A book on spiritualism worthy to be chewed and digested

 Pithily written book ‘Dharma, Yoga aur Aadhyatm’ by Supreme Court Advocate Shri Radha Krishna Kumar is indeed like food for thought for each and everyone; regardless of his/her being a deeply religious, non-religious or even an atheist. One is amazed to find the gems of knowledge in the book. It is not merely a painstaking collection of axioms by a researcher, but it reflects the uncanny understanding, nay the subtle practices of dharma and yoga in life by the writer. The book contains four independent chapters. The first one deals with different religions of the world, and the rise of faiths.  The crux of all major religions has been given in the most succinct manner and astonishing style. The description of the Buddhist theory of Pratityasamutpad (cause and effect), Astaang Marg (eightfold path), Panchasheel(five codes of conduct) and four Arya Satya (noble truths) are like eye-openers for the human being steeped in ignorance.

  It may be noted here that births and rebirths have been the foundation of almost all religions except Islam. While Buddhism says that there is sorrow in the world, and there is a reason for it. The sorrow can certainly be overcome because there is a way to it. Jainism tells us that as long as Kashayas (passions) are not eschewed, it is difficult to get Kaivalya (liberation). Those passions are Avidya(ignorance) Krodh(anger) Ahankar (ego or false pride), Maya (illusion) and Lobha (Greed). More or less, the same canon has been said or propounded by all indigenous religions.

  The second chapter is centred on Yoga and its different forms like Bhakti Yoga, Gyan Yoga and Karma Yoga as preached by Lord Krishna, enunciated by rishis like Patanjali and Kapil. There is no dichotomy between Gyan Yoga, Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. Goswami Tulsidas was of the view that human being was a mere puppet. So, he/she must make total surrender to God, but it is not so easy. Lord Krishna says: Chanchalam hi manah krishna pramathi balvaddridham. Tasyaham nigraham manye vayoriv sududskaram i.e. mind is very fickle but determined and strong. Therefore, to control the mind is as difficult as controlling the air. Sant Kabir says: ‘Man ke mate na chaliye, man ke mate anek. Jo man par aswar hai, soi sadhu koi ek’. (Do not go by the dictates of mind because it is very capricious, and only rarest of the rare can keep the mind under control’).

  The third chapter is on the Aadhyatm or spiritualism. It has navigated us through the Saguna and Nirgun form of God, which exists in every scintilla of the creation. Sant Kabir has rightly said: ‘jaise til men tel hai, jyon chakmak men aag, tera sai Tujh men hai, jaan sake to jaan’ (As oil is found in seeds, stone has fire in itself, similarly God is within you, so He needs to be realised). A person performs his Karmas(deeds) in three ways namely;mun, vachan and sharir (mind, words and body). While good deeds change the fortune of the person for good, bad karma spoils his/her fate. The writer has explained the etymological meaning of the word ‘GURU’. ‘Gu’ stands for darkness and ‘Ru’ means remover. Thus, one who removes the darkness and enlightens life is a real Guru.    

  The fourth chapter contains 18 spiritual stories. The very first story and the best among all (in my consideration) narrates the reality of life. The gist of the story is that a person while going to the town had to pass through difficult terrain and dense forests.  On his way, at some distance, he found a mound of bones. He thought that any violent animal must have killed all those travellers who passed through the intractable path. To his surprise, he found that a lion was chasing a man. The man jumped on a banyan tree. The lion also climbed on the tree. Then he saw that a rope was suspended with the tree towards the deep lake, and the man caught hold of the rope. There were two crocodiles in the lake waiting for the man to fall to devour him because the rope was being nibbled by two rats. In the meantime, he started enjoying the drops of sweat and delicious honey falling in his mouth.

Then a person in the crowd quipped how foolish he was. Upon it, Lord Buddha smiled and said it was none but you and explained that mounds of bones exemplify the mortality of human beings. Lion denotes Yamraj (the God of death). Two crocodiles were like two enemies- lust and anger. Two rats were day and night busy in shortening their life. Drops of honey were like momentary pleasure. Therefore, the human being must come out of ignorance to realise the realities.

  The absorbing book has been written in a very lucid style. However, there are some printing and spelling mistakes causing eyesores.

 

 

 

Law to Weed out Touts is Inadequate and Needs to be Done More

The presence of touts is ubiquitous in any court, be it district, High Court or even the Supreme Court. Why only courts- this is a common sight of any government office dealing with the public. So much so, even in the hospitals, touts rule the roost. Police stations remain hovered by the touts all the time. Even an FIR cannot be lodged without the help of the touts. As far as the courts are concerned, touts are found on all their gates itself. Many advocates depend on them because it is they who bring cases to them and in return get good commissions. Many touts have their own independent offices, and they operate by giving a façade of computer operators or typists. That is why, the Advocate Amendment Bill 2023 passed by Parliament the other day is a welcome law.

   Verily speaking, the judicial system is swamped with touts. The definition of tout that has been given in the new Advocates (Amendment) Bill of 2023 is ‘ a person, who procures, in consideration of any remuneration moving from any legal practitioner, the employment in any legal business.’ It further says that ‘who for such procurement frequents the precincts of Civil or Criminal Courts or revenue-offices, or railway stations, landing stages, lodging places or other places of public resort.’ The need for bringing in changes in India’s judicial administration was felt immediately after independence. The Law Commission was tasked with preparing a report on reforms. In its 249th Report titled ‘Obsolete Laws: Warranting Immediate Repeal’, the Commission recommended repealing the 1879 Act. Additionally, the All-India Bar Committee made its recommendations on the subject in 1953. Taking these into account, the 1961 Act was passed.

