Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

A timely survey in this newspaper has clearly brought out a serious threat looming large over the Jammu region. We live in a seismological zone (actually in Zone V which means highly earthquake prone) and while the higher reaches of our province are far more vulnerable the plains may become the victims of ill-planned and hasty urbanisation even in the event of a minor natural disturbance. If the ordinary citizens are not aware of this impending danger it is because they have neither experienced such calamity nor have they been forewarned. There is no available record of earthquakes in Jammu. There are known to have been two in its vicinity: one in Chamba in 1885 and the other in Kangra in 1905. In Chamba it had measured 8 on the Richter scale and the devastation it must have caused can be gauged from the fact that one in Bhuj (Gujarat) that had resulted in huge loss of life and property a few years ago was around 7. Experts appear to have identified two disturbing signs on this side of the Pir Panjal so far: the number of landslide-affected areas has gone up from 5 to 17 on the Jammu-Srinagar highway and five cracks have been noticed in the following rocky bases: Punjal, Peera, Chenani-Udhampur, Noorpur (Saruinsar-Mansar) and Jammu. According to one responsible authority there is tectonic activity in three of these five thrust areas and it may burst 'with a bang' any time. It is the specialists' view that the otherwise picturesque spots like Basohli, Bani, Ramnagar, Doda and Ramban on one side and Rajouri district on the other are perpetually in peril of being rocked by earthquakes. In comparison the Shivalik hills are somewhat better placed. In other words it implies that there is an urgent need for having a second look on this entire region including hydro-electric projects set up in the hilly terrain.......more

Yasin Malik's
poser

By holding a two-day exhibition in the national capital last week-end on his two-year long signature campaign in the Valley....more

Wars of South
Asia Vs other wars

By Sreedhar

According to one estimate, since the end of World War II more than 150 wars took place among nation states. And these wars were between two or more nation states for a variety of reasons. India itself experienced five wars, four between India and Pakistan; and one between India and China. All these 150 wars resulted in almost 2 million people killed and economic assets worth over 2 trillion US dollars damaged.....more

Road to link two Kashmirs

By Er. J. R. Aryan

With all eyes set on the road which at present is under hectic repairs on both sides of LoC to link the capitals of two Kashmirs, some one on this side and definitely some one on the other side as well, must be sailing through the storm of feelings as to what extent shall this road in turn go to repair the strained and crippled relations of the two countries namely India and Pakistan which are tending to come closer.........more

Begum Zia cannot
fight militancy alone

By Samuel Baid

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia deserves kudos for at least plucking courage to rein in Islamic militants who have earned Bangladesh a dubious recognition as world's new emerging centre of terrorism. She has embarked on a very difficult task ofcourse; her Bangladesh National Party (BNP) Government has two Islamic parties as its coalition partners with close......more

Indian BPO industry
on an acquiring spree

By Arvinder Kaur

The Indian BPO firms are fast acquiring BPO units overseas to bag business from firms which are reluctant to out source to an offshore location......more

EDITORIAL

Wake up

By all yardsticks this is an alarming scenario. It is quite a revelation that the State Government does not have a disaster management plan in place to take care of any eventuality. Enough expertise is available in the country these days to set up a safety mechanism with the objective of making it fully operational at the time of crisis. There should be no delay in taking steps in this direction. Before that it would be advisable to field concerned experts for the identification of precariously-placed regions. Often it has been seen that the people lay the foundation of their houses in remote mountainous areas without determining the efficacy of the soil and the surroundings. Merely approving building maps is not enough in these cases. It has to be seen whether their base can hold against the seismic activity. In urban areas particularly in the old bazaars --- Pucca Danga in this city is a case in point --- one can see haphazard constructions: there are multi-storeyed structures where there used to be just a single shop a few decades ago with no evidence that their foundation has been redone. They give the scary feeling as if they would collapse with one jolt of earthquake. The same is the story in narrow lanes and bylanes of the old city.

