Why I am a Hindu: an Utterly Disappointing Book

I have finished reading ‘Why I am a Hindu’, by Shashi Tharoor, a Parliamentarian and an author. Frankly speaking, I am highly disappointed with his superficial and skewed understanding of Hinduism. The book is divided into three parts: My Hinduism, Political Hinduism and Taking Back Hinduism. The first part deals with the general concept of Hinduism. One must appreciate his description of certain Indian philosophies in anecdotal style in succinct English. It gives the bird’s eye view of the Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism and also about the reformist movements of the 18th and 19th century.

But in the second part of the book, the writer has become diabolic against Hindus. The book nauseates with the writer’s abhorrence towards Hindu faithful. His acid-tempered description denounces and denigrates Hinduism. The title of this book should have been ‘Why I am a Hindu’ with a big question mark. He says that he is a Hindu but he does not believe in a Hinduism which is assertive or even assimilative. He likes to be the flock of that Hinduism, which suffers in silence, remains docile and is totally enfeebled. He has tried to be an apologist of the Muslim rule in India which spanned for almost 800 years. Mr Tharoor has seen all good qualities in the Muslim rulers with the microscope and has justified even their oppressions, plunders and pillages, cussed insensitivities and even most backward thinking. On the other hand, he has portrayed Hindus to be intolerant, who had to bear the brunt of exploitation and forcible conversions, whose properties were looted, women’s were abducted and raped, and men were maimed.

Very strange that he condemns the Gau Rakshaks but has not found anything wrong with the stone palters or even Christian Missionaries, who have been adopting all frauds and inducements for proselytization of Hindus. If Hindus had been so intolerant, how come the population of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent has grown up from few hundred nearly a thousand years ago to more than fifty crores today? He has all dislikes for any resistance put up by Hindus but turns blind’s eyes towards those who have been part of perpetrating crimes and terror.

The second and third part of the book is against the Hindu revivalism or anything that goes in the name of Hinduism. The book certainly serves his purpose of the mounting attack on the Bhartiya Janta Party, which is ruling over the Centre and most of the states of India. His antipathy and opposition to the BJP and RSS is understandable but why a simple devout Hindu should be beaten with the same club or stick? Hindu has always been eclectic, tolerant and the philosophy and metaphysics of Hinduism are unparallel. The only bane of Hinduism is the caste system, which has otherwise become redundant but is kept alive by the politicians for votes but here Mr Tharoor is silent because it does not fit in his scheme of things. What an irony that he is using Hinduism to condemn Hindus and their religion. The book may serve his political purpose but otherwise, it has cypher value as far as the religion is concerned.

Child Protection Laws Must be Translated into Reality

There are Acts and laws galore for the welfare and holistic development of children but most of them remain unimplemented, be it Prevention of Child Labour Act, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act or Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act. That is why; the Supreme Court of India taken to task the Central Government as well as the State Governments for not properly implementing those Acts. A child is the father of the man (woman as well), said William Wordsworth in his famous poem ‘My heart leaps up’. Children are the future assets of the country and any country which does not pay proper attention for the protection and growth of the physical and mental faculties of the children is bound to suffer in the long run.

Child, as defined under various Acts, 'is a person who has not completed fourteen years of age’, in certain acts this limit is sixteen years. A child of such a tender age is expected to play and study and be carefree about his or her life. But as a matter of fact, expectations hardly meet reality. Children by work or by force are employed to work in the harsh conditions and atmosphere which become a threat to their life. Such children mostly remain underdeveloped, their mental and physical development also remains incomplete. The Supreme Court has asked various governments what citizen can do if the state pays no attention to his and her fundamental or human statutory rights, nor takes the serious interest in fulfilling constitutional obligations. What if the citizen is a voiceless child or someone whose voice cannot be heard over the din of governance?

No one has any doubt that it is time for the State to strongly and proactively acknowledge that even children in our country have fundamental rights and human rights and they need to be enforced equally strongly. In 2015, the issue of strengthening the juvenile justice system was discussed at the Chief Justices’ Conference wherein it was resolved that High Courts shall continue to take all steps necessary, including evolving ways to ensure greater sensitivity, to effectively deal with cases in the field of Juvenile Justice in their respective States. The High Courts should ensure that constitution of Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees are in place, that visits are regularly made to the Juvenile Homes, Special Homes, Observation Homes, Shelter Homes and Rescue Centres etc. and that such homes are set up wherever they have not already been set up. It shall also be ensured that the requisite facilities are provided as per the Standards, Rules, Policies and Guidelines in all such Homes/Centres.

Notwithstanding nudging by the judiciary, judicial ‘activism’ and criticism of it, over the last decade or so, State Governments and Union Territories have not fully complied with the provisions of a law solemnly enacted by Parliament for the benefit of children. In many instances, only cosmetic changes have been introduced at the ground level with the result that voiceless children continue to be subjects of official apathy. The overall picture relating to the recognition of the rights of children and their realization is far from satisfactory and remains gloomy as we continue to trudge along the long and winding road.

