Men who killed Gandhi

Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte together decided that Mahatma Gandhi had to be killed. As to which of them first thought of the plot, however, remains a mystery, says a book to be released on Wednesday on the 60th anniversary of the assassination of the Father of the Nation.
The resolution to kill the Mahatma was made by the two as they read on the teleprinter the news on Gandhi's decision to go on a fast to force transfer of Rs 55 crore to Pakistan.
In Pune, the two men, sitting in their non-descript newspaper office read the news and suddenly make their decision – Gandhi had to be killed, says the revised edition of The Men Who Killed Gandhi by Manohar Malgaonkar.
The 94-year-old author, who is an ex-serviceman and a civil servant, first published The Men Who Killed Gandhi in 1978. The new edition of the book carries, according to the publisher, hitherto unpublished photographs and documents including the Bombay-Delhi air tickets and bills of the hotel used by the two in Delhi while on their mission.
“Of the six men who were finally adjudged to have been implicated in the murder conspiracy, two were hanged. The other four – the approver Badge and the three who got life sentences, Karkare, Gopal and Madanlal talked to me freely and at length,” says the author in his note to the first edition of the book. "All the four gave me much information that they had never revealed before,” he claims.
The book has some rare photographs including one of Jinnah and Mahatma Gandhi having a heated argument and Godse and Apte in Pune during the trial. Malgaonkar describes Godse as a voracious reader, his interests being mythology, scriptures and Marathi history.

After he met VD Savarkar, Godse was never the same having been transformed into a fiery champion of all the causes that Savarkar stood for, political, social, religious, freedom from British rule, abolition of the caste system and re-conversion of Hindus who
had been enticed into Islam or Christianity.
At 31, Godse was a quiet man of simple and almost austere tastes. Pledged to celibacy, he shied away from the company of women. His secret pride was his ability to sway crowds with his speeches.
In contrast, Apte was quick witted, lively and well educated. He smoked and drank, wore expensive clothes and was fond of all the good things in life.
"The two men who were so different should become the closest friends seems almost unnatural, but people who knew them will assert that neither was a homosexual and that the friendship was due entirely to their total identity of views on the Sanghatan movement", the author says.
Madanlal Pahwa, another accused was a refugee from Pakistan who had experienced the atrocities first hand. He was accused of throwing a bomb at Gandhi's prayer meeting on January 20. Pahwa came in touch with Godse and Apte through Vishnu Karkare who took him from am refugee camp in Bombay to Ahmednagar and helped him earn a living, the book says.
Digambar Badge, one of the four accused was not the kind of a person who inspired confidence. He was owner of 'Shastr Bhandar', a storehouse of weapons. An inveterate name-dropper and a big talker, Badge came in contact with Godse and Apte through one Dixitji Maharaj, the author says.
After the two made up their mind to kill Gandhi, Godse and Apte set a target date – January 20. To accomplish their task the team set out to kill or maim scores of men and women, who, they knew, would be crowding around Gandhi.
"As it crystallised in the MarinaHotel in Delhi’s Cannought Circus on the afternoon of January 20, it was a horrifying mixture that was part farce,” the book says.
The plans, however, changed and on January 30, when a man wearing a grey shirt walked in through the service gate of Birla House and no one checked him.
Godse later told his brother Gopal that he was put off by the two girls walking in front of Gandhi. As Gandhi raised his hand to greet the crowd, Godse slid forward the safety catch on the Beretta while it was still in his pocket and then stepped up to him, the author says.

Sarkozy visit: Style but no substance

A couple of years back, just after the football World Cup final, the press attache of a European embassy in Delhi explained to me that Zinedine Zidane's coup de boule (head butt) could be considered as the dream 'coup' in terms of communication. Without judging the right or wrong of the gesture, the fact that the entire planet spoke about it for one week, forgetting the poor Italians who hardly got any coverage for their victory, was a real publicity 'coup'. Even people who had not the faintest clue of what football is about, were commenting on the Frenchman's action (or reaction).

In a way, President Nicolas Sarkozy'S visit to India was a mini media coup de boule. Even the most austere newspapers, without a famous (or infamous) page 3, covered the French president's visit, speculating on a daily basis if the fiancee would be in the presidential plane (or later join him) for a darshan of the Taj Mahal .

In this sense, the presidential visit was a great success; whether or not orchestrated, Sarkozy's trip got it hundred-fold more publicity that Francois Mitterrand's in 1982 and 1989 or in 1998 and 2006.

Now there is another criterion to judge the success of foreign trip by a head of State: It is the billions of dollars of contracts signed. On this account President Sarkozy's visit to India lags far behind his visit to Beijing two months ago (contracts worth 20 billion euros were signed). That is probably why his Elysee palace office had termed the visit 'more political than economic.'

