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The stage is set for India’s business tycoon Mukesh Ambani to be world’s second richest person. And Ambani’s wealth has taken an upward flight to topple none other than social media giant Mark Zukerberg. As per the billionaire index of Bloomberg Zukerberg’s wealth is USD 85 billion and Ambani is is short of USD 4 billion to taken on the face book chief executive officer.

Ambani is chairman and managing director (CMD), Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is expected to become world’s second wealthiest person by December 2021. Ambani is currently world’s 5th richest person with a fortune of USD 81 billion, is surpassing Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Bernard Arnault, chairman of France-based LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest maker of luxury goods at a fast pace. It’s matter of month when Ambani will be number two richest person in the world.

Two weeks ago on July back, when reliance industries annual general meeting was held on July 15, Ambani was ranked eighth in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The index gives daily ranking of the world’s richest people. Within 12 days, Mukesh’s ranking improved by three notches to fifth position. Following his announcement of making RIL a debt free company, ahead of his earlier commitment of financial year 2021 by disposing off 33 per cent in Jio shares, it has led to an upward surge. The RIL share was trading at Rs 1,950 level, gaining 10.25 per cent in 8 trading sessions.

Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, says that Arnault’s worth is USD113 billion and that of Zuckerberg’s is USD85 billion while. In the year 2020 (January to December) market-cap of Reliance Industries surged 49.8%, (Rs 4.77 lakh-crore, from Rs 9.59 lakh-crore on December 31, 2019). In December of 2014, RIL accounted for 2.9 per cent of the total BSE listed companies market-cap of Rs 98.36 trillion.

Since then, the company’s market-cap jumped nearly five-fold from Rs 2.88 trillion. Despite its recent run, analysts at BNP Paribas believe RIL still has multiple catalysts in place in terms of a stake sale in its retail venture and a potential sale in oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business segment even at a lower valuation.

Amit Pramod Shah, an analyst tracking the company at BNP Paribas in a July 24 wrote, “We believe financial year 2022 will see a rebound in refining and chemical margins which will aid earnings as global growth stabilises. We expect refining margins of $USD9.5 per barrel for fiscal 2022 and increasing for financial year 2023 as – after a transitionary FY22 – growth should return for both gasoline / jet fuel. Chemical business should be more stable going into financial year 2022 and as global economies revive should once again see improving spreads”.

According to market observers, the sustained gains in RIL share are expected to continue following the easy money conditions, high amount of liquidity in the market and possible listing of RIL’s Jio platforms in the US markets. This development will help Mukesh Ambani to easily overtake his nearest rivals Bernard Arnault (currently at third position with $112 billion) and Bill Gates of Microsoft (currently at second position with $113 billion) and reach the number two position sometime next year. However, he has a long stretch to reach world’s richest Jeff Bezos of Amazon at $179 Billion.

This week the market capitalisation by reliance industries limited touched Rs 14.38 lakh crore and was 9.8 per cent of the total market-cap of BSE listed companies of Rs 147.23 Lakh crore. This is a characteristic of large conglomerate who dominates the market not only in the trading volume but also the market turnover and more and more investors are forcefully gets attracted towards it.

WIDOW NARRATES STORY OF SYSTEM’S APATHY, HER HUSBAND WAS PUSHED TO DEATH SHOWN AS A CORONA SUSPECT

The post is a bit lengthy and it took me about two and half hours to write it. The students and people who are posting condolence messages on facebook, if you really want to pay tribute to Dr. Parvinder Kamboj, then please spare 15 minutes to read my post thoroughly and properly and circulate it so much that it reaches the right authorities and my late husband gets the justice he deserves.

I, Dr. Neeta Danju, the widow of Dr. Parvinder Kamboj is not able to sleep or get peace of mind. So l am taking it to facebook in the middle of the night. My husband developed a mild fever on 16th July 2020 and a slight throat ache on 18th July and when even after four days of medication his throat ache persisted, we opted for corona test at civil hospital Abohar. He had no cough and had normal sense of taste and smell. Both of us gave our sample on 20th July 2020 (which l now realise was the biggest mistake of my life). We were told that the report usually comes within one day. So we waited till 21st but then we were told that the report hasn’t arrived yet and the samples were dispatched on 21st, instead of 20th July and that we will get the report on 22nd July. So we had to wait for another day. My husband was getting weaker and was not able to consume anything properly. I kept on giving him liquid or semi fluid diet which he could hardly swallow. By the afternoon of 22nd July I started noticing that his condition was worsening. He could not talk properly because of discomfort in throat and was walking very slowly. I enquired about the report but it was still not available. Then after realising that I will not get any medical assistance from private hospital, I took him to civil hospital for putting him on drip. There I was stopped at the entrance of emergency ward itself. After some enquiry, my husband’s temperature was checked, which was normal. His oxygen saturation level was 83%. HIS BLOOD PRESSURE WAS NOT CHECKED and without even letting me in I was told that he would be referred to medical college Faridkot, as I had no proof that he was corona negative. I told the doctor that my husband had no symptoms of corona. His temperature was normal, he had no cough and his sense of taste and smell was normal. But they did not listen as l had no report: WHOSE FAULT? I requested them to at least give him some primary treatment. So they let me in and put my husband on drip and gave him some oxygen support. HIS BP WAS STILL NOT CHECKED.

Meanwhile I requested them to enquire about the report but after a while I was told that the report wasn’t available yet. Then the doctor said that he was referring my husband to medical college Faridkot. We insisted that we will take him to some private hospital but the doctor said that no private hospital will entertain you without corona report and you will end up only disappointed. He said that he has talked to Dr. Ankit at medical college Faridkot and that he will attend us immediately. He insisted that medical college Faridkot is the best option and we will get the best treatment there. I asked him that whether he was sending my husband to emergency ward at Faridkot? To which he replied Yes. So on his compulsion, and seeing no way out I had to board my husband into ambulance. I was there in the ambulance with my husband and my relatives were following behind in their vehicles. In the way, I kept talking to my husband and he responded by saying hmm and nodding his head. When I reached there Dr Ankit asked me to bring the slip from counter meanwhile he completed some written formalities. When I brought the slip, Dr Ankit asked me about my husband’s

symptoms. I told him the symptoms and added that he was not showing any symptoms of corona. To which he said, कि mai kuch nahi kar sakta. Aapke husband ki civil hospital Abohar se aayi referral slip पर लिखा है कि he is ‘corona suspect’.

