காற்றில் கரையாத நினைவுகள் 24: எது பொற்காலம்!

Published : 14 Aug 2018 09:11 IST
 
வெ.இறையன்பு



மனம் பழையவற்றை வசந்தகாலமாக எண்ணிப் பார்க்கும் விசித்திரம் கொண்டது. சிலநேரங்களில் விடு பட்டவைகூட மகிழ்ச்சியானதாக தோன் றும். விடுதலையானவன் சிறைச்சாலையைக் கடக்கும்போது சோகப்படுவதுபோன்ற ஒருவித மயக்கம் அது. சமூக அளவில் இந்த 50 ஆண்டுகளில் எத்தனையோ விரும்பத்தக்க மாற்றங்கள் நிகழ்ந்திருக் கின்றன. கல்லூரியில் கிராம முகாம் சென்றபோது, அங்கிருந்த தேநீர் கடைகளில் இரட்டைக் குவளைகள் இருப்பதைப் பார்த்து வேதனைப் பட்டோம். ஒருவரை ‘ஒதுக்கிவைக்கப்பட்டவர்’ எனக் குத்திக் காட்டு வதற்கு அதனினும் வேறு முத்திரை இல்லை. இன்று எல்லா இடங் களிலும் காகிதக் குவளைகள் அந்த அவலத்தை அறவே நீக்கி விட்டன. மனிதர்கள் செய்ய முடியாததை தொழில்நுட்பம் சாதித்துவிட்டது.

இந்திய ஆட்சிப் பணி என்பது கனவாக இருந்த காலம் மாறி எண்ணற்ற சிற்றூர்களில் இருந்து தமிழில் படித்தவர்கள் எழுதித் தேர்ச்சி பெற்று இந்தியாவெங்கும் உயர்ந்த பணிகளில் உட்கார்ந்திருப்பதைப் பார்க்கிறோம். மாதிரித் தாள்கள் எப்படி இருக்கும் என்று அறிந்து கொள்ள சென்னையில் ஒரு வாரம் தங்கியிருந்து நடையாக நடந்து அவற்றைப் பெற்ற அனுபவம் எனக்கு உண்டு.

இன்று விரலைச் சொடுக்கினால் விவரங்கள் குவியல் குவியலாக வந்துவிழும் இணைய வசதி. அரிய புத்தகங்களை எளிதில் பெறும் வசதி. உலகின் எந்த மூலையில் கிடைக்கும் புத்தகத்தையும் கணினியில் பதிவிறக்கம் செய்து விடலாம். அறிவு ஒரு சாராருக்கே சொந்தம் என்பதை அடித்து ஒடித்த விஞ்ஞான முன்னேற்றம். எந்த நாட்டுக்கும் ஒரு விநாடியில் மின்னஞ்சல் அனுப்ப முடியும் என்ற அதிவேக தகவல் பரிமாற்ற வசதி.

நிறைய குழந்தைகள் பெரிய வயிற்றுடன். வெளிறிய முகத்துடன். குழி விழுந்த கண்களுடன் போஷாக்குக் குறைவுடன் இருந்த நிலை மாறி இன்று ‘ஊளைச் சதையை குறைப்பது எப்படி?’ என்கிற கவலையில் பெற்றோர். அன்று கோழிமுட்டை என்பது ஒரு சில கடைகளில் இரும்புக் கூடையில் உறியில் தொங்கும் அபூர்வ வஸ்து. பால் காலையில் மட்டுமே கிடைக்கும் அரிய பண்டமாக இருந்த நிலை மாறி, 24 மணி நேரமும் பாக்கெட்டில் வாங்கி வரும் பொருள்.

வதவதவென பிள்ளைகளைப் பெறுவது வாடிக்கையாக இருந்தது. பெண்கள் உடல்நலம் குறைந்து, ஆண்கள் கவலைகள் நிறைந்து அப்போதெல்லாம் கதைகளில் ‘40 வயதுப் பெரியவர்’ என்று எழுதும் வழக்கம் இருந்தது. இன்று 60 வயது நிறைந்தவர்களும் 20 வயதுபோல இருக்க முனைகிறார்கள். வயது என்கிற வரையறை இன்று எடுபடுவதில்லை.

எங்கு பார்த்தாலும் ஓலைக் குடிசைகள் இருந்த சிற்றூர்கள் இன்று மெல்ல மெல்ல மாறி வருகின்றன. அப்போது ஓட்டு வீடு அரிது. மாடி வீட்டை கல்வீடு என்று அழைப்பார்கள். இன்று பல வீடுகள் மச்சு வீடுகளாக மாறி வருகின்றன. அரசு கட்டித் தரும் வீடுகளும், மானியத்தால் உருவாக்கப்படும் இல்லங்களும் நிமிர்ந்து நிற்கின்றன. அன்று வசதியுள்ளவர் உபயோகித்த ஆடைகளை வாங்கி அணிந்து கொள்ள சிலர் ஆயத்தமாக இருந்தார்கள். இன்று பழைய துணிகளை யாரும் பெற விருப்பமாக இல்லை.

இன்றைய தலைமுறை சென்ற தலைமுறையைவிட உயரமாகிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறது. ஊட்டச்சத்துக்கள், புரதம் போன்றவை தாராளமாகக் கிடைப்பதும் இதற்குக் காரணம். தெளிவான முகமும், தோற்றப் பொலிவும் அனைவருக்கும் சாத்தியமாகும் நிலை உருவாகிக்கொண்டு வருகிறது. பலரது முகத்தில் படித்த களையும், கற்றறிந்த தேஜசும் காணப்படுகின்றன. கல்லூரிக் கல்வி ஒரு சில ருக்கு மட்டுமே என்பது மாறி மேனிலைப் பள்ளி களாக மூலைமுடுக்குகளிலெல்லாம் கிடைக்க ஆரம்பித்திருக்கிறது. பொறியியல் படிப்பு சிற்றூர்களிலும் கிடைக்கிறது. பள்ளிப் பக்கமே எட்டிப் பார்க்காத குடும்பங்களில் மருத்துவமும், பொறியியலும் சாத்தியமாகியிருக்கின்றன.

வாழ்க்கைத் தரம் உயர்ந்திருக்கிறது. வாங்கும் திறன் அதிகரித்திருக்கிறது. பஞ்சம், பட்டினி ஆகியவற்றின் தாக்கம் குறைந்திருக்கிறது. சோப்புகூட ஆடம்பரப் பொருள் என்று நிதிநிலை அறிக்கையில் அறிவிக்கப்பட்ட காலம் ஒன்று உண்டு. இன்று சின்னச்சின்ன ஊர்களிலும் உடல் தூய்மையை உறுதிசெய்யும் பொருட்கள் சின்னப் பொட்டலங்களாக கண் சிமிட்டி மின்னுகின்றன. ஊருக்கு ஓர் ஆங்கிலப் பள்ளி என்றிருந்த நிலை மாறி திரும்பிய பக்கமெல்லாம் ‘ஆங்கிலவழி படிப்பு’ என்று அந்நிய மொழியில் படிப்பது இப்போது சர்வசகஜமாகிவிட்டது. ஆனால், தமிழும் சரியாகப் படிக்கத் தெரியாமல் ஆங்கிலமும் முறையாக பேசத் தெரியாமல் ஆற்றில் ஒரு கால், சேற்றில் ஒரு காலாய்த் தடுமாறும் தலைமுறை ஒன்று உருவாகியிருக்கிறது.

இன்று சமூக விழிப்புணர்வு அதிகரித்திருக்கிறது. திரைத் துறையினரும் நடிப்பு மட்டுமே வாழ்வு என நினைக்காமல் மக்களின் நாடித் துடிப்புகளையும் அறிந்து களத்தில் இறங்கிப் போராடுகிறார்கள்.

