TERVE - - - NAMASTE

FINDIANS BRIEFINGS

Editorials

1. ATOM BOMB, WORLD PEACE AND GANDHI

   • Given below is a reprint of an article. This is for three reasons related to world events of today.

     It is as a tribute to President Nelson Mandela of South Africa. In his great wisdom, last week, he told the representative of the US Government where to get off and not to crowd him and his country to violent confrontation.

     Instead of being arm-twisted by this super power to commit South Africa as a peace-keeper of Africa, President Mandela, with tremendous foresight, told the US that such a responsibility had to be given to the UN and not South Africa, and not done behind the back of the International Body, something that the US Administration seems to specialise in for private poltical gain.

     Further, President Mandela told the US that his country would stand behind the re-election of UN Secretary General Butros Butros Gali, whatever stand the US decided to take.

     Such statesmanship is difficult to find anywhere in this world. One hopes that this leader, following solidly and steadfastly in his practice in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, and not just in rhetoric, will be available for many many years to come to guide his fledgling nation, now free from the rude era of oppression and violence, into one of the leading peace-loving nations of this world and as, Mahatma Gandhi hoped, to be the super power based on Absolute Truth and Non-Violence rather than of lies, deception and weaponry.

     The article is being put on the web so that it is a reminder to whosoever gets the non-permanent seat in the Security Council, Japan or India, as a reminder that their role in world peace has to remain unflinching despite every effort by the New World Order to eliminate all opposition to the existence of peace in favour of subservience.

     The weight of the shoulders of the new entrant to the Security Council at this crucial juncture is very heavy. The words of Gandhi given below, to Japan, the only country to suffer the wrath of the atom bomb, and to India, who today, on a principle has refused to sign the Comprehensive (Nuclear) Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), should ring in their ears every day, whichever one of them occupies that seat.

     Finally, it is as a letter to the rest of the world as the philosophy being followed by India in its refusal to sign the CTBT. India has demanded, as it is Gandhian in concept, that the present nuclear powers should fix a timetable for the dismantling of ALL NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

     Why should some have and others have not? This bold stand of India is to draw the attention of the rest of the world to what would happen if the staus quo was allowed to remain with regard to the possession of nuclear weapons by any state.

     The illogical statement by the US, last week, to its enemies, Iran and Iraq that they should not interfere in fighting going on in their own territories, shows the degree of arrogance and interference that the US makes in other peoples affairs. This interference by the US costs all the poor nations billions, eg. in terms of increased oil prices. This looks to be the main motive of present US policy - to drive poor nations to starvation.

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     ATOM BOMB, WORLD PEACE AND GANDHI

     by L. S. Rengarajan
     (Reproduced from the 15th May 1988 issue of Indian & Foreign Review. The article is duly acknowledged to its source.)

     The central theme of the social philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi was his unflinching faith in Satya (truth)and Ahimsa (non-violence). For him, absolute truth was the goal and non-violence was the only means of achieving even relative truth, i.e., "truth according to one's lights", in as much as mankind, with its limitations, may never know what is Absolute Truth.

     But, can such high-strung norms of non-violence withstand the blast of the atom bomb and the generational change in nuclear war-heads? How far can the theoretical claims of freshness of Gandhiji's legacy of ideas and "soul-force" make a practical dent in the matter-of-fact world of today's yearning for permanent peace?

     The atom bomb was an unknown factor till mid 1945, though the secret project for making the bomb had originated with a letter, on August 2, 1939, from Dr. Albert Einstein to U.S. President Roosvelt. On August 6, 1945, an American aeroplane dropped the bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Described as "the greatest scientific gamble in history", it killed an estimated 80,000 instantly, injured an equal number and destroyed 60 per cent of Hiroshima.

     Gandhiji referred to the bomb as the Ïquot;ultimate of brute force" and held that "he who invented the atom bomb has committed the gravest sin in the world of science". Penning his studied reactions in the very first article he wrote for the revived Harijan (Untouchable) English weekly dated February 10, 1946, he said:

     • "There have been cataclysmic changes in the world. Do I still adhere to my faith in truth and non-violence? Has not the atom bomb exploded that faith? Not only has it not done so but it has clearly demonstrated to me that the twins (truth and non-violence) constitute the mightiest force in the world. Before them, the atom bomb is of no effect. The two opposing forces are wholly different in kind - the one moral and spiritual, the other physical and material. The one is infinitely superior to the other which, by its very nature, is ever progressive and endless. The full expression makes it unconquerable in the world. In saying this, I know that I have said nothing new. I merely bear witness to the fact. What more, is that the force resides in everybody - man, woman and child - irrespective of the colour of the skin. Only in many it lies dormant, but it is capable of being awakened by judicious training. It is further to be observed that without the recognition of this truth and due effort to realise it, there is no escape from self-destruction. The remedy lies in every individual training himself for self-expression in every walk of life, irrespective of the response by the neighbours."

