Sansad’s sideshow
AHMEDABAD reverberated to the angry accusations and militant threats of assembled sadhus and sants for three days ending Sunday. It was billed as Dharma Sansad, the meeting of the Margdarshi Mandali of the VHP.

Seeking change in labour laws
FROM time to time opinion has been expressed about undertaking a review of the nearly 165 labour laws, particularly the Industrial Disputes Act, the Trade Union Act and the Contract Labour (Regulations and Abolition) Wages Act, under the changed circumstances.

Law-breaking in India
by K.F. Rustamji
I AM waiting for a judge to put a stop to the outbursts of ministers, exonerating political parties who have been suspected to have instigated heinous crimes, or individuals who have committed them. Before the courts have gone into the case and given their decision, or even before the police has investigated the case, how can a minister give a certificate about the work of any individual or party?

Hate, violence sully country’s image
by Raghu Tagat
THE violence unleashed on the Christians in Dangs district of Gujarat, the burning alive of an Australian missionary and his two sons in Orissa, the wanton killing of Dalits in Bihar, the vandalism of the Shiv Sena brigade on a cricket pitch and the BCCI headquarters — all events happening in quick succession — have put the BJP in the dock.

SC: a bit of specialisation wanted
by Anupam Gupta
AFTER quite some time the Supreme Court returned, last fortnight, to a cause in the pursuit of which it has enormous achievements to its credit, as also enormous blunders. The cause of environmental justice. And returned to it in a refreshingly modest way contrasted with the magisterial peremptoriness of the past.

Apprehension in business
sector
by Humra Quraishi
WHILST distractions seem to be getting hooked on to the proposed bus ride of the Prime Minister to Lahore, people are beginning to feel they are being taken for a ride to nowhere. In fact, there is anger in Christian groups for in spite of assurances now there comes up the news of the rape of a nun in the interiors of Orissa. Says Father George Pereira, Deputy Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India.

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Sansad’s sideshow

AHMEDABAD reverberated to the angry accusations and militant threats of assembled sadhus and sants for three days ending Sunday. It was billed as Dharma Sansad, the meeting of the Margdarshi Mandali of the VHP. In the past such gatherings have invariably brought out the fighting spirit of the sants in an unmistakably fighting fashion. Speeches are spirited and inflammatory, goals are provocative and the methods to achieve them are by direct action. Given this track record, the proceedings of the Ahmedabad conclave ran on expected lines. And there is no need to lose sleep over the prospects of the sants overrunning the government or the system in a hurry. The meeting has strengthened this impression by targeting the central government run by a coalition, in which the political arm of the Sangh Parivar is the majority share holder. Distancing itself from the policies of the government is an attempt by the VHP to reinforce its identity as a determined ultra Hindu organisation, irrevocably wedded to its old goals.

Nor will it be wise to be guided by what one leader holding “extremist” views uttered. He wanted Prime Minister Vajpayee to march to Lahore in an army tank and not visit the city in a bus. And for good measure he also advised the Prime Minister to carry a few atom bombs and scatter them in the host country. As is to be expected, it was his personal opinion, and the VHP, alarmed and embarrassed at the outburst, disowned him and his call for arms within minutes. What this isolated incident shows is the general mood of competitive tub-thumping at the conclave, the irresistible urge to up the ante and add to the prevailing religious tension. It is thus not a declaration of war, nor the last set of slogans to mobilise the Hindus; it is merely an unpremeditated knee-jerk reaction to the surcharged atmosphere in the pandal. By the time they return to their “akharas”, most of them would cool down and go back to their routine.

