EDITORIAL
Knowledge is power
One should welcome the
decision to introduce human rights, disaster management
and physical and health education as full-fledged
subjects for senior secondary students from the next
academic session. It is perfectly in order to keep young
persons informed about the latest challenges confronting
them. The proposed course can be expanded to include
civil defence and general knowledge as well. Even as
frontiers of education are fast expanding a disturbing
trend can be noticed. In the name of specialisation the
upcoming generations are persuaded to concentrate on just
one topic --- medical or engineering, for instance --- to
the exclusion of all others. This approach is not in
conformity with the current global emphasis on creation
of knowledge-based societies. The mastery of one skill is
necessary but to put in layman's terms it is equally
necessary to understand one's overall surroundings. One
scholar has rightly pointed out: "The biggest
difficulty with mankind today is that our knowledge has
increased so much faster than our wisdom." Centuries
after Francis Bacon had said "knowledge is
power" his words are coming true in every sense.
According to the World Science Forum, "a
knowledge-based society is an innovative and life-long
learning society, which possesses a community of
scholars, researchers, engineers, technicians, research
networks, and firms engaged in research and in production
of high-technology goods and service provision. It forms
a national innovation-production system which is
integrated into international networks of knowledge
production, diffusion, utilisation and protection. Its
communication and information technological tools make
vast amounts of human knowledge easily accessible.
Knowledge is used to empower and enrich people culturally
and materially, and to build a sustainable society."
It is not for nothing that
the strategic goal for 2010 set for Europe by the Lisbon
European Council in 2000 is "to become the most
competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the
world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more
and better jobs and greater social cohesion."
Benjamin Franklin is right: "If a man empties his
purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An
investment in knowledge always pays the best
interest." Even a ruthless oppressor like Joseph
Stalin has been wary of the power of information:
"Ideas are more dangerous than guns. We wouldn't let
our enemies have guns. Why should we let them have
ideas?" It hardly bears any elaboration that
Communist rules and military dictatorships have always
thrived by eliminating the emancipated men of intellect.
In our country the despicable Emergency era has been
exposed to the perils of a closed regime. Fortunately,
however, the scenario has appreciably changed since then
and India is now regarded as one of the most dynamic
emerging knowledge societies. Information technology
professions have won the country rare acclaim after
scientists elevated it to the status of a nuclear power.
The burgeoning economy promises better days further on.
Our State has lagged
behind in this well-intentioned race. It has produced the
best of IT and other experts but they have been honed to
perfection in institutions outside. Corruption has proved
a major hindrance in the formation of knowledge
storehouses and private enterprises. Terrorism has made
the situation only much worse. This trend has to be
completely reversed. It will, therefore, never be too
late to make a beginning in that direction.
Gandhi's relevance
"We must become the
change we want to see in the world." With these
famous words of Mahatma Gandhi the Gandhi caps are being
sold in affluent countries. This is revealed during an
Internet search. These caps may not fit into the exact
description of the Gandhi "topi". The
Gandhi cap is made of Khadi and is pointed in front and
back having a wide band. The caps abroad, it appears, are
made of cotton and tailored according to local fashion.
This confirms, however, that Gandhi is one Indian name
that the foreigners want to emulate. There are spectacles
in his name even in the United States, a country which
the Mahatma never visited. On the home turf, however,
since the Gandhi cap is very well known it is certainly
not possible for anyone to fake it. It must be seen as
what it accurately is to carry conviction. Nevertheless
it has to be admitted that like the followers of the
Mahatma's teachings the headdress possessing his name is
also in short supply in this land. Not many pursue him
these days. The number of those wearing the "topi"
he had declared was a representative of toiling masses is
even less. We are on this subject today because it has
taken a film "Lage raho Munnabhai" to
popularise the Gandhi cap again. According to newspaper
reports the sale of these "topis" has
suddenly picked up after the movie has made tremendous
impact on the people. Khadi Ashrams all over the country
are pleasantly surprised by the popular response. Close
to one lakh such caps have already been sold in Lucknow
alone. How does one describe this phenomenon? It may
sound ironical but it is true that one of the first and
best films on the Father of the Nation was made by a
foreigner. Richard Attenborough's picture on him had the
audience crying in Indian theatres and elsewhere in the
world. It was a touching genuine portrayal of the
sufferings that Gandhi and his colleagues had gone
through in pursuit of their goal.
