Monday, December 22, 2008

Has Hemant Karkare’s martyrdom gone waste?

Horrendous terrorists, attack on Mumbai’s Hotel Taj & Trident, Nariman Point and Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway Terminal on 26/11 has left a deep scar on the psyche of the people. Innumerable questions are flying thick and fast from all four corners of the country and abroad as well. The role of the Pakistani army is despicable and stands exposed to the whole world. But what will you do for the enemies within the country and are holding high posts? While the whole nation is shocked to shell and wants to teach the befitting lesson to the perpetrators of the terrorism, there is a section in our country which wants to obfuscate the issue for the benefit of Pakistan, which is the hub centre of training for terrorists.

Now the doubts are being created as to how Maharashtra’s Anti Terrorists Squad Chief Hemant Karkare was killed along with three other brave officers. We have seen the whole host of theories coming from different quarters. If one keeps track of Pakistani media, one would be stunned to see that there is a lot of praise for the bravery of Hemant Karkare. Mind it, a section of rabidly communal media of Pakistan is unabashedly propounding a theory that 26/11 was a drama enacted and staged by Hindu Zionists in collaboration with the Indian Military. This amply demonstrates that by and large Pakistani society derives perverted pleasure in the sufferings of Indians in such types of barbarous and ghastly attacks.

Here I have a point, which I want others to consider and let me know with her or his opinion. Hemant Karkare was supposed to be a highly trained and intelligent officer. He was the chief of the ATS. He was the boss, not supposed to take orders from anybody but to give orders to other subordinate officers. A trained officer like him must be able to take quick decisions and he should have relatively better comprehension about planning, design and strategy of terrorists than of any other person. However, with all respect, I must say here that at the time of the crisis of this magnitude he could not come up to the expectations of his stature. Anybody, who had seen him in the television visuals coming in the vehicle to the place of occurrence will vouchsafe that his gait was sluggish and very uninspiring. He was looking very leisurely. After getting down from the vehicle he walked down a few paces in a un-agile manner. A constable came running to him with an old helmet and helped him wear it. He appeared to be very callous which was absolutely not befitting to the commander of the team, who was going to lead from the front. He was helped in putting on an ineffective bulletproof jacket. At that time he was not exuding any confidence. Investigation in peacetime is altogether ball game, which cannot, rpt. cannot be followed in at the time of action that too, when it was a war like situation. He had gone there without any planning, it appeared from the footage of the channels as if he was going for a walk at the marine drive.

Why did he go to the hospital? Why he took three other senior officers along in the vehicle is really baffling. It is difficult to find any convincing answer to it. But one can certainly come to a conclusion that he was not mentally geared up to take up such a challenging task. Otherwise, an officer of his stature would not have done his job in such an amateurish and sluggish manner, as he did. Now if the persons, like Antulay, who have been responsible for the rise of drug peddling and other nefarious activities in Mumbai during his ministership and Chief Ministership are demanding that the death of Hemant Karkare should be probed to find out the reality, one should read their intentions. They are not interested in knowing the truth but they just want to give a handle to the forces that are inimical to India.

To link the death of Karkare with that of Malegoan probe is not only far-fetched but it also shows how far the fertile mind of these people can travel to muddle the real issue. At a time when the whole world is convinced on the basis of foolproof evidence that the terrorism is flourishing in Pakistan with the active support of the ISI and most of the terrorist activities against India are aided and abetted even acted by the Pakistani army any attempt to create diversion tantamount to betrayal with the country. Therefore, the theory of linking the death of Karkare with that of the Malegaon probe should not be taken lightly; such elements should be watched and weeded out. As far as Antulay is concerned, he should have, if he has any sense of shame, resigned from the post of a Union cabinet minister or else, the Prime minister should have sacked him as he is providing anti-India fodder to Pakistan by virtue of the post he holds in the Government.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Legal aid to suspected terrorists be deprecated

The principle of natural justice is audi alteram partem i.e. nobody should be condemned unheard. The logical extension of this theory is that everybody should be provided with legal aid to defend himself or herself in the court of law so as to prove his/her innocence. He or she should have the freedom to engage a lawyer of his/her choice to plead the case in the court. In fact, this freedom is a necessary ingredient of the civilized society that respects the rule of law.

Equal justice and free legal aid to all citizens is enshrined in Article 39 A of the constitution of India. This Article mandates the State to ensure the opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities. As a matter of fact, there are legal aid committees across the country, which provide legal aid to all needy and poor people right from the lower courts up to the Apex Court. The Supreme Court of India has its own legal committee which is manned by scores of permanent staff. Hundreds of lawyers, including many senior lawyers have volunteered themselves for rendering legal aid to needy persons as and when they make request to the legal aid committee of the Supreme Court. And this fact is known to everybody who has any concern with the litigation of any type.

