ISSUES AND CONCERNS

Dussehra or Vijayadashami, the festival of Hindus, represents the culmination of 9 days (Navraathri) or 9 nights of celebration. The 10th day is called Vijayadashami or Dussehra. The festival denotes the victory of good over evil, during a fierce battle of 9 days between goddess Durga and Mahishasura a vicious demon. On the 10th day, the victory is celebrated according to the Hindu mythology. In most parts of India the festival is celebrated with fervor. In Bengal, Durga Pooja is one of the most important festivals. However, in the erstwhile East Bengal, which became East Pakistan in 1947 and then Bangladesh in 1971, this year the festival turned out to be bloody and devastating. An engineered blasphemy episode snow-balled into a major catastrophe for Bangladeshi Hindus. Reportedly, one Iqbal Husain had placed a copy of the Holy Quran at a Durga Pooja venue in Comilla. According to the police he was seen in CCTV footage-placing a copy of Quran at the knees of a Hanuman idol at the Durg...

NEW DELHI: In a recent judgment by Bombay High Court, learned judge had observed that groping a minor’s breast without “skin to skin contact” cannot be termed sexual assault under the POSCO Act. The judgment had said that since the man groped the child without removing her clothes the offence cannot be termed as sexual assault but it does constitute the offence of outraging the modesty of woman under IPC section 354. The High Court had accordingly acquitted the man for the offence under section 7 of the POSCO. Here is a case of an aged man pressing the breast of a fully dressed 12 year old child without removing her clothes. The victim is not even a teenager, and chances are that child can get deeply traumatized by the shock of this unexpected attack on her persona by a father like man which the so-called learned judge of Bombay High Court has failed to recognise. Court went by the argument of equally ‘learned’ advocates, that this is a fit case under section 354 of IPC, and therefore...

NEW DELHI: We all know that Reserve Bank of India, the central bank of the country is a regulatory body, with the consent of Union Government. It cannot do many interventions into the performance of individual banks. However, it has its regulatory and enforcement role as specified in the Reserve Bank of India Act of 1948. RBI generally operates under the overall confines of this Act. Within the constraints of the Act, it can honestly take up role to improve the performance of Indian banks in general. There was this report datelined New Delhi “RBI’s ‘displeasure’ letters warn banks over functioning”. In a bid to push some banks to clean up their act, RBI has been, in recent times, issuing letters expressing its dissatisfaction over their functioning. These letters from Department of Supervision does not take enforcement action. But it has larger implications for individual concerned or the entire institution, especially relating to due diligence in credit appraisal, asset quality agains...

FARM LAWS: ONE YEAR ON: MY WAY OR HIGHWAY- THE DISTURBING IMPASSE Out out brief candle! Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage. And then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.- Shakespeare in Macbeth. In a moment of deep introspection English playwright William Shakespeare had let out his disappointment calling life is ‘just sound and fury signifying nothing’. Come to think of it, it seem to increasingly appear sensible to interpret the hype in some of the events of modern days’ governance especially in India. Over an year ago, on 17th September 2020, Indian parliament passed 3 farm related bills, which were earlier promulgated as ordinance on 5th June 2020. On 27th September 2020, President accorded assent to these bills and gazette notification immediately followed making them as Laws. These laws are 1) The Farmers’ Produce, Trade & Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 20...

CONSTITUTIONAL SECULARISM & HINDU TEMPLE ACTS Secularism in its broadest sense is an act of acceptance of another man, including woman, for whatever he is, in his entirety. Secularism is practiced in India not because it is inserted into the pages of Indian constitution by Indira Gandhi and her lame-duck parliament in 1976, during the emergency days. What those who talk about Constitutional Secularism must know is that secularism has been a way of life for Indians of all hues from the days of yore, for thousands of years, into the unwritten history. Truly speaking, Indians do not need lessons in what constitute secularism. Why did the Parsis persecuted by the invading Arabs in Persia come to India more than 1200 years ago, and continued to come to India for over 150 years! Why did Jews, persecuted all over the world, decided to make India their home? Historians believe that it was around 1200 AD Jews started to migrate to India. The idea of Constitutional Secularism was not hear...

NEW DELHI: Ever since Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana, aka N.V. Ramana, assumed office of Chief Justice of India on 24th April 2021, he has been in the news for all kinds of reasons. He appears to be labouring to convey the independence of judiciary and that he himself should not be taken for granted by the executive or the legislature. Prima facie there is nothing wrong with that. But the apparent haste to portray oneself as different from the flock or from one’s predecessors is wrought with the possibilities that the vastness of the probable differences may be beyond the time at one’s disposal to mend or make amends to the existing lacunae in the judiciary or the judicial processes across the country. Therefore adage “Look before you leap”, holds true, or else avoidable political quick sand may not be far off. So, it’s best to “play by the ears”. It is no secret that there are millions of cases pending across the national judicial spectrum. Public space informs that details from N...