     In a talk with Lt. General K. M. Cariappa on December 3, 1947, Gandhiji has gone on record of having told him that:
     • "Even a weapon like the atom bomb when used against non-violence will prove ineffective. This applies to true non-violence. But very few people have grasped this eternal truth. Faith by itself will not do. It must be supplemented by knowledge. Training in ahimsa is not to be had like training in the use of weapons in military training colleges and institutions. It requires purity of heart and soul-force. The difficulty we find in pitting non-violence against violence only shows our inner weakness."

     On an earlier occasion, referring to military training "to keep the peace", Gandhiji retorted:
     • "I have no doubt that if it is possible to train millions in the black art of violence which is the law of the beast, it is more possible to train them in the white art of non-violence which is the law of regenerate man."

     Even decades ago when, on the eve of the Second World War, the great powers were going ahead with the production of conventional military equipments, Gandhiji clearly realised the doom that would overtake the world if uncontrolled pursuit of the armament race was to continue. Expressing his concern he observed in an article of November 1938:
     • "One thing is certain. If the mad race for armaments continues, it is bound to result in a slaughter such as never occurred in history. If there is a victor left, the very victory will be a living death for the nation that emerges victorious. There is no escape from the impending doom save through a bold and unconditional acceptance of the non-violent method with all its glorious implications."

     As wisdom-spinning by the Mahatma, these postulates seem all right, one may say. But men of wisdom also do doubt the possibility of universal application of non-violence in the international arena. They cite the "hoary" history of mankind in which society has made very little progress towards non-violence. Teachers like the Buddha and Mahavira arose, made some effort with a little success perhaps in their life time, but society is just where it was in spite of them and their followers. Wars have been perennially fought in the name of religions preaching love and universal brotherhood. Ahimsa may be good enough as the duty of an individual to a certain extent, but for society it has proved to be good for nothing - ...so the argument goes.

     As if answering such a line of thinking, Gandhiji wrote in such charming words in his weekly Harijan in August 1940:

     • "If we turn our eyes to the time of which history has any record down to our own times, we shall find that man has been steadily progressing towards ahimsa. Our remote ancestors were cannibals. Then came a time when they were fed up with cannibalism and they began to live on chase. Next came a stage when man was ashamed of leading the life of a wandering hunter. He, therefore, took to agriculture and depended principally on mother earth for his food. Thus, from being a nomad he settled down to civilised stable life, founded villages and towns, and from member of a family he became a member of a community and a nation. All these are signs of progressive ahimsa and diminishing himsa. Had it been otherwise, the human species should have been extinct by now, even as many of the lower species have disappeared.
       Prophets and avatars have also taught the lesson of ahimsa more or less. Not one of them has professed to teach himsa (violence). And how should it be otherwise? Himsa does not need to be taught. Man, as an animal, is violent, but as spirit, is non-violent. Either he progresses towards ahimsa or rushes to his doom."

     Even so, the history of humankind is usually narrated as one of unending strife and wars. Despite the progress in education and the array of scientific marvels, the world seems to have never grown wiser, and intent on repeating its mistakes in new agressive forms, though punctuated by occasional sane voices of great thinkers. Pscho-analysers would blame the inherent "paranoid streak" or self-assertive behaviour in human species for having played such havoc with world history, which now threatens the very existence of the human race.

     But, Gandhiji's reply would be that the period of human history is too short and humankind's innate nature of love and peace is too obvious that we need not despair of a point of no return. Writing in the Harijan (25.8.1940), he said:

     • It may be asked whether history at any time records such a change in human nature. Such changes have certainly taken place in individuals. One may not perhaps be able to point to them in a whole society. But this only means that up till now there has never been an experiment on a large scale in non-violence...Ahimsa is definitely an attribute of society...In this age of wonders no one will say that a thing or idea is worthless because it is new. To say it is "impossible" because it is "difficult" is again not in consonance with the spirit of the age. Things undreamnt of are daily being seen, the impossible is ever becoming possible. We are constantly being astonished these days at the amazing discoveries in the field of violence. But I maintain that far more undreamnt of and seemingly impossible discoveries will be made in the field of non-violence..."

     In this nuclear age, the human race seems to be racing towards its own destruction. What the world needs is enlightened non-violence of the Gandhian conception to stop the holocaust. But the world cannot progress towards this objective as long as we have a system of power blocks and alignments which bases itself on measuring warheads or kilotons. If it is argued that it is "natural" to take counter action of violence against an oppressor or enemy, then it will be "natural" for the enemy to improve his weaponns. And so on, back and forth. But now the super powers have got nuclear arsenal which, when used, make no distinction between the guilty and the innocent, presuming that anyone can tell the difference. hence, decision about using nuclear missiles or the bomb can no longer "naturally" be taken by the war colleges. More civilians are killed in modern war than soldiers. So, the right-thinking citizens of the world must have a decisive voice, and not experts in violence, if we talk about what is "natural".

     For militarists also, the futility of an all-out war should be too obvious. British Naval Commander Sir Stephen King Hall is reported to have said that "a case exists on grounds of expediency, apart from grounds of morality, for an enquiry into non-violent resistance". After the revolution brought about by the atom bomb it is no longer possible, Sir Hall maintains, for defence by physical means to "keep one jump ahead of the attack". and the only alternative is "to burst through the thought-barrier into the psychological and spiritual field" and think defence by "non-military means".

     Whether lasting peace is possible, and if so, how it may come about leads to metaphysical assumptions about the nature of humans and the meaning of their enterprises on earth. It is, therefore, evident that most of the believers in and workers of world peace, ground their hopes on religio-philosophical assumptions. Gandhiji is an unmatched exemplar of this outlook and in his writings reveals himself as a moral evolutionist. Gandhiji's argument gains momentum year after year from the coarse course of world events.

     Thus, Ganndhism, rather the Gandhi-mistery, perched on the colossal tripod of truth, non-violence and service and with a soaring awareness of the ultimate reality, is a veritable break-through in human progression. But it is no kalpaka-Vriksha (wish-yielding tree in Hindu mythology) that can gift perfect models and tailored outfits for a new social order based on non-violence. At its best, it imparts a panoramic perspective and an attitude of mind growing out of what can only be called moral assumptions, reminding one and all of the unbreakable relationship rather than the opposition between the ideal and the practical.

     Such a Gandhian stance for world peace has alas only a vague meaning for most of us, unhappily intangible. Yet, very real in terms of its consequences in global decisions.

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2. Animal Farm - Education For Tomorrow

   Our delightful cat, called Iittu, as she used to curl up in the large Iittalla (Iittala is one of Finland's best known glass-making companies) glass bowl when she was a kitten, is quite remarkable. Among her many unusual talents, not only does she open doors by jumping and pulling down door handles, when she wants to go out, but also she has a special route in and out from our first floor abode, in or out through the window and up or down the fire escape ladder.

   These skills are not what I want to highlight here but that when the window is shut tight, she scratches on the glass to tell us she wants to go out. When we open the window, it is not a mad rush to get out of the house. She takes her time. She sniffs the air and contemplates the information that her nasal sensors provide her tiny brain. If the information of smell, sound and sight, plus senses that we are not aware of, satisfy her, she decides her future course of action, even if it is snowing with poor visibility, raining or a blistering hot day.

   Iittu's sister is our daughter's dog Minea. She too is remarkably intelligent. She follows our multilingual conversations quite easily. However, the point that I wish to make here is that when we are conversing, if we happen to mention someone or something that Minea is in the know of, it is not her limbs or eyes that react. It is her ears which prick up and her nose, which wiggles in a most unusual fashion. Her sense of hearing and smell have been developed to tune her mind to search for the information in the surroundings.

   Human beings do not, in general, have such keen senses of smell, hearing or sight as even the most humble of God's other creatures. Yet we classify literacy as our ability to read and write.

   Are these animals illiterate?

   Examine the systems of education presently being promoted all around the world. Almost all put our children in blocks of cement. They are kept there to learn how to use alien tools, forgetting all their natural senses.

   And we call this education.

   Are they taught to see, to listen, to smell and make critical decisions based on information they gather through their natural senses?

   Consider a blind person, who, because of the inability to read, would be illiterate by our classification of literate. A blind person, however, has greatly enhanced other senses to counter the sight deficiency.

