The Tribune – Bonanza year for wheat farmers; Against the earlier target of 108 lakh tonnes, production may cross 170 lakh tonnes

Sarbjit Dhaliwal, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 12. Punjab farmers never had it so good as far as wheat production is concerned. The latest estimate prepared by the State Agriculture Department has indicated that wheat production is likely to go well beyond 170 lakh tonnes.

“We have informed the authorities that it should be prepared to procure wheat up to 125 lakh tonnes,” said Mangal Singh Sandhu, Director, Agriculture. Initial estimate was to procure 108 lakh tonnes and later it was revised up to 115 lakh tonnes.

However, already about 121 lakh tonnes have been procured by the government agencies. Arrival of wheat is likely to continue in some select markets for the next few days.

There are farmers who had a return of up to Rs 40,000 per acre from wheat crop this year. The return also includes value of dry fodder prepared from wheat stubble. “There has been a sudden jump in per acre yield of wheat this year,” said Gurdev Singh, a farmer from Mansa district. “Punjab’s per hectare average yield is likely to touch a figure of 48.5 quintal this year and it will be a new record,” said Sandhu.

What were the main factors which led to a record production of wheat this year?

Punjab Agricultural University says beside other factors, the most vital role in record wheat production is played by prolonged winter this year. “Climatic conditions in February and March, which is considered a crucial period in wheat crop life cycle, remained highly favourable for the crop to flourish and mature,” said SS Gosal, Director, Research, PAU.

“Grain formation was excellent this time,” he added. Most of the wheat varieties grown in the country have Mexcian lineage and flourish in cold conditions. However, these are intolerant to sudden temperature variations at the maturing stage.

Other reasons listed by Gosal and Sandhu for the high yield include good results of some newly released wheat varieties, better pest and disease management especially that of attack by yellow rust in the area along the Kandi belt, farmers’ growing habit to use fresh seed, also known as seed replacement, and improved harvesting techniques.

Among the varieties which farmers say have given good yield include PBW 611 and 621, HD 2967, HD 2932 and HD 2851 and DBW 17.

Even states like Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have also done well on this front. Madhya Pradesh’s contribution to the Central wheat pool will be in the range of 80 lakh tonnes this year and Rajasthan’s about 15 lakh tonnes. Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh state governments give Rs 100 per quintal (in addition to the minimum support price) as bonus from their treasury to farmers who contribute wheat for the national pool. Bonus is given to promote the farming of cereals by both the states.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120513/punjab.htm#2

The Tribune – Easy access to Takht edicts

Perneet Singh, Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 12. While there were reports of “missing record” from the Akal Takht Secretariat in the past, a recently released book, “Edicts of Sri Akal Takht Sahib” by Sikh History Research Board director Roop Singh, has become a reference document. It incorporates 151 edicts (hukamnamas) issued from the Akal Takht over the past 125 years.

The oldest edict in the book dates back to March 18, 1887, and the latest one to be included is the one issued on July 22, 2011. This is the first book to deal exclusively with the edicts. The book has some of the rare edicts, including the one directing the Sikhs to be armed for the protection of the country after Independence.

The edict issued in November, 1948 reads: “After breaking the shackles of slavery, our country has attained Independence. The Sikhs made supreme sacrifices for its sake. They have to take the country to new heights.”

The edict issued on Diwali (in 1948) by the then Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Mohan Singh Nagoke directed the Sikh masses to pray for getting the “Hindu sisters” liberated from the newly-created Pakistan. The maximum edicts issued from Akal Takht were after Operation Bluestar (June, 1984). The Akal Takht issued 14 edicts from July 5, 1984, to October 25, 1984, condemning the siege of Golden Temple and Akal Takht by the Indian Army.

Giani Kirpal Singh was the Akal Takht Jathedar at that time. The book also has Akal Takht edicts, declaring former President Giani Zail Singh and former Union Home Minister Buta Singh “tankhaiya” and ostracising them from Khalsa Panth, besides the one awarding “tankhah” (punishment for religious misconduct) to former Punjab CM Surjit Singh Barnala.

While most edicts (a total of 30) were issued after the Army operation in 1984 by the then Jathedar Giani Kirpal Singh, Bhai Ranjit Singh had issued as many as 18 edicts in his short tenure of 14 months.

