Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

Forked tongue

The Capital shame

The significance of trialogue

By Abhijeet Patwardhan

Mercury in India,
toxic pathways

By Arvinder Kaur

Tackling communal politics

By S Tarlok Singh Bajwa

EDITORIAL

Forked tongue

Chief of Army Staff Gen N.C. Vij has really touched the raw nerve of Pakistan. During his latest visit to Jammu and Kashmir, he had said that Al-Qaeda and other Islamist extremists were being pushed into the State by Pakistan. It was merely stating the obvious. The Army has been constantly engaged in battles to foil armed infiltrators trying to force their way in this country through the Line of Control and International Border. Who would know the exact state of affairs better than the head of the force itself? It was only to be expected that Pakistan would reject the charge out of hand. Such denials are meant more for the sake of record in order to help the accused country to claim diplomatic innocence. What the neighbouring country perhaps did not realise, however, was that while doing so, it would actually end up making an admission about its complicity in violence in the State. Pakistan’s clearly dishonest approach is evident from the language used by the country’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed who was fielded to take on Gen Vij. Mr Ahmed alleged that the charges had been made with mala fide intentions to damage Pakistan’s image and ‘undermine its efforts in combating terrorism’. In the same breath, however, he did not fight shy of adding that Pakistan would continue its ‘moral, diplomatic and political support’ to the ‘just cause’ of the Kashmiris. Are they not contradictory utterances? What does one make out of such a forked tongue?

Perhaps Pakistan can find an explanation for its claim to lend diplomatic support; it is aimed at conveying one’s concerns to the global community. No country can be grudged this role even one with a completely blurred vision. But it does spill the beans when it talks of extending ‘moral and political’ support. Even a layman would understand that such help implies carrying out a direct action which in this case is planting terrorism on the Indian soil. This is not the first time that Pakistan has talked in this vein. Its leadership has always pledged the three-dimensional assistance to the terrorists operating or willing to play havoc inside the Indian territory. Not infrequently they also tacitly admit providing material support which can only be understood in terms of making available weapons of destruction. Whether Pakistan admits it or not, it is only too well known that it is the major supplier of arms and ammunition to the militants in our country. Leaders in the neighbouring country have changed too often but their tone and tenor against India has remained the same. It is not surprising that even the United States is wary of Pakistan’s double standards. That explains why while using Pakistan as an ally in its ‘global war against terrorism’, the US is constantly advising it to desist from cross-border terrorism against India. Pakistan has learnt that no more can it employ the youth of the State as fodder to achieve its larger designs. It keeps its misplaced hopes alive by relying on the highly motivated Islamist young men mainly from its own country who are fed on blatantly provocative and mischievous propaganda. Small wonder then that one hears more of Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba these days than Hizbul Mujahideen or Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front. The homespun militant outfits have developed aversion to violence which they appear to have understood has only destroyed their own home. Gen Vij has just called a spade a spade. Pakistan’s panic reaction merely underlines the old adage that the truth sometimes is extremely bitter like a knife turned in one’s wound.

The Capital shame

For lakhs of people in other parts of the country, including many in
Jammu and Kashmir, the present situation in the national capital
must be causing sleepless nights. They must be worried about the safety of their daughters who are either studying or working in New Delhi. The latest incident has, in fact, sent shock waves across the continents. A Swiss woman, a member of her country’s diplomatic mission, was abducted from a parking lot outside the Siri Fort auditorium, the venue of the ongoing International Film Festival, and then raped in a moving vehicle. It has dealt a serious blow to the country’s image. Not surprisingly, therefore, the Ministry of External Affairs has moved in the matter and Delhi’s Lt Governor Vijai Kapoor, a former Chief Secretary of the State, has been compelled to personally supervise the operations to nab the culprits. It is simply disgusting that within half an hour of this shameful incident taking place, an Indian woman filmmaker was assaulted on the same spot. Her screams could attract timely help as a result of which she had escaped the worst form of indignity. Such abominable happenings have occurred close on the heels of the members of the elite force, President’s Body Guards, gangraping a college student in the Buddha Jayanti Park, one of the favourite tourist spots. Before that, the doctor of a private hospital had been exposed to the charge of raping a 15-year patient on the pretext of examining her. A nurse at another private hospital had her modesty violated by a ward boy last month. And, as if to complete a horrifying picture, the news of the sex maniacs going amuck outside the Siri Fort Auditorium has coincided with that of a teacher sodomising his student in a girls’ school in Rohini in another part of the capital. Are women safe anywhere? In the first two instances, they have not been comfortable in one of the most prestigious localities of South Delhi which as a whole is considered a comparatively better place for them. Then, they face the men in uniform behaving like animals. Hospitals are not safe and teachers, who are supposed to help build future generations, turn criminals within the precincts of the school building itself. One can give advice galore to women that they should not move to deserted parking lots late in the evening. But what do they do when they have their trust betrayed by even those who are meant to defend the law, or to provide them medical help or impart education?

