Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

Looking forward

Special focus

The time when you
will be really old

By O P Modi

The new face of
Kashmiri militancy

By Tushar Charan

The Bihar brand

By Nikhil Mehta

EDITORIAL

Looking forward

Is it possible for us as believers in the Parliamentary democracy to wish away the recent agonising experience in the country? The answer will be: no. We can pinch ourselves hard. Yet, we will not be able to live down the tainted images of 11 MPs beamed into millions of houses by television channels. The undistinguished XI was caught on camera accepting money for tabling questions in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. It was followed by an equally excruciating live disclosure about the MPs seeking a personal monetary slice out of the Member of Parliament Local Area development Scheme (MPLADS). Undoubtedly it has been a blatant abuse of the basic objective of the Scheme to give them financial autonomy to some extent for the benefit of their electorate. What is to be applauded is that Parliament as an institution has splendidly risen to the occasion and withstood the tremor. Its action in expelling all those involved in the cash-for-question scandal has been exemplary. At the same time it has taken quick notice of the MPLADS scam and initiated another inquiry without wasting any time. It is never easy for a person or a group of people to inflict punishment on a close associate. Viewed in that context the Pawan Bansal panel in the Lok Sabha and Dr Karan Singh committee in the Rajya Sabha ought to have gone through a painful period while closely looking into the sordid affair. In the end, however, they could have only felt satisfied for having translated into real life and on a larger canvas Munshi Premchand's moving short story "Panch Parmeshwar" which has total fairness as the greatest attribute of justice. With the Lok Sabha which lost ten members as a consequence and the Rajya Sabha accepting their recommendations after a discussion they must have felt vindicated. There can't be any doubt that the world in turn has marvelled at the seriousness the largest democracy attaches to its dignity, integrity and credibility. It can be reassuring for all those patronising similar healthy values across the globe.

Another major gain of the entire exercise is that it has considerably allayed the public cynicism that the people in influential positions are above the law. Series of revelations about corruption in high places in the recent years have not resulted in conviction of any big fish. Invariably those caught belong to lower rungs of their profession, be it politics or bureaucracy. This has led the ordinary masses to conclude that "sab chor hain" (all are thieves). From now onwards this perception is bound to somewhat change. Parliament has set the trend in this direction by dealing with its errant members in a wholesale fashion. There is hope now that nobody howsoever mighty or haughty he or she may be can get away with at least serious wrong-doings. The image of the political class should improve as a result. Having noted this one will emphasise the necessity for carrying out reforms to plug loopholes that breed corruption in the present political dispensation. Who does not know most of the ills have their genesis in the electoral dispensation? Polls remain an expensive affair despite the Election Commission exercising praiseworthy vigilance. Our politicians' sixth sense is not to be under-estimated in any circumstances. They keep inventing the ways to circumvent the deterrent provisions. That is why the more honest among them have admitted that they speak lies at least one in their lives. This is when they are called upon to file the election returns.

Probity in public life must, therefore be encouraged at all levels. Relevant laws should be effectively enforced. The onus in this behalf lies mainly on leaders of all political parties because they control the all-important levers of power. To begin with they need to ensure that the funding of their organisations is completely transparent. They have to stand up to the temptation of securing immediate monetary influence and ill-gotten gains. More than anything else this will help prevent the naked dance of parallel economy (euphemism for black money). Parliament has given us enough reason to look forward with a lot of expectations towards the future of the country. There has to be requisite follow-up. We should not sit back till we achieve the goal of a thoroughly clean political system.

Special focus

With the improvement in the security scenario our State is receiving the Centre's top attention for developing and promoting its tourism-related activities. A quick look at the relevant figures for 2005-6 will confirm this. Of the total 122 projects sanctioned by the Union Government for all states during the current financial year the maximum 15 are in Jammu and Kashmir. Not surprisingly, therefore, the highest fund allocation of Rs 35.15 crores has also been for the State with more than Rs 28 crores having already been released till December 8. This expenditure is meant to be spent on the schemes concerning tourism circuits, destinations, revenue-generating plans, rural tourism and fairs and festivals, among others. The actual utilisation figures are not immediately available. However, the increasing rush of sight-seers including those on pilgrimages is reassuring. This gives an indication that the visitors are quite content with the services being provided to them. Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Sikkim also seem to figure high in the Union Tourism Ministry's priority list followed by Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Uttaranchal. Doubtless the State with its tremendous variety will get further boost and recover its earlier pride of place. As it is India has already emerged as the fifth among the world's top 20 destinations (the other four countries are New Zealand, Thailand, Australia and Italy). Foreign tourist arrivals in the country are steadily on the rise. These had touched 2.73 millions in 2003. A growth of about 14 per cent has been witnessed during the first 11 months of 2005 compared to the corresponding period last year. This has raised hopes that the year would end with around 3.8 millions foreigners turning up by the end of this year. Gradually they have started coming back to the State as well. With the domestic tourists having already resumed their date with J&K in a big way one can only see better days ahead for those engaged in the tourism movement.

