Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

By Manish Shama

By Indu Swami

Language is one of the most important and characteristic forms of human behaviour. There are so many languages which have been used by different people of different countries. But among all these, the position of English language is at the top. It is one of the major vehicles of the culture of the modern world. By ignoring this language no nation, western or eastern, will prosper. Therefore, there is perhaps in the present . ...more.

Learning ropes Rahul way.....

By Atul Cowshish

Her critics might taunt her for refusing to make extempore speeches in the 'Rashtra Bhasha' (Hindi) but there is something to be said in favour of the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi sticking to the practice of reading out her speeches from a written text. At least the faux pas that she makes are fewer and far between faux than her native-born son, Rahul, who has no use for any .more

EDITORIAL

Just one side

A detailed report in this newspaper recently tells us how a computer engineer of Dhaka has played a hand in smuggling people from Bangladesh into this State. Evidently he has not found his main avocation lucrative enough. Instead he has discovered that human trafficking is an extremely profitable profession. We know it by now that not everybody believes that it is a dirty business. Unscrupulous operators think that it is easy to trade in human miseries because of extreme poverty and all-pervasive corruption. This is particularly true in our sub-continent including in this country. The high and mighty are lured by the idea of striking it rich by organising unlawful transportation of the people. This is explained by the current focus on some of them in New Delhi. If true the version of the Bangladeshi engineer who has been arrested in the Ramgarh Sector in the Jammu region is quite revealing. He has managed to bribe his way all the way from Bangladesh to this city at least on 25 occasions. As a guide he has enabled more than 700 fellow Bangladeshis to enter Pakistan through borders in Jammu. It is not known whether he has completed his confessional statement or has disclosed merely the broad contours of his blatantly illegal exercise. There are several questions that cry for satisfactory answers. It has been said, for instance, that he has blunted the edge of officials of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Pakistan Rangers by slapping money on them if they tried to intercept his flock. How did he manage to bypass our Border Security Force (BSF)? There is silence in this regard. At least one senior BSF officer has in the past raised painful queries about the role of the para-military organisation on the India-Bangladesh border. Whether some of its men fall to the bait or not the reality is that they are unable to stop the heavy influx of the inhabitants of Bangladesh entering this country without valid travel documents. Why should there be chinks in its armour? The engineer has admitted to greasing the palm of the local police to successfully put it off the scent during long journeys from one corner of the country to the other along with his virtually captive groups. Above all, he appears to make fun of fencing of the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB). The thrust of his argument is that he has breached it frequently. Is it so simple?

Put together the engineer just confirms one side of the story. He has put it on record that there is an organised inflow of Bangladeshis into our city. Time and again they have been captured along the LoC and the IB. The other aspect is frightening. They are a burden on existing scarce civic amenities. The national capital too is feeling the pinch. So are quite a few other states. They are posing a grave threat to the demographic profile of the North-East especially. Too often in the past we have expressed concern in these columns about such foreign invasion.

One will end up spending sleepless nights if one views their arrival in the backdrop of growing religious extremism in Bangladesh. They can pose a big security risk. This aspect alone should make us sit up. Gentle persuasions have failed to have the desired effect so far. We must spare no effort, therefore, to push them back into their homeland. We ought to do it rather fast.

A knight-errant?

