Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

Towards ending
domestic violence

By S. Joshi

The Government has acted on the recommendation of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) by passing the protection of Women from Domestic Violence Bill, 2005. A laudable step, it was long overdue. CEDAW, often described as an international bill of rights for women - ....more

Batle for Bihar
Again a Hung Affair?

By Kshama Sunil

The Assembly polls in Bihar in November is likely to be the keenest battle of ballot fought for control of the second most important state in the Hindi heartland since Independence. Stakes are high for the leaders of the rival factions-Railway Minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is trying hard for all UPA allies staging a straight duel with the NDA-led by ....more

Will Indo-Afghan
relations improve?

By Atul Cowshish

EDITORIAL

Times ahead

Scenes of jubilation witnessed at the Wagah border in Punjab following the biggest ever exchange of prisoners between India and Pakistan represent the current mood prevailing in the sub-continent. As many as 587 persons walked to the freedom --- 435 of them Indians (371 of them fishermen) and 152 Pakistani nationals. There is no doubt that the event has caused widespread positive reaction from coastal states deep in the south to Kathua in this region following reunions which had been least expected till only a few years ago. The picture can be no different in Pakistan. Not surprisingly the entire emotional saga has got the sort of publicity that the release of thousands of Pakistani prisoners of war had generated in the seventies. However, that was a one-way traffic laced with the feelings of victory on the one hand and defeat and humiliation on the other. In the present instance, it is a win-all situation for the two neighbouring countries. Normally, one should think that this is the beginning of better days for those who have strayed into each other's territory and waters inadvertently. It should also bring solace to the families of those rival soldiers who, it is believed, are languishing in jails (notwithstanding official claims and records to the contrary) in India and Pakistan (it is not for nothing that Hindi movie Veer Zara portraying the trauma of one such Indian soldier in uniform has touched the sentimental chord of a large audience on either side of Wagah). A more cordial and sympathetic approach is needed to treat them as well as the ordinary citizens. It sounds odd, for instance, that while releasing a set of fishermen who have completed their sentences Pakistan has arrested a few of them for having strayed into its coastal waters. It is extremely difficult for any person including a fisherman who may otherwise be better informed to identify the boundaries in a sea and this fact definitely merits humane consideration when he is sought to be taken into custody. He has to be distinguished from a mischief-maker or a smuggler. It is equally relevant to note that the land frontiers too on either side look alike and a person can easily mistake one country for the other. At least this has been the situation till the least desired import of terrorism had compelled India to fence the Line of Control and International Border in this State and Punjab.

According to the placards displayed during a demonstration put up by the Missing Defence Personnel Relatives' Association at Wagah there are at least 54 Indian soldiers who are condemned to live in anonymity in Pakistani jails. The Association has come to know about them through different sources including letters. The problem in their case is that Pakistan does not admit their presence. As long as Pakistan maintains this stance the fate of any on-the-spot search will be the same as of the one the neighbouring country had facilitated once in Multan jail when some Indians were shown a few prisoners belonging to the country but no defence personnel.

One hopes that the two countries would show more flexibility in this behalf. How soon they can drop their insistence to stand on false prestige will determine how smooth the times ahead will be.

