A question of interest
IN theory the RBI is conservative and autonomous in decision-making. In practice it is ultra conservative but highly vulnerable to subtle government pressure. Take the developments on Monday.

Anti-terrorism courts
PAKISTAN Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is a bully who knows when to retreat. He knew that he had stirred a hornets’ nest by setting up special military courts for the summary trial and execution to those involved in acts of terrorism in the country.

Undying racism
JUST a week ago, the UK and the USA provided one example each of their civilisational disease called racism. A report from London said that a black teenager, who was fatally stabbed in 1993, could tell no soul-searing tale.

BUDGET’S MERITS & DEMERITS
by Ashok Khanna
WHILE recognising the limitations of the Union Finance Minister in terms of slow growth of revenue and increasing government expenditure, I compliment the government on its efforts to focus on the panchayati raj and other such institutions.

Why the “Shakti” tests now?
by G. S. Bhargava
THE Japanese Ambassador to India, Mr Hiroshi Hirabayashi, recently posed a question about the “Shakti” (Pokhran-2) tests which has been at the root of most misunderstanding about India’s nuclear policy. Highly perspicacious, Mr Hirabayashi does not let his soft-spokenness or the characteristic Japanese aversion for polemics to come in the way of raising and debating issues.

Lapierre strikes gold with ‘A Thousand Suns’
By Tripti Nath
“WHAT kind of people fascinate me? Well, very beautiful women, people who know how to survive in the face of adversities,”said noted French writer, Dominique Lapierre at the end of his week-long visit to India.

LTTE global leader in Internet terrorism
From V. Krishnaswami
CHENNAI: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, already declared as a terrorist organisation by the USA is leading the world in Internet terrorism, according to informed sources. The LTTE and its supporters in the USA and across the world are pioneers in the use of cyber space to intimidate, threaten and spread fear, according to a US State Department report on terrorism.

“The theatre”
by J. L. Gupta
THE theatre? Where the actors act? The stage where the dramas are staged? Where anyone can pay and see the play. No! It is the place where an ophthalmologist operates. No unwanted visitor. Not free for all. Only for the patient. The person whose eyes need attention. He who has to undergo surgery. It is neat and clean. Free from fungus. Bereft of all bacteria. Thanks to the good doctor. I was allowed access. And what an experience!

75 Years Ago

National Baby Week
SIMLA: The Countess of Reading, with her well known interest in the welfare of the women and children of India, is inaugurating a National Baby Week throughout India and Burma which it is proposed should be held during the third week of January, 1924.

A question of interest

IN theory the RBI is conservative and autonomous in decision-making. In practice it is ultra conservative but highly vulnerable to subtle government pressure. Take the developments on Monday. Around noon Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha requests the bank through the public address system to reduce the interest rate. By evening the RBI has cut the bank rate by one per cent to 8 per cent, the lowest since the system was introduced two years ago. It does more than that. It adjusts another rate (repo) to make government-issued bonds slightly less attractive and also releases over Rs 3000 crore of impounded bank money. On the face of it, the last act is extremely surprising. The system is flush with excess funds, what with the government borrowing 13 per cent more money this financial year and money in circulation going up by nearly 20 per cent, nearly 4 percentage points higher than what the government and the RBI have targeted. What is more, the bank frankly admits that the demand for credit has been very low and the government has promised to borrow less this year.

One argument is that a lower bank rate will translate itself into a lower interest rate which banks charge on their loans and this would prod industrialists to borrow, invest and live happily and also let the government live happily. There is a catch though. If banks charge a lower rate on credit, they have to per force offer a lower rate on deposits. If they resort to this self-defensive mechanism, depositors will desert their neighbourhood banks in favour of UTI and other mutual funds whose returns have become very attractive after the recent tax concession. Of course banks can reduce administrative expenses by increasing productivity but they dare not think of it now as they are locked in a ferocious battle with their staff unions.

