EDITORIAL
Spot
the spot
Can we spot the spot where
Jambulochan has seen a lion and a goat together
drinking water from the Tawi? This rare sight had
inspired him to establish our city. So goes the
history. It seems he alone was lucky to have been
exposed to a divinely spectacle. It is difficult
to imagine otherwise a predator and prey standing
close to one another. One can extend the same
analogy in other spheres. Beauty and the beast
may coexist in works of fiction. They are an
exception to come by in real life. Saints and
philanthropists do care for the less fortunate.
They are an entirely different class altogether.
It will be demeaning to drag them into lowly
materialistic pursuits including those related to
setting up new kingdoms. To that extent one
should give credit to Jambulochan for having sold
to his subjects the dream of living jointly and
peacefully in a world of unequal opportunities.
It is possible that one of his bards may have
invented the lion-and-goat story to immortalise
him. Nevertheless, the idea is worth it and can
do proud to any social order. Jambulochan has not
given us an imposing fort of the kind his brother
has left behind on the other side of the Tawi. He
has given us something greater. We have followed
his advice to the hilt at least in this city in
the face of grave provocations during the peak of
militancy. Our unity has proved impregnable in
spite of clearly communal overtones of terrorist
misdeeds. We have thus erased the bitter memory
of our meek surrender to the agents of murder and
mischief in 1947 who had then succeeded in
dividing the majority of us on religions lines.
Jambulochan apparently understood: "No beast
has ever conquered the earth; and the natural
world has never been conquered by muscular
force."
Is it too late to initiate an exercise to locate
the place that has motivated Jambulochan? The
common sense says that it is impossible. History
has wiped out several layers of sand of the Tawi.
One can't even be sure whether the river follows
the same course that it had done in the past. One
worthy person has created a replica of our city
at the crossing outside the Ranbireshwar Temple
on the Shalamar Road near the New Secretariat. It
is a laudable effort. Unfortunately, however, its
position at an extremely busy traffic
inter-section does not permit people to notice
leave alone enjoy it to their hearts' content. In
no event can many sight-seers stand in a huddle
at the same time to have a look at it. Suffice it
to say for our immediate purpose that this grand
depiction too shows the lion and the goat in an
unspecified corner of the Tawi. The reason is
simple: the exact spot that the two animals have
chosen to become part of our folklore is not
known. Where is this blessed site? Is this not a
brain-teaser waiting to be resolved by
researchers, historians and archaeologists in
particular? One may point out that Haryana has
announced a cash award for any person who can
pinpoint the spot where Krishna has delivered the
message of Gita to Arjuna in Kurukshetra. Krishna
has spoken the eternal truth about life and Karma
inspiring doers down the generations. However,
the place He has chosen for the purpose is not
traceable except that it has to be in
Kurukshetra, the epic battlefield. One trusts
that Gita has stirred the imagination of many
enquiring minds. They will one day spot the spots
that keep haunting us. .
State
reorganisation
By
Jagdish Dwivedi
The 1956
States Reorganisation
Commission (SRC) was a
flawed exercise as states
were carved out on
linguistic basis. As a
result some of the states
are large and
administratively
ungovernable; while some
are very small unable to
generate sustainable
taxes to run the
administration. Once
again in a mini
reorganisation in 2000
the NDA government
divided Bihar, Uttar
Pradesh and Madhya
Pradesh, and Jharkhand,
Uttarakhand and
Chhattisgarh were carved
out. The question is if
"small is
beautiful" why these
three new states are
lagging behind on
development indices?
As state assembly
elections in nine states
and parliament is drawing
closer fresh demands are
being made for creation
of five states: Uttar
Pradesh chief minister,
Ms. Mayawati promising to
bifurcate the state in
three parts, Andhra
Pradesh to be divided
into two as well as
Maharashtra partitioned
into two, namely,
Vidarbha and Marathwada
as separate states
because these regions are
backward. There is also a
muted demand for
bifurcating the state of
Jammu & Kashmir in
three independent units,
namely, the Kashmir
Valley, Jammu and Ladakh,
the latter given the
status of a Union
Territory. Is it economic
backwardness or political
expediency?
