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Editorial
month september 30, edition 000311, collected & managed by durgesh kumar mishra, published by – manish manjul
Editorial is syndication of all daily- published newspaper’s Editorial at one place.
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THE PIONEER
1. FIGHTING A COMMON ENEMY
2. FORECLOSING ALL OPTIONS
3. TALKS CAN STOP TERROR STRIKES-ASHOK K MEHTA
4. TAIWAN MUST JOIN UN CLIMATE TALKS-WENCHYI ONG
5. TIME TO RAISE THE BAR-GAUTAM MUKHERJEE
6. CHINA’S GDP CLIMBING UP-B RAMAN
7. FRANCE RUSHES TO POLANSKI’S DEFENCE-ANGELA DOLAND IN PARIS
8. A LIFE OF SUFFERING FOR A WOMAN OF COURAGE-KHIMI THAPA
TIMES OF INDIA
1. CHANGE COURSE NOW
2. MOVING TO THE RIGHT
3. SALE SEASON AHEAD-SHALINI SINGH
4. 'THE 50-OVER FORMAT IS STILL RELEVANT'
5. MAKE THE GRADE-JUG SURAIYA
6. BENDING THE CURVE-WILLIAM SAFIRE
7. MONEY CREATES A FALSE SENSE OF INDEPENDENCE-SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
HINDUSTAN TIMES
1. ON A RUNWAY TO NOWHERE
2. IN ONE FELLED SWOOP
3. A CAPE OF GOOD HOPE-LALITA PANICKER
4. OUR MAN IN THE MIDDLE-SURINDER SINGLA
5. NORTH BOTHERED!-PREETI SINGH
6. A CALL FOR CHANGE-CHITRANGADA CHOUDHURY
7. CHILD SOLDIERS - ROBBED OF THEIR INNOCENCE
INDIAN EXPRESS
1. IT’S YOUR LAND
2. PERMIT RAJ
3. WHO’S AFRAID OF THE NPT?-ARUNDHATI GHOSE
4. NOW THERE ARE FIVE-VIPIN PUBBY
5. HOW FAR HAS CHINA COME?-KENT G. DENG
6. THE MIDDLE PATH-C. RAJA MOHAN
7. DARING TO DISARM
8. BLEEDING FROM THE CUTS -BJORN LOMBORG
FINANCIAL EXPRESS
1. ONCE AGAIN, PETTY PILOTS
2. ROAD TO FACTORIES
3. THE RULES VS REGULATION DILEMMA-K VAIDYA NATHAN
4. THE MESSAGE FROM GOLD & REAL ESTATE-MADAN SABNAVIS
5. NO TOAST FOR TEA-SANJEEB MUKHERJEE
THE HINDU
1. AIR INDIA GROUNDED
2. POLITICAL CHANGE IN GERMANY -P. SAINATH
3. COPENHAGEN NEGOTIATING TEXT: 200 PAGES TO SAVE WORLD? -DAVID ADAM
4. IT’S THE WALLY YACHTERS WHO ARE BURNING THE PLANET-GEORGE MONBIOT
5. WHAT MAKES “POWER” LISTS TICK -HASAN SUROOR
THE ASIAN AGE
1. AIR INDIA STRIKE HAS TO END NOW
2. GENE MUTATION AND FOOD-KAVITHA KURUGANTI
3. GORBACHEV AND HIS RUSSIAN TRAGEDY-GOVIND TALWALKAR
THE TRIBUNE
1. END AMBIGUITY
2. CLIMATE CHANGE AT G-20
3. KILLER HEART DISEASE
4. RIGHT TO LIFE REDEFINED
5. SPEEDY TRIAL KEY TO PRISON REFORMS-BY V. ESHWAR ANAND
6. THE COLOURS OF LIFE-BY JUSTICE MAHESH GROVER
7. BRITISH PUBLIC LIBRARIES BECOMING FRIENDLIER-BY ARIFA AKBAR
8. USING TRACTORS FOR POWER GENERATION-BY SARABJIT ARJAN SINGH
9. SPREAD OUT MEGA SPORTS EVENTS-BY BHARAT DOGRA
THE ASSAM TRIBUNE
1. A NEW ORDER
2. IMPACT OF FTA
3. ILLUSIONS OF PROGRESS-DN BEZBORUAH
4. SPIRITUAL CONTRIBUTION OF SANKARDEVA-DR MANAMOHAN DAS
THE ECONOMIC TIMES
1. GANDHI AS A LUXURY LABEL
2. TOUGH JOB AHEAD FOR INDIA AS MEMBER OF FSB
3. ALLOW MIGRATION FROM EPF TO NPS
4. ECONOMICS & GANDHI'S HUMAN TOUCH-BHARAT DOGRA
5. REFORM AFFILIATING-VARSITY MODEL-PANKAJ JALOTE
6. REAL OR ILLUSORY, WHO CAN TELL?-VITHAL C NADKARNI
7. HOLD OIL INDIA, EXIT OPPORTUNITY POSSIBLE AT RS 1300-1400 LEVELS: INVESTMENT ANALYST
8. PHARMA, SMALL STOCKS IN OIL & GAS LOOKING GOOD: MODERN SHARES & BROKERS
9. 'INDIA TO PLAY KEY ROLE IN GE'S OPERATION DISRUPTION'-VINOD MAHANTA
10. 'WE PLAN TO ADD NEW VERTICALS EVERY YEAR'-N SHIVAPRIYA
11. 'LOW-COST HOUSING MODEL CAN SURVIVE ONLY WITH GOVT HELP'
DECCAN CHRONICAL
1. AIR INDIA STRIKE HAS TO END NOW
2. GORBACHEV AND HIS RUSSIAN TRAGEDY -BY GOVIND TALWALKAR
3. THE NEXT CULTURE WAR WILL HAVE TO BE STINGY -BY DAVID BROOKS
4. FREE MARKET BRINGS ITS OWN MEDIA CENSORSHIP -BY JAYATI GHOSH
5. DEFUSING A BOMB -BY CYRIL ALMEIDA
6. A PILL FOR ETERNAL LIFE -BY NICHOLAS WADE
THE STATESMAN
1. NESTLE MILK MUGABE THE FARMER-DANIEL HOWDEN
2. LEARNING THE FACTS OF LIFE
3. ANUPRIYO MALLICK
4. AIR-INDIA AGAIN!
5. CUTE BRAVEHEART
6. URBAN REGRESSION
THE TELEGRAPH
1. ON THE TARMAC
2. HAPPY TOGETHER
3. AN ESSAY IN PERSUASION -K.P. NAYAR
4. IRON RULES -STEPHEN HUGH-JONES
DECCAN HERALD
1. NEXT FINANCIAL CRISIS JUST A MATTER OF TIME-BY ROBERTO SAVIO,IPS
2. CRAZY LANGUAGE-BY DINESH KUMAR
THE JERUSALEM POST
1. EGYPT, STOP THE ROT
2. LION'S DEN: NETANYAHU'S QUIET SUCCESS-DANIEL PIPES
3. ENCOUNTERING PEACE: IN THE LAND OF MIRACLES, LET'S GET REAL-GERSHON BASKIN
4. GRAPEVINE: INSPIRING PHILANTHROPY-GREER FAY CASHMAN
5. TIME FOR A NEW DEPARTURE-YITZHAK KLEIN
6. IRAN'S 'NUCLEAR CARD' GAME-JOSH SIMON
HAARETZ
1. NO ORDINARY COMPTROLLER -BY HAARETZ EDITORIAL
2. CRIES OF 'HOLD ME BACK' MAY LEAD ISRAEL TO STRIKE IRAN -BY ALUF BENN
3. AJAMI'S LEGACY -BY AVIRAMA GOLAN
4. THE THIRD THREAT -BY GABRIEL SIBONI
5. HOW WE DIDN'T DEFEAT OBAMA -BY YEHUDA BEN MEIR
THE NEW YORK TIMES
1. SIGNS OF LIFE IN FINANCIAL REFORM
2. TALKING WITH MYANMAR
3. WAY BEHIND THE CURVE
4. THE POLANSKI CASE
5. ON SAFIRE -BY MAUREEN DOWD
6. WHERE DID ‘WE’ GO? -BY THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
7. LIFTING IRAN’S NUCLEAR VEIL -BY GARY MILHOLLIN AND VALERIE LINCY
8. WHY ARREST ROMAN POLANSKI NOW? -BY ROBERT HARRIS
I.THE NEWS
1. AND NOW QUETTA
2. EVIL ON THE STREETS
3. DOING BUSINESS
4. KERRY-LUGAR BILL: THE FRUITION OF 62 YEARS-MOSHARRAF ZAIDI
5. A VISIT TO AMERICA-ZAFAR HILALY
6. IT'S ULTIMATELY THE CITIZENS-ROEDAD KHAN
7. SELF-PROPELLED REVIVAL EFFORT-MASOOD SHARIF KHAN KHATTAK
8. LESSONS IN DISASTER-ANJUM NIAZ
9. TO FORGIVE IS DIVINE-MIR JAMILUR RAHMAN
PAKISTAN OBSERVER
1. TAKE DREADED KERRY-LUGAR BILL TO PARLIAMENT
2. BYE-POLLS: DEMOCRACY SHOULD MOVE AHEAD
3. ADDRESS CONCERNS ABOUT ROZS
4. TIME FOR US TO SEEK SAFE PASSAGE FROM KABUL-M ASHRAF MIRZA
5. SWINE FLU AND ITS INTRIGUING LINKS -DR GHAYUR AYUB
6. US WANTS MORE TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN -SYED SAYEF HUSSAIN
7. HOW TO PRESS ADVANTAGE WITH IRAN-FLYNT LEVERETT
8. YOUR INNER CASTLE..!-ROBERT CLEMENTS
THE INDEPENDENT
1. GERMAN POLLS
2. DCC AFFAIR
3. TEACH US, DEAR GIRL…!
THE AUSTRALIAN
1. PAY ON PERFORMANCE
2. IDEOLOGICAL CRUSADE
3. ART OF THE INTERVIEW
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
1. TAFE AND THE COST OF CUTTING
2. A LESSON NOT LEARNT
3. POLANSKI'S ARTISTIC GENIUS DOES NOT EXCUSE CHILD RAPE
4. INFORMATION IS AN ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT OF HEALTHY DIETS
THE GURDIAN
1. GORDON BROWN IN BRIGHTON: HOLDING OUT FOR HOPE
2. ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR: TIME TO GET TOUGH ON THE CAUSES
3. IN PRAISE OF … GERMAN ARISTOCRACY
THE JAPAN TIMES
1. NO LETUP ON STIMULUS POLICIES
2. LDP STAKES FUTURE ON NEW LEADER
3. TOO SOON TO VIEW HIV VACCINE AS A SOLUTION-BY CESAR CHELALA
4. IRISH VOTERS WEIGH THE LISBON TREATY AGAIN-BY JOHN O'BRENNAN
5. CHINA WORRIES NEIGHBORS AS ITS NAVY COMES OF AGE-BY LORO HORTA
THE KOREA HERALD
1. NEW PRIME MINISTER
2. 2010 SPENDING PLAN
3. THINGS THAT WE ARE CONFUSED WITH -KIM SEONG-KON
CHINA DAILY
1. MAJOR ISSUE FOR MINORS
2. COUPLES FALLING APART
3. CHINA'S MAGIC TO BREAK THOSE DOOM SPELLS
4. THE LOW-CARBON FUTURE ECONOMY
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THE PIONEER
EDIT DESK
FIGHTING A COMMON ENEMY
FIX COMMAND ISSUES IN ANTI-MAOIST DRIVE
As the Centre and the affected States firm up modalities to jointly undertake operations to purge the Maoists once and for all, confusion regarding the command structure of such operations is something that must be avoided at all cost. With the Directors-General of Police of several Maoist-hit States expressing reservations about the command hierarchy of joint anti-Maoist operations, especially in the border areas with an adjoining State or two, it would be prudent for the Union and the State Governments to sit across the table and work out a mutually acceptable command structure. This is because anti-Maoist operations by their very nature cannot be time-bound. Larger objectives have to be broken down into smaller steps wherein success at step two cannot be achieved without securing success at step one. Thus, given the complexity and long-drawn character of such operations, not having a fixed command structure in place is bound to accentuate differences that will eventually crop up at the ground level. Although Union Home Minister P Chidambaram is supposed to have assured the police bosses in Maoist-affected States that they would be leading the operations against the Left-wing terrorists even if they were joint operations with Central paramilitary forces, it is best that a fixed command structure is approved and formalised on paper.
Maoist have demonstrated that they are extremely adept at evading security forces by hopping across State boundaries. Coordinated joint operations between Central and State security forces of two or more States alone can neutralise the Maoists militarily. But one of the most fundamental challenges of such joint operations is getting everyone on the same page. If the DGP of a particular State believes that a certain anti-Maoist operation should go a particular way given the specific conditions on his side of the State border and if this is found to be out of sync with the plans of the DGP across the State border, there is nothing within the existing system that can help mitigate this conflict. Law and order is a State subject and it is precisely because of this that a commanding Central paramilitary officer cannot give directions to a State police chief on his own turf. Yet, coordination and cooperation among the State police forces and with the Central paramilitary forces is paramount to defeating the Maoists. If a proper command structure is not worked out, our anti-Maoist operations risk crumbling from within.
It must be borne in mind that the objective here is to defeat the Maoists. Issues regarding the seniority of officers involved in anti-Maoist operations should not be allowed to jeopardise the operations themselves. There are several State police chiefs who might feel threatened working with a Central paramilitary commanding officer. But such specious reservations and bogus egos should simply be brushed aside. Once a concrete command structure for joint anti-Maoist operations is put in place, even if it entails the DGPs giving up some of their authority that they would be entitled to exercise under normal circumstances, they should leave no stone unturned to contribute to the collective effort to eliminate the Maoists. It goes without saying that once the Maoists are flushed out of an area, the local police would assume charge of security of the village or district. But till that happens all the security forces involved in the anti-Maoist operations should seamlessly fuse to form a determined, well-oiled fighting force. This is the only way that the Maoists can be routed.
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THE PIONEER
EDIT DESK
FORECLOSING ALL OPTIONS
IRAN TALKS TOUGH BEFORE MEETING WITH P5
Iran’s bomb-in-the-basement programme is no longer an official secret. Till now, the world knew that Iran was actively involved in acquiring enrichment technology and installing it in reprocessing plants about whose location there was considerable speculation. But no longer so. Iran has officially revealed startling details which can only add to mounting concern about Tehran’s intentions. On Tuesday, Iran’s nuclear chief added to those concerns by declaring that the newly revealed uranium enrichment facility had been built inside a mountain and next to a military site to “ensure continuity of its nuclear activities in case of an attack”. Is it a calculated taunt or a considered signal that Iran is in no mood to scale back its nuclear programme, irrespective of the consequences of its recalcitrance? One assessment has it that Vice-President Ali Akbar Salehi, who heads the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, took a ‘hard line’ with the purpose of letting the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany know where Tehran stands before their representatives meet those of Iran in Geneva over its nuclear activities. Mr Salehi has also let it be known that while Iran is willing to have a “general discussion about nuclear technology” in Geneva, it will “not give up its right to uranium enrichment and conversion”. This almost makes the scheduled talks stillborn as it closes all diplomatic options; in brief, it points to the path of further sanctions.
The sabre-rattling follows increased international pressure on Iran after details of the site for the secretly built enrichment facility became public knowledge. Although it is abundantly clear (and Iran has not bothered to deny it) that Tehran’s ultimate goal is to build a nuclear bomb and add weapons of mass destruction to its arsenal, the charade of asking the Iranian Government to come clean continues. This is no more than an exercise in futility, for Iran is not going to tell the world when it plans to test the bomb, how many it will stockpile, and which country or countries it will target. Mr Salehi claims that Iran is negotiating a timetable with the International Atomic Energy Agency for an inspection of the facility near Qom, considered holy by Shias — the location is not without significance. It is anybody’s guess as to when Iran will allow IAEA inspectors access to the facility. And, even if access is allowed, whether they will be treated as in the past, reducing the inspection to a farce. That Iran’s nuclear programme is for military use is now established — Mr Salehi says the facility is next to a compound of the Revolutionary Guard and equipped with an air defence system. What remains to be determined is how the world deals with this grim reality.
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THE PIONEER
COLUMN
TALKS CAN STOP TERROR STRIKES
ASHOK K MEHTA
No clairvoyance was required to predict that the talks last Sunday between the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan at New York about resumption of the composite dialogue would be barren, especially after the perceived breakthrough at Sharm el-Sheikh, delinking dialogue from terrorism. India has taken the stand that Pakistan must take action against the culprits of the Mumbai attack, particularly the mastermind, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed. Pakistan says the case against him is half-baked and a single issue should not hold back the relationship. Further, it regrets that the public momentum of Sharm el-Sheikh has not fully registered in India. Indeed, except for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the majority in his party and public opinion in India regard the delinking as untimely and unwise even though he believes that dialogue is the only way forward as conflict with Pakistan is not an option.
Engagement is the accepted mantra of conflict resolution. Pakistan’s civilian Government wants resumption of talks as the best way to prevent attacks by working together and exchanging information, though this route has been tried unsuccessfully earlier. The US feels improved relations will allow Pakistan to focus on fighting the Taliban rather than be distracted by India.
Pakistan’s priority is selectively fighting the Taliban, not turning its guns on Hafiz Saeed and thereby opening a second front. The Afghan Taliban and the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba/Jamaat-ud-Dawa’h are regarded as strategic weapons in Afghanistan and Kashmir respectively for securing strategic depth on both flanks.
The ISI has a deal with the LeT which allows the Punjabi Taliban space to train for jihad and also assist in the war against Pakistan Taliban. There have been no suicide attacks in Punjab for weeks now though they are a regular feature in the North-West. The JuD has a mass popular base due to its ‘philanthropic work’, charities and relief during national disasters currently for Internally Displaced Persons from Swat. Increased violations of the ceasefire agreement of 2003 by Pakistan are designed to pump in LeT reinforcements into Kashmir to activate the dormant militancy this winter.
By taking a public stance of engagement with India, Pakistan is trying to improve its international image and the stock of the civilian regime. Former President Gen Pervez Musharraf is providing out of country support by blaming India for Pakistani youth taking to terrorism due to “oppression of Muslims” in India. Delhi is unlikely to oblige Islamabad in relenting on its core demand of action against Hafiz Saeed, certainly not until the elections in Maharashtra, commemorating the first anniversary of the Mumbai attack and celebrating the unprecedented one year of zero terrorist attacks in India under UPA II.
The credit for no Pakistan-based terrorist strikes must be shared with Washington,DC, and Islamabad. One year — when that happens in November — is a long period of freedom from terrorism and is too unreal to be permanent. In the lull there is a likely deal between the ISI and Punjabi jihadis. More deals get broken than are made in Pakistan, which brings centre-stage the question of linkages in the history of India-Pakistan dialogue.
Delhi has been consistently saying that Pakistan uses terrorism as an instrument of state policy and must abandon it for a fruitful and uninterrupted dialogue to settle by peaceful means, all outstanding issues including Kashmir. While denying any state-sponsorship of terrorism, Pakistan attributes acts of terror to the unresolved Kashmir dispute and lately to India’s indigenous terror outfits. Terrorism and Kashmir have been the core issue with each side advocating its concerns taking precedence over the others. Though never formally articulated, willy-nilly both dropped terrorism and Kashmir “First” before addressing other issues on the composite dialogue. India is no longer — and not for the first time — pressing dismantling of the terrorist infrastructure but disciplining Hafiz Saeed who has filed a case against his arrest.
Look at the dialogue graph and how spoilers have periodically spiked it. The attack on Parliament in December 2001 severed the dialogue process so acutely that the two coun tries nearly went to war. One worthy lesson from Operation Parakram is that was is simply not an option. It was this outcome that persuaded former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to extend the hand of friendship to restore the peace process in January 2004. Three valuable years and hard-built trust were lost.
In July 2006, the Mumbai train bombings derailed the talks for several months till Mr Singh and Gen Pervez Musharraf resuscitated the dialogue on the sidelines of the Nam summit in Havana by establishing the discredited Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism which had its first meeting in early 2007. This mechanism became the unlikely crutch with which to rescue any future casualties of the dialogue. The Samjhauta Express attack in February 2007 dislocated the talks which were quickly referred to the JATM. This was followed by the bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul in February 2008 and the mother of all terrorist attacks, in November that year in Mumbai.
Not only has no progress been made in the composite dialogue, the overall climate of suspicion and distrust has also worsened and new areas of dispute cropped up — Afghanistan, Baluchistan and water. Between 2002 and 2009 Pakistan’s top leaders have at least six times committed publicly not to permit the use of their soil for attacks against India. Only after Mumbai did Islamabad acknowledge that the attack emanated from its soil, but that there was no involvement of the state.
It is clear that linkages between terror and dialogue have not worked as there is not yet a permanent insulation of the dialogue from spoilers. India’s reaction to terrorist attacks has been proportionate to the visibility of targets, intensity of damage and scale of casualties. The strike on Parliament was equated with an assault on India’s democracy and sovereignty; the Mumbai attacks a stab at India’s commercial heart; and the train attacks while high on casualties were low in profile.
India has moved from zero tolerance to an acceptable threshold and distinguishing between non-state actors and state connivance. Pakistan is suggesting engagement so that future attacks can be prevented. DG ISI, Lt Gen Shuja Pasha has made two recent overtures: briefing Indian High Commission Defence Advisor in Islamabad and attending the Indian High Commissioner’s iftaar.
Between the devil and the deep sea, India fixated on Hafiz Saeed has not option but to engage Pakistan, opening new channels with ISI and the Army.
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THE PIONEER
COLUMN
TAIWAN MUST JOIN UN CLIMATE TALKS
WENCHYI ONG
Changes in India’s annual monsoon have resulted in severe droughts and intense flooding in parts of India. “Climate change is real and its implications are going to be borne by the poorest of the poor,” says Dr William Dar, ICRISAT’s Director-General. Such extreme weather conditions have become frequent in recent years. Scientists predict that by the end of the century the country will experience a three to five degrees centigrade temperature increase and a 20 per cent rise in rainfall.
Global warming presents one of the greatest challenges of our time. It is reassuring to see that world leaders are now giving it the importance it deserves at the recent summit in New York convened by the UN. India has already set up a Ministry to promote alternative sources of energy and has targeted to reduce emissions by 2020. This is an extremely commendable and positive action.
In Taiwan, the powerful effect from climate change is also felt. As recent as August this year, the island was devastated by Typhoon Marakot, receiving 2,900 mm of rain in three days. To safeguard its people against future disasters, Taiwan has taken many measures to mitigate global warming and yet it is not allowed to participate in the upcoming Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. According to researchers from Colombia University, working in association with the World Bank and others, “Taiwan may be a place on Earth most vulnerable to natural hazards.”
The relationship between Taiwan and mainland China began to ease since the summer of 2008. This is one of the reasons why Taiwan’s bid to meaningfully participate in the World Health Assembly of 2008 as an observer was successful. And Taiwan has since proved to be a responsible player, as evidenced in the recent combat against the global pandemic of swine flu. Taiwan’s Premier Wu Den-yih made a plea for support from the international community for Taiwan’s new bid to participate in the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change.
Taiwan is the 17th largest economy in the world and has an important role to play in the combined efforts to fight against climate change. As a critical stakeholder, Taiwan could share its resources of weather data and facilitate better training of personnel engaged in monitoring changes in weather conditions. Taiwan welcomes the opportunity to work with all the 192 Convention members to better protect and preserve Mother Nature.
The writer is Representative, Taipei Economic and Cultural Center, Delhi.
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THE PIONEER
OPED
TIME TO RAISE THE BAR
VIJAYA DASHAMI IS THE OCCASION TO WISH PROGRESS AND PROSPERITY TO ALL. OUR WISH CAN BECOME A REALITY IF WE GET OVER THE FAILURE OF OUR SOCIALIST PAST AND LOOK FORWARD TO A BOOMING ECONOMY TO RIVAL THAT OF CHINA’S. YES, IT’S POSSIBLE IF WE AS A NATION GET RID OF OUR DIFFIDENCE
GAUTAM MUKHERJEE
Goddess Durga, believers aver, ‘arrived’ this year on a celestial swing, a dolna, depicted in all the puja pandals by chains descending from the heavens on either side of the idols. And the clear implication of this, to a troubled and much harried world, is that she would waft our troubles away by the displacement caused by that heavenly swinging motion.
And to cement the image of impending good times, on Vijaya Dashami, 2009, she also ‘departs’ grandly, on elephant back. And this elephant or gaja as her vehicle or vahan, symbolises an ushering in of prosperity.
For us Indians perpetually under the yoke, prosperity generally means a lessening of our trials and tribulations as opposed to an out-and-out transformation. We are so used to living in the embrace of relative shades of grey that we dare not aspire to brazen upliftment!
So much so, that achievements and breakthroughs, such as the Indian Space Research Organisation finding hydroxyl and ice on the Moon; and Leander Paes winning his 10th Tennis Grand Slam Doubles Title; have perforce to be regarded as exceptions rather than the rule.
Our own occasional stabs at greatness are in sharp contrast to the world view of the ‘can-do’ Americans. They have a singular talent for thinking big. That they also routinely gather up the best human capital available globally, accounts for their other great characteristic-innovation; and what they themselves call “American ingenuity”.
It must be a matter of some pride that many of the individuals that make up the tapestry of American achievement are ethnic Indians. Of course, this luminescence comes from the export of our best and brightest and the only consolation is that out well of talent does, in fact, run deep.
That is how the success of Chandrayaan I comes to pass. But this achievement, like Leander Paes’ consistency, or Pankaj Advani’s winning of every conceivable title in World Billiards, or Vishwanathan Anand’s long reign in international chess, or the virtuosity of Sachin Tendulkar with a cricket bat; is still far less than we ought to aspire to as an ancient culture of a billion plus souls. But to do so, we need to learn from the experts without reservation and unleash our potential.
A crushed and humiliated Japan after World War II, was remade in the American image by General Douglas MacArthur. Japan accepted the challenge of its changed circumstances and worked its way back to economic prosperity, albeit in the fields of electronics, automobile and two-wheeler engineering/manufacturing in the main. But in these fields they have long been world-beaters, at least in volume and mass market terms and are now climbing the luxury charts too.
So much so, that in the Koreans, the Chinese, the Singaporeans, the Malays and the Thais, you find very able imitators of the original imitator, Japan, with suitable modifications that play to their individual strengths, but with that same export oriented will to prosperity. That they all serve the Americans and their market to an overwhelming degree, is a specific vulnerability of their model seen in 2009, but we know that already.
Here, in India, driven primarily by a large and under-serviced domestic market, we have huge possibilities begging to be addressed. But first, amongst a logjam of other pent up needs, we have to deliver cutting-edge technology for once! And this, along with quality, reliability and sufficient capacity - to get away, from our “shortage” psychosis left over from the Licence-Permit Raj. And we have to do so in manufacturing, infrastructure and services alike, to achieve that most necessary quantum leap into the desirable and state-of-the-art, rather than languishing forever in the land of jogar and make-do.
Japan with its initially tinny cars and low-end and unreliable electronics, was also once derided as the fountain of all that is “cheap and nasty,” and some of that low quality opprobrium, the dangerous corner-cutting, attaches to Chinese goods today.
But in time, it is repeatedly seen, such problems recede in the face of a national determination to excel. We might be the product of a resurgent neo-colonialism and its patronising pushing of ‘intermediate technology’ solutions designed to facilitate the selling of imported high-end goods and services to us in perpetuity. We also flaunt a Third World exceptionism, sometimes cloaked in fashionable ‘green’ raiments, but it is motivated local collaboration to keep us desiring, only ‘appropriate’, translation- second-rate, solutions.
We need to view such subversive theses and their spokesmen with suspicion. And subject them to the same scrutiny we presently reserve for all those mega initiatives that may actually catapult us into the big league. A case in point is the recent observations of the Vice-President of the French senate’s committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, Mr Chevenement, also a former Defence and Home Minister of France, who stated it is not China that would give the thumbs down to India acquiring a permanent seat in the UNSC.
China apparently sees India as another welcome Asian addition to the Security Council. And alternative European collaborators in the high-technology stakes, Britain and France, are not opposed to India’s entry either. This leaves the US and Russia. And so, we must try to fathom why they would want to keep India out.
But intrinsically too, we are chronically suspicious of prosperity and power and thus easy to manipulate. It is a hangover of recent decades of failed socialism certainly, but also the ravages to the psyche suffered by a long subordinated people.
But the time may have come to put all this behind us. Dan Brown’s new million selling book on Masonic Symbols in Washington, DC, has put astrology back in fashion. Our own celebrity astrologer Bejan Daruwala has long predicted India will emerge as a “superpower” in the next few years after all.
Meanwhile, as per Vedic astrology, Saturn has recently moved from a most difficult placement in Leo to a much nicer berth in Virgo, where it will stay for the next two and half years. And coincidentally, India’s mahadasha has just changed from Venus to that of the Sun, associated almost always with growth and betterment. This mahadasha is only six years long, unlike the Venusian twenty; but if it provokes bold thinking and causes us to dare to scale up, it is time enough for the progress and prosperity we all so fervently pray for.
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THE PIONEER
OPED
CHINA’S GDP CLIMBING UP
WITH 7.9 % GROWTH IN SECOND QUARTER, BEIJING IS SMILING
B RAMAN
The Chinese authorities have reasons to be gratified over the economic indicators for the first half of 2009. After touching a record low of 6.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year, China’s GDP growth has risen to 7.9 per cent in the second quarter. If this improvement is maintained, the authorities are confident of reaching or even exceeding the targeted growth rate of eight per cent for 2009. According to Chinese experts, this is the minimum growth rate required for preventing an aggravation of the unemployment situation.
The Chinese authorities admit that they are keeping their fingers crossed as to whether this significant recovery could be maintained since that would depend not only on their economic management, but also on the improvement in the rest of the world. State-aided improvement in domestic demand has contributed considerably to the recovery despite the fact that exports of Chinese goods have not recovered significantly and foreign trade, which contributes significantly to the health of the economy, continues to decline though not as fast as it did last year and in the first quarter of this year.
State-aided domestic demand has contributed to a significant recovery in the real estate and automobiles sectors. Civil aviation is another sector, which has been improving. The textile industry continues to suffer due to the steep drop in overseas orders. The iron and steel industry is facing difficulty due to over-capacity, many uneconomic units and high cost of local production and local iron ore mining. This has necessitated imports of both lower-priced steel products and large-quantities of iron ore. The Chinese have undertaken a programme for re-structuring the iron and steel industry. Under this, there has been a three-year freeze on the setting-up of new units. Technologically backward and underdeveloped units are to be shut down and the remaining units are to be merged to reduce the number operating. This could have an impact on future imports of iron ore from India, which now constitute a little over 50 per cent of India’s total exports to China. The uneconomic units prefer Indian ore because of its lower transportation cost. The bigger, efficient and modern units are able to afford the import of the more expensive and reportedly better quality ore from Australia and Brazil.
In the past, foreign analysts used to express doubts about the accuracy and dependability of Chinese economic statistics, particularly relating to the GDP growth rate. Now, such scepticism is being voiced even by sections of Chinese analysts. Significantly, the Chinese authorities have not tried to stop the publication of such notes of scepticism about official economic statistics. In one of my earlier notes, attention had been drawn to the scepticism being voiced by some Chinese experts as to how power production and consumption continue to be sluggish at a time when the Government has been claiming an improvement in industrial production.
Now, the Global Times, the English daily of the party-owned People’s Daily group, has come out with an editorial questioning the accuracy of the claims relating to the GDP growth rate. It has also questioned the wisdom of the excessive focus on the GDP growth rate for judging the health of the economy. It is being pointed out that there are other indicators, which are equally, if not more, important such as the data regarding unemployment. Reliable statistics regarding unemployment are hard to come by. Ordinary people may not be able to find out the fudging of GDP statistics, but they can easily sense from their experience and that of their relatives and friends about any downplaying of the seriousness of the unemployment situation.
Even after taking into consideration such scepticism about the reliability of Chinese statistics, one has to admit that the Chinese economy has been showing signs of a recovery. This is conceded by even some foreign experts monitoring the Chinese economy as well as by foreign business companies operating in China. It will be unwarranted cynicism to doubt every claim being made by the Chinese. Many claims are corroborated by independent sources.
There is a debate going on among Chinese analysts about the wisdom of what they view as the excessive investments of China’s huge foreign exchange reserves ($ 2.13 trillion) in the US Treasury Bonds. They have been advising the Government to consider other options, such as investment in gold, more Chinese investments abroad and the acquisition of foreign companies facing difficulties due to the global economic meltdown. They have been pointing out that among the major economic powers of the world, China has the least investment in gold. It is said that while China has invested about 35 per cent ($ 776.4 billion) of its foreign exchange reserves in US Treasury Bonds, only 1.6 per cent of its reserves is invested in gold.
While the Chinese political leadership is showing an awareness of the need for caution in stepping up the investments in the US Treasury Bonds, it is at the same time conscious of the political pressure point which Beijing has over the US through its huge investments in the Treasury Bonds. The Chinese feel that this pressure point has enabled Beijing to bring about a moderation in American attitudes and policies towards China since US President Barack Obama took over.
The comparative silence of the Obama Administration on human rights issues as compared to the Bush Administration is attributed by Chinese observers to the US’s need for continued Chinese purchase of Treasury Bonds. Power flows not only from the barrel of a gun, but also from investments in American Treasury Bonds!
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THE PIONEER
OPED
FRANCE RUSHES TO POLANSKI’S DEFENCE
BUT SURVEY SHOWS MANY FRENCH BELIEVE HE SHOULD BE TRIED IN THE US, WRITES ANGELA DOLAND IN PARIS
Was Roman Polanski “thrown to the lions because of ancient history?” That’s what the French Culture Minister says —though not everyone in France agrees. The French Government has rushed to the filmmaker’s defence since he was arrested this weekend in Switzerland on a three-decade-old US charge of having sex with a 13-year-old girl. Government Ministers and France’s cultural world have lauded Polanski as a great artist, a family man and a survivor of countless hardships who deserves peace at age 76.
In Paris, Polanski’s not a fugitive wanted for a sex crime, but rather a revered artist and public figure who has never had much reason to hide. While Polanski would have risked arrest to attend the 2003 Academy Awards in Los Angeles — where he was named best director for The Pianist — he is free to climb the red carpet at every Cannes Film Festival. Actor Harrison Ford eventually delivered the golden Oscar statuette to Polanski at another French film festival in the Normandy beach town of Deauville.
Polanski, who has dual French and Polish nationality, has long been protected by France’s refusal to extradite its citizens. But there’s more to it than that: France’s indulgence toward artists has played into sympathy for him among the country’s elites, as has the French distaste for peering into public figures’ private lives. Though few, if any, prominent figures came out publicly against Polanski, there are signs that many ordinary French people disagree with the Government’s position.
To a question posed on Le Figaro newspaper’s website —“Should Roman Polanski be tried?” — more than 70 per cent of the nearly 29,500 respondents responded yes. Many left comments lashing out at France’s Government and cultural leaders. One comment read: “Our so-called intelligentsia lacks modesty, restraint and impartiality when one of its own has behaved badly.”
Polanski has lived in France since he fled the United States in 1978, after pleading guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor but before being formally sentenced. By all reports he leads a quiet life with his wife, actress Emmanuelle Seigner, and their two children. His early life was marked by tragedy — his mother died at Auschwitz during the Holocaust, and his second wife, actress Sharon Tate, was murdered in 1969 by followers of Charles Manson. She was eight months pregnant.
While French Cabinet Ministers are generally cautious about commenting on the legal affairs of other countries, saying they don’t want to interfere, they have been astonishingly outspoken on behalf of Polanski, who risks extradition to the United States. Both French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner stressed Polanski’s artistic gifts in their defence of him, though in theory all men — regardless of talent — are equal before the law.
Mr Kouchner called the arrest “sinister,” adding: “A man of such talent, recognised in the entire world, recognised especially in the country that arrested him — all this just isn’t nice.” To some here, the slap of American justice seemed particularly sharp as the arrest came as Polanski was entering Switzerland to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Zurich Film Festival.
Mr Mitterrand said, “To see him like that, thrown to the lions because of ancient history, really doesn’t make any sense.” Mitterrand continued with a jab against the United States: “In the same way that there is a generous America that we like, there is also a scary America that has just shown its face.” Polanski’s supporters find it odd that he is being sought for a 32-year-old crime. His French lawyers have stressed that the statute of limitations on the case would have expired long ago in France.
Polanski’s victim, Samantha Geimer, who identified herself publicly years ago, has joined in Polanski’s bid for dismissal, saying she wants the case to be over. She sued Polanski and reached an undisclosed settlement.
AP
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THE PIONEER
OPED
A LIFE OF SUFFERING FOR A WOMAN OF COURAGE
AMA ADHE, TIBETAN ACTIVIST HELD IN PRISON FOR 27 YEARS, INSPIRES HOPE IN EXILE
KHIMI THAPA
She was born in sovereign Tibet. But now lives in exile. Imprisoned in 1958 by the People’s Liberation Army for protesting against Chinese occupation and persecution, Adhe Taponstsang, or affectionately known as Ama Adhe, survived the trauma to tell the truth to the world. In Tibetan, Ama means mother.
This writer met Ama Adhe in McLeodganj where she now lives with her second husband. Although there are several old age homes set up for elderly people, Ama Adhe and her husband have been allotted a room at Reception Centre for Tibetan Refugees so that she can continue to devote her life to Tibet’s cause for which she has spent 27 years in Chinese jail.
“Tibet was a sovereign state till the Chinese marched into eastern Tibet in the 1950s. Initially, they made Tibetans believe that they had come to ameliorate their lives and protect them. But this was not their intention. Gradually, they started telling people not to engage themselves with the Dalai Lama,” Adhe, who was born in Kham, eastern Tibet, recounts with a sudden depth to the timbre of her voice.
In the mid-1950s the Chinese occupation of Tibet reached its height. It was then her husband died under mysterious circumstances. It is alleged that he was poisoned.
Adhe, daughter of a local Tibetan judge who had had a considerably happy and comfortable childhood, after her husband’s death stepped up resistance against the Chinese by launching an underground women’s movement that provided food and vital information to Khampa guerrillas who hid in the mountains and raided Chinese troops. This struggle met its an end with the arrest of Adhe along with more than 300 women in 1958.
“When I was being arrested, my three-year-old son was crying and running after me hysterically. But showing no mercy, the Chinese policemen kicked him. It was only after 27 years later that I discovered my son, unable to bear my absence, had jumped into a well. My one-month-old daughter was taken into care by my friend,” she says.
Her struggle, which she thought had ended with her arrest, actually began in the Chinese jail where she was kept with other women prisoners. In a secluded room they had a bucket instead of toilet which they had to clean every day.
“For one-and-a-half years the food given to us was just enough to survive. Unable to bear starvation, some of us even ate the soles of our shoes. Almost half of us died within one-and-a-half years,” she says.
What kept her alive? “My wish to see His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the urge to tell the world the truth about Tibet.”
After three years, while she was being shifted to a Tibetan jail, she and her compatriots saw piles of dead bodies lying on the way. However, their situation got worse, not better, in the Tibetan jail.
“Only one tingmo (Tibetan bread) was given to eat for the entire day. As there was nothing else to eat, we used to lick the bread, not wanting to eat it at one go, and drink water,” she recounts.
After languishing in jail for more than two decades, she and the others who were arrested in 1959 were finally released on the condition that they would not speak about atrocities they had suffered.
After spending a year with her daughter in Tibet, Ama Adhe realised that the world needs to know the truth and this was the only way to heal the wounds inflicted by repression.
After coming to India, which she has made her second home, via Nepal in 1986, Ama Adhe recollected her experience in a book, The Voice That Remembers as narrated to Joy Blakeslee.
She recalls the Dalai Lama, who has wrote the foreword, telling her, “Write only truth. Don’t write to agitate anyone.” She, like the rest of her generation, is happy to be near the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala, but would love to return to a free Tibet. Her life bears testimony to undiminished faith in the Dalai Lama that his people repose in him.
Mr Samdhong Rinpoche, the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in-exile, recently said there are two ways to look at the Tibet issue. Seen from the perspective of the present situation, especially in regard to the might of China, and the world’s reaction to the Tibet issue, it will never be resolved. Second, truth and non-violence — in spite of all odds, these will survive. Ama Adhe’s live exemplifies this fact.
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TIMES OF INDIA
COMMENT
CHANGE COURSE NOW
The Indian aviation industry has stumbled from one crisis to another. This time, it is national carrier Air India's turn to be mired in a management-employee spat. The bone of contention is the sharp cut in incentives for senior pilots effected last week; up to 70 per cent in some cases. The negotiations since have had the air of a tired old routine. Angry pilots have gone on sick leave, talks have failed, the pilots have stated that they will not accept any pay cut, the management has deplored their attitude, and so forth. The upshot is that all Air India domestic and international flights have been grounded until mid-October, and passengers have suffered once again. It's likely that some compromise will eventually be hammered out with the civil aviation ministry leaning on both sides. But this will be a temporary solution at best, addressing symptoms and not the cause. What's needed is a drastic change in approach.
Consider the statistics. At over Rs 15,000 crore, Air India's borrowings currently exceed its revenue of Rs 14,400 crore or so for 2007-08. The airline is haemorrhaging money to the tune of Rs 15 crore a day. The equity infusion by the government that is on the cards is nowhere near enough to fill this sinkhole. Worse, it is likely to be a case of throwing good money after bad given the persistent strategic and administrative lacunae that have led to Air India's current predicament. From the botched Air India-Indian Airlines merger to rising employee bonuses for three years over which the airline was making losses, it has been a familiar story of bureaucratic mismanagement of a public sector enterprise.
And that leads to the crux of the matter do we need to maintain, at great expense, a public sector carrier to wave the national flag in the skies? The government is needed to play a role in essential sectors that lack private participants. The aviation sector, with its multiple private players and fierce competition, hardly fits that description. Given this, what is the logic for keeping Air India on life support? What is needed is not a turnaround plan; it is a divestment plan with a medium-term horizon. Given the slowly recovering markets and the assets that the airline will bring to the table, it is certain to find buyers.
Air India has still not crossed the point of no return. But if it is to be redeemed, tough measures and difficult decisions are needed. Government management, patently, is not up to the task. Leave it to private players to salvage what can be saved and create a leaner, fitter airline. Or the current strike will only be a foretaste of problems to come.
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TIMES OF INDIA
COMMENT
MOVING TO THE RIGHT
She was expected to win, and she did. But German chancellor Angela Merkel's party the Christian Democratic Union saw a dip in its fortunes. However, that may not be too galling for her. Not only is she crowned leader of Germany for another, she might just be more effective this time around because of the changed complexion of the coalition she heads. Instead of the Social Democrats with whom the Christian Democrats shared a stuffy relationship, much like the Congress did with the Left in India it will be the pro-business Free Democrats who will now partner Merkel. This marks a decisive right turn in German politics.
The Social Democrats have suffered their worst ever showing since World War II and will be in opposition for the first time in over a decade. Other Left players such as the Greens have not fared well either, freeing up the turf for Merkel to push ahead with a centre-right agenda. This will have implications not just for the way German domestic politics plays out, but also for global equations.
The German election results bring into relief Europe's turn towards conservatism, at a time, ironically, when Barack Obama is being accused by some of his more imaginative opponents of turning America into a European-style socialist state. Germany joins Italy and France in opting for right-of-centre dispositions. Britain could soon join ranks given that Gordon Brown's Labour is down and out ahead of elections scheduled for next year. If the Tories make their expected comeback in the isles Nicolas Sarkozy, Merkel and David Cameron could form a formidable trio, shaping Europe's economic future. What's uncannily similar about these three leaders is that they all have hijacked centre-left positions on welfare benefits, environment, nationalised healthcare and fused them successfully with their own capitalist ideals, presenting voters a potent option of security plus opportunity.
Germany's over-reliance on industry and engineering, some experts argue, needs to be revisited if it is to stand up to the challenges of modern capitalism. Merkel is expected to focus on the economy and possibly ease labour laws, cut taxes and push for nuclear energy at home. Germany is one of the world's crucial economies and an influential international player. It appears to be in good, steady hands with Merkel as chancellor. She ought to be able to resist protectionist pressures with the help of her new-found coalition partners, which is welcome news for India.
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TIMES OF INDIA
TOP ARTICLE
SALE SEASON AHEAD
There is a temporary sense of calm now that the government has announced 3G spectrum auctions in December, owing perhaps to the belief that there is now a clear forward path ahead for all stakeholders. In reality, following the auctions, the mobile market will transform, presenting both unique opportunities as well as challenges. In the next three to four years alone, mobile handsets a simple device carrying voice and data will connect nearly 800 million Indians, making it the largest connected group of humans anywhere in the world.
In order to use this to engineer an unparalleled human revolution, the 3G auctions should actually become the pivot point for re-engaging consumers, investors, service providers, government and civil society to debate the impact of a mobile telephony-led revolution that will rapidly unfold over the next five years.
Clearly, 3G technology is set to substantially change the experience and expectations of consumers by transforming the basic use of the phone from pure voice to data services like m-health, m-commerce, m-governance, m-education and others.
Urban consumers will be exposed to high-speed data access, which will drive stronger productivity and competitiveness. The experience will be far more life-altering for rural consumers. Not so much because they will use 3G for data, but because telecom operators will be forced to roll out networks in unserved rural territory to recover additional 3G spectrum costs. Millions will hear the proverbial dial tone for the very first time in their lives.
The experience and benefits of ubiquitous 24x7 connectivity is set to change the world of millions of Indians forever. Anyone doubting this should think of their own life before and after the mobile phone. These consumer-led changes are expected to have a profound impact on policy issues relating to health, education and governance as increased access fuels expectations.
As India moves towards higher teledensity, 500 million citizens who were once in a rural cocoon will experience the power of being in touch with each other, with the bureaucracy and politicians. As the asymmetry of information declines it will put serious pressure on politicians and bureaucracy to deliver on governance and development objectives. Logically, this implies that there will be very few information black holes left in the country by the time elections are held in 2019.
This engagement has the potential of pushing development to the forefront as a key election plank rather than caste and regional issues, which have dominated India's electoral process since independence. The information revolution will ensure that citizens know more, expect more and hopefully demand more. While this is great news for honest change agents politicians and bureaucrats who are battling distance and illiteracy for the dishonest, the mobile-led information access rural India will get could be the next big curse.
The telecom competitive landscape will also witness serious changes by 2011. Operators hold 5.7 MHz of 2G spectrum in India, which is a third of the international average. At present 12 to 13 operators compete for customers in each of the 22 telecom circles. The 3G auctions will give five of these 13 access to additional spectrum as there is only provision for five 3G operators, taking their average to slightly over 10 MHz of spectrum (2G plus 3G) while the rest will continue to struggle for spectrum.
Unless the government releases more 3G spectrum quickly, which it will be constrained to do, this will force rapid consolidation between 3G spectrum haves and have-nots. New operators who entered India's telecom market in 2008 with merely 4.4 MHz of 2G spectrum can hardly compete with large established operators, one of which has already crossed the 100 million subscribers threshold with some others likely to follow over the next year or so.
This implies another policy reversal is on the cards. The same government that fragmented spectrum and the industry in 2008 to create an average of 11 operators per circle, will be forcing consolidation barely a year on, on grounds of spectrum scarcity.
The 3G auctions will also ensure that spectrum pricing undergoes permanent change. For the first time since 2001, market-based pricing will be used, though it is debatable whether the government's intervention to decide the number of slots, reserve price and qualifying criteria really leaves the market to play its full role in determining the price.
Despite this, there are upsides: India will have at least four private operators providing advanced 3G services to urban subscribers by the end of 2010 with more coverage for rural subscribers in the following years. But none of this can be taken for granted considering that India over the last 15 years has quietly endured the most cruel digital divide possible. To ensure equal distribution of the benefits of mobile technology and penetration, a national debate involving all stakeholders is essential. This exercise carries the potential of impacting more citizens socially and economically than any other single policy move in India's history. Hopefully, this will not be yet another missed opportunity.
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TIMES OF INDIA
Q&A
'THE 50-OVER FORMAT IS STILL RELEVANT'
Haroon Lorgat , a South African, is the third CEO of the International Cricket Council. He spoke about the future of cricket to Ronojoy Sen at the ICC centenary conference at Oxford and later over e-mail. Is the ICC doing enough to manage the problems that come from having three formats of the game?
I am always intrigued by how critics see problems before seeing the opportunities. While there will be challenges, that we have three viable and popular formats of the game at international level is a huge advantage and something to be celebrated. I can't think of any other sport in the world that enjoys such a position.
ARE 50-OVER GAMES ON THE WAY OUT?
Twenty20 has brought more players and supporters into the game and is helping us to grow the game. On the other hand, ODIs are still very popular. At the moment there are no plans to move away from the 50-over format at international level as it is a very successful format. It is popular among players, supporters, TV viewers, broadcasters and sponsors and it has developed its own identity and history in the 40 or so years it has been going. I was heartened recently by many of the top players coming out in support of the 50-over format. I am confident the ICC Champions Trophy will demonstrate that the 50-over format is still relevant and popular at international level.
I also believe Test cricket is strong and remains the pinnacle of our sport. A few years ago some critics were writing off Test cricket, but they are now more positive after having seen some great Test series in the past year. We now have a similar situation with ODIs and we should wait and see what excitement is generated during the Champions Trophy. We are committed to supporting all three formats and will introduce any relevant innovations to help improve the format and to generate interest.
WHAT IS THE RATIONALE OF HAVING A CHAMPIONS TROPHY IN ADDITION TO A WORLD CUP?
The Champions Trophy was originally set up to generate funds for the development of the game outside the 10 full members. That direct need is no longer required because development funding is now generated from all our sources of revenue. The Champions Trophy is a very different tournament to the World Cup in that it is now a short, sharp single-destination event which involves only the top eight-ranked sides in the world. It is all about prestige and the schedule ensures that every game is vitally important to ensure that teams must always perform at their very best.
WHAT IS THE ICC DOING TO KEEP THE PRIMACY OF TEST CRICKET ALIVE?
The ICC is committed to making sure that Test cricket remains the pinnacle of our great sport. We are regularly considering ways and means to ensure that Test cricket retains primacy and we are always ready to debate and consider suggestions that our members and others put forward. We recently introduced the umpire decision review system and we are investigating various other initiatives together with our Members to help protect and promote Test cricket. Most of these initiatives, such as day/night Tests, are already in the public domain.
THE ICC IS OFTEN SEEN AS LACKING THE AUTHORITY THAT OTHER INTERNATIONAL SPORTING BODIES SUCH AS FIFA HAVE? YOUR RESPONSE.
The ICC is the global governing body for cricket and as such it is charged with the responsibility to administer the game at international level. The ICC Board is made up of the 10 full members and three directors who are nominated by the associate members. It is the job of these directors to make the strategic decisions and exercise its authority to manage and control the game of cricket globally, on behalf of all 104 members. All ICC members are required to act in accordance with the ICC Constitution and the regulations which flow from there. FIFA has stronger regulatory authority in certain areas and we have stronger regulatory authority in other areas. Each international federation has its own regulatory challenges.
DOES THE ICC HAVE A GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BCCI?
Absolutely! The BCCI plays an active role in making sure our strong sport grows stronger and we have an excellent channel of communication with all of the key BCCI officials.
IS THE WADA ISSUE CLOSE TO BEING RESOLVED?
As you know, the India players and the BCCI expressed reservations about the "whereabouts" clause in the ICC Anti-Doping Code. The meeting of the IRTP working group, which was set up by the ICC to help find a solution, has been shelved because we are beginning to sense that the issue is broader than just India. There are a few other members who might be considering the same challenge. So it doesn't make sense for us to deal only with India. We have got an existing ICC board decision that needs to be reviewed because we had intended to implement it from August 1. We put that on hold as we sense the issue is broader. The bottom line is that we are still committed to ensuring cricket remains drug-free and we just need to find the best possible way of maintaining that position. In any event out-of-competition testing has commenced on September 2009.
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TIMES OF INDIA
SUBVERSE
MAKE THE GRADE
The class struggle in India is about to get a little easier: students in Class X will not have to take board exams but will be subject to a grading system based on term papers, quizzes, group discussions and other activities. This long-awaited measure will liberate these students from the cruel tyranny of the dreaded board exams, which exact a frightful toll of panic and despair, leading in extreme cases to suicide.
The HRD ministry deserves two cheers for this. The third cheer must remain reserved until further reform of our oppressively antiquated educational system, which still remains obsessed with 'marksism': academic success or failure is determined by the number of marks a student gets for spewing out undigested information which has been learnt by rote, and which will be forgotten as soon as the results are out, if not sooner.
While the new measure will, it is hoped, free Class X students from despotic 'marksism' and inculcate in them a sense of inquiry which is the foundation of all true education it only defers the ordeal of the exams they will eventually have to face to pass out of school. Why not carry the grading system right through Class XII?
A more serious shortcoming of the new system is that it addresses only one side of a multifaceted problem: it seeks to grade only students, and not those who teach them or those who monitor and supervise their schoolwork, like parents. Why is it that only students must pass tests? Or, as will now be the case for Class X students, learn to make the grade? What about teachers? Isn't it equally important that they too should be regularly tested to see if they pass muster?
Having got their qualifying degrees by the same system of 'marksism' that they will perpetuate throughout their professional careers the great majority of teachers don't trouble themselves with keeping abreast in this ever-changing world with the latest developments in their supposed expertise, be it in science subjects or the humanities. In short, the moment they start teaching, they stop learning. Which is a contradiction in terms. Or ought to be. For learning and teaching are two sides of the same two-way street. Even as they test, or grade, those whom they teach, teachers should also be regularly tested, or graded, in a process which includes input from their students. (On a scale of 1 to 10, rate your teacher on the following counts: Grasp of Subject Matter, Clarity, Communication Skills, etc.)
But if teachers are to make the grade, it has to be made worth their while. Barring a handful of so-called 'elitist' institutions whose faculty members are reasonably well paid, most schoolteachers in India receive a derogatory pittance by way of salary, with government schoolteachers probably at the bottom of the heap. (So where does that 3 per cent education cess that is added onto your tax go? Don't ask.)
Indian schoolteachers' salaries are so poor, for the most part, that teachers have been described as the white-collar 'shudras' of the country. How do we upgrade our teachers who supposedly are the moulders and shapers of young minds, who in turn will shape the future of the country not just economically, but also socially?
Should not just schools, but also individual teachers, be graded by a star system awarded by an autonomous body comprising eminent educationists the way hotels and restaurants are rated?
If we really want our schoolchildren to make the grade in all senses of that term then we have to ensure that their teachers are sufficiently motivated to themselves make the grade. And in order to do that, we as a society parents, taxpayers, policymakers also have to make the grade in the common project of redefining the content and purpose of education. What is the purpose of education? Is there any purpose beyond the obvious one of getting a job and making money? How our school kids make the grade will depend on how we make the grade in answering that question.
secondopinion@timesgroup.com
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TIMES OF INDIA
ON LANGUAGE
BENDING THE CURVE
Taking on the issue of the cost of health care, a Washington Post editorialist intoned recently that "knowing more about which treatments are effective is essential" — knowing about when to use a plural verb is tough, too — "but, without a mechanism to put that knowledge into action, it won’t be enough to bend the cost curve."
That curvature continued in The Chicago Tribune, which put the fast-blooming metaphor in a headline: "Bending the Curve on Health Spending." It leaps boundaries beyond costs and subjects: a book has been titled "Bending the Curve: Your Guide to Tackling Climate Change in South Africa."
Why has curve-bending become such a popular sport? Because the language is in the grip of graphs. The graphic arts are on the march as "showing" tramples on "explaining," and now we are afflicted with the symbols of symbols. As an old Chinese philosopher never said, "Words about graphs are worth a thousand pictures."
The first straight-line challenge to the muscular line-benders I could find was in the 1960s, when the power curve was first explained to me by a pilot. "Being behind or ‘on the backside of the power curve’ is an aviation expression," rooted in World War I, he maintained. "It’s a condition when flying slow takes more energy than going fast, and you produce a result opposite to what you intended." On the graph of the power that a plane needs to overcome wind resistance, most "drag" increases as a plane slows; that’s why you hear a fresh surge of power when a jet is landing. Pilots know that being "behind the power curve" is to be on the way to a crash. That image was snapped up in political lingo, when "to be behind that power curve" quickly came to mean "to be out of the loop, trailing the with-it crowd, doomed to be left behind the barn door when the goodies were being handed out."
Now we have President Obama, no slouch at seizing on popular figures of speech, warning Fred Hiatt of The Washington Post that "it’s important for us to bend the cost curve, separate and apart from coverage issues, just because the system we have right now is unsustainable and hugely inefficient and uncompetitive." In other words, as the bygone aviators knew — bend it or crash. That led to the Nation’s headline "Bend It Like Obama," a play on the movie title "Bend It Like Beckham."
Came the current recession, the graphic-metaphor crowd stopped worrying about a cost line bending inexorably upward and directed its attention to the need to get the upward-bending unemployment figures bending down. Thus, the meaning of the phrase bending the curve is switching from "bend that awful, upward-curving line down before we can’t afford an aspirin" to "bend that line up down quick, before we all head for the bread line!" This leads to metaphoric confusion. It’s what happens when you fall in love with full-color graphs to explain to the screen-entranced set what’s happening and scorn plain words.
I am not the only one who observes this in medium-high dudgeon. "Optics" is hot, rivaling content. "It seems that politicians are now working to ensure that their policy positions are stated in a way that’s ‘optically acceptable’ to their constituents," writes Tom Short of San Rafael, Calif. "Not good. Anytime I hear this word used in any context outside of graphic arts, my eye doctor’s office or the field of astronomy, my B.S. detector goes into high alert."
Symbols are fine; we live by words, figures, pictures. But as Alfred Korzybski postulated seven decades ago, the symbol is not the thing itself: you cannot milk the word "cow," and as he put it, "a map is not the territory." Arthur Laffer’s famous curve drawn on a cocktail napkin offers some economists a nice shorthand guide to his supply-side idea, but it is not the theory itself. Today’s mind-bending surge toward the use of words about graphs and poll trends — even when presented in color on elaborate PowerÂPoint presentations — takes us steps away from reality. There must be a curve to illustrate that, and I say bend it way back.
DEPARTMENT OF AMPLIFICATION
To a recent exploration of the origin of real estate’s location, location, location, there have been these useful additions from readers: David K. Barnhart of the lexicographical family writes: "It reminds me of the book collector’s eccentric way of insisting that bindings must be in not less than pristine shape. Our adage is condition, condition, condition."
Joe Asher of Seattle adds the three things that matter in public speaking: "locution, locution, locution."
And a fishhook on this page daring to suggest that Abe Lincoln deliberately adopted the "mistakes were made" passive voice to avoid taking personal responsibility drew this amplification from Frank Myers, distinguished professor at Stony Brook University in New York: "Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address contains (by my count) six uses of the passive voice in his first seven sentences, tending to obscure the subject — especially himself as speaker and actor. No doubt this is part of the artistry of the speech." Nobody’s perfect.
Finally, word from the geezersphere, pioneering Comic Strip Division: "Your citation of Nov shmoz ka pop revitalized nostalgic memories," writes Albert Varon of Chicago earnestly if redundantly. "My recollection is that the comic strip was called ‘The Squirrel Cage’ and that the ride-thumbing little guy was half-buried in snow next to a barber pole and was dressed in a full tunic or robe and some kind of turban." He adds proudly — and usefully to later generations — "For many years, I have announced ‘Nov shmoz ka pop!’ assertively and dismissively to put off phone solicitors and aggressive panhandlers. Thank you for refreshing those halcyon days of my youth."
(William Safire, whose column 'On Language' appeared in the New York Times for 33 years, died on Sept 27, 2009 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. This piece appeared in the newspaper on Sept 13, 2009)
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TIMES OF INDIA
MONEY CREATES A FALSE SENSE OF INDEPENDENCE
MONEY GIVES ONE A SENSE OF FREEDOM AND OWNERSHIP. WE BELIEVE THAT WITH MONEY WE CAN OWN ANYTHING, THAT WE CAN PUT A PRICE TAG ON ANYBODY€™S
SERVICES.
Ownership of something means total control of its existence. When we buy a piece of land, we feel that we own it, although the land continues to exist even after the owner is no more. How can we own something that outlives us?
Money also gives the idea that we are powerful and independent, blinding us to the fact that we live in a world of interdependence. We depend on farmers, cooks, drivers and the services of so many people around us. Even an expert surgeon cannot operate by herself. She depends on others. Because we pay for their services, we overlook the fact that we depend on them.
If we look at why most people with money are arrogant we will find it is because of the feeling of independence that money brings. The awareness of dependence on the other hand makes one humble. The basic human quality of humility is taken away by a false feeling of independence.
