Vol. 36 No.4 22nd September, 1986 Price : Rs.

1/
Minorities Not Being Properly Protected
Communalism And
All
Fundamentalism
Communities
Plague
The latest meeting of the reconstituted National
Integration Conncil was nothing more than a talking
. shop. Cliches and palliatives were tr.oUed about but no
bard decisions were taken. May coMend tbat it was a
publicity gimmick by tbe ruling party.
parliamentary elections witb an
eye on tbe communal and caste
composition of each consrituency.
Nor Mr Gandhi has promised
to "try to .. oid this communal
approach" at the next elections.
But wbo is going to wait for
anotber three years wilen Lok
Sa bba poll will be due ?
Mr Rajiv Gandhi pointedly
said tbat communalism bad
raised its head in Punjab in very
virulent form. But he forgot to
mention tile communal riots
which have rocked Gujarat and
Uttar Pradesh more ferociously.
Against this, there bas not been
even a single case of Hindu Sikh
flot io Punjab, despite all the
tension there. Terrorism in
Punjab has some "secular
u
phenomenon, as the extremists
have killed as many Sikbs as
Hindus. Strangely, genuine
grievances of the minorities are
dubbed as born of communalism
while excesses nnd unsound
demands of Hindus are bailed
as nationalism.
Fundamentalism is not" .on-
fined to anyone community.
(Continued on next page)
There was not a sin,le word
about protection \0 tbe minori
ties. The IS'point programme,
presenled at the previous NIC
meeting witb so much fanfare,
has been "notbing short of direc-
tive"noncompliance syndrome",
as Mr. Chitta Basu of Forward
Block put it.
No doubt, there are a number
of bodies for redressing grievan-
ce. of the minorities,
Central Minority Grievance
Committee, Minorities Commis-
sion, High-Power Panel, and
minorily cell attached with the
union home ministry. There is
no coordination among tbese
bodies, nor have tbeir duties,
scopes and functions been iden-
tified, cauling confusion and
overlapping. The minorities
commission has no constitutional
backing, with tbe result that aU
its recommendation find tbeir
way into the wast paper basket.
Itl cbairman bas always been a
Muslim, and some of tbem bave
looked after members of tbeir
faitb only. ignoring tile other
minorities.
Thakkar Report Withheld From President
Some PorUoDs Blast Conspiracy Theory ' Bebind
Indira Gandbi's Murder
The central government has not supplied to the
president, Giani Zail Singh, a copy of the Thakkar
report on Mrs Indira Gandhi's assassination on October
31, 1984, though he has asked for it twice, once in
writing:
'Fbi. is a clear violation of
the constitution. Articl. 78 lays
down that "it shall be the duty
of tbe prime minister to furnish
sucb information relating 10 tbe
administration of the affairs of
the union and proposals for
legislation as the president may
call'\
The latest NJC meet conccn- The Tbakkar report has,
trated its attention of fighting apparently, some portions wbicb
"commnnalism and fundamental- are unpalatable to tbe powers-
iam." But Congress party has that-are. It w to keep a firm
been more guilty in several lid on its findings tbat the
respects. It entered into an governmenl amended tbe cons-
alliance with Muslim League in titntion recently, empowering
Kerala long ago; this bond still it to withhold any report of
continues. To ple:'se Muslims inquiry if it was thougbt proper
there, ministry carved out a in "public interest". Before
.Muslim majority district oC _ tbat, it was obligatory to place
Malappuram. IUch report before tbe parli.-
Tbe so-called secular Con- ment within six montbl of itl
&fosa(l) bill been puttiDI up its lubmisaion.
canelldates in 80embly u.d \Che \Chakkar report has not
come down feom the union
home minister'. level. It has
not been sent even to the law
ministry which normally pro-
cesses such reports to find out
if any legal action could be
taken against officials found
guilty of any dereliction of duty
and lapses.
Tt is generally held that tbe
report avers that there was no
conspiracy bebind Mrs. Gandhi',
murder. It was just tbe work
of two of her bodyguards wbo
felt slighted at the desecration
of the Golden Temple at her
orders in June 1984 when the
army invaded the holy complex
and demolished tbe Akal Takbt
It this report is made public,
then it would reduce to utter '
non-sense, almost fabrication, .
tbe prosecution story tbat ber
mureler WII the relult of ia
cou.piracy. And Sardars Kebar
Singb. and B.lbir Singb., senten-
ced to death for having instiga-
ted Beant Singb to kill Mrs.
Gandb.i, .hall have to be freed.
And tile Government's attemptl -
t.O implicate Sardar Simranjit
Singh Mann, a former JPS
officer, as the real brain behind,.
the murder would be exposed,
as a 'damn lie.
Relations between tbe Giani
and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandi'
have been sour from tbe ve': .
inception. The Giani i. now
said to be rueing the day w.hoi
he ignored the time-t"skd
tradition of makin, . tlie .enic)r-
most member'of cabinet.u 8!iti,ii.
prime
bent is c/losei!, by')ti,l;): r!!tilil*<
party. ' ' .MaY' .. ;"'OJ) );.
reward ' .the':n\I'-" . N;
for h vilt" -cittlilliitli . , ' .' , ..
II; . g , ,. . , .....
the
THE
2
Memorandum Of "Indira Loyalists"
A Damp Squib
Opposition To Punjab, Assam And Mizoram
. Accords
The seven-page memorandum submitted to Pres i- .
dent Giani Zail Singh by a group of or
suspended Congress(I) led. by former Finance
Minister Pranab Mukherjee, on September 16, has not
set the Yamuna on fire;
Gorkbaland movemeDt has
gained strength because the
IRdianl of Nepali origin have
been given a raw deal. He would
be better advlsedto set liis ' own
bouse in order first before casting
venomOIl! af1'ows at others.
It has not asked for the dis-
missal of the Rajiv Gandbi
government, nor does it contain
any specific cbarges of
tion, malreasance or
tration against the ptlme mIDIS
ter or any union
Couched in general terms, It has
requested the Giani .to . fulfil hIS
constitutional obligatIon of
"warning and advising the
government" against its present
policies wbicb. they aUeged, were
a departure from tbose followed
by Paudit lawabarlal Nellru and
Mrs Indira Gandhi.
(Continued from front page)
Akali. are accused orusing gurd-
waras for political haranges.
But Imams also give political
colouration to tbeir discourses
at Friday prayers meetings. RSS
cadres Sbiv Senas and a host
militant Hindu organi-
sation are based in temples
which have been used blatantl y
ror whipping up passions against
otber communities. In Punla",
often places of worsbip have
been used by Hindu to fire at
neigbbouring Sikh houses.
No religion peaches hatred. of
others. It is only tbe pandots,
mullabs and grantbies who are
villain. of tbe piece.
RIP, selfappointed cbam
pion of Hindu causes, has taken
exception to recruitment or more
M'.lslims into tbe central police
organisations. It argues that such
a community wise step would
lead to factionalism and spell
the doom of national unity and
integration. But, at tho same
time, tbis party insists on giving
Punjab Hindus 48 percent repre-
.entation, on the basis of tbeir
ratio, ia tbe state
."olice. BJP bas double standards.
Sikhs were 33 percent in tbe
army in 1947. Now their sbare
b been reduced to five percent.
Plans are afoot to cut It down
further to two percent in keeping
wltb their population in the
e.ouniry. Ak.alis .. demand tbat
we mu's! no:t;. temper witb tbe
qc,fence and recruitment
must be 'only"flasis of merit and
'not population -ratio. And yet
t :" this secula r , and . na1ionalistic
: "demand is decrled' as communal.
These "Jndira loyalists" argue
tbat the goverllment has softened
its anti-imperliast attitude. It
was a,"o drifting toward tbe
right in fi,cal and economic
policiest at bome. Accorning to
them, traditional emphasis on
socialism has been diluted and
Iiberalisation and privitisation
have been ushered in without
regard to the consequences.
But these wise men bave not
bothered to realise that public
sector undertakings, witb only
a bandful of honourable excep
tions, have bten always in the
red aDd bave become dens of
corruption, inefficiency and
letbargy. Against this, private
sector has been doing very well.
Some men are against tbe laissez
faire doctrine simply because
tbey cannot wield tbeir clout
in it.
Most bizarre bas been tbe
opposition of tbese "Indira men"
to tbe Punjab. Assam and
Mizoram accords. Their conten-
tion is . tbat the.e have given
stimuJu!J to "secessionist and
divi1live forcos". How, they bave
not botber.d to explain, All
the.e three agreements have
defused the turbulent situation
in tbe three states and paved tbe
way for communal harmony and
peace. If Ibe unrest still con tin u.s
in Punjab and Assam, it is
merely due to tbe nonimplemen-
tation or tbe accords.
Mr Mukherjee would do well
to cast a look within bis own
state. West Sengal. Tbere tbe
Giani Zail Singb bas promiled
to give tbe memerandum full
consideration. More tban this,
be could not do. But it was
premature on part of some
Congrell(I) members of parlia-
ment to bave rushed into the
fray prematurely and accused the
Giani of impropriety in agreeing
to receive tbe delegation. Tbe
President belonls to the nation
and not 10 the ruling party
alone.
Punjab seeking share
in power projects
The Punjab goverl\llJent is
taking all possible steps to press
upon tbe union government to
give tbe state it's due share in
the power generated from the
Sangrauli and Reruur projects.
Tn this respect leaders of various
parties in the Lok Sabba are
also being approached.
Tbis was stated by Pr.
Harbhajan Singh Deol, aclminis
trative member of tbe Punjab
Electricity Board in Moga
last week. Dr. Deol criticised the
autborities of tbese power pro-
jeeta for not grantillg Punjab
it's duo share even in tbe hour
of crisis.
He, however, eXPJe.sed satis-
faction over the performance of
tbe Guru Nanak Thermal Plant,
BhatiDda. He said tbat all preli-
minery steps have been taken ti)
set up a new project of power
generation from rice hu.k in
Patiala district.
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; , .
22nd &ptembei, 1'86
24th September, 1955
'JAN SANGHA MENACE TO
THE PEACE & TRANQIDLITY .
OF PPNJAB
Government l\1ast Crash Their
'Fascist rendencies wldi ..
Stronl Hand
(By Our Staff Correspondent)
Tbe activities of tbe Jan
Sangb and Maba Punjabis in the
Punjab have indeed become ..
lIlatter of great concern and pose
a problem which demands the
strictest watch and control. Tbii
more tbis goond.ism is condem-
ned, the lesser it is.
