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Sunday,
November 18, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Punjab’s benevolent ruler THIS
ABOVE ALL
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RESPONSE
COMMENTARY Palestine: The core issue
Harihar Swarup
Advani’s symbolism: Heads I win tail you lose
Humra Quraishi
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Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Punjab’s benevolent ruler
POPULARLY known as the Lion of Punjab, Ranjit Singh was not only the greatest man of his time in Punjab but was also among the few leading figures of the history of that period. Because of his extraordinary qualities as a fighter, conqueror and an empire builder, Ranjit Singh is often compared with Napoleon Bonaparte, Bismarck and Akbar. Hero of many accounts by European travellers and Indian chronicles, Ranjit Singh is perhaps the most enduring character in Sikh history. His reign was marked by benevolent rule, all round development, secular values and patriotic fervour. Ranjit Singh was much ahead of his times in almost every sphere — army organisation, civil administration, foreign policy and above all, the treatment of his subjects belonging to diverse faiths and cultures. Rising from the position of head of one of the 12 confederacies in Punjab, Ranjit Singh became the first Indian ruler who stemmed the tide of continuous invasions from the North-West and succeeded in carrying his flag into the homeland of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali — Afghan invaders and plunderers of Hindustan.
On November 13, 1780, Mahan Singh became the proud father of a child who was destined to play a unique role in Indian history by establishing a mighty empire in North India. The child was given the name of Budh Singh but when his father got the happy news in the thick of battle, he decided to change the name to Ranjit Singh, meaning victor in battlefield. True to his name, Ranjit Singh rose to be a renowned warrior who fought many battles, sometimes in adverse situations and never suffered a major defeat in his long and chequered career. Based upon papers in the family archives of the distinguished Fakir brothers, who served as Ministers under the Maharaja, Fakir Syed Waheeduddin, a descendant of Fakir Azizuddin, mentions an interesting story, which had a great bearing on Maharaja Ranjit Singh rule in Punjab. According to Waheeduddin, when Ranjit Singh entered the Samman Burj of Lahore fort he found a shadow, which appeared like a tiger. When Ranjit Singh tried to retreat he heard a voice calling him from inside the tower. “Ranjit Singh, don’t be frightened, come in.” Upon entering the Burj, Ranjit Singh found himself in the presence of a frail, white-bearded old man of medium height who motioned to him to come up, and when he had done so, prophesied that he would soon establish an independent kingdom in the Punjab and advised him to observe the following rules. To say his prayers every morning without fail, never to hold court sitting on the throne of Mughal emperors; to treat his subjects equally, without distinction of caste and creed; to respect and befriend Fakir Syed Ghulam Mohiuddin of Lahore, a godly man who had been appointed spiritual guardian of the new state and whose sons would serve it truly and well. The story may or may not be literally true but what is true is that the commandments of the godly man remained the epitome of Ranjit Singh’s policies and personal conduct till his death in 1839. Though himself a devout Sikh, the Maharaja had equal reverence for the religious places of other faiths. Soon after becoming the ruler of Lahore, the first act of the Maharaja was to offer prayer at the Badshahi Masjid adjacent to the Lahore fort. The Maharaja gave liberal grants to the shrines of Jawala Mukhi in Kangra, Jagannath Puri, Benaras, Haridwar, Dargah of Mian Mir in Lahore and the birth place of Baba Farid in Pak Pattan. According to a popular story when the Maharaja and Fakir Azizuddin were walking on the outskirts of Lahore, they came across a bullock cart carrying a huge book. The Maharaja stopped the driver and asked as to what he was carrying. The driver replied that he was a calligraphist and was carrying the manuscript of the Holy Quran, which was his lifetime’s work. When the Maharaja asked the man as to where was he heading for, the man replied that he was going to the ruler of Hyderabad because he was told that the Muslim ruler of that state was a pious and generous man. Ranjit Singh turned towards Fakir Azizuddin and said, “This man thinks that there is nobody this side of Hyderabad who is generous enough to pay him a good price for his work.” The Maharaja asked the calligraphist as to how much did he expect for his work. He quoted ten thousand rupees which in those days was considered a huge amount. Before the minister could intervene, the Maharaja finalised the deal and asked the fakir to pay the settled amount. Ranjit Singh was able to rise above the communal prejudices of his times and treated all his subjects on equal footing. Competent persons from all faiths — Sikh, Hindu, Muslim — occupied high positions in the court of the Maharaja. That the Maharaja was able to create a sense of Punjabi nationalism is evident from the fact that when after his death the British compelled the Lahore Durbar to take up arms, all communities — Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs — fought shoulder to shoulder and ungrudgingly mingled their blood in a vain attempt to save the first Punjabi sovereign state established by Ranjit Singh. The Maharaja was able to do what no other Indian ruler had