1. society
2. unrest and war

THE TIMES
20
■
A T H O U G H T F O R TO DAY
A politician thinks of the next election.
A statesman, of the next generation.
JAMES FREEMAN CLARKE, American author
Sri Lanka prefers a politician over
a general for president
M
ahinda Rajapaksa seems headed for a second
consecutive term as president of Sri Lanka. That’s
not a bad outcome from the point of view of New
Delhi, which has a working relationship with him. The election, despite the acrimonious campaign, was a reasonably
successful affair with a high turnout of over 70 per cent.
Hopefully, the post-poll tension evident in the stand-off
between government forces and supporters of General
Sarath Fonseka, the opposition candidate, will not flare up.
Colombo needs political stability now to recover from the
scars of a three-decade-long civil war.
An element of drama was introduced into the presidential
election when Fonseka, who led the Sri Lankan armed forces
in the last phase of the war with the Tigers, entered the
contest as the candidate of a joint opposition including many
Tamil parties. That prevented a runaway win for Rajapaksa.
Both Rajapaksa and Fonseka are Sinhala nationalists who
have projected a unitary vision of Sri Lanka. Together they
won the war against the LTTE, but Colombo lost the support
of the international community due to well-documented
allegations of large-scale human rights violations against
the Tamils. Rajapaksa’s aggressive posture against the
international community’s views on the war helped him to
consolidate his position among the Sinhalese. General
Fonseka didn’t find favour with this section of voters to the
same extent. Clearly, Sri Lankans seem to credit the success
in the war to the civilian leadership. Fonseka may be a war
hero, but perhaps Sri Lankans are not yet convinced of his
credentials to head the government.
For New Delhi, the re-election of Rajapaksa will mean
continuity in the relations with Colombo. Bilateral ties have
been on the upswing in recent times and the two countries
must build on the relationship, especially on matters of
business and security affairs. New Delhi should also use its
working relationship with Rajapaksa to nudge him towards
a settlement of the Tamil issue.
The low turnout in Tamil areas – only 20 per cent of the
people voted – helped Rajapaksa extend his lead over
Fonseka. Interestingly, a poll boycott declared by the LTTE
had helped Rajapaksa in his first presidential election.
Now that Rajapaksa has won his gamble of an early election
and acquired political legitimacy, he needs to address Sri
Lanka’s deep social divide between Sinhalese and Tamils.
Besides relief and rehabilitation measures, Rajapaksa must
work out a political package of devolution of power to the
Tamils. Or else Sri Lanka’s political problem, of which the
civil war was the fallout, will remain.
Reading Bug
Jaipur literature festival
keeps getting bigger
T
he five-day Jaipur literature festival, which ended on
Monday, can claim to be not only the biggest such
event in Asia but also one of the prime attractions in
the world literary festival circuit. Over 200 authors, many of
them stars of the literary world, attended the event. In a very
short period the festival has become a huge crowd-puller,
drawing an estimated 30,000 people this year. It’s only right
that India, the fastest growing market for English language
titles, is playing host to such a significant international
literary event.
Unlike say the Frankfurt or Kolkata book fair, the Jaipur
festival is not about buying and selling. Though there were a
few bookstalls in Jaipur this year, it’s all about discussions
and conversations regarding books. Since entry to the
festival is free there is no bar on book lovers to walk in, listen
to discussions and then interact with their favourite
authors. From literary hotshots to children in school uniforms, they were all lapping up the fare at the festival. The
democratic ethos and mela-like atmosphere are what make
the Jaipur festival stand out. While there might not be much
by way of sales at the festival, if it helps in sparking interest
in books and writing it would have done its job.
The popularity of the festival is testimony to the growing
appetite for books in India. Though the market for books in
India has plenty of catching up to do with the US or the UK,
the number of titles being released by publishing houses in
India is a sure indication that demand is growing. This is of
course bound to happen as more and more Indians become
literate and catch the reading bug.
