DHAVAL DAVE

PAKISTAN,JULY 19Asking Pakistan to hunt down and prosecute

more people behind the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Union

Home Minister P Chidambaram today said the two coun-

tries had agreed to “address the situation with the serious-

ness it deserves” and he was returning home “with the

conviction that this will be done”.

To try and reduce the trust “deficit”, both sides

sought to be present a united front against the terror.

Pakistan Interior minister Rehman Malik prom-

ised a logical end to the 26/11 trial currently under way in

his country. And Chidambaram said: “We are both agreed

that the outcome will be good for both the countries. No-

body is questioning the intentions. We are looking at the

outcomes. We are looking at the outcomes. Outcomes

alone will decide if we are on the right track.” Addressing

the media with Malik at the conclusion of the SAARC Inte-

rior Ministers’ Conference, Chidambaram listed the “out-

comes” as vigorous investigation and follow up of 26/11

leads, bringing to book the masterminds and the handlers

of the attack, and ensuring that the terrorists don’t have a

free run.

Malik said that the FIA of Pakistan and CBI of

India will interact on terror and the 26/11 attacks.

Chidambaram did not say whom New Delhi

wants to be prosecuted in Pakistan. But Indian authorities

had earlier pointed to Lashkar-e-Toiba founder Hafiz

Saeed.

“We know that seven people are being prose-

cuted in the case. How far the prosecution has pro-

gressed is for the Pakistan government to say.” Observing

that the trial was adjourned for a week today, Chi-

dambaram said: “We think more people behind the at-

tacks and more people should be prosecuted. That point

has been made to the Pakistani government and as I

said, I wish to remain positive on the outcome of the

meeting with Rehman Malik.”

Rawal, Sampat address a ‘burning need’, pledge to donate skin

PAGE1

Rawal, Sampat made the pledge recently

SOURABH DAS

MUMBAI, JULY 20As an actor, Paresh

Rawal, with his vast repertoire, is a

role model for many. Now hi and his

wife Swaroop Sampat ae hoping t

set an example in the real world, by

taking the rere pledge of donating

skin.

Rawal and Sampat, a for-

mer actor, have been closely associ-

ated with the National Burns

Institute’s skin bank in Mumbai since

it was setup a year ago. Brand am-

bassadors of the bank, they signed

up to donate their skin a few month

ago.

“Ever since I got t know

how easily skin donaton can save

the lives of serious burns patients, I

have felt strongly about the issue.

Since I was already associated with

the skin bank, this was the natural

progression,” says Rawal.

Skin grafting-the process

of laying a donor’s skin on a burns

patients-has been shown to work

wonders in the gravest of injuries.

Probe a bit further, the

Rawal admits his cause has a per-

sonal angle. Rawal saw “A close

friend” suffer from a severe burns in-

jury. “It was a harrowing experience.

The person had 60% burns. Trust

me, its excruciating to watch people

suffer like that”, he trails off.

Sampat, a former the-

atere, tv and film actor who now

holds a Ph. D in higher education,

believes if person like Rawal step

forward, they can help remove a big

hurdle in the way of medical wonder.

“People are simply aware that they

ca donate their skins and save mil-

lions of lives. There are thousonds of

Indians pledging their organs. I’m

sure we wil see a lot volunteers if

this message is carried to the

masses by those they love”, she

says.

Apart from hoping to

changing the mind sets, “In my own

small way” Rawal is also plannong to

make a series of documentary films,

in partnership with the National

Burns Institute’s skin bank, to ex-

plain the process of skin donayion

and its mail fold benefits. The shoot-

ing will begin by September.

NEWS BRIEFS

Child Dead In Bldg

CollapseMUMBAI: A four-storeyed

building in Kurla’s Qureshi

Nagar collapsed on an adjoin-

ing chawl lote on Wednesday,

killing a six-year-old boy and

injuring four others. Locals al-

lege the building was originally

a ground-floor structure to

which four floors had been

added illegally.

Konkan Railway-

Services AffectedMUMBAI: Severe rain on Mon-

day prevented Konkan railway

fron resorting services by July

30. Nine trains were cancelled

as the regon recieved 220 mm

of rain. Services have been

disrupted since July 17.

Nepal top court

confirms Sobhrj

convictionKATHMANDU: The Supereme

Court of Nepal confirmed the

conviction of Charles Sobhraj

by two lower courts, and uheld

the life sentence awarded to

himfor the murder of a tourist in

1975.

‘1 in 2 Pakistanis

think India greatest

threat’WASHINGTON: An opinion

poll by Pew Research Centre

shows 53% Pakistanis con-

sider India the greatest threat,

much more than Taliban(23%).

Dinakaran transfer-

rred to Sikkim High

CourtNEW DELHI: Karnataka High

Court Chief Justice P D Di-

nakaran, facing impeachment

over charges of corruption, has

been moved to Sikkim HC.

FREDDY SINGRAJA

KASHMIRThe protest wave that gripped the Kashmir Val-

ley has abated with the calling in of the army. But public

anger against the killing of 15 young Kashmiris, including

a 9-year-old boy, isn’t likely to vanish soon. The restora-

tion of order has claimed a high price: the army had to be

called into Kashmir for crowd control for the first time

since the azaadi movement erupted in 1989.

The Kashmir crisis has shown not just Chief

Minister Omar Abdullah but the Indian state at its worst.

Instead of defusing the turmoil by diplomacy and dia-

logue, the Home Ministry inflamed the situation with its

crude militaristic approach. Absent remedial measures,

popular alienation could again generate pervasive unrest

and mass insurgency in Kashmir.

The recent protests were triggered by the dis-

closure in May of the Machil “encounter”, in which an

army major had three innocent men killed. He falsely

claimed they were terrorists. About the same time, the

J&K government admitted, for the first time ever, that the

army had forced civilians in North Kashmir into hard

labour, night patrolling and other operations, without pay-

ing wages.

According to independent MLA, Engineer

Rashid, the entire male population of 24 villages was con-

scripted into “humiliating” forced labour for up to 13 years.

The International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and

Justice in Indian-administered Kashmir recently claimed

there are 2,700 unmarked graves in North Kashmir, con-

taining 2,943 bodies.

Public anger at these disclosures erupted into

an Intifadah-like movement. Youth pelted stones at police

and Central Reserve Police Force troops. These retali-

ated by slinging stones, and worse, firing. This was im-

permissible: civilised police don’t seek revenge against

civilians.