Still there is a strong temptation to use the Ahmedabad speeches to castigate the Sangh Parivar in general and the BJP in particular for not reining in the organisations belonging to its “ideological fraternity”. Such an attack will bring short-term benefits by demoralising the rank and file of the party and also the allies. But this temptation should be resisted in view of the long-term damage it will cause to the polity. One, it will help keep the Sansad speeches alive for a longer time than is good for all and will provide the oxygen of publicity to the VHP. Further it will heighten communal mistrust and that is a good enough reason to give up the attempt. It is true that the BJP leadership has exposed itself to criticism by holding talks with the VHP top brass both in Delhi and Ahmedabad on the eve of the Sandad, perhaps appealing for a degree of moderation. If the attempt has failed, it will widen the rift between the BJP and the militant Hindutva outfits and that should be welcomed. If it has succeeded, it is a good augury that the BJP is on the way to injecting sobriety in the fringe organisations. Often a powerful political statement can be made by just keeping silent.

Seeking change in labour laws

FROM time to time opinion has been expressed about undertaking a review of the nearly 165 labour laws, particularly the Industrial Disputes Act, the Trade Union Act and the Contract Labour (Regulations and Abolition) Wages Act, under the changed circumstances. One report has it that the coalition government, which wanted to begin such a process, may go about it in the budget session of Parliament. But as it has decided to set up a second National Labour Commission, doubts are being expressed about its intentions to accomplish the task early. The commission's two-year tenure may be further extended, thus delaying this highly significant work for only God knows how long. Keeping in view the urgency of the task, some experts have questioned the very idea of the new commission (the first one was instituted over 30 years ago), specially when the National Labour Code, finalised in 1994, is there for basic guidance. Industry is crying for amending the laws to end the roadblocks that come in the way of business organisations when they take measures to bring about increased efficiency among their labour force, or to make their products competitive enough in a greatly demanding market. They have to cross a number of hurdles to introduce new technology and rationalise their manpower base. The reason is not because these pieces of legislation were added to the statute book to retard economic progress. The guiding principle behind formulating most of the labour-related laws was to promote workers' welfare and ensure social security but without disturbing industrial harmony. A laudable thought, and it should never be discarded. What is, however, bad about these laws is that the interests of industry have not been taken care of by foreseeing their future requirements. One reason that immediately comes to one's mind is that industry too was being provided an atmosphere of protection till 1991. That protective shield has now been taken away with the introduction of economic liberalisation. Most industrial units are, therefore, finding it difficult to remain afloat primarily owing to the labour laws.

A note recently submitted to the government by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) voices these concerns of business establishments. Some of its suggestions are logical like the exclusion of the employees in hospitals, charitable organisations and educational institutions from the purview of the Industrial Disputes Act. But most of them cut at the very roots of the workers' interests. That is perhaps one reason why the Standing Labour Committee on Saturday appealed to the government to protect jobs in industry. No government can afford to ignore the problems of the working class not even the one headed by the BJP, though the promotion of competitiveness among industry has to be its priority. The policy-makers must take into account the views of the representatives of the employees so that the amendments made in the labour laws do not lead to social unrest. In this context one fails to understand why the government did not consult the central trade unions, as pointed out by the Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), before finalising its decision on the Labour Commission. One would not be wrong to suspect the coalition's motives if CITU's contention is based on truth.

Law-breaking in India
by K.F. Rustamji

I AM waiting for a judge to put a stop to the outbursts of ministers, exonerating political parties who have been suspected to have instigated heinous crimes, or individuals who have committed them. Before the courts have gone into the case and given their decision, or even before the police has investigated the case, how can a minister give a certificate about the work of any individual or party? Even if it does not influence the judiciary, would it not influence the investigating officer of the police, at a time when it is entirely in the grip of the party in power.

I cannot believe that the Home Minister could have given a certificate of merit to the Bajrang Dal, but if he has, he has transgressed the line of legal propriety when he said, “I have known this organisation for a long time and they do not have criminal elements.” This is at a time when they are suspected by several witnesses of having committed the murder of Graham Staines (and his sons), the missionary who worked selflessly in the service of the poor and the sick. The Home Minister’s intelligence agencies must be prodded to tell him the truth. In Mumbai, the Bajrang Dal is intimidating the suburbs in a defiant manner, protesting against beauty contests, holding to ransom a MacDonald’s outlet, stopping an annual ball because it is against Indian culture. The Bajrang Dal demanded a ban on the use of loudspeakers in mosques (“If the police does not act on our demands, our activists will remove the loudspeakers themselves”). All this to the applause of the Chief Minister who had won fame by congratulating those who damaged a cinema house in his city. If this is the sort of activity the former head of the government thought would bring him back to power, he did not know the electorate I feel sure. The disgust that every Indian feels at the fact that we have to make security arrangements for cricket does not seem to be known to him and his party.