No SOOI or the Religional
Formula was evolved tban these
communal organisations ban
been agitating and making a bue
and cry over notbing. Theie
communal outbursts sbould not -
b. ignored and brushed aside
Iigbtly but tbey should be
note of s.riou.ly. They are'.
challenge to tbe peaoo and tran-
quality of the Punjab and the
fascist tendencies of the Jan
5angh are' injurious to the
heallhy growtb of the Parlia-
mentary Democracy. The whole
atmosphere of the Punjab and
Pepsu is charged with diatruSt
and commnnal tension aDd Jan
Sangh is obviously the autbor of
tbis hooliganism and is totall,
responsible for creating tbis
state of a!fain. No doubt tbat
many penons having vested
interests are backing theSe
bodies.
The Punjab Government has
done good in banning the entry
of Jan Sangb Chief into Amrit-
aar. Tbe hooliBans wanted to
repeat tbe Hosbiarpur story here
too. Have tbe people forgotten
tbe violent demonstrations of tbe
Mah. Punjab booligan. on tlie
morni_g of September 8, again,t
Shirman Narayan, CongrCSl
General Secretary? No, tba)-
have not ! The looting of sbops,
throwing of bottles and brickbats
sbows tbe bankruptcy of tbe
communal parties. Wbat does_it
lead to-spread of communal
tension in otber parts of India.
Tlie Arya Samajists of Jullundup
are already infamous for tbeir
. communalism and if tlley get
little support, they do not de.iit
from making a mou'atain oroa
molehill. During tbe British R'J
tbey were rank opportunilts and
now no wonder, if th-.y ar .
arrayed against the National Ha&
and ail that it stllnds tor: .
THE "SPOKESMAN" WEEKLY
----------------
t, A THOUGHT FROM GURBANI
Nam is the. .only thing "ortby of praise, $
Withont Nam we are naogbt; $
Wordly positioD and wealth are but fleeting thing; t
Tbey come and go.
& - Gom Am.rda. $
... ....
Vol, 36
No.4)
Pri"" :
, Re. 11-
Equitable Compensation
Barnala ministry in Punjab has taken the most
welcome decision of giving to families of the victims of
terrorist violence in the state the same facilities of rolief
and rehabilitation which have been admissible to vic-
tims of anti-Sikh riots of November 1984. In this way
it has dispelled the impression among Hindus that
government was more responsive to the needs of the
Sikhs alone, though the terrorists have been killing
Hindus and Sikhs in almost equal numbers;
Now families affected by extremist violence and
terrorism will be entitled to preferential loans and
subsidies, free education for children, a monthly pen-
sion of Rs. 250 per month for each widow, and priority
in allotment of houses and residential plots. So far the
compensation for lives lost in terrorist violence was an
ex-gratia grant of RSI 20,000 each and a Class III or IV
government job to one dependent relative . of each
victim. There are about 1,000 families of this genre.
The new concessions should be applauded as a new
inititative for the state's peace and amity;
The initial reactions have been favourable. Several
dozen Hindu families, who had migrated are now
returning to Punjab. This influx can be increased if the
Hindu militants stop their vicious propaganda and
assure the members of their community that their life
and property are safe. Punjab police, in cooperation
with para-military forces, have now got the upper hand
against the terrorists, and acts of violence have been
considerably reduced.
There is another piece of good tidings. The cen-
tral government has decided to give an enhanced com-
pensation to residents of the area around the Golden
Il'emple, who suffered losses during Operation Bluestar
in June 1984. The area was traditionally a busy trading
centre; Hundreds of shops were razed to the ground
and traders left almost peniless. .
However, New Delhi has not agreed to the traders'
plea that their insurance claims be fully sanctioned.
Union Finance Minister V.P. Singh has cited "technical
difficulties" as an alibi; But why cannot these be
ironed out on compassionate grounds? After all, the
problem is more human than mere technical. Or should
we assume that the centre is impervious to the miseries
or the people who were victims of its own military
operations?
3 22nd September, 1986
A S A
-
D I
-
WAR
By : A.C. Arora
Asa di var is a unique and
thought-provoking ballad com-
pesea by Guru Nanak in the
then prevalent Punjobi language.
It has a strikingly simple ond
_pontoneous, sarcastic yet sooth-
ing style. It consists of 24
paur!s and 60 Shlokas (including
14 Sllaloka. of Guru Angad).
According to leja Singh, "tbe
whole is very artistically arran-
ged and in the method, sequence
and coherence of thought it is
as prefect as the Japji". The
main theme of Asa di V.7r is
obviously 'God, man and Guru' .
In almost all the Pauri. the
author pays glowing tributes
to the infinite,
and all-pervadipg Greatness and
Glory of God. He also lays
considerable emphasis upon the
need of a spiritual guide Or
Guru witbout whom a man, he
bolds, will be like spurious
sesame left desolate in the field.
The way of religion advocated
and preached by Guru Nanak
is. however, not an amalgam
of set-views or doctrines but a
way of life. And as stich tbe
autbor felt very much concerned
about the .ocio.religious lives
wbich tbe people of tbat age
were leading. Hence in bis Asa
di var, and mar< particularly
in the Shlokas attached to every
Paurl, be gives numerou, refe-
rence., direct, regarding tbe
conditions of that society.
Religion with all its false,
formal and superstitious prac-
tices, it appears, was the mOlt
dominant force in thac medieval
society as depicted in Asa di var.
A man in tbal society was
notbing if be was not a Hindu
or a Muss.lman and botb
Hinduism and Islam had assu-
med most perverted forms at
the lime. The Brahmins and tbe
Mullabs wbo wore regarded as
sbepberds of their respective
flocks-and actually they did
nothing more than to remove
the fieece of the sheep of tbeir
flocks - bad imposed most laxing
and vexatiou9 ceremonies upon
the innocent and ignorant
masses, so that individual liberty
had virtually ceased to exist.
Instead of liberating the soul of
the people-.the solemn and
sacred task tbey had been
entrusted witb-they had really
made them alaves, both mentally
and spiritually. "Man", says
Rousseau "is born free but
every-whete he i. in chains".
In the society under discussion
man was not even born free
and he was bound beart and soul
by tbe chains of religion; family
and state. Even the restriction.
imposed upon tbe m.n by the
Sultana and the aged beads of
tloe family were more often
than not, dictated by their
religious fanaticism and fads.
And so it came to pass that
religiou. tyranny reigned in that .
society . . Right from his birth
down to his death, an individual
had been over-burdened with
numeroul '0 called religious
ceremonies. According to K.M_
Ashraf, "Religious emotion
found its best expression in
them. Society even judged of
the responsibility of a person
by tbe amount of care and
attention he gave to the fulfil-
ment of these social and reli-
gious rites". Tbe birth ceremony
of a child, especially a mll.
child, was celebrated with great
enthusia.m. Guru Nanak allUdes
to the peculiar practices of
impurity the so-caUed 'Sutak'
associated with the birth of a
child. All tho family members,
even the caltefellows were
regarded as impure, so that their
very touch was supposed-
defil e all tbe cooked food.
Guru Nanak strongly condemns
this futile superstitious practic._
He writes:
If we admit the idea of
impurity (Sutak), impurity
wilt fouild in everything.
There are worms in duog
. and wood,
There is no grain of corn
without life;
. Water is the primary element
of life. by wbicb every-
thing is made fresh and
green.
How can we keep a way this
impurity?
It will enter into our kitchen,
Nanak. we cao remove
impurity only by . Irue
knowleg .
Tben be goes on to say that
tbe real impuriti t s consist in
greed, lying, lust and slander
which defile the beart, tongue
eyes and ears respectively aDd
lead a m.n to bell.
After passing through various
ceremonies in early child.ood,
wbereas a Muslim child was
circumcised at the age of seven,
a Hindu child belonging to tbe
three upper castes proclaimed
his boyhood by wearing a sacred
tbread (usually at tbe comple-
tion of nine years) in a tradi-
tional ceremonial manner. Guru
Nand: wbo attaches no religious
sanctity anel importance to this
ceremony, exposes its bollowness
and at the same ' time dilate.
upon tbe renl significance of
moral virtues of eternal value,
sucb as mercy, contentment,
truth and self-control in these
Ilaes: . , '-
Make the tbread of content-
ment from the coUon of
mercy by giving it twills
of truth alld ties of self
control.
THE "S,POKBSMAN" WEEKLY
rhe sacred tbread tbus form-
ed will be for tbe soul.
If thou bas! it, '0 'pandi!' put
it on me.
lt will not break, or become
, soiled, or be burnt, or lost.
Blessed is tbe tbe mao, 0
4Nanak', who goeth with
such a laread .round his
neck.
He also menti ons how on
tbe eve of this c"emony. goat
is sllughtered, cooKed and eaten
and tben everybody present
'put on the Janou'.
We do not find any reference
regarding marriage ceremonies
in Asa di var, But we learn
from other sources tbat "all
sort. of sober and humorous
rites and numorous superstitious
ceremonies filled the programme
of the bride and the bride-
groom". Likewise many super-
stitious rite. were performed
before and after the death of a
person, For a few days follow-
ing deatb, the house was consi-
dered to he ceremonially impure.
The Hindus burnt the dead
bodi es whereas th. Muss.!mans
buried them. In one passage of
Asa dt var Guru Nan.k talks
about tbe futile but muc!:! pro-
nounced difference between the
Hindus and ,v u'sU:DS
the dispmal of their dead bodies.
He says:
The clay of a Mussalm.n
finds its way into the
potters' hand,
Who fashions vessels and
bricks out of it. It cries
out of fire;
And as it burns, poor thing,
it weeps and sheds and
tear. of cinders.
Nanak. only the Creator
who made the world
knoweth whether cremation
is better or burial.
That is to say that i t is
simply vain and wbimsical on
the part of the Mussai mans to
find fault with the Hindu prac-
tice of burning the dead bodies,
for lb. Muslim dead bodies
which are burried Iilay be dug
out by tho potter and put into
the fire of his oven,
But the religious ceremonies
did not end witb the end of
a man. Year after yoar following
tbe death of a person, his des-
cendants in the Hindu family
performed the Shradh ceremony
dedicated to the deceased. While
preaching honest earning, the
Guru in oce interesting Shlolca
refers to this ceremony .. ith
characteristic humour and
sarcasm :
If a rebber robs a house and
offers
the proceeds of his theft to
bis departed ancestors,
The properly will be ' recog-
nized in the next-world and
will bring the charge of
tlieft on the anceston.