Strict legal guidelines are already in force about how women should be treated at their places of work. This may have had a salutary effect for them in the offices but as the current wave of crime against them clearly shows they have yet to be treated with respect at public places. It is generally believed that most of the rape cases are not reported in the country for fear of social ostracisation of women. Rape has a stigma attached in our society. Such perverted thinking must change. There is no reason why women should be condemned to live with double shame. Quite contrary to it, rapists actually should be made to realise and pay heavily for their crime. At times, there have been suggestions like their public beheading. If this argument has not been carried beyond a point it is only because it takes one back to the medieval age. On no count can the law and order machinery in the national capital escape its responsibility to make Delhi safe. At the same time it will be a good idea to train women in self defence. They should be equipped well enough to floor the opponent the moment he tries to execute his evil design.

The significance of trialogue

By Abhijeet Patwardhan

The Foreign Ministers of India, Russia and China had their second meeting at the sideline of the UN General Assembly. They are likely to meet again in November in New Delhi. The trialogue is "not to gang-up against any other country", but the western media has given in detail its significance, what it calls a "strategic triangle". The three countries represent the vast majority of the global population. It could be counted upon to strengthen the forces of stability in the region – and the world.

The meeting is equally significant in the backdrop of Beijing deleting Sikkim as an independent country from its foreign ministry website. Gestures often speak louder than words. In the case of India and China they perhaps speak the loudest. There has been a steady improvement in the bilateral ties among the three countries–between Russia and China, Russia and India and China and India.

The three countries are faced with similar security environment and have similar or close positions on many international issues. All of them advocate a multipolar world and the establishment of a just and fair new international order. Their economies are complementary. Russia has a special position among the three – it is a traditional ally and partner of India and also has close ties with China. Its special role could help facilitate development of trilateral cooperation. This cooperation, though just started, has gained strong momentum. On the negative side are the unresolved boundary dispute between India and China, and Beijing’s special relationship with Islamabad.

The trilateral meeting last year of Yashwant Sinha, Igor Ivanov (Russia) and Tang Jiaxuan (China) discussed matters related to the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly with the three taking "common positions on principal matters", with stress on "formation of a world order based on the superiority of the UN Charter and international law".

The talk of "strategic triangle" gained currency in 1998 during the visit of the then Russian Prime Minister, Primakov to New Delhi. At the very start of his trip, at the formal reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, a correspondent asked him whether Russia favoured this concept. "If we can succeed in establishing a triangle", he replied "it will be very good." However the issue did not figure in his discussions with the Indian hosts. China, too, was cautious in its reaction. Interestingly, Russia was cool to the idea barely a year ago.

This was evident during the Moscow visit of I.K. Gujaral, then External Affairs Minister. His Chinese counterpart, too, was in Moscow then. Mr. Primakov, then Foreign Minister, did not approve of Mr. Gujaral’s idea of a meeting of the three – even of the two visiting Ministers on the Russian soil. Obviously there had been a major shift in the Russian stand after a year, with caution giving place to enthusiasm, which continues till now. China, too, appears to have given up its earlier lukewarm attitude. In recent years China has been pro-active in the region, with a bigger role in ASEAN and the Shanghai six, a grouping including the Central Asian republics and Moscow. It offered a free trade area with ASEAN, well before India came out with such a proposition, and is far more active in the campaign against terrorism and religious fundamentalism. It has taken greater interest in matters like energy, connectivity and WTO. Some of the matters of common concern now are obvious, like the situation in Afghanistan, and the danger of its lapsing into religious fundamentalism, and Iraq.

All these items are expected to figure in the coming trilateral round which may also cover steps to counter terrorism. UN peacekeeping processes, reform of the Security Council, human rights and environment concerns, apart from the General Assembly agenda items. Next year they may move on to substantive economic matters. India was far from enthusiastic when the trilateral process started two years ago. It has warmed to the "trialogue" now, primarily because of the improvement in its ties with China, as evident from the outcome of the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee’s recent visit there.

Not much is given out officially on what transpires in the Foreign Ministers’ discussions. To get a better idea of the rationale and scope, it is useful to refer to a parallel track II exercise – the meetings of the academics from the three countries. This initiative by now institutionalised, is not formally connected with the Government but is an authentic index of the context of the trilateral exercise, especially of common concerns and parameters of the collective approach. A detailed account of this process, which too began in 2001, is called for.

