Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

By M J Akbar
When George Bush looked like he would lose to John McCain, let alone Al Gore, he unleashed his reserve force on the man who would wash him away with a flood of populism laced with wit. This was the Christian Fight, a ...more

Geography Museum -
Need of the hour

By Dr M L Wangoo
Museum and its importance: The world "Museum" comes from the Greek word 'mouseion' which was "originally a temple of the Muses". The world Book .....more

Proposed Peace Talks
and KPs

Prof. M L Raina
A few months ago Hizbul Mujahideen sent its ball of ceasefire flying into the Central Government's court.But before the ball could bounce, the 'service' was declared faulty by the 'third umpire' and the....more

EDITORIAL

NATIONAL ISSUES

It augurs well for parliamentary democracy and the nation that parties sink their differences once it comes to any national issue. Such camaraderie manifested abundantly when Congress Chief Whip in Rajya Sabha did not seek any clarification on the Prime Minister's statement announcing extension of ceasefire in Jammu & Kashmir. Pranab Mukerjee referred to it as very sensitive issue and message should go to the world loud and clear that entire country is united on the imperative need to bring peace to the troubled State of Jammu & Kashmir. It is equally heartening to note that it happened in Rajya Sabha where opposition has clear majority. Only a day earlier opposition censor motion against the Government was carried by large margin. It is as well a welcome sign in that no other opposition party sought any clarification which is their right otherwise. It has been the consistent wont of the opposition to find faults with whatever the Government did or propose even though it happened to be for the good of the nation and its teeming millions. This time round the opposition showed marvellous gesture reflecting unity of purpose. In retrospect one may mention passing of unanimous resolution by both Houses of Parliament declaring J&K as integral part of India including PoK. To be precise, present gesture shown by the opposition is extension of the Unanimous Resolution. With such widespread support, Vajpayee Government is definitely better equipped to push through the peace agenda, albeit step by step.

Consensual approach on national issues is indispensable for successful functioning of democracy. There are several national issues on which there is lack of unity. Once things are opposed for the sake of opposition it weakens the national will to tackle ticklish issues. For instance, nuclear weaponisation in the wake of Pokhran II blasts has been criticised by main opposition party i.e. Congress. Leftist bandwagon has been quite blunt and aggressive in its criticism when they say that India does not need nuclear weapons or for that matter any deterrent. Indeed, it is a matter of far reaching ramifications. Flanked by nuclear China and nuclear Pakistan, India cannot survive as a nation unless it also has credible nuclear deterrent. Conventional armed forces can be subjected to blackmail and even disabled with even a mild nuclear strike by the enemy. In fact, Japan which was a formidable power had to opt for surrender when two atom bombs were dropped by America on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Such is the impact of nuclear first-strike. It would have been more prudent for the Congress Party to take part of the credit for nuclear weaponisation programme. In fact, Congress Governments at the Centre are very much a party to it. First Pokhran test was conducted during Indira Gandhi's spell in 1974. Ever since development programmes continues. Agni missile was developed and declared technology demonstrator by Narsimha Rao Government and then capped. The file for carrying out nuclear tests remained on the table of successive Prime Ministers but none of them gave the nod. Vajpayee or for that matter NDA or BJP gets the credit because no time was lost to opt for the tests and consequent weaponisation. It would have been in the fitness of things to take at least 90% credit but instead they opted for criticism. Predicament of the leftist bandwagon can be judged from the fact that they are neither here nor there with the fall of Communist empire world over. They still like to be seen as part of the old order. National security demands full backing irrespective of party or other interests. One hopes that main opposition party will not allow itself to be swayed by cheap gimmicks or petty interests once it comes to national security.