The Congress in Andhra
Pradesh finds itself in a
quandary. Chief minister
Rajasekhara Reddy
staunchly opposes
bifurcation of the state.
Many Congress elected
representatives from
Telangana, knowing fully
well that they stand no
chance of retaining their
seats unless they take a
firm stand on separation,
have threatened to resign
en masse unless the party
leadership in Delhi
declares its intention to
bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.
To add to the woes of the
Congress, the UP chief
minister Mayawati, who is
trying to spread the
wings of her BSP in the
south, told a massive
rally in Hyderabad
recently that if her
party was voted to power
at the Centre, it would
concede the long-pending
demand of the people of
Telangana.
Telangana is the home of
most of the backward
castes. No party in
Andhra Pradesh can aspire
to come to power in the
next election. While the
CPI has realised the mood
of the people and changed
its opposition to
statehood for Telangana,
the CPM is the main
stumbling block in the
UPA to granting the
demand. Waiting in the
wings and watching these
developments is
Chandrasekhara Rao,
leader of the Telangana
Rashtra Samiti who had
resigned from the UPA
government for its
betrayal of the promise
of statehood for
Telangana made at the
time of the last Lok
Sabha election.
Sixty years on, India has
come a long way from
being a collective of 562
princely states scarred
by Partition to a
self-assured nation of 28
states. However, once
again, the Indian polity
is faced with a question
that was posed to Prime
Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru: Should India be
divided into smaller
states if the people of a
region so demand? Nehru
was a well-known opponent
of creating states on
linguistic lines. But a
fast-unto-death forced
him to change his mind.
It all started with Potti
Sriramulu, a freedom
fighter and a follower of
Mahatma Gandhi. In 1952,
Sriramulu fasted for 50
days demanding a separate
state for Telugus
(today's Andhra Pradesh)
and died. Moved by the
death of the 51-year-old
Sriramulu, Nehru formed a
three-member SRC in 1953
to look into regional
demands. Chaired by
Justice Fazl Ali K.M.
Pannikar and H.N. Kunzru
were the other
members-the SRC redrew
India's internal
boundaries. Three years
later new states,
including Andhra Pradesh,
were formed.
Over the last few years,
the scene has once again
shifted to Andhra
Pradesh. The demand for a
separate state of
Telangana is as old as
the state of Andhra
Pradesh. Though the first
SRC had also explored the
pros and cons of
Telangana, it had ruled
in favour of a
"Vishal Andhra"
(United or Greater
Andhra), observing public
opinion in Telangana had
not
"crystallised".
Telangana leader K.
Chandrashekhar Rao.
Cine-star Chiranjeevi,
who hails from Telangana,
is also keen to peg his
political ambitions on
the issue. With the BJP
supporting the cause of a
separate Telangana, the
Congress has been
cornered. This is a
promise the Congress had
made in its manifesto for
the Andhra Pradesh
elections in 2004. It had
also been mentioned in
the UPA government's
National Common Minimum
Programme (NCMP).
Close on the heels of
Telangana is the demand
for splitting Uttar
Pradesh. Though Panikkar
had written a note of
dissent in the final SRC
report and recommended
breaking up Uttar
Pradesh, he had invited
the wrath of Nehru and
Govind Ballabh Pant. The
senior politicians
thought this was an
attempt to reduce the
clout of Uttar Pradesh
and was absolutely
unnecessary. A
half-century later, the
Congress, which is
battling to inch back
into Uttar Pradesh's
political arena, has
pulled this rabbit out of
the hat. In the process
it has surprised its own
functionaries. After BSP
czarina Mayawati swept
the state and gave the
Congress a scare as a
spoiler in Gujarat and
Himachal Pradesh, the
Congress has found this
new formula to reinvent
itself in Uttar Pradesh.
