Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

Angry! Why?

UPA butt of tainted barb

By Sondip Bhattacharya

Global economy
and Indo-China

By J N RAINA

Begin J&K corruption eradication from top !
TALES OF TRAVESTY

By Dr. Jitendra Singh

Women in search of identity

By Predhuman K. Joseph Dhar

Women are more than half of humanity. Women represent a different way of being human; they even show the other face of God. One of the greatest changes of the modern times is the emergence of women: they are ........more

EDITORIAL

Angry! Why?

Members of Parliament are angry with coach Greg Chappell. Lok Sabha Speaker in turn is angry with MPs. Not that he approves of all that Chappell says and does. His view is that just because the members don't do their job seriously they have even a coach lecturing them. He spends considerable time reminding them that they are being watched by the entire country. We all know that the proceedings of the House are telecast live. That does not prevent the MPs from displaying their tempers. This is perhaps because anger is a perfectly justified human emotion. One gets angry when threatened. One can be furious over the denial of an opportunity. Of course, one always throws a fit of rage when rubbed the wrong way. Many believe that anger inspires to do better and bigger things. It instils in one the feeling to avenge injustice, negligence, humiliation and betrayal and similar other acts. More often it manifests itself in words. We find many examples of this on the home turf. All separatist leaders at one stage were gnashing their teeth against New Delhi. Now they are settling scores among themselves. Syed Ali Shah Geelani is up in arms against Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and company and vice versa. Divisions and sub-divisions have torn the majority of secessionist organisations apart. These can be attributed to momentary bouts of irritation that have changed their complexion evidently for good. From what it looks like the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party are also destined to perpetually take on each other. If anything they share mutual hostility. Even the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is upset over the way the Bharatiya Janata Party is functioning in the State. One will have to wait till the next elections to know whether the RSS has changed its perception. Anger can vary from silent sulking to physical violence. It differs in intensity. That is why it is variously described as annoyance, criticism, offence, indignation, outrage and wrath in addition to other expressions that we have already used. By no means can the list be termed as complete. One can be angry and yet not reveal one's true face. It can be outcome of fatigue, hunger and disease as well. Nowadays a general tendency is to link it to diabetes. This may or may not be correct. But what is true is that anger can cause heightened blood pressure, shortness of breath, step-up in heart beats besides shivering. What anger often results in but is not admitted is that it blinds people more often than not. It blocks the channels of reasoning. That explains why no religion approves of it. Hinduism considers anger packed with more evil power than desire. Islam sees it as a sign of weakness. Christianity depicts unbridled wrath as one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Buddhism defines it as "being unable to bear the object, or the intention to cause harm to the object." Gautam Buddha has taught that anger like ignorance can "bring us confusion and misery rather than peace, happiness, and fulfilment."

Yet, we can't help at times. Traffic snarls, power cuts and water non-availability make us lose our cool. Chappell or no Chappell our cricket team's performance is leaving us in jitters. What do we do in these situations? An advice is that the next time one feels like going out of control one should breathe deeply, remember Rama, Krishna or Whomever one adores and one must imagine that one is relaxing. This formula may enable one to analyse the source of anger which is likely to thus evaporate.

UPA butt of tainted barb

By Sondip Bhattacharya

The Shibu Soren affair rocked Parliament with the BJP-led NDA Opposition seeking to put the Manmohan Singh government on the mat by turning the spotlight back on the issue of the presence of "tainted ministers" in the Union Cabinet. Soren had to resign as Coal Minister following his conviction in the killing of his private secretary Sashi Nath Jha 12- years ago by a Delhi court. There are five other tainted Ministers in the UPA government, including the Railways Minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav, who are facing criminal charges on various counts.

For Sibu Soren, one of the most popular Santhals, a murder in 1969 brought him semi-iconic status but another one has virtually destroyed him. Had the 62- year-old 'Guruji', as he is popularly known, stuck to the course chalked out some 30- years ago with his campaign against the Dikoos (outsiders, exploiters), the Hor (Santhal) could have been on a pedestal not much lower than that of Birsa Munda, the demigod of Jharkhand. Though Sibu is a Santhal he does not belong to Santhal Parganas but to Hazaribagh.

The events of 1969 were personal. A big money lender Bistu Sah allegedly organised the secret murder of Sibu's father Shobaran Soren, a school teacher and also a thriving poultry farmer. Though the senior Soren had participated in the freedom movement, he did not join active politics. When Sibu was about 13 he had accompanied his father to Gaya when Vinoba Bhave was campaigning for Bhoodan.

