Let Rajya Sabha meet
PRIME MINISTER Atal Behari Vajpayee should ask for a special session of the Rajya Sabha without any further delay to take stock of the Kargil situation.

No risk insurance
COMPREHENSIVE crop insurance, as unveiled on Tuesday, the day of inauguration by Prime Minister Vajpayee, looks like a half-baked and hesitant scheme.

Welcome assurance
WHEN the 12th Lok Sabha was dissolved in April there was no hint of the situation hotting up in Kargil. At the popular level Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was seen as having been wronged by a spiteful Opposition.

DEALING WITH PAKISTAN
by Sunanda K. Datta-Ray
LOOKING beyond Kargil and Mr Sartaj Aziz, we must ask whether India and Pakistan can ever enjoy normal ties. Even to pose the question is an ominous denial of the jubilation that was generated at Shimla in 1972 and of the goodwill that surrounded the Lahore declaration.

State of trade ties with China
by Arvind Bhandari
DURING External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh’s recent visit to Beijing both China and India affirmed their resolve to expand economic relations. This is easier said than done. The well-intentioned resolve needs to be translated into a reality by taking various concrete measures.

Dedicated to selfless social work
by Reeta Sharma
SHE is an epitome of a typical family culture inherited from her grandfather, Sardar Hari Singh Jalandhari. He was a freedom fighter, full of passion and compassion for his own countrymen, irrespective of their religion, caste or class as against his own affluence. “He was the first in shaping my personality”.

India gives a yard to gain an inch
By Shubhabrata Bhattacharya
PRIME MINISTER Atal Behari Vajpayee’s two-day sojourn to Dhaka while the guns continued to boom in Kargil perhaps underlined India’s keenness to improve bilateral ties with its other South Asian neighbours while its traditional conflict of interest with Pakistan was at its peak.

Chilled summer treat
by A. C. Tuli
ON a sweltering day, when you are out on a shopping spree, there is, of course, no dearth of shops and kiosks where you can have cold drinks to quench your thirst. But have you ever tried ice-chilled “ganeris”?

75 Years Ago

Mount Everest expedition
GENERAL Bruce’s second Everest Despatch records the complete assembly of the expedition at Phari where climatic conditions as well as those on the journey from Darjeeling have been favourable.

Let Rajya Sabha meet

PRIME MINISTER Atal Behari Vajpayee should ask for a special session of the Rajya Sabha without any further delay to take stock of the Kargil situation. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mohan Kumaramangalam was on unsound ground when he stated on Tuesday: “The question does not arise.” But he is not the Cabinet or the Prime Minister. Mr Vajpayee’s “no decision yet” does not mean the ruling out of a sensible suggestion. One need not question the veracity of the statement of Mr Gurudas Dasgupta and Mr J. Chittaranjan, members of the Rajya Sabha, to the effect that President K. R. Narayanan believes that there should be a session of the Rajya Sabha to discuss the "Kargil situation". The CPI had sent a petition to Mr Narayanan earlier this month requesting him to convene an emergency session of the Rajya Sabha. It had stated that the provision in the Constitution for the continuation of the Rajya Sabha, even when the Lok Sabha was dissolved, was meant to take care of various eventualities. Besides the CPI members of the Upper House who met Mr Narayanan, Dr Karan Singh, MP, has also made a cogent appeal to the Head of State on this issue. He has said: "As the Lok Sabha stands dissolved, the President should convene a three-day session of the Rajya Sabha, which is a duly elected House of Parliament, virtually coequal with the Lok Sabha, so that the representatives of the people get an opportunity to discuss the whole issue which affects vitally the security and well-being of the nation." According to this experienced member of the Upper House from the border state of Jammu and Kashmir, the session should be held in camera—without being telecast or covered by the Press. Dr Karan Singh and the CPI members have two things in mind. One, in the absence of the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha is our Parliament. The Upper House is no less important than the Lower House; it represents the states. Two, the elections will be held in September-October. The Pakistani aggression in the northern part of Jammu and Kashmir is on the verge of escalation. The enemy is entrenched in deep pockets of the mountainous region of Dras, Kargil and Batalik. Despite our superior fire-power and national strength, it would be foolhardy on the Union Government's part to assume that the intruders would be eliminated within a few days and that the Line of Control (LoC) would be respected according to the wishes of the group of eight highly industrialised countries (G-8).