Another issue that defies national consensus is liberalisation of economy. It is really Congress baby. Narsimha Rao Government rejected socialistic pattern of society and opted for massive economic reforms corresponding to capitalist regime or better call it global economy. Manmohan Singh as the Finance Minister initiated many reforms which yielded rich dividends. Same policy was continued by UF Government led by Deve Gowda and IK Gujral despite surviving on the crutches of leftist parties who were opposed to liberalisation. In the same vein in NDA Government led by Vajpayee has done nothing new but only taken the Congress policy forward for global integration of the Indian economy. It is strange that Congress has been wriggling out of it off and on. Compulsions of leftist parties can be understood but Congress being the initiator of such reforms must take the message forward by extending full support to the NDA Government. Lack of such support and rampant criticism has hindered flow of FDIs thereby setting the clock back. Foreign investors want unity of purpose as regards economic policies so that whichever party is in power keeps the economic policies intact. In fact, liberalisation suffers and to that extent country loses.

In this context one may mention change of guard in White house. As regards American economic and security interests both Republican and Democrats sink their rivalry and speak with united voice. It would in the fitness of things to expect from the 114 year party as also from other opposition parties to be supportive of national issues once it comes to subserving national interests.

INEXCUSABLE LAPSES

The Standing Committee on Defence has tabled a very damaging report in Parliament as regards preparedness of IAF to meet present and emerging challenges. The report takes the Government to task for not adequately responding to urgent and essential needs of IAF. It declares that 2 years hence 40% of the IAF fleet would be obsolete. The main criticism of the committee is on the LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) project which was initiated in 1983. This aircraft was meant to replace ageing Mig fleet as the front line fighters. Prototype was inaugurated with great fanfare. First test flight was stated during this month end. Like earlier deferments, this is not surprising that test flight has been postponed indefinitely. Test flight in itself is not the only step. Many improvements and modifications go into place after the successful test flight. Initial forecasts were that at least a squadron would be delivered to IAF in the year 2003. IAF top brass which have been closely monitoring the development of LCA firmly opines that it would not be until the year 2012 at the minimum or even 2015 when the LCA could be inducted into IAF. Thus a project that commenced in 1985 gives the delivery in 2015, a clear gap of 30 years. By that time all the systems incorporated would have gone obsolete. IAF won't accept obsolescence. Worst part of it is that Rs 3000 crore have already been pumped in the LCA project. By the year 2015 it could touch 15000 crore. It is abhorrent and incoherrent thought totally unacceptable. You can't leave IAF at the mercy of LCA. Again, Mig-21 which has been referred as 'Flying Coffins' show no signs of having a month free of crash. Upgradation programme of Mig 21's is behind schedule by two years. Acquisition of AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) remains elusive. Advanced Jet Trainers fail to cross the negotiation stage. Delivery of SU-30 is beyond stipulated schedule. It is time that LCA project is reviewed in its entirety as it is not the funds but other factors that are slated to deliver an obsolete fighter to IAF and that too 15 years hence. Government must come out with correctives to give strategic edge to IAF without any further delay.

The end : Bush walks into the sunrise

By M J Akbar

When George Bush looked like he would lose to John McCain, let alone Al Gore, he unleashed his reserve force on the man who would wash him away with a flood of populism laced with wit. This was the Christian Fight, a conservative phalanx that is more loyal to Moses than to Jesus, has never encountered the Sermon on the Mount, and instead of offering the other cheek generally extracts two eyes for one. Abortion is a big issue in America at all times; for the conservatives, to use an appropriate metaphor, it is a life and death issue. Bush was campaigning in South Carolina when a man who probably thought he was being useful asked Bush what he would do when President about ''all these bastards'' born to women on welfare. George Bush looked genuinely angry, and replied; ''First, sir, we must remember that it is our duty to love all the children''.

It has been observed that the difference between George Bush and Al Gore during this extremely boring campaign was that the former became human, once in a while, while the latter resolutely refused to do so. Gore never responded in either joy or anger; he was programmed to say what his target base wanted to hear. It is a relief to report that man triumphed over machine once again, although probably for the last time.