However, as soon as the
Congress proposed
Bundelkhand and while
heir-apparent Rahul
Gandhi was still mouthing
the "we want smaller
states" line,
Mayawati called for
trifurcation of Uttar
Pradesh, with a Harit
Pradesh being carved out
of 23 districts in the
western part of the
state.
The Left's reluctance has
seen the Congress eat its
words. On January 9,
party spokesman Shakeel
Ahmed said at the
official Press briefing
that there would be no
new state without an SRC.
Five days later, his
colleague Abhishek Manu
Singhvi was equally
categorical: "The
issue of setting up an
SRC or creation of a
state is a matter for the
government to decide. In
the event that the
government believes that
the demand for creation
of states is valid, then
the Congress would have
absolutely no objection.
And if it indeed thinks
it is a better route to
set up an SRC, because
issues of economic
viability, historical
claim,
sustainability…
(these would) would be
looked at by an expert
body."
Formation of an SRC could
trigger demands other
than Bundelkhand and
Telangana. There could be
a demand for Gondwana,
comprising portions of
Chhattisgarh, Andhra
Pradesh and Madhya
Pradesh; Kodagu from
Karnataka's coffee belt,
Bodoland from Assam;
Garoland from Meghalaya
and Mithilanchal from
Bihar.
Creation of more states
on linguistic basis will
prove divisive and the
politics of the
"sons of the
soil" will gain
momentum as exemplified
what is happening in
Mumbai, where the slogan
is "Maharashtra is
only for
Maharashtrians".
INAV
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Indo-Russian
trade
By Nitya
Chakraborty
Indian Government
will take up the latest ban
imposed by the Russian
authorities on the Indian exports
of agri commodities in bulk.
Though the ban was partially
lifted within 48 hours after THE
notification, the essential
reasons for the ban remain, and
the Indian companies are
apprehensive about the adverse
impact of the decision on the
Indian industry.
The issue will be taken up by the
Indian officials during the
high-level talks here between the
delegations of the two countries
during the visit of the Russian
Prime Minister next week.The
Indian side will take up some
issues which are impeding the
growth of Indo- Russian trade.
The Commerce Ministry has got the
feedback from the exporting
community, and the Russian
officials will be apprised of the
sentiments of Indian businessmen
in dealing with Russia.
The pharma companies of India
have mentioned their difficulties
in getting registration of
generic pharmaceutical products
in Russia. It takes almost two
years for getting genric products
registered in Russia. While this
is the case for Indian companies,
applications for registration of
products made by pharma companies
from the eastern European region
are normally cleared in about a
year's time, Indian pharma
companies feel that if the
dossiers are submitted by them as
per guidelines, then the ministry
of health can reduce the
registration time from up to two
years to about one year.
Further, some of the
pharmaceutical companies have
reported that in January 2007, a
new bill was introduced in Russia
requiring companies to first get
their products inspected and
certified and then cleared by
customs. Prior to introduction of
this rule, goods were first
customs cleared and then sent for
inspection. The reversal of the
procedure has added to the cost
of the companies. Under the new
procedure, until the process of
inspection is completed, the
Indian exporter has to bear the
charges of keeping the stock at
the port.Under the earlier
system,when the goods were first
customs cleared, the Russian
distributor of the consignment
was responsible for the
inspection formalities. The cost
of keeping the stock/consignment
at the distributor's warehouse is
much lower.
Companies have also reported that
in case the certification
department does not clear the
consignment, then it has to be
brought back to the country of
origin.The process of bringing
back the consignment and
complying with re-export
formalities is very tedious and
takes a minimum of two to three
months. During this period,
again, it is the supplier who has
to pay demurrage charge at the
respective ports.
Indian companies also want their
business investments in Russia to
be protected and there should be
safeguards in respect of that.
