Plan assistance row
MANY state governments are going to be short of funds to implement their Plan projects with the caretaker government's decision to introduce a new formula for the release of Central assistance.

Sam shows the way
FIELD Marshal Sam Manekshaw's visit to the Command Hospital in Delhi for cheering up the soldiers wounded in action in Kargil proved as correct — if proof was needed — that a soldier never retires.

Defeatist syndrome's toll
FRUSTRATION, initially, breeds depression which often finds its way into violence and destruction. A manic syndrome of identifiable aetiology has been seen resulting in episodes of killings in Jammu and Kashmir after the state government, with sufficient support from the Central Government, has been able to reduce terrorism in an effective manner.

CORRUPTION & COMMUNALISM
Value-judgement in politics
by M.G. Devasahayam
THE last thing the people of this country expect the politicians to do is to pronounce value-judgements. Yet this is precisely what the politicians seem to be doing, if the recent spate of statements on corruption vs communalism is any indication.

Meaning of US breather for UN
by Arvind Bhandari
THE cash-starved United Nations won a breather on June 23 when the US Senate gave a near-unanimous approval to a piece of legislation to pay nearly $ 1 billion of the USA’s long-standing debt to the UN. But the gesture came with a two-fold caveat. One, the UN would cut its expenditure. Two, the American contribution would be progressively reduced from 25 to 20 per cent.

China disappoints Nawaz Sharif
By P.N. Jalali
PAKISTAN Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s China visit is learnt to have been a major disappointment for Pakistan. The six-day trip was cut short apparently because of Beijing’s lukewarm response to Islamabad’s demand for support on Kargil intrusion. But beyond that Pakistan has been sorely disappointed with China’s response to Pakistan’s effort at internationalising the Kashmir issue.

Vegetable seller builds hospital
By Ranjita Biswas
AT a hospital in Hanspukur, a village on Diamond Harbour Road on the southern fringe of Calcutta, a patient convalesces after a micro-surgery of the eye. Nothing unusual about it, except that the patient hails from neighbouring Bangladesh and has come to the fledgling hospital drawn by its reputation as well as the nominal flat rate of Rs. 1800, compared to the rapacious city nursing homes which charge five times the amount.

Thy name is ecstasy
by Ramesh Luthra
SWELTERING heat and profuse sweating! Ough! Involuntarily I look towards the blazing sky with my screwed eyes. Not even a patch or a speck of cloud. Dry parched land stretches till the eye can see. It tells the sad plight. Poor birds with their mouths agape run for shelter amongst the dry and withered leaves which themselves are yearning for a drop of water. Human hands go up in prayer with throbbing hearts because their very existence is in question.

75 Years Ago

Send off to a popular Head Master
MR Murli Dhar M.A, SAV, Head Master, DAV High School, was the recipient of many farewell parties on the eve of his departure from Quetta.

Plan assistance row

MANY state governments are going to be short of funds to implement their Plan projects with the caretaker government's decision to introduce a new formula for the release of Central assistance. The formula that comes into effect today has it that the Plan funds to the states will be made available by the Union Finance Ministry only after getting clearance by the Planning Commission's adviser for the state concerned. Thus the state governments will be, in a way, at the mercy of that powerful bureaucrat to keep their projects going. He will take into account factors like the state's record with regard to the expenditure on the Plan projects in the previous months and whether there have been any serious financial irregularities.The criterion which is suspected to be misused against an "unfriendly" state government is "inadequate performance in important sectors". This amounts to unilaterally changing the Gadgil formula , evolved in 1969 and revised in 1980, for the Central Plan assistance to the states.

