[sacw] SACW #2. | 24 June 02

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire Dispatch #2 | 24 June 2002

South Asia Citizens Web:
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex

South Asians Against Nukes:
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex/NoNukes.html

__________________________

#1. Pakistan
- BBC exclusive: An Interview with President Musharraf
- Musharraf: Here's What I'll Do (The Washington Post - Interview)
#2. Are the polls are being postponed in Pakistan ? (M.B. Naqvi)
#3. Indians, Pakistanis get together to march for peace
#4. Degradation of Indus Basin: how secure is South Asia's future?=20
(Arjimand Hussain Talib)
#5. Pakistan : Appeal for Saima and her sister Shama
#6. India: Government plans takeover of major shrines (Lola Nayar)

__________________________

#1.

BBC exclusive: An Interview with the Pakistan's President Musharraf
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/video/38091000/rm/_38091344_mideast_asiatoday_p=
rice_vi.ram

o o o

The Washington Post, Sunday, June 23, 2002; Page B01
Musharraf: Here's What I'll Do
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26486-2002Jun21.html

_____

#2.

Are the polls are being postponed in Pakistan ?
M.B. Naqvi
Karachi June 23:

Islamabad's drawing rooms are abuzz with the rumour --- a misnomer because
it is a trial balloon floated by Authority --- that polls are being
postponed for at least six months among other rumours. Other rumours
concern how to empower the President to stay as the overlord of the
socalled restored democracy in the post-election period, whenever it is
held.

Ordinarily 90 days campaigning are required before the polls so far
scheduled for October 7; thus only 15 days are left for the CEC and
government to execute all their agenda. To be meaningful, the people must
know under what framework the polls are being held; they have to know the
powers the Assemblies will have.

Uncertainties should end before electioneering starts. There is no
Constitution today except the Provisional Constitutional Order: the say so
of General Pervez Musharraf. The 1973 Constitution is supposedly alive
without being in force. Thanks to the complexities of life, there is no
firm legal relationship between the people and the military regime or even
within various government agencies. The 1973 Constitution's written
details, as they were on Oct. 12, '99 --- their draft is all that survives
--- act as guidelines for routine official actions. People thus
legitimately expect that usual practices vis-=E0-vis the general election
will be followed.

That requires a neutral caretaker government to supervise the polls, as in
Bangladesh. It is a good idea. Musharraf government is not a neutral
regime. A military coup d'etat produced it and the Chief Executive head has
announced his intention to continue ruling for five more years beyond
October 12, 2002 to continue, as he says, the reforms he has yet to make.
These include far-reaching Constitutional amendments. Today the voters do
not know what precise constitutional scheme the CE will give. They know who
is making these changes in the future Basic Law but question his authority
or right to do so.

The people should also know how will the Constitutional amendments are to
be enacted. Would it be in the manner laid down in the 1973 Constitution?
Or will the new Assemblies have to function under the amendments already
enacted by CE Musharraf himself, as SC had permitted. If the right to make
changes in the Organic Law is left to the Parliament, with its due process,
the polls will mean a lot more than an ordinary election. But if General
Musharraf signs the Order (Amendments) himself, the Assemblies will be
creatures of the changes he will make, maybe by making it obligatory on all
candidates to swear on the thus changed Constitution. The polls will then
amount to choosing no more than municipal councillors.

It so happens that Pakistanis have more than an inkling of what changes
Gen. Musharraf wants in the constitutional scheme. He has frequently
complained there was no balance of powers among the three power brokers:
the President, Prime Minister and the COAS. Since he himself is the
President as well as the COAS --- and wants to remain so practically
indefinitely --- all the checks will have to be on the powers of the PM and
to the advantage of the COAS-President. Procedurally, he wants a
military-dominated National Security Council to reinforce and strengthen
the COAS-President, when and if he wants to do a hatchet job on the PM, and
the Parliament behind him. For, the powers that NSC is to be given will
enable it to recommend to President that the Constitution be suspended for
a period and the government be dismissed. The President will happily
oblige.