The elder Soren enjoyed a social standing in the neighbourhood. An incident which stood out was after the moneylender had secured attachment of Sibu Mausi's (aunt) property for outstanding debts. Sibu's father intervened and the moneylender was publicly humiliated. Sah got the elder Soren killed. Sibu had to give up school and go out in search of a living.

Sibu realised that there was none to challenge the mahajans (moneylenders). In the aftermath of his father's murder, Sibu organised tribal youth against the mahajans. The Adivasi Sudhar Samiti was set up to fight moneylenders. Drunk tribals were beaten up and later the focus shifted to claiming the land usurped by the mahajans. Many were jailed including Sibu Soren. Sibu was 'Guruji' not just because of his shoulder-length hair but also because of his exploits. The Chirudih murder case of Jamtara in 1975 cost him the portfolio of Union Coal Minister in 1994. Sibu was brought to Dhanbad by a group of Marxist trade union leaders in the early 1970s. He, however, gradually came closer to the Congress.

How people like Sibu Soren are allowed to get into politics? If our electoral process had been reformed and politicians with criminal background debarred from contesting elections, we would have not faced the ignominy of having such persons in the government. It is a matter of supreme irony that the one thing which has united the country's otherwise fractious and bickering political parties is a move aimed at cleansing the polity of criminal and corrupt elements. The Election Commission's order making it mandatory for candidates seeking election to declare their financial assets, criminal antecedents and educational background along with their nomination forms have not been adhered by all political parties. The Supreme Court in May 2002 had ordered that electoral process in the country should be cleansed of people of doubtful integrity. The Election Commission was ordered to bring up a comprehensive legislation to be passed by Parliament.

Electoral reforms have been on the political agenda for several years with senior politicians decrying the increasing link between corruption, muscle power and political activity. But the all-party meeting that was to consider the Supreme Court's judgement on voters' right to information has exposed the major political parties for their blatant hypocrisy. Politicians and MPs have been holding forth against dubious methods being used during the poll process, but the all-party meeting held in 2002 had no hesitation in rejecting outright the Election Commission's notification on disclosures that a prospective candidate would need to make while filing nomination papers.

It was as if the political class as a whole was opposed to the issues raised in the Supreme Court judgement and later notified by the EC. The meeting picked on a specious argument of maintaining that the right to make laws rests with the legislature, so as to reject the order. It was a brazen display of self-protection in the face of the Supreme Court order that was in lien with the objective of making the democratic process more open and transparent. But MPs of all political parties, ably backed by the NDA government, were quick to take umbrage at what they said as infringement of the rights of legislators to make laws.

The legislature makes the law, but it is the court that interprets it. And the Supreme Court order stands till Parliament enacts a new law. The Supreme Court did not make a new law; it only clarified the existing law. But the alarm with which the political parties reacted displays their aversion to the new disclosure norms. There may have been valid questions regarding the problems that may come up in implementing the order, but the political parties ganged up to find an escape route.

Politicians may have operational difficulties regarding the disclosure norms, but these can be reduced if a serious effort is made to address the subject of making the electoral process more transparent. If politicians are uncomfortable in making public their financial assets, they need to remember that by filing the nomination papers they have taken a decision to turn public figures. There may be some questions about to whom the disclosures should be made. But why should prospective candidates have any hesitation in giving their educational qualifications, which they would do while filling up most government forms? Under the disclosure norms, criminal convictions and pending cases have to be revealed but these are not treated as disqualifying factors.

All political parties in these days of coalition governments need that extra vote in the legislature, and despite pious sounding statements, there is no political party that has not nominated a person whose name is dreaded in the area he operates in.

The Supreme Court judgment brought the subject of corruption and criminalisation of politics to the front burner. The government needs to bring in legislation that takes a comprehensive view of electoral reforms, but that is a tall order as interminable discussions on the subject have served to thwart any reforms. Political parties, whether on the treasury benches or in the opposition ranks, are reluctant to take even first steps towards cleaning the election process. Unless such reforms are implemented people with criminal background will continue to flourish in the country, and we will have many more Shibu Sorens and Navjot Singh Sidhus. INAV

Global economy and Indo-China

By J N RAINA

Nothing of much significance was predicted on the eve of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to India. Business was transacted between Hu and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the dotted lines. Neither India showed its grit and determination to settle the vexed boundary issue, which has bedevilled relationship between the two Asian giants since 1960, nor was it slated for discussion.

