MONTH-IN-PERSPECTIVE-MARCH 2021

NEW DELHI: It was a case of ‘wolf reading scripture’. A New Delhi datelined news report said “BJP has torn to shreds dignity of democracy, says Priyanka”. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, after having married to Robert Vadra has continued to use Gandhi, being Rajeev Gandhi’s daughter. How Rajeev Gandhi got Gandhi as an addendum is still not clear. But Gandhi title gives them a divine right to control Congress Party. So where does democracy comes into the lexicon of Priyanka! If she was reacting to the FIR filed against Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor and other six journalists, there could be some reasons, right or wrong. It is for the court to decide, where does ‘democracy under attack’ comes! Those who are talking about dignity of democracy must first know, what is democracy, and practice it. As such historian Ramachandra Guha has written off this lady and her brother along with their mother for exactly the same reason of democracy not being there in their position in the Congress Party. No wonder he coined the phrase, it is time to have “GANDHI MUKT CONGRESS”! The emotions displayed in the parliament while Rajya Sabha MP Ghulam Nabhi Azad was being given a send-off on his retirement, portends well for our body politic in these times of divisive politics. The picture of an emotional Ghulam Nabhi Azad pressing his moistened eyes on hearing Prime Minister Modi’s words of praise to the departing Congress leader will remain etched in the corridors of Parliament for days to come. Bidding good bye to the senior Congress leader from Jammu & Kashmir, who was also a former Chief Minister of J&K, Prime Minister Modi, recalled his days, when both were Chief Minister of Gujarat & J&K in 2006. He reminisced the terrorist attack in J&K targeting Gujarati tourists and how J&K Chief Minister spoke like a family member and couldn’t stop crying. “Power comes and goes but not all know how to handle it”, he attributed to the qualities of head and heart of J&K leader. Ghulam Nabhi Azad kept the interest of the nation and the House in mind besides those of his party”, PM remarked as he bade farewell to the Congress leader. In turn, responding to the farewell speech by PM, Azad, came out with his poetic best “I am among those fortunate people who never went to Pakistan. When I read about circumstances in Pakistan I feel proud to be a Hindustani Muslim. If any Muslim should feel proud in the world, it should be the Indian Muslim” were his parting remarks. These remarks by the Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabhi Azad, a Rajya Sabha Member for multiple terms and a former CM of J&K, should set at rest any misgiving any Indian entertains about the Idea of India. Long live India. Indeed I feel justifiably proud to be an Indian. NEW DELHI:Some weeks ago, in the temple precincts on the outskirts of Mangalooru a small gathering of literature enthusiasts were having a session on “challenges & possibilities in the print media”. Responding to interactions a participant remarked “we are indeed in the era of challenges and possibilities. Challenges basically stem from the human avarice and men and women in the media, who call themselves as journalists, are no exception. A good part of them, may be even majority, are kind of Tehelka type, sensation mongering for a price, all selfish agenda driven”. A New Delhi datelined report in the print media “Cruelty to animals to soon attract Rs. 75000 fine”, has not come a day too early for the sheer relevance of the issue. According to the report Union Minister for Animal Husbandry, in a written response to a parliament question, reported to have stated “The need for amending PCA (Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) 1960, by introducing more stringent penalties has been recognized. The draft amendment includes raising monetary penalties and punishment provisions”. It informs about the fine being increased varying from Rs. 750 to Rs. 75000/- from the existing penalties from Rs. 10 to Rs. 50/-. While earlier there was no jail term for offences constituted as cruelty to animals, the present amendment proposes a jail term of up to 5 years, including provision to combine the punishments of both fine & imprisonment. This proposed amendment may bring about some discipline among the likes of Salman Khan, who is known more for his violence towards animals than for his acting prowess. There are millions of humans the world over, and in India they are, dime a dozen, for whom violence or cruelty towards animal is a way of life. Of course, it is also true that there are many men and women who eke out living by misusing animals clearly bordering on cruelty. It could be dogs, monkeys, bullocks, camels, elephants and many others. While eking-out-a-living by using these domesticated animals may require some provision to enable them to continue their vocation with clear riders to protect these animals from the physical misuse by their human masters. Indeed most problem the world or the society faces are due to the human selfishness of wanting to have his/her desire/need/greed