Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL SAVIOURS ORDESTROYERS? Leader of the JKDLP (Jammu & Kashmir Democratic Liberation Party) has done some plain speaking which should act as an eye-opener for every true Kashmiri. It should also be taken as guide by those having jaundiced minds and yet dancing to the tunes set forth by their mentors from across the border. At this stage, the question is not whether he espouses the cause of freedom. It is the all important question of what is good for people of Kashmir who have borne the major brunt of Pak sponsored blood spillage.....more ENGLISH MEDIUM At long last State Government has decided to take some pragmatic steps to improve educational standards in Governments Schools. The decision to introduced English from first primary class itself reflects acceptance of the reality that vernacularism ......more		Stop interfering with Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine By: B.K. Suri Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Jee's cave shrine is one of the holiest and most sacred pilgrimage in the country. Millions of people from across the length and breadth of the country and abroad visit this cave shrine every year to pay .. ... more Better than the worse : The fate of Digvijay Singh By : M J Akbar How do you know when things are going badly in Hollywood? When they start firing their .....more Need to beef up child adoption law By: Uma Joshi "I still reach out my hand at night to ascertain that it is not a dream but she is actually there in reality, sleeping ....more

EDITORIAL SAVIOURS OR DESTROYERS? Leader of the JKDLP (Jammu & Kashmir Democratic Liberation Party) has done some plain speaking which should act as an eye-opener for every true Kashmiri. It should also be taken as guide by those having jaundiced minds and yet dancing to the tunes set forth by their mentors from across the border. At this stage, the question is not whether he espouses the cause of freedom. It is the all important question of what is good for people of Kashmir who have borne the major brunt of Pak sponsored blood spillage. Whosoever has their good uppermost in mind happens to be not only truthful but also real friend and well wisher of the hapless people. Hashim Qureshi who himself was the mastermind of Fokker Friendship aircraft hijack which was burnt at Lahore airport has realised the futility of gun-culture and violent means to achieve any goal. He is deeply hurt and is in visible anguish over the killing of famous ideologue Dr. Ghulam Qadir Wani in Bandipur. He minces no words in describing such elimination of intellectuals and ideologues so that Kashmiris have no righteous or truthful spokesman and they could be treated as dumb-driven cattle by self-seekers and subserve their own vested interests. It is not the only assassination. In fact there is a chain and one by one forces inimical to the people of Kashmir continue to kill all genuine well-wishers of Kashmiris. They include personalities like Moulvi Farooq, Dr Guru, Qazi Nissar, Mir Mustafa, Maulana Masudi, Maqbul Malik, Abdul Sattar Ranjoor, H N Wanchoo, Lassa Koul and many others. One may as well add assassination of several political leaders, MLAs and true representatives of people who were mercilessly slain by ISI agents provocateurs and saboteurs let loose on the people of Kashmir. All this is proof enough that Pakistan does not like any pro-people leadership, intellectuals and ideologues to correctly guide the people in their hour of need. Devoid of leadership, they can be misled into any traps. Incidentally, all the personalities mentioned above were amenable to reason in any given situation and they were prepared to say and do what was good for the people of Kashmir and not what was dictated from across the border. Hashim Qureshi extensively quotes slain Dr Wani's letter written to him in 1995 wherein the latter also realised the futility of guns being used for achieving results. Dr Wani candidly appreciated Hashim's advice given several years back to adjure violence but he did not heed it then. The belated realisation stemmed from practical experience when Dr Wani was disillusioned with merciless killing of the innocent people at the hands of mercenaries and those who sponsor/harbour them. He was also pained with their other heinous acts like abductions, extortions, rapes and sodomy besides loot and plunder. It