ஆனால் இவற்றையெல்லாம் தாண்டி எதையோ தொலைத்த உணர்வு எங்கள் தலைமுறையில் அனைவருக்கும் இருக்கிறது. அந்த இனம்புரியாத சோகத்தை எப்படி ஆற்றுவது என்று புரியாமல் அடிக்கடி பழைய நினைவுகளில் மூழ்கி மகிழ்ச்சியாக இருந்த காலங்களை மனத்தால் வருடிப் பார்க்கின் றோம்.

பிள்ளைகளுக்கு எல்லாம் வாங்கித் தந்தும் அவர்கள் மகிழ்ச்சியாக இருப்பது போன்று தோன்ற வில்லை. ஆனால் அன்று எதுவுமே யாரும் வாங்கித் தராமலேயே நாங்கள் மகிழ்ச்சியாக இருந்த உணர்வு. இன்று வீட்டில் பொருட்களெல்லாம் குவிந்தும் ஒருவித வெறுமை. உறுப்பினர்கள் நிறைந்தும் ஒருவிதத் தனிமை.

மிகுந்த பாதுகாப்பான வாழ்க்கைக்கு நடுவில் ஏதோ பயம் ஊஞ்சலாடுகிறது. தூங்கி எழும்போது பொழுதை ரசித்துக்கொண்டு எழுபவர்கள் குறைவு. எதுவும் இல்லாதபோது இருந்த சுதந்தரம் எல்லாம் இருக்கும்போது பறிபோனதைப் போன்ற பரிதாபம்.

நம் உறவுகளையும், உரிமைகளையும் யாரோ வழிப்பறி செய்ததைப்போன்ற எண் ணம். ஏதோ ஒன்று குறைகிற மாதிரியே எப்போதும் இருக்கிறது. சுவர்கள் பலமாக இருந்தாலும் இதயம் பலவீனமாக இருக்கிறது.

நாகையில் கல்லார் தர்காவில் கந்தூரி விழாவின்போது அங்கு இருக்கும் இஸ்லாமிய நண்பர்கள் அக்கரைப் பேட்டை நைனியப்ப நாட்டாரை `அப்பா’ என்று அழைப்பதைப் பார்த்து பூரித்துப் போயிருக்கிறேன். சின்ன வயதில் எங்கள் வீட்டுக்கு அருகில் இருக்கும் சுபான் பாயும், விக்டர் குடும்பமும் அண்ணன், தம்பிகளாக உறவு வைத்து அழைத்துப் பழகியது நினைவுக்கு வந்தது. இப்போது அக்கம்பக்கங்களில் ஏனோ கண்ணுக்குத் தெரியாத இமயத் தடுப்புகள் பிரி வினைகளின் பெயரால் எல்லா இடங் களிலும் விரவிக் கிடப்பதைப் போன்ற வேதனை.

புதிய புதிய சந்திப்புகளில் பழைய உறவுகளையும், நட்புகளையும் தொலைத்துக்கொண்டே இருக்கிறோம். எல்லாம் மேம்போக்காக இருக்கும் பழக்கத்தில் மையத்தைத் தவற விடுகி றோம்.

இழந்தவற்றை நினைவுபடுத்த எப்போதும் இல்லாத அளவு எல்லா இடங்களிலும் பழைய மாணவர்கள் சந்திப்பு. அங்கு வழியிலேயே இடறி விழுந்தவர்கள் நினைவில் இதயம் வலிக்கிறது.

ஓய்வுக்குப் பிறகு சகோதர சகோதரிகள் ஒரே இடத்தில் ஒன்றாய்த் தங்க முடியாதா! செலவைப் பிரித்து உணவைப் பகிர்ந்து உயிரை நீட்டிக்க முடியாதா! ஒரே சமையலறையில் உள்ளங்கள் ஒன்றாக மாலையில் பழங்கதைகள் பேசி களித்திருக்க இயலாதா! அதிக நாட்கள் முடியாவிட்டாலும் ஆண்டுக்கு ஒருமுறை ஒரு வாரமாவது ஒன்றாய்க் கூடி மகிழலாமே!

அப்போது அந்தப் பொற்காலம் திரும்பலாம்.

அன்பின் ஆதிக்கம் அனைத்து சுயநலங்களையும் ஒதுக்கித் தள்ளிவிட்டு எழும்பி நிற்கும் காலம்தானே பொற்காலமாக இருக்க முடியும்!

- நிறைந்தது -

வாஜ்பாய்: அள்ள அள்ளக்குறையாத உயர்ந்த பண்புகளின் பொக்கிஷம்

Published : 18 Aug 2018 12:08 IST

பால்நிலவன்



நல்ல தலைவர்களை வாழும்போதே அரசியலிலிருந்து அப்புறப்படுத்தும் நாம், அவர்கள் மறைவின்போது கொஞ்சமாவது நினைவுகூர வேண்டும். அதிலும், அரசியல் நாகரிகத்தின் இலக்கணமாகத் திகழ்ந்தவர், தென்னகத்தின் மீது குறிப்பாக தமிழகத்தின் மீது உள்ளார்ந்த நேசம் செலுத்திவந்த வாஜ்பாயைப் பற்றிப் பேசுவது நல்ல அரசியலைப் பற்றிப் பேசுவதாகும்.

சுவரில் மாட்டப்படும் இன்னுமொரு படமாக இல்லாமல் சுழலும் பூமிக்கு ஒரு பாடமாக வாழ்ந்தவர் வாஜ்பாய். அவரை நாம் அறிந்துகொண்ட செய்திகளை விட அறியாத சிறப்புகளே அதிகம்.

அரசியல் பாதையில் ஒரு 'பெஸ்ட் பார்லிமென்டேரியன்' என்று பெயரெடுத்த ஒருவருக்கு இந்தியாவை அங்குலம் அங்குலமாக நேசித்ததோ மனித உறவுகளை மேம்படுத்தி அழகு பார்த்ததோ ஆச்சரியம் இல்லைதான்.

நேற்று திருவல்லிக்கேணி லாம்சி பிளாஸா டீ ஸ்டாலில் அவ்வளவு டேபிள்கள் கூட்டம் நிறைந்திருக்க எங்கள் டேபிளுக்கு தானாக விரும்பி வந்து அமர்ந்த ஒரு நண்பர் கேட்டார். 'பெஸ்ட் பார்லிமென்டேரியன்' ரைட்டு, ஆட்சியைத் தக்கவைக்க போயஸ் கார்டனுக்கு நடையா நடந்தாரே அவ்வளவு உயர்ந்த தலைவரே அப்படி இறங்கி வரலாமா? என்று.

சரியான கேள்வி, உயர்ந்த தலைவர்கள்தான் இறங்கி வரமுடியும். அன்றைக்கு அதிமுகவிடம் நிறைய எம்.பி.க்கள் இருந்தனர். ஆட்சியைத் தக்கவைப்பது என்பதைவிட காங்கிரஸுக்கு மாற்றாக, திடமான ஓர் ஆட்சியை நிலைப்படுத்த வேண்டும் என்ற அவசியம் இருந்தது. ஆனால் அவ்வளவு பெரிய மனிதர் நேரில் வந்தும் போயஸ் கார்டன் அதைக் கருத்தில் கொள்ளவில்லை என்பதுதான் உண்மை. காரணம் அவர்களுக்கும் நிறைய கோரிக்கைகள் இருந்தன. ஆதரவு தர முன்வருபவர்கள் கோரிக்கைகள், நிபந்தனைகளை வைக்கத்தானே செய்வார்கள். ஒரு கட்டத்தில் அவரது ஆட்சியே கவிழ்க்கப்பட்டது.

அதைப்பற்றி அவர் கவலைப்படவில்லை. இன்னுமொரு பொதுத் தேர்தலில் நம்பிக்கையோடு களமிறங்கினார். பலமான கூட்டணியோடு ஆட்சியைக் கைப்பற்றினார் என்பதை மட்டும் அப்போதைக்குப் பதிலாக சொல்லமுடிந்தது.