We have a modern knight-errant in our midst. If one goes by the original definition of the expression a knight-errant is a medieval figure roving around in search of adventures to prove his gallantry. He is a creation of the romance literature. Therefore, it becomes important to underline the distinction. The person at the centre of this subject belongs to the present world. Moreover he is a member of the political class. If he has any fondness of literature he does not show it. He likes to play politics to the hilt. That is one field in which he is not averse to exhibiting his guts to enter new pastures. At least he is successful in creating that impression. The truth is that he is a master in camouflaging his actual moves. On one occasion he created a tremendous impact on either side of the Line of Control. It was when he repeatedly said that he was for dialogue among all sections of society in our State as it had existed in 1947. He wanted normalcy and tranquillity all around. Many cheered him. They thought that he had overcome his obsession with Pakistan. After all, he had wholeheartedly backed the neighbouring country to enable it to occupy a part of Jammu and Kashmir, including his Poonch district, in the turbulent 1947. It was not for nothing that he had found the designation of "mujahid-e-awwal" (the foremost crusader) thrust upon him. He seemed to lap it up till he ran into trouble with the Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) for dismissing the demand of independence of J&K as "mental flirtation". That is a different story. Suffice it to say for the moment that for a leader with professed Pakistani leanings it was indeed amazing to have undergone a somersault. His talk of peace and a consensus-based solution then sounded like music to ears. Unfortunately for him, his game was up sooner than he had expected. He had clearly under-estimated Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. The latter knew his weakness for his son. He created no hindrance in the way of the cub becoming the "Prime Minister" of "Azad Kashmir", as the occupied territory is locally known. That instantly silenced our knight-errant. For his part the son went all out lavishing praise on the General, committing his loyalty to Pakistan and ridiculing India. Gone was the song of concord and cordiality. Their party's policy for ensuring the total merger of J&K with Pakistan was reiterated with new strength of mind. The tonic of power does wonders.

Having run short of ideas on the home turf the good old man has valiantly tried to score a point in this country. On a visit to New Delhi he has suggested that he should have been invited to the third Round Table Conference convened recently by the Prime Minister. Naturally he is not at ease. Having changed his stripes over and over again he finds no takers for his professed role now as peace-maker. We are not offering any prizes for identifying him. How can anyone miss Sardar Abdul Qayum Khan even in a big crowd?

WTO and liberalization of trade

By Manish Shama

Gain is a determining factor in any business including that of international trade. Domestic producers are often able to sell their products to foreigners at good prices, while domestic consumers sometimes are of the view that the foreign suppliers provide best deals. Both the buyer and the seller expect to gain from international trade. The law of comparative advantage provides explanation as to why a group of individuals or nations can gain from specialization and exchange. International trade provides mutual gain because it allows the residents of each country to specialize in the production of those things that they do best, and import goods when foreigners are willing to supply them at a lower cost than domestic producers. The cost is calculated on the basis of labour force, their skills and resource mobilization. Therefore, a good that is costly to produce in one country may be economically produced in another. For example, Indian skill is specialized in IT sector and therefore the IT companies earn their revenue from foreign countries. Productivity of the labour force depends on the production possibilities in a country. The high opportunity cost restrains production possibilities.

It is possible with the help of trade that the consumption possibilities can increase as the consumption of each country is restrained by the countries production possibilities. Openness to international trade promotes competition and encourages both innovative and efficient production. Moreover, openness provides advantage to consumers that they can get more varieties of goods. The competition from abroad provides strong incentive to improve the quality of domestic products. Innovation and brain skill are important sources of economic growth. International trade will crate more awareness of technologies and innovative ideas used at other places. Dynamic competition is an important source of growth and prosperity, particularly for emerging economies. India and China compete in the global market for their products. However, United States has complained to WTO about the Chinese practice of keeping its currency lower to increase its exports. China's trade surplus has increased more than $ 1 trillion and it has attained the position of second largest exporter country in the world after Germany during the last six months.

World trade organization provides an important platform to negotiate for liberalization of trade and at the same time the WTO negotiations held at Doha provided the mandate to uplift the interests of the poor. The developing countries should gain confidence by the working of WTO that it safeguards the interests of the poor countries. Doha negotiations have been going on and it is expected that by the end of 2007 there would be some sort of agreement to find the settlement between the position adopted by the United Stats and some emerging countries and Europe. The meeting of trade ministers from the G4 and G6 countries including India, Brazil, The EU, The US, Australia and Japan failed to break the deadlock in WTO. The main reason for breakdown in talks last July was US refusal to accept the commitment to reduce their trade distorting domestic subsidies which is at the level of $ 19 billion. The G4 meeting in July 2006 between US, EU, India and Brazil ended in failure as these powers were enable to agree on the modalities for liberalizing markets for both agriculture and industrial goods. The United States wants to evolve the consensus at an earlier time. The Indian Commerce Minister, Kamal Nath, expressed the view that the timing was important but at the same time the content of the negotiation was equally important. It is important that the livelihoods of millions of farmers and other poor people are the core issue which should guide the negotiating positions. This principle is in line with the mandate of the Doha round.

Negotiations on market access for industrial goods depend upon the point that the US and the EU want developing countries to agree for steep reduction in tariffs. India has probably taken the position that the Indian commitment was possible provided it was two-thirds of what the developed countries agreed to. India is in a profoundly important position in these negotiations as the future success of Doha round depends much on Indian initiatives. The share of Asian countries in world output is continually on the rise and the success of international trade depends on the mutual adjustment between the concerned powers. There is also need for developing financial institutions in Asia to improve the mutual trade. India is holding bilateral consultations with US, Japan and Australia to narrow down differences. There is renewed urgency to conclude talks as the diplomatic and political equations are likely to change after the end of this year on account of the elections and change of Government in Europe and United States. The Untied States will start gearing up for its presidential elections for November 2008. In Britain, Finance Minister Gordon Brown may also replace. Tony Blair as UK's next Prime Minister. Mr Brown may find it difficult to support liberalization. The US has to extend the trade promotion authority beyond June, 2007. The US policy is to continue to participate in WTO talks and liberalize the markets for industrial and agriculture goods and services.

There has been a dramatic increase in both international trade and the flow of investment capital across the countries. Mobility of goods and capital influences the effects of the Macroeconomic policy. Financial capital is highly mobile and investors can shift their funds from one country to another in response to changes in interest rates. Just as restrictive monetary policy, the restrictive fiscal policy will tend to cause a reduction in aggregate demand, an economic slowdown, and a decline in the rate of inflation. These factors will discourage imports and stimulate exports. At the present time the US dollar exchange rate is reduced and this will provide benefit to other countries to puchase commodities from the market, such as India will be benefitted in terms of Rupee-Dollar relationship by importing oil. India has reduced tariff duties which will allow more imports. The living standards of the people will improve by opening the market and taking advantage of international trade. Sound institutions and constructive policies are needed to support the gain from trade, the labour and capital will move toward a more favourable environment. Thus international trade can be analyzed within the framework of supply and demand. Indian market is attractive and many of the global auto companies such as GM are attracted to supply its products to India. India and China are involved in discussion to make a successful negotiation at Doha. The possibility of tariff and subsidy cuts is to be discussed in Paris in May, 2007. It is important to understand that most of the countries want to reach an agreement at Doha and the adjustment in tariff and subsidy rate would be possible through negotiations.- CNF

Mind your language

By Indu Swami

English as a world language: Originally English is the mother-tongue of the people of England and national language of United Kingdom. But after the discovery of the sea-routes in the 15th century, the wise people of this small Kingdom started their trade and business with other countries far and wide. Thus, automatically their language spread beyond its frontiers. So, this language is now not only the mother-tongue of the United Kingdom but also of more than 300 million people living outside the state. Now, the people of each country use it as their second or third language or as a foreign language only for international communication.

English as a language of world culture: due to various advantages, English has gained universal popularity. It is the store-house of the knowledge. Without proper knowledge of English no body can gain knowledge of science, medicine, engineering, technology, social sciences and other creative works. It is rich in literature. Besides, it is the language of international communication, trade, commerce, diplomacy and travel. It is the key to the world culture. Knowledge of English is also helpful to know the everyday events of the world through different newspapers and magazines. It is also helpful to a person in securing employment in foreign countries. Thus, it has become the international language of international communication, culture and civilization.

The importance of English for Indian students should be realized on the fact that it is an international language, a link language, a library language and it is considered to be a window to the rapid progress of science and technology. If we give up this language then our nation will not keep pace with other countries. Then English is the standard language of international conference. It is the language of the United Nations Organization. Knowledge of English will make a person a citizen of the world. Now in India, it is a general recognition that even if the national languages replace English as the media of instruction, English will have to be taught. On language learning, Kothari Commission recommended three-language formula.

The problem of good English Teacher: Many of us think that teaching of language is a very easy task. Practically it is too difficult because it has two aspects (a) the content aspect, and (b) the skill aspect. In our country, there are no competent teachers in English. Only the teachers manage the class. The teachers have no perfect knowledge and proficiency in English. This lack of proficiency of the teachers has added a further dimension to the problem. We may get specialist teachers in our subjects but we do not get competent teachers in English. Therefore, the students are misguided and the real objectives of teaching English are not fulfilled.

Undue emphasis on grammar and composition: Till now grammar and composition occupied an important place in the school curriculum. But they do not know the real principles of language teaching. Teachers waste their time and energy by teaching grammar. Undue emphasis on grammar does not develop the four basic skills of the language learning. So, such type of teaching should be abolished and teachers must try to enable the child to speak, read and write English perfectly.

Variation in the English syllabus: In India, there is no single syllabus for the whole country because our Educational System is not nationalized. So, this variation in the syllabuses brings variation in the achievement. The right way to face this problem is to design syllabuses with clearly stated objectives right from the level at which English begins to the level where English ceases to be a compulsory subject in the curriculum.

Defective methods of teaching: Right methods of teaching motivate the students to learn any topic of any language. Though English is a foreign language and students face many difficulties in learning it yet no action has been taken by our teachers. The teachers, who teach English in our schools, do not know the proper methodology. They make teaching dry and uninteresting. No aids are used by the teachers. Although a large number of innovations in methods, approaches, techniques and materials of learning have come out, our teachers are still remained with the traditional method. Thus, lack of proper methodology creates problems in English teaching.

Defective evaluation procedure: Evaluation in English is another great problem in our country. Our evaluation procedure is purely based on essay type questions. Hence, it could not measure the entire development of the child in English. The marks awarded to the students do not clearly indicate the level of achievement of the students. The traditional evaluation process measures only the knowledge aspect of the child and not the skill.

Defective examination system: At the time of examination much importance has been given to written English. Therefore, our students become unable to speak fluently in English. Though they know how to read and write English, they do not achieve the skill in Spoken English.

Unsuitable text-books: The text-books which are prescribed for our students are not suitable and attractive. Students read then only to pass in the examinations. The topics which are in the syllabuses, do not give any practical knowledge to the students. Whatever the students learn from their books they don't use it in their day-to-day affair. Again oral work is very much neglected.

Suggestions for improvement: To eradicate the conflict which arises among our people about the teaching of English, Kothari Commission (1964-66) has suggested some recommendations. They have also given the right direction and judgment on how to introduce English in our curriculum. They recommended the three-language formula which broadly provides the frame work for the teaching of languages, including English at the national level. Now English has become the second language in our schools. Therefore, English should not be completely abolished from our curriculum and it should be retained as an optional subject. According to the need and demand of our country this subject should be taught. Much emphasis should be given on its practical use and oral work. Facilities should be provided to those who want to study it at the postgraduate level. Suitable text-books, appropriate examination and evaluation should be done. Proper training should be given to the teachers. In conclusion we can say that English should not be compulsory, rather it should be simple and utilitarian. 2*=*=*ÿ?2¥=º®=Ç8AÛ
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Learning ropes Rahul way.....

By Atul Cowshish

Had Rahul Gandhi been reading from a well thought out written text he would not have raised a political storm acutely embarrassing to his party and the government. In quick successions he erred twice in recent days, first when he indirectly blamed P.V. Narasimha Rao for the demolition of Babri mosque in an effort to show his family as the sole protector of minority interests and then for showering a triple praise on his ancestors at an election rally in Badayun in UP. His slip becomes all the more pronounced when nobody has said that his tall claims will attract more votes for the Congress.

That vast numbers in India continue to be enamoured of the Nehru-Gandhi family cannot be denied. But it is equally true that often paeans sung in praise of the 'dynasty' put off people who may otherwise bear no ill will towards what is described as India's leading political family. It is also to be remembered that in the changed political matrix of India, the party headed by the 'dynasty' (Congress) has to work in alliance with certain parties that have a past history of opposition to the Nehru-Gandhis.

Some of the cabinet ministers in the present Congress-led UPA government like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan owe their political birth and subsequent rise to the movements that had concentrated against the Nehru-Gandhi family. Such leaders might not react in public but their discomfort at the kind of utterances made by Rahul Gandhi in eulogising his ancestors can well be guessed.

A more mature politician would not have exaggerated his family's role in India's long freedom struggle, credited his mother for 'breaking' Pakistan and attributed India's march into the 21st century entirely to his father's vision-all in one breath.

The theme of his controversial speech might not have been devoted to these three subjects. But even as passing remarks spoken at an election rally where much of what is said has to be taken with a pinch of salt his words proved sufficient to start a furore in political circles within the country and handing over to Pakistan an opportunity to accuse India of belatedly admitting that it was in the habit of 'interfering' in Pakistan's internal affairs.

Of course, the Pakistani reaction looked hypocritical and farcical given its long history of doing something more than 'interfering' in our internal affairs with the help of its agencies, which after failing to dismember India by repeated attacks have been executing the state policy of exporting terror to India. Pakistan stood condemned before the whole world for one of the worst human rights abuses in what was then called East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and its haughtiness in provoking a war in 1971 by pushing 10 million people into India and then bombing a number of airfields in the country.

There can be little doubt that Rahul Gandhi is being groomed for taking over the Congress party with the hope that one day he will become the prime minister of India. The Congress party seems to have pinned its hopes for the future on a brigade of bright young leaders who are expected to bring a fresh outlook on the way politics is played out in the country and the manner of governing the country. When Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul's father, became the prime minister he was one of the youngest in the world to occupy that post.

After the tragedy of his mother's assassination in October 1984 he was catapulted overnight into the highest seat of power in India-and the vortex of Indian politics. He surprised many by opening his innings impressively. Few will disagree that Rajiv paid a heavy price for his political inexperience, call it immaturity, which can perhaps be attributed to his distaste for politics, unlike his younger brother, Sanjay.

Rahul Gandhi may be repeating his father's mistake if he distances himself completely from the well-grounded politicians whose counsel may be more relevant than the 'strategies' worked out by his 'corporate' advisers. Rahul obviously strives to reach out directly to his audiences as any good politician would. But it remains an open question how far he succeeds in that endeavour. He appears to be still an object of curiosity for the multitudes who turn up for his 'darshan'.

It is one thing to attract large crowds, as he undoubtedly does, and quite another to establish a rapport with the audiences that becomes manifest in instant reactions, including the kind of attentiveness in the audience and its body language. An audience that looks so attentive as to be passive does not indicate rapport with the speaker.

Rahul Gandhi is not the kind of person who would attract crowds merely on the strength of his oratory. Oratorical skill is not an ordinary gift and very few politicians in the country can claim that. But he has to search for a formula that clicks with the audiences and the right style for delivering his speeches in public.

Politicians have to be merciless when hitting out at opponents but they cannot afford an aggression that hits unintended targets or raises issues that are hard to defend, as the controversial UP election speech of Rahul Gandhi did.

If Rahul Gandhi thinks that the people will accept him the way his father and grandmother were when they plunged into politics he is mistaken. The circumstances that have thrown Rahul Gandhi right in the thick of politics are very different from those faced by his father and grandmother, not to mention his grandfather.

While he learns the ropes of tricky Indian politics, Rahul Gandhi has to draw lessons from the mistakes committed by his family. Foot in the mouth is a common affliction among Indian politicians but Rahul Gandhi can ill afford to acquire that disease at the beginning of his career.

(Syndicate Features)