Fuel Prices Cut

The Union Government has slashed petrol prices by Rs. 5 a litre and diesel by Rs. 2 per litre. The price of cooking gas, which was left untouched in the revision made on December 5, 2008, has been reduced by Rs. 25 a cylinder. The reduction will help further ease inflationary pressures and benefit common people.
With this cut, petrol in Delhi will come down to Rs. 40.62 a litre and diesel Rs. 30.86 per litre. In Chennai, the price of petrol will cost Rs. 44.66 and diesel Rs. 32.98; in Kolkata petrol will cost Rs. 42 and diesel Rs.31.74; and Mumbai petrol will cost Rs. 44.80 and diesel Rs.34.69 per litre.
An LPG cylinder will cost Rs.279.70 in Delhi, down from Rs. 304.70. In Chennai, the new price will be Rs. 314.60; in Kolkata, Rs. 327.05; and in Mumbai, the price of a cylinder will be

Rs. 324.50.
Fall in International Oil Prices
The Government decided to reduce petrol, diesel and LPG prices to pass on the benefit of softening international oil prices to consumers. While State-run oil companies were making a neat Rs.9.86 a litre profit on petrol before this price reduction and Rs. 3.48 on every litre of diesel, they were still losing Rs. 32.97 per LPG cylinder and Rs.12.16 per litre of kerosene. The reduction could have been sharper but for the losses on LPG and kerosene.
The successive reductions were not unexpected given the sharp fall in the international oil prices to less than a third of their peak level of around $147 a barrel touched in June-July 2008. The price of India’s average crude basket, currently around $44 a barrel, has come a long way from its unprecedented high of above $140 that prevailed just seven months ago. With the petroleum prices hovering just above $40, the public sector companies have not been complaining about under-recoveries, a term loosely interpreted as revenue loss arising out of selling products below their cost. After incurring combined losses of Rs. 14,431 crore during the first half of the year, they have now bounced back, reporting a positive margin of Rs. 20-25 crore per day.
What has not happened is the deregulation of the oil prices. There is almost unanimity at the top level about linking the oil prices to market rates. The petroleum Minister, the Planning Commission and the Prime Minister, who holds the Finance portfolio, all favour this and their recent utterances to this effect had revived hopes. However, problems would arise when the oil prices shoot up and subsidy may have to be restored.
Relief to Consumers
The relief to the oil and LPG consumers before the 2009 general elections may stand the ruling coalition in good stead. However, the Government must ensure that the benefit percolates to the grassroots level. Public and private transport fares, once raised, usually do not come down in tandem with the oil price declines. Some State Governments like that of Punjab were quick to raise the taxes on oil that they cut when the global prices had skyrocketed in 2008.
Nonetheless, the LPG price cut was avoidable. Accruing losses on this score for oil Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) would offset recent gains thanks to falling oil prices. Also, Government representatives recently hinted at deregulation of fuel pricing. But the UPA Government seems to be leaving hard decisions on this issue to the next Government. However, there is no guarantee oil prices will remain in today’s comfort zone in future when—and if—the powers that be decide to free up fuel pricing.
In August 2008, when the oil prices were high, B K Chaturvedi Committee had made far-reaching recommendations, which if implemented would pave the way for an equitable methodology of pricing petroleum products. The report has greater relevance now than when it was presented and, one hopes, the Government will draw up an action plan based on its recommendations.
The Centre had sharply reduced or scrapped the Customs duty on petroleum products to cushion the impact of high prices on the consumer. To fight economic slowdown it is necessary to shore up demand and ensure more cash in the hands of consumers. This can be done partly by cutting taxes and commodity prices.

Mid-Term Review of Monetary Policy

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor, Dr. Duvvuri Subbarao has announced the Mid-Term Review of the Monetary and Credit Policy for 2008-09 in Mumbai on January 27, 2009. The RBI has left all key rates unchanged. It announced that the Bank Rate, Repo, Reverse Repo and the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) would be maintained at current levels. By leaving the key rates unchanged, the apex bank has given the message that it would rather wait to see the impact of its earlier monetary measures than initiate further action. The lending rate remains at 5.5 per cent, the Reserve Repo (the rate at which the RBI absorbs cash from banks) at four per cent and the CRR (the amount the banks keep with it) at five per cent. Earlier in January 2009, the RBI had cut the short-term rates by one percentage point and the CRR by 50 basis points.
Growth Rate
Acknowledging the slowdown in the economy, the apex bank stated that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) target for the current financial year 2008-09 has been revised downwards to seven per cent with a downward bias as against the previous target of between 7.5 per cent to eight per cent. This is based on the assumption that the agricultural performance would remain normal.
It expected fiscal deficit at 5.9 per cent of GDP as against 2.5 per cent expected earlier. It further warned that the expected revenue surplus of States may not materialise. Inflation target for the fiscal year was, however, marked down to three per cent, versus an earlier target of below seven per cent. It stated that it expected the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to fall further with decline in input prices.
In fact, the global economic crisis will dent India’s growth trajectory as exports and investments have dropped. The Government and the apex bank will have to manage the adjustment with as little pain as possible.
Banking Sector
The demand for credit from the banking sector has increased as other sources of funds to the commercial sector have shrunk. Given the uncertain outlook of resources availability from both external and non-bank domestic sources, the RBI has raised its indicative projection of the total flow of credit from the banking sector to the commercial sector to 24 per cent for 2008-09 from 20 per cent envisaged in the annual policy statement. The apex bank stated that in India, the policy response to global financial crisis and recession had been predominantly driven by the need to arrest moderation in economic growth. The RBI has also extended refinance facility to commercial banks, mutual funds, NBFCs and housing finance companies to September 30, 2009.
Nevertheless, the global financial crisis has led to a reversal of capital flows causing, among others, sharp dips in stock markets and depreciation of the rupee. Global credit lines to Indian companies have all but dried up and there has been a pronounced deceleration in world trade.
The apex bank is quite slow in cutting rates unlike the Central Banks of other countries grappling with the ripple effects of recession. It is clear that the recent interest rate cuts have not stimulated demand and more needs to be done to keep growth from slipping.

Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery, involving victims who are forced, defrauded or coerced into labour or sexual exploitation. Annually, about six to eight lakh people—mostly women and children—are trafficked across national borders which does not count million trafficked within their own countries. People are snared into trafficking by many means. In some cases, physical force is used. In other cases, false promises are made regarding job opportunities or marriages in foreign countries to entrap victims.
Human trafficking is a multi-dimensional threat—it deprives people of their human rights and freedoms, it is a global health risk, and it fuels the growth of organised crime. It has a devastating impact on individual victims, who often suffer physical and emotional abuse, rape, threat against self and family, passport theft, and even death. But the impact of human trafficking goes beyond individual victims, it undermines the safety and security of all nations it touches.
India is a source, transit and destination country for women, men and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual and labour exploitation. Indian men and women are trafficked into situations of involuntary servitude in countries in the Middle East and children may be forced to work as beggars or camel jockeys.
Why India Targeted?
In India, human trafficking is one of the fastest growing destinations where people are forced into slavery. It affects every continent and most countries. It involves the movement of people through violence, deception or coercion for the purpose of forced labour, servitude or slavery-like practices. As per the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), India is one of the top three migrant-sending nations in which cases also include defrauding of people in other countries. Most of the illegal immigrants are from Punjab. Kabootar is the Punjabi code for the illegal immigrant who goes overseas in a group on a visitor visa or a sticker visa (fake visa) and then simply vanishes.
India is also a growing destination for sex tourists from Europe, the US, the UK and a number of Western countries. Internal trafficking of women, men and children for the purposes of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, bonded labour and indentured servitude is widespread.
A number of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the country, especially in nearby States as Assam, West Bengal and Tripura are of serious concern. The illegal migrants have changed in the border areas demography of India to a great extent, creating ethnic imbalance.
Need of the Hour
The Government needs to designate and empower a national law enforcement entity to carry out investigations and law enforcement operations against trafficking crimes with nation-wide jurisdiction.
Recently, the Government has decided to include the exploitation of human being under the garb of religious or social practices as cases of trafficking under the proposed amendments to the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act (ITPA), 1956. Under the proposed amendment, the law against trafficking of women will get more teeth.