Real trouble started on

June 11, when the police fired a

teargas shell at a 17-year-old stu-

dent, Tufail Ahmad Mattoo, from

close range, puncturing his skull

and killing him. As protests snow-

balled, the CRPF became more

brutal. On June 13, it beat up a 25

year-old man to death. It vengefully

targeted teenagers in Srinagar, So-

pore and Baramulla. On July 6, it

hit a 17-year-old student in the

head with rifle butts. It denied hav-

ing arrested him. His body was

found the next day.

As mosques started belt-

ing out azaadi songs on loud-

speakers, Abdullah panicked and

called in the army, bowing to the

home ministry’s pressure. Harsh media censorship was

imposed. Even Facebook messages were criminalised as

“waging war” against the state.

Yet, until July 12, nothing was done to soothe

hurt sentiments or inquire into police excesses. Abdullah

didn’t mobilise his own MLAs or eminent citizens. He be-

latedly called a meeting of mainstream parties. The main

opposition, the People’s Democratic Party, boycotted it.

Meanwhile, the home ministry accused separatists and

the Lashkar-e-Taiba of orchestrating the protests.

This was a red herring. The protests may not

have all been spontaneous. But they undoubtedly re-

flected widespread resentment at state repression. The

separatists and the PDP tried to exploit the crisis politi-

cally. But they didn’t manufacture it. What triggered it was

the CRPF-police brutality and the government’s cynical

attempt to cover up its mistakes. Abdullah was holidaying

in Gulmarg as the protests gathered momentum. He only

took a one-day break.

Abdullah is inexperienced in Kashmir politics and impervi-

ous to advice. He hasn’t fulfilled his promise to set up

elected local bodies (Kashmir has no district-level govern-

ment). There’s a yawning divide between the NC-Con-

gress alliance and the people. Young protesters have

filled the vacuum. The situation has presented the two

factions of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, both in a

shambles, an opportunity to revive themselves.

However, India’s central government is primarily respon-

sible for the deterioration of the Kashmir situation. It’s the

centre which has deployed 4 million security personnel in

the Valley. It defines the approach to security within which

the state government operates.

The centre doesn’t comprehend three fundamental reali-

ties: widespread disaffection in the Valley; the emergence

of a young generation which grew up under militancy and

PTI

PAKISTAN JULY 19The India-Pakistan peace process

has hit a new low. The latest round of talks

held in Islamabad last week at foreign minis-

ters' level has only exacerbated the situation,

with both countries drifting further apart over

the modalities and content of their dialogue.

The outcome was not unexpected, though it

did disappoint people on both sides of the

border.

Given the troubled history and

complex nature of India-Pakistan relations,

even Paul, the octopus, would have predicted

this deadlock. At the joint press conference

which kept the media and people waiting for

several hours, the two foreign ministers pro-

duced no surprises. Following their extended

"frank and candid" talks, they admitted in no

less candid manner that the trust gap which

their prime ministers wanted them to bridge

was too wide to be bridged.

If anything, the grim reality of India-

Pakistan relations was at full display at the Is-

lamabad meeting and is still echoing in press

statements emanating from both capitals.

Mistrust and apprehensions on both sides are

deep-rooted and will not evaporate simply by

their trying to blow out the flames. The trust

deficit will not go without the real issues being

addressed. India and Pakistan cannot go

right into the fire to extinguish it at its source.

The crux of the matter is that India

remains adamant in its refusal to return to the

stalled process of the "composite dialogue"

that two countries had started in June 1997

with an agreed eight-item agenda and a

structured mechanism. This was the first time

in their 50-year history that the two countries

had agreed formally on pursuing as a

process an integrated and sustained dialogue

to address their outstanding issues, including

Jammu and Kashmir.

The period between 1997 and

1999 saw significant developments in the

India-Pakistan peace process in the form of

several summit-level meetings between the

two countries, on the sidelines of the UN an-

nual sessions and other regional and interna-

tional conferences.

These high-level contacts between

India and Pakistan led to the Lahore Summit

in February 1999, at which Prime Ministers

Nawaz Sharif and Atal Behari Vajpayee

signed the historic Lahore Declaration, a gen-

uine breakthrough in the history of the two

countries. They provided the needed political

impetus to the peace process by deciding to

"intensify their efforts to resolve all issues, in-

cluding the issue of Jammu and Kashmir,"

through an accelerated process of their "com-

posite and integrated dialogue."

They also recognised that "an envi-

ronment of peace and security" was in the

two countries' supreme interest and the reso-

lution of all outstanding issues, including

Jammu and Kashmir, was essential for this

purpose. This, indeed, was a high-water mark

in India-Pakistan bilateral relations. In a sepa-

rate MoU, the two countries agreed on a

4 more swine flu deaths in

Maharashtra

Intentions fine, outcomes key: PC tells Pak

Chidambaram giving speech at pakistan press conference

OPTIMIST

Reviews

THE OPTIMISTENTERTAINMENT P4

ANCHORCouple hope thier

gestures will moti-

vate others to help

save lives of burns

victim

Read the review of a master piece

novel by HARPER LEE, To Kill A

Mocking Bird. Utsa Shah literature

critics explains the story of a

‘Whiteman defending a Blackman’

and much more sad and cold

strokes of winds in it...

“MOVING AND INSPIRING!”

--THE NEW YORK TIMES

To Sir, With Love is an all time classic

schoolroom drama but. as relevant as

today’s headlines.....

Have a look into it with writer, Rimma

Quadrus.

The unending

gridlock

Kashmir: defusing the crisis

ROHAN SALVI

MUMBAIFour more people succumbed to the deadly Swine

flu pandemic in the last 24 hours, with two deaths re-

ported in Aurangabad and one each in Kolhapur and

Nashik Districts of Maharashtra.

In Aurangabad, two swine flu patients died at the

Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).

Thirtyfive-year-old Dyneshwar Bankat Kale, a resi-

dent of Sav village in Buldhana district, died last

night. Another victim, identified as Rambhau Damod-

har Ugade (50), hailing from Ambad in Jalna district,

was admitted to the special isolation ward of GMCH

on Monday night. He succumbed to the disease yes-

terday at 0900 hrs, official sources said adding 31

people have so far died due to the disease since

April this year.

At present, 20 patients were undergoing treatment

at isolation ward of GMCH.

In Kolhapur, a 55-year-old woman, identified as

Shalini Shivaji Patel died at the Chhatrapati Pramila

Raje hospital here today.

The victim hailed from Ichalkaranji in the district

and was admitted to the hospital yesterday in a seri-

ous condition.