Can money really reflect the worth of a person? We cannot put a value to human life. Wealth can be attained through one's skills, abilities, inheritance, or through corrupt means. The means of attaining wealth brings its own consequences. The very motive for corruption is peace and happiness. Yet peace and happiness remain elusive when the means are corrupt.
As possession of money creates the illusion of independence, money is often referred to as maya. A Sanskrit phrase sums it up: Miyate anaya iti maya – That which can be measured is maya.
On the other hand, some people blame money for all the ills in society. There are others who even consider it an evil. Just as possessing money brings arrogance, rejecting it too makes one arrogant. Some people who renounce money take pride in their poverty to draw attention and sympathy.
However, ancient sages honoured money or maya as a part of the divine and transcended the grip of its illusion. They knew that when we reject or hate something, we can never transcend it.
They honoured wealth as Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Narayana. She is born out of yoga. It is yoga that transforms the bad karma and brings out latent skills and talents. It also brings up ashtasiddhis, the eight perfections and nav nidhis, the nine wealths.
Yoga helps one move from arrogance to self-confidence, meekness to humility, dependence to interdependence, from craving for freedom to the recognition of unboundedness and from a limited ownership to oneness with the whole.
\When people lack faith in the Divine or in their own abilities or in the goodness of society they suffer from a deep sense of insecurity. As a result all that appears to provide security is money. They rely on something that is not certain, and end up getting upset. Uncertainty causes craving for stability.
The world is of change; the Self is of non-change. We have to rely on the non-change and accept the change. This is like perceiving the real as unreal and unreal as real. In fact, all miseries are unreal. A wise man knows that happiness is real, as it is our very nature. Unhappiness is unreal because it is inflicted by memory. When we see everything as a dream, then we abide in our true nature -- love, joy and peace. We then understand that money is not all-important. Values, sense of belonging, love and care are more important.
Website: www.artofliving.org.
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HINDUSTAN TIMES
EDITORIAL
ON A RUNWAY TO NOWHERE
Air India’s need for surgery is obvious to its owner, the government, its management, and, to an extent, its employees. The strike over pay cuts by the airline’s non-unionised pilots is the opening gambit in a game that will play out over the next couple of years as the bleeding flag carrier tries to make itself fit to fly again. The government is willing to pump Rs 4,000-odd crore into Air India, provided it comes up with a workable turnaround plan. Central to any revival strategy is shedding flab in a carrier that has half as many employees again per aircraft than the global average. The world over, an aircraft makes money in the air and loses it when on the tarmac; Air India’s bloated wage bill, in contradistinction, makes it cheaper to keep the fleet grounded.
This grim reality is not lost on either side of the negotiating table. An extended strike must set the stage for a generous golden handshake. Previous attempts failed because of the Maharaja’s parsimony, but other state-owned corporations provide documented instances of well-crafted voluntary retirement schemes, in combination with natural attrition, thinning the muster rolls rapidly, and without pain. The hapless customer shouldn’t be made to pay for what is essentially a forgone conclusion at Air India. Had its owners chosen to put professional managers on the airline’s board, much of this week’s turbulence would have been avoided.
It is in everybody’s interest that a clear revival plan emerges from among the farrago of resentments. The Prime Minister’s Office is well within its rights to demand a turnaround strategy from Air India. It would also be a prudential financier if it were to benchmark cash infusion to quantifiable metrices. The airline’s board needs to come up with a workable plan, which cannot involve lockouts or suspension of operations that ferry 17 per cent of Indian fliers. And Air India’s myriad unions must be held to whatever terms they eventually settle on. The government is displaying rare shareholder activism by seeking an account of its investment. It should take the next logical step and seek an account of the quality of management at Air India. More than as regulator of aviation, the government must act decisively as owner of Air India to ensure that efforts to arrest the decline are not waylaid by industrial dispute. The Maharaja is too precious to sink under its own weight.
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HINDUSTAN TIMES
EDITORIAL
IN ONE FELLED SWOOP
This will come as a body blow in more ways than one to Kashmir’s once dreaded jihadis. On Sunday, Abu Usama and his two terrorist accomplices found that they had a real fight on their hands when they entered the home of 21-year-old Rukhsana and her family with the intention of holding them hostage. Despite being thrashed mercilessly by the AK-47-wielding terrorists, Rukhsana literally scared the daylights out of the so-called battle-hardened jihadis when she laid about them with an axe, killing one. The fearsome fighters tarried no longer and the other two, one wounded, took to their heels. So much for the much-touted jihadi principle of disdain for the corporeal body when rewards await the immortal soul in heaven in the form of houris and wine.
Now courageous as Rukhsana was to fend off the terrorists, she is part of a generation that has grown up amid violence.
Increasingly, fed up of the harassment by terrorists who rape and kill at will, many women in Kashmir have lost their fear of these cowards and have started standing up to them. An example is that of a woman who bashed up a terrorist inside a police station in Bhaderwah after she had been taken away by him and his cohorts earlier and raped for over a month.
The fact that local people are turning against the self-styled jihadis is directly attributed to the fact that most of them are simply thugs driven by no higher purpose that looting and molesting women. And, of course, publicity. A former foreign correspondent once wrote about how a group of jihadis approached him and asked him to write about them with the bizarre introduction “we are an ambush.” Now they have to be afraid, very afraid of potential Rukhsanas lying in wait to ambush them.
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HINDUSTAN TIMES
EDITORIAL
A CAPE OF GOOD HOPE
LALITA PANICKER
As a child growing up in Zambia, I remember the awed tones in which my father’s friends would speak of how smart the Chinese were in building roads and railways in African countries. And we are speaking of several decades ago. The people have changed but the conversation remains the same. We Indians have been knocking about in Africa for aeons but the Chinese are cornering the big-ticket items like oilfields and mines.
It is not that we are not up to giving the Chinese a run for their money. It is perhaps that we still have outdated notions of who we should do business with. Those Indian companies that have ventured into Africa have done superbly well. I still remember visiting a carbon black factory run by the Aditya Birla group in Alexandria and the admiration its functioning invoked among the locals in this historic seaport. Tata lorries and trucks ply all the main African highways. And, of course, Gujaratis run all the 24-hour shops in many capitals.
And it would not be an exaggeration to say that we have a definite edge over the Chinese in quite a few respects. First, and I know this sounds cheesy, we have the brand value of being from the land of the Mahatma, an icon revered in most African countries. The great African leaders, from Kwame Nkrumah to Nelson Mandela, have never spared an opportunity to attribute the inspiration for their struggles to Gandhi. And he is still a very recognisable figure in the continent. The other is the English language. And, last but significant, is the fact that the people from India looking to invest in Africa are mostly from the private sector, unlike the Chinese juggernaut that’s almost entirely State-driven.
In the many countries where the Chinese have been active, they have come to be looked upon as people who have replaced the white masters who colonised Africa’s enormously resource-rich countries. In recent times, there have been several demonstrations against what is perceived as China’s rapacious ways in some African countries. After a deep and dark period, many African countries are robustly embracing democracy, something a little alien to the Chinese. So, apart from the Americans — for some time in a bit of bad odour thanks to the much-reviled George Bush, the destroyer — the other country that many African countries have looked to for building democratic institutions is India.
The Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor’s recent visit to Africa shows that the government is looking to engage the continent in a far more vigorous manner than it has for decades. This is not to say that all will be smooth sailing for companies that go into Africa. Many of its nations are facing daunting challenges in the form of civil wars, poverty and crippling diseases like Aids. Many of its leaders are tinpot dictators who are happy to be on the take from the highest bidder.
India needs to follow a double-pronged strategy if it hopes to establish a lasting presence in Africa. One is to build up the capacities of the continent’s immensely resilient people in the form of education and healthcare. The other is to boost their economies by setting up profitable partnerships with local enterprises. The loot-and-scoot policies of the colonial masters, and indeed the Chinese, will only yield short-term gains.
The figures as they stand today are investments from China of $55 billion to India’s $25 billion. But again, India has a great deal to build on. In Ethiopia alone, India’s private sector has been very active. With its seaport, 351 Indian companies with an investment of $1.8 billion is not something to be sneezed at.
The African continent is desperately in need of roads, airports, transit systems, telecommunications and information technology. Where we are falling short is in an active foreign service lobbying for India in many African countries. We seem quite content to allow the Chinese to move in first, set up shop, and then try and compete with them. Up to 48 per cent of all business in Africa went to the Chinese in the period 2000-2005, with India coming a poor fourth or fifth.
Whether it is copper mining in Zambia to iron ore in Gabon to oil in Angola, the Chinese have been there before us.
The Indian community in Africa has never really worked very actively as it does in, say, the US or Britain, to further India’s interests in the continent. Now that we have a minister, Twitter and all, focused on the continent, let’s hope that things will look up. The African century is about to happen given the manner in which so many of its countries have effected such a dramatic turnaround from the depths they had found themselves in.
For all these years, we were too focused on getting on the good side of the Americans. Well, we seem to have done quite well on that front. But what we don’t seem to have realised is that the ‘winds of change’ are blowing across an Africa which is seeking to re-invent itself. We have got a foot in the door, all we need now is to push a little harder to work towards a relationship that works well for all parties concerned. If we could do Incredible India, we can help with Amazing Africa.
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HINDUSTAN TIMES
EDITORIAL
OUR MAN IN THE MIDDLE
SURINDER SINGLA
Perhaps for the first time, we have a situation where synchronised global economic growth has been followed by a global downturn and then by largely fiscal responses. For the latter, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deserves due credit.
Singh being seated next to US President Barack Obama at the Pittsburgh G-20 summit was no mere symbolism. The Indian Prime Minister had indeed assumed centrestage at the summit by setting the agenda for a global economic revival. No wonder that the summit declaration overwhelmingly contained the suggestions put forth by Singh in his speech where he had stressed the need for a maintained stimulus as well as issued a warning against trade protectionism and stressing on better capitalisation for the World Bank and its affiliates.
At the summit, Singh argued more as a representative of the developing world and not just as the Prime Minister of India. His views found full support from the leaders of the developed world too. Perhaps for the first time since Nehru’s days India has been on the forefront of global politics once again. Despite the economy lagging and being smaller than many other emerging economies, Singh took the lead with most of his specific proposals accepted. If the G-20 has replaced the G-8 and has been designated as the “premier forum for our international economic cooperation,” a large degree of credit goes to Singh who strongly argued the case of the unrepresented countries in global economic forums.
The Pittsburgh summit also illustrated for the first time that times have indeed changed for global business cycles.
Earlier, whenever America sneezed, Europe caught a cold. But now, the developed nations have accepted, in some cases perhaps reluctantly, that their own economies can’t emerge unscathed from this crisis without significant growth in the emerging economies. This, in turn, can only take place with increased investment from the World Bank and its affiliates.
The $100 billion that Singh proposed to enhance the balance sheet of the World Bank by is, after all, small compared to the vast sums committed by the developed world to their own economies. The Prime Minister was spot on when he stated that emerging economies were not responsible for this crisis but were now central to a global recovery.
Singh also made the point of stating how India had weathered the crisis. No one could have drawn a balance between globalisation and domestic demand better than him. After all, it was Singh, who some 20 years ago as finance minister, accepted globalisation along with fiscal reforms that ensured growth based largely on domestic demand and less on exports and more savings. It was the economic model drawn by Finance Minister Singh in the early 90s and that was adopted when India’s gold reserves were mortgaged with the World Bank for foreign exchange. As Prime Minister, Singh has ensured that the Indian economy continued to be largely buffered from global fiscal turbulence.
While some may refer to the G-20 summit as a ‘transitional summit’, we may very soon come to accept it to be as significant an event as the Bretton Woods Accord of 1944 that led to the creation of the World Bank. It will be impossible for developed economies to offer India a lesser position at the high table in the future. The challenge now for India is to produce future prime ministers who will continue the pace that the present PM has set.
Surinder Singla is a former Finance Minister of Punjab The views expressed by the author are personal
pvohra@hindustantimes.com
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HINDUSTAN TIMES
EDITORIAL
NORTH BOTHERED!
PREETI SINGH
So, North India is a rude kingdom, and Delhiites are king. As a proud member of that amorphous and rowdy bunch — being a red-blooded North Indian and a Delhiite to boot — I take serious exception to this generalisation. Not because it might not be at least partially true, but because the rest of India is ill-qualified to pass judgement on the state of affairs up here.
In a country where everyone living in or bearing affiliation to the north of the Vindhyas is referred to as ‘Punjabi’ by those living on the other side of these mountains — better known as ‘Madrasis’ — I wonder if either of the two sides, each unable to put their cultural uniqueness in perspective, has the right to blame the other for anything.
The aggressive North Indian is as much of a hyperbole as the Bengali who majored in Kafka at kindergarten; or the genteel South Indian rocket scientist whose worldview is softer than an appam; or the fiery Jat who can throw a gallon of scotch down the hatch faster than you can say ‘tau’; or the hard-working and spirited Mumbaikar, blissfully unaffected by the carnage and chaos all around him; or the ‘ultra-liberal’ and ‘wild’ party people who are tucked away in the north-eastern corner of India.
As a kid, I went for a summer holiday to the south of India and I may well have been in France, for they refused to speak any language but their own. Later, in my university years I often struggled to come to terms with most of my north-eastern friends who referred to me as ‘you Indian’. Well, sadly, that’s how it is sometimes.
So rudeness has little to do with Delhiites or North Indians — contrary to the conclusion of a prime time news show last week, in which a highly skewed panel dismissed all North Indians as rude in a holier-than-thou discussion. I admit I can be aggressive too. But where would this nation be without that wonderful blend of aggression and sagacity that no one state or region can claim as its own? Delhi does not carry a label that says ‘Made in North India’. It can’t, because it is that great melting pot in which a bit of all of India bubbles away merrily. Just as Bombay is not Mumbai’s alone.
On a partisan note, I wonder if our butter chicken would taste just as good if there wasn’t a North Indian aggressively shoving malai into the pot. Or whether the Indian economy would be growing at such a rapid pace if it weren’t for pushy Punjabi shopkeepers shaming their customers into buying kitschy merchandise after plying them with a year’s worth of street food... and not holding it against them if all they walk out with is a handkerchief on discount.
Well, all you Northie-bashers should go back and read that bright bit of research published in last week’s Nature, which suggests there might be a little bit of North and South in all Indians. And that’s just the way it is.
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HINDUSTAN TIMES
EDITORIAL
A CALL FOR CHANGE
CHITRANGADA CHOUDHURY
“My years as a student in the Darul Uloom madrasa were the best training I could get to be an effective MP (Member of Parliament). Because the madrasa taught me that serving people is the biggest act of devotion to God,” said religious scholar and educationist Maulana Asrarul Haque of his 1866 alma mater in the North Indian town of Deoband.
The sentences were characteristic of the moral lens the soft-spoken 66-year-old parliamentarian seemed to view the world through.
Haque, who has founded 160 madrasas across four states and a girl’s school in an ill-connected village in his constituency of Kishanganj in Bihar, said, “Education can empower and help build bridges.”
Haque is the sort of Muslim leader the government is now looking to, as it attempts to craft a consensus in a divided Muslim community to help push through a sticky piece of legislation to set up a Central Madrasa Board.
The board — stillborn for a decade — is meant to design a modern curriculum for India’s estimated 100,000 Islamic seminaries. These numbers are private estimates; the government has no definitive information on how many such institutions exist. Under 20,000 are registered under various laws.
There are also no definitive surveys, but official estimates say that between 4 per cent and 6 per cent of India’s Muslim children in the school-going age study in such seminaries. Attending the institutions between four to seven years, they study a three-centuries old curriculum (see box).
Institutions like the madarsa at Deoband are renowned and possess the funds and skills to modernise. But most seminaries cater to areas with concentrations of low-income Muslim households, where the government school system is broken and private schools have no commercial incentives.
Like Haque’s constituency of Kishanganj, a backward district of small farmers and landless labourers with 70 per cent Muslim residents and a female literacy of 14 per cent, the lowest for any district in the country.
While some states such as West Bengal and Bihar have instituted madrasa boards to run such institutions, most seminaries are funded by charities and run by decades-old trusts, which guard their independence from the government fiercely.
Abdul Noumani, based in New Delhi, typifies this strand of thought in the community, which has opposed the formation of a central board as interference in the Islamic faith.
At his office overlooking graceful arches in the headquarters of the 1919 Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, which runs over 10,000 madrasas across India, Noumani said, “The Sachar Commission found that every fourth Muslim child has never attended, or attended and dropped out of school. Why does the government not focus on these children? When only 4 per cent of Muslim children study in madrasas, why is Kapil Sibal (Minister for Human Resource Development) so interested in our affairs?”
“Our experience of government and bureaucracy has not been good in states which have set up their own madrasa boards. It opens the door for corruption and meaningless rules. We can modernise our own curriculum.”
But, National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions chairman Justice M. Siddiqui whose office drafted the Bill for the proposed board (see box), argued that the government should help lead that change whereby a madrasa student can learn about Islamic law as well as the Indian Penal Code, Arabic as well as English.
Siddiqui said the board should go beyond matters of content to improve the quality of education. “It should be given a seed fund of Rs 500 crore by the state and then allowed to function independently. Madrasas currently pay their teachers Rs 500 to Rs 1,500 (per month). How can that attract good people? The board will ensure pay parity with government schoolteachers. We have drafted the Bill. The ball is now in the government’s court,” he said.
For now, the government is treading carefully. In a bid to build a consensus, Sibal has been open to suggestions to people the board with as many educationists as theologians. He has said affiliation to the board will be voluntary. On October 3, at a meeting on the issue with Muslim MPs, he will lobby for the board.
The Kishanganj MP, Haque, said the government’s revived efforts will be successful only if “the benefits of the policy are explained clearly to the Muslim community. The key will be to take all the ulema (religious scholars) along.”
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HINDUSTAN TIMES
EDITORIAL
CHILD SOLDIERS - ROBBED OF THEIR INNOCENCE
RED TERROR MAOISTS HAVE CONSCRIPTED CHILDREN AS COMBATANTS -- AN IDEA BORROWED FROM LTTE -AND ARE USING THEM IN STRIKES AGAINST SECURITY FORCES
Varghese K. George, B. Vijay Murthy & Eijaz Kaiser varghese.george@hindustantimes.com
Ajay Kumar, son of a labourer in Jharkhand's Lohardagga district, was only nine in 2004 when security forces nabbed him from a Communist Party of India (Maoist) hideout. The little boy told the police that he joined the camp for a few hundred rupees, food and clothes.
Early last year, Maoists told people in Malaida village in Rajnandgaon district, about 80 km west of Raipur in Chhattisgarh, that each family should send one child to the organisation. Around 200 villagers -- including 50 children -fled to a relief camp.
"When the extremists declared they need our sons and daughters, I was frightened and left Malaida the same night,"said Phirtu Bisai, a tribal farmer.
NEW DELHI: As security forces prepare for the biggest-ever push to take back the vast swathe of territory from the Maoists -- 223 of India's 625 districts -- the large presence of child combatants, many of them girls, has become a concern for the government.
Maoists borrowed the idea of conscripting children from Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), another organisation declared terrorist by India. The Tamil tigers conscripted nearly 6,000 children between 2001 and 2008.
A Maoist document, Post-Election Situation, Our Tasks, said: "The setback suffered by the LTTE has a negative effect on the revolutionary movement... The experience of the LTTE's setback in Sri Lanka is very important to study and take lessons."
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent alerts against the Maoists came after the revelation that the rebels were responsible for 90 per cent of the violence in the country. In 2008 alone, 1,591 incidents of Maoist violence resulted in 721 killings. This year till August, there had been 1,405 incidents, resulting in 580 deaths spread over 11 states.
The Central Para Military Forces (CPMFs) and state polices are working on a plan to smoke out the Maoists from their strongholds once more forces could be made available after the Maharashtra elections in October.
But the Maoists are trying new tactics. "The Maoists have made a tactical change to counter security forces, where teenagers and women fight from the front rank," said Brig B.K. Ponwar, Director of Jungle Warfare & Counter Insurgency College in Chhattisgarh.
He said, "The extremists have created Jan Militia (people's army) that includes Bal Sangam (children's collective), for attacking the security forces while the main cadres guide them from behind. The attacks in the last few years in Bastar had shown this," said R.K. Vij, Inspector General of Police, Chhattisgarh.
Over the last three years, 25 children have been arrested in Jharkhand.
In just one district of Chhattisgarh over the last two years, nine children seven of them below 16 years have been taken into custody.
What's more, medical examinations of the girl recruits also revealed that they were subjected to repeat sexual assaults.
But the Maoist leadership does not accept this fact. "No child below 16 years of age is part of our army. It's all propaganda of our enemies,"
Koteshwar Rao alias Kishenji, a member of the Maoist Politburo told Hindustan Times.
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INDIAN EXPRESS
EDITORIAL
IT’S YOUR LAND
In the past few years the issue of land acquisition has become particularly sensitive politically. This can be gauged from Mamata Banerjee’s refusal to engage with the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill. This climate of political fearfulness is unfortunate not just because it threatens to hold up so many public works. It also impedes measures, like this legislation, that would reform current procedures to the benefit of those being dispossessed of their real estate. This is why Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath’s proposal for incremental change in land acquisition procedures is intriguing. It could provide the kind of incremental change, that too only in matters pertaining to the National Highways Authority of India, that can break the current stalemate.
In the course of an Idea Exchange at The Indian Express, Nath said if the NHAI fails to begin work on a proposed road project for five years, all the land acquired for the purpose would revert to the original owner, without requiring him to pay for it. Having set an ambitious target of completing 7000 km annually, he needs to lay out as many incentives as possible for the NHAI to get about its task speedily. But the proposal also addresses a widely held misgiving, that land acquired for a said purpose is not always used so. For the kind of work undertaken by the NHAI this incentive to complete the task, or else, could easily win over public support. Road projects require relatively slim slivers of land, and new or upgraded roads inevitably bring benefits locally and also result in rapid appreciation.
However, for this kind of reform to be a game-changer across sectors, more needs to be done. Delays in projects are not always a factor simply of inactivity. Doing business in India is too often an obstacle course of clearances, permits, etc. Even in road building, getting the Centre and assorted state governments on the same page is not that simple. Therefore the kind of impatience to achieve targets that runs through Nath’s land acquisition proposal must also inform an appraisal of the assorted requirements that too often and too long hold up projects in this country.
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INDIAN EXPRESS
EDITORIAL
PERMIT RAJ
To understand the Raj Thackeray effect, do not get a measure of his presence in Maharashtra’s politics by taking stock of the number of votes his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena gets. It cannot be done by simply analysing the recent Lok Sabha elections, where he ate into the Shiv Sena vote-share and helped the NCP-Congress combine win in several Mumbai constituencies. To understand the danger he poses to Maharashtra politics, one must track his pet campaigns and see how the other political parties, the stakeholders, offer no counter-narrative and even dovetail their own campaigns to the MNS’s. So now, soon after the MNS called for a “permit system” to check the flow of migrants into Mumbai, the Shiv Sena-BJP has promised to introduce “measures” to check the flow of outsiders into the city. And, just two weeks before the state goes to the polls, the NCP-Congress is maintaining silence on this issue.
Article 19(1) of the Indian Constitution guarantees the fundamental right “to move freely throughout the territory of India” and “to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India”. This right to migrate and work anywhere within our national boundaries is at the heart of the idea of India; it defines who we are. Not only is any such “permit” raj unlikely to stand scrutiny in a court of law, but it also goes against everything that made Mumbai great. Mumbai has always thrived on the entrepreneurial energies of outsiders who make this megapolis their own and energise it with new ideas and ways. It is not just that the Sena-BJP misunderstand precisely what makes Mumbai great. It is also that the rhetoric around the electoral promise makes the campaign fertile for a very dangerous and competitive parochialism.
Or do they understand it too well? For, come October 13, the battle for Maharashtra will be fought by a range of players, including the four major ones. Even after seat-sharing alliances, fractured vote bases mean that small, fringe groups can play decisive roles. Whip up an emotive frenzy amongst them, and their energies may be just enough to nudge you first past the poll — or at any rate win some electoral brownie points. The MNS’s outlandish rhetoric rests on precisely such logic. Unfortunately, this logic is also finding appeal amongst its competitors.
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INDIAN EXPRESS
COLUMN
WHO’S AFRAID OF THE NPT?
ARUNDHATI GHOSE
It had been clear from the outset that one of US President Barack Obama’s priorities in his foreign policy would be the promotion of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons technology. The fear of nuclear terrorism pervaded even his eloquent espousal of the elimination of nuclear weapons in Prague this spring, and his solution was the strengthening of the 40-year-old Non-Proliferation Treaty. The flurry of activity during the current session of the United Nations General Assembly, his “stern message” to the international community (to quote a US commentator), the attendance by the US secretary of state at the conference of the Organisation of the CTBT Member States and the unanimous UN Security Council resolution on non-proliferation would appear to have fixed the international agenda on nuclear issues for the immediate future at least.
Non-proliferation has always been an American foreign policy objective: the restriction of nuclear weapons and related technology to as few countries as possible was seen to serve US security interests. Forty years ago, the Soviet Union was drawn into this approach at a broad level, even while bilaterally the nuclear arms race flourished. The NPT was the product of this approach, one that was bought by almost all countries, those with the industrial base to have nuclear ambitions and those without. It is significant that the infamous Article XIV on entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty identified only 44 countries with the potential of nuclear weapons, out of a UN membership of 192 countries — and not all those 44 are in agreement with the approach.
The much maligned Bush administration recognised the dangers of this formalistic approach, and while not ceding any ground on the issue of nuclear disarmament, it diluted its emphasis on formal treaties and proposed innovative structures such as the Container Security Initiative, the Proliferation Security Initiative, UN Security Council Resolution 1540 aimed at non-state actors, and, with Russia, the Global Initiative to counter Nuclear Terrorism. Like the current US administration, the fear was of nuclear terrorism; but, there was the recognition that the NPT would not and had not helped the US in facing the new challenges of the 21st century.
While continuing most of the Bush administration’s initiatives, the Obama administration has chosen to go back to the comfort of the NPT — there has been change, but it has been retrogressive. This return to control and compliance — disarming the unarmed, as one of the more imaginative Pakistani ambassadors put it — has been clothed with rhetoric regarding nuclear disarmament. The NPT does not refer to nuclear disarmament except cursorily in the preamble and, even more casually, in Article VI of the treaty.
The attempt, it is said, is to revive this pillar of the “bargain” — Article VI of the NPT speaks of all parties undertaking “good faith” negotiations “on effective measures relating to the cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament, and a treaty on general and complete disarmament”. The Security Council resolution adopted on September 24 merely reiterates Article VI of the NPT. The resolution is clearly aimed at control of countries other than the P-5. That it was adopted unanimously was possibly due to the so-called “Obama effect”.
India remains unimpressed. The resolution, clearly meant to shore up the faltering NPT in advance of the 2010 Review Conference in May, has been stoutly rejected. Was this an over-reaction? It was clear that the resolution was not aimed at India though the operative para 4 reiterates a perennial call for the three “outliers” to the NPT to join as non-nuclear weapon states. (It is interesting that it was found necessary for the US to officially state this, and to clarify that the resolution did not adversely affect the implementation of the Indo-US nuclear agreement.)
With no innovative ideas, the resolution focuses on countries not in compliance with their treaty obligations, presumably Iran and the DPRK (North Korea). India has reiterated its support for such a position, as it has reiterated support for non-proliferation. The objection lies not in the objectives but in the approach. The objection to the discriminatory nature of the NPT is not just rhetoric; it is a belief that this has and would continue to encourage “breakouts”. Also, the NPT permitted proliferation in India’s neighbourhood, and while China and Pakistan may not have been members of the NPT at the time, the rest of the non-proliferation community accepted the proliferation with a wink and a nod. Proliferation and its consequent dangers, India has stated, can only be tackled through universal and verifiable nuclear disarmament.
As far as India is concerned, there is a twist in the tale: while no one in India would favour India signing the NPT, it does not appear that there is a national consensus on the government’s stand on nuclear disarmament. Witness the recent kerfuffle about Pokharan-II, leading American commentators to dub both India and Pakistan as “insecure” nuclear weapon states. There is thus a need to have a wide debate on the issue of eventual universal nuclear disarmament and whether it is in India’s security interests to have a nuclear weapon free world. Without such a consensus (not unanimity), our protestations for a world free of nuclear weapons will be as credible as the current US efforts to persuade the world that that is its eventual objective.
The writer, a former diplomat, was India’s ambassador to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament
express@expressindia.com
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INDIAN EXPRESS
COLUMN
NOW THERE ARE FIVE
VIPIN PUBBY
A fortnight from now Haryana, once famous for its Aya Rams and Gaya Rams, elects a new assembly. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s gambit of advancing elections by over six months, to build on the Congress’s haul of nine of the 10 Lok Sabha seats this May, has set the stage for a very interesting electoral battle.
The opposition, already in disarray after the Lok Sabha verdict, was further hobbled by Hooda subsequently roping in rebels from other parties and accommodating them as Congress candidates. The erudite Sampat Singh, a former finance minister once seen as the sober face of Om Prakash Chautala’s Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), and a couple of other senior leaders of the party like former MPs Sushil Indora and Kailasho Saini were inducted in the Congress and have been fielded as party candidates. Similarly, two former ministers, Subhash Batra and Krishnamurti Hooda, from the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) and one BJP MLA, Ram Kumar Gautam, too joined the Congress. Besides, all nine independents in the dissolved assembly have been inducted in the Congress and five of them are now contesting as Congress candidates.
But what may prove to be most fortuitous for the Congress is that, for the first time since the state’s formation in 1966, the opposition parties have not been able to form an alliance. Thus the state would witness five-cornered contests, with the Congress being challenged by the INLD, the BJP, the BSP and the HJC in all the 90 constituencies — and then there are the independents. It is not that these parties did not try to forge alliances. The BSP had formally declared an alliance with the HJC, which is headed by former chief minister Bhajan Lal’s son Kuldeep Bishnoi. Problems cropped up when Mayawati refused to go along with Bishnoi’s demand that he be projected as the chief ministerial candidate of the alliance.
The BJP and the INLD had contested several elections in alliance, including the recent Lok Sabha elections when both parties drew a blank, but failed to come to an agreement this time due to differences over seat sharing. There were also reports of the INLD and the BSP trying to accommodate each other, but it could not be worked out. The INLD has now given two of the 90 seats to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to call it a token alliance with the ruling party from neighbouring Punjab.
Political observers believe that the five-cornered contests would benefit the Congress in most of the constituencies, with the division of votes among the four opposition parties. However, the other parties have their pockets of influence where the Congress candidates could face a tough time. For instance, the INLD has a stronghold in the Sirsa district and some of its candidates, including Chautala’s son Ajay Chautala, appear invincible. Similarly, the HJC has its stronghold in Hisar where Jasma Devi, Bhajan Lal’s wife, is contesting. It may be recalled that Bhajan Lal alone had withstood the Congress tide in the recent Lok Sabha elections. And while the BJP wields influence in some urban segments, the BSP enjoys support in over half a dozen reserved constituencies and may benefit from the five-cornered contests there. The number of such constituencies is, however, not significant enough to tilt the balance.
Another interesting aspect of the elections is that after dominating the state’s politics for over four decades none of the famous Lals of Haryana — Devi Lal, Bansi Lal and Bhajan Lal — is in the fray this time. While Devi Lal, who rose to become deputy prime minister, and Bansi Lal, more famous nationally as defence minister, are no more, Bhajan Lal is now an MP and has fielded his wife from his old constituency. Yet, the legacy of the three Lals continues to be a major factor. Bhajan Lal has floated the HJC while the INLD is run by the Devi Lal clan. There is, however, a dispute over Bansi Lal’s political inheritance. Congress leader Kiran Choudhary, his daughter-in-law, claims the mantle while his elder son, Ranbir Mohindra, also from the Congress, claims that he represents Bansi Lal’s family. Ironically, it is another “political family” of Haryana which holds greatest sway. Chief Minister Hooda’s grandfather and father were ministers in undivided Punjab while his son recently won his Lok Sabha seat with a huge margin.
The Congress is leaning heavily on its development agenda while the divided opposition also remains divided over issues to be raised against the ruling party. Obviously the Congress is hoping to repeat a feat it achieved nearly 40 years ago, in 1972, when it last retained power in the state.
vipin.pubby@expressindia.com
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INDIAN EXPRESS
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HOW FAR HAS CHINA COME?
KENT G. DENG
This October marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. China’s miraculous growth in recent decades has given outsiders the impression that everything China touches turns to gold. The Western media has even speculated on a new world order of G2, called “Chimerica”. They believe that it is a matter of when, not if.
For those who know China well, it is a country of sharp contrasts and enormous internal tension. The history of the People’s Republic is full of stops and starts, and jumps and falls have often taken extreme forms. The heart of the problem is this: China is not a democratic society. Decisions and developmental models have been imposed on the general public. Although changes can and do take place very wide and fast, mistakes can and do appear equally wide and fast.
The history of the People’s Republic so far can be divided into two periods of about 30 years each: Maoism from 1949 to c.1979, and the post-Mao period from 1979 to 2009.
Maoism, 1949-79
Seen in a positive light, Mao made China diplomatically independent. China succeeded in building its modern arsenal with nuclear weapons. It was a force that President Nixon recognised in the global strategic siege against the USSR and the Warsaw Pact. One must remember that it was the US and NATO that lobbied China to join an anti-Soviet alliance. China did not create that alliance.
Seen in a negative light, Mao spent about 80 per cent of his time and energy purging Chinese society. No social stratum or individual was left untouched. One can name the 1950-3 “Suppression of Anti-Revolutionaries” (zhenfan, sufan), the 1951-2 “Three-Anti and Five-Anti Movement” (sanfan wufan), the 1955 “Purge of the Hu Feng Anti-Party Clique” (hufeng fandang jituan), the 1957 “Anti-Rightist Movement” (fanyou), the 1957 “Internal Rectification Purge” (zhengfeng), the 1959 “Lushan Purge against the Party Right-Wingers” (lushan huiyi), the 1964 “Four Cleansings” (siqing), and the 1966-76 “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution” (wuchan jieji wenhua dageming).
What Mao achieved by the end of his life was a severe economic crisis. His Cultural Revolution alone cost China 800 billion yuan, equivalent to China’s total capital stock of the state-owned enterprises in 1979. Mao’s rule left China with a third of its population officially illiterate (as in 1979). By the World Bank food-intake standard (2,185 kilocalories per day), the entire population in Mainland China was in absolute dire poverty, living on just 2,009 kilocalories per day. China’s per capita income was at the very bottom of the world league table at US$ 190 (as in the 1970s).
The provision of public goods was poor. During the 1959-62 Great Leap Famine, about 30 million people died. There was no record of effective famine relief by the Maoist state. In 1965, on the eve of the 10-year long turmoil of Cultural Revolution, China’s infant mortality rate was as high as 165 per 1,000 births. That level of infant mortality applied in 2004 only to the poorest countries on earth with life expectancies of around 40. The commonly cited life expectancies at over 60 under Mao’s rule are highly questionable.
Moreover, by the time of Mao’s death, the Chinese economy remained predominantly rural and structurally pre-modern. Employment in the modern industrial sector was frozen at about 60 million workers vis-à-vis a total population of around 900 million. As a matter of fact, the communist iron rice bowl mainly applied to this 60 million. If anything, only the tiny minority (less than 10 per cent of the population) benefitted from Mao’s communism.
Yet, one comes across very high GDP growth figures for the Maoist period, easily making 8 to 9 per cent per year. It is sensible to ask if China’s development was so great, why was Mao’s China so poor?
In contrast, Taiwan prospered under Republican rule. It had had no famine after 1949. By 1978, it had successfully joined the ranks of middle-income economies in the world. From the 1980s, it has been one of the main donors of capital and technology to Mainland China to facilitate Deng Xiaoping’s reforms to rescue China’s population from acute poverty and salvage China’s failing economy from chronic waste and incompetence.
Post-Mao, 1979-2009
When Deng Xiaoping took over the party and state, he faced the carnage of 30 years of Maoist practice. Deng’s rescue plan, known as “socialism with Chinese characteristics” had the following goals:
• To re-build law and order,
• To resume supply of well-educated bureaucrats,
• To resume economic incentives and freedom for ordinary people,
• To ease tension with foreign powers,
• To promote foreign trade and FDI,
• To build “comfortable material life for all” in exchange for the party’s legitimacy to rule.
In rural China, farmers were re-incentivised, by the state’s permission to keep some of their output, through legal contracts (“the Household Production Responsibility Scheme”). This was a great success. China’s per capita food consumption soon returned to the 1930s level at around 3,000 kilocalories per day.
In urban China, Special Economic Zones were set up, fully compatible with Western capitalism, to attract foreign capital, technology and market sales. These zones have offered a cheap labour force, easy regulations (including environmental allowances) and tax holidays, too good to refuse for foreign investors. This was another great success. In 2004, with over US$ 60 billion of foreign capital invested, China surpassed the United States and became the largest FDI recipient in the world. From 1978 to 2000, the total value of China’s foreign trade increased 110 times. China finally came out of the Maoist agrarian trap and became the “workshop of the world:” 90 per cent of China’s exports are manufactures. Nowadays, China’s economic landscape is changing fast. The East Coast is visibly modern and heavily industrialised.
All this has been achieved with very similar GDP growth rates with Maoist period: 5.9 per cent a year in 1980-90 and 8.2 per cent in 1990-9.
But there is a downside to the post-Mao growth: environmental damage and social inequality. By relaxing controls over environmental damage in exchange for foreign businesses, China has increasingly become an international dumping ground for out-dated production practices. In terms of energy efficiency, to produce per unit of GDP, China used 2.5 times as much energy as India, 4 times as much as the US and 7 times that of Japan (as in the 1990s). It is not at all surprising that China is now one of the most polluted countries in the world. The estimated damage to China’s soil, air and water systems is worth US$ 60 billion, the same as China’s total FDI intake. So has China’s particular path to modernity been worth it?
The greater problem is income inequality between the urban and rural sectors, and between the coastal regions and the interior. China’s Gini coefficient has jumped from 0.28 (as in 1983) to an alarming 0.48 (2000), which has made contemporary China one of the least equal societies in the world.Taking environmental damage and social inequality into account, there is a real danger that China’s growth is not sustainable. The road for China’s growth and development in the past 60 years has been bumpy and hazardous, even though much can be learnt from China’s experiences.
The writer is chair of China studies at the London School of Economics
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INDIAN EXPRESS
OPED
THE MIDDLE PATH
C. RAJA MOHAN
As China celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic this week, India must take a deep breath and begin a fundamental rethink its strategy towards the rising giant north of our borders.
The recent anti-China hysteria in our mass media may yet serve a purpose if shakes our political classes out of their complacence. For nearly two decades, India’s China policy has stood on three legs: say nice things in public about Sino-Indian friendship, Asian unity and anti-Western solidarity; nurse intense grievances in private; and avoid problem solving because that would need a lot of political courage.
Our elite is now swinging wildly from being feckless to anti-China bravado. This merely replaces self-deception with certain self-defeat. As it seeks a new equilibrium with China, India needs a policy that is neither foolishly romantic nor stupidly hawkish.
Delhi’s new approach must be built upon an unambiguous recognition that the rapid rise of China is the single most important geopolitical fact of our time that must be addressed purposefully and on a sustained long-term basis.
It must also be based on the self-assurance that India too is emerging and can find its own rightful place in Asia and the world without having to treat China as a threat or become its subaltern.
The proposed realpolitik for India is not very different from that articulated by Chairman Deng Xiaoping for the Chinese leaders in the early 1990s. Deng’s advice is the virtual opposite of what has passed off as a debate on China during the last few weeks in Delhi.
While some Chinese leaders might be unlearning Deng’s wisdom, India must take it to heart. Here is how Deng summed up what later came to be known as the ‘28 character strategy’ for Chinese foreign policy in seven injunctions:
• Observe developments and analyse calmly;
• Deal with changes patiently and confidently; • Secure our own position;
• Conceal our capabilities and avoid limelight;
• Keep a low profile;
• Never become a leader; and 7. Make some contributions.
Looking inward
If our China debate during last few weeks was mostly about attributing hostile intentions to our northern neighbour, it said little about India’s own policy failures.
Take for example the situation on the border. The single most important change there has been the dramatic modernisation of transport infrastructure across the frontiers in Tibet and Xinjiang. This change did not, of course, take place in secret. Beijing announced its ‘go-west’ strategy with great fanfare in the mid 1990s.
Some the major projects of this strategy — such as the South Xinjiang Railway line to Kashgar just north-west of Jammu and Kashmir and the construction of the Tibet rail to Lhasa just north-east of Sikkim got massive international attention.
Yet, Delhi slept through the 1990s and in the early years of this decade. When it finally woke up a couple of years ago, Delhi did announce major road construction all along the China border. But the UPA government seems to have no capacity to follow through even when the projects are of such paramount importance for national defence and security.
The same holds true for the question of Chinese advances in our neighbouring countries. We can call it Chinese ‘encirclement’ till we go blue in the face. The problem, however, is rooted in Delhi rather than Beijing. So long as India refuses to imagine and implement policies that make economic cooperation with India attractive to our neighbours, Chinese economic penetration of South Asia will continue unimpeded.
It is Delhi’s strategic lassitude that makes Beijing look like an evil genius.
Investing in China
For all the talk about the China threat, there is little expertise in India about the world’s second largest economy that shares a 4000 km of land border with us and will soon be our maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean. As China rises, India needs deeper and broader engagement with China.
Neither our government nor our civil society has devoted the resources necessary to understand what makes modern China tick. The number of Chinese scholars studying the subcontinent and the reporters based in India is far higher than the pitiful Indian resources devoted to understanding China. When ignorance is combined with anger and incompetence, we have the makings of a perfect self-induced crisis.
The writer is the Henry A. Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress, Washington DC
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INDIAN EXPRESS
OPED
DARING TO DISARM
In the light of former DRDO scientist K. Santhanam questioning the yield of Pokharan-II nuclear tests, an article in the latest issue of CPM mouthpiece People’s Democracy looks into the whole controversy .
“A section of the nuclear establishment have always been in favour of the big bomb theory — the bigger the bomb the higher the deterrence. A reality check will show that a nuclear bomb is not possible to use militarily; if you believe in deterrence theory, the deterrence effect comes from possessing nuclear weapons and not their size.
“To discuss the threshold of damage in any nuclear exchange is to get derailed into how many weapons we should have and what should be their size, what should be India’s second strike capability and so on. This is the path of Mutually Assured Destruction or MAD. It is this mad MAD nuclear and missile race that broke the back of the Soviet economy during the Cold War,” it says.
Although it takes at face value Santhanam’s argument that the hydrogen bomb test was a partial success and did not provide its true yield, it disagrees with his suggestion for conducting more tests and points out that the belief that only a successful hydrogen bomb test will put India in some elite club is foolish. “The issue is not more tests, but can India own up to the disarmament view — all countries possessing nuclear weapons must give them up. It is not an altruistic utopian requirement but crucial to the survival of the globe,” it notes.
“India has some tough choices. It can either play ball with the US, accept its junior partner status and sign on the dotted line — in this case the CTBT. In that case it will have to revise its strategic understanding. Or it can break with the US. It can do this the way Santhanam and the nuclear hawks want — test again and go into a nuclear doghouse.
“Or it can put at centre stage the global disarmament agenda. Both these mean breaking with the US, something that this government does not want to do. What we need is that India breaks with the US and also puts global disarmament on the table. This is the only sane course for India and indeed all humanity,” it says.
A red rage
This edition had the CPM’s take on the recent gunbattle between Maoists and CPM cadre in Midnapore West. It quotes state secretary Biman Basu saying that the ‘people had maintained, successfully, the sanctity of a party office above which the Red Flag flutters.’
“They came to loot and burn, and they came to kill. They had to leave in a hurry in the face of stiff resistance, mass resistance, from thousands of rural folk who were determined to defend the Enayetpur CPM office in Midnapore west,” it says.“As soon as the gangs of armed killers approached the CPM office, firing automatic weapons in the air, holding aloft lit torches, and swinging along large jerry cans filled with kerosene, they ran into a solid wall of maybe ten thousand local villagers...It was simply a case of resist or be butchered. The ‘Maoist’ killers, self-styled experts as they are in the criminal act of individual assassination, had not known before what mass fury constitutes.
“After a brief hand-to-hand, close body contact struggle, the ‘Maoists’ and their Trinamuli lackeys ran away. More than thirty of the villagers were left sverely injured. It is also believed that the ‘Maoist’ attackers lost at least eight persons, dragging their wounded and the rest of the dead away,” it says.
Compiled by Manoj C.G.
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INDIAN EXPRESS
OPED
BLEEDING FROM THE CUTS
ARE OUR NEW CLIMATE COMMITMENTS DOING A DISSERVICE TO THE WORLD'S POOR?
BJORN LOMBORG
I s t N speech after rousing peech at the United Naions summit on global warming, politicians emphasised the need to protect the world's most vulnerable, who will be hit hardest by climate change. The rhetoric did little to disguise an awful truth: If we continue on our current path, we are likely to harm the world's poorest much more than we help them.
Urged on by environmental activists, many politicians are vowing to make carbon cuts designed to keep expected temperature rises under 3.6 degrees (2.0 Celsius). Yet it is nearly impossible for these promises to be fulfilled.
Japan's commitment in June to cut greenhouse gas levels 8 per cent from its 1990 levels by 2020 was scoffed at for being far too little. Yet for Japan -- which has led the world in improving energy efficiency -- to have any hope of reaching its target, it needs to build nine new nuclear power plants and increase their use by one-third, construct more than 1 million new wind-turbines, install solar panels on nearly 3 million homes, double the percentage of new homes that meet rigorous insulation standards, and increase sales of "green" vehicles from 4 per cent to 50 per cent of its auto purchases.
Japan's new prime minister was roundly lauded this month for promising a much stronger reduction, 25 per cent, even though there is no obvious way to deliver on his promise. Expecting Japan, or any other nation, to achieve such far-fetched cuts is simply delusional.
Imagine for a moment that the fantasists win the day and that at the climate conference in Copenhagen in December every nation commits to reductions even larger than Japan's, designed to keep temperature increases under 2 degrees Celsius.
Yet the real tragedy is that, by exaggerating the threat of global warming, we have awoken the beast of protectionism. There are always forces in society that demand that politicians create more barriers to trade because they cannot compete on an even, fair playing field. Global warming has given them a much stronger voice.
Already, politicians are responding -- and using the fear of global warming to create "green fences" against free trade. The US House has passed the Waxman-Markey climate change bill with clear provisions to impose new trade tariffs on countries that don't agree to emission reductions. Eyes are on the Senate, where John Kerry sees these as "sanctions" against "renegade countries."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has repeatedly called for a Europe-wide tax on imports from nations whose global warming efforts do not measure up to Europe's. German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently backed the idea.
There is a real and growing prospect of an all-out trade war being waged in the name of climate change.
The struggle to generate international agreement on a carbon deal has created a desire to punish "free riders" who do not sign on to stringent carbon emission reduction targets. But the greater goals seem to be to barricade imports from China and India, to tax companies that outsource, and to go for shortterm political benefits, destroying free trade.
This is a massive mistake.
Economic models show that the global benefits of even slightly freer trade are in the order of $50 trillion -- 50 times more than we could achieve, in the best of circumstances, with carbon cuts. If trade becomes less free, we could easily lose $50 trillion -or much more if we really bungle things. Poor nations -- the very countries that will experience the worst of climate damage -- would suffer most.
In other words: In our eagerness to avoid about $1 trillion worth of climate damage, we are being asked to spend at least 50 times as much -- and, if we hinder free trade, we are likely to heap at least an additional $50 trillion loss on the global economy.
Today, coal accounts for almost half of the planet's electricity supply, including half the power consumed in the United States. It keeps hospitals and core infra structure running, provide warmth and light in winte and makes lifesaving air con ditioning available i summer. In China and India where coal accounts fo more than 80 per cent o power generation, it ha helped to lift hundred of millions of people ou of poverty.
There is no doubt that coal i causing environmental dam age that we need to stop. But clumsy, radical halt to our coa use -- which is what promise of drastic carbon cuts actuall require -- would mean de priving billions of people of path to prosperity.
To put it bluntly: Despit their good intentions, the ac tivists, lobbyists and politician making a last-ditch push fo hugely expensive carbon-cu promises could easily end u doing hundreds of times mor damage to the planet tha coal ever could.
The Washington Post
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FINANCIAL EXPRESS
EDITORIAL
ONCE AGAIN, PETTY PILOTS
When the writing has been on the wall for some time, but people still pretend to be taken by surprise, what do you call it? Ignorance, obduracy or worse? When Air India’s marketshare has been declining, when its losses have doubled, when its revenues have been wearing down, but operating costs not dropping at a similar speed, when the airline is finding it difficult to pay either oil companies or the airport authorities, when it’s asking the government for a bailout, what did the pilots expect? Executives in other sectors have been living with slashed perks (and salary freezes and Diwalis without a bonus) for more than a year now—including lesser first-class air travel. By contrast, Air India executive pilots have had plenty of headroom to prepare for downturn-related laceration in their lifestyle. And the committee that oversaw these changes hasn’t been unreasonable. Yes, those receiving productivity-linked incentives (PLI) and allowances of Rs 2 lakh or more per month have been hit by a 50% cut, but those getting incentives of Rs 10,000 or less per month will only suffer a 25% hit. Expenditure on such incentives has increased from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,500 crore in just the last two years, and the cuts in these incentives have been identified as an essential step for turning the airline around. Yet, Air India pilots have gone on strike (disguised as sick leave), forcing the airline to suspend bookings and costing it 30% of its revenues (or Rs 12 crore) every day.
It’s time for the government to act tough. Jet pilots have got away with a rampantly illegal wildcat strike. Now, we have Air India executives proving the adage that trade unionism has gotten too elitist in India. Trade unions have exercised influence utterly in excess of the numbers they represent; they have excluded a majority of workers who are unorganised. And when highly-skilled workers, who make salaries running into lakhs a month exploit collective bargaining, reforming labour laws must become a government priority. Remember, these are pilots who stay in five-star hotels when on duty, but whose incentive allowance isn’t linked to their carrier’s productivity or benchmarked to international norms. Their strike is finding shelter in labour laws,which make it very difficult to sack workers (or redefine job description) in large firms even when they are inefficient (or when their industry experiences decline). This is untenable in...
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FINANCIAL EXPRESS
EDITORIAL
ROAD TO FACTORIES
One of the perceptional problems associated with land acquisition in recent times is that the purpose for which land is acquired from farmers doesn’t seem to materialise in reasonable time. This gives land acquisition a bad name in politics—farmers can be given the argument by those with antediluvian views of industrialisation that the entire process was an exercise in real estate bets, not industrialisation or building infrastructure. Roads & highways minister Kamal Nath acknowledged this problem at an Idea Exchange with The Express Group. And he has come up with a novel policy that will encourage acquired land to be put to productive use in reasonable time. For now, the minister’s proposal to vest unused (measured as five years from the time of acquisition) land back to the farmer from whom it was acquired, at no cost to the farmer, is restricted to land acquired to build roads and highways. But it may be a good model to follow for land acquired for industrial purposes in general. For one, it will incentivise timely completion of projects and second, the politics of land acquisition will change for the better, as locals quickly see the benefits of an industry or roads. If the perception of land acquisition as a real estate dodge can be corrected, SEZs and industrialisation can get a renewed lease of life after much scandal and controversy of late.
However, two issues need to be addressed if Kamal Nath’s idea is to have the impact it deserves. First, the time constraint on giving back land must engender procedural easing for projects, whether roads or factories. As every report on doing business in India shows, the entrepreneur/administration interface is pre-reform. Permits, clearances and bylaws are not only complex, but also they vary from state to state, and state governments, therefore, have to come on board. It is possible for a state government to make a central project difficult. The second issue is whether UPA-II in general, not just some go-getting ministers, will take political ownership of the land issue. So far, the government has dealt with the land-for-projects question by pretty much ignoring it. Even if Kamal Nath succeeds in getting road building back on track, a vast political economic area will still be left unaddressed. Yes, there are problems. As our columnists on the Reflect page argue today, low human capital formation (that is, poor or zero skill) increases the reservation price of land for many small/marginal farmers. Historically, this has been addressed by factory employment that offers a regular income and some on-job training. But the factory as a way out of rural low-level equilibrium will be a solid political argument when there’s visible political will. UPA-II will have to supply it.
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FINANCIAL EXPRESS
COLUMN
THE RULES VS REGULATION DILEMMA
K VAIDYA NATHAN
In summits such as the G-20, one of the things that you can safely predict even before the meeting begins is that the world leaders would term it a ‘success’ in the end, irrespective of their efficacy or utility. More often than not, summits such as these, produce a press release that makes it seem as if the talks have accomplished something tangible. In the current distressed economic conditions, it was expected that the world leaders would attempt to sneak through without a damning indictment from all the constituents who are worse off by the current crisis.
One of important aspects that the summit focused on was to change the compensatory regimes in banks. Earlier, compensation was linked to short term profits and was dissociated from how it affected the long-term viability of the financial institution. The G-20 leaders suggested the concept of deferred compensation which make incentives a function of how decisions taken today span out over a longer horizon. Only if they are beneficial over the medium to long term, should bankers get credit for their work and be monetarily compensated. The G-20 leaders would do well to apply the rule to themselves. Instead of issuing self-congratulatory statements, they might as well wait to see if the regulation that they are putting in place now have indeed been beneficial and what tangible good has it done to the financial system. So let’s quickly assess the difficulties in regulation the G-20 is proposing which needs to be got through before it can pat itself on its back.
The G-20 agreed that the level and quality of minimum capital requirements will increase substantially over time. How much is the difficult question because raising it too high in regulatory over-enthusiasm might adversely affect the banking industry and therefore the economy. The G-20 agreed that capital requirements will operate countercyclically. That means, financial institutions will be required to build capital buffers above the minimum requirements during good times that can be drawn down during more difficult periods. Well, how do you define countercyclicality? Would that be one measure that fits all financial institutions? How do we know that we are currently in up-cycle or down-cycle? If you do a poll today of leading economists, half would say that we have seen the bottom of the economic cycle and are on our way up. The other half would say that there is more economic pain to come and there are more lower troughs ahead. If there is some quantitative model that predicts cycles accurately, I would be interested to know. If regulators identify the economic troughs beforehand, that is half the problem solved. The trouble is, nobody knows how and when these downturns choose to make their appearance and how severe they can be.
The G-20 identified that regulation should be put in place that can make global liquidity more robust. A new regulatory framework has been suggested that would ensure that global banks have sufficient high-quality liquid assets to withstand a stressed funding scenario. A liquidity coverage ratio that can be applied in a cross-border setting has been recommended. The crisis did demonstrate that adequate liquidity is a prerequisite for financial stability. Cross-border flows are often pretty vulnerable during financial crisis. However, putting in place a liquidity coverage ratio underestimates the means by which international banks manage their liquidity. Post-Lehman-default there was substantial lack of liquidity in US dollars. However, banks found it less difficult to get funding in euro or yen. So, having a one-size-fits-all liquidity ratio for all banks globally, may not be efficient.
The G-20 also deliberated on the need to reduce systemic risk of institutions that are ‘too big to fail’; or, more correctly, too big and too complex to fail. The measures suggested have been to include specific additional capital requirements as well as stricter prudential requirements.
More complicated regulation more often than not fosters convoluted financial systems. For instance, regulations in bankers pay might result in multifaceted pay structures that more or less maintain the pay-out levels. Similarly, imposing additional capital requirements on “too big to fail” financial institutions may result in increased intricacy of group structures. It is difficult to see bank shareholders let go an opportunity to grow their business just because the bank is nearing the threshold levels of ‘too big to fail’ that regulators may specify. Likewise, if there is a dearth of liquidity in a particular currency, banks may want to lend that currency through the foreign exchange market using products like Fx Swap to make a good profit. Since products like Fx Swaps are off-balance sheet items, the liquidity of the bank in paper may be high, but in reality may be lower than what the ratio might suggest. The regulators would do well to recap how the market participants used the credit derivatives market to do regulatory capital arbitrage during the earlier Basel-I regime. In general, market participants tend to outsmart the regulators. A complex regulatory regime provides many more avenues for arbitraging the system. In the world of regulation, complex isn’t necessarily better.
Only time will tell if the new set of regulations would make the world of finance less risky or not.
The author, formerly with JPMorganChase’s Global Capital Markets, trains finance professionals on derivatives & risk management
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FINANCIAL EXPRESS
COLUMN
THE MESSAGE FROM GOLD & REAL ESTATE
MADAN SABNAVIS
Two apparently unrelated attractive investment avenues are real estate and gold both of which have shown similar proclivities of late. Conventional wisdom suggests that their prices must go up in the long run for the simple reason that they can never come down over such a period. This is why even rural India considers both of them to be safe investments and this is ingrained in our psyche. They also help to buffer against inflation and bring in capital appreciation to levels comparable with those on the stock market. However, while the long-run direction is clear, inter-temporal variations affecting them are quite different even though demand is typically from the same segment of users.
Gold has been quite volatile in the last few years and has offered commensurate returns. Further, gold is not correlated with stocks meaning that it is a good product diversifier. The price of gold is inversely related to the dollar and typically, the weakening of the dollar strengthens gold. The recent race past the $1000/ounce mark was a direct result of the weakening dollar which has inched towards the 1.50 level (vis-a-vis euro). However, while India is the largest consumer of gold (20% share) we still remain price takers and not price setters which should have been the case. Hence, while at the margin, prices domestically are affected by demand factors, there is not much deviation from the international price with the correlation remaining above 95%.
The physical balances do matter at times, especially on the supply side when there are larger quantities in the market. However, the main source for the same, i.e. releases by central banks, is more or less controlled to ensure that there are no serious distortions in the market.
The rising price of gold, however, does not deter consumption as it is purchased essentially for its quality of store of value and for purposes such as marriage, social mores and egotistic wealth. Demand tends to be fairly inelastic most of the time and demand is almost a straight line. Conjecturing the price of gold really means knowing how the dollar will move.
This is tricky today as the dollar is declining despite the US current account deficit improving. This is so because global sentiment is adverse on account of the high risk perception of US assets. Countries are holding fewer dollars and have switched to the euro. The revival measures have further caused consternation over the future of the dollar.
Hence, the interest in gold will always be there with global cues being the guiding factor, while physical demand will simply be reacting to the prices that are being set in global market, COMEX in particular.
The other phenomenon is real estate where prices have steadied after declining for most of last year. Typically the cycles follow a set pattern. Prices are demand-led where higher demand creates the supply as builders get into the act of making available housing spaces. But, prices do not come down to the same extent when there is a downturn in business due to the holding power of builders. The semi-oligopolistic set up ensures that prices never come down sharply even during these times and a correction of not more than 20% takes place at the best of times.
Demand is driven by two segments, households and investors. The former have started investing in houses on account of lower interest rates being offered (one is not sure if they read the fine print of the limited validity on these rates), and the expectations that property rates will move up in future. The emergence from the slowdown has added to the demand for housing in recent times. Besides, the continuous migration of population to the urban centres has added to the demand for housing at the lower end. Also the expansion of companies into the suburbs of cities would keep up the demand for commercial property except during recession times. There is hence a positive correlation between economic recovery and demand for property.
The other group of demand comes from investors who typically operate in the stock market and would move funds across to property when the time is right. Here the link with the equity segment is distinct where a longer term view is taken when the markets are down. Funds move to property and provide support for prices as they buy low and wait to sell at a higher price when conditions improve. This segment is typically less active when the stock market is up.
Hence, while real estate sector is in a way indirectly dependent on the stock markets for seeking direction, gold continues to be an independent investment avenue for individuals. It is not surprising that all the markets are up today.
The author is chief economist of NCDEX Ltd. These are his personal views
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FINANCIAL EXPRESS
COLUMN
NO TOAST FOR TEA
SANJEEB MUKHERJEE
The reported move on part of the central government to classify tea as an agricultural commodity instead of a plantation crop will not only enable tea to get all the benefits that farm goods export get, but will also help in addressing a long standing demand of the sector to bring it at par with other agricultural commodities.
The Indian tea industry which produces one of the world’s finest quality of tea in large volumes has been facing a slew of problems because of rising input cost—mostly labour, fertiliser and power—and almost stagnant returns. Of late though, there has been some improvement in realisations, but it is not sufficient to wipe off the losses suffered over the last 10 years. According to industry estimates, the biggest cost for making tea is the welfare cost of plantation workers, which according to some estimates works out to around Rs 7 per kilogramme of finished tea inclusive of the subsidised foodgrain supplied to plantation workers. Such high cost of production makes Indian tea less competitive in the global market and also squeezes margin of planters.
This year, as the industry was showing signs of coming out of the glut because of improved export earnings, drought in large parts of crucial tea growing areas in north-eastern Indian, has spoiled hopes. Cumulative rainfall in major tea growing districts has been around 20%-25% deficient, which could impact tea output as low moisture will make the crops more vulnerable to pest attacks.