fulfilled. After all, YEH DIL MAANGEY MORE! That certainly needs to be reined. Hope the proposed amendment to PCA will become a law and make some difference to the suffering animals at the hands of greedy humans. NEW DELHI:The increase in provision for investment in highways of some 400% in the 2021-22 budget augers well for all concerned. Ever since the Golden Quadrilateral project envisioned and largely executed by NDA I, the importance of highways in the socio-economic life of the country has seen a sea change. We all recognise road connectivity increases the economic possibilities of places getting newly connected. A city is as big as the nearest village connected by road. Road connectivity can, truly speaking, revolutionise the moribund state of economic life of any section of society. And highways are only an extension of this principle on a larger scale. When Golden Quadrilateral was taken up and executed, the nation has witnessed a much speedier movement of goods & services and also that of migrating crowd in search of living. It is on record that Golden Quadrilateral has greatly increased the economic opportunities to all those who could access the road connection and hitch- hike to opportunities to prosperity. Therefore the present jump in the budget provision for the construction of highways is a not only visionary but also pragmatic for the multiplier effects on development of Indian economy. NEW DELHI:According to accepted norms, the fundamental basic purpose of education is to create a responsible human being, responsible and responsive to his parents to begin with, to his siblings and other members of his family, to his immediate environment and the biosphere within it, including his teachers in school, his classmates and other students and the chain goes on long and wide as he grows into adulthood. Therefore, our words spoken or actions acted upon, perforce should not ever hurt mentally, emotionally and physically anyone. When we say anyone, shall include all, the weakest to the strongest. This is not to suggest that you do not have any freedom to speak, act or react on any event, written or spoken words. You have every right to speak what you think is right, within the perimeter of your responsible behavior as a responsible citizen, but that right is not unfettered or without restriction. Long ago we have all been told “Price of freedom is its responsible exercise”, that said, all’s said. We are all privy to the ‘La Prashant Bhushan’ episode of his accusations involving Supreme Court judges and how he was reprimanded for his unprofessional and arrogant outburst. Although it was symbolic, he paid Re.1/- as fine and accepted the verdict of being guilty, to live another day. For his penchant for controversies, Apex Court bench was unanimous in their judgment to penalise Prashant Bhushan. For once, the self styled protector of freedom of expression was forced to eat a humble pie. And these days there’s nothing from PB, in the public space. And comes this joker Kunal Kamra poking fun at the judiciary. In the name of liberty one can take potshot at the authorities within a reasonable limit of being funny. In fact this Kamra was hardly known, and became rather infamous because of his tongue in cheek tweets on even issues like scrapping of article 370, in the context of J&K special status and many other issues. And he suddenly became a staple of discussion of our ‘intellectual brigade’, who have the ‘exclusive right to think and react’, according to this Sukanth Chaudry, a Professor Emeritus in English at Jadavpur University, since they are all fellow travelers with similar moorings. This Kunal questions, the right to protest his tweet, and calls it intolerance and our so-called ‘scholars & scientist’, the card holders of intellectual discourse joins him in the market. So according to this Kamra and his supporters in the media, he can tweet whatever he likes, but none can protest. There was this youth, a factory hand from India, working at an asbestos pipe making factory in Oman. One of those days after finishing his day’s work, over 40 years ago, he was sharing his thoughts over the evening cup of tea with other factory hands. He was in his full senses, yet he remarked “I don’t know. There were many men visiting my home”. When he was asked 'what is the name of your father?' Now that was an atrocious statement against one’s own mother from her son! He was not funny but was making a statement with due understanding of what was he saying. Can this youngster, who could be now in his sixtees, be dismissed as crank or a crack pot, or was he being a humourist just like this Kunal Kamra! NEW DELHI:National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is an apex child rights body based in New Delhi, was set up in March 2007 under an act of parliament in 2005. The main role of NCPCR is to protect, promote and defend child rights. Recently it was in the news. Reportedly NCPCR has identified 50 religious places including the Taj Mahal and Shri Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya, where intervention will be undertaken to ensure zero tolerance towards child labour, informed