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Tuesday,
December 11, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Vajpayee-Muivah talks Indonesia’s Laloo Yadav Streamlining traffic |
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Musharraf’s equations with USA
Going in for a new address book
Naxals: not by ban alone
Hazards of war reporting
1939, Physiology or Medicine: GERHARD DOMAGK
Film on ‘American Born Confused Desi’
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Vajpayee-Muivah talks The meeting that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had with NSCN leaders T. Muivah and Isak Swu in Osaka on Saturday is an unusual development and has suddenly given a much higher profile to the Nagaland issue. The Prime Minister must have taken this calculated risk only after a lot of ground had been covered. Official level talks have been going on all along, but these had broken down for all practical purposes after riots erupted in Manipur and forced the Centre to withdraw the concessions it had given to the Naga rebels. The NSCN leaders had now started saying openly that they were tired of speaking to officials. So, Mr Vajpayee has stepped in, flying in the rebels from the Netherlands at the last moment. Details of what transpired at the meeting are not forthcoming, but the assertion by official sources that the two sides agreed to work for a peaceful and political settlement is indication enough that some major convergence of ideas has taken place. Mr K. Padmanabhaiah, the Centre's interlocutor for the Naga peace process, and Mr K.P.Singh, Director, Intelligence Bureau, are scheduled to meet the rebels for the next round in Bangkok. Mr Brajesh Mishra was present at the Osaka meeting and it appears that he would be playing a more active role in the future talks. Mr Padmanabhaiah had received a lot of flak for the previous agreement which set Manipur on fire. Time is indeed ripe for a negotiated settlement. Battle fatigue has set in among the rebels, particularly after the distancing from the rival Khaplang faction. The outburst of anger in Manipur has also forced the Nagas to do a rethink on the desirability of expanding their struggle. On the other hand, as far as the Central government is concerned, the political complications that had aggravated the situation in Manipur are no longer there. When trouble broke out in that state, the BJP and the Samata Party were at loggerheads. Now that Mr George Fernandes is back in government and the state is under President's rule, local irritants are not as sharp as these were in the past. The need for pushing forward the peace process is paramount. If the Nagaland problem is solved, 90 per cent of militancy-related activity in the North-East will end. Yet, certain uncomfortable questions remain. Will the NSCN show the necessary spirit of accommodation and agree to operate fully within the framework of the Indian Constitution? Moreover, will it be able to persuade its cadre to fall in line? Then there is also the question of other rebel groups. The next few weeks are going to be crucial. |
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Indonesia’s Laloo Yadav The selective application of prison rules is not an issue only in India. There were murmurs of protest in Indonesia as well over the VIP treatment accorded to Tommy Suharto, son of disgraced former dictator General Suharto, by the prison authorities in Jakarta. Suharto junior is facing trial in a number of cases of corruption and abuse of power during the period when his father's writ could not be questioned. In a manner of speaking, he can be called the Laloo Prasad Yadav of Indonesia, both in terms of the nature of cases pending against him and the kind of VIP treatment he was receiving in jail. However, the comparison ends here. While Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav continues to be treated like a VIP in jail, Tommy Suharto has been made to get into prison clothes following criticism in the media. The Jakarta police chief, who had hugged Suharto junior before he was arrested, has been forced to apologise for his conduct. Under Ms Rabri Devi's rule the entire Bihar administration remains at the beck and call of her husband and there is no question of media or public protest forcing them to mend their ways. But more important lessons can be imbibed by both India and Indonesia that is inching towards democracy under Megawati Sukarnoputri from how developed societies deal with public figures charged with acts of wrong-doing. The office of the President of the United States of America is without doubt the most powerful address in the world. But the trail of former President Bill Clinton, while he was still living in the White House, showed to the world that no one is above at least domestic laws, though the country does often put itself beyond the reach of international laws as it did while attacking Afghanistan. Be that as it may, recently President George W. Bush's one of the19-year-old twin daughters was sentenced to probation and eight hours of community service after she was found guilty of drinking charges brought against her. And both twins, Barbara and Jenna, were issued criminal citations in Austin last month — Jenna for allegedly using fake identification to buy a drink and Barbara for illegal possession of alcohol. The troublesome son of British Prime Minister Tony Blair too was again in the news. This time too for wrong reasons. Euan was reprimanded by the hotel staff in Italy, where the Blairs were vacationing, for creating too much noise and disturbing other guests at 5 a.m. Euan was arrested earlier in Britain for being drunk. The Prime Minister and his wife had to appear before the police to receive a formal reprimand for the misconduct of their son. These are precedents that need to be followed by the politicians and bureaucrats in India for strengthening the foundations of democracy and the rule of law in the country. |