  However, this Amendment is inadequate unless the judges and advocates come forward to root this out, it will be highly impossible to get rid of this disease. The new provision, Section 45A, states that the Bill enables every HC and district judge to frame and publish lists of touts. However, no person’s name will be included in any such list until they have had an opportunity to show cause against such inclusion. Further, any authority empowered to make lists of alleged or suspected touts can send them to any subordinate court, which, after holding an inquiry into the conduct of such persons, will allow them an opportunity to show cause. After this, the lower court will report back to the authority ordering the inquiry. If proven to be a tout, the person’s name will be included in the list of touts that will be published by the authority and hung in every court. The court or judge may exclude any person whose name is included in any such list from the court’s vicinity. Additionally, this provision punishes anyone acting as a tout ‘while his name is included in any such list’ with imprisonment up to three months, a fine that may extend to five hundred rupees or both.

  Touts are, in fact, all-pervasive. They are present at the houses and offices of ministers/ politicians, who not only make money but also allow the touts to make money due to their influence and proximity to powerful politicians. The names of the touts can be published by the courts but what about touts who are Ll. B degree holders and work in the garb of advocates? These people work as middle persons for the judges and the advocates, which is monetarily and mutually beneficial to both. It may sound strange, but it is a fact that touts are operating even at the famous temples, and they swoop on pilgrims at the bus stations, inside the trains and railway stations or near the temples.

  Apart from the effective laws, what is needed is general awareness among the people. The administration has to have determination and necessary firmness in dealing with the pests of touts. But then the administration itself will have to cure itself from the infection of touts. If the senior advocates and judges do not show any leniency towards touts, more than half the problem will be automatically solved.

 The decision of the government to repeal all obsolete and superfluous laws, which have lost their utility, which is often used by insensitive officers is also a welcome step. In the process, more than one thousand laws have already been abrogated but hundreds more need to be consigned.

 

 

Death of a Shyster Subroto Roy

The Late SubrotoRoy was, no doubt, a genius, who set a new record of fraud and forgery. Millions of small investors, who were trapped by the greed and inducements of Subroto Roy; more known as Sahara Sri, never got back their hard-earned savings. Dishonest politicians of all parties had parked their ill-gotten moneywith Subroto Roy, and they vied with each other supporting and even getting close to him. Film actors and actresses used to flaunt their proximity to him. A large number of journalists, who benefitted from the largesse of SubrotoRoy sang peans during his lifetime and even after his death. Many of them did not lag behind in showing their close connections with the king of thuggery.

He was brought to books, thanks to the Supreme Court although he did not leave any stone unturned even dodging the Apex Court. When he was asked to deposit Rs. 24000crores of investors' money to the SEBI along with documents for verification, he sent 132 truckloads containing 32 thousand cartons of documents. Some were real and genuine documents, but most of them were fakes. There was no place for the SEBI to store those documents, so some space was taken on rent. However, another good order was passed by the Supreme Court that the rent amount would be paid only by the Sahara. The SEBI later got the genuine documents digitalized.

It is a general perception among the people that Subroto Roy lived the life of a super king. He is said to have spent Rupees 500 crore on the marriage of his sons, which were attended by who's who of the country. Many bureaucrats, politicians, journalists and industrialists were dying to get the invites to attend his sons' marriages. His presence was found to be in almost all fields including film, journalism, television, real estate etc. but he refused to abide by the labour laws or any other applicable laws in his establishments. He had his own set of laws and demeanour to be observed by the employees in his offices. In a nutshell, his whims and fancies were the laws and the rules.

Surprisingly, even governments succumbed to his crazy ideas. He never implemented the Wage Board recommendations, the Working Journalist Act or the Industrial Disputes Act for the employees of his organisations. As a result of it, some used to receive very high salaries but many of them were denied even their minimum wages. He believed in crushing the trade unions by all tricks of the trade including even by bribing the trade unionists. Every foul means was fair for him. Sycophancy was encouraged like anything by him. What will happen to millions of investors after his death, nobody knows. Corrupt politicians, journalists and bureaucrats are not going to help them. It is only the judiciary which can give some relief, but will the fatigued investors be able to knock on the doors of the judiciary after so many years?

Let SubrotoRoy's soul be in eternal peace and May God never send any such person as Subroto Roy again on this earth to cheat millions!

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Press Council is toothless, how can it bite without strong teeth?

 National Press Day has been celebrated under the auspices of the Press Council of India on the 16^th of November every year since 1995 when it was decided to celebrate it on the day when the Press Council was enacted by the Parliament. It may be mentioned here that the first Press Commission was constituted on 23^rd September 1952 to study the state of affairs of the Press under the Chairmanship of Justice G S Rajyadhyaksha.  Many eminent persons from different streams were its members. It was set up to secure freedom of speech and expression, to curb yellow journalism, sensationalism, malicious attacks on public men, indecency and vulgarity, bias in the presentation of news and lack of responsibility in comment, to inquire about the control, management and ownership, the financial structure as well as other important aspects of the newspaper industry in the country.

  It submitted its report on 14^th July 1954. It made two very important recommendations; one was the enactment of the Working Journalist Act and the other was for the statutory Press Council of India. The Working Journalist Act was enacted in 1955 within a few months of the submission of the Press Commission's report but the Press Council of India came into existence on 16^th November 1966. In those days only the Print medium was in existence. In the name of electronic medium, the government-controlled Akashvani was there but that had nothing to do either with the Working Journalist Act or with the Press Council of India. There was no freedom for Akahvani, it had and even now it has to work as per the  policies framed  by the government 

  To cut a long story short in this year's celebration of National Press Day, the Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar was the guest of honour, who exhorted the Press Council by saying that it was not 'the time to show teeth but a time to bite against those spreading the fake and false news. And the bite must be strong because those who are serving with high ethical standards must be encouraged only by those not doing so being visited with exemplary consequences.’  

