Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

Lessons from assembly polls

Shed tears on Telgi scam

By Sweta Patwardhan

Naidu's poll gambit

By Jayant Muralidharan

Would these fires cease?

By Dr. R. L. Bhat

EDITORIAL

Lessons from assembly polls

As the polling has concluded yesterday for electing new Assemblies in five states, one can afford to relax and look back. There is need to analyse all that has happened in the run-up to these elections. It has been in an extremely bad taste, to say the least, that for the first time rape victims have been paraded in the election meetings. Such an insult to human dignity has never been seen before. Well-meaning people had rubbed their eyes in disbelief when, on the first occasion, an alleged victim of the most heinous crime was brought on a platform in the presence of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at a public gathering in Madhya Pradesh. There were, indeed, a few credible reports that Mr Vajpayee, one of the most decent, seasoned and articulate campaigners, was very unhappy with such obnoxious exploitation of human misery for electoral purposes. In spite of that, surprisingly, his party had gone on to do a repeat right under his nose in the national capital. In the second instance, the name and the family members of the alleged victim had been brought into play. It was strange that in both the cases, top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, who had been projected as the chief ministerial candidates, had taken the lead in organising these ugly shows. Both of them have occupied highly responsible positions in the government in the past. Therefore, they can't be unaware that it is blatantly wrong to disclose the name and identity of a rape victim leave alone presenting her before the public to score a point. On one hand, it is offensive to human dignity. Such disclosures, on the other hand, simply have the effect of multiplying the agony of a person who has already undergone the most traumatic experience. By dropping its inhibitions in such a sensitive matter, the political class has shown that it can stoop to any low in the elections. It has, clearly, developed a distorted vision of society in its desperation to secure votes. Another sickening phenomenon was seen with each passing day of the electioneering. There was mudslinging with the rivals taking liberties with their language without any respect for each other's reputation. All sorts of allegations and counter-allegations have been made. Perhaps never before has the public discourse been so abusive. Its level has been declining over the years but that it will touch its nadir so soon has been something entirely unexpected. Not surprisingly, therefore, that it is again for the first time that prominent leaders have filed a number of defamation cases against each other in courts of law to contest what has been said against them on public forum. Digvijay Singh, Sheila Dikshit and Madan Lal Khurana are among those who have taken recourse to seek judicial redressal of, what they believe, their character assassination. Apparently, they are convinced that they can't rein in their own political colleagues.

In no way have these elections indicated that such exercises in future would be less expensive. If at all, there are clear signs that the poll expenditure will, instead, go up in the coming years. Not long ago an Arjun Singh or a Farooq Abdullah would invite public ridicule for regularly using the State aircraft as chief ministers. There is a justification for flying around in State planes and helicopters if one is doing one's official business seriously. The majority of our states have large areas and a varied topography. On occasions, there may be an urgent need to attend to any of their region. If the chief ministers have been dubbed as 'flying Maharajas', then how would one describe the leaders of all hues who have used flying machines to their hearts' content in these elections. It is true that they have not played around with the State resources. Instead, they have used private aircraft, which are very expensive. Their bill runs into lakhs of rupees every day. In such situations, howsoever competent and qualified a candidate may be, he can count himself out right at the start itself if he is not in a position to muster enough financial clout. Not only that. The candidates these days have also to per force make a lot of expenditure in two stages. Firstly, they have to often sprint between their state and the party headquarters in New Delhi to secure nomination. Then, they need to mobilise additional resources to put up a colourful campaign. One redeeming feature is that the use of muscle men to scare voters is not visible on the surface. The Election Commission has just shut them out of at least the public view.

