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The One-India call More Marx for UPA |
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Violence in Kargil Nip it in the bud for communal amity IT is unfortunate that the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir is in the grip of communal tension. Incidents of violence have been reported from Leh and Kargil where the official residence of a senior police officer has been torched. Army and paramilitary forces have been deployed in the area to quell violence.
The Court and the
House
Trifles that tear
honey and moon!
Demilitarisation is
no solution Pollution chokes
wetland Chatterati
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More Marx for UPA The
outcome of the CPM’s two-day Politburo meeting in Kolkata may stir the Congress-led UPA somewhat but is unlikely to shake it in any way. The shrill denunciation of the UPA Government’s policies — especially, on privatisation of airports, the Iran nuclear issue and foreign direct investment in the retail sector — was only to be expected when the Left parties are preparing for the assembly elections due in West Bengal and Kerala. That is par for the course as are the protests scheduled to be launched on February 16. It remains to be seen how the CPM’s threat, to bring the UPA government to its knees on the Iran issue, unravels, since there has been a slight, very slight, softening of its earlier hard line after the last meeting of the IAEA. The CPM’s agitation, protests and denunciations aimed to keep the UPA from straying too far off an “acceptable” course, understandably, are not causing much concern. This is so because the CPM has asserted that it will continue to extend outside support to the UPA, and there is no inclination to review this stand. Of concern, however, is whether its opposition to policies would be kept within limits and not disrupt the government’s functioning, particularly in the area of international relations. The intemperate remarks of some CPM leaders against US President George Bush, and the party’s determination to oppose his forthcoming visit to India have given rise to much apprehension. Foreign policy is the prerogative of the Union Government, and the parties ruling at the state-level should desist from vitiating New Delhi’s international relations. The CPM and the Left Front in West Bengal have shown wilful disregard of the Centre and the need to voice their opposition within reasonable limits. Their hostility to Washington has blinded them to the larger issues of foreign policy, and the sooner they review the extent of their protest, the better it would be for UPA-Left ties. |
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Violence in Kargil IT is unfortunate that the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir is in the grip of communal tension. Incidents of violence have been reported from Leh and Kargil where the official residence of a senior police officer has been torched. Army and paramilitary forces have been deployed in the area to quell violence. Tension was sparked off by the alleged desecration of a holy book by unidentified miscreants. Demonstrations, organised to protest against the inaction of the police, turned violent. The whole episode has a ring of familiarity as most communal riots have a similar beginning. What is not so familiar is the incidence of communal tension in Jammu and Kashmir. One thing that can be said with some measure of certainty is that J&K has been free from communal passions. Even when violence erupted in other parts of the country on such issues as Ayodhya, the state remained calm and peaceful. Kashmiriyat has proved to be a greater adhesive than religious affiliations though, it must be admitted, the Pandits had to flee from the state. The people pride in the fact that J&K comprises three distinct regions – the Valley, Jammu and Ladakh — where Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists are in majority respectively. In other words, the state is a symbol of unity in diversity. This is despite the strenuous efforts the terrorists have been making to vitiate the atmosphere by pitting communities against communities. But for the first time the reputation of the state for communal harmony seems to have suffered a knock. There is no doubt that those who desecrated the holy book are enemies of peace. The same can be said about those who instigate the masses to protest against the alleged desecration. In effect, both of them play into the hands of the enemies of the nation. They do not deserve any sympathy. All the guilty persons should be identified and brought to book. The Central and state governments should act in concert so that they can deal with the bigots and nip violence in the bud. |
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As long as I have a want, I have reason for living. Satisfaction is death.
