IN INDIA
by Manmohan Kaur
THE status of women cannot be examined in isolation. It is interlinked with the socio-economic condition of the people, the political climate and the inequalities inherent in the traditional social structure.

Painful goings-on in Myanmar
by Arvind Bhandari
INDIA’S once again bring to the fore a vexed issue of international diplomacy.

Dedicated to giving fair deal to eves
by Reeta Sharma
WORLD YWCA Day is fast approaching. YWCA sisters all over the world have already begun preparations to celebrate the day on April 24 for a whole week. The week would project their togetherness, mutual concerns and their womanhood from the cradle to the grave. Each year this day and the week is the time to reflect on and harness their collective power. This is the day to remember the worldwide movement of women and help make it strong to challenge social inequities and gender discrimination.

75 Years Ago

The logic of obstruction
IT was only to be expected that Pandit M.M. Malaviya would justify the policy of obstruction in the Assembly as the only method which any self-respecting individual could follow. It was also to be expected that he would justify the application of this policy in the case of the Finance Bill in particular, the opposition to which was led by himself in what was perhaps one of the most powerful speeches he ever made.

A grand scheme, but …!

THE grand ventures announced by the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, at Anandpur Sahib on Tuesday are in keeping with the tremendous religious fervour and enthusiasm generated by the tercentenary of the birth of the Khalsa. Anything that perpetuates the memory of that great day is highly welcome. The Chief Minister has declared that a city called Anandgarh will be set up near Anandpur Sahib, which will be bigger and grander than even Chandigarh. Basically, this is a revival of an old plan. If it is given the promised shape, it can attract both Indians and NRIs in droves. It goes without saying that putting in place such an ambitious city will be easier said than done. Besides numerous other inputs, what a new city needs is an outlay running into hundreds of crores of rupees. That is one commodity which is not in abundance with the Punjab Government. In fact, things are so bad that some of the most essential projects are suffering. So where is he going to find the money? Obviously the State has to look Centre-wards if the scheme has to move beyond the foundation stone-laying stage. The trouble is that the Centre itself is in dire financial straits. Similar financial problems may arise for other ventures announced by him as well. For instance, a six-lane highway to connect Chandigarh with Anandpur Sahib will again be a big budget affair. It would be in the fitness of things if the Punjab Government allays the apprehensions of the common man in this regard.

The Chief Minister has not stopped at conjuring up the vision of a modern new city free from pollution and polluting-generating industries. He has also announced that a Rs 500-crore information technology institute will be set up at Anandpur Sahib to "ensure smooth entry of Punjab into the next millennium". With agricultural production having reached a plateau, and stagnation looming large, IT can indeed be a way out for the State. The institute can provide training to the youth of Punjab and initiate a software export boom. Some of the best software entrepreneurs in the USA are of Punjabi origin. A link-up with them — made easier by the tercentenary mood — will do the trick. In fact, the Beant Singh government had prepared a blueprint on this.

While the Anandgarh project, the IT institute and the superhighway can be long-term projects to commemorate the tercentenary, there are many small-scale ventures also which can be taken up immediately. Perhaps a beginning can be made by improving the civic amenities in the entire State. Come to think of it, nearly all towns of Punjab are connected with the Great Gurus in one way or the other. It will be worthwhile to chalk out a practical blueprint for improvement of their lot. Stench and pollution have no place in a city as holy as, say, Amritsar. General development of Punjab as a whole so that it becomes a model State will be the greatest memorial to the Gurus.

A significant judgement

THE reinstatement of Mr Arun Bhatia as Commissioner of the Pune Municipal Corporation by the Bombay High Court should be seen in the context of the tendency of the political authority to prevent the bureaucracy from discharging its duty without fear or favour. The reason why the judiciary had to intervene in what is without doubt an administrative matter has something to with the posting of Mr Bhatia to Pune as Municipal Commissioner on March 6 and fresh orders issued on March 10 transferring him to an insignificant post in Mumbai! Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane was evidently forced to issue the transfer orders because Mr Bhatia in less than a week after his posting had earned the respect of virtually every law abiding citizen of Pune. His promise to set the house in order was taken as a threat to the unlawful clout of the political class. Mr Bhatia did not waste time in fulfilling the promise he made as Municipal Commissioner of Pune. On March 10, the day his transfer orders were hurriedly despatched from Mumbai, as many as 40 illegal structures of the high and mighty of the city were pulled down. Among the illegal structures demolished on his orders were the extension of the Holiday Inn of former Chief Minister Manohar Joshi’s son-in-law and another property belonging to Mr Suresh Kalmadi, a former Union Minister and currently a Bharatiya Janata Party member of the Lok Sabha. It soon became a fight between the people’s representative and an upright bureaucrat. A point which should not be ignored is that in this fight the people abandoned their so-called representative and backed Mr Bhatia to the hilt.

