There is not much India can do about forced marriages of Hindu and Sikh girls in Pakistan. What we can do, is to give up hopes of a peaceful relationship with Pakistan. Liberals always try to portray the Pakistanis as people similar to India divided by an imaginary line. Tell me, will you tolerate if any minor girl in your neighborhood is married just to force her undergo religious conversion? Let her be of any religion, your blood will boil with anger over the injustice. I have never read anything as such happening in India. How can be the same people? And if you don't have similar sympathies for a girl across the border, it makes you less human. But here liberals will give their classic twist. We are a secular country but Pakistan is an Islamic Republic. This is expected to automatically justify the heinous deed. You are being trained to accept the reality in an nonchalant manner, like your daily news, like a power cut in your colony or like IMD forecast. Its natural to accept such news, you need not feel angry. But this same people will tell you that Indian secularism is sham. Just because we have elected a right wing party, Hindus must be tarnished. Our inherent respect for all religions notwithstanding, India must be degraded and called Hindu Pakistan. USA currently has the most right wing President in many decades. Does the Western media similarly demonize Christians over there for his election? But read their coverage on Kashmir or Assam. Its the caste Hindus under the Premiership of Narendra Modi hell bent on destroying the secular fabric of India. When Arundhati Roy says that Pakistan never attacked its own people, that is not out of her ignorance but a clever ploy to make Indians feel dirty for trying to protect our borders against the Jihadis and the communists. And if she is now giving it a new twist, it is not because she has come across some new facts. Pakistan's human rights record from Bangladesh to Baluchistan has been well documented over the years. She is solely doing it because she stands discredited. In this age of social media, her videos and the hate and lies peddling thereof has been widely circulated. Their messianic veil tored, they are being forced to mend their ways. It is upto us, the people, to believe such old foxes.
Sunday 1 September 2019
Sunday 1 January 2017
Demonetization and Other Stories
The success of any program can be gauzed by the target fulfilled as laid out in its objective.Though the government did quite a few gimmicks with regard to the objectives of demonetisation,the holy war or yagna had initially started as a fight against the black money and counterfeit currency.Since then the narrative was transformed very successfully to promoting plastic money and digitalization with behaviourial change being hailed as the prime success.Though much has been written about the clumsy execution (it was very clumsy indeed with the constant tinkering with the rules) it is important to note how the execution not only was harrasing for the honest people,it hardly seemed to banter the dishonest as initially promised.
First,the initially declared target of fighting black money.The dishonest found it quite easy to bribe their way through the bankers.Second,their is no reason those caught in the tax net can not get away by bribing the tzx sleuths.This was quite early flagged by Tavleen Singh in her article and the government had absolutely no device to plug this important leakage.When the whole institional set up of India has been corrupted to its core,on what premises was the government expecting the bankers and tax sleuths to do their duty with honesty?The now empty roar of every dishonest being caught is a mere theatric.When the shock and awe target failed to dampen their spirit what good will come out of enquiry.Were not the tax sleuths active till now in catching the hoarders of black money?What did they achieve in these many years?Though the media played too much over hoarders being caught,in reality,they are very small fishes ranging from few lakhs to some crores.Were is the promised three-four lakhs crore that the government expected not to return to the bank (as admitted in SC)?Only three lakh crores were left to be deposited as on Dec 21.Since then no new figure has arrived.Multiple ministers are carefully sheilding this fact that since we have started an amnesty scheme (pay 50 per cent,keep the rest),all money will natuarally return to bank.But will three lakhs crores be decalred under the scheme?Impossible.Simply because people have easier means to convert the money,including paying a bribe to the banker or through hawala channels shelling out quite less than the 50 per cent figure of the government (the main reason why the government brought the amnesty scheme,almost twenty days after the announcement of demonetization).Why did not the government further dropped the 50 per cent figure,this will be discussed at the end of the article.
Apart from this glaring loophole at the planning stage,the execution was made a harrowing experience by the approach of government by declaring time and again that their was no fault in execution but we are changing rules based on feedback.But did they really needed a feedback about this being a marriage season or times for rabi crops?Could not the relief provided at the later stage started from the very beginning?And whose idea it was to allow people to exchange notes?I mean what was the use of allowing people to exchange notes?Demonetization could have been a simple two step process in which on one hand people could have deposited old notes and on the other they could have withdrawn their money through cheque or withdrawl form.By this process,every penny would have entered and exited in a recorded manner without that foolishness of id proof xerox that was so blatantly used for illegal conversion.Entering every Rs.4500 entry every time one reaches with old notes was an extra and useless burden on employees too.After noticing the flaw in the exchange regime,the government should had done away with it completely but it strangely continued to flourish in a lessened figure.