   Similarly, a person who is dumb, deaf, or handicapped in some way, develops senses in other spheres which supplement and complement his ability and enhance his education greatly. These people are literate in other ways than having the ability to read and write on our scale of literacy.

   The question one is forced to ask is how many blind, deaf, dumb, or otherwise handicapped persons are employed in our schools anywhere in the world to teach our children these special skills that they possess so that, not only is there an understanding of our children of people with disabilities, but they can learn and enhance those skills that they lose because they fail to develop the full potential of the human body?

   Education is not just going to school and learning to read and write. It is far more. It is allowing the brain to reach its fullest potential by allowing the natural instinctive skills within the human body to reach their fullest potential. Book knowledge will then be acquired, if necessary, but before that the person should be educated to learn to live in harmony with nature, understand the smells, sounds and sights, just like Iittu and Minea.

   Such education which helps individuals to develop their natural senses would lead to human beings who are in harmony with their surroundings rather than individuals whose sole objective appears to be to browbeat the surroundings to submission and lead the world to destruction.

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Letters to the Editor

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  From: SupriyaN@aol.com
  Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 15:22:26 -0400
  To: findians@friendly.netppl.fi
  Subject: hi, (Ed:...or Who reads this crap?)

  Dear Editor,

  i'm an accidental (maybe) visitor to your website, but am not sure who exactly your audience is....could you shed email me with more info? (i am in washington, dc). i am collecting information on non-resident indians, and i presume this is a website for indians in finland?

  is that correct? how many indians are in finland?

  hope to hear from you soon!

  supriya

Country	Readers Aug - 4 wks	Readers Sept - 5 wks	Growth/Drop (%)
Total	3446	8180	137.38
.sg (Singapore)	1	43	4200.00
.bh (Bahrain)	1	13	1200.00
.at (Austria)	1	8	700.00
.cz (Czech Republic)	1	8	700.00
.ee (Estonia)	1	6	500.00
.kr (South Korea)	6	31	416.67
.in (India)	9	46	411.11
.ae (United Arab Emirates)	2	9	350.00
.hr (Croatia)	1	4	300.00
.gr (Greece)	1	4	300.00
.jp (Japan)	26	99	280.77
.bn (Brunei Darussalam)	1	3	200.00
.hk (Hong Kong)	1	3	200.00
.ru (Russian Federation)	1	3	200.00
.se (Sweden)	65	189	190.77
.za (South Africa)	8	23	187.50
.edu (USA Educational)	335	910	171.64
.org (Non-Profit Making Organisations)	26	70	169.23
.br (Brazil)	6	16	166.67
.su (Former USSR)	2	5	150.00
.uk (United Kingdom)	62	153	146.77
.fr (France)	14	34	142.86
.com (Commercial, mainly USA)	957	2312	141.59
.nl (Netherlands)	10	24	140.00
.net (Network)	352	835	137.22
[unresolved numerical addresses]	674	1574	133.53
.ca (Canada)	117	272	132.48
.ch (Switzerland)	10	23	130.00
.il (Israel)	5	11	120.00
.fi (Finland)	412	899	118.20
.us (United States)	23	48	108.70
.au (Australia)	75	153	104.00
.nz (New Zealand)	15	30	100.00
.id (Indonesia)	3	6	100.00
.ve (Venezuela)	1	2	100.00
.tr (Turkey)	1	2	100.00
.my (Malaysia)	14	27	92.86
.dk (Denmark)	16	28	75.00
.de (Germany)	38	65	71.05
.ie (Ireland)	8	13	62.50
.it (Italy)	10	16	60.00
.gov (USA Government)	24	38	58.33
.no (Norway)	19	30	57.89
.be (Belgium)	9	14	55.56
.kw (Kuwait)	4	6	50.00
.ar (Argentina)	4	6	50.00
.cr (Costa Rica)	2	3	50.00
.pl (Poland)	2	3	50.00
.es (Spain)	7	9	28.57
.pt (Portugal)	8	10	25.00
.li (Liechtenstein)	4	4	0.00
.ph (Philippines)	3	3	0.00
.lv (Latvia)	1	1	0.00
.lt (Lithuania)	1	1	0.00
.lc (Saint Lucia)	1	1	0.00
.bs (Bahamas)	1	1	0.00
.th (Thailand)	1	1	0.00
.hu (Hungary)	1	1	0.00
.gb (Great Britain)	1	1	0.00
.jm (Jamaica)	1	1	0.00
.arpa (Old style Arpanet)	1	1	0.00
.pe (Peru)	1	1	0.00
.ec (Ecuador)	1	1	0.00
[unknown]	1	1	0.00
.co (Colombia)	1	1	0.00
.ug (Uganda)	1	1	0.00
.do (Dominican Republic)	1	1	0.00
.mil (USA Military)	12	9	-25.00
.si (Slovenia)	5	3	-40.00
.is (Iceland)	7	4	-42.86
.mx (Mexico)	4	2	-50.00
.lu (Luxembourg)	2	1	-50.00
.mt (Malta)	1	0	-100.00
.tw (Taiwan)	1	0	-100.00
.cn (China)	1	0	-100.00

