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EDITORIAL

HYDERABAD

THE HINDU THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2015

A welcomes hopeful afterglow

thursday, december 31, 2015

A stand
against reason
isk-taking, possible grievous injury and testing the limits of physical and mental exhaustion have always been part of competitive
sport, and the resultant tension has held the
imagination of participants and spectators alike. But the
participants have a choice in partaking in the risk and are
aware of the consequences intended or unintended
of their actions even as they engage in the sport with adequate precautions and take steps to mitigate unnecessary risks. Jallikattu, the popular bull taming sport conducted every year during the Pongal season in Tamil
Nadu, also engages young participants and spectators in
a violent and irrational risk-taking endeavour, requiring
the taming of a raging bull at the risk of even fatal injury.
Yet the bull itself is a silent participant, goaded into
frenzy in this sport and subjected deliberately to gruesome injury in the process. The rush of adrenaline, in
fact, drives participants to abandon caution, and many
get gored, resulting in violent injuries and even deaths.
Spectators are not spared either as the temporary barricades that separate them from the bull run are mostly
weak and unsteady. Jallikattu might be a popular tradition having evolved from a single man-bull combat in the
past to the random spectacle that it is today, but that it is
both irrational and against animal rights is beyond
question.
In a judgment last year, the Supreme Court for this very reason had banned jallikattu along with bullock cart
races in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, ignoring the argument for tradition and culture. It is unfortunate, therefore, that the Tamil Nadu government has urged the Centre to pass legislation even through the route of
promulgation of an ordinance to amend the laws for
the conduct of jallikattu. Surprisingly, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has responded positively to this request. Traditional belief systems and customs have been invoked by proponents of jallikattu to
seek revocation of the ban. Only those aspects of the customary rituals that put the well-being of participants and
animals at disproportionate risk were considered in the
Supreme Court decision in banning jallikattu. It would
have been appropriate for the Tamil Nadu government
to absorb this reasoning and explain it to rural youth
who have complained about the loss of their traditional
sport; instead, it has acceded to irrational demands
and sought to have the ban overturned. Dominant political forces in the State of Tamil Nadu had, in the previous
century, sought to contest irrational tradition by espousing rational values. The ideological decay and loss of fervour in promoting such values is evident in the recent
plea made by the State government and the support this
has received from opposition parties. The festive atmosphere during Pongal and the traditions of community
bonding and competition can still be easily retained
without the irrational practice of jallikattu.

Normally, when two countries

announce a bilateral meeting,
there is a certain amount of
certainty that it will take place.
But the question will they,
wont they? is asked every
MEHMAL
time there is a scheduled
SARFRAZ
meeting between officials of
India and Pakistan. Decades of
bitterness, hostility and mistrust between
the two nuclear neighbours inevitably warrant such uncertainty till the very last second. Back in August, the first-ever National
Security Adviser (NSA)-level talks were
called off at the last minute due to preconditions set by India that were unacceptable to
Pakistan.
Rapid thaw in relations
When it was initially announced that Indias External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj would be attending the Heart of Asia
conference in Islamabad, some were sceptical. But in the backdrop of the brief contact
between the Indian and Pakistani Prime
Ministers in Paris and the subsequent meeting of the NSAs and Foreign Secretaries of
the two countries, in Bangkok earlier this
month, many others were optimistic. Ms.
Swarajs maiden visit as a cabinet member
of the Modi government to Pakistan was
hailed as a major breakthrough. That she announced the resumption of the India-Pakistan dialogue, albeit with a new name (Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue), was
welcomed all around.
Ms. Swarajs visit was certainly an icebreaker. Her visit was seen as a prelude to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis expected visit to Pakistan in 2016 for the 19th
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit. What happened
next on December 25 took most people
by surprise. On Friday morning, Mr. Modi
who was in Kabul to inaugurate the new
building of the Afghan Parliament built by
the Indian government tweeted that he
would be meeting Pakistans Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif in Lahore the same afternoon.
His tweet created quite a buzz in South Asia.
Mr. Modi sure knows how to create
headlines.
That Mr. Sharif is committed to the idea of