Justice will require tbat tbe
, bands of tbe ' intermediary
Brabmin be cut off.
Nanak we get bereafter only
w\tat we lIive out of our
own hard earned lub.tancc.
In tbis way tbe whole life of,
individual-that of a Hindu in
a greater degree-was over-
burdened with innumerable rite.
which, to Nanak, bad mOfe
superstition tban sense in them,
Yel tbe selfstyled protectors of
Hinduism and Islam, the Brah-
mins and Mullahs, professedly
attached religious sanctity to all
these ceremonies.
It was the Kol-Jug in wbich
there was: as it was bound to be,
degeneration and detecioration
all round in the moral level of
the people. The Master refers !o
tbe prevalent tradition 'four jugs'
pointing out how the KaIJug
differed from preceding jugs.
In the Sat-Jug, contentment
was the cbariot (of human
life) and piety tbe driver in
front.
In tbe Treta-Jug, temprrance
was Ibe chariot and
strength the driver in
front .
In the DuapraJljg, penance
was the chariot and Truth
tile driver in front.
In the Ka/-Jug, flaming pas-
sion is the chariot and
falsehood Ih. driver in
front .
In this Kal-Jug the people
had forgotten the substance of
religion. As Guru Nana" writes
in Majh DI Var, "Religion bas
taken wings and vanished.
Falsity prevails like th. darkness
of tbe darKest night. The moon
of truth is visible no where".
Tbe darkness of tbe ase had
mo.de goblins of men. Tbe seed
of religion had exhausted its
merit with the departure of those
who had sown it. False and
formal practices were all that
was left of religion, In the langu-
age of Sew. Ram Singb, "Both
tb. systems (Hinduism and
Muhammadanism) bad degraded
into sels of formalities and cere-
monials, which Were performed
by tbeir votaries like mere auto-
matons. Their objects were no
longer understood or songbt to
be understood" ,while each
pretended to be righteous, reli-
gious and pious, neither nnder-
stood the spirit of religion.
Hindu had ceased to be Hindu,
whom Krishna of the Bhagwat
Gila would not care to own, and
Muhammadan had ceased to be
Muhammadan, wbom Mubam-
mad himself, if he had some-
how reappeared on earth, would
have failed to recognize
as his follower ," The Master
himself had uttered tbese signi-
ficant words, the very first words
witb which he started delivering
his message: "There is no Hindu
and no Muslman." Leavins aside
4
the fundamental princ,iples of
their relilion sucli as ' sincere
devotion to God and selfsuuen-
der before his Supreme Will, tbe
Hindus would go to and bathe
at tbe sacred place., worship
images, offer oblations and burn
incense before tbem. Guru
Nanak alludes to sixty-eight
sacred places of the Hindus.
Apart from tbis, the Hindus, be
writes, would repeat tbe Gayatri
tbree times a day, wear rosaries
around tbeir necks, put sacrificial
marks on their foreheads and
carry a pair of' db otis' along
with towels on tbeir beads. They
would read their sacred book.
for all the months and the yelln.
Instead of worshipping one Fear-
less and Formless God, tbey
worshipped Krishr.a and Rama.
There were numerous tales about
Krisbna and Rama popular in ,
those days and Krlshll-Lilag and
Ram-Lilas were commonly per-
formed. It had become a proCe.-
sion with many people to earn
their livelihood by sucb stage
performances. Guru Nanak
gives a graphic description of
these funny aod profane perfor-
in these lines :-
The Guru. dance to tbe tune
set by their disciples;
They move about their feet
and sbake their beads;
The dust rises and falls on
their ruflled bair;
The audience seeing al) this
laugh and go home;
For the sake of tbe ' bread tbe
performers move to the
rytbmic throb or music;
or dash tbemselves On tbe
ground,
And sing as tbe Krisbna. and
the milkmaid.
or as Sitas and the ro,al
Ramas.
Like tbe Hindus, tbe Muslims
also had recoursc to formal
and futile practices whicb had
supplanted the real tenets of
Islam. They extolled their sacred
law (Shariat) and constantly read
and speculated upon it. They
read the Nimaz (five times a day)
in the and did all sorts
of atrocions deeds. Tbey Wore
blue dresses and performed
pilgrimage to Mecca. They often
ran to dead and living saints for
the fulfilment of their desires and
believedin miracle. and magic.
The Muslim Qazis counted beads
of rosary and worshipped God,
yel tbey accepted bribes and
passed unjust orders. Guru
N anak is said to have addressed
the Mussalmans elsewbere in
these words:
Ma.":e kindness thy mOsque,
slncetlly thy prayer-carpet
What is just and lawful tbY
Quran,
Modesty tby circumcision
civility thy fasting, '
Make right conduct tby
Kaaba, truth thy spiritual
guide,
- - -.
Good works t\ty creed an,4
thy prayer "
The wijl of God thy rosuy,
and God '
will preserve tbine bon our,
o Nanak." , '
Thus both the Hindus and
Mussalmans bad gone astray
from the genuine path of religion
and had fallen in the ditcbe.
of ignorance superstition and
falsehood.
A special meniion may here
be made of ' the caste syitem
which was then, as ever before
. and tbe.. distinguisbing
cbaracteristic of Hindu society.
According to tbis system tbe
Hindu society was divided into
four main castes-the Brahmin.,
K.hatriyas , Vaisbyas nnd Sudras
-e8cb baving a large number of
sub castes. Of all tbese, the
-Brahmins were regarded a. the
most superior and privileged
class. With the advent of Islam
the position of Brahmins in the
society bad, of ,course,
receIved a set back, yet they
were still looked upon as the
acknowledged leaders of Hindu-
ism. They had, bowever, abando-
ned those intrinsic virtues which
their class originally stood for.
and had tbem,elves fallen a prey
to all the vices which they
expected to combat in tbe com-
munity and bad had only exter-
nal marks of boliness left in
tbem. They would dispense
sacred thread to the people
perform their marriages by ,gett:
ing commissions, show them Ihe
path for the future on tbe basis
of 'Patri.' or scroll and, though
blind in soul, call themselves
seers. They would go to the
bouses of other people, sou,nd
conchs and enjoy their food,
Next to tbe Brabmins were tbe
Kshatriyas and tbe Vai.hyas Who
bad become covetous and
cowardly, and earned tbeir Iiveli-
bood by di.honest means, Guru
Nanak strongly denounce. tbe
bppocrisy prevalent among thes.
cowardly and caste-conscioul
high caste Hindus in one signi-,
ficant passage wbich may be
quoted as a Whole:
Tbey bave sacred marks
(Tilak) on their forehead
peculiar dhotis around
tbeir waist;
They have daggers in their
hands and act as world'.
butchers;
Tbey wear blue clothes in
order to be acceptable to
the ruling class;
Tbey earn their living from
those wbom tbey call
Malechhas, yet they allow
no ooe-to enter tbeir cook-
ing squares;
Having .meared a place for
cooking purpose tbey draw
lines around it;
And sitting within, false as
tbey, are, tbey say .:
(Continued on page 10)
L __
-::::--==-==,-'--"= =
THE' "SPOItESMAN" WI!En Y s
Punjab waits for the nation's
Promised healing touch
At the last meeting or'th. -------------------
Standing Committee of the
Oouncil. useful discussions were
held on the problems of the
minority communities in the
Qountr,. Punjab holds a very
unique position in the minorities
issue as the local minority there
happens to be the national
majority. This often produces
a complex psychological brew
and an inter-mix of social.
political and administrative
proillems. Remarkably. however
the state has by and large
remained free from tho kind
of communal eruptions that
lIave been witnessed in other
parts of the country.
But there is another aspect
of the problem which. I believe.
deserves notice. Often io the
past . we have teoded to multiply
the threat to oul' natiooal unity
by a nervous over-reaction even
to negligible voices of irrationa
Iity. We as a nation need to act
with far more self assurance
than we have done in tbe past.
w. must accept tbat many of the
problems that we face today are
an inevitable part of the nation's
process of growing up. Tbese
could be described as 'teething
troubl ' offre. India and I am
lUre we will be able to sort them
out. But we would need to re-
activate OUl' traditional national
virtues of tolerance. social
aQcommodation and tbe ability
to look beyond tomorrow.
Understandably Punjab has
become tbe acid test for tbe
nation's ability to sort out tbe
minority-majority syndrome. At
our meeting on J\.pril 7 a near
national consensul was reacbed
on wbat constitutes the Punjab
problem Ind what sbould be
done to solve it. A very kind
nation had as.ured me of all
help in combating tbe tbreat to
our national un<ty. Wbile all
peace loving people in Punjab
would welcome sucb belp. tbere
lire considerable differeuces of
opinion on wbat really consli-
tutea it. Tbe nature of tbis help
would quite naturally depend on
how we perceive tbe problem in
t be lirat place.
lt would be generally conced-
ed tbat tbe problem in Punjab i,
only a powerful symptom of a
disease tbat alBicts tbe whole
nation. Fissiparous trends are
visible almost all over the coun-
try. In fact. tbe problem bas
existed for well over two decades
now. since tbe rise of the
separatist stir, in Tamil Nadu.
Tbe nation bandied the threat
with admirable cool' and self-
assurance at tbat time. Later,
Addressing tbe National Integration Council (NIC) in New
Delbi last weelc, Punjab Cbief Minister Surjit Singb Barnala said.
"tbe Cluses of social and po!itical tension in tbe state be removed".
"Tbe memorandum of settlement on Punjab still awaits tbe
nation'. attention". be said. apparently referring to tbe delay in
solvina tbe territorial and water issues.
He said. tbat tbe situation in the state marked a crucial
tumina point and "the tables can be turned witb an act of political
",ill and daring". - ,
, a.tisfaction over tbe way the law-enforcing agencies
In Punjab bad, tackled tbe terrorist problem. tb. Chief ' ,Hnistor said
lbat "the political nature of tbe Punjab problem sbould not be lost
sigbt ofwbile extendin, belp to tbe state to stren.then law and
order",
Sardar Barnal.' Slid tbere should be no panic at tbe fissiparous
wilnened in tbe .tate because it was only a symptom of tbe
dllease alBicting the entire nation.
