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EDITORIAL What started with low intensity protests by agitated Palestenians has turned out to be the flash-point. What happens in the Gulf region becomes source of worry and problems for the entire world for the simple reason that the largest energy sources are located in the region. To that extent even leading world powers are in it knee-deep willy-nilly. American interests are threatened because it is the largest energy consumer. With depleting reserves in home totallying about 500 million barrels after unloading...more European Parliamentary group presently on visit to Islamabad seek resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan as entailed in the Lahore Declaration of February 9, 1999. According to it the dialogue has to be ‘balanced and realistic’ in as much as stability of South Asia is at stake since both sub-continental countries are nuclear powers. It is for such stability that European Parliament is interested in seeing the dialogue resumed meaningfully. EU MPs also want that democratic order is.....more
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J&K's trifurcation : Unfounded fears By Hari Om By Major Kulbir Singh Attention — First step in Learning By Umesh Sharma Wild life trade: A By Zaker Hussain Mir |
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EDITORIAL What started with low intensity protests by agitated Palestenians has turned out to be the flash-point. What happens in the Gulf region becomes source of worry and problems for the entire world for the simple reason that the largest energy sources are located in the region. To that extent even leading world powers are in it knee-deep willy-nilly. American interests are threatened because it is the largest energy consumer. With depleting reserves in home totallying about 500 million barrels after unloading 30 million in the market to stem inflation on the eve of election, America cannot sit idle to whatever is happening between Israel and Palestine. Many attempts have been made by the leading lights of the world to ensure ceasefire and work out reasonable settlement. While maintaining neutrality when the crisis began, America has now openly blamed Palestinian rulers for the ongoing riotous situation whence many Israeli soldiers have been killed. As a reprisal, Israel has started hitting seat of power with a spirit of vengeance. It is almost warlike situation. One has to view all that is going on from various angles. First, world powers have vital concerns in the region. To safeguard their respective interests they could go to any extent including launching all out attack to neutralise imminent threats to their interests. Even assuming America does not intervene actively, it could give the nod to Israel to do the job. It has happened before in the Gulf region when Israel took on all the Arab countries on its own and captured vital areas like Sinai desert in Egypt, Golan heights in Syria and some parts of Jordan. It has since made peace with Egypt and Jordan but Syria continues to be the thorny issue as Israel refuses to vacate Golan heights. The genesis of the crisis can be directly traced to the Arab-Israeli war and creation of Palestine. Many left-over problems have remained unsorted even after several years. Second aspect which stands catapulated to top order relates to role of fundamentalists and many countries in the region or neighbourhood becoming hub of global terrorism. This includes Syria which supports Hizbulla brand of terrorists and Libya besides Sudan. It has also much to do with Osama bin Laden's outfit Al Qaida operating from Afghanistan. Another source is rapid Talibanisation of Afghanistan as fundamentalists are synonymous with terrorists. By far the greatest and most sinister breeding ground is Pakistan which has many outfits flourishing with no less than 35 training centres and global terrorists organisations like Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaishe Mohamad, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Al Badr. There is direct threat world-wide from all the above terrorist outfits whether they are located in Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Palestine, Afghanistan or Pakistan. Osama bin Laden finances all of them Some days back he had threated to hit American and Indian interests worldwide calling them as the greatest enemies of Islam. He also has included Israel now. Russia as well gets involved in as much as these very outfits have marked their presence effectively in Chechenya and several CIS Republics. India has been the worst victim of State sponsored terrorism by Pakistan, Afghanistan and other Pan Islamic countries. Third, till date one can recall bombing of New York Trade Centre by Pak trained and based terrorists. Blasting of American embassies in Africa is another manifestation of terrorists designs. The latest is hitting a war-ship berthed at a port in Yemen killing more a dozen soldiers and injuring many more. Hizbulla is known to have captured three Israeli