உண்மையில், ''குணமென்னும் குன்றேறி நின்றார் வெகுளி கணமேனும் காத்தல் அரிது'' என்ற குறளுக்கு உதாரணமாகத் திகழ்ந்த மனிதர் அவர். 23 கட்சிகளை இணைத்து அடுத்த ஐந்து ஆண்டுகள் ஒரு ஸ்திரமான காங்கிரஸ் அல்லாத ஒரு மாற்று அரசியலை இந்தியாவில் நிலைப்படுத்தினார் என்பதை உங்களால் நம்பமுடிகிறதா?

ஆனால் அது உண்மையான பாஜக ஆட்சிக்கு உதாரணமாகத் திகழ்ந்த ஆட்சி அது. அதற்குள் சில நடவடிக்கைகளில் உடன்பாடு இல்லாமல் இருக்கலாம். ஆனால் மிதமான, தீவிரமான ஆட்சிகளை நாம் பார்த்து வருகிறோம். இதமான ஒரு ஆட்சி என்றால் அது வாஜ்பாய் ஆட்சிதான்.

சின்ன வயதில் ஆர்எஸ்எஸ் அமைப்பில் இருந்தாலும் ஒரு கம்யூனிஸவாதியாக அவரது சிந்தனைகள் விளங்கின. காந்திய சோஷலிசத்தில் நம்பிக்கை கொண்டவர். நேர்மையே பாடம் கற்றுக்கொள்ளவேண்டிய மொரார்ஜி தேசாயின் அமைச்சரவையில் 77-79களில் வெளியுறவு அமைச்சராகப் பணியாற்றிய பெருமைக்குரியவர்.

இந்திரா காந்தி கொண்டுவந்த நெருக்கடி நிலையின்போது இரண்டாண்டுகள் சிறைவாசம் அனுபவித்தவர். அதன் பிறகு காங்கிரஸுக்கு மாற்று தேவை என்பதை உணர்ந்தார். அதன் பின்னர் அவரே 80களில் பாஜகவைத் தோற்றுவித்தவர்களில் ஒருவராகத் திகழ்கிறார். ஒருவகையில் பாஜகவின் தந்தை அவர். இத்தகைய பிதாமகனிடம்தான் 96களில் இந்தியா ஒப்படைக்கப்படுகிறது.

அவரது ஆட்சிக்காலத்தில் நாடாளுமன்றத்திலிருந்து திடீரென்று நேரு படம் அகற்றப்பட்டது. நேரு போன்ற சோஷலிஸ சிற்பிகளின் படங்களினால் நாடாளுமன்றத்திற்குத்தான் பெருமை... அதை அங்கேயே வையுங்கள் என்று உத்தரவிட்டார்.

மாற்று சிந்தனையாளர்கள் என்றாலும் அவரது கோரிக்கைகள் நியாயம் இருப்பின் அதை நிறைவேற்றுவதில் எந்த சுணக்கமும் அவரிடம் பார்க்க முடியாது.

ஒருமுறை டெல்லியில் பெரியார் மையம் இடிக்கப்பட்டபோது, கி.வீரமணி போன்றவர்கள் அவரிடம் முறையிட்டனர். உடனே பெரியார் இடத்திற்கு அதைவிட பெரிய இடத்தை ஒதுக்கித்தர உத்தரவிட்டார் வாஜ்பாய்.

ஒரு வற்றாத ஜீவநதியின் ஊற்றைப்போல ஒரு சிறந்த மனிதனின் வாழ்க்கையில், அற்புதமான செய்திகள் வந்துகொண்டேயிருக்கும். நெருக்கடி நிலை காலத்திலிருந்து இந்திரா காந்தியின் ஆட்சியை கடுமையாக விமர்சித்து வந்த வாஜ்பாய் சஞ்சய் காந்தி மரணத்தின்போது அமைதி காத்தார். ஒரு தாயின் வலி எத்தகையது என்பது அவருக்குத் தெரியும். அதை மதிக்கவேண்டும் என்ற உணர்வில் இந்திராவை விமர்சிப்பதை கொஞ்ச காலம் தள்ளிப்போட்டார்.

ராஜீவ் காந்தி பிரதமராக இருந்தபோது வாஜ்பாய் எதிர்க்கட்சித் தலைவராக இருந்த காலம், சிறுநீரக பிரச்சினையில் அவதிப்பட்டு வந்த வாஜ்பாயை ராஜீவ் காந்தி அழைத்தார். நான் ஐநா சபையில் உரையாற்றச் செல்கிறேன். நீங்களும் வாருங்கள், அமெரிக்காவில் நல்ல சிகிச்சையை எடுத்துக்கொண்டு தாங்கள் உடல்நலம் பெற வேண்டும் என்று அழைக்க இவரும் அவருடன் செல்கிறார். ஐநா சபை கூட்டத்தை முடித்துக்கொண்ட ராஜீவ் வாஜ்பாயிடம், சிகிச்சை முழுமையாக முடிந்தபிறகே நீங்கள் இந்தியா திரும்பவேண்டும் அதற்கான ஏற்பாடுகளைப் பற்றி உங்களுக்கு கவலை வேண்டாம் என்று கூறிவிட்டு வந்ததை நன்றியோடு ஒரு நேர்காணலில் நினைவுகூர்கிறார் வாஜ்பாய்.

எளிமை, தன்னடக்கம், நன்றியுணர்வு, யாரையும் மதித்தல் என்பதில் அவரது குணங்கள் ஒவ்வொன்றும் அனுபவங்களாகவே வெளிப்பட்டுள்ளன.

பிரதமராவதற்கு முன்பு மதுரை தேர்தல் பிரச்சாரக் கூட்டத்தில் பேச வந்தார். அப்போது வாஜ்பாய் வந்த கார் ரிப்பேர் ஆகிவிடுகிறது. சாலையில் ஒரு டவுன்பஸ் தென்பட நான் இதிலேயே மதுரை போகிறேன் என்று சொல்லிவிட்டு அதில் ஒரு ஏறி அமர்ந்து எளிய மனிதனாகப் பயணம் செய்து மதுரைக் கூட்டத்தில் பேசினார்.

அப்போதெல்லாம் டெல்லியின் நடைபாதைகளில் இவர் அடிக்கடி நடந்து செல்வதை சர்வ சாதாரணமாகப் பார்க்க முடியும் என்கிறார்கள் டெல்லி வாசிகள்.

கிராமப் பெண்களின் பொருளாதாரத்தை மேம்படுத்த சுயஉதவிக்குழுக்களை தொடங்கி சாதித்துக் காட்டிய சின்னப்பிள்ளைக்கு ஸ்த்ரீ சக்தி புரஷ்கார் விருது வழங்கியபோது அந்தப் பெண்மணியின் காலைத் தொட்டு வணங்கியதை நாம் எளிதில் மறந்துவிடமுடியாது.

தேசியத் தலைவர்களில் தமிழகத்தை நேசித்ததில் பலரையும் விட வாஜ்பாய் ஒருபடி மேலே நிற்பவராகத்தான் இருக்கிறார். அண்ணா எம்.பி.யாக டெல்லி வந்த நாட்களில் அவருடன் இனிமையாகப் பழகிய நாட்களை அடிக்கடி நினைவுகூர்கிறார் வாஜ்பாய். அதுமட்டுமின்றி இவரது கவிதைத் தொகுப்பு தமிழில் வெளியானபோது அதில் எனது அருமை நண்பர் அண்ணாவுக்கு சமர்ப்பணம் என்று முதல் பக்கத்தில் எழுதியிருந்தார்.

அப்துல் கலாமை வைத்து அணுகுண்டு சோதனைகள் நிகழ்த்தியதோடு அவரையே நாட்டின் ஜனாதிபதி ஆக்கி அழகு பார்த்தார்.

2001-ல் தேசிய ஜனநாயகக் கூட்டணி ஒருங்கிணைப்புக் கூட்டத்தில் வாஜ்பாய் கலந்துகொண்டபோது அதில் கருணாநிதி பேசுகையில், நாங்கள் ஒன்றாக போராடிய அவசர நிலை காலத்தை மறக்கமுடியாது என்று பேசினார்.