  Dhankhar also said that it was the moral duty of the media to tell the truth, nothing but the truth. He cited a recent incident about a newspaper in Telangana publishing that the V-P’s Twitter handle carries a fake photograph of a parliamentary committee. He also cited another incident from the past, when as Governor of West Bengal, he suffered when a senior journalist alleged, he was summoning the Chief Minister of West Bengal to Raj Bhavan every day.

  What is, however, very surprising is that Dhankhar is asking the Press Council not to show its teeth but to bite strongly. It appears that he is blissfully ignorant about the fact that the Press Council of India is a toothless tiger. It has no teeth at all. It can only put moral pressure on the newspapers by either, warning, reprimanding or censuring the erring newspapers or journalists. It has no powers beyond that. It may be stated here that yours truly was also a member of the Press Council for two consecutive terms i.e., for six years. He and his organisation Indian Federation of Working Journalist (IFWJ) has been demanding a complete overhauling of the Press Council of India.

 The first thing that needs to be done is that the Press Council should be converted into the Media Council by the Parliament of Bharat by bringing all genres of media that are Print, Electronic, Web, Digital and social media into its ambit. Then it would be in a position to take note of the errors of all types of media. The second most important thing is that it should have enough powers to take stringent action against the erring defaulters otherwise nobody will care even two hoots for its directions/ orders/ suggestions. 

  The other thing that should be done is to have eminent journalists, trade unionists, literature and law apart from Members of Parliament and other social activists of honesty and credibility in the Press Council. But at present there is hardly any important journalist, who is a member of the Press Council. 

  The biggest crisis that the country is facing today is that of the credibility of media and this can be restored only when the Media Council possesses some powers. It should not only have the teeth to show but strong enough to bite the errants. Today the biggest problem comes from social media, which often indulges in deep fakery with the help of new technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The crisis of credibility is more because, social media, operates without any gatekeepers.  The expression ‘fake news’ has never been heard so loudly before as it is these days and social media is the main sinner.

 

Hamas does not Deserve any support for its thrashing

  

   

 Israel and Hamas war started on 7^th October and has already taken the toll of more than 15 thousand human lives. In the past, no friction with Israel has lasted for more than a week but this time it is still continuing despite the passage of nearly six weeks’ time.  In fact, it is no longer a war but a relentless thrashing of the Hamas terrorists and their sympathisers in the Gaza Strip. According to the latest reports almost the entire Gaza Strip has been occupied by Israel’s forces. Hamas terrorists are hiding like rats in the tunnels, which they have constructed mainly under the hospitals to shield themselves. Terrorists are now targeting hospitals, killing innocent people and blaming Israel’s forces to gain sympathy from the world. But no country has till now come forward to join the war against Israel. Even Iran, Lebanon and Pakistan do not have the courage to face the wrath of Israel.

  As a matter of fact, the world can learn a lesson from Israel, which has vowed to completely destroy Hamas. Only a decade ago; India was the centre of terrorist attacks. People were mortally afraid of travelling in trains and buses. Even public places like hotels, bazaars and temples were not spared by the terrorists, most of them were homegrown terrorists and were obviously surviving with the help and support of Pakistan. But presently Pakistan itself has become a bankrupt country and is going across the world with a begging bowl. Although fundamentalist and radical forces in Pakistan provide only bogus verbal support to Hamas, they have neither the courage nor strength to physically provide any help to them. In India, we often see that some people loudmouth to extend support aid to Hamas forgetting the fact that any assistance to it will amount to propping up terrorism, which is a danger to mankind.

There is no doubt that hundreds of innocent people are being killed in this conflict and it will be in the interest of humanity that it is stopped without any further loss of time. The world, particularly those who stand in support of Hamas must prevail upon them to hand over all hostages to Israel otherwise, it is almost certain that it would not stop till their total extermination.

This conflict also points out the abject failure of Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad, which is considered to be the best in the world. Hamas would not have launched an attack on Israel from thin air in a day. Hamas terrorists must have prepared their strategy for months together to launch the massive attack on Israel killing hundreds of innocent people in a few hours’ time but shockingly the Mossad did not have any inkling of it.

There is no gainsaying that terrorism must go lock, stock and barrel. Any sacrifice to liquidate the terrorists will be in the interest of humanity. At the same time, it is also necessary that Palestinians must also be provided all succour and land for their peaceful settlement. This is possible only when every trace of terrorism is fully wiped out and the Islamic countries must desist from sustaining them as some of them like Pakistan, Lebanon and Iran are shamelessly openly bolstering it.  

 70-Hour Work a Week Suggestion is Impractical and Illogical.

INFOSYS Chairman Narayana Murthy has stirred a hornet’s nest by throwing an idea that the working hours of employees and workers should be fixed seventy hours a week. However, a large number of workers, trade unions and even politicians are up against this idea. The opposition has erupted against this stupid idea which he has proposed. It must be mentioned here that there have been agitations across the world in the late 19th century with regard to limiting working hours to eight hours per day for six days a week.