From a Pakistani perspective, an Indian Prime

Minister visiting Pakistan after almost 12 years is a
positive sign. A strong BJP government led by an
extremely conservative leader like Narendra
Modi is capable of delivering peace with Pakistan
peace with India goes without saying. In
2013, he said on Election Day that if he became the prime minister of Pakistan again, he
would like to pick up the peace process from
where he left off in 1999 when his government was overthrown in a military coup. Mr.
Sharif went so far as to say: Whether India
invites me or not, I will visit India. He has
been severely criticised by his opponents for
being too soft on India, but he has remained
firm in the face of resistance in Pakistan on
the one hand and the hawkish stance of the
Modi government in India on the other.
While the Pakistani military establishments
policy of abetting non-state actors for crossborder terrorism has been disastrous for the

[Mr. Modis] willingness to reverse himself

and engage Pakistan should be welcomed by
all right-thinking and sensible denizens of
the two countries The 25th of December
was an auspicious day to mark the possible
beginning of a new era of stability in South
Asia.
Air Vice-Marshal Shahzad Chaudhry
(retd.) wrote in his column in The News
(The Modi magic, December 30): Modi
thinks fast because he talks fast. He is in his
element when unrehearsed and uncoached.
Such a man can think and say anything, anytime; sometimes something good as well.
Only his types decide something on the spur,
which in diplomacy is heresy what he will

While the Pakistani security establishments policy vis--vis India

is still flawed, politicians have advocated peace with India. In the
last three general elections, India was mentioned in a friendly
way and in the context of regional peace and cooperation.
South Asian region, the Modi governments
hard-line, anti-Pakistan stance has not done
any good to the region either.
December 25 is celebrated as Quaid-eAzam Day in Pakistan as it is the birthday of
the countrys founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Mr. Sharifs birthday falls on the same
day. Mr. Modi arrived in Lahore around 5 p.m.
(IST) and was flown to Mr. Sharifs personal
residence by helicopter from the airport.
The usual bouquets and brickbats
In Pakistan, most people welcomed Mr.
Modis visit and are hopeful of better relations between the two neighbours in the
coming days. In its editorial (Modis visit,
December 27), the newspaper Dawn wrote:

surely do is to take a road less travelled, creating opportunities for fresher experiences
and opportunities. That is what will change
the paradigm of engagement.
The main opposition parties in Pakistan
welcomed the visit. The chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Bilawal BhuttoZardari, tweeted: Welcome to Pakistan
@narendramodi. Constant engagement is
the only way to resolve all outstanding issues.
Opposition leader Khurshid Shah of the
PPP also supported Mr. Modis visit. Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan welcomed the thaw in India-Pakistan relations
but raised questions about Indian businessman Sajjan Jindals role. Jamaat-e-Islami

