A Bold Agenda for United Progressive Alliance (UPA)

kaurasach:
``The same congress also supported Tytler and Sawan Kumar - known lowlifes who led anti sikh mobs.``

I think that you mean Sajjan Kumar. I do hope that they are not given a ministeria berth and Manmohan Singh will resign if asked to do so.

yogiraj#40:
``Do you know education is a state issue and taxing it by FEDs will need constitutional changes? And if you open this (I mean constitution for amendmend), why not one man / one woman? Why not... well.``

I believe that it is a concurrent subject. Although primary education is a responsibility of the state governments, the Centre plays a role there as well through agencies like NCERT and adult literacy programs. I believe, through imaginative schemes, the Centre can find a mechanism of giving funds directly to panchayats through a cell in the planning commission and creating centre-state body.

jang#42:
``What about a wholistic energy policy? A growing poor economy like India without a wholistic energy, (and environement/water etc) policy will implode india and possibly the world.``

I did mention biomass energy, didn`t I?
I agree. Environment issues are a luxury for the developed world; but not for a poor country like India. If a woman has to walk two miles to get drinking water, it is a real cost even if it doesn`t show up in GNP. Same with the lowering of subterranean water levels.

yogacho#45:
``in my opinion due to these actions of BJP it lost its USP, that of being a party of hindus and for hindus. BJP was left nowhere as hindus saw it playing the same appeasement games that congress used to play and muslims were never going to vote for BJP.``

And therein lies the danger. As its policy to woo muslims has failed, the extremist elements within the party will now seek to consolidate its core support group.

sadna#44:
I left DSE before Manmohan Singh went there, so I do not have any personal knowledge although I do know one or two persons who know him. So, most of what I know about him is through the media. (incidentally, this friend thought that he could never become PM because he was a sikh!).
I understand that he was a typical Nehruvian economist of the Oxford brand of the `50s, who had his conversion on the road to UNCTAD. He is not a diehard free-marketeer or globalist and is likely to deal with each issue/policy on a case by case basis. I remember that he refused to float rupee while he was the Finance Minister as he thought it entailed too many potential risks. On PSUs he is on record saying that he is not in favour of selling profitable units. I hope that he will modify his position to ensure that only those commercial PSUs are kept that have a competitor and not profitable merely because they are a monopoly. For example, Maruti was an efficient enterprise, even though it was publicly owned, since it had to compete with the private sector enterprises.

..and he comes from the same potohar region of Pakistan that my parents do.:-)

Re. Sonia Gandhi, I think it will take some time before we know the whole story. Personally, if I were her and had closed my eyes, I would have had nightmares thinking about the cut-and-thrust of the Indian Parliament while dealing with the maharathis on the other side.

``Moreover lot of minority stakeholding in `power and privilege` comes from such provisions. If the majority had such provisions too, the main purpose of the provisions would be lost.``

You have raised some valid points and also answered some of them yourself. The problem with the asymmetric secularism is that it gives rise to a backlash in the majority community, which defeats the very purpose of those safeguards.

``With the DMK, Samajwadi Party, Ram Vilas Paswan and Laloo in government and efforts to get Mayawati/BSP too, do you really expect this to happen?``

I believe there has been some talk already about economic-based reservations.


``Any laws are only as good as their implementation. It was found that the highest number of detainees under the POTA in a particular year were Gujarati(Hindu) farmers because the then Gujarat CM didnot like their agitation.``

I am not a fan of POTA. As I said to someone else, the idea is to bring about a change in people`s attitude towards hate crimes; the inumerable task forces since independence have failed to do that.

``As for the education-related ideas, IMO, it has not been the lack of funds but the lack of quality control which has been the problem. This problem requires political will to solve, not money.``

I had the impression that the resources were a problem too. I have read reports about schools without black board or one teacher for the whole school. But dont you think that empowering Panchayats with funds for schools will also improve the quality of education?

Dost-Miter:

My friends wife Sangeeta (married name Arora) who live in Toronot, is also from Delhi School of Economics. I believe she graduated in 1970.