done before by making Punjabis realise that to be Punjabi was more important than being Muslim, Hindu or Sikh. He was the founding father of Punjabiyat — all the three communities were fully represented in his army and administration. Ranjit Singh was one of the few individuals who had become a legend in his lifetime. There are number of stories in the Punjab folklore still popular among the people of Punjab on both sides of the Indo-Pak border. It is said that soon after the Maharaja established his control over Lahore, a deputation of Sikhs waited upon the Maharaja and complained that they were finding it difficult to put up with the loud sound of the Muezzin five times a day and made a forceful plea to stop the practice of azan. The Maharaja told the deputation to take up the responsibility of knocking at the door of each Muslim house in their vicinity to summon them for prayers five times before he could order the stoppage of azan. The Sikhs agreed to this arrangement. After doing this for a week they approached the Maharaja, looking more worried than before, and prayed for restoring the old practice. This was Maharaja’s way of helping religious communities to understand each other’s point of view. Two other stories talk about Maharaja’s concern for his poor subjects. At one time during the famine the Maharaja ordered free distribution of ration from the royal granary. To ensure that his orders were faithfully implemented the Maharaja used to visit various distribution points incognito. One day as he was walking past a hovel he saw an old man sitting on a sack, “Night is approaching, old man why are you sitting here in darkness?,” asked the Maharaja. The old man replied that the sack was too heavy for him to carry home. The Maharaja carried the sack to the old man’s house and was blessed. In another incident, when the Maharaja was going out in a procession, an old woman rushed to him and banged her old iron pan on the Maharaja. On being arrested she was produced before the Maharaja and asked to explain this mad act. She explained that she had thought that the Maharaja was like a Paras whose mere touch would convert iron into gold. Being very poor and old she thought this might end her misery. The Maharaja is said to have ordered his officials to give the old woman gold equivalent to the weight of her old iron pan. Hero of many decisive battles, Ranjit Singh possessed unusual vigour and vitality. More often he plunged himself into some of the most difficult operations because he was not used to giving up and achieved success in almost all cases. How could he be outdone by anyone in any field? Noticing that because of continuous exertions he had exhausted himself, his doctors advised him rest but he hardly listened to them. Even after his first serious illness in 1826, the Maharaja refused to change his style of life. Some European doctors who treated him described him as a ‘difficult patient’ because he would consult everyone but hardly listen to the advice of anyone. Eight years later, the Maharaja got a second stroke which, according to Hugel, had occurred on account of the Maharaja overexerting himself. The iron-willed Maharaja managed the two serious attacks. After the third attack in 1838 he was unable to speak while his mind was still active. He would give orders through the language of signs while the faithful minister Fakir Azizuddin would reduce them to writing and ensured their implementation. Before the final and fatal stroke on June 22, 1839, the Maharaja was managing the affairs of the state as efficiently as before. In spite of having been incapacitated by repeated strokes the Maharaja retained his passion for horse riding. Invincible hero of many battles, he lost his battle of life on June 27, 1839. According to Osborne, “Ranjit Singh died like the old Lion as he had lived. He preserved his senses to the last, and was (which is unusual with the native princes) obeyed to the last by all his chiefs...” While Ranjit Singh died in 1839 and his kingdom was annexed to the British empire ten years later, he continues to live in the memory of the people on both sides of Punjab and rule over their hearts as a popular Punjabi Maharaja. The writer is Director, National Institute of Punjab Studies, New Delhi.  |
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ABOVE ALL WITH
Divali and Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary falling close to each other, even a skeptic may be forgiven for thinking that their closeness may be auspicious. Diwali is the most important Indian festival of the year. It signifies the conquest of light over darkness. The patron deity of the day is Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, bringing hope of prosperity to come. In his own way, Guru Nanak was also regarded as the dispeller of the darkness of ignorance, superstition and hate and the prophet of light and understanding among people. The theologian Bhai Gurdas described Nanak’s achievements in the following words: The true Guru, Nanak, was then born; Fog and mist evaporated And light shone on the earth. As the rising Sun dispels the dark and outshines the Stars, As flee the herd of deer when a lion roars Without pause, without turning back for assurance. So fled evil from the world. Nanak believed that the ideal was to achieve godliness while performing one’s worldly tasks — raaj mein jog without renouncing the world or turning ascetic. Religion lieth not in the patched coat the yogi wears, Not in the staff he bears, Nor in the ashes on his body. Religion lieth not in rings in the ears, Not in a shaven head, Nor in the blowing of conch shells. If thou must the path of