The industry feels that the gains in price realisation made last year will be offset by the drop in production and rise in input costs as low rains will increase the need for irrigation. It is under these circumstances that the tea industry is demanding that the sector be brought under the ambit of the agriculture ministry which will help it in getting the benefits of priority lending from the banks. At present, most banks consider the sector only partly under priority lending. Moreover, industry also argues that when the state government imposes agricultural tax on 60% of their income, there is no reason why tea industry should not be classified as an agricultural commodity.
sanjeeb.mukherjee@expressindia.com
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THE HINDU
EDITORIAL
AIR INDIA GROUNDED
Close on the heels of Jet Airways pilots’ mass sick leave, a section of the executive pilots of national carrier, Air India, has reported sick since September 26. In addition to cancellation of flights, disruption in traffic, and huge inconvenience to passengers during the festival season, this agitation has raised serious questions about the future of Air India itself. Ever since the process of merger of Indian Airlines and Air India began, the national carrier has been moving from one crisis to another. At a time when the entire aviation industry is going through tumultuous times, strikes or agitations by the staff are the last thing any airline would like to face. Air India has accumulated a loss of over Rs.7,000 crore and has run up a huge working capital overdraft. It has been looking up to the government for a bailout package for months now. Though the government has promised support, it wants Air India to put in place a restructuring plan that cuts cost all round, before the funds are released. The Centre has already underwritten the loans that the national carrier has taken to acquire a new fleet of aircraft. Air India began to cut costs — streamlining its operations and effecting a 25 to 50 per cent cut in productivity-linked incentives and other allowances to its top management, which includes executive pilots, whose total package ranged from Rs.2 lakh to Rs.8 lakh a month. That provoked the pilots to go on sick leave.
Apart from the cutback in incentives and allowances, it is quite possible that the airline is not rostering the executive pilots as often as before, or it is even pruning the number of flights. All this could have contributed to the drastic reduction in the take-home packages of the executive pilots — the highest paid staff in the airline, and the pilots in Air India get more than their counterparts in private airlines. Some of the agitating pilots even claimed, after the cut, their take-home pay was a mere Rs.4,500 to Rs. 8,000 last month, compared to Rs.2 lakh to Rs.2.5 lakh earlier. There has also been considerable delay in the payment of salaries. First of all, steps have to be taken to ensure that the other airlines do not fleece passengers taking advantage of the cancellation of Air India flights. Further, if the national carrier implements its plan to cut costs further by reducing the allowance of its middle- and lower-level staff, there could be more trouble, more protests. The Civil Aviation Ministry, the Air India management, and the staff unions must sit together to hammer out a viable plan to revive and restructure the airline.
THE HINDU
EDITORIAL
POLITICAL CHANGE IN GERMANY
The German general election has resulted in a clear win for the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union bloc (CDU/CSU), led by the incumbent Chancellor, Angela Merkel. The partly-proportional Additional Member electoral system has produced a vote-share of 33.8 per cent for the bloc, far above the 23 per cent won by their main rivals, the Social Democrat Party (SPD), led by Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Ms Merkel will now be able to head a coalition with Guido Westerwelle, leader of the right-wing, pro-market Free Democrat Party (FDP), which won 14.6 per cent and is the biggest single gainer from the election. There will be a categorical change of political climate with the ending of the Grand Coalition between the centre-right CDU/CSU and the centre-left SPD. Initial assessments are that taxes will probably be cut, that Germany’s 17 nuclear plants will not be decommissioned, and that the increasingly controversial German military presence in Afghanistan will be maintained for the foreseeable future. It is also likely that the post-war social consensus between labour, capital, and government will be progressively brought under more critical scrutiny, but that may not happen immediately; Germany, which with France is the strongest exponent of the consensus, is said to be leading the West towards economic recovery, and Ms Merkel will probably not allow Mr. Westerwelle to rock any boat yet.
Closer analysis, however, reveals a less decisive margin of victory for the CDU/CSU than the overall figures suggest. The turnout, down from 78 per cent in 2005 to 70.8 per cent, was the lowest in Germany’s post-war history. The CDU/CSU’s dismal performance in provincial elections in Thuringia and Saarland, together with a late SPD poll surge, left the overall results in some doubt until near the election itself. The eventual margin therefore makes the SPD the biggest loser, with its lowest share of the vote since the war as well as a huge loss of voters to parties on its left. In particular, the Left Party, formed by communists from the former German Democratic Republic together with western German leftists, improved its share from 8.7 per cent to 11.9 per cent. The Greens also improved, from 8.1 per cent in 2005 to 10.7 per cent. Now the SPD, purportedly the leaders of German social democracy, is in predictable disarray. They have only themselves to blame, both for rejecting what could have been a winning alliance with the Left Party in 2005 and then for accepting their Grand Coalition partner’s moves towards deregulation and the unrestrained market. German social democracy may never be the same again.
THE HINDU
LEADER PAGE ARTICLES
MAHARASHTRA POLLS: ALL FRONTS AND NO BACK
WILL THE CONGRESS-NCP GAIN FROM A MULTIPLICITY OF FRONTS WHICH COULD DISSIPATE THE ANTI-CONGRESS VOTE? OR WILL THE SHIV SENA-BJP BENEFIT FROM THE THIRD FRONT’S CUTTING INTO THE CONGRESS-NCP VOTE?
P. SAINATH
Whatever the failings of Maharashtra’s political class, and these are many, a lack of optimism is not among them. Even after the last date for the withdrawal of nominations to the Assembly elections, there are more fronts, real and imagined, alive and still in the making. More candidates, lots more spending. And a rebel-to-candidate ratio that can only be described as entertaining. The chaos and confusion are bewildering. A senior Shiv Sena figure, discarded by his party, contests the election as a Congress candidate. His nephew leaves the Sena to join the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena of Raj Thackeray. And that’s one of the easier moves to follow.
Yet, the key question in the race to control Maharashtra’s 288-seat legislature boils down to: who will the fragmentation benefit? Will the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party gain from a multiplicity of fronts which could dissipate the anti-Congress vote? Or will the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party benefit from the Third Front’s cutting into the Congress-NCP vote? That is the million-dollar question. (And millions of dollars — or rupee equivalents — are being spent by parties to get the answer they like). Given the number of known faces in the fray for every seat, and the complexity of alliance and other factors, that answer might differ in each constituency.
The Lok Sabha elections of April-May were a lot closer in this State than many might believe. The difference between the Congress-NCP and the Sena-BJP fronts was narrower than it appears at first glance. The former may have won 25 Lok Sabha seats and the latter only 20, but in terms of Assembly segments, the Congress-NCP combine led its saffron rivals by less than a dozen. Then too, there were others in the fray — which did make a significant, even decisive, difference to the poll outcome.
The MNS, for instance, torpedoed the Sena-BJP in the Mumbai-Thane region. The MNS did not win a single Lok Sabha seat and led in very few segments, but the lakhs of votes it gathered in those was enough to hand the Congress-NCP victory in a State where they had assiduously pursued defeat. To this day, in the present round, the Congress strategy is mostly based on one assumption. That the MNS will fare even better in a State-level election where regional issues dominate. In short, a Congress-NCP win is predicated on how well the MNS does.
There is not much else the Congress-NCP can count on. Massive job losses, a crippling price rise and abysmal governance are not the best platform to reach out to the voters on. The cheery confidence of the Congress, though, springs from the May Lok Sabha polls. In those, it lost four per cent in vote share compared to 2004 but gained four seats thanks to the MNS sinking the Sena. The Congress-NCP government’s record is easily among the worst in the country. It’s hard to find a single poll promise it actually fulfilled. Popular perception doesn’t worry the parties much, though. In the Congress view, the math should do the trick this time, too. More so when the Opposition has failed to exploit major issues and discontent to put the ruling combine on the mat.
In Vidarbha, the Bahujan Samaj Party did not lead in a single segment in May, but drew lakhs of votes across the region. Enough votes to torpedo the Sena-BJP in eastern Vidarbha’s five Lok Sabha seats while blowing the Congress-NCP out of the water in the five seats of western Vidarbha. Lesson: you can determine the outcome of several contests even if your candidates run a distant third. In the Assembly polls, where State, regional and local-level issues gain weight, this volatility grows.
And boy has it grown. The Republican Left Democratic Front (or ‘third front’) is a rickety outfit. But its member parties, where not squabbling with one another, can cause upsets in some constituencies. In some seats, though not many, its candidates are actually in the running. Former NCP rebels and other mavericks now with this front like Sadashiv Mandlik and Raju Shetty in Kolhapur could, where they are not fighting each other, pose big problems for the ruling alliance in its western Maharashtra stronghold. RPI unity, shallow, limited and unstable though it is, could help some third front candidates pick up a few thousand votes in some places. Votes that could topple a would-be winner in close contests.
Then there is the BSP, which is contesting all 288 seats in the State. Its best bet in making an impact will again be Vidarbha. There, it could hurt both major fronts. However, the way this worked in May, it means the Sena-BJP is already ahead in about 30 of Vidarbha’s’s 62 segments, with the Congress-NCP ahead in only 27.
Raj Thackeray’s MNS is strongest in Mumbai-Thane, Pune and Nashik. The party is contesting around 140 seats across the State and could strike a sharp bargain when the results are out. Apart from the limited seats it will win, MNS candidates are strong in quite a few constituencies where the Congress-Sena race is really close. The MNS also strongly brings alive the Marathi versus non-Marathi issue. A factor which traps the Shiv Sena between proving its Marathi credentials and leading a broader alliance and agenda. But the greatest role of the MNS is in dividing the Sena vote. The media now see Raj Thackeray as the newsmaker of this election. In previous State polls — despite clear evidence of his decline in the past few years — a captive media saw only one newsmaker: Sharad Pawar. Today, they barely know where he is.
The RPI of Prakash Ambedkar has struck its own path, declining to be part of the RLDF and contesting over 120 seats. Who will it affect the most? The Congress-NCP that counts on Dalit votes? Or will the Congress actually gain as the Dalit vote of the third front splinters?
Next, there is Vinay Kore, Cabinet Minister in the present government, one-time NCP leader and weighty in western Maharashtra. His Jan Surajya Shakti (JSS) party has more than 50 candidates in the fray. Mr. Kore speaks of possible post-poll alliances with the MNS, stirring the pot before the stew is in it.
And finally, there are the rebels — a factor that affects all parties in the contest. It would take a census to count the lot. Some of them are locally strong politicians who can make or mar their former party’s chances in their boroughs. With all these factors and actors in play, several seats become hard to predict. The Congress has a simple attitude towards rebels: get elected on any platform you like, then join us in the government. This has often worked in Maharashtra.
There are two ways of looking at who the RLDF or third front will hurt more. A widely-held view is that it must hurt the Congress-NCP. This is because the third front has voters (for instance, Dalits) who could otherwise go with the Congress-NCP but not with the Sena-BJP. And the Sena-BJP voter is most unlikely to be seduced by the RLDF. The Congress take on this is the opposite. It sees the multiple opposition fronts as splitting the anti-Congress, anti-NCP vote. It believes that the Third Front, the MNS and others will do for it what Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party did for Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in Andhra Pradesh — destroy the main rival by dividing the anti-Congress vote.
It’s another matter that Andhra Pradesh is a very different State and YSR was a cut above his Maharashtra counterparts. And that that government actually delivered on some programmes in the social sector. The Congress remains convinced that Maharashtra will witness a repeat of the Andhra math. It realises that if there were no MNS, the Sena-BJP would win. From this it concludes that the MNS being there assures the Congress-NCP alliance of victory. There is truth in the Congress logic that the division of the Marathi vote between the Senas will help. The gamble is on how much.
Another curious aspect of the race in Maharashtra is that both the major alliances have one lame-duck partner with them. On the one side, the NCP seems to be imploding. On the other, the Sena is hamstrung by the BJP’s decline. At this level, it’s a question of which side’s ‘B’ team will fare worse. And of how the ‘A’ sides will limp past the line when hobbled by partners who can’t pull their own weight.
In case of a hung Assembly, where neither major alliance crosses the 145-seat mark, the Congress-NCP will have an edge in government formation. They’ve been in power 10 years. And when it comes to answering million-dollar questions, the more millions you have, the more it helps.
THE HINDU
OP-ED
COPENHAGEN NEGOTIATING TEXT: 200 PAGES TO SAVE WORLD?
THE DRAFT AGREEMENT BEING DISCUSSED AHEAD OF DECEMBER’S CRUCIAL COPENHAGEN SUMMIT IS LONG, CONFUSING AND CONTRADICTORY.
DAVID ADAM
It is a blueprint to save the world. And yet it is long, confusing and contradictory. Negotiators have released a draft version of a new global agreement on climate change, which is widely billed as the last chance to save the planet from the ravages of global warming.
Running to some 200 pages, the draft agreement is being discussed for the first time this week as officials from 190 countries gather in Bangkok for U.N. talks. There is only one meeting after this before they meet in Copenhagen aiming to hammer out a final version.
The Guardian’s environment correspondent has analysed the draft text which consolidates and reorders undreds of changes demanded by countries to the previous version, which saw it balloon to 300 pages. It must be formally approved before negotiators can start to whittle it down. Here are the key, edited sections with their meaning.
Traditional sticking points
The text includes sections on the traditional sticking points that have delayed progress on climate change for a decade or longer:
How much are rich countries willing to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, and by when?
Will large developing nations such as China make an effort to put at least a dent in their levels of pollution?
How much money must flow from the developed world to developing countries to secure their approval?
How much to compensate for the impact of past emissions, and how much to prevent future emissions?
According to U.N. rules, for a new treaty to be agreed, every country must sign up. The treaty is designed to follow the Kyoto protocol, the world’s existing treaty to regulate emissions, the first phase of which expires in 2012. Because the U.S. did not ratify Kyoto, the climate talks have been forced on to parallel tracks, with one set of negotiations, from which the U.S. is excluded, debating how the treaty could be extended. This new text comes from the second track, which lays out a plan to include all countries in cooperative action.
Edited extracts from the current draft of the U.N.’s global treaty to tackle climate change, officially called document FCCC/AWGLCA/2009/INF.2 from the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action Under the Convention. The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change has the ultimate objective, set at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, to prevent “dangerous anthropogenic interference” with climate.
I.27. [the parties shall work towards]:
Option 1. [as a stabilisation of GHG concentrations in the atmosphere at [400] [450 or lower] [not more than 450] [450] [least 450] ppm carbon dioxide equivalent (CO-2} eq) [and a temperature increase limited to] [so that there is a very low or low level of risk that the global mean temperature rise will be] 20C or below above the pre-industrial level [with a probability greater than 50 per cent] [which requires reversing the trend of increasing global greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 at the latest].
Option 2. [as a stabilisation of GHG concentrations in the atmosphere well below 350 ppm CO{-2} eq [and a temperature increase limited to below 1.5{+0}C above the pre-industrial level] [with a probability greater than 50 per cent of a temperature increase of less than 20}C from pre-industrial level].
Option 3. [as a global temperature increase limited to 20}C above the pre-industrial level.]
Option 5.6 [on the basis of economic and technological feasibility.]
What this means ... Sets up the intended goal of controlling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The square brackets contain text that is provisional and often controversial. The options here span the full spectrum, from option 2, an ambitious goal of 350 parts per million CO-2}; [equivalent] — which is below today’s level — to option 5.6, making carbon cuts only if they are economically feasible.
I.31. [To this end, [developed country parties]..., as a group, [shall] [should] [reduce their [domestic] GHG emissions] [deeply cut their GHG emissions]: (a) [By at least 25-40] [By 25-40] [By more than 25-40] [In the order of 30] [By at least 40] [By 45] [By at least 45] per cent from 1990 levels by [2017] [2020], through domestic and international efforts.
What this means ... Introduces the 25-40 per cent range of cuts by rich countries that campaigners want to see by 2020. The distinction between domestic and international efforts is critical. The latter allows rich countries to buy offsets from abroad to count towards their target, rather than make cuts at home.
I.34. [Supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building from developed country parties, the GHG emissions of [developing country parties]... as a group, [shall] [should] [could] realistically change their emission patterns by: (a) [[Significantly deviate from the baseline by 2020] [Deviate in the order of 15-30 per cent below the baseline by 2020] [Deviating from the baseline by 2020]; (b) [And] be reduced by 25 per cent from 2000 levels by 2050.]]
What this means ... This asks developing countries to reduce the growth of their emissions by 2020. Clause (b) is significant because it would commit China, India and others to binding cuts, albeit by 2050. Expect very stiff resistance.
III B.5 [The extent of mitigation actions undertaken by developing countries will depend on the extent of effective provision of financial and technological support by developed country parties.]
What this means ... Strong stuff from the developing world. Pay up or we won’t act.
III A.17. [All [developed country parties] [shall][should] [individually or jointly, ensure that their aggregate anthropogenic carbon dioxide equivalent emissions of the GHGs listed in (x) do not exceed][take leadership to] adopt [legally binding] [measurable, reportable and verifiable] [[nationally appropriate] mitigation commitments or actions] [expressed as] [including] [economy-wide] quantified emission limitation and reduction [objectives] [for [up, to and beyond 2012] the period from [1990][2013] [XXXX] until [2017] [2020] [XXXX],]] [as inscribed in Annexure X] [of at least 40 per cent relative to 1990, by 2020] while ensuring comparability of efforts among them,[ based on their historical responsibility,] [[taking into account] [national circumstances for parties “with economies that are highly dependent on income generated from the production, processing and export and/or consumption of fossil fuels” as specified in Article 4.8 (h)] [differences in their national circumstances]]. [These commitments or actions shall be inscribed in [Annex ...] [[Appendix ...][Schedule ...][...]]] [with a view to collectively reducing their GHG emissions in the order of 30 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020]
What this means ... A key section. Just how much will developed countries cut their emissions and by when? On what baseline? All options remain open. There is a world of legal difference between whether they “shall” or “should” take on cuts. And “nationally appropriate” targets are weaker than if they are “legally binding.”
III A.11. [[Developed country parties] shall achieve their quantified emission limitation and reduction objectives: Option 1 [exclusively through domestic action.]; Option 2 [primarily through domestic emission reductions efforts.] [A maximum of [X] per cent of their commitments should be achieved through the use of [flexible] [carbon market] mechanisms, including offsets]. Option 3 [through a combination of domestic emission reductions efforts and [flexible] [carbon market] mechanisms.]
What this means ... Sets out whether rich countries must cut carbon at home or whether they can buy offsets from abroad.
II.33. By 2020 the scale of financial flows to support adaptation in developing countries must be [at least $67bn] [in the range of $70-140bn] per year. [Sources of new and additional financial support for adaptation [must meet the full agreed incremental costs of adaptation and initially be within a minimum range of $50-86bn per annum and regularly updated in the light of new emerging science, financial estimates and the degree of emission reductions achieved.]
What this means ... Rich countries will have to pay hundreds of billions over the next decade to help poor nations adapt
IV.4 Highlighting that financial commitments have not been met by developed country parties... and emphasising the ... need for these parties to honour their commitments ... by providing resources to support adaptation ... in developing countries.
What this means ... Bad blood and mistrust remain. Rich countries including Britain have failed to keep past promises on climate funding. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2009
THE HINDU
OP-ED
IT’S THE WALLY YACHTERS WHO ARE BURNING THE PLANET
PATERNALISM LIES BEHIND THE NOTION THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS CAUSED BY A GROWTH IN POPULATION. LET’S JUST DO THE NUMBERS.
GEORGE MONBIOT
It’s no coincidence that most of those who are obsessed with population growth are post-reproductive wealthy white men: it’s about the only environmental issue for which they can’t be blamed. The brilliant Earth systems scientist James Lovelock, for instance, claimed last month that “those who fail to see that population growth and climate change are two sides of the same coin are either ignorant or hiding from the truth. These two huge environmental problems are inseparable and to discuss one while ignoring the other is irrational.” But it’s Lovelock who is being ignorant and irrational.
A paper published in the journal Environment and Urbanization shows that the places where population has been growing fastest are those in which carbon dioxide has been growing most slowly, and vice versa. Between 1980 and 2005, for instance, sub-Saharan Africa produced 18.5 per cent of the world’s population growth and just 2.4 per cent of the growth in CO{-2}. North America turned out only 4 per cent of the extra people, but 14 per cent of the extra emissions. Sixty-three per cent of the world’s population growth happened in places with very low emissions.
THE POOR DON’T POLLUTE
Even this does not capture it. The paper points out that about one sixth of the world’s population is so poor that it produces no significant emissions at all. This is also the group whose growth rate is likely to be highest. Households in India earning less than 3,000 rupees a month use a fifth of the electricity per head and one seventh of the transport fuel of households earning 30,000 rupees or more. Street sleepers use almost nothing. Those who live by processing waste (a large part of the urban underclass) often save more greenhouse gases than they produce.
Many of the emissions for which poorer countries are blamed should in fairness belong to the developed nations. Gas flaring by companies exporting oil from Nigeria, for instance, has produced more greenhouse gases than all other sources in sub-Saharan Africa put together. Even deforestation in poor countries is driven mostly by commercial operations delivering timber, meat and animal feed to rich consumers. The rural poor do far less harm.
The paper’s author, David Satterthwaite, points out that the old formula taught to students of development — that total impact equals population times affluence times technology (I = PAT) — is wrong. Total impact should be measured as I = CAT: consumers times affluence times technology. Many of the world’s people use so little that they wouldn’t figure in this equation. They are the ones who have most children.
WEALTH VS GLOBAL WARMING
While there’s a weak correlation between global warming and population growth, there’s a strong correlation between global warming and wealth. I’ve been taking a look at a few super-yachts, as I’ll need somewhere to entertain government ministers in the style to which they are accustomed. First I went through the plans for Royal Falcon Fleet’s RFF135, but when I discovered that it burns only 750 litres of fuel per hour I realised that it wasn’t going to impress Lord Mandelson. I might raise half an eyebrow with the Overmarine Mangusta 105, which sucks up 850 litres per hour. But the raft that’s really caught my eye is made by Wally Yachts in Monaco. The WallyPower 118 (which gives total wallies a sensation of power) consumes 3,400 litres per hour when travelling at 60 knots. That’s nearly a litre per second. Another way of putting it is 31 litres per kilometre.
Of course, to make a real splash I’ll have to shell out on teak and mahogany fittings, carry a few jetskis and a mini-submarine, ferry my guests to the marina by private plane and helicopter, offer them bluefin tuna sushi and beluga caviar, and drive the beast so fast that I mash up half the marine life of the Mediterranean. As the owner of one of these yachts I’ll do more damage to the biosphere in 10 minutes than most Africans inflict in a lifetime. Now we’re burning, baby.
Someone I know who hangs out with the very rich tells me that in the banker belt of the lower Thames valley, near London, there are people who heat their outdoor swimming pools to bath temperature, all round the year. They like to lie in the pool on winter nights, looking up at the stars. The fuel costs them £3,000 a month. One hundred thousand people living like these bankers would knacker our life support systems faster than 10 billion people living like the African peasantry. But at least the super wealthy have the good manners not to breed very much, so the rich old men who bang on about human reproduction leave them alone.
In May the U.K. Sunday Times carried an article headlined “Billionaire club in bid to curb overpopulation.” It revealed that “some of America’s leading billionaires have met secretly” to decide which good cause they should support. “A consensus emerged that they would back a strategy in which population growth would be tackled as a potentially disastrous environmental, social and industrial threat.” The ultra-rich, in other words, have decided that it’s the very poor who are trashing the planet. You grope for a metaphor, but it’s impossible to satirise.
James Lovelock, like Sir David Attenborough and Jonathan Porritt, is a patron of the Optimum Population Trust (OPT). It is one of dozens of campaigns and charities whose sole purpose is to discourage people from breeding in the name of saving the biosphere. But I haven’t been able to find any campaign whose sole purpose is to address the impacts of the very rich.
The obsessives could argue that the people breeding rapidly today might one day become richer. But as the super wealthy grab an ever greater share and resources begin to run dry, this, for most of the very poor, is a diminishing prospect. There are strong social reasons for helping people to manage their reproduction, but weak environmental reasons — except among wealthier populations.
NO LIMITS TO EXTRAVAGANCE
The Optimum Population Trust glosses over the fact that the world is going through demographic transition: population growth rates are slowing down almost everywhere and the number of people is likely, according to a paper in Nature, to peak this century, probably at about 10 billion. Most of the growth will take place among those who consume almost nothing.
But no one anticipates a consumption transition. People breed less as they become richer, but they don’t consume less — they consume more. As the habits of the super-rich show, there are no limits to human extravagance. Consumption can be expected to rise with economic growth until the biosphere hits the buffers. Anyone who understands this and still considers that population, not consumption, is the big issue is, in Lovelock’s words, “hiding from the truth.” It is the worst kind of paternalism, blaming the poor for the excesses of the rich.
So where are the movements protesting about the stinking rich destroying our living systems? Where is the direct action against super-yachts and private jets? Where’s Class War when you need it? It’s time we had the guts to name the problem. It’s not sex; it’s money. It’s not the poor; it’s the rich. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2009
THE HINDU
NEWS ANALYSIS
IT IS AN OPEN SECRET THAT THE BEST-SELLERS’ LISTS, DESPITE BEING BASED ON SALES FIGURES, ARE OFTEN MANIPULATED.
HASAN SUROOR
The sheer amount of received wisdom available to modern-day newspaper readers and television viewers (or “media consumers” as they are known in marketing lingo) is simply staggering. Thanks to a daily dose of opinion polls, market surveys, best-sellers’ lists and a variety of “power” lists we all know which is the “best” book without having read it; which party is going to win the next election even before a single vote has been cast; who’s who’s in the popularity stakes down to the last spot; who wields how much power in exactly what order; and who are the “best” or “worst” dressed people in the world .
But how credible is this information?
It is an open secret, for example, that the best-sellers’ lists, despite being based on sales figures, are often manipulated. Opinion polls are said to be even more vulnerable to manipulation, the cynical view being that you can get the answer you want by framing the questions in such a way as to yield the “desired” result. But the least reliable are the so-called “power” lists based, as they are, mostly on the compilers’ own subjective opinion.
The result is, often, strange — such as a list of the world’s most influential people which doesn’t include someone like the Chinese President while bristling with TV celebrities and pop idols. One such list appears in the latest issue of New Statesman as a cover story, “The 50 people who matter.”
It features four Indians, including the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen. So far, so good. No surprises there. But then on the same list there’s Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, surprisingly ranked higher than his boss —something that might even embarrass him. Hailed as the “green giant” and credited with getting the scale of the climate change crisis right, he is listed as the world’s 27th most important person, four places ahead of Mrs. Gandhi.
This is not the only eye-popping inconsistency in a list that, according to the magazine’s own admission, is not based on any objective criterion.
There is, for example, Shah Rukh Khan rightly chosen for his huge popularity but there is no Sachin Tendulkar who, if anything, is a much bigger international figure in terms of his global fame and influence on world cricket. Similarly, the “Murdochs” (Rupert and family) are ranked as the world’s second most important family after the Obamas which, for all the influence wielded by the media magnate, is clearly stretching it a bit.
Then there is Afghanistan’s human rights campaigner Malalai Joya ahead of the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the Pope, and the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, among others.
So, how were these rankings decided? The New Statesman team which compiled the list acknowledges that the decision was “subjective” arguing in an introductory note that getting such a list right is a “impossible.”
“You might call it a mission impossible — to set out to discover, determine and decide the 50 people who matter most across the world, and to rank them in order of power, influence and impact on the planet. But how to compare cultural influence with military strength or financial clout? Does an American gossip columnist matter more than an Iranian ayatollah? Is a Russian arms dealer more powerful than the British Prime Minister?”
Exactly. But then why do something like this? What’s the legitimacy of such a list? And does it serve any purpose except as a marketing gimmick?
Meanwhile, the Financial Times Weekend Magazine produced its own power list — devoted to “Top 50 women in world business” and claimed to be the “definitive ranking” of the world’s most powerful and successful chief executives. Unlike the NS list, however, this one is based on hard data and a range of other factors that are explained at length in a panel published alongside the list. It even names those who missed out and explains why.
Indians will find something to cheer about in the fact that the list is headed by Indra Nooyi, chairman and chief executive of Pepsico, though it is America that she credits for her success.
“Where I am has a lot to do with the United States. I think the United States represents the greatest meritocracy in the world,” she says.
There are three other Indian businesswomen on the list, Vinita Bali, head of India’s Britannia Industries; Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of Biocon; and Shobhana Bhartia of HT Media. Among those who missed out are Chanda Kochhar (ICICI Bank) and Preetha Reddy (Apollo Hospitals).
And, finally, a list naming and shaming “50 People Who Fouled Up Football” compiled by British sports writer Michael Henderson but, happily, there is no Indian on this list!
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THE ASIAN AGE
EDITORIAL
AIR INDIA STRIKE HAS TO END NOW
The wildcat strike by Air India’s highest-paid executive pilots, which entered its fourth day Tuesday leaving the national carrier crippled, has simply no justification. These pilots stopped work demanding restoration of cuts in their productivity-linked flying allowances and other perks, despite minister of state for civil aviation Praful Patel making it clear that Air India’s chairman had on Sunday put the proposed cuts on hold — just a day after they were announced. On the face of it, therefore, the executive pilots — some of whom earn up to Rs 6.5 lakhs a month — have no ground to agitate at all. They claim they have not got their allowances for three months, a point that the airline’s management has gone to lengths to refute, but it is evident that they are not prepared to see the larger picture — the hard times that not just Air India but airlines in almost every corner of the world are going through.
People across this country and much of the world are being forced to make sacrifices in the current economic climate: is there any particular reason why those at the pinnacle of the aviation sector in India should be exempt? The airline’s pilots accuse the management of taking the national carrier to the verge of bankruptcy in order to benefit private airlines, citing discontinuation of certain profit-making routes (such as Calicut-Bahrain, which yielded Rs 100 crores annually), privatisation of ground handling and extravagant bulk purchases, but none of this is any justification for severely inconveniencing thousands of passengers without notice, including small children and babies put through hardship, besides disrupting holiday travel plans for so many in the midst of the festive season.
Having said that, the pilots’ strike cannot be seen simply in the present context: there is a long history of vacillation by successive governments over decades in dealing with the multiple unions that have plagued the national carrier. These have been some of the most difficult unions to deal with in India, particularly the ones representing highly-skilled professionals such as pilots, flight engineers and ground engineers. Whenever any of them, or even the more malleable cabin crew unions, would go on strike, the government would go behind the back of the airline’s management and strike a deal with the strikers. This happened with the cabin crew strikes of 1987 and 1990-92, and with the longest-ever strike by flight engineers in 1993, when the government went behind the backs of MDs like M. Mascarenhas, S.R. Gupte and Yogi Deveshwar respectively. In contrast, when Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, then heading the airline, was given a free hand by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to deal with the pilots’ strike in 1970, he managed to crush it easily, as did J.R.D. Tata with a similar strike in 1974.
Over the years, it has been government intervention in the airline’s day-to-day operations that has allowed the unions to gain advantage: something that the executive pilots have been taking full advantage of today. In the long run, if the national carrier is to function efficiently, competitively and provide quality service to passengers, both the government and the airline’s management need to regain their moral authority to deal with the growing indiscipline among the unions. Air India is a national asset providing an essential service to millions of our countrymen: all concerned — government, management and employees — should leave their egos behind and ensure that nothing is allowed to disrupt flight operations. Only then will the Maharajah’s flag be able to fly proudly again.
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THE ASIAN AGE
OPED
GENE MUTATION AND FOOD
KAVITHA KURUGANTI
Dr M.S. Swaminathan, considered the Father of the Green Revolution in India, finally stated his views on genetically-modified (GM) crops in an opinion piece published on August 26, 2009, in this newspaper. GM crops are produced by inserting foreign genes, mostly non-plant genes (bacterial, viral and animal genes) for obtaining hitherto non-existent, new characteristics in a crop. For instance, the Bt class of GM crops like Bt cotton and Bt brinjal, have been engineered at the genetic level by the insertion of a bacterial gene so that the plant produces its own poison against chosen pests that feed on the crop.
Dr Swaminathan, who headed a task force on agri-biotechnology which gave its report in 2004 to the ministry of agriculture, began his report by reiterating what many of us believe: That "if agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will have a chance to go right". The report emphasises that the bottomline with regard to any policy on agri-biotechnology is "the safety of the environment, the well-being of farming families, the ecological and economic sustainability of farming systems, the health and nutrition security of consumers, safeguarding of home and external trade and the bio-security of our nation".
After presenting such a comprehensive requirement around any policy-making on GM crops in that report, it was surprising to see this recent article hype up the so-called benefits of GM crops and play down valid concerns.
Let me begin with some fundamental issues that Dr Swaminathan did not touch upon:
l Genetic modification by insertion of new genes is now known to cause mutations all along the genome of an organism and at the site of insertion.
l We have not yet understood the full complexity of the genomic regulation in an organism and, therefore, the changes brought about by genetic modification are unknown and also unpredictable. This is where the primary concern about this technology stems from — scientific evidence exists to show that the changes made are unsafe from an environmental and human health perspective. A fundamental flaw in Dr Swaminathan’s article was to make it appear that what is inherently unsafe can be made safe through regulation!
At another level, Dr Swaminathan talks about various GM crops and their benefits — it is interesting to note that except for the insect-resistance trait that he expands upon, none of the other crops actually exist! In reality, two kinds of GM crops exist — those that produce a pesticide from within the plant, like Bt cotton and Bt brinjal (sought to be introduced in India for the first time in the world, developed mostly by American agencies), and those that assimilate application of more pesticides and confer herbicide-tolerance characteristic to a crop. In fact, herbicide tolerance is the trait in nearly 81 per cent of the GM crop cultivation in the world today. Dr Swaminathan’s report talks about how this should be of low priority given the large number of agricultural labourers in various regions of the country. Today, several field trials of GM crops in India are centered around this trait — does it make sense to destroy existing opportunities of employment in agriculture and then create more and more budgets for National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) kind of programmes?
Coming to crops like Bt cotton and Bt brinjal, where pesticide is now inside the plant, the central question is why such solutions are needed when safer ways of pest management are known and practiced. Within the National Agricultural Research System (NARS), from where recommendations to be carried to farmers about various desirable practices emerge, there are numerous examples of successful non-chemical pest management practices. In addition, hundreds of farmers practicing organic/ecological farming have their own successful experiences and innovations to share about non-chemical pest management. The problem is that people like Dr Swaminathan compare one evil with the other rather than look for real solutions — the evil of pesticides was initiated by the Green Revolution started by Dr Swaminathan and others and has caused great suffering to farmers in terms of increasing the cost of cultivation and debts. This has been linked to the environmental health disaster unfolding in Punjab where hundreds are falling prey to the ill-effects of pesticides which have contaminated our resources etc.
What is ironical is that today, the people who brought in pesticides are the ones saying that pesticides are bad — we agree wholeheartedly — however, they don’t close down their chemical businesses while talking about how farmers should opt for GM crops to get out of the pesticides trap!
Fears with regard to environmental and health impacts are not unfounded even though Dr Swaminathan brushed these aside. It has been established through various studies that GM foods could cause allergies, affect the immunity system, damage organs like kidneys and liver, stunt an organism’s growth and development and impair reproductive health. The answer to pesticides is, therefore, not to come up with another technology, irreversible this time, with several potential negative impacts.
If we really want to pride ourselves in our scientific prowess, it is important to understand that breeding technologies have moved on from hazardous technologies like GM. Methods like marker-assisted selection (MAS) are being deployed for faster and accurate breeding. Dr Swaminathan’s concerns about patents are, indeed, valid and, therefore, public sector should snatch back spaces that have been hijacked by profit-seeking corporations. Better yet, farmers should be allowed to direct such research based on their localised needs.
Coming to the regulatory regime in India, Dr Swaminathan seems to have given a clean chit to it even though scores of instances show serious flaws in our regulation. He says that once a regulatory approval is accorded, we should assume that a GM crop has been subjected to stringent scrutiny and is safe for commercial release. He ignores the fact that in the case of Bt cotton, this country saw large-scale illegal Bt cotton proliferation much before the approval was accorded. After such a widespread unapproved cultivation, the regulators had no choice but to approve! He ignores the fact that several problems pointing to Bt cotton’s so-called safety have emerged from the ground which have either been ignored, discounted or rubbished. Better regulation does not make an inherently unsafe technology into a safer one.
What Dr Swaminathan should really talk about is a liability regime when things go wrong. He should also answer in a convincing fashion why GM crops should be opted for when other safer and better alternatives exist, given that the bottomline for biotech, according to him, includes things like well-being of farming families, sustainability, health and nutrition security, trade security and bio-security of the country.
Kavitha Kuruganti is a trustee of Kheti Virasat Mission, Punjab
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THE ASIAN AGE
GORBACHEV AND HIS RUSSIAN TRAGEDY
GOVIND TALWALKAR
When the ghost of his dead father told him that he (the king) had been poisoned by his brother who had then married the widowed queen, Hamlet’s whole moral world collapsed. In the circumstances, it was not that Hamlet hesitated to act but he was acutely aware of the dire consequences that would inevitably follow.
One is reminded of this tragedy as we look at the inner conflict which Mikhail Gorbachev underwent after assuming the office of the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985. He had the courage to admit that the system he had inherited was thoroughly rotten and suffered from widespread corruption and inertia.
The diary of Anatoly S. Chernyaev, an adviser to Mr Gorbachev from 1986 to 1989, is now available on the website of the National Security Archives and throws light on the extent of the rot in the Soviet Union.
Mr Chernyaev served in the Army during World War II, and later graduated from the Moscow University. He was a student of philosophy but was also interested in history, literature and art. After graduation, he joined the foreign department of the International Communist Party and then moved on to become Mr Gorbachev’s political adviser.
Mr Chernyaev was not an admirer of Joseph Stalin and was appalled with the corrupt administration of Leonid Brezhnev. No wonder he felt elated when Mr Gorbachev took over as the general secretary. Like millions of Russians, and foreigners, he too welcomed the innovative policies of the new general secretary.
As an adviser to Mr Gorbachev, Mr Chernyaev had access to several secret documents and was privy to confidential discussions. He describes corruption at higher levels — he writes about foreign secretary Andrei Gromyko taking bribes and gifts from diplomats seeking promotions, and his wife, whenever the couple visited New York, would purchase jewellery and expensive goods.
It is well known that in the Soviet Union disparity was very glaring. When Mr Chernyaev visited Maxim Gorky’s museum (after Gorky’s death his house was restored as a museum), he was amazed to see the deceased author’s lavish lifestyle. A dacha (country cottage) of Mr Chernyaev’s superior was like a palace, and Mr Gorbachev had several dachas, thanks to his wife who also interfered in the administration.
The productivity in almost all the industries in Russia was very low. Because of inadequate and defective storage capacity, tonnes of produce was wasted. The statistics mentioned in the diary are staggering: One million tonnes of potatoes and over one million tonnes of vegetables were lost in a year.
All the while, Mr Gorbachev was impressing upon his officials and people in general that the West’s dominance was due to superior technology and that Russia had to compete with it. But Russian officials and industry managers were suffering from acute inertia, and the weight of the bureaucracy was bearing down on the party as well as the administration. There were 18 million party officials.
After Mr Gorbachev came to power, Mr Chernyaev had high hopes that people’s spirits would be revived. Mr Chernyaev says that though Russians were broken-hearted under Stalin, they had not lost their love for freedom. The tremendous welcome accorded to Mr Gorbachev was a clear indication of this.
Mr Gorbachev conducted himself in the international arena with dignity and confidence. He proved more than a match to all the foreign leaders of the time.
Americans quote Ronald Reagan’s speech before the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin asking Mr Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. Reagan’s admirers believe that it was because of Regan that the Wall came down. But how did Mr Gorbachev react to Reagan’s speech? According to Mr Chernyaev, Mr Gorbachev said that Reagan had not come out of his old profession (Reagan was a Hollywood actor).
Mr Gorbachev was more popular than some of the international leaders in their respective countries and could easily outshine them. It was also found that Reagan’s top officials did not defend their boss while talking with Mr Gorbachev.
Yet, internally, the Soviet Union was facing stupendous problems. Twenty crore square metres of housing needed urgent repairs or had to be pulled down. Water and sewage systems were overloaded and over 300 cities did not have them at all. Almost half the streets and passageways in the cities had no hard surfacing. Number of industrial injuries was rising fast. In five years, 20,000 people were disabled and 63,000 died.
This internal chaos and the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan was demoralising the Russians and Mr Gorbachev’s enemies did not lose this opportunity to strike back. They went on the offensive during party meetings and Soviet Union had no option but to order withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
The year 1989 was a revolutionary one because people rose in revolt against Communist regimes in all East European and Baltic states. The Berlin Wall was pulled down and in 1990 Germany was united. Mr Gorbachev had made it clear to East Europeans that Russia would not intervene and they had to face the situation on their own.
Mr Gorbachev and his colleagues thought that it was impossible to sustain African leaders who, in the name of socialism, continued with their authoritarian and corrupt rule. For example, when Fidel Castro berated Russian leaders for betraying socialism, Mr Gorbachev’s adviser wrote a memo saying that "the beard" should be told that his socialism depended on Russia’s annual subsidy of five billion roubles.
But as Mr Chernyaev points out, Mr Gorbachev could not come out of his ideological groove. He did not discard his belief in the planned economy as he was confident of solving all of Russia’s problems. Even while advocating faith in democracy, he avoided transfering power to the Duma. But Mr Chenyaev admits that even if Mr Gorbachev wanted to bring in revolutionary changes and dismantle centralised and regulated economy, he had no mechanism to implement it. The party was dysfunctional and the administrative machinery paralysed.
Mr Chernyaev diary shows that Mr Gorbachev was like a hero of a Shakespearean tragedy. He showed exceptional qualities of leadership and wanted his people to not only come out of their oppressive circumstances but also wanted to give them a chance to develop their creative qualities. Echoing Hamlet, Mr Gorbachev might have thought "the time was out of joint" and "that he was ever born to set it right". But Mr Gorbachev’s world was nothing but wreckage that could not be mended. It just had to be ended.
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THE TRIBUNE
EDITORIAL
END AMBIGUITY
AIR INDIA NEEDS TO BE RUN PROFESSIONALLY
The pilots’ agitation led to the cancellation of 80 flights on Tuesday – 67 domestic and 13 international – adding to air travellers’ woes. Ambiguity is writ large over the affairs of the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (Nacil) which was formed in May 2007 by merging Air India and Indian Airlines. On Monday, at one stage it seemed that it was on the verge of suspending operations after the two rounds of talks between the management and the agitating pilots remained inconclusive. But late at night, Aviation Minister Praful Patel prevailed on the airline to give talks yet another chance. The result is that the management is still undecided whether to take resolute action once for all or to still make conciliatory gestures. If it succumbs now, it will only give the impression that it “sees reason” only when faced with an agitation. The consequence will be that if it is pilots today, then tomorrow engineers or some other section of employees will go on strike to stall any kind of reforms in the ailing airline. In fact, its ground staff is already planning to go on strike.
Executive pilots in the airline have been reporting sick to protest the management’s decision to cut incentives by 50 per cent. They want the management to withdraw the order. While highlighting their “hardship”, they tend to gloss over the fact that many of the top airlines of the world have been forced to take similar steps in the face of mounting losses. It is all the more necessary for Air India to cut corners, with staggering cumulative losses of Rs 7,200 crore. It should also not be forgotten that the employees got bonuses of up to Rs 1,400 crore over three years even when the company was making losses.
Air India has been run more like a government department than like a professional airline. It is overstaffed and patronises vested interests. The industry norm is to have 100 employees for every plane. Air India has as many as 141. Because of political interference, there is policy inaction at every step. It has to cut flab and run a lean, mean machine if it has to compete in a cut-throat world. Infusing more and more money into its operations without professionalising its operations would be an exercise in futility.
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EDITORIAL
CLIMATE CHANGE AT G-20
WEST SKIRTS KEY ISSUE OF FINANCING EMISSIONS
Much though the Pittsburgh summit of G-20 deliberated on reducing carbon emissions to check global warming across the world, there was little apparent movement on some of the prickliest issues facing global climate negotiations. The main climate question for the G20 was how to finance global carbon emission reductions, and how to help developing nations that stand to lose the most from climate change adapt to a warmer world. But G20 leaders put no specific numbers on the table, just a vague statement of intention that did little to clarify global climate negotiations: “Public and private financial resources to support mitigation and adaptation in developing countries need to be scaled up urgently and substantially,” the statement issued by G-20 leaders at the Pittsburgh summit said. But beyond pious platitudes, there was little of substance.
Developing nations are suspicious that rich countries are trying to avoid paying the full amount needed to cut C02 emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change, and seeking to push some of the financial burden on to them. While poor nations have demanded funds to help them develop sustainably and prepare for warming, rich nations have so far been slow to promise money. Unless there is agreement on how much wealthy countries should pay to finance the efforts by developing nations to curb global warming, chances of a new global climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol appear bleak at the Copenhagen summit in December.
As US President Barack Obama said on a more positive note at Pittsburgh, world leaders had agreed to phase out 300 billion dollars worth of fossil-fuel subsidies as part of a plan to reduce global warming. He sounded confident that this reform would help combat the threat posed by climate change. But the US knows as well as any other country that the key issue of disbursing the costs imposed on the developing world by the recklessness of western style of development is an issue that cannot wait. Ducking the main issue can hardly help.
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EDITORIAL
KILLER HEART DISEASE
INDIA MUST COMBAT IT EFFECTIVELY
India is likely to account for half the world’s patients suffering from coronary heart diseases and strokes by 2015. Not long ago, a Delhi Government economic survey found that heart disease is the single biggest killer in the nation’s capital. The situation is no better in other parts of the country. While experts have reported a rise in sudden cardiac deaths, even more alarming is the fact that the disease is increasingly striking the young. Yet the seriousness of the problem has not been driven home.
Both government policies and individual choices have yet to wake up to the enormity and gravity of heart ailments. As it is, Indians are genetically disposed towards heart disease. Unhealthy food choices and sedentary life style makes them, especially those with excessive weight around abdomen, even more susceptible. While the average Indian consumption of vegetables and fruits is far below the desired norm, trans fats present in hydrogenated oils expose them to greater heart risk. According to the Centre for Chronic Diseases Control, New Delhi, trans fats raise bad cholesterol and cause heart ailments. Doctors emphasise that heart ailments are controllable. The solution lies in diet control, exercise and keeping stress out of one’s life to the extent possible.
Awareness drives, not to be restricted to the World Heart Day alone, besides stressing upon healthy food alternatives must also emphasise benefits of early check-ups. Expert opinion that expenditure on health has to be viewed as an investment must guide government strategies. Heart disease prevention measures must include cutting down on trans fat servings. That four Indians die of heart disease every minute and cardiovascular disease could kill 10 million Indians every year by 2015 are warnings that an already afflicted nation can ill afford to ignore.
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THE TRIBUNE
COLUMN
RIGHT TO LIFE REDEFINED
SPEEDY TRIAL KEY TO PRISON REFORMS
BY V. ESHWAR ANAND
The Supreme Court’s directive to the Union Government to expeditiously dispose of action on petitions filed by 26 convicts on death row for the President’s pardon is indicative of its serious concern over their right to life and personal liberty.
A Bench consisting of Justice Harjit Singh Bedi and Justice J.M. Panchal has ruled that if the executive authorities, as a "rigorous self-imposed rule", are not inclined to take action on a mercy petition within three months from the date of its submission to the President, the condemned convict would be free to apply for commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment as otherwise it will be violative of his right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
While rejecting a Madhya Pradesh petitioner’s appeal against death sentence, the Bench has ruled that "circumstantial proof can be stronger than eyewitness evidence". "In a case of circumstantial evidence, motive does have extreme significance, but it is not correct to say that conviction cannot be made on circumstantial evidence in the absence of the motive", it held. The petitioner was sentenced to death for killing his wife, four daughters and a son in August 2005.
Over the years, the Supreme Court has always sought to protect the prisoners’ rights while taking care of the constitutional niceties. In Sunil Batra vs Delhi Administration, the question before the court was: whether putting a person behind bars will end the judicial process and, if not, what segment is open for judicial intervention? Commendably, it held that there is no "total deprivation" of a prisoner’s right to life and personal liberty. The "safe keeping" in jail custody is the jailor’s limited jurisdiction.
The apex court has given a new dimension to the writ of habeas corpus which is the fundamental instrument for safeguarding individual freedom against arbitrary and whimsical state action. While in Sunil Batra I, the Constitution Bench had crystallised a prisoner’s legally enforceable rights, in Sunil Batra II, it had radicalised the procedure for the enforcement of his rights.
The courts have taken strong exception to the laws of detention without trial. Except in bonafide cases of preventive detention, they have nullified orders for the same in a number of cases, i.e. in proceedings for habeas corpus. They strike down a law which is unreasonable or unjust. Similarly, if the order of arrest and detention suffers from an infirmity, the detenu may be ordered to be released forthwith by the court.
But then, one needs to look at the larger question: the plight of undertrials and the problem of overcrowding in jails. The issue is serious because many undertrials have been languishing without trial even after 14 years of incarceration. In a democracy, speedy trial is not an optional extra of the courts but a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution.
According to Mr N.S. Kalsi, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, undertrials constitute 66.2 per cent of the prison population. The problem is not confined to Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. Overcrowding is a whopping 200 per cent in Uttar Pradesh. What happened to the UPA Government’s earlier proposal to completely withdraw the cases against those who have already served 10 to 14 years of imprisonment but are yet to be charge-sheeted? Clearly, the government cannot justify prolonged detention of prisoners without trial.
The Malimath Committee Report (2003) has come out with many salutary recommendations but these have not been implemented because of differences between the Centre and the states. The states’ cooperation is necessary because Police and Public Order come under the State List.
A national seminar in Chandigarh (Sept 18-19, 2009) has examined the problem of overcrowding in the context of prison reforms. Overcrowding has led to other problems such as hygiene, sanitation, corruption, drugs and riots. To ease congestion, speedy trial is a must. There is a need to sensitise the subordinate judiciary (lawyers and judges included). The provisions of probation, parole, plea bargaining and the Lok Adalats need to be used effectively. It is noteworthy that no prisoner released on parole at a Lok Adalat in Ferozepur was a repeater.
Since grant of bail is at the discretion of the trial court judges, they need to be cooperative. According to Justice Ranjit Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the trial court must justify why it cannot grant probation in a given case. The higher court can grant bail to the accused seeing the nature of the offence committed and the apex court has reiterated this.
Unfortunately, the Probation of Offenders’ Act is not being implemented properly because, according to top prison officers, this comes under the purview of the state government’s Department of Social Welfare and not the Department of Prisons. Surprisingly, Haryana has abolished the system of probationary officers. As prisoners can be released on probation on the basis of their good conduct, there is no reason why the authorities concerned should not make best use of this provision.
At the seminar, which was organised by the Department of Laws, Panjab University, and the Institute of Correctional Administration, Chandigarh, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi, presented a simple and effective tool — EPod (Evaluation of the period of detention) — for analysing the period of detention of undertrials and securing their release. Indeed, EPod helped the CHRI to secure the release of some undertrials in West Bengal with the state government’s active support.
As an EPod calculates the period of detention up to the current date, the data can be used any time. The user is required to input basic data such as name, case reference number, date of admission in prison and the offence(s) with which one is charged. Upon entry of the data, EPod shall inform the user regarding the type of offences charged with (bailable/ non-bailable); date(s) of completion of half or maximum period of prescribed punishment; and whether already imprisoned for a period excess than the half or maximum period of prescribed imprisonment.
Once the data is entered and results obtained, the user can sort the list using in-built filters to list out three things. First, all undertrials accused for bailable offences in which Section 436 Cr PC would be applicable. That is, the person must not be imprisoned for more than seven days from the date of arrest. Secondly, all undertrials who have completed half the period of maximum period of punishment, in which case Section 436A Cr PC is applicable. That is, they can apply for bail and have a right to be considered for release. And finally, all undertrials who have completed the maximum period of prescribed punishment, in which case they have a right to be released on personal bonds under Section 436A Cr PC.
Over the years, several alternatives to imprisonment have been debated to ease congestion in jails. Instead of ordering imprisonment, the courts should impose heavy fines on the offenders and confiscate their property. The Centre should amend the statute, if necessary. This system is already in vogue in the UK, Japan and Holland.
The concept of open jails is yet to catch up in the country as we have only 27 of them. Rajasthan has gone a step further by setting up 13 open air camps with a capacity of 509 inmates. A convict can go out to eke out a living (up to a distance of 10 km from the camp) between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. He can stay with his family in the camp in the nights.
Conceptually, the 18th century punitive theory is out of sync today and has given place to reformative approach which considers jails not as punishment centres but as correctional homes. Successful models in Delhi’s Tihar jail (the Vipaasna experiment), Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail (the Mobile Bhajiya van), West Bengal jails (education, music, dance and theatre) and Rajasthan’s open air camps (livelihood option) need to be replicated by other states to reform prisoners and make them worthy human beings.
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THE TRIBUNE
COLUMN
THE COLOURS OF LIFE
BY JUSTICE MAHESH GROVER
AS the oars cut through the placid waters of the lake, shattering their stillness on a cold wintry evening, I settled down to my daily stint of rowing. The sun was mournfully going down spreading a stupendous riot of colours in the sky which seemed to be looking down into the water to catch its glowing and blushing reflection that the fading sun had left it with.
Admiringly, I rowed on, when suddenly I heard a loud splash, startling me for a moment. I looked back with concern, praying that it be not someone who had accidentally fallen in water. To my amazement, I saw a young “sambhar” in water trying to swim towards the deeper waters of the lake, while a pack of wild untamed dogs, who were chasing it, initially stood at the edge with all their naked, unmasked viciousness and then jumped into the water to follow it. The “baby sambhar” swam furiously for its life.
I recognised the danger it was in and was, therefore, all concern. I realised that soon this poor animal will tire itself out and since it had lost its direction, it would be doomed anyway, even if it managed to escape its predators. I immediately rang up the staff at the Lake Club and asked them to send the rescue boat. After initial hesitations and a bit of dillydallying, they obliged and soon a motor boat was on its way.
The dogs in the meantime realised that a swim in winter waters was not worth it and that their small legs are not powerful enough to allow them a swift chase in the water and so, they retreated. The men in the rescue boat, who had reached by then, gently tried to turn the young sambhar backwards, towards the shore by nudging it in that direction.
And then suddenly I saw the most moving site. The family of the distressed sambhar appeared on the shore and feverently started called out to their off-spring.
The call was heard by the young sambhar, who heeded it and found its direction. Soon the family was united. The mother fondly licked it while the father gazed towards the rescue team as if in gratitude and also with a glint in his eye daring anyone to harm his family. They then nudged their young one protectively towards the forest and disappeared in the thickets.
The rescue boat turned back and faded away into the distant mist which had, by now, started to settle down.
I was left wondering that in a sequence lasting few minutes life’s various emotions had played themselves out before me, i.e., the viciousness of a predator, hounding its prey, the fear and desperation of the hounded; the urgent sense of preservation of one’s life, the tragedy of separation of a family, the joy of reunion, the affection of a mother, the protectiveness of a father and lastly the joy and satisfaction of having helped someone with which feeling I ploughed my boat back.
Nature reveals itself in many ways. It revealed to me that life, indeed, is a bag of emotions, the colours of which are splashed in everyday incidents. The same are to be savoured and treasured but only if one has time to notice and ponder over them.
(The writer is Judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court)
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THE TRIBUNE
OPED
BRITISH PUBLIC LIBRARIES BECOMING FRIENDLIER
BY ARIFA AKBAR
Borrowing books in Britain has just got a whole lot easier: people can now borrow books regardless of where they live, under a new scheme revealed by the Society of Chief Librarians. Existing membership cards or a proof of address will allow readers to use any library, although books have to be returned to the same area.
The ultimate aim is to encourage more people to use libraries in the face of stiff competition from online booksellers and bookshops with the added attraction of coffee bars. Among those who might benefit from the scheme are people who need extra reading material while on holiday. Users will be issued with cards allowing them to drop books at libraries elsewhere under plans set to be announced next month by the Culture minister, Margaret Hodge.
There has been a sharp decline in library use. It looks pretty gloomy for book borrowing, which has fallen consistently over the past few years; the annual statistics for 2002/3 showed that there were 15,843,000 borrowers across the United Kingdom, which by 2007/8, had dropped by 20 per cent to 12,608,000. The total number of full-time staff employed by libraries has also fallen by 6.5 per cent when compared to 2002/3.
Where are libraries going wrong? While the service offers a wide range of uses, it could perhaps do with a PR makeover. Tony Durcan, Chair of the Society of Chief Libraries, said that on the whole, libraries across Britain offered a “tremendous service” but not everyone knew what they had to offer. The solution, he said, was in good advertising on a national scale. “One of the big issues is around how we promote the value of public libraries. There are still people who don’t realise libraries are free to use. There has to be national co-ordination to provide leadership in pulling it together, and let people know,” he said.
The good news is that although fewer books are being borrowed, people are taking advantage of the services offered by local libraries which includes free internet access. The number of people using library services via the internet, for services including book renewals and catalogue inquiries, has risen 20 per cent this year, with more than 76m web visits. Roy Clare, chief executive of the Museums and Libraries Archive (MLA), said this could signal the future. “If you look at the supposed downward curve of the library’s physical use, it is matched or even eclipsed by online access,” said he.
It’s something you can do 24/7 and you can order books from the library at 2am and they will be delivered to your local library for collection.” He said the tenet on which the library was founded as a place for learning still held strong. “The core values in the mid 19th century were around a learning agenda and access to information; libraries are still a wonderful, democratic way to access information and reading”.
Do libraries need an image revamp ? The former Culture secretary Andy Burnham said that libraries needed to shake off their popular image as dusty institutions filled with imposing librarians to thrive in the modern world. A consultation was launched last year that could transform the face of libraries with in-house coffee franchises, film centres and bookshops. Mr Burnham said that the sector needed to “think radical” to modernise, adding: “The popular public image of libraries as solemn and sombre places patrolled by fearsome and formidable staff is decades out of date, but is nonetheless taken for granted by too many people.”
Should we end the silence rule in libraries? Mr Burham floated the idea last year, suggesting that the traditional silence in libraries be reviewed (as well as opening hours extended). He said: “Libraries should be a place for families and joy and chatter. The word chatter might strike fear into the heart of traditionalists but libraries should be places that offer an antidote to the isolation of someone playing on the internet at home.” The silence debate caused a storm with campaigners accusing Mr Burnham of dodging the real issue of decades of under-funding.
How are libraries adapting to modern times? Some libraries have already abandoned the bureaucracy around obtaining membership, with libraries in the Stockport, Blackpool and Manchester areas no longer asking for forms of identification first. Camden council in north London is set to overhaul its rules to allow mobile phones, food, drink and chat. The council is also considering providing computer games to spark interest. In Hillingdon, west London, libraries have been refurbished, with extended opening times and the Starbucks franchise invited to set up coffee shops. In Hillingdon’s Ruislip Manor branch, the changes have led to an increase in visitor numbers by 11,000, with 12,000 more books being lent.
Are British libraries worse off than abroad? Flagship libraries across the globe are impressive visions to behold and the New York Public Library is one of the largest and offers patrons access to millions of books and it has worked with Google to create a selection of digital books; the Bibliotheque Nationale de France focuses on computers more than books including services from four super computers. But the British system, which is funded on a local government level, is apparently the envy of many. “Libraries abroad are in many ways envious of what we are able to do. Big cities abroad have fantastic libraries but they are not so good at having the library at their doorsteps,” said Mr Clare.
The Society of Chief Libraries is considering adopting a similar model to British Columbia Libraries’ “BC One” card, where a library card from home allows access to libraries anywhere in the Canadian province. At the same time, ministers are planning a home delivery system similar to online DVD rental website Lovefilm.co.uk where readers can borrow books online, have them delivered by post, and then return them in a prepaid envelope. The Culture minister, Margaret Hodge, has championed ideas to rejuvenate libraries, such as having libraries in shopping centres or rail stations and a possible deal with coffee chains that would see cafes opened in the building.n
By arrangement with The Independent
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OPED
USING TRACTORS FOR POWER GENERATION
BY SARABJIT ARJAN SINGH
This is in continuation of this writer’s article “Tractors can generate power” (The Tribune, August 12, 2009) in which the basic thesis was that Punjab has a vast untapped source of electric power generation. By harnessing one per cent of the tractors, the state would add about 88 MW to its generating capacity. There are no technical or managerial difficulties from making this happen. However, the cost of generation does appear to be a disadvantage.
The cost of power generated by liquid fuels is around Rs 12 per unit; tractor generated power may be costlier. Even if we adopt the principle of marginal costing, by taking investments in tractors as sunk cost, per unit cost is unlikely to be below Rs 10. The PSEB has been covering its power deficit by buying power in the range of Rs 7-10. If the price is suitable, it can tap non-liquid fuel captive power generating capacity available in Punjab (306 MW) and its neighbouring states.
The regulatory regime requires the PSEB to purchase power at the least cost. All this makes it difficult for the PSEB to purchase power generated by tractors unless the government subsidises it. In the face of the cost structure, does the proposal of using tractors make any sense? Interestingly yes.
