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DELHI THE HINDU
TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 20198EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
CMYK
A ND-NDE
EDITORIAL
Arun Prakash
At the AeroIndia 2019 airshow and aviation exhibition, held in Bengaluru last
month, there were two developments of signifi��cance, for India’snational security as well its moribund aeronautical industry. On February 20, the Indian Air Forceand the aviation communityheaved a collective sigh of relief after the Light Combat Aircraft(LCA) Tejas Mark 1, received itslongawaited Final OperationalClearance; this means it is combatready and can be exploited to thelimits of its approved ‘envelope’.However, a day later, came a rather unwelcome report: a DefenceResearch and Development Organisation (DRDO) announcementat the show of its decision to shelvethe Kaveri turbojet engine project. While one waits for this report to be confi��rmed or denied, given the criticality of this engine forIndia’s aeronautical industry, theissue deserves a close look.
Political myopiaHistorically, all major aerospacepowers have possessed the capability to design airframes as well aspowerplants. Until India can design and produce its own aeroen
gines, the performance and capabilities of any indigenouslydesigned/built aircraft will be seriously limited by the technologythat we are permitted to import.India has already had two bitterexperiences in this regard. TheHindustan Aeronautics Limited’ssleek and elegant HF24 Marutfi��ghter, of the 1960s and 1970s,failed to achieve its huge potentialas a supersonic fi��ghter for want ofa suitable engine. Rather than exert itself to seek alternatives, thegovernment of the day, with stunning myopia, closed theprogramme.
Similarly, many of the problemsthe Tejas faced emanate from lackof engine thrust. Even as the Kaveri has failed to make an appearance, U.S.made alternatives suchas the General Electric F404 engine, or even the more powerfulF414, do not deliver adequatethrust for the Tejas Mk 1, to meetall its missions. For the Tejas MkIA, Mk II, the LCA Navy, and otheraircraft programmes such as theAdvanced Medium Combat Aircraft, India will need turbojet engines of even greater thrust. Thus,it is vital for India to develop a family of homegrown jet engines topower indigenous combat aircraftas well as reengine importedones.
A pivotal roleIn this context, it is necessary torecognise that both the Tejas andKaveri projects — which have seenmore than their share of head
winds and uncertainty — form keycomponents of India’s technological aspirations. Unless carefullyguided, protected and nurtured,their failure could spell the end ofIndia’s aeronautical industry, orcondemn it forever to licensedproduction. A long productionrun of, say, 250300 aircraft for theTejas and its advanced derivativesis essential if the industry is tohone its design and productionskills.
The same holds good for theKaveri, except that the design andproduction of a functional turbojet engine are even more challenging. The HAL claims to have “manufactured” nearly 5,000aeroengines of British, Frenchand Russian design, and overhauled 18,000 of them. Since thisputative “manufacturing” processinvolves merely the assembly ofimported components, several engine divisions of the HAL havefailed to imbibe aspects of design,metallurgy, thermodynamic andaerodynamic engineering as wellas the complex tooling and machining process required for thedesign and manufacture of aero
engines, over the past 60 years — asad commentary. In 1986, theDRDO’s decadesold Gas TurbineResearch Establishment (GTRE)was tasked with developing an indigenous power plant for the LCA,which was to replace the U.S. engines being used for the development phase of the aircraft.
Having developed two experimental engines, the GTRE took upa turbofan design, designated theGTX35VS “Kaveri”, for the LCA.Fullscale development was authorised in 1989 for 17 prototypes ata cost of $55 million. The fi��rst complete prototype Kaveri began testsin 1996, and by 2004 it had fl��ownon a Russian fl��ying testbed; albeitunsuccessfully. Since then, theKaveri has made sporadic progressand the GTRE has been strugglingwith serious design and performance issues which it has beenunable to resolve. As the Kaverimissed successive deadlines, theU.S. import option was mindlesslyand gleefully resorted to.
A series of troughsGiven the DRDO’s penchant for secrecy and misplaced optimism,the true story of the Kaveri’s halting progress has never been revealed to Parliament or the taxpayer. However, two details,available on the Internet, are revelatory of the organisation’s ‘modusoperandi’. It has, at least, on twooccasions, approached Frenchand British aeroengine manufacturers for advice and consultancyin operationalising the Kaveri.