In order to be worthy of this special focus the concerned authorities should nevertheless leave no stone unturned to make the State a top-class hospitable destination. Human enterprise in this regard should be of the topmost order. It must match the natural bounty which is spread across the hills in abundance.

The time when you will be really old

By O P Modi

It is said that a women is as old as she looks and a man is as old as he thinks. This axiom is true as long as a person is physically and mentally active. However, a stage in old age arrives when neither looks nor ones imagination hold good for this well known saying. Aging is a natural phenomenon from which no one can get away. Old age has to come for everyone. Then how can one cope with the woes of this last phase of ones life and unburden himself of the pain and distress it carries with it? The real conflict is between the body and the mind. Yet it is practically impossible to control ones mind say at the age of 80 if one has not taken care of this factor in his early age. At this stage the body refuses to co-operate and if one has not planned for the old age right from his or her younger days the problems of enormous proportions may be confronted when one is really old. Even though one may have been careless to plan earlier for the old age one must heed the warnings emanating from the body in the form of health problems during the first stage of advancing age that is to say when one is at 45 or more.

In reality there are three phases of old age. The first phase begins at 50 and may end by the time one is 65. The second phase may last up to the age of 75 and the third stage could start from then onwards. However, a margin of plus or minus five years may be kept for this. Those in the first phase of old age may not feel the slowly creeping shadow of the old age and may continue to live their life as actively and effectively as before. But in the second stage that sets in at 65 the pinch of the advancing age starts being felt every now and then. Crossing the second phase when one enters the third and the last stage of ones old age the real and most difficult period of the life begins.

With the passage of time human faculties such as hearing, smelling, seeing, tasting, thinking and the capacity to stand up against the odds of every day life start diminishing. However, while talking of old age it can be said that there is no specific age at which all or any one of these senses may begin to weaken. Yet in practically everyone’s life there comes a time when these infirmities do occur and become evident. Without exception, it may be said, an irreversible process of aging sets in during that period of life. In other words this means that while some one may feel old at the age of 60 others may continue to retain their capabilities as far as 80; or even beyond that. No doubt then for an elderly person the body becomes a burden that cannot be easily handled.

The case of 78 years old Sri Kanth (not his real name) would serve as an example of the beginning of the old age. One morning Kanth was to preside over an important function that was expected to be attended by prominent citizens of the city. He had prepared his speech carefully and had made notes on a piece of paper. After finishing his breakfast when he got up to go for the meeting he was crushed by a crippling pain in his left thigh and ankle. As the guests started arriving organizers of the function got worried. The Secretary rang up Kanth. But as he was much in pain he asked his wife to tell the Secretary that he would be reaching the venue shortly. Unfortunately despite his strong desire to receive the guest of honour and address the gathering his pain worsened. Almost half an hour passed but Kanth could not leave for the site of the function. He asked his wife to apologise to the organizers for his absence and also inform them about his illness. Strangely, soon the pain vanished as fast as it had come. Kanth was angry, dismayed and bitter.

Despite the warning signals which the body sends from time to time many old persons disregard them and continue to act as if they were still young. In some cases they resort to indiscriminate swallowing of the so called health potions and pills. Such so called rejuvenating ‘medicines’ are aggressively advertised these days through print and electronic media. Many fall prey to the publicity blitz of the alluring "get young" formulations. Others decide to join Yoga classes in the hope of getting back their youth. Though, when they were young, they had not thought of this. This sort of attitude can prove dangerous. Taking medicines without consulting ones physician can result in serious damage to ones system. It is also important that before starting the treatment one should study connected literature for the prescribed medicines and if necessary have further consultation with the doctor. In the same way unless the elderly take lessons on Yoga from a qualified teacher they may get seriously injured while attempting to practise it.

