the date was october 17.docx

7/28/2019 The date was October 17.docx

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The date was October 17, 2007. I was in Karachi to report for TheHindu on Benazir Bhutto's return to Pakistan the next day fromher self-imposed exile after striking a deal with General PervezMusharraf. Through the day busloads of people were pouring into

Karachi for the welcome rally. In Dharavi-like Lyari, a traditionalPakistan People's Party stronghold, there was singing anddancing. After a while, I headed towards 70 Clifton, the historichouse that Benazir's father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto built, where anentirely different song was playing.

The huge house looked gloomy. I was led in through a large hallto a smaller sitting room, where I met the serious-looking FatimaBhutto, daughter of Benazir's brother Mir Murtaza, and his

(Murtaza's ) widow Ghinwa. Murtaza was shot dead outside thisvery house on September 20, 1996. Throughout ourconversation, both Bhuttos pointedly referred to Benazir as Mrs.Zardari.

Fatima was the quieter of the two, letting the Lebanese-bornGhinwa do most of the talking. But she described the peoplepouring into Karachi that day as rent-a-crowd, contrasting thiswith the spontaneity of the welcome Benazir got on her firsthomecoming in 1986. Benazir was a second-time Prime Ministerwhen her brother was killed, and Ghinwa and Fatima said theywanted her to at least take moral responsibility for the killing.

Tragic

Two months after her return (in 2007), Benazir herself was killed.Her young niece has made sure that in the hagiographic hazeover her aunt since her assassination, the story of Mir Murtaza'scontroversial death during his sister's watch as Prime Minister will

not be forgotten.

Songs of Blood and Sword by Fatima Bhutto is a profound lovestory, and a tribute to Murtaza by a daughter who adored him tobits. It is the immensely sad story of a woman's futile search forclosure to the violent death of her father. It is the tragic story of


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the Bhuttos, whose political aspirations were always at odds withthat of the establishment, seen by their supporters as the mainreason behind four untimely deaths in that family. It is a bookthat seeks to blame Zardari for Murtaza's killing. And, it is a

bitter, angry and unforgiving condemnation of Benazir, seeing allevents through the unique prism of the author's love for Murtazaand her dislike, bordering on hatred, of her aunt.

This has led to some problematic and questionably-evidencedassertions in the book. One such is Fatima's conclusion that MirMurtaza's decision to set up an armed resistance group called AlZulfikar' against Zia's dictatorship was spurred on by his fatherfrom his jail cell; predictably, this has been contested by other

members of the Bhutto family. Even though Fatima maintains shedoes not believe in dynasty, the subtext of her book, oddly, isthat Murtaza was the rightful heir to the Bhutto legacy.

Glimpse

The value of the book is that it is perhaps the first about Murtazaand provides a good glimpse of his life, although it does not givemuch detail about his politics or about the shadowy Al Zulfikar'group that he and his brother set up to fight Zia. It places on

record some of the correspondence between Zulfikar Ali Bhuttoand the second of his four children, giving fresh insights into thelife and personality of the founding leader of the Pakistan People'sParty. Fatima writes freely of the political rivalry between herfather and his sister, describing how her grandmother Nusratbalanced her love for both, but eventually blames Benazir forMurtaza's death. Daniel Lak of the BBC, who was an accidentalwitness to Nusrat's terrible grief at losing Murtaza, 12 years afterShahnawaz, told me it was one of the most unbearable things heever saw in Pakistan, describing her wailing as animal cries.

Moving

While an Alzheimer-stricken Nusrat may not remember anythingnow, her granddaughter's vivid account of the events of the day


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her father was shot dead is both chilling and moving. Thepoignant story of the frantic and unsuccessful efforts a 14-year-old girl made to reach her aunt, the Prime Minister, on thetelephone, and her futile hope as she waited in the hospital

that her father would emerge alive from the operating theatrelays open the wound of loss, as if it all happened just yesterday.

A commission of inquiry found that Murtaza's killing was a pre-meditated murder by the Karachi police on orders from thehighest level of government. Zardari and the police officers whostood charged in the case have been acquitted. Fatima points outthat on becoming President, Zardari appointed one of those policeofficers as Intelligence Bureau chief. All in all, this deeply

personal and autobiographical book, written with a child's love,anger and helplessness, leaves the reader saddened for both theauthor and her country.

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H. RAMAKRISHNAN

SUBRAHMANYA SAHASRANAMAM: R.S. Kumar; Sree

Theerthapada Ashramam, Theerthapadapuram P. O., Vazhoor-686505. Rs. 125.

CHANTING THE names of God is an important component of thespiritual activity envisaged for those following the path ofdevotion (Bhakti).

Sahasranamams' (hymns made up of one thousand names of a

particular deity) occupy a significant place in Bhakti literature and

practice. Since they are based on the divine attributes asmentioned in the Upanishads, Gnanamargis' (those pursuing thepath of wisdom) also go for them. Reciting a Sahasranamam',with devotion and a proper understanding of the import of thedivine names, is believed to fetch multiple benefits.
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This book is on the Sahasramam' of Lord Subrahmanya, perhapsthe first commentary of its kind in Malayalam.

Although several versions are in vogue, the author has chosen to

comment on the one that is most popular in Kerala. Those whowant to recite it as a mantra' ought to be properly initiated andguided by a competent Guru, especially about the Nyasa'procedure.

It is evident that the author has done a lot of research. He hasrelied mostly on Skanda Puranam and several works in Tamil forbringing out the hidden meaning of the various names' in thehymn.

The Karma-Gnana-Bhakti aspects of the spiritual pursuit runthrough the commentary as an undercurrent.

There is little doubt that the book will be a valuable guide forthose engaged in the rigorous worship of Lord Subrahmanya.

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SCOOP: by Kuldip Nayar, Translated by Balaraman, Current

Books, Thrissur-680001. Rs. 90.