At the same time we cannot hold politicians responsible, who are not in office, for whatever they say. Mr Bal Thackeray is perfectly within his rights to spout nonsense about civil war, or to call the Shiv Sainiks who dug up the pitches as patriots. Even in this case the fact that they have committed a crime makes the praise worthless. But raised as we are in the tradition of satyagraha, we extol law-breaking, we equate it with patriotism, and only express surprise when some individual crosses the barrier and, excited by hatred, kills somebody whom he considers to be his enemy.

When Abraham Lincoln went to the theatre after his victory in the civil war in 1865, an unemployed actor named John Wilkes Booth crept up behind him when the security officer, a drunken constable, had gone to get another drink, and fired shots into his head at point-blank range. Booth shouted, “Thus always to tyrants”. The man whom the nation and the whole world honoured as a hero, and a prince among men, was killed by a man deranged by hatred. When the air of a nation is clouded with hate, and fear of punishment does not exist, the murders of the prominent or the defenceless must be expected. We have still to learn that lesson.

The most important constituent of a nation’s well-being and progress are laws, justice, constitution and freedom, but before all that comes the frame of public mind, or the attitude which is the hard rock of a nation’s foundation. The most important stone of this is that the law will punish anyone who goes against the law. This is precisely what we have destroyed in independent India. We believe that law-breaking is permissible, honourable; it can be a sacred duty, even a heroic one, one that can get an easy escape from culpability owing to an ineffective police and judiciary. We may try our best to correct matters, but unless we permeate all our thinking with the conviction that punishment will follow crime as day follows night, we will never secure peace. In fact, we will go down and down the road of insecurity. Karachi went that way.

What can be worse than the gruesome murder of Graham Staines and his two sons in Keonjhar in Orissa before Republic Day? He was a missionary who had selflessly worked for the poor and leprosy patients in the interior of a tribal area. He never did conversions. Like Jesus Christ, he was crucified by persons who envied him, his work, and his following. Our hearts break for that gentle widow, Gladys Staines, and her 13-year-old daughter Esther, left to mourn their loss and forget their hurt. This family’s main aim was to serve humanity. Graham Staines’ hand wore the signet of his race. They scorned the comforts of their land, lived in a wilderness to serve lepers and to work for the poor. Then death turned its face on him and his two young sons in a mob attack of unutterable cruelty. The mob burned at the stake God’s emissary to the poor and the sick. The widow says, “Father, forgive them.” We should say, “Father, forgive us for not being able to see what hatred can do.” It will settle like a blight on us if we do not stop the peddlers of hate.

What led to this crime? Already prominent people have come out with denials. The cases will be investigated improperly, corruption will mark the release of several individuals and, when prosecuted, the case will go on till forgotten.

We have the police and courts, senior officials in the police and the executive who are expected to have impartiality and reliability, and we have a free Press that is expected to highlight the truth. However, it has now become an accepted practice to send a team of committed ministers to enquire into any incident that defames the government. Their one aim is to obfuscate, shake off blame, direct attention to international conspiracies and divert attention.

Mr George Fernandes and his team visited the spot of the Staines murder for a short while, and claimed that anti-Christian violence had been blown out of proportion as part of an international conspiracy to put the BJP out of power. When a Defence Minister makes such a statement, he does not realise that he is degrading the post he holds. He said he had no information about the 48 persons taken in custody, although the Orissa police has alleged involvement of the Bajrang Dal.

