08 OPINION
CHANDIGARH | TUESDAY | 17 DECEMBER 2019
Students take on the State
THE TRIBUNE established in 1881
The idea of socio-economic equality hasn’t disappeared from our consciousness yet
CAA maelstrom
Protests by students, Cong put Centre on the defensive
I
NITIALLY confined to ‘faraway’ Assam and Meghalaya, the con- AVIJIT PATHAK
flagration triggered by the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is SOCIOLOGIST
now scorching the locus of power, New Delhi. The NDA govern-
I
ment finds itself on the back foot as Congress leaders led by out-of- S it that the ruling regime is
hibernation Priyanka Gandhi Vadra held a dharna at the India Gate becoming increasingly inse-
on Monday in solidarity with students protesting against the legisla- cure, and using almost mind-
tion. The apparent revival of a moribund Opposition seems to have lessly the coercive apparatus
knocked the wind out of the ruling party’s sails. of the state to suppress all alterna-
From the outset, the law offering Indian citizenship to non-Muslim tive and critical voices? Otherwise,
minorities who had faced persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and how does one make sense of what
Afghanistan had a communal ring to it. The protests in the Capital have happened at Delhi’s Jamia Millia
laid bare the Act’s divisive premise and the government’s unwilling- Islamia — the way the police
entered the campus, and fired tear
ness to do course correction. On Sunday, about 1,500-odd protesters
torched four public buses and two police vehicles during clashes with
gas shells inside the university
library, and brutally attacked young
cops near Jamia Millia Islamia in south Delhi. Subsequently, the police
entered the Jamia campus — without taking permission from the uni-
boys and girls? Or, when we saw the
cops attacking the students of Ali-
versity authorities. The purported provocation was the hurling of stones garh Muslim University and Jawa-
from inside the premises. The cops allegedly beat up staff members and harlal Nehru University, it was a
students and also used teargas in the library. A high-level inquiry is moment of realisation. Here is a
needed not only to probe the allegations of police highhandedness but government intoxicated with the
also to identify the persons who damaged public property. power emanating from the tri-
PM Narendra Modi has appealed for calm and Congress leader Rahul umphant majoritarianism; it has
Gandhi has invoked ‘non-violent satyagraha’, even as the Supreme Court lost the art of conversation, or the
has said that it should be ensured that there is no rioting before the Bench sensitivity needed to understand
hears matters related to the violence at Jamia and the disturbances at Ali- what these young students — edu-
cated, political and reflexive — are
garh Muslim University. The BJP top brass has been asserting that the cit-
thinking about.
izenship law is not discriminatory against Muslims or any other commu-
What possibly worries the ruling
nity, but these efforts — half-hearted at best — have failed to cool frayed regime is that, despite its meticu-
tempers. In an afterthought, the ruling party has announced a nationwide lously designed propaganda
campaign to spread awareness about the legislation. The BJP claims that machinery and discourses of
the enactment of the Act has stopped the ‘business of appeasement’ prac- ‘nationalism’ disseminated
tised by some political parties. However, the party is itself finding it hard to through all sorts of television chan-
fend off the charge of polarising certain communities through the CAA. nels, these students — because of
some sort of liberating education —
refuse to be carried away. They
could see that the Citizenship
Disunited Congress Amendment Bill is essentially dis-
criminatory, it would destroy the
ethos of secularism and cultural
Two CMs missing at the Delhi rally pluralism, and cause unimaginable
harassment to the poor, the margin-
E
VEN as the Congress put up a united front on Saturday at its alised and the minorities. They
Bharat Bachao rally, accusing the BJP-led NDA government at the could also realise that with the
Centre of undermining the Constitution while claiming to cele- increasing commodification of edu-
brate it, the fault lines were discernible. The timing was perfect to throw cation — an agenda of the neoliber-
the gauntlet at an adversary that has aimed for a Congress-mukt Bharat al discourse as articulated in the
and being on the back foot obviously is no solution reflected in the call New Education Policy — an
by Sonia Gandhi who exhorted the cadre to come out of their homes and
agitate. The realisation has dawned that it is the best time to strike when
The fading trend of bhathiwalian
the popularity of the government seems to have reached a plateau.