the report. As per census, 2011, the total child population in the age group of 5-14 is close to 260 million, of which over 10 million are found working either as ‘main worker’ or as ‘marginal worker’, while some 43 million are reportedly out of school. So what is this NCPCR has been doing since its inception! Swedish Academy awarded Nobel Prize to Kailash Satyarthi of Bachpan Bachaao Andolan in October 2014. According to information in the media he has so far saved close to 100,000 children from the bonded labour. He sees education as the key instrument of liberation of children from poverty, exploitation and neglect. As The Hindu editorial puts it “The Nobel Peace Prize this year recognized the crucial links among child rights, labour and school education. In doing so, it recognizes one of the most fundamental pre-requisites of a better tomorrow for millions of children everywhere”. Yes, the far-away Stockholm has recognized an Indian for his work with children. But the authorities in India has not only not recognized the services & dedication of this pioneering spirit of Satyarthi, they did not even acknowledge his existence for all these years since the Nobel in 2014. Not only no award by the Indian government came his way, he was not even involved by authorities at policy making level with his deep insight into the problems of child labour. Clearly somebody up there is suffering from mental poverty. With some 65 million child labour in India, the charade of identifying 50 religious places for social intervention to ensure no child labour is seen; by NCPCR is a poor reflection of their understanding of the enormity of the problem. There is something fundamentally wrong in managing child related issues in India. Successive governments of all hues have failed to see the issue in proper perspective. They have let the young and vulnerable victims of time and circumstances to continue to suffer. Unfortunately, these children do not constitute a vote bank and hence not attractive for any political party to include them in their election manifesto. That’s the sad reality of Yeh Mera India. Oh poor Mother India! GUJARAT: Supreme Court judges making pleasant noises in favour of ruling dispensation and their leader has to be taken, more often than not, with a pinch of salt. Why they are making such noises, when they are still active in the highest court of the land may be agenda driven or may be an honest remark of admiration. But as the judicial officer of the apex court, while there is no provision to the contrary, it is best that they keep their words of appreciation of people in power to another day and time, preferably when they are retired and are enjoying their well earned retirement or it will make tongues to wag and media making its surprise known in print, with their own interpretation. And comes this Ahmadabad datelined report “SC judge hails PM as visionary leader”. Reportedly apex court judge Justice MR Shah, while speaking at the Diamond Jubilee celebration of Gujarat High Court has remarked “I am proud and privileged to participate in the function to celebrate diamond jubilee of Gujarat High Court that too in the presence of our most popular, loved, vibrant and visionary leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. While it is true that all the qualities Justice Shah attributed to PM Modi may not be misplaced, but for a sitting judge to say what he said, can clearly raise eye brows, if not hackles. It is, as if, he is looking for some position of sinecure after retirement. And such an interpretation sadly, is not wrong. There are members of the higher courts angling for position in government after their retirement. The case of Justice SR Nayak can be quoted with disdain. First he was appointed as Chairman KSHRC, on retirement he became Chairman of Law Commission (CLC), as it was getting over he tried to become Karnataka Lokayukta. In fact, his appointment as CLC was challenged and is still in Supreme Court. With such judges available for reference, it is very easy to infer intentions to feel good utterances by sitting judges of higher courts praising people like PMs and CMs. WEST BENGAL: Issues & Concerns has an office premises in the suburb of Mangalooru. The owners of the premises, a Co-operative Society, wanted to name a newer section of the building. They had completed 100 years since its registration. They asked the meeting of tenants for a suggestion on the name. I&C proposed it as “Shataka Sambhrama”, meant as “Celebration of the Century”. But the President of the society did not like the publisher of I&C so he over ruled the only suggestion that was on offer. Instead when the building was completed, we saw the new plaque on the building” “Shata Sambhrama” which meant ‘100 celebration’. The society endured the obduracy of its President. Now we have this completely avoidable controversy due to the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Central government proposed the day to be called as ‘Parakram Diwas’ which means ‘Day of Valour’. When we read the ‘title for the day’ in the newspaper, it was felt to be not impressive. But then PM Narendra Modi