The Supreme Court in Sampurna Behura v. Union of India and others has now again said that the State Governments have miserably failed to implement even already enacted laws like the establishment of Child Welfare Committees, Juvenile Justice Boards, Special Juvenile Police Units, establishment of appropriate Homes for children in need of care and protection, improving the living conditions of juveniles in conflict with law, medical facilities for children in the custody of the State and several other human rights issues.

In Sheela Barse II v. Union of India the Supreme Court has said that the nation‘s children are a supremely important asset. Their nurture and solicitude are our responsibility. Children‘s programmes should find a prominent part in our national plans for the development of human resources, so that our children grow up to become robust citizens, physically fit, mentally alert and morally healthy, endowed with the skill and motivations needed by society. The Court has emphasized that Juvenile Courts should be set up in each district and there must be a special cadre of Magistrates who are suitably trained for dealing with cases against children.

Child-related laws enacted by Parliament provide for two extremely important policy and decision-making institutions in respect of children and child rights, namely the NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights) and the SCPCR (State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. It will be seen from the above that both the NCPCR and the SCPCR have a range and variety of functions to perform and each one of them entails a great deal of responsibility. The court has ordered that the absence of any clear-cut guidelines on who should be appointed to these two bodies, the State Governments have found an easy way out by appointing Government officials only and leaving out members of civil society. The selection of social workers as members of the JJB should be based on their experience - practical and professional. There is, therefore, a heavy responsibility on the social workers to make a meaningful contribution during the course of an enquiry and also at the time of its disposition.

The Supreme Court has underlined the use of technology is extremely important not only for the effective functioning of the JJBs and CWCs, but also to deal with issues that would arise from time to time concerning the tracing and tracking of missing children, the rescue of children working in hazardous industries, trafficked children, children who leave the Child Care Institutions, victims of child sexual abuse and follow-up action, among several other requirements. It is well-known that our country is a technological power-house and if we are unable to take advantage of the resources available with us and fully utilize the benefits of technology through computers and the internet for the benefit of children, our status as a technological power-house would be in jeopardy and would remain only on paper.

With regard to the Police generally, it was noted that due to the policy of rotation, it often happens that soon after a police officer completes his or her training that officer is transferred out to another department. This is a waste of effort and one of the ways of resolving problems arising out of transfers is for every State Police Academy to conduct regular training programmes under the guidance of senior police officials of the State and for the State Government to optimally utilize the services of its officers.

There is a lot to be said with regard to Child Care Institutions. Many of them are housed in run-down buildings and are hardly conducive to comfortable living even to a minimum degree. State Governments must appreciate that they are not doing any charity by putting up children in Child Care Institutions – they are merely performing their statutory and constitutional obligations. There is, therefore, an urgent need to make an evaluation and assessment of all the Child Care Institutions in every State to ascertain their condition, the infrastructure requirements and staffing requirements. The obligation of society is to provide solace and comfort to these children and adherence to the minimum standards of care.   

The Supreme Court passed certain instructions to be followed by the Central as well as State governments like; the Ministry of Women and Child Development in the Government of India and the State Governments should ensure that all positions in the NCPCR and the SCPRs are filled up well in time and adequate staff is provided to these statutory bodies so that they can function effectively and meaningfully for the benefit of the children. They should take their duties, functions and responsibilities with great earnestness keeping in mind the faith reposed in them by Parliament. A position in these statutory institutions is not a sinecure. These bodies have a very significant and proactive role to play in improving the lives of children across the country.  The State level Child Protection Societies and the District level Child Protection Units have an enormous responsibility in ensuring that the JJ Act is effectively implemented and Child Care Institutions are managed and maintained in a manner that is conducive to the well being of children in all respects including nutrition, education, medical benefits, skill development and general living conditions. These two bodies would be well advised to take the assistance of NGOs and civil society to ensure that the JJ Act serves the purpose for which it is enacted by Parliament.

Since the involvement of the State Governments and the Union Territories is critical to child rights and the effective implementation of the JJ Act, it would be appropriate if each High Court and the Juvenile Justice Committee of each High Court continue its proactive role in the welfare of children in their State.

Delayed Justice – Sad Reflection on the System

        ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’ is such an oft-repeated maxim as it has lost its impact on the common litigants in India. There is no gainsaying that the rule of law cannot exist without effective judicial system, which is capable of enforcing rights in a timely manner that inspires the public confidence in the administration of justice. For the law to govern, the system through which it is administered must measure up adequately when mapped against the three dimensions of justice- substantive justice on merits, timeliness in the disposal of cases, and proportionate use of the State’s resources. Access to justice must ensure that legal redress does not become the preserve of a few. Unfortunately, apathy and ineffective governance have created barriers to accessing justice, which has resulted in granting limited access to the full range of socio-economic and civil -political rights available.

