Vilagers are getting mired into many evils.

          There is definitely the huge craze for English language and in the process students have almost neglected their own language i.e. Hindi. I came across quite a large number young students who cannot take correctly the dictation of even two three lines. This has given mushroom rise to the private tuitions , which has become a flourishing business in the far and remote areas of villages.

             Another depressing  scene which one cannot escape is the flood drinkers and substance users. There is hardly any family left which has not fallen in this trap, so much so, even girls are taking to the bad habits of tobacco chewing. Liquor has become very common  among youngsters cutting across the caste, community or economic strata .

           Pomp and show on the occasions of marriage, birth day celebrations  is being shamelessly imitated by the people of rural areas. Villagers do not hesitate in  taking loans or from mortgaging their lands etc; for the sake of organising  the pompous marriage ceremonies of their sons and daughters. I saw that many families are groaning with burden of loans. Firstly they try to get loans from the banks but when the bank limits cross and further loans are denied they turn towards private parties, who charge exorbitant rates of interests. I found that many families are sinking in the mire of debts with every passing years. The only glimmer of hope is the higher education. It is only they who can stem this downslide because the curse of dowry and show off in the marriages and other functions can be restricted if the women take the lead in this direction.. I have been told that some young and educated have certainly made the courageous initiative. They all deserve the praise and encouragement from the society and the administration.

    The  lumpenisation and the tendency to make money through easy means have also increased by leaps and bounds in the last two decades. While the introduction of  Panchayati Raj system  has done some good thing ,it has also brought new evils in its bandwagon. Cheating and thuggery which used to be minimal some twenty years ago have now grown in staggering proportions. However, there is immense hope that new generation if given proper education and moral moorings will cleanse the society from the cobwebs of corruption and  dishonesty. Scientific developments and their appropriate application wil go a long way in improving the fate of the people. Let us keep our fingers crossed.

Visible Changes in Villages

Visible Changes in Villages.

My recent visit to my native village, which is nearly 35 kms in the west of Azamgarh district of eastern Uttar Pradesh, has brought mixed feelings of sadness and satisfaction both. Sadness in the sense; that the greed for money has surpassed every other thing. There are hardly any qualms or compunctions for dishonesty or unscrupulousness. The element of immorality has gained sanction and legitimacy in the society. A person who is earning money by any means has obtained all respectability in the society. Thus the ill-gotten money has become the sure cleaner of all sins and crimes.

There was, however, some satisfaction as well, which I derived during my short trip. It was with regard to spread of education across all sections, be it caste Hindus, or Scheduled Castes. Girls-education has picked up very fast. All parents take special care to educate their children and they never hesitate in extending all possible facilities to their wards for good education.

This satisfaction, nevertheless, came with the tinge of remorse because the level of education has gone down abysmally low. Most of students of High School standard cannot write even one simple sentence correctly in their mother tongue-Hindi. Many of them, studying in 9^th or 10^thstandard, cannot solve even the simplest problems of arithmetic.

Another change that I noticed was that there is a craze for English medium schools; nobody wants to send his/her child in a government school, where all facilities like uniform, mid-day meal, books and stationery, are being provided to all children by the Government. This was unheard of in these days when we were school- going children nearly five decades ago. The fact is that neither there were any schools apart from the government schools nor anybody in the locality was in position to afford such costly education. The number of the government schools was few and far between.it was difficult to locate any school within the radius of many kilometers. It appears that the gravy train of economic growth has also brought the mushroom growth of English medium schools. But the level of education in such schools is so depressing that it would be foolhardy to make any comment on it. (Continued....)

BANE OF CASTEISM (2)

 By Parmanand

Mahatma Gandhi's signal contribution to annihilation of untouchability is unprecedented. Frankly speaking, no serious attempt was ever made to root out the inhuman and senseless practice of untouchability before Mahatma Gandhi. It is beyond our comprehension as from when the practice of untouchability started in the Hindu society. It is also a matter of great surprise that how the Hindu society which considers itself to be so tolerant and magnanimous think of perpetuating this sinful, outrageous and atrocious practice of untouchability?

The present generation may not even be able to imagine that how horrendous it was in nature and practice only a few decades ago. If we go by the historical books written by reformers, we find the hair-raising and heart-rending saga of the nefarious practice. It is said that untouchables were not allowed to tread or traverse on the paths that was being used by caste Hindus. If at all any untouchable thought of going on that path, he or she had to tie a broom in his or her waist from behind so that once he or she had moved on the path, it had to be swept by the broom. So much so, an untouchable was not allowed to use footwear even at the time of festivals or marriages. Untouchables were not allowed to cross the path of any caste Hindus.