IN SCOOP, veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar looks back on someof the events to which he was witness. Mahatma Gandhi'sassassination, for instance. He was a fledgling of just threemonths in the profession when he covered it for a Delhi-basedUrdu newspaper.

Quite of a few of his reports have had profound influence onpolitical developments. After Jawaharlal Nehru's death, he put outa story on wire for the news agency, United News of India (ofwhich he was the head), saying Morarji Desai has thrown his hatin the ring. The report, based on an interaction with MorarjiDesai's son, turned many of the Congress MPs against Desai sincethey believed he was hankering for power even before Nehru'scremation was over.
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Nayar admits that he was haunted by the question whether(through that report) he inadvertently helped Lal BahadurShastri, whom he had earlier served as Information Officer, ingetting the Prime Minister's post. Nayar was one of those jailed

during the Emergency, and he says an aide of Indira Gandhi latertold him that his arrest was intended to intimidate newsmen. Itworked, he adds.

Scoop, like Nayar's earlier works, is interesting for the light itthrows on the goings-on behind the scenes in politics and thecorridors of power. Welcome as the Malayalam version is, itsuffers from many avoidable errors.


AYALVAKKATHE APARICHITHAR(Janthu Kathakal): VariyathKuttirama Menon; Current Books, Thrissur-686001. Rs. 195.

THIS BOOK is of the kind that is at once interesting andinformative. It speaks of the numerous creatures, gifts ofNature', living around the human population and striking ahealthy ecological balance.

It is a collection of stories authored by Variyath Kuttirama Menon(1891-1965), an accomplished teacher and a librarian not sofamiliar to the present generation. M.T. Vasudevan Nair, notedMalayalam litterateur, who has provided an introduction to thebook, describes how, as a child, he and others of his age wereinfluenced by Menon's writings.

The origin and transmutation of a variety of species from frogsto flies including some that are hardly seen these days, are

looked at scientifically. Information gathered from authenticsources and research findings have been deftly woven into whatthe author himself gained from keen observation andinvestigation. The outcome is thus a solid book of knowledge onzoology presented in a manner that sustains the interest of everyreader. By choosing to give funny-sounding but meaningful


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names to most of the characters, he has served to enhance thereaders', especially the children's, interest.

Although the book has been written with children as the target

group, as evidenced by the simple and effortless style of writing,it can well be a good source of reference for the adults too. In anera of fast-vanishing greenery, heightened threat to a number ofanimal/ bird species, and reckless assault on the eco system, therelevance of books of this kind has increased manifold.


MUMBAI SIEGE: Edited by P. C. Dogra; Lancer's Books, PO Box4236, New Delhi-110048. Rs. 495.

The brutal attack on India's financial capital on the evening ofNovember 26, 2008, like 9/11 in the United States, has spawnedabundant literature, most of it bordering on the pedestrian andsuperficial. This book falls in that category. A compendium oftalks delivered at a seminar held in Chandigarh within days of theMumbai horror, it throws up little that is not already known.However, it deserves some consideration because of theeminence of the participants, who ranged from law enforcement

officers and Army generals to academicians.

Inept

The attack on Mumbai demonstrated that we as a nation areinept when it comes to rapid response to terrorism. And this,nearly a decade after 9/11, which had been studied extensivelyover the years by experts the world over and relevant lessonslearnt.

The New York City administration, notwithstanding a few minorshortcomings, rose to the occasion and organised quick rescueand relief. Unfortunately, one did not see this level of efficiency inMumbai on that fateful November evening. Precious young policelives were lost, all because they did not wear quality bullet-proofclothing. Also, the head of the city police, by all accounts, just


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stuck to a corner and did not move around to take charge of anevolving crisis.

The fire engines were not allowed to approach the Taj Hotel in

flames and the NSG commandos could not reach the city untilhours after the attack because they were positioned a thousandmiles away. And the terrorists holed up in the hotel continuedwith their defiant presence and held sway for an unbelievablylong time, until all but one were killed.

The Home Ministry's decision to open regional hubs of the NSG asa response to the 26/11 fiasco is a right step. The Mumbai Policeare also now better equipped in terms of weaponry and training.There is however still a lot of scepticism about how they will reactto another terrorist attack, should one occur.

Intelligence failure

What was undoubtedly common to 9/11 and 26/11 was thefailure of the intelligence machinery to predict the attacks.Terrorist groups are well aware of the inability of even the best ofintelligence outfits, such as the Mossad of Israel, to anticipate anattack. This is so, because infiltration the surest way of

collecting live information on terrorist plans into terroristgroups comprising motivated and fanatical individuals is next toimpossible. Also, terrorists are so technical-savvy these days thatthey are adroit in using technology for communicating amongthemselves and executing attacks, taking care at the same timethat their plans are not compromised by careless use ofunprotected channels of communication.

The focus at the Chandigarh seminar was Pakistan, especially the

question, how to blunt the edge of those whom that countryprotects and unleashes on its neighbour.

One of the suggestions was that India should take the war rightinto Pakistan. If it means that India should use drones the wayU.S does, it is dangerous, and has far-reaching implications. TheU.S. can get away with such a strategy, but not India, because of


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the immense harm it would cause to innocent civilian populationand the risk of retaliation from an unscrupulous enemy and alsoof alienating international opinion.

The seminar participant who made the suggestion perhapsbelieved that desperate situations called for desperate remedies!

Negotiation

Some others were bitter that India, despite all the evidence ofchicanery on the part of Pakistan, continued to engage the latterin negotiations. This criticism, again, is open to question becausethese are days of transparency, and international reputations arebuilt on a nation's willingness to talk even with adversaries and

explore ways of preserving peace. Israeli-Palestinian dialogue isan example, albeit held under the U.S. auspices, that can hardlybe ignored.