Undoubtedly Attenborough
succeeded in capturing the message of one of the world's
most magnetic personalities. He also created a feeling in
the present generation that it was deviating from his
path of peace, harmony, truth and ahimsa. There have been
quite a few efforts by other producers as well to capsule
his personality. "Sardar", "The
making of the Mahatma", "Dr Babasaheb
Ambedkar", "He Ram", "Jinnah",
"Veer Savarkar", "The Legend of
Bhagat Singh", "Netaji" and "Maine
Gandhi ko nahin maara" are the other movies that
have dealt with one aspect or the other of the Mahatma's
life. The grapevine has it that a film is also being made
on the Mahatma's relationship with his children
particularly the eldest son. It may have a lesson or two
for those wanting to foist unmerited dynastic
successions. Not all these pictures praise Gandhi. Some
show him struggling for explanations. But they are not
able to camouflage the reality that as long as the
Mahatma was around those who disagreed with him could not
measure up to him. The Mahatma transcends all judgements
is very clear. How else can one explain the re-emergence
of Gandhi "topis"? It is also not for
nothing that "Gandhigiri" has become an
answer to "dadagiri".
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Indo-Pak
joint mechanism
By
Joginder Singh
Pakistan and India
have agreed to restart peace
talks, which had been suspended
since train bombings killed more
than 200 people and injured over
700 in July, 2006. The attacks
were reportedly engineered by the
terrorist trained, supported and
funded by Pakistan. During the
talks in Havana, in September,
2006 between Pakistani President
and Indian Prime Minister, it was
agreed to have foreign secretary
level talks and our Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh has
accepted an invitation to go to
Pakistan.
Their joint
statement said they had a
‘‘cordial, frank
exchange of views on all aspects
of India and Pakistan
relations’’ and they
‘‘strongly condemn all
acts of terrorism.’’
‘‘I look
forward to a purposeful visit at
a time to be determined through
diplomatic channels,’’
Singh said after the leaders
reached agreement on the
sidelines of the Non-aligned
Movement summit in Havana.
‘‘I am
very happy ---- It's very good,
’’ Pakistani President
Musharraf said.
The breakthrough
came when both sides agreed to
set up a joint working group to
identify and stop terrorist,
India already has such an
arrangement of having
anti-terrorism groups with more
than 20 countries and regional
groups.
‘‘This is
a new step, a new
way’’.
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh also added that
Pakistan must do more to control
militant groups based in its
territory. ‘‘This
terrorism will surely act as a
dampener. I have said more than
once, that I can't carry the
Indian public opinion with me if
terrrorist acts continue to
plague our polity.’’
Both countries are nuclear armed
neighbours, which have fought
four wars since 1947 (1948, 1965,
1971 and 1998 Kargil).
The statement is
good, as far as it goes. It
remains to be seen how far it
will be acted upon at the ground
level. Pakistan sponsored
terrorism, has so far claimed
about 65,000 lives. The new point
is that Pakistan has also
condemned terrorism and vowed
joint efforts to stamp it out and
‘to put in place in
India-Pakistan institutional
mechanism to identify and
implement counter terrorism
initiatives and
investigations.’’
Musharraf also called on fellow
Non-Aligned Movement leaders to
‘‘oppose the sinister
tendencies to associate terrorism
with Islam and discrimination
against Muslims, which are giving
rise to an ominous alienation
between the West and the world of
Islam.’’
The two leaders, who
met for about one hour in Havana,
directed officials to discuss
conducting joint surveys of the
disputed. Siachen region of
Kashmir and to consider opening
new bus routes to link people
divided by their militiarized
border.
The Havana agreement
between New Delhi and Islamabad
to set up a joint mechanism to
tackle terrorism, needs to be
seen in the background of
Pakistan's proven duplicity, in
the past for tackling terrorism.
In any case, the mechanism gives
a handle to India to put across
India's core concern, of
dismantling terror camps across
the border. It is too premature
to assess its efficacy, unless we
have tried it for some times.
One former High
Commissioner of India says
‘‘The agreement to set
up a joint mechanism to monitor
terrorism is most unjustified.
Pakistan, from all available
evidence, is deeply involved in
promoting cross-border
terrorism.’’ He added
that Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh has himself talked of a
‘trust deficit’ with
Pakistan, ‘‘How can he
go ahead and agree to this joint
mechanism ? It is inexplicable.
There is already a joint working
group on terrorism. ‘What is
the need for another mechanism ?
This is tantamount to negotiating
with Dawood Ibrahim.I believe the
ISI is the biggest terrorist
organisation. How can we discuss
anti-terrorism measures with it
?’’ This new
arrangement will produce no
results. In fact, it will be
counter-productive.
A major opposition
party BJP has criticised this
approach of Prime Minister, by
blaming Manmohan Singh for
falling into the trap of Pakistan
and shift in India's Policy.