H. recalled bow tbe rise of a separatist .tir in Tamil Nadu two
decade. ago was bandied with admirable cool and self-assurance.
Bilt now it appeared tbere was a tendency to become panicky in tbe
face ofsuch routine probl.ms. He regretted tbat a simple political
problem in Punjab bad been allowed to become a major national
and human crisis.
Sardar Barnala said tbat Punjab, understandably had become
tbe acid test for tbe nation's ability to sort out tb. minority-
majority syndrome. He was clad tbat migration from Punjab
bad been not only contained but partly reversed witb tile
improved situation.
However. the continuing migration into Punjab. if Dot cbeck-
ed. would add to tbe existing social tenaion in tb. otat.. "Tbis pro-
blem should be treated on tbe same War footing as the figbt against
tbe terrorist .... Ia. said.
The following il the text of Sardar Barnala's .peech_
however. we ba ve tended to
become more and more panicky
even in tbe race of routine pro-
blema. The Punjab problem is a
case in point wbere a very simple
political problem bas been allow-
ed to become a major national
and buman crisis.
We bave consistently main-
tained tbat the probl.m in
Punjab is basically a political
one. wbicb bas gradually assum-
ed a law and order dimension.
Tbe State Government has
addressed itself to taclcling the
law and order side of tbe issue in
all earnestnes.. In ract. we have
subordinated everytbing else to
our efforu to restore peace in tbe
State. Our drive against tbo.e
indulging in violence bas yielded
results tba t even our detractors
have had to acknowledge. Tbree
of tbe five dreaded gang. of
terrorists bave becn busted. The
police is hot On tbe heels of the
remaining two. In the past few
weeks. a majority of the hard-
core terrorist leaders bave either
been arrested or killed and their
hide' outs smasbed. Over tbe past
two montbs. there bas been ooly
on. major terrorist strike lin the
State. at Muktsa. on July 25.
Even tbere. tbe police bas not
only arreoted tbe main culprits
of that carnage but bave also
solved many other major terrorist
crimes.
I can say witb lome coo-
fidence tbat our law-enforcing
machinery has tackled a very
serious situation witb an 'admira-
pie degree of foresigbt. alacrity
and efficiency. Tbey bave success-
Cully provided tbe nation witb a
welcome reprieve in wbicb it
should bc possible for us t.o
move againlt the problem witb
a sustained political initiative.
This moment in my State repre-
sents a crncial turning point and
tbe tables can be turned on the
disruptive and anti-national
elements witb act of political will
and daring. We must utilise this
breatbing space provided by the
police to operate politically so
that tbe gains of our drive
against the terrorists could be
consolidated and an enduring
solution found.
The preSlure agai"st the
terrorists ",ill be !rept up relent-
lel8ly and peace in tbe State
22nd Sept ber. 1986
Sardar Surjll Singh Barnala
ensured at all costs. No one call
rule out the occurrence of stray
incident. any wbere in tb. coun-
try but tbe generallaw,and order
situation in my Stat. is well
control now tbe pace
of Improvement WIll be main-
tained. With the situation impro-
ving by tbe d,y. we bave also
contained and even partly revers-
ed. tbe process of migration frOID
tbe State.
It is now tbat the nation caD
truly belp in restoring peace and
calm in the region. The caUie,
of social and political tension iu
the State mu,t be removed. The
Memorandum of Settlement 00
Punjab still awaits tbe nation's
attention. Tbe spirit in wbich it
was signed must be revived and
reactivated. for tbe Accord is a
statement of our nation's will to
solve political problems througb
pOlitical means.
We are also facing another
serious problem in tbe State. Tbe
process of migration into tbe
State i. continuing and will SOOD
assume alarming proportions if
step. are not taken to eDsuro a
sense of safety and security to'
members of tbe minority com-
munity throughout tbe country_
Each migrant to Punjab adds to
tbe existing social tension in the
State. Tbis problem must b"
treated on mucb the same war
footing on wbich we are figbting
terrorism in Punjab.
I wisb to assure you that we
are about to turn a new leaf in
our State. rbi, is a crucial
moment tbat must be seized in
order to end tbe problem once
and for all. The nation is on
tbe of an opprotunity
!D Punjab and the occasion is
there, asking us to rise to it.
Our political vision. sagacity and
patriotism are at stake. I am sure
the nation would not be found
wanting in wi ll and courage.
Political complacency can have
implications far more
than administrative complacen-
cy. Punjab waits for the nation's
promised healing touch.
THE "SPOKESMAN" WEEKLY 6
. , .
Wrong Place and Time for Army
A bas arisln
regarding tbe desirability of
deploying Ihe army to deal witb
t"e present situation in Punjab ..
Tbe St"te's Cbief Minister has
opposed the idea while the BJP
continues to press the demand.
These necessarily reflect tbe two
opposing points of vie .. beld by
the public in Punjab. Lt. Gen.
S.K. Sinha quoted Sardar SUfjit
Singh Barnala as saying, "Tho
trouble with tbe army is tbat they
only know how to kill, and tbat
means trouble" . lyoti Jaf.'s
article in Tbo Slatesman (August
19-20) voices similar concern
when it says "The army bas no
means except tbe use of over-
wbelming force to ",eet .eparat-
ism, ex.tremist and terrorist
attach".
Deployment of tbe army in
particular siluation depends on
various factors and no rule of
tbumb can be appli ed to it.
To say tbat if tbe army could be
.called in to deal witb communal
violence in Ahmedabad, it
also be relied upon to
deal with terrorist violence in
Punjab is to apply Ibe rule of
thumb Communal violence
usually erupts suddenly and
lasts for a sbort period. Terror-
1sm or insurgency builds up
and is a long-lasting
'Pbenomenon. Tbe army, or even
the police. can quell communal
violence in a couple of days . Bu'
.even the best efforls of Ihe army
may fail to eliminate terrorism
or in, urgency in a couple of
decades.
It is, of course, agreed tbat
i n an insurgency situation there
may be no alternative except to
<:all in tbe army. The Govern-
ment ri ghtly used the army in
.gucb situations in Nagaland,
Mi zoram, and Manipur. But
these were insurgency situations,
Punjab's is not. Ooe must make
.a clear between insur-
gency and terrorist activities, so
as to avoid committing a mistake
while deciding upon counter-
measures.
Punjab is not facing a revolu-
tionaryor insur gency situation:
tbere is no immediate danger of
extremists overtaking the police
and para-military forces. In fact,
the tempo of terrorist activities
is going down, although .Iowly,
and the momentum of the action
laken by the police and para-
military forces is on tbe rise. or
late, the terrorists are going in
for "sensational" killings-an
inevitable stage in the stagnanl
or d':Clining phase of terrorism
anywhere in the world. The best
way to face this pbase of terror-
ism is to tighten security mea-
lures wberever needed, and by
By ; B.K. Tripatby, I .P.S. (Retd.)
relentless pursuit of tbo terrorist.
as is being done now.
Secondly, if the army is caHed
in now, can it eradicate terror-
ilm completelY? Judging by
army's performance in tbe past,
the chaoces are tbat terrorism in
Punjab may continue for years,
just as low key insurgency goes
on in Nagaland and Manipur in
spite of tbe heavy deployment of
the army for nearly 30 years. Is
the Government prepared to
allow Ibe army to get bogged
down in Punjab for a loog
period?
Tbe fear tbat induction of tbe
army may not have any percepli-
ble impact on Punjab is based on
.facts. After Operation Blue.tar
there was a lull in terrorist activi-
ti .. for a month or so. . But from
for lix month. (from May to
October 1984). All the aSF units
on the Punjab border were placed
under army command, Moreover,
out of the 10 sectors on the
Punjab border one was lIuarded
entirely by army personnel
replacing tbe BSF. The results
were as bad or as good as tbey
alway. have been. The border
was far from sealed. Ratber,
terrorist movement acrosl the
international boundary incleased
even in the sector guarded by the
army. _
The otber suggestion thaI
more force should be deployed
is valid to some extent. If the
present strength is doubled, it
may go a long way in preventing
transbordet crimes but cannot
seal the border. Land borders
anywhere in tbe world by theil
Deployment of the army io a particular situation
depends on various factors and no role of thumb cao be
applied to it. To say that if the army coold be called in
to deal with communal violence in Ahmedabad, it should
also be relied upon to deal witb terrorist violence in
Punjab is to apply the rule of thnmb. Communal violence
nsually erupts suddenly and lasts for a short period,
Terrorisll or Insurgency boilds up slowly, and is a long-
lasting phenomenon. The army, or even the police' can
quell communal violence in a couple of days. Bot even
the best efforts of the army may fail to eliminate terro-
rism or insurgency in a couple of decades,
mid-Jaly 1984 the remaining
terrorists regrouped and their
depredations continued unabated
for the rest of 1984 even thougb
army units were ,tationed!all over
the State till October November
tbat year. In Gurdaspur alone as
many as 33 ,uch incidents took
place during tbis period. Amrit-
sar distri ct also continued to be
disturbed . One must not gloss
over these incidents. On the night
of August 14-15, 1984 terrorists
managed to set fire to seven
school buildings in different
areas proving that their set-up
was still effective. Again on
September 12, 1984 terrorists
stopped a bus near Cbbina village
in Ourdaspur di vision and killed
eight Hindu passengers. All this
happened despite an unusually
large military presence.
General Sinha claim., that
the border can be effectivelY
sealed by the army. To achieve
tbis objective he luggests three
methods: BSF jawanl on tbe
Punjab border be placed under
tbe army; tbe army itself deploy
additional force on the border;
and certain border villages be
evacuated. Tbe flrst of thele
methods was, in fact tried out
very nature, do not lend them-
selves to aealinll only by man-
power deployment.
The tbird suag.ltion regard-
ins evacuation of certain border
. villages is rather vague. Will it
be a kilometre or five from the
"zero" line 1 How many Yillages
will be affected 1 What will be
the total popUlation involved 1
What about tbeir rebabilitation
and resettlement? In Punjab we
are talking about a horder tbat
is nearly 450 km long and heavily
populated, especially in the
Manjha area. All along the
border, land is cultivated right
up to the 6' zero" line.