It is accepted as fact that this was the narrowest victory in the history of American democracy, that but for a aberration called the electoral college Gore would have been waiting today to become the next President of the United States. This fact hides a truth.

The truth is that Al Gore was defeated by some nine percentage points, for this should have been the margin of his victory, and this was the difference by which he was ahead in the opinion polls in mid-September. In any calculation such a lead six or seven weeks before an election is called impregnable. Gore was the candidate of an economic boom, the beneficiary of the goodwill generated by the longest period of sustained growth in American history, heir and partner of a man who would have won without a serious contest but for another aberration in the system. Prosperity and victory are natural brothers. Bill Clinton and Al Gore had snatched office against the odds from the senior Bush with a single slogan: ''It's the economy, stupid!'' Gore could have become President by simply retaining that slogan, telling Bush Jr what he had told Bush Sr, that he was better qualified to protect prosperity precisely because he had created it. Instead he converted a nine- point lead into a pointless defeat. The defeat was pointless because George Bush had no point to make. He was not offering any unique vision of America. compassionate conservatism is about as solid as a snowflake in Texas. If he had a bait, it was a tax cut, an idea that was properly minced by Gore as a gift to the rich. Thanks to Bill Clinton, more Americans have become rich, but not enough to become the decisive element in an election. There was nothing else on the positive side that differentiated him from Gore. On the other hand, Bush carried the terrible burden of Black anger against white Republicans. The continuing empowerment of Blacks made them an enormous asset for Gore. Gore had everything going for him, except himself.

His judgement was deeply flawed. Gore is alleged, by his well-wishers, to be quite human in private, but he refused to reveal his natural self, cavorting during the debates like a puppet under instructions. Since he is a terrible actor, his intelligence looked like pomposity, and his challenge wore a coat of condescension. But nothing could have been more suicidal than the distance he deliberately created between himself and the man who had given eight years as vice president. To imagine that Clinton was a liability was stupidity. No market research is a substitute for intelligence; and it has been clear to the meanest intelligence that Clinton would have won a third term were it possible. How could such a consistent victor, a master of political judgment and a brilliant campaigner be considered a liability? If Clinton had a flaw it was his widely advertised promiscuity. If therefore he was at liability he could only be a liability to his wife, Hillary. She never rejected his political embrace. She rode the Clinton charisma to a handsome victory in New York. Gore realised he had been badly advised only in the last week of the campaign when Clinton intervened to great effect, and nearly pulled Gore out of the trough that he had dug for himself. Sense came too late.

Americans are pleased that they emerged through this ''crisis'' without tanks on the streets. This may be another fact that hides the truth. Countries with parliamentary democracy know that a free vote and clarity are not always synonymous. Britain and India knew of a hung Parliament long before Florida discovered a hung chad. Tanks do not roll out because there is no clear majority after an election. Americans see the rest of the world through television, and television sees the rest of the world through tanks, so the confusion is forgivable if not understandable.

The truth may be more uncomfortable: Americans did not much care about the outcome because they did not care for either of their options. You cannot rage against the dying of Tweedledum if all you have is Tweedledee as the alternative.

A second truth may be more comfortable. Americans are not too worried about who is in power because they have consciously, since Ronald Reagan, whittled down the role of government in their lives. The Republican base got worked up only when it became convinced that the White House was being stolen from them; it was angered by theft. The only group that was genuinely passionate about the result was Black America. because government still means a great deal to it. Blacks believe that Democrats spend more on their welfare, care more for them. Does one or the other make any difference to India?

Yes.

President Bush is far less interested in creating chalk circles around CTBT, to begin with. For Democrats that is a line drawn in stone. The world hinges around the confirmation of the present nuclear club as the only centre of gravity for the foresecable future. Republicans appreciate that India may not want to surrender the hegemony of Asia to China. This does not mean that Washington will ever endorse India's positions. But Republicans like those who help themselves better than those who ask for protection. That is why they are so impressed with China. Which brings us to the bad news. In the immediate future, China will gain more, in economic terms, from a Republican administration. Bush will respect China's economic strength because it exists, and ask us why we are where we arek which is a good question.

It is my guess that the old equation between the Republicans and Pakistan has become a nonsense. It was an accident that President Eisenhower was a Republican; a Democrat in the Cold War of the Fifties would have had exactly the same policies. (Democrat John Kennedy fell asleep during his meeting with Indian hero Jawaharlal Nehru. Of course President Kennedy could have been tired from the night before.) India has no experience of a Republican administration in Washington since the defeat of the Soviet Union. Pakistan could be surprised to find a more realistic appreciation of the dangers that it has spawned in the region. The Republicans are oil men; they know the meaning of energy, and they know the potential havoc from the forces that are being spawned over the last decade in Pakistan. This is going to be more complicated than simple lines from the past might suggest. President Bush has a father who went to war in the most dangerous place in the world; his secretary of State is his father's top general and his vice President is his father's defence secretary. He has not chosen his father's team; he has only chosen those who who shared his father's views on the Islamic world.

It is always instructive to end with a little-known fact in the hope of making it slightly better known. President George Bush Senior came very close to declaring Pakistan a terrorist State.

There is work ahead for Islamabad, and absolutely no room for complacency in Delhi.
21st CENTURY MEDIA

Geography Museum - Need of the hour

By Dr M L Wangoo

Museum and its importance: The world "Museum" comes from the Greek word 'mouseion' which was "originally a temple of the Muses". The world Book Encyclopedia Vol. 13 observes that a "Museum is an institution where artistic and educational materials are exhibited----for observation and study... (and these) may include scientific specimens, works of art, and exhibits and informations... for researchers, students and other members of the community."

In modern age subject-museums are highly valued and the Secondary Education Commission observes museums "play a great part in the education of school children as they bring home to them much more vividly than any prosaic lecture, discoveries of the past and the various developments that have taken place in may fields of science and technology". So the geography museum is like a repository and serves no less than an educational institution. Thus, the focus of attention has gone to the fact that "it is necessary from the education point of view to establish such museum in important centres, at least wherein both ancient and modern collections will be exhibited and in some cases even demonstration given of the actual process of development of various scientific discoveries. Nothing can impress students in the formative age so much, as the actual visualising of these experiments in a graphic manner."

Objectives of a Geography Museum:

It should teach children how to conserve the museum and how to use the various devices of exhibiting its collections in an effective and appealing manner.

Attempts should be made to widen the scope of the geography museum to grow it into a "Community Centre" where locals and others would love to come and feel thrilled to watch, understand and benefit from the practical knowledge made available to them. This is particularly suitable for our 70 per cent rural population.

The geography museum should widen the attention of school youngsters to be educated beyond geography. It should include history, economics, civics, sociology etc., to establish their inter-relationship with geography for broader understanding.

It should gradually become a Centre of great activity for children where teachers conduct lectures, demonstrations and experimental work to improve the teaching-learning process in geography.

A geography museum should develop visual instruction techniques, and some kind of innovative work with museum specimens.

The geography museum should become the hub of activities where learners are guided to overcome difficulties and seek fresh information through the modernised and multiple A.V. aids available there.

Activities in a geography museum:

Map - making: Maps play a leading role in the teaching of geography. "Map literacy", as it is called is the key for understanding the various relationships like distance, location, direction of places or events connected and so on. Maps provide a rational data about the distribution of land, climate, economic resources, production, routes, agriculture, water resources, forests wild life etc., responsible to shape the destiny of people in different places of habitation. For very young children, it is safe to help them to trace out, copy, enlarge and reduce various maps meant for their study. Later on they may learn to use colours and symbols to pick up the art of topography.

Maps can be of various kinds showing relief aspects like regions and the world at large; distribution maps depict population, language, human divisions etc. Besides, we have weather maps seismological maps, contour maps geological maps etc.

The various types of maps are drawn and designed in the museum by the students under the rich guidance of the geography teacher. This exercise gradually provides great fun to learners to understand the essentials of cartography. But actually a map is incomplete without a globe which is called the true representative of earth's physical personality.

Chart - making: It is composed of graphic, numerical, pictorial or vertical material, providing a feast of clear visual details, suited to enhance the quality of teaching geography. Recently drawing flow charts and flip charts have become a common exercise in a geography museum.

These days markets are flooded with ready-made geographical charts, but it is advantageous to encourage children to prepare charts themselves under the keen supervision of their teacher in the museum, to master the art of making beautiful charts. Each chart should have its pin-pointed summary for grasping its ideas. They deserve to be neat and clean, and free from too many details.

We have also time-line charts which represent a clear linear representation of time. In fact, a time-line is a simple device to reduce time-sense into space - sense for the sake of easy understanding by our students. The time-lines are of various kinds used to simplify geography learning.

Graph-making: When we need the use of graphs to represent quantitative data, we make use of histograms, pictorial graphs, time-lines etc. In Mathematics, students have some familiarity with frequency curves, histograms, pie-diagrams etc. We can tap this knowledge for geography to represent imports and exports, population increase, temperature, latitudes and longitudes of places, environmental composition (in terms of lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere), the structure of the earth, forms of environmental pollution, human occupations, India's physical features (like climate, natural vegetation and wild life) etc.

Picture - Collection and Picture-making: "Children by their very nature, are picture - minded." They have great love for pictures that can become an activity in a geography museum to facilitate the learning of various geographical topics. So, children should be encouraged to collect suitable pictures and photographs to paste them in their project -- books to be kept in the museum.

Picture-making is a pleasant museum - activity with young students. They should be supervised to draw geographical pictures of eclipses, rotation and revolution, cycle of seasons, agricultural products, transport facilities wind systems etc.

Pictures substitute the spoken word of the lecture method. In fact they "can short-cut the learning process." In lower classes picture-albums should be encouraged. Stamp-collection and coin-collection are equally beneficial to make geography learning practical and innovative.

Preparation of a geography scrap book: Now-a-days it is becoming a common practice in more and more schools to motivate students to maintain a good scrap books to preserve their various scraps collected from magazines, journals, newspapers, old books and so on for learning geography.

Care should be taken that the scrap book for geography is attractive in size, colour, print, space, etc. Follow a systematic principle in arranging the scraps in the book. Above all it should be maintained in such a manner that it becomes a proud possession of a geography student and to display it when required.

Besides, Radio, TV, Computer, Films, etc., available in the geography museum, can offer a fund of activities for learners to quench their thirst for learning.

How to increase the visual appeal of a geography museum: Firstly, make the maximum use of the space with proper planning, in which both students and teachers should join hands. Secondly, we should light music when students or visitors are going round the museum, as it is psychologically beneficial. Thirdly, just as in a drama, different coloured lights are used to have special effects on the themes presented, similarly it should be done here. Fourthly, the use of appealing and suitable labels on the specimens should be "brief and to the point". The labels should be catchy and convey the true spirit of the exhibits.

To conclude, we can say that a geography museum is a Centre of great learning for the students and the concerned teacher. Studying stamps, coins, maps, pictures, models, weather charts, scraps books, documents, minerals, rock samples, locally-made things etc. are sufficient to excite young minds for suitable behavioural changes. It is therefore accepted that a geography museum should be a centre for multiple teaching which "involves primarily the analysis of casual relationships and the intelligent understanding of the phenomena occuring on the earth's surface." It is possible to provide many learning experiences for school children to acquaint, themselves with the various skills and competencies useful in understanding the subject in its true perspective and to ensure desired behavioural outcomes and perfect concept formation of the subject.