Need to facilitate India- Pak cultural commerce
THE Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had no option but to confiscate the $ 124,000 ( ` 68 lakh) that Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was carrying with him when trying to leave the country, as well as fine him and his manager ` 15 lakh each.
The rules with regard to the export of cash from the country are very strict and are in place to prevent black money from being stashed abroad or being used to pay people for illegal work. The singer and his manager claim they were not aware of the laws, but ignorance cannot be cited as an excuse for breaking the law.
But the entire episode of Mr Khan's detention, interrogation and penalty raises a larger question about the problems that are confronted by Pakistani artistes who come to work in India.
Getting a visa is difficult enough and given the Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines, it is difficult to get a business visa for someone whose skills are in the area of entertainment. Worse, they must then avoid the baleful glare of the Shiv Sena and its supremo Bal Thackeray.
The issue of money transfer between India and Pakistan is a difficult process requiring special Reserve Bank of India permission.
Added to this is the fact that the two countries do not have a double tax avoidance treaty which makes it difficult to legalise earnings in the first place.
As it is, the entertainment industry doesn't quite favour the white economy in the first place.
India is the cultural heart of South Asia and it is in our interest to promote business and cultural ties in the subcontinent.
There is need for transparent and fair laws which will aid, rather than hinder, people to live and work in this common economic and cultural region.
Overthrowing dictators
IT only requires a spark to start a revolution.
But it requires the street smart and sometimes violent might of the state to quell it. In China, where the phrase Jasmine Revolution created some sort of an online buzz, suppressed the nascent protests by using the Internet watchdogs of the Communist Party of China to block certain sites and keyword searches.
In Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, the dictator who has ruled the country with an iron hand since 1969 has not hesitated in using troops and mercenaries to fire upon his own citizens and thus killing more than 300 people so far.
It is perhaps a matter of supreme irony that last May, Libya was made a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
There is also not much international pressure on many of the Arab countries to change because they control the supply of petroleum and natural gas resources. In such a scenario, the overthrow of governments that have been in control for several decades will not be easy.
No dictator wants to relinquish power easily, unless he is faced with a Hobson's choice. In the case of China, it is a party, not a person that exercises the dictatorship. It would require a mass uprising on an unprecedented scale to weaken its hold.
Make Khan Market safe
THE grim prospect of an inferno at Khan Market in the capital exposes the scandalously callous approach to safety issues even in what is billed as the most valuable market space in Asia.
Exposed gas pipelines, thickly crowded areas that provide no space at all for fire tenders, and entry- exit points that are so clogged that they cannot be cleared quickly in an emergency. ' Explosive' is the word to describe the situation.
The Khan Market story also reveals the unreal nature of the Indian real estate market -- high value that is not commensurate with the facilities on offer.
As fire hazards go, it is difficult to see how Khan Market is less dangerous than the many slum colonies that dot Delhi. The civic authorities must step in to clean up the mess, with an iron hand if necessary.
The shop owners must realise that it isn't enough to be glitzy, they must ensure safety of their patrons. Meanwhile, remedial steps -- like building a multi- level parking space -- must be taken to ease congestion.
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