Govt softens stand on Northeast Act
In a significant move ahead of next week's talks, the Centre has expressed its willingness to accept the demand of a Manipuri group to lift the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act if all sections of the society agree to it.
A delegation of Apunba Lup, an amalgam of 32 social organisations in the state, will reach New Delhi on Monday to hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Shivraj Patil, sources said.
"The government will convey to them that it does not have a problem in accepting their demand for lifting of AFSPA. We are willing to do it if it is agreeable to all sections of the society," a source said.
The group has already held talks with Manipur Governor S S Sindhu and other senior government officials.
Also Read New Delhi Wake Up!!!!
Invading Pakistan?
Does India have any intention of assisting the US in invading and occupying Pakistan?
And should India be part of such an adventure?
What are the likely implications on India's security of such an action?
These are questions that would normally fall in the realm of scenario building and war gaming.
But according to a forthcoming book written by a well-connected American analyst, George Friedman, the US has plans ready to invade Northwest Pakistan, an area believed to be hosting the command centre of Al
Qaeda. What is more, if Pakistan collapses due to an invasion, the US and India will jointly have to occupy Pakistan.
In an interview, Friedman has said the recent incursions into Pakistani territory by US troops based in Afghanistan are part of exploratory missions. He also said the invasion of Pakistan by US troops has been delayed because of manpower shortages.
After the sensational disclosures made by Friedman, it is quite natural to ask whether India and the US are acting in concert and preparing a contingency plan to end the infrastructure of terror that exists in Pakistan.
While there is no doubt that the Americans have quite a few reservations about the way the Pakistanis are handling the presence of Al Qaeda and Taliban inside Pakistan, the possibility of an American invasion of Northwest Pakistan appears highly unlikely, at least at this point of time.
Had an American invasion been imminent, top US officials would not be heaping Pakistan's military dictator General Pervez Musharraf with encomiums.
Instead what we would have seen is relentless pressure on the general by the Americans to do more.
Is Musharraf a declining asset?
No doubt, at regular intervals senior officials of the US administration do make statements exhorting the Pakistanis to 'do more', but this is nowhere near the sort of pressure that the US would be imposing if they were about to launch a military operation against Pakistan.
As things stand, the US appears to have placed faith in Musharraf and are willing to go along with his calibrated strategy to wind up the Taliban and Al Qaeda bases inside Pakistan.
Equally important is the fact that while there has been a resurgence of Taliban activity in Afghanistan in the last one year, the Taliban insurgency has not attained a proportion that would force the Americans to widen the theatre of war to include Pakistan.
Hamid Mir on the US-Pak alliance
The question therefore is does such a plan actually exist? And if it does, is it merely an intellectual exercise or do the Americans intend to implement such a plan if things get out of control inside Afghanistan?
The preparation of a plan to invade Pakistan is something that cannot be ruled out. All serious countries work out various scenarios and try to fashion their responses to such scenarios.Therefore it is entirely possible that the Americans have actually conceived of a scenario in which they might have to intervene militarily in Pakistan.
Once such a scenario is built, a war game is built around it in which strategists try to work out the various permutations and combinations of what is likely to happen if indeed their country has to intervene militarily. So while it is entirely possible that such a plan has been drawn up, it is an entirely different issue whether or not the Americans ever intend to operationalise such a plan.
Moreover, the possibility of India acting in concert with America in such a plan could only be a calculation that was made while preparing the plan. Whether India has actually been consulted at the level of the government is still not clear.
What is more likely is that some Indian strategists would have been consulted to get an input as to how India would react if such an event ever took place. But it is highly unlikely that such consultation was with officials of the government who were acting in pursuit of the policy of the Government of India.There is little doubt that Pakistan has been a headache for India for many years. Ever since its birth, that country has not been able to reconcile itself to India's existence. For over twenty years now Pakistan has been waging a proxy war against India, first in Punjab and now in Jammu and Kashmir.
Thousands of innocent people have died, and thousands of crores of rupees have been spent by India to fight against Pakistani sponsored terrorism. On at least a few occasions India has even considered waging a war to rid itself of terrorism emanating from Pakistan. But despite the troubled relationship, India has so far at least never ever considered breaking Pakistan or occupying it or even forcing a regime change on that country. India has a problem with the principle of Partition (the two nation theory) but not with Partition itself.
Paradoxical though it may appear, the fact is that while Indian policymakers believe that Partition was a bad thing to happen, they are also convinced that Pakistan has been a blessing in disguise.
The last thing any sensible Indian policymaker would wish for today is the annulment of Partition. And occupying Pakistan, whether alone or in concert with the US, would lead to such an outcome.
What is worse, it will destabilise the entire region and the fallout on India would be unmanageable.
It is one thing to work out plausible scenarios on paper and build elegant operational plans around them. It is a different thing altogether to actually implement these plans. The real world is far more complex and throws up situations that could never ever be imagined in controlled war games. If things could go so horribly wrong in Iraq for the Americans, then Pakistan is hardly likely to be a cakewalk.
Of course, like in the case of Iraq, defeating Pakistan militarily would hardly be difficult for the Americans.
But the ability of either India or the US to handle the post-war situation is seriously doubtful. Pakistan might be a small country in comparison to India and the US. But on its own, Pakistan is a very large country with an impressive geographical spread as well as a population that is close to 150 million people. Controlling such a vast country would be close to impossible especially if the occupation is not popular among the people. And the fact remains that neither India nor the US will be very welcome in Pakistan.
Had the two countries built a political support base inside Pakistan, they might still have been in a position to impose a regime change inside Pakistan. But as things stand, they have no such political leverage that can be used. But other than the weak political position, there are other very crucial issues involved in any military adventure against Pakistan. Perhaps the most important issue is that of the nuclear weapons in that country. This one factor cannot ever be ignored.
There are some reports that the Americans have an effective control over the Pakistani nuclear arsenal and that they have the ability to take out Pakistan's nuclear assets within hours. But one can never be sure of the veracity of these reports and therefore to proceed on a game plan that is based on these reports would be a grave folly.
What if the Pakistanis have spirited away a few of their warheads and missiles to retaliate against exactly such a plan? This is a danger India simply cannot afford to take.
Apart from the nuclear weapons, Pakistan's large standing army cannot be wished away. Even if such an army is vanquished, there would remain hundreds and thousands of trained soldiers. What will the occupation forces do with them. If they are disbanded, then they will go out of control and create havoc. But if they are incorporated into the new political scheme, then what regime change will the entire adventure have brought about. After all, the Pakistan army has been the source of much that is wrong in that country. And therefore to defeat it on the battlefield only to bring it back to power through the backdoor defies logic and sense.
