Freedom First

Summary

Freedom First No. 474 (November 2006) is dominated by the diplomatic theatre around Chinese President Hu Jintao’s state visit to India (November 20-24, 2006), covering the Government of India’s attempts to keep the Dalai Lama and Tibetan refugee organisations quiet, and the protests and detentions that followed regardless, including Tenzin Tsundue’s house arrest in Dharamsala and a self-immolation attempt by a Tibetan Youth Congress leader outside Bombay’s Taj Hotel. The rest of the issue runs the magazine’s regular mix: a Point-Counter-Point debate column weighing General Musharraf’s memoir, the Mohd. Afzal death-sentence controversy, and executive-judiciary tension; a column on the limits of free expression prompted by a cancelled Berlin opera; an essay contesting caste-based reservation policy; a tribute to Milton Friedman on his death; a book notice on the Tata Statistical Outline of India; a syndicated piece linking diplomatic parking violations to national corruption levels; the editor’s reader-mail column; and a digest of quotations from the Indian and international press.

Essays

”We Tibetans have no political strings to pull, no money, no power, we have no crude oil to offer …” (cover story on Hu Jintao’s India visit and Tibetan protests)

By SVR

The lead story covers the Government of India’s efforts to manage Chinese President Hu Jintao’s November 2006 state visit without provoking Beijing, including a March 2006 visit by Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran to Dharamsala believed to have secured the Dalai Lama’s silence during the visit. It reproduces a memorandum from three Tibetan organisations (Tibetan Youth Congress, Students for a Free Tibet India, Friends of Tibet India) pleading with Saran not to compromise on Tibet in border talks, and narrates Tenzin Tsundue’s account of being placed under a 14-day detention order in Dharamsala, his earlier 2005 rooftop protest during Wen Jiabao’s visit, and the resulting ‘Chalo Delhi’ Tibetan protest movement. The piece is signed ‘SVR’ and closes with an editorial note that the protests proceeded peacefully with police cooperation, contrasting India’s handling with Hu Jintao’s reputation as the ‘Butcher of Lhasa.’ A sidebar box records a self-immolation attempt by Lhakpa Tsering, Regional President of the Tibetan Youth Congress, outside the Taj Hotel in Bombay on November 23, 2006, and a separate reader’s letter from ‘Aditya’ describes a Dharamsala trip organised by Friends of Tibet as having radicalised his views on the Tibet issue.

• Hu Jintao’s November 20-24, 2006 state visit to India prompted the government to suppress Tibetan protest visibility.
• Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran reportedly pressed the Dalai Lama for public silence ahead of the visit.
• A joint memorandum from three Tibetan organisations asked India not to compromise on Tibet during border talks.
• Tenzin Tsundue was placed under a 14-day detention/house-arrest order in Dharamsala to prevent repeat protest stunts.
• Tsundue recounts an earlier April 2005 protest during Wen Jiabao’s visit, hiding in an IISc bell tower for 24 hours before unfurling a ‘Free Tibet’ banner.
• The detention order galvanised the ‘Chalo Delhi’ Tibetan People’s Movement, a mass mobilisation to Delhi.
• Lhakpa Tsering, Regional President of the Tibetan Youth Congress, set himself ablaze outside the Taj Hotel, Bombay, on November 23, 2006, timed to Hu Jintao’s summit speech.
• Protests proceeded with police cooperation and no violence; demonstrators were briefly detained and released.

Point Counter Point

By Ashok Karnik

Ashok Karnik’s recurring debate column stages both sides of three live controversies: whether General Musharraf’s memoir ‘In the Line of Fire’ reveals wisdom or mere smartness in its author; whether Mohd. Afzal Guru’s death sentence for the 2001 Parliament attack should be commuted; and whether an assertive judiciary is overstepping into executive territory in cases like the Ulhasnagar illegal-construction dispute. Each topic is argued from opposing viewpoints without a declared editorial verdict, closing with a 1922 D. H. Lawrence quotation about liberty being lost by complacent descendants.