The COAS-President wants to make even more changes, with the added
uncertainty over whether the Assemblies will be given a chance to at least
ratify these changes in the Organic Law made by one man. It is needless to
add that National Assembly and Senate will be required anyhow to indemnify
Gen. Musharraf, his colleagues and the Army for all the steps taken outside
the Constitution so far and to protect his reforms in perpetuity.

This is a lot of work that the government is required to do. A lot of
legal-sounding drafting has to be done. That will have to be notified to
the public for information and hopefully for debate, before finalisation.
Anyway, it has to decide how the changes will be enacted and how or who
will ratify them. The regime has also to urge the CEC to complete its work
in the next 15 days, if 90 days are to be given for campaigning to parties
and candidates. The CEC has to finish all the processes of the delimitation
of constituencies, complete all the consequential action regarding
constituency-wise voters lists, including all new voters in the same 15
days. He has not even notified the dates that Gen. Musharraf had announced,
i.e. 7th and 11th of October.

It seems that keeping to the schedule given by the SC and the CE, i.e. Oct.
7 and 11, will be difficult, if not impossible. The presumption is that the
regime, for obvious reasons such as mobilisation of the armies by India and
Pakistan together with the hectic international diplomacy to prevent a war,
was distracted and may not have been able to complete its tasks. For,
popular unexpected reaction to various proposed measures has to be
carefully assessed, for reactions to important issues can cause tricky
situations. If this is so, the government has to think carefully before
announcing the likely postponement, given the mandatory nature of SC
decision. It is anyhow an explosive issue.

It might involve going to SC, to convince it of the need for putting the
polls off and to get its yes. Ordinarily, it should be a difficult
enterprise. But given the battery of famous legal luminaries the regime has
mustered and their expertise, it cannot be too hard to convince the SC of
the need for giving the General more time. Most people expect the SC will
oblige, as it has said yes to various dictators in the past.

Inevitably the politics of the military takeover, the fourth in 52 years,
is sure to be raised in the campaigning. Most Pakistanis feel diminished by
the frequency of the breakdowns of legal order and constitutionalism, with
dictators charging in. People tend to compare with Indians for whom there
has been no deviation from their constitution, except one Emergency that
was arguably illegal. People here may detest Hindu communalism's growth in
India but the India generals have remained loyal to their constitutional
governments. Why are India's generals more law-abiding? As politicians go,
the Indian ones are, on the whole, not much better than their Pakistani
counterparts. Corruption in India is said to be no less. Why then is the
Indian Army's record so much better? Anyway, the Indians don't face the
problems such as the one that most Pakistanis are discussing today.

Few Pakistanis bring up this unbroken legality in India in public
discourse. But rather ignore it with embarrassed silence. Pakistanis,
mostly expatriates, always tend to find fatuous alibis why Pakistani
generals cannot overcome their itch to topple a legal government. Today
this is problem number one in Pakistan. Three years ago a whole legal
system was overthrown, and not simply Nawaz Sharif, and all Pakistanis were
suddenly made subjects of one man. Will this charade ever end of the sudden
and sordid discontinuities of law arising from inflated military egos? As
for the socalled reforms on the anvil they violate all notions of
democracy.

With de-escalation steps being haltingly taken by both sides and no one
outside the two governments thinks that a similar Crisis will come back, it
is time the Pakistanis were given opportunity to discuss more politics.
Pakistanis' main problems are economic and social. But none of them can be
satisfactorily tackled, let alone solved, if there is no government that is
responsive to popular aspirations and needs. Only a truly democratic
government, that not only grants all human rights to all but permits
participation by the people in decision-making and their execution, can be
really responsive. For that to be possible, ambitious generals have to be
kept out of politics. It is to be wondered whether Pakistanis can evolve a
dispensation where can this be done. But that does not require any
postponement of election.

_____

#3.

The Hindustan Times (India)
Sunday, June 23, 2002
=20=20=09=20
Indians, Pakistanis get together to march for peace
AP
Boston, June 23
About 100 people of South Asian descent marched in Boston to show=20
solidarity and promote peace in the region.

The group marched from Cambridge across the Charles River to Boston yesterd=
ay.

"This was basically to show that we are concerned about the situation=20
in South Asia, and we came out to show that people from India and=20
Pakistan are united and totally against war," said Shahid Khan, vice=20
president of the Pakistani American Congress.