This measure will lead to higher
Indian investments in Russia
since many of the interested
companies may then set up a
manufacturing base. Indian
businessmen point out that if
such a safeguard is worked out,
there will be a surge in
investments in sectors like
textiles, pharmaceuticals,
diamond cutting etc.
As regards mining, Indian
companies see huge possibilities.
A few Indian steel companies have
expressed their desire to enter
into joint ventures with Russian
companies to acquire coal mines,
set up beneficiation plant for
reducing impurities as well as
set up coke oven plants for
further processing of coal to
convert into coking coal. Indian
companies feel that while the
Russian partner can do the
mining, the Indian company will
undertake the marketing of coal.
A few Indian companies have also
shown interest to enter into a JV
agreement with Russian companies
for developing a source of
muriate of potash(MOP) which is
used as a potassium
fertiliser.With no indigenous
production of MOP in India,the
country is completely dependent
on imports with annual imports
being in the range of 3.5 to 4
million mt.As Russia has huge
reserves of MOP, Indian and
Russian companies can enter into
a JV, and India can develop a
reliable source of supply.(IPA)
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Will
Pak polls be fair ?
By S. Sethuraman
The world's two
fastest-growing economies, India and
China, will experience varying, though
modest impact, of the global slowdown in
the near term with India's growth
moderating to 8.25 per cent in 2008 while
it will be relatively sharper for China
from 11.4 per cent in 2007 to 9.6 per
cent, according to latest IMF/World Bank
projections.
Export demand in both countries would
dampen, much more for China, world's
third largest exporter, which also faces
higher inflation at 6.5 per cent or more
for months now.
IMF, which concluded its Article IV
consultations with India recently, says
after four years of "dream run of
strong growth" averaging 8.5 per
cent led by investment and productivity,
the economy is slowing from over 9 per
cent to 8.75 in 2007 and to a likely
8.25 per cent in 2008.
In its latest quarterly review of China's
economy, the World Bank notes global
slowdown should affect China's export and
investment in tradable sectors. But
domestic demand remains robust and strong
fiscal position could stimulate demand
while a modest global slowdown could
contribute to rebalancing of China's
economy, which has, unlike India,
excessively relied on exports and got
into trade tensions with USA and EU.
According to the Bank, wage cost
pressures would make it difficult for
Chinese authorities to bring down soon a
record high inflation.
The key policy challenges for India, IMF
says, are the surge in capital flows,
complicating monetary policy, fiscal
consolidation, with public debt high
around 80 per cent of GDP squeezing
fiscal space for public investments in
line with the 11th Plan, and structural
reforms to ease supply constraints
(infrastructure), boost competitiveness
and ensure that benefits of growth are
widely shared (inclusive growth).. By and
large, IMF concurs with the present
monetary policy stance, leaving policy
rates unchanged, in view of conflicting
signals for prices and demand growth.
RBI's management of rupee appreciation
and capital flows is
"appropriate" though it would
like India not to swerve from the path
toward capital account convertibility.
Coming before India's Budget for 2008-09
is presented to Parliament on February
29, the IMF's Executive Board noted the
key challenge facing the authorities is
to sustain rapid and inclusive growth,
foster job creation, and maintain
macroeconomic and financial stability in
the context of large capital inflows.
Over the medium term, IMF staff report
says India would sustain growth rate of 8
per cent, its current potential, contain
inflation and enjoy continued economic
and financial stability. India's growth
is driven by investment and demand and
IMF does not expect any major impact from
the global turmoils given its level of
high capacity utilisation, buoyant
corporate profits and business
confidence, and rise in productivity.
While India's rupee appreciation has
affected exports to some extent,
particularly select labour-intensive
sectors, IMF views the present exchange
rate as being in line with fundamentals,
reflecting the strength of the Indian
economy, and appropriate for medium-term
perspective. It has not broadly hampered
competitveness.