If one goes by the Vedic scriptures, one finds that the classification of Hindu society was existent but there is no trace of untouchability in any scriptures at least in theory. Let it be hastened to be added that this does not mean that society as found during Vedic period was in any way the ideal one. It was vicious and rotten to say the least. It is, therefore, difficult to exculpate the Vedic literature or society for perpetrating atrocities on untouchables. In one of the texts has been ordained that if a Shudra was found to be reading Vedas or Vedic literature his tongue should be cut and if he hears it then molten glass should be poured into his ears and there was no harm if he was blinded for witnessing the Vedic rituals. The authenticity of these terrible injunctions is not very confirmed. But if one goes by other sources, one finds its authenticity is dubious. However, this does not in any way exonerates the Vedic society for its rigours against Shudras. Infact, it conducted itself in most intolerable and condemnable manner.

It is yet another enigma how four Varnas got split into thousands of castes, layer after layer, each caste and sub-case considering it superior or inferior in relation to other ones. Over the years it became so fossilized that it was an easy task for any fissiparous force to take advantage of the divisions and sub-divisions among Hindus.

This type of crime can be committed only by a race which is destined to self-destruction. It hardly needs to be said that this weakness of Hindus was the reason for their downfall. Hindus, who have been geographically associated with vast expanse of South East Asia, were defeated and humiliated number of times by the foreign aggressors. The assailants although were never very strong, intelligent or superior in arms as compared to Hindus but they were certainly more cohesive and united vis-à-vis Hindu adversaries. What is even more shocking is that even after repeated aggressions by the external forces, Hindus never realized and analyzed their weaknesses.

This actually requires dispassionate research in most objective manner as to how casteism grew and became monstrously strong. The tragedy is that it is very difficult to find objective researchers. Most of the persons who claim, rather deceptively pose themselves, to be researchers suffer from the disease of heavy jaundice and order to obtain the certificate of secularism they find the easy way of blaming one or the other caste of Hindus particularly caste Hindus.

Their (Researchers) aim is not to root-out the evils but to further perpetuate it by arraigning one section against other and in the process further weaken or divide the Hindus. The need is to annihilate caste with roots and branches. But how to achieve the goal is most pertinent question and is to be seriously pondered over.

Bane of Hindu Society (1)

By: Parmanand Pandey

Division of Hindu society on the lines of Varnas and castes has made it completely hollow. This division, practiced and perpetuated for centuries, has made it so weak that it is unable to withstand any onslaught from outside and that is why myriad of evils and vices have set in this religion.

It is highly disturbing and makes one sick as to why all all great thinkers of Hinduism kept aloof from this cancer which has been eating its elan vital for the last many millenniums.

In this backdrop the advent of Gautam Buddha came as a whiff of fresh air. He could have expurgated the Hindu society by removing the division along the Varna and caste lines. The only drawback which one could find in teachings of Buddha was that laid excessive emphasis on the non-violence, which proved to be disastrous for the safety, security, unity and integrity of the country.

It is all the more perplexing that why even a person of dazzling intelligence like Swami Dayanand Saraswati could not think of breaking the shackles of castes. On the contrary, he advocated for retaining the system of four Varna. However, it must be stated in all fairness that Dayanand Saraswati, who was born nearly four and half decades before Mahatma Gandhi had made blistering attacks on the evils of the Hindu society.

He was very clear, confident and convincing in his thinking and logic that he dared all religions and tore into pieces the bookish religions like Christianity and Islam. Sikhism had not gained the status of separate religion independent of Hinduism till then. However, in his book Satyarth Prakash and Samskarvidhi he appeared to be in no doubt about the efficacy of four Varnas.

It hardly needs to be said that any amount of logic supporting the four Varnas cannot appeal to the reason of any conscientious person. It stands on very weak, fallible and extremely feeble legs. This obnoxious system has completely stopped the growth of society. There is no flow because all the avenues of mobility are stopped. Although it is said that there is no prohibition on the mobility from one Varna to the other but that is only for the namesake. The stark fact is that it is the birth which decides the Varna and caste of a person. Moreover, the trait and quality of a person is completely a subjective matter. We have not seen any person who could have moved from one Varna or caste to other. If anyone wants to leave or renounce his/her caste or Varna to adopt the other caste or Varna, he/she can never be adopted or accepted by the other case/Varna.  We do not find any such example of mobility, at least in the known history. This stagnancy has done the incalculable damage to a society which was so advanced in learning, industry and intelligence.