The two nations should spend money on fighting the rampant poverty,=20
hunger and illiteracy in the region instead of fighting each other,=20
Khan said.

India and Pakistan, which both have nuclear arms, went to the brink=20
of war following a December attack on the Indian Parliament. India=20
blamed Pakistan-based Islamic extremists fighting Indian rule in=20
Kashmir.

In South Asia, 260 million people live without basic health care; 340=20
million people live without clean drinking water; 830 million people=20
live without proper sanitation; and 400 million people go hungry=20
every day, Khan said.

"The only thing South Asia has to be proud of is that they can blow=20
each other up with nuclear bombs," he said.

The Boston area is home to tens of thousands of Indians and=20
Pakistanis. People from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka also participated in=20
yesterday's event.

_____

#4.

The News on Sunday (Pakistan)
23/6/2002

waterwoes
Degradation of Indus Basin: how secure is South Asia's future?

By Arjimand Hussain Talib in Srinagar

It is the degradation of the Indus Basin due to its neglect in=20
integrated development and conservation by both India and Pakistan=20
that is seeing a severe water crisis looming over our heads in the=20
sub-continent

Talking environment and ecology in the time of war for many is like=20
talking taboo at prayer. War is about death and survival, whereas=20
environmental and ecological preservation is about drawing-room=20
discussions of luxury--so goes the feeling. This irony of the general=20
sub-continental sense of environmental and ecological issues, if at=20
all it is there, is not about our intrinsic ignorance. The problem=20
lies in the mannerism of our environmental talks and activism in our=20
region, that always come packaged as an "elitist luxury"--far from=20
the realities of our day to day life. It is this fundamental flaw=20
with our discourse on environment that is to blame for a looming=20
environmental catastrophe that Kashmir, Pakistan and India are=20
bracing for, which (not many of us realise) could undermine our very=20
survival. The sub-continent has to wake up to the fact that the=20
environment we live in is basically linked to our security, and that=20
Jammu & Kashmir being at the heart of the Indus River Basin, which is=20
crucial for social and political stability of Jammu & Kashmir,=20
Pakistan and northern India, needs greater attention.

Not many of us know that the concept of trans-boundary basin=20
development was discarded after India and Pakistan signed the Indus=20
Waters Treaty in 1960. Likewise, not many of us are aware that one of=20
the conditions of the World Bank-brokered treaty was the multilateral=20
and integrated ecological and environmental conservation of the Indus=20
Basin. Both the provisions of the agreement have not been fulfilled.=20
The degradation of the Indus Basin, of which Jammu & Kashmir is a=20
part, has manifested itself in many ways that affect our day to day=20
life. We are already in a situation of water scarcity, which is=20
giving birth to violent conflicts on water sharing. The water riot in=20
Garend village in the Budgam district and the other one at Qazigund=20
recently in Kashmir, in which three people were killed and eight=20
others wounded, cannot be seen in isolation.
The environmental degradation of the Indus basin as a whole has=20
already resulted in severe precipitation shortages in the catchment=20
areas of the Indus system. Not only that, we have yet to realise the=20
magnitude of degradation of the region's eco-system as a direct=20
consequence of the sustained India-Pakistan political and military=20
standoff. We are far from realising the extent of strain on the=20
ecology=20
of Jammu & Kashmir, due to the militarisation of vast tracts of=20
mountains and pastures on both sides of the LoC in the Indus Basin.

The military standoff at the Siachen Glacier, for instance, is a huge=20
environmental loss. Studies have found that about 12,000 tonnes of=20
load is flown into the Siachen Glacier every year, including the one,=20
which is para-dropped there. Going by these estimates, it is=20
estimated that 21,6,000 tonnes of load has been transported on to the=20
Glacier since 1984, the year of militarisation of the Glacier. It is=20
estimated that out of the total load off-loaded on the Glacier, over=20
50 per cent has been dumped there as hazardous waste. Experts claim=20
that 40 per cent of this waste is plastic and metal. As a=20
consequence, Siachen Glacier has become the world's biggest and the=20
highest garbage dump, which mainly consists of plastic, remains of=20
crashed helicopters, worn out gun barrels, splinters from gun=20
shelling, empty fuel barrels, burnt shelters, telephone wires, skid=20
boards, para-dropping boards, edible oil containers, canisters, gunny=20
bags, rotten vegetables, bad meat, expired tinned meat, cartons,=20
wrappers, shoes, clothing, ration items etc. Items damaged or lost=20
due to misjudged para-dropping too add to this list. It also includes=20
bodies, which could not be recovered.