But along with the resolve should follow the will to act in unison, set
priorities right and exhibit decisiveness. The Delhi rally was seen as a sig-
nal about the return of Rahul Gandhi as the party president soon. Uneasy
lies the head that wears the crown, and Rahul Gandhi knows it, having JBS Nanda
taken responsibility for the rout in the Lok Sabha polls. He now has to
O
decide whether he wants the job or not, and then, develop the ability to NCE the charming place of
take the fight to the enemy camp. A galaxy of Congress leaders were pres- any small village in Punjab,
ent at the rally, including Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Ashok the delightful sight of
Gehlot, Bhupendra Baghel and young guns Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya bhathiwalian in Punjab is rarely
Scindia and Rajiv Satav. The notable absentees were Punjab CM Capt seen now. Many options are now
Amarinder Singh and MP CM Kamal Nath. While Sonia Gandhi, with her available to people to visit in the
preference for the old guard, has proved herself, Rahul is yet to do so. The evenings. In olden days, every-
where in Punjab, people were eager
new crop of leaders faces stiff resistance from the veterans who retain their
to go to such places to satisfy their
hold, Sharad Pawar in Maharashtra being the latest instance.
appetite. Owing to the abrupt
Perhaps there is a lesson from the BJP that accords the ‘Margdarshak change of lifestyle of the people of
Mandal’ due deference even while sidelining them. In contrast, senior Con- the state, the food items available
gress leaders have faced public rebuke. Man-management needs tact. Lead- in such bhathis are no more a craze.
ers and workers should agitate within and outside the party for their voice The sight of a bhathi, both big and
to be heard, but unite in the face of common enemy. The party has forgot- small, provides us with a view of
ten the art of public agitation. To unseat the BJP, it should go back to basics. Punjabi culture to some extent.
People would visit this place to get
fresh hot grams and maize
❝ ❞
thought for the day
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make Already too many
violent revolution inevitable. — John F Kennedy Refer to ‘CAB passage 1,000% correct’
(December 16); the passage of the Bill
in Parliament does not appear to be a
prudent move on the part of the gov-
on this day...100 years ago ernment. The country’s population
will increase further as India opens the
door to immigrants from Bangladesh,
Afghanistan and Pakistan. India is
already bursting at the seams, and
with this legislation more people are
lahore,wednesday, december 17, 1919
likely to join the queue for jobs and
education. This will have an adverse
THE MODERATES AND THE CONGRESS. impact on our economy, as the country
YESTERDAY we noticed a leading article in Bengalee, in which our is already grappling with limited
contemporary sought to justify the existence of the Moderate party as “an resources that are insufficient to cater
independent, self contained organisation” with “a separate conference of its to the needs of its large population.
own.” We tried to show that the reasons adduced by the writer did not justify the DEVENDRA KHURANA, BHOPAL
proposed separation of the Moderate party as a party from the Congress, and that
if they did, no such thing as united deliberation would be possible in any country Regain people’s trust
where opinion is not more or less unanimous on all general questions. We would The writer has expressed genuine
now appeal from the journalist to the public man, from the Bengalee, the concern over the deteriorating law
impassioned organ of a party, “a great and growing party,” if you please, to Babu and order situation in the country,
Surendranath Banerjea, the tribune of his people, the staunchest champion of courtesy faulty governance and fail-
untied Congress in the past and the leader of a untied nation. But before we make ure of the judicial system to deliver
this appeal, we must make it clear. No one feels more keenly than we do the justice (The path leading to ‘encoun-
systematic attacks on Mr. Banerjea and other distinguished moderate leaders. ters’, December 16). Excessive inter-
We remember the inception of this movement in the early years of this century. ference by ruling parties to promote
We remember its apparent collapse for a time when Mr. Banerjea took his rightful their political interests has led to the
place at the head of the Swadeshi movement. We remember its recrudescence degradation of professional ethics in
when the Swadeshi and the anti-partition movement gave place to a greater the police and other high-ranking
movement. We have noticed its steady growth all through the intervening years institutions. Corrupt, pliant and inef-
with pain bordering on anguish. And our readers will remember that we have ficient officials are preferred. Police
been unsparing in our condemnation of this movement, which goes contrary to officers being tried in courts for vio-
one of the most fundamental principles of organic nationalism, the principle lating civil rights with impunity, and
which Mazzini states:--“The temple of the true believer is not the chapel of a sect; the loss of fear in the minds of crim-
it is a vast pantheon in which the glorious images of Goethe and Byron will hold
their honoured place long after Goethism and Byronism shall have ceased to be”. Letters to the Editor, typed in double space, should not exceed the 200-word limit. These should be cogently written and can be sent by e-mail to: Letters@tribunemail.com
YOUNG WARRIORS: Students from public universities are coming to the streets,
and trying to resist the onslaught on people’s democratic rights and aspirations.