So, why the vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, Mushirul Hasan, who is otherwise known to be a famous historian and academician has stirred the hornets’ nest by saying that his university would provide legal aid to accused students allegedly involved in bomb blasts in Delhi the other day. The statement of Mushirul Hasan has come a day after the accused persons were arrested and at a time when the atmosphere is surcharged throughout the country. His primary duty as a responsible person is to restore calm and peace. After all, nobody had said that the accused would be deprived of legal aid, so the statement of Mushirul Hasan amounts to putting oil in the fire and thereby further whip up the communal feelings. Overnight he has become the darling of the same Muslims who were baying for his blood when he had said a few years back that the ban on Salman Rushdie’s book ‘Satanic Verses’ would hardly serve any purpose. But in this case he has failed to take any ideological stand. His gratuitous or deliberate statement has already enraged a large number of secular persons as it was expected from him to have condemned the terrorist activities of every hue and shade. Although his secular credentials are above-board, yet the statement of legal aid to accused persons depicts that he nurses sympathy for terrorists and this is because that those who have been arrested belong to a particular religion. This, it is hoped, is not true but his thinking must appear in his conduct also.

The amount of polarization that has taken place on the religious lines is really very alarming and therefore regrettable indeed. Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh has further aggravated the matter by supporting the decisions of Jamia Millia Islamia. Arjun Singh has never been known for statesman like qualities. He is more known for his foxy qualities to ditch others and thereby climb the ladders of success. He is also known for his ruthless insensitivity and corrupt activities like Churhat lottery case etc, He will not hesitate to disturb and destabilize anybody or any institution if that help creates embarrassment for his rivals. So the backing of Arjun Singh to Mushirul Hasan’s decision is not surprising because his adversary is Manmohan Singh and none else. He knows it well that his endorsement of Mushirul Hasan would complicate the matters for the duo of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi. The more the embarrassment for them the more the joy of Arjun Singh

What is more intriguing is that HRD Minister has not explained as to how the legal aid to terrorists or suspected terrorists would be in the national interest. Are they not being put on different footing from other citizens of the country, who get legal aid only though the constitutional provisions? There are no two opinions that the country cannot afford to be soft towards Muslim terrorists. They should be crushed with iron hands in the same manner as the Khalistani terrorists were decimated in Punjab by Sardar Beant Singh and KPS Gill. There should be no discrimination between the terrorists on the grounds of caste, creed or religion. And it is the only way to restore the confidence of public in the rule of law.

Thus the decision of Mushirul Hasan to provide legal aid to suspected terrorists at the cost of university’s funds should be deprecated and he must be stopped forthwith from indulging in such misdemeanors.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Mockery of Labour Laws

Today’s newspapers are splashed with the news of the bludgeoning to death of the Managing Director and the Chief Executive Director of a NOIDA based Multi National Company by a 200 strong armed mob of dismissed workers. It is sad news by all means. Three months ago, Italian MNC Graziano Transmission lay off 200 workers. These workers were deprived from egress and ingress in the premises of the company.

This is one of the worst instances of industrial violence in recent times. It can be seen after liberalisation of economy and globalisation of trade and manufacturing the militancy in the trade unions had almost disappeared. There have been many reasons for it. Firstly; there has been contractualisation of workers on a very large scale cutting across the industry, secondly; economism has acquired the prime place, thirdly; the interchange of jobs from one industry to other has become very common, which is neither resisted by the employers not by employees. The concept of the loyalty to the organisation had gone for ever, fourthly; the employees are well paid, educated and computer savvy unlike the employees of the olden days when 80 per cent of them used to be blue collared.

Be that as it may, the level of resentment among the workers due to opening of the economy has not gone down or decreased albeit, it has increased in many sectors. But they can hardly do anything for want of responsible trade unions in the country. Trade Unions are like red rags to employers. They resist the formation of trade union in their organisations with tooth and nail. In case, the union has been formed surreptitiously, the proprietors would make it every effort to crush it. Employees are prevented to enrol as the members of the union and office-bearers of the union are harassed and victimised.

It does not mean that trade unions are lily white. They have also their shares of blame. Trade Union leaders live under the false impressions that unions sans militancy are no good. Therefore, the espousal of militancy and particularly violent militancy has been considered a good quality. Trade Unions living under the patronage of the left political parties have been mainly responsible for developing this concept. That is why; there has been steep decline in the membership of trade unions in the last two decades. The erosion of credibility in the trade unions is a great loss to the working class. Today, there is flood of the IT enabled industries in the satellite towns of Delhi, be it NOIDA or Gurgaon. Thousands of young, highly educated and skilled men and women have got jobs, but at what cost?

There are hardly any labour laws that respected in these industries. No fixed working hours, no leave; not even casual is made available to them 10 to 12 hours work is a norm than rule. Demand of overtime is unthinkable. These young men and women, who should bubble with enthusiasm, become a mental and physical wreck in a few years. They are turning into a big problem for the society. They get trapped with hypertension and host of other ailments.Marital life is getting disturbed. Neurological problems are increasing. Divorces are on the rise. Non existence of labour laws is the main culprit.

