EDITORIAL
Isolate the menace
It is high time that the
Islamic world listened to the sane advice of the highest
religious authority of Saudi Arabia, the cradle of Islam,
to reject extremism. It does not do any good to a
religion if violence and killings are allowed to be
perpetrated in its name. The phrases like 'Islamophobia'
have been coined in the United Kingdom to point an
accusing finger at self-professed followers of Islam who
actually use their religion as a shield to hide their
vicious designs. There is serious concern over the
weaponisation of the most Islamic societies, which in
turn has resulted in their emergence as a breeding ground
of the terrorists. Viewed in this context, it is
heartening that the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia has stood
up and called a spade a spade. In his address at Riyadh,
he has made an observation of far-reaching significance.
He has remarked: 'Today we are in dire need of unifying
our ranks and voices and supporting our leadership
against those who threaten our religion, security,
resources and stability'. Elaborating the tenets of the
religion, he has clearly stated: 'God intended for us
Muslims to be a moderate and tolerant people and not be
inclined to extremism'. In brief, he has spoken of the
need for restoring balance.
There are many who will
argue that in a monarchical order the Grand Mufti has no
choice but to echo the viewpoint of the hereditary rulers
of the country. The ailing Saudi king Fahd and de facto
ruler Crown Prince Abdullah have already called upon the
Muslim world to unite against 'terrorism' in the wake of
the bombings in their own country and Turkey. Admittedly,
many would also, perhaps justifiably, look askance at
Saudi Arabia, of all countries, for seeking to assume the
role of preachers of peace and harmony. Indeed, the
country has in the past provided financial stimulus for jihadi
movement across the globe. We have seen this happening in
our immediate neighbourhood in Pakistan. One can't deny
this. However, having conceded that, one should see
reason that such a thinking is not relevant in the
changed context. What is important in the altered
scenario is that the holy land of Mecca has realised that
it does not pay to fiddle with terrorism in any garb. The
Saudis have become wiser because of the terror on their
own soil. Only the wearer, as they say, knows where the
shoe pinches. They have banned charity collection boxes,
including in foreign countries, so that the funds thus
collected are not used for the benefit of mercenaries.
There is no doubt that they would be more careful in
future while extending financial assistance to meet their
ideological and sectarian objectives. The country has
begun virtually a reformist movement to preach tolerance
at all levels, including in the field of education where
school curricula has been suitably revised.
Such developments tempt
one to suggest that the war against the terrorists in our
sub-continent should be accelerated. We are further
encouraged in this direction by the observance of
cease-fire on the Line of Control by both the
neighbouring countries. If Pakistan sincerely implements
its decision to hold fire, it will be easier for India to
remove the remnants of foreign mercenaries from its
territory. In the case of Pakistan itself, the problem is
far more acute. The country has propagated the slogan of Nizam-e-Mustafa
and imposed shariah. It has also, on one hand,
flirted with the Taliban and pushed the terrorists across
the LoC into our State. On the other hand, its policy has
given a fillip to the sectarian and fratricidal violence
on the home turf. In the process, it has become a
sanctuary for armed hoodlums who merely employ Islam as a
cover to carry out their small but fatal wars. Having fed
the people on the opium of religion, the country is
suffering from its deadly ill-effects. No wonder
President Pervez Musharraf himself has identified
religious extremism as the foremost danger to his
country. If he truly wants to get rid of the menace, he
will have to take exemplary action against the likes of
Hafiz Saeed, founder of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Toiba. The
Let chief has virtually held out a threat at a large
congregation in Lahore that, come what may, he will not
allow the peace to prevail along the LoC. His
organisation would not stop jihad in Kashmir 'on
the asking of anybody'. What is this if not the total
misuse of the name of Islam? Surely, Pakistan will have
to find a way to remedy the situation and exorcise the
sub-continent of this evil.
Behind beautiful veil
Over the years, Public
Interest Litigation (PIL) has won wide recognition as a
potent weapon against social evils, corruption in high
places and man-made environmental disasters. This unique
instrumentality conceptualised and evolved by the
judiciary has brought relief to the millions in this
country. It has become a tool in the hands of
conscientious citizens to be evoked against the inertia
and inefficiency of unscrupulous authorities and the
establishment. From undertrials suffering perpetual agony
to the pensioners and the other helpless victims of the
imbalances and inadequacies of the system, all have
benefitted from this. With the passage of time, it has
become the nightmare for the ruling politicians should
they haughtily stray from their prescribed path and
overlook their responsibilities. By taking suo moto
notice of the distortions almost everywhere, the
judiciary has only sharpened the effect of PIL. If one
has seen the high and mighty in the land coming under
judicial scrutiny in widely reported cases such as
Hawala, Narasimha Rao, Chandraswami, allotment of petrol
pumps, out-of-turn allotment of Government houses,
donation to political parties and the Vohra Commission
report, to quote only a few instances, it is because of
the media exposure and judicial activism of which PIL is
the most visible form. In view of its proven inherent
strength, it is absolutely necessary that this device of
public service is not at all misused. In no event should
this be allowed to become an instrument for settling
personal scores or procuring undeserved relief.