While it makes little sense at this point in time for India to participate in any American misadventure to destabilise Pakistan and perhaps undo it, India must nevertheless build scenarios and prepare itself for an eventuality where the US without even consulting or collaborating with India will launch an operation against Pakistan. Such an operation would almost inevitably destabilise Pakistan.
India must start thinking how it will handle the fallout of such an action by the Americans. But other than Americans destabilising Pakistan, there is also the possibility of Pakistan imploding from within. The question India policymakers need to ask themselves is how they will handle the fallout of such an event.
It is entirely possible that neither of the two events mentioned above ever happen. But India must have some gameplan ready for the handling such eventualities. This is an exercise any serious country must do.
Are we now a nation of shameless people?
India is a meaningless mass of amorphous humanity:' Oswald Spangler, The Decline of the West
A few days ago when a group of 16 Pakistani journalists visited the Jammu camp of Kashmiri Pandit refugees from the valley, there were unruly scenes. Many victims of terrorist violence begged the Pakistani journalists to ask their country to stop the violence and help them return to their homes.
The reaction of the visiting Pakistani journalists is not known but it ought to make every single of the one billion plus Indians hang their heads in shame. Here is a peaceful community of over 300,000, that was driven out of their ancestral homes 14 years ago and have been living in pathetic conditions for all of those 14 years. What was the 'crime' of these people other than the fact that they practiced a religion different from the majority? Did they commit any atrocity against the majority?
True, Kashmiri Pandits are not the only such unfortunate people. Palestinians have been enduring this for the last 57 years! But there is a crucial difference, the plight of Palestinians is recognised by the entire world. India, as the self appointed 'mukhiya' [leader] of the Non Aligned countries, has been championing their cause. But 'we the people of a secular, democratic and socialist Republic of India' have resolutely and totally put them out of sight and out of mind.
The Kashmiri Pandit exodus took place in the early 1990s. Since then we have had six prime ministers -- from V P Singh to Manmohan Singh, and three different parties have ruled India, including the ostensibly 'Hindu Nationalist' Bharatiya Janata Party. Yet all of them have ignored the plight of the Pandits and did nothing to end their suffering.
The ever so alert judiciary that intervenes in issues ranging from the use of CNG in Delhi, to pollution, to even the selection of hockey teams, does not look at the fate of 300,000 Indian citizens who have been denied their basic rights guaranteed under the Constitution. What stopped the Honourable Lordships from taking a suo moto cognisance of this injustice?
The sad plight of Pandits has also not touched the conscience of the ever so sensitive 'human rights' groups in India. The Teesta Setalvads and Javed Anands, the Medha Patkars or Arundhati Roys of this world have been deafeningly silent on this issue. There are no street plays, no documentaries or painting exhibitions on the sad state of these 300,000 Indians. The news media, both print and television, have shown no inclination to highlight their cause.
The political parties, government machinery, judiciary, media and the NGOs, have all failed to fight for the cause of these hapless people. The people at large have been apathetic. In no elections was this ever made an issue by any party. The common refrain seems 'how does it bother me!.'
Indians as a people have a short historical memory. It is precisely this attitude that helped the British gobble up the whole country, one region at a time. Thus while Robert Clive was busy finishing off Siraj-ud-Daulah in Bengal, Shah Shuja in Awadh was least concerned, till the British did not turn against him. In 1799, the Marathas watched the British under Duke of Wellington decimate Tipu Sultan, knowing fully well that it would be their turn next. After 150 years of slavery, nothing seems to have changed in this land of Bharatvarsha.
As a former soldier I feel ashamed that with the world's third largest army, we are unable to ensure the safety and security of our own citizens.
Has India reached that advanced stage of decay that we are now a nation of shameless people?
Kashmir is not the core issue, says India
India on Sunday rejected Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's contention that the joint statement issued after he met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Islamabad in January made any reference to Jammu and Kashmir as a 'central' or 'core issue'.
"There is no reference (in the joint statement) to any so-called central or core issue, but to addressing all bilateral issues, including J&K," the External Affairs Ministry said.
While addressing the India Today conclave via satellite last night, Musharraf had contended that there was a marked change in India, which had accepted Pakistan as one of the parties to the 'dispute' and that New Delhi had agreed on the centrality of the J&K issue in the joint statement.
"We have carefully examined the comments made by the Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf yesterday. The language of the January 6 Islamabad joint press statement is clear and unambiguous. It delineates how the process has to be sustained and taken forward. Violence, hostility and terrorism must be prevented," the MEA said in a statement.
It said the Pakistan president had reassured Vajpayee that he would not permit territory under Pakistan's control to be used to support terrorism in any manner.
"Any unilateral interpretation of the joint press statement is not conducive to building trust, taking the process forward; nor is public rhetoric, which is also contrary to the understandings and restraints observed since January," the ministry said.
India also charged him with 'double standards' in describing the recent violent attack on him as 'terrorism' while strikes on J&K assembly and bid on the life of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as a 'freedom fight'. "These are clearly not tenable," the statement said.
To Musharraf's assertion that confidence-building measures have to move in tandem with the resolution of the J&K issue, the statement said, "The reality of the vast goodwill among the people of the two countries, clearly manifested today, and being further consolidated through the CBMs, needs to be acknowledged and built upon.
"Contrary efforts would not be in keeping with the sentiments of the people in both the countries," the statement said.
It said India is determined to continue with the process initiated by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in April last year, and on the basis of the framework agreed upon.
Indo-US Cooperation reaches new heights
Indo-US defence relations are set to take a giant leap forward in coming days, in the wake of the first joint combat exercise between the two nations in 40 years. The exercises were held in Gwalior last month.
According to documents (of which rediff.com has copies), defence cooperation between the two nations is making unprecedented strides. These include the American navy possibly placing a ship repair unit in Kochi, cooperation in military medicine, a regional HIV/AIDS prevention programme and adoption of several US principles and practices in new Indian military establishments including the National Defence University that is being set up.
The US Central Command, which covers Pakistan and regions that are of vital interest to India, will open its doors to India. The Indian Army chief is already making a historic visit to the Central Command (India is covered by the Pacific Command). There will be regular interaction between India's Integrated Defence Staff office and its Central Command counterpart over the coming days.