It is again baffling that why the successive thinkers after Buddha did not think beyond. They concentrated more on rooting out the Buddhism from the land of its birth than in reforming the Hindism by making it casteless society. It is also equally true that the way Buddha wanted to cast away the treasure of knowledge and wisdom in Hindu religion was shocking to say the least. It is quite possible that Gautam Buddha might have considered over the rigidity of Varna and caste system and might have found himself incapable of removing the despicable evil and hence thought to completely severe the link from Sanatana dharma, which is how the Hindu religion is known today rather than making any effort to reform it. Hence he thought it fit to found a new religion instead of breaking the head against the hard stones of Hinduism.

  

Attacks on Mamta Banerjee in Delhi had streaks of Fascism

 By: Parmanand Pandey

Attacks on West Bengal Chief Minister Kumari Mamta Banerjee and State's Finance Minister Amit Mitra on 8^th April before the gate of the Planning Commission in the high safety zone of New Delhi is not only sad and reprehensible but it also raises some disturbing questions. Firstly; why the goons of the CPI(M) were, at all, allowed to assemble in large number, around 300, outside the gate when prohibitory order under section 144 of the Cr. P.C. always remain in force in the area. Secondly; it happened within the range of 100 metres of the Parliament Street Police Station, which remains fortified round the clock. Thirdly; why did the Delhi police remain so callous as not to foresee the threat to Ms Mamta Banerjee who is an eye sore to the CPM ruffians, who have mastered the art of goondaism and killing their foes and then paint it with some ideological colour.

However, the colour they provide to their organised anarchy is well known to the people and anybody can see-through their nefarious and sinister designs. This is not in the hindsight the people say that the police should have been more alert on such occasions but everybody invariably believes that this is the sheer incompetence of the police and this is how it normally behaves in India.

The CPI (M) cadre is postmaster in telling lies. They try to beguile and befool the credulous people. The Party has earned expertise in blackmailing and bamboozlement. The CPI (M) leaders have said in their explanation that they were demonstrating outside the Planning Commission as they knew beforehand that Mamta Banerjee was coming to attend a meeting with the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, to protest against the death of a 23 year old Sudipta Gupta, an activist of the Student Federation of India, allegedly under the custody of Kolkata police. The police, on the other, say that he died in an accident while being taken to lock up but the CPM's student wing SFI is not ready to believe and buy the police theory. Both the police and the SFI may be right or both may be wrong. This can be conclusively established after a fair enquiry.

The death of any body, much less of a young boy is being exploited by the CPM. It must be said here that the death of the promising boy is sad but the way the CPI (M) is trying to capitalise it for the Party's revival is deplorable. The fact is that they got very sound drubbing twice in quick succession in the hustings after a long period of 34 years of its reign has still not been reconciled by them.

The CPI (M) strategists think that if could rule West Bengal for 34 long years by the cult of violence; they can again come to power through violence.

But they are sadly mistaken much water has flown through Hoogly in the last three and half decades and new generation has become wiser, more by experience than by analysis. Youngsters can no longer be misguided by polemics and romanticism of phony revolution of the CPI (M). During the unconscionably long rule of 34 years the CPM has virtually destroyed all the fabrics of social values, industry and agriculture. It has thrown the vast populace into drain of abject poverty, backwardness and indolence. Thus, the need is to expose the CPI (M) misdeeds with all the vigour and strength that one possesses to save the country. The attacks on Mamta and Mitra are the matters of concern for the entire country because they tantamount to the naked display of fascism that we often witness in West Bengal by the hoodlums of the CPI(M) and also in Maharashtra by the lumpens of Raj Thakre's MNS party.

The time has come when this fascism should be crushed, pulverised and buried to fathomless depth.

Supreme Court Judgment on Cancer Drugs is Laudable

The Supreme Court of India has delivered a historic judgment which will provide a huge relief to thousands of cancer patients in India. Through this verdict the Court has allowed the suppliers to continue making generic copies of a cancer fighting drug Novartis Glivec. At present it costs more than Rs. one lakh per month but thanks to this judgment is will henceforth cost less than nine thousand rupees.

It is a humane and every inch judicious judgment. The Pharmacentical companies, no doubt, do a commendable job of research and development of medicines for life threatening diseases like cancer and HIV. But once they have invented the medicines and recovered the cost of research they forget their benign duties of serving the mankind and continue to indulge into inexorable exploitation by keeping the cost exorbitantly high. In this the companies, which were claiming the patent rights were not credited with any invention but they have doing certain combinations and permutations in the medicines being traded.

