| October 31, 2007 | Wednesday | Shawwal 18, 1428 |
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Rethinking Nobel peace prize
The great mess & judiciary
Doing what is right...
Solution to Pakistan’s problems
Upgrading backward classes
Please let her go to school
The axis of evil
Readers are requested to restrict their comments to a maximum of 400 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for reasons of clarity and space. Letters, including those by e-mail, should carry the complete postal address of the sender. The views expressed in these columns do not necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper.—Editor
ACCORDING to a report (Oct 28), authorities have developed a plan to meet the growing demand of power by exploiting indigenous resources. It is surprising that out of total 8,385 MW production, proposed in the plan, only 900 MW would be generated through coal-based power project.
By all means of economic calculations, operational convenience, technological appropriateness and availability, coal in our country stands as the first rationale choice to meet the growing energy demands. High gas prices have meant that coal has been enjoying a revival in recent years. The abundance of deposits, along with cheapness and convenience of cost and technology, makes coal very appealing for power generation.
Coal produces 50 per cent of America’s electricity, 70 per cent of India’s and 80 per cent of China’s electricity. In America, some 150 new coal-fired power stations are on the drawing board. In China, two 500 MW coal-fired power plants are starting up every week, and each year the country’s coal-fired power-generating capacity increases by the equivalent of the entire British grid.
Pakistan is categorised at seventh position in the list of top 12 coal-producing countries around the world, with coal deposits of more than 184 billion tons, including estimated reserves of 175.5 billion tons only in Thar. However, at present, overall share of coal in power production is not more than one per cent of our total power generation capacity.
Some 11 years back, in 1996, China was prepared to invest millions of dollars to develop a coa l-based power plant in Thar. The opportunity was lost on the difference of 0.3 per cent in the tariff, as Chinese investors demanded 5.7 cent per unit and Wapda insisted on 4 cent a unit. Today, Wapda is paying more than 6.5 cents for a unit. This extra cost has, however, not alleviated the miseries of common citizens, caused by continuous power deficit and poor management.
For millions of people, it is now a daily routine to suffer long sleepless nights and terribly hot days without availability of drinking water. The official business, agricultural activity and industrial operations have reduced substantially due to loadshedding strategy of managing demand-supply gap of power generation.
At the moment, promoting the coal industry in Thar can be one of the most convenient options for managing power deficit in the country. Some three billion tons of fine coal, which is available in surveyed blocks of Thar, is sufficient for establishing six coal-fired power plants, each with a capacity of 1000 MW. This collective production of 6000 MW can continue at least for 30 to 50 years, meeting effectively the additional target set by the government. The initiative would also provide a huge opportunity for employment.
A study conducted by a team of professional researchers indicates that “nearly 10,000 jobs may be available in the short-and medium-term — half of these being the semi-skilled and unskilled support staff.”
The total human power requirement that the study estimates in the long run is about 58,580 with a breakdown of 23,680 in mining and 34,900 in power generation projects. This is time authorities capitalised and took benefit of black gold available in Thar. The cost of missed opportunity would, otherwise, be inflated and increased with each passing day.
ALLAH NAWAZ SAMOO
Nagarparkar
Faiz Al-Najdi in his letter, ‘Rethinking Nobel peace prize’ (Oct 27), has challenged the right of choice of Nobel Committee’s decision awarding Nobel prize on peace to environmental activists. His analogy is based on the exact wording of the will of Alfred Bernhard Nobel, according to which prize on peace was to be awarded to the persons who “shall have done the most or best work: (1) for fraternity between nations, (2) for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and (3) for the holding of peace congresses”. Thus, according to him, a person working for saving global environment from degradation is not eligible for this honour.
Mr Najdi has failed to appreciate that when Sir Nobel made the will, i.e. Nov 27, 1895, the immediate problems to world peace were the growing nationalist movements in Europe and, as a result, internecine wars between the states. The much-talked-about threat to peace of the globe on account of environmental hazards, with its most pernicious and enduring effect, was not palpable being a most recent phenomenon.
At present the earth is facing a rapid warming which most scientists believe results from human activities. The chief cause of warming is deforestation, mainly on account of either acquiring forest lands for development projects, for agricultural purpose, or trees used as fuel and burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, which releases into the atmosphere carbon dioxide and other substances known as greenhouse gases.
As the atmosphere becomes richer in these gases, it becomes a better insulator, retaining more of the heat provided to the planet by the sun.
The average surface temperature of the earth is about 15°C. Over the last century, this average has risen by about 0.6 Celsius degree. Scientists predict further warming of 1.4 to 5.8 Celsius degrees by the year 2100.
This temperature rise is expected to melt polar ice caps and glaciers as well as to warm the oceans, all of which will expand ocean volume and raise sea level by an estimated nine to 100 cm, flooding some coastal regions and even entire islands. Some regions in warmer climates will receive more rainfall than before, but soils will dry out faster between storms.
The soil aridness may damage food crops, disrupting food supplies in some parts of the world. Plant and animal species will shift their ranges toward the poles or to higher elevations seeking cooler temperatures and species that cannot do so may become extinct. These factors put together will ultimately cause serious threat to global order.