Involved in this track II exercise are the scholars from the China Institute of International Studies, the RAS Institute of Far Eastern Studies, Moscow, and the Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi. Both in Beijing and Moscow, the consultative process is officially encouraged and gets considerable official attention. The institutes in these two capitals have close relation with their respective foreign offices, while their Indian counterpart is autonomous and independent. The first meeting was held in September 2001 in Moscow, the second in November 2002, and the third is scheduled for November this year in New Delhi. According to published accounts, they made known, at the very beginning of the first meeting, their continued adherence to the three "no" s– the tripartite relationship is not an attempt to forge an alliance, nor meant for confrontation and not targeted against a third country. The press release, issued after the first meeting made the following points:

"Participants to the conference were in agreement that trilateral cooperation between China, India and Russia had a rich and positive potential based on common or similar positions on a broad range of international issues such as democratisation of international relations, formation of a multipolar world, opposing hegemony, construction of a fair and rational new international order, countering international terrorism, extremism, separatism, organised crime and illegal circulation of drugs."

"All the three countries are firm supporters of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. As noted by the participants, the strengthening of trilateral cooperation does not imply any diminution of national autonomy or of the national identity. On the contrary, constructive interaction must become a guarantee for the full development of the most valuable qualities and genius of all three peoples."

"Another common position taken by the participants was that trilateral cooperation does not imply the formation of alliances, blocs, etc."

Now some significant highlights of the discussions in the last two-years. To guard against the perception of an anti-US ganging up, the scholars went out of the way to emphasise the importance of good relations with Washington. But while taking the positive stand in relation to the sole superpower, they felt concerned over the dangers of unilateralism and the strategy of pre-emption. Hence their emphasise on active cooperation to promote multipolarity and on steps to democratise international relations.

There was complete unanimity over the need for international cooperation to combat terrorism but some felt that the approach of the coalition, under the US, needed to be tampered with caution. In some cases, the US objectives could not be shared and, in other situations, there were strong reservations to the means used by it. As seen by the scholars, the US appeared to be motivated by three goals– to eliminate Islamic extremis, enhance its status as the sole superpower and increase control over energy sources of West Asia and Central Asia.

Globalisation was seen as having both positive and negative elements. Among the suggestions to contain the negative factors were 1) joint steps to build defences against movement of speculative capital 2) sharing of the experience of the three countries in dealing with multinationals and 3) establishment of a trilateral study group on WTO.

The track II may be an independent channel but the idea mooted there do find their way to the corridors of official policymakers. That is its additional utility. INAV

Mercury in India, toxic pathways

By Arvinder Kaur

Imagine a substance so toxic that even 0.9 gm, i.e one miniscule of a teaspoon, is sufficient to contaminate a 25 acre lake, rendering fish unsafe to eat! One would think that such a potent toxin would be one of the most regulated and controlled substances on the planet. But that's not so as it is freely available in the dingy bylanes of Delhi.

A key component of electrical switches and temperature and pressure instruments for centuries, today mercury, especially methyl mercury is one of the most toxic compounds known. Exposures can occur in everyday life through broken mercury thermometers and even mercury based dental amalgams, which are very commonly used in India.

While the developed world has started banning mercury, taking it out of thermometers, pesticides as well as industrial production, cases of its dumping into India have increased. In February last year, NGOs stopped a consignment of 200 MT of mercury from a closed plant in Maine in the US, from coming to India through internationally coordinated action.

The Indian chlor alkali industry, which is the 'mother of all industries', producing raw material such as soda ash and chlorine, is one of the most mercury intensive ones in the world, leaking over 70 to 80 per cent (compared to less than 1.5 per cent in Europe) of its mercury used to the environment.

There are 41 chlor alkali units functioning in India. Of this, 11 are totally based on mercury cell, 12 use both mercury as well as membrane cell while 18 use membrane cell alone.

The Government had banned new mercury cell based chlor alkali plants in 1991. However, there is lack of initiative to convert from the industry. The units discharge to land, water and air.

Another source of mercury pollution is coal fired thermal power plants. India is the third largest producer of coal in the world. Thermal power plants currently use 75 per cent of the coal production per year. Coal contains mercury as a natural contaminant and thermal power plants are the second largest source of mercury emissions in India. The total mercury pollution potential from coal is estimated to be 77.91 tonnes per annum.

Mercury is also widely used in the healthcare sector in India. At least 20 different medical products contain mercury and many mercury containing solvents and degreasers are found in laboratories, housekeeping departments and kitchen and maintenance areas.