• Argues Musharraf’s memoir shows smartness without wisdom, and that the West over-credits his image as an anti-terror ally.
• Lays out arguments for and against commuting Mohd. Afzal Guru’s death sentence for the December 13, 2001 Parliament attack.
• Notes that only the BJP opposed commutation while other parties, including J&K’s ruling Congress, sought clemency.
• Debates whether judicial intervention (e.g., Delhi shop demolitions, Ulhasnagar illegal construction) oversteps into executive competence.
• Frames the executive-judiciary conflict as symptomatic of governance dysfunction, citing the Office of Profit Bill and Ninth Schedule disputes as looming flashpoints.

Terrorists Are Criminals

A reprint of U.S. District Judge William Young’s January 2003 sentencing statement to convicted shoe-bomber Richard Reid, framed by the magazine as demonstrating the correct legal distinction between soldiers and terrorists. The judge sentences Reid to consecutive prison terms plus fines, rejects Reid’s self-description as a soldier at war with the United States, and delivers an extended statement on why American justice processes terrorism through courts rather than combat, closing on the endurance of American freedom and the flag as its symbol.

• Reprints Judge William Young’s sentencing of Richard Reid, the ‘shoe bomber,’ to effectively multiple life terms.
• Reid claimed allegiance to Osama bin Laden and described himself as at war with the United States.
• The judge insists Reid is a criminal, not a soldier or enemy combatant, and rejects any negotiation framing with terrorists.
• The statement argues U.S. courts, not battlefields, are where individual justice for terrorism is delivered.
• The piece is framed by the magazine as essential reading for its clarity on distinguishing terrorists from combatants.

Cornucopia: Freedom of Expression: How Far Can We Go?

By Firoze Hirjikaka

Firoze Hirjikaka’s ‘Cornucopia’ column asks how far freedom of expression should extend, prompted by a Berlin opera house’s decision to cancel a Mozart staging depicting the severed heads of Mohammed, Buddha, and Jesus after security concerns. The essay traces the historical expansion of free-speech rights from monarchic censorship through the French, Russian, and American revolutions, argues that such freedoms have since been trivialised or taken to extremes (citing American gun rights and flag-burning), and notes that 9/11-era measures like the Patriot Act showed Americans that their own freedoms were not immutable. It closes by questioning whether the German Chancellor’s forthright defence of the opera’s original staging is practical given the real risk of violent backlash, concluding that free expression is precious but should be tempered with common sense.

• A Berlin opera house cancelled a staging of Mozart’s ‘Idomeneo’ depicting severed heads of Mohammed, Buddha, and Jesus, fearing backlash.
• The German Chancellor called the cancellation an assault on freedom of expression.
• The column surveys the historical expansion of free speech from monarchic censorship through Enlightenment-era revolutions.
• Argues that rights like the American right to bear arms were later taken to extremes beyond their original intent.
• Notes 9/11 and measures like the Patriot Act revealed that Americans’ own civil liberties were not permanent or guaranteed.
• Concludes that free expression, though a precious right, should be tempered with practical judgment about violent consequences.

The Reservation Conundrum (Maximum Good of the Nation or Reservation?)

By Feroza Seervai

Feroza Seervai argues against caste-based reservation in higher education, contending that pushing unprepared students into top institutions harms both those students and the wider national good. She objects to the term ‘backward class’ as dehumanising, argues that deprivation (economic, social, or parental neglect) cuts across caste and class lines, and contends that apparent gaps in intelligence between reserved-category and general-category students actually reflect unequal schooling and preparation rather than innate ability. The essay, courtesy of The University Woman (June 2006), endorses expanding the number of institutes as the President of India proposed, rather than reserving seats within existing ones.

• Argues that pushing unprepared students into top institutions via reservation harms the ‘maximum good of the nation’.
• Endorses the President of India’s proposal to expand the number of institutes rather than reserve existing seats.
• Objects to the phrase ‘backward class’ as dehumanising and factually misleading.
• Argues deprivation of intellectual stimulation, not innate intelligence, explains gaps in academic preparedness across all classes.
• Claims dropouts often result from inadequate schooling rather than lack of native intelligence or capability.

Tribute to Milton Friedman

By Subroto Roy

Subroto Roy’s tribute to Milton Friedman, who died November 16, 2006, situates Friedman as Keynes’s successor in 20th-century economics, credits him with the design of floating exchange rates and the monetarist critique of Keynesian demand-for-money theory, and highlights his advocacy of school vouchers as his most far-sighted policy contribution. Roy recounts Friedman’s six-month stint advising the Government of India in 1955 on the Second Five Year Plan, whose memorandum was suppressed for 34 years before Roy published it in 1989, and Friedman’s later 1988 dialogue with Chinese leader Zhao Ziyang. The piece closes with a personal recollection of Friedman’s mentorship of Roy over two decades despite their differing views, including Friedman standing as an expert witness for Roy in a U.S. federal court case.

