India and Pak must pursue peace

By Samuel Baid

The results of two days talks in Islamabad during October 3-4 was summed up by India's Foreign Minister Natwar Singh thus : ''On some issues there can be no hurry. On some others there is speedy movement. Mr Natwar Singh was referring to his talks with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri. It is clear India and Pakistan are determined to carry on their dialogue on all bilateral issues including Jammu and Kashmir with perservance. All talks in New Delhi, Islamabad or New York between the top leaders and officials of the two countries in the past more than 21 months- beginning with the summit between former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and General Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad on January 6, 2004- were held, as officially said, in a cordial atmosphere. These talks did not result in immediate solutions of the chronic problems between the two countries, but they did serve the cause of peace in a remarkable way. The most salubrious effect of this dialogue exercise has been the tremendous relaxation in their bilateral relations which had witnessed a hysterically tense period between December 2001, when Pakistan-based terrorists attacked the Parliament House in New Delhi, and April 2003, when Mr Vajpayee extended the hand of friendship to Pakistan.

This relaxation in relations has created the right atmosphere in which the most sensitive and nagging irritants between the two countries can be discussed with inoffensive frankness. Difference of opinion is respected. For example, Pakistan's decision to approach the World Bank for its intervention in the Baglihar Project issue did not cause any bitterness in India although New Delhi was not happy with it. Similarly, Pakistan's opposition to India's efforts to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council has not become an issue between the two countries. About two years ago such differences would have caused hysteria in both countries.

Critics of UPA Government's foreign policy may say that the more than four-hour meeting between Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and General Pervez Musharraf in New York on September 14 did not produce any results. May be. But it would be highly unrealistic to expect sensational breakthroughs, in the light of the history of India-Pak relations. It appears that the leaders of the two countries have decided to allow the media bare minimum knowledge of what transpires at India- Pak meetings to guard against over-expectations. For example, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri was not willing to tell journalists much after two days talks with his Indian counterpart Natwar Singh. At the time of releasing a joint statement on October 4, he dropped broad hints that there was a forward movement on the issues of Siachen and Sir Creek but was not willing to elaborate. He said ''concrete ideas'' exchanged on these issues ''create the possibility of resolution of these issues.'' He said the two sides had moved further otherwise ''I wouldn't have made the remarks I did.''

As said earlier, the history of India-Pak relations has created mindsets that make normalisation a very difficult task. Despite all the relaxation in relations, therefore, the main hurdles continue. As per the requirement of the Shimla Agreement, India and Pakistan had resumed private trade between the two countries. General Zia-ul-Haq stopped it in June 1978 under pressure from fundamentalists who argued private trade with India militated against Pakistan's Islamic ideology. The private trade has not been restored since. In fact Pakistan is not even willing to reciprocate India's unilateral grant of the most-favoured nation status to it. Now they say resolve Kashmir first. For the same reason Pakistan is not willing to lift the Ayub-imposed ban on Indian films although they are seen in most homes in the country on video.

Pakistan has also been dragging its feet on reopening of the Munnabao-Khokhrapar rail link between Rajasthan and Sindh. Both countries have agreed to reopen it, but it appears the ISI is not very comfortable about it. Pakistani Sindhis, especially the nationalists, have been suspects in the eyes of the ISI. Sindhis and Mujahirs who want to visit India have to travel to Lahore to come to India.

In Pakistan, there is a feeling that India's stand on Kashmir is very rigid and unhelpful while General Musharraf has been making concessions after concessions. It is true that while agreeing to discuss Kashmir and talking to pro-Pakistan Hurriyat Conference India does not agree to redrawing of the country's boundaries nor does it drop its insistence that Kashmir is its integral part. Pakistani leaders including General Musharraf know it very well. In other words, the differences on Kashmir and their impact on other areas of possible cooperation will continue to bedevil India-Pak relations unless the present peace process is allowed to go on unhindered to a stage where Kashmir can be discussed dispassionately, without hang-ups.

But unfortunately, there are forces in Kashmir, in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and the Pakistani Army/ISI who have developed a vested interest in non-peace between the two countries. It is for this reason that 58 camps which were training terrorists for Kashmir continue in Pakistan, PoK and Northern Areas despite General Musharraf's assurances. Now the new Pak line is that militancy will stop only after its cause is removed. This suggestion is very much against the spirit of the ongoing peace pursuit.

There are some serious hurdles. But the two countries must steadfastly peace undaunted by delays and failures.