No provision in the statute book says that the Upper House cannot meet until a new Lok Sabha is in place. If convened, the Rajya Sabha would send this transparent message to the people: the government's anti-aggression steps are being monitored on their behalf by a superior parliamentary body. Predictably, the Vice-President would preside over the session and the functioning MPs would have the feeling that the Council of States is not being downgraded or bypassed. The Rajya Sabha should not be seen as a component of Parliament whose business is confined only to the passing of Bills. The Kargil situation demands a national appraisal and a political consensus. Even otherwise, people want a reliable report on the current state of the health of the nation which only the Rajya Sabha can provide at the moment. Precedents for holding such sessions are not lacking. Remember the time when President's rule was to be extended in Tamil Nadu and the Lok Sabha was dissolved? There was no way to have a new House of the People constituted forthwith. The Rajya Sabha was convened to provide the seal of approval to the extension move. What is Mr Kumaramangalam afraid of? MPs' criticism of the BJP-led government's manner of handling the infiltration issue? A sharp focus on the statements of various ministers on the comprehensive defence scenario? The exposure of certain chinks in the armour of the country? These are minor issues. A session of the Rajya Sabha should be convened as soon as possible for the important reason given above: in the absence of the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha is Parliament.

No risk insurance

COMPREHENSIVE crop insurance, as unveiled on Tuesday, the day of inauguration by Prime Minister Vajpayee, looks like a half-baked and hesitant scheme. Everything about it is tentative and unimaginative and the government itself admits that firm premia rates will be worked out later on the basis of an actuarial study. That is the reason why those farmers who need extensive risk cover are forced to pay as high as 3.5 per cent as premium while wheat farmers with assured irrigation facilities will pay only 1.5 per cent. There is also a grey area about the period for which the insurance cover will be available. Should a kisan take out a policy for each crop or for the duration of an agricultural year? This is crucial and will mean double the premium in case of the two-crop pattern like in Punjab and Haryana. If the crop insurance, as the name implies, is for each crop then a kisan with an acre of land will have to have two policies for approximately Rs 10,000 each for kharif paddy and rabi wheat. In case the agricultural season is the criterion, one policy will do. In the first case the premium will be Rs 350 for one acre in this part of the country and in the latter case it will be Rs 200.

Another major snag is the different rate of premia for different crop. Bajra and oilseeds, sown in rainfed areas by marginal farmers, face constant threat of damage due to inclement weather. Nor do the farmers enjoy an assured market as wheat and paddy cultivators do, although a minimum support price is ritualistically announced every year. These kisans are the poorest lot; yet the new policy has fixed the premium rate at 3.5 per cent of the crop value. Of course the small and marginal farmers are entitled to a 50 per cent subsidy in the premium rate but that will be phased out in five years. Even so, the very high premium rate for the poor man’s wheat— bajra— exposes the insensitivity of the policy-makers to the concerns of the rural community.

It is a pity though. The comprehensive crop insurance plan has an excellent pedigree. It is the brainwave of the Prime Minister who announced it in his Red Fort speech last year. It promises a rich electoral harvest; if packaged and sold cleverly, it can bring in votes by the thousand. And the BJP is not exactly popular in rural areas. Yet some bureaucrats have hurriedly put together a scheme that will end up the way its predecessor did : an unwanted baby. It is still not too late. One, the rates have to be rationalised tilting the benefit in favour of those farmers who get hurt every year. Two, every farmer everywhere should be covered by removing the optional clause, and agriculture department officials should be given incentives to undertake the job of selling the scheme. The agents of the General Insurance Corporation cannot rise to the task, considering the promise of meagre commission. Why not use the television to aggressively publicise the new scheme?

Welcome assurance

WHEN the 12th Lok Sabha was dissolved in April there was no hint of the situation hotting up in Kargil. At the popular level Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was seen as having been wronged by a spiteful Opposition. Instant elections may have seen him win more seats for the Bharatiya Janata Party than Rajiv Gandhi won for the Congress in 1984. Of course, the entire Opposition joined hands against early elections, evidently to deny the BJP the advantage of a sympathy wave in favour of Mr Vajpayee. Nevertheless, the Election Commission fixed September-October as the tentative period for conducting the poll not because it suited the Opposition but because unscheduled elections in a country of the size of India cannot be held at short notice. Suddenly the timing of the Lok Sabha election has once again become the subject of political debate. BJP President Kushabhau Thakre's statement on the possibility of the elections being postponed in the event of the war-like situation caused by Pak infiltrators getting out of hand added to the general sense of anxiety. The main reason for the sense of disquiet among the concerned section of citizens was the total turn around in the stand of the BJP on the timing of the Lok Sabha. The party which was in favour of early elections was seen as preparing the nation for the postponement of the exercise beyond the constitutional limit of six months! Although BJP General Secretary Venkaiah Naidu went out of his way to deny the statement on poll postponement attributed to Mr Thakre, his effort failed to remove the sense of unease among the people.