is a great word-smith, or at least BJP members think so. They do not contradict him. And we are all privy to the avoidable fracas that happened in Kolkata, with ‘Jai Shree Ram’ sloganeering and Mamata Bennerji walking out in a huff. However now it has emerged that there indeed was another proposal from Mamata Bennerji about the 125th Birthday to be called. The proposal was “Desh Nayak Diwas”. And reportedly she had refused to call the day as any other ‘Diwas’. Clearly we feel “Desh Nayak Diwas” is a better title than the “Parakram Diwas”. Another report also mentions that another WB political party-Forward Back-had suggested “Desh Prem Diwas” which was also the choice of the family of Subhash Chandra Bose (SCB). So, there were other names, but as usual, the high handed behavior of central government didn’t bother to even consult the family of SCB or WB government. In fact the 3rd proposal “Desh Prem Diwas” is the best of all three. Would the central leadership show the sagacity to accept this “Desh Prem Diwas” which is certainly more appealing and is also acceptable to the family of SCB, so also a section of the WB political class! MAHARASHTRA: A Mumbai datelined news in the print media “Witnesses turning hostile is cancerous for judiciary: HC”, has not come a day too early. In fact, in the context of free India’s tryst with this judicial malaise called ‘witness turning hostile’, has a long history and the pro-active stand of judiciary should have come years ago. All sane and right thinking individuals recognise the role of witnesses in a criminal proceeding as paramount in the justice delivery system of any country with a democratic system of government. Therefore the sanctity of role of witness requires no emphasis in establishing the truth of the matter concerning any resolution of criminal proceeding. But sadly the truth is, more often it’s the witness going turtle after solemnly deposing before the judges for the first time. It has been happening as if it’s the order of the day. However as long as witness continue to go hostile and do not make truthful deposition in court, justice will always suffer and people’s faith in the efficacy and credibility of judicial process will continue to be eroded and shattered. And in umpteen high profile cases witnesses have gone hostile and that led to miscarriage of justice. In the reference case, a 75 year old woman who was convicted for killing her own husband by smashing his head while he was asleep was acquitted when five of the seven prosecution witnesses turned hostile. Taking note of the development, calling it ‘enough was enough’, the Bench of Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Bhalchandra Debadwar, reportedly stated “We find it appropriate to hold that we cannot turn blind eye to the menace of hostile witnesses and we cannot find ourselves helpless against the conduct of hostile witnesses”, and asserted that time has come to initiate strict action against the hostile witnesses and therefore “witnesses becoming hostile cannot be ignored and pardoned any more”. This is a very positive development in the criminal justice delivery system. Hopefully this will infuse some sense of seriousness among both citizens and a section of legal fraternity like lawyers who could at times be silent witnesses in the miscarriage of justice when witnesses before the court turn hostile. MAHARASHTRA:Sharad Govindrao Pawar, a Maratha strongman and another ‘iconic’ Maharashtrian Sachin Tendulkar are strangely at logger heads. Strangely, because, Sharad Pawar, as the BCCI president and later as ICC president has been a great admirer of this “Little Master”, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar or simply Sachin Tendulkar. It was Sharad Pawar, as a senior politician of Maharashtra had proposed Bharat Ratna to Tendulkar and the then government of Sonia/Manmohan Singh had accepted the proposal and awarded the cricketer with the highest award of the land. That Sharad Pawar and the then UPA government had thus lowered the prestige of this national recognition is another matter. But it was the personal proximity and chemistry between the Maratha strongman and the “Little Master” that decided the Bharat Ratna to a mere cricketer. However strangely for whatever reasons, the same clique of Pawar & UPA gave this Tendulkar his seat in Rajya Sabha. No wonder not only eye brows were raised across the cricket and political fraternity but also tongues wagged. As expected like the other celluloid celebrity Rekha too performed in the Rajya Sabha absolutely insignificantly. They were known more for their silence rather than the participation in the Rajya Sabha debate. Be that as it may, Tendulkar had some commitment unlike Rekha towards social causes. No wonder he tried to react to the recent happenings around him by tweeting “India’s sovereignty cannot be compromised. External forces can be spectators but not participants. Indians know India and should decide for India. Let’s remain united as a nation”. Tendulkar was reacting to some western pop star expressing her support to the Indian farmers’ protest in the capital region. And our Maratha