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EDITORIAL Home Minister L K Advani gives enough of indication that this time round Government will not allow itself to be taken for a ride as regards dialogue with militants and/or ceasefire proposals being talked about. The approach henceforth would be very cautious because militant outfits active in the State are Pak sponsored and sustained. There is no evidence yet that these outfits have the wherewithals and brief to act independent of Pakistan. That is why they backtracked from the talks unless Pakistan too was involved in the dialogue. So one .....more During Buyer-Seller meet, State Chief Minister has requested modification of defence procurement policy to make their maximum purchases from State industrial units. In doing so, he has the good of the State industry in mind which needs orders to sustain them. Unfortunately, industrial activity in the State has been marked by ham-handed and half-hearted policies. The first question is what does it produce. ...more |
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Status of women in By Anjini Razdan A View Point By Lt Col Mukund Singh Jamwal (Retd) Test ban of a compassionate kind By Jyotshana Pandit |
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EDITORIAL Home Minister L K Advani gives enough of indication that this time round Government will not allow itself to be taken for a ride as regards dialogue with militants and/or ceasefire proposals being talked about. The approach henceforth would be very cautious because militant outfits active in the State are Pak sponsored and sustained. There is no evidence yet that these outfits have the wherewithals and brief to act independent of Pakistan. That is why they backtracked from the talks unless Pakistan too was involved in the dialogue. So one has to proceed by the premise that these outfits remain Pak surrogates or paid agents and any talks or ceasefire has to be viewed in the light of past experience to avoid humiliation of the Government, its negotiators and the media hype given to the abortive exercise. It is not the first time that talks got aborted. In fact, it has been the consistent trait of Pakistan to wriggle out of all agreements, bilateral or multilateral. Peace with India is something which remains the most detestable thought for successive Pak rulers. Pak media has highlighted this aspect while explaining Pak isolation and total failure of its policies at the diplomatic level. They are unanimous in attributing it to India-centric policy and in the process relegating all other priorities to insignificant order. To be precise, what the Pak media meant is Kashmir-centric policies which have lost sheen due to misplaced notions. Looked from Indian angle, Advani has termed the same thing as 'compulsive hostility' of Pakistan towards India. That remains the crux of the soured relations between India and Pakistan. If only Pakistan had scrupulously followed in letter and spirit Shimla accord or for that matter Lahore Declaration, it would have been all peace on borders and some headway would have been made to resolve all contentious Indo-Pak problems that have defied solution since independence. If Pakistan continues to display belligerency towards our peace initiatives and lack of desire to live as good neighbours, it is no less attributed to week-kneed and imbecile policies of the successive Central Governments. It is precisely this attitude which Musharraf in one his speeches soonafter assuming helmsmanship of Pakistan had dared to State, ''India is basically reactive; they dare not respond irrespective of what Pakistan do to it''. This is frontal attack on a soft-nation. This has been the situation till recently. Now the thinking, perceptions and other aspects appeared to have undergone dramatic changes. This stands elucidated from statements of both the visiting Central ministers namely Home Minister Advani and Defence Minister George Fernandes. Advani is quite clear in his mind that dialogue whenever, wherever and with whomsoever taking place has to be on India's terms. As regards Pakistan terms are very clearly set in as much as Pakistan has to respect LoC, cease transborder terrorism and stop wild propaganda. Unless this is done there is no fun in having any dialogue. You can't talk with Damocle's sword of terrorism hanging on your head. As far as dialogue with local militant outfits is concerned, here too centre's position is now straight and upright. No hasty dialogue. Dialogue only with those who give up arms. And of course dialogue within the framework of Constitution. This also is relevant to any unilateral ceasefire by security forces. There is no such possibility and operations based on pro-active policy have already yielded very good dividends. So any attempt at this stage when upper hand has been regained and security forces continue to log good success rate by the day will prove counter productive. It has been the experience whenever Pak is under pressure (its sponsored terrorists included) it tends to seek ceasefire, the last one being in Kargil. This time round unabated pressure should continue until Pak sponsored militants flee back into Pakistan or surrender. Simultaneously, Defence Minister George Fernandes goes a step further when he says that repeat of Kargil type intrusions would not be allowed at any cost. If Pak attempts anything akin to that, it