Corona Report लाओ. I told him that ki report toh faridkot mei hi taiyyar honi thi na? Please mangwa do. To which he said that he doesn’t know anything. Report लाओ, prove karo ki yeh negative है और ले जाओ. I had no other option so I requested him to give emergency treatment to my husband urgently, to which he said that he was getting the file ready and that I should go upstairs and get my husband atmitted in the meanwhile. The ambulance driver from Civil hospital abohar and another attendant from medical college Faridkot pulled the stretcher and I followed them thinking that we were being led to the emergency ward. I assured my husband that now everything will be OK. After pulling up to a certain point, the ambulance driver fled the scene. The attendant from faridkot hospital said ki madam आपका आदमी तो भाग गया अब आप ही मदद करो. So I pushed the stretcher, praying to God all the way that my husband gets all right soon. To my utter surprise, I was led to corona isolation ward. It was not the emergency ward! I started screaming that my husband is not corona positive and I wanted to take him to emergency ward. The attendant said वो सब मुझे नहीं पता madam, मैंने ppe kit pehni hai mujhe garmi lag rahi hai. अपने patient ko jaldi bed pe shift karo nahi toh mai चला. I requested him to stop. Mean while my brother-in-law arrived and we insisted on letting us go or shift us to emergency ward. The nurse came and we explained her everything. She too asked for corona report, which we did not have. She said that ‘this is normal isolation ward. There is no corona patient in the ward. The patients are kept here and given treatment till the report comes and my husband too will be given the necessary preliminary treatment there’ . We had no option but to agree as we did not want to waste any time further. So we shifted him on bed. I told my husband that now his treatment will start and he will be OK, to which he responded. I asked the nurse to start the preliminary examination and treatment. She said ki पहले नीचे से file le kar aao fir इलाज शुरू होगा. We ran for file. I had reached the hospital around 5:30 pm and after pleading and requesting, I was told that the file was getting ready. It was about 7:00 pm and losing patience, we insisted for doctors to visit. Then two young doctors came and the lady Dr. (Dr Anjali?) said की file लाओ mai treatment शुरू करती hu.I requested her to hurry up, to which she rudely replied ki aapke jaise patients तो रोज aake हम pe pressure dalte hain. Maine corona से थोड़ी marna hai. Mai pehle ppe kit pahnungi aur 15 minutes में aaungi. Meanwhile my husband was alone in the room and no one was allowed to go in . My heart was sinking, thinking about the physical and mental trauma he must be going through. Then the lady doctor came back after 30 to 40 minutes. She had no file with her. She went in, came back and asked aapka patient kon sa wala hai. I pointed towards the room

Then she said ki usko kuch samajh nahi aata kya. जो mai puch rahi hu woh properly जवाब नहीं दे रहा. इसने कोई jehar wehar khaya hai kya. I cried and said NO. Then she said ki eik patient jehar wala bhi hai. WHY WAS SHE NOT AWARE ABOUT MY HUSBAND’S CASE? WHERE WAS THE SO CALLED FILE WHICH TOOK TWO HOURS TO BE PREPARED? Then she gave some instructions to nurse and went away. I kept pleading to start the treatment. Meanwhile I also tried to get the corona report and it was my ill fate that the report was still not available. Then we were asked to bring water, glucose and thermometer. We brought everything. The nurse took time to get ready with her ppe kit and went in. There was no haste in her walk. Only my heart was hasting, I think. Then I was told that my husband’s BP was low. He was being given drip. I kept praying for my husband’s recovery and the corona report. I was told that the drip will be over by 9:30 pm. No other checking was being done, as I hoped about emergency treatment. We were not allowed to go in. And we’re made to sit in waiting lobby. Then after waiting for some time we were told that the drip has been given and a team of doctors has gone inside. They will stabilise my husband and only then they will leave. So I waited in the lobby hoping and praying. Then my brother in law went inside my husband’s room after much request and pleadings. There he saw that there was no proper light in the room, my husband was lying alone and breathing heavily. So my brother in law insisted on shifting room and proper check up. After much request and arguments my husband was put on ventilator and my brother in law was sent back. Every time he went to the doctors, they seemed confused between patients. आपके वाला patient kon sa hai? Woh मोटे वाला या दूसरे वाला? ई want to ask ki Arrey file कहाँ थी तब? Doctors को patient के बीच में confusion kyun thi? There was some doctor Param who was busy in playing game on his mobile. Is this the emergency treatment, I was assured of? I knew my husband was on ventilator. But the door to corridor was closed. So I kept lying and praying in the lobby. I had almost lost my consciousness till morning. Meanwhile, the person on duty at waiting lobby’s gate kept on listening to Bollywood songs at full volume on his mobile phone. The voice was entering my brain, pinching and tearing my head into pieces. Cant explain the mental trauma I was going through. I was sent back home by my relatives saying that the team of doctors is taking my husband to fortis hospital and he will be treated there properly, which I came to know was a lie, only after reaching home. My husband had died lying alone, unattended in the isolation ward. The doctors were not even sure about the time of his demise. So on the morning of 23rd July, my husband was just a news on social media. My world had shattered. All my life I have kept encouraging and helping students to become doctors. I had even acclaimed the corona warriors on my Facebook page a few months back. But there at faridkot, I had seen a new face of ‘corona warriors’. I have lost everything: my faith, my hope, my spirit and may be my life too, soon. And on 24th July evening, FIVE DAYS AFTER COLLECTION OF Sample, I received the report that my husband was CORONA NEGATIVE. I should now frame the report along with his photograph. Right?