Next comes the ATM fiasco.What was the need to launch new money that needed a recalibrated ATM?Either the government should have released the prototype before and gave sufficient time to the bancks for recalibrating the ATMs (after all,new notes wont have given away the top secret) or better still the governemnent could have printed the new notes corresponding to the previous size only.Why to care for beauty when the system is actually burning?
Lastly,we can talk about the achievements.The demonetization was quite successful in routing out the scrouge of counterfeit currency.That the terrorist tried to loot banks in J&K as well as other intelligence reports are testimony to this fact.But the governement seems less interested in taking credit for this achievement.It is busy hailing the success of behaviourial change in the people with regard to plastic money and digitalization.But this we can emphatically declare after cash reaches back in people's hand.Taking out all the money from people's hand and then when they are only left with a single choice of paying online or plastic,hailing this as a behavioural change is sick.But first the preparation for this important achievement.Why did not the government waved of the extra transaction charges in the run-off of demonetization.Shopkeepers too could have been encouraged to install PoS machines.These doles were only provided after the demonetization seemed too large a disrution to the economy.Most honest people then would have got adjusted to the idea of digitaliztion had these doles been offered six months back.Digging a well when the house is on fire is never a good idea.Second,how much company like PayTm were operated by the public sector bank?Some MPs rightly raised the issue of going digital via a company having substantial share-holding by Chinese comapany (since then PayTm made a separate entity to handle online payment with completely Indian holding).Why should Indian digital revolution benefit the Chinese?Then reports came that plastic cards such as VISA provide benefit to their MNC owners for every transaction done.Even government is offering prizes only on those card transaction which is done via RuPay cards.But why did my bank offered me VISA cards in the first place?I did not asked for VISA instead of RuPay.Such ad hoc encouragement of digitalization is sad.But more importantly,did the people really took this change?I have only found one shop in my vicinity taking PayTm,but could not pay digitally due to a minor problem.My interent connection was not working properly.This in one of important urban towns.What about the village?Lastly,once people are getting access to cash,they are returning to their old habits except in places where they have clear incentives as in petrol pumps.By the way,saftey oragnizations have flagged up the issue of using PoS machines in the vicinity of petrol pumps (another example of foresight by the government).
This were only the directly related issues.Collateral damage too was huge.More than hundred people died.It did not make much furore since human lives are cheap in the East.Bussinesses suffered unexpected losses and many people lost thier employment.Employment generation figures are already low.I certainly hoped that at the end of the day government will take measure steps to boost employment figures.But the government stopped after offering relief to farmers and small business-men.The media has hailed this corrective measures for the poor,neo-middle class and middle class.Here I come to the last part of the article.Demonetization battle was fought on the name of poor against the rich and corrupt upper class.It ended with glory to Lohia,JP and Kamaraj.Each of them were freedom fighters and tall leaders of independent India.But distictly socialist.Socialism was the fashionable economic order in the newly emerging Third World just after the end of imperialism.This no longer cuts much ice in any part of the world except in India.Socialist government,by structure itself,is corrupt with too much power to the few in the ruling class and much government meddling in business.World over socialist government have become either collapsed or become defunct.This has been India's bane for seven decades,our own Achilles' heel.Indian leaders just refuses to embrace capitalism.Forty-five years after India Gandhi rode the "Garibi Hatao" wave,no one chooses to disembark off this time-tested formula.To make matters worse,PVN the architect of new-India and AB Vajpayee,his successor in this regard,failed to win public support of their policies in consequent general elections.No doubt,the Prime Minister failed to hail them after demonetization.Some how,capital and profit remains a crime.The communist agenda of taking money from the rich and distibuting amongst poor remains fashionable in academics even after the ebb of naxalism.The discoure is not simply about punishing the dishonest and those making black money.It is being hailed as a step that caused profound pain to the rich and as a result,happiness to the poor.The class battle still continues.And it will continue unless and until the people recognize the meaning of the pithy saying "Socialism is the best way of assuring poor about their welfare while simultaneously keeping them poor".After all,once they are no longer poor wont the class battle and those championing their cause will loose revelance.The government could have uneartherd the whole black money with an amnesty scheme with low taxation.But then this would not have been hailed as a pro-poor measure against the benefits of the upper class.