is in this contest that Hashim enunciates that who promote or spread violence are ultimately consumed by violence. In the light of experience with Pakistan, pro-Pak elements and mercenaries having played havoc with Kashmiris, he poses the question for every sane and true Kashmiri to judge for themselves whether mercenaries and their harbourers/guides are saviours or destroyers of Kashmiris. Mercenaries are slaves in its true sense as they indulge in blood spillage for money. Whose blood it is hardly matters. The advice from Hashim is to read between the lines correctly to understand that mercenaries could never get them freedom or accession to Pakistan for the very simple reason that they themselves are slaves. The next question is dealing with those who yet harbours them and send them open invitations (this includes Talibans or Bin Laden's terrorists). While security forces are already engaged in finishing the mercenaries, the people must reject those who continue to harbour the killers. His pointer is towards Hurriyat amalgam and others who continue to engage in destructive pursuits to finish the Kashmiris to enslave them for subserving their mentor's interests from across the border. By any yardstick they could never be saviours of Kashmiris but active destroyers of everything that is Kashmiri-the people, their Ziarat Pasandi, the Kashmiriat including their means of livelihood, their schools, their hospitals, their bridges and all that promises reasonable life. ENGLISH MEDIUM At long last State Government has decided to take some pragmatic steps to improve educational standards in Governments Schools. The decision to introduced English from first primary class itself reflects acceptance of the reality that vernacularism leads to standards that bear no relevance to current trends and fast changes taking place. Earlier to this Punjab Government had gone in for similar introduction of English at primary stage itself, Many other States have already adopted English channel as the most competitive means to prepare children for better future. It has been realised by the educationists, administrators and political hierarchy that Government schools have not been able to compete with private schools because of over-stress on vernaculars and side tracking English as the prime language. Such course distracted parents from entrusting their wards to Government Schools. So much so that even wards of those economically very backward and with meagre means have no faith in Government schools and invariably shell out hefty fee to put their offsprings in private academies. This explains mushroom growth of private educational setups due to large scale patronisation by all sections of citizenry. Besides introduction of English from Class I some more steps have been simultaneously decided. There is no bar of minimum of 5 year age at entry point. This is meant to encourage parents to send their wards to school early as is the fashion in private schools. Second, the medium of teaching Science and Math shall also be English from Class VI to VIII. Right now these subjects at middle level are taught in vernacular. This will ensure parity with private schools. It has been realised that XI and X Class medium even in Government schools is in English but its adoption becomes difficult leading to comparatively poor results in Government Schools. Its early adoption right from Class VI shall remove this anomalous situation. Third, common syllabus is being introduced for all classes to remove any disparity between Government and private schools. Common syllabus entails same set of books, work-books and other paraphernalia. One hopes that Government side is alive to the disparity angle in its totality and not piecemeal. Fourth, accountability of the teaching staff is part of the ravamped system. Performance of teacher shall be judged by the annual results. It would be better to evolve suitable guidelines as regards accountability in terms of incentives or dis-incentives or any other step to improve standards. Lastly, it must be taken note of that even with all the above measures, disparity shall persist as long as Nursery/KG concepts remain absent in Government schools as per fashion in vogue. It shall remain distraction and Government schools shall be deprived of right input at right age. This needs to be pondered over to have full parity with private schools.