The main outcome of the State visit seems to have been that both sides reemphasised the importance of the strategic partnership: 'To enhance their strategic dialogue, both countries will hold regular consultations between high ranking officials of their respective foreign ministries on issues of mutual interest,' says the joint statement.

But this strategic partnership is not something new. It was put in place after President Chirac's visit in 1998. At that time it was quite unique, though today India has 'strategic partnerships' with all and sundry.

For the past 10 years, the partnership has helped institutionalise a dialogue by putting in place structures like:

A Strategic Dialogue at the level of the national security advisers provides both sides an opportunity to review the evolution of the overall global security situation (17 rounds have been held so far).

A High Level Committee for Defence at the level of defence secretaries, works through its three specialised sub-committees, dealing with issues related to defence cooperation.

A Joint Working Group on Terrorism has been established to cooperate in the fight against terrorism.

Not new also is the position of Paris about the expansion of the United Nations Security Council and the G8. Sarkozy reiterated in strong terms French policy: 'I do not see how we can wait and wait for the reform of the Security Council... We have to increase the seats and India has to be a member," and it would be India's 'rightful place'. The joint statement confirms that 'the G-8 needs to be expanded over time to G-13 including India.'

France might be 'India's best friend' as the French president put it, but the fact remains that the share of France in India's foreign trade is today only 1.8 percent -- awfully low as the British would say. Though Sarkozy declared that he would like at least 1,000 small and medium size companies to enter the Indian market, it is easier said than done.

In this context, the last minute absence of Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister, in Sarkozy's entourage is most regrettable. The pretext was that the largest fraud ever was detected in the accounts of the prominent bank Societe Generale leading to a loss of 4.9 billions euros. Her presence in France cannot change the wrong-doings of a junior trader, while if she had come to India, it would have given a strong signal that Paris means business.

The personality of a French president who does nothing in half measures led many observers to expect a greater and perhaps out-the-box new impetus to the bilateral relations. Many thought his energy would translate into a new dynamism in the relations between Paris and Delhi. But was it possible in the present circumstances?

His trip came hardly two months after the regrettable and unexplained cancellation of the purchase of 197 helicopters by the Indian Army from the French-based European consortium Eurocopter. If it has not affected the rapport between the two nations, it has definitively hampered the contract 'tally'.

The annulling of the Eurocopter deal was a pointer to the unfortunate way things are planned in the land of Bharat. It is only after a soldier dies that someone starts thinking that coffins are urgently needed. Coffins are then quickly purchased, but soon the CAG enters into the picture and objects: 'Illegal! The three statutory quotations were not obtained and field trials not conducted.' It becomes a major scam and the ministry decides to draft new rules and regulations, more rigorous to avoid future scams. The new rules are so stringent, that hardly any deal can pass through the net.

Even if Dassault, the manufacturer of the famed Mirage fighter planes offered to sell 40 of its new generation Rafale fighters to New Delhi, it is doubtful if a 'fast track' deal can go through the net of the defence ministry's procurement policy.

Another deception is the last minute cancellation of the presidential visit to Mumbai or Bangalore. This could definitely have brought some substance to the visit and planted seeds for future collaborations.

Added to this, one fails to understand why Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was invited to Paris a few days before Sarkozy's arrival in Delhi. It was an unnecessary and ill-timed gesture, although Paris does not equate India and Pakistan anymore.

Before Sarkozy's visit, I had gone through all the clippings of previous presidential visits. One article in Le Monde attracted my attention.

Written before the 1989 Mitterrand visit, it quoted an Indian businessman dealing with France: 'You are able to demonstrate true solidarity (with India); sometimes strike great commercial 'coups', but between these sudden initiatives, you don't work, you let the links loosen. This is the quality and the flaw of the French.'

I thought that was exactly what would happen. Sarkozy, the dynamic president, would pull out a 'coup', return to France and forget about India. Now, he has come, but pulled no rabbit out of his hat (not even his fiancee), though he seems to have been touched by India and its people: "C'est fantastique", he said about his visit to the Taj.

So why can't the relations between India and France bloom without a media 'coup' or immediate large contracts. In any case, the conditional agreement on the civilian use of nuclear energy will hopefully translate into win-win contracts in the months to come. A day before the visit, Le Monde wrote, 'India, an El Dorado for French atomic energy.' With the comrades willing, France could make of India a land without power cuts. Will the prime minister have the courage to go ahead, call the Communist bluff and sign a deal in Vienna? It is another matter!