Viewed in this context, it
is heartening to note that the judiciary itself is
keeping close tabs on how PIL is being used. In a recent
observation of far-reaching significance, the Supreme
Court has struck a note of caution for the high courts
against PILs emanating from ulterior motives. The apex
court has advised the high courts to ensure that 'behind
the beautiful veil of public interest an ugly private
malice, vested interest and/or publicity seeking is not
lurking'. A Bench of the court, comprising Justice
Doraiswamy Raju and Justice Arijit Pasayat, has further
remarked: 'The attractive brand of PIL should not be used
for suspicious products of mischief. It should be aimed
at redressing of genuine public wrong or public injury
and not publicity oriented or founded on personal
vendetta'. Nobody can disagree with the Supreme Court's
sane counsel that 'the PIL is to be used as an effective
weapon in the armoury of law for delivering social
justice to the citizens'. Indeed, it is commendable that
the highest court in the land has chosen to correct the
perspective of those who have developed a blurred vision
in the wake of the runaway success of PIL. There is need
to maintain balance in everything that we do. As Oscar
Wilde has said: 'Little sincerity is a dangerous thing
and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal'.
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PERISCOPE
ON PAKISTAN
Musharraf losing his
moorings
His
contrived "democracy" only one
year old General-President Pervez
Musharraf’s contention that he must
remain at the helm of affairs "in
the national interest" is beginning
to be questioned not only among the
civilian population but also his own
pocket bailiwick, the Army.
Denouncing
four years of General Pervez Musharrafs
government in Pakistan as a big loss and
a danger to Pakistan’s stability,
JASARAT editorially says: "The way
Gen Musharraf surrendered to the US will
has made people furious and they feel
humiliated, People’s desperation
about Pakistan’s future is
increasing and this situation should be
stopped immediately. For his purpose Gen
Musharraf will have to change himself
otherwise his government will not survive
for long.
"Though
during Gen Musharraf’s four-year
rule Pakistan has suffered a number of
damages, Pakistan has lost on four counts
the most. First of all we lost
Afghanistan. Moreover, it has stood
against us now and Pak-Afghan relations
are deteriorating fast and India is once
again taking roots there. Gen Musharraf
argues that our U-turn in case of the
Taliban and Afghanistan was necessary to
save Pakistan otherwise Pakistan too
would have been invaded by the USA. Along
with this fear, Gen Musharraf wanted to
grab a few billion dollars also. But the
results of this unthinkable and
destructive policy are before us.
"Succumbing
to one pressure has made us vulnerable
and now we have been facing a number of
other pressures, like sending our troops
to Iraq, recognising Israel officially,
allowing military action in tribal areas
on the Pak-Afghan border, handing over
the Al-Qaeda suspects to the USA,
providing our ports and bases to the
coalition forces, allowing the FBI to
take action in Pakistan and overhauling
of deeni madrasas in the country.
"Our
President has already succumbed to many
of these pressures and regarding the
remaining he is perturbed and frightened
what to do and what not to do. Another
loss to Pakistan is this that the
Pakhtuns of Afghanistan, tribal areas and
the Frontier have now realised that in
the massacre of Pakhtuns by the USA and
the Northern Alliance forces, Pakistan
was also involved. It is because of Gen
Musharraf that our Army has become a
disreputed force.
His ploy
of slipping alternatively from the
uniform to an achkan too is being closely
scrutinized. DAILY TIMES says
editorially: "What good would he
(Gen Musharraf) be to PML(QA) as ‘Mr
Musharraf’, or to be technically
more correct, Gen (retd) Musharraf ? That
is the irony of the situation. Doffing
the uniform is the beginning of the
endgame for Gen Musharraf. The system he
is trying to put together with all its
anomalies will not outlast him.