Nowhere in the world is there a system whereby a team of ministers, within a few minutes, gives decisions on the features of a crime. We have devised a system which completes the work of our police and courts to make law-breaking honourable. Then there is a judicial enquiry conducted by a reputed judge whose conclusions can be rejected as biased.

The President calls for national unity based on tolerance. The Prime Minister says no mercy must be shown for the perpetrators of this inhuman crime. He also spoke, it must be said to his credit, to the Orissa Chief Minister, emphasising the need for stringent measures. After all this, the criminal justice system of India will take over. The trial will go on for 10 years. The judicial enquiry report will be rejected. Already excuses are being put forward for hounding the missionaries. Lepers don’t matter in politics. This inhuman crime will go the way of 90 per cent undetected ones that are hidden in police statistics year after year. “Father, forgive us, for messing up the criminal justice system.”

Hate, violence sully country’s image
by Raghu Tagat

THE violence unleashed on the Christians in Dangs district of Gujarat, the burning alive of an Australian missionary and his two sons in Orissa, the wanton killing of Dalits in Bihar, the vandalism of the Shiv Sena brigade on a cricket pitch and the BCCI headquarters — all events happening in quick succession — have put the BJP in the dock. The gravity of the incidents lends strength to the charge that the BJP is giving tacit support to or is unable to control the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal and other fundamentalist forces on whose support its political base rests.

The President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, expressed his regret at the burning of the Australian missionary, and the massacre of the Dalits in as strong words as would be possible in keeping with the dignity of his office. His Republic Day message also focused on communal harmony and religious tolerance. Elder statesman Bharat Ratna C. Subramaniam makes an impassioned plea for religious harmony. While all these condemnations get adequate publicity, it is regrettable that neither the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, nor the Home Minister, Mr Lal Kishan Advani, have come out with an unequivocal criticism of the perpetrators of these crimes.

The Prime Minister made the obligatory visit to the riot-torn Dangs district in Gujarat and after doing so said that there was need for a national debate on conversions. The country was disappointed that there was not a hint of rebuke in his statement on the persons who committed the atrocities nor on the state government which felt that its moral obligation ended with the transfer of a few officers.

On the burning alive of a foreign missionary in Orissa, the Home Minister said. “I have different views in this matter, you may disagree with them. But as far as I know the Bajrang Dal or any other organisation connected with the RSS has no criminal record”.

The “different views” held by the Home Minister were presumably spelt out by the General Secretary of the BJP, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu. He said that his party suspected the hand of the Congress in the brutal death of the missionary in Orissa. He referred to the hobnobbing of a Congress minister from the Orissa government with the prime suspect and added that “false propaganda was being launched against the BJP government, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other nationalist organisations without even a preliminary enquiry”.

The VHP Secretary criticised the murder of the Australian missionary, and denied that the VHP or the Bajrang Dal was behind the murder. he added that according to the report he had received from activists in the area, the missionary invited trouble by taking out a revolver and pointing it at the crowd surrounding him. In his opinion the claim of social work among the lepers and other diseased people by the missionaries was a cover-up for their conversion activities. He even hinted that the murder was a ploy of the Orissa Congress to deflect the adverse attention it was receiving from the Anjana Mishra episode.

The Prime Minister and the Home Minister, whatever might be their personal credo, should remember that they are governing a multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural nation and not just the Hindu segment thereof. The Prime Minister’s call for a national debate on conversions gave out a message rightly or wrongly that he was afraid of putting the Hindu fanatic fringe in their place. So also his decision to go on a fast on January 30 has not been taken seriously as the above-described statements and pronouncements of organisations which support the main BJP show that the concern is not genuine.

The claim of Mr Naidu, the BJP Secretary, that all these are attempts to denigrate the government is only partially correct. The general presumption is that the crimes are the handiwork of the Hindu activist organisations which support the government. It is nonetheless true that the perpetrators have yet to be brought to trial and their political connections, if any, exposed and proved. The country has not yet been able to establish beyond reasonable doubt the political reasons for the brutal assassination of its former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, eight years ago. It will not be surprising if the political motive behind the present spate of violence is also not established credibly.