So far, 15 deaths due to Swine flu have been re-

ported from the district since April one.

A Seventeen-year-old boy Jayesh Baban Jaldhar be-

came another victim of the HIN1 virus in Nashik yes-

terday.

A resident of Nasik Road, he was admitted to the Dr

Zakir Hussain civil hospital on August 18.

A total of 17 people have lost their lives in the district

since the last couple of months.

MUMBAI JULY 20,2010 TUESDAY 4 PAGES PRICE Rs. 1 www.theoptimist.com

Ever since I got t know

how easily skin dona-

ton can save the lives

of serious burns pa-

tients

Paresh Rawal

METROPOLIS NEWSLINEMUMBAI JULY 20,2010 TUESDAY www.theoptimist.com

Mumbai locals have AWS to avoid collision

PRITI SHARMA

MUMBAISuburban trains in Mum-

bai run by both Central and Western

Railway have installed in them what

is called as an Auxillary Warning

System (AWS). This system, say

senior railway officials, is as good as

an Anti-Collision Device ( ACD).

The AWS is fitted in every

local trains and is in the motorman's

cabin. The device, thorugh a series

of magnets and sensors, does not

allow a train to jump a red signal.

However there have been

cases when the AWS has been

switched off. The system can be and

is switched off by the motormen if it

is defective. However a motorman

needs to inform the control room if

he is switching it off, said railway

spokesman S C Mudgerikar.

On August 9 last year, a

local train slammed into another sta-

tionary one as it stood at Mahim sta-

tion's platform 1. The report of the

enquiry that followed showed that it

was the failure of the motorman as

the AWS was not working but the

same was not reported. Modified in-

structions on AWS included that

whenever the AWS was out of order

it should be reported to he EMU

controller.

From The Front Page

number of nuclear and conventional

CBMs, including risk-reduction meas-

ures which have since been converted

into a formal agreement.

But the peace process initiated at La-

hore was soon interrupted by the Kargil

crisis; the region remained under dark

war clouds even after Kargil. While the

world was focusing on the post-9/11

campaign against terrorism, India, in

what appeared to be a show of

brinkmanship, massed its armed forces

to the borders with Pakistan and the Line

of Control in Kashmir.

A ceasefire at the LoC in November

2003, with several mutual confidence-

building measures. These included Pak-

istan's assurances that it will not let its

territory be used for terrorist activity on

or infiltration into the other side of the

border. The CBMs, as well as constant

pressure from influential outside powers,

led to the resumption of the stalled dia-

logue in January 2004, on the basis of

the Islamabad Joint Statement of Jan 6,

2004.

Since then, the peace process has gone

through many ups and downs. Some

confidence-building measures were

taken, including the Kashmir bus service

and commercial exchanges, but their im-

plementation remained half-hearted. Be-

yond the atmospherics, there was no

real progress. Despite all the attempted

illusions of a forward movement, there

was no progress on the major issues of

Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek and Wullar

Barrage.

Towards the end of his rule, Gen

Musharraf made unprecedented ges-

tures of flexibility, which remained unrec-

iprocated. He proposed a four-point

out-of-the-box solution of the Kashmir

issue which involved dividing Kashmir

into ethnic regions, and their demilitari-

sation and self-rule. Butk, at least pub-

licly, none of his gestures elicited any

matching response from India.

In this period, the composite dialogue

went through occasional hiccups, with

India dragging its feet every time there

was an incident that it could conveniently

blame on Pakistan. These incidents in-

cluded the train blasts in Mumbai on July

11, 2006, the Samjhota Express attack

of Feb 18, 2007, the attack on the Indian

Embassy in Kabul on July 7, 2008, and,

finally, the Mumbai attacks of Nov 26

that year.

The dialogue remains suspended since

then because it suits India to keep Pak-

istan under pressure while this country is

playing a crucial role as a battleground

in the global war on terror. In fact, after

its January 2004 resumption, the com-

posite dialogue has been focused more

on terrorism than on the long-outstand-

ing issues. India has managed to link the

dialogue process to Pakistan's ability or

otherwise to stop alleged "infiltration"

from Pakistani territory.

What is evident is that India doesn't want

to return to the composite dialogue and

will talk to Pakistan only on its own

terms. By doing so, it is only seeking to

redefine the India-Pakistan agenda with

the focus on terrorism alone. This also

enables it to continue to exploit the inter-

national sentiment against terrorism and

thereby keep Pakistan under constant

pressure.

Despite Pakistan's assurances

of full cooperation in investigating the

Mumbai tragedy, India is fixated on ter-

rorism, and refuses to return to the con-

ference table even though the prime

ministers of the two countries in their

meetings at Sharm el-Sheikh and Thim-

phu had agreed on the resumption of di-

alogue without it being linked to the

terrorism issue.

The India-Paksistan peace

process will need to be sustained

through constant international support

and encouragement. It also requires per-

severance on the part of the two coun-

tries. Dialogue and constructive

engagement remain the only acceptable

means of conflict resolution. The two

countries must give peace a real

chance. The composite dialogue pro-

vides them an irreplaceable mechanism

to address their outstanding issues in a

sustainable manner. Under pressure

from Washington, India is interested only

in talks for the sake of talks. Pakistan

doesn't need talks that will lead us

nowhere. We must insist to build on the

ground already covered in the composite

dialogue since it began in June 1997. If

India remains adamant in its approach,

Pakistan would be better off without dia-

logue at this stage.

Surely, nomenclature is not

important, but the multidimensional

framework and comprehensive agenda

that the existing process provides to the

two countries for sustainable engage-

ment, not only on normalization of mu-

tual relations but also on crucial issues

of peace and security involving nuclear

and conventional restraint and stabiliza-

tion, is irreplaceable. They must revert to

this process, no matter what they call it.

The current impasse is indeed

a gridlock to which India alone holds the

key. We do need peace and must pursue

it, but we should not rush into hasty or

lopsided decisions which in the long run

may not be sustainable. In any case,

one-sided peace will neither be durable

nor honourable.

The unending gridlock

Kashmir: defusing the crisiscounter-insurgency; and the futility of vi-

olent crowd-control methods.

Many in the Indian establish-

ment interpreted the 60 per cent turnout

in the 2008 J&K Assembly elections as

popular approval of Kashmir’s integra-

tion with India. True, the elections were

largely free and fair. But the people prob-

ably voted in a more friendly local gov-

ernment which would buffer them from

the centre. This shouldn’t be confused

with endorsement of the larger status

quo.