A novel feature of these elections has been the increasing deployment of film actors by almost all political parties. So far, film stars have played a secondary role. They now occupy the centre-stage itself at the political meetings as if they are in a film studio or a stage. Their participation has been going up with the passage of time. On their part, the stars, too, seem to enjoy the attention they get in political arenas. Is this not serious matter that no more are the politicians able to mobilise the crowd on their own? What else can be the reason for their dependence on magnets from the glamour world? There is no doubt that the involvement of film stars adds to the already skyrocketing poll expenses, no matter who foots the bill. This is, indeed, a shocking matter that the attendance at political gatherings --- even those addressed by the topmost players in the field ---- has decreased, particularly in the urban areas. Who is to be blamed for this? How does it improve the image of a politician by just taking shelter behind a made-up face? These polls have witnessed another dubious first with the nominated members of the Rajya Sabha unabashedly working as full-time campaigners. Have they been nominated because they have achieved excellence in a particular sphere of activity or because they are active politicians? It is high time that the political class took all these factors into account and endeavoured to reverse the present trend. For the sake of its own credibility, it would do well to correctly read the writing on the wall. It should raise the standard of the political dialogue. It must be restrained in its conduct. Dust and heat should not be raised just for the sake of doing so. Charges should be hurled against each other only if they can be substantiated with facts. By all means, corrupt people should be caught on cameras. While doing so, however, care should be taken to ensure that there is no tempering with the tape and the evidence. It is also necessary that the means adopted in the process are as honest as the truth that is being sought to be established. Nobody can claim to know certain other bitter realities better than political leaders themselves. Without fail, it has been seen, the extravagant polls lead to corrupting the system itself. Once in power, unscrupulous politicians tend to recover the poll cost by abusing the Government money. Whatever the provocation, therefore, the political class should adhere to the ceiling on election expenses. In addition, it must sell its manifestoes to the voters lest they were lost in the glitter of filmi duniya. If it takes such badly needed measures, only then one will say that it has learnt appropriate lessons from the run-up to these elections. There is a chance then that the next year's Lok Sabha elections would be any different.

Shed tears on Telgi scam

By Sweta Patwardhan

Whose stamp papers or currency notes are you using? Is it printed in the Nasik Security Press or in the backyard of Abdul Karim Telgi? Intelligence input suggests that Telgi was supplied 4,000 tonnes of printing paper from the Hoshangabad (MP) Security Press Mill. There is another report that the Nasik Security Press sold the entire currency printing machinery to Telgi in working condition as scrap. There is another report that even Telgi had acquired the coded secret numbers of currency notes of 100, 500 and 1000 denominations. His empire was so widespread that even if all currency notes and stamp papers are destroyed, the remnants would belong to Telgi. The tentative estimate, which is an imaginary figure, puts the stamp papers worth Rs. 32,000 crores sold by Telgi and his associates and agents.

The Governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka, which are in the thick of the ever-largest scandal in independent India’s history, are reluctant to part with detailed information to the Government of India. How many heads of bureaucrats and politicians on the payrolls of Telgi will roll down is anybody’s guess? Arresting and suspending police personnel by the Maharashtra Government is a half-baked measure, which hides more than its reveals. While cooling his heels in the Arthur Road prison, Telgi was living in his palatial mansion in Mumbai. Politicians and bureaucrats, reportedly, carried out his command.

It is equally revealing that Telgi, an eighth class passed student shifted from Karnataka to Mumbai and in course of six years build up his "business empire" which by one estimate is larger than that of the Tatas. It is a unique commentary on political-criminal nexus, which has no parallel in history, not only in India, but also anywhere in the world. Telgi, surely, deserves a Bharat Ratna!

As the scenario unfolds, the Finance Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, is contemplating of an enquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). What purpose will it serve? The damage has already been done. It is also in the realms of possibility that Telgi operation had the blessings of the ISI to destabilise the Indian economy. If the CBI carries out true investigation thousands skeletons in the cupboards of different ministries and institutions will come out rattling.

Now, juxtapose the shocking revelation-about scores of top-ranking personnel caught in the web of the Rs. 32,000-crore Telgi scam and you have a king-sized credibility crisis.

With at least 59 people, including 11 police officials, two politicians and a lawyer having already been booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), the Telgi scam is the biggest ever-economic crime committed in the history of free India. Even Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parikh seem like teddy bear picnics in comparison.

Telgi had on his payroll important government functionaries comparable to All Capone’s legendary list. With each passing day, the involvement of more and more policemen, bureaucrats and politicians is becoming clear.