A senior Congress leader, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, questioned the caretaker government's decision on Monday, but certain state governments have been up in arms against the Centre ever since they received a letter on the subject from the Secretary to the Planning Commission, Dr N.C. Sexena, in May. Their objections appear to be genuine. What is sought to be done is in sharp contrast to the past practice of facilitating decentralisation in financial matters. What is most surprising is that this highly significant change is being brought about by a defeated government, and that too on the eve of the general election. Those who have raised objections believe that the whole idea is to choke the flow of funds to selected projects in the states which do not have governments belonging to the BJP or friendly parties. This is being done in the name of enforcing fiscal discipline. If the intention is really what the Planning Commission's letter says, the matter should have been discussed at a meeting of the National Development Council or at least with all the Chief Ministers before taking a final decision. In any case, it is unfair for a caretaker government to modify the Gadgil formula, which has been in operation for nearly two decades. This formula takes into account the population of a state and its relationship with the gross domestic product, besides other significant factors to avoid injustice to any state.The Central assistance comes to nearly 37 per cent of the state's Plan funds, and according to the Sarkaria Commission, its proper use affects the life of almost every ordinary person, unless the money is siphoned off by scamsters or corrupt functionaries or ministers. The Kerala government has petitioned the President of India to stop the caretaker government from going ahead with the controversial decision. Whether the President will intervene or not remains to be seen.

Sam shows the way

FIELD Marshal Sam Manekshaw's visit to the Command Hospital in Delhi for cheering up the soldiers wounded in action in Kargil proved as correct — if proof was needed — that a soldier never retires. The nature of his job changes with the passage of time. Of course, the Field Marshal is not the only Indian to have had the good sense to visit the soldiers in hospital. Kapil Dev and Ajay Jadeja were recently in Srinagar for doing what evidently comes naturally to most Indians in moments of a national crisis. In fact, the agony of the soldiers injured in the logistically unequal combat against the Pakistan-trained infiltrators in Kargil made Kapil issue a statement against continuing sporting ties with Pakistan until "that country learns to behave". During the earlier wars Sunil Dutt endeared himself to every Indian by taking music troupes to the forward areas for entertaining and boosting the morale of the jawans. For the jawans, words of praise from ordinary Indians are as much a source of encouragement as visits by celebrities for boosting their morale. The reason why celebrity visits, or even those undertaken by members of welfare organisations, are different from similar gestures from politicians is, perhaps, self-explanatory. For obvious reasons politicians refuse to follow the dictum that what does not come from the heart is not worth doing.

Of all the VIP visits to forward areas and Command Hospitals the one by Field Marshal Manekshaw should be placed in an exclusive category. He is, after all, Independent India's most celebrated soldier. In the last war with Pakistan in 1971 his magnificent leadership ensured a relatively easy victory for India. What made Sam Bahadur, as he was affectionately called [behind his back, of course] by the troops, an extraordinary officer and a perfect gentleman was his ability to command the respect of the jawans and the officers in equal measure. Even today he is the role model of most soldiers in the Indian Army. The officers respected him because he gave them their due and the jawans simply adored him because he did "bhangra" with them, shared their simple meals and even jokes with them in their own dialect. After the fall of Dhaka, Gen Jagjit Singh Arora took the spotlight at the ceremony in which over 90,000 Pakistani troops laid down arms — one of the biggest such events in the history of modern warfare — "because he had led the troops in actual combat". For him, personally, the most memorable moment of the 1971 conflict was when he bluntly told Indira Gandhi that the decision to go to war with Pakistan was hers, but the timing of the war would be decided by the military establishment. How many soldiers today can claim to have the moral courage and professional pride to resist unwarranted political pressure? Sam Bahadur continues to be such a popular figure among officers and gentlemen that his visit to the Command Hospital in Delhi may become the talking point among the troops fighting the difficult war in Kargil. The nation owes him a debt of gratitude for not remaining a faceless ex-serviceman during Indian's current moment of crisis.