Lakhs of parachutes are used to drop rations over the posts in both=20
India as well as Pakistan. Though reusable, these parachutes lie at=20
the posts and are not re-inducted. All this non- biodegradable waste=20
has become a part of the snow of the glacier. It has been found that=20
one of the edges of the Siachen Glacier has receded by more than 200=20
yards. The oozing out of the toxic substances by these materials is a=20
continuous phenomenon, which are released into rivers as and when the=20
glacier melts. All toxic washing residue as a result of continuous=20
washing of clothes on the Glacier flows into the Nubra River. The=20
Nubra goes to join the Shayok River and ultimately flows into the=20
Indus.

Research has shown that contamination of Indus waters in upper=20
Pakistan has much to do with the pollution of the catchment of the=20
Indus Basin. The latest report of the United Nations' Environment=20
Programme (UNEP) has revealed that the lakes forming in the Himalayas=20
and other mountains ranges, because of global warming and localised=20
thermal stimulation activities, like military manoeuvres, threaten=20
the lives of tens and thousands of people in the valleys. It has=20
reported that glaciers are retreating and high altitude snowfields=20
are melting fast and in response to rise in temperatures, lakes=20
directly fed by glaciers are swelling. In Nepal and Bhutan, for=20
instance, the study has found that 44 lakes were filling so rapidly=20
that they were in danger of bursting within five to ten years,=20
sending millions of gallons of water into populated valleys. It has=20
been divulged that there are 2323 such glacial lakes in the Himalayas=20
in Nepal and in the Hindukush.

Given the fact that the geographical and climatic patterns are almost=20
the same in the Jammu & Kashmir Himalayas, Kashmir valley and also=20
the plains of Pakistani Punjab face a real danger of a flash flood=20
catastrophe in the coming years. Over the last few years, independent=20
research has established that glaciers in Jammu & Kashmir are=20
receding at a fast rate. There has been drastic decrease in the=20
downpour of precipitation as well. Jhelum has already recorded the=20
lowest-ever water level of 6.06 feet at Sangam and 0.40 feet at=20
Munshi Bagh on February 12, 2001. The constraints imposed by the=20
Indus Water Treaty by virtue of which the Indian-administered Jammu &=20
Kashmir cannot store the waters of its rivers, either for hydro-power=20
generation or for irrigation purposes, has increasingly come to be=20
seen as a case of ecological deprivation. Indus Water Treaty allows=20
J&K to build storages aggregating 3.60m acre feet on the three rivers=20
of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. Out of the 3.60m acre feet, 1.60 MAF=20
could be used for hydro-power, 0.75 MAF for flood moderation and 1.25=20
MAF for general storage for non-consumptive uses, including power=20
generation. As a result of these constraints, agriculture expansion=20
in Kashmir has not been able to keep pace with population growth.=20
>From a net irrigated area of 261 thousand hectares in 1950-51, J&K=20
has been able to expand irrigated land to only 308.77 thousand=20
hectares till 1997-98.

Although Jammu & Kashmir State was supposed to get 50 per cent share=20
of the power from the Bakhra Dam project as a compensation to=20
conceding rights under the Indus Water Treaty, the promise has never=20
been fulfilled. Agreement had been reached between the then Chief=20
Minister of J&K State, Shiekh Muhammad Abdullah and the then Chief=20
Minister of Punjab, Prakash Singh Badal in 1979 regarding=20
construction of Shahpur Kandi Barrage, under which our State had to=20
get about 11,000 cusec water discharge from Ravi River to irrigate=20
its over one lakh hectares of land in the Jammu division. However,=20
despite construction of 90 meters-long Ravi-Tawi canal during Shiekh=20
Abdullah's tenure, the Shahpur-Kandi Barrage project has not been=20
completed even after 23 years have lapsed. One of reasons of=20
non-completion of the canal is said to be that Indian Punjab itself=20
is facing water shortage due to increasing demands and its water=20
dispute with Haryana.