"Federal
Information Minister, Sheikh Rash1rf
Ahmad, thinks General Pervez Musharraf
should hold one office, presumably that
of President of Pakistan, and also anoint
himself as President of the Pakistan
Muslim League(QA), the party he (Gen
Musharraf) begot from the loin of
Pakistan Muslim league (N)." DAILY
TIMES adds: "The League (QA) owes
its existence and its electoral win to
Gen Musharraf. It will last only as long
as he lasts in power. Indeed, if the
exiled leaders were to return to Pakistan
after Gen Musharraf’s exit, the
League (QA) would crumble sooner than one
can say Jack Robinson. Given the
political alignments and compulsions, the
party does not need Mr Musharraf to lead
it; it needs Gen Musharraf in full battle
regalia to survive. But it is not just
the PML(QA) that is dependent on Gen
Musharraf’s uniform. The general
himself, owes his rise and his survival
to the khakis.
"The
act of removing the uniform will
superannuate Gen Musharraf as a political
player. He can be like Field Marshal Ayub
Khan who became head of the Muslim League
or like Ghulam Ishaq Khan who was a
non-political party President or Farooq
Leghari (who belonged to a political
party), and his powers will depend on
whether or not Parliament allows him to
retain 58(2)B. But we know what happened
to all of them when the chips were down
and the Army chief of the time refused to
play ball."
Ayaaz Amir
in HERALD hints at trouble in the
military dovecote as well: "General
Pervez Musharraf’s claim aside,
there are strong indications that he has
earned vengeful and powerful enemies in
uniform. A case in point is the recent
unearthing of a coup plot against the
General, reportedly masterminded by a
group of middle-level officers in
connivance with Al-Qaeda operatives.
"The
General had been asked to comment on a
tape-recorded call to arms from Osama bin
Laden’s second-in-command Ayman
al-Zawahiri in which he denounced the
Pakistani President as a traitor. Aired
by AL JAZEERA television, the purported
Zawahiri message said: "We ask our
Muslim brethren in Pakistan how long will
you put up with the traitor Musharraf,
who sold the Muslims’ blood in
Afghanistan, and handed over the Arab
mujahideen to crusader America? Had it
not been for his treason, the surrogate
government would not have been installed
in Kabul, that government which brought
the Indians to Pakistan’s western
borders. Not only this, he opened up
nuclear installations to US inspection,
choked the jehad in Kashmir... and is
(planning) to recognise Israel, all for a
handful of dollars the Americans stack in
his pocket. The officers and soldiers of
the Pakistan Army should realise that
Musharraf will hand them over as
prisoners to the Indians... and flee
abroad to enjoy his secret (bank)
accounts.
"For
instance, rumours abound that Musharraf
an uneasy relationship with General Aziz
Khan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff Committee (CJCSC). Gen Aziz is a
known hardliner with rigid anti-India,
anti-US and pro-jehad views. On the
political front, there is also talk of
growing tension between the two over
Musharraf’s decision to
simultaneously hold the top civilian and
Army posts insiders allege that Gen Aziz
was visibly upset when Musharraf recently
announced his desire to continue as the
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) for at least
one more year, in the ‘larger
national interest’.
"The
problem for some in the Army is that a
year is too long a wait. Seven senior
officers are due to retire during the
months leading up to October 2004,
including Gen Aziz Khan and Gen Mohammad
Yusuf. As full generals, both would like
Musharraf to quit so that one of them can
serve as COAS before they retire. Some
Army insiders believe that by asking the
Muttahada Majlis Amal (MMA) to let him
stay in uniform until October 2004,
Musharraf has gone public with his drive
to get rid of ‘potential irritants
in uniform’, namely Aziz and Yusuf.
"Musharraf
would instead like to induct one of his
three close confidants — Corps
Commander Lahore Lt-Gen Zarrar Azeem,
Corps Commander Rawalpindi Lt-Gen Arif
Hasan and Corps Commander Bahawalpur
Lt-Gen Syed Pervez Shahid. Others point
out that these three officers are close
to Musharraf because of their ‘Syed
connection’. Most significantly,
however, Musharraf fears that after
becoming the Army chief, any other top
general, especially Aziz, may create
problems in the context of his role as
President of Pakistan.
NEWS
observes: "This is a critical period
for democracy which calls for a united
effort by both sides to contradict the
slur that as a nation we are unfit for
democracy." By ADNI Bureau
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WORLD
AIDS DAY DEC 1
It continues to kill at
will
By Dr Maharaj K
Koul
Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), first
reported in the US in 1981, has become a
worldwide epidemic and is caused by the
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). By
killing or impairing cells of the immune
system, HIV destroys the body's ability
to fight infections. People suffering
from AIDS become susceptible to
life-threatening diseases called
'opportunistic infections', caused by
microbes, that usually don't cause
illness in healthy people.
In 1983,
HIV was identified as the virus that led
to AIDS, today a leading killer in the
age group 25 to 44. In India, research
reveals over 50 percent of the infected
people fall in the age group 15-24.