The logic of using tractors or other generating capacities like standby generating sets comes from the effects of non-availability of power. The Tribune (August 13, 2009) gives a graphic account of the effects of lack of generating capacity.
Power cuts have reached 7-12 hours for all categories of consumers. The general industrial sector now faces three offdays in a week. This report continues that Director System Operations stated that attempts to cover the shortfall by purchasing power from everywhere available was insufficient to meet the shortfall.
This writer agrees that “to meet the ever growing demand for power, all available sources like hydel, thermal, nuclear, solar and wind should be tapped on a war-footing.” In addition, short gestation sources of power generation like tractors, standby generators and co-generation from agro waste are also noteworthy. The alarming shortage of generating capacity calls for a multi-pronged approach.
In 2005, R.K. Pachauri calculated the cost of not meeting the power demand on the Indian economy to be anywhere between Rs 15 and Rs 25 a unit. This implies that in 2005 the loss in output was between Rs 15 and Rs 25 for every unit not supplied and should, in today’s rupees, be higher. A rough estimate is that bad electricity supply reduces India’s GDP by nearly 1.5 per cent.
Additional investment in captive power plants, small generating sets and inverters by those consumers who cannot do without power increases their costs of production. Those unable to afford the capital expenditure of standby generation are compelled to close the unit. Reducing power outages is the need of the hour and tractors can play a role in bringing online generating capacity quickly. Industries receiving uninterrupted power supply will produce more and thus pay more taxes. The increased revenue of the state should outweigh the subsidy needed for compensating the PSEB for purchasing power generated by tractors.
Punjab can develop a system very similar to Maharashtra’s Distributed Generation Based Electricity Distribution Franchisee (DGBDF) model for generation of power by tractors in conjunction with co-generation from sugar and small industrial plants, small hydroelectric plants and producer gas-based generation. If this method reduces load shedding and improves quality of power supply, a reliability charge on selected customers will pay for the higher cost of generation from tractors and other generating systems. The state will also benefit from the distributed generation in reduced transmission and distribution losses by reducing the existing transmission system overload.
A high voltage (HV) substation supplies power through a feeder to a defined area which is normally electrically isolated. A franchisee, chosen by open bidding, will supply power to this area by connecting tractor power generating facility and/or co-generation plants or any other sources of power to the feeder. The objective is to make the area allocated to the franchisee a zero load shedding zone.
All consumers in the allocated area will have uninterrupted power and defined consumers will pay an additional reliability charge. Power generation by tractors can be viable if it links with a no loadshedding regime. Reliability charges can cover the higher cost of generation by tractors and other sources. The Pune experience suggests that this is workable and financially viable.
Punjab has an additional source of power generation in its tractors, which the government should use to give rural households another source of income and make Punjab a no loadshedding state. It needs recognition that while the cost of generating electricity from tractors is high, the economic cost to the state and the country by not being able to service the demand is even higher. Hence the suggestion merits serious consideration.
The writer is former Member, Principal Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal
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THE TRIBUNE
CHATTERATI
SPREAD OUT MEGA SPORTS EVENTS
BY BHARAT DOGRA
India is involved in preparations for hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games. As it is too late to reconsider the desirability of hosting the Games, the Indian Olympic Association and the Delhi administration ought to receive the cooperation of all concerned. But before hosting such mega sports events in future, it will be helpful to think up some new and innovative ideas which may at the same time be able to sort out a number of problems associated with the organisation of such events.
In fact the time has come for a long-overdue reform of international sports events. It’s time to visualise a new system in which a number of countries will together organise the Olympic games, the Commonwealth Games or other such events. In the new system there can still be a main host country responsible for about 15 to 20 per cent of the events plus the inaugural and closing ceremonies, but the bulk of the games will be held across 20 to 30 countries representing all major regions.
There are several compelling reasons why such a change is needed. The Beijing Olympic Games, it is estimated, cost US $ 43 billion. The Athens Olympics were cheaper at US $14 billion, yet left behind a debt of US $8 billion. Escalating costs and potential losses will make it impossible for a majority of the countries to even think of hosting the Olympic Games. However it’ll be possible for most countries to host at least a few events.
When the Olympic Games are spread over 25 countries from all the continents and regions, then people all over the world will feel closer to the games. When a single country hosts such a high-profile event, several political considerations relating to this country are inevitably highlighted. On the other hand, when the games are spread over many countries, this possibility will be substantially reduced.
When a huge event gets concentrated in a single city, the socio-economic and environmental costs for this city can be far too high. A large number of poor people face evictions while hurriedly constructed infra-structure can play havoc with the normal planning for the city. This has been seen in Delhi where construction activity has been allowed in the Yamuna flood plains so that preparations for the Commonwealth Games do not suffer. Also, several expensive facilities created for mega-events often remain badly underutilised.
Due to difficulties in managing far too many events in a single country and in a short period of time, strict limits have been placed on the number of sports events and participating athletes or players. This deprives a large number of sportspersons and sports lovers of having a sense of participation. On the other hand when it is possible to spread out Olympic Games and other international sports events across several countries, it will become possible to again start introducing new sports events gradually.
There is, therefore, much to be gained and nothing to be lost if the Olympic Games and other mega sports events are hosted together by 20 to 30 countries in future. The burden will be greatly reduced and the kind of high-tension speeding up we are witnessing now in India for the Commonwealth Games will be avoided along with the possibility of several costly mistakes and violation of urban planning norms.
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THE ASSAM TRIBUNE
EDITORIAL
A NEW ORDER
The global meltdown that had the planet in its clutch for almost two years now proved to be a great leveller, blurring to a great extent as it has the line dividing economically developed nations from the developing ones. While slow down in production, internal consumption and exports marking the recessionary phase had hit the developed nations hard, coercing them into taking extraordinary measures to keep their economies afloat, the developing nations weathered the storm relatively smoothly and did not stumble into an economic quagmire as many had feared. No doubt a nation like India too was hit by the downturn gale, with the stock-exchange taking a beating and shrinkage in the outsourcing market that had been the bread and butter of the IT sector resulting in large scale lay offs. Yet, despite the additional handicap of a less than normal monsoon, India’s economy has proven to be resilient in a phase of crisis, as has those of nations like China and Brazil. In fact, as acknowledged in the recent G-20 Summit at Pittsburgh, it had been the emerging economies which had been instrumental in lifting the developed nations from the abyss of depression. Also acknowledged in the Summit had been the reality that the changed situation requires a global economic restructuring which, in the light of the strong growth in dynamic emerging markets, will correct imbalances that now prevail in favour of developed nations.
The immediate outcome had been the landmark decision at the G-20 Summit to increase the share of IMF quotas of developing countries by five per cent. India, China and Brazil had wanted a seven per cent increase so that developing nations would have wielded control over that body through having 51 per cent of quotas, but vehement opposition by European nations such as Belgium and Holland had resulted in a compromise. Yet the increase in every way reflects the relative weights of IMF members in the world economy, which have changed substantially in view of the growth in emerging markets. As the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown candidly acknowledged, “The old system of international economic co-operation is over. The new system, as of today, has begun.” The outcome at Pittsburgh is simultaneously a personal victory for the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, whose forceful advocacy on behalf of under represented nations had immensely contributed to the concessions. That India played a leading role in wresting the concessions from the affluent countries also indicates her growing confidence as an international player. Gone is the phase when India had to scour the world for handouts, being perpetually confronted with dire problems of loan repayments. The days of playing leader at near obsolete political forums such as NAM might be over, but India appears ready to pick up the economic gauntlet on behalf of the less developed countries.
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THE ASSAM TRIBUNE
EDITORIAL
IMPACT OF FTA
With the signing of free trade agreement with 10-member ASEAN countries in mid-August by India, subsequent to its FTA with BIMSTEC nations comprising Bangladesh, India, Sri Lamka, Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan together with the prospect of similar agreement with South Korea, the possibility of enlarged trade and industrialisation of north-eastern region, the gate-way to India, is certainly the brightened up. Assam being the biggest State and potentially the biggest trade partner in the upcoming hub in the region, vested with vast deposits of natural resources, obviously, has an added reason to be happy. The corporate sector is upbeat over the conclusion of FTA with ASEAN not only because it is a crucial step forward to look-east policy and would achieve an increase of at least $ 10 billion worth of trade in the first year itself after the agreement comes into force in January, 2010, but also because several products like agricultural commodities, auto components, textiles, plastics, chemicals, etc have been safeguarded through India’s negative list on which there will be no tariff reduction. This apart, the lobbying from domestic industry had led to the exclusion of as many as 489 items from the list of tariff concessions and 590 items from the list of tariff elimination to address sensitivities in agriculture, crude and refined palm oil, coffee, tea, pepper, etc on which the import duties will also be lowered to around 40-45 per cent from almost 200 per cent by 2019.
The FTA with ASEAN would be bringing down tariffs on electronics, chemicals, machinery and textile goods while the duty-free imports and exports ranging from steel to sugar and tobacco would increase to 4000 products over a period of eight years. Though, till now, there is no significant presence of industries coming into the region, the recent FTA agreements and further approach to look-east policy with Myanmar suggesting an alternative route to South-east Asian market through the “Rangoon Road” instead of controversial stilwell road appear to have now attracted a number prospective investors eyeing on north-eastern region. It is not only that Bangladesh has decided to improve its infrastructure in order to enhance its trade with this region but also the much-touted Indo-Myanmar border trade is geared up with inclusion of 18 new items in the list of tradable products. This apart, a leading company from Thailand has evinced a keen interest in setting up of a manufacturing plant in the North-East with an investment of nearly Rs 45 crore to generate telecom services and also several Thai companies expressed their keen interest to invest in agriculture and infrastructure sectors. It is only in the first week of September that the Federation of Industry and Commerce of North Eastern Region signed memorandum of understanding with Brazil and Turkey for exports tea, handloom, handicraft products and spices against investment from these countries in the region’s hydropower sector. The region has however, for long been waiting to see the results of such prospects.
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THE ASSAM TRIBUNE
EDITORIAL
ILLUSIONS OF PROGRESS
DN BEZBORUAH
There is quite some hubbub over the Seventh State of the States Report just published by India Today. This is an exercise that India Today has undertaken for the seventh successive year, and the hubbub in Assam is clearly over the fact that there are clear indications of the State’s development having shown a marked decline on quite a few parameters over the figures and ranks of 2008. This should be deemed significant because it will be recalled that there was quite some euphoria over the better ranks of the last two years, and over India Today having spoken of Assam as a fast-developing State just two years ago. Assam has come down to the 15th rank in overall progress and development (13th last year), 16th (11th) in Macro Economy, 17th (15th) in Law and Order, 17th (17th) in Infrastructure, 19th (10th) in Investment Environment and last (19th) in agriculture among the 20 big States of India. In primary health it is 15th (16th) and in primary education it is 6th (4th). What accounts for this overall decline in all spheres of development (except Primary Health) in just one year? What accounts for a so-called agrarian economy like Assam finding itself at the very bottom of the list in terms of agricultural development? If we take the State of the States Report seriously, there is cause for serious concern. And there can be no cause for not taking it seriously since there was so much of euphoria within the administration two years ago when things did not look so bad and when there was so much of fulsome praise for our Chief Minister’s leadership. It would be rather childish to take a report like this seriously only when it is favourable and to ignore it when it is not favourable to the State. And the report establishes to the hilt what I have been saying for many years now: that we can close down departments like Agriculture and Flood Control without people being aware that they ever existed. But let me get back to the question of why such a decline should have blighted the prospects of our development in a matter of just two years. If we are looking for a reason for this overall decline in governance leading to a corresponding decline in development, the answer is naively simple. In fact, one can come out with a one-word answer: corruption. The State has failed in virtually every aspect of development because it has excelled in corruption. In fact, the State has not only beaten every other Indian State hollow in respect of corruption, most of the lakhs of government employees indulging in corrupt practices have even made up for lost time.
The equation is actually rather simple and straightforward. We merely pretend that it is more convoluted than it is because the elements of imagined complexity make the quotidian experience bribing and bribe-taking seem more inscrutable and exciting than it actually is. When corruption is as all-pervasive as it is in Assam, the government employee stops working for anyone else but himself. Even when he helps someone who has paid him a bribe, it is only to the extent of not holding up or misplacing his file. He cannot have any genuine interest in doing good to someone – least of all to an abstraction like his nation or his country. Three inalienable facts of life motivate a practitioner of corruption. The corrupt person goes out of his way to benefit the undeserving person for a consideration. He needs to keep in mind the vested interest of his superiors, since his very survival depends on their goodwill and acquiescence. Completely devoid of ideals, the corrupt official has no real friends. He only knows summer friends. In fact, in all countries where corruption is rampant, the people are the adversaries of the administrative machinery because people are generally law-abiding and realize that they can survive only in a milieu where things go according to law. The corrupt official, on the other hand, is allergic to the law because his prime function is to get people around the law. Law-breaking is his very raison d’être. He would be nowhere at all if everyone in any society became completely law-abiding. In any corruption-ridden country like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan or India development is always a painfully slow process because the majority of the government employees work only for their personal benefit and the perverse power to use their official position to get bribes. The benefit of the country and its people are of no consequence. The government itself works only for the government officers and employees. And most of them will do anything for a bribe including selling their own motherland. For instance, Indian bureaucrats did great disservice to their own country when they put a limit of 23 per cent on subsidies to Indian farmers, when the rest of the world had no such limits. Indian bureaucrats also did incalculable harm to Indian interests in the days of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) especially in the areas of agriculture, agro-industries and textiles. This sabotage of Indian interests brought great personal benefits to the Indian bureaucrats in the form of scholarships to American universities and jobs in the US for their progeny. It is not true that more than one lakh Indian farmers have committed suicide “for personal reasons” as some of our leaders would have us believe. It is because they realized that they did not have a ghost of a chance of competing (with no farm subsidy or just 23 per cent farm subsidy) against overseas farmers who had even 200 per cent farm subsidy from their governments and against a lowering of import duties on agricultural products that the Government of India has agreed to under pressure from foreign exporters and multinationals. Not to speak of being able to compete with foreign exporters of farm produce, they would never even be able to repay their loans. For many farmers who committed suicide, death seemed the only escape from disaster.
The most important reason why the development process is so tardy in corruption-ridden countries is that the administrative machinery regards all law-abiding citizens as adversaries, as corruption can thrive only in the rejection of the law. Since development is for everyone and not for some selected individuals, the corrupt political executive and officer must wait until they can derive personal benefits out of development for their chosen blue-eyed boys by way of contracts. All such machinations are time-consuming. However, another very important reason for development being unreasonably slow in corruption-ridden countries is that development is always a tall order for a huge population, and India, apart from being the second most populous country in the world, is also adding an Australia to its population every year. But any attempt to reduce the population hits the vested interest of a corrupt socio-political system hard because the two most vital ingredients for corruption are shortages and government control of everything (including the shortages). It is only when the population pressure is great that we have the desired shortages of everything starting from water, land, schools, courts, jobs, living space and transport to cooking gas and drinking water. The vested interests of the corrupt are not served if shortages cease to exist.
The India Today State of the States Report for 2010 will doubtless show major declines in several other areas of Assam’s development because when corruption is as rampant as it is in Assam now, there are clear indications that the majority in government is not doing any work except to make easy money through bribes. In a year just preceding the Assembly elections, the tendency to capitalize on the coming elections will be even stronger. After all, everyone knows that this government is loath to punish the wrong-doer at the best of times. It will let every criminal go scot-free in the year before the elections lest the votes swing away from the ruling party. So the infrastructure situation will get even worse, there will be more unchecked crime in the State, the unemployment situation will get aggravated further, the education and public health scenario will get worse (no matter what the official advertisements have to say) and the only visible development will be more concrete jungles that ensure development for contactors and blue-eyed boys of the ruling party alone. When there is enough money to spread the manufactured truth through advertisements but none to pay school teachers for years on end, it is easy to build illusions. [For instance, the public health scenario is claimed to have improved when the infant mortality rate in Assam is still the highest in the country and when the government is actually stoking a population growth by paying mothers who have babies in government hospitals!] But how can one have development for all in a society where the population below the poverty line has risen to about 50 per cent, where there are more than two million registered unemployed and where crime has become the business of the custodians of the law? We all recognize the sole culprit for the lack of development – corruption – but the lure of individual prosperity at the cost of the greatest good of the greatest number is becoming too difficult to resist for an increasing number of people.
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THE ASSAM TRIBUNE
EDITORIAL
SPIRITUAL CONTRIBUTION OF SANKARDEVA
DR MANAMOHAN DAS
During the medieval period, there prevailed a chaotic condition in society as a result of worshipping many gods and goddesses, practising varieties of rites and rituals and religious superstitions. As the people were divided into many cults and creeds because of the admixture of the ideas of Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas and different kinds of beliefs of the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain without any clear spiritual direction and guidance, the society started to drift away from the true social objectives of religion, spiritualism and humanism.
Naturally doubt arose in the minds of the thinkers over what ought to do or not to do. In such a perplexing situation, Mahapurush Sri Sankardeva was born in Assam like many other Mahapurushas in other parts of India to show the real spiritual path of Hinsuism endhrined in the Vedas and Upanishads to the people who might get rid of the religious and spiritual chaos.
The society was freed from the influence of the concept of many gods and goddesses mentioned in the Puranas, the practice of tantra and performance of varieties of expensive but ineffective rites and rituals to satiate the sensuous desire of the people by presenting before us the supreme ideal of Param Brahma, the cause of all incarnations of God, creation of the Universe and all other gods and goddesses.
The Indian concept of truth is based on this eternal truth. Many scholars say that the first realisation of this truth was initiated in the concept of Virat Purusha (great soul) of Rigveda. From the time of Vedas to that of Bhagavadgeeta, this spiritual concept of unique God continued to prevail in the course of Indian thoughts. But this “One God” concept of eternal truth was shattered into many confusing misconceptions during the period of Purana and Tantra when the society was divided into diverse castes, creeds, communities, cultures and ideologies which covered into darkness of ignorance the “One God” concept like the full moon is covered by clouds.
It was Sankardeva who re-established the “One God” concept of Veda by recognising Sri Krishna of Bhagabad Gita as the Supreme God. Sankardeva provided rigorous admonitions in all his scriptures to wordly people so that their minds may not be diverted away from the ideal of “One God” concept. Thus the true spirit of the admonition, “do not worship other gods and goddesses” can be understood only in the light of Sankardeva’s basic ideal of “One God”.
The search for the principal God among all gods and goddesses and realisation of absolute truth among all truths can arouse our social consciousness. This is the main contribution of Mahapurush Sankardeva to the field of spiritualism. As cited in Gita, the number of devotees who pray God for fulfilment of their earthly desire is the largest among the four kinds of devotees. But the minds of the people cannot proceed towards realisation of the principal God if their pursuit of life is to hanker after the relish of earthly desire only. There is no end of desire – satisfaction of one desire leads to another desire and so on. There is mention of innumerable gods and goddesses in Puranas and Tantras, who can satisfy the particular kinds of desire of the devotees. So it is natural that the minds of the worldly people are easily inclined towards those gods and goddesses. It is for this reason that Sri Sankardeva introduced the concept of desireless devotion as the true path to the realisation of the absolute truth and divine bliss. Worship of God without any desire indirectly fulfils everything the devotees need. The concept of desireless devotion is another spiritual contribution of Sankardeva.
Discussion from ritualism is another great contribution of this Mahapurusha. The misconception that it is not possible to progress in the path of spiritualism without performing particular expensive rites can really lead to no religious achievement. The realisation of God is possible only with pure mind and pure heart, not by performing external rites and rituals. The power to realise God increases as much as the mind and heart are purified by honest thoughts and deeds. It is not necessary to spemd money and take trouble in performing external rites amd rituals. So the Mahapurusha asks “to pronounce the name of God, to reflect the image of God within the heart; I assure thou would certainly reach your ultimate goal.” To establish firmly the pure heart as the main field of spiritual realisation instead of external rites and rituals is another spiritual contribution of Sankardeva.
On the whole, Sankardeva extricated the ideal of Virat Purusha (great soul) who is the only Supreme God of the Universe and who showed the path of how one can proceed towards the achievements of spiritualism by worshipping and meditating the Supreme God with selfless devotion. By removing the mist of horrible rites and rituals and social stratification in the society Sankardeva adked the people to proceed in the path of spiritualism with one’s own birth rite without fear or favour of anybody else. This is the greatest contribution of Sankardeva towards the field of spiritualism. Thus the principal objective of Sankardeva was to inlcude theosophy to the ignorant people. Realising that the worldly people find it difficult to follow the path of wisdom as preached ny Sankaracharyya to reach the ultimate goal of absolute truth, Sankardeva advocated that Dasya Bhakti (submissive devotion) for Supreme God is the easiest and appropriate path for the worldly people so long as they are attached to the body and mind. This submissive devotion is the fundamental teaching of Mahapurush’s religion.
(The writer is former Head of Geography, Gauhati University).
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THE ECONOMIC TIMES
EDITORIAL
GANDHI AS A LUXURY LABEL
It could turn out to be a very limited edition pen indeed. Apart from the irony of designing a writing implement that costs as much as an apartment and naming it after a legendary byword for simplicity, Montblanc may not have bargained for the ire it could arouse by using a national symbol.
Priced at around Rs 12 lakh, the premium white-gold 'Mahatma Gandhi Limited Edition 241' has hand-twined gold wire around the middle, supposedly evoking the khadi thread he spun. But Montblanc will have to spin a pretty good yarn of its own, so as not to fall foul of the 'Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950'.
Unless Montblanc has had the foresight to obtain a waiver, it violates the Act that bans the use of "any name or emblem specified in the Schedule or any colourable imitation thereof without the previous permission of the central government" for the "purpose of any trade, business, calling or profession, or in the title of any patent, or in any trade mark or design".
No one can "register a trade mark or design which bears any emblem or name" in this proscribed list. And 9A of the Schedule includes "the name or pictorial representation of Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj or the Prime Minister of India or the words 'Gandhi', 'Nehru' or 'Shivaji' except the pictorial use thereof on calendars..."
Also forbidden is the use of the national flag, the Ashok Chakra, and "the name, emblem or official seal" of entities as diverse as the President of India, Governor, Republic or Union of India, UN, World Health Organisation, the Ramakrishna Mission, the International Olympic Committee and Interpol.
The company has obviously gone to great lengths to research the Mahatma — even 241 apparently stands for the miles he covered in his Dandi March, but has it also researched relevant laws? With the furore over the auction of Gandhi items still fresh in many minds, India's most 'aam aadmi' as a luxury pen label — even at the 'janta' edition price of a mere Rs 1.5 lakh or a little more than a Nano — may be a bit much for the government.
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THE ECONOMIC TIMES
EDITORIAL
TOUGH JOB AHEAD FOR INDIA AS MEMBER OF FSB
The Leaders' statement of the Pittsburgh G20 meet prescribes some tough regulatory measures for the financial sector, including stiff capital requirements, tighter accounting, lower leverage and an expanded scope for regulation covering over-the-counter derivatives and even compensation.
While excessive compensation has not been a rampant problem for India, New Delhi, as a member of the Financial Stability Board, has some tasks entrusted to it by March 2010. The G20 has tasked the FSB with monitoring implementation of its standards for compensation and asked it to propose additional measures by then.
The FSB standard seek to "align compensation with long-term value creation, not excessive risk-taking". Thus, guaranteed bonuses are out. A significant portion of the variable pay is to be linked to long-term performance through stock-related instruments and subject to clawback.
Variable compensation as a percentage of total revenue is to be capped whenever this is inconsistent with the maintenance of a sound capital base. Compensation policies are to be made transparent and are to be overseen by independent compensation committees and supervisors.
Does this mean the kind of wildly extravagant payouts seen in the boom years and even in the aftermath of the crisis have become history? The FSB standards are as yet too vague. What is excessive? $10 million? $20 million? What is long-term value-creation? What is a sound capital base? 8%? 10%?
How is capital to be calculated? Such questions need hard answers. It is just as hard to define 'excess risk-taking' as it is to spell out 'excess compensation.' It is a judgment call best left to the regulator. That calls for a regulator who is both empowered and competent.
But as past events have shown, the leading financial and economic power, the US, lacks such a regulator. Unfortunately, reforms proposed to date have done nothing to replace the existing inefficient system of regulation (with its multiplicity of regulators) with an efficient one. So, there is a lot of work to be done, if India is to be an active member of the FSB.
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THE ECONOMIC TIMES
EDITORIAL
ALLOW MIGRATION FROM EPF TO NPS
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will reportedly again take up the issue of investing a part of its corpus in equities. It would do well to arrive at a decision fast, as its indecision is denying its subscribers the benefit of the higher, long-term returns that equities offer in comparison with debt.
Though official norms allow provident funds to invest up to 15% of their corpus in shares of companies, the EPFO has not been able to agree to even a 5% allocation. The EPFO could have been balking at the thought of raising the risk profile of the entire scheme.
Although the increased risk would, over a long period, be compensated with higher returns, in the short-term, the exposure to equities could prove counterproductive and is not justified for those subscribers who are nearing retirement.
The way out is to build an element of choice for its over 45 million subscribers by providing at least two investment options: the existing one without exposure to equities, and a new one that invests the maximum 15% allowed in shares.
Younger subscribers with a higher risk-appetite would have the option to move to the plan that has equities while others could continue with the existing plan. True, this would increase the administrative burden of the EPFO. But it would address the moral dilemma implicit in exposing many of its risk-averse subscribers to equities.
Meanwhile, the government needs to review all the various retirement schemes. Similar terms and tax treatment should govern them all, and investors must have portability across schemes. EPFO subscribers should, for instance, be given the option of moving to the New Pension System (NPS), which has far lower fund management and account maintenance charges as compared to the administrative costs of the EPFO.
Besides, the NPS also offers the option of higher, up to 50%, investment in equities. Since the NPS already has a central record-keeping agency managing subscriber details through an online account, providing such portability should not be difficult. Competition from the NPS through portability would also force the EPFO to generate better returns and pare administrative costs.
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THE ECONOMIC TIMES
ECONOMICS & GANDHI'S HUMAN TOUCH
BHARAT DOGRA
At a time when there is an increasing interest in expanding the horizons of Economics by going beyond GNP related measures of economic development and incorporating genuine satisfaction and happiness as well as environmental concerns, Mahatma Gandhi's message is more relevant than ever before.
For Gandhi, "civilisation in the real sense of the term consists not in the multiplication but in the deliberate and voluntary reduction of wants, which promotes real happiness and contentment and increases the capacity for service. One can reduce one's wants by perseverance, and the reduction of wants makes for happiness — a healthy body and a peaceful mind."
In fact, one of the abiding concern of Mahatma Gandhi was to bring economics closer to human concerns: "What we seek to do is substitute false and non-human economics by true and human. Not killing competition but life giving co-operation is the law of the human being."
In his endeavour to 'humanise' economics, Gandhi was not afraid to challenge the established wisdom of economists: "You know how Adam Smith in his Wealth of Nations, after laying down certain principles according to which economic phenomena are governed, went on to describe certain other things which constituted the 'disturbing factor' and prevented economic laws from having free play.
Chief among these was the 'human element.' Now it is this 'human element' on which the entire economics of khadi rests; and human selfishness, Adam Smith's pure economic motive constitutes the 'disturbing factor' that has got to be overcome."
Another area in which Gandhi contested established wisdom even more strongly was in opposing the rapid spread of innovations based solely or mainly on the profit motive. Gandhi insisted that the overall impact on society, more so on employment, has to be considered before we accept any significant technological change, particularly mechanisation.
He wrote in 1936: "A factory employs a few hundreds and renders thousands unemployed. I may produce tonnes of oil from an oil mill, but I also drive thousands of oilmen out of employment. I call this destructive energy, whereas production by the labour of millions of hands is constructive and conductive to the common good.
When asked what kind of machinery he approved, Gandhi said in 1935: "Any machinery which does not deprive masses of men of the opportunity to labour, but which helps the individual and adds to his efficiency, and which a man can handle at will without being its slave."
Mahatma Gandhi's views on machinery did not remain confined to a theoretical level. Perhaps more than anywhere else in the world, these views found practical application in India as these became an integral part of the freedom movement of India.
An interesting and encouraging aspect of the freedom movement in India was that along with the struggle against colonial rule, vigorous efforts were made to find an alternative path of development. While several people in India were eager to 'develop' as much as the British and later some others wanted to industrialise as rapidly as the Soviets, there were others who kept alive the concept of small and cottage-scale development to be based in largely self-reliant rural communities.
This viewpoint was most vigorously articulated by Mahatma Gandhi who popularised the 'charkha' to symbolise this aspect of 'swaraj'. His early experiences with the charkha are significant in the context of the 'large vs small, global vs local' debate.
All this is particularly relevant in the context of the phenomenon of 'jobless growth' which has been increasingly becoming a serious cause of worry. Mahatma Gandhi was very involved in protecting the livelihood of weavers and other artisans whose skills and livelihoods needed to be protected.
This was part of his wider concerns for bringing the poor to the centre stage of economic discourse. Brushing aside the trickle-down approach to poverty, he told policy makers that whenever they were in doubt to "recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him? Will it restore him to control over his own life and destiny?"
Let me conclude with Gandhi's views on international trade: "That economics is untrue which ignores or disregards moral values. The extension of the law of non-violence in the domain of economics means nothing less than the introduction of moral values as a factor to be considered in regulating international commerce."
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THE ECONOMIC TIMES
EDITORIAL
REFORM AFFILIATING-VARSITY MODEL
PANKAJ JALOTE
Since a vast majority of our graduates are getting taught in colleges that are affiliated to some university, it should be clear that if the quality of higher education is to be improved, this system of affiliating university has to be reformed.
The importance of this has been stressed in both the Yash Pal committee report and the Knowledge Commission recommendations, but both do not dwell on this much as they focus on the creation of new universities, regulation, etc.
(Knowledge commission proposes that some colleges may be made autonomous, and some converted to community colleges. Yash Pal committee suggests that "it is necessary for the apex body in the field of higher education to address this vexed problem in a comprehensive manner as one of its first tasks and suggest a time frame for elimination of the present form of affiliating system.") Why do we continue with this model in which the university designs the syllabus, conducts exams, and gives degrees while teaching is done in affiliated colleges that have no control on the academic content and minimal control on evaluation, when it does not exist in any developed country and even UK, where it existed earlier, has disbanded it?
The major reason is the strong belief that without some amount of centralisation of syllabi and exams, the quality of education will suffer, and many unscrupulous colleges will either start "selling" degrees and/or provide very poor education. Of course, there is some merit in this argument that a common syllabi, backed with external setting and evaluation of exams, does ensure some minimum standards.
Standardisation, however, not only has a pull-up effect for lower end players, it curtails innovation and change and also has a pull-down effect on those who can offer something superior to the standard.
There is no incentive for operating above the prescribed minimum standard, and colleges have no room for initiatives other than trying to improve their results in the common exam. The system is designed for achieving average performance for all and reducing variability at both sides of the average. More importantly, there are no competitive forces to push the quality bar higher.
It can be argued that this approach is workable for more static subjects where contents change slowly, and which have a defined and well understood body of knowledge making agreeing on uniform syllabi feasible. However, this will clearly not work in fast changing areas such as technology and sciences, where not only must education keep in tune with latest developments, but there are also differing opinions on what should be taught and how. With varying opinions, what will one standardise? More importantly, when there is no agreement, a natural course is to let different approaches exist, compete, and evolve, so the better ones eventually survive. This fundamental force of natural selection is disallowed in this old centralised planning model, in which an apex committee is supposed to know the best.
It should be clear that ideally all colleges should not only have complete control over their syllabi, but should have complete responsibility of evaluation and quality control — the model that exists in most developed countries.
However, most colleges today are not likely to have the wherewithal for this autonomy and responsibility that comes with it. And the risk of abuse by some is there. So, it is best to evolve a way to make colleges more autonomous and responsible, without increasing the risk. This can be done by allowing the colleges a limited degree of control of syllabi and examination, which can slowly be increased. Currently, in many affiliating universities, the colleges are given some control in examinations though "internal marks", given by the instructors.
Given that many colleges benchmark themselves by the performance of their students in the university, this leads to the tendency of being extra liberal in these internal marks. So, this does not serve the purpose at all.
An alternative can, however, work. For each degree programme, the affiliating university can define some "core" courses, comprising of those subjects for which the body of knowledge is relatively stable. For these courses it will define the syllabi and will conduct the exam.
The University may also define some minimum number of courses (or credits) that must be done for awarding the degree. Then, for the remaining courses, it can allow the colleges complete control — a college defines the courses, defines the syllabus and text books for them, teaches the courses, conducts the exams, etc.
This will provide full ownership for part of the curriculum. If a college is too liberal with grades in the courses they own, it will become evident as any reader of a transcript will be able to see the difference between performance in the core courses and other courses. The ability to completely own a good portion of the curriculum will allow colleges to introduce new courses and new ideas in education. It can also allow colleges to specialise, while maintaining the core. It can improve education of lab-based subjects as complete local control is really the only way lab-based courses can be done properly as they require continuous evaluation and once a semester/year evaluation is quite inadequate.
And it will allow the faculty freedom to design courses and methods for evaluating. This ownership can act as a huge boost to those faculty members who take their academics seriously, and it will act as a force for faculty improvement and upgradation as this responsibility will necessarily require faculty to understand how academics is evolving across the world.
With this system, colleges that have suitable faculty, mechanisms, and track record may be slowly allowed control of a greater percentage of the courses, thereby creating a controlled and gradual method of making colleges more autonomous, at least those who desire it.
The centralised system of education can be enhanced in this manner by giving academic autonomy to a degree that depends on the capability the affiliated college demonstrates. This is a sound way of gradually introducing autonomy without taking the undue risk that may result in dismantling the system.
It will make colleges more dynamic, responsible, and accountable, without giving up full control. The challenge, of course, is to have the controllers, who are used to the power of controlling and benefits that come from it, and who love the idea of centralised models imposing uniformity, cede even a limited degree of control to the colleges in the long term interest of education, colleges, and faculty.
(The author is professor, IIT Delhi and director, IIIT-Delhi. Views are personal.)
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THE ECONOMIC TIMES
EDITORIAL
REAL OR ILLUSORY, WHO CAN TELL?
VITHAL C NADKARNI
Expect striking results when ascetics turn to anatomy. Adi Shankaracharya, for example, literally presents the listener with an X-ray vision of a young woman’s curves in his celebrated hymn Bhaja Govindam.
"Her enchanting curves and valleys are nothing but modified flesh, fat and nerves," he warns. "Don't be seduced by superficial appearances which are only skin-deep."
Not every eye can make out the skull lurking beneath the skin. This may be one reason why the great devotee of Siva, Kannapa, is willing to offer his eyes to the Lord of the Animals at the ‘elemental' shrine of Srikalahasti.
Incidentally, the great Acharya who reportedly visited the temple situated in Andhra Pradesh, immortalised Kannapa's devotion in his lyrical Sivanandalahari.
Among the several prominent corporeal legends that are associated with this shrine renowned as 'Southern Kailasa' there is one about the curse of the Goddess Parvati herself. The Goddess is said to have been cursed by her consort to discard her heavenly form in exchange for a more humble human body. To get rid of the curse, the Mother Goddess in turn undertakes eons of arduous austerities.
Pleased with her devotion Lord Siva again restores her body, which is a hundred times more splendorous than her previous heavenly form. He also initiates her into various mantra secrets including that of the five-syllables (Panchakshari).
Consequently, Parvati gained Siva-gyanam and came to be renowned as Gyana Prasunamba or Gyana Prasunambika Devi associated with subtle Knowledge. Without her blessings, the devotee is forever trapped in the gross world of appearances. And how does one penetrate to the 'inner' world of essences?
It is also worthwhile to ask if such a division between outer (false) and inner (true) realms is tenable at all. Masters like Sri Jnanadeva believed that the bifurcation between appearance and essence or illusion and knowledge is deeply incoherent and contradictory.
In his philosophical treatise Amritaanubhava, the mystic-master asks, "How can the false world envelop the true one without disrupting its truth and comprehensiveness? How can blind ignorance acquire eye-sight and see itself?" Jnanadeva's solution is to restore dignity and integrity to ordinary life experience, but without allowing it to drift into pure contingency and avidya. Be happy. Don't worry. You are free.
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THE ECONOMIC TIMES
EDITORIAL
HOLD OIL INDIA, EXIT OPPORTUNITY POSSIBLE AT RS 1300-1400 LEVELS: INVESTMENT ANALYST
ET NOW SPOKE WITH INVESTMENT ANALYST SHESHADRI BHARATAN . HERE ARE HIS VIEWS ON THE OIL INDIA IPO, THE NEAR TERM OUTLOOK FOR THE MARKETS AND FORTHCOMING REAL ESTATE OFFERINGS.
If you put a gun to the head even then people are not ready to give a firm commitment about the call for today or probably even for the near term. What is your own sense?
I think we are trading in a range, if you look at markets in last 7 to 10 days had been trading in a very narrow range. Nifty has been trading in a very narrow range of 50 to 70 points. So, I think there is no clear direction. If you look at the futures data, options data we see that there is lot of call writing happening at 5000 to 5300 levels of Nifty and there is lot of put being brought at 4800 levels. So I think the sense is that, yes, at this point of time market is seeing some tired legs and it would be more stock specific actions. MRPL is one stock there is lot of buzz around. Today is the Oil India listing so the lot of buzz around all the oil stocks today, be it ONGC, GSPL, GAIL etc. So, I think this is one sector to watch out for this week.
One word on the big listing today, Oil India, you track it?
Definitely, if you look at Oil India IPO and today’s listing, the expected listing price is anywhere between Rs 1050 to 1150 and more so around Rs. 1100 is what people are expecting this stock to list. If you look at Oil India IPO, my sense is that if you look at valuations perspective it is available at 10 times P/E of last year’s earning, 2009 earning and if you compare this with similar pair in the industry say ONGC which is 15 to 17 times, so I think there is a case where people who have invested and have got allotted shares of Oil India should hold on to their stocks and going forward I think if there is an upside I think the investors would get an exit option around Rs. 1300-1400 in short term.
Three big counters which have come out with listing plans yesterday. The market is warming up to real estate as a space, do you think deserves some attention?
If you look at the real estate space in the last 6 months we have seen lot of QIP selling through successfully. In fact I am told that even Parsvnath QIP is on and today it is closing. So I think there is lot of interest for real estate papers and that would have triggered this again, the real estate IPO space being reactivated and companies looking at getting their stocks listed at the exchange etc. Real estate is a very high beta stock sector and we have seen when market recover these are the leaders in the rally, so the promoters of these stocks believe that there would be an appetite for these stocks and the public would lap up these IPOs.
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THE ECONOMIC TIMES
EDITORIAL
PHARMA, SMALL STOCKS IN OIL & GAS LOOKING GOOD: MODERN SHARES & BROKERS
ET Now spoke with Anil Maghnani of Modern Shares & Brokers this morning. Anil is positive on the smaller stocks in the Oil & Gas space and also on the Pharma sector. Real estate stocks, he feels, will gain momentum once the Nifty starts to move again.
The Oil & Gas space - probably due to the Oil India listing or even otherwise - but from the large ones to the smaller ones a lot of these are showing some activity and some stupendous open interest addition as well, anything interesting on the charts?
The two large ones that moved yesterday, Reliance and ONGC still probably stuck in a range, Reliance Rs 2200 is the key level to see if it can take out and ONGC always has been faltering around Rs 1220-1230. So, we will have to see if that can get taken out. Otherwise this is the pullback after a fall. I think Chennai Petro has got potential to go to around Rs 280. MRPL has given a trend line breakout yesterday above Rs 90. So, that can at least do Rs 100-102 immediately.
GSPL is a very interesting one I think always stopping at 80 but now it has taken that out there is the possibility of Rs 95 odd sort of levels. So, I think the smaller ones look a lot more interesting, they are in the futures and options. So, that will also add to the interest but the larger ones you get the 1-2% moves. I do not think traders are looking for that, they want a little more substantial move and the smaller ones tend to give you 5-6-7% sort of trading ideas.
We spoke about the turnover yesterday which was a bit disappointing for sure, however the FII figures have been pretty positive over the last few sessions, be it the QIP money coming in or even otherwise and a lot of events happening probably in today's trade. Going ahead, you believe that these events per se would have a substantial impact on those specific sectors and anything to watch out for that you were seeing on the tracks?
If you are referring to Bharti, that is an important one because remember that has not done anything in the last 3 to 4 months and now the market is looking for leadership. What is happening today at 5000 is very similar to what happened at 4800. After breaking out it did nothing for 4-5 trading sessions and had that big move up to 5000. Now again after reaching the psychological level of 5000, 5-6 days are going by just trading around that level. So you need some new trigger now to the next jump to 5200 or whatever people are talking about.
So you need something from the large cap to do that. I think Pharma has come to the party, so even the FII numbers that are coming on positive could be sector specific and probably some of that money recently has gone into banking and Pharma. But, from the new pack, I mean if you are looking if something can come up in Bharti and what I am getting from the market if the deal does not go through it might actually even be more beneficial for our stocks. So, that could be something to watch out for if you are looking for the next breakout from 5000, maybe another 200 odd points. On the reverse side if nothing comes up and the market dips also I still believe at 4860-4820 if it comes that low also, there is lot of support, a lot of money waiting on the sidelines.
Pharma as a pack - how is that space looking to you?
I think quite good, probably like I said earlier, I think lot of people now would try to play catch-up to the sector. It is an under-owned sector, it is not one of the fancy sectors because people do not like to hold on to stocks for 15-20 sessions and then see some sort of a move but that's what Pharma tends to do. It goes into a sideways and then gives you that big sort of move where people are late catching on, so I think there will still be some more action in there.
I think the clear breakout ones are Dr. Reddy's, may be even Ranbaxy. One that I like or at least from a trading breakout is Sparc. Sun Phrama Advanced Research, has broken out above 85, possible 95 to 104 sort of levels. Cipla is an interesting one, it went in the sideways, now trying to move back, the Rs 290-300 range is where it last time also found resistance, so we will have to watch out what happens there. Glenmark Pharma is also trying to show now some momentum, so I think the pack as a whole looks good. If I had to pick one just from a breakout, it would be Sparc, otherwise I like even Aurobindo Pharma, that's a buy on every decline.
Over the last couple of months, we have been speaking about some of these stocks giving good breakout signals as well. We have spoken about stocks like HDIL, even Orbit for that matter. How do these stocks look right now, more downside or is there a likeliness of upside as well?
I think now it seems at least that unless the Nifty starts to move, these stocks probably will go into some sort of a sideways momentum because the difficulty is they are not making new highs consistently with the market, sure they are not falling because the market is holding. DLF keeps finding resistance around the Rs 430-440, so you would like to see it break out above that. Even HDIL, I think this Rs 330 range seems to be a problematic area. The breakout is above Rs 345, so I think unless now the Nifty starts to move, it will be difficult for these stocks to move on their own. I think if the Nifty corrects, these could correct easily 7 to 10% because they have not really done much. I am not saying it is a distinguishing pattern right now but you need some momentum on the index for them to really start moving.
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THE ECONOMIC TIMES
EDITORIAL
'INDIA TO PLAY KEY ROLE IN GE'S OPERATION DISRUPTION'
VINOD MAHANTA
The ninth chairman and CEO of General Electric, Jeffrey Immelt , has upended the traditional innovation model. Among his radical ideas to fire up the $183-billion conglomerate are putting India and China at the centre of a management model that talks of developing products in emerging markets and distributing them globally. In an e-mail interview with ET , Immelt discusses the idea and GE’s India plans. Excerpts:
You are expected to make some announcements regarding investments and joint ventures in India. Can you give us some details?
India represents one of the significant growth markets for GE globally and we are continuously looking at significant investments and partnerships to consolidate our position in the market.
GE is talking of testing a new management model in India. What’s it all about?
The most recent edition of the Harvard Business Review published an article entitled ‘How GE is disrupting itself’. In this article, I discussed the need for us to re-think the traditional model of developing high-end products in developed markets and selling these around the world. In today’s ‘Reset’ world, GE needs to have more products at more price points.
We need to be looking to design and engineer products in India that meet the needs of the Indian market, and then look for opportunities to sell these products in other markets. A couple of good examples, like a $1,000 handheld electrocardiogram device and a portable, PC-based ultrasound machine that sells for as little as $15,000, are revolutionary, and not just because of their small size and low price.
They’re also extraordinary because they originally were developed for markets in emerging economies — the ECG device for rural India and the ultrasound machine for rural China — and are now being sold in the US, where they’re pioneering new uses for such machines. If GE’s businesses are to survive and prosper in the next decade, they must become as adept at reverse innovation as they are at glocalisation.
Success in developing countries is a prerequisite for continued vitality in developed ones. With a renewed focus on emerging markets, will GE’s bet on India become bigger now?
Over 50% of GE’s revenues and over 50% of our employees are based outside of the US. The fastest growth rates for our business over recent years have been in the emerging markets and continue to be so. India has been and remains a strategic growth market for us. Our technology centre in Bangalore is the largest outside the US employing over 5,000 people and has the highest concentration of PHDs in the company. In total, we have over 12,000 employees in India, great partnerships with companies like Wipro, BHEL and SBI; a well-established position in the country and a strong commitment to further developing our business in India.
Are you looking at restructuring GE’s operations in India?
We are looking at a new business model in India where we would have all of our businesses in the country reporting to a corporate senior vice-president for GE in India.
What is going to be the focus of this visit to India?
This visit to India is part of a week-long visit to Asia during which I have visited Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. While in India, I will be meeting with some of our local partners, customers, government officials and our employees. India is a strategic growth market for GE. I like to learn first hand knowledge about how our business is progressing, what are the key programmes of the government and how best we can work more closely with our partners and customers.
Will multinationals have to change the way they have looked at emerging economies. Their importance could be much more than being big markets and low cost suppliers. In the recent HBR article, you have suggested some radical ideas.
Emerging economies will largely evolve in the same way that wealthy economies did, but faster. And so, the way they are being looked at has to change. Today, the growth path that developing countries are following and their willingness to adopt breakthrough innovations can actually allow them to take fewer and faster steps in their development. The emerging markets are becoming centers of innovation in various fields, they have unique market needs that require targeted innovation, not reengineered solutions from developed markets.
In a changing world order, how important is it for a company like GE to win in developing countries even to maintain leadership in traditional domestic markets?
The majority of our business today is still in the developed world where future growth is anticipated to be slow following the economic crisis. Many of the emerging markets have maintained positive GDPs through the crisis and are showing early signs of returning to higher growth rates at an earlier stage. The future growth of our company will be driven by the growth in economies like Brazil, Russia, India and China.
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THE ECONOMIC TIMES
EDITORIAL
'WE PLAN TO ADD NEW VERTICALS EVERY YEAR'
N SHIVAPRIYA
As an acquisition done at pre-Lehman valuations and at a premium to Infosys’ bid, HCL Technologies’ Axon deal drew much criticism last year. But eight months after the acquisition, analysts are talking about how well it has shaped up. In an exclusive interview with ET , HCL Axon’s Steve Cardell talks about what went into making the deal a success and about the uptick in the market for enterprise applications in the current quarter. Mr Cardell, who was retained by HCL, has been recently promoted to head the whole of HCL’s enterprise application business as president, enterprise application and consulting, HCL. Excerpts:
How has the transition to a new owner been for Axon?
Axon was operating at the high-end of the market doing advisory, blue-printing and implementation. HCL’s SAP practice was primarily an offshore application engine. Together it allows us to do the full lifecycle from conception to lifetime support. The way we approached the integration was unusual — we did a reverse integration moving HCL’s SAP practice into Axon. We were able to close the integration in three-and-a-half to four months. We’ve lost no customers as a result of the acquisition and, obviously, we have sold SAP services into HCL historic accounts and sold other HCL services into Axon accounts.
Growth in the overall ERP market has been muted — the sales figures of ERP product leader SAP bear this out. What is your experience?
We’ve seen so much change this year. The first quarter of this year, as you would know, SAP put out pretty bad numbers. We saw a lot of demand disappear because companies put projects on a pause. We saw that continuing in the second quarter, but some sectors start to look more optimistic. And certainly this quarter, we see a lot of those deals flowing back into the market. We’ve seen a big change from the first quarter to the third quarter of this year in market confidence.
How are you preparing for this growth? Are buyouts part of your strategy? You’ve already done one buyout of UCS.
We want to see an increase in average deal size. We’re targeting larger multi-year SAP implementations. Secondly, we are looking at geographical expansion — of particular focus is continental Europe. We have a small share there and it’s a huge market that’s proven to be economically resilient. There are also emerging economies like China and Brazil, but continental Europe is the most important for us. Thirdly, the plan is to add one or two new industry verticals each year. Like in the case of UCS, we acquired a niche player, which gave us deep industry knowledge. UCS ticks two boxes for us — it gave us good capability in South Africa and in the retail industry. That’s the kind of buy-small-and-leverage model we’re looking at.
HCL’s acquisition of Axon is being spoken of as a success. Where do Indian companies lack in building such businesses on their own?
I think, it’s about where you approach a client. For instance, where does Accenture or Axon begin its engagement with the client? It starts top down. And traditionally, Indian offshore players have begun at the lower-end and worked their way up. They can continue the journey of moving up the value chain, but the question is how long it takes to get there.
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THE ECONOMIC TIMES
EDITORIAL
'LOW-COST HOUSING MODEL CAN SURVIVE ONLY WITH GOVT HELP'
Bhaskar Chakraborty, who tracks real-estate companies at IIFL Capital, said volume growth for developers in Mumbai and the National Capital Region — such as DLF and Unitech — has been extremely encouraging.
His analysis shows that investment demand may provide a further fillip to residential property prices in Delhi, though in Mumbai, he said, transactions may now begin to slow down. The key challenge for these developers now, Mr Chakraborty said, in an exclusive interaction, will be to execute the projects well.
ON REAL ESTATE PRICES:
We have seen a sharp revival in demand in Mumbai and Delhi NCR. A large part of the demand in Delhi NCR is essentially driven by investors, and when investors pick up a large amount of supply then developers come under pressure to continue to increase prices.
In Mumbai, prices have already gone back to almost peak levels that we saw in 2006-07. We think that transactions in Mumbai will slow down as people’s expectation of increase in household incomes will fail to keep pace with the rise in prices. In Delhi NCR, prices have already rallied 20% to 25% from the bottom. What used to be very much a buyers' market six months ago is quickly turning into a sellers' market, where you have to hurry to close the deal because prices are going up.
ON RECENT FUND-RAISING THROUGH QIP TO RETIRE DEBT:
Unitech's balance sheet has improved significantly; DLF's hasn't yet, but we believe that it will happen over the next 12 months. What this has allowed them to do is to launch many more projects than they would otherwise have.
Since they have been pricing most of their products correctly, they have seen strong sales. Now, all of those numbers will start getting factored into their financial numbers over the next 12-18 months as they reach the percentage-completion milestones in these projects. At this point, whether they will be able to execute their higher volumes is a question which they need to focus on. But clearly, volume revival has been strong for both of them.
ON LOW-COST HOUSING:
The government has been making a lot of noise about this, but we essentially think that low-cost housing can survive as a meaningful model only if it is supported by the government. Low-cost housing is unattractive for developers.
They went there not by choice but because they were not left with any choice. Some state governments have taken steps such as stamp-duty waiver on apartments priced below Rs 20 lakh; other states provide you with higher FSI on free-sale area if you earmark a particular portion of the area for affordable housing. It's only with interventions such as these that the risk profiles of these projects go down.
Otherwise, if you look at these projects, their approval cycle is as long as that of conventional projects; they are planned on much lower margins compared with conventional projects; and hence the execution risks for these are far larger if they are not supported by the government.
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DECCAN CHRONICAL
EDITORIAL
AIR INDIA STRIKE HAS TO END NOW
The wildcat strike by Air India’s highest-paid executive pilots, which entered its fourth day Tuesday leaving the national carrier crippled, has simply no justification. These pilots stopped work demanding restoration of cuts in their productivity-linked flying allowances and other perks, despite the civil aviation minister, Mr Praful Patel, making it clear that Air India’s chairman had on Sunday put the proposed cuts on hold — just a day after they were announced. On the face of it, therefore, the executive pilots — some of whom earn up to Rs 6.5 lakhs a month — have no ground to agitate at all. They claim they have not got their allowances for three months, a point that the airline’s management has gone to lengths to refute, but it is evident that they are not prepared to see the larger picture — the hard times that not just Air India but airlines in almost every corner of the world are going through. People across this country and much of the world are being forced to make sacrifices in the current economic climate: is there any particular reason why those at the pinnacle of the aviation sector in India should be exempt? The airline’s pilots accuse the management of taking the national carrier to the verge of bankruptcy in order to benefit private airlines, citing discontinuation of certain profit-making routes (such as Calicut-Bahrain, which yielded Rs 100 crores annually), privatisation of ground handling and extravagant bulk purchases, but none of this is any justification for severely inconveniencing thousands of passengers without notice, including small children and babies put through hardship, besides disrupting holiday travel plans for so many in the midst of the festive season. Having said that, the pilots’ strike cannot be seen simply in the present context: there is a long history of vacillation by successive governments over decades in dealing with the multiple unions that have plagued the national carrier. These have been some of the most difficult unions to deal with in India, particularly the ones representing highly-skilled professionals such as pilots, flight engineers and ground engineers. Whenever any of them, or even the more malleable cabin crew unions, would go on strike, the government would go behind the back of the airline’s management and strike a deal with the strikers. This happened with the cabin crew strikes of 1987 and 1990-92, and with the longest-ever strike by flight engineers in 1993, when the government went behind the backs of MDs like Mr M. Mascarenhas, Mr S.R. Gupte and Mr Yogi Deveshwar respectively. In contrast, when Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal, then heading the airline, was given a free hand by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to deal with the pilots’ strike in 1970, he managed to crush it easily, as did J.R.D. Tata with a similar strike in 1974. Over the years, it has been government intervention in the airline’s day-to-day operations that has allowed the unions to gain advantage: something that the executive pilots have been taking full advantage of today. In the long run, if the national carrier is to function efficiently, competitively and provide quality service to passengers, both the government and the airline’s management need to regain their moral authority to deal with the growing indiscipline among the unions. Air India is a national asset providing an essential service to millions of our countrymen: all concerned — government, management and employees — should leave their egos behind and ensure that nothing is allowed to disrupt flight operations. Only then will the Maharajah’s flag be able to fly proudly again.
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DECCAN CHRONICAL
EDITORIAL
GORBACHEV AND HIS RUSSIAN TRAGEDY
BY GOVIND TALWALKAR
When the ghost of his dead father told him that he (the king) had been poisoned by his brother who had then married the widowed queen, Hamlet’s whole moral world collapsed. In the circumstances, it was not that Hamlet hesitated to act but he was acutely aware of the dire consequences that would inevitably follow.
One is reminded of this tragedy as we look at the inner conflict which Mr Mikhail Gorbachev underwent after assuming the office of the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985. He had the courage to admit that the system he had inherited was thoroughly rotten and suffered from widespread corruption and inertia.
The diary of Mr Anatoly S. Chernyaev, an adviser to Mr Gorbachev from 1986 to 1989, is now available on the website of the National Security Archives and throws light on the extent of the rot in the Soviet Union.
Mr Chernyaev served in the Army during World War II, and later graduated from the Moscow University. He was a student of philosophy but was also interested in history, literature and art. After graduation, he joined the foreign department of the International Communist Party and then moved on to become Mr Gorbachev’s political adviser.
Mr Chernyaev was not an admirer of Joseph Stalin and was appalled with the corrupt administration of Leonid Brezhnev. No wonder he felt elated when Mr Gorbachev took over as the general secretary. Like millions of Russians, and foreigners, he too welcomed the innovative policies of the new general secretary.
As an adviser to Mr Gorbachev, Mr Chernyaev had access to several secret documents and was privy to confidential discussions. He describes corruption at higher levels — he writes about foreign secretary Andrei Gromyko taking bribes and gifts from diplomats seeking promotions, and his wife, whenever the couple visited New York, would purchase jewellery and expensive goods.
It is well known that in the Soviet Union disparity was very glaring. When Mr Chernyaev visited Maxim Gorky’s museum (after Gorky’s death his house was restored as a museum), he was amazed to see the deceased author’s lavish lifestyle. A dacha (country cottage) of Mr Chernyaev’s siuperior was like a palace, and Mr Gorbachev had several dachas, thanks to his wife who also interfered in the administration.
The productivity in almost all the industries in Russia was very low. Because of inadequate and defective storage capacity, tonnes of produce was wasted. The statistics mentioned in the diary are staggering: One million tonnes of potatoes and over one million tonnes of vegetables were lost in a year.
All the while, Mr Gorbachev was impressing upon his officials and people in general that the West’s dominance was due to superior technology and that Russia had to compete with it. But Russian officials and industry managers were suffering from acute inertia, and the weight of the bureaucracy was bearing down on the party as well as the administration. There were 18 million party officials.
After Mr Gorbachev came to power, Mr Chernyaev had high hopes that people’s spirits would be revived. Mr Chernyaev says that though Russians were broken-hearted under Stalin, they had not lost their love for freedom. The tremendous welcome accorded to Mr Gorbachev was a clear indication of this.
Mr Gorbachev conducted himself in the international arena with dignity and confidence. He proved more than a match to all the foreign leaders of the time.
Americans quote Ronald Reagan’s speech before the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin asking Mr Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. Reagan’s admirers believe that it was because of Regan that the Wall came down. But how did Mr Gorbachev react to Reagan’s speech? According to Mr Chernyaev, Mr Gorbachev said that Reagan had not come out of his old profession (Reagan was a Hollywood actor).
Mr Gorbachev was more popular than some of the international leaders in their respective countries and could easily outshine them. It was also found that Reagan’s top officials did not defend their boss while talking with Mr Gorbachev.
Yet, internally, the Soviet Union was facing stupendous problems. Twenty crore square metres of housing needed urgent repairs or had to be pulled down. Water and sewage systems were overloaded and over 300 cities did not have them at all. Almost half the streets and passageways in the cities had no hard surfacing. Number of industrial injuries was rising fast. In five years, 20,000 people were disabled and 63,000 died.
This internal chaos and the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan was demoralising the Russians and Mr Gorbachev’s enemies did not lose this opportunity to strike back. They went on the offensive during party meetings and Soviet Union had no option but to order withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
The year 1989 was a revolutionary one because people rose in revolt against Communist regimes in all East European and Baltic states. The Berlin Wall was pulled down and in 1990 Germany was united. Mr Gorbachev had made it clear to East Europeans that Russia would not intervene and they had to face the situation on their own.
Mr Gorbachev and his colleagues thought that it was impossible to sustain African leaders who, in the name of socialism, continued with their authoritarian and corrupt rule. For example, when Fidel Castro berated Russian leaders for betraying socialism, Mr Gorbachev’s adviser wrote a memo saying that “the beard” should be told that his socialism depended on Russia’s annual subsidy of five billion roubles.
But as Mr Chernyaev points out, Mr Gorbachev could not come out of his ideological groove. He did not discard his belief in the planned economy as he was confident of solving all of Russia’s problems. Even while advocating faith in democracy, he avoided transferring power to the Duma. But Mr Chenyaev admits that even if Mr Gorbachev wanted to bring in revolutionary changes and dismantle centralised and regulated economy, he had no mechanism to implement it. The party was dysfunctional and the administrative machinery paralysed.
Mr Chernyaev diary shows that Mr Gorbachev was like a hero of a Shakespearean tragedy. He showed exceptional qualities of leadership and wanted his people to not only come out of their oppressive circumstances but also wanted to give them a chance to develop their creative qualities. Echoing Hamlet, Mr Gorbachev might have thought “the time was out of joint” and “that he was ever born to set it right”. But Mr Gorbachev’s world was nothing but wreckage that could not be mended. It just had to be ended.
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DECCAN CHRONICAL
EDITORIAL
THE NEXT CULTURE WAR WILL HAVE TO BE STINGY
BY DAVID BROOKS
Centuries ago, historians came up with a classic theory to explain the rise and decline of nations. The theory was that great nations start out tough-minded and energetic. Toughness and energy leads to wealth and power. Wealth and power lead to affluence and luxury. Affluence and luxury lead to decadence, corruption and decline.
“Human nature, in no form of it, could ever bear prosperity”, John Adams wrote in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, warning against the coming corruption of his country.
Yet despite its amazing wealth, the United States has generally remained immune to this cycle. American living standards surpassed European living standards as early as 1740. But in the US, affluence did not lead to indulgence and decline.
That’s because despite the country’s notorious materialism, there has always been a countervailing stream of sound economic values. The early settlers believed in Calvinist restraint. The pioneers volunteered for brutal hardship during their treks out west. Waves of immigrant parents worked hard and practiced self-denial so their children could succeed. Government was limited and did not protect people from the consequences of their actions, thus enforcing discipline and restraint.