true religion see Among the world’s impurities, be of impurities free. And again: The lotus in the water is not wet Nor the water-fowl in the stream. It a man would live, but by the world untouched, Meditate and repeat the name of the Lord Supreme. Nanak preached a crusade against meaningless superstition. During his time (and even today) the higher castes attach exaggerated respect to the sanctity of the kitchen: who may enter it, who may cook, what kind of food is pure and what polluted. He wrote: Once we say: This is pure, this unclean, See that in all things there is life unseen. There are worms in wood and cowdung cakes, There is life in the corn ground into bread. There is life in the water which makes it green. How then be clean when impurity is over the kitchen spread? Impurity of the heart is greed, Of tongue, untruth, Impurity of the eye is coveting Another’s wealth, his wife, her comeliness. Impurity of the ears is listening to calumny. He believed in the cleansing and purging qualities of prayer Naam. In the morning prayer Japji he wrote: As hands or feet besmirched with slime, Water washes white; As garments dark with grime, Rinsed with soap are made light; So when sin soils the soul The Name alone shall make it whole Words do not the saint or sinner make. Action alone is written in the book of fate. What we sow that alone we take; O Nanak, be saved or forever transmigrate. Nanak equated God with truth. Truth is not an academic concept but something that has to become a principle of living: Truth above all Above truth, truthful conduct. Of cows & beggars Two road hazards that drivers of motorised vehicles have to reckon with everyday everywhere are cows chewing the cud in middle of the roads and road dividers and beggars at road-crossings. I have seen calves knocked dead by speeding trucks and cows maimed by cars. Sahib Singh Verma, when he was Chief Minister of Delhi, promised to have them removed in 15 days. They remained there throughout his tenure and continue to do so to this day. So much for promises made by politicians! Put no trust in them. Beggars are a more serious menace. They can be found at most traffic lights. Their main assets are a missing limb or eyes. Some try to camouflage beggary by carrying babies in their hands or selling evening papers. Many put the children on the job. They cross in and out of the traffic and are often injured. They are not daunted by air-conditioned cars with their windows closed. They tap on glass panes. I have noticed many kind-hearted but foolish people who keep a tin full of coins to throw to them. That only encourages beggary. Foreigners find nothing more off-putting than beggars swarming round their cars at every road crossing or trailing them on the streets while they go out shopping. On their own two Judges of the Delhi High Court have ordered the police and the administration to put an end to this menace. On their own neither the police nor the administration will be able to cope with beggars. They may be driven away one day; they will be back on their beats a few days later. The common public must lend a hand by refusing to give anything to any beggar. If they are charitably inclined; let them give money to beggar-homes or orphanages. Or for that matter to Goushalas. Eccentric English There is no egg in the egg plant, no ham in the hamburger and neither pine nor apple in the pineapple. English muffins were not invented in England, French fries were not invented in France. If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of phone booth be phone beeth? If the teacher taught, why didn’t the preacher praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? A bell is only heard once it goes! When the stars are out they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker? If people from Poland are called “Poles”, why aren’t people from Holland called “Holes”? And why it is that when I wind up my watch it starts but when I wind up this story, it ends? (Courtesy: Amir C. Tuteja, Washington) Loving enemies “You must love your enemies, as the Good Book says, “thundered the priest. “I do. Oh, I do. Father!” One of the parishioners replied. “My worst enemies are whiskey, cigarettes, and women!” |
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RESPONSE THE
concern voiced by Abu Abraham in his article “A legacy denied: All that Nehru stood for is now under attack” (Nov 11) is timely. While no one can have any quarrel with the concepts of nationalism, secularism and democracy, Abraham overlooks some of the debilitating aspects of Nehru’s policies. The kind of socialistic planning that he introduced saddled us with one of the most inefficient systems of governance in the world. India’s public sector dinosaurs are one of the biggest obstacles in our economic growth. As also the system of controls, which Nehru set up, that only encouraged corruption and nepotism. The author of the article derides former prime minister Morarji Desai’s attempt to introduce “genuine non-alignment” as the cornerstone of the Indian foreign policy during the Janata Party government of 1977-79. In case he has a problem understanding this simple phrase, one can only state that looking the other way when the Soviet troops invaded Hungary or Czechoslovakia or Afghanistan was certainly not “genuine non-alignment”. As a nation, we are a sentimental lot, but we need to take a hard look at Nehru’s legacy. The price India has had to pay for his mishandling of the Kashmir issue, the border dispute with China, and his economic policies has been so enormous that were someone to make an unbiased assessment, Jawaharlal Nehru would be knocked down from the pedestal where we have placed him. Lalit Mohan, Gurgaon River waters row This has reference to the debate on the Punjab and Haryana river waters dispute (November 4). I must confess that I may be a dunce not to be able to comprehend political compulsions pertaining river water disputes. Correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the