The issue of missing records from the Akal Takht came to the fore in April 2003 when the newly formed secretariat of the Takht had requested both Sikhs and non-Sikhs to submit records related to the office of the Akal Takht so that the new secretariat is complete in all respects. There were reports that a few jathedars, who had been removed or had retired, had taken home important office records, including correspondence and copies edicts.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120513/punjab.htm#7

The Hindu – Ladakh troop revolt underlines Army class tensions

14 Corps Commander strikes deal with angry soldiers, defusing crisis — but hard questions remain

Praveen Swami

New Delhi, 12 May 2012. Forty-eight hours after troops of the Ladakh-based 226 Field Regiment staged a revolt against officers they said were responsible for the brutal beating of an enlisted man, the Army is facing hard questions whether its colonial-era institutions are generating a crisis within its ranks.

Men of the 226 Field Infantry marched through the town of Nyoma late on Thursday night, armed with rods and knives, seeking to hunt down five Major-rank officers they said were responsible for the brutal beating of Suman Ghosh — an enlisted man assigned as a personal valet.

The men also staged protests, using loudspeakers to shout slogans condemning the officers and raise nationalist slogans. The fighting left at least three soldiers — including the sahayak —injured.

Early on Saturday, highly-placed military sources told The Hindu, Leh-based 14 Corps Commander Lieutenant-General Ravi Dastane finally hammered out a deal with the soldiers — a deal which promises officers who used beatings against enlisted men will be punished, in return for the soldiers relocating to their base at Thiksey.

In New Delhi, the Army Headquarters described the clash — the worst of its kind since some units mutinied in 1984 — as “an incident of indiscipline,” not a mutiny. The Army has set up a court to inquire into the incident.

Officers, not Gentlemen?

Late on Thursday evening, after the 226 Field Regiment finished a firing-practice session with their 105-millimetre mountain guns in the Mahé range near Nyoma, witnesses saw a fracas break out. Major A K Sharma, one of the unit’s officers, claimed his wife was insulted by the sahayak. A highly placed source at 14 Corps Headquarters told The Hindu that the officer’s wife complained that Ghosh waked into her room without knocking while she was having a shower.

The sahayak, witnesses told The Hindu, was dragged into the Beacon ground near the range, and beaten up. Major Ankur Tewari, Major Kapil Malik, Major Thomas Verghese, Major A.D. Kanade and Major Sharma himself joined in the beating, documents seen by The Hindu say.

From the witnesses’ account, it is clear the men of the 226 Field Regiment did nothing — until it became clear Ghosh had suffered significant injuries. Major Kanade, however, allegedly refused to allow the men to move Ghosh to a medical facility, perhaps fearing it would lead to an internal inquiry on his conduct.

The irate men then began arguing with the officers; witnesses say there was a heated argument, accompanied by some pushing and shoving.

226 Field Regiment commander Colonel Prasad Kadam intervened, reprimanding the officers for their conduct — only to be allegedly assaulted by the five.

The Majors, witnesses said, then fled as troops arrived, saving Colonel Kadam.

Fearing attack by other Army units, some men barricaded themselves inside the quarter-guard, housing the armoury, while others marched into the town shouting Bharat Mata ki Jai [“Long Live India”]. Major Sharma was captured and beaten up; the men moved him to hospital thereafter.

Early on Friday morning, Major-General A L Chavan, commander of the Leh-based 3 Infantry Division, arrived in Nyoma and began negotiating with the troops, promising them that force would not be used.

In a press release, the Army Headquarters insisted that Colonel Kadam’s injuries were “superficial,” but highly-placed military sources said he was still in a field hospital on Saturday afternoon.

Simmering class tensions

Earlier this month, the Army announced it was considering doing away with the colonial-era institution of the sahayak, or batmen as they were earlier known — trained soldiers who are assigned to serve as valets.

The 30,000-odd men serving as sahayaks are expected not just to ensure that their officers’ uniforms are in order and their personal comfort is cared for, but ferry their children to school and help with their spouses’ shopping.

The batman system was long abandoned in the British Army, from which India drew it; even Pakistan dropped the institution in 2004. In India, however, it remains in place — a major cause of humiliation for men enlisted to serve their country.