Fun is missing

Mahjoor too has awaited his friend patiently for long; O' ruthless one! How longer will this ordeal last?" With duly apologies to Pirzada Ghulam Ahmad "Mahjoor" who had let his imagination aim high as a love-lorn maiden --- "like Himaal (the heroine of a mythological Kashmiri drama) I go in his hot pursuit" --- we find his couplet much relevant to our mundane predicament in these hard times. It is a matter of regret that we continue to be deprived of little pleasures in the Kashmir region in particular. What is the Valley without its song, dance and laughter? One has to thank the Jammu and Kashmir Cultural Academy for having carried out a lot of activity during the last more than one year in order to revive traditional artistic expressions in almost every district. Quite a few artists from outside have also regaled the local audience. However, this may not have been enough to cater to every taste. It is generally accepted that cinema is the only medium that satisfies nearly every one. Movies can be educative. They are more often entertaining. Even if they may disappoint on the whole they will have a scene or two that can provide a talking-point. In the good old days the people in Srinagar will be so deeply absorbed in watching a film that if some one in the balcony came between the projector (it was perched low) and the screen in the Palladium theatre the rest of the crowd would start whistling in disgust. The Valley was one of the few places where almost every cinema hall would exhibit an English picture at least once a day. The advent of terrorism drastically changed the scenario. One cinema hall after the other was forced to shut down at gunpoint. Palladium's surviving grotesque structure after it was set on fire is a living testimony to the plight of cinema in Kashmir after the late eighties. In fairness to the Farooq Abdullah Government it did make a sincere effort to persuade theatre owners to reopen their shops. In retrospect, however, it appears that it may have not have chosen a correct remedy for the purpose but perhaps it had no other alternative. It offered a subsidy of Rs 32 lakhs to tempt them. Three theatres namely Regal, Broadway and Neelam resumed their work as a result in 2000. Regal on the Residency Road had to close down on the first day itself when a grenade was lobbed into its compound claiming one casualty on the spot. Broadway located in a much safer zone given its proximity to the Badami Bagh cantonment remained in business for a few years but was called upon to switch over to another trade in the absence of spectators. It is a pity that Neelam has been compelled to put down its shutters following an encounter between the security forces and the militants in its vicinity. It is being hoped against hopes that its location in a well-secured area near the State Secretariat would lead to its reopening sooner than later.

Till then one can say that the fun has gone totally missing from the lives of movie buffs. It is extremely disturbing if the civilised means of entertainment were to lose for good to negative influences.

Towards ending domestic violence

By S. Joshi

CEDAW, often described as an international bill of rights for women - was adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly. It aims at eliminating all forms of discrimination against women, such as social, political, cultural, health, economic etc.

The Domestic Violence Bill seeks to provide for more effective protection of the right of women guaranteed under the Constitution who are victims of violence of any kind especially that occurring within the family. Unfortunately, a quarter of the world's women are violently abused in their own homes. Five women are burned each day in dowry related disputes in India. A large number of cases of female infanticide and female foeticide take place in India.

The Domestic Violence Bill has come as a straw for the drowning. For, domestic violence is the most heinous and the least reported crime perpetrated in almost every household. And, the problem is as difficult to solve as it to measure because violence always occurs within the privacy of the home - into which friends, relations, neighbours and authorities are reluctant to intrude. Further, the victim themselves voice fewer complaints and have less recourse to law than other victims of violence.

Another reason for the continued perpetration of domestic violence is that certain practices are rooted in culture and tradition. With the result, women suffer physical and psychological damage. As per a UN document, gender-based violence is often fatal. In our country, women are invariably subjected to harassment by in-laws who make various demands every now and then. In some cases sexual violence takes place. Physical, verbal, emotional or economic violence is almost common. Such acts of continued perpetration of violence gives birth to suicidal throughts and in some cases suicides also take place.

Domestic violence encompasses several other forms. It harms women's health. Accordingly to the World Health Organization (WHO), girls in many developing countries receive less nourishment and suffer from malnutrition at higher rates than boys. Girls also receive less health care. Women also suffer from servile or mercenary marriage, child marriage, and the preference for sons, leading to selective abortion and female foeticide and female infanticide.

Since violence affects health, the former Director-General of WHO Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland expressed her grave concern while releasing the World Report on Violence and Health on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on the 25th November, 2002. "Forty years of work to improve women's lives have given very uneven results. The majority of women in the world still suffer from poverty, discrimination and violence. We need to voice the violence, to hear the stories of all those affected by violence. Spreading the word, breaking down the taboos and exposing the violence that takes place among us is the first step towards effective action to reduce violence in our own societies," Dr Brundtland said.

Dr Bundtland's concern is true because nearly half the women who die due to homicide are killed by their husband or boyfriend.