Combating Terrorism

The increasing terrorist attacks in India and the unprecedented outrage in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror strikes underscore the imperative need for examining the fundamental inadequacies of the country’s security systems. It is heartening that India’s political system, in a rare show of unanimity, have now supported the establishment of a National Investigation Agency (NIA) and approved tough amendments to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The first legislation, the NIA, headed by Radha Vinod Raju, Special Director-General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir, is free to take up terror related crimes on its own across States without getting special approval from them, though law and order is a State subject. During trafficking and counterfeit currency have also been designated as ‘scheduled crime’,that can be dealt with by the NIA. It will also have the powers to suo motu take up cases related to terrorist violence. The NIA limits the jurisdiction of the proposed agency to certain scheduled offences under seven Central Acts relating to atomic energy, unlawful activities, anti-hijacking, civil aviation safety, maritime safety, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) and SAARC Terrorism Convention obligations. However, it is not like the US’s FBI in terms of its structure, size or autonomy. It is just another Central Government department dedicated only to investigating and prosecuting cases of terrorism.
The second law, the UAPA is a pack of amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967. It is an attenuated Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) or the truncated Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). It makes a number of substantive and procedural changes to empower the NIA to act effectively and decisively on terrorism-related activities. The Act does not incorporate some of the provisions of the earlier law on terrorism, such as for detention in police custody for 30 days (instead of 15 days) and extension of the maximum period for filing a chargesheet to 180 days (instead of 90 days) if the court is satisfied with the report of the Public Prosecutor on delay in completing investigation. The UAPA is more significant for the procedural modifications brought about than for any substantive changes that are attempted.
Indian Legal System
The Indian legal system suffers from many inadequacies and protecting the rule of law amidst a crisis in the criminal justice system is one of many that hinder the fight against terrorism. Our law enforcement machinery has in the past used anti-terror laws as a tool for many human rights violations and also to discriminate against minorities and other marginalised sections of the society.
Any attempt to give more powers to the police and law enforcement machinery to fight terror needs to be carefully examined so that these powers are adequately provided with due checks and balances. Passing more stringent laws or, for that matter, giving more powers to the law enforcement machinery is not necessarily going to create a more secure environment. What is necessary is to have a multi-pronged systematic approach to fighting terrorism and recognising that the exercise should not undermine the basic principles of democratic governance, human rights and civil liberties.
De-politicising National Security
India is a complex society to govern. The Central as well as the State Governments have their own jurisdictions on many matters and both share the power to legislate on many subjects. It is important to recognise that continuous terrorist attacks in India have taken a heavy human toll, affected the social and economic development of the country and more seriously, undermined the democratic fabric and the governance capabilities of our society.
The role of civil society and religious communities in the fight against terror should not be underestimated. It would be foolhardy to think that the police and law enforcement machinery would be able to reach out to the entire country to create a safe and secure environment. Even the best of the intelligence gathering mechanisms will not be able to find out all the information that is sometimes needed in the fight against terrorism. The civil society needs to be empowered so that the much needed information available in the public domain regarding terror networks is shared with the police and law enforcement machinery.
The role of religious communities should be encouraged. Religious leaders can play an important role in creating a better environment in our religious institutions so that any form of ideology that advocates violence can be discouraged early.
Good Governance
Another important issue that receives less attention in the larger framework of policies to fight terrorism is related to creating secure and humane societies. The Government ought to continue to work towards eradicating poverty, reducing disparities of income and wealth, eliminating corruption and indeed formulating good governance policies.
Responses to terrorism should not result in the Government ignoring any of these problems, as it is important to create a society that respects human freedoms in all its manifestations. Since terrorism attacks this fundamental notion of human freedom, we should fight it with wholehearted commitment.
Whatever we do, we must clearly understand that in the globalised environment in which we live, no country—not even the mighty US—can wage and win a war on terror on its own. The effectiveness of our efforts will depend to a great extent on the success of our diplomacy to mobilise world support.

2009: UN International Year of Astronomy

Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Astronomers of early civilisations performed methodical observations of the night sky, and astronomical artifacts have been found from much earlier periods. However, the invention of the telescope was required before astronomy was able to develop into a modern science. Historically, astronomy has included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, the making of calendars, and even, astrology but professional astronomy is nowadays often considered to be synonymous with astrophysics. Since the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy split into observational and theoretical branches. Observational astronomy is focused on acquiring and analysing data, mainly using basic principles of physics. Theoretical astronomy is oriented towards the development of computer or analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. The two fields complement each other, with theoretical astronomy seeking to explain the observational results, and observations being used to confirm theoretical results.
Keeping the significance of the above points in mind, the 62nd United Nations (UN) General Assembly has declared 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy (IYA 2009). In fact, the idea to proclaim the year 2009 as IYA was mooted at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) General Assembly, held way back in July 2003 in the Australian city of Sydney. The IAU unanimously approved a resolution in favour of the declaration of IYA 2009. Besides, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) General Conference at its 33rd session recommended, based on Italy’s initiative, that the UN General Assembly to adopt a resolution to declare 2009 as IYA. The UN has designated the UNESCO as the lead agency for the IYA 2009. The IAU will function as the facilitating body for IYA 2009. The focal theme of the IYA 2009 is "The Universe, Yours to Discover".
Major Goals and Objectives
The IYA 2009 will make astronomical breakthroughs more visible in the daily lives of billions of people through all available means of communication (TV/radio documentaries, newspapers, web pages, exhibitions, stamps, blogs, web portals, advertising campaigns etc). It will facilitate individual astronomical observing opportunities. It will enable as many laypeople as possible, especially children, to look at the sky through a telescope and gain a basic understanding of the universe.
The IYA 2009 will envolve astronomical communities of the developing nations in the year, thereby providing examples of how outreach and education is carried out in different parts of the world. It will develop formal and informal educational material and distribute all over the world. Conduct focused training of event leaders and presenters. It will also connect as many individuals (named "IYA Ambassadors") as well as organisations (amateur and professional) in networks, for instance by creating of new internal and external electronic communication infrastructures. These networks will become part of the heritage of IYA 2009.
Besides bringing the issues of natural environment and energy preservation to the agenda of decision makers, the IYA 2009 will facilitate portraits - on TV, in web blogs, biographies - of scientists that break with the traditional "lab coat view" of scientists, showing the excitement of scientific discovery, the international aspect of scientific collaborations and portraying the social sides of scientists.
Global Celebration
The IYA 2009 is a global celebration of astronomy and its contributions to society and culture to mark the 400th anniversary of the first use of an astronomical telescope by the Italian scientist and astronomer, Galileo Galilei, who laid the foundations of modern science. The momentous event triggered a scientific revolution which profoundly affected our worldview. Now telescopes on the ground and in space explore the universe, 24 hours a day, across all wavelengths of light. According to the President of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Catherine Cesarsky, "The IYA 2009 gives all nations a chance to participate in this ongoing exciting scientific and technological revolution."
The IYA 2009 will highlight global cooperation for peaceful purposes –- the search for our cosmic origin and our common heritage which connect all citizens of planet Earth. For several millennia, astronomers have worked together across all boundaries including geographic, gender, age, culture and race, in line with the principles of the UN Charter. In that sense, astronomy is a classic example of how science can contribute towards furthering international cooperation. The IYA 2009 activities will take place at the global and regional levels, and especially at the national and local levels. National nodes in each country have been formed to prepare activities for 2009. These nodes establish collaborations between professional and amateur astronomers, science centres, educators and science communicators in preparing activities in the year 2009.
Source of Inspiration
The IYA 2009 aims to convey the excitement of personal discovery, the pleasure of sharing fundamental knowledge about the universe and our place in it, and the merits of the scientific method. Astronomy is an invaluable source of inspiration for humankind throughout all nations. So far 99 nations and 14 organisations have signed up to participate in the IYA 2009 –- an unprecedented network of committed communicators and educators in astronomy.
The IYA 2009 seeks to help the citizens of the world rediscover their place in the universe through the day and night time sky –- and thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery. All humans should realize the impact of astronomy and basic sciences on our daily lives, and understand better how scientific knowledge can contribute to a more equitable and peaceful society. It also seeks to stimulate worldwide interest, especially among young people, in astronomy and science under IYA 2009 events and activities will promote a greater appreciation of the inspirational aspects of astronomy that embody an invaluable shared resource for all nations.

Police Reforms

In the present scenario, the police is one of the most unpopular institu­tions in the country. Even policemen and their leadership admit this. One of the main reasons why the ordinary people fear and dislike the police is that the police has been assigned a role that is intrinsically deprivational. But the reason for its poor image is that the police through the length and breadth of the country has ceased to be pro­fessional. Complaints of indifference to suffering, injustice, unhelpful attitude, bad temperament, rude behaviour and runaway corruption make one wonder what has gone wrong with its leadership. The simple answer is that the leadership has allowed itself to be manipulated by a political class that has misused the power of appointment, promotion and transfer to patronise weak or corrupt officers for their own selfish ends at the cost of public interest.
Irregularities and Corruption
Large-scale irregularities and corruption in the recruitment of police constables have come to light in Uttar Pradesh. This has exposed what was not unknown before. Political interference and money power have begun to play an increasingly sordid role in the recruitment of subordinate police officers and constables.
In Uttar Pradesh, altogether 22,000 policemen were recruited during the Samajwadi Party regime (2004-06). Several irregularities have been detected in the probe conducted by the present Government after it came to power. Irregularities in the recruitment include waving of police verification to recruit people with criminal records, forging examination papers and caste certificates, fudging scores and changing laid-down procedures and criteria for selection of candidates.
Malpractices and unabashed corrup­tion in the recruitment of cons­tables that have come to light in Uttar Pradesh are deplorable. These reflect very poorly on the functioning and leadership of the police force in the State.
Role of Constabulary
Constables constitute nearly 80 per cent of the police force at the cutting edge of law enforcement. A constable has maximum visibility and interacts with the public all the time in main­taining order. He has to be physically fit and mentally alert for proper order maintenance and crime prevention. Constables can no longer afford to function as mere automatons recruited to perform duties of a mechanical character.
The Committee on Police Training, 1973 (better known as the Gore Committee) observed: “Recruitment procedures should be so devised that they are free from political, personal or other corruptive influences. The need for objectivity in selection cannot be overemphasised.”
Certain prescribed selection procedures have been laid down in the police manuals and in Government circulatory orders for recruitment of constables but what actually happened in UP is shocking and scandalous.
The selection boards at different centres were constituted in a partisan manner. These constituted of venal and obliging officers. Lists of candidates to be appointed were sent to the senior police officers heading the selection panels at different centres. The willing officers bent backwards; they dis­regarded all norms and rules for selection of candidates favoured by the political bigwigs by lowering qualifying physical standards, downgrading interview yardsticks, and also allowing outsiders to write the answer papers.
Worse, mandatory police verifi­cation was given a go-by in many cases and in some recruitment centres persons other than the candidates had taken the examination. In the process, the means and methods of malpractices also have undergone changes. In UP, it is reported that a private firm was hired to check the objective-type questions of answer sheets. In several answer sheets whitener was used to erase old answers. Incidentally, similar modus operandi was recently detected in the selection of candidates of a paramilitary organi­sation of the Central Government.
Unfortunately, malpractices and corruption in the recruitment of police personnel are becoming a pattern in many States. Sometimes back in Orissa the State Vigilance Bureau had to ins­titute criminal cases against a retired Director-General of Police and a number of officers of different ranks after detecting corruption in the recruitment of the police staff. Indeed, corruption in recruitment in public service is an endemic problem of a developing state with growing unemployment and economic distress.
Law Enforcement
However, in the police entrusted with the job of law enforcement, elimi­nation of corrupt practices in recruit­ment is not only vital for the health of the force but also for the well-being of society. Police constables who join the service by making heavy payments will extort money from the people to make good money paid earlier and indulge in various malpractices to augment their meagre salary. They will turn into veritable extortionists and sully the image of the force. And this is precisely what is happening now. Criminals in uniform are crowding the force.
However, all is not lost, there is a silver lining in the clouds. Some States like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan have streamlined recruitment procedures, which are fair, transparent, and by and large, immune from outside pressures. Given the political will, there is no reason why this is not possible in other States.
The recruitment scandal also highlighted the imperative need for police reforms. There is a need to insulate the police from extraneous pressures and selection of upright officers for important assignments. Otherwise, the prevalent malpractices and corruption in police recruitment will continue and sound a death-knell for police integrity and discipline.
Supreme Court Ruling
The Supreme Court has given a major boost to the democracy and freedom by decreeing the long-pending and widely endorsed police reforms. The reforms include a minimum fixed tenure for Directors-General of Police (DGPs) and other senior officers, setting up of State Security Commissions, sepa­ration of investigation from law and order and establishment of a police panel to decide transfers and promo­tions. Justifying the overhaul, the apex court stated that there had been no comprehensive review of the police system since Independence. Although the National Police Commission (NPC) had recommended changes in 1977, none were implemented. The apex court directed each State to constitute a State Security Commission—to be headed by the Chief Minister or the Home Minister—to ensure that the State Government does not exercise undue influence on state police. The DGP will be its ex-officio secretary. The other members of the Commission shall be chosen in such a manner that it is able to function independent of government control.
Need of the Hour
The solution perhaps lies in the decen­tralisation of administration in stages where the local police is made accountable to an elected local authority while training and recruitment up to a particular level is entrusted to the professionals with overseeing powers vested in the state government—a model of the system that prevails in the Western democracies. Otherwise, the colonial mindset of lording over the citizens can never get replaced by a citizen-friendly police force with whom the safety and rights of a citizen come first.