The government has lost the art of conversation, and the
sensitivity to understand what these young students —
educated, political and reflexive — are thinking about.
attempt is being made to systemat-
ically destroy the spirit of public
universities, and the project of good
quality/affordable education, and
resultant humanistic and critical
thinking. At a time when main-
stream politics, including the oppo-
sition politics, has become morally
bankrupt, ideologically impover-
ished, and crudely utilitarian for
instant and temporal power, the
critical voices of the youth — innu-
merable young girls and boys —
arouse new hope: the possibility of
a counter-narrative. And this seems
to be the chief reason why the ‘sys-
tem’ is so hostile to the youth who
think, reflect, resist and imagine a
different world.
In this context it is equally impor-
tant to realise that these students of
Jamia, Aligarh, JNU, DU, HCU or
Jadavpur are defying the meaning
of being a student as the champions
of militant nationalism or the mar-
ket-driven consumerism seek to
define. For these ‘nationalists’,
Marx is evil, Gandhi is effeminate,
protest is ugly, feminism is
immoral, and secularism is a west-
processed in the bhathi. They
would also get products sweetened
with gur. Sometimes, it would seem
like a small gathering was being
organised at the bhathi.
The image of a bhathi finds
place in Punjabi poetry. Poet Shiv
Kumar Batalvi, the poet of agony
and separation, created poetic
cry with the imagery of words
chosen from a bhathi — Bhathi
waliye chambe diye daliye
peerhan da paraga bhun de tainu
deyan hanjhuan da bhara
peerhan da paraga bhun de.
The imagery of words associated
with bhathi has been passionately
used by Sufi poets to express their
feelings — je jaane tis thora thora
maan karien, je jaane soh nidhanh
letters to the editor
inals present a depressing scenario.
No law of the land sanctions extraju-
dicial killings. The legitimacy and
reputation of law enforcement is
under threat. Substantive improve-
ment in professionalism and integri-
ty of police forces is imperative to
regain the trust of people they serve.
DS KANG, HOSHIARPUR
Moving backwards
Apropos ‘The path leading to encoun-
ters’ (December 16), the government
and administration is so occupied play-
ing blame game that real developmen-
tal needs stand neglected. The largest
democracy, India is on the verge of
being broken up in fragments for petty
political gains. Rather than moving for-
ward and creating a liberal and safer
country, we are moving backwards
towards a conservative and orthodox
society. The need of the hour is strong
action, not to create news, but to
redress the damage done in almost all
spheres. The problem with the govern-
ment is same as that addressed by
Ghalib — ‘Umr bhar Ghalib yahi bhool
karta raha, dhool chehre pe thi, aur
aaina saaf karta raha’ .
SUKHMANI ANAND, HOSHIARPUR
Brexit muddle
Apropos the editorial ‘Huge win for
Boris’ (December 16), the epic win of
Boris Johnson ensures UK’s exit
ern concept; and hence, the stu-
dents of, say, JNU have to be casti-
gated as potentially ‘anti-national’
and ‘ethically immoral’. Likewise,
the students of Jamia or Aligarh
have to be continually suspected
because their ‘Islamic’ traits might
challenge the discourse of Hindut-
va. In other words, these students,
they think, are not ‘loyal soldiers’
dedicated to the glory of the ‘Hindu
nation’. No wonder, the Establish-
ment prefers to recruit vice-chan-
cellors as deputies of the ruling
regime; their agenda is to destroy
these universities from within, and
instruct the police and paramilitary
forces to demoralise the students
and teachers through all sorts of
coercive measures.