When economic values did erode, the ruling establishment tried to restore balance. After the Gilded Age, Theodore Roosevelt (who ventured west to counteract the softness of his upbringing) led a crackdown on financial self-indulgence. The Protestant establishment had many failings, but it was not decadent. The old White Anglo-Saxon Protestants were notoriously cheap, sent their children to Spartan boarding schools, and insisted on financial sobriety.
Over the past few years, however, there clearly has been an erosion in the country’s financial values. This erosion has happened at a time when the country’s cultural monitors were busy with other things. They were off fighting a culture war about prayer in schools, and the theory of evolution. They were arguing about sex and the separation of church and state, oblivious to the large erosion of economic values happening under their feet.
Evidence of this shift in values is all around. Some of the signs are seemingly innocuous. States around the country began sponsoring lotteries: government-approved gambling that extracts its largest toll from the poor.
Executives and hedge fund managers began bragging about compensation packages that would have been considered shameful a few decades before. Chain restaurants went into supersize mode, offering gigantic portions that would have been considered socially unacceptable to an earlier generation.
Other signs are bigger. As William Galston of the Brookings Institution has noted, in the three decades between 1950 and 1980, personal consumption was remarkably stable, amounting to about 62 per cent of GDP. In the next three decades, it shot upward, reaching 70 per cent of GDP in 2008.
During this period, debt exploded. In 1960, Americans’ personal debt amounted to about 55 per cent of national income. By 2007, Americans’ personal debt had surged to 133 per cent of national income.
Over the past few months, those debt levels have begun to come down. But that doesn’t mean we’ve re-established standards of personal restraint. We’ve simply shifted from private debt to public debt. By 2019, federal debt will amount to an amazing 83 per cent of GDP (before counting the costs of health reform and everything else). By that year, interest payments alone on the federal debt will cost $803 billion.
These may seem like dry numbers, mostly of concern to budget wonks. But these numbers are the outward sign of a values shift. If there is to be a correction, it will require a moral and cultural movement.
Our current cultural politics are organised by the obsolete culture war, which has put secular liberals on one side and religious conservatives on the other. But the slide in economic morality afflicted Red and Blue America equally.
If there is to be a movement to restore economic values, it will have to cut across the current taxonomies. Its goal will be to make the US again a producer economy, not a consumer economy. It will champion a return to financial self-restraint, large and small.
It will have to take on what you might call the lobbyist ethos — the righteous conviction held by everybody from AARP to the agribusinesses that their groups are entitled to every possible appropriation, regardless of the larger public cost. It will have to take on the self-indulgent popular demand for low taxes and high spending.
A crusade for economic self-restraint would have to rearrange the current alliances and embrace policies like energy taxes and spending cuts that are now deemed politically impossible. But this sort of moral revival is what the country actually needs.
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DECCAN CHRONICAL
OPED
FREE MARKET BRINGS ITS OWN MEDIA CENSORSHIP
BY JAYATI GHOSH
Freedom of the press, and of media generally, is one of the more prized features of Indian democracy. But just as real political democracy remains lacking in true content as long as a large part of the population is effectively economically disenfranchised, so too true press freedom is restricted by socio-political and material forces.
The media scene is undergoing a revolution in terms of the proliferation of new forms of media and new providers, both Indian and foreign. This may seem to be an indication of much greater freedom and reduced ability of the state or other few entities to control or monopolise information. Nevertheless, there are clear limits to the apparent “freedom” of the media, and sometimes these limits can be even more restrictive than the earlier more explicit curbs placed by government.
Globalisation over the past decade has been associated with the spread and intensification of the commercial model of communication. Insofar as this has meant a reduction in state monopoly over information and its dissemination, it is a positive thing. But it carries the danger of replacing state control with control by oligopolistic private corporations. The presumption is that deregulation and market-orientation will bring greater freedom. But that need not always be the case.
First of all, media activities driven by the market treat readers and audiences as consumers, not as citizens. Since what is being purveyed is not an ordinary good, but the very substance of knowledge which makes for informed politics, social consciousness and the ability to change social, political and economic forces, this matters a great deal. Indeed, in modern democracies, media plays a central role in terms of the possibility of creating an informed citizenry and, thereby, determining democratic practice.
The decline in the felt obligation to serve non-commercial information interests, involving purely public interest or addressed to groups with less economic power, effectively marginalises the public sphere. On television, for example, issues of major political or social importance tend to be expressed in minuscule fragments or in such a frivolous manner that the content is often missed. This absence of knowledge — access to it only in truncated and potentially misleading form — undermines democracy. A public which is inadequately informed about the substance of arguments that affect its most important social policies has effectively lost the substance of citizenship rights.
Related to this is the generally conservative bent of the information and analyses that are consequently presented. The crucial difference between what is good for private business (especially large, multinational private business) and what is good for the quality of life of the population is ignored. This is not so much the product of an overt conspiracy as a more insidious system of shared values in which the journalists, presenters and editors are all part of a system that promotes generally conservative economic philosophies.
Further, the tone and content of media dissemination is increasingly not innocently determined, because of the dependence of media on advertising revenues. As the role of advertisers in influencing media content grows, so too the traditional notions of the separation of editorial and commercial interests tend to weaken. Advertisers want affluent audiences who are likely to be influenced in the choice of their consumption, so media content tends to cater to the more affluent groups in society.
Paradoxically, this still does not ensure consumer sovereignty. The content of most media dissemination is determined by owners, managers and editors, often in conjunction with advertisers. And this in turn is influenced by perceptions of what would be the most arresting image to hold the viewer’s attention or the reader’s interest, the least demanding and, therefore, most likely to be indulged of stories, and the most facile of sound-bytes and printed epigrams.
So the choices available to consumers of the various media are limited to those which are consciously provided by those who purvey this service, and viewers or readers cannot hope to go beyond this. Surveys among television-watching households in the US have found widespread dissatisfaction with the nature of the content of the programmes, the extent of gratuitous violence, the overkill of staged “reality” television, and the desire for alternative programming. But the basic pattern of programming has remained unchanged despite such knowledge. Indeed, the plethora of television channels now available often serves only to underline this ironic lack of real choice.
Add to this the sheer effect of particular forms of programming, restricted information spread as well as so much directed advertising on the consumption and lifestyle decisions of individuals and households, and the actual lack of freedom of the recipients of this process of cultural determinism becomes more obvious.
Much in the frightening manner predicted by Aldous Huxley in his Brave New World, what appears to be much more choice and freedom for individuals in different societies ends up being predetermined aspiration without even the knowledge that it is unfree.
Of course, the entire picture is not as completely dire as may appear from this account. Just as technological change at one level has made the possibilities of and pressures for commercialisation and concentration in the sector much stronger, so it has also created other possibilities of spreading information — chiefly through the Internet — which are cheaper, more open, more potentially questioning of the dominant paradigm, and thus more democratic.
Even if Internet access is greatly limited in the developing world, it still provides new opportunities for access to and dissemination of information, views and analyses which otherwise did not exist or were being increasingly squeezed out by the process of media concentration.
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DECCAN CHRONICAL
OPED
DEFUSING A BOMB
BY CYRIL ALMEIDA
“(He) continues to receive a special pension of Rs 2.07 lakhs (Pakistani) per month, has been given a one time grant of Rs 2.5 million, he has been provided with eight servants of his choice, a nurse and a physiotherapist visit him daily, a Chinese doctor is on call for him, a team of specialist doctors visits him every week, he is flown on special plane to visit his relatives, next door he retains a house as a guest house with rent and all bills paid by government, four vehicles are provided to him for his personal use besides security vehicles along with other facilities, etc” (sic).
The perks of life at the top? Not quite. This list of goodies forms part of Intra Court Appeal No. 797 of 2009 filed by the Government of Pakistan. The respondent? Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan.
Luxury notwithstanding, A.Q. Khan has been fighting for his freedom from what he regards as quasi-imprisonment for a while now. In February, the now defunct Islamabad high court declared him to be a free man subject to some security conditions. But within months, Khan was chafing under the “protocol” accorded to him and went to the Lahore high court (LHC) where a judge agreed to do away with the “protocol” and lift all restrictions last month.
Not so fast, cried the federal government and immediately filed an appeal and got a two-member bench of the LHC to suspend the single judge’s order.
Among the many points in the government’s appeal, one point stands out for the layman. Apparently, according to the government’s filing, the Islamabad high court tried to end the long-running saga of Khan’s quest for freedom by cobbling a compromise between Khan and the government in February and set out the terms and conditions of Khan’s “freedom” in Annex A of its February judgment.
But Khan, according to the government, chose to ignore those conditions. From the government’s appeal: “(I)t is regrettable that Dr Khan chose to disregard the terms that he himself agreed in the Annex A. He started visiting places though he was advised not to visit them in the interest of his safety and well-being. Annex A restrained him from interacting with media whereas he was freely inviting people... The petitioner was using mobile cellphones to accept calls from foreigners and media person and disregarding all security concerns”.
Love him or hate him, the problem with Khan is that he is a loose cannon and seems bent on trying to settle scores with Pervez Musharraf personally or the nuclear establishment generally through the media.
The latest exhibit (though it is not clear why now) is the Simon Henderson article in the Sunday Times which carried excerpts from the letter Khan purportedly addressed to his wife as an “insurance policy” against the state and distributed to his relatives.
Addressing the contents of that letter is a separate piece altogether, perhaps even a book or two. There is an official, “Pakistani” point of view, one which questions the extent of Khan’s network, its place in the wider world of the black market in nuclear paraphernalia, whether Pakistan, in fact, broke any international law given that it wasn’t part of the relevant treaties, etc.
But nobody, at least no government or concerned agency internationally, seems willing to listen to it because Khan is also a handy stick to beat Pakistan with. If you start with the very reasonable proposition that more nuclear weapons make people queasy and that Pakistan isn’t exactly a state to inspire utmost confidence in rational behaviour, then you can understand why Pakistan is under the cosh.
But that is not necessarily fair or right. The security establishment/Army high command has acted foolishly (Kargil and support for militancy beyond its sell-by date are just two examples), but nuclear weapons are an entirely different category. As far back as 1981, Kenneth Waltz questioned facile assumptions of rogue nations being reckless with nuclear weapons.
But even if you don’t want to believe the government and the Army on that count, there is another reason to worry if Khan remains in the media limelight: we will be unable to focus properly on present-day issues regarding nuclear doctrine, command and control systems and safety and security.
Naeem Salik, a lecturer at the National Defence University and considered by insiders as a knowledgeable man, has published a book, The Genesis of South Asian Nuclear Deterrence: Pakistan’s Perspective, in which he makes a telling observation: “During its formative phase, from mid-1970s to May 1998… it was obvious that no public debate on issues such as nuclear doctrine, command and control, or safety and security could take place. However, more inexplicable is the fact that even an in-house debate did not take place within the military or the foreign policy establishment, nor was there any discourse on these aspects within the few think tanks and academia”.
That is downright scary. Salik argues, somewhat persuasively, that the security establishment has woken up to this concern and quickly developed the requisite policies and put in place effective systems and safeguards over the last decade.
But as long as A.Q. Khan’s forays into the media limelight continue, that debate — a public debate and not just one inside an insulated institutional structure — will remain stillborn and we will have to take the Army and the nuclear establishment at its word. For example, it is one thing to accept that our nuclear programme is safe from “outside” interference, but it is quite another to question whether nuclear doctrine dictated by an Army in which conservative influences may be growing is likely to keep the country as strategically safe as possible.
So pushing A.Q. Khan out of the picture is good for all us because it will allow the country to focus on other, more important issues. But how can that be done?
Prosecuting him under the Official Secrets Act or provisions of the National Command Authority Ordinance, 2007, for further indiscretions is possible — indeed some in the nuclear establishment have been pushing for this — but unlikely given that it will risk new disclosures from a vengeful Khan who has been nursing his bitterness for years. In any case, it can be argued that the government is barking up the wrong tree by going to the courts because the law is not geared to deal with hard cases such as A.Q. Khan.
Perhaps what is needed to bury the issue once and for all, or at least reduce its potential sting, is for a concerted, public campaign to put Khan’s role in the nuclear programme in the correct perspective. Unmask the “father of the bomb” and diminish, accurately, his role and he may choose to stay quiet himself.
After all, if one thing is certain it is that Khan is a man with a big ego. Hack away at his standing in the domestic public eye, and he may choose to live out his days in quiet retirement. And that way maybe the country can get on with debating the more serious issues.
By arrangement with Dawn
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DECCAN CHRONICAL
OPED
A PILL FOR ETERNAL LIFE
BY NICHOLAS WADE
Who would have thought it? The quest for eternal life, or at least prolonged youthfulness, has migrated from the outer fringes of alternative medicine to the halls of Harvard Medical School. At a conference on ageing conducted here last week, the medical school’s dean, Jeffrey Flier, was to be seen greeting participants who ranged from members of the 120 club (they intend to live at least that long) to devotees of very low calorie diets.
The heavyweight at the conference was Sirtris Pharmaceuticals. The company is developing drugs that mimic resveratrol, a chemical found in some red wines. Resveratrol has been found to activate proteins called sirtuins, from which the company derives its name. Activation of sirtuins is thought to help the body ride out famines.
Mice and rats put on a diet with 30 per cent fewer calories can live up to 40 per cent longer. They seem to do so by avoiding the usual degenerative diseases of ageing and so gain not just longer life but more time in good health.
Sirtris’ researchers think that drugs that activate sirtuins mimic this process, strengthening the body’s resistance to the diseases of ageing. The company has developed thousands of small chemical compounds that are far more potent than resveratrol and so can be given in smaller doses.
In mice, sirtuin activators are effective against lung and colon cancer, melanoma, lymphoma, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease, said David Sinclair, a Harvard Medical School researcher and co-founder of Sirtris. The drugs reduce inflammation, and if they have the same effects in people, could help combat many diseases that have an inflammatory component, like irritable bowel syndrome and glaucoma.
Any sirtuin activator that averted all these diseases in people would be a rather remarkable drug. So there is considerable interest in how well Sirtris’ drug trials are going.
Sirtris’ senior director of corporate development, Brian Gallagher, said at the conference that four active clinical trials were under way.
SRT-501, the company’s special formulation of resveratrol, is being tested against two cancers, multiple myeloma and colon cancer that has spread to the liver. A chemical mimic of resveratrol, known as SRT-2104, is in a Phase 2 trial for Type 2 diabetes, and in a Phase 1 trial in elderly patients. (Phase 1 trials test for safety, Phase 2 for efficacy.)
Gallagher said that unpublished tests in mice showed that another chemical mimic, SRT-1720, increased both health and lifespan; after two years, twice as many mice taking the drug were alive compared with the undosed animals. Resveratrol itself has not been shown to increase lifespan in normal mice, although it does so in obese mice, laboratory roundworms and flies. Sirtris has so far been doubly fortunate.
No severe side effects have yet emerged from the clinical trials. The company has also been lucky in having apparently picked the right horse, or at least a good one, in a fast-developing field.
Besides the sirtuins, several other proteins are now known to influence longevity, energy use and the response to caloric restriction. These include the receptors for insulin and for another hormone called IGF-1, and a protein of increasing interest called TOR (“target of rapamycin”). Rapamycin is an antimicrobial that was recently found to extend lifespan significantly, even when given to mice at an advanced age. Since TOR is involved in the response to caloric restriction, rapamycin may extend life through this pathway.
Sirtuins may not be the most important genes for longevity, Sinclair conceded at the conference, because the pathways controlled by the sirtuins, TOR and the others “all talk to each other, often by feedback loops”.
Many theories of ageing attribute senescence to the inexorable buildup of mutations in a person’s DNA. Sinclair said that in his view “ageing can be reversed” because the DNA mutations did not directly cause ageing. Rather, they induce the sirtuin molecules that help control the genome to divert to the site of damage. With the sirtuins absent from their usual post, genes are not regulated efficiently, and the cells’ performance degrades. Diversion of the sirtuins should be a reversible process, in Sinclair’s view, unlike DNA damage, which is not. “In five or six or seven years”, said Christoph Westphal, Sirtris’ other co-founder, “there will be drugs that prolong longevity”. But neither Sinclair nor Westphal was the most optimistic person at the conference. That status belonged to the English gerontologist Aubrey de Grey. His goal is “negligible senescence”.
Some attendees were so convinced of the virtues of less food that they have begun severe diets of various kinds. Cynthia Kenyon, of the University of California, San Francisco, said she had gone on a low-carb diet in 2002 after finding that food with even two per cent sugar reduced the lifespan of the laboratory roundworms she studies.
By arrangement with theNew York Times
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THE STATESMAN
EDITORIAL
NESTLE MILK MUGABE THE FARMER
DANIEL HOWDEN
HARARE, 29 SEPT: The furore over this week’s revelation that Nestle is doing business with Mrs Grace Mugabe reveals more about the danger of re-engaging with Zimbabwe than the iniquity of the Swiss dairy giant.
Nestle’s subsidiary in Zimbabwe has made no effort to deny buying milk from a dairy now owned by Robert Mugabe’s wife. Likewise the Mugabes have made no effort to hide her ownership of the Gushungo estate outside Harare.
It’s simple, really: if you want to buy milk on an industrial scale in Zimbabwe you will have to deal with the members of the regime. The farm in question, like nearly 90 per cent of the profitable agro-businesses in the country, was seized under the cover of land redistribution and then handed over to allies of the ruling party. Mr Mugabe, once thought not to be personally corrupt, has amassed at least 12,000 acres of prime farmland. The dairy was compulsorily purchased for a fraction of its market value in 2002 and its owners were forced to leave.
There is no recourse to European sanctions to prevent Nestle doing business there. Switzerland is not bound by the EU measures that target Mugabe’s inner circle.
In its defence, Nestle said that had it closed down local operations it “would have triggered further food shortages and hundreds of job losses among its employees”.
But the biggest benefactors of Western business in Zimbabwe are not often the employees. Diamonds make money for the army, flowers for Zanu-PF party bosses, milk for the first family and on it goes.
Since the International Monetary Fund agreed to re-engage with Zimbabwe, the credit facility it has created has become the subject of a bitter fight between the reformist Finance Minister, Tendai Biti, and the regime’s bag-man Gideon Gono, who still has not been sacked as the head of the reserve bank.
This goes to the core of Zimbabwe’s ongoing crisis. The country is attempting an economic recovery without any form of truth, justice or reconciliation.
It has produced what some experts are calling an “anti-political recovery”: in other words, a small economic turnaround that owes nothing to its compromised political class.
The Independent
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THE STATESMAN
EDITORIAL
LEARNING THE FACTS OF LIFE
ANUPRIYO MALLICK
CONCERNS over health arise at the stage of puberty. These are related to the adolescents’ sexual and reproductive development and their behaviour. This is the stage of life when they should be taught to be responsible, respectful and caring in their behaviour ~ qualities that eventually strengthen the family.
Literature on the subject reveals that early experience of sex can lead to tragic social, economic and physical consequences. In recent years, such factors as hectic travel, migration, global accessibility to the mass media, changes in the family structure, loosening of traditional constraints, an early start to puberty as well as late marriage are leading to changing patterns of sexual behaviour among the young. Current data suggests that adolescents are insufficiently informed about sex, physical well-being and their health. The media has become the major source of information.
A study conducted in 1991 by the Family Planning Association of India showed that about one-fourth of the teenagers expressed their acceptance of pre-marital sex, indicative of the emerging trends. A survey of 959 adolescent girls revealed that irrespective of age and education, they had favoured the introduction of sex education in the academic curriculum.
BASELESS FEARS
EDUCATION is the best defence against misadventures that stem from an ignorance of the anatomy, physiology and sexual emotions. A person's ideas and attitudes are significant for society as well as his own well- being. A positive educational effort is essential to promote the individual's fulfilment both in his personal life and relationships within the family and society in the larger context.
Parents and teachers have expressed fears that an honest approach to sex education may shock the young. Others believe that sex education may be dangerous as it will arouse a child's curiosity. Yet others argue that a discussion on sex may lead to experimentation and irresponsible behaviour.
There is substantial evidence to show that these fears are baseless. Sex does not have the same connotation to a child as it does in the case of an adult. Adults are accustomed to perceiving sex as a set of feelings, attitudes, and actions related to the physical act of intercourse. To them sex is sometimes synonymous with concupiscence.
Sex education if properly imparted does not arouse morbid curiosity. Far from it. Young people, who are aware of the “facts of life” and know that their parents and teachers will talk freely with them, are less concerned about this subject. Meaningful sex education should recognise sexual development as an integral part of the individual's total personality development. Sex must not be interpreted as though it is a separate facet of human life. If interpreted intelligently, it becomes an important element in inculcating a sense of responsibility among adolescents.
Sex is an integral part of living. It is neither base nor vile nor dirty. It becomes so only when it is misdirected or misused. There are many forces in our culture that make sex appear to be undesirable. Children are sometimes taught never to talk about anything that pertains to sex. Their normal curiosity is often crushed by their parents or the societal attitude. Parents and teachers must provide children a wholesome perspective of sex and thus rear them up in the right direction.
Parents and educators must become increasingly aware of the changing social perspectives in young people because of the physical and emotional changes that are taking place, especially in adolescence.
Parental attitude
THE home is the best place for sex education. Many parents are aware of its influence on the child’s development, his later adjustments and his ultimate happiness. But they are also overwhelmed by the complexity of the problems. They feel hesitant and inhibited when speaking of sex.
Parental attitudes are of vital importance in the sex education of the child. A wholesome objective is an essential prerequisite for the parents. There can be nothing more damaging to adequate sex education than shame, embarrassment, timidity or over-emotionalism. If the parents are prudish and consider sex as shameful and dirty, or if they have a vulgar attitude towards the subject, the child is likely to be confused.
Attitudes are important in the child’s sexual development. The parents and the home can shape such attitudes. Friends, the neighbourhood, the school and society exert their influence as the child grows older. Since parents are the first educators of their children, the soundest form of sex education normally comes from the home and where the child's questions are answered in a simple and truthful manner. But more and more parents tend to leave such matters to the educational institutions.
The teacher is a major factor in determining the success of any sex education programme. It requires a gifted, prudent and morally upright teacher to stand up before a class and convince the students that sex is precious and dignified. The facts must be intelligently assimilated in order to develop a wholesome attitude, a well-balanced emotional life and a strong personality.
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THE STATESMAN
EDITORIAL
AIR-INDIA AGAIN!
THE NATIONAL CARRIER NEEDS MINISTERING
THE Prime Minister would do well to inquire just how it transpired that the Air-India management first decided to suspend operations for 15 days beginning today, and then found the civil aviation ministry intervene late at night to rule out a shutdown. The facts in the public domain are, first, that Arvind Jadhav, Chairman and Managing Director of the state-owned airline, flew into New Delhi from Mumbai on Monday and held talks with striking pilots, and second, that throughout these negotiations and thereafter he was in constant touch with Praful Patel, the Minister for Civil Aviation. It follows that moves for a shutdown followed consultations between the two, and instructions that were passed on to airline staff to stop fresh bookings were cleared by them. Dr Manmohan Singh must ask what provoked the ministry and Air-India to even consider suspension of operations when Chennai-based pilots had already returned to work, and when there were sufficient numbers of expatriate and other pilots on the roster to operate most international and several domestic flights.
This newspaper has long believed that not all is quite right with the civil aviation sector, and that Minister Patel is a primary reason for the mess that exists, especially in Air-India. Certainly, many of his quixotic actions ~ such as changing Indian Airlines’ name to Indian shortly before announcing its merger with Air-India ~ suggest that he pursues an agenda that may not entirely be in the airline’s interest. While Air-India carries considerable flab, and some wage and perquisite packages might seem excessive considering the state of its health, a rollback must and can only be brought about through a process of negotiation, not by issuing diktats.
Some curious developments deserve the Prime Minister’s attention. Mr Patel announced some weeks ago that Air-India needed to target budget travellers. Before Air-India could act, its competitor Jet Airways had launched Konnect, its budget version, and it did so by even shortchanging bona fide passengers who had booked seats on regular Jet flights. Next, on Monday there was no justification for the leak on suspension of operations, or the refusal to accept bookings. The only ones to have been helped by thus creating uncertainty ~ almost deliberately it seems ~ about A-I operations were its competitors. When the airline was overtaken by a series of misadventures some weeks ago, and Mr Patel found himself the target of intense criticism, he launched an aggressive campaign to say he was Minister for Civil Aviation, and not for Air-India. The Prime Minister needs to remind him that while that may well be the case, Air-India too needs ministering, and that Mr Patel is doing a very poor job of it.
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THE STATESMAN
EDITORIAL
CUTE BRAVEHEART
THE STATE MUST NOT LET HER DOWN
CONFLICTING may be reports of the details of the incident, but clear and sparkling as a mountain stream is the courage displayed by a young woman in foiling a militant raid on her home in the Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, and joining her brother in killing one terrorist, wounding another, while forcing a third to flee with his injured partner to the safety of the forest. Circumstances, the self-preservation instinct and outrage at her parents being thrashed by the so-called jihadis combined to inspire 20-year-old Ruksana Hussain into joining her brother (18) in wielding axes and then using one militant’s AK-rifle for the finishing touch. Yet she has sent out a strong signal to her “sisters” that they are capable of resisting the lustful urges of the militants. That the militants not only singled out her house in Shahdra Sharif village, but forced a relative to help them break their way in leaves little scope for doubt that the good-looking lass was their prime objective. It is an open secret that the jihadis abduct young women for sexual abuse, though a false sense of traditional family pride and honour prevent the victims from articulating that after they are abandoned (only a few manage to escape) by the gunmen when moving on to fresh pastures. It speaks shameful volumes of those who try to project the militants as freedom-fighters, defenders of their faith etc, that they have opted for silence on this despicable dimension of the J&K version of jihad.
Obviously it is too soon to tell whether there will be more Ruksanas, but it is more than apparent that she will now be deemed a “trophy target” by other members of the tanzeem whose intentions she frustrated, more so after the publicity she has attracted as her face is now so easy to recognise. Given their track record a fate worse than death would be what they are plotting for her. The local police have set up a picket near her home, for how long will it serve as shield? There have also been routine promises of cash awards, employment etc. Yet the continued welfare, not just physical safety, of Ruksana and her family are a long-term challenge for the state government. It will serve as an inspirational benchmark. There can be no downgrading her priority once the media attention fades. Is Omar Abdullah man enough to pick up the gauntlet?
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THE STATESMAN
EDITORIAL
URBAN REGRESSION
RENEWAL MISSION COMES A CROPPER
There are no excuses for the lapse this time around, and the Mayor makes a helplessly feeble attempt to claim that there is no such thing as a deadline for the execution of projects. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for slum development in Kolkata has virtually floundered close to two years after it was sanctioned. The progress thus far is an imcredible “zero per cent”, to quote the official report. Going by the ratio of spending, 50 per cent of the grant has not been utilised: 35 per cent provided by the JNNURM; 15 per cent by the state; and the rest by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The civic body is yet to start work on the three development schemes that were approved in October 2007. In other words, it hasn’t invested a penny of its 50 per cent component. Mr Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya merely tries to defend the indefensible when he asserts that there is no time-frame. Lest the corporation needs to be reminded, the deadline was 18 months.
The basic problems suggest that the scheme carried within it the seeds of its own failure. If the ma, mati manush construct can be applied, this particular mission has been hobbled by local resistance, the absence of resettlement plans, the official inertia which is traditionally part of the KMC’s furniture and land disputes. To the extent that KMC is yet to get possession of the land in many areas. What passes understanding is why over the past two years the civic authorities have not made a semblance of an effort to sort out the thorny issues. After the failure of the JNNURM project on drainage ~ literally a nikashi of resources ~ the collapse of slum development is yet another disaster Kolkata has had to countenance. As much as the city, a project named after the country’s first Prime Minister deserved a better showing. Urban renewal has degenerated to urban regression.
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THE TELEGRAPH
EDITORIAL
ON THE TARMAC
What the private sector did yesterday, the public sector does tomorrow. The pilots of Jet Airways showed the way for the executive pilots of Air India to go on strike. The causes of the two strikes are very different though. The pilots of Jet Airways were protesting against the sacking of some of their colleagues. The Air India pilots have struck work because they do not approve of the decision taken by the management to cut productivity-linked incentives by upto half. In spite of the similarity in the actions, it needs to be pointed out that a few months earlier the Jet Airways pilots had accepted, without a murmur, a 50 per cent salary cut in the wake of enormous losses suffered by the company. The government-run airline, Air India, has an accumulated loss of over Rs 7,000 crore. The executive pilots obviously think that this is not a good enough reason to take a cut in their earnings. The consequent face-off between the pilots and the management (read the government) has created a most unpleasant situation as no solution seems to be in sight. In fact, both sides have hardened their respective positions. The sufferers are the passengers and the gainers, ironically, are those who are the rivals of Air India in business, the private airlines.
It can be said without any undue exaggeration that the strike by the pilots has not drawn a great deal of sympathy. There is something anomalous in the argument in favour of salaries that are equal to those offered by the private sector and a refusal to accept some of the terms and conditions that go with employment in the private sector. No one can deny that radical measures are required — and these include drastic cost cuts — to reduce the colossal losses that Air India continues to accumulate. It is over-staffed and possibly even overpaid. In keeping with the airline’s original symbol — the Maharaja — it has been run over the years like a huge feudal estate with no drive towards profit maximization. At the heart of this contradiction is of course the idea of a State owning an airline. In keeping with the logic of this contradiction, the present mess — the losses of which the strike is only a fallout — has to be resolved through State intervention. The pilots must realize that cost cutting is an inevitable, if unpleasant, aspect of running a business in a period of severe recession. A strike solves nothing. It only aggravates the problem and leads to an incalculable loss of goodwill.
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THE TELEGRAPH
EDITORIAL
HAPPY TOGETHER
To translate dharma as ‘religion’ is to reduce the range and elusiveness of the Sanskrit word to a narrowness that is both dull and dangerous. But to move in the other direction, restoring to religion the breadth and subtlety of dharma in its epic sense, is to put the conduct of everyday life on a par with ritual and theology. Religious practice then becomes as much a question of existence as of faith. And because no man is an island, existence is always co-existence — living peacefully and meaningfully with others, especially with the otherness of others. Something remarkable has been happening in Orissa’s Baleshwar every year during the Durga Puja, Eid and Muharram, although the people there see it as part of their normal lives. Local Muslims actively participate in a number of Durga Pujas in the district, and occupy important posts in the puja committees. This is not just tokenism, they take part in many of the rituals, apart from organizing the fundraising, worship, feasts and other events. And these are all ‘practising’ Muslims, who are just as involved in their own festivals and observances. Similarly, Hindus take part in the Eid and Muharram celebrations and, more important, in the organizing of these celebrations. The secretary and the president of two important puja committees in Baleshwar are Muslim; they are also respected members of their neghbourhoods, looked upon as community leaders by Hindus and Muslims alike. In all this, there is an overriding sense of naturalness. Nobody makes a great deal of these things, and during each festival this sort of cooperation is taken to be the obvious way of getting things done and of having fun.
The violent convergence of religion and politics that shook Orissa’s Kandhamal district is what makes this natural spirit of festive coexistence in Baleshwar appear remarkable to most Indians. But religious syncretism, in every possible combination, is a very old tradition in the Indian subcontinent, although Indians today have to remind themselves of these traditions rather too frequently and self-consciously to counter the other narratives of bigotry and sectarianism that often make these happier stories look positively utopian. In a country that calls itself secular, the relationship between communities in Baleshwar should be normal rather than exceptional.
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THE TELEGRAPH
EDITORIAL
AN ESSAY IN PERSUASION
WHAT INDIA ACHIEVED IN PITTSBURGH
DIPLOMACY - K.P. NAYAR
Around the same time that the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, was addressing a triumphant press conference
in Pittsburgh at the end of the Group of Twenty summit, the CNN talk-show host, Larry King, was interviewing the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in New York. Ahmadinejad told King in so many words, but on a different subject, that “what Mr Obama says does matter” although Iran’s head of state did not care what the French president Nicolas Sarkozy or British prime minister Gordon Brown says about Iran’s nuclear programme.
Singh’s tone and body-language in Pittsburgh and Ahmadinejad’s defiance of what the former American defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, called “old Europe” brought back memories of the French resort town of Évian-les-Bains on the banks of Lac Léman on a June morning six years ago. It was there, in the historic Hotel Royal, that Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then the prime minister, first took a seat, albeit tentatively, at a meeting of eight industrialized countries, collectively known as the Group of Eight.
The idea of inviting India to the fringes of this G-8 summit was that of the then French president, Jacques Chirac, who went out of his way to make Vajpayee feel at home at that meeting where India, which was still under a range of sanctions for its nuclear tests, was an odd man out in many ways. The invitation that was extended then to Vajpayee was not a collective G-8 decision: it was a gesture by Chirac, to which France’s G-8 partners did not object. In addition to Vajpayee, Chirac invited China’s president Hu Jintao, Mexican president Vicente Fox, South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki, Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and leaders of seven other emerging economies. Explaining his decision to have an “enlarged dialogue meeting” as part of the Evian summit, Chirac told his cabinet, members of France’s legislature and ambassadors of states invited to Evian at Elysée Palace 10 days before the summit that “the G8 is not the world’s board of directors”. Chirac pointed out that “globalization calls for dialogue. That is why I wanted to…invite the leaders of emerging countries and poor countries to Evian on June 1 so that we can discuss the major issues of today’s world together.”
Listening to the speeches in Pittsburgh, Chirac’s words six years ago seem prophetic: “If we want globalization to benefit everyone and everyone to approach it responsibly, it is critical for everyone to have a seat at the table and take part in the discussions needed to control globalization and make it more human.”
Soon afterwards, Britain’s then prime minister, Tony Blair, joined Chirac in calling for an expansion of G-8 to include India and China, among others. Last week, such calls progressed to their logical conclusion and “reached a historic agreement to put the G-20 at the centre of efforts to work together to build a durable recovery and reform the international financial system,” as the White House described the outcome of the Pittsburgh summit.
Like Ahmadinejad, who told CNN that he did not care what Sarkozy or Brown said, Chirac’s and Blair’s calls for expanding the G-8 to include the emerging economies made a big splash in the Indian media and on news outlets of the countries invited to Evian. But few others took note. It was different, though, the moment the White House announced late at night on Thursday last week that in Pittsburgh, “leaders endorsed the G-20 as the premier forum for their international economic cooperation”. The news immediately made headlines around the world.
Ahmadinejad and Manmohan Singh both realize that notwithstanding any window-dressing that may go into the world economy and global strategy, the United States of America still remains the world’s only super-power and the earth’s leading economic power. The collective gross domestic product of the dozen countries that will now take their seats at the world’s high table continues to be less than that of a single country: the US. While nobody remembers today that it was Chirac, followed by Blair, who initiated the historic changes that bore fruit in Pittsburgh, most people across the world will attribute the latest changes to the architecture of the global economy to the White House.
However, it is debatable whether the changes that were adopted in Pittsburgh would have been acceptable to the rich countries at all, if it were not for the current global economic crisis. Singh said in Pittsburgh that “no country, howsoever powerful it may be, can take on the entire burden of economic adjustment and economic decision-making that may be required to manage the global system in an orderly fashion. It is that perception and that reality which has, I think, persuaded many people in Europe and the US that this G-8 is ill-equipped to handle all the global issues. With the rise of Asia, with the growth of India, China and Brazil, economic decision-making has to take into account the views of these countries if it is to have an optimum impact.”
Yet, the fact is that India, China and Brazil together have a GDP that is well below half of Europe’s. In such a scenario, nothing much is likely to change overnight in the management of the world economy, even though the Pittsburgh summit has, in principle, anointed the G-20 as the successor to the G-8.
Besides, some of the industrialized countries may drag their feet on burying the G-8 for fear of losing the power that comes from membership of an exclusive club of nations. Japan’s traditional position since Chirac mooted the idea of a bigger G-8, for instance, has been one of opposition to any such proposal. It may change with a new, forward-looking government, which has come into office recently in Tokyo.
A lot will depend on perceptions. The White House claims that actions by the G-20, initiated after its London summit in April, “pulled the world economy back from the brink of depression”. It is true that an earlier meeting of the group in Washington achieved very little, but then the Obama administration may want that to be seen as such, that summit having been held in the dying days of the Bush presidency.
The new entrants into the process of making decisions about the global economy, such as India and Brazil, may decide to flaunt any trappings of newly-acquired power for their nations with claims that G-20 prescriptions for the world’s economic ills are working. Such propaganda may work in favour of the new G-20. The prime minister had no hesitation in creating an impression in Pittsburgh that India had taken clear positions in favour of poor countries, asserted India’s right to follow independent policies and that such a line was producing results. Singh also projected a positive picture of the Indian economy a year into the global meltdown. “There is no economic crisis in India,” he said. “It is certainly true that as a sequel to the global economic crisis our exports have suffered. That has affected the rate of growth. Even then our economy is growing at the rate of six to six and a half per cent. Therefore, there is no crisis as such in India.” With a colourful description of the G-20 as an “essay in persuasion”, the prime minister was also cautious: “Whether this essay in persuasion really succeeds in achieving its objectives, only time can tell.”
The biggest achievement of the G-20 process, as yet, has been the creation of a body that will actually determine the group’s financial policies: the Financial Stability Board, which has been expanded. The Reserve Bank of India, the finance ministry and the Securities and Exchange Board of India have all taken their places in the FSB as a result of such expansion.
Enough said, and, I both fear and hope, read. I’m beginning to see why learning English from the cradle really is different from (or to or than) studying it, as most of the world has to, at school — and why the Esperantists see hope yet.
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THE TELEGRAPH
EDITORIAL
IRON RULES
WORDCAGE - STEPHEN HUGH-JONES
Maybe you don’t always share my opinions about English. So you differ from me. Or could that be with me? Your views are different from mine. Or could that read different to mine? Or maybe than mine? You think differently from me. Or perhaps differently from the way I do. Or why not differently than I do? The choice of the right preposition is one mark of truly idiomatic English. And it is curiously hard with these words that imply difference, likeness, or comparison, between two things.
Shakespeare’s “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” is a classic case. It is often said to illustrate the distinction between compare to, that is, point out the similarity between one thing and another, and compare with, point out the respects in which the two differ. That is just what it doesn’t do. The sonnet goes on at once to say, “Thou art more lovely and more temperate”, and adds other divergencies; Shakespeare is noting the differences, not the similarities. By today’s standards, he has simply got it wrong — unless what he means is really “Shall I point out the similarities? No I won’t, because in fact you are more lovely, etc etc.”
Back with different, and its kin. Different from is always correct. Indeed, I was brought up to believe this the only correct wording. Not so. The big Oxford dictionary records examples not only of from, but also of to and than from some 400 years ago. Different to can cite notable British users from Jane Austen to Winston Churchill. And Americans are happy — as Britons are not — with different than.
Comparison with related words is no help. Sure, one can’t say beer differs to water. But what is right with the verb doesn’t prove what word is right or wrong with the adjective: to take a parallel, one may hope for a promotion, but one is hopeful of it. Equally, we have to say men differ from women, but we can also talk of a man differing with his wife, that is, having a disagreement with her. Me, I stick firmly to different from, and I’d recommend anyone using British or British-based English to do likewise. But there’s no iron rule (and an awful lot of Americans).
I’d certainly ban differently to. X thinks differently to other philosophers, yuk. Yet, perversely, I am attracted — almost against my will — by differently than. True, there’s no great gain in saying Indians think differently than Pakistanis instead of differently from. But I think differently today than last week is certainly less clumsy than differently today from the way I thought last week.
What about other such words: similar/dissimilar and their nouns; like/unlike and theirs; distinct and distinction; equal/unequal and equality/inequality; the same and sameness; identical and identity? In brief, the rules are these: Similar to (never as); dissimilar to (I’ve seen from, but would discourage it); and ditto for similarity/dissimilarity. Like and unlike, of course, need no preposition, but likeness uses to. Distinct and distinction take from. Equal to (don’t say unequal to, use not equal to — except in such quite distinct phrases as he was unequal to the task); but equality/inequality need with.
The same requires as. Identical can take with or to; the choice depends broadly on whether you’re making a large, general statement (politics is sometimes identical with religion) or a precise, particular one (his car is identical to mine). Identity requires with.
With nearly all these nouns, of course, you can also say, for instance, the similarity between A and B. Or, equally, the similarity of A and B; indeed sameness must be used in this way or not at all. But identity is out of step: no between, no and, for it the only natural usage is the identity of A with B.
Enough said, and, I both fear and hope, read. I’m beginning to see why learning English from the cradle really is different from (or to or than) studying it, as most of the world has to, at school — and why the Esperantists see hope yet.
THEWORDCAGE@YAHOO.CO.UK
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DECCAN HERALD
EDITORIAL
NEXT FINANCIAL CRISIS JUST A MATTER OF TIME
IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT MANY OF THE ECONOMIC LEADERS OF EUROPE COME FROM AMERICAN BANKS.
BY ROBERTO SAVIO,IPS
US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s rejection of the European request for regulation of bank executives’ bonuses has given rise to various interpretations: some cite President Barack Obama’s need to avoid more confrontations with the American right wing, others point to the influence of the historical bond between the US and the UK, the only European country to defend financial corporations.
The reality is more dire and lies in the primacy of financial capital over productive capital since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The winning side assumed not only that the rival political system had collapsed but also that capitalism was the only system possible and proceeded to strip it of all existing controls and regulations.
There thus emerged a capitalism that was finally ‘free’, and at the same time self-destructive. While in the 1960s the financial sector comprised just over three per cent of the US GDP, by the mid 2000s this figure had more than doubled to eight per cent. The protagonists of the current economic world, with the exception of Bill Gates, come from the word of finance, from Warren Buffett and George Soros to Bernard Madoff.
In the past they were industrial giants like Rockefeller, Ford, or Hilton, none of these whom would have dreamed of receiving a bonus of 500 million dollars like that the president of Blackwater investment group awarded himself in the middle of the financial crisis.
BANK LOBBY
With few exceptions, both the political and technical ranks of the government come from the world of finance. Geithner was President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank. Lawrence Summers, Obama’s chief economic advisor, is a protegee of Robert Rubin, the treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton who was the master of the defenders of the free market. It is no coincidence that many of the economic leaders of Europe, like the central bank governor of Italy or France’s economic minister, come from American banks.
At the beginning of this recession, which has increased the number of poor in the world and raised unemployment to eight per cent globally, many saw it as a crisis that would cleanse the system. As Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s chief of staff, said, “Never allow a crisis to go to waste”.
There was talk of another Bretton Woods, the 1944 conference that created the current economic architecture. Last March Geithner requested that the government be allowed to take control of ailing institutions, like Lehman Brothers, to prevent their collapse from infecting the financial system. Nothing has been done thus far.
The theme of the government’s role in controlling financial abuses, central to the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, president during the Great Depression of the 1930s, does not appear on Obama’s agenda. How else could it be when a significant number of the American people think that Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii, that he is a communist, and that he wants to Europeanise the US with his healthcare reform plan, which may involve state intervention to extend health insurance to the 40 million Americans now without it.
But would a radical reform of the financial system have been possible? In recent years, the US has changed its beliefs and tendencies so profoundly that the idea of another Bretton Woods is more dream than reality.
The truth is that Bretton Woods was driven by the idea that the Great Depression was the midwife of nazi-fascism, since Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini were brought to power in the social and economic crisis caused by uncontrolled speculation, which culminated in World War II.
Keynes famously likened financial speculation to gambling: “When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done”.
Roosevelt was equally clear: “There must be strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments. There must be an end to speculation with other people’s money”. In his first inaugural speech he had denounced “the practices of the unscrupulous money changers” who “stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men”.
Today would such Biblical language and a true reform of private financial institutions be possible? According to the latest figures, the latter have received 75 per cent of the resources dedicated by governments for financial recovery. If nothing fundamental changes, how long will it be before the next crisis?
The thunderous condemnations of bankers for their irresponsibility — Obama as well- mean little or nothing even if made in good faith. The fact is that the measures taken or planned by governments and central banks at the national and international level are far from constituting the profound and systematic reform that is so necessary.
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DECCAN HERALD
EDITORIAL
CRAZY LANGUAGE
LET US WRITE IN A MANNER THAT EVEN A HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT CAN UNDERSTAND.
BY DINESH KUMAR
The other day, a friend of mine made an observation that he found English language crazy. To support his case, he said that in English language, the fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing. The usual ‘but’ and ‘put’ pronunciation difference followed to buttress his argument. While agreeing with him up to a point, I told him that we Indians have contributed massively to make the already a crazy language crazier. This is how.
The other day, an acquaintance of mine turned up unannounced and out of politeness, I offered him a glass of beer. His response: I have no habits. It took me sometime to realise that what he meant was that he has no bad habits like drinking and smoking. I am sure that you have received invitations soliciting your gracious presence to bestow warm blessings to the newly married couples as if, without this conditions, ungracious we will turn up with the coldest blessings taken straight from the freezer.
We Indians have a propensity for verbosity. Propensity, by the way, means preference and verbosity stands for long winded approach to writing or speaking. The corporate citizens have done their own bit to complicate the language by their need to impress and you hear statements like ‘configuration of interpersonal relationship in this company leaves much to be desired.’ Or the ‘receptivity of change in this organisation is sub minimal.’ Their net net and bottom line means summary or conclusion.
We Indians look for difficult words when simple ones will do. For example, modify instead of change, reveal for show, subsequent for latter, at an early date for soon, held a meeting for met, corpulent for fat. Small words can hold large thoughts when big words get bogged down is what a wise person has said in support of simplicity.
Aren’t we the ones who invented the phrase answering the call of nature? Going to toilet was not enough for us. Thank God, the use of the phrase, I have the honour to state is now gradually disappearing.
Give me Churchillian or Maugham style any day for both these authors believed that in language, less is more. Let us speak or write in a manner that even a high school dropout can understand.
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THE JERUSALEM POST
EDITORIAL
EGYPT, STOP THE ROT
Various Israeli officials have privately been talking of late about a "new honeymoon" period between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak: The personal relationship is said to be good; coordination between the two bureaus is effective; and Mubarak had constructive things to say about Netanyahu during his recent visit to Washington.
Netanyahu's decision not to make a public effort to prevent Egypt's Culture Minister Farouk Hosni winning election as the next head of UNESCO may have been taken in deference to the sensitivities of the Egyptian president, who had personally backed Hosni's unsuccessful candidacy. On the ground, meanwhile, Israeli security officials talk cautiously about an improvement over recent months in Egyptian efforts to prevent arms smuggling into Gaza.
Any such positive developments in bilateral relations, however, are being dismally outweighed by the negatives: Egypt, formally at peace with Israel for three decades, is at the forefront of Arab efforts to internationally discomfit Israel over the reported nuclear capability at the heart of this country's self-defense doctrine. A well-rewarded US ally, Egypt has also failed to encourage the dramatic moves by other Arab states toward normalized ties with Israel that the Obama administration has been seeking en route to an Israeli-Palestinian peace breakthrough.
And, perhaps most disturbingly, internally Egypt's media is intensifying its abiding hostility toward Israel, ensuring that our cold peace cannot be warmed.
ON SUNDAY, the leading Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram, the semi-official voice of the regime, issued an absolute ban on Israelis. The newspaper, arguably the most prominent in the Arab world, has hosted numerous Israelis over the decades, but henceforth no Israeli may set foot in its offices, its staff is barred from attending conferences where Israelis are present, and all other avenues of interaction are formally off-limits.
This staggering slide was prompted by a recent visit by Israel's Ambassador to Egypt, Shalom Cohen, to the newspaper's premises. There he met with a prominent editor and academic, Hala Mustafa, whom he wished to invite to a symposium on peacemaking efforts in the Obama era. Dr. Mustafa, whose newspaper bosses had been told in advance about the ambassador's visit, and who did not give Cohen a yes or a no because she knew she would need various authorizations, is now being ostracized by the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, which for a quarter-century has banned all forms of normalization with Israel. The syndicate is now reported to be drawing up new blacklists of all Egyptian journalists who have had the temerity to interact with Israelis about anything, anywhere.
OFTEN, IN years past, when Israeli officials have raised the vexed issue of the vicious anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism - in words and, notably, in cartoons - that are such a staple of the Egyptian media, their counterparts, from the president on down, have argued, disingenuously, that the authorities are loath to intervene in the workings of the Egyptian press.
But Mubarak can sidestep the issue no longer. Our ambassador's credentials are recognized by Cairo. And there is no Egyptian legal bar - indeed quite the reverse - on contacts such as that between Cohen and Mustafa.
The president's reluctance to take on the powerful journalists' syndicate may be understandable, but it is counter-productive. Unless or until they are confronted, the bitter rejectionists who set the media tone in Egypt will take ever-bolder actions to weaken Israeli-Egyptian peace, foster greater enmity for Israel among the public, and by thus radicalizing ordinary Egyptians, undermine the very stability of the Mubarak regime.
Humiliated by his narrow defeat to Bulgaria's Irina Bokova in the UNESCO vote last week, Hosni - who despite comments on the racism of Israeli culture and the need to burn Israeli books is not, ironically, regarded in Egypt as being particularly hostile to Israel - returned home muttering, with default anti-Semitism, about "a group of the world's Jews who had a major influence in the elections."
Could it be, however, as suggested by Rania al-Malky in Egypt's English Daily News, that Hosni actually only ever came close to winning the post of UN cultural czar because he was an Arab and a Muslim, and that he fell short because the voters could not quite bring themselves to give the job to "a 22-year minister of a country where culture, education, health and science have regressed to the Dark Ages"?
And isn't that wider regression, emphatically encompassing the Egyptian media's viciously upgraded hostility to Israel, a decline Mubarak need urgently address?
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THE JERUSALEM POST
EDITORIAL
LION'S DEN: NETANYAHU'S QUIET SUCCESS
DANIEL PIPES
Almost unnoticed, Binyamin Netanyahu won a major victory last week when Barack Obama backed down on a signature policy initiative. This about-face suggests that US-Israel relations are no longer headed for the disaster I have been fearing.
Four months ago, the new US administration unveiled a policy that suddenly placed great emphasis on stopping the growth in Israeli "settlements." (A term I dislike but use here for brevity's sake.)
Surprisingly, American officials intended to stop not just residential building for Israelis in the West Bank but even in eastern Jerusalem, a territory legally part of Israel for nearly 30 years.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched the initiative on May 27, announcing that the president of the United States "wants to see a stop to settlements - not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions," adding for good measure, "And we intend to press that point."
On June 4, Obama weighed in: "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.... It is time for these settlements to stop." A day later, he reiterated that "settlements are an impediment to peace." On June 17, Clinton repeated: "We want to see a stop to the settlements."
And so on, in a relentless beat.
FOCUSING ON settlements had the inadvertent but predictable effect of instantly impeding diplomatic progress. A delighted Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority responded to US demands on Israel by sitting back and declaring that "The Americans are the leaders of the world.... I will wait for Israel to freeze settlements." Never mind that Abbas personally had negotiated with six Israeli prime ministers since 1992, each time without an offer to stop building settlements: why should he now demand less than Obama?
In Israel, Obama's diktat prompted a massive popular swing away from him and toward Netanyahu. Further, Netanyahu's offer of even temporary limitations on settlement growth in the West Bank prompted a rebellion within his own Likud Party, led by the up-and-coming Danny Danon.
The geniuses of the Obama administration eventually discerned that this double hardening of positions was dooming their naïve, hubristic plan to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict within two years.
Obama's reconciliation with reality became public on Sept. 22, at a "summit" he sponsored with Abbas and Netanyahu (really, a glorified photo opportunity).
Obama threw in the towel there, boasting that "we have made progress" toward settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and offering as one indication that Israelis "have discussed important steps to restrain settlement activity." Those eight words of muted praise for Netanyahu's minimal concessions have major implications:
Settlements no longer dominate US-Israel relations but have reverted back to their usual irritating but secondary role.
Abbas, who keeps insisting on a settlement freeze as though nothing has happened, suddenly finds himself the odd man out in the triangle.
The center-left faction of the Obama administration (which argues for working with Jerusalem), as my colleague Steven J. Rosen notes, has defeated the far-left faction (which wants to squeeze the Jewish state).
IRONICALLY, OBAMA supporters have generally recognized his failure while critics have tended to miss it. A Washington Post editorial referred to the Obama administration's "miscalculations" and Jonathan Freedland, a Guardian columnist, noted that "Obama's friends worry that he has lost face in a region where face matters."
In contrast, Obama critics focused on his announcing, just one day after the mock summit, that "America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements" - an abstract reiteration of long-established policy that in no way undoes the concession on settlements.
Some of those I admire most missed the good news: John Bolton, former US ambassador to the United Nations, stated that Obama "put Israel on the chopping block," while critics within the Likud Party accused Netanyahu of having "prematurely celebrated" an American policy shift. Not so. Policy winds can always change, of course, but last week's capitulation to reality has the hallmarks of a lasting course correction.
I have repeatedly expressed deep worries concerning Obama's policy toward Israel, so when good news does occur (and this is the second time of late), it deserves recognition and celebration.
Hats off to Bibi - may he have further successes in nudging US policy to the right track.
Next on the agenda: the Middle East's central issue of our time, Iran's nuclear buildup.
The writer (www.DanielPipes.org) is director of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University.
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THE JERUSALEM POST
EDITORIAL
ENCOUNTERING PEACE: IN THE LAND OF MIRACLES, LET'S GET REAL
GERSHON BASKIN
Now that the NY Summit has come and gone, Netanyahu made his speech to the world, Abbas had his opportunity to speak his mind - is there any reasonable person out there who actually thinks a negotiated peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians is possible? Yes, President Obama is determined and Senator Mitchell is persistent. Now, while this is the land of miracles, let's get real.
While both Israeli and Palestinian public opinion polls continue to show that a clear majority of both peoples want peace, neither side believes there is a partner on the other side. This is part of the historical reality of the Oslo peace process. Objectively speaking, there is no reason why Israelis and Palestinian should trust each other. Both sides systematically breached substantially every single agreement they signed.
Israeli society lost its faith in peace and it no longer dreams of driving to have chumus for lunch in Damascus. Israelis do not want to visit Cairo or Amman and do not particularly care if Jordanians or Egyptians come to visit Israel.
Israelis no longer believe that giving up territory will bring peace. The general Israeli interpretation of the 'territory for peace' scheme is that we withdrew from areas in the West Bank and created the Palestinian Authority under Yasser Arafat which then attacked us with weapons that we provided for them.
In Gaza, which Israel left entirely - withdrawing both settlements and military, we got Kassam rockets in exchange. Whether this reflects what really happened and why is not relevant. This is the way that the overwhelming majority of Israelis understand that reality.
PALESTINIANS, ON their side, believed that they would be in control of more than 90% of the West Bank before they even sat down at the table to negotiate final borders, Jerusalem and refugees. They believed that they would experience economic growth. Instead Oslo brought with it a regime of permits, closures and checkpoints that reduced the size of the Palestinian economy with each passing day. They believed that the settlement enterprise on their lands would be ceased and settlements would be withdrawn, instead they saw the settlement population grow more than 100% since they signed the Oslo agreement. They never imagined that 16 years after signing the Oslo agreement the Israeli occupation would be stronger and as repressive as it is.
The peace process is of course filled with its myths. One of the most prevailing myths which is reinforced consistently is that Israel has offered the Palestinians everything and that they have rejected all Israeli generosity.
The latest version of this centers around the so-called "Olmert offer" to Abbas. In their final meeting before Olmert left office, it was reported that Olmert offered Abbas 100% of the territory (about 6-7% annexed by Israel and equal territorial swaps in exchange), Islamic control over the Temple Mount compound with Israeli sovereignty over the Western Wall and Jewish Quarter and even a refugee return of 5,000 under family reunification guidelines - and Abbas rejected all of this stating that the gaps remain too wide. It is quite amazing that the majority of Israelis view Olmert as a person who has a problem (to say the least) telling the truth yet the one issue on which the Israeli public completely believes him is on what he offered Abbas.
The truth is that throughout all of the talks with Abbas he refused to have anything written down and there were no formal joint minutes at those meetings. There were, in fact, no detailed and systematic negotiations.
In his final meeting with Abbas he described the offer and Abbas had to take notes on what the offer contained.
Olmert did produce a map which he gave Abbas to examine for several minutes and then took it back and put it away. When Abbas debriefed his team in Ramallah and was asked about a map, he took out a piece of paper and drew a map from memory.
Aside from not being serious in the means of negotiations, substantively the Olmert proposal included continued Israeli control of Palestine's external borders - which alone is a reason for the Palestinians to reject the offer. The Olmert plan also included other non-acceptable substantial concessions on their sovereignty that every liberation movement would reject.
NOW NETANYAHU refuses to begin the negotiations from where Olmert concluded. He insists on continuing to build settlements and not to implement Israel's Road Map obligations and demands that the Palestinians come to the table without pre-conditions. There is no way that Abbas can agree to these existing conditions.
So what are we left with? An Israeli government which has no intention of negotiating real peace with the Palestinians based on ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
On the bright side, we also have an increasingly successful Palestinian Authority in the West Bank but it has no control and no real strategy for gaining control over Gaza. We also have a Palestinian Prime Minister who designed and who is implementing an intriguing and admirable plan for creating a de facto Palestinian state in the West Bank for the moment and hopefully later in Gaza as well.
The Salaam Fayad plan is one of the most positive and optimistic developments of recent times. Israel has always claimed, in words and by historical example, that the Palestinians must build their state through taking responsibility for their own lives. They must build the institutions of the state and they must prove to themselves and to the world that they are worthy of building a state that will not be a burden on the rest of the world. Most importantly, the Palestinian State must not be a failed state, meaning primarily that the civilian-political institutions of the State - the Executive branch - must have full control (a monopoly) over the military forces within the state. That is exactly what Fayad is doing, rather successfully.
Since his first day in office Fayad understood (with the full backing of Abbas) the principle that the security of the Palestinian people and the Palestinians state is inextricably linked to the security of Israel.
Constructively, Palestinian unilateralism might actually be the best way forward now. A two-year plan for Palestinian statehood supported by Obama and the Quartet with significant aid and assistance successfully demonstrating Palestinian resolve for statehood and peace with its neighbor might be the best way to convince the Israeli public that they must allow the Palestinians to gain freedom from Israeli control. Public opinion in Israel will shift away from the policies supported by the Netanyahu government, because the public will realize, in the face of a real possibility of peace, that every other alternative to ending the occupation is far worse for Israel.
The writer is the Co-CEO of IPCRI - the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (www.ipcri.org)
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THE JERUSALEM POST
EDITORIAL
GRAPEVINE: INSPIRING PHILANTHROPY
GREER FAY CASHMAN
He's an Israel Prize laureate; he has been the recipient of numerous other awards; he has twice rejected offers to be nominated for the prestigious position of chief rabbi of Israel; and now he's about to be inducted into the Caring Institute Hall of Fame. He is Rabbi Yitzhak David Grossman, founder of Migdal Ohr, the network of institutions in Migdal Ha'emek that takes wayward and potentially wayward youth off the streets and provides them with a caring educational environment that is a springboard to a better quality of life. A sixth generation Jerusalemite, Grossman, 63, has spent more than half his lifetime looking for and looking after boys from broken homes and dysfunctional families. Grossman thinks nothing of going into discos, bars or other places which are not usually frequented by people like him, to look for boys who are in trouble.
In 1967, when he was only 21, Grossman decided to move to Migdal Ha'emek, which was one of the most impoverished towns in the country, with a heavy immigrant population that was riddled with socioeconomic problems. He set to work tackling social and educational challenges, often rescuing youth who had already taken their first steps into the world of crime. His commitment was so intense that he gained instant respect, and within a year of his arrival was named the town's chief rabbi. In 1972, he established Migdal Ohr, which initially cared for 18 youngsters who were either orphaned or came from broken homes. He provided them with schooling, a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. From this nucleus there developed an educational network which currently incorporates 18 schools and seven day care centers which on a daily basis cater to some 7,000 youth.
Over the years, thousands of young people have benefitted from Migdal Ohr programs and many former delinquents who came into Grossman's care are today fine, upstanding citizens. Grossman will be inducted into the Caring Institute Hall of Fame at a gala awards ceremony at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles on October 13.
The Caring Institute, a nonprofit charitable organization, was founded in 1985 by Val J. Halamandaris following his meeting with Mother Teresa who inspired him to promote the values of caring, integrity and public service. Its board of trustees is chaired by former senator Robert J. Dole, who recently announced the winners of the 2009 caring awards. In addition to five American adults and five American youths, Grossman will be recognized as an international winner. A lifetime achievement award will also be given to the Dalai Lama.
CONGREGANTS AT the Hazvi Yisrael Congregation in Jerusalem's Talbiyeh neighborhood were asked at last Shabbat's service to come early to Kol Nidre because a special dignitary would be in attendance. It wasn't hard to guess that the dignitary was President Shimon Peres who has taken a liking to the congregation, which is within easy walking distance of Beit Hanassi. He has attended services there before and had intended to be present for Rosh Hashana but was told by his doctor that he had to rest. So he decided to come for Kol Nidre instead.