Anil Kapuria

sadna #44
``As for the education-related ideas, IMO, it has not been the lack of funds but the lack of quality control which has been the problem. This problem requires political will to solve, not money. ``
I agree,to an extent.Along with political will it is going to take some radical thinking too.I actually liked the idea of Kalyan Singh govt in UP to make cheating a cognizable offense. It was going a great way in cleaning up the stables.
Another thing I really dont like in Indian education system is studying for the sake of getting degrees.Education qualification as a criterion for appearing in entrance examination of public sector jobs should be scrapped.
Also, the administration of graduate and post graduate level education too should be centralized at state level,like under graduate education.This would result in uniformity in curricullum of various universities and regularisation of session.When it can be done at undergradute level, why not at graduate and post graduate levels?
Steps have to be taken to make our farmers more productive.Any ideas on that?

# 26 by dost-mittar

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“A plebiscite”, he said emphatically, would be on a religious basis and would unsettle everything. “No government in India could survive that. Autonomy we are prepared to consider.
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That was indeed very insightful of Prime Minister designate Manmohan Singh.

If Pakistan`s ruling oligarchy insists on a plebiscite, it is certainly not because of its regard for the wishes of the people. There is absolutely nothing in the history of Pakistan to suggest that its ruling oligarchy cares any more for the democratic rights of people beyond Pakistan`s border than it cares for people within the border!

The only reason that Pakistan`s ruling elite insists on a plebiscite on the Indian side of the LoC in Jammu & Kashmir is because it sees that as a golden opportunity to preach (under the guise of a democratic campaign) that Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir have a religious obligation to sever ties with ``Hindu India`` to join Pakistan.

Pakistan has been emboldened to take such a stance because it has nothing to lose - Pakistan had effectively cleansed itself of all religious minorities way back in the aftermath of the partition of 1947. With a population that is nearly 100% Muslim, Pakistan has absolutely nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by reviving the divisive two-nation theory in Jammu & Kashmir.

India, on the other hand, has everything to lose. Jammu & Kashmir has only a tiny fraction of India`s Muslim population of 150 million. Even a small or medium sized state in India (like Assam, Kerala or West Bengal) has many more Muslims than Jammu & Kashmir. Pakistan`s success in giving a new lease of life to the divisive two-nation theory under the pretext of a plebiscite in Jammu & Kashmir can spell a 1947-style disaster in the rest of India. India would be foolish to allow Pakistan such an opportunity.

A quarter million of Kashmiris (the Pandits) have been forced into exile by the merciless terrorists let lose on Jammu & Kashmir by the ISI. India`s priority should be to create conditions that will allow these Kashmiris to return to their ancestral land. Pakistan`s ruling cabal, of course, has a very different plan. It would like nothing better than to impose the religious homogeneity of PoK on the rest of Jammu & Kashmir as well.

It is hardly surprising that Pakistan`s ruling elite wishes the quarter million Kashmiri Pandits a permanent exile from their ancestral land. Just look at the status of the quarter million ``Biharis`` who have remained stranded in Bangladesh for well over a generation. If Pakistan`s ruling elite can be so callous about the ``Biharis`` who actually call themselves Pakistanis, why should we expect it to care any more for Kashmiris (be they Muslims, Hindus, Shikhs or Buddhists) who have never called themselves Pakistanis?

Pakistan`s rulers are barking up the wrong tree. Instead of shouting themselves hoarse about self-determination of people beyond Pakistan`s borders, they should first grant self-determination to Pakistanis themselves. Pakistan`s priority ought to be to getting itself a working democracy where ordinary citizens are empowered to vote out a government. Pakistan`s rulers are engaged in nothing more than meaningless posturing when they insist that self-determination is only for people in other countries and not for those in Pakistan.

Yes, Dr. Manmohan Singh is absolutely right. A plebiscite on the Indian side of the LoC of Jammu & Kashmir would unsettle everything - no government in India will survive that. Autonomy can be considered. But redrawing of the borders is an absolute no-no.