• ---

  Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 17:51:42 -0700
  From: Vern Goldsmith (vern@goldsmith.com)
  Subject: Namial Discrimination

  Hi there,

  Great job you're doing with these Web pages. Thank you for your efforts and please continue the great service you provide.

  I am writing about the "Namial Discrimination" editorial/letter.

  I see that no response was received from the government authorities (Ed: See below) to which you sent the information.

  Have you considered sending the letter and information to US television news agencies - either the networks NBC, ABC, CBS or news magazine shows like 60 Minutes, Dateline, etc.

  Racism and other forms of discrimination are important subjects in US news at this time. It seems that our news media (that always likes some dirt) might run a major story about your situation - even though it is not a US story. We here have the impression of your part of the world being sophisticated and culturally advanced.

  I personally was shocked by the letter -- and I'm fairly well informed. I think the average US citizen would be very interested.

  Ciao... vern

However, we have some experience with such complaints. The Ombudsmen in Finland are so busy doing nothing that they sit on issues for a year or two and then send letters saying that the issues are outside their jurisdiction, or something of that nature.

In Finland, high sounding ideals are all that matter - to mislead, just like you have been misled, Vern.

For instance, this is the hot air which was put out by a previous Finnish Parlimentary Ombudsman:

• Ref: Lauri Lehtimaja, "International Human Rights and Domestic Legality: Experiences of the Finnish Parliamentary Ombudsman", pg. 93, International Human Rights Norms in Domestic Law, Finnish and Polish Perspectives, edited by Allan Rosas, Finnish Lawyers Publishing Company, 1990.

  "First of all, the constitutional mandate of the PO lies at the heart of what the legal protection of human rights is about. Furthermore, the Finnish PO has developed a tradition of open and informal argumentation. He is expected to operate close to the individual and not necessarily to conform to the conventional ways of doing and saying things."

Dear Vern - in the book "Handbook for Survival in Finland", Finland is aptly described thus (page 29-30):

• "If you take the old Czarist system, the regimental system of bureaucracy handed down from close association with the Nazi alliance, the worst features of the capitalist system, along with the infiltration of the communist system, all beautifully wrapped in the cloak of democracy, what you have is the Finnish system, a mixed monstrosity within this attractive package. Where else in the world is there such a combination of these systems which contribute to make zombies of its trusting people?"

with thanks to "communication briefings"

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  In Praise of Cluttered Desks

  Here is some good news for those with cluttered desks: It is OK, because you are "visual" thinkers. What that means:

  • You do better work when you can see every scrap of paper connected to what you are working on, as well as the papers that relate to tasks you will tackle later.

  • You tend to remember things not by name but by appearance. Advantage: You can find a missing file faster than others because you can recall not only where you last saw it but also what it looked like.

  • You usually prefer working on several things at once instead of finishing one task at a time. Advantage: You save time, because when you shift to a new project, everything you need is close by.

  • You are less likely to forget a pressing task because most of your work is in front of you.

  • Your tendency to "pile" rather than "file" also means you are less likely to mistakenly bury something important in a folder and file it.

  Caution: You may need to devote one day to cleanup every few weeks. You will know that day has arrived when you spend too much time trying to find an item or you miss a deadline.

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COMMENTS ON HOT NEWS ITEMS

• Maximum Retail Price Label Removed

  Dateline: 9th October 1996

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  In what is a tragic move, in the interest of so-called free market demands, the requirement to print the maximum retail price on products, in India, has been removed.