WIDOW POSE QUESTIONS TO THE SYSTEM

• Is opting for corona test such a big crime that the person subjected to it is labelled as ‘corona suspect’ and every doctor then fears even from touching him?
• Don’t these government or private doctors have ppe kit to put on and then check the patient?
• Why did the report take so much time to be made available? Who is responsible?
• On what basis did the doctor from civil hospital Abohar wrote’ corona suspect’ on my husbands referral slip.
• Why is there no rapid testing system available in hospitals, both private and government to attend to emergency cases?
• Do the private hospitals treat emergency cases only after getting corona report?
• Why the doctors at government medical college hospital dont have any system to check the suspected patients immediately?
• Why was the preparation of case file so necessary, if it was not to be used?
• Why was my husband not attended immediately on emergency basis?
• Did any team of senior doctors attend my husband?
• Why was there no attendant in my husband’s room? He was an emergency case.
• Why were the doctors confused about the exact time of my husband’s demise?
• Why are people not made aware of where to go in case of emergency • Which hospital will attend such patient without corona report.
• And lastly, why is a person’s life not so important in our country?

I know that the doctors are burdened, affected, quarantined and the staff is decreasing. And if the system is facing girth of doctors, why were we referred to that hospital? And even those who were there were not performing their duties sincerely. A case of utter negligence. If any of my students is a medical professional and is reading this, please please never do so with anyone. That would be a slap and sheer disrespect of my teachings. If you cant develop the feeling of empathy and sacrifice then don’t join the medical profession. Think, what would happen if the soldiers on border too start behaving like this and run away from taking responsibilities.

No words of assurance can now heal my injured heart and shattered soul and the realisation of the discrepancies in the system is adding to the agony. Finally ending my plea with a prayer and demand that the system be improved so that no one has to face the trauma l had to.

“There’s was not to reason why,
There’s was but to do and die …”
(The Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava, Alfred, Lord Tennyson)

Sepoy Gurtej Singh, a 23 year old from Mansa in Punjab went down fighting at the Galwan river as only a Sikh soldier could, using his Kirpan to dispatch his opponents to the other world. For the family, their world came crashing down with his death. A grateful nation bade a tearful goodbye with full honours to the martyr. The state government promised financial assistance to the family. The media brought the story to our homes and then moved on to the next bit of breaking news. The village may possibly erect a memorial or a gate or name a road after him. The family will live to recount the saga of honour of their brave son/brother as the only salve to an otherwise unbearable grief.

One thing, however, is certain. In the days to come, the family of the martyr will be helped to pick up the pieces by none other than the Unit to which he belonged. The Commanding Officer will ensure that his family receives all the benefits that are due and help them tide over the trauma so that they can get on with their lives. The fallen soldier will not be forgotten by the Unit, ever. His name will be on the Roll of Honour along with his photograph in the Quarter Guard of the Unit for generations to come and for all his comrades to see.

On the icy heights of Ladakh, in the mountains and forests of Kashmir and also in the scalding heat of the desert, the soldier stands guard, protecting his country against its enemies. He is fully aware that a fate similar to Gurtej Singh might befall him someday and is proud to face it. This is what after all he had sworn to do when he wore his uniform for the first time.

What are his thoughts as he sees the crisis looming in front of him today and the happenings back home? Does he think about his family, Yes very often! Does he think about his country, Oh yes, often! Does he think about the job at hand, well, all the time! After all there is so much to be done! The weapon must be cleaned, the magazines must not jam in the middle of a fight, rounds of machine guns must be belted, tank and artillery ammunition as well as the guns cleaned, the ropes must be checked, the personal equipment and boots must fit well and be repaired if need be. On top of it there are the radio set batteries to be charged, the first aid kits to be refilled and of course emergency rations to be kept ready. Then there are the briefings, rehearsals and patrolling…. pray who has the time to even think about dying!!!

In the mofussil towns and villages of India there are thousands upon thousands of men who once served in the army. Most of them retired as Sepoys, Non Commissioned Officers and Junior Commissioned Officers. All of them proudly prefix their name with only one word that is universally respected, “Fauji”. The roadside eatery on the highway run by a retired soldier will invariably be called the “Fauji Dhaba”; the driver of the truck, if he happens to be one of them, will write in bold ‘Fauji” on the windscreen.

They are the silent majority of veterans, dignified, least vocal, proud and respected in their community. They are the connection between the serving soldiers and the common man. Countless young boys throng military recruitment rallies every month with a hope of becoming one of them someday.

Among the veteran officers there are some who left the army early, others left midway while many superannuated after completing the full length of service. All of them contribute in their own way towards the society and are generally venerated by the citizens. All of them have perspectives, have better access to information and are knowledgeable as well as articulate. Some of them appear in the media and give their valuable views.

“Old soldiers never die,
Never die, never die,
Old soldiers never die,
They simply fade away”
(British army soldiers’ folklore song)

…BUT SOME PREFER TO TREAD IN POLITICS

To the common citizen, the veterans appearing in the media or postulating in gatherings as subject matter experts represent the military itself as he does not get to hear from the serving officers’ fraternity for obvious reasons. The word of the veterans therefore has immense significance for the citizens who are not so much aware of matters military and taken for what it is.

However, seeing some of them taking sides in openly politically partisan or communally charged debates is disconcerting to the public at large, to say the least and does not show the military establishment in good light. Frequent sniping to score points and vicious personal attacks on each other in full media glare must be giving a sense of dismay to those in service at the frontline. Some of them frequently trip over each other trying to prove how much more they know than the others, unwittingly revealing militarily sensitive information which should be best kept with the military and no one else.

Some very senior veterans who were highly respected while in service by their colleagues and juniors alike at times seem to lose their sense of balance in a desperate attempt to win an argument. Otherwise why on earth would someone take to abusive or derogatory language on public fora? Aren’t they the same people who once mentored ‘Gentlemen Cadets’ so that they could become “Officers and Gentlemen’?