Within no time “Janata sanghursh samitis” cropped up all over Pune to challenge Mr Bhatia’s transfer in court. While quashing the order transferring him out of Pune a Division Bench of the High Court rejected the prosecution’s contention that he was being shifted because he had committed acts of insubordination, misconduct and that he had leaked official correspondence to the Press. The court rightly held that it was open to the Government to take disciplinary action for the alleged leaking of official correspondence after holding a proper enquiry. To upright bureaucrats elsewhere in the country, who lack the courage to question the illegal orders of the political authority, the Bombay High Court observations may prove useful in making them follow the example of Mr Bhatia. The Bench observed that it was one thing to pass an order which remained on paper, regarding demolition of unauthorised structures belonging to a powerful lobby, and another thing to actually implement the decision. It said that in the present situation when dishonesty and corruption were rampant, people like Mr Bhatia deserved a pat on the back and not punishment. It is evident that daring and upright bureaucrats like Mr Bhatia have the potential to become more effective representatives of the people than those the flawed electoral process throws up at periodic intervals.

No exports, more forex

EVEN as exports are stagnating or falling, foreign exchange reserves are going up. A paradox? Not really.During the week ending April 1, total reserves jumped to $ 32.53 billion, up by nearly $ 1 billion over the previous week. Read this along with another news item that in last financial year the total external commercial borrowings (by the private sector) slumped to $ 4 billion from $ 6 billion the previous year. It is a different story that barring a mere $500 million, the rest went to repay old loans. This and invisibles — namely, remittances by NRIs — and about $ 400 million in direct investment have pushed up the reserve. The record reserve is no cause for unalloyed happiness. Handling bank loans by Indian companies is like taking a walk in a mined terrain. Servicing the debts requires skill. With the domestic capital market in an indifferent mood and the stock market refusing to cheer up, and interest rate remaining fairly high, industrial houses plump for external borrowing to meet both working and capital expenses.

This strongly resembles what South Korea and Thailand did in the pre-crisis days; they borrowed recklessly to take advantage of the very low interest rates and to fuel hectic economic growth. But once the currency started falling, every lender wanted his money back, further pushing down the exchange rate and precipitating a full-blown crisis. India is miles away from that kind of crisis although the 1991 problem came close to it. (Eight years ago, the NRIs who had parked their savings in this country lured by a very attractive return, pulled out their money when an impending foreign exchange shortage threatened to trigger a crash in the rupee value.)

These days the interest rate is somewhat high for borrowers from this country. That has been the gift of credit rating agencies which mulishly stick to their old stand that India is a high-risk investment proposition. This is in sharp difference with the assessment of the World Bank which predicts a healthy flow of long term capital. That is the safe and secure way to stay afloat and not by balancing the account books with short-term bank loans and unpredictable NRI funds. Of this the signs are uninspiring. In the first two months of this year, India attracted only $ 400 million by way of direct investment. Part of this investor shyness can be traced to hazy policies of the government. It has gifted control of Maruti to the Japanese promoter which holds only half of the equity, the same as the government. It is reluctant to renegotiate the price of power with private generation companies even though the equipment cost has come down steeply by as high as 40 per cent. The new comers in the field demand the same concessions that Enron has wrenched from the government. A major problem is the government stand on the exchange value of the rupee. The government wants it down but the RBI says no. It is this bagful of confusion that inhibits big investors and keeps the forex picture a bit worrisome.

STATUS OF WOMEN IN INDIA
A depressing scenario
by Manmohan Kaur

THE status of women cannot be examined in isolation. It is interlinked with the socio-economic condition of the people, the political climate and the inequalities inherent in the traditional social structure. Its norms and values, its customs and rituals play a significant role in determining the position of women.