  In a country where there is shameless exploitation of the masses by a few, this is a sad step. One hopes that sense will prevail in the Indian Government and in the interest of safe-gaurding the poor sections of the community from the shameless exploitation by those who already have plenty, this sensible form of control of retail prices will be immediately reintroduced till such time as true competitive economics reach down to the lowest levels of society.

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• Polluted Delhi

  Dateline: 16th October 1996

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  A report on BBC World Service indicated that Delhi already has 2.7 million vehicles and it this increasing at the rate of 18000 vehicles per month, making Delhi the 4th most polluted city in the world. Every year 7500 people reportedly die from pollution related ailments and this is likely to increase significantly even before the beginning of the next millenium. What a difference from the beautiful pollution free city of the sixties.

  Is this a form of population control being introduced by the Indian Government? Increase of traffic related deaths along with pollution related ones seems to be the rule of the day.

  We hope that the authorities will quickly see sense and not allow Delhi to become like Bangkok, where there is no longer any point in having an office. By the time a businessman travels from his home to the office, it is time to start for home again.

  The automobile, the energy it consumes and the pollution that it causes, are a curse to our globe. When will the developing countries realise this and come up with an alternate solution - such as was put forward in our (Jacob Matthan with Thomas Abraham of Southern Investments ) paper Rural Urbanisation, way back in 1977.

  Cities of the future need to be designed to be automobile free. Present cities should be converted into segments which are also automobile free. The technology exists for this - so it is not something that has to be based on science fiction. Valuable resources will be conserved and the earth can then have a reasonable hope of surviving into the second half of the next century.

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• Indian Finland Co-operation Moves

  Dateline: 16th October 1996

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  Swedish multinational Volvo AB has decided set up a US$370 million plant in Karnataka.

  ABB, the Swedish/Swiss multinational, which already has considerable investments in India, has decided to invest another US$1 billion in India. The company hopes to see sales rise to a level of US$ 3.5 billion already by the year 2000.

  In the meantime, the Xth Session of the India-Finnish Joint Commission in Helsinki identified 12 thrust sectors for investment and technical collaboration from Finland. These were forest-based industries including paper, environment management and clean technologies, and energy, including coal and biomass. The Indian team comprised officials from the Department of Electronics and the Ministry of Surface Transport (Ports). It was led by the Joint Secretary, Commerce Ministry, Mr. Ashok Pradhan. The Indian business delegation was led by Mr. Pradeep Mallick (Managing Director of the Wärtsilä operation in India and President of the CII Finland Committee.

  This week sees the release of an excellent report (in Finnish) called "Intia Uusi Markkina Alue" (India - New Market Area) by retired banking expert Mathew Varghese, resident in Finland for over three decades.

  Published by Delmaar Ltd. Oy, this report presents useful information on Indian Banks, a review of the Indian economic situation, Indian foreign trade, foreign economic relations, the modes of entry into Indian markets, the investment requirements, the investment targets, licensing and technical collaboration methodologies, investment possibilities in infrastructure, the Indian tax system, aspects of remittance of profits and dividends, the Indian labour market, and the Indian business millieu. There are a couple of Appendicies which list essential contact addresses and present an analysis of the Finland/India trade as it stands presently.

  For Finns planning to invest in India, this would be the ideal starting point to assess their potential. The report is priced at Fmk 750 (plus ALV of 12%) and is available from Delmaar Ltd. Oy, Tolsa, 02400 Kirkkonummi.

  If you make mention that you saw the mention of the report in Findians Briefings when ordering, Delmaar Ltd. Oy will offer you a special 10% discount. You can also order the book by sending an email to us and we will forward you order on your behalf to Delmaar Ltd. Oy.

  The India delegation should have seen the Finns anxious to capitalise on the potential that India offers. However, bar a small press release, which was not even covered by the major Finnish newspapers, and a decision that President Ahtisaari, along with Foreign Minister Tarja Halonen, would visit India shortly, there was no initiative by Finnish industry to take up this golden opportunity, like has been done by their Swedish counterparts.

  Neither Finnish industry nor the Government know how to utilise the opportunities offered by working with India. Finnish companies can only see such opportunities as a means of exploiting India for lower labour and production costs. They are not able to see the fantastic potential it offers for increasing employment in the home country, Finland.

  The present Finnish policy of foreign investment only causes more joblessness within Finland. With such short-sightedness of executives in Finnish industry and of the Finnish bureaucrats, it is quite natural and correct for the Finnish labour unions to mistrust the moves by Finnish industry to move its production to countries, as India.