After years of struggle in May 1886, the workers went on for complete strike in support of their demand. Many of them, around two dozen, were killed and suffered violence of various types. Now after nearly 150 years if somebody is advocating for increasing the working of workers from a 48-hour week to 70 hours a week is certainly inhuman, illogical and cruel to say the least. Even in the ‘Occupational Safety, health and Working Code’, which is yet to be promulgated although it has already got the presidential assent after being passed by both houses of Parliament, there is a provision of only 48 hours a week. For journalists, it is only thirty-six a week has been prescribed, which means 144 hours in a month. The only change that has been suggested in the OSH Code is that working hours can be increased to 12 hours a day provided it is four days a week working. Now here are some industrialists who are talking about 70 hours a week of work for the workers in the name of increasing the productivity of the country.

No doubt, increasing production is an important factor but what about the mental and physical health of the working class? 12 hours of work a day means effectively 14 hours a day because it will take at least two hours for a worker to commute from the workplace to his/her dwelling place and vice versa. He/she will have to spend at least one hour to be ready to go to the workplace. Thus, it will be 15 hours in a day. How much time the worker will be able to give to family and attend the household work can be well imagined by anybody.

A worker will have an enormous amount of physical and mental wear and tear resulting in his/her bad health and invitation to a number of diseases. Thus ultimately, what is being thought of as a measure to increasing productivity by enhancing the working hours will be disadvantageous to the working class, the society and the country as a whole. Surprisingly, the illogical and anti-worker opinion/ suggestion of Narayan Murthy has got support from business tycoons like Tech Mahindra’s CP Gurnani and JSW Chairman Sajjan Jindal. In fact, the 70-hour work week would be synonymous with that of running a “sweatshop”.

In India, the primary statutes which talk about working hours are the Factories Act, 1948 (“Factories Act’) and the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (“Minimum Wages Act”). Both the Acts are fairly uniform as to the upper ceiling of daily and weekly working hours – which are 9 hours and 48 hours respectively. The Factories Act, additionally, entitles each worker to a break of at least half an hour (not more than 5 hours of work should pass before such an interval). Both the Acts further strive to provide overtime compensation at the rate of double the wages for each hour of work undertaken in excess of the threshold of 9 hours. It is imperative to note though - that the applicability of the Factories Act extends only to Factories employing 10 or more persons and where some manufacturing process is carried on; whereas the Minimum Wages Act is majorly applicable over any employment which employs more than 1000 employees in a state.

In so far as all other establishments are concerned, their working is regulated in accordance with the Shops and Establishments Acts of each state. The Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961 (“Karnataka Shops Act”) is applicable to all shops and commercial establishments of the state with its provisions pertaining to working hours (both daily and weekly) being no different to the two above-mentioned legislations. Under the Karnataka Shops Act, the spread over, in any case, cannot exceed 12 hours - with the overtime payment of up to 2 extra hours. The same is also the case with the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, of 1954. Therefore, the sooner this idea of Narayan Murthy is given a go-by, the better for the country. In this age of Technology and Artificial Intelligence, why he is talking about enhancing the working hours of workers defies all logic.

Doyen of Labour Laws and Eminent Lawyer HL Kumar Passes Away

 A well-known lawyer of labour laws in Delhi H L Kumar is no more.   He was courteous to the core and enjoyed a good reputation across the country. Not only employers and their organisations but also employees, trade unions of all hues and colours, government officials and judges used to take advice and benefit from his knowledge and experiences. He was more known as Kumar Saheb to all his friends and acquaintances. He silently passed away on 24^th October leaving hundreds of admirers and colleagues to mourn his death. He was in his late eighties and was an Ajatshatru, a friend of all and foe of none. Soft-spoken and quite amiable with everybody, Kumar Saheb was always ready to help others in every possible manner. He showed no signs of any illness, except age-related weaknesses, and was found to be engrossed in works to the fag-end of his life.

Kumar Saheb used to be nostalgic about Lahore (now in Pakistan) where he was born, spent his childhood and had his initial education. After partition, he moved over to India under the tutelage of his parents, who owned a hotel in Shimla. However, he did not opt to become a hotelier or a businessman but chose to pursue lawyering. For more than sixty years he has been in the profession and must have trained scores of lawyers. Apart from being an accomplished advocate, an excellent Samaritan, and a lovely human being, he was a good journalist, an expert law teacher, a writer of nearly fifty stand books and the founder-editor of the prestigious Labour Law Reporter (LLR) for over half a century.  Yours truly has also been closely associated with this journal for more than thirty years. Kumar Saheb possessed mines of information and was blessed with sharp memory. He knew Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi besides having excellent command over English, the language of his education and profession. I requested him to write his memoirs but alas! the writer of dozens of books could not fulfil it for the benefit of the posterity.

I was introduced to Kumar Saheb by an intrepid and courageous trade union leader T M Nagarajan, who was opposed even by two-penny editors and journalists besides newspaper proprietors. He had seen that a journalist, who used to claim to be associated with a journalists' trade union body, was closer to the Management of his newspaper than to the employee’s union. Kumar Saheb has been having an uncanny sense of recognising such black sheep and always kept them at arm’s length.

Kumar Saheb knew sections of different acts and relevant case laws by heart. He used to say that Employers must be well conversant with and advise their HR managers to implement them properly for a harmonious and congenial atmosphere in the organisation. His golden advice to the employers was that they should not ride roughshod over employees. He was associated with a number of educational institutions, industrial houses and hospitals as a legal adviser. Shri Kumar was a man of simple living and high thinking. As a Guest Faculty of labour laws at Delhi University, he was immensely popular among the students. Many of his students became judges of the High Courts, the Supreme Court and the presiding officers of various Tribunals.