• Milton Friedman died November 16, 2006 in San Francisco; Roy calls him the greatest economist after Keynes.
• Credits Friedman with designing floating exchange rates as early as 1953 and reviving the quantity theory of money.
• Highlights school vouchers as Friedman’s most foresighted policy idea, later the focus of the Milton Friedman Foundation.
• Recounts Friedman’s six-month advisory visit to India in 1955 during the Second Five Year Plan, whose memorandum was suppressed for 34 years.
• Friedman’s 1988 memorandum and dialogue with Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang are noted as a major but under-recognised influence.
• Roy personally received the 1955 India memorandum from Friedman in 1984 and published it in 1989.
• Friedman is described as supporting Roy personally, including serving as an expert witness in a U.S. federal court case.

Book Review: Statistical Outline of India (2005-06)

A short unsigned notice on the Tata publication ‘Statistical Outline of India (2005-06),’ describing its new companion website for subscribers, its coverage of macroeconomic and social indicators, and hi-tech features of its CD-ROM edition such as Excel export and graphing tools.

• Tata’s ‘Statistical Outline of India (2005-06)’ now includes a companion subscriber website, www.statisticsofindia.com.
• New data sections include city-wise consumption patterns, tourism receipts, natural disaster impact, and non-performing bank assets.
• The CD-ROM edition offers Excel export, graphing, search, and print/fax utilities.

Corruption and Parking Violations

A syndicated piece from Daily Wealth argues that a country’s level of corruption correlates with income per person, using diplomats’ unpaid New York City parking tickets as a proxy: UN diplomats from low-corruption countries like Canada and the UK had zero violations, while diplomats from Chad, rated the world’s most corrupt country by Transparency International, averaged 124 violations a year. The piece pivots to recommend investing in low-corruption countries, citing Iceland’s stock market and property gains as an example, and promotes the author’s own investment recommendations in Icelandic assets.

• UN diplomats from Chad averaged 124 unpaid parking violations a year in New York City, versus zero from Canada and the UK.
• Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index rates Chad the world’s most corrupt country and Iceland the least corrupt.
• The piece argues corruption levels correlate with income per person, citing Chad’s ~$600 versus Canada/UK’s ~$35,000 per-capita income.
• Iceland’s ICEX-15 stock index is cited as up 400% over five years and 1,700% since 1992, alongside doubled property prices.
• The author promotes his own past and current investment recommendations in Icelandic stocks and bonds to subscribers.

Between Ourselves …

By Editor

The editor’s regular ‘Between Ourselves’ column reproduces a reader letter praising the magazine’s shift to a shorter, more readable monthly format, and invites reader letters and suggestions on any topic covered in Freedom First.

• A reader letter welcomes Freedom First’s new monthly avatar as more readable than the older, longer format.
• The editor invites readers to submit a letters column on any subject covered or of interest.
• Readers are reminded to check page 1 first, as it often anticipates common reader queries.

Many Voices

The ‘Many Voices’ digest compiles short quotations from Indian and international commentators published in November 2006, touching on the persistence of astrology and superstition in India despite Nehru’s hopes for scientific temper, judicial reasoning on releasing suspects for lack of evidence, South Asia’s social decay, the weak political voice of the peasantry versus organised labour and industry, the crisis in American conservatism, and secularism and atheism in New Zealand.

• Jayant Narlikar laments the rise of astrology and godmen despite Nehru’s vision of scientific temper.
• Fali Nariman distinguishes the social harm of releasing a thief for lack of evidence from that of releasing a terrorist.
• Kuldip Nayar argues South Asia today rewards survival of the ‘filthiest’ rather than the fittest.
• Madhu Dandavate (quoted from a 1985 Lok Sabha speech) notes the peasant’s feeble political voice compared to organised labour and industry.
• Ramesh Ponnuru is quoted on the perceived crisis in American conservatism.
• Bill Cooke reflects on being asked in secular New Zealand whether atheism means believing in nothing.

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Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.