Gaurav is a young man holding the MBA and Engineering degree is working for a multi national company in Gurgaon. No doubt, he is being paid handsome salary which was unimaginable two decades ago. But he is quite tense. He leaves home in the morning and returns at around mid night. Deprived of good sleep, he is losing appetite. He has completed only a year in the job and has become the victim of blood pressure. This is the fall out of liberalisation, where the laws are looked upon by the managements in disdain and contempt.

So, the death of the CEO of Graziano Tramissioni, Lalit Kishore Chaudhary is very sad and mournful. Heart goes out for his young, educated wife and teenaged son. As per newspaper reports Chaudhary was least responsible for what has happened in his company. He was the victim of the circumstances and pent up anger of the dismissed employees. Here in this case, as in nearly ninety nine per cent cases, the labour enforcement authorities, who are fully soaked in corruption, are responsible for this sad state of affairs.

The exploitation of the employees are going up; not because labour laws are changed or amended but changed or amended but because the authorities of the labour department are corrupt and they never bother to see whether even semblance of laws are observed or not. Article 19 of the Indian Constitution guarantees freedom of association as fundamental right. It was further recognised in the Trade Union Act, 1926, the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1948 but nobody bothers about it.

Union Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes, while inaugurating a seminar the other day in New Delhi said, ‘Changing role of the state Competitive pressures of globalisation, technological changes, the changing working ethics, resultant contractualisation and outsourcing have impacted employer-employer relations in the country’. It shows the rank ignorance of the minister about the labour laws, otherwise he would not have talked in this manner. It is his duplicity which amounts to bungling with the cause of employees. It will cause the irretrievable damage to the industrial relations.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Deal Sternly with Ruffians like Raj Thackeray

Maharashtrians have always been known for their broad nationalistic outlook. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not only in the folklores of Maharashtra but of the whole country mainly because of the eulogia composed by a Bhatta Brahmin of Uttar Pradesh — Bhushan. The bravery, valour and sterling character of Shivaji Maharaj is taught to school children across and they are advised to inculcate those high qualities among themselves.

Lokmanya Balgangadhar Tilak and Gopal Krishna Gokhale are considered to be the pioneers of modern nationalist movement in India. The tales of sacrifices and sufferings of Veer Savarkar give rise to goose bumps. The zeal, the fervor, the dedication of Maharashtrians has been matchless and next to none. But today when find that the likes of Raj Thackeray are hitting the headlines, we often think what has actually happened to Maharashtra. The late Madhulimaye was never considered to be a Maharashtrian leader because he had won more elections from Bihar than Maharashtra. The Uttar Pradesh assembly had many Maharashtrian immigrants as members and ministers. In fact, Persons like Nanji Deshmukh and educationist Baba Raghav Das made Uttar Pradesh as their Karmasthali. Perhaps many people do not know that Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi was a Maharashtrian by birth. Nanaji Peshwa who launched his offensive against British colonial forces was from Kanpur.

Now come to the development of Hindi journalism. Three eminent journalists, also known as Brihattrayee— the big three: venerable Baba Vishu Rao Paradkar, Laxmi Narain Garde and illustrious R.R. Khadilkar were from Maharshtra. Without them Hindi journalism would not have been able achieve the heights of today.The late R.R. Khadilkar’s son Manohar Khadilkar is also an eminent journalist and he lives in Varanasi. His son is also a journalist working a Hindi news channel. It shows that they have worked more for the country than for nay region.

Rangeya Raghav’s name in Hindi, literature evokes awe and deep respect. Joshi Brahmins of north India owe their roots to Maharashtra and because of their nationalism, patriotism and matchless qualities of adaptability, they have become more north Indians than original north Indians. The purpose of saying it all is that parochialism and narrow minded has been anathema to Maharashtrians. So now, when we see that Bal Thackeray’s nephew Raj Thackeray has eschewed all the qualities for which Maharashtrians have been known, then we are bound to say that there is something amiss. His lunatic behavior has hardly any explanation.