It isn’t only the institution of the sahayak, though, that is a cause of friction: India’s two-class Army, divided rigidly between sahibs and men, ill-reflects the social realities of the country today.

For its part, the officer corps is ill-equipped to deal with a changing world. In a recent article, scholar Srinath Raghavan pointed out that the Army recruits officers “at a much younger age than most other democracies.”

Colonial-era culture

Their subsequent in-house education submerges young men in the military’s colonial-era culture, leaving them ill-equipped to understand the changed values and aspirations of the soldiers serving under their command.

“In the first decades after Independence,” a retired officer told The Hindu, “enlisted men came from backgrounds which led them to unquestioningly accept feudal attitudes and values. The officers were also products of the same feudal landscape. It doesn’t exist any more — but the institutions remain.”

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3412907.ece?homepage=true

9 April 2012 Sint-Truiden Ten Day Gatka Academy

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Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – BCCI nod to Pakistan team for Champions League

Chennai, May 12. In a decision which can have implications on the revival of Indo-Pak bilateral cricket ties, the BCCI today cleared the decks for the inclusion of a team from Pakistan in the Champions League Twenty20 for the first time since the event’s inception.

The BCCI Working Committee decision will see Pakistan’s domestic T20 champions Sialkot Stallions, led by Shoaib Malik, participate in the event scheduled in October once given the go ahead by the CLT20 Governing Council.

The move indicates a thaw in India-Pakistan bilateral cricket ties which had been snapped after the November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai. It could also now pave the way for participation Pakistani players in the IPL for the first time after 2008. “The Working Committee has decided to invite a team from Pakistan to play in Champions League Twenty20 to be held in October,” BCCI President N Srinivasan told reporters after the meeting here.

“This is a recommendation that the BCCI will make to the Governing Council. CLT20 is owned by BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa. So we will recommend to the GC that the BCCI has no objection and is prepared to invite a Pakistan team in the Champions League,” he added.

“CLT20 will be played in India. As far as inviting a Pakistani team is concerned, it will be done by the Governing Council. The BCCI will make the recommendation to the Governing Council which will decide on the matter.”

The move is expected to be received with much applause from across the border as the Pakistan Cricket Board had been pushing for the inclusion of its sides since the inaugural edition of the Champions League in 2009.

Asked if the decision marked a change of stance towards Pakistan, Srinivasan said, “This matter came up in the Governing Council of the Champions League. So, there was discussion around the composition of the tournament this year and on the number of teams and who will be invited. So, a feeling was expressed that a team from Pakistan could be invited.”

On whether it was the first step towards reviving bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan, the Board chief stated, “Today, the decision is limited to the Champions League. So, I don’t want to say anything beyond it.”

Pakistan have not played any bilateral series in India ever since the Mumbai terror attacks, though the two countries have come face to face in multi-national events such as the World Cup. The Pakistan Cricket Board had been holding talks with the BCCI over early resumption of ties for the past few months. (PTI)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120513/main3.htm

Dawn – Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) will win next general election as well: Qaim Ali Shah

Sukkur, 12 May 2012. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Saturday said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) will emerge as victorious in the next general election as well.

Addressing a public gathering organised by the PPP at Kammo Shaheed on the Sindh-Punjab border, Shah said that people had voted for the PPP in the last general elections and the party has come to power because of the struggle and sacrifices of Benazir Bhutto and the party workers.

He said the present government is the government of the poor masses and that it has served the people of the entire country without any discrimination.

The chief minister said that this gathering of more than one million warns Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif not to challenge the people of Sindh or of the country, as many more can be gathered and “head for Lahore.”

He was of the view that being a businessman, politics was not the field for Nawaz Sharif.

Shah said that Nawaz Sharif had taken the dictation from a dictator (General Pervez Musharraf) whereas the PPP runs the government in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the masses. It has given employment to the jobless and empowered the women in the country.

The CM Sindh stated that November-December is not very far off and that Nawaz Sharif should have perseverance and work for the next general elections.

He also pointed out that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has seen many difficulties and yet he is steadfast and determined.

http://dawn.com/2012/05/12/ppp-will-win-next-general-election-as-well-qaim-ali-shah/