It is quite likely that while people will continue to read
they might not do so in the way we are used to. This was a subject that came up for discussion at the Jaipur festival. With
palm-held devices such as Amazon’s Kindle or its many competitors – which can electronically store up to 1,500 books –
flooding the market, over time a considerable number of people might switch from reading books the traditional way. As
of now the prices of these devices are high, but they will come
down when the market is big enough. These are changes that
publishers will have to take into account. But as long as the
habit of reading – whatever be the format – continues to
flourish, festivals such as Jaipur will be in business.
And The Winner Is…
Aneesh A
T
hey are out on the streets; they are in your homes; they
are inside airports; they have organisations fighting for
their rights; they have special clothes and toys designed
for them. And in some uber-affluent places, they have even
hotels exclusively for them. It’s very evident that a dog is man’s
best friend for a good reason. If my best friend fed me, clothed
me, pampered me, and picked up after me, i would stay loyal to
him forever too. And if you read sarcasm into this, it’s not
driven by any kind of hostility towards dogs. Canines and i
have had an understanding for the last two decades. I don’t
mess around with them and they don’t mess around with me.
However, what boggles my mind is people’s obsession with
making dogs more like humans. Recently, a good friend of mine
took her dog, Pebble, to a dog show. Pebble, whom she loves and
treats like a sibling, participated in a
number of ‘athletic’ events. He won gold ■ CANINE ■
medals in two events he had no idea he
CAPERS
was in and lost the coveted crown due to
one tiny mistake: he flinched and let out a bark when the judge
examined his genitals.
Now, i’m not quite sure how beauty pageants for humans
operate across the world. But if winning involves staying still
while the judge gropes you, i’d much rather not know.
Despite finding my views about mankind’s perverted dog
obsession abhorrent, my friend did agree that her dog was
very confused as to what was happening around him. He
merely did as he had been trained to do. As i was pondering
this, i saw something on TV that shed some light on the situation. It was a talent hunt for children, where kids as young as
seven or eight were dressed up in ridiculous outfits and
tonnes of make-up. They hopped around and did what they
had been trained to do while their owners – sorry, parents –
sat in the crowd smiling proudly. It was then i realised that
using other creatures to gain fame and money for ourselves is
part of human nature. There was no reason for me to feel awkward about it. What i had to do was embrace this trait. And
that’s why i have signed up my pet snail for the 100-metre dash
in the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
THE TIMES OF INDIA, BANGALORE
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2010
How To Be A Sport
■
Rajapaksa Wins
OF IDEAS
Let private entrepreneurs
rescue Indian hockey
Boria Majumdar
T
the 1976 summer Olympics, the FIH president
and other leading administrators realised the
impossibility of organising the Olympic hockey competition. None of the grounds picked as
possible venues was up to the mark. It was apparent the organisers weren’t capable of making the grounds fit for play in the fickle Canadian climate. So, Montreal’s mayor Drapeau
and the vice-president of the Montreal Olympics Organising Committee came up with the
idea of using an artificial turf pitch in place of
the traditional grass surface. This, it was suggested, would enable the tournament to go on
without hindrance.
The FIH, based on its president’s highly fa-
he entire country continues to watch in
horror as Indian hockey keeps plummeting to new lows with every passing
week. First, it was players revolting against
the powers-that-be, demanding better pay and
a graded system of payments. Now it is an
all-out war between former Olympian Pargat
Singh and Indian Olympic Association
(IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi. Amidst all
the mudslinging, one somewhat
ignored but profoundly important
comment had serious future ramifications for Indian hockey. It came
from the International Hockey
Federation vice-president, Antonio
Von Ondarza, who was to oversee
the February 7 elections – now deferred for overtly political reasons –
for control of Indian hockey.