Creating money has become sin in this country.Rich must always be punished one way or the other.No matter he is honest or hard-working.If he is earning,he must be blamed for others' poverty.But what sort of institutions are serving the honest and poor?He/She will die a terrible death in a government hospital without proper care.His child (if happens to be from general cateogory) will be discriminated against in getting admission to colleges and government jobs.Private services are still too costly in this country thanks to protectionist measures against competition.His/Her daughter wont be married properly since he/she shell out dowry.The prosecution in such cases cut a sorry figure.Most importantly,who are the ones forcing everyone everyday to shell out bribe giving birth to this practice of black money.Business-men and honest people are routinely being harrased even in carrying out thier daily functions.But who cares about the business-men?And about the commoners,who are being hailed as foot soldier in this fight against corruption,how many of them are actually honest?Is not all this a fit legacy of the socialist era.And yes,not a single politician has so far been held in this war against corruption and only one high-level officer.So,all leaders and bureaucrat are honest?
Last line must go hailing the pro-active stand of the honourable Supreme Court.The SC is still examining the legal sanctity of the measure after the exercise has ended.What if it finds it illegal?Will the step be rolled back.But why will it be declared illegal in the first place?Is not it giving strength to the socialistic principles of our directive principles.No matter if few fundamental rights are a casuality.After all,since the famed Kesvanada Bharati case,SC has been sacrificing the fundamental rights at the alter of socialism.
First,the initially declared target of fighting black money.The dishonest found it quite easy to bribe their way through the bankers.Second,their is no reason those caught in the tax net can not get away by bribing the tzx sleuths.This was quite early flagged by Tavleen Singh in her article and the government had absolutely no device to plug this important leakage.When the whole institional set up of India has been corrupted to its core,on what premises was the government expecting the bankers and tax sleuths to do their duty with honesty?The now empty roar of every dishonest being caught is a mere theatric.When the shock and awe target failed to dampen their spirit what good will come out of enquiry.Were not the tax sleuths active till now in catching the hoarders of black money?What did they achieve in these many years?Though the media played too much over hoarders being caught,in reality,they are very small fishes ranging from few lakhs to some crores.Were is the promised three-four lakhs crore that the government expected not to return to the bank (as admitted in SC)?Only three lakh crores were left to be deposited as on Dec 21.Since then no new figure has arrived.Multiple ministers are carefully sheilding this fact that since we have started an amnesty scheme (pay 50 per cent,keep the rest),all money will natuarally return to bank.But will three lakhs crores be decalred under the scheme?Impossible.Simply because people have easier means to convert the money,including paying a bribe to the banker or through hawala channels shelling out quite less than the 50 per cent figure of the government (the main reason why the government brought the amnesty scheme,almost twenty days after the announcement of demonetization).Why did not the government further dropped the 50 per cent figure,this will be discussed at the end of the article.
Apart from this glaring loophole at the planning stage,the execution was made a harrowing experience by the approach of government by declaring time and again that their was no fault in execution but we are changing rules based on feedback.But did they really needed a feedback about this being a marriage season or times for rabi crops?Could not the relief provided at the later stage started from the very beginning?And whose idea it was to allow people to exchange notes?I mean what was the use of allowing people to exchange notes?Demonetization could have been a simple two step process in which on one hand people could have deposited old notes and on the other they could have withdrawn their money through cheque or withdrawl form.By this process,every penny would have entered and exited in a recorded manner without that foolishness of id proof xerox that was so blatantly used for illegal conversion.Entering every Rs.4500 entry every time one reaches with old notes was an extra and useless burden on employees too.After noticing the flaw in the exchange regime,the government should had done away with it completely but it strangely continued to flourish in a lessened figure.
Next comes the ATM fiasco.What was the need to launch new money that needed a recalibrated ATM?Either the government should have released the prototype before and gave sufficient time to the bancks for recalibrating the ATMs (after all,new notes wont have given away the top secret) or better still the governemnent could have printed the new notes corresponding to the previous size only.Why to care for beauty when the system is actually burning?