Fortunately, qualified architects and engineers are being involved in planning new constructions. Yet, there is no harm in doubly checking the earthquake-resistant qualities of these buildings. It has to be remembered that the loss of human lives does not occur as much because of earthquakes as because of their impact on crowded cities. The Government must wake up before it gets a shock.

Yasin Malik's poser

By holding a two-day exhibition in the national capital last week-end on his two-year long signature campaign in the Valley Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik has posed a question to his rivals both on the mainstream and separatist spectrum: if politics is, indeed, a battle of ideas as many of them say then how do their response to his move? It is a legitimate query because Mr Malik has carried out a peaceful campaign to enlist signatures of 15 lakh State subjects on a one-line statement that they would want to be involved in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. These signatures along with his photographs touring remote areas and addressing public meetings and school and college students as well as their video recordings were put up for viewing at the exhibition entitled: "Voices for peace, Voices for freedom". Few can find fault with the manner in which the JKLF chief has gone about his task. Actually from a gun-totting militant to a peaceful campaigner it has been a long journey for Mr Malik and an act of courage on his part because such transformation is not always easy --- certainly not in the violent milieu that had prevailed in the State in the late eighties and early nineties and of which he himself was a creation. Given his humble background in every sense it is not an ordinary achievement that he has come a long way in terms of equipping himself with knowledge and personal influence. During the last nearly one decade he has well covered a peace trip that its latest turn took him from his home and the party headquarters in the politically-important Maisuma Bazar in Srinagar to New Delhi's Gandhi Peace Foundation where many big democratic battles have been planned in the past. He is the only secessionist leader in the recent years to have toured the State extensively including its non-Muslim pockets in the Jammu region. His movement has the effect of acting like a double-edged weapon for his rivals of all hues: in their hearts they can't see him scoring a point and yet they can't disapprove of the way in which he has conducted it. That is why quite a few leaders belonging even to the mainstream parties when called upon to openly express their feelings have had no choice but to agree that they themselves are ready to sign the one-line declaration: it is seemingly innocuous but can be invested with an altogether different connotation in the context of the State given its turbulent history.

In any case it will be counter-productive to ignore Mr Malik's non-violent approach. All the more so when he has carried out it in a dignified style. If one shuts one's eyes to such a demonstration one runs the risk of yielding space to the proponents of violence and hatred. On the other hand, the JKLF chief's opponents may draw comfort from certain facts: split of his organisation into many groups, its untried base in a competition (it had declared unilateral ceasefire after the pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahideen had occupied the driver's seat), confusion about its perception caused by one of its Islamabad-based leader's suggestion to restrict the 'freedom movement' to the Valley (a proposition akin to Pakistan President Musharraf's seven-region formula) and the continuing antipathy of the Kashmiri Pandit community towards the JKLF because of its initial role in its maltreatment. All these are Mr Malik's and his JKLF's body aches. For the present, however, he has put his adversaries in a quandary with his innovative strategy. There is no doubt about this.

Wars of South Asia Vs other wars

By Sreedhar

A closer scrutiny of recent wars do indicate some startling facts. For instance.

* The American led war on Iraq in 1991 killed about 25,000 civilians and destroyed economic assets worth over 15 billion dollars.

* The American led war that started in 2003 in Iraq and is still going on already killed about 1,00,000 civilians.

* The American led war in Afghanistan in Oct-Nov 2001 killed about 50,000 civilians and destroyed economic assets worth a billion dollars.

* The less we said about the US led war in Vietnam in 1960s and 1970s.

* The former Soviet Union's occupation of Afghanistan in December in 1979 resulted in 25000 civilian casualties and destruction of economic assets worth about 2 billion US dollars.

* In the Iraq-Iran war of 1980-88, Iraq even used chemical weapons sending shock waves among the entire civilized humanity. But the great powers remained silent spectators.

As compared to this, the casualties inflicted on the adversary by the Indian armed forces in the five wars it fought amounted to less than 500; and no economic assets of the adversary were destroyed.