In a recent public debate,
Ondarza threatened the players
and suggested that their strike
would find no sympathy among the
FIH rank and file and that they
would do well to get back to practice. Even Indian hockey officials
were uncomfortable with a comment that had a clear stamp of power written all over it. Made in the
run-up to the hockey federation
elections, it signalled a clear case of Wanted: A game changer
interference by FIH in the internal
matters of a country’s federation. More, it was vourable recommendation, consented in a few
a throwback to the 1970s when FIH president months to allow the tournament to be played
Rene Frank acted similarly, heralding an un- on artificial turf. India did not raise even a feeprecedented crisis in Indian hockey.
ble voice of protest. Having succeeded in gainThe striking similarity between the two ing control of the Indian Hockey Federation
cases isn’t mere coincidence. In the 1970s too, with the FIH’s full support, the administrators
Frank’s interference came at a time when two were in no mood to oppose the move even if it
factions in Indian hockey, led by M A M Ramas- spelt doom for India. Indian star Ajit Pal
wamy and Ashwini Kumar, were fighting for Singh’s statements about astro-turf being a
control over India’s national sport. In their de- “costly affair” fell on deaf ears. For the historisire to enlist the FIH’s support, Indian admin- an, the entire episode is a clue to the politics
istrators refused to protest the move to astro controlling Indian sport in the 1970s. Sadly,
turf before the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
nothing seems to have changed as shown by
During a visit to Montreal in 1973, venue of the current imbroglio.
EDIT PAGE MAILBOX
My Times My Voice
A temporary truce was recently arrived at
with the men’s team paid a crore at the initiative
of Kalmadi. But it was apparent this was at best
an ad hoc solution. First, this money can’t be
paid from Hockey India coffers. This explains
the latter’s inability to prevent the women’s
team from staging a revolt soon after. Again, the
question remains as to why our administrators
haven’t till date corporatised the sport of hockey,
sought sponsors, created stars out of the performers, injected value into the game and converted it into a profitable industry. The much-repeated argument that India’s poor performance
at the international level has pre-empted such an
attempt is not entirely correct. When the Indian
team won the gold at the Asian
Games in 1998, an opportunity presented itself to our administrators,
especially with cricket reeling under
the match-fixing scandal at the turn
of the millennium. But little was done
to take advantage of the situation.
Also of concern is the way the
current crisis has been handled.
There’s little doubt that pressure on
the national team has increased
with its demands fulfilled. A poor
performance in the forthcoming
world cup (if India is allowed to
compete, that is) and critics will be
out to label the players as overcome
by greed and lacking patriotism.
With India starting their campaign
against Pakistan at a time bilateral
relations have reached a new low,
the players could have done without this increased pressure.
The question foremost in the
minds of Indian sports enthusiasts is: what is the
way forward for Indian hockey? Are we to persist
with ad-hocism wherein states and corporates
when confronted with a crisis dole out funds as a
corrective? How long will former Olympians
and sports administrators indulge in mud-slinging on national television? Maybe it is time for us
to take a radical step and privatise the sport.
Many entrepreneurs are waiting to pick up the
baton and run with it – it is time we use their services. Indian hockey deserves much better than
what it gets at the moment.
The writer is senior research fellow, University of
Central Lancashire.
Netas in West Bengal
must change mindset
This is with reference to the article
‘Patriarch, Party, People’ by Surendra
Munshi (January 25). The writer has
written well not only about Jyoti Basu
but also the state of affairs in West
Bengal. The land of Tagore and
Vivekananda has degenerated into a
land of poor thinkers and
non-productive worker. The middle
class seems to have divorced itself
from politics. Bengal, with its
diversity, is a challenge to
administer. Politicians must show
statesmanship and put the state’s
interest above that of self or party.
This is not to comment on any
particular party, but to emphasize
the necessity of a change of mindset .