Studies that have been presented before the court clearly suggest that the manufacturing companies have already earned the entire cost of Research and Development within one year of its production. Glivecis is the brand name of Inatinib Novartis which had applied for a patent of a modified drug 'beta crystalline'. The Supreme Court has given a very well- reasoned judgment that the patent for 'beta crystalline' could not be granted because it was not any invention but an imitation with minor changes. In fact, it has been the case of downright cheating by companies which have been charging the unreasonable prices for cancer drugs. This cruelty is condemnable. One of my friends the late Alok Tomar who died two years ago of deadly disease of cancer had written somewhere about the pathetic story of the cancer patients whose disease was aggravated and  advanced due to prohibitive cost of medicines. He had in his imitable style narrated that a great deal of racket was involved in the dealings of cancer medicines.

The judges-Aftab Alam and Ranjana K. Desai— must be complimented and applauded for this landmark judgment and hopefully, the pharmaceutical companies would understand their primary duty of relieving the pains and sufferings of the people instead of raking into the stinking profit by selling of the medicines to helpless and poor patients.

Muslims and Buddhists clash in Myanmar and Sri Lanka

By: Parmanand Pandey

The news of clash between Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar and Sri Lanka seems to be quite strange because it is alleged that Buddhists are leading the attacks and vandalism. If it is so—it is really condemnable and needs to be curbed with iron hands. It is strange in the sense because Muslims across the world are known for picking up the quarrels and taking advantage of the troubled waters. It is all the more surprising because Buddhists are known for their placid, meek and docile behaviour. It is the culture of tolerance and non-violence that is inculcated among them from the cradle and they carry it to their cremation.

Muslims, on the contrary, refuse to gel with any other community. They consider it an onslaught on their religion and refuse to compromise their identity to live with others following the philosophy of co-existence. It may be remembered that many years ago the Kashmiri Hindus had requested the Muslims to observe one day in the year as non-meat eating day on Krishna Janmashtami. This gesture of Muslims could have gone a long way in cementing the ties between both communities. A Muslim clergy (leader) took offence to this appeal and he responded to it by openly slaughtering a cow on the chauraha (the cross road) of Lal Chowk of Srinagar. They (Muslims) defied the appeal of Hindus in other parts of the state also because they thought that paying any heed to the request or entreaty of other religionist is nothing less than an insult to their credo or belief. If this is their belief, it needs no comment because it is self-speaking about their religion and character.

This is the reason that they have become a thorn in flesh of most of democratic countries of the world, be it America, England, Canada, France or Germany.

This religion is a closed religion. It refuses to amend or reform with the passage of time. Muslims think and remain complacent in the sufficiency of Quran as far as the knowledge is concerned. Enquiry and interpretation is anathema to it. This is possibly one of the main reasons why Islamists are at loggerheads with every other religionist around the world. Wherever they are in majority, they consider it their duty as ordained by their religion to convert the minority religionists to their fold by force, fraud, cheating and duress. But wherever they are in minority, they make hue and cry of human rights violation and also of the 'Islam is in danger'. This double edged policy of theirs has made them suspicious in the eyes of the other religionists. Moreover, they say that there is no concept of nationhood in their religion. They owe allegiance to the Islamic brotherhood without caring even two hoots for their neighours, co-linguists and compatriots. They will denounce the science if it infringes even a little bit in their beliefs but never hesitate to use it for aggravating the crisis for others with the help of modern weapons and equipment.

However, all said and done, Muslims must enjoy their freedom to the hilt and any curtailment in their religious rights must be deprecated. At the same time Muslims must also understand that like them others freedom need to be honoured and protected and not to be interfered. Once they understand this spirit, there would hardly be any scope of clash and harassment of any one in the society irrespective of the religion. But Muslims must go for self-introspection and learn to live in peace and harmony with others.