Despite reportedly attractive off��ers of performanceenhancementand technologytransfer, the negotiations stalled reportedly on costconsiderations. It is also interesting to note that in 2014, this project — of national importance —was arbitrarily shut down by theDRDO only to be revived subsequently for reasons unknown.
It is obvious that the onus for repeated setbacks in these projectsmust lie squarely on India’s political leadership; for its neglect aswell as absence of a vision for theaeronautical industry. There arethree more factors: overestimation by the DRDO of its capabilitiescompounded by a reluctance toseek advice; inadequate projectmanagement and decisionmakingskills of its scientists; and exclusion of users — the military — fromall aspects of the projects.
It is still not too late for the government to declare both theseprojects as ‘national missions’ andinitiate urgent remedial actions.The success of both the Kaveri andTejas programmes will transformthe aerospace scene, and put Indiain the front ranks of aeronauticalnations, perhaps even ahead ofChina, if the desired degree of resolve and professional rigour canbe brought to the fore. If we missthis opportunity, we will remainabjectly importdependent forever in this vital area.
Admiral Arun Prakash retired as India’s
20th Naval Chief and Chairman Chiefs of
Staff�� in 2006
Let them take flight It is ��not late to declare the Tejas and Kaveri projects as ‘national missions’ ��
K. M
UR
ALI K
UM
AR
more letters online:
www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/
The Supreme Court’s attemptto maintain HinduMuslimharmony through a mediat
ed settlement of the longstandingBabri Masjid dispute deserves appreciation. But it has raised a couple of concerns too. One relates tothe choice of a mediator, and theother to the effi��cacy of mediationat this stage.
Mediator neutralityBy defi��nition, a mediator is a neutral third party who facilitates anegotiated settlement between adversarial contenders. Unfortunately, the neutrality of one of thethree courtappointed mediators,Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, has come intoquestion as some of his public pronouncements in the recent pastappear to negate his supposeddisinterestedness.
A year ago, in an open letter tothe All India Muslim Personal LawBoard (AIMPLB), Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had said: “People from bothcommunities who are adamant onfollowing the court’s verdict are also driving the issue to a situationof defeat.” The “best solution”,therefore, is “an outofcourt settlement in which the Muslim bodies come forward and gift oneacre of land to the Hindus who inturn will gift fi��ve acres of landnearby to the Muslims, to build abetter mosque.”
He even told Muslims that giv
ing up their claim to the disputedproperty did not amount to “surrendering this land to the peoplewho demolished the Babri Masjidor to a particular organisation. Onthe contrary, they are gifting it tothe people of India”.
Apart from the fact that this position betrays Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s bias in favour of disputantsbelonging to one religion, it is diffi��cult to understand the justifi��abilityof treating a gift to Hindus as a giftto the people of India. Does he regard only Hindus as “the people ofIndia” to the exclusion of othercommunities?
Nonetheless, it stands to reasonthat Muslims would be in a position to gift the land only whentheir ownership of it is confi��rmedby the Supreme Court. If Muslimslose the case, the entire landwould come under the control ofHindus and the question of Muslims giving up their claim wouldthen be rendered redundant.
But the Art of Living founderthinks that even a Hindu victorywould not be conducive to peace.It could foster Muslim resentmentand may “lead to riots throughoutthe country”, he told the AIMPLB,thereby insinuating that Muslimsare violent. He seems to be unaware that Muslims have agreed toabide by the court verdict whichever way it goes. Now that hehas been made a mediator, Sri SriRavi Shankar must clarify if he stillstands by his statements.
Advisability of mediationDespite Hindu groups opposing anegotiated settlement, the Supreme Court made it clear that anattempt should be made to settlethe dispute by mediation. It over
ruled their objections by invokingSection 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) which allows thecourt to refer any dispute to one ofthe four modes of nonadjudicatory resolution processes: namely,arbitration, conciliation, judicialsettlement (including settlementthrough Lok Adalat), or mediation. In this case, the court optedfor mediation.
This was again opposed on thebasis of a twojudge SupremeCourt judgment in Afcons infrastructure and Ors. v. Cherian VerkayConstruction and Ors (2010). It illustratively explained that mediation cannot be done in a representative suit which involves publicinterest or the interest of largenumber of persons who are not represented in the court.
But the fi��veJudge bench led byChief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoidiff��ered. Citing the provisions ofOrder 1 rule 8 CPC and Order XXIIIrule 3B, it stated that there was nolegal impediment to making a reference to mediation. Whether thesaid CPC provisions would applyin the event parties arrive at a settlement in the mediation proceedings was left open to be decidedlater.