soldiers. Thus both Clinton and Barak are furious and angry. Many other countries are with them blaming such crisis on Palestinian leader Arafat. Above all Presidential election is due next month in America and Clinton known for his aggressive games could not be seen as hapless spectator. It is certain that some sort of strong action is inevitable. Indian interests are hurt because crude prices have jumped to $37 a barrel and if warlike games do not end, it could touch dizzy heights. It has ramifications worldwide in that all the stock exchanges have dipped and there is panic buying of crude. It is here that joint action is called for against all sources and breeding grounds of terrorism. As long as America keeps such anti-terrorist drives confined to preserve its own interests, such breeding grounds would continue to multiply. Both America and Russia have signed declarations with India for joint strategy against terrorism. The time for action is now when the threat perceptions bid ominously for American interests. It is within the competence and power of these three countries to very largely reduce such breeding grounds. Fundamentalism is the greatest threat to world peace. It is against civilisation, humanityand world order. It is against UN Charter. It is permanent threat to peace worldwide. To a very large extent such rise of fundamentalism can be traced to America which supplied weapons and training facilities to them on Pak bases to evict Russian forces from Afghanistan. No wonder it has begun to recoil on America as never before. You just can't allow the world order to ever remain at the mercy of fundamentalists. The time is ripe to take effective joint action to finish for all time the breeding grounds so that they can never again raise their ugly head anywhere. Flash point has never been Jammu & Kashmir. It has always been the Gulf region where worldwide interests are involved. Uneasy calm is worse than regular war. At the core is not what has been going on between Israel and Palestine or who is blamed for what. The core point is terrorism which is synonymous to fundamentalism European Parliamentary group presently on vist to Islamabad seek resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan as entailed in the Lahore Declaration of February 9, 1999. According to it the dialogue has to be ‘balanced and realistic’ in as much as stability of South Asia is at stake since both sub-continental countries are nuclear powers. It is for such stability that European Parliament is interested in seeing the dialogue resumed meaningfully. EU MPs also want that democratic order is restored in Pakistan at the earliest. In retrospect it may be mentioned that Lahore Declaration was signed by Prime Minister of India and Pakistan which mentioned resolve of all issues and where Kashmir was one of the issues and not the core issue. This signing was to the dislike of military of Pakistan and in a way instrumental in the military take-over of Pakistan by General Musharaf. He is on record of stating that his Government does not stand by Lahore Declaration as it is against the interests of Pakistan. They want dialogue on their own terms with only Kashmir as the centric issue. These military rulers amply proved their hostility to any peaceful relations with India since at about the time Lahore Declaration was signed Pak army attack had commenced in Kargil. With that Lahore Declaration was totally killed as also other bilateral and international agreements. When Prime Minister Vajpayee during his visit to America was asked about the dialogue with Pakistan, he had curtly replied, "Dialogue for what? Should it be for asking family welfare or discuss weather"? Washington Declaration issued by Nawaz Sharief and Bill Clinton at the height of Kargil war specifically entailed total withdrawal of Pak troops from this side of LoC, respect of LoC, end of transborder terrorism and then alone resumption of dialogue in the spirit of Lahore Declaration. EU MPs thus hold Pakistan guilty in as much as Pakistan has not given any indication on honouring any of the clauses stipulated either in Lahore Declaration, Washington Declaration, Shimla Accord of 1972 or Karachi Agreement of 1948-49. So unless Pakistan proves its sincerity, any dialogue on any basis is an exercise in futility. |