The moot question is: how far will the cooperation go?
In the long run, if the relationship between the two nations continues to develop at the present rate, officials on both sides say the Indian military will see a visible and lasting American influence, including the adoption of US tri-service doctrines.
According to sources, the 7th Fleet of the US Navy is keen on maintaining a mobile ship repair unit in Kochi, Kerala. This will help it meet any eventuality in the entire Gulf region and most of the Indian Ocean, where a large number of US ships are participating in operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. If the proposal works out, it will be the first time the US military finds a permanent foothold on Indian shores.
Says a senior Indian Navy officer, "Don't look at it as such a strategic jump. It will definitely bring in a lot of money to our dockyard."
In the coming days, the increased cooperation will be visible in several other aspects that have remained unexplored till now, say officials.
After several years of complaining that it was dealing with the Pacific Command while all the countries of its strategic interest, including Pakistan, were in the Central Command's sphere of influence, the Indian military is getting access to the latter. Senior and middle level officers of the Integrated Defence Staff have visited the Central Command in the last couple of years. Now, Army chief General Nirmal Chand Vij is paying an official visit to the Central Command.
According to a US official, India's Net Assessment office (which studies long term strategic issues; the US has one as well) and the Indian National Defence University are receiving inputs from the US military in doctrinal matters. America is acknowledged to have one of the world's most developed defence universities and Net Assessment office.
India's Joint Staff, says the US official, is taking the lead in "exchanges of ideas and planned visits of IDS personnel to US institutions" for cooperation on "tri-service institutions, military planning and tri-service doctrine."
India's Integrated Defence Staff will also co-host the Pacific Command's Multilateral Platoon Augmentation Team-07 exercise series in August. The US joint staff will continue to sponsor expert visits by officers from India's joint defence staff to various US military installations, including their key policy centres and joint training institutions. These visits will help the Indian military "gain lessons on joint-ness, which can be incorporated into India's nascent joint staff system," says the US officer.
From a military that is largely influenced by the colonial era, operates Russian systems and has mixed doctrines, the future Indian military could look more like an American one. He says India's dream of creating tri-service commands and unified war theatres of battle is "drawing heavily" from US doctrines.
Also in the planning stage is a regional HIV/AIDS cooperation programme between the Indian military, the Pacific Command's Centre of Excellence and the US Surgeon's Office.
The Navy will hold the annual Malabar series, the anti-submarine warfare exercise held jointly with the US, subject matter expert exchanges, port visits by ships from both sides and high level visits. Besides, the two sides will also have explosive ordnance disposal exercises and officer educational exchange programmes.
If the Gwalior exercise was a significant stride for the Air Force, bigger ones are on its way. The IAF will be sending its Jaguar fighters to participate in Cooperative Cope Thunder in Alaska in July. This exercise is hosted by the US and attended by NATO members and some of America's close allies. India's active participation for the first time signals its growing closeness to the Pentagon.
The US and Indian air forces are also exploring combined opportunities with Army, Navy and Special Forces (commando teams that are part of the Army, Navy and Air Force) to take the bilateral exercises to a notch higher. There will also be more officer exchanges between the two forces, say sources. Since 2002, the two sides have renewed the instructor pilot exchange programme, under which an Indian pilot instructor goes to US and an American pilot instructor comes to stay in Hyderabad to teach the Indian rookie pilots.
The two armies, which are already holding four field exercises per year, will also intensify their cooperation.
But the most vibrant cooperation is taking place between the Special Forces of the two countries. The commandos from both nations hold quarterly exercises, while the Special Forces of the Army and Navy hold separate exercises. During exercises in the recent past, India got to use several American equipment, over two dozen of which are now on India's shopping list. Sources say India has sought the supply of these items through the Foreign Military Sale route, which means it will get the equipment at the same rate as the US military.
"The more we exercise together, the greater the rationale on both sides for providing India access to weapons, communication, doctrine and other technologies," says a US official.
"Military cooperation remains one of the most vibrant, visible, and pro-active legs powering the transformation of US-India relations. There is a growing desire to expand defence cooperation. This is clear from the growing frequency of training exercises, seminars, personnel exchanges, senior visits, functional visits, unit/ship visit, and the existing and developing US-India military relationships that have emerged over the past three years," he adds.
This cooperation is based on the 1995 Agreed Minute on Defence Cooperation, which is designed to promote mutual understanding, familiarisation and confidence-building through exercises, exchange of doctrines, high-level visits, courses, seminars and a focus on areas of mutual interest.
US funding for military education and training of Indian officials in the financial year 2003-2004 was $1 million, the highest amount ever. Thirty-seven Indian officers trained in the US during this period. The allocation for the coming financial year is expected to be around $1.2 million. During 2003-2004, the US also coordinated the visits of more than 200 Indian military officers for conferences, again a record high.
The American side has also given India $800,000 to help improve its peacekeeping skills. This amount will be utilised to provide training, support US sponsored peacekeeping seminars and procure library sources and other material. India has already used half this amount, say sources.
"A generation of Indian officers -- more numbers when compared to the past -- are growing up exposed to US military values and doctrines. Is that good? It is definitely not very damaging," says a senior Indian military officer.
The officer adds that the two nations even cooperate in the area of intelligence sharing. "Who could have imagined such cooperation a decade ago?" he asks. The first chief of India's Defence Intelligence Agency has visited the US twice, and there are regular contacts between the two sides.
The two nations are also cooperating in missile defence programmes. Several rounds of consultations and visits are already over and a missile defence workshop is expected to be held in New Delhi this year.
"There are several areas of mutual interest and the changing scenario, post-9/11, is helping shape the emerging Indo-US defence relationship. There isn't any visible immediate threat to the growth," says an Indian official, adding, "However, there are seeds of distant conflicts of interests, especially in the way the US has deployed its military in Asia in recent times."
This is a real concern and is shared even at the highest levels of Indian government. During the last commander's conference in New Delhi, the three service chiefs held a close-door briefing for Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his senior cabinet colleagues on the US military
China won't give refuge to anti-India militants
China on Thursday assured India that it will not allow its territory to be used by anybody for activities against other countries.
Beijing's statement came in response to New Delhi drawing the attention of its embassy in Delhi to media reports about the United Liberation Front of Assam requesting the Chinese government for safe passage for its members seeking to escape the mopping up operations by the Royal Bhutan Army.