Every politician of any stature, minister or a judge will invariably lay emphasis on the speedy justice delivery but that remains elusive. While the High Court and the Supreme Court judges are still addressed as ‘My Lords’ but they look at litigants with their noses high and behave in a manner as if it is they who are the sole repository of understanding and wisdom. However, the way a judge of Madras High Court K. Chandrababu has won the heart and the laurels of the public with his humility and uprightness. Delivering a judgement, he has apologised to an 89-year-old man for the 37-year long delay in delivering the justice, although he was no way personally for the same.

The brief facts of the case are that the petitioner V. Gandhi joined the Indian National Army (INA) of the great leader Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. He was a part of the Indian Independence League in Rangoon (Burma). In the struggle for freedom of this Country, he underwent imprisonment in Rangoon Central Jail from May 1945 to December 1945. The petitioner, with this background, thus made a request on 6^th July 1980, for grant of freedom fighters' pension by the State of Tamilnadu. He waited for 12 years but when there was no response, he sent a reminder on 18^th November 1992 but neither the original application nor the reminder was considered by the government favourably. It is not that the petitioner has not made the said claim without having any justification or proof. One K.Kalimuthu, a co-prisoner, has issued a Certificate to him certifying that the petitioner is a bonafide freedom fighter and that he was also imprisoned on account of his participation in the freedom struggle. He was lodged in the same jail along with the said K Kalimuthu from May 1945 to December 1945 at Rangoon Central Jail, Burma. It is also seen that K.Kalimuthu is a recipient of freedom fighters' pension from the Government of India. Apart from the said Co- Prisoner Certificate, V Gandhi has also obtained another personal knowledge Certificate from Col. Lakshmi Sahgal on 15^th April 1994.

It may be mentioned here that Col. Lakshmi Sahgal was a Commander in the Indian National Army. She was the mother of the well-known politician Mrs Subhasini Ali. She was born on 24.10.1914 in Madras (now Chennai) to Shri. S. Swaminadhan, a Lawyer and Smt. A.V.Ammukutty, a Social Worker and Freedom Fighter. She became a Doctor by profession. However, at the age of 26, she left for Singapore in 1940 and three years later, she met the revolutionary leader Subhash Chandra Bose, who changed the course of her life. A Women's Regiment called the Rani of Jhansi's Regiment was set up and she became Captain Lakshmi, which name stood as her identity throughout her lifetime. Captain Lakshmi was arrested by the British Army in May 1945. She remained under house arrest in the jungles of Burma until March 1946. She married Col. Premkumar Sahgal, a leading figure in INA in 1947. After independence, she led her life all throughout by serving the public. She was the presidential candidate for the left party in 2002. She died on 23rd July 2012 at the age of 97. Such is the short story of the great personality viz., Captain Lakshmi Saghal. She had chosen to give the above-said Certificate to the petitioner, specifically indicating her personal knowledge about the petitioner's role in INA and his fight for freedom of this country.

Further, it is seen that one K.Gurumurthy, the President of All India Freedom Fighters' Successors' Organization, has also sent a communication to the respondents on 4^th August 2015, indicating that the claim of the petitioner is genuine, especially, when Dr.(Col.) Lakshmi Sahgal had issued the Personal Knowledge Certificate, which will vouch for the credential of the petitioner's participation in the Freedom Fighters Movement and sufferings. He specifically stated that it is a rare fortune that personality like Dr.(Col.) Lakshmi Sahgal issued a certificate for him. He also further stated in the said communication that the petitioner is in poverty and he has to be rescued from such pathetic condition by providing freedom fighters' pension.

On receipt of the above communication from the said K.Gurumurthy, he forwarded the same to the governments to take necessary steps to accede to his requests. As nothing had happened, again a reminder was sent by the Mr Gurumurthy on 20^th January 2016. Except sending the reply in a mechanical manner, the State government did not take any effective step to consider the request of Mr V. Gandhi for freedom fighters' pension, even though it was brought to its knowledge that there is an urgent need of extending such monetary support to him. The pension is not a charity, but conferment of an honour on such a selfless freedom fighter. Unfortunately, the government failed to note that but for such selfless contribution and participation in the freedom struggle by the persons like Mr Gandhi we would not have been in the present position to deal with this matter like this. It is a sorry state of affair and saddening factor to note that a person, who fought for freedom of this country is again driven to fight now, even after freedom, to get some financial assistance for his sustenance by way of such pension.