The Telgi scam seems to tell a new story. You don’t need to wear tuxedos like Harshad Mehta or drive around in flashy cars to be a big time economic offender. To buy off the system (which is essential) you can retain your humble origins on your sleeve. It is the greenbacks, which count. Your access to higher echelons depends on your ability to pay.

Imagine an IPS officer of the rank of Inspector General like Sridhar Vagal being booked under MCOCA for allegedly "watering down" the charges against the Telgi scam kingpin. Though evidence available with the Special Investigative Team (SIT) probing the multi-thousand crore scam suggests that Vagal had accepted a payoff of Rs. 90 lakh, the investigating officials suspects that the quantum of grease money which passed under his desk could add up to anything in the region of Rs. 25 crore!

It was a rare spectacle to see a serving Mumbai Police Commissioner being subjected to intensive questioning. Over 12 hours of interrogation spread over three days, R.S. Sharma, who retires on 30th November had to defend the curious decisions he took while heading the investigation into the Telgi scam, which has rocked India.

His fate now hangs in the balance as Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde grapples with other more revealing truths. The Home Secretary, Ashok Basak in some ways was involved in the cover up operations to protect Telgi.

As it is, after the former state Director General of Police S.S. Puri submits his report the heat will be on the politicians. Recall the axiom: Where there is money, can the politician be far away?

One with enough tentacles in the labyrinthine world of crime, police and politics allowed Telgi to thrive for seven year, when it was well known earlier that he was in the crime business. Eight months prior to the Pune discovery, Karnataka Police had not only arrested Telgi but also had covered sufficient ground in their investigations into the multi-thousand crore fake stamp duty scam.

Political patronage gives scamsters their adrenaline. Already booked is a sitting Maharashtra MLA, Anil Gote and former Telugu Desam Party Minister and current party MLA Krishna Yadav, and many more will be caught, if the investigation is carried out to its logical conclusion. The name of former Congress Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has also emerged as the Revenue Minister of the State in the Sharad Pawar cabinet in 1994, he had recommended to the then Superintendent of Stamps, R.S. Mopalwar that a stamp-vending license is granted to Telgi.

In greater discomfort is the man currently in the hot seat, Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal. The Opposition claims that he received Rs. 20 crore, speculation in the state’s political circles is that his nephew, Sameer, had either been summoned for questioning or a questionnaire had been sent to him in connection with the scam.

The Maharashtra BJP President and former Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde’s role in the whole affair is also up for speculation. Known to be once close to the now-incarcerated Gote, Munde had at one stage defended the accused MLA. Deshmukh, Bhujbal and Munde are only the big leaguers among the many more political figures.

The Congress-NCP alliance ruling the state has demanded the inquiry to be conducted by the State Investigation Team (SIT).

The Opposition’s contention is that since the Telgi scam is the biggest-ever economic offence in the country, with inter-state and possibly international ramifications (the hand of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim is suspected) it is only essential for handing over the probe to the CBI. INAV

Naidu's poll gambit

By Jayant Muralidharan

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has, over the past decade, acquired the reputation of being one the shrewdest politicians in the country. He has displayed this political savvy again and again ever since he manoeuvred himself to the helm of the Telugu Desam Party and the Andhra Pradesh Government in early 1990s. The Telugu leader has managed to twist and turn through successive State and national elections, each time coming out on the winning side.

With his mastery over the political chessboard, Mr. Naidu’s latest gambit of dissolving the Legislative Assembly and opting for early polls in his State is beyond doubt a part of the elaborate calculations involving his stakes, both in Andhra Pradesh and at the national level. Clearly, there are no immediate compulsions on the Chief Minister to advance the Assembly elections. Such a gamble, therefore, cannot but be geared to a wider strategy with an eye to the Lok Sabha elections scheduled some time next year.

On the face of it, the move to prepone the Andhra Pradesh polls is surprising decision. Few heads of state governments in India these days would take the risk of reducing their days in office considering the formidable anti-incumbency factor. For Mr. Naidu, this is particularly relevant since he is hoping to win a third successive term. Those close to the TDP supremo maintain there are several reasons behind his desire for early polls. These are linked to a variety of political equations operating within the State and rest of the country. Mr. Naidu is believed to have been carefully weighing all pros and cons of an advanced election over the past few weeks.