would be total war. The inference is very clear. Uptil now Pak was threatening of war; it is the turn of India to do the same to it. In doing so both Advani and Fernandes perhaps takes a leaf out of ongoing Israel-Palestine war of attrition whence Israel suspends 'peace accord'. Peace implies stoppage of hostilities, not its aggravation. There are at least two proven dictums at work. First one is 'power grows out of barrel of gun' as enunciated by Mao Tse Tung. Second one is ''Best defence is offence'' as propounded by Sir Winston Churchil who converted virtual defeat during second war at the hands of Germans into formidable victory. It is not hawkish or war-mongering. These are the proven historical anecdotes which are quite relevant even today. And it would be just in the fitness of things to mention a third adage as well which forms the basis of current Indian policy vis-a-vis Pakistan and its sponsored jehad and that is ''Once bitten twice shy''. During Buyer-Seller meet, State Chief Minister has requested modification of defence procurement policy to make their maximum purchases from State industrial units. In doing so, he has the good of the State industry in mind which needs orders to sustain them. Unfortunately, industrial activity in the State has been marked by ham-handed and half-hearted policies. The first question is what does it produce. The second one is whatever is produced meets high standards of the army or not. Third aspect is whether these small units have the capacity to supply the bulk orders (J&K has more than 5 lakh Central security personnel). Fourth one no less important is their capability to stick to timely deliveries. Lastly, what they produce is at all needed by the army or not. Given these parameters, one begins to wonder what the State small units can indeed supply (given the large power curtailments and restrictions on shifts) and if at all such items are competitive quality-wise, price-wise and otherwise. One has to look at it from another angle. Frankly speaking, even State Government is reluctant to make its purchases from the small units of J&K. Recently, some guidelines were provided making it mandatory for Government departments to place their requirements with SIDCO by September for orders to be completed by March next year. There was also the price preference of 15% for purchases from local units. It is certain that defence procurement can neither be on the basis of price preference nor orders can be placed with SIDCO. Again, only 23 items have been listed in the policy for procurement from local units by Government departments. This indicates clearly that there is the imperative need of looking 'inward' rather than spreading 'outward'. A house in total disarray and yearning for yet another Central package is ill-equipped to come upto the demanding standards of army procurements. Of course, it is quite on course if thought is applied to produce enough of mutton, milk and vegetables. Even these are imported into the State not only for security personnel but also for sale in the open market. These are surely grey areas which State Government should pursue vigorously i.e. poultry, animal and sheep husbandry besides the cash crops. |
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Status of women in present day world By Anjini Razdan In human history, the place of man and woman has been universally acknowledged as the two wheels of a cart. Each plays the contributory role in the world for which each was granted life and gifted with inherent physical, mental, moral and other faculties. So, both have on important role to play individually as well as collectively. History however suggests that the status which women have been given in our society is far from being equal. Though the national commission for women (NCW) in its study suggests that ''Queen of the household (women) were turned maid after 8th century''. This was however, challenged by the National federation of Indian women (NFIW) by saying, ''Was there no male domination in ancient India?'' ''No serious historian can ever say that woman enjoyed a high position in ancient India, ''says Dr D N Jha, a senior historian of Delhi university. From ancient times it has been the strongest urge and obsession with newly married couples to become the worthy Parents of a male child. The atmosphere gets filled with joy and merriment at the sight of a male baby while the birth of a female baby would bring along dark clouds and fog within the family environment. We have also experienced the sad plight of a newly wed women who after first year of her marriage gives birth to a female baby and in consequences of that event, she is looked down upon and disrespected by her family members and is even denied the most essential health care facilities right from the vulnerable location period. Thus she crumbles down physically and mentally. Many succumb to this victimization while some other victims transform themselves and become anti-bacterial drugs against contaminated human minds. Only such emancipated, wise and courageous ladies are required to assert themselves as moulders of our society with a loud-announcement that a woman is as important as a man. Considering the facts of Indian history, the male domination and subjugation of women can be traced to the ancient times as a result of which she has been deprived of her fundamental rights and her feminity has been