impression that India is one country and these states are all integral parts of the same republic. More important, the rivers under dispute run through the soil of the same nation and each inhabitant has an equal right to partake of tyhe natural wealth of his country. What then, pray, will someone enlighten me, makes politicians raise issues such as these to drive wedges between people and communities and keep the country from making progress? Vivek Khanna, On e-mail |
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COMMENTARY Terrorism has a long antiquity. But it never took such a macabre proportion that it has assumed of late. How is one to account for it? Because violence came to be accepted by Nazism and Fascism as a way of change. And Marxists, too, did not rule out violence as a necessary part of the struggle for a new order. The Second World War set a record for violence. The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the ultimate in terror. The bombing of civilians in Germany was a new crime. It seemed human life has lost all its value. And with growing fear of a nuclear war, it was difficult to associate earthly life with any purpose. This was the background to the partition of India in 1947 and of Palestine in 1948. Violence and terror continue to stalk these two countries after all these fifty years. There were new sources of terror and violence. For instance, the Cold War and the anti-colonial movements. It was most unfortunate that the USA and the Soviet Union made common cause with the anti-colonial movements. The Soviet Union supported the Left forces and the USA the anti-communist Right forces. This raised the scale of violence to a new height. But nowhere did violence take the intensity of the Afghan wars. First, it was a civil war between tribal factions. Then the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and America responded by creating the Taliban, a religious fanatical force, to oppose it. But when the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, the USA did not get the Taliban disbanded. Instead, it remained at the disposal of Pakistan, which promptly turned it into a terrorist force to wrest control of Jammu and Kashmir from India. What has been the UN’s role in all these years to contain the new menace? Very little. It failed to even get terrorism defined! If we are to name one country for this failure, we must point to the USA. It was in December 1972, when the UN first took official note of the growing menace of terrorism, that it adopted a resolution against terrorism. But what confused the UN was the use of terror by liberation forces. There was a clear view then that unless the political grievances of the colonial peoples were addressed, terror could not be resolved. The resolution was finally adopted with 80 members voting in favour, 37 against and five being absent. It is interesting that members of the USA bloc were either against or were absent because of the implications of the resolution to Palestine. In 1973, the UN appointed an ad hoc committee of 35 members to go into the definition of terrorism, its cause and the means of prevention. The problem then was the same as it is today: one man’s terrorist was another man’s freedom fighter. The committee failed to evolve a definition. But its report was a valuable document, which threw much light on various aspects of terrorism. From 1973, there was a steep growth of terrorism. The UN turned its attention to remedial measures. It adopted a number of conventions to arrest these trends. In 1981, a committee was appointed to draft an international convention against the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries. This was adopted in 1989. It also said that states should not employ terror to oppose the legitimate struggle for self-determination of peoples. In 1987, the UN Secretary General convened an international conference to define terrorism. On the basis of his report, the UN condemned all acts of terrorism as “criminal”, except those involved in the struggle for self-determination. The vast majority of UN members voted for this, except the USA and Israel. The UN also turned its attention to drug trafficking, money laundering and their links with terrorist organisations, including those which claimed to be fighting for self-determination. Mention must be made here on the significant Declaration on the 50th anniversary of the UN, which made a special reference to the principle of self-determination. It said that this was not to be construed as authorising or encouraging any action that would dismember or impair totally or in part the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent states. This applied to all countries, which are multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural. In 1998, the UN General Assembly asked the member states to arm themselves with domestic legislation. But fear of human rights violations has delayed this process. In October 1999, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for cooperation among members. There has been little of it. In November 1999, a Working Group was set up to draft a comprehensive convention on international terrorism under the chairmanship of Canada. In the meantime, India submitted the draft of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism.
