The phrase “Après moi, le déluge” (“After me, the deluge”) is attributed to the King of France Louis XV (1710-1774). Many a leaders in the present day world too think that the world will come to an end once they depart. General Musharraf said that if elections were held in a “disturbed environment”, it could bring in dangerous elements who might pose a risk with regard to control of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.
There may be people who would simply describe this Musharraf stand as ‘blackmail’ because at this given moment the number two man in the US State Department, John Negroponte, happens to be in Pakistan to pressure the Pakistani dictator to provide at least a semblance of democracy in his country.
“They cannot fall into the wrong hands, if we manage ourselves politically. The military is there — as long as the military is there, nothing happens to the strategic assets, we are in charge and nobody does anything with them,” Musharraf said.
In other words what Musharraf means is this: “Mr Bush, don’t bullshit me too much through your envoy, or else…!!!”
Funny, how puppets get out of control and start calling the shots and the puppeteer looks helpless!!!
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.