His uncle Bal Thackeray spared no stone unturned to sully the great Shivaji Maharaj but since Shivaji is so towering a figure that puny persons can do nothing to him, although he used every opportunity to appropriate the colossus Shivaji. Raj Thackeray seems to have gone many steps ahead of his uncle. Now he is quarreling with Amitabh Bachchan and his wife Jaya Bachchan over language forgetting the fact that Hindi is the only language that is understood by all Mumbaikars. The number of Marathi knowing people in Mumbai must be very small as compared to Hindi knowing and yet he is vandalizing Mumbai in the name of Marathi. It must be mentioned here that Mumbaiya Hindi has assumed the status of a distinct of Hindi and it has found its place in colloquialism and even in modern writings. One fails to understand how the Marathi language is shown disrespect if anybody speaks Hindi or for that matter any other language, but then it is futile to talk logic with ruffians and bullies like Raj Thackeray. Mumbai is not a fiefdom of anybody it belongs to India. It is the commercial capital of the country. The money from the whole country comes to Mumbai. Every single person, whether Maharashtrian or not has contributed for the richness and opulence of Mumbai. In fact, it is more because of non-Maharashtrians that Mumbai has become a real metropolitan city of the country. But then what can you expect from a person like Raj Thackeray, who considers his insanity as his biggest asset and quality. The remedy of such persons is put them behind bars for spreading the venom of regionalism and hatred against one or other section of the society. They need to be dealt with sternly and heavy hand. Soft attitude towards persons like him will act like oil in the fire and rupture the harmony of the country.

All said and done, the way Jaya Bachchan giggled in the programme after saying that ‘we are from Uttar Pradesh and we will speak in Hindi and Maharashtrians should forgive us’ was really in very bad taste. The tone, temper and style of Jaya Bachchan were reprehensible to say the least as it amounted to derision for Maharashtrians. Therefore, Jaya Bachchan must realise her egregious mistake and she must sincerely apologise for her puerile statement in the function. It cannot be excused, more so, because she is not only an actress but also a politician and the Member of Parliament. She should apologise to the country and not to Raj Thackeray, whose intention is not to develop respect for Marathi but to play cheap and dirty politics. One wonders whether Raj Thackeray has any sense of history, culture and Marathi literature or not. Seeing his thinking and conduct, it appears possibly he has none.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Corruption Galore in Judiciary

The news about the corrupt activities and misconduct of Justice Soumitra may not shock the conscience of many in the judiciary but it has certainly further eroded the confidence and respect of the general public towards this great institution. The constitution makers had never thought that the future judicial officers and Hon’ble judges of High Courts and the Supreme Court would be as insensitive and unscrupulous to be found indulging in corruption and other misconducts. A few years ago four Hon’ble judges of Karnataka High Court were reported to be found in a sex scandal. When it was published in prestigious newspapers, that High Court started contempt proceedings against the editors and correspondents of those newspapers. It was an outrageous act on the part of Karnataka High Court to say the least. The best course for the High Court would have been to conduct thorough investigation into the matter to come clean or initiated the impeachment proceedings against the tainted judges. The newspaper editors would have also rendered yeoman’s service to the society if they had allowed the contempt proceedings against them to go on so as to take such an important matter to its logical conclusion. But nothing of the sort was done; the High Court dropped the contempt proceedings on its own.

Similarly; when a scandal of this nature was exposed involving a judge of the Delhi High Court, the people reacted strongly. The media must be appreciated for not bowing down to the empty threats of the contempt proceedings. The judge had still left some sense of shame in him and he resigned before the matter would have blown further, although nobody could buy the reasons which he gave for resigning. He is now facing criminal charges in the session’s court. It may not be out of place that spineless office-bearers the bar association of the High Court showed their allegiance to the judge by expressing their solidarity. They appeared to be quite oblivious of the fact; it amounted to sending wrong signals in the society.

The Provident Fund scandal has raged controversy and fireball even in the Supreme Court of India. Many High Court judges, sitting and retired both and even a Supreme Court, are allegedly involved in the PF scandal of nearly Rs.24 crore from the treasury of Ghaziabad. Now in Soumitra Sen’s case the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India has recommended for his removal from service. Prior to his appointment as the High Court he was a practicing advocate in Calcutta. He was appointed as the receiver in 1993 in a law suit between Steel Authority of India Limited and Shipping Corporation of India over supply of fire bricks and in the way he had allegedly appropriated Rs 32 lakh. He chose to retain the money even after being elevated to the High Court in 2003 and parted with it only after the High Court ordered him in April 2006 to pay it back.

If the impeachment proceedings against Justice Soumitra Sen are initiated it will be the second case in the annals of India after the constitution came into existence. The first case was that of Justice V. Ramaswami, when he was a judge of the Supreme Court of India and it was initiated for misconduct in furniture purchases when he was the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court. However, the only judge who was removed from the office in the independent India was justice Shiva Prasad of Allahabad High Court by then Governor General C. Rajagopalachari on April 22, 1949 accepting a report of the Federal Court. In fact, the objective behind providing the constitutional immunity to the judges was that they should be totally free from any pulls or pressures in dispensation of justice. The constitution makers had the bitter experience of feudalism and administrative atrocities. That was the reason that they ensured immunity to Hon’ble judges by providing the very archaic and almost impossible method of impeachment. With the passage of the time, however, everything has changed. Judges do not come from the ether world; they come from the same society which is menacingly advancing towards unspeakable corruption.