IMF says India's favorable outlook with
sustained growth and macro-economic
stability has attracted record capital
inflows, which help finance investment
but also present challenges to managing
capital markets integration/ Large
capital flows, especially from the latter
half of 2007, complicated the conduct of
monetary policy generating liquidity and
pressures on the exchange rate,
especially with the wide interest rate
differentials.
IMF favours further rupee flexibility as
the most effective way to address
exchange rate stability, monetary
independence and financial openness.
Avoiding large and prolonged foreign
currency purchases would reduce the need
for costly sterilisation. In the
discussions, Directors emphasised that
broader and deeper financial markets
could better intermediate capital
inflows, accommodate exchange rate
volatility, and support financial
stability and economic growth. They
encouraged the authorities to press ahead
with developing domestic corporate bond
and derivatives markets, and to implement
more market-based monetary operations.
IMF recommendations on fiscal policy
include expenditure reforms to create
space for priority spending, mainly by
phased reduction of the growing fuel
subsidy while ensuring that adequate and
well-targeted safety nets are in place to
protect the poor. Directors welcomed
plans for a national goods and services
tax, and noted that cutting tax
exemptions, increasing user fees and
further improving tax administration
would improve the tax base. It is on
fiscal consolidation that IMF strikes a
view different from what the Finance
Minister Mr Chidambaram has been saying,
namely that the consolidation targets are
on track in 2007/-8 (3.3 per cent of GDP
fiscal deficit). It says fiscal
consolidation has been mixed, and slowed
in 2006/07. Including off-budget bond
issuance (oil bonds and other
liabilities) the general government
deficit (Centre & States) held steady
at about 7¼ percent of GDP. The Central
Government deficit remained at 4½ per
cent of GDP, with buoyant tax revenue
offset by higher expenditure while the
states' aggregate fiscal deficit rose
marginally to 2¾ per cent of GDP.
Revenues performed well, though
expenditure rose faster on the back of
rising public investment. Public debt
remainshigh, at nearly 80 per cent of GDP
in March 2007.
For 2007-08, IMF projections are GDP
growth at 8.7 per cent, savings and
investment at 36 and 37.3 per cent
respectively, fiscal deficit 3.1 per cent
(according to Government) and 4.3 per
cent (according to IMF staff including
the off-budget bonds), exports 155
billion dollars and imports 240 billion
dollars, current account deficit 16
billion or -1.4 per cent of GDP, FDI
(net) 10.6 billion as against 8.9 billion
last year), portfolio investment (equity
and debt) 33.4 billion (7.1 billion) and
overall balance 82.9 billion (36 billion
in 2005-06). Total reserves at the end of
March 2008 projected at 290 billion
dollars but as per RBI data, it was
already 288 billion dollars as on January
25. (IPA)
Call
a halt to intimidating cricket
By Tushar Charan
La affaire Harbhajan might
have come to an end after the
ICC-appointed Appeals Commissioner, New
Zealander John Hansen overturned the
three Test ban on the Indian off spinner
while awarding him a 'lesser' punishment
of imposing a fine of half his match fee.
Yet, it may be too early to believe that
the ugly fall-out of the incident or
incidents during the third cricket Test
between India and Australia at Sydney
will be quickly erased from memory.
Cricketing bodies everywhere need to sit
together urgently to go to the root of
the problem that leads to the kind of
bitterness witnessed in Sydney. The top
of the agenda should be an agreement to
stop players from using provocations
against adversaries in any form, be it
through abusive language or aggressive
body language or vulgar gestures, during
the course of a match.
This business of ban or suspension from
matches is a bit weird. In football or
hockey, for instance, a player found
guilty of a very serious infringement of
the rules of the game is ordered off the
field. Not only the player but his team
is also chastised instantly. The idea
behind that kind of rigorous punishment
seems to be that not only the player
concerned but his team should also know
that no one can get away with serious
breach of the playing rules on the field.