Many have chosen politics as their second calling like so many other veterans who select varied professions after retirement from the service. The least one expects from these worthies is that they remember that the only religion of the soldier whom they once proudly led, is his Uniform and the only colour that soldier recognises is the colour of Blood. The soldier respected him for that, was proud to call him his Boss and was ready to walk to his death on his orders. Let not political or any other expediency play riot with this sacred sentiment of the soldier.

After all, “discretion should remain the better part of valour”.

The men at the helm of affairs as well as those at the front have a job to do. Let them do it. Such unseemly distractions are the last thing they need. They need all the support the country can give them.

When the storm is looming on the horizon, the wise brace for it together and stand united. Let good sense prevail.

New universities are coming into existence in Punjab at a time when lots of interesting things are happening in higher education scenario.
The process of liberalization and privatization of university system is almost complete and the process of globalization has just started
with the introduction of semester system and choice based credit system at under graduate level.

The country has seen quantum jump in the number of professional colleges and also in the seats of various professional courses. But
this jump has produced new problems. While pre-liberalisation scenario was facing the problems of shortage of seats and unemployment of
graduates, current scenario is a bit different. Today engineering colleges are producing engineers whose staggering majority (more than
80%) is not fit for employment. Irony is that employment is there, but the people with engineering degree are not simply employable. The
case with Indian MBA is not different either.

Apart from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Management), courses like Education have remained among the major professional
courses in India. It is also suffering from under- enrollment and un-employability. The Punjab education colleges are producing such
B.Ed graduates whose staggering majority (estimated 92%) fails to clear TET/ CTET, rendering themselves unfit for employment even after
securing a professional degree. As a result there’s under enrollment in education colleges.

SEATS AND COURSES GOES ABEGGING IN STATE COLEGES, UNVERSITIES

According to the Federation of Self Financed Colleges of Education, out of total 22,000 seats, 10,000 seats were lying vacant in Punjab
education colleges in October 2019.

This vast army of unemployable graduates is a recipe for social disaster. Their case is worse than the unemployed. The unemployment
brings frustration, yet hope stays, but un-employability is the death of hope. Worse thing is these unemployables have earned their degrees from post-liberalisation colleges, paying hefty fee and losing savings of their parents.

Last few years have seen rise of numerous new universities in Punjab. In this case, the problem of under enrollment and un- employability is going to stay.
Now, this is the world of higher education Laissez Faire in which all new universities of Punjab have to work.

The challenge before them is to know what they are needed for in the first place ? What is the need and relevance of a new university in
the state? What is it going to produce, something other universities are not producing? A university is more than a dispenser of degrees. A university is there to teach and train simple undergraduates/graduates for the roles, a society, state and market requires them to perform to run its business.

NEED TO EXPLORE NEW AVENUES IN EDUCATION

What kind of roles a society and market forces want the Universities to perform to run the system, to conserve it and for its evolution?

These are many and fill a whole lot of work of world. To name a few; Water economist experts, expert of supply chain management, transport management, Food Processing and Food technology experts, National Security and defense strategists, forensic science experts , expert of international affairs, expert in gender sensitization, expert analyst of elections and voting and expert analyst of political parties.

The other roles could be expert analyst of organized crime, manager of contemporary archives, expert analyst of folk religion practices,
expert analyst of local self government systems, expert of effluent treatment system solutions, expert of planning and projection of city traffic systems, expert of planning and projection of city waste management, expert of planning of urban water supply for next 20
years, expert of VC and Angel investment systems, expert analyst of start-ups, Planner of CSR funds, writer, film maker and for banking
industry.

The new avenues could also be explored for Financial analyst, Traders and merchants, Newspaper editor, Computer programmer, software
developer, legal expert, architect, town planner, landscapist, botanist, veterinarian, expert of built environment, sports therapist,
psychiatrist, special educator, revenue record expert, knowledge management expert, builder of bridges, roads, drainage system, (the
word civil engineer is too faceless), Doctor of Plants and the list goes on ..

While talking about courses, these are always there in one or other form. The challenge is the outcome of such courses, focus is not on
the course but on the doer of the course, hence the use of word ‘expert’. The questions is not how many graduates, post graduates or
Phds a university will produce. The question is how many experts it will produce, who will produce solutions for the creation of a better society and a better state to live in.

Current UGC regulations in higher education focus more on the research output of professors and do little to assess their output in terms of students employment. A professor’s essential role must be to get employment opportunities for students, whereas they are being rewarded
for their self-development. Ideally, University exists to serve the interest of students, but in practice, its entire focus is on saving the career interest of professors.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

• Dr. Amanpreet Singh Gill teaches Political Science at SGTB Khalsa College, North Campus, Delhi University. Apart from short stories, he writes on Punjab politics and Sikh history. He has authored six books in Punjabi and English. Non-Congress Politics in Punjab (2015), 1708 Dasam Guru di Dakhan Feri (2017) and Kes History of Sikhs and other Essays (2020) are his better known works. He can be reached at: [email protected]

“When Barbarossa begins, the earth will hold its breath”
Adolf Hitler (as quoted by Alan Clark in ‘Barbarossa’)

And indeed, the world held its breath, as three million men were launched into what would be the largest known invasion in land warfare
– Hitler’s invasion of Soviet Russia in June 1941, codenamed Operation Barbarossa. The invasion began with thousands of guns hurling tons of TNT into the hapless Soviet positions and swarms of Stukas, Messerschmitts as well as Junker fighter aircraft raining hell from the sky.

Three Army Groups, North, Centre and South tore across the German boundary with Soviet East European territories. Army Group North,
Commanded by General Ritter Von Leeb was headed 800 miles away towards Leningrad, Army Group Centre under General Feder Von Bock set for Moscow 700 miles off and Army Group South led by General Gerd Von Rundstedt had Stalingrad as the objective, 1300 miles away. The German blitz caught the Red Army completely unprepared and they were slaughtered as the advancing forces swept across the steppes of eastern Europe.