The law is said to be the vehicle for achieving the goal of the wishes and aspiration of the people. If the law cannot address to the problems in right earnest, it must be drastically changed to take care of the arising needs and difficulties. J.Veeraswami’s case that was decided by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India was simply the interpretation of the constitution. But now the time has come that the Judges Inquiry Act should be thoroughly changed and overhauled so as bring the tainted judges to book to secure their easy removal. However, if they are allowed to live in the invulnerable and impregnable world of their own, then incalculable damage would be done to the judiciary in particular and the society in general.

People still have tremendous faith in judiciary and this can be kept intact rather enhanced when the judiciary remains free from corruption. Judges will have to set the example by leading it from the front but if they shamelessly continue to remain with their posts like leeches under cover of constitutional immunity, then nobody knows how much damage they will do. We cannot expect of the Bar Associations of today to take any lead because its leaders are themselves not above-board.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Make Kosi a Boon not a Bane

Bihar is again in the news because of its sorrow that is known as river Kosi. This time it has inundated thousands of square kilometre of Bihar leaving a trial of death and destruction. Lakhs of inhabitants of the state are in grip of floods. Bihar has always been a Cinderella for Central rulers. State leadership and bureaucracy are known to be neck deep in corruption. In fact it should not be treated an act of cruelty if the leaders and officers are summarily shot dead by making them stand in a single file for their dereliction and shenanigans.

Insensitive, inhuman, thoroughly corrupt and incompetent as they are the leaders and officers of Bihar never feel tired of passing the buck on others. It is the one and only reason that Biharis have been looked upon with disdain and derision almost everywhere in the country, otherwise how could any government at the Centre mete out step motherly treatment to the second largest state of India. The condition of the largest state i.e. Uttar Pradesh is hardly better that the neighouring Bihar because of the affliction by same deceases.

The Prime Minister has given Rs 1,000/- crore to meet the ‘national calamity and havoc’. The monetary help is trickling in good measures from other parts of the country. NGO’s and individuals have started contributing their mite to help alleviate the devastation and suffering of the people. But this will only be instantaneous.

Floods in Bihar are recurring endemics. This is not something that comes like Tsunami, Cyclone Katrina or even massive earthquakes which are absolutely unpredictable as on date. How long the governments or for that matter the leaders go on saying that being the low riparian state it has to bear the brunt of marooned rivers because of the torrential flow of waters from Nepal.

Anybody can it say it safely that the treaty between Nepal in India that was signed in 1954, more than half a century ago could not be completed because of internecine squabbles and indecision of leadership. If it had been implemented, Bihar could have become a model agricultural state in the country. The fertile land could have proved to be the bowl of granary; enough to feed nearly 65 per cent population of the country. But alas! That was not done and as a result of it Kosi could not be tamed proving to be the bane of Bihar.

The policy envisaged in 1954 a barrage on the Kosi, one of the most destructive waterways on account of heavy silt deposit caused by its mountainous course in Tibet and Nepal and simultaneous rapid average water speed; raising embankments above and below the barrage; and building a high dam inside Nepalese territory. It may be recalled that Hwang Ho River was considered to be the ‘Sorrow of China’ but when Chinese tamed this river it became a boon for them and it was done when the technology was not that much developed. What is distressing to learn is that normal de-silting operation of the river is hardly done for years together. Embankments are not repaired causing innumerable breaches; what to say of raising the ambitions dam for the benefit of Nepal and India. Massive production of hydro power can solve the constant shortage of electricity in both countries, which will accelerate the industrialization and improve the living standard as well as the style of the people. Needless to mention here that Biharis, except politicians and officers, are known for their hard work and limited needs. If any firm decision is taken in right earnest for turning round the state, it can be done without doubt but that needs determination and will power. Once it is done Bihar will achieve its lost glory. But the million dollar question is whether the leadership would rise to the occasion?

However, as of now the suffering people of Bihar need to be rescued at safer places. The entire country has to stand by Biharis to provide maximum relief and succour to them. Hopefully the country will not lag behind in this humanitarian work.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Pandas are Terrorists

Religion is the opium of masses, so said Karl Marx one of the greatest modern thinkers. Be that as it may, the people across the world think the religion, an article of faith and that is why; people throng to temples, mosques, churches, pagodas, gurdwaras and cathedrals. If we took at the number of non believers or atheists we find that they pale into insignificance in comparison to believers or theists.

Places of worship of some religions are found to be spick and span. If on goes there (s)he finds peace of mind and psychological satisfaction but on the contrary in Hindu religion most of the temples are the veritable picture of dirt and filth, slush and slurry. Peace of mind is robbed by Pandas and Pujaris.

What is, most abominable is that these Pandas make the life of devotees hell. Some of my friends have just returned from Banaras and Vindhyachal. They were on pilgrimage to have darshan of Lord Vishwanath in Banaras and Vindhyavasini Devi at Vindhyachal in Mirjapur district of eastern Uttar Pradesh, which is nearly 80 km from Banaras.