— George Bernard Shaw |
The Court and the House
Some
suggestions have lately appeared in the Press for resolving the conflict between the Supreme Court and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha over the expulsion of some members of the Lok Sabha from the House on the ground that they had been receiving money for tabling questions in the House. These suggestions run contrary to the constitutional position. Better paths lie through the Constitution itself. The issue belongs to the larger matter of relations between the Supreme Court and the Constitution. But since that has been discussed in my recent book, “The Supreme Court vs The Constitution”, I am confining the present discussion to the matter of the notice issued by the court to the Speaker, calling for his response, in person or through a counsel, regarding a petition filed by one of the expelled members against his expulsion. The author of one of these “suggestions” wants that out of deference to “a constitution bench of the Supreme Court”, the Speaker should not ignore the notice but should respond to it in one way or another. But there is no such thing in the Constitution as “a constitution bench” though the phrase has been used , mistakenly, by some senior advocates and also by at least one Chief Justice of a High Court. The Constitution does say, in Article 145(3), that “the minimum number of judges who are to sit for the purpose of deciding any case involving a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of this Constitution, or for the purpose of hearing any reference under Article 143 shall be five”. But apart from prescribing the minimum size for it, the Constitution accords no higher or lower status to such a bench than it accords to any other bench, and has given no special name to it. “Reference” in this Article means any reference that the President may make to the Supreme Court for its opinion, which however can only be of an advisory nature.) Further, if the Speaker appeared before any bench in response to a notice issued by the court in respect of any proceedings of the House, in the present case the expulsion of some MPs, he would be accepting the jurisdiction of the court over such proceedings. Such acceptance would be against the Constitution. It would also be against the unanimous decision of the House with regard to this particular matter, that the Speaker should not accept any such jurisdiction. At the same time the matter is of immense importance. It not only concerns the court and Parliament but also the rights of the voters in all the several constituencies whose MPs have been expelled. These voters have been deprived of their right to be represented in Parliament and thus punished for the sins of their MPs. What would the court do if the voters also filed a petition for the restoration of their representational rights, because the Election Commission cannot order byelections until the court deals with the petitions of the MPs. Can the court deal with them without the Speaker appearing before it? Can it deliver a judgement in the absence of the summoned but absentee respondent? Can it move against the Speaker’s absence (which is not in violation of any part of the Constitution)? Can the country afford such direct confrontation, as would then ensue, between the judiciary and Lok Sabha? If a similar situation arose with regard to a Rajya Sabh MP we would face a further complication. The Rajya Sabha is federal in nature, since its members are elected by the legislatures of the concerned states. Can the concerned legislature also be deprived of its right of representation, as the voters in the concerned constituencies have been deprived already, and can it be deprived without reference to Article 368, which safeguards the federal nature of our polity? Does the Constitution have any answers to offer ? I believe it has, provided neither the court nor Parliament arrogates to itself wider powers than the Constitution has given to either, and exercises the of additional power it seeks only in the light of such verdict as it can get from the final source of the power of all institutions, the people. This issue is more important than what may have been done by a few errant MPs or the price they may be asked to pay. The Constitution is very clear on four points. First, the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in respect of the legislature is limited to what it has been described to be in the Constitution ( Article 105-2). The description is subject to the court’s interpretation, but that itself is also subject to the well-established limits of “interpretation”. Second, the Speaker’s action in respect of anything done by a member in the course of the proceedings of the Lok Sabha is outside the jurisdiction of the judiciary, just as the Lok Sabha cannot discuss what a judge may do as a judge. Third, these provisions of the Constitution are open to amendment in accordance with Article 368. But, fourth, until amended these provisions are binding for all constitutional institutions. Therefore, all those who seek to make these changes, just as all those who seek to make any other changes in the Constitution, must muster the required support within Parliament first, and in case they fail there then in the electorate as a whole, which controls the balance of opinion in Parliament. Seeking relief in any constitutional short-cuts would be like amputating a foot for relieving the pain in a toe nail. Non-political reformers sometimes become so pessimistic about getting electoral support for sensible changes in politics that they despair of democracy. But they underestimate the strength of the public respect in which those judges are held who have distinguished themselves for wise and beneficial judgements. Their numbers may be falling, and now there may be as many bad eggs in a judicial basket as in a parliamentary one. But if we also count judges who were wise when in service and are in honourable retirement, their combined voice can surely be heard above the din of popular politics and above the drums beaten on their own behalf by authoritarian autocrats, whether in or out of uniform. The case of the expelled MPs is not an exception to this observation. Consider the fact that the former Governor of Bihar, Mr Buta Singh, has been roundly blamed for dissolving the Bihar Assembly. But who is pointing the required finger at those in New Delhi who accepted his questionable “report” and, for their own reasons, allowed him to go ahead with the dismissal?