Any Award to Lalu will amount an insult to people

By Parmanand pandey  (25-05-2009)

Lalu Prasad Yadav, when he was the Chief Minister of Bihar used to brag, ‘Jab tak hai somese me aaloo, tab tak rahega Bihar me Lalu (So long the Samosas are made of potatoes, Bihar will be ruled by Lalu). He had many times said that he would rule Bihar for at least twenty five years. When he shifted from Bihar to Delhi after getting his wife saddled as the Chief Minister of the State he boasted number of times inside and outside Parliament that one day he would certainly become the Prime Minster of India.
One may recollect that when Lalu was returned to power in Bihar for the third consecutive time he had pooh-poohed the idea of development in the State. He even ridiculed the theory of modernisation, computerisation and developmental activities of Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh who had got drubbings at the assembly elections by saying that if the development had been the criterion of popularity in the people, then Naidu should not have got battered. This was his way of expressing contempt for the development.
Anybody, who talked of making Bihar a vibrant and developed state, was made the butt of jukes by Lalu. He had said many times that only illiterates and poor people vote for him; therefore, there was no need for education and alleviation of poverty from the state. Thus he actively and deliberately perpetuated the poverty and deprivation in Bihar. So much so; he used to gleefully enjoy the humiliation of Biharis, who stepped out their State to earn their livelihood in other states.
A person, who considered himself the product of the movement got himself immersed, head over shoulder, in corruption of every conceivable type, be it fodder scam or asphalt scam or misappropriation of flood relief fund. He sucked Bihar white for his insatiable greed of accumulating wealth. He ran the state of Bihar as his fiefdom without any sense of shame or guilt. Claiming himself to be a socialist he indulged in terrible casteism and rank opportunism in most brazen and arrogant style. He was tried in the court of law in some cases and was even sent to jail more than once but the thick skinned Lalu, as he is, boasted as if the jail going in corruption cases was a badge of honour. While going to jail; the way he handed over the baton of Chief Ministership to his unlettered house wife, Rabri Devi, amounted to heaping insult on the people of the State in particular and the democratic polity of the country in general. In any other democratic country, he would have been languishing in jail and faced the wrath of the public but he, with the support of spineless leaders like Inder Kumar Gujral, whose ascendancy to the post of the Prime Minister ship of India was slur on the country, got his wife sworn in as the Chief Minister of the second largest state of the country. It was the darkest period of the country that a self seeker like Gujral could rise to the level of the Prime Minister of the country without any qualification, struggle or ideology. He, verily, brought disrepute to the exalted post of the Prime Minister ship. It is said, that it was Gujral who suggested Lalu to install his wife as the Chief Minster of Bihar. What a shame!
Now Lalu Prasad Yadav’s bluff and bravado has been exposed in the last Parliamentary elections. The People of Bihar have rejected him lock stock and barrel. Any attempt by him or his corrupt supporters to get him awarded with a ministerial berth at the centre would again be an insult to the people of Bihar. This is the time his corrupt deeds, irregularities in Bihar as well as in the Railway Ministry should be thoroughly enquired into and made public. And he must be tried in fair and objective manner by the court of law. If he is found guilty he should get stern punishment. This will help restore the people’s faith in democracy and neck-deep corrupt politicians like him would, undoubtedly, be deterred from plundering the public money and treat the power as their fiefs. A good lesson indeed!

MF Hussain's Act is Disgrace to Freedom and Liberty

By Parmanand Pandey  (03-03-2010)

It is really shocking and unfortunate that MF Hussain, a famous painter has, with his own volition; decided to relinquish the Indian citizenship to become the citizen of Qatar, an Islamic country, where freedom of expression is as removed as the sky is from the earth. As a matter of fact, singing, dancing and painting is anti-Islamic and satanic because they supposedly cause deviation from worship. That is why, it is beyond anybody's imagination that a person like MF Hussain, who claims to be the votary of freedom of expression would salivate for the citizenship of a tyrannical and intolerant country. This shows that his advocacy for freedom and speech and expression is not only phoney but a complete trash. He has proved to be a suspect by his conduct.

India, by all means; a country of liberal and tolerant society, has made him what he is. His works have been admired and eulogised not by Muslims but Hindu intellectuals, although his works are of very ordinary and average standards. There are hardly two opinions that most of the Hindu intellectuals have often gone overboard in praising the works of MF Hussain; not because they are good connoisseurs of art but because they suffer from acute inferiority syndrome. The purpose of this piece, however; is not to assess and evaluate the paintings of MF Husain but to nail his lies that he is a secular and strives for freedom. One question has always remained unanswered why does he relish in paining nude only Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Accepted, that imaging of Prophet Mohammed would be a blasphemy but why could he not paint others as he did in the case of Mrs. Indira Gandhi? And if his nude painting of Hindu deities are objected; then Mr. Hussain tries to adopt the specious logic of freedom of expression. Does it not show his mala fides and duplicity? He also cites that example of temples of mediaeval times, where there are plenty of exotic frescoes on the walls but he conveniently forgets that those carvings are not of deities.