Due to the depletion of ground water sources in the Rajasthan,=20
Gujarat in India and Punjab and Sindh in Pakistan, strain on Indus=20
system waters have increased considerably. One of the causes of this=20
situation is the degradation of the Indus Basin, which is highly=20
crucial for India's northern plains and almost whole of Pakistan. It=20
is the degradation of the Indus Basin due to its neglect in=20
integrated development and conservation by both India and Pakistan=20
that is seeing a severe water crisis looming over our heads in the=20
sub-continent. For long-term ecological conservation of the Indus=20
Basin, one agenda of India-Pakistan bilateral engagement must be=20
demilitarisation of highland pastures in the Pirpanjal and other=20
mountain ranges, like Zanaskar and the Siachen Glacier. And what=20
would have to follow these steps is a major integrated Indus Basin=20
development and conservation project. That is the key to a secured=20
collective future of South Asia.

_____

#5.

Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 08:45:28 +0500
Recieved From: Zaheer Alam Kidvai
Subject: Please circulate

>Dear All,
>
>Saima (20 yrs old) and her sister Shama (17 yrs old) were gang raped
>by 4 policeman and a shop owner in Ranchore line, Karachi, last
>May. Saima, mother of a three year old son, was recently divorced
>because her husband wanted to marry another girl. She was raped
>while at her father's house who earns mere 50/=3D per day doing bicycle
>repairs. Supporting a family of nine kids he has hardly any money to=20
>fight the case.
>
>Saima and Shama were raped in front of her brother, father, little
>sisters and brothers. Father and brother were tied so they could
>just witness the rape of Saima and Shama.
>
>Now Saima wants to fight back and not any NGO has come to her help.
>One human right lawyer, Zia Awan, is fighting her case free of charge.
>
>Fortunately four of the five rapists are under arrest. If Saima,
>under tremendous stress from being raped and from the family of
>the rapists , stands fast then under the same Hadood ordinance the
>convicted might get a death sentence. It has never happened that
>policemen are convicted and then punished but there is a chance
>that if the family can survive the pressure this might give a chance
>to Saima and Shama to rebuilt their life.
>
>The family needs money to move to a safer place as most of the mohallah,
>being a police colony, is against them. Initially they were provided
>with state guards and now that has been withdrawn.
>
>The expatriate community of Pakistan cannot do a lot but maybe give
>a token of support to Saima and Shama. I am trying to raise $2000
>dollars and have collected by now $ 250 dollars. Whatever money
>collected will be given directly to Saima, the elder sister so that
>she could spend it the way she seems necessary.
>
>Any amount $10, $20, $ 50 or $ 100 is welcomed because it is the=20
>thought that counts.
>
>Please pledge the money and send me a mail with the contribution
>and I will assure you that that money will be sent to Saima. I will=20
>probably contact HRCP (
>Human Right Commision of Pakistan) to give this money personally to Saima.
>
>Any suggestions are welcome.
>
>regards
>
>Zafar Iqbal
>
>Contribution can be sent to:
>
>Zaffar Iqbal
>2910 Woodsedge Drive A # 208
>Painted Post NY 14870
>
>OR
>
>We are trying to open Saima's dollar account in Pakistan. Please
>call me or email me and I will forward her account number.
>
>I am a physician working in Corning, NY. I am a graduate of Dow
>Medical College, Karachi (Class of 1995). I was in Buffalo from 1998-2001.
>
>My phone numbers are:
>
>607-962-1077 (H)
>607-742-6390 (M)
>607-58-5158 (O)
>email: ziqbal@m...
>
>The above story was reported in Herald June 2002.

And now to something (not) completely different ...

FIRST STEPS ...

PAKISTAN BANS FOREIGN FUNDING OF MADARSAAS

The government has approved a decree that entitles madarsaas (seminaries)
to official aid only if they impart modern education along with religious
teaching. Information Minister Nisar Memon made this announcement at a
Press conference here on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting chaired by
General Pervez Musharraf. Madarsaas refusing to register themselves with
special education boards to be set up by the government "will not be
allowed to operate," the Minister said. And unregistered madarsaas, it has
been decided, will not receive any donation or aid from any foreign source.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020621/main1.htm

PAKISTAN PLANS TO BAN TEACHING EXTREMISM IN SCHOOLS

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan's religious affairs minister said
Thursday the government would soon pass laws banning the teaching of
militancy and extremism at the nation's 8,000 Islamic religious schools.
Clerics found to be involved in fanning sectarian hatred and extremism in
the schools, known as madrassas, would face prison terms of two years, said
Dr. Mehmood Ghazi. "Under the new laws, to be enacted soon, no madrassas
will be allowed to indulge in militancy," Ghazi told reporters.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/06/20/pakistan-schools.htm

_____

#5.

The Praful Bidwai Column, June 24 -30, 2002

NDA's Presidential Missile - Kalam: boon or bane?

By Praful Bidwai

Is Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam an eminent scientist with an exceptional=20
record and worthy vision, a secularist of integrity, who personifies=20
India's "composite culture", behind whom the entire nation should=20
unite? Or is he merely the RSS=92 "poster-boy Muslim", a "Kalam Iyer"=20
(as his colleagues call him), the kind who takes pride in knowing=20
Sanskrit but no Urdu, and who plays the rudra veena and reads the=20
Bhagwad-Gita every day?

The issue has proved divisive enough to split not just the=20
Opposition, but even the People's Front, which tried to forge a=20
distinct identity within it. Never before have such heavy charges=20
been traded between politicians over a single individual, including=20
Ms Sonia Gandhi. The Kalam issue demands a dispassionate discussion=20
which goes beyond icons and does not shy away from a good look at our=20
science and technology establishment.

However, two things should be clear. One, the BJP/NDA is making a big=20
hullabaloo about a "consensus" around Mr Kalam. But the "Missile Man"=20
was not its first choice. Its original favourite until June 8 was=20
Vice-President Krishna Kant. Then, it suddenly switched to=20
Maharashtra governor P.C. Alexander for reasons connected with the=20
BJP-Shiv Sena's bid to topple the Congress-NCP state government. This=20
happened against Mr Vajpayee's wishes and his "understanding" with Mr=20
Chandrababu Naidu. Mr Naidu went into a sulk.

At this point, the BJP=92s internal power dynamics took over. Mr=20
Vajpayee proposed Mr Kalam's name to outmanoeuvre his own party=20
colleagues. Thus, it is for cynical reasons that Mr Kalam emerged as=20
NDA candidate. The Opposition played its cards poorly. Rather than=20
hold wide consultations and develop a fallback option in case=20
President Narayanan refused re-nomination, it put all its eggs in one=20
basket. The Congress did not use its 14 chief ministers to evolve a=20
multi-party candidate. And the Left didn't apply its mind enough.

Secondly, whatever Mr Kalam=92s other qualifications, he lacks=20
experience in public life, government or Parliament. In our=20
Constitutional scheme, the President's is a political office. He/she=20
is not a decorative figure, but is called upon to counsel the Cabinet=20
and exercise discriminating judgment on sensitive matters. True, the=20
President need not have a party background. But s/he cannot be=20
uncoached in politics. Thus, Dr Radhakrishnan was an academic, but=20
had served as ambassador to the USSR. Barring Gyani Zail Singh and=20
V.V. Giri, all our Presidents have been men of learning, typically=20
with high qualifications from world-class universities. But they were=20
also experienced diplomats, administrators or legislators with a deep=20
understanding of the Constitution and the peculiarities of our=20
politics.

Mr Kalam lacks such experience or orientation. He is an engineer who=20
became a manager of cloistered defence-related programmes, with=20
little exposure to the broader process of governance. He has an=20
over-simple, untutored and at times unpardonably na=EFve understanding=20
of Constitutional issues, development priorities, and the=20
relationship between military and human security. Even a casual=20
reading of his Wings of Fire and Vision-2020 will confirm this.=20
Naivety marred his first two post-nomination press conferences, at=20
which he evaded inconvenient questions and took a position on=20
avoidance of war with Pakistan through nuclear deterrence, which is=20
at odds with the official view.

Mr Kalam believes India is a "developed nation. We are among the top=20
five =85 in terms of GDP=85 Our poverty levels are falling, our=20
achievements are being globally recognised today. Yet we lack the=20
self-confidence to see ourselves as a developed nation." But=20
underdevelopment is not just a function of GDP. Even in nominal GDP=20
terms, India is lower than Holland (pop. 15 million). Over half our=20
population lives on less than $2 a day. The per capita=20
income-differential between India and the developed world is roughly=20
1:40, higher than 50 years ago. What should especially shame Indians=20
is not just poverty, but staggering income inequalities. Growth alone=20
cannot address these. Mr Kalam has no understanding of these or of=20
the structural constraints, including hierarchy, caste and=20
illiteracy, which keep India backward.

Similarly, Mr Kalam shows little comprehension of the complex,=20
double-edged character of technology itself. Technology can liberate.=20
But it can destroy too--that=92s what nuclear missiles, biological=20
weapons and mind-control technologies do. Mr Kalam bemoans our=20
"negativism": "We are the second largest producer of wheat =85 [and=20
rice] in the world =85" But he doesn=92t reflect on the fact that we also=20
have the second biggest population in the world--and the biggest=20
collection of the hungry, the crippled, the diseased, the deprived =85

Such attitudes do not speak of wisdom. Truth to tell, Mr Kalam=92s=20
thinking is full of poorly constructed, half-baked or undigested=20
ideas. For instance, he advocates such weird things as "bio-implants"=20
for "deficient" brains (reminiscent of eugenics?), compulsory=20
sterilisation, using nuclear fission (why?) to power short-haul=20
airplanes, and combining the occult with modern science. He believes=20
India is eminently capable of making anti-ballistic missile shields,=20
when even the US has so far proved unable to master that technology=20
which involves, among other things, reliably detecting launches in=20
distant continents, and then accurately attacking incoming=20
missiles--akin to hitting a bullet travelling at 24,000 km/sec with=20
another travelling at the same velocity!

As Princeton-based physicist M.V. Ramana says, Mr Kalam tends to=20
"dress up even mediocre work with the Tricolour to pass it off as a=20
great achievement. In his autobiography, he says he=20
reverse-engineered a Russian rocket-assisted take-off system, simply=20
borrowing the crucial motors. Publicly, however, it was passed off as=20
an 'indigenous development' ". Here lies the crux. Mr Kalam is not a=20
scientist. He has discovered nothing new about the physical world. He=20
is an engineer who has manipulated aspects of the physical=20
reality--essentially to military ends. His doctorate is honorary,=20
like Ms Jayalalithaa's.

The performance of the two institutions closest to him, Indian Space=20
Research Organisation and Defence Research and Development=20
Organisation, has been deeply unsatisfactory. Besides the rather=20
primitive, short-range Prithvi (range, 150-250 km), their most=20
important achievement has been the Space Launch Vehicle rocket. But=20
this used an imported, not Indian, guidance system. The SLV-3 was the=20
base for the original Agni (range, 1,500-2,500 km). But that Agni=20
model went through three tests--one success, one failure, and one=20
"limited success" (i.e. partial failure) before being declared a=20
"technology demonstrator", rather than a prototype that would fly.=20
Since then, there has been a longer-range Agni-II (2,500 to 3,000 km)=20
missile, and a renamed, wholly new, Agni-I (range 700-900 km)=20
unrelated to the original missile. Both were developed largely after=20
Mr Kalam quit the DRDO.

India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (launched=20
1983) is hardly a success story. Of the five different=20
missile-classes it was meant to develop, only two have become=20
(quasi-)operational. The Trishul, Nag and Akash are nowhere near=20
that status, despite long delays and massive cost-overruns. No Indian=20
Navy or Air Force ship or plane carries a DRDO missile. The army's=20
main anti-tank missile, the Milan ATM, is French in origin. All three=20
forces=92 anti-aircraft weapons are of Russian origin.

To be fair, Mr Kalam must be judged by the performance of the DRDO as=20
a whole. He headed it for long years. This record is embarrassingly=20
poor. The DRDO has never completed a major project on time. Its=20
weapons are often of indifferent quality, e.g. the 5.56 mm basic=20
infantry gun. Some of its big-ticket projects, like the AWACS=20
Advanced Airborne Warning Systems or the aircraft carrier, are big=20
disasters. Three of its most expensive projects, the Main Battle=20
Tank, Light Combat Aircraft, and Advanced Technology Vessel (nuclear=20
submarine) have each soaked up Rs 2,000 crores-plus, without=20
delivering results. The Arjun MBT is so heavy that the army prefers=20
Russian T-90 tanks. The LCA doesn=92t even have an Indian engine. And=20
the ATV=92s design isn't ready--after 20 years of "work".

The DRDO can annually burn Rs 3,600 crores of public money without=20
producing decent results--at least partly because it is shielded from=20
public scrutiny, including the Comptroller and Auditor General's.=20
Such "power without responsibility" has given the military-industrial=20
complex (MIC) a bad name everywhere. In India, jingoism and=20
militarist nationalism have made the MIC a holy cow. In this respect,=20
Mr Kalam represents the seamy, undemocratic side of the Complex. His=20
elevation to India's highest office will not only depoliticise and=20
lower its stature. It will put the terrible stamp of militarisation=20
on Rashtrapati Bhawan.

In principle, elevating Mr Kalam to the Presidency is no different=20
from making Dr A.Q. Khan Pakistan's president in a warlike situation.=20
Mr Kalam will also serve to whitewash the BJP after the Gujarat=20
carnage. His "Hindutva-friendly" image will marginalise all those=20
Muslims who don't follow the Sangh stereotype: i.e. Urdu-speaking=20
meat-eaters who don't read the Gita, but who are no less Indian for=20
that. India's non-executive President is meant to reflect and defend=20
a pluralist culture. Mr Kalam does not. He, it bears recalling,=20
refused to publicly condemn those culpable for the Gujarat massacre;=20
he only said the events were "very sad". Is that the kind of=20
presidential wisdom and candour we deserve?--end--

_____

#6.

Government plans takeover of major shrines to boost facilities

by Lola Nayar, Indo-Asian News Service

New Delhi, June 21 (IANS) Major shrines in India could get a much needed
sprucing if a proposed legislation by the tourism ministry is enforced,
enabling state governments to take over the management of the religious
spots.

During a recent tour of the states, Tourism Minister Jagmohan urged the
regional government to take over the running of major shrines on the lines
of the Vaishno Devi in Jammu and Kashmir and Mansa Devi in Haryana.

In both cases, arrangements and amenities at the shrines have improved
multi-fold after state takeover, a tourism ministry official said. About 25
holy places across the country have been identified for government takeover=
.

The official also said since thousands of devotees flock these religious
spots, government takeover would enable better accounting of funds and
smoother resource allocation.

If passed, the federal legislation would enable state governments to frame
their own legislation to take over and place the running of shrines under a
trust or board.

Indian shrines are major revenue generators, with the Vaishno Devi temple
alone drawing around Rs.550 million every year.

India gets about 2.4 million foreign visitors every year, some of whom visi=
t
these shrines. Of the 170 million domestic tourists, almost 40 percent are
pilgrims.

Foreign tourists usually visit architecturally splendid shrines like the
rock carved Konark temple in Orissa, dedicated to the sun god, and the
government is keen to develop these places as cultural hubs.

Orissa government has allocated 25 acres of land for developing facilities
at the Konark and the tourism ministry has pooled in Rs.20 million.

In Chhattisgarh, the tourism ministry has asked authorities to explore the
possibility of improving roads and accommodation to enable pilgrims to visi=
t
the holy shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath, and also Gangotri and Yamnotri
(the source of rivers Ganges and Yamuna) throughout the year.

Currently, pilgrims are able to visit the holy sites only for six months
from April to September, when the weather is relatively warm. In winter,
snowfall prevents pilgrimage.

For the fiscal 2002-03, the ministry has a budget of Rs.2.5 billion for
improving infrastructure and promoting tourism.

Jagmohan has also said that more funds would be poured in from allied
ministries like ministry of culture provided states chalk out feasible plan=
s
for improving cultural and heritage sites.

--Indo-Asian News Service

--=20
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