However, studies show that there is up to 50 times more mercury in hospital waste than general municipal waste and the amount of mercury emitted from municipal waste incinerators averages more than 60 times that from pathological incinerators. In India, hospitals and clinics generally dispose their waste by burning or incinerating, which can cause severe mercury emissions.

All forms of mercury are toxic to humans, but methylmercury is especially dangerous. According to a report by Toxics Link, an NGO, exposure to methylmercury is harmful to the nervous system and in severe cases, can irreversibly damage the brain. In milder cases of mercury poisoning, reduction in motor skills and dulled senses of touch, taste and sight may occur.

The primary route of environmental exposure is from eating contaminated fish and food. The dangers of mercury in India have been demonstrated in the waters of Singrauli, Bhopal Delhi, Golden Corridor in Gujarat and other major industrial areas and also in river Ganga and its tributaries. High mercury levels have also been found in fish in Kolkata and Mumbai.

The most well documented cases of severe mercury poisoning are from Minamata Bay in Japan in 1956 and in Iraq in 1971. In each case, hundreds of people died and thousands were affected, many with permanent damage.

Studies of the Iraqi grain poisoning incident found that pregnant women who had relatively low concentrations of mercury in their bodies exposed their developing foetuses to enough mercury to cause noticeable neurological problems such as delayed walking and talking and learning defects.

The World Health Organisation recommends that in subpopulations whose members consume 100 grams or more of fish per day, hair mercury levels for women of childbearing age should be routinely monitored.

The annual global primary demand for mercury approximate 5000 tonnes. By far the OECD countries were the largest consumers of mercury. But an 'eastward' shift is observed, due to phaseout of mercury based industries in the west and their growing habit of sending them to the developing south.

Developed countries are also planning to shut down their chlor-alkali plants using mercury cell process, where the mercury leakage to the environment is just 1.5 per cent as compared to India where it is between 70-100 per cent. The closure is because of the well documented environmental and health hazards of mercury.

One such plant in Maine, USA was shut and its waste mercury was on its way to India till a civil society movement of NGOs forced the exporter to refrain from the decision.

Alternatives to mercury based instruments are, however, available today and is for the individual countries to shift to these technologies. These alternative non-toxic technologies pose no environmental or health hazards and last for a longer duration.

Even though the initial investment in the alternative technologies is higher, the assets associated with them are lifelong. Alternative technologies are accurate and the are relatively easy to use.

Besides bringing in alternative technologies, experts say there is need to identify and eliminate everyday sources. Sources of mercury like existing electrical equipment must be identified and earmarked for special disposal when at 'end of life'.

Collection systems for mercury batteries and florescent lights need to be set up. Fish consumption advisories need to be issued with regular checking of food contamination from mercury especially fish.

PTI Feature

Tackling communal politics

By S Tarlok Singh Bajwa

After independence, the country witnessed a number of incidents. First of all the violence related to the partition and then the killing of Mahatma Gandhi. Both the incidents were terrible. Both these incidents had affected each other. The partition gave rise to the religious fundamentalism which caused the murder of Mahatma Gandhi. This was the effect of the religious fundamentalism on the life of a Mahatma (saint) but the Mahatma too affected the religious fundamentalism at the cost of his own life. In the following elections Congress emerged as a secular party and the organizations propagating the politics of religious fundamentalism were moved to the background. For many years, the people did not bother much about such organizations.

The 80's again brought in the very significant series of events. The country witnessed the religious fundamentalism in the shape of Punjab problem. This time, the secular Congress, ignoring its' values, plunged into the field of religious fundamentalism. As a result it not only acquired a strong political mileage but also pulled the ground beneath the feet of the powerful leadership of Hinduism (so called). The organizations playing the Hindu card since long felt that the Congress has succeeded in snatching all the cards they had in their hands. They felt being helpless.

For planning the future strategy, these organizations vigorously thought and planned how to hijack the issue of religious fundamentalism away from the Congress fold. The strategy that emerged out of this self introspection was BJP's Rath yatra.

The result was that the country witnessed the events of 90's in Ayodhya. Its' worth mentioning here that the generation that had rejected the religious fundamentalism after the killing of Mahatma Gandhi had lost its' identity and the relevance till 1984 and 1993 at large. And result of all these events & the hijacking issue of the religious fundamentalism paved the way to Parliament for the BJP.

Now the next 15 years are of great importance and challenge for the nation. We will have to give a serious thought to it because in the coming years the generation brought up in the tragic atmosphere of the religious fundamentalism will be in the front row to run the affairs of the nation. The background history of this generation will adversely affect the order of the nation.