If any Indian had illusion about the settlement of the issue, that was blasted by China's Ambassador Sun Yuxi, who fired the first salvo just before Hu's visit, saying China still claims the whole of Arunachal Pradesh, raising protest and murmur in New Delhi's political corridors.

Manmohan Singh, however, reciprocated in his discussions with Hu that "Any solution that would involve uprooting of settled populations cannot be acceptable to India". The Prime Minister framed his statement in a manner not to 'offend' his guest. There were some soothing words in the joint declaration like both sides should explore "fair, reasonable and mutually-acceptable settlement".

Chinese President favoured an early settlement of the long-pending 'dispute'. It was agreed that India and China would pursue the settlement of the issue "as a strategic objective". Keeping this in view, Special Representatives, M K Narayanan and Dai Bingguo have been asked to expedite their efforts to 'arrive at a boundary settlement'.

The border talks have been moving at a snail's pace, trade talks apart. But it is a good augury that the two nations have agreed not to stall progress in other spheres of economic activity related to India-China 'strategic relationship'. Both countries have agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity on the borders, in accordance with agreements signed in 1993, 1996 and 2005.

While India reassured China that it was committed to 'one-China policy', which was even reflected in the joint declaration, there was no such reciprocity from China's side on Sikkim, Kashmir or Pakistan-related terrorism. India has recognized that the autonomous region of Tibet formed part of China's territory, though almost without asking. The role of the Communist leadership in India is wanting in so many ways. They ought to use their influence and bring pressure on China to declare Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India. While China has grabbed Tibet, Jammu and Kashmir has acceded to India legally.

China is in a position to arm-twist Pakistan and halt it from extending its proxy war in India. There were friendly vibes of course. But the only worry is that there has been little forward movement on the boundary issue, plaguing the relationship for over four decades.

China has been claiming , at least in official circles, that Arunachal Pradesh (earlier known as Twang), comprising 90,000 sq km area, is part of Tibet. When Tibet was an independent country, a convention was held at Shimla in 1914, between the British government and the Tibetans. Twang was ceded to British Indian Empire. But China later rejected the agreement It occupied the 'disputed' territory in 1962 war with India, but returned the territory unilaterally soon after.

China claims large chunks of territory in the western sector of Ladakh, which it grabbed in 1962 war. Not only Aksai Chin plateau, but areas west and south-west of it. These areas came under China's control only after the war. Tibet is entirely a different issue. It used to serve as a buffer zone.

Had India rebuffed China when it took over Tibet, the issue would have been of no consequence. There was hardly any protest. Those were the days when India was taken in by the slogan of Hindi-Chini bhai, bhai. The euphoria lasted till China finished its initial task. India did not react as desired. When China launched its aggression in 1962, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru ordered his Army to 'throw them (Chinese) away', without sufficient arms. Either in earlier or subsequent statements he had said that not a blade of grass grows there on the snowy mountains .Such was the importance given to the border issues.

Beijing seems to have displayed flexibility in developing ties with India. But misgivings still persist. China is yet to officially accept Sikkim as part of India. China has no locusstandi in Sikkim, because it was a sovereign nation before it merged with India on its own.

Now positive signs are visible on the periphery of the enhanced relationship between the two countries, which have inked 13 agreements. The two nations which were 'sick' in 1950, because of the hangover of colonial past, worked out a ten-pronged strategy, to enhance cooperation in trade and nuclear energy. Manmohan Singh has remarked that ties must be made 'irreversible'. Hu admitted that an early settlement of the border dispute was fundamental to better ties and strengthening strategic objectives between the two countries.

China's decision to cooperate with India on civilian nuclear energy will augur well in a way to stop US from attaching strings to the nuclear deal, which is still awaits clearance from American Congress. The commitment on either side to increase bilateral trade to dollar 40 billion by 2010 is a healthy sign. Both countries have a huge potential to control 65 per cent of the world trade by 2020. The bilateral trade is expected to grow by then from dollar 12 billion at present to dollar 100 billion. The world's geo-political landscape 'will get transformed rapidly'.

Together India and China can rewrite world history on the economic front. CIA has genuine fears that 'rise of China and India as global players is heralding an Asian century, in place of a receding American century".