strongman got bugged and reacted, “My advice to Sachin will be to be careful while speaking on issues other than cricket”. Clearly it was none of Pawar’s business to react to what Tendulkar had tweeted. This Pawar has forgotten that he became the BCCI boss and later called the shots at ICC, without anything to do with cricket. In a democratic environment, nobody questioned his desire to become the Chairman of BCCI without being a cricketer. Therefore in fitness of things Sharad Govindrao Pawar, should let Tendulkar, within the confines of law, to do or say what he likes and there are enough and more checks and balances to question his utterances, if the need be, period. KARNATAKA: The death by hanging of 37 years old Narayan is extremely sad and represents the cruel face of our so-called fair society of Vasudaiva Kutumbakam. Narayan, a sweeper with the Maddur Town Municipality has surrendered to lord Yama, the God of Death, after his harrowing experience with officials of the municipality. He has reportedly named MTM President Suresh Kumar, Health officer Murugesh and Health Inspector Ghasim Khan in his suicide note. That Narayan belongs to SC/ST group makes it all the more serious. According to information in the print media, Narayan was forced to get into a manhole to clean it in bare hands without gloves, mask or any cleaning equipment. When the incident happened 3 months ago and media made headlines authorities woke up to order an inquiry. This led to the harassment of Narayan by the concerned officials who asked Narayan to own up the lapse and that he had voluntarily got into the manhole. He rightly refused to do so. His salary was not paid and was suspended on petty reasons. Unable to face the harassment he took the extreme step. After 73 years of free India it is an unremitting tragedy that those who are vulnerable and weak continue to be harrassed and forced to commit suicide. Sadly those who are guilty have managed to remain unscathed of the crime they have committed. Now that that the police have registered a case under SC&ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and for abatement of suicide, all those named by Narayan should be arrested and kept in jail without bail until the court decides the quantum of punishment which should be Life Imprisonment for all three men, for them to keep regretting their actions for the rest of their lives. Lest others dare repeating such crimes. TAMIL NADU: The Hindu, the Chennai based English daily had the photograph of Justice Pushpa Ganediwala on the top left of their Sunday Edition among others. Justice Ganediwala is the judge involved in ordering the release of a Pocso accused on controversial ground and Supreme Court has already stayed it. She is clearly in the ‘eye of the storm’ from children’s Rights groups and women’s groups, besides others. Reportedly her elevation/confirmation is being held up due to this apparently highly controversial judgment. So there is news value for her photograph being on the first page. But look at our Newspaper to the nation-The Times of India. It had an infamous jail bird as the top news on the 1st page, the only news with rest of the space occupied by consumer targeted product advertisement. One can imagine the importance Times of India is giving to the release from jail of VK Sasikala. Could it be, that some big money has changed hands to let VKS appear on the top page as top news despite being a jail bird, who was in jail under disproportionate asset case. She was to share the ignominy of jail stay along with J. Jayalalitha, the AIADMK Supremo and VKS was only a live-in partner of J.J. So what could be the consideration that prompted TOI to present VKS to the world of TOI readers as top billed news, except money?! What a joke of journalism! OH, TOI! KERALA: Going against the constitution or the central government is slowly getting credence by some of the opposition ruled state. Both TMC ruled West Bengal and the Left ruled Kerala are known to be emerging more and more assertive. The latest appears to be an attack on a constitutional authority-CAG. A Thiruvanantapuram datelined report “Kerala House sets a dubious record, alters CAG report” says it all. Controller & Auditor General is an autonomous constitutional power centre, to go into the financial management of state resources and its appropriate accountability. According to the report “CAG was critical of Kerala’s Left government’s market borrowings, which according to the constitutional watch dog, was unconstitutional. Kerala government had issued ‘Masala Bonds’ to mop up funds from outside the state for its infrastructural development finance company called KIIFB, which is beyond the powers of state government. Kerala government could have approached the centre and got the issue of Masala Bonds cleared by the centre, which they didn’t and unilaterally went ahead. KIIFB is Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board. However the government in Thiruvanantapuram, got that portion of critical reference-some 3 pages- in the CAG report, removed by an assembly resolution, despite heavy opposition acrimony. So the PAC, the Public