70 years old Rajnath (not his real name) joined a Yoga class that was being held for general public particularly that of younger age group. The very first morning of his joining the class he attempted to forcibly bend his legs in a particular Asna. While attempting to do so he felt crippled and cried out in unbearable pain. He tried to get up but could not do so as he was unable to move his legs. He had to be carried on a stretcher to his home. It took some months for him to become normal.

At 73 years Mangat Ram (not his real name) used to take 6 kilometers walk in the morning and 4 in the evening. His doctor had advised him to take long walks to help recover from a particular ailment. Mangat is among those persons who would always overdo things. Keeping in view his condition the doctor had advised for 2 to 3 kilometers walk. But in the hope of getting rid of the disease quickly he took much longer stroll daily. One day when he had walked just a kilometer he felt extremely exhausted. From that day Mangat’s miseries began. He was put on extensive medication and was advised complete rest. While he felt better too many medicines took their own toll.

"Desire is strong though the flesh is weak". We get angry when our own body starts going against us. Instead of fulfilling our desires it frustrates them resulting in disappointments which sometimes lead to depression. The reason for such a situation occurring in every ones old age is that the body organs grow weaker and weaker as the time passes while our desires continue to pester us. Most old age troubles begin when we are unable to curb our desires that go beyond our body’s capacity. It is not easy to escape the onslaught of desires unless one is able to control the mind. But the mind in the words of Arjuna is ‘restless, turbulent, strong, obstinate and as hard to control as the wind’. Agreeing with Arjuna Lord Krishna advises him "without doubt, O mighty-armed the mind is restless, and difficult to control; but through practice and renunciation, O son of Kunti, it may be controlled".

When young we plan for the upbringing and education of our children. We plan even for their marriages and put apart sufficient funds for this. However very few think that one day they too are going to get old and they should make sufficient provision for the evening of their life. As a part of planning for the old age it is imperative to keep apart sufficient assets. Secondly, heed the wise man’s advice; "Never loose control of your assets". But that alone is not going to solve our old age problems. It is necessary that one should learn to control the desires that spring from the restless and turbulent mind. To control the mind practice has to be commenced from the very days when one is young as it takes years to learn to govern your mind. Meditation done regularly is the right means to control the mind.

The new face of Kashmiri militancy

By Tushar Charan

After the October 29 blasts in Delhi it has now become clear that an increasing number of Indian nationals, especially from Kashmir, are participating in most of the terrorist attacks and terrorists’ suicide missions in the country. What is more, these merchants of death are not the usual stereotypes of uneducated fanatics coming from poor families but those who went to colleges, come from the middle class and often hold good jobs. In their outward behaviour and deportment they betray no ill-will against India or its people and like to be accepted as normal human beings. The media has termed this development as the new face of militancy, one that has become a matter of deep concern for authorities in India.

Public attention has been drawn to this phenomenon because of the two men arrested after the Delhi blasts one, 33-year-old Tariq Ahmed Dar, held a senior managerial post in an MNC pharmaceutical firm, while the other, 23-year-old Mohammed Rafiq Shah, was pursuing a post graduate course. Their interrogation has revealed that Dar, who holds an MBA degree, was the ‘chief conspirator, coordinator and financier’ of the October 29 blasts and was a ‘high-ranking’ operative of the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, while Shah is a trained fidayeen (suicide bomber) who is believed to have planted the bomb in a DTC bus that had exploded in Govindpuri in south Delhi.

Mohammed Rafiq Shah is reportedly such a committed fidayeen that rather than express any remorse he smiles heartily whenever he is asked why he wanted to kill innocent men and women. Dar, despite his well-paid job and education that gave him no reason to feel insecure or deprived, has been for some years a keen supporter of the Lashkar and all that it stands for. Of course, both men had travelled to Pakistan clandestinely, obviously to be trained by the jihadi masters in the ‘art and craft’ of snuffing out innocent lives that Pakistan’s ISI has patented.

Also part of the ‘new face’ of militancy in India is the fact that the merciless killers who are assigned terrorist missions in Delhi stay in neighbouring towns and their forays into the capital are confined to a few hours of spreading death and destructions. The stepped up vigilance in Delhi has forced the change in search for safe hideouts as the ones in Delhi are likely to be under police watch. What this means is that a network of jihadi terrorists has encircled Delhi. The Pakistan army’s ISI has been pumping in a lot of money in states bordering Delhi while governments in these states, especially in UP, has not perhaps done enough to checkmate the growth of Pakistani agents in their territories.