Disaffection with India persists

in J&K — although there is growing dis-

enchantment with the militancy too. Ac-

cording to a first-of-its-kind survey of

3,700 people, conducted in September-

October 2009 by the London-based

Chatham House think-tank, less than 1

per cent of respondents in J&K endorse

the status quo. Only 2 per cent of J&K’s

people want the state to accede to Pak-

istan. But support for integration with

India is limited (28 per cent).

As many as 43 per cent of

J&K citizens prefer independence. The

proportion is a high 75 to 95 per cent in

the Valley. There’s all-round opposition

to militancy (84 to 96 per cent in the Val-

ley) and good support for the India-Pak-

istan dialogue process: 55 per cent

believe that dialogue improved security.

The survey may not be perfect, but it’s a

good pointer.

This situation offered India an-

other opportunity to build peace in J&K

and launch a dialogue with Pakistan to

resolve the Kashmir issue. Considerable

progress towards resolution was made

in 2008 — until the Mumbai attacks hap-

pened.

It was imperative to explore a

solution, even the second-best solution,

acceptable to India, Pakistan, and the

people of J&K and Pakistan-adminis-

tered Kashmir. But New Delhi became

complacent and lost the opportunity of-

fered by the successful elections and

Pakistan’s recent withdrawal of large-

scale support to the militancy.

Second, recent violence, in-

cluding the 2008 Amarnath yatra im-

broglio, and protests against the 2009

Shopian “rape” and “murder” of two

women, has followed tactical errors by

the government. Mindless repression of

protests, within a climate of distrust, cre-

ated large-scale turmoil — even though

the Shopian rape and murder didn’t hap-

pen.

The new generation grew up

in a climate of militancy and repression.

Many have suffered deaths in the family

or seen their mothers and sisters humili-

ated. Unemployment is rampant in the

Valley and young people face a bleak

prospect. The government hasn’t cre-

ated conditions for a better life for them.

For them, pelting stones means defying

the Indian state — necessary for self-es-

teem.

Finally, the futility of violent

crowd control. There’s no excuse for fir-

ing on protesters armed with stones. The

principal methods of crowd management

must be non-lethal, including water-can-

nons, stun-guns, stink-bombs and tasers

(which deliver a stunning, largely harm-

less, electric shock). Firing can only be

the last resort, in self-defence. The tar-

geting of individuals “to teach them a

lesson” must be illegalised and exem-

plarily punished.

What J&K needs is healing —

and restoration of long-denied citizen

rights and freedoms. This can best begin

with the scrapping of the Armed Forces

(Special Powers) Act and other dracon-

ian laws, releasing political prisoners,

thinning out security forces, and retrain-

ing the state police. No less important is

dialogue with Pakistan.

Pakistan too faces a challenge

— that of resisting the temptation to fish

in Kashmir’s troubled waters. It must be-

have like a responsible state and sin-

cerely cooperate with India to resolve

the Kashmir issue within a soft-borders

formula. Such cooperative effort has be-

come imperative.

Intentions fine, outcomes key: PC tells PakWhen a Pakistani journalist

pointed out that there was a view within

the Pakistani establishment that India

was taking a “myopic view” of indo-pak

relations by just concentrating on Hafiz

Saeed, Chidambaram said: “Recogniz-

ing the process was interrupted was not

myopic by any standards. That is a real-

ity. Now we are trying to pick the threads

again. The foreign Ministers are talking

to each other the Prime ministers have

met. When Home or Interior meets, obvi-

ously the focus would be terrorism.”

Minutes after Chidambaram’s

remark, Malik stated that “no act of ter-

rorism will be allowed from Pakistan”.

In what appeared to be the

comments on Pakistani-American terror

suspect David Coleman Headley and

failed Times Square bomb plotter Faizal

Shahzad, Malik said: “Even a father can-

not control a son sometimes. If some

Pakistani, or for that matter Indian or

Bangladeshi, has gone to education

Mumbai local train plying between Churni Road and Marine Drive

Police rescues 11 child labour-

ers from a hotel in MumbaiVAIBHAV GALA

MUMBAIThe local police rescued eleven youngsters

under the age of 18 from a hotel after they received a

complaint that the owner had employed children.

The police raided the hotel and took the chil-

dren for a medical examination to a police hospital.

The hotel owner, Ranji Shetty, in his defense said that:

"Before employing them we ask them about their age,

they said that they are above 18. Some of them say that

they've been in the city for quite some time and to give

them work, so we employed them."

Shetty also said that he had asked the children

for proofs of their ages, but they said that they had left

the documents in their native villages.The police had res-

cued 22 youngsters but half of them turned out to be

over the age of 18. By Atul Pagare

Indian Coast Guard rescues 28 crew of merchant ship near Mumbai

SEEMA AGARWAL

MUMBAIThe Indian Coast Guard

has rescued a merchant vessel that

was in distress on the high seas off

the country's western coast, thus

saving 28 crewmembers, including

six foreigners.

Narendra Visfote, Public

Relations Officer, Ministry of De-

fence disclosed this in Mumbai on

Monday.

He said that the UK reg-

istered vessel M.V Khalijia-3, fully

loaded with 30,000 ton steel coils,

was sailing to Mumbai from China

and had requested for assistance.

"Indian Coast Guard re-

ceived a rescue call from Messrs

Quadrant Maritime Private Limited

at about 8:50 p.m. yesterday that

their vessel M.V Khalijia-3 is having

excessive flooding and requested

for assistance.

The Coast Guard re-

gional headquarters operation cen-

ter promptly initiated the actions to

render assistance," said Visfote.

The Coast Guard's fast

patrol craft Subhadra Kumari

Chauhan was immediately sent

with adequate repair facilities, sub-

mersible pumps and divers to ex-

tend help to the ship in distress, he

said.

"On arrival, the Coast

Guard ship went along side the

merchant vessel and evacuated all

28 crews which included six for-

eigners in a daring act during the

dark hours in rough sea and heavy

rains," said Visfote.

A helicopter has also

been sent to the location to stop the

oil leakage from the vessel.

"Chetak helicopter is also

looking after the same thing and a

team is also there now and they are

seeing that some oil leakage that

has happened and they are taking

all types of precautions," added Vis-

fote.

The rescue operation lasted for six

hours. The incident took place

about six nautical miles from Mum-

bai Port.

Youngsters donate sperm to help

childless couples in Mumbai

MUMBAI:Youngsters in Mumbai donate sperm at the

city's only sperm bank to help the barren couples.