E-waste: A global problem

By Dr Pragya Khanna

E-waste or electronic waste includes computers, entertainment electronics, mobile phones and other items that have been discarded by their original users. Most consumers are unaware of the toxic materials in the products they rely on for word processing, data management, and access to the internet, as well as for electronic games. In general, such electronic equipment is a complicated assembly of more than 1,000 materials, many of which are highly toxic, such as chlorinated and brominated substances, toxic gases, toxic metals, biologically active materials, acids, plastics and plastic additives. The health impacts of the mixtures and material combinations in the products often are not known. The production of semiconductors, printed circuit boards, disk drives and monitors uses particularly hazardous chemicals.

The fundamental dynamism of computer manufacturing that has transformed life in the second half of the 20th century -- especially the speed of innovation -- also leads to rapid product obsolescence. The average computer platform has a lifespan of less than two years, and hardware and software companies are in a drive to constantly generate new programs that fuel the demand for more speed, memory and power. Today, in the developed countries it is frequently cheaper and more convenient to buy a new machine to accommodate the newer generations of technology than it is to upgrade the old. This trend has rapidly escalated due to widespread Y2K concerns. Yet we have no solution for the rising quantities of computer junk that people are discarding. A report from the American Electronics Association says three quarters of all computers ever bought in the US are sitting in people's attics and basements because they don't know what to do with them.

A recent US study found that over 315 million computers have become obsolete in the year 2004 leading to computer junking, which is also happening at a faster rate. It is rather shocking to note that in the year 1998 only 6 percent of computers were recycled compared to the numbers of new computers put on the market that year according to an estimate given in 1999 by "Electronic Product Recovery and Recycling Baseline Report", US. It is well known that e-waste presents difficulties for recycling due to the complexity of each item and lack of viable recycling systems.

E-waste is of concern largely due to the toxicity of some of the substances used in the manufacturing. The toxicity is due in part to lead, mercury, cadmium and a number of other substances like germanium, gallium, barium, nickel, tantalum, indium, vanadium, terbium, beryllium, gold, europium, titanium, ruthenium, cobalt, palladium, manganese, silver, antimony, bismuth, selenium, niobium, yttrium, rhodium, platinum, arsenic to name a few. The different heavy metals lead to different health hazards, viz., Lead: It can cause damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, blood system and kidneys in humans. Lead accumulates in the environment and has high acute and chronic toxic effects on plants, animals and micro-organisms. The main applications of lead in computers are: (1) soldering of printed circuit boards and other electronic components (2) glass panels in computer monitors (cathode ray tubes). Cadmium: Cadmium compounds are classified as toxic with a possible risk of irreversible effects on human health. In electrical and electronic equipment, cadmium occurs in certain components such as SMD chip resistors, infrared detectors and semiconductors. Older types of cathode ray tubes contain cadmium. Furthermore, cadmium is used as a plastic stabilizer. Mercury: When inorganic mercury spreads out in the water, it is transformed to methylated mercury in the bottom sediments. Methylated mercury easily accumulates in living organisms and concentrates through the food chain particularly via fish. Methylated mercury causes chronic damage to the brain. It is estimated that 22 % of the yearly world consumption of mercury is used in electrical and electronic equipment. It is basically used in thermostats, (position) sensors, relays and switches (e.g. on printed circuit boards and in measuring equipment) and discharge lamps. Furthermore, it is used in medical equipment, data transmission, telecommunications, and mobile phones.

Based on the estimate that between 1997 and 2004, over 315 million computers have become obsolete in the USA, this adds up to about 1.2 billion pounds of lead, almost 2 million pounds of cadmium content and more than 400,000 pounds of mercury in total. In addition to this, the environmental risks posed by landfilling and burning are also significant. In particular, when computer waste is landfilled or incinerated, it poses contamination problems in leachate to water sources and toxic air emissions. Because of the variety of different substances found together in electroscrap, incineration is particularly dangerous. For instance, copper is a catalyst for dioxin formation when flame-retardants are incinerated. This is of particular concern as the incineration of brominated flame retardants at a low temperature (600-800°C) may lead to the generation of extremely toxic polybrominated dioxins (PBDDs) and furans (PBDFs). Significant quantities of Polyvinylchloride (PVC) are contained in electronic wastes which makes the flue gas residues and air emissions particularly dangerous.

The e-waste pile is growing around the world and statistics show that it runs into millions of tons annually. More and more countries are drafting legislations for the environment-friendly disposal of this waste. Disposal techniques vary widely from country to country because it includes materials which are valuable and recyclable as well as toxic. While modern technologies continuously seek for nearly hazard-free recycling of e-waste, precautions must be taken to control harmful emissions and toxins that cause detrimental impacts on health and the environment. E-waste is like slow poison, if we don't act now, we will have a polluted environment and lots of disabled children in the future. It is high time we should acknowledge that the computer and electronics disposal problem is a complex one that requires a systems thinking approach to solution making in order to provide a better future for our coming generations.