It will be hard to believe that the so-called new face of militancy in Kashmir grew out of the blue. Its emergence is not a matter of surprise. Anyone who has been to the Kashmir valley at any time, before or after the spurt of terrorism around 1989 will know that the majority population in the area was already under the influence of rabid anti-India propaganda from across the border. If you were not a Kashmiri, most ordinary people in the valley called you ‘Indian’ even though the world did not-and does not-recognise Kashmir as a separate or independent ‘nation’.

The Pakistan propaganda that was constantly bombarding Kashmiris through the airwaves and other sources including the print media told them that Muslims had no place in ‘India’ which was inhabited by the wily kafirs. The Pakistani job was easy because through the long Dogra rule in the state of Jammu and Kashmir the majority of Muslims had had lesser opportunities to advance themselves than the minority community. All that the Pakistani battery of Gobbles had to do was to keep inflaming the latent resentments of the majority population.

The anti-India line appealed to ordinary Kashmiris of poor means who were short of education and money as well as opportunities even after the end of the Dogra rule. The government of India made little efforts at countering the Pakistani propaganda. The reach of All India Radio in Jammu and Kashmir remained poor for decades after Independence; the pace of development in the state was slow while corruption started to climb to new heights. Later when television arrived, New Delhi did not do enough to make it reach all corners of the state. Pakistan did not face handicaps in beaming its pernicious messages through the radio and TV signals, especially when the officials in that country have always been very focused on keeping a non-stop diatribe against India in every possible form. Not that this Pakistani predilection has waned lately.

Since its inception Pakistan has fed Kashmiris with horrific stories about India and the alleged ‘atrocities’ committed by this country in Kashmir. Not only the Pakistani media, especially the Urdu press, but also the school textbooks too have contributed handsomely to injecting anti-India poison into successive generations of Pakistanis. Jihad remains the credo of the Pakistani army, though Gen Pervez Musharraf wants the world to believe that his countrymen are ‘moderate’ and he is taking them towards ‘enlightenment’.

The theme set out by the Pakistani army is spelt out more clearly by men like Amir Hamza, the ‘intellectual supremo’ of Jamat-ud- Dawa (earlier known as Lashkar-e-Taiba): ‘Hinduism is the enemy of Islam…friendship (with India) is impossible unless the enemy comes within the fold of Islam.’ He goes further to exhort in his book on ‘Hinduism’ that Pakistanis should raise weapons because ‘the Hindus are hell-bent on implanting Hindu rule over Pakistan’. Pakistan should destroy India, which is ‘playing Holi with the blood of the innocent Muslims.’

Such messages are regularly reflected in the Pakistani media which constantly reminds its readers that the two-nation theory (the basis for carving Pakistan out of India) will remain vindicated as long as the Hindus keep worshiping the cow and the Muslims will, therefore, keep on slaying the cow and eat its flesh! The ‘Hindu’ stereotype portrayed in the Pakistani media, including the government-controlled electronic media, consists of description of ‘bizarre’ practices of the Hindus, their ‘unhygienic habits’ and their ‘strange’ rituals.

The perverted views on India and the Hindus titillate the Pakistani masses and those across the border who are sought to be influenced by the Pakistani view of India. The Pakistani propaganda machine concentrates on showing India as the ‘oppressor’ of the Kashmiri Muslims while it predictably ignores the subjugation of people in the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). It also underlines the differences between the Hindus and the Muslims to justify the Pakistani belief that co-existence between the two communities is impossible.

The Pakistani success in spreading poison among the Kashmiris is clear from the fact that every local militant gunned down by the Indian forces is hailed as a ‘martyr’ while merciless killing of Indians evokes no sympathy. In all probability, the family of the ‘martyr’ is assured a handsome ‘reward’ by Pakistan which is distributed through one of the many pro-Pakistani outfits operating in Jammu and Kashmir.

Only little attention has been paid in the country to the fact that many, if not most, of the pro-Pakistani elements in Kashmir lead a life of comfort and luxury unrelated to their humble origins. Pakistan has been sending money to the Kashmir separatists almost openly. There have been quite a few incidents of Kashmiris emerging out of the Pakistani high commission in Delhi with bags full of cash, sometimes fake currency notes too.