He is survived by his wife, who retired as a professor in Philosophy from Daulat Ram College of Delhi University. His only son Gaurav Kumar is a lawyer, and a talented grandson Yajat Kumar is a lawyer in the making. The daughter is a medico and happily married. May God give eternal peace to his soul!

 

Not even a word of truth is found in what terrorists say

By Parmanand Pandey

Now the reports suggest that Hamas terrorists were responsible for the ghastly attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital situated in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is the original sinner of starting and escalating the war in West Asia. It was guilty of killing hundreds of innocent people in Israel. Some 300 people died when they were busy enjoying the dance party. Israel immediately started retaliatory attacks. There has hardly been any resistance from Hamas once Israel swung into action. Then a psychological warfare was launched that the Lebanon-based Hezbollah would also join Hamas against Israel, which would not be able to bear the two-pronged attacks.

More than a fortnight has passed, and Israeli forces have been pounding on Hamas to decimate the terrorists, but it will take some time to completely exterminate them. The frustrated Hamas then attacked the hospital blaming Israel for its bombing. Now the video footage shows that Hamas misfired on the hospital by its cheap missiles. Israel has claimed to have done precision bombing in the car parking area which made craters.

In the war time blame game is very common. Enemies blame one another. By horrendous bombings in Israel, Hamas was under the impression that it had won the war as Israel would not be able to rise from the wounds that had been inflicted on her but Hamas got the shock of the life within no time.

Terrorists all over the world take recourse to obfuscating their opinions. Immediately after the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital, the Hamas started blaming Israel is committing against humanity by bombing the hospital. Surprisingly, the echo system of Muslim Jihadists joined them in spreading the lies. In fact, terrorists speak only lies and not an iota of truth found in what they say.

India has been the worst sufferer of the lies of the terrorists. When they
attacked Mumbai in November 2008, the Pakistan-sponsored terrorists knew that they would be killed by the Indian security forces in a counter-offensive, so many of them wore sacred thread on their wrists. They thought that when their dead bodies were brought for identification, they would be thought of as not Islami Jihadis but as Hindus. But one of them was caught alive and he vomited the truth that it was a machination to confuse the people and security forces of India. It has given a lesson to all that whatever terrorists say should be taken with a pinch (rather than a shovel) of salt.

There is hardly any doubt that the forces of Israel will break the bones of Hamas and they will not be able to raise themselves for many years to come regardless of the aid and assistance they get from Türkiye, Qatar, Iran or Pakistan. This time not even all Muslim countries are in unison to support Hamas.

Surprisingly, Iran is a Shia country, which has been at loggerheads with Sunnis, which is represented by Qatar, Pakistan and Türkiye. Pakistan is a bankrupt country, so no help can be expected from them. So much so, even Saudi Arabia, which is kike the head priest of the Islamic has also not fully supported the Hamas.

However, what has been shocking is that the terrorists of Hamas are getting support from some of the Indian political parties. They think that by supporting Hamas they would be able to get the support and garner the votes of Muslims. There is no denying that a large chunk of Muslims think that they must oppose any and everything that Prime Minister Modi says forgetting that they must also use their common sense and oppose terrorism of all forms and manifestations. Any support for any type of terrorism is bound to boomerang.

All the governments of the world must try to bring about the peace in the West Asia. Enough lives have been lost. People are dying of water and hunger. In fact, without restoring the peace the problems cannot be solved. Therefore, it will be in the fitness of the things that peace must be restored at any cost.

Journalists like K B Mathur will Always Remain Relevant

After many years I have had the opportunity to talk to the former editor of the Amrit Prabhat Shri K B Mathur the other day on WhatsApp, who lives near Toronto in Canada with his son. In my life I have worked with three editors, the first one was Shri S K Bose of Northern India Patrika of Allahabad. My stint with him was very brief nearly three months. He was a gem of a man- well-read and punctilious to the core. It was he who was instrumental in sending me to Shri Mathur, who apart from being a good and laborious journalist, has always been a thorough gentleman. My third editor was the late Shri Prabhash Joshi, who was full of bluff and bluster but very fair. He was abstemious and spartan in his personal life but more dedicated to the profession and the proprietor than to the working class. This is my personal viewpoint about him, which does not mean that others would agree with it.

Returning to Shri K B Mathur, I can say with all the emphasis at my command that journalists working under him enjoyed unfettered freedom, bordering on anarchy during his editorship. He was dispassionate to power and the pelf but very patronising to journalists. Some of the journalists, who subscribed to certain political affiliations, used the newspaper for the furtherance of their own interests. Shri Mathur knew it well but even then, did not prevent them from misusing the rostrum of the newspaper. While putting across the standpoint of the proprietors Shri Mathur saw to it that the welfare of the workers was not jettisoned.

Those who have been associated with any trade union movement know well that Dainik Jagran of Uttar Pradesh is the most exploitative and abominable newspaper regarding working conditions. It was the first newspaper to black out news associated with trade unions but on the other hand, there used to be separate columns in the Amrit Prabhat for labour news. Journalists working for the Dainik Jagran used to impose self-censorship as per the whims of its owner, but it was unheard of in the Amrit Prabhat. Some people ascribe this licentious freedom to the closure of the newspaper.

Shri K B Mathur is in his early eighties yet touchwood! He is hale and hearty to his age. I wish him to write his memoirs for the benefit of the journalists of the new generation before print journalism writes its own epitaph in a few years’ time. It is fast paving the way for digital journalism. Labour laws and wage boards will become the things of the past but old values of journalism will always be cherished. We were taught that the ‘intro’ was the most significant part of the news, which should contain as far as possible five Ws- 'what, where, when, which and why' and one 'H' i.e. 'How' but now this principle has almost been given go by the new breed of journalists. Hopefully, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will provide a new definition of journalism. However, the halo of journalist K B Mathur will never fade. I wish him a long, healthy, and happy life regardless of the place he lives.