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Streamlining traffic The increasing number of road accidents, which daily claim more human lives than perhaps militancy, shows that Indians by and large are careless drivers and need to be given basic lessons in road safety. The Supreme Court has done exactly that. In a judgement on Thursday, it directed the Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories to ensure that all front seat occupants in cars wear seat belts. The court has also asked the Delhi government to get tamper-proof fare meters installed in three-wheelers and taxis by February1. Further, it has banned the entry into Delhi of all kinds of trucks and vehicles carrying goods which use the Capital’s roads as transit routes to go to other states. These steps will help partly in streamling the chaotic traffic on roads, particularly in the national Capital, but more needs to be done. For instance, the court could have used the opportunity to consider dangers emanating from the increasing use of cellular telephones by drivers and music systems installed in vehicles. The need for petrol vehicles, specially on highways, to rush accident victims to hospital is often acutely felt. But why pass on the sleepy executive’s burden on to the judiciary? The detractors may argue that the use of seat belts is unwarranted in a slow-moving city traffic and that the poor condition of roads already limit the speed, but it is necessary to form a habit of not only using the belt but also taking all possible safety measures. Speeding in cities is not uncommon. The chaos on roads in the country is due to the sharp rise in the number of vehicles. Easier and soft auto loans have helped many middle class families realise their dream of owning a car. In Singapore there is a limit on the number of vehicles to be allowed on roads every year. Is it too much to expect from citizens in India to walk or cycle to their place of work or use their personal vehicles only when absolutely unavoidable? One solution to ease traffic congession on roads is to make personal vehicle ownership more expensive and the mass transport system more efficient. The increasing population, geographical spread of jobs, wildly growing cities and villages becoming dependent on cities for basic needs are also responsible for the rise in the number of personal vehicles. The municipal, transport and higher authorities are either lethargic or plainly helpless because of lack of funds to widen roads and political pressure against the removal of encroachments on roads. There are vested interests to serve too; otherwise it should not require an apex court order for the transport authorities to install tamper-proof fare meters on taxis and autos to check the widespread fleecing of commuters. The Supreme Court order on trucks will unnecessarily inconvenience transporters; it should have simultaneously directed the authorities concerned to provide for a bypass so that vehicles don’t have to enter the crowded Capital. A holistic approach is required to make roads safer and worthy of travel. |
Musharraf’s equations with USA IF consistency is the virtue of fools, politicians are wise men and women. The panache with which Benazir Bhutto practised inconsistency in her articulation of events during her recent visit to India marks her out as a consummate politician. Arriving in the enemy’s lair, as it were, she succeeded in doing the impossible: pleasing Indians by her soothing words without sacrificing her ability to change course again. During two extensive interviews with me in Islamabad while she was in power and one during her days in the opposition, Benazir struck me as articulate and smart. She was careful not to trip herself on Kashmir. During the first interview in June, 1994, she had suggested by implication that she had exposed herself politically on Kashmir in the days of Rajiv Gandhi’s premiership. Her responses on Kashmir, therefore, were boilerplate. She seemed to be saying that she would not make the same mistake again. But Benazir was aeons from those days. She had not merely been dethroned by the power constellation in Pakistan, yielding place to Nawaz Sharif, but was made seemingly redundant by the Army coup and, fearing arrest, had removed herself from the scene to become a reluctant exile. In her colourful history, Benazir has been in exile before only to rebound and assume power. And India had apparently been programmed in by Benazir in her quest to return home and seek power again. The coup that unseated Nawaz Sharif had opened new prospects. There was the initial phase of Benazir probing the mind of General Pervez Musharraf and the Army, the mildly complimentary remarks about the General, the hope — perhaps the wish — that the new military ruler might need her help to rescue himself from a familiar Pakistani predicament. Then it became clear that General Musharraf was in no hurry to give up power. He had successfully banished Nawaz Sharif, made himself President and although elections were promised, his presidency could outlast them and there was no inclination on the General’s part to include Benazir in the cast of characters in the play he