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VOL. 16 ISSUE 02 PAGES 52 SEPTEMBER 2014

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End of killer mosquitoesa in sight

A brilliant masterstroke by Modi

IN THIS ISSUE

Space diplomacy

A brilliant masterstroke by Modi

Rejuvenating Sanskrit

18 The Name Games Dynastic allegiance at its worst

Uniform Civil Code

Time for Serious Endeavour

20 Indian Youths 24 in Global Jihad A new breed of jihadis has emerged under the influence of intense indoctrination by the extremist wings of Muslim outfits and they are joining the ISIS to fight for what they call the “Caliphate”. These men are welleducated and know the pros and cons of the digital technology and as such are able to launch propaganda campaign more effectively to lure the youngsters into committing horrible crimes.

IN THIS ISSUE

Transcending Boundaries Volume: 16

Issue: 02 September 2014 Bhaadrapada(Jaya)

Published & Printed by NARAYAN SEVIRE for and on behalf of the owners JNANA BHARATHI PRAKASHANA, Mangalore aseemamagazine@gmail.com / 0824-2497091

Checking LTTE Role of a ‘mole’ and failure of RAW

Reformist agenda Arun Jaitley sets the ball rolling

Digging Up a Buried Scandal What Happened to Saddam-Natwar Deal?

A costly mistake Nitish’s alliance with Lalu may boomerang

Fighting a Killer End of killer mosquitoesa in sight

Humanity Against War Crimes Gritty Grandma finds her lost grandson

30 33 35

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diplomacy

A brilliant masterstroke by Modi

S E P T E M B E R 2014

• Radhakrishna Rao

erhaps no other head of Indian state has displayed such a keen and well informed interest in space activities as Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Indeed, Modi who went round the facilities at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), the Indian space port in Sriharikota Island on India’s eastern coast before witnessing the spectacularly successful flight of India’s four-stage space workhorse PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) on June 30, left a deep imprint on the Indian space community by his pointed questions on the utility of space technology for improving the life of the common man in the country. But what made Modi’s visit to the launch site particularly memorable was his strong advocacy of the need for India to use its soft power based on space technology to “win friends and influence people”. While addressing a gathering of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) scientists after the PSLV launch, Modi, in a

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With the successful launch of Mars ‘Mangalayaan’ on November 5, 2013, and the four-stage space vehicle PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) on June 30, 2014, India has become a Space Power in its own right. The most remarkable achievement of the latest PSLV launch is that it sent into orbit five foreign satellites – 714-kg.French Spot-7, 14-kg. AISAT from Germany,7-kg.Velox –I from Singapore as well as NLS7.1 and NLS 7.2 each weighing 15-kg. from Canada. The significance of this was noted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who told the elated ISRO scientists to develop and deploy a satellite system dedicated to providing a range of services to the country’s neighbours belonging to SAARC countries. What he wants is to deploy Indian space technology as part of the diplomatic outreach which will also help counter the “string of pearls” policy of China to encircle India through such assistance.

rare display of statesmanship, called for sharing “the fruits of our technological advancement with those who don’t enjoy the same”. Stretching this logic a bit further, Modi called upon the Indian space agency to

take the initiative to develop and deploy a satellite system dedicated to providing a range of services to the country’s neighbours belonging to SAARC (South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation).There is no

denying the point that Modi wants to deploy Indian space technology as part of the diplomatic outreach of the country in all its manifestations. On another front, Modi also urged the space scientists to extend the services of India’s home-grown navigation satellite IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System).The first two satellites in the seven spacecraft IRNSS constellation being developed to end Indian dependence on US GPS system are already in place. As things stand now, the countries in India’s neighbourhood can easily access the potentials of IRNSS. For, it is designed to provide coverage across 1500-km

duced for the first time in the country by ISRO more than a decade back are being made available to war-torn Afghanistan, whose health care infrastructure is not in fine shape, as well as to the African countries. Significantly, the INSAT communications and IRS earth observation spacecraft constellations being operated by ISRO are being routinely harnessed for wide-ranging purposes including disaster warning, telemedicine and tele-education, crop forecast, water resources monitoring and mapping of natural resources. Indeed, India’s experience in exploiting the potentials of satellite technol-

beyond India’s geographical boundaries. Civil aviation, marine navigation, road transportation and disaster management are some of the areas that would stand to benefit from the potentials of IRNSS. Modi was quick and in his elements to point out that “India’s space programme is driven by a vision of service to humanity and not by the desire to power”. Touching upon the international humanitarian dimensions of the nation’s space programme, Modi noted that India is already sharing satellite-based natural disaster information with around thirty countries and the benefits of the telemedicine which was intro-

ogy for accelerating the pace of socio economic development is of immense relevance to the third world countries including the country’s South Asian neighbours. Rightly, Modi’s view was that India’s advantage lies in the cost effectiveness of its high performance satellite systems. By all means, a dedicated SAARC satellite is a brilliant master stroke by Modi to leverage space diplomacy and further Indian interests in the immediate neigbhourhood. A vastly stepped up regional cooperation in space technology stands out as an additional dimension to the prevailing conventional level relation-

ship for jointly tackling the problems of poverty, backwardness and natural disasters haunting SAARC nations. According to Modi, this satellite can be an Indian “gift to the neighbour” and it should provide a full range of applications and services to all of India’s neighbours. Elaborating on the relevance of an exclusive SAARC satellite, Modi said,”There is a lot of poverty in the SAARC nations and we need scientific solutions for this. It will be beneficial for the development of all the countries in the region.” Spelling out his vision for India’s fast advancing space programme, Modi had this to say, “India is rooted in the age old ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family).” In keeping with this age-old philosophy, India, said Modi, should help the countries in SAARC region with the offer of its space technology specifically tailored to meet the needs of development in a cost effective manner. Indeed, Modi’s commitment should be a starting point for ISRO to initiate discussions to get inputs on the specific needs of the South Asian nations in terms of the satellite-based services they are keen on having. By all means, a satellite that India could fund and build for regular use by its South Asian neighbours is an idea worth pursuing. Needless to say, this satellite will encase the long standing experience of ISRO in exploiting the advances of space technology for “down to earth applications”. On another front, a SAARC satellite could, to some extent, weaken the punch of Chinese space diplomacy in the countries located in India’s immediate neighbourhood. In the fifteen years since India started offering the services of PSLV for orbiting satellites of international customers on commercial terms, as many as 40 satellites of 19 countries have been hoisted into space from the Indian soil, deploying this world class launcher. But then India would need to fast-track the developmental flights of the three-stage, heavy lift GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) which had its suc-

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cessful debut mission in January this year, to expand the scope of the country’s commercial launch service. ISRO is now looking at the realization of high performance GSLV to get into the big league of launching communications satellites weighing more than two tonnes. Modi left none in doubt that he wanted India to be a major player in the multi billion dollar global market for launching satellites for a fee. Indeed, the successful June 30 flight of PSLV which simultaneously delivered five foreign satellites – 714-kg.French Spot-7, 14-kg. AISAT from Germany,7-kg.Velox –I from Singapore as well as NLS7.1 and NLS 7.2 each weighing 15-kg. from Canada— into their intended orbits has once again reaffirmed the multimission capability of this highly reliable Indian space vehicle. “Today’s launch of five foreign satellites is global endorsement of India’s space capabilities,” said Modi. In fact, PSLV had created a sort of history by successfully launching India’s first-ever probe to Mars ‘Mangalayaan’ on November.5, 2013. It was an augmented version of PSLV which did the job of orbiting ‘Mangalayaan’. A similar variant of PSLV was pressed into service for launching India’s first ever lunar

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spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 in 2008. Way back in April 2008, PSLV had created a sort of world record by launching as many as ten satellites in one go. Modi is well aware that in the context of China spreading its net of influence across South Asia through an alluring package of space cooperation, India cannot afford to remain silent. All said and done, Indian space diplomacy initiative as outlined by Modi assumes significance for the simple reason that China is surging ahead with its “string of pearls” and “maritime silk route” strategies to woo India’s neighbours. As it is, during his recent visit to Bhutan, Modi had offered this “Dragon Kingdom” Indian space expertise for speeding up the pace of its socio economic development. Nepal which shares cultural, spiritual and religious heritage with India is reportedly looking at China to give a practical shape to its proposal for a satellite system. Of course, India is also on the Nepalese radar in so far as acquiring a space system is concerned. As it is, Nepal would like to launch the satellite through a joint venture of national and international partners along with the Government of Nepal. India can easily offer Nepal

a range of satellite based services as the footprint of Indian spacecraft constellations covers Nepal. Since Nepal’s geographical stretch is not as huge as India, it may not require a fully owned dedicated satellite system. Here India should play its card smartly by offering this Himalayan country an attractive technological package involving the offer of satellite capabilities for a variety of end uses at an affordable cost. Similarly, Maldives with which India boasts of a long and cordial relationship, seems to be inching closer to China to meet the needs of its satellite resources. There are reports to suggest that India had failed to step into meet the needs of Maldives. Last year, the Maldivian Government has said that India had not responded to its tender for a domestic spacecraft system. China, whose IT and telecom companies are poised to make deep forays into this island nation, is hoping to bag the Maldivian satellite order. For India, till now the elephant in the room was the limited launch capability based on the single operational vehicle in the form of PSLV. But now with the high performance GSLV poised to enter service following a couple of developmental flights,

ISRO will be in a position to launch a communications spacecraft weighing upto 2.5-tonnes. Perhaps this lack of launch support discouraged ISRO from contesting for the Maldivian satellite construction bid. And here again India can offer an alternative, affordable satellite resources use plan based on the needs of this Indian Ocean island nation. And like Nepal, Maldives too may not need a dedicated satellite to meet it needs. As such, India should look at the possibility of making available to Maldives a portion of the capabilities built into Indian satellite constellations. But then what could upset India is the move by the neighbouring Bangladesh, whose emergence as an independent country owed much to India, to invite China Great Wall Industries Corporation (CGWIC), the commercial arm of the Chinese space programme, as a “potential provider” of the satellite system. The Request for Proposal (RFP) floated in 2011 by the telecom regulator of Bangladesh seeks to get a domestic communications satellite named “Bangabandhu” launched. In the context of the changed Indian political landscape and the advances ISRO is poised to make in the area of launch vehicle technology, India should give Bangladesh an innovative offer focusing on a package deal for a domestic satellite. Of course, in Sri Lanka, India can do very little as the Colombo-based space technology enterprise Supremesat has already entered into a US$215-million deal with CGWIC for the orbit delivery of Supremesat-II satellite. As per the contract, Supremesat-II will be launched at the head of a Long March vehicle in 2016. Meanwhile, SupremeSat-1 built by West European space enterprise Thales Alenia was launched by means of Long March rocket in 2011. Supremesat-1 is considered China’s co-branded satellite. This satellite is being operated by the privately owned Supremesat in association with China satellite Communications Company. The relationship that China has forged with Sri Lanka in the stra-

tegic area of space cannot but be a matter of concern for India. For Sri Lanka forms an important link in China’s “String of Pearls” policy meant to encircle India. This satellite deal has all the potentials to strengthen Chinese position in the Indian Ocean region. Towards further east to Bangladesh, China has signed a satellite and ground systems contract with Laos. China had also previously built and launched communications satellites for Pakistan, Turkey and Nigeria. According to CGWIC, there are additional satellites in works for Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan and Belarus. The Chinese political leadership in Beijing looks at its space forays as a platform to strengthen its diplomatic and political clout and expand its business interests by offering assistance to the third world countries keen on entering space age. Looking beyond Asia, Chinese space diplomacy has made inroads into Latin America. The successful launch of a Bolivian satellite by a Chinese space vehicle in December 2013 is considered a landmark in Beijing’s quest to project its software in Latin America through space technology. This US$300- million satellite, dubbed TkSat-1 which was built by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (ASTC), will support broadcasting, education and health care in Bolivia. Bolivia is also looking at China for partnering in a remote sensing satellite project planned for launch in 2017. Ivan Zambrana, Director of the Bolivian space agency, describes China as a world class space power. China also has long standing space cooperation with Brazil and ChinaBrazil earth resources satellite programme took off in 1999. The latest satellite under this programme CBERS-3(China Brazil Earth Resources Satellite), which was launched in 2013, was lost in space. An identical CBERS-4 as a replacement to CBERS-3 is planned to be launched sometime during the year. And under BrazilChina space cooperation programme,

it is planned to build a laboratory for studying space weather. Right now the biggest stumbling block in the way of India in entering the market for building and launching satellites is the dependence of the country on a single operational launch vehicle in the form of PSLV. Of course, the high performance GSLV and its scaled up version GSLVMKIII are under development. While GSLV will be available for routine operational use in around a year’s time from now, GSLV-MKIII should be ready for service in a couple of years. On the other hand, China has at its disposal a wide range of launch vehicles in various configurations designed to deploy satellites in varying weight class into the required orbital slots. Moreover, India, unlike China, has to start from ground zero in so far as building a custom-made satellite and arranging it in orbit delivery for an international customer is concerned. Antrix Corporation, the Bangalore based commercial arm of the Indian space programme, is yet to build and launch a custom-built satellite under a package deal for a third world country. Moreover, China boasts of three landlocked launch centres and one coastal space port to take care of a variety of launch needs with a short turnaround time. In distinct contrast, India has only one space port at Sriharikota Island. Added to that the industrial support available for the Chinese space programme is quite substantial even as Indian industries are yet to graduate to the position of taking up the challenge of building and supplying launch vehicle and satellites in a ready to use condition. In the ultimate analysis, ISRO should launch a multi-faceted initiative to boost the prospects of India in the multi billion-dollar space global market. Here the Narendra Modi government should think of launching a national mission to create a vibrant Indian space industry that is in no way inferior to its global counterparts. The author is Visiting Fellow, VIF