The recent Bill corroborates the views expressed by Dr Etienne Krug, Director, Department of Injuries and Violence Prevention that evidence from around the world suggests that violence can be prevented by a variety of measures aimed at individuals, families and communities. The first ever global report on violence and health promotes public health understanding of the complex social, psychological, economic and community underpinnings of violence. Biological and other individual factors interact with family, community, cultural and other external factors to create a situation where violence is likely to occur. Policy-makers shall have to understand these situations and intervene before violent act occurs.

Now that the Government is going to implement this landmark Bill, it shall have to tread caustiously and take few factors into account.

First of all, it shall have to ensure that the aggrieved person who approaches the concerned authority to lodge her complaint, the concerned authority shall have to behave in a civilized manner. It has to be ensured lest the concerned authority should turn an exploiter to exploit the aggrieved person physically, emotionally, financially or in any other form of exploitation, though Section 33 is there which may deter occurrence of such situation.Secondly, there may be several fake aggrieved persons who in connivance with some anti-social elements may lodge fake complaints. It would have been better if provision in this regard would have been therein the Bill.

Thirdly, the punishment provided for the perpetrators of violence is quite negligible. Had there been more severe and stringent punishment, it would have worked well. However, it is hoped, the legislation would alleviate the gravity of the problem.PTI Features

Batle for Bihar
Again a Hung Affair?

By Kshama Sunil

The Assembly polls in Bihar in November is likely to be the keenest battle of ballot fought for control of the second most important state in the Hindi heartland since Independence.

Stakes are high for the leaders of the rival factions-Railway Minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is trying hard for all UPA allies staging a straight duel with the NDA-led by JD-U leader Nitish Kumar backed by BJP.The question that has still remained unanswered is whether Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who is heading the Lokjanasakti Party (LJP), would again play a spoiler like he did in February, when the electorate returned a hung verdict.Lalu Yadav, written off by his detractors after 15- year of rule dubbed by them as "jungle raj," had managed 75 seats for his RJD in the last polls out of a total of 243 at stake. His party had emerged as the single largest party, though substantially down since the elections five years earlier. The NDA comprising of JD-U and BJP won a total of 91 seats and had projected itself as the single largest pre-poll alliance.

Despite being 75-strong it was 'no show' for the RJD, which was the lone party which had formally staked claim to form a Government led by Rabri Devi. The Assembly was dissolved in May as NDA mounted efforts to cobble together a majority in the wake of desertions from the 29-strong LJP. The flipside of this Paswan party is that a majority of its MLAs were from the upper castes; and most of them have some liking for NDA because of their dislike for Lalu.

Congress appears to have suddenly realized that it could no longer antagonise Lalu, and is going whole hog with him this time. RJD is the second largest partner in the UPA coalition at the Centre with 25 MPs. AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh, Sonia Gandhi's pointsman for Bihar is putting extra pressure on Paswan to fall in-line and be a part of the RJD-led UPA in the state. The message is to Paswan is clear: if he wants to be part of the UPA at the Centre, he has to give up his 'rigidity' in Patna. His claim for seven percent Dalit vote notwithstanding. It is this USP that has secured for Paswan three key Ministries- Steel, Chemicals and Fertilisers though he has just four MPs in the LJP ranks.

While Lalu, who owes his clout to the 'MY' (Muslim + Yadav) combination, is attempting to consolidate his hold by roping in some other backward sections, Paswan is playing a shrewd game of cutting into the RJD vote bank by insisting on a Muslim Chief Minister. Nitish Kumar, once a close associate of Lalu, is also at the game as he is advocating reservations for Dalit Christians and Muslims.Lalu and Nitish have another 'threat' to reckon with. And that is the likely emergence of a Third Front. CPI, Forward Bloc and CPI-ML are working on the Front concept. Samajwadi Party is closing its ranks with them since its base is limited in Patna and its desire is to cut into the votes of Lalu and company.

Paswan is also toying with the idea of joining the Front. It is a last minute option he wants to exercise if he fails to have his way either with the Congress or his Marxist admirers to have his slice of the Lalu cake.