Meanwhile, revving up further the combing operations against anti-India insurgents, the Royal Bhutan Army has fanned out in the jungles of the Himalayan kingdom building up further pressure on the beleaguered militants to give up.
So far over 200 militants, who have either been captured or surrendered, have been handed over to the Indian authorities by the RBA. The RBA has also handed over 37 women and 27 children who are now being held in custody, official sources said in Guwahati on Thursday.
The Indian Army and police are jointly patrolling the Indo-Bhutan border areas to nab those sneaking into Assam.
Center okays security plan for Golden Quadrilateral Project
The Patna high court on Wednesday closed the case relating to the security for Golden Quadrilateral Road Project after the Union government expressed satisfaction over the 'dedicated security plan' submitted by the Bihar government.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by advocate M P Gupta alleging that the murder of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) project manager Satyendra Dubey, who had blown the whistle on corruption in the project, and constant threat of extortion from criminal gangs had jeopardised the project. He prayed for adequate security from the state government.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ravi S Dhavan and Justice Shashank Kumar Singh observed that since the Centre was satisfied with the security arrangements for smooth completion of the road project there was no need for the court to monitor it and consigned the case.
Union government counsel Ajay Tripathi filed two affidavits on behalf of the Union Home Secretary and Secretary, Union Surface Transport Ministry saying a team of experts had 'tested Bihar government's dedicated security plan on the ground' and endorsed it with a few suggestions. He, however, did not divulge what those suggestions were.
The judges instructed the state government to act on the suggestions and closed the matter. State Home Commissioner B K Haldar and Inspector General of Police (Patna) A C Verma were present in the court.
Earlier on February 19, Additional Solicitor General Nageshwar Rao had personally appeared in the court to file affidavits on behalf of the Centre but the court had adjourned the matter till March 3, as Justice Singh was absent on that day.
Goans oppose foreigners running shacks
Even as India is celebrating the success of those who migrated to foreign countries, some Goans are complaining that foreigners are eating into their businesses.
Foreigners who operate/own shacks and restaurants along the Baga-Anjuna coastline say they are being victimised by locals jealous of their success.
A few weeks ago, the Anjuna Panchayat passed a resolution declaring that it would not issue No Objection Certificates to foreigners seeking to run shacks along the coastline, saying locals would be robbed of business during the peak tourist season.
A visit to the coast, however, reveals that not all locals have a problem with foreigners owning businesses.
"We have our own regular customers and we don't have to depend on the foreign tourists who come during the peak season. If any foreigner wants to try his hand at Goan cuisine, he is free to do so," says Vivendra Karekar, manager of a beachside restaurant.
Some foreign nationals, who came to Goa with the intention of settling down, however, say there is nothing wrong with their setting up businesses on the coast.
"We run these shacks legitimately and there is no reason to allege that we are doing so illegally," says one such shack owner, on condition of anonymity. He, however, refused to say anything further.
The state government has, however, categorically stated that while it welcomed foreign investment in the tourism sector, the smaller businesses of shacks and restaurants should be left to the locals.
Jammu & Kashmir's latest legislation: As perverse as its roots
March 7 was International Women's Day. In a tragic irony, however, screaming newspaper headlines on the next day pointed to what amounted to a rape of women's rights in our very own Jammu and Kashmir.
The state assembly's passage of the Permanent Residents (Disqualification) Bill two days earlier had aroused such a national outcry that the country's prime minister, no less, was compelled to phone J&K's chief minister to urge a rethink and resolve the burning issue instead of allowing it to be fanned further.
Sonia Gandhi too reacted angrily, dashing off a letter to the state's CM that 'the Bill curtails the rights of women' and should be deferred, although, in another irony, her party had, as a coalition partner of the Mufti Mohammed Sayeed government, supported the Bill in the state assembly. This action of the Congress president was pathetic considering that her party has more seats in the assembly than the Mufti's party; clearly, the famous Congress high command is not in close touch with its state leaders and the latter don't care to consult it even on sensitive, volatile issues such as women's rights.
To complete the irony, the subject Bill was the child of the Mufti's People's Democratic Party that is headed by a woman.
As happens often enough in India with regard to legal matters, there was a fair amount of confusion over the exact contents of the Bill. It was initially put out by newspapers that those J&K women who enjoyed the special rights of 'permanent residents' (of which more anon), of the state would be deprived by the Bill of all of them, including the right to immovable property, if they married men from outside the state.
However, Mangat Ram Sharma, a Congressman and deputy chief minister of J&K, asserted that a woman marrying a non 'permanent resident' would nonetheless inherit the property as per the personal law of her religion. (The Hindu, March 9). Mehbooba Mufti, the chief minister's daughter and president of his party, added to the confusion by stating 'A girl marrying outside the state does not lose her rights. She will continue to inherit property. The only thing is that she cannot transfer it (property) or sell it to a person outside the state, including to her husband.' (The Asian Age, March 10).
Whatever the truth and whatever the spin that some J&K legislators may be attempting to put on it, the Bill they have passed undoubtedly seeks to diminish the rights that the state's women enjoyed earlier. And it's a detestable diminution all right. That fact and the complex business of 'permanent residents' evoked comments that reflected pique and perplexity in equal measure.
Thus, in its first editorial of March 8, The Asian Age wrote, 'Since the reasoning behind the legislation is all so confusing and warped, inconsistencies follow -- why should property and inheritance be linked to marriage is baffling indeed, especially since the matter is supposed to be resolved within the ambit of the Indian Union.' Now that comment is true of 27 out of the 28 states and of the seven Union Territories that constitute the Indian Union. But it's just not true of the 28th state -- the state of Jammu and Kashmir that has always demanded for itself 'a special status' and been granted it by all governments in Delhi from 1950 onwards -- and never mind if the state is always begging for alms from the national exchequer.
Indeed, the roots of the perversity of J&K's latest legislation as well as of the dangerous distortions of the past lie in that 'special status,' in the fact that J&K is the only state to have its own constitution which, moreover, has the protection of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.
Section 6 of the J&K State Constitution (which came into full effect from January 26 1957) creates a special category of citizens called 'permanent residents' and defines severe qualifications aimed at limiting that elite class. Section 9 of the state constitution empowers the J&K legislature to make laws i. altering the definition of a 'pr' ii. conferring on 'prs' any special rights or privileges and iii. regulating or modifying any special rights or privileges enjoyed by 'prs.' It is this last clause which the latest Bill has exploited to take away from married women the 'pr' rights of property they earlier enjoyed when not married. The latest Bill is perverse, yes, but it is legally valid because, it has also been passed, not by a simple majority, but, as mandated by Section 9, by not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House.