According to Dilip Patil, Managing Director,

Cryos International Sperm Bank, lot of precaution is

taken while selecting the donors, because preserving of

samples is a very critical operation. The bank will be li-

able not only to the donor but to the recipient clinics and

the patients also.

The sperm banks also remunerate young

donors with sums between Rs. 500 to 1000, and give

them free reproductive health check-ups.

"It's a very good programme for our country,

and also it's our responsibility to help other couples who

do not have a child or the ability to produce," said Gau-

rav Chavan, a college student.

"It is not harmful and every Indian who are ca-

pable to donate their sperm, specially youngsters, must

do it and must help the infertile couple," said Shailendra

Singh, college student.

Mumbai Chlorine gas leakage

probeMUMBAI:The Ministry of Shipping on Wednesday

sought a detailed report from the Mumbai Port Trust re-

garding the leakage of the chlorine gas from within its

compound.

There was an incident of leakage of chlorine

gas from one of the cylinders kept at Hay Bandar area

of Mumbai Port Trust. These cylinders have been kept in

that area which is meant for storage of hazardous goods

for the past few years.

At about 3.30 am, escaping chlorine gas has

affected nearly 59 persons of the nearby Lal Bahadur

Shastri Nautical Institute and a Police Station of Sewri

area.

All the 59 affected persons were evacuated

and have been admitted to three Mumbai hospitals.As

per the records of Mumbai Port Trust these cylinders

were empty. Mumbai Port Trust is checking its records

to find out whether any action had been taken for dis-

posal of the hazardous material in the past.

The situation is presently under control. Chair-

man, Deputy Chairman, Traffic Manager and other sen-

ior officials of Mumbai Port Trust are at the site, where

relief and rescue works are being undertaken.

Vivek Oberoi meets specially abled

children in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi met children

suffering from autism here on Friday to make them

cheerful.Oberoi made his presence in the 'Arts in Motion'

dance studio here interacted with the children.

"People say that autistic children are mentally

imbalanced and they have behavioural challenges and

they create a wall around themselves like if somebody

come or close towards them then they start crying and

usually become violent but today I have seen that so

many children were hugging me and dancing with me,

that's why I also have written there dance with joy heal

with love," said Oberoi.

Aanchal Gupta, Proprietor of the studio said

she is very happy that Vivek is supporting the cause of

autism."We invited Vivek Oberoi and we wanted him to

spend some time with the autistic children who will be

performing on 'Dance and Joy' and also dance with

them so that he could motivate them and I think both

Vivek and children enjoyed a lot," said Aanchal Gupta.

The annual festival would include various themes like

'Dance and Joy, Accepting Responsibility and Under-

standing Autism'.

US fears another Mumbai type attack to

ignite Indo-Pak warPTI

The United States has

expressed fears of yet another

Mumbai type attack on India aimed

at igniting a war with Pakistan.

Talking to media persons

on his special aircraft enroute to

New Delhi, US Joint Chiefs of Staff

Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen,

while praising India for showing re-

straint after the ghastly 26/11 at-

tacks, said that extremists may try

to repeat the incident that left 166

dead and over 300 injured.

"I've worried a great deal

about a repeat attack, of something

like that," The Dawn quoted Mullen,

as saying.

Mullen stressed that he

alongwith the Obama administra-

tion is focussed on making sure

"this doesn't happen again".

He pointed out that the

Mumbai terror attack showed that

how a handful of militants could

have a "strategic impact" and bring

two nuclear powered nations on the

threshold of a full-scale military

conflict.

"One of the things that

struck me then and is still of great

concern is that those terrorists

could bring two countries closer (to

possible conflict). It didn't bring

them to the brink (of war) but it

brought them closer," Mullen said.

Responding to a question

over India's stand that Pakistan's

Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) had

provided support to the Mumbai at-

tackers, Mullen said that after the

incident he had conveyed his

"grave concern" to that country, in-

cluding the leadership of the ISI.

Mullen also acknowl-

edged that the Obama administra-

tion has certain 'disagreements'

with the ISI over its alleged links

with militant organisations fighting

against the US led allied forces in

Afghanistan.

"The United States

sometimes seeks "certain clarifica-

tions" from the ISI "on why certain

things are done," the top US mili-

tary official said.

Mullen is likely to visit Is-

lamabad also following his two-day

tour to India.

Maharashtra to procure helicopters for Mumbai, Naxal-infested areas

Citybriefs

A crew member being rescued by ICS’s Chetak Helicopter

AZIZA MIR

MUMBAIMaharashtra Home Min-

ister R R Patil on Thursday said

the State Government is in the

process of procuring two helicop-

ters to carry out monitoring and

reach sites of emergencies quickly

in the city and Naxal-infested

areas.

"Besides advanced

weaponry, we also felt the need for

helicopters. The proposal would be

placed before the Cabinet for ap-

proval and the helicopters would

be procured soon," said Patil.

"The proposal is for two

helicopters. One is for the city

which faced worst terror attacks

and the other is for Naxal- hit areas

such as Gadchiroli and Chandra-

pur that witnessed attacks by

Maoists," he added.

Patil further said the heli-

copters would help the policeman

to monitor the situation and take

apposite action as per the require-

ment.

The Maharashtra Gov-

ernment is in the process of mod-

ernizing its police force following

the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

In 2009, 207 new vehicles, includ-

ing three armoured vehicles, were

inducted into the police force.

The police personnel

were also provided AK 47s, MP9

guns, speed and amphibious

boats.

NAX-AXE

From left: Helicopter, CRPF, Naxals and union home minister P. Chidambaram

2

SANJOG PURI

GANDHINAGARUnfazed by the governor

sending back Gujarat chief minister

Narendra Modis much-talked-about

compulsory voting bill,the state govern-

ment re-introduced the legislation with-

out any changes in the assembly on

Tuesday.

Governor Kamla Beniwal had

returned the bill,making voting manda-

tory in elections to self-governing bod-

ies,in April on the grounds that the

legislative measure is against individual

freedom.

Urban development minister

Nitin Patel tabled the bill,which will be

taken up for discussion in the next as-

sembly session.Governor Kamlas com-

ments while returning the bill in April

were read out by Speaker Daulat

Desai.Kamla had said the voters have a

freedom not to vote,to force them to vote

is against the principles of an individual

liberty.The present bill violates this free-

dom,which a citizen is entitled to enjoy

under Article 21 of the constitution.

The governor had said the

penal consequences on defaulter voters

are not provided in the bill and are left to

the state government for which rules are

yet to be framed.