After nearly 15 years of aiding and abetting militancy in Kashmir, Pakistan may not be in much need of sustaining it only with the help of its own citizens. Pakistan has now a sufficiently trained numbers of Indian militants not just in Kashmir but in many other parts of the country too. This is supplemented by the creation of a number of sleeping cells doted all over the country. And all this goes on when Islamabad is said to have-going by the periodic ‘certificates’ from Bush, Blair and Co-turned its back on terrorism and started a ‘peace process’ with India, Pakistan’s only ‘enemy’.

(Syndicate Features)

The Bihar brand

By Nikhil Mehta

The name of Bihar arouses are and curiosity among a large section of the populace in and outside the country, a State about which people hardly take any interest to know about. Most of them even do not know that the State giving rise to Champaran Andolan, where the sparks of satyagrah or the likes of JP Andolan originated is now divided into two parts, the north part known as Bihar and the south part, Jharkhand. They have just a superficial concept of Bihar and its synonym Laloo, a man known for his alleged scams and his fancy for cows. To a certain extent Rabri Devi too, who is practically a kind of a card of queen in the hands of the ruler.

It is negative image of Laloo on which people make funny comments that people of Bihar carry the same attitude of negativity i.e. fraud, criminality and illiteracy.

Due to lack of resources, people of the State come out of their home towns and move to places elsewhere to earn their living and also to support their families whom they could rarely meet.

The rickshaw pullers or the panwallas who serve the society by their respective services are proud to be called as Biharis, but it is the young and educated crowd who come out for their further studies feel ashamed in confessing that they are from a State which has lots of potential but due to some mismanagement it has not earned a positive image in its favours that it deserves.

Are these youngsters to be blamed? Not totally but to a certain extent only. Because, the suspicious eyes of people make these youngsters hide their identity. The house owners in many towns of India think twice before renting their houses to so called 'Biharis' or the police wallas who extract money settlement.

This is not always applicable to people of home states or implementation of laws on those Biharis who are just earning by their profession of photography on Gateway of India. But these house owners never think that these are the young people on whom their livelihood depends. Many householders run their kitchens on the rent received from these very students. Whether it is Delhi, Bangalore or Pune or any part of India, these students or the so called Biharis have increased the earnings of the people over there.

But these young Biharis should also equally to be blamed for this kind of attitude among people that they who after their degrees reach to high ranks who forget their homeland and render services in other States. These young educated mass of multinationals run these huge companies to achieve the niche of their objective. Don't they have any responsibility to run their downtrodden State or prosperity to dig out the huge resources to make their maximum utilization!

It is illiteracy that is the core issue which cultivates many peripheral issues of casteism, dowry, unemployment and these factors lead unemployed youth over there, to work under the hands of selfish ministers for their own selfish needs. What is the reason of increasing number of criminal activities? It is because of the Zenith of frustration which the unemployed youth reach and cluster to the wall of immorality. Thus, it is the responsibility of young managers and educated youth of Bihar to come back and cultivate ideas and make the available resources work out in a positive direction and not leave the resonsibility of the shoulders of corrupt say "Bihar ka kucch nahi ho sakta". They have to come out of their air conditioned cabins to the rural land and give a hug to the people showing them a ray of hope of changing the current scenario of negativity to that of a world of prosperity.

They how to know their importance and go back to their towns and cities where they have spent their precious childhood. They are the ones who could make a difference on whom the future generation would largely depend for their economic prosperity and would proud to call themselves Biharis. The young generation should be proud that they belong to a State which gave brith to our first president of independent India Rajendra Prasad who reigned the global release of the UNICEF report and bring forward the name of the State on the world stage, then they can't these highly educated with new and innovative ideas. They should know that Bihar ranks top in many of its industries establishment and like Barauni Oil Refinery, the jute production or the jute textile which is the second largest in the country. It has its developed tobacco industry and a huge agriculture production base of rice, wheat, sugarcane, maize etc. It is for these learned professionals to remove the rust of the machines and bring to limelight better aspects of Biharis and use their States resources to its maximum.

And if they are waiting for a right time this the right time fifteen years old region of Laloo has come to an end.

The verdict of the recent Bihar assembly elections has paved the way for embarking on hen ideas and changing the State's political and Bio-economic orientations.

The people of Bihar expects that the new Government erases the stigma that the State of Bihar has borne so far of course, it largely depends also on the Bihari population in and outside the territory of Bihar. CNF