        The judge said that ‘in my considered view, persons like Mr Gandhi, who fought for freedom, should have been conferred with such due honour and dignity by extending the invitation to them and not by waiting for them to make their application. I am totally unable to either comprehend myself or conceive the above reasoning of the government for rejecting his claim for the pension, that too, especially when the same is not going to the root of the matter. When the factual aspect of the matter viz., the factum of participation of the petitioner in the freedom struggle, is vouched by a co-prisoner, and by the great personality Col. Lakshmi Sahgal, who issued the Personal Knowledge Certificate, there cannot be even a little doubt for the government about the bonafide of Mr. Gandhi. Despite the availability of those two overwhelming pieces of evidence, it is very unfortunate, that the government has chosen to mechanically reject the claim of the petitioner with irrelevant and immaterial reason which only shows that the government officials somehow wanted to wash off their hands and relieve themselves of their liability.’

The judge further said that ‘I wonder as to how such immaterial reasoning with regard to the age of the petitioner, Mr Gandhi, even assuming to be true, is not going to alter his claim with regard to the payment of freedom fighters' pension. It is very saddening to note that the government has chosen to rely on the irrelevant materials to deny the claim of the petitioner rather than accepting the genuine certificates proving the petitioner's participation in the freedom struggle, especially when these respondents did not dispute the genuineness of such certificates. I fail to understand as to how the age of the petitioner at the relevant point of time is going to matter much while considering his claim for freedom fighters' pension now, when his actual participation in the freedom struggle, through INA, is proved and established through the undisputed Certificates issued by those two competent and eminent persons. What is relevant to be seen is as to whether the petitioner actually participated in the particular freedom movement or not and certainly not his age, at which he had participated in such freedom-movement. Therefore, the respondents have indulged in fishing out a reason, only to reject the claim somehow.’

The judge said that ‘I can only say to the writ petitioner "Sorry sir, you are made to suffer at the hands of our people too, as, unfortunately, this is how the bureaucratic dogmatism with wooden approach works, at times, in this country, for which you fought to get freedom.’ The judiciary, certainly, needs such judges, who are humane and sensitive to the problems and difficulties of the people.

Let Volcanic Eruption in the Supreme Court be a Blessing

Sometimes blessings come in disguise. The sanguine hope is that the volcano that has erupted in the Supreme Court of India on 12th of January in an unprecedented press conference of four seniormost puisne judges will bring good results for the catharsis of the judiciary. It was like a tremor in the Indian judicial history when four judges-Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan Bhimarao Lokur and Kurian Joseph took the unimaginable recourse of addressing the media to tell the nation that everything was not hunky dory in the Supreme Court of India. Hectic efforts are going on to paper over this crisis of monumental proportions, but it has already become a historic watershed in the higher judiciary.

The press conference has brought forth the rot that has been simmering the judiciary but never discussed openly. There has been a general opinion across the country that subordinate judges and its paraphernalia has been in the neck-deep corruption.  Even a common man will tell that a Peshkar in the courts openly takes bribes for providing the simple information of the dates to the litigants. Nevertheless, the judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court have been enjoying the tremendous trust of the people of the country.

            The press conference has thrown an opportunity for the self- introspection. Till now the people and the media have been hauling over the coals about the conducts of the Legislature and the Executive but the Judiciary has largely been left untouched. The judicial functioning has not been subjected to public scrutiny as the other two organs of the State. Many times, allegations of forum shopping and bench hunting are levelled but they have been mostly in a veiled manner.

 During the press conference, the judges also circulated a seven-page letter in which they have raised mainly two points. First is about the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for the appointment of the judges in the High Courts and in the Supreme Court, which still remains undecided and the second is the assignment of cases by the Chief Justice of India to other judges and their benches. Both of them lack transparency. The Chief Justice of India, it is accepted by all, is the master of the roster, but he cannot use it arbitrarily for assigning the cases to the benches, which are pliable and favourable to him. The Chief Justice of India is ‘first among equals’ in the administrative side but in the judicial side, all judges are equal.

 Supreme Court Judges are considered to be wise persons by their learning, experience, and constant training. Barring a few, most of them have been the Chief Justices of one or many High Courts of the country before being elevated to the Supreme Court. The four judges who are being termed as the ‘rebel judges’ have also been the Chief Justices of different High Courts. Therefore, they are well aware of the duties, obligations, rights, and responsibilities of the Chief Justice of India. 

What has, however, happened on 12th January has stunned the nation. There is one incident which has some similarity with this one and that was on 1973 when Mrs Indira Gandhi had superseded three judges –H.R. Khanna, JM Shelat, and KS Hegde to appoint Justice A.N. Ray, a committed judge, as the Chief Justice of India. All three superseded judges had then resigned from their posts to express protest and resentment but this time there is not even a whisper of resignation from any judge. Instead, they openly expressed their consternation against the Chief Justice of India and sought the help of the country so that the posterity after 20 years may not accuse them of selling their souls. This was an oblique call for the impeachment of the Chief Justice. When Justice A.N. Ray was made the Chief Justice ignoring the seniority of others, it was solely in the hands of the Executive. However, after 1993, the Executive has practically no role in the appointments, transfers/promotions of the judges. All the present judges of the Supreme Court owe their appointments in the High Courts and their elevation in the Supreme Court to the Collegium System.