G V Sreedhar, VIA EMAIL
Introducing legal
reforms is a tough task
This is with reference to the article ‘Hold
them to account’ by Madhu Purnima
Kishwar (January 25), on how the rich
and powerful exploit the legal system in
connivance with lawyers. The colonial
system cannot be entirely blamed for
this. No system will work if it does not
imbibe spirit of jurisprudence. I don’t
know of any country where the judge
allows limitless adjournments. The
government has tried to introduce
reforms at least twice before, but
lawyers threatened to boycott courts.
Lionel Moss, VIA EMAIL
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NO. 116 VOL 26
Sonia Gandhi says criminals should be barred from fighting polls
Parties must now walk the talk
Innocent until proven guilty
onia Gandhi deserves to be lauded on legal provisions and fight polls. The
the sentiments she expressed on the other problem is that if a serving MP is
occasion of the Election Commission’s convicted, his tenure is not terminated.
diamond jubilee celebrations, that crimi- He is merely barred from standing in the
nals shouldn’t be allowed to contest elec- next elections.
tions. Such sentiments, however, have been
From a legal point of view, it may be
heard before, but few concrete measures difficult to plug these loopholes. But while
have been taken so far.
the courts might be bound by legal proviWe have in the current Lok Sabha 153 sions, parties are not. If one of their
MPs with criminal cases pending against members stands accused in a case, even if
them, 74 of them with serious
he has not been sentenced, they
■ T I M E S ■
charges such as murder and robmust take a judgement call on
bery. This disheartening situawhether or not he should be alV
I
E
W
tion will continue if the problem
lowed a ticket to contest on or to
is viewed entirely in legalistic terms. It is up finish his term.
to political parties to walk the talk and
Their instituting and enforcing a zeroimpose their own safeguards.
tolerance policy would be a far more effecAs it stands now, the law bars anybody tive way to clean up politics than dependwho has been convicted of a crime – and ing on the judicial system. The time when
sentenced to two years or more in prison – criminal elements could offer tangible
from standing in elections. But this is not benefits in the electoral process is fast
foolproof. For instance, if a politician is ending. Violence and booth-capturing are
sentenced to five years by a lower court, he at a minimum and voters are focusing on
can appeal in a higher one. As the sentence effective governance as never before. It is
is often suspended pending appeal, the pol- time the political parties showed they
itician can then use this stay to circumvent recognise this.
n an ideal world, political leaders be a moral imperative for action in any civilwouldn’t have criminal backgrounds. ised society, since guilt can’t be assumed
Nor would they generally be accused of without fair trial. Again, India’s judicial sysgrave crimes. But this isn’t an ideal world. tem is excruciatingly slow. Trial in a single
Else, the entire political class wouldn’t have court can be of long duration. A person can
been up in arms when certain election com- also appeal if convicted. Should accusations
missioners in the past tried to crack down on alone serve as disqualification, someone
money and muscle power in politics. If may have to wait years, even decades, for
today’s netas self-flagellate on the issue acquittal before he can launch or resume
periodically, they’re either doing PR exer- his political career. This is why, in some
cises or making a public display
cases, even when a candidate is
■ COUNTER ■
of naivete. Neither is necessary.
sentenced for over two years, he
As of now, people charged but not
may be allowed to contest
V
I
E
W
convicted of serious crimes can
polls, pending appeal, with a
Reema Maity
contest polls as well as hold high
suspended sentence.
office. For, the law debars only such candiThird, if mere taint suffices to debar
dates who have been convicted and sen- someone from poll contests or important
tenced with imprisonment of at least two posts, adversaries with axes to grind can get
years. To demand more – keep people out of false cases instituted against politicians,
political activity on mere implication in accusing them of serious crimes like rape,
criminal cases – is excessive.
kidnap or murder. Clearly, while crusading
Our justice system upholds the principle for clean politics, we must guard against the
of ‘innocent until proven guilty’. That ap- unintended victimisation of innocent peoplies to a suspected pickpocket as much as to ple. It’s true that politics has never been a
a murder accused. Whether or not it can be squeaky clean profession, but every trade
misused politically, this presumption must has its bad apples. Why single out politics?