Unfortunately, Mahathir Mohammed of Malaysia led the Muslim countries recently to defeat it. The OIC wanted struggles aimed at liberation to be excluded from terrorist crimes. But most of these resolutions are not ratified by member states. Muslim countries saw nothing wrong with terrorism when employed by Palestinians. In nearly 30 years, the UN has not been able to take any action against terrorism. All that it produced were resolutions. But September 11 has changed all that. The USA, once a votary of violence, is now against violence. Neither national aspirations nor remembered wrongs can justify terrorism, says George W. Bush. He is against the use of terror for national liberation of self-determination. Clinton had said earlier: you can’t redraw state boundaries by blood. These views are now reflected in the resolution passed on September 28, 2001. Apart from reiterating the earlier objectives, it carried several new provisions. It called upon members to report compliance within 90 days; it made the resolution mandatory; it called for sanction in case members fail to comply and terror was proscribed in the case of self-determination. Is there really a change of heart? Only time will tell. India must not allow the present momentum to die. |
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Palestine: The core issue THOSE who are asking why the Muslim community, barring a few liberal exceptions, haven’t denounced Osama bin Laden and his devilish disciples, must also ask themselves why the majority of others haven’t spoken out against the Israeli government for the almost continuous terrorism it has unleashed against the Palestinians at the slightest provocation. Criticism against Israel in India and the Western world has always been muted, though someone here and there occasionally raises a voice in support of the Arabs in Palestine as Tony Blair did recently. Terrorising the natives has become official policy with Ariel Sharon, whose reputation for terrorism was already odious long before he was made Prime Minister. Now he has become more brazen and defiant (of the Americans and world opinion) in pursuing his policy of oppression of a people who have been robbed of their land and homes. Terrorism has been the instrument of policy in the creation of Israel and in its maintenance since 1948. Its leading actors made their careers from terrorism. David Ben Gurion and Menachim Begin are two notable examples. British historian, Arnold Toynbee, in his monumental work, “A Study of History”, wrote: “The Jews’ immediate reaction to their own experience was to become persecutors in their turn for the first time since AD 135 and this at the first opportunity that had arisen for them to inflict on other human beings who had done the Jews no injury, but who happened to be weaker than they were, some of the wrongs and sufferings that had been inflicted on the Jews…” Toynbee added: “In AD 1948, the Jews knew, from personal experience, what they were doing; and it was their supreme tragedy that the lesson learned by them from their encounter with the Nazi Gentiles should have been not to eschew but to imitate some of the evil deeds that the Nazis had committed against the Jews”. Toynbee was reviled by the Jews for these remarks. But anyone who knows recent history can see there are significant similarities between the philosophies of Nazism and Zionism, particularly in their racial exclusiveness and their national fanaticism. The main difference is that while modern Germans feel a sense of guilt about their past, the Israelis, by and large, have a clear conscience about their recent history, while a few million Arabs rot in refugee camps. While proclaiming that Israel wants only peace and security, successive governments have consolidated their patterns of colonial repression. No organised resistance is possible for the Palestinians. Since last year, 150,000 have left for Jordan. Says Dr. Edward Said: “Community leaders have been jailed and deported by the occupation regime, small businesses crippled by confiscation, farms subject to demolition, universities closed down, students barred from classrooms.” Everyone knows that the core issue in the present turmoil is Palestine. Whether we call it by the grand phase, ‘clash of civilisations’ or something else, the stark fact is that the Western world remains silent in the face of what is perhaps the worst kind of colonialism and repression that has existed in this century. Even India has lost its voice. |
This ‘smart’ surgeon is more
