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protest GDP
in perspective human
rights Work
half done! Hero
Munjal’s class act Pitching for cricket
academy Music sans borders firstperson US-China
currency affair
Waiting for something to give By Aasim Sajjad Akhtar Over the past few months federal government employees
have been on the streets protesting for wage increases. On 19 May, clerks,
teachers and a smattering of blue-collar workers held a rally and sit-in
in the federal capital. Thankfully, their democratic right to assemble and
protest was not violated, ostensibly because wielding the big stick in
Islamabad constitutes a public relations disaster for any incumbent
government (contrast this, for example, to the gratuitous violence that
was visited upon students of the engineering university in Khairpur the
other day because they dared to protest against inordinate load-shedding).
Yet no responsible government official came out to listen to the
protestors. Ever since dozens of leaders of the All-Pakistan Federal
Government Employees Federation (APFGEF) have been on hunger strike at
Aabpara chowk. The protestors are demanding a 100 percent increase in their basic salaries. On the face of it, this is a very substantial demand. But let’s not forget that something close to a 100 percent increase in basic salaries of armed forces personnel will be formally announced in the upcoming budget. Then there is the more general fact that real wages of government employees (and for that matter working people across the board) have declined steadily in recent years. Even if the APFGEF’s demands are met, the minimum wage would increase to Rs14,000 (assuming that we take at face value the prime minister’s announcement on May Day that the minimum wage will be increased from Rs6,000 to 7,000). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently congratulated our economic managers for maintaining a 12 percent inflation rate. So what is Rs7,000 really worth? There was a time when the labour movement consistently maintained that the monthly wage should be equivalent to eik tola sona. It is an indication of just how weak the labour movement is that a 100 percent increase in basic wages is equivalent to a little more than one-third the price of eik tola sona (which these days varies from as low as Rs35,000 to as high as Rs40,000). And the reality is that the protesting federal government employees will not even get close to a 100 percent increase. The sitting government clearly has no plans of acceding to the demands of its own employees, even while it has made no such objection to an increase in the defence budget under the guise that an increase in the salaries of armed forces’ personnel is imperative. Meanwhile the rather alarming fact that there is currently no labour law in this country should not be allowed to slip under the radar screen. As of 30 April, the Industrial Relations Act — 2008 (IRA) lapsed and no new legislation (or presidential ordinance) has replaced it. It is said that the problem is not a lack of political will but instead a new technical quandary that follows the passing of the 18th amendment and the abolition of the concurrent list. Labour is now an exclusively provincial subject and therefore it is up to the provinces to pass legislation to protect the working poor. No sign as yet of any action on this front on the part of any of the provinces. It is too bad that so few people in Pakistan appear concerned with the virtual disappearance from the policy agenda of the working class. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their apolitical welfare agendas were once thought to have filled the void that was created by the retreat of the labour movement (which was undermined globally by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the concomitant emergence of neo-liberal ideology). But the NGO honeymoon has been over for a long time. The idiom of resistance and rebellion against the system is dominated on the one hand by ethnic-nationalism, and on the other hand, by the religious right. Bit-part efforts such as those of the APFGEF are of course necessary, but in and of themselves will not reverse the prevailing trend. Among other things it is important to bear in mind that the majority of working people are now subject to informal arrangements which leave them completely at the mercy of the market and without any formal recourse to the law (even when it does exist in some shape of form). The mass of workers in the agrarian economy stand out in this regard; a similar unprotected mass exists in urban areas as well. In recent times there have been successes in organizing such workers, with the most prominent case being that of power-loom workers in Faisalabad and Jhang. But this is just the tip of the iceberg and much more systematic and widespread initiatives must be undertaken by those who are committed to a working-class politics. In the meantime, those who are wandering the corridors of power (and I mean those have been legitimately elected to wander these corridors rather than those who have occupied them uninterrupted from the outset) should bear in mind that increasing economic and social disaffection cannot simply be ignored or placated by invoking tired old slogans of ‘roti, kapra aur makan’. While there is no simple correlation between poverty and the rise of parochial ideologies, it cannot be denied that those on the margins of society tend to be amongst the more easily recruited to ideological causes. When working-class ideologies were front and centre, it was those on the margins that were primarily attracted to them. Now ethnic-nationalist and religious ideologies have penetrated the social mainstream and it is therefore hardly a surprise that significant numbers of working people — particularly youth — are flocking towards them. It appears that the mainstream parties have given up totally on policymaking that even protects what the working-class currently possess. They make up for their lack of political will by engaging in the most typical kind of sloganeering. It would be much better if they undertook symbolic steps that showed that they at least acknowledge the working-class agenda. So, for example, why not come good on the promise to meaningfully restore trade union rights; even better would be the granting of trade union rights to workers in defence-related industries. Instead the emphasis appears to be on heady May Day gatherings at the Convention Centre in Islamabad that simply reinforce the dominant patron-client logic of politics. The APFGEF has announced that it will march on parliament if its demands are not met by 2 June. Even if the government will not increase wages by 100 percent, surely it should be willing to give its own workers something?