Modi As Prime Minister

It looks like all that a Chief Minister has to do to be projected as Prime Minister is call in the corporate czars for an investment conference and hold out the promise of open season for their business. So it would appear with leading businessmen of the country like Ratan Tata, Anil Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal rooting for the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as future Prime Minister. Airing their views at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, held recently in Ahmedabad—which its promoters claim resulted in the signing of 8,500 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs). The MoUs involved a total investment of Rs. 12 lakh crore in the State. The business tycoons lauded Modi’s dynamism and virtually hailed him as the country’s next Prime Minister.
While not going quite so far as to confer future Prime Ministership on Modi, Tata joined in the hallelujah chorus by publicly proclaiming that the State Chief Minister had given the Mamta-orphaned Nano, the country’s cheapest car, a safe haven in record time.
According to Bakul Dholakia, former Director of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), “There are leaders who have a grand vision. There are some who have tremendous administrative capabilities. And there are those who enjoy popular support. In Modi, we have a combination of all this. If villagers see him as their leader, corporates see him as a CEO”.
In the words of Mukesh Patel, a member of FICCI’s National Executive, “Gujarat power situation is regarded as the best among States at present. This had helped it dramatically improve its contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), both in terms of agricultural and industrial production. As against the 10.2 per cent growth rate in the last five years, the Planning Commission states that the target for Gujarat is 11.2 per cent for the next five years. The projection for 2008-09 is 13 per cent, way above the national target. Modi is a dreamer and he knows how to achieve them. He may even exceed these targets”.
Assembly Election Factor
Modi’s stunning victory in the 2007 State Assembly elections has all the elements of a classical Indian style electoral wave. It levelled the usual political regions, urban centres as well as rural hinterland and different phases of polling behaved in a similar fashion. Barring a part of central Gujarat that returned to the Congress after a abnormal fluctuation in 2002, the rest of the State returned nearly a uniform verdict. The wave swept aside all factors that caught media attention—rebels, internal dissension, local disaffection and caste-community equations. This election may be remembered as the Moditva wave and perhaps rightly so. But the point is to recognise what constitutes Moditva. This is not an irrational personality cult. Like all charismatic and authoritarian politicians, Modi responds to some deep quest of an ordinary citizen. He appears to be the dedicated and clean yet effective and strong leader that citizens yearn for in a democracy. Modi had legitimate reasons for showcasing his Government’s firm commitment towards internal security issues in post 2002 riots in Gujarat. Despite the State being on top of the hit-list of all jehadi groups in the sub-continent after the Godhra riots, not one major terrorist incident has taken place in Gujarat in the six years of the BJP rule. The State Government has been able to harmonise internal conflict with economic and industrial reforms even while there were agitations over industrial policies in certain parts of the country. To add to this, there is little or hardly any infiltration to Naxalism among Gujarat’s tribals, in sharp contrast to rising Maoist movements in tribals of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and even Maharashtra.
Missed Issues
Though the massacre of Muslims in 2002 under Modi’s statesmanship may be a minor issue for these business leaders, there are some bigger points they have overlooked.
The first major issue the corporate giants have missed to mark is neither the people nor the parties of the country are likely to take their advocacy of Modi’s candidature seriously. When a FICCI delegation met former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to express support for the Emergency, one of the country’s most acclaimed editors noted that they are men who would have done this anyway; “honourably if they can, dishonestly if they must”. Same way, should political heavyweights expect them to endorse their candidature, it is unlikely that any businessman would have the gumption to refuse.
Besides, there are some other bigger issues. The same Anil Ambani, thanks to his close association with the Samajwadi Party, was a member of the Rajya Sabha. Is the same person saying that he would be loathe to support former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam Singh Yadav as Prime Minister? His answer is anyone’s guess. One feels sorry for the senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Lal Krishna Advani, who has to content with not only the Opposition but also opponents on his own turf.
The Other View
If we see the career of Modi, we find that he is a case study that will intrigue many people. He is a politician seeking to redefine himself and Gujarat. He is doing this not in terms of a holistic vision, but a fragmentary one. He has the industrialists on his side because he simplifies rules and regulations for them. He has the religious sects with him because he speaks the hybrid language of history and modernity. He claims the new by antagonizing the old, creating a middle class urban base that dreams of change, tried of the old grammar of party politics and caste equations. Perhaps no leader is more contemptuous of his own party than Modi.
So why did Tata, Ambani and Mittal so blatantly root for Modi and projecting him as the future Prime Minister? The only answer seems to be that in the present scenario in India nothing exceeds like supposed success, whether it is Ramalinga Raju’s Satyam Computers or Modi’s Gujarat. What matters is the bottom line; anything and everything else is irrelevant. But as Satyam Computers has so disastrously shown, the bottom line can be outrageously fudged. Undoubtedly, Modi has created an electric excitement. But the cries of pain can be heard when the current is off. The time will better tell the story.

UNICEF Report on Healthcare

Improvement in health has been an important part in the overall strategy for socio-economic development over the planning periods including the11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12). Significant demographic changes and epidemiology shifts have occurred but the health scenario in India is still at crossroads with a wide gap between demand and supply of health services. However, some measures of success has been achieved on the communicable diseases. But the latest UNICEF State of the World Children (SOWC) report, released recently, states that India faces a major challenge in healthcare. Its record in treating mothers and children, the most vulnerable section of the population, seems most disheartening.
According to the report, India loses nearly one million neonates annually. About 78,000 women die due to pregnancy and childbirth complications. The track record of Uttar Pradesh is predictably the worst. The State’s maternal mortality rate, the maximum in the country, puts it par with Sudan. Three–quarters of all maternal deaths in India are occurring from hemorrhage (38 per cent), followed by infections (11 per cent), unsafe abortions (8 per cent) and hypertensive disorders (5 per cent). On an average, every seven minutes, one woman dies of pregnancy problems; institutional delivery rate remains a poor 40 per cent.
The UNICEF’s analysis of maternal and newborn health across the world further shows that the global community is not on target to achieve the Millennium Development Goal on maternal mortality, which requires 70 per cent reduction in maternal deaths by 2015. The report states that the nations cannot save their children unless they save mothers. It states maternal and infant survival is inextricably linked.
Perusal of the Report
A perusal of the report shows that about 99 per cent of all global deaths arising from pregnancy complications are occurring in the developing world, where having a child remains among the most serious health risks for women. Most of these deaths occur in Africa and Asia where high fertility rates, shortage of trained personnel and weak health system spell tragedy for women. For every woman who dies, another 20 suffer illness or injury, often with lasting consequences. The report also reveal serious inequity between the developing and developed world—a woman has a 1 in 76 lifetime risk of maternal death in the developing nations, compared to a probability of just 1 in 8,000 for women in the developed countries. In Uttar Pradesh, this probability is 1 in 42 women.
Women in the least developing nations are, in fact, 300 times more likely to die of childbirth and pregnancy related complications than the women in the industrialised countries. No other mortality rate across the world is so unequal.
Further, a child born in a developing nation is 14 times more likely to die in the first 28 days of life than a child born in a developed country. Like maternal deaths, 98 per cent of neonatal deaths happen in low and middle countries. They are mostly preventable. Babies whose mothers die during the first six months of lives are likely to die in the first two years of life than others whose mothers survive. Primary healthcare embracing every stage of maternal and newborn health must reach of India’s most vulnerable women and children for them to survive.
Condition of Indian States
As far as Indian States are concerned, the report shows that 50 per cent of all under-five deaths in the country occur in the first 28 days of life. Top five neonatal mortality rates in India are reported from Orissa (52 deaths per 1000 lives); Madhya Pradesh (51); Uttar Pradesh (46); Rajasthan (45) and Chhattisgarh (43).
Two-thirds of maternal deaths in the country reported from a handful of States—Uttar Pradesh (which contributes one-fourth of all maternal deaths), Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Assam.
Lack of Awareness
What is shocking is that a majority of the neonatal and maternal deaths can be prevented. The Government’s Integrated Child Development Scheme, the local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs),CARE and USAID have been trying to reduce infant mortality and child nutrition in several Indian States. The Government has also taken steps to increase public awareness on the importance of neonatal care. The pursuit of Safe Motherhood has not yielded the same desirable results in developing countries like India as in the developing world.
Since the institutional delivery rate in India is rather poor, undisputedly there is an urgent need to step up institutional deliveries. There is also an equally pressing requirement to train mid-wives to ensure safe deliveries at home. The health programmes have to lay emphasis on recognising mother and child as a single entity that deserves care.
Contributory factors like poor education, low socio-economic status and malnutrition too need to be addressed. In a country like India that has begun to boast of medical tourism, ironically healthcare for all, especially the rural poor still remains a distant dream.