Not much is to be seen in the crossing over of Anju Thomas to Pakistan

These days love stories of two women namely, Anju Thomas and Seema Haider (Sachin) have become the talk of the town. Both crossed the borders of their own respective countries to meet their loved ones. The latest one is Anju Thomas, who went from India to Pakistan to marry her lover, Nasarullah. Seema Haider has already been living in for nearly two or three months in India with her new husband Sachin Meena in NOIDA. Their love stories started almost in the same manner through chat on their mobile phones but thereafter the similarity ends. While Seema Haider (Sachin) says that she has bid on Pakistan forever. It is now a closed chapter for her. She says that she would rather die in India than go to Pakistan. She has converted to Hinduism and has been observing all the rites and rituals of her new religion.
Anju Thomas, on the other hand, is still indecisive. Sometimes she says that she would go back to India after her tourist visa gets expired. But sometimes she says that she would always remain with her new husband. Nobody knows whether she will come back to India or would stay put in Pakistan. Arvind Kumar Thomas, the previous husband of Anju Thomas is not ready to own her.  On the other hand, Ghulam Haider, the Pakistani husband of Seema says she is welcome if she comes back. This shows the insincerity of Ghulam, where divorce is more a rule than an exception. Anju Thomas says that she converted to Islam to marry Nasrullah, although there was no need for her to have converted to Islam because intermarriages between Christians and Muslims are permitted under Islamic law. Such marriages are called Quitabia marriages. However, if she has converted to Islam, it is good for her. In India, Special Marriage Act exists that allows marriages between two religionists without changing their faiths.
A mountain is being made out of a mole that both women have links with any spy agency. The fact is that nothing can be further from the truth in branding them as spies looking at their status, education and social connections. Anju Thomas should also be allowed to take her children to Pakistan if she wishes to keep them with her new husband. As far as Seema is concerned, it will be a slur on humanity if a distraught woman like her is forced to go back to Pakistan where the lives of her children and her would certainly be in peril. 

Only sensitisation and crackdown can stop Child labour

 

 First of all, here is news, which has been flashed across all newspapers that an airline Pilot couple in Delhi, who allegedly hired a 10-year-old girl as domestic help and tortured her, were arrested a few days back, and have been sent to jail. According to police, medical tests showed that the girl had sustained some injuries and had burn marks. A case has also been registered against the couple. While the Police are investigating the torture of the minor girl, data shows a substantial increase in child labour during the last year. The statistics show that 311 children were rescued in Delhi itself till June this year in contrast to 107 in the same period last year. It has also been reported that 22 people were arrested under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act this year, whereas only eight people were taken in by police in 2022.

 Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act was enacted in 1986 to save ‘childhood’. As per law, nobody can employ children below the age of 16 years and employment in hazardous industries is prohibited for up to 18 years. Be that as it may, the law is observed more in breach than in its adherence. There are many forms of child labour, including rag-picking restaurants or dhabas, eateries, hotels, garment industries and manufacturing units in hazardous conditions. Once they are in employment, they lose childhood and have to face emotional stress, mental trauma and abuse from employers or other people. They remain deprived of parental care.

According to a survey after the children are rescued, they are often shifted to another place by the syndicate that offers them employment. The absence of an Aadhar card or bank account number makes it difficult for them to get compensation. Therefore, the need is to make extensive use of technology to rescue and rehabilitate the children. The Modus operandi of child traffickers has not changed much because they hardly come into the net of the law. They target vulnerable children from remote villages, brainwash them, assure them of good life and education etc.

There are a number of organisations that are engaged in protecting children from being given employment. ‘Bachpan bachao andolan’ is one of them for which it has been internationally recognised. In India Ministry of Women and Child Development works for the welfare of women and children but it beggars any logic as that why it is not technologically equipped to rescue and rehabilitate child labourers. A better governmental approach is needed to be adopted across the country to curb the bane of rampant child labour.

There is also the need to sensitise the general public about child labour. However, what was being done by the Pilot couple in Delhi to torture a ten-year domestic maid is a stigma for humanity. The law must be strictly implemented so that nobody could think of employing any boy or girl below the age of 14-16 years. There must be a crackdown on such factories, manufacturing units and persons. Resident Welfare Associations must also be roped in to prevent child labour. Their Aadhar cards and bank accounts must be kept in place so that they are not moved to other places and the compensation amount directly goes to their accounts.

It is in the interest of the country to stop child labour as when children are brought up in an environment that fosters intellectual, physical, and emotional development, they become responsible citizens and contribute to the development of the society and economy. Whereas children who are forced to work in hazardous conditions lacking self-development opportunities tend to be malnourished, suffer from poor cognitive and behavioural development, premature ageing, physical disabilities, drug dependency etc.

Moreover, child labourers come from impoverished conditions and are trafficked from their native places to those places where employment is offered to them. They have no protection, and their employers control them completely. Children are forced to work for long hours for meagre or no wages. Such children are often ill-treated by their employers. All these issues can affect a child’s mental and physical health severely.

Poverty is one of the root causes of child labour in India. Poor economic conditions force parents to depend on their children to help them inside and outside their homes. These children are forced to drop out of school and become a source of income for their parents and social security during old age. When children are not allowed to pursue learning and skill development opportunities that will enable them to get decent jobs in the future, they become trapped in the intergenerational cycles of poverty.