The VHP was formed in 1964 by the more committed sections of the RSS with the express purpose of “consolidating and strengthening the Hindu society, establishing links among Hindus in different countries and protecting and disseminating Hindu spiritual and ethical values”. The method proposed was the establishment of an ecclesiastical order on the lines of Christianity and including reconversions of the converted Christians and Muslims back to the Hindu faith.

In pursuance of this ideology the VHP established a set of institutions — schools, orphanages, health centres and meditation centres — in the north-eastern states where the Christian proselytising activities had converted small states like Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland into Christian-majority states. This was in the 1970s but in spite of all their activities there has been no abnormal change in the pattern of population in these states.

The RSS has established in the tribal belt stretching from south Bihar to Gujarat Vanvasi Kalyan Kendras, single-teacher schools, public health centres and similar institutions in order to wean the tribals away from going to similar institutions established by the Christian missionaries and getting converted. They have been working thus since the eighties, but all this good work is overshadowed by the phobia whipped up periodically by the more aggressive sections of their adherents.

According to Mr Irfan Engineer, the Director of the Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai, who has worked among the tribals in Dangs district of Gujarat, “conversion to Christianity occurs basically due to three reasons: faith healing, alcoholism and dignity”. Many individual stories of tribals converting to Christianity on account of one or more of these three reasons have since been documented. In spite of their embracing a different religion, studies have shown that the tribals have not departed from their age-old tradition of worshipping their own “Devs” and that Jesus Christ is added as “Eesu Dev” to their pantheon. By the same token, it must also be recorded that the tribals also do not accept Hinduism as their religion nor do they follow Hindu rituals, theology or practices. In the 1991 census, certain sects gave their tribal names — Oraons, Kashis, Gonds, etc — as their religion.

In recent times clashes are occurring between the non-converted and converted sections of the tribals on account of the latter refusing to contribute money for the conduct of tribal festivals. The allegation is that the converts are being instigated by the Christian missionaries to refuse to make contributions.

Conversion from Hinduism to Christianity or Islam is not a new phenomenon. In the early decades of this century, there have been many educated and intelligent Hindus (including a few Brahmins) who embraced Christianity because of their “faith” in the latter religion. In the middle decades inter-religious marriages also produced conversions by one of the spouses. Christianity and Islam are religions brought into this country by foreigners who have ruled this country in the last five centuries. This period in our history cannot be wished away. The descendants of the people who converted then are now sons of the soil and, therefore, are entitled to live peacefully in this country.

In all this melee one important point is lost sight of. It is that this country’s past glory was built not on one but on several religions, philosophies and cultures. From aboriginal tribals, Dravidians, Aryans, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Muslims and Christians, the country has absorbed many good traits which cannot be supplanted by what is known narrow-mindedly as Hindu culture by the Sangh Parivar. In any case, their description of Hindutva is not in accordance with the age-old traditions of tolerance in this country.

SC: a bit of specialisation wanted

by Anupam Gupta

AFTER quite some time the Supreme Court returned, last fortnight, to a cause in the pursuit of which it has enormous achievements to its credit, as also enormous blunders. The cause of environmental justice.

And returned to it in a refreshingly modest way contrasted with the magisterial peremptoriness of the past.

“In matters regarding industrial pollution,” said the court on January 27, in a case from Andhra Pradesh, “serious issues involving pollution and related technology have been arising in appeals under Article 136 and in writ petitions under Article 32 of the Constitution of India filed in this court and also in writ petitions before High Courts under Article 226.” The cases involve the correctness of opinions on technological aspects by Pollution Control Boards or other bodies.

“Considerable difficulty,” said the Bench, frankly acknowledging the problem, “is experienced by this court or the High Courts in adjudicating upon the correctness of technological and scientific opinions” with regard to the efficacy of the technology proposed to be adopted by the industry or to the need for alternative technology suggested by the Pollution Control Boards or other bodies.

The problem, the Bench hastened to add, is not local. “The difficulty faced by environmental courts in dealing with highly technological or scientific data appears to be a global phenomenon.”