Higher inflation and unemployment, culminating in a decline in real income of households have altered intra-family consumption patterns By Laila Azhar Growth of Pakistan's economy has been decelerated in
recent years. In particular, the manufacturing sector has confronted a
number of internal as well as external challenges that caused negative
growth during 2008-09. Though, the impact of a weakened economy on
employment opportunities, in general, has been rather limited, apparently,
its impact on women during the present economic crisis has been
disproportionately more intense leading to their social isolation,
psychological trauma, reduced level of nutrition, school drop out of
girls, and incidents of abandonment of children and suicides. In Pakistan, traditionally participation of women in the labour force has remained low. The social paradigm of the country continues to play a very important part in preventing female participation in the workforce. The existing paradigmatic structure determined by the feudalistic mindset discourages women's empowerment including employment and considers it a socially reprehensible phenomenon. The slight increase noticed in female employment ratios is due to the expansion of the informal sector, spread of education, urban living, and the growth of a number of civil society organisations working for female development programmes. Female participation in economic activities in the agricultural sector in rural areas has always been supplementary to male participation. In urban areas, on the other hand female participation has been limited to a lower cadre work force, both in offices and factories. Gender discrimination still persists and male employees of offices and factories would hesitate to accept a female as their superior, and rarely as the chief executive. This makes it absolutely necessary to work for promoting women's employment. The focus, therefore, needs to be on comprehensively addressing the multifaceted challenges confronted in mainstreaming female labour force participation. Women's complete integration into the economy is a desirable goal both for equity and efficiency reasons. The equity aspect implies that labour market participation of women will improve their relative position within the economy. It will also increase overall economic efficiency and enhance the development potential of the country. To take full advantage of this population dividend, Pakistan has to productively engage not only its male youth but also the female population which constitute almost half of its population. International comparisons indicate that Pakistan has lost out particularly in terms of export competitiveness due to low rates of female participation especially in industrial activities. There is evidence of the 'discouraged worker effect' in countries like Pakistan, Egypt and Iran, where high female unemployment rates are accompanied by low labour force participation rates. This effect arises when high unemployment rates lead to withdrawal of workers from the labour force. In Pakistan, the overall labour force participation rate remains low, ranging around 50 percent, with a gradual increase in recent years. Interestingly, though the labour force participation rate for men has declined over the last four decades to 82 percent currently, it has increased for women from a very low level of 9 percent in 1971-72 to almost 22 percent in 2007-08. This trend indicates that the overall gender gap in labour force participation rates is declining in Pakistan. However, it continues to remain very low, with over 78 percent of women of productive age out of the labour force. In terms of numbers, the ratio of male to female workers is currently about 41. The structure of female employment is almost 74 percent of female workers in Pakistan are engaged in agriculture, mainly in activities related to livestock. Among those women who work in the urban areas, over 28 percent are associated with textile, wearing apparel and leather industries, 20 percent in social and related community services, 16 percent in agriculture, livestock and hunting, and 13 percent in household services. Overall, the share of female employment in the formal sector of the economy is low, at only about 7 percent, and declining. There is a similar pattern of decline in the informal sector. Another striking conclusion is related to the fundamental problem in the Pakistani context of the weak link between education and employment. While women are entering higher educational institutions in large numbers this is not being followed by subsequent entry into the labour force. The limited entry of highly educated females into employment highlights potentially strong gender discrimination in the labour market. A discussion of female labour force participation cannot be completed without emphasizing two important issues. The first is the extent to which the increase in labour force participation is overstated due to the inclusion of 'unpaid family workers' and the second, the degree to which the extent of participation is understated due to the exclusion of women employed in marginal activities. On the other hand, the labour force participation rate almost doubles with the inclusion of women engaged in subsistence activities. Compared to men, therefore, women are more involved in unpaid family work, or in unpaid or low paid or marginal economic activities. Women at work in Pakistan have largely been unable to convert employment into a means of social and economic empowerment. Pakistan is either a signatory or has ratified various international conventions and declarations committing itself to improve gender inequalities and inequities. In order to ensure a conducive social environment, domestic legislation has to be made at par with its international commitments. Unfortunately, there exist no constitutional provisions which make these international commitments binding upon the judiciary. The absence of essential pre-requisites continues to impair any serious and sustained efforts required for the development of society and women's empowerment. The existing legislation is limited in its extent to specific workers, whereas, the conventions are broader in their application than the existing domestic legislation. The situation for women is complicated due to their socio-economic status. Complicated legal procedures compounded by gender biases of judiciary and law enforcing agencies, delays, high cost of court expenses and corruption of the judiciary makes it extremely difficult for women to access social justice. The government needs to establish 'Legal Aid Committees' in industrial areas, which employ female lawyers. These can help create awareness among workers regarding their rights and entitlements and litigate on their behalf, thus making access to justice a reality for women. The Legal Aid Committees can function under the supervision and control of the Zila Ombudsman/administrator. The women of Pakistan continue to be discriminated socially and legally with many constitutional provisions constantly challenged and violated. Discouraged from filing any litigation for their rights they continue to be suppressed. At the international level there are declarations like the United Nations Declaration on Violence Against Women, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the Beijing Declaration etc. The Beijing Declaration (1995) brought into focus violence against women and the Platform for Action adopted included provisions on sexual harassment at the workplace. Pakistan is a signatory to these international agreements. However, there continue to exist major gaps both in legislation and in implementation. Both higher inflation and unemployment culminating in a decline in real income of households have altered intra-family consumption patterns with less food available for women and girls. The fall in real income has led to school dropout 'particularly of girls'. In some cases, young girls after dropping out from school are being forced to work as low paid child workers in homes or informal industrial units. A fear of unemployment may also force working women to accept victimization by employers. Due to an increase in transport fares, the mobility of women has become largely restricted to their own neighborhoods. The tragic dimensions of the current crisis include acts of suicide by women, killing or abandonment of children, escalating crime and conversion of working women into sex workers. Strategies to promote women at work need to focus on implementation of policies that facilitate women's entry in various economic activities as well as reforms. UN recent report "Keeping the Promise" 2010 says a majority of countries that signed Millennium document in year 2000 will miss out their development targets by a big margin. Ten years have passed and very few member countries have done anything substantive to address problems facing poor and deprived population. The Global MDG plan and any individual country commitments including Pakistan must give priority to both investing in the most off-track targets and promoting a more integrated approach across the MDGs. It is high time that democratic government needs to prioritise issues. The writer is a development manager. She can be contacted at laila.azhar@gmail.com human rights Bound to carpet-weaving By Beenish Kulsoom The factors that make children work at a young age of