S
■
E R R AT I C A ■
My Name Is Crater
Bachi Karkaria
D
I
on’t dismiss it as a loony idea, this
business of naming a moon crater
after the King Khan. It’s the most
fitting honour for a country that eats,
prays, loves and belches Bollywood. As in
any puja pandal, so in the multiplex pantheon, clear differentiators must set
apart the central deity from those of the
mere entourage. So, while lesser screen
gods are entitled to have a star-struck following, the supernovas must have nothing less than the moonstruck.
Indeed, Shah Rukh Khan fans, rotating insanely on their axis, might think
that a crater is a downright insult. Surely, the Badshah of Bollywood deserved a
lunar peak, if not the entire moon. Achha, this
is how humiliated that
fellow Amar Singh
must have felt when his
own idol, Amitabh
Bachchan, was made to
sit several rows behind
their hero at a film function in Dubai.
The International
Lunar Geographic Society may have acceded
to a ‘deluge of petitions’
when it coupled the crater with SRK, and created its own version
of ‘Rab ne Bana di Jodi’. But it isn’t going
to be a Sea of Tranquillity. The messy
business of ‘What’s in a name?’ has not
been adequately resolved ever since it
rose into public consciousness over 400
years ago. One man’s naming ceremony
is another man’s name-calling.
Already, the move has stirred up a
lunar storm over why this heart-throb
should have been thus honoured and not
the longer-running Big B. Some explanation could lie in Amit-ji having already
enjoyed the fruits of our demographic
dividend when, by overwhelming polling
demand, he was voted the BBC’s star of
the millennium. You don’t have to be a
mathematical genius to know that it’s
our numbers that count.
Badshah or Shahenshah, national
pride must override pettiness. Since
there is no power but soft power, and Bollywood is its profit, it is heresy to make it
lag behind Hollywood. If the latter is the
opiate of the masses wherever America
rules, Hindi movies are our LSD, Ecstasy
and Heroin No 1 as well. So, as space
scientist Mahank Vahia of TIFR diplomatically put it, ‘‘While it may not be too
appropriate to name (the crater) after
SRK, we are acknowledging that the
Indian film industry is getting the same
recognition as Hollywood.’’
This levels the lunar surface, and puts
Shah Rukh in the same league as Elvis
Presley, John Lennon and Michael
Jackson. To say nothing of Leonardo da
Vinci, Christopher Columbus and Jules
Vernes, in addition to our scientific trilogy of C V Raman, Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai. Thus you might say that
this is a small step for our man, but it is a
giant step for Bollywood. It calls for a
celebratory
Chaiyya
Chhaiya – on top of a
space shuttle.
But whadyouknow,
our hero has already
been there, done that
–even if this feat demands the elasticity of
imagination patented
by his industry. Remember, way back in
2001, SRK sat in a model
of the lunar vehicle
brought along to Mumbai by Eugene A Cernan, the last man to stand on the moon.
And weren’t large swathes of Swades
shot at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre?
Now that SRK has not just this crater,
but also a piece of the moon, bought for
and gifted to him by a besotted fan, he can
provide both to end a bigger controversy.
Since he has publicly stated that he felt
‘humiliated’ over being unable to bid for
Pakistani all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, he
could offer his lunar property for the next
IPL season.
Security would not be a concern up
there. And if hi-tech terrorists still manage to turn Aman Ki Asha into an Aman
Ki Smasha, it would provide us viewers
with Special FX more spectacular than
Star Wars. Howzzat?
* * *
Alec Smart said: ‘‘India should lead
the global fitness programme. See
what a fine constitution it has at 60.’’
[email protected]
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
erratica
■
SACRED
S PAC E
Connect With A Smile
Of Contentment
■
What’s The Purpose?
Each person comes
into this world with a
specific destiny.
