Times of India Newspaper Summary

ALL-THAT-MATTERS Page in The Sunday Times of India

Dated 11-MAY-2008

Shashi writes in his column as to why Security Council is a distant dream for India. And having worked in the UN for so long, he should know. It mentions the dismal failure of the Open-Ended Working Group of the General Assembly set up for correcting the improper representation of member states in the Council based on the balance of power at the time of its setting up. It might come as a surprise to some that UN charter continues to list Japan and Germany as enemy states. These are the two states that are second and third largest financial contributors to the UN! It merely reflects the fact that the charter which was drafted in 1945 by the victorious allies of World War II remains unchanged. Shashi also underlines the difficulty in changing it as any amendement requires two thirds majority of the overall membership in General Assembly and has to be further ratified by two thirds of the member states in the Council. The opposition to India's membership comes from two quarters. One are those who are opposed to the idea of permanent membership and so don't want additions to the undesirable category. These include Canada and Spain. The second group comprises those who are envious or are have a historical grievance. Interestingly the author has promised to explain next week as to why Indian could one day assume its rightful place.

Jug finds his adopted street dog, Brindle, refusing to eat. The dog has chosen to share in the misery of the president and people of US who have to go hungry because of gluttonous Indians and Chinese. Swollen bellies of the majority of US residents are surest telltale signs of malnutrition. In view of this threat to food security in US, Jug has given a new expansion to the acronym WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) as “Where is My Dinner!” The dog resumed eating only after Jug sent a box of finest quality Alphonso Mangoes to President Bush.

Scarlett's ghost continues to cast its shadow. Shobha De writes in Politically Incorrect about Goa's fall from grace over ten years. This has been brought about by those in power colluding with mafia, builders, drug traffickers and some foreigners who have occupied large tracts of land. This last category has the cheeks to drive away local residents as intruders. She pleads that Fiona, mother of Scarlett, must be heard as she is ready to name names.

Bachi Karkaria too has zeroed upon Goa in her column Erratica. She visited the place for launch of local edition of Times of India. She finds it not a mere tourist paradise but a place with rich cross-cultural civilization. Printing press was introduced in Goa by Portuguese and has led to literacy, awareness and thirst for education. The people of Goa have deep roots and still draw their whole identity from their village.

Swaminomics hypothesises that groundwater (termed minor irrigation) is the better option for irrigation as it provides on-demand water for different crops requiring different amounts of water at different times. This is in contrast with fixed quantities provided at fixed times by surface irrigation systems (major irrigation) comprising of dams and canals. He calls upon government to give up their penchant for major irrigation soon after completing projects at hand, and instead focus on managing the aquifers. He cites the example of Gujarat where the government has laid out separate electric lines for minor irrigation with power rationed for eight hours. For non-agricultural purposes there is no rationing. The rationing for bore wells helps save aquifers from over-pumping. Gujarat has also moved away from populist measures and started charging farmers for electricity consumed by them. He endorses views of Tushar Shah of the International Water Management Institute that power supply for minor irrigation should be adjusted for seasonal demand.

Chidanand Rajghatta in Indiaspora writes about woeful endowment of Indian Universities as compared to their counterparts in USA.  This remains a matter of concern notwithstanding the fact that a dollar goes much farther in India as compared to USA.  He calls upon University to reach out to alumni using communication channels available today.  This will help India become the education superpower that it is thought to be by some western commentators.

(This summary is published by the author (anil.upadhyaya@gmail.com) every week on Shvoong.)