Their tales of woes to these world renowned Hindu pilgrim centers is horrible to say the least. They have vowed not to visit these temples again. They were stalked by Pandas and their agents from the Railway stations itself. Once in the temple Pandas pestered them to offer money at various idols and pay money for the feasts to Brahmins. When they resisted and refused to pay the money as demanded by the rogues, they were cursed.

There is nothing new in it. As a matter of fact, this is the experience which every Hindu, who has visited the temples, must have felt. Go to any Hindu temple, the Pujaris eye on your purse and offerings. If the offerings are little, then devotee is looked upon with contempt and disdain but if it is handsome, then Pujaris shower all incantations for his/her welfare.

The contribution of these Pandas and Pujaris to the society is next to nil. They get fattened on the offerings but hardly contribute anything for the comfort or convenience of devotees. Any talk of improvement or reform by anybody is met with the fierce resistance.

Needless to say these obscurantist Pandas or Pujaris are the real enemies of Hindu religion. It is because of there are evils galore. They are the root cause of caste system, child marriage, untouchability, discrimination, exploitation and what not. They are so shameless that they hardly bother about for maintaining the hygienic conditions on the temples and places of worship.

Strangely, the governments also do not take steps for improvement or reform in the name of being secular and thereby adopting the policy of non-interference. In fact, the government is legally duty bound to penalize all Pandas and Pujaris who are professing, preaching and practicing against the spirit of the constitution. The general public must also have to raise its voice against their oligarchy and exploitation of the God fearing people. The sooner it happens, the better.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Slough off Working Journalists Act

In the absence of ‘sunset clause’ in our legal set up, we have to often face innumerable new set of problems, which crop up due to the surging pace of technology, generational gap and growing population. Our Working Journalists Act, 1955 is afflicted with similar problems. When this Act was passed by Parliament on the recommendations of the first Press Commission headed by Justice Rajyadhyaksha, it was a revolutionary act indeed but now it has largely become irrelevant.

Till this Act was enacted the word journalist was absolutely amorphous. Anybody, even with the nodding acquaintance with the press, used to claim to be a journalist. The famous editor and the founder president of the Indian Federation of Working Journalists (IFWJ) M. Chelapathi Rau had postulated in an article that even the reader of the newspapers or magazines could lay claim to be a journalist. The Working Journalists Act of 1955, however, cleared the mist to a great extent about who can be said to be a journalist. The Act provided a fair amount of protection to journalists, who used to be hired and fired till then on the whims and fancies of the proprietors. Journalists got the protection of the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947; this was a revolutionary step indeed for journalist and non journalist employees.

The Akashvani was the only audio-visual media then and it was, as it is now also, under the control of the government. Then the Television came in 1959, which became household name only after 1984. There was the one and only TV channel and it was Doordarshan till 1995. After the opening up of the economy private channels came into play with great zeal and fervour. Within a short span of six-seven they changed the airspace of the Television beyond even wildest imaginations. Today news and entertainment channels are beaming across the length and breadth of the country. Coverage of news and its telecasting have become cheap. Every day we find new players having even the modest resources are jumping into the ring. With mushroom growth of television channels, the problems have also increased manifold with leaps and bounds. There is no job security for the employees. Again, who is a journalist and who is not- this question has on the surface.

On the other hand, the general public also feels aggrieved with undue and unwarranted interference in the privacy by the TV channels. There is no regulatory mechanism and Lakshman Rekha for the channels. It is no holds barred. What is ethical and what is not, what is the limit or who will draw it remains unclear. The discretion of individual can run riot in the absence of any regulation and that is what we are witnessing today. Salacious news, character assassination, fantasizing of the crimes has become the norms rather than exceptions. There are hardly any qualms and compunctions for the innocent Uma Khuranas, Gudiyas or Arushis in the TV channels. This is leading to aberrations in the print media also. This eloquently proves that the pathetic inadequacy of the Working Journalists Act.

The Wage Board for newspaper employees in born out of the Working Journalists Act and it does not cover the employees working for the electronic medium whose number is definitely more than the print medium. Similarly the Press Council of India came into existence on the recommendations of the Press Commission. The very process of the constitution of the Press Council of India suffers from lacuna. It is not at all a representative body of the press and that is why people look at it more with disdain than with even semblance of respect. Again it does not represent the electronic medium. This is the reason that the Indian Federation of Working Journalists has reiterated its demand during its working committee meeting at Bhopal on 24th August 2008 for the dissolution of the Press Council of India and its replacement with the Media Council. It should be left to genuine journalists and their representative organisations to constitute with the least interference of the government.

The constitution of the Wage Board needs to be given a fresh look encompassing the electronic media. The contractual appointment of employees deserves to be given urgent attention because it is causing untold miseries to the employees. Thus it is clear that almost all laws and Acts related to journalism and journalists have become out dated and they need to be sloughed off without any further delay. This is possible when mother of the journalists’ related acts-The Working Journalists Act is drastically recast and enacted. The journalists and newspaper employees union must have to redefine their roles in view of the cataclysmic changes that have taken place in the industry.