Worldwide, an estimated 30 million people
have become HIV infected.
India has
the dubious distinction of having the
largest number of HIV infected people in
Asia, reports the UN agencies. It
expresses concern over the rapid movement
of the AIDS epidemic to the rural areas
in developing countries. The report warns
that AIDS, long perceived as an urban
problem in developing countries, is
rapidly moving to the rural areas.
To make
matters worse, the first attempt to
develop a vaccine to prevent AIDS has
failed, vaccine maker VaxGen Inc said
recently. But there was a ray of hope
that it could help Blacks and Asians.
Long-awaited
results from Vax Gen's trial of 'AIDSVAX'
show the vaccine reduced the rate of HIV
infection by just 3-8 percent in 5,000
men and women considered at high risk in
the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and the
Netherlands. ''Overall, what we see is,
the trial failed'', Vax Gen president Dr
Donald Francis told the press.
The
vaccine was tested only against the
strains of the virus found in North
America and Europe, so the findings do
not apply to Africa and Asia, the regions
hardest hit by AIDS.
Most AIDS
researchers had not expected 'AIDSVAX' to
protect very many people from infection
with the HIV virus. But they were
intrigued by the findings that the
vaccine seemed to offer protection to
Blacks and Asians but not to Whites and
Hispanics.
For the
study VaxGen gave injections of either
the vaccine or placebo to 5, 108 gay and
bisexual men and 309 high-risk women.
They started in 1998 and then watched to
see who went on to become infected with
HIV. All the volunteers were told about
safe sex practices such as using condoms
to protect themselves and partners.
When
VaxGen's figures were analysed, they
showed that Asians, Blacks and
self-described ''others'' who got the
vaccine had a 67 percent lower rate of
infection than those who got a placebo
sot.
There were
only 498 Blacks and Asians and ''others''
in the trial, so the numbers are
difficult to interpret. Of all 5,000
volunteers only 127 became infected with
HIV only 25 among the Blacks and
Asians---which is a small number of cases
to draw any conclusions from.
''The
company is claiming that this vaccine
works better in African-Americans and
other non-Hispanic racial subgroups based
on a difference of 5 people'', Dr Martin
Delaney of AIDS information group Project
Inform, US, said in a statement. ''This
is at best premature and irresponsible
data reporting'',
This means
that the AIDS vaccine continues to be
elusive. And, after prevention, drugs
still continue to be the only hope.
The 14th
International AIDS Conference was held in
July last at Barcelona, Spain.
Participating in this conference Dr
Robert Gallo, Director, US-based
Institute of Human Virology, said the
imminent launch of the newest AIDS drug,
*T-20*, was just the start of a coming
age of novel AIDS medicines. 'This is a
gigantic area of research and the results
are very exciting so far'', he told
reporters.
AIDS
therapy has advanced by leaps and bounds
in the past 10 years. As a result, the
disease is no longer a death sentence to
those with access to modern medicine. But
researchers are continually seeking new
weapons in the arsenal of HIV drugs,
since resistant strains of virus emerge
rapidly and many of today's medicines
have serious side-effects.
A major
breakthrough came in 1996 with the advent
of protease inhibitors, but Dr Gallo said
these drugs were particularly harmful and
were likely to be switched out of drug
cocktails within a few years. ''Important
as they are, they are toxic and we are
beginning to see resistance, and my guess
is in two or three years the protease
inhibitors and go away'', said Dr Gallo.
They will
be taken over by entry inhibitors. Drug
makers Roche Holding A G of Switzerland
and the US biotech firm Trimeris Inc
trumpet promising results for their
injectable drug ''T-20'', which belongs
to the type entry inhibitors.
Meanwhile,
''Praneem'', a poly-herbal drug to fight
the AIDS virus developed by the Indian
scientists, is being tested on monkeys in
a high security facility in Paris. French
scientists have confirmed that
''Praneem'', based on Neem extracts,
helps to prevent sexual transmission of
the AIDS virus.
Patients
with HIV infection now have & cheap
option for reducing problems that occur
in them because of reduced immunity.
According to a study carried out by Dr
Ajay Wanchu of the Department of Internal
Medicine, PGI, Chandigarh, the use of a
drug called ''Pentoxyphyline''can reduce
the risk of opportunistic infections.
However,
experts maintain stringent precautions in
handling blood and blood products and use
of condoms remain the only proven remedy
against spread of AIDS, a deadly disease
without any cure yet. This preventive
care is particularly important in Indian
setup, and especially Third World
countries, where other alternatives such
as routine screening of HIV and use of
double gloves is very expensive.