A comparison of India's method of change of regime in East Pakistan in December 1971 and the US method of changing regime in Iraq in April 2003 are in sharp contrast. There was no local population resistance to Indian action in East Pakistan and the whole operation was over in 15 days. On the other hand US led war in Iraq is going on for 22 months and 100000 civilians and nearly 1700 US soldiers were killed. Indians never thought of Abu Gharibo type of prison Americans created in Iraq, at the time of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) operations said Major Kaul.

This raises the question why the wars fought by others are so bloody and Indian wars are not. One explanation given by strategic community is that the adversary must not only be defeated militarily but also his economic assets must be destroyed to such an extent that he will not be able to raise his head again. The enemy must be destroyed economically, militarily and if possible politically. This is the philosophy of war we see, among the wars fought outside the subcontinent.

The wars fought in the Indian subcontinent, on the other hand, only between the armies and civilian population and economic assets are kept outside preview of the war. For instance, in the four wars fought between India and Pakistan or between the Sino Indian war of 1962, the actual war remained between the armies only. None of the parties involved in the operations of the war thought in terms of attacking a civilian target like a powerhouse or a densely populated city to attack, to demoralize the adversary. In fact one Major General of the Indian army who fought in the 1965 Indo-Pak war told me that they were on the outskirts of Lahore at the height of the wars but we never thought of bombing Lahore to the rages even for a second. Many among my men have heard of Lahore, with a lot of respect to its people and culture. How can we attack that city. He added similar sentiments will be there among Pakistani's too say about Amritsar. It is a different matter that they never crossed Indian borders in Punjab.

So is the case with China. In the 1962 Sino-Indian war, Chinese and Indian side ensured no attacks on civilians or economic targets. The question that is often asked in the international strategic community how the wars fought in the Indian subcontinent are so "civilised" as compared to wars fought in other areas? The answer seems to be two fold. First, the subcontinent today are inheritors of a civilization which imbibed the values of human life among its people. Whether one is aware or not King Ashoka's Kalinga war and the lessons he drew from it still haunt every one in the subcontinent. Therefore, war destruction of human life and wealth of a society is anathema to its people. With the result 'gentlemen wars' became the order of the day. The code of conduct for a war evolved some 2500 years back, with minor variations still remained intact.

Equally important is until the modem nation states formed, all the people in Indian subcontinent shared same values; and those have not changed inspite of evolution of separate nation states: in the process, a war is looked upon as a last option to resolve a dispute. And even therein some code of conduct, typical to Indian subcontinent need to be observed. Therefore, wars in South Asia never talk in term of collateral damage in a war like the wars fought outside South Asia talk about. This leads to the next question that can South Asian models of wars continue with technological changes in war machinery.

Strangely enough, this change has not resulted in a overkill capacity with any South Asian nation.

Is it not worthwhile for an organization like UN to disseminate how the wars in South Asia are fought as compared to wars in other regions of the world? -CNF

Road to link two Kashmirs

By Er. J. R. Aryan

Dr Farooq Abdullah the Ex-Chief Minister of our State, a veteran, bold and open minded leader has rightly pointed out that it is the hearts that should open first to emanate affectionate feelings to flow smoothly across the border for each other before the Vehicles ply on the road to carry kiths and kins and friends of the two sides to meet their counterparts to know each other closely.

Time is a great master, tester as well as a healer. Some sharp events of the past which touch our memory do shake and break out trust and confidence with regard to good goings with the present regime of Pakistan headed by a General which has betrayed our country at times. The Bust journey to Lahore undertaken by the then Prime Minister A B Vajpayee as a good gesture of friendship and good relations for people to people contact found a bogus and disheartening response from the Pak rulers. What we here and those on the other side of LoC did get when the President General Musharraf reciprocated with a swarm of his army men having been directed to take a different journey on some other route to cross the LoC to occupy our areas in Kargil secretly which led to kargil War in which lives were lost on both sides and the nefarious designs of the general crashed.