Azamgarh: Nursery of Terrorism

A few years ago there was a report published in some newspapers that hundreds of crore of Rupees lying unclaimed in the Azamgarh branch of State Bank of India. On a further investigation it was learnt that most of the money was sent from abroad mainly from Gulf countries to be used for Hawala purposes. There is not an iota of doubt that fundamentalist Islamic forces are well entrenched and have deep roots in Azamgarh and Maunath Bhanjan. These forces have been active here even during the freedom struggle. At the time of partition a large number of Zamindars and middle class Muslims migrated to Pakistan. It is also true that there has always been the undercurrent of sympathy among Muslims of Azamgarh for Pakistan. This does not mean that all Muslims could be tarred with the same brush. There have been numerous among them who have been vociferously nationalist and their patriotism has been remarkably above board.

Most of the Muslims of Azamgarh and neighouring districts are low caste Ansaris, Dhunias, Qureshis and Telees, who embraced Islam emulating their landed Rajput masters who had converted to Islam for many reasons including that of currying favours of the then Mughal Subedars. It is a matter of history and this has relevance only to the extent that rich Muslims deserted their land of berths and settled in Pakistan but poor Muslims remained in Azamgarh because they had no alternatives.

As a result of little or no modern education and poverty it became very easy for the communalists and anti-social elements to make inroads in the Muslim populace of the district. That is why, there should be no surprise when we are told that the ‘sharp shooters’ of Azamgarh are virtually the terror in Mumbai or even some Gulf countries. Azaamgarh is the centre of Madarasa education, where students from Bihar Bengal, Assam and other parts of the country come every year, although the oldest centre of Modern Education in Azamgarh is the Shibli College founded by a reputed Muslim Contemporary of Sir Saiyyed Ahmad Khan, the illustrious founder of Aligarh Muslim University. There is hardly any village of the district, which has not sent some youths to Gulf countries. When they come back from these countries, with lots of money, they eschew all traces of liberalism and become diehard Islamists.

I do not say it on the basis of hearsay but on my own personal experience. Such Muslims get alienated from other communities and concentrate more Islamic dress and construction of Mosques. This leads to further wedge between Muslims and Non-Muslims. That is why; Azamgarh is a hot bed of communalism and is considered a most sensitive district gripping it communal riots on very trivial matters. However, what is disgusting is that politicians of all hues and colours create further chasm between Muslims and Non-Muslims for their own narrow political ends. SIMI i.e. Student Islamic Movement of India is, in fact, a brainchild of a person belonging to Azamgarh. And it has, undoubtedly, a very large following in Azamgarh and other neighouring districts. The venom of communalism injected by the SIMI is fast degenerating into anti-nationalism. The arrest of Mufti Abu Bashir the mastermind of Ahmedabad and Surat bomb blasts amply proves the point. The saddening part of it is that the persons like Abu Bashir and Abu Salem are getting respectability and hero’s welcome in Azamgarh. Abu Salem is thinking of contesting the Assembly elections. Mufti Abu Bashir’s house in Sarai Meer has been thronged by persons like; Ram Naresh Yadav, a former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and a prominent Congress leader, Akbar Ahmad Dumpy, the Member of the Lok Sabha and the BSP leader, Abu Azami, Member of the Rajya Sabha and the Samajwadi Parti leader, apart from Saiyyed Bukhari of Delhi’s Jama Masjid. Bashir is being given a hallo by these leaders and this again shows the ebb to which our politics has gone down.

The visit of these leaders also indicates the connection which they have with these out-laws and with whose support they win the elections. This also amounts to interference in the independent investigation of the case by the police. And hence, the visit of these leaders should be condemned in no uncertain terms and it would have salubrious effect on others if some action is taken against these leaders, who are fomenting and fostering the elements like Abu Bashir and Abu Salem.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Rot in the legal profession

Delhi High Court enjoys a distinct reputation among all High Courts of the country as far as the efficient functioning and the quality of the judgements are concerned. Most of the judges are reasonable, indulgent to patient hearing and judicious in handing down the verdicts.

Only yesterday i.e.21st August 2008 the bench of Justice Manmohan Sarin and Justice Madan B. Lokur of the Delhi High Court has delivered a judgment which has evoked strong reaction from the Bar Associations .So much so, that the Bar Associations have gone flash strike on this issue. The High Court has debarred two senior lawyers-Shri R.K. Anand and Shri I.U. Khan-from practising for four months and also imposed a token fine of Rs. 2000/- on each. The lawyers have been found guilty of serious misconduct unbecoming of any lawyer, much less of both the designated senior lawyers. It may be recalled that Shri R.K. Anand has been engaged as a defence lawyer by Nandas in high octane BMW case and Shri I.U. Khan was specially appointed the prosecution lawyer.