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J&K's trifurcation : Unfounded fears By Hari Om Former Foreign Secretary, Mr Salman Haider, has vehemently opposed the demand in Jammu region for the State's trifurcation. The upshots of his whole formulation against the demand are three. First, ''the trifurcation of J&K would look very much like a division along communal lines''. Secondly, in the event of such a reorganisation ''minority [read Muslim] groups may take fright and move out to join their co-religionists'' in the Valley. And, lastly, such a move has all the ingredients of ensuring the ''return of the unburied ghosts of partition'' and provoking communal clashes not only in the Jammu region, but also ''all over the country''. All this shows that Mr Salman Haider is not fully aware of the ground realities as they exist in the Jammu region. And one of them is that no one in Jammu favours a communal division. On the contrary, the people of the region have repeatedly condemned the April 1999 National Conference report on regional autonomy, saying that it seeks to divide them on purely sectarian and communal lines and made it loud and clear that they stand for the reorganisation of the state polity on a regional basis, as also for an instrument that ''frees them from the Valley-centric Kashmiri rulers''. That the demand in the Jammu region for the State's trifurcation is secular and not communal can be seen from the June 20, 2000 resolve of the Gujjars United Front [ a premier organisation of over 15 lakh Gujjar and Bakerwal Muslims] to fight for the separation of all the six districts of the Jammu region from Kashmir and their conversion into a full fledged Duggar and Gujjar Jammu State within India and under the Union Constitution which conferred on the communities it represents the status of Scheduled Tribe in April 1991. The Gujjars United Front is, it must be noted, as vocal as other Jammu-based formations as far as the issue of the State's political reorganisation is concerned. It is also evident from the fact that there are several non-Gujjar Muslims who too support the idea and share platform with the ardent believers in the concept of statehood for Jammu. It would not be out of place to mention here that the Muslims of the Jammu region are a deprived lot. They have no place whatsoever in the State Cabinet, Civil Secretariat, professional colleges, vital service sector and economic institutions. Again, it is important to note that the areas [read Rajouri, Poonch and Doda] they inhabit are highly under-developed. So much so, they lack even the basic facilities like the safe drinking water, electricity, roads, helath-care and education. Not just this, the Valley rulers do not trust them. And, this has been happening since 1932. The fundamental reason: the Muslims of the Jammu region do not support the idea of the State going out of the constitutional organisation of India. For the Valley rulers, the Jammu Muslims are too secular to enter the mainstream of ''Kashmiri nationalism'', and for the Jammu Muslims, the former are too sectarian and self-centred to lead them aright. The whole truth is that the life of the Jammu Muslims is not one of political and economic aspirations. Their only duty is to vote for the Valley rulers, face exclusion from all walks of life and suffer humiliations. Mr Salman Haider has also ignored another very vital aspect. And, this is regarding the nature of political relations between Kashmir and Jammu since March 1846, when this State came into being by a quirk of history. All those who know something about the state would immediately vouch for the fact State of J&K has never been an organic political immediately vouch for the fact State of J&K has never been an organic political entity ever since its inception. The Kashmiris' entire struggle between 1846 and 1947 and even afterwards was shaped by the ''anti-Jammu stimulus''. On the other hand, Jammu, which ruled over the State for full 101 years as a result of the March 1846 Amritsar Treaty between Gulab Singh and the British Government, has never cherished the transfer of political power to the Valley in October 1947. Not only this, Jammu has never allowed New Delhi to accept the Kashmiris' political demands, whatever be their nature. And indications are there that it will oppose tooth and nail any attempt on the part of Centre to grant any political concession to the Valley unless it, or for that matter Ladakh, is segregated from Kashmir. Even otherwise there is no logic in keeping the state united. It has no ''composite identity''. For, the people of Jammu and Ladakh are conspicuous by their absence in the Valley. Those who had some immovable property in Kashmir have already sold it and settled down permanently in Jammu or Ladakh. A few employees from Jammu and Ladakh, who used to hold certain positions in the Government and semi-Government departments in Kashmir prior to the eruption of the secessionist violence there, have either retired or got themselves transferred to Jammu or Ladakh or have gone on a long leave. If still there are some officials from Jammu and Ladakh in the Valley, there number is not eve 200 out of a total of about 2.75 lakh government employees as against the nearly 30 per cent Kashmiri officials in the regional servics of Jammu and Ladakh. But more than that, no person from Jammu and Ladakh could ever become Chief Minister of the State because the Valley leaders hold the view that since Kashmir has 46 seats in the 87-member Assembly, the office of the Chief Minister is their sole preserve. These and umpteen such other things have only created an extreme form of inter-regional animosity. In fact, while the people of Jammu and Ladakh consistently complain, and rightly so, that ''they are