However, now that Chief Election Commissioner M. S. Gill has categorically ruled out the possibility of poll postponement because of the "Kargil factor" there is no reason for a section of the people to stick to their irrational fear that the BJP may use the conflict in Kashmir for extending the period of remaining in power without being answerable to the Lok Sabha beyond the statutory limit of six months. Mr Gill comes from a family of distinguished soldiers and, therefore,it may be safe to presume that he is aware of the fact that the period which he has identified for holding the elections is also the period which would suit the Pakistan army for stepping up the level of current conflict in Kargil.To be forewarned is to be forearmed and the Election Commission should draw up contingency plans for holding elections before October 21, keeping in mind the unforeseen aspects of the "Kargil factor". The BJP has done well to deny the statement on poll postponement. However, since the issue has become part of the current political discourse it should, by way of abundant precaution, take the initiative of seeking an all-party commitment that the schedule for holding Lok Sabha elections would not be pushed beyond the statutory limit. It should be our collective endeavour to protect the sanctity of the Constitution with the same zeal with which our brave jawans are defending the country against foreign aggression. Of course, it would have been ideal to have an elected government in place as soon as possible. But it would be better to leave the framing of the poll time-table to the Election Commission which is expected to act keeping the national interest in mind as much as the soldiers are doing in Kargil.

DEALING WITH PAKISTAN
Attainable goals must get priority
by Sunanda K. Datta-Ray

LOOKING beyond Kargil and Mr Sartaj Aziz, we must ask whether India and Pakistan can ever enjoy normal ties. Even to pose the question is an ominous denial of the jubilation that was generated at Shimla in 1972 and of the goodwill that surrounded the Lahore declaration. But much as one would like to offer a ringing affirmative, optimism might be counter-productive. While no objective is too lofty to be pursued and no avenue must remain unexplored, realism demands that India should avoid desirable ideals and concentrate only on attainable goals. That means modest measures to ensure that Pakistan respects existing arrangements, honours its commitments and abjures sneaky tactics. At the same time, both sides must avoid friction on the ground, and contain the fallout when friction does occur.

To expect more would be unrealistic after the revelation that Pakistan was planning the invasion even while Mr Nawaz Sharif exchanged pleasantries with Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. It is a reminder of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s reference to a thousand years of war, and his grim reiteration that nations have no permanent friends, only permanent interests. There are global parallels of this meshing of historical, political, psychological, cultural and economic factors. England and France fought the Hundred Years’ War. France and Germany were contenders for European leadership. Arabs and Jews are children of the same Semite stock. Northern Ireland’s Protestants and Roman Catholics are still waging the world’s longest running civil war. These random examples suggest that while economic compulsions like the European Union can conquer deep-rooted antagonisms, people can live with a state of historical tension. Two common features also stand out. First, the absence of any specific cause of animosity. Second, the difference between private perception and official posture.

Translating these factors to the India-Pakistan relationship, the cross-border friendships that men and women of goodwill in both countries form may be genuine enough but do not influence national positions. Mr Riaz Khokar, Pakistan’s former High Commissioner, was one of New Delhi’s most popular diplomats. Many Indians no doubt count him a close personal friend. His wife made the most of her connection with East Bengal where her father, an ICS officer, spent much of his career. But there is no more staunch upholder of Pakistan’s point of view as opposed to India’s than this engaging couple who can separate social niceties from political duty, something that Indians who return starry-eyed from the hospitality of a trip to Pakistan usually overlook. Second, the relationship’s ponderous baggage of history and psychology cannot be forced into the straitjacket of issues. Like all India-Pakistan dialogues, the Jaswant Singh-Sartaj Aziz talks were significant not for what they covered but for what they did not even touch.