In his first
comments, on the Havana meeting
with President Musharraf, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh clarified
said Pakistan had given
‘‘an explicit
commitment that they will work
together ’’ with India
in combating terror. Singh said :
‘‘Life is much more
complicated than black and white.
We have made an advance, let's
give it a try, and approach all
aspects of India-Pakistan
relationship with
sincerity.’’
‘‘It was obvious to
Pakistan that it can't be
business as usual.. if they don't
work with us on terrorism
’’ and Musharraf had
‘‘assured me that
Pakistan has no hand in this.
General Musharraf has assured me
that Pakistan has no hand in
perpetrating this (terrorism in
India). He said, let us work
together in the
future.’’.
‘‘There is
an explicit commitment on the
part of Pakistan that they will
go with us to do all that is in
their control to fight the
scourge of terrorism. I believe
this is the best we could get
under the circumstances,
’’ the Prime Minister
said.
The PM's
clarification on the mechanism
comes in the wake of the
opposition describing the
initiative as a sudden move to
partner with a suspected source
of terror, and hence, a shift in
India's stand. But the PM denied
that there had been any such
shift.
In all fairness, we
must give Prime Minister his due,
in trying to usher in peace in
the sub continent despite the
duplicity of Pakistan in the
past. Those who criticise the
Prime Minister, must realise,
that the other alternative, to
fight terrorism is war, which is
not only too expensive for the
people of the two countries, but
would put an halt to all
development in the two countries.
Diplomacy is the art
of saying the nastiest thing, in
the nicest way, but Prime
Minister has done it, adroitly,
without compromising on the
position of the country. It is
time to keep in view, that hot
heads and old hearts have never
solved anything. There is never a
good war or a bad peace.
It is easier to lead
men to combat, stir up their
passion, than to restrain them
and direct them towards the
patient labours of peace.
Moshe Dayan
correctly said; ‘‘If
you want to make peace, you don't
talk to your friends. You talk to
your enemies’’. Let us
give a chance to the sincerity of
Dr Manmohan Singh.
PTI Feature
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Understanding
Gandhi
By
Ram Prakash IPS (Retd)
Whenever
Mahatma Gandhi is
referred to in
conversations or
discussions, the common
tendency is to denounce
him or praise him for his
superhuman values. Few
understood him in his own
days. He represents what
is incomprehensible in
human personality.
There
is a clue to understand
him which most of us
miss. Nehru missed it, so
did those who followed
him except Lal Bahadur
Shastri. Following this
clue can elevate us to a
higher level of
consciousness, to a level
where tensions and
conflicts start fading
away, to an existence
where joy of freedom can
be felt almost under any
kind of circumstances.
This clue, I came across
reading extracts from his
autobiography, letters,
briefing to journalists
and Mahadev Desai's
diaries. He mentions what
influenced him most and
changed the course of his
life and wherefrom did he
seek succour and and
solutions for doubts and
problems facing, him and
the nation.
It
was when he was a student
in England that two
British friends invited
him to join them in their
studies of Bhagwat Gita,
which he did. As soon as
he reached Shloka 62-63
of 2nd Chapter he got
stuck, it stirred him and
started haunting him. The
Shloka mentions how a
person is totally
destroyed by destruction
of his intellect-the
decision-making faculty
and how intellect is
destroyed by loss of
memory of one's own true
nature and role, how that
is caused by delusion,
how delusion is caused by
anger, anger by failure
in the fulfillment of
desires, desires by
attachment and attachment
by dwelling on objects of
enjoyments, Gandhiji
concluded that Gita is
more for living than for
reading. The emphasis on
the objects of enjoyment
shifted to 'Atmarati',
'Atma-tripti',
'Atamasantusti' - i.e
satisfaction of soul
being one with one's own
soul, the soul that
dwells in every being.
For
Gandhiji, his soul as
understood in the light
of Gita, became his ever
available guide in every
cause of action. The
great guide is available
to any one of us any
where anytime if we seek
so. How rare it is to be
truly inquisitive about
matters of inner self. It
is to enter into the most
exclusive club of soul
seekers.
Some
scholars have predicted
extinction of Hindu race
and religion in India in
about 400 years because
of aggressive
proselytisation and
votebank politics. Such
propogation has
contributed towards the
minority isolation and
consolidation on the one
hand and social conflicts
on the other and lowered
the quality of life which
the sharing of religious
experience among
different communities
would have brought about
as it did during Bhakti
movement in the earlier
centuries.
The
fear is unfounded
conflict is inherent in
human nature. If it were
not religion, some other
institution would
generate it. Hence the
necessity to discover and
develop attributes and
traits of character that
would overcome conflict.
One such attribute is
fearlessness. It is
foremost among the 26
attributes that should be
developed to ensure
victory as per Chapter 16
of Gita.
The
Hindu survival is ensured
by its emphasis on
systematic thinking,
freedom of will and
accountability of the
self to self. According
to Hindus, Supreme self
does not impose His will
on anyone. People reap
what they sow. No one is
to be blamed. Every one
has a future -even the
most sinful, if he
decides to reach higher
level of consciousness.
(The
author retired ten years
ago as a senior police
officer of Jammu &
Kashmir)
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Chinese
game plan
By
Sreedhar
Last month the politburo of
the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
took an unusual decision about Chinese
investments in India. The CPM leadership
felt that level playing field for all
overseas investors should remain same;
and the Government of India is not
observing this basic rule with regards to
China. Subsequently, the party comrades
were given briefings by the Government of
India; and the present indications are
that our comrades appear to have not
satisfied with Dr. Manmohan Singh's
Government assessment of the situation.
From all the reports that
appeared seem to have originated from the
observations made by the Chinese
Ambassador to India, to a select group of
Members of Parliament about the
unfavourable treatment being meted out to
the Chinese investors in India. There is
nothing wrong or unusual about it. In a
vibrant democracy like ours these things
are common.
With the result, at the
popular level, a perception developed
Chinese investments remained at $160
million largely due to Dr. Manmohan
Singh's Government policies.
A close look at the facts
indicates that Chinese's proposed
investments are not above board. The
first Chinese investment in computer
software sector in Bangalore created a
nuisance. The Chinese company in
Bangalore that started in late 1990s,
started bringing technical personnel from
the Chinese armed forces. As though this
is not sufficient, the Bangalore based
Chinese firm started assisting Taliban
and Al-Qaeda in establishing
communication net work in Afghanistan in
late 2000/early 2001. The Government of
India politely, but firmly told the
Chinese authorities not to indulge in
these mischiefs. Later, an informal
undertaking was given by the firm saying
that they will stop bringing Chinese
technicians with armed forces back ground
and will not do anything which will have
a direct or indirect bearing on India's
national security.
In fact, after this episode,
Chinese interest in India for investments
declined.
It got revived again when
Dr. Manmohan Singh's Government economic
liberation policies far exceeded outside
world's expectations in 2005-2006 budget.
This was followed by Chinese Prime
Minister's visit to India in April, 2005;
and Dr. Manmohan Singh's assurance to him
that India welcomes Chinese investments,
revived Chinese interest in India.
In the subsequent 18 months,
China tried to participate in three major
projects. First, as project was for
schemed was building up new port
facilities at Mumbai and Thiuvanthapuram
ports. The Indian navy's western Naval
Command is hardly few kilometers away
from the work to be undertaken. The
Indian Navy made it abundantly clear that
it will not allow the Chinese to operate
any where nearer their facilities.
The Chinese are already
active in Gwadar port in Baluchistan of
Pakistan to show their presence in
Arabian Sea. And Gwadar port is about 400
miles from Mumbai. If they appear in
Mumbai port too it is bound to give an
additional advantage in the Indian Ocean
region to Beizing.
Then came the Chinese
interest to participate in Hydro Electric
power project in Himachal Pradesh close
to Sino-Indian border and desire to
invest, of all the places in Manipur in
North East India. All these have been
kept on hold by Government of India even
though the Chinese lobbied intensely.
In the Indian context too,
the Chinese direct their investments in
strategically important projects packing
them alone with a few others like roads
and railways. For instance, no foreign
investors would like to ut his money in a
disturbed area like Manipur without any
ulterior motives. Similarly, Chinese
offers to invest in ports in the Arabian
sea came after India made its intentions
clear to develop facilities at Port
Blair. The Chinese quest for gaining a
foot hold in the Indian Ocean, how so
ever it is camouflaged, is well known.
There is no doubt that, the
Chinese foreign investments in India are
welcome. But, in the end analysis, their
past track record necessitates that each
of their offers needs close scrutiny
before welcoming them.
The argument from the China
lobbyists in India, that could be tough
with Indian investments in China is not
taking ground realities in to
consideration. India's main focus in
China is on IT Sector in which there are
not many competitors. If the Chinese
start looking around for alternatives to
India in IT, they have to get them from
western hemisphere only but by paying ten
times more.
The Chinese ambassador to
India has not talked about level playing
field for Chinese investor so innocently.
And our mandarins in the South Block too
understood the dynamics of the situation
and quietly made it known that WTO norms
can be waived on national security
considerations. The Chinese themselves
reserve their strategic industries as out
of bounds for foreign investors. (CNF)
Less
than civilian colleagues
By Col.