உண்மையான தேசப்பற்றுமிக்க முன்னுதாரண பாஜக ஆட்சியைத் தந்த பிதாமகனை இழந்ததில் இந்தியா மிகப்பெரிய இழப்பை சந்தித்துள்ளது.

ஒவ்வொரு முறையும் ஊருக்குப் போகும்போது லட்டு வாங்கி வருகிறேன், ஜிலேபி வாங்கி வருகிறேன் என்று அழும் குழந்தைகளுக்கு ஆசைகாட்டி புறப்பட்டுச் செல்லும் தந்தையைப் போல கடைசிவரைக்குமே வாயால் வடைசுடும் தலைவர்கள் நிறைந்த நமது நாட்டில் நிச்சயம் வாஜ்பாய் தனித்துவமானவர்.

வழக்கமாக மூவர்ணக் கொடியை அரைக்கம்பத்தில் பறக்கவிட்டுவிட்டு அடுத்தநாளே வேலைமுடிந்தது என்று மறந்துபோய்விடக்கூடிய சம்பிரதாயத்துக்குள் வாஜ்பாய் அடங்கப் போவதில்லை.

SC: Second marriage valid even if plea-against-divorce is pending 

26 Aug 2018 | 

By Shiladitya Ray

While interpreting the Hindu Marriage Act, the Supreme Court clarified that a person's second marriage will be considered valid even if a plea against a divorce is pending.

In making the ruling, the Supreme Court overturned an earlier judgement by the Delhi High Court which saw a man's second marriage being declared void because of a pending plea against divorce.

Here are the details.
In context: SC makes new ruling on re-marrying
26 Aug 2018SC: Second marriage valid even if plea-against-divorce is pending
HC judgementWhat the Delhi High Court had ruled earlier
The Delhi High Court, while hearing a case, had earlier ruled that a marriage solemnized during the pendency of an appeal against divorce would be considered void, as it would be in contravention to Section 5(i) of the Hindu Marriage Act that places a restriction on marriage if a marrying party has a spouse alive.

However, the Supreme Court overturned this judgement.

Legal positionThe Supreme Court's interpretation of the Hindu Marriage Act
The Supreme Court observed that the post-divorce "incapacity to marriage" under the Hindu Marriage Act did not translate to treating a former marriage as subsisting, and therefore a marriage contracted during this period would not be treated as void.

It added that restrictions on remarriage would also not be applicable for cases which parties have settled or decided not to pursue.
The ethos behind the legal position 

"The Hindu Marriage Act is a social welfare legislation and a beneficent legislation and it has to be interpreted in a manner which advances the object of the legislation," explained a bench of justice S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao.

Pressinformation New medical Colleges last three years

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
07-August-2018 16:51 IST

New Medical Colleges

During the last three years the Central Government has permitted to start 86 new Medical Colleges. The details are given below:

Number of Medical College established during last three years State/UT wise

SL.	State/UT	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19
1	Andhra Pradesh	4	0	0
2	Arunachal Pradesh	0	0	1
3	Assam	0	0	0
4	Bihar	0	0	0
5	Chhattisgarh	3	0	0
6	Delhi	1	0	0
7	Gujarat	1	2	2
8	Himachal Pradesh	1	2	1
9	Haryana	2	2	0
10	J & K	0	0	0
11	Jharkhand	0	0	0
12	Karnataka	6	1	0
13	Kerala	3	1	0
14	Madhya Pradesh	5	0	4
15	Maharashtra	2	1	1
16	Mizoram	0	0	1
17	Orissa	0	2	2
18	Punjab	0	0	0
19	Rajasthan	3	0	5
20	Tamil Nadu	3	1	0
21	Uttar Pradesh	9	2	1
22	Uttarakhand	2	0	0
23	West Bengal	1	0	1
24	Sikkim	0	0	0
25	Meghalya	0	0	0
26	Nagaland	0	0	0
27	Tripura	0	0	0
28	Puducherry	0	0	0
29	Telangana	5	0	2
30	A & C Nicobar	0	0	0
	Total	51	14	21

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.

*****

MV/LK

Medical Admissions

1,550 MBBS seats may be added to TN govt, pvt colleges next yr

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

Chennai

: Tamil Nadu may be able to add more than 1,500 MBBS seats to its kitty if the state government and managements of self-financing colleges have their way. Most of these colleges have applied to the Medical Council of India (MCI), the apex body that regulates medical education, in this regard.

On Friday, officials said the government had issued “no-objection certificates” to Madurai-based CSI Medical College and Research and Kovai Medical Centre in Coimbatore, both self-financing institutions, for 150 seats each, and the directorate of medical education recommended the names of Panimalar Medical College and St Peters’ Medical College – also for 150 seats each.

Besides, three colleges that were debarred by the MCI for two years from 2017 can begin admitting 150 students each in 2019, officials said.

State plans to set up new med college in Karur with 150 seats

In 2017, the MCI had barred Annai Medical College in Kancheepuram, Annapoorna Medical College in Salem and Madha Medical College in Chennai from admitting students, after they were found to have a shortage of faculty and infrastructure and had included the names of doctors who were not working in the institute as faculty members.

Ponniah Ramajayam Medical College, which had been denied permission last year, has reapplied for permission. If these self-financing colleges get approval, they will account for 1,200 additional seats. “As long as they have prescribed faculty and standard infrastructure, permission is given to new colleges. Inspection will be conducted in all the colleges before they are given permission. If we continue to have seat-sharing process, there will be a substantial increase of government quota seats next year,” said MCI vice-chairman C V Bhirmanandam.

In addition, the state government is planning to set up a new medical college in Karur with 150 seats. “Earlier, we always applied for 100 seats then increased seats step by step. After setting up a medical college in Pudukottai it was decided that all new colleges should have at least 150 seats,” said director of medical education Dr A Edwin Joe.

At present, the state has 22 government medical colleges offering 2,750 MBBS seats, 13 self-financing medical colleges and close to 10 deemed universities. This year, the state will apply for an increase of 100 seats each in Tirunelveli and Madurai medical colleges to 250 seats. “As a policy we have decided that we will add one new college every year. Whether or not that happens we will increase the number of seats in all government medical colleges to 250,” he said.

Flight info

Snag forces AI flight to return to Singapore

Murali N. Krishnaswamy

CHENNAI, AUGUST 26, 2018 00:00 IST

It was en route to Chennai

Air India’s operations on the Mumbai-Singapore-Chennai-Singapore-Mumbai sectors were affected on Friday after the aircraft experienced a snag. The airline operates the route with a single aircraft using flight numbers AI 342/347/346/343, respectively. On August 24, after completing the first leg of Mumbai-Singapore (AI 342), the flight left Changi airport for Chennai (AI 347) and was to arrive at 10.30 a.m.

After being airborne for about 40 minutes near Malaysian airspace, the crew experienced a significant “technical problem” and decided to return to Singapore. An Air India spokesperson said the aircraft, a 256-seater Boeing 787-8 (VT-ANS), had to be grounded. The airline made alternative arrangements to fly the passengers to Chennai. The airline scheduled Saturday’s flight (August 25) with another Boeing 787-8.

Medical Admissions

Medical admission more competitive as scores & cut-off rise

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:

If admission to government medical colleges was competitive, entry to general category MBBS seats at expensive deemed universities was equally tough this academic year.

The allotment list released by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) after the mop-up round shows that the lowest score of a candidate entering a deemed university is 165 marks in NEET 2018 – 69 marks over the qualifying score — after emptying nearly all seats in the general category.

Last year, students with just-pass score of 107 managed to get general category seats in such universities. “Many factors played a role. While students performed better this year, new rules introduced by the DGHS prevented students from needlessly blocking seats,” said Sri Ramachandra University dean Dr S Anandan.