was planning to direct. A seeming softening of the Army’s approach to the People’s Action Party in recent days is more tactical than substantive. Benazir was shrewd enough to realise that the events of September 11 — nine eleven in the American idiom — had transformed the situation in Pakistan. She could not have missed the irony in the fact that Afghanistan had changed the fortunes of another military ruler, Zia-ul-Haq. The American decision to avenge the terrorist acts in New York and Washington by going after Osama bin Laden and his Taleban hosts in Afghanistan had instantly legitimised the General. His support for the “war against terrorism” was lauded. He was courted by America and the West and was very much in command at home. For Benazir’s ambition to return to power, it was a cruel blow. Democracy and elections in Pakistan had gone off the American radar screen. Goodies and aid flowed in, together with more Afghan refugees. Before the PPP leader’s eyes emerged the ghost of Zia who had, despite promises, gone on to rule for over a decade — until death parted him from power. Extraordinary situations demand extraordinary remedies, and Benazir felt it was the right time to undertake an excursion to India. Benazir’s agenda was twofold. One was to try to convince the world via India that elements of the Pakistani armed forces, including of course the General, are dangerous men bent on risky adventures such as Kargil. Second, she said she had vetoed misguided ventures during her days in office and was against the export of mercenaries to fight Kashmir’s battles. In other words, unlike the present military ruler, she is a responsible leader eminently suited to govern responsibly. Conscious of the corruption charges levelled against her and Nawaz Sharif and other politicians, she in turn charged the Army with corruption. It is an attribute of a good politician that he or she never gives up the struggle to return to power, however, discouraging the scenario. After all, Benazir did return to power once and there could be circumstances in which she and her People’s Party would rule Pakistan again. Let us look at the likely shape of developments as she perhaps sees them. The fortunes of General Musharraf and his Army regime are inextricably tied with events in Afghanistan and American policies. One can assume that the process of seeking and mopping up Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda will take at least a few months although Pakistan’s cooperation in promoting American aims in Afghanistan will be required for the longer term. Despite General Musharraf’s promise to observe the Supreme Court’s timetable to return Pakistan to democracy, few eyebrows will be raised in the USA if he were to perpetuate his presidency in a democratic set-up of his concept. Judging by Pakistan’s record of Army rule alternating with politicians’ return to power, domestic tensions and the unpopularity General Musharraf has courted by following a pro-American anti-Taliban line can be expected to create a fertile anti-Army climate. Here the politicians, particularly those with religious affiliations, would have to tread warily. The September 11 events and America’s new impatience with various forms of jihad have made open advocacy of armed incursions into Kashmir somewhat counter-productive. But Benazir and her party will not be shy in accepting any support they can get in her quest for power. The permanence of Nawaz Sharif’s banishment in those circumstances cannot be taken for granted. Admittedly, General Musharraf’s script does not have roles for Benazir, Nawaz and Altaf Hussain of the MQM living in self-exile in London. But the dynamics of the power play can change and General Musharraf might lose the capacity to influence events. Among Generals, Ayub Khan was perhaps the most successful in running the country until his time was up. It is not clear whether he is General Musharraf‘s role model but the duration of military rule, however camouflaged, has a built-in time limit. If Benazir is audacious enough to plot her return to power in these apparently discouraging times, she has also proved that she is willing to take risks by slamming the Pakistani Army in India. She has provided herself a fig leaf in distinguishing rogue elements from the armed forces as an institution but it is a thin line. |
Going in for a new address book There comes a time in your life when you find your address book not only getting hopelessly out of date but the entries themselves often unreadable from all those cutting and cross-cuttings. Time to acquire a new one and re-write your address book. My current address book — an elegant leather-bound affair gifted by an airline — dates back 20 years to the days I was a senior government official. Now at 75, leading a retired life, I finally have to face the fact that a new address book is overdue; most of the old entries — of colleagues in service and of business acquaintances — are relevant no more. And such frequent changes in Delhi’s telephone numbers. So I succumb to buying a new address book, a more modest affair, sporting a plastic cover. Presumably this would be the last address book I’d keep. And I soon discover that re-writing an address book wasn’t turning out such a routine chore I had anticipated. The process signified some sort of a watershed in facing the last period of my life. Often an old entry would bring in a flood of memories; of the good times we had with someone. Another entry would evoke a feeling of regret for missing out on better relations. And then there were