Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

By K N Pandita
Adherents of true Islamic faith, the Taliban, have begun the demolition of 2000-year old 53 - meters tall Buddha statue in Bamiyan, 150 kms north of Kabul. They have sullied exhortations of the UN Secretary General and others to spare the rare relic. The edict of.......more

Assign camps to
quality coaches

By Rajesh Dhar
Ramakant Achrekar and Harsha Bhogle of India are the two known figures in the world of sports, in Cricketing field. Both these persons have earned a good name and fame at the international level; former as a cricket coach and later as an expert TV commentrator. ....more

Gujarat earthquake :
Some important points

By Chandi Prasad Bhatt
The Gujarat earthquakes of 26th January and 27th January 2001 have decisively shown how ill-prepared we are to face such natural calamities. In order to combat the natural calamities such as earthquake, volcanic ...more

EDITORIAL

RANJIT SAGAR DAM

The Prime Minister has dedicated to the nation Rs 3800 crore Ranjit Sagar dam built over the river Ravi. Having rated capacity of 600 MW power generation, it is going to be boon for the Punjab farmers in that water is also available for irrigation. Ever since independence surplus water of Ravi have been flowing towards Pakistan. Belatedly, Pak Government constructed some embankments to save Pak areas from floods. Such embankments however diverted the flood waters towards Indian side which again went in for raising embankments to divert the water back into Pakistan. This see-saw battle has been going on for years with recurring floods ravaging vast areas both in India and Pakistan. It was precisely in the light of these untapped Ravi waters that Punjab Chief Minister conceived raising dam in Thien village. It happened during the stint of S Surjeet Singh Barnala as the Chief Minister (He is now Governor of the newly created State of Uttranchal). Subsequently Prakash Singh Badal followed it up religiously. It took more than 18 years to complete the gigantic task. Many tragedies, loss of life and nature's wrath are now things of the past and Ranjit Sagar dam (initially called Thien dam) gives to the nation 600 MW of additional power besides water for irrigation. Much more than that perennial floods stand averted as all the rain water would go into the reservoir for gradual release throughout the year.

At this stage it would be quite apt to point out certain aspects that bedevil hydel power projects. There are some common afflictions. To start with one has to segregate such projects into two distinct compartments. First, Storage dam that draws surplus water of the river and releases the same for power generation and irrigation throughout the year. The second type is run-of-the-river projects. Here the river water cannot be used for irrigation and water perforce flows back through tunnels to the same river after generation of power. Both these types suffer if monsoon is poor or when virtual drought conditions prevail in the catchment areas. Less water in rivers perforce reduces the level of water stored in the large reservoirs. Net result is fall in power output. As far as first type is concerned some generation continue as long as desired water level in the reservoir remains in place. In the case of latter, generation almost comes to a nought or very negligible level particularly during winter months.

It would be quite apt to mention that even in the case of this newly constructed Ranjit Sagar Dam which was operationalised in October last and till date power worth around Rs 100 crore is already generated, further generation was stopped for the last more than one week to facilitate smooth inauguration by Prime Minister. Water level in the dam had gone down substantially in the absence of rains and it was feared that continued drain of water for generation of power may stall formal inauguration. This period was used to augment the water level so that dedication ceremony is not flopped. Again, it is in position to generate only 120 MW against capacity of 600 MW precisely due to low water level in the dam.

The above facts have been quoted to bring home the point more forcefully to the powers that be in this State that hydel power projects continue to be at the mercy of rain gods and snow-gods. This is all the more so in the case of run-of-the-river projects being taken up in the State, some in the central sector and others by the State itself. All these projects are being raised on snow-fed rivers which almost freeze during winter months thereby reducing power generation to only 10% of rated capacity. It is stressed once again that even of all the seven projects that are at various stages of planning/construction stand exposed to this deficiency. This interalia means the rated capacity of these project being at 2700 MW, not more than 270 MW would be available and that too 5 to 10 years hence. If Salal took 20 years, Ranjit Sagar dam 18 years, Dul Hasti trailing closely, other hydel projects are also full of uncertainties. Not only time-frame is open to question but cost-escalation factor is bound to play havoc. So this State is doomed to face acute shortage of power even 5 or 10 years hence. What is not possible from Bhakra, from Ranjit Sagar, from Salal obviously is not possible from run-of-the-river projects proposed to be built in the State.