Again, President Musharraf came to visit India on a goodwill mission for improving relations when he toured a couple of historical and religious places besides his ancestral house at Delhi. people here having forgotten the previous event had again caught a ray of hope in building their confidence for lasting friendship without knowing that the General had come just for an eye-wash with something explosive underneath to emerge later on which he exposed after his return when Indian Parliament with its session on was attacked in broad day light by Pakistani suicidal squad. All the four member of the squad were eliminated the same day. The result was the mounting tension that gripped the border and the LoC when the two neighbours deployed heavy forces for 10 months.

Thus we find beyond any doubt that it is the faulty leadership and dirty politics which is to be blamed for deliberately keeping the enmity alive by keeping the pot boiling under nefarious designs to keep itself at the helm of affairs, leaving the people totally in dark through misinformation campaign about ground realities and hence alienating them from each other.

In fact, the common people of the two regions do yearn for good relations, true friendship with warm affectionate feelings for each other put to their bad-luck the political top brass, the hardliners, separatist and fanatic forces and the fundamentalists with vested interests under foreign clandestine guidelines do not allow the condusive atmosphere to prevail. Truly, the political heavy weights the doctoral rulers find Kashmir of this side or that side of LoC as the lasting life-line or the channel of survival of their political existence and therefore keep their stands or stances rigid for reaching any decision.

The leaders fingers towards this Kashmir to be the problem when they are from Pakistan and towards that Kashmir as to be the only problem when they are from India. No finger is seen rising towards that part of Kashmir perhaps thousands of square kilometers which lies under occupation of China and was basically part and parcel of the state in 1947. So, Kashmir has lost its initial geographic identity. Even politically it is already divided between three countries viz India, Pak & China. To get the State as it existed in 1947 is not only time-barred but practically impossible. So, it is not a problem at all. The golden suggestion once given by Dr Abdullah that the LoC be made as the IB between India and Pakistan has to be accepted. If India and Pakistan bend their energies in developing the parts under their control at par with the other regions of their respective countries the prosperity is bound to prevail and so the peace, otherwise the two neighbours and their peace shall shatter into pieces which the leaders must realize.

Let the road prove a pavement for lasting good relations, peace and friendship through interactions by knowing the actual living conditions of the people here as well as there when they actually meet each other. A close watch needs to be kept on such elements and their wicked designs and disruptive plans who may be at work to damage the fruitful purpose, even with respect to defence and security measures keeping in view the past bitter of experiences.

Let the Almighty bless the leaders on both the sides with clear intentions and candid heart as the people there as well as here ardently desire and solemnly pray so that this road may enter in the annals of history to serve as an arterial link between the hearts of the people here and there to beat in unision for a lasting peace and friendship and pave a way for many such other roads between us and them.

Begum Zia cannot fight militancy alone

By Samuel Baid

She will certainly not like to destabilise her Government by alienating her two Islamic partners - the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Islamic Oikya Jote (IOJ). Her State Minister Home Affairs Lutfuzzman Babar, who in the past persistently denied the existence of Islamic militants, claims the present crackdown is only aimed to curbing lawlessness in the country. His statement came in the Jatiya Sangsad. He said: "what we are doing is not related to fundamentalism, it's to improve law and order." Clearly the minister was trying to appease the two Islamic partners.

The fact is that on February 24 the Khaleda Zia Government banned Jamiat Ul Mujahideen and Jagrata Movement Junta Bangladesh (JMJB) in the wake of a wave of assassinations, bomb blasts, robberies and violence against minorities and secular Muslims. Militants arrested in this connection pointed to these two organisations especially to JMJB. Its leader Azizur Rahman alias Bangla Bhai is absconding. His supporters claim he has crossed over to India along with some others.

The JMJB has about 70,000 active members. A Daily Star story, datelined Bogra, says these members are waiting for a signal from certain Government Ministers to resume their militant activities. A JMJB activist told this paper that the outfit could resume its activities under a different name. The paper was told that Bangla Bhai, before he disappeared, had instructed his followers low to carry on the movement for an Islamic revolution in Bangladesh.