dangerous than Osama struggle against perceived enemies of Islam. Reports say that Al-Zawahiri helped turn bin Laden from a financial backer of the Afghan resistance into a strong believer in the ideology of jehad. He may aptly be called Osama’s “guru” It has now been established that al-Zawahiri had a big role in the assassination of the Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat in 1981 followed by destruction of the Egyptian embassy in Pakistan in a suicide bombers attack in 1995. For him the 1977 treaty between Egypt and Israel meant Sadat was a traitor and it took 20 years of planning to eliminate him. Zawahiri was among scores of Muslim fundamentalists implicated in the murder and, since then, he has been sentenced to death by Egypt in absentia. His another act of terror was bombing of the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in August 1998. It was al-Zawahiri who told the Muslim world after American strikes on Khost terrorists’ camps in Afghanistan in 1998 that “the war has begun. Americans should wait for an answer”. No wonder that the September, 2001 attack on World Trade Centre towers and the Pentagon was the answer. “Time” magazine quoted a lawyer in Cairo, Montasser al-Zayat, as saying “al-Zawahari is for bin Laden like the brain to the body; one has a dream and the other dollars”. The lawyer represented many Islamic militants and was himself jailed with al-Zawahari in early 1980s. He says: “when Osama went to Afghanistan, he was just a young man supporting Afghans. He did not have a political outlook. Al-Zawahiri controlled Osama completely. He convinced him of the principles of jehad”. Well versed in English, known to be polite, composed, well read and having a larger world view, 51-year-old al-Zawahiri often serves as interpreter of bin Laden. Al- Zawahiri hails from Egypt’s upper class and grew up in a well-connected family. His grand father was a noted Muslim cleric and the uncle an ambassador. Having spend his childhood in a plushy suburb of Cairo, home of wealthy Egyptians and foreign diplomats, he choose the medical profession and became a surgeon. His aging mother still lives there. How the young, well educated Egyptian, born and brought up in a liberal environment became a dreaded terrorist is an interesting story. Al-Jawahiri’s story begins in late sixties when the perils of Arab-Israeli war sent shock waves in the Arab world and secular nationalism gave way to Islamic fundamentalism. He came under the spell of extremism. Almost ten years later in 1979 when Egypt signed the Camp David accord with Israel, al-Zahawiri had become an activist of Al Jihad, a violent and highly secretive organisation dedicated to bringing in Islamic rule in Egypt and across the Arab world. It was, possibly, in Jedda that he met, for the first time, bin Laden. Within the span of a year, he moved to Peshawar in Pakistan and served Laden as his personal doctor and also nursed the wounded Taliban fighters in the war against the Soviet Union. Following withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, al-Jawahiri and bin Laden shifted their activities to Sudan. Many Arab fighters, who had taken part in the war against Soviet troops, were brought by Jawahari to Egypt . They became activists of Al Jehad with a vow to overthrow President Hosne Mubarak. Egypt saw a series of terrorist activities including the abortive attempt to assassinate the Prime Minister and a former Interior Minister. Al-Jawahiri made, during this period, at least two trips to the USA to raise funds. Mubarak’s security forces acted with firmness and in fierce crackdown hundrends of militants were arrested. According to the assessment of “Time”, it was a mistake to have driven out al-Jawahiri and bin Laden out of Sudan. In the mountains and caves of Afghanistan, they found a safe haven, strengthened al-Quida worldwide and planned powerful terrorist attacks culminating in the destruction of the World Trade Centre towers and damage to the Pentagon. |
Advani’s symbolism: Heads I win tail you lose UNION
Home Minister L.K .Advani has always been known as a thinking man, a strategist. He is conscious of every move he makes — or does not make. He is also very particular about everything he is associated with, even his characteristic attire. It is not for nothing. Advani has, after all, come a long way since his famous Rath Yatra which turned the political fortunes of the BJP as well as Advani himself. So wherever he goes he communicates symbolically. One such occasion which saw Advani the Strategist in the best of his form was the Diwali bash thrown by the newly-inducted Union Minister Vijay Goel at his Mahadev Road bungalow. The Lok Sabha member from Chandni Chowk is known for his penchant for throwing big successful parties. Perhaps his best-remembered party was a couple of years back when he had organised a largely-attended dinner at his residence to welcome Jayalalitha to the NDA fold. Top leadership of the country was present at that party. Goel had invited politicians and journos at 7.30 pm. Advani came to the party at 7.20 pm and left at 7.30 pm. As a wag remarked: “With his timings, Advani has conveyed a subtle message. By coming to Goel’s party, he assured the junior minister in PMO that he was with him. But by leaving just before the journalists started trooping in, he gave a message that he was not with Goel”. Disciplining MPs Parliament proceedings will never be the same if the Lok Sabha Speaker G. M. C. Balayogi has his way. Tired of the dubious methods employed by political parties to scuttle Parliament proceedings, the Speaker has taken the initiative to call a mega conference of political leaders, presiding officers and others concerned to chalk out a strategy for the prim and proper functioning of democracy’s strongest pillar. Unruly entries into the well of the House could invite strict disciplinary action, including suspension and loss of pay. Several