five mark the poverty of household, primacy of social exclusion, absence
of safety nets, and rural to urban labour market shift; etc. In Pakistan,
child labour is recurrent in every form of labour, ranging from domestic,
agriculture, and industrial employment. The content and characteristics of
child labour are distinct in the urban and rural settlements; however, the
fact of the matter remains that household poverty, along with the absence
of safety nets force poorest households to have their children engaged in
every form of child labour, be it hazardous or non-hazardous. Where poverty is defined as one of the causes of child labour, there are other factors that accentuate this social hazard, one such overriding factor is the prevalence of debt bondage. In a study conducted in 2000, International Labour Organisation (ILO) found that in most of South Asian countries (India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan) debt bondage has entrapped millions of the poorest and most vulnerable workers bonded to their employers. And, these poorest people give their labour, and strive often in vain to repay debt to their employers. Research has also shown that (poorest households) the victims of this social evil tend to be the poorest and least educated segments of the population — from low castes and religious minorities. Their employers are the local money lenders, landlords, or tradesmen, who give loans to poorest households, while being fully aware that their clients have no resources to pay back them the principal and the interest, yet they take the leap knowingly fully well that in exchange they would be able to extract labour from their clients for a much longer time. Both the employer (and/or money lender), and the client (poorest household) are aware of their respective positions in the equation that stands to be highly unfavourable to the poorest household. Debt bondage is one of the causes of household poverty in poor households, amongst the minority (Hindu scheduled castes) in the district of Tharparkar. A state-sponsored skill — carpet-weaving — has resulted in the confluence of child labour in this region. While widespread child labour is closely associated with poverty; poverty certainly is not the only explanation for child labour, the reasons are complex, multidimensional, and does indicate to the fragile existence of safety nets; researchers believe that the a poor family may be unable to afford school fees, uniforms or other costs; family may depend on the contribution a working child makes to the household income, and place more importance on that income than on education. According to the ILO, over 200 million children between age five and 14 are working worldwide. This figure represents one-fifth of the total population of girls and boys in this age-group. Many of these children work long hours, in dangerous conditions. About 111 million children are in what has been termed as hazardous work which refers to forms of labour which are likely to have adverse effects on the child’s safety, health, and moral development. Nearly 10 million of these children are engaged in some form of slave labour, armed conflict, prostitution, or pornography. Reports from ILO suggest that around the world, some 246 million children between five and 17 years are working instead of attending school. In Pakistan, the state of child labour is dismal. In the year 1996 the government of Pakistan conducted Child Labour Survey with the support of International Labour Organisation (ILO) to ascertain the exact number of child workers in Pakistan. The survey calculated 3.3 million child labourers in the country. The survey also showed that two-thirds of total child workers are boys while one-third is girls. Following the survey in 2001, Pakistan ratified ILO’s Convention 182, which is binding for the signatory nation to commit itself to not allow children under the age of 18 to work in the hazardous working conditions or in worst form of child labour. The country statistics, however, show contradiction in what is to be considered the working age for a child. Under Pakistan’s law, 14 years is generally considered as an age under which children should not work. Whereas the Economic Survey 2007-8 includes aged 10 children as economic active; and under the Employment of Children Act 1991, employment of children under 15 in dangerous and hazardous activities is prohibited. Following the adoption of Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work in 1998, under which all member States have an obligation to respect, promote and realise the elimination of all forms of forced labour, the International Labour Organization (ILO) conducted studies in various South Asian Countries, and found that the menace of ‘debt bondage’ is a recurrent theme in the countries such as Pakistan, India, and Nepal. A study by ILO found that "Debt bondage is most common in the agriculture sector, although it can also be found in other industrial sectors such as mining and gem polishing, brick-kilns, carpets and textiles, as well as domestic service. The victims of bonded labour tend to be the poorest and least educated segments of the population, from low castes and religious minorities. In Pakistan, our rural settlements are accustomed to debt bondage, and it emerges as the major reason for poorest households to push their children to be engaged in strenuous labour, ranging from domestic, home-based enterprise. The causes of debt bondage emanate from the poverty of household, and since these poor households have no access to safety nets (as they should have been provided by the State) find themselves caught in compromising situation at the hands of local money lenders. Tharparkar is a key district within the Sindh Arid Zone, and the only district in Pakistan with a majority of Hindu population, according to the 1998 census Tharparkar had 369,998 residents. Due to the Hindu caste system, there are certain communities that face continuous discrimination. They belong to the scheduled castes Dalits, and belong to sub-groups Kohli and Bheel. These people do not own agricultural land, and even if they do the land-ownership is less and its fertility is contingent upon good rainfall. The desert receives rainfall from July to September, and normally it is not regular, thus having repercussions on family’s annual asset accumulation in the form of grains such as bajra (Pearl Millet) that is the staple diet in the desert, since wheat is not grown in the area, and people have substituted wheat for bajra. In such a scenario, when rainfall is irregular and intermittent, these people are then forced to take loan/credit from local money lenders called vaniyo (another of the Hindu caste that lends money on higher interest rates). This money is then used for purchase of edibles, agricultural input, medical bills, wedding arrangement, or funeral/burial rites. Since, payment of loan is contingent upon steady source of income generation (resulting from the livelihood practice adopted at the household) people become victims of loan. These creditors in most cases work through their agents or contractors in remote villages who give loans to the poorest households in exchange of their uninterrupted labour on khaddis. Therefore, to recoup the loan, the creditor (vaniyo) uses extractive and exploitative methods to recoup the principal and interest on it. One of the methods through which extortion and exploitation is unleashed is the installation of carpet loom or khaddi. The irony is that this area is not traditionally known for carpet-weaving, this skill and occupation was imported intentionally in the region in the late 1960s with an objective of utilising the surplus labour in these areas, so as to make use of their energies on a commercially lucrative and viable trade. The Sindh Small Industries Corporation (SSIC) had initially formed units in the Town Mithi, Taluka Mithi, District Tharparkar. With the passage of time, however, the ‘loan sharks’ found this to be highly favourable to their business interests. To get the loan recovered the creditor thus installs a carpet loom (khaddi) at the defaulter’s home, and hence the household enters the vicious spiral of weaving carpets for the creditor; in some cases defaulters themselves suggest such a settlement to their creditor. In 2008, a study was published by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) titled Bonded Child Labour in the carpet industry of Thar, the study revealed that in 2005 the workforce in carpet industry generated US$200 million through exports; workforce comprise most vulnerable, marginalised and dispersed population which also included children; 40 percent of workforce in carpet weaving are children. Forty percent is a huge figure and it is a shame that the country is deriving its exports from child labour. This figure does not give reference to ‘debt bondage’, however, the situation on the ground suggest that most of these carpet are the result of ‘debt bondage’. The case of child labour is stark in this digressed domestic industry; the reality is that child labour is accentuated in carpet weaving because of the fact that in most cases ‘debt bondage’ causes the vicious spiral not to end ever. Absence of ‘safety nets’ and ‘social exclusion’ as in the case of carpet weaving in remote areas of Sindh is forcing people to trade labour for their survival; the most ironic is the fact that in this ‘trade exchange’ the returns are low, and this has negative effect on the entire household, especially the children. Child labour in other forms of labour is also highly prevalent in these areas, however, when it comes to ‘carpet weaving’ there is always a greater likelihood that when a child reaches adulthood he engages in carpet weaving, even when his family has paid-off the debt. The local structures and social pressures always have a bearing on rural economy, and we have seen that how these structures have come to regenerate itself in the contemporary period. The case of ‘carpet weaving’ is one example, the cause and effect relationship between debt bondage forces poor households to learn the skill and take up this as the livelihood. There is no denying of the fact that khaddi does give an income earning opportunity (subsistence it may be) but when it comes at the expense of children’s future, and as a result of ‘debt bondage’, the consequences are dire and not favourable to the child’s future. The writer is an Islamabad-based academic
We now have the Women Harassment Bill By Nyla Daud The woman shifts uneasily on her feet. Battered and
bruised to the bones, this one last experience has brought her to the
local police station, but where is she to go? Who is she to approach even
for registering the offence? The camera zooms on to an anguished profile
as, after having borne the verbal and physical scrutiny of the constable
at the gate, the chaddar-clad woman wanders helplessly about the thana
premises. There is another longish shot showing the woman surrounded by a herd of apparently amused men (among them a half dressed man with a miswak to his teeth), indulging in irrelevant dialogue directed at the woman. The apathy of the situation becomes more palpable as she is offered free advice from everyone. The grand finale surfaces when she finally lands in the SHO’s office. This heavy-weight dismisses her with the one remark that about sums up the situation as it exists with reference to female complainants when they go to a police station to register a case of domestic violence: "This is your kismet so go home and make peace with your husband". Till very recently that would have been the end of the story. Yes, we now do have a Bill against the Harassment of Women. As the video-showing ends and the floor is thrown open to comments, the room full of police trainee officers comes alive with amazing sensitivity. Not one among the group of constables being thus exposed to the ground situation disagrees with the video fact-file. Each and everyone shakes his head in silence when asked if there was any exaggeration in the film. None of them would like a female from his own family to be thus shamefully and apathetically exposed in the name of justice and fair play. Encouraging individual responses, the trainer wants to build up a list of dos and don’ts of a police officer’s behavior at the police station when a female victim of violence comes to report a crime. The reasons are obvious: the police service has a defined masculine culture that few in the ranks would dare disclaim. The service has built up an unfortunate signature over the times, having suffered invasions from various cultures, half baked ideologies and misconstrued social concepts. Gradually, with great sensitivity, the facilitator prepares the ground, mentioning gender cautiously. He is well aware that although his trainees are academically qualified to interpret it (the educational profile of the trainee group of police officers ranges from intermediate to Master’s and Law degrees) the word Gender carries shades of foreign intervention and vested agendas. However, the tide appears to turn as nervous murmurs take the form of loud confident tones and the suggestions come pouring in. The suggestions speak of an altered, albeit heightened degree of sensitivity of human compassion. This was the third day of the six day training workshop organised by Gender Responsive Policing Project, a joint collaboration of National Police Bureau and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), aiming to make police gender sensitive and gender responsive. Initiated at the grass root level of the police hierarchy, the programme is aimed at an ultimate renaissance of the entire force which today is unfortunately representative of a strong system of un-justice whose perpetuation has come to be accepted as unalterable. While male victims of crime can and do withstand the atrocious behavior depicted in the video, it is the women victims who bear the brunt because of their greater vulnerability. Already severely under pressure by domestic handicaps ranging from patriarchal overtures and apprehension and social disapproval of venturing into the big bad world, our women are ignorant about their religious and social rights. Illiteracy and lack of any legal know how makes them the most pitifully deprived and maltreated of the Pakistani population. The Gender Responsive Policing programme may sound ambitious but it is actually geared to remove the causes of social and psychological discrimination and harassment faced by women victims when they approach a police station for registration of a crime. "We have zeroed in on Foot and Head Constables for initiating this program because these personnel form the major bulk of the police force. They are the first points of contact with a victim and hold immense power over them. That is why it is imperative that we re-train them for attitudinal changes, for their perceptions of themselves as enforcers of law and order, for their speech, their behaviour, even their body language and basic human right principles as enunciated by Islam." Coming from a member of the design team of the workshop, this statement belies a major change in the overall policy implementation with regards to local thana culture. While it would not have needed a rocket scientist to determine the social and official areas where intervention has to be done vis-à-vis the gender and police equation, design directors deputed to implement the programme have obviously gone overboard in making sure that the religious and social sensitivities of those who are being targeted for this very sensational change are not tampered with. Whatever the long-term prognosis of the gender-responsive policing programme effort, this enhanced respect for probable change in the thana culture became a reality. In the course of six vibrantly interactive working days, trainees were guided along a path of rediscovery. Basic knowledge of human rights and Islamic injunctions regarding the status of women, the role and duties of a police officer at the thana, and the reality of the human genetic code was taught to educate the officers. Admittedly, the police force is a large rather unwieldy body of hardcore professionals thoroughly rooted in their self-crafted interpretations of duty. Yet, the change in the target group was visible: to the point that on the final day as farewells were being enacted, one head constable stood up with a formal declaration that from now onwards he would not only change his attitude towards female victims, he would also change his attitude towards his wife, the session on genetic coding had done the trick.