Another JMJB source told the Daily Star that two Ministers in the Khaleda Zia Government had been giving shelter to Bangla Bhai. If these Ministers continued to help, the JMJB will start a guerrilla style struggle for an Islamic revolution.

Among a large number of Muslim militants arrested in the last week of February was a professor of Arabic named Mohammad Asad al Galib of Rajshahi University. He is bieng interrogated by the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) for suspected links to militants in Middle East and Asia. He has received crores of Takas in the name of Tohid Trust and has opened hundreds of mosques and madrasas in Bangladesh. According to the Daily Star, hundreds of members of Ahl-e-Hadith Andolan Bangladesh (AHAB) have fled their madrasas in Satkhira in panic after Galib's arrest. These madrasas have reportedly been started by him.

It is true that if Begum Zia goes ahead determinedly against religious militancy, it will have uncomfortable consequences for his coalition Government because of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islamic Oikya Jote. As pointed out above, the banned JMJB has its patrons in the coalition Government. By now these two parties may be well aware of the BNP's soft belly. They will certainly try to hit it as the last resort to stop Ms Zia from her campaign against Islamic militants.

But Ms Zia has no choice: she cannot allow bomb blasts, assassinations and violence to go on unchecked in the name of jehad. On the other hand, she can also not keep on ignoring the rising concern among donor countries over Bangladesh becoming the new address for world terrorists. Also, India's patience cannot be taken for granted.

Looking from the western point of view, the State of poverty and illiteracy provide as ideal ground for militancy to grow. But the ground reality is that despite poverty and illiteracy, the people of Balgladesh are intelligent enough to make a right choice. For example, Bangladesh's former diplomat Harun-ur-Rashid points out in the Daily Star that since 1991, the graph of people's support for Jamaat-e-Islami has been falling. In the 1991 elections, it got 12.13 percent votes, 8.61 percent in 1996 and just 4.31 percent in 2001 - the last elections. Islamic Oikya Jote got only 0.68 percent.

But that does not mean that the militancy menace can be ignored. Funds and weapons have been following into Bangladesh and, if unchecked, they can pose a serious threat not only to the country but to the world as well.

In short, Ms Zia is in for difficult times - caught between her coalition partners, who support Islamic militancy, groupism within the BNP and the pressure from donor countries to rein in militants. Predicting more trouble in Bangladesh, Jane's Foreign Report quoting Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said that Bangladesh appeared to be emerging as a haven for Islamic extremists in South Asia pointing to collusion with Al-Qaeda. The recent crackdown on these two Islamic militant groups appears to be an eyewash to appease donor countries in the wake of the World Donors meet at Washington and India's decision to postpone SAARC meet at Dhaka. There are also indications that Khaleda Zia's son and Joint Secretary - General of BNP Tariq Rahman put pressure on the coalition partners to curb the activities of these groups. While Jel succumbed to the pressure, IOJ leader Fazul Haq Amini opposed the move.

It is a situation in which Gen Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan has found himself. He is trying to fight this situation on two fronts: on military and political. His security forces are engaged in fighting the militants while he himself is trying to mobilise support to secular forces or what he calls enlightened moderates. Despite all his dislike for Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mr Nawaz Sharif, he has approached them for help. Ms Zia will have to do exactly that if she wants to overcome the menace of militancy. Here she needs the cooperation of the opposition parties.

Indian BPO industry on an acquiring spree

By Arvinder Kaur

The Indian BPO firms are fast acquiring BPO units overseas to bag business from firms which are reluctant to out source to an offshore location.

In the last few months, around four-five Indian BPOs have acquired majority stakes in BPO firms outside and the trend is likely to continue as Indian units anticipate more business through "onshore outsourcing".

Onshore outsourcing involves engaging another company within your same country for services. Just like offshore outsourcing, there is vast opportunity in onshore model and is more relevant in the wake of protests against outsourcing to offshore locations like India.