In cricket, no matter how serious the
charge against the player, he gets the
punishment after the match.
That the unpleasantness from Sydney may
be far from over became clear from the
vile reaction among the Australian
cricketers and the media. In no uncertain
terms the Australians were upset because
the serious charge of 'racism' against
Harbhajan Singh had not been upheld only
because, in their opinion, the Indian
cricket board had used its financial
muscle to get a diluted verdict. If the
furious Australians could help it they
would have settled for nothing less than
a life ban, not just three Test ban on
the Indian bowler.
In contrast to the Australian
shenanigans, the reaction in India was
generally sober. Perhaps that was only to
be expected as it was a big relief for
everyone in the country to see that the
absurd charge of 'racism' against
Harbhajan had fallen through. If, as the
Australians said, the Indian cricket
board was able to influence the verdict
because of its financial clout not many
in India would resent it. After all, a
country like India hardly has for long
been denied any say in running the
affairs of cricket and other sport,
including hockey where the country had
reigned supreme for more than a decade. A
feeling exists in India that the sporting
administration in world is still largely
controlled by the developed 'white'
world.
The disparity in the views expressed in
India and Australia over the Harbhajan
verdict may come to the fore again when
the Australians visit India later this
year, as scheduled. One of the matches
they will be playing in India will in all
probability be played at Mohali in
Punjab, which is bound to attract a big
contingent from nearby Jalandhar,
hometown of Harbhajan. How this group
will behave is not difficult to imagine,
considering that the people in Punjab and
Jalandhar in particular were deeply hurt
when the Australians branded Harbhajan a
'racist' on the totally imaginary ground
that he had described the Australian
all-rounder Andrew Symonds a 'monkey.'
And not just on the field. They would
have, as is always the case with visiting
'white' teams, they would have blasted
the 'heat' in India, the 'disagreeable'
and 'unhygienic' food, the mayhem on the
streets and 'unsporting' crowds and so
on. All this is old hat and Indians have
not paid much attention to these issues,
which are not really justified. But bad
words spoken by Australians will be in
danger of reviving the Sydney memories,
at least in Punjab.
If it is part of the 'culture' of the
'macho' Australian cricketers to show off
their aggression that to others looks
offending and repulsive why can't they
put up with retaliation in kind? Is it
because the Australians have come to
believe that they are invincible and they
cannot face the prospect of defeat, as no
cricketing team in the world should even
entertain the thought of beating them?
Cricket is certainly a game of
fluctuating fortunes and uncertainties,
though there can be no doubt that for
long the Australian team has looked the
best in the world. But the Australians
would have to be super humans to think
that they would remain unbeatable for all
time to come.
There are many, not just in India, who
believe that the Sydney Test that India
had lost could have ended differently had
it not been for some remarkable inapt
umpiring.
Cricket may not exactly be called a
gentlemen's game today since the original
allusion was not to courteous on-field
behaviour by the men in flannels but
their privileged background. The
Australians could well say in their
defence that they were the victims of
some boorish behaviour by their rivals
during the 'bodyline' series which saw
the head of the greatest cricketer of all
times, Sir Donald Bradman, being picked
as the regular target for the English
fast bowlers in the pre-War Test series
played down under.
It is interesting that the cricketing
authorities have put a brake on
intimidating tactics by fast bowlers by
limiting the number of bouncers and
banning beamers, but not enough attention
has been paid to curb the now widespread
practice of sledging or abusive on field
exchanges by players.
Even the use of stump microphones, which
can pick up the players' conversation,
has failed to subdue the more vocally
aggressive players. It can be said that
the stump mike may have prevented the
Sydney fracas had Harbhajan used an
English expletive, understood by the
match referee who clearly took a
one-sided decision at Sydney, South
African Mike Proctor, and the
Australians, instead of a 'racist' word.
But that is condoning free flow of
four-letter words in a 'gentlemen's
game'. (Syndicate Features):
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