There has been a huge hue and cry against the Collegium System, which empowers a group of five judges to appoint other judges. This system does not find any mention in the Constitution of India but has been introduced through a judgment of the Supreme Court. By this system, the Supreme Court has taken over all the powers to itself by rendering the Executive ineffective. Just to clip the wings of the Collegium System, the government, with the support of all political parties, enacted the ‘National Judicial Appointments Commission’ (NJAC) for the appointment of the judges, which was challenged in the Supreme Court but then again, the Supreme Court struck down the NJAC Act and restored the Collegium System. Justice J. Chelameswar was the loner, which handed down the NJAC judgment. He said that the Collegium System is erroneous, opaque and therefore must be done away with. Incidentally, it is he who has led the rebellion this time.

 Obviously, these four senior-most judges must have had their overwhelming reason(s) to defy the ingrained protocol of silence and anonymity. Their grievance, first made privately to the Chief Justice, had remained unaddressed. The letter they have made public draws a portrait of a wayward Chief Justice, unbothered and unwilling to give the four-senior brother judges the time of day. The only feasible conclusion is that there is an internal collapse of the highest judicial forum. Any person who gets elevated as Chief Justice of India is called upon to show wise leadership if the institution over which he presides has to retain its vitality and robustness. There is a very little place for- to recall what Sardar Patel had to tell Harilal Kania three days before he became the first Chief Justice of India -“petty-mindedness” in how a “Chief” deals with his brother judges. It is incumbent upon a Chief Justice of India- indeed for anyone who presides over an institution - to corral fellow-judges into the joys and pleasures of judicial brotherhood and its internal code of mutual respect and consideration.

 The possible solution to the crisis can be that a part-heard matter may not be divested from the co-justices who are seized with it. Second, the CJI may not deny a request for recusal on grounds of conflict of interest. Third, the chief justice may not ignore the requests by co-justices to form a larger Bench. Fourth, a chief justice may not selectively assign sensitive or important cases to the same judges. However, fifth, it is doubtful whether there is, or ought to be, a convention requiring such matters to be heard only by the senior-most justices. No, because the decision to elevate a citizen to judgeship must involve all relevant considerations; once elevated, a justice is co-equal to all other brethren. Sixth, it is true that co-equality occurs within a hierarchy: Not every justice becomes a chief justice, and the SC collegium must comprise the five senior-most justices. Outside this framework, the question about the rank-ordering may not arise; all justices speak for the constitutional court. Any discussion about benches headed by “junior” justices is therefore injudicious. Competitive party politics cannot but take sides in this debate, but justices must act on evidence and arguments before them. Political actors work with an interest in specific outcomes, but a judicial judgment must be devoid of any personal stake in the outcome.

 Therefore, it would be in the fitness of the time and the occasion that the Supreme Court Act must be framed for the restructuring of the Supreme Court itself. It is vital that a court of 31 judges if it is to function as an apex court, must develop some degree of institutional coherence. Such coherence is impossible when the court sits on benches of two judges each. And secondly, the existing structure allows the CJI to become the master of the roster, vested with the absolute discretion of allocating judges to particular cases, leading to crises like the present one. An antidote to both the aforementioned problems is a restructuring of the Supreme Court into three divisions: Admission, Appellate, and Constitutional. All Special Leave Petitions under Article 136 ought to be first considered by the Admission division. The division should comprise five randomly selected judges who for one quarter every year should deal only with admission cases.

Such restructuring will have three advantages. First, it will yield more coherent jurisprudence, particularly in constitutional matters, taking us closer to certainty and the rule of law. Second, it will allow for more careful contemplation of which matters actually deserve admission to India’s apex court. Third, it will reduce the discretion available to the CJI to select benches, since this will be limited to the appellate division alone. 

Rapid Reconstruction of Post-war North Eastern Sri Lanka

India is visible in country’s development

 Passikudah Beach is one of the best beaches in the world. One can enjoy in the shallow waters of the sea and get distressed. It is a very near to Dambulla, where the historic citadel of Sigiriya rests atop the gigantic rock. One can experience the traditional Sri Lankan way of life. We witnessed the striking similarity in the way of living in the rural areas of this side of Sri Lanka and the Indian countryside. One could see many women wearing sarees like those of the Indian women in the villages. While moving towards Passikudah from Colombo one is bound to get enamoured with the expanse of tea gardens, rubber plantations, and fruit-bearing trees. This is the time when mango fruits get ripen. Hindu temples all over Sri Lanka are always found to be squeaky clean. There is one Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee is worth mentioning for its antiquity and upkeep. It is one of the three major Hindu shrines on the promontory with a colossal gopuram tower, but it stands distinctly on the cape’s highest eminence. Worldwide interest was renewed following the discovery of its underwater and land ruins, sculptures and bronze idols of Chola period.