CARTOONSCAPE

Good sense
on LPG subsidy
he National Democratic Alliance governments decision to limit the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) subsidy to those earning
Rs.10 lakh or less per year is one of those rare
moves that will be cheered by economists and the poor
alike. The decision makes eminent sense why should
the well-to-do be subsidised? Politically, the decision
will win the government a lot of points with the poor,
who will hopefully be the beneficiaries of the savings
made by limiting the scope of the subsidy. The more the
government saves, the more it can spend on expanding
the reach of LPG connections among those who currently do not have one. And given that the effect of removing
this subsidy will, at current prices, mean an increase in
the LPG bill of a household consuming 12 cylinders a
year by just a little more than Rs.2,200, or about Rs.188 a
month, it is not going to receive brickbats from that section of society either. The message is clear: if you are not
going to give up your LPG subsidy on a voluntary basis,
then it will soon be compulsorily taken away from you.
The governments Give It Up campaign has encouraged
57.5 lakh beneficiaries of the LPG subsidy to opt out. But
that clearly is not enough, considering there are 16.35
crore LPG consumers in the country. However, the government is still opting to trust the people, with the declaration of income above Rs.10 lakh being a voluntary
move at the moment. The assumption is that once the
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas gets its hands on
the full list of people declaring an income of above Rs.10
lakh a year from the Income Tax Department at the end
of this financial year, this leeway will also be removed.
(Technically, the subsidy is being removed for those who
earn more than Rs.10 lakh, or whose spouse does.)
And it should, given the economic merits as well of
such a move. At the moment, the governments revised
estimates show that it spent as much as Rs.2.66 lakh
crore on subsidies in 2014-15. With such a large subsidy
bill, it is imperative to fix the two major problems plaguing most subsidy schemes in India: leakages and mis-targeting. Leakages refer to the phenomenon where the
subsidy does not reach the intended recipient due to
corruption, pilferage or a variety of other causes. This
has been quite successfully addressed via the governments decision to transfer the subsidy payments directly to the recipients bank accounts, something made easier with the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana. The
decision to limit the LPG subsidy by income groups is an
attempt to address the mis-targeting problem. By doing
this, the government is trying to ensure that the subsidy
is only going to go to those who need it. The hope is that
rather than using the resultant saving simply to shore up
the budget deficit, the Centre will use it to ensure that
LPG connections are provided for those who still depend on firewood and kerosene stoves.

CM
YK

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Liquor-free policy
The Supreme Court verdict
upholding the Kerala governments
policy of restricting alcohol
consumption, with the noble
objective of protecting public
health and nutrition (Apex court
upholds curbs on serving liquor in
Kerala, Dec.30), deserves praise.
The closure of hundreds of bars
across the State despite the loss of
substantial
revenue
to
the
exchequer is testimony to the
governments
steadfast
commitment
to
introducing
prohibition in a phased manner.
There is no denying the fact that the
pub culture is increasing at an
alarming rate, with deleterious
consequences to the health and
well-being of its patrons. This
syndrome is more pronounced on
the eve and dawn of New Year. An
inevitable offshoot of this is the
deterioration witnessed in social
and moral values. One wishes that
other States emulate Keralas
example.
P.K. Varadarajan,
Chennai

It is now up to the government to

provide alternative means of
livelihood to those who will lose
their jobs following the closure of
bars. Perhaps these facilities can be
turned into coffee or tea houses or
even eateries. In addition, there
must be a huge campaign to
promote non-alcoholic drinks like
fruit
juices
and
neera.
Unfortunately, prohibition will
result in a spurt in illegal brewing
and the smuggling of liquor.
Therefore, we should be preaching
moderation in drinking rather than
a total ban which would be rather
difficult to enforce.
D.B.N. Murthy,
Bengaluru

This is a wonderful New Year gift to

Kerala especially its womenfolk.
The States vigilance machinery has
to be alert now in detecting cases of