Tbus. none of tbe hopes
regarding the army's supposedly
magical powers appear to be
welt founded. We will be dOing
a disservice to tho army by put-
ting it at the wrong place :at tbe
wrong time. The army's prestige
may suffer if it gets bogged down
in skirmisbes with elusive terror-
ioto. Further, tbe danger of alien-
ating the public whic" Pran
Luthra speaks of in bis articles
in The Statesman (July 15-16) il
real as this happened in Punjab
during 1984.
General Sinha. bas claimed
if called in, the army wilI
cooperale" witb . the State
Government but will not be
under its "control". Tben under
wbose control will it be 1 At
another place h. l8y8 the army
will "assist" the State Govern-
me!,! and "cooperate'.' witb the
and para -military force
A.slStance means subordination
and cooperation means equal
sharing and not tbe "under com-
mand" system to whicb army is
accustomed. All tbis is ratber
confusing;
. The clear legal position i.
thIS: whenever tbearmy is called
out for internal se.'lIrity dutios
it comes in aid of 'civil" power;
uDder appropriate sections of tho
Criminal Procedure Code. Civil
power in a State i. the State
Government which function,
tbrough the Cabinet in normal
times and tbrough the Governor
during President's rule. At tho
district level, civil power is
represented by the district magi.-
trate 01' deputy commissioner.
army or any otbor force
wblch goes to the aid of civil
power remains always under
its "control" and has to take
orders from it.
Other System
This country fortunately
knows of no otber system. Aa
General Sinha himself admits
tbe concept of Martial Law
not exill in our legal system
The J';Is!.ice Raghubar Dayai
CommISSion of 1967 went into
this matter in detail. It statod
that it is a practice witll the arm,.
demand "control" of opera-
tion and from areas to be "hand-
ed over" 10 it. Justice Dayal
stated s':lch practices bave no
legal baSIS, and was higbly criti-
cal. of such unconstitutional
acllonf.
. In spite ,!f. this lo,al restric-
tion tbe clVll authorities in
went out of the way
dunng 1984 to .ubmit to army
demands to make it easier for
the army to per form its role
This was a case of "voluntarY
self-negation" of civil power.
Ooe cannot expect this to
army bas to
funetton wIthIn tbe existing legal
system and remain under tho
control of the State Government.
POPULAR
F(>fl
. - .
TlI!. "SPOKESMAN" WEIlKIlY 7
The mushroom arowth of
private armies raised by religious
fanalic. bal beaun to lell on the
Capilal's peace. They operale
'brancbes from dingy rooms in
rreseltlement coloni .. , .mall sbops
;in markets and offices close to
.places of worship . In a recent
'repolt, tbe special branch of the
' Delhi police expressed serious
concern over the growth of such
Senas. Their membership varies
'from a handful of active people
:to a few thousands.
"Our morale is very high and
;the response of Hindus very
encouraging," says Mr Virendra
. .shallDa, 43. national president of
the Hindu Shakti Sena, one of
!the largest.
Like tbe rest, this Sena owe.
' its birth to the events in Punjab.
1t was in the aftermath of the
. riots in November, 1984 that its
2lJlcmbership began 10 swell.
Mr Sharma. who runs a
Iottery busincss at tho Tis Hazari
""ourts, operales from a shop in
',Krishna Nagar. a Irans Jamuna
of lower middle class
Bindus, mostly Punjabi cefugees.
<A lifc-size paintiag of Indira
"Gandhi is displayed ' prominently
on a wall. Newly acquired furni-
: ture, including the swivel chair
on which Mr Sharma sits,
' IUBlests a newfound prosperity.
tA huge trident which loyal
workers polish every day to keep
: it .hining has been affixed out-
' side the main door of the office
which opens on to the narrow
lpavement.
An unending slream of
"Visitors, mainly young men from
neably colonies and UP towns
'-across the border, keeps pouring
in with reque.ts for tridents,
' membership forms and Mr
:Sharma's presenu at forthcoming
'",eremonies of Trlshul dharan (tbe
'formal ceremony for acceptance
'llf tridents by active workers).
Mr Sharma ia reverently called
.Pradhanji. Four active membeu
' accompany him all tbe time on
bis outside visits.
uI do not travel alone now",
he say . "Tbe number of threat-
ening letters ha. increased. My
'Volunteers take to provide me
protection. 1 have applied for a
licence".
Twirling his mustache, Mr
Sharma says that his organisation
'.is against any type of donation.
.. An active member bas to pay
Rs 51 at the time of initiation
when he takes an oath to protect
th. Hindu religion and Bbarat-
varsha. He is given a trishul, an
identity card, a saffron cap and
.'. belt".
Mr Sharma has in the past
lerved a 12-year term for
murder. " That was committed
in a fit of rage during a fight for
control of a local club", he say&.
"'Anyone can get angry in onc's
youth. That does not make on.
criminal".
Communal Private Armies
a Threat to Peace
He also admits that there
have been some police cues
against him. "The local police
registered some cases wben our
organisation begin to gain
strength".
Hindu Sbakti SeDa
The Hindu Shakti Sena, its
president said, i. not backed by
any politician or political party.
Asked about rumours that the
Parliamentary Affairs Minister,
Mr H.K. L. Bhag.I, was bebind
his organisation, Mr Sbarma
said:
have not met Bbagatji for
years. But our organisalion can
conI est elections if Ihe situation
so warrants. We will field only
staunch Hindus as our candi-
dates" .
The Hindu Shakti Sena
claims a member, hip of 15,000
acti ve workers in Delhi and
thousands more in nearby lowns.
"We have covered all tb. towns
from Delhi to Saharan pur," Mr
Sharma claimed.
Hindu Parisbad
Outside the famous Devi
Mandir in Central Delhi'.
Jhandewalan is the office of the
Indrapr,stba Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (IVHP). A former
union leader of central govern-
ment employees. Mr Baikunth
Lal Sharma "Prem", i. the
general secretary of tbe Indra-
praslba VisllWa Hindu Parishad
He sits in an inside room the
location of which seems 10 bave
SILl Ml.LI
012.
heen carefully selected. It is
cloled from all sides and access
to Mr Sharma is controlled into
a thorough scrutiny or visitors.
The Indr.paitha Visb"a
Hindu Parisbad has a youth
wing- Bajrang Dal- which is
run under 25yearold Pradeep
Kumar who deals in diaries and
other novelties for a living.
Tile Bajrans Dal. Mr Sharma
says, "'II raised to make YOllnl!
Hindus realise the virtue I of
tbeir relilion. "Our valunteen
are given extensive training in
wresllins and body-buildinl.
Why sbould people get di.turbed
if my boys sweat it out in an
akhara. We are not indulging iD
senseless killings. We are only
strengthening our self defence so
that we can protect ou, religion,
nation and country".
Presenlly tbe Indraprastb.
Visbwa Hindu Parishad' is engag-
ed in rehabilitation of Hindu
migrant. from Punjab. It also
tries to prevent Hindu girls from
marrying men of other religions ..
There are otber grou"s, like
tbe Hindu Sbiv Sbakti Dal whicb
operatel from a tempI. in
Tilak Nagar the Icene of
violent clashes. The Hindu
Sbiv SeD a bas been raised
by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad
and operales from the Karol
Bagh area in Welt Delhi. And
there is Balraj Madhok's HinduI-
tan Hindu Manch also.
The literature and posten
brougbt oul by these orsanila-
)
22nd September, IgS6
have only one target.,. .
HIndu youth.
To' counter the growth of
Senas, raised with tho support
and ideological blcking of Hindu
leaders, the Naib Imam of
Delbi'. Jama Masjid, Syed
Ahmed Bukbari, bas taken tho
lead by organising Adam Sena.
He function I from an office in
tbe Jama Masjid complex. Hand.
some and articulate. Ahmed
Bukbari i. the son of the SbaM
Imam of Jaml . Masjid, Syed
Abdullah Bukhart. -
"Tbe need for Adam Sena"
the Naib Imam says, "was feli
when Muslim youth began t.
lose faith in the old MuslIm
leadership. No one is bOlber'ed
about the growing unemploy-
ment and otber problems of the
Muslim youtb".
He saYI tbe Sbahi Imam had
blessed the Adam Sen a on the
condition Ibat il would remain
non violent and work for tho
opprened. "We will fight against
all those who try to suppre ..
the mi.norities. wbetber ' they be
SJI,bs rn DeIhl or Hindus .in
Punjab." Ahmad Bukhari says
"B b '
ut t e Government muSI take
immediate step. to cbeck the
activities of the.e trishuldharis".
The Naib Im.m says that Ibe
Adat;n bad a membership
ruunlng IOto thousands, includ-
ing about 100 Harijans and
Sikbs. He said he would soon
undertake an all "India tour 10
organise the Adam Sena at a
national level.
. !,olice reports, bowever,
rndlcat. that despite all the
rhetoric about communal har-
. many and peace, these SeDas
bave resulted in tbe creation of
an atmosphere of confrontation.
There are also reports about an
Ali Sena beinl organised by
one'Javed of Meerut who haa
declared that it. members will
carry long swords.
(Courtely-Indian Express
General Aurora
Feted
Organised by Amity Club of
Delhi citizens and compered by
Sardar Harbbajan Singh Rattan
a reception was accorded to the
Bangia Desb fame Geperal Jagjit
Singh Aurora on his election as
Member .Parliament (Rajya
Sabha), at Constitution Club
New Delhi. The function wa.
presided over by Justice Ranjit
Singb Narul. and addressed
. by persons Shri . I.K. Gujral.
Dr. Maheep Smgh, Sardar Gurdit
Singh Jolly. Earlier Sarda.
Mehtab Singh Cbairman of JJ>.e
Committee wellonIJd
Ihe chief guest and th.
audience,
THE "srOK.I!SMAN" WEBKLY
" . "
Barnala urges Centra to impleinent
Punjab Accord .
Tbe Punjab cbief minister. Sardar Surjit Singb Barnala wbo
ia OD a good will minion to other ltates visited Jaipur for 2 days on
September 13 and 14 and told newsmen that unless tbe Centre took
"bold action and avoided "bair-splitting" over minor inues. hurdle.
in the implementation of the accord would continue.
Sardar Barnala, however.
refused to elaborat' what exactly
he meant by "bold ution".
At a crowded press con-
ference Sardar Barnala said one
of the main reasonl for the slow
pace of implementation was the
setting up of too many commis-
sions.