S E P T E M B E R 2014

Rejuvenating Sanskrit A welcome move by Prime Minister Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s suggestion to introduce Sanskrit in all schools and colleges has become a controversial issue, since many people, especially in Tamil Nadu, are opposing the move on the ground that it is an Aryan language. But the fact is that Sanskrit is the mother of almost all languages in India. Opposition to its introduction will do no good, as there is a wealth of knowledge to be gleaned from this ancient language, which has been neglected for a long time in its own country of birth. • Shankar Ganapti

any politicians and so-called secularists are bickering over Narendra Modi’s plan to promote Sanskrit language, one of the three mother languages of the world. Politicians in Tamil Nadu, it seems, are in the forefront of this opposition, because they believe that Sanskrit is an Aryan language, so they should oppose it. What they don’t know is Sanskrit is the most mathematical language in this world. That means, if a software professional programmed his computer using Sanskrit, it can yield

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surprising results. “Sanskrit is a Hindu language, it should not be imposed on the coun-

try,” says Kanimozhi, daughter of DMK chief Karunanidhi and one of the main accused in the 2G scam. The debate is a byproduct of a ‘misunderstanding’ that politicians are making the most of to gain political mileage. More than 90 percent of Sanskrit literature has nothing to do with religion. Perhaps Kanimozhi does not know that 90 percent of the content in Sanskrit literature is about how to lead a better life. And Sanskrit is one more Indian gift to the world, like the yoga. Yoga has been spread around the world by yogic organisations and spiritual gurus such as Baba Ramdev and Shri Ravi

Shankar. Today, Samskrita Bharati has taken up the task of spreading the language around the world. But Sanskrit needs someone far bigger and powerful to spread around the country. Modi is talking of setting up Sanskrit University in Somnath and training one lakh people in speaking Sanskrit. Also on the anvil is a plan to teach Vedic Mathematics. Yogic exercise is so popular in the Western world that it has become a routine for a large chunk of ‘busy population’. They have continued to practise their religion even after learning yoga. The knowledge stored in Sanskrit literature will certainly benefit Indians, no matter which religion they practice. “To say not to spread this message serves no purpose but political,” says Ganapati Hegde, a Sanskrit graduate. Second, if you know Sanskrit, you can easily understand many Indian languages such as Hindi, Bengali and Marathi. Sanskrit is the mother of all Indian languages. There is no point in denying Sanskrit language, because we are already learning the literary knowledge of every local language in the country. Several popular literary works from other Indian languages have used Sanskrit scripts. According to the last census, 14,000 people described Sanskrit as their primary language, with almost no speakers in the country’s North East, Orissa, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and even Gujarat. But we have a few villages where everyone, regardless of caste and religion, speak in Sanskrit (see box). What Narendra Modi is set to do is to introduce Sanskrit in all schools and colleges. He is trying to make this knowledge more easily accessible to all. Many people learnt yoga as more people started teaching yoga. Similarly, more people will learn Sanskrit as more institutes introduce the subject. Sanskrit is an official language Uttarkhand. What’s the point in delaying the

Villages where everyone speaks in Sanskrit 1. Mattur, Shimoga district, Karnataka 2. Mohad, Narsinghpur district, Madhya Pradesh 3. Jhiri, Rajgarh district, Madhya Pradesh 4. Kaperan, Bundi district, Rajasthan 5. Khada, Banswara district, Rajasthan 6. Ganoda, Banswara district, Rajasthan 7. Bawali, Bagpat district, Uttar Pradesh 8. Shyamsundarpur, Kendujhar district, Odisha

introduction of Sanskrit while other countries have already done it? St. James Junior School in London offers Sanskrit as part of the curriculum. In the United States, since September 2009, high school students have been able receive credits by studying Sanskrit. Sir William Jones, 17th century British scholar, is one the foreigners who studied Sanskrit deeply. Speaking at Asiatic Society in Kolkata in 1786, he said: “The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin and more exquisitely refined than either.” Greek, Latin and Sanskrit are the three mother languages in the world. Every language in the world is based on either three of them in some way or the other.

Vedic Mathematics A

lso among Narendra Modi’s plans is introducing Vedic mathematics in schools. Indians’ skill in maths is appreciated around the world and we have more computer professionals than any country on earth. Remember, a good knowledge of maths is vital for software professionals. Analysis of Vedic Mathematics on Wikipedia reads as follows: “Indian mathematicians made early contributions to the study of the concept of zero as a number, negative numbers, arithmetic, algebra. In addition, trigonometry was further advanced in India, and, in particular, the modern definitions of sine and cosine were developed there. These mathematical concepts were transmitted to the Middle East, China, and Europe and led to further developments that now form the foundations of many areas of mathematics.” All these ancient and medieval mathematics works are composed in Sanskrit. Therefore, a thorough knowledge of Sanskrit is essential to explore this treasure trove.

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Uniform Civil Code

Time for Serious Endeavour

Even after so many years, the country is yet to have a Uniform Civil Code. The issue was discussed threadbare at the Constituent Assembly and Dr. Ambedkar, who presided over its crucial meetings, was forced to reject the arguments against the Uniform Civil Code by various religious communities. And yet the Article pertaining to this issue in the Constitution is yet to be implemented.

• RNP Singh

he principle of application of Uniform Civil Code contained in the Directive Principles under Article 44 of the Constitution describes, “The state shall endeavour to secure a uniform civil code for all citizens throughout the territory of India.” This provision of the Directive Principles could not be made possible in spite of 66 years of independence even though the Supreme Court, on a number of occasions, has expressed distress over the government’s failure to enact a common civil code to end discrimination between various religious communities in matters of marriage, succession and property. The spine of the controversy surrounding the uniform civil code has been the issue of secularism even though the Preamble of the Constitution states that India is a “Secular Democratic Republic”, which clearly means that there is no state religion. A secular state shall not discriminate against any one on the ground of religion. It is not concerned with relation of man with God. In the matter of S R Bommai vs. Union of India (1994), as per Justice Jeevan Reddy, it was held that religion is a matter of individual faith and cannot be mixed with secular activities. Secular activities can be regulated by the state by enacting laws.

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The objection to the implementation of uniform civil code is not a new phenomenon. The objection against it was raised by some Muslim members even in the Constituent Assembly when the motion was placed and debated on November 23, 1948. Some of the Muslim members put forward several objections on the ground of religion and placed amendments. But after a thorough debate, their amendments were rejected and the motion was adopted. Mohammad Ismail Sahib (Madras: Muslim), while placing his amendment, had argued “if anything is done affecting the personal laws, it will be tantamount to interference with the

way of life of those people who have been observing these laws for generations and ages. This secular state should not do anything to interfere with the way of life and religion of the people. Another Muslim member, Naziruddin Ahmed, while supporting Mohammad Ismail, argued, “In fact, each community, each religious community, has certain laws, certain civil laws inseparably connected with religious beliefs and practices. I believe that in framing a uniform draft code, these religious laws or semi-religious laws should be kept out of its way.” He further said that “what the British in 175 years failed to do or was afraid to do, what the Muslims in the course

of 500 years refrained from doing, we should not give power to the state to do all at once.” Mahmoob Ali Baig Sahib Bahadur (Madras), advocating on the same lines said that “I wish to submit that they are overlooking the very important fact of the personal law being so much dear and near to certain religious communities. As far as Mussalmans are concerned, their laws of succession, inheritance, marriage and divorce are completely dependent upon their religion.” B. Pocker Sahib Bahadur (Madras: Muslim), while placing his amendment, went a step further and said that “it is a tyrannous provision which ought not to be tolerated; and let it not be taken that I am not voicing forth the feelings of the Mussalmans. In saying this, I am voicing forth the feelings of ever so many sections in this country who feel that it would be tyrannous to interfere with the religious practices, and with the religious laws, which they are governed now. He further said, “I wish to submit that they are overlooking the very important fact of the personal law being so much dear and near to religious communities. As far as Mussalmans are concerned, their laws of succession, inheritance, marriage and divorce are completely dependent upon their religion”. While supporting the motion on Uniform Civil Code, KM Munshi (Bombay: General) and Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar (Madras: General) put forth some such forceful arguments that it did not leave any scope to accept the amendments of Muslim members. Their arguments were so strong and logical that Dr. B. R Ambedkar refused to accept the amendments which were moved to this Article. K M Munshi submitted that “… It must be remembered that if this clause is not put in, it does not mean that the Parliament in future would have no right to enact a civil code. The only restriction to such a right would be Article 19 (Protection of certain rights) of the Constitution and I have already pointed out that Article 19,

K M Munshi

accepted by the House unanimously, permits legislation covering secular activities. The whole object of this Article is that as and when the Parliament thinks proper or rather when the majority in the Parliament thinks proper an attempt may be made to unify the personal law of the country. “….A further argument has been advanced that the enactment of civil code is tyrannical to minorities. Is it tyrannical? Nowhere in advanced Muslim countries, the personal law of each minority has been recognized as so sacrosanct as to prevent the enactment of Civil Code. Take for instance Turkey or Egypt. No minorities in these countries are permitted to have such rights. But I go further. When the Shariat Act was passed or when certain laws were passed in the Central Legislature in the old regime, the Khojas and Cutchi Memons were highly dissatisfied. Then they followed certain Hindu customs; for

generations since they became converts they had done so. They did not want to conform to the Shariat; and yet by a legislation of the Central Legislature certain Muslim members who felt that Shariat law should be enforced upon the whole community carried their point. The Khojas and Cutchi Memons most unwillingly had to submit to it. Where were the rights of minority then? When you want to consolidate a community, you have to take into consideration the benefit which may accrue to the whole community and not to the customs of a part of it”. Munshi also said: “It is therefore, not correct to say that such an act is tyranny of the majority. If you will look at the countries in Europe which have a civil code, everyone who goes there from any part of the world and every minority, has to submit to the Civil Code. It is not felt to be tyrannical to the minority. The point however

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is this, whether we are going to consolidate and unify our personal law in such a way that the way of life of the whole country may in course of time be unified and secular. We want to divorce religion from personal law, from what may be called social relations or from the rights of parties as regards inheritance or succession. What have these things to do with religion I fail to understand?” While citing examples of the Hindu Law Draft, which was before the Legislative Assembly, K M Munshi submitted “if one looks at Manu, Yagnyavalkya and all the rest of them, I think most of the provisions of the new Bill will run counter to their injunctions. But after all we are an advancing society. We are in a stage where we must unify and consolidate the nation by every means without interfering with religious practices”. Mr. Munshi, while elaborating his point, further said “… I know there are many among Hindus who do not like a Uniform Civil Code, because they take the same view as the honourable Muslim members who spoke last. They feel that personal law of inheritance; succession etc is really a part of their religion. If that were so, you can never give, for instance equality to women. But you have already passed a Fundamental Right to that effect and you have an Article here which lays down that there should be no discrimination against sex. Look at Hindu Law; you get any amount of discrimination against women; and if that is part of Hindu religion or Hindu religious practice, you can not pass a single law which would elevate the position of Hindu women to that of men. Therefore, there is no reason why there should not be a civil code throughout the territory of India”. Munshi held the British rule responsible for this mindset. He said that “… this attitude of mind perpetuated under the British rule, that personal law is part of religion, has been fostered by the British and by the British courts. We must therefore, outgrow it. If I may just remind the honourable Member who spoke last