Defeatist syndrome's toll

FRUSTRATION, initially, breeds depression which often finds its way into violence and destruction. A manic syndrome of identifiable aetiology has been seen resulting in episodes of killings in Jammu and Kashmir after the state government, with sufficient support from the Central Government, has been able to reduce terrorism in an effective manner. All terrorist outfits are now on the defensive and whatever aggression and fear they are generating can be traced to the failure of their old tactics. During the past two days, the Jammu region has witnessed a series of nefarious activities engineered by the Hizbul Mujahideen. This outfit's fractured profile can be seen in the massacre of 17 members of three Muslim families on Monday night in Mora Bacha village in Poonch district. The Hizbul factions fought among themselves and, in the process, shot innocent persons, including women and children. The killer group has alleged that the members of these families had stopped giving it such information as can be useful to Pakistan. There is no sure way to stop rumour-mongering and the spread of suspicion. Almost a year ago, 19 persons were put to death by a terrorist splinter group in Sailan village in the same area. The Surankot tehsil is full of militants. The security forces have a hard time there. This is not to say that tehsils like Mendhar or pockets in Anantnag are less disturbed. Two civilians were butchered near Mendhar the other day. Anantnag is mourning the death of 12 labourers who were slain on Tuesday night. There is no point in blaming the intelligence agencies for such incidents. Pakistani agents are in panic after the success of the steps towards intra-communal harmony taken by the Farooq Abdullah government.

It is usual for the marauders to blame the security forces for the massacres caused by their feuding allies. But the life and limb of the citizen are precious and the government must strengthen its counter-militancy network to have more information about the disintegrating groups which have been doing blood-letting for a decade. Those who are prone to underplaying the role of the ISI in destructive incidents in various parts of India should reorient their thinking. They should travel to West Bengal and parts of the North-East. They should also have a look at cross-border terrorism financed and fuelled by the ISI through various routes. Drug money is being used lavishly to buy arms and ammunition. Local people in sensitive places are being incited against the administration and we have disturbances in Assam, West Bengal, central Bihar and, of course, Jammu and Kashmir. Punjab is fortunately peaceful, but the memories of the 80s and the early 90s continue to haunt the residents. What is the way out? Security cover has to be made available at vulnerable points. The agencies that protect lives should not be defamed, reprimanded or punished on the basis of conjectures and hearsay. The police have to be made aware of their responsibility because no other organisation can fight localised disturbances. The murders in Jammu and Kashmir reflect the increasing disappointment among the terrorist outfits whose nexus with the ISI has been weakened considerably. A similarity can be seen in the recent happenings in Pulwama and Patna. Distance does not matter. Militant networks have spread themselves far and wide. Every Indian is an instrument of vigilance wherever he happens to be. It is his duty to protect his fellow-citizens. The realisation of this obligation can prove to be a strong deterrent in situations like those faced by people in Jammu as well as in Jalpaiguri.

CORRUPTION & COMMUNALISM
Value-judgement in politics
by M.G. Devasahayam

THE last thing the people of this country expect the politicians to do is to pronounce value-judgements. Yet this is precisely what the politicians seem to be doing, if the recent spate of statements on corruption vs communalism is any indication.

In the seventies, during the JP movement, Jayaprakash Narayan had written, “As I diagnose the root cause of the country’s critical state of health, I identify it unhesitatingly as corruption and precipitous fall in the moral standards of our politics and public life.” Now, a quarter century after these anguished words were written by the Second Mahatma, peddlers of coalition politics are traversing the length and breadth of the country, propagating the “gospel” of venal corruption. Statements and pronouncements like “corruption is preferable to communalism”, “corruption is not a public issue” and “corruption cases against Ms Jayalalitha are nothing but political vendetta”, are ringing loud in the electronic media and staring from the newspapers almost every day.

Ironically, of all the politicians, communists, once known for probity in public life, are turning out to be the greatest apologists for corruption! From the”venerable” Harkishen Singh Surjeet to the local factotum N. Shankariah, almost the entire Left appears to be working over time to sanctify corruption and give respectability to Ms Jayalalitha and others, who are facing charges of bribery, criminal misconduct and misappropriation of public funds.

Afflicted by this virus and emboldened by the weakness and meekness of our judicial process, several other political entities have entered this bandwagon and are flooding the media. There are any number of people with sanctimonious statements of value judgement. The most distressing statements to emanate thus far are from Dr Manmohan Singh in his capacity as Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s emissary to Ms Jayalalitha and certain functionaries of the Tamil Manila Congress (TMC). These are distressing, in fact agonising, because while Dr Manmohan Singh commands high respect for honesty and integrity in public life, the TMC is a movement born out of a public backlash against the Congress party’s striking electoral alliance in 1996 with the “Queen of Corruption”, as they used to describe Ms Jayalalitha! Considering the fact that they are doing this just to get a handful of seats (not more than 10, as reported) to contest in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections is, indeed, unfortunate.