The root
cause of the spread of this disease in
the Third World countries is economic as
well as social. AIDS can also be
controlled by improving economic status
and mass education of the vastly
illiterate population.
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Telgi
bomb becoming political football
By M Rama Rao
The Rs 30,000
Crore fake duty stamp scam or 'the Telgi Bomb' as
it is known in some circles, is fast becoming a
political embarrassment to the Congress. For the
BJP however, it is emerging as a potential
weapon. The party appears to cash in on the
weapon not only at the current round of elections
but also in the forth-coming Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress has
thought it had checkmated the BJP with the Judeo
scam in Chattisgarh. But the unfolding
developments in the Telgi scam probe are becoming
a minefield particularly in Maharashtra. Unless
some other 'sarkari' scam breaks out BJP is going
to be on the warpath.
To the glee of the
BJP, the latest scam has its deep roots mostly in
the Congress ruled states. A scam of such a
proportion could not have been possible 'for so
long' without political patronage.
Karnataka, the
mother State of the scam, has, so far, ruled out
possibility of allowing CBI to investigate the
case in the State. The Chief Minister S M Krishna
has forcefully reiterated his no to the Deputy
Prime Minister L K Advani, who is keen on central
agency taking up the probe.
Maharashtra
government is carrying its own investigation
under the supervision of the Mumbai high court,
Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has not shown
any inclination to request CBI probe.
To the dismay of
the Congress, Sharad Pawar, the NCP supremo, has
just joined the chorus for CBI probe, NCP is a
partner in the Maharashtra Government and the
Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal who holds
home is from the NCP.
Andhra Pradesh has
sought the NDA Government to investigate the case
in the State and the BJP Government in Gujarat
has no problems with the CBI sleuths. The other
States affected by the scam are West Bengal,
Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and
Delhi.
CBI has registered
three cases in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Gujarat
with the links of Telgi figuring in Ahmedabad
very prominently. According to CBI Director PC
Sharma, the agency would not be able to take up
investigations in Karnataka and Maharashtra but
it can investigate any of the accused or persons
if they figure in our cases.'
Even as the CBI
did not rule out linkage of the Indian underworld
in Dubai with the stamp paper scam and sought to
probe its impact on the national security angle,
the investigating agency has secured a production
warrant against the master accused Abdul Karim
Telgi, a native of Karnataka, in the alleged
distribution of fake stamp papers worth Rs 9
crore in Gujarat.
A CBI court in
Ahmedabad issued the production warrant against
Telgi Tuesday evening asking the authorities to
produce him on or before January seven next year
in the court, according to sources in CBI. With
the warrant, the agency would establish contact
with the Karnataka authorities where Telgi was
presently lodged in judicial custody and produce
him in the designated court to seek his remand.
CBI said Telgi's
role had come to the fore in the case registered
by the agency in Gujarat last year in which one
kingpin Sadiq Ibrahim, already under arrest,
allegedly named the scamster as the brain behind
the scam.
CBI Director P C
Sharma says nothing is ruled out in the stamp
paper scam. As far as we go (in stamp paper
scam), so far there is no such linkage but we
cannot rule out because a man who is doing it in
such a large way, who was connected to all kinds
of people, be it underworld or over the ground it
is just possible', Sharma said.
The CBI Director
also suggested that apart from being a
money-spinning exercise it was having impact on
security. It is a very important issue.
Moving fast to get
to the root of the scam, the Centre has directed
CBI to conduct a detailed enquiry into the Indian
Security Press involved in the printing and
distribution of fake stamps by the alleged prime
accused Abdul Karim Telgi.
CBI has already
registered a Preliminary Enquiry to probe the
functioning of security press at Nasik after it
was suspected that some of the officials were
also connected with the scam.
CBI Director said
here that the agency would investigate 'whether
there have been any security lapses in that or
whether the employees therehad been conniving
with people like Telgi.'
It would also be
established whether the employees at Nasik press
helped the Telgi network in printing of the fake
stamps in the press.
It is suspected
that Telgi secured an outdated printing machine
from the Nasik press and used it to perfect the
art of printing fake stamp documents. There are
reports that printing machine was not dismantled
properly before auctioning. Barring the Harshad
Mehta stock scam of 1992, the Telgi scam, is,
perhaps, the biggest since Independence. (Syndicate
Features)
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Pakistan
seeks propaganda value with its robust response
By Atul Cowshish
The Pakistan
response to the set of 12 confidence buildings
measures suggested by India on October 22 is
neither 'robust' nor 'positive', as was promised
by the acerbic spokesman of the Pakistani foreign
ministry. But when it comes to Pakistan, to
except the usual diplomatic niceties or grace in
communicating with India would be foolhardy.