The militant organizations charged with the religious fundamentalism are also operating throughout the country. Our political civilization has provided them such tools that they can easily inspire the innocent people to wage their war. But there are laws like POTA to deal with them. And, moreover, the security forces have been armed with special powers, visible or invisible. Those organizations stand banned today and their leaders as well as the cadres are proclaimed offenders. The fight against them is continuing and the fight against such organizations is of great importance.

But there are some other players of this game plan. Those players are not proclaimed offenders but are the representatives of our society. The result is that the ball of secularism is being pushed and hit between both sides. There is a basic difference in this situation. There can be no expectations from terrorists/militants, the first player, but the constitution does expect something from the players of the second category. The players of first kind are self-styled representative of a particular section of the society. Whereas the players of the second category are the representatives of our larger society and in many cases they are our elected leaders.

The players of the second category have also different categories. First are those who are openly in the field and secondly, are those who are not involved directly but are the supporters of their colleagues actually playing in the field. Sometimes, they do oppose the players in the field but only trapped in language of their real inner intentions. How and towards what type of modernization this situation is leading the country? To build what type of Great India we are involved in? The situation is serious and the answers not clear.

How and why all this happened? We can find the answers in the matter above. But the question arises, what is the solution? One of the solutions is that security system be upgraded so that challenges arising out of religious fundamentalism are sternly dealt with. But this solution is incomplete and looks ineffective. Because the character of the political persons at the topmost offices or posts are capable to turn any law and order system bankrupt.

The solution lies somewhere else, no doubt. And the solution lies in the question that how to control the political character of the political persons occupying the highest seats? It cannot be expected of them that some day they will mend their character as per the requirements of the constitution inspired by their conscience. Then how all this will happen?

Answer- The time is for a fight to finish and this fight won't take across borders. It needs to be understood. We know that the use of the religious fundamentalism has become a means to enter the corridors of the power. To reach the corridor of power from the lanes and by-lanes of the country, there is a way, where the real Kurukhshetra lies. The 'fight to finish' (Aar-Paar ki ladaai) has to be fought there.

In this context, it is said that the people should awaken and be vigilant and it is correct to say that. But if there is some tragedy with the country before the awakening among the masses? This fight has to begin from some other front very soon without any doubt. And weapon to be used in this fight should be within the parameters of the constitution. I have some suggestions :

At present, in the Indian politics there is 100 years old party and that party is Congress. Established as a party in 1885, it had acquired the shape of a mass movement. Congress became a movement from a party and it again became a party from the movement. And its shape as a party is the real identity of the Congress today. The Congress has a very important role in the Indian politics even today. A movement is expected from the Congress with the help of other side minded parties once again.

What should be the shape of the expected movement? And how to begin with such type of movement? This is a very important and the basic issue. The shape of this movement should be according to the spirits of 'secularism of the constitution' and 'the rule of the law'. Since the religious fundamentalism has become a tool to acquire the power to rule, as such, the movement should commence with a strike at this tool. For this, the Congress should bring in a resolution in the forthcoming session of the Parliament. This resolution will be the tool which can be useful to launch a successful movement against the religious fundamentalism. Now, what should be the shape of this resolution ? Let us discuss it.

Through this resolution, provision of a new law should be demanded through constitutional amendment. According to this constitutional provision, the Govt of any State should be immediately dismissed if more than 200 people die in communal violence and there must be provision to ban the cabinet ministers of that Govt from contesting any elections after the dismisal of any such Govt. A provision to dismiss the senior Govt. officers should also provided in the resolution.

In addition to that, if more than 2000 people die in communal violence any where in the country, the provision for the resignation of the Central Govt should be provided therein. In addition to the dismissal, all the Union Ministers should also be banned from contesting any elections in future and also there should be provision for the dismissal of the senior Govt officers.

In addition to the real motive behind the above mentioned resolution, there should be detailed discussion on other aspects too so that a workable resolution could be tabled in the Parliament. If such a resolution is given a constitutional shape, the religious fundamentalism/communalism will become a source of exit from the power instead of a tool to acquire power. The result will be that political parties will concentrate on the basic needs of the common masses like education, health, electricity, potable water etc.

Such a resolution from Congress may not get the approval or majority support of the present Parliament but this will be a beginning of a movement in the interests of the nation expected from the Congress. Today the country needs independence from such skilled players who have enslaved the basic spirit of the constitution and the rule of the law.

First of all, Congress will have to come out of this game plan through this resolution. The eyes and hopes of millions of Indians are focused at Congress. Congress will have to sacrifice the image of being a party only. It will have to emerge as a movement, once again. Such a resolution will be in the favour of the nation.