New Delhi may not entertain Washington as an intermediary. Butit can definitely keep talking to Islamabad, without giving up theright to retaliate whenever required. Simultaneously, there isneed to keep improving the mechanisms to counter the terroristactivities of the LeT genre. There is no alternative to intelligent

investment on security infrastructure. Most fundamental howeveris to carry civil society along in these efforts, mainly throughimaginative sensitisation of citizens on what they can do in termsof making our public places more secure than they are now. Inother words, security should become an obsession with them.


PAMPA, THE THIRD longest river of Kerala, is the holy river ofSabarimala, and the State owes its granary, Kuttanad, to it. As inthe case of many other rivers in the country, Pampa too ispolluted, particularly up to Kuttanad. This and the indiscriminatesand mining going on in the river basin have been a matter ofserious concern for the environmentalists.


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This book is a compilation of the writings of Sukumaran Nair, thefounder-secretary of the Pampa Parirakshana Samithy, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the protection of theriver, on the basis of an environmental study.

The author, who is also the Executive Director of the EnvironmentResources Centre, explains how reckless overexploitation of theriver has ruined the entire ecosystem of the region.

He wants the pampa action plan to be implemented on a war-footing inasmuch as the river serves as the water source for themillions of pilgrims visiting Sabarimala from across the country.The restoration will also benefit the areas downstream.

This well-researched, authentic study of the state of the Pampaand what needs to be done to clean it up will be found useful byscholars and laymen alike.


KA: By Roberto Calasso; Translated by K. B. Prasannakumar, DCBooks, DC Kizhakemuri Edam, Good Shepherd Street, Kottayam686001. Rs. 175.

ITALIAN WRITER Roberto Calasso's Ka' is an unusual work wovenout of Indian mythology. Delving deep into the Vedas, theBrahmanas, and other ancient literature, he picks out stories thatcover a wide range of subjects from the creation of the universeto the passing of the Buddha and puts them together to create afascinating piece of literary architecture.

Calasso's works defy classification. Although billed as a novel, Ka'

is really a mythological reconstruct. This is the third of a five-volume series, which he conceived as something which doesn'tbelong to any genre. The two earlier volumes were built aroundthe French Revolution and Greek mythology. The later ones dealwith the lives of Venetian painter Tiepolo and French writerBaudelaire.


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Prajapati, Siva, Krishna, and the Buddha figure as majorcharacters in Ka', with an array oflesser ones like Garuda,Kasyapa, Kunti, and Durvasa in tow. The tales retold in the 15chapters of the book offer nothing new to Indian readers, but

Calasso's simple, direct style of story-telling is sure to hold theirattention.

Some Indian critics have found fault with him for following thepath struck by early European Indologists, but his erudition,which is in evidence in the over 200 quotes given from variousworks, and his deep understanding of ancient Indian thought arebeyond question. Maybe, this unusual work can also help usunderstand how scribes of yore created our epics out of the

myths and folk-tales current in the subcontinent.Printer friendlypage

BHARATHA PARYATANAM: Kuttikrishna Marar; Pub. by MararSahithyaprakasam, Kallai, Kozhikode-673003. Rs. 125.

THIS IS a critical study of the Mahabharata and all the 18 piecesin the book are significant expositions of the main events in theepic. Each event is narrated and the characters are analysed from

the point of view of an enlightened scholar. The narration andcommentary delve deep into the contextual situations. The rolesof some of the characters, perceived as evil or godly, are lookedat from a new, somewhat unorthodox, angle. The erudition ofKuttikrishna Marar stands out in the way he interprets theSanskrit text. But the language, idiom and style he employs aresimple.

Through contextual annotation of the stanzas, Marar elaborates

on how silence or inaction proved eventful. He faults Yudhishtira,the eldest of the Pandavas, for remaining silent and notintervening when Draupadi was dragged to the royal court andhumiliated. In support of his contention, the author not only citesBhishmacharya's observation from the text but also points outthat Mahatma Gandhi, an apostle of non-violence, did approve of


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violence in extraordinary circumstances. The greatness of Karnais brought out effectively and with a poignant touch.

nline edition of India's National Newspaperuesday, Mar 16, 2010w w w .hinduonne

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AGRICULTURAL GROWTH IN INDIA - Roleof Technology, Incentives and Institutions: A.Vaidyanathan; Oxford University Press, YMCALibrary Building, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi-110001. Rs. 675.

There have been concerns about the growth,equity, and sustainability of Indian agriculturein the last few decades, particularly in thepost-reform period. The annual growth ofagriculture in the long term has been around2.5 per cent. The business-as-usual approachwill not help. Significant reforms in theagricultural sector are needed to accelerategrowth and achieve equity. In this context,

this book, a collection of essays by A.Vaidyanathan, is timely. A leading agriculturaleconomist of the country, he has writtenextensively on various aspects of Indianfarming.

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As Vaidyanathan says, there have beenserious gaps in an analytical understanding ofagricultural growth and its determinants. In anattempt to correct this lacuna, this book

examines the trends of agricultural growth inIndia and provides an in-depth analysis of therole of technology, incentives, and institutionsin facilitating this growth. The discussion ontechnology also covers irrigation andfertilizers, while the one on incentives includesprice policy and input subsidies. The chapteron institutions deals with agrarian structure,land and water management, research,

infrastructure, marketing, and credit.

Apart from highlighting the deficiencies in allthese areas, the author discusses what lies inprospect for Indian agriculture.

Hardly affected

Vaidyanathan, who is critical of governmentpolicies, says: There was hardly any changein the strategy for agriculture. It was hardlyaffected by the reforms. Policies continued asbefore to focus on large investments inirrigation and other infrastructure, and specialprogrammes to increase rural employment.