Islamabad is a
practical example of an apocryphal story about an
Indian farmer who would bear all the beatings
from his adversary and swallow basketful of
onions after loosing the wager but will not give
up his pursuits that looked doomed from the
outset.
In that land of
the 'pure' everything begins and ends with
Kashmir. Pakistani has accepted only a few of the
Indian proposals without any pre-conditions:
resumption of sporting ties (cricket in
particular) and allowing senior citizens to cross
the Wagah border on foot.
Resuming sporting
ties-cricket to be more specific-has always been
the Pakistani priority because over the years it
has perfected the art of converting the cricket
field into the venue for an Indo-Pak dual. No
visiting Indian team can ever hope to play in
Pakistan without a large section of the patriotic
spectators constantly shouting abuses at India.
The volume increases if the Pakistani team faces
defeat. Pakistani players are obsessed with the
desire to defeat India because it gives them some
vicarious pleasure of getting the better of
heathens. The Government of the day bestows
riches on them for defeating India. Pakistan has
also agreed with India to ease the problems faced
by fishermen of the two countries. But its
response to the rest of the measures is tied to
conditions that Islamabad knows well will not be
acceptable to India. Obviously, Pakistan thinks
this would help it achieve what it wants most:
going to international fora with more anti-Indian
ammunition.
Indeed, some of
the counter proposals from Pakistan are designed
to provoke India. In response to the Indian offer
of free treatment for 20 Pakistani children in
India, Pakistan has offered free hospital
treatment for 'victims' of Indian security forces
operations in Kashmir.
It is ridiculous
for Pakistan to seek intervention by
international human rights bodies in selecting
the Kashmiri 'victims' for treatment in Pakistan.
Does Pakistan accept all the reports of these
global busybodies who have been as critical of
Pakistan as they have been of India? Besides,
will the human rights bodies agree, as the
Pakistani suggestion would imply, that they have
an important political agenda to serve behind
their critical reports on India?
Before asking the
human rights organisation to pitch their tents in
the war zone in India created by it, Pakistan
should also agree to use the services of these
bodies to identify the bodies of all the
Pakistani 'freedom fighters', known in the rest
of the world as terrorists, who are regularly
sent to India to seek the path to 'heaven'--by
spreading death and mayhem and then getting
killed by Indian security forces.
Pakistan will
accept the Indian proposal to start a bus service
between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in Pakistani
occupied Kashmir provided the passengers travel
on UN documents and UN personnel man the
checkpoints on either side of the line of
control. Before making that absured proposal has
Pakistan made sure that the UN in willing to
enter the muddy waters of Kashmir further by
taking policing and customs duties?
Pakistan is hazy
on the Indian proposals on boosting travel links
that include resumption in air service and
re-opening of the long-forgotten Sind-Rajasthan
land route and the Mumbai-Karachi ferry service.
It will not do anything to take up these measures
unless India gives a guarantee that it will not
refuse in future and under any circumstances
permission to Pakistani aircraft to overfly
Indian territory.
The Pakistani
delusion is now reaching the stage when it thinks
it can not only tell India how to 'resolve' the
Kashmir tangle but also how India should shape
its civil aviation and transport policies! But if
Pakistan shows eagerness to resume train service
it is because with the masses of travelling
genuine passengers it can regularly smuggle in
its army of spies and saboteurs, not to speak of
its 'freedom fighters' under different garbs.
Among the decision
taken by a furious India just after the Pakistani
terrorists' attack on Parliament in December
2001, the one that hurt Islambad most was perhaps
the drastic reduction in its 110-member mission
in Delhi. It is common knowledge in India that
the large the size of the Pakistani mission in
India, the more the number of ISI operatives who
position themselves officially on Indian soil to
guide and monitor their nefarious activities.
It is Pakistani
humbug to say that a large staff is required in
India to clear the flood of visa applications. A
large sized Pakistani staff in India never helped
reduce the wait for visas. In any case, even at
the best of times, the Pakistanis are quire prone
to turn down visa requests from Indians.
It is obvious that
the week that Islamabad took to mull over the
Indian initiatives was spent only in devising a
reply that will be strong on propaganda value but
low in substance. An outright rejection of the
Indian peace proposals would have been impossible
for Islamabad for fear of infuriating Uncle Sam,
the all-pervasive benefactor and patron of
Pakistan, and indeed much of the international
community. The Pakistani response was announced
by no less a person that the Pakistani Foreign
Secretary, Riaz Khokhar, who had duly won his
spurs by vilifying India-in India itself as the
infamous High Commissioner of his country.