Likewise, the new middle class —
almost seduced by the neoliberal
discourse of an atomised/competi-
tive individual striving for success
through purely instrumental and
skill-oriented education — has
begun to loathe the idea of a public
university that teaches foundation-
al sciences, liberal arts and social
sciences. Politics, for them, is a
thora maan krien.
‘ La ja challiyan bhuna lavie dan-
ny oh mitra door diya’ — a popu-
lar local song talks of bhathi.
Women would find no other or
better place to exhibit their new
suits and jewellery to their
friends. Such bhathis would also
provide a fine opportunity for
chatting with one another. There
is a lot of difference between Net
chatting now, and the chatting
then, by woman in such a public
place, where decency in language
was always maintained.
People become nostalgic about
losing the aroma, the essence of
such places that are vanishing.
After the Partition when our fami-
ly settled in Ludhiana there were
from the EU quickly, but torrid times
lie ahead for him. The difficult part of
the Brexit process is negotiating an
agreement on UK’s future relation-
ship with the EU and other partners.
The strong performances by Scottish
and Irish nationalists have hinted at
a battle ahead in trying to keep the
UK together in the face of a second
independence referendum demand.
Besides, he has to deliver on the cen-
tral promise of his campaign.
SS PAUL, NADIA
No mishit by IAF
Refer to ‘US scholar disputes IAF
claim on shooting down Pak F-16’
(December 15); Balakot or F-16, there
was no mishit by the IAF. The then Air
Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa has done
well to rebut it. In any case, the IAF
needs no certificate from anyone. We
often see some US Congress mem-
bers or others in the US attempting to
meddle in our internal matters like
the Kashmir issue, Indo-Pak relations
or the NRC. We are a sovereign state
and would brook no interference from
outsiders in our internal affairs.
WG CDR CL SEHGAL (RETD), JALANDHAR
Land demarcation dispute
I, an octogenarian, have been
embroiled in litigation in a land
demarcation case pending before the
Financial Commissioner, HP. The
THE TRIBUNE
diversion; philosophy or history is
irrelevant; and the only thing that
matters is a job in the corporate sec-
tor with an attractive salary pack-
age. Hence, students are essential-
ly consumers; and teachers are just
service providers. They prefer ‘apo-
litical’ institutes of technology and
management, or fancy private uni-
versities insulated from the storm
outside. Is it the reason why one
hardly hears any critical voice from
the much-hyped IITs and IIMs?
From Assam to Bengal, the
country is burning because of the
CAB; students from public uni-
versities are coming to the streets,
and trying to resist this onslaught
on people’s democratic rights and
aspirations. Possibly, this power
or this enchanting experience of
coming out of naked individual-
ism or culture of narcissism, and
experiencing ‘private troubles’ as
(to use the language of sociologist
C Wright Mills) ‘public issues’ is
what the ruling regime is afraid
of. It has no problem if the youth
continue to live as greedy con-
sumers, and find the source of
entertainment in either mob
lynching or the Honey Singh vari-
ety of music. Nor does it have any
problem if the IIT/IIM products
leave the country, and migrate to
the US or Canada. But then, the
question would be asked: why
should the taxpayer’s money be
wasted for a university like JNU?
This is the ultimate irony —the
facade of the dominant discourse
of nationalism.
Yet, amid this brutality and
insensitivity inherent in the rising
totalitarian politics nurtured by a
set of authoritarian personalities
and constructed imageries of
hyper-masculine ‘saviours’, there
is still hope. As the students come
to the streets, we begin to realise
that there are limits to the pack-
age of falsehood; and the idea of
pluralism, religious syncretism,
socio-economic equality and jus-
tice has not yet disappeared from
our consciousness. Is it the begin-
ning of fearlessness?
many bhathis around our areas.