The status of women, however, has never been enviable, not even this day. It is true that there are examples of women who have excelled in arts and literature, led the army, and became Prime Ministers, ministers and diplomats. They were rare ones; perhaps the children of circumstances. Once opportunity came their way, they exploited it fully and made a name for themselves. They also demonstrated to the world that they were equal to anyone in courage, management, the art of governance, etc. This in no way means that the status of millions of women in city slums, in remote and backward areas is related to them or even remotely equivalent to them. To assess the status of women with these examples is not only incorrect but also another instance of doing injustice to them.

It is generally seen that a woman is treated as a second class citizen in her own country, has a subordinate role in her own home and is relegated to an unimportant position in society, for she is considered a poor second; preference for a son occupies the top place. Her major concern is expected to be catering to the comforts of the family, being a dutiful daughter, loving mother, obedient daughter-in-law and faithful submissive wife. She is perhaps everything except a human being on a par with her counterpart — the man — with feelings, aspirations, emotions, sense of achievement and failures, satisfaction and frustration. Having no identity of her own, woman remains another article which can be sold and purchased, gifted and enslaved, pushed out of the home and the community. Her existence has been of dependency either on father, mother, husband or son.

The Constitution of India provides, among other things, equal opportunities in the matter of education, employment, etc. There are progressive legislative measures relating to abortion, marriage, divorce, right to have children, right to property, maintenance, family courts for speedy settlement of disputes, etc. The laws relating to dowry, rape and violence against women have been amended to make them more stringent. All these measures were a step forward and an enabling factor in the development of women. The laws could not achieve the desired results. For, in the case of social legislation it is also imperative to have a change in the outlook, in the perception of women’s role and support services. All these have been very slow to come by. Consequently, even after more than a century of social reforms, the change, though discernible, is far from being indicative of parity between men and women.

The overview of the situation is generally distressing, which is reflected in their (women) declining sex ratio, lower life expectancy, a higher rate of female mortality, lower nutritional status, etc. Rape takes place once in every 54 minutes, eve-teasing every 51 minutes, molestation once in every 26 minutes and dowry deaths every 1000 minutes. Misuse of the test to determine the sex of the child in the womb and the termination of pregnancy in the event of a female foetus give an indication of the despicable behaviour patterns.These may be described as cases of psycho-sickness or an uncivilised behaviour, but the fact remains that they are gruesome in nature, and a healthy society needs to get rid of them.

In recent years the government took a number of steps to right the wrong that is done to the girl child. We have the report of the Committee on the Status of Women, the creation of a separate women and child development department, the national prospective plan, Rashtriya Mahila Kosh, 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution which provide women at the grassroots level a larger representation, national conferences, public debates on women’s issues, women’s study centres in the universities, etc. All these provide proof of growing interest in and concern for women’s development.

There is no doubt that women have travelled some distance, may be because of the social legislative measures, the progress made in the field of education, health and economics, or as a result of technological development or because of the process of evaluation. Though in a very small number today we have women in all spheres of national life. They are doctors, engineers, pilots, journalists, teachers, administrators, members of Parliament, ministers and now in the armed forces as well. We have had a woman Prime Minister and a President of the U.N. General Assembly.

Despite these achievements, women’s condition is a grim reality. According to the 1981census report, there were 933 women per 1000 men. There has been a further decline. The 1991 census report mentions 929 women per 1000 men.

The scenario of the health of women is not a happy one. Maternal mortality accounts for the largest number of deaths among women of reproductive age. The estimated figure is around 500 per 100,000 live births. Furthermore, 50 per cent of women in general and about 70 per cent, during pregnancy suffer from anaemia. Preventive and promotive aspects of health are important if we have to reduce the death rates. This means adequate provision for sanitation, safe drinking water, the control of communicable diseases, health education, the care of the mother and children, family-planning, treatment for minor ailments, referral hospitals, the diagnosis of abnormal conditions, etc.

As regards the education of women, according to the census of 1991, the general literacy rate was 52.11 per cent. Female literacy was 39.42 per cent as compared to the male literacy rate of 63.86 per cent. This clearly shows that 60 per cent of our female population — six out of every 10 females — still remains illiterate. The Council for Women’s Education remarked that “to convert the equality of women from de jure to de facto, it is education that plays an important role. The difference between the position of men and women cannot be reduced as long as there is disparity between the two in the educational level”.