Be that as it may, these statements sanctifying corruption and giving certificates to its avid practitioners cannot be allowed to go unchallenged and unquestioned. While the ills of communalism are known and should be countered effectively, it need to be realised that corruption is like AIDS which sucks up and destroys the basic value system on which a society is founded and has no cure if allowed to go beyond a certain stage. Furthermore, unbridled corruption in government and public life could be a major causative factor in instigating and inflaming communal passions and disturbances. Besides, corruption, by slowing down economic development and accelerating poverty, is a major factor in causing and sustaining social inequalities and tensions.

Nobel laureate, Gunnar Myrdal in his famous treatise, “Asian Drama —An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations”, has candidly brought out the political and economic dangers of corruption. According to him, on the political side, “the significance of corruption in Asia is highlighted by the fact that wherever a political regime has crumbled— in Pakistan and Burma, for instance, and, in China — a major and often decisive cause has been the prevalence of corruption and misconduct among politicians and administrators and the resulting spread of unlawful practices among businessmen and the general public. The problem is of vital concern to the governments of South Asia, because the habitual practice of bribery and dishonesty paves the way for an authoritarian regime, which justifies itself by the disclosures of corruption and the punitive action it takes against the offenders. Elimination of corruption has regularly been advanced as the main justification for military takeovers.”

Turning to economic development, Professor Myrdal has this to say: “Corrupt practices are highly detrimental to any efforts to achieve modernisation ideals. The prevalence of corruption raises strong obstacles and inhibitions to development. The corruption that is spurred by fragmentation of loyalties acts against efforts to consolidate the nation. It decreases respect for and allegiance for the government and its institutions. It often promotes irrationality in planning and limits the horizons of plans.”

India, being ranked among the 10 most corrupt countries in the world by Worldwatch, always has the danger of collapsing politically and economically if corruption is allowed to survive and sustain itself in the system of governance. A recent World Bank study on the impact of corruption in developing countries, including India, depicts the following picture:

* Macroeconomic stability is undermined due to the loss of government revenue, excessive spending and leakages. The costs of this instability are mostly borne by the poor.

* Foreign direct investment is severely constrained. Sometimes even stopping totally.

* Since corruption increases the costs of doing business and small firms bear a disproportionately large share of these costs, small entrepreneurs are badly affected.

* Since corruption compromises on pollution norms, the environment is endangered.

* The poor suffer the most since they get to low quality public goods and services, and have no “exit” option such as private schooling and healthcare.

* There is a negative correlation between the level of corruption and the level of investment in the economy. This severely constrains economic growth and employment generation.

Besides this negative impacts, large-scale corruption can be instrumental in causing death and destruction like illicit liquor tragedies, accidents due to faulty construction/equipment and the consumption of spurious drugs and medicines. What is worse, by spawning inequity and injustice, corruption many times is the underlying cause for the growth of terrorism and militancy, that have taken a heavy toll of human lives.

Corruption is the single major factor in keeping India poor and backward despite having the best of natural and human resources. It is a major destabilising factor in politics and economics. If the modern day “advocates” of corruption are allowed to have their way, they may as well wind up the Indian judiciary and scrap all the laws and statutes that help in punishing the corrupt. By pronouncing that “cases against Ms Jayalalitha are politically motivated”, they are casting aspersions on the independence and integrity of India’s higher judiciary, which has more than once held that there is prima facie case for the trial of the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

By stating that “corruption is not a public issue”, these worthies are, in fact, clamouring for this heinous practice to be declared legal and respectable! They are also insulting the intelligent , and indeed mocking at the common man who is carrying the burden of “the loot of the public exchequer” on his frail and slender shoulders.

It is a fallacy to compare corruption with communalism and pronounce value-judgement. In fact it is a crude attempt to hoodwink the people and institutions of this country and to protect the venal elements that have brought the nation to such a sorry pass. Those who state that “corruption is not a public issue” should remember the fate of Rajiv Gandhi in the 1989 elections and of Ms Jayalalitha in 1996, when corruption was the major issue and led to their downfall.