It is thus safe to surmise that hydel power even ten years hence would be an elusive proposition for this wretched State. The real solution lies in putting the envisaged Thermal power station near Kathua on fast track. The present demand in the State is put at 1365 MW while in winter total internal generation is between 30 to 40 MW only. 10 years hence this demand would go upto atleast 2500 MW. By any stretch of imagination propose hydel projects just won't click or prove anything near the demand. The State thus must have not only one 1000 MW thermal power station but also another one with same capacity five years hence to meet the requirements of consumers of all hues. Meanwhile State bosses and power managers will be well advised to negotiate with Northern Grid purchase of much more than 450 MW summer through winter for the next few years and make prompt payment for this purchase. Otherwise NG is well within limits to refuse additional power beyond 450 MW as they have done this winter. Internal transmission and rating of transformers/receiving stations have also to be fine-tuned to accept required quantity of power.

TOTALLY UN-ISLAMIC

The entire world has condemned cultural vandalism decreed by Taliban rulers in Afghanistan by ordering wholesale destruction of all statues. This is not the first time though it has happened. Marauders from Arab did it centuries back. History is replete with examples how Ghaznis, Ghoris and Khalgies destroyed monuments and indulged in indiscriminate loot of the wealth. Talibans are only re-enacting the destardly acts. These are not the only two Buddha statues that have been razed to the ground using massive firepower meant for the strong armies. Here these statues stood defenceless, totally helpless while Talibans went about merrily destroying priceless monuments. There are besides these tallest Buddha statues many other statues like Dev temples, stupas, temple, shrines, caves, antiquities, marble images of Hindu deities like Lord Shiva. In addition Kabul museum has famous Sun God image in marble, and headless Kanishka in salwar kameez. All this is part of the rich cultural heritage of Afghanistan which has been destroyed wholesale. One really does not know what has happened to statues representing other faiths like Christianity and Judaism. It is certain that the decree is for destruction of all statues of all faiths because, as per Talibans, statue worship is un-Islamic. This is however denied by Islamic scholars the world over and they have unanimously condemned destruction of such pricelsss monuments. Even Pakistan has criticised it but her ambassador in USA more or less justifies it on the ground that Taliban Government stands outlawed, ostracised and totally isolated from civilised world. Such behaviour to give short shrift to pleas from all over the world are understood in that light. Needless to say that Talibans are the product of 40,000 madrassas located in Pakistan and Taliban Government is recognised by only three countries namely Pakistan, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Pakistan in particular could have used its clout to stop destruction of such monuments as totally Un-Islamic act.

What are they doing at Bamiyan?

By K N Pandita

Adherents of true Islamic faith, the Taliban, have begun the demolition of 2000-year old 53 - meters tall Buddha statue in Bamiyan, 150 kms north of Kabul. They have sullied exhortations of the UN Secretary General and others to spare the rare relic. The edict of the Taliban chief is that all existing statues in Afghanistan be destroyed and demolished in order to see that on Afghan soil there survives not a trace of kufr even in a piece of stone or wood.

Indian Parliament has decried the demolition process of the world famous statue. India is a secular State and the Parliament has broken the secular tradition by passing a resolution condemning an act of the upholders of a particular faith. Has the Parliament of a secular State a right to condemn an act that is enjoined upon the faithful as their religious duty? In demolishing the statue, the puritanical Taliban have, an ardent upholders of a faith they profess, performed a duty that is among the essential religious fundamentals or obligations viz. demolition of idols, idol houses and destruction of idolatry. As long as such symbols remain, the land is daru'l-harb meaning the land of conflict. Once the symbols and relics of a pre-Islamic or non-Islamic faith are destroyed, it is the land of peace or daru'l-amn or daru'-salam. Establishing the land of peace is the cherished goal of every faithful Muslim wherever he is. As such India or for that matter any other country has no right to question why the strict adherents of a particular faith carry out of the commandments of their religion.