In some colleges like Varanasi-based Institute of Medical Science the cut-off was 603 and at least six colleges in the country had a cut-off of above 450 marks. The lowest score of 165 was recorded at Sri Lakshmi Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences in Puducherry. With 1,350 seats in eight universities, Tamil Nadu’s lowest entry score was 180 at Sree Balaji Medical College, Chennai and VMKV Medical College, Salem. The DGHS may return 145 NRI seats to the colleges, which may be converted into general category seats and filled.

Education counsellors said that in more than 50% of the 41 colleges the cut-off increased in the second and mop-up rounds. At least 21 colleges, including four in the state, recorded their lowest cut-off during the first round. In the mop-up round, barring three colleges, almost all the universities recorded a higher cut-off compared to round 2.

“After the DGHS tweaked rules, students who were unsure of getting seats in state quota or private colleges picked up seats in round 1. If students drop out too there was no problem. So students with a cut-off as low as 187 were allotted seats in the first round,” said S Chandrasekar, a counsellor at a private coaching centre.

But students were asked to take a “calculated decision” about continuing with round 2. If they register afresh or continue with round 2, they would have to take the seats allotted or forfeit a ₹2 lakh fee. They would have to register afresh and again pay the fee for the mop-up round for deemed universities. If candidates refuse seats at the mop-up round, they would lose the money and chances of joining other counselling. “The fear of losing ₹2 lakh allowed only serious students into the counselling arena,” said dean of VMKV Medical College, Salem, Dr K Prakasam.

PIL petition to curb practice of ‘ghost’ lecturers in medical colleges

A division bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad gave the direction, while disposing of a PIL petition from Change India, by its director A Narayanan, of Virugambakkam, on Thursday.
 
Published: 17th August 2018 02:24 AM 

 
 
By Express News Service

CHENNAI : The State Medical Education department has been directed by the Madras High Court to submit its comments on a letter, dated May 12 last, of the Medical Council of India (MCI) and take necessary action within eight weeks, on a PIL petition seeking to curb the practice of engaging ‘ghost’ lecturers, assistant professors and associate professors to impart education to the students of medical colleges in the State.

A division bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad gave the direction, while disposing of a PIL petition from Change India, by its director A Narayanan, of Virugambakkam, on Thursday.

The bench noted that the MCI had, while acting on a representation from the Tamil Nadu Doctors Association, sought his comments from the secretary, Medical Education Department, to take further necessary action on May 12 last.

In the above said circumstances, the bench said that it can only direct the Medical Education secretary to furnish his comments to the MCI to enable it to take further necessary action, within eight weeks. On receipt of comments, the MCI should proceed in accordance with law, the bench added.Narayanan had filed the petition for a direction to the MCI to curb the practice.

‘Consider the work pressure of policemen’

Chennai: The Director General of Police has been directed by the Madras High Court to consider and pass orders within six weeks on a representation from a woman advocate to minimise the arduous duties of the police personnel. This will help in stopping policemen from committing suicide under the work pressure. A division bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad gave the direction when a PIL from Rajalakshmi of Tiruvallur came up for hearing on Thursday. The petitioner submitted that policemen’s suicide incidents were on the rise. The causes are stress, work load, and non-availability of leave, she said.

Notice to Centre, State govts

Chennai: A division bench of the Madras High Court has ordered notice to the State and the Centre on a PIL petition praying for a direction to initiate punitive action against the police personnel responsible for the alleged lapse in providing security to AICC president Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Chennai to pay homage to former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who died at Kauvery Hospital in the city on August 8 after prolonged illness.

Rly told to submit report on safety

Chennai:A division bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Southern Railway general manager to submit by September 17 a comparative study report relating to provision of safety doors in all coaches of suburban and MRTS trains originating from Chennai. The bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad gave the direction when the PIL petition came up for further hearing on Thursday.

‘Digilocker’ can be used instead of driving licence: Director General of Police

The app was launched in July, 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
 
Published: 17th August 2018 02:27 AM |

 
Image used for representational purposes.

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Clearing the doubt whether motor vehicle riders will be exempted from prosecution if they use the national digital locker system called ‘Digilocker’ instead of carrying their original licence, the Director General of Police issued a statement that this facility was valid.The app was launched in July, 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Centre-certified app can be downloaded onto the mobile phone which would help store documents, including licence, on DigiLocker which, when shown on demand to the department, is considered as the original.

This is mainly aimed at helping one consolidate all important papers at one place and avoid carrying hard copies of the documents.However, previously the state police were confused because under the Motor Vehicle Act, every motorist is to carry original driving licence and according to section 130 of the Act, the driver of the motor vehicle in any public place shall, on demand by any police officer in uniform, produce his/her licence for examination by any police official.

After complaints were filed from across the state seeking clarification on the issues, the statement said the Digilocker app is also valid. Explaining the app, a senior police officer said one has to link his or her Aadhaar car and the cell number, provided the inspecting officer is also registered as a requester on the app to cross-check the documents.

The system provides 1GB of storage space in which users can store identification cards issued by multiple authorities, education certificates, PAN cards, driving licence as well as vehicle ownership documents and is part of the NDA government’s Digital India push to curtail the use of physical documents.
However, in certain cases including impounding, the original licence has to be produced, the statement added.

Sections available

My Certificates: Which enables users to update the URI’s of the documents issued to the user by government departments or other agencies. The other lists of documents which are uploaded by the user which are within 10MB in size. Only pdf, jpg, jpeg, png, bmp and gif file types can be uploaded.

My Profile: The user profiled as available in the UIDAI database.
My Issuer: Details of the issuers’ names and the number of documents issued to the user by the issuer.

My Requester: Details of the requesters’ names and the number of documents requested from the user by the requesters.

Directories: The complete list of registered issuers and requesters along with their URLs.

When Vajpayee touched her feet

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

MADURAI, AUGUST 17, 2018 00:00 IST



Vajpayee paying obeisance to Chinnapillai at a function in New Delhi in 2001.Special arrangementHandout 

Chinnapillai was presented the Stree Shakti Puraskar by the former PM in 2001


For Chinnapillai, leader of Kalanjiyam — a women’s self-help group (SHG) of the Madurai-based Dhan Foundation — what happened on January 4, 2001, in New Delhi is still the stuff of dreams.

She had gone to the national capital at the invitation of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, draped in her best cotton sari and wearing her worn-out rubber slippers, to receive the Stree Shakti Puraskar from the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Her name was called out.

After presenting her the award, the Prime Minister looked into her eyes and then the unthinkable happened. He quickly bent to touch her feet. She tried to hold his hands, but he completed his obeisance. She reciprocated the gesture.

Fond memories

Ms. Chinnapillai melted in the applause that filled Vigyan Bhavan. Her eyes welled up with tears. Later, in his speech, Mr. Vajpayee said that he saw ‘shakti’ in Ms. Chinnapillai’s face.

She is shocked that the man who touched her feet as Prime Minister has died. She made a vain attempt six months ago to meet him on a visit to New Delhi. “I would have gone to New Delhi to pay my respects to the departed leader, but I am not well now,” she said.

Ms. Chinnapillai, a resident of Mathur village in Madurai district, owes her global fame to Mr. Vajpayee. And the moment which makes her shudder, remains frozen in her memory.

Now, robots greet passengers at Chennai airport

STAFF REPORTER

CHENNAI, AUGUST 17, 2018 00:00 IST




Tech friend:Humanoid robots interacting with visitors at the Chennai airport on Wednesday.Special Arrangement 

‘Mitra’ deputed on a trial basis at the domestic terminal

The Chennai airport has two new staff to assist passengers.

Named Mitra, the humanoid robots, were deputed on Wednesday to guide passengers inside the terminals.

The two robots — one each at the departure and arrival halls of the domestic terminal — greeted passengers on Independence Day and interacted with them.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials said they would soon introduce the robots in the international terminal too after seeing the response from passengers.