(Retd.) Surendra Sharma
High hopes are placed on the
appointment of the Sixth Pay Commission.
While a majority of the government
servants look forward to a manna from
heaven, that bulwark of our society - the
men in olive green - are for the first
time hoping that they too would be
getting their due, in terms of fair pay
and job security.
Only a handful of civilian
employees are aware of the hardship the
army men undergo while serving in
imperilled frontiers and interiors. Fewer
still are aware of the fate that awaits
the defence forces personnel when they
shed their uniforms, or whatever is left
of it, to make a new beginning.
Most of the officers one
speaks to feel it has become increasingly
difficult to motivate the present day
soldier to discharge his duties
efficiently as factors of motivation like
patriotism, honour loyalty, unity,
honesty and integrity are becoming alien
to the average Indian psyche of which a
soldier is a part too. So why should only
the soldier fight for his country on
these counts when few of the political
leaders have any of the above traits?
The other most important
motivating factor, job security, is just
not there. A vast majority of soldiers
retire at the prime age while their
counterparts in the security forces serve
until they are 55- years of age and in
the CISF until 58- years. Defence
officers are left to fend for themselves
from the age of 48 inwards. It is the
rank that brings the relief of two years,
which no officer is sure of until the day
of his retirement. The Army is the only
organisation in the country which has a
system where the span of service depends
on promotion.
The most important aspect a
defence person has been looking for from
the Pay Commission is a longer span of
service. He does not want anything in
excess of his counterparts in the state
or Central Government services or
paramilitary forces. As regards the
defence services, there are three
agencies of decision-making - the
uniformed hierarchy, the bureaucracy and
the political leadership. Regrettably,
all three seem to be unconcerned.
In the case of the Police
and the IAS, any number of promotion
avenues could be created to suit the
political needs of a state, and the whims
of its leaders. If nothing else, the Army
man today wants that there should be some
ruling that he is not merely exploited in
the name of discipline and patriotism in
return for a few laudatory notes. Most of
the all India services have an
association of their own to safeguard
their interests. The man in uniform looks
up to his bosses in uniform, Parliament
and the bureaucracy to fulfil this role.
The soldier has pinned all
his hopes on the Pay Commission knowing
full well that no magic formula is
possible, given the size of the force. As
a minimum, apart from dearness allowances
merging with the basic pay the service
personnel are expecting some basic
changes in the existing rules.
Promotions are very often at
a stage when the last of the stagnation
allowance is drawn. There is a special
award of Rs 2 lakh by the State
government if a security personnel is
killed by a militant. No such benefit is
available for a soldier. But for group
insurance for which the service men pay
from their salary and allowances, there
is limited security for the widow that
too introduced after the 1971 conflict.
The prime expectation of
army men is: Increase of various
allowances and a longer span of service
and fair compensation for the hardship
that they undergo in inhospitable areas
of the country. The immediate requirement
is to put them on par with others in
uniform. Two to four years' extension
across the board is the first demand. For
Lt. General and Chief of Army Staff there
should be a maximum tenure of three years
or the age of 58 and 60, a majority of
the officers contend. However, some argue
that four years' extension will make the
Army very old! But those in favour of the
move hold present day battles demand more
mental alertness than physical strength.
Today every fighting unit or
the co-called teeth - the infantry
battalion - is having a shortage of 100
to 150 men. Even on genuine grounds, it
is difficult for men to get a discharge
as it is restricted to one per month in a
unit. There is a deficiency of 13,860
officers in the Army today.
An exodus - of 5000 officers
and 20 times that number of jawans - is
on the cards, unless, of course, the Pay
Commission comes up with "something
extraordinary" for the service
personnel. And to follow it up, the
government must take a few immediate
steps like implementation of the
long-pending Arun Singh committee report
and more say to service chiefs on all
important decisions, be it a threat
assessment, deployment on internal
security duty and equipping policies, et
al.
There is an urgent need for
rationalisation of promotion in defence
service, if not being it at par with IAS,
IPS and other services. After 18- years
in job, an IPS officer becomes an
Inspector General and he rubs shoulders
with a Major General of 35- years of
unblemished service. At least, some
parity has to be restored.
The Army by following a
steep pyramidal hierarchy has per force
to do away with a lot of efficient,
honest, capable officers who do not make
it to the next rank. They could be
usefully employed in increased avenues in
PSUs or in the Assam Rifles, CRPF, BSF,
ITBP, CISF, Rashtriya Rifles and such
allied forces upto the age of 58- years
so that the vast reservoir of trained,
available and dedicated manpower is not
wasted. INAV
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