Meanwhile, having invited Peres for Rosh Hashana, the synagogue executive invited Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for Kol Nidre - and he accepted. Although Netanyahu has also visited the congregation before, it was the first time that both the president and the prime minister were there at the same time. In previous years, Netanyahu attended the Great Synagogue. The distance from his official residence to either synagogue is approximately the same.
Some of the Hazvi Yisrael congregants were irked by the heavy security which slowed down access to the synagogue, but once everyone was inside the annoyance dissipated. The Great Synagogue, meanwhile, had to content itself with Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, who frequently graced the pulpit when he was chief rabbi of Israel. Netanyahu showed up at the Great Synagogue the following day for the Ne'ila service.
SOME SIXTY members of Nativ, a youth affiliate of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism in the United States, who are here on a nine-month study and leadership program, organized a Kol Nidre night happening in Jerusalem, by way of a kosher Woodstock at the conclusion of Kol Nidre services. Taking advantage of the absence of traffic, the youngsters sat in an enormous circle in the Agron-Keren Hayesod intersection and lustily sang Hebrew songs. People heading home from nearby Orthodox, Conservative and Reform congregations were attracted by the sound, and enthusiastically surrounded the singers who occasionally got up to dance in voluntarily gender-segregated circles. Smiles registered on the faces of the spontaneous audience, many of the people who stood around tapped their feet and clapped in time to the melodies, and some even joined in.
Especially delighted were Holocaust survivors Michael and Lea Klein for whom any sign of Jewish continuity both in the ideological and the physical sense is a cause for joy. Michael Klein, who became a highly respected physicist in America before moving here, owes his survival to Oscar Schindler. The Kleins were still enthusing about the contagious spirit of the Nativ youth the following day.
STRICTLY SPEAKING, the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China will be celebrated on October 1, but Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jun decided to bring the celebrations forward by a week and held a huge celebration, replete with fireworks, at his residence in Kfar Shmaryahu. The PRC was proclaimed on October 1, 1949 by Mao Zedong. Since then, China has changed and in recent years has undergone vast reforms and, noted Zhao, has become a "vibrant and vigorous" market economy with an annual GNP growth of 8.1 percent, making it the third largest economy in the world.
Although there were government ministers present - among them Yuval Steinitz, Uzi Landau and Michael Eitan - it was President Peres who brought the nation's greetings to China on this landmark anniversary. Peres has long been an admirer of Chinese culture and was a staunch advocate for enhanced ties even before diplomatic relations were established in January 1992. Peres served for many years as honorary president of the Israel China Friendship Society. He has been to China several times and the Chinese hold him in high regard.
Speaking with undisguised pride about the significant steps taken by his country, Zhao declared that China had remarkable achievements to its credit and has improved its status by opening up to the world. It is still in the process of development and at a crucial stage of reform is pursing a foreign policy of peace and is playing an important and constructive role in solving global issues including the global economic crisis, he said.
As far as Israel is concerned, China is its largest trading partner in Asia and enjoys excellent relations with it on many other levels. China is highly supportive of the renewal of the Middle East peace process, said Zhao, and looks forward to an early resumption of negotiations.
Peres lauded China's contribution to peace efforts and suggested that more attention be paid to the East than to the West, because today the West represents only 12% of the world's population. In terms of population he said, China is larger than Europe and the US: "Every fifth person in the world is Chinese." As for peace, Peres proclaimed that "China was never an aggressor" and "never attacked other countries." China's strength, he said, was in its tolerance, in its patience and in its desire for peace.
When Zhao and Peres moved to the other side of the pool to watch the fireworks, Maya Yang Tze, a petite young Chinese tour guide who is married to an Israeli, and whose grandmother knew Peres in his youth, asked to be photographed with them, and shyly but eagerly stood behind the ambassador's chair. Josef Avi-Yair Engel, the president's personal photographer, motioned her to move to the other side behind Peres. The president who is used to people posing with him, immediately stood up and put his arm around the young woman who almost swooned in delight. "Grandmother told me he was handsome," she gushed, "but he's beautiful!"
Israelis will get a greater sense of China throughout October via a conference on Israel-China relations, hosted by Tel Aviv University, with the date yet to be announced; a Photo Exhibition on China-Israel Relations, at the Tel Aviv Opera House on October 12-25; Chinese Film Weeks at the Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa Cinematheques during October 12-30; My Dream variety show, including dance, instrumental music, singing and Chinese Opera performed by the Chinese Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe at the Tel Aviv Opera House on October 17 and 18; and a performance of Chinese modern dance at Tel Aviv's Suzanne Dellal Center, October 22-23.
SPOUSES OF foreign ministers are rarely seen at diplomatic events other than the annual Israel Independence Day reception for the diplomatic corps hosted by the president, and American Independence Day. For that matter, the foreign minister does not attend most of the national day events hosted by heads of diplomatic missions stationed here. It is not known whether Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman would have attended the Independence Day event hosted last Wednesday at the Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel Aviv by Uzbekistan Ambassador Oybek Ishanov, had he not been in New York attending the UN General Assembly, but Lieberman's wife Ela had a personal interest in attending the event in that she was born in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. The Dan Panorama makes a point of including a table of traditional foods at such functions, and Ela Lieberman happily indulged in a little nostalgia of the palate.
WHILE HE tends to shun events in which awards are being handed out, Assi Dayan, accompanied by his 92-year-old mother Ruth, whom he publicly thanked for her support, did show up in Haifa for last week's Ophir awards ceremony where he was given a Life Achievement Award. Dayan has already received well over a handful of Ophir prizes. The complex Dayan, who has been in trouble with the police for possession of drugs and for beating up his girlfriend, needed something positive in his life and had two good things happen to him almost simultaneously. One was the Life Achievement Award, and the other was the birth of a granddaughter, Noa, presented to him by his New York-based daughter Amalia, a well known figure in the art world, and her husband art collector, financier and author Adam Lindemann.
CELEBRATED WRITER Amos Oz is reluctant to appear at events in which his works are being discussed, but when he was invited by Peres to join a panel discussing writings and memory in the presence of the President's Literary Circle, he could hardly refuse. Oz and Peres have been friends for more than three decades. "Reading Oz, you get the feeling that the writer is wiser than you are," said Peres. "It doesn't happen too often."
"If Peres wrote to the extent that he reads, where would we writers be?" responded Oz.
There were several references by speakers to the president's excellent memory which is unusual in people of an advanced age. Peres attributed his memory to the fact that he reads a lot. "For me, reading is like entering an intellectual fitness room," he said. But the real test of memory came when actress Yevgenya Dodina recited a lengthy monologue from Oz's best selling A Tale of Love and Darkness in which she did such a marvelous take on his microbe-obsessed grandmother that Oz almost fell off the chair laughing. The crowd that filled the Beit Hanassi reception hall to capacity roared its approval.
EVERY NEW ambassador makes it his or her business to pay a visit to Yad Vashem, knowing that it is almost always on the schedules of heads of state and high-ranking government ministers who come to the country. Not as many diplomats get to visit Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot. Founded in 1949 by former partisans, ghetto fighters and Holocaust survivors, the kibbutz houses a museum that highlights Jewish heroism during World War II. Foreign Ministry Chief of Protocol Yitzhak Eldan accompanied 35 diplomats, including ambassadors, consuls-general and consuls from 19 countries, on a recent visit to Lohamei Hagetaot, where they met with some of the residents and heard the story of Holocaust survivor Havka Fulman-Raban, who was one of the founders of the museum and explained its emphasis on Jewish resistance to the Nazi regime, heroism during the Holocaust, the ability to rise from the ashes and start new lives here and most of all, the humanistic lessons learned from the Holocaust.
The diplomats also met with Jewish and Arab students from the Galilee who participate in Holocaust studies programs. Reactions to what they saw and heard were a mix of tears and awe.
"We were amazed and happy to discover the advanced technology used at the museum that approaches the Holocaust from a perspective different from the one to which we are used to, dealing with survival, revival and hope, as well the humanistic lessons that can be derived from the Holocaust," Slovenian Ambassador Boris Sovik told his hosts.
ALTHOUGH IT was mentioned only by the rabbi who recited the memorial prayers at the ceremony marking the 66th anniversary of the near-annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry, the occasion also marked the anniversary of the massacre of the Jews of Eishyshok, the town immortalized by one of its few survivors, Yaffa Eliach, in her There Once Was a World: A 900-year Chronicle of the Shtetl of Eishyshok. The focus at the Yad Vashem ceremony attended by Lithuanian Ambassador Darius Degutis and his wife and Minister for Diaspora Affairs Yuli Edelstein was more on Vilna, once known as the Jerusalem of Lithuania, because of the richness of its Jewish life.
The Vilna choir, composed largely of senior citizens, most of whom are Holocaust survivors, sang a series of Jewish songs that are usually associated with World War II. Those who complain that "The Partisans' Song," originally written and sung in Yiddish but sung in Hebrew at commemoration ceremonies at Yad Vashem, would have been happy to hear it in the original. The problem was that not everyone remembered the words. During the opening stanza, Michael Shemiavitz, chairman of the Association of Lithuanian Jews, motioned for everyone to stand up for this hymn to Jewish resistance. After completing the Yiddish version, the choir sang the song again in Hebrew - and this time everyone knew the words.
THE NORM is to give people celebrating their birthdays a gift. In the case of philanthropist Leonid Nevzlin, it was he who was doing the bulk of the gift giving. Nevzlin announced to some 350 guests attending his 50th birthday party at Beth Hatefutsoth that he was donating $6 million toward the establishment of the Museum of the Jewish People, which will chronicle the story of the Jewish people in a museum within a museum, in that it will be located at Beth Hatefutsoth on the Tel Aviv University campus.
Nevzlin is one of those philanthropists who believe in setting an example. He is chairman of Beth Hatefutsoth's international board of governors. Before he asks others to donate, he is putting up a hefty sum himself via the Nadav Fund which he founded with two partners. He is hoping that other philanthropists will come up with the balance that amounts to $18 million.
The $6 million gift which spearheaded a fund-raising drive follows previous generous donations which Nevzlin has made to Beth Hatefutsoth. Among the guests was Natan Sharansky who was there in a dual capacity - firstly as chairman of the Beth Hatefutsoth board of directors and secondly as chairman of the Jewish Agency. Unofficially he was there as a personal friend of the guest of honor.
ISRAEL RADIO'S Mickey Gurdus, who is the nation's eyes and ears, monitoring electronic media around the globe, was interviewed by Reshet Bet's Yitzhak Noy in a special program on the Yom Kippur War. Gurdus recalled that at that time he was one of the few people in the country who owned a television set and in the early days of the war, while watching Egyptian television, he was surprised to see a group of Israeli pilots who had been taken captive. He immediately contacted the powers-that-be in the IDF. Meanwhile the footage featuring the pilots was shown again and again. The IDF sent a team of still photographers to photograph the faces on the screen, and there was subsequent great delight when they were recognized. Some of them had been thought to have fallen in battle. The film footage confirmed that they were alive.
REGULAR GRAPEVINE reader Sarah Roth, who came from her native New York to Jerusalem 60 years ago and worked for several years as a public stenographer, was taken down memory lane when she read in last week's column about the 40th anniversary of the Jerusalem College of Technology, known as Machon Lev in honor of its founder, the late Prof. Zev Lev, an internationally known physicist.
When the typists at the Hebrew University could not cope with the overload of work, the professors would take their papers to the few public stenographers then working in the capital. Lev frequently took his to Roth - and not always during regular working hours. One night, he turned up at her home at 9 p.m. She had just managed to feed her family and put her children to bed, and she was ready for bed herself. But he insisted that she must type an abstract for him. Typing for a physicist in a pre-computer, pre-electric typewriter age was not easy, and Roth was somewhat surprised to find that this time, the paper did not include the usual calculations and equations. It was in fact the outline for JCT, the city's first institute of higher learning that combined talmudic learning with scientific studies and was obviously intended for fund-raising purposes.
"How are you going to sell this idea to anyone?" she asked Lev, who was known for rising in the predawn hours to study Talmud before going to the university. His formula was simple: "I'm going to tell the academics and secular people that it's going to be a university, and I'm going to tell the rabbis and other religious people that it's going to be a yeshiva."
Needless to say, it was a formula that worked, and JCT, whose students and alumni have come up some incredible inventions in a number of fields, including acceptable ways to circumvent halachic prohibitions, is one of the country's great success stories.
ECONOMIC CRISES notwithstanding, the name of Ofra Strauss, chairwoman of the Strauss Group, keeps cropping up on lists published by Forbes magazine that maintains tabs on the most powerful and wealthiest people primarily in the US but also around the globe. Strauss is the only Israeli included in the new Forbes list of the 50 most powerful women in business. She ranks 45th. However, as powerful as she is, Strauss has yet to be named in the Forbes list of billionaires. As far as women go, Shari Arison is still the only Israeli to be included in that list. In the list published last March, Arison was ranked 234 among the world's (male and female) billionaires, with an estimated fortune of $2.7 billion.
APROPOS ARISON, she has proved herself to be a loyal friend. After her spirited but fruitless defense of Dan Dankner, who eventually yielded to the pressures of the Bank of Israel and resigned as chairman of Bank Hapoalim, Arison appointed him CEO of the Arison Investment Group. That doesn't mean that he can put his finger back into the Hapoalim pie, but it does indicate to the Bank of Israel that Arison does not leave a wounded soldier in the field.
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THE JERUSALEM POST
EDITORIAL
TIME FOR A NEW DEPARTURE
YITZHAK KLEIN
Far from advancing his policy regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, President Obama's hastily cobbled-together summit in New York last week simply exposed that policy's weakness. Obama expressed impatience with "talking about talks," but that's exactly what Israelis and Palestinians will start doing this week.
In his address to the UN General Assembly, Obama reiterated his view that Israel and the Palestinians should wrap up their century-old conflict in the next two years, but his words merely served to underscore the increasingly evident gap between Obama's rhetoric and reality.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu can be justly proud of his management of Israeli-American relations since he entered office six months ago. At that time, Obama tried to position himself as, at best, equidistant between Israel and the Arab world. Since then Netanyahu has demonstrated that the Jewish democracy is far and away America's closest ally in the region, the most attuned to the values shaping American policy and the most willing to accommodate that policy within the constraints of Israel's own interests.
Nevertheless the time has come to put more distance between Israel's policy and an administration policy that clearly isn't working.
OBAMA'S SUMMIT will likely lead to endless talks, but not to genuine negotiations. The two sides are simply too far apart, starting with the fact that Israel recognizes the Palestinians' right to govern themselves but the Palestinians aren't prepared to concede an equal right to the Jewish people. Obama almost certainly cannot spare the time and political resources needed to initiate meaningful negotiations and nurse them along.
Given the slim prospects of the president's policy working, the most likely scenario is that the administration will quietly let Israeli-Palestinian relations slip into stalemate. The Palestinians will continue to avoid the necessary hard choices. George Mitchell will continue to discuss a settlement freeze, content that the freeze continues as long as discussions continue. This may serve Obama's and Mahmoud Abbas' short-term interests but it doesn't serve Israel's interests.
Israel has rights and interests in Judea and Samaria. The Oslo process, which began 16 years ago, was predicated on bracketing those rights and not insisting on them, in hopes that this would facilitate peace. This turned out to be a strategic mistake, as most compromises of principle are. It encouraged the Palestinians to believe they could get by without acknowledging Israel's rights, and could try to convince the world that Israel has no legitimate rights.
Israelis have an interest in bringing their conflict with the Palestinians to an end, but this interest isn't served by allowing the Palestinians to pretend that Israeli rights don't exist. Israel should be working to realize its rights and interests on a day-to-day basis. Its policy should be directed to achieving a settlement that accomodates them, which means making the Palestinians acknowledge them.
The first step is to note that there is a world of difference between claiming one has security interests in Judea and Samaria and asserting that Israelis are there by right. A good summary of Israel's rights can be found in Supreme Court Judge Edmond Levy's dissent in Gaza Coast Regional Council vs. Knesset (2005). Judge Levy's opinion is a fundamental Zionist document.
SEVERAL ISRAELI cabinet ministers are going on a coast-to-coast hasbara tour of the United States this fall, and they should emphasize Israel's rights, and not just its security concerns. They should prepare American public opinion to accept that Israeli policies based purely on diplomatic expediency have proved disastrous, and that henceforth its policies will be focused on asserting its rights.
The second step is to make clear to the Palestinians that they are going to have to acknowledge the Jewish people's legitimate rights - starting with their right to a sovereign state in Eretz Yisrael. Continued Palestinian intransigence should cost them dear in terms of assets and interests. Israel should make clear that Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria exist by right, that they are not about to disappear, and that they will continue to expand, on vacant public land and on privately owned Jewish land, until a treaty demarcating Israeli and Palestinian rights in Judea and Samaria is negotiated and signed.
Israel has promised the United States a "temporary settlement freeze" as a means of kickstarting genuine negotiations, and it should not go back on its word. But neither should it allow endless negotiations to turn a "temporary" freeze into a permanent one, freezing any real prospect of a resolution of the conflict.
Prime Minister Netanyahu should immediately declare the start of a six-month "freeze," excepting essential public buildings, in the settlements. At the end of that time, if the Palestinians have yet to come around, Israel should adopt a policy that asserts its rights while penalizing the Palestinians for not acknowledging them.
The writer heads the Israel Policy Center, whose mission includes reinforcing Israel's character as a Jewish, democratic state.
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THE JERUSALEM POST
EDITORIAL
IRAN'S 'NUCLEAR CARD' GAME
JOSH SIMON
After reading "Iran's North Korean Model" in The Jerusalem Post last week, I felt the need to expand on it. The editorial is absolutely correct in predicting the "enormous peril" the world faces by allowing Iran to continue on its path of nuclear proliferation. However, the Iranian leaders' decision to defy the world holds much greater peril to them than it did for North Korea, so it would be difficult to use the latter as a model. Take for example the most significant war of the past decade: Iraq. Yes, America currently has its hands tied with Afghanistan and Iraq, and this fact encourages Iranian defiance, especially if we assume that impotence is now the defining characteristic of American power.
But have we already forgotten that America invaded Iraq on the very pretext that it had the same capabilities as North Korea? Have we forgotten that prior to that, the invasion of Afghanistan was a result of the American decision to combat international terror? No.
Unlike North Korea, Iran has everything to fear from America, considering that it has already involved itself in the region militarily for less. The American-led invasion of Iraq was based on the belief that Saddam Hussein was holding weapons of mass destruction. Beyond that, however, the United States was solidifying a tactical position against Iran, the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism.
NO MATTER which strategy you choose to believe dictated American foreign policy at that time, both point directly at Iran. Indeed, fostering instability in Iraq, supporting global terrorism, and threatening America's closest ally on a daily basis, Iran represents a strategic threat to American regional interests (not to mention that Iran is OPEC's second-largest producer and exporter of oil). But Iran has greater ambitions than politicide, which would follow the launching of a nuclear warhead at Israel.
Religious fanaticism does not necessarily equal stupidity. Even though Barak Obama clings to his hopes of dialogue, he will soon find that the Iranian regime is not interested in befriending a superpower - but rather in becoming one.
This is actually nothing new. We haven't seen a real policy change in Iran vis-à-vis America in the past 30 years. Iran defied America outright with the kidnapping of US officials after the revolution in 1979, and articulated the intention of developing a nuclear program long before the Iraq War. Although I don't think the ayatollahs are willing to sacrifice their power for the sake of ideology, achieving regional dominance definitely plays a large part in the Iranian national agenda.
"The nuclear playing card," if it doesn't start a regional arms race, would allow Iran to fill a power vacuum in the region and fuel the fires of Islamist movements presently gaining steam in the Arab world. Ahmadinejad has already begun filling the spot from which Saddam was removed as leader of the country seen as best able to check Israeli regional hegemony.
One might argue that Arabs and Persians are not natural allies - neither are Sunnis and Shi'ites. So why is Iran championing the Palestinian cause while the 8% Sunni minority within its own predominantly Shi'ite borders remains oppressed? Because doing so is sure to garner support and embolden extreme elements.
Paradoxically however, this "common cause" will not help Arab regional dictators if Iran's plan to encourage Islamism comes to fruition. If extreme groups were to instigate or hijack a revolution (like the clerics did in 1979) within Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan or Saudi Arabia, the world order would experience a cataclysmic shift.
IF IRAN has learned anything from North Korea's success over the past 16 years, it is the power inherent in the nuclear card. Iran now has the opportunity to assume a leading role in the region; it only lacks the "respect" that a nuclear weapon would afford it.
If the West were to allow Iran this advantage, it would see the unprecedented rise of a regional hegemon that Russia and China would jump to ally themselves with, in addition to the empowerment of Islamist groups and the fall of what we consider "friendly regimes" or "benign dictators."
These types of changes tend to accompany wars, and this is the reason, even more than the possibility of an ideologically driven nuclear strike, that Iran's nuclear program places everyone in enormous peril.
The writer holds an MA in Israeli politics and society and works for a coexistence organization in Jerusalem.
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HAARETZ
EDITORIAL
NO ORDINARY COMPTROLLER
BY HAARETZ EDITORIAL
Former prime minister Ehud Olmert's trial opened at the end of last week in the Jerusalem District Court. The indictment does not ensure that Olmert - who was forced to resign when the noose of the investigation tightened around him - will be convicted; he is innocent until proven otherwise. However, it does show that the authorities believe there was good reason to pursue the investigation against the former premier. In this complicated matter, the determination of the State Comptroller's Office, headed by Micha Lindenstrauss, was just as important as the police investigations division, the state prosecutor and the attorney general. Sometimes it was more important.
Lindenstrauss' predecessors had a different, more institutionalized understanding of their job. State comptrollers who were appointed after they had retired from the Supreme Court communicated a subdued expectation that was divorced from the Israeli reality: that their findings would be accepted submissively by those under their review and help correct problems. But usually it turned out that comptrollers grumbled and the system ignored them.
Lindenstrauss, formerly president of the Haifa District Court, needed the support of politicians - i.e., Knesset members - to get his job, but if they presumed that as comptroller he would try to curry favor with them, they were mistaken. During his more than four years in office, Lindenstrauss changed the style of the institution of state comptroller, giving it an activist approach, which he discussed in his interview with Gidi Weitz and Tomer Zarchin in last weekend's Haaretz Magazine.
Critics of the state comptroller, of course, will disapprove of this approach; it should come as no surprise that they include people who came under his scrutiny and were hurt when their names came up in reports and even found themselves under police investigation. The cumulative result shows that Lindenstrauss was right in renouncing the model of the comptroller as a transient guest who may indeed spot every deficiency, but whose polite whispers do nothing to eliminate problems.
Israel is in a struggle over its moral and governmental image - an existential battle in which very powerful people fear for their status, and sometimes their freedom. They want to castrate the police, sterilize the state prosecutor's office, split the office of attorney general and teach the state comptroller a lesson. In order to ward them off and deter them, a strong, unified chain of law enforcement is required - one in which the comptroller's work, as it has been done in recent years, is a very essential link.
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HAARETZ
EDITORIAL
CRIES OF 'HOLD ME BACK' MAY LEAD ISRAEL TO STRIKE IRAN
BY ALUF BENN
Israel does not want to see Iran obtain a nuclear weapon. Israel also does not want a war with Iran that could become long and destructive. What can Israel do? It is faced with two strategies - one offensive, one preventive.
The offensive strategy calls for arming fighter jets that would bomb nuclear installations in Iran with the goal of delaying the development of the Iranian bomb by a few years. This is in the hope that the hiatus would continue indefinitely and the menacing project would be stopped in its tracks. The working assumption behind the offensive strategy is that "the world" has come to terms with an Iranian nuclear weapon and will not take action against it beyond verbal gestures devoid of content.
Those who favor bombing liken Barack Obama to Neville Chamberlain for the U.S. president's efforts to try to appease an Iranian Hitler. They believe that Israel must rely solely on itself and act alone, just as it did in 1981 against the Iraqi nuclear reactor and - according to foreign press reports - in 2007 against the Syrian reactor. A successful bombing is supposed to boost Israel's deterrent capability and restore its image as the region's strongest military power.
The drawback in the offensive strategy stems from its predictability. It is so predictable that Iran has made extensive efforts to neutralize it. The nuclear installations have been scattered and fortified against attack, and tens of thousands of Iranian missiles and rockets - which are capable of hitting Israel's population and commercial centers as well as its air force bases - have been deployed close by. The discovery of the uranium enrichment plant in Qom this past weekend highlighted the dilemma inherent in attacking Iran: Perhaps other sites have yet to be revealed, sites that serve as back-up installations for those that will be bombed. And who would dare attack a city considered one of the holiest in Shia Islam and risk a furious religious uprising throughout the region?
The preventive strategy strives to avoid a direct confrontation whose results are likely to be mixed and whose damage would be tangible. This strategy is designed to buy time while delaying the Iranian nuclear project until either the United States takes action or the regime in Tehran is weakened. The preventive approach's advantage is that it is cheaper than a war and allows for a confrontation with Iran without disrupting the normal flow of life in Israel, save for a larger defense budget. Yet preventive measures alone cannot prevent Iran from getting the bomb, and its success depends on external factors - the extent of American determination and the Iranian opposition. The preventive route also exacts a price at home because it is a nerve-racking process. The actions are covert in nature, creating the impression that the government is doing nothing to save Israel from this awful danger.
So far Israel has chosen the alternative - preventive diplomatic steps. Advocates of this approach say that it has succeeded in delaying the Iranian bomb by a few years at a low diplomatic and security cost to Israel. Yet its usefulness is gradually eroding as Iran gets closer to the bomb. Under these circumstances, Israel is trying to show that its patience is wearing thin. It is trying to persuade others that if "the world" does not act, it will embark on war against Iran on its own. To strengthen the credibility of the message "Hold me back," a strike force has been amassed while the military preparations are being reported in the foreign press with unprecedented frequency. The force buildup is also important for deterrent purposes in the event Iran obtains nuclear weapons, the Americans attack its nuclear installations and Israel bears the brunt of a counterattack.
Yet as the buildup continues, the temptation to use force grows. As Israel becomes more self-confident, its rhetoric escalates and the domestic pressure "to show them" - or as the prime minister likes to say, "not to come out suckers" in light of the infuriating, incendiary speeches of Iran's president - swells. This is the Iranian paradox: Creating an offensive option does not widen the government's room to maneuver. Rather, it narrows it while pushing Israel to abandon the preventive strategy and to attack.
In recent months, it seems Israel's preventive strategy is paying dividends. The Iranian regime has lost some of its strength following the rigged presidential election and subsequent repression of the opposition, while Obama has taken a tougher public stance against Iran. It is in Israel's interest to see both trends gain momentum - Iran's weakening and America's determination. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's challenge in the coming months will be to withstand the burgeoning pressures to attack Iran, keep his composure and not become frightened at his own speeches warning of "a second Holocaust" while adhering to the preventive strategy. This is the most effective way, one that will give incentive to the West to rein in the Iranians without risking harm to Israel.
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HAARETZ
EDITORIAL
AJAMI'S LEGACY
BY AVIRAMA GOLAN
First it should be said that the film "Ajami" is a masterpiece by any standard, and it rightfully garnered the Wolgin and Ophir prizes for best film. It is surprising, gut-wrenching, fascinating, shocking and brimming with humanity; written and shot wisely; directed and acted meticulously and powerfully; and accompanied by an excellent score.
But another amazing achievement is not obvious: The film that will represent Israel to the world is in Arabic and was directed and written by two Israelis, an Arab and a Jew. One feels like shouting for joy.
Voices are already being heard denouncing the "bleeding-heart Tel Avivians" who voted for the film or others criticizing Scandar Copti for daring to collaborate in writing and directing the screenplay with Yaron Shani, who is Jewish.
Some people will certainly depict this pair of directors as an attraction, and some will push them to come out politically based on the preference of the people doing the pressuring. If viewers throughout the world only ignore all those empty manipulations and vote for the film with their wallets.
They should, because while "Ajami" is a sophisticated detective story, it also manages to contain, in the terse way characteristic of great art, not "only" the complexity of life in Jaffa's hardscrabble streets among Arabs between themselves and Arabs from other places, but also the complexity of the loaded encounter between Jews and Arabs, Muslims and Christians, and Arabs from Israel and their relatives in the territories. All are shown multidimensionally.
"Ajami" is a courageous film. It is neither obsequious nor ingratiating, arrogant nor cynical. It is merciless and painful, but at the same time, and perhaps because of this, it is human and full of compassion. Therefore the viewer's heart goes out equally to the mother of the Arab hero from Jaffa, to the "illegal resident" boy from Nablus who gets into trouble because of his dying mother, and to the tough Jewish cop who appears to take pleasure in hating Arabs.
Make no mistake: the film is not apolitical. In fact, it is very political, but deals with a much deeper question than "who is right, Jews or Arabs?"
Its political power is in daringly revealing - never before seen in an Israeli film, and perhaps in no other Israeli art form - the mud into which all of Israeli society is sinking: Jews and Arabs alike, but Arabs more so, and poor Arabs most of all.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict flows, as in reality, through the plotlines, but the directors do not use it even for a moment in the usual boring way.
What crazy dissonance. On the one hand Israel will be represented in the world with a superior Jewish-Arab film, with Arabic dialogue and Arabic music, created in Jaffa only 62 years after the Jaffa elite left, followed by the flight and expulsion of many others, leaving the city bereft of its splendor. Yet the film was chosen precisely at a time when an evil spirit is growing stronger, bearing on its wings the Netanyahu-Lieberman government in whose name Israel's Arab citizens are being shoved aside into a shadowy corner.
And as if completely ignoring this spirit, soaring above it and even having mercy on it, the film presents itself simply as an Israeli story, taking place in the quintessential Israeli reality, and speaking an Arabic that exists in one place only - in Israel, because it is an Arabic mixed with Hebrew expressions.
This film is a depressing, hopeless tragedy, but at the same time a human comedy in which people melt into each other, like the words.
This is the reality of the film, and it is indeed reality. Not wild incitement representing the Arabs as a fifth column. Rather, Arabs who were born here before and after the establishment of Israel, who are part of it and are not going away. They are indeed Palestinians, bitter over the existence of the State of Israel, but they are Israelis and citizens of the state, like every Jew.
Now one may only hope that these two talented directors will win international accolades, because they deserve it. Perhaps, in the spirit of the film, we can dream that Israeli society might someday slough off the ethnocratic paranoia that is consuming the foundations of its existence, recognize the great richness in the mixture of the Jewish and Arab cultures, and instead of violence and hatred, bring forth creativity.
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HAARETZ
EDITORIAL
THE THIRD THREAT
BY GABRIEL SIBONI
Ever since its establishment, Israel has had to deal with the threat from the Arab states. At first the Arab countries put together a military force with the aim of conquering Israel. In the face of this physical threat, Israel developed a doctrine of building a force that allowed it to thwart the invasion attempts. When the enemy realized that their approach was not effective, the doctrine of "resistance" was constructed, combining activity by states and organizations.
This doctrine is backed by the developing of teams to send steep-trajectory weapons from civilian areas into population centers in Israel. Since this threat was identified, defense officials have been working to answer it. The Second Lebanon War and Operation Cast Lead are part of the process of formulating that answer.
In recent years, however, an additional threat has been developing. Its main thrust: attempts by pro-Arab organizations to destroy Israel's legitimacy as a political entity. There are many examples of this such, as accusations of an apartheid policy, Holocaust denial and the claim that the state's establishment was an illegal act, as well as accusations that Israel has committed war crimes. These lead to boycotts of Israeli companies and products, academic and cultural boycotts and ultimately calls to destroy the Zionist entity.
This threat is different from the previous ones - its characteristics are not physical and the areas of action are the countries of the world and their citizens. But it combines with the physical threat in an attempt to delegitimize the Israeli response to the Hamas threat. The Goldstone report, which constitutes part of it, is creating an infrastructure that supports the filing of suits abroad against top officials in the army and defense establishment. In fact, it is possible to see the two elements of the threat, the physical and political, as two parts of a complete action against Israel.
The Defense Ministry has led the development of a response to the changing military threat to Israel. However, the threat of delegitimization is not getting the attention it needs; it is not clear who bears the overall responsibility for dealing with this and putting together a complete response doctrine. In fact, if we accept the argument that the two threats, the physical and political, are two parts of a single threat, no one out there is looking at the picture with an overall strategic vision.
The government's decision makers have to understand that the attacks on Israel's political legitimacy are not a mere drip but a flood. The danger that this attack will in the future influence decision makers in the international community must not be ignored. To take preventive action, we must set up a framework to examine the threat and develop a comprehensive response. It seems that in the structure of the regime here, the most suitable place is the National Security Council, which can get help from the defense establishment, the Foreign Ministry, the authorities responsible for public relations, world Jewry and pro-Israel organizations.
During its existence, Israel has been able to create a suitable response to the changing military threat. However, a response to the delegitimization of Israel also depends on the development of a strategic outlook with respect to another important factor: the faith of the country's citizens in our national existence in this land, regardless of political disagreements. Various pro-Arab bodies in the world are trying, with some success, to confuse some of the people of this country and damage their basic belief in the Jews' right to a national home in Israel. Deepening the belief in the justice of our national existence here is one of the main tools for thwarting this plot.
The writer is head of the military research program at the Institute for National Security Studies.
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HAARETZ
EDITORIAL
HOW WE DIDN'T DEFEAT OBAMA
BY YEHUDA BEN MEIR
There is great rejoicing in the settler camp and among its supporters on the right. As they see it, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defeated U.S. President Barack Obama in an arm wrestling match when, at the tripartite summit, the latter had to retreat from his demand for a total settlement freeze. The settlement freeze, say the settlers, is off the agenda and the danger of American pressure from the school of Barack Hussein Obama has vanished from the earth.
And so, they chortle, it has been proved that when Israel stands up proudly for its rights, even the president of the United States cannot knock it down. One settler leader has even written in this newspaper that now it is clear there is "no uprooting of settlements and no restriction on their growth." This euphoria reflects extraordinary political myopia. There is nothing surprising about that - the right and left in Israel have always been characterized by political shortsightedness and an unwillingness to see reality properly. More worrying is that similar things are coming from circles close to the prime minister. Hopefully he is intelligent enough not to get caught up in this dangerous illusion.
True, Israel did win a tactical advantage. This happened for two reasons. One was the prime minister's intelligent conducting of the negotiations with the Americans; he showed a willingness to be flexible and meet Obama part of the way there. The second was the presentation of extreme and uncompromising positions by the Palestinians, who as usual shot themselves in the foot - or in fact, both feet.
The prime minister did not take the advice of some of his ministers who urged him to reject Obama's demand outright. Instead, he adopted the late Menachem Begin's ironclad rule to the effect that we don't say "no" to the Americans but rather "yes, but." The Palestinians, however, have not managed to understand that unlike them, serious countries - including the United States - know the wisdom of compromise. Nonetheless, anyone who thinks the game is over and that they can eulogize Obama is making a serious mistake. The world order has not changed at all. Israel's dependence on the United States has not disappeared; indeed, it is increasing every day.
It is well worth remembering that today, as in the past, the only thing between us and an imposed solution - a real danger to Israel - is the American veto in the United Nations Security Council. The special relationship with the United States and the strategic understandings between the two countries are now more important to Israel than ever. Talk about Obama's weakening standing is also unrelated to reality. Obama is dealing with many difficult challenges in domestic and foreign policy, and like every president after several months in office, the euphoria of the first days after his election has disappeared and his popularity ratings are dropping. But he is U.S. president for three more years, or perhaps even seven more years - a president elected with an impressive majority who enjoys a solid majority in both houses of Congress.
The issue of the settlements and continued construction there is not off the agenda. Most of the world understands that a right of return for the refugees runs totally contrary to the idea of two states for two peoples.
Most of the world, including most of the Jewish people, also understands that Jewish settlements scattered along the length and breadth of Judea and Samaria totally contradict a solution of two states for two peoples - a solution that Benjamin Netanyahu has himself adopted.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES
EDITORIAL
SIGNS OF LIFE IN FINANCIAL REFORM
Financial regulatory reform, which seemed to be lagging one year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, has gotten a new boost of energy. Unfortunately, Americans still cannot be sure it will produce real reform.
On the plus side, Representative Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, recently issued proposed legislation for a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, a step forward for one of the Obama administration’s main reform initiatives.
In near daily hearings, the committee also has heard compelling proposals that would alter, and strengthen, the administration’s overall reform plan. Last week, Paul Volcker, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve who is now a White House economic adviser, suggested ways to reduce risk-taking by banks that are stricter than those recommended by the Treasury.
Separately, Senator Christopher Dodd, the chairman of the Senate banking committee, has also differed with the administration. He has proposed merging the four main bank regulators into one regulatory body. He also wants a lesser role for the Fed in a reformed system. (The administration, in contrast, has proposed to keep the current regulatory regime largely intact and to give the Fed enhanced power to oversee and, if necessary, restructure or close big banks and financial firms.)
Also last week, the Group of 20 world leaders pledged to develop international rules by the end of 2010 in such crucial areas as capital requirements for banks, the orderly resolution of troubled too-big-to-fail institutions and the regulation of derivatives.
But there are still signs that major differences could stall or derail the reform effort.
To get preliminary agreement on a new consumer protection agency, for instance, Mr. Frank had to drop a provision that would have allowed the agency to require banks and other financial firms to offer so-called plain-vanilla products, like 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages, in addition to whatever more complex loans they offer.
The agency, as currently envisioned, would still be robust. It has the ability to create incentives that would encourage the provision of plain-vanilla products, for example, by charging reduced oversight fees to firms that offer simpler loans. In the proposed legislation, the agency also has broad power to stop products and practices that are unfair, deceptive or abusive.
But the change, which the White House readily accepted, is disturbing because it is an early sop to banks whose ultimate aim is to block the creation of a consumer protection agency, or, failing that, to ensure that it would have no real power. Early concessions in the House mean that it will be up to the Senate to retain the other safeguards in the proposal. Unfortunately, the White House’s willingness to fight for a strong agency and Democrats’ ability to deliver are both in doubt.
Similarly, neither the White House nor Congress seems interested now in limiting the riskiest activities of commercial banks, as Mr. Volcker suggested. Rather, the emphasis is on more oversight of too-big-to-fail institutions and creating new legal tools to take control of them if they are in imminent danger of collapse.
The big banks, which have only gotten bigger and more powerful since the financial crisis, prefer that approach. But it may not provide the best protection to taxpayers who are in harm’s way from banks that engage in high-risk capital market activities, such as equity and derivatives trading. The administration and its Congressional supporters have yet to make a strong case that the system can be made substantially safer with behemoth banks. Lawmakers need to consider alternatives.
The administration and Congress deserve credit for renewing momentum toward new rules and regulations for the financial industry. The real test is whether they will channel that momentum in ways that assert the interest of the public above the interests of the banks.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES
EDITORIAL
TALKING WITH MYANMAR
President Obama has decided to open talks with Myanmar’s repressive government. Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, met in New York on Tuesday with Myanmar’s United Nations envoy and a member of the government cabinet — the highest-level meeting between the two governments in many years.
We have no affection for the ruthless military junta that has denied its citizens the most basic freedoms and has kept Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, under house arrest for 14 of the last 20 years. On Monday at the United Nations, Myanmar’s prime minister, Gen. Thein Sein, again brushed aside calls for Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s release.
But talking is not a concession. And if handled skillfully, it might lead, in time, to positive change.
The Clinton and Bush administrations imposed tough sanctions and refused to talk until the junta released Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi and 2,000 other political prisoners and made other political reforms. The punishment-only approach hasn’t worked. Nor has the engagement-only approach of Myanmar’s neighbors. Washington has now decided to give negotiations a try while keeping sanctions in place.
There are issues the two governments can discuss, including ways to curb the drug trade in Myanmar, recovering the remains of American servicemen from World War II and addressing suspicions about Myanmar’s alleged nuclear dealing with North Korea.
We agree that sanctions, including a ban on investment in Myanmar’s mineral resources, should remain until the dialogue yields significant progress — including freeing Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi and letting her and her political party, the National League for Democracy, participate in next year’s general elections. The lifting of penalties can be calibrated according to whatever steps, if any, the junta takes.
Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi has endorsed the idea of limited engagement, but she has insisted that both the junta and the United States talk with the opposition as well.
The junta is hoping the elections will legitimize its hold on power. But there are others who argue that, with the right outside pressure, it could provide some political opening. Washington must make clear that the election will have no credibility at all unless the opposition, and its leading voice, can participate.
Change is unlikely to come quickly to Myanmar. But President Obama is right to try to nudge the process forward with limited engagement.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES
EDITORIAL
WAY BEHIND THE CURVE
The United States Chamber of Commerce’s Web site says the group supports “a comprehensive legislative solution” to global warming. Yet no organization in this country has done more to undermine such legislation.
In the last Congress, the chamber attacked the rather modest Lieberman-Warner bill, with a Harry-and-Louise-style commercial. This year, it testified against the House-passed bill limiting greenhouse gases, and it is almost sure to oppose a similar measure that will be introduced this week in the Senate.
The chamber has now declared war on the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to use regulatory means to control emissions — beginning with one official’s ill-advised (and since apologized-for) demand for a “Scopes monkey trial” questioning the science behind the agency’s preliminary finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health.
Some responsible chamber members are so fed up that they are quitting. First out the door was Pacific Gas & Electric, the big California utility whose chief executive, Peter Darbee, last week lambasted the chamber’s “extreme rhetoric and obstructionist tactics.” Two other big utilities, PNM Resources and Exelon, also announced their intention to leave the organization for similar reasons. While stopping short of quitting, Johnson & Johnson has criticized the chamber’s actions.
Some suggested that this was little more than a marketing strategy. It may indeed be good marketing, but most of all it is smart business.
These companies are members of the United States Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of businesses and environmental groups that early this year came up with a plan for limiting emissions that helped shape the House bill. They see a carbon-constrained world coming and want to get out ahead of the curve — not behind it like the chamber.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES
OPED
THE POLANSKI CASE
Roman Polanski was arrested on Saturday at the Zurich airport on an American-issued warrant. But to hear the protests from the French, the Poles and other Europeans, you might have thought the filmmaker was seized by some totalitarian regime for speaking truth to power.
“Judicial lynching,” said Jack Lang, the former French culture minister. “Absolutely horrifying,” echoed the current French culture minister, Frédéric Mitterrand. “Provocation!” shouted Andrzej Wajda and other Polish filmmakers. From across Europe, nearly 100 representatives of the entertainment industry, including Pedro Almodóvar and Wim Wenders, signed a petition declaring themselves “dismayed” by the arrest, especially since it happened at the time of the Zurich Film Festival.
But hold on a moment. After being indicted in 1977, didn’t Mr. Polanski, now 76, confess to having sex with a 13-year-old girl after plying her with Quaaludes and Champagne? Didn’t he flee the United States when the plea bargaining seemed to fall apart, raising the prospect of prison time? Isn’t there a warrant for his arrest?
There was something strange about the Swiss deciding to arrest the director now, after having let him freely move in and out of the country for three decades. And a 2008 documentary by Marina Zenovich, “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired,” raised some troubling questions about the bizarre way a celebrity-hungry judge in California, Laurence Rittenband, handled the case.
Yet where is the injustice in bringing to justice someone who pleads guilty to statutory rape and then goes on the lam, no matter how talented he may be?
In Europe, the prevailing mood — at least among those with access to the news media — seemed to be that Mr. Polanski has already “atoned for the sins of his young years,” as Jacek Bromski, the chief of the Polish Filmmakers Association, put it.
We disagree strongly, and we were glad to see other prominent Europeans beginning to point out that this case has nothing to do with Mr. Polanski’s work or his age. It is about an adult preying on a child. Mr. Polanski pleaded guilty to that crime and must account for it.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES
OPED
ON SAFIRE
BY MAUREEN DOWD
During the Clinton impeachment circus, I walked by William Safire’s lair.
He had an imposing office in “murderers’ row,” as he dubbed the hall where we worked, full of English antiques, Oriental rugs and a couple of old ties he kept for those rare moments when he needed one.
He was sitting in an armchair reading that bodice-ripping best seller, The Starr Report.
“There’s a word here I don’t know,” said The Times’s wordsmith. “What is a thong?”
I flushed and stammered that it was a scanty panty with a string for the back. His hazel eyes glinted with curiosity.
Trying to elucidate, I blurted: “Maybe you’re thinking of thong sandals, where thong is an adjective. With Monica, it’s used as a noun.”
He smiled. “It’s like a G-string,” he said. “That brings back memories of some clubs I went to as a young man in Union City, N.J.”
Bill Safire was anything but a nattering nabob of negativity. He had none of the vile and vitriol of today’s howling pack of conservative pundits: Limbaugh, Beck, Coulter and Malkin.
Even though we disagreed on the Iraq war, he chastised me only once about it, for writing that Cheney & Co. had shoehorned all their “meshugas” about Saddam’s W.M.D. and Al Qaeda links into Colin Powell’s U.N. speech. “Mishegoss,” he wrote in his language column, would have been a better spelling of the word.
One of my proudest moments was when I proved to him that “jade” could be a noun referring to a woman, citing Edith Wharton’s “The Gods Arrive.”
He walked with a Walter Matthau shamble, and he always dressed down in tweeds, earth tones and Hush Puppies. But there was a natural elegance about the guy.
Married to the gorgeous English rose Helene, he was a man who loved women; his novels, even the one about the founding fathers, were full of zesty sex scenes.
He told me the story of how when Barbara Walters worked for him at the famous New York P.R. company of Tex McCrary, back in the “Mad Men” era, he wanted to loosen up Barbara, who was very serious. So one Christmas he gave her a sheer black shorty nightgown with matching panties.
“Today I would have had to take him to Human Resources,” she recalled dryly. “But then, I loved it.”
When he learned that my mom shared his love of weird head meats, he would buy tongue sandwiches from
Loeb’s Deli to send home to her.
He had a rough time with his transition from the Nixon White House to The Times. He told me that many of the liberal reporters stiffed him for the first couple of years until he dove into a pool to save a drowning child at an office party.
When I became his “colleague in columny,” as he called me, we shared a bathroom, and I teased him for being the one who kept hair spray there.
He always had interesting advice.
“Put a phone in your office that doesn’t go through the switchboard,” he told me.
If White House officials wouldn’t call you back, leave them a single-word message about what you wanted to talk about: “Malfeasance.”
I saw him having lunch once in the ’80s with Bert Lance, the former Carter official. I asked him afterward why he was hanging out with the Georgian he had eviscerated; his columns on Lance’s irregular banking practices had won him a Pulitzer Prize in 1978 and lost Lance his job. “Only hit people when they’re up,” he told me.
The only time I ever saw a shred of doubt was after the famous dust-up when he wrote that Hillary Clinton, then the first lady, was “a congenital liar.”
A congenital pot-stirrer, he acted delighted with Bill Clinton’s subsequent threat to punch him in the nose. But, as a famous expert on etymology, he must have known he had used the wrong word. Congenital usually connotes a condition existing at birth. Was that really what he intended?
Shortly after that happened I went into his office to talk to him. He wasn’t there, but I noticed a piece of paper on a table on which he’d written two words: “chronic” and “habitual.” A rare case of Safire second thoughts.
He would have appreciated the fact that his obits ran on Yom Kippur. He had a famous dinner every year at his home in Chevy Chase, Md., to break the fast that gathered many of the city’s most influential players.
Curious, I pestered him for years for an invite. He patiently explained it was just for Jews or people who were, or had been, married to Jews.
After years of pleading, including many protestations that I had had Jewish boyfriends and that I would one day find a Jewish husband, he broke down and let me come.
He was a mensch. And that’s no mishegoss.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES
OPED
WHERE DID ‘WE’ GO?
BY THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
I hate to write about this, but I have actually been to this play before and it is really disturbing.
I was in Israel interviewing Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin just before he was assassinated in 1995. We had a beer in his office. He needed one. I remember the ugly mood in Israel then — a mood in which extreme right-wing settlers and politicians were doing all they could to delegitimize Rabin, who was committed to trading land for peace as part of the Oslo accords. They questioned his authority. They accused him of treason. They created pictures depicting him as a Nazi SS officer, and they shouted death threats at rallies. His political opponents winked at it all.
And in so doing they created a poisonous political environment that was interpreted by one right-wing Jewish settler as a license to kill Rabin — he must have heard, “God will be on your side” — and so he did.
Others have already remarked on this analogy, but I want to add my voice because the parallels to Israel then and America today turn my stomach: I have no problem with any of the substantive criticism of President Obama from the right or left. But something very dangerous is happening. Criticism from the far right has begun tipping over into delegitimation and creating the same kind of climate here that existed in Israel on the eve of the Rabin assassination.
What kind of madness is it that someone would create a poll on Facebook asking respondents, “Should Obama be killed?” The choices were: “No, Maybe, Yes, and Yes if he cuts my health care.” The Secret Service is now investigating. I hope they put the jerk in jail and throw away the key because this is exactly what was being done to Rabin.
Even if you are not worried that someone might draw from these vitriolic attacks a license to try to hurt the president, you have to be worried about what is happening to American politics more broadly.
Our leaders, even the president, can no longer utter the word “we” with a straight face. There is no more “we” in American politics at a time when “we” have these huge problems — the deficit, the recession, health care, climate change and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — that “we” can only manage, let alone fix, if there is a collective “we” at work.
Sometimes I wonder whether George H.W. Bush, president “41,” will be remembered as our last “legitimate” president. The right impeached Bill Clinton and hounded him from Day 1 with the bogus Whitewater “scandal.” George W. Bush was elected under a cloud because of the Florida voting mess, and his critics on the left never let him forget it.
And Mr. Obama is now having his legitimacy attacked by a concerted campaign from the right fringe. They are using everything from smears that he is a closet “socialist” to calling him a “liar” in the middle of a joint session of Congress to fabricating doubts about his birth in America and whether he is even a citizen. And these attacks are not just coming from the fringe. Now they come from Lou Dobbs on CNN and from members of the House of Representatives.
Again, hack away at the man’s policies and even his character all you want. I know politics is a tough business. But if we destroy the legitimacy of another president to lead or to pull the country together for what most Americans want most right now — nation-building at home — we are in serious trouble. We can’t go 24 years without a legitimate president — not without being swamped by the problems that we will end up postponing because we can’t address them rationally.
The American political system was, as the saying goes, “designed by geniuses so it could be run by idiots.” But a cocktail of political and technological trends have converged in the last decade that are making it possible for the idiots of all political stripes to overwhelm and paralyze the genius of our system.
Those factors are: the wild excess of money in politics; the gerrymandering of political districts, making them permanently Republican or Democratic and erasing the political middle; a 24/7 cable news cycle that makes all politics a daily battle of tactics that overwhelm strategic thinking; and a blogosphere that at its best enriches our debates, adding new checks on the establishment, and at its worst coarsens our debates to a whole new level, giving a new power to anonymous slanderers to send lies around the world. Finally, on top of it all, we now have a permanent presidential campaign that encourages all partisanship, all the time among our leading politicians.
I would argue that together these changes add up to a difference of degree that is a difference in kind — a different kind of American political scene that makes me wonder whether we can seriously discuss serious issues any longer and make decisions on the basis of the national interest.
We can’t change this overnight, but what we can change, and must change, is people crossing the line between
criticizing the president and tacitly encouraging the unthinkable and the unforgivable.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES
OPED
LIFTING IRAN’S NUCLEAR VEIL
BY GARY MILHOLLIN AND VALERIE LINCY
THE disclosure of Iran’s secret nuclear plant has changed the way the West must negotiate with Tehran. While worrisome enough on its own, the plant at Qum may well be the first peek at something far worse: a planned, or even partly completed, hidden nuclear archipelago stretching across the country.
The Qum plant doesn’t make much sense as a stand-alone bomb factory. As described by American officials, the plant would house 3,000 centrifuges, able to enrich enough uranium for one or two bombs per year. Yet at their present rate of production, 3,000 of Iran’s existing IR-1 centrifuges would take two years to fuel a single bomb and 10 years for five weapons. This is too long a time frame for the American assessment to be feasible. To build one or two bombs a year, Iran would have to quadruple the centrifuges’ present production rate. (While this feat is theoretically within the centrifuges’ design limits, it is not one Iran has shown it can achieve.)
Perhaps Iran was planning to install more efficient centrifuges at the plant, like a version of the P-2 machine used by Pakistan. These could fuel a five-bomb arsenal in just over a year. But while we know Iran has tested such machines, there is no evidence that it can make them in bulk.
Regardless of the machines used, it would take a couple of years at the front end to get them installed. Iran would be looking at three to five years of high activity at the site, during which the risk of discovery would skyrocket.
Clearly, the new plant makes more sense if it is one of many. If Iran built a second plant of the same size as the Qum operation and ran them in tandem, the production times described above could be almost halved. And if Iran had a string of such plants, it would be able to fuel a small arsenal quickly enough to reduce greatly the chance of getting caught. This would also limit the damage if one site were discovered or bombed, because its loss might not affect the others. Such a secret string of plants, however, would probably require a secret source of uranium. Intelligence agencies have been looking for such a source; the Qum discovery should be a signal to increase their efforts.
The Qum plant might also be linked to Iran’s known enrichment plant at Natanz, which is under inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Natanz has a stockpile of uranium that is already enriched partway to weapon-grade. By feeding this uranium into the new Qum plant, Iran could fuel one bomb in about seven months, even at the present low production rate. If the rate were quadrupled, as Washington is projecting, the plant could fuel a five-bomb arsenal in less than a year.
But because the Natanz plant is being watched over by international inspectors, diversion of its material would probably be detected. The question is whether Iran might chance it, deciding that its production rate was high enough to give it a nuclear deterrent before other countries could organize a response to the diversion.
Having begun the Qum plant to supply a bomb’s fuel, wouldn’t Iran also create what’s needed to produce the rest of the bomb’s components? This means laboratories to perfect nuclear weapon detonation and workshops to produce the firing sets, high-explosive lenses and other necessary parts. Although there is plenty of suspicion that such sites exist, Iran has not admitted having them.
All must be found. When talks begin in Geneva tomorrow, there should be little concern with the formerly dominant question of suspending enrichment at Natanz. Rather, Iran must be made to produce a complete map of its nuclear sites, together with a history of how each was created and provisioned.
This means getting access to scientists, records, equipment and sites. It is a lot to ask, and we may not have the leverage to get it. But anything less will provide no protection against what we now know is Iran’s determination to build the bomb.
Gary Milhollin directs the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control. Valerie Lincy is the editor of Iranwatch.org.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES
OPED
WHY ARREST ROMAN POLANSKI NOW?
BY ROBERT HARRIS
FOR more than two and a half years I have been working almost continuously with the director Roman Polanski, first on a screenplay of my novel “Pompeii” — which was never made — and then on a movie of another of my books, “The Ghost,” which was shot earlier this year. I have never collaborated with anyone more closely.
So when, just before lunch on Sunday, the news broke that Mr. Polanski had been arrested overnight at the Zurich airport on an outstanding warrant relating to a conviction for sex with a minor back in the 1970s, my first response was to feel almost physically sick. Mr. Polanski has become a good friend. Our families have spent time together. His daughter and mine keep in regular touch. His past did not bother me, any more (presumably) than it did the three French presidents with whom he has had private dinners, or the hundreds of actors and technicians who have worked with him since 1977, or the fans who come up to him in the streets of Paris for his autograph.
My second response, when the shock wore off, was to wonder, why now? I have worked several times with Mr. Polanski in Switzerland, where he owns a house in Gstaad. He travels back and forth from France a dozen times a year. If Mr. Polanski is such a physical danger and moral affront to civilized society that he must be locked up, even at the age of 76, why was he not picked up earlier, when he was 66, or 56 — or even 46? It would not have been hard to grab him at his home: his name is on the doorbell.
To answer this question the Los Angeles County district attorney, Stephen L. Cooley, has issued a “timeline” purporting to show the numerous efforts made by his office to have Mr. Polanski arrested. In fact it reveals precisely the opposite: how half-heartedly the case has been pursued since 1978, when Mr. Polanski fled the United States. On only five occasions — right at the outset, when he flew to London; in 1986, when it was rumored he might visit Canada; in 1988, when it was suggested he might be headed to Brazil, or elsewhere in Europe; in 2005, when he went to Thailand; and in 2007, when he visited Israel — do overseas authorities seem to have been contacted by the district attorney with specific information about his presence. This is hardly a red-hot manhunt.
Mr. Cooley’s office maintains that Mr. Polanski’s visit to the Zurich Film Festival over the weekend was different. It offered a unique opportunity to seize him, the office says, because officials knew for the first time precisely where he would be, and when. But Mr. Polanski was always heading off to film festivals and award ceremonies when I worked with him. To take only one example, his appearance at the Turin Film Festival last November had been advertised across the Internet since the February before. In other words, the district attorney had nine months’ notice of where he would be and when.
So it seems fair to deduce that the capture of Mr. Polanski — who has never been accused of similar offenses before 1977 or since — was an understandably low priority for the California criminal justice system, a system so short of money, that a court ordered it to release 40,000 convicts early because of prison overcrowding.
I suspect that this peculiar standoff — of sporadic, bureaucratic twitchings to remind the world that Mr. Polanski was still a fugitive, but no serious attempts at arrest — would have continued had it not been for Marina Zenovich’s 2008 documentary, “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired.” As it happens, I was with Mr. Polanski — in Switzerland, in fact — last year when the documentary was first shown at the Sundance Film Festival. We were having dinner when Mr. Polanski’s agent, Jeff Berg, rang to say he had just seen it. He conveyed good news: the film was unexpectedly favorable to the director, revealing just how bizarre had been the judge’s handling of the original case.
For Mr. Polanski, this was a moment of triumph. However, by a terrible irony, it was also at this moment that the seeds of his present predicament were sown. He thought he could settle the matter at last, and his subsequent, vigorous legal attempts to have the case against him closed — supported, remarkably, by his victim, Samantha Geimer, the one person who comes out of this affair with her dignity enhanced — clearly infuriated Mr. Cooley. Legal authorities the world over loathe being publicly criticized. After the arrest was announced, Mr. Cooley declared that Mr. Polanski “has been trying to get it resolved on his terms, but it’s going to be on the terms of the Los Angeles County justice system.”
It sounds very much as though Mr. Polanski became overconfident, both in the rightness of his own cause and in the safety of Switzerland as a refuge — a country that after the credit crisis suddenly seems to be much more eager to cooperate with international authorities. Its volte-face on its famous guest has drawn understandable contempt and Mr. Polanski, in his cell, now has plenty of time to ponder the limits of Swiss hospitality.
I make no apology for feeling desperately sorry for him. The almost pornographic relish with which his critics are retelling the lurid details of the assault (strange behavior, one might think, for those who profess concern for the victim) make it hard to consider the case rationally. Of course what happened cannot be excused, either legally or ethically.
But Ms. Geimer wants it dropped, to shield her family from distress, and Mr. Polanski’s own young children, to whom he is a doting father, want him home. He is no threat to the public. The original judicial procedure was undeniably murky. So cui bono, as the Romans used to say — who benefits?
Robert Harris is the author of “Fatherland” and, most recently, “The Ghost.”
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I. THE NEWS
EDITORIAL
AND NOW QUETTA
A terrible notion has been put forward by a British newspaper. It suggests officials in Washington may be planning drone strikes on Quetta – to target key militants who they believe are based there. The story suggests this idea was discussed with the Pakistani team that has been visiting the US. It has been met at home with shock. The spectre of aerial strikes over a major city is simply unthinkable. Perhaps this is a result of Islamabad's failure to oppose the Predator strikes in our tribal areas. It is a well-established fact, for all the official denials, that the flights that have brought death to some militants – but also many innocent people – where tacitly backed by successive governments. According to reports in the western media, there was an agreement to make a lot of noise but do nothing in more concrete terms to stop the unmanned aircraft. It is this that seems to have led to the new and still more audacious proposal to take out targets in a heavily populated area.
Our interior minister has denied the presence of Afghan Taliban leadership, including Mullah Omar, in Quetta. The problem is that the government has little credibility. We must also ask what it has done itself to track down key militant figures who many believe remain in Pakistan. Had our own security forces apprehended some of them, the case for drone attacks might have been considerably weakened. Pakistan's request that they be carried out as joint operations is in fact an acknowledgement that they have been successful. The strike that killed Baitullah Mehsud is a prime example of this. But the expanded use of drones presents an enormous risk to all of us. Some intelligence insiders say the Taliban have been deliberately moving leaders to cities to try and keep them safe. By doing so they put all of us at greater risk. The US must be told there can be no drone strikes over heavily populated areas. Pakistan must voice the strongest opposition to this and dissuade Washington from finalizing a strategy for which the people of the country would never forgive it and indeed their own government.
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I. THE NEWS
EDITORIAL
EVIL ON THE STREETS
We hear of many appalling acts in our society. Few are as horrifying as the incident that took place in Phoolnagar near Kasur – where a mob forced three women to walk naked on the streets. There is worse to come: police registered a case against the women for allegedly running a brothel. None was registered against the men who stripped and humiliated them. Presumably the police, and other people in the town, stood and watched passively as this happened. It is obvious that influential individuals were involved. The women say the union council nazim wanted to take possession of their house and instigated the action against them. This is easy to believe. It is of course also a telling reflection on our society that while the women were targeted in so terrible a fashion for their alleged involvement in prostitution, no attempt was made to punish the men who must necessarily be a party to any such racket. The question of prostitution is irrelevant. Regardless of whether or not a business existed, what was done to the women is unacceptable. It is unacceptable in any civilized society; it is especially unacceptable in one that calls itself Islamic. Such acts suggest it has no right to call itself that.