Also, what the Supreme Court
had frowned upon in Afcons was acivil court exercising power underSection 89 of the Code to refer asuit for “arbitration” without theconcurrence of all the parties tothe suit. But the court is free, theSupreme Court had said, to consider and decide upon any nonadjudicatory resolution method other than arbitration such as judicialsettlement or mediation.
Questions still remain. If theHindu groups continue to rejectmediation, how will this disputebe resolved? And if they agree tonegotiate, will the compromisethey reach with Muslims be binding on all Hindus in India?
Even Justice D.Y. Chandrachud,who conceded that a negotiatedsettlement is most ‘desirable’ inthis case, was initially not sure ifsuch a settlement could bind millions of Hindus and Muslims as theissue is not an ordinary disputebetween two private parties.
Win-win situationIf examined closely, it would beseen that the Babri Masjid disputeis not really an explosive issue affecting the religious sentiments ofmillions of Hindus and Muslims ashas been portrayed. This may havebeen the case in the initial years after the illegal demolition of the Babri Masjid. But today, more than aquarter century later, such a portrayal should be construed as having entered the realm of politicalmythopoeia where myths of various kinds are created at the hustings for electoral advantage.
The fact is, there is no evidenceto show that the handful of partiesclaiming to represent Hindus andMuslims in this case are fullybacked by their respective com
munities. In other words, the Babri Masjid/Ram Janmabhoomi imbroglio is no longer a lifeaffi��rmingissue for the Indian masses, whoare more concerned about jobs,poverty alleviation and access toaff��ordable housing, health careand education.
That said, both communitiescannot aff��ord to let the Ayodhyadispute simmer forever and stallthe country’s socioeconomicgrowth. The main reason for theunrelenting Muslim attitude is thefear that if they give up their claimon the Babri Masjid, Hindu groupswould ask for other “disputed”mosques to be handed over. Afterall one of the postdemolition karsevak slogans in 1992 was, “Yeh tohsirf jhanki hai, ab Kashi, Mathurabaaki hai (This is only the trailer,now Kashi and Mathura remain),”in which Kashi and Mathura aremetonyms for two more disputedplaces of worship.
A question of trustIf this Muslim fear is addressed bythe Hindu parties to the dispute,and also by infl��uential organisations such as the RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the chances ofamicably resolving this seeminglyintractable confl��ict would exponentially increase. A collective assurance from the Hindu side that itwould not stake claim to any other“disputed” mosque in India couldbe the facesaving compromiseand winwin situation both sidesare looking for.
A. Faizur Rahman is the secretarygeneral
of the Islamic Forum for the Promotion of
Moderate Thought. Email:
A compromise is still possibleBut there is need for clarity on the status of one mediator and the effi��cacy of mediation on Ayodhya
A. Faizur Rahman
GE
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In seven phasesThe decision by theElection Commission to nothold Assembly electionswith parliamentary polls inJammu and Kashmir “owingto the security situation”will deprive the people ofthe State, who are anintegral part of India, oftheir democratic rights(Page 1, “Lok Sabha pollsfrom April 11 to May 19”,March 11). Not holdingsimultaneous elections willwiden the gulf with the restof India. The Centralgovernment has virtuallyfailed to usher in peace andtranquillity in the State.Democracy is the onlybarometer by which tomeasure the needs of thepeople. S.K. Khosla,
Chandigarh
■ The national election is anastonishing feat anddemocracy in action on astriking scale. Proof of thisdemocratic tradition is thefl��awless way in which our
elections take place and thesmooth transition of powerto the next government. Theonly disagreeable note is theincreasing level of hostility incampaign speeches.Tolerance and respect fordissent are an importantpillar of democracy.H.N. Ramakrishna,
Bengaluru
Pact in Tamil NaduThe pact between the DMDKand the AIADMKled alliancefor the upcoming Lok Sabhapolls may have been sealed,but the people of Tamil Naduremember that both the PMKand the DMDK hadcampaigned extensivelyduring the 2016 StateAssembly elections on astrong antiAIADMK plank,severely criticising it onmajor issues such as hugecorruption, TASMAC outlets,agrarian distress and theNEET examination. Sadly,the politics of blatantcompromises andopportunism have becomethe order of the day, with
principles convenientlyignored. Some smallerparties are now facing ‘makeor break’ situations as far astheir political survival isconcerned, thus forcingthem to seek the protectiveumbrellas of big and ‘safer’parties and alliances.A. Mohan,
Chennai
■ As the deal shows, inpolitics yesterday’s foes canbecome today’s friends; theopposite holds true also. Thecoming together of parties ofvarious ideologies givespolitics a strange look. Howcan parties withdiametrically opposite viewswork together for the welfareof the people? The way inwhich parties are vying forseats shows their greed forpower. The goingson arebeing watched by the public.D. Sethuraman,