Now when he has accepted the citizenship of an Islamic state, his intentions become abundantly clear that it is more to offend and hurt the religious feelings and sensibilities of Hindus than to espouse the cause of art and culture. There are some newspapers, intellectuals and politicians of India, who have become so blind with irrationality that they do not have any sense of shame left in them that they consider this act of MF Hussain as a shame for Indians. In fact, it is the other way round and should be a matter of shame for MF Hussain that he has decided to forego the citizenship of the country of his birth and which has given him so much including the prestigious membership of the Rajya Sabha but now he is unabashedly maligning the same motherland. He has, undoubtedly; let this country down. It is an affront to the civic society. If he had gone to settle in any democratic and civilised country, then it could have mitigated his misdemeanours and misconduct to some extent. But the drama and ruckus that he has created in preference to an Islamic country betrays his hatred and disliking for the culture and values of India. This is shameful indeed and he deserves to be squarely condemned, derided and deprecated in Gandhian way of non-violence. Those who support this reprehensible act of MF Hussain's are no better than senseless and insane people.

SACK JUSTICE KATJU FROM THE PCI

By: Parmanand Pandey

Justice Markanday Katju, most of the times, makes an ass of himself by his totally unconvincing, illogical, partisan and ridiculous statements. Right from the time he has become the Chairman of the Press Council of India he has developed the unquenchable thirst for publicity for right or wrong reasons and that is why he often issues silly statements on almost all subjects under the sun. People are now so fed up with his blabbering that do not hesitate in calling him ‘megalomaniac’ and ‘vagabond’ etc. These epithets, which are attributed to him, are entirely of his own creation.

Go to the Bar of the Supreme Court of India and one will come across with many distinguished lawyers, who would vouchsafe that while on the Bench he was not known for the formidable knowledge of law or elegance of the language of the judgments but for his acid and sarcastic comments, which were invariably uncalled for. Many lawyers used to sit in his court rooms, even if they had no cases listed for hearings, for the free entertainment that used to flow from the Bench of Justice Katju.

His article on Narendra Modi that was published in the Hindu was not only in bad taste but also unbecoming of the person, who holds a high statutory post and was once the judge of the Apex Court of country. When the protests started coming thick and fast from across the country, he tried to slink out by saying that the article was written in his personal capacity and not in the capacity of the Chairman of the Press Council of India. It is nothing but a vain effort to befool the public. I am sure he must be aware of the fact that nobody would have taken notice of his statements and articles if he was not the Chairman of the Press Council of India.

Now his recent statement on Sanjay Datt has come as a rude shock to every law-abiding, well-meaning and conscientious citizen of the country. He appeared to be in the tearing hurry of issuing a statement on Sanjay affair which could create controversy and he might be able to reap the resultant dividend of publicity and for that he would not mind doing anything and everything. He has, needlessly, been advocating for Governor’s mercy to Sanjay Datt and the logic which he advances in his plea is atrocious and bereft of any plausible reasoning.

Surprisingly, he issued his statement for clemency to Sanjay Datt even before the ink of the Apex Court Judgment had dried and well before the same could put on the official web-site of the Supreme Court of India. In his haste to please his masters he forgot to check his facts that under which provisions of the Constitution of India the clemency  in such types of cases could be sought for by any convict from the President of India.

I am sure if he had taken some trouble to go through the judgment of the Supreme Court, he would certainly have come to know that the punishment meted out to Sanjay Datt is fully justified and based on proper interpretation of law and jurisprudence. It may be noted that his confessional statements, which he retracted after many months, would make it as clear as the day-light that he (Sanjay Datt) was guilty on many counts and he is not at all as innocent as his drum beaters are trying to make out. It is good that he has himself said that he would neither file the Review Petition in the Supreme Court nor send any petition before the President of India to be pardoned.

Any clemency, therefore, to Sanjay Datt would prove counter-productive and people would lose all faith in the judicial system as well as in the executive that both work overtime for the rich and resourceful person while poor man is allowed to rot to his fate. It would be, in fact, in the fitness of things that any talk of clemency or pardon for Sanjay Datt should be put to permanent rest and loose talkers like Katju must be snubbed.

In all fairness, Mr. Katju should resign from the post of the Chairman of the Press Council of India and indulge into the politics by joining the party of his grandfather K.N. Katju i.e. the Indian National Congress. However, in case he does not resign, which I am sure he will not, then the government would do service to the country and the people by immediately sacking him.