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Article148.png”” alt=””Article148.png”” />The long-awaited meeting of Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan was held on the sidelines of Heart of Asia Summit on April 26 in New Delhi but it was hardly of any consequence and appeared to have been held only to refute the perception that peaceful negotiations between the two neighbours are over. Indian Foreign Secretary Dr. S.. Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry insisted on their viewpoints without giving any credence to other”s views. This was the reason that no joint communiqué was released. The Ministry of External Affairs although mentioned that the meeting was frank and constructive but stated that the Foreign Secretary demanded that the culprits of Pathankot and Mumbai terrorist attacks should be punished. The case of Masood Azhar, Chief of Jaish-e- Mohammed (JeM) was also discussed. and India emphatically told that Pakistan must control various terrorist outfits based in Pakistan and carrying out terrorist activities in India would impact relations between the two countries.

Pakistan gave no clear answer about the progress of Joint Investigation team which visited Pathankot and about the proposed reciprocal visit of National Investigation Agency (NIA) team to Pakistan. The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in an unprecedented move, posted a small release on twitter even as the meeting had just begun in which it said that all issues, including Kashmir, was discussed and Pakistani Foreign Secretary insisted that Kashmir issue is the core issue and it should be resolved.

Pakistan also asked about investigation of Samjhauta Express blast, arrest of Kulbhushan Jadhav and alleged Indian role in secessionist activities in Balochistan and terrorist activities in Karachi. Pakistan also insisted that the Indian Foreign Secretary should visit Pakistan so that Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue (CBD) can commence. The media, in both the countries, also projected that the meeting failed to achieve anything substantial. Pakistani media constantly alleged that Indian intelligence agency was involved in secessionist activities in Baluchistan and terrorist activities in Karachi. The Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan kidnapped Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer and dubbed him as R&AW agent involved in secessionist activities in Baluchistan, a point which was raised by India during the talks.

In a nutshell, the meeting of the two Foreign Secretaries generated more animosity rather than creating goodwill. There was no commonality in their press releases which made it abundantly clear that talks were held as an exercise to score points. Both sides issued official statements as well as tweets to gain more points. Date and time of the next meeting was also not fixed. It was clear from the beginning that the Pakistani side was determined to sabotage the talks. Pakistani Army which thrives on projection of imaginary threat from India would not allow the civilian government of Nawaz Sharif to have friendly relations with India.

Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif has already weakened Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in August 2014 when Imran Khan of Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf Party and Islamic cleric Muhammad Tahir-ul- Qadri launched Azadi March (freedom) to protest the rigging of general elections held in 2013 on behest of military controlled Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). However, Nawaz Sharif is an astute businessman turned politician knows that there can be a rapid economic progress of Pakistan if relations with India are improved. Therefore, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than once and welcomed him when he paid a surprise visit to Pakistan. The civilian government wants resumption of talks but all powerful Pakistani army creates hostile situation and disrupts the talks, a pattern which emerges everytime when India-Pak dialogue process is set in motion and promises to inch forward.

Right now, Nawaz Sharif is also facing trouble because of leak of Panama papers which mentions that sons and daughter of Nawaz have offshore companies in British Virgin Islands and own several properties in London and other places. General Raheel Sharif sacked 6 army officers including a Lt-General, Major General and 3 brigadiers on charges of corruption. It put tremendous pressure on Nawaz Sharif. The opposition parties in Pakistan including Imran Khan Chief of PTI started putting pressure on Nawaz and it will make position of Nawaz weaker in comparison to Pakistani Army.

The analysts mention that arrest of Kulbhushan Jadhav was a ploy to propagate to the world and to common Pakistanis that India is involved in abetting secessionist activities in Baluchistan and carrying out terrorist acts in Pakistan including Karachi hence there should be no peace negotiations with India. It made the position of Nawaz still weaker as his government was advocating cordial relations with India. Now ISI would create more trouble in Kashmir and carry out fresh terrorist activities in whole of India as it will get additional suicide bombers to revenge sham allegation that India is creating trouble in Pakistan including Baluchistan and Kashmir.