Lastly,we can talk about the achievements.The demonetization was quite successful in routing out the scrouge of counterfeit currency.That the terrorist tried to loot banks in J&K as well as other intelligence reports are testimony to this fact.But the governement seems less interested in taking credit for this achievement.It is busy hailing the success of behaviourial change in the people with regard to plastic money and digitalization.But this we can emphatically declare after cash reaches back in people's hand.Taking out all the money from people's hand and then when they are only left with a single choice of paying online or plastic,hailing this as a behavioural change is sick.But first the preparation for this important achievement.Why did not the government waved of the extra transaction charges in the run-off of demonetization.Shopkeepers too could have been encouraged to install PoS machines.These doles were only provided after the demonetization seemed too large a disrution to the economy.Most honest people then would have got adjusted to the idea of digitaliztion had these doles been offered six months back.Digging a well when the house is on fire is never a good idea.Second,how much company like PayTm were operated by the public sector bank?Some MPs rightly raised the issue of going digital via a company having substantial share-holding by Chinese comapany (since then PayTm made a separate entity to handle online payment with completely Indian holding).Why should Indian digital revolution benefit the Chinese?Then reports came that plastic cards such as VISA provide benefit to their MNC owners for every transaction done.Even government is offering prizes only on those card transaction which is done via RuPay cards.But why did my bank offered me VISA cards in the first place?I did not asked for VISA instead of RuPay.Such ad hoc encouragement of digitalization is sad.But more importantly,did the people really took this change?I have only found one shop in my vicinity taking PayTm,but could not pay digitally due to a minor problem.My interent connection was not working properly.This in one of important urban towns.What about the village?Lastly,once people are getting access to cash,they are returning to their old habits except in places where they have clear incentives as in petrol pumps.By the way,saftey oragnizations have flagged up the issue of using PoS machines in the vicinity of petrol pumps (another example of foresight by the government).
This were only the directly related issues.Collateral damage too was huge.More than hundred people died.It did not make much furore since human lives are cheap in the East.Bussinesses suffered unexpected losses and many people lost thier employment.Employment generation figures are already low.I certainly hoped that at the end of the day government will take measure steps to boost employment figures.But the government stopped after offering relief to farmers and small business-men.The media has hailed this corrective measures for the poor,neo-middle class and middle class.Here I come to the last part of the article.Demonetization battle was fought on the name of poor against the rich and corrupt upper class.It ended with glory to Lohia,JP and Kamaraj.Each of them were freedom fighters and tall leaders of independent India.But distictly socialist.Socialism was the fashionable economic order in the newly emerging Third World just after the end of imperialism.This no longer cuts much ice in any part of the world except in India.Socialist government,by structure itself,is corrupt with too much power to the few in the ruling class and much government meddling in business.World over socialist government have become either collapsed or become defunct.This has been India's bane for seven decades,our own Achilles' heel.Indian leaders just refuses to embrace capitalism.Forty-five years after India Gandhi rode the "Garibi Hatao" wave,no one chooses to disembark off this time-tested formula.To make matters worse,PVN the architect of new-India and AB Vajpayee,his successor in this regard,failed to win public support of their policies in consequent general elections.No doubt,the Prime Minister failed to hail them after demonetization.Some how,capital and profit remains a crime.The communist agenda of taking money from the rich and distibuting amongst poor remains fashionable in academics even after the ebb of naxalism.The discoure is not simply about punishing the dishonest and those making black money.It is being hailed as a step that caused profound pain to the rich and as a result,happiness to the poor.The class battle still continues.And it will continue unless and until the people recognize the meaning of the pithy saying "Socialism is the best way of assuring poor about their welfare while simultaneously keeping them poor".After all,once they are no longer poor wont the class battle and those championing their cause will loose revelance.The government could have uneartherd the whole black money with an amnesty scheme with low taxation.But then this would not have been hailed as a pro-poor measure against the benefits of the upper class.
Creating money has become sin in this country.Rich must always be punished one way or the other.No matter he is honest or hard-working.If he is earning,he must be blamed for others' poverty.But what sort of institutions are serving the honest and poor?He/She will die a terrible death in a government hospital without proper care.His child (if happens to be from general cateogory) will be discriminated against in getting admission to colleges and government jobs.Private services are still too costly in this country thanks to protectionist measures against competition.His/Her daughter wont be married properly since he/she shell out dowry.The prosecution in such cases cut a sorry figure.Most importantly,who are the ones forcing everyone everyday to shell out bribe giving birth to this practice of black money.Business-men and honest people are routinely being harrased even in carrying out thier daily functions.But who cares about the business-men?And about the commoners,who are being hailed as foot soldier in this fight against corruption,how many of them are actually honest?Is not all this a fit legacy of the socialist era.And yes,not a single politician has so far been held in this war against corruption and only one high-level officer.So,all leaders and bureaucrat are honest?
Last line must go hailing the pro-active stand of the honourable Supreme Court.The SC is still examining the legal sanctity of the measure after the exercise has ended.What if it finds it illegal?Will the step be rolled back.But why will it be declared illegal in the first place?Is not it giving strength to the socialistic principles of our directive principles.No matter if few fundamental rights are a casuality.After all,since the famed Kesvanada Bharati case,SC has been sacrificing the fundamental rights at the alter of socialism.