Communalism is no doubt a scourge and a menace that needs to be combated with all our might. But by no stretch of the imagination could this be made into a smokescreen for justifying corruption at high places, which is far more venal and debilitating to the nation and its civil society.

At the height of the national Emergency in the seventies, a set of Congress sycophants had sought to make pronouncements like “discipline is preferable to democracy.” But the electorate in the ensuing 1977 elections roundly and soundly repudiated this. This time around also the Indian electorate, known for its innate wisdom, will surely reject attempts by political busybodies to “dry-clean” corruption using communalism as the “washing agent.”

Meaning of US breather for UN
by Arvind Bhandari

THE cash-starved United Nations won a breather on June 23 when the US Senate gave a near-unanimous approval to a piece of legislation to pay nearly $ 1 billion of the USA’s long-standing debt to the UN. But the gesture came with a two-fold caveat. One, the UN would cut its expenditure. Two, the American contribution would be progressively reduced from 25 to 20 per cent.

Because of Washington’s tendency to increasingly remind the world that he who pays the piper calls the tune, the American demand for cutting the flab in the UN is being viewed as a misuse of financial clout by a self-centred bully. But, shorn of political overtones, the demand is not without legitimacy.

The UN supports an expensive, over-bloated bureaucracy. Feather-bedding is evident even on a perfunctory visit to the UN headquarters in New York. The UN staff is claimed to have been reduced by 20 per cent since 1986. In the past four years alone 1000 positions were eliminated. Despite this downsizing, there are about 10,000 employees — 4,730 in New York and the rest dispersed throughout the world — costing the UN approximately $ 500 million per annum in salaries.

The UN needs to re-examine its basic personnel policy. In fact, this re-examination should cover not just the UN but also what is called the entire “UN system”, which means the UN Secretariat plus 28 other organisations — like the World Bank, the IMF and the WHO — which come under the umbrella of the world organisation. The UN system employs 53,333 people plus a large number of consultants costing about $3 billion per annum in salaries.

Time has arrived to jettison the foreign expert syndrome. These foreign experts are proving to be white elephants because of the notion that they have to be maintained at Western standards. Worse, they are often inefficacious because of their ignorance of local conditions. Many developing countries, India being prominent among them, have attained a sufficiently high level of professional and technical competence to provide the UN system with equally good local experts.

In New Delhi alone there are at least 100 diplomats/experts working under the UN system. Each costs over Rs 100,000 a month if you take into account the astronomical rent in the plush areas where they live. If the UN system were to phase out foreign experts, it would eventually begin to globally save $ 1.2 billion to $ 2 billion per annum.

The take-it-or-lump-it cowboy style in which the USA is trying to unilaterally reduce its contribution is not justifiable. The American contribution at 25 per cent admittedly appears to be a huge amount considering that 95 countries are paying as little as the minimum rate of 0.1 per cent. In 1997 the contribution of these countries was assessed at only $ 1,08,770, whereas the USA was required to pay $ 3,213,92,073. The contributions of China and India are as low as 0.73 per cent and 0.31 per cent respectively.

But the USA is actually a beneficiary of a 1974 General Assembly resolution which stipulated a maximum rate of 25 per cent for any contributor. Otherwise, according to the assessment formula based on national income adjusted against per capita income, the American contribution should be about 30 per cent. If the Americans renege on their financial commitment, the other major contributors — Japan 15.43 per cent, Germany 9.04 per cent, France 6.40 per cent, Britain 5.31 per cent, Italy 5.19 per cent and Russia 4.45 per cent — may follow suit, resulting in the collapse of the UN. At present the total unpaid dues of member-states to the UN exceed $ 3 billion.

Anyhow, the US Senate vote does not automatically mean that the UN is about to receive a big cheque from Washington. The proposal now goes to the House of Representatives where conservative Republicans last year tagged on anti-abortion provisos to similar legislation. The House conservatives may try the same tack again.