Chennai
National securityThe Pulwama episode hashelped to establish new
benchmarks in counteringterrorism; in this climate, thepublic narrative agrees wellwith military actions and wefi��nd ourselves vouching formilitaristic autocracy(Editorial page, “Bringingpolitics back in”, March 11).But it must be rememberedthat violence always givesway to more violence and touphold the democratictraditions of the nation, weneed to fi��nd a politicalsolution to problems liketerrorism. We cannot alwaysbank on military solutions.Otherwise, we are no betterthan Pakistan.Kshitij Mani Tripathi,
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Academic diversityMore than the diversity ofbackgrounds, we need to laymore emphasis on a diversityof ideas and innovationcapacities as far as ouruniversities are concerned(Editorial page, “The fl��awedunit of academic quotas”,March 11). The QS worldrankings for academic
working on U.S. data andwanted to return to Indiaand serve the country. Bothhe and his wife, Haripriya,invited me to dinner. When Imet her years later, all shewanted to know was whetherher cooking was okay. But Ifollowed her research online.She did work of lasting valueon Vaishnavism and on theicons worshipped by Hindus,Jains, and Buddhists. N. Balasuramanian,
Bengaluru
At the fourth ODIHitting a mammoth score of350plus against Australia inthe fourth ODI made theIndian team overconfi��dent.Ashton Turner, who isplaying only his second ODI,has shown the world ofcricket that nothing isimpossible if one is coolheaded and determined. Theloss should be a lesson forIndia. M. Pradyu,
Thalikavu, Kannur, Kerala
institutions show the poorstate of even our bestuniversities.Lakshmi Devamma Singireddy,
Koilkuntla, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh
■ The idea of using a‘diversity index’ as acriterion for grants touniversities is based on thefl��awed notion that diversityin itself is a desirable end. Inthe West, this idea hasgenerated much controversy.Given India’s dismal standingin global academia, we mustreject policies that substituteacademic output for thecosmetics of communalrepresentation. Aravind S.,
Thiruvananthapuram
Down memory laneIn the article, “A daughter ona special father” (‘OpenPage’, March 10), the writertook me back to the late1960s when her father, C.Rangarajan, was teaching atNew York University and Iwas doing my doctoral thesisat Columbia. He was tired of
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
Over the last few days, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair
man Jerome Powell has been trying to allay fears
that it will continue to raise interest rates not
withstanding conditions in the economy. Many, includ
ing President Donald Trump, have been quite critical of
the Fed raising rates despite a slowing economy and in
fl��ation staying well below its offi��cial target of 2%. In fact,
many have argued that the gradual but persistent rais
ing of rates may be the reason behind the slowdown in
U.S. growth and the lacklustre infl��ation numbers. The
American economy created a mere 20,000 jobs in Fe
bruary, the slowest growth in jobs in well over a year,
and GDP growth in the coming quarters is expected to
slow considerably from the rate of 3.4% in the third
quarter last year. On Sunday, however, Mr. Powell
termed the current interest rate level as “appropriate”,
and noted that the Fed does “not feel any hurry” to
raise rates further. The Fed Chairman’s remarks come
around the tenth anniversary of the historic bull market
in U.S. stocks, which began in March 2009 after policy
rates were cut aggressively in order to fi��ght the reces
sion. This marks a signifi��cant change from Mr. Powell’s
hawkish policy stance since taking over last year.
But right now it is not just the Fed that has put the
brakes on the normalisation of monetary policy
through a gradual tightening of shortterm interest
rates. As economic conditions in Europe and Asia begin
to deteriorate, central banks have been quick to turn
more dovish. European Central Bank President Mario
Draghi last week announced that rates in Europe will be
kept low until next year and off��ered to lend cheaply to
European banks. The People’s Bank of China has pro
mised further monetary stimulus measures to stem the
fall in growth, and the Reserve Bank of India has started
to cut interest rates as growth has slowed down each
successive quarter this fi��scal ahead of the general elec
tion. It should thus be obvious by now that central
banks around the world are reversing the direction of
their policies in what seems to be a coordinated eff��ort
to avoid a global growth slowdown. The brakes applied
to the raising of interest rates by the Fed allows other
central banks to lower their own policy rates and boost
growth without the fear that disruptive capital fl��ows
could wreak havoc on their economies. While such
coordinated monetary policy can certainly prevent
slowdowns, it also raises the risk of extended periods of
low interest rates leading to more destructive bubbles.