India needs to emulate China. Twenty five years before, the per capita income of both countries was almost same. Today, China's per capita income is nearly three times that of India. China's achievements are phenomenal in every field. We stand nowhere in comparison, because there is no indecisiveness in China. (Syndicate Features)

Begin J&K corruption eradication from top !
TALES OF TRAVESTY

By Dr. Jitendra Singh

It is like the proverbial chicken - egg story accompanied with the ever unanswered question ‘‘Who came first ?’’. The Government officials blame the businessmen, traders, suppliers and contractors for relentlessly chasing them with bribes to secure out-of-the-way favours or inappropriate monetary profits. The bribers----whether businessmen or others----accuse the officials in administration of demanding bribes directly or indirectly by deliberately sitting over the office files. Either way, the result is perpetuation of a culture of corruption. The Azad Government in Jammu and Kashmir professes its resolve to root out corruption but, is the Chief Minister too oblivious of the patrons of corruption sitting under his very nose and the loopholes in system that breed nothing but corruption ?

As for the men in high offices, the common refrain is that more corrupt or dishonest the officer, the closer he is to the corridors of power with better prospects of rising higher and the most corrupt or the most dishonest probably enjoy the prospect of rising the highest. Another general impression is that officers known to have embezzled lakhs or crores are precisely the ones who enjoy close access to the Ministers and political big-wigs. This thus suffices to testify the morbid nexus which is capable of patronising none but the ones who feed it. And those who are handed the mandate to become MLAs or those who are nominated as MLCs are preciesly the ones capable of sustainng this dubious nexus.

Now, for example, what would be expected of an MLA or an MLC who has paid lakhs or crore to the political leadership in order to get himself the mandate or nomination? Or, what would be expected of the officer who has paid lakhs for a posting which begets him lakhs ?

Each time a new Government takes over, the axe falls on a few singled out officials while the rest go unquestioned and the phenomenon of corruption continues unabated as ever before. The general trend followed by each successive Government is quite similar.....each new Government finds it convenient to order premature retirement of few engineers and either ban or threaten to ban private practice by Government doctors. In other words, it is the technocrats who come handy for a showdown against corruption while the bureaucrats, particularly of the IAS brand, continue to enjoy impunity for all sorts of misappropriations, embezzlements, bribery and misuse of official machinery for private purposes. To cite just a single example of disparity.... it is an irony that while on the one hand each successive Health Minister insists that Government doctors must make rounds of the hospital after working hours using their private transport and must make calls to the hospital from thier private telephone, the Ministers and Commissioners on the other hand find nothing wrong in using official cars or official STD phone for private indulgence.

If the new Chief Minister truly wants to root out corruption, he would not only have to ensure a dispensation in which the honest and competent get their due, but would also have to ensure that anti-corruption drive is not directed only at the less resourceful while the more resourceful go scotfree. The general impression is that while the small fish is caught the big shark remains untouched, while a ‘‘Patwari’’ is booked for accepting five hundred rupees, a Commissioner or a Minister is not questioned for amassing crores. I deally, any drive against corruption must begin from the top. Only then will the common man have faith in Government's sincerity to weed out corruption. Only then will the common man trust Government's honesty in patronising the honest. Only then will Umapathy look upto his masters for poetic justice, a La, ‘‘........Dekh To Kaisi Hasrat Se Tujh Ko Dekhte Hain !’’

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Women in search of identity

By Predhuman K. Joseph Dhar

The dates when women received the right to vote (the first country to comply was Finland in 1906; the recent one: Kuwait on July 1,2006) remind us of how recent it was that women received equal political rights, and how this was accomplished in the face of much suspicion and resistance. The entry of women into all professions in society and into political roles is truly new and truly revolutionary.

It was the worldwide feminist movement, the symbol and instrument of the emancipation of women. It is within the wider feminist movement that we place the blooming feminist thought, in the second half of the 20th. Century.

But the fact of the matter is that the feminist movement is still a hot potato, occasion of much controversy for the polarisation of positions that are reflected in the following passage of the world acclaimed sociologist, Francesco Alberoni: " It was the women that made use of their intelligence, instead of brutality to ensure their survival and of their children. As wives and mothers, they have created a civilized way of life. They have invented the home and they have convinced their men to care for it. They have trained their husbands and sons to cleanliness and order; they have valued gentleness, tenderness, everything that is sweet and delicate."

