HAS INDIA GIVEN AWAY THE ADVANTAGE?

Except for the initials of their first two names ‘SM’, there is nothing common between foreign ministers of India & Pakistan. SM Krishna is a soft spoken man who does not belief in tough & straight on the face talk but more in mild diplomatic tone of communication. His counterpart SM Qureshi on the other hand is far more aggressive and articulate in his communication. No wonder then that even before Krishna’s plane landed in New Delhi back from Islamabad, his counterpart in Pakistan Qureshi had quashed the Indo-Pak talks.

The problem with Indo-Pak talks has always been the hype surrounding these discussions. The media from both sides expect some sensational announcement that would change the future course of these two nations. So even if both sides make some small progress after series of talks, it takes just one issue to trample them..

Post 26/11, the scenario was gloom for a year before the Indian PM; Dr Manmohan Singh took the initiative to talk to Pakistan. The Sharm El Shaik fiasco did put Dr Singh under a lot of pressure but it was his personal agenda to make sure that the talks between the two sides do not derail.

But the biggest hurdle for Indo-Pak talks to make progress is India’s demand for action against the perpetrators of 26/11. Even if the Pakistan government is willing to take action against these suspects, it simply cannot. The plethora of dossiers submitted by India clearly points the finger at Hafiz Saeed. The Pakistan government did take some action by filing a case.But the courts could not convict him citing lack of evidence. But the Headley revelation has brought a new twist in the tale. The role of ISI (Which was in doubt all this while) in the attack has not only put Pakistan on the back foot but also jeopardized the peace talks.

The reason why Saeed is still a free man today is because the 26/11 attack was done with the full backing of the ISI. So even if the government tries to take action against Saeed, ISI won’t let that happen. The Pakistan army cannot afford to let ISI be pulled in this case as that would globally tarnish Pakistan’s image.

That is the key reason for the failure of the foreign ministers’ meeting. Given the recent turmoil in Kashmir, Pakistan got the license again to raise the Kashmir issue to distract the focus of the talks. So what does India do from here onwards?

There are three options India has from here.

First- Stop talks with Pakistan till it delivers on the 26/11 case. But then that leads to a deadlock again and wipes out all the progress made in the last few months.

Second- Push the US to pressurize Pakistan to take some action. But that’s again not going to fetch any positive result as US’s priority is Afghanistan for which it needs Pakistan. No wonder then that a fresh package of $500 million has been unveiled by Hillary Clinton for Pakistan. And the US has refused to publicly comment on ISI’s role in the 26/11 case.The reason- US is not in favour of declaring Pakistan a terrorist sponsored state.

Lastly- Opens talks on all issues including Kashmir with the hope that Pakistan would respond by taking some action in the 26/11 case.

The last option seems the only way ahead for India at the moment. But then by doing so India will again lose the diplomatic edge by taking more steps whereas Pakistan without taking any action against the 26/11 conspirators would be in a dominant position to drive the talks forward. It is clear from the statements made by the foreign minister that Pakistan is not desperate for talks with India.

Going to the United Nations with all the evidence collected against Pakistan will not be of much help as United States cannot allow any sanctions against Pakistan as that would deter its Afghanistan plans.

The only way ahead for India is to keep talking to Pakistan even if that means slow progress on the 26/11 front. Freezing the dialogue process will become a big problem at this stage. India should not hesitate to discuss all core issues as India would be in a much better position to handle the Kashmir issue rather then Pakistan which would find it difficult to not respond to the 26/11 case. The bottom line is that ups and downs have been part & parcel of Indo-Pak talks and the talks should continue.

DISCIPLINE OR CRUELTY?

The suicide committed by 14-year old -Rouvanjit in Kolkata after been beaten in his school is a chilling reminder of the methods followed by schools in our country.

It is true that we have one of the best education systems at the primary level which has been instrumental in churning out sharp minds from India. But unfortunately our schools have been good only at the academic part of education. Schools biggest contribution to a human's life is that it builds the primary character of a child on which his/her whole life revolves. A child's basic characteristics are directly proportional to the kind of environment he/she is brought up in. And schools play a big role here especially in today's time. Once the child is out of his/her home it is school that gives protection from all the worldly troubles.