Avoiding a slowdownCentral banks are reversing the direction of
their policies in a seemingly coordinated bid
As the countdown for elections to the 17th Lok
Sabha begins, the world’s largest democracy has
a chance to reimagine itself. Over the last 16 gen
eral elections and numerous elections at lower levels,
the resolute trust that the founding fathers of the Repu
blic put in the parliamentary democratic system has
been substantially proven wise. India did make some
dangerous turns and show signs of fragility, especially
during the Emergency in the 1970s, but in the long term
it expanded the scope of its democracy through widen
ing representation, devolution of power and redistribu
tion of resources. This is not to overlook the various
maladies that have affl��icted the country’s democracy,
such as disinformation campaigns, corruption, disen
franchisement of the weaker sections of the society, the
corroding infl��uence of money and muscle power in
elections, and divisive majoritarian tendencies. While
the representative character of institutions has in gen
eral improved, women and religious minorities are
alarmingly underrepresented. The exercise of elections
itself is a matter of great pride for all Indians. The Elec
tion Commission of India has over the decades evolved
itself into a fi��ne institution and plays a critical role in the
sustenance of democracy. Its eff��orts to increase voter
participation through a series of small steps over the
years, including the use of the Electronic Voting Ma
chines, have been praiseworthy.
The vulnerabilities of Indian democracy have been
pronounced in the last fi��ve years, and some of its long
term gains have been undermined. Therefore, this elec
tion is more than an exercise to elect a new govern
ment. This should also be an occasion to reiterate and
reinforce Indian democracy’s core values, its represen
tative character and its promise of a constant rejuvena
tion of the collective spirit. The ECI has announced a se
ries of fresh measures to strengthen the integrity of the
electoral process and curb some rapidly growing ha
zards such as the spread of falsehoods aimed at creating
social polarisation for consolidation of votes. Measures
such as better monitoring of social media campaigns,
while steps in the right direction, are not in themselves
adequate to deal with the challenges of these times. The
stakes are high for all contenders this year, and Indian
politics has reached a level of competitiveness where
ground rules of engagement are routinely disregarded.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who rode to power in
2014 on the agenda of material progress through Hin
dutva, has to defend his reign to seek a second term.
His opponents sense an existential danger from him
and are trying to mobilise those left behind or who feel
disempowered by his governance. While furthering in
dividual interests, all parties must realise that democra
cy itself is at stake if the campaign is aimed at commu
nal polarisation. Though the promise of Indian
democracy has not been fully realised, voters have re
mained committed to it. They turn up in large numbers
to vote, and consider the very act of voting as empower
ment. That trust should be upheld.
A promise to live by All political parties must be mindful of the
core values that invigorate Indian democracy
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THE HINDU DELHI
TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019 9EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
CMYK
A ND-NDE
OPED
The Executive Committee of the Congress Parliamentary Party today [March 11, New Delhi] decided to persuade Mr. Chandra Shekhar, a Congress member of the Rajya Sabha to expressregret for some of his remarks against Mr. Morarji Desai duringthe debate on Birla aff��airs. But Mr. Chandra Shekhar, who metthe Leader of the party, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, later in the evening [March 11], is understood to have refused to do so. According to the decision taken by the Executive Committee, disciplinary action will now be initiated against Mr. ChandraShekhar. Under the rules – as quoted by Mr. Sonavane at themeeting this morning [March 11] – a show cause notice willhave to be issued and the matter should be referred to theGeneral Body which is to decide on twothirds majority. Thereis a feeling that reference to the General Body may lead tofurther complications. The whole episode it is feared may leadto a serious rift within the Party.