In the concluding chapter, easily the best ofthe lot, Vaidyanathan discusses the prospectsof reversing the recent decline in agriculturalgrowth and sounds a note of caution againstassessing the growth prospects in the light ofthe slowing down in domestic demand and therisks of trade liberalisation. He argues that thecurrent perceptions about inadequacy ofinvestments as the main reason for low


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growth and its apparent slowdown are quitemisplaced. But many agricultural economistsin India may not agree with this line ofargument. For example, the Steering Group

for the 11th Plan contends that publicinvestment is one of the major sources ofagricultural growth.

As the author says, non-price factors are moreimportant for boosting agricultural growth.However, going by the interaction theCommission for Agricultural Costs and Priceshad with representatives of the State

governments and agriculturists as part ofmid-term evaluation of 11th Plan it wouldappear that farmers have responded to higherminimum support prices with higher yields inrice and wheat. In fact, the high growth rateduring the period 2003-04 to 2007-08 wasassociated with improvements in terms oftrade for agriculture. That could be acoincidence, but it warrants a deeper study

and analysis.

Role of public sector

Vaidyanathan rightly lays stress on theimportant role public sector plays inagricultural research. It is known that privatesector confines its research to developingvarieties that will fetch profits. Therefore, it isnecessary to revamp public sector research.He is critical of the 11th Plan targets forexpansion of irrigation. On this, he says thatin the case of irrigation, the focus has been,and remains, almost exclusively oninvestment for expansion of area with littleattention given to ensuring efficient, prudent,


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and sustainable water.

One cannot but agree with Vaidyanathan'sargument for improvement in the over-all

efficiency of investments. He attributes thepoor quality of public investments andservices to several factors. They are: toomuch centralisation, although agriculture is aState subject, leaving little scope for adaptingto local conditions; laxity in the preparation,scrutiny, and approval of projects, inmonitoring the use of funds, and in adheringto the estimated cost and time-schedule by

States; indiscriminate subsidies to inputs,much to the detriment of their efficientproduction, distribution and sustainable use;pervasive interference in the constitution andfunctioning of public sector organisations bythose in power leading to manipulation andoutright corruption; and the absence ofeffective and transparent performance auditmechanism to ensure public accountability.

According to the author, unless there is asignificant shift in strategies and priorities,and major reforms are undertaken to correctthe above-mentioned institutional deficiencies,agriculture cannot be propelled to a highergrowth trajectory that also ensures widelydiffused growth of incomes and employment.The courage of his conviction comes across

when he puts forth his case for these reformistmeasures. At one place, he says that socialscientists recognise the adverse effects ofsubsidies but do not raise a strong voice for aradical change on the ground that a change ispolitically unfeasible.


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This comprehensive, lucid, and masterlyanalysis is a must read for all those interestedin Indian agriculture and inclusive growth. Inthe preface, there is a suggestion by

Vaidyanathan that he was putting together hiswork on agriculture in this volume beforecalling it a day. I hope he would not call it aday and thereby deprive the benefit of hiswritings to all the stakeholders in agriculture.

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A bollywood story

K. KUNHIKRISHNAN
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BOLLYWOOD: Translation of Sashi Tharoor's novel, ShowBusiness; Translator S. Remya, Published by DC Books,Kottayam-686 001; Price Rs. 175.

THIS IS the story of a superstar, Ashok Banjara, and of theillusory world of images and sound. The chapters are in sixtakes' to use the jargon of the tinsel world and the narrationtakes the form of scripts spoken by different actors and isinterspersed with lyrics. The lives, on-screen and off-screen, getintermingled and the result is a potpourri of commercialism,politics, emotions, sentiments, betrayals, jealousies, et al. A fullparagraph is devoted to the state of contemporary politics corruption, contempt for law, intimidation of opponents, use of

hirelings, and so on. There is also a clinching observation: it is nowonder that the actors follow the rulers (politicians)'

The super star, son of a principled politician (a junior Minister),uses his father's name to grab roles in films and finally manageseven to take his seat in Parliament, but is compelled to resignfollowing allegations of tax evasion. Nemesis ultimately catchesup with the star who uses every one else to climb the ladder onlyto let them down without any compunction.The research-basedreflection on greed, deception, immorality, contempt, anddecadence of ethical values in the Bollywood glamour world doesnot, however, transcend superficiality.

RANDAM YAMANGALUDE KADHA:Translation of Salmas Novelby Attoor Ravivarma; DC Books, DC Kizhakemuri Edam, GoodShepherd Street, Kottayam-686001. Rs. 175.

SALMA WRITES about women who bear the primary responsibilityof carrying forward traditional values but find it difficult to

reconcile themselves to the norms set by society. In a declarationthat sounds like her literary manifesto, she says: I shall notwrite one word to suit anyones convenience; nor shall I causeinconvenience to anyone.


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This work is a translation of her first novel Irandaam JaamangalinKathai, which appeared in 2005, and Attoor Ravivarma has takengreat pains to ensure that the Malayalam version retained theflavour of the original in Tamil.

The novel reveals a hidebound society characterised by intensereligiosity and irrational restrictions. The story is presented fromthe perspective of a few women characters, chiefly Rabia, ayoung and inquisitive girl whose innocence lends a rare charm tothe narrative.

Writing with infinite compassion, Salma makes a powerful plea fora morality that liberates, not suppresses, woman. As M. N.Karasseri points out in the introduction, the Malayalam version ofher novel has contemporary relevance.


BHARATHAKESARI MANNATHU PADMANABHAN: by N.Sumathykutty Amma; Edited by P. Balashankar Mannathu;

Poornna Printing & Publishing House, Muttappalam, Varkala. Rs.300.

THIS BIOGRAPHY of Mannathu Padmanabhan (1878-1970),written by his grand-daughter, stands out for itscomprehensiveness and authenticity, and for the insights itprovides into the life of a leader who was known for his simplicity,austerity, and selflessness.