But is it the first time that the faithful have embarked on a mission of establishing the daru'l-amn? Indian parliament should have thought over the question.

When the Arab commander conquered Northern Egypt in about 654 AD he came across a fabulously rich library in Alexandria comprising mostly the manuscripts of the writings of great Greek philosophers and intellectuals. Sa'd, the commander sent a message to Caliph Omar seeking instructions on what to do with that treasure. Omar is reported to have said, "Qur'an is the holy book sent down by God for us. It contains all the knowledge on the earth and in the heaven. If the books in the library in Alexandria contain anything more than what our holy book contains, that is trash. And if those contain less, we need them not at all." For six months the books of Alexandria's library heated the baths (hammams) of Egypt, writes late Dr. Zabihullah Safa in The History of Rational Sciences in Islamic Civilization.

After the victories in the battles of Qadisiyyeh and Nehavand in A.D. 652 resulting in the liquidation of the Sasanian empire, the first thing the Arab conquerors undertook to do was the wholesale destruction of the fire-temples (atashkadeh) of the Zoroastrians faith, the faith of the Iranian of those days. Fire -- the high symbol of that faith because it was the remains one of the most important discoveries man has made --- was central to their rituals coming down from their Aryan ancestry. Thus Allama Iqbal, the most outstanding intellectual among the Muslims of the subcontinent, the national poet and the ideologue of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan did not just eulogize but seriously interpret the spirit of the faith in his famous poem 'Shikvah' when he said : kis ne thanda kiya atashkadeh-e-Iran ko/kis ne phir zindeh kiya tazkaraye yazdan ko?"

Tarikh-i-Yamini, the history of Mahmud of Ghazna, and many other Persian chronicles have recorded the story of Mahmud's iconoclasm including the destruction of the Somnath temple. Farrukhi, the panegyrist of the House of Mahmud has a powerful qasida eulogising his patron - the Amiru'l-Momineen- for his iconoclastic achievements in India. And Sultan Sikandar, the second Kashmirian Sultan in the line of Shahmiris, is boastfully called Butshikan (the Iconoclast) for his great fervour in demolishing idol houses.

Describing the Iranian missionary Shamsu'd-Din Araki's demolition and destruction of idols and idol - houses in Kashmir in mid - 16th century AD, Muhammad Ali Kashmiri writes this in Tohfatu'l-Ahbab about the temple called Mahasen.

"After arriving at the spot, Shamsu'd-Din took up his abode there. There existed an old temple. Elderly and aged persons had no knowledge about when that temple had been built. Araki first engaged himself in demolishing the temple. The building was set on fire, which broke out on all sides. After burning the structure, the idols made of stone became visible. These were broken into pieces so that nothing of their original shape remained. Thereafter began the felling of the trees. Many wild animals and birds fled towards mountains and to the adjacent forests. Some of the animals were as big as tigers while some other were very small. In one corner of the forest, a tent was pitched for Araki. The sufis (followers) made shanties of grass and thickets to live in. At night, a group of sufis would stay in the tent of Araki. The rest went to their respective shelters. At about midnight, loud cries of moaning and agony came from the razed temple and this continued till morning. Shamsud-Din told the sufis that these were the cries of Satan and no attention needed to be paid to it. He said that the destruction of only that temple was not his mission. It actually was that of destroying all the temples and fighting against the Satan. He said he had just begun that mission.

The moaning cries stopped in early hours. In the morning after having prayers and having recited awraad fathiyyeh, he told his followers to get ready and engage themselves in felling the trees so that all the Satans around were banished. They showed singular courage in felling the trees. He kept himself busy with this work for a few days. Thereafter, he decided to leave behind a group of sufis who would bring the task to its completion. In the fourth months of solar year(?), Shamsu'd-Din laid the foundation of the mosque precisely on the ruins of the aforesaid temple. After raising the structure, he put one person in its charge as Imam. Another person was appointed as 'caller of prayers' (mu'azzin) so that people would offer five-time prayers and regulate the observance of these obligations. He obtained some land from the ruler to serve as the source of livelihood of the disciples there. In this way the mosque was maintained." (source: Tahfatu'l-Ahbabd, Urdu translation by Muhammad Reza Akhundzadeh, printed and published at Lahore in 1997).