Large number of Madarassas have mushroomed which are financed by Middle Eastern countries, rogue ISI, terrorist outfits and fanatic Muslims, these Madarassas work as factories to produce extremists, terrorists and suicide bombers. Unfortunately a strong lobby is developed in Pakistan which is thriving on anti-India rhetoric. The lobby includes Pakistani army, terrorist outfits, Muslim fanatics, dishonest businessmen and others. They have convinced large number of Pakistanis that India wants to annex Pakistan hence there should not be any peace with India. There are sensible Pakistanis, who do not believe in this malicious propaganda but they are in minority and are in no position to play an important role in the improvement of India-Pakistan relations. The chances of improvement of India Pakistan relations in near future are remote. Pakistan possesses nuclear warheads and cultivated close relations with China hence India must prepare itself against Pakistan and also remain prepared if China also extends a helping hand to Pakistan.

(Jai Kumar Verma is a security analyst based in Delhi. Views are personal)“

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Mr. R. K Asthana, Additional Director and a Gujarat cadre IPS officer, was appointed as interim Director. His appointment was challenged in the Supreme Court by senior lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan. In accordance with the new rule of appointing CBI Director, a three-member committee, led by Prime Minister Modi, had met earlier this week to pick the new CBI chief. Chief Justice of India J S Khehar and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge are the two other members of the committee. At the meeting, Mr Verma had got two of the three votes — that of PM Modi and Chief Justice of India JS Khehar. Mr. Kharge had favoured former CBI Special Director R K Dutta for the post on the ground Mr Verma lacked experience in the CBI and in anti-corruption units. In his petition, Mr Bhushan had also supported Mr Dutta’s candidature, saying he was the most qualified officer. Mr Dutta had been transferred to the Union Home Ministry.

Mr. Verma is known to be a low-profile officer who believes in doing his job quietly away from the glare of the media. He had succeeded B S Bassi as Delhi Police chief and over the past seven or eight months has maintained a carefully cultivated distance from the media. Though Mr. Verma has not been able to put a brake on crime rate in the national capital, he has been described as a good administrator who took some bold decisions like giving long-pending promotions to Delhi Police middle rung officers like head constables and sub-inspectors. His innings in the CBI will be keenly watched over the next two years as the agency has attracted criticism in handling sensitive anti-corruption cases and also faced accusations of working on the directions of the Central government.”

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The tables have been turned on Samajwadi party patriarch with the wrestler-turned-politician Mulayam Singh Yadav losing the battle for the ‘cycle ‘ symbol and slowly getting marginalised. The saving grace is that the Election Commission of India has not sealed the symbol which remains with the SP. The ECI’s decision that Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav faction rightly deserves the cycle election symbol on the strength of its large majority of legislators as well party loyalists vociferously endorsing the leadership of the youth icon in the country’s most crucial state.

Efforts are on to put an end to the sordid family drama in the Yadav family. The indications are clear that the mantle of leadership in the dynastic SP has passed on to Akhilesh Yadav earlier this month.  Since then he has gone from strength to strength.

At the same time Akhilesh has maintained his poise saying his respect for Netaji or his father will remain undiminished. What is of significance is that no time was wasted by the SP and Congress in announcing their intentions of stitching up a “”mahagatbandhan”” a la 2015 Bihar style to keep the Lotus party at bay in the country’s most populous state.

This has the portends of resurrecting the Congress to some extent and giving a boost to the SP along with the Rashtriya Lok Dal, JD (U), RJD and other smaller regional groups in UP in its determined bid to defeat the communal forces.

Akhilesh has an upper hand at the negotiating table having secured the cycle symbol as well as controlling the Yadav-Muslim vote bank. From all accounts it appears that the chief minister does not want to alienate the dwindling Mulayam loyalists. The gambit is to undertake a delicate balancing act ensuring the renewal and strengthening of the SP.

In a three cornered contest the BJP might well be pushed to the wall with the Muslim minority vote going against them. Seeking to project itself as the saviour of the other backward classes, the Lotus party is desperate to regain power in UP after nearly 15 years. The lotus party seems to have alienated its supporters of small traders as well as the Brahmins. Three years back in the general elections in 2014 the BJP secured a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha for the first time since it was formed in 1980.

It managed a staggering 71 seats in the Lok Sabha out of the 80 from UP finishing with a tally of 73 along with its allies in the NDA. It is unlikely that the BJP will be able to replicate that humongous performance in the ensuing elections to the 403-member state assembly.

