This year’s Jaipur Literature Festival was dominated by themes of war, occupation and destitution

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Whose Land Is It Anyways...

Author journalist John Lee Anderson tells me one of the most jolting stories of our times; the story of Ali from Iraq. While looking for a story in the battle zone, Anderson came across the young man in Baghdad. Ali had turned into a serial killer to take vengeance for his brother who had been slaughtered by ultras of his own sect a few weeks before. Ali had taken the solemn vow on the Holy Koran that he would slaughter 10 men of that militia for each of his deceased brother’s fingers.

When Anderson bumped into him, Ali had already settled a quarter of his account. But of the 25 he killed, not all were militiamen. Quite a few of them were their innocent kin too. After every slaughter, Ali used to sever off one or the other of his victims organs – noses, ears, toes, eyeballs – and bury it near his brother’s grave. Their mother used to offer Fateha on the grave and shout out the name of the person killed to his buried son. Ali told Anderson that he was no longer afraid and felt closer to his creator. In Ali’s labyrinth of a heart, he was sure that he was following God's will.

So are you enough jolted? Well, take this. Ali, the serial killer, was clandestinely collaborating with the American soldiers too. He used to lure fighters to the firing range of the US soldiers where they were either captured or killed.

The US soldiers who were paying him didn’t have the faintest of idea as to what they were actually doing: hiring a serial killer. Needless to say, they were unaware of the after-effects too.

The story of occupation has no romanticism. Even if it has, it vanishes when the conflict becomes up, close and personal.

“Ali’s story is severe, perhaps, but is not a one-off case. Retribution is a notion that is universal, yes, the intensity might change. In fact, vengeance is one of the keys in understanding conflict itself. Once the slaughter commences, it becomes extremely tricky to stop, for each drop of blood that is shed demands one more to even the score,” laments Anderson.

Iraq, Anderson believes, will continue to gyrate in this concentric circle in the time to come. But he is not the lone man pessimistic about an occupied land. There are others too. Atiq Rahimi looks every tad the French in terms of his idea of fashion and erudition. Rahimi, as it becomes obvious, appreciates the pleasures. He is a thinker and a food-lover. And to continue with his two loves undisturbed, he also happens to carry both French and Afghan citizenship. But scratch him a bit and you will find a man lost in identity. "When I'm in Afghanistan, I become French. In France, I'm Afghan." When Rahimi laments this, one cannot help but wonder on the ways of the world.

Ask him what he thinks future holds for his homeland, Rahimi sheds off his French garb and turns a realist. “I don’t see the end in the near future. There’s a problem with the strategy itself. Protective military operations in Afghanistan will not cut much teeth."

David Finkel, the author of the much celebrated book on Iraq, The Good Soldiers, tries to focus on the men who go for war than the war itself.

Finkel, who marched to Baghdad, embedded with the 2-16 – a battalion with an average age of 19 – during the reinforcement in 2007, brings forth the private conflict of the soldiers he interviews or sees. By divulging their trepidation, self-doubt and the conflict of the soul that most of these youngsters go through when they are asked to follow orders and do some of the horrific things in a war, Finkel actually exhumes the human inside them. He lets the world see a group of soldiers that time and again dither erratically from full conviction in what they are doing to a total loss of conviction in their assignment. The romanticised picture of the American GI flying to Baghdad for his duty and “protecting the world” falls flat as it becomes obvious that these are common adolescent Americans being asked to undergo odd circumstances on an every day basis.

“Unlike other novels and reportages that have come out from the combat so far, this is the first novel to actually attempt and tell the tale of the soldiers themselves. The 2-16 is deployed not in the safe environments of the Green Zone but on the fringes of the town in one of the most treacherous areas possible. The story I tell is of the corporeal and emotional toll the conflict takes on the 2-16 and their kin back in the US. The Good Soldiers records the ordeal suffered by soldiers terrified to leave their base because of the unvarying peril of meeting unreceptive rebels or being the next casualty of an improvised explosive device, the next basis for their commanding officer to call a wife or mother with dreadful news,” he explains.

After listening to Finkel, it becomes extremely difficult to brand Iraq saga into a straight forward, black and white, good versus evil story. In fact, it is the story of the difficult choices people are often asked to make. It is the story about people trying to choose the slighter of many evils at any time feasible.

Noted Palestinian writer and poet Ahdaf Soueif tells the story of the greatest injustice of them all, the denial of the homeland to the Palestinians. She also observes that a just resolution of the conflict will lessen tensions in numerous other parts of the globe. But she too appears to be pessimistic about the peace process.

Soueif does not believe Israel is sincerely looking forward to peace with the Palestinians. "It suits Israel and the elites to have this eternal 'peace process', this pretence of seeking peace," she explains.

But she indeed is optimistic about a change in the American perspective which is connected to Israel with the umbilical cord. There is a increasing pro-Palestinian opinion among young Americans, predominantly among young East Coast and West Coast Jewish Americans. This, Soueif insists, is exclusive of the staunchly pro-Palestinian Americans. “So things are shifting. If that voice became more widespread then there is no basis why America couldn't be a sincere negotiator. AIPAC and other Zionist groups will see an eventual fall. The groups like ‘J Street’ have made a dent. However, the floodgate will take time to open,” quips Soueif.

Until then, Soueif says, people will continue to see US and Israel as Siamese twins.

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Politics: Rich are benefiting more

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A weakened PMO and indisciplined coalition partners are creating problems for UPA-II

Manmohan Singh is one of the most successful politicians of our times. As the Prime Minister of India, he has been able to bring stability to the country’s politics and economy. And I am talking through experience, having seen Manmohan Singh from close quarters in the Upper House of Parliament. He is a person of impeccable personal integrity. Many people may regard Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru or Indira Gandhi as more successful Prime Ministers. Nehru was functioning in a very turbulent time and amid difficult situations. He laid down the foundation of the secular Indian democracy but failed to establish a welfare state of socialist principles.

Indira Gandhi was extremely powerful as a politician but she failed to take the Opposition along with her at any point of time. P. V. Narasimha Rao, with the help from Manmohan Singh, succeeded in ushering in some fundamental changes in the Indian economic system. His undoing was his failure to bring about social stability in times of communal turmoil.