One such was ‘Banso de bhathi’,
which people cherished to visit in
the evenings to enjoy fresh warm
food. Children these days are not
even aware about the existence of
these bhathis. Once my grand-
daughters came visiting us during
vacation, and enquired about
bhathis. They were eager to see one
for themselves. We tried our best to
find a bhathi nearby, but in vain.
Eventually, a friend of mine
belonging to a cultural group sent
me a photograph of a bhathi which
I showed to my grandchildren to
satisfy their curiosity.
It is sad that we have kept this rich
heritage limited to photographs,
cultural shows and exhibitions.
commissioner(s), having several
departments under their charge, are
unable to take the court to adjudicate
and dispose of long-pending cases.
As a result, hearings are deferred
quarter after quarter, time and again.
It will, therefore, be in public interest
if this stagnant, yet important portfo-
lio, is assigned to a sitting or retired
judge as a full-time business. Alter-
natively, a senior officer of another
cadre, not too burdened with charge
of several departments, can be
assigned this work. Officers of the
Indian Forest Service are trained and
experienced in land mensuration.
KL NOATAY, SHIMLA
Frightening figures
The figures in the editorial ‘Rise in
rape cases’ (December 14) are
alarming, and a matter of concern
for the country in general and
Haryana in particular. Society fol-
lowed by education and law and
order authorities have to play a
meaningful role in checking this
menace. Instead of having different
dos and don’ts for boys and girls,
they need to be treated equally in a
family and society. Parents of a
minor indulging in such crime must
be penalised equally. Sociologists,
psychologists and social workers
must also come forward.
RS KISHTWARIA, PALAMPUR
THE TRIBUNE
CHANDIGARH | TUESDAY | 17 DECEMBER 2019 OPED 09

Agriculture in need of economic stimulus

past few years. more in greenfield projects, and ing end, with almost stagnant or
Another leaked document, the eventually help in providing more declining incomes. It only elaborates
Periodic Labour Force Survey 2017- jobs is not backed by international the primary reason behind what is
18 report of the NSSO, had shown experience. Nobel laureate Paul seen as a deepening survival crisis.
that 3.4 crore casual labourers in Krugman has shown that corporate The growth rate in farm wages, too,
rural areas (3 crore were farm work- rate tax cuts in the United States, has been slipping. When agriculture,
ers) had lost their jobs between which received a fillip after Presi- which engages nearly 50 per cent of
2011-12 and 2017-18. With unem- dent Donald Trump took over, have the population, is in a crisis, the
DEVINDER SHARMA
ployment worsening over the past neither brought in investments nor reverberations it carries on the econ-
FOOD & AGRICULTURE SPECIALIST 45 years, the crisis had certainly created jobs. The money the corpo- omy are bound to be intense.
gone beyond farming. rate saved was, instead, invested in The revival of agriculture, there-

T
HE writing was on the wall, a
clear pointer to the deep
agrarian distress that contin-
ues to prevail over the
decades. Before a ‘leaked’ 2017-18
National Sample Survey Office
(NSSO) report on consumption
expenditure — which the govern-
ment decided to shelve — showed
that rural households were spending
less and less on food, the Economic
Survey 2016 had brought out the
unpleasant truth. The average farm
income in 17 states, which means
roughly half the country, stood at a
paltry Rs 20,000 a year, which indi-
cated the low farm household expen-
diture on consumption.
While the leaked consumption
expenditure survey pegged the per
capita monthly expenditure on food
in rural areas at Rs 580 (roughly Rs
19 a day), the Economic Survey had
shared data pertaining to average
farm income based not only on what
the farming families were able to
sell, but also adding what they saved
for household consumption. One was
often left wondering how these fam-
ilies would be surviving with income
levels of less than Rs 1,700 a month.
With farm prices remaining
depressed, several other studies
pointed to farm incomes sliding to a
14-year low, and farm wages, too,
showing a marked decline over the
While all these reports pointed to
the deteriorating economic wellbe-
ing of a rural family, the implications
it had on pulling down rural spend-
ing were not difficult to foresee.