“These are on trial basis for now. They can walk around the terminal, wish passengers and talk to them. In a few days, we will programme them to assist passengers on various queries and guiding them to security checks and respective boarding gates,” an official said.

A bunch of children who came to the airport to see the robots were thrilled to communicate with it.

T.N. gave him the numbers to become PM

B. Kolappan

CHENNAI, AUGUST 17, 2018 00:00 IST



Vajpayee with Jayalalithaa. 

First the AIADMK and then the DMK proved ideal allies of the BJP

The BJP may be struggling to find its feet in Tamil Nadu, but it was this State that offered the required numbers to A.B. Vajpayee to become the Prime Minister in 1998 and again in 1999.

The shifting sands of politics both in the State and the national level saw the DMK, the AIADMK and the MDMK abandoning their Dravidian moorings and joining hands with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the late 1990s.

In 1998, AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa, smarting under the rout in the 1996 election, knit together an alliance that included the BJP. The front secured 30 Lok Sabha seats in that election.

The series of bomb blasts that rocked Coimbatore on February 14, 1998, just ahead of an election campaign meeting of the then BJP president L.K. Advani also played a major role in the victory of the AIADMK-BJP combine.

Besides the AIADMK, other constituents of the alliance — the PMK, MDMK and Vazhapadi K. Ramamurthy, who won the Salem constituency — were accommodated in the Union Council of Ministers. However, the relationship between the BJP and the AIADMK proved to be a roller-coaster ride from the beginning. Jayalalithaa turned sharply critical of the Vajpayee regime after some time. Jayalalithaa also sought to take credit for the formation of the Vajpayee government when she declared that it was the AIADMK that introduced the party to the people of Tamil Nadu. Her remark that Mr. Advani suffered from “selective amnesia” further strained their ties.

Political storm

Subsequently, a ‘tea party’ hosted by Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy brought together Jayalalithaa and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and caused a political storm. Though she withdrew the support of her party MPs, her allies, including the MDMK and the PMK, stayed with the BJP alliance.

Soon after the Vajpayee government fell, losing the trust motion by one vote, the DMK stepped in to fill the gap created by the AIADMK. It was Murasoli Maran who said “No party is untouchable” and cleared the path for an alliance between the BJP and the DMK for the 1999 election. The alliance won 26 seats.

Mop-up round for MBBS, BDS vacancies begins

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHENNAI, AUGUST 17, 2018 00:00 IST



One more chance:The results of mop-up round of the counselling will be announced on August 20. Candidates will have to report to their respective colleges between August 21 and 26.

FILE PHOTOG_SRIBHARATH 

3,042 seats available; candidates have to lock their choices by August 19

The medical counselling committee of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has called for a mop-up round for the 3,042 vacancies for MBBS and BDS seats in deemed universities and ESIC medical colleges.

Registration for the mop-up round began on Thursday and will end at 5 p.m. on August 18. Candidates will have to lock their choices by August 19 and the results would be announced on August 20. Candidates will get five days’ time from August 21 to 26 to report to their respective colleges.

After the mop-up round, the DGHS will provide the vacant seats to the respective colleges and will also provide a merit list of candidates who can be called for counselling.

Among the deemed universities in the State, the most number of seats vacant in the management/paid category are in Chennai-based Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital with 116 seats, followed by ACS Medical College and Hospital, which has 81 vacancies.

The colleges are banking on the final mop-up round that would permit them to call students based on the merit list handed to them by the DGHS.

A smooth affair

Medical college officials, however, said seat filling had been smooth though two court cases had eaten into the time allotted for the admission process.

A source in Sri Ramachandra Medical College said it was among the first to fill all the seats last year also and it expected to do well this year too.

T. Gunasagaran, Dean of Saveetha Medical College, said in the mop-up round, they would fill 15 to 20 seats.

“The process has gone smoothly and people have understood the process well. The candidates know they will have to make a firm choice,” he said.

MASTER STROKE

When I persuaded Wadekar Sir to let me open

SACHIN TENDULKAR  17.08.2018

It’s really shocking, very troubling to hear that Wadekar Sir is no more. Our relationship went back a long way. It was in 1992 when he joined the team as manager. We’d grown up hearing stories about the brand of cricket he brought into the Mumbai camp — the khadoos way of playing the game.

We first went to Zimbabwe and from there to South Africa with him, and during that trip, grew familiar with him. It took us time, around six months, to break the ice, but over a period of time, I got to know him really well.

The three of us —Vinod (Kambli), Wadekar Sir and I spent a lot of time together. Post practice, we would go to his room, or he would come to ours and chat a lot. With us, he was like a friend. We were really close to him. The age difference between us was never a factor. I could tell him anything and so could he.

On the morning of our ODI against New Zealand at Auckland in 1994, our opener Navjot Singh Sidhu, woke up with a stiff neck. By then, we (me and Wadekar) had built a good rapport, so I could walk up to him and tell him anything. I went to him and said: ‘Sir, give me one chance to open the innings. I know I can go out there and hit the bowlers. And if I fail, I’ll never come to you.’ I told him to discuss this with Azhar (Mohammad Azharuddin, the then India skipper), and since I was the vice-captain, the three of us could meet.

That’s where good coaches come in. They understand all these things. Deep within, he must’ve somewhere had that confidence that I could go out there and do it. It worked beautifully (I scored 82 off 49 balls), also because of the relationship we shared — we had trust and confidence in each other. For the first two years of my ODI career, I used to bat at No. 6, and then for another yearand-a-half, I batted at No. 4. But after that game, things changed. I could actually go out and control the game, rather than terms being set for me.

We had complete confidence in him. He brought the best out of us. In that period, we really stretched and focused hard and he played a huge role in that. He was at the forefront of putting together a formidable team in place — one that would be unbeatable at home. To play three spinners here was his brainchild. He was very shrewd. He knew how to stay a step ahead of the game. He had a great cricketing mind.

We kept bumping into each other after he quit as the India manager in 1996. I last met him during the launch of the Mumbai T20 league. Vinod (Kambli) and I went to his house to offer our condolences, and we’ll go today for the funeral too. (AS TOLD TO GAURAV GUPTA)

HEART TO HEART

Wadekar: The link between India’s two Little Masters

Ajit is gone, but Arre, kaay re, will remain with me

SUNIL GAVASKAR: 17.08.2018

Sunil, sorry, he is no more’. Those devastating words conveyed to me that ‘my captain’ Ajit Wadekar had passed away. Just a little while earlier, I was trying to help put him in the car to rush him to the hospital since the ambulance was going to take another 15 minutes to arrive and even then it looked like it was a hopeless battle.

Ajit Wadekar was my captain when I made my debut for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and he was my skipper when I got my India cap. So for me he was always ‘captain’. That he was from Shivaji Park Gymkhana and I was from Dadar Union Sporting Club, its great rival, then made no difference as I was a fan first. Those days there was hardly a single weekend where you didn’t read about Wadekar getting a century. He was so prolific in local and Ranji Trophy cricket that it was a surprise to many that he made his India debut as late as 1966 against Garry Sobers’ West Indies team. Five years later, it was against Garry Sobers’ team that he led India for the first time and went on to win the series, beating West Indies for the first time. A couple of months after that he led India to another historic win when India beat England in England for the first time.

He was unkindly called a lucky captain by those who couldn’t stomach the fact that he had replaced the charismatic Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi as the skipper. The then Chairman of selectors, batting legend Vijay Merchant, was also pilloried by some for it was his casting vote that made Wadekar the new Indian captain then. Even after these twin wins and another in India a year later, neither Vijay Merchant nor Ajit Wadekar got the credit they deserved for bringing India those hat-trick of wins. Ajit retired from Test cricket suddenly when he was left out of the West Zone team for the Duleep Trophy by a committee led by another Indian great, Polly Umrigar and thereafter concentrated on his banking career and also cricket administration with the Mumbai Cricket Association.