Sardar Barnall clarified that
though the setting up of a com-
mission was not outside the pur
view of the accord, since the
Punjab accord was the first of
its kind, it was spirit of it that
had to be taken into account.
He .aid the late Sant Longowal,
when he weDt to Delhi to sign
the accord, had been ,reatly
impressed by the sincerity of the
Prime Minister, Mr Rajiv Gandhi.
Now that one of tbe si&natories-
Sant Longowal-was no more,
it would greatly boost the image
of Mr Gandhi even ouloide India
if tbe accord was fully imple-
mented.
Sardar Barnal. wbo answered
questions on various issues re'at .. ,
inl to Punjab and Rajasthan
particularl) the rher water*'
dispute and tbe release of water
from tbe three bead works con-
trolled by Punjab, denied alle,a-
tion. tbat Rajastban was not
beins given water from tb.
Harike barrage_
He explained tbat officials of
botb tho states were posted at
tbe headworlu and as such, there
was little Icope for any state
failing to get its due quota_ To a
question if Punjab '1'181 pressing
Rajastban for giviag itl ,bare of
RI. 30 crorel in tbe construction
Gost of the Hatike barrage, Sardar
Bamala said. "I bave read som.-
thing about it in the local paper.
but I am on a Soodwil1 minion
here and not for gett ing money".
Howenr, be said the iuue of
Rajastban's share bad not figured
during tbe current visit tbougb it"
had been di,cussed at tho north
zone meeting. H. said the
amount after adding interest
would ban come to Rs. 30
crores.
Sardar Barnala clarified that
Punjab did not want to forego
control over tb. three beadwork,.
Wben bis attention was drawa to
the fact tbat many years ago,
tbe Punjab reorganintion
Act 1956, tbese head works were
to b. transferred to the Bbakra-
Management Board, be said
tlIe act in question was itself
under dispute.
As for tbe controversy over
the diatributiolt-of tbe Ravi Beas
waters, he said the case "al
lb. tribunal s.t up under "
tbe inter-state river water disputes
Act, 1956. Haryana bad given its
version before the tribunal and
Rajasthan bad yet to appear.
H. said Punjab would abide by
tbe decision of tbe tribunal.
The Punjab chief minister
justified tbe setting up of a com-
mittee of thr:e ministers sayina
that the versions of the BSF, the
umy and the local populac.
differed vastl y. He said tbe anti-
Akali Dal forces bad got a good
handle to criticite tbe Akali
government as tbey stuck to tbeir
stand tbat persons bad been
picked up from tbeir villages and
killed at the border. Wben a
newsman told him tbat his action
had annoyed the Centre, be said:
"It is their outlook" .
Additional Forces
Altbougb be seemed, by and
larlle, satisfied with the deploy-
ment of additional central force.
he said of the 60 coropanie. of
tbe BSF and tbe CRPF demand-
ed recently, so far only seven
companies bad been received. In
all, at present, 232 companies of
tho BSF and the CRPF are
deployed in Punjab.
Replyin& to a question as to
what India's Itand vis-a-vis
Pakistan which was giving train-
ning to terrorists Ihould be,
Sardar Barnala said: "India
should not harm it. reilitions
witb Pakistin bnt tell it like a
friend to halt giving trainini to
terroristt" .
About the proposal on the
"security belt" be said in the
fint place, the complete concept
of this belt was not yet known.
However, be stuck to tbe Punjab
government's opposition to it
saying that apart from creating
problems for tbe border popula-
tion, it would lead to "dual
control". Ho said unlike lb.
d ert in Rajasthan, border areSS
of Punjab had enormous irriga-
tion potential. He said identity
cards had been introduced in
border areas and all tbat was
needed was strengtbening of tbe
BSF network already in opera-
tion tbere.
Sardar Barnal., wben asked
how he looked to bis one-year
rule, said: "I can look back
bappily. We bave solvr d many
problems and brought many
people into tbe mainstream.
But I won't say fully" .
Wben a newsman told him
tbere was a feeling in some quar-
ters tb. t tbe Punjab issue '1'1811
not being solved because of bim.
Sardar Barnala said: "If the
Punjab issue can be solved, I am
ready to quit".
8 22nd Septem liei. 1"6
Centre asked to declare
Amritsar "backward"
Sardar Amarjit Singb, Direc-
tor of Industries. Punjab, told a
meeting of tbe focal point indus-
trialist allotees in Amritlar last
week that tbe State Government
had asked th. " Central Govern-
ment to declare district an II A II
category backward district in
order to give indusrrialists the
full benefit of the latest concel-
sionl, like tbe 25 per cent
subsidy, from April , 1985.
Tbe Punjab {loveroment had
decided to the benefits
given to backward di stricts from
April, 1986, onwards. He pro-
mised to look into the otber
problems of the focal point
regardin, electric power
connecllons, .. ater supply anet
allotment of larger plota, beside ..
up formalities lib
regIStration.
As regards tbe exemption or
the .industrial areas from the
ambit of the Land " Ceiling Act
the Government would have t';'
approach the Centre as it was.
Ceot ral . law,. although he saW'
no . pO.IDt In continuing il$-
applicatIOn.
Earlier, several industrialilt ..
bad listed tbe problema faced by"
them.
Convention on Sikh migration
Leaders of the Sikb commu-
nity in the eastern region will
hold a convention on September
28 and 29 at (,alcutta to evolve
mealur to cbeck tbe migration .
of Sikhs from tbe region to
Punjab.
The spokesman of a number
of Sikb organizations laid today
that Bibar, V.P. and Madhya
Pradesb had been witnessing
large-scale migration of memben
of tbe community over tbe past
few weeks.
According to tbem tbe
migration was taking place even
from West Bengal wbicbhad so
far been considered a safe baven
for different communities.
Bibar saw an increase in
migration after the killing of
bus passengers at Muktsar and
tbe disturbance I tbat followed
in Delhi.
The proposed convention to
be sponsored by tbe Sikh
Co-ordination Committee. would
alao discuss tbe fall out in otber
States of tbe -delay in imple-
menting tbe Punjab Accorcl.
The delegate, from different'
would suggest to the-
Punjab Government some mea-
for th. security
of Slkbs liVIng outside Punjab.
tbe Sikh Coordi-
n.Rtlon Committee in a re,olu-
a,ked the Punjab Chier
MlDlster, Sardar Surjit Singt.
Barnala and Sardar Prabst.
Badal to lettle their"
dIfferences . and .restore unity
In the A kah Dalln the intereatr
of the plntb and Punjab.
GHPS ZONAL -n
CHAMPIONS
Guru Harkrisban PubliCI'
School, Vasanl Vibar won the:
Senior Girls and Senior
Table Tennis Titles in the Inter-
Scbool Tournament of Zone-
Soulh 21. Tbe Senior Girls beat:
Government Girls Senior Secon-
dary Scbool, R.K. Puram Sector
V by 2 0, while tbeir Senior BOYI
beat Modern School, Vasant"
Vihar by 20.
THE "SPOKESMAN" WEEKLY
Respect each others religious

Sir -Mr 'Rajendra Sareen's
oarticle; published in The
Tribune recently are not only
in bad taste, but also full
,of factual inaccuracies. He has
-claimed that wme Sikh leaders
demanded a separate Sikh State
at the time of Independence, but
neither the British nor the
Muslim League entertained the
idea. He has not mentioned the
name of any Sikh leader who
:made such a demand.
The only two leaders who
negotiated on behalf of the SIkh
lommunity at the time of
'Independence were Master .Tara
Singh and Sardar Baldev Smgh.
,The former is on record as hav-
ing refused to have any negotia-
:tion with Jinnah. Wbile in London
for negotiations. Sard.r Baldev
- Singh once c,tegorically declared
that the Sikhs had no ,eparate
-demand and that they could get
whatever they wanted from the
Indian leaders after Indepen-
dence. However, instead of
,appreciating the gesture, some of
my countrmen started .dubbing
the Akahs a. separatISts, 1m-
after Independence.
't h. slogans of the type men-
tioned by Sareen were being
raised hy irresponsible persons
' from both sides. For his informa-
ti on, the slogans raised by the
othar side were: Kangha, Kachh
_Kara, Kirpan -lnko Bhejo
.Pakistan",. "Ora Aira Nahin
Parhenge-Gandi Bhasha Nahin
.Parhenge".. It laikara.e-Kalyan-
Hindu Hindi, Hindustan". etc.
who i. really
j nterested m getting at the root
of turbulence, cannot ignore the
facts that certain persons in
religious garb created all-round
bitterness by hurling personal
abuses at the prophets of other
religions, including Sikh 'Gurus;
a section of the vernacular Press
at Lahore and later at Jalandhar
and Delhi, concentrated on
spreading hatred among different
communities to boost its circula-
tion; a section of the PunJabis
made a common cause before
Independence with the Muslim
League in disowning their mother
tongue. After Independence, the
Muslims in Pakistan gave up
their tirade against tbe Punjabi
language, but some of my coun-
trymen persisted with it, with
renewed vigour, often with
official patronage, those who
denounced the Punjabi language
because of its Gurmukhi soript,
conveniently forgot that their
own script had been adopted for
the country's national language.
While cow slaughter had been
banned almost over the country
to respect the sentiments of one
community, some peoplo could
not tolerate a ban on tobacco in
a part of only one city to respect
the sentiments of another com-
munity.
Instead of blaming only one
side for the prevailing turbulence,
an eminent journalist of the
stature of Mr Rajendra Sareen
should preach tolerance by call-
ing upon the two sister communi-
ties to respect each other's religi-
ous sentiments.
- Trilok Singh
Lnsaka (Zambia)
9 22nd September, 1986
Punjab Accord in coJdstorage
Sir, - Punjab Accord was
signed by Sant Longowal at the
cost of his own life. Today it
lies in 'deep freeze' and may in
time simply freeze to death.
There is however, no dearth
of lip-sympathy for the Accord.
At the function held in village
Longowal to mark the first
death anniversary of the Sant,
Vice Pre.ident R. Venkataraman
went on record to a ssure the
nation that the Punjab Accord
can, mast and will be honoured.