Stop interfering with Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine By: B.K. Suri Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Jee's cave shrine is one of the holiest and most sacred pilgrimage in the country. Millions of people from across the length and breadth of the country and abroad visit this cave shrine every year to pay obeisance to the holy Goddess in a bid to secure her blessings. The devotees out across the caste, creed and religion barriers and the holy Mata is held in highest esteem by one and all alike. For Hindus, nonetheless, whether in Jammu, Kashmir or elsewhere in the country Vaishno Devi Jee's shrine is one of the most pious and any action aimed at interfering with the management and sanctity of the shrine would not only invite the wrath of all the Hindus but also fraught with avoidable dangerous repercussions. Against this backdrop, it need be clearly understood that any issue even remotely linked with this sacred shrine is highly emotive and would be construed as an infringement in the religious affairs of the Hindu community. In this context, a news item captioned "NC set to capture Shrine Board'' was first published in Hindustan Times on January 12, 1997. Subsequently, local media confirmed the constitution of a Cabinet Sub Committee to amend and recast the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Act. Even though the authorities have denied the report, yet an issue which was long settled by the Apex Court has been recreated by the powers that be in the State. It was after thoughtful deliberations and tactical manoeuvres by the then Governor Shri Jag Mohan that the age-old system of management of holy cave-shrine involving baridars and other locals was given a go-by and Shree Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVD) founded in August, 1986. The then Governor saw to it that the management of Shrine Board remained vested in the hands of non-political, non-controversial and selfless personnels rather than politically active and affluent elite. It was from this consideration that eminent personalities like Dr. Ana Rao, Chairman Tirupati Trust, Ms Vidya Behn Shah, Ms. Shobha Bhartia, Executive Director of Hindustan Times, Mr. Lalit Suri Industrialist and Shri B.K. Goswami were taken on the Board of Directors in addition to four others from Jammu and Kashmir State with established credentials. It is any body's observation that ever since the Shrine board came into existence, the system has functioned splendidly and management made big strides in the spheres of development, improvements, beautification, afforestation and other such areas as allied to the comfortable and free flow of pilgrims' traffic. As a sequel, the 'yatra' to the cave shrine has increased manifold. No wonder, last year, a record number of over 45 lakh devouts visited the holy shrine to pay their obeisance to the ever-benevolent Goddess Vaishno Devi. Obviously, all this has been possible owing to relentless efforts and dedication of the management and apolitical character of the Shrine Board. As it stands, Shree Mata Vaishno Devi Jee's shrine is one of the cleanest and better managed in the country and free from the malice of begging and fleecing of 'Yatrees' by those religious pandits who were engaged hithertofore, in this uncalled for act. But the crowning factor is that Shrine Board has taken utmost care to judiciously utilize the offerings and donations which were earlier shared by a few families of baridars who, sadly enough, are still not reconciled to losing the source of regular income from the shrine. With proper supervision and control, the income of SMVD Shrine Board has been steadily rising all these years since the Shrine Board came into existence. Reportedly, the income has been to the tune of over 138 crores since 1986, which is in addition to the offerings in the form of gold and silver at the shrine. Besides, there are assets and property running into crores. Nevertheless, now, there is a lurking fear that through overt and convert feelers and manoeuvres guided purely by political considerations, attempts are in the offing to convert the Shrine Board, thus far, a non-political group into a political forum. Reportedly, it is likely to be achieved through pushing in local political leaders, baridars and a few powerful elements who never reconciled with the loss of control of this pious but cash-rich shrine. It would thus transpire that the present political dispensation has not cherished the peaceful and pragmatic functioning the Shrine Board particularly when several other such religious Boards and Trusts are in great disarray. In effect, SMVD Shrine Board should serve as a model for emulation by other religious shrines in J&K and elsewhere in the country which are grossly mis-managed and have been known to serve as shelter and hideouts for militants and marauders for anti-national activities. In any case, it is a deemed desirable that the democratically elected Government shall be well advised not to go for a blinkered view in connivance with some vested interests and resist tendencies to meddle in the affairs of SMVD, Shrine Board as the sanctity of its non-political status needs no emphasis. It hardly merits mention that the holy shrine attracts millions of visitors/pilgrims world-wide and bestows the State with revenue and prosperity by way of sale of innumerable indigenous materials including handicrafts particularly the Kashmiri articles in a big way. Moreso, 'yatra' has created avenues for pilgrim-tourism which needs to be exploited in a well-phased manner to generate revenue for this militancy-ravished State. Sadly enough, the issue has been raked up again and Baridars prompted and provoked to agitate the issue. Of late, they have staged dharnas at Katra to elicit local support. They well nigh know that the Apex Court upheld the constitutional validity of SMVD Shrine Board Act in entirety and ruled that compensation be paid to Baridar, in lieu of their rights to offerings which were forfeited under the Act. The issue of compensation was directed to be decided by the Tribunal constituted for the same. Reportedly now, a part of compensation out of the total amount stands already disbursed and accepted by the Baridar. Evidently, once the Baridar accepted the compensation it tentamounts to passive acceptance of the forfeiture of their right to the offerings. How come then, that the Baridar, who had acquiesed to the changed scenario have become active again after a span of over 8 years lest they were provoked to rake up the issue and play a frontal role. Thus an issue which stood settled has been recreated with the implicit or explicit suport of the power apparatus to gain control over the management of the Shrine and siphon off the huge amount collected from the offerings on a perpetual basis. The obnoxious approach perused by the Baridars, need be scotched before it acquires wings. The agitation, dharnas need be countered by the people in Jammu, Kashmir or else where in the country. Our elected representatives could play a pivotal role in persuading the Baridar, to retract peacefully particularly when they have already accepted the compensation. The good work done by the SMVD Shrine Board must not be allowed to be negativated and great edifice of reforms which was so assiduously conceived and implemented must not fritter away. As on now, Katra and its surrounding areas, abound in unbounded trade and prosperity. The entire area hums with activity and humdrum of pilgrims is seen all the year round. In effect, this pilgrimage has opened new avenues for the entire trading community in J&K. In the event, it is considered imperative that endeavours aimed at tampering with the Shrine Board Act are done away with as that might tantamount to touching the hornet's nest. Besides, all those intent on persisting with extraneous pressure need restrain their activity lest their credibility takes a drubbing in the public view. Dr. Farooq Abdullah who commands a fund of goodwill cutting across the party lines is expected to take conscientious cognizance of the sentiments of the people of Jammu in this context and keep at bay the pulls and pressures from his advisors and others who are bent upon changing the structure of Shree Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board which all along has been non-political and should remain as such only. In any case, the people at large would never accept meddaling with the affairs and sanctity of this sacred Hindu Shrine.