But I for one, am of the opinion that such is not the new type of women. They do not search for love, but for power; they do not work for harmony but for domination. They compete with men; they have assumed their values. externally they appear like women, but interiorly they are men.. They care for their beauty, their charm and attractiveness by means of dieting, lifting, gymnastics, sophisticated accessories and refined make-up- only to climb the social ladder, to affirm themselves. They feel wasted if they give themselves to a man. Man is the enemy.

This type of woman thinks that she represents the future but does not know that she has put herself in line with the oldest humanity: power, prevarication, war…. and she risks losing the most precious things in life: the ability to understand, the capacity to love, and to have warm heart. In this context it shall not be out of place to refer to a German Psychological Journal "Psychologies Haute" of July 2004, that claims: " It is men not women, who suffer most from domestic violence. Women are showing a growing inclination for physical aggression, whereas their husbands prefer to keep quiet about the abuse they suffer. It is known that women are capable of causing great damage by means of psychological torture, embittering the lives of their families by more subtle and indomstrable means such as coercion, humiliation or constant bad temper."

It is a Gospel truth that human being is made in the " image of God", the distinctness of our being, male and female is relatory of God’s own being and inner life. It is in our communion with one another that we are images of God. Each gender alone is incompletely human. We are made for the communion of male with female.

Thus, it can be said that God created man and woman in a single mysterious act,. There is no right without left, no high without low, no man without woman. We can, therefore clearly see that sexual difference is neither irrelevant nor additional, nor is it a social product: it originates in the very intention of the Creator.

I am of the opinion, thus, that women should strive for her identity along these lines if the sanctity of the social order is to be maintained along healthy lines.

Women trying to find identity should read the History of the world between the lines and find for themselves that from the very6 beginning, humanity is described and articulated in the male-female relationship. Woman is another "I’ in a common humanity that therefore appears as a unity of the two. Humanity is a relational reality. An ordered world is born out of differences brought together in harmony by relationship.

The capacity to love—reflection of the image of God who is love—is disclosed in the spousal character of the body in which the masculinity and femininity of the person is expressed. In the unity of the two, man and woman are called from the beginning not only to exist side by side or together, but they are also called to exist mutually ‘ one for the other’ in interpersonal communion by means of the integration of what is masculine and what is feminine.

The equal dignity as persons is realised as physical, psychological and ontological complementality. Sexual difference is both important and meaningful. Sexuality is a fundamental component of personality, one of its modes of being, of manifestation, of communicating with others, of feeling, of expressing and living human love.

To me, a Catholic Christian, the human dimension of sexuality flows into the theological dimension. The great allegory of the Covenant between Yahweh and the People of Israel is marriage, the love between man and woman, so beautifully exalted in the Son of Songs. The allegory becomes infinely concrete with the Incarnation: Jesus is the Bridegroom and the Church is the Bride.

Christian life is a nuptial mystery. The Bride is present in each of the Baptised and is like one who presents herself to the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. The Bible, in the Book of Revelation, concludes with the words of the Bride and the Spirit who beseech the coming of the Bridegroom: " Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20)

Male and female are thus revealed as belonging by nature to creation and destined therefore to outlast the present time., evidently in a transfigured form. From the first moment of their creation, man and woman are distinct, and will remain so for all eternity.

Motherhood is a physical and spiritual dimension. The genius of woman shines in family and society life, involving human relationships and caring for others. It is in the family that we learn the basic teachings of our humanity. We learn to love in as much as we are unconditionally loved, we learn respect for others in as much as we are respected and we learn to know the face of God in as much as we receive the first revelation of it from a father and a mother full of attention in our regard.

Feminine values are above all human values, although women by nature may be more immediately attuned to them. What is called "faminity" is more than simply an attribute of the female sex. The word designates indeed the fundamental human capacity to live for the other and because of the other.

The humanization of work with the demands stemming from the mission of women within the family is a challenge, The question is not only legal, economic and organisational; it is above all a question of mentality, culture and respect. Indeed, a just valuing of the work of woman in the family is required. Woman who freely desires to devote their life to the family should be able to do so without being stigmatised by society and penalised financially. In the same way, women who opt for a job outside the home should find an appropriate work schedule that respects their condition of pregnancy, motherhood and responsibility in the family.

Woman should have access to the heart of the family life. She is the mirror, the icon of the family. She is a model, not of passivity, but of passion.