After all Hitler had given clear directions to his commanders. “The war against Russia will be such that it cannot be conducted in a
knightly fashion. This struggle is one of ideologies and racial differences and will have to be conducted with unprecedented,
unmerciful, and unrelenting harshness. All officers will have to rid themselves of obsolete ideologies. I know that the necessity for such means of waging war is beyond the comprehension of you generals but . . . I insist absolutely that my orders be executed without
contradiction”.

ACCOUNT OF WORLD WAR II IS WELL KNOWN TO BE REPEATED

The account of World War II is too well known to be repeated. There were ignominies galore during the War. Britain faced the humiliation
of retreating across the English Channel at Dunkirk and the French pride had been crushed by the stomping of Nazi boots on the Champs
Elysees in Paris.

On the Eastern Front town after town fell to the Germans and thousands of Red Army soldiers were slaughtered mercilessly or taken prisoner, leading the Soviet commander Zhukov to bluntly order all commanders down the line to stay put and fight where they were or be prepared to be shot in the Red Square at Moscow. On the other side of the globe, the United States could not believe its eyes at the utter devastation wrought on its Pacific fleet by the Japanese Admiral Yamamoto’s aircraft at Pearl Harbour in Oahu, Hawaii.

Once the tide turned, the fall of Berlin and Hitler’s suicide, the anonymous death of Mussolini and the dropping of atom bombs on the
Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought an end to this dance of death. What was the price of the war? Almost 80 million dead,
cities reduced to rubble, fields scorched, economies devastated and the effects of nuclear radiation festering among generations to come
in the two cities struck by the atom bombs. It was a scale of savagery and brutality the world had never seen before!

What could be the reason for the world to go into this suicidal tragedy? The seeds were sown with the idea of ‘Lebensraum’ (living space), the expansionist dreams of the megalomaniac Hitler and his cohorts who believed that German territories were not sufficient for their population and more needed to be occupied. This was encouraged indirectly in no small measure by the appeasement of this tyrant by
the European powers during the decade preceding the War.

Germany had embarked on a frantic militarization programme in the early 30s which virtually went unchallenged. By 1935 the process of
“Nazification” of Germany was complete and a totalitarian regime was firmly in place. Thereafter, Hitler occupied Rhineland in 1936 and
Austria in 1938. The British accepted this blatant expansionism after extracting a promise of “no more territorial demands in Europe” from
Hitler. This promise was thrown to the winds as quickly as it was made when Hitler occupied Czechoslovakia and Poland in quick succession in 1939. The rest is history.

Eighty years later there is a stark reminder. Another hegemonic is on the rise in the Eastern Hemisphere.

CHINA AS CHALLENGER FOR US

Over the last thirty years since the end of the Cold War, the Asia Pacific region has seen the inexorable rise of China as the primary
challenger to the United States. It has relentlessly increased its influence globally while at the same time it attempts to curb the
reach of its adversaries. Territorially, China seeks to continually extend its borders while claiming territories belonging to other
countries as its own. It started with the occupation of Tibet in 1951 and has followed it up with a long list of territorial claims on its
periphery.

Territory is indeed in the middle of China’s disputes with its neighbours. China claims the Senkaku islands of Japan in the East China Sea as its own. It is firmly opposed to Taiwan’s existence as an independent entity and propagates the “one China” policy, favouring
reunification of Taiwan with the mainland. China is against any form of autonomy to Hongkong and believes it must be completely amalgamated with the rest of the country.

China lays claim practically to the entire South China Sea including the Spratly and Paracel Islands as well as the Gulf of Tonkin. Along
its border with India, China lays claim to entire Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh. Bhutan is not spared either with China still claiming
territories along the border as its own. In all these disputes, China believes that the settlement must be on its terms and the claims of
the other countries have little or no relevance. To achieve its ends, China is ready to wait it out, browbeat or buy out its adversaries or
apply any other means at its disposal.

Significantly, China has not involved itself in any major military confrontation with its neighbours since its war with Vietnam in 1979
although it continues to pressurise its neighbours to do its bidding. China’s preferred weapon of coercion with its other neighbours is its economic might. In the present standoff with India in Ladakh however, there is a difference. China is openly flaunting the threat of use of its military power in the crisis, having amassed substantial forces in the region to back its moves along the Line of Actual Control between the two countries.

Great Powers do not hesitate to go to war as and when their vital national interests are threatened. The United States has been at war in one part of the globe or another throughout much of its existence since independence. The costs, both economic and human have no doubt been immense, but that is the price the Superpower must pay to retain its pre eminence in the world order.

Nations aspiring for Great Power status must also be ready to bite the bullet should the need arise. The Indian Prime Minister’s statement
that the age of expansionism is over could not have come at a more appropriate moment and has signaled India’s intent unambiguously.
Clearly this nibbling, creeping invasion and salami slicing by China on our borders and any other form of coercion cannot be allowed to go
on unchallenged any longer. India must stand up to the Dragon. In the century of the Asia Pacific, it is India’s defining moment.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
George Santayana

Paddy is the only culprit for Punjab’s water crisis. Punjab is a highly water stressed state due to paddy cultivation. Surface water available in the state is not sufficient to meet our agricultural demands and we are forced to pump ground water for paddy cultivation which adds to the water woes due to depletion of ground water at alarming rate. Nearly 170 lakh tonnes of paddy is produced in Punjab state every year and of this about 110 lakh tonnes is procured by Government of India which is subsequently transported to other states to meet their rice requirement. The rice produced in Punjab with huge quantity of state water resources is virtually being exported to other states in the national interest.

Paddy is not a suitable crop for Punjab climate as its cultivation is recommended in the areas having annual rainfall of more than 1500 mm, whereas Punjab annual rainfall is below 550 mm. Out of total state water requirement of about 44 MAF (million acre feet) for irrigation, nearly 28 MAF (64%) is drawn from ground water to meet our needs. From this we can imagine the shortfall in available surface water necessitating over dependence on ground water. Due to this, Punjab has the highest stage of ground water extraction of 172% (means 72% more drawl than recharge) amongst all states in the country.