All Pakistani roads lead to India. This is not a question of memory alone for teaching perpetuates the mythology that justified Partition. Indeed, legend-making has improved on history to propagate the vision of a country that existed long before 1947. Like the diplomat, others too are convinced that India is in unfair possession of a Pakistani heritage that extends beyond Kashmir. One must seek the reasons for such self-delusion within Pakistan, ask what happened to the symbolism of the white stripe in its green flag and to Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s quixotic dream of Muslims and Hindus being reborn as only Pakistanis. It is part of the paradox that Indian journalists and diplomats who have served in Pakistan say that the authorities there want undisguised enmity. Shadowy official organisations sit up and take note when an Indian cultivates Pakistani sources, makes friends locally and tries to understand the dynamics of life. The only good Indian for them is a hostile Indian. Hence the welcome accorded to the Bharatiya Janata Party which Pakistanis had expected would provide grist for their propagandist mill.

“After 50 years Pakistan is unable to agree upon who we are as a nation, where we belong, what we believe in, where we want to go,” said Najam Sethi, the distinguished Pakistani journalist and Editor of The Friday Times. “Are we Pakistanis first and Punjabis, Sindhis, Baluchis, Pathans or Mujahirs afterwards? Or vice versa? Do we belong to South Asia or the Middle East? Are we Muslims in a modern Muslim state? Are we supposed to be like Saudi Arabia and Iran which are orthodox Islamic states, or like Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Algeria, which are liberal Muslim states? If none of these fits the bill, what then? Whose version or vision of Islam do we follow? The Quran and Sunnah say some. Well, if the Quad-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal had their own interpretations of how the Quran and Sunnah were to be applied in the real life of a modern state like Pakistan, the problem has been compounded by the myriad interpretations of their interpretations. And the problem doesn’t end there.”

The military and intelligence lobbies that have made hay out of this confusion find it rewarding to fan the flames of anti-Indian sentiment. The Kashmir issue must be kept alive at home and abroad. Conversion of the Line of Control into an international frontier — as Bhutto wanted — would mean the end of the dispute and of the political and military opportunities that Kashmir in ferment presents. Keeping the pot boiling is the only way that they can ensure their supremacy.

India can do little about the domestic quagmire that sustains such tortuous thinking. But it can be more assertive about its own rights and about Pakistani violations. It can be more forthcoming. If there were only about 600 intruders and more than 400 were eliminated (both being official claims), the threat would not have been as grave as it obviously still is. Reading between the lines of government releases, it also appears that the Srinagar-Leh road is not as safe as we are led to believe. Anxious to salvage something of the Simla and Lahore spirit, New Delhi fails to see that there is nothing to salvage save the promised word: both were public relations exercises while Islamabad went about securing its long-term ends.

The silver lining is Pakistan’s dependence on China and the USA. There is opportunity here for reviewing New Delhi’s own foreign policy to gain maximum leverage. Once the scales have dropped from India’s eyes, negotiations on confidence-building measures can be resumed in the spirit in which Washington and Moscow discussed detente during the Cold War without ever losing sight of national priorities. Grand dreams of peace and friendship must wait for some later date.

State of trade ties with China
by Arvind Bhandari

DURING External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh’s recent visit to Beijing both China and India affirmed their resolve to expand economic relations. This is easier said than done. The well-intentioned resolve needs to be translated into a reality by taking various concrete measures.

China’s trade with India constitutes only 0.4 per cent of its global trade, whereas India’s trade with China comes to 2.3 per cent of its total external trade. Industrial collaboration between the two countries is almost nil. The sad fact is that after the border conflict of 1962 relations between the two countries have not improved fully, and this manifests itself in low-key economic ties.

Nothing demonstrates the thinness of India-China economic relations more starkly than the fact that at present even the basic infrastructure for trade between the two countries does not exist. For instance, banking arrangement between India and China is inadequate and needs urgent attention. Further, there are no direct air and shipping links between the two countries. This is a big handicap because the land route into Tibet via the Himalayan passes — particularly the Nathu La route on the Sikkim border which Nehru traversed during the”Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai” days — cannot be used until the Sino-Indian border dispute is resolved.

When President Jiang Zemin visited India towards the end of 1996, it was expected that an agreement to establish a direct shipping route between India and China would be signed. But what was signed was only an “enabling agreement” on maritime transport which provided for favoured treatment to each other’s vessels, and avoidance of double taxation from shipping income. This is a far cry from establishing a direct shipping link. Likewise, the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation had also prepared an agreement for establishing a direct air link between New Delhi and Beijing, but nothing happened.

An air services agreement was signed by the two countries in December, 1988, providing for the designation of one airline with only one point of call — Beijing for the Indian carrier and New Delhi for the Chinese carrier. However, capacity and route schedules could not be finalised, resulting in a deadlock. Various rounds of talks until November, 1991, proved inconclusive.