Cost-cutting apart, the UN is in urgent need of reforms. The five-member Security Council has become an anachronism. The march of history since World War II requires that the Council should be expanded to meet two imperatives of the changed global situation. Firstly, Japan and Germany, being leading economic powers, have to be accommodated. Secondly, the developing world has to be given representation through the allotment of one permanent seat each to Asia, Africa and Latin America. The obvious contenders for these three slots are India, South Africa and Brazil.

Moreover, if the five new members of the Security Council are denied the veto power, and the old members are allowed to retain it, the very purpose of expanding the Council would be defeated. Ultimately, much would depend on the accommodativeness of the Americans.

Thy name is ecstasy
by Ramesh Luthra

SWELTERING heat and profuse sweating! Ough! Involuntarily I look towards the blazing sky with my screwed eyes. Not even a patch or a speck of cloud. Dry parched land stretches till the eye can see. It tells the sad plight. Poor birds with their mouths agape run for shelter amongst the dry and withered leaves which themselves are yearning for a drop of water. Human hands go up in prayer with throbbing hearts because their very existence is in question.

The long wait is answered at last. Clouds emerge in white and tiny shapes floating in the sky, gradually getting grey and black, then covering it like a thick sheet. Waters fall on the thirsty earth and Lo! The romance of the monsoon begins. Black clouds hover over the sky heralding the monsoon season. The moment the first showers of the season embrace the earth, the latter emanates out of sheer joy and gratitude such rich fragrance as men go ecstatic. Inhaling this fragrant air is the greatest bliss in life, indeed. Nature has such hidden treasure in store for us. It is all dry in the back courtyard. It seems to be the eighth wonder of the world — it is drizzling in the front courtyard. One hand dry and other wet — isn’t it? Nothing else can beat nature’s mystery. I presume rightly do the farmers go hilarious in welcoming the season and burst forth, “rim jhim, rim jhim barso re.”

I sit near the window watching the bubbles bursting instantly. Anon I am transported to the good old days. The treasure trove of old memories spills unforgettable events ... coming home playfully with classmates when the heavens poured. Satchels overhanging our shoulders and raising our faces time and again to enjoy the bliss of the drops right on our faces! What a rich experience! The very soul gets stirred. And we played with puddles en route home. Fun, simple fun, it was floating paper boats in the rivulets and running along with them setting so many things at stake. I would give up all the wealth of the world if the lost moments could be recalled. Sweet nostalgia takes me along .... Mother’s scolding flashes upon my memory. But just the other moment I recollect she would treat me to a rich feast of “pakoras” and sweet ‘poodas’. Sometimes she would make sumptuous “kheer” with a good helping of dry fruit — to her it personified the very month of savan.

In the adjoining room I hear the lovely but melancholic song “savan ke badlo un se yee ja kaho” being played on the transistor. I feel sorry for the lovers who pine for each other and yearn for the union in this season. I am reminded of the festival of swings, bangles, mehendi and what not — the fantastic teej we celebrated so enthusiastically.

Monsoon ushers in total rejuvenation all around. Dry parched land is a thing of the past. Instead green is the colour which greets the eye everywhere. How I cherish the glow-worms at night! Nature’s lamps! There is the harmonious music of the frogs at night! Suddenly the heavens pour down, I can’t resist. Rush out and embrace the cool refreshing waters and come forth, “Jhoom, jhoom ke nacho, savan aya re.” Thy name is ecstasy, monsoon.

China disappoints Nawaz Sharif
By P.N. Jalali

PAKISTAN Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s China visit is learnt to have been a major disappointment for Pakistan. The six-day trip was cut short apparently because of Beijing’s lukewarm response to Islamabad’s demand for support on Kargil intrusion. But beyond that Pakistan has been sorely disappointed with China’s response to Pakistan’s effort at internationalising the Kashmir issue.

Beijing has instead laid emphasis on bilateralism as the means for resolving disputes between the two South Asian nations, and cautioned against foreign intervention. This runs diametrically opposite to Pakistan’s plans for internationalising the Kashmir issue. Instead of receiving backing for its Kargil misadventure, Nawaz Sharif was cautioned against Western intervention. China has laid stress on resolving conflicts through bilateral discussions. The two South Asian nations were warned against foreign (Western) intervention — an approach which runs counter to Pakistan’s line on Kashmir.