Although the above provisions of the J&K constitution represent a blatant violation of the fundamental right of equality enshrined in the Indian Constitution, Article 370 of the latter document was used 50 years ago to condone and protect all such violations.
By just one clause in the Presidential Order issued under Article 370 on May 12, 1954, it was ordained that notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Constitution, no law i. altering the definition of J&K's 'prs' or ii. conferring special rights on them or iii. imposing restrictions on other persons (i e those who are not 'prs') shall be held to be void on the ground that it abridges or takes away the rights of other citizens of India.
Thus, even a state scholarship is legally denied to a non 'pr.' And Arvind Datar, a senior counsel, points out the case of one Bachan Lal Kalgotra that went up to the Supreme Court in 1987. It seems that Mr Kalgotra, a Hindu, left Pakistan in 1947 and migrated to J&K. In course of time, he obtained citizenship of India and, until 1987, he had lived in J&K for 40 years. However, under the pernicious definition of 'permanent resident,' he, although a citizen of India, suffered the following disabilities in J&K:
This inhuman denial, mind you, even to an Indian citizen who had lived as a non 'pr' in J&K for 40 years! In what constitutes a shameful commentary on our democratic pretensions and a mockery of the ruckus raised by our mushrooming human rights activists in recent years, the Supreme Court of India cited the blanket exemption given by the above clause in the Presidential Order under Article 370 to plead its inability to redress the deprivations inflicted on Mr Kalgotra and thousands of other non 'prs' of J&K.
The latest rape of married women's rights in J&K is thus only an addition to the long list of perversities brought on this nation by the use of Article 370 which, in short, enables the President of India, acting on the advice of his council of ministers in Delhi, to pamper the ego of the J&K state by exempting it from, or modifying for it, many legal and constitutional obligations set out for the rest of the country.
For example, it's through the means of Article 370 that among the dozens of laws of Parliament which are not applicable to J&K are Indian Penal Code, 1860, Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988; and if you've at any time wondered why CBI has never been entrusted with a single case from J&K, it is because the rules regarding that topmost investigating agency are simply not applicable to that state. Similarly, several provisions of the Indian Constitution have been modified or excluded in their applicability to J&K.
This 'special status' to J&K is why M P Jain, a constitutional authority, has, on page 434 of his book Indian Constitutional Law (Wadhwa & Company, Nagpur, 4th edition reprint, 2002), concluded that 'the State (J&K) has a much greater measure of autonomy and power than enjoyed by other States and Centre's jurisdiction within the State is much more limited than what it has in respect to other States' -- a fact that ignoramuses overlook when they empathise with J&K rulers' demands for greater autonomy, and react violently to demands for abrogation of Article 370. And, yes, because no government has had the spine to remove it, Article 370 has remained as 'Temporary' in our Constitution since its inception on January 26, 1950.
Don't be at all surprised then if the J&K legislative council, where the Bill now lies, passes it with impunity. It will be just one more time that the most arrogant state in the country cocks a snook at the whole nation.
Jammu & Kashmir: Marry an outsider, lose all rights
The Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly has endorsed a long-standing practice whereby the women of the state loose their permanent resident status and right to own and inherit property in the state after marriage to a non-local.
But at the cost of inviting the ire of women.
Dr Susheela Sawhney had challenged this practice, which is backed by notification No 1-L/84 dated April 20, 1927 on the Permanent Resident/State Subject issue.
The high court ruled that there is no provision in the existing laws to deal with the status of a female permanent resident who marries a non-permanent resident but added that the state legislature is empowered under Section 8 of the J&K Constitution to convert notification No 1-L/84 into a law.
The order had raked up a public debate and a political controversy with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) being criticised for not helping maintain the state's autonomy by converting notification into a law.
Subsequently, Minister for Law & Parliamentary Affairs Muzaffar Hussain Baig consulted legislators from various political parties, including the National Conference and Communist Party of India-Marxist and drafted legislation on Thursday evening. He tabled it in the lower house on Friday. The House unanimously passed the Permanent Resident (Disqualification) Bill, 2004.
The law minister, however, clarified that the proposed law does not alter the legal position of female descendents of permanent residents in the matter in heritance, which will continue to be in accordance with the relevant personal laws.
He said the introduction of the bill was necessitated by the high court judgement, which protects the status of permanent woman residents of the state even after their marriage to non-permanent residents.
The Bharatiya Janata Party described the state government's move as 'anti-woman. On Sunday, party president M Venkaiah Naidu said, "It is unfortunate that a party led by a woman (Congress, which is part of the ruling coalition in J&K) is supporting such a law and thus repeating its performance in the Shah Bano case. We hope that all well-meaning people, including the Left parties supporting the government and the so-called progressive women's organisations who miss no opportunity to attack us on women's issues, would make their stand clear on this law."
The point seems to have hit home. "We don't agree with the J&K unit of the party on this issue. Therefore, We will give necessary directive to see that it is changed," party spokesman S Jaipal Reddy told reporters in Delhi.
Expressing concern over the development, he insisted the party had always been in favour of protecting woman's rights at all costs.
Though the Constitution in J&K is slightly different from that of rest of India, Reddy said the party would take all steps to protect rights of woman in the state.
The All India Democratic Women's Association has described the new legislation as 'discriminatory'.
"There is no doubt a need to protect the demographic profile of the state, but this cannot and should not be done through the enactment of a highly discriminatory law against women," said AIDWA general secretary Brinda Karat.
In a statement in Delhi, Karat said the progeny of such marriages is also being discriminated against under the new law. She pointed out that the Act has no provision for women who may be deserted after such a marriage or widowed.
Kashmiri Pandits said the legislation amounts to treating the state as an entity separate from the country. "The move indicates that Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government is trying to implement its hidden agenda," Kashmiri Samiti president Sunil Shakdher told PTI in Delhi. He insisted the step would mainly affect Kashmiri Pandits who have been forced out of the valley and 'have lost domicile rights'.
The All India Kashmiri Samaj termed the move as a 'sinister design' of the J&K government to 'deprive' Pandit women of their constitutional rights. Samaj president M K Kaw said the community leaders would raise the issue with President A P J Abdul Kalam.
An Indian on moon in 20 years?
When an American man steps onto the moon again in another 20 years, will an Indian be with him?
Indian Space Research Organisation's new chairman G Madhavan Nair does not rule out the possibility.