Judging by the BJP’s first list of candidates it is once again banking on communal polarisation in riot affected western UP. Tickets have been issued to leaders involved in communal incidents including sitting MLAs Sangeet Som and Suresh Rana, both of whom are accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. The wife of the BJP/RSS leader accused in last September’s Bijnor incident has also been fielded. The saffron brigade has again resorted to playing the communal card amid reports that the dominant Jat community is disillusioned with it. With reservation for Jats in a limbo, they might desert the BJP this time and consolidate the minority votes in favour of the SP-Congress-RLD alliance.

The outcome in UP will set the stage for the saffron brigade in the general elections two years later in 2019. The surgical strikes on terrorist camps across the LOC in Pakistan in October last year and the big ticket demonetisation undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently are the two main planks of the BJP’s campaign strategy in UP.

As the main campaigner for his party, the eighth November demonetisation by Modi created problems galore because of poor planning coupled with the centre’s failure to anticipate the problems that arose which got compounded in the wake of the RBI issuing new directives on a daily basis for nearly a month. The Lotus party is also handicapped as it has not got a chief ministerial face in the critical Cow belt.The Modi government desperately needs to increase its strength in the Rajya Sabha where it is handicapped being in a minority. This has compelled the BJP led NDA at the centre to resort to Ordinances which has been decried by constitutional experts.Important legislation pertaining to economic reforms has invariably come up against a wall and fallen by the wayside in the House of Elders. The politically conscious electorate in UP is acutely aware of the complexities of the caste and class combination.Having burnt their fingers in Bihar, BJP strategists have tried a new social engineering aimed at turning the Lotus party into a non-Yadav OBC party to woo the most backward castes. This is bound to alienate the Brahmins as they don’t vote in sync with the OBCs.

On the other hand the Samajwadi party government has not crowned itself with glory during its rule in Lucknow over the last five years. There were too many centres of authority. Despite that Akhilesh Yadav has focussed on development which is critical for UP and appears to have caught the imagination of the youth.

In the run up to the assembly electons in UP, Akhilesh Yadav announced nearly one thousand projects and schemes. He managed to lay the foundation stone or inaugurate a large number of them before the model code of conduct kicked in.

In all this Mayawati of the BSP who fancied her chances of becoming the chief minister for a record fifth time in UP appears to have lost the plot with the Congress-SP alliance being worked out. Her gambit of splitting the 20 per cent Muslim votes in the state might not fructify. This assumes importance as the minority community wants to vote decisively in favour of a party so that the BJP does not come to power in Lucknow. It is widely believed she will finish in the third spot after the SP-Congress combine emerging at the top followed by the BJP in second place.

Akhilesh Yadav’s test lies in leading the party with Mulayam Singh hopefully stepping back gracefully. His challenge is not just leading the SP in the ensuing seven-phase assembly elections in UP but overcoming the problems arising once the dust at the hustings settles down.

(T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator. The views are personal.)”

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) against Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in a case of alleged irregularities in ‘Talk To AK’ campaign. Well placed sources said the agency has registered a preliminary inquiry against Mr Sisodia. ‘Talk to AK’, the maiden interactive session of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal which was held on July 17 last year.
Soumya Jain, the daughter of Minister Satyendra Jain, also faces a preliminary inquiry about her appointment as an advisor to the Delhi health department for the management of 100 mohalla clinics. AAP faced flak over the appointment unhealthy as critics pointed that her father handled the health portfolio.
Soon after the news break late on Wednesday night, Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “”It appears that Modi-ji has lost it. The nation’s Prime Minister has only one agenda. He is after us.”” In another tweet, he called Mr. Modi a “”coward”  “”Modi ji, this is why I call you a coward. When you are on the brink of defeat in Goa and Punjab, you begin playing this CBI game?”” Kejriwal tweeted.

The CBI, which is functioning under the interim Director Rakesh Asthana, lodged preliminary enquiry based on a complaint filed by the Delhi government’s Vigilance Department. The complaint alleged that a consultant of a well-known public relations company was hired by the Delhi government to promote “”Talk to AK”” (Talk to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal) campaign and a proposal of Rs 1.5 crore was prepared for this purpose.

It alleged that despite objections from the Principal Secretary, the government went ahead with the proposal and the consultant spent the money thereby creating a liability for the government. CBI will probe the allegations before arriving at a conclusion if a Regular Case (RC) can be registered against Mr. Sisodia and others on the basis of evidence culled out during the preliminary enquiry.”