The nine-year deadlock was, however, broken in May, 1997 when a fresh air services agreement was signed in Beijing between the Chinese Vice-Minister for General Administration of Civil Aviation and the Indian Civil Aviation Secretary. It envisaged two weekly frequencies between Delhi-Mumbai and Beijing Shanghai by designated airlines. The Indian carriers would be entitled to operate scheduled services in both directions on one intermediate point of choice and one point of choice in Japan or in the west coast of the USA. Likewise, the Chinese carriers would be entitled to operate on one intermediate point of choice and one point of choice in the Gulf or in Africa.

But the agreement of May, 1997, has not been implemented so far. Unequal fleet strength of Air-China and Air-India is resulting in delay. Whereas Air-China has 62 aircraft, Air- India has only 28 and is having difficulty in sparing planes for the India-China sector.

A delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industry visited China in the recent past. This was followed by a reciprocal visit by a delegation of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. Both countries have organised exhibitions in each other’s capital. Visiting businessmen and their Indian counterparts always make over-optimistic noises whenever they meet in conclaves. For the Chinese and Indian businessmen to be able to accomplish anything meaningful it is necessary that the governments in New Delhi and Beijing should adopt a supportive attitude. Grant of visas will have to be liberalised. Names cleared by the respective chambers of commerce in the two countries should qualify for speedy grant of visas.

Because of natural momentum, the India-China trade (excluding Hong Kong) has grown as follows: $200 million in 1990, $285 million in 1991, $339 million in 1992, $676 million in 1993, $895 million in 1994, $1.16 billion in 1995, $1.40 billion in 1996, $1.83 billion in 1997 and $2 billion in 1998. Apart from the limited volume, another reason for the small value of India-China trade is that it is confined to low-value items. China imports iron ore, chrome ore, manganese and iron and steel. The main Indian imports are coal and coke. There is much scope for trade in manufactures. Also, since China is now trying to correct its asymmetrical development and focusing on the central region, India can export agro-products to that country.

Of the six Sino-Indian joint ventures approved in China in 1993 with a total investment of $4.1 million, only two have gone on stream. One company, Orind Refractories (China) Ltd, has 100 per cent Indian equity of $1.5 million, but most of the money has come from NRIs. In India there is only one joint venture between the two countries for manufacturing steel in Orissa.

Chilled summer treat
by A. C. Tuli

ON a sweltering day, when you are out on a shopping spree, there is, of course, no dearth of shops and kiosks where you can have cold drinks to quench your thirst. But have you ever tried ice-chilled “ganeris”? Most probably not, for the roadside vendors of “ganeris” are now a vanishing tribe, thanks to our cola-quaffing youth who would not buy “ganeris”, which they consider a trifle too rustic a fare to be fit for their consumption.

Sugarcane peeled and cut into small, cylindrical pieces — that is how one can define “ganeris”, or “ganderis” if you please. To chew and suck “ganeris” when you are feeling tired and thirsty is a delectable experience, provided the sugarcane from which these have been cut is soft and juicy.

I remember my childhood days in Dehra Dun when, along with my cronies, I used to visit a well-known public park for our daily quota of fun and frolic. At the entrance of this park, two vendors of “ganeris” would always be found catering to a milling crowd of customers. The one whom we patronised was named Milkhi Ram. This man was something of an artist at his job. The loving care with which he went about his business was delight to watch.

He would arrive at the gate of the park much earlier than the other fellow. From the stow-away of his rehri, Milkhi Ram would take out the stack of sugarcanes, with their leafy tops and hairy roots lopped off. Before he started peeling them with a U-shaped knife, he would carefully examine each sugarcane from end to end, to make sure that it was not cracked or disease-ridden. When the required number of sugarcanes had been peeled, he would proceed to make “ganeris” with a cutter that looked like a nut-cracker. In a short while, “ganeris” would pile up into a big mound before him.

His next move was to put the “ganeris” in a big tub filled with fresh water. Thus neatly washed, the “ganeris” would be ready for Milkhi Ram to arrange them on the rehri. This task required ingenuity and a feel for architecture. Milkhi Ram had ample of both these qualities.

A huge slab of ice occupied the centre of the rehri-top. Around and on top of this slab, Milkhi Ram constructed a grand edifice using “ganeris” as building material. It was done in such a way that each piece was fully chilled for the prospective customer. When the structure was completed to the last detail, the architect embellished it with a profusion of rose petals, by way of a finishing touch.