FIFTY YEARS AGO MARCH 12, 1969
Chandra Shekhar refuses to express regret
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FROM ARCHIVES
With a view to starting systematic work for prevention, cureand relief of blindness an association called “The Blind ReliefAssociation” has been inaugurated here [Mumbai] with theHon’ble Mr. Gokaldas Parekh as its Chairman. It is estimatedthat blindness is more prevalent in India than in the westerncountries and its causes to a great extent are preventable. Yetno systematic eff��ort has hitherto been made for prevention,cure or relief of the unfortunate blind. The Association has secured the services of two experienced eye specialists, Drs.Prabhakar and Chatrapati, and has enlisted the cooperationMr. C.G. Henderson I.C.S., of Nasik, who has been doing agood deal of practical work in this connection. The schemeproposed by the organisers is an ambitious one.
A HUNDRED YEARS AGO MARCH 12, 1919.
Blind Relief Association.
This is a tale of three sisters. I know oneof them: she is in her seventies and livesalone in a small town in India. Her oldersister lives with her sons, who are dedicated government servants, in a biggercity in India. And her eldest sister, whohad moved to Pakistan with her husband’s family during the postPartitionyears, lives with her children in Karachior Islamabad. I am not sure which city,but it is a Pakistani city. This situation isnot unusual for the older generations ofmiddleclass Muslim families, who sawone or more siblings leaving for Pakistan in the 1940s and ’50s.
Only a phone call awayAll three sisters are widows. As theirchildren have either moved to otherplaces for work or are busy with theircareers, these three sisters, who havenot come together for decades, have very little to do except reminisce. Theirgreatest pleasure is to chat on thephone, a process made easier thesedays with digital options. After decadesof worrying about the cost of phonecalls, now they can ring each other upfor next to nothing. The eldest sistercalls every few days, for some of herhappiest memories are of India.
Of course, I did not know all this untilI received a call from the youngest sister, who is the only one who knows me,some days ago. After I had recoveredfrom my surprise and we had exchanged the usual greetings, I asked herwhy she had called. “Is everything OKwith you?” I enquired in Urdu.
“What can be wrong with me, beta?Allah looks after me, and my neighbours help out.”
I did not ask more, as I knew that shewas a childless widow and lived alone.So I asked a direct question: Why haveyou called me? (I don’t think she had ever called me before, not even when Iwas still working in India.)
I needed to ask you about my sisters,she said. I do not have anyone else toask, and I know you live abroad, youknow offi��cers, you are a journalist.
It was then that she told me abouther two sisters, of whom I had notknown until then (or had forgotten
about). But I still did not understandher problem. I did not know her wellenough for her to call and ask for money, and in any case she belonged to anaffl��uent (though not rich) and proud family, which would never borrow fromstrangers or even friends. She explained the matter to me.
Border problemsThis was her issue. Her oldest sister, theone in Pakistan, was used to calling herand her other sibling twice a week. Butnow a problem had cropped up. Neighbours and relatives had told this old woman, living alone with her iPhone, thatshe should not respond to any call fromPakistan. It might be considered antinational, they had told her. The othersister had already stopped respondingto calls from her Pakistani sibling, because her sons were government servants in India and she did not want tocause them any trouble. The eldest older sister in Pakistan was worriedabout at this sudden lack of responseand was now calling even more often.
As I listened to the story, the tragedyof Partition fl��ashed through my mind:all those millions killed and dislocated!And it was a tragedy that never seemedto end. Why was a woman in her late seventies afraid of receiving a phone callfrom her older sister, now in her lateeighties, just because a political borderseparated the two? Why had anothersister stopped taking these calls because she was afraid it would cause pro
blems for her sons?This old woman wanted answers
from me, because she knew I wrote fornewspapers. What could I say to her, except reassure her that at least in Indiawe have politicians, offi��cers and bureaucrats who would not persecute someone like her for talking to her sisterin Pakistan? But she was nervous, worried. Neighbours have told me stories;both Hindus and Muslims have advisedme not to talk to my sister, she murmured, only halfconvinced by my assurances. “I am an old woman,” she said.“I do not want to choose between myown welfare and my older sister. Andhow can I tell her not to call? What do Isay to her when she asks why my othersister is not responding to her calls?”
I could not really answer her, because it is not an answer for an individual to give; it craves a collective voice,a collective conscience. It requires acollective voice with a collective conscience, for a collective voice without aconscience can only be the violent baying of a bullying mob.
Let us act decisively against terror ofany sort, of course, but let us not dividethe hearts of ordinary people. Let usnot create an atmosphere of paranoia.We owe Mahatma Gandhi’s India — andbasic humanity — at least that much. Letus not give in to terrorism by infectingordinary families with fear.