This should not, however, be construed as marking any qualitative change in China’s material support for Pakistan. While not endorsing Pakistan’s actions in Kargil, China has signed a crop of agreements with Pakistan, including one on the joint manufacture of a fighter aircraft on way to fortifying their mutual ties.

In order to correctly understand the implications of this seemingly “dual stance” of China towards India-Pakistan conflict in Kargil, it would be worth-while to assess the true import of developments which took place in quick succession preceding Nawaz Sharif’s visit to China.

A notable event in the chain of events was the presence of Pakistan’s army chief, Gen Parvez Musharaf, in Beijing around the time when India began air strikes in Kargil to oust the intruders. Immediately afterwards, Pakistan Foreign Minister Sartaz Aziz air-dashed to Beijing to muster its support for its misadventure in Kargil.

The visits roused apprehension that Beijing might revert to its traditional stance of extending unconditional support to Pakistan in its “hour of crisis,” and “cold shoulder” Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh’s scheduled visit to Peking, if not ‘postpone’ it.

But far from obliging Islamabad, Beijing not only adhered to the schedule finalised earlier for Mr Jaswant Singh’s visit, but renewed the invitation to him, apparently to remove the misgivings that China had tilted towards Pakistan to oppose India.

The Indian Foreign Minister’s visit to Beijing not only proceeded smoothly, but more important resulted in evolving agreement on perceptions relating to “regional security,” marking a significant step forward towards improving bilateral relations, which had been marked by mutual suspicion and recrimination since May, 1998, in the wake of India exploding the nuclear device.

In the backdrop of these developments, it was not unrealistic for New Delhi to expect that Nawaz Sharif’s visit to muster Beijing’s support against New Delhi on Kargil issue would be a disappointment. In fact, beneath the surface, the Sharif visit to Beijing has been much worse for Pakistan since the backbone of the strategy for internationalising the Kashmir issue has been broken. Instead, Pakistan has received from China a lecture against the dangers of Western intervention. Beijing has, in the event, stressed bilateralism as the means to tackle the Kashmir issue.

This leaves Islamabad with the option of persuading USA to “internationalise” Kashmir issue as a quid pro quo for its withdrawal from Kargil. New Delhi has rightly stated that it would oppose third party intervention or mediation on Kashmir, but would discuss it as part of the package formulated at the official level discussion with Pakistan.

The USA has now also supported bilateral discussions on Kashmir, while at the same time lending its “helping hand” to India and Pakistan in “mediating” over their differences. As part of this approach, the USA is lobbying for holding talks on Kashmir under a broader spectrum of options — under Simla agreement to Lahore declaration and finally along the UN resolutions on Kashmir.

While the first two options are acceptable to New Delhi as providing a feasible framework for a Kashmir solution, the third one leaves much room for foreign intervention which far from resolving the dispute over Kashmir will further complicate it. — IPA

Vegetable seller builds hospital
By Ranjita Biswas

AT a hospital in Hanspukur, a village on Diamond Harbour Road on the southern fringe of Calcutta, a patient convalesces after a micro-surgery of the eye. Nothing unusual about it, except that the patient hails from neighbouring Bangladesh and has come to the fledgling hospital drawn by its reputation as well as the nominal flat rate of Rs. 1800, compared to the rapacious city nursing homes which charge five times the amount.

The Humanity Hospital is the brainchild of an illiterate vegetable vendor, Subhasini Mistry. Her courage and conviction are as gargantuan as her frame is small. What drives her is the passion that no one should die for lack of adequate treatment, as her husband died, in 1971, even though the ailment was not so serious.

“Though we are not very far from Thakurpukur with its hospitals and nursing homes, there was no succour for poor people like us. When he died and left me and four young children to fend for ourselves, I promised myself that I would establish a hospital in my village so that others did not suffer like me,” recalls Subhasini.

Life had to go on. Subhasini moved to the city where a few relatives lived. After placing her two sons as domestic workers in well-to-do homes, she took to selling vegetables.