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President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Bicentenary celebrations of Presidency University on Friday in Kolkata. Speaking on the occasion, the President said the Presidency University is not merely a collection of buildings or an expression of language. The University stands for advancement, progress, thinking and questioning. The early students of the Hindu school from which the College and later the University emerged were known for their liberal thoughts, ideas, and philosophy as well as opposition to all prejudice. 

Mr. Mukherjee said the Presidency College gave birth to and nurtured generations of students who went on to influence and change the course of our country’s history. 

“”What is most remarkable is that this institution which was established primarily to educate the lower bureaucracy of the colonial rulers, went on to not only question and reform everything archaic, but also emerged as the hot bed of anti-colonial ideas and actions,”” he said. Established as a place for liberal, scientific and secular education based on Western ideas of nationalism, Presidency College became the institutional as well as intellectual manifestation of Bengali renaissance, he said. Although Presidency continuously upheld academic excellence, its most outstanding trait lay in its ability to question, discuss and debate every established dogma.  Be it socio-religious beliefs, political construct or ideological tenets, Presidency as an institution always dwelt upon the thesis and the anti thesis before arriving at the synthesis, that suited our nation the most, he told the gathering.

The President said as a great institution of modern world, Presidency’s biggest achievement has been its ability to inculcate a love for learning. Not just learning that is contained within the scope of the text books and syllabus, but knowledge that is acquired by plunging into the depths of subjects.  

It is this eternal pursuit that produced luminaries such as Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Anandaram Barooah in literature.  S N Bose, M N Saha, P C Mahalnobish, Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri, Shyamal Sengupta and Ashoke Sen in the field of basic Science.  Amartya Sen and Sukhamoy Chakraborty in the field of economics and alumnus such as Dr Rajendra Prasad (India’s First President), Muhammed Ali of Bogra (Prime Minister of Pakistan) and Abu Sayeed Chowdhury (The President of Bangladesh). The President said he was happy that this rich tradition is continuing and expressed the hope that it will continue to flourish.

The President said students should not become mere salesman for commercial products but should contribute to research, innovation and enhancement of knowledge. He expressed concern over the fact that none from an Indian University has won the Nobel Prize since Sir CV Raman and only a few Indian universities find a place in the top of international ranking of Universities. He said as Visitor of 126 Central Institutions, he has been asking institutions of higher learning to focus on research and innovation as well as improving their international rankings.  He called upon Presidency University to become the number one university of the country and to get a top position in international rankings.”

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Is Punjab in for a political change this time with the Congress having lost to the Shiromani Akali Dal for the last two consecutive terms in 2007 and 2012? It would seem so with anti-incumbency stacked against the SAD-BJP combine and in particular against the veteran — chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy chief minister son Sukhbir Singh Badal.

As the campaign chief of the Congress, former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh has a spring in his stride as this election might be his swan song. He is keen to teach the Badals a lesson of sending them into political oblivion.

Former Test cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu makes a “”ghar wapsi”” to the Congress having been disillusioned with the BJP. He is seeking a makeover of Punjab and taking it to the heights it once enjoyed by evolving policies rather than indulging in bluster and hollow rhetoric.

The Congress has the highest stakes in Punjab and has an even chance of winning there among the five states going to the polls in February-March. The results will be known on March 11.

And last but not the least is that “”sneaky little fellow”” as Capt Amarinder Singh describes Aam Aadmi party convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal trying his fortunes in Punjab. There is no doubt Kejriwal made a tremendous impression initially and if the assembly elections in the border state had been held six months back it was widely believed the AAP would have won hands down. 

Since then much water has flowed under the bridge with the AAP being hit by splits and scandals shattering their chances of forming the government in Punjab. At the same time the fledgling AAP can still be a spoiler. It may be recalled that in the 2014 general elections the AAP won four Lok Sabha seats out of the 13 in Punjab garnering 25 per cent of the vote share. 

The maverick Kejriwal feels Punjab is important in pursuit of his national ambitions in the next general elections in 2019. Under these circumstances both the Congress and the SAD have been compelled to launch a frontal attack against the AAP supremo. Ironically, even though in the last decade Punjab has enjoyed surplus power, several infrastructure projects encompassing heritage makeover along with making available subsidised atta-dal coupled with pre-poll sop of creating jobs.

All this has failed to soothe the ruffled feathers of the electorate against the SAD. They are hoping to capitalise on fielding the disgruntled in the Congress and the AAP in the hope of splitting the votes in favour of the Akalis. Whether this strategy works as evidenced in 2012 when the Akalis won a second consecutive term remains to be seen.