Letting the perpetrators go scot-free is one way of ensuring that other women will be made to suffer in exactly the same way. So far the criminals have not been touched. The local police have made it clear whose side they are on. The message has gone out to everyone. Only now that orders have come from higher places will any effort be made to bring the perpetrators to book. The possibility though is that they will be allowed to escape as the spotlight switches away. We must not allow this to happen. As citizens we must speak up against this atrocity.
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I. THE NEWS
EDITORIAL
DOING BUSINESS
As the case of the Pakistani family accused of smuggling heroin to Saudi Arabia in their slippers moves to a convoluted resolution; we find that their return hinged around us handing over to the Saudis the sons of a Yemeni who was the alleged mastermind behind the attempt to kill Saudi Deputy Interior Minister Prince Mohammad bin Nayef in Jeddah last month. The Yemeni is said to be the Al Qaeda leader 'Alawi' and his two sons were living in the Pakistan tribal areas. It is alleged that Saudi officials hinted to Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik during his recent visit to KSA that the release of the 'innocent' Pakistanis could be hastened by a little fraternal assistance in the matter of the apprehension of two men the Saudis would very much like to get their hands on. Our own intelligence agencies traced the two men, detained them and took them to Islamabad. They were briefly interrogated and then taken to Saudi Arabia. It is perhaps appropriate to point out that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia do not have an extradition treaty – and neither of the two men had at the time of their rendition to KSA been charged with any offence committed on Saudi soil. Normal protocol would dictate that a national of another country would have had to have committed a cognizable offence before their extradition was sought – but as no treaty of extradition exists between our two states such niceties exist purely in the realms of theory.
This already curious case just got a little curiouser. The alleged smugglers were detained in the KSA in early June. They had been either coerced or tricked into carrying the heroin-adulterated slippers by their travel agent, who along with his wife is now in our custody. Prime Minister Gilani had already made representations to the Saudis on behalf of those arrested in the last week of June. There followed a period of quiet until the announcement in the last few days of the deal that has led to their release. Are we now to assume that if there are any other persons of interest to the Saudi authorities that they will be handed over to them by us without so much as a demurral? Are we so beholden to the KSA that they can bid us that we move at their behest to detain and transport any person from within our borders, be they Pakistani nationals or of any other state? Fraternal assistance is one thing, extraordinary rendition outside of a legal framework quite another.
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I. THE NEWS
EDITORIAL
KERRY-LUGAR BILL: THE FRUITION OF 62 YEARS
MOSHARRAF ZAIDI
$1.5 billion a year does not measure up well against the per capita assistance that Uncle Sam has provided for countries like Jordan, Georgia, Egypt and Israel. Nevertheless, America's friendship with Pakistan is entering a new and exciting phase. The Kerry-Lugar Bill signals a dramatic shift in how American power seeks to engage with Pakistanis. While even moderate Democrats in Washington DC are alarmed by how many Cold War bunnies President Obama has in his diplomatic arsenal, it is also true that the Obama people have a fundamentally different worldview than the one that motivated the actions of the Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal of the Christian Taliban. Rest assured, the era in which that gang of neocon torturers and war-profiteers was allowed to sleep serenely in beds that Gen Musharraf and his enablers made for them is over.
Reading the Kerry-Lugar Bill exposes several pleasant realities. Its analysis of Pakistan's development challenges is succinct, to the point and reasonably comprehensive. The depth of analysis in the bill indicates genuine American interest in serious Pakistani issues. Moreover, given the lamentable efforts of Pakistani governments to document its own development priorities (who can forget the PRSP fiascos?), the bill represents a very good summary of the country's development challenges. Finally, to the abiding credit of American democratic institutions, the Kerry-Lugar Bill is a well-crafted document that makes no secrets of its motivations.
Section 3 of the bill is titled Findings, and is a list of the issues that motivate the bill. There are a total of 12 findings. Findings 1 and 2 are platitudinous expressions of the US-Pakistan friendship, and the $15 billion that the US government invested in the Gen Musharraf regime. Finding 3 recognises the importance of the February 18, 2008, election. Findings 4 through 9 focus on Al Qaeda, the Taliban and FATA. Findings 10 and 11 contain statistics about poverty and the economy in Pakistan. Finally, Finding 12 recognises the IDPs crisis caused by the May 8 Swat offensive. Nine of the twelve findings specifically refer to the Taliban, Al Qaeda, security, terrorism and/or FATA. Only one finding mentions the word poverty. This is not an accident. The Kerry-Lugar Bill is an American legislative measure designed to pursue American interests.
The bill's three main sections further clarify the purpose and method that will define the engagement of American power with Pakistan. The first is focused on Pakistan's traditional development challenges, titled, "Democratic, Economic and Development Assistance for Pakistan" and has up to $1.5 billion associated with it. The second is titled "Security Assistance for Pakistan" and does not specify how much money is available, but does define a new era in US-Pakistan military relations. Most importantly this section delinks American support for Pakistani national security from the military, and places the control of any support provided with democratically elected civilian governments. This is a marked departure from the laissez faire rental agreements made by American governments and the Pakistani military under Musharraf with the Bushies, and under Zia, with the Bushies' ancestors in the Reagan White House.
The final section, and the one of most interest from a purely development perspective, is titled "Strategy, Accountability, Monitoring and Other Provisions". This section details a complex set of planning, reporting, auditing and accounting documents that are designed to ensure that Pakistan uses the money it is given in accordance with the wishes of the US Congress -- a fine and noble cause given that it is their money. The Kerry-Lugar Bill's rather detailed set of accountability instruments will, however, if American bureaucrats are not careful, paralyse the mobility of almost all of the $1.5 billion a year.
The Kerry-Lugar Bill calls for the production of at least three major, macro-level strategic documents that will double as budgeted work-plans, to be presented to relevant committees of the US parliament. The secretary of state must produce a Pakistan Assistance Strategy Report within 45 days of the bill's passage, and a Security-Related Assistance Plan Report within 180 days of the bill's passage. The US president must produce a Comprehensive Regional Strategy Report for submission to the relevant committees within 180 days of the passage of the bill. This last document, the regional strategy, seems to have been inspired by the president's book titled "The Audacity of Hope", seeking as it does, ways by which not only Pakistan, but Afghanistan and India too can be made more secure, through the Kerry-Lugar Bill assistance money.
Six months after the secretary of state's Pakistan Assistance Strategy, Madam Secretary, or her predecessor, in concert with the secretary of defence, will be required to submit the first Semi-Annual Monitoring Report. Every six months thereafter, they will be required to produce one of these reports. If they ever make it to the public domain, these will be chart toppers at Amazon and on the New York Times' best sellers' lists.
The semi-annual reports will not only detail expenditure and achievements, but will also include an evaluation of efforts by the government of Pakistan to "disrupt, dismantle, and defeat Al Qaeda, the Taliban", "eliminate safe havens", close "Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camps", "cease all support for terrorist groups", "prevent attacks into neighbouring countries", and "close madressahs linked to the Taliban".
It gets better. In addition to evaluating Pakistan's performance along these lines, the report will also describe Pakistan's anti-proliferation efforts, assess whether US assistance is enabling Pakistan to spend more on nukes, and finally, assess the extent of civilian government control over the military, including "oversight and approval of military budgets, the chain of command, the process of promotion for senior military leaders".
It may be an understatement to suggest that these requisite documents will exact a heavy toll on an already-stretched US bureaucracy in Pakistan. What is more worrying is that each new diplomat will require several individuals to help protect his or her life. Those 'protectors' will not be from among the Islamabad Traffic Police. They will be drawn from a pool of private contractors, hired through the State Department's Worldwide Personal Protective Services (WPPS) contracting vehicle.
The WPPS, as anyone who has read Jeremy Scahill's exceptional book about Blackwater will know, is a bit of a problem. The hullabaloo over Blackwater's presence in Pakistan is not a conspiracy theory. It is a very legitimate concern about the use of mercenaries that are immune from the law. Blackwater may or may not be present in Pakistan -- but its ilk, most definitely are. Among these, DynCorp's presence here has already been verified, thanks to the now infamous Pakistani sub-contractor named Inter-Risk.
Other mercenary companies, such as Triple Canopy, Xe, and Richard Armitage's CACI will eventually be deployed in Pakistan because protecting an army of bureaucrats will require several armies of mercenaries.
Of course, a lot of this is a reflection of the Pakistani state's failure to protect guests when they visit this country. Over the last eight years American diplomats have been bombed (Karachi and Islamabad), ambassadors have been killed (Czech Republic at the Marriott), and journalists and engineers beheaded on camera (Danny Pearl and Piotr Stanczak).
The Kerry-Lugar Bill is a bitter pill that Pakistan's strong and resilient people must swallow because they have repeatedly been failed by both their military dictators and their civilian megalomaniacs. True proof of the very different planet that the Pakistani elite inhabit drips from Farahnaz Ispahani's pen in a lionisation of her government published in the Huffington Post on Saturday, and this paper, just yesterday. Says Ms Ispahani, "Pakistan stands perhaps in the strongest diplomatic position in its sixty-two year history". How's that for a punch-line?
The writer advises governments, donors and NGOs on public policy. He can be reached through his website www.mosharrafzaidi.com
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I. THE NEWS
EDITORIAL
A VISIT TO AMERICA
ZAFAR HILALY
Just as everyone was wondering what exactly Mr Zardari had achieved during his six-day sojourn in America, Farhatullah Babar came to our rescue and told us, in a long press release, "the six tangible achievements" of the visit. Unfortunately, he quickly lost his claim to our attention when he described Mr Zaradri's entirely forgettable, pedestrian effort of a speech at the UN, or the one at the donors meeting as an "impassioned plea," for Pakistan. The UN speech, in particular, had the same effect as being flogged by a warm lettuce. Its only virtue was that it was brief.
The foremost "achievement", according to Farhatullah, was the passage of the Kerry-Lugar Bill in the Senate. In fact, what probably assured the passage of the bill, with some of the objectionable conditionalities diluted, was not Mr Zardari's presence but the heroic effort of the Army in reclaiming Swat, Pakistan's unique importance in the American scheme of things for the region and the desperate straits in which America finds itself in Afghanistan and also some intense lobbying by the White House team led by Ambassador Holbrook. Mr Zardari, no doubt a very clubbable man, did well to keep out of these efforts. His reputation precedes him and tends to irk rather than assuage most American senators.
The second success of the visit listed by Farhatullah, the setting up of a Trust Fund, had nothing to do with Mr Zardari or his presence in America. Actually, entrusting the moneys meant for Pakistan to a Trust Fund rather than the government, and that too operated by the World Bank, is a sad reminder that the donors prefer to retain the release and use of the funds in their own hands. It is not, they imply, that corruption exists in Pakistan, it exists elsewhere too, but here it exists without indignation.
The third accomplishment ascribed to Mr Zardari's shining presence in New York was the appointment of an International Energy Coordinator on how best to assist Pakistan on energy projects. Actually, the decision to appoint such a coordinator had been taken considerably prior to Mr Zardari's arrival. At best Mr Zardari's supplications may have led the coordinator to advance the date of his visit to Islamabad, which is hardly something to be touted as a major achievement of the visit. Besides, the American coordinator will no doubt, and naturally enough, hope to divert as many purchases needed by Pakistan to American suppliers. Earning goodwill and money for America must be a dream appointment for which America hardly needed Mr Zardari's persuasive skills to appreciate or to agree.
The fourth achievement for which Mr Zardari's visit has been credited is the assistance pledged by the Australian prime minister, the agricultural scholarships, the ADB Fund, etc. These are, in fact, the usual kind of measures, purely cosmetic when set off against the actual amounts required, that the west and western-dominated international financial institutions invariably adopt to dole out allies in distress. One sympathises with Farhatullah: he has been reduced to scraping the barrel to discover "achievements" for the visit.
The fifth achievement, the mere listing of which is embarrassing, is a sad commentary on where matters have reached in Pakistan. It would have been best not listed at all. To claim that "aid flows and projects will be made only with the endorsement of the government of Pakistan" suggests that they could have been made without our consent, but for Mr Zardari's presence in New York. It is a mind-boggling assertion which, had it been true, would suggest that Pakistan has absolutely no control over what projects are implemented in Pakistan or how much money is expended on them. We may as well then formally hand over the control of our economy to foreigners. If Mr Zardari prevented that from happening, then we are indeed indebted to him. Moreover, the people should also be informed why, had Mr Zardari not intervened, the world is of the view that the economy is beyond the government's competence to handle, let alone fix.
As for the sixth achievement concerning gains made during UN sideline meetings with such illustrious and universally unknown personages as the foreign minister of this or that country, or others of equivalent station, this too invites the comment as to why a president like Mr Zardari should even condescend to meet them. Or did other presidents at the UN not have time for him? The point is that such routine meetings hardly warrant mention, to say nothing of their being projected as a source of pride and attention.
One recalls one such meeting that our UN mission had fixed in 1996 for Benazir Bhutto with the president of Uganda. The meeting lasted about twenty tiresome minutes. Benazir was not sure why they had needed to meet. She asked me the reason why the Ugandans had been so insistent. "Well," I recall replying, "it seems, Prime Minister, that the President wished to gawk at you."
Before Mr Zardari left for his visit to America he would have done well to heed what Mrs Gandhi once said: "A nation's strength ultimately consists in what it can do on its own, and not in what it can borrow from others." A political philosopher described the Third World, though what he probably meant was Third-worldism, "as not a reality but an ideology." It is indeed a dispiriting mindset, an emblem of ignorance, incompetence and failure, indeed what else when we end up living on what we can borrow from others. It's an ideology, alas, which seems to have us in its grip. To emerge from it we need a different vision of ourselves. But who will provide it?
The writer is a former ambassador. Email: charles123it@hotmail.com
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I. THE NEWS
EDITORIAL
IT'S ULTIMATELY THE CITIZENS
ROEDAD KHAN
In Pakistan, as in all federations, the Supreme Court plays a crucial role. It is the sole and unique tribunal of the nation. The peace, prosperity, and very existence of the federation rest continually in the hands of Supreme Court judges. Without them, the constitution would be a dead letter; It is to them that the Executive appeals to resist the encroachment of Parliament; the Parliament to defend itself against the assaults of the Executive; the federal government to make the provinces obey it; the provinces to rebuff exaggerated pretensions of the federal government, public interest against private interest, etc.
It is our misfortune that from the country's first decade, our judges tried to match their constitutional ideals and legal language to the exigencies of current politics. The superior judiciary has often functioned at the behest of authority and has been used to further the interests of the rulers against the citizens. Their judgments have often supported the government of the day. This was their chosen path through the 1950s and during the martial law periods of the 1960s and 1970s. When the history of these benighted times comes to be written, it will be noted that the superior judiciary had failed the country in its hour of greatest need. Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry broke with past tradition and changed all that. The nexus between the generals and the superior judiciary has snapped. An era of the Supreme Court's deference to the Executive has given way to judicial independence. In the darkest hour in the history of our country, Fate had found the man who had the character, the will and determination to speak truth to the military dictator.
One of the lessons of history is that when people lose faith in their rulers, when rulers lose their credibility and integrity, and when hunger and anger come together, people sooner or later, come out on the roads, and demonstrate Lenin's maxim that in such situations, voting with citizen's feet is more effective than voting in elections. That is what happened on March 15, 2009. People everywhere in Pakistan took to the roads and set out on the historic long march to Islamabad. The world witnessed the "power of the powerless." March 15 was the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve, to put their hand on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day. Today, thanks to Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, the "black coats," the media and the civil society, hope is sweeping Pakistan.
The euphoria following the restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other deposed judges soon gave way to the sobriety of the "morning after." Today disillusion is fast setting in. People are getting impatient and are asking questions. The poor, the disadvantaged and the voiceless believe the reborn Supreme Court is on their side and expect redress of their grievances not from the Parliament, not from the Presidency, not from the prime minister, but from an unelected and unaccountable Supreme Court!
What they don't realise is that the power of the Supreme Court is limited. The Presidency and the rubberstamp Parliament are not in harmony with the spirit of the times. Mr Zardari has lost the "mandate of heaven" and is leading this country to a perilous place. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is a mere figurehead and exercises only delegated authority. The president, the prime minster and the Supreme Court are not on the same wavelength at a time when a revolutionary change, both political and economic, is not only needed but would appear to be inevitable.
The Supreme Court is under the Constitution but "the Constitution is what the judges say it is." This gives the Supreme Court awesome power but that power is limited by the doctrine of the separation of power enshrined in the Constitution. The court has the power to decide what the law is, but it cannot make law: that power vests in the legislature. It can invalidate any law. It can strike down any law as being void or unconstitutional, but it cannot legislate. It can mete out justice but it has to be justice in accordance with law. Not otherwise.
On Sept 29, 2005, John Roberts was sworn in as chief justice of the US Supreme Court. At one point in the confirmation hearings he was asked, "Are you going to be on the side of the little guy?" Roberts replied: "if the Constitution says that the little guy should win, the little guy is going to win in court before me. But if the Constitution says that the big guy should win, well, then the big guy is going to win, because my obligation is to the Constitution."
It would, therefore, be naïve to depend on the Supreme Court alone to defend the rights of poor people, women, minorities, workers and peasants, and dissenters of all kinds. These rights only come alive when citizens organise, protest, demonstrate, strike, boycott, rebel, and violate the law in order to uphold justice.
The American Constitution gave no rights to working people: no right to work less than 12 hours a day, no right to a living wage, no right to save working conditions. No right to treatment by a doctor when in need. No right to a place to live. The Supreme Court was helpless. Workers had to organise, go on strike, and defy the law, the courts, and the police to create a great movement to win an eight-hour workday, and cause such commotion that Congress was forced to pass a minimum-wage law, social security, and unemployment insurance.
Women's right to abortion did not depend on the Supreme Court decision in Roe vs Wade. It was won before that decision by grassroots agitation that forced states to recognise the right. The rights of working people, women, and black people have not depended on decisions of the courts. Like the other branches of the political system, the courts have recognised these rights only after citizens have engaged in direct action powerful enough to win these rights for themselves.
Our culture – our history, the media, the educational system – try to crowd out of our political consciousness everything except who will be elected MNA or MPA, as if these were the most important decisions we make. They are not. They deflect us from the most important job citizens have, which is to energise democracy by organising, protesting, sharing of information, and engaging in acts of civil disobedience that shake up the system.
No Supreme Court can stop the war in FATA or abolish poverty or educated unemployment or redistribute the wealth of this country or establish free medical care for every citizen or provide the roti, kapra, makaan promised by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto long ago. These revolutionary changes depend on the actions of an aroused citizenry. A bloodless revolution, but a mighty revolution – that is what we need today.
Much water has gone down the Indus since March 9, 2007. Today the good news is that General Musharraf has been hounded out of office and thrown into the dustbin of history. The bad news is that Mr Asif Ali Zardari, his "democratic" successor, seems to have entered into a Faustian bargain with the Americans to pursue their agenda, with disastrous consequences for the country. What can the Supreme Court do? That is the question. God protect us all.
The writer is a former federal secretary. Email: roedad@comsats.net.pk, www.roedadkhan.com
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I. THE NEWS
EDITORIAL
SELF-PROPELLED REVIVAL EFFORT
MASOOD SHARIF KHAN KHATTAK
Rather than each passing day bringing some relief to a starved nation all essential aspects of Pakistani national life remain in a retrogressive motion with no end to the sufferings of the teeming millions in sight. It is time that Pakistan truly started believing in itself and began to revive itself as a dignified nation with all its national goals clearly defined and pursued in a determined manner.
It is time we stopped living like ostriches hiding our face in the sand and believing that all is well. It is time that we realised that Pakistan today confronts dangers of all sorts. Without a doubt, Pakistan possesses a remarkably patriotic population but it is time to realise that there is a growing discontent amongst this very patriotic population that has been rendered hungry, unemployed, exposed to dangers of lawlessness besides being deprived of the right to self-rule at the local and provincial levels.
It is time to remove our earplugs and listen to the loud and clear voices of dissent emanating from the dry, parched and rugged mountains of Balochistan and find instant remedies. Those of us who have been to inner Balochistan would be forced to agree with the voices of Balochistan that are today crying hoarse over the step-motherly treatment that they have received over the past sixty two years.
It is also time to realise that the Pakhtuns have had to suffer excessive bloodshed over the last thirty years in order to serve the interests of the free world and Pakistan itself. It is time to realise that the Pakhtuns have been denied, for too long, their right to quality education and a general developmental uplift that would give them closer-to-home employment as well as access to other social and health services. The sense of patriotism with which the Pakhtuns have suffered endlessly for the sake of Pakistan should be saluted by all Pakistanis.
Being a Pakhtun myself, I am confident that I would be voicing the sentiments of all Pakhtuns when I say on their behalf to the whole wide world that it is time that everyone started treating the Pakhtuns as a people who are moderate, peaceful, progressive, hospitable and non-violent till they are provoked. On behalf of the Pakhtuns, I invite anyone from anywhere in the world to point out one single terrorist action anywhere in the world in which even one Pakhtun was involved. Yet, the international war on terror has folded itself, almost entirely, into the Pakhtun belt of Afghanistan and Pakistan bringing extreme miseries to the Pakhtuns which includes endless bloodshed.
The war must now be brought to an end, especially so since it is already eight years old, in a manner that brings lasting peace and rapid development to the Pakhtun areas and all present day animosities are finally buried and enemies become friends like it has happened in post-World War II Europe. Prolonged violence will be in no one's interest. Many military commanders and administrators of western origin and presently in Afghanistan also openly subscribe to a changed strategy aimed at bringing the war in Afghanistan to a peaceful end.
There is no doubt today that it is the Pakistan Army that is keeping the pieces together through its apt handling of a very adverse situation in the NWFP. The patriotic Pakhtuns and the Pakistan Army have together kept things intact. If the Pakhtuns were not patriotic Pakistanis or the Army had been rendered ineffective Pakistan would have suffered a crippling blow to its integrity. Both aspects complement each other so let all of Pakistan stand up and give the Pakistan Army and the Pakhtuns patriotism a standing ovation and pledge to make a self-propelled revival effort.
Digesting all that has been said about the adverse situation being faced by Pakistan today any true Pakistani would realise that although late it is, as yet, not too late to stand up for Pakistan and get counted in these difficult times. The poor Pakistanis who can hardly afford a simple meal in these days of extreme dearness have been vainly looking up towards those who matter to step down from their high pedestals and stand in line with them to sacrifice so that Pakistan can be helped out of the dire straits that it is sailing through.
No amount of conditional or unconditional loans will ever be able to buy us our self respect, dignity and honour. No one in the world is going to ever treat Pakistan with the respect that is due to a sovereign state unless we ourselves decide to come to our own rescue without begging for crutches.
Pakistan is a nation that will literally eat grass and even the poorest of the poor would contribute towards a self-propelled national revival effort if led from the front. Add to this the remittances of the large number of Pakistanis living and earning abroad who are ready to sacrifice, provided they are confident of a genuine self-propelled revival effort, and Pakistan would get back on its feet slowly but surely. Thereafter, there will never be a comeback to this sad impasse which we today face if we bring about a complete political restructuring of the state.
The writer is a former director-general of the Intelligence Bureau and former vice-president of the PPP Parliamentarians. Email: masoodsharifkhattak@gmail.com and www.sharifpost.com
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I. THE NEWS
EDITORIAL
LESSONS IN DISASTER
THE WRITER IS A FREELANCE JOURNALIST WITH OVER TWENTY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL REPORTING
ANJUM NIAZ
Will Obama and Zardari face failure should there be a clash between COIN and COTE? The naysayer - from military intelligence spooks down to doctoral candidates and research fellows in prestigious Washington think-tanks; from counter-insurgency (COIN) and counter-terrorism (COTE) experts to newspaper columnists and editors in America – paint a doomsday scenario in either case. Damned if you bomb Al Qaeda in Pakistan and damned if you don't. Obama's vice-president and COTE advocate Joe Biden wants none of civilian wooing of Pakistanis and Afghans; less American soldiers on ground and more Predator bombings in Pakistan - instead of US spending $30 in Afghanistan for every $1 in Pakistan for its counterinsurgency campaign to defeat the Taliban, reverse the order and bomb the hell out of Al Qaeda in Pakistan he says. But dissenter McChrystal, a top US commander in Afghanistan warns of failure should Obama not send more soldiers, writes Bob Woodward in Washington Post based on a planted Pentagon leak. The general wants another 40,000 US troops in the war region. Bruce Riedel, the man who invented the 'Af-Pak' word also wants US to stay for the long haul.
Obama is caught in Catch-22. Previously, he hoped that COIN would tame the Taliban and rout the region of terrorism. But today, he's not sure as conflicting views come out of his administration. "Pakistan is the nuclear elephant in the room," Obama is being reminded.
"You can exile a man, but not kill the idea; you can imprison a man, but not kill the idea; you can kill a man but not kill the idea," Benazir Bhutto told Tom Ridge months before her assassination. Tom was George Bush's top homeland security czar after 9/11. He has now come out with a book The test of our times. The "idea" that Benazir Bhutto spoke about was Al Qaeda. It's time now for America to convince the Muslim population that terrorism and Bin Laden are their worst enemy, says Tom. Apart from quoting the late Ms Bhutto, he's at a loss to suggest a viable solution. On the day Zardari met with Obama in New York, the New York Times had a front-page story on how the Taliban headquartered in Quetta were launching sophisticated attacks across Afghanistan. The story had no timeline. It was based on a classified American intelligence report leaked to the Times. As always the timing of such leaks to the US media is ominous. It's meant to put pressure on Pakistan.
Then Christina Lamb of The Sunday Times came with her own story – this one had a Washington dateline -- saying that the Americans were threatening to bomb Quetta in order to target Mullah Omar and the Taliban leadership which they insist is hiding there. Lamb, who is writing a book on Benazir Bhutto and enjoys easy access to Asif Zardari, wrote: "The problem is that while the government of President Asif Zardari is committed to wiping out terrorism, Pakistan's powerful military does not entirely share this view." She quoted sources as saying that the ISI were supporting the Taliban and protecting leaders in Quetta. "Western intelligence officers say Pakistan has been moving Taliban leaders to Karachi. US officials have even discussed sending commandos to Quetta to capture or kill the Taliban chiefs before they are moved."
Shaheen Sehbai gave his take from Washington: "President Zardari and his aides are confident that they have conquered Washington and will return to Pakistan triumphant in the glory of becoming the darling of the West." A "disgruntled" member of the Pakistani delegation is quoted by Sehbai as saying, "This (euphoria) is the misguided vision of a few bloated visionaries in the president's camp and they will soon find out the heat of these unacceptable conditions when they return to Pakistan." The PPP spokesman (whoever he/she be?) has chastised Sehbai for his comments and called him a "doomsday prophet" and a "pessimistic mind reader" (whatever that means?).
Sameer Lalwani (whom I initially mistook for a Pakistani) has released his assessment of Pakistani capabilities for a counterinsurgency (COIN) campaign. The MIT doctoral candidate argues that the COIN campaign in Pakistan can be a disaster. "The fundamental point I have tried to make in this report is that US strategy in the region has operated under the implicit assumption that Pakistan is or should be closely aligned with US interests, when in fact, my read - based on this assessment - is that Pakistani strategic interests diverge," Sameer said in an email message to me. "This seems to have less to do with duplicity and more to do with fundamental limits in capabilities and military doctrine. In other words, it seems to me Pakistan is caught between a rock and a hard place and any move it makes is bound to have both political and strategic blowback. I don't think this has been properly understood by US political and strategic community."
The idea behind his extensive panoptic work is to encourage America to re-evaluate its strategy towards Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. His doctrine calls for political over military solutions; population security over enemy targeting; ground forces over airpower, and small-rather than large-force deployments for missions such as patrols, intelligence gathering, and development assistance. However, while Pakistan is committed to a COIN campaign, according to Sameer, the Pakistani military, so far, has conducted a campaign that runs nearly counter to all these prescriptions. "This is primarily because of a military doctrine that is rooted in a persistent fear of a superior Indian army threatening the Pakistani core."
And what are the obstacles?
Pakistan needs to deploy between 370,000 and 430,000 more troops to conduct COIN operations in the FATA and NWFP. Even if it tried raising the number, it would take 2-5 years to raise and train the requisite forces for a counterinsurgency programme. Moreover, the demographic and topographic terrain of the tribal area encourages a protracted insurgency challenging the powers of the military forces deployed in the area. In addition Pakistan needs to recruit and manage more than 100,000 men in local militias to assist in holding areas that have been cleared of insurgents as in Swat. Even piecemeal development in the region, says Sameer, would be questionable, given the realities of the Pakistani economy. More fundamentally, reform would require undermining the power of the country's existing elites and land-owning classes, which dominate the political scene. Pakistan's limited resources would necessitate substantial US and western military aid, assistance in training, and economic support to wage a COIN campaign. "Pakistan's reliance on American support to conduct a COIN campaign and offset its disadvantages actually could prove counterproductive, intensifying public resentment, further eroding morale, and strengthening militant recruitment and cohesion," says Sameer Lalwani.
Sameer like Christina Lamb and others believes that the Pakistan Army and Zardari are not on the same page. This serious concern gets aired often by analysts abroad and at home.
Postscript: Zardari went to Rome to meet the flamboyant Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, notorious for his sexual romps and racist comments. This is the second time he has made politically incorrect comments on the Obamas. Silvio told a cheering crowd on his recent return from the US, "I bring you greetings from a person who is called...a person who is sun-tanned...Barack Obama… You wouldn't believe it, but they go sunbathing at the beach together - his wife is also sun-tanned." One hopes billionaire Berlusconi didn't pull in our president in publically settling his personal scores…here's another lesson in disaster - wholly different from COIN and COTE- stay clear of loose cannons!
Email: aniaz@fas.harvard.edu & www.anjumniaz.com
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I. THE NEWS
EDITORIAL
TO FORGIVE IS DIVINE
MIR JAMILUR RAHMAN
In 60 years of Pakistan's life four army chiefs have staged successful coups occupying the country for different spans ranging from three to 11 years. The first coup-maker, Ayub Khan, left the high chair in the face of rising agitation and Yahya Khan's ambitions. The second coup-maker, Yahya Khan, agreed to resign when he saw the mounting anger and unrest writ large on the faces of people and soldiers in the aftermath of Pakistan's break-up. The third coup-maker, Gen Ziaul Haq, was lifted to heavens before he could be made answerable for his misdeeds, including the hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and lashing of journalists and political workers. The fourth coup-maker, Gen Musharraf, who made history by imposing not one but two martial laws, second against his own regime, resigned rather than face impeachment and Article 6.
Civil society and the PML-N have strongly demanded the trial of Gen Musharraf under Article 6 of the constitution, which states that whoever abrogates or subverts the constitution shall be guilty of high treason. Musharraf is a fit case for trial for treason. Prime Minister Gilani seemed to agree with the demand but put forth an impossible condition for its acceptance that parliament should vote unanimously for Musharraf's trial, making it obvious that the government was not in favour of a trial. Just a few days before Eid President Zardari made the startling revelation that resignation of President Musharraf was the result of a settlement reached between the government and Gen Musharraf and guaranteed by international and local powers.
The revelation might be startling but the deal reached with Gen Musharraf was not a novelty. Before him Ayub Khan had resigned following a settlement between him and army chief Gen Yahya. Yahya got the power and the Field Marshal went home peacefully. Yahya Khan was reprieved for breaking the constitution and the country in exchange for his resignation. Gen Zia escaped the trial by leaving this world in a hurry. Gen Musharraf resigned on terms and conditions guaranteed by the government and the other powers -- international and local.
President Zardari intensely believes in politics of reconciliation. His latest move in this respect is to establish a truth commission under Asma Jahangir, the well-known human rights activist, as was done by Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Zardari dislikes confrontational politics. He is not a flamboyant speaker but he does get across to awam, though not to drawing room politicians who abhor him. He wants the nation to stop looking backwards because that slows down its march to a better Pakistan. Hence, in his perception it would be a waste of time to try Gen Musharraf. He believes and practises the old adage: 'to err is human, to forgive is divine'.
It has come full circle in the moon-sighting matter. Until Ayub Khan came on the scene, it was the government that announced when to celebrate Eid. But almost every year there was dispute whether the moon had been sighted. The government overcame this recurring problem by establishing a Ruet-e-Hilal Committee that consists of senior ulema. This year the NWFP government refused to accept the committee's decision and celebrated Eid a day earlier than the rest of Pakistan. This triggered an exchange of bad words between the committee and NWFP ministers.
Is it incumbent on a country that all its Muslim population celebrate Eid the same day as a mark of unity? I don't think so. The US, Russia or Canada could never have Eid the same day because of over six-hour distance between its west and east coasts. Ulema before establishing Eid as a force for unity should try to observe iftar and sehri at the same time all over Pakistan.
Email: mirjrahman@hotmail. Com
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PAKISTAN OBSERVER
EDITORIAL
TAKE DREADED KERRY-LUGAR BILL TO PARLIAMENT
IT is a sheer diplomatic fiasco that the Government miserably failed to persuade Americans to drop highly objectionable and humiliating conditions attached to the original Kerry-Lugar Bill, which were obviously included on the insistence of anti-Pakistani lobbies and are there in the final version albeit with change of wording. It is because of this that the bill that promises $ 1.5 billion annual assistance for five years is attracting more criticism than appreciation and might become a subject of bitter and hot national political debate.
Already the PML (N) has formally rejected the Kerry-Lugar Bill saying that no aid with strings attached to it would be acceptable. The spokesman of the party has demanded of the Government to take the nation into confidence over the controversial legislation, which is as discriminatory in nature as the notorious Pakistan-specific Pressler’s amendment that was used as an arms twisting tool by the US administration. PML (N)’s is not the solitary voice against the bill as similar views were expressed by leaders of the PML (Q) and in fact, it has created unprecedented concerns in the country, raising doubts about the real intentions of Americans. In view of the contemptuous conditions attached to the bill, it is rightly being viewed by majority of Pakistanis as a clear infringement on the country’s sovereignty. They wonder how the Government has bartered away independence and sovereignty for the sake of paltry $1.5 billion. The bill has sparked negative reaction on account of various provisions particularly that relating to demand for access to the alleged nuclear proliferators. This is being seen in line with the declared policy of the PPP — even before assumption of power — to provide access to the outsiders to Dr A Q Khan. Though they have dropped the respected name of Dr Khan from the bill yet it is understood that the relevant clause is directed at him. It is all the more intriguing and shocking that the bill contains names of cities and towns from where the Government of Pakistan is required to uproot the alleged terrorist training camps. By doing so they have formalized their allegations about presence of so-called terrorist training camps and also that Pakistan’s soil is being used for such activities against neighbouring countries including India. One fails to understand what our diplomats and policy-making circles have been doing during the last over one year. Why, despite having frequent interaction with Americans, they failed to persuade them to use friendly language in the bill if it was really aimed at helping out a friend because the final language too betrays the element of sincerity. Under these circumstances, the apprehensions of the people are quite understandable and it would be appropriate if the issue is debated threadbare in Parliament and a response befitting an honourable nation be adopted vis-à-vis the bill.
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PAKISTAN OBSERVER
EDITORIAL
BYE-POLLS: DEMOCRACY SHOULD MOVE AHEAD
IN a move that has been opposed tooth and nail by all other political parties, the PML (N) led Punjab Government has sought a stay against holding of bye-elections in NA-55 and NA-123 constituencies. A schedule has already been announced by the Election Commission but the Provincial Government has sought refuge behind the pretext that holding of the polls was not advisable because of precarious law and order situation.
There are no two opinions that the security environment was not encouraging but the situation doesn’t warrant repeated cancellation of the polls in some of the National and Provincial Assembly constituencies. NA-55 and NA-123 have no representation in the National Assembly ever since the general elections, which means virtual disenfranchisement of the people of these constituencies. There is absolutely no weightage in the argument that the provincial administration cannot make foolproof security arrangements even for two constituencies. Only recently, we have had Eid congregations even at open places, people formed long queues to get atta and sugar and despite rush in markets there was no untoward incident. If you are unable to hold elections only in two constituencies due to security reasons then how mid-term elections were possible in the foreseeable future as alluded recently by Ch Nisar Ali. Critics point out that there is more to it than meets the eye arguing that the PML (N) was avoiding bye-elections for some political reasons. Whatever the reasons, no one would support the decision of the PML (N) as this is not only detrimental to the interests of the electorates of these areas but also cast doubts about intentions of the party itself.
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PAKISTAN OBSERVER
EDITORIAL
ADDRESS CONCERNS ABOUT ROZS
THE idea of Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) initiated by the previous Government with pledges by the United States for financial assistance in their establishment in militancy infested FATA and giving duty free access to their products in the American markets, is coming under criticism from the business community of the NWFP.
The objective behind the ROZs was to create job opportunities for the people of FATA who were increasingly turning towards the militant groups with no other means of livelihood. But delay by the US Congress to approve the relevant law and concerns by the business leaders of the NWFP about the real purpose behind the plan and its impact on industries in the Province, is coming under increasing scrutiny. While Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry has come out with concern over proposed plan of US to set up ROZs, a person of the stature of the Governor of the Province Owais Ahmad Ghani too has backed the SCCI on the issue. Speaking at a function in the Provincial Capital, the Governor disclosed that he had conveyed their concern to US Ambassador in Pakistan and other relevant departments that the plan in its present shape was not favourable to the Province and would not be accepted. Though the idea of ROZs looked attractive in the beginning and the former Government had pressed for its early implementation so as to attract the local youths in FATA and dry up the supply lines of militant groups, yet the reservations shown by the SCCI and the Governor indicate that there is some hidden agenda behind it. Already people in Pakistan doubt about the real intentions of Washington behind each and every action and a particular case in point is the hiring of private houses in Islamabad by foreigners in large numbers and their suspicious activities. Therefore we would call upon the Federal Government to make sure that any assistance extended for the purpose was utilized through official channels rather than American Agencies, international institutions or the NGOs to safeguard the interests of business community and the country.
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PAKISTAN OBSERVER
EDITORIAL
TIME FOR US TO SEEK SAFE PASSAGE FROM KABUL
M ASHRAF MIRZA
US military officials in Kabul are mounting pressure on President Obama to increase American troops in Afghanistan to wage an ‘aggressive and bloodier’ war against Taliban as the US and NATO forces are bogged down in the killing fields of the war torn country. Obama, who has already approved deployment of an additional 21000 troops in Afghanistan soon after his induction in the White House last January, is seemingly resisting the pressure. Understandably he is weighing the option in the light of the chances of ISAF’s ‘success’ against Taliban’s in the face of their determined resistance to the foreign occupation of their motherland over the past seven years irrespective of his resolve to see that the security of the United States and its allies is not threatened. He is understood to have made it clear that he will take decision on the request for more troops after thorough re-evaluation of the US strategy in the region. The fact that the coalition forces have failed miserably to contain much less defeat the Taliban in the past years makes it amply evident that it will not be an easy task to stem the Taliban’s tide even with beefed up strength of the US forces since it’s a matter of record that not only the scourge of terrorism has proliferated but Taliban’s resistance has gained reinvigoration during the period.
Top US military general in Afghanistan Gen Stanley McChrystal has reportedly handed over the request for 30,000 additional troops to US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander for Europe Admiral James Stavridis at a meeting in Germany the other day. He insists that his mission in Afghanistan would likely fail if he was not given reinforcements for his force that already numbers over 100,000. Can the occupation forces really defeat the Afghan people? The answer is a curt ‘no’. The strategy followed by the Bush administration right from the day of its occupation of Afghanistan was faulty and has proven counter productive. The Bush administration’s bid to control Afghanistan through imposition of a minority and unrepresentative set up of the Northern Alliance was unjust and unrealistic. By doing so, it had not only thrown the majority Pakhtoon population out of the political, economic and security mainstream of the country, but had also alienated a major ethnic chunk of the Afghan population. Bush administration’s alignment of the entire Pakhtoon population with the Taliban and al-Qaeda has, in fact, generated hatred in the most powerful ethnic group in Afghanistan . Paradoxically, the US has also failed to honour its commitments about economic turnaround for the Afghan people. It has also not succeeded in making the donor countries of the Tokyo moot to respect their pledges of financial assistance for the war ravaged country. The plight of the Afghan people remains as miserable today as it was before. The country is in a mess economically especially due to the corrupt political set up headed by Hamid Karzai inducted by the Bush administration. There are cogent reasons to believe that the occupation forces’ wish to succeed in Afghanistan is more like a day dream than reality. Their defeat is, in fact, writ large in Afghanistan . Afghans are fighting against foreign occupation since 1979 and, therefore, are well trained to wage guerilla warfare against the US-NATO forces. They had driven the Soviets out of their country after a decade long resistance though supported, funded and backed by the United States . They are fighting for the just cause of their independence. On the contrary, the alien forces have no cause whatsoever. It’s, therefore, war between aggression and will for freedom. And history bears testimony to the fact that those who struggled for freedom are bound to triumph ultimately. Besides, Afghans have a history of jealously safeguarding their freedom. They have never been subjugated. Britain has a bitter experience of the Afghan people on that count, since it could not sustain its occupation of Afghanistan for long despite having a strong military base in India in the 18th and 19th centuries. The US generals have seemingly not studied the Afghan history especially the British experience of war against Kabul.
President Obama’s decision to withdraw from Iraq was certainly wise and appropriate move as no alien can sustain its occupation for a long time against a determined nation to defend their freedom. He ought to apply the same principle in Afghanistan since Afghans are more ferocious to safeguard their freedom and take steps to seek safe passage rather than sinking deeper and deeper into the mire with the passage of time. His decision to take any decision on the military generals’ request for more troops after re-evaluation of his country’s strategy in the region represents a realistic attempt to assess the gravity of the situation before plunging into the slough. He should entertain no illusion to the effect that there can be peace in the region with the presence of the US troops. Peace hinges upon the vacation of US aggression from Afghanistan . The threat to the US security is, in fact, increasing with every passing day due to its oppressive military operations in Afghanistan . The sooner the US leadership understands this bitter truth, the better would it be for Washington , Kabul and Islamabad . It’s hoped that President Obama will not run after the shadows of success in Afghanistan nor will sway by the military generals’ projection of rosy scenario on the basis of the deployment of additional troops.
He will hopefully review the situation in the light of the ground realities prevailing in Afghanistan . The US military intervention has also destabilised Pakistan besides proliferating terrorism across the world. Pakistan has paid a heavy price in men and material for its support to the US invasion of Afghanistan. The serene Pakistani areas such as Swat that had not known violence were made to endure the terrorists’ brunt of death and destruction. The terrorists who represent the forces of darkness and ignorance had not only unleashed killing of innocent people as well as the security personnel, but had also destroyed hundreds of educational institutions to deprive the younger generations of enlightenment through education. Washington will have to look at the situation objectively and dispassionately to reach a judicious decision about the future of the south asian region.
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PAKISTAN OBSERVER
EDITORIAL
SWINE FLU AND ITS INTRIGUING LINKS
DR GHAYUR AYUB
Swine flu is a contagious viral respiratory disease linked with pigs. Symptoms include fever, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. According to statistics, common seasonal flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 people every year worldwide, far more than the current outbreak of swine flu. So why has there been so much fuss about this flu in recent months? To understand this we have to go into the background of this disease; its links with the pharmaceutical industry, the fallout in terms of public health, its academic and other associations with WHO, and political echoes in the corridors of power.
It all started in 1976, when Private David Lewis at Fort Dix became ill with symptoms suggestive of flu. Instead of taking complete rest, which is essential in flu otherwise there is a very small risk of sudden heart failure; he left his sick bed to go on a forced march. During the exercise, he collapsed and died later despite his sergeant giving him mouth to mouth resuscitation. Four of his colleagues also developed the symptoms but they recovered completely and the sergeant who gave him mouth to mouth did not contract the disease. The samples taken from the throats of the soldiers came back from the Centre for the Disease Control (CDC) confirming swine flu. The director of the centre was Dr David Sencer. He was a tuberculosis epidemiologist and had held the post since 1966. Unconfirmed reports suggest that he had close relationship with a known pharmaceutical company involved in making virus vaccines. According to reports, after contacting a few specialist doctors (most probably with the help of the company) and without going through the set procedures of analysis, he compared the swine flu with the notorious flu of 1918, that resulted in over half a million deaths in the United States, as well as 20 million deaths around the world. Was he under the influence of powerful but friendly company or was he naive about the consequences will never be known. All we know is, he created tremendous panic among the public and hastily devised a swine flu program at a cost of $ 137 million which led to the vaccination of 40 million people.
To give it a political touch, he personally talked to the president Gerald Ford and soon after the vaccine was prepared without going through normal procedures. The president was shown having flu injection on the television. In other words, he made the president of the United Sates a human guinea pig. If such a hasty decision was taken by someone in the health ministry of Pakistan, many eyebrows would have been raised, but the Americans are either too naive or too innocent. The results which followed were mind boggling as the vaccination caused more deaths than the disease itself. About 32 people died and over 500 suffered from Guillain-Barre syndrome, which damages nerves and can lead to paralysis. Overall, 4000 people were victims that resulted in $3.5 billion in damages being claimed against the US government. The program was suspended and Dr. David Sencer was fired in 1977.
Interestingly, he was immediately employed by the same company as Senior Vice President for Medical and Scientific Affairs. Recently, he was asked about his role in mass vaccination to which he replied, ‘If we were faced with what we had in 1976 today, where it was limited only to Fort Dix, we probably would not have recommended a universal vaccination.’ The question is, are we following the footsteps of the good doctor in today’s frightening revelations about this disease? In a recent development, drug-industry investigators have uncovered documents exposing an international drug ring, operating from New York City, is behind the H1N1 swine flu fright and vaccination preparations. Dr. Leonard G. Horowitz and Sherri Kane, an investigative journalist, have released evidence in legal affidavits to FBI, that leaders of a private global biotechnology “trust” are behind the pandemic flu, including its origin, alleged prevention via vaccinations, the pandemic’s creation, media persuasions, and health official promotions. Against these allegations, let us look into certain facts. The earliest documented case of swine flu was confirmed in a 5 years old child Edgar Hernandez early this year, in a small mountain village of La Gloria in the state of Veracruz in Mexico. Edgar survived the flu; just like the four solders at Fort Dix. This time, the health officials returned to Edgar’s sample only after cases of the new flu strain were spotted around the country. A few weeks later, thousands of miles away in Afghanistan, the medical reporter of CNN, Dr Gupta also contracted the swine flu (H1N1). He wrote, “It really didn’t matter if I got tested, as my doctor told me. It was the only flu strain circulating and I had it.
In case you are curious, there wasn’t much the doctors could really do for me. Some Tylenol and a sinus decongestant (the same my wife would’ve given me). Within a couple days, I felt a lot better, and a few days after that – I was back to normal. It was a lot like… the flu – with a different name” Speaking in identical language, Peter Palese, the Chairman of the Department of Microbiology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, commented that swine flu virus is likely not any more virulent than other seasonal flu strains because “it lacks an important molecular signature (the protein PB1-F2) which was present in the 1918 virus.” So what is special about this flu which shook the academically orientated professionals and politically dominated administrators in WHO? I chose the terms from my personal experience working with them at the highest level for three years. According to reports, first WHO declared a Phase 6 alert level and the CDC followed suit declaring the H1N1 flu pandemic a public health emergency. This allowed the FDA to authorize drug companies to fast track experimental vaccines skipping over the usual required testing and clinical studies repeating the history of 1976. The irony is that it appears the drug manufacturers may have held patents on the mutated Swine H1N1 Flu vaccine before it ever began its trek across the world. For example, Novartis of Switzerland is expected to supply nearly half of the vaccines in the U.S. and applied for its Swine Flu vaccine patent 3 years ago on November 6, 2006. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) accepted and granted the application in February 2009, just about the time the flu was beginning to spread. What a coincidence? Similarly, Baxter is producing all its H1N1 vaccine at facilities in Austria and the Czech Republic. They applied for a US Vaccine Patent Application in August, 2007 two years before the present outbreak!
What is more frightening are the reports stating that Baxter sent vaccines contaminated with deadly live H5N1 avian flu virus to 18 countries before someone caught the mistake and the vaccine got injected thousands of people. Baxter just missed creating its own pandemic then by mixing deadly H5N1 virus with a mix of H3N2 seasonal flu viruses, or did they? By possibly creating the pandemic, maybe Baxter already has the cure and that is why WHO has deemed them the appropriate pharmaceutical company to lead the way for a swine flu vaccine. And what about the ingredients in the approved Swine Flu vaccine-Celtura Novel H1N1, prepared by Novartis? It has the adjuvant MF59 in it and numerous tests show adjuvant cause significant side effects. MF59 has never been approved by the FDA. Some believe that the vaccine itself can help prompt the further mutation of Swine flu: as Novartis notes its flu vaccine has not been evaluated for mutagenic potential. For that matter it has not been evaluated for carcinogenic potential or impairment of fertility.
On the trade side, the sale of the two most common antiviral drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza - which are effective against swine flu - shot up in markets around the world due to increased demand. In the third world countries short supply means black marketing. To give it a political twist and make the situation more confusing, the Congressman Henry Waxman has introduced a bill that would limit the length of patent protection for vaccines to as little as 5 years. Similar, legislation is submitted by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) in the Senate. According to, WTO regulations, the patent period for a drug is 20 years. Are they trying to help those ‘friendly’ pharmaceutical industries which cannot wait for such a long period to get a slice of the pie? Your guess is as good as mine.
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PAKISTAN OBSERVER
EDITORIAL
US WANTS MORE TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN
SYED SAYEF HUSSAIN
Writings are almost on the wall that, America is going to face defeat in its Afghan war. If not the writing, then the words are certainly on the lips of the generals involved directly or indirectly in this war. A British General has already predicted almost a year’s ago that, they were fighting a loosing war. Now an American General is asking for some changes in America’s Afghanistan strategy, and asking for surge in its troop in Afghanistan by about 50% from 68,000 to 98,000. America’s Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz claims in his recently published book, “The Three Trillion Dollar War”, that, on fifth year of invasion America has already spent 3 trillion dollars in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He claims that, if all other incidental factors like interest on debt, future borrowing for war expenses, and the cost of a continued military presence in Iraq and lifetime health-care and counseling for veterans etc are taken into consideration, then the real cost would range from 5 trillion dollars to 7 trillion dollars. America’s prominent newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor, in a write-up by its staff writer David R. Francis in its issue of 15 September 2009 estimates the real cost of Afghan War at about 1 trillion dollars. And, how much is 1 trillion dollars? The paper says: if you had an expense account for $1 million a day, it would take 2,935 years to spend $1.071 trillion. It means that, to spend $3 trillion, at $1 million a day, it would take 7,805 years. Whopping, isn’t it? With so heavy a burden on America’s economy, and consequently on the world’s economy, caused by these wars, the looming defeat of America is simply unthinkable. I for one won’t like to see America loosing, as it would play havoc with the world economically and otherwise.
America’s defeat in the wars, in all probability, may also be the start of America’s end – both economically and strategically. So far as the impact of this defeat on the world is concerned, this defeat may be totally different from its defeat on Vietnam soil in early 70s. In those days, there was another super power in the shape of Soviet Union to relish this defeat (though, of course, in ideological mooring, probably China was more instrumental in that defeat than anybody else). But still there was an uneasy balance between the lefts and rights in that world. Today, there is no other established power to relish America’s defeat. Today, it’s the non-state actors spread across the world, the general public all around the world that would go into wild ecstasy if America faces defeat at the hands of non-state fighters in Afghanistan, who are primitive in look and feel, and who has no world power and authority to fall back upon at times of their needs, as Vietcong used to do in bygone days in their struggle against America.
These wretched people of Afghanistan fought against foreign occupations, faced rains of bombardments, got innocent marriage parties annihilated, without getting a single word of sympathy from any corner of the world (while, on the other hand, the Vietnamese got sympathy from at least half of the world through newspapers, media and literature), and when they would emerge as victorious, the world might be a totally different place to live.
Whether any of us would like America’s defeat or not, whether any of us would like the America-led status quo of the world changed or not, this would be the final certification of Afghans’ indomitable nature. This would be the final and highly pronounced proof of Afghans’ valor, fighting skills and fiercely independent psyche. History has undeniable proof that, Afghanistan never accepted foreign hegemony. The Soviets had a lesson that, their misadventure had demolished not only their dream of controlling Afghanistan, like the Eastern Europe, but also their socialist empire. But America and the West did not take any lesson from history or from Soviet collapse. They were audacious to prove the history wrong. Once, British ex-premier Margaret Thatcher boasted that, they had won a war against Soviet Union without firing a single bullet. Now the world will probably see very soon that, the America-led West could not win war against heavily under-armed Afghans even with firing millions of bullets, and raining thousands of bombs on their country.
Those petty scholars in our own world, who up till now had enough opportunity to laugh at the Afghan ‘jehadis’ for fighting America’s ‘proxy war’ against the Soviet Union, would probably have the opportunity to laugh at themselves for their childish naivety in understanding Afghan affairs. One last thought: the one-eyed demon appearing in America’s dollar bills, will it allow America to succumb to defeat of its lifetime so easily?
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PAKISTAN OBSERVER
EDITORIAL
HOW TO PRESS ADVANTAGE WITH IRAN
FLYNT LEVERETT
Tehran’s disclosure that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant near the holy city of Qum has derailed the Obama administration’s already faltering efforts to engage with Iran. The United States will now cling even more tightly to the futile hope that international pressure and domestic instability will induce major changes in Iranian decision-making. However, based on conversations we’ve had in recent days with senior Iranian officials — including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — we believe it is highly unlikely Iran will accept this ultimatum. It is also unlikely that Russia and China will support sanctions that come anywhere near crippling Iran.
Because President Obama assembled a national security team that, for the most part, did not share his early vision for American-Iranian rapprochement, his administration never built a strong public case for engagement. The prospect of engagement is still treated largely as a channel for “rewarding” positive Iranian actions and “punishing” problematic behaviour — precisely what Mr. Obama, as a presidential candidate, criticised so eloquently about President George W. Bush’s approach.
At the United Nations General Assembly last week, President Obama used language reminiscent of Mr. Bush’s “axis of evil” to identify Iran and North Korea as the main threats to international peace and vowed to hold them “accountable.” This approach prompted Mr. Ahmadinejad, during a meeting last week, to declare that Iran does not believe Americans are “serious” about strategic cooperation. He argued that, when Iran had previously agreed to limit its nuclear development — as when it suspended uranium enrichment from 2003 to 2005 — Western powers offered nothing in return, and instead sought to “restrict our rights even further.”
Absent some agreement with Washington on its long-term goals, Iran’s national security strategy will continue emphasising “asymmetric” defence against perceived American encirclement. Over several years, officials in both the reformist government of Mohammad Khatami and the conservative Ahmadinejad administration have told us that this defensive strategy includes cultivating ties to political forces and militias in other states in the region, developing Iran’s missile capacity and pushing the limits of Tehran’s non-proliferation obligations to the point where it would be seen as having the ability and ingredients to make fission weapons. It seems hardly a coincidence that Iran is accused of having started the Qum lab in 2005 — precisely when Tehran had concluded that suspending enrichment had failed to diminish American hostility. American officials tend to play down Iranian concerns about American intentions, citing public messages from President Obama to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, as proof of the administration’s diplomatic seriousness. But Tehran saw these messages as attempts to circumvent Iran’s president — another iteration, in a pattern dating from Ronald Reagan’s Iran-Contra scandal, of American administrations trying to create channels to Iranian “moderates” rather than dealing with the Islamic Republic as a system. President Ahmadinejad underscored this point to us by noting that Mr. Obama never responded to his congratulatory letter after the 2008 United States election — which, he emphasized, was “unprecedented” and “not easy to get done” in Iran.
The Obama administration’s lack of diplomatic seriousness goes beyond clumsy tactics; it reflects an inadequate understanding of the strategic necessity of constructive American-Iranian relations. If an American president believed that such a relationship was profoundly in our national interests — as President Richard Nixon judged a diplomatic opening to China — he would demonstrate acceptance of the Islamic Republic, even as problematic Iranian behavior continued in the near term.
After taking office in 1969, Nixon directed the CIA to stop covert operations in Tibet and ordered the Navy to stop its regular patrols of the Taiwan Strait even while China was supplying weapons to kill American soldiers in Vietnam. President Obama has had several opportunities to send analogous signals to Tehran — such as ending Bush-era covert programs against Iran — but has punted. Furthermore — and notwithstanding the comment by President Dmitri Medvedev of Russia that sanctions are “sometimes inevitable” — the Obama administration’s focus on mustering support for effective economic penalties is delusional. For three years, Moscow has given just enough on sanctions to keep the nuclear issue before the Security Council, because Russian officials calculate that is the best way to constrain unilateral American action. But Russia has consistently watered down any sanctions actually authorized. Senior Russian diplomats continue to say that Moscow has not agreed to support any specific additional measures. Moscow may well acquiesce to a marginal expansion of existing sanctions, but it will not accept substantial costs to its own economic and strategic interests by supporting significantly tougher steps. China may also agree to a marginal expansion of existing sanctions, but will not endorse measures that hurt important Chinese interests.
An Obama administration proposal that Saudi Arabia “replace” the oil China now imports from Iran completely misreads Beijing’s energy security calculus.Some may say that this is too high a price to pay for improved relations with Iran. But the price is high only for those who attach value to failed policies that have damaged American interests in the Middle East and made our allies there less secure. — The New York Times
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PAKISTAN OBSERVER
EDITORIAL
YOUR INNER CASTLE..!
ROBERT CLEMENTS
Come summer, and every resort and hotel, by sea and hill station advertise themselves silly. Glamorous bodies play ball on seductive beaches and coyly beckon you through news pages to join them in underwater fantasy. With over filled bag and more than over filled wallet we rush to these exotic mirages and return disillusioned.
The sea was not as blue as photograph showed. The beaches were crowded, and serene lake had blaring music coming over the muddy waters. Arms of loved ones were exciting but disquieting..! “It is the will of God for us,” says Evelyn Underhill, “that in the worlds most crowded street, in the din of life, when the rush and hurry are at their most intense, in joy or sorrow, in love or in bereavement, in all that makes up our outer and inner life that we should have a place of retirement, a permanent retreat, ever at hand for renewal and peace.” “ It is God’s will for us that we should possess an Interior Castle, against which the storms of life may beat without being able to disturb the serene quiet within; a spiritual life so firm and so secure that nothing can overthrow it.”Aha an inner castle.
So isn’t that where we’ve been making a mistake all this time? We have been looking for that inner peace in our annual vacations, in that promised trip to the mountains, in that time we were going to spend by the sea, or in the company of our beloved.
We look for that peace on top of mountain, where prophet and sage say that peace exist. All we find are empty beer cans mocking us with one eyed hole from which loosened spirit gave some mortal, temporary oblivion.
The hang over when back from mountain top crushes one with hopelessness, despair. Whereas that inner castle, refreshes, relaxes, rejuvenates. A place divine. An inner citadel.
But, for that inner castle to really be effective we need to have the divine living in it. God needs to be in there. Imagine for a moment what a wonderful place it could be for you to disappear every once in a while during the day to go and spend precious moments with your maker. When a divine peace full and holy envelopes your troubled mind and you have peace and calm.
And from the holy scriptures, I lift this verse; “The Lord is my shepherd, so I have everything I need! He lets me rest in the meadow grass and leads me beside the quiet streams. He restores my failing health. He helps me do what honours him the most”
That my dear friends is what the Lord promises, as you enter into a holiday with Him. No temporary mirages of scenic beauty. No mountains of sadness. Or oceans of tears. But days and nights of joy and laughter. Holiday with God in your Inner Castle..!
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THE INDEPENDENT
EDITORIAL
GERMAN POLLS
Chancellor Angela Merkel's historic election victory giving her conservative party a surprise second term in office in Germany is a significant development in Europe. But the victory was not without its upsets in which the German right suffered its worst vote tally in 60 years. Her Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the FDP, have managed to jointly win 48.3 per cent of the vote, enabling her to form a new coalition government.
This victory has put an end to the unpopular "grand coalition" between CDU/CSU and Social Democrats (SPD) that was forged four years ago. But much is due to the success of Merkel's partner whose good performance won it 14.6 per cent of votes. On the other hand, although the CDU/CSU will stay in power, it got the lowest votes since 1949. Despite retaining her position as Chancellor, Merkel is about to face tough negotiations with the FDP over power-sharing in the new government. FDP chairman, Guido Westerwelle, widely considered to be foreign minister in the upcoming government, is a "smart, intelligent, quick-minded" politician and could turn out to be an inconvenient partner for Merkel. While addressing supporters in the FDP headquarters, Westerwelle openly demanded to "co-govern" with Merkel's conservative bloc though many will say he is not strong enough to make this demand as his party has taken less than half of the CDU/CSU's seats in parliament. However leaders from the CDU/CSU and the FDP are now expected to hold negotiations on the details of forming the centre-right government.