If, and it is a big if, as of now, Paswan opts for the Third Front, the danger will be as much to Lalu as Nitish Kumar. Both will suffer some damage, Lalu more than Nitish, of course.

This is because CPI-M-L is a force to reckon with in some 60 constituencies. It is the strongest of the Left force in the state where CPI was once the dominant party. CPI, whose state unit has been at loggerheads with Lalu, also has its pockets of influence. If Paswan joins such a combine, it would automatically alter the balance of power in rural Bihar. CPI-M might be the 'big brother' in the Left fraternity in neighbouring West Bengal, but here in Bihar the Marxists exist by and large, courtesy, Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Lalu came into prominence on Bihar scene as a post-Mandal phenomenon as a messiah of the downtrodden- Muslims, and Yadavs, who figure low down the traditional social order in the cow belt. Dalits also got attracted to Lalu who with his down to earth histrionics became a darling of the masses.

The Third Front is bound dent Lalu's image and it will offer an alternative to M-Y-D combine, who appear to have had enough of Lalu- Rabri Parivar. Too much of any thing is bound to yield a negative return. This will be bad news to the Congress as well, which like the Marxists, is searching for a place in Bihar plains.

Another handicap for Lalu, whose rule gave honour and pride to the sizable backward classes, often neglected by the establishments of all hue including those of Congress is, is carrying the baggage of anti-incumbency of 15 years like an albatross. There is nothing to write home about on the issue of development during this period.

It is not that Nitish Kumar's way to power is a rosy path. Kumar has been forcing the BJP to play a second fiddle in the state. This time too, he would demand a greater number of seats from the saffron party to accommodate the former LJP MLAs who have joined the JD-U.

The problems BJP is facing at the national level would have its impact on this state. The local unit is also beset with its own problems - rampant groupism for instance. Upper caste leaders of the party are vertically and horizontally divided. Shotgun Sinha, as the erstwhile film hero cum anti-hero Shatrughan Sinha is known, is sulking in his own way. Mind you, he is biggest vote catcher for the BJP in Bihar, what with his stylish dialogues.

Admittedly, L K Advani and his colleagues have lot at stake in the polls; they will not, in fact, cannot, afford to rub Nitish Kumar the wrong way ahead of polls. A victory in the polls for the NDA would help ward off the crisis being faced by Advani personally and the BJP-led opposition. It will also be a signal to Congress at the Centre not to take things for granted.

There are many imponderables in the Bihar polls where the line-up on rival sides was still unclear and would at least take a fortnight to crystallize. With the backward state sharply divided between backwards and forwards and sub-divided on caste lines, it would be hazardous to guess the poll outcome. This was especially so as it is not yet known which issue would click in the state where acute problems in regard to the BSP (Bijli-Sadak-Pani) have often been ignored by the rulers and the voters alike.

But if the issue of governance takes the centerstage, then NDA could have the last laugh or would be near the winning post. The spate of kidnappings, ransom and extortion during the RJD rule could then take the toll. Lalu is fighting with his back to the wall; the Congress is backing him to the hilt prompted by its own survival instincts; it is to be seen what miracle the master of election strategy could perform in not such a happy situation. Nitish Kumar is no novice and his assets are his credentials and image. Paswan is out to find his place in the Bihar sun and any compromise on principles would be just suicidal for him. Whatever may be the outcome, the Bihar poll is expected to witness a lot of churning, which would have its impact at the national level, sooner or later. (Syndicate Features)

Will Indo-Afghan relations improve?

By Atul Cowshish

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made his maiden visit to Afghanistan which sections of the media has hailed as both 'historic' and 'successful' and India's array of offers to Kabul were on full display to the discomfort of some in the neighbourhood. But look carefully at the progress of relations between New Delhi and Kabul after the dark forces of the Taliban were driven out of power late in 2001 by the American might. We are left with less optimism than is on display officially.The change in regime should have meant not only strong friendly ties between the two countries but also frequent two-way exchanges of high officials. In the last four years while President Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has been a reluctant visitor to New Delhi, the Indian head of the executive did not even step on the Afghan soil.