        Amaya Resorts, known for its hospitality, elegance and enchanting beauty throughout the world are very comfortable with all modern facilities. We were informed that many rich and influential people from India chose this exotic place go for solemnizing the marriages of their sons and daughters. In the office of the Provincial Council of the Eastern Provence of the Trincomalee, it became clear that why this place has become one of the most sought-after places for the Naval exercises. It has become militarily very strategic. Recently, the Navy of India and Sri Lanka undertook a joint Naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal. And its main station was Trincomalee. Such Naval exercises were earlier done by Indian and U.S.A. Navy also. China is also eyeing for holding such exercise in the Bay of Bengal with the help of Sri Lanka. This is certainly a cause for concern for India.

Sri Lanka is a delightful place for non-vegetarian gourmets because delicious seafood is available everywhere, but vegetarians do not many choices. Therefore, one has to inform and instruct the hosts well in advance to make arrangements for the vegetarian foods. It may not be out of place to mention here that most of the Sri Lankans do not consider fish as a non-vegetarian food.

While returning from Passikudah we passed through Kandy, which is another scenic place in central Sri Lanka. It has the historical temple, which nestles tooth relic of Lord Buddha. This temple is UNESCO listed wonder. It is the spectacular architecture of Kandy and anybody cannot go away from here without admiring it. Another important place which is worth seeing is Sripada. It is also known as Sacred Mountain which is nearly 2,250-meter-tall and has the sacred footprint of the Lord Buddha at the summit. Hindus and Buddhists visit this place of pilgrimage. Hindus believe that Lord Shiva made his abode at Sripada for some time, but Buddhists believe it is the footprint of Lord Buddha. It is simply mesmerizing, soul lifting and soothing for the eyes to be at this place.

In Sri Lanka, Theravada and Mahayana sects of Buddhism are practiced. During the reign of King Mahasen of Anuradhapura, a Stupa was started to be built in Kandy, which was completed by his son Maghavanna-I. It is believed that some clothes were worn by Lord Buddha are also enshrined here. There is another significant temple which has been declared World Heritage Site by the UNESCO, which is known as Dambulla Cave Temple. It has more than 80 caves with 153 Buddha statues, three statues of Sri Lankan kings and four statues are of Gods and Goddesses. Inside the caves, one finds the murals depicting the stories (Jatak Kathas) of Lord Buddha. There is a bowl placed on the one side of the cave and the water drips from here day and night. It is said that water never dries even if it has been hit by the severe drought.

Sri Lanka is famous for spices, condiments, and rubber. The group of Indian journalists was taken to the National Spice Garden of Matale. Its present Director is an Agricultural Scientist, who has got his higher education in India’s Punjab University. It was really pleasing to learn that many of the scientists working in this Spice Garden have had their higher education from the Indian Universities. In this Garden not only, the spices of the best quality are produced but the research work is also done for improving and increasing the production. It may be interesting to know that 80 percent of cinnamon demand of the world is met by Sri Lanka. Cinnamon is used as a condiment for bringing good flavour in the vegetables and also for meditational purposes such as lowering of blood sugar and blood pressure.

The other important spice is black pepper which is produced in Sri Lanka in abundance. Apart from it, clove, nutmeg, ginger, turmeric, coffee, cardamom is produced in Sri Lanka and they are exported throughout the world. Sri Lanka is fast emerging as the place of Ayurveda, Yoga, Shirodhara therapy. In Ayurveda, the mix of sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and stringent food is prescribed to keep oneself healthy and that is why the importance of spices and condiments has been underlined in this therapy. There are many places, where Buddhists and Hindus get solace and peace of mind. Both religions have their roots and antiquity in Sri Lanka.  For Hindus, it is a holy place because Mother Sita lived in Ashoka Vatika after her abduction by the demon king Ravana. Buddhism was spread in Sri Lanka more than two thousand years ago by Indian prince Mahendra, the son of Emperor Ashoka and who was sent by his father for propagating the message of peace and nonviolence of Lord Buddha.

A joint seminar was organised by the SLPA and the IFWJ on the ‘role of the journalists for increasing the regional cooperation’. The Indian side was represented by the well-known T.V. commentator and journalist Hemant Tiwari, who is also the Vice-President of the IFWJ. Shri Tiwari was so impressed with the hospitality and the beauty of Sri Lanka that he announced that next year India would host a meeting in India where a big contingent of Sri Lankan journalists would be invited to participate, and they would be taken to important Buddhist places. The writer of this article emphasised that the regional cooperation can be increased only when there is regular contact between the people of the different regions. The journalists can certainly play a significant role in arousing the interests of the people for undertaking the visits to countries of the region. Others who spoke from India were Ish Madhu Talwar, Dinesh Pathak, Ram Kishor Trivedi, Kaushal Chaturvedi and Randeep Ghanghas. The keynote was delivered by Dr. Edward Ariyadasa, a nonagenarian journalist with a razor sharp intellect, who underlined for adopting the technology for the development of journalism for promoting regional cooperation.