But the German election post-mortem will not end with this because of the appearance of broadly accurate exit poll results on "Twitter" before voting ended as it is illegal in Germany to publish exit polls before the cut-off point for voting. In August German politicians were angered when exit polls for state elections were leaked on "Twitter' before voting ended. The deputy parliamentary head of Merkel's Christian Democrats, Wolfgang Bosbach, at the time, said leaking the results "damaged democracy." Can he say less this time?
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THE INDEPENDENT
EDITORIAL
DCC AFFAIR
The situation at the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) has taken a turn for the worse. Apparently, a superintendent engineer displayed firearms to establish his claim for promotion. To add credence to his demand he has also argued that the chief engineer of the Corporation, a serving brigadier-general of the Army who is on deputation, be removed. The administrative tussle with its many ramifications has caught the attention of the media.
The government has responded by suspending the engineer and ordering an inquiry into the matter. Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition, Khaleda Zia, has blamed the entire episode on pro-government "goons". She has also asked for protection of the Army officer working there. Earlier, the superintendent engineer had claimed that he is a pro-government element and had been denied promotion because of his political affiliation. He also said that the chief engineer was academically and professionally junior to him and as such it was unfair to put the general in a position senior to him.
The tussle is over the position of additional chief engineer, which is lying vacant for some time. But it was not immediately clear why the chief engineer should be brought into the picture. It is possible that the superintendent engineer was trying to build up pressure to pursue his cause. But his display or at least, the publicity about his display of firearms has had a negative effect on the entire affair.
Anomalies in administration is a common problem in the country but using firearms to improve one's bargaining power is just not acceptable. Officials have to learn to behave and negotiate peacefully and within the norms of civilised behaviour whatever their grievances. We certainly hope there will very soon be a balanced and strong response from the administration.
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THE INDEPENDENT
EDITORIAL
TEACH US, DEAR GIRL…!
"…Displaying rare courage, a 20 year old Kashmiri woman axed to death an armed Lashkar-e-Toiba commander and then snatched guns and opened fire on two other militants, wounding one and forcing them to flee…" Indian Express, Sept 29th Teach us, dear girl to be as courageous as you were: You dared look bullies in the eye, dared stand up and fight, dared laugh in the face of death and remain unscathed!
Teach us dear girl to face those same who exist throughout our country some in the guise of terrorist, others in the garb of politicians, who intimidate, threaten, browbeat and bully those weaker than them, and we, though we be stronger in numbers, put our heads down, turn and walk away, or hide, not having the courage you had, to face, kill and chase them away!
Teach us, dear girl that we do not need to have the skills of a karate expert nor be trained in the arts of warfare, or wear bullet proof vest to stand up to these tormentors, these tyrants, who think that with gun and bullet they can subdue and subjugate all those who come in their path. That even a thin, slim, wisp of a girl can do the needful!
Teach us, dear girl that even a simple, plain looking woman like you can grow in stature to that of a beauty queen just by revealing to the world that inside lies a beauty of courage and bravery that those others who walk up and down a ramp, who use the casting couch to go ahead, do not possess. That you possess an inner loveliness that overshadows the false make-up and put on looks that these others have!
Teach us dear girl that it is our duty to defend the defenseless, that even as you looked and saw father and mother beaten unconscious, pluck and fearlessness rose in you to take up cudgels and beat the perpetrators dead, that such pluck, such daring lies there for us who see the same happen, that instead of running when we see the innocent beaten, we also like you should face as you faced the intimidator and divine strength will come and do the rest!
Teach us dear girl that even as your brother seeing your bravery followed in chasing away those armed men, that if we also take the lead others will follow behind and lend support for causes where we as leaders should lead. That the world always looks for one person who will go ahead and others, seeing our courage will follow with same gusto; but that first step in boldness is a lonely one!
You have taught us dear girl that it is not might or muscle we need but guts. Thank you Rukhsana, dear girl…!
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THE AUSTRALIAN
EDITORIAL
PAY ON PERFORMANCE
COMPANY BOARDS MUST ENSURE SALARIES REFLECT REALITY
WHATEVER the Productivity Commission proposes on executive pay in today's report, it is not hard to predict how people will respond. Critics of big business will claim remuneration of company chiefs is out of line with community expectations. Corporate commentators will say that in a global market for business talent, Australian pay must match what is offered overseas. There is sense in both arguments. There is a strong case for wealth creators such as builder Wal King and innovators such as former Macquarie Bank boss Allan Moss to make millions year in, year out. Outside big business boardrooms, few people will understand why former Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo was paid $30million for four years work that saw $25 billion stripped from the company's value. Or why Brian Gilbertson left BHP Billiton in 2003 with a $12m payout, plus a pension of $1.5m per annum, after six months running the company. It is not the job of government to set private sector pay. As Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese puts it, Australia is not a command economy. However, major shareholders should urge boards to stop pay rises for poor-performing senior executives and to ban pay models based on short-term profits rather than long-term growth.
This is a duty boards too often avoid - approving pay packets that ignore executive performance. Boral boss Rod Pearse was paid $11.5m in the last financial year, nearly $5m more than in 2007-08, with most of the package consisting of cash and equity benefits to mark the end of his service. But the payment came in a year when Boral's share price fell more than 30 per cent. And while a pay rise for Pacific Dunlop's Sue Morphet when the company announced retrenchments was widely condemned earlier this year, less attention was paid to her predecessor receiving a $5.8m retirement payout, or the way the company's 13 member-board doubled its remuneration to $15m last year.
Perhaps the worst example of boards failing both shareholders and the wider community occurred in the lead-up to the global financial crisis, when US and British banks allowed executives to base bonuses on short-term speculative gains rather than sustainable profits. This encouraged the trade in high-risk securities that was a major cause of the crash. A year later, it seems executives are at it again. In the US, Goldman Sachs, which borrowed $US10bn from Washington to stay afloat last year, is spending more than that on bonuses. While Goldman Sachs has repaid the government, it appears the culture of paying people for short-term performance is still with us. Doubtless, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys - but to reward chief executives who reduce shareholder value and bankers who place their own incomes over the stability of the national financial system rewards unsustainable avarice. It is the job of boards to look to the long-term interests of their companies, not just the people who run them
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THE AUSTRALIAN
EDITORIAL
IDEOLOGICAL CRUSADE
NSW HAS TAKEN A COMMENDABLE STANCE IN TEACHING READING
NEW literacy teaching guides in NSW are a welcome, albeit overdue, recognition of the importance of phonics in teaching children to read. The guides mandate that in daily 10 to 20 minutes sessions, children in the first years of school be explicitly taught the sounds of letters and how to blend and manipulate sounds to form words. As Sir Jim Rose, who is reviewing Britain's primary curriculum says, NSW has provided "some firm guidance for principals and teachers rather than leaving them to reinvent reading instruction, school by school". In other states, which have more ad hoc approaches to teaching reading, significant variations have arisen between individual schools and teachers.
The NSW program has the benefit of being drawn up on the basis of thorough, up-to-date research. Parents in other states, however, also have good reason to be hopeful that its most important qualities will be incorporated in the national curriculum when it is introduced in 2011. Earlier this year, Professor Barry McGaw, chairman of the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, made it clear that phonics would be central to teaching reading.
Debate has raged for the past three decades between those who emphasise phonics in teaching reading and those who favour the "whole word" approach which encourages students, faced with an unfamiliar word, to look at other words in the sentence, the picture on the page or the shape of the letters. Most experts believe a combination of both approaches works best, a view supported by three major studies in the past decade in the US, Britain and Australia's 2005 national reading review.
After reporting and analysing the issue for years, The Australian has drawn hostile reactions from parts of the education establishment. In her book The Literacy Wars Monash University's Ilana Snyder last year accused The Australian of being on an ideological crusade. Yet there is nothing ideological about favouring an approach that has proved its worth consistently in research and for decades in the real world. Paradoxically, it is the activists clinging to outmoded 1960s and 1970s notions that abandoning phonics was somehow liberating who are waging the real crusade.
This kind of ideological baggage, unfortunately, has particularly damaged the educational and life chances of children from disadvantaged families, many of whom do not receive the same levels of reading support at home as other children. Activists pushing the progressive education agenda claim to support equality and social mobility. But ironically, it is their whole language approach that has condemned many from disadvantaged backgrounds to lifetimes of illiteracy. For the sake of children being short-changed, we can only hope that the NSW mandatory guide and the national curriculum redress the problems. That, more than new buildings or computers, would constitute the start of a real education revolution.
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THE AUSTRALIAN
EDITORIAL
ART OF THE INTERVIEW
ALAN JONES AND JULIA GILLARD PROVIDED INFORMATION, NOT IDEOLOGY
ALAN Jones is back on Sydney radio station 2GB, and yesterday he celebrated a welcome return from sick leave by bowling up hard questions to Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard. It was a tougher interview than her boss has ever endured on Rove, or with any of the comedians who host the breakfast shows on FM radio he enjoys. Jones produced bouncers about the way the government is treating a whistle-blower and the widow of a soldier killed on active service. He sent down curly questions about spending on school construction, and he bowled straight on workplace reform. Ms Gillard would have done well to play a straight bat, to have got through an uninterrupted 30-minute interview with her temper and credibility intact. She did more than that. She listened to the questions and answered them. Certainly she challenged Jones when she thought he was being too tough, but she was unfailingly polite and informative, without, as Jones informed his audience, any notes. "She is not frightened of the questions and whatever they are she takes them," he said.
You do not need to agree with Ms Gillard's policies to be impressed by her performance. She dealt with specific questions about her portfolio - school spending and how changes to industrial awards will alter employment for weekend workers in the retail and hospitality industries. She was well-briefed to address other issues, and when she could not answer a question - whether a capital gains tax on the family home would come out of the Henry tax review - she politely explained why, suggesting we wait and see what the inquiry proposes. It was an interview aspiring politicians could learn from. Ms Gillard demonstrated that ministers and their opposition equivalents need not fear the fiercest of interviewers if they know their subjects and understand how to explain them.
It was also an exchange many interviewers should study, especially those who think their job is to express their own opinions, thinly disguised as questions. Certainly Jones raised issues that interested his audience but there was none of the sermonising common among interviewers who assume what they think matters most. He was interested in eliciting information rather than point-scoring. Yesterday's interview was a robust exchange but it was free of ideology. While Jones wanted answers, he did not try to browbeat Ms Gillard into agreeing with him. Nor was it an example of the exchange that occurs when an interviewer agrees with the politician they are talking to, such as the way ministers regularly get a soft go from the Canberra press gallery on climate change. But there was one question Jones did not ask Ms Gillard, one that a journalist put to her later - why Kevin Rudd does not go on the radio with Jones? It was the only question she ducked all day.
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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
EDITORIAL
TAFE AND THE COST OF CUTTING
TECHNICAL and further education, particularly in NSW, is being neglected, and the result will be a significant cost to the state's economy, according to the NSW Teachers Federation. The claim is coloured by the fact that the federation is now in dispute with the NSW Department of Education over salaries and teaching hours for TAFE staff, and alarmist projections suit its purposes in winning public support for more resources.
Nevertheless, the union raises a significant point: this state's investment in a vital sector of the education system, though it has risen over the past decade, has failed to keep up with other states, or with what is required.
The problems of the state-run TAFE sector have many causes: a lack of funds for government activity in general; the sector's complex remit and antiquated structures; federal suspicion of the government-run technical education system as too rigid and unresponsive, which even led the Howard government to set up its own Australian technical colleges to be run from Canberra; the credentialism and status-seeking within some vocations that has led to the migration of some vocational courses to universities, raising costs without greatly improving outcomes. The combined result has been the slow dismantling through neglect of what was once the most efficient, flexible and equitable sector of post-school education, the sector that not only trained those just out of school for specific jobs, but also allowed those who might have made bad choices in their school years to return to the education system and try for a new start.
From the 1990s governments have been increasingly concerned about the public-sector vocational training system's inflexibility. They rightly embraced private-sector training by registered colleges in some fields as a way to tackle the problem. NSW has also broken down the rigidities within parts of the government sector by cutting the number of permanent staff while increasing the number of casual teachers (and increasing teaching loads at the same time). That has no doubt made the system more adaptable, but it will also have driven away good teachers who quite reasonably want to know they have some certainty of employment and a predictable career structure.
The gradual dilapidation in TAFE is also relevant to the problems of overseas students. A high-quality government sector is needed to underpin the standards of vocational training. Vocational education and TAFE need to be rebuilt. NSW needs a vocational training system that is flexible enough and well-resourced enough to evolve as industry evolves. Cost-cutting will not provide it.
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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
EDITORIAL
A LESSON NOT LEARNT
FOR years children who do not belong to any particular faith or denomination have spent one school hour a week doing nothing, while fellow students are taught scripture by either local clergy or someone nominated by the church. Now the St James Ethics Centre has devised a course of elementary philosophy to be taught during that hour to those not attending scripture. But church activists have objected, and it is possible that the course will not be taught.
This is more than disappointing. It suggests an unwarranted meddling by some church politicians in the curriculum of state schools. Scripture was only inserted in the state school curriculum in the 19th century as a sop to a church hierarchy that opposed state education as godless. Society has moved on a vast distance since then, to a point where the claims of religion to direct public policy are no longer recognised by most people.
It is true that the primary curriculum - outside scripture - already includes a certain amount of ethics, but there is always room for more. Those attending scripture obviously have the chance to engage with ethical questions: it is unthinkable that they would not be encouraged to think about what a good life is, and how they ought to live it. Certainly scripture should still be taught in schools to those who wish to study it, but equally, those who do not should be offered another approach to thinking about moral questions.
At present, however, Department of Education policy states that children whose parents have made a conscientious decision to take them out of scripture classes must not only be denied alternative instruction, but, specifically, they must have no ''ethics, values, civics or general religious education during this period''. In other words these children are penalised - abandoned to detention.
The ethics centre's alternative course is compatible with scripture. It aims to replace meaningless activity with an ethics-based complement to scripture classes that is based on philosophical inquiry. The proposed classes have been developed in consultation with parents and teachers across the state, and with representatives of churches and faith communities large and small. They are designed to be incorporated into existing scripture classes and to be modified, or given a particular religious character, as thought fit by religious instructors.
Yet the trial has been consistently - and unreasonably - rebuffed by the religious establishment. Ultimately it is a decision for the Education Minister, Verity Firth. This is a secular society. She should approve it.
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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
EDITORIAL
POLANSKI'S ARTISTIC GENIUS DOES NOT EXCUSE CHILD RAPE
EUROPE'S OUTRAGE AT THE DIRECTOR'S ARREST SENDS A WORRYING MESSAGE.
THIS is, dare we say it, a saga in the style of film noir. A young man evades the Nazis in World War II and goes on to become one of the world's greatest filmmakers. Then tragedy strikes when his wife is murdered by a hippie-era cult. Later, he becomes a fugitive from justice, fleeing America for France and a life of luxury - celebrity parties, holidays in his Swiss ski chalet - lived while looking anxiously over his shoulder. The Los Angeles authorities obtain international arrest warrants; twice they almost nab him, but he manages to evade their grasp. Until finally, on Saturday, his luck runs out. As the famous director arrives in Switzerland to be feted by the cinematic elite, fate closes in on him. And the crime in question, the dark cloud that hangs over the public star, is no less than the sexual assault of a young girl.
Of course, orderly, civilised Zurich is all wrong for the denouement. It has none of the seedy anarchy of LA's Chinatown, the setting of Roman Polanski's award-winning movie in which a corrupt property mogul gets away with murder and the ultimate taboo of incestuous rape.
But the facts surrounding Polanski's own taboo-busting antics of long ago are at least as disturbing as his celluloid narrative. In 1977, aged 44, Polanski lured 13-year-old Samantha Geimer to a photo-shoot at the Hollywood Hills home of actor Jack Nicholson. According to Ms Geimer, he then plied her with alcohol and drugs and had sex with her, despite her resistance. Polanski pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful sex with a minor in return for the dropping of rape, sodomy and other charges. He served 42 days in prison for pre-sentence ''diagnostic testing'' and was released, but fled to Europe on the eve of sentencing, eventually settling in France because it has only a limited extradition agreement with the US. The crime in question is black-and-white - a 13-year-old is incapable of consenting to sex - however baffling other aspects of the matter may be.
And yet the leaders of France and Polanski's native Poland have launched a diplomatic offensive of the kind befitting a prisoner of conscience. Poland's Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, vowed not only to lobby Switzerland to release Polanski, but also to explore the possibility of a pardon from US President Barack Obama. French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterand, without the slightest hint of irony, described the arrest - and not the crime - as ''absolutely horrifying.'' It was an example of America's ''frightening'' face, he said.
Ignore the familiar trans-Atlantic bitching, and ask yourself this: would European leaders be scrambling to shield Polanski from child sex charges if he were an obscure mechanic? The answer is surely ''no''. Even in an age when the sexual exploitation of children is of paramount concern, it seems some are still seduced by the concept of artistic genius, believing it ought to confer moral licence of sorts.
Of course, the timing and other aspects of this matter are curious. The LA District Attorney's office appears to have pounced partly in response to the screening last year of a high-profile documentary on the Polanski affair. The documentary alleged judicial and prosecutorial misconduct in the original case, claiming the judge - since deceased - was set to renege on aspects of the plea bargain. (It claimed this was also the reason behind Polanski's flight.) These allegations in turn sparked a series of court actions in California by Polanski's legal team, seeking to have the charges against him dismissed. In an appeal in July this year, it was even claimed that prosecutors had never made a real effort to arrest Polanski because they wished to avoid answering questions about their own misconduct 30 years ago. Perhaps this was enough to goad the DA's office into action once Polanski's travel plans were posted on the internet.
Polanski has every right to raise the allegations of dodgy dealing in the US justice system but trying to do so from a safe distance suggests an imperious character. He is especially fortunate that the victim in this case - who secured compensation from him long ago - has also petitioned the authorities to drop the charges. Her success in rebuilding her life is gratifying. The legal process will now take its course, with several avenues of appeal open to Polanski. Whatever the outcome, this is still a matter of a child sex offender evading justice, and justice must be done.
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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
EDITORIAL
INFORMATION IS AN ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT OF HEALTHY DIETS
AUSTRALIANS love eating out. One in every three dollars spent on food goes on meals prepared outside the home. That carries a big hidden health cost, as the Heart Foundation explained yesterday to the World Congress on Oils and Fats in Sydney. The reason is that many food makers, restaurants and takeaway outlets use cheaper products that are very high in saturated fats. As a result, Australians unwittingly ingest about 50 per cent more saturated fat on average than the level viewed as safe.
High saturated fat intakes contribute to most leading causes of death: cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes, dementia and Alzheimer's (the incidence of which has doubled in a decade). Imported palm oil is widely used by the food industry but is 55 per cent saturated fat - seven times as much as local canola oil. Yet restaurants are exempt from food labelling laws, and palm oil can be labelled as vegetable oil in food products. The Federal Government's National Preventative Health Taskforce has called for better disclosure of saturated fat, sugar and salt content. Regulators and the food industry have resisted the proposal, although some leading food producers and outlets have switched to healthier oils. Their example shows the cost is not prohibitive. Neither is the cost of adding information to menus.
The issue is not one of government dictating what oils and fats can be used. The issue is Australians' right to be able to make healthy, informed choices about what they eat. The food industry will still be free to choose what it uses, but should tell consumers what those choices are. Customers should not be left in the dark about whether a food outlet is prepared to compromise their health to save a few dollars. The failure to introduce transparent labelling for all food is a serious obstacle to efforts to stem the national epidemic of obesity-related diseases.
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THE GURDIAN
EDITORIAL
GORDON BROWN IN BRIGHTON: HOLDING OUT FOR HOPE
Good enough to fight the next election, but not good enough to win it, Gordon Brown's conference speech yesterday leaves his party with a problem. There was much to admire in his defence of social democracy, beginning with an explosive list of Labour achievements, angrily and effectively fighting off the charge that the last decade has been wasted. Had he given a speech like this a decade ago, or in 2007, he would have been cheered to the rafters. In the autumn of 2009 it was not enough to break through to the future.
He put himself forward as the champion of what the prime minister – and his pollsters, who helped shaped this speech – call "the squeezed middle": those ordinary, hard-working, decent people cherished by every politician. It was populism without the popularity, war against the Tories and their banker friends, and tough on social disorder from below. There was a logic to this argument, even if its consequences were at times punitive and mildly distasteful. "I stand with the people who are sick and tired of others playing by different rules or no rules at all," he said, promising punishment for parents of unruly teenagers in language that almost echoed Conservative talk of a broken society. He was right to admit that 24-hour drinking has failed, but wrong to disguise continued support for a national identity database with a promise that there will be no compulsory identity cards. It sounded liberal, but in fact changes nothing.
The prime minister spoke calmly and looked at ease, which was impressive given the endurance test he has experienced in the run-up to this conference. Sarah Brown's introduction was just this side of mawkish, but Mr Brown came across as a serious and experienced man who means well for his country. This is the reasonable proposition he intends to put next year. He reiterated his claim to have acted in the face of the financial crisis, when the Conservatives would not have done, and his opening section on the economy was well-judged.
What followed was less convincing. He nodded in the direction of restraint, but sounded much more at home issuing spending promises. He seems unwilling, in his soul, to admit that anything about the nation's financial circumstances has changed. Officials insist that things such as cancer screening and a national care service are funded, but that they can only come at the price of cuts elsewhere. Mr Brown did not sound like the man who was once wedded to prudence, and the speech will not have won back voters worried about debt.
There was little on the Afghan war, Europe or climate change, and only a modest commitment to political reform after a year in which Westminster has fallen into disgrace. He promised a referendum on the alternative vote, if Labour wins, which is a retreat from the party's 1997 support for a vote on full-blown proportional representation. The right for voters to recall MPs has been borrowed from the Liberal Democrats, and Lords reform, while welcome, did not sound very urgent.
Many conference speeches end up as a list, as this one did. In it there were some decent ideas: using the Post Office as a national bank, for example, and on primary care. But Mr Brown should exploit the power of incumbency while it remains his. From this speech it does not seem probable that he has dramatic plans prepared for parliament's return. Without them, this government risks dribbling out into nothing. Labour's solidly successful week in Brighton will have given its supporters heart, but there has been nothing to suggest that it is likely to win a majority next spring. "Never stop believing," he said, and he did enough yesterday to keep belief alive within his party. That was a success, given Mr Brown's troubles. But it is the country he needs to persuade if he is ever to return to a Labour conference as party leader and prime minister.
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THE GURDIAN
EDITORIAL
ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR: TIME TO GET TOUGH ON THE CAUSES
The tragic story of Fiona Pilkington and her disabled daughter, Francecca, demonstrates how taunts and threats can cut just as deeply as blades. Worn down by unrelenting intimidation and bullying from callous locals, Ms Pilkington set light to her car in 2007, killing herself and Francecca. This Monday an inquest ruled that police indifference had "contributed" to the deaths, with 33 separate complaints of abuse and yet not a single arrest.
This formed the backdrop for Labour's conference announcements on antisocial behaviour yesterday. The prime minister railed against the tragedy, after Alan Johnson had wheeled out New Labour's traditional weapon, the antisocial behaviour order, and announced that whenever an asbo was breached in the future a prosecution would follow.
Long before details of the Pilkington case emerged, Mr Johnson had made antisocial behaviour a priority – rightly so. Fear of low-level thuggery is not some Whitehall confection, but a reality that makes hard lives even harder. It does most damage in the country's most deprived corners, where it blights people who often struggle to make themselves heard. It is also true that the criminal law is a poor instrument for tackling sub-criminal bullying, especially when – as in the Pilkington case – police forces lazily presume that they have bigger fish to fry.
Resolve, however, is not the same thing as producing an intelligent plan, and this the government has abjectly failed to do. Despite Tony Blair's great enthusiasm, asbos eventually fell out of favour for solid, practical reasons. Many of those served with them simply ignored them, with nearly half the total being breached; for others, including some whose original misdemeanour was not all that serious, asbos served as a trap door to the jam-packed jails which make bad people worse. Whitehall's own research showed that asbos were costly, which is one reason why new instruments were developed – such as parenting orders and acceptable behaviour contracts – which aimed to nip bad behaviour in the bud.
The prime minister spoke yesterday about one scheme that could extend this more thoughtful approach, by providing the most disturbed families with help in co-ordinating their (frequently complex) dealings with other agencies, exactly the sort of mundane step that might make a difference. But as rhetoric and new legislation encourage the issue of extra asbos, the scarce cash available will surely be swallowed up by costly flexing of the authorities' muscles. As with crime, so too with antisocial behaviour. The need to look tough will scupper the chance to get tough on the causes.
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THE GURDIAN
EDITORIAL
IN PRAISE OF … GERMAN ARISTOCRACY
Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg does not have a snappy name. Perhaps that is why he is known in Bavaria as "the Rocking Baron". Unusually for a man whose family tree stretches back to the 12th century, the 37-year-old aristocrat has charisma and a glittering political future. In February he became Germany's youngest economics minister, and in Sunday's elections he won the highest percentage of constituency votes of any candidate. He became the envy of fellow politicians by attracting thousands of people to his rallies, a phenomenon not witnessed since Helmut Kohl. The Windsors should take note. As the leading contenders drained the colour from their campaigns by trying to say as little as possible, the young baron triumphed by being himself – a mixture of fiscal conservatism and an even-handed personality unafraid to challenge orthodoxy. He opposed the proposed buyout of Opel by a consortium led by the Canadian spare parts maker Magna and the Russian bank Sberbank, but he got plaudits for standing up to Angela Merkel. Guts are in the family genes. His great-grand-uncle, the Catholic monarchist Karl Ludwig von Guttenberg, was tortured by the Gestapo and shot after the failed assassination attempt on Hitler. He revealed no names of the fellow plotters. Mr Guttenberg does not need a job. He gets more than he needs from his family estate in Bavaria. If duty impels him, German politics will be all the richer.
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THE JAPAN TIMES
EDITORIAL
NO LETUP ON STIMULUS POLICIES
The Group of 20 leaders from developed and emerging economies held their third summit in Pittsburgh, Pa., last week, about a year since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. set off the current worldwide financial crisis. While there are signs of economic recovery, the leaders agreed to maintain existing stimulus policies in view of the bad employment outlook and weak consumer spending. Their agreement to avoid a premature exit from their emergency fiscal and monetary policies underscores the difficulty the world economy faces, and seems reasonable.
To try to steer the world economy away from reliance on American consumer spending, which is driven by the United States' dependence on other countries' purchases of its bonds, the G20 leaders adopted a "strong, sustainable and balanced growth" approach aimed at encouraging countries with large trade surpluses, such as China and Japan, to increase domestic demand and countries that spend too much to save. The leaders also agreed to periodically check each other's economic programs to see if they are consistent with the goal of balanced growth. But how to carry out mutual checks is not clear. It will also be difficult to force change on countries whose programs are found to be inconsistent with these goals.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama pledged to adopt policies that will stimulate domestic consumption. He faces the enormous task of changing the structure of the Japanese economy amid funding shortages and a massive national debt.
Risky behavior and greed on the part of financial firms sowed the seeds of the current crisis. The leaders agreed on steps to restrain bonuses in the financial sector and to raise capital standards for banks so that they can ride out future downturns.
They also agreed to hold regular G20 summits annually — a move that will likely diminish the summit role of the G8 industrialized nations — and to shift at least 5 percent of the voting power in the International Monetary Fund from developed to developing countries. The summit thus highlighted the economic weight of emerging economies like China, India and Brazil.
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THE JAPAN TIMES
EDITORIAL
LDP STAKES FUTURE ON NEW LEADER
The Liberal Democratic Party has elected former Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki as its new president.
By garnering about 60 percent of the total vote — 120 of the 199 LDP Diet member votes, and 180 of the 300 votes distributed among the LDP's local chapters — he defeated former Vice Justice Minister Taro Kono and Mr. Yasutoshi Nishimura, a Lower House member who has just won his third term.
Many LDP members apparently viewed Mr. Tanigaki as a safe bet given his experience in the Cabinet and as a senior party figure. He had urged party unity, while younger candidates called for a generational change. Still, in order to fight the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), to which it yielded power as a result of the Aug. 30 Lower House election, the LDP needs new energy and power. The call for party unity alone will not be enough to resuscitate the LDP. Mr. Tanigaki has yet to develop a clear plan for the party's revival.
It seems that LDP members in general expressed little hope about the party's future. Only 46.7 percent of the LDP members in local chapters eligible to vote in the party presidential election cast ballots. This is some 15 percentage points lower than the 61.5 percent voter turnout in the 2006 presidential race. Even so, it is significant that Mr. Kono, who bitterly criticized the party's old guard, received 109 votes from local chapters.
After his election was confirmed, Mr. Tanigaki said the party was beaten in the Aug. 30 election because its ability to find out what people need and develop policy measures to satisfy those needs had weakened. But it must be kept in mind that both the Cold War, a period that provided an ideological base for the party, and the days when the party needed to concentrate only on distributing the fruits of high economic growth among interest groups are over.
Mr. Tanigaki must listen to opinions from various segments of society and rework the party's basic ideals from scratch. The LDP's raison d'etre is at stake. He also needs to come up with specific policy proposals that are both distinct from the DPJ's and appealing in their own right.
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THE JAPAN TIMES
EDITORIAL
TOO SOON TO VIEW HIV VACCINE AS A SOLUTION
BY CESAR CHELALA
NEW YORK — The results of a new HIV vaccine trial in Thailand, although encouraging since they show a lowered rate of infection among those vaccinated, should be treated with cautious optimism.
The hope of a breakthrough is, nonetheless, excellent news, considering that every day 7,000 people worldwide are newly infected with HIV and that in 2007 over 2 million people died of AIDS according to UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS).
The trial of the new AIDS vaccine was carried out in parts of Thailand. The vaccine was given to 16,402 volunteers between 18 and 30 years old and deemed to be at average risk of HIV infection. The vaccine used was a combination of two vaccines that, when tried in isolation, had not affected infection rates. It was based on HIV strains that circulate commonly in Thailand.
The trial was carried out by the U.S. Army, the Thai Ministry of Public Health, the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the patent-holders of the two key components of the vaccine, Sanofi- Pasteur and Global Solutions for Infectious Diseases.
Half of the volunteers received the vaccine, and the other half received a placebo. Participants in the study were tested for HIV infection every six months for three years. Both groups received counseling on how to prevent HIV infection, first at the beginning of the study and then every six months.
New infections occurred in 51 of the 8,197 people given the vaccine, and in 74 of the 8,198 among those who received the placebo. The groups behind the study claim these results indicate a 31 percent lower risk of infection among those who had received the vaccine.
Although the number of infections in each group under study is relatively small it is statistically significant, according to Dr. Jerome H. Kim of the U.S. army's HIV vaccine program.
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, concurred on the importance of the results.
Although the data obtained are indeed important, it is still necessary to be cautious about the implications. For example, RV144, the vaccine tested in Thailand, was designed to combat the strain of HIV that is most common in Southeast Asia. Different strains circulate in the U.S., Africa and other countries, and there is no indication that the vaccine could function effectively when confronted with different HIV strains.
In addition, the number of people involved in the study shows the need for larger, more expensive trials. And although it can be claimed that the difference between the vaccinated group and the placebo group is statistically significant, it is too small to suggest the vaccine could be considered for use in the immediate future.
What is important, though, is that this study shows a positive response on an issue that has offered little hope so far. If the positive results can be repeated or improved under different conditions, we can expect to conquer an infection of tremendous medical, human and economic cost to society.
Cesar Chelala, M.D., Ph.D., is an international public health consultant for several U.N. agencies.
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THE JAPAN TIMES
EDITORIAL
IRISH VOTERS WEIGH THE LISBON TREATY AGAIN
BY JOHN O'BRENNAN
MAYNOOTH, Ireland — On Oct. 2, Irish voters go to the polls for a second time to decide whether to adopt the European Union's Lisbon Treaty. The mood in EU capitals is one of nervousness as polling day looms, with the future of the EU in the hands of Ireland's unpredictable voters. On two of the last three occasions that the Irish have been asked to vote on an EU Treaty, they have rejected the proposal.
For the EU, the stakes could not be higher. The Lisbon Treaty was the compromise agreed by EU leaders in the aftermath of the rejection of the Constitutional Treaty in popular referendums in France and the Netherlands in 2005. Much negotiating blood has been spilled on the treaty, and its rejection a second time by Irish voters would leave the EU unable to ratify and implement its provisions; this would inevitably lead to policy paralysis and institutional decay.
The referendum campaign in Ireland has seen a resurgence of conflict between a familiar constellation of forces. On the Yes side are all of the main political parties, trade unions, the business community, and a broad network of civil-society groups. Their campaign has been more coordinated and intense than last time, with the aim of mobilizing the maximum number of supporters and ensuring a high turnout, which most commentators assume will assist the Yes side.
On the No side: a disparate coalition drawn from the far right and the far left, including ultra-Catholics and unreconstructed Marxists, has sought to whip up hysteria about supposed threats ranging from military conscription to euthanasia and abortion. But the No side has struggled to find a coherent point of reference and seems to have none of the dynamism and vigor that it had last time.
The main reason for this is that Ireland has been traumatized by economic misfortune over the past year. The hubris of the Celtic Tiger years is a distant memory, owing to the worst recession in Ireland's history as an independent state. In 2009, economists expect growth to contract by up to 8 percent, with a further steep decline likely next year.
The budget deficit is now the largest in the EU, and public debt has ballooned, as the government has struggled to compensate for the steep drop in revenues. The Irish banking system approached total collapse in September 2008, and was only saved by a 400 billion euro government guarantee of all bank deposits. More recently, the state assumed the liabilities of rogue property developers by setting up a "bad bank" that could potentially saddle Irish taxpayers with a mountain of debt for decades to come.
The depth of the economy's plunge has helped the Irish government in its effort to secure a Yes vote. The European Central Bank has provided a monetary lifeline that has provided much needed liquidity within the financial system and helped the government to stem the crisis of confidence created by the banking collapse. Government ministers and EU representatives repeatedly cite the example of Iceland in pointing out what might have happened to Ireland if it had been outside the EU.
Thus, the second referendum campaign has brought back into play the economic dimension of Ireland's EU membership, which was largely absent from the 2008 debate on the Treaty. Ireland has benefited disproportionately from EU largess during its 35 years of membership, and, in 2008, was still receiving a net sum of 500 million euro from the EU budget. When voters are reminded of the potentially catastrophic cost of being excluded, not just from the Single Market area, but from the decision-making structures in the Council of Ministers and the European Central Bank, what is at stake in the referendum becomes clear.
In addition, the Irish government secured legal guarantees from its EU partners on the issues that most concerned voters who voted No or abstained in the first referendum. These compromises state that nothing in the treaties will affect Irish prerogatives on abortion, military neutrality, and taxation. The government also secured EU-wide agreement that, rather than reducing the size of the European Commission, Ireland will be allowed to retain a permanent place at the Commission table. This negotiating success has provided the government with considerable breathing space in which to conduct a more effective referendum campaign.
This combination of legal guarantees and changed economic circumstances is helping to mobilize a majority in favor of the Treaty. Opinion polls conducted in recent weeks indicate that the Yes side commands a strong majority of 62 percent to 23 percent, with 15 percent of the electorate undecided.
But the picture is far from clear-cut. Surveys indicate that the Irish are strong supporters of EU membership and the integration process. The problem is that these favorable attitudes vary considerably in intensity and constitute a "soft bloc" of support for the EU; in the 2008 referendum, this soft bloc crumbled in the final week of the campaign.
It seems clear that a second rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by the Irish electorate would plunge the EU into a renewed crisis and threaten to derail the considerable gains in both democratic legitimacy and collective decision-making capacity deriving from the new treaty. Everything indicates that voters now look set to approve the treaty. But nobody should take Irish voters for granted in the final days of the campaign.
John O'Brennan lectures in European Politics and Society at the National University of Ireland Maynooth and is a founding member of the Center for the Study of Wider Europe (www.widereurope.ie). He is the author of "The Eastern Enlargement of the European Union and National Parliaments within the Enlarged European Union." © 2009 Project Syndicate
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THE JAPAN TIMES
EDITORIAL
CHINA WORRIES NEIGHBORS AS ITS NAVY COMES OF AGE
BY LORO HORTA
SINGAPORE — China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has made great strides in recent years as it seeks to come of age. While moving to demonstrate its clout, it also seems to recognize the need to reassure others that the intentions behind its modernization program are peaceful.
Although Beijing has declared a policy of "harmonious seas," which it says is based on respect for equal access and freedom of navigation for all humanity, many remain worried.
PLAN has become the priority of China's military modernization program, acquiring 30 submarines and 22 surface ships in the past decade, in addition to substantial numbers of maritime aviation assets and naval missilery. Conscious of the apprehension its military modernization program is generating, Beijing feels the need to reassure its neighbors and the world by portraying its naval and military expansion as benign and a natural result of its economic growth. Naval diplomacy is a major element of this effort.
In recent years, PLAN has conducted a growing number of visits to foreign harbors and conducted joint exercises with other navies. In 2007 alone, Chinese warships visited 11 countries, traveling as far as the North Atlantic. In the same year, PLAN carried out joint exercises with the navies of France, Spain, Britain and Russia. While these exercises were taking place in European waters, two other Chinese vessels were conducting visits to Australia and New Zealand. At about the same time, two other PLAN ships were visiting Pakistan.
The fact that eight Chinese warships were simultaneously deployed in foreign waters near three different continents illustrates the growing importance of naval diplomacy to Beijing. PLAN's ability to conduct small-scale operations far from its traditional area of operations is growing: In 2008, Chinese warships visited eight countries in Asia and Europe, while PLAN delegations visited 17 countries in Asia, Europe, South America and Africa.
Earlier this year at Qingdao naval base in east China, PLAN celebrated its 60th anniversary by opening its doors to the world. Warships representing navies from 14 countries, including the U.S. and Australia, attended a naval parade and were able to view some of PLAN's most advanced and secretive equipment, such as its nuclear submarines. The message seemed to be "we are getting stronger but more transparent, and we are peaceful."
Educational exchanges are another component of China's expanding naval diplomacy. In 2008, 97 foreign officers from 40 countries graduated from PLAN academies and institutes. Furthermore, PLAN and the Chinese military in general are sending increasingly large numbers of officers to foreign military academies. In 2006, 23 PLAN officers attended courses overseas, ranging from short operations-oriented courses to longer courses at command and staff colleges. Chinese naval officers also attend courses at foreign civilian universities.
The donation of naval equipment and other material is also being used by China to win good will. In 2007, following a visit by the Bolivian Chief of Defense Force to China, Beijing donated six 12-meter patrol boats to the Bolivian Navy.
Medium and small vessels have been donated to Mauritania, Tanzania, Burma, Cambodia and Sierra Leone. China has also repaired or built naval bases, barracks, storage facilities and military hospitals, and donated communication, diving and cartography materials to 34 countries around the world.
In October 2008, the Chinese Navy took delivery of its most modern hospital ship. The 10,000 ton vessel is, according to the People's Daily, the largest hospital ship ever built by any country. It will be based in Qingdao and could become a major tool of Chinese diplomacy. Following the example of the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy, PLAN hopes to use the hospital ship for humanitarian operations.
Antipiracy operations and escorts for merchant ships have, since the beginning of this year, emerged as another important diplomatic element. Since January PLAN destroyers have escorted dozens of vessels off the coast of Somalia, among them Taiwanese and Japanese ships, as well as U.N. World Food Program cargo ships.
What factors account for China's extension in this field of diplomacy? First and foremost, China is eager to portray its military expansion and modernization as peaceful and in the interest of regional stability. The Chinese Communist Party has been relying increasingly on economic growth and nationalism as a source of legitimacy.
It is no coincidence that actions such as the antipiracy missions were given wide coverage in the Chinese media. The objective was clearly to project the image of China as a great naval power, contributing to patriotism and bolstering the government's power as well as angling for prestige on the world stage.
Greater interaction with foreign navies also allows PLAN exposure to the latest developments in naval technology. In September 2007, PLAN took part in its first ever exercise with an aircraft carrier, when two of its ships joined a British carrier for maneuvers in the North Atlantic. Given China's publicly stated intention to acquire an aircraft carrier before 2020, such exercises are of obvious value.
China's efforts in naval diplomacy illustrate its growing ambitions, but Beijing is sending mixed messages. On the one hand, PLAN is becoming more open and transparent, increasing its contact with foreign navies. On the other, it is expanding its arsenal and feeling more confident about displaying it to the world. Are we witnessing a more cooperative China at sea, or a more confident and potentially assertive one?
Loro Horta (rabino-azul@yahoo.com) is a visiting fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore. This article originally appeared in PacNet Newsletter.
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THE KOREA HERALD
EDITORIAL
NEW PRIME MINISTER
With the presentation of a letter of appointment to the new Prime Minister Chung Un-chan at Cheong Wa Dae yesterday, President Lee Myung-bak started the second chapter in his presidency, which will be different from the first 19 months of his five-year term in many ways.
Stronger self-confidence will be displayed in the execution of economic and social policies as well as in dealings with opposition parties. The conservative president is now seen as completely healed from the trauma of his early difficulties under leftist backlash. His public approval ratings have gone up to higher than 50 percent in some recent polls amid clear signs that the national economy has entered a solid state of recovery.
The new prime minister with the background of a liberal economist now joins the administration as the president pursues his newly-adopted pragmatist, center-right policy goals. Chung was inflicted with some bruises in the course of the National Assembly confirmation hearing despite the unilateral support of the ruling party, but his presence in the administration will help it add gravitas and freshen its image.
Much will now depend on what function the president will expect from his top government associate. Upon taking office, Chung expressed determination to achieve "recovery from the economic downturn, improvement in the grassroots economy and national unity" through his supportive role.
Yet, as we watch the launching of a rehashed cabinet, we cannot suppress some unease as to how the two men, with so many differences in their past careers as well as in their ideas on how to run the economy, can complement each other. Chung can help Lee with his economic expertise but the former Seoul National University president could risk conflict with the administration's economic team if he tries to offer any policy alternatives.
Lee has provided an economic and political agenda for his government that has been too heavy in recent months. There are the questions of amending the Sejong administrative city plan and the launching of the four-river development project, which faces persistent objections from opposition parties. On the political front, the constitutional amendment issue looms large, along with the tasks of restructuring the nationwide administrative system and redrawing electoral districts.
A prime minister who can say no to the president has been rare in the history of the republic, although there was the notorious rift between Kim Young-sam and Lee Hoi-chang in the early 1990s. The latter's strong ego shortened his service to just four months. At the moment, though, many have welcomed the appointment of Chung because they regard him as one who can differentiate himself from his many predecessors.
The new prime minister in the Lee Myung-bak presidency has an unusual additional capacity. Few believed that the president's appointment of Chung, who had long been counted as a possible presidential contender for the liberal side, was solely aimed to use his administrative talent and/or economic expertise. Chung's presidential potential has grown further with the new office, and Lee now has greater leverage on the power struggle aiming at Cheong Wa Dae within the governing party.
So, for a number of reasons, Chung will likely act most cautiously as he performs his duty. Any mistake would ruin his chances to move upwards and shatter Lee's vision for the 2012 election. However, extreme caution on every matter would mean gaining little to his credit. These difficult times require all public office holders to do their best to pull the nation out of the economic crisis as early as possible. The prime minister would not make himself an exception.
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THE KOREA HERALD
EDITORIAL
2010 SPENDING PLAN
The administration fixed the scale of the 2010 national budget at 291.8 trillion won (approximately $260 billion) in a cabinet meeting Monday, a 2.5 percent increase from the original budget this year and down 3.3 percent in the total spending, including the supplementary budget. This means about 6 million won for every living soul in Korea.
Fiscal authorities say the welfare sector and the "low carbon, green growth" projects saw the highest growth rates. Railway projects will see a 10 percent increase in government outlays and the development of the four rivers (Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan) will consume nearly 30 percent of total social overhead capital expenditures.
However, in fear of negative public opinions about Lee's favorite project taking up the large chunk of the infrastructure budget, government budget compilers put this year's spending for the four-river project, amounting to 6.7 trillion won, into the budgets for the Ministry of Homeland and Marine Affairs and the state-run Korea Water Resources Corporation. As a result, taxpayers will directly provide 3.5 trillion won in taxes and bear the remaining cost of 3.2 trillion won indirectly through charges paid to K-Water.
K-Water will now be the major investor in the four-river development project. However, it will be many years before the facilities along the rivers yield profits, and in the meantime K-Water is feared to face the financial pinch, thus sharing the fate typical of Korea's state enterprises. Higher water charges may be the ultimate answer.
While the National Assembly is engaged in heated debates on cutting government expenditures throughout the regular fall session, our administration offices will be busy squandering any amount of unused funds in their 2009 budget, such as by repairing roads and purchasing furniture. Under the present system, the unused portion is cut from the next year's budget. Unless this ridiculous system is corrected, no heads of agencies will try to save their budgets and still usable tables and chairs will be thrown out of government offices around the end of the year.
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THE KOREA HERALD
EDITORIAL
THINGS THAT WE ARE CONFUSED WITH
KIM SEONG-KON
Many misunderstandings arise when we confuse two different concepts. In Korea, for example, we often confuse egalitarianism with communism. There is a joke that says "pyeongdeung" (egalitarianism) is found in equal "pyeongsu" (apartment size) and "deung-su" (academic or social rank) among all people. The leftists proclaim that since pyongsu and deungsu determine one's social prestige in Korean society, we should equally distribute wealth and create a classless society to solve the country's problems. On the other hand, the rightists complain that the leftists are trying to take away what we have earned and achieved through hard work, namely our personal possessions and social positions.
During the leftist Roh administration, the poor abominated the rich, thinking that the latter had extorted what was rightfully theirs. The young loathed the old, assuming that the latter unjustly enjoyed privileges. Naturally, juniors revolted against seniors, subordinates against superiors, and employees against employers. While radicals celebrated the socialist revolution, conservatives lamented the unprecedented disruption of social order. Unfortunately, this phenomenon still continues in today's Korean society.
Another word Koreans tend to misconstrue is "freedom." Perhaps due to our history of colonization and our freedom-fighting past, many Koreans conflate "freedom" with "do as you wish." The liberation in 1945 gave us the freedom, only to be deprived of this freedom by military dictators for nearly three decades. We valiantly fought against the tyranny and finally restored our long-lost freedom in the late 1980s. As a result, we have come to believe that we have every right to do anything we desire, which we mistake as the essence of "freedom." Freedom, however, entails responsibility; one cannot freely break the law, assault others or infringe on another's right. Nonetheless, we often confuse freedom with unruliness.
"Democracy" is another word many Koreans misinterpret. We tend to think that democracy is solely based on majority rule. But democracy is much more than that. If a society simply operates under majority rule, it can easily evolve into a totalitarian society driven by the tyranny of the masses. South Korean radicals often resort to massive demonstrations which they mistakenly call a "democratic movement," while completely ignoring minority voices. Democracy, however, should include respecting individuality and the opinion of minorities.
Individuality, too, is a term Koreans often misunderstand. Living in a group-oriented society, we easily confuse individuality with "selfishness" or "egotism," and therefore see it as something obnoxious and impudent. But individuality is a positive concept that encourages uniqueness, self-reliance, and personal integrity. Only a totalitarian society does not allow individuality to exist.
Koreans also seem to confuse "morally flawless" with "politically competent," believing that only an impeccable person should be appointed as a high-ranking government official. Of course, we cannot expect a corrupt man to serve the nation properly. Nevertheless, there is no guarantee that a morally immaculate man is necessarily a competent politician or administrator. Besides, a stubborn moralist without flexibility is likely to terrorize his ministry and lack the diplomatic skills necessary to run a harmonious government. We should give a nominee a chance as long as he does not have any decisive, outstanding flaws that might cripple his performance as a civil servant.
Yet our politicians ruthlessly dig up a nominee's past to find any fault to strike him down. As a result, the nominee is held responsible for a host of things, ranging from events that happened long ago to the things that have nothing to do with him. For example, a nominee's exemption from military duty 40 years ago should not pose a problem in his ability to perform today; even crimes are subject to a statute of limitations. Furthermore, one should not be held responsible for his adult son's dual citizenship. Hopelessly confusing the position of a politician with that of a moralist, however, we are so merciless to otherwise competent nominees as they undergo the National Assembly hearing.
Another controversial issue is the so-called "self-plagiarism." Whenever a scholar is nominated for a cabinet position, our politicians and reporters bring up the issue of the so-called "self-plagiarism." But "self-plagiarism" is a tricky word. Plagiarism occurs when you use other's ideas or writings without their permission; you cannot plagiarize yourself, per se. Publishing two identical articles in two different journals may be unethical. However, it would not be a problem as long as it was done under the editor's request or authorization, and as long as you did not count them as two separate papers to inflate your achievements. It would not be right, therefore, if we accuse a scholar of self-plagiarism only because he did duplicate publication.
Confusing different values and ideas inevitably brings forth chaos. In order to avoid unnecessary disorder, we must not misinterpret important principles like egalitarianism, democracy and freedom in whatever way we wish. Rather, we must comprehensively clarify our misunderstandings, and comply with the true, universal meanings of these important values and principles so that they do not harm, but rather improve our society.
Kim Seong-kon is a professor of English at Seoul National University and director of the Seoul National University Press. - Ed.
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CHINA DAILY
EDITORIAL
MAJOR ISSUE FOR MINORS
There is little chance that Hubei province will recast its rules on the implementation of the Law on the Protection of Minors - which is to take effect from tomorrow - to pacify the uneasy feelings it has given rise to.
Actually there is no case for it at all. The whole thing is public frenzy as a product of media sensationalization, and very much off the point. Citing "national conditions," many believe the rules are unjustifiable.
The document raised eyebrows because of the impression that it prohibits parents from checking such private matters as letters, diaries and cellphone messages of minor children. Legitimacy aside, if you are still worried about it, forget it. The local rule said nothing even close to that. It would still be legally acceptable for inquisitive parents and custodians to monitor their children's very personal information. Though we have difficulty in appreciating parents spying on their children.
Unconvinced? Take a look at the original: "No institution or individual should disclose the privacy of minors. No institution or individual should conceal or destroy the letters, diaries, electronic mail messages, online chat records, cell phone messages, and other personal information of minors. No institution or individual should open and check (such information) without consent by the minor or his or her custodian. With the exception of circumstances on which the law stipulates otherwise."
The leeway here is broad enough for custodians, more often than not parents, to continue doing whatever they like about their children's privacy. After all, the law has not outlawed it.
We are not surprised at all at the sensation a topic like this has stirred up. It is rather the logic behind the explicit worries on the part of the concerned parents that worries us. In particular, the way parental surveillance is justified.
In the first place, "national conditions" do not make a good excuse for such intrusion. We have a lot of undesirable "national conditions". This is one of them.
Chinese parents are known for their meticulous interest in their children's futures. Yet they often see their fine motivations to guarantee the healthy growth of their children backfire. It is so exactly because they are too assured of patriarchal authority to appreciate what is on their children's mind.
Many parents opposed the alleged ban in the Hubei rules because they feel the local rule will deny them access to what their children really think. Which is in itself an indication of their lamentable inability to enter into constructive interaction with those in their care.
It is indeed a time-tested "national condition." Our culture is so addicted to patriarchal authority that there is little initiative to make respect two-way between parents and their children.
But is it not shameful if parents have to rely on secretly prying open their children's diaries and mailboxes to really know them?
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CHINA DAILY
EDITORIAL
COUPLES FALLING APART
How high is the divorce rate among young couples born in the 1980s? Though it is different in different regions, there is a consensus that they do not take marriage as seriously as the older generations do. Behind this is the young generation's self-centeredness and lack of capability to get along with others.
The average divorce rate in urban areas is around 20 percent and it should be much higher among couples in their 20s and early 30s. The popular phrases shanhun (meaning getting married immediately after knowing each other) and shanli (to divorce in less than two years after marriage) reflect their attitude to marriage.
In the southwestern municipality of Chongqing alone, more than 1,400 couples, who divorced in the first six months this year, gave haste in getting married as the reason. They had no idea what wedlock means. It is too late when they realize that it means responsibility for each other.
Tolerance and considerateness are necessary qualities for getting along with others. And, they are particularly important for stability of a marriage. Lack of these qualities among young people is a serious problem.
Most being single children in their families, they have been spoiled by parents and grandparents. They are used to getting the best things and the most attention from their elders who dote too much on them.
Most of them don't know that loving a person means to love his or her merits and at the same time to tolerate his or her demerits. Love does not mean only to get but also, primarily, to give. If neither wants to give, it is impossible for a marriage to survive.
Investigations show that trivial matters, which people of an earlier generation would consider inconsequential, are usually cause for divorce. One young woman wanted divorce because her husband snores at night. Having difficulty in getting along with their mothers-in-law has become a major cause behind many a young woman's move for divorce.
Behind this high divorce rate is the poor ability to solve problems on their own. Divorce offers a passive and easy escape from marital problems. This is primarily because their parents never tell them that life is a process of constantly solving problems, and they never let them solve their problems on their own. As a result, they immediately seek parents' help when faced with problems. When they become independent and get married, they can ask no one for help for the problems in their marriage, and then they choose to keep away from them.
There are now some classes being conducted by experts for prospective young couples. They are taught in these classes what marriage means and how they should get along with each other and how they should react to each other when they have conflicts.
It is more than necessary for young couples to get well prepared for marriage. And it is even more important for parents to be told that they must know how to let their children learn to solve their own problems.
The ability to solve problems on their own is not only beneficial to maintaining their marriage but good for them in their job, too.
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CHINA DAILY
EDITORIAL
CHINA'S MAGIC TO BREAK THOSE DOOM SPELLS
If new terms such as "Chimerica" and "G2" have any meaning, their constant appearance in mainstream Western media must naturally lead people to consider China a rising power that will soon be the equal of the United States.
China may not be that powerful yet, but 30 years' of rapid economic growth and its strong performance during the current global economic downturn may enable the world to rethink about the secret of its vitality.
The road to the country's present position has witnessed more than a few rocks strewn in the way. It has been a bumpy, zigzag ride, taking time to travel. In the past 60 years, many people had constantly feared that the most populous Communist country in the world would some time come to an end.
Following the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, there were doubts whether the ruling Communist Party, which described itself as a party of the proletariat and whose membership consisted mainly of peasants, could rule a continent-sized country.
But it did survive and miracles took place.
Wang Yukai, a political scientist at the China National School of Administration, explained that the reason China defied and survived the doomsayers was because during times of difficulty and when the rest of the world was casting doubt on its vitality, China was a relatively insular country, focused on resolving its inner problems.
Others said that it was because China built up its own strength developing nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles, in addition to its basic industrial system in the 1950s and 1960s.
The year 1978 reshaped China's fate and path, and perhaps presaged a shift in the world's power balance. China's reformers, led by Deng Xiaoping, decided to open the country to the rest of the world and formulated an economic model that attracted universal attention, once again, to the Middle Kingdom.
However, pressures continue as its economy is rising to new heights.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the political turmoil in China in the summer of 1989, led Westerners to doubt the sustainability of China persisting on "a socialist road with Chinese characteristics".
In 1994, Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute of the USA, painted in his report Who will feed China a gloomy picture, saying that the country with the largest population in the world would inevitably become famine-stricken which would cause international chaos and bring havoc to the human race.
Again, China's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 prompted Western experts to question the sustainability of its economic development. Many believed that China's "stiff and fragile" State-run enterprises would break down and trigger nationwide panic.
Gordon Chang, a lawyer who worked for two decades in China and later became a naturalized US citizen, predicted in 2003 that the extreme difficulties the country faced would lead to the "coming collapse of China".
According to the scenario he painted, China could not sustain itself for five years, and a total collapse was forecast to occur before the torch of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was lit. Years have passed since Chang made his prediction, but the strong performance of the Chinese economy, most of all during the global economic downturn, runs contrary to the lawyer's judgment.
These sorts of assumptions usually fall over by themselves as the perspectives they take are mostly one-sided and prejudiced, which bars them from any balanced probe into the mechanism of China's development, said Wang Yukai.
The Western world may also have taken it for granted that China's reform and opening-up policy, which enabled the country to embrace a market economy, would lead to a radical change in its political system and eventually bring China closer to the Western model, but in fact quite the opposite has happened, Wang said.
Pan Wei, director of the Center for Chinese and Global Affairs of Peking University, says it is time to summarize "China's mode of development".
Its development should consist of its social, political and economic development modes, he said.
For Wang Yukai, China's development can be interpreted through three aspects: economically, the adoption of a market economy; politically, a system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China; and the country's system of political power - the people' s congresses; and the capacity for self-correction China has while unswervingly on its own path of development.
Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore, in a published article says the outside world has pinned great expectations on China emerging as a great power and has identified the Chinese mode of development.
The author is a writer with Xinhua News Agency.
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CHINA DAILY
EDITORIAL
THE LOW-CARBON FUTURE ECONOMY
A low-carbon economy (LCE) is a concept which was first proposed in the UK Energy White Paper 2003, entitled Our energy future: creating a low-carbon economy. Thereafter, LCE became a buzzword arousing increasingly worldwide concern. The Energy White Paper, however, presents no precise definition of LCE, nor the relevant methods or standards for delimitating LCE.
The LCE, thought as a worldwide hot topic, is still a vague concept updating over time. In the mainstream view it refers to an economy having a minimal output of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the biosphere.
When the concept was first put forward, most scientific and public opinion had come to the conclusion that the over-concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere due to anthropogenic causes is the direct cause of the ongoing global warming. Therefore, a campaign to implement LCE globally is believed to be imperative for averting catastrophic climate change.
Nearly all countries have realized the necessity of transition toward LCE and have acted accordingly, which has become an important component of the long-term global warming mitigation strategy. In the meantime, the draining of non-renewable energy resources, increasing energy demand and soaring energy prices are other factors that promote the global low-carbon transition.
The LCE aims at minimizing GHG emissions from all anthropogenic activities, featuring higher efficiency in every process of energy production and consumption. Specifically, as a new economic pattern, LCE has several substantial differences with the traditional economic modes characterized by high energy consumption, poor efficiency and high emission. For example, LCE requires high efficiency in manufacturing energy utilization and a pretty high proportion of renewable energy in energy structure; it encourages more bicycling, walking and use of low carbon-emission and public vehicles instead of private cars in transportation; office buildings and houses should be built with high efficiency and energy-saving material and in an energy conserving manner. In the final analysis, through energy-saving technology innovation, application of low carbon dioxide emission technology and improving energy utilization efficiency, LCE can gradually reduce per capita carbon emissions and establish low carbon living environment and lifestyle.
Though various governments appreciate a low-carbon economy, the focus and concern are different when it comes to the huge gap between developed countries and the developing world. Governments in developed countries could win votes as long as local people's present lifestyle and living conditions can be maintained. However, developing countries face much tougher challenges in improving their overall living standard toward middle-income level. So imposing limitation on GHGs of developing countries is not only unfair to them, but also somewhat wrong morally.
As a revolution in global economic development and human living pattern, LCE deserves corresponding actions from each country and individual. The requirement for developed and developing countries, however, should not be the same, which is also the basis of the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities".
Theory and practice already confirm that public opinion on the quality and value of the environment is highly related with their income and the payment capacity for emission mitigation heavily depends on income level. Compared with China's per capita income of $2000 in 2007, the US averaged at $46,000, which is 23 times that of China's. In China, the average electricity cost per kilowatt-hour is 6.7 cents while it is 9.1 cents in the US, only 1.4 times that of China's. So in the US it would be easier to mobilize the public to support relief from GHG emissions as well as raise money as funds for implementing LCE. So the huge personal income gap also objectively contributes to the common but differentiated responsibilities between developed and developing countries.
Developed countries are more to blame for global warming rather than developing countries. The current per capita emission of developing countries is significantly lower than that of developed countries, irrespective of the latter's mass emissions in history. Besides, in developing countries many emissions are transferred from developed countries. Ranking at the top of the industry chain, developed countries prefer to move the manufacturing with heavy energy consumption, high pollution and emission to developing countries. Therefore, developed countries should take their due responsibilities in GHG mitigation and address the problems they have caused.
Besides reducing their own emissions, a promising LCE of developed countries means they should shoulder more responsibility in helping developing countries in this regard. Without caring about low-carbon economy in developing countries, LCE of developed countries will lead to more GHG emissions.
The author is a professor with Center of China Energy Economics Research, Xiamen University.
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EDITORIAL from The Pioneer, The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, The Financial Express, The Hindu, The Statesman’s, The Tribune, Deccan Chronicle, Deccan Herald, Economic Times, The Telegraph, The Assam Tribune, Pakistan Observer, The Asian Age, The News, The Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, The New York Times, China Daily, Japan Times, The Gazette, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Guardian, Jakarta Post, The Moscow Times, The Bottom Line and more only on EDITORIAL.
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