exploited from the very beginning of history. To bring about a change in the pathetic conditions of woman during those long periods of male dominition required them (women) to get organised against that oppression. But that could not happen in general before the dawn of Independence in India in 1947. Seeds of freedom began to take roots in every sphere of life and woman could not escape its impact. Gradually, they began to dispute and turn down the theory that 'Frailty thy name is woman.' Thus the potentialities and capabilities of a woman began to be put at par with that of men but not so widely. Even after 53 years of our attaining freedom from foreign yoke, we see women in remote geographical corners still suffering under the weight of slavery. Many societies in our country deem her as a puppet in the hands of man. Besides the fact that much has achieved in this regard, her empowerment is yet to be realised. She has no reproductive rights. She unfortunately, falls victim to female foeticide or else female infanticide. When we look around in urban societies in India, not to talk of rural ones, we find women-folk facing a traumatic experiences in infancy, childhood, adulthood, in married life etc. We hear about dowry-deaths, molestation' harassment and humilitation at work places, exploitation and shabby treatment at the hands of males. She suffers insinuatory insults as a bride by the greedy vulture-like members of the family and society. She is tormented and intimidated instead of being respected and encouraged. In our country's metropolitan capital city (like Delhi) we find a harrowing picture of gender-bias in criminal law practice. The legal profession has miserably become the victim of gender-inequality. Out of 10,000 lawyers practising in Asia's biggest district court complex at Tis-Hazari (Delhi), only 300 are women. And of them, only six specialize in criminal law. There seems to be lack of faith in women's abilities as lawyers. According to Ms Madhu Kalia, a practising lawyer in Tis Hazari court only one woman was practising criminal law in 1986 in Tis Hazari court, and this number has gone upto six only now in 2000. Kalia regrets that despite the fight for gender equality, there seems to be no change in the perception about women in the legal profession. She further says that the working conditions in the criminal courts are loaded against women.'' A woman lawyer feels uncomfortable in dealing with a male accused.'' If we pose a question to ourselves: Where do women lag behind men? If we thoroughly go into matter, we have reason to believe that-she can go to heights in any field of development. We have a fresh and very recent example of Lara Dutta, Miss Femina India, Miss Universe 2000, who has shown to the world that woman of India can achieve universal heights, power, beauty and excellence. There are innumerable examples of women, some of whom commanded armies and fought battles like Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, while some others were renowned personalities of the world like Indira Gandhi and other leading lights as Florence Nightingale, Sarojini Naidu, Lata Mangeshkar, Laleshwari, Habakhatoon, Mother Teresa, P T Usha. We have women scaling great heights is in science, technology, arts, fine arts, music, politics, information technology, sports, swimming, dancing, fighting force, acting and cinematography, engineering, medicine and surgery and in many other fields. It should be our primary concern to see that every female grows up as a useful citizen of our society who needs to be given love, honour, dignity and gratitude in all phases of life right from the time of her pre-and postnatal period of life. She is our daughter, mother, sister and moreover she is the main sustainer of human life whose worth, wisdom, power, patience, fortitude, for bearance, compassion and dexterity-all in one can enable this world to flower abundantly. How can we achieve this goal? ''Empowerment of woman'' should not be a mere slogan but it should be a purposeful movement- a struggle in which women themselves have to become participants, aware of their rights and responsibilities and make the world acknowledge their rights and responsibilities. This awareness-drive needs to be launched throughout so that good results are obtained. Our legal system only cannot bring about social change but massive education can help a lot. For this mighty task, national and international bodies are at work like National Commission for Woman (NCW) National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), UN Development Fund (UNIFEM), World Bank, Asia Watch etc, whose main task is to ensure respect of human rights of woman enabling her to work in freedom, without suffering from male domination, discrimination, deprivation, violence, intimidation and dishonour. It is due to all the efforts of these that we see today a woman in the three wings of armed forces, administration, politics, social work, health care, civil aviation etc. Thirty-three percent reservation for women in India legislative is being debated and the days are not far-off when a woman shall get, in toto, what she actually deserves in life. In this important drive to
bring about a change in the social set-up. Of our country
in which main focus should be 'empowerment of women', Our
government and non-governmental agencies (NGOs) have to
work hand in hand with a common programme so that