At 86, Munjal still has clear memories of his early days in Kamalia All heart. That’s the only phrase to describe
Brijmohan Lall Munjal’s extraordinarily moving speech at the valedictory
event of Aman Ki Asha’s Indo-Pak business meet in New Delhi, May 19,
2010. He may be the world’s bicycle and two-wheeler king, but all the
success and wealth hasn’t made him forget his roots or the people of his
birthplace: Kamalia in Faisalabad district of Pakistan. In a speech laden with emotion and full of wonderful shayari, all recited in perfect diction, he stole the audience’s heart. Sample this: Mitaa denae ko nafrat ek sadee ki, mohabbat kaa ek lamhaa kafee hai (a moment of love is enough to wipe out years of enmity). Mind you, this was just one of the half dozen that he reeled off to great applause. Later, he proudly showed TOI the transcript of the shayari, written in Urdu, in which he’s well-versed. His enthusiasm to reach out to people from across the border was so sincere that it moved not only the guests but also the hosts in equal measure. His delight at the Aman Ki Asha initiative was indeed genuine. He said repeatedly that while a lot of efforts had been made to normalise relations between India and Pakistan they had come to naught. He said that this would be different. He said, "It will certainly make a difference. I feel that from my heart. Fortunately no politicians are involved." He was full of praise for The Times of India and the Jang Group for this bold initiative. Speaking to TOI, Munjal said that he still has old friends in Pakistan. "I have personally tried and helped some of the people I know when they were starting business ventures in Pakistan ," he said, narrating how he sent machinery for a cycle venture in Pakistan from his factory in Ludhiana. "And I was there when the first cycle was made," he said with a big smile on his face. At 86, Munjal still has clear memories of his early days in Kamalia. "I cannot forget those days. When I went back there, I travelled to my school to check whether my name was still mentioned on the school board," he said. Times News Network caption Another step towards peace.
It’s really a new spin to the cricket-for-peace Imagine. Wasim Akram, one of the greatest fast bowlers
of all time, conducting a coaching clinic in West Patel Nagar or any other
neighbourhood in the Capital. Can you envisage the enthusiasm the occasion
will generate among young wannabe pacemen? And what if the event were to
inspire one of them to become India’s own Akram? Well, if the
governments on either side of the border don’t object, Arif Habib would
like to see that happen at the earliest. "I know Wasim Akram. I haven’t
taken his consent on the subject though. But I am willing to sponsor a It’s really a new spin to the cricket-for-peace concept, something that will surely promote better understanding between the neighbours. Habib has already sponsored a cricket coaching camp in Quetta, Karachi and Rawalpindi last summer. Pakistan’s T20 captain Shahid Afridi was the coach in the three-week long clinic. About 100 students attended. "The event was an unqualified success. I am sure we can do something on similar lines in India," he said Times News Network
Where music is concerned, there are no boundaries and no demarcations By Sakuntala Narasimhan The elite among Islamabad’s cognoscenti is gathered
before me as I tune the tanpura and prepare to begin my recital. I have
come prepared with some ghazals and thumris, thinking that heavy classical
music may not go down well with Pakistani audiences, but after the opening
ghazal, when I ask the gathering what they would like me to present,
several voices reply in chorus, "Classical!" Quickly shifting my
mental focus, I ask again, "Common ragas, or rare ones?" And the
voices pipe up, "Rare ones!" This is unexpected. Hastily, I abandon the list of ghazals I had come prepared with, and launch instead into a khayal in Chhayanat, a speciality of the Rampur gharana that I belong to. The bandish is a famous one, "Jhanana jhanana, jhana nana baaje bichhuwa", and a male voice from the audience turns it into a spontaneous duet, matching my rendition with his own, tinged with melodic nostalgia. Why had I assumed that only ghazals would be appreciated across the border? After all, Lahore and Karachi were as much centres of classical music in the pre-independence era, as Mumbai and Kolkata — the legendary vocalist Vishnu Digambar Paluskar opened his first music school (which went on to become the renowned Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, with several branches) in Lahore, before he started one in Mumbai. Come to think of it, if you take away Muslim ustads and their contribution to Indian music, there will be precious little left. Rampur gharana, in which I have been trained, originated with the legendary Enayat Hussain Khan, whose son-in-law Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan, one of the stalwarts of the 20th century, was my guru Ustad Hafeez Ahmed Khan’s teacher (and father-in-law). Ustad Rashid Ahmed Khan, father of Hafeez Ahmed Khan (who, incidentally, was Delhi-based but had performed in Pakistan) was so devout a Muslim that he wanted to be buried only at the holy Nizamuddin dargah in Delhi. And yet, he is famous for composing a bandish on "Brij ke Kanhaiya" in Keervani raga (which Ustad Rashid Khan, the current flag-bearer of the Rampur gharana, has recorded on a popular CD). Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan (my teacher’s teacher) was such a devout Muslim that he would stop his recordings if it was time for the midday prayers. Yet, he sang "Kareem naam tero" in Mian-ki-Malhar and "Sugreeva Rama krupa" in Chhayanat with the same melodic fervour. For these ustads, being Muslim or Hindu had nothing to do with artistic excellence. Whenever I went to Hafeez Ahmed Khan saheb’s place for lessons, he would say, "Aap aaj idhar hee khanaa khayenge – aap ke liye vegetarian banwaya hai." And he, his daughters and sons, and I would sit together for a meal, sharing rotis, dal and sabzi. I learnt to sing Soz, when it was Moharram time. His house was a home-away-from-home for me. He, his wife (daughter of Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan) father Rashid Ahmed Khan saheb and father-in-law Nissar Hussain Khan saheb, are all buried at Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah. Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan is another senior disciple of Nissar Hussain Khan, and the oldest living representative of this gharana. At the entrance to his house in Mumbai, is an inscription from the Koran, and facing it, is a large statue of Goddess Saraswati. There is neither contradiction nor conflict, religious or artistic. In music, it is co-existence of the finest kind. Delve into the lives of musicians around the sub-continent, and you unearth details that are as touching as they are astounding The late Ustad Bade Ghulam Khan, who moved briefly to Pakistan before returning to India, was most famous for the song Hari Om Tat Sat, which brings tears to the eyes of elderly music lovers, even today. Innumerable Muslim names come up when we look at the classical genre in the subcontinent’s cultural heritage — Wajid Ali Shah (ruler of Avadh, who was ousted by the British in the 19th century — his Babul mora thumri is one of the all-time great songs, immortalised by the great K.L.Saigal), Nawab Raza Ali Khan (a great patron of classical music and also composer, who ruled Rampur before independence — his durbar was famous for a galaxy of great musicians) Ustad Allauddin Khan (father-in-law of Ravi Shankar, who was a devotee of Goddess Saraswati and even named his daughter Annapurna), Ustad Bismillah Khan (who was devoted to Lord Kashi Viswanath despite being a devout Muslim) besides contemporaries like Amjad Ali Khan (sarod) and the iconic Ustad Zakir Hussain (tabla). My gharana specialises in tarana (Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan was known as Tarana samrat) and Hazrat Amir Khusro, a cultural icon of both India and Pakistan, was the originator of the tarana form. When I was a teenager, I had a broadcast from All India Radio. The sarangi accompanist, Masit Khan, commented at the end of my recording, "Yeh to Roshanara Begum jaise gaatee hai." Roshnana moved to Pakistan after partition, and when I went to Islamabad recently, my students asked me to look for CDs of her music. The salesmen at the music store, however, brought out other CDs that they said, "achcha biktaa hai (sells well)" — Hariprasad Chaurasia’s flute, Ravi Shankar’s sitar, even DVDs of Om Shanti Om — all Indian favourites. It took some effort to locate Roshanara Begum’s recordings, though elderly Indian connoisseurs still remember her amazing singing. Borders? Political and geographical, perhaps, but where music is concerned, there are no boundaries, no demarcations. Not merely between India and Pakistan; it is universally true — Iranian music can come close to Indian music, so does medieval Thai classical vocal, defying borders. At the end of my recital at Islamabad, a couple, Shahin and Ahmed, introduced themselves and told me about a Pakistani vocalist named Zahida Parveen who had taught Shahin’s mother and passed away in 1976. I had never heard of her. The next day Shahin handed me a Zahida CD, and I played it on returning to India. It was beautiful and I Google-searched for additional information about her. This has triggered a chain of contacts that now link the two countries — the couple picked up Rashid Khan’s CDs during their recent visit to India, and my students are excitedly delving into Zahida’s repertoire. There is a global network called Reporters Without Borders, linking journalists worldwide, and another called Medicins Sans Borders (Doctors without Borders) linking medical professionals globally. Perhaps, a Musicians Without Borders link, can achieve far better results in terms of defusing tensions in the sub-continent, than any amount of political or bureaucratic initiatives. Those who sing together, live and laugh together.... caption Dialogue through music.