With the entry of the AAP in the electoral fray in Punjab, political equations have changed for the first time. There is an impression that the Akalis had encouraged lawlessness and condoned the high-handed attitude of its local leaders. The business interests of the Badals and their extended family has also come under close scrutiny.

The alienation of the “”Pathic vote”” can cost them dear. The pardon granted to the controversial Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who was charged with blasphemy by the Sikh clergy controlled by the Badals and a series of acts of desecration of the Sikh holy book had led to palpable anger against them.

On the other hand the Congress has been affected by factionalism, poor distribution of tickets and lack of efforts to keep its flock united. The delay in finalising its candidates once again is due to infighting with various factions propping up their own candidates. Reports suggest that Congress rebels have raised the banner of revolt in no less than 30 out of 117 constituencies in Punjab. With the likelihood of a three-way division of votes, political pundits and psephologists have become rather cagey in giving their assessment of the likely outcome indicative of the Punjab assembly elections going to the wire. 

(T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator. The views are personal.)”

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A first ever study on the effectiveness of decoys and mukhbirs (informers) schemes under the Pre-Conception &Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC&PNDT) Act, 1994 has shown that these schemes have resulted in a large number of convictions.

As high as 77% of the total convictions under this Act, aimed at preventing sex-selective abortions, were due to information provided by decoys and mukhbirs. A total of 291 convictions have been reported under PC&PNDT Act between 1994 to December 2015. Of these, 85 convictions were reported from Rajasthan, 76 from Maharashtra and 63 in Haryana.

The report “Decoys & Mukhbirs: The unutilized instruments for enforcement of the PC&PNDT ACT’’ says that these convictions are not a mere coincidence but a reflection of effective implementation of the scheme. The report has been brought out by the Asian Centre for Human Rights.

“”The Appropriate Authorities (AAs) established under the PC&PNDT Act can find out violations such as non registration of the diagnostic centres, non-display of the registration certificate at a prominent place, non-maintenance of the records, non-filing of the forms but nabbing those conducting sex selections during the act requires a pregnant woman willing to act as decoy customer. Despite recognizing indispensability of the decoys and Mukhbirs, no national scheme has been launched,’’ says the Asian Centre for Human Rights.

The report examined the decoy and Mukhbir schemes in 12 States including Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Punjab, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi.

There are no dedicated staffs to ensure proper implementation of the schemes. Rajasthan is the only State which has established PC&PNDT Bureau of Investigation and the Commissioner of Health of Gujarat informed the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in November 2014 that successful sting operations could not be carried out because of “non-availability of dedicated staff to undertake sting operation, the report points out adding that  publicity and awareness campaigns about the dedicated telephone help lines, websites and cash rewards for reporting cases of illegal sex determination and female foeticide have been extremely limited, leading to failure of the schemes.

Indeed, Secretary to the Health Department,  Madhya Pradesh in its letter dated 15.11.2016 to all District Magistrates of the State acknowledged the lack of awareness about its complaint scheme.

The number of sting operations conducted using decoy customers and informers have been very few vis-a-vis magnitude of sex selection i.e. about 12.5 million girls missing every year. Though sting operations are not indicative of successful detection of the violations of the PC&PNDT Act, as per information collated in this report, in Rajasthan, 52 decoy operations were conducted as on 20.12.2016; in Maharashtra, 67 decoy operations were conducted as on 31.12.2013; in Haryana eight decoys were awarded as of 2012; in Tamil Nadu one decoy operation was reported in 2016; in Gujarat 14 decoy operations were conducted as of October 2014; in Punjab two decoy operations were conducted in 2016; in Odisha only one decoy operation was conducted in September 2012; in Madhya Pradesh only two informers were rewarded as on 19.01.2016; in Uttar Pradesh 52 decoy operations were undertaken as on 31.03.2015; and in Jammu and Kashmir, only one decoy operation was conducted since 2011.

The schemes for dedicated telephone help lines, websites and cash rewards for reporting cases of illegal sex determination and female foeticide do not address circumstances which turn the witnesses hostile including intimidation, reprisal and counter-cases filed against the decoy customers. Monetary reward of as low as Rs. 5,000 offered by Odisha is not attractive enough considering the risks involved in conducting sting operations to nab those conducting sex determination or female foeticide. Though the Government of Odisha admitted that “the money offered is negligible and this turns away most volunteer’’ instead of increasing the reward money, the Odisha government altogether abandoned the programme on sting operations involving the decoys!