DIRECT SEEDING MAY LEADS TO CHANGE

Paddy sowing this year is different than that in previous years in the Punjab. For the first time Punjab State Government has successfully come up to convince the farmers to transplant Paddy by direct seeding of rice (DSR) which will save ground water and reduce labour cost. State target of sowing paddy by DSR of 20 % of the total area under Paddy cultivation in the state is appreciable. Farmers are trying it and experience of this new method of sowing may get momentum over the next years on its good results.

The high yielding variety seeds of wheat and paddy are giving high yield because of their high dependence on water and fertilisers. The area under paddy in Punjab increased from 2.27 lakh hectares in 1960-61 to about 29 lakh hectares. The emergence of paddy as a major crop in the State led to heavy dependence on ground water which increased the number of tubewells to 14 lakhs. Free power to these agricultural tubewells further aggravated the ground water woes. The conventions method of irrigation of flooding the fields and overuse of water therein has also aggravated the problem. Another major concern is the high pollution due to paddy straw burning on its harvest in Punjab and Haryana which threatens the health of many in north region.

For last many years, the central and state governments have been advising the farmers of Punjab to cultivate alternative crops without giving any incentive or compensation. The successive governments in Punjab did not give any serious thought to diversification and saving the precious ground water. Absence of MSP for alternative crops has largely been responsible for promoting the wheat-paddy crop combination in Punjab, Haryana and Western UP.

WATER DEPLETION IS DUE TO FREE POWER SUPPLY TO TUBE WELLS

On policy matter, successive state governments ignored the importance of conservation of water resources and high overexploitation of water resources started in 1997 when Government started free power to tubewell to pump ground water. State constituted Johl committees in 2002 to promote diversification and address the ground water table issue. Committee recommended that a substantial area under paddy be shifted to other crops as paddy was mainly responsible for the depleting water table.

No action on this recommendation was taken. Then, state government constituted another committee to estimate the ground water resources in 2004 that ended without any recommendations. The first ever effective policy response came in 2008 when the state government through an ordinance prohibited the farmers from sowing of paddy before June 10th (dates notified every year by State as prevailing situation). This has helped in saving of some of the precious groundwater.

It is high time that both the Central and State governments rise to the occasion and take suitable policy measures to save Punjab State from the impending desertification. Punjab provides the much-needed food security to the country. There is dire need to have comprehensive agricultural and water policies with a focus on crop diversification, saving water and adopting new techniques to increase farm income.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The writer, PS Bhogal, retired as a Chief Engineer from, Water Resources, Punjab. He holds a masters degree in hydrology from international institute of hydraulics and environmental engineering, Delft, Netherlands. Currently he’s working as member of state expert appraisal committee for environment clearance of projects in Punjab. Views expressed are his personal.

   

BEWARE, IMRAN’S MINISTER HAS THE POWER TO GROUND ALL NATIONAL PLANES

Transparency is the core value of a democratic system. The idea of official secrecy is seen as the vestige from colonial past. The only question remains, whether transparency is an absolute value or some kind of protocol must be followed before putting information in public domain. What happens when a piece of information brings such unintended results that any amount of firefighting fails to control.

This is precisely what has happened with the Pakistan government, whose ministers never fall in trouble for telling lies, but a minister’s honest disclosure on the floor of National Assembly has all hell let loose. Pakistan’s image in the world aviation sector has become victim of domino effect and we don’t know when and how it is going to stop. It reminds us of Charandas Chor, a Rajasthan folk character immortalized by Habib Tanvir’s Chhattisgarh folk theatre. Charandas was a thief but not a liar and here was the whole twist. He suffered, not for stealing but for refusing to tell a lie.

When a minister speaks on the floor, whole world listens. This whole world’s attention proved very fatal for Pakistan civil aviation. Pakistan civil aviation minister of Imran Khan cabinet, Ghulam Sarwar Khan announced in Pakistan National Assembly that Pakistan International Airlines has 860 pilots and 262 pilots out of them have dubious flying licenses. He clarified that these pilots passed the exam with dummy candidates.

He was presenting the report on PIA airbus A320 crash which took place on May 22, 2020. He was telling the truth in the capacity of being highest civil authority on aviation in Pakistan. He was being kind to the world of aviation that this is the level of danger emanating from large number of Pakistani pilots. Apart from PIA, 107 Pakistani pilots work with foreign airlines.

He was telling very honestly that the world is unsafe, if a Pakistani pilot driven plane passes through its airspace or even more unsafe if these planes are given landing rights in their airports. In a parliamentary democracy, a minister is the highest authority on the matters concerning his department. Had this statement come from an investigative journalist, an opposition leader, or even a party member, world would have taken it with a pinch of salt. But what can be more sacred than the words uttered by a minister on the floor of house?

World took cognizance. International media led the charge.

Vietnam and Kuwait grounded its pilots with Pakistani license. UAE asked Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority for verification of credentials of Pakistani pilots, engineers and flight operation officers working in middle-east. The biggest jolt came from European Union. It banned landing of Pakistani planes in Europe for next six months.UK also followed suit.

Pakistani pilots with dubious license are a source of worry and world has come in to action. But all is not well with the rest of the world. Russia is also not above board as far as its pilots licenses are concerned. A pilot with dubious license is threat for the world. But what do you think about a well trained and well accredited pilot who is sleep deprived? RT report makes claims that majority of Russian pilots are sleep deprived. Long hour flights and social media use leads to sleep deprivation. Our own former IAF Chief BS Dhanoa had raised this concern about social media use causing sleep deprivation among trained pilots of Indian air force.