The situation on the economic front is no better. The women’s work at home — which includes collection of firewood, bringing water from long distances and helping in the family business or in the fields — is not recognised because they are not paid for it. It is estimated that the average hours of unpaid work done by women outside their home ranges from 6.1 to 7.5 per day, with some women working for 10 hours and more. This apart, a large number of women are engaged in the unorganised sector like agriculture and allied occupations. As far as the total work participation rate is concerned, there has been a marginal increase from 19.67 in 1981 to 22.73 in 1991.

So far as senior management jobs are concerned, women hold 994 posts against 15,993 men in similar positions. In the all-India services the percentage is 5.8. There are only 21 women officers — 9 per cent — in the Indian Police Service. In the Indian Administrative Service there are 339 women — 7.5 per cent — against 4,209 men.

Though the concern is being expressed for her emancipation in every field, economic independence is of paramount importance. Efforts are on to ensure that she is economically not dependent on anyone. But have these efforts helped? There is a big question mark. The new economic policies, it appears, are increasingly marginalising women from their traditional occupations, and very little has been done to prepare them for alternative, newer or better avenues of employment. New structural adjustments are aimed at increasing the G D P level and employment opportunities and improving the quality of life, which in turn would mean better housing, education, health care, sanitation facilities, etc.

It is rather too early to assess the impact of these new policies. Some of the experts have pointed out that there is a drastic fall in the employment of women. Instead of being given regular jobs, they are now being appointed on a contract basis thus leading to their exploitation. Similarly, women are likely to suffer in the agricultural sector as well. The policies being adopted may have to be reviewed to enable women to take their place in the new economic order in larger numbers.

Economic independence, therefore, is not the final solution. An equal emphasis has to be laid on the total development of women, creating awareness among them about their rights and responsibilities, the recognition of their vital role and the work they do at home. If necessary, the social system must change.

The condition in the political arena is no better. Each political party stands for women’s participation in political activities in a big way. But do we see the reflection of their wishes in Parliament? For constituting the first Lok Sabha, 4.4 per cent women were elected to the House and 6.9 per cent were elected or nominated to the Rajya Sabha. Today, after 50 years of Independence, there are only 7.9 per cent women members of the Lok Sabha and 7.3 per cent of the Rajya Sabha.

The women have yet to travel a long way before they can be equated with men. There is need for concerted efforts. How do we reach the women in the remote and backward areas? How do we create awareness among all men and women about the roles and responsibilities of each citizen of the country? How do we bring about the acceptance of the changed role of men and women in our society? How do we ensure that everyone concedes that the girl-child is an equally important member of the family? How do we instil confidence in women to change their image themselves? The task is not an easy one.

It may be pertinent to mention here that in seeking women’s liberation, it is we who have deglamourised their role at home, made it seem a degrading work, carrying no meaning.

While fighting for equal rights for men and women it should not be forgotten that this has to be based on the biological realities, and here reference is made specifically to the process of reproduction and their respective roles which cannot be reversed. The birth and care of the infant falls within the purview of the woman whether she likes it or not.

I for one do not subscribe to the extremist view that babies must be born in test-tubes, and both men and women take an equal part in their nurturing. I do believe, however, that after the initial stage of nurturing, for which the special role of women is indispensable, the care of the child should become the responsibility of both, father and mother.

Both men and women will have to contribute to achieve these objectives. Let there be a movement of the type led by Gandhiji for the freedom of the country in which he invited and encouraged women to participate whole-heartedly. Let the men express the same concern at the pitiable conditions of almost 50 per cent of the population. “There is still need for stringent laws, a sensitive judiciary, effective enforcement and vigilant women’s groups”.

The women are on the move. The tide cannot be reversed. It is bound to rise. With the spread of education, population control, increased economic and political activities, more awareness of their rights, greater availability of support services, the use of technology for facilitating life at home, etc, the women are set to take on bigger and larger responsibilities.

The fight is not against men as such. It is a fight against the traditions that have chained them, the attitudes that are ingrained in them through socialisation, and the norms and values that encircle them like the proverbial Lakshman Rekha.

Men, therefore, have to be helped to break the shackles, make adjustments in their role, recognise and accept the fact that women are not their slaves but individual and equal partners in life.

(The writer, a social activist, has four books to her credit.)

Painful goings-on in Myanmar
by Arvind Bhandari

INDIA’S once again bring to the fore a vexed issue of international diplomacy. How far should a country remain, in the name of non-interference, a silent spectator to wrongdoing in another country, especially when it is contiguous?