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Trifles that tear honey and moon! Have
you been going steady and now getting ready for marriage? You have stars in eyes and rainbows in heart. Perhaps, you are being showered with sound and sage advice from well-meaning people who think they know better. All to the good. Yet, you will do better if you heed the following little things that can part the honey from the moon. When faced with a bunch of lovely hair in the sink, the Prince Charming loses much of his charm, as well as temper. Strands in the comb make him put up his hackles. Love him, honour him, humour him (and his dog), but do not leave hair in sink. It looks pretty on your head. Uttering “I love you” fifty times a day does not matter but it is vital for you to discover whether your prospective husband is a rise-and-shiner or stay-in-bedder. Where and how he reads his newspaper. Whereas a stayer married to a riser may spell happiness, a stayer married to another stayer will spin resentment, and argument rages as to whose turn it is to get the morning cuppa. What about the misery that can arise if a blanket extrovert marries a head-under-blanket introvert? The latter buries head; the former wants to breathe! Does the man in your life empty his pockets at night? If not, will you mind doing this chore every night for the rest of your life? Now, that hubbies (you think rightly) spend much time in the kitchen, it is important to check up on your chef’s habit at the kitchen sink. How does he wash up? Is he a careful scrapper and stacker? Glasses first, by-the-book type? Or is he a happy-go-lucky operator? Do you carefully wrap all garbage in paper but he slings everything in the dustbin unwrapped? Watch. Cleanliness may be next to godliness but it is next to impossible with a slovenly spouse. For the same reason it is important to watch the way your partner eats. One reason Tolstoy’s marriage embittered was he ate his food noisily. The wife hated it. Another trifle to watch is if one is gobbler, the other a chewer. The quick eater is in for stretches of boredom, just waiting for partner to finish chewing cud! Watch car compatibility. Do you apply imaginary brakes when the other is at wheel? Do you think that the rear-mirror is for admiring your face and
hairstyle? Check on these “trifles”. Or these will tear honey and moon apart sooner than you can speak “I love
you.” |
Demilitarisation is no solution Pakistan
is making one strategic move after the other with US backing to bring the Kashmir issue in sharp international focus and put India on the defensive. Earlier, President Pervez Musharraf had proposed to divide J&K into seven regions, demilitarise them step-by-step and then go in for the maximum self-governance or the joint control in these areas. His latest salvo is that India should withdraw troops from Srinagar, Kupwara and Baramula and that Pakistan would join India to ensure that no incidents of terrorism take place. The latest proposal must be read in the context of the request of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to our Prime Minister, made in New York that India should give some concrete concession to President Musharraf by way of withdrawal of troops from the valley so that he could tell his people that the peace process was on line. The General says that he was being very flexible as he has stopped insisting on a plebiscite in J&K. Mr Kofi Annan, Secretary General, UN, during his visit to the sub-continent had admitted that “the decades old UN resolution on Kashmir is unenforceable and essentially defunct.” He said the UN could play a mediatory role or facilitate settlement if both India and Pakistan agree to its participation It is also obvious that a US intervention is on the cards. In his address to the General Assembly in 2002, Mr Annan identified hostility between India and Pakistan as one of the most perilous threats to global peace and security. “In South Asia,” he said, “the world has recently come closer than for many years past to direct conflict between two nuclear weapon capable states. The underlying causes of conflict must be addressed.” If another confrontation between the two countries threatened to ignite war, Annan warned, “the international community might have a role to play.” Later on, citing a top US official as the source, it was reported that during discussions in New York, Mr Annan and US President George W. Bush “had agreed to move beyond crisis management to real solutions on Kashmir” How have we come to this pass? It is because of the pacifist and accommodating nature of India since Independence. Let us start with the tribal invasion of Kashmir in 1947. British commanders of the newly formed Indian Army had outwitted the inexperienced Indian leadership. Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi held on steadfastly to a firm stand that there was no question of plebiscite and that J&K was an integral part of India not as rhetoric but a firm conviction and that no negotiations were possible on this account. Even after the Chinese invasion of 1962 and under the pressure of the US to resume negotiations with Pakistan, Sawarn Singh proposed only some modification of the cease-fire line in favour of Pakistan. Indira Gandhi was for converting LoC into an international border, which had been agreed to by Bhutto in Simla, who later went back on the verbal commitment. Unfortunately, for some years past, the Indian leadership has been talking of a negotiated settlement, which means that India will have to part with something to satisfy Pakistan and the US. Pakistan, which is already in possession of more than one-third of J&K, has nothing to lose. History has it that whenever there is a third party involvement in