|
|
EDITORIAL Some times the signals and gestures in politics speak much more eloquently than the words. That is why only the naive will ignore the significance of the venue chosen by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to celebrate his one year in office. Gandarbal, about 20 km from Srinagar, is not just like any other town where the Mufti would have gone to address a public meeting. It was a carefully selected venue to diligently wind up a week-long mass-contact programme on a day which was also planned to coincide with the Mufti’s first anniversary as the elected head of..........more Every day we come across one new scandal or the other involving some of the country’s top artistes in the illegal immigration rackets. Now there comes another disquieting report. A fraud has come to light in Britain in which a few officials of the Indian High Commission are said to be involved in human trafficking. They have exposed themselves to the charge of forging travel documents, particularly visas. A case has been registered by that country’s Immigration Department. Naturally the Ministry of External Affairs has felt concerned and, on its request, the Union...more |
 |
Will Musharraf respond to optimist Vajpayee? By Ghazanfar Butt With the State Assembly elections in the offing in four States of the country, it was accepted that there was no possibility of any initiative being taken to improve relations between India and Pakistan. The Indian Army recorded an increase in the number of infiltration attempts along the Line of Control in ........more Bharat Jhunjhunwala India is said to be a ‘mercantile’ civilization. We have excelled in trade since times immemorial. While we may pride ourselves on this trait, it is also a limitation. The Mongols developed gunpowder and the Mughals conquered us easily. Englishmen ......more Indians
obsession By Kedar Nath Pandey The one person who outshone Ravi Shankar when the 78 year old sitar maestro performed at the packed Barbican Hall in London was his 17-year old daughter Anoushka. The hall rang .........more |
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
EDITORIAL Some times the signals and gestures in politics speak much more eloquently than the words. That is why only the naive will ignore the significance of the venue chosen by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to celebrate his one year in office. Gandarbal, about 20 km from Srinagar, is not just like any other town where the Mufti would have gone to address a public meeting. It was a carefully selected venue to diligently wind up a week-long mass-contact programme on a day which was also planned to coincide with the Mufti’s first anniversary as the elected head of the State. He could not have been attracted by the milky waters of the Sind river on the picturesque banks of which Gandarbal was located. He himself has grown up in no less a beautiful place in the midst of the mighty Chinars on the banks of the Jhelum in Bijbehara in the south of the Valley. So the natural beauty could not have the reason for him to feel attracted to Gandarbal. The fact is that Gandarbal alone would have given him the vicarious pleasure he seldom wants to miss. It provided the perfect platform for him to effectively convey a couple of home truths to his arch political enemy, Dr Farooq Abdullah, and his National Conference. That he has finally arrived on the turbulent scene of the Jammu and Kashmir politics. That he has done it on his own steam. That he has won recognition as the leader of a fledgling regional outfit and not as the one of the Congress Party which could have, given the past record in such instances, exposed him to the charge of having acquired the high office with the blessings of New Delhi. Most importantly, he has survived in power for one year. That, too, as a widely accepted leader of a coalition. His presence in Gandarbal this Sunday was meant to ruthlessly turn knives in the wounds of the NC. For nearly three decades, Gandarbal has, after all, been known as the Sheikhdom; it has been considered virtually an impregnable fortress of the late Sheikh Abdullah, the Lion of Kashmir, and his successors. The Sheikh himself had represented the area in the State Assembly. So had his political heir, Dr Abdullah. It was only in 2002 that the Mufti had stopped the victory run of the State’s premier political family. One of his closest colleagues, Qazi Mohammad Afzal, presently one of his ministers, had last year humbled the NC chief, Mr Omar Abdullah, representing the third generation of his family. The Qazi himself feels ever grateful to the local electorate for having ushered in ‘political change’ in J&K. Unable to hide his own glee, the Chief Minister himself does not get tired of expressing his gratitude. As if to return a compliment, he has minced no words this Sunday in describing Gandarbal as ‘a crown to be preserved and adorned’ by his government. He has given the town the ‘credit of turning tables in State politics’. He has accused the NC of having neglected the overall development of the area despite having represented it for 27 years. Of course, he has followed it up by announcing a number of projects for the development of Gandarbal. Blessed both by the Mufti and the Qazi, Gandarbal could continue to see better days ahead as a privileged constituency. What is interesting, however, is the manner in which the Mufti is itching to provoke the NC into a political confrontation. As long as he was in the opposition, it was an open secret that he was an eyesore to first the Sheikh and then his immediate successor. Except for once when at the peak of militancy there was a meeting of J&K leaders at the Mufti’s residence in New Delhi and at which Dr Abdullah was also present, it is doubtful whether there has ever been any serious political dialogue between him and any member of the Sheikh family. Proceedings of this meeting, selectively released to only one newspaper in the national capital, had sought return to the pre-1953 dispensation in J&K. So irked Dr Abdullah actually was by the barbs of the Mufti’s daughter, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, at one time that he had vowed that he would ensure that ‘the little girl’ lost her security deposit in the Pahalgam constituency. Now that the Mufti’s gamble to acquire a regional profile has paid off, he apparently thinks that he has already built a political organisation which would give the NC a close run on their common home turf in the Valley. He has already wrested, among other things, the Muslim Auqaf Trust (MAT), one of the oldest religious and philanthropic institutions in the State, from the control of the Sheikh family. Undoubtedly, the emergence of the two parallel nationalist forces — the PDP and the NC — augurs well for the State. Surprisingly, however, the NC has not been able to muster popular protest on any issue during the last one year. For instance, not many beyond the party spectrum have resented the MAT changing hands. The party leadership is grossly mistaken if it thinks that any extraneous force would come to its help. Such a possibility is completely ruled out in the present circumstances. It would do well to gear itself up and assume the role of a sensitive and responsible opposition. It runs the risk, otherwise, that it would be bearded in its own den. The Mufti has shown the capacity to do so by hoisting his coalition Government’s standard in Gandarbal. Every day we come across one new scandal or the other involving some of the country’s top artistes in the illegal immigration rackets. Now there comes another disquieting report. A fraud has come to light in Britain in which a few officials of the Indian High Commission are said to be involved in human trafficking. They have exposed themselves to the charge of forging travel documents, particularly visas. A case has been registered by that country’s Immigration Department. Naturally the Ministry of External Affairs has felt concerned and, on its request, the Union Government has ordered the CBI to probe the matter thoroughly. This is the second such instance concerning the officials posted in the Indian missions abroad. Two officials in the embassy in Trinidad and Tobago had earlier been booked by the CBI for stealing passports meant for emergency purposes. Such dirty tricks are obviously resorted with a view to exploiting the people’s urge to go abroad by hook or by crook. Thousands of illegal immigrants from India are said to be languishing in jails and refugee homes in several European countries. Off and on one keeps hearing of major tragedies in which Indian citizens are the sufferers. Since they can’t go by the prescribed routes, they risk their lives by travelling under cover. As many as 170 illegal immigrants from Punjab were drowned near Malta when their boat had sunk in December 1996. Similar tragedy had befallen another 17 immigrants from Punjab in Moravia river between Czech and Slovak republics in 2001. Earlier this year, 33 Indians hidden in a truck heading for Germany had been arrested by the Czech police. The CBI should complete its investigations soon. If possible, it should closely look into the role of the touts irrespective of their status. Its final report should be widely publicised. That would dissuade lakhs of young persons in the country from becoming the victims of an illegal practice. |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