Wednesday 4 May 2016
Stand with the Lovers
Article 15 : Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
Now see the first constitutional amendment of Independent India in 1951.
Article 15(4) : Nothing in this article ( read Article 15 ) or in clause ( 2 ) of Article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
Fast forward to 1992.SC decides that reservation in government jobs based on "caste" is perfectly constitutional thanks to the first constitutional amendment.
But what happened to original articles caveat ?
No problem,there is a leeway for socially and educationally backward "classes". And castes do make classes,don't they ?
They do.But didn't Article 15 explicitly prohibited discrimination on grounds of "castes" .
If the Parliament compromising of stalwarts of Indian Independence movement and some of the original makers of Constitution through Articles desired to give leeway to other "castes" nothing could have stopped them from writing the term socially and educationally backward "castes" instead of "classes". After all they have provided the leeway for Scheduled "Castes". You simply can not question their wit or knowledge of social conditions or constitutional rights for the Law Minister was none other than one of the greatest champions of backward empowerment and social reforms,Dr. B R Ambedkar.
But problem is Dr. Ambedkar or PM Jawharlal Nehru were not interested in exploiting the caste division among Hindus and garnering votes on the plank of reservation. They were interested in actual social uplift of any "class" that lags behind. The parliamentarians of 1991 decided to change the good great English forever when they decided that "class" from this day onward will mean only and only "caste". After all, I have not heard of any other "class" getting benefit out of Article 15(4) except and except few "castes" as decided by Mandal Commission.
Next is why the media and court played along ? Simply because the sheer force of number is sufficient to silence anyone critical of this system. By simple arithmetic calculation, 52% of OBC , 15% of SC and 7.5% of ST do enjoy reservation in India having a population of almost 125 crores. This transforms to more than 93 crore people. No one can show enough gumption to transform this saga from a right-based reservation to need-based. You can not simply snatch a right being enjoyed by 93 crore people.
But what about the rest ? Roughly, 33 crore people. Are all of them rich and affluent as the mainstream media regularly writes ? Are they scrambling for quota only since they are not having a good time due to agricultural distress and economic slowdown ? Does "equality", our fundamental right according to Article 16 not a necessary part of their existence ? If economic well being was everything wont everyone scramble to live in Communist China rather than a poor but free and democratic nation. Yet people lay down their life to protect this very freedom and democracy.
In Indira Sawhney case, apart from holding "caste" based reservation constitutional,SC categorically ruled out reservation in "promotions" saying it violates Right to Equality ( Article 16 ) . But still allowed it to go on for five years ( Why? ). Does already not much have been learnt from dark old days of emergency to protect our fundamental rights ?
But this did not end just here. Yesterday, Thawar Chand Gehlot, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment proudly declared that government is making bill to bring reservation in "promotions". Opposition will play happily along. They will move a constitutional amendment bill probably adding a new Article 16 (5) reading Nothing in this article ( read Article 16 ) shall prevent the government from making any special provision for promotion of socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.For a sample,you can read original Article 335 and the change thereof through eighty-second constitutional amendment act.
But why this farce ? Why not simply outlaw Article 16 itself ? After all, Right to Property was discarded from our fundamental rights list. Move out Right to Equality too. If upper castes are second-class citizens of this country, just treat them so. Why this whole big play of constitution,parliament,amendment and court ?
What was their crime ? That an ancient law-maker had divided the society into caste and it was discriminatory in nature. Are not the modern law-makers doing just the same thing ? There is no way to determine whether Manusmiriti was followed in words and spirit. After all we can clearly see how our present day rights and constitution are being upheld. There is no way one correct the mistakes of time gone by but every ancient society was discriminatory. The greatest champion of human rights,USA,battled racism a few decades ago. But they did not end up discriminating against present white population. You don't treat a rapist son with scorn,why to blame someone for ages gone by ?