Most State Governments do not have specific budgetary allocations for the scheme. Some State Governments made very meagre allocations. Odisha Government allocated Rs 40,000 for the Financial Year 2012-13 for a total of eight sting operations at the rate of Rs 5,000 per sting operation.

With the exception of Rajasthan, none of the State governments has made any scheme for ensuring retention of yet-to-born baby of the pregnant woman participating in a decoy operation. In 2015, Rajasthan revised its Mukhbir Scheme to provide that “Provisions should be made to give an insurance policy to the yet-to-be-born baby of the pregnant woman participating in a decoy operation.’’

The report further says that sting operations using decoys has failed as the Appropriate Authorities in certain States like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu announced in advance in which districts sting operations would be conducted and consequently no sex determination and/or sex selection could be detected during subsequent sting operations as potential violators of the PC&PNDT Act were alerted in advance.

Also,  there is no specific time frame for the AAs to take actions on the complaints/information received by the AAs against sex selection. There are also no complaint mechanisms against the AAs who can act as law unto themselves with respect to complaints or information submitted as no court shall take cognizance of an offence under the PC&PNDT Act except on a complaint made by the AAs as per Section 28(1)(a). The courts can take cognizance only if the AAs fail to take action in not less than fifteen days. There have been numerous cases of unscrupulous AAs alerting the doctors, sonologists, and diagnostic centres before the inspection. This not only aborted the sting operations but left the decoys and at risks including for counter-prosecution from the doctors, sonologists, and diagnostic centres. The PC&PNDT Amendment Rules of 2014 which outlined the code of conduct for the authorities under the PC&PNDT Act do not have any mechanism to establish accountability of the AAs.

Pointing out that the decoy and mukhbir schemes do not address judicial delay and problems faced by them during the trials including no assistance to attend each hearing, the report says this is despite that of the 291 convictions as on December 2015, 137 convictions during 2013 and 111 convictions during 2015 took place only after the directions of the Supreme Court on 4 March 2013 in Voluntary Health Association of Punjab vs Union of India and Others to dispose of all pending cases under the PC&PNDT Act within a period of six months.

“”A number of State governments have suggested extreme measures like invoking the National Security Act or provisions of the Indian Penal Code relating to homicide and death penalty to combat the scourge of sex selection. Yet, most State governments have not focused on the most basic issue: the need for streamlining and strengthening the role of the decoys and informers without whom the PC&PNDT Act cannot be effectively enforced,’’ the Asian Centre for Human Rights has said while recommending launching of a “National Decoy and Mukhbir Yojana’’ for implementation of the PC&PNDT Act and amendment of the PC&PNDT Rules to establish mechanisms for prompt action on information and complaints received on sex selection.”

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As many as 39 persons were killed and more than 50 injured when the engine and nine bogies of 18448 Jagdalpur – Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express derailed at Kuneru Railway Station in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh late on Saturday night. The incident occurred at Rayagada – Vizianagaram section on Odisha – Andhra Pradesh border when the engine and 9 coaches including one passenger- cum- luggage coach, two ordinary second class coaches, four sleeper class coaches, one AC three tier coach and one AC two tier coach went off the track.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the loss of lives due to the derailment. “”My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones due to the derailment of Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Express. The tragedy is saddening. I pray for a speedy recovery of all those injured due to the train accident. The Railway Ministry is monitoring the situation very closely and is working to ensure quick rescue and relied operations,’’ the Prime Minister said.

Of the injured, seven are said to be in a critical condition and have been admitted to various hospitals. Those who had received simple injuries were discharged after first aid. Medical relief train was rushed to the site. A statement issued by the Ministry of Railways said ambulances were arranged to shift the injured to hospitals and National Disaster Relief Force unit was also rushed to the site.

Railways Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu has expressed profound grief over the loss of innocent lives and described it as a tragic and unfortunate accident. He announced an enhanced ex-gratia payment of Rs. 2 lakh for the kin of deceased persons, Rs. 50,000 for grievous injuries and Rs.25,000 in the case of simple injuries. He visited the site as well.

Statutory inquiry into this incident has been ordered to be conducted by Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), South Central Circle, Ram Kripal under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Earlier, Member Rolling Stock Railway Board Ravinder Gupta, Member Engineering Railway Board Aditya Kumar Mittal rushed to the site.