chief Siraj-ul-Haq was one of the isolated

voices in opposing Mr. Modis visit and even
took out a rally against it. In his tweet, Sirajul-Haq did say that he is not against dialogue
but how can Pakistan welcome Modi in the
background of Indian atrocities in Kashmir,
FATA & Balochistan?
Of course there was the predictable criticism from the usual suspects, with some going on about the Indian Prime Ministers visit
and trying to target Mr. Sharif in the light of
Mr. Jindals presence in Lahore by saying Mr.
Modis visit had more to do with Mr. Sharifs
own interests. Mr. Jindal had hosted a tea party in Mr. Sharifs honour when the latter visited India for Mr. Modis swearing-in in May
2014.
It must be mentioned here that Mr. Sharif
made a huge statement by not meeting the
Kashmiri leadership, and not mentioning the
K word in his official press conference during his visit. The then Indian Foreign Secretary took a hard-line position against Pakistan in her press conference while Mr. Sharif
faced the establishments ire on his return.
From attempts at destabilising his government to moves to take control of foreign and
defence policy by the military establishment,
Mr. Sharif has been on the militarys bad side
for several reasons one of the major ones
being his continued efforts to normalise relations with India.
Time for some give and take
There is no denying that to move forward,
Pakistan must take substantive action against
the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks. Indias position on Mumbai may be rigid but it
is understandable. On the other hand, the Indian side should also try to settle issues that
can be resolved, such as Sir Creek. It must be
mentioned here that while the Pakistani security establishments policy vis--vis India
is still flawed, our politicians have advocated
peace with India. In the last three general
elections of Pakistan, Kashmir was hardly ever mentioned, and India was mentioned in a
friendly way and in the context of regional
peace and cooperation. In 1999, the Kargil
war was staged to sabotage peace talks with
India. In 2008, the Mumbai attacks took place
while Pakistans then Foreign Minister was
in New Delhi. Pakistans civilians strive for
peaceful relations with India despite the military-security establishments world view.
On the other hand, Mr. Modi not only fought
the general election on an anti-Pakistan tirade but tried to do the same during State
elections as well. The resounding defeat of
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the latest
State elections in Bihar may have led the Modi government to reconsider its stance vis-vis Pakistan. It is being said that Mr. Modi is
also under pressure from the international
community to improve relations with Pakistan in order to stabilise Afghanistan. Pakistans military establishment has also tried to
take credit for the revival of the India-Pakistan dialogue.
From a Pakistani perspective, an Indian
Prime Minister visiting Pakistan after almost
12 years is a positive sign to a certain extent.
A strong BJP government led by an extremely conservative leader like Mr. Modi is capable of delivering peace with Pakistan because
its nationalist credentials will not come into
question while the Congress always had to
tread with caution. In Pakistan, a conservative Punjabi leader like Mr. Sharif can also afford to do the same. It would be ironic,
though not impossible, if the villain of Gujarat becomes a harbinger of peace with
Pakistan.
(Mehmal Sarfraz is a
Lahore-based journalist.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

non-compliance and circumvention

of the governments directives.
S.R.S.Ayyar,
Mumbai

I belong to the Malabar area where

there was prohibition till the late
1960s. Even after the opening of
toddy/arrack shops by the second
EMS government of 1967, people
were reluctant to be seen going to a
liquor shop as drinking was
considered a social evil and a
pastime of antisocial elements. But
now, to say that you drink is a
status-enhancing
symbol.
Excessive drinking has ruined many
families in every respect. When it
was found that arrack consumption
was spoiling the peace, health and
financial position of the middle
class, the A.K. Antony government
banned it in the 1990s. Now, even
after closing down 700 bars in the
private sector, there are still 332
government beverage outlets
selling IMFL, numerous five-star
hotel bars and hundreds of beer
parlours and toddy shops. While the
government of the day has taken a
policy decision in the interest of the
well-being of its citizens, it is
unfortunate that the media is
criticising it on mere technicalities.
C.K. Saseendran,
Bengaluru

The courts verdict is bound to

usher in sociological changes.
People who have now become
unemployed will have to be
rehabilitated.
Since
the
consumption of alcohol has more to
do with ones psychological state of
mind, consumers will go to any
extent to quench their thirst.
Therefore, it must be kept in mind
that the neighbouring States are still
open to alcohol consumption, and
the chances of the illegal alcohol
business flourishing cannot be
ruled out.
Christy Simon,
Kottayam

The brave and sensible attempt to

restrict the consumption of liquor is

welcome, but could be undermined
by allowing only five-star hotels to
serve the product. This introduces
the debatable idea of how the
economic status of an individual
becomes the only criteria for a
person to enjoy a drink. This
loophole needs to be plugged if
there is to be a meaningful
implementation of this fruitful law.
R. Infanta Vincy,
Coimbatore

One needs to talk about the past

experience of Andhra Pradesh
when the government announced
full prohibition in 1992 only to
repeal it five years later on the
grounds that it was not successful
or feasible because of the leakages
within the State and from across the
borders. A complete ban will only
invigorate the black market. A
partial ban and rehabilitating those
in the business who will now lose
their livelihood may be more
sensible. The government should
also look at alternative sources of
revenue rather than the liquor cash
cow.
Vamshikrishna,
Mancherial, Telangana

problems India faces can be

resolved with extensive Internet
usage. Therefore, the area of focus
must be on having a scheme where
there is a platform of open neutral
Internet for the whole of India.

access and leave it to us to make our

choices.