The ball is in Pakistan`s court. To give peace a chance, the LoC needs to be accepted by Pakistan`s rulers as the international border (as envisaged in the Shimla agreement).

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# 54

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To give peace a chance, the LoC needs to be accepted by Pakistan`s rulers as the international border (as envisaged in the Shimla agreement).
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By some accounts, Indira Gandhi and Bhutto arrived at an unwritten agreement that the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir would be accepted as the border. Bhutto pleaded that he be not compelled to commit this in print, which would have undermined his political standing in Pakistan. Indira Gandhi agreed.

Three decades have gone by. To give peace a chance, the LoC needs to be accepted by Pakistan`s rulers as the international border as originally envisaged in the Shimla understanding between ZAB and Indira Gandhi. The ball is still in Pakistan`s court.

dost-mittar #26

Given the consensus within India today about the peace initiative toward Pakistan, I am sure UPA govt will continue the process initiated by Vajpayee last year. However, in the interview given to Jonathan Power, Dr. Manmohan Singh only spelt out what India (in his opinion) cannot do. He included plebiscite and redrawing of borders in those steps. But this only defines the periphery of India`s Kashmir policy. This interview does not address what steps are necessary to preserve that periphery. Has the UPA spelt out any steps to deal with the Kashmiri disenchantment with India, while staying within the periphery of its Kashmir policy? A dialogue with Hurriyat that leads nowhere... or elections (which are boycotted by the Valley residents anyway)... will fall terribly short of Kashmiri expectations.

Besides the soft borders, the UPA will also have to think about a comprehensive economic package for Kashmir Valley, release of political prisoners, and reduction in troops if it really needs to normalize Kashmir. But normalization is still not the same thing as integration. For the latter, a political concession (e.g. Autonomy within Indian Union) will perhaps be necessary. Do you think the UPA is capable of such measures?

54 by nakhok on May 20, 2004 4:05pm PT

Agreed!
Unless and until Pakistan officially renounces its TNT and theocracy (the Islamic basis of its constitution) we cannot expect anything different from them - it would remain the safest place for the jehadi ideology to procreate their kins.

Ref arjun_m #34

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Welfare economics is not dead, Amartya Sen got his nobel prize based on his work in this area.
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And Amartya Sen`s businesses have created jobs for how many people?]

And of course people very conveniently forget the fact that the Nobel Prize was awarded (1986 thru 1988 timeframe, I don`t remember the exact year) for economic analysis of Public Policy that discovered the earth-shaking truth that public money was invested not for public good but for increasing the re-election chances of politicians in power.

Ref gujjubania #23

[There was this yahoo chat room I used to frequent 2-3 years back. Had a long running battle with a Khalistani movement Sikh (3rd generation Canadian). He scoffed everytime I said that Sikhs are most patriotic Indians around , and the biggest opposition to his Khalistani movement came from the Sikhs of India. When I told him about the massive representation of Sikhs in the Indian Army (multiples of their actual % of population of India) , he told me that was no big deal as we Indians would never let a Sikh become the General of our armed forces.]

Perhaps you were too young or not even born at that time but the general officer who led Operation Blue Star to storm the Golden Temple to flush out Bhindranwale was a Sikh.

So much for that Pakistani`s knowledge of India.

The number of Sikh generals in the armed forces of India are too numerous to count. Not to mention Muslim generals. [Or Parsi. Or Jewish. We have examples of those too.]

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I note dost-mittar`s saying the same thing I did about the poor not being concerned about being poor as long as no one else prospers. Nasah thought it was elitist excreta(we elite have our standards, thanks); I wonder how he`s going to blame the BJP for people like dost-mittar thinking this.Sadly, I think the lesson the BJP`s going to get is that they weren`t fundamentalist enough, and arrive at the conclusion that they need not bother at all with people whose names sound like Hasan because they won`t be voting for the BJP anyway(Lesson No 1- forget about appearances, go for the lowest common denominator-it worked fro Laloo and Mulaym). I hope it doesn`t happen, but I think it will.
You have a lot of motherhood statements, dost mittar. I do have a problem , though, with charging private schools a levy, because they`ll get it from their students, and more besides. You need to remember that ,unlike the West, there aren`t often real alternatives to sending your child to a private school. The Kendriya Vidylayas are good, but everyone isn`t even allowed to them. It`s the same with private hospitals. Most only exist because the government has been unsuccessful in providing healthcare. People often have to sell land and jewellery to afford treatment in private hospitals. Why add to their misery by punishing them, when it`s not their fault?
RSS schools don`t always teach that Muslims are second class citizens (I can`t say never because I haven`t checked them all out!). I do agree, though, that they say Islam came from outside. What do you feel they should say about this?