Security concern could not have been the major consideration in injecting a note of hesitancy in high-level contacts between India and Afghanistan because in the same period the Afghan president has encircled the globe several times and played host to many leaders from the West as well as Pakistan.

The visits by the Pakistanis came despite the fact that the average Afghan is not favourably disposed towards its eastern neighbour, who in the opinion of the majority, harbours terrorists and the fleeing Taliban elements.

The Pakistani delegations visiting Afghanistan have to be given special security cover for their safety though this has not prevented ordinary Afghans from giving vent to their spleen against the visitors. If the Pakistanis still take frequent flights to Kabul it is not because they are overcome by a sense of heroism but to ensure that they do not loose all the leverage they clearly enjoyed when Taliban was in the drivers' seat.Besides, many in Pakistan continue to see Karzai (who had set up home in Pakistan during the Taliban days) as their 'man' whose foreign policy can be influenced by Islamabad. India cannot prevent a sovereign country like Afghanistan in agreeing to play host frequently to visitors from a particular country, but New Delhi has to be on guard against Pakistan's game plan. There is perhaps no harm if Manmohan Singh conveys India's concern to Afghanistan. Given the strong anti-India frame of mind of the Pakistani establishment that borders on paranoia, the rulers in Islamabad feel nervous at the thought of India getting even a toe-hold in Afghanistan. Soon after the liberation of Kabul, Islamabad had sought US intervention to stop India from rapidly spreading its influence in Afghanistan!

Islamabad cannot stomach the idea of India and Afghanistan developing full-fledged friendly trade and cultural ties and does not hesitate in going to any petty length to scupper these relations.

Islamabad found enough excuse to delay permission for Indian civilian planes flying over its territory on way to Afghanistan, but it continues to play spoilsport in the restoration of land route for trade between India and Afghanistan. The 'enlightened' men in Islamabad even held up a consignment of biscuits India had sent as part of a relief package for Afghanistan. That is why India is compelled to send its material to Afghanistan via a long, circuitous route that involves transhipment to Iranian port and ferrying across a long land mass. During his short visit to Kabul, Manmohan highlighted opportunities for mutually beneficial trilateral relationship between India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. With the Iran gas pipeline project looking doubtful, Afghanistan should be jumping headlong into negotiations for setting up a gas pipeline from Central Asia to Pakistan and India. Even without that gas pipeline project there is a vast trade potential to be exploited by India and Afghanistan if the land route via Pakistan is opened up. As a landlocked country, Afghanistan has certain rights which it should use to import goods from India.

It appears that so far Afghanistan has been too cautious in not wanting to do anything that annoys its quirky eastern neighbour. That kind of caution will not benefit Kabul in the long run.

Karzai continues to believe that much of the violence in his country has its origins in Pakistan where the former Taliban brigands have found safe shelters. It is interesting to remember that during the last October presidential poll in Afghanistan when violence had suddenly escalated, Pakistan had to rush an assurance to Kabul that it will extend its full cooperation in containing that violence.

Similarly, Shaukat Aziz, the Pakistani prime minister handpicked by Pervez Musharraf, had scrambled to Kabul a few weeks ago with an assurance that his country would do all it can to prevent violence before the parliamentary polls.

Given this backdrop to his visit, no eyebrows are raised if the soft spoken Manmohan Singh had indeed told his hosts unambiguously that no third country-whether it is Pakistan or the US-has any role in deciding the sort of relations that should develop between our two countries.

Any how, creating hurdles in the way of New Delhi - Kabul relations will not help Islamabad. It will not dilute the anti-Pakistan feeling in Afghanistan, nor will, for that matter, the so-called $100 million aid package that Shaukat Aziz had promised to Kabul as long as Pakistan keeps training jehadis for sabotage in Afghanistan, and terrorism in India. (Syndicate Features)