Another major cause of child labour in India is unemployment, especially due to natural calamities, pandemics, conflicts and war. Natural disasters or the loss of parent forces children to work and support the rest of the families. Therefore, the holistic approach must be adopted by the government and other sections of society.

Seema Haider Must be Protected

Controversy has flared up across the country over Seema Haider, an illegal migrant from Pakistan to Greater NOIDA of Uttar Pradesh (India) to live with her lovelorn new husband. She claims to have converted to Hinduism and has married a Hindu Sachin at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu (Nepal).  She has illegally come to India along with her four minor children but not to create terror or law and order problems. Some people are looking at it as a big security threat because she comes from Baluchistan in Pakistan, they conveniently forget that crores of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas are illegally living in India for decades and are eating into the vitals of our economy.  Many of them have even obtained forged documents to be citizens of India. But here is a woman, who has come to marry a boy five younger than her in age and belongs to the Hindu religion.

She is being projected by some as a security threat to the country. Nothing could be more ridiculous than this misconceived belief.
Can a woman of hardly any connection with either the Pakistani or Indian establishment pose a threat to the security of the country? Her previous husband, who has deserted her for many years, is now asking the Indian government to repatriate her to Pakistan, where if she goes back would surely be killed. This woman Seema has been swearing her loyalty to Mother India and to the religion of her husband and has taken shelter in India and is now in the full glare of the media. And there is not even the remotest possibility of her having any truck with Pakistan or her erstwhile husband. How can she be a threat to India, that too, when she has come with four minor children? Can anybody raise this doubt if she were from any other country like Russia, China, Ukraine, Indonesia, England, Germany, Italy, Canada or Japan? No, never. In fact, an Italian lady lost the chance to become the Prime Minister of the country by a whisker.

Giving refuge to a harried and harassed person is a part of our culture. We cannot throw her to Pak vultures. Certainly, those illegally coming to India in lakhs have their nefarious designs. They create a threat to the safety and security of the country. They often cause formidable problems to the law and order of the country. Even otherwise also, there is no dearth of fifth columnists, who work, day in and day out, against the country. They have sold their souls to enemy countries like Pakistan and China. These serpents in the arms are the firsts to forecast this poor woman as a Pakistani spy but they keep their eyes, ears and mouths shut over the illegal influx of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. 
There is no doubt that our BSF should have state-of-the-art technology and enough training to ensure that no illegal person gets entry into India as thousands of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have practically inundated some parts of the country. But to throw Seema out of the country to Pakistan will be an inhumane act and will amount to setting a bad example for our great country. She should be given shelter in the country with open arms as no trace has been found against her to have indulged in any clandestine, and inimical activity.

Education System Touching Low-ebb

 University and College teachers' appointment processes and interests have changed beyond recognition in the last four to five decades. My father-in-law Dr Sabhajit Mishra, a retired Professor and Head of the Philosophy Department of Deen Dayal Upadhyay University of Gorakhpur, says that in the seventies the salaries of university and college teachers were not as lucrative as they are today yet the desire among good students to become university teacher was very high. The yearning to learn more and excel in their fields was unbeatable. Dr Mishra tells the story of a Professor at BHU, who used to commute from his home to the university on a cycle because he could not comfortably afford any motorised vehicle, however, his enthusiasm to purchase books was seen to be believed. It was generally seen that after collecting his salary every month, the first thing that he used to do was to go to any big bookstore to purchase the new arrivals of books.

 

See the contrast, in present times the teachers spend little on books and they spend more time on the sale and purchase of properties. No wonder that in Delhi, most of the government schoolteachers are found to be busy in property dealings. They devote little time to teaching the students but more to property business or tuition. The situation, however, is not so bad in colleges and universities but it is certainly not very conducive to learning and imparting good education. It does not mean that everything was hunky-dory earlier, but it was definitely not as bad as it is today.

It is openly talked about that money plays an important role in the appointments of college and university teachers. It is not a secret at all that the rates have been fixed for posts-wise. Speak to any University teacher and he/ she will admit that even in the appointments of the Vice-Chancellors and the Principals, money changes hands. Some say that even high-ups like Governors and Ministers do accept bribes for the appointments of Vice Chancellors.

This situation, if not stemmed, may lead to unfathomable degeneration of education in the country. While copying in the examinations by the students in cahoots with unscrupulous teaching staff has already caused enough damage, bribery in the appointments of teachers and Vice-Chancellors is bound to irredeemably shatter the system.

The government(s), the public and the educationists must all  have to wake up to the reality otherwise education is bound to  go into the hands of mafia dons

Unidorm Civil Code is a Welcome Move

  

Article 44 of the Constitution of India says: ‘The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India.’This was made clear by the makers of the Constitution of India more than 7 decades ago, yet it is still not fulfilled and is being debated at various fora about its utility and applicability. Thus, it is long overdue and should have been implemented in the early fifties. Then there would not have been any need to introduce the Hindu Code Bill. In fact, no nation can become strong and cohesive if it contains different laws and rules for different communities or persons living in the country. Our Constitution speaks of equality and non-discrimination on the ground of caste, creed or sex yet when we find that the discrimination continues in many ways and sometimes it is used as a tool by some people for their ulterior goals. The most unfortunate part of it is that while equality is demanded but the Uniform Civil Code is opposed on the ground of personal religious freedom. Its opposition is neither in the interest of the country nor of the people. Thus, it will be in the interest of the country and all citizens that the Uniform Civil Code should be made applicable across the country without wasting further time.

Why at all the common civil code needed?