"There is no war against Islam" By Ammara Ahmed The News on Sunday: What brings you to Dr. Daniel N. Nelson: I am in Pakistan this time because the US State Department invited me here to speak on civil-military relations. I have already spoken to audiences in Islamabad and Karachi — to university audiences, think-tanks and NGOs. I have met people from other walks of life, businesses, diplomats, retired diplomats and journalists. TNS: There is a sense that in the US, more than at any
other place, it is easy for academics to shift to policy-making. They are
either inducted in think tanks or become part of the government. Do you
think it’s useful and must be imitated by other countries? DNN: I think it is very useful. It is good to have a mix, certainly better than the alternative which is to pursue one career your entire life. It can get quite boring. The sharing of experiences is useful. In my own life, it both made me a better professor at the university by having policy experience and also it gave me a perspective when I was involved in policy on the research perspective that academics have. TNS: Does it not compromise academic independence? DNN: No. In many countries there is less of this inter-weaving than there is in the US. I have never felt it compromised my independence. As a matter of fact, it made me a better professor (as I am still teaching) and now I am in business. So, I have done business, government and academics. TNS: What do you think is the biggest foreign policy achievement of Obama? And what would you count as its failures? DNN: Of course, he has been the president for a little over a year so his achievements are yet to be seen. In the broadest respect, I think he has improved the image of the US. In the period of George W. Bush, a lot of people were concerned about the American behaviour. I think Obama has reached out to not only major countries but also to many other countries that the American presidents have paid no attention to. I don’t think there is any failure yet. I think there are many, many goals he has set that will have to be achieved in the future. For example, I don’t know if it is a foreign policy point or a domestic policy one, but nevertheless the closing of Guantanamo is yet to be achieved. I certainly think that given the nature of the American war on terrorism, it is an extremely difficult battle to fight. On the other hand I think his goal is to end, and end completely the combat in Iraq — that has not yet taken place. TNS: How do you view the phenomenon of terrorism? Do you think the US needs some serious revision in terms of its foreign policy to remove the causes of terrorism? DNN: I understand your words. But I am not quite sure of the underlying meaning. You know, first, the American foreign policy didn’t cause terrorism. So I begin with that fundamental point. The president and the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, made significant changes in the conduct of the American foreign policy. Here in this Consulate and in Islamabad as well, there is a lot more money for public diplomacy, for example. May be still not enough, but it has improved the situation. And I think this is a different face to the American foreign policy. Even those people who dislike or hate the United States are dealing with people who better understand [their position]. I think these changes are leaving a significant effect not only on the image of United States but also on the efficacy of its foreign policy. TNS: What do you think is the biggest security threat to the US? DNN: Clearly, terrorists of various kinds. I can tell you that the Russians are no longer a threat. We are not confronting an enemy of that kind. We have just signed an agreement with Russia to further reduce nuclear stockpiles. I suppose you can say we have certainly a strong competition with China in terms of, for example, the never-ending search for more energy. But this is a competition not a conflict. TNS: When do you think US will safely exit from Afghanistan? Is a total exit realistically possible in the next five years? DNN: Probably not. It is quite clear that President Obama, and you heard this, has increased the number of troops in Afghanistan while we are drawing down troops from Iraq. And that increase now, is approximately 100,000 in Afghanistan. And probably that number will remain and the president has said it himself. It is in 2011 that the so-called surge in Afghanistan will begin to end and some of the additional troops we sent there will be withdrawn, even as early as next summer. So that withdrawal will take place but the presence of American troops to some sizeable number will have to continue for sometime. TNS: The failed Times Square bombing has also brought to the fore the dangers of home-grown terrorists in US. Is the US government aware of it and is it ready to do something about it? DNN: Well, we have had home-grown terrorists before who were born and raised in US. Remember the attack on the Federal State Building Oklahoma killed 186 people. I know that was a while ago, but nevertheless we have had home-grown terrorism in that sense — people who had no other background from any other country, not naturalised citizens but were born and bred in US. So, I don’t think that it is a new phenomenon. Same for Britain. And, of course, France has had terrorist incidents involving either French citizens or Algerians many years ago. So the phenomenon of home-grown terrorism is not new. As to what the US is trying to do about it, a lot of this has to do with law-enforcement. You might call it intelligence or FBI. There are techniques used by those organisations — if there is suspicion about certain people they monitor their behaviour very closely by intercepting communications, for example. I think tightening all this up is part of the process. Yet the US does not want to make an insecure society in order to somehow become more secure. So there is a balance there. TNS: Is US willing to involve itself in a sustainable long-term peace process in South Asia? What exactly is the American interest in improving Pakistan’s ties with India? What exactly is the threat? Is it that of a nuclear war? DNN: Well, of course the US has been active for years, decades. The United States has always been keenly interested that the India-Pakistan conflict be avoided. That wasn’t always the case but nevertheless that’s the goal. If you mean South Asia to include Afghanistan, well, the US is trying to get the country to a point where Taliban are no longer the imminent threat. Still, to get rid of them all is almost impossible. So, the American commitment to peace broadly construed in South Asia certainly depends on defeating the insurgency and the militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Now the case is of ensuring state-to-state peace. One critical point: ultimately it is the people of the region or the area who have to move in that direction — Indians and Pakistanis have to get along; they have to insist that the insurgents and militants be eliminated. It’s the citizenry not just the US. What is the American interest? Well, peace is better than war. And Pakistan has been an ally and friend of US for years; going back to the Cold War. India wasn’t always but it’s a far closer relationship now. Two countries, neighbouring, both powerfully nuclear armed, so the US interest in this remains a peaceful relationship forever. Now, by the way, people of South Asia will be a lot more prosperous if they didn’t have to either combat these insurgencies or they could be reduced. Pakistan has a very large military and India even larger. Wouldn’t it be great to not spend so much money [on defense]? For India and Pakistan, the threat now is very much from the same sources of militancy and insurgency. In India there are certain other insurgencies also; there are still Maoist Guerrillas operating (in India). Obviously in Pakistan there are cleavages and divisions that have existed long before a Taliban-like insurgency. Those domestic, you used the word earlier, are I think home-bred or home-grown [terrorists] — and yes I think that’s really the principal threat. TNS: You think that the Obama administration has successfully dealt with the problem of anti-Americanism in the Muslim world and elsewhere or do you think more needs to be done? DNN: It will take a long time, probably a lot longer than Obama will be the president even if he is re-elected, to repair those kind of feelings, as you say anti-Americanism. There is also misunderstanding and poor information that I think leads to anti-Americanism. Yes, there are some actions of US that make people angry. I was not in favour of the Iraq War and criticised how President Bush, Dick Cheney and others brought us into that war but those actions, particularly the Iraq War, added to the negative sentiments within the Islamic World. But there is no "War against Islam". There is war against certain terrorists and organised insurgencies that of course initiated an attack on the US. So, I think that a lot of public diplomacy is part of this — to add to the understanding and lessen the ignorance about the United States and simultaneously do a better job of explaining why the United States is taking certain actions, which I think President Obama has done.