In 2004, when the UPA came to power for the first time, Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi evolved a system of governance which may not exactly be called a Cabinet form of government. Here was a leader who didn’t hold the reins of the political process but was accountable to Parliament and to the nation for every act of his government. And there was a leader who held real political power without accountability to Parliament or to the nation. This system worked perfectly in the first five years of the UPA. In fact, it allowed Manmohan Singh — not very well-versed in political machinations — to focus on governance and revamping of the Indian economy. It also allowed a coalition system to evolve in a way that it did not hinder the functioning of the government. Congress president Sonia Gandhi managed the pulls and pressures of a coalition and allowed Manmohan Singh a free hand in governance.

Any new experiment has its pitfalls and limitations. The system evolved during UPA-I could work only up to a point. The problems which were brushed under the carpet during the UPA’s first term started surfacing in its second term. That is the undoing of UPA in its second term. First, the successes of the first term of UPA were attributed mainly to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. The Congress party never gave any credit to Manmohan Singh nor did he ever seek any.

During the first term, the coalition partners and ministers were not very sure of themselves but the second victory gave them much confidence. So, most of Manmohan Singh’s Cabinet colleagues, whether from the Congress or from other parties, started behaving as if they were not functioning as a part of a Cabinet system but were independently controlling their own ministries. Most of them think that in all probability, Manmohan Singh would not be around the next time and so they are looking more towards Sonia Gandhi. They go directly to the UPA chairperson if they have to discuss anything important. They do not look up to Manmohan Singh for guidance any more.

Manmohan Singh was not given a free hand in choosing his Cabinet. He was held to ransom by the whims and fancies of coalition partners. It has weakened the PMO and the department today is even less powerful than it used to be under the weak leaderships of V. P. Singh or P. V. Narasimha Rao. Now there are three centres of power in the government — Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi — and sometimes waves and instructions emanating from these centres are not in sync but rather at cross. The Prime Minister has not been able to assert himself.

Rising inflation results not only from pursuing wrong economic policies, it’s because of wrong decisions taken at wrong times or in other words because of not taking some tough decisions at the right time. UPA in its first term was more successful because circumstances, both globally and nationally, were conducive. The coalition partners were not very aggressive. There were not many upheavals and hiccups.

The UPA uses the aam aadmi plank in every election. But, they are taking the aam aadmi for a ride. Apart from the launch of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and a few other similar programmes, little has been done to benefit the common man or the rural poor. And the benefits of even those few small gestures have failed to percolate down to the needy. The credit goes to corruption. The real beneficiaries of the government policies of late have been the rich. I think it’s not necessary to elaborate the term “rich” here as we all know who they are.

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CM unveils a new water treatment plant in Lucknow

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Uttar pradesh infrastructure: Clean water, cleaner Gomti

Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow has a new, unusually positive, thing to boast of — Asia’s largest sewage treatment plant which can take care of 345 million litres of sewage per day. Constructed at a cost of Rs 360.99 crores on 300 acres of land, the plant has four pumping stations. In addition to treating the waste, the plant will also generate 15 kilowatt of electricity and produce 100 tonnes of fertiliser as by-products.

The city’s existing water treatment plant is capable of treating only 42 million litres, leaving the rest to flow into the Gomti, the city’s biggest source of drinking water. The new plant, dedicated to the people on Mayawati’s birthday, January 15, has been constructed keeping in mind the city’s needs by 2040. For now, it will ease the pressure off the old water treatment plant that is of much smaller capacity.

According to chief minister Mayawati, it was just one of the 53 mega infrastructure projects designed for the city. The government intends to make the state capital attractive to tourists, both desi and foreign.

This is, of course, apart from wooing urban voters to her fold. Mayawati's traditional vote bank has been in rural areas so far. “For the first time we have a majority government and are paying as much attention to urban areas as to rural ones,” says the BSP supremo. All the aforementioned projects are under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and have to be completed by 2012, the year UP would go for assembly elections.

Alok Ranjan, UP’s principal secretary for urban development points out that it is for the first time that infrastructure projects on such a large scale are being taken up in the state. “No city in Uttar Pradesh has sewer lines in more than 30 per cent of its area. Under the new projects, the sewer lines will cover upto 80 per cent of the area. In Lucknow itself, sewer lines running over 700 kilometres have been constructed.”

With the new water treatment plant already functioning, we can hope to have a cleaner Gomti now.

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Tribals go ahead with their ritual despite court embargo

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Orissa Rituals: Tradition over law

Court directions and administrative orders seem to lose relevance when it comes to customs and traditions. The Sulia Yatra of Bolangir is the latest example of this. Every year, the Sulia Yatra festival is observed in Bolangir district of Orissa on the first Tuesday of Pausha month. As part of an ancient practice, tribals sacrifice animals such as goats, buffaloes, hens etc to their deities to appease them. This year it fell on January 12.

The Orissa High Court in its interim directive had asked the district administration of Bolangir to follow the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Despite the court orders, the ritual of the sacrifice of thousands of animals took place before the Sulia shrine. During the festival, the rituals are performed at three places namely Bada Khala, Sana Khala and Nua Khala which come under Khairagura and Kumuria villages.

“Although Section 144 of the CrPC was enforced at Sana Khala, Bada Khala and Nua Khala, the sacrifice of animals took place in the presence of armed police personnel and senior officials,” said Santanu Kumar Nayak, convenor, Sulia Samskar Manch. He informs that the High Court has been issuing orders to the district administration every year for the last four years to prevent animal sacrifice in the name of ritual, but every year the tribals go ahead with their practice.

Earlier, the district administration in association with Sulia Samskar Manch had launched an awareness campaign against the bloody ritual. The district administration had taken up special drive with meetings, rallies and leaflet distribution in the villages of Sualia Jatra in Deogaon and Gudvella blocks of the district. Anganwadi workers, self helf groups (SHG) and school children were also involved in the drive.

However, since the awareness campaign has been yielding no results, the district administration is planning to initiate action against the offenders. “We found carcasses of beheaded animals here. Action would be taken against the lawbreakers,” additional SP (Bolangir) Srikant Mishra said. R K Patnaik, sub-collector, Bolangir too talked of taking action against the tribals. Meanwhile, more than 40 persons including the priest of the tribals have been served notices under Sec 106 of Cr PC under which they have to sign a bond for maintaining peace for a period of three years.