Pragya Tanwar,
Bhiwani, Haryana

The sudden shipment of stones to

Ayodhya, followed by a shila puja,
has once again brought the
Ayodhya issue into focus in national
and regional politics, causing
consternation among peace-loving
citizens (Historians condemn
build-up in Ayodhya, Dec.30).
With no vikas to show and support
for the BJP fraying at the edges, the
party seems to have outsourced to
the right wing the task of
polarising voters on religious lines.
The so-called preparatory work is
indicative of the VHPs prescience
of the Supreme Courts eventual
verdict. It is inconceivable that the
state apparatus is allowing the
build-up of tension for a showdown.
Does it mean that it is disregarding
the rule of law and going by the
primitive principle, might is right?
No one in his right senses would
wish for an outbreak of communal
violence.

Free Basics seems to be an

attempt to control all Internet traffic
for the companys own gain. It is
hard to believe that Facebook has no
vested interest in all of this.
Facebook does not enjoy a very
good reputation when it comes to
upholding user privacy. In 2012, the
company performed a secret
psychological experiment on nearly
700,000 users without their
informed consent. Subsequent
outrage resulted in an apology.
Schemes such as this one are
promoted with attractive features
in order to gain a critical mass of
subscribers. Once this is achieved,
the provider often changes policies,
which makes it difficult for users to
drop out due to a changed Internet
ecosystem in the country. A
monopoly will go against the
fundamental philosophy of the
Internet.
Aravind R. Narasipur,
Chennai

Free Basics
Free Basics from Facebook
(Crony connectivity, and Internet
for us, Dec.30) is a complete
violation of the concept of net
neutrality. Using the Internet does
not mean only patronising social
media, which is a tiny part of the
Net. The Net enables education,
business, general communication,
trade and commerce. I also feel that
schemes such as Free Basics are a
threat to young entrepreneurs.
Much of the governments
ambitious schemes like Startup
India and Digital India will suffer
setbacks if there is no net neutrality.
Ankit Galgat,
Panipat, Haryana

Facebook will obviously have its

personal agenda. Most of the

Facebooks offer (Nothing free or

basic about it, Dec.30) may appear
to be altruistic but is not an apt
choice for an aspiring Digital India.
It seems to be fraught with
roadblocks. As experts have said,
what India needs is free Wi-Fi.
Facebooks offer needs to be
examined by an expert panel.
K. Rajendran,
Chennai

Facebook appears to be wanting to

just exploit the Indian market and
cash in on data collection. The very
concept is a threat to net neutrality
and will only lead to a society of the
haves and the have-nots. If the real
intention is towards enabling digital
inclusiveness, it should provide

R. Parasuraman,
Chennai

Signals from Ayodhya

G. David Milton,
Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Ayodhya is on the boil again with

the VHP upping the ante. There is
still a court case pending on the
issue. Why dont the activists await
its outcome? Indulging in sabrerattling and trying to disturb peace
and harmony will only bring
disrepute to the BJP government.
V. Padmanabhan,
Bengaluru

Editorial Counsel
The decision of the Editor of
The Hindu to appoint an Editorial
Counsel
is
welcome
(Announcement, Dec.30). Mr.
Parthasarathy is well known for his
erudite and balanced views, and it is
hoped that he will do justice to the
challenging task before him.
C. Selvamani,
Bengaluru
HY-TG