Damned if they do, damned if they don’t The spectre of economic crisis still haunts the US economy, which is charaterised by high rates of deflation and unemployment By Pradeep S Mehta and Anurag Srivastan The US treasury report ostensibly aimed at decreeing
China a currency manipulator, has not been released as was scheduled for
the 15th of April this year. The repeated postponement of the release is
to avoid the tumult that may follow the US assuming an explicit stance on
the currency issue and imposing tariffs on Chinese imports. Such tumult
would be a natural outcome given that the Chinese are likely to retaliate
with an escalation of tariff walls with adverse implications for the
Americans. The delay may be good for the US, China and even the rest of the world since it buys all parties some time to reflect on a way out of the delicate imbalance in regard to ‘balance of payments’ involving the Americans and Chinese. Even if the mentioned report never sees the light of day, it is time for a serious rethink on global currency regimes and their regulation, as explained below. The spectre of the economic crisis still haunts the US economy, which is charaterised by high rates of deflation and unemployment, low asset values and economic stagnation. With Congressional elections round the corner, bashing the Chinese is obviously a sound strategy. Several members of the US congress have been blaming the undervalued yuan, pegged to the US dollar for the last two years, for America’s economic difficulties. However, this might not be the complete picture. Over time, an imbalance between the real and the financial side of the economy has emerged in the US with financial values of assets assuming magnitudes not based on values of underlying real assets. In turn, this has meant that traditional linkages such as that between productivity and wage have been broken. This has led to distortions in the economic structure with adverse ramifications. One major outcome is the reliance of recent American growth on creation of demand through debt and asset price inflation. This in turn has also resulted in external imbalances. It deserves mention in this regard that US consumers consume and invest more than they produce and the associated deficits have to be financed by surpluses generated by other countries. The American financial markets chased these surpluses which favoured formation of speculative bubbles. Asset prices rose to unrealistic levels and as the money flowed, people were willing to make even riskier investments. Finally, there was an implosion in the US securities market that precipitated the global economic crisis. There is tangible pressure to correct this anomaly by the US Congress which is of the opinion that the Chinese policy of foreign reserve accumulation for influencing its currency valuation is a form of manipulation which makes its exports cheaper and imports expensive. The Congress contends that this has created a trade deficit in recent years and has been a major factor behind the loss of manufacturing jobs in the USA. Although there is some truth to what the Congress is crying foul over, it is equally true that the US consumers and corporations have for years gained from the supply of low cost Chinese goods and material inputs, with the latter providing US a global competitive advantage in the market for certain high end products. The Chinese have in turn accumulated dollar reserves and benefited from unprecedented growth, high employment and the status of having ‘arrived’ in the global economic power club. The Chinese yuan, pegged to the dollar was modestly reformed in 2005 though the US Congress does not consider it enough. The Chinese dilemma emerges from the fact that a strong and stable US economy is in China’s interests as its largest export market. Hence it is willing to continue funding the US debt though aware of the possibility of inflationary ramifications for the US and the depressing effect on China’s holding of US securities caused by the associated depreciation of the dollar. On the other hand, if China stops buying US debt or sells it off significantly the same economic destabilisation of the US from a weakening dollar could result. Even if China accedes to the US demand to raise the value of its currency or make it float, it might not help either country: US inflation and market based interest rates will go up and Chinese goods would suddenly become more expensive for Americans, necessitating a reduction in profit margins associated with Chinese exports, which according to their vice commerce minister Zhong are less than 2 percent. A Chinese slowdown characterised by income losses, reduced employment and social instability is likely under this scenario. To summarise, the US and China can neither do with nor do without each other. Tradeoffs are inevitable, regardless of whether the yuan has a stable and low dollar value or appreciates. Even if the Chinese give shape to the latter possibility, the approach has to be gradual. The US Congress’s demands for coercion to fix a certain high exchange rate is anything but sound economic reasoning especially as it has implications for other economies whose fortunes are governed by a sparsely regulated global currency system based on a diversity of currency regimes and systems. The issue of Chinese appreciation of its currency and possible imbalances is thus a global issue requiring multilateral discussions instead of a simple bilateral approach. The lack of an appropriate forum for such discussions is a stumbling block in this regard, given a weakened IMF and doubts raised about its neutrality by the South. A potential forum might be the WTO as undervalued exchanged rates are often construed as smacking of protectionism, an area covered by the WTO mandate. However, its ability to broker effective rules and agreements in this regard needs further examination. The current currency spat between US and China raises several issues for global economic stability and welfare. It begs raising the salutary influence of multilateralism in the trade and currency markets to the pedestal it was idealized to be. From a development perspective, the world community must get assertive on assessing how the current imbalance between US and China would impact their own economic welfare and initiate discussions on the ‘institutions’ which will ensure economic security in the context of present financial fragility. The authors work with CUTS International, Jaipur
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coaching clinic for schoolboys in New Delhi. A Pakistani cricketer can be
the coach," says Habib, the 56-year-old chairman and chief executive
of Arif Habib Securities, a Karachi-based financial services, stock
brokerage and asset management firm. He was talking to TOI on the second
day of Aman Ki Asha Indo-Pak business meet in Delhi, on May 19, 2010.