In India even good English convent schools with years of history and legacy behind them follow the harsh and ruthless way of educating children. Disciplining the child is important but the approach adopted by the school is very critical. Beating and caning students for irrespective of any reason is the cruelest way of them all. Instead of making children realize as to where they are going wrong, schools instill fear in them by hitting them with a cane, duster or ruler.

There are so many children who cringe within themselves everyday because of the humiliation they go through by the hands of their teachers and school authorities. But many are not able to garner the courage to talk about it to their parents. And some like Rouvanjit choose the extreme way of ending their life.

Kapil Sibal, the HRD minister who has been lauded for bringing in the much needed 'Right to Education bill' should look at this issue with all seriousness. Students committing suicide because of the humiliation they go through at schools is a serious issue which needs to be addressed.

One step that can be taken is to make it mandatory for schools to hire professional counselors to handle these kinds of situations. The education authorities should keep a close eye by continuously taking feedback from students about the treatment been meted out to them by teachers and school authorities.

India's biggest asset is its young demography, especially the school children. It's no secret that Indian children are the sharpest and have proven themselves across varied disciplines. But if we ourselves cut the roots before the tree grows then it would be the most shameful blunder by us as a country and society…

WEST BENGAL: DESPERATE FOR CHANGE

Mamata Banerjee triumph in the Bengal civic election, particularly in Kolkata has not come as a major surprise but definitely as a huge jolt for the 'Left'. The writing is on wall for Buddhadeb as many have already pronounced that Mamata is all set to become the first woman chief minister of Bengal next year.

Whenever I discuss the ongoing change in Bengal's polity with my Bengali friends they have just one point to say- 'The urbanites don't like Mamata, but they are fed up with the Left'. This reason underlines the factor that has influenced the 'winds of change' in Bengal.

After ruling West Bengal for 'thirty six' long years with an iron fist, the Left had left a political vacuum in the state. There was no real challenger in the state to stand up against the might of the west. The man who led the Marxist revolution in Bengal was Jyoti Basu, who remained chief minister for a record 23 years and won five terms. When Basu relinquished the chief minister's post in November 2000 and made way for a younger, efficient & moderate Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, many thought this would mark the beginning of Left's decline in the state. After all when Basu did step down it was not the best of times for the Left. Urban jobless rate was rising, Basu's family name had got involved in corruption cases and even in rural Bengal Left was seen losing ground. But thanks to Buddhadeb's clean image and efficient style of functioning, he was able to restore confidence in the people. The Left retained power after winning the 2001 assembly elections.

The real change began between 2001 & 2006. Buddhadeb embarked on a path which no 'comrade' had dared to even speak off openly. He initiated the economic liberalization policy in Bengal by inviting industrial houses to Bengal. The biggest catch of them all was Ratan Tata, who agreed to set up 'Nano's production plant in Singur. Many within the Left criticized Bhuddhadeb for initiating economic reforms in the state by inviting foreign investment at the cost of agriculture land. Buddhadeb's argument was that these lands were not futile anymore and industrialization will help improve lives of these farmers who owned these lands.

In the 2006 assembly elections Buddhadeb stunned his critics by sweeping the elections. His popularity was at an all time high. The masses from both urban & rural centres were all gaga over him. With this win Buddhadeb was able to create his own niche within the Left which was all this while overshadowed by Basu's legacy. This victory was termed as the turning point for the Bengal state and Buddhadeb saw this victory as a vindication of his policies. He was now the poster boy of the 'Left' and was proclaimed by many in the media as the best chief minister in India!

Politics as they say is all about that one moment that can change the momentum. Singur & Nandigram was the moment that spelled doom for Buddhadeb and gave a new ease of life to Mamata Banerjee who was in oblivion. The forceful approach by the government and more importantly by the Left cadres on the ground appalled the people. Suddenly all the good work done in the last one decade by Buddhadeb was forgotten. The arrogance displayed by the Left cadres was frightening.

The people of Bengal had also become bored & tired of the Left. They were probably waiting for an opportunity to get convinced to vote the Left out. After all it was a miracle of sorts in Indian polity that for three and half decades anti-incumbency hadn't spoilt Left's game. The masses couldn't find an alternative outfit to replace the Left. The Congress could never raise the right issues and strike a chord with the citizens of Bengal. But after Singur & Nandigram the people knew the time had come for a change. Unfortunately they don't have any other alternative but to vote for Mamata. Change has become imperative and even if it was not Mamata but some other formidable party they would have voted for it. So what if they don't like her but at least they are not completely unfamiliar with her. It's a risk which the Bengalis are willing to take.