A towering personality in Kerala politics and campaign for social

reforms during his life-time, Padmanabhan was a co-founder ofthe Nair Service Society and the uplift of the decadent Naircommunity was his mission in life.

By his dedication and unrelenting effort to the development of theNSS, Padmanabhan demonstrated to the world that one could, if


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determined, build up a mass movement from a scratch. Hisformal education was limited to the school level, but his tools ofachievement were worldly wisdom, grit, and oratorical skills.

Much of the credit for the growth of the NSS, which emerged asone of the most powerful social entities, with a well-definedcorporate structure and a large number of educational institutionsunder its management, is assigned to him and his commitment tothe Societys cause. Yet, it is his leadership role in the liberationstruggle to oust the Communist government that madeMannathu Padmanabhan a leader of the masses. His inspiring lifestory is well narrated.

Biography of a crusader

K. K. GOPALAKRISHNAN

A. K. GOPALAN: Biography by Payyannur Kunhiraman; Pub. byKerala State Institute of Children's Literature, Sanskrit CollegeCampus, Thiruvananthapuram. Rs. 30.

THIS IS the fourth in the series that aims at introducinglegendary personalities of Kerala to children. For the people of

Kerala, the name A.K. Gopalan or AKG' (1904-1977) issynonymous with the independence struggle as also thecommunist movement. Although born in an aristocratic Nambiarfamily of the erstwhile North Malabar, AKG echoed the feelings ofthe less fortunate and fought for them. His very first protest wasagainst his own maternal uncle who administered the familyassets under the matriarchal system.

AKG nourished the fire of protest' throughout his life for the

betterment of the labour class and other exploited sections. Oftenhailed as the true commandant of the oppressed', he trulypractised the ideology he preached. The author gives anauthentic account of his personality.

Giving up his profession of teaching, AKG plunged into thestruggle for independence by participating in the salt agitation of


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the 1930 that landed him in jail. Later he joined the CongressSocialist Party and, over time, became a strong advocate ofcommunist ideology. Post-Independence, AKG was arrested and

jailed for his leftist views and protests. He breathed his last on

March 21, 1977, soon after the withdrawal of nationalemergency. The lucidity of Payyannur Kunhiraman's narrative, insketching AKG's biography in 13 small chapters, should appealnot just to children but adults as well.


LADY CHATTERLIYUDE KAMUKAN: D. H. Lawrence, Translatedby K. P. Balachandran, Green Books, Little Road, Ayyanthole,Thrissur-680003.

Rs. 170.

BANNED IN England and the United States when first published in1928, Lady Chatterley's Lover, which the author, D.H. Lawrence,himself once described as the most improper novel in the world,has now gained legitimacy, thanks to changes in the social moresas well as notions of obscenity.

The main characters are a nobleman, his wife and a gamekeepercaught in a destiny they cannot control. At a primary level, thestory is that of a set of people alienated from life. The explicittreatment of sex Lawrence defended it saying I want men andwomen to be able to think sex fully, completely, honestly andcleanly somewhat clouds a true appreciation of the novel'sbasic theme it has to do with the way the powerful forces insociety work and how the hapless individuals respond to them.

At a deeper level, it is a story of people seeking to rebuild theirlives amid the ruins of a devastating war. In Nobel Prize-winningnovelist Doris Lessing's view, this is one of the most powerfulanti-war novels ever written.


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Balachandran's translation makes smooth reading. However, thereader is likely to miss some aspects of the novel for want of aproper understanding of the context in which it is set.

Printer friendlypageMALGUDI DINANGAL Translation of R.K.Narayans MalgudiDays: Translated by Roy Kuruvila; DC Books, DC KizhakemuriEdam, Good Shepherd Street, Kottayam-686001. Rs. 140.

R. K. NARAYAN AND his masterpiece Malgudi Days are famousnot only in India but the entire world. This book is a translation ofthat anthology of 32 stories made up of selections from hisAnAstrologers Dayand Lawley Roadand some new stories. They

bring to life ordinary people of Malgudi (the fictional world ofNarayan) in an interesting, humorous, and simple style.

Although the people whose tales are unfolded in the stories wereordinary, most of the central characters get into crisis or bizarresituations that are quite extraordinary. Eventually, of course, theylearn to live with them or manage to pull themselves out in theirown ways, but not, every time, the way the reader expects themto do.

Contradictions in human behaviour as depicted in stories such asVaiki Ethiya Vaartha (The missing mail), Leelayude Changathi(Leelas friend), and Selvi; confrontation with the self as well asother fellow beings as in Joolcian (An astrologers day); andsecond opinion, even with a dog as in Anthan Naaya (The blinddog) or with a snake as in Nagan (Naga) these are among hisfavourite themes. Punnagavaraali (The snake song) is anexceptional story, which is woven with a mystical thread. In the

last story Emden, the life story of a man in his nineties, whoyearns for one of his old mistresses, a dancer, and tries to meether secretly with gifts is presented interestingly.

It is to the credit of Roy Kurivila that he has been successful intranslating the salient features of the fluent style of the original.


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THIS NOVEL has a historical background, but is not achronological document. It is rather a family lore, with an

interesting mix of fiction, autobiography and history. Authored byan uncle-nephew duo, the book seems to be the brainchild ofOmer.

The narration of a mid-night raid on a house in Chembukkavu,Thamarakkadu, by the police who were on a hunt for traitors andterrorists, is as exhaustive as it is agonising. The raiding squadhad an Inspector (an Englishman) and eight or nine constables.

Despite being told that the menfolk were away on business, the

men in uniform insist on going ahead with the search, only todraw a blank, at the end of it all. They leave empty-handed butnot before sounding a warning to the inmates: If ever we get atthem, they wouldn't be alive.