“The courts’ ability to handle science-rich cases,” the Bench continued, quoting from the 1993 Carnegie Commission of Science and Technology in the USA, “has recently been called into question, with widespread allegations that the judicial system is increasingly been unable to manage and adjudicate science and technology (S&T) issues.”

In England, the Supreme Court pointed out, the lack of specialisation in environmental law has generated a demand, at the highest judicial level, for a “multi-faceted, multi-skilled body which would combine the services provided by existing courts, tribunals and inspectors in the environmental field.”

Most environmental laws in India, the court ruled significantly on January 27, surveying the decision-making structure, “fall short” of the desired combination of judicial and scientific inputs. The defect in the constitution of the bodies set up by them “undermine the very purpose” of these laws. There is, therefore, an “urgent need to ensure that at all times” the appellate authorities or tribunals consist of judicial as well as technical personnel well versed in environmental laws.

The Government of India, ruled the court, speaking through Justice M. Jagannadha Rao, should bring about appropriate amendments in environmental statutes, rules and notifications to ensure that in “all environmental courts, tribunals and appellate authorities, there is always a Judge of the rank of a High Court Judge or a Supreme Court Judge — sitting or retired — and a scientist or group of scientists of high ranking and experience, so as to help a proper and fair adjudication of disputes relating to environment and pollution.” So should all states and union territories.

Having thus complimented science and men of science and given them their due place, the Bench recalled immediately the problem which the constant growth and uncertainty of scientific knowledge poses for the law. There is a fundamental difference, it said, citing the American Supreme Court, between the quest for truth in the courtroom and the quest for truth in the laboratory. Scientific conclusions are subject to perpetual revision. Law, on the other hand, must resolve disputes finally and quickly.

An interesting dimension of the January 27 judgement is its reinterpretation, or rather reprojection, of three salient principles of environmental law — the Precautionary Principle, the Polluter Pays Principle, and the principle reversing the burden of proof — in the context of the uncertainty of scientific opinion.

The Precautionary Principle involves the anticipation and prevention of environmental harm. Lack of full scientific certainty, it holds, shall not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation. It is better to err, in Justice Jagannadha Rao’s words, on the side of caution than to allow environmental harm which may become irreversible.

The Polluter Pays Principle, as its name implies, demands that the financial costs of preventing or remedying damage caused by pollution must be borne by the polluter. The connection of this principle with science, its limitations or achievements, is rather unclear.

The third principle of reversal of burden of proof in environmental cases is generally taken to be an extension of the first, the Precautionary Principle.

All the three principles were bodily lifted from international law, where they had only recently been established courtesy the developed North, and read into the environmental law of India by the Supreme Court in 1996. In two leading environmental cases decided that year. Neither of them — the Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action case (Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy) and the Vellore Citizens’ Welfare Forum case (Justice Kuldip Singh) — rationalised, or qualified, the principles in terms of the “uncertainty of scientific proof and its changing frontiers from time to time” (Justice Jagannadha Rao). The court was making law and making it openly, regardless of the fallibility of human knowledge and the lack of specialisation.

For all those who would care to see, there is more than a shift of emphasis here or a change in the line of argument.

Apprehension in business sector

by Humra Quraishi

WHILST distractions seem to be getting hooked on to the proposed bus ride of the Prime Minister to Lahore, people are beginning to feel they are being taken for a ride to nowhere. In fact, there is anger in Christian groups for in spite of assurances now there comes up the news of the rape of a nun in the interiors of Orissa. Says Father George Pereira, Deputy Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India. “All the Christian groups are meeting today afternoon here in New Delhi (6 February) to formulate a strategy to counter these attacks ..... We are really disillusioned by what is happening. I really don’t know why the government isn’t reacting and not acting to stop these ongoing attacks against the Christians of the country? I really don’t know why the government machinery is not stopping these atrocities”.