At this stage, his rival “ganeriwala” would also arrive with his rehri loaded with the stuff (this fellow carried out his ganerimaking operations at home). Theirs, however, was a healthy rivalry. They bore each other no ill-will. In fact, it was the customer who benefited by their competition.

If Milkhi Ram laced the “ganeris” with a few drops of rooh keora, the other fellow’s ingenuity led him to season the “ganeris” with a pinch of black salt and a few drops of lemon juice. But Milkhi Ram had an edge over his rival. He had a very neat and efficient way of serving his customers.

You ordered a measure, he would pick up a leaf-pot (doona) of the corresponding size, fill it with “ganeris” add some rose petals by way of bonus, sprinkle a few drops of rooh keora on it, and finally slap a handful of crushed ice on top of the “ganeris”.

We would patiently wait for our turn. When we got our leafpot of “ganeris”, we retired to a quiet part of the park. Chatting and laughing, we would begin our assault on the “ganeris”, we felt there was nothing half as delicious on earth as our ice-chilled, rose-scented and rooh keora-sprinkled “ganeris”.

Dedicated to selfless social work

by Reeta Sharma

SHE is an epitome of a typical family culture inherited from her grandfather, Sardar Hari Singh Jalandhari. He was a freedom fighter, full of passion and compassion for his own countrymen, irrespective of their religion, caste or class as against his own affluence. “He was the first in shaping my personality”.

Parminder Beri, a renowned household name in Jalandhar district, has grown to be a manifestation of beauty, kindness, compassion, concern and with an inclination to extend support with a never-ending stamina. Any hour of the day, people can knock at her door for advice, counselling, direction and infrastructural help in marital discord, matters of domestic violence and women-related issues.

After doing her schooling from Nehru Garden Government School, Parminder graduated from the famous Khalsa College of the city. In the mid-’50s Yashji, Editor of Daily Milap, had taken the initiative in founding a Milap Bal Sangh, which received an overwhelming response from the entire North India. “That was the second and everlasting influence on my life”. Eventually, Parminder’s leading kindly light was Oshima Raikhy, who guided her into the selfless social work in 1973. By this time, this stunning beauty was happily married and blessed with two children. But she has since then responded unfailingly to the beckonings of the world beyond her own life. Known for her forthright expression and frankness (read her charmingly disarming) and at times ruthlessly unsparing replies to rather routine and even monotonous queries:

Q: You have made me inquisitive about your “everlasting influence” What was it all about?

A: (She replies with a unmistakable sense of devotion and reverence). Milap Bal Sangh was a huge organisation. The enthusiasm of children and variety of activities was to be seen to be believed. Even renowned Amjad Ali Khan of today gave his first performance at the Milap Bal Sangh platform. I also grew with it as did others. On behalf of its Child Welfare Council, theatre workshops were held to build nationalistic passion in each child. Under this banner we staged a play, “Bal Sansad” (Children’s Parliament) written by Yashji, which was presented before Pt Jawaharlal Nehru at Chandigarh. Most of my values, morals and ethics were built through Milap Bal Sangh and I shall remain indebted to it forever.

Q: What kind of social work were you required to do when Mrs Oshima Raikhy initiated you into it in 1973?

A: That period was a learning process. I was thoroughly groomed through the Red Cross work and the Hospital Welfare Association. I was exposed to the misery, poverty, helplessness and agony of my own countrymen. Soon the Association for Social Health in India (ASHI) was revived. At that time it had no grants or any other funds but involvement of all of us was so passionate that visits to villages and other field work was carried on with full momentum.

Q: How much has ASHI grown in the past 35 years that you have been associated with it in Jalandhar district?

A: Initially ASHI meant counselling only. So we held meetings with the people who needed such help. Then we began holding workshops, seminars on various issues related to health, women and children. ASHI’s old name had an appendage. “Moral Hygiene” which interestingly meant a targeted step to wean away women who were trapped into prostitution. Anyway, gradually family disputes began pouring in and today we are flooded with cases of marital discord, dowry demands, domestic violence etc. Today we have ASHI counselling centres in all major police stations in Jalandhar.

Q: Which class of our society is mainly suffering in the aforesaid cases?

A: Every class around us is involved in dowry demands, domestic violence and marital discord. There is no such classification like “Bada khandan” or “chhotte log” any more. If one was to go by figures, well, a majority of the cases come from poor classes. But that is because the poor suffer from no inhibitions of social shame and, hence, they neither indulge in desperate efforts to hide nor have the resources and connections to suppress it.

Q: Is the institution of marriage breaking in our country?

A: No, I don’t think so. In India it can not break for at least another 100 years as marriage is not only associated with religion, which runs in the veins of Indians, but also inculcated through traditions and conventions. If today we are getting signals of marriages breaking, it’s because women have become more aware and problems which remained suppressed in yesteryear are now getting highlighted.

Q: Do you think the deep-rooted gender bias in our country is gradually getting eliminated?

A: Only very marginally and that too in urban areas alone. Even today when we travel to villages under the banner of ASHI for immunisation camps, women bring only their sons and never their daughters for the shots. Mothers themselves suffer from this kind of mindset. So how can you expect its removal from men?

Q: Do you think women themselves are responsible for the bitterness that often exists between a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law?

A: Neither women nor men are responsible for this age-old bitterness which often seeps in. There are a number of factors which have abused this otherwise beautiful relationship like a mother’s possessiveness and insecurity, a daughter-in-law’s inability to understand it, economics of a family, ignorance and jealousies of other relatives, who often fuel it, etc. However, what I feel sorry about is that even today educated parties fail to nourish this relationship. The suffering that the mother-in-law has faced in her life, she tends to pass it on to her daughter-in-law. In many other cases a daughter-in-law remains cold, distant and self-centred, making no effort to build the relationship.

Q: How is your personal experience as a mother-in-law?

A: (Bursts out into a tinkling laughter) I have two daughters-in-law. I frankly told both of them that my own mother-in-law never ill-treated me so there is no reason for me to be in any way bitter with them. Also that nobody can equate anybody’s mother. Hence, don’t expect me to be like their own mothers. So let’s be what we are. I said they both should try to discover each other as friends. That would not only bring happy companionship, but also ensure peace in their family life. Both of them are the best of friends with me and have never flouted any accepted traditions in our home.

Q: Does counselling help people? What is your experience?

A: It helps only people who are in a grave crisis. But we tend to forget everything once we are out of a critical situation. The only way to influence people’s mind is via religion. I wish all saints of various religions and sects, that have capacity to draw masses, should religiously sermonise as to how to be a good father, mother, wife in modern day life; how alcoholic fathers not only ruin themselves but demolish the psyche of their entire family; how jealousies, rivalries, greed and consumerism can ruin us from being good human beings etc. It’s time our religious leaders adopted the role of counsellors.

India gives a yard to gain an inch
By Shubhabrata Bhattacharya

PRIME MINISTER Atal Behari Vajpayee’s two-day sojourn to Dhaka while the guns continued to boom in Kargil perhaps underlined India’s keenness to improve bilateral ties with its other South Asian neighbours while its traditional conflict of interest with Pakistan was at its peak. The Prime Minister went to Dhaka along with the External Affairs Minister and the National Security Adviser. Even the Foreign Office spokesman who holds the daily briefings for the national and international Press, was part of the delegation. Kargil thus was put on the backburner for these two days. Maybe this was meant to give a message to international community that India was not on a “war mode”.

This apart, Mr Vajpayee’s visit did not get India any bonus points in the contemporary scenario, overshadowed by the engagement of the Indian armed forces along the Line of Control (LoC). The very fact that the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force, which spearheaded Bangladesh’s liberation effort 28 years ago, is for the first time engaged in a battle with Pakistan again was not reflected at any stage during the visit. Even the brutalisation of the bodies of Indian soldiers and pilots, which, had it happened in Europe, would have perhaps given rise to demand for a war-crimes trial, did not figure in the agenda.

True, under the charter of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), bilateral issues are not taken up between other members. But one had expected that when the Prime Minister of India had spared time to visit Dhaka in the shadow of Kargil at least a word of sympathy for the violation of Indian interests would be forthcoming. What India is perceived to have achieved in Cologne was not visible in Dhaka.

India’s role in the liberation of Bangladesh is a chapter that Dhaka would rather wink at. The official pamphlets on Bangladesh’s country profile prepared by the Dhaka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs make no mention of the fact that the nation was created after the Pakistani commander, Lieut-Gen A.A.K. Niazi, surrendered to Lieut-Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora, the joint commander of the Indian and Bangladesh Forces on December 16, 1971. While a mention is made of the genocide by the Pakistan military, the fact that it were the Indian soldiers who laid down their lives in the bid to put an end to the agony of the people of the nation now called Bangladesh, is wiped out of the records. There is no memorial in Bangladesh devoted to the Indian soldier. Kargil, no doubt, therefore was out of bounds for the agenda in Dhaka.

In real terms, the euphoria and bonhomie of 1971 has evaporated, notwithstanding the inclusion of the following words in the speech of Sheikh Hasina in the bus journey inauguration function: “The role of India and her people in our great War of Liberation is an important chapter in the history. During our War of Liberation 10 million people, leaving their homeland, had taken shelter in India. The people of Bangladesh still remember the rare example set by India and her people with gratitude for saving a huge number of refugees, providing them with food, clothing, shelter and healthcare and extending moral support towards the liberation war. It is natural that our bilateral relations with India, as our closest neighbour, should be increasingly strengthened”.

Seeing the goodwill of the liberation war evaporate, some intellectuals, notably Justice Habib-ur-Rehman, have even questioned if in 1971 everyone in Bangladesh was for an end to the Pakistani rule. These intellectuals have concluded that perhaps 25 to 30 per cent of the populace of erstwhile East Pakistan was inimical to the liberation war. And here lies the root of the present problem: excepting for the brief years between 1972 and August 1975 when Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman was brutally assassinated, the influence of “Pakistan ideology” - hate India - has reigned supreme in Bangladesh. India is a convenient whipping boy. The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) may be using it today; the ruling Awami League, when it was not in power, till three years ago, was not averse to resorting to this timetested popular posture while opposing the government.

In the past few years India has given a lot. The Ganga Waters Treaty, which came in the regime of Mr H.D. Deve Gowda. India’s cooperation in returning Bangladeshi refugees after the successful conclusion of the Peace Accord on Chittagong Hill Tracts came thereafter. Now the bus service is likely to herald more multimodal communication links. People of Bangladesh travel to India for trade, healthcare and pilgrimage. It is essentially a one-way road. India has given a creditline of Rs 200 crore mainly to be utilised in the infrastructure sector. India has also agreed to give duty free access to Bangladesh goods on a non-reciprocal basis.

The attitude of Bangladesh was best reflected in the following lines of Sheikh Hasina at the joint press conference: “Bangladesh will decide what goods it wants to export (to India). The first priority (in doing so) is ours. (It is) only after that, India can choose. They (India) cannot decide on the goods to be imported from Bangladesh alone”.

While Bangladesh has gained a yard, it has hardly conceded an inch to India. The corridor to North-East India is a far cry. A treaty on transit too is unable to get out of rough weather: India’s offer that Bangladesh transport will be used to carry the goods within Bangladesh territory (up to the Indian border and from the corresponding border point in India, Indian vehicles will ferry the containers which will be loaded on to Bangladesh carriers at the border) has also not elicited a positive response so far.

Bangladesh in recent years has discovered its natural gas potential which is varyingly estimated between 10 trillion cubic feet and 23 trillion cubic feet of gas. The American companies which have exploited the gas reserves are keen to sell. India is willing to buy. Political pulls and pressures are coming in the way of Dhaka saying yes. India has conceded on Tinbigha. But even now the delimitation of the border is not complete. Other enclaves remain. Some 6.5 miles near Commilla in Bangladesh on the Tripura border are yet to be delineated. There are 53 common rivers, including Teesta, over whose waters the two countries are yet to reach an agreement.

Apart from these, there is the question of activities of the Pakistani ISI aimed against India’s North-Eastern states using Bangladesh as its base. Transborder infiltration remains a sore point. The Assam extremist organisation, ULFA, leader Anoop Chetia has been nabbed by Bangladesh but his handing over to the Indian authorities is still a far cry.

The bus from Calcutta was named “Souhardya” - meaning close, friendly rapport. In real terms this is the missing link in India-Bangladesh relations. Despite “Souhardya” crossing the border by road and travelling to Dhaka atop a river ferry, friendliness for India is essentially an alien concept. Mr Vajpayee’s visit was an effort towards negating this. Perhaps that is why he conceded a yard without hardly gaining an inch.

75 YEARS AGO

Mount Everest expedition

GENERAL Bruce’s second Everest Despatch records the complete assembly of the expedition at Phari where climatic conditions as well as those on the journey from Darjeeling have been favourable.

Transport animals have been successfully hired again at Phari. The porters are behaving well.

The members of the expedition have been put through a strict medical examination at Phari to test their fitness for climbing. On the way up the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides at Kalimpong welcomed the expedition.