MUMBAI JULY 20,2010 TUESDAY www.theoptimist.comNATION

RTI Act fails to

satisfy activistsCHEA AGARWAL

LUDHIANAOrganized to bring out posi-

tives of RTI Act, the seminar chaired by

Punjab chief information commissioner

Darbara Singh Kahlon, in fact, became

a platform for activists and public to

complain about its limitations.

During the open discussion

that followed Kahlon's speech, assistant

public information officer of civil hospital

Pardeep Sharma said, "Information

commissioners are themselves not

aware of the Act's different sections. A

procedure exists to select even a Grade

IV employee but none for the selection

of an information commissioner. Inca-

pable officers, selected in the absence

of any criteria, are humiliating the sys-

tem."

The government has failed to

provide adequate infrastructure to imple-

ment the Act. In the absence of video-

conference hearings, officials are forced

to waste a huge amount of money and

time in RTI-related cases, he added. A

human rights activist, Arvinder Sharma,

chided MC for refusing to divulge infor-

mation. Another activist, Sukhdev Singh,

alleged government officials were hold-

ing back information that the staffers felt

might do damage to their identity.

Amul sets its eyes on

edible oil business

JEET MASHRU

ANAND

After bringing milk, butter

and lately even bread on your morn-

ing table, Amul is now trying its

hands in edible oil business. The

Kheda District Co-operative Milk Pro-

ducers Union Limited (KDCMPUL),

known as Amul Dairy, is in talks with

the Anand Regional Co-operative

Oilseeds Growers' Union Limited

(ARCOGUL) to bring the ailing co-

operative in its fold.

Nearly four decades old,

ARCOGUL, which is popular for its

edible oil brands Anand and Kiran

across Gujarat is the only oilseeds

growers' co-operative, which is still

surviving in the country even as all

other oilseeds growers' unions have

witnessed a slow death. While

ARCOGUL's general body has re-

solved that the co-operative be

merged with a bigger co-operative

like Amul, Amul Dairy itself has ap-

pointed a chief executive officer

(CEO) to handle edible oil business.

"Since a month now, we

have started procuring edible oil from

ARCOGUL, which is being sold

through our existing network of

around 1,000 village level co-opera-

tive milk societies. While this will help

us learn the nitty-gritty of oil busi-

ness, which is very different from

milk, we have also appointed a CEO

to get more focused approach. If we

get a grip of the edible oil market, we

will be explore it. At the same time, it

will help ARCOGUL's revival," Amul

Dairy's managing director Rahul

Kumar told TOI on Monday.

Hiren Bhatt, who had ear-

lier enjoyed 11 years stint as general

manager (sales and marketing) of a

mineral water brand, has joined Amul

Dairy as CEO of edible oil business.

Started as a small co-oper-

ative in Chikodra village on the out-

skirts of milk city Anand in 1969 to

help cottonseed growers of the re-

gion, ARCOGUL with 130 societies

having membership of 25,000 farm-

ers spread in 739 villages has

turnover base is of around Rs 120

crore. The ailing co-operative, how-

ever, has a debt of around Rs 28

crore, including Rs 13 crore (exclud-

ing interest), which it has to pay to

the National Dairy Development

Board (NDDB).

"Thanks to detrimental

policies adopted by various agen-

cies, including the government, most

oilseeds unions have closed down.

We are the only co-operative which

are still in the business. The pro-

posed merger for which our board

has agreed upon can both settle our

dues and help us survive in this diffi-

cult times," ARCOGUL's chairman

Ramesh Patel, who in the past has

also served as chairman of Amul

Dairy for 12 years, told TOI. "We will,

however, require approvals from the

state government to merge our co-

operative with Amul." The regional

oilseeds co-operative that covers

seven districts of Anand, Kheda,

Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara, Nar-

mada and Bharuch has a refinery

with 100 tonnes per day processing

capacity at Chikodra.

Housewife found hacked to death

Dead body of the woman found in village debris

AMRITA KESARI

KANPURA 45-year-old woman

was allegedly hacked to death

by her husband, in Pahadipur

village under Rasoolabad po-

lice station limits, in Ramabai

Nagar (Kanpur Dehat) district,

in the wee hours of Monday.

The police identified

the deceased as Munni Devi,

wife of Jagdish Singh Gaur.

The accused was later nabbed

by the villagers and handed

over to the police for further ac-

tion.

The victim's son,

Shivam and daughter, Mamta,

along with the locals, woke to

sounds of her screaming at

around 4.00am. On reaching

the spot, they found Munni

Devi lying in a pool of blood

and a sharp-edged weapon

was lying near her body. She

had multiple wounds on her

neck and head while wounds

on her arms indicated that she

had tried to ward off the blows.

She succumbed to her injuries

on the spot.

According to the po-

lice, the victim was perhaps

asleep in the room situated in

the front portion of the house,

while her children were in an-

other room, when Jagdish en-

tered the room and attacked

her with a sharp-edged weapon

killing her on the spot.

After conducting pre-

liminary investigations, the po-

lice sent the body for the

postmortem examination. A

case in this regard has been

lodged with Rasoolabad police

station.

Circle officer, Dera-

pur, Vanshraj Yadav said: "We

have arrested the victim's hus-

band, Jagdish and taken the

weapon in our possession and

would try to lift the fingerprints

of the murderer from it. The vic-

tim's children said that their fa-

ther was under depression and

we are investigating the matter

from all angles."

The police later sent

the accused, Jagdish, to jail.

SAI stadia will be handed over on Aug 1,

Commonwealth Games

JLN stadium under renovation for CommonWealth Games 2010SNEHA DHAKAN

DELHIThe Sports Authority

of India (SAI) said on Monday

that the nine venues it was

preparing for the Common-

wealth Games were completely

ready and it would hand them

over to the Organising Commit-

tee by August 1

Dismissing media re-

ports that claimed that the SP

Mukherjee Swimming Stadium,

one of the venues it was devel-

oping, was far from complete,

a senior SAI official said all

work at the stadia was as good

as over.

"As far as sports re-

quirements are concerned,

everything is complete," HS

Kingra, special officer of Com-

monwealth Games, told TOI on

Monday. "There are no prob-

lems in SAI stadia. There is no

leakage, seepage or anything

like that."

Referring to media reports, he

said: "As per requirements in

diving, two diving boards are

enough, three are not required.

There were also reports that

the warm-up pool hinges are

loose. But I ask how can they

get loose when they are yet to

be used? They are loose be-

cause they have been not

been tightened which we will

do in coming days.

"And as reported that

there were leakages, I want to

state that they are spurts which

are a requirement in diving."