  The proposed visit of President Ahtisaari to India appears to be no more than an attempt to gather more support for his next personal agenda in the world leadership hierarchy.

  However, one can only wait expectantly to see if anything concrete will emerge from this visit!

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• Play by Keralite John Mathews on BBC World Service

  Dateline: 18th October 1996

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  Keralite John Mathews has won the play writing competition organised by BBC World Service. His play entitled Grave Affairs, will be on air on Sunday 20th October at 16.30 GMT. The play is supposedly a light-hearted approach to a serious communal problem.

  The plot revolves around an adjoining Muslim and Christian graveyard being maintained by a Hindu cemetery keeper. A very plausible situation in many parts of India.

  What happens when a Christian is found to be mistakenly buried in the Muslim graveyard?

  John, whose mother toungue is Malayalam, has won the special category prize for a person writing in a language other than his mother tongue.

  Hopefully this will not be a one-off success for John. We wish him much success in his further attempts at play-writing.

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• Foolish Finland Links Currency

  Dateline: 14th October 1996

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  On Sunday 12th October, in the dead of the weekend, Finnish politicians stole around to get the Finnish markka included in the European Currency Regulatory Mechanism (ERM). There seemed to be an almost almighty hurry to get this done even before the first elections of Finnish members to the EU parliament had been completed. The excuse given was that the timing was just right.

  The pros and cons have been argued by many - and the general opinion is that neither was the timing right and the conditions were totally unfavourable to link the Finnish mark into the ERM? In fact, the conditions presently are much worse than when Finland linked its currency to the ERM in the early nineties and then had to make an ignoble exit a few months later.

  It is strange the way politicians behave. Claes Andersson, the leftist who holds the portfolio of Minister for Culture said that he strongly opposed the move. But when the fait accompli was presented to him, he showed his true cultural self when he threw his principles to the winds and, instead of resigning, resigned himself to accepting that it was now a deed done.

  The Managing Drector of the Finnish division of the Norwegian shipbuilding multinational, Kvaerner, assessed that the value of the mark is presently almost 10% over-valued.

  Our assessment, based on certain key criteria as, level of unemployment, gross government debt and growth or reduction of such debt, unproductive government expenditure, foreign exchange earnings in certain sectors as inward tourism, leads us to conclude that the actual level of the mark is presently 30% overvalued.

  The real level of unemployment in Finland, not the statistics put out by the Ministry of Labour or the Central Statistics Organisation (of around 425000) is over 700000. Our calculation tallies almost to the digit with the Ministry of Finance which has also given this figure.

  The real unemployment level can only be ascertained if one adds back the people who have been struck off the unemployment register for no fault of theirs, the number of people in forced training and who are not in any position to get jobs even after their training period is over, and others who are in make-shift jobs which are not real jobs but those created to reduce the unemployement statistics.

  So, based on this analysis, we started looking around for the hidden agenda of getting the mark linked to the ERM and the rush of the politicians to get Finland into the EMU at stage one in a couple of years time. If one is aware of the character of the Finnish politician and bureaucrat, the real reason is very easy to see.

  Finnish politicians have a great desire to sit on boards of banks - as their play for higher political platforms seems to be based solely on the number of banking portfolios they hold. These Finnish politcians know that if they are one of the first countries to link into the EMU, then, when the European Central Bank is formed, the plum posts will go to politicians from countries whose currency is already linked to the EMU.

  This desperate lust for posts in the proposed European Central Bank is what is behind the move to get the mark in at stage one. Finland knows that it will be in the role of Presidency of the EU when this happens, and hence will be in the ideal position to carry out the mischief that it wants to do.

  Sacrificing a country and its people for personal power and glory is called treason in some places, but obviously not so in Finland.

  Watch the story unfold by 1999 - we hate to say we told you so, but now it is on the web for you to see our words become a reality!

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• Finland - Private Property of Kekkonen

  Dateline: 14th October 1996

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  Last week saw the revelataion that former Finnish President, Urho Kekkonen, with no manadate from the Finnish Parliament, unconstitutionally went to the Soviet Union to barter territory in Lapland for the return of another part of Finland in Southern Finland.

  It shows the mentality of the Finnish politician and bureaucrat who believe and act as if Finland is their private property. Did President Kekkonen consider the views of the people whose land he was bartering?