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... And yet, is Kalaripayattu, the mother lode of all martial arts, struggling to defend its own survival, wonders Indira Parthasarathy

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Friday afterhours in Bangalore. Most of the white collared crowd is headed for weekend tripping and clubbing, but for 28-year-old Gishnu, 26-year-old Neera and 27-year-old Anoop, the idea of playing harder after working hard is breaking into some more sweat – this time outside their cubicles. They’ve assembled at the Indian Heritage Academy for a Kalaripayattu class conducted by Parashurama Vallabhatta Kalari Academy, now 10 years into its set-up; chief instructor Krishna Prathap (with whom we had a talk earlier) is away at a neighbouring metro for a performance, but these students carry on nonetheless.

Watching the rigorous warm ups in progress on the marble floor of the large cold hall, a far cry from the traditional Kalari (arena) – a leveled mud pit, with a flower-decked seven-tiered platform (Poothara) in the south west corner – one couldn’t help but wonder if the art too found itself, willy-nilly, in new territories.

Kalaripayattu claims to be the oldest martial art in the world; the warrior sage Parashuram credited with the ‘founding’ of its indigenous state Kerala – also believed to be the preceptor of this art, or that’s what the adherents of the Vadakkan (Northern) style of Kalaripayattu will tell you. Once the means to settle disputes between warring chieftains in the 15-16th centuries, the martial lineage of Kalaripayattu is kept alive in its training progression starting from body preparation exercises, to wooden weapons, metal weapons, and finally unarmed combat. Says Sudhakaran Gurukkal (respectful address for ‘Guru’) of C.V.N Kalari, one of the
earliest Kalari establishments, “It is not a mere martial art, it’s a style of life, for maintaining good health until our death. It’s a full fledged science, and that’s how it must be approached. Just like the difference between classical music and pop music; the latter is catchy and thus popular, but the former is more rigorous and scientific.”

So are the 20-somethings here for the science of Kalaripayattu? Neera, who has tried Capoeira, the Brazilian dance-cum-martial art form in the past, was drawn to Kalaripayattu for its aggression. “Its ability to develop speed and quick reflexes is a factor. It’s a complete fitness routine that includes weight loss, cardio and yoga,” she says in between catching her breath during the session. Gishnu finds the training chronology very helpful. “When you go from the long staff to the short stick to the dagger, in a way it works to improve your concentration and focus for as the weapon gets smaller, you are wont to pay more attention to where the blows land,” he says. But considering bare hand fighting is the last in the order, does it make for an ideal street defence form? Some contend not, owing to its complicated strike movements. When Karate or Krav Maga offer formidable self defence through short linear strikes, who would put oneself through Kalari that takes a minimum of a year to get past the exercise and flexibility enhancement stage?

Krishna Prathap reminds us that a lot of Karate and other martial arts instructors in fact turn to Kalaripayattu for a more holistic grooming, though he admits that the failure to evolve into a more contemporary version of itself may spell the death of Kalaripayattu. He has helped out with choreographed dance dramas that have
borrowed generously from that visually stunning array of movements that is Kalaripayattu.

Secrecy or the hesitation of the veterans to share knowledge of the deepest nuances that include Marma vidya (attack and defence of the vital points of the body), also threatens to deplete the patron numbers. Referring to Marma vidya, Krishna Prathap says, “Only the truly well-vetted students and those who prove deserving can be trusted with the science of 107 vital points which if attacked can paralyse or kill.”

Kalaripayattu may be looking for help with a new identity to survive or even convince that it is greater than the sum of its parts, but there is no taking away the massive takeaways it offers to anyone who steps into the kalari..

Condemn’poriSe?

Rashid Ansari, internationally renowned instructor of various martial arts including Taekwondo, Judo and Jiu Jitsu for over 20 years, and equally adept at theatre and contemporary dance, extols the virtues of learning a martial art while expressing his reservations about diluting it in the name of contemporisation.

The basic origin/methodology of a martial art is that it is a martial system, that is, a system of defence and offence. On a more simplistic/practical level, all of them have a very high physical fitness, well-being, health-oriented quotient. And by and large, all of them have results/side-effects which are therapeutic as far as the body and physiology is concerned. Then of course, there is self-confidence, self-enhancement factor and in today’s time, there is the yardstick of unarmed combat; the question of being able to look after yourself, or at least the confidence that physically you can take care of yourself to whatever degree.

Contemporisation is not the only way to keep alive a martial art, but unfortunately the pressure is such that everything has to be pretty much put out there on the stage and exposed because that’s what sells. It’s all a question of how holistic is your orientation. While you have a large number of people doing these things on the bandwagon of glamour and performance, you still find some supposedly crazy stupid people who stick to the old ways and are fairly holistic about it.

When people started contemporising from mind-body disciplines, the idea was to make it available to a larger part of the population, or a larger number of people, but the problem is that it’s very difficult to keep quality control, so you start giving down a very watered version. Then you really can’t call it the martial system or the unarmed combat form; you have to then call it a martial art more geared towards performance and health orientation, but not really ‘martial’ because it has lost its
effectiveness as a martial discipline; it’s more of a performance orientation discipline. So in a way, that’s bad. I personally am not in favour of contemporising traditional disciplines because while it may become applicable and adaptive to many more orientations for a greater number of people, it definitely loses its original usage and methodology and function.

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'Sorry' is the word of 2011

Bilateral relations : relevance of apology

Simple apologies can change the geopolitics of the world

The power of an apology is worth more than a billion dollars — money that otherwise is spent on wars. Unfortunately, allegations and counter-allegations are quite customary in international politics. Countries leave no stones unturned to blame their enemies or take revenge due to a bitter past. And how? By simply passing lewd remarks. With geopolitics becoming complicated, countries need simple solutions. And believe it or not, an apology can prove to be the simplest and most effective solution.

The best example of how an apology can refurbish a nation's image is Germany’s acceptance and formal apology for the Holocaust that killed about six million Jews. No one could have ever imagined the present level of normalcy and comfort between Germany and Israel. The apology (along with €45 billion which Germany paid as of 2007) has not only led to refurbishment of Germany’s image and dilution of sour feelings, but also has boosted the bilateral trade relations (Germany is Israel's second largest import partner). Similarly, Japan has apologised in the past to Burma, Australia, Korea and China on many occasions in order to restore normal relations. Naoto Kann, Japanese PM apologised on August'10, 2010, on the eve of the 100th anniversary of Japan's annexation of the Korean peninsula for his nation's role during their colonial rule. He said, “For the enormous damage and suffering caused by colonisation, I would like to express once again our deep regret and sincere apology.” Recently, North Korea offered to talk with South Korea on military issues (which the South has belatedly accepted after initial refusals). What stops these two nations from exchanging their fair share of apologies and getting on with more important worldly matters? Nationalistic egos, and that's about it.

In most of the cases, an open apology can do wonders. All former USSR states would perhaps be able to normalise their bitter and sour relations with Russia if Russia comes forward once and tenders its apology for the indiscretions committed. It's the same case for US relations with Latin American nations including Cuba, which can be normalised with just an apology from any one side, especially the US. In fact, a US formal apology for war on Iraq and Afghanistan can to a large extent contribute to the normalizing process between the Muslim and 'American' world (rather than 'Christian'). We dare say even Pakistan could become a good strategic partner for Bangladesh if Pakistan accepts Bangladesh's demand for an apology for the 1971 war. And if Pakistan were to apologize officially to India for 26/11, we can bet our intellectual caps that the whole of India would be ready to forgive Pakistan once and for all. The same goes for India-China relations, where the only damning factor is a quite trivial border issue (yes, the issue exists, but blown out of proportions) when there's so much trade to gain from each other.

Of course, an apology has to be followed up by similar behaviour over the subsequent time periods; failing which, an apology simply loses its innate power. But clearly, it works.

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July 18: Admissions for Paramedical opens in colleges

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There is some good news for students considering a career in paramedical courses. This year, the academic session for paramedical courses will begin earlier than usual . The Admission committee for Professional Courses (ACPC) announced on Thursday that admissions for institutes offering medical and paramedical courses will be conducted between July 18 and 27. "For the first time , admissions for two courses will take place together . Earlier, the process for admissions for medical courses was conducted first ," said an ACPC member .

Colleges will start academic sessions from August 1. "In the past , paramedical courses often started rather late in the year , this caused problems for students ," said an ACPC member

In medical and paramedical colleges of Gujarat , there are a total of 7,500 seats for which no less than 12,700 students have applied . As compared to 2010, 1000 more forms have been filled up by applicants this year . The ACPC has cleared the way for admissions in 2,230 medical and 1,055 dental colleges . The remaining seats are for various colleges that offer courses such as ayurveda and homeopathy .

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India's most popular deities

IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism

Godspeed for podium finish

The most vocal view during the brainstorming meeting for this current issue was: “Really, who cares about Obama?” We know you must have been fed an overdose of Obama and Indo-American relations by the time you pick up this issue and read this story. We thought you have probably been bloated on a diet of scams, political controversies, catfights and the allegedly mutual dislike between Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi. Diwali was looming. And hey presto, we thought: why don't we ask fellow Indians to rate their favourite deities (Gods and Goddesses, if you like)? The idea sounded bizarre initially but appeared more and more tantalising as we started speculating about who actually would be India's favourite deity. As we debated over the matter, it looked as if hacks like us had chosen Lord Ganesha as the unquestioned odds on favourite. Many were also convinced that it would be Hanuman who would fly away with the trophy.

So we all waited with nervous excitement for the results of the CVoter opinion poll to come in. And boy, were we surprised! As you will read in the subsequent pages, it is the God of destruction and regeneration, Shiva, who emerges as the favourite deity, Durga garners the second position and Hanuman comes third while Ganesha, the bookies' favourite, could manage just a fifth place. It should not surprise you but Jesus Christ emerged 11th in the rankings.

Frivolity apart, the exclusive TSI-CVoter opinion poll that talked to 5,312 respondents across India does reveal many interesting facets about the Indian society and Indians in general. Take this one for example: More than one per cent of Indians spend more than Rs 50,000 a year per capita on God and religious activities. Adding it all up for India as a whole, we could say that rich Indians spend more than Rs 50,000 crore a year on God – much more than the annual budget for NREGA. But don't for a moment think that it is only rich Indians who appease God to assuage their guilt. The fact is that a majority of Indians are overwhelmingly religious, a fact the followers of Marx and Mao still seem to forget. More than 95 per cent of Indians regularly pray to the deity of their choice. And about 60 per cent of Indians pray not for material benefits but for peace of mind. That most Indians still respect family values is clear from the fact that 50 per cent of them consider either their father, mother or teacher to be God-like. But the wives don't cut much ice, with just 0.5 per cent respondents putting them on a divine pedestal. And did you say blind faith? Close to 60 per cent say they are not firm believers in astrology, Vaastu and similar stuff.

Enjoy this rare and unusual religious journey in subsequent pages!!

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The upcoming parliamentary election in Egypt has already lost its legitimacy as major opposition groups call for a boycott

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We tell them it is a bull, they say milk it", goes an old Egyptian proverb. The reality of the Egyptian regime under Hosni Mubarak is no different. For all practical purposes, the regime is dead. It is merely the aphrodisiacs of American interest that has made it perform till now.

The election aura though has infused a few shots of excitement in an otherwise mundane Egyptian life, but sadly it's the most it can do...nothing more! Hence, it is not surprising that observers and experts are taking November 28 parliamentary elections as merely "another incident” in its not-very-illustrious electoral history. By now it is a forgone conclusion that the incumbent National Democratic Party (NDP) will easily bag two-thirds of the seats, which means that it can unilaterally come up with a bill and get it passed easily too. As far as the opposition is concerned, they are trying hard to play the second fiddle. In fact the going has only got tough for them since the last election five years ago. As you read this story, the civil society in Egypt is locked in a battle of nerve with the regime. However, privately, even they agree that they won't be successful in receiving full credentials and would at the best be allowed a limited access to the polls. As far as international observers and monitors are concerned, they have been given a cold shoulder by the Mubarak regime yet again.

And still, there is something very significant taking place in November. The Egyptian political existence is being tested as the nation draws close to the culmination of three decades of Hosni Mubarak’s presidency. President Mubarak and other higher-ranking figures in the regime and the National Democratic Party (NDP) have been thwarting both internal and external demands for overhaul of the political system. On the regime's part, the argument is that it is carrying out the reforms. The pace of the reforms is in complete harmony with Egypt's mundane pace of doing things. So, not surprisingly, the observers are finding it difficult to see any reforms!

Given these circumstances, it is difficult to say whether these polls are a real electoral progress or not. Still, there could have been some consolation if the election were freer and fairer from the 2005 polls. But as things unfold, it is becoming increasingly clear that it will not be the case.

From the regime's perspective, there are at least two developments in this election that amount to electoral reforms. The first is the establishment of an “independent” election commission and the second is the conception of a 64-seat quota for women lawmakers in the People’s Assembly.

Says Amr Hamzawy, an expert of Egyptian affairs at Carnegie Middle East Center while talking to TSI, “The election commission has replaced the clumsy method of judicial supervision but I don't see it as an improvement. In fact, far from it. The judges had integrity and were willing to call a spade a spade. The same cannot be said about the commission which has shown in the recent past that it can bend backward on any pretext.” Strong words. But evidence suggests that Hamzawy is not off the mark. If the manner in which the election commission conducted the Shura elections is taken as the yardstick, the picture is far from rosy.

The women reservation in the Assembly is indeed a welcome step. However, it is pretty evident that these nominations and elections will be manipulated to augment the ruling NDP's numbers in the house.

Let's talk about the Opposition now. In 2005, it appeared a united bunch and campaigned with all guns blazing. In 2010, many of them are boycotting the polls. The Ghad party, National Democratic Front party and the National Association for Change have decided to boycott the polls in protest of the NDP’s denial to meet their requests for measures guaranteeing the equity and transparency of the polls.

It is true that the Opposition’s past involvement has ultimately provided the regime with the accoutrement of a morganatic democracy. Participation in Egypt’s mendacious pluralism and slanted elections only secures the Opposition an inefficacious and fundamentally token existence in the government. Neither the Opposition entities nor the independent members of the Assembly have been successful in altering the legislative process. Even with the opposition’s representation in Assembly at an all-time high from 2005-2010 – it claimed over 20 per cent of the People’s Assembly seats, thanks primarily to the Muslim Brotherhood – the NDP found no hindrance in passing all of its bills and draft policies.

On the contrary, the Wafd party and the Muslim Brotherhood — the most well-conducted and surefooted opposition groups in Egypt — have decided to take part, as have Tagammu and a few smaller parties. The recent messages by the executives of the Brotherhood Guidance Bureau signal that the Brotherhood will seek to field as many as 200 candidates. The outlawed and perpetually ragged Muslim Brotherhood is inexplicably allowed to back independents who are due to contest under the shibboleth, “Islam is the Solution”, making it all clear who is behind them.

The government on its part is using every possible tool at its disposal to discourage the opposition. Just to give an example, Egypt's authorized satellite provider, Nilesat, has blocked four satellite broadcasters and 17 private channels for allegedly “transgressing standards” and another 20 channels are threatened with debarment of their permits. These channels cannot share feed from al-Jazeera which was expected to give a transparent coverage of the elections.

No discussion of Egyptian elections can be complete without mentioning the National Association for Change established by Muhammmad ElBaradei, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. ElBaradei tried his best to change the way things are conducted in Cairo, but he got little support from outside.

“During the presidential polls in Tehran last year, Western politicians and media censured Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and portrayed the opposition figurehead, Mirhossein Mousavi, as the lone promise for democracy. It is funny how the same sources publish uncritically about the polls in Egypt, while at the same time having very little constructive to say about ElBaradei,” maintains Ali Younes, a writer and a Middle East analyst based in Washington DC, while talking to TSI. It was not for nothing that the frustrated ElBaradei decided to boycott the elections.

The rationale for this is not hard to interpret. Along with Israel, Egypt is the primary affiliate of the Western powers in the neighbourhood, while ElBaradei has been a thorn in the flesh of the US ever since evincing his resistance to the Iraq war. ElBaradei has also been unequivocal in his opposition to American-Israeli plans for a military adventure in Iran.

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A Healthcare Issue: Private hospitals' efficiency questioned

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"My father was suffering from high blood pressure but the doctors at the hospital ignored it and followed a faulty drug administration procedure," Sibasish Pradhan, son of Odissi dance maestro Gangadhar Pradhan, alleged soon after his father's death at Apollo Hospital, Bhubaneswar. He accused the doctors of wilful negligence and has lodged a police complaint. The 62-year-old Odissi exponent was admitted in the hospital on October 2. However, Apollo’s chief executive officer, Pankaj Mankad, denied allegations of neglect. He said that the doctors had tried their best to save the guru, with a team of experts attending on him. But Pradhan's relatives and son refused to buy this argument. “My father was admitted with complaints of chest pain and headache . The doctors first conducted an angioplasty and then performed a surgery. His condition deteriorated soon after and subsequently he died,” complained Sibasish.

Subahnkar Mohanty has also lost his father due to the alleged negligence of doctors at the same hospital. His father Sarat Kumar Mohanty was a former director of Doordarshan. He was admitted to the hospital for a minor intestine operation. Soon after the operation on July 14, Mohanty complained of acute pain near the operated area. He was immediately shifted to the ICU and the doctors told the family that the pain was due to some cardiac problem. “After keeping him in the ICU for three days, the doctors told us that my father had developed some complication for which he needed a test which could only be done in Mumbai. He died the next the day before the test could be done,” said a distraught Subahnkar.

Tamasa Sethy, widow of former Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Tax Harihar Sethy, said, “Neither the hospital staff nor the doctors cooperated with us. Instead, they harassed us. The nurses did not attend to the patients properly.” Sethy died in Kalinga Hospital in Bhubaneswar while under treatment for H1N1 flu.
Private health care facilities are mushrooming in Bhubaneswar. But the number of complains regarding the sub-standard treatment and wilful negligence is also on rise at the same time. “The government should keep an eye on these high profile hospitals which charge a lot of money but do not look keen on the quality of the service. Otherwise people will be exploited in the name of 'good treatment',” said a professor at the SCB Medical College on condition of anonymity.

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Winds of change have started blowing in West Bengal

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In Marxism, religion does not mix with politics. Remember the raging debate that was triggered in 2006 when the then minister for sports and CPM leader Subhash Chakraborty paid obeisance to Goddess Kali at Tarapith?

But ironically the leftist aversion to religion did not stop the CPM from using Durga Puja festivities to reach out to the people of the state. It was customary for the party to set up stalls around Puja pandals for the purpose. Over the years, the number of such stalls crossed the 100-mark in Kolkata and touched 1,000 across West Bengal. However, the picture was very different this year. In the CPM stronghold of Barasat West, the regional committee of the party put up a stall and duly inaugurated it on Saptami, the first day of Durga Puja. But it remained shut for the entire duration of the festivities. Local CPM leaders cited lack of manpower for this state of affairs.

And it wasn't just Barasat where this happened. In various other towns of
Bengal such in Durgapur, Asansol, Barrackpur and Siliguri CPM stalls selling Marxist literature were conspicuous by their absence.

They were replaced by stalls named after Jaago Bangla (Arise Bengal), the mouthpiece of the Trinamool Congress. According to Trinamool functionaries officials, “This year over 100 Jago Bangla stalls were put up in the city and many other parts of the state.” Twenty-three books written by Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee sold like hot cakes from these stalls, as did six to seven monographs on the Singur-Nandigram movements.

Mamata is losing no opportunity to appeal to the devout in Bengal. She is everywhere, demonstrating unfailing religious fervour. From offering namaaz during Eid to ribbon cutting at Durga Puja pandals, she has been in overdrive, here eyes set firmly on next year's Assembly polls.

In comparison with 12 Durga Puja inauguration requests after the 2004 Lok Sabha elections (Mamata was the single Trinamool MP in Lok Sabha back then) this year more than 300 puja organisers requested her presence in puja mandaps in different parts of Bengal.

It’s not that CPM was total casual about the winds of change. Party leaders did their utmost to grasp the meaning of the new phenomenon that is unfolding in Bengal and do something reversing the trend. From state party secretary Biman Bose to state health minister Suryakanta Misra, almost all the topmost party leaders contributed articles to the Puja specials of their party mouthpieces. But On Bijoya Dashami, in Barrackpur, revellers used green gulaal instead of the traditional red. A sign of things to come?

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Narmada movement: Non-violence is not easy

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It is important for us to increase the support base of the Narmada Bachao movement

In the last two and a half decades, Narmada Bachao Andolan has been a great learning experience for me. But the aspect that has influenced me the most is my belief in the non-violent means of struggle. Non-violent struggle is not easy. It is often long drawn out and requires patience. It can never be a lone struggle. It requires the spine of an organisation and the help and support of the masses. This struggle was possible because of the love and support of the people of the Narmada Valley. Apart from that, the moral support provided by similar movements in India and world also came handy.

I am of the opinion that it is necessary for this sort of struggle to remain non-violent. In fact, we have always considered nation building and constructive approach as a part and parcel of my struggle. But my idea of building, idea of construction is different from the prevalent perceptions. It is an antidote or rather alternative to the current development model that is destructive in nature. A development that is inclusive and has respect for nature and other organisms.
Also, I believe that being non-violent does not mean being a coward. It is not about being quiet. Non-violence is about posing a challenge and keeping your dignity intact. But I don’t want a development that is at the cost of displacement and infringement of rights. In my view, development must respect and protect the rights of everybody. It should work for the benefit of the downtrodden. But the government does not want this kind of development. The government’s idea of development is based on giving goodies to corporate houses and protecting their interests. Laws are being made that are not pro-people, whether it is land acquisition laws or rehabilitation laws. All these laws have been made to suit the interests of the capitalists. But this will not continue for long. The masses will not wait till eternity. They are joining us in this struggle. We need to give them the alternative. We need to give them justice.

We are facing the challenge of globalisation threatening indigenous industries. How will we face this? In the last 25 years, Narmada Bachao Andolan has seen several ups and downs. But we have continued our struggle. We have changed a bit and have started focussing on inclusive development. But we need to formulate effective strategy. I am working on that. I am also trying to connect more and more people with this movement. We are trying to bring different sections together. We have challenged casteist forces. But we need to further increase the support base of our movement.

We have been trying to harmonise the society with the movement but it has only been partially successful. But the time has come when the society will see the benefit in joining the struggle. It is at a critical stage and people from all parts of the country are coming forward. It is because this developmental model is not merely affecting Narmada Valley people but the entire nation in some way or other. People are being displaced in Mumbai. Lands are being forcibly acquired in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. Dams are being built in North-east that will displace hundreds of thousands of people. The big dams stand completely exposed today. The damage done by these dams is irreparable. The harm far outnumbers its benefits.

On the completion of 25 years of the Narmada Bachao movement, we did a series of rallies in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. People from 21 states, including Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, UP, Bihar, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu participated in the rallies. It reflects people are still optimistic about non-violent struggle. Also, apart from the masses, we also need to bring in more and more intellectuals.

The structure of the development models are based on laws. But laws are anti-people. This has led to continuous infringement of Human Rights Violation. It is also against the basic fundamental rights of the constitution. The conflict between constitution and law is very evident. I want to make the masses aware of this conflict. Everyone has to do his or her bit. The struggle needs better co-ordination. We need to take up newer causes too. The issue of agriculture land and industries needs to be taken up. In every part of this country, livelihood is at stake. There is a need of a consolidated movement. This movement will pose a challenge to anti-people policies. We also need to intervene in electoral politics. We had constituted a Lok Manch prior to the elections. We need to strengthen this. Only if we are able to expand the movement that we can intervene forcefully. We have carried the flag for 25 years and will continue doing so. New ideas and new strategies will infuse new lease of life to the movement. We are positive that we will win.

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The bellicose posture by Pyongyang may well be an external manifestation of legitimisation of its heir-apparent

In Sicilian Mafioso set-up, a rookie is considered a na'vet' till the time he has not 'made his bones' i.e. to prove his skills in the warfare. It appears, the family line of Kim II-Sung in North Korea has taken the leaf out of the Sicilian code.

The sinking of South Korean warship Cheonan ' which the UN fact finding committee blamed on North Korea ' at the time of the possible announcement of succession in Pyongyang has turned the attention towards the Korean peninsula.

There are several questions regarding the motivation of North behind this attack. It's at all times tricky to define North Korean motivations, principally for the reason that it's the most opaque nation in the world. The foremost explanation could be that it's an unswerving vengeance for a surface ship row between the two Koreas that took place in late 2009 in the Yellow Sea, in which a lone North Korean sailor was allegedly killed. That's a tit-for-tat rationalisation. However, sources close to The Sunday Indian maintain that it might not be the only case. The event might be a "peripheral manifestation of legitimisation" on the part of North Korean leader Kim Jong-II's preferred successor and heir-apparent, his youngest son Kim Jong-un. To put it in perspective, it can be recalled that when Kim Jong-II, the incumbent, himself became the chosen heir to his father Kim II-Sung, a similar type of legitimisation course took place in which Kim Jong-II was held to be liable for numerous of the actions in the 1980s ' the Korean Air 858 explosion in 1987 and the partial massacre of the South Korean cabinet while it was on a state visit to Burma in 1983.