A question is often posed why should there be Uniform Civil Code? As it is stated in the outset the common civil code under its umbrella will bring about cohesiveness to different sections of society and will ease the problem of law and order. Unity in diversity is the characteristic of India but diversity does not mean different rules, regulations and laws for different communities. For example- the law of marriage and divorce should be the same but how the marriage is solemnised in different parts of the country is nobody’s business because that does not create any problem for the State and the same can be maintained as a unique feature.

A Uniform Civil Code means that there has to be uniformity in marriage, divorce, guardianship acts and in matters of inheritance. At present, we find that while the women of all religions enjoy complete freedom the women community of the Muslim community are highly discriminated against their male counterparts. It is as clear as daylight that when the Uniform Civil Code is made applicable across the country there will be no need for the Hindu Code Bill, Hindu Marriage Act, Christian Marriage Act or even the Special Marriage Act etc. Once marriage is solemnised each individual will have the liberty to enjoy uniformity; while at present a Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Persian, or Christian man or woman do have to follow the rules of the marriage and a man or a woman cannot divorce his or her spouse at his or her sweet will without any solid rhymes or reasons as specified in the Act but, on the other hand. Muslim women are placed in a highly disadvantageous position as compared to Muslim men. Muslim women cannot even think of divorcing a man as per Sharia law, the most they can think of is 'Khula' i.e., separation, which is well-nigh impossible in the society they live in. However, this freedom is available to Muslim males, which is mostly misused by them.  Although Talaq- e - Biddat i.e., pronouncing talaq three times in one go has been prohibited by the Supreme Court of India. It says that Talaq- e- Biddat is illegal yet the pronouncement of talaq by stating it three times in three months is still holding the ground. This will certainly go away once Uniform Civil Code is adopted and it will render massive relief to Muslim women.

 

Age of Marriage 

Men and women in all communities get to grow up at certain age, then there is no point to have different age groups for marriage in different communities. For example, while Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Persian males can marry only after attaining the age of 21 years and women can marry only after the age of 18 years, Muslim men do not have any such age bar. It is ridiculous to allow women to marry immediately after attaining the age of puberty which can be between 10 years to 12 or 13 years. This is highly discriminatory against Muslim women which needs to be done away with.

Likewise, it hardly needs to be said that monogamy should be strictly adhered to by all communities. Presently, while all other communities have to follow monogamy, Any violation of it invites the wrath of Section 494 of the IPC, which says:  ‘Marrying again during lifetime of husband or wife.—Whoever, having a husband or wife living, marries in any case in which such marriage is void by reason of its taking place during the life of such husband or wife, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine’. What is most shocking, is that Muslim women have to bear the brunt of living with four women, if and when their male counterpart decides so. There is no merit in the logic that only a minuscule minority of Muslim men go into polygamy. But why such absurd and laughable liberty should be given to any section of society?

 

Guardianship and Adoption:

Discrimination is visible among Muslims and other communities. While women of all communities enjoy the privilege of adopting a child, it is denied to the women of the Muslim community. The guardianship right is also discriminatory, and it violates fundamental rights.  And therefore, must be done away with. Such anomalies are found in the case of inheritance and distribution of property and maintenance. Such discriminations make a mockery of the laws of the country.

Therefore, Uniform Civil Code should be enacted without any further waiting, and it should be rigorously followed. There should be no objection from any side, particularly when there's no objection to Uniform Criminal Code, which is welcomed with open arms even by Muslims, who do not want Sharia to be imposed.

 

'Honeymoon' That Makes Serious Reading

Don’t judge a book by its cover. Sometimes the cover of a book can be deceptive. Normally the title of a book is made catchy to attract the attention of the readers. But what can you say about a serious book having a cumbersome rather embarrassing title like ‘Honeymoon’ by Sushil Chand Shrivastav, an officer in the secretariat of Uttar Pradesh? I hesitated to read this book for more than two years because of its cover title but during this summer vacation, I started reading the book and found it to be amazingly good, highly informative and replete with shlokas, chaupais and folk idioms. The story of the novelette begins with a daughter of an air force officer, who laid down his life in the service of Mother India in the 1971 war and an idealist Sooraj, a son of the retired Vice-Principal of a College.

One marvel at the description of the scenario that was built around and after the 1971 war between India and Pakistan. It is like a refreshing memory for those who have witnessed the blackouts and horrors of the war like the huge influx of refugees from the then East Pakistan. For youngsters, the book gives a graphic description of conditions which prevailed in India in the early seventies. It swells the heart of every Indian with pride over the sacrifices and valour of the army, navy and air force of the country.

 Through Sooraj, the book takes the readers on a spiritual journey as he once finds himself engrossed in religiosity and then after some time gets disenchanted with the hypocrisy and superstitious behaviour of the so-called saints.  

The book also portrays the sordid and sad saga of the hopeless judicial system, which to say the least, is very realistic. The way some clever people frustrate the purpose of justice by dragging the cases in courts for years and decades has been very beautifully narrated by the writer. Justice is not only denied by adopting the tactics of delay, but it also brings enormous misery, pain, suffering and despondency among the litigants. In fact, sensitivity finds no place in the justice delivery system. It is seen that over the years judges and advocates become part of the grinding judicial system instead of providing any succour to the sufferers.

In between the book contains some thrilling events in the tourist places like Goa but it can be safely said that the book does not contain any ingredients of the cheap and pulp fiction. It does not titillate but compels us to think and ponder over the problems. The writer will do well to change the cover title of the book, which may truly reflect its contents, although it is his prerogative and yet the reader certainly has the right to make suggestions.