This is only a passing reference to one of the 52 big temples and scores of smaller ones in Kashmir demolished and destroyed under Araki's pesonal supervision and command, as we are infomed by the author of Tohfatu'l-Ahbab.

This is history. But those who concede to everybody the right to follow the tenets of his or her faith will not be justified to lament the destruction of human heritage as at Bamiyan. Nor can the relics be really protected against onslaughts. We do not know whether the faith of those who demolished the mosque structure in Ayodhya enjoined upon them to perform that act. But we know that in the case of examples cited above the act is enjoined upon the faithful as their holy mission. A secular State like India may need to amend the constitutional provision that allows the parliament to question the performance of a religious duty by the followers of that religion. It must not politicise principles. It did not pass any condemnation resolution when the faithful extirpated three hundred thousand Kashmiris not belonging to the Muslim faith from their homeland at gunpoint in 1990. But it did react when the faithful are axing down the Buddhas at Bamiyan. The question is when the Indian parliament was not perturbed by the extirpation of living human mass of its own citizens in Kashmir, whey does it beome nervous if a few hundred tons of granite are crushed at Bamiyan by the Muslim puritans in observance of their religious commandment with weaponry invented by the western kafirs? Isn't it a crude way of playing the communal card?

Assign camps to quality coaches

By Rajesh Dhar

Ramakant Achrekar and Harsha Bhogle of India are the two known figures in the world of sports, in Cricketing field. Both these persons have earned a good name and fame at the international level; former as a cricket coach and later as an expert TV commentrator. Achrekar has produced players like Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli and Parveen Amre etc. While Bhogle has won hearts of many with his subtle wit, sweet voice and ambitious grit. None of these guys have been players of any class of cricket but with their immense knowledge and experience they have proved themselves in their respective subjects.

Utilisation of services of such experts can be productive in different disciplines and at different levels of sports in creating a niche. But, we, in our country, especially in J&K State, hardly utilise the services of such greats for promoting sports.

However, it is shocking that our sports departments, councils or associations sometimes assign camps to the persons who lack knowledge in their subjects. We know, appliction is the name of the game, so, a coach ought to apply himself/herself and lead from the front. But when a coach does not know how a skiper jumps, an athlete runs, a footballer kicks, a bowler bowls or a bater bats how can you expect him leading from the front. I am of the firm opinion that qualification should not be the only criteria in assigning camps to the coaches but more than that is experience and knowledge.

A coach ought to be a player is not written in any dictionary but what a coach ought to have is scientific as well as philosophic knowledge of skills and techniques of the game. Some of the coaches lack a factor known as motivation. This motivation factor plays an important role in enhancing the performance of a player. So such coaches should be emloyed who cannot only prove their usefulness but prove themselves Drauncharyas in different disciplines of sports. They should have the guts to inculcate sense of sports aesthetics in the players.

A coach who lacks knowledge in his subject is obviously full of complexes so to expect such a coach removing complexes of the players is meaningless. As long as a player is having any kind of complex whether superior or inferior, to see him shine at any level is almost impossible. It has been observed in our State that sometimes the concerned sports authorities assign camps to the persons from clerical staff and avoid persons from the field staff. Such coaches hardly command any respect from the players rather they demand it from them. The result is evident from the performances of the State players at the higher levels.

It has also been observed that there is a trend that Sports Authority of India (S.A.I.) coaches or trained persons from National Institute of Sports (NIS) are weighed in sophisticated spring balances and the persons who have acquired specilization in specific sports discipline in other sports institutes of the country are weighed in simple balances, which shocks many.

Some of the coaches of our State are just by their names not by work or worth. But such coaches too are assigned camps in our State so that they can hold their posts and fill up the food bills and pool money. The concerned authorities do not think here in long term perspective for the good health of sports in the State.