US Ushers in New Era

Sworn in as the 44th President of the US, Barack Hussein Obama became the first African-American to occupy the White House on January 20, 2009, fulfilling Martin Luther King’s dream sooner than anyone had imagined. The 47-year-old Obama’s rise from a small-time community worker to the most powerful man in the world marks a huge political transformation in a country with a racist past.
The event marked the end of an eight-year chapter of George W. Bush’s presidency—a record blighted by unfinished wars, record deficits and an economy in recession not seen since the 1930s Great Depression. But it also opened a chapter of change, a mantra often repeated by Obama during the course of his presidential campaign. Obama used his inauguration address to call on Americans to embrace a new era of responsible behaviour. He asked the nation to reject the “culture of anything goes.” He promised the world a new America that listens to all voices. But he vowed to spare nothing to keep America safe, addressing terrorist foes directly.
The 65-year-old Joe Biden, a longtime Senator and veteran foreign policy expert, who is considered a close friend of India, has been sworn in as the 47th Vice-President. He had been a strong critic of Bush Administration’s foreign policies. He supported the Iraq invasion but flayed the handling of the post-war situation.
Sign of Deliverance
Obama assumed power over a country longing for change after Bush’s two terms in the White House. He arrives at the presidency after a transition that betrayed little if any perspiration and no hint of nervousness. Throughout the 77 days since his election, he has been a font of cool confidence, never too hot, never too cold, seemingly undaunted by the magnitude of troubles awaiting him and unbothered by the few setbacks that have tripped him up.
The new US President remains hard to read or label—centrist in his appointments and bipartisan in his style, yet also pushing the broadest expansion of Government in generations. What the country has seen of Obama’s leadership style so far evokes the discipline of Bush and the curiosity of Bill Clinton. Obama is not shy about making decisions and making them expeditiously.
Obama has set out ideas for governance even before taking office, but he has also adapted the details as conditions changed. He is as much symbol as substance, an iron for the young and a sign of deliverance for an older generation that never believed a man with his skin colour would ascend those steps to vow to preserve, protect and defend a Constitution that originally counted a black man as three-fifths of a person.
Major Challenges
One of the first major challenges to confront President Obama would be the tottering US economy and he has already outlined it as his main priority areas. As most Americans expect, Obama is bound to concentrate on how to turn the US economy around as his first priority. It is indeed a challenging task. He has to find a way to give a new direction to his country’s economy, faced with the kind of crisis it has never seen since the last seven decades. Going in for more spending by the Government may be one of the measures he may take. A bit of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal may become necessary, but he has to be really innovative to pull his country out of the crisis. The most pressing investment of Obama is the giant economic recovery plan, a $ 825 billion effort to rescue America’s struggling economy.
But there are many others he wants or needs to make early in term: spending capital in Congress trying to overall healthcare; spending valuable diplomacy to diffuse the bloody Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip, spending military resources to beat back a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan. It all depends on how he views the situation in South Asia.
As far as relations are concerned, New Delhi will be watching with curiosity not only his moves on job outsourcing, which can adversely affect India’s BPO companies, but also how the Obama Administration looks at the US ties with India. The Bush Administration took the Indo-US relations to a new high with the signing of the civil nuclear agreement. Obama has indicated that the ties between the the two countries will be strengthened further, but how he keeps his word remains to be seen.

Satyam Scam

The scam at Satyam Computer Services, the fourth largest company in India’s much showcased and fiscally pampered Information Technology (IT) industry, has raised widespread fears that India could also be sitting on an equally—if not even more—devastating powder keg of what might be called financial terror.
The irony lies in the name Satyam, meaning truth. The real truth is that Byrraju Ramalinga Raju, the politically connected promoter-Chairman of Hyderabad-headquartered Satyam Computers, was lying for years to shareholders, employees and the world at large, building up to India’s largest-ever corporate fraud of over Rs. 7,000 crore. The country was for several years cooking its books by inflating revenues and profits, thus boosting its cash and bank balances; showing interest income where none existed; understanding liability; and overstanding debtors position. Ramalinga, after admitting to the Board of Directors that accounts were fudged to the tune over several years. His brother, B. Rama Raju, also resigned as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
What is known as of now is that over an extended period of time, the promoters decided to inflate the revenue and profit figures of Satyam. In the event, the company has a huge hole in its balance sheet, comprising non-exitent assets and cash reserves that have been recorded and liabilities that are unrecorded.
Undercover Scam
The Satyam fraud, reportedly planned and perpetrated over seven years, was more meticulously devised and executed than any hit-and-miss terror attack. What makes it even more scary was that it was conducted not only in full public view, but in the glowing limelight of public approbation: Satyam was the darling of not just the Sensex but of the national and international corporate world. Its dazzling client roster included no less than 185 of the corporations on Forbes 500 list. And even as the undercover scam was in full swing, Satyam was honoured with an award for good corporate governance.
The most obvious casualties of the Satyam scam are of course the investors, foreign and domestic, institutional and retail, who have seen their share values explode like suicide bombers. The walking wounded include Satyam employees, who might lose their jobs, without any severance compensation, and the company’s creditors who could similarly be left in the lurch.
In fact, the real damage done by the Satyam blow-up is to the credibility of Brand India as a whole and not just in terms of IT. The First World routinely categorised India as part of a generic Third World malarial swamp where corruption, graft and shoddy inefficiency were as much an accepted part of the environment as physical squalor, contaminated water and intestinal disorders often given the general tag of ‘Delhi belly’. Post-economic liberalisation, this tarnished image of India began to get a make-over, largely thanks to the enhanced transparency and accountability supposedly infused into the system by the enlarged role of private entrepreneurship.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the brand of capitalism India is exporting does not pass muster in the West. Wipro and Megasoft have followed Satyam on to the World Bank’s blacklist for trying to win contracts by offering inducements to its staff.
The New Team
In a positive development and intervention to put Satyam back on track, the Government has reconstituted its board, inducting three distinguished professional: banker Deepak Parekh, former NASSCOM Chief Kiran Karnik and former head of Securities Appellate Tribunal C. Achutan. The new board should extent all cooperation to the investigating agencies in ferreting out all murky details of this present scam.
The inquiry should not linger in view of the involvement of multiple agencies. Speedy investigation, foolproof prosecution and stringent punishment for the culprits have to be the top priority. The first priority of the new board is to instill confidence in employees, investors and clients as well as ensure business continuity. Given the magnitude of the scandal, it is likely that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will be brought in. However, it mist be remembered that cases like Satyam scam have dragged on for years in the courts. Neither specific legal provisions nor the specialised prosecuting agencies have really helped in speeding up the process. Although not strictly comparable, the Harshad Mehta-led stock market scandal of 1991-92 prompted a flurry of activities to speed up the legal processes, including the setting up of a special court at Mumbai.
In this grim scenario comes a silver lining. Satyam’s rivals, particularly Infosys and TCS, have displayed commendable ethical behaviour—or practical sense—by not poaching on the beleaguered firm’s top professionals or its business clients, who might be looking for a switchover. The image of the IT sector, the biggest foreign exchange earner for the country, has been damaged and needs to be restored.It would require a big effort and long time to gulf the bridge the gulf.

Golden Globe for Rahman

Music maestro AR Rahman has made history by becoming the first Indian to win the prestigious Golden Globe Award for the Best Original Music Score for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ which also bagged the Best Film and two other awards. Directed by the British filmmaker Danny Boyle, the rags-to-riches story of a Mumbai slumdweller swept awards in all the four categories it was nominated for, brightening its prospects at the Oscar Awards 2009.
The film is about India , shot in Mumbai, based on a novel ‘Q and A’ by author diplomat Vikas Swarup and has Loveleen Tadan, an Indian, as its coordinator. While Dev Patel, a British actor of Indian origin, has played the lead, the cast includes Bollywood bigwig Anil Kapoor and talented actors like Saurabh Shukla and Irfan Khan, thus vindicating Bollywood as a cinematic force to reckon with. More so since Boyle is reported to have sought inspiration for ‘Slumdog’ from several Hindi flicks. But the most heartening triumph belongs to Rahman, who has not only brought India its first Golden Globe Award but also put Bollywood music right on the world map.
Rahman’s Impact
The music prodigy, Rahman, has truly justified the ‘Time’ magazine’s comment about him: ‘Mozart of Madras’. The 43-year-old Rahman has also been named the Best Composer at the Critics’ Choice Awards in Los Angeles. Known for his music versatility—from romantic compositions to foot-tapping numbers, Rahman has innovated with different instruments and sounds to create some of India’s best-known musical hits for nearly two decades.
Rahman’s impact on Indian popular music has been tremendous. He composes across genres, from swing to pop to rousing anthems and semi-classical tunes and is known for high technology. He rose from scoring for Tamil movies to composing for big-budget stage productions abroad like ‘Bombay Dreams’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’. In his debut with ‘Roja’ in 1991, Rahman lifted Indian movie music out of the doldrums it had fallen into in the eighties. He represented a break from the past in more ways than one, trained as he is in Indian and western classical forms. Building on the work of other south Indian veterans such as Ilayaraja, Rahman brought innovation and improvisation to the music industry.
Tryst with Music
The life story of Rahman and his struggle to reach the dizzy height of fame at a young age may not be exactly of the young man in ‘Slumdog’ but it does read like a thriller. Rahman’s original name is AS Dileep Kumar. He is the only son of RK Shekhar, composer, arranger and conductor for Malayalam films.
Rahman’s tryst with music began as he got an opportunity to roam the world with various orchestras, including that of renowned Zakir Hussain. Rahman’s exposure helped him earn a scholarship and obtain a degree in Western Classical Music from Trinity College of Music, Oxford University.
It was in the year 1987 that the music wizard, Rahman began composing jingles for television commercials. He composed over 300 jingles in a span of five years, in addition to his first album of Muslim devotional songs titled ‘Deen Isai Malai’ and the English album, ‘Set Me Free’. The turning point of his career came in 1991 and it came by a sheer stroke of luck.
Rahman can be credited with liberating the Indian popular singer’s voice profile. He is truly a man of sound. A new voice, a new sound challenges him, helps him layer what he calls a, “fat chunky soundtrack”. The latest recognition for Rahman might presage an Oscar, which would be a worthy tribute to this master musician from India.