Setting aside the
provocation build into the 'robust' Pakistani
response, it would look very clear that Islamabad
simply could not find ways to match Indian
gestures which are clearly aimed at improving
people-to-people contacts. That is because the
Pakistani establishment-the military, the
bureaucracy, the mullahs and politicians who
kow-tow to the military-overwhelmingly opposes
any encouragement to large-scale people-to-people
contacts between the two countries.
No matter what the
Pakistanis say, the fact remains that the
so-called 'core' issue of Kashmir can never be
solved unless relations between the people of the
two countries are marked by mutual trust and
friendship. Any real Indo-Pak thaw can begin only
at the people-to-people level-and not at summit
meetings, as the Pakistanis are fond of
declaring. The establishment in Islamabad draws
its power-and privileges--from constantly keeping
an imaginary Indian bogey alive and has never
done anything more than pay lip service to the
cause of peace in the sub-continent.
The Pakistani
establishment has lit an eternal hate-India
flame, which discourages any popular expression
in that country of views that seek to genuinely
improve bilateral relations.
But having said
all that the fact remains that India will be
equally unwise to adopt the Pakistani style of
course diplomacy. As stated in the beginning,
Pakistan cannot be expected to respond with any
reasonableness or decency to India moves because
of its fragile sense of national pride and
definition of its nationhood. So even if Pakistan
is willing to implement only a handful of Indian
proposals it should be viewed as some gain.
The bottom line is
that in the given State of India-Pak relations
nothing can be expected to kick-start the real
peace process. It has to be a very slow and
tortuous process that requires a lot of patience.
India should be willing to show that kid of
indulgence even if Pakistan continues to live up
to its boorish diplomatic behaviour-until one day
Uncle Sam turns the heat on it.
(Syndicate
Features)
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Pleasing
a man is a full time job
By Uma Ramachandran
Before I got
married a girl I hardly knew invited me to a
singles dinner party in Mumbai. I arrived looking
wiped out after a 10-hour stint in the office.
This I thought was a normal entrance to a weekday
supper invitation but it was soon apparent that
my fellow singles were in a different league.
The other women
including one celebrity single now married were
ridiculously gorgeous. What was shocking though,
was how keen they were to be with our
unappetising dates.
Halfway through
dinner, one man informed me that the girl on his
right an exquisite creature called Tanya
wasn’t wearing knickers. This same girl
whose barely harnessed bosoms were propped on the
table like a plat du jour then recited a speech
of thanks while standing on the table. Back in
her seat, she sheepishly announced that she was
off to meet her man. "Ooh that’s why
you’re looking so pretty!" chorused the
others in saccharine tones while the bachelors
gazed on longingly.
Now look, I may be
out of touch, but where I come from no one would
admit that they had made a special effort for
their men. No one would be seen dead in a
baby-doll – not even one by Valentino.
Above all, no one
would stand on a table in a baby-doll wearing no
knickers. I don’t say this is necessarily
right. But that is the way it has always been
among the vast majority of professional, (mainly)
university-educated women of my circle and
generation.
Our somewhat
po-faced way of dealing with the opposite sex
seems, however, to be coming under fire. Today,
there is a new generation of women–and I
don’t mean tarts–who are prepared to
channel a sizeable chunk of their energies into
finding out what men like and delivering it. Not
for the joy of a tumble in the monogrammed
sheets, but in the hope of waking up in the
master bedroom permanently.
A whole tribe of
twenty to thirty somethings has emerged, who can
happily wear a push-up bra without irony or the
smallest trace of guilt. My generation–the
over 35s–thinks that sexy undies, unless
worn for a joke, are a bit of a copout. We want
to be loved for our minds, you see. The modern
seductress – who combines old-fashioned
savvy with a new book of contemporary courtship
tricks–has no such qualms. For her, man
pleasing is a career option. As Madhuri, the
entrancing fiancée of a business tycoon
explains: "Pleasing my man is a full-time
project." The concept of the temptress
– an ambitious woman whose first aim is to
delight – is an old one. What is amazing is
not that these seductresses should still be
around but that the idea should actually be
gaining currency.
The pendulum has
swung, virtually overnight, from a climate of
earnest and sometimes tedious mutual respect to
one of good old-fashioned role-playing. It could
be that a new generation of young women, drip-fed
a constant diet of sad singleton stories, are
wary of staying ploddingly true to the sisterhood
and ending up on the shelf.
Or it could be a
fashion thing. The prevailing mood in
women’s fashion for the past few seasons has
been utterly feminine.
Maybe some women
who have seen "The feminists shot themselves
in the foot big time," explains one modern
temptress. "I believe that a woman should be
a woman and a man should be a man. My philosophy
is: ‘I’ll look pretty; you open the
door and pay for the tickets.