An immediate local catalyst to the move for an early Assembly poll is clearly linked to the recent terrorist attack on the AP Chief Minister. Mr. Naidu has been adept at converting potential catastrophes into windfalls. After all, his meteoric political rise emanated from his ability to turn a squabble with his ailing father-in-law and Telugu Desam deity N.T. Ramarao into a takeover of the party apparatus. Having miraculously survived the dastardly bomb attack by Naxalites on the road to Tirupati, the Chief Minister has lost no opportunity in winning public sympathy on his escape. What was the outcome of a grievous lapse on the part of his security and intelligence apparatus has been cleverly turned into a publicity ploy to project a leader of the people undaunted by physical danger.

It is significant that a few days after he announced early polls, Mr. Naidu, at a public function, warned the people of AP that without him at the helm, the Naxalites would swarm into towns and villages from the jungles. For the moment, the Chief Minister’s bold stand on the Naxalite menace appears to have put his main political rival, the Congress, on the defensive. It has taken the sting out of the concerted Congress campaign in recent months cornering the TDP Government in a series of corruption scandals. The feedback from the Chief Minister’s extensive party network has been that the present public mood in the State is averse to personal criticism of a leader who has so courageously bounced back from a near death experience. Knowing well that such public sympathy vanishes quickly, Mr. Naidu does not want to waste too much time in reaping full political dividends.

The other objective of the TDP leader’s decision to advance the polls dates may well be linked to distancing them from the national parliamentary polls. Under normal circumstances, both the State and national polls should have been held together but the Chief Minister has other ideas. He is well aware that his alliance with the BJP under the NDA umbrella is far more likely to be underlined in national elections than a State Assembly poll where local issues would dominate.

Indeed, the AP Chief Minister has over the past several years, performed intricate political acrobatics to avoid being tarnished with an anti-Muslim bias because of his alliance with the BJP. More than any other partner of the NDA, it is the Telugu Desam Party, which has been in the forefront of protests at perceived communal slants in policy-making by New Delhi. As a matter of fact, Mr. Naidu had virtually served an ultimatum–which he never carried out–threatening to withdraw from the NDA if the controversial Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, was not removed after last year’s riots.

The AP Chief Minister’s main concern has been not to antagonise Muslims in his State and yet retain his alliance with the BJP, which, apart from gaining him a section of votes albeit marginal, has also enabled him to squeeze considerable favours from New Delhi. Performing this delicate balancing act becomes particularly difficult during the parliamentary polls when major national issues including Gujarat are bound to come up. In a simultaneous State Assembly poll, Mr. Naidu and his advisers fear that mixed signals on national issues could cost the Telugu Desam Party dear.

There is another political dimension to the daring plan of separating the Andhra polls from the parliamentary elections. Given the uncertain political scenario just before and after the national polls, it just might serve Mr. Naidu better if he can pull off a third successive electoral win in his State before playing kingmaker in New Delhi. This would give him the option of pursuing a variety of options including a last minute departure from the NDA if the latter looks like a completely losing proposition on the eve of the national polls.

The Telugu Desam leader is aware that from present indications, both the national parties, the BJP and the Congress, look as if they are heading for serious trouble in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. It is becoming increasingly apparent that even as the BJP loses ground virtually everywhere in the country, the Congress is not making any corresponding gains. This does throw up the prospect of the Third Front Government at the Centre, where Mr. Naidu would like to play a crucial role.

It is anybody’s guess what the exact contours of such a government would be. Nor is it certain whether such a government would come into existence with the help of the BJP or the Congress. In such a fluid scenario, Mr. Naidu would prefer not to get bogged down in winning his own State but negotiate from an assured regional bastion, the kind of political configuration at the Centre from which he could derive maximum benefit. INAV

Would these fires cease?