Coming back to Ghulam Sarwar Khan’s statement, how much cost a country is ready to pay for such candid, voluntary official disclosure about its pilots? It is obvious that world gains in terms of safety and PIA and Pakistan lose in terms of both money and credibility. Apart from air safety, this case has raised another issue to consider, that is how should a minister behave on the floor. Should he act with transparency that can prove to be fatal for its core sector like civil aviation? Or some other protocol could have been followed for making sure that PIA adheres to international safety protocol? How much a minister or a member of ruling party is expected to behave like a whistle blower and when  does the act of whistle blowing begin to sound like loose cannon?

EAST PUNJAB TOO HAVE VOCAL POLITICIANS

In Punjab, Navjot Singh Sidhu has acted in this manner, speaking in the public against the policies of own government. Satpal Dang, minister of food and civil supplies did this in United Front government led by Justice Gurnam Singh in 1967.  All Congress governments in Punjab have seen many such characters. Interestingly, such persons have been lauded for their so called honesty and they are rarely reminded about the ideal of party discipline.

Parliamentary democracy works on the principle of collective responsibility.  All the eggs are good, either, or all are rotten, this is parliamentary democracy. If a minister or MLA behaves like the opposition of own government, he is displaying utter contempt towards the conventions of parliamentary democracy. When a member from treasury bench speak, his words matter. What your words can do to your country, always remember the case of Ghulam Sarwar Khan and PIA, and learn to follow some protocol. Politicians’ words matter to the world.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Amanpreet Singh Gill teaches Political Science at SGTB Khalsa College, North Campus, Delhi University. Apart from short stories, he writes on Punjab politics and Sikh history. He has authored six books in Punjabi and English. Non-Congress Politics in Punjab (2015), 1708 Dasam Guru di Dakhan Feri (2017) and Kes History of Sikhs and other Essays (2020) are his better known works. He can be reached at: [email protected]

Image credit: http://wikimapia.org

MOVING FROM LIGHT TO DARKNESS: THE STORY OF VILLAGE KAIRON IS VERY SAD

On the night of June 25, five people were found murdered in Kairon. Four were a family and fifth was the driver in the service of family. Only four children survived who witnessed this gruesome act. It was not the first tragedy in the family these children had seen. Their grandmother Ranjit Kaur died in central jail Amritsar few months ago, where she was detained under drug peddling related case.  Uncles were in de-addiction centre.

 The family was known for drugs, some were drug addicts and other were the drug peddlers. With 49 drug related cases registered against them, they spent time either in jail or in de-addiction centre. Drug addicts swarmed around the streets of village to get a sure supply of drugs, even when there were hollow claims the drug supply chain was broken. But the customers arrived without any fear of police because they knew that they will not return empty handed. Customers arrived even when the family was lying in the pool of blood.

 Such kinds of murders of drug peddlers are a routine in South American country Colombia. But Kairon is not Colombia. Why this tragedy at Kairon makes it more serious and worrisome than any other place in Punjab?

 THE RISE AND FALL 

 Kairon is a medium size village of border district Tarn Taran. But more than the size of village, the name resonates in the collective consciousness of a generation. A generation which was witness to the making of post partition new Punjab. Post partition Punjab before reorganization in 1966, had seen its ablest chief minister in the form of Partap Singh Kairon. A post graduate in Economics and Political Science from Michigan University and University of Berkley, he was a political greenhorn who defeated veteran like  Baba Gurdit Singh Komagata Maru in 1937.

 A part of Punjab cabinet since 1947, Partap Singh served as chief minister from 1956 to 1964. Bhakra Dam, Chandigarh capital project, Land reforms, Punjab Agricultural University, Punjabi University Patiala, Kurukshetra University, Hisar Agriculture College, development of south Punjab, development of Lahaul Spiti, he was a force behind every milestone of Punjab development. 

He was not like today’s ministers who can’t look beyond their constituencies. He gave nothing to Kairon. But his father Nihal Singh had already done much for the village. He had established the first boarding school for girls. Foundation stone was laid by Maharaja Bhupindera Singh on 14 March, 1916. The women associated with the school went as far as Malaya to collect funds. The school is great name in women education and sports today.

 Nihal Singh Kairon was the first and last educationist who worked for the village. After him the village name almost became synonymous with power like I Safdarjung Road or 7 Race Course Road. With Partp Singh Kairon out of power in 1964, the village rendezvous with power did not become a thing of past. It flourished even after him. Kairon family became a political dynasty. 

Partap Singh Kairon’s sons became MP or MLA from time to time. His grandson Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, four times MLA and three times minister, was third generation longest serving minister in Badal government. He is not MLA today but to assume that he is not in power is a serious mistake. The Congress government may announce any number of projects for the village, but the village belongs to the family, not to the party, neither to the government.

 The village has kurhmachari (fathers of bride and bridegroom are called each other’s kurham in Punjabi) with the power. Kairon family’s daughter Gurbinder Kaur was the wife of Harcharn Singh Brar, Governor of Haryana and Odisha and chief minister of Punjab. Gurbinder herself served as MP, minister and leader of opposition in Punjab. Punjab’s longest serving chief minister Parkash Singh Badal’s daughter is the family’s daughter in law. We assume that if a village has such a long connection with power, it must be a success story of development; the developments that power can bring.

 But the village seems to be abandoned, gone to crows. Drugs dot the village landscape. Addicts are seen collecting syringes from the medical waste. Small things say more about the state of affairs than any big scandal. 

People, who were given responsibility to run village CHC few years back, were known for borrowing basic medical equipment from private medical practitioners. And few years ago, policemen at village PS could be seen using toilet seats without the privacy of four walls. These were small things , but these were big gaping holes in the power image of the village, whose son, Partap Singh Kairon could inspire his people to donate  252 kg gold for China war fund in 1962.

 Then, in 1962, Kairon village belonged to Punjab. Today it seems to be an address from Colombia, where drugs and violence is a routine affair. From light, it is going in to darkness. Such a sad reversal of “Tamso ma Jyotir gamay”, a Sanskrit prayer, that blesses for man’s passage from darkness, to light.