sorting out the problem between India and Pakistan, whether it is Indus Water Treaty or the Rann of Kutch, it is Pakistan that has gained. Of late, no Indian leader has said that J&K is an integral part of India. Former US Ambassador to India, Mr Robert D. Blackwill, wrote in The National Interest, a leading American quarterly: “The Kashmir issue will go on for a long time unless and until Pakistan reconciles itself to accepting LoC as border” and that “for more than 50 years, young cadets, including President Musharraf himself, have been taught in Pakistan military academies that their “holy mission” was the liberation of all Kashmir and that the central purpose of Pakistan itself was to further this task” Demilitarisation and then self-governance, condominium or joint control means handing over the Kashmir valley to Pakistan on a platter. I have served in J&K as Additional D.G. BSF. I know from personal experience what demilitarisation of the areas referred to by General Musharraf would mean. Jihadis are well entrenched there. They are under pressure because of the presence of the army and other paramilitary units. The moment they are out, the jihadis would take over. The local police would not be able to hold on as jihadis are well trained, well armed, indoctrinated and have the total backing of the ISI with massive infrastructure at their back. We have disowned our basic stand on Kashmir and landed ourselves in a quagmire. Any solution facilitated by the US will be a gain for Pakistan. In due course of time Kashmir valley will go to Pakistan. The route may be maximum self-governance, condominium or a joint control. It is time to seriously ponder over the observations of the then Prime Minister of J&K and the late Chief Justice of India, Mehar Chand Mahajan, made in his book ‘The Looking Back’: “The Indian Independence did not envisage conditional accession. It wanted to keep no Indian state in a state of suspense. It conferred on the rulers of Indian states absolute power to accede to either of the two dominions. The dominion’s Governor General had the power to accept the accession or reject the offer but he had no power to keep the question open or attach conditions to it. One dominion could not bargain with the other dominion behind the back of the ruler of the state about an accession of an Indian state. I
fail to understand from what constitutional provision the Indian government derives this power to say to the Pakistan that it will re-decide the question of accession of Kashmir by holding a plebiscite in the state of Kashmir after Pakistan’s aggression has been withdrawn. The document of accession does not give it this power. The Maharaja never accepted this position” and that “the resolution of Security Council is not binding on India as it is outside the constitutional and legal powers of those who entered into that agreement and the state of Jammu and Kashmir can certainly repudiate it with a clear conscience”.
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Pollution chokes wetland THE wetland area in Ropar district has been facing threat to its very existence due to industrial waste, deforestation and silt accumulation. The area, which has been designated as nationally important, is spread over 1,365 hectares on the bank of the Sutlej. It is the natural habitat for a large number of species. But the very survival of some of such species, which are totally dependent on the wetland area, is in question because of the uninterrupted pollution. The wetland attracts a large number of migratory birds from Central Asia, particularly from April to October. Over the years, the population of such birds has also been declining because of the depletion in the quality of the environment. The only way left to protect the wildlife and bird species in the wetland area is to protect their habitat. The wetland is home to more than 250 species of birds, including migratory birds, mammals, fishes, snakes, sambar and hog deer. Among the migratory birds, which visit the place, are the great black-headed gull, the great cormorant, and the bar-headed goose. In wanton disregard of environmental concerns, the wetland area is being treated as a dumping ground for toxic waste. The industrial units in Nangal town, the super thermal plant, the cement unit in Ropar, to name just a few, dump their waste into the Sutlej, which finds its way to the wetland. Although the industrial units always claim that the release of ash content in the river is within permissible limit, the damage it has already caused is visible for anyone who cares to have a look at it. That the villagers and their domestic animals living along the Sutlej near industrial units have stopped using the river water for drinking purpose is a sad commentary on the state of affairs of the river. In addition to this, the fish population has also been declining. Even the industrial units from nearby
Nawanshahr district has begun dumping toxic waste into the wetland. Yet, the administration and the departments concerned under it are supremely unmindful of the goings-on. The wetland area is situated close to the Shivalik foothills. Because of the construction, agricultural and commercial activities, a vast tract of the hills has already been leveled off. This also has its adverse effect on the wetland. The cutting of trees on the Shivalik hills has been causing soil erosion. Needless to say, the soil finally lands in the wetland resulting in siltation. There are already tell-tale signs of destruction of the wetland. Keeping in view the decline in the migratory birds’ population, the forest department has begun floating artificial birds to attract migratory birds. It managed to float 18 birds with the limited funds at its disposal — Rs 20,000. The Dr Salim Ali Ornithology Track, which was constructed in the wetland area for the benefit of visitors, is also in a neglected state. Many of them use the track for illegal fishing. The administration and the forest department are content with organising every year a function where school children and teachers are invited to spread awareness about the important species in the wetland area. The plying of boats in the Sutlej by the tourists who visit the government tourist complex, Pinkcassia, situated on the bank of the river also causes inconvenience and adds more misery to the birds. But who bothers? |