Afghan President Visits India

India has maintained intimate relations with Afghanistan since earliest times. The two countries have close cultural links. It was quite evident with the recent visit of the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who expressed solidarity with India in the wake of November29, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. He joined Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in castigating Pakistan for reneging on its commitment not to allow the misuse of its territory for terrorist activities.
Without directly naming Islamabad, the two leaders called for full compliance with bilateral, multilateral and international obligations of States to prevent terrorism in any manner originating from territories under their control since terrorism emanates from the sanctuaries and training camps and the sustenance and support received by the terrorist groups.
Extensive Talks
Karzai, who was on his second visit to New Delhi within six months, held extensive talks with the India Prime Minister on a wide range of issues, but the focus was on the Mumbai terror attacks, carried out by elements in Pakistan with the support of its official agencies. The two leaders noted with concern that the fledging civilian Government in Pakistan had failed to do anything against the ISI even when it became evident that the spy agency had masterminded July7, 2008 suicide bomb attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul.
Afghanistan is now facing a serious threat to threat to its democratic existence from the fundamentalist Taliban. That the Taliban enjoy the support from both State and non-State factors in Pakistan is no secret. Unfortunately, a vast territory in the landlocked country is now under the Taliban which do not approve of the growing economic and political relations between Afghanistan and India. India and the US have evidence that the attack on the Indian mission in Kabul was the brainwork of the Pakistani ISI and was executed by the Afghani terrorists. An idea that has been gaining ground is to co-opt the Taliban into the Afghan Government to end the strife in the country.
India can not but look askance at any such proposal as it knows that, given the Taliban’s propensity, it will in the due course edge out the pro-democracy forces represented by Karzai from the Government. This will have dangerous implications for the whole world.
Joint Statement
A Joint Statement issued at the end of Karzai’s talks with the Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee stated that Singh conveyed to the Afghan leader that the following the completion of the Zarang-Delaram road project, a second major infrastructure project, the Pul-e-Khumri to Kabul transmission line and the sub-station at Chimtala in northern Afghanistan would be handed over shortly by India to the Afghan Government. The two leaders expressed satisfaction that the construction of the Afghan Parliament, a symbol of the common commitment of both countries to pluralism and democracy, had also begun.
In order to help the people of Afghanistan in tiding over their current food crisis, India would gift Afghanistan 250,000 metric tones of wheat. The shipment would be effected immediately after the Afghan Government had worked out its transportation arrangements.
India should help Afghanistan for the development of its economy and improving bilateral relations between the two countries. In a balance-of-power, it is up to Afghanistan to engage India in a partnership and shape it to accept the new situation.

Polio Eradication

India has already earned itself the dubious distinction of having the world’s highest number of polio cases. According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative data, released recently, India has recorded 82 polio cases in the past one month. In comparison, three other countries where polio is still endemic—Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan—have together recorded just 23 cases in the same period. However, as by the end of 2008, India has 517 confirmed polio cases of which have P3 strains and P1 infections.
This has now made the Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss virtually admit that the country’s polio programme is failing to achieve its purpose. Unhappy with the failure to stop polio from crippling children across the country, the Government has decided to review the National Polio Control Programme (NPCP).
Tail-end Outbreak
The cases recorded in 2008 are the tail-end of the polio outbreak that occurred in India in 2007 and crippled 864 children compared to 676 in 2006, while the year 2005 witnessed 66 cases. An increase in vaccination coverage in 2007 was expected to reduce the number of cases in 2008. Also, Rs. 1,050 crore was set aside for the pulse polio programme.
Cases of the Type 1 polio virus that spreads faster and causes death from paralysis in many instances declined in 2008 because the Government used a monovalent vaccine targeting this strain alone. In 2008, of the 106 cases, only one was Type 1, reported in Delhi.
But the focus on vaccination for Type 1 led to a surge in Type 3 cases in Bihar—it reported 89 cases in 25 districts—and Uttar Pradesh, where 15 cases have been found across nine districts. Haryana reported one case of Type 3. The Type 2 polio virus was eradicated in 1999.
The cases recorded from January to March are from 2006 outbreak. Fresh infections usually occur in Uttar Pradesh from July and in Bihar from August, after the flood waters have receded. Bihar also saw the worst flood in the last 30 years in August, which badly hit the immunisation rounds.
Bihar, which reported 193 fresh cases of the crippling disease in 2007, has been exporting polio strains across the country. Experts have now marked out 72 blocks in the State as high risk. In 2008, 90 per cent of P1 cases were found in these blocks along the Kosi river.
Chain Shortcomings
Why, instead of so many mass oral polio vaccine immunization campaigns, has the dreaded disease continue to be reported especially from States like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Some communities refused immunization fearing harmful health hazards for their children in future. Cold chain shortcomings in certain areas compromised the effect of the vaccine and in other places figures of vaccine coverage were fudged by field workers.
The political and State health leadership worked hard and removed the shortcomings uncovered. At present, efforts are on by strengthening surveillance, case reporting and follow-up community-based measures to interrupt wild poliovirus transmission in particular from western Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Let us hope that by the last quarter of 2009 no paralytic polio case is reported and similar status, if maintained for three more years, the Advisory Committee Poliomyelitis Eradication ( ACPE ) that poliomyelitis stands eradicated from India.

Registration of Marriages

Marriage is a social institution inviting a man and a woman in special forms of mutual dependence, often for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family. In other words, marriage is the silken tie of love and esteem between two persons usually not related by blood. It is the oldest way of getting a man and woman together to live life in a society and have the closest-ever relations with each other, bound only by love and confidence which have no limits and cannot be broken unless there is a loss of mutual trust and understanding. It is a common belief that marriages are settled in heaven and as such a matter of chance which are performed at the earth and brings two souls together in an eternal knot.
Law Commission’s Report
Recently, the Law Commission, its 211th report, has recommended the enactment of uniform legislation on the compulsory registration of marriages and divorce and its strict enforcement in all the States and Union Territories. The Union Government should see the merit in the report and take suitable measures to amend the law. Admittedly, in the absence of a uniform law throughout the country, the intended measure, which was originally suggested by the Supreme Court, has not been pursued.
The Law Commission has rightly suggested that while Parliament should take the initiative to enact a uniform law for the entire country, States, on its part, should formulate rules and regulations. The uniform law will help check bigamy and polygamy and child marriages too. It will prevent marriages without the consent of parties and enable women to claim, despite separation, their right to continue living in the house and seek maintenance from husbands. Moreover, it will also help poor families most, giving them social security.
Supreme Court’s Ruling
In an effort to make the registration of marriages in the country compulsory, the Supreme Court had directed all the States to frame rules for this, irrespective of the couple’s religion. The States had erred in framing the law to make the marriage registration compulsory because it was binding on Hindus only.
The States had issued notification under the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA), and, therefore, it was not mandatory for the people belonging to other religions to get their marriages registered. The apex court further directed the States to explain the reasons why they had not made the law binding on non-Hindus as well.
Besides, the Supreme Court also granted last chance to five States (Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh and Jharkhand) that have failed to comply with the apex court’s orders to formulate a law on making marriage registration compulsory.
The Supreme Court agreed with the National Commission for Women (NCW) that compulsory registration of marriages would be of critical importance to various women-related issues such as prevention of child marriage and ensuring a minimum age of marriages; prevention of marriages without the consent of parties; checking illegal /bigamy /polygamy; enabling married women to claim their right to live in the matrimonial home, seek maintenance, etc.
What is Needed?
People must understand that registration of a religious marriage will not turn it into a civil marriage—for registering civil marriages there already are in force two separate laws, Special Marriage Act, 1954 and Foreign Marriage Act, 1969. The required new law would only be for marriages solemnised by religious or customary rites and if used, would not in any case alter the character of any marriage. In other words, registration will be absolutely without prejudice to substantive aspects of marriages—including their validity, solemnised and dissolution—all of which will continue to be governed by the respective personal laws. Registration will not, therefore, come in conflict with any religious law.

Israel-Palestine Conflict

Hamas, the extremist Palestinian organisation which rules the Gaza Strip has brought untold miseries to the 1.5 million people residing there. The Hamas had been attacking Israeli areas near Gaza with rockets after the ceasefire between the two sides ended abruptly recently. Few Israelis were killed when they were hit by Hamas-fired rockets. But the thoughtless Hamas action, which though came because of Israel’s tormenting activities against the Palestinians in the Gaza and West Bank areas, created the situation Israel had been looking for. Thus, it launched a massive army operation, killing more than 300 Palestinians since then. The Israeli drive, as it has announced, will continue till international uproar forces it to halt its show of military might against an impoverished people.