suggestions are expected to be thrown up at the proposed meeting, which would be held when Parliament is in session next week. The meeting is yet another initiative taken by Balayogi for ensuring proper decorum of the Lok Sabha. During the fag end of the last session, he had made parties agree to a proposal where entry into the well of the House by a member would mean his automatic suspension. Observers point out that it is indeed a novel attempt by the Speaker. However, they also point out in the same breath that parliamentarians during the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Parliament had promised to conduct proceedings in a disciplined manner. The promises were thrown to the winds in no time. Will the parliamentarians fall in line? Only time and Doordarshan will tell. No
easy choices Knowing that winning elections in UP would not be easy, the key players are working out various permutations and combinations. While the BJP has a number of allies from the NDA, the Samajwadi Party also seems to be looking for parties that can come with it in case there was a hung assembly. A lot of political meaning was attached to the recent exchange of pleasantries between the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and senior SP leader Amar Singh. Political observers here say that Mulayam Singh Yadav’s party was seeing the Congress as a potential partner in case it fails to muster an absolute majority. But Congressmen are not amused. Seeing it as a well-timed strategic move of SP, Congressmen say that by signalling its willingness to join hands with the country’s main opposition party, the SP was sending a message to the minority community in UP which may be in two minds about its political choice. “By trying to give an impression that they will form a government either on their own or with support of others, the SP is making sure that its vote share gets consolidated”, said a worried Congress leader. For the Congress, the choices are not easy. In case of a hung assembly and Congress getting about 30 seats, there was also a risk of bidders for power trying to split the newly-elected Congress MLAs. The party’s cadre, demoralised for the last decade, wants the leadership to keep the party independent and not give an image of being close to either of the anti-BJP parties. After the initial effusive statements towards Mr Amar Singh, the Congressmen are now quiet. The party is striving to get at least 50 seats so that it can call the shots in the electorally crucial state. Invisible security In the changed security scenario around the world, it is no surprise that security arrangements at the South Block, the seat of country’s administrative establishment, with offices of the Prime Minister, the External Affairs Minister and the Defence Minister housed there, has also been heightened. The scribes covering the recent visits of the senior government officials from the USA and Russia were witness to this heightened security, which to some extent became an irritant. The scribes were asked to enter their identity at one point and asked to show their identity cards at another. They were also frisked at at least two other points. This aside, a close watch was also kept on the gathering from the roof tops of the South Block, which as a Defence Ministry official pointed out was meant to be invisible. But what the scribes witnessed instead was that army jawans, with binoculars, almost pasted to their eyes, keeping a watch from the South Block roof tops. The jawans were almost like statues with no movements or removal of binoculars from their eyes. What they apparently did not realise was that they are supposed to be invisible watchers. Once having been noticed, they must shift their position. However they remained glued to their spots even when the scribes not only looked straight at them but some even made the others aware of their presence. So much for “invisible security cover”. It, however, made clear that the ethos of the Indian Army are still being instilled deep into the jawans. An “order is an order”, even if it means revealing your own position. Clash of heroes Uttar Pradesh may well see the clash of two yesteryear heroes of Bollywood. While the Samajwadi Party is likely to field the towering Amitabh Bachchan to campaign during the elections, the BJP is seriously contemplating roping in Shatrugan Sinha. The only hitch is Sinha wants a Cabinet portfolio before doing anything for the party. His hobnobbing with Laloo Prasad Yadav in Bihar has already sent alarm bells in the party and word is that Sinha may make it to the Cabinet before the elections in UP. Contributed by Rajeev Sharma, T.V. Lakshminarayan, Prashant Sood and Girija Shankar
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Fears over peace and stability in Afghanistan EVEN