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Chatterati The
recent, much-awaited reshuffle of the Central Union Cabinet has created chaos in Delhi. Musical chairs in politics is not a new phenomenon, but running around, changing nameplates outside offices has become a new pastime for our ministers. Senior ministers like A.R. Anlulay are going around looking for offices while Subi Ram Reddy and Jairam Ramesh are sitting in rooms meant for bureaucrats. It is clearly influence and "bhaichara" that works. You never know who gets along here and for how long. As usual, everything else seems to be in confusion as always in the Congress party. It is another matter that the Union Cabinet today is full of Rajya Sabha members. The Lok Sabha members who slog at the grassroots level are worried about how they will go and face their voters, who will ask them: "How come you guys are so incompetent that you have not even been made ministers. So, why should we vote for you?" Embarrassing, of course. Now wonder what they will have to cook up stories to satisfy their constituents. Well, this is the way the Congress has always work so what can the Congresswalas do? After all, they can only work hard in their constituency and the rest is in the hands of the highups at the Centre. However, with election looming in several states, the Lok Sabha members will have to really come up with some good answers for their constituents. Punish the officials, too The on going demolitions in Delhi have had the fashion frat crying themselves horse in the media. It is, however, impossible for the public not to wonder how such worldly-wise educated designers go and buy illegally constructed properties. The building is owned by one of the most influential well-connected businessmen in Delhi. Anyone whose money has come after hard world would think twice investing that money in something like this. However, my question here is: Where were the authorities when these buildings were being built? Where they asleep or where they just looking the other way? In the last 10 years all the buildings which have illegally come up under the very nose of the MCD. All the heads of MCD during the past 10 years were obviously quiet because it suited them one way or the other. I suggest that these MCD guys, the contractors who built these buildings, the persons who registered them, the water and electricity fellows should be punished suitably. There is no other way to tackle these corrupt officials who take everybody for a ride. Their perfect 10 moves They are dressed to kill, articulate themselves perfectly, and walk the catwalk. Oh! The do swear by benevolence, humility, world peace and no points for guessing, Mother Teresa. These finalists of the 2006 Miss India were in the Capital at the Grand Intercontinental. Well, half the questions and answers asked during the contest are clichéd and predictable, with slight twists. The beauties looked stunning with their radiant smiles and perfect 10
moves. They are so focused, ambitious and leave nothing undone to get what they want but when asked what the platform means to them, it was just a starry dream. |
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From the pages of Hindu and Muslim leaders
The Working Committee of the Congress, under the leadership of the President, is determined not to let the grass grow under its feet in the matter of implementing those decisions of the Gauhati Congress that require to be implemented. At an informal meeting held in Calcutta on January 1, the committee decided, among other things, that the President should convene a conference of the Hindu and Muslim members of the Indian Legislative Assembly and the Council of State at Delhi at the earliest opportunity to consider the ways and means of promoting Hindu-Muslim unity. This is a step in the right direction. What we fail to see, however, is why the conference is to be limited to the Hindu and Musalman members of the Central Legislature. A conference so limited can scarcely be expected to be adequately representative of the two communities in the present conditions, and we are not sure that it is a conference of this kind that was contemplated by the Gauhati resolution which used the much wider words “Hindu and Muslim leaders.”
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God himself made the body and put soul into it. — Guru Nanak Intelligence is the bridle and conscience the chariot driver. —
The Upanishadas Watch the prince concentrating on his target. He sees naught else. The sky, the sun, the tree, the leaves have all vanished. All that he sees is the bird he has to pierce. And when he can concentrate thus, he is successful in his task. —
The Mahabharata Just as a parrot tasting a semira bud gets stuck in its fibre, an ignorant man for mere pretence, visits sacred places and worships in temples, without obtaining any results. —
Kabir Was ever a solid rock shaken by the rain or wind? It is only the foolish who are swayed by words of blame or praise. The wise remain steady like the rock unshaken by rain or wind. —
The Buddha
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