umpteen entries of people who had blossomed into celebrities in public affairs or as captains of industry. Yet all contact between them and me had ceased over the years; apparently they had felt no need to sustain those contacts, and this brought on a sense of melancholy. And there were people from the distant past with whom there was often nothing to give to each other anymore. But what made re-writing particularly painful was scoring out names of friends who had died since then. A noted urologist friend, known for his concern for patients and full of cheer. He would say, he’d take care of my enlarged prostate when a surgical intervention was due. Perforce I’ve to look for someone else. He died at 50, of a disease he knew was incurable. Yet I wonder at the courage with which his doctor-wife has gone on living and growing. Another friend, a journalist, whose company was fun and most stimulating, died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 54. That was shocking, as till that fatal morning he seemed so lively and physically active. I still can’t get over the way his wife was crying distraught. Indeed, going through various entries of the old address book, I discover to my dismay that nearly half of the friends of my youth are no more. Another indicator of one’s decline: of the recent entries, a whole lot pertain to medical specialists — dentists, ophthalmologist, orthopaedic surgeons, cardiologists, ENT specialists, physical therapists. In a way I am glad I am still alive, and possibilities of new adventures in life aren’t fully foreclosed. And encouragingly, many of the entries being transferred from the old address book are of people younger than I am. I hope I won’t have to say goodbye to them. In re-writing a new address book in later years, you’ve a chance to relive your life, see where you have been and where you are going. Your life flashes before you. |
Naxals: not by ban alone It is absurd to presume that a ban on the Naxalite outfits under POTO — even if it becomes POTA — will automatically make the three dozen ultra Left groups in the country drop their arms. Perhaps the mandarins of the North Block alone are capable of such moonshine. Then why did L.K.Advani give it the political clearance? The Capital’s power corridors have two explanations. The official line is that it was done to gain Chandrababu Naidu’s support for the controversial Bill. Being the worst victim of the PWG operations, Naidu has been waging a bitter war on the ultras and has gained maximum experience in dealing with them. Therefore, he may not be nursing any illusion that POTO alone can bring about any miracle. An astute politician, Naidu should know that it is the ruling party that will have to face the public ire when widespread misuse of such emergency powers boomerangs. The other explanation has been that Advani wanted to lure opposition Chief Ministers by offering them readymade solutions to the Naxalite violence. If they fall for the new toy gun, or at least realise its potentials in dealing with violence, he can gain political leverage in dealing with POTO. Interestingly, large sections within the BJP were also initially sceptical about the decision. They felt the question of tackling ‘local boys’ should have been left to the state governments and that the BJP should not have taken the blame upon itself. Two aspects of the POTO ban merit debate. Bracketing Naxalites with pro-Pak terrorist outfits like Jaish and Lashkar and ISI agents merely strengthens the fears that the draconian law is actually intended at political targets. Despite their ‘Mao’ prefix and creed of violence, the ultras cannot be dubbed anti-national or treated like a Veerappan or criminal gangs. This will be both immoral and unrewarding. Here one has to draw a line between the outfits guided by essentially socio-political objectives and terrorists with foreign links. There can be genuine apprehension that the logic being cited for the use of POTO against the Naxalites could also be applied to students or farmers who happen to turn violent on occasions. Second, if past experience is any indication, the very effectiveness of POTO is very much in doubt. In Bihar, the major Naxal outfits were banned right from 1986. The PWG remains outlawed in Andhra Pradesh since 1992. While the successive governments have not been serious in fighting the Bihar Naxalites, this is not true of Andhra where a relentless campaign has been in force. However, the current series of PWG attacks on the police, government buildings and factories owned by the politicians and MNCs show that their capacity to strike has not diminished. There is all the reason to fear that the indiscriminate use of POTO — which is designed to be so — will earn more sympathy for the ultras. This has been the experience of all such highhanded measures. If ultras are put under POTO, why spare their rivals like Ranvir Sena? However, if Advani does so it will be alienating the party’s upper caste Thakur votes. Then, what can the Centre do when opposition states like Bihar and Madhya Pradesh refuse to use POTO? This can prompt a rethinking among other Naxal-hit states. After all, Left ultras too have a vote bank in their strongholds. Another problem: Even if the MCC and PWG are outlawed, they could work under the garb of other innumerable ultra outfits. This has happened in Andhra. It is nobody’s case that the state could tolerate violent threats to its citizens or challenges to its established institutions. While firmly dealing with such threats, we should not overlook the socio-economic