Both Home Minister Buta Singh
and Minister of State Ghulam
Nabi Azad have spoken in terms
of 7 out of the 1l clauses of the
Accord having already been
implemented. They, however.
conveniently forget that by far
the most important claule in the
Accord related to the transfer of
Cbandigarh, which has already
been postponed thrice: and today
nobody would like to predict wben
and if the transfer will eventually
take place. According to our
Hon'ble Ministers the remaining
4 clauses (those relating to
Chandigarh's , transfer, boundary
adjustments between the two
neighbouring states, distribution
of river waters, and the Act to
cover all the Sikh shrines
throughout the country) concern
other states, and therefore their
implementation will necessarily
take time.
This hypocritical commit-
ment to the Punjab Accord in
,word but not in deed can give
,no comfori or consolation tq
Punjab, and wilIcertainlY deceiJ.:e
no one. The poor San! Longowal
must be turning in' his grave at
this rank betta)'al, ' and breac1i
of faith. He might well have
died invain. . "

. Repeated ' postponements : qf
Chandigarh's transfer to
have underst.ndably led to ,8
hardening of attitudes. Th,e
Akalis (not all of them extetC!"
mists) now iIisis! on getting
Chandigarh without parting with
even an inch ofland. Did not
Tamil ' Nadu and Maharashtr
they argue, retain their capitals
without losing any portion qf
their territory to the newly-
carved lingui.tic atates of Andhra
and Guiarat ?
What the Vice-President and
our Hon'ble Ministers are afraiil
to say publicly is that the imple-
mentation of Accord will have
to wait until after the Assembly
elections in Haryonn scheduled
for May 1987, Till then
(or whatever has been left of it)
must lie in cold storage.
How loug caD we continue to
sacrifice the good of the whole
nation at the alter of partisian
consideration? And how long
can we survive as a nation, if we
continue to .ubordinate the
national interest to the interest
of the party in power?
-Prahhjot Singh Chopra
Bombay
False propaganda against Punjab
Sir,-Whereas V.P. is the
most iII-administered State in
Bharal, it on the other hand,
leads other States in crime.
(Indian Express, 3 Sep 86 ) From
the crimc figures published
in taken f,om the Home MIDIS-
try. U.P. has "a record number"
of murders; 2066 murders in the
first four month, of the year.
This come. to 516.50 murders
a month. Similarly, V.P. leads
in other various types of crinie
too. Then come the states of
Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. all
from the Hindi zone.
On the other hand, Punjab
had 221 murders in the first three
months of the same year, which
comes to 73.66 murder' a month.
Similarly. in other t}pes of crime
it is far behind many other
states.
Thus it will be seen that most
of the crime is committed in the
states of Hindi zone, and that in
.pite of the activi!ies. of the
"terrorists", the puo)ab IS com
4
paratively well behaved state.
This should open the eyes of
Bharat Sarkar and the medIa.
But unfortunately, the Con-
gress(I) and the me?ia .. , mostly
controlled by the majOrity
munity are hent upon
the unnecessarily. Punjab,
because most of the Sikhs live
here. .
- Lt.Col. ' Gulch. ran ' Singh
J alandhar (Rail.)
-xat
'I'HB "SPOKESMAN" WEEKLY
Political offendve against separatism
An impre .. iv. joint public meeting was held at Tarn Taran, by
the CPI and the CPM. A powerful political offensive was launched
against separatism, extremilm, ud communalism of a1l types.
A lignificant feature of thi.
meeting, perhaps fint to be held
by any political party after the
eunent spurt of terrorist acti,i-
ties in the area, was thn t tho.e
attendinl it were almost all Sikh.
hailinA from various villa lies of
the Tarn Taran subdivision
considered to be a stronghold
of. terroriat .
A veteran CPI leader, Sardar
Darbara Singh Canadian, said
that tho Khalistan slogan was
not only anti-Indian but also
anti-Sikh. He made a fervent
plea for the Hindu-Sikh unity.
. Mr. Satyapal Dan II, a former
MLA of the CPI, said that they
would support the Barnala gov-
ernment to the ox tent it fought
terroriom. But at the same time
they would oppose its communal
policies which only increased
the Hindu-Sikh gnlf and that
helped extremism. He charged
that some ministers and police
Asa-Di-Var
(ContInued from page 4)
'Touch it not, 0 touch it uot',
Or this food of ours will be
defiled ; .
But their bodies are already
defiled with. thdr foul deed,
And their hearts are falae
even while they .perform
ablutiOn! after their meals;
Saith Nanak, meditate on the
True One,
lf thou art pnre, thou shalt
obtain Him.
Apart from indicating the hypo-
crisy, cowardice and false sense of
purity possessed by the Hindus,
the above-quoted lines throw
lignificant light on the cultural
commingling of the Hindus and
the Mussalmans. Despite the fact
that the Hindus contemptuously
looked upon the the Muslims as
Malechhas and tbe Muslims in
turn looked upon the Hindus as
infidelo or Kafirs, tbere it is
evident, a certain degree of social
intercours. existing between the
memben of the two communities.
As a matter of fact, the Hindus
had learot to accept Muslim rule
witb all its merits and faults. It
was, therefore, not surprising
that the Hindus had started
taking food and meat prepared
in the Muslim fasion and would
sometimes wear the typical blue
dress of the Mussalmans. All
this, thanks to tbe impact of the
Muslim rule, had greatly affected
the rigidity ef caste system. So
tbe contradictions pointed out by
Guru Nanak in the mauners of
th9r high caste Hindus may
plitiaily he explained by their
natural solicitude to preserve the
purity of tbeir caste on the one
hand and realisation of the
,eality of Muslim rule onthe
e other. Nor Ihould it he forgotten
that the Indian Muslims, too,
officers of the Baroata govern-
. ment continued to help the
terrorists.
Mr. Dang blamed the Union
Government as well as the
HaryanR and Punjab govern-
ments for the non-implementa-
tion of the Rajiv-Longowal
a<:cord.
Sardar Mohan Singh, a pro-
minent CPM leader, said that
d.ath of lome innocents, and
killings of some extremist. in
the police custody was not ruled
out, and he always opposed such
actions but the Badal group
was only helping the extromists
and the imperialist masters
when it bestowed martyrdom on
tbose extremists who actually
got killed in encounters. On
the other hand, many among
the Badal group called even
&enuine 'tDcounters as 'rake" he
said.
had adopted some aspects of tho
Hindu culture. by the
Hindu caste system, for example,
they succumbed to tbe spirit of
clats division. They also took
active part in the celebration of
Hindu festival. such as Holi,
Dussehra ana Diwali. In the
ecoRomic field also the Muslims
a nd Hindus worked in co-opera-
tion with each other. But the
point should not be carried too
far. It must be admitted that the
social intercourse of the Hindus
and Muslims was remarkably
limited, for if was Dot instinctive
but forced by the circumstance.
The Muslims, rilht from Sultan
Sikand,r Lodhi down to a
commoner thought in terms of
Islam and treated the Hindus as
inferior. The Hindu., as a rule,
were compelled to pay Jazia "ith
all humiliatien and were deprived
of high governmental jobs. Even
their freedom of worship and
performance of religious
ceremonies were also sometimes
interfered with. 00 tbe other
hand, the Hindus, conscious as
ever of tbe superiority of their
religion and culture and
apprehensive of losing the purity
of heir .a.te, did not like at
beart to mix witb tho Muual-
mans. Under such conditions it
was left for a Kabir and a Nanak
to launch a four-square attack
on the caste pride of the Hindus
and to preach social brotherhood
of Hindus and Muslims.
Finally. we gather and guess
from the study of AJa!,di Var
something regarding the position
of women in that society. If we
!>elievo in Radb,krishnan's
dictum, "The position of WOmen
in any society is a truo index of
its cultural aod spiritual level,"
we have then to admil that the
society under discussion did not
have a high .cultural and spiritoal
10
A Sikh buys Little White House
A Sikh bas bought tbe "Little
Wblte HOllse" in Florida
(U.S.A.) once nsed by US
President Harry Truman; for
$17.25 million.
Sardar Pritam Singb (33),
an American .. ho embraced
Slkbism in tb. 70s, is tbe ne"
o .. ner of the 100acre historic
site .. here. Mr. Truman spent
maDY 'workiDg vacations."
According to a newspaper
account, Pritam Singb. born in
Mass.cbussetts, as Paul
Labombard, once supported
himself by diviog for shells to
sell to tonrists. He bad made
his fOltuoe in real estate in
the last six years. lie spent
flve years 10 a Sikh community
but eot disencbanted witb ils
Icader and moved out 10 years
ago.
Tbe prime water front proper-
ty, wbich includes the "Little
White House", had attracted
more than 300 groups of
level in this respect also. Both in
theory and practice tho women
had rather an inferior place in
the society. The existence of the
practices of female infanticide,
child marriage, Pardha, Jauhar
aud Sali, bespeak s of the fact
that the lot of women was DOt a
happy one. More significant
thing in this connection is that
all these practices had been given
a reliaious colouring and, a. in
every other alpect of society so
here also, it was the prevalent
superstition rather than the
actnal religion that caused
degradation in the status of
women. As K.M. Ashraf
remarks, "the 59cial laws and
customs stamped her with a lort
of mental deficiency." Guru
Nanak's spirit revolted against
prevalent custom, and notions
regarding wom:iO. Dilating upon
her importance as a mother, a
wife and a companion, be pleads
for her a respectable status in
theae lines:
It is by woman that man ' is
conceived and from her
that he is born ;
It is witb her that he is
betrothed and married ;
It is with her that h. cultiva-
tes friend.hip, and through
her keeps his raoe going;
When one woman dies,
anotber is sought for ;
It is woman again who exer-
cises restraint upon man -;
Why call her bad from whom
are born kings?
Asa dt Var thug enables us to
form a fairly substantial idea
about the contemporary society.
In that society the strool! in
general ; tyrannised Over the
weak-the ruler over the ruled,
the upper classel over the lower
clalSes, the Mu.lims over the
Hiudus and man over the
woman. And every sort of
develope:s tbe world over_
Bidding began at $5 milllOD
and it toek leSS than an bour
for Pritam Singb to make bis.
purcbase.
According to tbe New York
Times, residents of the are.
are afraid of tbe possibility of
hiebrlse developmeut. But.
Sardar Pritam Siegh, who
specialises in reDontin&.
bistoric stmctures, has said be
plans to "restore everythiD&".
The Truman annexe, as it Is
known, was a major US naTal
base until tbe Navy vacated it
in 1974, since water in the
area was not deep enoueh for-
maneouTting huge nucleat
ships.