Economists, however, remain
divided over trying to manoeuvre a
reliable way out of the downturn.
While mainline economists agree
that weaker consumer demand and
slowing private investments are the
two key factors that have slowed the
economy, leading economic growth
to a six-year low of 4.5 per cent in the
July-September quarter, the pre-
scriptions being suggested are aimed
at the top of the ladder.
Industry associations find the slow-
down to be an appropriate opportuni-
ty to push for more reforms in the
form of cheaper and easy land acqui-
sitions, labour laws, reducing corpo-
rate tax, removing tax terrorism,
fast-tracking of bankruptcy resolu-
tions and, of course, providing yet
another sector-based stimulus.
While mainline economists gener-
ally agree that it is the bottom of the
pyramid that needs more attention, a
set of booster doses that have
already been announced to reinvigo-
rate the economy relate essentially
to corporate tax stimulus, real
estate, automobile sector, bank con-
solidation and recapitalisation,
export incentives, and some sops to
CRISIS LOOMS: A large section of the poor finds it difficult to even buy a ~5 pack of biscuits.
For two decades, farmers
have been at the receiving
end, with almost stagnant or
declining incomes. The
growth rate in farm wages,
too, has been slipping. When
agriculture, which engages
nearly half of the population,
is in a crisis, its reverberations
on the economy are bound
to be intense.
micro, small and medium enterpris-
es. A few economists have ques-
tioned the need to provide tax
breaks to an industry which is
already sitting comfortably over
cash. They have said that it is not the
way to bolster the sagging economy.
With already 5 per cent of the GDP
going as revenue foregone, an addi-
tional cut in corporate tax rate provid-
ing a stimulus of Rs 1.45-lakh every
year is only going to further weaken
the tax revenue position. Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has
also hinted at a relief on the personal
income tax in the next Budget.
To say that tax concessions will
encourage businesses to invest
the stock markets.
No wonder, the Indian stock mar-
kets too went into a celebration mode
the day after the corporate tax rate
cuts were announced.
While the celebrations still contin-
ue, and the inflow of foreign funds
has increased after the tax rate cut,
my worry remains about a large sec-
tion of the poor who are finding it dif-
ficult to buy a Rs 5 pack of biscuits;
about those who are struggling hard
to market their crop harvest at a
remunerative price; about those
farm and non-farm workers who are
finding it hard to secure a sustain-
able daily wage.
For the population in the poor cat-
egory, especially in agriculture, no
specific incentives are being
announced. More so at a time when
a study by the Organisation for Eco-
nomic Cooperation and Develop-
ment and the Indian Council for
Research on International Econom-
ic Relations (OECD-ICRIER) had
earlier shown that farmers lost an
estimated Rs 45 lakh crore in the
16-year period, from 2000-01 to
2016-17, on account of being denied
the right price. Niti Aayog’s own
estimates showed the growth in real
farm incomes, in the past two years,
to be ‘near zero’.
In other words, for two decades in a
row, farmers have been at the receiv-
fore, holds the key. If there is one
sector of the economy which is in
dire need of an economic stimulus, it
is agriculture. The time is appropri-
ate to compensate farmers.
To begin with, if an amount equiv-
alent to the Rs 1.45-lakh-crore tax
relief per year to the industry was
allocated, instead, to agriculture, it
would triple the direct income sup-
port amount under the PM-Kisan
scheme to Rs 18,000 per year (Rs
1,500 per farmer per month) and
extend the scheme to landless farm-
ers as well. Already Rs 75,000 crore
is allocated for the PM-Kisan
scheme, which needs to be raised by
adding another Rs 1.45-lakh crore.
The more money in the hands of the
poor, the more will be the demand
generated, which is the crying need.
Follow it up with measures to make
public procurement more effective,
expand the network of APMC (Agri-
cultural Produce Market Commit-
tee)-regulated mandis; and assure
MSP (minimum support price) for
all crops for which it is announced,
meeting the gap in MSP and market
prices by deficiency payments. In
addition, drawing from the experi-
ence of Kerala, set up a debt relief
commission in every state. And
invest more in rural roads and pub-
lic services like schools and health
centres in rural areas.