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of a particular incident from Freshta which comes to my mind, Allauddin Khilji made several changes which offended against the Shariat, though he was the first ruler to establish Muslim Sultanate here. The Kazi of Delhi objected to some of his reforms, and his reply was ‘I am an ignorant man and I am ruling this country in its best interests. I am sure, looking at my ignorance and my good intentions, the Almighty will forgive me, when he finds that I have not acted according to Shariat’. If Alauddin could not, much less can a modern government accept the proposition that religious rights over personal law or several other matters which we have been unfortunately trained to consider as part of our religion. That is my submission.” Munshi’s submission was fully supported by another Member Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar (Madras: General). Krishnaswami submitted that “A civil code has been pointed out, runs into every department of civil relations, to the law of contracts, to the law of property, to the law of succession, to the law of marriage and similar matters. How can there be any objection to the general statement here that the state shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India?” While contradicting the arguments of Muslim members that their religion would be put to danger, Krishnaswami said “the second objection was that the religion was in danger, that communities can not live in amity if there is to be Uniform Civil Code. The Article actually aims at amity. It does not destroy am-

ity. The idea is that differential systems of inheritance and other matters are some of the factors which contribute to differences among the different peoples of India. What it aims at is to try to arrive at a common measure of agreement in regard to these matters. It is not as if one legal system is not influencing or being influenced by another legal system”. While replying to B Pocker (Muslim member) who had levelled an attack against the Drafting Committee on the ground that they did not know their business, Krishnaswami said “I should like to know whether he

Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar

has carefully read what happened even in the British regime. You must know that the Muslim law covers the field of contracts, the field of criminal law, the field of divorce law, the field of marriage and every part of law as

contained in the Muslim law. When British occupied this country, they said, we are going to introduce one criminal law in this country which will be applicable to all citizens, be they Englishmen, be they Hindus, be they Muslims. Did the Muslims take exception, and did they revolt against the British for introducing a single system of criminal law.” Krishnaswami also argued, “Now again there are Muslims and there are Hindus, there are Catholics, there are Christians, and there are Jews, in different European countries. I should like to know from Mr Pocker whether different personal laws are perpetrated in France, in Germany, in Italy and in all continental countries of Europe, or whether the laws of succession are not coordinated and unified in the various states. He must have made a detailed study of Muslim jurisprudence and found out whether in all those countries, there is single system of law or different systems of law.” After hearing forceful arguments of K M Munshi and Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar, Dr Ambedkar, while rejecting the amendments, said: “I am afraid I cannot accept the amendments which have been moved to this article. In dealing with this matter, I do not pro-

pose to touch on the merits of the question as to whether this country should have a civil code or it should not. That is a matter which I think has been dealt with sufficiently for the occasion by my friend Mr. Munshi as well as by Shri Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar.” Ambedkar, while making his observation on the amendments, said: “… I think most of my friends who have spoken on this amendment have quite forgotten that up to 1935 the North- West Frontier Province was not subject to Shariat Law. It followed the Hindu Law in the matter of succession and in other matters, so much so that it was in 1939 that the Central Legislature had to come into the field and abrogate the application of the Hindu Law to the Muslims of North –West Frontier Province and to apply the Shariat Law to them.” He further observed, “My honourable friends have forgotten that apart from the North-West Frontier Province, up till 1937 in the rest of India, in various parts, such as the United Provinces, the Central Provinces and Bombay, the Muslims to a large extent were governed by the Hindu Law in the matter of succession. In order to bring them on the plane of uniformity with regard to other Muslims

who observed the Shariat Law, the legislature had to intervene in 1937 and pass an enactment applying the Shariat Law to the rest of India. I am also informed by my friend Karunakara Menon, that in the North Malabar the Marumakkathayam Law applied to all – not only to Hindus but also to Muslims. It is to be remembered that the Marumakkathayam Law is a matriarchal form of law and not a patriarchal form of law.” The excerpts of the debate in the Constituent Assembly, on the issue of Uniform Civil Code, mentioned above, do not leave any scope for any further discussion on this subject. The debate is so exhaustive, logical and convincing for all sections that is ample proof to show that it has nothing to do with the religion. Even then, its enactment is delayed and Article 44 of the Directive Principles of the Constitution is kept waiting is a matter of surprise. No further argument for its implementation is needed. The entire country is anxiously waiting to see whether the new government would now make a serious endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code which is overdue in the absence of any effective or serious move by the earlier governments. The author is Senior Fellow, VIF

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â&#x20AC;˘ Raju

n December 6th of 2013, a small girl child died in a village called Miliandu in Guinea. Next month, her elder sister, mother and grandmother died. The midwife who had gone for her treatment died in a hospital after one month. The health care worker, who examined her, also died on February 10, 2014. The doctor who treated him died on February 24. Just ten days after that incident, a close relative of the doctor died. After another 10 days, two of the associates of the doctor died. No, this is not a story of a curse from a black magic movie. This is a real incident and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about a new curse engulfing the human race. The curse is a disease named Ebola, a disease of humans and other primates caused

A new threat is haunting the world: The Ebola virus infection. No treatment exists as of now for this dread disease which spreads through contacts. Already many have died in Africa, where it has originated and is spreading fast in other parts of the continent. WHO has declared an international emergency and researchers are busy working on an antidote to this fatal disease. by an Ebola virus. And this curse on humankind is severe. Ebola, which first surfaced in 1976, had been controlled with great difficulty and we had almost forgotten about it. But the disease has raised its ugly head again and this time it has claimed thousands of lives because of its highly contagious nature. The World Health Organization is are already calling it the worst on record in human history as two Americans are infected with this disease and are

battling for their lives. Ebola is unlike any other disease in its severity and its contagious nature. The treatment is only cosmetic, as doctors simply do not know the treatment for this disease. Treatment has to be administered from a distance as the disease is highly contagious. Those who clean the urine and stools of the patients wear complete protective body suits (like the space suits) and should either bury or burn their suits once they clean up the patients.

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Ebola Threats in India

hile social media mischief mongers have been busy spreading false scares about Ebola reaching India, the country is relatively safe from the disease at least now. Recently, three persons from Ebola-affected Nigeria, who arrived at New Delhi some days ago, were admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for screening and treatment if required. The three Nigerians, aged 79, 37 and 4 years had fever and their tests were being done at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi. In addition to this, a 32-year-old Indian from Durg in Chhattisgarh who returned from Nigeria was admitted

to a hospital in Bhilai. His samples were tested at NCDC. WHO has said air travel, even from Ebola-affected countries, is low-risk for trans mission of the disease. WHO has reported a total of 2,127 cases and 1,145 deaths due to Ebola from affected countries. India is bracing itself to prevent the

spread of the deadly virus by setting up screening procedures of passengers with a history of travel to Ebolaaffected countries. According to the Health Ministry, 9207 passengers have been screened for Ebola since 10 August by Airport Health Officers at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Trivandrum and Kochi.

No Ebola virus-specific treatment exists. Treatment is primarily supportive in nature and includes minimising invasive procedures, balancing fluids and electrolytes to counter dehydration, administration of anticoagulants early in infection to prevent or control disseminated intravascular coagulation, administration of procoagulants late in infection to control bleeding, maintaining oxygen levels, pain management, and the use of medications to treat bacterial or fungal secondary infections. Early treatment may increase the chance of survival. A number of experimental treatments are being studied. The disease has a high mortality rate: often between 50 percent and 90 percent. As of April 2014, information from WHO across all occurrences to-date puts the overall fatality rate at 60%-65%. There are indications based on variations in death rate between countries that early and effective treatment of symptoms (e.g., supportive care to prevent dehydration) may reduce the fatality rate significantly. If an infected person survives, recovery may be quick and complete. Prolonged cases are often compli-

cated by the occurrence of long-term problems, such as inflammation of the testicles, joint pains, muscle pains, skin peeling, or hair loss. Eye symptoms, such as light sensitivity, excess tearing, iritis, iridocyclitis, choroiditis, and blindness have also been reported. EBOV and SUDV may be able to persist in the semen of some survivors for up to seven weeks, which could give rise to infections and disease via sexual intercourse. The only factor about Ebola that is in favour of mankind is that the disease does not spread by air. It only spreads though body fluids like blood, sweat, saliva, urine and stools, semen, etc. It does not spread through domestic animals and insects. So there are no chances of the disease spreading in crowded place. But the problem with this disease is that hospitals, including the doctors become its agents. Ebola was first found in animals in the dense jungles of Africa. Experts believe that it entered the human world when one of the diseased animals was being transferred by humans. But the spread of Ebola and the subsequent reactions of the so called developed nations of the world to that

disease is a typical example of how the world reacts to diseases faced by rich and the poor of the world. The rich countries had not bothered much about the health care of people in poor countries while they extracted natural resources like minerals, oil and other exhaustible resources. Although symptoms of Ebola were identified 30 years ago, no one bothered much about it. But now when the disease threatens to engulf the entire world, the World Health Organization has given a knee-jerk reaction to the whole problem. It has okayed drug companies to test the newly developed drugs directly on patients, bypassing the strict medicine testing laws. Again, the irony of this whole situation is that this new medicine is only being tested in white patients. The disease spread in the first place because of the negligence of developed countries about the health of poor people in African countries. Ironically, the anecdote to prepare the medicine has been obtained from a black person but the medicine is simply not being made available to the black people!

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Sycophancy and obsession with the names of their leaders have become the hallmarks of the Congress Party. Most of the welfare schemes in cities and villages are named after the Nehru-Gandhi family. It serves the key purpose of reminding the people about the party when the time comes for elections. It also keeps the top Congress leaders pleased as it ensures the allegiance of their supporters. Nowhere is this dynastic obsession so strong as in our country; no, not even in the worst dictatorship in North Korea.

The Name Games

Dynastic allegiance at its worst

• Raju Shanbhag

n August 12, 2014, it was widely reported in the media that the Rural Development Ministry was looking to turn the Indira Awas Yojana into a “mission” and possibly rename it as “National Gramin Awaas Mission”. The earlier scheme is to be upgraded with an increased budget and with new design innovations which mandate toilets to be part of the housing units constructed under the scheme. However, what caught the larger attention of the media was the removal of Indira Gandhi’s name. While the usual suspects are upset over this, the Indira Awas Yojana was a grim reminder of the dynastic politics this country has been afflicted with for the last six decades. This was a point-

er to the disproportionate and unfair importance given to just one family, the Nehru family. The anomaly is so deep seated today that more than 450 government schemes/projects and flagship programmes initiated by various governments have been named after the Nehru-Gandhi family. If the power ministry has the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana’, the rural development ministry has the ‘Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission’. The Urban Development ministry has the all- important ‘Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission’. Another flagship project of the Rural Development Ministry is the ‘Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme’. Same is the case with the ‘Indira Gandhi Canal Project’. Even within the Nehru-Gandhi family, most

schemes have been named after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The subservience to this family is so complete that even the name of Mahatma Gandhi has been used only in recent years, that too barely. Lal Bahadur Shastri’s name is given to only two schemes whereas Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s name is used in just one scheme. There is more on the cards. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission has just expired and the Centre is likely to unveil its new version, but whether his name will be retained is not known. This no doubt depicts the subservience of the Congress Party to one family but shows how the dynastic piety of a few was thrust upon the hapless populace and the opposition was inconsequential or not interested. Due to this disproportionate impor-

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tance given to one family, hundreds of other martyrs and tall leaders who ought to be in the public memory have been unfairly relegated to the subscripts of history. The very idea of naming projects and schemes after leaders is to convey the message that people should imbibe their qualities and emulate them. It was unfair to forget tall leaders like Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Jaya Prakash Narayan, Veer Savarkar, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Madam Mohan Malaviya, Rani Gaidinliu and many others who dedicated their lives and times for the sake of their people and the nation. For Congress, naming important schemes on their party leaders has always been a strategic move. Most of these schemes are for poor and rural people. When the schemes are named after the leaders from Congress, their names are etched in the memory of the people. This way, people will remember Congress name when the next election comes. Surprisingly, the opposition to a step to change the names of the existing schemes has come from none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi says that he does not see any need for such a change in nomenclature. Indicating that he does not support cosmetic alterations to existing schemes, the PM advised against

the move. Modi’s directive to his ministers will most likely put an end to any re-naming. The recent directive passed by the PM will prove to be a deterrent to any minister who earlier planned to change the Nehru-Gandhi names and honour other, non-Gandhi leaders. But the new schemes proposed by the government may put an end to the fixation with the Nehru family. NDA’s first budget has finally recognized other leaders by unveiling four big schemes named after stalwarts outside the first family of Indian politics. Finance Minister Arun Jait-

ley proposed Rs.500 crore for Deen Dayal Upadhyay rural electrification programme. Upadhyay was one of the most important leaders of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the forerunner of the present-day Bharatiya Janata Party. The Gujarat government’s much-talked about Statue of Unity project also got a Rs.200 crore boost from the Union government. The statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the Narmada river was launched by the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi in the midst of the Lok Sabha poll campaign. There was also a mention of Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan, popularly called JP, whose ‘Sampoorna Kranti’ call during the Emergency led to the toppling of the Indira Gandhi government and formation of firstever non-Congress government in the country. In the budget, Jaitley proposed to set up a Centre of Excellence in MP named after JP. The budget also made mention of the Pt Madan Mohan Malaviya Teaching Programme to be started soon. With an aspirant government at the Centre, it is the right time to correct this anomaly and give our leaders who have been neglected their due in the public space. Renaming Indira Awas Yojana is a beginning which we hope will set the right precedent.

Affairs of the State W

hile the schemes discussed above were from the Congress central government, even the Congress ruled states are not behind in their eagerness to name the schemes after the Gandhi dynasty. Here are some examples: Rajiv Gandhi Breakfast Scheme, Pondicherry; Indira Gandhi Calf-Rearing Scheme, Andhra Pradesh; Rajiv Ratna Awas Yojana, Delhi; Rajiv Arogyasri Health Insurance scheme, Andhra Pradesh; Rajiv Gandhi Computer Literacy Mission, Assam; Indira Jeevitha Bima Pathakam, Andhra Pradesh; and Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Vivah Shagun Yojana, Haryana. In addition, the best national parks, universities, institutes of technology, key airports, ports, power projects and even metro stations are named after these

three icons of the Congress Party. But what really take the cake are sports. All the major sports tournaments and trophies are named after the Nehru-Gandhis and these include national and international tournaments in football, basketball, judo, beach ball, roller skating, kabaddi, rural cricket, gymnastics, boxing, the Delhi Marathon and the Kerala Boat Race. Such is the obsession of Congress governments with this family that they name India’s biggest open university after Indira Gandhi and fellowships granted there after Rajiv Gandhi. Similarly, the Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bangalore is named after Nehru and the science talent fellowships awarded there after Rajiv Gandhi. We are unlikely to see anything so gross even in dictatorships as in North Korea.

S E P T E M B E R 2014

S. L. Bhyrappa new book Yaana Launched A

cclaimed author SL Bhyrappa’s new novel “Yaana” (Journey) was released across Karnataka on July 29, 2014. The book saw record first day sales. According to sources at the publishing house, Sahitya Bhandara, 10,000 copies from two editions were sold by August 1. The novel has an unconventional theme. The 291page novel deals with the transformation of human moral values when astronauts undertake a journey beyond the solar system. The storyline focuses on scientific problems and human relationships. The writer researched the subject for two years, including discussions with professors of the Indian Institute of Science, before writing “Yaana”. S. L. Bhyrappa is one of the most popular writers of Indian languages. His previous novel “Kavalu” saw over eight editions, and is a critique of contemporary facets of feminism. “Avarana”, another of his recent novels, dealing with intolerance and fundamentalism, saw over 35 editions and has been translated into Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and English. Dr. S. L. Bhyrappa has written more than 24 novels in Kannada. Most of his novels have been translated into many other Indian languages and English. His writing is characterised by superlative story telling ability around contemporary themes, internal consistency with in the plot of the story, and perfect connection with the external world based on a realistic setting backed by factual linkages. He explores the interplay of human relationships with the value systems. He exhibits courage in dealing with sensitive but important subjects of the contemporary society and provides justice in the light of truth and ultimate good without compromising on the beauty of the novelistic art form. S. L. Bhyrappa is the recipient of the prestigious Saraswati Samman, which was awarded to him in the year 2010 for his work ‘Mandra’.

S E P T E M B E R 2014

Indian Youths in Global Jihad ISIS Talks of Taking over the World • Gangadhar

errorism is a strange disease. While outsiders find it hard to understand how any rational thinking person might fall prey to such degenerative thinking, there are hoards of youth in every country and continent falling prey to this religious rhetoric from overzealous preachers. While India watched the unfortunate developments in Iraq from a safe distance, there are many Muslim youths in the country, who are lured by the path of extremism and leaving for Iraq, leaving their families behind, and leaving behind a promising feature, to fight their dream jihads in a far away land. Recently, it was reported that the Indian security establishment is tracking 18 Indian citizens who have travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight as jihadis. As sectarian violence intensifies in these countries, India, along with other nations, is trying to track and prevent its citizens from joining this war. Of the 18 under the scanner, Indian officials found that the jihadi ardour of six men had diminished considerably after they found they were being treated shabbily by their leaders. They later left Iraq and now live in other Gulf nations. The others remain in Iraq. The jihadis often take to social networks and internet to lure unsuspecting youth to meet their ends. Often, many youths are attracted to extremism by YouTube videos — often shot and uploaded by Western extremists. In addition, small terror outfits that have popped up are doubling up as recruiters for jihad. For weeks now, the media’s focus — and the government’s — has

A new breed of jihadis has emerged under the influence of intense indoctrination by the extremist wings of Muslim outfits and they are joining the ISIS to fight for what they call the “Caliphate”. These men are well-educated and know the pros and cons of the digital technology and as such are able to launch propaganda campaign more effectively to lure the youngsters into committing horrible crimes. India is keeping a close watch on these elements as they may mount attacks anywhere anytime.

though, has passed untold. Fahad Sheikh, a student of engineering, is, like Arif Majeed, the son of another Kalyan-based doctor Maqbool Ahmad Sheikh. Aman Tandel was also an engineering student in Navi Mumbai and the son of Nayeem Ismail Sheikh who works with a private firm. Shaheen Tanki was working at a call centre. These four flew to Baghdad on May 23 as part of a group of 22 pilgrims intending to visit religious shrines in Iraq. Arif called his family from Baghdad on May 24, apologising for having left without telling them. He claimed he had travelled in the hope of finding a job there. Then, he phoned again on May 25, this time to reassure his family he was well. There may be about 2,000 people from Europe and the US who have travelled to West Asia to be part of

been on the Indian workers trapped in Iraq and how to get some of them home. The story of the young Indians who have headed into the carnage

what they consider a holy war. The chance of their subsequent return to their home countries is a major source of concern for the govern-

S E P T E M B E R 2014

How ISIS is Luring the Youth I

SIS stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which became ISIL with the L standing for the Levant, and finally just Islamic State. It is a jihadi group that has established its rule by force of arms in a vast area of northern Iraq as well in parts of Syria. Such is the extreme behavior of this group that even Osama bin Laden is reported to have disowned it at one time. ISIS has now cast its web across India. The organization is propagating online hate videos to cater to its purpose. One video with Hindi, Tamil and Urdu subtitles, posted on jihadi forums and YouTube, features a Canadian jihadi identified as Abu Muslim, who is shown firing a rocket-propelled grenade and participating in combat before he is killed. The video shows the Canadian asking other Muslims to join the jihad. Another video with Hindi subtitles features ISIS spokesman Shaikh Adnani. Yet another video features the first Friday sermon delivered by ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi with flawless Tamil subtitles.

ments, it was discussed at the meeting between French foreign minister Laurent Fabius and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In UK, more than 200 people who have gone to Syria from the UK and the number could be much higher. At least 45 people from Denmark have flown to Syria since 2012. A video was released recently earlier this year by the al Qaeda calling upon Indian youth to join the movement of Jihad. Titled ‘War should continue, message to the Muslims of Kashmir’, the video urges Kashmiri youth to free their state. The video which mentions Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq states: “Now Muslims all over the world have picked up arms … are marching in the field of jihad. Even those who rejected armed jihad are now joining this path after being disillusioned with democratic ways of peaceful protests.” “To wave Islam’s flag over Srinagar’s Lal Chowk... caravans are heading from Afghanistan to liberate India and it is not being done on instructions of any intelligence agency, and not as part of some governmental policy, but simply to abide God’s command...,” Umar reads, while an image of Kashmir’s Famous Dal Lake is played out. The video begins with a montage of the 2010 unrest in Kashmir valley, in which scores of people

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were killed during violent demonstrations that lasted several months. The al Qaeda leader also chastises the Pakistani state, its intelligence agencies, and its people for ‘failing to help the Jihad in Kashmir’. As a result of this, security forces in Kashmir have stepped up operations following the release of the video, with security analysts saying that the video was a continuation of a series of similar statements by senior al Qaeda leaders in which they have increased their focus on India. What should be worrying for India is the rise of new age, educated jihadis who have no qualms about mingling with the mainstream society and backstabbing just at the right time. These terrorists are not vociferous, and hence, they are nor recognisable at once. They are technologically armed, and experts believe they can wreck much more havoc than their browbeating predecessors. While India does not have an exact figure on the number of radicalised youth in Iraq and Syria, the arrest of alleged Indian Mujahideen operative Yasin Bhatkal in August last year, has led investigators to believe that two youths from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh had gone to Afghanistan to join al Qaeda, and are “fighting in Afghanistan-Pakistan border.”

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There are about 10,000 Madarsas in Uttar Pradesh alone, with nearly all of them being funded by the government. Interestingly, there is a Muslimdominated panel to decide on the selection of employees at these religious educational institutes. The rape of and conversion of the 27-year-old woman in Meerat has whipped up many harsh questions about the way Governments run and oversee Madarsas across the country.

S E P T E M B E R 2014

• Raju Shanbhag

laces of worships in any religion are often sacred. They are revered by the followers of that religion and respected by the people of other religions too. But dark sins that allegedly go on in some of these places have been a cause of concern for anyone who is civilized. Rapes, forced conversions, aid to terrorism and many other antisocial activities have been steadily reported from various madarsas in India. One such recent incident was from the Kharkhauda area of Meerut district in Uttar Pradesh. In August this year, a woman alleged that she was forcibly converted to Islam in a madarsa in neighbouring Hapur. She also claimed that she was held captive in another madarsa in Muzaffarnagar for three days, where she was sexually assaulted. The victim’s father lodged a complaint stating that the village head Nawab Khan, along with five others, abducted his daughter on July 23 and took her to a madarsa where they raped her and kept her illegally confined. They also forcefully made her sign some papers related to religious conversion. The woman managed to escape and returned to her house and narrated her ordeal to her parents. Her father said the woman’s medical examination has confirmed rape. He also confirmed that some cut marks were found on her abdomen, but rejected media reports that the girl’s kidney had been removed. But why did the girl work at a madarsa in the first place? The girl’s family stated that poverty was the main cause of her working there. But eventually she quit the job when Salaullah, attached to the madarsa, started harassing her to convert to

Islam. The girl returned on July 27 but did not tell the family anything, though she had actually been kidnapped and taken to a house where she was given a veil. On the morning of July 24, at 4 am, she was taken to Hapur where she was allegedly assaulted and gangraped. She was allegedly kidnapped once again on July 29 and taken to another madarsa in Meerut where she was forcibly converted and raped again.

On July 30, she was allegedly taken to a madarsa in Muzaffarnagar, where she was kept for three days. The number of madarsas has grown across Uttar Pradesh in the past few years, with there being an estimated 10,000 of them now all over the state. However, the number of those affiliated to the Uttar Pradesh Madarsa Talimi Board, under the Department of Minorities Welfare and Waqf, is around 6300. About 460 Arabi-Farsi madarsas are on the list of government subsidy. While the truth behind this inci-

dent looks to be shrouded in mystery, the ruckus over the incident has stirred up some communalpolitical purpose. Already, the UP Modernised Madarsa Association has announced that it won’t appoint women from the Hindu community as teachers in madarsas. This simply means old madarsas, which have been demanding segregation of communities will now have a stronger say in the matter. It also could be a blow to the modernisation of the Muslim educational institutions. The victim has to be given justice and the government needs to ensure that such shameful incidents do not repeat again in the country. But ironically, the already dilapidated image of madarsas has taken a serious blow with this incident. And this has come at a time when madarsas had opened up to modern education, including English, science and computers and this signaled an eagerness among the community leaders to spread education among the underprivileged sections of Muslim society. What has also brought to notice is the fact that even non-Muslims are appointed in madarsas. Looking at the image of madarsas, one would be forced to believe that madarsas belong exclusively to Muslims. Although many Muslim organisations have been pressing for exactly this, working of madarsas has become more streamlined in the last few years with regular appointments, teaching aids, computers and other equipment, etc. This is a positive development and must be encouraged. So now, if the Meerut incident is not thoroughly and independently investigated, it would lead to many madarsas going back to their old ways. This would only add to the already prevalent

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should not be a reason to ignore the reported wrong-doings in some of them. And there seems to be some mettle in that demand. In 2013, the state’s minority welfare department had discovered that there were more than 100 fake government-aided madarsas in the state. These institutions simply did not exist, yet on record there were

buildings, teachers, furniture, computers and of course, students. In the decade of the 1990s, the mushrooming of madarsas especially along the Nepal border in eastern UP including districts like Gorakhpur, Basti, Bahraich etc had caused serious concern to state and Central intelligence agencies.

Representation Purpose

ghettoization of Muslims which the community needs to get over. A demand into the working style of madarsas has been long pending from people from many sections of the society. There is no need to view every law and order problem or incident of crime from a Hindu or Muslim point of view. While things are not necessarily wrong in all madarsas, but at the same time this

The Bright Side of Madarsas W

hile there is definitely a question mark on the functioning of most of madarsas in the country, there are a few madarsas which have been functioning amicably within the environment they operate. Madrasas in West Bengal are increasingly opening their doors to non-Muslim students, with one of them making it to the merit list of the West Bengal Board of Madrasa Education (WBBME) recently. Not only has the number of non-Muslim candidates appearing in the examination increased this year, but Brajeshawar

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Maji, a non-Muslim student from Khalatpur High Madrasa in the State’s Howrah district also made it to the merit list. The candidate scored approximately 80 percent marks, and ranked 97th in the merit list. Interestingly, the number of non-Muslim students who appeared for the board examination this year doubled, compared to last year. Approximately 1590 such examinees — which is more than four per cent of the total number of candidates — appeared in the board examinations held in February this year.

Checking LTTE Role of a ‘mole’ and failure of RAW The Rajiv Gandhi government’s decision to help Sri Lanka fight the separatist movement by LTTE is well-known, and in this attempt to preserve the unity and integrity of a neighbouring country, we had to pay a heavy price: the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Many reasons have been given for this tragedy, but now there are revelations that there was an LTTE ‘mole’ in the government that passed on valuable information to the LTTE foiling our attempt to check the separatists’ onslaught that finally led to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

• Prashant Vaidyaraj

n May 2009, the armed conflict in Sri Lanka that lasted nearly 30 years came to an end with the defeat of the LTTE. In the 1980s and the ’90s the Sri Lankan government solicited help from India to vanquish the LTTE. On the other hand, the Tamils in Sri Lanka and back home in Tamil Nadu wanted India to intervene only to further the interests of the Tamils. This paradoxical role played by India in Sri Lanka turned out to be a painful episode. It was during these tumultuous years that on the one hand India had to extend all possible help to Sri Lanka and on the other safeguard its own interests. It was here that our intelligence agencies played a major

role. Now the question is if our intelligence agencies had been forthright in their approach, why then did we lose the plot and our Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to the machinations of the LTTE and the powers that be? This aspect of our past has come to the fore after the recent revelations of former CBI chief investigator K Ragothaman on the role of Indian intelligence agencies in the conflict. Ragothaman claims in his book “Conspiracy to Kill Rajiv Gandhi” that the then RAW chief Gauri Shankar Bajpai had admitted that the LTTE commander Col. Kittu nee Sathasivam Krishnakumar was India’s mole in the militant outfit. Ragothaman further claims in his book that though he did not believe Bajpai’s claims, he hints at the

possibility that Col. Kittu hoodwinked the then RAW chief to assume so. He also writes in his memoir that Rajiv’s Sriperumbudur halt was not part of the original itinerary. Ragothaman’s claims followed the earlier assertion made a few months ago by Rajiv’s former aide R D Pradhan. Pradhan, in his book “My years with Rajiv and Sonia”, had revealed that a ‘mole’ from the LTTE had found refuge in 10 Janpath which is the official residence of the Gandhi family. Both the claims paint a sorry picture of our intelligence gathering mechanisms, our disunited political allegiances and put a question mark on the efficacy of our policy vis-a-vis Sri Lanka. The author’s assertions also point to the ambitious role In-

S E P T E M B E R 2014

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Tr a n s c e n d i n g B o u n d a r i e s

dia played in Sri Lanka but failed to capitalize on it. Some, like the Congress and its sympathisers, strongly defend India’s involvement but many experts view it as a case of foreign policy gone wrong. In May 1991, an inquiry commission headed by Justice Verma was constituted to look into the security lapses that led to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and suggest systemic changes. Another commission, the Justice Jain Commission, looked into the sequence of events leading to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. The Jain commission seriously indicts the DMK. The warm relationship DMK shared with LTTE leaders has been highlighted several times in the report. The Jain Commission holds the DMK guilty of encouraging and assisting the LTTE even after the Indo-Sri Lankan accord of 1987 which pitted the Indian Army against the Tigers. The report suggests that LTTE’s survival and growth in Tamil Nadu was facilitated by the DMK government and also concludes that the LTTE was getting its supplies, including arms, ammunition, explosives, fuel and other essential items from Tamil Nadu. No doubt, with such tacit support from political dispensations in Tamil Nadu, the intelligence emanating from within LTTE or Sri Lanka proved to be ineffectual to safeguard our interests and our PM’s life too. The indictment of governments, politicians and police by the two commissions remain on paper. No action has been taken on their findings on the security lapses and the conspiracy that went into the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. The claims of the former R&AW chief, as claimed by Ragothaman in this book, have also fallen flat. It is certainly not that our intelligence agencies failed throughout. Though India did not overtly support Sri Lanka in its war against LTTE, it did provide the island nation with intelligence inputs from various agencies, reconnaissance missions over LTTE strongholds, and with nonartillery supplies. Sri Lankan leadership has acknowledged the Indian

Navy’s contribution in locating and destroying LTTE’s ‘floating warehouses’ which had arms and ammunition, and reconnaissance missions by Indian Navy’s Dorniers during the war. What then are India’s concerns despite such a close working relations between the two countries? Given the recent claims by former CBI investigator and by Rajiv Gandhi’s aide, India’s concerns and challenges are three fold.

The remnants of LTTE, though minuscule, continue to pose a challenge. During 2013, there were reports of the activities of the cadres and sympathisers, within and outside Sri Lanka. In one incident in March 2013, the sympathisers of LTTE assaulted a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk at the Central Railway Station in Chennai. LTTE sympathisers and money-making networks are still in business and pose a threat to both Sri Lanka and India. Hence Indian intelligence agencies should acknowledge LTTE’s surviving presence and stay vigilant. The second concern is Colombo’s increasing congruence with China and Pakistan. It was during the war with LTTE that Pakistan and China made deep inroads into Sri Lanka through supply of ammunition, armoured personnel carriers, artillery pieces and basic infantry weapons on favorable terms. China also gave them a fiveyear long credit line. Though India was sagaciously aware of the inroads made by Pakistan and China in its own backyard, it was crippled by the clout wielded by the DMK and other Tamil parties on the coalitions at the

Centre. While Colombo was steadfast in its aim to decimate LTTE, India could not even openly approve of it. It is here that the Modi-led government will have to be firm while dealing with the emotional issue of Tamil ethnicity and decide what is best for the country. The third deeper concern, in the backdrop of the assertions made by Ragothaman and Pradhan, is the necessity to initiate reforms in our intelligence gathering set-up. LTTE’s capabilities to target Indian interests are seen by many as a major failure of Indian intelligence. Though RA&W had evaluated threats from Sikh and LTTE terrorists to Rajiv Gandhi in 1989, there were no specific alerts on the assassination attempt. The Jain Commission found that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) was intercepting the code messages of the LTTE, but did not have the capability to break their code. Though R&AW had the capability to break the codes, the IB did not inform R&AW about these messages which were not deciphered. There have been numerous instances where intelligence agencies have played a stellar role by gathering preventive intelligence, but this advantage was squandered due to lack of effective coordination between various agencies. India cannot afford a repeat of the 1991 events where we lost a former Prime Minister. In conclusion, an amicable bilateral relationship which also addresses the concerns of India can be achieved if the nagging issues are dealt with expeditiously. The bilateral ties between the two countries have revolved around four issues: Straying of fishermen, economic and trade interactions, forces inimical to Indian interests and importantly the issue of rehabilitation and recognition of the ethnic Tamils. It is here that we need a robust foreign policy coupled with an unassailable intelligence gathering set-up. This would be beneficial to both the countries and will also ensure a cordial working relationship between the two historical neighbours.

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Reformist agenda Arun Jaitley sets the ball rolling

uch to the relief of the Modi government, the monsoon so far has been near-normal and industrial production is showing an upswing. Arun Jaitleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cautious approach to the pressing problems of inflation and fiscal deficit, combined with the optimism of investors have contributed a lot to a turnaround in the outlook for the economy. There has been a substantial inflow of foreign funds and the Sensex has been on the positive territory for the last several weeks. But now the question is what will be the next step of the government to stimulate growth. Since the present government is open to reforms and a larger role for public-private sector participation, chances are that it will come up with more reforms apart from opening up the economy for the insurance and

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Thanks to favourable monsoon and the steps taken by the government to stimulate investment, the country is moving on to a well-defined growth path. The Finance Minister has made it absolutely clear that his ministry will spare no effort to attract investment and that has sent clear signals to investors abroad. The trend so far is definitely optimistic though there is still some concern about inflation.

certain infrastructure sectors such as the Railways and Defence. Manufacturing growth was at a 17-month high in July as per the HSBC Manufacturing Purchasing Managersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Index (PMI) following new orders from overseas and domestic entities. No doubt this is a piece of news that should cheer the new government, especially the Finance Ministry which is exploring ways and means to battle inflation and stemming the downswing in the economy. As per the survey, the PMI rose to 53 in July against 51.5 in June. The survey showed robust growth in the eight core sector industries which grew by 7.3% prompting the economists believe in a revival of growth in the industrial sector. One canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t venture the future turn of the economy because of the innumerable imponderables, but if

the trend persists there is certainly scope for the overall expansion of the economy and increased job opportunities which is one of the promises of the Modi government to the nation. According to Fredric Neumann, co-head of Asian economic research at HSBC, the manufacturing sector is starting to pick up steam. “A flood of new orders from both domestic and external sources has led to a surge in activity, pushing the manufacturing PMI to a 17-month high,” he said and added, “Details within the survey show that all monitored categories witnessed rise in output and other flows.” However, he cautioned that the speed of the recovery is exerting pressure on prices. Contrast this trend in July with that in June and one can notice a perceptible difference. The country’s industrial growth had slowed to 3.4% in June year-on-year, according to the latest data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). However, electricity and mining posted handsome growth but manufacturing showed a sluggish trend. The growth of the electricity sector, as per CSO data, was 15.7% in June against zero growth in June 2013. The mining sector grew by 4.3% against a slowdown of 4.6% in June 2013. This was mainly due to policy delays which the present government is trying to avoid as far as possible, because the consistent dismal performance of the mining because of “Coalgate” and other scams had dealt a body blow to this sector. On the monetary front, there is some good news with the RBI inject-

ing Rs.40,000 crore by reducing the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) by 50 basis points to 22%. But it kept the other key rates unchanged though the industry had expected some relaxation on the interest rate front. RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, in his third bi-monthly monetary policy statement, said the cut would ensure that the banks have enough money to lend when credit demand picks up. He said that the extra money would also help keep prices under check since the core projects will get funded. Rajan said, “What we are trying to do is create an environment where we enhance the supply side without giving too much encouragement to the demand aide. So we need projects to be completed, we need infrastructure to pick up because they are holding

back the supply side of the economy. We are trying to do this without providing too much of a fillip to demand as this gives rise to inflationary pressure. Given that interest rate tool is a very blunt tool, we are trying to sue some of the other tools. At the same time we have to recognize that the economy is changing and we have to give our financial institutions time to adjust the new economy.” In spite of the fact that the reduction in SLR is reform-oriented, bankers have expressed caution. They believe that RBI is pursuing a medium-term target of 6% inflation rate for the next year, and this rules out any cut in interest rate in the near future. The cut in SLR was a surprise to the markets since 25% SLR was mandatory. Mr Rajan has made it clear that this was intended to make lending by banks to the productive sectors more flexible. On inflation he said, “Six per cent is our ultimate goal for the medium term…” According to him, growth will be most benefited if the economy is disinfalated. The Modi government is bent on instilling confidence among investors and giving a hard push to economic growth. It has put an end to the “Planning era” and the is going to set up a “Think Tank” that will envision advise the government on futuristic projects. The reformist angle will be kept in view and foreign investment will be the key to further economic growth. Under the circumstances, one can expect more innovative economic measures from the Finance Minister in days to come.

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Digging Up a Buried Scandal What Happened to Saddam-Natwar Deal? • Narayan Ammachchi

hese days Natwar Singh is hitting headlines with comments against Sonia Gandhi. But what happened to the allegation that he made millions of dollars by brokering secretive oil deals with Iraq’s Saddam Hussein? It was this allegation that led to his dismissal from Congress, putting an end to his political career. Today, everybody is talking about his comments against Sonia, not the scam he created. Singh was a loyal associate of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty until October 2005. On the 27th of that month, a United Nation’s committee headed by Paul Volcker released its inquiry report on Iraq’s oil-for-food programme. It stated that India’s Congress Party and Natwar Singh’s family were corrupt beneficiaries of Saddam Hussein’s Oil for Food programme. It further stated that Natwar Singh, his son Jagat Singh and Jagat’s childhood friend Andaleeb Sehgal, were associated with a company called Hamdan Exports. Given the report, Natwar Singh brokered the deal between Saddam and Hamdan Exports, which acted as an intermediary to sell the Iraqi oil to a Swiss firm named Masefield AG. In return for the sale, Masefield paid kickbacks (termed “surcharges”) to both Saddam and Natwar Singh. Following Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait, the United States had imposed sanction on Saddam’s oil trade. He was allowed to sell oil only in exchange for medicines and food. Persons like Natwar Singh, according to the report, used their political power to seal clandestine deals with Sad-

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Natwar Singh’s secretive food-for-oil deal with Iraq’s Saddam Hussein has remained buried. Soon after the scandal broke out, an Indian official with the United Nations came from New York with a huge bunch of documents. The contents of these documents have remained a mystery. Remember, the Volcker Committee has indicted the Congress Party along with Natwar Singh. Will the Modi government peep into these documents?

dam Hussein who was desperate to sell oil to finance his government. At that point of time, Singh was aboard a flight and touring the world as India’s foreign minister. Western papers wrote that “the Congress Party, which had been away from power for nearly a decade, had indulged in international corruption to replenish its coffers and fight elections.” Sonia became angry, because the case had made the world to conclude that he had acted as a front for the party. Outraged by the charges, Sonia dismissed him from the cabinet and then, ultimately, from the party. Political sycophants have historically helped Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to turn the age-old party into its personal fiefdom, but now one sycophant had acted more than what he had been asked to. Dismissing him from the party was not enough. The Congress was urgently in need of a scapegoat to wash its hands of. A convenient occasion came when Anil Mathrani, then Indian Ambassador to Croatia, and formerly a close aide to Natwar Singh, stated that Natwar Singh had used an official visit to Iraq to procure oil coupons for his own son Jagat Singh. As it does more often, the Congress government set up a committee headed by Justice R S Pathak to investigate into Volcker Report. Later, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a charge-sheet accusing the former foreign minister of causing the country Rs 5.4 crore in foreign exchange earnings. The case slid into oblivion and slowly disappeared from the news pages. In the meantime, Virendra Dayal, former UN undersecretary general appointed by the Indian government

to liaise with the Volcker Committee, came back with a huge bunch of documents. What these documents contained is still a mystery. Neither the government nor the Pathak Committee has talked about these documents so far. Copies of these documents were also given to ED. Natwar Singh did his best to get access to these documents, but Delhi High Court turned

down such a chance. Years later, a Bangalore-based lawyer Arun Kumar invoked the Right to Information Act to know the contents of these documents. This time, too, the government refused to make the documents public. After a short inquiry, the Central Information Commission ordered that the government should hand over the documents collected from the Vol-

cker Committee. By that time, ED had appealed both the High Court and the Supreme Court seeking exemption from revealing the documents. Finally, ED convinced the courts and stated that discloser of the documents would harm India’s relations with outside world. How it can harm the country’s relations has remained an unanswered question to this day.

A crony from the beginning? E

ven today, Natwar Singh looks more like a bureaucrat than a politician, and he was not a mass leader but a sycophant. A crony of NehruGandhi family. He joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) soon after the country became independent. As a civil servant, he befriended Congress leadership and thereby laid the foundation for his political aspirations. In 1984, barely a year before retirement, he quit his job and contested election on Congress ticket. Natwar is shrewd; he knows how to get things done. It was the age when winning Congress ticket was winning elections. As expected, he got elected to Parliament from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur constituency. Thanks to his loyalty to the NehruGandhi family, he became a minister though he had just been elected to Parliament. He was given a hoard of portfolios, including steel, coal and mines, and agriculture. In 1986, he became the Minister of State for External Affairs. In that capacity, he was elected President of the UN Conference on Disarmament and Development held in New York in 1987, and also led the Indian delegation to the 42nd session of the UN General Assembly. Then he never thought that the same international institution would one day put an end to his political career. Singh remained a minister of state for external affairs until the Congress party lost power after being

defeated in the general elections of 1989. In the following elections, he contested the Lok Sabha seat from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. The Congress Party returned to power after the elections in 1991. A few days before that election, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. Therefore, PV Narasimha Rao became the prime minister. This time, Singh was not an MP, so he could not become a minister. His importance lay solely in perceived proximity to the Nehru-Gandhi family, of which he was a staunch and avowed loyalist. As expected, he started hating every step of Narasimha Rao, and ultimately floated a new party in the name of his political guru: All India Indira Congress. With him came ND Tiwari and Arjun Singh, another bunch

of Gandhi loyalists. In 1998, he returned to the Congress. Seeing Sonia Gandhi taking control of the party, the three family loyalists merged their new party into the Congress. Singh was rewarded with a ticket to contest the general elections of 1998, and returned to Parliament after a gap of nine years. But that Lok Sabha did not last long. And he had to sit in the opposition . He again lost the elections held in the following year. He had to spend time idly for another three years. Meanwhile, he managed to persuade Sonia to ask the party to elect him to the lower house of Parliament. The Congress swept back to power in 2004 and Manmohan Singh handed him the coveted portfolio of Foreign Ministry.

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Nitish’s alliance with Lalu may boomerang

A costly mistake • Sahana Joshi

itish Kumar has now begun romancing with Laluprasad Yadav almost a decade after he claimed to have freed Bihar from criminals who thrived under the RJD chief. At a recent political rally near Patna, Lalu called Nitish his “elder brother” and vowed to put an end to BJP’s dominance in the state. For Nitish it seems his political growth is of greater importance than his state’s economic growth. No leader in the country knows better than Nitish how hard it is to clean up a political system teeming with netas with

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criminal background. Having overthrown Lalu’s “jungle raj”, Nitish’s government sent as many as 70,000 alleged criminals to prison in a massive campaign to clean up the state’s politics. Under Lalu’s regime, Bihar had become a lawless state, with criminals in the guise of politicians holding the state to ransom. Decent citizens were afraid of venturing out after sundown as kidnaps and other crimes were the only industry that thrived. This trend was reversed by Nitish and he has claimed credit for it. Today Bihar is the second fastest growing economy. All these years, BJP stood

firmly behind him, helping him to put the state on the growth path. The government restored law and order, built roads and bridges and created an ideal climate for investment. Three months ago things began to change. Nitish Kumar resigned as chief minister after his party suffered a humiliating defeat in the parliamentary elections. In spite of his best efforts, his party, JDU, managed to win only 2 seats out of 40. Today, Nitish Kumar’s well- wishers must be wondering what he is looking for by extending support to Laluprasad Yadav, who is on bail after a CBI court convicted

him of fodder scam. It is hard to expect Nitish to develop an appetite for friendship with Lalu. But his real aim is to avenge his humiliating defeat at the hands of the BJP. In the last parliamentary election, JDU had won 22 percent of the votes polled, while Lalu’s RJD and the BJP had won 15 and 40 percent respectively. Nitish has no reason to hate the BJP, because it is his alliance with the BJP that led his party to form a government in the state. He is not a mass leader; he knew that he would not be able to overthrow Lalu have he not

Nitish Kumar, it seems, is gambling his political fortune with an alliance with Lalu’s Rashtriya Janata Dal. The JDU chief seems to have forgotten that he would still be watching politics from the sidelines, had Lalu not governed the state so rudely. He does not know that to change Bihar he has to “change” Lalu first.

fought the elections in alliance with the BJP. It seems JDU’s thumping victory in the last assembly elections made him greedy and over-ambitious. He publicly questioned BJP’s decision to select Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate and decided to form a government without BJP’s support. This political brinkmanship, identical to Deve Gowda’s, led to the humiliating defeat in the parliamentary elections. Joining hands with Laluprasad Yadav would be just another mistake

he will regret in the months ahead. Lalu might help him muster support for forming a government. But how he can form and run the government with Lalu’s support is a big question. All these years, Lalu has promoted no one but his own family members. Lalu’s own party is an example of sort. Today, most of the leaders in RJD are either Lalu’s family members or his political cronies. No politician worth his salt will join Lalu’s political outfit, let alone share government with him. Though he did form the government with Lalu, Nitish cannot expect

to have ‘a free hand’, something he enjoyed when allied with the BJP. Though it grew considerably in the past few years, Bihar is still home to a large chunk of poor in the country. Recent government statistics show that more than 33 percent of people in Bihar are still living below the poverty line. Between 2002 and 2007, Bihar’s manufacturing sector grew an average 0.38% compared to India’s 7.8%. That means Bihar has a long way to go to regain the respect it lost under Lalu Yadav’s “jungle raj”. Bihar has the lowest GDP per capita in India but there are pockets of higher per capita income like the southern half of the state, and its capital city, Patna, had per capita income greater than that of Bangalore or Hyderabad in 2008 – an indication of unequal distribution of wealth among the citizens. It would be unwise of Nitish to befriend Lalu with the sole motive of defeating the BJP and gaining a larger political stature. It will be a costly miscalculation, politically. What he has yet to learn is that Lalu’s misdeeds made way for his growth. During the last five years, Nitish too has been trying to create a vote bank. But he has not been successful yet. Kurmis, his caste men, deserted him in the last parliamentary elections, as did the Dalit and Ati-pichhda (extremely backward) class voters, who account for some 15 and 32 percent of the state’s population, respectively. About 40 percent of the Dalit votes in Bihar went to the NDA in the general elections. Lalu still enjoys huge support of the Muslim-Yadav combination. Now, Nitish can certainly count on Muslim and a portion of Yadav votes. But that’s not enough to form a government. Both the leaders addressed a public rally recently at a school ground near Patna. But most of the chairs at the rally were empty, with journalists and organisers occupying most of the seats. For Nitish, this should be the grave reminder of the days to come.

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Fighting a Killer Researchers achieve breakthrough

End of killer mosquitoesa in sight Perhaps it may be the end of man’s long struggle against malaria, dengue fever and other fatal diseases borne by mosquitoes. Scientists in Britain have developed mutant species to eradicate pests which cause harm to humans. They breed a large number of mosquitoes in laboratories and inject the sperm cells of males with a lethal gene. When the mosquito is released into the wild and mates with a female - always of the same species - the deadly transgene is passed on and the offspring dies.

n the Mahabharta, Lord Krishna said a “thorn should be removed with a thorn.” His teachings are relevant in the modern times too. The scientists in Britain are unknowingly adapting Lord Krishna’s teachings as they intensify their efforts to wipe out one of the most dangerous mosquito species known to mankind, Aedes Aegypti, with its own mutated species.

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Aedes Aegypti is a small, dark mosquito with white lyre shaped markings and banded legs. They prefer to bite indoors and primarily bite humans. Most frequently found in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, Aedes Aegypti historically is considered to be a primary vector of viral diseases such as the dengue fever, Chikungunya and yellow fever. Aedes Aegypti is extremely com-

mon in areas lacking piped water systems, and depend greatly on water storage containers to lay their eggs. Male and female adults feed on nectar of plants; however, female mosquitoes need blood in order to produce eggs, and are active in the daytime. Eggs have the ability to survive drying for long periods of time, allowing eggs to be easily spread to new locations.

Artificial or natural water containers (water storage containers, flower pots, discarded tires, plates under potted plants, cemetery vases, flower pots, buckets, tin cans, clogged rain gutters, ornamental fountains, drums, water bowls for pets, birdbaths, etc.) that are within or close to places where humans live are ideally larval habitats for this mosquito. This species has a also been found in underground collections of water such as open or unsealed septic tanks, storm drains, wells, and water meters. Dengue has grown alarmingly in the last few years. While it was found in just nine countries in 1970, it has now spread to more than 100 countries in the current day. Until now, scientists have been trying to use mass spraying of toxic chemicals, which have proved expensive, ineffective and environmentally damaging. So now, British biotech firm Oxitec is trying it hand at genetic modification (GM) of the Aedes Aegypti. The idea behind this is simple. Scientists will breed a large number of these mosquitoes in laboratories and inject the sperm cells of males with a lethal gene. When the mosquito is released into the wild and mates with a female -- always of the same species - the deadly transgene is passed on and the offspring dies.

‘GE’ mosquitoes to fight Dengue and Malaria I

ndia will soon have an army of indigenous genetically engneered mosquitoes which are sterile and unable to reproduce, thereby wiping out deadly dengue and malaria spreading wild vectors. An Oxford-based biotech firm Oxitec is all set to bring its RIDL technology to India to help combat Aedes Aegypti, the mosquito vector that causes dengue and Chikungunya. The Oxitec mosquito is a strain of the wild species that contains two additional genes. The Oxitec males (which cannot bite) are released to seek out and mate with the wild females. Their offspring inherit the additional genes and die before becoming functional adults. They also inherit a marker that is visible under a special light, making monitoring in the field simple and helping ensure that dengue mosquito control programmes succeed. Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who will embark on his maiden visit to India from August 25, will announce four projects that have won a share of over £2 million funding from the UK’s Technology Strategy Board and the Indian Department of Science and Technology to create new technology to help India’s health and energy sectors. The project to create India’s own indigenous genetically engineered mosquitoes is one of them. Oxitec is collaborating with Gangabishan Bhikulal Investment and Trading Limited (GBIT) to develop and produce the RIDL technology in India.

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Reportedly, this method has been proven effective. Oxitec has already tried this method in Malaysia, the Cayman Islands and Brazil and the company has claimed a 96% success rate in suppressing the population of Aedes aegypti. In fact, the Brazilian government had already announced the first commercial release of GM mosquitoes into the wild. The treated insects are awaiting approval in the US. The root of this idea is based on the rapid strides made in the Biotech industry. Scientists can develop mutant species to eradicate pests which cause harm to humans. This method eliminates the unnecessary use of harmful chemicals and triggers a natural way of pest control and even elimination. Researchers have al-

ready been using this method to their advantage. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have pioneered a method that renders mosquito offspring unable to fly, making them harmless. At Imperial College London, a team have suppressed malaria in trials by modifying mosquitoes to only give birth to males, which do not bite and cannot transmit the disease. But the critics of this method are not yet satisfied and they have raised numerous questions about the methodology used to eradicate the species. Many argue that Oxitec’s claims cannot be verified and they have not proved a positive impact on disease. Many even argue that suppression of one species is not the final answer, as

it may trigger increase in the number of other types of dangerous species. Many experts think that suppressing a wild population that is so mobile will not work and may cause actual harm. But in spite of reservations, this method of weaponizing insects and other types of pests against their own species is gaining popularity. The major reason for this is the world has not developed any alternative methods which have proved effective. The regulators, wary of fast spreading diseases all over the world, seem to be in favor of this new method to control the pests. Currently, this seems to be a best option humans have against mosquitoes.

Mosquito Menace in India I

ndia bears a huge burden of mosquito-borne diseases, contributing 34 per cent of global dengue and 11 per cent of global malaria cases. Despite this, the country has made no headway in tackling the mosquito menace. Dengue, malaria and Chikungunya struck over 1.13 million people in the country last year. Of these, 766 succumbed. Despite this, the country has made no headway in tackling the mosquito menace. Strangely, one reason for this is presence of only a handful of entomologists. Scientists of medical research institutes and universities working on vector and vector-borne diseases raised the issue at the first meeting of Vector Science Forum in 2010. Entomologists study how mosquitoes breed, their life cycle, behavioural patterns and adaptability to new habitats. With rapid industrialisation and change in land use, the mosquito has adapted to the changing environment. Over the years, it has

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found new habitats. District-wise data shows West Bengal’s Burdwan district reported the highest number of dengue cases in July this year. As many as 350 people became victims of the disease in the district’s Dighnala village. Similarly, Aedes albopictus, which lived in forest areas, has now found home in urban parts of northern India. Malaria-causing mosquitoes are also changing their habitat. Between 2009 and 2012, Assam reported 5 per cent of malaria cases in the

country because of the presence of Anopheles minimus mosquito, which breeds in running channels and streams with clean water. The mosquito species left the area because 615.94 square km of the state’s forest area was deforested. The number of malaria cases here have reduced substantially. Industrialisation and urbanisation has also resulted in mosquitoes switching hosts—from monkeys to human beings, from cattle to human beings and vice versa.

Humanity Against War Crimes Gritty Grandma finds her lost grandson The ‘Dirty War’ in Argentina in the seventies claimed many lives, including that of left-wing female extremist Laura de Carlotto, who died in a military hospital immediately after giving birth to a baby boy. The boy was taken away to an unknown place and it was a harrowing time for Laura’s family. But her 83-year-old mother didn’t give up hope. She launched a nationwide hunt for her grandson and at last found him out to the amazement of everyone.

t was a scene straight out of a heart wrenching Bollywood movie. A mother’s death just after hours of the baby’s birth; he baby snatched away by the military and raised in an unknown destination; and a grandmother’s desperate, heroic efforts to find the baby. Only this story has a happy ending; an ending that would give run for the money for even the most twisted Bollywood scripts. Estela de Carlotto from Argentina had a mission in her life. Although she is 83, her dedication has not weaned, and she still goes about her zeal with the same vigour she had 36 years ago. Her daughter Laura was

two and a half months pregnant when she and her partner were kidnapped by the military in 1977 during the dictatorship’s “Dirty War” against leftwing activists. Laura de Carlotto was a left-wing militant and she was killed two months after she gave birth to the baby in the Military Hospital of Buenos Aires on June 28, 1978. It was a terrible day for everyone in Estela de Carlotto’s family. The mother knew she would be gone within hours of her first child’s birth and the uncertainties of a war-infected country did not leave the young infant with any hope for the future. With her daughter dead and grandson deport-

ed to an unknown place, Estela de Carlotto’s life was almost over. But instead of accepting the fate, she decided to fight. She decided to a launch a nationwide hunt to find her grandson, and may others who were missing like him. The Grandmothers group, which was founded in 1977, has managed through the years to locate scores of missing children, who now are adults. The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo and a sister group, Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, have led a nationwide effort to reunite an estimated 500 children who were taken from leftists and government opponents during the dictatorship.

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Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo T Since her daughter’s death, Ms de Carlotto has searched desperately for her grandson, convinced that the boy, who has Italian and Argentine citizenship, must be alive. On the other side of the spectrum, Ms de Carlotto’s grandson had voluntarily presented himself to a national commission that identifies missing people about a month ago. It made the matters a bit more easier to locate him and the rest as they say, is a sweet history. The grandson of Ms de Carlotto, Guido de Carlotto’s was identified after DNA tests. The Dirty War was the name used by the Argentine Government for a period of state terrorism in Argentina against political dissidents, with military and security forces conducting urban and rural guerrilla violence against left-wing guerrillas, political dissidents, and anyone believed to be associated with socialism. Victims of the violence included an estimated 15,000 to 30,000 left-wing activists and militants, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers. Some 10,000 of the “disappeared” were believed to be guerrillas of the Montoneros (MPM), and the Marxist People’s Revolutionary Army (ERP). The guerrillas were responsible for causing at least 6,000 casualties among the military, police forces and

civilian population according to a National Geographic Magazine article in the mid-1980s. The disappeared ones were considered to be a political or ideological threat to the military junta and their disappearances an attempt to silence the opposition and break the determination of the guerrillas. A lot many people disappeared during the Dirty War. The New York Times reported that the number of disappeared in Latin America as a whole now numbered 30,000. The Christian Science Monitor and The Boston Globe soon followed suit with similar stories, claiming 30,000 people had disappeared under military dictatorships in Latin America and not only in Argentina. The Los Angeles Times repeated the claims of 30,000 Latin Americans and not just Argentines, disappeared in a new article published in October 1979 and November of that year. In a final report televised on 28 April 1983 as the military prepared their departure, the ruling junta officially declared that the disappeared were all dead but said the military junta had saved the nation by their actions. Many stolen children were raised by military and police officials. Others were even taken in by their parents’ killers. Guido de Carlotto was taken by a family who thankfully raised him well. He grew up to be a musician.

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he Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo is the best-known Argentine human rights organization. For over 30 years, the Mothers have campaigned to find out about the fate of their lost relatives. The Mothers first held their vigil at Plaza de Mayo in 1977, where they continue to gather there every Thursday afternoon. An article of the Madres of the Plaza de Mayo monthly publication caused quite a stir in the mid-1980s, when the Human Rights Group Familiares were quoted as saying: “Familiares assumes the causes of their children’s fight as their own, vindicates all the disappeared as fighters of the people, ... (and when occurs) the defeat of imperialism and the sovereignty of the people, we will have achieved our objectives”. In 1986 the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo split into two groups: Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo – Linea Fundadora (Founding Line), remains focused in recovering the remains of the missing and bringing former police and military commanders to justice. The Asociacion de Madres de Plaza de Mayo (The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo Association) on the other hand, is opposed to the search for and identification of the missing and have also rejected monetary compensation. In April 2004, the former head of the Mothers of Plaza, Hebe de Bonafini declared her admiration for her missing children, Jorge Omar and Raúl Alfredo for taking up arms as left-wing guerrillas. In September 2011, the original Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo organisation became embroiled in a major corruption scandal over alleged money laundering and fraud with government housing funds granted. On 26 January 2012, former Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde criticised Hebe de Bonafini for openly supporting the Basque separatist group ETA and the Colombian left-wing FARC guerrilla movement.

SC judge advocates Gita in school

things again. Views expressed by Justice Dave drew strong reactions from several quarters. While Justice Katju opposed his views outright, Dave found support from P Parmeswaran, Director of Bharatiya Vichara Kendram, who said that the Gita had profoundly influenced India over centuries.

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upreme Court Justice A R Dave has said that he would like to introduce the Gita and the Mahabharata for study from Class 1 in schools. He was speaking on ‘Contemporary Issues and Challenges of Human Rights in the Era of Globalisation’ during the inaugural ceremony of a workshop organized by the Gujarat Law Society (GLS) on August 2, where he also lauded the ancient system of imparting education. Justice Dave opined that had he been the dictator of India, he would have introduced the Gita and the Mahabharata in Class 1. The SC judge stressed the need for going back to traditions to solve modern problems. He rued the loss of old traditions such as ‘Guru-Shishya parampara’ and said that if it had been there, most of the problems in our country such as violence, conflicts and terrorism would not have been there. “If I am good, if every person of my country is good, my administrator is bound to be good. If everybody in a democratic country is good, then they would naturally elect somebody who is very good. And that person will never think of damaging anybody else.”, Justice Dave said while talking on the requirement of being good to form a just society. Justice Dave further said the Gandhian values of non-violence and peace have to play a big role. He said we can stop violence everywhere by bringing all good things in each and every human being and for that purpose we will have to go back to our own

srael has said that an army officer it had feared was abducted in the southern Gaza strip had in fact been killed in battle. The incident caused Israel and Hamas each to accuse the other of violating a 72-hour ceasefire that was meant to start at 8am on August 1. An Israeli army statement said that a special military committee had concluded that Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin died in an attack on August 1 that also killed two other soldiers that led to the collapse of a ceasefire announced by US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon. The incident of abduction and killing of Second

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Lieutenant Hadar Goldin resurrected memories of the case of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was kidnapped through a tunnel in 2006 and held in the Gaza strip for more than five years. It also prompted immediate retaliation by Israel’s military, which bombarded the area heavily. Israel said that Goldin was presumed abducted after a clash with a Hamas suicide bomber as IDF soldiers tried to decommission a tunnel in Rafah, in the southern Gaza strip. Under the cover of shelling and air strikes, Israeli forces pushed into the area in what the army said was a search for the missing soldier. On August 2, the soldiers’ family publicly appealed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to withdraw troops from the Gaza strip until the officer was found. Israeli army had said that militants possibly seized the soldier’s remains. On August 3, during further combing of the tunnels, the soldier’s blood-soaked uniform and ammunition vest were found. Israeli officials had said that they are close to completing the task of eliminating the network of tunnels, used by Hamas and other militant groups for their operations, which was its main goal in Operation Protective Edge, the 27-day-old war.

Natwar Singh’s autobiography revelations

ormer Union external affairs minister K Natwar Singh launched his autobiography titled ‘One Life is Not Enough: An Autobiography’ on August 7th. His book is an account of his political career and provides an insider’s view of the politics of Delhi and within the Congress. The book reveals many sensitive developments during the regimes of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh. More than Natwar Singh’s experiences, what set the cat among the pigeons were the purported revelations about the Nehru-Gandhi family in his tell-all book. One of the damning revelations he has made is that during his tenure as prime minister in 1987, Rajiv Gandhi took the decision to send Indian troops to Sri Lanka pretty much unilaterally, without consulting

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neither his Cabinet colleagues nor officials. Rajiv’s IPKF debacle and a number of other foreign policy gaffes find detailed mention in the book. On being singled out over the Volcker report, in what became famous as the oil-for-food scam in India, Singh implies that he was perhaps disowned by his own party colleagues. However, Natwar Singh’s harshest criticism is directed at Sonia Gandhi. He writes that none of the earlier Gandhis would have shown the ruthlessness Sonia showed in dealing with him when his name emerged in the Iraq food for oil scam. He further alleges that it was not Sonia Gandhi’s ‘inner voice’ but Rahul Gandhi’s fear of her being killed like Indira Gandhi that prevented her from taking up the PM’s post. More damaging for Sonia’s family was his claim that she and Priyanka Gandhi met him at his residence in May this year to persuade him not to refer this particular episode in his autobiography. It may be recalled that Singh had to resign from the UPA-I Government in 2005 for his alleged role in the Iraqi food-for-oil scam. Singh has rejected Congress’ charges of being prompted by bitterness and revenge against the Gandhis.

Taslima’s residential visa extended

ontroversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has again been granted the residential visa to stay in India by the Home Ministry. The decision was taken following Ms Nasreen’s meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh on August 2 where she

requested him that she be allowed to stay in India for a longer period. Earlier on July 30, the government had refused her a one-year visa and instead granted her a temporary permission to stay in India for two months starting from August 1. Ms Nasreen had expressed her anguish over this development on Twitter. Following her expression of woes on the social networking site, support for her came in from various quarters. Press Council of India chairperson and former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju demanded a permanent visa for the 52-year-old author who has been living in exile since 1994. Ms Nasreen took refuge in Kolkata in 2004 after being exiled from Bangladesh in 1994 for “hurting religious sentiments” with her novel “Lajja”. But after violent protests in the city in November 2007, the erstwhile Left Front government whisked her away to New Delhi where she has been living since then. Thanking the government for granting visa, Ms. Nasreen said, “I am very happy. I am very grateful to the government for allowing me to live in this country. I feel at home in India.” But on a sombre note she added that “I am a Bengali writer but I am not allowed to stay in Bangladesh and West Bengal. I would be very happy if I am allowed to stay in Kolkata.”

Kashmir’s silent majority is cheering PM Modi

ashmir’s silent majority is quietly cheering the Narendra Modi government’s decision to cut

the separatist conglomerate the Hurriyat Conference to size. The government has made it clear to Pakistan that there would be no further bilateral talks if it fails to disengage with the separatists. Many grassroots political leaders in Kashmir, including many from the Congress, were feeling betrayed by New Delhi giving a matching legitimacy to the Hurriyat as Islamabad. “Standing for India has become such a crime,” said a Congress leader, who had to send his children to south India to escape the suffocating pro-Pakistan street culture in Kashmir. The sidelining of Hurriyat Conference is definitely being celebrated in Jammu and Ladakh and in several pockets of Kashmir. Sajjad Bhat, who runs a tailoring shop in the narrow bylanes of downtown Srinagar, categorically says Hurriyat does not in any manner represent him and are in fact working only

for their self-interest and not for the common people. There are several reasons why most Kashmiris have no liking for the Hurriyat Conference. The Hurriyat conglomerate has never confronted Pakistan on any issue and has primarily focused on India-bashing as a strategy. It is also riddled with factionalism and has split several times. Except Syed Ali Shah Geelani, none of the Hurriyat leaders are politically active. They live in their traditional comfort zones and moreover it is a Kashmir-centric group and people in Jammu and Ladakh regions have no links with the group. Hartal has become a byword for ‘bandh’ in Kashmir and has not offered any original programme to the people of Kashmir. Geelani is particularly prone to giving calls for hartals at the drop of the hat. Most of the Hurriyat leaders with no known sources of in-

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come lead lavish lifestyles and own mansions and properties. This is disliked by the common people, who feel they are exploiting them in the name of ‘azadi’.

BJP MPs Opt Out of US Junket by Monsanto

our law-makers of the ruling BJP have reportedly opted out of a junket to the US organised by seed giant Monsanto. The week-long study tour was scheduled to begin on August 23rd and15 MPs from various parties were invited. Reports suggest that BJP members of Parliament opted out after they were told by the party that they could not be part of the tour, following media reports. Last month the BJP-led NDA government put field trials of 13 genetically-modified (GM) crops on hold reportedly after two affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) and the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) raised objections over GM crop trials. Monsanto has been quoted in media reports saying that the tour has no connection with the government’s decision to put the GM crop trials on hold. The MPs were scheduled to attend a “Farm Progress Show” in Iowa and also visit the headquarters of the company in Missouri. The trip will cost an estimated Rs. 3,63,540 per head for travel, food and accommodation, according to a Monsanto spokesperson, who

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confirmed the company would bear these costs. A statement from Monsanto said, “A committed partner to Indian agriculture for the past five decades, Monsanto has invited a delegation comprising media, farmers, industry representatives and Parliamentarians from across political parties and states to visit the Farm Progress Show (FPS) event in the United States. On July 29, Environment & Forests Minister Prakash Javadekar had halted the field trials, overruling the recommendations of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee. His decision reversed the previous Congress-led UPA government’s push for trials of GM crops. In its election manifesto this year, the BJP said GM foods will be allowed only after scientific evaluation of their long term effects.

Pakistan’s political crisis deepens

ormer cricket star and Tehreek-e-Insaaf leader Imran Khan and Islamic cleric Tahir ul-Qadri, who controls a network of Islamic schools and hospitals, have been leading protests in Islamabad since August 15. The protests began with both Khan and Qadri demanding the resignation of PM Sharif over allegations of corruption and rigging during elections. Sharif, who won the national elections in May last year with a landslide victory, has refused to resign. It is to be noted that no other major Pakistani political leader or stakeholder has pressed Sharif to resign, apart from Khan and Qadri. On August 21, Imran Khan declared that the talks with the Nawaz Sharif-headed Pakistan government has been suspended. Addressing a rally in Islamabad, Imran Khan appealed to the farmers, policemen, armymen of Pakistan to fight for ‘their freedom’. The current impasse has raised fears for the political stability of the nuclear-armed country, Reuters reported. Tensions increased on the night of August 19th when the separate demonstrations by supporters of Khan and Qadri merged and stormed past police defenses into the Red Zone, which includes major government offices, diplomatic compounds and upscale

RBI sees no big impact of weak monsoon

he annual report of Reserve Bank of India for 2013-14 suggests that the impact of weak monsoon so far this year on India’s farm production and economy is likely to be limited as rainfall levels have improved considerably over the past one month. The annual report released in late August says even if some deficiency stays, it will not have a debilitating impact on the economy. The country was concerned over deficient rains this year as even in July the rainfall deficiency stood at a whopping low of 43 per cent. However, there has been a marked improvement in the monsoon later bringing smiles all over. As on August 13, the allIndia cumulative rainfall deficiency stood at 18 per cent of the long period average (LPA) as against an excess of 12 per cent in the same period last year. The report said the area sown under kharif crops was 2.3 per cent lower than the normal but 8.9 per cent higher than the 2009 drought year. Moreover, the difference between kharif (summer) and rabi (winter) crops has evened out in the past few years, thus eliminating a massive impact on food production due to rainfall shortfall this season. The RBI said current water levels in reservoirs are hotels. On August 21st, about 2,000 demonstrators gathered on the main road outside parliament for a second day. The concern over protests come at a time when the government is battling a Taliban insurgency in several parts of the country and the NATO troops are withdrawing from neighboring Afghanistan. The confrontation has brought the central issue of competition for power between the military and civilian leaders to the spotlight. Some ruling party officials have accused elements within the military of orchestrating the protests to weaken the civilian government. In a country that has experienced three military coups since its founding in 1947, including one in 1999 that ousted Sharif from his second term as prime minister, analysts widely believe that the military could intervene if the protests do not subside in the coming days. Pakistan’s military insists it does not meddle in politics.

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a source of comfort. As on August 13, 85 major reservoirs had 14 per cent higher water levels than the average over the last 10 years, though it was 12 per cent lower than last year’s level on the comparable date. It said in case monsoon weakens again in the rest of the season, there was a risk of modest adverse impact on power production due to fall in water levels of reservoirs.

Modi shuns politics of revenge

n an era of politics characterised by malevolence and vengeance towards political and ideological opponents, new Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s warm gestures towards his harshest critics have come as a breath of fresh air. Two instances in particular highlight this fact. Noted Kannada writer and Jnanpith award winner UR Ananthmurthy was a known critic of Narendra Modi for long. Ananthmurthy had criticized every move of Modi ever since he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Known to be close to the Congress ideologically and politically, Ananthmurthy had even declared that he would leave India if Modi were to become the Prime Minister. Though he claimed to have made the statement under emotional duress, he continued to target Modi throughout the 2014 general election campaign. He was also part of a motley group of left-liberal individuals who campaigned against Modi in Varanasi. However, when the sad news of Ananthmurthy’s demise emerged in the media, Narendra Modi was one of the first national leaders to express his condolence. He tweeted, “Shri UR Ananthamurthy’s demise is a loss to Kannada literature. My condolences to his family. May his soul rest in peace.” which showed that he carried no ill-will towards his bitter critics during such times. Bhupinder Singh Hooda, CM of Haryana and a staunch Congressman, has been a critic of Modi. The relationship was expected to deteriorate further after Hooda declined to be part of any public events where Modi is also a guest. This was due to the hooting that Hooda was subjected to at a public event in Haryana. But later Modi showed the magnanimity and hosted Hooda at his residence and discussed

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development issues relating to the state. Narendra Modi has certainly gained much respect and admiration due to such open-heartedness, especially in these times of political one-upmanship.

UR Ananthamurthy Passes away at 82

nanpith awardee and renowned Kannada writer UR Ananthamurthy died on August 22 at a hospital in Bangalore, where he was undergoing treatment for kidney failure. The 82-year-old was said to be in critical condition and was on multi-monitor support. He was hospitalized for infection and fever several days ago. The outspoken U R Ananthamurthy was also an ardent supporter of the Siddaramaiah government. His body was consigned to flames at Kalagrama on the outskirts of Bangalore on August 23 with full state honours. Born on December 21, 1932 in Melige, a tiny hamlet near Thirthahalli taluk of Shimoga district, Udupi Rajgopalacharya Ananthamurthy was the sixth of the eight Jnanpith awardees from Karnataka. He was presented with the award in 1994, in recognition of the body of his work. A Padma Bhushan award winner, Ananthamurthy was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize in 2013. Ananthamurthy hit the limelight with his novel, “Samskara”, which he wrote in 1965. The novel was

also made into a movie that became equally famous. His other works include “Ghatashraddha”, “Bharatipura”, “Avasthe” and “Bhava”. He is considered one of the pioneers of the “Navya (new) movement” in the Kannada literary world. A socialist in political belief, he also tried to dabble in politics contesting the Lok Sabha and Rajya elections once and courted controversies quite often with his views. He courted controversy before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when he said he would leave the country if Narendra Modi won the election

and became the Prime Minister of India. The writer, however, changed his stand later and said he was emotionally overwhelmed while making the statement. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to Ananthamurthy’s family. On the same day he tweeted: “Shri UR Ananthamurthy’s demise is a loss to Kannada literature. My condolences to his family. May his soul rest in peace.”

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