A secular state should be secular in words and spirits. No one desires to protect casteism in this country. Using constitution to that effect would be disastrous for this country. After all a lot of ancient texts exist supporting equality of all men, and not only men but women too. It is true that the nation delved into superstition,anarchy,ignorance and casteism. But this should not stop us from making this nation great again. Kamasutra around 2000 years ago outlawed marital violence. We as a nation are still trying to come with terms to that. Such protections now exist only in very advanced countries. The recent furor over comments by Maneka Gandhi, Minister of Women and Child Development is a jolt reminder. Granting access to a solitary temple through intervention of court wont we of much help. Modernity is the greatest attack on casteism as recorded by Jawaharlal Nehru in Discovery of India. Let this ancient demon be slayed by the giant-killer time itself. And most importantly, if you can not provide protection to people enjoying their basic right to have their partner of their choice from the tyranny of khap panchayat, what is the point of having all this laws and cops. Young men and women marrying out of their castes and the biggest guarantors of equality. Do stand with them. Make bridges, don't exploit the caste divisions. Khap panchayats does it illegally, our politicians demanding votes based on caste reservations do it legally under the watchful eyes of both election commission and the honourable courts.
Now see the first constitutional amendment of Independent India in 1951.
Article 15(4) : Nothing in this article ( read Article 15 ) or in clause ( 2 ) of Article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
Fast forward to 1992.SC decides that reservation in government jobs based on "caste" is perfectly constitutional thanks to the first constitutional amendment.
But what happened to original articles caveat ?
No problem,there is a leeway for socially and educationally backward "classes". And castes do make classes,don't they ?
They do.But didn't Article 15 explicitly prohibited discrimination on grounds of "castes" .
If the Parliament compromising of stalwarts of Indian Independence movement and some of the original makers of Constitution through Articles desired to give leeway to other "castes" nothing could have stopped them from writing the term socially and educationally backward "castes" instead of "classes". After all they have provided the leeway for Scheduled "Castes". You simply can not question their wit or knowledge of social conditions or constitutional rights for the Law Minister was none other than one of the greatest champions of backward empowerment and social reforms,Dr. B R Ambedkar.
But problem is Dr. Ambedkar or PM Jawharlal Nehru were not interested in exploiting the caste division among Hindus and garnering votes on the plank of reservation. They were interested in actual social uplift of any "class" that lags behind. The parliamentarians of 1991 decided to change the good great English forever when they decided that "class" from this day onward will mean only and only "caste". After all, I have not heard of any other "class" getting benefit out of Article 15(4) except and except few "castes" as decided by Mandal Commission.
Next is why the media and court played along ? Simply because the sheer force of number is sufficient to silence anyone critical of this system. By simple arithmetic calculation, 52% of OBC , 15% of SC and 7.5% of ST do enjoy reservation in India having a population of almost 125 crores. This transforms to more than 93 crore people. No one can show enough gumption to transform this saga from a right-based reservation to need-based. You can not simply snatch a right being enjoyed by 93 crore people.
But what about the rest ? Roughly, 33 crore people. Are all of them rich and affluent as the mainstream media regularly writes ? Are they scrambling for quota only since they are not having a good time due to agricultural distress and economic slowdown ? Does "equality", our fundamental right according to Article 16 not a necessary part of their existence ? If economic well being was everything wont everyone scramble to live in Communist China rather than a poor but free and democratic nation. Yet people lay down their life to protect this very freedom and democracy.
In Indira Sawhney case, apart from holding "caste" based reservation constitutional,SC categorically ruled out reservation in "promotions" saying it violates Right to Equality ( Article 16 ) . But still allowed it to go on for five years ( Why? ). Does already not much have been learnt from dark old days of emergency to protect our fundamental rights ?
But this did not end just here. Yesterday, Thawar Chand Gehlot, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment proudly declared that government is making bill to bring reservation in "promotions". Opposition will play happily along. They will move a constitutional amendment bill probably adding a new Article 16 (5) reading Nothing in this article ( read Article 16 ) shall prevent the government from making any special provision for promotion of socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.For a sample,you can read original Article 335 and the change thereof through eighty-second constitutional amendment act.
But why this farce ? Why not simply outlaw Article 16 itself ? After all, Right to Property was discarded from our fundamental rights list. Move out Right to Equality too. If upper castes are second-class citizens of this country, just treat them so. Why this whole big play of constitution,parliament,amendment and court ?
What was their crime ? That an ancient law-maker had divided the society into caste and it was discriminatory in nature. Are not the modern law-makers doing just the same thing ? There is no way to determine whether Manusmiriti was followed in words and spirit. After all we can clearly see how our present day rights and constitution are being upheld. There is no way one correct the mistakes of time gone by but every ancient society was discriminatory. The greatest champion of human rights,USA,battled racism a few decades ago. But they did not end up discriminating against present white population. You don't treat a rapist son with scorn,why to blame someone for ages gone by ?