Stranded passengers of the affected trains were later cleared towards their respective destinations through the unaffected portion of the train from Kuneru to Bhubaneswar via Rayagada – Sambalpur and 13 buses for short distance destinations like Brahmapur, and Bhawanipatna. Due to this accident, the traffic on Rayagada – Vizianagaram Section has been affected and Railways had to divert, short-terminate and cancel certain trains passing through this Section which are being notified by the respective Zonal Railways.

Senior Railway officials including General Manager, East Coast Railway Shri Umesh Singh and Divisional Railway Manager, Waltair Division Chandralekha Mukherjee are camping at the site to monitor the relief and rescue operations. Helpline Numbers were setup at the important stations along the route of the train, the Ministry statement said. Vice President Hamid Ansari, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu have also expressed grief over the tragedy.”

“51P9W12HygL._SX315_BO1204203200_”” alt=””51P9W12HygL. SX315 BO1204203200 “” />The book “”MIDNIGHT’S FURIES — The Deadly Legacy Of India’s Partition”” dwells on the thinking and goings on in the minds of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan’s founder and Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Author Nisid Hajari is the Asia Editor of Bloomberg View whose painstaking research has facilitated putting into perspective the huge egos of Nehru and Jinnah which contributed in no small measure to the massacre of Hindus and Muslims.  Considering the trauma of partition, the attacks on Hindu settlements in Lahore and Muslim concentrated areas in Amritsar and Gurdaspur in Punjab were not only gruesome but blood curdling. The Quaid’s conspicuous absence at Pakistan’s first independence day celebrations had fuelled suspicion about his imminent demise. Meanwhile, a terribly unwell Quaid had been moved from Baluchistan to Quetta, the region’s capital. Liaqat Ali the Hyderabadi arrived to meet Jinnah and saw the anxiety on everyone’s face and compelled to return home empty handed.””It is a question of weeks”” Nehru wrote to Mountbatten on 23 August. Though no official announcement had been made about his deteriorating health, Doctors attending on Jinnah lamented that his smoke charred lungs had betrayed him at last. Before the inevitable, the Quaid had spent several weeks resting in the cool dry hills of Baluchistan as Karachi’s seaside heat was humid and wilting. When they returned to the government house, Jinnah abruptly dismissed his naval aide-de-camp. Looking back as the Quaid walked away, the aide-de-camp saw the frail form of Jinnah “”staggering towards his door.”” A few days later he and his entourage returned to Baluchistan to the old British Residency at Ziarat. Once again government business had to be conducted long distance. A succession of black dispatch boxes with the gold letters “”M.A.J,”” slowly made their way to him from Karachi. “”There is nothing wrong with me”” he protested to anyone who would care to listen including the London trained physician sent to examine him. Jinnah was 70 pounds in weight and his ashen complexion and shrunken frame told the Doctor otherwise. X-rays confirmed the diagnosis of tuberculosis. Two thirds of one lung seemed to be gone already, and a quarter of the other.  Jinnah forbade his doctors to reveal anything about his condition. “”I will tell the nation about the nature and gravity of my illness when I think it proper,”” the Quaid told everyone around him. Even when his Prime Minister Liaqat came to see him a few weeks later, the Quaid refused to admit he was dying. The members of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan involved in shuttle diplomacy in the region never once saw or spoke with Jinnah. In Kashmir the undeclared war between the two armies, no longer hidden behind Pakistan’s tribal proxies, continued on autopilot. Since May 1949 the two sides had pummelled each other with echoing artillery barrages. Indian and Pakistani troops battled fiercely for hilltops and ridges, and the front bulged and contracted. But neither side could land a decisive blow. By the end of July monsoon rains again made fighting difficult. Without Jinnah’s sanction, however, the Pakistanis seemed unable to commit themselves. Time had run out for Hyderabad amid threats that they would turn the area into a smoking wasteland if India attacked. The Razakar gangs had started marauding Hindu villages, dragging out Congress sympathisers and executing them. In one border crossing the Razakars sparked an hours long gun battle with Indian troops. The provocations gave the Indian leaders the excuse they needed. Nehru’s Home Minister Sardar Patel threatened to resign if the former did not order the Indian tanks to roll. As things were hotting up in Hyderabad, Nehru warned if Hyderabad tried to drag things out by involving the United Nations, “”We march.””  Around the same time amid great secrecy the Quaid in a new suit, tie and shoes was moved by stretcher in a Viking aircraft to Karachi. After spending an hour in the sweltering heat of the ambulance as his truck had broken down, he reached Government House. Whatever strength he had had ebbed away. Doctors tried to prop him up and tried to give him an injection but his veins collapsed. “”God willing you are going to live”” a Doctor told Jinnah at 9.50 PM. “”No I am not,”” Jinnah murmured. Half an hour later the Quaid was dead. No preparations had been made for his funeral. Jinnah was to be buried on the site of a planned mosque.  The author maintains there is little question that Jinnah was the most polarising figure in the partition drama. He is easy to blame. His forbidding personality made compromise difficult if not impossible. He was criminally negligent about thinking through the consequences of the demand for Pakistan. A vindictive streak ensured he was surrounded mostly by sycophants rather than independent minded subordinates who might have moderated his views.  Yet from the moment in 1937 that the Congress party rejected partnership with the Muslim League, Nehru — suave, sensitive, handsome — contributed nearly as much as Jinnah for the poisoning of the political atmosphere in the subcontinent. His attitude towards the Quaid — and by implication towards Jinnah’s millions of Muslim followers — was all too often arrogant and dismissive. Nehru misread he battle over Pakistan much as he later did the fight for Kashmir — as an ideological contest in which he and India were morally unimpeachable. For three decades before partition Nehru had seen himself as one of Gandhi’s non-violent warriors leading the assault on the British Empire. He did not seem to understand he was no longer battling a foreign power and that he needed to accommodate his countryman Jinnah as a statesman would: with pragmatism, generosity and an appreciation for the grey areas of diplomacy. Even now with Jinnah dead, Nehru would deliver one final blow in their decades long rivalry. As Pakistan’s founder was being laid to rest, Nehru gave his commanders the green light to advance into Hyderabad. India’s leaders were unsentimental about the passing away of their old adversary. Before dawn the next morning, Indian forces pierced Hyderabad’s borders at five different points. The Nizam’s forces held on for a little more than a hundred hours. India’s victory was too fast for the United Nations to even debate the matter, and it was total. Hyderabad’s quick collapse deeply rattled Pakistan. However emotionally devastating it had been to Nehru and Patel personally, the Mahatma’s assassination had not disrupted India’s political leadership. By contrast Jinnah’s death had left Pakistan confused and rudderless.Nehru’s long battle with Jinnah had ended. “”The rivalry they had bequeathed their nations, and the world, had barely begun.”” That is the hard reality which cannot be wished away. 