Tail end: About the usual turban interlude, my information is that this 'serious' problem in France concerns less than a dozen Sikh students. Further, an enquiry by a French newspaper two years ago had revealed that the fathers of these students were mona (cut-hair) Sikhs. Having lived more than thirty years in India, I believe that one has to respect the laws, the customs (and also the difficulties) of the country where one has chosen to live. Why should senior leaders like L K Advani intervene in this matter?

IPL: Sachin, Sourav may pocket Rs 2-3 cr

The Indian Premier League, promoted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, will be quite a money spinner for cricketers playing in the Twenty20 league.

The auctions are slated sometime in February, though the exact date is yet to be announced. Expectations are that stars like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh will rake in close to Rs 2 crore to Rs 3 crore in just one season of 59 match-days.

Under the rules, the four top stars will be bound to play in their home grounds in Mumbai (Tendulkar), Kolkata (Ganguly), Mohali (Singh), and Bangalore (Dravid), and will not be a part of the players' auction.

But their prices will be fixed so that they are paid 15 per cent more than what the most expensive player fetches through the auction process.

Industry sources estimate that the other Indian players like Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, Robin Uthappa and S Sreesanth will command around Rs 40 lakh for one year. M S Dhoni, the captain of the Indian Twenty20, may go in for Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1.2 crore.

Overseas players are expected to rake in between Rs 1 crore and Rs 1.5 crore each season.

The teams have a lot to choose from. Among the international stars to play in the IPL will be Australian fast bowler Brett Lee and retired spinner Shane Warne, stars from Pakistan like Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi, Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and South Africa's Shaun Pollock, among others.

A team also needs to include emerging local talent, and young regional players may earn close to Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, said sources.

It is said that the BCCI has informed the eight team-owners that each of them has to spend $50,000 on each player in 2008, and a total of $3.3 million in 2008 on the entire squad.

At the moment each senior cricketer plays up to 45 match days in domestic cricket (if his team is successful), taking the annual match fee earnings of local players up to Rs 16.2 lakh.

The BCCI announced that domestic cricketers would be paid Rs 36,000 per match day in the current financial year, from around Rs 26,000 per match day in the last fiscal.

Spending Spree:

• Each team owner to spend a minimum of $3.3 million on the entire squad of 16 in 2008.
• Each player should get a minimum of $50,000 in 2008.
• Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Rahul Dravid to earn 15 per cent more than the highest player fee. Expected to rake in Rs 2 crore to Rs 3 crore.
• M S Dhoni to get around Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1.2 crore per season.
• International players like Shane Warne will earn in the range of Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.5 crore per season.
• Players like Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, Robin Uthappa and Sreesanth are expected to command around Rs 40 lakh for one year.
• Young regional talent may get nearly Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.

Note: The bidding process will be held only in the first year of IPL. In the years that follow, team owners will have to source players directly.

Greater Indo-US space cooperation needed: ISRO chief

India on Thursday said though its understanding with the United States at the political front is good, there is a need to expedite the process of moving forward on the issues of space cooperation and space commerce.

"At the political level there is a good understanding. In 2005, our prime minister visited the US and with President Bush agreed to strengthen the relations in space cooperation, space commerce and so on. We are trying to move forward on this," Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization G Madhavan [Images] Nair said in Washington.

Nair was participating in a seminar on 'Global Space Agenda' under the aegis of the Space Initiatives of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a top think tank in Washington, DC.

"There are positive signs and there are negative signs," he remarked going on to make the point that recently there was success with Raytheon on GPS, but with "another" company on semiconducter fab, the export control regulations kicked in.

There are pluses and minuses. But we have to be patient. The process is rather slow and I wish it was faster," the ISRO chief said.

Brushing aside the apprehensions that military programmes could siphon funds out of the ISRO, he said, "Right from its inception, ISRO has been working on the peaceful application of outer space. There can be no weaponsiation of outer space. That has been our stand."

"As far as far military programmes are concerned, we have another organisation, the Defence Research and Development Organisation. We are de-linked and there is no commonality," Nair added.

Nair, who is also the chair of the Space Commission and secretary in the Department of Space, denied having any formal relation with China in the space programmes.

"On a commercial basis Chinese space agencies use us. But otherwise we do not have any formal cooperation with China," he said.

The ISRO chief is scheduled to meet senior officials of the Bush administration, including NASA administrator Michael Griffin, during his visit. The fine tuning of America's involvement in Chandrayan 1 will be discussed.

Nair maintained that a probe of Mars by India is very much on the agenda, but the details of what the Indian scientific community wants is under study.

"Our scientific community would like to see what new things we can find. It is not just for the sake of sending a probe to Mars. Yes, we have an agenda by 2012 we should have a Mars mission," he said.

Nair stressed that India's space programme has proceeded with focus to harmonise technology for the benefit of the common man.