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

• Dr. Amanpreet Singh Gill teaches Political Science at SGTB Khalsa College, North Campus, Delhi University. Apart from short stories, he writes on Punjab politics and Sikh history. He has authored six books in Punjabi and English. Non-Congress Politics in Punjab (2015), 1708 Dasam Guru di Dakhan Feri (2017) and Kes History of Sikhs and other Essays (2020) are his better known works. He [email protected]

Image credit: https://www.brightpunjabexpress.com

STORY OF A MARTYR

Many youngsters of Sepoy Gurtej Singh’s age are not worried about life. At 23, their focus is on studies, eating, playing and being pampered by parents and elder siblings. Some may surely be busy chasing the ‘dream girls’, their girl friends or their wannabes girl friends.

But Gurtej Singh of 3rd Punjab’s ‘Ghatak Platoon’ has played his innings full and final. The big responsibility of defending his country and in a hand to hand clash with Chinese troops in Gawlan he attained martyrdom, slashing 12 Chinese who outnumber him, to death and he, himself also laid his life. On June 15 when the fiercest of battle occurred on the India-Sino border in the picturesque Gawlan valley, a river of martyr’s blood have flown down the valley taking the message in entire country that patriots are dead but borders are safe.

Gurtej as he was referred as ‘Chota Bhaji’ (youngest of all) in the platoon, proved to be true son of tenth master Guru Gobind Singh whose four sahibzadas laid their lives, elder two: Sahibzada Ajit Singh and Sahibzada Jujhar Singh in the war fighting the Mughals army in Chamkaur Di Garhi, and two younger Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh were bricked alive in Sirhind, when they refused to bow before the dictates of then Muslim rulers.

Many in Beeriwala Dogra the native village of Gurtej, are unemployed and most of them are preparing to migrate to a foreign land in the search of greener pastures. The dusty lanes of Beriwala wala will remember son of the soil who chose to be a soldier for a long time. For many years from now his tale of bravery will be narrated in foreign country to the next generations who will born to his friends and relatives who now are making efforts to migrate abroad. Sepoy Gurtej Singh chose to defend the country and now, he had reached home dead wrapped in the Tri-colour. His name will live forever.

His two older brothers are doing private jobs while his father does farming on two acres of land in the village. This village has five more yoind men posted on the China border. But this valiant story is attached to Gurtej name only and the treacherous terrains of Gawlan valley will remembers him for a long time to come.

The BLOODY FIGHT IN GAWLAN VALLEY

As the fierce 3rd ‘Ghataks’ and the Sikh gunners of Medium Arty regiment rushed into the fight with very little time to plan and prepare on that Monday evening in the picturesque but blooded Galwan Valley , they were only carrying their customary kirpan and an assortments of sticks, rods and sharp knives.

Fellow fighters recall Gurtej being attacked by four Chinese soldiers. Gurtej wears boyish look, but strong willed, agile, a strong Sikh, pounced upon the enemy shouting platoon’s war cry his ‘Jo Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal’, he swung round two enemies, and as two others tried to put him down, he dragged all four of them towards the cliff. A fellow soldier narrated the valiant episode full of courage and grit, as his chest swelled with pride.

“All four Chinese were flung to death but Gurtej himself lost balance and stuck in a boulder, but avoided free fall down the cliff. Badly injured, Gurtej rewrapped his turban and in an inhuman effort pulled himself back into the fight,” said a military source who was quoting fellow soldiers.

Gurtej severed some Chinese with his kirpan before he could snatch a sharp weapon from a Chinese soldier. “Not only that one but seven other Chinese soldiers died at the hands of Gurtej, and finally he was stabbed from behind. Even as he went down, he slashed his killer with his kirpan,” said a source in military.

Back home, for Gurtej’s father Virsa Singh’s, there is no sorrow of son’s loss, but the father of brave heart wants that his sacrifice should not go waste and China be taught a lesson for backstabbing India.

Image credit: https://www.wionews.com

One of the rising stars of Bollywood who took his life June 14, could have been saved if he had someone to talk to. Despite the fact that he was sending hints on micro-blogging site twitter no one listened to him. And he hanged himself waiting to be heard.

 Before taking his life, Sushant tweeted, “I’m ending all this for good. Going far yet so close to you people. Maybe after this people try to communicate with others rather than holding onto thoughts. See ya on the other side. GoodBye.”  

 In another message he wrote on twitter before the last one, he said: “I have fought back hard with life. I will be deleting these tweets in a while so just some of you know that I’m done with this mediocre success. I don’t want fame anymore, it’s all peaceful yet…”

 Viktor Frankl, one of the great psychiatrists of the twentieth century, survived the death camps of Nazi Germany. Once he told the story of a woman who called him in the middle of the night and in a very composed fashion informed him that she was about to commit suicide.

 Frankl kept her on the phone and talked her through her depression, giving her reason after reason to carry on living. Finally, she promised she would not take her life, and she kept her word. 

 When they later met, Frankl asked which reason had persuaded her to live? “None of them”, she told him. What then influenced her to go on living, he pressed?  

 Her answer was simple, “it was Frankl’s willingness to listen to her in the middle of the night”. A world in which there was someone ready to listen to another’s pain seemed to her a world in which it was worthwhile to live.

 Frankl’s little book, Man’s Search for Meaning, is one of those life-changing books that everyone should read. Sometimes the small act of listening is the greatest gift we can give and often, it is not the brilliant argument that makes the difference.

KNOW WHO’S VIKTOR FRANKL

Frankl Viktor who lived between 26 March 1905 to 2 September 1997, was a neurologist, a psychiatrist, and a holocaust survivor. He was the founder of logotherapy – meaning healing through meaning. He authored 39 books he best selling is ‘Man’s search for meaning’ is a 1946 book, based on his experiences in various Nazi concentration camps during World War II. In the book, he talked about the therapeutic method which involved identifying a purpose in life to feel positive about then imagining that outcome in an immersive manner.