Will this mood last till 2011? That is the big question. But one thing is certain that Mamata has captured the momentum and she will do everything possible to drive home this time around. She doesn't need to do anything extraordinary at the moment because by default the finger on the voting machine will punch for her. As for Buddhadeb, his only hope is to reconnect with the masses and try to convince them to give him a graceful exit which he deserves for his commendable work and not make him pay the price for his party's sins.

AIR INDIA: NO WINGS TO FLY

Just when it seemed that things were starting to look up for national carrier Air India, the Mangalore tragedy occurred. Just when the rescue operations got over and the families were still mourning, the engineering & ground staff of Air India went on a flash strike.

Air India was the sole fight operator in India for nearly five decades. It was started by JRD Tata way back in 1932 before the government bought a stake in the 1940s. All the five decades Air India flew both on international & domestic routes. It one of the few airline operators in Asia, that too at a at time when not many countries had their own national carriers. But like any other public sector organization Air India was dominated by the government style of working attitude since they had an absolute monopoly. In 1992 India’s first private sector airline Jet

airways made its entry. In the late 90s and early part of this decade many other private companies entered this sector. It is from this point that things started going haywire for Air India. From being the market leader with over 50% market share (because of its monopoly) till the beginning of this decade it has been relegated to the third position with an abysmal 18% stake. The NDA government had plans of privatizing the airline in 2001 but due to the global aviation turmoil the bidders withdrew from the bid. The merger of Air India (few on international routes) with Indian airlines (flew on domestic routes) spelled more disaster for the national carrier.

Today Air India has a total debt of nearly $10 billion. It has incurred a loss of $1.5 billion for the last few years. To add to its woes are sixteen employee unions which are waiting to go against the management at any given excuse. The total work force of Air India is 30,000, which is three times more than the required number.

Cynics will tell you that Air India is doomed. Primarily for its own mistakes and partly because of unnatural incidents, for instance the Mangalore crash. There is no chance that the Airline can be turned around. Though the airline has taken some steps in the last few months after the new CMD Arvind Jadhav took over the reins. It has appointed four independent directors which include the likes of Anand Mahindra, Amit Mitra & Fali Major to give it a corporate face. It has also cut down on its expenses in the last few months by saving nearly Rs 1000 crore rupees by March end. The company has also appointed a foreign professional chief operating officer, Captain Gustav who takes charge this month. Despite all these efforts, experts will argue that the airline will not survive unless some drastic & valiant efforts are made. Many critics are of the view that the company should be privatized.

The airline can be turned around even under these circumstances. But for that the government will have to get away with bureaucratic way of functioning. Till date Air India is used as a private property by VVIPs. These are so many reports that suggest ministers misusing the airline for their personal use. The government should award autonomy to the management. The company should be treated as a special case; therefore the normal rules & regulations that apply to other public sector units shouldn’t be applied here.

No doubt some tough decisions will have to be taken. This should begin from the top of the pyramid. The company should reduce the top management. They are far too many directors; therefore the government should shift them to other PSUs. There so many sectors were their managerial expertise can come handy. Secondly, route rationalization is the need of the hour. There are so many routes where the airline flies even though it incurs losses. The argument is that it is a national carrier hence it has to fly these routes. But that issue will be sorted once it joins the global star alliance. It will forge numerous code sharing deals with other carriers that would solve that issue. Another major issue is the excess flab thanks to its humongous strength. 5000 employees are expected to retire over the next 5 years. The company should come out with premature retirement schemes which can help them bring down that number to 20,000 in the next 5 years. Another step could be cutting down on the huge flying perks which all the retired employees enjoy. Even the current employees get ‘n’ number of free tickets to fly. All this will have to be brought down.

Perform or perish should be the mantra. The company should set up an independent panel to review the performance of every individual. The ‘laid back’ attitude will have to go. So if the efficiency level is not up to the mark, then the employees should be asked to go on premature retirement in case the person is over 45 or they should be asked to leave.

Unless these tough measures are taken (which can be taken) the airline won’t survive. No doubt that the airline has been the pride of India, but what is the use if that pride if it comes at such a high price.