Israeli Aggression
It is a fact that Israel is ruthless when it comes to killing Palestinians, as it has shown yet again. It is the least bothered about the international condemnation of its use of force on such a large scale. Israel knows that the demonstration all over West Asia and calls for an end to the shelling of Gaza by the United Nations, the European Union, Egypt, Russia, China and some other countries have no meaning so long as the US is its protector. The US is content with saying that “We strongly condemn the repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel and hold the Hamas responsible for breaking the ceasefire and for the renewal of violence there.” The US is not perturbed over the Israeli overreaction, which cannot be justified irrespective of what the Hamas has been doing for some time.
The ongoing Israeli attacks have not only jeopardised the Israel-Palestinian Peace Treaty of November 2007 but have also created serious concern among the security and military intelligence throughout the region. The conflict has caused heavy casualties on both sides. In 2005, more than 200 Palestinians died while 1,250 were injured. This rose to 1,289 and 6,290 by the end of 2007. Similarly, the casualties among Israelis rose from 48 dead and over 400 injured in 2005 to 86 dead and more than 1,100 injured in 2007. Any effort to get international support--especially from the Islamic countries by giving the struggle a common colour—can turn the region into a battlefield.
To understand why Israel is politically and morally wrong in the present conflict, one need to go back as far as its 1967 invasion and occupation of Palestinian territory, which is an original sin that has yet to be reversed despite the UN resolutions and more than a decade of the West Asia Peace Process. The events of the past few years—the failure to accept the victory of Hamas in a democratic election, the inhuman blockade, frequent air strikes, and the expedient violations of the ceasefire—provide sufficient grounds to condemn Israel for the tragedy that is under way today in the glorified penal colony claimed the lives of more than 300 men, women and children.
Role of the US
The present crisis is one of that shows up all three main players in the Israel-Palestine conflict—the Palestinian leadership, Israel and the US in poor light. The two major parties of Palestine—Hamas and Fatah—have been at loggerheads and that has not helped the very cause of the Palestinian people.
The US hands-off policy towards the issue during the last two tenures of President George W. Bush has played a negative role in deepening the crisis. President Bush made Iraq the centerpiece of its West Asia policy, convinced that the removal of Saddam Hussein would miraculously set in order all troubled houses in the vicinity. The bloody consequences of such short-sightedness are there for everyone to see today. Instead of pumping billions of dollars on all ill-conceived war, the US would have done well to bolster the moderate elements in Palestine to help them gain credibility against the extremists as well as given them status while dealing with Israel.

International Reactions
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon referred to Israel’s disproportionate response to Kassam rockets calling for immediate halt to the escalating violence in the region. The European Union called for a new ceasefire; Amr Moussa of the Arab League largely contented himself with describing the tragedy as a “major humanitarian crisis” while Syria was the only one to talk about “the barbaric Israeli aggression” in tow with Iran’s strong condemnation. The Vatican contented itself with the Talmudic comment: “Hamas is a prisoner to a logic of hate, Israel to a logic of faith in force as the best response to hate”. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas , who belongs to the Fatah faction, condemned the attack, calling for restraint. But the leader Khaled Meshal, who is in exile in Damascus, called for a third intefada against Israel, despite the second uprising giving the handle to Israel to destroy Palestinian infrastructure and sequester Yasser Arafat in his battered headquarters until his death.
The question arises: “Where do Israel, Palestinians and the world go from here?” No one will give second thoughts to the UN Security Council calling for an end to all violence in Gaza, including rocket attacks. In view of the hold Israel has on the US policy, the UN has never been a major player in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. It was a measure of American success in getting a carte blanche in pursuing its pro-Israel policies that it was instrumental in forming a Quartet of the European Union, the UN, Russia and itself whose task it has been to rubberstamp the US approach to Israel and the Palestinians.
The truth is that both the US and Israel want to remind the Palestinians in Gaza that their fate cannot be better than what it is if they remain the supporters of the Hamas, which Washington has declared a terrorist organisation. The Hamas came to power in Gaza defeating the Fatah group. This, however, cannot help establish peace in West Asia. Killing innocent people in the name of punishing uncooperative rulers will further complicate the crisis in what volatile region.
Peace is, indeed, a rare commodity in what the US calls the Greater Middle East. By hitting Gaza hard Israel has further complicated, rather than helped resolve, the seminal conflict of the region: the occupation of Palestinian land and the banishment of many Palestinians from it.

LTTE Capital Seized

In a major blow to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE), the Sri Lankan army has taken control of the northern town of Kilinochchi, which has been the Tigers’ administrative and political headquarters. The army’s victory came after a phase of intense fighting that lasted several weeks. The capital of the LTTE has been under the control of the Tigers for over a decade.
The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his address to the nation on State television, described the action as a major victory in the world’s battle against terrorism. He reiterated the resolve of his Government to continue the fight till the LTTE was fully and finally defeated, and asserted it was the final message to the LTTE, to lay down their arms and surrender
The military, on its part, claimed that with the fall of Kilinochchi, the LTTE’s countdown to extinction had begun. Troops of 57 Division entered the highly defended stronghold from the southern and southwestern boundaries while Task Force 1 troops marched in from the north and the northwest.The army had taken the Jafna-Kandy A-9 highway on the Oman-thai-Paranthan stretch.
Symbolic Importance
In fact, the fall of Kilinochchi is of great symbolic importance as for many years the LTTE has maintained that Government troops would never gain control of the area. From this place the Tigers ran their own administration with LTTE police, a judicial system and also operated their peace secretariat.
The LTTE took control of Kilinochchi in 1990 when the Sri Lanka Army(SLA) withdrew its garrisons after the departure of the Indian Peace Keeping Force(IPKF). The SLA gained control of the town following operations Sathjaya 1,2 and 3 way back in September 1996. The town again fell into LTTE’s hands in September 1998, and ever since it has been designated as the LTTE’s “administrative and political headquarters”. The Tigers, numbered between 1,700 and 1,900, have retreated into the last remaining area that they control, the thick jungles of Mullaithivu. In 2001, a ceasefire between the and the LTTE had offered the first serious notion of peace between the two sides. Under its Chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, the LTTE announced for the first time that they were climbing down from their earlier demand of a separate State and would settle for a form of regional autonomy. By 2003, the first signs that the peace was crumbling came with the withdrawal of the LTTE from the peace talks. Six rounds into the talks in the middle of a Norway-monitored ceasefire, the LTTE supremo, Prabhakaran announced that he, for all purposes, did not like the chit-chat going on in the talks. With military confrontations in 2006 and 2007,the ceasefire had become a sham and the Sri Lankan Government rightly realised that it was dealing with an entity that it could not trust.
Militarily, the LTTE has taken a continuous battering over the past two years. President Rajapaksa did give it a window of opportunity to return to the peace talks. But after the success of the Mavil Aru operation—provoked by the Tigers’ foolish act of blocking the sluice gates--there was no stopping the Sri Lankan armed forces. In 2007, they rapidly evicted the LTTE, which had been fractured and weakened by the Karuna revolt, from the province. More surprisingly, over the past year the Sri Lankan army, backed effectively by the air force and navy, has made dramatic inroads into LTTE-held territory in the Northern Province. The capture of Kilinochchi, in fact, was delayed owing to the presence of a large number of civilians, torrential rains, and the Government’s determination to avert collateral damage.
Concern for Tamil Civilians
The Sri Lankan Government reckons that there are about 100,000 civilians trapped behind the LTTE lines but as per some other estimates, the number is considerably higher. Whatever be the actual number, the basic needs and safety of the Tamil civilians in the Mullaithivu war zone must be paramount concern. Rajapaksa, who instructed the armed forces to follow a “Zero Civilian Casulty Policy”, has pledged that his Government would accept responsibility to ensure civilian “safety and freedom” now and in the future. The military victories need to be consolidated, more or less simultaneously, by addressing the legitimate grievances of the Tamils and generating a concensus for an enduring political solution to the ethnic conflict.
Pressure on LTTE
The success in the military operations against the LTTE has certainly emboldened the Sri Lankan Government to keep up the pressure on the LTTE. It should, however, not overlook the importance of a political settlement with the Tamil community. Not all Tamils are terrorists. Redressing their grievances will help Sri Lanka deal with the LTTE better and find a lasting solution of the Tamil question. But Sri Lanka should also use the opportunity to engage with longstanding Tamil grievances.
The earlier Sri Lanka finds it the better it will be for the country, which needs unity as well as peace. After all, it has remained badly caught in continued violence and disruption for the last more than 25 years.