Thus in view of the colossal impact of global warming which will impinge on the world peace more extensively and permanently than any war/wars, the Nobel Committee’s decision to include the ‘environmental peace’ for the overall peace and fraternity of the world is worth appreciating: a step well-timed, most appropriate and in accordance with the sprit of Alfred Nobel’s will. The prize for economic science, which was not in the original five awards, was also included in the list on the basis of significance of this subject, much later in 1969.
If the world leaders do not rise above the petty motivations and pay serious thought to the forewarning of environmentalists and come out with full support, the potential consequences of global warming are so enormously overwhelming that no state howsoever affluent and developed can save itself from its destructive impact.
ISHA M. KURESHI
Karachi
NOT many would disagree that Pakistan is facing dangerous polarisation, disorder and disarray today and it is besieged by many a severe crisis. But it will be hard for the main players to agree as to who is responsible for the present unenviable situation.
Some comments during a recent hearing of a case in the apex court proved the point when it was said that the judiciary was being unnecessarily overburdened by political cases and that it was the parliament and the politicians that were responsible for the present situation. But can the judiciary really absolve itself of any responsibility?
It is true that the politicians, the military establishment, civil society organs, executive branch, media and the elite of the country cannot shrug off their role in taking the country to the present impasse but the hands of the judiciary are not that clean either.
First, it is not fair to say that the political cases cannot be taken to the higher courts. The higher courts are, after all, the arbiters and interpreters of the legal and constitutional matters and whenever there is a legal and constitutional issue it needs to be taken to the courts and they have to adjudicate. It is the job and the duty of the judiciary and they cannot shirk. They owe it to the people and the country.
Then there is the question of the responsibility for a great message. The history may clearly and definitely answer the question:
Whenever an unconstitutional and illegal action has been taken in the country since the 1950s like a military coup, overthrow of a government or abolition of elected houses, the people have always knocked at the doors of the highest courts of law.
It is unfortunate that in each and every case the highest judiciary has disappointed the people and it has invariably validated the illegal and unconstitutional steps. Doesn’t that put some burden on the shoulders of the pious men sitting at the highest pedestals of the legal institutions, wearing the most sacred robes?
Now that the situation is coming to a head again and the people more confident of the independence of the judiciary this time around are knocking at the doors of the apex court, the expectations are running high and it is hoped that the court will finally come to the aid of the people and help clean up the mess that they have a hand in creating in the first place.
Where else can the people turn to?
AZIZ NAREJO
Texas, USA
THE following lines by Count Louis Hamon aptly describe (in a poem form) what ‘fate’ is:
‘‘....And what is fate? A perfect law that shapes all things for good.
And thus, that men may have a just reward
For doing what is right, not caring should
No earthly crown be theirs, but in accord
With what is true, and high, and great,
And in the end -- the part as to the whole --
So shall all be; in the success of all
So shall all share; for the All-conscious Soul Notes e’en the sparrow’s feeble fall.
..And such is fate. “
This wonderful description of fate emphasises “doing what is right for its own sake”. Looking back over the history of the world, the fate of nations stands out in grand relief upon the sombre background of the past. The lessons of the past may be the teachers of the future.
How fate works is significant in the context of present turmoil everywhere in the world also. One can infer that working of fate is demonstrated on an individual level as well as on level of nations. Rational thinking leads to the conclusion that fate (good or otherwise) for nations is shaped by decisions/actions of people in positions of responsibility, power; good fate follows decisions/actions in accordance with higher principles of truth, in public interest.
So, as men work out their fate by their own actions so do they make fate for those to follow and so on in every degree from stage to stage in the world’s progress. This is because “man is a link in life’s chain, his spirit is part of the Eternal Spirit of all things.
“The doctrine of fate forces men and women to realise the responsibility of life : it teaches them to feel for others and not to be careful alone for the salvation of self, to do selfless actions for the collective good, for the benefit of all, to the advancement of those to come”.
The rationale of the higher law of fate would inspire all men, especially those placed by God in whatever positions of power and responsibility, whether political, judicial, or social, to play their role, use their power for the promotion of social, political, economic justice, peace and prosperity, for the larger good of all. Importantly, “it gives the higher satisfaction of doing one’s best that others may be better — no more”.
Let us all pray for God’s guidance, for justice, peace and prosperity for all in our country and in the world.
A CITIZEN
Karachi
THE only sure method of measuring a successful society or country would be to measure its wealth distribution and life expectancy. In this regard Japan and Sweden are first and second in the world.
Take Japan. Of all the nations today, Japan has the greatest life expectancy. A key factor may be that Japan today is economically the most equitable of all the world’s affluent nations.
It hasn’t always been this way. Prior to World War II, wealth distribution in Japan was harshly unequal, and life expectancy rates were hardly better than those of impoverished Third World countries. After the war, things began to change when Gen Douglas MacArthur was given the task of overseeing the nation’s reconstruction.