 India is playing a significant role in the reconstruction of Sri Lanka after the conflict that ravaged and devastated the country for more than 25 years. During his last visit, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had dedicated five thousand pucca houses in northern Sri Lanka to those who were displaced during the war. The Government of India is also providing the assistance of billions of rupees for the reconstruction of roads, railways and ports etc. Agriculture and Dairy Farming is being promoted and assisted by the Indian Government. Chinese are making heavy investments in Sri Lanka to have their hegemony. During the periods of war Chinese wanted to drive a wedge between India and Sri Lanka but they simply do not understand that Indians and Sri Lankans have age-old ties, which is inalienable. Many Indians are engaged in Sri Lanka in business and other commercial activities which are, without doubt, giving impetus to the good neighborly relationship between India and Sri Lanka.  

Sri Lanka Abounds With Breathtaking Beautiful Places

We know so little about our neighbouring countries was realised by me during my six days visit to Sri Lanka in the second week of December 2018. I was the part of the 23-member delegation of the Indian Federation of Working Journalists, which traveled to many places in Sri Lanka. While Indians have known it as Sri Lanka from time immemorial, it was called Ceylon when it was a British Colony and its original name was restored in 1972, after 24 years of her gaining independence in 1948. Sri Lanka is credited to have the first woman Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike in the entire world, way back in 1960. Most of us started our journey by Air India on 10^th of December in the afternoon from Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi international airport of New Delhi reached within three and half hours at Colombo’s Bandaranaike international airport. Colombo is one of the modern cities of the world with the all-natural gorgeousness of ocean, lagoons, gardens, and greeneries. Manmade high-rise buildings, modern airport, potholes free roads, all round cleanliness and abounding of comfortable hotels etc, make this city all the more attractive. Hospitality in Sri Lanka is, to say the least, par excellence.

For any Indian visitor to Sri Lanka, what conjure up are the places associated with Ramayana. So, on reaching Colombo when we were told that this time the delegation would not be taken to the places of Ramayan trail, some of the journalists were disappointed a bit, but later after seeing other places, they felt happy that there visit proved to be more educative than what they had actually thought of. We were received at the airport by the office bearers of ‘Sri Lanka Press Association’ (SLPA). Its energetic and young Foreign Secretary Kurulu K. Kariyakarawana and his Indian wife, Gitika Talukdar, who herself is an accomplished journalist accompanied us from the beginning of our journey to the last day.  This duo took all pains to ensure our comfortable stay and elaborate arrangements for our reception at various places. All Indian journalists felt very happy when they were told that this time they would have the opportunity to see the post-conflict areas of North-East Sri Lanka, particularly from Batticaloa and Trincomalee.  Sri Lanka Press Association was given generous assistance by the Ministry of Tourism of Sri Lanka to take care of visiting Indian journalists

The climate of Sri Lanka remains hot and humid throughout the year mainly because it is situated near the equator and surrounded by the ocean from all side. The total area of Sri Lanka is nearly 67,000 square kilometres and the population is slightly more than two crores. It is a multi-religious and cultural society More than 75 percent population consists of Buddhists and Hindus are the second largest religion. Quite a large number of Muslims and Christian also inhabit the island. During the last two decades, the Muslim population has become assertive because economically they have become more prosperous mainly due to huge remittances from the Gulf countries. In all these years grand mosques have sprung up particularly in the North-Eastern part of Sri Lanka. Three language formula- Singhalese, English and Tamil- is observed Sri mainly in all Government programmes. Tamil has been given more importance possibly to assuage the feelings of the Tamilian population, who were on the warpath for very long period hampering the development of Sri Lanka. Singhalese, by all means, is the dominant language of the country but in the North-eastern part of Sri Lanka, Tamil is widely spoken and understood, where Tamil population is mainly concentrated. Tamilians are settled in considerable numbers in other parts of the country as well. Sinhala is a very sweet language and like any other Indian language, it is replete with Sanskrit words.