Coaches should be assigned camps according to the outcome of results keeping in mind the future of the teams in long terms perspective and at the same time not expect overnight miracles from any coach. There are some employees in the field staff of Department of Youth Services and Sports who have immense knowledge in their specific games but are not qualified coaches i.e., they are not NIS degree holders, so, are not assigned camps for this reason which, is not genuine because degrees alone are not to be seen but what ought to be seen is the practical worth of the coach.

So, in future the concerned authorities ought to avoid assign camps to the persons who are inexperienced and undue. I hope the camps are to be assigned to the experts, if not of the calibre of Achrekar but at least commanding respect in their subjects related. That is the only way to create a niche in the sports field and therein lies the greatness and true spirit of the game.

Gujarat earthquake : Some important points

By Chandi Prasad Bhatt

The Gujarat earthquakes of 26th January and 27th January 2001 have decisively shown how ill-prepared we are to face such natural calamities. In order to combat the natural calamities such as earthquake, volcanic eruption, cyclone, flood, drought, landslide and forest fires, there is an urgent need to evolve a local strategy with clearer, practical and people-oriented national policy. It needs to be considered how best the traditional and modern constructional techniques and natural resource management systems can be blended in order to evolve earthquake resistance structures and safety measures, to protect forests from axe as well as fires, to conserve water and finally to minimize damage done by landslides and floods.

It is unfortunate that during the past one decade four major earthquakes, three cyclones and annual floods have ravaged the nations, taking heavy a toll on life and property. Devastations caused by floods have increased four-folds during the past decade. In continuation of this, incidence of landslides and erosion have also accelerated in the Himalayan region. It is going to be a prolonged phase of difficulty in Gujarat and Orissa which was ravaged by a killer cyclone recently. In the current decade earthquakes alone has affected Garhwal (1991 and 1999), Maharashtra (1993), M. P (1997) and now Gujarat (2001).

Even then we are neither able to evolve a national disaster policy nor could psychologically prepare the common people to fight such adverse situation. Considring the frequencies of landslides, floods and forest fires etc. the situation is quite alarming. The scientists and social workers have given innumerable suggestions for mitigation of such calamities. But sadly enough such suggestions never find ways in formulating national policy on disaster mitigation.

If a fraction of the suggestions and experiences were utilised, it could have helped immensely the people towards rebuilding and rehabilitating themselves.

In order to understand the impact of natural calamities on local and regional scale, workers of Chipko movement have undertaken various study tours in different parts of the country. Objective of such tours was to understand the cause of effect of calamities like floods, earthquakes, landslides and cyclones in totality with right perspective. In continuation of the Chipko study teams' observations in Uttarakhand, Assam-Arunachal, Maharashtra (Latur), Andhra Pradesh, MP, Himachal and Orissa, they have visited the earthquake affected areas of Gujarat with specific aim to understand the socially evolved vision emerging out of the clamity with partial contribution towards relief.

In this regard, starting from Ahmedabad, followed by different settlements of Surendranagar, Rajkot, Kutch districts and reaching up to one of the last villages-Lakhaba in the great Rann of Kutch, the teams made an attempt to understand the nature of the current disaster, assessment of the damage, state of local society and administration and the kind and type of assistance pouring in from various parts of the country and the world. A comparative study of the traditional houses with the one, which were constructed during past one decade (nature of construction and kind of damage) was also made.

Besides this, the teams saw gross violation of urbanisation rules. Though major objectives were not to assess the nature of relief, it was equally important to know how the local communities in the towns and villages were organising themselves to overcome the devastation. In addition to this, equally important was to get a first hand idea of national concern towards assisting the earthquake victims of Gujarat.

During the visit the team had an opportunity to have extended discussions with the local people and organisations and individuals.

Below are some suggestions, which are based on the teams' past experience and present visit to the earthquake effected areas, for evolving a national policy for disaster mitigation planning:

1. Sensitive and disaster prone areas should be demarcated. An understanding of history of the past disasters may be very educative to the people and planners. Information regarding the nature of calamity, its impact and spread should be gathered and disseminated among the target population and the government machinery. There has to be a constitutional protocol in disaster prone areas, which should be strictly followed. For the implementation of constitutional protocol, municipality or the village panchayat should be made accountable. In areas prone to earthquake and landslides it should be made legally compulsor.