In a sting operation conducted by the NDTV, which is known as a serious news channel ,both lawyers were found to be in cahoots to get the matter decided in favour of the accused. It was a laudable exposé indeed by the news channel and the channel deserves kudos from all. The High Court took suo motto cognisance of the case and convicted both lawyers for the contempt of court by creating obstruction in the fair dispensation of justice.

The lawyers were given enough opportunity to prove their innocence but instead of that they blamed the news channel for committing the contempt of court. One lawyer Shri R.K. Anand went even to the extent of levelling the allegation on Justice Manmohan Sarin, who has now been appointed the chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, for nursing the bias against him.

The judgment has brought to the fore that some lawyers indulge into very nasty job of setting or manoeuvring the cases and thus do damage to the cause of justice, which often gets miscarried by their dirty deeds. If such practices are adopted by senior lawyers, what signal it sends to others, particularly among hard working young lawyers, can be any body’s imagination. This, undoubtedly, leads to cynicism and frustration among them. This judgement will give a strong message and therefore it should be welcome.

But another point is also involved here. In ‘Supreme Court Bar Association vs Union of India’, the Supreme Court has reviewed its own judgment which was given in the V.C. Mishra case. Just to recollect this case to it is necessary to tell that Shri V.C. Mishra was the chairman of the Bar Council of India and he was found guilty of the contempt of court by the High Court of Allahabad. It was confirmed by the Supreme Court of India and the Apex Court debarred him from practicing for three years. After some time the Supreme Court Bar Association filed a writ petition praying for the review of the earlier decision on the ground that the power to debar any advocate from practice vests only with the Bar Council and not with any court. The Apex Court admitted the writ and rectified its own verdict by ruling that only the Bar Council has got the power to mete out the punishment of debarring any advocate from practice.

Therefore, the question arises whether the High Court is within its jurisdiction to debar the lawyers from practicing or not. In all likelihood this case would go to the Supreme Court and hopefully, the law will be settled. Be that as it may, the decision of the Delhi’s Bar Associations to go on strike against the decision of the High Court is hasty and unwarranted. It would have been appropriate if the Bar Associations had started healthy debate on the jurisdiction of the courts in such matters, ethics and conduct of the Bar and the Bench and also about the ways and means to curb the rot that is eating into the vitals of the legal profession.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Lawyers or law breakers

Lawyers are small unrighteous souls’, said Plato long ago and this image about them is almost etched on the minds of the people all over the world. But at the same it is also true that lawyers have always been in the forefront in voicing against the corruption, exploitation and arbitrariness and vigorously fought for the establishment of rule of law and democratic rights of the people across the world. There is hardly any profession which is free from blemishes but any speck of dirt stuck on the legal community is clearly visible to the general public because all omissions and commissions of the judiciary, particularly the lawyers, have wider repercussions on the society.

What prompted me to write on this controversial topic is a news item that Bar Associations of Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi have decided not to defend those who have been arrested in the cases of bomb blasts at these places. Every patriotic and right thinking person would like to see that culprits should be punished but is it possible without fair trial? Can we blindly believe the police, which often implicates the innocent people and perhaps that is one of the reasons that the acquittal rate in our country is 94 per cent, the highest in the world.

A few months back the similar resolution was passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association that no lawyer would be allowed to represent the case of those arrested in the sex scandal, which rocked the valley. The accused persons were left in lurch and at long last they heaved the relief when the trial was shifted from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab.

Though legal ethics is often described as an oxymoron or contradiction in terms–lay people find the concept amusing and lawyers can find ethics impossible. Here, however, is not the case of individual lawyers but the collective decision of the Bar Associations.

The question, therefore, is whether bar associations have any right to pass such resolutions and act on them? The answer is emphatic ‘NO’. Bar Associations cannot be law unto themselves. They are meant to protect the rights and duties of the lawyers and take such steps as are required for their welfare. The Bar Council of India, which is the creation of the statutory Advocates Act, has specifically prescribed that lawyers should not refuse the briefs and they ought not prejudge and case, howsoever, heinous it may appear on the face of it. So who gave the rights to Bar Associations to pre -judge about any accused?

Newspaper report says that an advocate Mohammad Shoaib was attacked on 12th August 2008 in the Lucknow sessions court for providing aid to some youths charged by the Police with being terrorists. This is no less reprehensible than terrorism itself and it amounts to the slaughter of the legal system of the civilized society. As a Doctor cannot refuse to attend even a sick dacoit or an injured enemy, similarly; the lawyers cannot behave like lumpens and deny any body his/her fundamental rights to be defended by any lawyer of his/her choice. The lawyers are duty bound to assist the courts in dispensation of justice and not in the obstruction of justice. It can only be hoped that Bar Associations will rise to occasion and lift the embargo forthwith imposed on anybody, otherwise justice will be a farce and the image of lawyers will get irretrievably eroded.