as some parts of the world celebrate the ouster of the Taliban forces and the ushering in of the US-backed Northern Alliance, there is apprehension that the situation could further degenerate. In fact, Noam Chomsky had told me that the Northern Alliance is nothing but a band of terrorists and that there could be a horrifying massacre of humans in Afghanistan, along the lines of what happened in Rwanda. He had also been very blatant in his criticism of India backing the Northern Alliance and said that it was nothing short of backing murder and loot. Several Afghan refugees living in New Delhi endorsed this view as most of them were of the opinion that their state of refuge might prolong as the Northern Alliance wouldn’t be able to provide a stable government and there could be bloodier battles in the future. There is a confused look on the faces of these refugees as news of destruction continues to pour in from their country. Noor Mohammad, a photographer in Kabul during the erstwhile Najibullah regime and now living in a one room in New Delhi’s Jangpura Extension says, “ I spend my days recollecting memories ....Afghanistan wouldn’t ever be the same again ....the process of its destruction would continue”. Together with this comes this appeal from the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA). I received it two days back though it is dated Nov 13. I quote: “The people of Afghanistan do not accept the domination of the Northern Alliance! Now it is confirmed that the Taliban have left Kabul and the Northern Alliance has entered the city. The world should understand that the Northern Alliance is composed of some bands who did show their real criminal and inhuman nature when they were ruling Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996. The retreat of the terrorist Taliban from Kabul is a positive development, but entering of the rapist and looter NA in the city is nothing but a dreadful and shocking news for about two million residents of Kabul whose wounds of the years 1992-96 have not healed yet. Thousands of people who fled Kabul during the past two months were saying that they feared coming to power of the NA in Kabul much more than being scared by the US bombing. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda will be eliminated, but the existence of the NA as a military force would shatter the joyful dream of the majority for an Afghanistan free from the odious chains of barbaric Taliban. The NA will horribly intensify the ethnic and religious conflicts and will never refrain to fan the fire of another brutal and endless civil war in order to retain in power. The terrible news of looting and inhuman massacre of the captured Taliban or their foreign accomplices in Mazar-e-Sharif in past few days speaks for itself. Though the NA has learned how to pose sometimes before the West as “democratic” and even supporter of women’s rights, but in fact they have not at all changed, as a leopard cannot change its spots. We would like to emphatically ask the UN to send its effective peace-keeping force into the country before the NA can repeat the unforgettable crimes they committed in the said years. The UN should withdraw its recognition to the so-called Islamic government headed by Rabbani and help the establishment of a broad-based government based on the democratic values.” Next in focus here is the ongoing debate on POTO. I’m tempted to quote Chomsky on this too. He said, “It’s a dangerous ordinance...State repression can be a dangerous trend and the signs are apparent in the manner in which six students had been arrested in New Delhi for simply distributing anti -war and anti -US pamphlets....” And nearing our own so-called leaders, they are using every opportunity to speak for and against this controversial ordinance. So much so that at a particular forum when Arun Jaitley went to the mike for a second time to speak in favour of POTO, ,Jaipal Reddy and Sitaram Yechury commented, “This is how these people ( BJP and allies) would misuse POTO and its provisions...it’s all being done for the elections ...” Reddy told me that come what may, they wouldn’t allow its passage. Farewell
to ex-CJ Last weekend lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi hosted a well attended farewell do for the outgoing Chief Justice of India Justice A S Anand. One of the first winter parties of the city, this one had a heady mix of bureaucracy, judiciary and those from the diplomatic corps. Singhvi and his wife Anita are popular on the circuit and their parties inevitably consist of the who’s who of the town. Another noteworthy aspect of the dos hosted by them is that though they call several from the diplomatic circle, the menu never deviates from the vegetarian fare. |
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that the Taliban rule is coming to an end , Osama bin Laden’s days appear to be numbered. He may either be apprehended, killed or die a natural death with both his kidneys in delicate stage and the sophisticated medical assistance lacking. Osama may not be on the scene but al Quada is not dead and it may act with renewed vengeance. Who will head the terrorists outfit after Osama? Evidently, Egyptian surgeon Ayman al- Zawahiri is sure to succeed him and there is little possibility of the activities of al Qaeda network subsiding. Al-Zawahiri, hitherto little known, is considered to be more influential and more dangerous than Osama. He is known to be the mastermind behind the vast network and has a long history of terror-related crimes. He is regarded by many investigators as smarter; believed to be the person who influenced bin Laden years ago to take up a worldwide