By Dr. R. L. Bhat

As the newest ceasefire goes into operation, the adversary armies at the borders distribute sweets. There is a picture in papers of the teenage son of a Pak ranger looking on while his parent and his colleagues partake sweets out of an Indian box instead of exchanging bullets with them, as they normally do. That could be the defining image for the people of this subcontinent, if it could be for real and not a mere show. Of course, there is little distance between a staging becoming a reality, and friendship and fellow-feeling becoming the norm. After all the most venomous of the across the border movers came here this summer and sang paeans to peace and brotherhood to the surprise of people on both sides of the border. Just this summer there was Jamali singing praises of the prime minister of India. And here was the Pak Information Minister in New Delhi the other week calling Vajpayee the most capable person/politician around who alone could solve the Indo-Pak tangle. There is hope in those assertions leading to tangible expectations of peace and amity between the two nations.

There is no doubt that there are people here who really want peace to reign. There is a definite constituency for peace as Vajpayee put it. But the problem arises when the peaceniks are addressing the constituency not giving peace a basis. One thing has become clear over the years that this peace would be ensured by Pak participation, not otherwise. Thrice-or was it four times-in the last two years India has announced ceasefires. The first one came in response to a call by one of the then top Hizb leaders. None of them held, because Pakistan did not allow them to be held. Now the call has come from the Pak prime minister himself and is holding. The guns have gone silent, though it is yet too early to say whether this silence would last. Somehow that is not something to be surmised but is to be seen and observed to be believed. And here again the onus-or should one call it the initiative?-lies with Pakistan to show that she means it, would observe it and let it last. Here isn’t it rather odd that the power to enforce peace should lie with a nation and a people that has been shamelessly belligerent, intolerant and even unsure in its assertions, establishment, even authority?

While India does have the capacity to fight, answer and react to any threat of whichever hue and in whatever garb, it is a sobering fact that terrorism goes on if Pakistan wishes it, that insurgency continues if Pakistan wants it, the solutions keep evading if Pakistan is hesitant, the Hurriyat and all other Tahreeks become dormant or restive depending on which whistle Pakistan blows, that firepower and belligerency remain unabated until Pakistan decides to stem it. That is something for the serious Indo-Pak analysts to ponder over. At the very least it shows that the evil has an overwhelming veto over the good intentions; that the democracy and institutions do not prevail over the belligerent and obfuscating; that the robust institutions do not have the power to dictate to the unscrupulous elements and interests; that they have to wait for the good sense, pressure or circumstances to change for the better. If Nawaz Sharif’s aides and utterances are to be believed he had no intention nor much of a role in Kargil. Nor did the elected government of India, its leaders and the most capable politician of India have much of a control over the thing which an upstart general foisted on the Indo-Pak.

That general continues to rule the roost there and can safely be presumed to have given the green signal before the newest ceasefire came out of the Jamali lips. The prime minister who could do nothing to the rather simple matter of LFO’s in Pakistan has gone to usher in a most drastic change in the Pak policies vis-à-vis India. The jehadis who the general said were out of control are reigned in by a prime minister who does not even have a hold over the simple majority in the Pak National Assembly. Now, that is the catch which may shatter this latest of the hopes in the Indo-Pak tangle. None must forget that the pleasing summer of Jamali-vibes and Fazulur Rehman’s pious declarations ended in the solemn halls of UNO itself. The Pak Information Minister, after having talked of the most capable person, talked of the uncompromising sanctity of Pak stands. He actually was denounced by the Indian foreign office for the utterances. Back home he is a hawk who never gives up a chance to bait India. He was the person who first talked of an Indian hand in the Al Qaida killings in the frontier province, which were later dutifully reiterated by the Prime Minister Jamali. So where does all that leave one?

At a very uncertain juncture, one must say! Here is a wobbling prime minister taking an initiative that has far reaching implications, over many of which he have no control. Here is the controlling general suitably silent while the factotums talk of bold policy and decisions. Here is a prospect of peace that sounds so good that it simply can’t be true. Could it be that the pugilists there are so cornered that they have no quarter but to sue for peace? That is one factor that may anchor this peace. For evil, has been shown not to be amenable to good intentions and appeals. It is not for prospects and potentialities. All those prospectuses directly strike at the interests and preoccupations there. Unless there be hard calculations and compulsions for this peace it does not have much of a prospect. The only hope is that the compulsions are there. And, are true and sincere, not halfhearted and uncertain. Then may be these fires would cease.

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)

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