Tabish Khair is an Indian novelist and academic
who works in Denmark
Let us not give in to terrorism by infecting ordinary families with fear
Too afraid to make a phone call
Tabish Khair
SA
TW
IK G
AD
E
Pakistan and India are strange nations.Just as the confl��ict after India’s bombingof the Balakot terror camp was windingdown, Pakistan alleged on March 5 thatit had thwarted the entry of an Indiansubmarine into its waters. India responded that Pakistan was indulging infalse propaganda. On the same evening, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry issued a statement that its High Commissioner to India, Sohail Mahmood,would be returning to Delhi and talkswith India on the Kartarpur Corridorwould go ahead. It was a signal that tensions were offi��cially being defused. India confi��rmed the talks on Kartarpurand also sent back Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria to Islamabad.
The morning and evening’s events ofMarch 5 could cause genuine confusionamong the public. But it appears asthough Pakistan, through its morningassertion, was playing to its domesticaudience, while its evening statementwas a signal to the international community that it had no further desire toclimb the escalation ladder with India.
Winding down tensionsIt was U.S. President Donald Trumpwho provided the fi��rst clear indicationof the involvement of major powers indefusing tensions between India andPakistan. Apart from the Americans,the Chinese and Saudis also seemsmack in the middle of the IndiaPakistan equation. If the Indian intentionpostPulwama was to isolate Pakistan,that doesn’t seem to have happened.
For the two governments, given thatthe score was level — one had shotdown a F16 and the other had shotdown an MiG21 — they could now respond positively to global concerns. Asfor Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ‘Operation Balakot’ had given him ammunition to use in his election rallies.
The Modi government’s decision togo ahead with the Kartarpur talks daysafter tensions were at the peak, and after withdrawing the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan, is bizarre, but itserves two purposes. One, it is an eff��ortto win votes in the Punjab. Two, itshows India as being reasonable before
the international community. There is little doubt that India got
away with its preemptive strike in Balakot because Pakistan’s denials that ithas nothing to do with fostering groupslike the JaisheMohammad ( JeM) andLashkareTaiba (LeT) carry no credibility, including among thinking membersof its own civil society. Further, the JeMeven claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror strike. There’s also littledoubt that India and Pakistan narrowlyescaped a fullfl��edged confl��ict, the extent of which can never really be predicted amid social media propaganda,fake videos, domestic pressures and ugly jingoism on both sides.
The Vajpayee yearsThe IndiaPakistan nuclear ‘deterrent’was fi��rst put to test by General PervezMusharraf, who planned the Kargil incursion months after Pakistan went publicly nuclear in response to the Indiannuclear tests of May 11 and 13, 1998.
As India began clearing the Kargilheights of the Pakistani Northern LightInfantry masquerading as ‘mujahideen’, there was enormous pressure onPrime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee touse the Indian Air Force across the Lineof Control after the loss of two MiG aircraft. But Vajpayee held fi��rm againstboth public and IAF pressure. Duringthe Kargil confl��ict, Pakistan’s then Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmed andMinister Raja ZafarulHaq made it clearthat its nuclear weapons were not forshow, but for use. Pakistan’s conductduring Kargil exposed the state as irresponsible and led to numerous international calls for respecting the LoC. HadIndia retaliated across the LoC then, orhit back against Pakistani retaliationduring this year’s confrontation, thecountry’s “miltablishment”, to borrowPakistani journalist Najam Sethi’s expression, in Rawalpindi may well havebeen pondering the unthinkable nuclear option.
Pakistan went to great lengths to ob
tain its nuclear capability to insulate itself against India and no “miltablishment” can survive there if it’s unable toeven the score with India. The nuclearoption is built into the trajectory of itssurvival as a state.
India can ignore such default Pakistani options at its own — and the region’s — peril. Looking strong in an election year might be good for a politicalparty’s prospects, but will do nothingto enhance India’s credentials as a responsible state that thinks long term.
During the Kargil war in 1999, afterthe Parliament attack in 2001, and postthe Mumbai attack in 2008, two PrimeMinisters of India had the option of retaliation, but they did not exercise it. Instead, India’s patience projected theresponsible nature of the state, whichwas in stark opposition to Pakistan’s tattered credibility.
