International: Karachi undergoing Metamorphosis

IIPM Mumbai Campus

The glittering city of dreams that once Karachi was, is now writhing in the clutches of mafia which also weild considerable political influence, laments Shahid Husain

Karachi is undergoing metamorphosis. The “city of lights” of yesteryears has been brutalised and target killings have become the order of the day. With an estimated population of 18 million, the megalopolis of Karachi is now controlled by mafia.

There was a time when burqa-clad women with all their jewellery would return from marriages late in the night all alone without any fear, and children would play in lanes till 2 am and the doors would remain open for them. The boundary walls of bungalows were also not more than four feet high and one could have a glimpse of the lawns inside while walking on the pavements. Then things started changing. But these changes have a history. As the capital of Pakistan, Karachi witnessed a great upheaval in 1953 when students staging peaceful demonstration demanding better education facilities were fired at. Seven students and a passerby had lost their lives. However, the establishment was forced to accept the students' demands.

In fact, the 1953 movement led by left-wing Democratic Students Federation (DSF) was a turning point in Pakistan’s chequered history. The establishment decided to shift the capital to Islamabad.

Again in 1964, it was Karachi and Dhaka from where the opposition leader Fatima Jinnah won the elections despite notorious “Basic Democracy” system in which only 80,000 BD members were allowed to cast their votes in presidential elections.

The democratic upsurge of 1968-69 that forced military dictator General Ayub Khan to announce that he would not take part in next elections shook the corridors of power. There was a euphoria in the air and students, industrial workers, teachers, doctors, lawyers and intellectuals and writers felt as if a revolution was in
the making.

However, another military dictator General Yahya Khan staged a coup and took hold of the reins of power. Perhaps it was in 1968-69 that the civil and military establishment decided to break the will of Karachiites. The break-away of eastern wing in 1971 and establishment of Bangladesh as an independent state too weakened the democratic movement in the financial hub of Pakistan because the politically conscious leadership of Pakistan’s eastern wing always gave a lead to the rest of Pakistan, including Karachi.

Thus began a process of de-politicising of Karachiites. Ethnicity and parochialism was deliberately promoted by the government. Political activists were disillusioned. What they thought was a revolution was only a mirage.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who reached the corridors of power through catchy slogans of "Islamic socialism" and roti, kapra aur makaan (bread, cloth and housing) stated publicly that he had done more to halt communism than the Americans and his "socialism" was like that of Germany. In fact, Bhutto used fascist methodology to woo the masses and promoted jingoism. On the top of that it was Bhutto who succumbed to the pressures of mullahs and declared the minority Ahmedi community as non-Muslims and banned liquor although he himself was a heavy alcoholic. Ban on liquor paved the way for deadly drugs, including heroin and drug mafia came to the fore with a big bang. While the affluent had an easy access to liquor, the downtrodden in slum areas such as Lyari started consuming heroin. Drug and arms mafia penetrated in Pakistan and gangsters started playing a vital role.

The brutalisation of society reached its peak when the democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was overthrown in July 1977 by despot General Zia-ul-Haq and Bhutto was sent to gallows. In the wake of previous Afghan War, drug and arms culture was introduced in Karachi. The drug mafia entered Lyari that happened to be the most vibrant area of yesteryears, both politically and culturally.
Gradually the land mafia, transport mafia and drug mafia became so powerful that political activism retreated and was replaced by the guns. With the increasing activities of drug mafia and bureaucratic capital, the social fabric of Pakistan society in general and Karachi in particular deteriorated and sectarian killings became the order of the day. Class contradictions also came into existence and were quiet sharpened. On one hand, there were limousines worth tens of millions of rupees plying on the streets of Karachi, on the other, there were hordes of jobless youth roaming directionless on the streets of Karachi.

With the migration of large number of people to Karachi in search of jobs, the demography of the largest city of Pakistan started changing drastically. No wonder Karachi now harbours the biggest Pushtoon population in Pakistan. As a matter of fact, had it not been for the philanthropists in Karachi, tens of thousands of people would have died of hunger. Social workers such as Abdul Sattar Edhi are not only feeding millions of people in Karachi, they are also running the world’s largest ambulance service in the private sector.

But sadly enough, the fate of Karachi is decided by the land mafia whose agents have entered almost every political party. The powerful mafia can trigger gang wars and ethnic tension in any part of the city. Clifton, Hawkesbay and Sandspit beaches that once provided solace are now eyed by the notorious land mafia. Similarly, several heritage buildings too are in danger because the greedy want to build sky scrapers in their place.

However, there is a silver lining! Despite threats the civil society and the intelligentsia in the financial hub of Pakistan is adamant to resist mafias and save beaches and expose the vested interests. Nobody knows how many years it would take to undo the wrongs of General Zia-ul-Haq, but one could still find an oasis in Karachi in the midst of anarchy, lawlessness and chaos.

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Prof. P. N. Sharma persuaded The Dalai Lama to abandon his plans of leaving Dharamshala

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Tibetan diary: Tale of a close encounter

It was almost 40 years back that I had my first audience with His Holiness. He had known about my books and writings. He asked me if I knew Sanskrit. I said I did. Then he asked his secretary to bring a book and asked me to translate the same into English. It was one of the most famous 9th Century classics. In due course of time, I translated the book. Earlier, I had written a book on Tibet – its religion, culture and history. I presented a copy to His Holiness and he obliged me with a small foreword. After it was published, we became closer. In a meeting sometime later, he gave me another book, a 10th Century classic. The book had three chapters and he asked me, “Do you think those three chapters were written in three different time periods or at one go?” I was puzzled but guessed that since the three chapters dealt with the same subject and there were repetitions of certain arguments, they must have been written at different time periods. He agreed with me and I was elated. Later, he nominated me to the governing body of the prestigious Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.

There was yet another occasion I recall, a seminar where scholars from Varanasi and Sarnath had come. They wanted to have an audience with His Holiness. We sent a message, and instead of us having to travel to McLeod Ganj, he offered to come and meet us. When he came, he asked me to take the next seat. He held my right hand, raised it and said, “Look, this man helped us, Tibetans, through great difficulty without any selfish motive.” He was referring to the incident when I was able to convince him to stay back in Dharamshala.

Back then, some Tibetan youth had a fight with the Gaddi tribesmen and a Gaddi was killed. The Tibetan was acquitted of the murder charge, but the incident incited the Gaddi community and soon there started major violence against the Tibetan people. They beat up the lamas and broke window panes. His Holiness was then in California. When he came back to India, a lot of journalists, Indian and foreign, had thronged to McLeod Ganj. One of my friends, Naoroji, who is no more, rang me up and informed that His Holiness had decided to leave Dharamshala and settle somewhere in Faridabad near Delhi. I was worried throughout the night and called a meeting with a few people in the morning to appeal to His Holiness not to leave Dharamshala. Naoroji, myself and another friend of mine went to meet His Holiness at 3.30 pm and sent a word through his security in-charge, who happened to know me, for an audience with him. He, however, conveyed that His Holiness was busy and would not be able to meet us. I then told the chief of security that we would sit in dharna and not budge until we got an audience. At about 5.30 pm, we received a message that His Holiness would meet us at 5.45 pm.

As usual with His Holiness, whenever you have an appointment with him, he will be waiting to receive you at the doorstep. As we crossed the threshold, he looked into my eyes and said, “So, we are being kicked out.” That was awful. I said, “That’s not true” and asked him if we could sit down and talk. We spoke for about half an hour. His Holiness was really shocked about what had happened in his absence. The talk was so emotional that I started crying. Finally when all of us got up, he embraced me tightly and said, “No, I will not go.” The next day I gathered a big crowd of about 1,000 people and took them to McLeod Ganj to seek the blessings of His Holiness. This was supposed to be a show of solidarity with him. The mood was one of joy and peace.
His Holiness never shows anger. We may abuse China and revile against the Chinese but he will never do the same. His Holiness likes frank people. He has a great sense of humour. The most impressive thing about him is when he laughs, if you are not looking at him, you would think it’s a six year old. His presence conquers you. You feel absolutely at peace with yourself and the world. He is the greatest living human being on this earth.

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Festivals sans jumbos likely to lose their charm

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Kerala Elephant: Tuskers Unshackled

Elephants are part and parcel of Kerala's cultural life. Festivals sans caparisoned elephants are unimaginable. Thrissur Pooram, the famous annual cultural event is famous for the grand gala show of 30 decorated elephants. The temples show off their grandeur by arraying elephants in festivals. The greater the number of elephants on such occasions, the better. People too take pride in owning elephants.

But the Union Government's recent decision to declare elephants as the national heritage animal is going to change all that. Once the law comes into effect, elephants won't be allowed to be used as beasts of burden in the forest where the tuskers move heavy logs of woods. Neither can they be deployed for entertainment such as in circus, demonstrations and at receptions. It also means that during temple festivals, percussion instruments like chenda and ensemble panchavadyam (playing of five instruments) will lose its charm in the absence of the decorated elephants. While the environmentalists are all praise for Environment and Forests Minister Jayaram Ramesh, elephant fans are worried about the law's fallout. The Mahesh Rengarajan Committee report rules out deploying of elephants during festivals and celebrations. Kerala State Festival Protection Committee is spearheading the protest against the report. They lined up elephants in a temple near Thrikkariyoor, off Kochi, and marched them to the District Forest Officer’s office as a token of protest.

Later, Leader of Opposition Oommen Chandy met Jayaram Ramesh and requested to relax the festival regulations. Jayaram Ramesh assured him that the move will not affect festivals.

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Uttar Pradesh Overcrowded Jails: Prisons in U.P. burst at the seams

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Those having completed their term still languishing in jails

Prisoners who have long completed their terms but have not been released as yet form a considerable chunk of the total prisoners in Uttar Pradesh's jails. This is one of the reasons behind overcrowding of the state's jails, reveals an RTI query filed by Lucknow based activist Urvashi Sharma.

Sharma, on October 4, 2009, had asked for the following information: A list of all the jails in UP with their designated capacity and the actual number of prisoners housed in each jail; jail-wise lists of the names of all convicts who are serving time in spite of having completed their terms; and details of the steps taken by the state government in the last five years to scrutinise the status of all the prisoners in UP jails, apart from certain other details.

The reply from the Jail Administration and Reforms Services was enough to give Sharma a shock as she came to know that against the designated capacity of 42,176 inmates, UP’s 62 jails actually had 83,805 prisoners. According to a National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB) report on prisons, 2008, the state's jails have 191.6 per cent occupancy, second only to Chattisgarh where the jail occupancy is 215.2 per cent. According to the report, only 32 per cent of all the inmates in India's jails are convicts while a whopping 67 per cent of them are undertrials. There is just one jail official per eight inmates.

Two appeals and a rejoinder later, Sharma received information from only two jails— Meerut and Ghaziabad— that two prisoners, one male and one female, were languishing in Ghaziabad jail even after completion of their terms. As for the query about the scrutiny of the prisoners the response was “Nil”. “It is indeed ironical that the department meant to bring reforms in jails has not even scrutinised the status of the prisoners during the last five years. I am writing to the CM and the Governor to take action and ensure that either the department should prove worthy of its name or it should drop the words ‘administration and reforms’ from its name,” says Sharma.
Earlier this year, Law Minister Veerappa Moily launched a drive for the speedy conclusion of the cases of undertrials and to ensure their release. Till July this year, UP had topped the list in that mission by releasing 52,843 undertrials and settling the cases of 4,203 more. But certainly more steps are needed in this direction.

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Tamilnadu Containing HIV: Needles Of Danger

IIPM Mumbai Campus

State Aids control society has a challenge in tackling IDUs

Although Tamilnadu has shown a decline in the number of HIV-affected persons (in 2001 the prevalence rate was one per cent that has come down to 0.23 per cent in the state), the challenges are not over as yet.

The growing number of intravenous drug users (IDUs) is a matter of concern for Tamilnadu Aids Control Society (TANSAC). Talking to TSI, Amutha, project director of TANSAC points out that the spreading of HIV through the needles is faster than through other modes. Indian Market Research Bureau has identified around 400 intravenous drug users in Tamilnadu and found that 96 (92 in Chennai and four in Madurai) of them were infected with HIV. According to estimates, the actual figure may be higher than that.
“We are taking immediate steps to contain this number. Apart from creating awareness regarding the spread of HIV among the people, we make the identified IDUs undergo regular medical check ups. Most of the drug users are youths. They usually take drugs in groups. Often they share a single needle which increases the chances of the transmission of HIV from an infected person to a healthy one. This way it spreads very rapidly,” says Amutha. As these persons carry out these activities in the dark or at secluded places, and since many of them keep moving from one place to another, it is not easy to identify and treat them, she adds. Most of the IDUs are college students, construction workers and migrant labourers.

“Some NGOs have been entrusted with the task of identifying the IDUs. These NGOs have been given certain targets in numbers. Once the victims are identified, we take them into our control and treat them,” says Vendher Vendan, joint director, Target Intervention, TANSAC. There are four core groups which are given priority and are regularly monitored by TANSAC to control the spreading of HIV. They are, female sex workers, IDUs, homosexuals and migrant truckers.

Rakesh, who contracted HIV through intravenous drug usage, tells TSI, “I started using drug injections for fun, but after some days it became a regular habit. A friend of mine was HIV positive. Ignorant of his health status, I shared a needle with him and ended up as HIV positive.” It should also be noted that not only HIV, many other diseases also spread through sharing needles and syringes which can be very dangerous.

TANSAC has also started a new project of fixing up automatic condom vending machines. The machines are especially installed near liquor shops and in red light areas. Nearly 1000 automatic condom vending machines have already been fixed near liquor shops in the capital city, according to officials. As World AIDS Day is observed on December 1, TANSAC has fixed an ambitious target for itself— that by 2012 there should be no new HIV patient in the state.

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Global warming brings investment opportunities for investors

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Opportunities Global Warming: Bright side of warming

There is a growing tussle going on – especially in the US on whether global warming is actually a fact or a myth – and how adversely it can affect an economy. A host of cynics in the US have discarded warming as sham propaganda by scientists, political leaders with their own vested interests, activist groups and other recipients of funds to leverage on this supposed hoax! The critics comment that the proposed regulations to control warming can slow down a country’s economic growth – terribly so, especially if it is a developing country which needs to grow fast and catch up with the developed ones. However, on a closer look, it seems that global warming, despite criticism, offers new avenues of lucrative investment options. Renewable energy is an example. Solar energy for instance, is a high growth investment option; which is growing globally at 33 per cent annually. In 2009, in spite of downward trend in most economies, a total of 80GW of renewable energy and 32 GW of solar energy was set up worldwide; while total investment (in clean energy) was $162 billion. China leads the table surpassing United States as the leading investor in renewable energy with a production of 37 GW. The private investors are increasingly participating in this venture; especially in Oceania and Asia with an investment of $40.8 billion overtaking US with $32.3 billion in 2009.

Insurance industry too is set to gain from the global warming dynamics. The clean energy products are increasingly being covered by insurance companies and leading the pack is Munich Re – the world’s largest insurer who covers products like wind farms and solar panels – giving guarantees for their performance, failing which, compensation is provided to the investor! Another insurance firm called Travelers is covering green cars in 41 states in US at discount of 10%; while Allianz has published a testimony where they have described in detail the contribution of Insurance firms to mitigate the ills of global warming.

Even banks and funding institutes who lend money to finance projects are now falling on to carbon credits as a new means of investment. The Chinese government recently has shown keen interest in trading carbon credits and has raised a fund of $100 million for that. Dealings in carbon credits are happening in thick across the world; a notable example is Lanxass, a German company, which has put in $9.67 million in an Indian fuel company to access post-2012 credits; while a French company has amassed €60 million for gaining carbon credits after 2012. Even Al Gore, who is seen as a stooge of global warming advocates and is often accused by corporations and media of spreading lies in favour of climate change, is a partner in two funding companies specifically trading carbon credits. Interestingly, championing for climate change has earned him $100 million through the hedge fund companies!

In agriculture too, GM crops are being produced that are touted as ‘environment ready’ by big firms like Monsanto, which mint big money. If we really needed to dig holes and fill them up to get the world out of recession, global warming is showing new options!

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Can India trust China when it comes to border disputes?

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Self-introspection: India, China at war in 2011?

Anything between India and China creates massive media sensation. It did so when defence expert, Bharat Verma, editor of the Indian Defence Review said in 2009 that “China will launch an attack on India before 2012. There are multiple reasons for a desperate Beijing to teach India the final lesson, thereby ensuring Chinese supremacy in Asia in this century.” Later in the same year, India's Air Force Chief stressed that “India faces a greater threat from China than Pakistan because New Delhi knows little about Beijing's combat capabilities.” In this year too, opposition leaders in the Parliament have expressed they are wary against possible Chinese aggression. Chinese state-run media may have completely denied such allegations, but reports and actions from both the sides of India and China in strengthening the military establishment along the borders indicate that they're not silent about their slow progress and are making their border issue one of their priorities.

A Pentagon report presented to the US Congress during August, 2010 indicated that China has deployed new sophisticated ‘longer range CSS-5 missiles’ along the 4057 km long border with India. It has also developed contingency plans. China is continuously developing and upgrading the massive roads and rail infrastructure along the border. This infrastructural development will not only facilitate economic development in western China but also support the Chinese army in military operations.
India too does not seem to be silent. There have been some recent Indian military movements at our borders. India is sending more troops to the North-East. The Defence Ministry officials confirmed that two fresh infantry mountain divisions, with 1,260 officers and 35,011 soldiers, will be in operation by 2011. 56 new divisions are in place in Nagaland. The battalion of Arunachal and Sikkim Scouts too will be operational by 2011.

With growing economic inter-dependencies, there is less possibility of war between India and China but tension remains high on the 4,057 km long border they share. China continues to claim part of Arunachal and Aksai Chin region. It also tried to block India’s $2.9 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. There were also 270 recorded border violations and 2,300 cases of 'aggressive border patrolling' by Chinese soldiers in Indian territory during 2008. Moreover, the last sixty years of history show that China has been on an aggressive expansion spree while India has only managed to face losses. Thus, India should not take China lightly, like it did in 1962. Things may have changed since then, but not the aggressive interests!

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The best saffron in the world comes from Kashmir

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Political unrest apart, a slew of malpractices now threaten this premium spice. Haroon Reshi reports from Srinagar

A couple of weeks ago, Kurt Achin, the South Asia Bureau Chief of Voice of America, was in the Valley for some professional engagements. Before his departure for Delhi, he went to visit the floating market at the renowned Dal Lake in Srinagar in a Shikara (Water Taxi). On the way, the boatman offered him Kashmiri saffron for sale. Kurt purchased some for twenty dollars. Later, at the guest house a waiter informed the journalist that he has been cheated, for the boatman had foisted off fake saffron in the name of one of the most exclusive and expensive spices in the world. In the evening Kurt’s Facebook wall read: “Like a rube, I just spent about 12 bucks on fake saffron. Not the end of the world, but who likes being swindled?”

Early this year, the police held four persons for selling fake saffron to visitors in the Valley. They also recovered thirty five kilograms of saffron-like coloured material in their possession (worth about Rs 10 crore, if it had been original). It was revealed that the tip of corn fiber and the fiber of marigold flower is used to make fake saffron.

Such incidents have brought bad name to Kashmir, where farmers have been cultivating the world’s best quality saffron for the last thousand years. “This is unfortunate that some miscreants are defaming and ruining our industry which is already losing ground due to several other reasons,” Abdul Majid Wani, General Secretary, Saffron Growers Association told TSI. “Now our association has decided to open sales counters at every tourist spot in the Valley, so that visitors can buy pure and guaranteed saffron without being cheated,” Wani added.

Apart from the sale of fake saffron in and outside the state, drought, pollution and official corruption are other major threats to this Rs 400 crore domestic industry. Official figures prove that the production of saffron is reducing by the year owing to decline in agriculture acreage and poor harvests. “We had 5500 hectares of saffron land in 1996 and now there are only 4000 hectares left. Residential and commercial buildings are being constructed on agricultural land despite an official ban on it,” points out Prof. Firdous Ahmad Nehvi, a scientist at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Srinagar. “Similarly the production of the crop has dipped from four kg per hectare to two kg thanks to poor rains in the past few years, and lack of scientific irrigation facilities,” Nehvi added.

Mid-October to mid-November is flowering time for the saffron crop, when farmers spend their days in the fields collecting saffron flowers and slicing off the stigmas to get to this premium spice. According to official figures, more than sixteen thousand farm families from 226 villages in four districts (Srinagar, Budgam, Pulwama and Kashtiwar) of the state are directly affiliated with saffron cultivation. Most of the saffron growers, however, are not happy because of the price slide: rates have fallen from Rs 2.7 to 3 lakh per kg to Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh.

Traders say that the biggest hit has come from smuggling of Iranian saffron, which is exported from India after relabeling with the Kashmiri brand. Iran contributes 70
per cent of saffron production of the world but it is scientifically proven that Kashmir grows superior quality of saffron, and the rates are thus higher. “We grow better quality of saffron than Iran. We have a huge demand in the domestic market too, which explains why others sell their stuff in the name of Kashmir,” says Mehraj-u-Din, a farmer of Pampore, the central saffron producing area “Our problem is that our production rate is lower than that of Iran and Spain. They yield five to eight kg of crop per hectare because they don’t have to depend on rains for irrigation, and have access to plentiful scientific production facilities. To add to our woes, our crops have been affected by corm rot in the last few years,” Mehraj said.

Referring to Zafran (Urdu for saffron) Colony, a residential district in Pampore, Mehraj said that the land where the houses stood were originally earmarked for the cultivation of zafran. “This could be possible only with official corruption,” he laments. Less productivity, falling prices, and nature’s bugbears like poor rainfall and crop disease have caused many farmers to quit saffron production in the Valley. “This trade has lost its glory and has become less profitable. Even tomato cultivation turns out to be more profitable and less laborious than this,” Ayaz Lone, a former grower, who sold all his saffron agriculture land last year, told TSI.

In a last ditch attempt to salvage the industry, the government has announced a National Saffron Mission. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a Rs 375 crore project, to support drip irrigation, research, mechanization, processing and marketing of Indian zafran. Though experts like Professor Nehvi are heartened by the news, many still worry about the future of the saffron industry. A senior official told TSI that the civil unrest in the valley is a major factor for its dismal show. As part of efforts to boost saffron trade, the Saffron Growers Association has asked for customs duty on imported saffron to ensure that it is imported only through legal channels; they’ve also recommended exempting saffron from sales tax. It’s the least that can be done toward the preservation of a national treasure.

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