factors that created the ideal condition for the MCC and PWG to thrive. Any operation to eliminate them should be accompanied by earnest efforts to improve the socio-economic condition of the region. Barring Andhra Pradesh, no state government has made any serious effort in this regard. The extreme economic backwardness marked by centuries of neglect has made the people of a long tract, beginning from deep Nepal right up to Warangal, to seek the Left extremist umbrella. Every one from the local feudal lords to the police and politician exploits them. But nothing reaches them - fair price shops, health schemes, schools. Neither have planned development nor reform reached them. The former at least had allocations even though it was all eaten up by middlemen. These people know no democracy, only exploitation. Every one neglected them — the establishment, politicians and the mainstream Left. The extremists listened to people’s woes. They empowered them, gave them courage to stand up to the exploiters’ challenge. Let’s be frank. Without attacking backwardness, you cannot fight Naxalite violence. This alone explains the growing strength of the Left extremist groups. This, despite incessant police actions, crude adventurism committed by the Naxal leaders and the internal quarrels often leading to mindless fratricide. The whole character of the Naxalite movement has undergone a gradual change. In the ’seventies, it was the ‘in thing’ for urban intellectuals and middle class students. Inspired by Mao’s Red Book and Che Guevera, they went on an aimless rampage. Now the Left extremist movement is essentially a rural and most-backward phenomenon. It is no more based on theoretical inspiration but harsh reality of deprivation. It is much beyond the use of POTO. |
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Hazards of war reporting The Afghanistan war has yet again proved that journalists run a great risk to their lives while reporting from the front. For, nine foreign journalists were killed in Afghanistan until November 19. War reporting is a tricky job and it has become trickier and more difficult now because of the advanced technology which has made war reporting faster, graphic and realistic. Besides, there is so much of competition between a vast array of the electronic media network that speed in reporting coupled with realism have become the hallmarks of reporting. This clearly brings out that training of war correspondents has become more important now than ever before for this not only facilitates their work but also helps them in adding realism and speed to their reporting. Repington, a former army officer turned war correspondent in the first World War, used his professional knowledge to a remarkable effect. He proved to be a good analyst, apart from being a good reporter. In the second World War, war correspondents became part of the top army generals quasi-military staff by developing mutual faith and understanding with them. Though the war correspondents mostly depended on regular press briefings, they did not forsake their independent observation, analysis and style of reporting. In this war, radio broadcasts were also covering reports not only from the field army and corps headquarters but also from forward positions. That the electronic media has brought a sea change in war reporting and makes one watch the war live in one’s drawingroom cannot be denied. This in turn has thrown up the necessity to exercise judicious control over the graphic and detailed pictures and reports so that the secrecy of operations is not jeopardised. Admittedly, unless a journalist goes to the war front, he cannot do justice to his coverage. However, going to the war front for realistic reporting involves risk to life which has to be accepted. But this risk can be minimised by training war correspondents during peace time in the task of reporting from the war zone. A few examples of the casualties suffered by the journalists are quoted here. In World War II, 37 war correspondents were killed and 112 were wounded. In the civil strife in Algeria, 46 journalists had lost their lives just in three years time from 1992 to 1995. The counterinsurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir have taken a heavy toll of journalists. Even in Kashmir, like in Afghanistan, foreign journalists have often become the target of terrorists bullets. To quote only one example, in 1995, a few foreign newsmen, including a BBC photo-journalist were gunned down in Srinagar. As for the training of war correspondents during peace time, the best is to attach them to various field units for a few weeks so that they know the basics of important weapons and equipment. They should essentially know about what type of cover they need to take in the face of small arms fire, artillery and mortar fire, tank and anti-tank fire and air attacks. They should also be trained in riding over the tanks because three journalists in Afghanistan tumbled of the roof of a tank when it quickly turned and lost their lives. There seems to be no prescribed rules for compensating the war correspondents who sustain injuries or get killed in the conflict zones. This is a big lacuna which needs to be removed by the newspapers’ management in consultation with the government. Ostensibly, the rules framed should be such as exist for the members of the armed forces to compensate the war correspondents if they are disabled and their next of kin if they are killed. |