'It has been witnessed several times in the past that when the successors do not have the revolutionary qualifications or radical credentials of the original leader, the successors frequently apply these tactics to legitimise themselves,' says Victor D. Cha, Senior Advisor on Korean affairs at Centre for Strategic and International Studies, while talking to TSI.

So what are the credentials of Jong-un? There is very little about him in public domain. He has studied in Switzerland and is in his late 20s. But since he is way too young to lead, sources maintain that the authority would be passed to him in combination with Kim Jong-II's sister, Kim Kyung-Hee, and her husband, Chang Song-taek. But the heir would get to keep members of the military as well as the party with him. And as far as military training is concerned, Jong-un does not have much experience behind him. But he has indeed been seen at very low political levels of the National Defence Commission. However, no one is sure if that will be enough to keep him in the good books of Army's old guards. And whatever the world thinks, Jong-II too had tough time keeping armed forces in order. There were no less than two coup attempts against Kim Jong-II's own succession. In the late 1991 or early 1992, sources claim, there was an attempted rebellion by a cluster of Soviet-trained perestroika-favouring generals. A dozen odd generals conspired to snuff out the two Kims and apply sweeping reconstruction of North Korea. However, their cover was blown and the plotters, according to one version, were burnt on the stake in front of a military audience ostensibly as a warning. Similarly, in 1995, some of the factions of the 6th Army Corps in North Hamgyong province bordering China decided to join ranks with the rogue elements of the adjoining 7th Army Corps and planned to march on Pyongyang. However, this potentially threatening conspiracy was uncovered by 6th Corps commander, Kim Yong-chun, who was promoted to be the chief of the general staff in gratitude.

Under the circumstances, the succession of Jong-un will not be smooth as well. Therefore, Pyongyang has been abuzz with the news of restructuring and possible shuffles in the party and the military order.

'Kim Jong-II wants to construct a bellicose ambience at the domestic front to push through with the succession of authority to his son,' said Cheon Seong-whun, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification while talking to TSI. 'However, to achieve this, he needs tensions and an outside foe.'

Kim Jong-II's most strenuous labours seem to be focussed at the armed forces, the vital power pedestal for his son. In good measure, he has also promoted no less than 100 senior officers in April this year. While its armed forces keep South Korea on tenterhooks by firing coastal weaponry, North Korea's power elite is all set to officiate the hitherto unofficial status of Kim Jong-un as the nation's next 'Dear Leader'. But there are official procedures to keep as theoretically North Korea is run by the Workers' Party. The Workers' Party is likely to give Jong-un and his cohort plum posts at the upcoming Central Committee meeting. Sources maintain that since July last year, Jong-un has already started taking part in the formulation of Pyongyang's internal and external domestic and international policies.

Jong-un began managing North Korea's secret police agency since last year. In fact, sources suggested that all bureaucratic reports made to Kim Jong-II has already started going through Jong-un. Therefore, Workers' Party will have to offer him a post that is worthy of his stature. In all probability, that post could be that of an Organisational Secretary of the party's Central Committee. The Committee exercises the maximum authority on the committee. As the heir-apparent, the young man also reportedly confers with a number of high-status officials or minions of his father that uphold the Kim family's sway on the nation. His uncle Chang Song-taek instructs him on the Pyongyang's finances and associations with China while Kim Yong-chun is in charge of the armed forces. Chang and Chun are two of the four vice chairmen of the National Defence Commission, nation's in effect utmost guiding appendage. North Korea's armed forces, which were formerly guarded by Kim Jong-II's direct orders, came under defence minister Kim Yong-chun's command in April 2009. While Chun controls the nation's troops for conventional combat, Kim Jong-II administers the strategic troops that deal with missiles and nuclear weapons. The latter, without question, will pass on to Jong-un.

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The silent valley

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It's that time of the year when the Valley was to have been buzzing with beaming tourists; instead, all that can be heard are wails, sirens and the odd silence. Haroon Reshi treads warily around a lost paradise'

Early this year, when the Jammu & Kashmir government dubbed 2010 as the 'Visit Kashmir Year' to attract more tourists, and launched a massive advertising campaign across India and in the West, Muhammad Ashraf Dar (43), painted and decorated his shikara (houseboat) to make it more alluring to the visitors. His shikara named 'New Dar Place' is among two thousand registered shikaras in the renowned Dal Lake.

In the months of April and May, as the place started filling up, shikara owners like Ashraf anticipated a record-breaking tourist season. With about 6,10,000 domestic and foreign tourists landing in Kashmir Valley by the first week of June, state's ailing economy had much to be optimistic about. Ashraf was looking forward to at least 0.2 million rupees worth of income generation between May and October. His plans included renovation of his one storey house in the Dal Dwellers colony near the Lake. But then, as is known now, events took a nasty turn. On June 11, Tufail Mattoo, a school going teenager was killed by a teargas shell fired by security forces in downtown Srinagar. Violence erupted, and this time angry protesters resorted to stone pelting at the security forces. In the last three months, 67 people, including teenagers and under-10 boys lost their lives in confrontation with the defence forces. More than three thousand were wounded, and many of them still battling for their lives in different hospitals of the Valley. Hartals (strikes) and curfews continue to plague civil life, and government offices, business establishments, educational institutions and public transport have shut down.

Within days of the first signs of trouble, tourists were on their out and others cancelled impending trips to the Valley. The month of September ' supposed to be peak tourist season ' has only known empty hotels, guesthouses and houseboats as yet.

Mount View Hotel at Phalgam (one of the most popular destinations in the Valley, at an altitude of 2130m above sea level), was teeming with guests in the first week of June. 'Now all 55 rooms of our hotel are unoccupied and the staff is idle,' says Saleem, manager at Mount View. 'Most of the hotel owners have asked their employees to go home. Thankfully, we are still getting salaries,' he added.