2. Starting from village to block, district, state and national level, disaster management committees should be constituted. Such committees should become the integral part of the development and environmental committees and should be responsible for rescue, relief and rehabilitation. It should have participation from village panchayats, village level organisations, women, non-governmental and government organisations along with professionals and experts.

3. There is urgent need to impart rescue and relief training to the people living in the area of possible threat of natural calamity. In which along with the common people, village panchayats, women organisations, yuvak mandals, non-government organisations, scientists, cultural organisations and village level government officials should be included. Disaster management and training should be included as a compulsory subject in the educational curriculum of the students.

4. Communication equipment play a significant role in disaster management. It is essential that there should be an effective communication networking, which can be utilised for disaster warning, rescue, relief and rehabilitation. In this regard, equipment like wireless, electronic media, hem radios, etc. along with posters, pamphlets and films can play an important role.

5. A system should be developed at village and block level, which should spontaneously get activated during the calamity with specific objective of gathering factual information regarding the statistics of the disaster. These organisations should be made responsible for rescue, relief and rehabilitation.

6. In the disaster affected areas, integrated rehabilitation should be the approach. Besides providing shelter, the rehabilitation package should have provision for creating employment for which adequate infrastructure facility should be made.

Following are the specific suggestions pertaining to the recent earthquake in Gujarat :-

In doing so the team is aware of the fact that a realistic estimate of the impact, damage, rehabilitation of the displaced and people who lost their livelihood will take some time.

* It goes without saying that there is an urgent need for large-scale rehabilitation strategy. There is no denial that besides the government and non-governmental organisations, Gujarat is getting adequate cooperation from various agencies. However, at village level there appears to be absolute lack of coordination. It is but natural that with time the agencies involved in relief work will gradually withdraw. Therefore, in order to sustain the relief operation, village level organisations with wider participation of the people from various social and economic strata is essential. Such organisations should be made responsible for the monumental rehabilitation work.

* A minimum of one-month ration should be given to each family, distributed through village level organisations asking them to keep the details of the material distributed among the affected population. This is essential and needs to be publicized so that equity and transparency in distribution is maintained.

* People should be encouraged to initiate rebuilding their shelters, for which the required assistance should be given to them. By doing so the sense of esteem and pride will be created among them. Tarpaulin and tents provide a temporary housing. Even the villagers are not able to use tents as kitchens. The new house is a distant dream. Even with honesty and commitment it will take at least six months. In this situation tins and bamboos can be used for temporary housing.

Twenty tins and essential bamboos should be given to each family. In these houses, the handicrafts of Gujarat get new life. Organisations like CAPART should ready a package in this regard.

* A balanced blending of traditional and modern house building techniques needs to be evolved and implemented in the villages and towns to make them quake-resistant.

* During past few years, people of Gujarat have experienced the fury of drought, cyclone and now earthquake. Hence, an integrated combat approach against these calamities should be evolved. One possible way could be the watershed development approach .

* In-depth analyses of the damage caused to agriculture and animal husbandry is needed. With this provision should be made to supply seeds to the farmers. In rural Gujarat, cottage industry is the backbone of the economy. Such industry involves handicrafts, clat wares, embroiders, salt work, metal industry and other village level enterprises. Current earthquake has severely affected these cottage industries.

There should be a provision to rejuvenate these industries for which assistance from CAPART, Samaj Kalyan Vibhag, NABARD, Handicraft Board, Khadi and vilae Industries Commission and Jawahar Rojgar Yojna etc. should be taken.

* In current earthquake the worst hit were the children, women and socially and economically backward classes of the society. It is true that rich people and middle classes are also the victims of the earthquake but they are not as helpless as others are. Therefore, it is essential that we should not be casual in our approach in providing food, shelter, medicine and education to this section of the society.

* Some agencies also work together for the over all assessment of this earthquake. From geo-tectonics to the actual number of people killed due to this earthquake, every aspect of the tragedy should come out. We must learn from Gujarat earthquake and remember the Japanese proverb, 'earthquakes come only when we forget them'.
PTI Feature