A secular state should be secular in words and spirits. No one desires to protect casteism in this country. Using constitution to that effect would be disastrous for this country. After all a lot of ancient texts exist supporting equality of all men, and not only men but women too. It is true that the nation delved into superstition,anarchy,ignorance and casteism. But this should not stop us from making this nation great again. Kamasutra around 2000 years ago outlawed marital violence. We as a nation are still trying to come with terms to that. Such protections now exist only in very advanced countries. The recent furor over comments by Maneka Gandhi, Minister of Women and Child Development is a jolt reminder. Granting access to a solitary temple through intervention of court wont we of much help. Modernity is the greatest attack on casteism as recorded by Jawaharlal Nehru in Discovery of India. Let this ancient demon be slayed by the giant-killer time itself. And most importantly, if you can not provide protection to people enjoying their basic right to have their partner of their choice from the tyranny of khap panchayat, what is the point of having all this laws and cops. Young men and women marrying out of their castes and the biggest guarantors of equality. Do stand with them. Make bridges, don't exploit the caste divisions. Khap panchayats does it illegally, our politicians demanding votes based on caste reservations do it legally under the watchful eyes of both election commission and the honourable courts.
Wednesday 23 December 2015
Dishonouring the Mandate
The voter's honeymoon with the new government was already over by the time of election in Bihar. Now it seems the marriage too will be over.Policy paralysis,a regular feature of the outgoing government seems to be a malady with the new government too.Of course they have a policy.A majority too in the Lok Sabha.But still their bills linger and linger and linger in the Rajya Sabha.That too when we have PM who was charged for being severely authoritarian when it came to running the administration as the head of a state.And the another feature,actually the only working policy,of the previous government,corruption seems to have made its first dent in the new government.The government stand is emulative of its administration.Yes,you read it write.The clean imaged Premier is bent on keeping the minister with such a dubious administrative record.
After all, what are Arun Jaitley's achievements.A turnaround on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's classified papers and few filmy dialogues on the culprits having accounts in tax havens.Gentleman are you there to play treasure hunt with Congress party.You seem too much worried about embarrassment the Congress will face.Or was it your own money form DDCA?And the fate of much anticipated GST bill.He declared we will incorporate all the demands of Congress party.If this was the case,why did we elect you in the first place.We had managed with Congress for 60 years.Five more would not have been too long.
And Prime Minister insistence on following Atal Bihari Vajpayee's path on the issue of dealing with a minister having corruption charges is noteworthy.But the problem is Modi is no Vajpayee and Jaitley is no Advani.He is not facing some flimsy charges by assailants unknown.He was the presiding authority at the head of DDCA. Before being elevated to the post of FM,he was walking behind the now infamous BCCI president Srinivasan along with the little know Congress leader Rajiv Shukla.People desiring to cross oceans don't usually fish in shallow waters but this is the usual case with BJP.They are hounded out and thrashed on petty issues.Remember their party president was caught on the camera taking a sum of mere Rs.1 lakh.Compare this with the money involved in 2G or Coalgate or CWG.And see the approach BJP undertakes towards exposing Congress leaders facing corruption charges. Subramaniam Swamy who forced Sonia and Rahul to seek bail like ordinary citizens does not have much clout in the party.It seems no one is even giving him support.Statement by leaders in parliament is at best lax.They seem to be on the back-foot and Congress is again dreaming a rerun of 1978 and then 1980.Sonia Gandhi is comfortably drawing analogy with Indira Gandhi.No lessons learnt sincethen by the BJP.And lets not forget the original scam that rocked India,the Bofors scam.How well BJP managed to surround the Congress.Twenty-five year onwards both Quattrocchi and the furore is dead.
And now the BJP has suspended Kirti Azad.As if he has created the mood against the government or its star minister.A typical case of shooting the messenger.And if you think this will be another passing moment like your discarding the elders like Jaswant Singh,Advani and Yashwant Sinha you are grievously wrong.The government is already in the midst of so much attack over intolerance.The few right-wing intellectual the BJP thankfully had including Arun Shourie and Subramaniam Swamy have all been kept in the bay.Combine it with the revolutionary bills which would have ushered India into the promised acche din. A government with a full-majority in Lok Sabha is having problems in passing its desired laws.Suddenly,the Rajya Sabha appears too crucial.They are waiting for the change in composition of the Rajya Sabha to take place.Sometimes by 2018.Elections in the Lok Sabha will take place the very next year.
