An important news has come from Pakistan. “Pakistan’s notorious ISI spy agency, a mainstay of the military’s domination of the nation’s politics, was last night placed under civilian control for the first time since it was founded in 1948, reports The Australian.
“A brief announcement from the Prime Minister’s office said the ISI and the country’s other principal security agency, the Intelligence Bureau, would immediately be placed under the administrative, financial and operational control of the Interior Ministry, headed by one of Benazir Bhutto’s most trusted advisers, Rehman Malik.
“Under the country’s most recent military dictators – Mr Musharraf and, previously, General Mohammed Zia ul-Haq – it played a critical political strategic role, double-dealing with the likes of al-Qa’ida and the Taliban. It stands accused of dirty tricks and involvement in terrorism across the region, most recently the massive bomb blast two weeks ago that destroyed the Indian embassy in Kabul.
“Only last week, India’s National Security Adviser, MK Narayanan, demanded the ISI be ‘destroyed’. (See my earlier post…here)
” ‘It’s one thing to sign a piece of paper saying that the ISI is henceforth under the control of Rehman Malik, another for Rehman Malik to actually exert effective control’, one senior diplomat in Islamabad said.”
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.