Much of the storyline sounds so familiar that the reader is boundto get nostalgic about his own experience. Mithondi, Enukutty andAbdu exist not somewhere in Thamarappuram, but very much inone's own neighbourhood.

It has elements of a travelogue as well as of a historical novel,and this makes reading a breathtaking journey of sorts. The useof native dialect adds to its home-grown feel.

AZHEEKODINTE AATMAKATHA: Sukumar Azheekode; DCBooks, DC Kizhakemuri Edam, Good Shepherd Street, Kottayam-686001. Rs.125.

AN ORATOR and thinker par excellence, literary legend, and socialcritic, Sukumar Azheekode is a multifaceted icon in Kerala. He isa celebrated teacher and distinguished philosopher and scholar inSanskrit, English and Malayalam. He has been constantlycritiquing the social, cultural and political developments andlaying stress on the Gandhian principle of probity in public life.


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His autobiography starts with an account of his meeting theapostle of nonviolence in Wardha.

The other person who moulded his thoughts is Vaaghbhatananda,

whose life and speeches inspired Azheekode to take to the studyof Vedas and Upanishads, the outcome of which wasTattvamasi, a masterpiece that brought him laurels more thanany of his other works.

In this biographical account, Azheekode gives a reverential,affectionate and vivid recollection of the teachers and speaks ofthe influence of his parents and siblings. And he recalls thesacrifice his elder brother made so that he could pursue higherstudies. His association with Calicut, during his days as a teacherand a trainee, lingers all through.

His achievements in the literary field and the defeat he met within the elections are detailed with commendable detachment.

ABHINIVESATHINTE THADAVARA: Translation of Shobha D'sStrange Obsession by Kabani C; DC Books, DC KizhakemuriEdam, Good Shepherd Street, Kottayam-686001. Rs. 125.

THIS NOVEL is about a beautiful girl from Delhi who is bent uponmaking a career in advertising and whose strange companionship struck through an accidental fall on the roadside developsinto a weird relationship. Amrita Aggarwal, pretty daughter of awell-to-do couple, is dead set to conquer the pinnacles ofmodelling world, and she arrives in Mumbai in pursuit of herambition. She falls into the vicious grip of a minx, daughter of anInspector General of Police and a sadist. Amrita is physically andsexually abused and tortured; wherever she goes the minx

follows her, including to her parents' home in Delhi. The story hasmany bizarre and inexplicable twists. The pulp fiction has to havea happy culmination in the form of marriage, with a dash ofgunfights, kidnapping, and escape thrown in. As the saying goes,All's well that ends well. In between, the chapters are filled with


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stories of the rags-to-riches variety and from the underworld ofmodelling.

The novel is well-translated. That the writer had been a model

herself lends credibility to the storyline which speaks of all thejealousies, conspiracies, and intrigues that are associated withthe modelling world. Infested as it is with such traps and pitfalls,the glittering world of fashion is not easy for a novice to traverseand realise her ambition. The novel however has little literarymerit and it is unlikely to strike a chord with a sensitive reader.


MY LIFE WITH THE TALIBAN: by Abdul Salam Zaeef;

Translated by Alex Strick van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn;Hachette India, 612/614, Time Tower, MG Road, Sector 28,Gurgaon-122001. Rs. 495.

After Ahmed Rashid's definitive book on the Taliban, there havebeen few studied accounts of the movement that has managed tokeep the U.S. military tied down in Afghanistan for a full nineyears. But the war has ensured that, in the decade or so sincethe publication of Rashid's book, the world has come to know

much more about this phenomenon called Taliban.

To this knowledge, a gripping insider account of how themovement emerged, took power in Afghanistan, and ruled untilthe U.S. mounted attacks after 9/11 adds an unmatchedperspective.

Abdul Salam Zaeef aka Mullah Zaeef, author of this fascinatingmemoir a Mujahid who fought the Soviets in the first Afghan

war was an important player in the Taliban, right from its earlydays up to the time its regime was swept away by the Americanattack on Afghanistan. Zaeef's narrative is often self-serving which autobiography is not? But it gives an insight into theinternal dynamics of the movement, especially in the daysimmediately before and after 9/11.
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Face of the Taliban

In those tumultuous days, Zaeef was the Afghan ambassador toPakistan, emerging as the face of the Taliban. Pakistan was one

of the three countries that recognised the Islamic Emirate ofAfghanistan, the other two being Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Zaeef speaks of the pressures that were building up on theTaliban-run Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan specifically on him from the U.S. and Pakistan, in the months before the TwinTower attacks: how the Americans wanted the Islamic Emirate tohand over Osama bin Laden, and the Taliban's response to thisdemand; how the U.S. diplomats and the ISI repeatedly met himto say that Osama was planning a big attack on American soilfrom Afghanistan, and warn of U.S. retaliation; and how, when9/11 happened, Mullah Omar, the one-eyed Taliban leader,believed there was less than a 10 per cent chance that the U.S.would attack Afghanistan.

A fierce Mullah Omar loyalist, Zaeef pours water on currentefforts to separate moderate Taliban from hardliners and saystrying to make such distinctions is useless and reckless. Evenback then, he writes, days after the war in Afghanistan started,

the ISI approached him with the proposal that he should assist inseparating the fundamentalists from the moderates. He wasencouraged to rebel against Mullah Omar and take up theleadership of the moderate Taliban. But he knew the realintention behind this plan was to split and weaken the Taliban.

He writes that the same intentions inform the present efforts.[The Obama administration and President Hamid Karzai] thinkthat the Taliban exist for the sake of money or power, [and] so

logically it would seem that they can be destroyed with moneyand power, [but] in reality, the Taliban movement is one basedon Islamic ideology, struggling for holy jihad under the principleof itta'at or obedience, and samar or listening, as well as that ofdialogue. Afghanistan has never been subjugated by invaders,he asserts.