It was a delightful experience for all of us to see the love of Sri Lankans for National Song. While there is a controversy raging in India whether at the time of the singing of the National Song one should stand up in its honour or not, in Sri Lanka people pay their obeisance to their national song by standing in attention. Let me narrate an incident. While some of us, including a few Sri Lankans, were chatting, gossiping, watching television and reading newspapers in the lobby of the Sri Lanka Foundation, where we were put up for the first two days as we were waiting for others to board the bus, which was to take us to some other places but in the meantime the National Song of Sri Lanka begun playing. And to wonder to our wonders, everybody including sweepers, who were mopping the floors, receptionist and others stood up in attention and till the end of the playing of the song. Those who were entering the premises of the Sri Lanka Foundation, even they also stood like a statue and waited till the song was finished. In deference to the National Song of Sri Lanka, we also joined them and stood up at the places, where we were. When we inquired about it we were told that it has now become a habit of every Sri Lankan to stand up in the place as where he or she is at the time of the playing of the national song. This good habit is inculcated among Sri Lankans right from their school days or childhood. The pleasant surprise is that Sri Lanka, which is a multi-religious country, does not face any resistance from any quarters on this issue. Muslims and Christians, who oppose the standing at the time of playing the national song, do not make even a murmur of opposition in Sri Lanka. I wish the same spirit of respect for the National Song was found in India. It looks as if the politicians and bigots have largely been responsible for creating a rift in different religions in India. A feeling has been created in our country that standing up at the time of playing of the National Song is against one religion or community.

Another significant contrast which could be noticed between India and Sri Lanka is that in public functions everybody sits as an audience. Only those persons go up to the podium or stage whose names are called out by the moderator. He or she is supposed to immediately come down from the stage and then sit among the audience as before. In India, on the contrary, we find that there is always a pell-mell for grabbing a seat on the stage. Those who do not get the seat on the stage they feel frustrated and show their unconcealed indignation. It may sound strange but it is a fact that even the President of the country and the Ministers, Army Generals and top bureaucrats they all sit in the audience and move to the stage when their names are called out.

To my utter surprise, I found that number of people speaking/understanding Hindi has gone up many times during the last two-three decades. Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka is also doing its own bit for the promotion of Hindi in Sri Lanka. However, to our surprise, we found that many Sri Lankans have picked up Hindi from Gulf countries, where they have been going as the migrant workers. When we enquired it from many young persons, who were eager to converse in Hindi with us, they told us that more than 90 percent migrant workers in Qatar a country in other Gulf countries, speak in Hindi or Urdu and therefore, everybody has to learn Hindi/Urdu, out of compulsion, so as to communicate with other fellow workers.

Last time when I visited Sri Lanka in 1995 as a member of Press Council of India and I had found that there an atmosphere of fear of the indiscriminate bombings and terrorist attacks was lurking all-around even in the shops, offices and other public places in Colombo but now there is no such fear.

The natural beauty of Sri Lanka is seen to be believed. It is simply breath-taking. The vast expanse of the land from south-west Sri Lanka to northeast in Batticaloa, Trincomalee is largely virgin and unexplored. This is mainly due to nearly three decades long drawn civil war. The unfortunate war waged by the ‘Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam’ (LTTE) must have caused heavy causality of men and materials in Sri Lanka. Thousands must have been killed by the police, army, administration and the general public. According to an estimate, hundreds of Indian Jawans of the ‘Indian Peace Keeping Force’ (IPKF), sent by the government of India for restoring peace, were killed in Jaffna and Trincomalee.  Those gallant Jawans were killed unsung and unwept. We spoke to an officer at Gunners’ Club in the Central Province of Dambulla on way to Batticaloa, who told us that no Army man wants to die without fighting a battle, that too, when he is working for the restoration of peace. It is true indeed because if an army man dies in the battlefield then his family members and the society and the country remembers him as a martyr but if he dies without fighting then it is the saddest thing for him. He was very happy to have arranged a sumptuous and delicious lunch for us.

Triple Talaq Must Go

The conduct of the Congress Party- the principal opposition party in the Rajya Sabha, which, by the way, still has the largest number of members, is beyond any body’s comprehension. If it was against the triple talaq bill, then why did it support it in the Lok Sabha? What is the point of stalling the bill in the Rajya Sabha on the most frivolous ground of referring it to the Parliamentary Committee to reconsider it and suggest the changes- when the bill has no ambiguity at all? Does it not show that a historical party has lost its moorings and is moving on the tragic path of hara-kiri?

The most reactionary Lord Curzon had once said ‘commissions there are that shelves and commissions there are that solve’. He was right no doubt. Referring the bill to the Parliamentary Committee certainly is not to solve but to shelve the issue.

Going against the Bill means antediluvian thinking of the Congress Party. It has clearly failed to see that groundswell of opposition to the instant talaq in the Muslim community itself. The opposition parties are not only swimming against the tide of sentiments of the people, but they are committing egregious injustice to the Muslim women. Such occasions rarely come for any party or even an individual to play the momentous role in the history. Unfortunately, the Congress party is missing the bus. The posterity will never forgive and forget the opposition parties, particularly the Congress Party for its blunder of monumental proportions.

 Nevertheless, if the government is really serious, and there appears to be no doubt, then it must call the joint session of Parliament to get this Bill passed. I am sure this step of the government will have the unprecedented support of the public. And any democratic government should be wary of the public opinion and not of the petty politicians.

 Let us keep our fingers crossed.