LET’S GIVE OTHER SPORTS A CHANCE

Last one week saw hectic frenzy across all television studios. Former cricketers hopped from one studio to another lambasting Dhoni and his men for the abrasive performance displayed by them in the West Indies. This was the second year in a row that the team had faltered against quality pace bowling. A nation that has all along boasted to have the best batting attack in the world, capable of tearing apart any bowling unit was made to look like a club team.

This is not the first time that the nation & the media have gone out of the way to make the cricketers feel that they had committed an 'unpardonable' crime by faltering at such a big event. We witnessed similar scenes when the Indian

team exited in the first round of the '2007' world cup in West Indies, when we lost badly in our second group match against Australia in the 2003 world cup and way back in 1996 when we were stunned by Sri Lanka at Eden gardens in the world cup semi final.

We have never created such a hue and cry when our hockey or football teams fail during a big event or sometimes fail to even qualify for major international tournament. The problem with Indian psyche is that cricketers are not sportsmen but they are superstars or in a way our only hope of glory in the world of sport where we don’t hold such a great position.

Cricketers became icons way back in the 80’s when the Indian team for the first time won the cricket world cup. From there began the journey of Indian cricketers to become icons. We created icons like Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Mohd Azharuddin (who later became the villain after the match fixing scandal emanated) Kumble, Dravid, Ganguly, Sehwag,Yuvraj, Harbhajan & above all Tendulkar who by far has been the biggest of them all. These icons were created by the media on the foundation of solid fan following these cricketers or should I say super humans enjoyed.

So whenever our cricketing icons fail the fickle Indian psyche swings to the other extreme. From gods they become demons in an instant. All the past glories are forgotten and they are questioned like criminals for their failure. Yes, it is indeed sad that we tumbled in such a terrible fashion against the mighty short pitch bowling but the bigger problem is that we as a nation believe that we are a one-sport nation. So it is an unwritten law- that we have to perform every single time we step on the cricket field.

It is true that it is cricket among all the sports where we saw the maximum success in the 80s and 90s. This rise in cricket popularity also coincided with decline in our hockey performances. But in the last 2 decades we also saw other Indian sportsmen achieving huge success in different disciplines. Viswanathan Anand, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupati, Abhinav Bindra, Sushil Kumar Vijendra Kumar, Saina Nehwal, Sania Mirza etc. We have performed exceptionally well in chess, tennis, wrestling, shooting, badminton, Kabbadi (we are the world champions in this sport) etc. All of them have done exceedingly well in premium sporting events but still we have not given them the same encouragement what we have given to our cricketers for so many decades now.

It is this trend that underlines the fact that we as a nation see ourselves doing well in only one sport. The week we got knocked out of the T20 world cup- that very week Viswanathan Anand won the world championship again and the Indian hockey team made it to the Shah Azlan cup finals. The Indian women cricket team also made it to semi finals of the T20 women world cup. The only reason it got a bit of coverage in the news was because the Indian cricket team failed so badly. Had they done a little better, these events wouldn’t have got the little coverage they did manage to get.

It’s high time that we tone down our obsession towards cricket and start appreciating our success in other sports. This change in attitude is imperative for India to prosper in other sports as well. This nation has the talent to excel in other disciplines, let’s give them a fair chance as well!!

UPA’S BIGGEST HEADACHE :COALITION DHARMA

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his first press conference after taking charge of the government for the second time, seemed a bit nervous while responding to the media queries. Probably that’s the nature of Dr Singh who believes more in action than words.

In the last one year, there have been many thorny issues that have pricked the government. To begin with the positives – the government was successful in handling the global financial crisis. The woman reservation’s bill which got passed in the Rajya Sabha, and the Right to Education Bill, were some key achievements of the UPA 2. But if we look at the negatives - clearly the price rise issue has hurt the government and the people of the country the most.

The Naxal issue has led to more chaos and destruction rather than achievements. Pakistan’s failure on the 26/11 front has also not helped the government.

To measure a performance of any government it is important to take individual performances of the cabinet ministers into consideration. After all a government is like any other team, especially when it involves coalition partners. Over all the performance of the ‘Congress’ ministers has been satisfying. Kapil Sibal, P. Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee have been the star performers for the government in their respective ministries. Shashi Tharoor , who was in the news throughout for the all the wrong reasons, was show the exit door while Jairam Ramesh has been appreciated for his work as the environment minister but has been a let down for his comments on other ministers.