A similar situation is seen at the Dal and Nigeen Lakes' houseboats. 'About 99 per cent houseboats in the lakes are unoccupied. All bookings have been cancelled. We even had to refund advance payments.' says Gulam Muhammad Pakhtoon, Vice President of the Houseboat Owners Association. 'Ye to Khuda ka kehar hai (It's the Lord's wrath),' says Pakhtoon, proprietor of two houseboats. Like the hoteliers and houseboat owners, shopkeepers are suffering a similar fate. The Shaikh brothers ' Javid Ahmad Shaikh and his younger brother Shakeel Ahmad Shaikh ' run a Kashmir Arts showroom called, 'Elegant Store' in the posh polo-view market in Srinagar. Having seen the encouraging influx of tourists in the early months of the season, they stocked in enough inventory hoping for brisk business in the coming days. They had even approached Jammu and Kashmir Bank for financial assistance to purchase Pashmina shawls, sarees, embroidered curtains, chain stitch rugs and Kashmiri hand made dresses. 'Not only have we lost business due to regular hartals and curfews, we have also to repay the bank loan with its huge interest rates. It is a grave situation for us,' says Javed, who had opened his shop for the brief period that curfew was relaxed.

The state's tourism minister Rigzen Jora told TSI that the government had expected a record-breaking 1.3 million domestic and foreign tourists in this summer for a major campaign had been implemented to draw visitors to the state where 60% of the population directly or indirectly relied on the tourist industry. Adventure tourism was promoted feverishly; for the first time, the government had thrown open more than 100 high-altitude peaks in the state to climbers. But all these attempts to boost the ailing tourism industry of this militancy hit state have failed due to civil unrest. 'As the situation is constantly worsening, I am afraid we might even lose the winter season activities. Tourism in the state will flourish only after peace is restored.' Jora said.

According to Shakeel Qalandar, President of the Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir, 'The State meets with 100 crore rupees of loss each day due to strikes. Since June 11, we have lost to the tune of a thousand crores. And 1.2 million people are directly hit by this loss.' In addition, with waning trade and tourist activity in Kashmir, the corresponding scene in a neighbouring state, HP, has had a shot in the arm.

Ashraf has now dropped plans of repairing his house; he is worried about the days ahead though. He does not have enough savings to hold out the harsh winters, and he is equally worried about the needs of his three schools going kids. The Ashrafs in the Valley are waiting to get on with their lives; when will the deadlock end..?

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Babri conundrum: Human blood is precious

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The politics of appeasement by the Congress has resulted in much bloodshed in the country

Arif Mohammed Khan,
Former Union minister and senior politician

Ibn Ishaq, in his biography of the holy Prophet, reports that Abraha, the Abyssinian governor of Yemen, had built a Cathedral of immense proportions in his capital Sana, and made efforts to divert the pilgrims from Mecca to the new place of worship. Angered by these attempts, a resident of Mecca travelled to Sana, visited the Cathedral and defiled it. When Abraha came to know of this, he decided to punish the Meccans, by leading an army to attack Mecca and demolish the Ka'aba, the House of God. After reaching in the vicinity of Mecca, Abraha dispatched one of his generals to plunder the people there. The campaign was successful and a huge booty was looted, among it 200 camels belonging to Abdul Muttalib, the chief of the Quraysh and grandfather of the holy Prophet.

Subsequently, Abdul Muttalib went and petitioned Abraha to return his camels and other property looted by his army. Abraha replied, 'I am pleased to see you and hear what you have said. Do you wish to talk to me about 200 camels of yours which I have taken, and say nothing about the religion of your forefathers which I have come to destroy.' Abdul Muttalib said, 'I am the owner of the camels not the temple. The temple (Ka'aba) has an owner who will defend it.'

The rest is history, showing how the invading army was destroyed to a man by the divine intervention and the Ka'aba was saved though no defence was offered by the custodians of the Ka'aba. This event took place in the year of the birth of Prophet Mohammed, that is, 570 AD. The story is endorsed by the Holy Qur'an in chapter 105 titled 'The Elephant', giving an idea of the fate of the invading army.

The Qur'anic story is profoundly instructive for any sensitive mind. It clearly shows that places of worship, important as they are, do not have greater sanctity than that of the human blood. The holy Prophet himself is reported to have said that the sanctity of Muslim blood is more than the sanctity of Ka'aba, yet we see people fighting over these places. The number of people who lost their lives either as kar sevaks on November 19, 1990 or as innocent victims of the communal orgy unleashed after the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992, is saddening. The Ayodhya dispute has been hanging fire since 1885, when one Mahant Raghubar Das had made a plea before a sub-judge at Faizabad to allow him to build a temple on the spot just outside the Babri Masjid, where the Hindu idols were installed on a platform. The dispute took a new turn after the idols were installed inside the mosque on the night of December 23, 1949, leading to number of court cases. It is interesting to note that the litigant parties were on amicable terms and often travelled together to attend the courts.

People were generally indifferent to the court proceedings till February 1, 1986, when the District Judge passed an order for opening of the gates that were locked in 1950 by a judicial order. The District Judge passed the order only after examining the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police of Faizabad district, who assured the court that they could maintain the peace and law and order even without locks. One cannot imagine that the senior officers of the district would have given their consent to open the locks without necessary instructions from the state and the central governments. The fact that the order was implemented within an hour and was widely covered by Doordarshan further establishes the fact that the government was using the Ayodhya dispute for pursuing its political agenda.

Neerja Chaudhary, writing in The Statesman on May 1, 1986, observed: 'There is an evidence of connection between the opening of the doors of the disputed Ramjanmabhumi in Ayodhya and the introduction of the Muslim Women Bill in Parliament, both of which have heightened the communal tension.' She quoted a member of the Muslim Personal Law Board as saying, 'To be honest, we were not expecting it to come so soon' and further opined that its timing indicated that it was not unconnected with the opening of the masjid doors. She concluded her piece thus: 'A policy of appeasement of both communities being pursued by the government for electoral gains is a vicious cycle which will become difficult to break.'

Indeed it became difficult to control the communal and divisive forces after the twin decisions of the government in 1986' succumbing to the pressure of the Personal Law Board to undo the Supreme Court judgment in the Shah Bano case and then counterbalance it by unlocking the gates in Ayodhya. To use an Urdu couplet: Han khabardar ke ek laghzishe paa se kabhi/Sari taarekh ki raftaar palat jaati hai (Beware, sometimes one false step leads to altering the whole course of history).

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