It is a commentary on the sorry stateof India’s covert capabilities that key fi��gures in the terror network in Pakistanoperate unhindered. A key planner ofthe 1999 IC814 hijacking and founder ofthe HarkatulMujahideen, Fazlur Rehman Khaleel, was recently received at aPakistani air base in Waziristan. That’sthe ground reality. Whatever Pakistan isdoing to rein in the JeM and LeT is beingdictated by the threat of sanctions fromthe Financial Action Task Force, not byIndian pressure. These actions will vanish if the threat of sanctions dissipates.
Talks and more talksA conventional response to terroristgroups can demonstrate intent, butdoes very little to whittle down theirabilities. Covert capabilities coupledwith deft and persistent diplomacy isthe only way forward in such diffi��cultcircumstances.
The Modi government’s inability toreach out to Kashmiris and its actionsagainst the Hurriyat leadership at atime when the separatists have lost control of the public mood underline anuncaring attitude. This has also createda fertile ground for Kashmiri youth tojoin terrorist ranks.
Indian state responses cannot bereactive to the agenda of terroristgroups, howsoever brutal their actionsare. A calm, mature, informed andlongterm strategy with aggressive diplomacy at its core, one that leveragesIndia’s economic strength, remains thecountry’s best bet to deal with the terrorist threat from Pakistani soil.
A case for aggressive diplomacyIndian state responses cannot be reactive to the agenda of terrorist groups
Amit Baruah
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Europe’s pushback against banningChinese telecommunications fi��rmHuawei from the 5G mobile networkmarkets is in stark contrast to theU.S.’s stance. Washington has longsuspected the world’s largest makerof telecommunications equipmentof espionage and cyber sabotage.
These concerns are rooted in the perception that Chinesestateowned entities, recipients of large subsidies, routinelypass on sensitive information to the government. That reading was strengthened when China enacted the National Intelligence Law in 2017 requiring citizens and organisationsto cooperate in national intelligence activities. Huawei is aprivately listed fi��rm, but there are suspicions that it can stillaccess sensitive data. These suspicions stem from the factthat Huawei’s founder used to be in the military.
A 2011 open letter by its deputy chairman was aimed at animage makeover after the company was forced to divest itself of a U.S. tech startup. But the next year, the House Intelligence Committee recommended that Huawei be blockedfrom future mergers and acquisitions. In 2014, classifi��eddocuments showed that the U.S. National Security Agencyhad been hacking into Huawei to ascertain the latter’s linksto the People’s Liberation Army. Within months of those revelations, the U.S. charged fi��ve Chinese army offi��cials ofstealing trade secrets from U.S. institutions. The next year,Chinese President Xi Jinping signed an agreement with hisU.S. counterpart to cease cyber commercial espionage.
In the ongoing tussle, the Donald Trump administrationin the U.S. has banned Huawei’s participation in the 5G rollout and canvassed allies in the Five Eyes intelligencesharing network to follow suit. Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s head offi��nance, is challenging her detention by the Canadian government and faces extradition to the U.S. for Huawei’s alleged Iranian sanctions evasion.
In February, U.S. VicePresident Mike Pence cautionedthe North Atlantic Treaty Organisation states in Munich thatthe security of the West could not be guaranteed by relianceon the East, in an oblique reference to the telecom fi��rm.Authorities in Britain and Germany acknowledge potentialrisks to national security from Huawei. But their responsesdiverge in terms of how the threat should be managed, as also factoring in the extensive trade and diplomatic ties withthe world’s second largest economy.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has backed the country’s cyber security agency. MI6 seems to attach someweight to U.S. caution over Huawei. But Britain’s other security services seem opposed to objections merely rooted inthe technology supplier’s country of origin. Instead theyemphasise on evidencebased threat perception and theadoption of tougher cyber security standards. Another recommendation is for mobile service providers to diversifytheir sourcing of telecom equipment. The debate continues.
The writer is a Deputy Editor at The Hindu in Chennai
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The Huawei debate The U.K. and Germany acknowledgepotential risks to national security, butdiff��er on how these should be managed
Garimella Subramaniam
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First-past-the-post system
The fi��rstpastthepost (FPTP) system is also known as the simple majority system. In this voting method, the candidatewith the highest number of votes in a constituency is declaredthe winner. This system is used in India in direct elections tothe Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. While FPTP isrelatively simple, it does not always allow for a truly representative mandate, as the candidate could win despite securingless than half the votes in a contest. In 2014, the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party won 336seats with only 38.5% of the popular vote. Also, smaller parties representing specifi��c groups have a lower chance of beingelected in FPTP.
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