momentum can be gained for the attainment of the goal
with sincerity and commitment. |
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Test ban of a
compassionate kind The good news for animal rights activists is that the Indian Council for Secondary Education (ICSE) proposes to ban the dissection of animals and insects in schools from the year 2002. The bad news is the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister C. P. Thakur proposes to persuade the concerned authorities to relax restrictions on the use of animals for laboratory testing and medical research. He says he has met Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Maneka Gandhi in this regard. Ms. Maneka Gandhi, a strong advocate of rights for animals, was instrumental in restricting experiments on animals during her stint as Minister in the earlier BJP led 13-month-old Government. She had the Committee for the Purpose of Supervision and Control of Experiments on Animals (CPSCB) set up under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. 1950. This was in 1998. All institutes involved in conducting experiments on animals, as well as breeders who supplied the helpless creatures, were required to register themselves with the committee, which laid down strict guidelines for permitting experiments. These, if repetitive, were to be disallowed, and alternatives, such as cell and tissue cultures, were to be preferred. The 1960 Act provided for the setting up of such a body in order to create some measure of accountability. This Act permits experiments on animals for the benefit of human beings, only if something new is being undertaken. And this has to be done under strict monitoring so as to minimise cruelty. Replication and repetition of research work is not permitted. Hero too, alternatives are recommended. The Breeders and Experiments on Animals (Control and Supervision) Rule 1998 is also oriented against testing and experiments conducted through contractual arrangements. The danger of transnational drug companies deploying Indian agencies to conduct tests on animals, as they are reported to be doing in the case of human guinea pigs, since such work is far cheaper in India, is thus sought to be countered. But, accountability is still very scarce, points out Camellia Satij, who is the founder trustee of Kindness to Animals and Respect for Environment (KARE). KARE contributed substantially to the exercise of offering alternatives to dissection in schools. While ICSE was quite open to the idea, the Central Board for Secondary Education resisted it, until a court directive in 1996 forced it to comply. However, CBSE still wants students to do actual experiments. There are 150 registered institutes authorised to do animal testing and experiments. The CPSCEA has appointed 171 nominees, with powers to oppose unnecessary experiments. Since April this year, the nominees, most of whom are animal rights activists, are allowed to carry our surprise checks at these institutes, which are all required to have an Institutional Animals Ethic Committee. The body, constituted of doctors, veterinarians and a CPSCEA nominee, is meant to go into the ethics of conducting specific experiments before they are carried out. The nominee, who attends IARC meetings, can recommend against them. The decisive power in the matter rests with the CPSCEA, which is based in Chennai. A question that has exercised the minds of Indian animal rights activists is why members of the medical and scientific community in the country are opposed to alternatives, when there is a growing movement in their favour in advanced nations. The United States and Britain are pioneers in the field of alternative experiments. Many leading research institutions and veterinary colleges, institutions and veterinary colleges, including the Harvard Medical Institute, have stopped animal tests experiments. At the Harvard Medical Institute, for instance, students experiment on cadavers. Other commonly used alternatives are computer simulated human systems: cell, skin and tissue cultures and clinical studies of people. Allied to these is epidemiology, the study of the incidence, control and distribution of disease in a population. The biggest advantage of alternative methods is that they are more economical and time saving. Such research is termed Real Science, as it focuses on human beings and the diseases that afflict them. The simulated ailments that afflict test animals in laboratories elicit reactions to drugs that usually do not correspond to human reactions. This accounts for the repetitiveness in experiments and high rate of failure. In the process an unaccounted number of animals are maimed and tortured. Both in the US and Britain, alternative methods have been legitimised. In 1986, the National Institutes of Health Authorisation Bill and amendments to the Animal Welfare Act were passed in the US, for promoting training in alternative methods and reduction in duplication in experiment. In Britain, the use of animals in cosmetic testing plunged by 88 per cent in 1985-1995. And these are countries that have been widely involved in the development of allopathy, which hinged on animal tests. The irony is that the land of Ayurveda and ahimsa, which stress harmony among all life forms, has not awakened yet to the virtues of a more compassionate healing system.INAV |
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