Living the three minutes of military life

MANMOHAN BAHADUR
ADDL DIRECTOR GENERAL, CENTRE FOR
AIR POWER STUDIES, NEW DELHI
There has been a campaign
to stifle the voice of Indians
who pride themselves on
having guarded the frontier
in their youth and who feel
that they still have some
‘juice’ left to contribute to
nation-building. This stifling
would come through the
ill-conceived suggestion of
a veterans’ code of conduct
which is reportedly under
consideration. It would be
the most blinkered of all
decisions taken.
T
HE legendary General
George Patton wrote in his
book, War as I knew it, that
“a man’s military life is lived
for about three minutes, parcelled
out in bits and pieces of decision-
making that he alone can make cor-
rectly, because of his unique experi-
ence and learning.” Certain events in
the media point to these three min-
utes extending beyond a man’s life
in uniform into his retirement, which
Patton had not possibly envisaged.
The recent rancid comments of a
veteran on national television, that
brought shame on the uniform he
once wore, gave a handle to some
within the country, and certainly
across the border, to paint the entire
serving and retired community with
the same broad unflattering brush.
Nothing can be further from the
truth, a fact that needs regurgitation.
An even more serious fallout of the
episode has been a campaign to stifle
the voice of Indians who pride them-
selves on having guarded the
nation’s frontier in their youth and
who feel that they still have some
‘juice’ left in them to contribute to
nation-building.
This stifling would come through
the ill-conceived suggestion of a code
of conduct for veterans which is
reportedly under consideration, as
per the media. If it comes into force,
it would be the most blinkered of all
decisions taken. Unfortunately, some
in the media too have sided with this
thought — as did an editor of a
CODE OF CONDUCT: It is incorrect to say that servicemen have forgotten the basic ethos
of respecting constitutional seniority. Rules demand it and the veterans follow it.
national daily who wrote in a piece
that veterans in a regimental gather-
ing reportedly felt slighted that an
incumbent Governor who was once a
serviceman but junior to them when
in service, got the pride of place.
The slant in the writing that ser-
vicemen have forgotten the basic
ethos of respecting constitutional
seniority is incorrect — ‘young
Group Captain (Honorary) Sachin
Tendulkar, being a Bharat Ratna, is
seated ahead of all retired Air Chiefs
in every annual Air Force Day
parade at the Air Force Station, Hin-
don, and no one is offended one bit.
Rules demand it, and the veterans
follow them unconditionally. But is
everything hunky-dory? Certainly
not, and an honest soul-searching is
required through three realisations
that need to dawn on all those who
come in public glare.
First, veterans in television studios
must accept the fact that their utility
has changed: from being sought as
military experts about a decade back
to one being used as mere props for
grandstanding the nebulous concept
of nationalism; TRP ratings, it
appears, are directly proportional to
the noise generated in a television
studio and some veterans have fallen
in the trap. They are being ‘used’ as
a front to pitch against them, all
those who do not side with the televi-
sion anchor’s line of argument. It’s
indeed sad that many a time, non-
uniformed Indians are called upon to
acquiesce and prove their national-
ism by staying quiet lest they be
termed anti-national due to the pres-
ence of a veteran on the panel.
Second, the media must research
the background of a ‘military expert’
being hosted by them. All veterans
were good soldiers but every soldier
is not necessarily an expert on the
idiot box. It is so surprising to see
some people pass expert comments
on air power just by the fact they
have sat in an aeroplane!
Third, if the downslide in military
ethos and spirit is not arrested, the
Indian soldier, sailor and airman
would start getting ‘tolerated’ by
society due to there being no other
alternative to him, instead of being
revered in the true sense by the citi-
zens. Some unfortunate incidents,
when servicemen in uniform have
been heckled, does not speak well of
the trend; ‘reverence’ is earned and
not mandated due to irreplaceability
or the TINA factor.