“Each morning at 4 a.m. I would get up, finish the household chores, walk 2 km to Sealdah station where vegetables were sold cheap at wholesale rates. By hiring a thelagari (push cart) from there, it became possible for me to sell the vegetables at the railway station bazaar near Park Circus,” says the doughty Subhasini.

From the amount she earned, Subhasini somehow managed to save a little to put her son Ajay in an orphanage so that he could study further, having proved to be a good student when his father was alive. Today Ajay is a qualified doctor, a gold medallist from a prestigious medical college in Calcutta and the force behind Humanity Hospital.

Though illiterate herself, Subhasini saw to it that her children had the basic minimum schooling. “I begged for books from babus as I couldn’t afford to buy them. People helped and I’m grateful.” Her elder daughter who is married passed her school finals and the younger one is now economically self-sufficient.

Working at a relentless pace and scrimping untiringly, Subhasini managed to buy a small plot of land in her husband’s village. By then Ajay, well into his brilliant career, had started thinking about a charitable hospital. Some sound advice from his professor helped. Subhasini donated the land and that was how a thatched roof hospital came up along the muddy track in Hanspukur, where monocropping is still the norm and 80 per cent of the people are poor.

Soon local people as well as social workers, doctors and well-wishers pitched in with donations. The foundation stone of the Humanity Hospital was laid in 1996 and the inauguration was done by the then Governor of West Bengal, Mr Raghunath Reddy.

At present the institution functions mainly as an outpatient hospital though it does boast of 10 beds. Future plans include a five-storeyed complex with 700 beds. Lack of funds is the principal drawback. The state government does not extend any help since the hospital is held by a charitable trust, says Ajay. In keeping with their economic status, patients are charged between Rs 5 and Rs 2, though almost 75 per cent of the patients cannot manage even those amounts and are treated free. Medicines, too, are provided free.

Maintenance, is an uphill task, as it includes free food for the post-operative patients and salaries for the staff. However, the doctors, all reputed physicians from the city, render free services, says Ajay gratefully. And it is the reputation of these doctors that brings patients from far off places. With 11 functioning departments, the hospital has a daily average of 50-60 patients.

With one dream having come true, Subhasini has several others in the queue such as an orphanage and school in an adjacent plot for children who are deprived of education. “I wish things would move faster, but what can I do? I want the maternity ward to come up as soon as possible. Being a woman I know the problems of the women here,” she says with a rueful smile.

Having realised her dream, Subhasini, now in her 50s, should be content to rest at home after all these years of toil. But she still makes her vegetable selling rounds when she feels fit. “Why should I rest? Life is work. Life will bring its storms and troubles, you must not let them overtake you. I have done what I had to do,” she says philosophically.

For the people of Hanspukur, where there is no other hospital or health centre within an 8 km radius, Humanity Hospital is the only hope. “We go there because we know they will look after us, even if we don’t have the money,” they assert with conviction.

And that is the biggest compliment they can pay Subhasini — Women’s Feature Service

75 YEARS AGO

Send off to a popular Head Master

MR Murli Dhar M.A, SAV, Head Master, DAV High School, was the recipient of many farewell parties on the eve of his departure from Quetta.

Besides those arranged for by the students, the admirers and the public of Quetta mustered strong in the Sanatan Dharma Putri Pathshala on Sunday, presided over by K.B. Ardeshir D. Marker, OBE, to bid adieu and show their appreciation of his good work.

Among those present were: R.S. Hakim Ratan Chand, Treasury Officer; Mehta Nihal Chand, Financial Assistant to Honourable A.G.G; Captain Balfour Clark, G.E, R.S; Diwan Hofe Chano, City Magistrate; L. Hari Chand E.A.C; Diwan Bhag Ram Forest Officer; R.B. Dewan Lachhman Dass; R.B. Dewan Ladha Ram; Shri Abdul Samad, Inspector of Schools; Mr R.W. Rai; Gosain Parma Nand Assistant Health Officer; Dr Vishnu Ram Ji, Dr Balam Ram, L. Rama Nand Superintendent and Sardar Kachpal Singh.