Time is reap for the BJP either to read the writing on the wall.Or for the people to be more clever in electing the next government. Vajpyee showed that even non-Congress government can run in this country.Modi seems to show us "The importance of Rajya Sabha in the functioning of Indian democracy and the powers enjoyed by them".Never ever was this on display.And if you insist on throwing the authority bestowed upon you by the people in the historic 2014 general elections,little wonder that after the change in composition of RS in 2018 we will have a change in the composition of LS in 2019.At the end of the day,voters do not elect members to the Rajya Sabha and least interested in knowing what they are doing in the Parliament.The lessons you want your leaders to take to the people over the conduct of Rajya Sabha members,you better keep to yourself.In a democracy,the public is not your student to take your lessons.They are the evaluator who will judge you by your results.
Friday 13 November 2015
The Secular Saga
Before we answer this question,lets dig a little to know just why did UK media raised such a sensitive issue within a highly successful tour?Because this single issue is too dear for our media-persons to let it take a backbench.And join it with the recent furore over intolerance in our country and you will realize what's the hottest news gossip available.What the Indian media has portrayed to the world at large is that we are soon going to face a genocide against Muslims in our country.That our country is just a mirror image of Pakistan,better still a Hindu Pakistan.Almost the entire country is up against the government to protect the secular ethos and all our legends are being crumpled(remember the good old days of emergency)."The situation is far worse than during emergency".Gentleman,far from saying it,if even you have thought about saying something like these during those golden ages of Indira Gandhi,you would have been languishing in jail.And your statement would have never appeared in media.Either you think the current generation knows nothing about the emergency or you think they are naive to be taught and tutored just anything.
True,some gruesome deaths have taken place.And some motor-mouth ministers have taken foolish stands over them.The ministers are much to be blamed.But so are the state government who failed to uphold the law.Their was not a systematic killing or a majority-backed genocide.Rationalist were killed by those disagreeing to their views and police failed to provide them security.This first of all impairs on their right to free speech.Everyone should feel free to express his views whatever that may be and then we should have civilized debates over them.The government should at least now so some efficiency and grab the killers.Why are they still at large and who is to be blamed for this failure?The Dadri lynching was no doubt a separate issue and directly related to the Hindu-Muslim conflict.The mob reaction was cruelly shocking.A systematic probe to grab all the culprits is the necessity of the day.But what the media tried to do was inflame the passions and develop a riot-like situation.Just no one,not even Hindus shared the views of the mob.Their was no spillover of the mob reaction.The decades of the 90's are long past.The media clamour was grabbed by the opposition and led to a series of award-vapasi program.The throat that never uttered a word when the nation stood by Anna Hazare on the anti-corruption plank or when the Delhi youths braved water canon in the cold December nights demanding justice for a rape victim,just in four years flat are crying tears of blood thanks to their "waken(raised will be a wrong word,it was sleeping)" conscience.When the national exchequer was robbed of amount in the tunes of 1.76 lakh crore in 2G scam and 1.86 lakh crore in coal scam(right under the eyes of then PM) not just the "idea" of India but the actual nation and its people were in for trouble.Nevertheless,in spite of all the awakening of conscience and the threat to democracy the state government though led by an opposition party,chose to keep quiet.Why?
All such media-headlines died last week and gave way to proclaiming Nitish Kumar's grand victory in Bihar elections on the plank of development as against the communal agenda of Modi and BJP.Riding on this plank of development alongside Nitish was the "social inclusion" champion Laloo who made a comeback.Bihar elections will remain a hallmark for showing that people prefer development over communal agenda.The penchant that people of Bihar have for development is infectious(it spilled over to UP,Jharkhand and now West Bengal).No doubt they elected the wonderful administrator that Laloo was for straight fifteen years.Fifteen years,fifteen long years of jungle-raj(the term was originally used by HC about Bihar government during Laloo's reign) was said to be an euphemism for social empowerment by our honoured jounalists.And much hailed development works by Nitish Kumar won JDU third highest vote in the assembly elections.Laloo started his campaign on a high note declaring it to be a fight between upper castes and lower castes.The media added the third dimension of communal agenda.This Bihar election result was decided to be a referendum on Modi's work in last eighteen months,the defeat to take the shine out of his UK visit.Not going into much details,he has launched 'Make in India' campaign to give a boost to manufacturing in India.Bihar does not have any industry worth its name.Employment opportunity is almost nil.The state has developed its roadways after sixty-seven years of independence.Electricity will reach probably before hundredth.India is the fastest growing economy,a world player.We will be developing world class cities and grab an UNSC seat which is not just a demand,but our just right.Too large and too powerful a nation our PM does represents and its very unkindly to judge him in the international arena by a state election and the tirade which was necessarily created to keep him down and out.
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