Always write your chit
number while remitting
your SUbscription or
asking for a change la
address;
tyranny and crime was committod
in tbe name of religion which
had been reduced to a solemn
farce. People of thll society did
not, as a matter of fact coulc!
not, think or act freely. Customs
rites, superstitious beliefs and
formal practices which were
neeeasaryevils here, there and'
everywhere, had over-burdened
the life of an individual and
curbed his liberty in toto. Undelt
such circUlDstances Guru Nanak
appeared as a Mossiah bringinJr
with him the panacea for all the
socio-relilious ills. Unlike lome
other great spiritualists, he did
not emphasise the nothingness of
life; on the other hand, he bad
had a positive cure for ameliora-
ting present as well as the futur"
life of the people. H. strongly'
decried the prevalent supersti-
tious practices as false and
meaningless, and by exhorting
tbe individual to abandon these
he DOt only sho"ed him the true
path of relision but also consi-
derably lightened his burdeD_
HeDce he may be regarded al a
great deliverer'or liberator whit
tried to liberate the individuat
from mental and spiritual shivery
he was afflicted witb. At the
same time the Guru, by calling
. upon the people to throwaway
all the religious and locid
trammels, made earnest efforts to
purge and purify the society .
Perhaps he wanted to build an
altogether new society where
there would be no place for
casteism, communalism, dogmat-
ism, idol worship, bliDd supersti-
tion and exploitation of any
kind, where all would worship-
ODe Formless God with the crace'
of Guru, and where moral virtue.
such as truth, love, contentment,.
forgiveness, mercy, modesty,.
compassion, love fearleslnell.
etc. would reign supreme.
_ -11 ___
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. ".; 22nd .
The International Scene
Tbe Gorbacbev Report
When you have heart burn
It was good to hear Mikhail
Gorbachov report on Cbernobyl.
He made clear SOllie of the
human dimensions of tbe tragedy
and ciled tbe valor of those -
including American doctors-
who sought to limit itl barmful
effects. His televised address no
doubt reassured many Soviet
citizens: "The worst is behind
us/" he declared.
Gorbachev put first allii pro-
nounced and
bave on tbe cOoperation
theme, .. hlch he gave seC'oJ;id and
put in the "further'we-deem-it
necessary" category. He 011 ..
to ' endorse an intetllaliona)
"system of prompt warning and
supply of information ' iii the
event of accidents", an .eady
conference of specialist. slld . -'
strengthening of the hiter-
national Atomic Energy f. geDcy.
The 'burning sensation in the
..,heal behind the sternum (chest
bone) i. quite a c )mm,n
experience speciall y when you
have indigestion a
.good evening with plenty of
-drinks . Those who suffer from
:hyperacidity or peptic ulcer are
quite familiar with this name.
The term 'heart bum' is a
misnomer. The stomach contains
.hydrochloric acid which is
essential for the digestion of the
'food. The linin& mucous mem-
brane of tbe stomach is so
designed that it can staud the
onslaught of this strong acid,
but elsewhere this acid causes
dama,e and a burning sensation.
With eructations. as in indiges-
tiol!, peptIc ulcer or hiatus
hernia, this acid is regurgitated
up in the food pipe or oeso'
phag!>s. As the lining of the
oesophagus is not for
tbe acid. one experiences a
burning sensation along the
-oesophagus in tbe chest. This
.is called heart burn. Bec3use
of its location it is termed heart
but it has nothing to do with
.the heart.
In hyperacidity, when the
eastric contents regurgitate up
in the mouth, one gets a sour
taste and a sudden watering in
the mouth; thi. is called 'water-
brash'. Those who have highly
irregular diet habits- both in tbe
.types and the time 01' food-
suffer more from byperacidity.
Eating out at various place.,
-at any odd-hour of the day
or night, and eating very spicy,
fried and oily food invites tbis
.trouble. Gall bladder diseases,
liver problems, pancreatic dise-
ases and, above all, peptic
ulcers, lead to hyperacidity. In
facl, peptic ulcers are caused
and maintained by a higb level
,of acid in the stomach.
There is an effective valve
.between the oesophagus and the
'stomach and the food usually
go back in the oesopha
gus wben we tilt or bend. In
tbe oondition called hiatus
bernia, a part of tbe upper end
-of tbe stomach goes into the
cbest and tbe valvular mecha-
lIism is 1081. In tbese patients,
the free to-and fro mov,mnts
of the acid contents of the
stomach burn the oesophageal
lining, tbus causing heart burn.
Too much of running around
. a fastpaced life with mentai
tensions and emotionai upsets ,
etc., are known to be
associated with hyper-
aCIdity. We are perbaps paYing
a price for progress and moder-
nisation in tbe form of hyper-
acidity and ulcers.
Witb tbe passage of time,
heart burn may be associated
with pain in tbe upper part of
the abdomen. This pain typi
cally occurs late in tbe nigbt
and wake. the patient in biatus
hernia. Tbese patients feel com
fortable if tbey prop themselves
up on pi llows. Gravity prevents
tbe contents of tbe stomach
from going up into the oesopba-
gus. In cases of peptic ulcer,
delay may cause complications
associated with tbis disease e.g,
bleeding. perforation, etc.
Patients with hyperacidity are
advised to take milk or a tablet
of antacid when they have beart
burn. Cold milk is preferable.
Tbis kind of treatment is alright
once in a wbile, but if the
symptom persis ts. it should be
investigated for any underlying
cause, wbicb should be tben
suitably treated'
If a patient of hyperacidity
can regulate his eating habits
by eating at regular hours and
no! cbanging food too often;
he can pacify his stomach. Suoh
a patient should avoid too
mucb of' fried, spicy and oily
foods. This regulRtion, witb
bland diet and plenty of milk,
may help him break tbe cycle
and he may find relief.
. Unl ess the symptoms persist
III spIte of all tbe precautions.
a patient of hiatus bernia can
live wit h his defective valve and
can avoid a major operation.
Sucb a patient should not bend
down immediately after eating
food, e. g., bending down to
pick up sometbing or tying
shoe laces. Tbey should
rest propped up for .ome
time after meals. If a patient
of proved peptic ul cer does not
fi nd relief even after reasonable
time of medical treatment, be
should be operAted to prevent
complicft!.ons.
Hyperacidity or beart burn
is a very common symptom and
can easily be avoided. Since it
is an outward expression of a
disease, it will not go ul'.til the
cause is removed.
Certainly ever)'one must bope
he is right. Mr Gorbacbov's
report becomes acceptable,
bowever, only by application of
a double standard that demands
full disclosure in tbe West and
gratefully welcomes even belated
and partial disclosure in the
East. It is nOI simply that be let
18 days pass. Tbere was but tbe
stingiest indirect acknowledgment
tbat the Kremlin had denied not
. only to foreigners - but al so to
Soviet oitizens timely nOlice, and
tbat it had assured tbe world the
situation was "stabIlized" even
while workers were still struggl-
iog to prevent a meltdown. What
be said, moreover f leaves un"
known exactly wbat cau,ed tbe
accident and leaves veiled its
radiation effects. Instead, be
made the tiresome Soviot com-
plaint that some in the West had
sought to exploit the event-as
thougb straiBbt talk in Moscow
would not have preempted the
wild reports of which he com-
plained.
Mr. Oorbachov offered two
broad lessons of Cbernobyl: tbat
the Soviet Union mUlt work on
reactor safety on its own and
that international cooperatioll
must be deepened. Many ill tbe
West, inclined to f.vor inter-
natiGnal agreement in nuclear
malters, have overlooked the do-
it-yonrself lesson, which Mr.
International cooperation il
vital. But it would involve a.. very
groat wrench for Soviet policy.
The Gorbachov appeal for
warning and supply
ofmformation"_ moreover, must
be measured against the delay
and censorsbip at Chernobyl; the ,
call to strengthen tb. IAEA
against the thin information
Moscow has given the agency
and its insistence tbat the agency
treat tbat information in an
approved way. Tbe West must
pursue tbe international appre>-
ach, but with eyes open.
Mr. Gorbachov mad e an lUI-
forgettable reference to the
"sinister force" of nucJea,
energy escaping control. His
seriousness here, however, may
be u,efully measured again.t
Soviet treatment of tbe person
wbo, more perbaps than any
other, represenls the effort to
contain this tlsiniater force".
Andrei Sakbarov is about to
observe .his 65th birthday, usual-
ly a time of reffection and cele-
bration for a great mall of
science. He is io painful lonely
exile in Gorky. It was precisely'
bis alVareness of the full spect-
rum of nuclear perils tbat made
him a dissident. Nothing could
better sho" tbe Kremlin's true
und",.tanding of Chernobyl than
to bait bis cruel preseeution,'
PSB Finance issue opens OD Sept 29
PSB Pinance and Leasing
Ltd. is entering the capital
market on 29 wilb a
public issue of 6,11.348 shares
of Rs. 10 each for cash at par.
The company whicb became
operational only from December
22, 1934 and has kasing and
bire especially of agri
cultural eqUlpment and indus-
tiial machinery, paid a maiden
dividend of 15 per cent ill the
very first year. It is because of
prospective grolVth of
and enhanced capital that the
bo.rd of directors arc confident
of paying 20 per cent dividend
for the year ending February
i987.
Director of the Punjab and Sind
Bank for a number of years,
envisioned va,t expansion in tbo
business activity of the company,
Against Rs. 18.71 lakh income
(actual) from November 22 1984
. to February 20, 1986, its
for the end of 1986-87 is pro-
jected at Rs. 60.20Ialr.h.
The company's current depo-
sits are Rs. 106 lakh and tbe
Ihare capital of R . 20.38 lakh
tbe deposits are due t o touch
Rs, 200 lakh mark next year.
The company's board of
directors includes former Union
Deputy Defence Minister Mr. -
S.S. Majithia, who was
at tbe news conference,
At a news conference in Punjab National Bank
Cbandigarh, last lVeek, Dr. tive Director, Mr. D.C. Gupta, .
Ioderjit Singh, Chairman and former Comptroller and Auditor-
Managing Director of the Geaera1 of India Mr. Gyan
0.. company who held tbe p"sition Prakash all6l leallin. legallumi' -
of ChalCman-cum-ManaglDg nary, Mr. Veda Vya,a.
a.Jd. NOI Q-:-(C}-85 THE "SPOKESMAN" WEEK.LY R.N.I. Regd. No. 543/57 22l1d September, .1986.
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