He also was a successful manager/coach of the Indian team in the early ‘90s. When some of us sportspersons requested the Maharashtra Government for a plot of land to build an apartment block, it was Ajit who took the lead and there was Umrigar also in the society formed showing that he harboured no hard feelings towards his senior. Being the promoter, he got the top floor of the building when it was built and since I was on the floor immediately below him, he used to always joke, ‘I am the only one on top of Sunny’. In recent times, with my travel schedule, we hardly met but whenever we did, he would as usual come up with a joke in his easy drawl.

There’s hardly been a day when I haven’t mimicked his arre kaay re at least once and not just me but even Sachin Tendulkar told me that he too says the same at least once a day.

My captain is no more but he will always be with me when I say, arre kaay re. RIP, Captain.

PMG





Sunil Gavaskar (right) is introduced to Queen Elizabeth II by his captain Ajit Wadekar at Lord’s in the 1971 series



Sachin Tendulkar says Ajit Wadekar played a vital role in his progress

‘Atal was more than a colleague, he was my closest friend for 65 years’

Mohua.Chatterjee@timesgroup.com: TOI 17.08.2018

I will miss Vajpayee immensely…” This was the first reaction of BJP veteran L K Advani, who was in public life with the late former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee for nearly 65 years.

The 90-year-old former deputy PM was speechless when he heard the news of Vajpayee’s death around 5.30pm on Thursday. Advani had visited AIIMS where Vajpayee was admitted for nearly nine weeks on Thursday morning and sat in a waiting room for an hour, along with daughter Pratibha and aide Deepak Chopra.

He remained restless and refused to meet anyone after the visit, till their former colleague and ailing leader Jaswant Singh’s wife arrived to meet him. The two shared the grief of losing their ‘Atalji’.

The pall of gloom over the Prithviraj Road residence of Advani was palpable when the BJP veteran sat down to write his condolence message.

He wrote: “I am at a loss for words to express my deep grief and sadness today as we all mourn the passing away of one of India’s tallest statesmen, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. To me, Atalji was more than a senior colleague — in fact he was my closest friend for over 65 years. I cherish the memories of my long association with him, right from our days as pracharaks of RSS, to the inception of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the struggle of the dark months during the Emergency leading to the formation of Janata Party and later the emergence of Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980... His captivating leadership qualities, mesmerising oratory, soaring patriotism and above all, his sterling humane qualities like compassion, humility and his remarkable ability to win over adversaries despite ideological differences have all had a profound effect on me in all my years in public life. I will miss Atalji immensely.”

Later, he visited Vajpayee’s residence. In the last few years, Advani used to be among the first callers here on December 25, Vajpayee’s birthday.

BY INVITATION

His weapon was the word, not the sword

MJ AKBAR  TOI 17.08.2018

The distance between Treasury benches and its “loyal” Opposition in Britain’s House of Commons is, famously, the length of two swords plus one inch. The inference is clear. Politicians might be at daggers drawn, but democracy cannot afford drawn swords.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee would have sniffed at such political architecture. His weapon was the word, not the sword. His wordplay had the flexibility of oratory and the principles of a humanist. His language was as mellifluous as his smile; even when the cut and thrust of debate demanded a touch of verbal stiletto, it was tempered by the goodwill of geniality rather than the bitterness of angst.

Some associates disliked his overt or covert generosity to opponents. He wasn’t bothered. He could be hurt when recipients of his generosity reciprocated with malice. But this did not much bother him either. He did what he did because he believed it was the right thing to do.

Anger was part of neither his personality nor his preference. If memory serves, he was angry in public just once, at a rally in Delhi in January 1977, after 19 months of draconian Emergency during which Mrs Indira Gandhi had imprisoned India and exiled India’s democratic values. India was still numb, and depressed. No one believed that Mrs Gandhi could be defeated in the impending general election. No one knew that India was smouldering beneath a fragile surface.

On that cold January evening, Vajpayee’s speech, heavy with sarcasm, sparkling with promise, and infused with faith in the Indian people, lit the fuse that led to a revolution.

He was angry not merely because he had been sent, in a brazen exercise of injustice, to jail; or because the courts had been impaled; or because the political process had been usurped by Congress. He was angry because democracy had been grievously wounded. He was a democrat because his heart was passionate about liberty; and his head said that India, with its ancient philosophy of pluralism, could only function as a democracy. Dynasties, in contrast, believed in supremacy and exclusion; it was no accident that Mrs Gandhi began to visibly nurture a dynasty only during this obnoxious Emergency. Vajpayee’s main concern was the future of India and Indians. He was a champion of democracy because he was a servant of the people. That is the logic of freedom.

Vajpayee was not weaned on silver spoons; he wrote his own destiny. His father was a school-teacher. He was born into an emerging middle class, the backbone of India. His virtues, inherited from civilisational values, became the foundation on which he could structure his formidable talents. He did not enter politics to become prime minister of India. Even independence seemed psychologically distant when, as a student in 1942, he joined Gandhi’s Quit India movement to, in the words of the Mahatma, “do or die”. When he became a member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951, no contemporary believed it would one day lead a national government, albeit in a slightly altered avatar. Power, when it came, was a by-product of commitment.

Any conscientious prime minister wears a crown of thorns during the day and sleeps at night on a bed of nails. But above all, this responsibility tests two qualities: vision, on the strategic balance, and crisis management, on tactical scales. As prime minister, Vajpayee wrote an indelible chapter in India’s history with the detonation of one fusion and two fission bombs on 11 May 1998, and two additional fission devices two days later. Previous PMs had shied away from traversing the last mile of a national vision. Vajpayee’s cool, and silent, steps to this visionary horizon took the world’s breath away. For India, it was a moment of rebirth.

Vajpayee’s leadership was tested by Kargil. Pakistan’s onslaught, thinly veiled by familiar military deceit, had the advantage of surprise. Vajpayee’s resilience, patience and belief gave our armed forces the leadership they needed for victory.

There was much surprise, and even a hint of contradiction, when the leader who went to Lahore for peace, hosted Pervez Musharraf, the architect of Kargil, at the Agra summit. But Vajpayee, who dreamt of resolution, understood a critical fact: peace is possible only when security is achieved. Between a nuclear arsenal and Kargil he had proved to Pakistan the futility of terrorism and war. It was now up to Pakistan to abandon both and build amity between two sovereign nations. Alas, Pakistan never seems to be awake when history beckons.

As is well known, Vajpayee was also a brilliant poet. There have been many writers [and more re-writers] who have done well enough in politics; but the combination of poet and politician is rare. Uniquely, Vajpayee was equally honest to both poetry and politics. That is what lifted him from excellent Prime Minister to a hero of his generation.

The writer is MoS external affairs





POSTER BOYS: With MM Joshi & LK Advani

Retd justice Karnan refuses to vacate govt flat in Kolkata

Rohit Khanna TNN

Kolkata:17.08.2018

Retired justice C S Karnan has told the West Bengal housing department and the registrar general of the Calcutta high court he could not be evicted from his flat at Rosedale Complex in New Town till his order against eight Supreme Court judges were not executed. He said he wanted to continue at the Rosedale flat that served as his home and “make-shift court”.

Karnan was given the accommodation when he was transferred to the Calcutta high court.

The new development over the Rosedale Complex started when the housing department wrote to the judicial department secretary last month, mentioning that the retired judge had to vacate the government-maintained flat, which had to be given out to others. A few days later, the registrar general of the Calcutta HC sent a letter to Karnan. When contacted, Karnan said, “I have sent a reply to the housing department and the registrar general of the Calcutta HC. I have also sent copies to the International Court of Justice, Netherlands and the United Nations Security Council.”

Govt launches its website for disaster management

Chennai:17.08.2018

Against the backdrop of growing incidence of disaster, chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday launched a web portal, www.tnsdma.gov.in, exclusively for disaster management. The government also signed a memorandum of understanding with Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) to provide training and disaster risk management strategies for government staff involved in disaster management.