Having acquired small to medium businesses in the US and Northern Ireland, Indian companies are now looking towards Philippines, which is ranked first in the availability of knowledge-based jobs and workers worldwide.

Experts say acquisitions in Philippines, Thailand or Malaysia will be to Indian BPO's advantage, given the tremendous growth in value terms. This also delivers a strong message to the global companies that Indian BPOs can also function as MNCs outside the country.

The Indian ITES-BPO industry was a key driver of the overall IT software and services sector in the country during 2003-04, recording 3.6 bn US dollar in revenues during that period. According to NASSCOM, the industry grew by about 54 per cent during the period.

Increasing maturity, growth in multiple vendors and BOT (build-operate-transfer) contracts which offer customers advantages such as low risks and expanding capacity are defining the Indian market and will create future business opportunities for the industry.

The industry is rapidly gaining maturity and consolidation following a large number of mergers and acquisitions during 2003.

The trend towards maturity was escalated last year by the entry of traditional IT services players, who have added the ITES-BPO portfolio to their existing offerings in order to provide customers with a complete umbrella of end-to-end services.

ITES-BPO vendors are expanding the spectrum of their service offering in client locations and even setting up facilities in other low-cost ITES-BPO destinations like China and Philippines in order to tap these markets.

The Indian industry is also witnessing an increase in multi-vendor and BOT contracts which offer customers advantages such as low risks, scalability and competitive pricing.

A number of vendors are also moving up the value chain to offer high-end services such as equity research and analytics, insurance and technology support and development.

Infact, the ITES-BPO industry across the world is expected to witness significant action this year. Having gained momentum and considerable growth, this sector is all set to attain consolidation and maturity. There will be an expansion of outsourcing by companies worldwide and the providers of these services are expected to scale their existing operations, further enhance their domain expertise and strengthen their global delivery models. .

The trend of mergers is also expected to snowball into something bigger with other larger players gaining size and either taking over, or entering into tight alliances with other players.

Another new trend which was born last year and is expected to gain momentum is multiple process outsourcing to a single service provider. According to NASSCOM, increasingly large companies are expected to outsource multiple processes to a single service provider, who will take charge of end-to-end delivery. In this way organisations will only need to deal with a single supplier, which will simplify managing the relationship.

Globally "India Factor" was a major highlight of the last year. India emerged as a significant offshore outsourcing destination, boasting a viable global infrastructure and delivery capabilities. Not only did large organisations invest in setting up captive operators in India, a large number also outsourced the job to reduced third-party service providers.

Indian offshore outsourcing companies bagged large, long term engagements from overseas customers in the areas of applications development and maintenance. This trend is likely to escalate during 2005.

BPO industry watchers say 2005 will witness a lot of action on the HR outsourcing (HRO) side. With success stories already there, potential customers will have the opportunity to actually examine the benefits of HRO and opt for these services.

Apart from the private sector, organisations within the public sector and governments are also expected to fuel the HRO trend. In the US, where the elections are over and the great outsourcing debate is on the back burner, HRO will pick up momentum.

The Indian BPO industry is booming but experts say major challenges exist. Several key issues need to be addressed before becoming certain that BPO will follow in the steps of IT.

Successive governments have been promising data security legislation but nothing has happened yet. Without a law on the books, off shoring critical business processes to India will remain handicapped.

Another issue which the industry faces is the processes for certification of quality of Despite its optimism about growth, India faces the twin challenge of a shortfall of skilled labour and rising wages. According to market analyst Gartner, the country is likely to lose market share in offshore BPO, from its current 80 per cent to about 55 per cent by 2007.

Some analysts warn that India will lose out to Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and Ireland because it does not have a clearly defined long term plan for improving either infrastructure or increasing the supply of qualified professionals.

However, others feel there may be some low-end services that will migrate to China and the Philippines. But the trend will be offset by higher value work moving into India.

PTI Feature