Meanwhile, a SAI of-

ficial said that the Jawaharlal

Nehru stadium, one of the ven-

ues which was yet to be inau-

gurated, was ready and would

be handed over the Common-

wealth Games organising com-

mittee by August 1.

"The building is

ready, field of play is also

ready. Some work on the lawn

outside is being done which

will be completed soon," he

said.

Manpower crunch may

hamper cops' preparations MAHJABEEN SHAIKH

VARANASIIn view of the forthcoming

month of Shrawan, the district police

may have made claims of providing

proper security around the highly

sensitive Kashi Vishwanath-Gyan-

vapi complex, but the manpower cri-

sis is likely hamper their plans.

According to sources,

three positions of deputy superinten-

dent of police (DSP) have been

sanctioned for this highly sensitive

place but not a single DSP is posted

at the site at present.

Also against the total

sanctioned positions of sub-inspec-

tors, head constables, constables

and women cops, the actual number

of cops is very less. When ASP (se-

curity) Amrendra Pratap was con-

tacted, he admitted that the

availability of cops at this site is not

as per the sanctioned positions. But

he also said that the available force

is sufficient to maintain a foolproof

security at this site. The deployment

of DSPs is being ensured from the

district police, he added.Regarding

the preparations being made to en-

hance the security cover in view of

the Shrawan month, the ASP said

that the action plan has already been

finalised.

"To keep a sharp vigil on

each and every corner of the red

(inner cordon) and yellow (outer cor-

don) zones of the complex, 20 close-

circuit television cameras have been

installed. But out of these CCTV

cameras, only 13 are functional at

present. Efforts are being made to

repair the remaining seven cameras

functional before the beginning of the

Shrawan month," Pratap said.

He said that besides the

deployment of police and paramili-

tary forces, places have been identi-

fied where a unit of Cobra

Commandos would be deployed.

Usually, a huge gathering

of devotees takes place on the Mon-

days of the Shrawan month.

The ASP said that no

major changes have been made in

the plan for the entry and exit points

of pilgrims but some restrictions like

banning the entry of polythene bags

and plastic pots would be imple-

mented strictly this time.

It is worth mentioning here

that many devotees carry prasad,

flowers, milk and water in polythene

bags and plastic pots and throw

them inside the sanctum sanctorum

of the Kashi Vishwanath temple after

offering prayers.

OPTIMIST CLASSIFIEDS To

advertise

here

in

OPTIMIST

CLASSIFIEDS

call

Mr. Jatin

Rathod

9892957673

Compulsory voting

bill in Guj assembly

3

The novel To Kill A Mocking-

bird revolves around a young girl named

Jean Louise Finch who goes by the nick-

named "Scout". Scout experiences differ-

ent events in her life that dramatically

change her life. Scout and her brother

Jem are being raised by their father, a

lawyer named Atticus and a house-

keeper named Calpumia in a small town

in the south. At this point in time in the

South racism and discriminations to-

wards black was a big issue . The story

begins when Scout is 6 years old, and

her brother is about to enter the 5th

grade. That summer Scout and her

brother meet a young boy named Dill

who comes from Mississippi to spend the

summers there. They become fascinated

with a man named "Boo" Radley, a man

in his thirties who has not been seen out-

side of his home in years, mainly be-

cause of his suppressed upbringing.

They have an impression of Mr. Radley

as being this large ugly and evil man.

Then comes the trial. Scout's father be-

comes a defense attorney for a black

man, Tom Robinson, who is falsely ac-

cused of raping a white women. This has

a big affect on Scout. During this trial she

gets teased by friends because her fa-

ther was helping this black man. Scout

starts to see the racism that exist. During

the trial Scout and her brother and close

friend Dill witness the trial. Even though

they are young they can see that Mr.

Robinson is innocent. Even though Mr.

Robinson's innocence was clear even in

the eyes of kids, Mr. Robinson was still

found guilty. Later in an attempt to es-

cape, Mr. Robinson is shot dead. Scout

is extremely disappointed at the verdict

and even more at the death of Mr. Robin-

son and realizes the injustice that exist.

Later in a cowardly attempt by the al-

leged rape victims father, tries to kill

Scout and her brother in order to get

even with her father for making him look

back in court. This is when Mr.Radley

makes an appearance again an stabs

their attacker. Even though Mr. Radley

kills a man he is not tried for murder be-

cause he was defending the Scout and

her brother. Finally some justice. This

gives Scout some hope that is a chance

for improvement in this unjust world

.

Discussion of main themes in

To Kill A MockingbirdThere are many different

themes present in To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee. The first theme which I

will discuss is "Prejudice". The whole

story revolved around the prejudice

views of this Southern community. The

whole reason why the trial was going on

was because of people views towards

blacks in the south. Since the alleged

rape victim's father has such a prejudice

view towards black, he is embarrassed

that his daughter was actually flirting with

a black man. To combat this he falsely

accuses the innocent Mr. Robinson of

rape. If it wasn't for the prejudice view

which existed in the south the accusation

would had never been brought against

Mr. Robinson. These prejudice views in

the south created a double standard of

justice. With all the negative points that

can be found in the story in respect to

prejudice, there was a bright spot when it

came to the prejudice issue. This "ray of

light" came in the form of Scout's father

Atticus. Atticus represented hope. Hope

that good people still exist. Even in a so-

ciety filled with hate. Atticus represented

the hope that one day things can change

The "Prejudice" theme also

ties in well with the title of the book "To

Kill A Mocking Bird." In Chapter 10,

Scout and Jem Finch get air rifles for

Christmas. Scouts father tells her and

her brother that it is a sin to kill a mock-

ingbird because mockingbirds are harm-

less creatures who do nothing but sing

for our enjoyment. In the story To Kill a

Mockingbird Mr. Robinson is clearly the

"Mocking Bird". He is a good man who

has never harmed anyone and is figura-

tively and literally shot by society be-

cause of prejudice. The jurors sentence

him to death not because he did any-

thing wrong but because of prejudice. He

is then later shot for trying to escape this

unjust ruling. Mr. Robinson just like a

mockingbird is shot for no reason at all.

The second theme which I will discuss

is "coming of age". The "Coming of age"

theme basically entails a character who

evolves to a new level of self awareness

through his or her experiences in life.

This is clearly the case with Scout in To

Kill a Mockingbird. An example of

Scout's "coming of age" can be seen

when she meets her friend Dill. Dill

comes from a broken home and lives

somewhere beyond Alabama. Scout who

comes from a good home is awaken to

the different quality of life that exist and

is able to come to a conclusion that life

exist beyond the world she knows.