Then, there is tension amongst Muslim groups. In fact as of now several so-called Muslim leaders have expressed their reservations about the visa granted to Salman Rushdie and the impression one gets is that just a few provocative speeches are enough for the tension to spread. They point out angrily at this government’s educational policies, the non-implementation of the Justice Srikrishna Commission report and the hardcore elements within its fold. Besides minority groups there is apprehension in the business sector too. For the effect of the Western media’s highlight of these attacks against Christians is getting obvious; as an Indian representative of the German pharmaceutical firm puts across: “We are facing problems, so much so that last month some German businessmen on their way back from Indonesia had to make a stop in India, in concern with a business proposal, but before they could come news reached them in Indonesia itself of the burning of the Australian missionary Graham Staines. With that they declined to stop in India and flew back directly to Germany. Other business houses are also apprehensive. Perhaps, they have reason to be so. For as Christopher Thomas, the New Delhi-based South Asia bureau chief of The (London) Times, says, “Potential investments, that is a lot of money, which could have been invested here in India is now getting diverted to Vietnam and China. Why? Because the news of attacks on Christians in India is being picked up by every major newspaper of the West and India is being looked upon as a country which is going through political instability, a country of religious extremism. Though personally I feel that these attacks are not the result of religious extremism, in fact are political passions of the extremist fringe of the government but nevertheless these attacks have portrayed the country to be going through a period of instability.”

The Washington Post bureau chief Kenneth Cooper is also as extremely explicit when he says “I don’t know whether these reports of attacks on the Christians in India, which are definitely drawing attention in the West, will presently have a significant effect on the trade flow; maybe there will be lessening of enthusiasm. “But Cooper points attention to another aspect which could have far reaching consequences. “Last year the US Congress had passed a new law — ‘The Religious Freedom Act’ — which gives the President the discretion to decide to cut off aid to particular countries which are not protecting religious freedoms of their citizens. This law was originally introduced with countries like Pakistan and China in mind but, now it seems it could have its impact on other countries too... “Though he doesn’t mention ‘India’ by name but, then adds “I would be very surprised if the Indian Embassy in the USA wasn’t aware of this law and concerned about it”.

And in the midst of all this, if you were to ask whether the Prime Minister is in all seriousness actually going to Lahore on that publicity hungry bus, there is no one to give you an exact answer. For two days I have constantly trying to get an answer to this but it has proved to be not only a futile exercise but a highly exasperating one too. Even after 30 calls over a stretch of 24 hours, Delhi Transport Minister Parvez Hashmi could not be tracked for his comments on the proposed visit. Meanwhile, informed sources state that senior members of the Sangh Parivar are not at all in favour of the Prime Minister going on this yatra and politically, that is within the Sangh Parivar fold, it could prove to be a disaster for him.

With spring in the air

With spring in the air cultural/social programmes lie fitted in. To begin with, amidst qawwalis the 694 annual urs of Hazrat Khwaja Amir Khusro took off from the Basti Dargah Hazrat Khwaja Nizamuddin on February 4. Then, the Dagars are paying a musical homage to the late Faiyazuddin Dagar at the IIC on February 7. Also, Impresario together with the Habitat Centre is holding the national festival of new choreographies on February 9 and 10 and here one could get to see the new works of Priti Patel (Manipuri), Bharati Shivaji (Mohiniattam), Leela Samson (Bharat Natyam), Durga Charan Ranbir (Odissi), Geeta Chandran (Bharat Natyam), Kumudini Lakhia (Kathak).

The Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre has an ongoing exhibition of rare photographs — India of the 1930s — as seen by the Hungarian architect Istvan Medgyaszay. At the ICCR’s Ajanta Art gallery opens an exhibition of paintings of the well known Kuwaiti artist Ms Thuraya Al Baqsami. Also opening on February 9 is Madhu Jain’s exhibition Nihonga — Nihonga means Japanese style painting and it involves the use of rock powders which are derived from natural mineral pigments. “And currently on show at the National Gallery of Modern Art is the month long exhibition titled River of colour: the India of Raghubir Singh”.

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