50 Years of Cuban Revolution

Cuba,the largest island in the Greater Antilles group, is known as the Pearl of the Caribbean Sea.It celebrated its 50th year of revolution on January2,2009. It is formed by two main island---the island of Cuba and the Isle of Youth---and more than 4,000 keys and small isles. Its neighbours are the US,Mexico,Haiti and Jamaica.
Cuba was discovered by Columbus in 1492 and Spain ruled it for four centuries. In 1898 Cuba became an independent republic.
In 1959, Dr.Fidel Castro overthrew General Batista,the dictatorial President and took over power.Emigres made an unsuccessful invasion at the Bay of Pigs in 1961. In 1962,the US learned that the erstwhile USSR had brought nuclear missiles to Cuba. After a warning from the then US President,J.F.Kennedy,the missiles were removed. A communist Constitution came into force in 1976,and direct parliamentary elections were permitted in 1992. In 1998,Fidel Castro was re-elected.
Ever since a bunch of young revolutionaries drove out Batista ,the dictator in Havana,50 yers ago this tiny Caribbean island has been an iconic symbol of Third World revolution. Fidel Castro,who led the storming of the presidential palace in Havana,emerged as the poster boy of revolution and a symbol of anti-Americanism.
Positive Points
There are many positive things,but at the same time there are new problems that we have to confront. The 77-year-old Raul Castro,the brother of Fidel Castro and the present President of the country,has addressed people from the balcony in Santiago de Cuba where Fidel,declared victory over the ousted Batista dictatorship on January2,1959.
Cuba woke from a night of New Year celebrations without much of a hangover. There was a brief flurry of fireworks as midnight struck and sound trucks dashed around the city extplling the virtues of the Communist Party. Most families gathered for loud celebrations in their apartments but ignored the official events. In the heart of Old Havana the fastest way from Ernest Hemingway’s favourite hotel to La Floridita,the bar where he took his sundowners,is up the cobbled Avanida de Obispo. It is where tourists and Cubans rub shoulders and a good place to see the apartheid system that has grown up in 50 years of Communism.
The Communist State survives,nonetheless.Poor as they are,Cubans are among the best educated and healthiest in the world. Life expectancy is almost as high as in the US,76years for men and 80years for women. In its near neighbour Haiti,by contrast,people die 20years younger on average.
At present,Raul Castro is in charge and as dour a Stalinist technocrat as can be found. He has little of his ailing elder brother Fidel’s strategic vision and none of his genius for publicity. And now,his Communist regime faces a time of great peril.Three hurricanes ravaged large parts of Cuba in 2008 and the hard currency that pours into the regimes coffers from tourism is sharply down. For decades,Cuba could blame its problems on the bellicose US and the American trade embargo,in place since 1961.
Priority for New US President
There is no doubt that Cuba is unlikely to be an immediate priority for the new US Presisent Barack Obama. But he has everything in his favour to lift sanctions on Havana. The Cuban President Raul Castro is a pragmatic leader who seem to recognize that the Cold War era framework is not suited to understand global politics. Despite commendable achievements in public health and education,Cubans recognise that their country is hardly the socialist paradise they aimed to build.
Subsistence rations donot compensate for the lack of freedoms including that of free speech. As compared to other countries in Central and South America,Cuba has not seen bloody military coups and enormous economic hardships.But that phase is getting over.Latin America is now entering an era of relatively stable democratic governments and economic prosperity.Cuba is unlikely to be left untouched by the changes in its neighbourhood.
Obama took a risk on Cuba in the campaign by calling for a new strategy to improve the lives of Cubans. Two immediate changes are expected as soon as he takes office---the lifting of all travel restrictions for Cubans to visit their families and raising the limit on financial transfers from the current $300 every four months.
Optimists are already building scenarios in which the 75 political prisoners in Cuba’s jails are released in return for US concessions,followed by the return of Guantanamo as the US rids itself of the infamous 45 acres,which have only brought it ignominy in recent times.An open-door policy towards Cuba may work better to have a friendly dispensation there than the current approach of hostile containment.

Stimulus Economic Package

The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia has announced the second and maybe the last stimulus package for the economy by the UPA Government.The package which comes along with cut of Reverse Repo and Cash Reserve Ratio(CRR) by the Reserve Bank of India(RBI),is intended to prove adequate credit in the economy that has been showing since September 2008.
The package includes increase in plan expenditure upto Rs.20,000 crore so as to strengthen the ongoing programmes in rural,infrastructure and social security schemes.In addition to this,the Government has taken measures to make liquidity and easy credit available to industries,infrastructure developers and exporters.To give a boost to the sagging industrial sector,an across the board four per cent cut in advaiorm cenvat rate has been announced.
India Infrastructure Finance Limited will raise Rs.10,ooo crore to refinance banks’ lending for infrastructure projects.Corporate houses accessing credit from outside India will see further liberalization of External Commercial Borrowing(ECB) norms.Corporate bond market will see an increase in foreign institutional investment limit in rupee denominated corporate bonds from $6 billion to $15 billion.
The Government will allow development of integrated townships and access ECBs to give boost to the housing and construction sectors,which are facing severe pressure.As a key measure to revive the economy,the stimulus package will facilitate funding of about Rs.25,000 crore for pending highways and port projects.
The stimulus package marks a clear shift from reining in inflation to spurring growth in the grim scenario of a crumbling financial system and recession in the West so as to minimise the slowdown impact,even as the Government’s total revenue loss in 2008-09 is officially expected to be Rs.40,000 crore with a fiscal deficit of about six per cent of the Gross Domestic Product(GDP),as per the Planning Commission estimates.
While the RBI slashed its key policy rates yet again to inject an additional Rs.20,000 crore into the banking system,the Government has asked the Public Sector Banks(PSBs) to hike their credit targets for the fiscal so as to ensure optimal disbursal of funds at least cost.Inflationary pressures are easing and additional liquidity is being made available to PSBs at cheaper rates.
Since October2008,the RBI has pumped over Rs.3,20,000 crore into the monetary system to usher into a low interest regime,especially when inflation was coming down in the wake of the fall in the prices of fuel,metals and farm commodities.
Other measures designed to counter the withdrawal of countervailing duty (CVD) exemptions on import of certain steel products and cement which were provided earlier to contain the price spiral.
Reason to Smile
The latest package followed much-awaited RBI rate cuts.The repo---RBI’s lending rates to banks---and reverse repo---the rate it offers to banks for depositing surplus funds---were cut to 5.5 per cent and four per cent respectively.This incentivises banks to lend rather than to park money.The CRR ---money banks must keep in reserve---was also slashed to lubricate the system.Credit-starved consumers and reason to smile since banks have less ground for continued risk-wariness.India’s interest rates are one of the highest in the world and can afford further trimming to lift demand,more so since inflation is at a nine-month low of 6.38 per cent and is expected to fall further.
The second stimulus package lays emphasis on tweaking rules and procedures to address the concerns of specific sectors.Rules regarding ECBs have been substantially relaxed.Some of these measures are welcome but their efficacy in a counter cyclical package is limited.Foreign investors who have been fleeing equity markets may not be enamoured of debt instruments,especially when the corporate bond market is in a nascent stage of development.ECBs tend to increase the level of short-term external debt and overseas lenders continue to be risk averse.The reliance on monetary measures,understandable in a situation where the fiscal position is under stess,is unlikely to produce immediate results.
As banks deposits are set to fall,the Government-guaranteed bonds will offer an investment opportunity to risk-averse people with surplus cash.Since inflation is coming down,the RBI has signaled banks to reduce interest rates.Another round of rate cuts cannot be ruled out.The interest rates are,or close to,zero in countries like the US,China and Japan.
Heat of Recession
Despite its relative insulation from the global economy,India is bound to feel the heat of recession in the rich world.A period of painful adjustment is inevitable.More steps are,therefore,needed to ease the pain.The Government need not wait any more to further slash the oil prices.Besides,it is not enough to throw money at housing,infrastructure and other projects.These must be viable and efficiently executed without delays and without sharks---which have been proliferated during the last few years in the system---eating away large chunks of money meant to be spent on projects.
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HIGHLIGHTS
* To boost investment and spending;and revive growth.
* To revive exports,which fell in October 2008,causing a contraction in industrial production.
* To help reality sector.
* To sustain growth momentum with focus on infrastructure.
* To make more credit and funds available.
* To bail out transport sector.
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Generational Change in Jammu and Kashmir

As expected,no political party has won a clear majority in the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.While the National Conference(NC) has emerged as the single largest party,bagging 28,the Congress has again proved to be kingmaker in the recently held elections in Jammu and Kashmir the results of which were declared on December 28,2008.
The NC has retained its tally of 28 seats as in 2002 Assembly elections,while the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) and the Congress,which had an allianceGovernment over the past six years,followed with 21 and 17 seats,respectively.The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) has sprung surprise by emerging victorious in 11 constituencies as compared to only one in the last Assembly elections.The PDP has gained five seats and the Congress lost three against their previous tallies.
All the three former Chief Ministers---Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress,Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of the PDP and Farooq Abdullah of the NC---have been elected.The two sitting MPs from Srinagar and Anantnag constituencies and the party Presidents---Omar Abdullah of the NC and Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP---are also among those elected.
In the last Assembly elections held in 2002,the NC had emerged as the single largest party winning 28 seats,followed by 20 seats of the Congress,16 by PDP,BJP-1,CPM-2,BSP-1,Independence-13,Panthers Party-4 and Others-2.
Mandate for Peace and Development
Going by poll airthmetin alone,the gainers in terms of improved performance are arguably those who exploited the Amarnath issue-related communal divide.The PDP has the largest base in the Valley while the BJP is upbeat in Jammu.Yet,among the political quartet claiming popular loyalties,the NC and the Congress call the post-poll shots.One is the State’s single largest party;the other is kingmaker.Both parties are secular-nationalisy,pan-Jammu and Kashmir forces.That the State’s reins lie in their hands is good for its development road mapas also for a resolution of the autonomy issue.
However fractured the verdict may be,the results truly reflect the ground situation in the State.The can be seen as an attempt by the electorate to discipline the political parties as those forming the Government will have to work within the framework of a Common Minimum Programme(CMP).As the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has mentioned,it did not matter who won and who lost when democracy triumphed in the State.It was one of the most peaceful elections in the country in which people in large numbers voted braving the separatists who had given a call to boycott the elections.The results are a slap in the face of the secessionists who should know that bullets have no place where ballots decide.
But the credit for the State’s recharged political landscape goes less to individuals in the electoral fray than to those ordinary people who defied the winter cold,election boucott calls and terror threats.Throughout the 73-day democratic exercise,voters transcended the inter-community strife that had issued from the Amarnath land transfer issue.In keeping with that spirit,their final verdict is a robust blow against ideological extremism.
The separatists are wondering what went wrong with their best laid plans to thrive in a political vacuum.The hawks blame an absent gun.The doves rue neglecting Kashmiris’s day-to-day requirements.There is more to these confessions than meets the eye.For one,separatism needs to hold the threat of violence over the heads of Kashmiris to remain relevant;for another,India’s would be balkanisers were deluded in believing that bread and butter issues would be overrun by a collective zeal for azadi.
The New CM
The NC leader Omar Abdullah has been sworn in as the new Chief Minister of the State.It is true that during the elections former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was projected as the party’schief ministerial candidate.The fact that he was fielded from two constituencies also stenghened the belief that if the party won a majority ,he would be the Chief Minister.But in politics,as we know,decisions are taken on the basis of a host of factors.These factors favoured Omar Abdullah and not his father.Whatever victory the party has achieved is on account of the leadership the junior Abdullah provided during the campaign and earlier.
However,Omar Abdullah is not a greenhorn in politics.As a member of the NDA Government’s ministry,he proved his competence as a minister.During a recent debate in the Parliament,his speech was one of the most remarkable.The speech showed that he had a clear idea about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and how as a leader he should go about in pursuance of the State’s interests.It is this attitude that will stand him in good stead as he takes up the challenge of providing purposive leadership to the State.
In fact,the experience Omar Abdullah gained when he was a member of the coalition Government at the Centre will help him to iron out any differences he has with the Congress in order to provide a stable Government.He should know that in both the Valley and the Jammu region he has strong opponents to reckon with in the PDP and the BJP respectively.
Challenges Before the New Government
The new Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has a huge task on his handsRegional disparities that plague the State have been exploited by some political parties during the last elections.This needs to be addressedin right earnest.Progressive steps are required to ensure that a settlement is reached within the Indian constitutional framework.A new deal for Jammu and Kashmir will take out whatever wind that remains in the separatists’ sails.
Allied to this are the problems of development and governance that came to the fore during the Sangharsh Samiti’s agitation in Jammu and earlier in Ladakh.The new Government will have to keep up the tempo of development programmes that were being pushed during the Governor’s rule now coming to an end.