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Welcome awaits India`s PM in Pakistani birthplace

By Tahir Ikram

GAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - The people of Gah in Pakistan have a good feeling about Manmohan Singh.

He may have left more than 60 years ago, but this native son has become India`s prime minister-elect.

``I am very happy a son of our village is going to be the prime minister of India,`` said Raja Gulsher, a farmer who served in the medical corp during the 1965 war, one of three fought with India since Partition in 1947.

``If any of the air and water in this place has had an effect on him, he will strike a friendship with Pakistan.``

In a quirky happenstance, both leaders of the nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan were born in what is now enemy territory.

Pakistan`s President Pervez Musharraf was born in Delhi.

Both men carry memories of those tumultuous times when the subcontinent was divided, millions of Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus were killed, and Pakistan was created.

Singh has pledged to work with Musharraf to put decades of enmity between their now nuclear-armed nations behind them.

Gulsher said he knows it won`t be easy for Singh.

``We know his constraints. Even then I am sure he will maintain friendship with us. If he comes to our village I`ll be the first to welcome him.``

The pace of life in this rural backwater some 80 km southwest of Islamabad hasn`t changed much since Singh was raised here in the 1930s.

Traffic races over the nearby motorway, but there is no road from it to Gah. Women still draw water by hand from the wells, where Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs of a bygone era once filled their pitchers from separate pools.

They have electricity these days, and some have televisions.

But the modern world makes few intrusions among the mud walled homes or down the narrow uneven lanes of this community of less than two thousand people and their cattle, sheep and goats.

What has changed now is that everyone is a Muslim.

PRIMARY SCHOOL

When Singh attended the government primary school in the late 1930s, Hindus and Sikhs accounted for about half of Gah`s population.

``We used to live without any problem. We used to help each other,`` said Mohammad Khan about relations between Muslims and Hindus. ``They were half of the population. We used to play together, we used to fight together, we used to study together.``

Khan was serving with the British Indian Army in Malaysia in August, 1947 when independence came, and recalls raising a Pakistan flag, while a Christian soldier hoisted India`s tricolour.

Memories of Partition in Gah were less proud.

Baz Khan was 12 years old.

``I was grazing cattle when people came running towards me saying the village has been attacked. I could see smoke and fire coming out of the village.``

Muslims from other villages had attacked Hindu and Sikh households. Some Muslims from Gah, Khan says, gave shelter to their Hindu and Sikh neighbours.

Manmohan Singh`s father moved his family from Gah some years earlier and and during the upheaval of Partition, the dried fruit merchant moved to Amritsar.

Memories in Gah have faded.

Ahmed Khan can`t remember attending class with the young Manmohan Singh, though the school register shows they were contemporaries.

But Khan, while tilling his field under the scorching sun with temperatures soaring above 40 Celsius, said he was proud of the fact today.

``It`s a matter of great happiness. I would want him to be prime minister of India and he should come and visit his village,`` Ahmed Khan told Reuters.

Farmer Mohammad Ashraf at first didn`t remember any Manmohan Singh either.

But asked if he knew a son of Gurmukh Singh Kohli, Ashraf`s seventy-year-old wrinkled face broke into a grin.

``Oh, you mean little Mohna.``

He has no idea what happened to little Mohna after 1941.

``I failed class four, and he passed, after that I don`t know where he went.``

Singh`s new address is 7, Racecourse Road, New Delhi, official residence of the Prime Minister of India. It`s a long way from Gah.