Better than the worse : The fate of Digvijay Singh
By : M J Akbar

How do you know when things are going badly in Hollywood? When they start firing their sons-in-law? How do you known when things are going badly in an Indian political party? When they start firing chief ministers on the eve of an election. The difference between the BJP and the Congress, as they enter the final stretch of a pretty hot horse race, may be no more than the fact that the BJP sacked its chief minister in Delhi and the Congress retained its chief minister in Madhya Pradesh.

The punters had declared both Delhi and Madhya Pradesh to be no-hopers for the two ruling parties. But the Congress did not blame the jockey for the faults of the horse. The BJP did. Sahib Singh Verma, the former Delhi chief minister, was not solely responsible for the salt march and the onion run: if anything, it was the government of BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee which converted a problem into a fiasco. Why turn Sahib Singh Verma into a scapegoat? If the real reason for his departure is because he could not slip smoothly between the middle class and the elite of the capital of India, then it was a mistake to give him the job. To take it away with minimum of ceremony is only compounding the error.

But political death was written in Sahib Singh Verma's destiny. Digvijay Singh has a different problem: his could be a fate worse than death. He could become victim of an unusual phenomenon in Congress circles, success.

Helped by the fact that neither he nor his high commander was ready to give up in a state where the Congress got hammered in the Lok Sabha elections, he has evolved an interesting strategy for the Assembly polls. He is contesting the Assembly polls as an opposition leader. This is not dramatically unusual: it is a very successful play used by the most intelligent of our political leaders. All you need to play this game is a government in Delhi which belongs to a party different from yours. All the sins can be placed very conveniently at the door of the Centre, particularly since everyone believes the Centre to be a sumo wrestler glowering over skinny state governments. Non-Congress state governments have habitually targeted a Congress-run Delhi for all the problems they could not resolve. A Congress chief minister has now decided to do unto others what others have been doing unto him. And so Digvijay Singh explains the defeat of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections as a vote for Atal Behari Vajpayee instead of a rejection of Digvijay Singh. And now that we have an election directly related to his performance he has put up a huge poster of an onion in Bhopal and is asking the people to vote against the price rise. It will still be a miracle if he can convert certain defeat into a marginal victory, but Digvijay Singh has already shifted the odds. There are one or two election watchers now who are actually ready to say that he just might have a chance.

Madhya Pradesh holds the key to the post-election scenario: the wind of the future will rise out of the ballot boxes of the belly of India. Why ? Because the mood will be created out of the reasons for the results, and not just the results. The arguments are already being planned with meticulous care, particularly by the BJP, which has everything to lose if things go dramatically wrong. The party is now willing to concede that Rajasthan will vote in the Congress, but not Delhi. Bolstered by an opinion poll (taken possibly among those who sell onions rather than buy them) that shows the BJP firmly ahead in the capital, the BJP is determined to surprise its detractors with a victory in Delhi. But if it loses Delhi as well as Rajasthan, the spin doctors will offer the incumbency factor as the explanation. Anyone in power, has to lose it. However, this spin will work only if the incumbency factor topples Digvijay Singh in Bhopal. Every incumbent has to lose for the BJP to make a case that this is not a vote against the Vajpayee experiment. If the Congress does well in Madhya Pradesh and wins Rajasthan and Delhi, then the momentum will shift in its favour. The success or failure of Digvijay Singh could determine the shape of politics in the crucial few months ahead.

Alas, poor Digvijay. For glory in the Congress is more expensive than humiliation. If past experience is anything to go by, he might be forgiven failure. But woe betide him if he wins: they will never allow him to taste the fruit of his victory. He will have become too powerful in his party to be tolerated by his peers. The best he can hope for is to be kicked upstairs.

Is there space upstairs?

Maybe what the traditional names in the Congress hierarchy do not know as yet is that upstairs just might be becoming a different place. There are small signs of some quite redecoration going on, and rooms being prepared for new occupants.