Accounts Committee- of the state will have the CAG report without its critical comment. PAC is supposed to scrutinise the report and subsequently report to the assembly. This was an unparalleled action by any state government. How will CAG act on this development has to be seen! WORLD: There is something clearly very wrong with the judicial sensibilities in Pakistan. Or else anybody accused of beheading somebody, an unarmed hostage, to be freed, is beyond comprehension. Eighteen years ago, sometime in late January 2002, the South Asia Bureau chief of Wall Street Journal, Daniel Pearl, then 38 years, was reportedly abducted and was never seen alive since them. Nearly a month later, a video showing the graphic beheading of Pearl was delivered to the Karachi office of the US consulate. The gory visuals of the journalist being decapitated by a tall built terrorist had shocked the conscience of civilized world. From all details and accounts available in the public space it was found that it was a British national of Pakistani origin Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was the kingpin who committed the cold blooded murder of American Journalist Daniel Pearl. He was arrested and convicted among others. He was awarded death sentence while his three accomplices were awarded life sentence by an anti-terrorist court in Hyderabad Sindh. But in April 2020, the Pearl’s killer’s death sentence was overturned by the Sindh High Court and was awarded a 7 year prison sentence and since he had already spent some 18 years in prison, it was considered as having undergone these 7 years and was expected to be released. However the government in Sindh kept them behind bars under the Law of Maintenance of Public Order (MPO), where the government could detain any suspect for 90 days and keep on extending the detention. In December 2020, Sindh High Court, responding to a petition by these 4 men against their continuous detention, ordered an immediate release of all. Sindh government followed the suite and appealed in Pakistani Supreme Court, besides parents of Daniel Pearl. Pakistani Supreme Court on 28th January 2021 ordered the release of the main accused on the ground of insufficient evidence. No wonder Pearl’s family called it “complete travesty of justice” and that “the release of these killers puts in danger journalists everywhere and the people of Pakistan”. “The court’s decision is an affront to victims of terrorism everywhere. We are committed to securing justice to Daniel Pearl’s family and holding terrorists accountable”, reacted US State Department, indicating that US is ready to take custody of terrorist accused Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh to stand trial in the US. Hope Pakistan is told in unmistakable terms, it does not pay playing cuddle with terrorists with judicial intervention giving mixed signals. WORLD: Long ago Robert Lynd, the English essayist of the yore wrote a piece on “Sermon on shaving”. He propounded a thought therein. According to him “To have a good shave you, not only need a good razor and lather but also a good brush”. He was only conveying the idea that, none of the political ideologies are perfect, you need to have amalgamation or marriage of different ideas to have a perfect political doctrine. Thus, like all ideologies, even democracy is not perfect. It has its inherent infirmities. No wonder the media screamed “Trump survives the impeachment trial”. An editorial in print media commented. “Failure to convict former US President Donald Trump highlight how divided America is”. But America has always been divided. This is the reality and bane of democracy. Such incidents of Trump acquittal and the likes will continue to happen. There is no solution and perfect tool to manage all situations. That is the truth. This is not to suggest that democracy has failed to provide answers to the questions of governance. But despite its apparent failures at times, democracy is the best guarantee of justice. But then there is this vested interest syndrome that is prevalent in every form of public administration. Trump escaped being declared guilty because there were 10 votes less for the possible number of 67. This was despite 8 Republicans changing sides! So in democracy, as is the rules of the game, it’s the majority, not just the majority, but 2/3rd majority, in such cases, that decide grave matters. Thus there is a built in check, those who are seeking a big ticket happening or change, they should be clearly in large numbers, just 51/49 is not enough. While it is true, Donald Trump being told is no uncertain terms, the kind of situation he got the US, the citadel of democracy, was indeed a grave matter. He had to be made accountable. But then probably he was destined to be back in American politics, so the day was saved for him. Hope American people, especially Republicans, are wiser, not to elect him for another term in 2024 or thereafter ever. However it is also true that government of the people, by the people and for the people is by far the best solution to all political misgivings and ills if any, which can ensure greatest good of greatest number.