To ensure this, while the major
responsibility is that of the veterans
to maintain the decorum and ethos
of the uniform they represent, a spe-
cial responsibility lies on the shoul-
ders of the captains of media outlets
of all forms. In these days of insane
proliferation of social media and
television channels — with apolo-
gies to Karl Marx — garnering eye-
balls has become their religion. But
that should not lead to the denigra-
tion of the one institution that all
countrymen look up to — the Indian
Armed Forces.
In the case pointed out earlier,
when an inappropriate comment
was made by a veteran, the media
house could well have exercised its
discretion about the manner in
which the episode was telecast —
sometimes, self-censorship helps in
the larger cause, since that com-
ment was not at all representative of
the views of the veterans.
Armed Forces veterans carry their
rank after retirement, even to their
graves. It is an honour that soldiers
the world over have been bestowed
by their governments and is not
something special to India. Hence,
tombstones have the ranks of the
interred and so do the epitaphs on
statues honouring war heroes.
This honour bestows a unique
responsibility on the uniformed fra-
ternity — they are ‘on parade’ every
single day of their life, right from the
time they don their uniform in their
training academies, and on parade,
faujis (members of all three services)
have to be immaculate in all respects.
The three minutes of decision-mak-
ing, spoken of by General Patton,
have a longevity and life of their own;
they end only with the sounding of
the last post for them.

quick crossword su do ku calendar forecast

ACROSS DECEMBER 17, 2019, TUESDAY SUNSET: TUESDAY 17:23 HRS
5 2
1 Utterly forsaken (10) SUNRISE: WEDNESDAY 07:14 HRS
6 Check flow of (4) ■ Vikrami Samvat 2076
10 Discourage (5)
■ Shaka Samvat 1941
11 Gradual eating away (9)
12 A subsidiary activity (8)
13 Recurrent theme (5) 7 6 8 9 ■ Marghshirsh Shaka

■ Posh Parvishte
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Sunny Partly Cloudy Cloudy
CITY MAX
Rainy
MIN
Foggy

15 In approximate terms (7)

■ Hijari 1441 Chandigarh 19 07
17 Control and put to use (7)
19 Approve openly (7)
21 Merry (7)
3 1 ■ Krishna Paksha Tithi 6, up to 1.38 am New Delhi 20 08
22 On many occasions (5) ■ Vishku Yoga up to 11.09 pm Amritsar 19 05
24 System of physical exercises (8)
27 Meddlesome (9) 1 4 2 6 ■ Magha Nakshatra up to 1.26 am

■ Moon in Leo sign

Bathinda
Jalandhar
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29 Republic of Ireland (4) ■ Gandmool up to 1.26 am. Ludhiana 19 06
30 Sign of imminent failure (5,5)
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2 9 8 YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION
Bhiwani 20 08
1 Lose colour (4) Hisar 20 07
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Fascinated (9)
Tend in sickness (5) 4 3 2 5 9 1 5 6 4 8 3 7 2 Sirsa 21 07
4 Fortunately (7) 3 7 8 9 2 5 4 6 1 Dharamsala 10 04
5 Harsh shrill cry (7) Manali 04 --02
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Obviously (10) 8 6 2
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9 Trade (8) Srinagar 04 --03
14 Realistic (4,2,4)
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Reproducing result
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YESTERDAY ’ S SOLUTION intended (9)
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20 Study in detail (7) Leh --13 --19
Across: 1 Bacchus, 5 Drake, 8 Albatross, 9 Let, 10 Dash, 12 Struggle, 14 Larder, 15 21 Item of clothing (7)
Mettle, 17 Fanlight, 18 Grip, 21 Orb, 22 Tarantula, 24 Fakir, 25 Embroil. 7 9 6 3 5 1 2 4 8 Dehradun 18 08
23 Private teacher (5)
Down: 1 Braid, 2 Cub, 3 Hate, 4 Smooth, 5 Disquiet, 6 Alligator, 7 Extreme, 11 Springbok, 25 Expressionless (5) Mussoorie 09 --01
4 5 2 7 8 6 1 9 3
13 Register, 14 Lift-off, 16 Charge, 19 Pearl, 20 Snub, 23 UFO. 26 To cut down (4) MEDIUM TEMPERATURE IN OC