US President George W Bush recently announced that his government is thinking of organising another manned mission to the moon within the next two decades. "If there are any useful scientific experiments which can be beneficial to us, we will participate," said Nair, rather guardedly, in an exclusive interview with rediff.com.
The issue would be discussed with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officials at a joint Indo-US workshop in Bangalore in June this year on peaceful exploration of space and on areas of scientific and business cooperation.
Meanwhile, Nair prefers to focus attention on Chandrayaan-1, India's own scientific mission to the Moon. "We have room for a 15-20kg article in the proposed spacecraft. This could be offered to other space agencies," he says referring to the possibility of international involvement in the mission. "There are some proposals from other countries but the final selection of the payload will be made after a detailed evaluation, including the extent to which it can complement India's own scientific objective."
Chandrayaan will be an unmanned space mission. "It has been conceptualised by Indian scientists and engineers and will be implemented as a national programme," says Nair. "In this context, we will consider the US offer to cooperate in the arena of civilian space research."
Chandrayaan is estimated to cost Rs 386crore. "This includes Rs 100crore for establishing a Deep Space Network Station at Bangalore, which will be a major scientific asset for future space exploration missions. The rest will go towards building a launch vehicle, a spacecraft and development of scientific instruments and some new technologies."
It is a multi institution project. "ISRO will be responsible for the launch vehicle, the spacecraft and the Deep Space Network Station. The development of scientific instruments will involve other R&D institutions in the country."
The chosen launch vehicle for Chandrayaan is the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. If its upper stage is modified to accommodate about 2,200 kg of propellant, it can easily send a 530kg spacecraft on a fly-by mission or launch a 350kg spacecraft into orbit around the moon.
ISRO's latest generation satellite launcher, the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), can send an 850-950kg spacecraft on a fly-by mission to the moon or place a 600kg spacecraft in orbit around the moon, after incorporating a Trans Lunar Injection stage with 3,400kg of propellant.
India would then be the fourth country after the United States, Russia and Japan to send a spacecraft to the moon. While the scientific value of another mission to the moon might be limited considering that probes have been exploring Earth's satellite since the 1950s, the mission would undoubtedly be a landmark for India's engineers.
Former ISRO chairman U R Rao favoured a manned space flight whereas Nair's immediate predecessor Dr K Kasturirangan maintained that, at this juncture, it would be a waste of resources.
"Since its inception, the Indian space programme's primarily objective has been to use space technology for national developmental tasks such as communication, broadcasting, meteorology and survey of resources," says Nair.
"However, over the years, India has established certain capabilities in launching spacecraft, building earth observation satellites, mission, management, etc. It is now proposed that these be now used for undertaking a scientific mission to the Moon, observe the solar system and other galaxies."
"There is no immediate plan for undertaking a manned space mission. But the GSLV Mark III, which is under development, can place a payload of up to 4tonne in a geo-stationary orbit. It can also place a 10tonne module in a lower orbit, which is sufficient to undertake a manned mission.
"However, a manned mission involves design and development of life support systems, launch and recovery technology to ensure a safe passage to space and back, which are very expensive."
India aims to fly hypersonic plane in 2007
Indian defence scientists are aiming to build a plane designed to cruise at speeds three times faster than existing fighter aircraft while consuming less fuel.
The Hyderabad-based Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) is building an 8metre technology demonstrator, which will be powered by a supersonic combustion ramjet (Scramjet) engine that takes oxygen from the atmosphere and burns liquid hydrogen.
"The ground tests of the engine would begin in 2005 and we aim to fly the unmanned aircraft in 2007," DRDL Director Prahlada told PTI in Bangalore.
The aircraft would be built in India's aviation capital, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. It would be a high speed transport aircraft with an engine that does not have a compressor or a turbine.
"The scramjet engine takes in oxygen from the atmosphere, liquefies it and uses it for the cryogenic engine, improving the efficiency of the plane by several factors because the weight of the fuel, particularly for long distances, constitutes around 70 per cent of the total weight of the aircraft," officials said.
The technology demonstrator would be a precursor to President A P J Abdul Kalam's dream project and DRDO's Aerobic Vehicle for Hypersonic Aerospace Transportation (AVATAR).
India has achieved considerable progress in the air breathing engine technology (ramjet) at sub-sonic speed in its surface-to-air Akash missile programme, but is yet to master the technology at supersonic speed of up to Mach 7 (speed of sound is referred to as Mach). "We are improving on our expertise in air breathing engine technology and it would be used in an unmanned aircraft," Prahlada said.
Incidentally, the country is in race with the US, Japan, Russia and China to build a hypersonic plane which is expected to revolutionise low cost space travel. The Indian Space Research Organisation has begun conceptual studies to build and launch a reusable launch vehicle using air-breathing technology by 2015, he said.
DRDL is jointly working with academic institutions, including the IITs and the Indian Institute of Science, besides collaborating with the Mishra Dathu Nigam (Midani) to develop high temperature Nickel-Cobalt alloys and carbon composite materials, which could withstand heat during high-speed flight of the hyper plane.
Females continue to outnumber males in Kerala
Kerala continues to be the only state in the country where women outnumber men with 1,058 females per 1,000 males.
The population of the state stood at 3,18,41,374 (1,54,68,614 males and 1,63,72,760 females) as on March 2001 with the most populous district being Malappuram with 36,25,471 persons.
In 1991, the population of the state was 2,90,98,518.
The state witnessed the lowest growth-rate of 9.4 per cent during 1991-2001 among the states in the country and it was the second lowest growth rate recorded over 100 years, the first being 9.16 per cent recorded in 1921.
The percentage of the Scheduled Castes population had decreased from 9.92 in 1991 to 9.81 in 2001 while the percentage of Scheduled Tribes population had increased from 1.10 in 1991 to 1.14 per cent in 2001.
In density, the state ranks third among the Indian states with 819 persons per sq km, 2.8 times the all India density. West Bengal and Bihar occupy the first two places.
Vajpayee rules out Greater Nagaland
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Wednesday virtually ruled out the demand for a greater Nagaland saying there was no political consensus for changing the boundaries of states in the Northeast."State boundaries can be changed only by evolving a political consensus. At present, there is no such consensus," Vajpayee told a press conference in Kohima.
"The (Naga peace) process is on. Talks are going on," he said.
Asked whether a permanent solution to the Naga problem would be found only by talks with National Socialist Council Nagalim (I-M), the prime minister said, "All sections of society will be involved. A beginning has been made. The process will be continued."He said no timeframe or deadline has been fixed for the Naga talks. "We would like the talks to conclude successfully as soon as possible."
He also announced a financial package of Rs 1,050 crore to improve the infrastructure and for the all-round development of Nagaland. On holding talks with other insurgent groups in the Northeast, Vajpayee said, "We are ready for talks but they should give up violence."Replying to a question on the Congress allegation that his Bharatiya Janata Party is using some militant groups to topple Congress governments in the Northeastern states, the prime minister said, "We are a democratic country. I was thrown out of power twice, but I managed to come back.
"Our Congress friends know how to come back to power or how to stop others from coming back to power," he said in a lighter vein."There is no question of using government machinery to further party interests," he said.On the infiltration of people from Bangladesh into Northeastern states, the prime minister said, "Illegal migration must stop and those who are staying without legal documents will have to explain how they happen to be here. State governments are conscious of the problem."
Vajpayee said that a bill proposing repeal of the Illegal Migrants Determination by Tribunals Act was before the concerned Parliamentary Standing Committee and its report is expected during the winter session of the House beginning in November.
On the withdrawal of the Guwahati-Bangkok flight, which had hit exports from the Northeast, Vajpayee said the 'idea is to have more flights that will benefit maximum people. If any flight is withdrawn in any sector, it will be replaced'. Also, talks are on to improve the airport at Dimapur, which is 74km from the state capital,
Kohima.
India tests Lakshya
The indigenously developed pilot-less target aircraft, Lakshya, was test-fired from the Chandipur Intermediate Test Range, about 13km from Balasore, on Thursday.It was inducted into the Indian Air Force in 2000. But the trial was undertaken with an improved engine developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation, official sources said.
DRDO scientists and officials witnessed the test, which took place at about 1245 IST.
India tests Akash missile
India on Tuesday tested its surface-to-air missile Akash from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea, about 13 km from Balasore.
The missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher at 1152 IST, defence sources said.
The indigenously built multi-target missile can carry a 50kg payload.
The 650kg Akash has a range of 25km and is one of the five missiles currently under various stages of development at the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
The missile uses ramjet propulsion system and is powered by an air-breathing engine.
Its surveillance radar Rajendra, developed indigenously, can simultaneously keep track of 64 aircraft within a range of 40 to 60km, the sources said.
What is the Phalcon?
India is adding teeth and reach to its air force. If the teeth are the state-of-art Sukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft, the reach is the Israeli Airborne Early Warning System, Phalcon.
But what is the Phalcon?
The Phalcon is an Israeli manufactured Airborne Early Warning, Command and Control (AEWC&C) system. It is one of the most powerful such systems in the world. India is buying three of them for $1.1 billion (approximately Rs 5,000 crore or Rs 50 billion).
What does the Phalcon do?
It provides real time surveillance of a few hundred kilometres of territory and also command and control. It can pick up a low flying aircraft, a missile or communication and provide advance warning after correlation. It will help the Indian Air Force to maintain air superiority in a battle. It can pick up an incoming object in all weather conditions, reportedly up to some 300 miles. It can also pick up all sorts of communications from air, sea or land. All the information collected can be conveyed live to the control centre in the headquarters.
How does it pick up information of enemy objects in its area of coverage?
The Phalcon system has four sensors, which coordinate with each other. If one of the sensors picks up an incoming object or enemy communication it automatically co-relates with other sensors and reconfirm.
How different is it from other Airborne Early Warning Systems (AEWS)?
Most other AEWS are mechanically rotating antennas, or rotodomes, mounted on an aircraft. In the Phalcon it would be a stationary dome mounted on the aircraft and based on an Active Phased Array Electronic Scanning Technology. It would be able to track continuously any fast, high manoeuvring objects in much shorter period of time than the rotodome-based AWACS.
Does it only track incoming objects and communications?
No. The Phalcon is also a full-fledged command and control centre mid-air that can be deployed to direct the aircraft, providing them a picture of the entire battlefield thus allowing them superiority over enemy fighters.
Do Pakistan and China have it?
Neither have it. China was refused the Phalcon in 2000 even after they had paid an advance because of American objections. After India signed the agreement last week Pakistan has threatened to take 'appropriate steps' to match Indian capabilities.
Why is US permission so important for buying the Israeli manufactured product?
America is Israel's key ally and a collaborator in Israel's development of several cutting edge military technologies. The Israeli Aircraft Industries, which produces the Phalcon, has an agreement with some European and US firms, including Raytheon for further research, development and marketing of the Phalcon. India too was given the Phalcon only after US permission. The US had threatened to withdraw financial assistance to Israel if it went ahead and fitted the system on a Chinese plane, which had landed in Israel in 2000.
Is India then the first country to get the Phalcon?
No. Countries such as Chile already have it. But India would be the first country to mate the Phalcon system on the Russian manufactured IL-76 plane. In fact there is a trilateral agreement between Israel, India and Russia on the project. Israel has given an undertaking to Russia not to reveal the technology of fitting it on an Ilyusin to any other country.
The Phalcon has been mounted on which other aircraft?
It can be mounted on various Boeings, C-130 and even an Airbus. Chile's Phalcon system, called Condor, is mounted on a modified Boeing 767
Geography is destiny, perhaps
I have been doing a lot of traveling around South India recently, and quite a bit of it by train; I have tasted the varied pleasures of unreserved Second Class as well as those of Chair Car, First Class AC, 2 tier AC, and 3 tier AC Sleeper. I have to agree with the likes of Paul Theroux and other travel writers that it is quite an experience.
I have always had a particular fondness for the Southern Railway Timetable. On my many trips between Madras and Trivandrum while I was a student I used to get hold of the old, badly-printed-on-rough-greenish-newsprint timetable. I was keen to figure out which train we passed and how late it was, although my companions probably thought me a trifle odd. These days, the Southern Railway Timetable is glossy, well-produced, and informative; although the railway itself has shrunk with the creation of the new South Western Railway in Bangalore.
There is an unspoken hierarchy among trains: I knew where we stood on the totem pole vis-à-vis other trains based on which one was stranded at some tiny one-horse village station waiting for the other to sweep by imperiously. The most grievous insult was when we waited for half an hour in some godforsaken backwater for a freight train to rumble by. It made one feel worthless, like pond scum.