  The Finns are trying the utmost to justify the actions of Kekkonen, but this episode shows him up for what he was - a self-promoting dictator. Did President Kekkonen consider for a moment all those who laid down their lives of in the war to preserve the territory which he was prepared to barter away. Already all the displaced people from Karelia had been resettled and adequately compensated when their territory was lost. Were those people going to be asked to return the property that was settled for them when the territory was regained? What settlement did he have in mind for the new refugees that he would have created? Or was he going to leave them to the mercy of the Russian masters?

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• Western Democracy Violates Constitution

  Dateline: 2nd October 1996

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  Already in 1990 the UN Human Rights Committee told Finland that the Passport Laws in force violated the human rights of its citizens. Considering that these laws are not archaic ones, but those brought into effect as late as 1987, demonstrates that this country was (and is) nothing but a Police State.

  In the Passport laws, which are current even today, the police can deny issuance of passports to people who have unpaid taxes or fines or those who have to meet maintenance expenses. Even more draconian are the provisions that they can deny passports being issued to those who are being treated for psychosis, and more surprisingly, whom the police "have suspicion" may be involved in some criminal activity.

  Such provisions make the Finnish Police, Prosecutor, Judge and Jury. They seem to enjoy this role and have executed it with great gusto in several instances.

  The 1995 Constitution should have corrected this lacuna, but still today the situation persists, showing that there is not much tempo to correct what they do not want corrected. Hopefully, by the end of this year they will have no alternative but to ensure that they conform to laws of a decent civilised country.

  One hopes that human rights activists all over will keep watch and drag Finland loudly over the coals if they fail to behave as is expected of a western democracy.

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• Crocodile Tears: ILO on Child Labour

  Dateline: 12th October 1996

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  The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has issued a statement last week that it is starting a campaign against the abuse of the use of child labour, especially concerned with child prostitution, making children to work with toxic substances or to follow unsafe practices or work in unsafe environments.

  We hope that the ILO will also ensure that no child, at any time, will be put to work as a punishment, as is being proposed in Finland. Such forced labour will destroy the entire mental make-up of a child to work.

  It is constructive to have a happy working child being educated and being a contributor to society rather than to create misfits to society by making children do forced labour, whatever the circumstances.

  Let us have a correct perspective to Child Labour and not just as viewed from a single perspective of a western order being threatened by an efficient and happy work force which could be composed of happy working children who earn enough to feed themmselves and their families. The objective should be to educate the children in skills through work, and not to destroy their chaacter through forced and bonded labour.

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• Richard Allan Radio 5 - Live in Finland

  Dateline: 13th October 1996

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  Last week, when we tuned in to Radio 5, the local station of BBC, UK, that comes through loud and clear to Finland late in the evening and at night on the frequencies 909 and 693 Khz on medium wave, we were very pleasantly surprised to hear a programme coming through live from Finland.

  Host of the show was Richard Allan, who is a great presenter. He has a wonderful easy style which is unmatched by any BBC World Service presenter. During the half-hour that we heard his team, they met and presented their appraisal of life in Finland.

  Unfortunately, all Richard Allan did in this instance was to act as a PR manager for the Finnish authorities and present a very misconceived idea about life in Finland. The only single feature, which the programme refused to examine in detail, was when a Moroccan was interviewed and it became obvious that here was a scared, frightened individual having to live a life of hide and seek from the racist cats that haunt Finland.

  Here was a golden opportunity missed to do a bit of real investigative reporting to find out what life in Finland for its 700000 unemployed, the starving pensioners or the hard-pressed students who have to resort to parental support to exist. Or to find out to what extent apartheid exists in this so-called western democracy. Or to find out whether the consensus form of government ever gave the voter a feeling that he had received his fair return from the political system. Or one of the numerous other problems that are faced by the common Finn.

  It was sad that Richard had to use Sulo Aihtoniemi, the racist politician on his programme and not allow any anti-racist to have a say!

  I am a ardent supporter of BBC Radio 5, News and Sport 24 hours a day, (although for us in Finland it is available only after 10 pm till 5 am - Finnish time - during winter) but this was one instance I felt that BBC and Richard did a thoroughly bad job.

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• Readers Challenge Us/BBC On Air

  Dateline: 2nd October 1996

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  In our story BBC On Air - Fascinating Interview, which was our review of the interview about the most famous DJ on the air waves, Dave Lee Travis, which appeared in our Volume 2 Issue 5, we made the statement
  • "It is a pity that the editor of BBC On Air, Vicky Payne does not have a few really good production and distribution strategists on her team. To charge

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