But the biggest negative for team UPA has been the performance of the coalition partners and their ministers.

Sharad Pawar has made more news in cricket rather than agriculture and agri-products which directly impacts the price of essential food items. He has been a total failure on that front.

Mamata Banerjee has been a visiting minister for the government. She is mostly in Kolkata and her priority is the West Bengal elections next year. She has been soft on the Naxal issue and has openly criticized the government for its policy towards Naxals. Mamata is clearly turning out to be the biggest irritant for the current UPA government much like the ‘Left’ parties who stalled various reform decisions taken by the UPA during its first tenure..

The DMK is the biggest liability for the government in terms of performance. M.K Alagiri and A Raja have been an embarrassment for the government. A Raja’s alleged involvement in the 2G scam, which if proved by the investigating agencies, would be the biggest scam in the history of India. Though the PM has defended Raja, but with a rider that if anyone is found guilty, he will take action. On the other hand, Karunanidhi’s elder son Alagiri has been a complete misfit in the capital so far. He has not been attending the Parliament, even after been reprimanded by the speaker. He has shown no interest in his portfolio so far.

But Manmohan Singh’s biggest problem is that he can’t take ministers from coalition partners to task. He can’t pressurize them as he has to keep this coalition intact for the UPA to last a full 5-year term. The first year is a very short duration for any government to be judged as all the major reforms are initiated only from the third-year onwards. If the first tenure saw the rise of Manmohan Singh as an effective political leader; this tenure would be a test of Singh’s ability to extract good performances from his team. No one doubts Singh’s potential as an individual performer but if his other ministers do not perform in this tenure, it would dent Singh’s legacy.

KASAB & SHAHZAD: THE COMMON LINK

Last week Ajmal Amir Kasab was finally handed over the capital punishment as expected. In the same week Faisal Shahzad, who attempted to detonate a bomb in Times Square was arrested from JFK airport in New York. US officials’ claim that Shahzad has confessed that he indeed did try to blow up a bomb kept inside a car at Time Square to kill and terrorize people.

On the face of it Kasab & Shahzad have nothing in common except the fact that they both hail from Pakistan and both were trained by the same terror establishment which is based in Pakistan. Otherwise both of them have pretty distinct backgrounds. Kasab was born in a poor

family from a remote village in Punjab, largely illiterate and unemployed, who briefly worked as a labourer in Lahore before he joined the training camp of LeT. While on the other hand Shahzad had a privileged upbringing in a decent family. His father was in the armed forces and he mainly stayed in the big cities of Pakistan and received good education. He moved to the US in 1999 where he got his degree in computer engineering and also worked in various companies.

For many it has come as a shock that given Shahzad’s background and education he still chose the fundamentalist approach. But there is one ‘root’ cause that actually underlines a similarity between Kasab & Shahzad. Both the men were going through financial problems at different levels. Kasab in his confession stated on camera that his trainers had promised 1, 50,000 rupees for his family if he did his job well. Incidentally, according to the initial reports that are emerging with regards to Shahzad suggest that even he was a victim of the financial crisis that had engulfed United States last year.

The Islamic fundamentalist groups have exploited this situation faced by young Muslims across income levels to the fullest. Though, this is not the only factor that must have influenced the minds of these two individuals but was definitely a vital factor. These examples clearly demonstrate that the Islamic fundamentalist groups have a streamlined propaganda and indoctrination process in place. The pattern and the approach vary depending on the background of the individual. For example Kasab in his confession stated that he first got introduced to LeT through a pamphlet which was been distributed in his village by LeT members. The pamphlet asked young village boys to join their training camps. The case of Shahzad is not an isolated one involving a young, educated Muslim been swayed by an Islamic terror group. The involvement of Ahmad brothers in the failed terrorist attack that was attempted at the Glasgow airport & London in 2007 also illustrates the sophisticated approach that has been adopted by these groups to indoctrinate these educated men.

Till now poverty has been considered the root cause for violence-whether its naxal based terrorism or even religious based terrorism to an extent, but now this new form of ‘urban financial crisis’ that has emerged in the recent years is another dangerous phenomenon. Hopefully this won’t become another catalyst that would give birth to urban based right wing terrorism.