Fair enough.
Although this kind of thing sticks in my throat,
one can at least see that it makes life a bit
more fun. What’s more, there is a sort of
engaging, honesty, an upfronteness, a pathos and
pragmatism about these modern seductresses that
you can’t help but find endearing.
They all possess
one enviable talent: the ability to ensure that
men find them riveting. And they’re not
ashamed to accommodate male fantasies. "You
can decide not to play games, to have a purely
cerebral rapport," explains Madhuri on her
mobile phone.
But after saying,
"Right let’s have sex now’ a few
times, it gets boring." If the woman
continually recreates herself, its more fun.
Madhuri is a scene setter. She knows how to
create an atmosphere, a vibe. "My home is
full of candles and velvet pillows. I love to lie
in front of the fire, so I have tray tables that
I can move about." Would tray
tables-lightweight, folding and utterly
functional (they can be quickly shifted to make
way for spontaneous sex) –work on your man?
You bet.
"Men are
quite simple in a way, like cars," says
Tanya, who married the very eligible Giriraj last
year. "They like something that looks
good." Forget anything you’ve read
recently about natural beauty. Looking good
– in modern seductress speak means groomed.
These girls are waxed, blow-dried and bronzed. No
effort at self-maintenance is considered too
extreme. They are fiends for regular all-over
body decide exfoliation. It makes them feel silky
and smooth next to their older man.
"In
men’s minds, women are goddesses," says
Madhuri, "so women must be goddesses for
them."
These girls
remember; have to compete across several
continents. "By English standards I make a
lot of effort, says Tanya. "Not by American
standards. The kind of Mumbai socialites Aditi
went out with was incredibly well polished.
Lingerie is also
key. Modern seductresses do not get caught out
wearing underwear that doesn’t match.
"Nice lacy knickers and a push-up bra are
absolutely standard attire," reveals Sonia,
32, who work in the fashion industry. "Men
live sexy underwear, especially if you surprise
them with a lacy whisper of nothing by La Perla
– or at the least a bit of Victoria’s
Secrets – under a T-shirts and jeans."
Then there’s
the rest of the wardrobe. The true temptress
knows how to navigate the thin line between
glamour and tartiness and to resist fashion
innovations – unless they are totally
boy-friendly.
"Men love
mules," says one modern seductress.
"They are just so easy to slip off." As
is anything black and slinky from Gucci, flirty
from Valentino or – for the modern
seductress whose target male has more fashion
savvy – a pair of original Calvin Klein
jeans teamed with Richard Tyler sandals.
The slightly
fluffier, less foot sure crew opts for tactile
cashmere ("makes men want to stroke
you") and uncompromisingly feminine dresses
("men l-o-v-e dresses") "This
season I’m wearing girlie, frilly, lovely
little dresses covered with flower
patterns," says Rashmi
The unpalatable
thing about the modern seductress is the way that
she conforms to old-fashioned female stereotypes.
The Dumb Blonde is with us still.
"Men want
pretty girls who don’t say too much,"
says a modern seductress friend. Anjali blithely
admits: "There is no man who doesn’t
like vulnerability. Men like to feel stronger. If
you act terribly feminine, they all melt."
Jasmin, an (now
married) interior decorator who has the teensiest
little girl voice in the business, says:
"The secret is to be difficult, petulant,
sulky, pouty and enigmatic. Make them think they
are chasing you."
Is this the
technique she employed on her husband?
"Well, he loved the schoolgirl voice. And
the fact, that I was confident, but vulnerable.
When I twigged to this, I hammed it up; I also
use a lot of eye contact. It’s the easiest
way to charm a man. And let them do most of the
talking. Then you discover what turns them
on." Oh and don’t forget to look
riveted while you’re about it.
The other types of
body language – the crossed leg, the smirks
and giggles, the perching on the edge of the
chair (makes your bare thighs look thinner) is so
standard as to be almost formulaic. But, too much
sexual flaunting (whispering come-ons and
sallying forth without pants) it seen as a risky
ploy, likely to net only short-term results.
"If a girl is
too va-vavoom when a guy meets her," says
one seductress, he’ll think ‘oh but she
chased me’ and that will be the excuse for
him to get out. What they never seem to realise
is that the coy little thing is 50 times more
manipulative than the in-your-face one." So
no feminist guilt then? "Look we girls have
to get off at the stop and get on a new train:
get ourselves a new set of tools," says
Madhuri
"We’re
battering and hurtling the men in our lives. Some
men need to feel manly. They appreciate a woman
who can make them feel like a man." INAV
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