The hapless people of Myanmar are being ruthlessly trampled under the jackboots of a vicious military dictatorship. Many countries, particularly those of the West, have expressed sympathy for the oppressed Myanmarese and castigated the faceless generals who rule the roost in Yangon (formerly Rangoon). But India’s response to the travails of Myanmar has been muted.

This is so despite the fact that the numerous appeals of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel laureate and leader of Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement, to “democratic parliaments” worldwide for support have been particularly directed towards India, which is a big democratic neighbour.

Even in the face of the Myanmar military junta’s latest act of inhumanity, when it denied a visa to Ms Kyi’s dying British husband, Michael Aries,who wanted to meet his wife for the last time, New Delhi maintained a deafening silence. It neither made any appeal to the junta to show compassion and issue a visa nor uttered a word of regret when the unfortunate man died without meeting his wife. In sharp contrast was the opprobrium earned by the Yangon junta from several countries.

New Delhi’s stony attitude towards the goings-on in Myanmar is regrettable. The principle of non-interference in the affairs of another country is all right up to a limit. But if the wrongdoing in a country is excessive, any criticism of the wrong-doer ought to be treated as a legitimate voice of reason rather than undue interference. Such criticism cannot be regarded as inconsistent with the maintenance of diplomatic relations. India’s act of omission is all the more distressing because as the largest democracy in the world it has a special obligation to support a people struggling for democratic rights.

India has become Myanmar’s largest export market, accounting for 23 per cent of its total exports. An Indian official delegation led by Commerce Secretary P.P. Prabhu visited Myanmar in October, 1998. It was decided to enter into joint ventures for exploration and exploitation of nickel and coal in India’s border areas in the North-East. The two countries will shortly exchange technical teams.

The Indian official delegation was accompanied by a 10-member business team comprising representatives of FICCI and the CII. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the CII and the Myanmar Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The two countries also have border trade. This takes place between Moreh in Manipur on the Indian side and Tarnu on the Myanmarese side. It is now being considered whether these border points could also be used for normal trade transactions. This will require inter-bank arrangements. Actually, officials of the Reserve Bank of India and the United Bank of India have held talks with the Myanmar Finance Ministry and Myanmar Central Bank with a view to expanding banking ties between the two countries.

India would be interested in natural gas supplies available by a pipeline network from Myanmar. Currently, Myanmar has entered into a collaboration with Thailand for exploiting its off-shore gas reserves. This will involve setting up a pipeline network in the South-East Asian region.

Roads are being built in Myanmar’s eastern border areas with Chinese help. India wants to build roads in those areas of Myanmar which are close to the Indian border. Already, India’s Border Roads Organisation has been entrusted with the project to build the Tarnu-Kalemyo road along the India-Myanmar border.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military (called Tatmadaw) since 1962. In 1990 elections were held for Parliament and Ms Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won 82 per cent of the vote. But the generals have refused to surrender power, using naked force to suppress NLD. Since May, 1998, when Ms Kyi gave the military an ultimatum to convene Parliament, 196 NLD MPs and about 1500 pro-democracy activists have been jailed.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has twice sent his emissaries to expostulate with the military government. The USA has been putting pressure on the generals to have a dialogue with Ms Kyi. Australia is pressing the military junta to at least set up a human rights commission. The European Union has imposed sanctions against Myanmar. The World Bank has indicated its readiness to give aid of nearly one billion dollars if the junta opens negotiation with Ms Kyi.

Despite all these initiatives, the impasse in Yangon remains unbroken.

Dedicated to giving fair deal to eves

by Reeta Sharma

WORLD YWCA Day is fast approaching. YWCA sisters all over the world have already begun preparations to celebrate the day on April 24 for a whole week. The week would project their togetherness, mutual concerns and their womanhood from the cradle to the grave. Each year this day and the week is the time to reflect on and harness their collective power. This is the day to remember the worldwide movement of women and help make it strong to challenge social inequities and gender discrimination.

The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) was founded between 1855 and 1875. In the aftermath of the Crimean war, young nurses who had served in the war were returning to London. A large number of these nurses discovered to their discomfiture that it was extremely difficult to rent out a place to live in London. At this critical juncture, Mrs Arthur Kinnaird took the much-desired initiative. As a result of her efforts the first YWCA hostel came into existence.

Gradually the YWCA spread throughout the world. Its appeal lay in the fact that women, irrespective of their caste. creed, culture or nationality, could be part of it. This spirit of resurgent womanhood, spread its wings all over the universe affirming the universal truth that women shared great responsibility for nurturing the earth.