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Zaeef, who leads a quiet life in Kabul after his release fromGuantanamo, is not optimistic about peace returning toAfghansitan. He is emphatic that a solution can be found onlythrough Islam. The only way to find a solution is to respect

Islamic values The political vacuum that has ensnared ournation must be filled. Islam can guide us.

He is bitter that Pakistan turned him over to the Americans,despite his having diplomatic accreditation. There is a graphicdescription about the time he spent in Guantanamo as Prisoner306. He is also angry about the ISI's, and more generallyPakistan's, efforts to control the Taliban government. Evidently,he seems to have conveniently forgotten how the ISI had helped

the movement, financially and in every other way, to get toKabul. He accuses Pakistan of spoiling the Taliban's relations withthe U.S., and says, that while in Islamabad, he tried to get acrossthe message that diplomats of Western countries should meetdirectly with him instead of approaching the Pakistan ForeignMinistry to set up appointments.

Humour

Zaeef says the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas wasunnecessary and a case of bad timing. Even in thosetiresome times, he showed a sense of humour, something notusually associated with the Taliban. When the JapaneseAmbassador in Islamabad met him about saving the Buddhas, hetold Zaeef that Afghans had been the founding fathers ofBuddhism and that the Japanese were only following in theirfootsteps. As such, he pleaded that the Afghans must doeverything to preserve Buddhist monuments.

Zaeef says he told the envoy, half-joking, that it was interestingto hear that Afghans were considered the founding fathers ofBuddhism and, now that they had seen the light of Islam,perhaps the Japanese should consider following their lead onceagain.


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The book, originally written in Pashto, was translated by a multi-member team, and painstakingly edited by Kandahar-based AlexStrick van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn, who are the founders ofAfghanWire, an agency dedicated to raising awareness of Afghan

issues and opinions that are ignored by the international media.The detailed notes provided to each chapter fill the gaps inZaeef's narrative. For anyone with even half an interest inAfghanistan, this book is a must read.


PENNAKANGAL: Sethu; DC Books, DC Kizhakemuri Edam, GoodShepherd Street, Kottayam-686001. Rs. 195.

NARRATIVES PORTRAYING six women characters of earlier novelsspanning more than three decades are recreated in this book. Notwo characters are alike. They have different moorings and comefrom different social strata, though some aspects are universal.There is Kadambari, an orphan whose adopted parents want tomake her a doctor; she leaves home and takes to selling flowers.Then there is Catherine, an extra' artiste in films who, cheatedby her lover, turns into a sex worker, and eventually finds mentalsolace and fulfilment in Bhakti. A management expert, whose

sexual relationship with a stranger, turns her daughter hostile;and a specialist doctor, but somewhat eccentric, goes to Germanylooking for her lover and dies there, and her friends try to makeher dreams come true.

One could discern some common elements in their lives andattitudes frustration and dissatisfaction in family life; fantasiesand unrealised dreams that haunt them; contempt for males; andabove all yearning for love and understanding. Characterisation is

powerful, and the protagonists are products of a complex web offactors that go into the shaping of their outlook. The novelist hasprovided commendable insight and sustained the same standardin craft and technique. It is notable that the male characters fadeinto oblivion as he makes it abundantly clear that he is moresympathetic to the females than all feminist writers.


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MUMBAI POLITICAL ECONOMY OF CRIME AND SPACE; ByAbdul Shaban; Published by Orient BlackSwan Pvt. Ltd, 3-6-752,

Himayatnagar, Hyderabad-500002. Price not mentioned.In this book, Abdul Shaban uses statistics related to crime and itsrelationship with the spatial distribution of communities tocomprehend and better appreciate the socio-economic disparitiesprevailing in Mumbai. In the process, he places crime in asociological perspective and discusses why people in the lowersocio-economic strata are more prone to it. There are urbancentres that serve, on the one hand, as the engines of economicgrowth and, on the other, as places where much of thedeviance and crime are learned. Loose social control,anonymity, indifference, and lack of social support systemscontribute to criminalising individuals and creating deviants, heconcludes.

Shaban, who presents a detailed and graphic analysis of thecrime scenario with supportive tables and maps, links crime tothe economic upsurge in the city and to the marginalisation ofcommunities such as Muslims. The incidence of crime is seen to

have a direct correlation with such factors as congestion and lackof schools, playgrounds, etc. He lists the hot spots where theunderworld dons have emerged and risen to command fear andclout for instance, Temkar Mohalla in south Mumbai, Mahim,Matunga, and Bandra.

As for the nature of crimes, the trends show a distinct variation.Homicides and crimes against women have risen, with womenbecoming more vulnerable to violent attacks. Economic crimes do

not show any marked fluctuation, while motor vehicle thefts haveincreased sharply. Shaban sees a nexus between the changingcrime graph and the growth of neo-liberalism, which he arguesdivides and excludes people on the basis of socio-economicstatus. Apart from intensifying economic disparities, it instils asense of fear in the weaker sections that their limited resources


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would be usurped by the rich and the dominant and createseconomic and cultural anxieties. Nothing could be more true forMumbai. He goes on to point out that communal/ethnicpolarisation and increasing social inequality pose a big challenge

to governance.

Zero-tolerance'

While examining the methods adopted to contain crimes, theauthor speaks of muscular policing' and zero- tolerance'approach as the two that have yielded results. The policecrackdown on the underworld elements following the 1993 serialblasts and the encounter killings led to the decimation of criminalgangs. But the zero-tolerance' policy has had adverserepercussions for the poor and weaker sections. Increasedunemployment due to the closure of mills and organised violencein the name of religion, caste, and class combined to cause theghettoisation of Muslims, who were denied several basic rights.Poverty, informality and social exclusion have becomeinescapable urban phenomena for them.