Newsmakers 2008

There have been many people and events that have made the year 2008 what it was. The year has been remarkable for various innovations in science and technology, new heights in space exploration and new records in sports, in short a giant leap forward by humans. The year also witnessed occurrence of natural disasters, terrorist attacks, piracy and civil unrest in various parts of the world. The world is passing through a great economic recession since the 1930s and is also awaiting to embrace the new leadership of hope, progress, democracy and development. Though it is not possible to enlist all, six personalities clearly stand tall among the achievers who inspire us to excel in our fields and transform our dreams into reality.
Jeev Milkha Singh
Jeev Milkha Singh, held off Padring Harrington and Ernie Els in a crunch situation to win the $5 million Barclays Singapore Open on Nov. 16. 2008 which made him the Asian Tour's first single-season millionaire. Singh was the first Indian golfer to become a member of the European Tour. He has been the highest ranked Indian golfer in the world and first who broke into the top 100 in October 2006.
Singh, born 15 Dec. 1971 in Chandigarh, India is the son of the famous Indian Olympic athlete Milkha Singh. His first professional win came at the 1993 Southern Oklahoma State Open, a minor local event, but he played mainly in Asia, where he was a regular winner in the mid 1990s. In 1997 he finished seventh at the European Tour qualifying school, and he joined the tour the following year.
His best season in Europe up until 2006 was in 1999, when he came 50th on the Order of Merit. He struggled with injury in the early years of the new century but in April 2006 he won the Volvo China Open, becoming the second Indian player to win on the European Tour after Arjun Atwal. He also won the season ending Volvo Masters, which elevated him to a final position of 16th on the Order of Merit. He finished 2006 as the winner of the Asian Tour Order of Merit and capped his season with a pair of back to back wins in Japan to become the first Indian to make the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings. In 2007 he became the first Indian golfer to participate in the Masters Tournament. In Aug. 2008, Singh achieved the highest ranking for an Indian in any major event at the 2008 PGA Championship in Oakland Hills, finishing at T-9, making him arguably India’s best golfer ever.
Singh finished the 2008 European Tour season ranked 12th on the Order of Merit, and after winning the Barclays Singapore Open has won his second Order of Merit title on the Asian Tour in three years.
Singh received India’s fourth highest civil honour the Padma Shri in 2007. He has reached where hardly any Indian has ever dreament of being. He is an example of achieving great thing with sustained and continuous effort. He has made a mark for himself and has become equally renowned like his father, not because of him, but by himself.
Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Nobel laureate, Mohammed Mustafa ElBaradei has been awarded the 2008 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development .
An international jury, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, announced its decision on Nov. 19 to honour Dr. ElBaradei for his impassioned opposition to the use of nuclear energy for military purposes and for his steadfast espousal of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy sustained over many years.
ElBaradei earned a Bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Cairo in 1962, followed by a DEA degree in International Law at the Graduate Institute of International Studies HEI in Geneva and a Ph. D in International Law at the New York University School of Law in 1974. His diplomatic career began in 1964 in the Egyptian Ministry of External affairs, where he served in the Permanent Missions of Egypt to the United Nations in New York and in Geneva, in charge of political, legal, and arms control issues. From 1974 to 1978, he was a special assistant to the Egyptian Foreign Minister. In 1980, he became a senior fellow in charge of the international law program at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. From 1981 to 1987, he was also an Adjunct Professor of International Law at New York University School of Law.
In 1984, ElBaradei became a senior staff member of the IAEA Secretariat, serving as the Agency’s legal adviser (1984 to 1993) and Assistant Director General for External Relations (1993 to 1997). He began serving as Director of the IAEA on Dec. 1, 1997. He is currently serving his third four-year term since 2005.
Dr. ElBaradei stand apart, as he has consistently argued that states should move away from reliance on nuclear weapons. He advocates a collective, rule-based system of international security.
M.S. Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni or MSD ,who was born on July 7, 1981 is the current captain of the Indian cricket team. Initially recognized as an extravagantly flamboyant and destructive batsman, Dhoni has come to be regarded as one of the coolest heads to captain the Indian ODI side. Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, CB Series of 2007-08 and IDEA Cup India-Sri Lanka ODI Series of 2008, the first ever bilateral ODI series win of India in Sri Lanka and The Border-Gavaskar trophy 2008 in which India beat Australia 2-0 which let India regain its spot at No.2 in world test rankings. Dhoni also recently captained the ODI team that beat England in the series 5-0. He is currently ranked the best ODI batsman in the world by the ICC. He was awarded the ODI Player of the Year award in 2008, the first Indian player to achieve this feat.
Before taking up circket as his career, Dhoni was a goalkeeper for his football team and was sent to play cricket for a local cricket club by his football coach. Though he had not played cricket, he impressed with his wicket-keeping skills and became the regular wicketkeeper at the Commando cricket club (1995 - 1998). Based on his performance at club cricket, he was picked for the 1997/98 season Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under-16 Championship and he performed well.
Dhoni is an aggressive right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. Referred to as ‘Mahi’ by his friends, he debuted in the Bihar cricket team during the 1998/99 cricket season and was selected to represent India-A for a tour to Kenya in 2004. He made multiple centuries against the Pakistan-A team in a tri-nation series and was selected in the Indian national team later in that year.
As a batsman, Dhoni has shown the maturity to restrain his aggressive nature and play a responsible innings when the situation requires. Apart from traditional shots, he has two very unorthodox but effective cricket strokes. Since his entry into the Indian cricket team, his aggressive batting style, success on the field, personality, and long hair have made him one of the most marketable cricketers in India.
The void created by Sourav Ganguly as the captain of the Indian team is filled by Dhoni in a style and manner worth praising. If Ganguly imbibed the team with the ‘winning-spirit’, Dhoni brought the much required unity in the team through his off the field actions. He inculcated the ever missing spirit of brotherhood by making it a practice of visiting houses of other team members, sharing the family moments and even watching movies together. Dhoni has successfully applied the maxim ‘Family which dines together, stays together’ to the Indian cricket team.
Barack Obama
Democrat Barack Obama captured the White House on Nov. 4, 2008, after an extraordinary two-year campaign, defeating Republican John McCain to make history as the first black to be elected US president.
Obama will be sworn in as the 44th US president on Jan. 20, 2009. He will face a crush of immediate challenges, from tackling an economic crisis to ending the war in Iraq and striking a compromise on overhauling the health care system.
The win by Obama, son of a black father from Kenya and white mother from Kansas, marks a milestone in U.S. history. It came 45 years after the height of the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King.
He is a cool deliberator, a fluent communicator, a professor with a hunger for academic expertise but little interest in abstraction. He may be uncomfortable making decisions quickly or abandoning a careful plan, but would prize consensus, except when he would disregard it. His lifelong penchant for control would likely translate into a disciplined White House.
For Obama, winning the presidency is the latest in a lifetime of dramatic, self-induced transformations: from a child reared in Indonesia and Hawaii to a member of Chicago’s African-American community; from an atheist to a Christian; from a wonkish academic to the smoothest of politicians; and now, just possibly, from an upstart who eight years ago was crushed in a Congressional race to the first black commander in chief of the only superpower on earth.
Mr. Obama resists making quick judgments or responding to day-to-day fluctuations. Instead he follows a familiar set of steps: Perform copious research. Solicit expertise. Project all likely scenarios. Devise a plan. Anticipate objections. Adjust the plan, and once it’s in place, stick with it.
Mr. Obama has risen as an embodiment of transformation and hope for the US and indeed, the entire world.
Arvind Adiga
Mr. Adiga's achievement is an inspiration for youngsters to ponder over what is happening around them, in the society and in fact, around the world. He is an inspiration to act and contribute for the betterment of all.
Viswanathan Anand
Mr. Anand has shown a steady and consistent progress over the years to reach the pinnacle. His being at the peak of his career is an example that success requires an unflinching focus on the end goal and it does not come as a fluke.