being treated as second class citizens by the Kashmiri leaders'', the Valley leaders always accuse the legislators from Jammu and Ladakh of hobnobbing with the Centre to bring down what they call their ''legitimate Governments'' and foist ''the Delhi agents on the State''. In this context, they refer to the role of the legislators of Jammu and Ladakh which actually led to the fall of Sheikh Abdullah's government in 1953 and 1977, the dismissal of Dr Abdullah in 1984 and the ouster of G M Shah in 1986. Mr Salman haider would do well to visit the Jammu region again in order to assess the whole situation. His two-day visit to the Jammu city in the last week of September was too short a visit. Had he stayed in the region for a couple of weeks and met cross-section of people, his conclusions would have been somewhat different. Objective trouble-shooters like him can certainly help the nation evolve some formula acceptable to all the people inhabiting different regions of the state. Trifurcation of the State also can be a workable solution in the sense that it does have the potential of enabling the people of Jammu and Ladakh to become masters of their own allowing New Delhi to start parleys with the Kashmiri leaders of all shades of opinion including those representing the internally-displaced Kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs, to find out what can satisfy them. Those who talk of greater autonomy for the entire State and transfer of some powers to Jammu and Ladakh within that autonomous State are only playing with fire. We just cannot impose the political will of one region on the other. Solution has to be holistic, secular, federal and, above all, nation-cen tric. |
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Attention — First step in Learning By Umesh Sharma In our day today conversation, we make use of the term ‘attention’ lavishly. In the classroms too we advise the students to remain attentive Railway and Airport authorities call for the attention of the passengers by announcing ‘Your attention, Please’. In an ordinary sense, attention appears to be a power with which we can turn on or off, at will, our sense mechanisms. Attention is the name given to a process of focusing of consciousness that helps us become alive to only one thing at a time. According to ‘Ross’ the famous Educationist "Attention is the process of getting an object of thought clearly before the mind". In the process of education, ‘attention’ plays a significant role. It is essential for the teachers to teach well and for the students to learn well. An active class motivates the teacher to put his most valuable efforts. He should teach more efficiently and more effectively. His energies are utilized fully when he perceives his students absorbed in his teaching. Not a single minute of his period gets washed as he receives the responses immediately. For the learner concentration is the most important key to achieve the desired success. To be attentive in the classroom activities, the students have to ready and prepare themselves. It helps them get in the state of alertness. As soon as the teaching activities in the classroom begin or he is asked to perform certain activities, he finds himself physically, emotionally and mentally prepared. The various sense organs become specially activated to receive the stimulus. The muscles and organs of the body, the brain and the nerves become specially tuned. Absolute alertness helps the learner grasp the subject matter effectively. Attention in this way is responsible for bringing efficiency in learning. It enables the students to learn properly within a short period of time. It also increase their abilities and develops the acquired skills. During attention all energies are concentrated on a particular object or activity. This deep concentration and single mindedness helps the learner to achieve desired success in the focused task. Moreover sustaining of attention has a psychological effect. It creates interest in a particular object or activity. It makes the students goal centred. They try to strive hard with enthusiasm and proper bent of mind. In this way attention helps them achieve the required target within a short period and reasonable amount of efforts. One of the major problems in the field of education is that of capturing pupil's attention. How can they be made attentive to their tasks, so that they can achieve their desired objectives? A teacher in order to achieve success in this mission, should develop skills to secure his pupil's attention. In my view, a teacher should try to take care of both the internal and the external factors responsible. He should see that his students possess favourable bent of mind towards the topic going to be taught and can take genuine interest in it. For this purpose he may use the proper teaching methods, techniques, devices and audio-visual aids that can appeal to the child's basic needs, drives and interests. He must emphasize the overall important of the topic at hand and set the clear cut aims and