About 60 per cent of the city's population lives in slums andshanties and these settlements occupy hardly seven per cent of

the city's 437.71 sq km area.

That the living conditions in these habitations are subhuman hasbeen acknowledged in the city's development plan. It is by nomeans surprising, says Shaban, that most underworld dons ofthe city have originated from these areas and sections ofpopulations. Sustainable and safe city societies, he argues, canemerge only from a situation where economic growth isaccompanied by equitable distribution of resources, income, and

employment. This seems to be a far-away dream for Mumbai,what with its proliferating ghettoes and slums, on the one side,and the multiplexes and posh bungalows and high-rise residentialcomplexes for the middle and upper middle class families, on theother, presenting a striking contrast.


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Forget the graphs, the tables, the figures, and the calculationsthat fascinate the experts, the book has enough material tosustain the interest of even a lay leader who wants to know andunderstand what is happening in Mumbai today as the city veers

towards a neoliberal Shanghai avatar.

The message that comes out loud and clear is this: unless thesedisparities are addressed seriously and corrected, deviance andcriminality are bound to hold sway over the disadvantagedsections.


K. K. GOPALAKRISHNAN

ISLAMUM STHREEKALUM: By K. M. Venugopalan; OlivePublications (P) Ltd., East Nadakkavu, Kozhikode-673011. Rs.180.

THE TREATMENT of women in Islam and the interpretation ofIslamic laws applicable to women are always matters of interestand debate for both feminists and human right activists. FatemaMernissi's The Veil and the Male Elite, which offers a feminist

interpretation of women's rights in Islam, is at once informativeand thought-provoking. And the book under review is atranslation of her work.

In her book, an outcome of deep research into Islamic ideologies,Mernissi sagaciously addresses some of the basic issues related,for example, to the belief among the fundamentalist elementsthat Islam and democracy cannot go together and the tendencyof Islam to resist change. Based on her research findings and

systematic analysis, she argues with remarkable clarity andconviction that such regressive theories and trends areattributable to those elements in Islamic clergy that have avested interest in exercising dominance over the community. Inthe chapter on Prophet and Women, she effectively silences thefundamentalists.


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The book, which interrogates and exposes the crooked efforts ofthe Islamic clergy to exploit the ignorance of the ordinary peopleand mislead them in the name of faith, is a must read foractivists and for Muslim women. Its reach has been widened,

thanks to the translation by Venugopalan

It is an axiom of the prevailing security discourse that thedefinition and related policy interpretation of the elements thatconstitute national security have to be inclusive andcomprehensive. The Chanakyan formulation of the Mauryanperiod (circa 350 BC) emphasised an equitable approach to theproduction and distribution of the different elements of nationalsecurity so that the sustained well-being (yogakshema') of the

people was ensured.This book, a compilation of as many as 20 essays and articles bysome of the better known names in the field, tackles the theme ofcomprehensive security with admirable sincerity. In a magisterialoverview of the challenges before India, K. Subrahmanyam, thedoyen of security studies in the country, offers a compellingsummary of the past and spells out the opportunities that beckonthe nation, if it is able to strategise appropriately and actcollectively.

Anamolies

Some empirical facts are irrefutable and, in a lucid summation ofthe challenges, Kapil Kak, who has edited the volume, drawspointed attention to the contradictions and anomalies punctuatingthe world's largest democracy. As the most recent IMFprojections indicate, India's GDP will grow at more than 9 percent this year and this indeed is creditable, given the turbulence

and downturn associated with other major economies. But thedistribution of India's wealth and prosperity remains skewed andvery inequitable, and the contrast is striking.

As Kak points out, Jawaharlal Nehru invoked the imperative ofensuring true yogakshema' as far back as December 1928 in


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Pune where he observed: We shall have real security andstability only when it has come to signify the well-being of thevast majority of the people, if not all, and not of small groupsonly.

National security

To its eternal shame, 82 years later the successive governingdispensations of free India have not been able to realise theGandhi-Nehru dream of wiping every tear' if anything, thenumber of the tearful has increased manifold. The book quotesBimal Jalan to highlight this reality. He notes: The total value ofthe assets of the country's five billionaires equalled those of thebottom 300 million people. The volume covers the entire

spectrum of national security from the politico-military domain,including the core values and principles such as democracy andnon-alignment to nuclear weapons and defence modernisationof the three armed forces, the so-called traditional sinews ofnational security. While the internal security challenge getsadequate attention, the non-traditional issues such as energy,food, water and climate change also find mention, which ispraiseworthy. The enlightening debate on the linkages betweenthese strands will be of benefit to the interested reader.

Among the innovative additions are: an informed discussion onglobalisation and economic growth (Arvind Virmani); thecorrelation between economics and strategic relations (SanjayaBaru); and the salience of information in the realisation ofcomprehensive security (Wajahat Habibullah). India's securitychallenges are many and terribly tangled. The civil-militaryrelationship is both limited and brittle. Eminently desirablereforms mooted in the wake of the Kargil War remain elusive;

structural problems persist; and, over the last decade, theizzat'(honour) of the military as an institution has been sullied.Evidently, a single volume cannot do justice to all the relevantissues. Kak has done a commendable job in putting together theviews of experts in various domains. The final results, however,


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are uneven, with some contributors opting for a long piece andsome others culling out material from earlier publications.

Radical changes

India's reactive security culture needs radical systemic changes,and this can come about only if the elected representative givesnational security the kind of attention it deserves. The manner inwhich the defence budget is debated and voted in Parliamentyear after year is illustrative of the indifference of the Indianpolitical class. As Subrahmanyam points out, while India has theattributes and the wherewithal to take its rightful place in theglobal comity in the 21st century, the constraints should not beignored. Institutional integrity and rectitude must be restoredacross the board, and only then can India realise comprehensivesecurity that is both equitable and sustainable for its teeming andfar-from-secure millions.

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