MacArthur required three fundamental things of the Japanese:
a. Demilitarisation: Japan was forbidden to have an army.
b. Democratisation: His staff created the constitution that is in use in Japan to this day, providing for a representative democracy, free universal education, the right of labour unions to organise and engage in collective bargaining, the right of women to vote, and the right of everyone to a decent life.
3. Decentralisation: MacArthur broke up the family dynasties that ran the huge corporations that had controlled the country. He mandated a maximum successful land reform programme in history. Land was purchased from landlords who had amassed huge holdings, then sold to the tenants at the same price. The tenants were given 30-year interest-free loans to make the purchase. Essentially, he levelled the playing field. His reforms were followed by the most rapid rise in health and longevity ever documented in any major country in world history.
Unfortunately our economic managers are influenced and copy blindly the policies of the United States of America where the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing day by day. One per cent of America’s population owns more wealth than the bottom 90 per cent combined. Meanwhile, the minimum wage in the United States, adjusted for inflation, has fallen by 37 per cent since 1968 and become the lowest of any industrialised nation.
This gap has had devastating health consequences. Forty-five million Americans do not have even the most basic health insurance, and many millions more are seriously underinsured. Many Americans face the risk of financial ruin and even premature death because they can’t pay their medical bills. And, of course, it’s the poor who are hit the hardest. Today, an African American man in Harlem has a lower life expectancy than a man in Bangladesh, one of the world’s most poor countries.
History shows that wherever inequality of wealth distribution becomes extreme, people tend to become divided against one another, and societies tend to spend less on public health, education, and social safety nets, large numbers of people feel chronically left out, powerless, anxious, angry and afraid.
In such societies, everyone — whether they are ‘haves’ or ‘have-nots’ — tends to become less trusting of their neighbours and less inclined to help others. The result is higher crime rates, increased violence, and higher rates of heart disease, depression, and many other debilitating and deadly ailments for both the rich and the poor. Pakistan is experiencing the same.
Our leaders have only to learn from history and decide what is best for our country.
AHMED NAJUIB
Karachi
THE government of India’s decision to reserve 27 per cent of seats in professional colleges and institutions of higher learning for backward classes, listed as ‘OBCs’, is meant to enable these classes, who were marginalised for centuries, to pull themselves up to the level of the advanced classes of society.
New Delhi’s initiative to impose reservations for backward classes, be they the Dalits, or Muslims or others, is, therefore, perfectly legitimate. Reservations became necessary in India in order to remove the disparity between the different sectors of society and to start the lifting of the backward classes to the level of better-placed communities.
Without this, seats in professional colleges and hence good jobs will remain, forever, the preserve of the upper castes. Whatever turns out to be the final decision of the Supreme Court on the issue of reservations, no one should forget that real democracy, with its concomitant of equal opportunity for all, will be possible only if the system of elections is modified so that the backward classes are guaranteed representations in the parliament and the legislatures of the federating units in proportion to the percentages of their respective populations. For example, the Dalits who are 45 per cent of the nation’s population should have 45 per cent of the seats of the parliament.
JALAL AHMED
Muscat
THE national press carried a heart-rending picture of a young girl burning her school books in Quetta. The reason: she could not pay her school fees and accordingly had been dismissed by the school administration. Her brother, probably the sole bread winner of the family, had been picked up by the intelligence agencies and converted into a ‘missing person’ (obviously without going through due process of law and against the directions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan).
To make matters worse, the girl or her family does not even know whether it would be two years before her brother shows up, or five, or whether he would show up at all. If the girl doesn’t have money to pay her school fees, it is gut-wrenching to think whether she and her family have enough money to eat three wholesome meals a day.
Every year zakat is deducted from our bank accounts by the government. Can’t our zakat money be used by the government to support this poor girl while her brother is held by the intelligence agencies?
PIR SHABBIR AHMAD
Islamabad
THE letter, ‘The axis of evil’, written by Abid Mahmud Ansari on Oct 22 does not appear as unnecessary fear, nor a horrible dream, but certainly reflects the desire of the western powers to reshape the geographical boundaries of the countries in our region to suit their vested interests.
Undoubtedly, in the 21st century control on the world’s natural resources is the only means of controlling the world’s economy and maintaining the supremacy over other nations.
Huge reserves of natural gas and oil in Central Asia and minerals in Balochistan and the access to the ports of the Indian Ocean are some of the most important reasons for intervening in this region.
The statement by Senator Joe Bider, chairman of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Democratic presidential candidate for 2008, reflects the American plans for this region.
After all, a half million of multinational forces in Afghanistan are not there to establish the puppet regime of Karzai only but their aim is to destabilise the entire region and then carve out geographical borders to suit the western interest.
India, the largest democracy in the world and emerging superpower of the 21st century, has courage to turn down the United States nuclear deal which does not suit them, it’s because they have established parliament and think tank which disagreed with the conditions laid down by United States government.
The case with us and many other Muslim countries is different because we are not ruled by democratic means and readily agree to serve the interests of the western masters.
God save our homeland.
BAKHTIAR ZAMAN
Karachi
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