Two leaders who have got the message that their time is over are P V Narasimha Rao and Sitaram Kesri. The first is understandable. After all, Narasimha Rao did everything he could to indicate his general dislike of the politics and legacy of Rajiv Gandhi, and his hostility to the idea of Sonia Gandhi's emergence as party leader. But Sitaram Kesri was always the chief chamcha: spewing loyalty long after it had become embarrassing to the recipient. Kesri has not changed; he is still willing to place his rather soiled khadi cap at the feet of the president. But Sonia Gandhi has turned cool to sycophancy from has beens. Narasimha Rao is more mature about his hostility towards Sonia Gandhi, cloaking it behind good manners; but Sitaram Kesri has gone berserk. Nothing gives him greater pleasure than planting stories against Sonia Gandhi. The two old men are hampered by only one reality: the wasteland in which they have ended is thinly populated. Congressmen are clustered around the hope of power.

The emerging leadership of the party has one thing in common, apart of course from the obligatory obeisance towards Sonia Gandhi: they are in the fifty-to-sixty age group. Sonia Gandhi is consciously but unostentatiously handing over the party structure to a younger lot after seven years of complete domination by the septuagenarians and octogenarians. There is also a clear signal travelling through the party that the famous ''proximity'' on which acolytes breakfast, lunch, wine and dine is not going to be a sufficient asset in the hard bazaar of realpolitik. Kunwar Natwar Singh is certainly close to Mrs Sonia Gandhi, but this did not translate into tickets for his group in the Rajasthan list. Even his son was not given a ticket. Rajesh Pilot and Ashok Gehlot divided Rajasthan between them. Similarly Mr Arjun Singh discovered that other claims were going to be given weightage, in particular the suggestions of the chief minister, who is not famous for friendship with Arjun Singh. The strong bias towards new faces in ticket distribution is such a vital change from the Narasimha Rao-Kesri boredom that this by itself could give the Congress a new face. Change of course is no guarantee for victory, but at least there will be fresh reasons for either victory or defeat.

The BJP, on the other hand, has been unable to play the Dawood Ibrahim-Romesh Sharma card as effectively as it may have wanted to. And it may have damaged itself in the process. First, the stain touches the BJP leadership too, even if obliquely compared to the dirty splash it has made all over Congress politicians. But in a twist which may not have been realised earlier, most of the Congress leaders discovered to be on videotape relations with Dawood's bagman Romesh Sharma, belong to the Narasimha Rao-Kesri group, and therefore to the anti-Sonia faction. This is logical. A don's bagman after all would only hand out cash and dancing girls to those in power, not those in hibernation. In the absence of any firm statements from the police, Delhi has to content itself with gossip, and the swirl is throwing up a number of unexpected names. This again confirms that when things go wrong, they go very wrong; and when you are in power they always go wrong.

But the last word must be left to that unknown, unnamed but certainly adventurous BJP leader who believes that the party can win the elections in Delhi by giving picnics to linguistic groups. Maybe the idea originates from the iftaar parties started by Congress ministers for Muslims during Ramzaan in an effort to win their sympathy through the stomach. The Muslims are the food at iftaar parties and kicked the Congress in the voting booth. Biryani is, as we all know, very good for the soul, but it is still no substitute for anger.

Need to beef up child adoption law

By: Uma Joshi

"I still reach out my hand at night to ascertain that it is not a dream but she is actually there in reality, sleeping beside. It is not that we have given her a shelter in charity but it is she who has brought happiness in our life, given us something to live for," said a thankful woman having adopted a girl child. She is now two years old.

When the rival claims of a Hindu teacher and a Muslim foreman to adopt a Muslim baby girl abandoned in a Lucknow hospital are pressed in court, the judge may have to summon something of Soloman's wisdom to settle the dispute.

For the country cannot go by either the foreman's emotive plea that the girl be given to him for "protecting her religion" or the teacher's rejoinder that infants have no religion. The law, as it stands, bars the claims of both for legal adoption, thanks to the distinction made between Hindus and members of other faiths.

Currently there is no uniform law governing adoption of children in the country. Hindus can adopt a child in accordance with the provisions of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956. Other communities can take children in guardianship under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 which visualised only a foster care scheme till the adopted child comes of age to choose his or her religion.