In the old days the Madras-Trivandrum route was the meter gauge line that went directly over the Western Ghats from Quilon to Shencottah to Tenkasi. A truly spectacular ride with large, curving bridges over ravines, many tunnels, and some fair altitude. I think we used to have one locomotive pushing and the other pulling. The scenery was outstanding.
There were some thick evergreen shola forests too. I am sure these, full of old growth teak and other native flora, have been replaced by the ubiquitous rubber and other monoculture plantations now. I haven't traveled by this route for many years; it is currently undergoing gauge conversion to broadgauge and is not open for traffic.
During monsoon times, we could see what 'rainshadow' meant: on the Kerala side, the clouds were literally stopped by the Ghats, dropping their moisture content on the hillsides. Sometimes, if we were lucky, we would even go through particularly low hanging clouds: a sort of fog would envelop us.
The contrast between the rainy Kerala side and the parched Tamil Nadu side could not be more dramatic. There is a particularly long tunnel; this literally marks the border between the states and the backbone of the Ghats, I guess. When you emerge on either side, you have no doubt that you have crossed the state line: the vegetation is so different. Dense dark greenery on one side; scrubland on the other. Geography is destiny, perhaps.
Recently I took an overnight Chennai-Trivandrum train that goes primarily through Tamil Nadu; in the morning, we reached the vicinity of Tirunelveli. Once again, spectacular stretches of semi-arid land, red earth, just waiting for water. Not much grows, as rainfall is erratic; clumps of tall and slender palm trees (arecanut, I think) are seen here and there.
This land needs rain. I was reminded of the spectacular love poem by the eponymous Sangam poet ('he who sings of red earth and pouring rain'), translated by A K Ramanujan http://www.penkatali.org/kt040.html:
But in love our hearts are as red
earth and pouring rain:
mingled
beyond parting.
This is what I think of Kerala's earth: how my heart is mingled beyond parting with the red earth and pouring rain of the monsoons of my childhood. Home. San Francisco, my other home, pales in comparison, despite the Golden Gate and Twin Peaks and the Presidio.
That is my home of love: if I have ranged,
Like him that travels I return again,
Just to the time, not with the time exchanged
This is, I am sure, how the Tamil thinks of his land and of his language. Something precious, something worth living and dying for.
We continue southwards and westwards, and suddenly, there are large and strange structures: windmill farms. In this arid land, the only constant is a stiff wind. These giant, pale, aluminum trees stand out with their lazily revolving arms.
Once we head closer to Nagercoil, the scenery begins to change. We come across the last, jagged redoubts of the Western Ghats, jutting like angry teeth into the sky. The Eastern Ghats subside quietly, but the Western Ghats terminate with what looks like strenuous objections: they do not wish to go gentle into that good night, expiring quietly at Kanyakumari. They brood, plotting a comeback, perhaps.
There is a particular peak that I have always noticed: I call it Old Man Mountain; it looks like the profile of an ancient man, lying down, and uttering a cry of despair. The nose, mouth and even the tongue are well defined from afar. It reminds me of the square jawed granite face I have seen somewhere in the American Northeast, maybe in New Hampshire.
Nagercoil is on the right side of the rain shadow, so it does have a lot more rain. It is beautiful. There are lotus filled pools and forests of banana shrubs. And paddy fields stretching to the horizon where the forbidding cliffs stand guard over them. Suddenly, the thorn shrub that abounds all over Tamil Nadu, disappears: it does not thrive where there is plenty of water.
A lot of filmmakers seem to have discovered the natural beauty of this area: it is Kerala, but not quite. In Kerala proper, it is now difficult to find large stretches of paddy fields because the high cost of labor have made them unviable. Many farmers have let their fields lie fallow, then filled them and turned them into coconut plantations or residential land. Nagercoil is what Kerala used to look like fifty years ago: after all, it was once Travancore's granary before the district was ceded to Tamil Nadu.
Adoor Gopalakrishnan's recent film Nizhalkuthu (Shadow Kill) was set in this area, and took full advantage of the stunning scenery. It boasts an outstanding performance by Oduvil Unnikrishnan as the hangman in old Travancore, who is tortured by the idea that he may have hanged an innocent young man.
At Nagercoil Junction, the train changes direction, and the engine is shuttled to the other end. We start the last leg of the journey, towards Trivandrum. The land gets increasingly moist, although this year there is a drought. The Southwest Monsoon in 2003 was scanty in Kerala and Karnataka, ironically where it usually rains just about most heavily.
On another trip from Trivandrum to Bangalore on the very slow Island Express, I noticed how Kerala's biggest river, the Nila (renamed, distressingly, as the Bharatapuzha, not a particularly euphonious name) had now become a mere trickle. There is a broad flood plain, but the actual course of the river is very narrow; due to the destruction of rainforests and sand mining, this river, much like many others in Kerala, is dying.
My most interesting journey, however, was one from Chennai to Tirupati, to seek darshan of the Lord of the Seven Hills. It was the first time in many years that I had traveled unreserved in an ordinary compartment. I was astonished at the number of vendors who came by; I was even more astonished when my companions purchased a rather unhygienic looking mango from a rather unhygienic looking vendor and proceeded to eat it with relish. When offered a bite, I declined with thanks.
There were also the usual singers and other regulars. An old man sang in an especially uninterested and appallingly tuneless fashion (reminding me of a singer in Malayalam these days that one cannot escape from. Much like the Christopher Cross phenomenon, this fellow, I hope, will be a one-hit wonder! Tamil film songs these days are far better. They rock, and I like the energetic dance videos that go with them.)
But the most spectacular fellow passengers were a band of gypsies who boarded the train, carrying a couple of rather lethal looking flintlocks. They were ragged but merry, and the women had children slung on their hips. They obviously had no tickets. I noticed that the Ticket Examiner berated them (presumably for ticket-less travel and for carrying guns) standing a careful distance away from them! They had a bloodstained bundle with them, too, I suppose whatever they had shot. The rifles were not for decorative purposes, clearly.
It is not true that it is only in unreserved that you run into interesting people. On one occasion, in a First AC coach, I met a barefoot, bearded pilgrim wearing the black and saffron clothes of a Sabarimala pilgrim, but speaking with an upper-class British accent. It tuned out that he was a Briton of Sri Lankan Tamil origin, an investment manager.
He confided that given the way he expected currencies to go, he has hedged his bets by taking out a retirement policy in Indian rupees. Clearly, he expects the rupee to appreciate considerably against the British pound and other currencies. May his tribe increase!