objectives. He must make a judicious use of all the external as well as the internal factors of securing attention. As far as possible the self acquired attention should be more emphasized. For this purpose, personal ambitions and desires may be awakened and heightened in the students. The factor of distraction should be reduced to minimum so that the students do not feel any inconvenience. Though "attention" is a mental state and operates at the level of ‘self’, it can also be induced externally. And the role of a teacher in triggering the favourable condition is of critical importance. Obviously students need to be trained in self discipline and focused from the very beginning. The teachers need to teach themselves in order to be effective teachers. (The writer teaches at Delhi Public School, Jammu). |
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Wild life trade: A global perception By Zaker Hussain Mir About 4.5 billion years ago, the planet earth came into being and there was neither life nor conditions for existence. With the passage of time physiochemical conditions improved and atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere made their appearance about 100 million years ago. The fish among the Ist vertebrates made its appearance about 50 million years ago and after that Amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, apes, and finally man made its appearance about 0.02 million years ago. With the appearance of man, the animal life more particularly the wild life was affected and a considerable damage was caused due to the shortage of food, flesh etc. The sources of man's recreation were limited and he started killing the wild animals for pleasure or a game. Their number started receeding and time has now come when precautions have to be needed by man, otherwise, our great grand childrens would read about these magnificient wild animals and see their photographs only in the text books. Man has always mishandled these wild animals. The constant human interference in animal kingdom through their habitat encroachment, degradation of habitat, deforestation and other developmental activities and decimation of animals to relish their flesh has reduced their number to a great extent. Man has also damaged their genetic diversity by minimising their natural habitats and mismanagement of their existence. The impact of the western culture to hunt the rare species of wild animals to procure their flesh, horns, musk, tusk, skins etc have greatly destroyed the stock of wild animals. As far as the Indian scenario is concerned, India which is considered to be one of the mega biodiversity nations in the world. India boasts of a bewildering variety of forest types. These are homes to enviable diversity of flora and fauna life amounting to 390 species of Mammals, 1232 species of bird, 456 species of reptiles, 209 species of Amphibians and 2546 species of fish. Few appreciate the fact that despite a billion strong human beings imhabting the landmass called India, it is the only country to still harbour all the 5 Mega vertebrates - viz. Elephant, leopard, lion, Rhinoceros Tiger and others. Trade in wild life and its derivatives dates back to prehistoric times and worth more than the US dollar 20 billion annually at present is a global phenomenon with serious ramification for the conservation of Biodiversity in all its beauty and variety. India, being a source country and an entrepot for transisting goods has always been an important centre on the trade map. In order to deal with this challenge, the Government of India has over the past two decades taken several initiatives aimed at conserving the Bio-diversity of the country. The NGOs have also played a vital role in this process. *Some of the trade realities are that the major source of the wild life and their product included countries like Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Central Africa, Republic of China, Columbia, Congo, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal South Africa, South Korea, Sudan, Taiwan, Zaire etc. *The major consumers of the wild life and their products includes United States, China, Canada, Hongkong, Japan, United Kingdom, European Union, United Arab Emirates, Yemen etc. *United States is considered to be the largest consumer of wild life in the world. *Between 1985-1991 a total number of 4,066,112 specimens of monitor lizards consisting exclusively of skin was exported from Africa. *In India, export of all wild animals and derivatives (except shed peacock feathers) is prohibited by law. *Among illegal business, illegal wild life trade is reportedly next in value to Narcotics and illegal arm trade. (Source: International wild life trade: whose Business is it WWF-USA). Keeping this grim situation in view, each one of us have to realise the reality and let us try to be kind enough to these magnificient animals who are an important part of our Ecology otherwise the planet earth will be a big grave yard very soon. |
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