The YWCA spread from country to country, city to city and opened its first chapter in Chandigarh on April 11, 1982. Dr Margret Mamgain became founder-president. “Initially we had no funds but nursed a strong desire to work for the uplift of the under-privileged women around us. Our initiatives were minor but our dreams were overpowering. Soon many women came forward to join us. The national headquarters of the YWCA encouraged us by allotting a project to build a working women’s hostel in Chandigarh. The central government gave us a grant to the tune of 75 per cent of the total expenditure. The remaining 25 per cent was met by the national YWCA. Everybody worked on the project and soon the hostel was ready”, a beaming Dr Mamgain recalls.

The Chandigarh chapter of the YWCA grew with the city responding to issues related to women, catering to their various needs besides providing various activities and a common platform. The hostel accommodates 52 women who are employed in Chandigarh. They are from different social, economic, religious and educational backgrounds but live harmoniously sharing the pains and joys of life with each other.

The local YWCA, has over the years chalked up various programmes to suit the needs of the women in and around the city. For instance, there are a few vocational courses to impart training which eventually enables girls from poor homes to earn for themselves. The one-year course in stitching and sewing has become particularly popular with the girls of villages like Dadu Majra, Naya Gaon, Khuda Ali Sher, Saketri. Every year 60 to 65 girls enrol themselves for this course with the centres at the YWCA premises and at Dadu Majra. The one-year course has a final examination which is conducted by teachers of the College of Home Science on a voluntary basis. It is very satisfying to learn that the girls who took training are able to earn for themselves from stitching and sewing”, reveals Rekha Banerji, general secretary of the local YWCA unit.

The local wing of the YWCA has succeeded in making Dadu Majra full literate. “Yes, adult literacy classes are not required in that area anymore. Parents have finally begun sending their children to school, irrespective of gender.

Meanwhile we are continuing with our second literacy centre being run at the YWCA itself for young women who mostly work as domestic help in Chandigarh. Many of them have learnt to read and write.

Besides the YWCA has been regularly conducting workshops for school students on environment awareness, pollution control and tree plantation. Recently we held one for the very enthusiastic students of the Government Middle School, Naya Gaun”, elaborates Mrs Joy Lazarus, YWCA chairperson.

The funds for most YWCAs in India come in the shape of donations and grants from the Central and state social welfare boards. Campaigns and projects are usually sponsored by private groups. The YWCA is at presenting conducting a project entitled FLAG (Family life education for adolescent girls). Under this project classes are held for girls (mostly from the economically weaker sections of society) to help them grapple with problems of growing up. The YWCA has meaningfully approached the issue of development of women mostly drawn from the less privileged sections of our society. The emphasis of all their programmes have been primarily and necessarily on helping women to “help themselves”.

In fact, the World YWCA priorities were identified in the “Women’s World Agenda”, adopted in 1995, besides earlier resolutions and recommendations. These priorities are religiously followed by dedicated YWCA volunteers all over the world. The theme for the 1999, adopted by the Executive Committee for the World YWCA council in Cairo, Egypt is, “Power to change”.

Under this theme, one of the strategies is to promote economic, political and legal justice of women by speaking out on behalf of marginalised groups. Another strategy is to form coalitions with other women’s organisations and human rights groups.

The YWCA’s universal aim is to help girls and women to discover their own potential; of learning to take control of their own lives; of uniting women to give a collective voice to their fight for a fair deal, and of making women declare their solidarity with a just cause.

75 YEARS AGO

The logic of obstruction

IT was only to be expected that Pandit M.M. Malaviya would justify the policy of obstruction in the Assembly as the only method which any self-respecting individual could follow. It was also to be expected that he would justify the application of this policy in the case of the Finance Bill in particular, the opposition to which was led by himself in what was perhaps one of the most powerful speeches he ever made.

In a recent speech at Bombay the Pandit gave a reason for this opposition which shows, as we have said already, that there is now no substantial difference between him and the Swarajists.

The Montford Act,” he said “had given the Assembly the right to impose taxation, but had denied the right to control expenditure. So, the only way open to the popular party to compel the government to reduce its extravagance and also to record a protest against the present system of administration was to refuse taxation bills.

This is, of course, the pure milk of the Swarajist Word, and the inevitable result of adhering to it logically would be to refuse all taxation.