The website, a comprehensive one, provides a wide range of services, including active alerts, helplines for each district, rainfall info, risk governance, policy and plan, capacity building, vulnerability assessment, awareness and programmes. Emergency contact numbers of various agencies are hosted on the website. “It provides a platform to people affected by disaster to upload the photographs and messages and get their problems highlighted. Monitored by the state-level officers, the district administration concerned will be communicated immediately for action for which they should register. Volunteers can also register their names,” revenue administration, disaster management and mitigation commissioner K Satyagopal said. Nongovernment organizations and first responders can also register.

Links are provided for weather updates, regional forecast, Chennai weather update and heavy rainfall warning from meteorology department, earthquake bulletin and tsunami early warning from the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services. Along with Bangkok based ADPC, the state will provide a long-term training programme for government staff. Satyagopal said, “Final details are being worked out for programmes in Chennai and other districts. ADPC’s association is for a longer period to build capacity among staff.” TNN

TN REMEMBERS ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE

Brand Vajpayee was in high demand in TN in 90s

Jayaraj.Sivan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:17.08.2018

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was able to make inroads into the Dravidian heartland of Tamil Nadu with ease, first through an electoral tie-up with the AIADMK in 1998. Even as that alliance was snapping shortly a year after it was forged, Vajpayee pieced together an alternative with another Dravidian major, the DMK.

More than Vajpayee wanting to ally with the AIADMK and the DMK, it was J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi who were keen on tying up with the BJP under Vajpayee, said M Kasinathan, political analyst. As the BJP was emerging on the national scene after kar seva and the Ayodhya marches, Jayalalithaa saw an opportunity to regain a foothold in the political power struggle. She felt a tie-up with the BJP would help gain importance on the national scene and also weaken a slew of cases filed by central agencies against her. The grand alliance that included the PMK and the MDMK stumped Karunanidhi.

There was a Tamil Nadu link to his government’s undoing too. The infamous Delhi tea party that pulled down his government was scripted by Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, an MP from Tamil Nadu, and was played out by his ally Jayalalithaa and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. After the truck ended, Jayalalithaa claimed it was she who introduced Vajpayee to the people of TN. The journey with the AIADMK was a roller-coaster ride for Vajpayee all through. Trouble began even before the government could be formed as Jayalalithaa delayed her party’s letter of support to his government, said political commentator R Rangaraj.

There was no looking back since then and the BJP made huge inroads in TN. People in Karunanidhi’s inner circle in the ‘90s say he felt he missed a chance to tie up with Vajpayee in 1998. He grabbed it a year later by extending support to salvage Vajpayee’s government. Karunanidhi’s larger game plan was to keep Jayalalithaa out of power, both in Tamil Nadu and at the Centre.

Karunanidhi’s nephew Murasoli Maran, who saw a chance of becoming a Union minister, played a key role in sealing the alliance. In the process, Karunanidhi even embraced his estranged colleague and MDMK leader Vaiko. Despite the Vajpayee government falling in 1999, the BJP-DMK alliance continued and formed the government at the Centre that year.

BJP’s dabbling with major alliance partners in Tamil Nadu ended with the 2004 Lok Sabha polls. Since then, both the DMK and the AIADMK have been hesitant about any electoral truck with the BJP.

People cutting across party lines who happened to interact and move closely with Vajpayee were swayed by his aura. Leaders like Vaiko, despite falling out with the BJP, held Vajpayee in high esteem.



GOLDEN ERA: A September 2003 photo of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee being received by DMK president M Karunanidhi at Apollo Hospital in Chennai, where he had gone to meet Murasoli Maran

Flight Info

IndiGo to operate bi-weekly Vijayawada-Singapore service

Tharun Boda

VIJAYAWADA, AUGUST 16, 2018 00:00 IST

Tentative plan is to launch the service in early October

IndiGo, which recently made the Vijayawada airport as a hub for its aircraft, has come forward to operate bi-weekly service to Singapore responding to a tender call by the Andhra Pradesh Airports Development Corporation Ltd (APADCL).

This takes the State’s ambitious plan of starting an international flight service from the airport in the capital Amaravati a step closer to fruition.

“The tendering process has been completed and the airlines came forward to fly on the new sector. The State government has in principle approved the deal and assured it the Viability Gap Funding (VGF). We are awaiting the formal approval and modalities from the government before signing the final agreement. Tentatively the service will be launched on October 2,” APADCL chief executive officer Virender Singh told The Hindu .

“Though the airline was not keen initially it came in after the tender call that assured the VGF,” Mr. Singh said.

According to its aviation policy, the State provides VGF if the airline fails to get at least 50% occupancy on the specified sector. “We are confident that every flight will have 60-70% occupancy and no funding may be required. But the VGF would take care of the losses, if any.” Once the agreement is signed, the timings of the scheduled flights would be decided.

With the city airport not being included in the bilateral air service agreements by the Centre yet, the outset of international services got allegedly stalled and the Corporation has planned to run unscheduled chartered flights by hiring an airline that could run the business on its behalf.

The inordinate delay has dashed the hopes of the State which is expecting to have direct flights to destinations in West Asia.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had in June announced that the Vijayawada-Singapore service would be launched soon. Earlier it was also announced that Singapore’s SilkAir would be operating unscheduled flights as per the State’s requirement.

A domestic carrier could operate international services from Vijayawada without special permissions.

Rain News

பவானி, தாமிரபரணி ஆறுகளில் வெள்ளப்பெருக்கு: ரயில்கள் தற்காலிக ரத்து

By DIN  |   Published on : 15th August 2018 08:16 PM 

நெல்லை மாவட்டம் தாமிரபரணி ஆற்றில் ஏற்பட்டுள்ள வெள்ளப் பெருக்கால் குறுக்குத்துறை சுப்பிரமணிய சாமி கோவில் நீரில் மூழ்கியது. தென்காசி பகுதியில் பெய்துவரும் தொடா் மழையின் காரணமாக தென்காசி-குற்றாலம் பிரதான சாலையில் அமைந்துள்ள யானைப்பாலம் சிற்றாற்றில் வெள்ளப்பெருக்கு ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. இதனால் ஆற்றுப்பகுதிக்கு செல்ல வேண்டாம் என்று மாவட்ட ஆட்சியர் அறிவுறுத்தியுள்ளார். 
கனமழை மற்றும் நிலச்சரிவு காரணமாக கொல்லம்- செங்கோட்டை இடையிலான அனைத்து ரயில்களும் தற்காலிகமாக ரத்து செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளதாக தெற்கு ரயில்வே அறிவித்துள்ளது. செங்கோட்டை அருகே  வெள்ளம் காரணமாக பண்பொழி-வடகரை சாலையில் போக்குவரத்து துண்டிப்பு. 

ஈரோடு மாவட்டத்தின் பவானிசாகர் அணையின் மொத்த கொள்ளளவான 120 அடியில் 117 அடி புதன்கிழமை நிரம்பியது. அணைக்கு நீர்வரத்து 43,300 கன அடியாக உள்ளது, அணையில் இருந்து 43,500 கன அடி உபரி நீர் வெளியேற்றப்பட்டு வருகிறது.

இதனால் பவானி ஆற்றில் ஏற்பட்ட வெள்ளப்பெருக்கு காரணமாக கோபிசெட்டிபாளையம் அருகே அரசூர், கணேசபுரம் பகுதிகளில் வீடுகளுக்குள் நீர் புகுந்தது. எனவே அப்பகுதியினர் பத்திரமாக மீட்கப்பட்டு முகாம்களில் தங்க வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளனர். பவானி ஆற்றின் கரையோரப் பகுதிகளான அண்ணாநகா், கொடிவேரி, புஞ்சைபுளியம்பட்டி, கள்ளிப்பட்டி உள்ளிட்ட 20-க்கும் மேற்பட்ட கிராமங்களில் பல்லாயிரக்கணக்கான விவசாய  நிலங்களில் வெள்ள நீா் புகுந்து பெரும் சேதம் ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது.