.

EDITORIAL

Progressive State

It all depends how you interpret ‘progress’ and from it derive progressive state. India has eked out distinct niche for being a country with ‘unity in diversity’ and pluralistic dispensation. It abounds in the affluent class; it is as well notorious for having 36 crore living below the poverty line. Penury and illiteracy are complementry to each other while reverse happens to be true of those belonging to the elitist class. The middle order as per nomenclature itself is ‘neither here nor there’ and yet it is this class that numerically overtakes others. It is wrong to say that conditions in India have gone from bad to worse since independence. The figures speak otherwise. India has made rapid strides in food production, in industrialisation, in higher education to have the largest human resource. Above all democracy survives all trials and tribulations. There are progressive laws; it is quite another thing that these are applied more in its violation than scrupulous observance that has eroded the confidence of the people in the system in vogue. By far the greatest progress manifests abundantly when one sees the population chart rising in geometrical progression to take the country into next millennium from 36 crore at the time of partition to hefty 100 crore. ....more

A country caught in two women's political battle

By K P Bhanumathy
When two formidable women face each other with daggers drawn all hell can break ...more

We sink or swim together

By K. P. S. Gill
Much of the violence in India's North-East has been inspired by a high minded rhetoric . ..more

Will the second innings
for Kumaratunga resolve ethnic strife ?

By Jayant Muralidharan
Colombo: Just before the poll, the manner in which the suicide killer, strapped with bombs ....more

Teachers as seen in
the 21st century
Academic Pulse
Prof. S K Bhalla

Now when the enemy has disgracefully retreated from the Indian soil after a befitting ....more

Millennium hope
‘hijacked’ in Kashmir
TALES OF TRAVESTY

By Dr Jitendra Singh
As if to sound a siren of continuing despair over Kashmir on the eve of New Millennium, .. ....more

EDITORIAL

Progressive State

It all depends how you interpret ‘progress’ and from it derive progressive state. India has eked out distinct niche for being a country with ‘unity in diversity’ and pluralistic dispensation. It abounds in the affluent class; it is as well notorious for having 36 crore living below the poverty line. Penury and illiteracy are complementry to each other while reverse happens to be true of those belonging to the elitist class. The middle order as per nomenclature itself is ‘neither here nor there’ and yet it is this class that numerically overtakes others. It is wrong to say that conditions in India have gone from bad to worse since independence. The figures speak otherwise. India has made rapid strides in food production, in industrialisation, in higher education to have the largest human resource. Above all democracy survives all trials and tribulations. There are progressive laws; it is quite another thing that these are applied more in its violation than scrupulous observance that has eroded the confidence of the people in the system in vogue. By far the greatest progress manifests abundantly when one sees the population chart rising in geometrical progression to take the country into next millennium from 36 crore at the time of partition to hefty 100 crore. It is this ‘progress’ that has made other strides submerge in its vastness. All the same it is a progressive country and even in terms of population it is going to overtake China in the next thirty years to be right on top. It is because despite intentions of coming out with effective population control policy, the so-called ‘unity in diversity’ and pluralism will not allow any ingress in their liberties.

Amongst the states, Kerala can rightly pride in having cent percent literacy and it is also the largest exporter of manpower earning large foreign exchange through remittances from abroad. From the literacy stems voluntary population control by logging lowest birth rate in India. Tamil Nadu is fast picking up towards achieving these twin goals of literacy and population control. By any reckoning these are progressive states, some negative aspects notwithstanding. Karnataka can rightly pride in having the largest number of private engineering colleges, polytechnics and medical colleges. Students from all over India as also NRIs words do get their ambitions fulfilled even as their own state fail to accommodate them. Maharashtra comes next in terms of such institutions that produce professionals to give India the coveted slot of having largest technical manpower resources. Karnataka too is progressive. Forget some lapses here and there. Gujarat remains the hub of industrial activity, the latest being the addition of largest petro-complex in Jamnagar built by Ambanis. It is state with highest business acumen besides being the only state that has lived with ‘prohibition’ over the decades even as other states like Andhra Pradesh and Haryana after enforcing prohibition with great fanfare reversed the same. And believe it Gujarat has the highest power tariff in the country and to that extent the only Electricity Board that is on its own. So the state remains progressive.

It will be quite interesting to have a look at the so-called progress in the Hindi heartland comprising of UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. These are the states that have lowest literacy figure and consequent highest birth rate. In terms of latter, these states are catalyst to propel India into next millennium with 100 crore mouths. Of these four states, Bihar occupies the top slot in many aspects. For instance Bihar has made tremendous progress in scams. On the law front, largest murders have been recorded. So is the number of gun wielders. And the latest figure relates to abductions with over 16 thousands abducted during the Laloo/Rabri rule. Last year alone logged 2700 abductions. Well it will quite an injustice to J&K if its ‘achievements’ and ‘progress’ is not mentioned. J&K can rightly pride in having largest per capita cops, largest per capita employees, largest and longest power curtailments and of course largest number of terrorists and equally largest armed forces when compared to any other state. It is upto you to judge which is the most ‘progressive’ state, be it negative or positive !

A country caught in two women's political battle

By K P Bhanumathy

When two formidable women face each other with daggers drawn all hell can break loose and when they happen to be political leaders God help the country. This is high drama, played in Bangladesh today. Sheikh Hasina Wajed, the present Prime Minister, and Begum Khaleda Zia, the wife of former President Zia-ur-Rehman, are the prime actors in the play. Both have a one-point mission in life to bring the other down. Hand over to a caretaker government and hold elections, says Khaleda Zia and her alliance partners (Jatiya Party, Jamiat Islami and OLJ). ‘No’, says Hasina, ‘let us have a dialogue’. At a well organised public meeting on the outskirts of Dhaka, Khaleda told her audience that the aim of the BNP (Bangladesh National Party) movement was to dislodge the Hasina government and save the country.

Not a day passes without demonstrations, rallies and hartals with life coming to a standstill. With no obvious commitment to the nation or to the well-being of the people by the ruling clique or other politicians, the scenario as one sees is one of utter chaos and despair. Long traffic jams, cacophony of hooting cars, uncollected garbage, insanitary housing complexes with petty traders setting up shop on footpaths and unruly cycle rickshaws twisting their way and who are a law unto themselves is an everyday experience in the streets of Dhaka. Law and order is unknown to the high or low; no traffic policeman is within sight and if one of the rare species is seen hovering around he soon disappears during the chaotic traffic snarl.

Very little of orderliness or security to life or property, independence or sovereignty is ensured, says a Bangladeshi friend sadly. In the few days of my stay in Dhaka, waiting for Godot (interview with Hasina), there were five bomb explosions in Dhaka, Khulna and Jessore during the Friday namaz in mosques. Explosive material were also found in a newspaper building. Crude bombs were discovered near the Dhaka Shilpa Bank area, in the playground of a Madrasa, explosives were found hidden in a water container, anti-tank mines in a brief case with a training manual inside. Later in the week a bomb scare in a crowded supermarket caused panic. The explosions in the Dhaka and Khulna mosques killed and wounded many. Barbarous acts are on the increase with the law enforcing system in a state of apathy.

Sheikh Hasina lost no time in accusing the opposition party for the bomb attacks, which compelled a local newspaper to retort - "This is incredible. How could the Prime Minister bring herself to publicly accuse the BNP of involvement when the investigations have just begun".

One of the poorest countries in the world, its economy is in a shambles and for long a bread basket case. Its financial market is dead as dodo. A kerb market is being encouraged, which has ruined other sectors of the economy. External current account deficit stands at 819 million dollars (1998-99) and the trade deficit has risen to 519 million dollars. The government to all appearance has failed in the task of governance, the bureaucracy is handstrapped due to the highhanded ways and incompetence of the political leadership, which is surrounded by a coterie of ineffectual advisers and sycophants. Promises made to the people are passed out as political statements. The recent floods have created havoc, inundating large areas of agricultural land and caused loss of life and property.

The Awami government is fast losing credibility due to inefficiency, neglect and its obession with the BNP, which is having an indirect effect of making the people see the BNP as a lesser evil. A well-known columnist in Bangladesh refers to the ruling party as ‘bumpkin authoritarianism playing communal politics, intolerance and violence’. Politically inspired murders, supression and oppression and persecution of the opposition and fiats sidelining the judiciary along with the sinking economy are making the people restless and angry". This is a fascist government, says the educated class, with no hopes of governance or democracy.

Begum Khalida's vengeance against Sheikh Hasina for what was done to her three years ago, when she pulled down her government, seems to be the name of the game. Agitational politics rules the state. The Indian transhipment of goods through Bangladesh after the waters issue is one more factor in the long list for using the whip against Hasina. But Bangladesh observers are of the view that Khaleda in power may be a different person and not so anti-India as she poses to be. Politics knows no morals, only opportunism as we see it played on our home ground everyday.

Rekha Abdullah, a much read columnist writes - and I quote - "Nothing unites them" not even the events which bring a good name to Bangladesh. An undercurrent of anti-India feelings in Bangladesh is not new and the BNP and its alliance partners would only exploit it. For this India must take much of the blame. But Begum Khaleda has learnt her lessons the hard way and will play her cards close to her chest in the days to come. Khaleda's late husband Zia-ur Rahman, a former President who I interviewed on his first and last visit to India when he came looking for cooperation and understanding, did a political turnaround, not getting the response he sought.

Hasina has only herself to blame for her unpopularity at home. Her haughtiness and indifference to the people's welfare is the reason; she has even distanced herself from her late father Mujibur Rahman's friends and colleagues. Is there something familiar in this attitude ? While the two Begums confront each other, the country is pushed over the brink.

Drug trafficking and smuggling is not a concealed trade, but a free and open one with the collusion of police and politicians. Narcotic smuggling takes place right under the nose of policemen around the thana which are the transit points. The area around Manikad is rampant with smuggling of Indian goods with the authorities - presumably from both sides turning a Nelson's eye. The Arichaghat-Shinalaya route on the Dhaka highway is a haven for drug smugglers who receive police protection.

Rural areas are plagued by a growing number of crimes like robbery, extortion, rape and terrorists acts. But extortion is a favourite game in the crowded streets of Dhaka, and if any one makes the mistake of rushing to help, it's the victim who lands in jail or has to pay up to escape the hatch. This is what happened to a lady doctor in a Dhaka street the other day when she offered help.

Sheikh Hasina promises to remove all the problems by 2020. During her election campaign she vowed to repeal the Special Powers Act, but after she won changed her mind and is now using the same Act to detain BNP activists and her opponents. On September 1999 she brought in the Public Security Act with a proviso for special tribunals and stern punishment of political opponents. From January to June this year, 6,650 people have been detained under the Act. They include students, families of the opposition, personal enemies of policemen and bureaucrats, including opponents of the 1997 Peace Accord on the Chittagong Hill Tracts. - CNF

We sink or swim together

By K. P. S. Gill

Much of the violence in India's North-East has been inspired by a high minded rhetoric of freedom and of cultural identity. As time passes, however, we find that notions of identity have become more and more constricted, reduced to a multiplicity of mutually exclusive and antagonistic tribal identities; sectarian violence has grown immensely, both in its incidence and its brutality; and those who claimed to fight for the freedom and the rights of the people of this region have become the greatest enemies of freedom and of all rights.

To those who have studied such movements over time, these consequences were inevitable. The idea that cultural or communal differences were sufficient basis for nationhood was powerfully articulated in British India by Jinnah's Muslim League, and resulted in the bloodbath of Partition. The history of Pakistan since then should be a cautionary tale for all those who seek to construct their identities out of exclusion and hatred for others.

Less than three per cent of the population of Pakistan now comprises non-Muslims, and the proportion declines each year. But the intolerance and the rage that created that nation must find new victims. It was this bigotry that resulted in the first dismemberment of that country and the creation of Bangladesh. It is the same malevolence that seeks out new enemies among sub-groups of the Muslims _ such as the Ahmadiyas and the Shias _ themselves. Today, every regional and cultural group in Pakistan _ the Punjabis, the Sindhis, the Pashtuns and the Baluchis _ sees the other as an enemy, and all these together persecute the Mohajirs, the immigrants who, five decades ago, left their hearth and home in India to follow their dream of an Islamic "land of the pure".

All this was the inescapable consequence of the very concept of a nation created out of a philosophy of exclusion, and of sectarian antipathies. Sectarian divisions inevitably compound themselves, becoming progressively narrower with the passage of time. These consequences are clear for all to see. Yet, the same thing is happening in India in so many states.

The most frequently _ though, to my mind, wrongly _ cited reasons for this are poverty and discrimination. It is true that both these are widespread in India, but if they were the real cause of militancy, then Punjab, our richest state, whose people are given a place of honour all over the country, would have had no reason to resort to the most brutal terrorist campaign the nation had experienced till the 1990s. In any event, militancy and terrorism everywhere have only exacerbated poverty and discrimination. Nor can terrorism secure any cultural benefits. For barbarity is the enemy of all culture, and it is the essence of terrorism.

The real reason, I believe, is that it is always, easier to mobilise people through a campaign of hatred than through a constructive movement. Violence is always easier than the commitment, the vision and the dedication required for a real effort of development and emancipation. The courage, for instance, that brought Sanjoy Roy to Majuli is far greater than anything his murderers are, or will ever be, capable of.

An increasing number of young people in the North-East are now turning away from violence and towards the real tasks of growth, exploring constructive alternatives that will eventually pull their communities out of the mire of backwardness. In their actions and their aspirations lies a greater promise of securing and protecting the variegated identities and culture of the region than would never be possible through militancy and secessionism.

Education is their strongest ally in this task. In this, the North-East is relatively fortunate, with rates of literacy much higher than the rest of the country. Unfortunately, the education that is provided by the existing establishment prepares the young for very little that is useful. That is the reality. Having accepted it, we must set about changing it to provide the skills, the technical knowledge and the competence that the modern world demands. This does not only mean state-of-art scientific and technical education, but also embraces simple skills that will develop the strengths of the region, help create jobs and promote the entrepreneurial potential of the people. The touchstone against which all such efforts are to be judged is that they must systematically enhance local strengths and industries, and should utilise local resources without destroying the resources base.

The next most important ally is communications. The revolution in information and communications technologies is, today, transferring power and initiative from the hands of governments and their agents into those of the people themselves. The new technologies can help people reflect and project their culture, even as it widens their horizons to comprehend the entire world. They can help enhance productivity, upgrade technological abilities, create greater awareness and knowledge, give greater access to new products and processes _ even locally provide access to educational opportunities that are otherwise not accessible. More importantly, they can help the people of the North-East network with the rest of India and with the world at large in order to create the opportunities that may not presently exist.

Despite their corruption and decay, governments in this region can and do provide many positive services. There are many legal instruments that can be used to ensure that the benefits of government funding and programmes actually reach their beneficiaries, and also to see to it these programmes represent and best interests of the people and of the region. Instead of being cynical about the political leadership and the bureaucracy, the people must learn to take them to task, and see to it that they do what they are supposed to. All the communities of the North-East have powerful institutions of self-governance. These can be mobilised to see to it that the Government becomes more responsive to the aspirations of the people. In this, the media, the courts and the redressal mechanisms within the administration can be used till it simply becomes too difficult for bureaucrats and politicians not to do their jobs.

All this is easy to say, very hard to do, but within the realm of the possible. India has many failings, but it also has what few other nations in the Third World have _ a working democracy. No doubt, this democracy is imperfect _ all democracies are. But it is infinitely better than the tyrannies that have claimed most of the countries emerging from colonial oppression in this century.

Those who seek to distance themselves from this reality argue that India is one country but many nations brought together by what is only an accident of history. I am not a historian and will not contest this claim. However, I will say that if India is an accident of history, it is a fortunate accident. It has brought together such diversity, so many races, so many linguistic and religious communities, so many cultures, under a single political umbrella.

India is, today, the great experiment that could portend the future of all mankind. If we learn to live, prosper and thrive together, to revel in our diversities, there is hope for the world. If, instead, we cling to our narrow wordviews, our hatreds, our memories of historical wrong and our lust for vengeance, we will fail, we will disintegrate, and we will eventually perish in our isolation. And that is true of the human race. The world is becoming smaller, more vulnerable, and increasing more fragile. Its people must learn to live with each other, or they will perish together. INAV

Will the second innings for Kumaratunga resolve ethnic strife ?

By Jayant Muralidharan

Colombo: Just before the poll, the manner in which the suicide killer, strapped with bombs around the body, tried to rush towards Mrs. Kumaratunga at a public meeting, bears the hallmark of an operation masterminded by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which has used this method successfully in the past, notably in the case of the late Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi. Fortunately, in Mrs. Kumaratunga's case, the mission failed, though it did kill a number of others and injured over 100.

Terrorists, whether fighting for a "homeland" as in the case of the LTTE or foreign trained mercenaries such as the Islamic militants harboured by Pakistan's ISI, are a blight on civilised society, Their modus operandi _ striking at innocent civilian targets and aiming to spread terror _ clearly puts them beyond the pale of any normal civil discourse. They have, therefore, to be dealt with an iron fist. Also, given that the scourge of terrorism is now assuming global proportions, that cross border terrorism is now common and organisation such as the LTTE get funds from their supporters abroad, such action has to be globally coordinated. India, itself a victim of such terrorism, has rightly condemned the attack on Mrs. Kumaratunga and needs to play a major role in devising a strategy to tackle the menace.

Beginning November 1, in six days, the Tamil Tigers retook all 1,400 sq km of territory captured by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) in an operation in ineptly called Sure Victory. That it had to be abandoned halfway after a loss of 4,500 soldiers and now those gains undone has proved an ominous choice of names.

"The recent spate of confrontation has resulted in the loss of control by the army of some areas of Wanni district, including towns of Oddusudan, Nedunkeni, Mankulam, Kanakaryakulam, including Pulyankulam, north of the country's biggest army and air force base, Vavuniya which had also capitulated. Casualties officially admitted are put at around 304 killed, 742 wounded and 122 missing in action, though actual figures could exceed the 1,500 mark.

Never before had the SLA suffered such an extensive, crippling and tragically ignominious defeat without even a fight. This rout in the Wanni jungles is comparable to the Indian Army's debacle in Kameng district in Arunachal Pradesh in 1962 when commanders fled the battlefield.

On assuming presidency for the second terms, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga is credited with crafting the "war for peace" politico-military strategy in her bid to sell the devolution package to what she hoped would be a militarily marginalised LTTE. The story goes like this. In 1995, SLA captured the Tiger citadel of Jaffna and has since tried to reunify the mainland with the north by opening the land route, A9 highway from Kandy to Jaffna through Elephant Pass. This is also a logistical imperative.

SLA tried both the options: One along the west coast from Manner but reached only halfway along the A32 to Vallankulam which is linked to Mankulam on the A9. Along the central highway the army captured up to Mankulam, nearly 35 km of the 80 km stretch of road up to Kilinochchi till October 1998 when it ran out of steam and also lost Kilinochchi to the Tigers. It was the longest and most costly operation of the 16-year-long ethnic war.

Swapping of territory between the SLA and LTTE is nothing new. But the latest onslaught by the Tigers, an operational coup, completely surprised and unnerved the SLA. By liberating the SLA-held nodal towns of Mankulam and Pulyankulam on the A9, from where two parallel roads converge at Mullaittivu on the east coast, the LTTE has unchoked the arteries threatening the Tigers' heartland and their supremo Prabhakaran's Base 14 in the Wanni jungles.

More than a year's preparation went into these attacks masterminded and led by Prabhakaran himself. Much of the military equipment like artillery, mortars, even the odd tank used against the army was captured in previous battles. Unceasing waves have uncaged the Tigers. They are now taking the war towards key bastions of Vavuniya, Elephant Pass and Weli Oya and Manner. But being overstretched, the LTTE is unlikely to try biting more than it can chew.

History is repeating itself. SLA has ordered a military enquiry to investigate the rout. Many senior commanders have been removed and new ones appointed. The 55 and 56 Infantry Division have been humiliated. Mass desertions are a grievous blow to morale and unit cohesion. The military catastrophe in Wanni is surely the total failure of the military chain of command.

The strategic balance has swung dramatically in favour of the LTTE which has cast a spell on the SLA. The immediate concern of the Sri Lankan Government is to stabilise the military front, restore morale and motivation of the armed forces before offering an olive branch to the Tigers to resume talks. It is Prabhakaran's turn to act tough now without realising Eelam cannot be won militarily. It is also time for India to act to ensure the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka is maintained without outside powers stepping in. Otherwise the IPKF intervention would appear even more fatally flawed.

In the killing fields of Sri Lanka, peace has not been given a chance. The politics of war has always taken the front seat no matter which party is in power. Military capability has invariably been delinked from political objectives and military commanders browbeaten into accepting operational missions far beyond their capacity. The armed forces have a history of being politicised.

Before Ms. Kumaratunga came to power in 1994, the operational strategy was to keep the war confined to the east and let the Tigers rule the roost in the north keeping Jaffna. While posturing for peace, she took the war into the Tamil heartland and captured Jaffna. Subsequently ignoring the ground reality the army overstretched itself by thinking it could win the war.

Prabhakaran frustrated those attempts and any hope of Sri Lanka's leaders negotiating from a position of strength. They have always set conditionalities for talks like surrender of weapons to abjuring violence; these terms depending on the balance of military power. Both sides have taken inflexible positions but it seems the stage may be set after all for unconditional talks with a facilitator. Unless there is political consensus and a bipartisan approach to solving the Tamil problem Sri Lanka will be hoist on its own petard. Prabhakaran has shown the "Sinhala nation" that he can win the war and therefore his threat to win Eelan. But he is a much sobered guerrilla commander who is trying to get the best deal possible. If a power-sharing arrangement could be hammered out in northern Ireland, Sri Lanka is a cakewalk. Courageous decisions will be required if Sri Lanka is to see peace in the new century. INAV

Teachers as seen in the 21st century
Academic Pulse
Prof. S K Bhalla

Now when the enemy has disgracefully retreated from the Indian soil after a befitting drubbing at the hands of our forces, the new millennium's musings upon the theme of an inestimable importance conjur's up many grandiose futuristic visions about the present lack lustre overall scenario of education with teacher in the centrestage in the country in general and this State in particular and compells to analytically analyse as to what do we mean by education, educator's present role in it and society's expectations from him while we are in a brave new world of 21st century holding prospects of a revolution in almost all spheres of human activity.

First, we have to fully grasp the connotation of words like literacy, education and quality education to steer clear of all unacademic confusion. Literacy in common parlance means the ability to read and write, education is a process of training and instruction especially of children and young people in schools and college, etc. which is designed to give knowledge and develop skills. Quality education - a concept which has of late gained currency owing to the strenuous efforts of few educational cranks is a rarefied vision of education which shall have to take care of the overall physical, mental, economic and above all spiritual needs of our taught so that they prove themselves to be useful members of our society and not mere parasites.

Without going through the rigmarole of the present educational exercise being undertaken at present it is shocking to point out that a none too satisfactory picture is emerging as can be witnessed from the face of society reflected by our print and electonic media. "A Parliamentary Standing Committee on education observed that even" after launching OPERATION BLACKBOARD, the infrastructure support to primary schools all over India is far from satisfactory. The Govt's claims about universalisation of Elementary Education were found dubious. Though on paper 94 percent of the total population has a primary school within one kilometer, it is not so in reality."

"The goals of planning have been missed by miles. At the end of 8th plan period, 6.3 - crore children in the age group of 6 to 14 were still out of the school. The vast majority of them were girls of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, nearly 75 percent still drop out of primary and 52 percent at the upper primary levels, though in some states the figure is as high as 59 percent". A thorough report can be presented about the academic and financial management of colleges, J&K Board of School Education, Medical Colleges, and Universities of J&K which definitely will enable us to shift the grain from the husk. We must admit that things are bad and worse in certain cases. If there is academic sunshine or oases of excellence in certain areas that is the outcome of the selfless intentions of a microscopic minority of teachers not to be celebrated in the midst of engulfing darkness.

It is here teacher comes in. Gandhi wrote may back in 1925 which is still relevant for the bulk of our teachers. 'The unfortunate position is that educated Indians take to teaching not for the love of it, but because that have nothing bitter and nothing else for giving them livlihood." 21st century teacher has to be a person with originality. The teacher cannot get this knowledge through musty volumes. He will have to use his own faculities of observation meaning thereby revolution in the method of teaching and in the teachers' outlook. Krishnamurthi said "Education is not just to pass examination, take a degree and a job, get married and settle down but also to be able to listen to the birds, to see the sky, to see the extraordinary beauty of a tree and the shape of the hills, and to feel with them, to be really directly in touch with them."

But millions of our children are today undergoing educational processing crushing their sense of aesthetics, ethics, observation, concentration and sensitivity. Mediocrity and sham are rewarded by our academic establishment and originality and deeper thinking punished. Education is lost within a desert like labyrinth of committee and dusty files.

21st century teacher is expected to train the pupils on the lines of Krishnamurthy. The PROBE report of last year has shown that even the poor want good education for their children. NGO's like Lok Jumbish, Shiksha Karmi, Total Literacy campaigns have rich evidence to show that poor children are very capable learners. The teachers of 21st century have to ensure a revolution in the method of teaching and outlook that Gandhiji and a few others had wanted. A few suggestions for all of us if we mean business:

p Since teachers constitute and shall continue to be spokes of educational hub in the 21st century the recruitment exercise of teachers must be made not only rigorous but also transparent;

p Accountability of teachers including that of controlling officers of education sector must be ensured;

p Education must be accorded a top priority in the new millennium though at present it has no sex-appeal;

p In service teachers training programmes at all levels must be pursued and monitered and

p NGOs in the education sector must be encouraged. A Core Group of inservice teachers with a clean track record to be ascertained on the basis of a imaginatively devised proforma must be constituted to apprise the factual position to the powers that be with out any loss of time.

In conclusion I shall opine what Rahul Singh says "We are stuck with Universal suffrage. The least all political parties can do, if they have the country's interest at heart, is to make education Universal, until then no one can hope to stand by against politicians and succeed."

So for the envisaged role for the 21st century teacher the ball is in the court of politicians who control the destiny of nation in actuality.

Millennium hope ‘hijacked’ in Kashmir
TALES OF TRAVESTY

By Dr Jitendra Singh

As if to sound a siren of continuing despair over Kashmir on the eve of New Millennium, the plane Hijack incident comes as a proverbial ominous signal of what Kashmir might have to bear with for quite some time before it breaks away from the beastly legacy of violence inherited from the latter half of 20th century and reverts back to the age-old legacy of non-violent composite Kashmiri culture originally represented by the outgoing millennium.

On the one hand, the perpetrators of violence continue to trade in the name of Kashmir. One the other hand, the powers-that-be in New Delhi continue to bungle, for whatever reasons, in rising to the task of curbing, containing or controlling the trans-border terrorism. It is rediculous that within hours of the hijacking incident the Government of India spokesmen habitually resorted to their usual alibi of laying the blame on Pakistan instead of concentrating on how the Indian authorities planned to respond to the threat held out by the hijackers. Even more rediculous was the official announcement that the Prime Minister's scheduled meeting with Opposition leaders was being put off by a day because the opposition leaders could not make themselves available at a short notice --- nobody cared to bother that this was an emergency and not a routine meeting.

While the hijack incident bears out the oft repeated opinion that a militant is a militant and needs to be treated like one, the ordeal of last week has once again embarrassingly brought out New Delhi's morbid inadequaacy at crisis management irrespective of whatever be the nature of crisis. In a single calender year of 1999, this was borne out atleast on three occasions. First, it was Kargil where the authorities were caught unaware by Pak sponsored armed mischief which had been brewing on the Indian soil for months together. Second, the Orissa cyclone where it took the Centre atleast two to three days to get in touch with the Chief Minister at Bhubaneswar by which time the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had at personal level already established contact with the Orissa administration. And now, the hijack crisis in which the Indian Government's representative team took three days to form a contact with the hijackers at Kandahar.

The question now for those managing the affairs at the helm is whether they are prepared to learn from the experience of the last century or will they continue to pursue their myopic approach in exploiting each national crisis to extract a short-term political mileage? The question now for the arms-wielders is whether their crusade in the name of socalled "Azaadi" for Kashmir will actually help to improve the lot of an average Kashmiri who has forsaken the serenity of his home and the future of his children simply to buy peace with the violent protagonists who proclaim to be his spokesmen? And, the question now for each one of us is ---- what kind of India or Kashmir we wish to have in the new millennium? Is this going to be a nation or a sub-nation bred on unabated corruption where a few crores are sufficient to mortgage our collective self-respect?

The plane hijack incident and the sequence of events that followed have once again reiterated that in Kashmir at stake is not merely a political or territorial issue but infact at stake is an entire civilization which has been synonymous with composite Kashmiriat and all that the Kashmiriat has traditionally stood for without giving in to the diktats of fundamentalist coercion.

Nevertheless, the millennium wish is that the Kashmir spring shall once again be restored to its pristine glory. That the majestic Chinar shall once again enrich the skies. That the roses shall blossom from the ashes of the fire that gutted the Valley. That the young lads surviving the aftermath of bloodshed shall once again sing the lyrics of love. That the common man's defeatism shall yield place to fervour of optimism. That Umapathy's death-wish shall translate into melody of colours, a La, "Baki Hai Lahoo Dil Mein To Har Ashk Se Paida, Rang-e-Rukhsare Sanam Karte Rahenge..."



| home | state | national | business | editorial | advertisement | sports |
| international | weather | mailbag | suggestions | search |
subscribe | send mail |