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Film on ‘American Born Confused Desi’ Indian American Krutin Patel’s award-winning film “ABCD” is all about the Indian diaspora’s experience while growing up in the USA pulled between two cultures. The film is a landmark as in it is the first of its kind to take a look at “American Born Confused Desis” (ABCD) — a phrase used to describe the schism in the minds of second generation Indian Americans. Through the relationships and conflicts between a traditional Indian mother and her two adult children who grew up in America, “ABCD” explores the emotional consequences of growing up without a cultural identity. Honoured with numerous film festival awards, including Best Film at the Houston and Austin Film Festivals, and a special selection of the London Film Festival, “ABCD” has also been nominated for Best Independent Film for the 2001 Ammy Awards, which honours Asians and Asian Americans in film and entertainment. Patel, who was born in Ahmedabad in 1942, went to the USA with his family at the age of eight. He studied filmmaking at New York University. IANS Bright spark solves vaccination problem An Indian scientist has successfully used a domestic gas lighter to deliver drugs into mice through their skin, and suggested the inexpensive lighters could be a welcome alternative to the needle. Pramod Upadhyay of the National Institute of Immunology says the piezoelectric gas lighter is inexpensive and widely available and can be used instead of a standard syringe. Upadhyay believes his technique of immunisation “can influence the mass immunisation programme and farm animal care in a big way”. The skin has long been seen as a safe and effective target for vaccination as the epidermis (outer layer of skin) has a dense network of antigen-presenting cells. However, the epidermis is too thin for injection because the needle passes straight through, a report in ‘Newsindia’ magazine — ‘Nature’ magazine’s science and policy round up for India, said. A technique, known as membrane electroporation, has provided a means of transporting DNA, peptides and proteins across the skin and cell membrane. But it requires bulky power supplies and associated electric paraphernalia, and so was largely ignored as a route to vaccination. Upadhyay’s innovation lies in his usage of a small piezoelectric generator as a replacement for the bulky power supplies.
PTI Researchers develop artificial eyes A group of Thai researchers has successfully developed high-quality artificial eyes with cheaper costs for those having defective eyes. The Office of the National Research Commission has said in a release that the artificial eyes, medically called Porous Bovine Hydroxyapatite, bHA, were developed by Col. Assoc. Supachai Wongpichetchai and his team from the King Mongkut College of Medicine of the Royal Thai Armys Medical Department. Col. Assoc. Supachai said that, in developing the artificial eyes, he and his team were inspired by the conflict in the past between Thailand and Laos, in which many Thai troops had lost their eyes in the Rom Klao battlefield. The defective-eye soldiers had to face not only personality problems, but also problems caused by artificial eyes with non-suitable materials and designs, though lower costs. High-quality artificial eyes produced in developed countries had to be imported at high costs (about USD 1,000 each). The newly-developed artificial eyes were made from locally-made materials, including burnt cow bones, with the final outcomes similar to the imported ones, but much cheaper, he noted. The invention won the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) award at an international exhibition held in Brussels in November.
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He who loses his temper loses. Carrying tales and gossip about others is the easiest way to become unpopular. Giving others a mental lift by showing appreciation and praise is the best way to lift one’s own spirits. Listening is frequently more important than talking. When we set an example of honesty our children will be honest. When we encircle them with love, they will be loving. When we practice tolerance they will be tolerant. When we meet life with laughter and a twinkle in our eyes they will develop a sense of humour.... Do not just stand... pointing your finger to the heights you want your children to scale. Start climbing and they will follow. — Wilfred A. Peterson, * * * The New Book of the Art of Living. If you contact and commune with God in the inner temple of silence, you will have mastered the true art of living. Then health, prosperity, wisdom, love and joy will be added unto you. — Paramhansa Yogananda, The Art of Living * * * Before performing any task, stop for a moment, think of the effect it will have and then begin. If knowledge is wealth, ask yourself: “How wealthy am I?” Be careful! Your each expression will carry an impression. Sticks and stones break bones —words often break relationships. Even the most difficult task is difficult for a lazy man. If you do wrong and try to prove you are right, Time will smile at your foolishness. — Thought for Today,
A Brahmakumaris’ publication. * * * Unceasing effort brings success; ‘Fate, fate is all’ let dastards wail: Smite fate and prove yourself a man: What fault if bold endeavour fail? The Gods befriend a man who climbs Determination’s height.... — The Panchatantra, Book I * * * Wilful misconduct, ignorant and evil action, actions in a disturbed state of mind and jealousy are the roots of prajana-apradha (perverse actions through the mind). — Charaka 1.7.51 |
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