TR

(T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator.)
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Exiled Tibet spiritual leader and Nobel Laureate, the Dalai Lama has expressed the hope that the newly elected US president Donald Trump and the Russian President Vladimir Putin would come closer and work towards creating global peace. “”World is moving towards peace and non violence  as countries including Japan and  European Union are working towards peace and  nuclear disarmament as using force has become outdated worldwide.  

“”We should all develop inner value of compassion as all  religions in common teach us  cultivating love and compassion,  Although they advocate different philosophical views, their purpose is ultimately to support the practice of love and compassion. A third aspect is cultural and is often influenced by social customs. Where these are out of date, as gender bias and caste discrimination are today when everyone is considered equal, they should change. We need to focus on the oneness and equality of all human beings, recognising that thinking in terms of ‘us’ and ‘them’ leads to conflict,” he said wduring an interactive session organized by FICCI Ladies Organisation. 

He called for the need to develop compassion and warm-heartedness to survive in the increasingly inter-dependent world. Since women are more inclined to be compassionate, their role is more important in creating the more peaceful society that the world aspires to achieve, he said.

“The world today needs leaders with compassion as compassion towards others builds trust and loyalty. Women, biologically, are more sensitive towards others that means the world needs more women leaders. We must take steps wherever necessary to improve educational opportunities with emphasis on secularism and hygiene for all especially women so that everyone lives a healthy life,”” The Dalai Lama said. 

“”Peace was not something external to us. It was something within our hearts; that destructive emotions like anger disturb our peace of mind and distract our ability to judge right from wrong. Love and compassion—the essence of all major religious traditions—are fundamental to human happiness. What we need is an education in warm-heartedness. To make the world a more  peaceful place, peace in the world will only come about through inner peace, just as global disarmament will only be achieved by beginning with inner disarmament,’’ he added.”