He has something to
fulfil, some message to
be delivered, some work
to be completed. You are
not here accidentally; you
are here meaningfully.
There is a purpose
behind you. The whole
intends to do something
through you.
Osho
✥
The main purpose of
life is to live right, think
right, and act right.
The soul must languish
when we give all our
thought to the body.
M K Gandhi
✥
Life without a
purpose is a languid,
drifting thing; every
day we ought to review
our purpose, saying to
ourselves, ‘This day,
let me make a
sound beginning.’
Thomas Kempis
✥
Your soul mission
is your reason for being,
your life purpose. It’s
your calling in life – who
you feel called to be, what
you feel called to do.
Mission is an energy
that flows through
you – a drive, voice, or
passion that you cannot
ignore... It’s what you
know in your heart you
must live if you are to
experience inner peace
and harmony.
Alan Seale
✥
Cherish your visions
and your dreams as they
are the children of your
soul, the blueprints
of your ultimate
accomplishments.
Napoleon Hill
✥
Great minds have
purposes; others
have wishes.
Washington Irving
bounty of connecting to others
and finding contentment.
er smile beckons me; it is
At the other extreme, the
captivating, friendly and modern world is all set on a great
full of warmth. She cuts march to fulfil an ever-demandthe paddy stalks rhythmically ing cycle of needs. Rushing past
with the other womenfolk our fellow travellers, there is
labouring under the harsh after- forgetfulness in our behaviour,
noon sun. They giggle as i wave little attempt to connect, fear of
out to them and ask if i can join looking in the eye and displaying
them in their work. The woman feelings. But the deep reservoir
with the warm smile shyly of emotions within us is waiting
points out that such hard work is to connect. It is in anguish at
not for the likes of me. The rest not being able to express. And in
start laughing. I too join in the anguish, there is little scope for
laughter, in response to the contentment. Contentment besimple truth of my inability to comes most elusive, and ironiswiftly cut paddy stalks with cally becomes a never-ending
the sun burning my
search for all of us.
back. There’s so much
In
this
elusive
hard work, harsh cirsearch, several paths
cumstances, and little
are explored in the
leisure in this remote
hope to somersault into
tribal hamlet. Later she
a life of deep contentspeaks to me about her
ment. Whether or not
life cheerfully with
one makes it to that
no trace of the grim
point of bliss becomes
THE
circumstances that
inconsequential if it
engulf her. She con- ■ SPEAKING ■ means sidestepping
nects with a smile of
connectedness with
TREE
contentment.
fellow beings. For
Happy responses to life’s even if the need to connect for the
travails are confounding. Is this exalted soul becomes less impora mindset that has decided to tant, there are many who crave
quietly accept what life has to for a connection with another
offer as one’s destiny or a smiling being as a means to walking the
‘dare you’ to challenging circum- path of contentment.
stances? Surely it is the latter. In
It is said that all beings
each one of us is the innate desire are one, but that they manifest in
to connect to our circumstances, different forms, and scientific
share moments from our life studies have proven that life
with another and brave it out. forms of all kinds respond to
That is the inner core from where warmth and make an effort to
each one of us draws energy to connect. It must be this fundamental connectedness that
live life through hard times.
A smile reflects what’s inside beckons me to the warm smile of
us and communicates our desire a total stranger in a remote tribal
to experience connectedness hamlet. The lighting up of a
with another. Smiling at another face with an exuberant smile,
is a fleeting moment, but sub- the brushing aside of the daily
lime nevertheless. Contentment tirades of life and taking the
is a natural outcome of engaging circumstances as a given is
in such moments. Leading a nothing but the opening up of
meagre existence is not very our souls to the many opportuniappealing. Despite that, with ties of exulting in this moment of
few resources to indulge in mate- existence. Then why the search?
rialistic extravagances, there is Connecting with a smile is pera simple understanding among haps a way to finding ourselves
these people on the endless in a state of contentment.
Jyoti Desai
H