This century-old law is but a poor substitute for adoption as it is not an irrevocable arrangement to provide the emotional security and sense of belonging that a child needs so much. It is for this reason that social welfare activists and adoption agencies have been clamouring for a uniform legislation that would ignore the religion of the adoptive parent and confer on the adopted child the same legal rights and status as the natural-born heir.

This omission could have been repaired long ago but for the opposition of orthodox sections of the Muslim community, which regard adoption as "a Hindu religious concept." The communal overtone thus brought in to sidetrack what is esentially a humanitarian issue has kept stillborn the comprehensive bill on adoption mooted more than three decades ago.

Successive governments have chosen to abdicate their responsibility to the welfare of millions of abandoned children for fear of inviting the wrath of the Muslim clergy.

Childless couples eager to give all the affection and security of a home are made to wade through a maze of archaic laws and procedural hurdles that put their patience and resolve to severe test.

It is to remove all these needless and constraints that the demand for a uniform law on adoption had been voiced so often. Unless it is needed, the inarticulate cry of the children forced to suffer the stigma of an unwanted birth in souless orphanages will remain a blot on the conscience of the nation.

It may be recalled that a task force with former chief justice P N Bhagawati was constituted by the union welfare ministry in August, 1992, to revise and reformulate the existing guidelines on adoption of children.The new guidelines were submitted by the task force to the government sometime in June, 1994, but they are yet to be implemented, there being no timeframe fixed for it. This is a sorry state of affairs while dealing with a social welfare measure obviously with a very lukewarm attitude.

The task force recommended setting up of an autonomous Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) registered under the Societies Registration Act. In the exercise of its functions and powers, CARA shall be independent of any control or interference by the Government except in regard to matters of policy where it shall be bound to act in conformity with and in implementation of a policy decision of the Government.

It has been suggested that the original application/documents for adoption of Indian child may be submitted by the foreign enlisted agencies directly to the recognised Indian placement agency with a photocopy to CARA. This body shall furnish the clearance certificate within five weeks from the the date of the receipt of the application to the concerned placement agency.

It has also been suggested that the placement agencies should make all - out efforts to place a child in an Indian family according to a time-frame. The voluntary coordinating agencies should issue necessary clearance certificates in favour of a placement agency for pursuing inter-counter adoption only if they failed to find an Indian family for the adoptive child.

Today, the country has about 50 million orphaned children below the age of 14 years. At least 70 per cent of the abandoned infants received in institutions are female. However, the draft National Adoption Bill of 1980 is very much on low priority of the Government and nobody knows when it would become a law. Its provisions are applicable only to those who choose to abide by it, while fears of any interference with the personal laws of the minorities are born out of ignorance or prejudice.

The experience of adoption agencies, social workers and welfare organisations confirms that the existing laws on adoption are quite inequitous and the cumbersome rules and regulations only serve to test the patience and resolve of the adoptive parents.

The vast majority of abandoned children sheltered in orphanages, whose religion could not be established as Hindu, has to remain outside the scope of the Hindu adoption law. The foster care scheme devised for them under the guardianship law is not a permanent and irrevocable arrangement. There is always the possibility that the natural parent may claim the child or indulge in blackmail. Nothing can prevent the foster parents from discarding their wards when they have children of their own.

Adoption legally establishes parent-child relationship between persons not so related by birth. It is an experience whereby parentless children ae provided with the physical and psychological benefits of family life and caring adults are afforded a chance to become parents and experience growth as a family. Thus, adoption need not be the second best alternative to a couple without children as giving birth does not necessarily make one a better parent.

However, the existing law is somewhat restrictive in as much as a Hindu can adopt a son only when he does not have a son, grandson, great grandson. Likewise, a precondition for adopting a daughter is that the adopter should not have a daughter or a son's daughter. Again, more than one son or daughter cannot be adopted. If, however, one wishes to adopt two children, they must differ in sex.

With a view to check the possibility of illegal sale of children from nursing homes and hospitals, the Supreme Court, in a judgement in December 1986, asked such institutions which may be functioning in the capital of a state, to inform the social welfare department about the detection of any abandoned or destitute children.

The Indian Council for Child Welfare has been given the work of scrutinising applications for adoption, if asked by a court. Payments for such and other works has been fixed along with their ceiling limits.

It can be hoped that with the various directives of the Supreme Court from time to time, the orphans, the destitute and the abandoned children in India are not to be subjected to callous and exploitative attitudes. But then, the need to bring in all categories of children under a uniform law is all the more necessary. The pending legislation should be passed without any further delay. (PTI Feature)