Through these experiences she grows

more tolerant of others, learning how to

"climb into another person's skin and

walk around in it." On her first day of

school she finds that just like with Dill

there are both social and poor classes in

society, some are respectable and others

not. She also learns that her father is an

extra-ordinary man, fighting for a Negro's

rights in court. During the trial of Tom

Robinson Scout learns about equality

and inequality and finally about racial

prejudice. By the final chapters of the

novel, Scout goes to another "coming of

age experience." She learns that good

people can still suffer injustice. She real-

izes this when she see's Tom Robinson

suffer injustice even though they did

nothing to deserve it. She discover that

the courts does not always result in jus-

tice. In the end after all of Scout's experi-

ences and discoveries we get the sense

that she will not follow the prejudice

views which her society upholds. In the

end Scout had matured and grown more

as a kid, than many adults will do in

there lifetime.

The third and final theme which I will

discuss is "Justice". In the story To Kill a

Mockingbird I feel,the author, Ms. Lee

portrays true justice as being best seen

through the eyes of the innocent. In the

story Scout and her brother, being the in-

nocent,can clearly see the injustice being

done to Mr. Robinson. In contrary to

Scout and her brother other people in so-

ciety more specifically the older people in

the town, the people who have lived

through different experiences, become

blinded when it comes to true justice. Or

maybe they are not blinded but just

choose to ignore it. This is clearly seen

when they sentence an innocent man to

death. This ignorance of justice can be

blamed on the prejudice views which are

present and eventually instilled in society

in the south. So I feel that Harper Lee is

connecting justice with innocence to a

certain extent. In my opinion Harper Lee

portrays justice as being easily detected.

The reason I say this is even the young

justice. The problem is society can instill

beliefs that can act as a veil and blind

the people from justice. The only way to

uncover this veil is through people like

Atticus who can pass his morality and

nobility to the young and the "blinded"

Would I recommend this

book?

would definitely recommend people to

read the book To Kill a Mockingbird by

Harper Lee. I found it to be an interesting

and powerful book. I feel the book does

a great job in portraying the extreme

prejudice that existed in the south at that

time. I feel this book makes a powerful

statement on how justice can be altered

through racism. I also think that the

themes found in the book are themes

which can still be found in our current so-

ciety and that makes it the more interest-

ing. You can even make a case that

prejudice still has an effect in our legal

system today. So if you are looking for a

powerful book of "coming of age" and the

battle for justice I would highly recom-

mend To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper

Lee.

MUMBAI JULY 20,2010 TUESDAY www.theoptimist.comENTERTAINMENT & BOOKS REVIEW

NOVELS REVIEW

Novels of the week!!!

UTSA SHAHTo Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

RIMA QUODROSOne thing is for sure, I would

have never picked up this book voluntar-

ily to read. But I didn’t have much of a

say when this particular book was sin-

gled out as the ‘compulsory read’ for my

class. This

was some two years back, when I prac-

tically flinched at the sight of the cover

page which showed a dark skinned man

sitting on a wooden table which had a

vase with a few disoriented flowers in it.

It didnt matter to me if that man was

some great personality and i would have

still ignored him even if i knew he was to

make a difference in my thinking. And a

great deal at that! But for once lets thank

the compulsions wkhich forced of not

motivated me to read this book titles “To

Sir with love”

Now, the title said very little. It gave a

vague idea that the novel had something

to do with a teacher who like all other ed-

ucators had ‘new’ and ‘inventive’ ways of

teaching and so on and so forth. The

same “moral advices” et cetera. And to

be honest, i wasnt entirely proved wrong.

And thats probably one of the shortcom-

ings of this novel. Archepytal characters

and their oh-so-expected behaviours.

This book is an autobiographical account

of the Guyana-born writer Edward Ri-

cardo Braithwaite who after the second

world war could not find work in his field

inspite of his extensive training.

Mark Thackeray is a highly qualified

holding a degree in communications en-

gineering. A handsome (i was to realise

this later) young educated man. But a

black man. Hence, he is denied jobs de-

spite his capabilities. This probably one

part of the book where Thackeray’s help-

lessness really touched me. And thats

when i actually began to think of the sig-

nificance of his skin ‘colour’! living in

india i cant say i had witnessed this kind

of a prejudice. But i had seen enough fair

and lovely advertisements to sympa-

thise. So, change of perceptions of an ig-

norant reader such as me had already

begun.

Thackeray therefore reluctantly takes up

a job at the East End School whilst still

applying for jobs at various places. Mark

obviously is over qualified to teach a

bunch of indisciplined teenagers, how-

ever he continues, only to make ends

meet. He is accepted by the staff with

forced warmth and disbelieving awe

which is probably captured best in the

line by one of the staff memebers- “So

you´re the new lambfor the slaughter or

should I say...black sheep?” to which

Mark simply rejoins “oh no…just a teca-

her!”

The biggest challenge however is the

‘taming’ of the children who come from

troubled households and are thus in-

evitably rash and discourteous to say the

least. His first encounter with them is not

so pleasant. But Thackeray refuses to

give up, deals with them with utter polite-

ness hoping to notice the slightest of

change in their behaviour. But the foul

language, unruly behaviour and general

discourtesy persists. And this is when

Thackeray adopts an absolutely different

and non academic way of going about

the situation. The key is to treat each

other as “adults”. Adressing all boys as

“mister” and all girls as “miss”. And he

lectures them tirelessly but definitely very

effectively on how it is the “integrity” of

an individual what defines his/her. Slowly

there is a change in the entire outlook of

the students towards each other and

themselves too. Meanwhile, on of the

young ladies who happens to be Thack-

erays student begins to fancy him. And

this infatuation is described beautifully in

the book because it is some kind of re-

spect coupled with fascination. All his

was enough to make me realise how the

skin colour of that man was so immate-

rial and that yes, he was also human

after all. The student teacher relationship

is wonderfully presented except it did lit-

tle to increase my respect for my own

teachers. But the book sure was suc-

cessful in showing me how foolishly prej-

udiced I was and that that man on the

cover page was capable of wetting my

eyelashes with his mere words (the lec-

tures given to the students are very

touching and meaningful). But a big

thank you to all my teachers and all

those who so selflessly continue to teach

me. I do acknowledge your efforts. And

above all thank you for suggesting this

book to me! I am a changed person now!

The movie also is a great adaptation, but

the book takes the cake anyday!!To Sir, With Love by E. R. Braithwaite

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