It is a messy problem from the viewpoint of individual banks. And perhaps even that of the RBI. But the Finance Ministry is smiling. The banks have to find takers for the extra cash, in fact even for much old cash. They have a symbiotic relationship with trade and industry and can gently pressurise them to avail of credit on easy terms (the lower interest rate). If trade and industry opt for this route, they have to invest and exploit the idle production capacity. Somewhere along the way, demand resistance should give way to resumed consumer spending and spark the cycle of growth, profit and, yes, more tax revenue. The ministry places much faith in the general welcome to the budget (it earned for Mr Sinha an unusual and unexpected hug from the Prime Minister on colour-soaked Holi day), life-giving sops to equity-linked mutual funds and the continued hip feeling in the stock market. The lower interest and repo rates will weaken the rupee against the dollar, and Mr Sinha will say it is all to the good. The Economic Survey has called for adjustments in the exchange rate as a boost to export and one expert opinion is that the rupee will slip to Rs 43 by the monthend and further to about 47 to a dollar by next year. Indian goods will regain the competitive edge in the international market.

Anti-terrorism courts

PAKISTAN Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is a bully who knows when to retreat. He knew that he had stirred a hornets’ nest by setting up special military courts for the summary trial and execution to those involved in acts of terrorism in the country. On February 17 the Pakistan Supreme Court not surprisingly ruled that the creation of the military courts was “unconstitutional, without lawful authority and of no legal effect”. The only point which remained unanswered was the reaction of Mr Nawaz Sharif to the verdict of the apex court. Legally, he had only two options, one was to request the Supreme Court to review its own verdict. The other was to comply. Had he not been a bully he may even have defied the highest court of the land and directed the military courts to go ahead with the implementation of the agenda given to them. In fact, for at least two of the several persons found guilty and sentenced to death by the military courts the ruling of the Supreme Court has come a little too late. By the time the apex court gave its ruling on the constitutional validity of the military courts the luckless two had already been executed. However, instead of seeking a confrontation with the judiciary once again, Mr Nawaz Sharif has evidently opted in favour of tactical retreat. It goes without saying that the objective of containing the acts of terrorism within Pakistan could be achieved equally effectively through the anti-terrorism courts which are to replace the military courts set up over three months ago. All cases before the military courts in which sentences were awarded but not carried out would stand transferred to the anti-terrorism courts.

The most positive feature of the latest decision is that the anti-terrorism courts would function under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court. Similar courts were set up for the first time in 1991 during Mr Nawaz Sharif’s first term as Prime Minister. The Supreme Court in its latest ruling made it clear that the government was free to seek the assistance of the armed forces for the maintenance of law and order and for fighting acts of terrorism within the country. But the armed forces could not be delegated judicial powers which must remain with the civilian authority. Now that the government has decided to follow the apex court’s directive a total of 153 cases relating to murder, banditry, highway robberies, abduction, kidnapping for ransom, disgracing of women and possession of illegal arms pending before the military courts would stand transferred to the special courts. Human rights activists are likely to oppose the new arrangement. As far as they are concerned, a summary trial, whether by a military or a civilian court, does not necessarily mean a fair trial.

Undying racism

JUST a week ago, the UK and the USA provided one example each of their civilisational disease called racism. A report from London said that a black teenager, who was fatally stabbed in 1993, could tell no soul-searing tale. But the hushing up of the patently racist crime through dilatory investigation and a clumsy judicial process did come up for discussion towards the end of February this year. One would like to say a word of praise in honour of the white British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, who summoned sufficient courage to speak thus before a large number of members of the House of Commons: "It will certainly lead to new laws, but more importantly, it must lead to new attitudes and a new era in race relations." Stephen Lawrence was waiting for a bus in south London when five white youths stabbed him to death. The police took a major part in giving the racial crime confusing and misleading colours. Stephen was killed because he was black. Mr Blair had this testimony of the unfortunate student's mother before him: "This society has stood by and allowed my son's killers to make a mockery of the law.... What I want to know is how my son bled to death while police officers stood and watched." Neville Lawrence and his wife Doreen had migrated from Jamaica at least 30 years ago. They could not change the pigment of their skin although they were full British nationals! The inquiry that followed the boy's murder produced a report which blamed "professional incompetence, institutional racism and failure of leadership of senior officers for the bungled investigation". As a retired Judge, Sir William MacPherson, said the other day, racial discrimination had to be turned into a more strict offence and the police and other departments had to be made more accountable. Every British white man should feel a sense of shame for the incompetence of the probe. His nation has failed in an area where citizens should be treated as equal human beings on the basis of their being God's children. The inhuman element of racism in the British police has been brought out clearly during the inquiry and the fate of the minorities remains bleak among hardened colonialists and racists.

The story from the USA is equally shocking. White supremacist John William King had to be sent to the death row for chaining a black man to a pickup truck and dragging him into pieces. The savage killing has been judicially described as "one of the grisliest racial crimes since the civil rights era shocked the Americans". The trial was quick. It found the killer unrepentant. King quoted Francis Yockey, one of the authors of the Nazi doctrine, to say: "I remain adamant about my innocence. The promise of success is with the man, who is determined to die proudly, when it is not possible to live proudly". The jury could not ascertain the hurt element of pride in James Byrd's murder. The black man had been given a lift on a road in Jasper (Texas) and then subjected to limitless cruelty. Racism is the belief that members of one or more races are inferior to members of other races. Usually, this attitude also involves the "conviction" that one's own race is superior to other races. Is Hitler really dead? Has the ghost of South African apartheid been laid to rest? Racism continues to be a prejudice and uglification of life. The civilised society of the UK and the USA must devise effective ways to end it.

BUDGET’S MERITS & DEMERITS
Deserving focus on panchayati raj
by Ashok Khanna

WHILE recognising the limitations of the Union Finance Minister in terms of slow growth of revenue and increasing government expenditure, I compliment the government on its efforts to focus on the panchayati raj and other such institutions. This would decentralise development, ensure effective utilisation of funds and stimulate the democratic process.

The recognition given to the need for downsizing the government in the Finance Minister’s speech is one of the most positive developments. Although the specific measures appeared to be on the periphery, I believe it is a good beginning. The decision to constitute the Expenditure Reforms Commission is another laudable development.

However, it is doubtful that the various measures announced in the Budget will be implemented speedily. It is felt that even if 25 per cent of the measures were implemented effectively, it would have a significant positive impact on business confidence and economic revival.

Simplification and rationalisation of indirect taxes in perusal of the recommendations of the Tax Reforms Committee would make tax administration easier. It is pleasing to note that the Finance Minister has accepted its suggestion regarding a reduction in the number of rates of excise and Customs duties. The rationalisation of excise duties in terms of bringing down the number of rates from 11 to 3 is a laudable achievement.

The Budget proposals relating to greater thrust to housing and construction, and a higher fund flow to the road sector are positive measures for rejuvenating rural demand by increasing investment in these areas, thus providing momentum to downstream industries. Nonetheless, this may be a case of too little, too late. In aggregate terms, I am disappointed with the lack of adequate measures for kick starting the sluggish economy. The root cause of the slowdown has been established as depressed demand in the economy. To this extent the Budget failed to announce a demand-stimulating strategy. There is a case for reducing the excise duty on wage goods so as to stimulate demand even at this stage.

As regards direct taxes, reintroduction of a surcharge of 10 per cent on corporate tax will adversely affect the financial health of the companies that are already facing a demand recession and squeeze in profits. In the long run this will result in a decline in the internal generation of resources and the availability of funds for research and development, modernisation, expansion, etc. Such measures will have a bearing on the capital market in the long run.

Incentives extended for industrial development in the north-eastern region are welcome. However, the hilly backward areas of North India have missed the attention of the Finance Minister. On the one hand, the hilly parts of the North have remained backward, and on the other, under-development has resulted in several socio-economic problems including deterioration in the environment and the depletion of natural resources. If the cause of economic development in this area does not get its due for some more time, it will lead to an irreparable damage to the environment besides giving birth to other problems. It would, therefore, be desirable that the industrial units established in this area also enjoy a 10-year tax holiday as envisaged under Section 80IA.

This tax-holiday benefit to cold chains was overdue in view of the fact that India’s economic development is closely linked to agricultural growth. It will, however, take a long time for cold chains to come up. Besides, it will be feasible only with the support of the government by way of cheap credit.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs has adopted what is called the Vision Document and the Citizen Charter. The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been for a long time suggesting the adoption of the Citizen Charter by the Central Board of Direct Taxes. It should be remembered that income tax payers come directly in touch with the department. Most of them are individuals who may not be in a position to avail themselves of the services of experts and professionals. The problems faced in obtaining a refund of the excess paid tax are being raised by tax payers at every forum. The Finance Minister should see to it that the Central Board of Direct Taxes soon adopts the Citizen Charter in letter and spirit, and starts giving services to the tax payers whom they have been talking of giving “samman”.

The PSU disinvestment target for 1999-2000 has been kept at Rs 10,000 crore, double that of the previous year. Considering the state of the capital market and slow economic activity, the target appears unrealistic. In this regard, the Chamber strongly urges the government to extend implementation powers to the Disinvestment Commission.

The disinvestment process has failed to take off for several reasons, and this area merits a deep thought. To revitalise the contribution of the PSUs towards industrial development, they would need to be subject to professional and autonomous management. The thrust of this management should be on the productive utilisation of the existing assets. Project expenditure needs to be optimised through adequate measures for effective cost and time management. It is imperative that the PSU management is held accountable for the performance of the unit concerned. To facilitate transparency, periodic performance reports of PSUs should be made available for public scrutiny. PSU disinvestment is unlikely to be successful unless the controlling stake is divested. The modalities and the implementation of the PSU disinvestment scheme can be entrusted to a consortium of merchant bankers.

I specially welcome the acceptance of our suggestion regarding the gold deposit scheme. It is hoped that the scheme would be driven by pragmatic considerations for maximum effect. The success of the gold deposit scheme will depend on a number of issues. The scheme is of great relevance in today’s context when precious foreign exchange is being spent on its import. However, its success will be closely related to its implementation strategy. It should be recognised that many households having gold reserves may not be able to furnish details about its source and also may not have filed tax returns declaring their wealth. Its success would, therefore, be doubtful. We are basically against any amnesty scheme which may be against the honest tax payers but in this case we feel that in the larger national interest the source of the gold deposited should not be enquired into.

The restoration of the 100 per cent MODVAT scheme, which was earlier restricted to 95 per cent, is welcome. This is expected to restore some confidence in the business community.

The importance assigned to dealing with the situation of the non-performing assets (NPAs) of the banking sector is an encouraging development. The measures for improving the credit flow to the SSI sector are also welcome. Particularly noteworthy are the simplification of the excise formalities for SSI units and the provision of monthly payment of excise duties.

The agenda for the development of the SSI sector, however, is far from complete. It is now clear that fiscal incentives alone would no longer be able to sustain growth in the SSI sector. A four pronged strategy covering the areas of finance, marketing, technology and infrastructure is crucial to nurture this important sector. The Budget proposals at best address only two of these issues.

The thrust on rural development and agriculture as it was in the previous Budget, is encouraging, particularly the decision to treat food processing as a priority sector for an improved flow of credit. Increased value addition and wider linkages can revitalise agriculture in the short term, while water management and better fertiliser usage are positive measures that are expected to have a long-term beneficial impact on agriculture.

The contribution of agriculture to the nation’s economic growth is significant, both in terms of its share of around 30 per cent in the GDP and the vast population that is dependent on this sector for its livelihood. The process of economic reforms thus far has had only a marginal impact on agriculture. An objective pricing of agricultural commodities is necessary to ensure adequate returns to farmers. Farm yields need to be significantly improved through wider and more effective dissemination of technology inputs and extension services. The large wastage in our agricultural production has to be eliminated through a greater focus on agro-processing and improved storage and transportation systems.

The significant omissions in the Budget proposals include the area of exports and tourism. I believe that the government can still initiate a number of measures for expanding the volume of exports from the country despite adverse developments in Asia and Latin America, resulting in a slow growth of global trade, and currency devaluation making exports from these countries more competitive in relation to India.

The importance of the major foreign exchange earning sector of tourism appears to be marginalised. I am disappointed with the Budget proposals in their failure to address to key issues for developing tourism in the country. Urgent efforts are required to harness the potentials of the Indian tourism sector. The overall incidence of multiple central and state taxes on tourism related areas needs to be brought down quickly to the level of India’s competing tourism destinations. Liberal imports are necessary to provide a quantum jump to tourism and hotel infrastructure, particularly in the transportation network. Numerous clearances required for the hotel industry need to be streamlined. A high incidence of negative cross subsidisation of aviation fuel for domestic airlines merit adjustment in view of the relatively much lower international prices.

Once again I believe the pronouncements of the Finance Minister while presenting the Budget in Parliament regarding local government and self-help institutions are of great significance. If implemented in the spirit of the announcement, the process can change the mechanics of governance in a positive manner.

(The author is the President of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.)

Why the “Shakti” tests now?
by G. S. Bhargava

THE Japanese Ambassador to India, Mr Hiroshi Hirabayashi, recently posed a question about the “Shakti” (Pokhran-2) tests which has been at the root of most misunderstanding about India’s nuclear policy. Highly perspicacious, Mr Hirabayashi does not let his soft-spokenness or the characteristic Japanese aversion for polemics to come in the way of raising and debating issues. He wanted to know why India, which had not followed up the 1974 test all these years, had to undertake the latest tests. Implicit in the question is the impression that the tendency towards what has been derided as nuclear adventurism of the BJP (described in the West as a Hindu nationalist party) had prompted them.

Domestic critics of the BJP-led government, notably Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the communists and Mr Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal, have been saying categorically that the tests were both unnecessary and inopportune. That has naturally reinforced the overseas misperception about the government’s inadequate prudence in matters of war and peace generally and nuclear non-proliferation specifically. It might have also been possible that the sharp Washington reaction to the tests and its refusal to dilute the economic sanctions following such a gesture to Pakistan were influenced by this feeling.

To answer Mr Hirabayashi’s question, one has to recall the CTBT negotiations in 1946. First, the USA and the UK, which had been resisting for about a decade Soviet efforts to finalise a comprehensive ban on nuclear tests, had warmed up towards it after Washington had perfected the technology for subcritical nuclear tests. Once that was accomplished, the USA with the UK in tow, warmed up towards the CTBT in its present form. Then France and China conducted a series of tests — unmindful of adverse international reaction — before opting for the treaty. Its provisions had been worked out among the USA China and the UK before the draft was presented to the Geneva conference. There was naturally much quid pro quo between Washington and Beijing in the process.

It was against this background that Mrs Arundhati Ghosh, as India’s representative at the Geneva talks, displayed her remarkable gift of the gab against the manoeuvre, virtually blocking the treaty at Geneva, taking advantage of the consensus principle in operation there for the disposal of the agenda. By shifting the negotiations to the UN General Assembly, the difficulty had been overcome and the treaty was passed with India, Bhutan and Libya opposing. Those crying hoarse about India’s isolation after the “Shakti” tests should note that that was the state of our international support in 1996.

The deadline for India’s action in the matter was September, 1999, when the treaty would come into force. That the US Senate might put a spoke in the wheel would be small consolation because the blame would be shifted to India, saying that its “Shakti” tests and resistance to the treaty were responsible for such Senate action.

If India’s vocal opposition to treaty had been backed by the tests undertaken two years later, our voice would not have been in the wilderness. We could have also joined the international community in endorsing the treaty because national security in the prevailing scenario of being caught between two nuclear weapon states was the real issue, more than the failure of the treaty to commit the nuclear powers to ultimate disarmament.

What would the tests have achieved in 1996 or what these did last year? By enabling India to update its technology, they have saved us from being helpless in the face of nuclear blackmail, if not actual threat. With the technology for subcritical tests within reach, India will not have to undertake fresh tests. So it can join the CTBT without earning the odium and the penal consequences of blocking an international treaty because India’s accession is essential for the treaty to come into force.

Also, in the context of the international hysteria whipped up by the USA and China, fresh nuclear tests by India would be unthinkable. In fact, the “Shakti” tests in 1946 would have attracted less opprobrium overseas. The adoption of the CTBT by the General Assembly has created the new, hostile ambience. So not joining the treaty now would be churlish. In this context, if the tests had not been conducted last year we would have been left naked, so to say — in terms of capability to deter nuclear blackmail — even if we stand out against the treaty on a false sense of prestige.

Still, Mrs Sonia Gandhi and others have been weighing in against the treaty saying that the government had caved in to US pressure in agreeing to join the treaty before the due date. Some of them have also indicated preference for more tests alleging that they were not comprehensive enough, and that thermo-nuclear capability remained to be achieved. The monthly publication of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has published the technical details of the tests to nail the charge.

“The theatre”
by J. L. Gupta

THE theatre? Where the actors act? The stage where the dramas are staged? Where anyone can pay and see the play. No! It is the place where an ophthalmologist operates. No unwanted visitor. Not free for all. Only for the patient. The person whose eyes need attention. He who has to undergo surgery. It is neat and clean. Free from fungus. Bereft of all bacteria. Thanks to the good doctor. I was allowed access. And what an experience!

The eye is a fine part of human constitution. It lays the whole world bare before us. It is the “pulse of the soul”. A window to man’s mind. Sometimes, an eye does more work than the two hands. It makes silence more eloquent than speech. When the tongue makes “offence”, the eye can “heal it up”. The feelings, the human emotions and the thoughts can be seen in the two tiny orbits.

And what a marvel of sensory reception is this visual apparatus. Enclosed in a socket — made up of “portions of several of the bones of the skull”, it has “1,000,000 optic nerve fibres and at least 150,000,000 receptors”. The retina that receives light and converts it into chemical energy for transmission to the brain has “about 7,000,000 cones and from 75,000,000 to 150,000,000 rods”. It has a protective mechanism — the first line being provided by the lid. It has the secretary organs, which function according to need. And yet it is subject to disease and disorder. One of the common problems being the cataract.

The human eye has a lens. It is transparent. It is avascular. An elastic capsule surrounds it. It lies behind the pupil. Its “transparency is the result of the regular arrangement of the lens fibres” which are being formed continuously. When there is interference, abnormal fibres that cannot transmit light begin to grow. Opacity appears. When it affects vision, it is called cataract. And thanks to the bio-technological progress, it can be extracted as soon as it interferes with the normal human activity. One does not have to wait for it to “mature”. And I have seen two extractions. The first one was last year. The second — a few days back.

What a change within almost a year. Last year, after administering the anaesthesia, etc, the surgeon proceeded to give a nick with a scalpel that had a diamond edge. The opaque lens was scraped and scooped out. The area was cleaned. The intra-ocular lens was inserted through the nick and adjusted. The cut was then stitched. There were three sutures. A dressing to provide quicker healing for the incision. And, finally, removal of the sutures. In all, it took about two weeks before the patient felt normal.

And now? It was a different story. No scalpel. No incision. Only a fine needle attached to what may, in a layman’s language, be described as an ultrasound machine. It is inserted into the area. No blood. The cataract is emulsified and sucked out. You can see it disappearing fast on the monitor attached to the surgical microscope being used by the surgeon. And through the same needle, the lens is inserted. No stitches or sutures. No dressing. After being kept under observation for a short- while, you are permitted to go home. One looks normal. Next day, you can attend to your daily routine. Sometimes, even spectacles may not be needed. Normal vision. What a relief! Life seems worth living all over again.

The few moments around this theatre were really more satisfying than in any other. Even educative. While driving back, a thought crossed the mind. Why does man make bombs and bombers when he can make machines to reduce human suffering? Why should the world be a theatre of war when we can have such theatres for human care and cure?

Lapierre strikes gold with ‘A Thousand Suns’
By Tripti Nath
Tribune News Service

“WHAT kind of people fascinate me? Well, very beautiful women, people who know how to survive in the face of adversities,”said noted French writer, Dominique Lapierre at the end of his week-long visit to India.

The journalist-turned writer, who arrived with his wife, for the world premiere and launch of his book “A Thousand Suns” in Calcutta, Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai, agrees that he is an Indophile. “We need six to seven lives and reincarnations to know enough about India. The country has a rich past and civilisation,” he pointed out.

The author of several bestsellers told newspersons here that he would return to India in June and stay “for as long as possible.”

Lapierre penned his timeless signatures on numerous copies of his new book in the green surroundings of a golf resort on the Delhi-Jaipur highway here on Sunday. Sharing a secret aloud with an inquisitive audience , he exclaimed with a chuckle: “Well, I can assure you that my next book will not be on Monica Lewinsky.”

Published by Full Circle, a Delhi-based publishing house and a sister concern of Hind Pocket Books, “A Thousand Suns” was first launched in Calcutta early this week on board a boat-ambulance in the presence of thousands of his sick beneficiaries.

In the past, Lapierre and his associates have donated proceeds from the two books for two boat ambulances meant for inhabitants of 50 islands spread across the Sunderbans in West Bengal.

The book presents spectacular events the writer witnessed and the extraordinary people he met in the course of his extensive historical research and journalistic assignments with . “Nearly all these encounters have shown me humanity’s strengths and grandeur,” he says in a note to the reader.

Lapierre vividly recaptures his interaction with different kinds of heroes — from Japanese terrorists in the holy land to freedom fighters in Portugal, from the spread of Nazism to the liberation of Paris and from Mahatma Gandhi to Mother Teresa. The book bears a moving testimony to the ability of mankind to endure, dream, and triumph.

Selected excerpts from the book were read aloud to a rapt audience at the resort by socialite, Bubble Sabharwal and other members of the Book Reading Club. The book echoes a famous South Indian proverb: “There are always a thousand suns beyond the clouds.” The book attempts to trace his growth from a detached newsperson to a participant concerned at the great human dramas he was privileged to behold.

Bibliophiles, socialites, celebrities and mediapersons swarmed Lapierre close to an hour with the unanimous request for “his signature.”

The guests described their meeting with Lapierre as great and thrilling. What more, it was a weekend well spent or, as the French would say “bon weekend”. Nobody’s breath went waste as Lapierre signed one book after the other with exemplary ease to the accompaniment of instrumental jazz and pop by music.

Author of bestsellers such as “The City of Joy”, “Beyond Love”, “Freedom at Midnight” and “Is Paris Burning?” Lapierre said the future of India could be shaped by its women. Citing an instance, he said, “If in one village, one mother leader knows how to read and write, it can make some difference.”

Asked if he was daunted by the enormity of the task he had set for himself, the author said he was inspired by Mother Teresa’s philosophy that even a drop of water in the “ocean of needs” can make the difference as the ocean is made of drops of water. “It is an enormous problem and cannot be redressed by a magic wand.”

Lapierre drew attention to the “widening gap between an affluent India and a poorer India” and said: “About 300 million Indians go to bed with their bellies only one-third full. This is something which should be of concern to all of us.”

The author told this correspondent over lunch that the book originally written in French was launched in France, Italy and Spain two months ago and has been received well. He expressed annoyance over the fact that the name of the British translator Kathyrn Spank was missing.

He told the publisher, Mr Shekhar Malhotra, that he wanted her name added tonight. “How will she feel if she were to see this book without her credit?”

The book, however, mentions Kathyrn Spink’s name in the acknowledgements penned by none other than Lapierre.

Mr Malhotra, who along with wife, Poonam, heads Full Circle, said: “We got the manuscript in English in the second week of December and when we checked our records yesterday, we found that the translator’s name had not been provided to us. We have apprised Lapierre of this but we have already ensured the inclusion along with other credits in the fresh print order of another 10,000 copies of the book.”

He added that apart from the royalty of the book, the total proceeds of the hardbound edition would be given to charity. “In fact, all the main booksellers have agreed not to take their margin on the hardbound edition priced at Rs 695. So far, we have received a thousand orders for the hardback edition.” he stated, adding that the book would also be published in Malayalam, Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi.

Why not Punjabi?” I asked. Mr Malhotra replied, “Most readers in the 20 to 40 age-group no longer read Gurmukhi. They prefer Hindi and English. Hind Pocket Books realised this and finally had to stop publishing books in Punjabi.”

The publishers are optimistic of the sales touching at least 2,50,000. They have reason to be: the response to the book has been overwhelming and 20,000 copies have already been sold. But, the gold Lapierre is expected to strike by way of royalty will be shared with the underprivileged sections of society.

Lapierre and his wife have supported a network of relief programmes throughout India. In the past 17 years, they have contributed over $ 6 million to these projects. Therres visit Calcutta regularly to monitor these projects.

LTTE global leader in Internet terrorism
From V. Krishnaswami

CHENNAI: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), already declared as a terrorist organisation by the USA is leading the world in Internet terrorism, according to informed sources. The LTTE and its supporters in the USA and across the world are pioneers in the use of cyber space to intimidate, threaten and spread fear, according to a US State Department report on terrorism.

The State Department has, for the first time, acknowledged manifestation of this new phenomenon in international terrorism over the worldwide web in its annual report entitled “Pattern of Global Terrorism”. The Administration noted in the report that, in August 1997, “a group calling itself Internet Black Tigers (IBT), claimed responsible for E-mail harassment of several Sri Lankan missions around the world”.

The report said this group is an elite department of the LTTE specialising in ‘suicide-E-mail bombings’ with the objective of countering Sri Lankan Government propaganda disseminated electronically. “The IBT stated that the attacks were only warnings,” the report noted. Sri Lankan diplomatic sources were reported to have said the use of cyber space to spread fear and terror by the LTTE had been taken up with the departments of Justice, State and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). “We also took our own measures to kill whatever messages were coming”, sources said, adding, “we took it up with the Administration” because it was causing a lot of fear and misgivings in the minds of not only Sri Lankans but Americans as well.

According to sources, “whether the Administration agencies were able to take any action against the channel being used by the LTTE and its supporters was not known. But created a lot of awareness apart from alerting the counter-terrorism people.

US Administration officials acknowledged that “this was quite a novel and sophisticated approach by the LTTE”, and said:” It really does go to show to what extent the LTTE will go to scare and intimidate people”. The officials said that, in the wake of complaints from the Sri Lankan government, the Justice department had begun closely monitoring these activities of the LTTE, as the use of “suicide bombers and this type of language had begun to scare people”.

Officials said that apparently, when the LTTE and its supporters in the USA who have been known to issue veiled threats to journalists whenever they write something critical of the LTTE, got the feeling that these activities were being monitored, they seem to have eased up on it. However, since the jury was still out on the legal ramifications of the use of Internet “to issue such threats and instil terror”, there was really nothing much the US Administration could do except have the FBI monitor these activities. But a close watch was being kept on these activities to prevent any of these threats being carried out.

As per the terms under which the LTTE and 20 other groups have been declared as terrorist organisations, anyone or any group that supports these organisations either with funds or material could be slapped with civil and criminal penalties, which include confiscation of property or incarceration — IPA

75 YEARS AGO

National Baby Week

SIMLA: The Countess of Reading, with her well known interest in the welfare of the women and children of India, is inaugurating a National Baby Week throughout India and Burma which it is proposed should be held during the third week of January, 1924.

Her Excellency has appointed a small representative committee in Simla with Sir Frederick Whyte as Chairman and Dr Margaret Balfour and Lieut Col Ross, I.M.S., as Joint Honorary Secretaries (Viceregal Lodge, Simla).

The purpose which Her Excellency has in view is to arouse the people of India not only in the large cities but throughout the mofussil to the importance of the preservation of infant life.

Nothing has impressed Her Excellency more than the excessive rate of infantile mortality in India, and she believes that a wider knowledge of the facts will strengthen the hands of those who are already engaged in the work of child welfare and will stimulate others to grapple with this problem.

The committee is now preparing the place for the National Baby Week, and is already in communication with Provinces.